Today in the Kaizen Short News:
Washington is marching for voting rights, Google is turning Lake Ontario into “Lake America,” Europe’s drought is getting worse, Merz is massively increasing military spending, and European central bankers are alarmed after an unannounced U.S. sale of euros. Also: The Pentagon is secretly employing right-wing military influencers in government roles.
63 Years After Martin Luther King, Thousands March in Washington for Voting Rights
More than six decades after Martin Luther King Jr. stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial and spoke of a more just America, thousands of people have returned to the same place because rights people fought for back then are once again under pressure. Under the banner "March on Washington 2026: Defend the Vote," union members, students, members of Black Greek-letter organizations, and people from across the country gathered on the National Mall. The demonstration was organized by Al Sharpton's National Action Network and the Drum Major Institute of Martin Luther King III and Arndrea Waters King together with more than 90 organizations, including the NAACP and the National Urban League.
In April, the Supreme Court weakened a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, after which Republican-led states across the South, in some cases within just days, began redrawing congressional districts - in time for the November midterm elections. Martin Luther King III said that 63 years after his father's march, this was not about simply remembering his words, but about taking action again. Marc Morial of the National Urban League also warned of powerful forces that people needed to stand up to together. The organizers see voting rights as only one part of a broader attack on civil rights. They point to Donald Trump's efforts to restrict mail-in voting, roll back anti-discrimination protections across the federal government, and fundamentally reshape the work of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.
Al Sharpton wrote to his supporters that voting rights were being weakened state by state, piece by piece, and that other rights were coming under pressure along with them. Speakers included Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Jeffries pointed out that Black unemployment is rising, Black homeownership is falling, and Black political representation in the South is being attacked with methods that reminded him of the Jim Crow era. Sixty-three years after the historic 1963 march, thousands once again stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial - this time not because the demands of that era had become history, but because many of them once again have to be defended.
Google Maps Turns Lake Ontario Into "Lake America" for U.S. Users
Google Maps will now show Lake Ontario in the United States under the name ordered by Donald Trump, "Lake America." For users in Canada, it will remain Lake Ontario, while people outside both countries will see both names. Google says it is making the change because its map service follows the Geographic Names Information System for official geographic names in the United States. Trump ordered the smallest of the five Great Lakes renamed by executive order on Thursday. His order, however, only changes the official name within the U.S. system. Canada is not bound by it, and internationally Lake Ontario does not suddenly become "Lake America."
The decision comes in the middle of an increasingly bitter trade dispute between Washington and Ottawa, with both countries now imposing tariffs on billions of dollars worth of goods. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney immediately rejected the name change. Trump's decision is also facing resistance along the U.S. border. New York's Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul made clear that her state would not call the lake by that name. Vermont's Republican Governor Phil Scott called Trump's move petty and disappointing. Ontario Premier Doug Ford had a large sign put up on the lakeshore on Saturday reading "Lake Ontario: Now and Always," in both English and French. Trump could call the lake whatever he wanted, Ford said, but the rest of the world would continue to call it Lake Ontario. Google made a similar move last year after Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico "Gulf of America" by executive order. Back then, the map service also adopted the U.S. government's name for users inside the United States. Now the same thing is happening with Lake Ontario - on the screens of American users it has a new name, while on the Canadian side of the same water it does not.
Europe's Summer Drought Is Drying Up Rivers and Killing Fish
Boats are sitting on cracked ground where a side channel of the Danube near Novi Sad should normally be flowing. All that is left are two small pools of water crowded with juvenile fish, while the water temperature has now climbed above 30 degrees Celsius. Fishermen fear that one more rise in temperature could be enough to kill the fish within a very short time. What is happening in northern Serbia is playing out across large parts of Europe this summer. Extreme heat and persistent drought are hitting rivers, lakes, and fish farms from Slovenia through Bosnia and Hungary to Romania and the Czech Republic. The fishing industry has been hit especially hard, with losses already running into the millions. In Hungary, 99 percent of the country's land is now under severe or extreme drought. Of roughly 27,000 hectares of fish ponds, 1,588 hectares have dried out, and nearly 280 metric tons of fish have died at 20 farms. The Agriculture Ministry puts the lost revenue there alone at roughly $4.2 million. Some operators have been forced to drain ponds completely and pump the remaining water into other basins just to save at least part of their stocks.
