GA: Driver fleeing violent gang members crashes, killing teacher

Source: San Diego Union-Tribune

“A Guatemalan driver fleeing a Georgia traffic stop by federal immigration officers crashed into another vehicle, killing a teacher who was headed to work, authorities and school officials said. Oscar Vasquez Lopez, the driver accused of causing the Monday crash just outside of Savannah, remained jailed Tuesday on charges including vehicular homicide, reckless driving and driving without a valid license. Lopez, 38, is in the U.S. illegally [sic], according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Immigration officers were looking for Lopez to enforce an immigration judge’s 2024 deportation order, ICE spokesperson Lindsay Williams said Tuesday, noting that Lopez has no other [sic] criminal history.” (02/17/26)

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/02/17/immigration-enforcement-fatal-crash/

Thomas L. Knapp

Why Politicians Should Stay Inside the Overton Window (Even When the Cause Is Just)

Source: Bet On It
by “Chris Andrews”

“The politics of immigration show how positions far outside the center can undermine achievable reforms. Public opinion currently opposes the Trump administration and ICE tactics, but most voters also don’t support dramatic departures from existing immigration laws, such as open borders or blanket protections for all undocumented immigrants. During the year of our last presidential election, polling suggested voters still prefer Republicans to Democrats on immigration. Voters seemed uneasy with the Biden administration’s policies, associated with limits on deportations and reduced interior enforcement.” (02/17/26)

https://www.betonit.ai/p/why-politicians-should-stay-inside

Thomas L. Knapp

Don’t Follow Europe by Over-Regulating AI

Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Gabriel Giguere

“It’s not news to anyone that European governments love to over-regulate. But last year, worried about emerging AI technology, European lawmakers took their regulatory habit even further. In an act of economic self-sabotage, they implemented a ‘regulate first, innovate later’ approach to AI. Instead of waiting for technological innovations to emerge and then responding with appropriate regulation, the European Commission decided it would be the first major regulatory body to pre-empt the innovation and regulate it right away, sight unseen. If it weren’t so misguided, this self-parody would be laughable. In any case, it’s an approach Canada needs to avoid.” (02/17/26)

https://fee.org/articles/dont-follow-europe-by-over-regulating-ai/

Thomas L. Knapp

The Apocalyptic President: The Personification of an Imperial Power (and Planet) in Decline

Source: TomDispatch
by Tom Engelhardt

“Once upon a time, if you had described Donald Trump’s America to me (the second time around), I would have thought you mad as Alice in Wonderland‘s proverbial hatter — or, if you were a fiction writer, I would have considered your plot so ludicrous that, after reading a few pages, I would undoubtedly have tossed your book in the trash. And yet here we are, not once (yes, all of us can make a mistake once, can’t we?) but twice! And the one thing you should take for granted is that Donald Trump in the White House a second time around is the all-too-literal personification of imperial decline. In fact, decline is hardly an adequate word for it. We just don’t happen to have another word or phrase that would describe him and his crew aptly enough in all their eerie strangeness.” (02/17/26)

https://tomdispatch.com/the-apocalyptic-president/

Steve Trinward

Ireland: Regime’s “data protection” racketeers tee up payoff demands for X

Source: The Hill

“Elon Musk’s social media platform X faces a European Union privacy investigation after its Grok AI chatbot started spitting out nonconsensual deepfake images, Ireland’s data privacy regulator said Tuesday. Ireland’s Data Protection Commission said it notified X on Monday that it was opening the inquiry under the 27-nation EU’s strict data privacy regulations, adding to the scrutiny X is facing in Europe and other parts of the world over Grok’s behavior. … The watchdog said the investigation will seek to determine whether X complied with the EU data privacy rules known as GDPR, or the General Data Protection Regulation. Under the rules, the Irish regulator takes the lead on enforcing the bloc’s privacy rules because X’s European headquarters is in Dublin. Violations can result in hefty fines.” (02/17/26)

https://thehill.com/homenews/ap/ap-international/ap-grok-faces-more-scrutiny-over-deepfakes-as-irish-regulator-opens-eu-privacy-investigation-2/

Thomas L. Knapp