The David Frum Show, 03/11/26
Source: The Atlantic
“Can Democrats Actually Win in Texas?” (03/11/26)
https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/2026/03/david-frum-show-beto-orourke-texas-democrats/686322
Author: Thomas L. Knapp
Parallax Views w/ JG Michael
Source: Parallax Views w/ JG Michael
“George Kennan, Moderate Realism, & Multipolarity w/ Michael F. Duggan.” (03/11/26)
Are Opportunity Zones Just Federal-Level TIF?
Source: Show-Me Institute
by Patrick Tuohey
“When Congress created Opportunity Zones in 2017, the goal was simple: use tax incentives to steer private investment into distressed communities. Investors could defer or eliminate capital-gains taxes if they reinvested those gains in designated census tracts. The hope was that these incentives would spur development and expand opportunity in struggling neighborhoods. But new research suggests the program may suffer from the same problems as Tax-Increment Financing (TIF).” (03/11/26)
https://showmeinstitute.org/article/corporate-welfare/are-opportunity-zones-just-federal-level-tif/
Alas, Poor Yorick
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“Working from home is a very old idea, becoming new again during this Age of the Internet. COVID made telework something of a mania. But there’s been some withdrawal of support for the arrangement from major corporations, and one of the main results of Elon Musk’s DOGE effort in government was to bring government workers back into the office. Well, sort of.” (03/11/26)
Six vessels attacked amid reports of Iranian drone boats, sea mines
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Explosive-laden Iranian boats appear to have attacked two fuel tankers in Iraqi waters, setting them ablaze and killing one crew member, after projectiles struck four vessels in Gulf waters, according to reports. The ships targeted in late-night attacks on Wednesday in the Gulf near Iraq were the Marshall Islands-flagged Safesea Vishnu and the Zefyros, which had loaded fuel cargoes in Iraq, two Iraqi port officials told the Reuters news agency. … Reuters said reports of the use of explosive-laden unmanned surface vessels, which Ukraine has used with great effect in its war with Russia, come as Iran has blocked oil shipments from transiting the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas transits but which has been blocked since the US-Israeli war on Iran began.” (03/12/26)
We can’t afford US government
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“The U.S. government, with its state and local affiliates, is a much greater threat to your life, liberty, and property than any foreign power in the past century. This includes the old Soviet Union. Which one takes a large percentage of your money before you even see it? Which one then takes more of your money every time you buy something, or demands it in ransom so you’re allowed to keep what you already own? Which one makes and enforces arbitrary rules about the way you’re allowed to live? I’ll give you a hint: it’s not Iran’s evil government. Right now, I’m not extorted to prop up an Iranian government, but if the U.S. government wins this fight, I will be.” (03/11/26)
The Political Orphanage, 03/11/26
Source: The Political Orphanage
“A.I. and the Future of Scams.” (03/11/26)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/ai-and-the-future-of-scams
Sources blame “outdated intelligence” for US regime’s mass murder of Iranian elementary school students
Source: Associated Press
“Outdated intelligence likely led to the United States carrying out a deadly missile strike on an elementary school in Iran that killed over 165 people, many of them children, in the opening hours of the conflict, according to a U.S. official and a second person briefed on findings of a preliminary U.S military investigation into the incident. The bombing of the school and its casualties involving children has become a focal point of the war, and if ultimately confirmed to be at the hands of the U.S., would also stand among the highest civilian casualty events caused by the American military operations in the last two decades.” (03/11/26)
https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-school-hegseth-trump-2ffff06808f7a584b0a03831897ab0b8
The Myth of “National” Resources
Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman
“The popular telling of the histories of Iran, Venezuela, and other countries, and their relevance to current U.S. policy, requires that we get something straight. While natural resources exist in such places, those resources do not naturally belong to the said country, people, or government. That would be collectivism and, thus, nonsensical. The proper owners of land and subsurface resources are those who discover and develop them, no matter where they were born or live. They are the Lockean owners (per John Locke’s homesteading principle). This means that someone from outside the territory could be the legitimate owner in a given case. Indigenous persons who had no role in the discovery and development have no natural claim based merely on their birth. That’s no achievement. The foregoing does not mean that outside entrepreneurs may morally disregard the Lockean property rights of indigenous individuals.” (03/11/26)
https://sheldonrichman.substack.com/p/the-myth-of-national-resources
Russia: Regime prepares 10% cut to “non-sensitive” spending, sources say
Source: Reuters
“The Russian government is preparing a possible 10% cut to all ‘non-sensitive’ spending in this year’s budget, sources told Reuters, but the final decision will hinge on the sustainability of the oil price rise triggered by the Iran war. … The Finance Ministry told Reuters in comments on this story that it is discussing measures to prioritize budget spending with other ministries. Andrei Gangan, head of the monetary policy department at the central bank, said an optimisation of spending can only be welcomed. The ministry added that decisions will not affect spending on what Russia terms its ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine or social obligations to Russian citizens, but will help to avoid increasing debt and to retain long-term stability of state finances.” (03/11/26)