“Someone alert the Norwegian Nobel Committee: Against the odds, Donald Trump has succeeded in peacefully uniting the world. Unfortunately, the world has been united against us. This Pax (Ex) Americana era was illustrated Friday, as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney wrapped up a trip to China. This wasn’t just any old visit, either: It marked the first time a Canadian PM had been to the world’s second-largest economy since 2017 — and based on the glamorous video Carney’s team released, it was a smashing success for Beijing.” (01/17/26)
“In a chilling series of social media posts on Saturday night, Minnesota state senator and former Minneapolis mayoral candidate Omar Fateh pledged to make the Cedar Riverside neighborhood of his city a ‘no-go zone for white supremacists.’ ‘No-go zone’ is a term popularized in Europe that refers to Muslim-majority neighborhoods where it is not safe for White people to go. The X posts began with Fateh and two other men standing before the iconic Cedar Riverside towers with the message, ‘Cedar Strong. White Supremacists aren’t welcome here. We protect our own.'” (01/18/25)
“Adults siphon off taxpayer money earmarked for kids, and no one is held accountable. Teachers’ unions share the same dysfunctional incentives as headline-grabbing fraudsters in Minnesota.” (01/16/26)
“Videos of agents falling down and dropping their guns feel beyond parody. But under-trained law enforcement officers are a real danger to the public.” (01/16/26)
“Based on the troubling goings-on in Minneapolis, it’s hard to describe former GOP Rep. Justin Amash’s post on X as hyperbolic: ‘They’re building a police state right before our eyes — which will ultimately be deployed against conservative Christians and gun owners and those who refuse the jab — and a lot of ‘Republicans’ with Gadsden flags in their bios are like, ‘Yeah, FAFO!’’ There’s no hope for anyone cheering, but ‘responsible’ conservatives have a rationale for defending these actions: It’s better than having Democrats in charge. Had, say, Kamala Harris won the presidency, she would have imposed socialistic policies, they say. That’s probably true, but have you noticed the latest policy plans from Donald Trump? His economic proposals echo the Democratic platform.” (01/16/26)
“There was a moment this fall when it seemed like the public might actually get some answers — that the extent of the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes might be exposed, and that his victims might see the accountability they’ve been waiting for. On November 19, President Trump reluctantly signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which required the Justice Department to publish a huge number of its unclassified files related to the late financier (and unrelated to ongoing investigations) within 30 days. But what actually arrived on December 19, the Friday before Christmas, was a relatively small (and sloppily redacted) tranche of files that raised far more questions than it answered. Nearly a month later, not a whole lot has changed.” (01/16/26)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Kevin T Frazier
“President Donald Trump’s executive order on artificial intelligence invites analysis of a question so complex that it rarely gets asked: ‘What exactly do states have the authority to regulate?’ The current, somewhat trite answer is, ‘The residuary powers reserved under the Tenth Amendment.’ Omitting the legalese, that means that states can do whatever the federal government cannot. States have the power to look out for the health, safety, and welfare of their residents. Thus, for instance, they have the power to address local concerns through zoning laws, professional certifications via licensing regimes, and ensure public safety through law enforcement. These authorities make up what’s often referred to as a state’s ‘police powers.’ While this generic reading of state power is not necessarily wrong, it’s imprecise.” (01/16/26)
“The Trump peace scheme is not an imperfect plan that at least ends the genocide in Gaza. It is in fact a new plan to continue the genocide using a different strategy. It poses a mortal threat to the survival of Palestinians in Gaza. However this plan is not being implemented in isolation from the massive Israeli attack on Palestinians in the West Bank, but in conjunction with it. We are now witnessing, not merely a messy and complicated ceasefire in Gaza and stepped up attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank. Rather, we are witnessing a coordinated 2-pronged attack to destroy the very idea of Palestine. As a result we need to move from targeting the Gaza genocide as separate from what’s being done in the rest of Palestine to a focus on both Palestinian self-determination and opposing ongoing efforts to erase the reality of Palestinians as a people.” (01/18/25)
