“The opposition Conservative Party won an election in the Canadian province of British Columbia for the first time in nearly 100 years, promising to ramp up liquefied natural gas production, provisional results showed on Sunday. The result marks an end to nine years of power for the left-of-center New Democrats, who voiced opposition to new oil pipelines and supported a ban on tankers along the province’s northern coast. The right-leaning Conservatives won 64 of the 93 seats and the New Democrats won 27. It is the first Conservative provincial election win since 1928.” (10/25/26)
“J.D. Vance, Vice President of the United States, identifies himself as a post-liberal conservative. Since he is only a heartbeat away from becoming president, I have been thinking that I should read his latest book, Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, to see if it sheds any light on how he would be likely to use the powers of the presidency. However, I decided that I should read Hillbilly Elegy first – and am glad that I eventually managed to read it, a decade after its publication. I didn’t manage to get past the Introduction when I first attempted to read it a few years ago, but I now think it deserves its status as a best seller.” (10/25/26)
“Before D-Day, Eisenhower quietly composed a handwritten note taking personal blame for the operation’s failure—he was smart enough to know that success was uncertain and that he might not be in a position to talk about it afterward; Donald Trump, a dog-ate-my-homework guy if ever there were one, takes personal responsibility for precisely nothing. Eisenhower led Allied forces to victory in World War II and at the time of his retirement outranked George Washington (who received a posthumous promotion in 1976), but he was buried in a standard-issue soldier’s coffin and lay in state with no decorations on his field jacket except his two distinguished service medals and the Legion of Merit; Trump is a draft-dodging coward currently hard at work building himself a triumphal arch like some kind of limp Caesar.” (10/23/26)
“Prosecutors indicted a 20-year-old US Marine on Sunday on suspicion of robbing and murdering a woman in Okinawa earlier this month as the case renews anti-base sentiment among locals burdened with hosting the bulk of US military installations in Japan. Devin Ballard, who is stationed at Futenma Air Base, is charged with killing the woman by wrapping a phone cord around her neck at a hotel in Naha, the capital of the southern island prefecture, and taking her backpack containing a wallet on October 3, according to the indictment. The cause of death was suffocation, it said. … Following the incident, Okinawa Governor Genta Koja has stepped up calls on the central government to take preventive measures, with locals already angered by past crimes committed by American service members, including those against women and girls, in addition to noise and pollution issues.” (10/25/26)
“Dave Ridley calls about the Hugging Face attack :: NickBostrom.com :: NH rules ‘no more student IDs for voting’ :: Technology Support Office :: EU worsens data laws :: Michael in TX calls about police abuses of power :: Sarah gets yelled at by Nobody :: ‘heat ray’ may be used by CBP at southern border :: Skeeter gets yelled at by Nobody :: 2026-10-24 :: Hosts: Stu, Riley O’Bill, Nobody.” (10/24/26)
“Serving as the world’s policeman in a highly contested environment like the strait is a resource-intensive mission even for the U.S. Navy – one that involves deploying significant air platforms, air defense systems and ships on a continuous basis to perform a variety of tasks, from coordinating sea lanes and protecting vessels from Iranian attacks to ensuring search-and-rescue assets are available if ships are disabled. The U.S. military is fully capable of doing this work, but stretched out over an indefinite period of time, the mission will exacerbate the depletion of precision-guided munitions the Pentagon needs for other potential conflicts.” (10/23/26)
“In his first rally of the 2026 midterm cycle, former President Barack Obama slammed President Donald Trump and Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, calling out the latter’s much-maligned campaign ad centering on Democrat Amy Acton’s mother. ‘There’s gotta be something inside you where you just say no office is worth stooping that low,’ Obama said of Ramaswamy’s choice to run the ad. With the midterms just over a week away, Obama was rallying in Cleveland in support of Acton and Democratic Senate candidate Sherrod Brown. Trump, Obama said, had broken a slew of promises he made on the campaign trail in 2024, ensnaring the country in an ongoing war in Iran and failing to bring down costs. Instead, ‘he’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory,’ the former president said, taking aim at Trump’s renovations to the executive mansion.” (10/24/26)
Source: Independent Institute
by Phillip W Magness & David J Hebert
“Of all the arguments for protectionism, the infant industry argument probably has the strongest theoretical appeal. By protecting a new industry from its more developed foreign competition, the story goes, tariffs give domestic producers the time to grow, learn, and become efficient enough to stand on their own. Domestic consumers feel the short-term pains of higher prices, but they enjoy the long-term gains of job growth and lower prices as the new industry blossoms. … When Hamilton made this claim in 1791, his argument may have seemed suitable for a new nation seeking to firm up its economy and security against established European powers. … Nearly 250 years later, those same infants apparently have yet to advance into adulthood.” (10/23/26)
“Ugandan citizens returning to the country with a history of travel to Democratic Republic of Congo will be quarantined for 21 days, Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi said on Sunday as Uganda tightened Ebola precautions despite saying it remained Ebola-free. Uganda has been investigating a Nigerian Ebola case involving a woman who had travelled from Uganda. Officials said they were reviewing genomic sequencing, travel information, interactions and movements in coordination with Nigerian authorities and international partners.” (10/25/26)
