Advisory Opinions, 10/13/26
Source: The Dispatch
“Is Spending Money Protected Speech?” (10/13/26)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/advisoryopinions/is-spending-money-protected-speech/
“Major wipeout” of 2006 proportions could force a new GOP reckoning
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by W James Antle III
“Republicans could be looking at a major wipeout in the midterm elections. Their tiny House majority was always going to be difficult to maintain, but the Senate should not be in play at all. Yet it surely is, with Democrats leading in nearly all the toss-up races, including in the reddest states, and competitive in at least a dozen of the contests that will determine which party controls the upper chamber. The Iran war is a big reason this has come to pass. … there is a potential for a midterm election more like 2006. Twenty years ago, as Cook Political Report’s Amy Walter pointed out earlier this year, we had an unpopular president waging an unpopular war while Republican congressional incumbents were beset by assorted scandals.” (10/13/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/republicans-lose-midterms-war/
When The Gates Of Tech Dystopia Snap Shut
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“There’s a viral video clip showing a group of wild boars getting caught in a corral trap. When the gate snaps shut the poor animals run around in a panic, searching in vain for an exit. According to the caption that’s been going around, the trapper waited patiently for five days for the entire sounder to get comfortable enough to take the bait and enter the trap all at once. The gate didn’t close until the final pig walked into the enclosure. And, yeah. That’s pretty much where we’re at right now. We’ve been standing around munching on our bait, enjoying our bread and our circuses, blissfully unaware of the trapper who is patiently waiting for the perfect moment to slam the gate shut on us all: ‘Man, AI sure is great.'” (10/13/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/10/13/when-the-gates-of-tech-dystopia-snap-shut/
Zelenskyy: Ukraine received “no intelligence from partners” about missiles headed to Kyiv
Source: SFGate
“Ukraine received no early warning from its partners about five Russian ballistic missiles that hit civilian infrastructure in the capital of Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday, as tensions rise between the Ukrainian leader and U.S. President Donald Trump. Zelenskyy did not specify which partners he was talking about. He characterized the barrage as ‘particularly vile’ and emphasized that receiving intelligence from partners about such attacks ‘helps save lives’ and is ‘one of the most critical issues’. ‘This is precisely what helps prevent people from being killed — when there is an early warning about ballistic missiles,’ he wrote in a post on X. Trump said the U.S. has not stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine. ‘We are helping them, and we are sharing intel’, Trump told reporters at the White House. ‘We want the war to end, so we’re working with them and with Russia on getting the war to end.'” (10/13/26)
NASA’s Perseverance rover breaks record for off-world driving distance
Source: Engadget
“NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover just broke the record for the farthest distance traveled by any vehicle on another world, the space agency announced. The six-wheeled, nuclear-powered buggy has now traveled 28.10 miles (45.22 km) as of October 11th, besting NASA’s Opportunity rover that rolled 28.06 miles (45.16 km) across the red planet’s surface. Perseverance managed the feet in just five and a half years, compared to nearly 15 for the plucky Opportunity. … Thanks to a recent software update, Perseverance can now roll more and steer less to save wear on parts, while checking its own position against orbital maps in mid-drive. Next, the team wants to overcome camera glare issues from sunlight that impede its vision, so the rover can work longer days.” (10/13/26)
The Bryan Hyde Show, 10/13/26
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
“As the midterm elections get closer, the application of labels becomes ever more frenzied. Barry Brownstein has a timely reminder that the clearest distinction we must make is between collectivism and the individual.” (10/13/26)
Public execution? This really is who we are
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Jon Duffy
“After [US defense secretary Pete] Hegseth announced plans to livestream [Nidal] Hasan’s Dec. 3 execution by firing squad, retired Admiral James Stavridis, a former NATO supreme allied commander, condemned the spectacle. ‘It is not who we are as a military or a nation,’ he said. Stavridis is right about who we should be. The moral character of the condemned does not determine the moral obligations of the state. Executing a paralyzed prisoner before a public audience demonstrates nothing about American strength. It transforms state violence into grotesque entertainment. But I fear the admiral is wrong about who we are.” (10/13/26)
Emotions versus Reason in Economics
Source: Cobden Centre
by Dr. Frank Shostak
“Contrary to the mainstream framework, Murray N. Rothbard held that valuations do not exist apart of the things to be valued. Whenever an individual is confronted with a good, he assesses it in accordance with it expected benefits to his life and well-being. These benefits are likely to vary given changes in individual’s circumstances. From this, it follows that an unchanged scale of preferences does not comply with the reality. Obviously, human beings do change their minds, so it is not surprising that the [behavioral economics] practitioners have ‘discovered’ that human beings’ behavior systematically deviates from the one depicted by the mainstream economics. … Since in the BE framework reason is not the key driver of individuals’ choices; individuals’ evaluations of goods are arbitrary i.e. not connected to the facts of reality.” (10/13/26)
https://www.cobdencentre.org/2026/10/emotions-versus-reason-in-economics-2/
Elon Musk Shows Us Why Oligarchy is a Danger
Source: Paul Krugman
by Paul Krugman
“The Forbes 400 may only own 4 percent of U.S. wealth; but the New York Times found that 300 billionaires accounted for 19 percent of all reported federal campaign contributions in the 2024 election. And these are only reported, cash donations. Include other forms of influence — exemplified by Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter and his conversion of the former public square into a site that elevates extreme right-wing propaganda — and it’s obvious that the malign political influence of a handful of the ultra-rich is much bigger than even those stunningly large donations suggest. Now the Times reports that Musk is giving even more money in an attempt to help Republicans stave off midterm disaster than he gave in 2024 …” (10/13/26)
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/elon-musk-shows-us-why-oligarchy
Man used AI songs and 10,000 bots to collect $8 million in fraudulent music royalties, prosecutors say
Source: Fox News
“A North Carolina man was sentenced to 18 months in prison after prosecutors said he used AI, or super intelligence, to create music and thousands of bots to fraudulently collect more than $8 million in streaming royalties. Michael Smith, 54, of Cornelius, North Carolina, pleaded guilty in March to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was sentenced Oct. 6, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. … From 2017 to 2024, Smith created thousands of fake accounts on streaming platforms including Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube Music, prosecutors said. He then used automated software to continuously stream songs he owned, many of which were generated using AI technology, allowing him to collect royalty payments for streams that did not come from real listeners.” (10/12/26)