Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Trita Parsi
“Trump’s failed use of force has blunted the credibility of American military threats, introducing an entirely new dynamic into the diplomatic track.” (04/08/26)
Source: The Daily Economy
by Michael N Peterson
“The economist who predicted abundance also worried about displacement. He was only half right.” (04/08/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/why-keynes-would-have-feared-ai-and-why-we-shouldnt/
Source: CounterPunch
by Peter Bach
“At some point—and I can’t quite say when—it has become harder, at least from this side of the Atlantic, to separate our image of Donald Trump from the United States itself. The two have begun to blur in ways that feel new, and, frankly, unsettling. Until recently, I tried to be careful about this. I love my American friends. And it’s worth saying very plainly that millions of Americans continue to oppose these policies, often loudly and at great personal cost. Any criticism here is directed at decisions made in power, not at the people who live with their consequences. … However, as the consequences of Trump’s leadership continue to play out—not only in the Middle East but across much of Europe—that distinction has come under real strain.” (04/08/26)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/04/08/when-america-becomes-its-president/
Source: Bloomberg
“Ethiopia’s military is harboring and assisting the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group accused of mass killings in Sudan, a Yale University research unit has found. The RSF has been sheltering in an Ethiopia National Defense Force camp in Asosa in the western Benishangul-Gumuz region, the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, which tracks atrocities in conflict zones using open-source intelligence and satellite imagery, said in a report. Its investigations showed a new hangar and other construction had been undertaken at an airport at the military camp near Ethiopia’s border with Sudan. It also detected the movement of hundreds of vehicles, including large commercial carriers, over a period of several weeks, in the area and surrounds.” (04/08/26)
Source: LP Alliance
“Grand Rapids Revolution: Bylaws for and by the Members!” (04/07/26)
Source: Law & Liberty
by Nathan Smith
“The Building Chips in America Act (2024) offers a glimpse of a possible modus operandi for a liberal abundance coalition. By exempting semiconductor fabs funded under the CHIPS and Science Act (2022) from some NEPA reviews, Congress cleared a major obstacle that had threatened to derail a factory investment boom. Industrial policy — planning as accelerator — overrode stultifying environmental protectionism — planning as brake. The modest precedent might become a template for using industrial policy as a crowbar for deregulation.” (04/08/26)
Source: NBC News
“Chris Taylor has won a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, NBC News projects, expanding liberals’ majority in the key battleground state. Taylor, a state appeals court judge and former Democratic state legislator, secured a 10-year term on the court over conservative Maria Lazar, an appeals court judge who worked in Republican former Gov. Scott Walker’s administration. … Taylor, who was backed by the state Democratic Party, held massive fundraising and ad spending advantages over Lazar throughout the race. She had put abortion and voting rights at the forefront of her campaign, much like other winning liberal Supreme Court candidates in the state in recent years.” (04/07/26)
Source: Gracearchy with Jim Babka
“A Whole Civilization Will Die Tonight.” (04/07/26)
Source: Foreign Policy
by Amir Handjani
“Most of Tehran’s demands to end the war are maximalist, as are Washington’s right now. One of Iran’s demands may be achievable if structured correctly: the right to operate the Strait of Hormuz as a tolled waterway, in formal partnership with Oman. This is not a fantasy. Iran’s parliament is already debating legislation to collect transit fees from ships passing through the world’s single-most important maritime chokepoint. Since mid-March, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has turned the strait into a de facto toll booth, collecting fees in exchange for safe passage. … it’s difficult to imagine any situation short of the Islamic Republic’s collapse whereby Tehran doesn’t retain some form of control of the Strait as an insurance policy against persistent U.S. and Israeli attacks in the future.” (04/07/26)
Source: Town Hall
by Star Parker
“The United States must be growing and prosperous at home and strong and secure in the face of the many security threats facing us abroad. The former can only be achieved with free markets and limited government domestically and the latter through a robust defense [sic] budget. On both fronts, Democrats would take the country in the exact opposite direction needed. Voters seem to understand this. RealClearPolitics reports Democratic Party favorability at -20.0 unfavorable and Republicans at -15.4 unfavorable. Nevertheless, in polling on the overall congressional election for 2026, RealClearPolitics shows Democrats up +6.0. Two things may explain this disconnect: One, although voters show generically more favorability to Republicans, Republicans are still underwater in overall favorability. Second, when voters are overall not happy with how things are going, they vote against the party in power.” (04/08/26)