Today, CEOs and heads of state from around the world gather in Davos for the annual confab of the rich and powerful. Trump will be there, too. They must denounce him.
Robert, you are right to call out the moral failure about to unfold. But let me add ground truth from having attended Davos multiple times:
Davos is performative elite theater masquerading as global leadership.
This small Swiss town can’t physically handle the circus. Tens of millions per delegation. Hotel rates over $10,000/night for proximity to the main hall. Thousands crammed into a village built for hundreds. And for what? Photo ops and panels that accomplish nothing.
So when you ask whether they’ll speak out against Trump dismantling the international order: No. They won’t. Because Davos has never been about courage.
The behavioral economics are straightforward. When the cost of speaking out (tariffs, investigations, lost access) exceeds the benefit (moral satisfaction), rational actors stay silent. And Davos attendees are nothing if not rational calculators of personal advantage.
Jamie Dimon gets $770M in 2025. You think he’s risking that for principle? His “mild criticism” is exactly calibrated to sound reasonable without costing him anything. That’s what Davos does: perform concern while protecting position.
Here’s the reality: The same people gathering are watching masked federal agents occupy American cities, ICE murder citizens on camera, the U.S. invade Venezuela and seize its oil, and threats to annex NATO allies’ territory. Their response? Panels on “Rebuilding Trust” while carefully avoiding anything that might upset the authoritarian wielding American power.
This is why the post-American order is fracturing. When institutions supposedly responsible for maintaining international rules gather in an overpriced resort to performatively “discuss” crises while doing nothing, those institutions lose legitimacy.
The real leadership isn’t at Davos. It’s in the unsexy work of governments building alternatives: Canada-EU defense cooperation, Mercosur-EU trade deals, the Anti-Coercion Instrument aimed at Washington instead of Beijing.
Davos 2026 will be remembered as the moment global elites proved they had nothing to offer authoritarianism except expense accounts and platitudes.
The world doesn’t need their denunciation. It needs them to be irrelevant so actual leaders can build what comes next.
—Johan
Former foreign service officer who wasted time at Davos thinking it mattered
Less like "masquerading as president" now and more like mafioso acting out the mafioso's most elusive dream: control of the FBI, the DOJ, the military, the financial system, the media.... and not only avoiding prison, but using thug-power and mafia-type lawyers to send his "enemies" to prison, or ruin their lives by holding the threat of prison or financial ruin over their heads for years, like the utter sadistic psychopath he is.
Well, his plan to get comey and leticia in prison backfired royally. His plan to get schiff and nancy in prison won't work either. nor for obama or joe.
As the cost of catering to trump’s emotional tantrums rises like seawater during a tsunami…
I’m old enough to have that echo in my head during every Democrat administration from republicans: HOW ARE THEY GOING TO PAY FOR THAT?
EVERY one of these emotional prosecutions COSTS TAXPAYERS.
And women shouldn’t be in politics because they are “too emotional & have “moods”. So unlike the hair & makeup fixated mad king interior decorator we have now, RIGHT??
Makeup (from France), lifts, hairspray, hair dye, Spanx, etc. Yup..a “real man”, alright. GOLD FETISH! Does anyone even remember what an actual American President used to be like? Anyone?
Ellen: Right on! I keep waiting for some investigative reporter to investigate the cost of partisan investigations. Guess that won’t happen in my lifetime.
Why the Epstein Files will NEVER be revealed ..too many powerful and wealthy PERVERTS are on it. They are still powerful and wealthy AND raping children..still.
I seem to recall that this story came out before the 2016 election...but the 'mainstream media' buried it...one need only look at the total moral degeneracy of tRump's character to calculate the odds of it being true: 100%
What the shape-shifting felon "lawyer" Michael Cohen is now claiming about having been coerced by Letitia James and Alvin Bragg, et al, may work in trump's devious favor. He's like a rabid dog with a bone, trump is, in his plots and schemes never end until he gets his way, one way or another.
I loathe Cohen who regularly appeared with Lev Parnas and Malcom Nance on Nance’s Substack, but I had to drop it because Cohen is as nauseating as Trump.
The mafioso is not that pathetic terrified blabber mouth it is Heritage Federalists & project 2025... 2 groups played the long game since the 1980's and just about have it all tied up....choking out everyone ...he is a child who cannot keep his mouth shut... the real mafia has no use for someone like him other than as a puppet and distraction while they erode our democracy
Ginger Lee: the Real Mafioso have a few terms for a useless member or underling, with "Babbo" being a specific term for a "dope, idiot, or useless underling". I wonder when they will decide it’s time for him to sleep with the fishes?
Love it....he'll "sleep with the fishes" as soon as the controllers get everyone in place little do his "useless underlings".sycophants know is they will get thrown under the bus along with him.... my Italian family was very much in that world..
Many things can be true at one time; Even seeming contradictory ones; A 'leadership' coalition in fact, who delusionally imagined djt as a 'useful tool.'
Oh, no, he’d be a disgrace to the mafia. And his “control” obviously hinges on whatever he has on the Epstein and Epstein-Adjacent politicians and businessmen. When the truth finally comes out, for real, he’ll go, they will all go, like air out of a balloon.
He needs consequences, legal, abiding, enforceable significant consequences for breaking the law repeatedly. Who will impose the consequences, who will carry them out, literally confront the Secret Service protecting him and take him and his administrative heads into custody?
trump is spending the last of his years focused on real and perceived grudges. From criminal charge filed against him to anyone who didn’t do exactly what he wanted. It could be as simple as a waiter who looked at him side eyed once. He’ll “remember” the list of slights he was subjected too long after he’s forgotten his grandchildren’s names. This is what happens when someone hasn’t been taught self discipline their entire life. You literally can spoil a child heinously rotten.
Trump basically grew up without any parenting. His father was a workaholic and his mother was chronically sick. Large for his age, Donald became the neighborhood bully. In his 20s he came under the tutelage of the infamous Roy Cohn, who made him even more of a bully.
Russell Baker’s recent Substack, which I read this morning, is exhorting not the 1% but the comfortably off 10% to start defying the Trump agenda. If the richest people won’t rock the boat because their stocks are OK, and even Orwell noted that there’s no hope in the proletariat, I guess we must be the furious middle masses to revive dignity, decency, courage and compassion.
Susan,getting the 10% to defy Trump is not likely to happen. However if just a small % of the 67 million Democrats that voted for Harris would just do something,it might help. So far about 8 million have been in the streets,trying to make a difference.
I have been in the streets (about 16 protests last and this year) and we get a lot of local support, but how many people are paying attention in red or purple states?
Maybe I added the “ell,” but Russ Baker is a regular commentator in his own right but also an editor WHO WHAY WHY, a weekly update on the state of our peril.
Everyone is giving us instructions (mostly about ICE defiance) this January. I wish I knew how to accomplish the reversal. I protest most Saturdays, give small bucks to out of state Democrats who deserve support, and write voting letters, but I’m not an organizer nor a person with a wealth of connections.
Many younger people have jobs and weekend errands and children to ferry hither and yon. Those of us who congregate get a lot of support from road traffic—far, far more than the tiny, big-flagged, big-truck MAGA contingent along the street.
I’m sorry but I disagree. The writer is clearly knowledgeable (though so is the always-engaged Bob Reich, who’s also been to the hideous smug-fest of Davos!), and fluent, but his comment brings to mind the withering lines of the great American poet (and corporate executive) Wallace Stevens “All right, have it your way,/ The world is ugly and the people are bad.” Such writing encourages a sense of helplessness that allows the writer and his readers not to fight back, and it’s contagious. I apologize for my frankness but we absolutely cannot afford hopelessness at this point—or bright-idea Utopianism either. Not trying to start a fight, it’s just that this must be said.
What we feel is anger! Our sense of helplessness will be dispelled when we finally rid ourselves of this administration that does nothing but enrich itself! We who want to fight back are ultimately bound together by anger and a search for justice! Those new concentration camps here on US soil were built with taxpayer money, the same money now "unavailable" for any positive project that might lift and save American lives!
I don't get a sense of helplessness at all from Johan's commentary. What I do get is the clarity that these elites have little or nothing to offer, and we have to rely on ourselves and the rare elected leader with courage and integrity to bring about real change.
We must not miss the opportunity to showcase Trump rubbing shoulders with other billionaires at Davos. Let MAGA see that Trump is not the fried they think he is. He is the personification of the greed Devos celebrates.
I appreciate the frankness, truly. My point wasn’t to drift into despair or utopian escape, but to name the dynamics as they are so people can act with clearer eyes. Describing a pattern isn’t the same as surrendering to it.
Mary, I agree that we must not succumb to despair and helplessness, On MLK day I am reminded to feel gratitude , I am so grateful for all of the decades of suffering, imprisonment, and even death from those heros who just really care about their fellow humans and all other expressions of Life, I am thinking of those who fought for the freedoms and rights that we have today that were the promise of the Declarations of Independence from abolitionist, suffragettes, those fighting fòr LGBTQAI a+ rights, other abled rights, workers rights, environmentalists, se fighting for truth in journalism, we have always fome two steps forward and one step back. We are definately in a step back moment, and I hope we learn from history , I was looking into the oportijies missed ij stopping Hitler and found,
In 2026, historians and political observers have identified several key areas where the early tenures of Adolf Hitler and Donald Trump align in strategy, particularly regarding campaign rhetoric and the consolidation of power through domestic military threats.
Campaign Promises vs. Actions in Office
Theme Adolf Hitler (1932–1933) Donald Trump (2024–2026)
Promises "Work and Bread": Fix the economy; end political chaos; restore German pride. "America First": Lower grocery/energy costs; no new wars; end "Deep State" corruption.
Actions Total Control: Passed the Enabling Act to bypass Parliament; banned trade unions; began mass rearmament. Direct Rule: Used executive orders to purge the civil service (Schedule G) and bypass traditional media.
Economy State Command: Achieved jobs through forced labor programs and military spending. Protectionism: Implemented high tariffs; inflation remained persistent despite promises.
Foreign Policy Expansionism: Claimed Lebensraum(living space) and rejected international treaties. "Donroe Doctrine": Asserted dominance over the Western Hemisphere; captured Maduro; threatened to take Greenland by force.
Groups Targeted During the "First Wave"
Hitler (1933):
Political Dissidents: Communists, Socialists, and Social Democrats (first detainees at Dachau).
Vulnerable Populations: Jews (April 1933 boycotts), Romani people ("asocials"), gay men (shuttered clubs), and Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Institutions: Independent media, trade unions, and civil servants of "non-Aryan" descent.
Government Officials: Purged the "Deep State" using Schedule G, replacing career experts with loyalists.
Protesters: Targeted activists in cities like Minneapolis; labeled them "insurrectionists" and "agitators".
Minnesota Crisis & Military Force Comparison
In early 2026, tensions in Minneapolis reached a boiling point after an ICE agent fatally shot a protester, Renee Good. In response to the resulting protests, Trump has repeatedly threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy regular U.S. troops against citizens, despite fierce opposition from Governor Tim Walz.
Historical Comparison to Hitler:
Internal Enemies: Just as Hitler used the Reichstag Fire to label rivals as "state enemies" and deploy the SA (Brownshirts) as "auxiliary police," Trump has labeled Minneapolis protesters as "insurrectionists" to justify military intervention.
Expansion of Power: Hitler's next major step after mobilizing the SA was Gleichschaltung, the total coordination of all state and social levels under the Nazi Party. Scholars view the threat of domestic military use in Minnesota as a potential "turning point" toward similar total executive dominance over state governments.
