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Citizens in Name Only: What the Supreme Court Can’t Fix

Citizens in Name Only: What the Supreme Court Can’t Fix

The American Experiment at the Brink Due To Minority Rule

The American Experiment at the Brink Due To Minority Rule

Exploring the role of veterans in protecting democracy

Opinion

American flag on a military uniform
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The Fulcrum
By The FulcrumMar 07, 2024
The Fulcrum
The Fulcrum staff.
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In this episode of “Future Hindsight,” host Mila Atmos engages in a conversation with Ken Harbaugh, a veteran, an executive producer of the documentary "Against All Enemies" and the host of the "Burn the Boats" podcast. They delve into the pressing issues surrounding democracy in the United States in 2024.

Harbaugh, a former Navy pilot, emphasizes the critical nature of the upcoming presidential election, viewing it as pivotal for the preservation of democracy. They discuss the rise of far-right extremism and its connection to radicalized veterans, drawing insights from Harbaugh's documentary. The conversation explores the impact of misinformation, the role of veterans in extremist movements and the need for civic engagement to counter these challenges. Harbaugh underscores the importance of addressing the divisive narratives and disinformation that threaten the democratic process.

The podcast reflects on the post-truth era, the ongoing skirmishes in the United States, and the potential for change through education and open conversations. Harbaugh expresses hope in the younger generation as catalysts for positive change, emphasizing the urgency of securing democracy for future generations. The episode concludes with a teaser for the next guest, Jess Piper, executive director of Blue Missouri, offering a glimpse into the importance of local engagement in politics.


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The U.S. Pentagon.

Buried in the 2027 NDAA, Section 224 could fundamentally reshape U.S.-Israel defense ties. Is Congress creating an irreversible military partnership?

Getty Images, Westend61

America Should Stay Single

As we wait to see what comes of ceasefire negotiations between the United States and Iran, the House just released its 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Buried within it lies Section 224, titled the “United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative,” a provision representing what would be a radical departure from how we work with even our strongest allies, turning America’s relationship with a close collaborator into a permanent military-industrial integration. The U.S. has worked with NATO partners on co-production and shared supply chains in the past, but never like this. Many are calling it a merger. We should all be calling it off.

Section 224 could inextricably link the fate of our country’s defense to another’s. The Secretary of Defense would be directed to designate an executive agent to fuse ventures with Israel so significantly that it would touch almost every area of defense tech: AI, autonomous systems, energy, cyber, biotech, and beyond. It also proposes “network” and “data fusion,” which means, as the director of the Democratizing Foreign Policy program at the Quincy Institute warned, “the U.S. military’s data could soon be the Israeli military’s data.” America First may soon sound more like a sarcastic punchline than a platform.

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AI Could Save Thousands—So Why Is Healthcare Still Hitting the Brakes?

Discover how generative AI in healthcare could reduce misdiagnoses, improve chronic disease management, and save hundreds of thousands of lives—if policymakers accelerate adoption instead of waiting for risk-free perfection.

Getty Images / Pakorn Supajitsoontorn

AI Could Save Thousands—So Why Is Healthcare Still Hitting the Brakes?

Imagine that the only way Americans traveled was on foot or on horseback. And assume that 100,000 people died each year because they couldn’t reach a hospital in time or firefighters arrived too late.

Suddenly, they learned that thanks to a technological breakthrough, cars and trucks will become widely available within three years.

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This 3D rendered image shows a central AI processing chip sitting atop a glowing blue printed circuit board.

Can AI profit-sharing help workers? Examining public wealth funds, AI taxes, economic transition policies, and the future of work.

Jason marz / Getty Images

There’s No Easy Path Through the AI Transition

“Trending” policy ideas tend to garner attention for all the wrong reasons: they seem like silver bullet solutions that will save us from taking on much harder reforms. Proposals to share profits from leading AI companies with the public are the latest example. It’s the rare policy scheme that seems to have united President Donald Trump, Senator Bernie Sanders, and CEOs at the leading AI labs. While the proposals for AI profit sharing vary in their precise details, a quick review of their likely outcomes should quickly deflate the popular excitement that has formed in response to calls for new taxes, public wealth funds, and the like. It’s important to reveal such limitations so that the AI policy discourse can move on to mechanisms more likely to address the real concerns of the American people.

In our first hypothetical world, the two leading AI labs—Anthropic and OpenAI—give away 3% of their equity. That’s not nothing! Based on current figures, such a contribution could kickstart a public wealth fund of about $55 billion. Let’s then imagine that fund earns 10% a year (a big “if” but let’s run with it). Per The Economist, this AI would reach a staggering $140 billion within ten years. How much would that benefit Americans? If annual payouts were 4% — what the publication reports is a proper amount to keep the fund going and growing — Americans would have an extra $20 in their pocket.

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For Imre Huss, Fixing Democracy Starts With Talking to a Stranger
a couple of people sitting at a table with cups of coffee
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash

For Imre Huss, Fixing Democracy Starts With Talking to a Stranger

The Democracy Architects Council, presented by The Bridge Alliance Education Fund and Civics Unplugged, offers a paid, one-year fellowship for eight fellows ages 18 to 28, each selected for their work across a distinct sector of democratic life.

The youngest member of the Democracy Architects Council is building AI-powered civic tech, but he says the real work of democracy still happens face to face.

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