“Tucked away in the funding package passed by Congress this week is a provision that extends the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) through the end of 2028. The two-year extension of AGOA — a preferential trade deal that offers eligible sub-Saharan countries duty-free access to the U.S. market for thousands of goods — answers the White House’s request that the agreement be extended on a short-term basis while negotiations take place over its long-term future. … Trump’s strong disapproval of preferential trade agreements led many Africa watchers to assume that AGOA was going to lapse without any effort by the administration to extend it past its September 2025 expiration. But just a day before the agreement expired, Trump came out in support of a short-term extension and expressed a desire to begin negotiations over what a long-term AGOA should look like.” (09/04/26)
“Military prosecutors will move ahead with the trial against the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks without a key confession, a decision made to avoid further delays in the long-awaited proceedings scheduled for 2028. The federal government has decided not to appeal a recent ruling by a military judge that threw out statements made by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in 2007. … Appeals can take years to resolve, an outcome military prosecutors want to avoid given the series of delays that have prolonged the wait for victims’ families to receive justice. Mohammed and his alleged co-conspirators — Walid bin Attash, Mustafa al-Hawsawi, and Ammar al-Baluchi — are scheduled to go on trial in June 2028.” [editor’s note: Not a constitutional trial, a “military tribunal” – TLK] (09/07/26)
“No charge leveled against individualist, pro-capitalist classical liberalism has been less deserved or more enduring than the charge of heartless Social Darwinism. The absurdity of it is obvious after a few moments’ thought. Charles Darwin’s findings on natural selection described the ‘struggle for life’ among the lower animals, which must essentially adapt themselves to their environment as they find it. (Some species instinctively make limited, repetitive modifications.) In contrast, in a capitalist society, competition turns from a life-and-death contest among consumers to a creative contest among producers who change the environment in their quest for consumers’ freely chosen custom.” (09/04/26)
“The Alternative for Germany appealed on Monday to lawmakers from Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives to support its bid to rule Saxony-Anhalt after the far-right party surged into first place in the eastern German state’s election. The anti-immigrant, pro-Russia AfD won nearly 44% of the vote, official results showed, an outcome that underlined the deep unpopularity of Merz’s ruling coalition and also triggered alarm among Germany’s neighbours, France and Poland. However, the party — which wants to deport immigrants, halt support for Ukraine and ditch the euro — has fallen short of an absolute majority in the state legislature, winning 39 of the 83 seats, and hopes to win over individual conservative lawmakers. The election result raises serious questions about the longstanding refusal of Germany’s mainstream parties, including Merz’s Christian Democrats (CDU), to work with the AfD, a policy known as the ‘firewall’.” (09/07/26)
Source: Independent Institute
by Ryanne Swanson & Raymond J March
“Payton Herres successfully underwent heart transplantation surgery as a preteen. A year later, she began taking everolimus—a vital medication used to prevent her body from rejecting the transplant. Her insurance provider soon after denied coverage, leaving her with an indispensable but largely unaffordable prescription. Herres’[s] situation was alarming, but not uncommon. About 30% of Americans find themselves with uncovered treatment despite having health insurance. Unfortunately, medications for rare and/or chronic conditions, in some cases, have no generic alternatives. Not covering expensive but seldom-utilized treatments is an easy way for health insurance providers to cut costs. Unfortunately, these decisions can leave unsuspecting and financially strapped policyholders with few options. This is when Mark Cuban stepped in.” (09/04/26)
Source: The American Conservative
by James P Pinkerton
“So is the Pentagon doing right by drones, or not? Until there’s some new war somewhere, we simply won’t know. Obviously, plenty have loud opinions, but the paucity of hard facts—the proof is in the fighting—has inspired one savant, abiding in the immortal empyrean, to warn against bad methodology: ‘One begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.’ Who is this sage? Why, Sherlock Holmes, of course. Okay, Holmes is a fictional character, and yet his methods—pattern recognition, omission analysis, structured inference—are timeless.” (09/04/26)
“The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to immediately allow new restrictions on mail-in balloting …. The administration says the new rules, set out by President Donald Trump in an executive order, are necessary to keep noncitizens from voting. Under the plans, states would have to get approval for the design of their ballot envelopes from the Postal Service and would have to provide the federal government with lists of voters who are eligible to receive mail ballots. … Trump’s executive order prohibits the Postal Service from delivering mail-in ballots in states that do not turn over voter data through a new online portal.” (09/03/26)
