“In scholarly discussions of just war thought, nuclear weapons often serve as little more than terrifying symbols of injustice. Since 1945, many have argued that such weapons are incapable of being deployed in a just role, either in attacks or in a deterrent posture. These thinkers tend to view nukes as far too indiscriminate and entirely too prone to unleashing an escalatory spiral that none would survive. Such writers view nuclear weapons as intrinsically immoral, and there the discussion often ends. Realists tend to sidestep the moral challenge, shrug, and note that we live in an imperfect world—before moving on to what seems to them the real issues stemming from nuclear weapons: finding the right balance of ends, ways, and means for them in national security policy. But one need not embrace a more realistic view without rendering a moral account of these matters.” (04/14/26)
“While many of the states that are growing are currently seen as safe red territory, today’s Republican-voting states could be tomorrow’s swing states.” (for publication 05/26)
“Capitalism remains undefeated. In 2023, over 100 leading economists from around the world, including progressive darling Thomas Piketty, signed a letter warning that ‘far-right’ Argentine presidential candidate Javier Milei’s policies, which were ‘rooted in laissez-faire economics,’ would cause ‘devastation,’ spike inflation, expand poverty and worsen unemployment. Celebrated economists never penned any open letters warning that the preceding Peronists’ or Kirchnerists’ perverse blend of fascism, socialism and unionism would drive Argentina — once one of world’s wealthiest nations — into destitution, unemployment, soaring inflation and bankruptcy. But that’s how it always goes.” (04/13/26)
“Bayer bought Monsanto in 2018 for $63 billion — a few months before Monsanto lost its first liability case for causing non-Hodgkins lymphoma. I was not a close observer of the case, but the win seemed to hinge on documents obtained during discovery that revealed Monsanto knew a great deal about the injuries its product caused but deliberately hid those findings. Once there was a win — and the jury awarded the plaintiff with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma hundreds of millions, later reduced — the bandwagon effect began, with other lawyers seeking plaintiffs to sue Monsanto. … Bayer, a German company, hired a Texan, Bill Anderson, as CEO to come to its aid. CEO Anderson’s career hinged on stanching Bayer’s bleed. He initiated a very expensive series of legal and political strategies in the hopes that one would be successful. He also formed a new agricultural industry lobby group with a huge advertising budget.” (04/14/26)
“I no longer trust ‘we the people,’ because of the powers influencing them. Media and government schooling form their general ideas on reality and governance. Therefore, it’s not a case of the voter choosing the politicians. Instead, the system is conditioning and conforming the voter to the authorities’ desires. In democracies, the people are kept occupied working and paying taxes, too busy to acquire information outside the approved sources. You will find they know and care far more about the next iPhone than political philosophy. Of those who hold some interest, 95% just toe the party line, holding the same opinion as the primary media source they listen to. They lack both the desire and time to expand their horizons.” (04/14/26)
Source: RealClearPolitics
by Mark Mayfield & Megan Cannedy
“Headlines for the past few weeks have capitalized on the cruel connotations surrounding conversion therapy, proclaiming that the United States Supreme Court struck down ‘a conversion therapy ban.’ The problem is that the Supreme Court, in an 8-1 decision that included Justices Kagan and Sotomayor, told Colorado something that needed to be said: Your law was never actually about that. Chiles v. Salazar is being reported as a ‘conversion therapy’ ruling. That framing is a political bait-and-switch. What the court struck down was a government mandate on what therapists may say to a consenting minor, forbidden words depending entirely on which direction they pointed. That is not a ban on conversion therapy. That is ideological discrimination dressed in therapeutic clothing.” (04/14/26)
“Like the old Wild West, the Moon offers the prospect of resources to exploit and land to settle. Artemis II’s successful mission is just the beginning.” (04/14/26)
“Thanks to NCLA, I paid nothing to sue the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for violating my Fourth Amendment rights except some of my time, a little here and a little there, spread over half a decade. The suit never went to trial, so I did not even have to appear in court, though I could have gone to a preliminary hearing once if I wanted. I declined because I had already fled Massachusetts for distant freer climes. I also received nothing from the settlement except the satisfaction of helping to make my fellow Americans a little less like the subjects of a monarchy and a little more like the citizens of a free country. My name came first on the plaintiff side because I was the first to sign on, blazing a trail that made it easier for others aggrieved to join later.” (04/14/26)
“Although the international community still knows very little about the highest-level peace talks between the US and Iran in 47 years, facilitated by Shehbaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, some obvious red flags appeared in the morning-after news reports—as JD Vance, Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner flew home less than 24 hours after their arrival in Islamabad. As The New York Times reported: ‘Vice President JD Vance summed up the failure of 21 hours of negotiations with Iran in one sentence: ‘They have chosen not to accept our terms.’ To Iranian officials, that line reflected their biggest problem with the talks: The United States they argue, had not come to negotiate.'” (04/14/26)
