Source: The Erick Erickson Show
by Erick-Woods Erickson
“The reason we have stayed with fall back and spring forward is because southern states want permanent daylight saving time, and northern states want permanent standard time. It benefits northern states in the winter to have standard time and benefits southern states to have daylight saving time in the summer. But, as a nation, we only have standard time for four months. Daylight saving time is the default for eight months. The reality is that standard time makes a lot of sense. … Regardless, Congress should just pick one.” (03/24/26)
“Starting this year, any US citizen under 18 qualifies for a 530A ‘Trump Account,’ sometimes referred to as a ‘Kid IRA.’ Parents, grandparents, or other loved ones can contribute up to $5000 per year, which will be tax-deferred until the child turns 18. The money will then be available to the child for major life events, such as going to college, buying their first home, or starting a small business. … It’s hard to say whether this will have any meaningful impact on birth rates, but it might be worth a try, because the other kind of family policy doesn’t seem to be working very well. Over the last ten years, the pronatal case for cradle-to-grave state largesse has become exceedingly weak.” (03/24/26)
“Our country is at war. The American-Israeli attack on Iran has plunged the Middle East and the Arab world into chaos, displacing millions and causing thousands of casualties. Here at home, this war has consequences for the safety of Jewish and Arab American communities. Last week, a man drove a car containing explosives into a synagogue just outside of Metro Detroit. Reports indicate he held Jews responsible for the death of several members of his family in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon. At the same time, multiple congressional Republicans have decided anti-Muslim bigotry will be a key part of their strategy for the midterms. This, after their language dehumanizing Palestinians and Arabs, went generally unchallenged. This moment requires solidarity. As we hold our breath with every new development abroad and at home, our hearts.” (03/24/26)
“Jason Furman is a very good economist, but sometimes he gets some things wrong. His NYT column, saying the Trump and Biden economies are largely the same, is in that category. Before saying what I think he got wrong, let me mention some very big things he got right. First, people do hugely overrate the impact of a president on the economy. … Second, there is obviously a large element of partisanship in people’s views of the economy.” (03/24/26)
“You have probably heard of the widely believed myth that Napoleon was very short. Evidence proved after his death, however, that he had a completely normal height. Historians, interestingly, have mentioned that this narrative could have spread so thoroughly due to British painters drawing him short almost in a sarcastic way. Myths such as this, however irrelevant, do not alter the truth. Some myths, however, are so powerful that they make truth appear like a myth. This is the case of ‘Giffen goods’ — goods that are demanded more when their prices rise. Many believe that there can be some special, so-called Giffen goods that can exclusively have an upward-sloping demand curve. Historically, mathematically, and economically, this is impossible.” (03/24/26)
Source: Popular Information
by Judd Legum & Rebecca Crosby
“Despite Trump’s claims, the war in Iran is not going well. More than 1,500 people have died, including over 100 school children and 13 U.S. troops. American taxpayers are on the hook for tens of billions of dollars. And all Americans are facing dramatically higher energy prices because the Iranians have closed the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil route, to most tankers. In sum, the U.S. military is mired in a deadly conflict with no clear objectives or exit strategy.” (03/24/26)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Magnus Henrekson, Christian Sandström, & Miakel Stenkula
“In 2020, the European Union launched its Green Deal. Six years later, investments in hydrogen-based projects have collapsed, and electricity prices are twice as high as in the US and China. Europe is losing its competitive edge. In our research for the Institute of Economic Affairs, we identify eight reasons why the EU Green Deal is not working. In doing so, we draw policy lessons for the United Kingdom.” (03/24/26)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“The only worthwhile ‘western culture’ in modern times is culture which rejects and opposes the dystopian nature of western civilization and the abuses of the western empire. Western civilization is what’s bombing Iran. It’s what’s strangling Cuba. It’s what’s torching Lebanon. It’s what’s exterminating Palestine. It’s what stole Venezuela. It’s what’s plundering the labor and resources of the global south. It’s what’s keeping the systems in place which are killing our ecosystem and driving us closer to nuclear armageddon. There is no sane and truthful position to have toward all this but vehement rejection. Westerners — particularly white westerners in nations with colonialist histories like the United States and Australia — often struggle to find their cultural moorings. It can be difficult to find an authentic position from which to express art and take your stand as a personality when you feel culturally rootless and historically ungrounded.” (03/24/26)
“Over the weekend Donald Trump threatened dire vengeance on Iran unless its government opened the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours …. But at 7:05 AM Monday Trump called the whole thing off — for five days, he said, but many people are assuming that the threatened action, which would have been a massive war crime, is now off the table. … Trump’s sudden climb-down was startling. Who could have seen this coming? The answer is, the person or people who bought large quantities of stock market futures and sold large quantities of oil futures around 15 minutes before Trump’s announcement.” [editor’s note: Treason is constitutionally defined, and insider trading isn’t it – TLK] (03/24/26)
