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Thanks,  John Frahm.

Wray Lied About Extent Of FBI’s Anti-Catholic Surveillance.

See here.

The post Evil FBI appeared first on LewRockwell.

On Tim McGraw wrote:

AI… I’m always reminded of the great Sci-Fi short story by Ray Bradbury. “There Will Come Soft Rains” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_Will_Come_Soft_Rains_(short_story)

A nuclear war has killed mankind, but a house run by AI stays alive as if the humans in it were still alive.

Eventually, a windstorm drops a tree branch onto the house. This causes a fire and all kinds of mayhem that the AI can’t control.

The house burns to the ground to join humanity.

That’s the future of humans and AI. Eventually, all those nukes will be used unless they are disassembled. I don’t see that happening.

Make the most of each day.

The post “There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury appeared first on LewRockwell.

Mark Seiler wrote:

Dear Lew,

Charles Burris’ piece on The State replacing The Church can best be seen when watching a National Football League game.

At the beginning all are told to rise, men to remove their head coverings, place their hand on their heart and sing the National Hymn, aka, The Star Spangled Banner. Said banner is held over the entire field by dozens of people shaking it to simulate waving in the breeze. At this point a military flyover is done while trailing red, white and blue smoke much as incense is burned to sanctify the field and the event itself.

ALL HAIL THE EMPIRE!

The post State Replaces Church appeared first on LewRockwell.

David Martin wrote:

Reminds me of Zionism founder Theodor Herzl’s family life.  His son Hans shot himself to death.  His daughter Paulina died of a drug overdose.  His youngest offspring, Trude, gave him his one grandchild, who after having a somewhat successful career, jumped to his death off the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge over Rock Creek in DC. 

Theodor Herzl – Wikipedia

The post Karl Marx’s Father Warned the World—And He Was Right appeared first on LewRockwell.

Thanks, John Smith. 

Antiwar.com Blog

The post Tory Leader Blurts Out the Truth: Britain Is at the Heart of Gaza ‘Proxy War’ appeared first on LewRockwell.

Thanks, John Smith. 

Middle East Eye

The post Exclusive: US warns UK and France not to recognise Palestinian state appeared first on LewRockwell.

Peter Bohn wrote:

“Europe Is Awesome”

Wasn’t Belgium the country in which the Germans of 1914 needed to cross,  used in their Schlieffen Plan, against the French who declared war on Germany. 
And so upset London, that they had to enter the war, because German soldiers were Bayoneting Belgium babies, proven false after the First World War. 

100+ years later, Belgium, is populated by non Belgium ethnicities and the gross beaches.  See this.

Was this worth men dying for? 

“O Fortuna”! 

The post 100+ years After WWI, this is the state of Belgium appeared first on LewRockwell.

Thanks, Bruce McLane.

See here.

The post Interesting take on Orwell appeared first on LewRockwell.

Thanks, Gail Appel.

Snopes

The post Did Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Say ‘Jewish Space Lasers’ Caused California Wildfires? appeared first on LewRockwell.

Gail Appel wrote:

Lara Loomer did her homework!

The post Was Moody’s U.S. Credit Downgrade Influenced By Their Anti-Trump CEO and Moody’s Commitments to DEI & ESG? appeared first on LewRockwell.

Thanks, Chris Condon.

World Net Daily

The post The raw truth about Biden dying of cancer appeared first on LewRockwell.

The post Elon-quake! Musk Shocks Washington With Anti-BBB X Post! appeared first on LewRockwell.

This is a wonderful, highly entertaining presentation on the pathetic degeneration of fake history, of how American nationalism is based on a lie, the Lincoln Pork Chop.

The post Lincoln Pork Chop appeared first on LewRockwell.

August 9 (the day after my birthday) in Lake Jackson, Texas.  Proceeds go to Ron’s nonprofit organizations.  Only 350 tickets available.

The post Join Me in Celebrating Ron Paul’s 90th Birthday! appeared first on LewRockwell.

Il manoscritto fornisce un grimaldello al lettore, una chiave di lettura semplificata, del mondo finanziario e non che sembra essere andato "fuori controllo" negli ultimi quattro anni in particolare. Questa è una storia di cartelli, a livello sovrastatale e sovranazionale, la cui pianificazione centrale ha raggiunto un punto in cui deve essere riformata radicalmente e questa riforma radicale non può avvenire senza una dose di dolore economico che potrebbe mettere a repentaglio la loro autorità. Da qui la risposta al Grande Default attraverso il Grande Reset. Questa è la storia di un coyote, che quando non riesce a sfamarsi all'esterno ricorre all'autofagocitazione. Lo stesso è accaduto ai membri del G7, dove i sei membri restanti hanno iniziato a fagocitare il settimo: gli Stati Uniti.

