2025: Bad Year For Acronyms (BYFA)

John Charles Dalton

is a highly experienced advisor, team leader, and management consultant. Among the relevant experiences which support his writing on this topic are the following:

Chief Researcher on the Special Commission to Implement the 89th Amendment to the Massachusetts State Constitution; Reviewed thousands of draft laws and constitutional amendments as legislative staff to the Joint Committee on State Administration (all organizational changes and setups) and the Committee on Election Laws of the Massachusetts State Legislature; Provided technical and strategy inputs to the formulation of local charters in approximately 25 subnational jurisdictions and reviewed hundreds of draft charters; Elected by the voters at an annual election to serve as a member of a local charter-drafting commission; Prepared legislation and testified on the need for specific laws to support the charter making and voter approval process to buttress the Home Rule Amendment; Advised six national agencies in Zambia on the preparation of integrity charters to complement the newly enacted constitutional provisions on anticorruption; and, Advised the Offices of the President of Liberia and the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe on policies and laws to implement political and democratic change (i.e., charters)

IMHO, last year was FUBAR in so many ways. Although, in my POV,  there were lots of stuff and nonsense to choose from, TBH the many casualties among the acronymized world stand out. I am still SMH about the many things that are known by their initials rather than their complete, official, and usually boring whole name that were dissed, diminished, or destroyed last year. So here are the dead letters of 2025:

1. USAID 

The worst bad 2025 belongs to…drum roll, please…the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). It was vaporized…poof… asta la vista…sayonara.. GONE:  a victim of  the combined, misguided but not wholly unpredictable targeting by Musk, DOGE, Rubio and the Big White Rabbit.  USAID was established in 1961 by JFK to project U.S. values and support democracy around the globe. But it had grown like Topsy, one of the factors that contributed to its fall from Mount Olympus.

Since its inception, USAID had been the leading “soft power” strategy of the USG. Creating mutual respect via G2G partnerships was a key component of that strategy. Development - plus democracy and diplomacy – were the guiding principles of US foreign policy; USAID was the point of the spear. Over time, as the plight of the world’s poor and traumatized populations (natural disaster and conflicts) became more visible (e.g., pictures of starving children in the Horn of Africa), USAID’s development mission was initially matched and then exceeded by Kennedy’s second priority – humanitarianism. But, unfortunately this huge shift in priorities had a poison pill: the reduction of G2G relationships in favor of NGOism. This shift appears to have been  a major factor in USAID’s  demise (“too woke” according to the Elon, the Prince of Darkness and Baby Goebbels, SM)…or was it the cost, or MAGA, or lack of creativity, or something else? We may never know because, while many USAID insiders recognized the problems, they underestimated the risk and moved too slowly to change the institution….. too late smart…and now it’s gone. Literally, the records and documents were tossed in the dust bin.

From a security perspective, the absence of USAID’s diverse services may create restive and disaffected populations, a condition which could threaten peace and stability around the globe. From a purely humanitarian perspective there will be heightened risk of decline in learning, increases in epidemics and infections, early/preventable death and environmental degradation through poorly mitigated natural disasters. 

USAID used to measure these risks and serve as a respected source of information. That could be gone, as well. But hopefully soon, there will be a new, more “governmenty” approach by the USA, but the ID part of the acronym is the biggest loser of 2025. International development is not now a US priority. But for those who prefer it, bombing is in.. and imperialism too. 

2. UN 

The LOVE-HATE relationship many people have with the United Nations (UN) was on full display in 2025. The UN Security Council (UNSC) once again – it’s an annual ritual - did little or nothing in 2025 to address  the world’s problems and, instead, just added to traffic problems in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. After years of running up the free tab with no outputs, 2025 was the year of reckoning. But, when the time came to carve off the fat of the UN’s bloated bureaucracy,  the UNSC itself dodged the bullet. However. the collateral damage – budget cut shrapnel – hit the many agencies which actually do the work of the UN. And… the horror of horrors for the dudes in suits…UN agencies are moving from NYC to Nairobi. What is the opposite of “cushy” (no, not that one).

