“Just as there is nothing as permanent as a temporary government program, there is often nothing as permanent as a temporary moratorium. California knows this all too well. The state’s nuclear moratorium was signed into law 50 years ago as part of a 1976 amendment to the Warren-Alquist Act and has remained in effect ever since. The time is ripe for the removal of this nonsensical ban.” 904/28/26)
“Last weekend my Institute for Peace and Prosperity hosted another conference here on the Texas Gulf Coast. Not only did we have a full house attending the conference – which is in a way the most important thing – but in this era of profound disappointment and disillusionment, we struck a note of optimism thankfully due to our wonderful line-up of speakers. The main topic of the conference, titled ‘War is Back on the Menu,’ was of course the disastrous decision by the Trump Administration to launch an unprovoked war against Iran – both last June and again on February 28th.” (04/28/26)
“Former FBI director James Comey has been charged over a social media photo of seashells that officials say constituted a threat against US President Donald Trump. The photo, which was uploaded nearly a year ago, showed seashells arranged on a beach to spell out the numbers 8-6-4-7, which critics have interpreted as a threat to kill Mr Trump. The two-count indictment charges Mr Comey with knowingly and wilfully making a threat to ‘take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon’ Mr Trump, and with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.Mr Comey deleted the photo soon after it was uploaded, saying he did not realise some would [pretend it was] a call for violence.” (04/29/26)
“‘Gun control’ had chance after chance after chance to prove it could thwart Allen’s plans. And. It. Didn’t. Whoa … violent criminals don’t obey ‘gun control’ laws and private venue gun rules any more than they obey other kinds of laws and rules? Whodathunkit? It’s not that the laws and rules aren’t adequately enforced. The only way to reliably prevent Allen from traveling from LA to DC with guns would have been to force him to travel on foot and buck naked … after which he’d have almost certainly been able to buy a gun on the street if he wanted one.” (04/28/26)
“The United Arab Emirates, one of the world’s major oil producers, will leave the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC/OPEC+) effective May 1, state news agency WAM said Tuesday morning. … The stunning move from Abu Dhabi is likely to deeply shake the oil alliance, which derives much of its power from a strong consensus and its ability to drive global oil prices through the production power of its members.” (04/28/26)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Wanjiru Njoya
“Supreme Court rulings are significant not only for their decision on who wins, but also for their reasoning. A victory for common sense may sometimes be pyrrhic if it benefits the party who wins the dispute but relies on reasoning that erodes individual liberty in the longer term. In that context, while the outcome in the recent case of Chiles v. Salazar, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (decided March 31, 2026) was welcomed, the emphasis it placed on ‘viewpoint discrimination’ is unfortunate. It is one more step down the road to conceptualizing free speech as an application of the non-discrimination principle, rather than as an emanation of individual liberty.” (04/28/26)
“Bitcoin is trading in a tight range just below $77,000 despite surging oil prices and geopolitical tensions over a potential extended U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. … The Fed announces its rate decision later on Wednesday, the ECB follows Thursday, and the U.S. equity market sold off Tuesday on growing skepticism about the payoff from artificial intelligence capital expenditure, with Nasdaq 100 futures clawing back 0.4% in Asian hours.” (04/29/26)
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Wendy McElroy
“When an entire country is called racist, the accusation has at least two parts: one, racism is built into the foundational structure or institutions of the nation, and, two, it is a defining belief of the population.” (04/28/26)
“The Republican Party’s victory lap over no tax on tips and no tax on overtime rings hollow, considering persistent public frustration with the cost of living. It doesn’t help that Trump’s tariff war and the war in Iran are further fueling rising prices. And voter frustration isn’t just about recent price changes. It’s also about the lasting damage from the inflation surge of 2021–2022, which pushed the overall price level permanently higher. There’s one cure, however, that Washington continues to miss. Inflation is increasingly driven by unsustainable budget policy, and politicians on both sides of the aisle keep pouring gasoline on the fiscal fire.” (04/28/26)