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NOTICE: I’m available for talks and other kinds of paid speaking engagements

 — Author: Nathan Tankus — Publication: Notes on the Crisis — 

I- Nathan Tankus- have never mentioned it to my email list, but in the fine print of my website I’ve always listed that I’m available for paid speaking engagements. This came out of people reaching out to me organically inquiring if this was an option. I did it here and there, but never in a consistent fashion and it has never been a regular revenue stream for Notes on the Crises. Now that I have a physical office in Manhattan and that I’m looking to expand- and events have slowed down since the most intense phase of the Trump-Musk Payments Crisis- I think it's time that I finally put it out more publicly that this is an option. I’m especially interested in this because I’m set up to push speaking/consulting revenue directly into more investigative reporting. I was concerned that this sort of thing would distract me from reporting at a crucial moment, but now I think we have turned the corner where the revenue will do more for Notes on the Crises reporting than the time would.

The Garage Gadget That Could Change Your Street

 — Organisation: Strong Towns — 

The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” Eliminates the Office of Financial Research—Threatening the Stability of the Treasury Market

 — Author: Nathan Tankus — Publication: Notes on the Crisis — 
The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” Eliminates the Office of Financial Research—Threatening the Stability of the Treasury Market

Early last week I started working on a piece on why the Federal Reserve didn’t step in during the Trump Tariff Financial Panic. The basic idea of that piece is simply that “repo rates”- the interest rate at which you can, in essence, borrow funds with treasury securities as collateral- didn’t move outside of the Federal Reserve’s target range. In the language of Wall Street, the Federal Reserve didn’t step in because the “money market” didn’t meltdown. The Federal Reserve, as well as market participants themselves, knew the money market didn’t meltdown. But how did they know a meltdown wasn’t happening?

Hearing voices: why the Nats should be watching their backs

 — Organisation: The Australia Institute — 

It was in the rural Victorian seat of Indi, encompassing Wodonga and Wangaratta, that independent Cathy McGowan was drafted by community group Voices of Indi.

In 2013, McGowan delivered the Liberal Party its only loss when she won the formerly safe seat from Sophie Mirabella.

The subsequent success of inner city “teals” – community independents like Zali Steggall, Monique Ryan and Kate Chaney – is evidence that Liberal neglect of classical-liberal and metropolitan voters has come back to haunt them.

But soul searching is due in the bush as well, particularly among Nationals. So far, they have been criticised for unforced errors (like quitting the Liberal-National Coalition only to rejoin it days later) rather than structural weaknesses, like their preference of mining interests over agricultural ones and their inability to win back seats lost since the 1990s.

Conditions are ripe for the Nationals to face challenges from independents on the same scale as those already faced by the Liberals.

And while Indi’s “Voices of” model of community organising and drafting candidates was an innovation, the country has long been friendly to independents.

The ODOT accountability charade

 — Publication: City Observatory — 

Every time Oregonians are asked to pony up more money for roads, ODOT trots out a report saying that they’re definitely going to improve  their management and stop blowing through budgets.  And they’re doing it again.  In 2025, as Yogi Berra would say, “It’s deja vu all over again.”

There’s a multi-billion dollar transportation bill hanging fire in the Legislature.

ODOT’s managerial blunders and massive cost-overruns (quite logically) raise major questions about the wisdom of giving them even more money.

So the state throws money at management consultants, who generate a buzzword-filled report about how ODOT could improve.

The Governor promises that ODOT will implement these recommendations.

Voila!  Accountability.

That’s exactly what Governor Brown did just prior to the 2017 Legislature approving the last transportation package.  And Governor Tina Kotek and the Oregon Department of Transportation are following the same script in 2025, hoping a pledge to implement the consultant’s report will get everyone to overlook ODOT’s manifest managerial blunders and vote for the bill.

Here’s The Oregonian in 2017

One vote. One value.

 — Organisation: The Australia Institute — 

On this episode, Paul Barclay is joined by former senator Christine Milne who brings her expertise and insights on how proportional representation and minority governments can be much more democratic, diverse, and help reduce corporate lobbying power.

