The Illegal News with Sarah Longwell, 04/08/26
Source: The Bulwark
“Trump Knows His Election Order is Illegal. That’s the Point! (w/ Andrew Weissmann).” (04/08/26)
A casket cartel tries to bury the competition
Source: Washington Post
by George F Will
“In the town of Calvin, the married couple Candi Mentink and Todd Collard conceived an entrepreneurial idea that their state’s law says is forbidden. They sell inexpensive caskets wrapped in vinyl graphic designs depicting hunting, fishing, religious motifs, sports teams’ logos, perhaps even the likeness of famous Oklahomans. Imagine whiling away eternity in a Mickey Mantle casket. Heavenly. Thanks to the internet, they can sell caskets to people in Orlando or Ottawa or Oslo or Okinawa. But not Oklahoma, as they learned when the law, in its majesty, pounced on their company’s booth at the state fair.” (04/08/26)
Digital Hopes, Real Power: How the Arab Spring Fueled a Global Surveillance Boom
Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
by Sarah Hamid
“When people remember the 2011 uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), they picture crowded squares, raised phones, and the feeling that the internet had finally shifted the balance of power toward ordinary people. But the past decade and a half is also a story about how governments, companies, and platforms turned those same tools into the backbone of a powerful state surveillance apparatus. For activists, journalists, and everyday users, that means now living with a constant threat: the phone in your pocket, the platforms you organize on, and the systems you rely on for safety and connection can be weaponized at the flip of a switch.” (04/08/26)
The Daily, 04/08/26
Source: New York Times
“A Cease-Fire in Iran.” (04/08/26)
No 4D Chess: War With Iran Helps China
Source: The American Conservative
by Liam Childers
“We’ve heard it all before. Pro-war MAGA commentators insist that every move President Donald Trump makes is a strategic masterstroke. The war with Iran is no exception. What appears to be a Middle Eastern quagmire in the making is not a blunder at all. Instead, this war is ‘really’ about China. Another oil shock is nothing to worry about. It is ‘really’ leverage against America’s ‘main rival.’ Another open-ended entanglement is not overextension. It is ‘really’ the opening act of a coherent Indo-Pacific strategy that the ‘America Lasters’ are too daft to understand. This is the 4D chess defense of the Iran war. It is also nonsense, cooked up by propagandists and consumed by those eager to believe Trump hasn’t betrayed his base.” (04/08/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/no-4d-chess-war-with-iran-helps-china/
Newly created Polymarket accounts bet big on US-Iran ceasefire in hours before Trump’s announcement
Source: Seattle Times
“A group of new accounts on the prediction market Polymarket made highly specific, well-timed bets on whether the U.S. and Iran would reach a ceasefire on April 7, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits for these new customers. These bets were made even though, in the hours before a two-week ceasefire was announced on Tuesday, President Donald Trump’s rhetoric had escalated sharply and there were few signals that a ceasefire deal was imminent. … An analysis of publicly available blockchain data from Polymarket, using the crypto analytics platform Dune, shows that at least 50 accounts, or wallets, placed substantial ‘Yes’ bets Tuesday before Trump announced the ceasefire in a Truth Social post at around 6:30 pm ET. These were the first bets made by these particular wallets.” (04/08/26)
An Unlikely (and Unstable) Ceasefire Deal and Trump’s Iran Blunder
Source: Common Dreams
by Trita Parsi
“Yesterday began with Donald Trump issuing genocidal threats against Iran on social media and ended (just ten hours later) with the announcement of a 14-day ceasefire, on Iran’s terms. Even by the volatile standards of Trump’s presidency, the whiplash is extraordinary. What, then, have the two sides actually agreed to, and what might it mean? In a subsequent post, Trump asserted that Iran had agreed to keep the Strait of Hormuz open during the two-week pause in hostilities. Negotiations, he added, will proceed over that period on the basis of Iran’s 10-point plan, which he described as a ‘workable’ foundation for talks. … The United States has not, of course, signed on to all ten points. But the mere fact that Iran’s framework will anchor the negotiations amounts to a significant diplomatic victory for Tehran.” (04/08/26)
Turkey: Regime detains nine over attack outside the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul
Source: ABC News
“Turkish authorities have detained nine people as part of an investigation into an attack on police outside a building housing the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul that left one assailant dead, Turkey’s state-run news agency reported Wednesday. Two other assailants were wounded and captured during Tuesday’s shootout in the city’s financial and business district, while two police officers sustained slight injuries, officials said. Israel had withdrawn its diplomats from Turkey over security concerns and deteriorating relations with Ankara shortly after the start of the war in Gaza, and officials said the consulate was closed at the time of the attack.” (04/08/26)
Show-Me Institute Podcast, 04/08/26
Source: Show-Me Institute
“Grading Missouri Schools with Susan Pendergrass and Avery Frank.” (04/08/26)
A ceasefire on Iran’s terms underscores war’s strategic blunder
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Trita Parsi
“Trump’s failed use of force has blunted the credibility of American military threats, introducing an entirely new dynamic into the diplomatic track.” (04/08/26)