USAID and Abet
What We Cut, Second Strike Update
Over the past few decades, humanity has gotten a lot better at keeping very young and very poor children from dying. “The number of [childhood] deaths expected in 2025—about 4.8 million—is less than half of the 11.6 million reported in 1990.” I don’t have expertise in either childhood health or the complex math of global economics, but those numbers seem to make one thing pretty clear: We should do more of whatever we we’ve been doing since 1990. The richest countries in the world have been able to save millions and millions of lives for what is essentially a rounding error on their annual GDP spreadsheets. It’s not only economically sensical, it’s also the decent thing to do as human beings. In other words, child-saving foreign aid is precisely the kind of program that the Trump administration would cut. And with the help of the chainsaw-wielding DOGE taskmaskers, backed by the world’s richest man, cutting USAID funds was one of the first things the new administration did. For whatever reason, foreign aid is not one of the hot button political issues that gets voters to the polls. People tend to think we spend a lot more on such aid than we actually do. “Opinion polls consistently report that Americans believe foreign aid is in the range of 25 percent of the federal budget. When asked how much it should be, they say about 10 percent.” The real number is closer to one percent. So maybe it’s a misinformation problem. Or maybe providing food and medicine for starving and sickly babies is just viewed as being too woke. Whatever the reason, there’s a relatively small political price to be paid for these cuts. But the human cost is dramatic. WSJ (Gift Article): For First Time in Decades, Child Deaths Will Rise This Year. “Almost a quarter of a million more children are projected to die in 2025 than in 2024 ... Driving the shift, Bill Gates said, is a 27% decline in global health aid from donors in wealthy countries, including the U.S. and some European governments. Such aid pays for medicine, health clinics and workers, food and other needs for children in poor countries. The reductions include the Trump administration’s cutting and reorganizing of the U.S. Agency for International Development. ‘I believe that was a gigantic mistake, and that’s partly why we’ve had the turmoil and increase in deaths this year.’”
+ “The US has dismantled initiatives to tackle diseases such as HIV and malaria, while other countries, including Germany and the UK, have also cut spending. Growing vaccine skepticism has also hit immunization rates, leading to a rise in deadly childhood illnesses.” Childhood deaths to rise for first time this millennium. This turn of events should be a teachable moment for American voters. But it might just end up being a tough lesson for the kids waiting on aid.
2
On Strike
“What I saw in that room was one of the most troubling things I’ve seen in my time in public service. You have two individuals in clear distress without any means of locomotion, with a destroyed vessel who were killed by the United States.” So said House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Jim Himes after hearing second strike testimony from Adm. Frank ‘Mitch’ Bradley. The Navy admiral “told lawmakers Thursday that there was no ‘kill them all’ order from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth but grave questions and concerns remain as Congress scrutinizes an attack that killed two survivors of an initial strike on an alleged drug boat in international waters near Venezuela.” Admiral says there was no ‘kill them all’ order in boat attack, but video alarms lawmakers.
+ The immediate reaction to the testimony seemed split between those who saw two struggling people clinging to a sinking boat vs those who believed that the two survivors represented a danger to American and we still trying, somehow, to continue their drug trafficking mission. While the second strike debate is important, it’s critical that we don’t lose site of the much bigger question: Were any of these strikes legal or justified in the first place? The whole second strike debate presupposes that these were legitimate targets in the first place. The notion that they were put Admiral Bradley and other military leaders in a difficult spot where poor decisions were bound to be made. Meanwhile, some leaders who didn’t want to be put in a position of carrying out such a mission are no longer employed by the US government. Hegseth asked top admiral to resign after months of discord. “Adm. Alvin Holsey had initial concerns about the legality of lethal strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean, according to former officials aware of the discussions. Not long after, Hegseth announced that Holsey would be retiring.”
+ Here’s my take: “If you’re doing something that is just completely unlawful and ruthless, then there is a consequence for that. That’s why the military said it won’t follow unlawful orders from their commander in chief. There’s a standard, there’s an ethos, there’s a belief that we are above what so many things that our enemies or others would do.” Oh wait, that wasn’t my take. That was Pete Hegseth in 2016.
