Massie and Greene could help conservatism survive Trumpism

Source: The Hill
by Kevin Igoe

“Together, Massie and Greene paint a picture of conservative voters disappointed in Trump and not MAGA true believers who take every word Trump utters as gospel. The Massie-Greene conservatives remember what Trump said on Monday. When he contradicts it on Wednesday, they say ‘What?’ By Friday, they have grown tired of waiting for the truth. Thus, they hear a call to action. Certainly, Massie and Greene do not want to be blamed for tipping one or two battleground states to a leftist Democratic nominee. … If Massie and Greene work together, talk together and make demands based on conservative principles they could push any Republican nominee, especially Vice President JD Vance, into a delicate balancing act.” [editor’s note: If Massie and MTG are not interested in running as “Libertarians,” that’s a win for them, and for libertarians, but not for fake “spoiler” reasons – TLK] (06/25/26)

https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/5938543-trump-massie-greene-conservatism/

Thomas L. Knapp

Congress blows the roof off home supply

Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff

“For the past couple of years, American politicians on the left and right have competed to define a political buzzword: affordability. Does it mean increasing individual resources to meet everyday costs? Or raising the output of goods and services to lower prices? Or both? On Tuesday, Congress did the country a favor by passing a bill – in a rare case of broad bipartisanship – that helps give common meaning to the word. The measure puts a stamp of approval on an often unescapable law: that supply will rise to meet demand when free to do so. The bill, which still awaits the president’s approval, mandates a range of initiatives aimed mainly at raising the nation’s housing stock. It would reduce production bottlenecks rather than raise subsidies for home purchases. The number of parts in the legislation itself reflects how much lawmakers endorse a supply-positive approach.” (06/24/26)

https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0624/Congress-blows-the-roof-off-home-supply

Steve Trinward

The Metaculus Democracy Threat Index

Source: Astral Codex Ten
by Scott Alexander

“In recent posts on Trump and dictatorship, people have asked me – how do you know you’re not suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome? I take this seriously; we’ve all lost loved ones to this condition. The best check on my reasoning would be an objective measure of the health of American democracy. There are several ‘democracy indices’ that purport to do this, but they have a mixed reputation. … The newest entrant in this space – Metaculus Democracy Threat Index – works differently, and deserves a closer look.” (06/25/26)

https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/the-metaculus-threat-to-democracy

Thomas L. Knapp

Crisis looms for Pope Leo as splinter sect seeks to ordain far-right bishops

Source: The Guardian [UK]

“A far-right Catholic sect’s plan to ordain its own bishops on the first day of July has placed it on a collision course with the Vatican – posing a possible crisis for Pope Leo a little over a year into his papacy, and straining the Roman Catholic church’s already fraught relationship with rightwing and traditionalist Catholics in the US and elsewhere. Founded in Switzerland in 1970 to oppose liberalizing reforms in the Catholic church, the Society of St Pius X (SSPX) has gained significant followings in the US, France, Argentina and other countries. … Under Catholic canon law, ordaining bishops without the Vatican’s authorization is grounds for immediate excommunication. So far, both sides in the game of brinkmanship are refusing to blink. The Guardian contacted the Holy See and the SSPX for comment but neither responded.” (06/25/26)

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/25/pope-leo-far-right-bishops

Thomas L. Knapp

How the Internet Became a Tool for Domination and Control Instead of Liberation

Source: The UnPopulist
by Mike Masnick

“Facebook in 2011 was already a centralized platform owned by a single company. What changed was that the underlying incentives of that centralized architecture had time to work. Centralized systems create chokepoints. Chokepoints, once they exist, attract everyone with an interest in squeezing them: companies looking to extract more value from users, governments looking to extract compliance from companies, and political movements looking to extract influence from both. In 2011, Facebook hadn’t yet figured out how lucrative those chokepoints would be, or how much leverage they offered to the powerful. By 2025, everyone had figured it out.” (06/25/26)

https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/how-the-internet-became-a-tool-for

Thomas L. Knapp