“Clarence Thomas went more than 10 years without asking a single substantive question from the bench. His silence between 2006 and 2016 prompted commentators to call his courtroom quietude embarrassing, a sign of fatigue and a lack of intellectual candlepower. Even earlier in his career, he had earned the nickname of ‘Scalia’s Puppet’ for his habit of joining majority opinions written by Justice Antonin Scalia, the outspoken and reactionary ‘originalist’ who shared the dais with him until his death in 2016. But the characterization of Thomas as an inattentive echo of Scalia is wrong. Thomas has always been more extreme and dangerous than Scalia, and his influence has never been greater.” (06/25/26)
“Most of the calumnies against Elon Musk come from people who are either envious or completely unaware of the basic principles of economics. Or both. That being said, not everyone ‘in my camp’ admires or defends the South African-American tech magnate.” (06/25/26)
“When Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act in 1970, marijuana’s placement in Schedule I was explicitly provisional, a placeholder pending review by a presidential commission. The Shafer Commission, chaired by a Republican governor and composed largely of President Richard Nixon’s appointees, concluded in 1972 that marijuana did not meet the criteria for Schedule I and recommended decriminalizing personal possession. Nixon ignored the report and escalated the war on drugs. The provisional classification became permanent by default. Since 1965, an estimated 29 million Americans have been arrested on marijuana charges, roughly 90 percent of them for possession alone. The most damaging consequence of Schedule I, however, has not been to cannabis users, who have gained access through state legalization, but to the research enterprise.” (06/25/26)
Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
by Joe Mullin
“Buried inside the KIDS Act are provisions that will push online services to verify all users’ ages, require government-directed moderation policies for online speech, and even create new rules about private and encrypted communications. While supporters continue to claim this bill protects minors online, its requirements come at the expense of privacy, free expression, and the ability of people of all ages to use the internet without revealing sensitive data. Supporters of KOSA have said the bill doesn’t require age verification. And technically, the KOSA section of the bill does say that KOSA shouldn’t be read to require age verification. But if you read the rest of the bill, that disclaimer starts to look hollow.” (06/25/26)
“The Democratic Socialist Party (DSA) in America is anti-West, anti-American, anti-Israel and antisemitic. It is also on the march across deep blue America. Tuesday night’s sweep by far-left candidates for Congress in New York City, all backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, underscored just how rapidly the DSA is ascending within the shell of the fractured and frazzled Democratic Party. Traditional Democrats who pay attention to their national brand are astonished by what has happened to their party as it goes full ‘Thelma and Louise’ off the far left cliff of American politics. This is the third act in a three-act tragedy.” (06/25/26)
“We rely on experts for a lot of our information. By ‘expert,’ I mean someone who is paid for their opinion. Roger Koppl uses this definition in his 2018 book Expert Failure, and I use the same definition in my research, which is based on his book. This definition is useful because it allows us to sidestep the endless (and, frankly, arbitrary) discussion about who counts as an expert. … When we deal directly with an expert (our doctor, our mechanic, our meteorologist), we can get the information firsthand. But in a large organization, there are often several layers of communication between the expert (the one producing the opinion) and the non-expert using the opinion.” (06/25/26)
Source: Antiwar.com
by Dennis Kucinich & Elizabeth Kucinich
“The United States Congress, on the very eve of the 250th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence from Great Britain, is preparing to formally diminish American independence and sovereignty through a proposed merger and long-term integration of executive functions throughout the government, coordinated by the Department of Defense. Treacherous provisions in the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) mandate that the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Commerce Department, and the heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies cooperate with their Israeli counterparts for the purpose of consolidating U.S. and Israeli military activities in order to align efforts and avoid duplication.” (06/25/26)
“As today’s AI companies race to create artificial intelligence that is smarter than humans, governments around the world are failing to meet the moment. … The only solution is an international prohibition on the development of superintelligent AI.” [editor’s note: In other words, only “rogue states” would develop superintelligence. How’s that likely to work out for everyone else? – TLK] 06/25/26)
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey
“The new federal ROAD to Housing Act focuses on relief for community banks, changes to manufactured housing rules, and updates to existing federal programs. It limits large investors from buying single-family homes. The bill authorizes no new funds in most of its sections. Proponents say the country faces a severe housing shortage. As usual, the federal government is behind the curve. But the ROAD Housing Act is a mixed bag, like most laws. The positive: loosens some regulations. The negative: it will restrict supply (opposite of its intent).” (06/25/26)
