Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“Yes, things cost more than they used to. That’s always the case, but it’s been MORE the case over the last few years. While there are various reasons for that, the biggest one is taxes, and the most pernicious, if not always the largest annual, tax is inflation.” (08/09/26)
Source: Cato Institute
by Paul Meany
“The redistribution of wealth has once again become a central demand of American progressivism. Figures such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren argue that extreme concentrations of wealth should not merely be taxed to finance government programs but actively reduced through policies such as annual wealth taxes. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Zohran Mamdani have advanced similar arguments in favor of shifting resources from the wealthy toward public services, income supports, and social programs. Behind these proposals lies a broader moral claim: the state is justified in redistributing concentrations of private wealth for public purposes. The deepest objection to these policies is not economic but political and moral.” (08/07/26)
https://www.cato.org/blog/when-government-redistributes-wealth-it-redistributes-power
Source: The Weekly Dish
by Andrew Sullivan
“The cult of Trump and the cult of wokeness are taking huge hits from reality.” (08/07/26)
https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/will-the-two-cults-finally-fall-854
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Gabrielle Rifkind & Tom Pickering
“For more than two decades, endless wars have destabilized the Middle East, creating huge amounts of human suffering, displacement and trauma. The region is exhausted, with little faith in the possibility of peace and few structures to enable it. The region is now at an inflection point; it can continue endless violence or undertake serious mediation and conflict resolution. The war with Iran has exposed the limits of U.S. military power, leaving only one practical option on the table: pursuing negotiations that recognize the balance of power in the region and the security concerns of all parties. This requires very careful engagement and mediation.” (08/07/26)
Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley
“A financial journalist once offered simple advice: ‘Lie to people who want to be lied to, and you’ll get rich … Tell the truth to those who want to be lied to, and you’ll go broke.’ That axiom appears to have been taken to heart by radical Democratic candidates who this week issued transparent denials of past outrageous comments. Their calculus is clearly that the last thing that voters want to hear is the truth about their past views. Certain cultural touchstones are considered inviolate in some states, such as beef in Texas. … Texas Democratic Senatorial candidate James Talarico was roasted after a video surfaced of his calling to reduce meat consumption and ‘I am proud to say that our campaign has officially become a non-meat campaign. We are only buying vegan products from our local vegan businesses’.” (08/08/26)
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Tim Worstall
“Much can be said – and we’ve said much of it over the decades – about nationalisation. How taking an organisation out of the bracing rigour of competitive markets and into the sloth of the bureaucracy tends not to increase efficiency. Say and as an example. Or that government never will invest for the long term as there’s always some more immediate purchase of votes to be done with whatever funds might be available. But just to nod to one more point: ‘At the same time, British Steel’s physical assets – including property, plant and equipment – have been deemed largely worthless after an audit review.’ … Two billion, plus or minus a bit of change, to buy something worth nothing. On the basis, we assume, that some still have the hots for the sort of industry where manly men do manly things in girt big factories.” (08/08/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/nationalisation-as-a-money-sink
Source: Center for a Stateless Society
by Kevin Carson
“Since this seems to be go-time for defending billionaires, you might as well jump on the bandwagon, too. I can’t guarantee you’ll get picked up by The Atlantic and appear alongside the Jonathans Rauch, Chait, and Haidt, or Ross Douthat — but it’s worth a shot. That’s why I’ve gone through an enormous body of hand-wringing literature by some of the most irritating people alive, scanned it for the points they share in common, and compiled this list of helpful hints for would-be bootlickers.” (08/08/26)
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“As the global race to create the most advanced artificial intelligence continues to heat up, the list of concerns about AI’s impact – from the wiping out of jobs to its potential to make planet-altering decisions without human intervention – grows long. Nations are rushing to decide which values to impose on what could be the 21st century’s greatest mold-breaking technology. First, AI’s creators themselves must decide whether to abide by one key value: honesty. Or rather, the potency of honesty to bring creativity and, yes, the highest intelligence, to AI. For too many AI firms, building a frontier model by imitating a rival’s training data, explanations, and reasoning has been the norm. This style of theft, known as distillation, is often driven by impatience, fear of competitive failure, or doubts about one’s own ingenuity.” (08/07/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0807/The-power-of-honesty-in-AI-research
Source: Reason
by C Jarrett Dieterle
“Last month, as part of its 2027 budget, the D.C. Council approved a 20-cent fee on carrier-for-hire delivery services. While the fee applies to the delivery of a broad array of household goods, it has been primarily billed as a tax on food delivery, which provides a lucrative source of potential revenue for the District. D.C.’s new delivery tax is merely the latest example of governments targeting food with stealth tax increases in an effort to enhance government coffers. While the strategy may be tempting as a revenue grab, the losers are everyday Americans who are simply looking for a politician that actually can deliver on an affordability agenda.” (08/08/26)
https://reason.com/2026/08/08/the-affordability-agenda-that-taxes-your-dinner/
Source: Town Hall
by Frank Lasee
“As wildfires ravage southwestern France this July, forcing more than 220,000 people from their homes in the Gironde region near Bordeaux and burning some 42,000 hectares (162 sq. miles) of forest, the familiar refrain returns: climate change is to blame. France is now enduring its worst fire season on record. Extreme heat and drought clearly worsen conditions. But blaming climate alone hides more immediate, controllable causes: human ignition, fuel buildup, and forest management choices that turn landscapes into tinderboxes. French authorities have detained well over 160 people since early July for suspected arson or reckless fire-starting. Officials say nine in 10 fires have human origins, whether deliberate or careless, from discarded cigarettes to illegal machinery and fireworks. … Matches and carelessness light most fires. Weather merely fans them.” (08/08/26)