“The fall of the Berlin Wall belongs to history, but its lessons do not. Across many countries today, including established democracies such as the United States, we see political forces challenging constitutional constraints, weakening independent institutions, concentrating executive power, or treating political opponents as enemies rather than legitimate competitors. Elsewhere, authoritarian governments have become more confident in suppressing dissent and restricting individual freedom. The forms differ, but the question confronting citizens remains familiar: what do we do when those in power gradually erode the institutions that protect our freedom?” (11/09/26)
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey
“Monopolies consistently deliver poor service and high costs. A government monopoly operates with even less efficiency than a corporate one needing happy customers to flourish. Government solutions fail because they rely on coercion and ‘no choice’ rather than voluntary exchange. The free market forces providers to earn customer loyalty. Government programs trap citizens in a system with no exit. When the government controls healthcare, patients lose their bargaining power and thereby their choices.” (11/09/26)
“French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Monday he was bringing forward a planned hike in the minimum wage to December from January, as he sought to defuse a cost-of-living crisis that has sparked some of France’s worst civil unrest in years. … The hike falls short of union demands, with the CFDT, France’s largest union, calling for a €100 increase, while the left-wing CGT union is demanding a 10% rise, equivalent to around €150 a month.’ (11/09/26)
“Robby Soave gives his radar on Rep. Hakeem Jeffries firing back at those on the left who are calling for him to be ousted as House leader.” (11/09/26)
“People want to understand how the Columbine shooters, or Adam Lanza of Sandy Hook, or Payton Gendron of Buffalo—who murdered 10 black people at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York on May 14, 2022—could do something so terrible to their fellow human beings. We seek and we find unsatisfactory answers. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were goths, were Mansonites, were bullied at school. Adam Lanza was autistic and had OCD. Or, in Payton Gendron’s case, we get the least helpful answer of all: He was ‘radicalized online.'” (11/09/26)
“Many complaints about immigration are really byproducts of state interventions elsewhere in the economy, preventing markets from responding to new arrivals.” (11/09/26)
‘Novo Nordisk A/S and Eli Lilly & Co. must add warning labels to their weight-loss and diabetes drugs about a potential rare side effect that could permanently damage patients’ vision. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will now require GLP-1 drugs including Novo’s Wegovy and Ozempic and Lilly’s Mounjaro, Zepbound and Foundayo to carry warnings that they may increase the risk of non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, or NAION. The rare condition can cause decreased vision and potentially permanent vision loss.” (11/09/26)
