“Honestly, I can’t believe I’m in this world of ours (or do I mean His?). Yes, this very one and no other! Almost a quarter of a century after, in response to the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. launched its war in Afghanistan that would last a mere 20 years until Donald Trump prepared for and Joe Biden carried out a humiliating withdrawal of the last American troops there, the U.S. is back big time, dumber and more wildly destructive than ever. Whew! That’s a lot of (terrible) history to get into a single sentence! And so, here’s a TomDispatch question for you: What four-letter country, the first three of which are IRA, has the U.S. now been bombing? No, not Iraq! That war began in 2003 and ended a mere eight years later in 2011. And remind me, how did that work out?” (03/29/26)
“The American empire appears to be in retreat. Humiliated by Russia in Eastern Europe, outmaneuvered by China in East Asia, and bogged down in a conflict with Iran in the Middle East, the United States has turned its gaze southward. Unable to win the great power competition across Eurasia, the Trump administration has increasingly embarked on the most aggressive militarization of Latin America policy in a generation, seeking victories in what Washington has long considered its backyard. The result has been what observers are calling the Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, a framework that envisions the Western Hemisphere as an American strategic priority zone requiring military suppression of cartel networks and exclusion of Chinese influence.” (03/30/26)
“The mutants were on the march Saturday, or on the street corners, I should say. No, they weren’t hookers, at least in the traditional sense, but prostitutes nonetheless. Democrats came out of their basements, gave their controllers a chance to recharge, and got a little bit of vitamin D from the sun for the first time since COVID. Suckers, all of them.” (03/30/26)
“Free societies depend on institutions that reduce the trust burden of dealing with strangers. The work of political economist Elinor Ostrom reminds us that institutions earn legitimacy not by projecting authority, but by aligning rules, roles, and incentives with the problem they are meant to solve. When an institution is fit for purpose, people can see it. They may not love every inconvenience it imposes, but they can tell that it is organized around solving a real shared problem. That legibility is part of what makes trust possible.” (03/30/26)
“The future of expression online will in part rest on today’s debates over what age groups can legally use platforms deemed ‘social media’ and what information we must provide to prove we’re adults and allowed to access them. This week, developments out of the UK and Australia continued the global age-verification campaign, as governments around the world push full steam ahead into dicey questions of who is allowed to speak, whether they can do so anonymously, and what responsibilities rest on platforms when teens are users.” (03/30/26)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Whenever Israel is killing tons of civilians the western media always start churning out articles about ‘antisemitism’ and Jewish feelings. ‘Jews Begin to Wonder: Is Anywhere Safe?’ blares a recent headline from The Wall Street Journal, subtitled ‘‘It feels like the 1930s again.’ Hostility against Jews surges in Western countries where they felt safe in recent decades.’ An article for The Atlantic titled ‘Canada’s Polite Pogrom’ bizarrely tries to argue that ‘tolerance for zealotry’ is somehow ‘purging Jews from public life.’ A Washington Examiner headline proclaims that ‘Jewish voters feel ‘politically homeless’ as antisemitism rises on both sides.’ A headline for The Telegraph asserts that ‘Many Jews are sensing frightening echoes of 1930s Germany in 2020s Britain.’ War Criminal Tony Blair writes an article for The Free Press titled ‘Why the West Fails to Stop Antisemitism.'” (03/30/26)
“A brash bid to reassert U.S. dominance is delivering short-term wins. But a region tired of being pushed around may not stay compliant for long.” (03/30/26)
“Once you admit the notable prevalence and grave danger of crypto-Communist politicians during a particular era, there is a clear-cut contemporary implication: A notable share of current and would-be leaders who say they aren’t Communists are probably lying. If you’re living through this era, this raises a thorny question: ‘How do we identify the crypto-Communists before it’s too late?’ Needless to say, you can’t just publicly ask them, because they’ll lie. You could do a thorough background check, but the people who know the most are usually fellow Communists eager to protect their own. So you’re usually left with three admittedly imperfect heuristics.” (03/30/26)
“Unfortunately, not everyone today thinks that natural property rights are obvious. Especially in the faculty lounges of law schools and political science departments, it is now taken for granted that rights are products of sovereign power alone. Property rights in particular are assumed to be entirely conventional. Without positive laws, there is no property. And without politics, there are no positive laws. This simplistic creed has motivated a corrosive skepticism of natural property rights, which scholars and teachers have expressed in books, articles, and classrooms for more than a century.” (03/30/26)
