“The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) recently released a study by David Primo measuring faculty viewpoint diversity through campaign-contribution data. The average faculty donor scored only slightly to the right of progressives like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. The findings and criticism traveled quickly. John K. Wilson, writing in Inside Higher Ed, pronounced the study ‘worthless’ because most faculty never make campaign contributions, so a sample of donors cannot describe the average professor. On the narrow point he is right: a sample of donors is not a sample of all faculty. ‘Worthless’ is a serious conclusion — a verdict that, applied consistently, would discard nearly every measure we have.” (06/09/26)
“Christian religious leaders from Lebanon’s southern port city of Tyre called on the international community and Lebanese officials on Tuesday to act quickly to prevent Israel from attacking the Christian district of the city, as airstrikes on nearby neighborhoods killed eight people and wounded dozens of others. The Israeli military has issued an evacuation warning for the port city, including the Christian quarter, which has been spared so far. The statement by the Christian leaders was from George Iskandar, the metropolitan archbishop of Tyre for the Melkite Greek Catholic Church; Elias Kfoury, the Greek Orthodox metropolitan of Tyre, Sidon and Dependencies; and Charbel Abdullah, the archeparch of the Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Tyre. The warning from Israel’s military prompted hundreds of people to flee the Christian district along the Mediterranean coast, while members of the Civil Defense evacuated older people to safer areas, the state-run National News Agency said.” (06/09/26)
“‘We are capitalist, not socialist.’ Those words are from the ‘Promise to America’ pledge promoted by a new group of the same name and unveiled last week by Reps. Tom Suozzi (D-New York) and Rep. Adam Gray (D-California). … they declare: ‘We are proud, not ashamed of America.’ The Post suggests, however, that this slogan ‘could be polarizing on the left.’ Sure, it is a much different message than Maine Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner has expressed.” (06/09/26)
“Long championed as a leader in adopting digital technology, Sweden is set to ban mobile phones in schools beginning in the fall for the next academic year as part of a broad, international reversal on the use of screens in classrooms. Since 2023, the Scandinavian country’s center-right coalition government has pursued a policy prioritizing more reading time and less screen time, particularly among preschool students, by favoring books and other traditional learning tools.” [editor’s note: The story hints, but doesn’t say, that mobile phones will NOT be banned in schools generally … just for students. Teachers and administrators will likely still be allowed to doomscroll to their hearts’ content – TLK] (06/09/26)
Source: Niskanen Center
by Lawson Mansell & Jonathan Wolfson
“Nearly 15 million Californians live in communities with too few primary care doctors. In many communities, patients face long waits for appointments, struggle to find a physician accepting new patients, or must travel significant distances for routine care. The shortage is especially acute in rural communities, the Inland Empire, and the San Joaquin Valley, where access to healthcare often depends on a patient’s ZIP code rather than their medical needs. The California Senate now has an opportunity to address part of that challenge.” (06/09/26)
“Vice President JD Vance is pressing federal prosecutors to investigate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison over allegations they failed to stop widespread social services fraud, amplifying concerns the White House will use a new Justice Department division to target political rivals. Vance, who has been tapped to lead the Republican Trump administration’s anti-fraud efforts as he seeks to raise his political profile as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, cited in a letter to the Justice Department a report from the Republican-led House Oversight Committee that alleges Walz and Ellison were aware of pervasive misuse of government programs for years and let it flourish.” (06/09/26)
“I’m joined by Eric Peters from Eric Peters Autos today. We talk about the word ‘democracy’ and how it has become a magical incantation to lead gullible voters into captivity.” (06/09/26)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Kerry McDonald
“When Santana Cruz graduates from high school this spring, she will have over 100 college credits and two associate degrees. A public school student in Bristol, Virginia, that sits along the Tennessee border, Cruz began accumulating college credits as a 14-year-old freshman when she took her first College-Level Examination Program or CLEP exam. The program enables students of any age to demonstrate mastery in 34 subject areas, ranging from American government to world languages.” (06/09/26)
“Apple has said it would not ship its overhauled AI assistant on its devices in the EU, pinning the holdout squarely on Europe’s Big Tech market dominance rules. The iPhone maker on Monday announced its redesigned AI-enabled assistant, branded Siri AI, at its developer conference in Cupertino, California. Shortly afterwards, Apple confirmed that EU users will not get Siri AI on iPhones and iPads when its latest update ships this fall, with no timeline for when or whether that changes. … ‘We’re deeply disappointed that our EU users won’t have Siri AI on iPhone or iPad,’ said Craig Federighi, Apple’s software engineering chief, adding that the company hopes to bring it to the bloc eventually and will keep engaging with regulators. It’s the second time that Apple has held AI features back from the EU over the DMA, after withholding the original Apple Intelligence suite at its 2024 launch.” (06/09/26)