____________________________________________________________________________________

(Versione audio della traduzione disponibile qui: https://open.substack.com/pub/fsimoncelli/p/letica-del-lavoro-puo-tornare-a-dare)

Sono entusiasta quanto chiunque altro della prospettiva di un ritorno dell'industria manifatturiera americana, ma ci sono enormi ostacoli, tra cui le metriche di redditività della contabilità. Avrà senso dal punto di vista economico? Senza questo elemento, le aspirazioni politiche e la determinazione nazionale non saranno sufficienti.

Gli Stati Uniti hanno esternalizzato ingenti quantità della loro, un tempo enorme, potenza manifatturiera in Cina, Messico e altrove. Per decenni è sembrato un vantaggio reciproco, finché non ci siamo resi conto di quanto sia strano che l'America abbia talmente poche industrie da poterle definire davvero proprie.

Esistono diversi modi per affrontare questo problema, ma la sua portata non è ampiamente compresa. I differenziali salariali tra gli Stati Uniti e gli altri Paesi sono enormi e non facilmente superabili. Anche altri differenziali nei costi di produzione sono importanti, così come il valore problematico del dollaro. Il suo status di valuta di riserva mondiale consolida la logica economica delle importazioni rispetto alle esportazioni.

Ci sono altri problemi, tra cui uno più fondamentale: l'etica del lavoro americana. Si tratta di un problema culturale che emerge da decenni di soldi facili e dalla perdita di spirito imprenditoriale.

Una breve storia di ieri. Mi sono messo in coda al supermercato dietro una persona con un enorme cesto pieno di spesa, ma era sistemato in modo strano. Mentre la metteva sul nastro per la cassa, ha iniziato a usare i separatori, non in base al tipo di prodotto, ma in base a qualche altro criterio.

La osservavo attentamente mentre metteva i sacchetti di carta in ogni pila. Dopo che la prima tranche evasa, ha tirato fuori una carta e pagato. Poi ripeteva l'operazione. Infine ho capito: stava facendo la spesa per Instacart, non per una sola persona, ma per ben cinque famiglie.

Ho ripercorso in mente tutto il processo. Quando è entrata nel negozio, aveva una lista enorme e, passando per ogni corsia, tirava fuori la spesa per ogni cliente, separandola con cura e mantenendo questa separazione alla cassa, al pagamento, all'imbustamento e infine al trasporto.

La possibilità di errori in questo tipo di operazioni deve essere enorme. Un errore e il cliente si lamenterebbe sicuramente.

Ero un po' sbalordito dall'impresa ingegneristica che si stava svolgendo davanti ai miei occhi. Le ho chiesto come se la cavasse, ma al di là di una risposta laconica poco altro. Il suo inglese era stentato, quindi avevo difficoltà a comunicare. Ancora più importante, era troppo impegnata per chiacchierare con un tizio che se ne stava lì a chiedere informazioni.

Mentre ci pensavo, la guardavo lavorare con un certo stupore. Era meraviglioso. A giudicare dalle sue competenze linguistiche, è molto probabile che fosse un'immigrata recente, probabilmente senza un'istruzione “superiore”, ma con delle competenze pazzesche.

Com'è diventata così brava? La ripetizione e il miglioramento che ne consegue. È da lì che nasce l'abilità. Perché lo ripeteva così spesso? Perché doveva farlo per guadagnare. Il bisogno crea la disciplina e la disciplina alimenta l'abilità.

Un esempio veloce. Supponiamo che portiate a casa quattro sgabelli da bar girevoli dal negozio di bricolage, ma che debbano essere montati. Il primo è un disastro di viti e confusione, e potreste doverlo rifare una o anche due volte, destreggiandovi tra le istruzioni. È orribile. Il secondo è meglio. Quando arrivate al quarto, lo montate in una frazione del tempo impiegato per i precedenti.

Potreste pensare: “Wow, sono così bravo che potrei trasformarla in un'attività imprenditoriale”, ma è solo una delle competenze che ora possedete. La acquisite in un paio d'ore di lavoro intenso, ma ora ce l'avete. È così che concentrazione, disciplina, determinazione ed esperienza alimentano competenza e valore sul posto di lavoro.

