Dems will roll out their perfect agent of subterfuge, Abigail Spanberger, in response to SOTU

Source: New York Post
by Miranda Devine

“Abigail Spanberger, the new governor of Virginia, who has been tapped to deliver the Democrats’ State of the Union reply Tuesday night, is the perfect avatar for her party’s deception. With her long blond bob, minimalist makeup, pinched face and brisk air, she looks like the sort of competent working mom you’d encounter at school drop-off in any affluent suburb. In other words, she seems like somebody you instinctively trust. But don’t be fooled by appearances. Spanberger is an expert at subterfuge, having spent eight years as an undercover CIA case officer, aka a spy, under Barack Obama and John Brennan, in the era when Democrats turned national security back on itself.” (02/22/26)

https://nypost.com/2026/02/22/opinion/miranda-devine-dems-will-roll-out-their-perfect-agent-of-subterfuge-abigail-spanberger-in-response-to-sotu/

Steve Trinward

UK: Mandelson arrested amid Epstein fallout

Source: Politico

“Former U.K. ambassador to Washington Peter Mandelson was arrested Monday on suspicion of misconduct in public office. In a statement a Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: ‘Officers have arrested a 72-year-old man on suspicion of misconduct in public office.’ … The force is probing claims that the senior British politician leaked internal government discussions to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in the wake of the 2008 financial crash. Emails released as part of the Epstein files in the United States appeared to show the then-business secretary forwarding on correspondence to Epstein, triggering fresh scrutiny of his relationship with the late, disgraced financier. He has not been charged with an offense. Under British law, police can hold a suspect for up to 24 hours before either applying for more time for questioning, charging that person with a crime or releasing them.” (02/23/26)

https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-peter-mandelson-arrested-amid-jeffrey-epstein-fallout

Thomas L. Knapp

Ludwig von Mises on Economic Policy in Interwar Austria

Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Richard M Ebeling

“Academic positions at universities in Austria, especially after the First World War, were few and far between. Mises’s well known classical-liberal, free-market views did not fit in the Vienna of his time, which was filled with socialist, Marxist, and nationalist ideas and ideologies. Furthermore, the fact that Mises came from a Jewish family meant that degrees of anti-Semitism also worked against him in various academic circles. While he did have the status of a privatdozent (an unsalaried lecturer) who could deliver a course each term at the University of Vienna with the title of Professor Extraordinary, it did not provide an income to live on. From 1909 to 1934 (except during the First World War when he served in the Austrian Army), Mises worked as an economic policy analyst and advisor to the Vienna Chamber of Commerce, Crafts, and Industry.” (02/23/26)

https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/ludwig-von-mises-on-economic-policy-in-interwar-austria/

Thomas L. Knapp

Fix Your Hearts or Die

Source: The Reframe
by AR Moxon

“I’m contemplating the overall discourse, of which these two stories are just a part, and whose presence in my inbox represents a synecdoche and a catalyst. This is the discourse about what is commonly called the male loneliness epidemic, which is a problem, usually one that is presented as something for the rest of us to solve on behalf of lonely men. If we don’t solve it, we’re usually warned, we will be at fault for whatever these men do next, in retaliation for not having their problem solved. There’s apparently nothing the lonely men themselves can do, I’ve noticed.” (02/22/26)

https://www.the-reframe.com/fix-your-hearts-or-die/

Thomas L. Knapp

Why is American Healthcare so Expensive

Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Bryan Tehunissen

“Americans are told that high medical costs are inevitable. Medicine is complex. Technology advances. The population is aging. Saving lives, we’re assured, simply costs more. But that explanation collapses the moment we look at parts of medicine that operate under different economic rules. Consider LASIK eye surgery. Since its introduction in the 1990s, the procedure has become safer, more precise, and more technologically advanced. Yet when adjusted for inflation, the price for the procedure has remained stable or even dropped. Cosmetic surgery shows a similar pattern: improving quality, competitive pricing, transparent costs. These are not simple services. They require advanced equipment, skilled specialists, and serious safety standards. What they lack is something else: third-party payment distortion.” (02/22/26)

https://fee.org/articles/why-is-american-healthcare-so-expensive/

Thomas L. Knapp

Monster blizzard “bomb” paralyzes northeast US in extreme snow, soaring power outages

Source: Fox Weather

“With Blizzard Warnings covering over 40 million people, major hubs like New York City, Boston, and Philadelphia have shut down as up to two feet of snow buries the I-95 corridor in Blizzard ’26. Stay tuned for updates on power outages, mandatory travel bans, flight cancellations, and emergency declarations.” (02/23/26)

https://www.foxweather.com/live-news/live-updates-monster-blizzard-bomb-paralyzes-northeast-in-extreme-snow-soaring-power-outages

Thomas L. Knapp

Stand back, Congress needs a second Supreme Court jolt

Source: Washington Post
by George F Will

“By curtailing the president regarding tariffs, the Supreme Court on Friday perhaps applied a defibrillator to Congress. Its weak contemporary heartbeat threatens the constitutional architecture of powers separated, checked and balanced. But Congress’s fluttering pulse requires a stronger jolt than last week’s 6-3 decision. It addressed only part of the problem that Congress has created by behavior that fuels today’s rampant presidency.” (02/22/26)

https://archive.is/PY5Yu

Thomas L. Knapp