On expecting the worst - Thomas B. Edsall in NYT:

‘It’s not just the left and the center that find the administration’s policies disturbing. Walter Olson, a senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute, warned in a Feb. 26 essay, “Trump Punishes Large Law Firm for Representing His Adversary,” that the president’s actions threaten “the loss of an independent and qualified bar willing to stand up to authority.” The implications of the revocation of security clearances, Olson continued, “go far beyond the practice of national security law. Anyone can find themselves in a fight with Trump or his allies on almost any topic under the sun, and the question is whether the counsel representing you in that dispute has to fear being made the next Covington.”’

(…)

On the worst -Thomas B. Edsall in NYT:

‘Targeting U.S.A.I.D. and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, “two of the most liberal-leaning agencies, is likely telling,” Bonica wrote. “The hardest-hit agencies are precisely those that regulate industry, protect public health and expand access to education.” The cuts DOGE is calling for, Bonica argued, fulfill an authoritarian agenda, closely following the proposals in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. The underlying goals include: Frame political purges as administrative reform: This framing masks the potential for politically motivated actions, such as targeting agencies that enforce environmental regulations or protect civil rights.
Target agencies that constrain executive power: The Project 2025 document specifically calls for significant alterations or dismantling of agencies like the E.P.A., the Department of Education, the Department of Labor and potentially the Department of Homeland Security.
Weaken regulatory enforcement without changing laws: Project 2025 advocates for rescinding numerous regulations, streamlining permitting processes and reducing funding for agencies responsible for environmental protection and labor standards. This weakens enforcement without requiring the more challenging and public process of legislative change.
Replace career civil servants with loyalists: The project document repeatedly emphasizes the need for political appointees in key positions, even those traditionally held by career professionals. Project 2025 explicitly praises the idea of replacing career officials with “aligned political appointees,” ensuring the bureaucracy executes the executive’s agenda without resistance.
What’s known as unitary executive theory provides the theoretical basis for Trump’s expansion of executive authority.’

(…)

‘Assuming that the past six weeks are predictive of what’s next, expect an age of anxiety; expect the elimination of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of jobs; expect the decimation of liberal institutions to go on for all four years of Trump’s second term; expect government services to deteriorate; expect reduced funding of the safety net; and expect more homelessness, hunger and disease. Expect poverty; expect the financial starvation of universities and of nongovernmental organizations; and expect unannounced raids, unreliable data and an America increasingly aligned with authoritarians worldwide. Expect a pervasive climate of suspicion and a preoccupation with revenge. Expect more suffering, more fear, less security and less happiness.
In other words, expect the worst.’

Read the article here.

Expect the worst, then things can only turn out to be moderately okay.

The Orbánization of the US has already started.

We will see what the tariffs will accomplish (or destroy) and when the US and Russia together will occupy Denmark to divide it fairly in two parts, because Denmark refuses to let Greenland go.

And then the mineral deal with Ukraine, or no deal. It remains to be seen.

It feels like we are back in the 19th century.

And intimidation of law forms seem to me the most serious threat.
For the time being at least.