Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Cláudia Ascensão Nunes
“On October 9, EU finance ministers reached a political agreement to move supervision of Europe’s largest cross-border trading venues and market infrastructure from national regulators to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) in Paris. EU leaders want the package agreed by the end of the year. ‘Europe has the savings. Now it’s time to put them to work,’ said Ireland’s finance minister, Simon Harris, whose country holds the rotating Council presidency until the end of 2026. He meant the roughly €10 trillion that, according to the Council, European households keep in low-yield bank deposits. Brussels insists no one will be forced to move a single euro. Meanwhile, it is building an entire system to move that euro where it wants it to go. The plan raises a question about the legitimacy of a state that treats family savings as a resource it can exploit.” (11/03/26)
“The divisions in this election are deep and widening across the country. When I called this ‘an age of rage’ years ago, I noted that the rage historically tends to burn off in time. We are clearly still at the flow rather than the ebb stage as rage politics continues. However, the most worrisome elements of this period are fundamental changes being demanded to our constitutional and economic systems. A new poll by The Economist/YouGov is consistent with other polls showing rising support among Democrats for socialism. More Democrats (38%) prefer socialism to capitalism (25%). Other polls show 60% had a favorable view of socialism and only 32% had favorable views of capitalism. Capitalism is still favored by 79% of Republicans in comparison to only 5% favoring socialism. The poll of independents showed 44% favored capitalism, with only 21% favoring socialism.” (11/03/26)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Charles Hugh Smith
“The core dynamic of this era is the notion that controlling the narrative controls the world, as persuading the populace to believe something is true controls their convictions which then control their behaviors. Centralized powers discovered the potential for narrative control to control the world in the 20th century, as mass communications enabled centralized control of what is presented as true and important. Propaganda has an ugly tone, so now we say narrative control, which is of course a comically obvious propaganda technique. … But narrative control doesn’t actually control the world.” (11/03/26)
“Voting is only the beginning for those united against fascism. In fact, I expect our hardest days are still ahead—and we are going to need each other to get through them.” (11/03/26)
“The philosophical throughline that intersects both justifying absolute support for Trump, and every Republican, and declaring absolute opposition to Trump, and every Republican, contains significant elements of civic decay and political discord, namely zero-sum political thinking and negative partisanship. Further, both perspectives are intellectually inconsistent, holding justifications for their positions that they only consider legitimate from their own perspectives and never from others. Both perspectives have suppressed the better angels of their nature in the name of the spirit of party.” (11/03/26)
“British Defense Secretary Wes Streeting recently said the U.K. has 1000 days to be ‘ready with our allies to fight and win.’ The enemy is obvious: Russia. The catch: London doesn’t have the cash to fight, and ordinary folk aren’t interested. This latest reminder that war with our Slavic foes is imminent is vague and unspecified, and frankly tedious.” (11/03/26)
“Someday soon, it will be possible to call for an orange skin cosmetology appointment with your not-made-in-America Trump phone, which has been on back order for 18 months; schedule the appointment with your Trump watch; and pay for it (and a new US passport with a likeness of President Donald Trump) with Trump bitcoins, while staying at a Trump hotel near a Trump golf course. You can already take a cross country trip to visit national parks with your Trump digital pass embossed with a picture of George Washington and a convicted felon. … There are limits to Trump merch. When you get cancer you will not be treated in Trump Hospital because there is none and your medical insurance has been eliminated.” (11/03/26)
“The narrative surrounding the Ukraine war often marks its beginning on February 24, 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion. But the rivalries and political decisions that brought the two countries into conflict stretch back centuries. The start of the Cold War, meanwhile, was the beginning of sustained US efforts to further antagonize Ukraine’s relationship with Moscow.” (11/03/26)
