US House rejects last-ditch FISA extension ahead of Friday deadline

Source: Axios

“The House rejected a short-term extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act on Thursday, putting the government’s foreign surveillance authority on track to expire. A standoff over President Trump’s decision to install Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence has jeopardized what lawmakers in both parties consider one of the government’s most important intelligence tools. The vast majority of House Democrats opposed the extension through July 2, along with dozens of conservatives who are upset about a lack of reforms. The vote was 198-218. If Congress doesn’t act, Section 702 will lapse Friday.” (06/11/26)

https://archive.is/p0sBN

When It Really is Racist to Talk About Racial Gaps

Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan

“I have a dream. I dream of a world where well-informed people calmly and candidly discuss society’s ugliest statistical realities. I dream of a world where no one stigmatizes those who participate in these discussions as ‘racist’ (or ‘sexist,’ ‘homophobic,’ ‘xenophobic,’ ‘anti-Semitic,’ or ‘Islamophobic’). I dream of a world where everyone in these discussions speaks respectfully about all of the groups under consideration. I dream of a world where the point of these discussions is to help craft humane tailored policy responses, not rationalize collective punishment or bless the status quo. Above all, I dream of a world where all participants are mindful that individual exceptions to statistical rules are ubiquitous. The hashtag #NotAllX is never far from the thoughts of any intellectually honest person.” (06/11/26)

https://www.betonit.ai/p/when-it-really-is-racist-to-talk

Why I’m done with “Heteropessimism”

Source: Sex and the State
by Cathy Reisenwitz

“‘Heteropessimism’ is top-half women aping their bottom-half counterparts. It’s a rich person performing poor-person behavior. Like a man wearing Dickies to his graphic design job, top-half women pretend to swear off men while bottom-half women really do it.” (06/11/26)

https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/why-im-done-with-heteropessimism

Nostalgia

Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Mani Basharzad

“If someone asked me what the most dangerous economic ideology is, many would expect an Austrian to give a typical answer: Marxism, socialism, or Modern Monetary Theory. Yet I believe there is another way of thinking that is even more pervasive. It is not a coherent body of ideas like those ideologies. Rather, it is a sentiment so widespread and socially accepted that it threatens not merely economic freedom, but our very understanding of progress itself. I call it ‘nostalgia economics.'” (06/11/26)

https://fee.org/articles/nostalgia/

In Syria, hope continues to bloom

Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff

“In the Middle East, drones, missiles, and airstrikes continue to streak across the Gulf and, with more intensity, between Israel and Lebanon. Surrounded by these adjacent conflicts, Syria, however, as the Monitor’s Taylor Luck reports this week, is ‘an island of calm in the stormy Middle East’. And of buoyant hope. That is a credit to Syrians’ resilience and faith in progress, as they confront economic and political challenges and emerge from the aftermath of years of repression and civil war. Some credit is also due their former insurgent turned president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has sought to shore up stability and restore basic services, through civic conciliation and political pragmatism. For the international community, Syria’s current situation validates the hope and confidence placed in the government that ousted a brutal dictatorship in December 2024.” (06/10/26)

https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0610/In-Syria-hope-continues-to-bloom