“‘I think we’ve had regime change’ in Iran, President Donald Trump declared Sunday. In his prime-time address Wednesday night, he repeated it: ‘Regime change has occurred.’ Critics dismissed Trump’s claim out of hand. They’re wrong — because they’re measuring regime change by the wrong standard. ‘Regime change’ doesn’t necessarily mean an invasion, a decapitation strike, a new flag over the capital. That was Iraq and Afghanistan, where American power underwrote both the military campaign and the political reconstruction that followed. Iran is a different problem, and Trump is running a different playbook. Start with a basic fact: Iran is a revolutionary state. Its survival depends on three pillars — an ideology, a patronage network and a coercive apparatus drawing legitimacy from a founding idea. To bring such a system down, all three must fail simultaneously. And Iran was already decomposing when Operation Epic Fury began.” (04/03/26)
“Liberalism, of course, is more than just a set of principles, or formal, institutional, or legal rules. It is a habit of character, and it requires cultivating an orientation toward those values which form the basis of liberal institutions. From this perspective, liberalism can be understood as a practice. It is not enough that we merely believe in the principles of freedom, fairness, and equality — we have to enact them in our personal lives. Rather than being merely an abstract theory, liberalism as an ideology informs who we are as members of a political community — indeed, the survival of liberal institutions requires that at least some of us adopt and adhere to this outlook. One way to cultivate these values is through an engagement with works of popular culture. Even sitcoms—or so I hope to convince you.” (04/03/26)
“Often political movements end up as circular firing squads, especially when there’s a competition for leadership. The same can be true for cults. With Trump’s misnamed Make America Great Again cult movement, the firing squad is shaped more like a Möbius strip. In the past year or so, MAGA World has been racked with a series of cross-cutting feuds, with incoming and outgoing fire ricocheting across the Trumpian landscape in all directions, causing chaos and confusion, as multiple conspiracy theories clash and vitriolic accusations pile up. An outsider cannot keep track of the infighting without a program or a wire diagram that would make Carrie Mathison proud.” (04/03/26)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Douglas Carswell
“While New York and California are losing population, states like South Carolina and Alabama are not only gaining residents at a record rate, but they are also experiencing rapid economic growth. A recent JL Partners poll captures a shift in perception: 36% of Americans now expect the South to lead economic growth over the next decade — far ahead of the West Coast (23%), Northeast (21%), and Midwest (19%). This is quite a transformation for a region sometimes regarded as a backwater.” (04/03/26)
“President Trump apparently has yet to appreciate Abraham Lincoln’s admonition that ‘You can’t fool all of the people all of the time’. Among others, oil and stock markets saw through the flimflam. Energy prices soared once again while stock markets from Manhattan to Manila took a dive. One has to wonder when the billionaires behind Trump, Vance, and their mandarins will conclude that it’s time to pull the plug, to insist on US regime change via the 25th amendment, for Congress to refuse to pick up the bill, or for the generals, admirals, and troops who have tolerated Secretary Hegseth’s white nationalist cheerleading to finally say one simple word: ‘No!'” (04/04/26)
“The war goes on, and so does the global energy crisis. In fact, I believe that prices of oil futures remain too low given how much spot prices will need to rise to resolve the shortages that will hit once oil supplies that were shipped before the Strait of Hormuz was closed are exhausted. But a better future is coming, despite Donald Trump’s assault on renewable energy as he tries to drag us back into the fossil fuel past.” (04/03/26)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Joshua Mawhorter
“Where did money get its value? The original purchasing power of an ounce of gold (or another commodity) as money depended on the array of goods and services (or fractions thereof) for which that ounce of gold could have been exchanged in barter in the immediate past (e.g., the day before). In other words, a money’s purchasing power comes from its non-money exchange value. This leads to a logically-complete explanation for the origin of money’s purchasing power. It is also worth mentioning that this process happens spontaneously, through subjective valuations and market exchanges, rather than money being ‘invented.'” (04/03/26)
“West Park Presbyterian Church on Manhattan’s Upper West Side is facing an existential reckoning. After more than 150 years in the neighborhood, the congregation has voted to sell its property, and the landmarked Romanesque Revival building now faces demolition. Long celebrated as one of the city’s architectural treasures, its potential loss has sparked public outrage, drawing protests and celebrity defenders such as Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, and Christian Slater. But despite these signs of support, weekly attendance hovers around a dozen people, the congregation is buried in unmanageable debt, and restoration would cost tens of millions of dollars. West Park Presbyterian isn’t unique.” (04/03/26)
