Source: CounterPunch
by Dean Baker
“Back when George W. Bush was doing his big drive to privatize Social Security, I got upset because he was using bogus numbers that grossly exaggerated what his private accounts would yield. The basic story was that his team assumed that stocks would provide the same returns they had in prior decades, even though the price-to-earnings ratios in the stock market were far higher than in the past, and projected GDP and profit growth were much lower. Given the assumptions being used on profit growth, their assumptions on returns were virtually impossible. To illustrate this point, I developed the ‘No Economist Left Behind Test.’ … If the Bush Team could get away with promising an impossible bonanza from their accounts, privatization would look much better than it actually is. It was important to set the record straight.” (05/15/26)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/05/15/trump-accounts-and-the-no-economist-left-behind-test/
Source: Free Talk Live
“Bonnie’s tattoo removal so far :: Super meth – real or drug war propaganda? :: Spencer Pratt the reality tv star turn mayoral candidate who is homeless but going to fix the homelessness problem in LA :: The Roomba guy wants to replace pets with robots :: 2026-05-16 :: Hosts: Bonnie, Angelo, Riley O’Bill.” (05/16/26)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/ftl2026-05-16
Source: Town Hall
by Jerry Newcombe
“As we celebrate America at 250, there is a part of our founding in the Constitution (Article II, Section 1, Clause 2), about which some on the left gnash their teeth — the Electoral College. For example, a few days ago, a former Biden administration official asked publicly, ‘What if we selected our President by letting the person who got the most votes take the office, instead of the Electoral College?’ … Meanwhile, many blue states, including just recently Virginia, have signed on to a compact to try and effectively nullify the Electoral College.” [editor’s note: To make the EC relevant to today, they only need to follow the lead of Maine and Nebraska, and DECENTRALIZE it – SAT] (05/16/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/jerrynewcombe/2026/05/16/the-electoral-college-and-american-freedom-n2676044
Source: SFGate
“Venezuela’s government said Saturday it deported a close ally of Nicolás Maduro facing several criminal investigations in the U.S. less than three years after the businessman was pardoned by President Joe Biden as part of a prisoner swap. The decision marks a stark reversal for Alex Saab, who Maduro fought tooth and nail to bring home after his previous international arrest in 2020. Now, the Colombian-born insider, long described by U.S. officials as Maduro’s ‘bag man,’ may be asked to testify against his former protector, who is awaiting trial on drug charges in Manhattan after being captured in a shock raid by the U.S. military in January.” (05/16/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/venezuela-says-it-deported-close-ally-of-maduro-22262638.php
Source: Free the People
“The CIA Is a Lawless Agency | Guest: Sen. Rand Paul.” (05/15/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvBIhQ4tvgU
Source: spiked
by James Woudhuysen
“America is in long-term decline, but it has proved more resilient than critics allow. But China too now encounters unmistakable problems. The US is growing, but saddled with burgeoning debt – and China also has trouble brewing in that domain. Of course, Trump faces domestic dissent – but so, in a very different form, does the CCP. China has long had too much housing built, is heavily indebted and is hurtling towards a demographic cliff.” (05/15/26)
https://archive.is/zZOGb
Source: Politico
“Virginia Democrats’ last-ditch bid to revive their plan to redraw the state’s congressional districts to gain additional Democratic seats fizzled out Friday at the Supreme Court as the justices refused to restore the results of the referendum voters approved last month. Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones asked the nation’s highest court to take emergency action to block a Virginia Supreme Court ruling earlier this month that nullified the referendum after concluding that it violated the state’s constitution. The emergency appeal found no traction at the Supreme Court. A one-sentence order released shortly after Jones filed his final brief on the appeal said Chief Justice John Roberts referred the stay request to the full bench, which denied relief.” (05/15/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/15/supreme-court-democrats-virginia-redistricting-00925046
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
“Dr. Wanjiru Njoya argues that Rothbard’s political philosophy is not a sideshow to his economics but its essential second pillar, and that this integrated system is precisely what is needed to challenge the egalitarian premise at its root. Correcting Piketty’s spreadsheets isn’t enough; the moral case for liberty has to be made explicitly and on philosophical grounds.” (05/15/26)
https://mises.org/podcasts/rothbard-university/egalitarianism-and-value-free-economics
Source: Exiled Policy
by Jason Pye & Eric Harrison
“Of course, Congress needs to find a way to ease the pain Americans feel at the pump. This is why it was so critical for lawmakers to exercise their constitutional and statutory powers to stop the military action against Iran, which led to higher gas prices. Unfortunately, Americans are paying the price for that military action in more ways than just higher gas prices.” (05/15/26)
https://exiledpolicy.substack.com/p/taxpayers-still-on-the-hook-for-a
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
“The opportunity for government interference grows because of fear. Which is no doubt one reason that certain groups of people encourage and do the fearmongering. Wealth and power is a constant theme.” (05/15/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/05/15/data-centers-true-menace-or-fearmongering/
