Source: Washington Monthly
by James D Zirin

“The former FBI director has been indicted for a threat spelled with seashells. Why this lawfare will falter.” (05/13/26)

https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/05/13/james-comey-is-insufferable-the-trump-charges-against-him-are-absurd/

Source: The New Republic
by Alex Shephard

“Ron Rosenbaum’s latest book, Bob Dylan: Things Have Changed, is not a biography. It is instead a ‘kind of biography’ — which is a distinction with a difference. It is, in keeping with Rosenbaum’s long record of fine-tuned literary analysis mixed with historical and, yes, biographical detail, a study of Dylan’s songwriting and a reckoning with his moral, philosophical, and religious imagery and fixations. ‘Dylan has remade American speech, American thought, American attitude,’ Rosenbaum writes. Bob Dylan: Things Have Changed is an examination of how he remade those things, with a particular emphasis on ‘theodicy’ and what Rosenbaum calls Dylan’s ‘argument with god.’ Steering clear of the usual cloud of hagiography that hovers above most writing about Dylan, it’s a book that instead focuses on what makes him unique. ” (05/13/26)

https://newrepublic.com/article/210326/bob-dylan-argument-god

Source: Brennan Center for Justice
by Michael Waldman

“The late 19th century was a dismal time in American politics. Corruption ran rampant. Congress was governed by staunch partisan loyalties and nail-biting majorities. And redistricting, instead of being confined to after the census every 10 years, was a tool of manipulation and partisan hardball. ‘From 1872 to 1896,’ a political scientist reports, ‘at least one state redrew its congressional districts each year.’ Of course, that era was marred by another phenomenon — one too familiar to us today. It saw a swift rollback in voting rights and representation for the newly freed Black population of the South. In 1875, after the Civil War and the adoption of the 15th Amendment, seven Black men served in the House, and one sat as a senator. Terrorism, political cowardice, and racial backlash ended Reconstruction. By 1902, Congress was once again all white.” (05/13/26)

https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/supreme-court-sets-gerrymandering-frenzy

Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Arman Sidhu

“For a small-scale gold miner in Uganda, the question of where to sell has just been answered for him. Gold has surpassed coffee as Uganda’s largest export, and as of last month, the country’s central bank is positioning itself as the dominant legal buyer for nearly all of it. Late in April, the Bank of Uganda launched a three-year gold-buying program that registers it as a gold dealer purchasing directly from licensed Ugandan miners through contracts with two refiners.” (05/13/26)

https://fee.org/articles/ugandas-gold/

Source: The Daily Economy
by Peter C Earle

“Home prices and financing costs are still high, but several indicators suggest the market has moved past peak distortion.” (05/13/26)

https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/is-housing-less-affordable-than-ever-sort-of/

Source: The Daily Economy
by Antón Chamberlin

“Americans seldom experience war directly — World War II was the last time a war reached US soil. Since then, our wars have been experienced much more indirectly. No ration books appeared during Vietnam, no mass retooling of factories happened for Desert Storm, and daily life seems largely unchanged despite a decades-long War on Terror. The Iran War seems to be the same, at least in these respects. All wars still impose costs on ordinary Americans, of course; they simply arrive in quieter ways. Enter every trip to the gas station since February 28.” (05/13/26)

https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/estimating-the-iran-wars-effect-on-us-gasoline-prices/