Author: Thomas L. Knapp

On Mass Surveillance, Will the Deep State Win Again?

Source: The American Conservative
by Harrison Berger

“When the NSA responded to [Tucker] Carlson’s 2021 allegation that the agency had been monitoring his communications, it said only that he had never been an intelligence ‘target,’ a carefully lawyered denial that conspicuously avoided saying his communications had never been queried under programs like FISA Section 702. The NSA’s response was also unusual since three-letter agencies typically neither confirm nor deny whether any specific individual’s communications have been collected. On how Trump, another documented victim of FISA abuse, and Johnson, who built his political identity around opposition to FBI overreach, both ended up as the leading advocates for a clean renewal of those spying powers, Carlson pointed to institutional capture and coercion.” (04/22/26)

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/on-mass-surveillance-will-the-deep-state-win-again/

Thomas L. Knapp

Renewable energies overtook global electricity demand last year, led by solar growth in China, India

Source: Associated Press

“Record growth in solar, especially in China and India, was a driving factor for clean energy sources surpassing the world’s strong demand for electricity in 2025, according to a new global power analysis. Clean power generation grew 887 terawatt hours last year, exceeding overall global electricity demand growth of 849 terawatt hours, according to a report by energy think tank Ember, released after midnight Tuesday London time. Ember analyzes electricity data from 215 countries, and studied 2025 data for 91 countries, which the firm says represents 93% of global demand. Overall, the share of renewables — including solar, wind, hydropower and other clean energies — hit more than one-third of the world’s electricity mix for the first time in modern history last year, growing 33.8% to 10,730 terawatt hours.” (04/21/26)

https://apnews.com/article/climate-renewables-clean-energy-china-india-solar-electricity-demand-c412207bc332c5e0f904030ab21389e7

Thomas L. Knapp

The Next Level, 04/21/26

Source: The Bulwark

“Sarah Longwell, Tim Miller and JVL celebrate JVL’s Webby win (sort of), and cover Tucker Carlson’s sudden ‘regret’ turn and what it means about MAGA, Donald Trump Jr. as a 2028 front-runner, and the continued disaster in Iran. Plus: the ongoing dysfunction inside the administration, including the latest turmoil surrounding Kash Patel.” (04/21/26)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pha75haBFbY

Thomas L. Knapp

The critics are wrong about Tennessee’s Charlie Kirk Act. Here’s why.

Source: Expression
by Michael Hurley

“Imagine you’re a professor who disagrees with your university’s indigenous land acknowledgement, so you write your own as a joke — and then your school investigates you for ‘unacceptable’ and ‘inappropriate’ speech. Or imagine you invite a controversial former Black Panther to speak on campus, so your university forces the event online. These are real stories, and FIRE’s archives are full of plenty more just like them. But thanks to a new measure passed in Tennessee, the university’s actions in cases like these wouldn’t just violate the First Amendment, but state law, too.” (04/21/26)

https://expression.fire.org/p/the-critics-are-wrong-about-tennessees

Thomas L. Knapp

The Paris Agreement was a fantasy

Source: UnHerd
by Thomas Fazi

“Remember the Paris Agreement? Signed a decade ago today, it was hailed as a historic milestone in the fight against climate change, with practically every country promising drastic action to keep global warming below 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels. And, at the time, the stakes couldn’t have felt higher. As Western politicians and activists endlessly warned, unless carbon emissions were urgently and drastically reduced by 2030, climate change would have apocalyptic consequences, potentially extinguishing humanity — if not all life on Earth. … Ten years on, then, one cannot help but ask: did the Paris Agreement, and the broader UN Conference of the Parties (COP) process, actually achieve anything?” (04/21/26)

https://archive.is/deyma

Thomas L. Knapp