Liberalism in the Age of Weaponized Interdependence

Source: Liberalism.org
by Paul Dragos Aligica

“From time to time, we liberals must rethink the world. Deglobalization, the rise of economic decoupling, the return of tariffs, and the increasing salience of weaponized interdependence have come to define the current landscape. Where once the dominant terms were efficiency, integration, and mutual gains, now they are geoeconomics, resilience, chokepoints, and decoupling. The vocabulary shift is an indicator and a diagnostic. Rhetorical change of this order reflects structural change in how economic exchange and political power actually relate. A liberal position adequate to that new reality cannot be built by repeating arguments shaped by an earlier phase of globalization. We must rebuild — analytically and institutionally — for the world that integration, pushed to its limits, has actually produced.” (06/17/26)

https://www.liberalism.org/p/liberalism-in-the-age-of-weaponized-interdependence

FL: Court rules 18-year-olds have same gun rights as other adults

Source: New York Post

“A Florida appeals court ruled Wednesday that the state’s ban on concealed carry by adults ages 18 to 20 violates the Second Amendment, finding that young adults are entitled to the same constitutional protections as law-abiding adults over the age of 20. In a sweeping opinion, the court said 18-year-olds can serve in the military and defend the nation but face restrictions on their ability to exercise the same self-defense rights available to older adults. … The ruling comes after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier declined to defend the law earlier this year.” [editor’s note: Rights don’t come into existence or disappear based on whatever number politicians happen to draw out of a hat. “18” is no more special than “21” – TLK] (06/18/26)

https://nypost.com/2026/06/18/us-news/florida-court-says-18-year-olds-have-same-gun-rights-as-other-adults/

US: Gas dips below $4 a gallon after months of pump pain

Source: Axios

“The U.S. national average gas price has dropped back below $4 a gallon, per AAA, a sign of Americans’ pain at the pump easing after months of war in Iran. Iran’s squeeze on oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz battered the global economy. But crude prices in June fell to their lowest levels in over three months on news of an extended ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran. … The national average is now $3.9990 a gallon, per AAA. A year ago, the average was $3.1880.” (06/18/26)

https://archive.is/dHf8y

Trita Parsi on The Scott Horton Show

Source: The Scott Horton Show

“Scott interviews Trita Parsi about the deal Trump has apparently made with the Iranians to end the war. They discuss the panic we’re seeing about it from the Israelis and what Trump must do to rein them in and prevent Tel Aviv from sabotaging the peace process. They also discuss Parsi’s recent appearance on Tucker Carlson’s show and The Free Press story that tried to start a deportation scare about him.” (06/17/26)

https://scotthorton.org/interviews/6-15-26-trita-parsi-on-the-israeli-panic-over-trumps-peace-deal/

Forgotten Declaration: Why they were Fighting Back

Source: Tenth Amendment Center
by Michael Boldin

“Thomas Jefferson, John Dickinson, and the Second Continental Congress said those were their two terrible options less than three months after the battles of Lexington and Concord and the ‘shot heard ‘round the world.’ This is the story of the forgotten declaration in which they explained why they fought back.” (06/17/26)

https://tenthamendmentcenter.com/2026/06/17/forgotten-declaration-why-they-were-fighting-back/

Russia: Moscow suspends all flights as massive Ukrainian drone attack sparks oil refinery fire

Source: Independent [UK]

“Russia faced one of the biggest aerial assaults of the war so far from Ukraine overnight, saying its air defences downed as many as 555 Ukrainian drones over multiple regions. Moscow has ordered the suspension of flights at all its major airports, while traffic was halted on Moscow’s ring road near an oil refinery after multiple drone ​strikes. Photos and videos shared online purported to show massive explosions at the refinery, including one that blew an oil container lid hundreds of feet into the air. Moscow’s mayor Sergei Sobhyanin said around 180 drones heading for the capital alone had been downed.” (06/18/26)

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-live-putin-trump-zelensky-g7-news-b2998092.html

Trump in Defeat

Source: The Atlantic
by Jonathan Lemire

“President Trump lost. The war he waged against Iran promises to conclude in a humbling whimper with the signing of a cease-fire agreement later this week. The United States is left weaker — diminished militarily, strategically, economically, and perhaps morally. The war, which the United States fought alongside Israel, accomplished none of the goals that Trump named at the outset. Instead, it only empowered the hard-liners in Tehran and arguably emboldened them to someday seek a nuclear weapon. … Trump won’t admit to any of this. He has spent recent days furiously spinning the tentative deal as a clear win, and has seethed at unflattering comparisons with the deal that President Obama struck with Iran more than a decade ago, aides and outside advisers told me.” (06/17/26)

https://archive.is/I4Oz8