“In a resurfaced 2016 interview, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks for the entire time in an African/South Asian accent that sounds like a mix between Trevor Noah and Apu from ‘The Simpsons’. It is absolutely bizarre, but it is also telling. At the time, he was promoting a Disney movie that he had worked on as a dance advisor, one of the few actual jobs hizzoner has ever held. His signature smile is on display, but when he opens his lips, he sounds like someone we have never heard. In a sing-songy voice, he decries how in Africa everybody dances, but in New York the men ‘just grind’ but don’t dance. It is a performance entirely in character.” (08/08/26)
Source: Independent Institute
by Daniel Sánchez-Piñol
“In a film that runs nearly three hours, perhaps its most important political lesson is delivered in just a few minutes. Before sailing past the island of the Sirens, Odysseus learns that their irresistible song is not a gift of wisdom but a deadly trap. Sailors who succumb to its enchanting melody steer their ships toward the rocks, where they meet their destruction. Odysseus wants to hear the legendary song without falling victim to it. To accomplish this seemingly impossible task, he devises what economists recognize as an ingenious plan. He orders his crew to plug their ears with beeswax so they cannot hear the Sirens’ voices. He then commands them to tie him securely to the ship’s mast and not to release him under any circumstances until the danger has passed.” (08/07/26)
Source: The Daily Economy
by Harshit Singh & Sarika Kumari
“Auniversity degree once distinguished its holder precisely because few people had one. As degrees spread, employers began demanding them as a baseline, and today many jobs that historically required a high-school education demand a bachelor’s degree, not because the work grew more complex, but because the signal became an entry fee. Everyone pays more; nobody stands out. That sentence describes far more of modern life than credentials.” (08/07/26)
“Those who travel internationally know the routine. Whether at an airport terminal or a land border crossing, returning home means having your bags scanned to ensure you aren’t bringing contraband, illicit drugs or invasive species onto U.S. soil. But what happens when the government demands access to your phone? A smartphone is fundamentally different from a suitcase. It’s not merely a container for physical goods; it’s a digital repository of our lives. It holds our private thoughts, political expressions, digital calendars, personal photos, contact lists, shopping habits, credit card numbers and travel logs. Yet U.S. customs officers routinely assert the authority to demand passcodes and search these digital life-capsules without a warrant — and often without a shred of reasonable suspicion to believe a crime has been committed.” (08/07/26)
“On Tuesday, Julian Beaudion, the Democratic Senate nominee challenging South Dakota Republican incumbent Mike Rounds, dropped out in favor of independent Brian Bengs. This followed similar actions in Idaho and Nebraska. In Idaho last week, Democratic nominee David Roth stood aside in favor of Todd Achilles, a former Democratic state legislator and an Army veteran, who is running as an independent against Republican Sen. Jim Risch. Both Bengs and Achilles are long shots. Bengs was trounced when he ran as a Democrat against John Thune in 2022. And Idaho, one of the nation’s most Republican states, last sent a Democrat to the Senate, Frank Church, in 1974. Church was defeated in the 1980 GOP landslide, as was South Dakota’s George McGovern.” (08/07/26)
“In Severance, employees of the evil corporation Lumon Industries undergo a procedure that divides their consciousness in two. The ‘outie’ enjoys weekends and a paycheck but remembers nothing of work. The ‘innie’ performs the work but knows nothing of family or life outside the office. Severance is not merely an action thriller, although the ‘innie’ characters occasionally sneak or fight their way through the literal prison of Lumon. The philosophical dilemma presented in the show is that the characters’ free selves might be tempted to intentionally imprison parts of their lives that cause pain.” (08/07/26)
“This is not a column about whether a socialist Democrat is preferable to a neocon-flavored Republican. This is not a column about whether El-Sayed’s hard left politics might make him easier for a Republican to beat in Michigan’s general election. It is not about whether this Democrat possibly becoming the first Muslim-American senator might be a help or hindrance for him in his state. It is not even about whether Trump’s record-low approval ratings have now opened up the electoral doors for a crop of socialist candidates who might have never seen daylight otherwise but are now having a moment. It is about whether El-Sayed or Rogers is more ‘America First.'” (08/07/26)
Source: New York Post
by Jennifer Weber & Danyela Souza Egorov
“New York spends more per student than any state in the nation. Yet fewer than half off of its third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students scored proficiently on the English Language Arts exam, according to the preliminary data released this week. Just 43% of third-graders, 48% of fourth-graders and 43% of fifth-graders scored proficient in ELA. The biggest drop was seen in fifth grade, a 14-point decrease from the 2024-25 school year. Third-graders showed an 11-point drop. This is what happens when teacher unions get their way. Standards are lowered. No consequences for bad schools or bad instructors. And our children? Failed by a system that doesn’t care. As of 2019, state test scores would no longer play a role in teacher evaluations. By 2024, nor would any measure of whether students learned at all.” (08/08/26)
“British individualist Auberon Herbert (1838-1907) minced no words when he spoke against socialism. After demolishing the notion that a ‘social entity’ exists separately from the individuals who comprise it, he concluded his debate with J. A. Hobson by writing something that today’s socialists might ponder. He began with the bluntest of assertions: ‘The truth is, that the socialist, unknown to himself, is the most antisocial of all human beings, and, if he had his way, would render all true social action impossible.’ Could he back that charge up? Let’s see.” (08/07/26)
