Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Alexander Langlois

“Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, which in recent weeks spread to direct military exchanges with Iran, Biden administration officials remain convinced they can achieve a broader Middle East peace through an Israel-Saudi Arabia normalization deal which would entail a U.S. security guarantee for Saudi Arabia. Indeed, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during his recent trip to Saudi Arabia, said that a U.S.-Saudi security pact is nearing completion. However, Washington should reject this lopsided strategy as it works against U.S. interests and is not practical.” (05/01/24)

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/israel-saudi-arabia/

Source: The Atlantic
by Russell Berman

“A Republican does not become speaker of the House for the job security. Each of the past four GOP speakers — John Boehner, Paul Ryan, Kevin McCarthy, and Mike Johnson — faced the ever-present threat of defenestration at the hands of conservative hard-liners. The axe fell on McCarthy in October, and it has hovered above his successor, Johnson, from the moment he was sworn in. That is, until yesterday. In an unusual statement, the leaders of the Democratic opposition emerged from a party meeting to declare that they would rescue Johnson if the speaker’s main Republican enemy at the moment, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, forced a vote to oust him.” (05/01/24)

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/05/mike-johnson-democrats-marjorie-taylor-greene/678248/

Source: The Pamphleteer
by David Hunt

“A few weeks ago, the mayor’s office announced that the protracted, often contentious discussion over LPRs would continue: three more community conversations about the technology would take place before Metro began final negotiations with data vendors. The meetings, which took place last week, were sparsely attended. … Though the pilot program was successful — MNPD attributed the arrests of 112 criminals over the course of seven months to the LPRs — concerns about potential privacy violations remained. Over the years, immigration advocates, libertarians, and those worried about the technology’s impact on minority communities coalesced on one side, arguing against the growing surveillance state and its potential to be abused by agencies such as ICE.” (05/01/24)

https://pamphleteer.co/newsletter/reading-the-license-plates/

Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison

“The Guardian reports that the Saudis are looking to make a separate deal with the U.S. in which Washington gives them everything they want in exchange for nothing: ‘All three parts of the draft deal involve the US giving vital strategic assistance to Saudi security. In place of progress towards Israeli-Palestinian peace, the Saudi monarchy is presenting a purely bilateral deal as a US win in its efforts to contain Iranian expansionism and in Washington’s ‘great-power competition,’ particularly with China.’ This ‘less for less’ agreement is no better for the U.S. than one that also involves Israel.” (05/01/24)

https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/just-say-no-to-the-saudis-plan-b

Source: Common Dreams
by Edward Ahmed Mitchell & Shafiquil Mushna

“Do you remember President Biden’s swift and strong response when pro-Israel extremists reportedly blasted the chemical weapon ‘skunk spray’ on students peacefully protesting at Columbia University earlier this year? Do you remember how the White House condemned the attack, demanded accountability, and called on the school to protect students from such hate? No? You don’t remember? Of course you don’t. … How about President Biden’s response when a Texas man hurled racist slurs at a group of Palestinian Americans after a ceasefire protest at the University of Texas in Austin, ripped a Palestinian flagpole off their car, dragged one of them out of the backseat, and stabbed him? Then again, the White House said nothing — even after our civil rights and advocacy organization directly alerted the White House about the incident.” (05/01/24)

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/biden-hypocrisy-campus-protests