Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
“The entire premise of democracy is based on a fallacy that is as ignored as it is ubiquitous: that a majority is always right, and that a committee is somehow smarter and wiser than any individual. When tied to the idea that government has power over the lives of people that it should have, it creates a truly monstrous evil. So what does this mean to lovers of liberty? It is more than just the tyranny of the majority, and how that so typically results in riding roughshod over individuals and their lives and liberty. It is more than just the cost of such ‘democratic institutions’ or even the way money destroys the meaning of free elections in so many ways. Democracy survives only by propaganda that extolls it and therefore government. The result is that government is made into an absolute essential for any society.” (08/02/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/08/02/managed-democracy-versus-a-republic
Source: Washington Monthly
by Suzanne Gordon & Steve Early
“Encourage veterans, including those with PTSD and brain injuries, to join law enforcement after they leave the military. What could go wrong?” (08/03/26)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/08/03/the-vet-to-cop-pipeline/
Source: New York Post
“Get the fork outta here! New Jersey takeout customers must now request single-use plastic items — like utensils, straws and even condiment packets — under a new law that social media users are sounding off against. The ‘Skip the Stuff’ law puts an end to the longstanding practice of eateries automatically loading up to-go bags with extras that many New Jerseyans have come to take for granted. Interior of an American diner with a long counter lined with stools, display cases of baked goods, and a ‘Cappuccino Cafe Bar Espresso’ neon sign. The law — signed by then-Gov. Phil Murphy in January — took effect Aug. 1 as the Garden State looks to further reduce plastic waste and reduce the environmental footprint of food purveyors.” (08/03/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/08/03/us-news/nj-diners-fume-over-new-skip-the-stuff-law-affecting-take-out-orders/
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey
“President Trump recently halted his proposed strikes against Iran in favor of regional diplomatic talks; he has the right instincts, and while this is the right thing to do – favor diplomatic talks and engage in free trade – he is under pressure by war hawks all around him. He’s been engaged in this ‘on again — off again’ war talk since February, at the behest of Netanyahu and Israel. All of this is happening with little input from Congress, which has the power to give him the ‘go ahead’ to engage in a war with Iran. It seems that, over the last several decades, Congress has abdicated its power to declare war, giving it up to the Executive branch so they do not receive flak from their constituents blowing up in their face.” (08/02/26)
https://palmbeachexaminer.substack.com/p/executive-war-powers-and-iran-why
Source: CNBC
“Japan’s finance ministry said Monday it had conducted a coordinated yen-buying operation with the U.S. Treasury on Friday, marking a rare joint move by the two allies to stem sharp swings in the Japanese currency. … The ministry also announced plans to utilize the Federal Reserve’s foreign and international monetary authorities repo facility in the future. FIMA repo facility allows approved foreign central banks and monetary authorities to obtain short-term dollars by temporarily exchanging U.S. Treasury securities. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also confirmed the coordinated action in a statement, saying, ‘Friday’s coordinated foreign exchange actions countered disorderly yen movements.'” (08/02/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/03/yen-intervention-us-japan-trump-bessent-katayama.html
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Jon Hoffman: Did Trump Put Saudi on the Path to Nuclear Weapons?!” (08/02/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/blog/the-kyle-anzalone-show-guest-jon-hoffman-did-trump-put-saudi-on-the-path-to-nuclear-weapons/
Source: exile in happy valley
by Nicky Reid
“So, the communists are coming again or at least so screech the doom merchants over at the GOP. Fox News is ablaze with round-the-clock, wall-to-wall coverage of the Democratic Party’s fall beneath the unstoppable onslaught of the deadly DSA; a Maoist cult of ultra-woke, brown grad students just itching to open the borders and empty the suburbs into the killing fields of a terrifyingly transgender Khmer Rouge cover band. I’m not the communist I once was but it actually sounds pretty sexy when I write it down like that. Unfortunately, all available evidence suggests that this latest red scare is just more post-McCarthyite fan fic from an increasingly desperate Republican Party.” (08/02/26)
https://exileinhappyvalley.blogspot.com/2026/08/whos-really-afraid-of-dsa.html
Source: SFGate
“Cubans on Monday were recovering from the sixth islandwide blackout this year, as the nation remains in free-fall after the Trump administration effectively cut it off from oil in January. The energy grid collapses leave people with fewer options to get by as the U.S. keeps up a pressure campaign against the communist-led government. Cuba’s government was working to restore power after the state-run electric company reported another ‘total’ blackout Sunday night, without specifying the cause. That followed sweeping outages across western Cuba, including the cities of Pinar del Río, Matanzas and Havana. By Monday, some electricity had been restored in Havana, but much of the Caribbean nation was still disconnected. Cuba already had been reeling from years of economic and energy crisis, compounded by crumbling infrastructure and migration from the island. Then the U.S. threatened to impose a tariff on any goods from countries that sell or provide it with oil.” (08/03/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/cubans-struggle-to-bounce-back-after-6th-22371818.php
Source: The Hill
by David Wippman and Glenn C Altschuler
“Earlier this year, a presidential commission staffed almost entirely by conservative Christians urged Americans to rethink the separation of church and state and build ‘bridges’ between them. Last week, the Department of Justice directed federal agencies to expand protections for religious expression in public employment, military service, education, healthcare and federal contracting. These policies reflect the influence of Christian nationalism, a movement predicated on the belief that the United States is ‘divinely chosen,’ the New Testament should shape government policies, and white Christians should dominate American culture.” (08/02/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/6002868-christian-nationalism-threatens-democracy/
Source: The American Prospect
by Robert Kuttner
“Rep. Seth Moulton, who represents Massachusetts’s Sixth Congressional District, will debate incumbent Sen. Ed Markey Monday evening in the second of three televised debates ahead of the September 1 Democratic primary for Senate. Polls show Markey narrowly leading. Markey, a progressive who recently turned 80, has served in Congress since 1976. Moulton, 47, a former Marine who is more of a centrist, has sought to primarily frame the contest as youth vs. age. But Moulton may well be vulnerable because of a series of investments after entering public service that have made him a multimillionaire.” (08/03/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/08/03/seth-moultons-sweetheart-deals-defense-webai/
