Source: Orange County Register
by Agustina Vergara Cid
“Looking at the history of the U.S. founding and how this country originated by defying overbearing authority, one would think that suing the government for rights violations would be rather straightforward. It is not. Instead, it’s a Kafkaesque nightmare that often leaves Americans unprotected and with untold damage left unrepaired in the face of government force. As the Trump administration continues with its mass deportations (a program that has swept up U.S. citizens as well), Americans are made to confront the harsh reality of our legal system: Suing the government is incredibly hard, and government actors wielding force inappropriately against individuals often go unpunished. This shouldn’t happen in America of all places.” (02/15/26)
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“Sites online have posts about the genius trick that … . Mostly they aren’t genius, a label much misused, but that started me thinking about small changes in what you do that are clear improvements, typically when you realize that what you were doing was stupid.” (02/15/26)
“As reported by VGC and Japanese gaming outlet Beep21, Sega console designer Hideki Sato has died. The engineer and former Sega president was 77. Sato’s career with Sega began in the 1970s — SegaRetro.org lists his earliest projects as the arcade games MonacoGP, Turbo, and Star Jacker. Sato’s most notable contribution to gaming history, however, would be leading the engineering teams behind every Sega home console from 1983 to the company’s exit from the hardware business in 2001.” (02/15/26)
“Donald Trump’s second term as president is mired by two different anxieties, and he has put them on a collision course. Trump openly fears the Republican Party losing control of the U.S. House in November’s midterm elections, and now his free-falling approval ratings could also put control of the U.S. Senate in play as well. Democratic control means serious oversight for a president who seriously needs oversight. Impeachment could be on the table, too. But Trump also shows great concern about losing control of the Republican Party in Congress. He tosses telling tantrums whenever Republicans in either chamber dare to act like a coequal branch of government rather than subservient sycophants, like his party’s leaders in the House and Senate.” (02/15/26)
“Ukraine’s state anti-corruption agencies on Monday charged former Energy Minister German Galushchenko with money laundering and taking part in a criminal organization, a day after he was arrested at the Ukrainian border during an attempt to flee the country. The crackdown is part of the ongoing Operation Midas, which is investigating the $100 million corruption plot in Ukraine’s state nuclear energy sector that rocked the inner circle of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last year. According to the National Anti-Сorruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), Galushchenko and his family members became investors in a fictitious investment fund, created to launder the $100 million siphoned out of Ukrainian state nuclear energy company Energoatom.” (02/16/26)
“Until recently the question of who pays tariffs wasn’t controversial among economists. The overwhelming consensus was that under normal circumstances tariffs — taxes on imported goods — are passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices. There are caveats and exceptions to this consensus, but these caveats are well understood and for the most part don’t apply to the tariffs imposed by the Trump 47 administration. Once tariffs became a centerpiece of Trump’s economic policy, however, views about their impact became politicized, and Trump supporters were obliged to echo his claim that foreigners, not U.S. consumers, bear the tariff burden.” (02/15/26)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Kimberlee Josephson
“Spring school picture day arrives with predictable rituals — the combing of hair, the practicing of smiles, and the filling out of order forms that get crumpled up in backpacks. This year, it brings something else: scrutiny. America’s largest school photography company, Lifetouch, has landed in the headlines this month after newly surfaced Epstein-related ownership-chain disclosures triggered parental anger. The facts remain contested, but the reaction is revealing. For many families, the controversy isn’t just about one vendor. It’s about the uneasy feeling that they never had a choice to begin with. Regardless of order form submission, pictures are typically taken anyway.” (02/15/26)
“The US military has boarded a second oil tanker in the Indian Ocean, after tracking it from the Caribbean Sea where it was suspected of helping Venezuela avoid US sanctions. The boarding of the Panamanian-flagged Veronica III is the second such US interception in the Indian Ocean in the past week. It comes amid a US crackdown on sanctioned oil exports from Venezuela. … At least seven oil tankers have been [stolen by US-based pirates] since last year, as the Trump administration moves to control the supply of Venezuelan oil.” (02/15/26)