Targeting Minorities: Trump specifically singled out Minnesota's Somali communityas a rationale for federal intervention, echoing Hitler’s early focus on specific ethnic "outsiders" to justify exceptional police powers..
WE MUST LEARN FROM HISTORY
Historians and political analysts identify several missed opportunities where a unified public and political response could have halted Hitler’s consolidation of power at the end of 1933:
Political Unity (The "Cardinal Error"): The primary failure was the inability of the Social Democrats (SPD) and Communists (KPD) to form a united front. Despite representing a combined majority of the working class, deep ideological divisions and mutual distrust prevented them from coordinating a general strike or armed resistance.
Institutional Defense by the Elite: The conservative establishment, including President Paul von Hindenburg and influential industrialists, initially believed they could "tame" or use Hitler to destroy the political left. Had they used their constitutional authority to block the Enabling Act in March 1933 or supported a different chancellor, Hitler’s legal path to dictatorship would have been severed.
Military Intervention: During his first years, Hitler’s military was still weak. Many historians argue that a proactive military intervention by France and Britain—especially when Hitler first breached the Versailles Treaty—would have likely resulted in a coup by German generals who feared a war they were not yet equipped to win.
Civic Resistance: A widespread, coordinated refusal to comply with early Nazi decrees—such as the April 1933 boycott of Jewish businesses—could have undermined the regime's momentum. Instead, many citizens remained "complacent," often because they felt the government had failed them during the Great Depression and were willing to ignore the regime's brutality in exchange for promised stability.
Judicial and Legal Accountability: Had the German judiciary enforced existing laws against political violence and paramilitary harassment by the SA (Brownshirts) in early 1933, the Nazi party’s ability to intimidate voters and deputies during the crucial March elections and the Enabling Act vote would have been significantly curtailed. I just wrote to my representative, the DNC and Cory Booker asking them to fimd a unified message i’d they want to fight trumps regime, tell the truth about trumps strategy and in a unified voice say what they will do if they are trusted to win peoples votes to restore democracy, We can also wrote to these CEO’s and appeal to their decency, their need to be good covic stewards to the people who vuy their products and provide the infrastructure for their businesses to run, It can’t hurt,
No one person has a solution, and I’m not sure that disagreeing politely with someone’s comment about an utterly bleak future incurs the obligation to solve all the world’s problems. But I do belong to a number of organizations that tackle them collectively, both through elections and civic action and through community organizing (not to mention relentless protest, rain or shine, which is not a solution but enables an atmosphere in which they can be developed, get a hearing, even reach politicians!)
Mary, you seem to be implying that I disagree with Johan and I assure you that I am not, as his thoughts are very thought provoking . Simply put, I am asking for any ideas as to where we go from here, as in concrete actions to get this election year going in the right direction and you have already answered part, if not all, of it and for that I thank you .
Geri. I don't disagree with anything Johan has said .
It seems to me that now is the time to start meaningful action to get the right people in office starting this year and culminating in 2028 with another leader for our country who will push for the democratic ideas that have truly made our country great for the last 75 years starting with the FDR societal programs and Social Gospel imperatives that I grew up with or ,at least ,something along those same lines, for the benefit of the needy and the middle socio-economic group that is dwindling in our country right now.
The millionaires and billionaires don't need any more help. If anything they need to pay their fair share of taxes to pay for the help needed for the needy and the struggling middle class. It's time to start picking the folks who will take back the Congress and Executive branch of our government to start the process of reversing everything being done now and replacing it with funding the necessary to continue building a more perfect union.
Well done Johan. I agree with those who say that your words should appear in the NYT and be widely circulated. I’ve long felt that Davos was largely kabuki theater and you have clarified that for me. Thank you.
Spot on. As someone who has spent years trying to get Dimon and his bank to change their worst in the world climate change behavior I harbor no illusions about big business having even a shred of altruism.
Stephen,as we all know,big business loves Trump,lower taxes,no regulation,AI saving them money by not having to employ people.Just look @what happens to a company's stock when they announce a major layoff or firing,alway up significantly.
Yup! I'm working to try and organize rotating pickets at stores such as Walmart, etc. We have to "out" these crooks and try to help people who can't afford to shop elsewhere. Our capitalist system is so out of order, but as you suggest, gotta start somewhere!
Johan, thank you for adding your perspective on potential outcomes from the DEVOS gathering today. You are surely a voice with a needed reality check. I am picturing the gridlock and posturing in the alpine village of Davis-Klosters, Switzerland even as I type this…
The world economy will be represented today by the power brokers, like Jamie Dimon, who are potential HEROES in their roles, that all of humanity desperately needs as violence and chaos threatens the masses everywhere. When and where will the power brokers reach their tipping point?
I’ve posted this morning on HCR’s LFAA that the freedom MLK called for at the end of his final speech: “ We want to be free.”…is the cry of the masses we see in videos from all over the world today.
The paradox of the 21st century is that the technology exists today to disseminate information to educate the masses. Can we the people control the existing technology to EDUCATE ourselves???…or will the power brokers, like those assembling at Devos, continue to wield the big $stick to surveil the world’s masses and keep us in the dark???…while they use 21st century technology to squelch our cries for freedom in order to empower themselves?
We have created the technological forces of good and evil that looms above us in the cloud. Have enough of us evolved to keep bending the arc for “GOOD”?
The light is still shining on the Renee Nicole Good tragedy shown in videos of January 7, 2026, and the question is begging for our answer!
Will the leaders at Devos bend the arc toward GOOD?
" The greedy, profit-seeking exploiter cannot see beyond the end of his nose. He can see a chance for an "opening"; he is cunning enough to know what graft is and where it is, and how it can be secured, but vision he has none - not the slightest. He knows nothing of the great throbbing world that spreads out in all directions. He has no capacity of art; no soul for beauty. That is the penalty the parasites pay for the violation of the laws of life." Eugene V. Debs
From what I’ve seen, the tipping point of the power brokers is always tied to risk, not morality. The real leverage sits with informed publics who refuse to outsource their agency. Technology can amplify either side, but clarity and collective pressure are still the only forces that reliably move systems built to protect themselves.
I doubt it, Jane, and hope that I am wrong . It will be up to us, so, let's start talking about how to turn this thing around. From her on our conversation should be the "how to " of it and not the " He's such a bad person " part that we constantly talk about in these threads.
Jane,unfortunately the only thing that will change this trajectory is a massive revolution by people who are not afraid to die for what they believe in. There is no tipping point,we cannot expect these power broker ( billionaires) to change.
We are really a much to civil country, always trying to find common ground with the devil .
Reminds me of a great line from “You Set The Scene” by Love (1967): “There are people wearing crowns who screw you up but they would rather screw you down “
Thank you for this perspective on Davos and for all you are doing now to oppose this administration's attempted takeover of the nation and the free world.
I still wrote to Jamie Dimon and encouraged him to speak up about Trump's threats to the economy and to democracy in the U.S. and around the world.
Jamie Diamon is and has always been a total " piece of shit" . How about JPM involvement with Epstein and refusing to look @ all the financial transactions taking place with JPM during the Epstein yrs. He is complicit for looking the other way and is afraid of Trump.
This rings true because the problem isn’t individual hypocrisy, it’s structural design. Davos isn’t built for accountability. It’s built to protect access. When power is concentrated and insulated from consequence, silence becomes the rational choice.
That’s why the panels feel hollow. They manage reputations, not systems. Concern is performative precisely because no one there is willing to risk position, capital, or control.
What’s fracturing isn’t just the international order, but the legitimacy of elite led governance itself. When decision making remains centralized and detached from people and place, institutions lose moral authority.
The alternative isn’t louder denunciation from Davos. It’s economic democracy. Decentralized power, regional cooperation, and institutions accountable to communities rather than shareholders and access networks.
If Davos fades into irrelevance, that may be less a collapse than a clearing. Space for systems that distribute power instead of staging it.
Exactly…once you see the architecture, the behavior stops being surprising. Davos isn’t malfunctioning; it’s performing exactly as a system built for access‑protection would. Panels become reputation management, silence becomes a risk calculation, and “leadership” becomes a stage direction rather than a practice.
If that model fades, it’s not a crisis, it’s an opening. Power that’s distributed, accountable, and grounded in actual communities has always produced more durable outcomes than power concentrated in alpine conference rooms. The clearing you describe is where real systems can finally take root.
I checked out your post. Some very nice analysis, much of it consistent with analysis coming out from Jeffrey Sachs and John Mearsheimer. I'm sending your post to others. Keep writing.
If you mean by overly-friendly that they are willing to talk to Putin, then yes, they are willing to talk.
But how else in Reason's Name is anyone to establish intelligent diplomatic relations, to gain understand, build trust, and find ways to compromise?
The current war in Ukraine is a disaster, a failed regime change by the belligerant West who eschews any diplomacy. The West told Zelensky not to accept the peace settlement in 2022, that the West had his back.
And how exactly has that worked out for Ukraine? More loss of land and life, and Russia pivoting toward China.
Old unipolar and cold war thinking taking us all nowhere but to oblivion.
Johan, I hope you don't mind, but I have posted your comment on my substacks. I will be showing it to my friends and family today. Thank you for opening my eyes even more!
Not at all! I appreciate you sharing it. If the analysis helps people see the dynamics a little more clearly, then the time I spent in those rooms wasn’t wasted. Grateful you found it useful.
I can not give you an op-ed and Robert Reich has many more commenters than we do at Angry Bear. Similar to Robert but not at his level of expertise and education, I am an economist on the order of global manufacturing and supply chain. I have actually been in the plants and offices overseas and domestically where the decisions are being made.to meet the global needs.
As to trump?
If more people and their leaders would stand up and say no more will we tolerate these demands and antics, the influence would decrease. These people are not under the same threat as people in Minneapolis, etc. who are standing up. And the silence of our Senators, Representatives, and the world leaders is loud.
All the actors will assemble at Davos and little will be said about the US and Trump. We were silent about Europe once. And now it is us . . .
I keep thinking Schaffhausen as the place to stay. Too far from Davos. Hopefully you have a chance to express an opinion.
I would think theyʻd be at the absolute end of their rope. Why not speak up? What have they got to lose since they canʻt trust a word or document Trump says or signs? Not to mention the world is in terrific danger on many levels
Indeed, Johan. Davos has come to symbolize not principled global leadership but a ritualized performance of concern by an elite class fluent in moral rhetoric yet paralyzed by self-interest. Its attendees deplore the havoc unleashed by Trump and his authoritarian accomplices even as they recoil from any action that might entail personal, political, or financial cost. What the international community—and the United States in particular—now requires are not caretakers of privilege but leaders willing to subordinate profit to human dignity, convenience to conscience, and access to power to the demands of justice. From where such leaders will emerge is uncertain; that they must emerge is not, if this fragile global order is to survive its accelerating collapse.
Steve,sorry to disagree,I do not think for a minute that they deplore the havoc unleashed by Trump and his " Nazi"faction. . In fact I think they admire what he has done and are 100% supportive of him and the " Nazi" model.
Indeed, Johan. The unsexy work of building relationships and agency programs to sustain the network of gloal cooperation has been undervalued and dismissed... and is being dismantled. The world doesn't need the cooperation of the people in Davos but rather it needs a realization that those same leaders in wealth management operate on their own objective optimization scheme which is largely disconnected from the interests of the general public.
