“Amidst arguments over the morality of the death penalty and mistakes made in deciding who deserves punishment, some situations remind us why capital punishment retains support. Case in point: murder charges against Pete Van Winkle and Tracy Hampton for killing fellow prison inmate Kenneth Thompson, all three of whom were already on death row, in Pinal County, Arizona. Despite repeated revelations of mistaken convictions of the innocent and other perversions of justice, capital punishment remains popular because people want such psychopaths to never again pose a threat to life and safety.” (08/12/26)
“The process of corporate nationalization evolved over the last nearly two decades. In 2008, Pres. George W. Bush signed the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), a $700 billion bailout of the financial services industry in the face of what was dubbed the ‘Great Recession.’ In 2009, the Obama administration directly intervened in the auto industry through the Automotive Industry Financing Program (AIFP), investing approximately $80 billion into the auto industry, including General Motors and Stellantis (i.e., Chrysler). Reich stresses that the Trump 2.0 regime has escalated federal investment in – and equity ownership of – traditionally private corporations.” (08/12/26)
“DOGE never acted in good faith, and any claims that it delivered efficiency should be read as subterfuge. Elon Musk and his acolytes were bullying individual public servants even before they came into office. Emily Tavoulareas, one of the founding members of the United States Digital Service, describes technology infrastructure as the government’s spinal cord. Once in government, DOGE immediately began seizing the technical infrastructure and using it to attack programs they didn’t like regardless of the law. They ripped out talent, burned down the barriers designed to protect personal privacy, and carelessly defunded our nation’s scientific engines and sources of soft power. We are still, even now, uncovering more bad DOGE behavior.” (08/12/26)
“When the Taliban reclaimed power five years ago, China appeared poised to capitalize on Afghanistan’s new realities. Beijing quickly took important steps to establish de facto relations with the Islamic Emirate, such as keeping its embassy open in Kabul, maintaining direct ties with Taliban leaders, and expanding political and security cooperation. In January 2024, Xi Jinping became the first head of state to accept credentials from a Taliban-appointed ambassador. Many analysts latched onto these moves as evidence that China would quickly assert great influence in Afghanistan after the hasty U.S. withdrawal in August 2021. Yet Beijing has pursued a far more cautious course, stopping short of formal recognition, which China sees as a bargaining chip for possible future use.” (08/12/26)
“Japan can watch debt-service costs consume its budget, or suppress rates and risk inflation. Decades of borrowing have eliminated the easy options.” (08/12/26)
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey
“What is going on in Texas? For all the talk that Texas Governor Greg Abbott is a principled Republican, he certainly reversed his free-market stance when it came to AI and hyperscale data center projects once polling showed how unpopular they are with his base. Abbott signed an executive directive requiring all kinds of roadblock-style regulations before any AI data centers can connect to the state’s grid. I am not saying it is right or wrong; I am just pointing out Abbott’s failure on the issue. Though I would suggest that government-managed energy monopolies and corporate tax subsidies always distort the free market, and he should just stand aside.” (08/12/26)
“One year ago, the Trump administration brought 800 National Guard troops to occupy the streets of Washington, DC, part of the ‘Safe and Beautiful Task Force’. There are now approximately 5,000 troops from 15 states deployed here, with some officially moved in and set to stay through 2029. This does not include the alphabet soup of law enforcement agencies swarming our neighborhoods across the city, from Immigration and Customs Enforcement to the FBI, Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security, Drug Enforcement Agency, Park Police, and more. The National Guard can be found meandering around metro stations, museums, and grocery stores there for mere posture. Despite crime being down before they were deployed here. A new analysis from the Center for American Progress found the Guard deployment has not had a measurable impact on violent crime. They are not even trained in ‘civilian policing’, and are unable to make actual arrests.” (08/12/26)
“In 2015, roughly 16% of the world’s population lived in Africa. (That’s a bit less than double what Africa’s share of the globe’s population was in 1950, or in 1900 for that matter.) By 2025, Africa accounted for roughly 19% of the world’s population—but for fully 30% of the world’s children under 15 years, and 36% of the world’s births. The future has already been born—and the future is much, much more African than the past was.” (08/12/26)
“Despite the fact that Trump campaigned against endless war and the White House issued a National Security Strategy that rejected ‘global domination,’ the Trump administration celebrated the nation’s two-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary by glorifying empire as one of the country’s highest achievements. Administration officials praised moments in U.S. history when U.S. leaders embraced empire, such as when Thomas Jefferson and John Adams spoke in favor of an ’empire of liberty’ and Theodore Roosevelt acted to take Panama. At a time when many people in the country were reflecting on the ideals of liberty and equality that Jefferson had emphasized in the Declaration of Independence, the Trump administration glorified the country’s imperial history, creating a rationale for Empire First.” (08/12/26)
“By returning to old books on the subject, we discover that arguments about the original meaning of Article II have not changed very much in 100 years. The much stronger argument in favor of a unitary executive is finally being made by justices in the majority other than Chief Justice Taft.” (08/12/26)
