“Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, hosting his first monthly Christian worship service at the Pentagon since the Iran war began, prayed on Wednesday for American bullets to hit their targets. … The services proceeded even after a lawsuit was filed Monday over such gatherings by Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The advocacy group filed a similar suit against the Labour Department, where Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer also hosts monthly prayer gatherings inspired by Hegseth. The nonprofit group, in existence since 1948, said both officials were ‘abusing the power of their government positions and taxpayer-funded resources to impose their preferred religion on federal workers.'” (03/26/26)
“The Declaration of Independence was both performative and expressive. It announced the United States as a separate entity from Britain. It also articulated the core political premises on which the new nation was established. The commemoration of its 250th anniversary will mostly focus on its first function, because a nation, like a person, most readily celebrates its birth. But especially at our time of division and polarization, a renewed focus on our founding principle has never been more urgent.” (03/26/26)
“Transgender women athletes are now excluded from the Olympics after the IOC agreed to a new eligibility policy on Thursday which aligns with U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order on women’s sports ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games. ‘Eligibility for any female category event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event, including individual and team sports, is now limited to biological females,’ the International Olympic Committee said, ‘determined on the basis of a one-time SRY gene screening.'” (03/26/26)
“The Commonwealth of Virginia is poised to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, an agreement already joined by 17 other states and Washington, DC, in an attempt to effectively eliminate the Electoral College. Both the state senate and state house approved the measure, and the bill is now awaiting the governor’s signature. Electoral College opponents will celebrate, but they shouldn’t. Americans do not realize what is about to hit them if the national popular vote becomes reality.” (03/26/26)
“In his recent social media diatribes, Donald Trump has complained that our allies are ungrateful for the war he has initiated against Iran. He is angered that they aren’t anxious to send in their military forces to win a war that he claims is already won. Trump also doesn’t seem to think it matters that he never consulted, or even warned, any US allies, with the notable exception of Israel. To anyone not in the Trump cult, these complaints qualify as batshit crazy. Trump’s war is a massive whack to economies across the world. These countries are not grateful for an economic hit that is equivalent to a massive weather disaster or serious pandemic.” (03/26/26)
“A judge last week struck down the Pentagon’s restrictions on journalists seeking ‘unauthorized’ information, siding with the New York Times in its lawsuit against the government. In response, the Pentagon on Monday added some meaningless window dressing and essentially reissued the same restrictions. The administration pledged to ‘immediately’ appeal the decision on the original policy, and on Tuesday, the Times filed a motion to compel the administration to comply with the judge’s order. As alarming as the Pentagon’s antics are, the Times’ lawsuit is not the only case about whether reporters have the right to ask questions. It’s not even the only one in the news this week.” (03/26/26)
“Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) told Axios she will ‘most likely’ vote for House Democrats’ resolution to constrain President Trump from waging war with Iran the next time it comes up for a vote. The vote is symbolic — even if the measure passed both chambers, Trump could veto it — but Mace’s support puts the House one step closer to a major rebuke of the administration’s Middle East operations. Mace emerged as a suddenly fierce critic of the Iran war this week, declaring Wednesday that she will vote against funding further operations in the region. … A war powers resolution forced to the floor earlier this month was rejected in a 212-219 vote, with four House Democrats breaking away from their leadership and voting against the measure. But most if not all of those Democrats are poised to flip the next time their party leadership forces a war powers vote, Axios reported on Tuesday.” (03/26/26)
