Author: Thomas L. Knapp

Source: The American Conservative
by Doug Bandow

“Even as he underwrites and wages multiple wars, proposes a gargantuan $500 billion increase in military outlays, and plans to build his own Arc de Triomphe, President Donald Trump apparently believes himself to be a man of peace. He has become a classic example of historian Lord Acton’s dictum in action: ‘Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.’ As Trump completes the first year of his second term, he is demonstrating that his first term was merely a playful preview. This time he has gotten serious, with new wars and threats of war multiplying, sometimes on an almost daily basis. He believes that there are no meaningful limits — legal, institutional, constitutional, or even moral, other than his own musings — on loosing the dogs of war with the most powerful military on earth. This makes him potentially the most dangerous U.S. president yet.” (01/15/26)

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/on-foreign-policy-trump-2-0-is-dangerously-unrestrained/

Source: Niskanen Center
by Sage Mehta

“Every year, rising numbers of Americans are diagnosed with chronic health conditions — diagnoses that are accompanied by rising out-of-pocket expenses. It is especially difficult for patients with cancer and other life-threatening conditions, whose frequent and aggressive treatments force them to bear a disproportionate share of these escalating out-of-pocket costs. But in a new study from Niskanen experts, we found that one simple reform would significantly ease this burden on the most vulnerable, high-need patients: site-neutral Medicare payments.” (01/15/26)

https://www.niskanencenter.org/how-site-neutral-payment-policies-can-save-money-for-cancer-patients-and-the-chronically-ill/

Source: Liberal Currents
by Alan Elrod

“Over the past few weeks, it’s become clear that numerous users on X have been using Grok, Elon Musk’s AI chatbot that’s integrated into the platform, to produce thousands of nonconsensual sexualized images of people — primarily women. The most common theme has involved users requesting the chatbot edit images by removing clothing, adding items like bikinis, and even further sexualizing the subject by altering their pose or photoshopping in additional graphic details.” [editor’s note: Why on earth would “consent” be needed to create an image that looks like someone? – TLK] (01/15/26)

https://www.liberalcurrents.com/the-new-epstein-island-is-right-in-your-pocket-its-time-to-abandon-elon-musks-paradise-of-abuse/

Source: EconLog
by Art Carden

“A New York magazine article titled ‘Everyone Is Cheating Their Way Through College’ made the rounds in mid-2025. I think about it often, and especially when I get targeted ads that are basically variations on ‘if you use our AI tool, you’ll be able to cheat without getting caught.’ Suffice it to say it’s dispiriting. But the problem is not that students are ‘using AI.’ I ‘use AI,’ and it’s something everyone needs to learn how to do. The problem arises when students represent AI’s work as their own. At a fundamental level, the question of academic integrity and the use of artificial intelligence in higher education is not technological. It’s ethical.” (01/15/26)

https://www.econlib.org/econlog/ai-and-the-art-of-judgment