“President Trump and his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, have outraged the Beltway by dismissing top generals, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown. Also ousted were the chief of the Navy and the vice chief of the Air Force, with perhaps others on the chopping block. This is being called an ‘unprecedented purge’ and a step toward the politicization of the military. At the very least, though, these moves send a message that change is coming to an ossified Pentagon, and if they are followed up with reforms to how we promote and evaluate our generals, they will be a step toward a more effective and — to use one of Hegseth’s favorite words — lethal military. Worries about the politicization of the military are rich after years of the civilian leadership pushing DEI on the ranks and insisting that climate change is a national security threat.” (02/25/25)
“Normally, it is the country that defeated you in war, and not the country that defended you, that pillages you after the war. Unfortunately for Ukraine, its biggest military defender is set to pillage its resources as the two countries have now signed a minerals agreement after Trump warned that a refusal to sign would have led to ‘a lot of problems’ for Ukraine. Many mistakes have been made in the war over Ukraine’s minerals: Zelensky may have made a mistake in his strategy, and Trump may be mistaken in facts.” (02/26/25)
“Much has been written about Trump’s widening appeal to men, and to young men in particular. MAGA, the story goes, is making masculinity great again. But the version of manhood on display not just from Trump but from many of his closest advisers and appointees isn’t the kind of traditional manhood championed by his vice president, J. D. Vance; it’s a manhood imagined by adolescent boys. (Although of course, plenty of adolescent boys do not look up to Trump.) And at his core, Trump is an adolescent president, surrounded by adolescent flunkies, cheered into office by adolescent men.” (02/26/25)
“Triumphant illiberal forces on the left and right alike have little use for constitutions, free government, or even the American tradition itself. The growing strength of these forces is evidence, as [Samuel] Gregg rightly warns, that ‘the habit of free association is weak in America, and so are the institutions of civil society to which this habit gives rise.’ It certainly seems like Alexis de Tocqueville’s darkest prophecies are coming true. But why are American institutions so weak in the face of illiberalism? In no small measure, it is because of our inability to connect the case for liberty to a larger, transcendent vision of life’s ultimate purpose.” (02/26/25)
“The acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA) requested in a meeting on Tuesday that managers present him with a plan for a 50 percent reduction in staff, a mass firing that could affect tens of thousands of employees across the country. The deadline for the plan to be submitted to Leland Dudek, who was elevated to the acting commissioner position just a couple of weeks ago, is this afternoon, according to two sources who wished to remain anonymous. The decision could target one of the government’s most prominent public-facing initiatives: SSA field offices, where seniors, people with disabilities, and survivors whose parents have died can sign up for benefits and get information.” (02/26/25)
“Northwestern University is being sued for ‘consciously discriminating’ in favor of women and racial minorities at the expense of obviously better qualified candidates. … One of those with the requisite demographic characteristics is Destiny Peery, a black woman who graduated near the bottom of her class at Northwestern Law School. The suit alleges that Dan Rodriguez, the dean in 2014, the year she was hired, threatened to penalize faculty members who voted against her. She would ‘never even have been considered’ for the appointment but for her sex and race. Rodriguez also ordered the faculty to abstain from discussing candidates on the faculty listserv and mentioned the risk of litigation as his reason for the ban. In other words, this administrator knew that his policy was illegal and sought to cover it up.” (02/26/25)
“M23 is widely believed to be backed by Rwanda and its long-time President Paul Kagame, a charge that Kagame has always denied. This troubled region remains racked by brutal inter-ethnic and multinational conflict featuring countless armed factions. Perhaps more importantly, it contains some of the world’s largest deposits of key minerals, such as cobalt, which is necessary for the manufacture of electronics. Across a nearly impassable rainforest from the capital of Kinshasa, eastern Congo has proven impossible for the central government to rule, but the African Union and United Nations remain devoted to maintaining historic borders no matter how impractical. There is little the United States can or should do to help stabilize the situation, but it is long past time to consider accepting the breakup of the DRC.” (02/26/25)
“The Trump presidency has forced Canada to examine its political beliefs. The country has become a hub of left-wing liberalism [sic]. Medically assisted-suicide is the fifth leading cause of death. There are no federal laws restricting abortion, and open-door immigration has increased the population to such an extent that the government no longer knows how many hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants are in the country. The court system has become a revolving door for criminals where repeat offenders do not fear punishment, and the court views criminals as victims. Drug consumption sites proliferate, providing users with their high with no hope of recovery. While President Trump signed an executive order to dismantle all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, Canada is doubling down on its vision of equity.” (02/25/25)
“In a three-decade-long military standoff with China over one of the world’s critical waterways, the Philippines has now deployed its latest response. Last month, it sent a 40-page comic book to schools, full of colorful stories about the country’s well-recognized claims to its maritime territory in the South China Sea. The aim of the graphic novelette, said officials, is ‘to put forward the truth’ against China’s disinformation campaign – which includes a narrative of peaceful intent in grabbing islands far from its shores – and to inspire young Filipinos ‘to protect what is rightfully ours.’ ‘It is crucial for us to shed light on these actions as transparency is a powerful tool in combating misinformation,’ said national security adviser Eduardo Ano.” (02/26/25)
“I’ll be blunt: I’ve been skeptical of what this agency will accomplish despite all the excitement surrounding it. Yes, it has managed to bring about some significant cuts. But it is important to remember that these cuts represent a minuscule percentage of overall government spending. To make a more significant impact, Musk and his team will have to get Congress on board with making further cuts to shrink the size and scope of the federal government. This will not be an easy mountain to climb.” (02/25/25)
