1/5. Orbán pioneered a model whereby oligarchs trade the fascist memes and electoral tricks they use to stay in power. He made Budapest a node between Moscow and Washington of the international far right. 2/5. He is central to Trumpism, more important than almost any American in the movement.

With this settlement the US is worse off in every way than it was before the war; Iran is strengthened by the huge new tolls in the Straits of Hormuz, paid by the whole world. (1/14) I will lay out the strategic defeat but I want to make clear that it is a symptom of the basic problem of injustice and inequality. (2/14)

Given Trump’s Easter threats to carry out new war crimes in Iran, we should think one or two steps ahead about a coup attempt connected to the war. And then deter it. (1/17) Why is Trump so enthusiastic about destroying Iranian civilian infrastructure? It won’t win the war. It is likely for another reason: to provoke an Iranian response that Trump can use for his own purposes. (2/17)

1/9. In 2020 Iran did try to interfere with the presidential election. 2/9. Iranian operatives pretended to be Proud Boys.

Interesting moment in the post-Trump succession struggle. 1/ Miller is an apparent problem for Vance, because Miller gets to run things and Vance doesn’t. 2/

The Bill of Wrongs: A Cult Constitution
(A thread) 1. Congress shall make no law denying the Cult of all-wise Trump, or limiting the exercise thereof; or abridging His sole Freedom to define Truth, which includes his Self-Given Power to defraud, slander, and censor; the right of the people to assemble in worship of all-wise Trump, and to sacrifice Enemies for His Truth, shall in no wise be hindered; petitions to all-wise Trump for a redress of grievances shall take the form of gold Bullion.

34/40 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35/40 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

1/4. On the White House’s theory, if they abduct you, get you on a helicopter, get to international waters, shoot you in the head, and drop your corpse into the ocean, that is legal, because it is the conduct of foreign affairs. 2/4. The entire practice of the Holocaust of the Jews involved zones of statelessness. It is easier to move people away from law than it is to remove law from people. Almost all of the killing took place in artificially created stateless zones.

1/4. If the US were engaged in an attempt to bring peace to Ukraine, it would place more tariffs on Russia, rather than exempt Russia entirely. 2/4. In a world with fewer distractions, we would be shocked that the US made its tariff decisions during discussions with the head of the Russian sovereign investment fund.

1/7. In case you haven’t been following, here is a short summary of the misnamed Russian-American "peace process" regarding Ukraine. 2/7. The US demands that Ukraine accept an immediate unconditional ceasefire. Ukraine agrees.

"Pete Hegseth: The Short Course – 13 Steps to National Destruction"
A thread. Full essay via link in image below or profile. 1. Pete Hegseth, Trump's nominee for secretary of defense, has no qualifications for the job. He has never run a large organization and has no national security expertise.

1/5. The way Trump, Trump Jr, Tuberville, and Hannity are talking now about Greenland, Mexico, Panama, and Canada plagiarizes Putin in 2013, before the first invasion of Ukraine. 2/5. All this stuff about borders not mattering, people secretly wanting to be ruled by us, the unreality of their countries – not very American, not even MAGA, but very Kremlin.

The Mump Oligarchy – A Glossary
1/10. Mump regime. Musk plus Trump. Mu...mp. The real centibillionaire and the fake rich person in the proper order. 2/10. Mump oligarchy. The regime is an oligarchy, rule by the wealthy few. Trump is the oligarchs' spokesman. He might stay or go. The oligarchs will remain.

1/5 If Trump wanted Russia to negotiate, he would make the war harder for the Kremlin, not create the conditions for Russian victory. I wish reporters would point this out.
cnn.com/2024/12/12/pol… 2/5 Putin has made clear over and over that his goal is to destroy Ukraine as a nation and a state and that he has no interest in peace talks.

1/6 Dr. Helen Ouyang in @nytimes: “The country is not heading toward a single-payer system, but that doesn’t mean we have to continue leaving patients and their doctors in the dark.”
Yes, it does in fact mean that, absent some other drastic reform. 2/6 It doesn’t help to write and publish essays like this, which present doctors and patients as good people facing tragic choices in an unchangeable system. How the system works to kill Americans for profit has to be front and center.

Lesson 1: Do not obey in advance.
Thread of lessons from my book #OnTyranny. Written in 2016. Lesson 2: Defend institutions.
#OnTyranny

1/4. Important work here: Trump is violent rather than strong, and using US troops on protesters would break America.
nytimes.com/2024/08/17/us/… 2/4. Crucial point in the reporting: the most radical plans, such as the use of US troops against Americans, actually go beyond Project 2025.
nytimes.com/2024/08/17/us/…

1/5. Unless Trump loses, America ends. 2/5. The Supreme Court has made this clear. As has Trump himself. Over and over.

1/11. The people who told you that fascism was not a threat were wrong. 2/11. The people who told you that Russia was not fascist were, if possible, more wrong.

Illustration of Russian propaganda for today. We are meant to be intimidated or exhilarated by the fantasy of bombing the Pentagon. 1/10 The message is that Russia always won, but the list of ostensible Russian victories on the poster tells a different story. 2/10

1/7. Right-wing justices postulate Trump's "immunity." The objection is that this makes him a king. Not so. It's much worse. 2/7. A king can be subject to law. Even George III was subject to law. The American Revolution was justified by the notion that he had overstepped the law.