Author: Thomas L. Knapp

Source: Antiwar.com
by Ted Galen Carpenter

“Trump administration officials are discovering that a daunting number of longstanding U.S. allies and security clients are adopting hedging policies or even openly opposing Washington’s decision to wage war against Iran. That sobering reality has become even clearer over the past week than it was during the earlier stages of the armed conflict. On April 12, the president called upon NATO members to join U.S. naval forces in blockading Iranian ports. The proposed move was in response to Tehran’s continuing efforts to selectively close the vital Strait of Hormuz to foreign shipping. However, most of Washington’s alliance partners refused to join the retaliatory blockade.” (04/17/26)

https://original.antiwar.com/ted_galen_carpenter/2026/04/16/nato-allies-adopt-evasive-policies-on-us-war-in-iran/

Source: Independent Institute
by Craig Eyerman

“The U.S. Treasury Department has been publishing its consolidated financial statements annually since 1997. In every single one, the U.S. government’s projected liabilities over the next 75 years from when the reports were published have outweighed the projected value of its assets. What has been true throughout these years, and also in 2026, is that the U.S. government doesn’t really face the risk of insolvency. To be insolvent, the U.S. government would have to have no way of paying its bills. If a business had a similar balance sheet, it would be headed to bankruptcy court. Unlike a business, the U.S. government has options. It can raise taxes. It can inflate the nation’s currency. It can use tools of financial repression to artificially lower its borrowing costs, making it seem more affordable. These are all things the U.S. government is already doing and has been for years” (04/17/26)

https://www.independent.org/article/2026/04/17/greatly-exaggerated-rumors-of-the-u-s-government-insolvency/

Source: The Daily Economy
by Peter C Earle

“Elon Musk claims AI-driven growth could fund UBI transfers without inflation. But relative prices — not just totals — still drive economic allocation.” (04/17/26)

https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/ai-abundance-wont-end-inflation-nor-make-money-meaningless/

Source: Townhall
by Dr. Eric Scalise

“Counseling, by its very nature, is value-laden, and the process and results are greatly influenced by both the therapist’s and the client’s worldview. One critical question that must be asked is what to do when there appears to be a conflict of values related to the therapeutic process. How should a treatment provider respond if a client seeks therapy because his or her behavior is incongruent with their deeply held spiritual or religious values, and those values appear to take precedent above all others? Which set of values is more valid? Should the client have the autonomy to make that decision? The ethical answer to the last question is an unequivocal ‘Yes!'” (04/19/26)

https://townhall.com/columnists/eric-scalise/2026/04/19/grace-and-truth-navigating-conversion-therapy-and-a-clients-faith-based-rights-n2674596

Source: Law & Liberty
by David Head

“What could be more presidential than Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Fireside Chats? Millions of people, threatened by economic collapse and endangered by world war, huddled around their radios to hear the avuncular FDR speak plain, reassuring words that Americans could rise together and conquer the nation’s challenges. That’s the way FDR’s leadership is remembered, anyway. Forgotten is the way Roosevelt used his radio addresses to spin conspiracy theories.” (04/17/26)

https://lawliberty.org/book-review/conspiracy-in-the-white-house/