I’m on the congestion-zone border — where Hochul’s toll makes our air WORSE

Source: New York Post
by Yasmina Palumbo

“Despite multiple ongoing lawsuits and after months of flip-flopping, Gov. Hochul incredibly forged ahead with her unpopular congestion pricing plan on Sunday — promising on X, ‘Less gridlock. Cleaner air.’ But for whom? While some of the most vociferous opposition to Hochul’s new tax scheme comes from New Jersey and the outer boroughs, Manhattanites in my neighborhood aren’t too happy either.” (01/06/25)

https://nypost.com/2025/01/06/opinion/im-on-the-congestion-toll-border-its-making-our-air-worse/

Thank Jimmy Carter for cheap airfare, smartphones and FedEx

Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
by Steven Greenhut

“Social media is replete with memes showing photos from the glory days of airline travel, where well-dressed travelers – think scenes from the TV show ‘Mad Men’ – reclined in comfy seats, drank wine and ate cooked meals. It’s a huge disconnect from our modern airline experiences, which are punctuated by surly crowds, automated systems and long TSA lines. The point of the social-media photos: Look at how good things were then and how awful they are now. Like all nostalgia, they contain a ring of truth but are mostly nonsense. Airline travel prior to 1978, when President Jimmy Carter spearheaded the Airline Deregulation Act, was a high-end affair. … Before deregulation, a cross-country flight could cost thousands of dollars (inflation adjusted) and would take all day.” (01/05/25)

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/01/05/thank-jimmy-carter-for-cheap-airfare-smartphones-and-fedex/

The Beauty of Trade, Again

Source: EconLog
by Pierre Lemieux

“Maik Chavez, 36, is the owner-operator of Maik Express, a business in Guatemala where he lives. He is part of a cottage industry of individual couriers, called viageros or travelers, who deliver home-made meals and other goods from Guatemala to Guatemalan Americans who order them or receive them from friends or family in their country of origin. Last year, Maik made 38 runs to cities in five U.S. states, each individual run lasting less than 48 hours. He carries his wares as personal luggage on his flights. He charges a flat fee of $12 a pound. One of his new customers is Virginian resident Verónica Romero, who earns a living as a home-cleaner; she paid $240 in cash when Maik delivered her exotic home-made food for Christmas. Fortunately, our benevolent government surveils and controls …” (01/05/25)

https://www.econlib.org/the-beauty-of-trade-again/

Forcing Amazon to respect its workers

Source: Drop Site
by Ryan Grim

“If Amazon intends to be an unavoidable fact of our daily lives, the least we can do is force them to treat their workers with dignity. As we reported earlier, Amazon workers at seven locations around the country organized a strike timed for the holidays to try to force Amazon to the bargaining table. These are workers who have already voted and decided to form a union, yet Amazon is simply refusing to recognize them or meet with them. Public pressure and striking is the only route left for those workers. The union has organized a petition calling on Amazon to recognize the union and enter into contract negotiations.” (01/06/25)

https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/forcing-amazon-to-respect-its-workers

Capturing the Counterculture

Source: Brownstone Institute
by Josh Stylman

“In a previous article, we traced the development of structures of oversight from Edison’s physical monopolies through Tavistock’s psychological operations, witnessing how corporate and banking interests and intelligence agencies converged to shape public consciousness. Now we’ll see how these methods reached new sophistication through popular culture, beginning with the British Invasion of the 1960s, which demonstrated how thoroughly orchestrated music movements could reshape society.” (01/05/25)

https://brownstone.org/articles/part-two-capturing-the-counterculture/

Time to stop respecting political authority

Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal

“If you’re concerned about America’s direction, there’s a way to think about it that helps. It’s also true. America is the people, the natural wonders and resources, and the spirit of innovation. America is liberty. The U.S. federal government is the enemy of all those things and not something you should look to for guidance, protection, or answers. The regional and local governments are not on America’s side, either. Being loyal to government is misguided. Or worse.” (01/05/25)

https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2025/01/05/voices/opinion-time-to-stop-respecting-political-authority/180320.html

The New Hysteria: The Regime Pivots from Russians to Immigrants

Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Ryan McMaken

“The debate over immigration is working out perfectly for the deep state. Donald Trump is calling on the CIA and the FBI to ‘get involved’ in domestic policing. At he same time, MAGA conservatives are begging the US government to impose a vast new surveillance state on Americans in the name of stopping illegal [sic] aliens. For at least four years, Russiagate hysteria has been used to promote more police statism, spying, military intervention, and government spending. Now, the incoming president Donald Trump will help the US regime seamlessly pivot from Russiagate hysteria to hysteria over Islamists and immigrants. The result will be the same: more growth in the federal police state and the further erosion of the Bill of Rights. This will be welcomed by MAGA conservatives who weeks earlier claimed to be suspicious of federal power and opponents of federal spy and police agencies.” (01/03/25)

https://mises.org/mises-wire/new-hysteria-regime-pivots-russians-immigrants

The Defi Era: Redefining Capitalism and Unlocking Economic Freedom for All

Source: Bitcoin.com
by Jamie Redman

“Decentralized finance (defi) is more than a catchphrase; it is a revolutionary system that replaces centralized control with individual sovereignty, enabling transparent, trustless, and voluntary exchanges that embody the principles of capitalism.” (01/04/25)

https://news.bitcoin.com/the-defi-era-redefining-capitalism-and-unlocking-economic-freedom-for-all/

Veterans and Violence: Chicken or Egg?

Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp

“Does military ‘service’ make one more likely to engage in violent conduct? Or does a proclivity for such conduct cause future mass shooters to seek out such ‘service?’ Maybe it’s a bit of both. Maybe there are other factors. But the correlation seems strong enough to believe there’s a connection of SOME kind. While the whole subject is likely too complex to admit of simple solutions, the problem can clearly at least be reduced at one end — by creating fewer people who find themselves mentally twisted and morally haunted by the experience of killing other people.” (01/05/25)

https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/19283