“There are several important drivers of political violence at work in the U.S. today, according to my own research and research by other scholars. The United States is currently very politically polarized, meaning that Americans are sharply divided against one another along partisan lines. They are suspicious and hostile toward one another, and this produces a tense and volatile environment for politics and public life. This has produced a ‘zero-sum’ environment in which every election and political contest is perceived as a ‘do or die’ moment. There is also a moral dimension to polarization in the U.S. Each side views members of the other party not as merely having a different view on politics but rather as evil or immoral.” (04/27/26)
“Spectacular events — such as this weekend’s attempted assassination of President Trump and his Cabinet in Washington — can tempt us into thinking that ours is an unprecedented moment: uniquely turbulent, uniquely violent. The slightest friendship with a history book, however, gives the lie to such presentism. Case in point: from Hamilton’s death-by-duel to Lincoln’s demise to the JFK assassination, political violence has run parallel to American constitutional stability. Just because some things are historical constants, however, doesn’t mean their essential characteristics remain unchanged.” (04/27/26)
“Even after my visit to the Ajanta caves, I did not fully understand why merchants supported Buddhism in ancient India. I reasoned that the occupation of being a merchant would make a person disinclined to accept a religious doctrine which denies their own existence. Idle people may ponder their own existence, but merchants would be expected to be too busy pursuing their occupation. So, wouldn’t Buddhism’s ‘no self’ doctrine be unpalatable to merchants?” (04/27/26)
“While Elon Musk and Sam Altman squabble over OpenAI’s corporate structure, the company has openly relinquished responsibility of ensuring safety.” (04/27/26)
Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
by Matthew Guariglia
“Speaker Johnson has introduced a new fig leaf over the American surveillance state, the Foreign Intelligence Accountability Act. Introduced with only days to go before Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) expires and the U.S. government loses one of its most invasive surveillance programs, the bill does nothing to make any of the substantial changes privacy advocates have been asking for — most notably, it fails to give us a real warrant requirement for the FBI to snoop through the private conversations of people on U.S. soil.” (04/27/26)
“The biggest story of the weekend, politically and socially, was the attempted assassination of several members of the current regime in DC. Apparently just in the Executive Branch. And apparently an attempt made by a man who shocked everyone by his behavior: more and more questions about what is going on and why. But one question is again answered: the mainstream media is again demonstrating a complete lack of morality and a complete unwillingness to tell the truth.” (04/27/26)
“The ‘discovery’ by new Green MP Hannah Spencer that certain members of parliament smell of alcohol during late-night sittings in Westminster – voting included – should send shockwaves through the political establishment. After all, what further evidence do we need of the dissolute degeneracy of our political elites than the knowledge that some of them enjoy a drink or two during the course of their lengthy working days? … most of us are aware that behind the scenes it’s not unknown for our elected representatives – and doubtlessly a peer or two – to enjoy a tipple while ruminating on affairs of state in one of the eight or nine bars in the Palace of Westminster.” (04/27/26)
“As occurs with every act or attempted act of political violence in the U.S., many have attempted to blame the rhetoric of their political adversaries for ‘inspiring’ or ‘provoking’ violence through their words. In the case of the shooting at Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner at the Washington Hilton Hotel, many Trump supporters are seeking to heap blame not only — or even principally — on the attacker whom President Trump described as a ‘lone wolf.’ Instead, under a theory long used by liberals against the American Right, blame is being widely assigned to President Trump’s more vocal critics for allegedly ‘inspiring’ violence against him. … While this framework of culpability may be understandable or appealing at first glance, it has an ugly and dangerous history.” (04/27/26)
“Today we’re going to talk about gas prices, which are high everywhere but especially where I live in California. It’s a long and involved story, but I hope you stick with it! And tell a friend; it shouldn’t be this hard to understand the truth amid all the disinformation. Send them to prospect.org/aftermath for all of our stories about the consequences of the Strait of Hormuz crisis. I mean, who knows? Meetings keep getting set up and blocked; the latest is that the Trump administration is mulling over an Iranian offer to open the strait and then postpone nuclear talks. This would call into question why we ever went to war in the first place; opening the strait isn’t a concession but the state of the world before the attacks began on February 28.” (04/28/26)
