Author: Thomas L. Knapp

Source: The Dispatch
by David M Drucker

“The unshakably conservative voters of northern Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District sent Rep. Thomas Massie to Congress 14 years ago because he promised to stick to his principles under pressure from the GOP establishment in Washington, D.C., and aggressively fight the man—the man back then being President Barack Obama. But grassroots Republicans may pull the plug on the libertarian iconoclast precisely because he insists on keeping that commitment, because Republicans here now like the man—President Donald Trump—and support a party establishment on Capitol Hill laboring to deliver almost everything he wants.” (05/07/26)

https://archive.is/daasD

Source: Law & Liberty
by George Hawley

“Honest politicians are all alike; every crook is crooked in his own fashion.” (05/07/26)

https://lawliberty.org/book-review/a-symphony-of-scandal/

Source: Liberalism.org
by Jacob T Levy

“Defending liberal political norms doesn’t mean always reaching across the aisle. Sometimes, liberal neutrality means playing hardball.” (05/07/26)

https://www.liberalism.org/p/liberal-neutrality-and-how-to-fight-for-it

Source: Paul Krugman
by Paul Krugman

“At this point it’s almost routine: Almost every time Donald Trump makes a major announcement about the Iran War, that announcement is preceded — sometimes by only a few minutes — by huge and hugely profitable bets in the oil market. … The Trump administration is making no real effort to crack down on whoever is trading using inside information, and these inside traders are operating with a complete sense of impunity, assured that they can get away with it. The stench of corruption is overwhelming. Yet aside from the raw corruption, these incidents also raise a larger question. The insiders ripped off the parties who sold futures to them at what turned out to be very unfavorable prices to the sellers. What broader damage does this kind of unchecked insider trading do?” (05/07/26)

https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/grand-theft-oil-futures

Source: The Daily Economy
by Jeffery L Degner

“The Church Committee exposed sweeping abuses by America’s intelligence agencies 50 years ago. Section 702’s recent reauthorization suggests lawmakers are increasingly comfortable with expansive spying on American citizens.” (05/07/26)

https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/church-report-to-fisa-why-wont-congress-stop-the-surveillance-state/

Source: Independent Institute
by Stephen P Halbrook

“Post-Bruen, courts have sought to uphold restrictions that ban firearms in various ‘sensitive places’ based on a misunderstanding of the Founding-era offense of going armed in a manner that terrorized the public. Antonyuk v. James upheld New York’s place restrictions based on its claim that Founding-era Virginia and North Carolina laws banned going armed per se in fairs and markets. However, it conceded that Virginia only prohibited going armed ‘in terror of the Country,’ but maintained that North Carolina had no such element of the offense, adding that place restrictions in the late 19th century followed the North Carolina model. That historical tradition of regulation, the Second Circuit held, justifies New York’s current law.” (05/06/26)

https://www.independent.org/article/2026/05/06/fake-citation-misled-courts-to-uphold-sensitive-place-gun-bans/