Exactly, the connective tissue of cooperation was never glamorous, but it was effective. What’s being dismantled now isn’t just policy; it’s the quiet infrastructure that made coordination possible. And you’re right: the people gathering in Davos are optimizing for a completely different objective function. Expecting alignment with public interest from actors built to serve private incentives is how systems drift into crisis. Naming that gap is the first step toward rebuilding something accountable.
I wonder if I could set up my card table somewhere and sell my book like in the hotel lobby of where Trump will stay at. Maybe he’s hired a few hookers to pee on him again in the presidential suite.
Davos attracts a certain type …people who mistake accumulation for insight and think their money immunizes them from looking ridiculous. The status games are loud because the insecurity underneath is louder.
That would be a surprise move — and wonderful. Imagine the dancing in the streets, world-wide, wherever freedom and humanitarian governance is cherished.
Amen! I hope ICC arrests the lot of them for war crimes and sentences them to the notorious prisons of member nations: La Makala (Congo), Kamiti (Kenya), Muhanga (Rwanda), and Mendoza (Argentina). I doubt that Niedermeyer will have access to mayo. But “Susie” Wiles, the wind beneath 47’s wings, reportedly makes casseroles for friends and neighbors. Maybe that will work on prison guards in Congo. I’m not proud of the schadenfreude but it keeps my head from exploding. https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/susie-wiles-trump-cabinet-chief-of-staff-net-worth-b2682925.html
Glad to hear it! Here’s my wish list: 47 goes to Kamiti, given his long-standing interest in Obama’s birthplace. JDV, Bondi and Niedermeyer go to Mendoza where, hopefully, they can visit with loved ones of the dearly deported. And Susie goes to La Makala where, surely, they’ll be eager to learn how to make a casserole.
I was thinking the same. He is an international criminal for many reasons. Currently in his own country he is doing acts against human rights and humanity. ICE is doing it for him… domestic terrorists. Prisons for immigrants and those contained are like prisoners of war but with inhumane conditions, sending those detained to El Salvador. The poor lady murdered in Minnesota should be investigated but instead the wife is being investigated. I look from Canada with shock and dismay and extreme anxiety for the American people and potentially us in Canada. Please leaders, lead!
Yes- Dimon and others should speak up- as should others who have been threatened by him. Trump has real nerve to show up at all- he has behaved atrociously.
However, we do have one hero who has promised to call Trump out- our Governor, Gavin Newsom. Telling the truth to power is the way to make change. Kudos to Newsom for his forthrightness - more should do it and let the world know that we call out bad players who wreak havoc on the world.
Illinois Governor Pritzker showed how to fight Trump and ICE through the law and citizen resistance, using their phones. He is an example for other governors.
Yes, yes, J.B. Pritzker is a very long-time nemesis to Trump, possibly because Pritzker is a genuine billionaire and, by all accounts, a good human being.
Pritzker and Buttegeig are persistent, steady, dogged fighters with integrity and intelligence.
I like what Newsome does, the clever approaches, but Pritzker seems more grounded in integrity and character to me. I fear the DNC will choose again and "pretty" and "cool guy" type will be the candidate they give us. And as a bonus, Pritzker was never married to Kimberly Guilfoyle which shows elevated judgement and wisdom.
Liked for the Guilfoile/Gargoyle message: pretty people often are ugly on the inside - but people can change and use their pretty for good. It appears that Newsom is attempting that, and running Cali can't be easy.
But, remember the later bad judgment he exhibited by throwing that fancy dinner party during Covid? That wasn't that long ago but feels like another era. And it was.
You know, Klare, that’s not a bad idea. The Peace Prize is a joke, since Obama was given it just for existing, in a mirror image of all the lawfare the Donald attracts, again just for existing.
Prickster, however, would be on the same level as the late Yousir Areafag.
ALL of them. Newsom. Pritzger. Mamdani. Awards and loud proclamations!. Now, and at Davos. What’s wrong with us? Prizes and attention is what the Orange Infant wants? Drive him nuts by giving loud, gold prizes to people who deserve it! He’s playing us and the whole world is cowering.
I understand how wired we humans are to stay within the group. I’m aware of all those social experiments that show it. STILL— the state of the world demands something different. And I am astounded that even this exaggerated scenario—a bully full of bluster, the world about to go one way or the other— won’t result in some brave souls finally at long last calling him the fuck out.
Trump’s ( illiberally created Evil ) ICE is still terrorizing the American population in Minnesota. I watched “Status Coup”, a live news group, last night. It’s truly a shameful thing what is happening in America today.
It will involve winning this year and in 2028 and will entail the prosecution, conviction and imprisonment of Trump and his henchmen in 2029 of being a part of the current insurrection being perpetrated in our country as we speak.
It's the legal path of voting him out and replacing him with qualified people who love our country and what it has stood for, i.e. a democratic republic that espouses equality and justice for all , regardless of race, color or creed.
I don't see any other way short of a civil war and we know what that will produce.
Judy,you are right,the greartest generation did make it very clear what woild happen. They knew of Trump's behavior for 40 yrs. Now we have " NazI'' gov't that is not getting the amount of pushback you would expect.
Professor Reich: jamie dimon is an unreliable ally who only seems to criticise (mildly) the orange rapist when he pays little OR NO penalties for doing so. i hope dimon speaks up at DAVOS -- i mean, he's a billionaire, so how much richer does he need to become as he plods towards retirement? but i am firmly of the opinion that dimon is a gutless coward who only confronts the orange rapist when he can do so without penalty.
a brief personal note: as i write, military jets are zooming over my humble abode in norway, in preparation for potential war, i'm told. so far, the fjord outside my windows is empty of military vessels, but i doubt that will last for long.
It is horrific and terrifying that trump has wrought the kind of war-preparations you describe over Norway. He and gnome and, the often described as a ghoul, miller are also doing war-preparations against America as the news reports about U.S. PARATROOPERS being prepared to "drop" into Minneapolis, Minnesota.
well, to be fair, NATO holds military exercises over this part of the country in winter. but these past few months, they've gone from weekly to almost daily exercises, and include military helicopters in addition to military jets. my guess is that the USA military is not present in these training exercises.
i think the europeans ARE watching the orange rapist with great wariness and preparing for the worst. what will ultimately push them over the line into war and when that event might happen are unanswered questions. unlike the orange rapist, the europeans are not drawing multiple lines in the sand.
Agree on Dimon. He’s more concerned about getting his employees back to the office (affectionately known as RTO) so he can justify his CEO title and pay … how can you be a leader without minions surrounding you, supposedly being more creative and productive? This is a great opportunity for all at Davos to slay the “orange dragon” … but they likely won’t because many are probably okay with what he’s doing … until he and his thugs come for them … which they will.
Believe it or not F 35 fighter jets from Vermont (thanks Bernie Sanders and Pat Leahy - not) are participants in Trump‘s military moves in South America.
The jets are yours, I hope. You are a brave country…an impressive one, indeed. I believe that you would not turn into TrumpLandia …as is happening to the once Great America. Many of us are depressed…we remember what America used to be. Many of us had members of the Greatest Generation..who fought and died for freedom. This would break their hearts. It sure is breaking ours.
How much richer does he need to be? Ah..that is the question regarding all of the wealthy and powerful…they have a DISEASE…”NEVER ENOUGH FOR ME, ME, ME.”
GrrrlScientist.....I agree with you about Davos nothing will change same old b.s. I'm glad other countries are sending troops to Greenland, hopefully trump will back down on his rhetoric and leave Greenland alone. He is trying to deflect our attention from Epstein, that will never happen!
This is not leadership. This is escalation — and the GOP is driving it.
When communities are hurting and demanding accountability, Republicans respond with more uniforms, more force, and more fear. Instead of de-escalation, they choose militarization. Instead of listening, they choose intimidation.
Minnesotans have the constitutional right to peacefully assemble and be heard — not to be met with a show of force.
Robert Reich is right to call on leaders gathering at Davos to denounce this dangerous path.
Global leaders must speak with moral clarity.
Jamie Dimon and every corporate and financial leader with influence must speak out — firmly and publicly.
Trump is not leading.
He is laying waste to what is good, just, and humane.
And the world must tell him so — clearly, boldly, and together.
To Republican leaders and members of Congress:
Stand up for peace.
Protect civil liberties.
Demand transparency and accountability.
Stop escalating and start leading.
You swore an oath to the Constitution — not to power, not to party, not to authoritarian tactics.
Call to action:
If you are reading this, don’t stay silent.
Call your GOP representatives.
Call the White House.
Demand de-escalation, accountability, and peace.
And to the world:
Unite. Speak. Act.
United we are stronger than one lone man — and together we will stop this for the good of our planet and our future.
I totally agree, but this is actually asking the world to do our work for us. We must stand together and FIGHT, and DEMAND that Republicans act to remove this madman NOW.
THEY DO NOT CARE AND ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WILL MAKE THEM CARE. THEY WANT TO HANG ONTO THEIR PLUSHY JOBS..WITH LONG, PAID VACATIONS AND LOTS OF BENEFITS ..INCLUDING GREAT MEDICAL INSURANCE, ETC. OATHS ARE FOR FOOLS.
Pamela,great post ,we should be doing more and will,we must get the 67 million Democrats out in the streets,get them to make a commitment to do something. If we expect Dimon or any of the American participants in Davos to do anything,that will absolutly not happen. THe driving force behind his support is Wall Street and the stock market has been on a tear for almost one year. It is primary due to1 company ( Nvidia) a chip maker and the driver of the AI movement.Jensen Huang who supports AI and just relishes @the # of jobs ( 30-60 million from 26-30) that will be lost. He is also behind a big push to develop Robots that will replace many more american workers. He is like an evangelical,when it comes to his desire to destroy the American workforce. Big tech is in Trumps pocket,they are paying him for back for deregulating everything.
It looks like we now have two concentrated powers willing to go scorched-earth on America:
an authoritarian political machine and a runaway tech/Wall Street alliance that sees working people as expendable.
We should be doing more — and we must.
67 million Democrats cannot stay quiet, comfortable, or distracted.
We need people in the streets, in town halls, on phones, and at ballot boxes making a real, public commitment to defend democracy and workers.
Waiting for Jamie Dimon or the Davos crowd to “do the right thing” is fantasy.
They won’t.
Their loyalty is to the stock market, not the American people.
The market’s “miracle” is being driven largely by one company — Nvidia — and by an AI gold rush that celebrates the loss of 30–60 million jobs as “inevitable progress.”
Jensen Huang talks about it like a revival preacher, while millions of families are told to simply accept their own economic extinction.
At the same time, Big Tech is openly paying Trump back for deregulation — lining his pockets while he dismantles protections, silences critics, and fuels authoritarian control.
This is the real fight.
Democracy vs. oligarchy.
Workers vs. billionaires.
Community vs. concentrated power.
Call to action:
If you’re reading this, don’t just “like” this post — do something.
Commit to one concrete action this week:
call your representatives, show up at a rally, organize your friends, support a local candidate, or help a voter register.
They must, but as you note, the chances of their doing so seem slim.
More importantly, we small ones must be saying No to Trump and his troops, and telling those we know to be his partisans to say No to him, and especially telling those who are ICE or CBP or military or law enforcement to say No.
We should be performing Trump's letter circulated to the Prime Minister or Norway and various European diplomats in the cranky toddler tone in which it's written and ask them, "Is THIS what you support? Do you want to commit criminal violence to help THIS MAN get what he wants?"
