Chaos and the Birth of Order

Source: Brownstone Institute
by Charles Krblich

“Growing up, I never cared for Mathematics. It was too logical, bland, boring, difficult, and when contrasted against the stories, battles, wars, glory, destruction, growth, and exploration that was History, I never gave it a fair chance. So it was one of the little ironies of life, that I came to do Mathematics for a living. Focused study softened the difficulty, and armed with growing knowledge, bland and boring transformed to mildly charming. With new perspective, I discovered what has since become my favorite toy, a Galton Board. The toy is a small window into our experience over the last several years in which our free and independent lives have clashed broadly against arcane, top-down rules conceived by bureaucrats.” (08/17/26)

https://brownstone.org/articles/chaos-and-the-birth-of-order/

Thomas L. Knapp

Florida needs Byron Donalds to protect the DeSantis legacy

Source: Fox News
by Gianno Caldwell

“When COVID hit in March 2020, I was living in Los Angeles. What I saw there changed the course of my life. It became clear almost immediately that local officials in California weren’t following the science. They were following the politics. Every decision, every mandate, every shutdown got filtered through one lens: how do we use this crisis to fight back against Trump and Republicans? Californians paid for that calculation. Businesses shuttered. Kids lost years of school. Families lost everything they’d built. I watched it happen in real time. Florida went a different way. Governor Ron DeSantis stood firm.” [editor’s note: DeSantis did his best impression of Gavin Newsom and Gretchen Whitmer having a secret love child until he realized Floridians were ignoring and/or laughing at him. Then he did his best impression of Mel Gibson yelling “FREEEEEEDOOOMMMM!” in Braveheart – TLK] (08/17/26)

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/gianno-caldwell-florida-needs-byron-donalds-protect-desantis-legacy

Steve Trinward

US regime bond sell-off drives 30-year yields to highest since 2007

Source: Seattle Times

“The yield on 30-year U.S. Treasuries hit the highest in almost two decades, reflecting investor angst over the surging national debt, a flood of long-dated bond sales and inflation that’s been stuck over the Federal Reserve’s target for the past five years. The rate on the so-called long bond rose three basis points to 5.29% on Monday, the highest since 2007. The move pushed it closer to that year’s 5.44% peak during the early days of the global financial crisis. The rise, which is driving up the U.S. government’s borrowing costs, is part of a broader trend in global bond markets, where investors are demanding more compensation to protect themselves against the risk of mounting government debts and persistently high inflation that’s likely to keep short-term interest rates elevated.” (08/17/26)

https://archive.is/k66Bu

Thomas L. Knapp

The Anti-Social Life of the Unapologetic Man

Source: Aaron Ross Powell
by Aaron Ross Powell

“The disappointing alchemy of algorithmic advertising brought me a pitch for a magazine called Field Ethos, co-founded by the lowest of the Trump scions. It’s a publication for men who fancy themselves performers of the sort of masculinity typified by the victim in a Sherlock Holmes story who it turns out was murdered because he stole a jewel while doing colonialist things in the Indian subcontinent. What caught my eye, though, was the word showing up twice in the ad’s copy. ‘The premier lifestyle publication for the unapologetic man is here. Enjoy a mix of modern adventure, historical context, and perspectives forged through global travel while staying current with the latest products that elevate an unapologetic life.’ Now, ‘unapologetic’ is an odd trait to boast of.” (08/17/26)

https://www.aaronrosspowell.com/3mtbyvi4j4k2e

Thomas L. Knapp

Senile reality TV star blames vandals for damaged grass at July 4 celebration site

Source: The Hill

“President Trump on Sunday accused vandals of damaging the ground near the World War II Memorial where thousands gathered for a July 4 celebration hosted in conjunction with the White House. Trump, in a post on Truth Social, shared pictures of a grassy field with patches of brown across the lawn. ‘Look what VANDALS did to the grass connecting the vandalized World War II Monument and the vandalized Reflecting Pool, which will be opened again, and better than ever, shortly,’ he wrote. ‘Anybody who thinks the Reflecting Pool wasn’t vandalized should go back to Law School,’ the president added.” (08/17/26)

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6032714-donald-trump-vandalism-july-4-national-mall/

Thomas L. Knapp

Trump Shouldn’t Make Another Iran Mistake in Cuba

Source: The American Conservative
by Chris McCallion & Daniel R DePetris

“Even as the Trump administration doubles down on its failed Iran war, it’s also laying the groundwork for military action much closer to home, in Cuba. The Trump administration claims Cuba is a nefarious presence in the Western Hemisphere and a local proxy for Russia and China. Now it seems intent on toppling the Havana government. … There’s a better alternative to Washington’s failed hardline policy. The United States could normalize relations with Cuba, an act that would increase trade, strengthen tourism, and open up Cuba to further liberalization and internal reform. This is precisely what the Obama administration began pursuing in its second term, a process aborted in President Donald Trump’s first year in office in favor of the kind of ‘maximum pressure’ policy he pursued against Iran. We know how well that turned out.” (08/17/26)

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/trump-shouldnt-make-another-iran-mistake-in-cuba/

Thomas L. Knapp