Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Alejandra Gomez and Greisa Martinez Rosas offer a reminder that Donald Trump's attempt to pit immigrants against other workers serves only to distract from the reality that the capitalist class is callously exploiting both. And Amanda Taub reports on the protection racket diplomacy which has been tested first in the U.S.' threats to abandon Ukraine. 

- Jill Filipovic writes about the adolescent masculinity that represents the common thread of Trump's various factions and plans. David Dayen offers some hope that Trump's initial plan for a coup against U.S. democracy has failed as most institutions have survived the first wave of attacks, while Brian Beutler discusses how his unabashed villainy has helped to avoid a takeover without resistance. Adam Serwer points out how one of Trump's core goals is to reverse the gains of the civil rights movement. And Beatrice Peterson reports on the mass firings of intelligence community employees who dared to participate in LGBTQ+-oriented private chat conversations, while Madison Pauly reports on the McCarthyist demand that workers out their LGBTQ+ colleagues to enable their being purged from the civil service as a whole. 

- Alice Southey and Tabatha Southey write about the need to stop treating Trump's constant threats to take Canada by force as a joke or a thought experiment. David Moscrop points out how the external menace makes it easier to unite around what makes Canada worth defending. And Nora Loreto discusses how much of our sovereignty has already been sold off by our ruling class, while Taylor Noakes rightly notes that Trump's consequence-free negation of free trade agreements (including the one he himself negotiated) shows how little they were worth in the first place. 

- Crawford Kilian offers some lessons for both the U.S.' democracy and our own. Geoff Bickerton argues that the CBC provides us with an important trusted news source at an extremely low cost - which is particularly vital as the U.S.' media and information ecosystem is dominated more and more by the world's wealthiest and most narcissistic few. And Carine Abousief discusses the need to make our health care system more resilient against U.S. threats (rather than instead making it even more dependent on foreign actors).  

- Finally, Danyaal Raza points out how public health care in Ontario is under threat as Doug Ford seeks another term in which to neglect and/or privatize services. And Shellene Drakes-Tull calls out Ford for his own determination to sell out as much of the provinces as he can for the benefit of his cronies both north and south of the border.