Tim Cook di Apple ha chiarito che il vero motivo per cui gli iPhone e gli altri prodotti Apple vengono prodotti in Cina anziché negli Stati Uniti non è il salario. Sono l'abilità tecnica e la precisione. Questi prodotti richiedono estrema disciplina, conoscenza e profonda esperienza. Il numero di lavoratori in grado di farlo in Cina è elevato; negli Stati Uniti è esiguo.

Tim Cook explaining why Apple manufactures in China and not the United States.

Hint: Tariffs won’t fix this.

pic.twitter.com/iwMauU4szk

Penso a tutti i “colletti bianchi” che ho conosciuto e che impazzirebbero se gli venisse chiesto di fare qualcosa di anche lontanamente così complicato. Dimenticatevi di assemblare un iPhone. Non potrebbero certo fare la spesa per cinque famiglie contemporaneamente, imbustarla e consegnarla.

È un'abilità fuori dalla loro portata e si irriterebbero se qualcuno glielo chiedesse. Probabilmente si lamenterebbero con le risorse umane e preparerebbero una causa legale. Farebbero un pasticcio con il primo ordine, avrebbero a che fare con clienti furiosi e un capo troppo autoritario, e si rifugierebbero nel flacone di pillole o nella bibita al THC per far passare il dolore.

A questo punto della storia, non sono sicuro che la classe operaia negli Stati Uniti sia all'altezza di questo tipo di produttività. La realtà del periodo di lockdown è che la maggior parte delle persone si è goduta due anni di svaghi, fingendo di lavorare. Quel periodo ha anche distrutto la motivazione di molti, viziando un'intera generazione di lavoratori d'élite, inducendoli a credere che fare soldi sia facile e senza sforzo.

Per 25 anni di tassi d'interesse artificialmente bassi – in particolare dal 2008 – la FED ha coltivato la sensazione che l'intero sistema si basi su una sorta di illusione. Certo, alcune persone sono ricche e altre povere, ma la differenza non ha nulla a che fare con il lavoro che svolgono. È tutta una questione di nascita, classe sociale, credenziali e fortuna nell'attrazione demografica.

Questa è una percezione tragica, completamente incoerente con la tradizionale etica americana del duro lavoro e della mobilità di classe. Una caratteristica del programma di Trump è quella di recuperare e ricostruire quell'idea con un cambiamento nelle strutture economiche, tra cui deregolamentazione e tagli fiscali. I dazi ne fanno parte, spinti dal presupposto che gli americani abbiano il necessario per rifare le cose.

Il presupposto alla base di questa politica è che investitori, imprenditori e lavoratori americani si adegueranno e realizzeranno prodotti eccellenti, godendo al contempo della protezione che i dazi doganali offrono contro la concorrenza estera. Anche se ciò dovesse accadere – ed è un grande se – gli americani sono davvero pronti a farlo? L'esternalizzazione di così tanta produzione manifatturiera va avanti da quasi 50 anni.

Le azioni di quel lavoratore di Instacart, impegnata in un'incredibile dimostrazione di abilità manageriale, sottolineano questo punto. Per generazioni, ci è stato detto che intelligenza e competenza sono distribuite in modo sproporzionato tra i livelli più alti della struttura di classe degli Stati Uniti.

Personalmente, non ci credo. È più probabile il contrario: le persone che lottano per vivere, facendo due o tre lavori per pagare le bollette, hanno più competenze della maggior parte delle persone nel terzo superiore della distribuzione del reddito che non hanno mai dovuto preoccuparsi di pagare le bollette.

Parlate oggi con qualsiasi persona seria in qualsiasi azienda di medie dimensioni e vi racconterà delle sue difficoltà. Le normative e le tasse sono esasperanti, ma sono i problemi di lavoro quotidiani a ostacolare davvero le loro attività e il loro progresso. È estremamente difficile trovare lavoratori che facciano ciò che devono fare con puntualità, attenzione ai dettagli e senza un costante supporto e complimenti.

Questo declino dell'etica lavorativa americana è in parte dovuto alle istituzioni scolastiche, ma anche al fatto che la maggior parte dei giovani che rientrano nella metà più alta della classe di reddito non ha mai lavorato un giorno in vita sua prima di aver conseguito un titolo di studio.

Non hanno la minima idea di cosa significhi accettare un lavoro duro e perseverare fino alla fine. Provano risentimento per le strutture autoritarie sul posto di lavoro e cercano di manipolare il sistema proprio come hanno manipolato la scuola per oltre 16 anni.

