Think More: Thursday, August 27, 2026
Foreign hardware in the grid and the ballot box, the states as the real arena, the arithmetic of equity, a $40 trillion ledger, and the trust deficit.
Lead · The Adversary in the Supply Chain
Trump Declares a Grid Emergency, Empowering Energy to Remove Foreign-Made Equipment
The White House | whitehouse.gov
Executive Order 14420 declares a national emergency over foreign-supplied equipment in the bulk-power system, invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. It bars new acquisitions tied to a covered foreign entity where the Energy Secretary finds an undue risk of sabotage or supply disruption, and authorizes him to isolate, replace, or remove gear already installed. Implementing rules are due within 120 days.
The Adversary in the Supply Chain
Homeland Security Orders Paper-Ballot Audits Over Chinese Parts in Voting Machines
Steven Richards | Just the News
Secretary Markwayne Mullin told the White House Transparency Task Force that Chinese-made components in voting machines create a supply-chain opening for tampering before assembly. Three vendors, ES&S, Hart InterCivic, and Dominion, hold more than 80% of the market, and each has acknowledged Chinese parts. The department will require random paper-ballot audits in the midterms.
Rubio Sanctions the Italian Collective That Hosts Antifa’s Encrypted Infrastructure
The State Department has named Autistici/Inventati, an Italy-based collective that provides encrypted chat, hosting, and anonymity tools, a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. Secretary Marco Rubio said its services are used by the most violent Antifa cells in the United States and abroad. The department’s memo identifies Portland’s Rose City Antifa among the American users.
The States Take the Field
The Right’s Durable Power Runs Through Governors, Attorneys General, and Pension Boards
Writing for Lyceum, Noah Wall argues that presidential terms end and congressional majorities flip, leaving red-state institutions as the movement’s only hedge. He points to Ken Paxton’s 100-plus suits against the Biden administration, Detroit’s 2013 receivership under Kevyn Orr, and the roughly $6.5 trillion in state and local pension assets that governors could redirect.
Meta Settles With 47 States for Up to $17.1 Billion as Florida Heads to Trial
Leslie Eastman | Legal Insurrection
Meta will pay participating states annually over a decade and accept new limits for minors, including overnight access blocks and muted notifications during school hours. Florida, New Mexico, and Texas stayed out. Attorney General James Uthmeier called the deal “a slap on the wrist” for a trillion-dollar company. Meta denied the states’ claims.
New York’s Teachers Union Presses Hochul to Turn Down a Credit That Costs Albany Nothing
Governor Kathy Hochul said in May that New York would opt into the federal credit for scholarship granting organizations, worth up to $1,700 per donor at no cost to Albany. New York State United Teachers president Melinda Person calls it “a retreat from the pluralistic society.” Ray Domanico counts 417,806 students already in private schools.
The Arithmetic of Equity
Chasing Every Gap Requires Discriminating Against Somebody, Stepman Argues
Inez Feltscher Stepman | The American Mind
Stepman argues that unequal outcomes turn up in every profession for cultural, familial, and historical reasons, and that laws presuming discrimination leave employers choosing between litigation and quotas. She cites law professor Gail Heriot, who offers a cash reward to anyone naming a hiring criterion that produces no disparate outcome. No one has collected.
Los Angeles Graded Homeless Contractors on Cultural Humility, Then Wrote the Checks
Chris Bray | Tell Me How This Ends
Reviewing applications filed with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, Chris Bray finds cultural humility posed as questions two and eight while financial controls drew boilerplate. The provider collected $23 million for housing and support; prosecutors now allege not all of it was delivered, and the operator awaits trial.
Forty Trillion and Counting
Defense Shrank and Revenue More Than Doubled, So the $40 Trillion Came From Spending
I&I Editorial Board | Issues & Insights
Issues & Insights answers press accounts blaming wars and tax cuts for the $40 trillion debt. Defense has fallen from 15.6% of federal spending in 2001 to 12.1% this year, and federal revenue is 159% above its 2000 level. Receipts have held near 17.4% of GDP while outlays broke from their postwar average.
For the First Time Since 1977, Both Chambers Passed a Stopgap Before September
James Wallner | The Foundation for American Innovation
James Wallner notes that the House cleared its continuing resolution on July 21 and the Senate on August 8, 72 and 54 days before the September 30 deadline. No chamber had moved that early in 50 fiscal years. The House bill runs to December 4 without riders; the Senate’s runs to December 11 with them.
Gross federal debt against federal revenue since 2000: Issues & Insights
$5.67T
Federal debt in 2000
$40T
Federal debt today
+159%
Revenue growth over the same span
The Trust Deficit
Marines Say CIA-Trained Afghan Units Killed Civilians to Clear the Kabul Airport
In a Wall Street Journal documentary, retired Gunnery Sgt. Edward Gonzalez and other Marines say Afghan Zero Units ran over and shot civilians during the 2021 withdrawal. Retired Rear Adm. Peter Vasely said no official reports reached him. Roughly a quarter of the 124,000 people evacuated that August were Zero Unit members and their families.
Fewer Than Three in Ten Voters Trust Washington to Do Right Most of the Time
Napolitan News Service | napolitannews.org
A Napolitan News Service survey finds 28% of registered voters trust the federal government to do the right thing a majority of the time, while 33% say they rarely or never do. Republicans trust it at 43% against 17% of Democrats. Among voters who discuss politics daily, 60% say the government usually gets it right.
