“There is actually one predictable pattern in Trump’s behavior, and that’s that he’s completely unreliable and terrible to do business with. This looks like one of his business deals: a lot of noise, brutal recriminations, hair-raising threats, grandiose plans and promises, and then he walks away, leaving behind a mess, usually a much crappier version of what he claimed he was gonna do, and, of course, leaving his partners and creditors in the lurch. This is all he is in the end: a schiesty hustler. He got tired of the war; it isn’t working the way he wanted, so he’s trying to pull out.” (06/19/26)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Joshua Mawhorter
“Among the key men involved in the American Revolution and the following periods, we find an oft-repeated concern that may seem foreign to us today—the threat of standing armies. This was a heritage of British legal thought and history, and it became an underappreciated part of American political thought and experience. Why were peacetime standing armies viewed as such a threat? To many Americans of this period, peacetime standing armies posed a threat not only because they could be used by the state to overthrow liberty, but because they tended to reshape society and government itself. A permanent military establishment could develop interests distinct from those of the people, become an instrument for enforcing unpopular or unconstitutional policies, and concentrate power in the hands of central authorities.” (06/19/26)
“The problem with AI today is not that it often hallucinates; it’s that it hardly ever does and is therefore quickly becoming indispensable. For the moment, it’s a shared resource, a digital commons available free to the peasants (that’s us). But every day, more of it gets enclosed so it can be put to other uses: waging war, immigration enforcement, and the capitalist exploitation of people and expropriation of nature. In the hands of the rich and powerful, AI is bringing closer the omni-surveillance world of Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (1985). The essential task therefore – for us like for the protagonists in these novels — is to turn the apparatus against the people who control it.” (06/19/26)
“Social Security’s financing problems stem not only from an aging population but also from benefit formulas that grow more generous with each generation.” (06/19/26)
“While it’s impossible to know whether President Trump’s ‘memorandum of understanding’ with Iran will be deemed by history to be a blip or a humiliating defeat for America (if it even holds), one thing looks increasingly clear: Israel lost. That’s not just because Israel’s archenemy has arguably emerged more dangerous than ever. It’s also because Israel repelled large swaths of the American public along the way. When I was growing up as a Christian conservative kid in the 1980s, support for Israel wasn’t so much an option as it was a law of physics. Gravity pulled things downward, taxes were too damn high, and Israel was the good guy. But those days are gone, at least in terms of public perception.” (06/19/26)
“Surrenders are rarely as categorical as this one. We went to war with no debate, no Congressional approval, and no notice. A foreign leader, Bibi Netanyahu, chose the timing by assassinating the entire leadership of the Iranian regime, thereby making the war an existential one for the IRGC, and all but forcing the US to join in. The US subsequently displayed its full and unequaled military might, raining missiles and bombs all over the country, demanding ‘unconditional surrender.’ And the surrender, a few short months later, is ours. You can try to put some lipstick on this porcine disaster — the dead-enders are still trying — but the reality is something even the hasbarists can’t quite spin. … The silver lining, however, is that the American public never wanted this bullshit war, and saw right through it.” (06/19/26)
“The farther south you go on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn the more it becomes the sort of lively hectic commercial strip/ party that exists in few places outside of New York. The new sneaker stores and roti restaurants and weird places to buy garish $200 suits and fishnet body suits sit in chipped brick buildings with slapped-up painted wooden signs and you can feel the continuity of history pulsing through, like you could close your eyes and slide right back to the cigar stores and dressmakers that filled those spots a century ago. Set amid this strip is the refurbished King’s Theater — impossibly grand inside, soaring carved wooden columns with twisting, golden wooden flowers and fleur-de-lis and rich crimson curtains dripping in gold fringe. Spectacular. Its unlikely grandeur is somehow enhanced by the fact that it’s shoved down there next to the discount liquor store and the Taco Bell Cantina.” (06/19/26)
“Today, Cassius Marcellus Clay is remembered mostly for his commitment to the cause of emancipation. It’s an appropriate legacy to honor. But it’s equally appropriate to honor Clay for his commitment to and understanding of the principles of free speech.” (06/19/26)
“The ‘reformed’ Section 702 on which Congress was considering was worse than the already blatantly unconstitutional current version of Section 702, which allows spying without the required Fourth Amendment warrant from an independent judge (no exemption to this requirement for ‘national security’ appears in that constitutional amendment). According to the Brennan Center, the ‘reformed’ Section 702 not only has no warrant requirement nor restrictions on government back door searches of vast portions of its database, but also makes it easier to use such unconstitutional Section 702-gathered information in court. Fortunately, it appears the lawmakers won’t be forced to choose between two bad options. The House recently rejected a last-minute effort to extend Section 702 until July 2.” (06/19/26)
“Within the last ten years, the classical education movement has grown into a serious and formidable alternative to the progressive status quo. As it has grown, teachers at classical schools have grown accustomed to reading required texts such as C. S. Lewis’s The Abolition of Man, sections of John Henry Newman’s The Idea of a University, and David Hick’s Norms and Nobility. These works and others help build a defense of classical education and its aims and methods. They create a vision for what the classical school can be and what classical school teachers ought to do for their students. They provide a road map for navigating conversations with students, parents, college advisors, and accrediting institutions for what takes place at a classical school.” (06/19/26)
