Susan Collins:
1) Voted to convict Trump of impeachment
2) Voted against Amy Coney Barrett & Pete Hegseth
3) Backed limits on Trump's military power
4) Wants to nuke his "Anti-Weaponization Fund"
And more. If *she* is your evil right-wing extremist, words do not mean anything.
Louisiana has every natural advantage for energy dominance — abundant resources, strategic ports, skilled workforce. So what's standing in the way? @PelicanInst just mapped the barriers.
Here's what they found. 1/
6/ The pattern @PelicanInst documents in Louisiana — out-of-state money, embedded government influence, litigation as economic weapon — is playing out across SPN states. The network is watching and pushing back.
8/8 The through-line this week: Defense.
State policy organizations are critiquing bad policy, building tools, and reframing debates before bad ideas calcify. Stopping bad policy is just as important as advancing good policy.
From worker empowerment to energy policy to education staffing, state policy shops are doing the real work this week. Here’s what the SPN network is publishing, proposing, and winning right now. 1/8
7/ The Mackinac Center calls out a troubling trend: school boards drifting from public accountability toward institutional self-protection. Transparency isn’t optional when you’re spending taxpayer dollars.
https://t.co/Uke3LRgRO1
@MackinacCenter
This should surprise no one. This is exactly what the CCP in #China would do to hobble US innovation in the #AI race & #TechColdWar- fan the opposition to #DataCenters.
See @bitcoinpolicy
Transmission rates in many states were increasing before the rise of #DataCenters.
Why?
Because we retired tons of baseload electric generation capacity when everyone wanted to go green & shift to non-baseload intermittent resources.
It is also because we haven't invested in a lot of advanced transmission technology because utilities mostly make $ by building & rate basing new transmission rather than improving & modernizing existing transmission to improve efficiency.
To be clear data centers are increasing demand, BUT if we had more capacity on the grid & modernized transmission, the price spikes would be far less.
#Energy
5/ As primary season opens,@idahofreedom published the 2026 Idaho Freedom Index, flagging 42 legislators as “big spenders” and spotlighting key races where conservative challengers are targeting low-scoring incumbents on fiscal issues.
https://t.co/xbf8YK3X4o
1/ Arizona court struck down the Hobbs admin’s “Unmet Demand Rule” in late April, ending water restrictions that halted housing across much of Maricopa County.@GoldwaterInst’s lawsuit proved the agency skipped required rulemaking. Experts call it a potential “death knell” for the 100-year water rule.
https://t.co/Xb0MJQJpjR
4/ Utah passed HB 126—@Libertas-backed legislation making it easier to launch microschools—building on the state’s school choice momentum with Utah Fits All scholarships and the new federal tax credit.
https://t.co/9tjFKvw9ur