"there’s a bank run taking place behind the velvet ropes, in the VIP section."

www.liberalcurrents.com/the-security... "We are close to a point when, regardless of who is elected, the government will function like a hammer and every problem will look like a nail."

New: Bowser's budget, once again, proposes big cuts to environmental programs. DOEE stands to lose $70m, mostly targeted at clean energy programs. A key funding source for home retrofits/Green Bank loses $20m. And she's pushing off energy standards for buildings by a year: wamu.org/story/26/04/...

America's oil execs have pocketed $1.4 billion selling stock during the Iran war, the WSJ reports This cash windfall won’t go primarily toward yachts and private jets, but toward political campaigns and lobbying orgs dedicated to blocking climate policy and fueling authoritarianism

JD Vance just said: “Stopping funding for Ukraine is one of the things I’m proudest we’ve done in this administration.” What a disgusting statement. I was just in Kharkiv and saw the damage that Russian missiles and drones inflict. If Ukraine received more US interceptors, it could save more lives.

This is an incredible report from PBS Frontline that just dropped last night. Very intense and potentially triggering for many folks, but very, very good work.

Trying to explain St Augustine to the pope, the former head of the Augustinian order, who wrote his doctoral thesis on Augustine, on his way back from celebrating mass at the Basilica of St Augustine in Annaba, Algeria, overlooking the site where Augustine lived is peak Adult Catholic Convert.

I think it's possible to defend/platform the Pope, just war theory, and the Pope's remarks on just war theory without reposting/defending/platforming a dogmatic view of the papacy; i.e., that considered remarks have the same status as speaking ex cathedra.

The Orbán defeat was multifaceted. There are at least two more important reasons: 1. Time: no leader remains popular for 16 years. 2. Credible alternative: Orbán had always faced a divided and weak opposition. Hungary was already done with Orbán in 2022, but had no credible alternative.

A major problem we have is that too many powerful and influential people believe (at least subconsciously) that America is somehow magically insulated from decline and collapse. But whatever our Greatness it was achieved through policy choices and can be undone by other choices. It's happening now!

"The people we identified as resisting attempts to overturn the 2020 results have been replaced by roughly two dozen people Trump has installed in positions that could affect elections." www.propublica.org/article/trum...

“Amid a policy debate among Democrats worried that they can no longer ‘build things,’ proponents of conservative state-building host job fairs overrun with applicants and sponsor a detention-industrial complex unmatched in the developed world.” www.liberalcurrents.com/the-security...

"Security state-building is reviewed according to its routine activities, or policy 'outputs,' allowing them to function and be funded without having to prove much at all." www.liberalcurrents.com/the-security...

"We are close to a point when, regardless of who is elected, the government will function like a hammer and every problem will look like a nail."

This piece is part of this week's edition of the Best of Journalism: buff.ly/cjTLHYF

“Following decades of unprecedented expansion in security, detention, and surveillance, the United States government’s competence in militancy and punishment is now so dominant that it threatens to eclipse its other activities and ambitions.” www.liberalcurrents.com/the-security...

The AP is calling Israel’s military actions in southern Lebanon an invasion. Israel moved thousands of troops across the border into Lebanon, and Israeli forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants have been fighting on the ground for at least three weeks.

Denmark didn’t “transition” its grid—it replaced it. ~15% → 92% renewable electricity in 25 years. Wind did the heavy lifting. Solar is scaling. Interconnection balanced. Flexibility solved variability. Wind built it. Solar is scaling. Fossil lost it. This IS system replacement. ⚡#Bettrification

“Whooping cough surged in Mississippi last year, ultimately claiming the life of a baby – the first whooping cough death in the state in 13 years… Kindergarten vaccination rates this year dropped to the lowest level in years.” @jackiantonovich.bsky.social

According to a new study, influenza vaccination may help protect against heart attack and stroke even when it does not prevent people from getting the flu. Read more: ow.ly/8fmv50YGL7R

If you'd like to learn more about how corporations have benefited from modern social movements... in order to fend off regulatory demands, and at the expense of those movements themselves... then please join for a virtual book talk this Thursday afternoon.

From a social welfare history perspective, there were numerous areas (both geographically and bureaucratically speaking) where the Church *preceded* the state in providing social welfare services. So much so that (particularly in urban areas) first-wave liberalism was *forced* to accommodate —>

In @nytopinion.nytimes.com “As A.I. transforms anything touching a keyboard, it will land first and hardest on the income ladder’s middle and lower rungs,” Jennifer Harris writes.