Una cosa è sviluppare competenze per sopravvivere in classe, un'altra è avere competenze per un nuovo mondo manifatturiero. I corsi di officina al liceo sono quasi del tutto scomparsi (solo il 6% degli studenti li frequenta, contro il 20% degli anni '80) e due terzi degli adolescenti rinunciano a un lavoro retribuito, semplicemente perché non è necessario. Sono passate generazioni da quando la maggior parte delle persone non sapeva nulla della vita in fattoria, per non parlare di quella in fabbrica.

Trump sta cercando di risolvere un problema vecchio di mezzo secolo in quattro anni. È una sfida seria e non posso dire di essere ottimista. Detto questo, ora ci sono reali opportunità per persone come il lavoratore che ho menzionato prima, persone che lavorano sodo, lavorano bene, perseverano nel loro compito e sono grate per le opportunità che hanno. Purtroppo queste caratteristiche sfuggono in gran parte ai laureati delle istituzioni scolastiche più prestigiose del nostro Paese.

[*] traduzione di Francesco Simoncelli: https://www.francescosimoncelli.com/

Supporta Francesco Simoncelli's Freedonia lasciando una “mancia” in satoshi di bitcoin scannerizzando il QR seguente.

A new type of superstition has got hold of peoples minds, the worship of the state. People demand the exercise of the methods of coercion and compulsion, of violence and threat. Woe to anybody who does not bend his knee to the fashionable idols! — Ludwig von Mises, Omnipotent Government, p. 11

Not every apparatus of compulsion and coercion is called a state. Only one which is powerful enough to maintain its existence, for some time at least, by its own force is commonly called a state. A gang of robbers, which because of the comparative weakness of its forces has no prospect of successfully resisting for any length of time the forces of another organization, is not entitled to be called a state. The state will either smash or tolerate a gang. In the first case the gang is not a state because its independence lasts for a short time only; in the second case it is not a state because it does not stand on its own might. — Ludwig von Mises, Omnipotent Government, p. 46

The worship of the state is the worship of force. There is no more dangerous menace to civilization than a government of incompetent, corrupt, or vile men. The worst evils which mankind ever had to endure were inflicted by bad governments. — Ludwig von Mises, Omnipotent Government, p. 47

The state is a human institution, not a superhuman being. He who says state means coercion and compulsion. He who says: There should be a law concerning this matter, means: The armed men of the government should force people to do what they do not want to do, or not to do what they like. He who says: This law should be better enforced, means: the police should force people to obey this law. He who says: The state is God, deifies arms and prisons. — Ludwig von Mises, Omnipotent Government, p. 47

He who proclaims the godliness of the State and the infallibility of its priests, the bureaucrats, is considered as an impartial student of the social sciences. — Ludwig von Mises, Planned Chaos, p. 16

Statolatry has become the principal form of worship in contemporary America. People erroneously talk about “separation of Church and State” when “the State” has replaced “the Church” as the idolatrous venue for worship. As the Church had its calendar of Holy Days of Obligation and sacraments, so too the State has its own sacred holidays, icons, protocols and rituals.

Take a look at America’s most venerated monuments in the Nation’s Capital erected to this statolatry. You have a massive statue of the martyred Abraham Lincoln sitting in a temple of Zeus upon a throne replete with fasces (the symbols of imperium);

the Jefferson Memorial consciously built as a modern Pantheon by the same eminent architect commissioned to design this other temple of worship in Washington, DC; or most telling, the apotheosis of George Washington in the dome of the rotunda of the US Capitol building, ascending into Heaven.

Each day in rote, millions of captive children in government schools recite the Pledge of Allegiance, their solemn oath to this sacred creed, without giving it cursory reflection or thought.

Thus is born a new generation of blind worshipers at the Golden Calf of Statism.

The post American Statolatry appeared first on LewRockwell.

Given Marco Rubio’s long history of subservience to the State of Israel — which has earned him a mountain of campaign cash from the country’s US-based collaborators — many Americans were understandably wary that his ascension from senator to secretary of State portended disturbing moves to advance Israel’s interests. However, few foresaw Rubio orchestrating the abduction, imprisonment and deportation of foreign students for using their universal human right of free speech to criticize the Israeli government and advocate for Palestinians.

With President Trump’s blessing, Rubio has targeted many foreign students in this fashion — students who’ve been charged with no crimes. However, no case better illustrates the campaign’s casual cruelty than that of 30-year-old Tufts University PhD candidate Rumeysa Ozturk. Ozturk, who’s been studying child development, was arrested in March and whisked away to a far-off prison merely because — an entire year earlier — she co-authored a Tufts Daily op-ed urging the university to formally characterize Israel’s conduct in Gaza as genocide, and to sell the school’s Israel-associated investments.

