“When did you first hear the story of Jason Arday? In 2023, Mr. Arday became something of a public sensation in Great Britain, where his claims to being autistic, mute till age 11, and illiterate till 18 made a striking rag-to-riches/up-from-racism story upon his appointment as Professor of Sociology of Education at the University of Cambridge. The youngest Black professor at that institution ever. … a month ago, philosopher Nathan Cofnas published his exposé, which began with a litany of Arday’s autobiographical whoppers, not including the one I heard most bandied-about: that at age 7 the young Jason had been interviewed for the famous documentary Seven Up! — a glaring fib because the movie came out 21 years before Prof. Arday was born. … Jason Arday was found dead in his apartment. Suicide? That’s what many surmise, but police have only said his death was ‘unexpected but is not believed to be suspicious.'” (08/19/26)
“[The US government’s] gross national debt topped $40 trillion for the first time on Wednesday, an ominous milestone for an economy that sits on a shaky fiscal foundation after decades of borrowing to pay for the rising costs of the military, social safety net programs and President Trump’s tax cuts. This year alone, the United States [government] is on track to borrow more than $2 trillion to help pay for its obligations, including spending on the war in Iran and the sweeping tax cuts that Republicans enacted in 2025. Soaring interest payments to investors who have purchased America’s debt now make up about half of that red ink, pushing the United States [government] into a deeper financial hole.” [editor’s note: A tax cut doesn’t have to be “paid for,” and unless spending is being cut, taxes aren’t being cut — payment of the taxes, with interest, is just being deferred – TLK] (08/19/26)
“From a pure free-market, Austrian, and public choice perspective, the long-term demographic decline of the native-born population is not an accidental social phenomenon. It is the predictable consequence of government growth, fiscal dominance, and irresponsible monetary expansion. When state spending exceeds tax revenues, the resulting deficits, inflation, and market distortions create structural disincentives that make multi-decade capital commitments—such as having and raising children—increasingly irrational for economic actors. From a strict market perspective, the declining birth rate of the domestic population is an unintended structural feedback loop of state expansion.” (08/19/26)
“Statistician Aaron Brown and gun policy scholar Robert Spitzer debate the resolution, ‘Until there is convincing evidence that government-imposed gun control brings a net reduction in harm, all legal restrictions on adult possession of guns should be abolished.'” (08/19/26)
“A Russian missile barrage overnight Thursday killed at least 12 people in Kyiv as explosions echoed across Ukraine’s capital throughout the night, local authorities said. At least 33 people were wounded, according to Ukraine’s Emergency Service. The air raid alert remained active into the early morning hours Thursday. … Russia has intensified ballistic missile attacks on the capital to wear down Kyiv’s air defense stocks. Kyiv has limited systems capable of intercepting ballistic threats, while supplies of missiles for its U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems remain chronically constrained. … Ukraine, meanwhile, has intensified its own campaign of long-range strikes against weapons depots, military facilities and other strategic targets deep inside Russian territory, seeking to degrade Moscow’s ability to sustain its attacks on Ukrainian cities.” (08/20/26)
“More than 100 people have died after an artisanal goldmine at a small village in western Central African Republic (CAR) caved in due to a landslide, local officials and aid workers said on Wednesday. The landslide happened on Tuesday afternoon in the village of Zamboye, about 50km (31 miles) from the town of Baboua and close to the border of Cameroon. Footage on social media appeared to show an avalanche of sand descend on a group of people, likely the miners, and cover them. … the incident is believed to have been caused by “’he collapse of several underground tunnels in which miners were operating’.” (08/19/26)
“Data centers, the gigantic buildings that house the computing power behind the artificial intelligence boom, are wildly unpopular. A recent Gallup poll found that 7 in 10 Americans oppose one being built in their area. Most of those objections don’t hold up. In town after town, data centers have delivered real benefits to the communities willing to host them. Local officials should be welcoming these projects, not passing laws to keep them out.” (08/19/26)
“A federal judge in Texas ruled Monday that a Biden administration-era rule regulating untraceable ‘ghost guns’ is unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor held that the 2022 measure, which required that self-assembled guns be treated like any other firearm, conflicts with the nation’s ‘historical tradition’ of personal gunsmithing and self-manufacture of firearms.’The Court cannot conclude that the Final Rule’s imposition of ambiguous and far-reaching regulations, which would restrict access to component parts thereby inhibiting home gunsmithing, comports with the Second Amendment,’ O’Connor, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, wrote. He also determined the rule was unconstitutionally vague in violation of the Due Process Clause.” (08/19/26)
“To discover who someone is, you have to pay attention to what they do, not what they say. Words are cheap, and lies come easy. This goes triple for government. A government that talks about your safety but does things that will make you less safe is not on your side.” (08/19/26)
