Life in Shell

Voting Wrongs Act, The King's Speech

In a classic shell game, a con artist hides a pea under one of three walnut shells and then uses sleight of hand to ensure the viewer can’t keep track of where the pea ended up. When it comes to the Voting Rights Act, the Supreme Court’s latest decision may appear to have just moved a few shells around, but after years of targeting the landmark law, it’s more accurate to say the majority basically crushed all the walnuts. “The decision was 6 to 3, split along ideological lines. The conservative majority asserted that the opinion was a limited ruling that preserved a central tenet of the Voting Rights Act, but the court’s liberal wing, in dissent, argued that the justices had taken the final step to dismantle the landmark civil rights law.” Here’s more from the NYT (Gift Article): Supreme Court Further Weakens Voting Rights Act.

+ MoJo: “The Supreme Court’s six-to-three Republican-appointed majority issued a staggering ruling on Wednesday essentially killing the remaining protections of the Voting Rights Act, dealing a death blow to the country’s most important civil rights law.”

+ Talking Points Memo: “The Roberts Court finally achieved its years-long goal of killing the Voting Rights Act Wednesday, publishing a ruling that will make proving racial discrimination in redistricting virtually impossible.”

+ The Guardian: “The court’s decision is a major upheaval in US civil rights law and gives lawmakers permission to draw districting plans that weaken the influence of Black and other minority voters. Some states may even rush ahead to try to redraw districts ahead of this year’s midterm elections.”

+ The obliteration of the voting rights law may leave you feeling shell-shocked, but it comes as welcome news to those currently mangling and weaponizing our still existing legal system to target enemies in ridiculous (and ridiculously dangerous) ways. James Comey surrenders to authorities after DOJ indictment. “The former FBI director was indicted in North Carolina on Tuesday because of a post he made on social media last year of seashells arranged into the numbers ‘86 47’ which the Department of Justice has called a threat against Donald Trump. The number 86 can be used as shorthand for getting rid of something, and Trump is the 47th president.” (Let’s hope all those seashells are about to get washed away by a blue wave.)

+ What’s happening inside the Justice Department, where career lawyers are being ordered to bring insane charges or face firing? The place is a shell of its former self. Ex-Official Warns of Mass Exodus as Trump Weaponizes DOJ. “We’re also seeing people resign because of the culture those types of prosecutions create. So, the effect, the consequences, are devastating. The DOJ is losing countless lawyers because of it, the rule of law is being eroded, and the reputation of the department has really disintegrated.”

+ Like so much of what’s happening to our legal system, the latest attempt to punish Comey is completely laughable. But it’s no laughing matter. Under Trump’s weaponized administration, even jokes aren’t laughing matters anymore. I wrote about Trump’s latest attack on Jimmy Kimmel yesterday. “The idea of anyone in this administration calling anyone else’s words offensive represents an act of projection of such magnitude it makes Artemis II look like a backyard stomp rocket.” The Projection Erection.

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The King’s Speech

During his address to Congress, King Charles opined on the harsh reality of climate change, the importance of checks and balances, and even got the whole room (including JD Vance) to give a standing ovation for NATO and the need to defend Ukraine. But by (current) American standards, the messages were pretty subtle, and our king doesn’t speak subtle. King Charles praises NATO and urges defense of Ukraine in key speech during Trump visit.

+ The Guardian: “What would America’s founding fathers have made of seeing George III’s direct descendant speak to their successors? Donald Trump mused at the White House on Tuesday: ‘They might be absolutely shocked but probably only for a moment. Surely they would be delighted that the wounds of war healed into the most cherished friendship.’ Well, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and co would surely be more shocked to discover that they now have their own mad king in the White House. If Charles spots signs saying ‘No kings’ on his travels, he shouldn’t take it personally.”

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But Who’s Geiger Counting?

