NPR Politics Podcast, 09/23/26
Source: National Public Radio [US state media]
“Trump vs. the media.” (09/23/26)
https://www.npr.org/2026/09/23/nx-s1-5977679/trump-vs-the-media
Author: Thomas L. Knapp
Don’t violate others – problem solved
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“Why are we forced to pretend not to know the solutions? To pretend solutions are mysterious or too hard? Because government doesn’t benefit from solved problems. It loses power when problems are solved and people no longer beg to be rescued. Often, getting government out of the way is the solution. Crime is a solved problem. To pretend that no one knows how to reduce crime is a lie that only serves the criminals — both freelance and governmental. The solution is to stop criminalizing things everyone has a natural human right to do, including both what they choose to put into their bodies, and defense of person and property with the most effective tools ever invented for the purpose.” (09/23/26)
UK: Burnham signals he may lift ban on alcohol in football stands
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Andy Burnham has signalled he may lift the ban on drinking alcohol in the stands at football matches, suggesting it is ‘unfair’ for fans to be singled out when it is permitted for other sports. The prime minister, a committed Everton fan who still attends matches, said there was a case for trialling an end to the ban to bring football in line with rugby and cricket. The move was welcomed by the Football Supporters’ Association and the English Football League, but police warned it would be ‘incredibly rash’ to make changes without considering their impact on safety. Burnham has long opposed the ban, saying it is discriminatory and out of date, harking back to an era when football violence was fuelled by drinking within view of the pitch.” (09/23/26)
LPA Two Hour Lunch Hour, episode 12
Source: LP Alliance
“Join us for our anything goes podcast every Wednesday at noon eastern!” (09/23/26)
An Unbalanced Treatment of the Balance of Payments
Source: Independent Institute
by Edward J López & Jon Murphy
“A country’s overall BOP must sum to zero. That is by accounting definition. When domestic buyers send money out to bring imports in (the current account), foreign exporters return money domestically as investment (the capital & financial account). The BOP is a form of double-entry bookkeeping applied to international trade. But it also means that the current account—composed mostly of trade in goods and services—can be in deficit, while the capital & financial account is in surplus.” (09/23/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/09/23/unbalanced-treatment-balance-of-payments/
The Dangerous “National Interest”
Source: Cato Institute
by Pierre Lemieux
“Politicians, government officials, and foreign policy analysts (especially of the ‘realist’ sort) regularly speak of the ‘national interest.’ The meaning of this expression may seem obvious: It is the public interest when the public considered is composed of the individuals within a ‘nation’ (as opposed to the ‘global public interest’ or a ‘sub-national public interest’). I take ‘nation’ to mean a society of individuals, not simply their state. But in reality, just as with the ‘public interest’ in general, the ‘national interest’ has little scientific or rationally ascertainable meaning.” (Fall 2026)
https://www.cato.org/regulation/fall-2026/dangerous-national-interest
Judge blocks Trump’s White House media ban
Source: Reuters
“A federal judge ordered US President Donald Trump on Thursday to restore White House access for journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico, saying his ban on the three media outlets was likely unconstitutional. In a major setback for Trump in one of his biggest battles with the media, US District Judge Tim Kelly issued his order in a lawsuit that the news organizations filed contesting the ban that the Republican president announced on September 18. Kelly ordered the Trump administration to immediately return the outlets’ press passes and blocked officials from enforcing the ban for 14 days. The judge rejected the government’s assertion that the ban was motivated by national security concerns.” (09/24/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/judge-lifts-trumps-white-house-ban-cnn-ms-now-politico-2026-09-24/
The Politics of Faking Success
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Connor O’Keeffe
“As a politician, Donald Trump has always been almost unmatched in his ability to direct and steer the media in ways that benefit him. Throughout his first term, Trump was excellent at making sudden policy reversals and grand, out-of-the-blue announcements that would leave the legacy media scrambling to keep up and therefore keep news consumers from looking too closely at his actual actions for too long. He would completely make up accomplishments and great political victories and operate as if they were real. … That approach of essentially creating and stoking delusions of success in the minds of voters is not actually a bad strategy for a politician. … But the fact remains that Trump has done very little to improve the material well-being of the American people and quite a lot to worsen it.” (09/23/26)
Ron Paul Liberty Report, 09/23/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Poll: Most Americans Agree With Massie – Hegseth Must Go!” (09/23/26)
Ukraine: Russian strikes kill 14 after Zelenskyy addresses UN
Source: The Guardian
“At least seven people were killed in a Russian strike on a farm in Kharkiv region, with a further 12 people injured. Two more people were killed in Kyiv, including one in the parking lot of a maternity hospital that was damaged. Eight people were injured. The attack came just hours after Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged international leaders to keep choking Russia’s revenues and impede its war efforts, telling the UN general assembly that ‘Russia’s revenues must remain a target.'” (09/24/26)