Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“There are informal rules for American citizens about living in the U.S. Empire. Mind you, most of them are not codified into law. They are not found in an imperially published citizen’s manual. But American citizens are expected to know these informal rules and abide by them. Violations can result in criminal penalties or, more commonly, social ostracism, accusations of disloyalty and hatred of America, and even charges of sympathizing with terrorists or even being terrorists. In some circumstances, violations of the informal rules can also lead to criminal penalties. One informal rule is that when the Empire initiates a military attack on a small, militarily weak, economically impoverished country, American citizens are expected to cheer for the Empire and support the troops, even though the Empire is the aggressor in the conflict.” (10/23/26)
“An unlikely alliance between farmers and conservationists illustrates how government subsidies create political constituencies that lobby to preserve them.” (10/23/26)
“The Archdiocese of New York has agreed to pay more than $800m to settle the legal claims of about 1,300 survivors of sexual abuse by clergy. New York Archbishop Ronald Hicks said on Saturday that the settlement will be formally signed on November 6 after an agreement with the plaintiffs and their lawyers. … According to The New York Times, which broke the story, each of the approximately 1,300 survivors will receive at least $250,000 from the Archdiocese of New York and potentially more depending on the severity of the abuse suffered. The settlement is the second-largest of its kind after an $880m deal reached by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 2024.” (10/25/26)
“Since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in January 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claims more than 1.1 million people have been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) combined. But so far, the names of most arrestees have been kept secret. This lack of public disclosure threatens Americans’ ability to hold the government accountable.” (10/23/26)
“AI apocalypse fears went mainstream last month after an Anthropic researcher resigned, saying the technology has more than a 10% chance of wiping out humanity. Leaders of AI companies called for a collective slowdown of development. In the process, the public learned that the tech industry’s conception of AI safety is dominated by a small group of people who believe, with a certainty and devotion resembling religion, that an artificial superintelligence will arrive soon and take over the world. Befitting that millenarian outlook, they appear to have an unhealthy internal culture, part of which sure looks like a sex cult.” (10/23/26)
“A drone has hit a commercial ship off the coast of Romania, killing at least one crew member with three more still missing, Romanian President Nicușor Dan said Friday. … The Khoryv ship, flying under the flag of Comoros, suffered significant damage, capsized and partially sank, according to Romania’s Interior Ministry. The incident is the latest in a string of drone attacks on commercial shipping in the Black Sea.” (10/23/26)
