“In response to his sentencing following his conviction on 34 felonies in May 2024, President Trump stated that he had ‘won the election in a massive landslide, and the people of this country understand what’s gone on. This has been a weaponization of government.’ Despite his conviction, Judge Juan Merchan sentenced him to an unconditional discharge with no consequences like prison, probation, or even fines. The judge determined that this was ‘the only lawful sentence’ that avoided infringing on the authority of the presidency. Had that been Donald Trump’s first encounter with the law (which, of course, it wasn’t), it would have been a stark lesson in impunity. It’s no surprise then that, in an interview last year with Kristen Welker on Meet the Press, when asked about his obligation to uphold the Constitution, Trump responded, ‘I don’t know.'” (03/05/26)
“If Secretary of State Marco Rubio is to be believed, Israel basically buffaloed the Trump administration into starting a war with Iran. ‘We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action,’ he told reporters recently. ‘Obviously, we were aware of Israeli intentions and understood what that would mean for us, and we had to be prepared to act as a result of it.’ That doesn’t excuse Trump’s decision, of course, but it is a plausible read of the situation. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu basically said as much: ‘This coalition of forces allows us to do what I have yearned to do for 40 years.’ And as I have previously written, only an Israeli goal of turning Iran into a failed state can explain their repeated assassination of any figure who could possibly consolidate the reins of power.” (03/05/26)
“The varied reactions in the last 96 hours (as we write this) to the massive attack on Iran by the FedGov and the State of Israel have again revealed the growing divides in American society. Not just but especially in civic and political matters. This fragmentation is not just growing. The yawning gap in Americans’ opinions and positions also demonstrates the sources of the varying (and opposing) worldviews of our people. Including outright lies, twisted truth, crazy assumptions, and more. We can see it not just in the old parties, with the difference between blue and red States and politics. We see it too in libertarians. We are all over the place.” (03/04/26)
“Unfortunately, President Trump listened to the neocons and Benjamin Netanyahu instead of his MAGA base and other voices of caution as he launched a surprise attack on Iran over the weekend. For the second time in nine months, the US Administration used negotiations with Iran as a cover to launch a pre-planned attack.” (03/04/26)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Andy Fischer
“A growing chorus of technologists and futurists now argue that scarcity is ending. Artificial intelligence will automate cognition. Robotics will automate labor. Energy capture will scale beyond planetary limits. Manufacturing will approach zero marginal cost. In this telling, the central economic problem that has defined human civilization for millennia is dissolving. This essay accepts the rise of abundance. The empirical case is strong. Real prices for lighting, calories, communication, and computation have collapsed over centuries. Extreme poverty has fallen dramatically. Automation continues to erode historically-binding constraints. But, from this undeniable progress, a stronger claim is often made: that scarcity itself will disappear. That claim is not bold, it is confused. Scarcity is not primarily a supply shortage, it is the structural condition of action under constraint.” (03/04/26)
Source: The American Conservative
by Branko Marcetic
“Trump has effectively put himself into a trap. On the one hand, Iran is determined to inflict pain on the United States and refuses to negotiate again, which means he cannot easily pull out without both personally looking weak and making the United States as a whole appear to have suffered a defeat. On the other hand, the longer the war goes on, the more Americans will die, the more the economy comes under strain, and the greater the likelihood that he is pressured into the politically toxic move of sending in ground troops or otherwise escalating U.S. involvement. In other words, to salvage his presidency in a year where many Republicans’ political futures are tied to his, Trump needs a way out of the war that will let him save face while also letting the Iranians claim a victory. This week’s War Powers Resolution vote offers exactly this chance.” (03/04/26)
“I don’t fear your liberty. Since liberty is the freedom to do everything you have a right to do, and nothing you have a right to do can violate me (or anyone else), I want you to exercise your rightful liberty every day of your life, all the time, without the fear of legislation enforcers and freelance creeps trying to stop or punish you. Then, I want the same for myself. I wish more people felt as I do. The world would be a better place if that were the case. If you are free to exercise your liberty, you’ll probably be happier. You’ll definitely be more mature and responsible. If not at first, soon. You’ll learn. People can’t learn to be responsible while being treated like children under the fist of an abusive parent.” (03/04/26)
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by James Bovard
“Phony piety has long been one of America’s top political exports. President Barack Obama, in a 2015 speech to the African Union, the organization of the African heads of state, derided nations that institute ‘democracy in name, but not in substance.’ But Obama’s finger wagging could not expunge how the U.S. government had long propped up Africa’s most oppressive governments. In the 1990s, Africa saw a surge of democracies in areas that for centuries had known little except kings, tyrants, or colonial conquerors. While democracy is often touted as the best way to strengthen civic bonds, representative government has too often been a horror show in Africa.” (03/04/26)
“A bicycle doesn’t require a license, registration, insurance or fuel. You don’t need an app or a subscription. You just get on and go. In an era when your car can track where you drive and report it to your insurance company, the freedom a bicycle offers is appealing. It is a form of transportation available to children, grandparents, minimum-wage workers, and anyone with legs and a sense of balance. Bicycles offer genuine freedom of movement in a world that offers less of it every year. E-bikes extend that freedom. Those who can’t manage hills anymore can ride again. Someone who lives a little too far from work for a regular bike suddenly has another option for the commute. E-bikes make the world bigger for more people. But policymakers are hard at work designing regulations that curtail this freedom.” (03/04/26)
“President Donald Trump has shown a willingness to overthrow foreign leaders not seen since the ouster of Saddam Hussein in Iraq more than two decades ago, but he has yet to try to occupy and pacify another country militarily on that scale. That is why so far, none of Trump’s military actions have spiraled out of control like Iraq did, which raises questions about whether he can continue this pattern in Iran. It’s the occupation that turns a swift military action into a forever war. Trump tends to strike decisively and then quit while he is ahead, as evidenced by last year’s Operation Midnight Hammer strikes on Iran, the toppling of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, the killing of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani, and the bombing of Syria.” (03/03/26)
