“The US Navy has disclosed that eight sailors assigned to the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group attempted suicide during its prolonged deployment, The Hill reported. Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao made the disclosure in a letter to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, after she sought information about the well-being of sailors aboard the carrier and accompanying vessels. The revelation comes after families of sailors raised concerns about deteriorating mental health and difficult living conditions during the carrier strike group’s lengthy deployment in West Asia amid the US war with Iran.” (09/24/26)
“A new mockumentary from the Quincy Institute and The Intercept takes a closer look at the Lords of War — the weapons-industry executives who are getting rich off of America’s endless wars.” (09/24/26)
“Galileo got called a heretic for suggesting that the Earth wasn’t the center of the universe. Semmelweis was treated like a madman for insisting that doctors wash their hands before attending births. Researchers Barry Marshall and Robin Warren said that the bacterium Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) causes most cases of gastritis and peptic ulcers and people thought they were nutjobs. Those nutjobs eventually revolutionized gastroenterology and won a Nobel Prize in Medicine. In each case, the problem wasn’t the science; it was the people defending consensus like it was holy Scripture, punishing anyone who dared question it. Fast forward to today: the same instinct survives, repackaged in social media posts, think pieces, and snarky tweets.” (09/24/26)
“In 1776, agents of the Crown could raid a newspaper’s offices for publishing critical commentary about the royal regime. The Stamp Act was imposed to smother America’s nascent free press in the cradle. Authorities in London charged publishers sympathetic to the rebels under Britain’s seditious libel laws. Perhaps the jilted King George can find some relief from beyond the grave. Two and a half centuries after the American Revolution, the colonists—one colonist in particular—are finally coming home to the monarchical tradition.” (09/24/26)
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Joseph Solis-Mullen
“When President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Beijing this past May, the outcome was largely as anticipated: ceremonial pomp, a handful of commercial commitments, rhetorical emphasis on ‘stability,’ and little progress on the structural frictions that actually define the relationship. Trump invited Xi for a reciprocal state visit, and that visit is now underway. Xi arrived in the Washington area on Wednesday evening for a tightly choreographed program of White House ceremonies, closed-door talks, a state dinner, and a brief National Archives tour before departing Friday. The script remains familiar. The underlying reality is unchanged.” (09/24/26)
“A fire broke out on Wednesday evening at a ground-based Starlink satellite communications station in central Poland providing connectivity for the region, including Ukraine, Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said, adding the systems were now operational. Poland has been on heightened alert for acts of sabotage since Russia’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in 2022. Russia has repeatedly denied any such action.” (09/24/26)
