John Newton

Two and a half centuries ago, a handful of farmers and printers and philosophers looked across an ocean at the most powerful man in the world — and said no to a king.

Today, in town and cities across America, we again say No Kings.

Paraphrasing: Putin’s greatest threat is the prosperity gap between Russia and its former satellites. Ukraine is the tipping point: if it joins the EU and thrives like its neighbors, its success will become an irresistible model. #SlavaUkraini

Congratulations to Xp Lee for winning the special election for a seat previously held by former Minnesota Speaker Melissa Hortman. Speaker Hortman and her husband were assassinated in June.

This may explain why there’s an aggressive response to people who merely post Kirk’s own words. It threatens the existence of the alternate Kirk - the motivational speaker that had been marketed to young kids and white Christian groups through selective quotation & clips.

Maga is fundamentally a populist white racism. The slogan "Make America Great Again" is more accurately described as "Make White America Greater." The fact that the tariff policy insisted on a 50% tariff only on steel and aluminum stems from the concentration of these groups in the Rust Belt.

The massive crackdown on illegal immigrants at the Hyundai-LG Energy Solutions joint venture plant in Georgia must be understood in this context. The scenes of our workers being chained and escorted away were reminiscent of the dragging of African slaves in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Department of Homeland Security boasted of "the largest single-site raid in history," and Immigration and Customs Enforcement even brazenly released footage of the raid, which was highly violating human rights, as if to boast of their "achievement."

Far-right whites may have secretly rejoiced. Even politicians like the Georgia governor and local lawmakers, who had been active in attracting factories, have shifted their stance and sympathized with their grievances. This is likely because it's difficult to ignore the anti-immigrant sentiment of native Americans. Like the McCarthyism that swept through American society in the 1950s, irrational madness dominates American society. The recent visa issue, which could have been resolved diplomatically with advance notice from an ally, is difficult to explain beyond political maneuvering. The fact that they mobilized helicopters and armored vehicles for show, as if they had been caught, is difficult to explain.

idk if you've seen this south korean editorial that ran a few days ago. google translate version scorched my eyebrows www.hani.co.kr/arti/opinion...

Florida Reporter Suspended After Texting MAGA Congressman to Ask If He Still Supports Campus Carry After Kirk Shooting A reporter with a popular Florida political website was suspended after angering a Republican congressman with a question he texted in the wake of Charlie Kirk being shot.

You’re just not allowed to do journalism if it displeases MAGA

3) Does the Will of the People today (elected executive) override the Will of the People yesterday (previously enacted laws)?

4) Are old laws to be interpreted to accommodate today’s needs, perhaps as a living expression of the People’s Will?

5) Should we view our Constitution the same way?

1) Should we accept that allegations of criminality disqualify otherwise competent people?

2) Should unelected bureaucrats be held to a higher standard than elected officials—convicted felons who are later elected have more presumed credibility than innocent-until-proven-guilty experts people?

Love this!

Republicans Trying to Control Indiana University Meet Little Resistance

Alas, one of my alma maters is in the news for nearly all of the wrong reasons. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/05/u...

Trump Administration Ends Program Critical to Search for an H.I.V. Vaccine

He’s a comicbook villain www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/h...

Opinion | The Christian Right Is Dead. The Religious Right Killed It. It’s all more Machiavellian than I ever wanted to believe.

Without commenting on the underlying substance, this article seemed poorly edited. The whole thing could be replaced with ‘evangelical christian values replaced with hypocrisy in unwavering support of Trump GOP.’

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/01/o...

Retailers Fear Toy Shortages at Christmas as Tariffs Freeze Supply Chain Toy makers and stores are freezing holiday orders, predicting shortages and higher prices. Some are consulting bankruptcy lawyers, fearing their firms won’t survive.

Are we calling it already? Trump kills Christmas.

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/29/b...

- what will it take to impose a fair, equitable tax regime on the oligarchs of our society? Philanthropy is no substitute for contributing to the success of society.

- relying on the philanthropic whim of oligarchs (what else should billionaires be called?) is not reasonable for long-term needs, nor certain for short term needs

- what a horrible challenge for these families!
- we should make public education options sufficient, so funding and access are stable and ensured. It’s not just business and markets that need certainty and stability to succeed!