This discussion was recorded on Monday 27 January 2025, and things may have changed since the recording.

Order What’s the Big Idea? 32 Big Ideas for a Better Australia now, via the Australia Institute website.

Guest: Christine Milne AO, Former Leader of the Australian Greens // @ChristineMilne

Host: Paul Barclay, Walkley Award winning journalist and broadcaster // @PaulBarclay

Show notes:

Power sharing in Australian parliament by Bill Browne and Richard Denniss, the Australia Institute (July 2024)

Representative, Still: The role of the Senate in our Democracy by Bill Browne and Ben Oquist, the Australia Institute (March 2021)

The Santa Ono Earthquake

 — Organisation: The Claremont Institute — 

Last Tuesday Florida’s Board of Governors rejected Dr. Santa Ono for president of its flagship school, the University of Florida (UF). This came just one week after UF’s Board of Trustees (BOT) unanimously approved Ono. In what is typically a procedural process, it marked the first time in the 22 years since the Board of Governors was established that it had rejected a candidate in this fashion. It was a blow for not only Ono, but also UF’s BOT.

How did Ono nearly get approved as UF’s next president? The short answer is the almost childish simplicity of UF’s BOT, and especially its chairman, Mori Hosseini. They created a situation where only an establishment education administrator like Ono could be selected.

Washington’s Wager on Religious Liberty

 — Organisation: The Claremont Institute — 

To the best of my knowledge, George Washington never explicitly offered his opinion of the First Amendment. It was proposed by Congress and ratified by the states during his first term as president but, per the Constitution, without his formal participation. Washington wrote to James Madison privately on May 31, 1789, stating, “I see nothing objectionable in the proposed Amendments. Some of them in my opinion, are importantly necessary; others, though of themselves (in my conception) not very essential, are necessary to quiet the fears of some respectable characters and well meaning men.”

The Constitution’s abolition of religious tests for office emancipated American Jews and Catholics from legal disabilities at the federal level, and decades before Britain did the same (this was only seven years after the devastating anti-Catholic Gordon Riots in London).

Trump-Musk meltdown & the administration’s ‘crystal ball’

 — Organisation: The Australia Institute — 

On this episode of After America, Dr Emma Shortis and Angus Blackman discuss Trump’s dystopian presidency, the administration’s renewed pressure on the Australian government to increase defence spending, and the end of the Trump-Musk bromance.

This discussion was recorded on Friday 6 June 2025 and things may have changed since recording.

Our independence is our strength – and only you can make that possible. By donating to the Australia Institute’s End of Financial Year appeal today, you’ll help fund the research changing Australia for the better.

Host: Emma Shortis, Director, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @emmashortis

Host: Angus Blackman, Producer, the Australia Institute // @AngusRB

Show notes:

‘Australia must resist US bullying to increase its military spending’ by Allan Behm, Guardian Australia (June 2025)

The Last Days of Gaza

 — Author: Chris Hedges — 

Media Report 2025.06.09

 — Organisation: Free Palestine Melbourne — 
Israeli minister warns Greta Thunberg to turn back as Freedom Flotilla approaches Gaza ABC | Matthew Doran | 9 June 2025 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-09/israel-katz-greta-turn-back-madleen-aid-ship-idf-military/105392192 Israel’s defence minister has warned activist Greta Thunberg that the aid ship she is travelling on towards the Gaza Strip should turn around, saying the IDF will take all necessary steps to stop […]

Media Release: Australian Government Must Respond to Abduction of Gaza-Bound Aid Workers by Israel

 — Organisation: Free Palestine Melbourne — 
9 June 2025: Free Palestine Melbourne condemns the Israeli military’s unlawful interception and abduction of international volunteers aboard the Madleen, a civilian aid vessel operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. The ship was in international waters, en route to deliver urgently needed humanitarian aid to Gaza, when it was stormed by Israeli forces and diverted to Israel.