Adding to the pain…the US State Department has recently withdrawn the US and its funding from 31 specialized UN “cushies”, which according to El Marco no longer are in America’s interest. 

Among the unfortunate casualties is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which became the means of recording the commitments of nations to operationalize the Paris Accord to limit global warming. As the risks became even greater, financing mechanisms became more urgent. Now, with the stroke of a hammer the Great White Rabbit and the Cuban Missile have withdrawn the US from the UNFCCC. Duh!

3. HAMAS

The military wing of Harakat al-Muqawamah al-Islamiyyah (HAMAS, I bet you did not know that) got their AS handed to them in Gaza in a the most humiliating – and also disgusting way. Gaza, where I once lived and worked, is in ruins, 75,000 civilians are dead, tens of thousands more wounded from relentless aerial and ground attacks by IDF, ostensibly in retaliation for the October 7, 2023 invasion of southern Israel villages by a ragtag group of Gazans under the direction and command of the military wing of HAMAS. Failure of the IDF to defend the Gaza-Israel border on that day has awakened the old “eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth” policy of Hammurabi’s Code minus the corollary principle of reciprocal justice. The current calculation would make the reciprocity rate 50 Gazans::1 Israeli…surprisingly accounting is NOT one of Israel’s strong suits. 

In 2025 (and in 2024 as well) HAMAS was a bigtime loser. Even the turn of the calendar into 2026, when Trump’s ceasefire was supposed to pave the way for Monaco to emerge from the GAZA rubble, there has been no peace for Palestinians as the unholy four (Smotrich, Ben Givr, Naziyahoo, and Katz) continue their revenge campaign in Gaza and the West Bank, nominally still called Palestine. The two-state solution is now similar to one between Italy and Pompei.

4. ESG

Fooled again! Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) was an approach to non-financial reporting by corporations. Shareholders could see the “soft side” of the company, compare it to others in the same industry or in the same area, and invest or divest accordingly. It all sounded so good in the lecture hall. ESG was a form of risk management which supported sustainability. Were folks afraid of greenwashing, worker washing and boss washing? No? Well that’s what they got, especially from family-owned, non-listed companies in Bangladesh in a supply chain to major buyers from Europe and the USA. “Who us, damage the environment? No way” 

The ESG good intentions were bound to be contentious since, unlike statutory audits or standardized risk management tools, ESG reviews were highly subjective and subject to manipulation. Experts came out of the woodwork promising to train you, rebrain you, financially gain you. Reports were prepared and compared (“mine is bigger than yours”, meaning more pages and graphs). Reporting to the board by McKinsey or Deloitte probably passed the smell test, but there must have been lots of “who the hell are these guys advising us to modify our production methods, pay more to our employees and recommend your cousin Louie from the mailroom as the next CEO”?

But ESG is trying to rebrand itself. The EU has gone all-in on supply chain integrity. Maybe 2026 will be better, but 2025 was a BYFA that spell ESG. 

5. NGO

For many non-government organizations (NGO) working in the development sector, the name contained the seed of its own destruction …”non-government”… since many were totally dependent on government funding to do their work. In the development sector the past decade saw a proliferation of NGOs, most legit, but many others were quick-profit opportunists, hastily created to capitalize on a misguided policy of localization. Localization was a misguided policy intended to strengthen locally delivered services. However, due to a definite “non-government” basis, NGO’s by-passed locally elected and appointed officials to wage some sort of guerilla operation against legitimacy. “Na na na naha, we have your money; we deliver government programs…na na na naha”. Then came the Trump shock—the end of USAID, followed by cutbacks in UK and Germany development assistance and the dot hogs, went back to being slimmed down dot orgs and then by the end of 2025 many had faded out as the gravy train fell off the tracks. Not laughing now, are you, buddy?.