3
Quest Diagnostics
“An examination of Mr. Kennedy’s tenure atop the nation’s massive health agency shows how, in ways not previously known, he has methodically laid the groundwork to overhaul American vaccine policy, following a blueprint he laid out in books, speeches and podcast appearances during his years as the leader of a movement attacking the system he now oversees. He has walled himself off from the government scientists and other civil servants he distrusts while elevating longtime allies to help carry out his vaccine agenda.” (If a guy spends his whole life on a crusade, it’s a safe bet that he will continue on that path once he has the power to do something about it.) NYT (Gift Article): Kennedy’s Methodical 2-Decade Quest to Dismantle Vaccine Policy.
4
Sub Domination
“Too often, we are losing control of our personal technology, and the list of examples keeps growing. BMW made headlines in 2022 when it began charging subscriptions to use heated seats in some cars — a decision it reversed after a backlash. In 2021, Oura, the maker of a $350 sleep-tracking device, angered customers when it began charging a $6 monthly fee for users to get deeper analysis of their sleep. (Oura is still charging the fee.) For years, some printer companies have required consumers to buy proprietary ink cartridges, but more recently they began employing more aggressive tactics, like remotely bricking a printer when a payment is missed for an ink subscription.” The need to have a subscription for everything is one reason Why One Man Is Fighting for Our Right to Control Our Garage Door Openers.
5
Extra, Extra
Pipe Bomb Arrest: “Brian Cole Jr., 30, was arrested and charged with transporting an explosive device and attempted malicious destruction by means of explosive materials, according to charging documents filed Thursday afternoon. The arrest marks a breakthrough in a case that has stymied investigators for nearly five years.” Suspect arrested in January 2021 D.C. pipe bomb case, DOJ says. (Now, they’ll check his political leanings and, depending how that goes, he’ll either be used to punish Democrats or be given a pardon and a speaking role at CPAC.)
+ Fuel Injection: “The Trump administration has started the process of dramatically easing fuel economy requirements for new vehicles, part of the administration’s broader pivot away from cleaner cars.” (Because, as we know, Americans hate spending less on gas!)
+ A Real Peace of Work: “The takeover of the Peace Institute was also anything but peaceful, with his administration seizing the independent entity and ousting its board.” Trump is fighting the Institute of Peace in court. Now, his name is on the building.
+ Vice-Verse: “Meta Platforms Inc.’s Mark Zuckerberg is expected to meaningfully cut resources for building the so-called metaverse, an effort that he once framed as the future of the company and the reason for changing its name from Facebook Inc.” (It’s probably a sign that the company’s stock soared on the news.)
+ We Built This City: “In helping to unseat Castro, Stone and Trejo wrote, Trump could both ‘crush socialism and save a freedom city in Honduras.’ The ‘freedom city’ in question, they explained, was Próspera, a special economic zone founded in Honduras by a cadre of American tech titans including Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen—both friends and fans of Trump family.” Why Did Trump Pardon the Former Honduran President? Follow the Tech Bros.
+ Eurovision Test:“Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands and Slovenia said on Thursday that they were boycotting next year’s Eurovision Song Contest because Israel would continue to be allowed in the competition.”
+ Are You Ready For Some? How’s NFL viewership this season? Well, this might give you a decent indication. Cowboys vs. Chiefs sets regular-season record for most-watched NFL game after 57.2 million viewers tuned in on Thanksgiving.
+ Duck! “While a Florida woman insists she was hit in the face by a duck while riding a roller coaster at SeaWorld Orlando (and is seeking $60,000 in damages for the incident), the theme park says the case should be thrown out. Oh, and it wasn’t a duck either, by the way, attorneys added.” (This is one of those cases where you can’t be sure whether or not Duck was just an autocorrect.)
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Bottom of the News
“Pantone, the self-styled color experts, have been predicting a ‘color of the year’ since 1999. Their pick for what everyone will be wearing, wanting, eating and otherwise consuming in 2026: Cloud Dancer, officially PANTONE 11-4201. Either way, it’s a pretty fancy name for … white.” (PANTONE 11-4201 is also the color of year at Homeland Security.)