Ask Who Benefits: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix

It is the Republican Party’s job to expand the US military, rob and oppress the working class, serve US plutocrats, facilitate ecocidal capitalism, and foment division among the electorate. It is the Democratic Party’s job to do these same things while blaming it on Republicans.

Ask Who Benefits: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix

Previously:

The Military Recruiting Crisis: Even Veterans Don’t Want Their Families to Join

Navy probe prompted by suicides condemns conditions at shipyard: ‘We let our people down’ + The Brandon Act

Navy probe prompted by suicides condemns conditions at shipyard: ‘We let our people down’

EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, please call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a hotline for individuals in crisis or for those looking to help someone else. To speak with a trained listener, call 988. Service members and veterans can call 988 and then press “1”. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org

Related:

Their Son Died of Suicide in the Navy. They’re Honoring His Final Wish by Saving Lives

If you or someone you know in the military needs help, contact the Veterans Crisis Hotline at 800-273-8255, on veteranscrisisline.net, or by texting 838255. Civilians can text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741.

Rules for Pentagon Use of Proxy Forces Shed Light on a Shadowy War Power

U.S. Special Operations forces are not required to vet for past human rights violations by the foreign troops they arm and train as surrogates, newly disclosed documents show.

The irregular warfare program has provided training to allied forces in countries that face a threat of invasion by larger neighbors, the senior Defense Department official said. The Washington Post has reported that an irregular warfare proxy program in Ukraine was terminated just before the Russian invasion, and that some officials want to restart it.

Rules for Pentagon Use of Proxy Forces Shed Light on a Shadowy War Power

The Kids Online Safety Act is Still A Huge Danger to Our Rights Online

Congress has resurrected the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), a bill that would increase surveillance and restrict access to information in the name of protecting children online. KOSA was introduced in 2022 but failed to gain traction, and today its authors, Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), have reintroduced it with slight modifications. Though some of these changes were made in response to over 100 civil society organizations and LGBTQ+ rights groups’ criticisms of the bill, its latest version is still troubling. Today’s version of KOSA would still require surveillance of anyone sixteen and under. It would put the tools of censorship in the hands of state attorneys general, and would greatly endanger the rights, and safety, of young people online. And KOSA’s burdens will affect adults, too, who will likely face hurdles to accessing legal content online as a result of the bill.

The Kids Online Safety Act is Still A Huge Danger to Our Rights Online

Senator Brian Schatz Joins The Moral Panic With Unconstitutional Age Verification Bill

Senator Brian Schatz is one of the more thoughtful Senators we have, and he and his staff have actually spent time talking to lots of experts in trying to craft bills regarding the internet. Unfortunately, it still seems like he still falls under the seductive sway of this or that moral panic, so when the bills actually come out, they’re perhaps more thoughtfully done than the moral panic bills of his colleagues, but they’re still destructive.

Senator Brian Schatz Joins The Moral Panic With Unconstitutional Age Verification Bill

Related:

Bipartisan Senate bill would ban social media algorithms for minors

Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Chris Murphy (D-Conn), Katie Britt (R-Ala) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark) introduced the Protecting Kids on Social Media Act on Wednesday. The bill would set a minimum age of 13 to use social media sites, and would require parental consent and age verification for users under 18.

DEA’s Fentanyl Narrative Clown Car Being Overseen By A ‘Reformer’ Who Replaced Old Corruption With Her Own Brand Of Corruption

The DEA has always been ridiculous when it comes to drugs. It overplays the downside, refuses to acknowledge any upside, and has been instrumental in ensuring people suffering from mental health issues are unable to access the drugs that might help them most.

DEA’s Fentanyl Narrative Clown Car Being Overseen By A ‘Reformer’ Who Replaced Old Corruption With Her Own Brand Of Corruption

Related:

The DEA Looks Like a Total Mess Right Now