“This column is a plea to our readers to help get responses from groups whose duties and rhetoric should cause them to become much more active in countering the fascistic, dictatorial actions of Tyrant Trump. All these groups have diminished themselves and their real potential to generate strong direct democratic pressures and arouse the citizenry. We can guess the answer as to why these groups are so meek, but what is needed is for these groups to answer for themselves: 1) Why aren’t the Democrats in Congress, just a few votes from a majority, much more aggressive vis-à-vis the controlling Republicans and President Donald Trump? Voters are vociferously demanding this at town meetings.” (09/06/25)
“Hermínio Guambe used to cut hair in a tiny barbershop with no electricity in his village outside Mozambique’s capital. The arrival of power changed everything. The 48-year-old now uses hair dryers. The village pharmacy stocks vital medicines requiring refrigeration. More jobs were created as trading and transport picked up. ‘These are the kinds of businesses that drive economies,’ World Bank President Ajay Banga said in an interview with The Associated Press during a July visit to tour electrification projects and meet entrepreneurs like Guambe. ‘Electricity isn’t just light, it’s a chance.’ Mozambique has won World Bank backing for the $6 billion Mphanda Nkuwa hydroelectric plant, southern Africa’s biggest such project in 50 years. Mozambique, one of the world’s poorest countries by per capita income, aims to connect all of its 33 million mostly rural citizens to electricity by 2030, largely through renewable energy from hydroelectric, solar and other sources.” (09/06/25)
“Tim Kaine needs to report to a remedial civics class as soon as possible. The Virginia senator and former vice-presidential candidate expressed outrage at a congressional hearing that a Trump nominee said our rights come from God, not government. Kaine suspected incipient theocracy, warning that the Iranian regime persecutes religious minorities on exactly this basis. ‘They do it,’ he explained, ‘because they believe that they understand what natural rights are from their creator.’ In searching for an example more relevant to the American experience, Kaine might cast his mind back to a fellow Virginian — a tall, sandy-haired, Charlottesville-area gentleman with an interest in architecture, a taste for fine wine and knack for writing. Ring any bells?” (09/05/25)
“The official West Point alumni association has canceled an awards ceremony later this month for veterans advocate Tom Hanks, according to a report. Hanks, who is known for military movies like ‘Saving Private Ryan’ and ‘Forrest Gump,’ was also a former President Joe Biden supporter who has criticized President Donald Trump in the past. He has received backlash from Trump supporters for his recurring MAGA character Doug on ‘Saturday Night Live,’ who has appeared in ‘Black Jeopardy’ sketches. He also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from former President Barack Obama …. Hanks had been set to receive the Sylvanus Thayer Award for ‘outstanding’ non-West Point graduates who exemplify ‘Duty, Honor, Country.’ The ceremony was scheduled to be held on Sept. 25.” (09/06/25)
“Powerball players in Missouri and Texas won the estimated $1.8 billion jackpot on Saturday, overcoming astronomical odds to end the lottery game’s three-month drought without a big winner. The winning numbers were 11, 23, 44, 61, and 62, with the Powerball number being 17. The prize, which was the second-largest U.S. lottery jackpot in history, followed 41 consecutive drawings in which no one matched all six numbers. The last drawing with a jackpot winner happened May 31. Powerball’s terrible odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to generate big jackpots, with prizes growing as they roll over when no one wins. Lottery officials note that the odds are far better for the game’s many smaller prizes. There are three drawings each week. The estimated $1.8 billion jackpot would go to a winner who opts to receive 30 payments over 29 years through an annuity. Winners almost always choose the game’s cash option, which for Saturday night’s drawing would be an estimated $826.4 million.” (09/06/25)
“In 1986, a moral philosophy professor and student of language at Princeton University named Harry Frankfurt published an erudite and witty article in the literary quarterly Raritan, circulation 1,100. Its title was ‘On Bullshit’. Frankfurt’s point was that bullshitting was fundamentally different from lying. Liars were aware of the truth that they were trying to contradict. Bullshitters simply made stuff up, and tended to believe their own bullshit. ‘It is impossible for someone to lie unless he thinks he knows the truth,’ Frankfurt wrote. ‘Producing bullshit requires no such conviction.’ About 20 years later, during the reign of George W. Bush, when the bullshit about Iraq was flying thick and fast, an editor at Princeton University Press named Ian Malcolm rediscovered Frankfurt’s essay, and repackaged it as a book.” (09/05/25)
“Until last year, a country at the heart of the Middle East was known for enduring one of world’s largest population displacements. About half of Syria’s 23 million were forced to flee their homes during a 14-year civil war. Since the ouster of a dictator nine months ago, however, more than 2 million citizens have returned. Most go back to pick up old lives and recreate a democratic country. ‘When we were expelled, it felt as if our souls had been torn from our bodies,’ Mamdouh al-Sattouf, a former school principal, told Al Jazeera. ‘Now that we have returned, it feels as if we have regained our souls.’ The rising pace in the number of Syrian returnees is due in part to a new government’s efforts to hold elections this month, revive the economy with foreign help, and restore Syria’s former social harmony between diverse ethnic and religious groups.” (09/03/25)
“A week after the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, a large explosion incinerated a parking lot near the busy Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, killing more than 470 people. It was a horrifying, chaotic scene. Burnt clothing was strewn about, scorched vehicles piled atop one another, and charred buildings surrounded the impact zone. Israel claimed the blast was caused by an errant rocket fired by Palestinian extremists, but an investigation by Forensic Architecture later indicated that the missile was most likely launched from Israel, not from inside Gaza. In those first days of the onslaught, it wasn’t yet clear that wiping out Gaza’s entire healthcare system could conceivably be part of the Israeli plan. After all, it’s well known that purposely bombing or otherwise destroying hospitals violates the Geneva Conventions and is a war crime, so there was still some hope that the explosion at Al-Ahli was accidental.” (09/04/25)
“As US Congress returns from its summer recess, Washington’s attention is turning toward a possible government shutdown. While much of the focus will be on a showdown between Senate Democrats and President Donald Trump, a subplot is brewing as the House and Senate, led by Republicans but supported by far too many Democrats, fight over how big the Pentagon’s budget should be. The House voted to give Trump his requested trillion dollar budget, while the Senate is demanding $22 billion more. To justify this historic largesse, both Trump and Congress give the same reason: peace through strength. Harkening back to Ronald Reagan’s Cold War military spending spree, today its invocation often boils down to one simple idea: Give the Pentagon more money. But, since Reagan’s famed buildup actually cost much less, it’s worth asking if the problem really is a lack of funds.” (09/04/25)
“Rhode Island, Connecticut and the developer of an offshore wind farm that would power 350,000 homes in the two states said Thursday they’re suing the Trump administration for stopping the nearly completed project. The states will file a complaint in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island Thursday, said Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha,, who accused President Donald Trump of waging an “all-out assault” on the wind energy industry. Danish energy company Orsted filed a separate lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., arguing that the administration lacks the legal authority to block the Revolution Wind project. Orsted said it would seek a preliminary injunction that would allow it to move forward with the project, which is 80% complete, with all underwater foundations and 45 of 65 turbines installed. Interior Department spokesperson Elizabeth Peace said Thursday that the department doesn’t comment on pending litigation.” (09/04/25)
