“One person is dead, and thousands of acres have been set ablaze after four wildfires started across the state of Nebraska. Communities near the fires were also evacuated due to the dangers they pose, according to a news release published on Friday, March 13, from the office of Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen. … Four wildfires, Morrill, Cottonwood, Anderson Bridge and Road 203, have set around 827,933 acres ablaze across the state, according to USA TODAY’s data.” (03/18/26)
“Post-liberalism landed on the mainstream’s radar in 2018 with the publication of Patrick Deneen’s Why Liberalism Failed — though its roots go back decades, with Alasdair MacIntyre considered a foundational figure. The most virulent form of the ideology is itself a rebranding of integralism, a counter-revolutionary movement with totalitarian historical associations. Despite this, since 2018, the movement has gained significant traction, to the point where it has a substantial intellectual network and high-profile politicians showing at least an openness to some post-liberal ideas. Conservatives and liberals alike ought to recognize the danger of this new right-wing ideology, and confront it head-on, even if it may seem to some that the post-liberals’ goals align with theirs.” (03/18/26)
“As sports fans wager billions of dollars on the NCAA basketball tournaments, Wisconsin lawmakers are taking a shot at an expanded sports betting plan that could bank big bucks for the state in the future. A measure given final approval Tuesday would let the state’s tribal gambling sites start offering online sports betting to people anywhere in Wisconsin. But the bill is contingent on the signature of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, which is no sure bet. And it wouldn’t take effect until after the state negotiates new deals with American Indian tribes who would run the sports betting — long after the current basketball tournaments wrap up.” [editor’s note: If it’s online, it’s interstate/international. Even if it WAS any government’s business whether you bet online (it isn’t), the government in question would be the US Congress, to which the Constitution assigns power to regulate interstate/international commerce – TLK] (03/18/26)
“I’m something of a rarity: a liberal who is worried about declining birth rates across the West. I look at a rapidly aging and longer-living population with smaller and smaller birth cohorts, and see a future in which social spending buckles under top-heavy entitlement programs; workers struggle in sluggish economies; schools and libraries are forced to close or decay in the face of shrinking tax bases; and the national soul is harmed as more and more individuals fail to realize their desired family size. In recent years, concerns about declining family formation and fertility have spread to some respectable center-Left quarters. Yet liberals like me still find ourselves marooned on a small opinion island. One big reason for that is the work of the biologist Paul R. Ehrlich, who died over the weekend, aged 93. Ehrlich’s anti-birth, anti-human ideology continues to shadow every conversation about demographic change.” (03/18/26)
“The top Republican on the Senate committee considering Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to run the Department of Homeland Security criticized his ‘machismo’ Wednesday and said he should ‘explain to the American public why they should trust a man with anger issues’ to lead the agency. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) used his opening statement at the confirmation hearing to launch a withering critique of Mullin (R-Oklahoma) for saying he understood why Paul’s neighbor violently attacked him in 2017. Leaning forward on the dais, Paul chastised Mullin, saying he suffered six broken ribs and had part of his lung removed after the assault …. Paul’s sparring with Mullin set an early tone for the hearing. President Donald Trump nominated Mullin to replace Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem, who is set to leave the position at the end of the month after the president removed her amid growing bipartisan criticism of her oversight of the department.” (03/18/26)
“Trent and Caitlin catch up with employment litigator Joshua Erlich about the difficulties of holding immigration and border patrol agents to account when they break the law.” (03/17/26)
“Paul Ehrlich has died at the old age of 93. I am grateful he lived long enough to witness how many of his doomsday predictions were wrong. But he does not seem to have recognized his faults. As late as 2018, Ehrlich predicted (once again) that the collapse of civilization would happen in decades. How could a person who is consistently wrong about everything maintain his status as a public intellectual? I think the short answer is that Ehrlich told progressives what they wanted to hear and reaffirmed their world view. … There is much to say on Ehrlich’s death, but it may be most useful to connect his writings on population control with Roe v. Wade.” (03/17/26)
