Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“It’s tempting to convince oneself that America’s system of immigration controls adversely affects only foreigners. Not so. It also destroys the rights and freedoms of the American people, including economic liberty, freedom of association, liberty of contract, privacy, and private ownership of property. Moreover, at the risk of belaboring the obvious, a brutal nationwide police state, including massive surveillance, is the opposite of a free society.” (09/22/26)
“The United States, Denmark, and the semiautonomous Danish territory of Greenland are poised to sign a new deal on the Arctic island’s future. In an announcement on Friday, President Donald Trump lauded the step as ‘a dream come true for the United States of America’. The response from other leaders has been low-key, but positive, with an apparent consensus that it’s time to move on from the instability caused by U.S. threats of a forcible takeover of Greenland. In addition, this development shows that behind-the-scenes diplomacy can still be effective, even in an atmosphere of decreasing trust among allies. ‘A win for quiet professionalism’ that has also made the Arctic ‘a safer place for America and its allies’, is how The Economist describes this news.” (09/21/26)
“The Median Voter Model says that democratic competition impels politicians to offer whatever policies maximally satisfy the median voter. Actual democracies have never met its highly restrictive assumptions: There is more than one election, fought over more than one issue, and in any case, nothing forces politicians to fulfill their campaign promises. Yet for decades, this Median Voter Model has been extremely useful — much more useful than these restrictive assumptions would have you believe. … But U.S. politics has grown so weird during the last decade that I suspect a revision to the Median Voter Model is in order. I dub this the Neo-Median Voter Model. It works roughly like this …” (09/22/26)
“‘If the states do not have the right to secede, then they have no rights at all.’ — Dr. Walter Williams … Dr. Williams is one of the few men I’ve ever read who understood the American Constitution. That marvelous document has been so warped all through U.S. history that very few Americans truly understand what our Founders did in the Constitution. It isn’t going to change any time soon, and Dr. Williams’ statement is probably shocking to many. Let’s look at it. The Declaration of Independence created 13 ‘free and independent states’; it did not create the United States of America (read it). Those states (colonies under England) jealously guarded their individual colonial rights and privileges. When they declared independence, leading minds convinced most colonists that there were certain matters (like fighting a war) that were better accomplished collectively than individually.” (09/22/26)
“Public disagreement about whether political violence is rising and who is responsible for it stems not from ideology alone but from competing definitions about what should be counted.” (09/22/26)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“The biggest AI threat isn’t artificial superintelligence wiping out humanity in a fit of mechanical vengeance like some digital Old Testament God, it’s the same oligarchs and empire managers as usual inflicting the same evils and abuses as usual upon their fellow man. We’re already presently watching the empire building AI into its killing machines and causing all kinds of horrifying problems while these technologies become more and more complex and unpredictable. CNN reports that US military AI ‘almost started a war’ with China when it hallucinated intelligence showing a Chinese ship transporting nuclear weapon components to Iran; US military planes were apparently already in the air preparing to attack the vessel before human intelligence picked up on the error.” (09/22/26)
“Karl Marx and Niccolò Machiavelli share the distinction of being among the few major thinkers in the English language whose names have become instantly recognizable ‘isms.’ But where most educated Westerners could probably offer up some kind of definition for what Marx’s ideas mean, ‘Machiavellianism’ serves more as a floating signifier for amoral canniness in political or social life. To be a Marxist implies at least some practical commitments to equality, and perhaps to revolution, but most people, even those with a strong memory of The Prince or Discourses on Livy, would probably struggle to define what being a Machiavellian really means for one’s politics.” (09/22/26)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Mark Nayler
“For decades, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has been seen by the world’s governments as a safe haven for a portion of their gold deposits. But under the mercurial reign of President Donald Trump, and in a general atmosphere of geopolitical turbulence, that is quickly changing. Several European countries have already relocated—or are under pressure to relocate—their gold from New York to domestic vaults, prompted by concerns about the stability of the regulatory environment under Trump. According to the World Gold Council, 59% of the world’s central banks now prefer to keep their gold at home, compared to 41% just two years ago.” (09/22/26)
Source: The Daily Economy
by Logan Tantibanchachai
“New York’s city-run stores promise cheaper groceries, but their discounts merely transfer costs. Taxpayers foot the bill, while bodegas and grocers lose customers.” (09/22/26)
“On the eve of Gates’[s] private testimony with Congress scheduled for tomorrow, a trove of federal whistleblower documents provided to RealClearInvestigations is renewing questions about how Gates money has bought what critics complain is an untoward influence on government health policy. For almost a quarter of a century, his main vehicle of power, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), allowing Gates to shape the direction of the country’s health strategy in ways that have benefitted his own priorities and pet causes while polishing his image as a benevolent global do-gooder.” (09/22/26)
