The Rays Get a $967 Million Public Assist, Then Tampa Throws Fireworks
Tampa is celebrating a $2.3 billion Rays ballpark and mixed-use project as economic development, but the money trail asks who gets the stadium and who gets the receipt.
ICE Put the Background Check in the Back Seat
ICE wants a larger enforcement machine, but a whistleblower complaint and AP reporting raise questions about whether some recruits moved ahead before basic vetting was complete.
Spotify Gives the Robot a Name Tag—and a Smaller Stage
Spotify says AI Persona badges will help listeners understand how music was made. The catch: the same label can move an artist out of the recommendation machinery that creates an audience.
America’s Public Libraries Have Entered the Fog Machine
A parental-choice slogan is being used to turn ordinary library decisions into a community-wide culture-war permission slip.
The Watchdog Lost Its Own Paper Trail
A GAO inspector general report found that the agency could not readily document why its multimillion-dollar IT modernization plan changed—or easily total what the initiative cost.
Please Do Not Invade the Voting Booth
The Pentagon is issuing preemptive assurances about polling places, ballot seizures, and unlawful orders—because the rumor machine has apparently turned democracy into a military customer-service queue.
They Got the Spotlight. We Got the Bill.
Washington keeps handing public power to a cast list built for television and private jets, then acting surprised when the audience is staring at…
When Efficiency Locks the Front Door
I ran the arithmetic on the Biden-Harris plan to expand home-based care versus the Trump policy freeze described around CMS, and the numbers have…
The DEA’s Fentanyl Strategy Was Apparently “Let It Walk”
House investigators and the Justice Department inspector general are examining reported decisions to monitor suspected fentanyl shipments instead of immediately seizing them. Hugh Jass audits the paperwork and finds a public-safety calculation with an alarming expiration date.
The Rich Never Take an Election Off—So Why Should Workers?
Billionaire logic runs democracy like a private board meeting: the moneyed interests never miss attendance, while workers are handed the inspirational pamphlet titled “Your…
Relief Is Apparently Still in Transit
My library card has seen more reliable delivery schedules than economic relief. Lower costs, cheaper gas, affordable housing, and a 50% energy-price cut sound…
Trump’s Affordable America Is Still in the Waiting Room
I put the 2024 affordability promises beside a household calculator, and the calculator remains unimpressed. Cheaper gas, energy cut in half, affordable housing, and…
Portland’s $650,000 Vendor Detour
Portland’s auditor found a costly contract-planning failure: contractors lacked the needed expertise, could not directly access the system, and left taxpayers facing another contract for the backlog.