Source: The Daily Economy
by Tyler Turman

“CBO data show that government transfers now account for a historically large share of income among low-income households. Does today’s welfare system encourage mobility or entrench dependency?” (02/18/26)

https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/are-transfers-replacing-work-for-americas-poor/

Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Tim Worstall

“As we’ve been known to remark around here prices are information. We may not like the information being transmitted but that’s an incentive to change what is being done rather than to try and hide the price. On this basis the student loan system is working just perfectly …. We are seeing the price of trying to have 50% of the age cohort going to university. It’s a very high price too. One that — clearly — isn’t worth it as the whingeing is showing. But that’s what having that price, clear and obvious, does for us. Tells us that this isn’t working. … The price is too high therefore we need to change what we’re doing.” (02/18/26)

https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/the-student-loan-system-is-working-just-perfectly

Source: New York Post
by Karol Markowicz

“In what is becoming a regular occurrence, someone trans-identifying is accused of committing a mass murder, this time during a high school hockey game, in suburban Rhode Island. Robert Dorgan, who preferred to be called Roberta, killed his ex-wife and one of his own children and shot three more people before turning a gun on himself. In 2020, Dorgan had told police that he was being kicked out of his home, by his father-in-law, after Dorgan had undergone ‘gender-reassignment surgery.’ His wife, Rhonda Dorgan, wrote ‘gender reassignment surgery, narcissistic + personality disorder traits’ as her grounds for divorce, but those words were crossed out and ‘irreconcilable differences which have caused the immediate breakdown of the marriage’ was written instead.” (02/17/26)

https://nypost.com/2026/02/17/opinion/the-rise-in-transgender-killers-proves-that-we-have-a-major-mental-health-crisis-unfolding/

Source: Law & Liberty
by Andrew E Busch

“Minneapolis isn’t the first American city to grapple with high-profile shootings of civilians at the hands of panicked law enforcement.” (02/18/26)

https://lawliberty.org/calling-john-adams/

Source: spiked
by Frank Furedi

“US secretary of state Marco Rubio’s speech to the Munich Security Conference (MSC) last week was significant not for what he said, but for European leaders’ reaction to it. … Judging by European members’ response, they were clearly desperate to hear what sounded like a reassuring message from Washington. The audience broke into applause when Rubio stated that ‘we will always be a child of Europe’. At the end they even gave the secretary of state a standing ovation. For a few moments at least, they could enjoy the illusion that they were listening to a close family member.” (02/18/26)

https://www.spiked-online.com/2026/02/18/europe-is-still-clinging-to-americas-security-blanket/

Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Mark Moses

“For over a century, California stood as a frontier of first resort for the ambitious, attracting those eager to escape old-world constraints in exchange for a promise of radical autonomy. This California Dream was not a byproduct of luck; it was forged by a Gold Rush mentality that enshrined risk-taking as a prerequisite for success. This unique acceptance of failure sank roots early in the state’s consciousness, fueling a risk culture that welcomed entrepreneurs from around the globe. Supported by a strategic Pacific Rim location and fertile lands, this environment allowed innovators to transform California into a global powerhouse for agriculture, entertainment, and technology. However, modern political policies have effectively inverted these historical strengths, transforming a once-nimble sanctuary into a restrictive regulatory state.” (02/18/26)

https://fee.org/articles/california-forever-stagnating/

Source: Common Dreams
by Rashell Khan

“The justices on the Supreme Court should not favor the president who appointed them because checks and balances demand that they uphold the law without passion or prejudice. The current Supreme Court has increasingly shown a pattern of siding with the Trump administration — a result made predictable by the court’s conservative majority. Immigration cases have, with rare exception, aligned along these partisan lines. On June 27, 2025, the Supreme Court sidestepped the question of birthright citizenship and overruled lower court decisions that sought to protect it. The original plaintiffs filed suit to enjoin the enforcement of the executive order that identifies circumstances in which a person born in the United States is ‘not subject to the jurisdiction thereof,’ thereby restricting the constitutionally guaranteed bestowal of birthright citizenship. The Trump administration petitioned the Supreme Court, which granted review.” (02/18/26)

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/trump-supreme-court-immigration