Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Nick Cleveland-Stout

“On Thursday, President Trump hosted the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace, a body created by Trump to oversee the security and redevelopment of Gaza. His son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is on the founding Executive Board overseeing the Board of Peace, played down any notion that the people in the room would be profiting off Gaza’s redevelopment. ‘I really want to thank the entire team that’s worked so hard at this. A lot of these people are volunteers, they’re doing this not for any personal gain. People are not personally profiting from this,’ he said. Of course, there is plenty of money to be made, directly or indirectly, by people sitting in that room and many more, including Kushner himself. In fact, Kushner and other board members have advertised the investment opportunities in Gaza’s redevelopment.” (02/20/26)

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/kushner-board-of-peace-profits/

Source: Brownstone Institute
by Joseph Varon & Rev. John F Naugle

“Imagine a world where hospitals brim with cutting-edge technology, yet the surrounding community’s health deteriorates. Despite the availability of advanced tools to manage human life, societies are seeing spiraling rates of illness, loneliness, and anxiety, with resilience on the decline. This alarming paradox highlights a troubling contradiction that has become increasingly apparent in the face of significant progress. While medicine has achieved greater precision, it has become less personal. Public health systems are increasingly centralized, yet often lack a humane approach. Institutions claim to protect, but frequently contribute to harm. These challenges stem from a fundamental misunderstanding of the human person, rather than operational shortcomings alone. The root cause lies in the degradation of moral ecology, understood as the network of moral, social, and communal factors shaping human well-being. Failure to integrate these elements perpetuates systemic failures in health and society.” (02/20/26)

https://brownstone.org/articles/the-moral-ecology-of-community/

Source: Sex and the State
by Cathy Reisenwitz

“Unlike Robyn Pennacchia, I am of the opinion that while IQ has its problems, it also measures something useful. For example, I’ve found links between low IQ and higher levels of racism and homophobia. Homophobia correlates with hostile sexism and with traits strongly associated with misogyny. Sexual conservatism and religious fundamentalism are also linked to misogyny, hostile sexism, racism, and homophobia. Researchers have found strong connections between anti-Semitism, ethnocentrism, political and economical conservatism, and authoritarianism. Voting Republican also strongly predicts sexism, racist attitudes, racial resentment, and homophobia. Smart people, Democrats, and liberals are also sometimes dumb and bigoted. But Republicans and conservatives are, on average, dumber and more bigoted. … Loneliness and trauma (which feed each other) diminish cognitive complexity. That’s part of why chronically lonely people are easier to con” (02/20/26)

https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/conservatives-are-dumb-and-lonely

Source: Gideon’s Substack
by Noah Millman

“If you were writing an opinion column in October, 1962, you couldn’t help but be aware that, depending on how the Cuban Missile Crisis ended, not only might your opinion column be pointless but all other human activity with it. Even after that crisis was resolved without destroying the world, you still had to go about your day and your year and your life knowing that it could be destroyed in an instant some time in the future, potentially by accident. Yet people did. Why is the A.I. apocalypse different? Mostly, I would argue, because it isn’t the prospect of an end. We expect to continue to live on afterwards, yet we can’t imagine doing so.” (02/20/26)

https://gideons.substack.com/p/god-spelled-backwards-is-dog

Source: Notes from the Middleground
by Damon Linker

“What I learned from reading about the intense and turbulent friendship of John Lennon and Paul McCartney.” (02/20/26)

https://damonlinker.substack.com/p/if-i-say-i-really-loved-you