“The so-called ‘AI race’ is propelling stock markets to new highs even as geopolitical turbulence rattles investors. Artificial intelligence may prove to be the rare technological revolution capable of generating real growth despite the headwinds of tariffs and misguided industrial policy. Yet the data centers powering this next generation of innovation have become a flashpoint for public anxiety. Maine has outright banned new large data center construction, and average Americans are increasingly convinced that these facilities are to blame for rising electricity bills. The statewide data, however, tell a different story. Newly published research finds no meaningful link between the number of data centers in a state and its electricity prices and points instead to a far less glamorous culprit: bad state energy policy.” (05/04/26)
“Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday announced a two-day ceasefire in the war with Ukraine to observe the anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. The ceasefire would run Friday and Saturday, according to a statement from the Russian Defense Ministry. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy countered with his own proposed pause in fighting starting earlier, on the night of May 5‑6. … Russia celebrates victory in World War Two on May 9, a major national holiday marking the day the Soviet Union signed Germany’s surrender in 1945. It traditionally holds a military parade, but says this year’s commemoration will feature none of the military hardware frequently put on display at past commemorations because of the threat of increased Ukrainian ‘terrorist’ activity. … Authorities cut off mobile internet services to many customers in Moscow on Tuesday ahead of the parade.” (05/04/26)
“An entrepreneur casts a certain kind of spell. He brings resources, people, and capital together in a way that enables him to make others better off, so they will make him better off. He is a master of mutualism. His magic lies in his ability to carry all this out sustainably, imposing no costs on anyone other than his partners in mutual gain, all within the Law of Consent. This distinguishes him from a political entrepreneur who practices dark dialectics. That means, somewhere in his spellcasting, the political entrepreneur colludes with those who have seized the authority to compel others. Dark dialectics is the art of mingling persuasion and compulsion — like money and power — to dominate. A subversive entrepreneur casts his spells in dangerous territory, where political entrepreneurs and powerful authorities, wielding monopolies on violence, roam the land. This makes the subversive entrepreneur the rarest among entrepreneurial spellcasters.” (05/04/26)
Source: ProSocial Libertarians
by Andrew Jason Cohen
“All borders, including those of voting districts and nation-states, are legal constructs. Legal constructs serve a purpose, of course. That a country extends to the ocean tells us something, but without a legal ruling about how far into the ocean it controls, we risk repeated skirmishes at sea, for example. The same is true of voting districts. Should Joe’s vote count in district 2? Or one of the other 5? Should he be allowed to decide for himself? Perhaps he’d choose 2 because the polling place is closest to his home or his kids’ school. Perhaps he’d choose 3 because the polling place is closest to his office. Perhaps he’d vary by year. It’s apparently important to people — and is obviously important to the duopoly — that people only vote in set areas. Do you actually care about that? Is it really problematic to let people vote where they choose?” (05/04/26)
“The Pentagon claims that attacks on civilian boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific have severely curtailed the import of illegal drugs to the United States. And President Donald Trump says this has saved more than 1 million American lives. Experts call these assertions laughable and reporting by The Intercept shows that claims by the White House and War Department are baseless, phony, or both.” (05/04/26)
“Bitcoin’s break above $80,000 caught the crypto derivatives market badly positioned for the third time in recent weeks, triggering $370 million in total liquidations across 97,235 traders in 24 hours with short sellers absorbing the majority of the damage — a pattern that is beginning to look less like a series of isolated events and more like a structural feature of the current market. Bitcoin briefly tagged $80,594 in early Asian trading Monday — its highest print since January 31 — before pulling back to trade around $79,851 at time of writing. Of the $370 million in total liquidations, $301.93 million came from short positions, according to CoinGlass data, with shorts liquidated at roughly four times the rate of longs. Bitcoin alone accounted for $179 million of the wipeout, with Ether traders contributing $95 million.” (05/04/26)
“Robby Soave gives his radar on Spirit Airlines shutting down its operations, which he argues is due to the Biden administration and lawmakers like Sen. Elizabeth Warren blocking a merger between Spirit and JetBlue.” (05/04/26)
“The cruise ship at the center of a deadly outbreak of hantavirus has been refused permission to dock, with 149 people still on board — two of them seriously ill. The virus is suspected to have killed three people and sickened three more, with one patient hospitalized in critical condition. … The remaining passengers, who are from 23 different countries, including 17 Americans, are required to follow strict precautionary measures, including isolation and medical monitoring, the cruise operator said. The west African nation of Cape Verde said it had decided not to let the cruise ship, the Hondius, dock at the port of Praia as a precautionary measure, Reuters reported. The cruise operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, said in a statement Monday that the ship may sail from Cape Verde to Las Palmas or Tenerife in the Canary Islands and dock there.” (05/04/26)
