Source: Antiwar.com
by William J Astore

“Far too often, a chosen people, a ‘master race,’ decides to eliminate barbarians, inferiors, primitives, race enemies, whatever words are used to demonize other humans. Often, it’s said we must kill them before they kill us, so mass murder is defined and defended in terms of safety and security. The ‘bad’ people force us to kill them. We don’t want to do it – they make us! And we hate them all the more for making us kill. At the same time, mass murder is often quite profitable for the killers.” (02/10/26)

https://original.antiwar.com/william_astore/2026/02/09/what-is-genocide

Source: New York Post
by Ted Deutch

“More and more Americans feel our national unity is growing fragile. Conspiracy theories and misinformation are eroding trust, stoking hate and tearing at the very fabric of our society, often with tragic consequences. At American Jewish Committee, we’re seeing those consequences up close — and our new report on ‘The State of Antisemitism in America,’ out Tuesday, reveals how these divisions are affecting the Jewish community, and us all. Every day, Jews across this country must consider wrenching questions of personal safety: * Should I wear my kippah today, or will that make me a target? * Can I hang a mezuzah on my door, or am I affixing a bullseye? * Is today the day someone throws a brick through the kosher supermarket’s window? * Will taking my kids to synagogue put them in a shooter’s crosshairs?” (02/09/25)

https://nypost.com/2026/02/09/opinion/hate-is-destroying-americas-promise-and-half-of-us-are-blind/

Source: spiked
by Brendan O’Neill

“Has there ever existed a man whose arrogance is so out of proportion to his talents? I am of course talking about Wes Streeting – Britain’s secretary of state for health, cracker of the most terrible committee-written jokes, and the man hilariously gushed over by witless centrists as the saviour of Labour. No shade, but if the answer is ‘Wes Streeting,’ you are asking the wrong question. Unless the question is ‘Who’s the biggest tit on the frontbench?’ Streeting is back in the news, like that C-list celeb who just won’t leave us alone, after self-leaking the WhatsApp chats he had with ultimate wrong’un, Peter Mandelson.” (02/10/26)

https://archive.is/OjEdZ

Source: Washington Monthly
by Bill Scher

“The biggest colorblind conclusion from the 2024 election is that most voters, regardless of race, care primarily about making ends meet. Such voters can conclude: If Democrats couldn’t keep inflation down, then maybe give a Republican a chance, even if that Republican says racist things. Voters could further rationalize that Trump couldn’t be that racist, and that his promised deportations wouldn’t affect neighbors, friends, and family. Now that Trump has failed to deliver the economy he promised, while letting immigration agents run wild, he is hemorrhaging support across racial lines. In turn, Democrats reasonably want to prioritize an ‘affordability’ agenda to win voters back. But that can be pursued while calling out Trump’s racism, which goes well beyond offensive comments to infect his policy choices.” (02/10/26)

https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/02/10/donald-trump-racist-policies-consequences/

Source: Paul Krugman
by Paul Krugman

“Trump hasn’t made a rational argument for lower interest rates. Instead, he seems to believe that rate cuts should be his reward for overseeing a ‘hot’ economy – like a third-grader given a gold star for acing a quiz. Understanding that this makes no sense, Trump’s economy-policy minions have converged on a different, ostensibly more economically rational reason to cut interest rates: AI.” (02/10/26)

https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/no-ai-doesnt-justify-lower-interest