Author: Thomas L. Knapp

Source: Yascha Mounk
by Michael Lind

“Yascha Mounk’s essay ‘The Bourgeoisie Has Switched Sides’ is as insightful as his phrase ‘the Brooklynization of the bourgeoisie’ is memorable. His analysis could be elaborated by acknowledging that there is more than one bourgeoisie in the contemporary West.” (03/19/26)

https://writing.yaschamounk.com/p/a-response-to-the-bourgeoisie-has

Source: Independent Institute
by K Lloyd Billingsley

“Why Golden State gas prices were surging before the Iran war — and still on the rise.” (03/19/26)

https://www.independent.org/article/2026/03/19/carbifornia-versus-the-people/

Source: Astral Codex Ten
by Scott Alexander

“John Rawls was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on February 21, 1921. Not John Rawls the famous liberal philosopher (or, rather, John Rawls the famous liberal philosopher was also born in Baltimore, Maryland on February 21, 1921, but he is not the subject of our story). This is John Rawls the alcoholic. John Rawls the alcoholic was twelve when they lifted Prohibition. He partook immediately, and dropped out of school the following year, supporting himself through a combination of odd jobs, petty crime, and handouts. … as he entered his early fifties, the handouts started to dry up. … he ran into a man he’d once seen volunteering at Salvation Army, and asked him what had happened. ‘You haven’t heard?’ asked the volunteer. ‘None of the rich people donate to us anymore. They’re all giving to this group called the John Rawls Foundation.'” (03/19/26)

https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/being-john-rawls

Source: Sex and the State
by Cathy Reisenwitz

“The issue of AI safety does not appear to me to be an instance of a problem where the answer is obvious but hard-to-execute. AI safety seems like a values problem, to me. And those disagreements are always the thorniest. There is no way to develop totally safe AI. When you build a bridge or road, you build it knowing that someone is going to die on it. Probably a lot of someones. But you build it anyway, because you think the benefit is worth the cost. We have to think of AI this way. The people building AI are thinking of it this way. The goal cannot be ‘no one dies.’ The goal has to be, ‘Here’s who can die and under what circumstances, and how often, and with what recompense, and for what benefit.'” (03/19/26)

https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/no-good-options-for-ai-safety

Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Harrison Mann

“President Donald Trump is reportedly considering seizing Iran’s Kharg Island, which he calls Iran’s ‘crown jewel’ because it houses a terminal that processes about 90% of Iran’s oil exports. After the U.S. bombed Kharg last week but spared its oil facilities, leading Iran hawks urged Trump to finish the job. ‘Mr. President: Take Kharg Island [and] this war is over!’ exhorted Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), for his part, floated the idea that seizing the island is the perfect mission for the Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) now sailing toward the region. So why is capturing this once-obscure island suddenly on the tip of every Iran hawk’s tongue? And what happens if they get their way?” (03/19/26)

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/kharg-island-iran/

Source: CounterPunch
by Megan Russell

“Last week, we watched a U.S.-made Tomahawk missile murder more than 160+ Iranian school children. We watched in horror, helpless to stop the incoming massacres as the U.S. and Israel carpet-bombed Iran, then Lebanon, displacing millions of people from their homes. The pure, unrelenting terror continues to unfold. We are shocked and devastated, but we are also enraged — because for every bomb the U.S. and Israel drop, a bunch of men in cushy offices profit off all the death.” (03/19/26)

https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/03/19/the-u-s-bombs-kids-so-palmer-luckey-can-have-nice-things/

Source: JFK Facts
by Jefferson Morley

“What do we know now that we didn’t know a year ago?” (03/19/26)

https://jfkfacts.substack.com/p/one-year-after-trumps-order-eight