In other sectors, and even for some sectors where governments exist but are underfunded (or even not really funded at all) or where the conditions make it impossible for locals to deliver services, NGOs are undeniably essential. Think about Gaza or Sudan or Yemen where NGOs fill the breach between life and death.  Hats off and much respect to them. The year 2025 was not one of their best, but their focus and clarity of purpose pulled them through. In 2026, they are still striving to do good against all odds, such as the ungodly blockade of aid by country whose name we dare not speak. Good luck to them. They deserve our moral support and financial contributions.

6. ICAB

CLOSE to home, although much of the huge sums of money their members facilitated, enabled and colluded to be stolen is nestled softly in their investments AWAY from home, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) was exposed as a safe haven for fraudsters. Not all members were corrupt, of course…nothing is absolute…but many converted their share of the ill-gotten gains into a villa in Dubai! The alleged totals for the grand theft of the past decade varies from TI’s estimate of $160 billion (with a B) to $263 billion (Yep, B) estimates by others. Once again, in 2025 the Government (new kits same game) wink-winked  its way past the enablers and focused on Mission Impossible, i.e.,  retrieving  the stolen proceeds and putting them back into the coffers of the country. 

Although the focus here is on the bad year for acronyms (BYFA) it is never a bad idea to remind the good citizens of the country that the past administration (rhymes with PAL) offered the corrupters the chance to fess up and “whiten” their plunder. And thousands of humbled, crocodile-teared individuals and business owners returned to Bangladesh with heads bowed in shame (not!) to invest their ill-gotten gains in government schools or health clinics or repaving rural roads or strengthening river banks to prevent flooding in villages throughout the country … oh, hold on…you mean to say these crooks were allowed to invest their pirated booty in real estate, the most corrupt business in the country whose business model is based on lying about land values, lying about purchase agreements, lying about asset values, lying about costs and lying about revenues and expenditures??? And once again another 2025 loser, ICAB, was right there to dance like John Travolta in “Stayin’ Alive”

So, apart from the swearing-in ceremony and smiling photo of new officers at the Pan Pacific (someone needs to audit that place), let’s hope for a 2026 marked by integrity… hope springs eternal. 

7. DOJ

These next three BYFA candidates represent a cluster of hypocrisy in the USA. Since they exhibit separate and distinct traits that undermine freedom and democracy, they each get an individual call-out. Although the direct and immediate impacts of this lack of integrity are on display in the USA itself, the example set by the three stooges are an example to other countries that they could also ignore the rule of law with impunity. 

DOJ’s multiple claims to infamy in 2025 include:

* Selective prosecution against James Comey, former Director of the FBI and NY Attorney General, Letitia James, which nonetheless failed because Trump’s inexperienced prosecutor was 100% beauty; 0% brains 

* Suppression of evidence against Donald Trump by failing to release the so-called Epstein files, unredacted and in a timely manner.

* Indiscriminate firing of prosecutors involved in investigations which did not conform to Trump’s standards.

* Pausing the enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) to let the statute of limitations expire, thereby, letting US crooks off the hook.

* White collar prosecutions dropped by 30% hitting a rock bottom not seen in 30 years.

* DOJ, on behalf of Trump, pardoned rabble, rioters and other January 6, 2021 convicted criminals.

The DOJ is led by the Attorney General of the United States (AGUS), both administratively – the nominal head of the DOJ -  and as the officer who “preserves and protects the Constitution and laws of the USA”. Although a member of the President’s Cabinet the AGUS is the Peoples’ Lawyer, historically independent from pressure by the President and political operatives. 

In this second incarnation of the White Rabbit’s Evil Empire that line of integrity has been erased and the AGUS is in the back pocket of the POTUS. Will 2026 be any different? No. 

8. FBI

Ahhhh, the fabled Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Where once we had Eliot Ness, now we have a Hot Mess. In 2025, the FBI became for instrument to exact revenge on the political “enemies” of the Great White Rabbit. US Senator Adam Schiff from California (CA) was harassed in retribution for heading the January 6 Committee; after a flawed FBI investigation, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook was removed from her post (she won her appeal) on the Federal Reserve board, to name just the most egregious examples of abuse of power.

