Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille

“Last week, an article in Governing noted that despite years of reform efforts, roughly one in five jobs in the United States requires government permission in the form of occupational licensing. In a world that is more potentially mobile and flexible than ever, licensing requirements can keep people fixed in place or pose high barriers to entering new trades and professions. The Archbridge Institute’s 2026 State Occupational Licensing Index reveals which states are most burdensome, and which make it relatively easy to earn a living.” (08/24/26)

https://reason.com/2026/08/24/1-in-5-americans-still-need-government-permission-to-work/

Source: Town Hall
by Stephen L Miller

“Jason Arday was an academic wunderkind and British media darling. When he was hired at Cambridge University in March 2023 as the youngest (and black) professor of Sociology of Education, it was the height of global wokeness. He was greeted with adoring media segment after segment in British media, and even Good Morning America did a profile. Arday’s personal life story of struggles and overcoming them was almost too good, because for the most part, it was. … Cambridge University opened an investigation on August 5 into Arday, after a thorough article examining Arday was published at The Guardian. On August 14, Arday was found dead at his residence and is believed to be a suicide, pending an ongoing investigation.” (08/24/26)

https://townhall.com/columnists/stephen-l-miller/2026/08/24/how-would-a-jason-arday-scandal-play-out-here-n2681748

Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Carrie Robison

“When government officials threaten to sue and prosecute their constituents over speech, the public should get to see the evidence. Earlier this year, the City of Manton, Michigan, passed a vague resolution condemning what it alleged was ‘a deliberate, ongoing, and escalating campaign of cyberbullying, online harassment, and personal attacks directed at City Commissioners.’ Those so-called attacks included social media posts that allegedly contained ‘deliberate falsehoods’ or threats, or targeted commissioners in ‘an offensive personal manner.’ … It further stated the commission may direct the city attorney to explore legal remedies, including cease-and-desist letters, referring individuals to the county prosecutor for investigation, or bringing civil lawsuits. What were the social media posts that led commissioners to pass the resolution? We don’t know, because the city refuses to say, even after FIRE filed a public records request.” (08/24/26)

https://www.fire.org/news/michigan-city-threatened-critics-over-cyberbullying-now-its-hiding-evidence

Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders

“An important thinker was right about the friend-enemy distinction. A liberalism that can survive the twenty-first century must integrate some of his insights.” (08/24/26)

https://underthrow.substack.com/p/the-nazi-had-a-point

Source: American Greatness
by Stephen Soukup

“The California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) is the largest teachers-only public pension system in the country, with more than $400 billion in assets under management. As of December 31, 2024, CalSTRS directly held three-quarters of a million shares of Target Corporation, worth more than $100 million. If one were to add in the Target holdings of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas and the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System (the second and third-largest teachers-only plans in the country, respectively), then the total value of shares owned would jump by another $60-plus million. Add in the remaining state teacher retirement systems, plus the city systems of Chicago, Denver, Kansas City (Missouri), New York City, St. Louis, and St. Paul, and the total value of Target shares directly held by teacher pensions is well into the multiple hundreds of millions, at the very least.” (08/24/26)

https://amgreatness.com/2026/08/24/a-teachers-union-hits-the-wrong-target/