Source: Independent Institute
by K Lloyd Billingsley
“Who shot 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall in 2024? No one knows, because California’s insane criminal justice system has kept the suspect’s identity under wraps. … Pearsall, the 31st pick in the 2024 NFL draft, was shopping in San Francisco’s Union Square when a thief approached and demanded his watch. Pearsall would not give it up. In the ensuing struggle, the 49ers’ top draft pick took a bullet in the chest. Miraculously enough, the bullet missed vital organs. Pearsall survived the attack in stable condition. … Meanwhile, the suspect himself remained something of a mystery. One report described him as a boy of 17, an age that brought labels such as ‘teen’ and ‘juvenile.'” (08/10/26)
“Leaking crude oil from a tanker grounded off a nature reserve in Oman has created a slick covering almost 400 square kilometres, the country’s government said on Monday. The Caroline Bezengi is loaded with close to one million barrels of Russian oil bound for Asia and first reported difficulties on June 8 off Yemen, with two maritime security sources saying initial assessments indicated a blast had occurred onboard. No party has taken responsibility for attacking the vessel. Oman, in its first public disclosure on the environmental impact, said on Monday it was seeking to tackle the oil leak near the Hallaniyat Islands.” (08/10/26)
“Few familiar with Westminster City Council will be surprised by its draft proposal to refuse licenses for new pubs and nightclubs unless they ban standing up while having a pint – an activity it calls ‘vertical drinking’. After all, when it comes to petty killjoy regulations, this council has form. Take its attitude to takeaway pizza. … Westminster council have found a way to spoil even this in Soho. The pizza restaurant ICCO on Greek Street has a limitation on its licence that dictates it may not sell pizza for takeaway after 11pm. … Like other restrictions on venues operating in Soho, the reason cited by the council for this strange ban is the dreaded ‘cumulative impact assessment’ (CIA).” (08/10/26)
“For the first time, President Donald Trump admitted there was a construction error on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which is seeing another round of costly renovations. The initial construction cost more than $16 million, but the iconic Washington DC attraction had to be drained again after the Fourth of July due to peeling of the American-flag-blue liner that Trump ordered. He blamed ‘vandals’ on the issues the pool has seen, but after numerous people were accused of damaging the pool, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia dropped all of their charges. … ‘As with many jobs, there was also some contractor error done by rushing the job for a July 4th opening, but it was a very small area of this massive Pool, and was relatively inconsequential,’ he wrote. Despite no video evidence pointing toward vandalism, Trump stopped short of placing all of the blame on contractors.” (08/10/26)
“The ongoing unraveling of fraud in the federal government’s welfare system, particularly involving medical subsidies, has gotten politically even more interesting. The egregious Ilhan Omar, Somalian America-hater and U.S. Representative from Minnesota, is now implicated. Well, at least one member of her family is under investigation.” (08/10/26)
“Oil deposits may be finite, but human knowledge is not. Freedom, innovation, and entrepreneurship continually transform our use of resources.” (08/10/26)
“A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake has struck western Colombia and neighbouring countries, prompting widespread evacuations. The earthquake struck on Monday near the municipality of San Jose del Palmar in Colombia’s Choco region, about 400km (250 miles) west of the capital, Bogota, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and Colombia’s geological service. Colombia had initially put its magnitude at 6.6 on the Richter scale. … The mayor of Pereira, Colombia, said that 18 people had died there, according to Reuters. Two people are dead in Manizales, the Associated Press reported.” (08/10/26)
“It is now August 2026. More than 560 days have passed since Trump took office again. He has attained more power, surrounded himself with yes-men, has a Republican House and Senate, a 6-3 tilt on the Supreme Court, and no excuse to fail. But here we are, with Trump polling in Biden territory and trying to convince Americans that things are going great. And yet, when pressed, Trump and company keep defaulting to how bad things were under Biden. … We have all dealt with kids that haven’t learned how to take responsibility for their actions. There is always someone else to blame because they believe that their parents, teachers or other adults will believe them.” (08/10/26)
