Advisory Opinions, 06/02/26
Source: The Dispatch
“President Trump’s Losing Streak.” (06/02/26)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/advisoryopinions/president-trumps-losing-streak/
Rubio testifies before Congress for first time since start of Iran war
Source: SFGate
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio [faced] a litany of questions Tuesday about the Trump administration’s fragile or stalling diplomatic efforts around the world when he appears for back-to-back hearings on Capitol Hill for the first time since the Iran war began. Senate Republicans are meeting Tuesday to discuss next steps after the Justice Department said it would comply with a court order pausing the implementation of a $1.776 billion settlement fund designed to compensate President Donald Trump’s political allies. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is also set to return to Capitol Hill on Tuesday for a hearing before the House Appropriations Committee. The hearing was scheduled for discussion of the Justice Department’s budget, but lawmakers will almost certainly focus their questioning on the settlement fund.” (06/02/26)
Is the US economy headed for a bust?
Source: Cobden Centre
by Dr. Frank Shostak
“There is a high likelihood that due to the past large decline in the yearly growth rate of the money supply, the US economy is heading towards an economic bust. Note that the yearly growth rate of money supply fell from 79% in February 2021 to minus 7% by May 2023. The sharp decline in the yearly momentum of money supply is starting to hurt various activities that emerged on the back of the huge increase in the money supply yearly growth rate between August 2019 and February 2021 – from minus 1% to 79%. It is likely that the effect of this massive increase is still dominating the present state of economic activity.” (06/02/26)
https://www.cobdencentre.org/2026/06/is-the-us-economy-headed-for-a-bust/
Iranian Endgames?
Source: American Greatness
by Victor Davis Hanson
“The Trump administration has bent over backward to negotiate an end to Iran’s grand plans to develop nuclear weapons—before the June 2025 bombing, afterward, and again during the follow-up diplomacy of spring 2026. Yet Iran is unlikely ever to abandon its pursuit of the bomb voluntarily. With nuclear weapons, Tehran hopes to become the de facto hegemon of the Middle East. Only then could it effectively coerce or deter both Israel and the wealthy Arab Gulf states. And that is the charitable view, one that excludes the possibility of a messianic Shiite theocracy believing that eliminating the “one-bomb” state of Israel would forever ensure the Shiite minority permanent preeminence in the pantheon of Islamic jihadists. After three months of intermittent war, we are now better acquainted with Iran’s intentions and the realities of the conflict. The Iranian regime has never viewed ‘negotiations’ as a path leading to an ultimate ‘deal’.” (06/02/26)
NM: Lawmakers to blast out subpoenas in Epstein investigation
Source: NBC News
“New Mexico lawmakers said Monday they are demanding documents from an array of government and private institutions as the first major step in their effort to tell the full story of what Jeffrey Epstein did in the state — and whether any other people should be prosecuted for crimes there. A committee known as the New Mexico Truth Commission expects to send subpoenas this week to 14 targets. … Epstein, who bought a ranch outside Santa Fe in 1993 and typically visited several times a year, was never charged with crimes in New Mexico, despite allegations of sex crimes dating back decades. At least 10 women have alleged that Epstein groomed or abused them at the 10,000-acre ranch starting in the mid-1990s, an NBC News review of court testimony, lawsuits and other records found.” (06/01/26)
Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 06/01/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Ghalibaf: Iran To Confront Israel If No Lebanon Truce, US and Iran Trade More Attacks, and More.” (06/01/26)
Cenk Uygur and Hasan Piker banned as the UK’s free speech backslide continues
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Angel Eduardo
“Like any country, the British government can exercise broad discretion when it comes to who it decides to let into its borders. There is currently no proof that Uygur’s and Piker’s views on Israel were the motivating factor behind their visa revocations, but if they were, it’s yet more evidence of the UK’s backsliding on free speech in recent years. Remember the UK police database tracking ‘non-crime hate incidents?’ Or the 12,000 people arrested in the UK in 2023 for their online speech? And who can forget the UK government’s ominous and Orwellian ‘Think before you post’ warning on social media back in 2024? Perhaps most disappointingly, the banning of scheduled speakers from entering your country also betrays an unwillingness or inability to engage with ideas and arguments on their merits.” (06/01/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/cenk-uygur-and-hasan-piker-banned-uks-free-speech-backslide-continues
Jill Biden’s tales spin a web of self-serving fantasy
Source: Fox News
by Jonathan Turley
“Jill Biden’s book is not even out yet — and she’s already trying to get it displayed on both the fiction and the non-fiction shelves. From her husband’s mental decline to the pardoning of her son, the former first lady has moved from the historical to the fanciful. Thomas Jefferson once wrote that ‘honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom’ — but if her promotional interviews are any measure, that chapter appears to be entirely missing from View from the East Wing: A Memoir. Last week Biden faced a torrent of criticism, including from Democrats like her former spokesperson, over her claim to CBS News that she thought her husband’s debate meltdown meant he might have been suffering a stroke. The interviewer didn’t mention the fact that Biden famously declared at the time that her husband was brilliant in the debate, and denied he was showing signs of mental decline.” (06/01/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/06/01/opinion/jill-bidens-tales-spin-a-web-of-self-serving-fantasy/
Ghana’s anti-LGBTQ+ bill to be “scrutinised before approval,” says president
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Ghana’s new bill criminalising LGBTQ+ activities will undergo scrutiny before it is officially approved, the president has said. Speaking during a visit to the UK, John Mahama said his legal council and attorney general would ‘sit on it because it was a private members’ motion … [and] not a government bill’. The bill – passed by parliament on Friday – proposes up to three years imprisonment for identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer, and a ‘duty to report’ prohibited acts to police. ‘We will look at it and make sure that everything is in order,’ Mahama said, adding that the bill would be referred to the Council of State – his advisors – if there were any problems. Since coming into power last year, Mahama has been pressured by religious leaders to strengthen anti-gay measures, which ban same-sex relationships under laws dating from the British colonial era.” (06/02/26)
The Case Against Mass Deportation
Source: Checks & Balances
by Ilya Somin
“The Trump Administration’s mass deportation efforts are a cruel, violent affront to the values of our nation.” (06/01/26)
https://chkbal.substack.com/p/the-case-against-mass-deportation