The Fifth Column, episode 553
Source: The Fifth Column
“A Blockade of the Blockade.” (04/15/26)
Author: Thomas L. Knapp
Digital Hopes, Real Power: The Rise of Network Shutdowns
Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
by Jillian C York
“Even where laws do not explicitly authorize [Internet access] shutdowns, broadly worded provisions around national security or public order are routinely used to justify them. The result is a growing legal architecture that treats network disruptions not as extraordinary measures, but as standard tools for managing populations.” (04/15/26)
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/04/digital-hopes-real-power-rise-network-shutdowns
All-or-Nothing “Diplomacy” Always Fails
Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison
“The president isn’t interested in resolving disputes through diplomacy. He wants to dominate the other side and be seen doing it.” (04/15/26)
https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/all-or-nothing-diplomacy-always-fails
Ron Paul Liberty Report, 04/15/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“On Tax Day Remember: The Government Owns You.” (04/15/26)
Open Secret Re-opened
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“Sometimes the news, hot off the press, turns out to be re-heated leftovers. But while some foods should not be re-cooked, the latest declassification appears worth a second feast.” (04/15/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/04/15/open-secret-re-opened/
FL: Doctor faces manslaughter charge for allegedly removing wrong organ during surgery
Source: WESH 2 News
“A grand jury indicted a Florida doctor on a manslaughter charge for allegedly removing a patient’s liver instead of his spleen during a 2024 surgery. The prosecutor for the First Judicial Circuit on Monday announced the charge of second-degree manslaughter against Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky. Prosecutors said that during an Aug. 21, 2024, surgery, which was scheduled to be a laparoscopic splenectomy, Shaknovsky removed the victim’s liver instead of his spleen. That resulted in ‘catastrophic blood loss and the patient’s death on the operating table,’ law enforcement officials wrote in a press release. The patient was a 70-year-old man from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. … Florida suspended Shaknovsky’s medical license after the surgery. Records show he voluntarily surrendered his medical license in Alabama after regulators moved to revoke his license.” (04/15/26)
https://www.wesh.com/article/florida-doctor-manslaughter-removing-wrong-organ/71026650
The David Frum Show, 04/15/26
Source: The Atlantic
“Is Anybody Actually Winning Trump’s Iran War?” (04/15/26)
https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/2026/04/david-frum-show-matt-pottinger-trumps-iran-war/686818
COVID King (and Queen) Remembered
Source: Independent Institute
by K Lloyd Billingsley
“From the nation’s capital to coastal villages in California, protesters cry ‘no kings!’ Similar protests did not break out while the nation was under rule by the closest thing to a monarch since King George. When the COVID virus showed up in 2020, the people found themselves taking orders from Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) since 1984. Dr. Fauci ordered massive lockdowns of schools and workplaces, causing vast suffering and loss for millions of Americans.” (04/15/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/04/15/covid-king-and-queen-remembered/
Racket List: Congressmen With Pants Down
Source: Racket News
by Caden Olson & Matt Taibbi
“From allegations to excuses to tearful pressers, cataloguing congressional wang-waving.” (04/15/26)
https://www.racket.news/p/racket-list-congressmen-with-pants
Reasonably Optimistic, 04/15/26
Source: Washington Post
“The temperature is rising on AI. What comes next?” (04/15/26)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/impromptu/the-temperature-is-rising-on-ai-what-comes-next