“There is an indisputably crucial history of very close relations between Beijing and Pyongyang. In late 1950, PRC forces intervened in the war between communist North Korea and anti-communist South Korea (whose government was massively supported with military personnel and weaponry from the United States and other Western countries). The armistice that ended the fighting in 1953 left the Korean Peninsula split between two intensely hostile countries, with the United States and the PRC firmly backing their respective clients throughout the remainder of the Cold War. Despite that history, the current connection between the two communist states is decidedly more nuanced, ambiguous, and even contentious than the lips and teeth cliché would imply.” (06/18/26)
“From semiconductors to artificial intelligence, modern proposals for public ownership risk repeating the mistakes Smith identified 250 years ago.” (06/18/26)
“Two high-stakes Supreme Court battles over President Donald Trump’s authority to remove federal officials could reshape the balance of power in Washington, but legal experts say the justices may draw a sharp line between the cases. At the center of the debate are Slaughter v. Trump, involving the firing of Federal Trade Commission Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, and Trump v. Cook, involving Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. While both cases touch on presidential removal power, legal scholars say the disputes present fundamentally different legal questions. In Slaughter, the administration is directly challenging statutory restrictions on the president’s ability to remove FTC commissioners, arguing that limits on the president’s authority to fire commissioners violate his Article II executive powers. But in Cook, the central question is whether Trump met the Federal Reserve Act’s ‘for cause’ removal requirement.” (06/18/26)
“Code is speech (as ruled by a US district court and affirmed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Bernstein v. Department of Justice). AI models are code. Therefore, AI models are speech, and the government doesn’t get to control them. Not that the current administration, or any other, or Congress, or the courts, can be counted on to respect the Constitution. The ink wasn’t dry on that document before the American political establishment started ignoring its inconveniences. Which leaves Anthropic and other artificial intelligence firms in a bind. … As a practical matter, if Anthropic et al. want to innovate and compete in a growing market that’s already changing how the world works, they need to get away from the US government, which means getting away from the US.” (06/18/26)
Source: Washington Monthly
by David Lingelbach & Valentina Rodríguez Guerra
“Rule by the rich may look inevitable, but history shows it’s not. From ancient Greece to New Deal America to today’s Hungary, democracies have found ways to separate private fortunes from public power.” (06/18/26)
“Excuses protect us from guilt, but they also rob us of hope. The habit of denying responsibility may be one of the greatest obstacles to personal and social flourishing.” (06/18/26)
“Waymo is recalling over 3,800 of its self-driving taxis due to a software issue that could cause them to enter closed freeway construction zones at speed, according to a National Highway Traffic Safety Admininstration (NHTSA) bulletin seen by Reuters. The company is reportedly working on a fix and has ‘restricted freeway driving,’ the NHTSA safety notice states. It’s not known if Waymo had an incident that prompted the recall. … This is the second recall for the Alphabet-owned robotaxi company in a bit more than a month. Back in May, Waymo recalled 3,791 robotaxis after a vehicle drove onto a flood road in San Antonio. Fortunately, no one was injured as the taxi was unoccupied, but the vehicle was swept away by the flood. Prior to that, the fleet was recalled for a particularly dangerous situation when some of its robotaxis were seen failing to stop for school buses that had their stop signs and flashing lights deployed.” (06/18/26)
“If cooperative relationships give rise to flourishing, why don’t we transition away from government by submission to government by subscription?” (06/18/26)
“The San Francisco arts community is mourning the loss of Judith and Wylie Sheldon, longtime patrons of film and performances in the city. On Monday evening, a California Highway Patrol officer discovered the couple’s bodies inside their car on the side of Interstate 5 north of Redding. Judy was 84, and Wylie was 86. … Lieutenant Josh Smith with the CHP told SFGATE that the couple was traveling to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival when, on June 15 around 5:46 p.m., a CHP officer checked on their Jeep Compass parked along the highway approaching Lake Shasta. The car’s engine was still running, and the couple was found unresponsive inside. … Smith said they do not suspect foul play.” (06/18/26)
