“Over the past few weeks, the redistricting battles have revealed something important about the state of American politics: Republican voters are not recoiling from a fight. They are running toward it. Fights that the old Republican establishment would have treated as too aggressive, risky, or impolite have instead unleashed grassroots energy across the country. Why? Because Republican voters are starving for political courage. Republican voters have seen what courage looks like in their states. They want to see it in Washington. For too long, Republican politics was defined by caution masquerading as wisdom. Voters sent Republicans to Washington to stop the left, only to watch too many of them obsess over decorum, consultant-approved messaging, and the approval of people who despised them anyway. Meanwhile, the country they loved was slipping away …” (06/15/26)
“The number of foreign travellers visiting Cuba has plummeted since the beginning of the year amid tightened US sanctions, figures released by Cuba’s national statistics agency suggest. Fewer than 360,000 people visited the Communist-run island in the first five months of 2026, a decrease of 58.4% compared to the same period last year, according to Onei. The Trump administration has targeted the tourism sector, a key source of income for Cuba’s beleaguered government, as part of its pressure campaign against the island’s leadership. As a result, a number of foreign airlines and hotel operators have stopped operating in Cuba, further driving down visitor numbers. Earlier this month, Air Canada announced it was suspending its flights to Cuba indefinitely, citing the ‘ongoing political and economic uncertainty’ as its reason. The carrier had already stopped flying to the island in February because of a shortage of aviation fuel on the Caribbean island.” (06/16/26)
“Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said Tuesday that Ohio should abolish the death penalty, saying it is no longer a deterrent to violent crime, confirming his change of heart on the policy he helped write as a state legislator 45 years ago. ‘I do not believe that argument today can be successfully made, nor do I believe that there’s any chance in the future the facts that I’ve cited to support that belief will change,’ the 79-year-old governor said during a news conference. ‘Therefore, I believe Ohio should abolish the death penalty.’ DeWine has repeatedly postponed scheduled executions in the state over his seven years as governor. During a news conference, he said data indicates the death penalty is not working as intended to deter crime, even as it brings years of pain to victims’ loved ones and takes a toll on the mental health of state employees who serve on execution teams.” (06/16/26)
“I have been talking for years now about the death of cable, which has functionally arrived even if the cable networks don’t quite know it yet. The Pew Research Center estimates that cable and satellite TV households were down to only 36 percent of the population in 2025; that number was 85 percent just a decade earlier. Among viewers under 30, cable subscriptions are at 16 percent of households. Streaming represents nearly half of all viewing among all age groups. Cable is a dying medium, and it’s a matter of time before it’s no longer cost-efficient to maintain cable systems, and they are shut down. Charter Communications is trying to grow its way to survival with the acquisition of Cox, but even the biggest cable companies can’t outrun reality forever.” (06/16/26)
“The British government acted lawfully when it banned the protest group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, the Court of Appeal in London ruled on Monday. Chief Justice Sue Carr said the group went far beyond staging non-violent demonstrations to launch destructive attacks on defense companies, banks, and a military base. ‘It is not, as claimed, a direct action civil disobedience protest group like the suffragettes, operating transparently in the open,’ Carr said. ‘It is a covert organization which operates with secret cells to avoid the detection and prosecution of those using violence to destroy property and cause injury.’ The ruling overturned a February decision by three senior High Court judges who found that, despite the group promoting its political cause through some crimes, the scale of its activities did not warrant a ban.” (06/15/26)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“It’s so pathetic watching Elon Musk’s groveling bootlickers fall all over themselves on social media to defend their favorite oligarch from criticism as he becomes the world’s first trillionaire. They’re like ‘Don’t be mean to the trillionaire, just become a trillionaire yourself! All you need is luck, connections, wealthy parents, the ruthlessness to step on anyone who gets in your way, and a willingness to cooperate with murderous imperial institutions like the Pentagon and the CIA!’ Elon Musk is a military-industrial complex plutocrat who is balls deep in the US intelligence cartel and recently facilitated the US-Israeli attempted regime change operation in Iran. You have infinitely more in common with the average person in Iran, Cuba, Lebanon or Palestine than you have with the world’s first trillionaire.” (06/14/26)
“The Director of National Intelligence (DNI), Tulsi Gabbard, will be officially leaving her post on June 19. She is resigning to care for her husband, who is battling a rare form of bone cancer. Gabbard has enjoyed a remarkably successful tenure as DNI and is using her final days in office to unleash several bombshell reports. On Friday, Gabbard rescinded two intelligence assessments from the administration of President Joe Biden regarding the mysterious set of ailments known as ‘Havana Syndrome,’ which has sickened our spies and diplomats on missions throughout the world. … the Biden administration downplayed the reports and dismissed the possibility that the ailments were caused by a foreign adversary. Gabbard blasted these findings for excluding key information, suppressing ‘alternative analysis,’ and using an ‘ethically flawed medical study.'” (06/15/26)
“Early Monday morning Islamabad time, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that ‘Following intensive talks, we are pleased to announce that the Peace Deal between the United States of America and Islamic Republic of Iran has been REACHED. Both sides have declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon. The official signing ceremony will be on Friday, 19 June in Switzerland.’ Pakistan and Qatar had been the lead negotiators, though Qatar’s negotiating team appears to have sealed the deal Sunday with a marathon 14-hour session. The White House concurred. US President Donald Trump posted that the deal with Iran is ‘complete’ and that he would immediately lift the US blockade on the Strait of Hormuz and is announcing its ‘toll-free’ opening. ‘Let the oil flow’, he said.” (06/15/26)
“Years ago, when my oldest son was a Boy Scout, he was asked to write a report/make a presentation on a modern American ‘hero.’ He chose Elon Musk, and I, of course, rolled my eyes so hard they nearly popped out of my head. I knew Musk was a successful businessman, but I also knew that he was both an advocate for and a seasoned manipulator of Big Government. Tesla, for example, received a $465 million Department of Energy loan in 2010 under the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program, a Big Government scheme to encourage private companies to advance Big Government priorities (namely, fighting Climate Change by reducing carbon emissions). Likewise, Tesla was, at least at the time, commercially viable only because of the more than $1 billion ($7,500/vehicle) in federal EV tax credits claimed by its buyers.” (06/15/26)
“A federal judge in Georgia has apologized to a former law clerk for ‘harmful, offensive, and unprofessional behavior’ amid allegations she had engaged in sexual activity with a high-ranking uniformed police officer in her office during working hours and within earshot of staff. The apology comes as two House Republicans from Georgia have filed articles of impeachment for U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross. ‘You deserved better than to have your experience marred by my own offensive conflict,’ Ross, who serves in the Northern District of Georgia, wrote in a letter last week, adding that her ‘actions were patently wrong, and there is no excuse’, and her previous letter to the clerk was ‘entirely deficient, as I did not take full accountability for my actions, and I failed to give you the apology that you deserve.'” (06/15/26)
