“In recent months, there’s been a torrent of document releases that prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, the scope of the atrocities committed in the name of the Covid response by the public health establishment. As someone who has been submitting articles to Brownstone Journal covering this subject for more than 3 years (20 have been published), it has been suggested that I once again bring my perspective into the arena regarding these recent revelations. Frankly, I have felt no such calling. Why is that? For me, it’s a matter of been there; done that! … I’ve reached the point where the only thing I care about is accountability. Without it, these atrocities will keep happening.” (10/21/26)
“The civil case against seven Cornell fraternity men was a media spectacle from Day 1, thanks to the shrewd actions of the accuser’s attorneys — and the circus is only getting crazier. That means a near-zero chance of fairness for the accused when the case goes to trial, unless the court shuts down the theatrics pronto. The lawsuit springing from the actions of eight college kids boasts an all-star cast of legal titans: Thomas Giuffra, who’s lawyering for the female accuser, has raked in millions representing women who accused Harvey Weinstein and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs of sexual assault. Mark Geragos, who has represented Combs, NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick and Hunter Biden, is appearing on TMZ, acting as what Giuffra calls a ‘shadow member’ of Doe’s team. These big-shot lawyers are on the case because deep-pocketed Cornell University is also one of the defendants.” (10/20/26)
“The latest bugbear is ‘AI successionism’, the belief that AIs should succeed humans as rulers of Earth. But some critiques fail to distinguish between two different ideas. True successionism says that AIs should take over, killing humans or steamrolling over their interests. This is very bad: a compact description of the thing that AI safety is against. Handoverism says that humans should prioritize their own interests, but that those interests may be well-served by having aligned AIs in positions of control. Some people in AI safety, including me, find this latter position plausible.” (10/20/26)
“On Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it would ‘make $8 billion available for one-time payments to American farmers this harvest season to provide relief during temporary market disruptions and increased input costs.’ … The $8 billion program is part of a windfall of taxpayer money the Trump administration has sent to farmers as relief for harms caused by the president’s actions. Last December, the USDA sent $11 billion in one-time bridge payments to more than half a million farmers nationwide. Earlier this month, the USDA announced it would provide a record $13.8 billion in gross payments to agricultural producers to cover revenue losses.” (10/20/26)
Source: Indepenent Institute
by Stephen P Halbrook
“On October 15, I published a post arguing that true ‘sensitive places’ where guns are banned must have armed protection. The same day, a murderer broke into a ‘gun-free-zone’ school in Oregan and began shooting children and teachers. A dad of two girls at the school just happened to be driving by and grabbed his pistol, rushed into the school, and ‘neutralized’ the killer with several shots. He was a concealed pistol licensee. … the brave community member who entered the school and ended the carnage would have violated the law, but for a ‘choice-of-evils’ justification defense.” (10/20/26)
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen & Maureen Tkacik
“Four months ago, a Kansas-based private equity mogul named Dan Tasset posted on LinkedIn about his admiration for a trusted representative in Congress. ‘I’ve known Senator Roger Marshall for many years and have long appreciated his willingness to engage thoughtfully on healthcare policy issues impacting physicians, patients, and independent care delivery’, Tasset wrote. He mentioned that Sen. Marshall recently met with an administrator from an ambulatory surgical center (ASC) who aimed to improve the Medicare reimbursement system. Tasset’s private equity firm, Nueterra, owns that surgical center, and he and his employee were promoting a bill that would make ASCs more attractive to patients.” (10/21/26)
“You can plug a 1,500-watt space heater into your living room wall without asking anyone. Plug in a 1,200-watt solar panel, however, and Missouri treats you like a small power plant. The two aren’t identical, since the panel can push power back into the wiring. But that difference calls for a safety standard, not a permit process built for commercial grade rooftop arrays. Under Missouri’s net-metering law, a panel that feeds power into a home’s wiring is a ‘customer-generator.’ Its owner must file an interconnection application with a wiring diagram, wait for the utility’s approval, and have a qualified electrician or engineer certify the installation. Bright Saver, a nonprofit that sells plug-in solar kits, won’t ship them to Missouri until the law changes. Two bills filed in the 2026 legislative session would have fixed that.” (10/20/26)
“Voting is almost never instrumentally rational because we control only one vote, our own, and in an election of any significance, our own vote will make no difference in the result. By ‘instrumental’ rationality, I mean taking a reasonably efficient means of accomplishing one’s ends. It is true that in local elections with a very small electorate, it is conceivable that our vote matters, but in congressional and statewide elections, our votes have only an insignificant impact on the outcome. Furthermore, voting involves some cost. … Instrumental rationality is not a reason to vote, but that does not exhaust the kinds of reasons we may have for voting.” (10/20/26)
“‘A billion here, a billion there,’ the late US Senator Everett Dirksen (R-IL) mused, ‘and pretty soon you’re talking about real money.’ Government spending is almost always about buying votes, but never more obviously than during campaign season. … Of course, all that faux generosity has to be paid for … and it gets paid for by, at least in part, the same people the ‘free money’ lands on. In order to spend money, the government has to have money. Which means it either taxes you to get the money, or it borrows the money and promises to beat it out of you later (with interest).” (10/20/26)
“Vance is often cast as a principled restrainer, privately skeptical of the Iran War. In fact, he has spent the past two years building the case for the war he will soon hope to distance himself from. With the 2028 circus set to begin, as it always does, once next month’s midterms are over, it is worth reviewing Vance’s hawkish record and dispelling the notion that he is the sensible peacemaker he and his surrogates will present him as.” (10/20/26)
