There's no vaccine to help America's body politic prevent the spread of unqualified cabinet confirmations. In a big (but, at this point, entirely unsurprising) win for measles, mumps, and whooping cough, the Senate has confirmed RFK Jr. as Health and Human Services secretary. Welcome to Gov in the Time of Cholera. "The 52-48 vote was largely along party lines, though Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky once again joined with Democrats to oppose the nomination. McConnell has now voted against three of Trump’s Cabinet nominees, more than any other Republican senator." (Nothing explains this era more clearly than the fact that Mitch McConnell is now the most moderate Republican.) 2To Russia With LoveIn a single day, the Trump administration announced Ukraine would not become a member of NATO and that any notion of a return to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is unrealistic. In other words, he gave Putin a lot of what he wants before negotiations even start. It was A Valentine for Vladimir. "They’re drinking vodka straight from the bottle in the Kremlin." And the world order is on the rocks. 3All In The Game, Yo…Where exactly is America headed? Steven Levitsky and Lucan A. Way are professors who write about something called competitive authoritarianism. It's not quite a a dictatorship, but it's not quite a normal democracy, either. In Foreign Affairs: What Comes After Democratic Breakdown. "Competitive authoritarianism will transform political life in the United States. As Trump’s early flurry of dubiously constitutional executive orders made clear, the cost of public opposition will rise considerably: Democratic Party donors may be targeted by the IRS; businesses that fund civil rights groups may face heightened tax and legal scrutiny or find their ventures stymied by regulators. Critical media outlets will likely confront costly defamation suits or other legal actions as well as retaliatory policies against their parent companies. Americans will still be able to oppose the government, but opposition will be harder and riskier, leading many elites and citizens to decide that the fight is not worth it. A failure to resist, however, could pave the way for authoritarian entrenchment—with grave and enduring consequences for global democracy." Hopeless? No. Tough? Yes. "Trump will be vulnerable. The administration’s limited public support and inevitable mistakes will create opportunities for democratic forces—in Congress, in courtrooms, and at the ballot box. But the opposition can win only if it stays in the game." 4Track SuitsSo who is staying in the game and resisting the slide toward authoritarianism? Lawyers. Even with the associated risks and threats, major corporate law firms have joined legal battle over Trump policies. (I'm calling for a four year moratorium on lawyer jokes. Let's replace them with lawyer thanks.) 5Extra, ExtraWhen You Were Young: "And as the diagnoses of celebrities and public figures like Kate Middleton, Chadwick Boseman, Dwyane Wade, and Olivia Munn bring mass attention to the issue, scientists are racing to answer a question on the minds of many outside the medical profession: Why is cancer, historically a disease of old age, increasingly striking people in the primes of their lives?" Time: The Race to Explain Why More Young Adults Are Getting Cancer. 6Bottom of the NewsLet's close with a couple of amazing videos, both of which (miraculously) resulted in no injuries. First, a humpback whale swallows kayaker off Chile before releasing him. And then there's this moment when a US fighter jet crashes into San Diego Bay. The pilots ejected and were rescued by a fishing boat (before being swallowed and puked up by a whale).
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