Author: Thomas L. Knapp

Source: Cato Institute
by Clark Packard & Alfredo Carrillo Obregon

“Recently, the American Primary Aluminum Association issued a report claiming as proof that the 50 percent Section 232 ‘national security’ tariffs should stay in place. Some of the report withstands scrutiny. High-purity aluminum matters for military hardware, and the report notes that no smelter in the United States or any NATO country can make it (p. 2). Aluminum also makes up a small share of costs for most finished goods, so the per-unit price effects are relatively modest. The defensible version of this argument is a very narrow, national security case. Yet the report does not make the case. Three problems stand out.” (11/02/26)

https://www.cato.org/blog/aluminum-industrys-new-tariff-study-argues-against-itself

Source: The Daily Economy
by Anne Struffman

“European crackdowns on citizen speech is provoking Washington to respond. Will free expression become a transatlantic fault line?” (11/02/26)

https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/the-wests-free-speech-consensus-is-fracturing/

Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille

“California’s state government, which has run up $11,511 in debt per resident, is asking voters to approve more billions of dollars in bonds, to be paid back by taxpayers at a later date. The cost of carrying that extra debt will be added to the roughly $6 billion the state pays each year to service bonds issued in the past. But the Golden State isn’t the most debt-burdened state in the country. Connecticut and New Jersey are the most heavily burdened per capita, while Utah carries the least debt per person. The reasons for running up those obligations vary, but the heavier the load, the more taxpayers will have to carry in the years to come.” (11/02/26)

https://reason.com/2026/11/02/state-governments-burden-residents-with-growing-debt-just-like-the-feds/

Source: hypertext
by Matt Grossman

“2026 will be the most expensive midterm election ever, with nearly $11 billion spent just on political advertising. Americans don’t like the scale of the spending and fear that big-money contributors will buy elections or legislation. Notwithstanding these concerns, campaign finance reformers have been unable to stem the flow of lucre into our politics, especially with courts repeatedly siding with the campaign spenders. But perhaps we are focused on the wrong harms from money in politics and, as a result, losing sight of the reforms that can really make a difference. ” (11/02/26)

https://hypertext.niskanencenter.org/p/we-cant-get-money-out-of-politics

Source: Expression
by Sarah McLaughlin

“On a cursory glance, the latest controversy over French soccer star Kylian Mbappé’s remark about Mao Zedong, and the string of obsequious apologies that followed it, might seem like just that: an ideological controversy, a fight over claims of offensive speech, or an absurd blip in the endless string of culture wars. But treating this as another eye-roll-inducing dustup would be a mistake. That’s because the fallout from Mbappé’s mild comment offers an insightful window into one of the most effective and widespread censorship campaigns today: the pervasive influence over how anyone, anywhere talks about China’s sensitive political issues. Authoritarians control how they are spoken about in life. And, apparently, even in death.” (11/02/26)

https://expression.fire.org/p/after-insulting-mao-zedong-some-offer