U.S. politics is starting to resemble the boiled frog story. Not because of the ending, but because of the process. No coup, no sudden rupture. Just small adjustments: a slightly more powerful executive, a slightly more irrelevant Congress, a slightly more politicized Court. Each step is explainable. Each step is temporary. Each step, taken on its own, is “manageable.” The frog’s problem is not the absolute temperature, but the rate of change. By the time it’s noticed, the movement has already been normalized. American democracy is not collapsing. It is adapting. And that is precisely what should worry us. Because systems don’t fail when the water suddenly boils. They fail when no one asks anymore whether it’s normal to still be sitting in the pot.
We can start cracking the pot this election year and we must start now supporting Dems and Independents who believe in our Democracy and democratic republic.
I think we need more than fresh drivers of a train built on exclusion, selection, and the worship of finance.
I am hoping that we start building a government that invests in lives and ideas more than rewarding success. That emphasizes cooperation and not isolation. That looks to build a sustainable and equitable society with real (non-monetary, non-financial) resources.
The current Congress is actually the RED RUSSIAN REPUBLICAN PARTY and that gang in black robes is bought and paid for by powerful people who want to bring America down. Frogs do not stand a chance here.
Many thanks! For those interested in my perspective, I’ve written a few more structured post on the political mechanisms that drive systems from one “political state” to another. For example:
Of course we will suffer. Its a choice between terrible options. The tragedy is that it could have been completely avoided if the "exceptionalism" of the US were not so deplorably dysfunctional!
A modern state is a fragile equilibrium of individual interests. It holds together as long as it delivers predictable benefits; it loses legitimacy when it fails to do so.
Economic crises break the anesthesia of prosperity and reveal what usually remains hidden: under scarcity, survival displaces abstraction, fear replaces trust, and rational individual actions push the system toward collective failure.
This is not an accident, but a structural outcome.
Read the full post to understand how states adapt and transform:
I think as usual, Prof. Reich, you are absolutely correct. But Dimon, like other “Captains of Industry,” will look out for his bank, not democracy. American businesses have taught me they don’t care about our democracy. It matters only what system and conditions maximizes their business’ profits, and by extension, their leader’s compensation.
I guess we all will find out if the Root Of All That Is Evil, the Love Of Money, is more important to the wealthiest people than having a country where all human beings are able to live in peace and prosperity.
I would not be surprised if some cook comes up with a foundation to "lower" the temperature between ICE and the oppressed. It will fault "both" sides for the extra jusicial ICE kilings and somehow whichever company sponsors it they will somehow make money from it and throw lip service all over everyone while accomplishing very little to help immigrants or the protestors. Only profiting itself.
Keith,my bet in on the :Love of Money: These technocrats do not believe for 1 minute in Democracy and they have repeated that endlessly,maybe we should listen to what they say.
They believe in Technocracy,we should wake up. Technology @ this point is not our friend.
U.S. politics is starting to resemble the boiled frog story. Not because of the ending, but because of the process. No coup, no sudden rupture. Just small adjustments: a slightly more powerful executive, a slightly more irrelevant Congress, a slightly more politicized Court. Each step is explainable. Each step is temporary. Each step, taken on its own, is “manageable.” The frog’s problem is not the absolute temperature, but the rate of change. By the time it’s noticed, the movement has already been normalized. American democracy is not collapsing. It is adapting. And that is precisely what should worry us. Because systems don’t fail when the water suddenly boils. They fail when no one asks anymore whether it’s normal to still be sitting in the pot.
If the titans of the financial world rebel then they could unseat TACO. He is doing a lot of damage to the US and the western world. I saw a clip of the tech bros in the White house being as obsequious as it is possible to be. They were behaving like interns desperate to be noticed by senior management. Time for someone to tell it like it is. These people have so much money they don't need to worry.
It's demoralizing to see how Mark Zuckerberg is still so much the over-eager Harvard student who hasn't matured while turning gray and stupendously wealthy.
I think the plain Truth is that the President, with his “alcoholic personality”, is not currently a well man capable of rational thought or making informed decisions.
The latest report, threats to Norway about his lack of a Peace Prize, is beyond parody. It’s pure Monty Python from a failing president:
“US President Donald Trump linked his pursuit of Greenland to his failure to win the Nobel Peace Prize in a message to Norway’s prime minister.
“Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace… “
Klare,he is that,but he is a : Nazi: with the absolute backing of Religion,Wall Street,CNBC,Fox,Corporate America,Supreme Court.How do we fight back against those forces?
Some words from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Martin Luther King day:
“Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.
“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.
“Not only will we have to repent for the sins of bad people; but we also will have to repent for the appalling silence of good people.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
― Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from the Birmingham Jail
“One of the great liabilities of history is that all too many people fail to remain awake through great periods of social change. Every society has its protectors of status quo and its fraternities of the indifferent who are notorious for sleeping through revolutions. Today, our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.
“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.”
― Martin Luther King Jr., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches
Great quotations, Anne. Thank you. MLK Jr was a great, courageous man. His assassination was as eloquent as he was (if not more so).Neither Madison nor Marx put much faith in morality. Madison created a mechanism for compromise (the Constitution). Marx argued that no compromise was possible. Echoing Marx, the authors of Project 2025 reject compromise. Trump is their man, and he is trampling the Constitution. "Prepare for war," one of their spokespersons declared in 2020. Some of them were prepared and took action on Jan 6, 2021. He who does nor stand up for the Constitution is betraying the USA. We must wrestle the American flag from their treacherous hands.
Thank you! It seems like ancient history that we had such a moral exemplar. Andy Borowitz shared King's final address today, yet being Black or brown still is to walk with a target on your back, even if you were born here.
They should arrest him and take him to The Hague.
Robert, you are right to call out the moral failure about to unfold. But let me add ground truth from having attended Davos multiple times:
Davos is performative elite theater masquerading as global leadership.
This small Swiss town can’t physically handle the circus. Tens of millions per delegation. Hotel rates over $10,000/night for proximity to the main hall. Thousands crammed into a village built for hundreds. And for what? Photo ops and panels that accomplish nothing.
So when you ask whether they’ll speak out against Trump dismantling the international order: No. They won’t. Because Davos has never been about courage.
The behavioral economics are straightforward. When the cost of speaking out (tariffs, investigations, lost access) exceeds the benefit (moral satisfaction), rational actors stay silent. And Davos attendees are nothing if not rational calculators of personal advantage.
Jamie Dimon gets $770M in 2025. You think he’s risking that for principle? His “mild criticism” is exactly calibrated to sound reasonable without costing him anything. That’s what Davos does: perform concern while protecting position.
Here’s the reality: The same people gathering are watching masked federal agents occupy American cities, ICE murder citizens on camera, the U.S. invade Venezuela and seize its oil, and threats to annex NATO allies’ territory. Their response? Panels on “Rebuilding Trust” while carefully avoiding anything that might upset the authoritarian wielding American power.
This is why the post-American order is fracturing. When institutions supposedly responsible for maintaining international rules gather in an overpriced resort to performatively “discuss” crises while doing nothing, those institutions lose legitimacy.
The real leadership isn’t at Davos. It’s in the unsexy work of governments building alternatives: Canada-EU defense cooperation, Mercosur-EU trade deals, the Anti-Coercion Instrument aimed at Washington instead of Beijing.
Davos 2026 will be remembered as the moment global elites proved they had nothing to offer authoritarianism except expense accounts and platitudes.
The world doesn’t need their denunciation. It needs them to be irrelevant so actual leaders can build what comes next.
—Johan
Former foreign service officer who wasted time at Davos thinking it mattered
so trump should fit in. he's a criminal masquerading as president to avoid prison.
Less like "masquerading as president" now and more like mafioso acting out the mafioso's most elusive dream: control of the FBI, the DOJ, the military, the financial system, the media.... and not only avoiding prison, but using thug-power and mafia-type lawyers to send his "enemies" to prison, or ruin their lives by holding the threat of prison or financial ruin over their heads for years, like the utter sadistic psychopath he is.
Well, his plan to get comey and leticia in prison backfired royally. His plan to get schiff and nancy in prison won't work either. nor for obama or joe.
As the cost of catering to trump’s emotional tantrums rises like seawater during a tsunami…
I’m old enough to have that echo in my head during every Democrat administration from republicans: HOW ARE THEY GOING TO PAY FOR THAT?
EVERY one of these emotional prosecutions COSTS TAXPAYERS.
And women shouldn’t be in politics because they are “too emotional & have “moods”. So unlike the hair & makeup fixated mad king interior decorator we have now, RIGHT??
Makeup (from France), lifts, hairspray, hair dye, Spanx, etc. Yup..a “real man”, alright. GOLD FETISH! Does anyone even remember what an actual American President used to be like? Anyone?
and we can all easily see that he's nearly completely bald anyway, from any angle...js
Ellen: Right on! I keep waiting for some investigative reporter to investigate the cost of partisan investigations. Guess that won’t happen in my lifetime.
And with any luck, Alvin Brag is preparing rape charges. Katie Johnson alleges that, when she was a 13 year old child, she was tied to the four corners of a bed and raped, while onlookers ignored her screams for help. I spent my career as a middle school guidance counselor. Some 13 year olds haven’t started ovulating yet. In 1994, the year this allegedly happened, the most popular Christmas gifts for 13 year old girls were Furby and Polly Pocket. Thankfully, there’s no statute of limitations in NY. Here’s Katie Johnson’s testimony: https://katemanne.substack.com/p/the-actual-conspiracy-theory-surrounding. https://katemanne.substack.com/p/they-tried-to-bury-the-katie-johnson?r=2g4u&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true
Why the Epstein Files will NEVER be revealed ..too many powerful and wealthy PERVERTS are on it. They are still powerful and wealthy AND raping children..still.
I seem to recall that this story came out before the 2016 election...but the 'mainstream media' buried it...one need only look at the total moral degeneracy of tRump's character to calculate the odds of it being true: 100%
What the shape-shifting felon "lawyer" Michael Cohen is now claiming about having been coerced by Letitia James and Alvin Bragg, et al, may work in trump's devious favor. He's like a rabid dog with a bone, trump is, in his plots and schemes never end until he gets his way, one way or another.
I loathe Cohen who regularly appeared with Lev Parnas and Malcom Nance on Nance’s Substack, but I had to drop it because Cohen is as nauseating as Trump.
The mafioso is not that pathetic terrified blabber mouth it is Heritage Federalists & project 2025... 2 groups played the long game since the 1980's and just about have it all tied up....choking out everyone ...he is a child who cannot keep his mouth shut... the real mafia has no use for someone like him other than as a puppet and distraction while they erode our democracy
A spoiled brat....telling Norway's president that he's going after Greenland because he didn't get the Nobel Prize? Ridiculous.
Trump is a modern day Lokai
You nailed it!
"Puppet" is the key designation.
Ginger Lee: the Real Mafioso have a few terms for a useless member or underling, with "Babbo" being a specific term for a "dope, idiot, or useless underling". I wonder when they will decide it’s time for him to sleep with the fishes?
Love it....he'll "sleep with the fishes" as soon as the controllers get everyone in place little do his "useless underlings".sycophants know is they will get thrown under the bus along with him.... my Italian family was very much in that world..
You are so right GingerLee. Thank you.
Many things can be true at one time; Even seeming contradictory ones; A 'leadership' coalition in fact, who delusionally imagined djt as a 'useful tool.'
