Haiti: “Transitional council” issues first statement

Source: Associated Press

“Members of a transitional presidential council who will be responsible for selecting a new prime minister issued their first official statement on Wednesday, pledging to restore ‘public and democratic order’ in Haiti. The statement, although signed by eight members of what is supposed to be a nine-member council, is still considered a sign that a contentious and drawn-out nomination process is ending and that the council might soon assume its official duties. … The members said they have developed the criteria and mechanisms to choose a council president, a new prime minister and a ministerial cabinet. Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who remains locked out of Haiti, has said he would resign once the council is formally established.” (03/27/24)

https://apnews.com/article/haiti-transitional-council-democracy-violence-12e9e4f31400dd09c127038ee0fe0c3b

The Right’s Infatuation With Fascist Strongmen Is Nothing New

Source: The UnPopulist
by Steve Chapman

“The Republican Party’s descent from Reagan’s principled and eloquent conservatism to Trump’s toxic narcissism and unabashed yearning for unbridled power is, for many, one of the great mysteries of our time. The party that was once fiercely committed to limited government, individual freedom, and the value of democracy at home and abroad no longer honors those ideals. Today, it has become a haven for Putin apologists, anti-Semites, insurrectionists, white supremacists, conspiracy nuts, and theocrats. Since 2016, the party has been engaged in a ceaseless flirtation with fascism. … To Jacob Heilbrunn, editor of The National Interest, there is no mystery here. In his brisk, concise, and thoroughly documented new book, America Last: The Right’s Century-Long Romance with Foreign Dictators, he argues that the right has always had a fondness for tyrants of a particular sort.” (03/26/24)

https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/the-rights-infatuation-with-fascist

CA: Hunter Biden’s tax case heads to courtroom as his defense seeks to have it tossed out

Source: SFGate

“Attorneys for Hunter Biden are expected in court Wednesday in Los Angeles, where he is accused in what prosecutors call a four-year scheme to avoid paying $1.4 million in taxes while living an extravagant lifestyle. President Joe Biden’s son has pleaded not guilty to the nine felony and misdemeanor tax offenses. He’s asking the judge to toss out the case, arguing that the prosecution was politically motivated, was tainted by leaks from IRS agents who claimed publicly the case was mishandled and includes some allegations from before he moved to California. He has also been charged in Delaware with lying on a federal form to buy a gun in 2018 by saying he wasn’t using or addicted to illegal drugs, even though he has acknowledged being addicted to crack cocaine at the time. He has pleaded not guilty in that case, which also accuses him of possessing the gun illegally.” (03/27/24)

https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/hunter-biden-s-tax-case-heads-to-a-california-19370885.php

Free Speech Is Under Attack in the US, but It’s on the Ropes Elsewhere

Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille

“If you think free speech is under attack in the United States — and it is — you should see its besieged status in the rest of the world. Open contempt for unrestricted debate prevails in even many supposedly ‘free’ countries and finds its expression in laws that threaten harsh penalties for those who dare to speak in ways that offend the powers that be.” (03/27/24)

https://reason.com/2024/03/27/free-speech-is-under-attack-in-the-u-s-but-its-on-the-ropes-elsewhere/

Putin Discusses “Security” Cooperation With West and Central African Junta Kingpins

Source: US News & World Report

“Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed security and economic cooperation with Mali’s junta leader Assimi Goita by phone on Wednesday, both countries said, a day after Putin held a similar call with the junta leader in neighbouring Niger. ‘We discussed bilateral issues, particularly the security and economic areas,’ Goita wrote on X. ‘We agreed to cooperate further in the fight against terrorism.’ The Kremlin confirmed the call and said the two leaders agreed to forge closer ties. Mali has in recent years become one of Russia’s closest African allies, with the Wagner Group mercenary force deploying there to fight jihadist insurgencies rebels in the Sahel country. Russia is seeking to strengthen relations with African countries, pitching Moscow as a friendly country without a colonial background in Africa.” (03/27/24)

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2024-03-27/putin-discusses-security-cooperation-with-west-and-central-african-leaders

