“Plenty of indicators suggest that things are and have been fine in the American economy for a long, long time. And yet, for years we heard about the ‘vibecession’ where almost every economic indicator was pointing toward a great economy but consumers were inexplicably acting as if we were in a recession. The problem wasn’t with the consumers and, paradoxically, the problem was not with the fancy government statistics. The problem was with the talking heads and their refusal to ask why consumer behavior might be more telling than aggregate indicators. To help cut through the noise, we can look to other, less obvious sources combined with economic theory. The New York Times, for example, reports that Hamburger Helper sales have risen 14.5 percent just since the start of the year.” (10/14/25)
“Jacob shows how U.S. officials use massive chaos, much of which they incite, as a way to justify the exercise of omnipotent, tyrannical powers.” (10/14/25)
“The US Department of State says it has revoked the visas of six foreigners over remarks they made on social media about Charlie Kirk …. The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans. The State Department continues to identify visa holders who celebrated the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk,’ the department said in a post on X on Tuesday evening in the US. The post was followed by a list of screenshots and critical remarks from six social media accounts, which the State Department said belonged to individuals from South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, Paraguay and Mexico. ‘An Argentine national said that Kirk ‘devoted his entire life spreading racist, xenophobic, misogynistic rhetoric’ and deserves to burn in hell. Visa revoked,’ the State Department tweeted along with a screenshot that had the username blacked out.” (10/15/25)
“Argentine farmers grow lots of soybeans. Argentine farmers also export lots of soybeans. Chinese customers buy lots of soybeans. They used to buy lots of soybeans grown by US farmers. Now they buy soybeans grown by Argentine farmers instead. Oh, did I mention that one reason Milei needs a bailout is that he recently lowered the export tax on (and therefore his government’s revenues from) Argentine soybeans? So now you and I get to pay MORE taxes and HIGHER prices so that American farmers get a bailout, Javier Milei gets a bailout, and Argentine farmers can sell more soybeans to Chinese customers at LOWER prices and pay LOWER taxes. Insult, meet injury.” (10/14/25)
“Madagascar’s military has taken charge of the Indian Ocean island, an army colonel said on Tuesday, after President Andry Rajoelina fled abroad during a standoff with youth-led protesters and security forces. ‘We have taken the power,’ Col. Michael Randrianirina, who led a mutiny of soldiers joining anti-government Gen Z demonstrators, said on national radio. Randrianirina added that the military was dissolving all institutions except the lower house of parliament or National Assembly, which voted to impeach Rajoelina minutes earlier. In a day of turmoil for the nation off east Africa, the 51-year-old leader had sought to dissolve the assembly by decree. Despite flying out on a French military jet, Rajoelina is refusing to step down in defiance of weeks of Gen Z protests demanding his resignation and widespread defections in the army.” (10/14/25)
“Trump has civilians murdered on his orders, and he enjoys doing it. The deaths of these civilians please him. He will keep ordering more executions unless he is stopped and removed from office. Trump’s tyrannical abuse of power is a threat to the American people, and it is also a threat to international peace. It is probably just a matter of time before he escalates with strikes inside Venezuela. It may not be long before he turns his sights on other countries in the region. The president arrogates to himself the right to order the deaths of anyone he chooses to call a terrorist, and he routinely labels almost everyone he doesn’t like a terrorist.” (10/14/25)
“Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that the US has struck another small boat that he accuses of carrying drugs in waters off the coast of Venezuela, [murdering] six people aboard. ‘The strike was conducted in International Waters, and six male narcoterrorists [sic] aboard the vessel were [murdered] in the strike,’ Trump said in a statement on his Truth Social social media platform. ‘No U.S. [murderers] were harmed.’ … last week, an attempt in the US Senate to prevent further US [murders] on alleged drug-carrying boats off the coast of Venezuela without congressional approval failed, after nearly all Republicans and Democratic Senator John Fetterman voted against the measure.” (10/14/25)
“There is good news and bad news for critics of the United States’[s] bloated 21st century war machine. The good news: the ‘war on terror’ is dead. The bad news? It seems to have become a part of the walking dead — a kind of zombie war on terror that is continuing and radically expanding, even as the fears and threats that originally motivated all its excesses are seemingly vanishing from the American psyche. Consider the following facts: despite the public release only a few years ago of evidence showing the Saudi government’s direct complicity in the crime of September 11, 2001 — the central, instigating act of terrorism that drove and justified every aspect of the ‘war on terror’ that followed — associating with or even taking money from that same government appears to carry no stigma.” (10/14/25)
“The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will not consider whether the LGBTQ dating app Grindr could be held liable for matching a teenager with adult men who sexually assaulted him. It means the justices won’t wade into a new fight over Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which gives [sic] tech firms broad immunity from legal challenges over user-generated content. John Doe, the anonymous petitioner, wrote in his appeal to the justices that he was 15 years old when he signed up for Grindr, representing he was an adult. Over four days in April 2019, the app matched him with four adult men, who each raped him on consecutive days, he alleges.” [editor’s note: Section 230 doesn’t “give tech firms broad immunity.” They are not the publishers of content published by others whether Section 230 says so or not – TLK] (10/14/25)
“Seriously, when was the last time you remember Congress passing any significant legislation? Monumental achievements like Medicare, the Clean Air Act, the Voting Rights Act, or the Civil Rights Act, aren’t possible anymore. This 119th Congress, like the last few sessions, is incapable of probing, debating, and resolving such weighty issues. It can’t even manage its most basic job of keeping the government running. Sadly, history will show that nobody seized Congress or stole away its authority. Its wounds are self-inflicted. Through laziness, lack of courage, or sheer party loyalty over what’s best for the nation, members of Congress gradually ceded their powers, starting with the power to declare war.” (10/14/25)