He's a mobster, for sure.
In that case, he is a very successful mafioso…isn’t he?
Only thing missing is use of the term “our thing”
Oh, no, he’d be a disgrace to the mafia. And his “control” obviously hinges on whatever he has on the Epstein and Epstein-Adjacent politicians and businessmen. When the truth finally comes out, for real, he’ll go, they will all go, like air out of a balloon.
He needs consequences, legal, abiding, enforceable significant consequences for breaking the law repeatedly. Who will impose the consequences, who will carry them out, literally confront the Secret Service protecting him and take him and his administrative heads into custody?
It will only happen if he can be removed, along with his puppeteers and sycophants
- Karen Cooper
well-said
trump is spending the last of his years focused on real and perceived grudges. From criminal charge filed against him to anyone who didn’t do exactly what he wanted. It could be as simple as a waiter who looked at him side eyed once. He’ll “remember” the list of slights he was subjected too long after he’s forgotten his grandchildren’s names. This is what happens when someone hasn’t been taught self discipline their entire life. You literally can spoil a child heinously rotten.
Trump basically grew up without any parenting. His father was a workaholic and his mother was chronically sick. Large for his age, Donald became the neighborhood bully. In his 20s he came under the tutelage of the infamous Roy Cohn, who made him even more of a bully.
And now here we are.
Plenty of people grow up without any parenting and they donʻt turn into anything like THAT
- Karen Cooper
Exactly
Excellent point
Russell Baker’s recent Substack, which I read this morning, is exhorting not the 1% but the comfortably off 10% to start defying the Trump agenda. If the richest people won’t rock the boat because their stocks are OK, and even Orwell noted that there’s no hope in the proletariat, I guess we must be the furious middle masses to revive dignity, decency, courage and compassion.
Susan,getting the 10% to defy Trump is not likely to happen. However if just a small % of the 67 million Democrats that voted for Harris would just do something,it might help. So far about 8 million have been in the streets,trying to make a difference.
I have been in the streets (about 16 protests last and this year) and we get a lot of local support, but how many people are paying attention in red or purple states?
THIS
Russell Baker? The one I used to read died in 2019.
Maybe I added the “ell,” but Russ Baker is a regular commentator in his own right but also an editor WHO WHAY WHY, a weekly update on the state of our peril.
Oh, yes, heʻs excellent! Just saw him for the first time last week. Outstanding
- Karen Cooper
Thanks.
HOW DO WE SUCCEED?
Everyone is giving us instructions (mostly about ICE defiance) this January. I wish I knew how to accomplish the reversal. I protest most Saturdays, give small bucks to out of state Democrats who deserve support, and write voting letters, but I’m not an organizer nor a person with a wealth of connections.
Susan,if you are outthere protesting most Saturdays,thank you. There are so many that are physically able to,who are not doing anything.
Many younger people have jobs and weekend errands and children to ferry hither and yon. Those of us who congregate get a lot of support from road traffic—far, far more than the tiny, big-flagged, big-truck MAGA contingent along the street.
Inundate your Congress people and Senators!!! 202-224-3121, but of course they will not be there today as it's MLK day! REMEMBER MARTIN LUTHER KING!
Youʻre doing what you can, and Iʻm sure if another opportunity comes up that you can fulfill you will do so. Bravo!
- Karen Cooper
Excellent commentary. Read this aloud to my husband. You should have an op-ed in the NY Times, seriously.
Thank you…that’s a very generous thing to say.
You might appreciate my new piece as well: The World Ahead 2026, Part 3. I’d be interested to hear how it strikes you.
https://open.substack.com/pub/johanuniverseends/p/the-world-ahead-2026-part-3?r=490k23&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=overlay
I’m sorry but I disagree. The writer is clearly knowledgeable (though so is the always-engaged Bob Reich, who’s also been to the hideous smug-fest of Davos!), and fluent, but his comment brings to mind the withering lines of the great American poet (and corporate executive) Wallace Stevens “All right, have it your way,/ The world is ugly and the people are bad.” Such writing encourages a sense of helplessness that allows the writer and his readers not to fight back, and it’s contagious. I apologize for my frankness but we absolutely cannot afford hopelessness at this point—or bright-idea Utopianism either. Not trying to start a fight, it’s just that this must be said.
What we feel is anger! Our sense of helplessness will be dispelled when we finally rid ourselves of this administration that does nothing but enrich itself! We who want to fight back are ultimately bound together by anger and a search for justice! Those new concentration camps here on US soil were built with taxpayer money, the same money now "unavailable" for any positive project that might lift and save American lives!
I don't get a sense of helplessness at all from Johan's commentary. What I do get is the clarity that these elites have little or nothing to offer, and we have to rely on ourselves and the rare elected leader with courage and integrity to bring about real change.
We must not miss the opportunity to showcase Trump rubbing shoulders with other billionaires at Davos. Let MAGA see that Trump is not the fried they think he is. He is the personification of the greed Devos celebrates.
Have you read “Davos Man” ?
I appreciate the frankness, truly. My point wasn’t to drift into despair or utopian escape, but to name the dynamics as they are so people can act with clearer eyes. Describing a pattern isn’t the same as surrendering to it.
If anything, clarity is what keeps agency intact.
Mary, I agree that we must not succumb to despair and helplessness, On MLK day I am reminded to feel gratitude , I am so grateful for all of the decades of suffering, imprisonment, and even death from those heros who just really care about their fellow humans and all other expressions of Life, I am thinking of those who fought for the freedoms and rights that we have today that were the promise of the Declarations of Independence from abolitionist, suffragettes, those fighting fòr LGBTQAI a+ rights, other abled rights, workers rights, environmentalists, se fighting for truth in journalism, we have always fome two steps forward and one step back. We are definately in a step back moment, and I hope we learn from history , I was looking into the oportijies missed ij stopping Hitler and found,
In 2026, historians and political observers have identified several key areas where the early tenures of Adolf Hitler and Donald Trump align in strategy, particularly regarding campaign rhetoric and the consolidation of power through domestic military threats.
Campaign Promises vs. Actions in Office
Theme Adolf Hitler (1932–1933) Donald Trump (2024–2026)
Promises "Work and Bread": Fix the economy; end political chaos; restore German pride. "America First": Lower grocery/energy costs; no new wars; end "Deep State" corruption.
Actions Total Control: Passed the Enabling Act to bypass Parliament; banned trade unions; began mass rearmament. Direct Rule: Used executive orders to purge the civil service (Schedule G) and bypass traditional media.
Economy State Command: Achieved jobs through forced labor programs and military spending. Protectionism: Implemented high tariffs; inflation remained persistent despite promises.
Foreign Policy Expansionism: Claimed Lebensraum(living space) and rejected international treaties. "Donroe Doctrine": Asserted dominance over the Western Hemisphere; captured Maduro; threatened to take Greenland by force.
Groups Targeted During the "First Wave"
Hitler (1933):
Political Dissidents: Communists, Socialists, and Social Democrats (first detainees at Dachau).
Vulnerable Populations: Jews (April 1933 boycotts), Romani people ("asocials"), gay men (shuttered clubs), and Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Institutions: Independent media, trade unions, and civil servants of "non-Aryan" descent.
Trump (2025–2026):
Immigrants: Launched mass deportations; targeted "sanctuary" residents; eliminated birthright citizenship programs.
Government Officials: Purged the "Deep State" using Schedule G, replacing career experts with loyalists.
Protesters: Targeted activists in cities like Minneapolis; labeled them "insurrectionists" and "agitators".
Minnesota Crisis & Military Force Comparison
In early 2026, tensions in Minneapolis reached a boiling point after an ICE agent fatally shot a protester, Renee Good. In response to the resulting protests, Trump has repeatedly threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy regular U.S. troops against citizens, despite fierce opposition from Governor Tim Walz.
Historical Comparison to Hitler:
Internal Enemies: Just as Hitler used the Reichstag Fire to label rivals as "state enemies" and deploy the SA (Brownshirts) as "auxiliary police," Trump has labeled Minneapolis protesters as "insurrectionists" to justify military intervention.
Expansion of Power: Hitler's next major step after mobilizing the SA was Gleichschaltung, the total coordination of all state and social levels under the Nazi Party. Scholars view the threat of domestic military use in Minnesota as a potential "turning point" toward similar total executive dominance over state governments.
Targeting Minorities: Trump specifically singled out Minnesota's Somali communityas a rationale for federal intervention, echoing Hitler’s early focus on specific ethnic "outsiders" to justify exceptional police powers..
WE MUST LEARN FROM HISTORY
Historians and political analysts identify several missed opportunities where a unified public and political response could have halted Hitler’s consolidation of power at the end of 1933:
Political Unity (The "Cardinal Error"): The primary failure was the inability of the Social Democrats (SPD) and Communists (KPD) to form a united front. Despite representing a combined majority of the working class, deep ideological divisions and mutual distrust prevented them from coordinating a general strike or armed resistance.
Institutional Defense by the Elite: The conservative establishment, including President Paul von Hindenburg and influential industrialists, initially believed they could "tame" or use Hitler to destroy the political left. Had they used their constitutional authority to block the Enabling Act in March 1933 or supported a different chancellor, Hitler’s legal path to dictatorship would have been severed.
Military Intervention: During his first years, Hitler’s military was still weak. Many historians argue that a proactive military intervention by France and Britain—especially when Hitler first breached the Versailles Treaty—would have likely resulted in a coup by German generals who feared a war they were not yet equipped to win.
Civic Resistance: A widespread, coordinated refusal to comply with early Nazi decrees—such as the April 1933 boycott of Jewish businesses—could have undermined the regime's momentum. Instead, many citizens remained "complacent," often because they felt the government had failed them during the Great Depression and were willing to ignore the regime's brutality in exchange for promised stability.
Judicial and Legal Accountability: Had the German judiciary enforced existing laws against political violence and paramilitary harassment by the SA (Brownshirts) in early 1933, the Nazi party’s ability to intimidate voters and deputies during the crucial March elections and the Enabling Act vote would have been significantly curtailed. I just wrote to my representative, the DNC and Cory Booker asking them to fimd a unified message i’d they want to fight trumps regime, tell the truth about trumps strategy and in a unified voice say what they will do if they are trusted to win peoples votes to restore democracy, We can also wrote to these CEO’s and appeal to their decency, their need to be good covic stewards to the people who vuy their products and provide the infrastructure for their businesses to run, It can’t hurt,
So, do you have a solution? A strategy? What are we going to do about it?
No one person has a solution, and I’m not sure that disagreeing politely with someone’s comment about an utterly bleak future incurs the obligation to solve all the world’s problems. But I do belong to a number of organizations that tackle them collectively, both through elections and civic action and through community organizing (not to mention relentless protest, rain or shine, which is not a solution but enables an atmosphere in which they can be developed, get a hearing, even reach politicians!)
Power comes with organization.
Mary, you seem to be implying that I disagree with Johan and I assure you that I am not, as his thoughts are very thought provoking . Simply put, I am asking for any ideas as to where we go from here, as in concrete actions to get this election year going in the right direction and you have already answered part, if not all, of it and for that I thank you .
Geri. I don't disagree with anything Johan has said .
It seems to me that now is the time to start meaningful action to get the right people in office starting this year and culminating in 2028 with another leader for our country who will push for the democratic ideas that have truly made our country great for the last 75 years starting with the FDR societal programs and Social Gospel imperatives that I grew up with or ,at least ,something along those same lines, for the benefit of the needy and the middle socio-economic group that is dwindling in our country right now.
