“There is a high likelihood that due to the past large decline in the yearly growth rate of the money supply, the US economy is heading towards an economic bust. Note that the yearly growth rate of money supply fell from 79% in February 2021 to minus 7% by May 2023. The sharp decline in the yearly momentum of money supply is starting to hurt various activities that emerged on the back of the huge increase in the money supply yearly growth rate between August 2019 and February 2021 – from minus 1% to 79%. It is likely that the effect of this massive increase is still dominating the present state of economic activity.” (06/02/26)
“The Trump administration has bent over backward to negotiate an end to Iran’s grand plans to develop nuclear weapons—before the June 2025 bombing, afterward, and again during the follow-up diplomacy of spring 2026. Yet Iran is unlikely ever to abandon its pursuit of the bomb voluntarily. With nuclear weapons, Tehran hopes to become the de facto hegemon of the Middle East. Only then could it effectively coerce or deter both Israel and the wealthy Arab Gulf states. And that is the charitable view, one that excludes the possibility of a messianic Shiite theocracy believing that eliminating the “one-bomb” state of Israel would forever ensure the Shiite minority permanent preeminence in the pantheon of Islamic jihadists. After three months of intermittent war, we are now better acquainted with Iran’s intentions and the realities of the conflict. The Iranian regime has never viewed ‘negotiations’ as a path leading to an ultimate ‘deal’.” (06/02/26)
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Angel Eduardo
“Like any country, the British government can exercise broad discretion when it comes to who it decides to let into its borders. There is currently no proof that Uygur’s and Piker’s views on Israel were the motivating factor behind their visa revocations, but if they were, it’s yet more evidence of the UK’s backsliding on free speech in recent years. Remember the UK police database tracking ‘non-crime hate incidents?’ Or the 12,000 people arrested in the UK in 2023 for their online speech? And who can forget the UK government’s ominous and Orwellian ‘Think before you post’ warning on social media back in 2024? Perhaps most disappointingly, the banning of scheduled speakers from entering your country also betrays an unwillingness or inability to engage with ideas and arguments on their merits.” (06/01/26)
“Jill Biden’s book is not even out yet — and she’s already trying to get it displayed on both the fiction and the non-fiction shelves. From her husband’s mental decline to the pardoning of her son, the former first lady has moved from the historical to the fanciful. Thomas Jefferson once wrote that ‘honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom’ — but if her promotional interviews are any measure, that chapter appears to be entirely missing from View from the East Wing: A Memoir. Last week Biden faced a torrent of criticism, including from Democrats like her former spokesperson, over her claim to CBS News that she thought her husband’s debate meltdown meant he might have been suffering a stroke. The interviewer didn’t mention the fact that Biden famously declared at the time that her husband was brilliant in the debate, and denied he was showing signs of mental decline.” (06/01/26)
Source: Independent Institute
by William F Shughart II
“With the apparent support of President Donald Trump, Congress may soon pass legislation allowing states to adopt misleadingly named daylight saving time year-round. In fact, DST — now in effect from early March until early November — doesn’t save anything. Clocks merely advance an hour, shifting sunlight from the morning to the evening. The length of the day doesn’t change a single nanosecond. … Permanent daylight saving time holds a false promise of energy savings, bustling stores, and enhanced social welfare. The idea backfired in 1964 and will fail again if the Sunshine Protection Act is included in the Motor Vehicle Modernization Act.” (06/01/26)
“The recent war with Iran has been fought largely without the support of traditional European allies as well as aspirational Asian ones. Middle Eastern allies, however, have been far more willing partners. Israel is the most notable, but the Gulf states should not escape notice. They spent the last several decades sidling up to Western governments and capital, an approach that seemed broadly successful. They were able to maintain just enough interest in radical Islam to keep their people at bay, which meant the system broadly worked. But the most recent gamble of lowkey support for the war was one too far. The Gulf states planned on America taking out Iran and shielding them from the aftermath, and instead learned their place in the pecking order was far lower than imagined.” (06/01/26)
“In mid-April, a week before Virginia voters narrowly passed new congressional maps in response to Republican gerrymandering, groups of landowners and land preservationists in Northern Virginia quietly won a state appeals court battle against a deep-pocketed consortium of developers. They had sued the county over failing to follow state regulations about posting public notices involving a data center project. Between the redistricting vote, Virginia’s legislative budget impasse over data center taxation, and state and federal lawmakers caterwauling from Washington to Richmond and back again, it’s not surprising that a suburban county court case didn’t really penetrate the dystopian news cycle. But a screwup that derails what would have been the world’s largest data center is worth unpacking. Zoning applications and hearings are some of the most combative, tedious, yet vital happenings in cities and towns.” (06/02/26)
“As we are in the heat of the binneal Primary Season, while the ‘soft’ ceasefire in the Ami-Iran War staggers on, while there are rumors of a ceasefire in this phase of the Lebanese Conflict, our minds of course turn to the wonders and benefits of government. If we are honest (and love God and/or liberty), it is a pretty short list. And nothing on the list is anywhere close to balancing the immense cost and negative attributes that government enjoys.” (06/01/26)
“The Supreme Court will soon rule in a case that will decide the future of birthright citizenship. The case has become more significant than ever because some officials are now openly advocating for ethnic cleansin — —mass removals of tens of millions of U.S.-born Americans based on their ancestry. In barely a year, the right has moved from the already controversial mass deportation of all undocumented immigrants to mass deportation of Americans. The 14th Amendment, drafted in part to prevent ethnic cleansing, should stop it. Whether it will is now up to the Supreme Court.” (06/01/26)
