“I can remember feeling shocked when I first heard about the Milgram experiment. Some psychology students told me about the experiment about 60 years ago, while I was at university. At that time, the findings of the experiment caused me to question my view of human nature. I was brought up to hold the view that it is natural for humans to be kind and humane. That view is consistent with the derivation of the words, ‘kind” and “humane.’ It is also the view I hold now. The findings of the Milgram experiment seemed to suggest, however, that a less positive view of human nature might be more accurate.” (09/07/25)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Sergio Martínez
“Like many countries with an aging population, Mexico is facing a pension crisis. In just the last five years, the universal pension for older adults quadrupled its budget. Coupled with low growth, the ever-rising cash transfers and subsidies have become a major drag on the country’s economy. Welfare payments to individuals—such as the universal pension for older adults, disability pensions, and student stipends—have grown at a pace that outstripped investment in infrastructure, education, and security. These programs are politically attractive: beneficiaries can clearly see where the money goes, while the returns of better public infrastructure, or of a more effective police force, are harder to measure. The result is a fiscal structure that privileges visible redistribution over the less glamorous but essential foundations of long-term growth.” (09/05/25)
“AI is everywhere. But its powerful computing comes with a big cost to our planet, our neighborhoods, and our wallets. AI servers are so power hungry that utilities are keeping coal-fired power plants that were slated for closure running to meet the needs of massive servers. And in the South alone, there are plans for 20 gigawatts of new natural-gas power plants over the next 15 years (enough to power millions of homes) just to feed AI’s energy needs. Multibillion dollar companies like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta that previously committed to 100% renewable energy are going back to the Jurassic Age, using fossil fuels like coal and natural gas to meet their insatiable energy needs.” (09/06/25)
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“In a recent online exchange, one poster claimed that Democrats were obviously better than Republicans, since blue states had a higher average income and a more educated population than red states. Another responded that it was the other way around, red states were better, since on net people were moving from blue states to red states, voting with their feet. Both factual claims could be, I think are, true. Neither implies its conclusion.” (09/06/25)
Source: The Peaceful Revolutionist
by David S D’Amato
“Probably unsurprisingly, it turns out that members of privileged groups get a nice little mood boost from vaunting the greatness of the political and economic status quo. The research demonstrates that membership in a high-status group pays both material and psychological dividends. And the dark side is also true in that members of low-status groups are hit with a double cost, coupling their systematic oppression with the lower self-worth that comes with embracing the status quo. For the members of low-status groups, the feelings that accompany the endorsement of system-justifying views are not so warm and fuzzy.” (09/06/25)
“In the anti-free speech community, the most intolerable form of speech often seems to be humor. For thousands of years, satire and parody have proven to be the most penetrating – and at times, irritating – forms of political speech. Even with absolute rulers, court jesters were often the few figures who could challenge a king. As Shakespeare wrote in ‘King Lear’: ‘jesters do oft prove prophets.’ In the case of comedian Graham Linehan, he has unwittingly become a prophet for the death of not just free speech but also humor in the United Kingdom.” (09/06/25)
“‘Money is Money, and Paper is Paper. All the invention of man cannot make them otherwise.‘ With those words, Thomas Paine went after what he saw as one of the greatest scams in history: governments claiming that paper is money. Through a series of devastating critiques, Paine delivered one of the most brutal takedowns of paper money ever written, systematically exposing every aspect of this fundamental fraud.” (09/05/25)
Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
by Molly Buckley
“If you live in Mississippi, you may have noticed that you are no longer able to log into your Bluesky or Dreamwidth accounts from within the state. That’s because, in a chilling early warning sign for the U.S., both social platforms decided to block all users in Mississippi from their services rather than risk hefty fines under the state’s oppressive age verification mandate. If this sounds like censorship to you, you’re right — it is. But it’s not these small platforms’ fault. This is the unfortunate result of Mississippi’s wide-sweeping age verification law …. Lawmakers often sell age-verification mandates as a silver bullet for Big Tech’s harms, but in practice, these laws do nothing to rein in the tech giants. Instead, they end up crushing smaller platforms that can’t absorb the exorbitant costs.” (09/05/25)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“He hung up a sign that said Secretary of War, / snapped a picture for the socials, shut the door, / took a swig of Jameson straight from the bottle, / then sat down and fondled the revolver in his desk drawer / like a little boy playing with his penis. / Visions of cruise missiles danced through his head, / aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines / and tiny middle eastern bodies blown to bits by glorious inventory. / Mushroom clouds flashed in his eyes / as he caressed the trigger with an index finger. / ‘They call me the Secretary of War,’ he said. ‘They call me the Secretary of War.’ / He did not feel the robins in his chest / or hear the red-winged blackbirds trilling in his hair. / The electricity of the flesh was a stranger to him. / Exuberance was a deadbeat dad who never called.” (09/06/25)
