Essay | How America First Risks Becoming America Alone U.S. allies are growing increasingly disenchanted and insulted by the country’s aggressive foreign policy strategy.

President Trump’s aggressive negotiating style risks alienating the country’s closest allies.

Even if Trump isn’t #putinsagent, the fact that he has us spending more on war than peace makes him something worse

In UX we ignore the vocal minority effect; politicians need to do the same so their messages can resonate with voters. Perfectly polished gems aren’t necessary when you can “sell it as soap” 🧼 (to get people out of their bubbles? 🫧)

futurecaucus.org/young-voters...

@democrats.org take note

Hillary had “Correct the Record,” which got criticized, but it takes a thick skin to do the right thing and do it with tenacity, temerity and temperance (perhaps the three t’s of #resilience)

Back to pre-1914 Fortress America - OMFIF Trump’s radical breakup of consensus

His article was very prescient; came up in a recent search. May he rest in peace

www.omfif.org/2019/01/back...

The world’s economic order is breaking down Critics will miss globalisation when it is gone

For the other side of the coin, the negative fallout of “go it alone" isolationism will leave America poorer, and the world more susceptible to war. “Fortress America” may only last so long—America First is #AmericaAlone

www.economist.com/briefing/202...

www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...

Trading Power for Prosperity: Global Wealth in Perspective - IMGlobal Wealth Ultra wealthy companies did not begin with Silicon Valley. Long before the age of technology billionaires, the Dutch East India Company dominated global trade and built a fortune that shaped the found...

For those who wondered why we “paid for NATO,” economic growth and peace were the twin goals Democrats failed to articulate during the Election 2024 fiasco. #Globalism had its flaws, but “make the pie higher” sounds smart these days—that’s actually how it works

imglobalwealth.com/articles/tra...

Visualized: The Largest Trading Partners of the U.S. Who are the biggest trading partners of the U.S.? This visual showcases the trade balances between the U.S. and its trading partners.

As America’s largest trading partner, Europe has more to invest in our future; California benefits from Siemens trains and SAP tech (e.g.)

As a wealthy nation peer, we do better standing together; Putin divided us for now

trade.ec.europa.eu/eu-footprint...

www.visualcapitalist.com/largest-trad...

No, the International Community Isn’t Dead Yet The “rules-based international order” may prove stronger than Trump—or anyone else—realizes.

Donald Trump has the US-EU relationship standing at the crossroads of #history and #geopolitics; rebuilding the transatlantic bridge will be a tall order for the next president, whether Republican or Democrat

www.euronews.com/my-europe/20...

www.economist.com/europe/2025/...

Uncancel Woodrow Wilson Despised as a racist by today’s left and a tyrant by today’s right, the 28th president championed a set of values that our politics sorely lack.

When Woodrow Wilson became the first president to cross the Atlantic for the Treaty of Versailles, his Fourteen Points included concepts of “peace without victory” and self-determination, a concept that survives his politically correct erasure from the zeitgeist

www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

Europe Has to Solve Its Defense Problem. Now. If anyone had any doubt, America’s leaders made it abundantly clear in Davos this week: Wherever things go with Greenland, Europe can’t rely on US security guarantees to the extent that it long has. T...

Many observers say this is the end of the international order, but #putinsagent is taking us farther back than that: America being an “arsenal for democracy” and “making the world safe for democracy” are ideas that go back to World War I, not the second one

www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

A majority of millionaires say extreme wealth is a threat to democracy According to a Patriotic Millionaires poll, 62% of high-net-worth individuals believe wealth concentration harms media, social progress, and democracy.

As the #inequalitycrisis comes to a head, something is afoot. Whatever happens, “the fault, dear Brutus, lies not in our stars, but in ourselves”

#taxtherich #socialcontract

www.fastcompany.com/91477850/mil...

What’s the best frozen pizza? We blind-tasted pies from S.F.’s iconic spots to find out Three of San Francisco’s pizza heavyweights have brought frozen pies to grocery aisles. So we conducted a blind taste-test to find the best one.

Three of San Francisco’s pizza heavyweights have brought frozen pies to grocery aisles. So we conducted a blind taste-test to find the best one.

American decay versus American dynamism Only a decline in corporate America’s vigour will dent the country’s dominance of financial markets

Some investors argue that Donald Trump’s proclivity for backing down is what keeps the stockmarket propped up. That is only part of the answer

DHS is reportedly having trouble finding agents to send to Minneapolis for its “Operation Metro Surge.”

“There is a video and [Kristi Noem] just lied,” one Border Patrol agent said, and added that there were others who agreed with him but were afraid to speak up. trib.al/zOWU8qo

We ran high-level US civil war simulations. Minnesota is exactly how they start | Claire Finkelstein Developments in Minnesota closely mirror a scenario explored in a 2024 exercise conducted at the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law at the University of Pennsylvania, which I direct

The U.S. too with Minnesota

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

#putinsagent

Quite the moral hazard … the French say “par hazard” to mean “by accident,” and in the creative world we have “happy accidents”

Emmanuel Macron’s sunglasses have been the talk of Davos this week.

Fortunately for the French president, when the internet noticed, the verdict was largely positive.

🔗 www.politico.eu/article/fran...

Webb reveals a planetary nebula with phenomenal clarity, and it is spectacular The colors show the star’s final breath transforming into the raw ingredients for new worlds.

It really is quite a view.

Depends on if divide and conquer, the method we used on the people we colonized, will make us poorer like them as it was designed to do.

But maybe we can find a better way to become equals than this

#putinsagent

DOGE employees improperly accessed social security data, DOJ says It's a stunning admission from the Trump administration, after it battled in court over DOGE's rights to access and use Social Security data .

BREAKING: DOGE employees improperly accessed social security data, DOJ says

I knew something was wrong with the newer iOS interface elements, but I couldn’t put my finger on it

#ux

The tax revolt against global elites

As the global elite mingle in Davos this week, resentment over rising income inequality is building back home — and it's manifesting in a renewed interest in wealth taxes in countries around the world.

More in today's Forecast newsletter👇

The realism of religion A Christian revival won’t save the deluded West – but it might teach it to accept its fate.

Many have left the flock because of how churches have hyped up hyperpartisan #politics over the years. There are deeper aspects of faith that could draw people in like Jesus actually talked about

#religion

www.newstatesman.com/politics/rel...

Gen Z shoppers are choosing brands that reflect their values New data shows that younger consumers are driven by purpose, not just price or quality, in their shopping choices.

Companies that put values at the center of what they do also tend to be more profitable because people actually want to buy from them

Shining a light on better business practices for good word of mouth lets people know where to put their money

www.fastcompany.com/91353835/gen...

How to Start a Virtuous Cycle in Your Business Build trust with your employees and customers with a virtuous cycle.

For 2026, I have a new hashtag to propose to promote the #socialcontract:

#closetheloop

Associated with #sustainability, we need similar empathetic, long-term planning when it comes to how companies make #business decisions

www.inc.com/ken-sterling...

Minneapolis residents have joined a church-run effort to donate groceries to immigrant families who fear being caught in public by federal agents. What started with a couple of hundred deliveries a week has quickly swelled into a vast operation involving thousands of volunteers. trib.al/1qT1xMw

The parable of the supermarket self-checkout How imperfect technologies spread

The supermarket self-checkout machine is a parable of technology adoption (how something can spread despite imperfections) and also of management (how real-world trade-offs affect rates of change)

It’s a bit of a paradox because it seems cars are needed for mobility, but #walkability is better for seniors

All of us benefit from low-grade exercise

Crazy enough to work!