Get Lit with Matt and Brad, 06/15/26
Source: Racket News
“Discourses on Livy, Book II.” (06/15/26)
https://rumble.com/v7bbo0a-live-at-430-pm-get-lit-with-matt-and-brad.html
Author: Thomas L. Knapp
Congress Should Be in No Rush To Renew FISA’s Section 702 Surveillance Powers
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“It’s long past time to open federal surveillance powers to scrutiny and reform.” (06/15/26)
SCOTUS turns away challenge to New York gun company shakedown law
Source: NBC News
“The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a challenge to a New York law that sets out a legal pathway to hold gunmakers accountable for harm caused by their weapons [sic]. The court’s decision not to intervene means the 2021 law remains in effect. It allows for various legal claims against gun manufacturers under state law, including alleged conduct that endangers the public health [sic] of New Yorkers. The law, which was immediately challenged in court after being enacted, was written specifically to circumvent a 2005 federal law called the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act that created a liability shield for gunmakers. It could still face future legal challenges.” (06/15/26)
Rising, 06/15/26
Source: The Hill
“Trump family profiting from White House UFC fight? Lindsey Granger.” (06/15/26)
The Kratom Civil War Is Heating Up, and MAHA Has Picked a Side
Source: Wired
by Mattha Busby
“A decade ago, kratom advocates fought a surprisingly successful campaign against a proposed Drug Enforcement Administration ban that claimed the obscure Southeast Asian plant posed ‘an imminent hazard to public safety.’ They won bipartisan allies from Bernie Sanders to Rand Paul, and helped create a billion-dollar industry out of kratom, which has pain-relieving effects they said could help fight the opioid epidemic as a far safer, natural alternative to pills. Now, many of those same pro-kratom activists are calling for a ban on products containing concentrates of one of kratom’s active components: 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, an ultra-potent extract with opioid-like effects. And it’s causing major friction amongst consumers, sellers, and advocates of both substances.” (06/15/26)
BBC investigation: Russian regime was behind arson attacks targeting Starmer
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Even after he set fire to Sir Keir Starmer’s house, Roman Lavrynovych – convicted on Monday of conspiring to commit arson – seemed to know as much about the prime minister as a bullet knows about its target. His anonymous handler, known by the initials EL, gave a clue in a message: ‘Look, you attacked the home of a very high-ranking person in Britain. I’ll send you money, you need to leave the city.’ It was too late: Lavrynovych was arrested within hours. … Our investigation has found the arson attack was just one part of an extensive campaign of sabotage, provocation and lies leading all the way to the Russian state. … Russian operatives ran their sabotage and provocation campaign remotely through social media and the messaging app Telegram, we found, creating fake online far-right and Muslim groups, which were used to organise acts of vandalism in the UK and stir up division and fear.” (06/15/26)
Neon Liberalism, 06/15/26
Source: Liberal Currents
“Governance After Neoliberalism, with Rey Fuenties.” (06/15/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/governance-after-neoliberalism-with-rey-fuenties/
The Limits of Democracy
Source: Law & Liberty
by James Huffman
“More democracy will not solve America’s political woes. We must revitalize the counter-majoritarian elements of the Constitution.” (06/15/26)
Sabotaging the Invisible Hand: Adam Smith Predicted Modern Policy Failures
Source: The Daily Economy
by Paul Mueller
“Smith observed that significant economic inequalities arise not from voluntary exchange but from distortions that restrict competition, channel resources toward favored interests, and limit economic mobility.” (06/15/26)
Major attack on Arch Linux: Massive malware injection into the AUR
Source: Research Snipers
“Arch Linux continues to struggle with a large-scale malware wave in its user repository AUR (Arch User Repository). This is currently literally flooded with malware. The attack continues and becomes more sophisticated. After the developers behind the Linux distribution initially assumed that they had brought the security incident under control with more than 1,500 affected packages in which malicious code was integrated, further manipulated code submissions have now been discovered. … The incident once again raises questions about the security of the AUR. Unlike the official Arch Linux package sources, the repository is maintained by users who can provide their own software packages there. Given the repeated findings, some observers are calling for additional protective measures or even a temporary shutdown of the service until more effective security controls can be put in place.” (06/15/26)
https://researchsnipers.com/major-attack-on-arch-linux-massive-malware-injection-into-the-aur/