The Hungarian election is about Russian oligarchy and its support of the international far right. That’s why Vance is there. He is a node in that network.

The story of the modern American Catholic Church --& I mean here, clerical authority-- has been neglected by students of the recent past, leaving us somewhat flat-footed in the face of Pope Leo's defense of first-wave (New Deal) Liberalism & its repercussions.

We should never forget this was a war of choice, over military objections, with a clear outcome (closing of Strait) forecast decades in advance and warned of in the moment, at great human cost, initiated by one man (pushed by another), who wanted to play the tough guy with a military now depleted.

By my count, there are now over 50 House Democrats, along with two Senate Democrats, who have called for Trump to be impeached or removed via the 25th Amendment for his post on Iran. More here: www.axios.com/2026/04/07/t...

Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields. — In Flanders Fields by John McCrae /fin

Pope Leo has asked Americans to contact Congress and demand an end to the war in Iran. So I built a tool to make it take three minutes: find your senators, find your House rep, and a script ready to read. 👉 Stand with the Holy Father.

If you'd like to learn more about how corporations have benefited from modern social movements... in order to fend off regulatory demands, and at the expense of those movements themselves... then please join for a virtual book talk this Thursday afternoon.

“Here are the facts: multiple intelligence and law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, Defense Intelligence Agency, NSA, ICE, CBP, DEA, IRS, and Secret Service have all purchased or are still purchasing Americans’ data without a warrant.” prospect.org/2026/04/06/j...

"Prime Minister Modi, in India, compared [the closure of the Strait of Hormuz] to Covid and the pandemic and their impact on global supply chains. I think that is a very apt comparison, particularly if this extends over the course of another month or so." l

Huh, so international law is a thing. And this administration apparently has thoughts about illegal attacks on boats in particular.

“Cancer risk is one of the concerns frequently mentioned by researchers. “By virtue of inducing broad cell growth, growth hormone related peptides (CJC-1295, Ipamorelin, and Tesamorelin) carry the potential risk of cancer,” cardiologist and longevity expert Eric Topol explained”

I've been wondering about this for a long time--the debate between & among American Jews re the war in Gaza. Can recommend:

While you slept last night: ~100 million birds took to the skies 🐦 The Mid-Atlantic saw heavy traffic moving north/northeast, with migration hotspots from the Southeast to Ohio Valley and Southern Plains. The overnight rush continues this weekend. Details at cwg.live

Pro-fire flank of the anti-science party.

Today, @kfrydl.bsky.social explains how, over the past fifty years, corporate advocates have co-opted the language and tactics of modern social movements to graft identity-based attributes onto the corporate entity.

How did we get here? How is that the government services most valued by ordinary Americans are up for grabs, & meanwhile corporations get all they want from government? New from me:

Today is the anniversary of the April 1 RIFs at NIH and HHS. Thinking of my colleagues who lost their jobs last year. These cuts did no improve efficiency. They undermined the functioning of our government.

"Maine is poised to freeze large data-center construction, which would make it the first state to enact such a measure as communities across the U.S. grapple with fallout from the boom in artificial intelligence." (via @wsj.com)

"We must not lose sight . . . of the opportunities the court won’t have to rein in the administration when it overreaches — and the court’s own responsibility for creating such an increasingly dangerous reality." -- @stevevladeck.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/04/01/o...

Spain’s Lamine Yamal says those who sang anti-Muslim chants during his side’s home friendly against Egypt are “ignorant and racist”. Full story is free to read here ⬇️ 🔗 nyti.ms/4sbdTeO

It is crazy how few people know this: Russia now occupies less Ukrainian land than it did one month into the full-scale invasion four years ago

The country's largest network of crisis pregnancy centers has publicly aligned itself with 'abolitionists'—the movement that wants abortion patients to get the death penalty jessica.substack.com/p/the-most-d...

this is amazing, still can't help smiling

Noting:

Czech Republic: ✅✅❌✅ Denmark: ❌✅❌ ❌ Czech Republic beat Denmark 3-1 on penalties to qualify for the 2026 World Cup 🇨🇿

Absolutely unbelievable... Czech Republic qualifies for the World Cup from the ultra-competitive European sector & does it on penalties (for the second straight week)