Rubio would like you to assume her essay must have been an unhinged, antisemitic, violence-inciting screed. To the contrary, harkening back to Tufts’ 1989 decision to divest from apartheid South Africa, its tone is decidedly calm and measured. Read this excerpt of the essay’s most pointed language about Israel and judge for yourself:

These [student senate] resolutions were the product of meaningful debate…and represent a sincere effort to hold Israel accountable for clear violations of international law. Credible accusations against Israel include accounts of deliberate starvation and indiscriminate slaughter of Palestinian civilians and plausible genocide.

…the student body is calling for … the University to end its complicity with Israel insofar as it is oppressing the Palestinian people and denying their right to self-determination — a right that is guaranteed by international law. These strong lobbying tools are all the more urgent now given the order by the International Court of Justice confirming that the Palestinian people of Gaza’s rights under the Genocide Convention are under a “plausible” risk of being breached.

Ozturk’s persecution represents a major escalation of an aggravating dynamic in which people in the United States are vilified as dangerous, volatile antisemites for saying things about Israel that are frequently said by respected people and institutions in Israel. For example, in an op-ed of his own, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert this week wrote, “What we are doing in Gaza now is a war of devastation: indiscriminate, limitless, cruel and criminal killing of civilians … Yes, Israel is committing war crimes.”

In March of this year, the State Department revoked Ozturk’s student visa without notifying her — she had no idea that her presence in the country was now illegal. Four days later, in an incident captured on video, she was grabbed off a Somerville, Massachusetts street by masked, plain-clothed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, taken to New Hampshire and then Vermont, before being shackled in chains and airlifted 1,400 miles to a federal detention center in Louisiana.

For the next month and a half, she was stuffed with 23 others in a cell meant for 14. Ozturk says constant exposure to dust and inadequate ventilation sparked more than a dozen asthma attacks — after having previously had only about 13 in her entire life. Sleep was hard to come by, as motion-detecting fluorescent lights repeatedly triggered throughout the night.

Trying to justify the unjustifiable, the Trump administration has gone to slanderous extremes to vilify Ozturk. In a since-deleted social media post following her arrest, Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said “DHS + ICE investigations found Ozturk engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans.” (As an aside, note that, while some 43 Americans — including dual nationals — died in the Oct 7 attacks, there’s no history of Hamas ever setting out to target Americans.)

When protests of Israel’s tactics in Gaza erupted in 2022, Israel supporters across government, major media and social media branded all pro-Palestine protesters as Hamas supporters and antisemites. With the ascendency of the second Trump administration, that tactic has evolved from a malicious PR smear to a government-weaponized allegation that’s putting nonviolent foreign students in prisons and derailing their lives — all in service to a foreign country.

In a partial reversal of her appalling treatment, Ozturk was released from confinement on May 9 on the orders of a federal judge, who also denied the government’s wish to make her wear an ankle monitor. However, her troubles are far from over: In addition to the enduring harm of a six-week interruption of her academic pursuits, she is still targeted for deportation.

When DHS initially leveled the “activities in support of Hamas” accusation against Ozturk, many people assumed the government must have something on her other than an essay in a student newspaper. However, as the weeks ground on, the government never pointed to anything else, something US District Judge William Sessions noted when he ordered her to be released from her cage in Louisiana :

“I suggested to the government that they produce any additional information which would suggest that she posed a substantial risk. And that was three weeks ago, and there has been no evidence introduced by the government other than the op-ed. That literally is the case. There is no evidence here...The court finds that Ms. Öztürk has raised a substantial claim of a constitutional violation.”

Judge Sessions called Ozturk’s seizure “a traumatic incident” and said “her continued detention potentially chills the speech of the millions and millions of individuals in this country who are not citizens.” That is most certainly the Trump administration’s goal.

Read the Whole Article

The post Putting Israel First, Rubio Victimizes Harmless Student Over Op-Ed appeared first on LewRockwell.

When I saw the white smoke rising and heard the joyful cry of Habemus Papam! echoing from St. Peter’s Basilica, my heart swelled with gratitude and hope. The announcement that Cardinal Robert Prevost had been elected as Pope Leo XIV filled many of us with renewed optimism—especially American Catholics. As the first American to ascend the Chair of St. Peter, his election marks not only a historic milestone but also a providential moment, one filled with potential for moral clarity amid great ideological challenges.

