“It has been illegal since 1986 for the federal government to establish a national firearms registry. As you might expect of the sort of people who gravitate to government employment, the bureaucrats at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), enabled by Biden-era policy changes, have taken that as a challenge. Now, members of Congress want answers from the federal gun cops about a vast gun registry database that could threaten the liberty and privacy of firearms owners. They have been stonewalled so far.” (02/13/26)
“‘Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.’ The line from Forrest Gump is meant to capture uncertainty in love and life, but every Valentine’s Day, it accidentally describes markets just as well. Chocolate prices rise, products take different shapes, and consumers are surprised once again at the checkout line. The usual explanation immediately turns to corporate greed. Yet what Forrest Gump’s chocolate box really reminds us is that uncertainty, timing, and expectations shape outcomes, and that prices exist to navigate uncertainty, not to exploit it.” (02/13/26)
“The concept of ‘filial piety’ is as old as Western civilization itself. From The Oresteia to Virgil’s Aeneid and Shakespeare’s King Lear, generational continuity has hinged on the children’s hierarchical duty to honor, obey, and sometimes even avenge their parents. But in the modern era, where individualism reigns, hierarchy is all but leveled, and historical change can occur within one generation, generational obligation feels more mutual. In literature, Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev was among the first to notice this shift.” (02/13/26)
“The Amazon-owned home security camera provider Ring has cancelled an upcoming partnership with Flock Safety, a surveillance tech provider to US police forces. … In a statement yesterday (12 February), Ring said that after ‘a comprehensive review,’ it found that ‘the planned Flock Safety integration would require significantly more time and resources than anticipated,’ and therefore was cancelling the partnership. The smart doorbell platform attracted controversy this week around an ad broadcast during TV coverage of the Super Bowl on 8 February publicising another Ring feature, ‘Search Party,’ which was unrelated to Flock. The ad showed multiple Ring cameras throughout a neighbourhood being activated in unison to search for a missing pet. Online criticism of the feature notes that this network of surveillance could also be used to track people.” (02/13/26)
“Economic reasoning explains why sports gambling reliably makes the average bettor poorer. Point-shaving scandals and information asymmetries reveal why the odds are stacked against participants.” (02/13/26)
