““No. 1, he had the legal authority to do it,” Graham pointed out. “But I fear that you will get more violence. Pardoning the people who went into the Capitol and beat up a police officer, violently, I think, was a mistake because it seems to suggest that’s an OK thing to do.” Graham made similar comments to CNN’s Dana Bash, saying the pardons “sent the wrong signal.”
Members of Trump’s loyal base flipped out over Graham’s mild chiding of the returned POTUS. They slammed the senator as a “snake” and a “RINO,” or Republican In Name Only.”
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lindsey-graham-donald-trump-mistake_n_6797340de4b01edab1f9223a
“Trump on Friday evening reportedly dismissed at least 15 inspectors general from their roles. The firings appear to violate federal legislation that mandates that congressional lawmakers be given 30-day notice of an intent to dismiss inspectors general.”
…
“Schiff warned Americans that Trump’s decision to move forward with these dismissals carries risks given the post involves providing independent audits, inspections and investigations of government agencies.”
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/adam-schiff-trump-inspectors-general-firings-goal_n_679762afe4b01edab1f9370c
“the United States is far from alone in offering birthright citizenship. As of 2022, 60 countries had a provision in their legal codes or constitutions that provide at least some pathway to citizenship by jus soli, according to data from the Global Citizenship Observatory.* And more than half of those nations have a mostly unrestricted version akin to the United States’ longstanding formulation, whereby nearly anyone born in that country is guaranteed access to citizenship. (Others may provide for birthright citizenship subject to additional requirements, such as parental descent, period of residence and/or membership of a certain racial or ethnic group.)
Overall, unfettered birthright citizenship is mainly found among countries in the Americas, many of which — including the U.S. — have lengthy histories of immigration from other parts of the globe.”
https://abcnews.go.com/538/make-trumps-attempt-end-birthright-citizenship/story?id=118023941
What do Americans think of Trump’s executive actions?
https://abcnews.go.com/538/americans-trumps-executive-actions/story?id=117975851
The Philippines in the Asia Dojo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–22BZx683Q
“President Donald Trump on Sunday announced retaliatory tariffs on Colombia after its president blocked US military deportation flights from landing, the first instance of Trump using economic pressure to force other nations to fall in line with his mass deportation plans since he took office last week.
Hours after Trump’s announcement, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said he ordered the commerce ministry to raise tariffs on US imports by 25%.”
…
“Earlier in the day, Petro announced he had blocked two US military flights carrying migrants heading toward the country and called on the United States to establish better protocols in its treatment of migrants. Petro also left the door open to receiving repatriated migrants traveling on civilian planes.
Following Petro’s initial announcement, Trump criticized him on social media while announcing a slate of new sanctions and policies targeting Colombia, including “emergency 25% tariffs” on all imports from the country that will be raised to 50% in a week, a “travel ban” for Colombian citizens, and a revocation of visas for Colombian officials in the US along with “all allies and supporters.”
“These measures are just the beginning. We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.”
…
“The US Embassy in Colombia suspended visa processing in retaliation for Colombia’s refusal to accept repatriation flights, a State Department official told CNN on Sunday evening. The suspension applies to immigrant and non-immigrant visas, which typically number in the thousands each day.”
…
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a Sunday statement that Colombian officials had approved two military flights carrying migrants to Colombia and then revoked the authorization once they were en route”
…
“Petro disputed that he had given authorization, writing on X after the secretary of state’s statement, “I will never allow Colombians to be brought in handcuffs on flights. Marco, if officials from the Foreign Ministry allowed this, it would never be under my direction.””
…
“The US began using military aircraft to return recent border crossers back to their countries of origin last week.”
…
“The Department of Defense “has helped administrations before, but not at this level. So it’s a force multiplier, and it’s sending a strong signal to the world. Our border’s closed,” Homan told ABC News.”
…
“Mexico also appeared to turn around a military flight heading for the country last week.
Brazil joined Colombia on Sunday in condemning the Trump administration’s handling of repatriated migrants on deportation flights, denouncing the treatment of Brazilian nationals who arrived in the country Friday as “degrading.”
Brazilian authorities said they found 88 handcuffed deportees on a US flight headed to Belo Horizonte, Brazil, that landed in Manaus due to a “technical error.” Brazilian officials did not authorize the plane to continue on due to “the use of handcuffs and chains, the poor condition of the aircraft, with a faulty air conditioning system, among other problems,” and the migrants were transported to Manaus on a Brazilian Air Force flight.”
https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/26/politics/colombia-tariffs-trump-deportation-flights/index.html
“China is conducting the largest military build-up seen since that of Nazi Germany during the 1930s, one expert warns, after a new Department of Defense report detailed Beijing’s operations including bolstering weapons and psychological warfare.”
…
“”Now the big difference there, is that he really focused on land power, which frankly is pretty easy to build up pretty quickly,” he added. “Navies are much more difficult to build up. And we are way behind. And not only do we need to catch up, but we also need to modernize our nuclear weapons, and we need to put a lot of effort into missile defense.”
“They’re massively building up their nuclear arsenal. We expect it to expand to at least 1,000 warheads by 2030, only five years from now. Probably going to be bigger than that,” DeVore said Sunday. “The Chinese Navy, not by tonnage, but by numbers is now larger than the U.S. Navy. China has something like 250 times the ship building capacity that America does.”
The report cites how China has bolstered its People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) arsenal to include 50 new intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), which can strike the continental U.S., raising its total to 400. As far as the report discloses, the DoD says China has added 300 medium-range ballistic missiles and 100 long-range cruise missiles. Their arsenal also now includes more than 600 operational nuclear warheads and is expected to have more than 1,000 by 2030.
The DoD says the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has the world’s leading arsenal of hypersonic missiles, including the DF-27, which as DeVore notes, “are capable of evading U.S. missile defenses and targeting Guam, Hawaii, and Alaska.””
https://www.yahoo.com/news/china-directs-largest-military-build-144406881.html
Companies pay researchers to produce biased science. Then, they tell people to look into it themselves, knowing people will find the slanted research the industry paid for.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S5iP-WJbEc
We should care about the economy. The economy is people’s lives.
We should think about where markets work best and where the government works better. We should consider the structure and incentives of a particular market.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msX9sRTgf8Y
Human beings don’t naturally care about the welfare of human beings from out-groups. And, economic incentives can lead to owners brutalizing and killing their enslaved workers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlzRlX8dxIg