“For millions of entrepreneurs, the greatest barrier to generating wealth is no longer market competition but the relentless expansion of regulations and administrative procedures. While governance is ostensibly designed to ensure order, modern bureaucracy has morphed into a formidable ‘invisible shackle.’ Rather than functioning as a neutral tool of oversight, excessive red tape treats a citizen’s inherent right to produce as a conditional concession granted by the state through endless, discretionary hurdles.” (10/29/26)
Source: The American Conservative
by Luke Nicastro
“Because of what it reveals about Israel’s trajectory, the election presents an opportune moment to reassess the U.S.-Israel relationship. The conditions that led the Israeli government to successfully push for the Iran War, and for all of the other deleterious fruits of the partnership—the military aid (both direct and indirect), the integration of our respective national security establishments, the continued commitment of U.S. resources to a theater increasingly peripheral to our grand strategy, the diplomatic cover for war crimes—are structural in nature. No plausible change from within Israeli society is going to end them.” (10/29/26)
“In 2020, Atlanta police investigated 157 homicides, up from 99 the year before. That was the most the city had seen in more than two decades, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The next year was worse. Shootings climbed right along with the killings. Even CNN couldn’t ignore it. It reported that by early July 2020, Atlanta had logged 282 shooting incidents, up 19% from the same point a year earlier, citing Atlanta police data. By June 2021, the number of people shot in the city was up another 38%. More than 200 officers left the Atlanta Police Department in 2020 alone. Then-Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms did not have the backs of the Atlanta police, nor did she have the backs of Atlanta’s most vulnerable citizens who depended on her for their safety. Her tenure as mayor left the city reeling as crime exploded and hundreds were killed. That is a serious dereliction of duty.” (10/29/26)
“America’s geopolitical power is crumbling, and that shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. Hegemons, after all, rise and fall. Yet nobody in U.S. politics or punditry seems to actually want to talk about the consequences, especially for the American people. When it comes to decline, they either believe it won’t happen or won’t matter—in other words, that America can’t decline or that Americans will be just fine if it does.” (10/29/26)
Sourc: Independent Institute
by Scott A Burns & Caleb S Fuller
“Paul Krugman once said: ‘If there were an Economist’s Creed, it would surely contain the affirmations ‘I understand comparative advantage’ and ‘I advocate Free Trade.’’ We agree. Alas, economists have a nasty habit of overcomplicating the virtues of trade when we communicate with the public. That’s why we propose that our fellow economists adopt a new creed when we talk trade with the public: ‘KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid.'” (10/29/26)
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Clayton J Baker, MD
“Whenever I suspect that my beloved profession has finally reached rock bottom in its utter subservience to the vaccine-industrial complex, I stand corrected by the report of some new-world-record, bathyspheric descent into depravity that some new group of physicians has managed to achieve. Independent journalist Jon Fleetwood reports that some of the largest and best-known pediatric hospitals in the United States are vaccinating thousands of children while under anesthesia for surgical procedures.” (10/29/26)
“For over three decades, the International Convention on Biodiversity has brought together governments and civil society to protect and preserve what the United Nations describes as ‘the living fabric of our planet’. This year’s gathering, taking place in Armenia from Oct. 19 to 30, is a sobering assessment of the mending that’s taken place so far. The 23 targets set at a previous session include extending conservation protections to 30% of the world’s land and water areas, restoring degraded ecosystems, and recovering threatened species – and doing all this in tandem with longtime or Indigenous human inhabitants of those areas. To date, 90% of countries have established biodiversity goals. And ‘implementation is underway across all targets’, according to the International Institute for Sustainable Development. Technology transfers and scientific cooperation are taking place. Deforestation in the Amazon has fallen. And species such as the Central Asian saiga antelope and California condor have recorded notable comebacks.” (10/28/26)
“While there are significant differences between the run-up to the 1980s farm crisis and what’s happening in farming today, understanding the history of that decade is crucial to recognizing the seriousness of the moment we’re in. I know the state of agriculture won’t be high on most people’s lists of most important issues, but the families who farm the land in America are a vital-if-nearly-invisible part of our everyday lives.” (10/29/26)
