Defending free speech?

Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton

“We defend anyone’s right to speak (write, publish, record, etc.) freely on any subject. Whether right or wrong. But we defend our own God-given right to challenge, contest, disagree, and point out when what they say is wrong. Either when someone fails to tell the truth, or when they twist things around. Not just draw the wrong conclusions but claim that only they know the truth and can explain it properly. Free speech is not just a fundamental requirement for a republic, or even a ‘democracy’ but for society. As is the right to challenge when someone abuses that right. But the challenge must be appropriate to the offense. For example, teachers do not chop off a student’s hand (or even a finger!) for misspelling a word. Or writing down something that is obviously untrue.” (05/19/26)

https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/05/19/defending-free-speech/

KY: Forces of evil prevail in GOP congressional primary

Source: Associated Press

“Kentucky U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie lost his Republican House primary Tuesday, becoming the latest Republican lawmaker to anger President Donald Trump and then fall to a primary challenger backed by the president. Trump handpicked and endorsed Ed Gallrein, whose victory demonstrated the president’s influence over GOP voters and growing frustration with Massie’s opposition to Trump. … He pushed for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, criticized the war in Iran and voted against the president’s signature tax legislation last year. Still, he tried to convince voters that they could be for both him and Trump. The race was the most expensive U.S. House primary in history.” (05/19/26)

https://apnews.com/article/massie-gallrein-trump-kentucky-republican-primary-03a658b1a45593ad04ebf6283a3fdb47

The Feudal Economics of Modern Healthcare: How Regulation Turned Medicine into a Fiefdom

Source: The Daily Economy
by Richard Menger

“High school history curricula often portray feudalism as a quaint medieval relic — a cautionary archetype of concentrated power, conditional rights, and extractive hierarchies that suppressed human flourishing for centuries. As ever, though, the deeper lesson of history is its recurring nature: when property rights erode and rent-seeking supplants open competition, societies reliably drift back toward feudal arrangements. American medicine today offers a vivid illustration of this pattern, as government-created barriers sustain local monopolies, nonprofit hospital systems function as modern lords, and physicians relinquish professional autonomy in exchange for the illusory security of salaried fiefdoms. The result is contemporary serfs in white coats serving within tax-exempt citadels.” (05/19/26)

https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/the-feudal-economics-of-modern-healthcare-how-regulation-turned-medicine-into-a-fiefdom/

Tankers exit Hormuz as Trump, Vance talk up prospects of US surrender in Iran war

Source: Reuters

“Two Chinese tankers laden with oil exited the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, shipping data showed, brightening hopes that the U.S.-Israeli conflict with ​Iran may soon be resolved after positive comments from the U.S. president and his deputy. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the war would be over ‘very quickly’ ‌while Vice President JD Vance talked up progress in talks with Tehran about an agreement to end hostilities. … Iranian state media said Tehran’s latest peace proposal involves ending hostilities on all fronts including Lebanon, the exit of ​U.S. forces from areas close to Iran, ​and reparations for destruction caused by the U.S.-Israeli ⁠attacks. Tehran also sought the lifting of sanctions, release of frozen funds and an end to the U.S. marine blockade, according to Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi as cited by IRNA news agency. The terms as described in the Iranian reports appeared little changed from Iran’s previous offer, which Trump ​rejected last week as ‘garbage.'” (05/20/26)

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/tankers-exit-hormuz-trump-vance-talk-up-iran-deal-prospects-2026-05-20/

The Superpower of Coping with Government Stupidity

Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan

“Businesses have an unsung superpower. They aren’t just awesome at producing and marketing goods and services. They are also awesome at coping with government stupidity …. Thanks to competition, consumers ultimately pay the price of wasteful government policies. This is Econ 1: As long as prices remain free, government stupidity reduces supply and raises prices, allowing businesses to remain profitable despite their hostile economic environment. Crucially, however, the process of complying with sheer idiocy is itself competitive!” (05/19/26)

https://www.betonit.ai/p/the-superpower-of-coping-with-government

EU strikes deal on US trade pact ahead of Trump deadline

Source: Deutsche Welle [German state media]

“The European Union reached a late-night provisional deal on Tuesday to remove import duties on [European buyers of] US goods, a key part of the bloc’s trade pact with the United States. This kept the EU on track to meet President Donald Trump’s July 4 deadline and avoid higher US tariffs on [American buyers of] European goods. … EU lawmakers softened several demands during negotiations, including a proposal to suspend favorable [sic] tariffs for [European buyers of goods from] US exporters if Washington breached the terms of the deal. The final text also gives the US until the end of the year to remove steel surtaxes above 15%, instead of making it a precondition for the agreement.” (05/19/26)

https://www.dw.com/en/eu-strikes-deal-on-us-trade-pact-ahead-of-trump-tariff-deadline/a-77222972

Randy Fine vs. “Dual Loyalty” — Pot, Kettle, Black

Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp

“‘Some men,’ an old saying has it, ‘are sent to Washington because their hometowns want them somewhere else.’ Although Melbourne Beach, Florida isn’t US Representative Randy Fine’s hometown — he was born in Arizona, raised in Kentucky, and subsequently managed to wear out his welcome in Massachusetts, Nevada, and Michigan before landing there — I have to think the remark explains his career in the state legislature and now Congress. … Sample recent tweet: ‘You CANNOT serve two masters. My bill makes it simple: Only Americans. Full allegiance to the United States and the United States alone. No more dual loyalty in Congress.’ Unfortunately for the PR angle, Fine spends a great deal of time and effort publicly demonstrating his own loyalty — not to the US, and not to his constituents, but to a foreign power.” (05/19/26)

https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20624

Bitcoin Struggles Near $77k as US Bonds Hit 17-Year High

Source: CoinMarketCap

“Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $77,000 on May 19 as surging US Treasury yields pushed investors away from risk assets. The 30-year yield reached its highest level since July 2007, adding to a difficult week for equities and commodities alike. Gold dropped below $4,500 on May 19, reaching its lowest price since late March. Silver also fell as markets recalibrated around inflation expectations and central bank rate forecasts.” (05/19/26)

https://coinmarketcap.com/academy/article/%20bitcoin-below-77000-bond-yields

Coffee Is Good for Your Brain

Source: Reason
by Ronald Bailey

“Caffeine is the most widely used legal psychoactive drug in the world. Nearly two-thirds of American adults get their daily doses from coffee, according to a 2025 National Coffee Association poll, and they seem to be getting more than a jolt of energy. A study published by JAMA in February tracked the brain health of 130,000 people for more than 40 years. It found that moderate daily consumption of coffee was associated with a reduced risk of dementia and slower cognitive decline. … A roundup of studies compiled by the National Center for Health Research (NCHR), a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, D.C., details the manifold other health benefits of drinking coffee. … Coffee drinkers have enjoyed the beverage’s benefits for centuries and will do so for years to come. After all, Starfleet Capt. Kathryn Janeway in the 24th century declared coffee ‘the finest organic suspension ever devised.'” (for publication 06/26)

https://reason.com/2026/05/19/coffee-is-good-for-your-brain/