The Trouble with Abundance

 — Organisation: Strong Towns — 

What Everyone Owes their Queer Ancestors

 — Author: Sonja Black — 

Trump’s Useful Idiots - Read by Eunice Wong

 — Author: Chris Hedges — 

This article is read by Eunice Wong, a Juilliard-trained actor, featured on Audible's list of Best Women Narrators. Her work is on the annual Best Audiobooks lists of the New York Times, Audible, AudioFile, & Library Journal. www.eunicewong.actor

Text originally published May 26, 2025


Buy my new book “A Genocide Foretold"

Media Report 2025.06.03

 — Organisation: Free Palestine Melbourne — 
FPM Media Report Tuesday June 3 2025 Hamas accused of brutal crackdown on protesters in Gaza https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-02/hamas-accused-of-brutal-crackdown-on-protesters-in-gaza/105348408 By Middle East correspondent Matthew Doran and ABC staff in Gaza Palestinians have taken to the streets to protest against Hamas. (ABC News) Hanging from the tarpaulin walls of Amal Ashraf Al Shafa’a’s tent are three posters showing […]

Media Report 2025.06.02

 — Organisation: Free Palestine Melbourne — 
Israel and Hamas accuse each other of attack on civilians at Gaza aid site ABC | Matthew Doran & Cherine Yazbeck | 2 June 2025 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-02/israel-hamas-trade-black-for-attack-civilians-at-gaza-aid-site/105364290 More than 30 Palestinians were killed during gunfire at a southern Gaza aid distribution site on Sunday morning. Hamas accused Israeli forces of opening fire on civilians, but Israel […]

Media Report 2025.06.01

 — Organisation: Free Palestine Melbourne — 
‘Annihilation is coming’ Daily Telegraph | 1 June 2025 https://todayspaper.dailytelegraph.com.au/infinity/article_popover_share.aspx?guid=1246803f-13e8-4b83-99bf-32d89840e222&share=true Gaza: Israel said Hamas must accept a hostage deal in Gaza or “be annihilated”, as US President Donald Trump announced that a ceasefire agreement was “very close”. It came amid dire conditions on the ground, with the United Nations yet again warning Gaza’s entire population […]

Media Report 2025.05.31

 — Organisation: Free Palestine Melbourne — 
FPM Media Report Saturday May 31 2025 Palestinian children sent back to war-ravaged Gaza after medical treatment in Jordan https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-31/palestinian-children-sent-back-to-gaza-after-treatment-in-jordan/105351612 By Middle East correspondent Matthew Doran and ABC staff in Gaza In short: Palestinian children evacuated to Jordan for desperately needed medical treatment have been sent back to Gaza, fearful for their lives. Some families […]

Media Report 2025.05.29

 — Organisation: Free Palestine Melbourne — 
FPM Media Report Thursday May 29 2025. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-28/un-says-dozens-reportedly-injured-at-gaza-aid-distribution-point/105350396 UN says dozens reportedly injured by Israeli gunfire at Gaza aid site Palestinians rushed into an aid centre in southern Gaza on its second day of operations. In short: The UN says dozens of civilians have been reportedly injured while trying to collect food from a Gaza […]

Media Report 2025.05.28

 — Organisation: Free Palestine Melbourne — 
Netanyahu deserves sanctions, says Evans The Age & Sydney Morning Herald | Matthew Knott | 28 May 2025 https://edition.theage.com.au/shortcode/THE965/edition/83bc57b4-e0b6-ea98-862f-6cb4e01bc51e?page=568248b2-a360-fde0-f02d-082fc68a7bc8 (SMH headline: Labor elder backs Palestine state and sanctions on Israel) Labor’s longest-serving foreign minister has called on the Albanese government to sanction Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and recognise Palestinian statehood within weeks, a move […]

Media Report 2025.05.27

 — Organisation: Free Palestine Melbourne — 
FPM Media Report Tuesday May 27, 2025   Head of US-backed Gaza aid foundation quits, saying he could not abandon ‘principles’ https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-27/aid-chief-quits/105340218   Head of US-backed Gaza aid foundation quits, saying he could not abandon ‘principles’ Multiple international organisations are warning of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza if more aid isn’t delivered. (AP: Abdel Kareem […]

