It may not be enough for incoming President Trump to lash out and take over some of our neighboring countries. He may be preparing for an internal conflict as well.
Scholars at the University of California, Berkeley, warn that Trump could be preparing to wage war against California, with its entrenched Democratic government and supposed progressive values.
According to the experts’ analysis, Trump may elect to escalate the federal-state conflict to unprecedented levels, using funding cuts, administrative pressure and political muscle to break the state’s will.
“After the election, (Gov. Gavin) Newsom made national headlines by calling a special legislative session to enact laws and financial allocations to “Trump-proof” the state. But as Newsom emerges as a national political opponent to the administration, and as he considers a 2028 run for the White House, Trump may have even more incentive to go to war.”
He could withhold emergency aid in the event of wildfires, earthquakes or floods.
He could slash higher education funding for the state, or aggressively challenge the state’s influential climate and environmental standards.
He could attempt to override the state’s protections for reproductive health care and undermine public health policies.
Of course, Trump loudly complain but then do none of these things, because California has by far the largest economy of any state — it accounts for 14% of the nation’s total economy— and any moves to destabilize it could have severe repercussions for the country overall.
So this is just one of the many scenarios that could await us under the new Trump presidency. Aides say he has prepared at least 100 executive orders to be issued on his first day in office.
HEADLINES:
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The Insurance Crisis That Will Follow the California Fires (New Yorker)
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The Anti-Social Century (Atlantic)
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Art is Disagreement — A Complete Unknown and the myths of Bob Dylan (The Nation)
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Biden Wanders Into Flames (The Onion)
TODAY’s QUOTE:
“Art is a disagreement,” BobDylan writes in his most recent book, The Philosophy of Modern Song. “Money is an agreement.”
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