Source: CounterPunch
by Robert Harris
“The partisan charade boils down to a question of appearances. For Democrats, Trump is not guilty of war crimes so much as bad manners, crassly admitting that he is after the oil. Better to put lipstick on the pig and claim the empire is ‘promoting democracy.’ All the whining is about Congress being left out of the action.” (01/15/26)
Source: Common Dreams
by Rainer Ebert
“Just a week after Donald Trump first took office as president, he signed Executive Order 13769—his first travel ban. It halted refugee admissions and suspended entry into the US for citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. All of these countries have a Muslim majority. Because of that, and also because Trump had previously said that he intends to ban Muslims from the US, critics referred to the order as a ‘Muslim ban’. The backlash was immediate and broad, coming from Republicans and Democrats alike, as well as US diplomats, business leaders, universities, faith groups, and international organizations such as the United Nations and Amnesty International. Protests erupted in airports and cities across the US. A friend and I (both of us immigrants to the US ourselves) spontaneously drove to the international airport in Houston to express our outrage, along with hundreds of other protesters. I remember I felt hopeful.” (01/15/25)
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen Pirie
“Exposure of BBC left-wing bias has made recent headlines, especially since Panorama spliced the speeches of President trump to fit their own agenda at the expense of the truth. But this is not new. Over 50 years ago, the presenter of their ‘World at One’ was William Hardcastle, a man they said ‘left his hatred of the Tory Party at the door of Broadcasting House.’ Of course, he did no such thing. The selection of stories and the slant put upon them was just as biased then as it is now. … There was one big difference between then and now. Fifty-odd years ago, all people could do was to fume and rage and throw books at the TV because there was no right of reply. Now they can answer back.” (01/15/26)
Source: Independent Institute
by John C Goodman & Pete Sessions
“Congress is deeply divided over what to do about the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance exchanges. Democrats are understandably concerned about potential premium increases, especially for older workers. Republicans want to empower people and give them more choices. We think the goals of both parties can be met if Congress takes a bolder approach to reform. Before you can fix a problem, however, you must acknowledge a problem exists.” (01/15/26)
Source: Quillette
by Renie Anjeh
“The UK’s Labour government is in a parlous state. Following a collapse in popularity that was unprecedented in both speed and extent, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s days in office seem to be numbered. For this to befall a government after less than sixteen months in power is astounding. The Labour Party will be faced with a debate about its future within the next year. Strategy, policies, and ideas will — or should — dominate the upcoming debate.” (01/15/26)
https://quillette.com/2026/01/15/the-alliance-keir-starmer-needs-labour-lib-dems/
Source: Bluegrass Institute
by Caleb O Brown & Reeve T Bull
“Kentucky’s businesses and lawmakers are often operating in the dark when it comes to regulation. Regulation is the code that governs the most basic operations of Kentucky businesses. It sometimes exists in books that sit in drawers across multiple government boards and agencies. The register has been posted online, but finding the complete and coherent set of rules that govern the voluntary sector of our economy is a substantial challenge.” (01/15/26)
https://www.bluegrassinstitute.org/regulatory-transparency-now/
Source: Reason
by Jacob Sullum
“It is hard to see how, since that question hinges on what happened the morning that an ICE agent shot her.” (01/14/26)
Source: Washington Post
by the editorial board
“The Justice Department’s decision to send FBI agents to raid a Washington Post reporter’s home Wednesday was an aggressive attack on the press freedom of all journalists. Yet anyone who believes the raid will deter reporters from doing their jobs is sorely mistaken.” (01/14/26)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Jake Scott
“For China, the world’s second-largest economy, the past year’s economic fortunes have been characterized across three dimensions: declining domestic demand; increased tensions in the Pacific; and strategic repositioning in the Middle East. Each of these dimensions have combined to force China to re-evaluate its longstanding economic policies. The ways in which China has come under pressure from, and responded to, the tariff policies of President Trump has led to some diagnoses of China as being on the verge of collapse due to a headline of slowing growth. In reality, the industrial nature of the nation remains high …. However, as Damian Ma and Lizzi Lee explained for Foreign Affairs, China’s role as the workshop of the world is under question as it attempts to balance its economy and encourage domestic demand in the face of declines at home.” (01/14/26)
Source: New York Post
by Andrew Cherkasky & Katie Cherkasky
“The chaos erupting in Minneapolis isn’t an organic protest movement, and it certainly isn’t spontaneous. It’s coordinated. It’s calculated. And it’s deadly. Ordinary Americans are being played — manipulated into dangerous confrontations by politicians and rabble-rousing activists. The indoctrination has convinced them that federal immigration law is illegitimate, that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have no authority to operate, and that physically confronting federal officers is not only justified, but moral. It’s a weaponized form of Trump Derangement Syndrome — and federal prosecutors should call it what it is: criminal conspiracy.” [editor’s note: I’m shocked — shocked! — when two former employees of a murderous regime continue to support and curry favor with that murderous regime – TLK] (01/14/25)
https://nypost.com/2026/01/14/opinion/the-ice-uproar-is-a-conspiracy-calculated-to-fool-americans/