Author: nick

As the U.S. and Iran struggle to find common ground on which to build an agreement during the ceasefire, the Gulf Cooperation Council met in Saudi Arabia last week for the first time since the war began. They focused on Iranian attacks on their member states. They condemned both the attacks and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and called on Iran to rebuild trust. The leaders discussed the need to enhance military coordination but also on the need to coordinate “in pursuit of a diplomatic path forward to preserve the security and stability of the region.” These nations—Bahrain,…

The House Appropriations Committee released its spending bill for Fiscal Year 2027 covering national security, the Department of State, and related programs, which—among other appropriations—approved $3.8 billion for Israel, following the terms of a 10-year U.S.-Israel memorandum of understanding. At the same time, the Israeli government continues to promote and protect violent campaigns of state-backed terror against Palestinians in ways that are so extreme that more and more Western and former Israeli officials are condemning it. The latest official to do so was Tamir Pardo, a former Mossad chief, who criticized his own government in ways that are increasingly punished…

What the Supreme Court Still Has Left To Decide This Term Source link

Jerome Powell is finished as Federal Reserve Board chairman, but he has time left in his term, so he is sticking around. He would be only the third chair in history to stay, and he says, “My concern is legal attacks on the Fed, which threaten our ability to conduct monetary policy without considering political factors.” Cry me a river. So-called “Fed independence” has morphed from an arcane academic argument into dinner-table talking points. Apparently, the Fed wants to be left alone to do whatever it wants. Unfortunately, in the past 18 years, Fed policy has had more impact on…

In most political disputes, there will usually be an argument that helps the left and an argument that helps the right. A common rhetorical tactic is to insist that one side or other is in fact being neutral, while the other side is being partisan. In the abstract, these arguments should not work because neither side is being neutral. But in various areas of the law, there are liberal institutional asymmetries–legal principles that ensure the liberal position is seen as the neutral baseline. One of the largest asymmetries was (past tense) the Voting Rights Act. I wrote in October: Because…

Mass deception is a cornerstone of the state’s ability to maintain total control. One of the main methods used by government to convince the population of their legitimacy is the tool of propaganda. This is nothing new, and states throughout the world have engaged in this practice for all of human history. What is new, however, is the mass awakening that is occurring in this moment of imperial decay. I believe this decay is the direct result of an expansionist foreign policy, which is focused on expanding the global empire rather than furthering the values of liberty at home. The…

Trump's Quixotic Push To Denaturalize Citizens Source link

Seattle’s socialist Mayor Katie Wilson has a message for prosperous people leaving Washington over the state’s soaring tax burden. “Bye!” she says with a laugh, to cheers from a largely progressive audience. Entrepreneurs and investors will certainly take that comment into account as they consider where to live and do business. We can be sure of that fact because recent research further supports the commonsense idea that people often leave high-tax states in search of lower tax bills. You are reading The Rattler from J.D. Tuccille and Reason. Get more of J.D.’s commentary on government overreach and threats to everyday…

“I need to ask someone else to take responsibility for the second part of the approvals process, so that I won’t have a conflict of interest. I’m also working with Bill Gates and the World Health Organization on the vaccine itself.” This admission of a conflict of interest was made by Prof. Lester Schulman, secretary of the Ministry of Health’s polio committee, in March 2023, during an internal discussion about approving the importation into Israel of a new polio vaccine. The vaccine was developed and promoted by the World Health Organization in collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,…

In the wake of the British royals’ visit, there are renewed signs a Trump political dynasty could be in the works Source link