America’s War of Choice

                                     

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March 10, 2026

AMERICA’S WAR OF CHOICE DANIEL FALCONE America’s war of choice is Israel’s war of necessity. THE NEW BRAVE AI WAR MACHINE JANET ABOU-ELIAS AND WILLIAM D. HARTUNG Techno-optimism run amok. THINKING ABOUT THE UNTHINKABLE MICHAEL HUDSON Iran’s grand plan to end U.S. presence in the Middle East. CULPRITS IN THE AFFORDABILITY CRISIS SARAH ANDERSON AND REYANNA JAMES The top 20 culprits. COUNTERPUNCH+ EXCLUSIVE IMPERIAL BLOWBACK Communal Rebellion BY DAVID MASCIOTRA In the middle of my phone call with an ICE observer in Minneapolis, a helicopter flew overhead. She was smoking outside of her home in a northern neighborhood of the city. Throughout the rest of the call, several drones streamed through the sky. “We have helicopters every night,” she said, “We hear whistles and horns honking constantly, because ICE has been spotted.” We spoke on February 12th, after the murders of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, but well before Tom Homan lied to the world with an announcement that the secret police force of the Trump junta was leaving Minneapolis. Homan, of course, is the border “czar,” an appropriate title given that the word was originally synonymous with “Caesar,” as in emperor. READ MORE

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‘Frustration’ remains among lawmakers despite shrinking unemployment delays

                                    

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New from CommonWealth Beacon NEW CODCAST: This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon senior reporter Jordan Wolman hosts a discussion about how rising utility bills became the chief political headache for Beacon Hill. Kyle Murray of the Acadia Center and Dan Dolan of the New England Power Generators Association join.  MARIANO: House Speaker Ron Mariano said the sweeping energy affordability package recently approved in his chamber is “not going to help much at all” with ratepayer bills next winter. The wide-ranging TV interview with the top House Democrat also touched on immigration and the Legislature's continued audit resistance, Colin A. Young writes for State House News Service.

‘Frustration’ remains among lawmakers despite shrinking unemployment delays   March 10, 2026 By Chris Lisinski and Jordan Wolman

Lawmakers have been mostly quiet about the unemployment insurance upheaval that forced many laid-off Bay Staters to wait months for aid, but when they came face-to-face Monday with the Healey administration’s top labor official, a few made clear that they have been feeling the heat even if the outlook is improving.

Several legislators used Labor Secretary Lauren Jones’s appearance at a state budget hearing to call more attention to problems at the Department of Unemployment Assistance, where the launch of a new technical system last year prompted Massachusetts to tumble to worst-in-the-nation performance for several months before a recent turnaround.

Sen. Jake Oliveira, a Ludlow Democrat who co-chairs the Legislature’s Labor and Workforce Development Committee, said at Monday’s hearing that “all of us have been disturbed by our rankings nationwide,” referencing first-time claimant waits that for much of 2025 were longer than in any other state.

“I’m happy to say that [with] the leadership of this administration and the changes that have been put in place, those wait times have gone down. I’ve seen even in my office less people reaching out,” Oliveira said. “But there’s still a level of frustration that exists with folks when it comes to administering the DUA program.”

Oliveira, who in January pledged to pepper the administration with “tough questions” about the situation, told Jones that his office had been “inundated” with calls from constituents who struggled to access jobless benefits.

That was a seemingly common experience.

Rep. Sally Kerans, a Danvers Democrat, said her office has been “flooded” with messages from constituents seeking help with their unemployment claims.

“Has word gotten out that if you call your state rep, you’ll really get help very quickly?” she said.

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Last year, the state transitioned to a new back-end system designed to streamline payment of unemployment benefits. But the process quickly created new problems after it launched in May, with enhanced fraud prevention tools flagging a higher volume of issues and department staff stretched even thinner than usual because they were simultaneously learning how to use a new platform.

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More Context Massachusetts set out to modernize its unemployment insurance system. Then it hit a new low. (January 2026)  Despite improvement, Mass. unemployment system remains one of the worst in the country by some measures (February 2026)

More from CommonWealth Beacon MUST READ! LAWSUIT: Democratic Party insiders are suing to block a proposed ballot question that would end partisan primaries in Massachusetts. If that measure passed, it could create general elections pitting two Democrats against each other in the deep blue state, an uncomfortable prospect for incumbents, Chris Lisinski explains.  MY NOTE: GEORGIA ALLOWS REPUBLICANS TO FLOOD THE PROCESS:  Twenty-one candidates are running in special general election on March 10 to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene (R) By Mercedes Yanora February 12, 2026 GEORGIA ELECTION RIGGING GATEWAY CITIES: Salem and Quincy have together received more than $10 million in housing tax credits based on their status as Gateway Cities, even though they no longer meet the state’s criteria for that designation, Hallie Claflin reports.  OPINION: One solution to the energy affordability debates: the creation of a state climate bank, writes Rishi Reddi, senior policy advisor at Ceres, a Boston-based national environmental organization.

What We're Reading VOTING: Secretary of State William Galvin will publish information about how many incarcerated people requested and received ballots in the 2024 elections under a settlement with legal groups. (The Boston Globe – paywall)  CASINOS: Gov. Maura Healey wants to redirect some money generated at casinos toward promoting local tourism in a bid to support a “wildly underfunded” industry. (GBH News)  NALOXONE: Sen. John Keenan of Quincy continues to push to relaunch a program making naloxone available in MBTA subway stations, contending that the T never implemented a previously required effort. (WBUR)  TICKETING: Attorney General Andrea Campbell called a tentative federal settlement agreement with ticketing conglomerate Live Nation Entertainment “wholly inadequate” and pledged to press ahead with her own suit. (State House News Service – paywall)  BOSTON SCHOOLS: Boston Public Schools recorded its highest-ever graduation rate in 2025. (Boston Herald – paywall)

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