Zuckerberg-funded school closure leaves Silicon Valley families in the lurch Bay Area parents said they were shocked by the loss of the Primary School in East Palo Alto.

The sudden lack of funding for a private school serving low income families on the SF Peninsula raises several questions.

Shock after closure of Zuckerberg-funded school in Silicon Valley: ‘We had it all here’

www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...

Trump Pressures Ukraine to Accept a Peace Plan That Sharply Favors Russia The U.S. proposal would freeze territory along the current front lines of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which Ukraine has rejected.

It is all too clear whose side he is on.

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/23/w...

Trump Live Updates: China Tariffs, Ukraine War and More

When Trump voluntarily surrenders to the nearest penitentiary for 5-10 years. Then ask about a sovereign nation accepting terms of surrender from an invader that has committed atrocities against civilians and threatening a whole continent with war.

www.nytimes.com/live/2025/04...

Five-Minute EV Charging Is Here, but Not for U.S.-Made Cars CATL and BYD have unveiled new advances, underscoring how far China has extended its global dominance over next-generation technologies.

The future is coming, but not to the US so long as the orange marshmallow remains.

www.wsj.com/business/aut...

Exclusive | White House Considers Slashing China Tariffs to De-Escalate Trade War Levies could be cut by more than half in some cases although President Trump hasn’t yet made a final decision.

Not only is he thoughtless and impulsive, he has no staying power either.

How long must we wait before kicking his always-wrong policies to the curb forever?

www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Scott Bessent Accuses IMF and World Bank of ‘Mission Creep’ Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent argued in a speech that the multilateral economic institutions have veered away from their missions.

Reversing progress and development is not leadership. It is folly.

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/23/b...

Happy Earth Day! I started my energy career on an Earth Day anniversary. So with each year, I feel a renewed sense of purpose to complete the transition to clean energy and transportation, to protect and preserve our home for future generations.

Picture from CA-36 with "Happy Earth Day" and Congressman Ted Lieu's logo overlayed.

Happy Earth Day! Today is a reminder that we must protect our planet for the generations to come.

We need bold action to tackle the climate crisis and preserve the beauty of our natural environment.

@stjohnsgreatbooks.bsky.social

St. John’s Launches Summer Study-Abroad Program in China with Sun Yat-sen University’s Boya College Annapolis and Santa Fe undergraduates are invited to register for the four-week student exchange in Guangdong Province from July 14-August 10, 2025,

I’m very glad to see my alma mater build bridges across cultures to expand thoughtful scholarship and collaboration.

www.sjc.edu/news/st-john...

Russia's Easter truce was a stunt to appease Trump, French minister says "The Easter truce that Putin announced, somewhat unexpectedly, was more of a PR move — a charm offensive intended to prevent President Trump from becoming impatient or upset," French Foreign Minister ...

⚡️ Russia's Easter truce was a stunt to appease Trump, French minister says.

"The Easter truce that Putin announced, somewhat unexpectedly, was more of a PR move — a charm offensive intended to prevent President Trump from becoming impatient or upset," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said.

Russia Welcomes U.S. Proposal to Deny NATO Membership to Ukraine Moscow said it was pleased with a Trump administration proposal to rule out Ukraine joining NATO as a way to end the war but showed no urgency in reaching a deal.

With friends like Trump, who needs enemies?

Trump administration proposes to rule out Ukraine joining NATO as a way to end Russia’s invasion and war.

www.wsj.com/world/russia...

Trump Signs Order Ending Union Bargaining Rights for Wide Swaths of Federal Employees | KQED President Trump has signed an executive order ending collective bargaining for wide swaths of federal employees. The largest federal employee union says the order affects over 1 million workers.

🫢 bhttps://www.kqed.org/news/12033535

I support Ukraine’s right to defend its sovereign borders, until every Russian invader is repelled and the pre-Crimean invasion (2014) borders are recovered!

#Patriotic #Americans 🇺🇸 support #Ukrainian #sovereignty and independence. #SlavaUkraine 🇺🇦