“There is a long tradition in political philosophy holding that public policy should reflect certain moral principles. Not everyone agrees, of course. Friedrich Nietzsche and Thomas Hobbes, for example, came close to saying that ‘might makes right.’ But the political thinkers who shaped the American form of government believed that legitimate government exists for moral purposes. How does that idea apply to taxation? The Biblical commandment is clear enough: ‘Thou shall not steal.’ Since taxation is clearly a ‘taking’ under threat of coercion, we can ask, where does it cross the line from ‘legitimacy’ to ‘theft?’ That there is such a line is implicit in almost all modern political discourse.” (03/14/26)
“Growing up in Trinidad and Tobago, Carlon Augustus remembers reading the newspapers his grandparents bought daily. Now 32, he says he turns to social media for the latest news. For him, it’s about getting news in real time. ‘Everything is on social media now. Whatever happens today, you don’t have to wait to get the papers tomorrow,’ he said. Media owners point to shifting reading habits like Augustus’ as the primary reason two legacy newspapers have folded in the Caribbean so far this year: Guyana’s Stabroek News and Trinidad and Tobago’s Newsday. Stabroek News printed its final edition on Sunday and halted its online publication. It was established in November 1986, a year after its founder asked Guyana’s then-president if he would accept the creation of an independent newspaper. At the time, Guyana was six years away from its first free and fair elections in nearly 30 years.” (03/15/26)
“Talia Rose can see the FedEx planes. ‘They’re directly across the tarmac from me,’ they told me. Rose works the overnight shift at the UPS air hub. Most days, they clock in before dawn, when much of Oakland is asleep. Metal containers — ULDs — are rolled off the aircraft and pulled into the building. Rose unloads them, sending boxes down conveyor belts to be sorted and routed. Sometimes they’re on the other side, throwing freight toward outbound trucks. It’s physical work, repetitive and precise. Around six months ago, during a weekly organizing meeting at the Oakland Liberation Center, they learned that military cargo bound for Israel had been moving through the airport. Activists had just released research documenting hundreds of such shipments passing through OAK.” (03/12/26)
“Britain’s parliamentary democracy, one of the oldest in the world, has its quirks. For more than 1,000 years, its kings and queens have presided atop a pyramid of lords, earls, viscounts, and other layers of nobility. Alongside elected members of the House of Commons, these titled (and often wealthy) peers have held hundreds of hereditary seats in Parliament’s upper House of Lords for centuries. ‘Undemocratic, overcrowded, dominated by silly archaic practices and unrepresentative of the British population,’ is how one reform-minded member has described the chamber. But all that is about to change: On Tuesday, Parliament adopted a bill abolishing the remaining quota of 92 seats that can be automatically filled by the heirs of titled peers. The act fulfills one of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s election pledges, completing a process started by his predecessor Tony Blair, who removed more than 600 seats in 1999.” (03/11/26)
“Under President Donald J. Trump, the United States has now become an engine for the promulgation of White nationalism. Not since the 1930s has such an ideology, which exalts those ethnic groups it codes as ‘White’, while denigrating all others, underpinned the domestic and foreign policies of a major world power. Typically (for our moment), Trump’s recent National Security Strategy (NSS) depicted Europe as in distinct ‘civilizational decline’ because of the European Union’s commitment to multiracial democracy and international humanitarian law. These days, thanks to its racial policies, the Trump team even finds a way to inject racial hatred into dry economic statistics, complaining that ‘Continental Europe has been losing share of global GDP [gross domestic product] — down from 25 percent in 1990 to 14 percent today.'” (03/12/26)
“Former President Barack Obama long ago surpassed the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton as America’s most influential race hustler. The country got a reminder when Obama spoke at Jackson’s funeral, even though Jackson’s son urged the speakers ‘not to bring their politics’ to the service. Obama said, ‘Every day you wake up to things you just didn’t think were possible. Each day, we’re told by those in high office to fear each other, and to turn on each other. And that some Americans count more than others.’ Same old Obama. In his 2004 Democratic National Convention speech, he famously declared, ‘There is not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America — there’s the United States of America.’ It was the line that launched him and made millions across party lines believe he could bridge divides.” (03/12/26)
“California Gov. Gavin Newsom said there was no imminent threat to the state, despite a warning from the FBI that Iran could send drones to the West Coast in retaliation for war. Newsom said drone issues ‘have always been top of mind.’ ‘We’ve been aware of that information. … It’s all about a posture of preparedness for worst-case scenarios,’ the governor said Wednesday. The FBI recently warned police departments about Iran and a possible California strike, though the alert also said it was ‘unverified information.’ ‘Iran allegedly aspired to conduct a surprise attack using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) from an unidentified vessel off the coast of the United States homeland, specifically against unspecified targets in California, in the event the U.S. conducted strikes against Iran,’ the alert said.” (03/12/26)
“The ongoing Trumpian plot to rig the midterms and end democracy is getting crazier and more dangerous by the day. The plot is also becoming increasingly layered and will likely continue all the way to next January 3, when newly elected members of the Senate and every member of the House will be sworn into office. Keeping abreast of all the twists and turns as the scheme unfolds can be exhausting and overwhelming, and that’s exactly how our narcissist-in-chief and his assorted obergruppenführers want you to feel. But don’t give in. The plot is inherently flawed and, although we can never be certain, it will ultimately fail in the face of the president’s plummeting poll numbers, the deepening affordability crisis, and the growing popular resistance movement. In the meantime, here is a list of the plot’s main elements to help you stay informed, connected, and, above all, engaged.” (03/12/26)
“Many in the West gaze in awe at China’s apparent dominance in green energy. ‘“China is becoming a green superpower,’ read a BBC headline last month. ‘China’s Green Triumph,’ trumpeted The New York Times. China is indeed churning out solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles and batteries that flood global markets — proof, advocates say, of an inevitable green transition. Yet these supposed marvels are forged amid overwhelming and surging use of fossil fuels, particularly coal. Its real energy achievements — dramatic energy ramp-ups to fuel prosperity, and advances in nuclear power — remain overlooked. In 2025, as the world invested $2.3 trillion in green energy, more than a third of that investment, $800 billion, came from China, nearly matching the US and the EU combined. But spending isn’t the best measure of investment quality. After China’s real-estate bubble went bust in 2020, capital flowed into the solar-panel industry, and the sudden influx created vast overproduction and overcapacity.” (03/11/26)
“A new study by California researchers is raising concerns of a possible link between cannabis vaping and a rare disorder called cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, or CHS, that can leave users violently vomiting for days. The researchers found that people who used electronic vape cartridges developed CHS much faster than people who smoked marijuana or used edibles. … The study, published last week in Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, was based on more than 1,130 responses to a digital survey sent to people who said they experienced CHS. It did not prove any causal mechanism between vaping and developing CHS, but found a strong statistically significant association showing vape cartridge users were more likely to both develop CHS sooner compared to smokers and use higher levels of cannabis.” (03/12/26)
