“Everyone remembers the photo of little Liam Ramos, the 5-year-old migrant child pictured in ICE custody wearing a sky blue bunny hat. ICE said that they tried to detain Liam’s father, an illegal [sic] migrant from Ecuador, who ran from them, leaving Liam in their custody. They then tried to give Liam to his mother, but she refused to open the front door, leaving ICE no choice but to detain Liam. Liam and his father were later taken to an ICE detention center, but a judge ordered them released after a few weeks on the grounds that they had a pending asylum case. … Just a month later, the truth that I and many others had suspected came out: The Ramos asylum case is bogus. … You probably didn’t hear about that. The media doesn’t tend to report such things.” (04/07/26)
“The current automation of governance is an evolution in the long-standing tension between democratic responsiveness and technocratic executive power.” (04/07/26)
“‘Gerrymandering is detrimental to our democracy,’ declared Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger . . . back in 2019. ‘Let voters decide, not politicians,’ former President Barack Obama offered just last month. The problem? They’re correct! And Republicans are now sharing the statements by these two high-ranking Democrats with Virginia voters. Why? They oppose the April 21 constitutional referendum that, if passed, would allow the legislature to gerrymander the state’s congressional district lines to likely turn the federal delegation from its current six- to five-seat Democratic majority into a ten to one Democratic majority.” (04/07/26)
“The epithet ‘anti-vaxxer’ is common in our time for anyone who resists mandates or resents the enormous legal privileges, protections, patents, and subsidies the industry receives today. It also pertains to those who attempt to bring attention to vaccine injury and death, a sensitive and even suppressed subject for an industry that relies on a utilitarian measure to demonstrate its social value. The label does not always or often make sense. The dominant theme of the movement now – and this has always been true – is to reject intervention and instead regard this industry as any other in a free marketplace (hamburgers, bottled water, washing machines, etc.), neither subsidized, nor mandated, nor protected from liability from imposed harms. If that goal were achieved, the ‘anti-vaxx’ movement would shrink dramatically.” (04/07/26)
“The Finland–Russia border is 830 miles long. It is the longest land border with Russia in Europe. It is not only the Finnish border, but also the European Union’s and, more recently, NATO’s too. Therefore, when the president of Finland, Alexander Stubb, writes a book on foreign policy and the world order, it should be of interest to the West. His new book, The Triangle of Power, analyses the transformation of the international system after the end of Western dominance.” (04/07/26)
“Democrats should go on challenging shows — but no one should be pressured to prove their populist bona fides on a streamer who may cost them more voters than he delivers.” (04/07/26)
“Streamlined regulations and fair insurance rules can make rideshares safer, more affordable, and more competitive — benefiting drivers, riders, and the broader transit system.” (04/07/26)
“On April 1, the Supreme Court began hearing arguments in Trump v. Barbara, the class-action lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting birthright citizenship. Trump insists that this ban is necessary to stop birth tourism. This refers to the practice of traveling to another country to give birth, thereby allowing the child to automatically acquire citizenship. Via TruthSocial, Trump writes: ‘Birthright Citizenship has to do with the babies of slaves, not Chinese Billionaires who have 56 kids, all of whom ‘become’ American Citizens. One of the many Great Scams of our time!’ Solicitor General D. John Sauer has raised similar concerns. He remarks, ‘Media reported as early as 2015 that, based on Chinese media reports, there are 500 — 500 — birth tourism companies in the People’s Republic of China, whose business is to bring people here to give birth and return to that nation.'” (04/07/26)
“In the military, we seek the high ground because it allows us to see more clearly and to act more decisively. But as warfare has evolved, that idea has taken on a broader meaning. The high ground is now a set of principles and values that guide decisions when judgment is blurred, and the path forward is uncertain or contested. Chaplains help leaders and soldiers hold that ground—not by elevating one belief above others, but by ensuring that every soldier has the right guidance when they wrestle with questions of faith, doubt, duty, and purpose. That is what Bill Green represented throughout his career, and why I was delighted when he was chosen at the chief of all chaplains. Maj. Gen. Green’s forced departure is troubling, particularly when viewed alongside the other signals coming from senior civilian leadership.” (04/07/26)
“Trial by jury isn’t just a British legal and cultural tradition. It isn’t just a part of our legal system. It’s a safeguard against the tyranny of the state. To be judged by your peers is to be judged by the society of which you make up but one part. The people are meant to check the determination of the state to forebay its determination to prove its own worth, which all too often means people get the book thrown at them when all they truly deserve is a chapter. David Lammy, the justice secretary and deputy prime minister, is seeking to abolish jury trials to a certain extent. However, the enthusiastic Fabianism that runs deep in this Labour government makes this measure all the more sinister.” (04/07/26)
