Category: Opinion

Five energy truths the media ignore as America’s oil boom blunts the Iran war’s impact

Source: Fox News
by Stephen Moore

“Given the energy disruptions in the Middle East since the start of the war with Iran and the topsy-turvy fluctuations in the price of crude oil ever since, here are five facts Americans should be aware of regarding the geopolitics of energy. First, America is now producing more oil and gas than ever. Since 2022, we’ve produced more than any other nation, including Saudi Arabia. The best way to inoculate ourselves from foreign supply disruptions is to generate every barrel of oil we can here at home. Second, the Green New Deal was and continues to be an energy belly flop.” (03/12/26)

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/steve-moore-five-energy-truths-media-ignore-americas-oil-boom-blunts-iran-wars-impact

Steve Trinward

A Dumb War Makes Trumpworld Dumber

Source: Mother Jones
by David Corn

“War is an extreme action and, thus, triggers extreme reactions. Including extreme stupidity. It’s always disheartening — or ought to be — to see what should be a last resort comes to pass. It’s worse when a war is accompanied by cruelty, callousness, recklessness, and idiocy, though for obvious reasons that might be unavoidable. As for Trump’s war in Iran — which could well be an immense blunder — it has been enveloped in layers of excessive dumbness. I’m not talking about the strategic wisdom — or lack thereof — of this attack, which could precipitate calamities throughout the region and beyond. Or the madness of impulsively launching such a war without planning for what comes afterward. I’m referring to how it has prompted imbecility among its supporters, including at the White House.” (03/11/26)

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/03/iran-war-trump-hegseth-graham-white-house-dumb-twitter/

Thomas L. Knapp

Capitalism in Inches and Pounds: A Parable

Source: Center for a Stateless Society
by Kevin Carson

“The argument that capitalists are needed to provide workers with means of production, and profit is their reward for doing so, is nonsense. All capitalists have are paper or digital claims on the right to allocate means of production or material resources. All of the actual material resources — means of production and raw materials — are entirely the product of labor acting on free gifts of nature. The entire point at issue is the legitimacy of the process by which capitalists happen to be in possession of those paper or digital claims, and how workers come to be dependent on those claims.” (03/11/26)

https://c4ss.org/content/61050

Thomas L. Knapp

If the Shoe Fits: Trump and the Florsheim You Can’t Refuse

Source: The Bulwark
by Cathy Young

“At first glance, the latest Trumpian weirdness seems almost endearingly harmless: The Wall Street Journal reports that late last year, Trump developed a passion for black Florsheim Oxford shoes and started giving them as gifts. ‘All the boys have them,’ according to a female White House official. … if you read the Journal story closely, it starts to look more like a case of “beware of Trump bearing gifts.” For one, the gift shoes are not universally welcome — but recipients are reportedly ‘afraid not to wear them,’ especially since Trump badgers them with ‘Did you get the shoes?’ nudges at cabinet meetings. Some of the disgruntled recipients have issues with the downscale, non-designer brand. But also, it looks like many of the shoes just don’t fit …” (03/12/26)

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/if-the-shoe-fits-trump-cabinet-rubio-florsheim-wingtips

Thomas L. Knapp

If Food Truck Reform Is Good for One County, It’s Good for All

Source: Show-Me Institute
by Patrick Tuohey

“With Kansas City preparing to host matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Missouri lawmakers are considering a bill to simplify food truck licensing in Jackson County. The proposal would allow vendors licensed by the county to operate in any municipality without additional city permits. The change would remove a common barrier: multiple permits just to cross a city boundary. The idea makes sense. But if it will help entrepreneurs and visitors during the World Cup, why should the same principle not apply across Missouri?” (03/11/26)

https://showmeinstitute.org/article/economy/if-food-truck-reform-is-good-for-one-county-its-good-for-all/

Thomas L. Knapp

Julie Su Isn’t Done Fighting for Workers’ Rights

Source: In These Times
by Hamilton Nolan

“Before she was Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice in New York City, before she was President Biden’s Labor Secretary in Washington D.C., even before she led California’s Labor Department, Julie Su had a long career as a civil rights attorney. It was in that role in 1995 that Su served as lead attorney in the El Monte Thai garment slavery case, which would lead to a landmark ruling in favor of 72 Thai nationals who had been enslaved in a sweatshop, winning them $4 million in stolen wages and legal status, and eventually leading to the creation of the ​’T visa’ for victims of human trafficking. Su had successfully argued that manufacturers should be held liable for wage theft, part of a broader campaign around the El Monte case which Su has said, ​’turned my life upside down and changed me forever.'” (03/11/26)

https://inthesetimes.com/article/julie-su-zohran-mamdani-thailand-new-york-city-union-labor-rights

Steve Trinward

Are Opportunity Zones Just Federal-Level TIF?

Source: Show-Me Institute
by Patrick Tuohey

“When Congress created Opportunity Zones in 2017, the goal was simple: use tax incentives to steer private investment into distressed communities. Investors could defer or eliminate capital-gains taxes if they reinvested those gains in designated census tracts. The hope was that these incentives would spur development and expand opportunity in struggling neighborhoods. But new research suggests the program may suffer from the same problems as Tax-Increment Financing (TIF).” (03/11/26)

https://showmeinstitute.org/article/corporate-welfare/are-opportunity-zones-just-federal-level-tif/

Thomas L. Knapp