Source: American Institute for Economic Research
by Robert T Miller
“There are two main theories of corporate governance: the shareholder theory and the stakeholder theory. The former, which originated in the earliest corporate law decisions of courts of equity in the nineteenth century, requires directors to manage the corporation for the long-term benefit of its shareholders. The latter, which is largely the creation of academics, holds that directors should balance the interests of all corporate stakeholders, including employees, customers, suppliers, creditors, and the communities in which the corporation operates. In an age of climate change, the class of stakeholders may expand to include all human beings now living or to be born in the future.” (07/16/26)
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Robert E Wright
“Every mass movement comes to be defined less by what it loves than by what it loathes. Hoffer identified hatred as the most accessible and comprehensive of unifying agents because it helps to channel self-contempt onto scapegoats, the vilification of which strengthens collective unity. So mass movements, Hoffer concludes, can arise without belief in a god but never without belief in a devil. … What, then, should liberty lovers do? Certainly not launch a counter-crusade. A mass movement of individualists is a contradiction in terms, and those who fight monsters by monstrous means soon sport fangs of their own.” (07/16/26)
“The reality is that, for all of the claims that Clayton is a saner, more acceptable DNI nominee than Pulte, the two share more in common than his supporters allow. Both of them lack real national security expertise, with Clayton being a corporate litigator, securities regulator, and enforcement attorney for his career. Both are fiercely loyal to the president, as shown by Clayton’s refusal to distance himself from the conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 election, which Trump plans to amplify in a prime-time speech tonight. And both have shown plenty of willingness to go after Trump’s political enemies, a significant character flaw in a choice for any DNI, with reams of classified information at their disposal.” (07/16/26)
“‘Stochastic terrorism’ is the idea that if you spread fear and mistrust against a target, then eventually people will commit violence against that target, and it will be your fault, even if you never specifically said the words ‘you should commit violence’. … The ‘stochastic terrorism’ concept is near-unique in how effectively it can be discredited merely by listing many examples of its use together in the same place.” (07/16/26)
“The chances are, if you speak to any financial adviser, they’ll tell you that asset allocation – how you divide up your investible pot among the major asset classes, including debt, equity, property, commodities and alternative investments – is the single most important investment decision you will make. And they’re right to do so.” (07/16/26)
“Terminator 2: Judgment Day gave us intelligence as hunter. Ex Machina gave us intelligence as deceiver. Transcendence gave us intelligence as god. Surveillance, then persuasion, then something close to apotheosis. The films did not plan this arc together, but placed end to end they map the territory we now live in with an accuracy that ought to make us uneasy.” (07/16/26)
“Conservatives in Washington now seek to leverage their newfound power over American higher education more decisively than ever before. But not-too-distant history reveals that reform efforts led principally by the executive branch may come with unintended consequences. Indeed, that is the lesson of one major clash involving race, religious liberty, and Bob Jones University that unfolded less than 50 years ago before the US Supreme Court. By recalling the circumstances under which Bob Jones University v. United States reached the Court, both conservatives and progressives will find lessons about the perils that accompany the aggressive use of executive power to reform American colleges and universities.” (07/16/26)
“Thomas Jefferson, as he nearly always did, nailed the point exactly. History shows that, as government grows, human liberty decreases. There is a metaphysical reason for this, and our Founders based the American system upon it. It runs like this. ‘People power’ is called liberty—the right to do what one wishes (in harmony with virtue and the laws of God). ‘Government power,’ when abused, is called tyranny. Government becomes necessary when people misuse their ‘power,’ their liberty, by living unvirtuous lives, which infringe on the rights of others. Thus, for that reason, government becomes necessary. But government power always limits somebody’s ‘liberty’—and again, sometimes, necessarily so.” (07/16/26)
“A common but erroneous belief about entrepreneurship is that success is a property of the entrepreneurial idea itself. Sometimes described as an ‘opportunity’ that was out there waiting to be discovered and exploited, all it took for the successful entrepreneur was to come up with the ‘right’ idea at the right time. … Many of my students majoring in entrepreneurship suffer from believing in this myth: that it is the idea that makes the business and their success. Consequently, they seek that one great idea that will make them rich and successful. And when they find it, they therefore want to keep their idea secret and not tell anyone about it before launching the business. In stark contrast, practically all experienced entrepreneurs have the opposite view.” (07/16/26)
“A disclaimer up front: I am not a Russia specialist. I have no particular expertise on the war in Ukraine, and no informed view on whether another round of sanctions on Moscow is necessary, sufficient, or beside the point. But I do know something about what happens when Congress hands the executive branch, and President Trump in particular, unilateral and discretionary tariff authority. And the tariff title of the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026—the long-stalled package championed by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R‑SC), now backed by the White House and more than two dozen senators—deserves a hard look on those grounds alone.” (07/16/26)
