Why The Gaetz Defeat Really Matters
The first step of defiance is the hardest. Senate Republicans just took it.
William Kristol and Andrew Egger

Trump didn’t exactly toss Gaetz overboard. But he instructed Gaetz to jump. And Gaetz did.

Why did Trump tell him to jump? The New York Times reported that four Republican senators were hard Nos on Gaetz—Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and incoming Utah Sen. John Curtis—and that others were ready to join them.

In other words, it was Republican senators who forced Trump to dump Gaetz.

The Crusade against America
Handmaid Fails 3/3
Timothy Snyder
In the novel The Handmaid’s Tale, people very much like Hegseth come to power, oppress women, and turn the armed forces into domestic shock troops who fight a civil war.  It is important to see accusations of sexual assault and Hegseth’s persistent polygamy in this light: the notion that women are just objects goes hand in hand with the idea that the real fight for American soldiers is against other Americans.

Misogyny is not the elevation of masculinity but its collapse, both as morality and as politics.

Nothing good comes from fear
Steve Schmidt
There is an enormous credibility crisis at MSNBC caused by Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski. It will not pass. Breakfast at the Berghof was a shattering event.

Joe and Mika are Americans, and no American should be afraid of their government for acts of conscience, such as speaking up and out. According to one of America’s preeminent media reporters, Dylan Byers of Puck News, Joe and Mika are debilitated by fear.

They went to Mar-a-Lago for fear or retribution when their job required them to demonstrate toughness and courage. They failed in a moment of truth. It doesn’t make them bad people, but it renders them unworthy of the moment and their audience, which has collapsed, according Beyers:

You’re Thinking About Hurricanes All Wrong
Quico Toro, Persuasion

The most up-to-date theories have focused on human emissions, not of greenhouse gasses, but of old-fashioned air pollution: soot, sulfur dioxide, all the gunk that came out of tailpipes and smokestacks in great volumes before the era of catalytic converters and clean air laws.

Alongside the industrial boom of the post-war era, this kind of pollution exploded—wreaking havoc with human health and damaging all sorts of ecosystems. Beyond their nasty health effects, aerosols have a second effect that scientists are increasingly interested in: they reflect some solar radiation back out to space, acting like microscopic parasols to cool whatever is beneath them.

Cooling, not warming.

Chaos reigns supreme
Mike Allen, Axios

President-elect Trump has enjoyed — and exploited — an aura of invincibility since Election Day that few Republicans have been willing to challenge publicly.

For an otherwise pliant group of Senate Republicans, former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s nomination as attorney general was a bridge too far.

The bottom line: The Trump who won 312 electoral votes a few weeks ago is the same Trump who exhausted many Americans with nonstop political drama from 2017 to 2021. He may be more prepared, focused and surrounded by loyalists this time around. But chaos will always be part and parcel of the Trump experience.

AM Headlines

Axios AM   Smerconish  The Hill Morning Report   CNN Breaking News

PM Headlines

Axios PM    Politico Nightly

Associated Press   Digital Future Daily (Politico).   NPR Politics

THE HAGUE — The world’s top war-crimes court issued arrest warrants Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and Hamas’ military chief, accusing them of crimes against humanity in connection with the 13-month war in Gaza.

The warrants said there was reason to believe Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant have used “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid and have intentionally targeted civilians in Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza — charges Israeli officials deny.

The action by the International Criminal Court came as the death toll from Israel’s campaign in Gaza passed 44,000 people, according to local health authorities, who say more than half of those killed were women and children. Their count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

The arrest warrants do not guarantee that the men will be tried at The Hague, the Dutch city where the ICC is located. Nor do they guarantee any of them will even be arrested, though some countries have announced they would comply with the warrants.

But they do make life more complicated for Gallant and Netanyahu in particular. (It’s unclear whether Deif is currently alive.) Both Israelis will find it more difficult to travel abroad, as signatories to the treaty that created the ICC are obligated to arrest and turn over those accused of crimes. That means “there are now 124 countries” — all signatories — “where they would be unwise to travel,” Adil Haque, a law professor at Rutgers University, told Vox.

And the warrants will likely be a complicating factor for some of Israel’s allies. Some have domestic laws prohibiting the transfer of weapons to nations that might use them to commit atrocity crimes. Others may find the warrants put a strain on diplomatic relationships.

Why The Gaetz Defeat Really Matters
The first step of defiance is the hardest. Senate Republicans just took it.
William Kristol and Andrew Egger

Trump didn’t exactly toss Gaetz overboard. But he instructed Gaetz to jump. And Gaetz did.

Why did Trump tell him to jump? The New York Times reported that four Republican senators were hard Nos on Gaetz—Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and incoming Utah Sen. John Curtis—and that others were ready to join them.

In other words, it was Republican senators who forced Trump to dump Gaetz.