That targetted planning with strict conditionality

Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Tim Worstall

“As we all know there’s a move to demand a new industrial policy. Government — those Rolls Royce minds — should determine what is done in our economy, by whom, how, and thereby gain such glorious results to the benefit of the nation. Hmm, well, it’s an idea. Is there, though, some method by which we can test this? Before we gain that benefit to the nation or not? As it happens, yes. For the use of land has been nationalised since 1947. That’s when the Town and Country Planning Act did exactly that – centralised and nationalised who may use which piece of land for what to gain such glorious results to the benefit of the nation. The Resolution Foundation has just told us how that has worked out over the 75 odd years …” (03/27/24)

https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/that-targetted-planning-with-strict-conditionality

Joe Lieberman, 1942-2024

Source: CNN

“Joe Lieberman, the first Jewish vice-presidential nominee of a major party, whose conscience [sic] and independent streak later led him on a journey away from his home in the Democratic Party, has died at 82, according to a statement from his family. The former Connecticut senator passed away Wednesday due to complications from a fall in New York. His wife Hadassah and members of his family were by his side.” [editor’s note: I never celebrate anyone’s death, but I also never saw any signs that Lieberman possessed a “conscience.” If plotting personality characteristics on a graph, I’d have expected to see his face at the intersection of “narcissist,” “sociopath,” and “warmonger” – TLK] (03/27/24)

https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/27/politics/joe-lieberman/index.html

When it comes to politics, are any of us really thinking for ourselves?

Source: Niskanen Center
by Neil Gross

“If you’re trying to guess whether people are Republicans or Democrats, knowing a few basic facts about them will take you a long way. What’s their race and gender? How far did they get in school? What part of the country do they live in and is their community urban, suburban or rural? … Although there are certainly people whose politics defy generalization, the underlying demographic tendencies are powerful predictors of belief …. But this raises an important question. If our political views and behavior can be so easily predicted by characteristics like race (over which we have no control) or by factors like education (where our choices may be highly constrained by other things such as the social class of our parents), then when it comes to politics, are any of us really thinking for ourselves?” (03/27/24)

https://www.niskanencenter.org/op-ed-when-it-comes-to-politics-are-any-of-us-really-thinking-for-ourselves/

Trump Lawfare: The Next Stage Begins

Source: Town Hall
by Byron York

“Donald Trump was first indicted nearly a year ago, on April 4, 2023, when Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced charges against the former president over a nondisclosure agreement Trump used to buy the silence of porn actress Stormy Daniels, with whom he had apparently had a brief sexual encounter. Bragg, an elected Democrat, won office by promising to go after Trump, and go after Trump he did. Resurrecting an allegation that more responsible law enforcement agencies had declined to prosecute, Bragg came up with 34 felony counts against Trump, each of which carried a maximum sentence of four years in prison, which theoretically would result in 134 years behind bars for the former president. On Monday, Judge Juan Merchan announced that the trial will begin April 15. The indictment was weak in a variety of ways.” (03/27/24)

https://townhall.com/columnists/byronyork/2024/03/27/trump-lawfare-the-next-stage-begins-n2637007

Capitol riot defendant freed as SCOTUS takes up case

Source: Newsweek

“Aman convicted of charges related to the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol is getting out of jail early due to the Supreme Court taking up a case that may affect the sentences of hundreds of defendants. Kevin Seefried, a man from Laurel, Delaware, was sentenced to three years in prison for a felony conviction of obstruction of an official proceeding, as well as 12 months and six months for misdemeanor charges. … That obstruction charge is at the center of a case picked up by the Supreme Court. That case, Fischer v. United States, challenges the DOJ’s use of the ‘obstruction of an official proceeding’ charge …. After the Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in the case, some defendants filed for release pending the final ruling. On Tuesday, Judge Trevor McFadden ruled that Seefried can be released from his prison sentence awaiting the court’s decision.” (03/27/24)

https://www.newsweek.com/supreme-court-january-6-defendant-kevin-seefried-1884037