“So much of being online is constructing and performing identity. You present yourself as something to people listening to, reading, or watching what you choose to put online, and that “something” isn’t who you really are. … This sounds grim: You’re just a brand you’ve constructed. My Marxist friends would say it’s another example of the late capitalism draining us of humanity. But let me push back. Because there’s something amazing and optimistic and encouraging about this. Online, you get to be who you want, or who you can figure out how to present. And you can be that thing consistently. You can, in other words, go all-in on your obsessions. … Except. The other thing about the online world, as it is now in its major structures, even if not as it always used to be, is that there are metrics. And metrics interfere with, smooth out, and dissipate obsessions.” (09/16/26)
“The Libertarian National Committee has voted to recognize the Granite State Libertarian Party as its new affiliate in New Hampshire, selecting the organization over a competing group also seeking recognition under the name of the previous state affiliate. … the LNC voted in May to disaffiliate the previous Libertarian Party of New Hampshire over its support of Republican Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential election and claims that it promoted ‘anti-libertarian positions.’ The national party’s Judicial Committee later upheld that decision in a unanimous vote.” (09/16/26)
“Psychologist Peter Gray discusses why kids need more unstructured play, how schools are fueling childhood anxiety, and why smartphones aren’t to blame.” (09/16/26)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Lilly Rossi
“Out of nearly 6,900 bills in Illinois that proposed changes to laws, programs, projects and personnel, lawmakers provided the estimated cost to taxpayers of a mere 32—fewer than half of 1%. Only those 32 bills in the 104th General Assembly came with ‘fiscal notes,’ which estimate the financial effects of proposed legislation, giving lawmakers and taxpayers information about its potential cost. While such estimates are required in many other states, Illinois law allows a bill’s sponsor to determine whether it needs a fiscal note. If the sponsor decides it does not, a lawmaker who disagrees must gain the support of a majority of members to require a fiscal note.” (09/16/26)
“Call him ‘The Rock.’ That’s what John Kennedy, Louisiana’s wittiest U.S. senator, dubbed Mitch McConnell, yesterday. Why? From the Wall Street Journal’s write-up, it must be the Kentucky’s senator’s fortitude and resilience that qualify him as hard and stony. The 84-year-old lame duck solon was rolled into the Capitol after a three-month absence, and it appears that everyone was nice to the wheelchair-bound octogenarian. … McConnell should step … roll … aside. Let someone else do the job. But, as it is, he serves as a stark reminder of the gerontocracy.” (09/16/26)
‘A Kosovo war crimes tribunal on Wednesday found former President Hashim Thaci guilty of war crimes committed during the 1998-1999 war for independence from Serbia. Thaci, a former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) commander, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for crimes including murder, torture and illegal detention. He was tried along with three other former KLA guerrilla leaders in The Hague. The tribunal said Thaci was guilty of the murder of of 96 political opponents and perceived collaborators with Serbian security forces at the hands of the KLA during the conflict. He was also convicted for the illegal detention of 385 people and torturing more than 300 people.” (09/16/26)
“Artificial intelligence is advancing faster than many expected. So much so that some of the experts who understand it best are sounding the alarm. Are their warnings exaggerated, or are we approaching a point of no return? And what can we do now to shape the future of artificial intelligence? Host Megan McArdle is joined by Tim Lee, author of the Understanding AI newsletter, to explore what AI experts fear most, from misinformation and economic disruption to the possibility of losing control of increasingly powerful systems.” (09/16/26)
“Behind the battles over ideas and policy proposals, at its core, democratic politics is about buying votes. Sometimes, vote-buying is overtly a cash for ballots arrangement. But in the United States, votes have more often been purchased with the promise of ‘free’ goods and services, paid for through taxes or, increasingly, by running up debt, and justified by empty verbiage about the public good that the scheme will allegedly promote. That makes President Donald Trump’s promise of $5,000 ‘dividend’ payments to Americans if his party wins the midterms a jarring return to the open corruption of the politics of the past—or of other country’s present experiences.” (09/16/26)
“The family of Charlie Kirk alleges in a newly obtained notice of claim that a ‘series of stunning failures and reckless decisions’ by Utah Valley University led to the conservative activist’s on-campus assassination last year. … The notice, which preserves the family’s statute of limitations so that they can bring a lawsuit over Kirk’s death, cited high-profile incidents as recent examples of political violence …. The notice alleges that the university failed to conduct a “meaningful risk assessment” before approving the outdoor location and did not dedicate enough security resources.” (09/16/26)
“Knowing what’s in your food or whether what you’re about to eat comports with a medically prescribed diet can be difficult. There’s no reason why the government should make it harder. But that’s exactly what the United States Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration are doing when they prohibit companies from conveying information about FODMAP content on food labels. Although not inherently harmful to most people, FODMAPs are a broad category of short-chain carbohydrates and sugar alcohols believed to trigger gastrointestinal symptoms in individuals living with irritable bowel syndrome and possibly several other functional gastrointestinal disorders. … as one US company learned, even if one of the world’s leading FODMAP research facilities tells you your food is low in FODMAPs, this isn’t exactly the kind of thing you can just put on a label in the United States.” (09/16/26)