In Romania, fish farmers are still struggling with the effects of the droughts of 2023 and 2024. Carp farmers are hit especially hard because every lost generation has consequences for years, since the fish take three to four years before they can be sold. Back then, available water was directed primarily toward agriculture, leaving many fish farms with barely anything. In the Czech Republic, fish are being fed less or not at all so they consume less oxygen, ponds are being artificially aerated, or fish are being harvested early. Bosnian trout farmers are also cutting production because trout need cold, oxygen-rich water, which is becoming increasingly scarce during the hot summer months. Some farms are now adding liquid oxygen, while others can do nothing but wait for rain.
At Lake Pristava in Slovenia, emergency crews are meanwhile trying to prevent a mass die-off. Firefighters have already pumped eight million liters of water into the lake, but even that may not be enough. Plants are covering parts of the surface while the fish are running out of oxygen. In Serbia, relocating the fish may be the only option left in the nearly dry Danube side channel. The damage has long gone beyond fish farms: low water levels are hitting energy supplies, agriculture, shipping, and trade at the same time. Scientists link the increasing frequency and intensity of such extreme events to human-caused climate change. For many businesses, the question is no longer how to get through one bad summer, but whether their waters and fish stocks will survive the coming years at all.
Merz Puts Military Buildup Ahead of Social Spending - Defense Budget Rises to Nearly €110 Billion
Germany plans to massively increase its military spending next year. The Defense Ministry's budget is set to rise from €82.7 billion in 2026 to €109.7 billion in 2027. Another €30 billion will come from the special fund for the Bundeswehr. Chancellor Friedrich Merz defended the additional billions on Sunday in ARD's summer interview with a remarkably direct choice between social benefits and military security. "What good is the most generous parental allowance if we lose our freedom and peace in Europe is put at risk?" Merz said when asked how the huge spending on defense and support for Ukraine could be justified while cuts are being made elsewhere in the federal budget. Freedom and peace come first, the chancellor said.
The military buildup does not stop at nearly €110 billion next year. Under the current budget plans, the defense budget is set to rise to €153.9 billion in 2028 and €162.9 billion in 2029. At the same time, Merz acknowledged that more money alone will not solve the Bundeswehr's problems. Together with Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, the government wants to review procurement procedures and defense projects because the money available needs to be spent more efficiently.
The failures of the past 15 years have to be corrected, Merz said, adding that the Bundeswehr is not where it needs to be and that Germany must once again be able to defend itself. He pointed to Ukraine as an example of cheaper and faster weapons production. Germany is already working with Ukrainian companies and is considering joint defense ventures. In modernizing the Bundeswehr, Berlin does not want to spend billions on systems that are already technologically outdated. The huge increase is also tied to NATO's new spending targets.
NATO members agreed in 2025 to raise direct military spending to 3.5 percent of economic output and spend up to another 1.5 percent on defense-related infrastructure and security. Germany wants to reach the 3.5 percent mark as early as 2029. That begins a period in which defense will receive substantially more money year after year - while Merz is also making clear that other government spending will have to take a back seat.
Washington Sells Euros Without Warning - European Central Bankers Are Alarmed
European central bankers are looking toward Washington with growing distrust after the U.S. Treasury Department sold euros without the usual advance warning in order to support the yen together with Japan. The intervention took place back on August 1, but only later did Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirm that Washington had used the Exchange Stabilization Fund to sell euros and buy Japanese yen.
That is exactly what is causing the anger now, because partners affected by this kind of intervention are normally informed in advance. More than half a dozen European central bankers and government officials discussed the episode at the Federal Reserve gathering in Jackson Hole. One of them said the move had left the Europeans "furious." Someone could simply have picked up the phone and given them a heads-up, the official said, but instead Washington had created the impression that the United States now simply does whatever it wants in financial markets. Other participants thought the unusual nature of the intervention might explain why there had been no advance notice, but the nervousness now goes further. European central bankers are also watching the U.S. Treasury's plans to expand purchases of long-term U.S. government bonds. Some fear that Washington, together with its interventions in the currency market, is testing new ways to bring down U.S. borrowing costs. The Treasury Department rejects that interpretation and says the bond purchases are intended only to improve market liquidity, not to artificially hold down interest rates.
