“Today, too many people think of ‘technology’ as having only to do with information technology. Others (rightly) speak of the evils of ‘technocracy’ as a form of increased government control by a self-chosen elite. But there is much more, and technology offers solutions to many problems we face today. Just as it has in the past. However, it is also just as dangerous and wrong to think that every problem can be solved with technology or that any problem can be solved only with application of technology.” (06/24/26)
“I blundered on Saturday by failing to check the latest updated terrorist profile before visiting Washington, DC. How was I to know that National Guard troops would be on the lookout for 60ish bicyclists who are too damn curious about algae? I went riding around downtown Washington to check the latest Trump administration efforts to make Washington ‘safe and beautiful’ for the 250th birthday celebration next month. … I wanted to see the Reflecting Pool that President Trump boasted was twice as long as the Empire State building—except that the pool is flat. Arriving at the Pool, I was stunned to discover that that waterway was almost as heavily militarized as the Strait of Hormuz. National Guard troops swarmed the scene. The heavy troop presence reminded me of what I saw on the streets of East Berlin in 1986.” (06/24/26)
“Remember Elon Musk running around in his DOGE garb with sunglasses and a chainsaw? The Republicans are hoping that you don’t. The ostensible point of Musk’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ was rooting out trillions of dollars of government waste, fraud, and abuse. Musk gathered together a group of “super-high-IQ” MAGA boys who worked 80 hours a week ransacking all the various government agencies and departments in this effort. … when Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn claimed a few months back that 12 million people were fraudulently added to the exchange created by the Affordable Care Act, she was claiming that Elon Musk and his super-high IQ boys were too incompetent to find 12 million fraudulent enrollees. That is roughly half of all the people on the exchanges.” (06/25/26)
“Most constitutional questions that reach the Supreme Court are difficult. But there’s an exception to every rule. The birthright citizenship case, Trump v. Barbara is an easy one—especially if one cares about the original meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment. Donald Trump’s executive order purporting to end birthright citizenship for the children of temporary visitors and unlawful entrants defies the original public meaning and function of the Citizenship Clause – its letter and spirit. A decision to uphold it would discredit originalism, which has always been advertised as a distinctively powerful means of keeping judges faithful to the law of the land.” (06/24/26)
“Donald Trump has found a way to soothe Democratic fears that Republicans in Congress will continue to savage the poor, funnel money to the rich, and make the nation safe for corporate dominion. He’s effectively shut down Congress until it passes an unpassable bill. Trump is demanding that the SAVE America Act (a voter suppression bill he thinks will save his hide in the midterms) reach his desk first before he’ll take care of any other congressional business. First it was Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the warrantless spying program that the intelligence hawks were poised to ram through again until Trump said SAVE had to be attached. Then a signing ceremony for the ROAD to Housing Act, a bipartisan agreement that passed with over 90 percent of Congress in both chambers, was abruptly canceled Wednesday because Trump asked for SAVE first.” (06/25/26)
“Is it okay to speak freely when you’re just one person but wrong when you’re organizationally cooperating with others? The latter speech is the target of a Center for American Progress ‘Plan to Beat Citizens United”’ launched in 2025. The hope is to stomp our freedom of speech when we speak as members of incorporated entities — unless the corporation is a news media company.” (06/25/26)
Source: Rutherford Institute
by John & Nisha Whitehead
“This is a year of strange anniversaries. Two hundred and fifty years ago, a band of revolutionaries declared their independence from a king. America’s founders rejected concentrated power. They denounced standing armies. They distrusted government secrecy. They risked their lives to escape a ruler who could tax without consent, wage war without accountability, and govern without meaningful restraint. Twenty-five years ago, after the attacks of September 11, 2001, America embarked on a very different journey. The federal government claimed extraordinary emergency powers. Surveillance expanded. Wars multiplied. Executive authority grew. Constitutional safeguards were weakened in the name of security. One anniversary marked a revolt against empire. The other marked the normalization of it.” (06/24/26)
Source: Liberty International
by Kozeta Çuadari Çika
“Albania is experiencing its most significant civic mobilisation since the fall of communism, fuelled by the massive anti-government demonstrations known as the ‘Flamingo Revolution.’ What began as a localised environmental protest against a multi-billion-dollar luxury resort development has escalated into a nationwide revolt. Hundreds of thousands of citizens of all ages are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama and his administration. The initial catalyst for the unrest was a development project valued at between $4.6 billion and $5.7 billion, backed by Affinity Partners — an investment firm led by Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump. The project targets the pristine, uninhabited Sazan Island and the environmentally sensitive Vjosa-Narta protected coastal zone near the village of Zvërnec. First of all, major transparency concerns have arisen over how coastal land titles were transferred to private entities.” (06/24/26)
“No one gets to decide what others need. As long as they aren’t stealing it, it’s none of your business. If someone earns a quadrillion dollars by giving customers what they want and by filling a niche, they aren’t a problem. It’s a positive thing for society, and only ignorant people get upset over it. It’s trendy to hate rich people. It’s also incredibly stupid. Most of the people upset over ‘excessive’ wealth — such as the tax-addicted politicians and their followers — contribute nothing. Takers envy makers. For a millionaire politician to demand that a billionaire entrepreneur hand over some percentage of his money is dishonest. The entrepreneur contributes; the politician is a parasite who only takes.” (06/24/26)
