Those awful AP reporters had it coming. … And from here on in we shall refer to ‘New Mexico’ as ‘New America.’ …

The BBJ reports that mayoral candidate Josh Kraft is providing more details about his housing plan that he first proposed last week. Housing is obviously a hot-button issue these days, no doubt. But are voters really going to think he can make a difference on the issue as mayor? Or are they going to think he’s merely the front man for real estate developers? … I don’t know. Cutting down on the affordability mandate is sound economics, but I’m not so sure it’s sound politics. … He needs a little more shameless populist punch than this, I suspect, though not of the populist variety mentioned directly below.

Update – 2.13.25 — From GBH: “Wu: Kraft is pitching ‘fake rent control.’”

I liked the headline. Not so much the column. … Speaking of pieces in the Times: “Trump’s Actions Have Created a Constitutional Crisis, Scholars Say.” My immediate reaction: No shit. … My other reaction to the timing of the piece: What took so long ?

No. 12’s performance as a Fox analyst during the Super Bowl is getting panned at the Globe and Times and elsewhere. … And so is the ‘grotesque’ $740,000 watch that he wore during the game. … Flashback: ‘Where did you get that dress? It’s awful!”

Re Tom’s booth performance: forget Tony Romo and other on-air NFL analysts. The ultimate player-turned-commentator he should strive to emulate: John McEnroe. No cliches. No platitudes. Just telling it like it is, as seen through the eyes of a great ex-player.

And this is the largest and allegedly strongest health-care provider in the state? Not good. … Here’s the BBJ’s story. No specific staff-cut numbers yet (or none I can see). But the Globe reports it’s going to be in the hundreds over two years, for the largest layoff rounds in MGB’s history.

Sorry for my onesidedism of late. I’m trying hard to resist TDS. … Anyway, the conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board continues to pleasantly surprise. Re President Trump’s frivolous lawsuit against CBS and the FCC’s launch of an official inquiry: “Mr. Trump clearly wants to intimidate the press, and it’s no credit to the FCC to see it reinforcing that with an inquiry.”

Dan Kennedy and Jill Abramson at the Globe have more on Trump’s aggressive harassment campaigns against the media.

The Trump administration is once again effectively shutting down an agency without proper Congressional approval. … Ho hum.  Another weakening of the constitution. No big deal. … Elizabeth Warren is vowing to stop the closure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that she originally helped create.  … Next up on OBM’s hit list: The U.S. Postal Service? Department of Education? Department of Energy?

Jack Butler at the National Review makes clear President Trump’s assault on the federal government isn’t really about efficiencies or DEI or transgender issues per se. It’s really about the long-cherished conservative goal of philosophically defeating the left and slashing the size of government in general, notes Butler, who harks back 70 years to William F. Buckley Jr.’s stated founding principles for NR. … Butler makes no mention of the way Trump’s cuts are being implemented today, so it’s fair to say he thinks the end goal of smaller government and defeating the left justifies Trump’s trampling of norms and constitutional niceties. … Ditto for Federalist founder Sean Davis, who’s practically in ecstasy over Trump’s budget-cutting chaos, and for the NYT Post’s Michael Goodman, who agrees this is all about the “administrative state,” etc. etc. …Again, no objections are raised as to how all of these cuts are being achieved.

Note to media: Trump and Musk are, yes, going after DEI and trans-gender issues. But many on the right are going after much, much more. That’s the big-picture story. … The WSJ gets it: “DOGE’s First Round of Cuts Went to Trump Priorities, but Bigger Targets Await.” …

This is going to be huge in Boston medical-research circles. … Via  STAT News or the Globe. Take your pick.

Update – 2.9.25 – Carl Bergstrom breaks down the NIH cuts, saying they’re straight out of Project 2025 and more devastating than thought. … Via UH. … Another physician who I talked to agrees . “This is bad news,” he told me. “They’re implementing their Project 2025.”

Update II – 2.10.25 – From WBUR: “Judge halts Trump administration’s cap on NIH funds after Mass. and 21 other states sue.”