“As President Donald Trump continues buying government stakes in private companies, the rest of Washington is starting to appreciate the power of his new tool. The Trump administration has so far announced 43 equity stakes in firms producing everything from minerals to semiconductors, 36 of which were negotiated without explicit legal authority — and more are yet to come. … Thanks to the precedent Trump has set, a future Democratic president could reap multiple benefits from equity stakes in private companies. Among them, as former Biden administration officials suggested: reining in the AI industry, shrinking defense spending, boxing China out of critical sectors, and pressuring gun and oil companies.” (10/22/260
“The Treasury Department released its monthly statement on Friday and has now confirmed what we all suspected: the US federal government, under the Trump Administration, will finish the 2026 fiscal year with an annual fiscal deficit of about $2 trillion. To be precise, the federal deficit for the 2026 fiscal year, which ended on September 30, is $1.99 trillion. That’s the third largest deficit ever recorded.” (10/22/26)
“The backlash against Silicon Valley awfulness—call it a ‘techlash’—is a force that can be turned into remedying actions. It’s not a policy platform. It’s not a solution. It’s a question: How do we tame the corporate monsters to the point where they can be held accountable for making these destructive products? And here are two answers: by wielding the tools of product liability law and antitrust reform.” (10/22/26)
“Since Donald Trump began his second term, the US has bombed nine countries/territories. According to New America, the Trump administration has hit Somalia 211 times. Over the past thirteen months 71 US maritime strikes in the hemisphere have killed over 200 and in January US forces killed nearly 100 when they kidnapped Venezuela’s President. An eight-week US bombing campaign of Yemen last year killed at least 224 civilians as part of an effort to enable Israel’s genocide and last month the Trump administration gave the Jewish supremacist state $2.8 billion worth of mostly 2,000-pound bombs. Over 40 days at the start of the year the US launched 10,000 strikes on Iran. In one attack, 120 schoolgirls were killed. Carney has either supported or ignored all of that violence. But the prime minister responded to the US president announcing a plan to purchase Russian diesel as a threat to ‘peace’.” (10/22/26)
Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
by Bill Budington & Rory Mir
“An open internet where people can freely build, share, and remix each other’s work is a powerful engine of grassroots innovation we’ve all benefited from. In recent decades, however, corporations have taken control of an increasing share of this work, giving them a greater ability to stifle challengers and limit our choices. When regulators address this by mandating that tech giants play fair by requiring interoperability, the gatekeepers respond with a tired refrain: Playing fair puts users’ security at risk. Unfortunately for these trillion-dollar companies, this gotcha isn’t the end of the conversation. Regulators can ensure that meaningful choice and security thrive.” (10/21/26)
Source: Independent Institute
by Daniel Sánchez-Piñol
“The architects of Proposition 40—California’s proposed 5 percent tax on billionaire net worth—say they want to tame inequality. But in their rush to redistribute wealth, they risk undermining something more fundamental: the rule of law. F.A. Hayek warned that the crusade for ‘social justice’ inevitably collides with the rule of law. The design of Prop 40 proves this point. According to Hayek, laws should meet three basic criteria: they should be non-retroactive, predictable in their consequences, and general rather than tailored to particular people or circumstances. Prop 40 fails on all three.” (10/21/26)
Source: Fox News
by Lt. Col. Robert Maginnis, (ret.)
“Russian missiles keep falling on Ukrainian cities while Washington holds up approval of Patriot interceptor transfers to Ukraine, according to The Washington Post. A Ukrainian official told the Post that only ‘a couple’ of interceptors remained. President Donald Trump wants this war to end, and that goal deserves support. But a deal that squeezes only Ukraine is not a peace plan, and right now Kyiv absorbs the pressure while Moscow collects the relief. Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged on Oct. 20 that a batch bought for Kyiv may not have been delivered, but he rejected any political motive. ‘There’s nothing being deliberately denied to Ukraine,’ he said. So is Washington protecting scarce supplies, applying negotiating pressure or both? Americans deserve an answer, including what concessions Washington expects from Russian President Vladimir Putin.” (10/22/26)
“Protecting a country and protecting its bureaucracy are not the same job. That distinction offers the strongest explanation of Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’s security shake-up. It also reveals a connection with President Donald Trump that goes beyond their political personalities: a shared determination to restore democratic accountability to national security institutions that have become insulated from the governments they are supposed to serve. What happens when intelligence institutions, bureaucratic interests, and political power become so intertwined that protecting the establishment takes precedence over protecting the state? The current Czech government faces this problem, just as President Trump has. Throughout the previous administration of Prime Minister Petr Fiala, opposition figures from Babiš’s ANO movement and the populist Motoristé party repeatedly accused the government of weaponizing national security rhetoric to discredit political opponents. Labels such as ‘pro-Russian,’ ‘undemocratic’ and ‘security threat’ became familiar weapons in political debate.” (10/22/26)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Keli’i Akina
“One of the most effective ways for lawmakers to reduce poverty in Hawaii wouldn’t cost taxpayers a dime: housing reform. … It might be tempting to think that rent control would quickly reduce housing costs. But before lawmakers consider that, they should know such price fixing has been shown to reduce available rental housing and increase rent prices in nearby areas where rent is not controlled. So what could Hawaii do to reduce poverty through housing reform? Simply follow the example of cities that have already seen success: Allow higher-density homebuilding, streamline permitting, simplify building codes, eliminate parking mandates and revise restrictive land-use rules.” (10/21/26)
“A distraught woman pled with masked men not to destroy a store, identified by reporters (not memesters) as a Franprix supermarket on Rue du Faubourg du Temple. ‘Why are you doing this?‘ she demanded, then screamed ‘this is not the cause!’ All for naught. The rioters brushed past her, breaking windows, looting, committing mayhem. The mob cheered. Her look — of bewilderment and betrayal — has become the new face of France. FAFO, in French fashion.” (10/21/26)