One of the first encouraging signs was his choice of a papal name: Leo XIV. This is no arbitrary selection. As the Vatican press office reported, the name honors Pope Leo XIII, whose 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the social crises brought about by the Industrial Revolution. In that landmark document, Leo XIII championed the dignity of workers, the right to private property, and the need for safe and humane working conditions. He also warned against both the excesses of unbridled capitalism and the false promises of socialism.

This teaching has enduring relevance. Just 15 years after Rerum Novarum, American author Upton Sinclair published The Jungle, exposing the dehumanizing conditions of Chicago’s meatpacking industry. While both works decry the degradation of human dignity in the face of unchecked industrial power, their solutions are very different—Sinclair advocated socialism, whereas Rerum Novarum rejected socialism and offered an alternative rooted in truth, natural law, and the common good.

Today, we find ourselves on the cusp of another seismic transformation—one not of steam and steel but of data and algorithms. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) promises sweeping changes to labor, economics, and even human identity. In his inaugural address to the College of Cardinals on May 10, 2025, Pope Leo XIV addressed this directly, warning that AI poses new challenges for human dignity, justice, and labor. His remarks signal that under the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV, the Church is prepared to stand in the breech and offer much-needed moral clarity in a brave new world driven by AI.

Pope Leo XIV’s address is timely and providential. Just months earlier, on January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump stood at his second inauguration flanked by some of Silicon Valley’s most powerful figures: Tim Cook, Sergey Brin, Sam Altman, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Sundar Pichai. These titans of tech command immense influence, and their companies often promote ideologies at odds with Catholic social teaching and traditional values—especially around issues of life, family, and religious liberty. Remember that during the Covid pandemic, many of these platforms engaged in censorship, suppressed dissenting voices, and enforced policies that infringed upon religious and medical freedoms.

If the future of AI is left solely in the hands of such elites—without the grounding wisdom of faith, reason, and Church teaching—we risk repeating the mistakes of the Industrial Revolution on a scale yet unseen. AI, without moral guardrails, could deepen economic disparities, erode human relationships, and degrade work into mere utility.

Yet, there is cause for hope. The convergence of Pope Leo XIV’s moral leadership and the renewed influence of faithful Catholics in American public life, especially following the election of President Trump and Catholic Vice President J.D. Vance, offers a providential opportunity. With leaders like Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other conservative Catholics in key policy roles in the Trump administration, we are positioned to shape AI development in a manner that aligns with the Church’s vision for the human person and the common good.

But to do so, policymakers must draw from both the rich deposit of Catholic social teaching and other compatible voices that affirm human dignity over mere economic output. One such voice is E.F. Schumacher, whose landmark work Small Is Beautiful critiques economic models that favor scale over humanity. Schumacher argues that true progress lies not in industrial might but in promoting human-centered values which advance the common good. His call for a human-scale economy rooted in family and faith is more urgent than ever as AI threatens to displace millions of workers and centralize power in the hands of the elites.

Similarly, former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum’s Blue Collar Conservatives speaks to the economic dislocation felt by working families—many of whom form the backbone of our parishes and communities. Santorum’s critique of elite-driven policy resonates in the heartland, where the effects of globalization and automation are felt most acutely. He reminds us that any true conservatism must protect the worker, the family, and the community. As AI reshapes labor markets, Santorum’s insights offer a practical roadmap for ensuring that technological progress does not come at the cost of human dignity and the common good.

In light of these converging themes—Catholic social teaching, populist economics, and moral clarity—we must ask: What kind of future do we want AI to create? Will it serve the human person, or will it reduce us to mere tools to be used by a utilitarian, profit-driven economy?

President Trump has rightly emphasized the need for America to “win” the AI race. But winning must not be defined solely by economic or military advantage. We must measure success by whether AI strengthens human dignity, protects the vulnerable, and promotes the common good. This will require regulatory frameworks that are deeply informed by Catholic principles—especially subsidiarity and solidarity, along with traditional values like faith, family, and freedom.

Read the Whole Article

The post America at a Crossroads: Balancing Faith, Reason, and Artificial Intelligence appeared first on LewRockwell.

From the Tom Woods Letter:

Senator Lindsey Graham has been the target of criticism on the former Twitter for his recent trip to Ukraine.

The gist of it is that Graham seems to find more time for other countries than he does for his own people.

One user wrote:

Dear @LindseyGrahamSC,

Can you to explain why you still have NEVER visited western North Carolina since Hurricane Helene devastated our area…when you LIVE LESS THAN 1.5 hours from the worst disaster since Katrina…yet have found time to fly to Ukraine 9 times??!!

You do not need me to tell you, dear reader, that this is an entirely reasonable question.