The millionaires and billionaires don't need any more help. If anything they need to pay their fair share of taxes to pay for the help needed for the needy and the struggling middle class. It's time to start picking the folks who will take back the Congress and Executive branch of our government to start the process of reversing everything being done now and replacing it with funding the necessary to continue building a more perfect union.
But what do you disagree with? Can you cite a specific sentence from Johan’s post that you disagree with?
Prefer e.e. cummings:
Next to God America…….
Well done Johan. I agree with those who say that your words should appear in the NYT and be widely circulated. I’ve long felt that Davos was largely kabuki theater and you have clarified that for me. Thank you.
A lot of people have canceled their subscriptions to NYT. It’s not what it used to be except for those 80+ years old maybe.
Thank you and I appreciate that!
Spot on. As someone who has spent years trying to get Dimon and his bank to change their worst in the world climate change behavior I harbor no illusions about big business having even a shred of altruism.
Stephen,as we all know,big business loves Trump,lower taxes,no regulation,AI saving them money by not having to employ people.Just look @what happens to a company's stock when they announce a major layoff or firing,alway up significantly.
Yes, David, and frankly our corporate keepers will have to be the next battle.
Dorothy,it is never to early to start.Identify a few and go after the. Let's reincarnate Patty Hearst.
Yup! I'm working to try and organize rotating pickets at stores such as Walmart, etc. We have to "out" these crooks and try to help people who can't afford to shop elsewhere. Our capitalist system is so out of order, but as you suggest, gotta start somewhere!
Trump goes to Davos to rub shoulders with fellow billionaires.
Johan, thank you for adding your perspective on potential outcomes from the DEVOS gathering today. You are surely a voice with a needed reality check. I am picturing the gridlock and posturing in the alpine village of Davis-Klosters, Switzerland even as I type this…
The world economy will be represented today by the power brokers, like Jamie Dimon, who are potential HEROES in their roles, that all of humanity desperately needs as violence and chaos threatens the masses everywhere. When and where will the power brokers reach their tipping point?
I’ve posted this morning on HCR’s LFAA that the freedom MLK called for at the end of his final speech: “ We want to be free.”…is the cry of the masses we see in videos from all over the world today.
The paradox of the 21st century is that the technology exists today to disseminate information to educate the masses. Can we the people control the existing technology to EDUCATE ourselves???…or will the power brokers, like those assembling at Devos, continue to wield the big $stick to surveil the world’s masses and keep us in the dark???…while they use 21st century technology to squelch our cries for freedom in order to empower themselves?
We have created the technological forces of good and evil that looms above us in the cloud. Have enough of us evolved to keep bending the arc for “GOOD”?
The light is still shining on the Renee Nicole Good tragedy shown in videos of January 7, 2026, and the question is begging for our answer!
Will the leaders at Devos bend the arc toward GOOD?
" The greedy, profit-seeking exploiter cannot see beyond the end of his nose. He can see a chance for an "opening"; he is cunning enough to know what graft is and where it is, and how it can be secured, but vision he has none - not the slightest. He knows nothing of the great throbbing world that spreads out in all directions. He has no capacity of art; no soul for beauty. That is the penalty the parasites pay for the violation of the laws of life." Eugene V. Debs
NO SOUL FOR BEAUTY.
but they do enjoy rape.
Thank you, that’s generous.
From what I’ve seen, the tipping point of the power brokers is always tied to risk, not morality. The real leverage sits with informed publics who refuse to outsource their agency. Technology can amplify either side, but clarity and collective pressure are still the only forces that reliably move systems built to protect themselves.
I doubt it, Jane, and hope that I am wrong . It will be up to us, so, let's start talking about how to turn this thing around. From her on our conversation should be the "how to " of it and not the " He's such a bad person " part that we constantly talk about in these threads.
Jane,unfortunately the only thing that will change this trajectory is a massive revolution by people who are not afraid to die for what they believe in. There is no tipping point,we cannot expect these power broker ( billionaires) to change.
We are really a much to civil country, always trying to find common ground with the devil .
They will not, Jane, and they will use technology to extract maximum gain for themselves. We must currb their power here at home.
Reminds me of a great line from “You Set The Scene” by Love (1967): “There are people wearing crowns who screw you up but they would rather screw you down “
Thanks, Jane! Praying confidently the wealthy leaders at Devos “belly up to the bar” and speak out STRONGLY for GOOD!!
Thank you for this perspective on Davos and for all you are doing now to oppose this administration's attempted takeover of the nation and the free world.
I still wrote to Jamie Dimon and encouraged him to speak up about Trump's threats to the economy and to democracy in the U.S. and around the world.
For anyone who needs it, his email is jamie.dimon@jpmchase.com
Jamie Diamon is and has always been a total " piece of shit" . How about JPM involvement with Epstein and refusing to look @ all the financial transactions taking place with JPM during the Epstein yrs. He is complicit for looking the other way and is afraid of Trump.
Jamie Dimon gave $10,000 to the man who killed Renee Good to use for his legal defence. How depraved can these people get?
I was totally unaware of that, itʻs totally appalling, and I donʻt doubt it
- Karen Cooper
He's supporting Murder Jonathan Ross? There's no hope for that connection.
Yes. I stopped doing business with Chase a while ago, as I hope others will. But if we don't appeal to his better angels, who will?
As did I.
Yes, and I will keep on pushing!
This rings true because the problem isn’t individual hypocrisy, it’s structural design. Davos isn’t built for accountability. It’s built to protect access. When power is concentrated and insulated from consequence, silence becomes the rational choice.
That’s why the panels feel hollow. They manage reputations, not systems. Concern is performative precisely because no one there is willing to risk position, capital, or control.
What’s fracturing isn’t just the international order, but the legitimacy of elite led governance itself. When decision making remains centralized and detached from people and place, institutions lose moral authority.
The alternative isn’t louder denunciation from Davos. It’s economic democracy. Decentralized power, regional cooperation, and institutions accountable to communities rather than shareholders and access networks.
If Davos fades into irrelevance, that may be less a collapse than a clearing. Space for systems that distribute power instead of staging it.
Exactly…once you see the architecture, the behavior stops being surprising. Davos isn’t malfunctioning; it’s performing exactly as a system built for access‑protection would. Panels become reputation management, silence becomes a risk calculation, and “leadership” becomes a stage direction rather than a practice.
If that model fades, it’s not a crisis, it’s an opening. Power that’s distributed, accountable, and grounded in actual communities has always produced more durable outcomes than power concentrated in alpine conference rooms. The clearing you describe is where real systems can finally take root.
It's almost like trump was introduced to the game 'risk' and now thinks he can play it in real life.
Trump gets the western hemisphere. Putin gets Europe and Xi gets Asia/Indonesia. That’s how the autocrat’s gameboard is looking at the moment.
That's the current NSS.
“The Reality Show From Hell.”
Post this commentary around the world!
I will darn sure try!
I checked out your post. Some very nice analysis, much of it consistent with analysis coming out from Jeffrey Sachs and John Mearsheimer. I'm sending your post to others. Keep writing.
Both Sachs and Mearsheimer have been overly friendly with Putin.
If you mean by overly-friendly that they are willing to talk to Putin, then yes, they are willing to talk.
But how else in Reason's Name is anyone to establish intelligent diplomatic relations, to gain understand, build trust, and find ways to compromise?
The current war in Ukraine is a disaster, a failed regime change by the belligerant West who eschews any diplomacy. The West told Zelensky not to accept the peace settlement in 2022, that the West had his back.
And how exactly has that worked out for Ukraine? More loss of land and life, and Russia pivoting toward China.
Old unipolar and cold war thinking taking us all nowhere but to oblivion.
So many cowards..everywhere.
Johan, I hope you don't mind, but I have posted your comment on my substacks. I will be showing it to my friends and family today. Thank you for opening my eyes even more!
Not at all! I appreciate you sharing it. If the analysis helps people see the dynamics a little more clearly, then the time I spent in those rooms wasn’t wasted. Grateful you found it useful.
Thank you, Johan!
Johan:
I can not give you an op-ed and Robert Reich has many more commenters than we do at Angry Bear. Similar to Robert but not at his level of expertise and education, I am an economist on the order of global manufacturing and supply chain. I have actually been in the plants and offices overseas and domestically where the decisions are being made.to meet the global needs.
As to trump?
If more people and their leaders would stand up and say no more will we tolerate these demands and antics, the influence would decrease. These people are not under the same threat as people in Minneapolis, etc. who are standing up. And the silence of our Senators, Representatives, and the world leaders is loud.
All the actors will assemble at Davos and little will be said about the US and Trump. We were silent about Europe once. And now it is us . . .
I keep thinking Schaffhausen as the place to stay. Too far from Davos. Hopefully you have a chance to express an opinion.
Bill,agree 100%.Good post,keep saying the same thing.
Trump has sent our debt to a catastrophic level. I don't think wealthy people are going to bet their fortunes on the a Trump train.
Trump is disrupting the world economy, and he is violating international law. How can Davosites ignore that?
I would think theyʻd be at the absolute end of their rope. Why not speak up? What have they got to lose since they canʻt trust a word or document Trump says or signs? Not to mention the world is in terrific danger on many levels
- Karen Cooper
thank you for sharing the truth
Indeed, Johan. Davos has come to symbolize not principled global leadership but a ritualized performance of concern by an elite class fluent in moral rhetoric yet paralyzed by self-interest. Its attendees deplore the havoc unleashed by Trump and his authoritarian accomplices even as they recoil from any action that might entail personal, political, or financial cost. What the international community—and the United States in particular—now requires are not caretakers of privilege but leaders willing to subordinate profit to human dignity, convenience to conscience, and access to power to the demands of justice. From where such leaders will emerge is uncertain; that they must emerge is not, if this fragile global order is to survive its accelerating collapse.
Steve,sorry to disagree,I do not think for a minute that they deplore the havoc unleashed by Trump and his " Nazi"faction. . In fact I think they admire what he has done and are 100% supportive of him and the " Nazi" model.
Indeed, Johan. The unsexy work of building relationships and agency programs to sustain the network of gloal cooperation has been undervalued and dismissed... and is being dismantled. The world doesn't need the cooperation of the people in Davos but rather it needs a realization that those same leaders in wealth management operate on their own objective optimization scheme which is largely disconnected from the interests of the general public.
Exactly, the connective tissue of cooperation was never glamorous, but it was effective. What’s being dismantled now isn’t just policy; it’s the quiet infrastructure that made coordination possible. And you’re right: the people gathering in Davos are optimizing for a completely different objective function. Expecting alignment with public interest from actors built to serve private incentives is how systems drift into crisis. Naming that gap is the first step toward rebuilding something accountable.
Now that would be the right thing to do.
I wonder if I could set up my card table somewhere and sell my book like in the hotel lobby of where Trump will stay at. Maybe he’s hired a few hookers to pee on him again in the presidential suite.
Putin has the tapes. Can you give him a call for me? Thanks
Bezos, Amazon, Meta, Payapal, to name but 3 are all donating to Trump and all will have influence at Davos. They are all hand in glove.
Davos attracts a certain type …people who mistake accumulation for insight and think their money immunizes them from looking ridiculous. The status games are loud because the insecurity underneath is louder.
I am going to guess that MANY are in the Epstein Files. Yup.