Media Report 2025.05.26

 — Organisation: Free Palestine Melbourne — 
Nine of doctor’s 10 children killed in Israeli strike on Gaza The Age & Sydney Morning Herald / AP | Sally Albou Aljoud | 26 May 2025 https://edition.theage.com.au/shortcode/THE965/edition/2885f820-d607-445b-35fd-5e9f7dd9adf7?page=918e4ed7-2db0-1a0a-00ec-1f37fd65b556 A doctor has returned home from work to find nine of her 10 children killed in Israel’s renewed military offensive, col leagues and Gaza’s Health Ministry said. […]

America’s Golden Age: A Return to the Permanent Things

 — Organisation: The Claremont Institute — 

We gather at a time of great anxiety—and great possibility. For years, we’ve seen an America in decline. We have been told that our best days are behind us. That the people are too divided, our institutions too broken, our moral center too hollowed out ever to recover.

And yet—here we are. In 2025. Back under the leadership of President Trump. Not in retreat. Not in despair. But in the early, bracing hours of a national renewal.

I believe we are witnessing the dawn of a golden age. Not because of one man—though he has been a battering ram through the fortress of the ruling class. But because of what this moment now makes possible: a return not just to strength or prosperity or sovereignty—but to the permanent things.

As Russell Kirk once wrote, “The conservative is concerned, first of all, for the regeneration of the spirit and the character—for the perennial truths.” And if anything defines this political moment—it is the hunger for those truths.

We are living through the collapse of liberal technocracy. And we are standing at the edge of something new—or rather, something very old. A renewal of the American republic grounded not in managerial jargon or neoliberal drift but in the principles of moral order, self-government, national purpose, and human dignity.

We are not clinging to fading embers but standing at the sunrise of a golden age, guided once more by the permanent things. This is not an accident of policy. It is the result of a people remembering who they are.

Recurrent terms in my posts

 — Author: Patricia Roberts-Miller — 
Books about demagoguery


The Worst Part of the Unanimous Supreme Court Ruling Blocking a Lawsuit Against Gunmakers

 — Author: Heidi Li Feldman — 

I wrote a piece for Slate with the headline that titles this post. It was just published there. Below is an excerpt, please head click here for the full version.


On Thursday, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the government of Mexico may not continue its lawsuit seeking to hold firearms manufacturers and a firearms distributor civilly accountable for their role in causing cartel-driven gun violence in Mexico. Having taken the case at an unusually early stage in the litigation, and so working from an undeveloped factual record, all nine justices agreed that Mexico's current complaint does not even satisfactorily allege that the defendants have aided and abetted U.S. dealers who illegally sell guns to traffickers who then get them to the cartels in Mexico. 

The elephant in Hearing Room A

 — Publication: City Observatory — 

Why does Oregon’s massive new highway bill make no provision for the rising cost of the state’s most expensive highway project?

Why are officials continuing to delay release of new, higher cost estimates that they’ve been promising for the past year and half?

There’s a $9 billion elephant in the Oregon State Capitol’s Hearing Room A, where the Joint Transportation Committee meets twice a week.  Legislators are trying to work out a multi-billion dollar package that will supposedly fix the fiscal wreck that is the Oregon Department of Transportation, but their calculations leave out virtually certain cost overruns that on the massive I-5 Interstate Bridge Replacement Project.

It makes a mockery of the idea that legislators and ODOT are getting a handle on “accountability” when they’re utterly failing to include the most expensive highway project in state history in their financial calculations.

The Rule of Idiots

 — Author: Chris Hedges — 

The Politics of Purity

 — Author: Patricia Roberts-Miller — 
people arguing
From the cover of Wayne Booth’s _Modern Dogma-

My area of expertise is how communities make bad decisions—train wrecks in public deliberation. These are times that big and small communities made a decision that resulted in an unforced disaster.

