It Is Time to Ban the Sale of Precise Geolocation The latest edition of the Seriously Risky Business cybersecurity newsletter, now on Lawfare.

Here's an actually solvable, yet important, problem. There's no reason to sell precise geolocation data to consumers. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/it-i...

Opinion | Orban’s defeat shows the Achilles’ heel of populist power Formerly ascendant European right-wing parties are in retreat, a possible omen for Trump’s MAGA movement.

Patrimonialists and authoritarian populists are always corrupt and incompetent...and that's how you defeat them, as Hungary demonstrates again. Orban’s defeat shows the Achilles’ heel of populist power

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Chris Davis (@revchrisdavis) Last night President Trump posted an AI-generated image portraying himself as Jesus Christ. This has sparked outrage from many, and rightfully so. This is on par with King Nebuchadnezzar asking, “Is n...

substack.com/@revchrisdav...

Remember the song-and-dance we got about Vietnam? The White House tallied ordnance dropped and targets hit, as if that was the same as winning. Well...here we go again. maxboot.substack.com/p/what-did-o...

The Prosecution of Smartmatic A rare corporate FCPA indictment tests whether courts will more closely interrogate prosecutorial motive.

Though I know we're all out of bandwidth, this is important: Trump's DOJ is vindictively prosecuting Smartmatic as part of its election denial campaign. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-...

Why affordability will be a key issue in the 2026 midterm elections | Brookings Rising costs across major household expenses are making affordability a central issue in the 2026 midterm elections.

www.brookings.edu/articles/why...

Why Ukraine is even more impressive in person Impressions from a week spent in Kyiv and Kharkiv

On the ground in Kiev and Kharkiv with Max Boot. He finds remarkable resolve and resilience.
maxboot.substack.com/p/why-ukrain...

The Situation: The Enduring Truths of the Mueller Report There are four of them.

The four enduring truths of the Mueller report. They shatter the claim that Russia's involvement in the 2016 election--and Trump's involvement with Russia--are a "hoax." www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-...

Amid a blizzard of commentary on the war and the situation in Iran, Vali Nasr shares real expertise with Paul Starobin. newbooksnetwork.com/understandin...

Russia Resurrected and Exported a Fascist Ideology to the West That the Trump administration is targeting ‘enemies within’ instead of Putin shows how much America has already succumbed to it

Brilliant tour d'horizon of the global twin threats of Putinism and populism from Tom G. Palmer. open.substack.com/pub/theunpop...

“Information Looking for People” A review of Emily Baker-White, “Every Screen on the Planet: The War Over TikTok” (Norton, 2025).

In case you're still using TikTok, here's a reminder that it's a dishonest company with even more dishonest backers. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/info...

What Do Liberalism and Religion Owe Each Other? When religion becomes an identity it can't play the vital role of cultivating the virtue and morality necessary for a self-governing people

One of the frustrations of being an editor/organizer is that I don't get to do my own thinking and work. One of the joys is that I get to platform absolutely first rate conversations by brilliant minds such as this one at LibCon2025. Moderator @jonrauch.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/theunpop...

Explains a lot! Thank you, Sarah.

"Which is why when these text messages come out, and you see people answering with, 'Oh, just put them in the gas chamber.' [For] all these staffers on the Republican side, that vice signaling has become a cultural touchstone of who people are on the right now."

"That vice signaling is both antidote to virtue signaling, which they see as a hallmark of the left, but it's also like a code that they talk to each other in...

“Something that is happening culturally on the right is what I would categorize as 'vice signalling.' This starts out as ironic detachment and then grows. There's this line, 'We all wear masks and in time our faces grow to fit them.'...

Sam Harris | #458 - The Bulwark Against MAGA Sam Harris speaks with Sarah Longwell and Tim Miller about Trump and the future of American politics.

Important new concept from @sarahlongwell25.bsky.social: "vice signaling." From her 2/11/2016 interview with Sam Harris... www.samharris.org/podcasts/mak...

Detailed analysis by Rob Shapiro finds MAGA is the same type of authoritarian, violence-prone mass movement that brought dictators to power in other countries. www.sonecon.com/hannah-arend...

Moore to the Point 2-11-2026 v.2 - Christianity Today Moore to the Point 2-11-2026 v.2 newsletter. Get the most recent headlines and stories from Christianity Today delivered to your inbox daily.

Whatever else you do today, do not miss this column by Russell Moore about the real meaning of the Epstein debacle. www.christianitytoday.com/newsletter/a...

Sam Harris | #456 - American Fascism Sam Harris speaks with Jonathan Rauch about the emergence of fascism in American politics.

Sam Harris and I dissect the Trump phenomenon and sadly conclude...yes, it's fascism. www.samharris.org/podcasts/mak...

The Myth of the Police State — The Dial No one, not even the supposed beneficiaries, is protected.

Want to know why Trump is granting asylum to supposedly persecuted white South Africans? Read this insightful essay by Eve Fairbanks about the false (and racist) claim that whites were better off under apartheid. www.thedial.world/articles/new...

This is, quite frankly, complete bullshit. I’ve received more criticism, harassment, and — at one point — calls for my death in the past six months of criticizing this administration than I did in an entire FBI career of investigations, operations, and arrests. And I never wore a goddamn mask.

OMB Confirms Congressional Punt on PAYGO | Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget This week the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

How about those fiscally conservative Republicans? "OMB estimates that the lawmakers in 2025 added $2.6 trillion to the deficit through 2030 and $4.4 trillion through 2035."
www.crfb.org/press-releas...

"Recent events have brought Trump’s governing style into sharper focus," Jonathan Rauch argues. "'Fascist' best describes it, and reluctance to use the term has now become perverse." theatln.tc/wVq7MFaa

Europe needs a Project 2026 English original of article published this morning in Italian by La Stampa

Wake up, Europe! open.substack.com/pub/billemmo...

Steve Chapman: The lawless president launches a lawless war What sets Donald Trump’s second presidency apart is his refusal to let any laws, domestic or international, stand in his way.

www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/07/c...

Trump’s Betrayal of Venezuela’s Democracy Movement Is Hard to Overstate If he continues to snub María Corina Machado, the heroine of the opposition, America will bear responsiblity for the country’s next tragic chapter

Must-read from Larry Diamond: "We are left with the worst of all possible worlds. Maduro is gone but his predatory dictatorship lives on. There is no sign of a plan to induce this awful regime to negotiate a transfer of power to the democratic coalition." www.theunpopulist.net/p/trumps-bet...

Why what's been achieved in Gaza is a ceasefire, not a peace deal. There is only one genocidal party to the conflict, and it's Hamas. www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/202...

Trump Is Going For Regime Change in Venezuela Sadly, it's unlikely to end well.

Frank Fukuyama's incisive analysis of Venezuela. Explains why legality is a side issue (and a dead end for Dems) open.substack.com/pub/persuasi...

“Life During a Constitutional Crisis” - Professor Bernard Harcourt YouTube video by University of Miami School of Law

Here's a brilliant and also moving analysis of the U.S. shift toward authoritarianism...and the importance of individual acts of resistance. www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FeO...