Trump’s Commerce Department as Venture Capitalist: Political Investment at its Worst

Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by William L Anderson

“As America’s first reality-show president, Donald Trump wants people to think he is breaking new ground and transforming America for the better. Stepping where no president before has gone, Trump has directed the US Commerce Department to take equity positions in 30 American firms, which clearly is controversial. Although the US is new to this policy, it isn’t the first country to do this, as France, Norway, Germany, China, and others have already seen governments purchase partial ownership in private firms. Supporters of this practice claim that any government infusion of cash into these businesses will expand the economy’s capital base, but there are plenty of reasons to oppose this practice, which economist Randall Holcomb has labeled ‘political capitalism.'” (08/06/26)

https://mises.org/mises-wire/trumps-commerce-department-venture-capitalist-political-investment-its-worst

Thomas L. Knapp

Court orders Instagram and Facebook’s Meta to pay $567 million bribe after frivolous lawsuit

Source: Associated Press

“A New Mexico court has ordered Instagram and Facebook parent company Meta to pay $567 million to address harms [sic] to young people from its platforms in the second phase of a landmark trial. Judge Bryan Biedscheid said in a ruling late Thursday that the bulk of the money — $420 million — will be used for treatment services for young people. The rest will go toward awareness and prevention, screening services and other costs over the next five years. The new penalty is in addition to the $375 million in civil penalties that jurors ordered against Meta in March after [hallucinating that] the company knowingly harmed children’s mental health and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its platforms.” (08/06/26)

https://apnews.com/article/meta-court-ruling-mental-health-online-platforms-21b425faf745d0f736b310ebd8bc6b89

Thomas L. Knapp

Censorship Will Never Solve Antisemitism

Source: Yascha Mounk
by Yascha Mounk

“When a group of neo-Nazis planned to march through the town of Skokie, Illinois, home to many Holocaust survivors, it was a Jewish attorney who stood up for their right of assembly. David Goldberger, then the legal director of the ACLU of Illinois, was no self-hating Jew, and he certainly harbored no sympathy for the National Socialist Party of America. But he realized that ‘the constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech and press would be meaningless if the government could pick and choose the persons to whom they apply.’ … The smartest case for free speech has never turned on denying that some utterances are so vile that all of us would be better off if they somehow disappeared from the public sphere. Rather, it was always based on skepticism that any institution, private or public, would consistently make these determinations in a reasonable and selfless manner.” (08/06/26)

https://writing.yaschamounk.com/p/dear-jews-dont-forget-your-free-speech

Thomas L. Knapp

KY: Someone claiming to be Mitch McConnell says he’s leaving rehab, heading home

Source: WLKY News

“Another update from Sen. Mitch McConnell’s office. On Thursday, they sent out another statement from him, saying he’s headed home. … ‘Earlier today, I was discharged from the rehabilitation center to continue my recovery at home. … On the advice of my doctors, I’ll maintain an intensive regimen of physical therapy from home during the state work period, and I’ll continue to engage with my staff and colleagues on important Senate business.’ … The 84-year-old senator was hospitalized June 14 after reportedly suffering a fall. On July 12, it was announced he was moved to a rehab facility where he has been until now. This is only the third statement said to be directly from McConnell since then. He has not been publicly seen, but his staff has provided two photos.” (08/06/26)

https://www.wlky.com/article/sen-mitch-mcconnell-health-update-out-of-rehab-home/73368744

Thomas L. Knapp

Data Centers Are Not the Problem. Bad Policy Is.

Source: The Dispatch
by Scott Lincicome

“In one sense, public backlash to data centers in the United States shouldn’t be surprising: Their construction and deployment have skyrocketed across the country, creating—not to get all goopy on you—a highly visible target for American angst about AI, Big Tech, U.S. politics, the turbulent economy, male-pattern baldness, and surely more. A recent New York Times op-ed captures the mood on the left well: These giant bricks guzzle water, gobble electricity, buzz loudly 24/7, and enrich Silicon Valley billionaires at regular folks’ expense. Opposition, however, isn’t just on the left: You’ll find similar takes from MAGA types on Facebook and NextDoor, and—as I just saw myself when driving outside Raleigh last week—big ‘NO DATA CENTER’ signs along many a rural roadside. Yet most of the common objections to data centers collapse under scrutiny.” (08/06/26)

https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/dispatch-markets/data-center-water-electric-taxes-benefits/

Thomas L. Knapp

The Long View of Iran

Source: American Greatness
by Victor Davis Hanson

“One day, the United States seems ready to unleash a Curtis LeMay-style devastating bombing campaign of Iran. The next, it appears trapped in endless haggling with Iranian dissimulators. Of the roughly 150 days since the first strike, about 90 have passed without major military operations. Iran believes time is on its side. The Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted, gas prices are too high, and antiwar House Democrats seem poised to win the midterms and bring Trump’s war to a halt. Trump, by contrast, believes Iran can talk all it wants while sanctions, embargoes, and military pressure steadily weaken the regime. The war has become so politicized in an election year that several basic realities have gone largely unnoticed by the media. First, the cycle of bombing, pausing, negotiating, and bombing again may seem endless. But the confusion obscures the continuing effects of the embargoes, sanctions, blockade, and financial isolation imposed on Iran.” (08/06/26)

https://amgreatness.com/2026/08/06/the-long-view-of-iran/

Steve Trinward

UK: Youngest black professor at Cambridge resigns as university investigates allegations of plagiarism

Source: Associated Press

“A British sociologist who became famous as the youngest [b]lack professor ever at the University of Cambridge has resigned after the university opened an investigation into ‘new information’ about his academic qualifications. Professor Jason Arday, who was 37 when he became a Cambridge professor in 2023, announced his decision late Wednesday following weeks of allegations about plagiarism in his academic work and questions surrounding claims about his athletic and fundraising accomplishments. … Questions about his qualifications were raised publicly last month by Nathan Cofnas, a one-time Cambridge philosophy researcher who left the university after his critique of diversity, equity and inclusion programs sparked widespread protests.” (08/06/26)

https://apnews.com/article/britain-cambridge-professor-arday-culture-wars-black-dddb05e9ade901ec35f85b6b3e7d9056

Thomas L. Knapp