Reclaim Your Streets: 5 Essential Guides & Studies

 — Organisation: Strong Towns — 

The Week Observed, June 6, 2025

 — Publication: City Observatory — 

What City Observatory Did This Week

ODOT hiding cost overruns.  Despite widespread bloviation about the need for “accountability,” the Oregon Department of Transportation is simply, and inexplicably, unaccountable for the spiraling cost of its largest single project.  It’s hiding new higher cost estimates as the Oregon Legislature ponders giving it more morney.

The Oregon and Washington highway departments are once again delaying releasing a new cost estimate for the Interstate Bridge Project.  It’s an ominous sign that the cost is going to be much, much higher.

IBR leaders have known since January of 2024 that costs were going to be even higher–but repeatedly they’ve delayed releasing a new estimate.

In April, IBR project director Greg Johnson announced that there would be yet another delay, until at least September 2025– in telling the Oregon and Washington Legislatures and the public how much the IBR project will cost.  They now say an estimate will come out “by the end of the year”–i.e. well after the Legsislature will have to vote on a major transportation package.

The IBR cost estimate, which jumped from a maximum of $4.8 billion in 2020 to as much as $7.5 billion in 2022, has grown increasingly stale. Expect the total cost of the project to exceed $9 billion.

06/05/2025 Market Update

 — Organisation: Applied MMT — 

Common Misconceptions about COVID Hold Strong as New Variant Spreads

 — Author: Julia Doubleday — 

COVID is in the headlines again, and this time the media hook is a particularly nasty sore throat dubbed “razor blade throat”. The new variant, NB.1.8.1, is a recombinant with a complex lineage, and may be divergent enough to create a significant summer wave. Right-wingers, as usual, have decried the appearance of COVID in the news and insisted they will refuse to comply with any public health measures aimed at controlling disease spread. Many liberals, conversely, appear interested in the news. Unfortunately, years of minimizing, ambiguous, and just plain false messaging have left the public - even those who’d like to protect themselves- unable to properly do so.

Without further ado, here’s the most important information the public needs to- but probably doesn’t - know about mitigating COVID-19 this summer.

The Gauntlet is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Stop Hitting My House

 — Organisation: Strong Towns — 

Get Women Out of Combat

 — Organisation: The Claremont Institute — 

Last week, the Israel Defense Forces announced it will no longer train female soldiers to serve in infantry mobility units due to concerns about their physical preparedness. It is no small announcement that after two years of sustained warfare, the prime example of a modern sex-integrated military decided to backtrack. As Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth noted in a tweet last weekend, this is major news for militaries around the world that are reconsidering the role of women in combat.

Israel’s decision highlights the obvious. Proper physical fitness is imperative for soldiers operating in combat roles—not only so they may achieve their objectives effectively, but also so they do not cause undue danger to themselves or their teammates. Soldiers must be able to trust each other. Real-world experience, from Israel to U.S. Army Special Operations Command, demonstrates that it is entirely reasonable to wonder if such trust can be maintained in co-ed military combat units.

Incantations of National Emergency: The U.S. Court of International Trade Provides Crucial Historical Context

 — Author: Nathan Tankus — Publication: Notes on the Crisis — 
Incantations of National Emergency: The U.S. Court of International Trade Provides Crucial Historical Context

This is a free piece of Notes on the Crises. I will not be paywalling any coverage of this crisis for as long as it persists, so please take out a paid subscription to facilitate performing that public service. You can also leave a “tip” if you want to support my work but hate emails cluttering your inbox or recurring payments. If you’re rich, take out the Trump-Musk Treasury Payments Crisis of 2025 Platinum Tier subscription. 

How 'Paradise Lost' Revolutionized the World (w/ Orlando Reade) | The Chris Hedges Report

 — Author: Chris Hedges — 

This interview is also available on podcast platforms and Rumble.

There are few pieces of literature that remain as prescient and relevant throughout history as John Milton’s Paradise Lost. Thomas Jefferson, Malcolm X, Virginia Woolf, Thomas Paine and dozens more drew inspiration from and studied Milton’s grand work and the revolutionary themes within it.

