“While Americans remain transfixed by the political circus—cheering for their preferred party, jeering at the opposition, obsessing over every manufactured outrage and waiting for the next spectacle—the Surveillance State continues its steady march forward. The government is watching. It watches where you go, whom you meet, where you worship, what medical offices you visit, what political rallies you attend, what protests you join, what books you read, what websites you visit and what causes you support. It watches through your phone, your car, your doorbell, your appliances, your purchases, your social media accounts and the cameras positioned along the roads you travel every day. This is how freedom dies in the digital police state: not always through dramatic declarations of martial law or soldiers stationed on every street corner, but through the gradual construction of a technological dragnet—an electronic concentration camp—so pervasive that privacy becomes impossible and anonymity becomes suspicious.” (07/29/26)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Conner McEleney
“Many progressives, such as Robert Reich and Kyle Kulinski, argue that the economy needs a universal basic income (UBI) to fix it. Their argument stems from the idea that UBI has no serious flaws, that many studies show success, and that it’s the moral thing to do. An example that these progressives would cite would be the Denver UBI experiment. The study had three groups of people. Group A had $1,000 per month, and Group B had $6,500 for the first month; the other months were $500. Group C had $50 a month. The study concluded that giving money improved their overall well-being. As the saying goes, it’s too good to be true; the results alone are exaggerated by UBI proponents.” (07/29/26)
“A San Francisco robot startup, already embroiled in a local controversy over an Airbnb rental, is now facing a class action lawsuit from former workers who say the company failed to pay them. Former contract workers are suing the Bot Company, also known as Botco, and multiple contract agencies for allegedly unpaid overtime wages, reimbursements of expenses, allegedly not providing work-free lunches and breaks, and termination pay. Originally filed in San Francisco Superior Court in April, the lawsuit obtained class action status on June 29, with three more former Botco workers signing on to a new complaint. Botco is the latest venture of Kyle Vogt, the former CEO of failed robotaxi startup Cruise.” (07/29/26)
Source: The Intercept
by Tom Engelhardt & Nick Turse
“Last week, almost a quarter century since Bush made the case for war in Iraq, a U.S. soldier was killed in an Iranian attack on an American base there. President Donald Trump was elected on a promise to say goodbye to all that. American-style wars of choice were going to be a thing of the past …. No one, I suspect, not even Trump, has the faintest idea why he did this, though maybe he felt left out of the club of forever-war makers, co-chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.” (07/29/26)
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by the Editorial Board
“The increasing incarceration of women – often for minor, nonviolent offenses – carries a high human cost. There is a shift toward alternatives that balance accountability with the right of children to continued parental care.” (07/29/26)
“Turkish police detained the opposition mayor of Ankara’s Etimesgut district and 51 other suspects on Thursday in a graft investigation, the Interior Ministry said. Mayor Erdal Besikcioglu was among 37 municipality employees detained after police raided the municipality in western Ankara. Detention warrants were issued for a total 55 suspects, including 18 company officials, the ministry said. Three suspects were still being sought. It was the latest step in an unprecedented legal crackdown on municipalities run by the main opposition to President Tayyip Erdogan.” (07/30/26)
