“It is now unlawful, upheld by a judge and jury, in Northern Ireland, to preach a sermon about God’s love within earshot of a hospital. Over the centuries, English kings, queens, nobles, and lower classes have arrested, tried, convicted, imprisoned, fined, and even executed men (and women) for preaching something that the powers that be, including the established Church, didn’t want preached. The 78-year-old Cleve Johnstone was not killed: merely jailed and fined. Most folks believed that sort of nonsense went about a good 200 years (or more) ago.” (05/27/26)
“The United States has indicted Cuba’s former president Raúl Castro on murder charges, deployed a carrier strike group to the Caribbean, and issued explicit threats of military intervention. Is the US moving toward another regime change operation in the Western Hemisphere? The rhetoric coming out of Washington suggests very much so. Cuba looks set to see a repeat of the Venezuelan playbook. President Donald Trump has said he will be “the one” to finally act on Cuba. The message from Washington is clear. Cuba is next. Latin America is empire’s favorite backyard, where the United States has consistently moved to remove governments that pursue independent foreign and economic policies not in line with American interests.” (05/28/26)
“I was raised in a rural Virginia family that, despite what that might lead you to believe, was not particularly religious. My mom was nominally a Christian but church service was not a regular part of our life. My dad was an atheist influenced by Ayn Rand. The latter went on to influence me, and as a consequence, I spent roughly the first 30 years of my life as a very garden-variety atheist. … I left Ayn Rand behind at some point in my mid-20s and developed an interest in broader philosophy. … This exploration eventually led me into religion but outside of the typical Abrahamic context.” (05/27/26)
“When President Donald Trump announced broad and arbitrary import taxes last April — tariffs that the Supreme Court would later determine were illegal — he said they would uplift domestic producers, even though many economists predicted the opposite. More than a year later, Americans can safely say that the economists were right. Trump’s tariffs have not only failed in their central aim — to bring manufacturing jobs back to America — they’ve also hurt Americans across a range of economic sectors, including agriculture. That’s the latest analysis from the North Dakota State University (NDSU) Agricultural Trade Monitor, which recently found that between March 2025 and February 2026, annualized U.S. agricultural exports to China dropped by nearly $15 billion. This is almost $5 billion more in lost trade to China than what American farmers saw during the first Trump administration.” (05/27/26)
“Amid the fears and concerns about artificial intelligence and emerging online technologies, a statement by the founder of Christian Science – and of this publication – offers reassurance. Referencing the United States’ ringing Declaration of Independence, Mary Baker Eddy wrote, ‘God has endowed man with inalienable rights, among which are self-government, reason, and conscience’. With the promise and exercise of these innate rights, humanity is well placed to take on the challenges – and promise – of AI. Many religious leaders, as well as Silicon Valley innovators and analysts, are weighing in on the role of human creativity and intelligence, as well as workplace skills and relevance. Most recently, Pope Leo XIV delivered a major statement on faith and human progress in the age of AI, titled ‘Magnifica Humanitas’ (Magnificent Humanity).” (05/27/26)
“Most people involved in artificial intelligence can agree on one thing: AI is coming for your job. Anthropic’s CEO predicts Great Depression levels of unemployment in the next five years. Bill Gates says that within ten years humans won’t be needed ‘for most things’. Corporate leaders say AI-driven layoffs are already starting, with Intuit firing thousands just this week, citing AI. Businesses justify their huge investments in AI by committing to spending less on labor, and AI firms sell their products promising to help them do it. Regardless of whether AI is yet good enough to replace workers, their plan is clear: lay off millions of workers, justified by AI. One entity seems totally unaware: the United States government. The only major AI proposal advanced this Congress was a failed effort to prevent states from regulating the industry.” [editor’s note: Create jobs? As in WPA dig ditches and fill them in? If they’re going that route, maybe should just fund UBI that way as a safety net – SAT] (05/28/26)
Source: Rutherford Institute
by John & Nisha Whitehead
“Who is actually running the government? That is no longer a rhetorical question. As America’s war with Iran lurches from escalation to ceasefire to renewed threats of military force, Americans are being asked to trust that someone, somewhere, knows what they are doing. But who? The president who boasts one moment of imminent peace and threatens the next to ‘“finish the job?’ The Pentagon officials who insist the war is going according to plan? The vice president who has reportedly questioned whether the Defense Department is giving the president the full picture? The intelligence agencies, defense contractors, war planners, foreign allies, billionaire donors, political handlers and unelected power brokers who operate behind the curtain? This is the constitutional crisis hiding in plain sight.” (05/27/26)
“Over the course of his three presidential campaigns (2016, 2020, 2024), President Donald J. Trump promised an America First foreign policy — one that would see America pull back from postwar European security commitments, end the war in Ukraine, and keep the country out of the Middle East ‘forever wars’ that so beguiled (and then bedeviled) every US president for the past quarter of a century. Instead, as we head into the 2026 midterms, his record is, to a surprising degree, primarily one of continuity with the national security policies of his predecessors. In the context of foreign policy, Trump II might properly be seen as Bush-Cheney’s third term, such has been the influence of neoconservative personnel and ideas within his two non-contiguous administrations.” (05/27/26)
“Every time there’s an election — a religious ritual for those who believe in the imaginary authority of the state — the cheers and tears begin as soon as the votes are tallied. The reaction depends on whether the individual voter ends up on the winning or losing side. Either outcome means the state has won at the expense of liberty. Politics is designed to divide people into winners and losers, and the only way to truly win is to refuse to play.” (05/27/26)
