Source: The Daily Economy
by Rebak Attila
“Current energy prices reflect the delayed costs of regulatory priorities that misallocated investment and undermined energy resilience.” (05/18/26)
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer
by Tom Corbett & Bob Cindrich
“A judiciary that cannot operate without intimidation is not fully independent. A country that cannot accept lawful judicial outcomes will not continue to be governed by law.” (05/18/26)
Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison
“The people urging the U.S. to escalate are fanatics and ideologues who just want to see Iran in ruins no matter what it takes.” (05/18/26)
https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/escalation-in-iran-would-be-madness
Source: Fox News
“Greek officials have unveiled the interior of a massive ancient tomb possibly linked to Alexander the Great as archaeologists continue excavation and restoration work. Greece’s Ministry of Culture announced the news in a statement on May 11. The excavation centers around the Kasta Tomb in Amphipolis, the ruins of an ancient Macedonian city in northern Greece, about 60 miles northeast of Thessaloniki. … Researchers believed Kasta Tomb was ‘built for someone very close to Alexander the Great,’ such as his mother, one of his wives or one of his friends, National Geographic reported in 2014.” (05/18/26)
Source: The Bulwark
“Trump Stumbles and Slurs His Way Through Short Bible Reading.” (05/18/26)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by George Ford Smith
“In 2000, the world braced for Y2K. It came with a date and a remedy. There was panic about doomsday but as I and other programmers stretched the year field from two to four characters, apart from scattered hiccups, the lights stayed on. Everything about Y2K was known — the problem, the solution, and the deadline. Q-Day is something else entirely. Q-Day is shorthand for the moment when quantum computing crosses a line we assumed would hold — when the mathematics that secures modern life can be broken, and broken quickly. On Q-Day the locks will be quietly and rapidly picked. And the unsettling part is that the thief may already have your safe, waiting for the day the combination becomes trivial to compute.” (05/18/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/lines-we-thought-machines-wouldnt-cross
Source: Seattle Times
“A Spanish court acquitted Shakira in a tax fraud case, ordering the government to return more than 55 million euros ($64 million) in wrongly imposed fines, a court document seen Monday by The Associated Press said. The decision follows years of tax troubles in Spain for the Colombian superstar. The ruling relates to a dispute over the 2011 tax year in which Spanish tax authorities did not prove that the singer was a resident of Spain, the Madrid-based court said in its decision.” (05/18/26)
Source: EconTalk
“Tom Cruise’s Body of Work (with Aled Maclean-Jones).” (05/18/26)
https://www.econtalk.org/tom-cruises-body-of-work-with-aled-maclean-jones/
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“‘I think the last thing we need right now is a war that’s 9,500 miles away.’ Just place a period after the word ‘war’ in President Trump’s comments to reporters, after last week’s summit with Chinese ruler Xi Jinping and discussion about China’s democratic neighbor, Taiwan, the Republic of China. Which raises the question: How best to avoid war over Taiwan?” [editor’s note: That one’s easy — the US regime minds its own business. “Problem” solved – TLK] (05/18/26)
Source: Townhall
by Kirt Schlichter
“Winston Churchill once observed that there’s nothing quite like the feeling of being shot at and missed. The Republicans are enjoying that glorious sensation as we speak. Thanks to redistricting decisions in various courts as well as some surprising examples of GOP manhood in their wake, it looks like November is a jump ball. The midterms were supposed to be a rendezvous with disaster, and historically, the tides are still against us. But Democrats have just had the miserable experience of discovering that fate is fickle. Recent events have made it so that Republicans have a fighting chance, and our joy and relief that we’re not necessarily destined for doom is amplified by our delight in hearing Democrats squeal in agony as all their dreams die.” [editor’s note: The midterms are nearly six months away. Six months is forever in politics, so take all predictions with a grain of salt – TLK] (05/18/26)