Source: Cato Institute
by Doug Bandow
“The ongoing murderous repression of protesters in Iran is symptomatic of a long-term and deeper cruelty on the part of the regime: the attempt to eradicate freedom of conscience.” (02/03/26)
https://www.cato.org/commentary/irans-brutal-religious-persecutions
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Jon Duffy
“As the United States assembles a ‘massive armada’ off the coast of Iran — an aircraft carrier, accompanying destroyers, strike aircraft positioned across the region — the choreography is instantly recognizable. Forces move into place. Officials speak of ‘options.’ The president’s social media account warns of ‘far worse’ attacks than those launched against Iran last summer. What remains conspicuously absent is any explanation of what the use of that force is meant to accomplish.
If this sequence sounds familiar, it should. In late 2002 and early 2003, the U.S. followed a similar path. … Two decades later, the circumstances are different, but the failure is unmistakable.” (02/03/26)
Source: Bet On It
by Michael Crone
“In an earlier post, Caplan proposed eliminating the welfare state as a means to increase adoptable infants. Hidden among the responses to his post is data suggesting that eliminating abortion would bring about a massive increase in adoptable babies. Elizabeth Kirk and Ryan Hanlon, in a response to Caplan’s argument, wrote ‘For every child placed for adoption, approximately 70 other women choose to rear the child as a single parent, and 50 other women choose to terminate the pregnancy.’ In a different response, Steven Salop wrote ‘One study found that among women denied access to abortion, only about 10% chose adoption, so simply prohibiting abortion is not the best route to supporting expanded adoption.’ While knowing the best route to expanded adoption is difficult, the data presented imply prohibiting abortion would be a very powerful force for expanded adoption.” (02/03/26)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/abortion-and-adoption-the-crone-critiques
Source: The Fifth Column
“Triumph of the Grift.” [26 minute preview of paid episode] (02/03/26)
Source: Politico
“Keir Starmer will draft a new law to strip Peter Mandelson of his right to sit in Britain’s House of Lords after new revelations about the former British ambassador to Washington’s links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein appeared in the Epstein files. The British prime minister has asked officials to draft legislation to remove Mandelson from the House of Lords ‘as quickly as possible,’ his spokesman told reporters Tuesday afternoon. No.10 Downing Street said the Cabinet Office has also referred material to the police after the newly released files appeared to show Mandelson sharing live government policy deliberations with the disgraced financier. The Metropolitan Police said Monday it is reviewing allegations of misconduct in a public office.” (02/03/26)
https://www.politico.eu/article/keir-starmer-draft-law-remove-peter-mandelson-house-of-lords/
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
“Eric Peters from Eric Peters Autos joins me for another rollicking discussion of current events and how to keep our sanity in a time of madness.” (02/03/26)
Source: The Atlantic
by Donald Moynihan
“Getting silenced on X is, and I realize how absurd it sounds, the worst professional fate a Trump official can face. It signals that [Greg] Bovino is no longer a player in an administration that has, from top to bottom, merged a social-media-first worldview with authoritarian tendencies. I like to call it the clicktatorship. Political appointees in the clicktatorship are not just using online platforms as a mode of communication. Their judgment and decision making is hyperresponsive to what’s happening on the far-right internet. They view everything as content. No one better exemplifies the clicktatorship than the president himself.” (02/03/26)
Source: US News & World Report
“Two workers have been arrested on suspicion of sabotaging several German warships at Hamburg harbour in 2025, German tabloid Bild reported on Tuesday. The accused, a 37-year-old Romanian and a 54-year-old Greek, reportedly tampered with the vessels by pouring steel pellets into an engine block, puncturing fresh-water lines, removing fuel tank caps, and disabling fuses in the onboard electronics, the report said. The sabotage was discovered during pre-departure checks as one of the ships, the corvette ‘Emden,’ was preparing for its inaugural journey to the port city of Kiel. According to Bild, the prosecutor general’s office stated the alleged activities could have led to significant damage if left undetected.” (02/03/26)
Source: Cato Institute
“Reforming the Federal Reserve, Brick by Brick.” (02/03/26)
https://www.cato.org/multimedia/cato-podcast/reforming-federal-reserve-brick-brick
Source: Brownstone Institute
by David Bell
“A large outbreak of hysteria occurred in the media over the past week, regarding a small Nipah virus outbreak in eastern India. ‘Hysteria’ is the correct word in terms of proportionality. It is not, unfortunately, the right word in terms of intent. Ten years ago this episode of Nipah virus disease would barely have rated a mention internationally, and certainly not stimulated airport screening and travel warnings – there have been many larger outbreaks of Nipah virus than this one, which did not. The change over recent years is not that people have lost their minds. It relates to the adoption of the fear-panic-profit model that has entrenched itself in international public health.” (02/03/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/nipah-virus-and-the-new-public-health-order/