Source: The Daily Economy
by Daniel J Smith
“As both major parties embrace government ownership, look to history: socialism and political freedom have never coexisted for long.” (10/20/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/the-road-to-serfdom-runs-through-both-parties/
Source: Tampa Bay Times
“State attorneys are warning Florida television stations that broadcasters could be committing crimes by airing campaign ads about a grand jury’s investigation into Hope Florida. Thirteenth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Suzy Lopez sent letters to several television stations around Tampa Bay on Friday, hours before a Republican Party of Florida lawsuit about the ads was filed in court. … State Attorney Brian Haas of the 10th Judicial Circuit in Hardee, Highlands and Polk counties sent an identical letter to TV stations in his area on the same day, a record shows. … A judge on Tuesday called for a hearing but declined to immediately stop the ads as the Republican Party of Florida requested.” (10/20/26)
Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders
“Blaise Pascal thought of faith as a cosmic wager. If God exists, belief offers eternal bliss and unbelief risks eternal loss. If God does not exist, the believer sacrifices only finite pleasures and possibilities in mortal life. The stakes are asymmetrical: a limited earthly cost weighed against a potentially infinite reward. Pascal thought we ought to wager on God. We cannot know the outcome in advance, but we cannot avoid betting. Among AI researchers and observers, estimates of the risks and rewards vary wildly. Some envision a superintelligence that solves humanity’s greatest problems. Others foresee catastrophe, even extinction. Between these extremes lie countless futures in which AI makes human life better in some respects and worse in others. No one knows the odds. But the stakes are enormous, and the wager is already underway.” (10/20/26)
Source: International Business Times
“Donald Trump faces mounting pressure in his $10 billion (£7.5 billion) legal battle against the BBC, as a judge threatens sanctions over his deposition dispute and the broadcaster seeks testimony from former special counsel Jack Smith. The president is suing the British Broadcasting Corporation over a documentary that he claims deceptively edited his 6 January 2021 speech to suggest he incited the Capitol riot. But the BBC is fighting back, demanding evidence to challenge Trump’s allegations while opposing his efforts to block Smith’s testimony. … US Magistrate Judge Enjolique A. Lett warned on 16 October that Trump could face sanctions if he continued to fail to comply with the court’s orders regarding his deposition. … The BBC says it had sought dates for Trump’s deposition since July. The two sides eventually agreed on 16 October, but Trump’s lawyers later said he was unavailable because of ‘other matters of national importance’.” (10/20/26)
https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/trump-faces-sanctions-bbc-legal-battle-1826732
Source: Reason
“The city mandates composting, but New Yorkers don’t like to be told what to do with their garbage—and don’t seem all that clear on the rules in the first place.” (10/20/26)
https://reason.com/video/2026/10/20/new-yorkers-dont-compost-will-they-be-fined-into-compliance/
Source: The Hill
by Richard L Revesz
“Five decades ago, when the United States faced unusually high fuel prices and energy-security concerns from the slowdown of Middle East exports, President Ford successfully urged Congress to pass the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. This bipartisan legislation gave the national highway authority the ability to promulgate fuel efficiency standards, which have reduced Americans’ fuel costs while also producing significant environmental and climate change benefits ever since. Now, the United States faces similar concerns with fuel prices and energy security, self-inflicted as a result of President Trump’s decision to attack Iran. But this time, the administration has eviscerated Congress’s solution.” (10/20/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/6158816-fuel-efficiency-rollback-costs/
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
“Intuitively, we tend to think that power flows from an ability to inflict punishment. Governments have power because they will imprison you or confiscate your property if you break the law. Employers have power because they will fire or demote you if you disobey orders. Teachers have power because they will give you a bad grade if you don’t do your work. Parents have power because they will ground you or take away your allowance if you don’t do what you’re told. What Milgram shows, however, is that this is only part of the story.” (10/20/26)
Source: Politico
“Romania ended five months of political paralysis Tuesday with its parliament voting in Luca Niculescu as prime minister after three failed attempts to form a government — but the deal comes with a six-month deadline for the parties to strike a more lasting agreement. The threat of snap elections, which would likely see the populist right-wing Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) party surge, helped push the center-right National Liberal Party (PNL) and the center-left Social Democrats (PSD) to agree on a government led by independent Niculescu, a former journalist and diplomat who was nominated as prime minister by moderate President Nicușor Dan earlier this month. The socialists will join the cabinet, but the liberals will stay out.” (10/20/26)
Source: The Dispatch
“A Constitutional Crisis Over a Golf Course.” (10/20/26)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/advisoryopinions/a-constitutional-crisis-over-a-golf-course/
Source: Show-Me Institute
“Socialism, Chavez, and the Collapse of Venezuela with Jim Epstein.” (10/20/26)