American freedom was built on endless conquest

JACOBIN

Story by Greg Grandin 

2mo / 10 min read

The Founders made expansion the precondition of American freedom. We must find an alternative

The Declaration of Independence of 1776 was, among other things, the colonists’ counter to the Royal Proclamation of 1763. The declaration, written by Thomas Jefferson, only referenced London’s effort to partition North America obliquely, complaining that King George III incited “the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages” to wage war on settlers. But two years earlier, Jefferson, in one of his first political tracts, had clearly condemned the Crown’s effort to restrict migration. “America was conquered,” Jefferson wrote in “A Summary View of the Rights of British America,” by its settlers, 

"at the expense of individuals, and not of the British public. Their own blood was spilt in acquiring lands for the settlement, their own fortunes expended in making that settlement effectual; for themselves they fought, for themselves they conquered, and for themselves alone they have right to hold."

Who Sees Themselves as Working Class?

Most Americans think of themselves as “working class” today

BY STEVEN SHEPARD, HANNAH HARTIG, ANDY CERDA AND JOCELYN KILEY

AUGUST 31, 2026

Photos, left to right: Al Drago, Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo, Katina Zentz, Jeffrey Greenberg, Paul Bersebach and Raquel Natalicchio all via Getty Images. Photo illustration by Pew Research Center.

Most Americans think of themselves as “working class” today: Overall, 60% of U.S. adults say the term describes them well. And the identity is widely adopted by people across all income and educational groups – including half of both Americans who have a bachelor’s degree and those who are upper income.

The Republican Party’s Midterm Nightmare Is Taking Shape

Democrats see an opening in the states where Trump’s policies are hitting hardest
By Jonathan Martin

08/30/2026 07:00 AM EDT

POLITICO

LEAWOOD, Kansas — The Senate map is less complicated than it appears. As with every modern presidential campaign, it runs through the Midwest. If Democrats flip Republican-held seats in Ohio and Iowa while retaining Michigan, they will almost certainly net the four seats total needed to take control of the Senate for President Donald Trump’s final two years.

Italy's population to shrink by 4 million by 2050, stats agency says

By Reuters / August 31, 2026

4:44 AM PDT Updated 10 hours ago

ROME, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Italy's population will shrink by almost 4 million by 2050, undermining the sustainability of its economy and welfare system as ​the proportion of elderly people increases, national statistics bureau ‌ISTAT warned on Monday.

In new demographic projections extending to 2080, ISTAT said Italy's resident population would fall to 55 million in 2050 from 58.9 million at ​the start of 2025, before dropping to 45.8 million by ​2080.

Israel signs $3.5 billion air defense deal with Greece

By Steven Scheer and Lefteris Papadimas
August 31, 2026 4:06 AM PDT 

Updated 10 hours ago

Summary

• Deal is one of Israel's biggest ever export deals
• Israel says deal highlights its proven track record in the field
• Agreement part of Greece's military modernisation drive

JERUSALEM/ATHENS, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Israel and Greece ‌signed a €3 billion ($3.5 billion) defence deal on Monday under which Israel will build a multi-layered air defence system for Greece as Athens pushes ahead with a broader military modernisation programme.

Thailand issues prostitution warning as 5,000 US sailors arrive in tourist town after 200 days at sea

The USS Abraham Lincoln will dock at Thailand's resort city of Pattaya, where prostitution is legal

Panarat Thepgumpanat

Monday 31 August 2026 

08:56 BST

Local authorities in a Thai resort city have issued a crack down on prostitution ahead of a visit from a US Navy aircraft carrier carrying 5,000 sailors and Marines who have been at sea for over 200 days.The USS Abraham Lincoln will dock on Wednesday at Thailand's resort city of Pattaya. The visit has raised hopes of an economic boost.

Experts, lawyers puzzled over US-Venezuela oil deal, call for contract transparency

REUTERS

In Venezuelan oil region, industry reform sparks both hope and skepticism

By Marianna Parraga and Mayela Armas
August 31, 2026 3:04 AM PDT
Updated 4 hours ago

Summary

• US expected to hold 55% of partnership to produce 17 oil fields
• Full development to take more than 25 years, analysts say
• Experts, lawyers worried over legality, contract opacity
• US could gain access to a base of exportable crude output

The White House Needs an Interpreter in Chief. Who you gonna call?

By Yiannis Damellos

August 31 2026

There was a time when the vice president of the United States had fairly straightforward duties. He might preside over the Senate, attend cabinet meetings, travel abroad, reassure allies, or occasionally stand beside the president looking presidential. Well, what do you know? Those days are apparently over cause JD has acquired a new and considerably more hazardous portfolio as Interpreter-in-Chief.

