Inequality Is Not the Problem

Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Lipton Matthews

“Few slogans travel through modern politics with as much confidence and as little scrutiny as the claim that inequality is a social ill to be corrected at nearly any cost. Yet a fair reading of the evidence suggests the opposite conclusion. Inequality is not a defect in the system. It is the primary mechanism by which human achievement compounds, wealth spreads, and living standards rise for the great majority of people who never come close to the top of the distribution.” (08/18/26)

https://fee.org/articles/inequality-is-not-the-problem/

Disney and ABC sue FCC, seeking to stop early license renewal process

Source: NBC News

“The Walt Disney Company, ABC and a number of its stations on Tuesday sued the Federal Communications Commission, seeking to stop an early license renewal process that they say is an attack by the Trump administration. In April, the FCC ordered Disney’s eight owned-and-operated television stations to file their broadcast license renewals ahead of schedule. That order came amid a probe into ABC’s ‘The View’ program, as well as a long-running investigation into diversity, equity and inclusion practices at Disney. All eight of the ABC stations whose licenses were put in jeopardy by the FCC are part of Tuesday’s lawsuit. The move from the FCC also came after the White House and President Donald Trump himself assailed ABC late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel for a joke about the first lady Melania Trump.” (08/18/26)

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/abc-disney-sues-fcc-trump-administration-first-amendment-rcna593088

Your $20 Burrito Was Made in Washington

Source: The American Conservative
by W James Antle III

“he Flying Burrito Brothers were a classic country rock band that was at its best in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Evidently, later configurations persisted for years afterward even without the participation of key original members. There is now a new reason for the band, in whatever form it currently exists, to retire the name: It more accurately describes members of the very online conservative movement in the year of our Lord 2026. … even the most sage counsel, accompanied by detailed studies of fast-casual menu prices, ignores the macro-level problems. The country did not Door Dash its way to the highest inflation rate in 41 years under former President Joe Biden. Nor did it Uber Eats its way into a quagmire in Iran that has begun to consume the second presidency of Biden’s predecessor-turned-successor.” (08/18/26)

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/your-20-burrito-was-made-in-washington/

Trump Courts Another Legal Defeat on Birthright Citizenship

Source: Reason
by Damon Root

“Less than two months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled his executive order on birthright citizenship to be unconstitutional, President Donald Trump has issued not one but two new executive orders on birthright citizenship that largely retread the same illegal grounds that the Supreme Court already rejected in Trump v. Barbara. Is this just a futile outburst from a consummate sore loser? Or does Trump actually stand a chance of faring any better in court this time around?” (08/18/26)

https://reason.com/2026/08/18/trump-courts-another-legal-defeat-on-birthright-citizenship/

Germany: Court convicts Ukrainian man over Russian sabotage plot

Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]

“A German court on Tuesday handed a jail sentence of one year and three months to a Ukrainian man for spying for Russia and helping prepare possible acts of sabotage. The court in Stuttgart acquitted two other Ukrainian men aged 22 and 25 who were on trial for the same plot, which involved posting test packages containing GPS trackers in March last year to Ukraine. The plan was aimed at scoping out possibilities for ‘disrupting transport and infrastructure’ and was ultimately directed by a ‘Russian state entity’, the court said.” (08/18/26)

https://archive.is/Emj0V