Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“The United States has carried out new strikes on an Iranian military site allegedly posing a threat to US forces and maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, according to news reports. Iranian media have reported that US forces struck near the Bandar Abbas port, causing no damage or casualties. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) later said it launched an attack on an ‘American airbase’ in retaliation for the Bandar Abbas strike, and warned of ‘more decisive’ action should US ‘aggression’ continue, according to state media. Kuwait’s military said its air defences confronted ‘hostile’ missiles and drones, without providing information on where the attack came from.” (05/28/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2026/5/28/iran-war-live-israel-orders-mass-forced-displacement-for-all-south-lebanon
Source: The Realist Review
by James W Carden
“Over the course of his three presidential campaigns (2016, 2020, 2024), President Donald J. Trump promised an America First foreign policy — one that would see America pull back from postwar European security commitments, end the war in Ukraine, and keep the country out of the Middle East ‘forever wars’ that so beguiled (and then bedeviled) every US president for the past quarter of a century. Instead, as we head into the 2026 midterms, his record is, to a surprising degree, primarily one of continuity with the national security policies of his predecessors. In the context of foreign policy, Trump II might properly be seen as Bush-Cheney’s third term, such has been the influence of neoconservative personnel and ideas within his two non-contiguous administrations.” (05/27/26)
https://therealistreview.substack.com/p/was-trump-ever-a-realist
Source: The Political Orphanage
“The Old Political Order Is Dying: Stephen Davies on the Great Realignment.” (05/27/26)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/the-old-political-order-is-dying-stephen-davies-on-the-great-realignment
Source: CoinDesk
“Bitcoin broke below $73,000 for the first time in months as fresh U.S. strikes on Iran sent risk assets lower and triggered one of the largest liquidation events of the year. Bitcoin traded at $72,978 in Asian hours Thursday, down 3.4% over 24 hours and 6.3% over the past seven days, per CoinDesk data, after touching a low of $72,912. … Risk assets fell across the board. The MSCI All Country World Index retreated 0.4% from a record high, a gauge of Asian shares dropped 1.7%, and futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 pointed lower. Oil climbed as the strikes clouded the outlook for a deal to reopen the strait.” (05/28/26)
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/05/28/bitcoin-drops-below-usd73-000-as-us-strikes-on-iran-spark-usd1-billion-liquidations
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“Every time there’s an election — a religious ritual for those who believe in the imaginary authority of the state — the cheers and tears begin as soon as the votes are tallied. The reaction depends on whether the individual voter ends up on the winning or losing side. Either outcome means the state has won at the expense of liberty. Politics is designed to divide people into winners and losers, and the only way to truly win is to refuse to play.” (05/27/26)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2026/05/27/voices/opinion-political-winners-those-who-dont-participate/233526.html
Source: The Hill
“The Department of Justice (DOJ) has reportedly launched a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll, who accused President Trump of sexual assault, according to multiple reports. CNN was the first to report Wednesday night that the DOJ’s probe focuses on whether Carroll committed perjury while speaking at a deposition as part of her two civil lawsuits against Trump. … Prosecutors are reportedly focused on Carroll telling then-Trump attorney Alina Habba in a 2022 deposition that she received no outside funding for the lawsuit. Two weeks before the trial, though, Carroll’s attorneys informed the judge and Trump’s legal team that billionaire Reid Hoffman’s nonprofit covered some of her legal fees and expenses. … Two juries awarded Carroll a total of $88.3 million in damages, finding Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming her.” (05/27/26)
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5898599-carroll-trump-defamation-probe-doj/
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by David Volodzko
“In the spring of 1873, the U.S. postal inspector, a prudish Christian named Anthony Comstock, arrived in Washington carrying a box of dildos. There were also dirty books, naughty pictures, French playing cards, abortion pamphlets, ‘intermediate tegumentary coverings’ (condoms), and enough sexually explicit material to scandalize Congress into trying to legislate the Devil out of Americans. Comstock called the collection his ‘Chamber of Horrors’ and went around showing it to lawmakers like a traveling freak show. The performance worked. On March 3, President Ulysses S. Grant signed what became known as the Comstock Act, one of the most sweeping censorship laws in American history. … For the next four decades, Comstock stalked publishers, raided bookstores, and helped criminalize public discussion of sex in the United States.” (05/27/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/how-anthony-comstock-became-americas-most-powerful-censor
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“The Israeli military has issued evacuation orders for large parts of southern Lebanon, declaring the areas ‘combat zones’ ahead of fresh strikes against Hezbollah. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) urged residents to move north of the Zahrani River, about 40km (25 miles) from the border. The IDF said it would act ‘with extreme force,’ accusing Hezbollah of repeated ceasefire violations. It is the largest evacuation order since the ceasefire took effect on 17 April, covering about 14% of Lebanese territory. Earlier on Wednesday, Israel carried strikes on the southern city of Tyre. Hezbollah, which itself accused Israel of violating the ceasefire, said its fighters had clashed with Israeli troops.” (05/27/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj3pgrpmlklo
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Joshua Mawhorter
“Public goods theory is presented as scientific, value-free economic theory, however, it implicitly smuggles in normative presuppositions that lead to the conclusion that the modern nation-state, and the state alone, must provide certain essential goods and services, which legitimates the state and its actions as necessary and legitimate. Historically, many applications of public goods theory emerged less as neutral demonstrations of state necessity than as retrospective justifications for functions governments had already monopolized.” (05/27/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/public-goods-circular-argument
Source: Boston Herald
“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has written to U.S. President Donald Trump and Congress asking for more American-made air defense ammunition to counter intensifying Russian ballistic missile attacks, Kyiv said Wednesday. Meanwhile, Russian lawmakers have backed a draft bill to have bank employees join the fight against Ukraine’s long-range drones that strike deep inside Russia — with trained bank staff shooting down the unmanned aircraft. The steps came after a recent escalation in aerial attacks by both sides in the more than four-year war that followed Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbor. Neither side has been able to make much progress on the 1,250-kilometer (780-mile) front line.” (05/27/26)
https://www.bostonherald.com/2026/05/27/russia-ukraine-war-us-air-defense-help/
