Source: Isonomia Quarterly
by Fabio Masini & Albertina Nania
“According to an alarming article published in The Economist in October 2023: ‘the EU economy is now 65% the size of America’s in dollar terms, down from 90% just ten years ago’ although ‘productivity has grown faster in Western Europe than in America.’ Apparently, productivity cannot be blamed for this widening gap: a study made in 2023 by Bruegel’s senior fellow Zsolt Darvas, based on IMF World Outlook data, found that ‘the EU has outperformed the US on per-capita output growth.’ Why then such a gap?” (06/17/25)
“At a time when many may feel that good news has gone the way of the dodo, look no further than the homeland of that long-extinct bird — Mauritius — for a dose of encouragement. There, among the islands of the Indian Ocean, news can be found about the power of resistance and the ability of small groups of people to band together to overcome the powerful. Amid ongoing slaughter from Gaza and Ukraine to Sudan and the Congo, the news also offers a victory for resolving conflicts through diplomacy rather than force. It’s a victory for decolonization and international law. And it’s a victory for Africa, the African diaspora, and indigenous and other displaced peoples who simply want to go home. To the shock of many, President Donald Trump actually played a role in making such good news possible by bucking far-right allies in the United States and Britain.” (06/17/25)
“We know sperm issues aren’t causing fertility rate declines. Sperm can’t even be among the main culprits because infertility isn’t. The main reason people are having fewer kids, on average, is not that they can’t but that they don’t want to.” (06/17/25)
“Did you hear the news? They say ‘five million people’ took to the streets to protest ‘No Kings’ last Saturday. Know how I know there are five million people? Because the public relations firm hired by organizers – fully funded by spoiled, entitled, white billionaires – put out a press release saying so, that’s how I know. Well, they put out the press release, then ‘honest journalists’ all across the media spectrum simply repeated the number without making even a passive attempt to verify it. Accuracy is for suckers when the agenda is on the line.” [editor’s note: As if dishonest pundits like Hunter don’t make sh*t up when the agenda is on the line – TLK] (06/17/25)
“Tolkien’s model of kingship centered on consent and law. Rulers did not lord it over their people, coerce them, or burden them with taxes and regulations. Like under kingship, within the free peoples’ realms, there is no state that enacts legislation to control the people. The lords allow maximum free will and liberty to those living in their realm.” (06/17/25)
“At the United Nations 77th Commemoration of the Nakba convened May 15 and 16 in New York, nothing was said about the upcoming Two-State Solution Conference planned at the U.N. from June 17-20, until, at the very end of the event, Riyad Mansour, the beleaguered permanent representative of the Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine lifted the shroud of avoidance by expressing support for the conference based on the framework laid out in France and Saudi Arabia’s Two-State Solution Concept Note, intended to define the outcome of the conference. Nick Mottern, of the Weaponized Drone Ban Treaty Campaign, hearing his response, expressed apprehension that France and Saudi Arabia, the conveners of the conference, along with the Palestine Authority, were setting the Palestinian people up for ‘an ambush.'” (06/17/25)
“Sen. Josh Hawley (R‑Missouri) is oh-so-ultra. USA Today dubs him a ‘conservative’ in the title of a recent article on a proposed minimum wage hike, and then an ‘ultraconservative’ (emphasis added) in the first word of the article itself. Why does this ‘ultraconservative’ join a Democratic senator in raising the federal minimum wage to $15?” (06/17/25)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Sergio Martinez
“Two of the most influential voices against free trade in the late 18th and 19th centuries were American founding father Alexander Hamilton and German economist Friedrich List. Both championed a version of the ‘infant industry’ argument, advocating temporary protectionist measures to foster domestic manufacturing in countries still lagging behind industrial leaders like Great Britain.” (06/17/25)
“Coinbase, the largest U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange, is in the spotlight due to its sponsorship of the 250th Birthday of the U.S. Army Grand Military Parade. The event, which took place in Arlington and Washington, D.C., with the participation of 6,600 soldiers and a plethora of tanks and helicopters, had an estimated cost of $20 million to $45 million. The involvement of Coinbase in this army event raised questions about whether it was suitable for a crypto company to sponsor military exercises, given its nature. The exchange received mixed reactions from the community, ranging from those who saw it positively to those who considered it a disaster and a disgrace.” (06/17/25)
“Even his worst critics will eventually have to admit that President Donald Trump has dominated international and national events since he returned to office five months ago. His ‘masterful ambiguity’ in the third round of the Iran-Israel War is simply brilliant. History will record it as such. You may have attended or watched either the Army’s birthday parade or a ‘No Kings’ rally or perhaps just watched the U.S. Open on Father’s Day, but what will history note of the weekend’s events? That President Trump has controlled the events unfolding in the Middle East and has done so with extraordinary skill.” [editor’s note: Hewitt clearly missed his morning thorazine – TLK] (06/17/25)
