“[L]ockdowns and the associated mask mandates, vaccine passports, and school closures continued in some places for several years. The ramifications of those wretched policies will be quite literally endless. It’s not an exaggeration to say that lockdowns, our policies, and responses have quite literally changed the course of world history. One would think that there would definitely be a concerted effort to understand whether such policies were effective or not. Whether approaching respiratory viruses with authoritarian crackdowns on businesses and schools was necessary to save lives. Yet six years later, there’s unfortunately very little interest in examining those questions. And when you understand the data from Sweden, you will see exactly why.” (07/14/26)
“Being a Trump supporter in 2026 is like staying best friends with a man who stole your wife. He’s deceived and betrayed you at every turn and you’re still swinging from his nuts? That’s cucky, humiliating behavior.” (07/14/26)
“Idaho voters will decide in November whether to restore widespread access to abortion after years of some of the country’s most restrictive abortion laws, election officials confirmed Monday. Idahoans United for Women and Families said Monday that a ballot initiative it created to carve out reproductive healthcare protections, including the right to abortion, met criteria to be on voters’ ballots for the general election on Nov. 3. Voters will see the Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act, which says it will establish ‘a right to make private reproductive healthcare decisions’ on their ballots. The proposal would prevent the state from prohibiting or interfering with reproductive healthcare, including contraception, fertility treatment, miscarriage management and childbirth care.” (07/14/26)
“According to the latest detailed annual survey (2026) of global freedom produced in New York by Freedom House, only 21% of the world’s population live in ‘free countries’ and global freedom has declined for the 20th consecutive year. Add to these grim statistics the huge potential threat to personal privacy and liberty posed by current advances in surveillance technology, and the desire of governments to use them, and no room for complacency should remain in anyone’s mind about the fragility of the world’s few genuinely free societies.” (07/14/26)
“Robby Soave gives his radar on a viral photo of Denver Democratic Socialists wearing masks at their recent meeting celebrating Melat Kiros’ victory in the state’s Democratic primary.” (07/14/26)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Ninos P Malek
“Is it the legitimate role of government to pressure or threaten private businesses over the prices they voluntarily charge for their own property? Most economists would begin with the basic function of prices. Market prices are not arbitrary numbers; they communicate information about scarcity, demand, costs, and alternatives. When prices are allowed to adjust freely, they coordinate millions of decisions made by consumers, producers, wholesalers, and retailers. That is why virtually every textbook on the principles of economics warns that government-imposed price controls—whether they are ceilings intended to ‘protect consumers’ or floors designed to guarantee sellers a ‘fair price’—produce unintended consequences.” (07/14/26)
“The World Health Organization said on Tuesday that a deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo could be four times bigger than official figures suggest. According to the DR Congo’s latest official figures, the haemorrhagic fever has infected more than 1,960 people and killed over 700 since it was detected two months ago. But WHO emergencies director Chikwe Ihekweazu told reporters in Geneva that its modelling indicated ‘the scale of the outbreak is at least two to four times the number of cases that we have found’. According to official numbers, this is already one of the largest Ebola outbreaks recorded, with the virus spreading faster than ever seen before.” (07/14/26)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Kevin Van Elswyk
“Pikachu is a yellow mouse and the internationally-recognized mascot of the Pokémon Franchise. Pokémon’s beginning was a game and disconnected (‘Pocket Monsters’) playing cards decades ago. Over time, it has spawned a TV series, a monopoly game, and a worldwide card collection fever. The tangible cards are now an ersatz currency to reward chore completion, trade for other cards, cash, and bitcoin. Bartering lives, and the card collection fever illustrates Austrian economics.” (07/14/26)
