“[R]ather than replicating the classic forms of historical fascism, Trump tends to use the state apparatus itself as an instrument of coercion to secure the loyalty of his supporters and to undermine local countervailing powers. He also seeks to control the institutions that produce and disseminate knowledge and information, to weaken countervailing powers and to impose his ideological conception of society. Trump’s imperialist policy therefore does not represent a break with US practices throughout the 20th century. On the contrary, it continues the various methods employed during that period—military interventions, coups d’état, sanctions, economic pressure, support for allied regimes, and control of strategic areas and resources—but with a notable difference in the rhetoric that accompanies them.” (11/05/26)
“To dominate supply chains, the Trump administration is weaponizing the global AI race. Instead of learning from the lessons of postwar atomic regulation, the administration is reversing them, thereby paving the way for catastrophic risks.” (11/05/26)
Source: Freedom and Flourishing
by Dr. Edward W Younkins
“Gerald Gaus’s The Open Society and Its Complexities (2021) is a response to three theses advanced by Friedrich A. Hayek regarding the Open Society. Hayek’s first thesis is that human beings are not made for a free society. Human evolved psychology makes us xenophobic, parochial, and egalitarian in ways that conflict with the diversity and impartiality of an Open Society. The second thesis is that the operation of institutions in the Open Society is so unclear that we cannot rationally evaluate, critique, or justify that type of society. The third thesis is that the Open Society cannot be governed.” (11/05/26)
“The morning after the polls closed in the 2026 midterm elections, Washington Monthly Politics Editor Bill Scher and Washington Sun columnist Matt Lewis pored over the results and examined how they impact the futures of the Republican Party and Democratic Party.” (11/04/26)
“Within hours of Tuesday night’s rout, Vice President J.D. Vance had settled on an explanation: “The reason we lost is the war.” It is a convenient story. The war in Iran is unpopular, and the spike in gasoline prices that came with it certainly didn’t help Republicans. But the war is not what caused the blue wave. Tariffs were the millstone that sank the GOP ticket—and the White House had years of warning.” (11/05/26)
“Perhaps, when we get right down to it, the threat that Pyongyang and Kim pose to the West is not provided by his dream of the world’s strongest army. Rather, it is one of the strongest arguments still in the world today of what the true fruits of socialism are.” (11/04/26)
“The United States has imposed sanctions on companies and individuals in India and Turkiye that it accuses of helping Iran get around restrictions on its oil exports and its airlines. The US Department of the Treasury said on Wednesday that the measures target a ‘vast criminal network’ run by Suniel Kumar Sharma and his wife, Jaspreet Preeti Shahid, who are based in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh. Two other Indian nationals who head the couple’s businesses and nine entities linked to Sharma were also sanctioned. According to the Treasury, the couple falsely claimed to represent the maritime authorities of countries including Guyana, Eswatini and Laos.” (11/05/26)
“The masked secret police, abductions, murders, and violence against peaceful protesters, weaponization of the DOJ, selling of pardons, terrorizing immigrants, occupations of entire cities, open air bribes, assaults on the free press, weaponization of intelligence, brazen constitutional violations, transparent lying to the courts, white supremacist messaging, white supremacist policy, graft, corrupt diplomacy, and too many other offenses to name — these are unacceptable trespasses on our values. They aren’t mere policy differences between the two major parties. If we don’t make it clear that this administration’s violence, racism, corruption, and crime are aberrant and intolerable, we’ll instead make clear that they’re neither. And we’ll make it easier for the next Trump, the next time around.” (11/04/26)
