“Canada’s Liberals swept three special elections Monday in a result that showed voters backing Prime Minister Mark Carney for standing up against U.S. President Donald Trump. The Canadian Press, Canada’s national news agency, projected Liberal victories in Chicoutimi-Le Fjord in Quebec, Beaches-East York in Toronto and North Vancouver-Capilano in British Columbia. Carney said the results amounted to an endorsement of his government’s approach. ‘At this consequential time for Canada, voters have placed their trust in our government’s plan,’ he said in a statement.” (09/01/26)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Wanjiru Njoya
“In the Ethics of Liberty, Murray Rothbard argued that aggressive war is always immoral and must always be opposed. The just war doctrine should be understood not as a moral toolkit that can be harnessed to justify aggressive war, but, on the contrary, as an exception to the foundational anti-war principle. This means that the just war exception should never become more important than the anti-war rule. Unfortunately, many now treat the just war doctrine as a presumption that launching war is morally upstanding so long as a ‘just cause’ can be found to rationalize it.” (09/01/26)
“On December 13, 1790, just one week after Philadelphia became the U.S. capital, President Washington wrote to several Hebrew congregations across the fledgling nation to respond to the congratulations they sent him for his inauguration as president. Washington opened the letter by invoking a word that today is almost lost to history. He praised the congregations for their ‘liberality of sentiment’ concerning religious tolerance, arguing that ‘the affection of such people is a treasure beyond the reach of calculation.’ The virtue Washington identified—’liberality’—is the progenitor of modern political liberalism. To understand why Washington held this ideal in such high regard, we must return to the ancient Romans who inspired him, and follow the history of liberality from antiquity to the present. In this ancient virtue lies the seeds of modern political liberalism—and quite possibly an antidote to the crisis of meaning that plagues liberalism today.” (08/31/26)
“A coalition of 22 states joined a Federal Trade Commission suit against Amazon alleging ‘deceptive and unfair practices,’ secretly gaming the prices advertisers ended up paying in search results auctions to appear on Amazon.com and its mobile app. The FTC, in a news release Monday, alleged that the platform ‘covertly and substantially increased’ costs for more than a million brands and sellers to advertise on its platform over a seven year period, costing them tens of billions of dollars, most of which was passed onto consumers.” (09/01/26)
“Once upon a time, New York Tribune editor Horace Greeley dispensed some memorable advice to a young correspondent seeking advice on how to become successful: ‘So many people ask me what they shall do; so few tell me what they can do. Yet this is the pivot wherein all must turn. I believe that each of us who has his place to make should go where men are wanted, and where employment is not bestowed as alms. Of course, I say to all who are in want of work, Go West!’ … What’s the modern-day equivalent? It might not be as aspirational as Greeley’s advice, but here it is: ‘Want to be a millionaire? Don’t start a business. Run for Congress!'” (08/31/26)
“Turkey is pushing for a new agreement between Russia and Ukraine concerning grain exports via the Black Sea, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told journalists in Istanbul on Monday. Fidan said that Turkey was in contact with both Kiev and Moscow on this matter. ‘We are working on a further agreement, similar to the grain deal,’ the minister explained. Such an agreement had already been in place after the war began in 2022. However, it expired in 2023.” (08/31/26)
“In America’s recent experience, the first six months of a war are the best ones. Six months after the invasion of Iraq, the U.S. was setting up a provisional government in Baghdad and hunting down Saddam Hussein. Six months after the invasion of Afghanistan, with the Taliban shattered and Osama bin Laden on the run, combat was winding down. Six months after the 1991 Gulf War, U.S. troops had withdrawn, victorious, from Iraq. Even the Vietnam War looked eminently winnable six months after U.S. Marines landed at Da Nang. But the war with Iran is different. … [Donald Trump] began the war, egged on by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, assuming it would be a simple duplicate of the U.S. strike that toppled Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and installed a puppet government in Caracas. But the Iranian regime is a far more formidable adversary.” (08/31/26)
