“No one today can think Jefferson to have been morally upright in all that he did. His writings and his work to achieve a liberal society—in some areas—are impossible to reconcile with his enslavement of other human beings, or the particularly cruel ways that he treated them. And yet he stands at the founding of our country. His proudest accomplishments survive, and it falls to us to explain how such a man could contain such contradictions.” (09/16/26)
“Two women filed a federal lawsuit against Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, claiming their photographs were found in his vast collection of child pornography. Identified in court papers only as Jane Doe and Amy, the women allege that ‘few if any’ of those whose photos were in Epstein’s collection were informed that these photographs are in the hands of federal investigators. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the Southern District of New York, seeks class-action status and is asking for unspecified damages and requesting the court to ‘design and supervise a single, coordinated program for identifying and notifying’ the other women whose ‘unlawful sexualized images’ were part of Epstein’s collection.” (09/16/26)
“Curt Mills, Andrew Day, and Luke Nicastro discuss growing concerns about AI and whether the regulation cure would be worse than the AI-risk disease. Then, they discuss the Iran War’s impact on inflation and the political implications heading into the midterms.” (09/16/26)
“House GOP leaders have cut short the final legislative week before the midterm elections, announcing that lawmakers will leave Washington after Wednesday’s votes. … The move not only allows lawmakers to head home early for the campaign trail, it also means that lawmakers will not be forced to take a vote on impeaching Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth before the elections. Sponsored by Rep. Tom Massie (R-Ky.), the impeachment resolution was introduced on Tuesday as a privileged motion, setting a 48-hour clock for it to hit the floor. … The next time the House will be back in session after Wednesday will be Nov. 9, following the midterm elections.” (09/16/26)
“There are few sadder images than the abandoned steel towns of America’s formerly vibrant Rust Belt, and the all-too-true trope of a once-successful miner resorting to driving for Uber. We know this is a powerful motivator and is a reason for President Donald Trump’s rise. And who better to talk about this than [JD] Vance, who emerged from dire circumstances against all odds, who knows firsthand the afflictions faced by the working poor as prices on just about everything continue to rise? Except that if you listen closely, bitter irony overflows from Vance’s populist crusade: To save the working class, he wants to adopt the exact big-government policies that broke the economy in the first place.” (09/16/26)
“Russian air strikes injured 18 people across Ukraine while a Ukrainian drone attack damaged an oil refinery deep inside Russia early on Thursday, as both sides continued strikes despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of an energy truce. Twelve people, including two children, were wounded in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv …. In the Black Sea port city of Odesa, a child was among three people injured …. Three others were wounded in Zaporizhzhia in southeastern Ukraine, where a missile strike also caused a fire at an industrial facility. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone attack damaged an oil refinery in the Russian city of Yaroslavl, causing a fire that was later extinguished, regional Governor Mikhail Yevrayev said.” (09/17/26)
“Why do so many beg for a big, authoritarian government involving itself in every facet of their lives? Even when it violently destroys their liberty and violates their rights every day? What could possibly be going on in their minds to make this seem like a good thing? Have these people not seen the results of this over at least the past 25 years? Has a bigger, more authoritarian government made life better or worse? It appears that many people see authoritarianism as strength. I don’t. I see it as weakness, relying on bullying tactics to make itself look strong to gullible observers. If the authoritarians were actually strong, they wouldn’t need to be authoritarian.” (09/16/26)
“The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised its benchmark interest rate for the first time in over three years amid concerns over stubborn inflation that has been driven recently by higher energy prices. Fed policymakers voted 12-0 to raise the federal funds rate from a range of 3.5% to 3.75% to a new target rate of 3.75% to 4%. The 25-basis-point increase marks the first interest rate hike since July 2023 and comes after the Fed left rates unchanged at its first five meetings this year.” (09/16/26)
