Source: The Bulwark
by Anthony Sanders
“‘Military’ and ‘foreign policy’ are not magic words that automatically get the government out of court. However, similarly to what the Bush administration claimed during the War on Terror, the Trump administration is advancing that argument in various contexts, from deportations to sending the National Guard into cities that have not requested them. And some judges want to submit to this ‘magic.’ The Supreme Court should shut this hocus-pocus down before it unleashes unrestrained power in the name of ‘judicial restraint.'” (11/19/25)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/military-and-foreign-policy-are-not-magic-words
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen
“One thing I’ve been tracking this year is the areas where Wall Street and Silicon Valley are going to war. Tech firms clearly want to become banking apps and receive special charters, private equity and crypto are jostling for position in worker 401(k) plans, and the tech right in general wants to supplant big banks as the go-to director of conservative business policy. That’s all still going on. But in one area, Silicon Valley and Wall Street are in sync: conjuring up sketchy credit deals that are pointing us toward another financial crash.” (11/19/25)
https://prospect.org/2025/11/19/ai-bubble-bigger-than-you-think/
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“A schoolgirl who was abducted with 24 others from a dormitory in northwestern Nigeria has escaped and is safe, the school’s principal told The Associated Press on Tuesday, as hunters joined security forces in the search for the missing students in forests close to the school. The girls were kidnapped before dawn on Monday, when gunmen attacked the dorm at the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Kebbi state’s Maga town. Local police said the gunmen scaled the fence to enter the school premises and exchanged gunfire with police officers before seizing the girls and killing a staff member. No group has claimed responsibility for taking the girls, but analysts and locals say gangs of bandits often target schools, travellers and remote villagers in kidnappings for ransom.” (11/18/25)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/nigeria-school-girls-abduction-escape-9.6984052
Source: Washington Monthly
“How the Supreme Court Could Turbocharge Gerrymandering.” (11/19/25)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/19/supreme-court-gerrymandering-callais/
Source: Antiwar.com
“Maduro Ready for ‘Face-To-Face’ Talks With US, Israel Bombs Palestinian Camp in Lebanon, and More.” (11/19/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlHAQpjDr44
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Stavroula Pabst
“Authors of a new Council on Foreign Relations report are framing government subsidies and bailouts for key tech industries as a national security imperative. Not surprisingly, many of the report’s authors stand to benefit financially from such an arrangement.” (11/19/25)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/national-security-tech/
Source: Popular Information
by Stephen Semler
“Congress will decide in the coming weeks whether to approve a $1 trillion military budget for 2026. … Money is policy. Should Congress approve such a historic sum, it would not only enable many of Trump’s dangerous and unjust policies — including military occupations of US cities, the resumption of nuclear weapons testing, and rushing toward wars in Mexico, Nigeria, and Venezuela — it would also trigger a historic redistribution of wealth from the public to private arms companies and their shareholders.” (11/19/25)
https://popular.info/p/how-trumps-trillion-dollar-war-machine
Source: SFGate
“A veteran FBI employee training to become a special agent was fired last month for displaying at his workspace an LGBTQ+ flag, which had previously flown outside a field office, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court. David Maltinsky had worked at the FBI for 16 years and was nearly finished with special agent training in Quantico, Virginia, when he was called into a meeting last month with FBI officials, given a letter from Director Kash Patel and told he was being ‘summarily dismissed’ over the inappropriate display of political signage, Maltinsky’s lawsuit said. The suit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Washington, said Maltinsky had been a decorated intelligence specialist working in the Los Angeles field office and most recently was pursuing a longtime dream of becoming a special agent.” (11/19/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/veteran-fbi-employee-sues-bureau-after-being-21196999.php
Source: Politico
“Bracing for breakthrough on Russia-Ukraine war.” (11/19/25)
https://traffic.megaphone.fm/POLL5922825288.mp3
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“Earlier this month, during a parliamentary session, Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was pressed by an opposition lawmaker on scenarios that could trigger the clause in Japan’s constitution concerning ‘survival-threatening situations,’ thus allowing collective self-defense. Takaichi explicitly stated that Chinese military action against Taiwan — such as a naval blockade, invasion, or interference with U.S. forces — could qualify. … scandalous as Takaichi’s answers were to the Communist Party in China, it was the response of Xue Jian, consul general of the People’s Republic of China, in Osaka, Japan, that raised more than eyebrows: ‘I have no choice but to cut off that filthy head that barged in without hesitation — are you ready?'” (11/19/25)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2025/11/19/decapitation-diplomacy/