The Crusade against America
Handmaid Fails 3/3
Timothy Snyder
In the novel The Handmaid’s Tale, people very much like Hegseth come to power, oppress women, and turn the armed forces into domestic shock troops who fight a civil war.  It is important to see accusations of sexual assault and Hegseth’s persistent polygamy in this light: the notion that women are just objects goes hand in hand with the idea that the real fight for American soldiers is against other Americans.

Misogyny is not the elevation of masculinity but its collapse, both as morality and as politics.

Nothing good comes from fear
Steve Schmidt
There is an enormous credibility crisis at MSNBC caused by Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski. It will not pass. Breakfast at the Berghof was a shattering event.

Joe and Mika are Americans, and no American should be afraid of their government for acts of conscience, such as speaking up and out. According to one of America’s preeminent media reporters, Dylan Byers of Puck News, Joe and Mika are debilitated by fear.

They went to Mar-a-Lago for fear or retribution when their job required them to demonstrate toughness and courage. They failed in a moment of truth. It doesn’t make them bad people, but it renders them unworthy of the moment and their audience, which has collapsed, according Beyers:

You’re Thinking About Hurricanes All Wrong
Quico Toro, Persuasion

The most up-to-date theories have focused on human emissions, not of greenhouse gasses, but of old-fashioned air pollution: soot, sulfur dioxide, all the gunk that came out of tailpipes and smokestacks in great volumes before the era of catalytic converters and clean air laws.

Alongside the industrial boom of the post-war era, this kind of pollution exploded—wreaking havoc with human health and damaging all sorts of ecosystems. Beyond their nasty health effects, aerosols have a second effect that scientists are increasingly interested in: they reflect some solar radiation back out to space, acting like microscopic parasols to cool whatever is beneath them.

Cooling, not warming.

Chaos reigns supreme
Mike Allen, Axios

President-elect Trump has enjoyed — and exploited — an aura of invincibility since Election Day that few Republicans have been willing to challenge publicly.

For an otherwise pliant group of Senate Republicans, former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s nomination as attorney general was a bridge too far.

The bottom line: The Trump who won 312 electoral votes a few weeks ago is the same Trump who exhausted many Americans with nonstop political drama from 2017 to 2021. He may be more prepared, focused and surrounded by loyalists this time around. But chaos will always be part and parcel of the Trump experience.

AM Headlines

Axios AM   Smerconish  The Hill Morning Report   CNN Breaking News

PM Headlines

Axios PM    Politico Nightly

Associated Press   Digital Future Daily (Politico).   NPR Politics

THE HAGUE — The world’s top war-crimes court issued arrest warrants Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and Hamas’ military chief, accusing them of crimes against humanity in connection with the 13-month war in Gaza.

The warrants said there was reason to believe Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant have used “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid and have intentionally targeted civilians in Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza — charges Israeli officials deny.

The action by the International Criminal Court came as the death toll from Israel’s campaign in Gaza passed 44,000 people, according to local health authorities, who say more than half of those killed were women and children. Their count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

The arrest warrants do not guarantee that the men will be tried at The Hague, the Dutch city where the ICC is located. Nor do they guarantee any of them will even be arrested, though some countries have announced they would comply with the warrants.

But they do make life more complicated for Gallant and Netanyahu in particular. (It’s unclear whether Deif is currently alive.) Both Israelis will find it more difficult to travel abroad, as signatories to the treaty that created the ICC are obligated to arrest and turn over those accused of crimes. That means “there are now 124 countries” — all signatories — “where they would be unwise to travel,” Adil Haque, a law professor at Rutgers University, told Vox.

And the warrants will likely be a complicating factor for some of Israel’s allies. Some have domestic laws prohibiting the transfer of weapons to nations that might use them to commit atrocity crimes. Others may find the warrants put a strain on diplomatic relationships.

Lately I’ve become obsessed with live streaming. I think it remains a one of the last mainstream content format that hasn’t become fully ubiquitous. Yes, plenty of live streamers are A-list creators, our future president was interviewed live on Kick, but live streaming in itself is still not a content format that millions of adult internet users utilize or consume.

I think that is going to change soon though, especially as people become more interested in communal experiences online. Kai Cenat’s current subathon is something I’ve been following very closely.

Today, Alan Chikin Chow, a top Gen Z creator who is known for his Alan’s Universe YouTube series, is opening a sprawling new 10,000-square-foot production studio in Los Angeles. The studio’s opening is just the latest big example of a creator-led media company institutionalizing and competing directly with Hollywood studios.

Alan’s Universe is taking off at a time when younger audiences are primarily consuming entertainment on platforms like YouTube and TikTok, often seeking out authenticity and relatability over more polished, traditional scripted content. What’s made Alan exceptionally successful is his unique blend: he leverages the parasocial bonds afforded by digital platforms while following the principles of traditional storytelling