“The numbers are mathematical, not political. Unless the United States begins restoring fiscal discipline, future generations will inherit a nation burdened by debt, weakened by chronic overspending, and headed to a bankruptcy that could be prevented. Washington is run by professional politicians, not statesmen, whose focus is on the next election, not the next generation. They have operated under a simple formula. Promise more benefits, avoid difficult decisions, and borrow the difference.” (07/17/26)
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by John Coleman
“The internet is one of the main places where we read, learn, ask questions, and share ideas. It serves as a library, bookstore, classroom, and town square all at once. For decades, most people have been able to use those online spaces without first proving who they are. That may be changing. Legislatures across the United States are passing laws requiring online platforms and other digital services to determine users’ ages before granting access. … At first glance, these laws seem to ask a simple question: How old are you? But answering it isn’t so simple. Is checking a box enough? Can a company estimate your age from a selfie? Should it rely on information from your device or app store? Or must you verify your age by uploading a government-issued ID? What begins as age assurance can result in identity verification.” (07/17/26)
“California’s proposed wealth tax promises billions in new revenue. But early evidence suggests it will ultimately cost the state far more in investment, entrepreneurship, and future tax receipts.” (07/17/26)
“You would be forgiven, while walking down the street, for not stopping at every lamppost to read the hastily printed notices fastened to our street furniture. When you walk into a pub, restaurant, nail salon or shop, you would also be forgiven for completely ignoring the hastily printed letter from the council regarding planning application number 26/03570/FULL, for example. When erected on street furniture, the ink usually runs, and the notices collect dust, soot, cigarette stubs and chewing gum. Rather ugly indeed. What are these eminently ignorable wastes of fine British fir? They are planning notices. … There is no need for physical planning notices. They do not help anyone, and they make our public realm messier and uglier.” (07/18/26)
Source: The Daily Economy
by Logan Tantibanchachai
“Visa holders founded half of today’s Fortune 500 companies and a majority of billion-dollar startups. Current restrictions damage that competitive advantage and choke off future growth.” (07/17/26)
“[G]ive Donald Trump credit. People deal with him as if he were a unique figure in American history and in some ways, of course, he couldn’t be more so. But not, it turns out, when it comes to American-style war. There, he seems almost boringly part of a story (now more than three-quarters of a century old) of how the seemingly greatest power on Planet Earth in the endless decades after World War II simply couldn’t — no, not ever! — win a war.” (07/17/26)
“Hong Kong police have recently arrested book sellers for having copies of Emily Feng’s, Let Only Red Flowers Bloom. Freelance journalists and three others have been arrested related to the book and for the act of selling, ‘seditious material.’ … ‘Seditious Material,’ is the title that sounds less than harmful for many Westerners who may view China as a land known of having less freedoms, where independent thinking and writing, are prohibited or heavily guided. … time and time again we are told that Western values celebrates individual rights. Self ownership, which includes free speech. Transfer those two words, Seditious and Material and press it into those which may suddenly draw an ire of concern for a newly conditioned Western reader, one who may feel freedom of speech has conditions.” (07/17/26)
“Campaigning for the White House in 2024, retired game show host Donald Trump insisted that he would end the Russia-Ukraine war on his first day in office—maybe before. He repeated that boast more than 50 times—it clearly was not a one-off remark. The war rages on, of course, and we have a pretty good idea of who is going to put a stop to that war: the Ukrainians. How are the great peacemaker’s other projects going?” (07/17/26)
“Most schools embraced digital learning during and after the COVID pandemic, dramatically increasing students’ screen time during the school day. Combined with the long hours many children already spend on screens outside of school, the result has been an unprecedented amount of daily screen exposure. But people are starting to push back. More than half of states have policies that limit or fully ban cell phones in schools. And many states and school districts have also enacted, or are considering, policies that limit screen use for instruction.” (07/17/26)
“With the exception of the Caesars, no ancient Roman political figure is as famous as Marcus Tullius Cicero. Like the Caesars, the myth of Cicero has taken on a life of its own: the philosopher-statesman who, until his final breath, withstood the forces of totalitarianism in defense of the republic. Certainly, there is a great deal of truth to this story. Cicero’s literary output is prodigious, and his defense of the Roman republic against Caesarism should remain an example to us all. However, as with most myths, the truth of the man is far richer and far more complicated.” (07/17/26)
