Politics Archives - Attention to the Unseen

The president who sued himself

From elsewhere — Thu, 21 May 2026 00:45:15 +0000

Anna Bower and Eric Columbus write: Donald J. Trump is famously the most litigious of all American presidents. From his years as a New York real estate mogul through both terms in the White House, he has used litigation not merely as a legal tool, but as a political weapon. In 2023, a federal judge fined him and his attorney, Alina Habba, nearly $1 million, for filing a “completely frivolous” lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and 30 other defendants. The judge described...

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Memphis on the frontline in the GOP assault on voting rights

From elsewhere — Thu, 21 May 2026 00:45:00 +0000

States across the South are being accused of a major assault on Black voting rights, as their Republican leaders race to redraw political maps ahead of the midterm elections. It’s the first time in decades they’ve been able to erase Black majority districts after a Supreme Court ruling last month ripped up the historic Voting Rights Act. And the orders to redistrict have come from President Trump himself. He was celebrating today after some success in the primaries for...

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State and local election officials are preparing for ICE to show up at the polls

From elsewhere — Thu, 21 May 2026 00:44:47 +0000

Wired reports: Last week, as President Donald Trump prepared to leave the White House on his way to China for a state visit, he was asked if he would be willing to deploy troops from the National Guard or agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to polling locations during November’s midterms. “I would do anything necessary to make sure we have honest elections,” Trump responded. Trump’s comments are the latest in a litany of confusing and sometimes contradictory statements...

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Iran consolidates control of Hormuz with island checkpoints, diplomatic deals – and sometimes ‘fees’

From elsewhere — Thu, 21 May 2026 00:44:26 +0000

Reuters reports: The tanker crew gathered their courage and carefully navigated along a route designated by Iran, hugging the coastline and maneuvering their hulking vessel between island checkpoints through the Strait of Hormuz. The 330-metre-long Agios Fanourios I, laden with Iraqi crude oil and bound for Vietnam, had been bottled up off the coast of Dubai since late April. But on May 10 it set off for the strait after a direct deal with Iran overseen by Iraq’s prime minister....

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Israeli security minister Ben-Gvir stirs diplomatic outrage with flotilla activist abuse video

From elsewhere — Thu, 21 May 2026 00:44:09 +0000

The Guardian reports: Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has sparked a diplomatic crisis by publishing footage of Israeli security forces abusing international activists who were detained as they tried to sail to Gaza with aid. Three activists were taken to hospital as result of Israeli violence, lawyers representing the group said. They were subsequently discharged. Dozens of others have suspected broken ribs, resulting in breathing problems. “The team reports systemic violations of due process, and widespread physical and...

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A ferocious backlash against AI — especially among young people — is everywhere

From elsewhere — Thu, 21 May 2026 00:43:53 +0000

Michelle Goldberg writes: When Eric Schmidt, the former chief executive of Google, started talking about artificial intelligence during a commencement speech at the University of Arizona on Friday, the graduates erupted in boos. “A.I. is going to touch everything,” said Schmidt, as his stadium-sized audience roared its disapproval. “Whatever path you choose, A.I. will become part of how work is done.” Maybe he meant this as a promise of opportunity, but the students seemed to hear it as a threat...

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Trump’s deportations are costing Americans jobs

From elsewhere — Wed, 20 May 2026 00:04:24 +0000

The New York Times reports: The Trump administration has long claimed that mass deportations would deliver more jobs and higher wages to American-born workers. But a new study casts doubt on that assertion, undermining a central tenet of the president’s immigration policy. Recent surges in deportations have led to job losses for both immigrant and American-born workers, while wages have stayed flat, according to the study, published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, a nonpartisan research organization. Construction, which...

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U.S.-Iran war highlights the underappreciated national security benefits of China’s electrostate strategy

From elsewhere — Wed, 20 May 2026 00:04:07 +0000

Alison Gocke and Ashley Deeks write: News headlines regularly announce that China has made a wise choice in pursuing clean energy technologies and weaning itself off oil and gas—a trend that has only accelerated with the U.S.-Iran war. These headlines, which emphasize China’s limited exposure to the greatly diminished supply of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, are true. But the news analysis has missed two key aspects of China’s “electrostate” victory over the “petrostate” status that the United States...

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Russia’s war is going badly — on the ground and in the air

From elsewhere — Wed, 20 May 2026 00:03:49 +0000

The Wall Street Journal reports: Ukraine’s military has wrestled Russia’s much-larger army almost to a halt in recent months, having gained a tactical and technological edge. This summer will test whether it can turn that slender advantage into a strategic turning point. Fast-improving Ukrainian drone capabilities are hurting the invaders’ logistics behind the battlefield, and pounding oil infrastructure and military targets deeper inside Russia. “We are not only holding the line, but we are also increasing pressure,” Ukrainian Defense Minister...

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State and administrative law — backstops to federal corruption

From elsewhere — Wed, 20 May 2026 00:03:24 +0000

Reed Shaw and Winston Berkman-Breen write: The press, elected officials, and advocacy groups have sounded the alarm about what they describe as rampant corruption in the Trump administration: pardons issued following political contributions or a business deal that benefited the president and his family personally; mergers approved following multimillion dollar payoffs and backroom deals; access provided to government data that could benefit corporate interests aligned with the president; and some secret donations for the president’s gilded ballroom, in return for as-yet-undisclosed benefits. The New Yorker has tabulated “some three and a half billion dollars in Presidential profits” for Trump and his...

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