UT: Regime revokes license for boarding school where Paris Hilton says she was abused as a teen

Source: Seattle Times

“The state of Utah has revoked the license of a boarding school where socialite Paris Hilton said she was abused as a teenager, saying the school has ‘failed to provide applicable health and safety services for clients.’ The state’s action, which took effect Monday, cites multiple noncompliance issues against the Provo Canyon School’s campus in Springville. The school has 15 days to request a hearing before the Department of Health & Human Services. … ‘For more than fifty years, children came forward with stories of abuse, neglect, and trauma,’ Hilton said in a statement provided Tuesday. ‘Today, the state confirmed what survivors have known all along: Provo Canyon School failed the children in its care. I was one of those children.’ … She alleges staff members beat her, watched her shower, fed her unknown pills and locked her in solitary confinement without clothing.” (07/07/26)

https://archive.is/c8rWK

Thomas L. Knapp

A Mutual Sympathy of Sentiments

Source: EconLog
by Art Carden

“In The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Adam Smith explains that we want to establish a ‘mutual sympathy of sentiments.’ We want people to agree with our views, and we want to agree with their views. Smith first expanded on this idea … before he developed his broader theory of a commercial society in An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. The implications were astounding: a complex division of labor and division of knowledge, and the kind of prosperity we see today. That’s what every bid and ask in a market is: a request to cooperate through mutual sympathy with another person. It can be plainly rejected by someone who doesn’t share similar sentiments, but every opportunity to exchange is a sacred opportunity to work together with someone to mutual advantage.” (07/07/26)

https://www.econlib.org/econlog/a-mutual-sympathy-of-sentiments

Thomas L. Knapp

A Military Flyover Country Turns 250

Source: Common Dreams
by Bita Iuliano & Olivia Dinucci

“As the country and this administration launched its America 250 and Freedom 250 ‘Celebrations’ over the holiday weekend, what we experienced in the nation’s capitol and a city of 700,000 residents replicated what the United States does to other parts of the world. The streets were invaded by the military, public spaces barricaded with multiple levels of security checkpoints, and the sky full of military flyovers, including a seven-hour schedule of flyovers on July 4th. Military flyovers come at a devastating cost—economically, psychologically, and environmentally. The most recent ones came in the middle of a heatwave where even Trump’s American State Fair closed after people were baptizing themselves in the religious tent to prevent heat stroke. But flyovers are not new and have been used as a propaganda tool for military recruitment during NFL games and summer festivals. The militarization has been so normalized for so long.” (07/06/26)

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/patriotic-flyovers

Steve Trinward

NATO picks Swedish Saab early-warning planes over US rival

Source: Reuters

“NATO announced a roughly $4.5 billion plan on Tuesday to buy up to 10 ‌Saab GlobalEye surveillance planes to replace ageing AWACS early warning aircraft, backing a Swedish system over a rival solution from U.S. planemaker Boeing. Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the replacement of Cold War-era Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) planes, best known for their rotating radomes, ​with a new system based on smaller business jets would tackle threats like drone swarms. … With U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly pressing allies to ​spend more on defence and buy more U.S. equipment, Rutte took pains to underline the international pedigree of the ​system which is mounted on top of Bombardier Global 6500 business jets. … GlobalEye competes with Boeing’s E-7 Wedgetail, an early warning ‌and command-and-control ⁠aircraft based on the 737 jetliner and designed to oversee and direct battle.” (07/07/26)

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/nato-picks-swedish-saab-early-warning-planes-over-us-rival-2026-07-07/

Thomas L. Knapp

Why Does the Earth Need More Fences to Stay Green?

Source: Students For Liberty
by Ketevani Kadagishvili

“Walk down any residential street and you will notice a curious, common pattern. A homeowner’s private garden is often a well-tended space filled with blooming flowers and vibrant life. In contrast, the public park we share is frequently damaged by litter, ruined grass, and broken benches. Why does this difference exist? The answer lies in the deep connection between ownership and care, a principle that Frédéric Bastiat understood nearly two centuries ago.” (07/07/26)

https://studentsforliberty.org/blog/why-does-the-earth-need-more-fences-to-stay-green/

Thomas L. Knapp

Poll: US support for Israel slips as Democrats grow more critical

Source: Seattle Times

“After decades of reliable bipartisan backing for Israel, a new AP-NORC poll reveals a dramatic erosion of support for the longtime U.S. ally, with rising opposition from Democrats and signs of division among Republicans. The survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research arrives at a moment when a once-consensus foreign policy issue is increasingly polarizing Americans along partisan and generational lines, driven by criticism for Israel’s conduct nearly three years after the outbreak of its latest war with Hamas in Gaza. About one-third of U.S. adults — including roughly half of Democrats — believe that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians during the war in Gaza …. About 58% of Democrats now say the U.S. is ‘too supportive’ of the Israelis, up from 45% in an AP-NORC poll from January 2024 when former President Joe Biden was in office. That includes 51% of Jewish Democrats in the new poll.” (07/07/26)

https://archive.is/IWoxk

Thomas L. Knapp