“Abortion access has once again been called into question, jeopardizing the health of millions of American women in the process and creating chaos. This is the reality of what the 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization did to our ability to access health care. On May 1, a federal appeals court in Louisiana temporarily halted the prescription of the abortifacient mifepristone via telehealth, effectively kneecapping abortion services nationwide. Then, on May 4, the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated mail-order abortion services for a week while the justices considered the issue. This kind of confusion has been part of the goal all along.” (05/05/26)
“Mass deception is a cornerstone of the state’s ability to maintain total control. One of the main methods used by government to convince the population of their legitimacy is the tool of propaganda. This is nothing new, and states throughout the world have engaged in this practice for all of human history. What is new, however, is the mass awakening that is occurring in this moment of imperial decay.” (05/05/26)
“Australia’s central bank on Tuesday raised its policy rate to 4.35%, matching its December 2024 peak, as inflation remains elevated. The move by the Reserve Bank of Australia was in line with expectations in a Reuters poll of economists and marked its third consecutive rate increase. Eight members of the board voted for the hike, while one voted to hold rates at 4.1%. In its statement, the RBA said inflation had picked up materially in the second half of 2025, with conflict in the Middle East pushing up fuel and commodity prices.” (05/05/26)
“The Supreme Court justice discusses the Declaration of Independence, how unchecked power threatens liberty, and what the Founders can teach future generations.” (05/04/26)
“Spirit has been struggling for years. In 2022, the airline sought to get on better financial footing by merging with fellow discount airline JetBlue. The merger may have allowed for more effective competition with the dominant carriers. However, the Justice Department successfully opposed the merger in court on the grounds it would lead to more concentration in the discount airlines market. This is one of many examples of how an aggressive approach to antitrust enforcement can harm businesses and consumers.” (05/04/26)
“Richard Dawkins has come in for a lot of deserved mockery for declaring that Anthropic’s LLM Claude is conscious after futzing about with it for three days (and incidentally renaming it ‘Claudia’). But in fact, he didn’t quite declare that it was conscious. What he said was that he couldn’t see how to prove that it wasn’t conscious. ‘Claudia’ appeared to think creatively in a complex manner and to engage in introspection. If that wasn’t evidence of consciousness, he wondered, then what would be evidence? Moreover, he asked, if we assume that ‘Claudia’ is not conscious, then its behavior appears to be proof that you don’t need to be conscious to think creatively in a complex manner and to engage in introspection. If that is the case, then why are we conscious? What is consciousness for?” (05/04/26)
“Eric Peters from Eric Peters Autos joins me for our weekly conversation. Life is coming at us fast and I always feel better prepared to face it after our discussions.” (05/05/26)
“The U.S. military said it launched another strike on a boat accused of ferrying drugs in the Caribbean Sea, [murdering] two people Monday. The Trump administration’s campaign of blowing up alleged drug-trafficking vessels in Latin American waters has persisted since early September and [murdered] at least 188 people in total. Other strikes have taken place in the eastern Pacific Ocean.” (05/05/26)
