Connor Echols on The Kyle Anzalone Show
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Why IS Israel Funding Ted Cruz’s Podcast? Is It Legal?” (09/03/26)
Author: Thomas L. Knapp
State Film Subsidies Lose Money. Trump Wants To Try the Idea Nationally.
Source: Reason
by Tosin Akintola
“There’s ‘no reason to think a federal incentive would work any differently from state incentives,’ says one expert.” (09/03/26)
US House passes bill to defund universities displaying insufficiently fervent loyalty to a foreign power
Source: Haaretz [Israel]
“Thirty-three Democrats in the U.S. House joined nearly all Republicans to pass a bill Thursday that would require colleges and universities to certify that they are not engaged in a ‘nonexpressive commercial boycott’ of Israel in order to receive federal funding. The legislation was endorsed by pro-Israel lobby AIPAC, while most liberal Jewish groups, including J Street and Democratic leadership, opposed the measure. The Republican-majority chamber voted 237-169 in favor of the ‘Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act,’ which would have to pass the Senate to become law.” (09/03/26)
Politico’s Nerdcast, 09/03/26
Source: Politico
“‘What the hell is going on with the Democratic Party?’ (with Stephen A. Smith).” (09/03/26)
Want to save NATO? Ask its members to do less.
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Johan Wennstrom
“This summer the Pentagon handed NATO members a questionnaire asking whether they support in part, ‘U.S. foreign policy priorities.’ Dubbed a ‘loyalty test’ in the press, it was seen by many Europeans as the most recent sign that the alliance is coming apart because of American petulance. Yet what is actually happening is that the U.S. is putting stress on an inherently flawed and now exhausted form of alliance politics. The roots of the present discord were planted not in the 2024 reelection of President Donald Trump, but in the moment of NATO’s Cold War triumph thirty years earlier. Indeed, one of the more puzzling developments after the dissolution of both the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact was the conviction of Western leaders that the time was ripe for new, grand projects of expansion and integration.” (09/03/26)
Nvidia announces $12.9 billion acquisition of Hugging Face
Source: United Press International
“Nvidia announced on Thursday that it has agreed to acquire open-source AI company Hugging Face for $12.9 billion. The acquisition will bring a platform that is used by 18 million people, including researchers and developers, under Nvidia’s ownership. Hugging Face has been used to share more than 3 million models, 500,000 datasets and 1 million applications, Nvidia said in a blog post.” (09/03/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/09/03/nvidia-acquirers-hugging-face/4201788442987/
Underthrow Podcast, 09/03/26
Source: Underthrow
“In This House, We Believe… What, Exactly?” (09/03/26)
What Does $24 Billion Buy in the California Housing Market?
Source: The Dispatch
by Kevin D Williamson
“Good news for housing-hungry Californians: A new development in Orange County was approved in May. The bad news: Approval took almost 50 years. The Saddleback Meadows project in Trabuco Canyon, California, first appeared on the Orange County supervisors’ agenda in 1978—when your favorite correspondent, who passed the eligibility age for unrestricted AARP membership a few years back, was in kindergarten. As my Competitive Enterprise Institute colleague Steve Swedberg points out, most projects do not undergo such incredible delays, but the ordinary approval process is enough to add almost $40,000 to the cost of building an average new home—not only in California but across the United States.” (09/03/26)
https://thedispatch.com/article/california-housing-market-subsidies/
DC’s Paid Family Leave cuts take the “trust” out of “trust fund”
Source: Niskanen Center
by Sylvia Bryan
“When the Council of the District of Columbia finalized its version of the municipal FY2027 budget, it set the city on a path toward a troubling milestone: As of October 1, D.C. will become the first jurisdiction in the country to implement cuts to paid family and medical leave (PFML). A majority of the program’s dedicated payroll tax revenue, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars, will be diverted to unrelated expenditures. Meanwhile, the maximum weekly benefit will be decreased for all PFML categories, the maximum leave duration will be reduced for some, and D.C. will continue collecting the program’s dedicated payroll tax at a rate of 0.75 percent.” (09/03/26)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/d-c-s-paid-family-leave-cuts-take-the-trust-out-of-trust-fund
The Benevolent Smokescreen
Source: Law & Liberty
by Sary Levy-Carciente
“In contemporary political economy, it is sometimes helpful to draw a distinction between a Proper State and an Improper State. The distinction tracks the relationship of the state’s public sector apparatuses to the productivity and fiscal consent of its citizenry. When a state is properly accountable to its citizens, it uses taxpayer revenue to support functions that the people broadly approve. If that traditional bond of institutional accountability is severed, a more pathological configuration materializes wherein the state operates independently, decoupling its structural survival from the prosperity of its people. The improper state maintains its power with two primary tools: narrative and institutional control.” (09/03/26)