“The Trump administration has made famine denialism the official policy of the United States: ‘The US rejected a United Nations-backed report that declared a famine in Gaza, breaking with other members of the UN Security Council as it denied that Israel was engaged in a ‘policy of starvation’ in the enclave as part of the war with Hamas.’ The U.S. position is unsurprising, but it is despicable. Denying the famine in Gaza is another black mark on our country’s reputation.” (08/28/25)
“Why is Kilmar Abrego Garcia back in the United States? He was out, he was gone, and now he’s back. Why? Incompetent leadership at the Justice Department, that’s why. And it is unforgivable. Kilmar, the illegal [sic] alien from El Salvador – who may or may not be a gang member, may or may not have beaten his then girlfriend, now wife, and may or may not have helped traffic human beings for whatever purpose – needs to be the hell out of here as soon as possible. I don’t care where he goes, I care that he goes.” [editor’s note: You first, Hunter – TLK] (08/28/25)
“The Enlightenment produced many innovators, but few have left a legacy as contentious and influential as John Locke. Born in Wrington, Somerset on August 29, 1632, Locke wrote the political treatises that shaped England’s Glorious Revolution and later guided the American Revolution. Libertarians still appeal to Locke when debating self‑ownership, property rights, consent, and the scope of government. To celebrate his birthday tomorrow, let’s trace how Locke’s writings help to lay the groundwork for American libertarianism.” (08/28/25)
“In contentious political environments, economic data rarely stand as objective measures. They are transformed into talking points and wielded to justify policies as much as to describe reality. A monthly jobs report, a quarterly GDP release, or an inflation figure splashed across financial headlines is treated with the solemnity of a laboratory result. Markets react, central bankers pontificate, and legislators posture — all on the basis of a handful of daunting numbers. Yet beneath the veneer of rigor lies a reality that economists have long known but the public too rarely hears: economic measurement is messy, contingent, and riven with flaws.” (08/28/25)
“The guilty secret among students of American politics is that many of them — perhaps most — have not read The Federalist in its entirety. They may have been introduced to ‘Publius,’ the nom de plume of Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, early in their studies, as undergraduates or even in high school. But the demands on the time and attention of both teachers and students to ‘cover’ many things typically meant that only the ‘greatest hits’ of the eighty-five essays were assigned and discussed. Sometimes the authors of introductory textbooks on American government will include pivotal essays such as No. 10 and No. 51 in an appendix, and editors of anthologies of primary sources may include as many as eight or ten numbers of The Federalist. The work is sampled more often than read as a coherent unity.” (08/28/25)
“With the midterms more than a year away, US President Donald Trump and his enablers have launched a new war on voting rights. Its immediate target is November 2026; its ultimate goal is the institutionalization of one-party control of the federal government. This political ‘final solution’ is the last step in MAGA’s quest to extinguish liberal democracy in America. The war is being fought along legal and political fronts that stretch across the marble halls of the Supreme Court, Trump’s executive orders, Steve Bannon’s seedy podcast, the transformation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) into a latter-day Praetorian Guard, and threats to invoke the Insurrection Act. When it comes to voting rights, no single institution has been more destructive than the nation’s top judicial body under the hypocritical leadership of Chief Justice John Roberts.” [editor’s note: And this would be different from repeated (now proven) efforts by Dems to fix elections forever, exactly how? – SAT] (08/28/25)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Marcos Falcone
“It happened in Argentina, and now it is happening in Bolivia. Across Latin America, expelling the left from power brings optimism back to the markets. On August 17, Bolivians went to the polls and delivered a historic blow to Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS), the left-wing party that has governed Bolivia during 18 out of the past 19 years. Just a day after the election, bond prices increased by 5%, and the country’s Country Risk Index score fell by 20%, according to JP Morgan. This confirmed the upward trajectory bonds had shown, since they had already risen over 30% this year.” (08/28/25)
“Longtime Trump adviser Michael Caputo’s life was upended by Russiagate. Under Biden, he and others were spied on a second time. On the scandal’s unreported second chapter.” (08/28/25)
“There are a few things to bear in mind about grand juries. They hear evidence only from the prosecution, not from the defense, and the standard for bringing an indictment is only probable cause, not preponderance of the evidence or proof beyond a reasonable doubt. That’s why it’s often said that a prosecutor can get a grand jury to ‘indict a ham sandwich’ — but not, it seems, Sandwich Man. Nor was this a lone example.” (08/28/25)