Have you got a Substack or do you write elsewhere?
Yes, thank you, and here is my latest piece:
https://open.substack.com/pub/johanuniverseends/p/the-world-ahead-2026-part-3?r=490k23&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=overlay
Here is my profile:
https://substack.com/@johanuniverseends?r=490k23&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=profile&shareImageVariant=image
Subscribed. Thank you.
Who paid for that stupid “Documentary” of Melania? Talk about OBVIOUS ball-washing…OMG.
Judy,its just one outrage after another.
That would be a surprise move — and wonderful. Imagine the dancing in the streets, world-wide, wherever freedom and humanitarian governance is cherished.
Amen! I hope ICC arrests the lot of them for war crimes and sentences them to the notorious prisons of member nations: La Makala (Congo), Kamiti (Kenya), Muhanga (Rwanda), and Mendoza (Argentina). I doubt that Niedermeyer will have access to mayo. But “Susie” Wiles, the wind beneath 47’s wings, reportedly makes casseroles for friends and neighbors. Maybe that will work on prison guards in Congo. I’m not proud of the schadenfreude but it keeps my head from exploding. https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/susie-wiles-trump-cabinet-chief-of-staff-net-worth-b2682925.html
I LOVE the Schandfreude when it's directed at Chungus Anus and his merry band of followers with shit on their faces.
Glad to hear it! Here’s my wish list: 47 goes to Kamiti, given his long-standing interest in Obama’s birthplace. JDV, Bondi and Niedermeyer go to Mendoza where, hopefully, they can visit with loved ones of the dearly deported. And Susie goes to La Makala where, surely, they’ll be eager to learn how to make a casserole.
One of my favorite words…Schandfteude.
Humankind desperately needs international cooperation. Will Davos promote it?
If EU has balls, EU will kidnap Trump like US Military kidnapped Maduro🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Wouldn’t that be glorious!
Yup
I was thinking the same. He is an international criminal for many reasons. Currently in his own country he is doing acts against human rights and humanity. ICE is doing it for him… domestic terrorists. Prisons for immigrants and those contained are like prisoners of war but with inhumane conditions, sending those detained to El Salvador. The poor lady murdered in Minnesota should be investigated but instead the wife is being investigated. I look from Canada with shock and dismay and extreme anxiety for the American people and potentially us in Canada. Please leaders, lead!
You are much kinder to him than I , well done.
It's close enough. Great idea!
Laurie......I agree!!! I have been waiting for the ICC to issue a warrant for his arrest l 💙💙💙🇺🇸
While his is in Davos would be a great opportunity - and as a bonus, snag 5 cabinet members. Win-win!!
Yes. And hopefully the ICC will bring a bus big enough to hold the rest of the American retinue. I can’t wait to see the media bite into this one!
Yes, and hopefully, the ICC will bring a bus big enough to hold the entire Trump retinue. I can’t wait to see the media bite into that one!
Or the guillotine
Yes- Dimon and others should speak up- as should others who have been threatened by him. Trump has real nerve to show up at all- he has behaved atrociously.
However, we do have one hero who has promised to call Trump out- our Governor, Gavin Newsom. Telling the truth to power is the way to make change. Kudos to Newsom for his forthrightness - more should do it and let the world know that we call out bad players who wreak havoc on the world.
Illinois Governor Pritzker showed how to fight Trump and ICE through the law and citizen resistance, using their phones. He is an example for other governors.
Yes, yes, J.B. Pritzker is a very long-time nemesis to Trump, possibly because Pritzker is a genuine billionaire and, by all accounts, a good human being.
Pritzker and Buttegeig are persistent, steady, dogged fighters with integrity and intelligence.
I like what Newsome does, the clever approaches, but Pritzker seems more grounded in integrity and character to me. I fear the DNC will choose again and "pretty" and "cool guy" type will be the candidate they give us. And as a bonus, Pritzker was never married to Kimberly Guilfoyle which shows elevated judgement and wisdom.
He was married to a Gargoyle… bad idea, indeed. Undoubtedly regrets that.
Whoever it might be should have moral integrity and courage constantly flowing through their very veins.
Liked for the Guilfoile/Gargoyle message: pretty people often are ugly on the inside - but people can change and use their pretty for good. It appears that Newsom is attempting that, and running Cali can't be easy.
But, remember the later bad judgment he exhibited by throwing that fancy dinner party during Covid? That wasn't that long ago but feels like another era. And it was.
What's the story on Kimberly Guilfoyle?
Exiled to Greece she may belatedly discover that true gold is hidden in the human mind.
Amen to that, Gloria!! Pritzker should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize!
You know, Klare, that’s not a bad idea. The Peace Prize is a joke, since Obama was given it just for existing, in a mirror image of all the lawfare the Donald attracts, again just for existing.
Prickster, however, would be on the same level as the late Yousir Areafag.
Gavin Newsom is unafraid. I'm for Gavin.
Yes, but is he like FDR and for We, The People?
I hear he's planning to veto a tax on billionaires, so I'm not so sure of that . . .
ALL of them. Newsom. Pritzger. Mamdani. Awards and loud proclamations!. Now, and at Davos. What’s wrong with us? Prizes and attention is what the Orange Infant wants? Drive him nuts by giving loud, gold prizes to people who deserve it! He’s playing us and the whole world is cowering.
Sadly, we know they will give those loud, GOLD prizes to the Monster..in hopes of soothing his greedy desires for EVERYTHING they own.
I understand how wired we humans are to stay within the group. I’m aware of all those social experiments that show it. STILL— the state of the world demands something different. And I am astounded that even this exaggerated scenario—a bully full of bluster, the world about to go one way or the other— won’t result in some brave souls finally at long last calling him the fuck out.
Apparently, there are not enough POWERFUL souls willing to call him the fuck out.
Ah. Human beings who hold power rarely have powerful souls.
What a time.
The dragons that need to be slayed are inside us.
Newsom and Mamdani are our leaders now.
Instead, we are stuck in DC with such as Chuckie..who writes STRONG letters…at least, right? Yup.
Anyone running against the GOP this year are our heroes. Let's not forget that.
Er … yeah.😂😅🤣😅😂😅🤣😅😂😅🤣😅😂😅🤣😅😂😅🤣😅😂😅🤣😅😂😅🤣😅😂😅🤣😅😂😅🤣😅😂🤣🤣😂😅🤣😅😂😅🤣😅
So, Newsom will be in Davos or is he just going on air to call him out?
🤞
Trump’s ( illiberally created Evil ) ICE is still terrorizing the American population in Minnesota. I watched “Status Coup”, a live news group, last night. It’s truly a shameful thing what is happening in America today.
NAZIS IN AMERICAN CITIES. WHO WOULD HAVE FORESEEN THAT INSANITY? THE GREATEST GENERATION PROBABLY KNEW..AND NO ONE LISTENED TO THEM.
The KKK types have been around for a long time lurking in the shadows until now. They have been planning this thing since '71.
See William L. Miler's Substack for details. He has a plan called Project 2029 that sounds very plausible to me.
Also, read up on the SPLC website, as well, to learn of the dark workings of the White Supremacists in our country.
Joseph,2029 is long time to put up with this awful " Nazi" gov't.
It will involve winning this year and in 2028 and will entail the prosecution, conviction and imprisonment of Trump and his henchmen in 2029 of being a part of the current insurrection being perpetrated in our country as we speak.
It's the legal path of voting him out and replacing him with qualified people who love our country and what it has stood for, i.e. a democratic republic that espouses equality and justice for all , regardless of race, color or creed.
I don't see any other way short of a civil war and we know what that will produce.
Judy,you are right,the greartest generation did make it very clear what woild happen. They knew of Trump's behavior for 40 yrs. Now we have " NazI'' gov't that is not getting the amount of pushback you would expect.
Professor Reich: jamie dimon is an unreliable ally who only seems to criticise (mildly) the orange rapist when he pays little OR NO penalties for doing so. i hope dimon speaks up at DAVOS -- i mean, he's a billionaire, so how much richer does he need to become as he plods towards retirement? but i am firmly of the opinion that dimon is a gutless coward who only confronts the orange rapist when he can do so without penalty.
a brief personal note: as i write, military jets are zooming over my humble abode in norway, in preparation for potential war, i'm told. so far, the fjord outside my windows is empty of military vessels, but i doubt that will last for long.
It is horrific and terrifying that trump has wrought the kind of war-preparations you describe over Norway. He and gnome and, the often described as a ghoul, miller are also doing war-preparations against America as the news reports about U.S. PARATROOPERS being prepared to "drop" into Minneapolis, Minnesota.
well, to be fair, NATO holds military exercises over this part of the country in winter. but these past few months, they've gone from weekly to almost daily exercises, and include military helicopters in addition to military jets. my guess is that the USA military is not present in these training exercises.
Grrl,I think there is little doubt Trump wants to have a war with NATO. I sure hope Europeans are watching.
i think the europeans ARE watching the orange rapist with great wariness and preparing for the worst. what will ultimately push them over the line into war and when that event might happen are unanswered questions. unlike the orange rapist, the europeans are not drawing multiple lines in the sand.
It's abhorrent what this orange A-hole is doing to our country!
Agree on Dimon. He’s more concerned about getting his employees back to the office (affectionately known as RTO) so he can justify his CEO title and pay … how can you be a leader without minions surrounding you, supposedly being more creative and productive? This is a great opportunity for all at Davos to slay the “orange dragon” … but they likely won’t because many are probably okay with what he’s doing … until he and his thugs come for them … which they will.
Believe it or not F 35 fighter jets from Vermont (thanks Bernie Sanders and Pat Leahy - not) are participants in Trump‘s military moves in South America.
Cadet BoneSpurs sure is spreading his toy military rather thin…
The jets are yours, I hope. You are a brave country…an impressive one, indeed. I believe that you would not turn into TrumpLandia …as is happening to the once Great America. Many of us are depressed…we remember what America used to be. Many of us had members of the Greatest Generation..who fought and died for freedom. This would break their hearts. It sure is breaking ours.
i'm american, judy. i am just an invisible american immigrant in this country. i'm not a citizen -- i'm not mean enough to strangers be norwegian!
Yes, indeed.
How much richer does he need to be? Ah..that is the question regarding all of the wealthy and powerful…they have a DISEASE…”NEVER ENOUGH FOR ME, ME, ME.”
GrrrlScientist.....I agree with you about Davos nothing will change same old b.s. I'm glad other countries are sending troops to Greenland, hopefully trump will back down on his rhetoric and leave Greenland alone. He is trying to deflect our attention from Epstein, that will never happen!
Simon even lacks the courage of Khodorovsky.
This is not leadership. This is escalation — and the GOP is driving it.
When communities are hurting and demanding accountability, Republicans respond with more uniforms, more force, and more fear. Instead of de-escalation, they choose militarization. Instead of listening, they choose intimidation.
Minnesotans have the constitutional right to peacefully assemble and be heard — not to be met with a show of force.
Robert Reich is right to call on leaders gathering at Davos to denounce this dangerous path.
Global leaders must speak with moral clarity.
Jamie Dimon and every corporate and financial leader with influence must speak out — firmly and publicly.
Trump is not leading.
He is laying waste to what is good, just, and humane.
And the world must tell him so — clearly, boldly, and together.
To Republican leaders and members of Congress:
Stand up for peace.
Protect civil liberties.
Demand transparency and accountability.
Stop escalating and start leading.
