Source: Expression
by Jacob Mchangama
“He called free speech ‘the dread of tyrants’ and a ‘sacred right.’ The Civil War tested that principle. Did it extend even to supporters of the Confederacy?” (09/30/26)
https://expression.fire.org/p/was-frederick-douglass-a-free-speech
Source: Liberalism.org
by Matt Zwolinski
“Ask someone what a classical liberal believes, and you’ll get a familiar list. Classical liberals stand for private property. They stand for free markets and limited government. They believe in the rule of law, free trade, free speech, and religious toleration. Give or take an item or two, you’ll find something like this list in any textbook summary, or on the ‘about’ page of most classical liberal think tanks. And it’s a good list, as far as it goes. Each of those commitments has a long history in the tradition, and each has been defended by some of its best minds. The problem with the list is what’s not on it: democracy.” (09/30/26)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“It pisses me off whenever I see someone claiming that ‘AI music’ is about to make normal music obsolete. There is no such thing as ‘AI music’ or ‘AI art’. AI cannot make music. It cannot create the experience of an artist using skill and intention to transport something from inside them into an audience through vibrations in the air. It can only mimic the noises of that encounter. It’s like someone going ‘There’s no need to converse with anyone anymore because they’ve invented a machine which makes noises that sound like human speech!’ You’d want to tell them ‘Hey, that’s not the same thing mate. You’re talking about a completely different experience which in no way satisfies what people are looking for in a conversation.'” (09/30/26)
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Angelo Monaco
“By aggressively restricting imports and guaranteeing artificially high domestic prices, protectionist architecture installed by the state acts as a hidden tax on American families, quietly inflating the cost of everyday food products to subsidize politically connected producers. Far from stabilizing the agricultural sector, these interventions distort supply chains, destroy downstream manufacturing jobs, and insulate domestic producers from the competitive realities of the global market. It is a textbook institutional design failure: an artificial regime that enriches a favored few while forcing consumers and the broader economy to foot the structural bill.” (09/30/26)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/the-great-sugar-racket-part-1/
Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley
“A newly proposed bill in Congress could make a meaningful difference in the fight to restore free speech protections in higher education. The Restoring Civil Rights Attorney’s Fees Act of 2026 would address a practical problem for civil rights and free speech groups suing public universities for the denial of free speech. When universities lose at the preliminary injunction stage, advocates cannot recoup costs and fees. The bill would allow that recovery and, as a result, level the playing field with universities, which can tap public funds to litigate these cases. We have discussed many cases where universities spend millions in public funds to support anti-free speech policies and actions. A relatively small group of public interest groups have waged these battles with a collection of individual attorneys.” (09/30/26)
Source: American Institute for Economic Research
by Bryan Cutsinger
“By looking at the money that the Fed sends to the US Treasury each year, this explainer demonstrates how much these funds distort the perceived success or failure of American businesses.” (09/30/26)
https://aier.org/article/how-the-fed-distortscorporate-profits/
Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison
“I took it for granted that he would do whatever Trump wanted, no matter how outrageous or illegal it might be, and he has proved to be even more horrible than I expected.” (09/30/26)
https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/the-horrible-pete-hegseth
Source: Common Dreams
by Timothy Hopper
“On September 24, the Senate rejected a resolution directing the president to remove US forces from hostilities with Iran. In American politics, the end of military operations does not necessarily end a war’s political consequences. Some wars enter a decisive phase when the public judges their costs. Missiles may fall silent, troops return to their bases, and governments announce agreements or claim victory, but questions remain: Who decided? Why was war necessary? How transparent was the decision? What did it cost taxpayers, soldiers, allies, and America’s credibility? Who should answer for it? Elections do more than transfer power between parties. They are among the few institutional channels through which Americans can translate dissatisfaction with foreign policy into political action. A vote need not express partisan loyalty or simple opposition to a president. It can demand answers for decisions whose consequences outlast any administration.” (09/30/26)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Nima Sanandaji & Klas Tikkanen
“Since 2017, the geography of knowledge-intensive employment in Europe has been closely studied by examining the share of adults in 34 European countries and 244 regions who are employed in highly knowledge-intensive technology jobs—in other terms, roles that rely heavily on expertise, technology, and research as well as advanced information processing and cognitive skills. The results are very clear: countries in Europe with lower taxes have a higher concentration of knowledge-intensive jobs and are also where new knowledge-intensive jobs are growing.” (09/30/26)
https://fee.org/articles/lower-taxes-lead-to-knowledge-gains/
Source: hypertext
by Ryan Avent
“Rebuilding the liberal consensus requires us to go beyond the minimalist version of it.” (09/30/26)
https://hypertext.niskanencenter.org/p/meaning-and-the-crisis-of-liberalism