Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
“After Leave won the Brexit vote in 2016, lots of thinkers who accepted the economic case for high immigration started flirting with a political case against high immigration. While the details of this political case were often vague, one word was painted on its banner: BACKLASH. The central insinuation was that staunch support for high immigration is what philosophers call ‘self-defeating’: When immigration gets too high, voters reliably shift their support to right-wing populists, who in turn reliably slash immigration. I’ve long maintained that the rhetoric of ‘immigration backlash’ is classic motte-and-bailey. If ‘backlash’ merely means ‘More immigration leads to more complaining about immigration’ then the claim is almost surely true, but also trivial.” (02/10/26)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/backlash-seek-truth-from-facts
Source: ABC News
“An immigration court blocked the deportation of a Turkish Tufts University graduate student who was detained by immigration officials near her Massachusetts home, her attorneys said in court documents filed Monday. Rümeysa Öztürk’s attorneys said the immigration court found on Jan. 29 that the Department of Homeland Security hasn’t proved that Öztürk should be removed from the U.S. The immigration court also terminated Öztürk’s removal proceedings, the attorneys said in a letter to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has been reviewing her case.” (02/10/26)
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/us-immigration-court-blocks-deportation-tufts-graduate-student-130014637
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Australian authorities were fully aware that inviting Israel’s president for a visit was going to ignite unrest and furious opposition. They invited him anyway, and sent in the police to assault the protesters. I saw a video of two cops pinning a kid in a keffiyeh face down on the ground and proceeding to punch him over and over again long after he’d been subdued. I saw another video of police repeatedly punching a middle-aged man who was holding his hands in the air until he fell to the ground. I saw another video of police repeatedly pepper spraying a demonstrator directly in the face as he was visibly complying with their demands to move and providing no resistance whatsoever. I saw another video of police manhandling Muslim men who were literally on their knees praying, presenting no possible threat of any kind.” (02/10/25)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/02/10/in-australia-the-police-beat-you-up-for-opposing-genocide/
Source: CNBC
“Consumer activity slowed sharply for the December holiday shopping season amid a spate of rough weather, tariff impact and persistently higher inflation, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Retail sales were flat on the month following a 0.6% increase in November, according to numbers adjusted for seasonality but not inflation. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected an increase of 0.4%. Excluding autos, sales also were unchanged, against the estimate for a 0.3% increase. On an annual basis, sales rose 2.4%, a considerable step down from the 3.3% pace in November. … The shopping pace failed to keep up with inflation, as the consumer price index for December posted a 2.7% increase.” (02/10/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/10/december-retail-sales-were-flat-missing-expectations.html
Source: The UnPopulist
by Kathrina Szymborski Wolfkot
“As the U.S. Supreme Court rolls back long-standing constitutional protections, advocates are increasingly looking to state courts and constitutions to protect civil rights and liberties. The shift toward state constitutions as sources of expanded rights crosses ideological lines and issues, from abortion to criminal sentencing to property rights. It reflects a basic, often overlooked, truth about our system of government: States can provide more expansive protections for individual rights and liberties than the federal Constitution.” [editor’s note: Constitutions aren’t sources” of rights. They may protect, not protect, or violate rights, but the rights exist regardless of what the documents say – TLK] (02/10/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/robust-state-constitutionalism-can
Source: TomDispatch
by Rebecca Gordon
“Today, during my slog through the Substack messages, newspaper headline notices, and podcast reminders that hit my inbox every morning, two stories drew my attention. Both had to do with the fact that human beings have always moved around this planet …. I was reminded of a decades-old song by the Venezuelan singer Soledad Bravo, ‘Punto y Raya’ (‘The Dot and the Dash’) … ‘Between your people and mine’, says the song, ‘there’s a dot and a dash. The dash says, ‘No entrance’ and the dot, ‘The road is closed’…’ Bravo goes on to say that, with all those dots and dashes outlining the borders of nations, a map looks like a telegram. If you walk through the actual world, though, what you see are mountains and rivers, forests and deserts, but no dots or dashes at all.” (02/10/25)
https://tomdispatch.com/on-seeking-asylum-and-refuge/
Source: National Review
“The Oren Cass Case for Central Planning Does Not Indict Wall Street for Anything.” (02/10/26)
https://www.nationalreview.com/podcasts/capital-record/the-oren-cass-case-for-central-planning-does-not-indict-wall-street-for-anything/
Source: The Daily Economy
by Lawrence W Reed
“Archaeology is now revealing the grit and hustle of the Roman middle class, reminding us that civilizations depend not on elites, but on the conditions that allow ordinary people to thrive.” (02/10/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/how-ordinary-romans-lived-and-what-happened-when-it-fell/
Source: New York Post
“The brute who threw acid in an Elmont college student’s face has finally been arrested — nearly five years after the sickening attack that left the young woman permanently disfigured, authorities said. The wannabe rapper appeared in Nassau County Court Tuesday, marking the first arrest in a case that shocked Long Island and drew national attention over four years ago. Prosecutors claimed the suspect, a wannabe rapper, boasted about an acid attack in one of his songs posted to social media. The victim, Nafiah Ikram, previously condemned prosecutors for dropping the ball in the case, allowing the sicko to remain on the run while she suffered second- and third-degree burns and lost vision in one eye” (02/10/25)
https://nypost.com/2026/02/10/us-news/wannabe-rapper-busted-for-throwing-acid-in-long-island-college-students-face-boasted-about-attack-in-song-officials/
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Douglas E French
“In the real world, where people actually buy things, those who can, dictate what currency they wish to be paid in. … Singer Bette Midler (influenced by manager Aaron Russo) insisted on payment in gold bullion for a planned British concert tour in the fall of 1978. The ‘Divine Miss M’ is believed to be the first major performer to be paid in bullion. … Fast forward to 2026. Wasteland Capital posted on X, ‘The big news from Davos is that the luxury hookers have stopped accepting Bitcoin but are happy to take Gold bars and DRAM sticks.'” (02/10/26)
https://mises.org/power-market/uncertain-money-and-uncertain-times
