Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“A US soldier’s wife who was [abducted] by immigration agents at the military base where he is stationed (just days after their wedding) has been released. Annie Ramos, 22, an undocumented immigrant who came to the US as a toddler, was [abducted] on 2 April and spent five days at a detention centre alongside hundreds facing deportation under the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Immigration officials described Ramos as ‘an illegal [sic] alien from Honduras’ who was arrested after attempting to enter a military base. ‘I feel awesome. Relieved. Relieved,’ Staff Sergeant Matthew Blank told the New York Times after his wife’s release. ‘These have been the worst days of my life. I can’t wait to carry my wife into our home and start our lives together. I’m complete and ready to serve our country. And it’s her country, too!'” (04/08/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c98kn1k3nreo
Source: Liberal Currents
by Alex Norris
“The U.S.-Israel joint attack on Iran exemplifies the foreign policy theory guiding the Trump administration: other countries aren’t real, and they can’t hurt you. The United States, the thinking goes, has the most expensive armed forces in the world — more expensive than the next nine countries combined. Who could stand against American might? Sure, those armed forces failed in Afghanistan and Iraq, but that was because of, well, politics. … Ultimately, of all the posturing and Trump doctrines, I think it is FAFO that will stand the test of time.” (04/07/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/the-moral-arc-of-the-universe-bends-toward-finding-out/
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Jonah Goldberg
“It is among the most familiar patterns of the Trump era. First, the president says or does something weird, rude or otherwise norm-defying. Some elected Republicans object, and the response from Trump and his minions is to shoot the messenger. The dynamic holds constant whether it’s big (Jan. 6 pardons) or small (tweeting ‘covfefe’ just after midnight). The essence of this low-road-for-me-high-road-for-thee dynamic rests on the belief that Trumpism is a one-way road. Insulting Trump, deservedly or not, is forbidden, while Trump’s antics should be celebrated when possible, defended when necessary, or ignored when neither of those responses is possible. But he should never, ever face consequences for his own actions. This was the week Trump’s routine went global.” (04/07/26)
https://archive.is/IeXlh
Source: CNBC
“The U.S. will impose tariffs of 50% on [American buyers of] ‘any and all’ goods imported to the country from any nation ‘supplying military weapons to Iran,’ President Donald Trump said Wednesday. Trump said in a Truth Social post that [American buyers of goods from] any country found to be supplying Iran with weapons would be subject to the levy ‘immediately,’ with no ‘exclusions or exemptions.'” (04/08/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/08/trump-threatens-tariffs-countries-supplying-weapons-iran-ceasefire.html
Source: Politics Politics Politics
“Trump Threatens Iran’s ‘Whole Civilization.’ DHS Shutdown Winners and Losers (With Kirk Bado).” (04/07/26)
https://www.politicspoliticspolitics.com/p/trump-threatens-irans-whole-civilization
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Sarah McLaughlin
“Free speech advocates have long warned that the laws and regulations passed at the state, federal, and international level are chipping away at our ability to speak anonymously online. Now, Türkiye is threatening to gut that right directly — and asserting that social media platforms are playing along. According to Justice Minister Akın Gürlek, the Turkish government is submitting a proposal to parliament that would require people to provide a national ID number to use social media. Unregistered accounts will be removed by platforms. Gürlek also claims platforms have agreed to implement these terms — though which platforms, and which exact terms, are not entirely clear yet. … Make no mistake: These kinds of regulations are like a bad cold — they spread fast and are hard to shake.” (04/07/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/blogs/free-speech-dispatch/its-end-internet-anonymity-we-know-it-and-i-dont-feel-fine
Source: Reason
by Matthew Petti
“For years, bureaucrats and the chattering class in Washington have tried to justify innocent people’s suffering from war and sanctions. America’s enemies hide among civilians and weaponize civilian infrastructure, they argued. Military strategy and sanctions policy were designed to leave civilians alone, they claimed. Wars and sieges would actually liberate people suffering under evil regimes, they asserted. Trump keeps making their job harder by speaking frankly about what his goals actually are.” (04/07/26)
https://reason.com/2026/04/07/trump-is-openly-targeting-innocent-civilians/
Source: SFGate
“The head of the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday defended his decision to repeal the legal determination that serves as the basis for federal rules to slow climate change, telling a gathering of climate change skeptics that they should ‘celebrate vindication.’ EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin made the remarks in the keynote address at a conference hosted by the Heartland Institute, a conservative think tank that rejects mainstream climate science and what it calls ‘climate alarmism.’ Zeldin told the gathering that repeal of the 2009 ‘endangerment finding’ reversed decades of unthinking adherence to liberal politicians and environmental groups about the dangers of climate change. ‘Today is a day to celebrate. It is a day to celebrate vindication,’ said Zeldin, a former Republican congressman from New York who is widely believed to be under consideration for a possible promotion to attorney general, following Pam Bondi’s forced departure last week.” (04/08/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/zeldin-tells-climate-skeptics-to-celebrate-22195712.php
Source: The Volokh Conspiracy
by Ilya Somin
“As a new analysis by Johan Norberg shows, the regime many MAGA Republicans see as a model to emulate has repressed civil liberties, undermined the free market, destroyed the rule of law, and made Hungary the poorest nation in the European Union.” (04/07/26)
https://reason.com/volokh/2026/04/07/viktor-orbans-hungary-exemplifies-the-perils-of-nationalism/
Source: Truthdig
by Bill Blum
“If I asked you to name the most unpopular Supreme Court justice, you might choose the venal Clarence Thomas or the perpetually enraged Samuel Alito. In either event, you’d be wrong. Americans’ least popular member of the high tribunal is Brett ‘I like beer’ Kavanaugh. Poll after poll has shown Kavanaugh taking the honor since his nomination in 2018. Kavanaugh also holds the honor of being President Donald Trump’s favorite justice, an accolade he earned with his dissenting opinion from the court’s February invalidation of Trump’s worldwide ‘reciprocal tariffs.’ Kavanaugh is now poised to deliberate on pending voting rights cases and a ruling on birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment. It’s frightening but indisputable: The future of American law may rest in his ideological, incompetent hands.” (04/08/26)
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-fall-and-rise-of-brett-kavanaugh/