Transcript: Trump Wrecks GOP Midterm Strategy in Dumbest Self-Own Ever

The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent

August 28, 2026

As Trump badly undercuts the GOP electoral strategy, Jennifer Rubin of The Contrarian explains why this could make a meaningful difference—while urging Dems to avoid falling into overconfidence.

'A giant leap forward': Nasa launches powerful new space telescope

11 hours ago
Grace Eliza Goodwin
Nasa's powerful next-generation telescope has blasted off into space from its launchpad in Florida, with a mission to explore dark energy, black holes and other mysteries of the Universe.

The Nancy Grace Roman telescope will capture vast panoramic views of space, with a field of vision 100 times larger than both the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes, Nasa says.

Under Fire: Major Networks Stand Firm After Trump Demands FCC Action Against NBC’s Kristen Welker

August 30, 2026

Freedom of the Press

A fierce battle over the Freedom of the Press has ignited in Washington following Donald Trump’s public demand that the FCC punish NBC anchor Kristen Welker over her reporting on his midterm endorsement track record 

The ultimatum has triggered swift condemnation from across the media landscape, with rival networks launching a rarely united front to defend Welker and push back against White House intimidation. As the Lone Democrat on the FCC explicitly rejects the administration's authority to censor reporters, major broadcasters are escalating their legal resistance against what they call a dangerous weaponization of federal regulatory agencies.

Meta is Testing Robot Technology to Replace Data Center Technicians

August 30, 2026

Robotics and Data Centers

According to a recent article in Wired, Meta has begun implementing advanced robotics in its data centers to automate various routine maintenance tasks 

The tech giant is experimenting with robots designed to perform duties such as cable swapping, rebooting frozen servers, and reseating hardware components. This initiative is part of Meta's strategy to enhance physical operations across its global network, particularly as it speeds up efforts to bolster its computing capabilities for artificial intelligence applications. However, insiders warn that the automation of these tasks may threaten the jobs of technicians, potentially eliminating up to 80% of their responsibilities.

We Cannot Stop the Floods, But we Can Cut the Death Toll

August 30, 2026

By Yiannis Damellos

I am willing to play devil's advocate just to prove my point. Can we agree on something other than climate change being responsible for every natural catastrophe these days? Just because the loss of life from natural disasters has increased lately, maybe we can agree on a common denominator. Something like "The purpose of a good government is not to prevent nature from killing us. It is to make sure that nature doesn't get to kill us simply because we failed to use everything science already knows." How about that for starters?

Maduro Shares Prison Photos as U.S. Controls Now 7.1% of Global Oil Reserves After Robbing his Country

Edited by Yiannis Damellos

August 30, 2026

Nicolás Maduro, the man who once ruled over the world’s largest proven oil reserves, appeared Sunday in photographs from a New York prison, sending a message to his supporters that he remained “standing firm” even as the political and economic landscape of Venezuela was being transformed around him.

The photographs, posted on social media, showed Maduro in a gray tracksuit making peace signs with both hands. He appeared thinner than before his capture by U.S. forces. 

Scientists discover a massive heat anomaly deep inside Mars

Science News from research organizations

Date: August 30, 2026

Source:Caltech

Summary: Mars has a hidden temperature divide, with its southern interior potentially hundreds of degrees hotter than the north and partially molten. The discovery could help explain several long-standing Martian mysteries, including unusual magnetism, seismic behavior, and clues to the planet’s ancient water history.

The museum charting how humans understand the world

Beautiful, surreal and eerily empty, Vienna's Globe Museum is the only public museum on Earth dedicated to globes, and it – quite literally – tells the story of our world.
8 hours ago
Maggie Downs

It's a chilly afternoon in Vienna, and the line for the Austrian National Library has already spilled out the door, curling like a ribbon around the grand Josefsplatz square. I'm not in the mood to wait – I've already struck out at several crowded nearby attractions where timed-entry tickets were sold out.

Iran war: US military strikes Iran's Larak Island — reports

CONFLICTSIRAN

Zac Crellin with AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters

Published 19 minutes agoPublished 19 minutes ago | last updated 9 minutes ago

The attack targeting Iranian rocket launchers in the Strait of Hormuz was the first in over a month. Iran's Revolutionary Guards have vowed retaliation. DW has the latest.

What you need to know

• The US reportedly conducted its first strikes on Iran in weeks
• The strikes targeted Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz
• Iran's Revolutionary Guard has vowed to retaliate against the attack

Congo is Paying The Price of Progress and Greed by Powering the Modern World with Sacrificial Labor

Source: The Independent

August 30, 2026

The midday sun beat down relentlessly on the red clay walls of the Shabara mine near Kolwezi, reports The Independent. Amidst a swarming sea of thousands of bodies clinging to the precarious dirt terraces, twenty-four-year-old Jean-Pierre swung a crude iron pickaxe into the rock face. His hands were calloused, and his lungs burned with a persistent cough from breathing in toxic, radioactive dust every day.