How two Clemson professors fought a wave of censorship

Source: Expression
by Graham Piro

“The shock hit Clemson before the facts had fully settled. Charlie Kirk was dead. Within minutes, the ghastly footage of his murder circulated online. For many, the initial response was horror. Others found the killing justified. Some even joked about it. At Clemson University, students gathered hours after the attack to mourn Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA. But the sadness was soon accompanied by an ominous chilling effect on speech as administrators began targeting any faculty or staff perceived to have justified or celebrated the shooting. … In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Clemson fired two professors for social media posts about Kirk’s death.” (05/19/26)

https://expression.fire.org/p/how-two-clemson-professors-fought

Philippines: “It Is Like Martial Law Here”

Source: In These Times
by Alessandra Bergamin

“Eight days into the new year, in the stifling aftermath of a state-sanctioned attack on the Philippine village of Abra de Ilog, the country’s armed forces shared a video of Filipina American Chantal Anicoche to its Facebook page. Filmed by the military’s 203rd Infantry Brigade in the province of Mindoro Occidental, the video shows Anicoche clambering out of a vine-covered pit, barefoot, sallow and drawn. Cowering, Anicoche is led to a clearing. She sits on the ground as a soldier asks, ‘Why are you here?’ A passionate activist from Maryland, 24-year-old Anicoche had moved to Abra de Ilog the month prior to learn from the Indigenous Mangyan-Iraya and peasant communities that are resisting extractive industries, militarization and state violence.” (05/19/26)

https://inthesetimes.com/article/martial-law-philippines-anicoche-environment

IRS will not pursue Trump for back taxes under settlement agreement

Source: France 24 [French state media]

“The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will not pursue President Donald Trump, his family or companies for back tax claims under an agreement announced on Tuesday by the Justice Department. Trump, his sons Eric and Donald Jr. and the Trump Organisation filed a lawsuit against the tax-collecting agency in January seeking $10 billion in damages following a leak of his tax returns. … Trump dropped the lawsuit against the IRS on Monday in exchange for the creation of a $1.7 billion fund to compensate political allies who believe that they were unfairly prosecuted under the Biden administration. … An addendum to the settlement agreement signed by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and released on Tuesday says the IRS is ‘forever barred’ from pursuing any tax claims against Trump, his family or his businesses that were pending as of the May 18 settlement date.” [editor’s note: Would have been nicer if the “forever barred” applied to EVERYONE – TLK] (05/19/26)

https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20260519-irs-trump-back-taxes-settlement-agreement

Defending free speech?

Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton

“We defend anyone’s right to speak (write, publish, record, etc.) freely on any subject. Whether right or wrong. But we defend our own God-given right to challenge, contest, disagree, and point out when what they say is wrong. Either when someone fails to tell the truth, or when they twist things around. Not just draw the wrong conclusions but claim that only they know the truth and can explain it properly. Free speech is not just a fundamental requirement for a republic, or even a ‘democracy’ but for society. As is the right to challenge when someone abuses that right. But the challenge must be appropriate to the offense. For example, teachers do not chop off a student’s hand (or even a finger!) for misspelling a word. Or writing down something that is obviously untrue.” (05/19/26)

https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/05/19/defending-free-speech/

KY: Forces of evil prevail in GOP congressional primary

Source: Associated Press

“Kentucky U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie lost his Republican House primary Tuesday, becoming the latest Republican lawmaker to anger President Donald Trump and then fall to a primary challenger backed by the president. Trump handpicked and endorsed Ed Gallrein, whose victory demonstrated the president’s influence over GOP voters and growing frustration with Massie’s opposition to Trump. … He pushed for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, criticized the war in Iran and voted against the president’s signature tax legislation last year. Still, he tried to convince voters that they could be for both him and Trump. The race was the most expensive U.S. House primary in history.” (05/19/26)

https://apnews.com/article/massie-gallrein-trump-kentucky-republican-primary-03a658b1a45593ad04ebf6283a3fdb47

The Feudal Economics of Modern Healthcare: How Regulation Turned Medicine into a Fiefdom

Source: The Daily Economy
by Richard Menger

“High school history curricula often portray feudalism as a quaint medieval relic — a cautionary archetype of concentrated power, conditional rights, and extractive hierarchies that suppressed human flourishing for centuries. As ever, though, the deeper lesson of history is its recurring nature: when property rights erode and rent-seeking supplants open competition, societies reliably drift back toward feudal arrangements. American medicine today offers a vivid illustration of this pattern, as government-created barriers sustain local monopolies, nonprofit hospital systems function as modern lords, and physicians relinquish professional autonomy in exchange for the illusory security of salaried fiefdoms. The result is contemporary serfs in white coats serving within tax-exempt citadels.” (05/19/26)

https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/the-feudal-economics-of-modern-healthcare-how-regulation-turned-medicine-into-a-fiefdom/

Tankers exit Hormuz as Trump, Vance talk up prospects of US surrender in Iran war

Source: Reuters

“Two Chinese tankers laden with oil exited the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, shipping data showed, brightening hopes that the U.S.-Israeli conflict with ​Iran may soon be resolved after positive comments from the U.S. president and his deputy. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the war would be over ‘very quickly’ ‌while Vice President JD Vance talked up progress in talks with Tehran about an agreement to end hostilities. … Iranian state media said Tehran’s latest peace proposal involves ending hostilities on all fronts including Lebanon, the exit of ​U.S. forces from areas close to Iran, ​and reparations for destruction caused by the U.S.-Israeli ⁠attacks. Tehran also sought the lifting of sanctions, release of frozen funds and an end to the U.S. marine blockade, according to Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi as cited by IRNA news agency. The terms as described in the Iranian reports appeared little changed from Iran’s previous offer, which Trump ​rejected last week as ‘garbage.'” (05/20/26)

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/tankers-exit-hormuz-trump-vance-talk-up-iran-deal-prospects-2026-05-20/

The Superpower of Coping with Government Stupidity

Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan

“Businesses have an unsung superpower. They aren’t just awesome at producing and marketing goods and services. They are also awesome at coping with government stupidity …. Thanks to competition, consumers ultimately pay the price of wasteful government policies. This is Econ 1: As long as prices remain free, government stupidity reduces supply and raises prices, allowing businesses to remain profitable despite their hostile economic environment. Crucially, however, the process of complying with sheer idiocy is itself competitive!” (05/19/26)

https://www.betonit.ai/p/the-superpower-of-coping-with-government