Source: Independent Institute
by Dr. David Gortler
“There is a wide disparity across the globe when it comes to childhood vaccination policies. American kids receive up to 75 vaccines, twice as many as kids in other countries. That is why if Dr. Heidi Overton is confirmed as the next director of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), one of her top priorities should be helping to drive President Trump’s mandate to study the safety and comparative outcomes of the current vaccine schedule to that of other countries. High on her list of priorities will surely be the two executive orders President Trump signed this year to promote the health of American children, especially since there doesn’t appear to be any movement on either.” (10/22/26)
“The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a probe into allegations former Department of Homeland Security official Corey Lewandowski profited off his position, according to U.S. media reports. The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and CNN cited unnamed people with the situation as saying the investigation follows a criminal referral by the DHS inspector general for Lewandowski, who served as former DHS Secretary Kriski Noem’s de facto chief of staff. Lewandowski and Noem were ousted from DHS in March following embarrassing disclosures about infighting and spending at the agency. … Either Lewandowski or close associations approved nearly all DHS spending decisions on sums of more than $100,000, giving him insight into the contractors the agency worked with and the power to hold up contracts.” (10/22/26)
“Robby Soave gives his radar on Bulwark podcast host Kara Swisher suggesting that Elon Musk should ‘be worried’ about the possibility of Democrats regaining control of Congress.” (10/22/26)
“Public executions (what comes to mind is the Reign of Terror in France) may have been the order of the day in 1789 at the time of the Constitution, but they have certainly been viewed as barbaric in contemporary times. When the Hasan execution was still a live possibility, Vice President JD Vance said he doubted the livestream would take place, adding that he wouldn’t watch it anyway, as did Speaker Mike Johnson. A poll released last Thursday showed Americans were overwhelmingly against the whacko idea. Despite the cancellation, religious scholars worry it did damage.” (10/22/26)
“Tom Skerritt, who starred in the TV series ‘Picket Fences’ and appeared in movies ranging from ‘MASH’ to ‘Alien,’ ‘Top Gun,’ ‘A River Runs Through It’ and ‘Ted,’ died on Wednesday of natural causes, Variety has confirmed with his publicist. He was 93. The lean, rugged, mustachioed actor won an Emmy in 1993 and was also nominated in 1994 for playing Jimmy Brock, sheriff of the oddball town at the center of David E. Kelley’s CBS dramedy ‘Picket Fences.'” (10/22/26)
“We’ve previously used a tool we call the Free Speech Map to show how tolerant different groups are of hypothetical campus speakers, often as a way to assess how certain traits cause or are linked to tolerance. In our newest College Free Speech Rankings, we asked students where they get their news, including an option for social media. So let’s put that question onto the free speech map …” (10/22/26)
“The supply of land is constrained. An increase in demand for a location thus means higher land prices. If zoning and building rules also constrain the supply of buildings and housing, then increased demand for a location will also make those buildings and housing expensive …. Mike Bird in The Land Trap explores these relationships with a gallop through history starting in ancient Babylon, arriving in the late 19th century in western Europe and the United States—he pays appropriate homage to George—then ends the book with chapters on Japan, Hong Kong, China, and Singapore.” (10/22/26)
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Jayanta Bhattacharya
“At the root of the scientific revolution was the idea that there was not and should never be a scientific authority. For centuries, a small number of ecclesiastical powers had decided such questions as whether the moons of Jupiter move. The scientific revolution placed these questions in the hands of a lot of very smart scientists, including those with telescopes. Unfortunately, we find ourselves back in a situation today, as demonstrated a few years ago by the Covid lockdowns, mask mandates, and vaccination requirements, where a relatively small number of people—directors of government agencies like the National Institutes of Health, heads of international agencies like the World Health Organization, and editors of prestigious journals—have the power to say what is true or false in science.” (10/22/26)
