Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“Yes, I know that as an American citizen I’m expected to make Iran my enemy, given that after decades of brutal and deadly U.S. sanctions, the U.S. government has now launched a war of aggression on Iran. But that doesn’t make one whit of difference to me. Iran is still not my enemy, especially since the U.S. (and Israeli) war is immoral, illegal, and unconstitutional. My enemy continues to be the U.S. government, specifically the U.S. national-security state and its deadly and destructive policy of foreign interventionism, which are responsible for bringing about this deadly, destructive, immoral, illegal, and unconstitutional war.” (03/10/26)
“President George Washington’s often-read but rarely heeded Farewell Address includes a passage that has remained perennially relevant in American life. Reflecting on the domestic costs of entangling alliances, Washington warned ‘Excessive partiality for one foreign nation and excessive dislike of another cause those whom they actuate to see danger only on one side, and serve to veil and even second [reinforce] the arts of influence on the other. Real patriots, who may resist the intrigues of the favorite, are liable to become suspected and odious, while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confidence of the people to surrender their interests.’ … This conflation is occurring again today, as supporters of President Donald Trump’s war on Iran have taken to accusing opponents of siding with the enemy.” (03/10/26)
“‘Enough is enough.’ With those words, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders launched a push to impose a 5% annual wealth tax on America’s billionaires. With Rep. Ro Khanna, the legislation, ‘Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act,’ echoes the growing ‘eat-the-rich’ mantra on the left — seeking to replicate a disastrous push in California that has led to an exodus from that state and an estimated loss of $2 trillion in taxable assets. It is also flagrantly unconstitutional. Under the plan, Congress would target 938 billionaires to tap them for $4.4 trillion. That money would then be redistributed as a $3,000 direct payment to every man, woman and child in a household making $150,000 or less — $12,000 for a family of four. The timing of the move is telling.” (03/10/26)
Source: Mother Jones
by Nick Schwellenbach & Dan Friedman
“Kristi Noem is out as Homeland Security Secretary, but a luxury 737 she has traveled on remains in government hands. That plane, reportedly dubbed the ‘Big, Beautiful Jet’ by DHS staffers, has been quietly leased to the department by a company linked to William Walters, a former State Department official who donated thousands of dollars to a pro-Noem political action committee. Walters owns a constellation of businesses that — despite a dearth of prior experience working for the government — won lucrative contracts with Noem’s DHS over the past year.” (03/10/26)
“Six months ago today, conservative pundit Charlie Kirk was murdered …. I was nearly nine years old when the Columbine shooting happened. A year or two later, I picked up the book She Said Yes at my school’s Scholastic Book Fair (the best day of my school year). The story of Cassie Bernall — which claimed she was killed after being asked by one of the Columbine shooters if she believed in God — spread like a brush fire through the broader Christian community. Though it was very soon after debunked, it has never been fully extinguished. Cassie and Charlie appear to share only two things in common: they were both professing Christians, and they were both victims of horrific violence. But in death, they have acquired a third. Their stories are used to impress upon young Christians the importance of being willing to die for their faith.” (03/10/26)
“The Supreme Court has ruled against Donald Trump’s tariffs. In a sweeping and landmark decision, the court found by a 6-3 majority that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not authorize the president to impose tariffs by executive decree. Tariffs remain an Article I power of Congress under the US Constitution, a power that cannot be delegated away by speculative inferences from a vague statute that does not even mention the word ‘tariff.’ The Framers placed this power in the legislative branch for a reason: Tariffs are taxes, and the principle of ‘no taxation without representation’ provided a central rallying cry for the American Revolution. The decision has nonetheless drawn the ire of a number of conservatives, who otherwise appeal to history and the intentions of the Founders as a guiding principle for constitutional law.” (03/10/26)
“I hate to be giving the Trump administration excuses for a weak economy, but I do feel an obligation to call the data as I see it and not make it up for political convenience. And the excuse actually does not buy them much anyhow. The seemingly simple point is that we might well have gotten a weaker than expected jobs report in February because of weather-related factors. It wasn’t that February weather was especially bad. We did get some snowstorms in late January and February, but that is what happens in winter. Since our data are all seasonally adjusted, the question would be if February’s weather (before the reference date – February 12th) was worse than an ordinary February. My guess is probably not. But January’s weather was likely better than a normal January.” (03/10/26)
