War Notes, episode 21
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Strategic Deficit Disorder: National Malpractice and the Perils of the Death of Statecraft.” (07/27/26)
How Netanyahu Lost America
Source: The Atlantic
by Franklin Foer
“The prime minister, a self-styled expert on the U.S., has shattered his country’s standing.” (07/27/26)
Paradise Lost, Government Gained
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by George Ford Smith
“As John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail following a congressional vote for independence on July 2, 1776, ‘[This date] ought to be Solemnized with Pomp and Parade with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.’ The future father of the Alien and Sedition Acts was justifiably proud and excited. … for those who took the risk of signing the Declaration, it was the document’s affirmation of the individual over government that became the hill they would die on if necessary. Government was a necessary evil, as Paine wrote, but that wouldn’t stop them from somehow putting the people at the top of the food chain.” (07/27/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/paradise-lost-government-gained
Trump and the AI rational actor problem
Source: NonZero Newsletter
by Robert Wright
“Last week two seemingly unrelated events, one in the tech world and one in Trump world, together illustrated how unprepared the planet is for the AI revolution—in particular, for its potential to create international turmoil, up to and including nuclear war. (1) OpenAI revealed that two of its models had, while under evaluation, escaped the laboratory and gone rogue in a way that inspired various nightmare scenarios. … (2) The Wall Street Journal, by way of illuminating the strategic logic that had led one of the world’s political leaders to bomb Iran for 11 days in a row, reported the following: According to a senior official in his administration, he is in ‘revenge mode.'” (07/27/26)
https://www.nonzero.org/p/trump-and-the-ai-rational-actor-problem
Altman says AI has entered “singularity”
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“The 2014 US film Transcendence follows a dying scientist who uploads his mind to a supercomputer and becomes a near‑omnipotent intelligence. A year later, Ex Machina told the story of a humanoid robot who outsmarts her human handlers and escapes into the wider world. Both of these films, like many others from the realm of science fiction, referred to what is known as ‘the singularity’, a moment in time when technology, particularly AI, surpasses human intelligence and becomes increasingly difficult to control. On Saturday, OpenAI boss Sam Altman declared that this moment has come.” (07/27/26)
The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 07/27/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump Poll Collapse Hits New Milestone as Leaks Reveal Fresh GOP Panic.” (07/27/26)
The Kremlin’s Easy Money Is Gone
Source: Foreign Policy
by Agathe Demarais
“Pity Russian savers. In June, the Russian Finance Ministry announced its support for draft legislation to transfer nearly $40 billion in private pension savings into government coffers. Later that month, Russian Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov encouraged President Vladimir Putin to make the most of the almost $1.8 trillion that Russian firms and individuals hold in bank accounts to support state finances. According to Zyuganov’s calculations, ‘that is three state budgets … sitting there and enriching bankers.’ Pondering whether the Russian economy will collapse is in fashion these days—but that may be the wrong question to ask. The better question is which sources of politically affordable money the Kremlin can still tap to finance military expenses while maintaining social stability.” (07/27/26)
Trump’s tariff addiction
Source: UnHerd
by Wolfgang Munchau
“In the 2002 movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the father of the bride claims that Windex, a US glass cleaning product, can cure all known medical conditions. I was reminded of that scene when I heard Donald Trump prescribe tariffs as a remedy for diarrhea last week. The Center for Disease Control has recently registered more than 4,000 cases of a disease suspected to be cyclosporiasis, an intestinal illness, transmitted through food. The suspect is shredded lettuce, grown in Mexico and exported to Taco Bell fast-food chains across the US. When a reporter asked him about the outbreak, Trump threatened to put a tariff on imported Mexican lettuce to control the spread of the parasite.
The President may not have been serious about the lettuce tariff, but he is serious about tariffs in general.” (07/27/26)
Cracker Barrel CEO steps down after idiotic moral panic over rebrand
Source: New York Post
“Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino is stepping down after the failure of her ‘woke’ [sic] rebrand last year, which was rolled back following intense backlash from loyal customers, the company announced Monday. David Deno, a restaurant exec who most recently served as CEO of Bloomin’ Brands, which owns Outback Steakhouse, will replace Masino on August 10, according to a Cracker Barrel press release. … diners revolted against the company’s attempts to modernize the Southern dining chain last August by axing its beloved mascot Uncle Herschel and revamping restaurants without its trademark tchotchkes. Following heated backlash from longtime customers and even President Trump himself, Cracker Barrel reversed the changes and leaned into its folksy charm – ultimately sending the stock up 100% so far this year.” (07/27/26)
Neon Liberalism, episode 83
Source: Liberal Currents
“So much of our politics today is driven by gender, from Graham Platner’s rise and fall to Pete Hegseth’s testosterone testing to various anti-trans crusades. Samantha and guest Katherine Cross, contributing editor at Liberal Currents, discuss the historical antecedents of modern gender anxieties, how history moves in a corkscrew, and why the right wing is forever driven by a longing for a past that never was.” (07/27/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/gender-and-gender-anxiety-neon-liberalism-83-with-katherine-cross/