There will always be tragedy and sorrow somewhere on earth. Your responsibility is still with those in your immediate circle of care: your family, your friends, your neighbors, and so on from there.

You may care for the indigent in Albania if you wish, but only after you have seen after those under your charge. This is the consensus not simply of Christian social thought, but is also the clear dictate of common sense.

In 2008, during the week that the execrable John McCain was to be officially nominated for president at that year’s Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, Ron Paul held his Rally for the Republic at the Target Center in Minneapolis, the other of the Twin Cities. Speaking to those many thousands of people was one of the great moments of my life.

In preparation for that event Dr. Paul called and said: I want a good antiwar speaker. Do you have any suggestions?

I replied: Bill Kauffman, without a doubt.

Bill, one of the few writers whose prose I genuinely envy, wound up giving the best speech of the day.

I thought of it today as I contemplated Senator Graham’s priorities.

Bill went for the jugular in his attack on the military-industrial complex and the fake conservatives who betray every one of their stated principles — fiscal conservatism, small government, family values — in order to support it.

“The only foreign policy compatible with healthy family life,” said Bill, “is one of peace and nonintervention.”

Bill then spoke words that resonate with all normal people everywhere, describing his “love for my own place, the little postage stamp of ground on which I and my neighbors and family live, a piece of the world which means nothing to the empire, but means everything to me.”

“You can’t have a healthy home and a worldwide empire,” continued Bill. “They can’t coexist. You can’t care about Baghdad and your own backyard.

“McCain chooses Baghdad. We take our stand in our backyards, on our front porches, in neighborhood diners and sandlot baseball diamonds, and country churches, and rock and roll clubs, and volunteer fire departments, and all those preciously little voluntary institutions that are the lifeblood of this beautiful country….

“John Edwards liked to talk about the two Americas. Well, there are two Americas: the televised America, known and hated by the world, and the rest of us. Their America has shock and awe, but it has no heart, no soul, no connection to the thousand and one little Americas that produced Mother Jones and Laura Ingalls Wilder, Dizzy Dean and Booker T. Washington.

“I am of this other America. This unseen America. It is a smaller, homelier, peaceful country. And this alternative America is reasserting itself.”

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This was the mood in informed Moscow – only a few hours before the renewed Istanbul kabuki on Russia-Ukraine “negotiations”. Three key points.

1. The attack on Russian strategic bombers – part of the nuclear triad – was a US-UK joint operation. Especially MI6. The overall tech investment and strategy was provided by this intel combo.
2. It’s patently unclear whether Trump is really in charge – or not. This was confirmed to me at night by a top intel source; he added that the Kremlin and the security services were actively investigating all possibilities, especially who issued the final green light.
3. Near universal popular consensus: Release the Oreshniks. Plus waves of ballistic missiles.

Predictably, the Instabul kabuki came and went like a tawdry spectacle, complete with the Ukrainian delegation in military fatigues and Defense Minister Umarov incapable of speaking even mediocre English at a messy press conference after the brief 1h15 meeting. The Turkish Foreign Ministry epically described the kabuki as concluding “not negatively”.

Nothing strategic or politically substantial was discussed: only prisoner exchanges. The mood in Moscow, additionally, was that top Russian negotiator Medinsky should have presented an ultimatum, not a memorandum. It was, predictably, interpreted as an ultimatum by the Beggar of Banderastan; but what Medinsky actually handed out to the Ukrainians was a de facto road map memorandum, in 3 sections, with 2 options for the conditions for a ceasefire, and 31 points, a great deal of them expressed in detail by Moscow for months.

Examples: first option for a ceasefire should be a complete UAF withdrawal from DPR, LPR, Kherson and Zaporizhia, within 30 days; international recognition of Crimea, Donbass and Novorossiya as part of Russia; Ukraine neutrality; Ukraine holding elections and then signing a peace treaty – approved by a legally binding UN Security Council resolution (italics mine); and a ban on the receipt and deployment of nuclear weapons.

None of that, of course, will ever be accepted by the terror-infused set up in Kiev, the neo-nazi outfits that control it, and assorted, fragmented collective West warmongering backers. So the SMO will go on. Possibly all the way to 2026. Along with extra versions of the Istanbul kabuki: the next one should be held by late June.

The current kabuki, incidentally, composes the Last Chance Saloon for Kiev to retain some measure of – fractious – “sovereignty”. As Foreign Minister Lavrov has been reiterating, everything will be really decided in the battlefield.

How to destroy the New START Treaty

Now to the attack on a branch of Russia’s strategic triad – which mired Western propaganda media in layers and layers of stratospheric hysteria.

