Source: Law & Liberty
by Titus Techera

“Dolly understood that human nature includes not just sweetness, but much envy and resentment besides, aimed especially, of course, at the beautiful, the wealthy, and so on among us. But her obvious love of people and loyalty to her roots, her tireless work raising money and creating jobs, in short becoming such an astonishing benefactor — that overwhelmed any resentment and made people love her even more for it. That’s a remarkable American life.” (08/28/26)

https://lawliberty.org/dolly-partons-american-life/

Source: The American Prospect
by Robert Kuttner

“In the latest twist in the saga of President Trump’s efforts to get the U.S. Postal Service to restrict or condition mail-in voting, a federal judge once again has enjoined the Postal Service from moving ahead with its plan. District Court Judge Indira Talwani’s order yesterday came after the Supreme Court had admonished her on Monday, overturning her earlier injunction on the grounds that the Postal Service had not finalized any changes; thus the suit and injunction were supposedly premature. But as Judge Talwani wrote in her latest order, the Postal Service had actually gone ahead and issued a final rule providing that unless a state provides voter information to the USPS and meets other arbitrary conditions, the Postal Service will not deliver mail-in ballots.” (08/28/26)

https://prospect.org/2026/08/28/battle-over-mail-ballots-trump-supreme-court/

Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman

“Between 1876 and 1896, the individualist, pro-capitalist Victorian polymath and evolutionary sociologist, Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), published his massive three-volume The Principles of Sociology. Part five he titled ‘Political Institutions.’ In it he described mankind’s move from what he called the primitive ‘militant type of society’ to the modern ‘industrial type of society.’ His narrative is detailed and fascinating. Spencer’s general point was that the obsolete militant type was characterized by force, slavery, regimentation, and centralized power. In contrast, the beneficent industrial type was grounded in individuality, freedom, contract, interdependence, and decentralized power.” (08/28/26)

https://sheldonrichman.substack.com/p/tgif-spencer-on-the-industrial-society

Source: Independent Institute
by Pierre Lemieux

“The trade war between the United States and Canada—or, more exactly, between Donald Trump, who declared it, and Canadian politicians, who try to limit the damage though using the same logic as Trump’s—provides a good opportunity to reflect on how trade and freedom work. It is not a brilliant idea for the Canadian government to impose a tariff on Canadians who purchase American appliances, for example, in order to retaliate against the American ruler who has imposed a tariff on Americans importing Canadian whisky. … Instead of retaliation—imposing a border tax on Canadians because Trump has imposed one on Americans—[prime minister Mark Carney] could make a declaration of unilateral free trade along the following lines …” (08/27/26)

https://www.independent.org/article/2026/08/27/the-trade-declaration-carney-should-make/