“A three-day ceasefire declared by Russia came into effect on Thursday morning with skies over Ukraine’s major cities quiet, in a change from successive nights of heavy attacks by Russian drones and ballistic missiles. However, a Ukrainian military spokesman told Reuters that Russian troops had continued to conduct assaults in several areas on the eastern front. The air force said Russian aircraft had launched guided bombs on the Sumy region of northern Ukraine three times. But the air force also said there had been no Russian missiles or drones in Ukrainian airspace since the Kremlin-sponsored ceasefire kicked in. There was no word on damage and Reuters could not independently verify the reports of attacks.” (05/08/25)
“Donald Trump is a socialist. When I write ‘socialist,’ I do not use the word the way most right-leaning commentators use it, meaning: ‘bad.’ … The thing about socialism is, it stays socialism — whether you like socialism or dislike it. It is a word that means something, and what it means isn’t every dumb thing you don’t like …. Trump can’t put names to faces for half of the people who work directly for him and invents imaginary countries from time to time. But, somehow, he knows what imported bananas from country X absolutely should cost relative to those from country Y — because neither a sparrow nor a drop of rain in Ecuador falls without his knowledge. Yeah. Donald Trump’s vision of the economy is classic socialism.” (05/07/25)
“The Harvard psychologist discusses recent gains for free speech at Harvard, growing political and ideological threats to academic freedom, and the importance of shared knowledge in sustaining truth and progress.” (05/07/25)
“Supporters of tariffs claim that mainstream economists don’t understand the game. This ‘game’ has been described by Peter Navarro as three-dimensional chess. I want to take that claim at face value, break down its dimensions, and then evaluate whether Trump’s actions are likely to lead to his desired outcomes. And the answer is ‘no,’ because the administration is playing three quite different, inconsistent games all at once. That isn’t a strategy at all; rather, it’s a scheme for certain failure.” (05/07/25)
“The Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced that it will leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged as policymakers continue to monitor inflation and the labor market amid elevated levels of economic uncertainty. The central bank’s decision leaves the benchmark federal funds rate at a range of 4.25% to 4.5%. It comes after the Fed left rates at that level at its two previous meetings in January and March, which followed three consecutive rate cuts at its preceding meetings – which involved a 50-basis-point cut in September and a pair of 25-basis-point reductions in November and December.” (05/07/25)
“Nothing that violates individual rights is good for society, since society is made up of individuals no one has a right to violate. It’s not that you have a right to free speech; it’s that no one has a right to censor you. The flipside is that you have no right to force anyone to publish your words. … No one has a right to dictate what others believe or what religion they practice. On the other hand, no one has a right to violate the life, liberty, or property of another using religion as justification. This includes the religious belief in government authority, which is the most prevalent cult in the world, frequently practiced even by those who follow another religion.” (05/07/25)
“Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is hitting back at the Wall Street Journal after they published an exclusive report claiming the U.S. has ordered its intelligence agencies to ‘step up spying on Greenland.’ In a statement to the outlet, Gabbard said, ‘The Wall Street Journal should be ashamed of aiding deep state actors who seek to undermine the President by politicizing and leaking classified information. They are breaking the law and undermining our nation’s security and democracy.’ The journal quoted multiple sources in their report. … Since his first term, President Donald Trump has emphasized his determination to purchase, annex, or conquer Greenland.” (05/07/25)
“Tariffs on movies produced overseas might drive Hollywood to film more intensively in the United States, but it also makes it more difficult and expensive for American audiences to see movies made by foreign companies. Films from South Korea, India, Europe, and elsewhere compete with the U.S. film industry in terms of culture, ideas, and sometimes politics. Tariffs on overseas productions could effectively trap us with the products of Hollywood and reduce its need to adjust to the tastes of the viewing public.” (05/07/25)
“Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs signed House Bill 2749 into law on Wednesday, establishing a state-managed Bitcoin and Digital Assets Reserve Fund that will hold unclaimed digital assets and staking rewards — five days after she vetoed a separate cryptocurrency bill. With the signing, Arizona becomes the second state in the U.S. to create a formal framework for holding digital assets.” (05/07/25)
Source: Center for a Stateless Society
by Kevin Carson
“Mainstream right-libertarianism has a long history of tending to prioritize what Albert O. Hirschman called ‘exit’ (i.e., the ability to escape governance through relocation or circumvention) over ‘voice’ (having a say in the governance process that one lives under). Now, there’s nothing wrong with the notion of exit as such. Under an oppressive state, as Charles Johnson pointed out, there are frequently fewer transaction costs entailed in circumventing a harmful or disagreeable policy than in changing it through the political process. And left-libertarian — anarchist or libertarian socialist — visions of an ideal free society generally entail a healthy mixture of voice and exit. The optimal mixture is to facilitate permissionless coordination wherever possible, through horizontal or stigmergic organization, while guaranteeing that, in all cases where some agreed-upon policy is required, the decision be made democratically.” (05/07/25)
