Author: Thomas L. Knapp

An Antidote to the FDR Cult

Source: Reason
by James Bovard

“If there were any doubts that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was one of the greatest scoundrels of American political history, David Beito’s new biography should settle the issue. Beito — whose previous book, The New Deal’s War on the Bill of Rights, did yeoman’s work exposing Roosevelt’s depredations against civil liberties — has now written FDR: A New Political Life, and it should help FDR get the villainous reputation he deserves. Treachery was the consistent theme of Roosevelt’s political life.” (11/25/25)

https://reason.com/2025/11/25/an-antidote-to-the-fdr-cult/

Thomas L. Knapp

Judge gives US DOJ a day to detail Ghislaine Maxwell trial materials to be released

Source: Albany Times Union

“A federal judge in Manhattan is demanding more information from the Justice Department as he weighs its request to unseal records from the sex trafficking case against Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime confidante Ghislaine Maxwell. Judge Paul A. Engelmayer on Tuesday ordered the Justice Department to tell him what materials it plans to publicly release that were subject to secrecy orders in the British socialite’s case. The deadline: Noon on Wednesday. Engelmayer’s order came after the Justice Department on Monday asked for his permission to release grand jury records, exhibits and discovery materials in the Maxwell case. Engelmayer said government lawyers must file a letter on the case docket describing materials it wants to release ‘in sufficient detail to meaningfully inform victims’ what it plans to make public.” (11/25/25)

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/judge-gives-justice-department-a-day-to-detail-21208378.php

Thomas L. Knapp

Political Remembering and Cultural Forgetting

Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Katrina Gulliver

“As we look towards America’s 250th next year, it’s worth reflecting on the ways in which the events of 1776 and the Revolutionary War were remembered over the decades to follow. Note, for instance, that the Fourth of July did not become a federal holiday until 1870—long after the passing of anyone who remembered the signing of the Declaration of Independence. But in that interval, plenty of local commemorations had sprung up, and many places in the country had their own holidays and celebrations to mark events in the war. Remembrance was local and specific, marking a direct community connection to the war, until mass communication made the commemoration events more national and shared.” (11/25/25)

https://fee.org/articles/political-remembering-and-cultural-forgetting/

Thomas L. Knapp

Venezuela: Regime demands international airlines resume flights — or else

Source: BBC News [UK state media]

“Venezuela has told international airlines to resume flights to the country within 48 hours or risk being stripped of their clearance to fly there altogether. Several airlines suspended their flights to Venezuela after the US aviation regulator warned on Friday of ‘heightened military activity’ in the area. The warning came as the US ramped up pressure on the Venezuelan government, sending the world’s largest aircraft carrier to the southern Caribbean as part of a larger military build-up. The International Air Transport Association (Iata) has warned Venezuela’s aviation authority that rescinding airlines’ clearance would only isolate the country further. Venezuela’s aviation authority (Inac), which reports to the country’s ministry of transport, issued the ultimatum on Monday.” (11/25/25)

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg4nl3dxkd9o

Thomas L. Knapp

Six reasons to think there’s an AI bubble — and six reasons not to

Source: Understanding AI
by Timothy B Lee & Derek Thompson

“If you read this article, we think you’ll be prepared for just about every conversation about AI, whether you find yourself at a Bay Area gathering with accelerationists or a Thanksgiving debate with Luddite cousins. We think some of these arguments are compelling. We think others are less persuasive. So, throughout the article, we’ll explain both why each argument belongs in the discussion and why some arguments don’t prove as much as they claim. Read to the end, and you’ll see where each of us comes down on the debate.” (11/25/25)

https://www.understandingai.org/p/six-reasons-to-think-theres-an-ai

Thomas L. Knapp