The Shocking Damage Caused by Covid Policies

Source: Brownstone Institute
by Ian Miller

“The Covid lockdowns may not have been remotely effective, but at least they harmed millions of people and created long-lasting negative impacts that we’re still dealing with today. That’s the conclusion of a massive new body of research into the nonsensical policies promoted by the public health ‘expert’ class, promoted by their media partners, and enacted by incompetent, cowardly politicians.” (06/05/26)

https://brownstone.org/articles/the-shocking-damage-caused-by-covid-policies/

NYC: Councilwoman and congressional candidate Julie Won “squatted” in luxury Queens condo, landlord alleges

Source: New York Post

“An NYC councilwoman running for Congress owes $25,000 in back rent after squatting for five months in a luxury high-rise, according to her ex-landlord and court documents. Councilwoman Julie Won (D-Queens) and her family vacated a one-bedroom condo at swanky Skyline Towers on Long Island City’s waterfront on Monday — three days after being slapped with eviction papers by the condo’s owner, Justin Chae, a top NYC political consultant and former family friend. … Won insisted to The Post that she and her political strategist husband Eugene Noh never signed any lease on the luxury pad, claiming Chae forged her name onto a bogus lease agreement.” (06/07/26)

https://nypost.com/2026/06/07/us-news/nyc-councilwoman-and-congressional-candidate-julie-won-squatted-in-luxe-queens-condo-landlord/

How Bari Weiss’s Free Press laundered MAGA talking points about refugees

Source: The Watch
by Radley Balko

“Of course, Weiss understands perfectly well the moment we’re in. She knows she wasn’t put in charge of CBS News because of her skeptical nature or keen journalistic eye. She was put in charge because she has shown that she can leverage a carefully crafted image as an iconoclast and teller of truths to launder MAGA propaganda so that it’s more palatable to centrists. She was put in charge because the Ellisons need Trump’s blessing for their mega merger – and if ever there was a favor tailor-made to win Trump’s approval, it’s kneecapping a major news network and toppling one of the last remaining pillars of broadcast journalism in the process. Weiss has positioned herself and her publications as bold disruptors, then leveraged that image to legitimize some of Trump’s worst rhetoric and policies. And few issues better demonstrate that pattern than immigration.” (06/05/26)

https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/how-bari-weisss-free-press-laundered

Have Data Centers Actually Raised Electricity Prices?

Source: Independent Institute
by Paige Lambermont

“Data centers have commanded significant ire recently, as their power demand rises and ratepayers are concerned about price increases. But this is a faulty narrative. At least to this point, data centers have not been shown to have caused higher power prices.” (06/06/26)

https://www.independent.org/article/2026/06/06/data-centers-electricity-prices/

AR: Judge drops murder charge against sheriff candidate who killed a man

Source: NBC News

“A judge has dropped the murder charge against an Arkansas sheriff candidate who killed a man accused of sexually abusing his daughter. Aaron Spencer was charged with second-degree murder in the October 2024 killing of Michael Fosler, 67, who had been charged with sexually abusing Spencer’s 13-year-old daughter. On Thursday, a judge dismissed the murder case against Spencer after ruling that the Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office mishandled evidence. Law enforcement’s conduct was ‘so egregious’ that it warranted the dismissal, Special Circuit Court Judge Ralph Wilson Jr. said in his ruling. The killing happened after Spencer discovered his daughter missing from her bedroom in the early morning hours of Oct. 8 and found her in Fosler’s truck, according to court documents.” (06/06/26)

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/murder-charge-dropped-arkansas-sheriff-candidate-killed-man-rcna348806

Why Those in Political Power Are in a Hurry

Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Richard M Ebeling

“Those in political power always seem to be in a hurry. It is not surprising that their time horizons for ‘action’ never extend more than a few years ahead of them, though for different reasons. If it is a dictatorship, the tyrant in power can never be sure when an assassin’s bullet might cut his life short, or if some of his ‘loyal’ followers may be conspiring to overthrow him and replace him with one of their own. … why is it the case that in America today (and in most other modern democratic countries), those who hold political office seem so much in a hurry with short-term horizons guiding their actions, in their own way similar to dictatorships?” (06/05/26)

https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/why-those-in-political-power-are-in-a-hurry/

How Minds Might Change

Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman

“My recent posts dealt with the possibility of libertarians and Abundance liberals learning from each other. For that to happen members of both groups have to either alter their present views or add new ones. For a simple example of the latter, my interaction with Steve Schulhofer, described in my previous post, made me aware of problems with the criminal justice system of which I had been unaware; the two of us then worked out and proposed an approach to dealing with them. For an example in the other direction, a commenter on my post linked to a piece on problems with professional licensing. That is an issue libertarians that are very aware of that should be of interest to Abundance liberals as one of the things they might want to fix.” (06/06/26)

https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/how-minds-might-change