Even more sensitive for the Europeans is the question of whether political pressure could eventually reach the Federal Reserve's dollar swap lines. These arrangements allow major foreign central banks to obtain dollars during crises when banks outside the United States suddenly need U.S. currency. There is currently no indication that these arrangements are about to be changed or ended, and any decision would in any case be made by the independent Federal Reserve, not the White House. Federal Reserve officials tried to reassure their European counterparts in Jackson Hole and said the U.S. central bank would honor its commitments. What they could not promise was something else: that the Trump administration would not once again intervene in international financial markets without warning. That is the uncertainty left behind by the euro sale.
Pentagon Secretly Brings Right-Wing Military Influencers Into Government Jobs - While They Publicly Defend Hegseth and Trump
The Pentagon has brought several conservative military veterans with hundreds of thousands of followers into civilian government roles without publicly disclosing what they are doing, while those same men support Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on social media and in right-wing publications and attack opponents of the Trump administration. They include retired Air Force Colonel Rob Maness, who has more than 135,000 followers on X, and former Army Colonel Kurt Schlichter, who has nearly 620,000. Internal Pentagon records list both men with active government email addresses and assign them to the office of Anthony Tata, the Defense Department's undersecretary responsible for personnel and readiness.
Thomas Anderson, a retired Army colonel and attorney who reaches more than 323,000 people on X under the name Cynical Publius, was also registered there as a civilian employee at least temporarily. The Pentagon will not say exactly what the men are doing, whether they are being paid, or how long they are supposed to work for the department. They appear to have been brought in as special government employees or highly qualified experts, positions that give them direct access to the department and, depending on their assignments, potentially influence over policy decisions. At the same time, they continue to appear publicly as commentators. Maness publicly called for "disloyal" longtime Pentagon employees to be removed, defended Hegseth's actions against elite universities, and wrote as recently as Wednesday that the secretary's outrage over Army decisions was justified. He did not mention his current connection to the Pentagon. Even in a letter to the editor published by The Washington Post in July, he described himself only as a retired Air Force officer. According to the newspaper, he had not disclosed his Pentagon role before publication. Schlichter writes for the conservative outlet Townhall, praised Trump in early August as a "hero" for striking back against Iran, and said on X that the United States was lucky to have Hegseth. There too, he describes himself as a retired colonel, attorney, and columnist, not as a Pentagon employee. Anderson regularly attacks journalists, veterans, and other opponents of the administration and wrote back in April that there was a "cancer" in the ranks of the U.S. military that had to be removed.
Those very men were at the Army War College in Pennsylvania in May as part of a Pentagon task force Hegseth had created to examine military colleges for supposedly "toxic" or "woke" ideology. There, they questioned students and professors about the performance of Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. According to people familiar with the visit, some students did not know how openly they could answer or whether they might face consequences if administration officials did not like what they said. The task force has since completed its review, but its report has not yet been released. The case also goes beyond those three men. Jennica Pounds, known online as DataRepublican, was initially credentialed as a journalist with Hegseth's newly assembled Pentagon press corps and moved into a position as a special government employee at the Defense Department in July. That connection only became public after a public dispute. Former Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger then asked how many high-profile X users spreading messages for the federal government, Trump, and the Republican Party were actually working for the government in some capacity. That question becomes even more explosive because last year Hegseth pushed dozens of established Pentagon journalists out of the building through new access restrictions and then allowed in a new press corps made up largely of right-wing media. At the same time, his department is now bringing people from exactly that political environment directly into government roles. The Pentagon has also brought conservative journalist Jerry Dunleavy into its review of the Afghanistan withdrawal, but that role was publicly disclosed. With Maness, Schlichter, and Anderson, it was not.
In public, they continue to write, post, and pass judgment on the government, the military, and political opponents, while their connection to the Defense Department remains invisible to readers and followers. An administration that describes itself as especially transparent is employing political voices behind the scenes whose public reach then strengthens the very policies they may themselves be helping shape inside the Pentagon.
