Source: UnHerd
by Sohrab Ahmari
“Spectacular events — such as this weekend’s attempted assassination of President Trump and his Cabinet in Washington — can tempt us into thinking that ours is an unprecedented moment: uniquely turbulent, uniquely violent. The slightest friendship with a history book, however, gives the lie to such presentism. Case in point: from Hamilton’s death-by-duel to Lincoln’s demise to the JFK assassination, political violence has run parallel to American constitutional stability. Just because some things are historical constants, however, doesn’t mean their essential characteristics remain unchanged.” (04/27/26)
https://archive.is/LACX0
Source: Freedom and Flourishing
by Winton Bates
“Even after my visit to the Ajanta caves, I did not fully understand why merchants supported Buddhism in ancient India. I reasoned that the occupation of being a merchant would make a person disinclined to accept a religious doctrine which denies their own existence. Idle people may ponder their own existence, but merchants would be expected to be too busy pursuing their occupation. So, wouldn’t Buddhism’s ‘no self’ doctrine be unpalatable to merchants?” (04/27/26)
https://www.freedomandflourishing.com/2026/04/why-were-merchants-attracted-to.html
Source: Mother Jones
by Alex Nguyen
“While Elon Musk and Sam Altman squabble over OpenAI’s corporate structure, the company has openly relinquished responsibility of ensuring safety.” (04/27/26)
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/04/the-girls-are-fighting-ai-edition/
Source: United Press International
“Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Monday that the Justice Department has asked a court to dismiss a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s planned White House ballroom, citing the weekend’s shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Completion of the $400 million ballroom, which has been under construction since early fall, has been threatened by the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s lawsuit, leaving a construction site where the East Wing of the White House once stood. A federal and Republican push for its completion has intensified after an armed man was arrested at the annual charity dinner at the Washington Hilton on Saturday, with lawmakers and White House officials claiming the 90,000-square-foot ballroom is a security necessity.” (04/28/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/04/28/DOG-ballroom/9531777345765/
Source: The Bulwark
“Florida Republicans Go Full Gerrymander To Cut Out Democrats (w/ Marc Caputo).” (04/27/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rpf060Zno4
Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
by Matthew Guariglia
“Speaker Johnson has introduced a new fig leaf over the American surveillance state, the Foreign Intelligence Accountability Act. Introduced with only days to go before Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) expires and the U.S. government loses one of its most invasive surveillance programs, the bill does nothing to make any of the substantial changes privacy advocates have been asking for — most notably, it fails to give us a real warrant requirement for the FBI to snoop through the private conversations of people on U.S. soil.” (04/27/26)
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/04/congress-must-reject-new-insufficient-702-reauthorization-bill
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
“The biggest story of the weekend, politically and socially, was the attempted assassination of several members of the current regime in DC. Apparently just in the Executive Branch. And apparently an attempt made by a man who shocked everyone by his behavior: more and more questions about what is going on and why. But one question is again answered: the mainstream media is again demonstrating a complete lack of morality and a complete unwillingness to tell the truth.” (04/27/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/04/27/an-eventful-weekend-and-more-proof-of-what-is-wrong-with-our-current-situation/
Source: spiked
by Alec Marsh
“The ‘discovery’ by new Green MP Hannah Spencer that certain members of parliament smell of alcohol during late-night sittings in Westminster – voting included – should send shockwaves through the political establishment. After all, what further evidence do we need of the dissolute degeneracy of our political elites than the knowledge that some of them enjoy a drink or two during the course of their lengthy working days? … most of us are aware that behind the scenes it’s not unknown for our elected representatives – and doubtlessly a peer or two – to enjoy a tipple while ruminating on affairs of state in one of the eight or nine bars in the Palace of Westminster.” (04/27/26)
https://archive.is/ldEGw
Source: SFGate
“Two highly contentious ballot measures are expected to come before California voters in November. The first is the GOP-backed brainchild of a conservative California Assembly member. If passed by voters this fall, it would require voters to bring a valid government-issued ID to vote. At present, California voters are only required to give their name and address to cast their ballot. Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, who represents San Diego, has argued that a voter ID law would help protect against voter fraud, while Democrats push back and say the measure is part of the Trump administration’s agenda to keep people away from the polls. … A second proposal introduced by SEIU, the state’s largest health care union, would impose a one-time wealth tax on the net worths of the state’s more than 200 billionaires and use the revenue to fill the gap in health care funding due to President Donald Trump’s 2025 budget bill.” (04/28/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/ballot-measures-california-november-22228575.php
Source: Glenn Greenwald
by Glenn Greenwald
“As occurs with every act or attempted act of political violence in the U.S., many have attempted to blame the rhetoric of their political adversaries for ‘inspiring’ or ‘provoking’ violence through their words. In the case of the shooting at Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner at the Washington Hilton Hotel, many Trump supporters are seeking to heap blame not only — or even principally — on the attacker whom President Trump described as a ‘lone wolf.’ Instead, under a theory long used by liberals against the American Right, blame is being widely assigned to President Trump’s more vocal critics for allegedly ‘inspiring’ violence against him. … While this framework of culpability may be understandable or appealing at first glance, it has an ugly and dangerous history.” (04/27/26)
https://greenwald.substack.com/p/is-anyone-responsible-for-the-whcd
