Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Jessie Appleby
“The University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law is in the midst of a free-speech emergency. When a major American law school teaches its students that the right way to respond to political opponents is to silence them, something has gone wrong. And when it then attempts to protect those disruptive students from public criticism by threatening other students’ speech, it’s a crisis. That’s just what happened at UCLA this past month.” (05/08/26)
“A mystery drone boat understood to be armed with explosives is being investigated by police after being found by fishermen in Greece. The vessel, a Ukrainian-made unmanned surface vehicle (USV), appeared on the Ionian island of Lefkada. It is not clear how the boat, located on Thursday in a cave, reached Greek waters. Preliminary findings indicate the MAGURA V3-type sea drone was fitted with three detonators, officials told Reuters. One source told the news agency the vessel was loaded with explosives, although this has not been confirmed by Greece’s army.” (05/09/26)
“Bill Jamieson wrote a Sunday Telegraph story titled ‘Your starter for £1,000’ on 31 December 1995. It discussed the Adam Smith Institute proposal for ‘baby bonds’ or ‘Fortune Accounts.’ When the IPPR copied the idea in 1999, without reference to the ASI’s earlier publication, Jamieson directed them to his 1995 story and published the fact. A version of it was implemented by the Blair government. it was called the Child Trust Fund, launched in 2002 and scrapped in 2010. It would undoubtedly be a very popular policy, were it to be given another go in the way I outline. Each newborn child would have £1,000 put into an investment account in their name, but no withdrawals could be made until age 18. Money paid in by family or friends would be tax-free and contribute to its growth.” (05/08/26)
“An attack by armed rebels has killed at least 69 people in Ituri province in the conflict-torn northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to security officials. For more than 30 years, the mineral-rich eastern DRC has been a battleground for various armed groups, vying for control of its many mines. … Armed men affiliated with the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo (CODECO) coalition of militia groups, which claims to protect the Lendu, carried out attacks in several villages on April 28, local and security sources told the AFP news agency.” (05/10/26)
“No one disputes that the regime in Iran is awful. The government massacres its own people. Iran is a major state sponsor of terrorism and has been for decades. But the reality is that Trump is ad-libbing the war with Iran from day to day. After launching his attack against Iran on Feb. 28, Trump told an audience, ‘We’ve won.’ Yet here we are, 10 weeks later, with the Strait of Hormuz still closed, the regime still in power, the national average price of gas approaching $5 a gallon and jet fuel, airline ticket prices and baggage fees on the rise. Is this what Republicans are supposed to run on in the 2026 midterm elections?” (05/08/26)
“Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced on Friday a civil lawsuit against nonprofit We Push for Peace and its former directors, Trahern Pollard and Jaclyn McGuigan. The organization, which held lucrative contracts for community outreach and violence prevention, was driven into the ground by ‘rampant abuse’ and blatant self-dealing, prosecutors allege. According to the complaint, Pollard personally pocketed more than $6 million of the diverted charitable funds. Instead of helping the community, the charity’s money allegedly fueled a life of luxury for Pollard, paying for trips to Las Vegas, luxury vehicles and massive shopping sprees at a Harley Davidson showroom and spa stores. Pollard is also accused of using the nonprofit to pay off his child support, settle a personal tax bill with the IRS, and subsidize his private, for-profit businesses — including a used car dealership and liquor store.” (05/10/26)
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“[W]ho has it right when it came to celebrating genuine freedom on the Fourth of July — Americans in 1875, who lived without income taxation, Social Security, Medicare, welfare, immigration controls and immigration police state, non-interventionism, a national-security state, drug war, public (i.e., government) schooling, and other statist programs — or Americans today, who live under all these statist systems?” (05/08/26)
“Consumer sentiment in the United States has hit another record low as Americans worry about the cost of life as gas prices continue to rise amid the war in Iran. A monthly University of Michigan survey found that consumer sentiment dropped 3.2% in the last month — from 49.8 to 48.2 — and was down 7.7% over the course of the year, the university’s Institute for Social Research said on Friday. Joanne Hsu, director of the university’s Surveys of Consumers, said that consumer sentiment is ‘essentially unchanged’ from April, while the current economic conditions survey dropped 9% because of high prices affecting personal finances and whether people will make major purchases.” (05/08/26)
