“There is a crisis of trust in America’s governing institutions. We see it in the numbers. In 1964, for example, 77 percent of Americans said they trusted the federal government to do the right thing most of the time. Today, that number is 17 percent. The trust deficit represents more than dissatisfaction with policies or leaders. Democratic governance is increasingly experienced as something done to people by faraway elites, rather than something done for and by the people. Public remedies too often fail to address citizens’ concerns, or worse, inhibit their ability to act, adapt, and solve problems on their own. As trust erodes, respect for democratic norms wanes, and strongman politics gains ground. And all this creates the conditions in which a polarized media stokes the flames that have Americans actively fearing and hating one another.” (07/08/26)
“Five Weapons. One Target: Your Freedom. Washington, Webster, Paine, Madison, and more – they saw every one of them coming and warned us, but ‘we the people’ didn’t listen. It’s the top tools of tyrants: what they use against us and what’s self-inflicted.” (07/08/26)
“Facebook and Instagram parent Meta said Wednesday it will invest more than US$9.1 billion to build its first artificial intelligence data center in Canada and its largest outside the United States. The facility will be built in Sturgeon County, Alberta, and powered by a natural gas-fired plant being developed by a consortium that includes Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Ltd. … Alberta has been courting hyperscale data centers as demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure surges. But the rapid growth of AI has fueled concerns about the vast amounts of electricity and water such facilities require, as well as their strain on power grids and nearby communities. Because Alberta’s electricity grid cannot support multiple large AI data centers, the province is prioritizing projects that build or secure their own power generation, as Meta plans to do.” (07/08/26)
“I’m usually suspicious of business-government partnerships. But some occasional and low-level efforts are inevitable and at worst anodyne. Take the Great American State Fair in the District of Columbia.” (07/08/26)
Source: Rutherford Institute
by John & Nisha Whitehead
“President Trump has no problem criticizing, condemning, insulting, demonizing and threatening those who refuse to fall in line. He has branded political opponents ‘communists,’ denounced critics as anti-American, lashed out at NATO allies, threatened to cut off trade with Spain, and referred to Iran’s leaders as ‘scum’ amid the ongoing war. In Trump’s America, the president is free to call other nations bad actors, label his opponents dangerous, and treat disagreement as betrayal. But dare to criticize Trump, his administration, ICE, the police state, the war machine, the surveillance state, or the government’s steady assault on the Constitution, and you may find yourself treated as the threat. This is the hypocrisy of the moment: those in power claim an unlimited right to criticize everyone else, while increasingly denying the people the right to criticize them.” (07/08/26)
“US President Donald Trump formally began the process of removing Syria from his country’s list of state sponsors of terrorism on Wednesday, notifying Congress after telling Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa the move would help rebuild the war-ravaged country. The decision marks a major shift in Washington’s policy towards Damascus and is a boost for Sharaa after Tuesday’s explosions in Damascus during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit. … The designation as a state sponsor of terrorism carries restrictions on US foreign assistance, defence exports and certain financial transactions.” (07/08/26)
“On Monday night in Seattle, Belgium dismantled the United States 4-1 in their Round of 16 matchup—the worst 90 minutes the U.S. played all tournament, and a stunning collapse from the team that had swashbuckled through Paraguay, dispatched Australia, battled Turkey to the wire, and outclassed Bosnia and Herzegovina in the first knockout round to get here. So what happened? What happened is the president of the United States turned a red card into an international incident. The U.S. lost because it played poorly and Belgium played superbly—that’s not in dispute. But one contributing factor that led to that outcome was surely the brouhaha over Trump’s meddling in FIFA’s enforcement of World Cup rules.” (07/08/26)
