System Update, episode 513
Source: System Update
“Charlie Kirk Assassination Fallout: U.S. Reps Call for Censorship; Do Graphic Videos Serve the Public Interest? Plus: WIRED Reporter on the Dark Side of Surrogacy.” (09/11/25)
Author: Thomas L. Knapp
The State Power to Discriminate
Source: EconLog
by Pierre Lemieux
“John Locke’s idea that tyranny is arbitrary power as opposed to the rule of law seems to underlie the whole classical liberal tradition (see Locke’s Second Treatise of Government [1690, Chapter 18]). Arbitrary power allows the state or any other central political authority to discriminate among its subjects by bribing its supporters and harming its opponents. In reality, public discrimination (in the sense of state discrimination) is probably a synonym of arbitrary power. The gradual discovery of the rule of law has come with the idea that the state should not discriminate among its citizens, residents, and often even foreigners.” (09/11/25)
Kirk’s killer evades capture as manhunt pushes into third day
Source: Reuters
“The sniper who killed the conservative activist Charlie Kirk was still on the loose on Friday even as investigators flooded the internet with photos and video of a man believed to have carried out Wednesday’s politically charged killing at a Utah university. President Donald Trump said investigators were making progress in tracking down the gunman who fired a single rifle shot on Wednesday that struck the neck of Kirk, a 31-year-old author and podcast host who helped galvanize the conservative youth vote and return Trump to the White House.” (09/12/25)
Anti-intellectualism and Violence
Source: ProSocial Libertarians
by Andrew Jason Cohen
“Intellectuals argue — they provide reasons for their view and against the views of their opponents. … Killing someone for engaging in argument is obviously anti-intellectual. We all know this. And it doesn’t matter if we disagree with the intellectual. … To stop the maelstrom of political hatred and violence, we need to stop incentivizing people to seek power through intellectual (or pseudo-intellectual) means. We need to listen to experts, but even then we must listen critically, questioningly, with some degree of skepticism.” (09/11/25)
https://prosociallibertarians.substack.com/p/anti-intellectualism-and-violence
Politics Politics Politics, 09/11/25
Source: Politics Politics Politics
“Let’s Talk About Political Violence in America.” (09/11/25)
https://www.politicspoliticspolitics.com/p/lets-talk-about-political-violence
The Business List, 09/11/25
Source: LP Alliance
“Party and national news.” (09/11/25)
Midshipman at US Naval Academy was shot by security forces during lockdown
Source: ABC News
“A midshipman was shot Thursday at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, as security officials responding to reports of suspicious activity were clearing a building while the campus was on lockdown, according to a U.S. official. According to a Navy official, Navy security officers and local law enforcement responded to the campus shortly after 5 p.m. The midshipman was medevaced to the hospital by Maryland State Police and was in stable condition. … ‘There is no active shooter threat, however, one person was injured while Naval Security Forces were clearing a building,’ said a Navy official.” (09/11/25)
https://abcnews.go.com/US/person-hurt-us-naval-academy-security-clears-building/story?id=125495925
Violence must never be a response to speech
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Nico Perrino
“Sigmund Freud once said civilization started the day man first cast a word instead of a stone. He was right. Words are not violence. Words are what we use instead of violence to resolve our differences. We must not lose sight of this civilization-defining distinction. Unfortunately, since 2021, we’ve seen a steady rise in support for violence in response to speech on campus. … While we do not know the identity or motive of the gunman, what happened yesterday is indicative of a broader cancer in our body politic that we must address. But it must not be addressed with censorship.” (09/11/25)
https://www.thefire.org/news/violence-must-never-be-response-speech
NPR Politics Podcast, 09/11/25
Source: National Public Radio [US state media]
“How Charlie Kirk shaped conservative politics.” (09/11/25)
https://www.npr.org/2025/09/11/nx-s1-5536607/how-charlie-kirk-shaped-conservative-politics
From a sucker punch to Charlie Kirk’s death
Source: Washington Post
by Megan McArdle
“Right after Donald Trump was inaugurated as president in 2017 someone punched white nationalist Richard Spencer in the face on live television. This led to several days of the internet asking whether it is okay to sucker punch Nazis. (The answer, for those who missed that session, is that no, it is not okay to sucker punch people who have noxious views, because it is not okay to sucker punch people, period.) At the time I was deeply disturbed to see how many people were willing to endorse political violence. In retrospect, this seems almost quaint.” (09/11/25)