Professor Orlando Reade, in his book, What in Me Is Dark: The Revolutionary Afterlife of Paradise Lost, examines the epic poem’s influence in the four centuries since its publication and joins host Chris Hedges on this episode of The Chris Hedges Report to discuss this history.

Mr. Barricade: How to Quick Build a Connected City

 — Organisation: Strong Towns — 

Payments System Board Update: June 2025 Meeting

 — Organisation: Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) — 
Read about the issues.

Why Australia’s economic growth is “pathetic”

 — Organisation: The Australia Institute — 

On this episode of Dollars & Sense, Greg and Elinor discuss the latest quarterly GDP figures, why the above-inflation increase to minimum and award wages is a good thing, and the latest from Tariffland.

This discussion was recorded on Thursday 5 June 2025 and things may have changed since recording.

Our independence is our strength – and only you can make that possible. By donating to the Australia Institute’s End of Financial Year appeal today, you’ll help fund the research changing Australia for the better.

Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute and Centre for Future Work // @grogsgamut

Host: Elinor Johnston-Leek, Senior Content Producer, the Australia Institute // @elinorjohnstonleek

Show notes:

The good news? Household living standards are on the rise. The bad news? Just about everything else by Greg Jericho, Guardian Australia (June 2025)

The American Mind Podcast: The Roundtable Episode #270

 — Organisation: The Claremont Institute — 

The American Mind’s ‘Editorial Roundtable’ podcast is a weekly conversation with Ryan Williams, Spencer Klavan, and Mike Sabo devoted to uncovering the ideas and principles that drive American political life. Stream here or download from your favorite podcast host.

White-Collar Bots | The Roundtable Ep. 270

Artificial Intelligence threatens to storm the office as tech companies compete to replace entry-level workers with “agent” underlings. Will this be the next major technological displacement in the workforce? And to what end? Meanwhile, this “Pride month” has lacked the eruption of rainbows typical of June. Is a Pride Shift to go along with the Vibe Shift underway? This week, Blaze Media editor-in-chief and now Claremont Washington Fellow Matthew Peterson joins the guys to discuss the ramifications of AI, the containment of Pride, and to dispense good bad movie recommendations!

Recommended reading:

Are Businesses Absorbing the Tariffs or Passing Them On to Their Customers?

 — Organisation: Federal Reserve Bank of New York — Publication: Liberty Street Economics — 

Consumerism and Democracy

 — Author: Patricia Roberts-Miller — 
Marjorie Taylor Greene saying she voted for a bill she neither read nor understood



At various moments in my career, I was the Director of the first-year composition program, and so dealt with grade complaints. My sense was that about 1/3 of the complaints were misunderstandings; in about 1/3 the instructor had really screwed up. For both of those, I was grateful that a student (or several) had complained, since it was an issue that needed to be resolved at the institutional level.

Buckley at 100

 — Organisation: The Claremont Institute — 

When the 28-year-old Bill Buckley wrote to his new pen pal, Whittaker Chambers, asking permission to come and meet him for the first time, Chambers, recovering at his Maryland farmhouse from another heart attack, replied cheerily, “By all means come. Come anytime of the day.” The letter included driving directions and what Sam Tanenhaus calls “a taste of Chambers’s signature gloom.” Chambers could not sign off without noting, “The score, as the points are chalked up, clearly and boldly, more and more convinces me that the total situation is hopeless, past repair, organically irremediable.”

By the “total situation” he referred not merely to his own ailments, though Buckley found him in bed and forbidden by the doctor “even to raise his head.” No, Chambers meant the whole situation of modern man, especially in the West. As he wrote in his invitation to Buckley, “Almost the only position of spiritual dignity left to men, therefore, is a kind of stoic silence, made bearable by the amusement of seeing, hearing, and knowing the full historical irony that its victims are blind and deaf to, and disciplined by the act of withholding comment on what we know.”

Toronto's War on Bikes and Transit

 — Publication: CityNerd —