“You have probably heard of the widely believed myth that Napoleon was very short. Evidence proved after his death, however, that he had a completely normal height. Historians, interestingly, have mentioned that this narrative could have spread so thoroughly due to British painters drawing him short almost in a sarcastic way. Myths such as this, however irrelevant, do not alter the truth. Some myths, however, are so powerful that they make truth appear like a myth. This is the case of ‘Giffen goods’ — goods that are demanded more when their prices rise. Many believe that there can be some special, so-called Giffen goods that can exclusively have an upward-sloping demand curve. Historically, mathematically, and economically, this is impossible.” (03/24/26)
Source: Popular Information
by Judd Legum & Rebecca Crosby
“Despite Trump’s claims, the war in Iran is not going well. More than 1,500 people have died, including over 100 school children and 13 U.S. troops. American taxpayers are on the hook for tens of billions of dollars. And all Americans are facing dramatically higher energy prices because the Iranians have closed the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil route, to most tankers. In sum, the U.S. military is mired in a deadly conflict with no clear objectives or exit strategy.” (03/24/26)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Magnus Henrekson, Christian Sandström, & Miakel Stenkula
“In 2020, the European Union launched its Green Deal. Six years later, investments in hydrogen-based projects have collapsed, and electricity prices are twice as high as in the US and China. Europe is losing its competitive edge. In our research for the Institute of Economic Affairs, we identify eight reasons why the EU Green Deal is not working. In doing so, we draw policy lessons for the United Kingdom.” (03/24/26)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“The only worthwhile ‘western culture’ in modern times is culture which rejects and opposes the dystopian nature of western civilization and the abuses of the western empire. Western civilization is what’s bombing Iran. It’s what’s strangling Cuba. It’s what’s torching Lebanon. It’s what’s exterminating Palestine. It’s what stole Venezuela. It’s what’s plundering the labor and resources of the global south. It’s what’s keeping the systems in place which are killing our ecosystem and driving us closer to nuclear armageddon. There is no sane and truthful position to have toward all this but vehement rejection. Westerners — particularly white westerners in nations with colonialist histories like the United States and Australia — often struggle to find their cultural moorings. It can be difficult to find an authentic position from which to express art and take your stand as a personality when you feel culturally rootless and historically ungrounded.” (03/24/26)
“Over the weekend Donald Trump threatened dire vengeance on Iran unless its government opened the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours …. But at 7:05 AM Monday Trump called the whole thing off — for five days, he said, but many people are assuming that the threatened action, which would have been a massive war crime, is now off the table. … Trump’s sudden climb-down was startling. Who could have seen this coming? The answer is, the person or people who bought large quantities of stock market futures and sold large quantities of oil futures around 15 minutes before Trump’s announcement.” [editor’s note: Treason is constitutionally defined, and insider trading isn’t it – TLK] (03/24/26)
“Section 702 authorizes the National Security Agency (NSA) to collect communications of non-U.S. persons located abroad without a warrant. However, because of the structure of the global telecommunications system, the text messages, phone calls, and other digital data of people in the United States are invariably captured during FISA Section 702 collection activities. That information is stored in databases that are queried by the NSA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and even some Central Intelligence Agency personnel — all without having to obtain a warrant from a federal judge before conducting such searches. The prior abuses of such Section 702 collection and warrantless database querying are well documented. This month, a bipartisan group of senators introduced a 116-page bill—the Security and Freedom Enhancement (SAFE) Act — ostensibly designed to bring an end to nearly 20 years of constitutional rights violations under Section 702.” (03/24/26)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Claus Wiemann Frølund
“Critics of markets often argue that capitalism systematically fails consumers. Firms collude, corporations exploit their power, and powerful companies crush competitors. But there is a curious pattern in these critiques: regardless of what actually happens in the marketplace, the outcome is treated as proof that markets are broken.” (03/24/26)
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Karthik Sankaran & Sarang Shidore
“The ‘Yuxi Circle,’ named for the Chinese city at its center, has a radius of roughly 2500 miles and contains about 55% of the world’s population within it – the Indian subcontinent, China, Japan, the Koreas, and all the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN. For the last four decades, this region has benefited from GDP growth of about 5% each year, driven by the expansion of industrialization, trade, agricultural productivity, and urbanization. This has led to extraordinary increases in human welfare and a shift in the economic geography of the world away from the North Atlantic basin. But these achievements could all be seriously jeopardized by ongoing events in the Persian Gulf.” (03/24/26)
“Anew Harvard-Harris poll shows that 60 percent of voters believe teachers unions should stay out of politics. A differently worded poll would likely reveal even stronger sentiment. Ask voters whether union dues pulled straight from teachers’ paychecks should fund political activity, and the numbers would likely climb higher. The public already senses what many teachers have lived: unions exist more for activism than for academics. The National Education Association’s annual financial report confirms the imbalance.” (03/24/26)
