An Iron Dome for America: Realistic?
Michael E. O’Hanlon, the Brookings Institute
The News: On Jan. 27, President Trump issued an executive order titled “The Iron Dome for America” that called for a “next generation” missile defense shield with “reference architecture, capabilities-based requirements, and an implementation plan” against ballistic, hypersonic, advanced cruise missiles, and other next-generation aerial attacks from peer, near-peer, and rogue adversaries.
The View: On the face of it, it’s a good idea. If Israel built one with US support, surely we should be able to build one capable of providing similar protection for US citizens. And what rational argument could be made against spending some of the Defense Department’s $10 billion yearly budget on defense rather than prolonging 75-year-old proxy wars? But there are already concerns about it, coming not just from the Dems and the lame-stream media but from conservative think tanks. Click here.
Is NATO Going to Cancel Democracy?
Matt Taibbi, Racket News
The News: The populist/anti-populist controversy boils over in Romania, where frontrunner Calin Georgescu has been barred from running for a presidential election.
The View: As always, Matt Taibbi brings a sensible perspective to a serious problem. The parallels between how the EU interfered with that election and the last three years of legal battles over Donald Trump’s eligibility to run for president are disturbing. As Taibbi says, “Is the European Union a collection of democracies that belongs to a military alliance, or a military alliance containing cosmetic democracies? It’s not hard to see that this is just the beginning of a series of fractures.” Click here.
Rag Vendors: Trump’s Tariffs “Gonna Be a Killer”
Olivia Reingold, The Free Press
The News: Small fabric shop owners in NYC’s Garment District express panic over looming Trump tariffs, fearing price hikes, shrinking margins, and survival threats for immigrant-run businesses.
The View: Another story about how Trump’s tariff strategy is going to destroy the American economy. I don’t think it will. Click here.
The Global Pivot Towards Peace
Joel Bowman, Notes from the End of the World
The News: My esteemed colleague Joel Bowman highlights three major global developments: a surprising pivot toward peace in Europe regarding the Ukraine conflict, a renewed commitment from Donald Trump to balance the US budget through a “zero deficit” strategy, and political and economic upheaval in Argentina.
The View: Bowman lives in Argentina and has been writing about macroeconomic and geopolitical developments with intelligence and fairness for more than 20 years. In my view, he does so in this essay. Click here.
US Labels Cartels as Terrorist Groups
Madeleine Rowley, The Free Press
The News: The US has designated several Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, expanding its legal power to seize assets and pursue capital punishment. The move signals a dramatic escalation in the war on drug trafficking, with bipartisan support and major implications for US-Mexico relations.
The View: There are some things you can’t fix in a “fair” and “just way.” El Salvador’s Cartel crime problem was one of them until Nayib Bukele took over. In a few short years, he changed the country dramatically. When I visited San Salvador 10 years ago, my Salvadoran colleague and I needed an armed guard to accompany us to dinner. Today, another colleague tells me, the downtown is like Paris. Click here.
And just briefly…
* Is It True? Are Millions Fraudulently Receiving Social Security Checks?
A Substack piece by Michael Snyder alleging widespread fraud in US entitlement programs, particularly Social Security. It highlights discrepancies between official enrollment numbers and census data, raises concerns about non-citizens obtaining Social Security numbers, and features Elon Musk as a whistleblower revealing massive abuse in the system. Click here.
* Tesla Chooses a Harder Set of Unanswered Questions
Joe Nocera, Reuters Breakingviews
Tesla’s Cybercab push raises new questions about AI strategy and regulation. Click here.
* JAMA Hit Piece Signals Full-Blown Panic Over Vaccine-Autism Investigation
This JAMA editorial attacks David Geier’s leadership of a vaccine-autism probe. Critics argue it’s a desperate move by entrenched institutions to silence dissent amid shifting public opinion. Click here.
* Take the NPR “That’s Not Funny!” Challenge
Matt Taibbi critiques NPR’s warning about humor as a gateway to extremism, linking it to rising cultural moral panics and the media’s tendency to suppress satire under the guise of safety. Click here.
* Signs of a Category 5 Housing Crisis Forming and Coming Straight for Us
Eric Salzman outlines an emerging housing crisis fueled by rising insurance premiums, Forced Place Insurance, and rising foreclosure risk, drawing comparisons to 2008. Click here.
* Timeline: Panama Canal Politics, Policy, and Tensions
A comprehensive timeline tracks Trump’s increasing rhetoric about regaining control of the Panama Canal, Chinese port influence, and US-Panama diplomatic friction. Click here.
* What Do US Steelworkers Think About Trump’s Tariffs?
Steelworkers express mixed feelings: They welcome higher steel prices but fear consumer backlash, foreign retaliation, and nonunion competition from new domestic plants. Click here.
* White House Announces End of “Biden’s Dumb War on Things That Work”
A satirical WSJ piece announcing the end of Biden-era regulations, praising Trump’s rollback of policies affecting consumer goods, appliances, and even showerheads. Click here.
* Keir Starmer on a Mission to Erase England
John Leake criticizes UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s removal of Queen Elizabeth I’s portrait from Downing Street, seeing it as symbolic of a broader effort to erase English history. Drawing parallels to Orwell’s 1984, he accuses Starmer of cultural vandalism and globalist subservience, especially regarding the war in Ukraine. Click here.
