Rising, 09/18/26
Source: The Hill
“‘Hostile act’: Trump threatens to stop trading with EU over Canada associate membership.” (09/18/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/6083817-rising-september-18-2026/
Author: Thomas L. Knapp
AI and the Luddites
Source: EconLog
by Alberto Mingardi
“The movement took its name from a Ned Ludd who never existed—yet protesters signed letters and proclamations against mechanization as Ned Ludd, King Ludd, or General Ludd. It began in Nottinghamshire in March 1811, peaked in 1812, and had flickered out by 1816. It was the most prominent, but neither the only nor the first, episode of machine-breaking. Resistance to the introduction of machines in production was not new. It was strongest in old trades, such as wool and hosiery, which were long established in England and capable of expressing political demands. Mechanization in late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century England was not merely the introduction of new machinery; it was also a breakthrough in that particular technology known as organization.” (09/18/26)
Trump says his planned triumphal arch will double as a military complex to store ammunition
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“US President Donald Trump has said his proposed triumphal arch will double as a complex to store military equipment, complete with the ability to deploy snipers and drones. In a Sunday morning post, Trump said he is updating the plans at the ‘strong request’ of the US military and for ‘national security purposes’. … Construction on Trump’s 250-foot arch, planned for a site across the Potomac River from Washington DC just outside the Arlington National Cemetery, was expected to begin this month.” (09/20/26)
The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 09/18/26
Source: The New Republic
“Fox in Full Meltdown as Network’s Own Poll Hits Trump with Brutal News.” (09/18/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/215566/fox-full-meltdown-network-poll-hits-trump-brutal-news
When Congress Is Silent, Trump Expands His Power
Source: Persuasion
by Charles Lane
“The southern border is a case in point.” (09/18/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/congress-failed-to-act-on-the-border
Anthropic, OpenAI, SpaceXAI, Google sued over call to ‘pace’ AI development
Source: Politico
“AI giants Anthropic, OpenAI, SpaceXAI and Google are facing allegations of collusion following recent calls for a coordinated slowdown of AI development, according to a civil lawsuit filed in federal court Friday. The complaint claims that Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s public plea earlier this month for ‘industry-wide coordination’ to ‘pace the frontier’ of AI advancement, which drew agreement from SpaceXAI head Elon Musk, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Google DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis, amounted to an illegal business agreement between competitors under U.S. antitrust law.” (09/18/26)
Serious Trouble, 09/18/26
Source: Serious Trouble
“Kennedy, Centered.” (09/18/26)
Herbert Spencer, Real Liberalism’s Advocate
Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman
“Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), the great English individualist and classical liberal, emphasized that societies based on contract, unlike societies based on status and coercion, blossom with creative diversity. (How wokeism has corrupted that word in our time!) Free association bestows countless benefits on all socioeconomic levels. Paradoxically, greater individuality accompanies growing interdependence through specialization, the division of labor, and trade. Self-sufficiency is the way to stay poor. The result of industrialism, Spencer wrote, is general affluence and a fading away of coercion.” (09/18/26)
https://sheldonrichman.substack.com/p/tgif-herbert-spencer-real-liberalisms
Sheeran apologizes for Macklemore backlash, encourages unity at first concert since fallout
Source: Fox News
“Ed Sheeran was overcome with emotion as he apologized to fans during his return to the stage Saturday following backlash after Macklemore was dropped from his tour. … ‘Now, I want to address the question of where I stand in the situation in Israel and Palestine and whether this concert here tonight implies where I stand. I’ve tried in my career not to be a political commentator of any kind, because I want my music and shows to be about unity not division, about humanity not politics. But this is a humanitarian issue and I cannot hide how I feel about it anymore. What happened in Israel at a … music festival on Oct. 7 was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain. What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate.'” (09/19/26)
Checks & Balances, 09/18/26
Source: Checks & Balances
“Federal Judges Under Siege: Threats to Judicial Independence.” (09/18/26)
https://chkbal.substack.com/p/federal-judges-under-siege-threats