Source: Cobden Centre
by Lawrence H White

“Recently, an investment advisor and Bitcoin proponent tweeted the claim that ‘[f]or most of human history’ the ‘[s]eparation of money and state was the norm, even if the state stamped their ruler’s face on the coin.’ Some strong disagreement (and some strong support) followed the tweet. The most categorical criticism asserted: ‘Money is and always has been a creation of government.’ A somewhat milder challenge asserted that ‘Private moneys have seldom been main media of exchange.’ First, let’s clarify the object of the discussion. If we define ‘money’ the way that economists usually do, to mean any ‘commonly accepted media of exchange,’ including bank deposits and other media of payment by account transfer, the claim that private money has been rare is obviously false.” (11/04/25)

https://www.cobdencentre.org/2025/11/how-common-has-private-currency-been/

Source: The American Conservative
by Leon Hadar

“Conservative influencers like Steve Bannon have labeled Israel a U.S. ‘protectorate,’ depicting it as a vassal state rather than an autonomous power in its own right, a charge that recently got under the skin of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Washington’s foreign policy establishment avoids that characterization, preferring instead the comfortable rhetoric of ‘strategic partnership’ and ‘shared values.’ But a clear-eyed examination of the relationship suggests something more complicated — and more problematic — than either framework suggests.” (11/04/25)

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/why-israel-isnt-really-a-protectorate/

Source: The Peaceful Revolutionist
by David S D’Amato

“The reason I was attracted to libertarianism in the first place is I do not believe that we should be trying to use the coercive weapon of the state to decide how people worship, or who they screw or how they do it, or what they do to their own body, or what languages they speak or what they say, and I don’t think we should be trying to have places of books and learning be places of bullshit team-rooting. But I also believe that a false and misleading statement of our cultural differences as Americans (including our non-citizen friends and neighbors whom I regard as Americans) has been foisted onto us by an oligarchical elite that profits from and enjoys the division.” (11/03/25)

https://dsdamato.substack.com/p/thoughts-on-oligarchy-3

Source: Town Hall
by Stephen Moore

“You’ve probably heard by now the blockbuster news that Microsoft founder Bill Gates, one of the richest people to ever walk the planet, has had a change of heart on climate change. For several decades, Gates poured billions of dollars into the climate-industrial complex and was howling that the end is nigh unless we stop using fossil fuels, cars, air conditioning and general anesthesia. Now, he says he rejects the ‘doomsday’ predictions of the more extreme global warming prophets. Some conservatives have snuffed that Gates has shifted his position on climate change because he and Microsoft have invested heavily in energy-intensive data centers. What Gates has done is courageous and praiseworthy. There are not many people of his stature who will admit that they were wrong. Al Gore certainly hasn’t. My wife says I never do.” (11/04/25)

https://townhall.com/columnists/stephenmoore/2025/11/04/bill-gates-gets-mugged-by-reality-n2665941

Source: Reason
by Jacob R Swartz

“The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown has put more federal immigration officers in public view and equipped them with new facial recognition technology. One of these tools is Mobile Fortify, an app that lets agents collect photos and biometric data like fingerprints on the spot — and people have no chance to refuse. With Mobile Fortify, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers can photograph anyone they encounter and run the image through Department of Homeland Security (DHS) databases, including Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Traveler Verification Service, which stores photos of people entering the United States. … The stated purpose of Mobile Fortify is to identify noncitizens who are removable from the United States. But the PTA notes that agents may collect information on any individual they encounter, regardless of citizenship, because an officer cannot determine someone’s status before performing the check.” (11/03/25)

https://reason.com/2025/11/03/dont-want-ice-to-scan-your-face-too-bad-you-might-not-have-a-choice/