Salon.com
Trump’s big beautiful income tax dodge
The president's settlement with the Justice Department means he could never face IRS audits again
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NPR Topics: News
Pope Leo takes aim at big tech in sweeping encyclical on AI
Center
"Magnifica Humanitas" tackles the social, economic and political challenges associated with artificial intelligence.
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Bloomberg Politics
Pope Says AI Should Be Disarmed to Avoid Dominating Humanity
Pope Leo XIV said artificial intelligence should be “disarmed” to protect humanity from its dangers, adding his voice to a heated debate over the extent to which governments should regulate a technology that is reshaping the world.
Center
The Hill News
Pope Leo manifesto: World leaders should be ‘slowing things down’ on AI
Pope Leo XIV on Monday warned about the risks posed by AI in his first encyclical. In the manifesto, titled “Magnifica Humanitas,” the pontiff wrote that policymakers must address the widespread availability of the emerging technology with “clarity to establish adequate regulatory tools capable of upholding justice and curbing the distorting effects of technological power.”…
Center
Raw Story
Trump's Memorial Day message takes a dark turn
Donald Trump marked Memorial Day with a Truth Social post that managed to honor fallen soldiers and attack Democrats in the same breath."Happy Memorial Day to all, including the Dumocrats, who disrespect our Military and all of the tremendous success that it has had over the last year," Trump wrote at 6am on the holiday. Memorial Day is traditionally one of the most unifying moments on the American political calendar, a day when presidents of both parties have set aside partisan conflict to honor the men and women who died in service to the country.Trump did add to his attack, "God Bless those that have made the ultimate sacrifice. I love you all!"But then the president went back to his initial instincts, posting just minutes later and dropping any pretense of holiday sentiment entirely."The Dumocrats have BAD POLICY, AND BAD CANDIDATES," he wrote. "Other than that, they are doing quite well!"The posts came just minutes after Trump had published a sprawling attack on three Republican lawmakers by name, calling them losers and sleazebags over their criticism of his Iran negotiations.
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Raw Story
Trump found his weapon to cripple enemies — but missed one big thing
We know the Trump Department of Justice has threatened individuals it considers political opponents. Echoing authoritarian regimes worldwide, they’ve now indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). In response, major Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs), including Vanguard, Fidelity, and Schwab, have prevented clients from donating to SPLC, cutting the organization off from funding without even a shred of due process. If the DAFs follow this precedent, it could eliminate a key source of funding for any nonprofits this—or any future—administration chooses to attack.The funds claim their action is necessary because, according to the administration, it constituted fraud for SPLC to have paid hate group informants. But federal and state law enforcement agencies have known about the infiltrations for years, using information they provided to help secure indictments and convictions. So the charges are spurious.Fidelity justified its actions by citing a policy of pausing DAF giving if an organization “is being investigated for alleged illegal activities…such as terrorism, money laundering, hate crimes or fraud,” or if “state and federal agencies” are investigating a charitable organization. Schwab’s fund quietly removed SPLC from its list of eligible nonprofits, and a representative read me similar boilerplate, saying the fund was deciding on next steps. The danger is far larger than the SPLC case. The listed criteria would let federal or state authorities cripple any nonprofit they choose, simply by launching an investigation. The organization doesn’t have to be convicted, or even indicted. They just have to be investigated, which makes this a perfect way to target political opponents. The administration has already issued a memorandum promising investigations of groups that promote “anti-fascism,” “anti-Christianity,” or “hostility” toward “traditional American views on family, religion, and morality.” It’s threatened Wikipedia, the Vera Institute for Justice and the governmental watchdog Citizens for Responsibility in Ethics in Washington, not to mention major universities. All the federal government, or even a state government, would need to do to launch a DAF freeze is to open an official public investigation. And these major DAFs would then block the targeted organization from receiving funding. The implications aren’t confined to the Trump administration. Under this precedent, Democrats holding power could do the same to disfavored nonprofits. Just launching an investigation would cut off a significant part of a targeted organization’s money flow. The defunding or banning of targeted NGOs is exactly what Vladimir Putin did in Russia, Viktor Orbán in Hungary, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey, and Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela. It’s a classic way to eliminate opposition and consolidate power. And the anticipatory compliance of Vanguard, Fidelity, and Schwab is the exact kind of response that empowers would-be dictatorships, whatever their politics.If a nonprofit is convicted of fraud or money laundering, it’s of course legitimate to remove or suspend their 501(c)(3) nonprofit status. But SPLC has neither been tried nor convicted, so the DAFs are letting a hostile administration’s mere accusation of wrongdoing become an excuse to block funding. The $326 billion of money that DAFs hold is part of the lifeblood of nonprofits. The actions of these DAFs directly undermine democracy by excluding a group the administration has targeted and potentially denying funding to other targeted groups. That’s true whatever you think of SPLC.If there’s a nonprofit that could weather this, it’s SPLC, with its $786 million endowment. I don’t give to them because I think other groups are more impactful for the money they spend. But if the Trump administration and its enablers can do this to SPLC, they can do it to far smaller and more vulnerable nonprofits. For instance, they could target nonpartisan voter engagement groups, drying up funding (including pledged contributions) at the point when these groups need it the most to engage citizens in democracy. Damaging attacks on nonprofit funding also don’t have to come from the federal Department of Justice. Under Fidelity’s criteria, attacks could come from state governments as well, with potential targets including either conservative or liberal groups depending on which party runs a particular state. But ordinary citizens have the power to change this. The campaigns that got ABC to reinstate Jimmy Kimmel offer a model. This issue has less visibility, but for the nonprofits it could affect is equally critical. If we have money in a DAF, our calls or emails could well make the difference. Schwab told me that they’d been getting lots of critical responses. But even if we don’t have a DAF, nearly 60% of us have retirement or other investment accounts, with most housed at the major affiliated brokerages.
Far Left
Bloomberg Politics
Pope Urges Leaders Not to Use Wars to Distract From Other Issues
Pope Leo XIV warned world leaders not to use wars as a political tactic to distract voters from their domestic problems.
Center
NewsNation
Pope Leo calls on tech giants to slow down and regulate AI
Magnifica Humanitas is Pope Leo's first encyclical.
Center
Is Pope Leo Joining the Anti-AI Resistance?
Having spoken out for the welfare of immigrants and against the war in Iran—and drawn the ire of some American conservatives in the process—Pope Leo XIV is now calling on the world to safeguard human dignity in the AI era. His upcoming address on Monday, alongside a co-founder of artificial intelligence company Anthropic and a […]
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