Source: Washington Monthly
by Jarod Facundo

“Conventional wisdom holds that Walmart’s low prices reflect volume discounts and economies of scale used by the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer—America’s largest employer and largest grocery retailer by sales. But the PepsiCo suit, brought by the FTC under its then-Chair Lina Khan, presented evidence of the opposite of efficiency: PepsiCo’s painstaking micromanagement of prices to protect its most powerful buyer. For consumers, this raises the possibility that Walmart’s market power does not, at least in this case, discipline prices downward, but inflates them across the market. … But before the FTC suit regarding PepsiCo was filed in January 2025, private plaintiff antitrust suits against Walmart and battery maker Energizer had already been underway for two years. These cases, which have received scant media attention, provide another set of allegations that Walmart may be influencing its suppliers’ pricing decisions in ways that harm consumers.” (11/12/260

https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/11/12/did-walmart-use-market-power-to-rig-battery-prices/

Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Tim Worstall

“This sounds distinctly non-optimal: ‘Disabled people in England ‘have to wait up to two years for wheelchairs’’ … We do grasp that wheelchairs are more than simply four wheels and a chair these days. Also that there’s more than a little personal optimisation dependent upon the specific disability being catered to. But they’re not that complicated. … There is competition for the trade so where is the problem? Why is it that it can take up to two years? No, we don’t know either and it seems to us one of those things where we’d all like to know the answer. Our assumption is that the problem is with the monopoly, the NHS.” (11/12/26)

https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/but-why-do-nhs-wheelchairs-take-so-long

Source: American Greatness
by Victor Davis Hanson

“After the midterm wipeout, divisive blame-gaming erupted on the Right. One particularly bitter divide was over supposed ‘neocon’ interventionism and the Iran war. But who are—or were—the neocons, and what is neoconservatism? The word, clearly, means ‘new conservatives’. It was first used to characterize former liberals and Democrats in the 1970s who were turned off by their erstwhile party’s soft-on-crime domestic policies and especially by its cheery notion that we no longer needed to fear Soviet communism. They were even more appalled by Jimmy Carter’s paralytic reaction to Iran’s hostage-taking. In reaction, a number of public intellectuals and officials—such as Irving Kristol, Norman Podhoretz, James Q. Wilson, Bill Bennett, and Jeane Kirkpatrick—began supporting Ronald Reagan’s ‘we win, and they lose’ approach to the Cold War and the military buildup needed to restore deterrence.” [editor’s note: File under “historical revisionism” – TLK] (11/12/26)

https://amgreatness.com/2026/11/12/neocons-neocons-neocons/

Source: The Atlantic
by Thomas Chatterton Williams

“An assault on free speech is unfolding in France. On Tuesday, a judge placed Michel Houellebecq, one of the country’s most significant living writers, under investigation for his alleged ‘complicity in incitement to discrimination, hatred or violence,’ an accusation that stems from comments he made about Muslims several years ago. Houellebecq’s remarks were controversial and insensitive, but defending his freedom to speak does not require finding his words unobjectionable. … The fact that he now faces the possibility of criminal charges should concern anyone who professes to care about the free exchange of ideas.” (11/12/26)

https://archive.is/woOrz

Source: The Bulwark
by Mona Charen

“You hear the hopeful sighs among certain Republicans looking to move past Donald Trump and seeing JD Vance mired in quicksand. Maybe Rubio could be the future? He has MAGA credibility but without the cutthroat affect of JD or DeSantis. He was confirmed 99–0 in the Senate. He’s Hispanic. He’s clearly not full MAGA. Forget it. I say this as someone who would dearly love to see the GOP turn away from Trump and MAGA. But Rubio is not the vehicle. He may not have personally bitten the heads off the chickens, but he enjoyed the meal. Let’s consider the ways in which he has permanently stained his character. And for the sake of space as well as mercy, let’s limit our scope just to Trump’s second term.” (11/12/26)

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/never-rubio

Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Blaise Malley

“Congressional Democrats will face the first test of their willingness to translate their electoral gains into action against the Iran war before the new Congress is seated in January. While almost all Democrats appear united in wanting to end the war, a question of how to do so — and, perhaps more importantly, when to do so — is looming. Some are urging the current Congress to target Dec. 11, when ongoing government spending authority runs out. Though Democrats will still be in the minority at that point, activists and a number of members argue that the midterm results give the party both the political capital and the leverage needed to act.” (11/12/26)

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/democrats-funding-iran-war/