“The European Central Bank announced a quarter-point rate hike on Thursday, bringing its key interest rate to 2.25% as the Iran war continues to blow inflation off target. Markets had been pricing in a near-100% chance of the ECB raising rates by at least 25 basis points ahead of its June Governing Council meeting, according to LSEG data. The ECB’s Governing Council said the decision had been made in a bid to ward off inflationary pressures generated by the U.S.-Iran war.” (06/11/26)
“Nicholas Lemann’s family history illuminates what it means to be Jewish in America and explains how we choose our religious and ethnic identities.” (06/11/26)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by William L Anderson
“In a recent article, I agreed with Justice Clarence Thomas that progressivism did (and still does) much damage to our body politic and our society. Obviously, the so-called intelligentsia in academe, politics, and the media didn’t agree. What really set off the critics, however, was Thomas’s claim that progressivism had helped pave the way for Hitler, Stalin, and Mao. Hitler, of course, is universally hated while both Stalin and Mao — despite their mass murdering — were roundly praised by the western intellectuals and journalists. … [E]was not a minor point of progressive thinking and held only by a small minority at that. Instead, eugenics as promoted by American progressives was an important part of their entire belief system, which held to the supremacy of ‘science,’ as opposed to governance by mere passions.” (06/11/26)
“AI has gone from ‘dumber than a child’ to ‘expert level’ in a few years in many domains. The gap between ‘expert level’ and ‘above top geniuses’ is smaller, so we expect it to take less time. This has been a pattern in fields like chess and Go, where it’s only a been a few years from beating professional players at all to beating all humans.” (06/11/26)
“From goblin banks to unbreakable galleons, the wizarding world of Harry Potter reflects a form of folk economics that clashes with the realities of prosperity and growth.” (06/11/26)
“John Healey has dramatically resigned as defence secretary, warning Sir Keir Starmer that his defence investment plan (Dip) ‘falls well short of what is required.’ His shock resignation comes amid mounting tensions within the Cabinet over the publication of the long-delayed plan, which will set out how new equipment and defence infrastructure will be funded in the next decade. In his resignation letter to the prime minister – which he said he ‘never expected to write’ – Mr Healey accused Sir Keir and the chancellor of having been ‘unwilling to commit the resources that the nation needs to defend the country at this time of rising threats.'” (06/11/26)
“Robby Soave gives his radar on Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s controversial comments following the sentencing of Karmelo Anthony for the murder of Austin Metcalf.” (06/11/26)
