Anduril

Watercolor noir style mosaic showing Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez questioning at a committee meeting, Senator Ron Wyden on an urgent phone call, a data center filled with AI servers, Palantir CEO Alex Karp testifying before Congress, all set against a backdrop of the United States map covered with illuminated circuitry representing electronic surveillance networks across America

How This Blog's Palantir Investigation Predicted Congressional Alarm

How This Blog’s Palantir Investigation Predicted Congressional Alarm On June 17, 2025, ten Democratic lawmakers led by Senator Ron Wyden and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sent a formal letter to Palantir Technologies CEO Alex Karp, demanding answers about the company’s expanding federal contracts and what they described as a government-wide “mega-database” containing sensitive American taxpayer information. The letter raised serious concerns about potential Privacy Act violations and the creation of surveillance infrastructure that could be used to “spy on and target political enemies.” It cited over $113 million in new federal contracts under the current administration and warned that Palantir employees embedded at the IRS were helping create “a single, searchable database” of taxpayer records that would likely be shared throughout the government. ...

A watercolor painting depicting a split-screen aerial view showing the surveillance technology pipeline from Gaza to Los Angeles. The left side shows destroyed Gaza buildings in earth tones with smoke and rubble, while the right side shows an organized ICE raid in downtown LA with tactical vehicles and agents in cooler blue-gray tones. MQ-9 Reaper drones hover above both scenes, connected by flowing streams of translucent blue and green data representing the transfer of AI targeting systems from military operations to domestic immigration enforcement. The painting uses traditional watercolor techniques to contrast the warm chaos of Gaza with the cold systematic nature of LA operations, unified by the digital surveillance infrastructure that connects both locations.

The Shadow Architects: How Project 2025 Authors Built the Technology to Implement Their Authoritarian Vision

I’m not an actualy journalist. I’m a guy with a blog, and maybe 2 to 3 dozen people who read it. I heavily cited sources here hoping that actual journalists would pick this up, take advantage of my heavy lifting, and bring the real, full story forward. If you do, I don’t want to be interviewed or anything. I would just appreciate a mention and a link back to my site if you run with this. TL;DR: Project 2025 authors didn’t just write authoritarian policies—they positioned themselves to control the surveillance technology to implement them. ...

A glowing crystal orb rests atop a black marble pedestal, swirling with golden and pale blue light. Beside it, a luminous sword lies embedded in rocky ground, its hilt adorned with elegant detailing. Ethereal beams of energy connect the two artifacts. Behind them, a dramatic mountain landscape rises on both sides, cradling a reimagined Washington, D.C. — the Washington Monument stands tall to the left, while a fantasy-style Capitol building dominates the right. Storm clouds churn above, casting a twilight glow across the scene. The overall atmosphere blends epic fantasy with American neoclassical architecture, evoking majesty, mystery, and power.

The Mythic Convergence: How Two Tolkien-Named Defense Companies Found Each Other

Reader’s Warning: Like Tolkien’s own work, this analysis requires some time and determination to get through. Pour yourself a coffee (or second breakfast), settle in for the long haul, and prepare for a deep dive into how Silicon Valley’s most powerful defense companies turned Middle-earth mythology into modern reality. The tale is worth the journey—I promise. When Palantir Technologies and Anduril Industries announced their partnership in December 2024, most news outlets focused on the strategic implications for defense technology. But buried in The Register’s coverage was a line that made Tolkien fans do a double-take: “the irony that companies named after artifacts from The Lord of the Rings were joining forces in reality.” ...