“It’s good that [Tal] Fortgang has gone after what he calls the counterintuitive Nejaime/Siegel democracy-promoting approach to protecting unenumerated rights, which is likely going nowhere. But his critique is itself a good example of what happens when a critic jumps into the middle of a complex issue and then tries to work his way out without ever going to the first principles of the matter. True, Fortgang seems to have something of a first principle, at least by implication. It’s that democracy trumps liberty, mostly. Problem is, that’s not the Constitution’s first principle …” (07/15/26)
“Have you noticed how the liberal establishment hasn’t been nearly as emotional and outraged about Trump’s second term as they were about his first? Now that he’s the president who bombed Iran, the entire western political/media class is cool with him. … They’re no longer worried that he’s going to promote ‘isolationist’ foreign policy and roll back the US war machine. He went to war with Iran, so they like him now. Because they know he’s fully compliant.” (07/15/26)
“U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said federal immigration agents won’t end vehicle stops, one day after officials announced a temporary pause in such stops after agents [murdered] two men in Texas and Maine. ‘We must be strong, tough, and smart, and we CANNOT give up one of ICE’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!’ Trump wrote in a social media post. On Tuesday, Trump administration officials said the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency had ordered its officers to suspend most vehicle stops around the country after two men were [murdered] by ICE agents during such stops six days apart.” (07/15/26)
“As Social Security reaches its ninety-first anniversary this August, it’s running out of room for evasion. The 2026 Trustees Report projects Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) trust fund will be depleted by the fourth quarter of 2032, after which dedicated revenue would only cover 78 percent of scheduled benefits. On a combined basis with Disability Insurance, reserves would run out in late 2034, with 83 percent payable then and 65 percent by 2100. The current schedule and financing cannot survive under existing law. That is the setting for Romina Boccia and Ivane Nachkebia’s Reimagining Social Security. Nearly a year after its release, the book is more relevant than ever.” (07/15/26)
“Millions of Americans are rightfully terrified of Alzheimer’s disease. They have witnessed its devastating impact on their families and friends. But we, five patients from different corners of the country, offer our stories to bring hope to others. We reclaimed our lives from this devastating disease by getting diagnosed early enough to benefit from new anti-amyloid treatments. Our lives show these new treatments can slow progression and add meaningful time. Like millions of Americans, we followed expert guidelines to reduce the risk of cognitive decline: exercising regularly, following healthy diets, staying mentally and socially active, and building lives around serving our families and communities. And still, Alzheimer’s came for us. … For us, treatment has been a lifeline.” (07/15/26)
“A Moroccan prosecutor said on Wednesday he had ordered the release of veteran journalist and political commentator Ali Lmrabet after questioning him, although an investigation continues following allegations of defamation and libel. Lmrabet, 66, who holds French nationality and lives in Spain, was arrested on Sunday on arrival at Tangier airport. He is a political commentator on social media and has been an outspoken critic of Morocco’s political system for decades. … In 2003, Lmrabet was jailed after being convicted on charges that included offending King Mohammed VI. In 2005, a Moroccan court banned him from practising journalism in Morocco for 10 years.” (07/15/26)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Harshit Singh
“Anyone who has spent time in a group project recognizes an uncomfortable pattern. A small number of people end up carrying most of the work, while the rest contribute unevenly at best. Look at almost any workplace, and the same pattern emerges: a handful of employees are responsible for a surprisingly large share of what actually gets done. Walk through any city, and a few restaurants stay full while most sit half-empty. On streaming platforms, a small number of songs absorb most of the listening. Seen once, it looks like a coincidence. Seen everywhere, it starts to look like a law. That’s because it is one.” (07/15/26)
“The real risks of AI are not the existential ones that people like Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei obsess about and that Sanders has taken to repeating. Instead, they stem from the more tangible effects AI has on regular people’s lives: how dependence on chatbots can affect cognition and critical thinking, create addiction that isolates people from their human networks, and can even coach them down harmful paths of self-harm and suicide. That’s not to mention how AI has polluted the information environment, enabled the creation of nonconsensual deepfakes, and is actively degrading cultural production. While she may have been an ally of Sanders on the data center moratorium, Ocasio-Cortez does not seem to have fallen for the deceptive narratives of the AI industry in the way that he has.” (07/15/26)
“Wholesale prices unexpectedly fell in June as sliding energy costs helped brighten the inflation picture, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. The produce price index posted a seasonally adjusted 0.3% decline for the month, compared with the Dow Jones consensus estimate for the final demand cost measure to be unchanged. On an annual basis, the index indicated a 5.5% inflation rate. The May reading was revised sharply lower, from an initially reported increase of 1.1% to 0.6%. Excluding food and energy, the core PPI rose 0.2%, against the outlook for a 0.3% increase. The core PPI less trade services rose 0.1% and was up 5.1% from a year ago.” (07/15/26)
