“Timing is everything in comedy and, so it seems, in British politics for a perennial joke candidate who wears a garbage can on his head. Count Binface, a self-described intergalactic space warrior, has landed in the center of the U.K.’s political universe ahead of a special election Thursday that was derided as a farce long before the ballot was packed with nearly three dozen candidates — many from the silly end of the spectrum. Binface, who has run against prime ministers past and present, was the first to throw his bucket in the ring when Reform UK leader Nigel Farage abruptly quit Parliament and said he would seek reelection to clear his name over financial allegations. … when the major political parties denounced Farage’s move as a political stunt and boycotted the Clacton-on-Sea election in southeastern England, the trash-talking comedian was launched into prime position as default challenger. He has been on a nonstop media blitz since.” (08/10/26)
“Feet juice lemonade :: Turd Ferguson calls about nothing worth hearing :: Dave Ridley calls about USexit :: Sarah in NM calls about vitamins but just talks about Texas :: Skeeter calls about secession :: the best, most proper path to freedom :: 2026-08-09 Hosts: Stu, Rich E. Rich, Mark Edge.” (08/09/26)
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“Medical drugs have large fixed costs, the costs of research, development and testing, low marginal cost, the cost of making one more pill. If the company sells the drug at marginal cost everyone to whom it is worth at least the cost of producing the pill gets it but the company never covers the fixed cost; if it keeps doing that it goes out of business. If it sells the drug at a price enough above marginal cost to pay back the initial expenditure many people who value the pill above the cost of producing it do not get it. The solution is price discrimination, selling the drug at a high price to customers who are willing to pay it, at a low price to customers who are not. In practice this usually means selling the drug at a high price in rich countries and a low price in poor countries.” (08/09/26)
“This Tuesday’s gubernatorial primaryt in Wisconsin may seem like the latest chapter of an internecine fight among Democrats over the philosophical direction of the party. And it is that. But there’s much more on the line as well: The fallout from the Wisconsin election could extend nationally, by making it possible for Trump-allied Republicans to screw with the presidential election results in ways they tried, but failed, to do in 2020. On the line is the Democratic Party of Wisconsin’s decade-and-a-half-long effort to claw its way back to a unified state government, as well as the opportunity to add more safe Democratic House seats to the next congressional map. Beyond that, however, is another hugely consequential prize: the capacity to ensure that the state’s 2028 presidential election results will be properly certified.” (08/09/26)
“They say that the arch of history bends towards progress but as a trans person in the midst of the second decade of the twenty-first century, I find myself torn at the crossroads of an increasingly bewildering age. On the one hand, transgender and gender diverse people in the West have never experienced a greater level of exposure and popular acceptance. On the other hand, these same trans people, my people, have also never faced a greater threat of state sanctioned violence and outright erasure.” (08/09/26)
“Ken Krawchuk and John Thomas, the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial ticket, have officially completed the signature petitioning process and qualified for the state’s general election ballot this November. … Though certified, the ticket’s nomination papers still remain subject to a challenge through the state’s objection period, which runs until August 10. In the event that happens, Pennsylvania courts then have until August 18 to determine their outcome. … The Libertarian ticket joins incumbent Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro and Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis, Republican nominees Stacy Garrity and Jason Richey, and Green nominees Anthony Dastra and Craig Bolton, all of whom have also qualified.” (08/09/26)
“Glenn Greenwald joins the show to discuss the recent victories of several anti-establishment left-wing candidates in Democratic primaries and the shifts in American politics more broadly.” (08/09/26)
“Because adherents of a story based on lies do indeed lie (as might be expected) about their motivations and intentions, to others and often even to themselves, this is a struggle that can get very complex and confusing to understand. This confusion is only compounded when we realize that supremacy is a foundational story, which have leaked into our shared cultural mythologies and power structures, so even those of us who hold ourselves opposed to it might still reflect supremacy’s assumptions, without knowing we are doing so. And those of us who have inherited some measure of supremacy’s privileges bear a measure of the shared responsibility for supremacy’s harm, because through those privileges we participate in supremacy, even as we are opposed to supremacy.” (08/09/26)
“Anthony Fauci is now facing intense scrutiny. His diaries, emails, and testimony have raised fundamental questions about what he knew, what he told the public, and how he exercised authority during the pandemic. Many outside academia describe this as his fall from grace, while universities and medical institutions continue to celebrate him as a heroic public servant and scientific authority. That contradiction is the starting point for this essay. Fauci matters not only because of his individual conduct, but because he exposes the institutions that produced, empowered, and continue to protect him.” (08/09/26)
