Southwest Sucks, Kosovo and Serbia on the Brink, Taiwan Troubles, Gorsuch Dissents & Texas Grid Failures

In this episode, Alex starts by saying he was wrong about Avatar: The Way of Water; the movie was better than he expected. Next, he gives an update on George Santos, the congressman-elect who has fabricated almost every part of his resume. Apparently, Santos is not stepping down and has admitted to enhancing his resume. Alex then discusses Title 42. CNN reported that “the Supreme Court said Tuesday that the controversial Trump-era border restriction known as Title 42 will remain in effect while legal challenges play out.” Interestingly, Justice Neil Gorsuch dissented against Title 42. Alex notes that Gorsuch is a good justice that has a decent understanding of principles over politics. While the other conservatives voted to maintain 42 for political reasons, Gorsuch understood the precedent it could set. Later, Alex goes into new Texas news regarding the energy grid and concerns over new failures. While Governor Abbott has been busy busing migrants to Democratic states, Texas has seen constant struggles. Alex discusses the importance of collaborative network building and voices his disdain for Abbott. For the remainder of the episode, foreign policy is the center of the conversation. Alex voices concerns about recent talks of escalations between Kosovo and Serbia. He worries that Vucic, Serbia’s president, may employ tactics similar to those of Putin in Crimea in 2014. Finally, it looks like the Chinese have escalated incursions into Taiwan. This has the Taiwanese on high alert, the US voicing concerns, and China pointing fingers. Alex argues that it is time for the US to make agreements with Taiwan and break away from its policy of Strategic Ambiguity.