Advisory Opinions, 05/26/26
Source: The Dispatch
“SCOTUS Through the Decades | Interview: Nina Totenberg.” (05/26/26)
Would Hasan Piker Steal A Car?
Source: EconLog
by Joy Buchanan
“In a controversial conversation platformed by the New York Times and recently discussed in The Atlantic, streamer Hasan Piker implied that he might steal a car if it carried no consequences. In the interview, author Jia Tolentino also casually admits to shoplifting lemons from Whole Foods. Although petty theft is common, the interview clip spread quickly because the justification for looting felt oddly assertive. Piker referred to the iconic anti-piracy campaign that sought to use moral vibes (rather than rational arguments) against taking physical property to convince people to further control their impulses and not copy music without paying. The anti-piracy clip ‘You Wouldn’t Steal a Car’ indicates an implicit assumption from 2004 that American society was broadly agreed on the stability of physical property. In other words, most Americans do not think ‘property is theft.'” (05/26/26)
https://www.econlib.org/econlog/would-hasan-piker-steal-a-car
Do US War Crimes Doom the World to Endless War and Chaos?
Source: Common Dreams
by Nicolas JS Davies
“On May 24, Iran rejected President Trump’s latest fake peace deal, confirming that he had misrepresented what Iran had agreed to and that the two sides are still very far apart, on nuclear enrichment, on control of the Strait of Hormuz, on peace in Palestine and Lebanon, and on lifting US sanctions, paying war reparations, and Iran’s $100 billion in frozen assets. Iran’s conditions for a peace agreement are necessarily uncompromising, in response to the US record of using negotiations as cover for sneak attacks, and the charade of one-sided ‘ceasefires with Israeli characteristics,’ in which the US and Israel routinely ignore and violate every ceasefire they agree to, including the present ones in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran.” (05/26/26)
Indianapolis resident to lead Libertarian National Committee
Source: Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
“An Indianapolis resident who has served as the chair of the Libertarian Party of Indiana since 2021 has been elected chair of the Libertarian National Committee. Evan McMahon was chosen as the party chair out of a multi-candidate field during this weekend’s Libertarian Party convention in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the party said in a Monday news release.” [editor’s note: As is often the case, McMahon’s candidacy proved controversial. Too early to tell how much of the controversy is warranted, though my early evaluation of Libertarian National Convention outcomes is “mixed,” but I did not attend and haven’t completely caught up yet – TLK] (05/25/26)
PropagandaWatch, 05/25/26
Source: The Corbett Report
“So, they’re wearing literal skin suits on the news now …” (05/25/26)
https://corbettreport.com/so-theyre-wearing-literal-skin-suits-on-the-news-now/
How Western Intelligence Agencies Built the Global Jihadist Network
Source: Libertarian Institute
by José Niño
“Americans have been fed a comforting fairy tale about Islamic terrorism. Radical jihadists attack the West simply because they despise freedom, democracy, and the American way of life. This narrative flatters domestic audiences while conveniently obscuring a far more troubling reality. For decades, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Israel have armed, financed, tolerated, and tapped into Sunni Islamist extremists as geopolitical tools to destabilize rivals. The evidence spans multiple theaters and rests on declassified documents, congressional investigations, and credible investigative journalism.” (05/26/26)
Finding Sympathy for Karl Marx
Source: The Daily Economy
by Paul McDonnold
“The founder of Marxism once wrote movingly about faith and virtue before taking what his own father feared might be a ‘Faustian’ turn toward revolution and resentment.” (05/26/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/finding-sympathy-for-karl-marx/
Hong Kong: Beijing puppet regime proposes issuing 10,000 permits for drivers on ride-hailing apps like Uber
Source: SFGate
“The Hong Kong government on Tuesday proposed issuing 10,000 new vehicle permits for drivers to work for online ride-hailing services like Uber, less than half the amount that industry representatives were hoping for. Hong Kong has about 18,000 licensed taxis and caps private service car-hire permits at 1,500, and these drivers can be summoned through ride-hailing apps. But the additional drivers who operate through those apps technically are outside the law and in the past have faced arrest, though they are prevalent in the city. The Hong Kong government unveiled details of a regulatory framework last summer to bring the industry under formal regulation, following years of pressure from taxi companies. Smart Transportation Alliance, whose members include ride-hailing firms and other transportation companies, had proposed in May that 20,500 new car permits be allowed in an initial phase.” (05/26/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/hong-kong-proposes-issuing-10-000-permits-for-22276741.php
Nerdcast, 05/26/26
Source: Politico
“Shapiro on Trump, Fetterman and 2028 over cheesesteaks in South Philly.” (05/26/26)
Driving VPNs South
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“Public Safety Canada, an agency responsible for safety, security, emergency preparedness and this kind of thing, recently urged Canadians to protect themselves when using public Wi-Fi by also using a VPN. ‘Using a VPN protects your data,’ the agency said. True. Unless — unless others in the government succeed in requiring VPN companies to uniformly sabotage the privacy of their customers. The mechanism for crippling VPNs? That would be the pending legislation to force VPN providers to retain personal data which users expect them not to retain, in this way killing these companies’ very reason for being as well as Canadian Internet users’ reasons to employ these companies.” (05/26/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/05/26/driving-vpns-south/