The point has been made over and over again on why Russia left its strategic bombers unprotected in the tarmac. Because that’s a New START Treaty requirement – signed in 2010 and extended until February next year (when it may go six feet under, considering what just happened).

The New START Treaty stipulates that strategic bombers should be visible to “national technical means (NTM) of verification, such as satellite imagery, to allow monitoring by the other party.” So their status – nuclear-armed or converted to conventional use – should be always verifiable. No chance of a “surprise” first strike.

This operation single-handedly blew up what was, up to now, a decent Cold War relic preventing the start of WWIII via a simple mechanism. The recklesness involved is off the charts. So there’s no surprise that the highest echelons of power in Russia – from the Kremlin to the security apparatus – are feverishly working to ascertain whether Trump was in the loop or not. And if he was not, who gave the final green light?

No wonder the highest echelon, so far, is mum.

A security source told me that it was US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that called Lavrov – and not the other way around, to offer condolences for the bridge-on-train terror attack in Bryansk. No word whatsoever about the strategic bombers. In parallel, the former platoon commander in Iraq then Fox News talking head turned head of the Pentagon followed the drone attacks on the Russian bases in real-time.

On the efficacy of such attacks – beyond the gleefully spun to death fog of war. Several conflicting estimates point to possibly three Tu-95MS strategic bombers – known as “The Bears” – hit at the Belaya base in Irkutsk, plus one of them partially damaged, and three other T-22M3s hit, with two of them irreparably. Of the three Tu-95MS, fires seem to have been localized, so they may be repaired.

At the Olenya base in Murmansk, other four Tu-95MS may have been hit, plus one An-12.

As it stands, Russia had 58 Tu-95MS up to this weekend. Even if five of them have been lost for good, that’s less than 10% of their fleet. And that does not count 19 Tu-160 and 55 Tu-22M3M. Of the five bases that were supposed to be attacked, success happened in only two.

These losses, as painful as they may be, simply will not affect further strikes by Russian aero-spatial forces.

Example: the standard weapon carried by a T-95MSM is the X-101 cruise missile. A maximum of 8 for each mission. In recent strikes, not more than 40 missiles have been launched simultaneously. That implies only 6 Tu-95s in action. So Russia in fact only needs 6 Tu-95MSM ready to fly to conduct strikes as intense as in the previous days and weeks. Tu-160s, moreover, are not even being used for the latest strikes.

Evaluating Maximum Strategy

At the time of writing, Russia’s inevitably devastating response has still not been green-lighted. This is as serious as it gets. Even if it’s true that POTUS was not informed – and that’s what the Kremlin and the security services want to be absolutely sure of before unleashing Hell from Above on Kiev – still the contours will be clear of a NATO op – US/UK – directly conducted by the CIA/MI6 intel combo, with Trump being offered plausible deniability and Ukraine breaking the START protocol big time.

Were Trump to have authorized these strikes, this would constitute no less than a declaration of war by the United States on Russia. So the most probable scenario remains Trump blindsided by the neo-cons embedded in privileged silos scattered across the Beltway.

As much as the attack on the Voronezh-M early warning radar system last May, an attack on Russia’s strategic bombers fits the scenario of increasingly prodding the Russian system to enable disabling it ahead of a nuclear first strike. Aspiring Dr. Strangeloves do entertain this scenario in their wildest dreams for decades.

As sources carefully confirmed, the prevailing interpretation among the high echelons of power in Russia is that of a P.R. operation forcing a harsh – possibly nuclear – Russian response, coupled with Moscow’s withdrawal from the Istanbul kabuki.

So far, the Russian reaction is quite methodical: total silence, a wide-ranging investigation, plus going through the motions in Istanbul.

Yet there’s no question the – inevitable – response will require Maximum Strategy. If the response is in tune with Russia’s own updated nuclear doctrine, Moscow risks losing the Global South’s nearly unanimous support.

If the response is lukewarm, domestic blowback will be massive. There’s a near universal consensus on “Release the Oreshniks”. Russian public opinion is becoming seriously fed up with being the target of serial terror attacks. The hour of fateful decision is getting late.

Which bring us to the ultimate dilemma. Russian power is mulling how to defeat the collective warmongering West without launching WWIII. Inspired by China, a solution may be found via an alliance of remixed Sun Tzu coupled with Lao Tzu. There’s got to be a way – or layered ways – to destroy a strategy-deprived nihilistic enemy’s ability and will to wage endless war.

The views of individual contributors do not necessarily represent those of the Strategic Culture Foundation.

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