If nothing else, we’ve at least stumbled our way into understanding the Trump Doctrine. It combines amorality and incompetence to empower enemies and betray allies, as it dilutes American power in a Dunning-Kruger stew of bluster, arrogance, and stupidity. This doctrine, and the war that came to represent it so clearly, is hardly a surprise. As Daniel B. Shapiro asks in The Atlantic (Gift Article), What Did You Expect? “The credibility of the U.S. in tatters and its military readiness compromised. Alliances and partnerships under stress. The global economy in tumult, inflicting financial pain on American citizens that will linger even as oil prices decline. A fine and avoidable mess all around.” Maybe you’re feeling a little schadenfreude watching this humiliation. But this is not just political theater. As Americans, the humiliation is ours as well. And its impact is bad. Bad for America, our alliances, the region, the Iranian people, Israelis, and the world order. 2Sticks and DronesUkraine knows all too well the American administration’s doctrine of going soft on enemies while holding back support for allies. Trump essentially pushed for a surrender in that war, too. Luckily, Ukrainians (and their European allies, who understand that Putin is also not “nice” to deal with) aren’t going along with that program. Ukraine Bombards Moscow With One of the Biggest Drone Attacks of the War. “No deaths were immediately reported. But the large-scale assault seemed likely to feed fears among Russians that the Kremlin’s ability to isolate society from the impacts of the war was sharply eroding.” 3Hacky Track“With some small, high-stakes exceptions—such as software used on the International Space Station or nuclear submarines—code is written and deployed without much rigorous testing. If a bug is reported, it gets patched ... Such a relaxed security posture has been more or less fine because discovering vulnerabilities is hard and skilled hackers are few in number: Either nobody found the bugs or nobody was able to exploit them. But traditional cybersecurity methods don’t cut it anymore.” AI might feel like it gives you some superpowers. But it also gives them to the bad guys. Matteo Wong: Assume You Will Be Hacked. 4The Tenacity of HopeMeanwhile, back in decent America, the Obama Presidential Center opened today in Chicago. It turns out some presidents don’t have any trouble attracting A-list talent (Bono, Bruce, The Roots, Stevie Wonder, Jennifer Hudson, Eddie Vedder, etc) or former presidents to celebrate unity and what makes America actually great. Here are live updates from NBC, and the stream from YouTube. It takes a little more audacity to have hope these days. This might help. 5Extra, ExtraHigh Court: “The U.S. Supreme Court found Thursday that the government’s prosecution of a marijuana user from Texas for owning guns was inconsistent with the Second Amendment. The decision was unanimous.” Supreme Court sides with a marijuana user who was barred from owning guns. (On the plus side, his aim probably isn’t all that good...) 6Bottom of the NewsAmerican diplomacy ain’t dead yet. Ranch dressing has been such a hit with World Cup visitors that the TSA felt the need to remind people about how much liquid can be stored in carry-on baggage. Please avoid chugging your ranch.
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Thursday, June 18, 2026
Memorandum and Dumber
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