The Political Orphanage, 06/24/26
Source: The Political Orphanage
“Zuby Grew up in a Company Town.” (06/24/26)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/zuby-grew-up-in-a-company-town
Author: Thomas L. Knapp
Sanctioned ICC judges sue Trump
Source: Courthouse News Service
“Frozen bank accounts, canceled credit cards and blocked travel led three International Criminal Court judges to sue the Trump administration Wednesday, arguing they were punished simply for the cases they decided. In the 66-page complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the trio asks a judge to strike down President Donald Trump’s sanctions order, remove Judges Kimberly Prost, Solomy Bossa and Reine Alapini-Gansou from the U.S. sanctions list, unblock any frozen property and bar the government from enforcing the measures against them. … Trump signed Executive Order 14203 on Feb. 6, 2025, after the ICC pursued investigations involving U.S. personnel in Afghanistan and Israeli leaders over the war in Gaza. The order declared a national emergency and authorized sanctions against foreign nationals involved in ICC investigations or prosecutions targeting U.S. citizens or nationals of allied countries that do not recognize the court’s jurisdiction.” (06/24/26)
https://courthousenews.com/sanctioned-icc-judges-sue-trump-in-new-york/
Rich people are not a problem
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“No one gets to decide what others need. As long as they aren’t stealing it, it’s none of your business. If someone earns a quadrillion dollars by giving customers what they want and by filling a niche, they aren’t a problem. It’s a positive thing for society, and only ignorant people get upset over it. It’s trendy to hate rich people. It’s also incredibly stupid. Most of the people upset over ‘excessive’ wealth — such as the tax-addicted politicians and their followers — contribute nothing. Takers envy makers. For a millionaire politician to demand that a billionaire entrepreneur hand over some percentage of his money is dishonest. The entrepreneur contributes; the politician is a parasite who only takes.” (06/24/26)
GOP Senators scurry to assure Trump they didn’t really mean it when they voted to end illegal Iran war
Source: The Hill
“The Senate late Wednesday night in a 47-50-1 vote opted not to rebuke the Trump administration a second time over its military conflict in Iran, as leaders convinced some Republican swing votes that doing so would harm the negotiations to end the war. The resolution would have been Congress’[s] way to reassert its power to declare war and directed President Trump to ‘remove the United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Iran, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or a specific authorization for use of military force.’ Sen. Rand Paul, who has voted with Democrats for similar resolutions in the past, said in a statement shortly before the vote that he would vote ‘present,’ rather than ‘no,’ to avoid jeopardizing the negotiations.” (06/24/26)
Against Friends, Against Enemies
Source: Liberalism.org
by Jason Kuznicki
“Suppose I want commercial pineapple harvesters to enjoy good lives today. Most of them aren’t in Hawaiʻi anymore; they’re in Costa Rica. Should I import my pineapples from them? (Import pineapples? To Hawaiʻi? Surely not.) But to avoid eating imported pineapples impoverishes Costa Rican field hands. It might take away the only work they have, such as it is. When I grow at home, that’s what I’m doing, if only to a tiny degree. Buying from my neighbors, who sell at the farmers’ markets, achieves the same end; the descendants of plantation workers here in Hawaiʻi are usually much wealthier than today’s Costa Rican field hands. Yet if I were to return to the globalized market, I might just fatten some Costa Rican landlords. I want to ask: Where are the limits to any of these intuitions?” (06/24/26)
https://www.liberalism.org/p/against-friends-against-enemies
Ukraine’s latest long-range strikes on Russia hit a major natural gas plant and satellite centers
Source: Associated Press
“Ukrainian forces struck a major natural gas processing plant and two key satellite communications centers in their latest nighttime attacks on Russia, Ukraine’s General Staff said Wednesday. The operation was part of Ukraine’s aerial campaign targeting energy facilities and military industries that has intensified as Kyiv builds bigger and better long-range weapons to ward off Russia’s full-scale invasion, now in its fifth year. In response, Moscow has ordered the redeployment of some air defense systems from Russian regions to the capital and to Crimea’s Kerch Bridge, a crucial link for supplying Russian troops, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. The bridge connects the Crimean Peninsula with the Russian mainland.” (06/24/26)
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-crimea-attacks-6076b6666c3312bbf9b4b8d875a52513
A Republic or an Empire?
Source: Antiwar.com
by Andrew P Napolitano
“In a constitutional republic, government may only take liberty and property pursuant to law and only from those who have consented by granting those powers to the government in the constitution that created it; and any exercise of any powers not consented to by the governed is assaultive of natural rights, is beyond the government’s moral and constitutional authority, is morally illicit and of no legal validity. In an empire, the government has no limits. It does whatever the head of state wants. It denies the enforceability of international norms, enriches itself at the people’s expense, takes property without the consent of the governed, violates natural rights, starts wars to please constituent groups, murders people without trial whom it claims have violated its laws, suppresses foreign people and tells them how to live, and even kidnaps their leaders.” (06/24/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/andrew-p-napolitano/2026/06/23/a-republic-or-an-empire
Bitcoin falls under $60k, but traders anticipate 15% bounce
Source: CoinTelegraph
“Bitcoin (BTC) hit new two-week lows at Wednesday’s Wall Street open as traders predicted a rally to a ‘poor’ lower high. Data from TradingView showed BTC price action dropping below $60,000 for the first time since June 10. Traders had warned of increasing short interest with rising funding rates, boosting the odds of a capitulatory move lower.” (06/24/26)
How does the First Amendment apply to AI?
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Education
by Tyler Tone
“Far from authorless, AI models are built by a long chain of expressive decisions meriting First Amendment coverage.” (06/24/26)
Pew survey: Global confidence in Trump stands at 23%
Source: USA Today
“President Donald Trump likes to boast that under his leadership, the United States is the ‘hottest and most respected Country anywhere in the World.’ However, according to a new Pew Research Center survey, the president’s approval ratings among adults around the globe are at an all-time low. Pew surveyed 42,151 citizens of 36 nations and found that a mere 23% of international respondents expressed confidence in Trump’s leadership on world affairs, while overall sentiment about the United States is ‘largely negative.’ … According to Pew, Indonesia, Italy, Nigeria, South Africa, South Korea and Turkey saw some of the most significant drops in favorable views of the United States, with each tallying double-digit declines over the past year. Of the 36 nations polled, less than 10 view the U.S. favorably. That includes Israel at 81%, followed by 68% of Ghanaians, 63% of Nigerians and Kenyans, 61% of Colombians, 58% of Hungarians and 51% of Peruvians.” (06/24/26)