To assess the Iran war, we can’t just ask whether we’re better off now than we were a couple months ago (which, as of now, we’re not). We have to ask whether we’re better off than we were when someone decided to tear up the Obama administration’s nuclear deal with Iran. “In 2015, Iran and six nations led by the United States reached an accord that limited the purity of its enriched uranium to 3.67 percent and the size of its stockpile for 15 years ... Iran lacked a single bomb’s worth of uranium in 2018, when Mr. Trump withdrew the United States from the pact and reimposed a series of tough economic sanctions.” NYT (Gift Article): How Iran Accumulated 11 Tons of Enriched Uranium.

+ That’s what we’re dealing with. Who we’re dealing with is just as complicated. “Since its creation in 1979, the Islamic Republic has revolved around a supreme leader with final authority on all key matters of state. But the ‌killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war, and the elevation of his wounded son, Mojtaba, have ushered in a different order dominated by commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and marked by the absence of ‌a decisive, authoritative referee.” Reuters: Iran’s Guards seize wartime power, blunting Supreme Leader’s role.

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Tech Bros Before Average Joes

“Elon Musk and Sam Altman are two of the most influential people in Silicon Valley, if not the world. Between the two of them, Musk and Altman run technology companies worth many trillions of dollars that promise to reshape civilization. But this morning, both sat under fluorescent lights in a courthouse in downtown Oakland, suffering through all manner of technical glitches as their respective attorneys kicked off the long-awaited trial in Musk v. Altman.” The Atlantic (Gift Article): The trial between the CEOs makes the AI boom seem sordid and small. “The next few weeks of the trial will illuminate tensions about the development of AI that have grown only more urgent—between profit and social good, and over who can be trusted with this technology.” (That this trial makes it a choice between these two guys should worry you.)

+ “That night in the scientist’s home office, the chatbot explained how to modify an infamous pathogen in a lab so that it would resist known treatments. Worse, the bot described in vivid detail how to release the superbug, identifying a security lapse in a large public transit system ... The bot outlined a plan to maximize casualties and minimize the chances of being caught.” NYT (Gift Article): A.I. Bots Told Scientists How to Make Biological Weapons.

+ How many robots does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Only one. “We’re approaching a ChatGPT moment for the physical world.” Wired: I’ve Covered Robots for Years. This One Is Different.

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Extra, Extra

The Last Battle? “Encouraged by the fast spread of school cellphone bans, parents, teachers and legislators across the United States have banded together to ensure that technology use in schools is beneficial for learning.” In Backlash Against Tech in Schools, Parents Are Winning Rollbacks. While it may be a laudable goal, this fight reminds me of the life lesson offered by Tony Manero’s paint store boss in Saturday Night Fever: “No, Tony. You can’t f-ck the future. The future f-cks you.”

+ Human Trafficking? “’They took us, they put us on a plane, and they chained us by our hands and feet,’ said one Colombian man, sitting on a plastic chair in a shabby hotel near Kinshasa’s airport. The deportees didn’t know their final destination until they were on the plane.” NPR: ‘We don’t know what will happen to us’: U.S. deportees in limbo in DRC. “While more deportees from the U.S. are expected to arrive, almost no details concerning the U.S.-Congo migration deal have been made public.”

+ Powell’s Last Stand: NYT (Gift Article): “The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday but the decision was the most highly divisive in decades.” (Everything in 2026 is the most divisive in decades...)

+ Trumped Up Charges: The Trump administration has been targeting some liberal non-profits. Even before the cases get to the courts, some big money players are preventing donations. Fidelity, Vanguard Won’t Allow Donations to Southern Poverty Law Center.

+ The Sun Also Rises: “According to Ember’s Global Electricity Review 2026, recently released in time for Earth Day, renewable sources produced 33.8 percent of the world’s electricity last year, compared to 33 percent for coal. It was the first time those two lines had crossed since 1919, when the global grid was still small enough to run mostly on hydropower.” Renewable energy just broke a 100-year-old streak.

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Bottom of the News

“The DMV announced the rules on Tuesday as part of a litany of new autonomous vehicle regulations — some inspired by cases where robotaxis obstructed police and firefighters in San Francisco, and at least one local incident in which a San Bruno cop couldn’t ticket a Waymo for an illegal U-turn.” Cops can ticket driverless cars now. (Soon, robotic cops will be pulling over autonomous vehicles, and we humans can just stay home...)