Capital Record, episode 304
Source: National Review
“Concentration of Power and Elon Musk’s Trillion-Dollar Net Worth.” (06/16/26)
Trump is blowing his chance to make peace in Ukraine
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Jennifer Kavanagh
“When Donald Trump arrived in the White House in January 2025, securing a quick end to the war in Ukraine was near the top of his foreign policy agenda. Despite political backlash, he pushed ahead with this objective early in his second term by resuming dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin and initiating parallel diplomatic tracks with Kyiv and Moscow. Eighteen months later, however, peace talks have stalled and the war has only escalated. U.S. distraction in the Middle East is to blame for the most recent setback, but the failure of Trump’s initiative has deeper roots. Simply put, Trump’s efforts in Ukraine to this point have been counterproductive, pushing peace further off rather than bringing it closer.” (06/16/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-russia-ukraine-negotiations/
Nearly All Monetary Rules Say the Fed Should Raise Rates
Source: The Daily Economy
by Matthew Schaffer
“Continued inflation, hawkish regional bank presidents, and 11 of 12 monetary policy rules suggest the Fed should raise rates. The price of the Fed’s ‘patience’ could be paid economy wide.” (06/16/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/nearly-all-monetary-rules-say-the-fed-should-raise-rates/
Turning the Clock Back
Source: Law & Liberty
by Michael Lucchese
“Richard Weaver understood that the best defense of tradition also requires a defense of liberty.” (06/16/26)
Italy: Seven Arrested Over Anarchist Network Linked to Winter Olympics Rail Sabotage
Source: US News & World Report
“Italian police have arrested seven people accused of belonging to an anarchist militant network and carrying out sabotage on a high-speed railway line during the Winter Olympics in February. In a statement on Tuesday, police said a judge had ordered five suspects to be held in prison and two placed under house arrest. The charges include terrorist association and subversion of the democratic order. Police said two of those arrested were accused of taking part in a February 14 attack on the Rome-Florence high-speed rail line. According to investigators, the sabotage was carried out using improvised explosive devices, causing severe damage to infrastructure estimated at €455,000 ($528,000). The attack led to train delays of more than an hour during the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, which ran from February 6 to 22.” (06/16/26)
The Good Fight, 06/16/26
Source: Yascha Mounk
“Samuel Moyn on Why Old People Are Ruining America.” (06/16/26)
The Last Canadian Politician I’d Trust to Police the Internet
Source: Quillette
by Jonathan Kay
“Marc Miller spread misinformation about unmarked graves and supports the criminal prosecution of residential-school ‘denialists.’ Why would Mark Carney use him to front his new plan for regulating online content?” (06/16/26)
https://quillette.com/2026/06/16/the-last-canadian-politician-id-trust-to-police-the-internet/
Is California Reaching Critical Mass?
Source: American Greatness
by Victor Davis Hanson
“By any measure, California is a failed state, and a national embarrassment. Taxes? It has the highest income and gas taxes in the nation. Roads? A Reason Foundation survey ranks it 49th among the states. Mass flight? Between 250,000 and 350,000 more Californians leave the state than move in each year. Housing, gas, insurance, and electricity prices? The highest in the continental U.S. Illegal aliens, the poor, the homeless, the foreign-born, and welfare recipients? The largest numbers in the U.S. Public K–12 schools? Test scores in the bottom quartile. Poverty? Twenty percent live below the poverty line. So, what happened to the nation’s most richly naturally endowed — and once best governed — state? The Left took total control — after millions of the embattled middle class fled.” (06/16/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/06/16/is-california-reaching-critical-mass/
Musk’s SpaceX buys AI coding start-up for $60 billion days after IPO
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“SpaceX has agreed to buy AI coding start-up Cursor for $60bn (£45bn) just days after its bumper initial public offering (IPO). Elon Musk’s rocket company will take over Anysphere, which makes the artificial intelligence coding agent. The move comes after SpaceX joined New York’s tech-focused Nasdaq stock exchange on Friday in the biggest ever listing, valuing it at more than $2tn and raising $85.7bn. … Like OpenAI and Anthropic, Cursor’s technology uses AI to automate the process of writing code, one of the most prominent current uses for artificial intelligence.” (06/16/26)
How to Say No to an Imperial President
Source: Foreign Policy
by Julian E Zelizer
“Trump’s expansion of executive power would make even Richard Nixon blush.” (06/16/26)