Source: ProSocial Libertarians
by Andrew Jason Cohen
“In The Machinery of Freedom, David Friedman floats the idea of large cities decentralizing by creating ‘subcity governments, complete with mini-mayors, [and] controlling areas with populations of no more than 100,000. These governments should take over the provision of police protection, schooling, and many other governmental services.’ He notes that for any big city run by Democrats that are in states run by Republicans, the state government would have incentive to push for this (they’d likely also have the power to do it): some parts of the city would become Republican subcities. I find the idea intriguing, though, for other reasons.” (01/19/26)
“The American Founding launched a revolutionary idea: rights exist first, and government exists to secure them. It’s beautiful, transformative … and perpetually unfinished.” (01/19/26)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Speaking together at the Israeli-American Council Summit on Saturday, billionaire Zionist megadonors Miriam Adelson and Haim Saban strongly implied that they are engaged in some extremely shady activities to manipulate the US government in advancement of Israeli interests. There’s a guy I follow on Twitter named Chris Menahan who’s always posting clips from Zionist events which might otherwise go unnoticed, frequently turning up jarring admissions from pro-Israel operatives who tend to loosen their lips a bit when addressing an audience of like-minded individuals. I recently cited a clip he spotted featuring former Obama speechwriter Sarah Hurwitz decrying the way social media has allowed the public to view evidence of Israeli atrocities in Gaza. Menahan has spotlighted some very revealing moments from Adelson and Saban, both of whom are dual US-Israeli citizens, and both of whom have provided funding to the Israeli-American Council (IAC).” (01/19/25)
There’s lots of talk about ‘spheres of influence’ these days, largely in response to the latest U.S. National Security Strategy, the Trump regime’s recent actions in Venezuela, and its renewed efforts to take over Greenland. The idea that great powers should exercise unchallenged sway in their own ‘neighborhoods’ is also consistent with U.S. President Donald Trump’s belief that strong leaders of strong countries should run the world and cut deals with each other, without worrying about international law, universal moral principles, or other idealistic notions. Unfortunately, both those who embrace spheres of influence and those who oppose them may not fully grasp their place in world politics. In the real world, they are neither an outmoded practice that can be eliminated nor an effective way to minimize great-power competition.” (01/19/26)
“A surge in scientific paper retractions exposes flaws in peer review, rising paper mills, and growing concerns about bias, error detection, and research integrity.” (01/19/26)
Source: Common Dreams
by Jeffrey D Sachs & Sybil Fares
“The question is not if the US and Israel will attack Iran, but when. In the nuclear age, the US refrains from all-out war, since it can easily lead to nuclear escalation. Instead, the US and Israel are waging war against Iran through a combination of crushing economic sanctions, targeted military strikes, cyberwarfare, stoking unrest, and unrelenting misinformation campaigns. This combination strategy is called ‘hybrid warfare.’ … for more than a quarter century, the US and Israeli militaries and intelligence agencies have laid waste to a region of hundreds of millions of people, blocked economic development, created terror and mass refugee movements, and have nothing to show for it beyond the chaos itself.” (01/19/25)
“There is no ceasefire, no aid, no Hamas disarmament, IDF withdrawal or stabilization force. Just a lot of talk about Trump-run panels with little buy-in.” (01/19/26)
“They say when you’re born, you come into life with no instruction manual. If we’re lucky, we inherit a good set of parents, who set us up with good habits and sound thinking. We might pursue a religious practice, embrace an education, and learn to think for ourselves. Others might not be so lucky. Anxious and unsure, we turn to other things to make sense of reality: drugs, alcohol, sex or easy money. Without a set of instructions, we rely on what we think is our operating system: the ego. And we protect it with all our might. … I came across Scott Adams accidentally, but it couldn’t have come at a better time for me.” (01/19/25)
“The Greenland episode, disgraceful and shameful as it is, should be seen in the context of Trump’s other foreign-policy escapades — the capturing of Nicolás Maduro; the bombing of the Iranian nuclear program; the attempt to rebuild and reorient war-shattered Gaza; the on-again, off-again relationships with Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky; the tariff bazookas that get downgraded to squirt guns with China. Erratic as the president sounds, the Trumpian worldview is comprehensible and even, in some respects, predictable. Trump is an ignorant man; unlike many other would-be or actual dictators, he does not read books and has difficulty writing more than a few badly spelled sentences on social media. But he does intuit certain truths, and one must give him credit for those, because he is not stupid and they animate his policy.” (01/19/26)
“Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words from his ‘Beyond Vietnam’ speech still ring true: ‘When machines and computers, profit motives, and property rights are considered more important than people,’ he warned, ‘the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.’ Those words, delivered in 1967, still summarize today’s political moment. Instead of putting the lives of working Americans first, our leaders in Congress and the White House have prioritized advancing corporate profits and wealth concentration, slashing government programs meant to advance upward mobility, and deploying military forces across the country, increasing distrust and tension. This historic regression corresponds with a recessionary environment for Black America in particular. That’s what my organization, the Joint Center, found in our report, State of the Dream 2026: From Regression to Signs of a Black Recession.” (01/19/25)
