“A federal judge in Washington has issued an order temporarily blocking the construction of President Donald Trump’s expansive new White House ballroom and any further demolition of the East Wing. ‘I have concluded that the National Trust is likely to succeed on the merits because no statute comes close to giving the President the authority he claims to have,’ wrote U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon, an appointee of President George W. Bush. … Leon paused his order from taking effect for 14 days to allow time for an appeal. The Justice Department filed a notice of appeal roughly 90 minutes after he issued his ruling.” (03/31/26)
“‘Telescopic altruism’ is a supposed tendency for some people to ignore those close to them in favor of those further away. Like its cousin ‘virtue signaling,’ it usually gets used to own the libs. Some lib cares about people in Gaza — why? Shouldn’t she be thinking about her friends and neighbors instead? The only possible explanation is that she’s an evil person who hates everyone around her, but manages to feel superior to decent people by pretending to ‘care’ about foreigners who she’ll never meet. This collapses upon five seconds’ thought. Okay, so the lib is angry about the Israeli military killing 50,000 people in Gaza. Do you think she would be angry if the Israeli military killed 50,000 of her neighbors? Probably yes? Then what’s the problem?” (03/31/26)
“We Americans are an impatient lot. If we must engage in warfare, we would prefer it be wrapped up in weeks, not months, and certainly not years like World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. In those wars, we had the draft, so more Americans were engaged in fighting and watching their progress, or lack thereof. Today, while recruiting numbers have increased in our all-volunteer military, the taste for war among the public has declined. One of President Trump’s positions that attracted voters was his promise to end wars, not start new ones.” (03/31/26)
“Google Research published updated estimates warning that future quantum computers could break cryptocurrencies sooner than previously thought, though such an event is still several years away. In a Tuesday blog post, Google explained that most blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies rely on the 256-bit elliptic curve discrete logarithm problem (ECDLP-256) to secure wallets and transactions. Citing the latest whitepaper from Google Research, the blog post said that the necessary quantum computing resources to break the ECDLP-256 have decreased significantly. … Google’s white paper added that the reduced execution time allows quantum computers to conduct real-time attacks within bitcoin’s average block time of 10 minutes. This enables “on-spend” attacks, which are quantum computing attacks that target active cryptocurrency transactions while they are still in the mempool.” (03/31/26)
“Bright, sharp, velvety smooth, this elegant and opulent Lemon Pound Cake answers the call. Another musical performance captured attention recently—this one involving an iconic rapper, a bungled police raid, and a lawsuit five officers are no doubt now regretting. While you gather your tools and ingredients and begin zesting a few lemons, filling the room with that bright, beautiful aroma, allow me to briefly recount the tale of Afroman and the Adams County, Ohio, Sheriff’s Department (working title).” (03/31/26)
“In normal times, about 20 percent of the world’s oil production passes through the Strait of Hormuz. That flow has been cut off except for Iranian oil and a handful of other vessels the Iranians are allowing through. This disruption has led to a large spike in oil futures prices …. But this price rise has been speculative, driven by the (justified) expectation of future shortages rather than a current lack of oil. In fact, so far deliveries to markets around the world haven’t declined, because shipping oil from the Persian Gulf to major markets takes 4-6 weeks. As a result there was a large quantity of oil already at sea, outside the Strait, when the war began. However, this grace period is about to end. The oil crisis is about to get physical.” (03/31/26)
Source: Bluegrass Institute
by Caleb O Brown & Alasdair Whitney
“Privacy is not a loophole for criminals. it’s a precondition for a free society. The government needs far more than administrative convenience to justify eroding it.” (03/31/26)
“As the war passes the four-week mark, it is abundantly clear Iran will not be the next Venezuela. Operation Absolute Resolve, the code name for the U.S. attack on Venezuela, was a spectacular success in tactical terms. The U.S. achieved its military aim of removing Maduro in just a few hours and suffered zero U.S. service member fatalities and only a handful of injuries, although the operation cost the lives of around 70 Venezuelans and 32 Cuban security forces. While this toll should not be minimized, it pales in comparison to the U.S.–Israeli war on Iran, which as of mid-March has led to at least 3,000 deaths …. Well over a dozen countries are now involved, and the war threatens to bring the global economy to a halt due to the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a pivotal passage for oil, liquid natural gas, fertilizer, and other crucial commodities.” (03/31/26)
