“Last week, The New York Times divulged a fresh trove of confidential internal memoranda between the Supreme Court justices. The documents allegedly show that Chief Justice John Roberts and his conservative colleagues have abused the Court’s technical procedures to block the agenda of Democratic presidents and to favor Republicans. While this accusation can only succeed by ignoring the broader context of the Court’s work, it heralds the latest progressive attack on the Court as a stabilizing institution in our national politics.” (04/25/26)
“With Republicans controlling both houses of Congress, President Donald Trump’s reversal from opponent to supporter of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) seemed certain to guarantee renewal of the law. That’s not what happened. Instead, Section 702 of the controversial spying legislation won only a temporary extension, to April 30, as civil libertarians and surveillance-state supporters from both major parties continue to battle. Hopefully, the outcome is the long-deserved demise of surveillance practices that threaten the privacy of Americans.” (04/24/26)
“There is a deep irony in [Sohrab] Ahmari’s position. He is distressed by the American right’s hostility to Pope Leo. But he has aligned himself with the Catholic sub-group that is least able to reconcile itself to the pope’s anti-war position. Modern popes have for some time been deeply critical of militant global powers, and great powers tend to push back against those critiques. But the patriotic, pro-inclusion thinkers Ahmari despises (like Murray, Neuhaus, and Novak) warmly welcomed the Church’s move away from forms of authoritarian nationalism that repeatedly led to state oppression and war. Ahmari and the postliberals are the ones actively trying to reinvigorate those forms of political theology, despite ample empirical evidence that they tend to breed violence and hatred.” (04/24/26)
“Hegseth’s approach to the press risks lasting damage to the institution he leads. A Pentagon that shares only good news with the public, and a secretary who consistently insults the press, lose both the benefit of the doubt and an important mechanism for self-correction. Hegseth’s posture endangers more than accountability at the Pentagon. It limits the effectiveness and legitimacy of U.S. service members who are called to carry out their mission.” (04/24/26)
“A legal case in Kansas shows how surveillance technology can distort policing priorities. When authorities can monitor anyone cheaply, the temptation to target critics increases.” (04/24/26)
“In the short run, Democrats’ victory in gerrymandering Virginia to create four new blue Congressional districts is a good thing. It will restore balance to the critical 2026 House elections to offset Republicans’ Texas gerrymandering which created four new red districts. President Donald Trump was technically right when the night before the Virginia vote he told a conference of supporters, ‘I don’t know if you know what gerrymandering is but it’s not good.’ Of course what Trump really meant is that gerrymandering is bad when it disenfranchises Republicans but good when it disenfranchises Democrats. Here’s what we do know: partisan gerrymandering is an affront to democracy by letting politicians pick their voters instead of voters picking their politicians.” (04/26/26)
“The foundation of international trust has cracked, and partnerships have been broken. The world can no longer trust the United States. The bond between Europe and the U.S. has been frayed. And the hard-won emerging trust between Iran and its Gulf neighbors, which had held the hope of a safer region, has been badly wounded. There are only losers in this war: the Gulf states, Ukraine, America, and, of course, the Iranian people. An important long-term geopolitical loss suffered by the U.S. is the accelerated erosion of its hegemony and the continued transfer of trust to China.” (04/24/26)
