Unattended Baggage, episode 341
Source: Unattended Baggage
“That MF’er is not real!” (05/23/26)
https://unattendedbaggage.substack.com/p/episode-341-that-mfer-is-not-real
Education Shrinkflation
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Steve Templeton
“If kids should place their education as a high priority, the messages and actions of administrators, teachers, and parents they observe should clearly reinforce that importance. Using the Appearance of Safety as a convenient foil to avoid responsibilities and making hard decisions undermines that message completely. Just because public education isn’t paid for directly like gymnastics competition fees doesn’t mean it should get a pass. Otherwise, we will continue to accept less and get less value, and our kids will pay even more for our carelessness in the future than they already have.” (05/24/26)
Donald Trump’s Ego-Driven “Excursion” Has Crashed Into Reality
Source: Paul Krugman
by Paul Krugman
“Iran may or may not agree to exercise restraint in its control over the Strait of Hormuz and its nuclear program. But as Donald Trump of all people should know, agreements can be broken. At a fundamental level Trump, who began by demanding UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER and trying to impose a subservient new regime, is now slinking away, leaving Iran’s hard-liners empowered — and America’s reputation shattered.” (05/25/26)
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/donald-trumps-ego-driven-excursion
Warmongers in meltdown as Trump heralds Iran deal
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Trita Parsi
“The regional buy-in — and the fact that Trump announced the agreement only after speaking with a wide array of key regional leaders, including those of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, and Bahrain, in addition to a separate call with Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu — is highly significant. This regional anchoring affords Trump a degree of political insulation in Washington. Faced with inevitable accusations from hawks that the agreement amounts to defeat or that it betrays Israel, he can point to broad regional support as evidence that America’s principal partners in the Middle East prefer diplomacy to escalation. … Judging by the public panic now emanating from Washington’s war hawks and pro-Israel circles, however, the next 30 days are likely to be politically brutal for Trump.” (05/23/26)
The Boomers vs. Millennials Debate Misses the Bigger Economic Point
Source: The Daily Economy
by Michael N Peterson
“The real challenge isn’t deciding which generation suffered more — it’s restoring the conditions that allow every generation to prosper.” (05/25/26)
Turkey: Police attack opposition party HQ with chemical weapons
Source: Associated Press
“Police stormed the offices of Turkey’s main opposition CHP party on Sunday, firing tear gas and rubber bullets at party supporters and officials who had been holed up inside for three days. It was a violent end to a standoff between members of the Republican Peoples’ Party, or CHP, and a leadership team appointed by an appeals court, escalating tensions between the opposition and the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.” (05/25/26)
https://apnews.com/article/turkey-opposition-chp-standoff-2eee5ef016ff6ac1eeda368aff7588e0
In the Tank Podcast, episode 537
Source: Heartland Institute
“The Cost of Living Crisis.” (05/23/26)
https://heartland.org/podcasts/the-cost-of-living-crisis-in-the-tank-podcast-537/
PSA: Criticizing Israel is NOT Antisemitic
Source: Lisa Liberty
by Lisa Liberty
“As a religious Jew, I refuse to stay silent while political actors fuse my beautiful religion and an ancient people to the actions of a modern nation-state and its lobbying apparatus. Judaism is not synonymous with militarism, censorship, collective punishment, or blind loyalty to any government. Many Jews are horrified by the devastation in Gaza, alarmed by the suppression of dissent, and concerned about the growing perception that American politics is being shaped by interests that appear increasingly disconnected from the American public itself. … If Jewish Americans truly care about our long-term future in this country, then now is the time to speak honestly, reject tribalism and authoritarianism, and stop allowing criticism of a government to be conflated with hatred of a people.” (05/22/26)
https://lisaliberty.substack.com/p/psa-criticizing-israel-is-not-antisemitic
Three steps that could stop fraud & make healthcare more affordable for all Americans
Source: Fox News Forum
by Andrew Bremberg
“Americans know something is broken in healthcare. Premiums keep rising, deductibles keep climbing and medical bills often arrive with charges no one can explain. Behind those frustrations is the fact that we operate within a healthcare system built around secrecy. On May 18, President Donald Trump took on drug pricing with the expansion of TrumpRX, a first-of-its kind platform designed to allow Americans to find their drugs for less in a system styled to work like Airbnb or Priceline.com. Next, he should set his sights on hospitals and insurance companies. Healthcare remains one of the most expensive and least transparent sectors of the American economy. Hidden prices, opaque billing systems and layers of middlemen cost taxpayers and working families hundreds of billions of dollars each year through fraud, waste and abuse.” (05/25/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/3-steps-could-stop-fraud-make-healthcare-affordable-americans
Police fire shots in air to disperse angry crowds at DR Congo Ebola treatment center
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Police in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo fired shots in the air after angry crowds attempted to reclaim the bodies of loved ones who had died at an Ebola treatment centre in Mongwalu, two local journalists told the BBC. Sunday’s unrest continued throughout the day, the reporters said. The treatment centre, in a hospital compound, was the same place that was targeted overnight on Friday into Saturday, when an isolation tent was set ablaze. The body of a dead Ebola victim is highly infectious and can lead to the virus spreading further when prepared for burial. There have been more than 900 suspected Ebola cases in the current outbreak and 220 suspected deaths, officials say. According to Mongwalu General Hospital’s medical director Dr Richard Lokudu, Sunday’s attackers demanded the bodies of two people be given to their families.” (05/25/26)