It also seems that under Trump, FBI meant ”feeling boobs incessantly” as over 300 sexual harassment claims were filed in 2025 and the FBI was forced to settle a $22 million class action suit based on evidence of sexual harassment of female FBI recruits. As one would expect from this administration, the offending agents escaped any public disclosure and may, at this very moment, be pinching the bottoms of waitresses at the FBI cafeteria. 

Finally, the once admired FBI is headed by a guy who probably told his country western singing GF that he was the offspring of Johnny Kash. In 2026 those same cloudy eyeballs will be like, “I see nothing here”  

9. ICE

Ice, Ice, Baby. The puppy-killer’s Gestapo brigades, many newly recruited from among the same cohort that stormed the Nation’s Capital in 2021- wreaked havoc across the USA but especially in historically Democratic strongholds like Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, New York and Washington, DC. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was unleashed to fulfill the Great White Rabbit’s pledge to deport more than 2 million “criminal gang members and drug traffickers”. Data shows that gardeners, roofers and home maids were more likely to be targeted as they went about their lives pursuing the American Dream. Targeted raids at Home Depot and Lowe’s showed their true intent: grab the working class. 

The numbers of detained and deported is staggering. Over 300,000 deportations over the past nine months alone as ICE surge-hired 6000 from a target of 10,000 raw recruits. From five Latin American countries alone: Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador and Colombia 176,000 individuals were deported, mostly for traffic violations. In fact 50% of all deportations had no..none..nada criminal records.

Mayors, Governors and Attorneys General in the affected States – mostly Democrats - pushed back via the judicial system and consistently obtained favorable rulings to prevent masked, armed and badge-less storm troopers from entering their cities on witch hunts. 

For sure 2025 – and may there never be any more – was a BYFA for ICE

10. DEI

Diversity, Equity, an Inclusion (DEI) was a policy intended to promote fair consideration of individuals in hiring and human relations, such as promotion and dismissal among other labor rights,  as well as creating a level playing field for government contracting. Sounds OK to me. But in 2025 key figures in the Trump Administration classified DEI as “woke”, a pejorative term meaning it was just some liberal, leftwing idea that was contrary to the reality that all wrongs can’t be made right by slogans and strictures.

Federal agencies were forced to drop DEI as official policy an all references were expunged from websites. States and local governments were also pressured to drop both the term and its operationalization. Companies that did business with the Federal Government quickly fell in line, some like Target experienced boycotts and harsh reactions by consumers who believed that DEI was fair and just. A few corporate heroes stuck to their guns especially since a core company policy was hiring individuals with disabilities.

For 2026, DEI is unlikely to re-emerge under that acronym but maybe FYDT will replace it, at least in spirit.

11. COP

The Conference of the Parties (COP) is an annual gathering of public officials and environmental activists from around the globe whose production of CO2 in transit to and from the event, ironically, puts the planet even closer to apocalyptic global warming. COP30 held in 2025 in Brazil was no different. After days of talking and negotiating the results were 15 million blah blah blahs; 3 billion yad yada yadas; multiple billion head nods (the count is not precise because during the event one of the pavilions from Hell caught on fire). 

It is becoming clearer that anything “global” will ever bring together countries with hugely different views of the problem itself and the options for equitably solving it. The rich, industrial polluting countries (USA, PRC, RF, etc.) are assumed to be willing to buy their way out of this mess. Blank check days are over, boys and girls. 

Of course, some progress was made at securing financial commitments to fund countries, such as Bangladesh, that are directly impacted by global climate change. But it seems after thirty years of COPs the planet sems to be mocking the feeble-minded humans. Mother nature takes no prisoners. COP31 is already being planned, buy your tickets now and prepare to foul the atmosphere on your way to proclaiming that we cannot go on like this.

