Source: The Atlantic
by Elias Wachtel
“Most of the complaints inflate the costs of data centers and overlook the fact that, in some contexts at least, they can bring real benefits. If saying no is good politics, it isn’t always good policy.” (06/12/26)
Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman
“In ‘The Right and Wrong of Compulsion by the State’ (1885), British liberal Auberon Herbert replied to those who objected to his call for complete individual liberty, that is, respect for the rights of all. For example, he took on big-government advocates who claimed that they also wanted to ‘diminish the use of force in the world.’ Herbert wasn’t buying it.” (06/12/26)
https://sheldonrichman.substack.com/p/tgif-force-direct-and-indirect
Source: Independent Institute
by Raymond J March
“Last week, the FDA approved bemotrizinol as a new active ingredient in over-the-counter sunscreens—the first such approval in more than twenty years. CBS News called it a milestone after ‘years of delay.’ The FDA itself touted it as proof the agency is ‘modernizing its processes.’ It is progress, to a point. But a closer look reveals the celebration is premature. The same regulatory culture that caused the delay remains firmly in charge.” (06/12/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/06/12/fda-new-sunscreen/
Source: The American Conservative
by Josh Paul
“The U.S.-Israel relationship has never been less popular in America, but at the same time that support for Israel is cratering in American public opinion, Congress appears to be fast-tracking an effort to entrench the relationship and give Israel enduring access to both our most sensitive technologies and our most sensitive intelligence — in exchange for nothing more, it seems, than a thank you note from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. … Given the challenges posed by the Israeli leader, a common complaint on both the right and the left of American politics is that Israel exerts far too much power in U.S. politics. But a closer look at the facts demonstrates that Netanyahu is actually in an incredibly weak position — or would be, if the administration was willing to assess and deal with the entire U.S.-Israel portfolio holistically.” (06/12/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/trump-not-netanyahu-has-the-cards-he-should-play-them/
Source: Town Hall
by Derek Hunter
“‘What the hell is wrong with these people?’ I heard someone ask as a clip of Jasmine Crockett played on the television at the restaurant bar the other day. What was Crockett talking about? Her sympathy for the murderer named Karmelo Anthony because he’s black. Yes, that’s why she cares, or at least pretends to care, about the fate of the man who’ll spend at least the next 17.5 years of his life in prison in Texas. How could anyone, real or not, go on camera and express sympathy for a murderer, at the expense of the murder victim and his family, no less? There’s really only one possibility: the cancerous cultural rot Democrats have forced and enforced on the black community. … How do you address a problem if you aren’t willing to talk about it honestly?” (06/14/26)
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey
“Citizens worry about promised benefits as the Trust Fund runs dry by 2033. Instead of tax hikes that punish the young, here are four proven reforms.” (06/12/26)
https://palmbeachexaminer.substack.com/p/social-security-insolvency-the-lies
Source: The Daily Economy
by Kimberlee Josephson
“Fair trade, organic, reef-safe, rainforest friendly, cruelty-free: are ethical labels useful signals, or simply morality as marketing?” (06/12/26)
Source: EconLog
by John Phelan
“When Winston Churchill was named Chancellor in November 1924, he is said to have assumed it was the largely ceremonial post of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and was as surprised as anyone, given his lack of interest in economics, to find that it was Chancellor of the Exchequer, constitutionally the second most powerful office in the British government. ‘I was surprised,’ he wrote, ‘and the Conservative Party dumbfounded.’ The controversy that would follow Churchill’s tenure has implications for policy debates today. It all has to do with macroeconomics and exchange rates: how they affect trade and development, whether they should be fixed or floating, and the problems these questions create for policymakers. In the short term, the decisions Churchill made led to the General Strike of 1926, and these debates continue to echo in the longer term.” (06/12/26)
https://www.econlib.org/econlog/churchill-keynes-and-the-general-strike-at-100
Source: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus
by David Beckworth
“Why the Friedman Rule Alone Cannot Determine the Optimal Size of the Fed’s Balance Sheet.” ()6/12/26)
https://macroeconomicpolicynexus.substack.com/p/missing-the-forest-for-the-trees
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Joshua Villanueva
“Observers could easily dismiss Pope Leo XIV’s ‘Magnifica Humanitas’ as just another document on artificial intelligence. But under the surface lies a deeper question: whether modern political elites still have both the ability and the moral clarity to place restraints on power.” (06/12/26)