Is America a Rogue Superpower?

Source: Antiwar.com
by Ted Snider

“‘Unipolar’ used to mean that the United States was, at least in theory, alone in leading the world. Now ‘unipolar’ means that the United States is alone and isolated in opposition to the world. In global affairs, a hegemon is a nation that leads because it has the consent of the other nations who believe in its goals and values. The United States has recently demonstrated, though, that it has given up any pretense of using its leadership to pursue the goals of the global community, and instead is openly using the global community to pursue its own goals.” (03/29/24)

https://original.antiwar.com/ted_snider/2024/03/27/is-america-a-rogue-superpower/

Tipping Point: CBO Director’s Warning on America’s Fiscal Path

Source: Independent Institute
by Craig Eyermann

“The director of the Congressional Budget Office is sounding the alarm on the U.S. government’s unsustainable fiscal path. … Swagel’s bigger message is that the growing cost of financing the national debt increases the risk of a government-debt-induced fiscal crisis in the United States. The ‘snap back,’ he fears, would be in the form of a sharp increase in interest rates should the bond market become reluctant to loan money to Uncle Sam. That scenario played out in the United Kingdom in 2022 under Prime Minister Liz Truss, which led to her resignation in very short order. Can something similar happen in the U.S.? It may be more likely than many would like to admit.” (03/28/24)

https://blog.independent.org/2024/03/28/tipping-point-cbo-directors-warning-on-americas-fiscal-path/

Kennedy picked running mate Nicole Shanahan for one big reason: Money

Source: Washington Post
by Karen Tumulty

“To paraphrase the memorable words of a notable figure who once ran for vice president on a third-party ticket: Who is she? Why is she here? With apologies to Adm. James Stockdale, a man with a distinguished military career who lightheartedly posed those questions about himself as Ross Perot’s running mate during his opening statement at the 1992 vice-presidential debate, they are worth asking in all seriousness about the selection that independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tuesday. … Whatever Shanahan’s other virtues, the most important reason for her selection is that she is worth a fortune as the ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin …. Now that Shanahan is on the ticket with Kennedy, campaign finance law allows her to pour unlimited amounts of money into his campaign — something he badly needs.” (03/27/24)

https://archive.is/DPVjV

Putin: Russia will not attack NATO, but F-16s will be shot down in Ukraine

Source: Reuters

“Russia has no designs on any NATO country and will not attack Poland, the Baltic states or the Czech Republic but if the West supplies F-16 fighters to Ukraine then they will be shot down by Russian forces, President Vladimir Putin said late on Wednesday. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has triggered the deepest crisis in Russia’s relations with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Speaking to Russian air force pilots, Putin said the U.S.-led military alliance had expanded eastwards towards Russia since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union but that Moscow had no plans to attack a NATO state. ‘We have no aggressive intentions towards these states,’ Putin said, according to a Kremlin transcript released on Thursday.” (03/28/24)

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/putin-tells-pilots-f16s-can-carry-nuclear-weapons-they-wont-change-things-2024-03-27/

Latvia: Karin to resign as foreign minister

Source: Baltic Times [Latvia]

“After a meeting with Prime Minister Evika Silina (New Unity) today, Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karins (New Unity) has decided to step down. Karins will officially resign on April 10. He explained that this date was chosen so that Saeima could approve a new foreign minister during a parliamentary sitting the next day — April 11. For several months now, the scandal of private flights used by working delegations led by Karins during his time as prime minister has been a topic of public criticism. A reported, the Prosecutor General’s Office has opened and handed over to the Corruption Prevention Bureau (KNAB) for investigation the use of contract flights by Karins for working trips during his time in office.” (03/28/24)

https://www.baltictimes.com/karins_decides_to_step_down_as_foreign_minister/

Russia: Journalist sentenced to two years for opposing Ukraine war

Source: NDTV [India]

“A Russian court on Thursday sentenced a journalist to two years in prison for denouncing Moscow’s full-scale military offensive on Ukraine, as police in Moscow detained five other reporters over a 24-hour period. Russia has made on-the-ground reporting increasingly dangerous and illegal since it sent troops into Ukraine two years ago, arresting and fining those who defy the Kremlin’s narratives. A court in the western exclave of Kaliningrad said journalist Mikhail Feldman had discredited Russia’s armed forces in a series of posts on the VKontakte social network, the OVD-Info and Memorial rights groups said, citing his lawyer.” (03/29/24)

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/russia-jails-journalist-for-2-years-for-opposing-ukraine-war-5330311

Do Private School Choice Programs “Take Money Away” from Public Schools?

Source: Show-Me Institute
by James V Shuls

“In a recent post, I argued that the claim that school choice was ‘welfare for the rich’ was a red herring. This argument diverts attention away from the real opposition from school choice critics. Opponents of school choice are not really concerned with wealthy families receiving public support for education. As long as those rich folks choose a public school, they can have their allotment of education dollars with no objection. The concern only arises when rich people choose a non-public school. For that matter, most of the die-hard supporters of public education are opposed to means-tested voucher programs that give money to only poor families. In other words, it has nothing to do with wealth and everything to do with choice. They simply do not believe parents should be able to direct those education dollars to the school of their choice.” (03/28/24)

https://showmeinstitute.org/blog/school-choice/do-private-school-choice-programs-take-money-away-from-public-schools/

The Hail of It

Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob

“Early yesterday, an out-of-control container ship ran into the Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Patapsco River in Baltimore. Early reports claimed that a dozen vehicles and 20 people went into the cold water, with only two survivors, so far, being rescued; last I heard, however, the total went down to six missing after the initial rescues. It looks like an accident, and accidents happen, sometimes horrific ones. There’s a reason ‘thoughts and prayers’ are mentioned at such times, all other talk seeming vastly inappropriate. Nevertheless, President Joe Biden immediately promised that the federal government would pay to replace the bridge. Eleven days earlier a more humdrum disaster gave us greater license to speculate.” (03/27/24)

https://thisiscommonsense.org/2024/03/27/the-hail-of-it/

US fourth-quarter growth revised up; weekly jobless claims fall

Source: Reuters

“The U.S. economy grew faster than previously estimated in the fourth quarter, lifted by strong consumer spending and business investment in nonresidential structures like factories. Gross domestic product increased at a 3.4% annualized rate last quarter, revised up from the previously reported 3.2% pace, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis said in its third estimate of fourth-quarter GDP. … A separate report from the Labor Department on Thursday showed initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 210,000 for the week ended March 23. Economists had forecast 212,000 claims in the latest week.” (03/28/24)

https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-fourth-quarter-growth-revised-up-weekly-jobless-claims-fall-2024-03-28/