Author: Thomas L. Knapp

Source: Law & Liberty
by Jonathan Leaf

“Many in the Islamic world continue to believe that the answer to their struggles is the restoration of the old caliphate system. Hamas, for instance, called for this in its founding charter. This was also the impassioned dream of Osama bin Laden. Spurring these beliefs are a series of widely-held notions about the past. Given the powerful present-day interest, attraction, and obsession with the idea, we need to arrive at an accurate estimate of the caliphates.” (02/11/26)

https://lawliberty.org/demystifying-islams-golden-age/

Source: The Daily Economy
by Romina Boccia

“Social Security is drifting toward a cliff, and Congress keeps pretending the shortfall will fix itself. It won’t. Absent reform, benefits will be cut across the board by roughly 23 percent within six years. That outcome would harm retirees who depend on Social Security the most — while barely affecting the living standards of those who do not need financial support in old age. There is a better option: reduce distributions to the wealthiest retirees, preserving them for those most dependent on benefits.” (02/11/26)

https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/to-save-social-security-stop-subsidizing-wealthy-retirees/

Source: The Guardian [UK]

“Former CNN anchor Don Lemon has hired a federal prosecutor, who quit amid the White House’s immigration blitz on Minneapolis, to defend him from charges related to his coverage of a church protest. Lemon officially brought Joseph H Thompson on to his legal team, according to a Tuesday court filing. Thompson, who Donald Trump had appointed acting US attorney for Minnesota in June, reportedly resigned in January over the justice department’s treatment of immigration enforcement. A federal grand jury in Minnesota indicted Lemon, now an independent journalist, on charges of conspiracy and interfering with congregants’ constitutional rights to freely exercise their religion during an 18 January protest at the Cities church in St Paul.” (02/11/26)

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/11/don-lemon-hires-federal-prosecutor-quit-ice-surge

Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
by Beryl Lipton & Sarah Hamid

“Surveillance technology vendors, federal agencies, and wealthy private donors have long helped provide local law enforcement ‘free’ access to surveillance equipment that bypasses local oversight. The result is predictable: serious accountability gaps and data pipelines to other entities, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), that expose millions of people to harm.” (02/11/26)

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/02/free-surveillance-tech-still-comes-high-and-dangerous-cost

Source: Antiwar.com
by JD Hester

“One of the biggest criticisms of those who opposed the JCPOA is that it did not meaningfully prevent Iran from supporting its regional proxies: the Yemeni Houthis, the Lebanese Hezbollah, and the Palestinian Hamas. While these proxy groups threaten Israel, they do not constitute a threat to the United States. The second Trump administration must not make the same mistake as the Biden administration: prioritizing foreign nations over stopping nuclear proliferation. Reviving the JCPOA is not idealism; it is a pragmatic solution to the threat of nuclear proliferation.” (02/11/26)

https://original.antiwar.com/jd_hester/2026/02/10/trump-should-revive-the-jcpoa-to-prevent-war-with-iran/

Source: The American Conservative
by Brandon J Weichert

“Comforting narratives about Chinese internal dynamics are not just wrong, but dangerous.” (02/11/26)

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-china-collapse-that-wasnt/