“The following, it seems to me, is what really matters: an email from an Epstein friend in 2014 (long, long after Epstein’s conviction for sex with a minor): ‘Thank you for a fun night … Your littlest girl was a little naughty.’ No proof of an actual crime here but, in the broader context of what we know about Epstein, the mind reels at the way so many in our elite were able to ignore the abuse of minors happening in the wings. Money, glamor, and connections easily trumped any moral qualms. I guess if Catholic Cardinals can look the other way, so can Larry Summers and Brad Karp. There’s something darker here too. The abuse of minors turned into a joke — long after Epstein’s first conviction …” (02/06/26)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Conor Sanderson
“In today’s divided political landscape, opinions on the actions of ICE agents in Minnesota are sharply split. However, turning to the insights of Murray Rothbard offers a thoughtful and critical perspective. Although Rothbard never encountered ICE agents during his lifetime, his writings suggest he would likely criticize the violent actions of these agents in Minnesota. Rothbard would probably see them as symbols of state aggression and institutionalized coercion.” (02/06/26)
“Bourbon and tobacco are two products practically synonymous with Kentucky. Pairing them indoors within the state’s borders, however, is surprisingly difficult. Forty-four cities and counties throughout the state have implemented comprehensive indoor smoking bans. But a whiff of change is in the air: Last year, Louisville passed an exemption for cigar bars, and a new bill in the legislature could legalize them statewide.” (02/06/26)
“In the dystopian novel ‘1984’, George Orwell wrote, ‘The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.’ The true meaning of that line was never more clear than watching the truly bizarre photo op of Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom heralding the success of the greatest boondoggle in history: his high-speed train to nowhere. Without laying a single yard of track after burning $12 billion, Newsom showed a diesel freight train on a conventional track to create the appearance of a working railroad. I have been writing about this boondoggle for years. Newsom promised years ago that the project would be transformative. It was, but not as he promised.” (02/07/25)
Source: Independent Institute
by K Lloyd Billingsley
“Last week, the federal Department of Justice, led by Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet K. Dhillon, joined a lawsuit against UCLA medical school accusing it of admitting students on the basis of race, not academic qualifications. As students and parents should know, race-based admissions violate California law. … Californians should consider suing the UC system for reparations for a bloated DEI establishment that perpetuates injustice, defrauds taxpayers, and serves no educational purpose.” (02/06/26)
Source: The Erick Erickson Show
by Erick-Woods Erickson
“Republicans keep making excuses. The Texas State Senate special election was about local issues, a bad candidate, and infighting. The Georgia State House special election was about local issues, a bad candidate, infighting, and state party incompetence. That is eight state legislative elections the GOP lost in Republican seats. Republicans have lost Republican seats in Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, and other reliably Republican states. To tell Republicans this is to be an apostate. They simply do not want to hear it. Like the Democrats before them, Republican dreams of a majority are built now on lies they tell themselves.” (02/06/26)
“Shrill but useful — useful because she is so shrill — Kristi Noem has elicited from a federal judge a valuable 83-page tutorial. The secretary of homeland security, her mind as closed as a clam, will not benefit from Judge Ana C. Reyes’s explanation of immigration law. Other Americans will. … The Trump administration of course argues (as it does regarding the president’s declaration of an ’emergency’ justifying tariffs) that Noem’s exercise of discretion is not subject to judicial review. Reyes, however, eviscerates what she calls Noem’s claim to ‘unbounded discretion to make whatever determination she wants, any way she wants.'” (02/06/26)
Source: Orange County Register
by Carolyn Cavecche
“[T]here are 50 states, over 3,100 counties and county-equivalents, and almost 20,000 cities, towns, and villages recognized by the Census Bureau. There are also numerous school boards, special districts, and state offices — the list goes on. Imagine one giant federal agency, one computer system with all our voter data, tasked with carrying out all elections: processing voter registration forms from hundreds of millions of voters, sending out ballot statements and sample ballots, handling voter centers and polling places, and securing, collecting, and tabulating every ballot cast in the United States of America. Any conservative who thinks that this is a good idea needs to turn in their conservative credentials.” (02/06/26)
“The main moral objection to prediction markets seems to be that it’s wrong to profit from someone’s misfortune. And intuitively there does seem to be something immoral about raking in thousands of dollars because you correctly predicted that a hurricane would hit a particular city or a particular war would break out, resulting in tremendous amounts of suffering. As Moscrop puts it, ‘Bettors will hold financial stakes in particular outcomes, including some of the most heinous events imaginable. It’s a fundamentally cynical and dehumanizing turn.’ But as natural as the gut-level unease with prediction markets is, we shouldn’t trust it. Prediction markets are both useful and morally benign. Prediction markets are useful precisely because they incentivize accurate forecasting.” (02/06/26)
