Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Joseph Solis-Mullen
“With regard to the long-running debate between Rothbardians and modern free bankers, most prominently Lawrence White and George Selgin, the question is less a matter of technical disagreements than one regarding fundamentally divergent conceptions of money, law, and the nature of banking itself. At stake is not merely the historical interpretation of Scottish or British banking, but the deeper question of whether fractional-reserve banking can ever be reconciled with a genuinely free and non-fraudulent market order. … As Rothbard illustrated in his comprehensive review of White’s book at the time, the narrative advanced by White rests on two claims that can be shown to be false: first, that Scottish banking operated as a genuinely free system, independent of central banking influence; and second, that this system exhibited superior stability and performance. Both propositions collapse under closer scrutiny.” (04/29/26)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Sure plutocrats are killing our biosphere, but hey, at least they’re creating technology that lets you avoid the cognitive discomfort of writing your own words and thinking your own thoughts. Sure the empire is butchering human beings at horrifying scale around the world, but on the bright side it’s creating refugees who will move to your country and bring you treats that you can order from an app on your phone. Sure imperialist extraction is robbing the resources and exploiting the workers of the global south at extortionate fees, but on the other hand you get to wear a new outfit every day because the clothes you ordered online are dirt cheap thanks to transcontinental slave labor.” (04/30/26)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Jake Scott
“Europe’s current situation cannot be attributed entirely to events in the Middle East, either: while these have acted as a catalyst, they have exposed underlying problems with the European Union’s energy policies, and the disjointed nature of the member nations’ own energy sectors. The green transition, spearheaded by the European Green Deal and pursued with regulatory intensity and considerable haste, systematically dismantled the continent’s baseload capacity for energy provision and production long before replacement infrastructure was ready.” (04/29/26)
“Saturday night’s harrowing incident at the White House correspondents’ dinner has prompted predictable coverage of the newsy basics: the shooter’s identity, his possible motives, the Secret Service’s evacuation of the Trumps, JD Vance, and other officials. The coverage also included President Trump’s subsequent remarks, including his telling reporters, ‘I’m not a basket case. I really take it as it is. I do it for the country,’ and calling CBS News’[s] Norah O’Donnell ‘a disgrace’ and ‘horrible people’ for asking him about the suspect’s writings. The fact that nobody was physically hurt is obviously a good thing. But the body blows to the First Amendment might never heal.” (04/29/26)
Source: Independent Institute
by Williamson M Evers
“What should education in Cuba look like after Communism? Assuming a decisive break with Communism — as happened, for example, in the Baltic States, Czech Republic, and Poland — the country will need to replace nationalization with pluralism, ill-advised pedagogy with scientific methods, and indoctrination with liberalization.” (04/29/26)
“Every year, RSF scores and ranks 180 countries and territories based on their level of press freedom. The Index evaluates five indicators: political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context, and safety. The United States has declined in each of these indicators and steadily fallen on the Index over the past decade, dropping in rank from 49th in 2015 to 57th in 2025. It may be tempting to blame Trump entirely for the perilous state of journalism in the country, but that steady decline in press freedom over the past decade spans multiple administrations, with both parties holding power in Washington. Such a prolonged decline points to structural deficiencies that cannot be attributed to a single issue, person, or administration.” (04/29/26)
“[F]or two decades now, it seems that whenever political violence erupts, there’s a moment where partisans wait to learn the motives of the perpetrator so they can start blaming the other side for inciting it. Sometimes they don’t even wait. … American politics right now are almost defined by outgroup homogeneity. Many Democrats and progressives think all Republicans and conservatives are alike, and vice versa. That would be bad enough, but the problem is compounded by the fact that each side tends to think the consensus on the other side is defined by their worst actors and spokespeople.” (04/29/26)
