The Dispatch Podcast, 05/29/26
Source: The Dispatch
“Can Humanity Be Protected from Artificial Intelligence?” (05/29/26)
The Most Important Question Facing Humanity
Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman
“In [Auberon] Herbert’s day, as in ours, people took for granted that the state (‘the people’) may properly exercise power over peaceful others (through, say, a parliament) for a variety of purposes. So he asked, ‘Have men any right to this power?’ And again, ‘If they have it, do they possess it for all matters? If not for all matters, for what matters? and in this last case how are we to tell what these matters are?'” (05/29/26)
https://sheldonrichman.substack.com/p/tgif-the-great-question-facing-humanity
NH: Court rules signed affidavit enough to register to vote
Source: United Press International
“A federal judge declared a New Hampshire law that would have required new voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship because it is unconstitutional. U.S. District Court Judge Samantha Elliott wrote in the ruling, issued on Thursday, that New Hampshire House Bill 1569 would have made it harder for people to register to vote and cast ballots by removing methods for them to do so. The law would have required all new voters to provide a document proving citizenship, rather than attesting to their citizenship under penalty of perjury on an affidavit. New Hampshire state law already states that the form filled out and signed when registering qualifies as an affidavit, whether it is filed 30 days before an election or on election day, per state law, Elliott wrote.” (05/29/26)
Rising, 05/29/26
Source: The Hill
“Lindsey Granger gives her lens on Republican consultant Karl Rove bashing Texas senate candidate Ken Paxton, and suggesting that it may not be a good idea for President Trump to support him.” (05/29/26)
Why Trump dumped Europe from Iran talks
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Eldar Mamedov
“[I]n his own erratic way, Trump wants to pacify the Middle East and claim sole credit for that. This is probably why he’s been pushing his improbable proposal that all countries in the greater region — from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan — join the Abraham Accords. Sharing a diplomatic trophy with Brussels, Berlin or London would presumably detract from his achievement.” (05/29/26)
Romania: Drone hits apartment block during Russian attack on neighboring Ukraine
Source: NBC News
“A Russian drone crashed into an apartment building in Romania early Friday, injuring two people and setting the building ablaze, exactly the type of spillover from the war in Ukraine that many in Europe have long feared. It was one of 232 drones and one ballistic missile launched by Russia against neighboring Ukraine, authorities there said, the latest nearly nightly attack against Ukraine’s power grid. An unknown number of these drones crossed over into Romanian airspace, its government said. ‘This incident represents a serious and irresponsible escalation by the Russian Federation,’ Romanian Foreign Affairs Minister Oana-Silvia Țoiu said in a statement, promising to respond …” (05/29/26)
Trump Should Just Admit He Screwed Up
Source: Foreign Policy
by Stephen M Walt
“Once a deal is reached, the Trump administration will apply buckets of lipstick to this pig and insist that it is some sort of strategic victory. Few observers will be convinced, however, and such efforts will just make the president and his coterie of sycophantic advisors look silly. There’s just no credible way to spin this debacle as a success. The more they try to do so, the more delusional they’ll appear. That got me thinking: What if Trump just admitted that he’d made a mistake?” (05/28/26)
Caveman Bureaucrat
Source: Reason
“Early man discovers fire, bureaucracy.” (05/28/26)
FL: Blue Origin New Glenn rocket explodes on launch pad
Source: CBS News
“A powerful New Glenn rocket owned by Jeff Bezos'[s] Blue Origin exploded in a spectacular fireball Thursday, sending billowing clouds of fire, smoke and flaming debris into the night sky in a tremendous conflagration visible for miles around. The explosion occurred around 9 p.m. EDT as engineers were counting down to a brief test firing of the New Glenn’s seven methane-fueled BE-4 first stage engines at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Blue Origin was gearing up for a June launch to put a batch of Amazon ‘Leo’ internet satellites into orbit. … The U.S. Space Force Eastern Range, which coordinates all launches from Florida, said in a statement that ’emergency responders are on the scene. All personnel have been accounted for and there were no injuries/fatalities.'” (05/29/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/blue-origin-new-glenn-rocket-explodes-launchpad-florida/
Data Center Panic Forgets the Future
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“Yes, data centers use a lot of water. Yes, data centers use a lot of electricity. But the builders of those data centers are constantly working to reduce water and electrical requirements because supplying those requirements is costly. Unless there’s some really bizarre change to the historical arc of invention and innovation, we are at the peak, not the low point, of data center resource usage.” (05/28/26)