Source: EconLog
by Leonidas Zelmanovitz
“In 1988, when I was 27 years old, I read Ayn Rand for the first time. It was her novel Atlas Shrugged, in its just-released Portuguese edition. At that time, I already considered myself a sort of classical liberal, but my superficial knowledge of political philosophy, among many other gaps in my education, made my convictions not very convincing. It was only after reading her that I gained the libertarian worldview I more or less hold to this day. Mind you, I was already in business and volunteering in the classical liberal movement in Brazil, but that was more of an irreflective reaction to being raised under a military dictatorship and then being governed by a left-leaning populist than the result of any deep thought.” (08/19/26)
https://www.econlib.org/econlog/atlas-shrugged-and-interventionism
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Francis Clifford Smith was given his last meal eight times. But after being spared execution each time, he went on to be regarded as the longest serving prisoner in the US before dying in June at 101 years old. Convicted of murder in 1950 when he was 25, he always maintained his innocence, those who knew him told the BBC. Andrius Banevicius, the public information officer for Connecticut’s Department of Correction, recounted how Smith used to feed the birds while in Osborn prison, earning him the nickname The Birdman of Osborn. ‘He would stuff as much bread as he could … in his clothing’, Banevicius said, adding: ‘Everyone kind of turned a blind eye to it because they knew he was just feeding the birds’. Smith was a young petty criminal when he was accused in 1949 of the murder of Grover Hart, a night watchman at a Connecticut yacht club.” (08/19/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c98vr7ql2vdo
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Connor O’Keeffe
“In a year as chaotic, violent, and economically destructive as this one has been, it is interesting that, to many Americans, the great villain of 2026 is turning out to be a traffic camera. But, indeed, we are seeing visceral, cross-partisan opposition to so-called Flock cameras—named after the leading manufacturer of these automated license plate readers—take hold in communities across the country. And that opposition is, to be sure, entirely legitimate.” (08/19/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/flock-camera-backlash-very-good-sign
Source: Third Party Watch
“After deliberation in executive session, the Judicial Committee rose at 9:57PM on August 17, 2026 (last night) to consider the question in the matter of the disaffiliation of the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire. The vote was conducted as a roll call vote. Shall the National Committee’s revocation of affiliate party status of the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire be affirmed, or shall the Judicial Committee order reinstatement of the affiliate party? The vote was 7-0-0 to affirm the decision of the LNC. … All written opinions are due to be published no later than Sept 11, 2026.” (08/18/26)
https://thirdpartywatch.com/2026/08/19/lnc-wins-lpnh-loses/
Source: The Dispatch
“Not Losing the Iran War | Interview: Hal Brands.” (09/19/26)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/remnant/not-losing-the-iran-war-interview-hal-brands/
Source: The American Conservative
by George D O’Neill Jr.
“Now that the lofty 250th-anniversary rhetoric about the greatness of our country has faded, it is time to face the reality of our country’s actual behavior. The U.S. fashions itself as a generous and benevolent world leader enforcing the ‘rules-based order’—a deceptive construct used by globalist elites to bully other countries. The rules are arbitrarily changed to suit the bullies and are regularly fashioned into pretexts for military action against uncooperative nations. In short, it is a hoax, untethered from the principles and ideals of our founders.” (08/19/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/some-shattering-illusions-of-our-declining-empire/
Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley
“As many criticize higher education for pursuing indoctrination over education, Oregon State University (OSU) appears to be doubling down on a mandatory woke curriculum. The university is under fire for its mandatory undergraduate courses on ‘Difference, Power & Oppression’ (DPO). Much of the rhetoric on the university’s website reads more like the platform of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) than an institution of higher education. OSU requires all undergraduate students who enrolled after the summer of 2025 to complete two DPO courses as part of its Core Education curriculum, including ‘Difference, Power & Oppression Foundations’ and ‘Difference, Power & Oppression Advanced’. This is all part of what OSU calls a ‘core curriculum’ that teaches students to be ‘adaptive, proactive members’ of society to ‘build a better world’.” (08/19/26)
https://jonathanturley.org/2026/08/19/difference-power-oppression-osu-requires-students-to-take-courses-on-how-to-disrupt-the-systems-of-oppression-in-the-united-states/
Source: SFGate
“Sen. Darline Graham stumbled in a Tuesday night debate over an elementary question about foreign policy, a signature issue of her late brother. It was a high-profile misstep a week before she faces a runoff election in her bid to hold onto the South Carolina seat to which she was appointed last month. Graham, a political novice, was asked whether the U.S. has a national security interest in Taiwan and the South China Sea — a longstanding contention of both Democratic and Republican administrations. She struggled to answer before admitting ‘national security is not my thing’. ‘I’m not that informed on national security,’ she added. Her rival in next week’s runoff for the GOP nomination, Rep. Ralph Norman, suggested the answer showed Graham was unqualified for the role. ” (08/19/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/national-security-question-trips-up-sen-darline-22394185.php
Source: The Dispatch
by Kevin D Williamson
“‘Borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry,’ wrote the 16th-century economist William Shakespeare, who went on to advise: ‘Neither a borrower nor a lender be.’ Americans, who like to talk about their Christian faith more than study it (‘The wicked person borrows and does not repay, but the righteous one is gracious and giving’) have twice elected the self-proclaimed ‘king of debt,’ an infamous deadbeat and serial bankrupt, as president of the United States, while entrusting the national purse strings to the control of his self-abasing toadies in Congress. That’s going about as well as you would imagine.” (08/19/26)
https://thedispatch.com/article/debt-gdp-interest-rates-trump-republicans/
Source: The Daily Economy
by Kimberlee Josephson
“Businesses are increasingly judged by ethical scorecards. But when virtue becomes a target, firms learn to optimize the metric — crowding out what actually matters.” (08/19/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/the-corporate-virtue-trap/
