“For my six decades, the United States has been the dominant military power in the world. Yet, with China’s massive military buildup that is now an open question in Asia. Which is why failure to help Taiwan defeat a Chinese attack would destroy U.S. credibility there … and likely far beyond. So, how do we ever relinquish the badge of world’s policeman? One word: Allies.” [editor’s note: Three words — non-interventionist foreign policy – TLK] (05/27/26)
“A Chinese dissident has washed up on the shores of South Korea after attempting to flee China in a rubber boat. Dong Guangping, 68, is in custody in South Korea, having been detained by the coastguard on Monday evening. He is thought to have travelled more than 30 hours by sea to reach the shores of China’s democratic neighbour. Dong has tried to escape from China on several previous occasions, according to media reports and interviews with two of his friends. … The coastguard released a statement on Wednesday confirming that a Chinese man in his 60s had been arrested and was being questioned on suspicion of immigration law violations, according to Reuters. The man was on a 3.3-metre boat with a 10-horsepower motor when he was spotted about 38 nautical miles off the coast. … Dong was previously jailed between 2001 and 2004 for ‘inciting subversion of state power.'” (05/27/26)
“Two years ago I published ‘The Philosophy of Conservatism’ as a series of essays on Conservatism and Conservatives. I divide it into small-c conservatism, which is a character trait, ‘a disposition averse from change,’ as Lord Hugh Cecil put it. The small-c conservatives oppose change because it is upsetting, and because the loss of the familiar is threatening. ‘Every change is an emblem of extinction,’ as Oakeshott expressed it. Large-C Conservatism is a political tradition, not a character trait. It recognizes that change happens because of new technology, new information and new ideas. But it wants change to come from below, organic, evolutionary and unplanned. It opposes imposed change, preconceived plans.” (05/27/26)
“Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) wouldn’t schedule a vote before the House left town for the Memorial Day recess on the Iran War Powers Resolution because it would have passed. There’s no other way to say it.” (05/27/26)
“A new study suggests GLP-1 medications may slow the spread of certain obesity-related cancers. … Researchers analyzed health data from more than 12,000 people who had one of seven types of cancer at stage 1, 2 or 3. They compared patients who started taking GLP-1 drugs after their diagnosis with similar patients taking another class of diabetes drugs called gliptins. ‘Our study found that use of GLP-1 drugs, compared to DPP-4 inhibitors and other antidiabetic drugs, was associated with a meaningful reduction in cancer progression across four solid tumor types,’ said co-author Dr. Mark David Orland of the Taussig Cancer Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. The strongest results were seen in lung, breast, colon and liver cancer, where patients taking GLP-1 medications were found to be 38% to 50% less likely to progress to stage 4 or metastatic cancer.” (05/27/26)
“A Canadian man accused of shipping poison to people contemplating suicide around the globe is expected to plead guilty to several counts on Friday, ending a case that has shocked the public. While Kenneth Law is set to admit to 14 charges of aiding or counseling suicide, Canadian prosecutors are withdrawing second degree murder charges, multiple sources have confirmed, causing anger among devastated families. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation first reported the plea. Law, 60, is a former chef accused of running a number of online forums that offered predominantly young, distressed people advice on how to end their lives. He allegedly shipped parcels to hundreds of people in dozens of countries containing sodium nitrite, a legally available preservative that can be fatal in certain concentrations.” (05/27/26)
