“Imagine how Republicans would react if a Democratic president reflexively threatened to yank the broadcast licenses of TV stations because he did not like their news coverage or programming decisions. President Donald Trump has been doing that since his first term, and he did it again last week after ABC and NBC declined to offer live coverage of his speech about election security. These threats are part of an intimidation campaign that has already yielded striking concessions to Trump’s whims. His weaponization of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is designed to chill constitutionally protected speech, establishing a precedent that Republicans may regret when their opponents take control of the White House. Brendan Carr, the Trump-appointed FCC chairman, seems to think broadcasters have a legal obligation to please the president.” (07/22/26)
“Washington rarely discovers an economic policy that promotes investment, strengthens national security, improves services for consumers and raises billions of dollars for the Treasury without imposing a new tax. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr’s newly announced ‘super band’ spectrum auction manages to do all four. Spectrum may be invisible, but it is among the most valuable resources in the modern economy. It carries phone calls, financial transactions, emergency communications, industrial data, streaming video and the growing volume of information moving between connected devices. … Auctions offer the quintessentially American solution: Free up and use markets.” [editor’s note: Not really, since these auctions are based on the fiction that the US regime owns the frequencies being auctioned – TLK] (07/26/26)
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Laurence M Vance
“No American is entitled to health care or health insurance that he does not pay for. No American should be forced to pay for or subsidize the health care or health insurance of any other American. Health care and health insurance are services that can and should be provided on the free market just like other services. No American is entitled to eat or drink anything unless he pays for it or some other American voluntarily pays for it or gives it to him. All food aid should be privately given and privately funded. No American is entitled to welfare payments at the expense of any other American. No income should be transferred from one American to another.” (07/22/26)
Source: American Institute for Economic Research
by Peter C Earle
“Exploring how a popular phrase conflates monetary creation, accounting conventions, legal liabilities, and the economic nature of money itself.” (07/22/26)
“LA’s World Cup experience reinforces concerns about the city’s ongoing efforts to bring one sports mega event after another to the region. Hosting major events always gobbles up public resources that could otherwise be directed toward pressing needs, while host cities under pressure to sparkle on camera often violate residents’ rights. The people paid to organize these big events, like [Paul] Krekorian, love to repeat myths about mega-event benefits while pooh-poohing questions about the costs.” (07/22/26)
“It didn’t take long for President Donald Trump’s latest conspiracy rant about elections, this time dressed up like a national address on July 16, to start falling apart. Trump’s claims about China meddling in American elections flopped, even as the documents he declassified inadvertently confirmed that Russia tried to influence our presidential elections in his favor. Ultimately, Trump offered zero proof that any votes had been changed in the 2016, 2020 or 2024 elections. But what really stood out is just how much Trump showed us he doesn’t know about how elections are run in America. And this, too, matters – he doesn’t seem at all interested in learning the ins and outs of elections, even as he has spent a decade trying to destabilize America’s confidence in how we vote.” (07/22/26)
“Maverick is a seasoned military man who resolutely refuses to grow up. He remains stuck in the same rank he has occupied for years, attached to the same mentality, concerns, and priorities. Although three decades have passed, he hasn’t progressed, instead spending his time on rebellious flying, seaside sports, and drinking in dive bars. His is an arrested development. The most unrealistic aspect of this portrayal is that, in 2026, that profile would make Mav not a superannuated flight instructor, but secretary of defense.” (07/22/26)
“The greatest danger isn’t that China builds a better AI model. It’s that China builds the AI platform the rest of the world decides to use. Those are two very different contests.” (07/22/26)
“A recent Persuasion article by Andrea Miotti argues that ‘We Need an International Treaty to Ban Superintelligence.’ His argument—like that of many others in what we might call doomer circles—is that large-scale Generative AI systems, like ChatGPT and Claude, are fast approaching a sharp transition from their current trajectory to runaway superintelligence, at which point they may escape human control, reprogram themselves to adopt new, self-directed goals, and possibly wipe out humanity entirely. Everyone is familiar with this scenario because it’s a persistent trope of science fiction. We are constantly exposed to images of robots running amok, a staple of the modern entertainment ecosystem. … Unfortunately, the doomers seriously misrepresent the actual nature and risks of advanced AI, and often propose solutions that are both unrealistic and ineffectual.” (07/22/26)
“Currently, 29 out of 30 Major League Baseball teams host an annual ‘Pride Night’ celebration in June, featuring rainbow versions of the typical logo on caps and jerseys. … players always have the option to revert back to the standard uniform instead, but they may not alter their uniforms themselves in any aspect. Despite this ban, three San Francisco Giants players used Pride Night 2026 as an opportunity to protest. … In response, MLB formally warned the implicated players that they may not ‘write, attach, affix, embroider or otherwise display nicknames or messages on apparel or playing equipment.’ … At first blush, MLB’s move might appear to be at odds with the freedoms of speech and free exercise guaranteed by the First Amendment. But the First Amendment bars the government from restricting our rights to speak and worship freely … Private employers have expansive discretion to limit an employee’s on-the-clock expression, like the players’ alteration of their caps.” (07/22/26)