12. SCOTUS

The much-admired, almost revered symbol of justice, the current nine- member Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) lost a lot of its prestige in 2025 by acting as the right-wing Mafia’s consigliere rather than as an honest, objective arbiter of the Constitution and laws of the USA. Consisting of 5.5 white, right wing conservatives, and 3 liberal-leaning female members, the SCOTUS votes almost always go along those lines.

Among the sticks in the eye delivered by SCOTUS were the following, all delivered from the “shadow docket”, the modern version of a kangaroo court headed by the Queen of Hearts. “First the verdict; then the crime”. Without oral arguments at SCOTUS, a flimsy decision could be handed down by a three-judge panel, sometimes even unsigned. 

One of the notorious and consequential decisions in 2025 was approval of a mid-decade (highly irregular) re-drawing of the Congressional map in Texas to create five more right-leaning Republican districts as requested by the Great White Rabbit.  While ostensibly a “States right” and “wink-wink” a law which the SCOTUS was unable to show an intent to violate civil rights, the Court voted 6-3 (Told ya!) to not overturn a lower court’s ruling that Texas’s attempt to gerrymander district was not unconstitutional and could be used in the 2026 mid-term Congressional elections. Shame!

Other head-scrathers included a DEI motivated decision to allow the National Institutes of Health to cancel $800 million in research grants to colleges and universities because the research focused on minorities; and a case called Trump vs CASA which empowered the Great White Rabbit to  prosecute his deportation regime via a shadow document decision. Judicial overreach, lack of transparency, political butt-kissing…no problem for this version of the STAR CHAMBER.   

Any change expected in 2026? No, again.

13. NCP

Another rock-and-rock “truth” is dead and buried in Bangladesh; “The Kids are DEFINITELY NOT Alright. Taking it to the streets was definitely not the stairway to heaven it was supposed to be. Doing it my way was not a great strategy and, alas, here we are, the children’s campaign lays down with the men of La Mancha to dream the impossible dream.

The 2026 election is a great reckoning. 

14. DJT

Last, but worst BYFA, is the titular head of the United States of America, Greenland, Iran, Canada, Mexico, and Venezuela. The Great White Rabbit’s faux-imperialism was a might-is-right assault on international law and diplomacy. When old men in an elder care home start ranting, the attendants smile and walk away. Give the codger an army, nuclear weapons and the right to make  his own rules.. he must be approached with caution. Welcome to the USA in 2025.

Like the Mad Hatter, the fearless leader was jumping around creating crises and then demanding a Nobel Prize for solving his own mess. Tariffs led the way, punishing all trading partners who maintained a trade surplus over the USA. Would the tariffs focus on specific industries or commodities, as was past practice.. NO…BANG, you bad, you suffer. The global order was in upheaval. Then the Carroteater-in-Chief alternated between letting some countries off the hook and then threatening to place extraordinary tariffs on others. Wasn’t he cute!   

The threats to annex Canada (the 51st State) and Greenland (blubber for the blubber) were crazed examples of applying the Monroe Doctrine. Acting as Israel’s poodle by bombing Iran’s assumed nuclear enrichment facilities and then crafting a ceasefire cover story marked by continued bombing of the civilian population of Gaza earned him a golden kippa from his owners.  

US citizens also suffered. In addition to unleashing ICE and selected National Guards (the courts slapped him down) on  Democratic cities and States (fake mobilizations were held in Tennessee and Arkansas as a “hey, look over here” ploy), the Great White Rabbit engineered a government shut-down to cut off health care subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), sometimes called Obama-Care,  which reference always puts a little extra load in his diapers. As a consequence of his jealous extended birtherism obsession, millions of Americans are at risk of not being able to afford insurance premiums. 

Pettiness also was the Great White Rabbit’s calling card. Adding his name to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC, followed a survey of historians selecting the Great White Rabbit as the worst President in American history.  

So, there you have it, appropriately ending the BYFA summary with the worst of the worst. 

You can reach me at jcdalton0417@gmail.com to get the address for sending, food, fruits and flowers.  Happy 2026!!!