Author: Thomas L. Knapp

Half the Public Wants To Pause AI. Would Regulation Actually Make It Safer?

Source: Reason
by Reem Ibrahim

“When Altman and other AI leaders ask for government intervention, the possibility of regulatory capture cannot be dismissed. The companies calling most loudly for AI regulation are also among those best equipped to comply with it. Licensing regimes, mandatory audits, reporting requirements, and expensive safety standards impose fixed costs that established firms such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google can absorb more easily than smaller competitors. Altman has urged Congress to consider licensing or registration requirements. That does not mean industry warnings about AI risk are disingenuous, but advocating for regulation does allow these executives to present themselves as responsible stewards of a dangerous technology while also supporting rules that could simultaneously raise barriers to entry and entrench their position in the market.” (09/24/26)

https://reason.com/2026/09/24/half-the-public-wants-to-pause-ai-would-regulation-actually-make-it-safer/

Thomas L. Knapp

Corporate Welfare Is Britain’s Blind Spot

Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Alan Hibben

“Britain’s political class loves to talk about ‘reforming welfare,’ but everyone knows the limits of that ambition. Voter Welfare—the £333.7 billion the state is forecast to transfer from taxpayers to households in 2025–26—is politically untouchable. A population brought up on free cake is unlikely to vote for the plate being removed, at least until it stares a debt tragedy square in the face. But there is another kind of welfare that receives far less attention and may actually be fixable: Rent-Seeking Welfare, or what is more bluntly called corporate welfare elsewhere. Unlike pensioners, corporations don’t vote—and British households don’t own many shares directly. In theory, this should make reform easier. In practice, the obstacle is not ideology but something more basic: the Government cannot see what it is trying to reform.” (09/24/26)

https://fee.org/articles/corporate-welfare-is-britains-blind-spot/

Thomas L. Knapp

Mercy, mercy – Canadian-style?

Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Bardon

“Does a human being have a right to kill themselves? Yes, they do: we believe at TPOL that this is inherent in free will as we were created by God. (It does not make it good (right) to kill yourself, any more than many other things we have the power to do are not good or right. The entire idea of ‘assisted suicide’ is both a gray area and seems to often lead into euthanasia.” (09/24/26)

https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/09/24/mercy-mercy-canadian-style/

Thomas L. Knapp

Report: Hitler’s possible role in niece’s death under scrutiny after documents raise questions about alibi

Source: CBS News

“Newly unearthed records in a Munich archive have cast doubt on Adolf Hitler’s whereabouts at the time of his niece’s suspicious 1931 death, according to news magazine Der Spiegel. Hitler’s unusually close and controlling relationship with his niece, Geli Raubal, has long been the subject of speculation and rumor, and newspaper reports at the time suggested that Hitler may have played a role in her death. Raubal died from a gunshot wound to the chest from a pistol belonging to Hitler, in what was officially determined to be a suicide. Hitler … was away in the city of Nuremberg that day, giving him what appeared to be a strong alibi. But according to an article in Der Spiegel, historian Harald Sandner recently discovered documents in archives in Munich casting doubt on that account — and raising questions about whether Nazi sympathizers in the police may have falsified records to protect Hitler.” (09/24/26)

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hitler-role-niece-death-new-documents-questions-alibi-report/

Thomas L. Knapp