“While it is entirely reasonable to treat children and adults differently, and for laws to reflect this basic division, questions of precisely when children should become adults have eluded rationality.
In Argentina, where the legal age to vote is 16, young people may join the military at age 18, but had to wait till 21 to own a gun. Until Argentine president Javier Milei’s reduced the minimum age to purchase and carry a firearm to 18, a step towards greater consistency. But that is not how the culturally dominant left-wing media and intelligentsia see it.” (01/28/25)
“There may be a battle looming, not just between the Trump administration and Ukraine over the conscription of men between the ages of 18 and 25, but also within the Trump administration. The call for Ukraine to cast a wider conscription net predates the Trump administration. Facing imminent loss on the battlefield, after NATO had bankrupted its supply of weapons, demanding that Ukraine throw more men into battle emerged as the last grasp solution during the Biden administration. … That call was picked up by Trump’s national security advisor, Mike Waltz …. Asking Ukrainians to throw more soldiers into a lost war is asking a lot of Ukrainians. But asking them to send their 18-25 year olds is especially asking a lot. There is a special demographic difficulty with asking Ukrainians to offer up their 18-25 year olds.” (01/29/25)
“The Justice Department on Wednesday moved to drop its effort to prosecute Donald Trump’s former co-defendants in special counsel Jack Smith’s classified documents case. Prosecutors asked a federal appeals court to dismiss an appeal filed during the Biden administration that sought to reinstate criminal charges against two men Smith had charged alongside Trump. The request from the interim U.S. attorney in Miami, Hayden O’Byrne, offered no explanation for the Justice Department’s decision to abandon the case against the two Trump allies: Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira. Nauta and De Oliveira are Trump aides who were accused of helping Trump obstruct the investigation into classified documents stored at Mar-a-Lago after Trump’s first term. Smith charged them with obstructing justice and making false statements.” (01/29/25)
“Last fall, I had the extraordinary opportunity to travel to Delhi, India, to give a talk to young Indian liberals. The topic was the connection between Buddhist philosophy and liberalism. If you’re a regular reader of my work, or listen to my podcast, you’ll know this connection has been central to my work for some time. I believe that Buddhist ideas give us important tools for understanding not just why we ought to be liberals, but why liberalism is the best political system for make the world better.” (01/29/25)
Source: Niskanen Center
by Lawson Mansell & Jared Rhoads
“Despite its vast wealth, the United States has fewer physicians per capita than most other developed nations. According to the OECD, the U.S. has about 2.7 physicians per 1,000 residents, ranking 28th out of 31 member countries. This shortage is partly due to the way graduate medical education (GME) is funded. Each year, the federal government allocates over $20 billion dollars to teaching hospitals through formulas designed to encourage hospitals to train medical residents and to guide trainees toward specific geographic areas and specialties. However, this system is underperforming. The U.S. graduates only about 8 new physicians per 100,000 residents annually, whereas other OECD countries train two to three times as many doctors per capita.” (01/29/25)
“Like many who do business in California, I often complain about the regulatory burden (free at last!) People will ask, ‘So what one regulation would you get rid of?’ The problem is that this is a really hard question to answer because in most cases it is not any one regulation in particular, but the accumulation of regulation. When a building collapses under a snow load, it is impossible to blame any single snowflake.” (01/28/25)
“The Bank of Canada (BOC) has trimmed its key policy rate by 25 basis points to 3 percent, cut growth forecasts and warned Canadians that a tariff war triggered by the United States could cause major economic damage. ‘A long-lasting and broad-based trade conflict would badly hurt economic activity in Canada,’ Governor Tiff Macklem said in opening remarks to a news conference on Wednesday. The prospect of such a war is clouding the economic outlook. US President Donald Trump is promising to impose a 25 percent tariff on all imports from Canada on Saturday. Canada sends 75 percent of all goods and services exports to the US.” (01/29/25)
“I have an important tradition I like to uphold: every winter storm, I like to eat citrus fruit. Sumo oranges are typical, but lemons and limes will suffice too. I started this tradition when I was a visiting scholar at Syracuse University. Being in Central New York and close to Lake Ontario, winter storms happen. A lot. It starts snowing in October and doesn’t stop until May. Temperatures plummet and the wind sucks the very soul from your body. Mab, the Fairy Queen of Winter, rules supreme there for a good portion of the year. Despite winter’s icy grip, citrus is plentiful. Walk into any grocery store, and you will find mountains of fresh, high quality citrus. … some readers may dismiss my story here as commonplace. True. But that is exactly the point!” (01/28/25)
“Guess what time it is, boys and girls. Did you guess it? I’m pretty sure you did. That’s right, it’s time for the Big Switcheroo! It’s Morning in America Again time! It’s Hope and Change time! It’s Putting People First time! It’s Make America Great Again time! Yes, it’s time to change the set of the American simulation of democracy, as they do every eight, or sometimes four, years. The bad guys are out. The good guys are in. Or the other way around. It doesn’t really matter. Juice up your smartphones, switch off your brains, put on your MAGA hats or pink pussyhats. The extravaganza is about to begin! This is probably going to be a good one.” (01/28/25)
