Author: brletters
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Taxing Supremacy
Leadership matters. Note to my future self. Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger just ended 76 years of state subsidies to Confederate organizations. This week she signed HB 167, stripping tax-exempt status from six Confederate-linked groups — including the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and the Confederate Memorial Literary Society. Notably, these…
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Authoritarian Playbook Lost
The people of Hungary just showed what’s possible. The question for us is: are we paying attention? Note to my future self. Great hope in Hungary this week. Strongman Viktor Orbán — 16 years in power, the global patron saint of illiberalism — lost decisively in elections on Sunday and conceded. Seventy seven percent of…
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Trump Arch
Meanwhile, just weeks ago, eight million people took to the streets and said: we will have no kings in this land. Note to my future self. On Friday the Trump administration unveiled plans for what they’re calling a Triumphal Arch. At 250 feet tall, with gold lions, golden eagles, and a gilded Lady Liberty on…
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Glasswing
Welcome to the future. Note to my future self. Anthropic was planning on releasing its latest version of Claude but instead stopped short. In testing the new model they call Mythos, they found that the model had such powerful cybersecurity capabilities that it would be literal chaos for them to release it into the market.…
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War Crimes?
Experts say that under the Geneva Convention such moves would likely be considered war crimes. Note to my future self. Today, Donald Trump is threatening to strike Iran’s civilian infrastructure to force an end to his war, targeting power plants and bridges, targets that legal experts warn could constitute war crimes. How did it come…
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Paper Tiger
With three carrier strike groups in the Persian gulf, the US is prepared to go it alone and appears to be burning its bridges behind it. Note to my future self. On NATO’s birthday it is being hollowed out. On this day April 4, 1949 the North Atlantic Treaty was signed and so was born…
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Friendly Fire
One may ask, is the greatest problem on a military base that there are not enough people with ready access to guns? Note to my future self. Yesterday defense secretary Pete Hegseth invoked God as he expanded access to personal firearms on US military bases. For over 30 years soldiers could not carry. The order…
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Surrendering the Strait of Hormuz
I grew up during the 1970’s oil crisis and gas rationing – and this feels like it is going in an eerily familiar direction. During Trump’s speech, oil prices soared by 11%. Note to my future self. Last night President Trump gave a live White House address that was billed as an important update in…
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Birthright Citizenship
Trump abruptly walked out just as the other side began its time and took to social media back at his office. Note to my future self. Today Donald Trump made history as the first president to attend arguments before the Supreme Court. The case is whether the administration’s executive order ending birthright citizenship is constitutional.…
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Mail In Voting
These are the things we will look back on and say — we wish we had done more to stop the slide into dictatorship. Today Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the department of homeland security and the postal service to only send mail ballots to a pre approved list of people. It’s DHS…
Notes To My Future Self 