Author: Thomas L. Knapp

Source: The Volokh Conspiracy
by Ilya Somin

“President Donald Trump is trying to force states to severely curtail mail voting for the fall election by requiring the US Postal Service to refuse to deliver mail ballots unless states meet various onerous requirements. This plan is an affront to both federalism and the separation of powers. The Constitution grants state governments default authority over election administration, subject to override by Congress, when it comes to procedural rules for federal elections. Trump is seeking to usurp these powers.” (09/08/26)

https://reason.com/volokh/2026/09/08/trumps-mail-order-ballot-order-is-an-assault-on-federalism-and-separation-of-powers/

Source: Asia Times
by Stephen Prager

“While Republicans express ‘offense’ at plans for New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to attend September 11 remembrances this week due to his Muslim faith, US President Donald Trump provoked outrage on Tuesday when he told what seems to be a fabricated story about his heroism following the terrorist attack. … Trump has claimed on multiple occasions to have been present in the immediate aftermath of the attacks and has told a version of the same story before, including on the 2016 campaign trail. But many aspects of the tale are in doubt or contradicted by both the public record and others known to be involved in the recovery.” (09/09/26)

https://asiatimes.com/2026/09/stolen-valor-trumps-9-11-story-draws-scorn-as-fabrication/

Source: Niskanen Center
by Rachel Levine

“The ‘co-location’ of power plants and large energy users on the same site is gaining traction as a way to provide electricity to data centers without raising household bills. It seems like a quick fix but is really a symptom of a grid that has struggled to anticipate and meet rising demand. While co-location may provide near-term relief for select industries willing to pay for it, it won’t scale to keep power reliable and affordable for everyone. To do that, we need interregional, high-voltage transmission to arbitrage power over long distances to serve load wherever it is.” [editor’s note: No, we need decentralized and localized generation. “The grid” is obsolete technology – TLK] 09/08/26)

https://www.niskanencenter.org/bypassing-the-grid-wont-save-us-from-having-to-build-more-of-it/

Source: Show-Me Institute
by Patrick Tuohey

“Kansas City just spent over $100 million per mile for its Main Street streetcar extension, making it the most expensive system per mile in the United States. Last year, Randall O’Toole estimated that the average streetcar cost per mile is around $91 million. It’s worth looking at some recent examples to see if that number is accurate. Looking at recently opened systems (see table below), the cost per mile seems to be lower, at about $61.6 million.” (09/08/26)

https://showmeinstitute.org/article/corporate-welfare/what-does-a-streetcar-system-cost/

Source: Independent Institute
by Richard K Vedder

“The university establishment is getting an overdue education in markets, mission, and public trust.” (09/08/26)

https://www.independent.org/article/2026/09/08/higher-eds-great-correction-necessity-is-the-mother-of-invention/