“The year 1776 is notable for new beginnings. But it also saw the death of one of the greatest philosophers in the Western tradition. David Hume (1711–76) is often described by ideological labels such as liberal or conservative, as well as eighteenth-century party names (Whig and Tory). But these labels obfuscate Hume’s intentions. Neither an ideologue nor a party man, Hume thought about politics primarily as a philosopher searching for true answers. When we approach him first and foremost as a political philosopher, we are in a better position to revive and understand his substantial contributions to political thought.” (08/03/26)
“It’s hard to find a better example of a failed trade law than the Jones Act — which has now slashed US cargo-ship production to just a few vessels a year, while China’s building more than 4,000. President Donald Trump and Congress need to prioritize a repeal of this 100-year-old protectionist legislation ASAP. The law was supposed to boost the US merchant-marine industry by requiring that all shipping between US points use American-made, -owned, -crewed and -flagged vessels. But sky-high US manufacturing costs, which are passed on to shippers and ultimately consumers, made other alternatives — e.g., imports, land-based transportation — far more economical. The perverse result: Demand for US ships has plummeted, even as building costs soared.” (08/03/26)
“‘I don’t feel safe going,’ Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel recently shared about her decision to skip the Michigan Democratic Party state convention later this month. ‘I don’t want to get chased around. I don’t want to get harassed. I don’t want to get yelled and screamed at.’ It’s a gathering of her own political party!” (08/03/26)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Stephen Anderson
“US farms and ranches face rising debt in 2026. New York based Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) released an article on February 25, 2026, entitled, ‘Farm Debt on the Rise as Federal Aid Counters Rising Expenses.’ The article described this federal government intervention from the Austrian economics viewpoint encouraged rising farm debt from federal aid. This article will cover US soybean farmers impacted by US government interventions described as aid programs. … Billions of dollars in annual payments seem small compared to other annual federal government entitlement programs like Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. This aid program or waste annually harms US farmers and ranchers from being able to operate on their own and let free market pricing operate freely and voluntary exchange happen by human action.” (08/03/26)
“In April, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen separately introduced legislation that they promised would help with the affordability crisis. Booker’s bill, the Keep Your Pay Act, would erase income taxes for taxpayers who make less than $75,000; Van Hollen’s bill, which Booker has co-sponsored, would do the same but only for incomes below $46,000. The two Democrats, both of whom are rumored to be considering presidential runs, probably figured their legislation was a slam-dunk idea. After all, who doesn’t love a tax cut? But then something possibly unexpected happened: The left [sic] pushed back.” (08/03/26)
“Does Fauci catch on that the media was using him as much as he was using them; that is, that he inhabited a world of fakery? Maybe but he decides early on that it is his only choice. He has to keep it up, otherwise his whole world crumbles. He just kept going for one year, two years, then three. This Icarus just kept flapping his wings without realizing that they were melting. Another feature that stands out: It was always political theater and never about science.” (08/03/26)
“The Democratic Socialists of America was once a fringe movement. Its recent victories confirm it is now an increasingly powerful national political force. … The DSA’s primary election victories catapulted new political stars into the national spotlight and gave the movement further proof that it can defeat senior Democrats and reshape the party’s delegation. Yet the proverbial Democratic elephant in the room has become nationally consequential: If the DSA operates like a political party, why does it continue running candidates through another one? … DSA supporters reasonably argue that America’s two-party system makes independent organizing difficult and that separate socialist candidacies could help Republicans. But an organization calling for multiparty democracy should help create one, not depend indefinitely on the Democratic ballot line.” (08/03/26)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Douglas Carswell
“‘What is a think tank?’ is a question I get asked all the time. The job of a think tank is to generate the ideas that politicians implement in office. If politics were the movie industry, those we elect would be the stars on the big screen; think tanks help write the script. ‘But don’t politicians have ideas of their own?’ I hear you ask. Of course they do (though having spent 12 years in the House of Commons before running a think tank, I’d suggest they have them less often than you might imagine). Even with a clear goal—cutting taxes, improving childcare, encouraging growth—elected leaders often need help with the details of how to make it happen. Free-market think tanks have been enormously influential.” (08/03/26)
“Military threats move markets before they move armies. Announce a massive strike against Iranian oil, military, and infrastructure sites, and traders will immediately begin pricing in damaged production, regional retaliation, interrupted shipping, higher insurance costs, and possible disruption of the Strait of Hormuz. No missile needs to be launched. The announcement itself can add a substantial geopolitical premium to every barrel of oil. Cancel the attack a few days later, however, and much of that premium may disappear just as quickly. … for someone possessing advance knowledge of both the threat and its prearranged cancellation, the same sequence could provide an extraordinary opportunity to profit from a government-created price movement in both directions.” (08/03/26)
“To be college-educated about the West in 2026 is to have great works run through some combination of critical theory, identity politics, and post-colonial studies—the teeth used to chew our identity and our ideals. (Thankfully, there is a group of insurgents keeping the best of the West alive online, though one has to learn to separate signal from slop.) Now, if you were to ask me what the most important work of the Western canon is to our sense of shared identity, it is surely the Exodus story. That story has interesting and important details. It’s full of symbolism, yet it is also based upon peoples and cultures that once lived to tell the tale. But I want to do something risky with Exodus.” (08/03/26)
