Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“On the issue of immigration, there are two completely different positions within the libertarian movement. One position favors a government-controlled, government-managed system in which federal officials centrally plan the numbers and characteristics of immigrants that will be permitted to enter the United States. The other position is commonly known as ‘open borders.’ This position is based on the principles of economic liberty and the free market. … Some libertarians attempt to ‘straddle the fence’ by endorsing what they call an ‘Ellis Island’ type of immigration-control system. … it’s not freedom — not genuine freedom. That’s a problem for libertarians, who purport to favor freedom, especially economic liberty and free-market principles.” (06/16/26)
“Ten years after Brexit, Britons must choke back an indigestible irony. Leaving the EU has been an unexpected success for those who voted against it: the prosperous Southeast, beneficiaries of the unloved colossus of London’s financial services. But it has been a disaster for those who voted for it, the left-behind of the neglected suburbs and provinces. Two reasons explain this paradox. First, the Brits let Barnier walk all over them on the backward-looking issues which dominated exit negotiations and regulate the rustbelt. Second, Brussels discovered that if it wanted to carry on its prodigal ways, it couldn’t do without London’s capital markets.” (06/16/26)
“US president Donald Trump loves being ‘first.’ Whenever something newsworthy happens, big or small, in fact or in fantasy, he reliably touts it as being unprecedented in American, possibly even world, history, and a either a personal, positive accomplishment or an unjustified persecution (‘witch hunt’). … now, he’s the first president to oversee US surrender in not one, but two, wars.” (06/16/26)
“On September 15, 1970, Richard Nixon ordered the CIA to ‘make the economy [of Chile] scream.’ (CIA Director Richard Helms’s actual note of the conversation can be seen here). But it wasn’t the economy that screamed: it was people. ‘The economy’ is an abstraction. The concrete reality of sanctions and embargos is people who are starving. Driving people to starvation has become the foreign policy of the United States.” (06/16/26)
“Historian Will Durant on the ancient Persian empire: ‘[It is not] natural that nations diverse in language, religion, morals, and traditions should long remain united; there is nothing organic in such a union, and compulsion must repeatedly be applied to maintain the artificial bond. In its two hundred years of empire, Persia did nothing to lessen this heterogeneity, these centrifugal forces; she was content to rule a mob of nations, and never thought of making them into a state…’ (Our Oriental Heritage, 382). I have no objection to trying to prevent dangerous governments, run by questionably civilized radicals, from having nuclear weapons. Actually, I’d prefer to see nuclear weapons completely eradicated from this planet. But unfortunately, humans have this overwhelming lust to kill each other, and some, like communists and other barbarians, like to do it in massive numbers, when possible. So, civilized people must be protected against such.” (06/16/26)
“You’ve heard of a feedback loop. The thermostat is a classic example. It senses the room, compares the reading to the target, and then acts to close the gap. Output bends back to become input. The system corrects itself because information about how it’s doing reaches the part that can do something about it. Now consider a particular kind of feedback loop, the kind bound up with human performance. Call it an accountability loop. Its defining feature is that the person responsible for an outcome feels its consequences. Do well, and good things follow. Fail, and the failure lands on you. The signal returns to its source.” (06/16/26)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Mark Nayler
“For the last couple of years, the EU has been on a mission to make European businesses more competitive through a process it calls ‘simplification.’ This means slashing red tape — especially in the form of reporting and compliance obligations — by 25% for all companies, and at least 35% for SMEs. Backed by Germany, Italy, and the Nordic countries, the project is said to have already saved EU companies €15 billion in administrative costs, almost halfway to the €37.5 billion savings goal set by Brussels for 2029.” (06/16/26)
“It’s been more than 100 days since the United States and Israel launched their first wave of attacks against Iran. With Iran and the U.S. now agreeing to sign a memorandum of understanding on Friday, it will likely be another 60 days before a conclusive end to the war is in sight. Given the thorny issues between the two countries – especially the still-unsettled matter of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program – finalizing a peace deal in the 60-day ceasefire window is a considerable challenge. If the envisioned ceasefire holds, and oil shipments move smoothly through the Strait of Hormuz, a longer period to work out all the details might not be a bad thing for what one analyst described as ‘the slow institutional work of conflict transformation.'” (06/15/26)
“Trump insisted the FISA 702 renewal must be linked to his top priority, the SAVE America Act, a clearly unconstitutional federalization of elections designed to make it harder for Americans to vote.” [editor’s note: Don’t pass either of them — “problem” solved – TLK] (06/16/26)
“As former British Prime Minister Tony Blair aptly said: A good way to measure a country is how many people want to get in, and how many want to get out. The same can be said of a state. And when it comes to California, people are increasingly opting for ‘out.’ The state is unaffordable, with a declining quality of life, a long list of crises and a failed yet arrogant governing class. It’s against this backdrop that Kamala Harris and Gavin Newsom remain the front-runners for the 2028 presidential nomination, according to a Center Square Voters’ Voice poll. Per the early-June survey, 27% of registered Democratic and left-leaning independent voters favor Harris, followed by ‘not sure’ at 17% and Newsom at 14%. California voters might ask themselves: If a train-wreck (2024) presidential candidate and a plastic, egocentric governor are the best this state can offer, then what exactly are we doing here?” (06/15/26)
