Reasonably Optimistic, 09/09/26
Source: Washington Post
“The strange truth behind our obsession with UFOs and aliens.” (09/09/26)
Author: Thomas L. Knapp
Self-Command Is the Price of Freedom
Source: Mindset Shifts
by Barry Brownstein
“Those who split the world into binaries—voluntary exchange on one side, state coercion on the other—miss a lot. They miss the enormous third thing Adam Smith described: the unenforced realm of ‘propriety,’ the decency, manners, and mutual forbearances that no contract specifies and no statute compels. If we want less state, we must have more propriety. A friend of liberty has a larger stake in the moral condition of society than the statist does.” (09/09/26)
https://mindsetshifts.substack.com/p/self-command-is-the-price-of-freedom
Anthropic Alignment Lead Warns There’s ‘>10% Chance’ AI Could ‘Kill All Humans’ By Next Decade
Source: Forbes
“A senior researcher who leads Anthropic’s alignment efforts said Tuesday that many in the company believed AI could wipe out humanity and warned that the company is not on track to solve the issue of aligning AI’s goals with humanity’s, despite its efforts, after another researcher quit the company, accusing it of not acting responsibly. Evan Hubinger, the Alignment Science Lead at Anthropic, wrote on X that he and his colleagues do ‘earnestly believe AI could kill all humans,’ and he pegged his own estimate at more than 10% in the next decade. … Hubinger’s post responded to an X thread by another Anthropic researcher, Jacob Coxon, who announced he is resigning from the company over AI safety concerns.” (09/09/26)
Freedom Works with Paul Molloy, 09/09/26
Source: Freedom Works
“Ryan Young, Competitive Enterprise Institute ‘US-Canada Trade War.'” (09/09/26)
https://internetradiopros.com/freedomworks/?name=2026-09-09_zfw89022026.mp3
What Makes Pharmaceutical Speaker Programs Illegal?
Source: The Daily Economy
by Christopher Crennen
“The missing consumer in health care helps explain the strange economics — and legal risks — of drug companies paying doctors.” (09/09/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/what-makes-pharmaceutical-speaker-programs-illegal/
Why CPI Ignores Homes, Stocks, and the Cost of Getting Ahead
Source: The Daily Economy
by Karl-Friedrich Israel
“Capturing only what households consume, inflation stats miss the assets they hope to own. Recent inflation has rewarded existing owners at the expense of aspiring ones.” (09/09/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/why-cpi-ignores-homes-stocks-and-the-cost-of-getting-ahead/
Why Conservative Republicans Are Worried About License Plate Cameras
Source: Reason
by Jacob Sullum
“Last month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott froze state funding for automated license plate readers (ALPRs), acknowledging concerns about the warrantless surveillance enabled by such AI-assisted cameras. Abbott took that step the day after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a fellow Republican, declared that ALPRs are ‘out of control.’ … The congressional response to ALPRs, including several bills and an investigation that Sen. Josh Hawley (R–Mo.) announced last month, has been dominated by conservative Republicans, which confirms that the backlash is not limited to libertarian or left-leaning critics. Whether it will yield effective constraints is another question.” (09/09/26)
https://reason.com/2026/09/09/why-conservative-republicans-are-worried-about-license-plate-cameras/
EU court hands another defeat to Abramovich in fight against sanctions
Source: Politico
“The EU’s General Court has rejected Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich’s challenge to sanctions imposed on him following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, upholding asset freezes and travel restrictions against the billionaire. The Council of the EU acted within its powers when it extended the measures against the billionaire former owner of Chelsea Football Club in 2022 through September 2025 and March 2026, judges ruled, according to a statement issued by the Court on Wednesday. Abramovich, who holds Russian, Israeli and Portuguese nationality, is the majority shareholder in Evraz, one of Russia’s largest steel and mining groups. He also owns shares in Norilsk Nickel, a major producer of palladium and refined nickel. The EU Court said the bloc’s sanctions criteria were objective, sufficiently precise and proportionate. They target prominent businesspeople operating in Russia, particularly those active in sectors that provide significant revenue to the Russian government.” (09/09/26)
The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg, 09/09/26
Source: The Dispatch
“Telephone Killed the Convention | Interview: Chris Stirewalt.” (09/09/26)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/remnant/telephone-killed-the-convention-interview-chris-stirewalt/
25 Years Ago, 9/11 Triggered a US Crusade of Torture
Source: Antiwar.com
by Norman Solomon
“A quarter-century has passed since the terrorist attack that killed almost 3,000 people in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. During the first seven years after that mass atrocity, Pentagon spending doubled. The aftermath of 9/11 was also a huge boost for ‘the intelligence community.’ Despite – and because of – their failure to prevent the carnage on that day, the CIA and the National Security Agency as well as 14 smaller spy agencies boomed with enormous jolts of funds. Along the way, some line items paid for torture that persisted during the George W. Bush presidency under the euphemism of ‘enhanced interrogation techniques.'” (09/09/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/solomon/2026/09/08/25-years-ago-9-11-triggered-a-us-crusade-of-torture/