You swore an oath to the Constitution — not to power, not to party, not to authoritarian tactics.
Call to action:
If you are reading this, don’t stay silent.
Call your GOP representatives.
Call the White House.
Demand de-escalation, accountability, and peace.
And to the world:
Unite. Speak. Act.
United we are stronger than one lone man — and together we will stop this for the good of our planet and our future.
Choose peace.
Choose courage.
I totally agree, but this is actually asking the world to do our work for us. We must stand together and FIGHT, and DEMAND that Republicans act to remove this madman NOW.
THEY DO NOT CARE AND ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WILL MAKE THEM CARE. THEY WANT TO HANG ONTO THEIR PLUSHY JOBS..WITH LONG, PAID VACATIONS AND LOTS OF BENEFITS ..INCLUDING GREAT MEDICAL INSURANCE, ETC. OATHS ARE FOR FOOLS.
Yes! We, The People will make the difference.
Pamela, Like, Like, Like, Like, Like, Like!!!!! Beautifully written! Thank you!!!!!
Howdy, Klare. Good to hear from you.
Pamela,great post ,we should be doing more and will,we must get the 67 million Democrats out in the streets,get them to make a commitment to do something. If we expect Dimon or any of the American participants in Davos to do anything,that will absolutly not happen. THe driving force behind his support is Wall Street and the stock market has been on a tear for almost one year. It is primary due to1 company ( Nvidia) a chip maker and the driver of the AI movement.Jensen Huang who supports AI and just relishes @the # of jobs ( 30-60 million from 26-30) that will be lost. He is also behind a big push to develop Robots that will replace many more american workers. He is like an evangelical,when it comes to his desire to destroy the American workforce. Big tech is in Trumps pocket,they are paying him for back for deregulating everything.
Been doing that and I'm with you , Pamela.
It looks like we now have two concentrated powers willing to go scorched-earth on America:
an authoritarian political machine and a runaway tech/Wall Street alliance that sees working people as expendable.
We should be doing more — and we must.
67 million Democrats cannot stay quiet, comfortable, or distracted.
We need people in the streets, in town halls, on phones, and at ballot boxes making a real, public commitment to defend democracy and workers.
Waiting for Jamie Dimon or the Davos crowd to “do the right thing” is fantasy.
They won’t.
Their loyalty is to the stock market, not the American people.
The market’s “miracle” is being driven largely by one company — Nvidia — and by an AI gold rush that celebrates the loss of 30–60 million jobs as “inevitable progress.”
Jensen Huang talks about it like a revival preacher, while millions of families are told to simply accept their own economic extinction.
At the same time, Big Tech is openly paying Trump back for deregulation — lining his pockets while he dismantles protections, silences critics, and fuels authoritarian control.
This is the real fight.
Democracy vs. oligarchy.
Workers vs. billionaires.
Community vs. concentrated power.
Call to action:
If you’re reading this, don’t just “like” this post — do something.
Commit to one concrete action this week:
call your representatives, show up at a rally, organize your friends, support a local candidate, or help a voter register.
History will not forgive silence.
We rise together — or we lose everything.
They must, but as you note, the chances of their doing so seem slim.
More importantly, we small ones must be saying No to Trump and his troops, and telling those we know to be his partisans to say No to him, and especially telling those who are ICE or CBP or military or law enforcement to say No.
We should be performing Trump's letter circulated to the Prime Minister or Norway and various European diplomats in the cranky toddler tone in which it's written and ask them, "Is THIS what you support? Do you want to commit criminal violence to help THIS MAN get what he wants?"
https://x.com/nickschifrin/status/2013107018081489006?fbclid=IwY2xjawPa061leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETF0alJ0OGQzeTVQWXhEUks4c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHpF_LoQFDaCSyyb_Tb_e3VAp5NVu1UYWEsmq0ENW8DI2aF-O5bNqsYRyv2oc_aem_ZaVcsNylc7xPfWZQ4LMs1A
U.S. politics is starting to resemble the boiled frog story. Not because of the ending, but because of the process. No coup, no sudden rupture. Just small adjustments: a slightly more powerful executive, a slightly more irrelevant Congress, a slightly more politicized Court. Each step is explainable. Each step is temporary. Each step, taken on its own, is “manageable.” The frog’s problem is not the absolute temperature, but the rate of change. By the time it’s noticed, the movement has already been normalized. American democracy is not collapsing. It is adapting. And that is precisely what should worry us. Because systems don’t fail when the water suddenly boils. They fail when no one asks anymore whether it’s normal to still be sitting in the pot.
Past time to crack the pot and build a better vessel.
We can start cracking the pot this election year and we must start now supporting Dems and Independents who believe in our Democracy and democratic republic.
I think we need more than fresh drivers of a train built on exclusion, selection, and the worship of finance.
I am hoping that we start building a government that invests in lives and ideas more than rewarding success. That emphasizes cooperation and not isolation. That looks to build a sustainable and equitable society with real (non-monetary, non-financial) resources.
I hope that elections this year are a start.
The current Congress is actually the RED RUSSIAN REPUBLICAN PARTY and that gang in black robes is bought and paid for by powerful people who want to bring America down. Frogs do not stand a chance here.
Markets,good post.Maybe if you post this frequently,people will wake up.
Many thanks! For those interested in my perspective, I’ve written a few more structured post on the political mechanisms that drive systems from one “political state” to another. For example:
https://marketszoon.substack.com/p/quants-of-politics?r=58uzcq
if you deem interesting, please share them.
Well said.
My " Well said" is in reference to Market Zoon and not to what Judy said, to clarify.
If you want to get to Trump--Have all the countries in the free world stop shipping goods into this country, it would bring Trump to his knees.
It would also hurt their countries and eventually their people, in lost revenue.
Don't assume that we are unwilling to pay that price for freedom!
I'm not , John, but rather stating a fact .
I'm thinking about those who are not as strong as you are, who will suffer.
Of course we will suffer. Its a choice between terrible options. The tragedy is that it could have been completely avoided if the "exceptionalism" of the US were not so deplorably dysfunctional!
I came to the comments section to point to the Norway letter as well. Yeah, that oughta play well in Davos.
A modern state is a fragile equilibrium of individual interests. It holds together as long as it delivers predictable benefits; it loses legitimacy when it fails to do so.
Economic crises break the anesthesia of prosperity and reveal what usually remains hidden: under scarcity, survival displaces abstraction, fear replaces trust, and rational individual actions push the system toward collective failure.
This is not an accident, but a structural outcome.
Read the full post to understand how states adapt and transform:
https://substack.com/@marketszoon/note/c-199784889?r=58uzcq&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
I think as usual, Prof. Reich, you are absolutely correct. But Dimon, like other “Captains of Industry,” will look out for his bank, not democracy. American businesses have taught me they don’t care about our democracy. It matters only what system and conditions maximizes their business’ profits, and by extension, their leader’s compensation.
Always about the MONEY, HONEY!
I wonder if Alexander Hamilton would be proud of his banking system now ?
Right 0k
The European heads of State attending should arrest The Felon for war crimes and any "cabinet members" involved in those crimes as well.
Maybe Yes or Maybe Not
I guess we all will find out if the Root Of All That Is Evil, the Love Of Money, is more important to the wealthiest people than having a country where all human beings are able to live in peace and prosperity.
I would not be surprised if some cook comes up with a foundation to "lower" the temperature between ICE and the oppressed. It will fault "both" sides for the extra jusicial ICE kilings and somehow whichever company sponsors it they will somehow make money from it and throw lip service all over everyone while accomplishing very little to help immigrants or the protestors. Only profiting itself.
Keith,my bet in on the :Love of Money: These technocrats do not believe for 1 minute in Democracy and they have repeated that endlessly,maybe we should listen to what they say.
They believe in Technocracy,we should wake up. Technology @ this point is not our friend.
THEY NEVER HAVE ENOUGH…MONEY AND POWER. POWER AND MONEY.
Sadly, yes we will .but We The People will prevail, as we must, Keith.
Trump has a dream, however, Martin's was worth something.
U.S. politics is starting to resemble the boiled frog story. Not because of the ending, but because of the process. No coup, no sudden rupture. Just small adjustments: a slightly more powerful executive, a slightly more irrelevant Congress, a slightly more politicized Court. Each step is explainable. Each step is temporary. Each step, taken on its own, is “manageable.” The frog’s problem is not the absolute temperature, but the rate of change. By the time it’s noticed, the movement has already been normalized. American democracy is not collapsing. It is adapting. And that is precisely what should worry us. Because systems don’t fail when the water suddenly boils. They fail when no one asks anymore whether it’s normal to still be sitting in the pot.
The woman who was shot in the face in Minnesota, and thousands of violently disappeared others understand very well what is happening.
What??
Trump's dream is a nightmare.
If the titans of the financial world rebel then they could unseat TACO. He is doing a lot of damage to the US and the western world. I saw a clip of the tech bros in the White house being as obsequious as it is possible to be. They were behaving like interns desperate to be noticed by senior management. Time for someone to tell it like it is. These people have so much money they don't need to worry.
It's demoralizing to see how Mark Zuckerberg is still so much the over-eager Harvard student who hasn't matured while turning gray and stupendously wealthy.
Thanks. I am still an over eager student and my hair is going white. However my bank balance is still pretty modest. I wonder why.
I think the plain Truth is that the President, with his “alcoholic personality”, is not currently a well man capable of rational thought or making informed decisions.
The latest report, threats to Norway about his lack of a Peace Prize, is beyond parody. It’s pure Monty Python from a failing president:
“US President Donald Trump linked his pursuit of Greenland to his failure to win the Nobel Peace Prize in a message to Norway’s prime minister.
“Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace… “
Paul, God, what a fucking, pathetic IDIOT TRUMP IS!!!
Klare,he is that,but he is a : Nazi: with the absolute backing of Religion,Wall Street,CNBC,Fox,Corporate America,Supreme Court.How do we fight back against those forces?
Mala tempora currunt…..
…..sed peiora parantur
(These are bad times, but worse ones are being prepared)
Some words from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Martin Luther King day:
“Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.
“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.
“Not only will we have to repent for the sins of bad people; but we also will have to repent for the appalling silence of good people.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
― Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from the Birmingham Jail
“One of the great liabilities of history is that all too many people fail to remain awake through great periods of social change. Every society has its protectors of status quo and its fraternities of the indifferent who are notorious for sleeping through revolutions. Today, our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.
“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.”
― Martin Luther King Jr., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches
Great quotations, Anne. Thank you. MLK Jr was a great, courageous man. His assassination was as eloquent as he was (if not more so).Neither Madison nor Marx put much faith in morality. Madison created a mechanism for compromise (the Constitution). Marx argued that no compromise was possible. Echoing Marx, the authors of Project 2025 reject compromise. Trump is their man, and he is trampling the Constitution. "Prepare for war," one of their spokespersons declared in 2020. Some of them were prepared and took action on Jan 6, 2021. He who does nor stand up for the Constitution is betraying the USA. We must wrestle the American flag from their treacherous hands.
Thank you! It seems like ancient history that we had such a moral exemplar. Andy Borowitz shared King's final address today, yet being Black or brown still is to walk with a target on your back, even if you were born here.
Now is the time to stop the madness. So sad that the worlds future is up to those who make so much money from chaos.
Marita, it's not SAD -- IT'S CRIMINAL!!!
I'm surprised that you think any of them have enough integrity to speak out.
Hope springs eternal but eventually every spring can run dry.