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Curly may have been ahead of his time. I’m not referring to the noise effects he made as the youngest member of the Three Stooges (even though nyuk-nyuk-nyuk!, woo-woo-woo!, and Ruff! Ruff! were the memes of his era). I mean what could be his most famous proclamation: I’m tryin’ to think but nothing happens. It turns out that strategy could be our best defense as new technologies come for our minds and threaten to criminalize people’s innermost thoughts. Could this stuff of SciFi lore really be coming to a brain near you? As Curly might have said, “Soitenly!” NYT (Gift Article): U.N. Warns Against Technology Used to Read Citizens’ Minds. “The scenarios sound like science fiction: Police officers accessing data contained in suspects’ brains to forcefully extract information, or to predict if offenders might plan to commit future crimes. But the secretary general of the United Nations warned on Thursday for the first time that neurotechnologies are advancing so rapidly that governments’ ability to access and manipulate people’s brains could one day pose a threat to fundamental human rights.” As with many technologies, we’re racing forward before we consider the ramifications. Curly predicted this, too. “I shoot an arrow in the air, where it lands I do not care ... I get my arrows wholesale.”
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Prima Facie Plant
Since day one, Trump’s second term has been focused on revenge against his perceived enemies. But, so far, it has been easier to bend the Justice Department than to break it. Having no evidence still presents obstacles. “The president’s allies have sought to prove a ‘grand conspiracy’ through a sprawling Justice Department inquiry. It has buckled under staffing shake-ups, internal disputes and trouble finding evidence.” How Trump’s Revenge Campaign Descended Into Turmoil.
+ If the Justice Department can’t invent crimes, why not just invent a new entity that might? Trump forms committee to investigate mortgage fraud allegations against Fed governor Lisa Cook.
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Three’s Company
“Only two countries currently systematically carry out capital sentences in public: Iran and Afghanistan. In 2025, the Taliban authorities carried out six such killings and the regime in Tehran 11, according to Amnesty International.” Pete Hegseth wants the US to be the third. Pentagon says the firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan will be livestreamed. This probably won’t happen. But it’s worth noting that Hegseth is more and more obviously deranged. He’s also in charge of our military.
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Weekend Whats
What to Watch: East of Eden on Netflix is an excellent and extremely bingeable limited series with an all-around excellent cast, including Florence Pugh, Christopher Abbott, and a great performance by Hoon Lee.
+ What to Book: “When a young woman, a golf prodigy, kills a caddy with a stray ball at the country club, the investigation of this freak accident reveals a dark and shocking tale of secret affairs and predatory men.” Oddly, there is also a lot of humor in this fast-paced, excellent novel from Chris Bohjalian. The Amateur.
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Extra, Extra
Today in Corruption (A Partial Accounting): The corruption is nothing if not consistent. WaPo (Gift Article): Trump bought over $1 million in SpaceX debt days before unveiling space policy. And, In Trump’s Russian Oil Deal, Middle East Funds Are the Biggest Owners. “A majority of ownership in a proposed multibillion-dollar deal would go to a group of Middle Eastern investors, including some with business ties to U.S. negotiators.”
+ Fuels Rush In: Trump says Putin will release diesel fuel onto global market amid unprecedented price surge. (Nice to see close allies working together.)
+ Only the Best: “Brenden Cuni, an ICE supervisor, has been accused of excessive force and tackling a pregnant woman to the ground. Several of his arrests were later found to be unlawful in federal court.” ICE Agent at NYC Shooting Has History of Alleged Violence and Illegal Arrests. (There was a five year-old kid in the backseat. Feel safer?)
+ Partner in Crime? “Although the State Department had been preparing the sanctions for months, Mr. Rubio’s announcement came just hours after a committee in Norway said it was awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Navi Pillay, a South African lawyer who served for nine years as a judge on the International Criminal Court and worked as the top human rights official at the United Nations.” Trump Administration Hits International Criminal Court With Severe Sanctions.
+ Cable Guise: Oil isn’t the only thing looking for an alternate route around the Red Sea. Conflict in the Red Sea is forcing cloud giants to find a new route for the internet.
+ The Wrath of Jon: “If John Lewis were marching today from Selma to Montgomery, Mike Collins would be grabbing a billy club.” Jon Ossoff has taken off the gloves and is telling it like it is. Does that make him the Dem frontrunner for 2028?
+ Isaias: “Isaias has strengthened into a Category 3 ‘major hurricane.’ It is now expected to make landfall tonight as a Category 3 on the Gulf Coast around Pensacola, Florida.” Here’s the latest from CNN.
+ Beaking Bad: “Alberto Hernandez Castillo disembarked from his flight on Sunday in a pair of gold-sheened sneakers, according to a criminal complaint. He appeared nervous and authorities observed an ‘unexplained bulge’ around his pelvis.” OK, at this point, to me, this sounds like a pretty familiar trip through the airport. But then things took a twist. 21 Birds Are Found at Miami Airport Stuffed in Underwear and Hidden in a Belt.