Source: The Jolly Libertarian
by Marco den Ouden

“I was undecided on what to call this essay and had thought about Reconciling David Hume and Ayn Rand. I even thought about having AI generate a graphic for it. Ayn and David duking it out in a boxing ring. Ayn and David engaged in a sword fight but using giant pens instead of swords. Or maybe a referee holding up both their gloved hands and ruling the match a draw. I hadn’t thought much about Hume since university in the late 60s and early 70s. But I was intrigued when I read Jonathan Haidt’s The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion. … Haidt reintroduced me to Hume. In particular, Hume’s maxim that ‘reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey.'” (08/17/26)

https://jollylibertarian.blogspot.com/2026/08/how-self-help-book-resolved.html

Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders

“A special kind of person walks among us. Under the right institutional conditions, she is capable of assembling people and resources to serve others sustainably. If she fails to serve others—say, if enough of them are unhappy with the product or service she offers—she will be unable to continue her efforts. So, her efforts come with great risk, and some risks have clear odds. Hers? Not so much. An insurer will price the chance that her business burns down because businesses have burned down before. Yet no one will sell her a policy against her failure to serve others well. … She, the entrepreneur, also has to serve others sustainably despite the presence of interlopers.” (08/17/26)

https://underthrow.substack.com/p/a-special-kind-of-person

Source: Town Hall
by Derek Hunter

“It’s a sad story, the life of Jason Arday – the former Cambridge professor exposed as a fraud and plagiarist, who is now suspected of killing himself. I didn’t know him, had barely heard of him, but it was pretty clear that much of the life story he sold the world did not add up. Just how much of it was fake will come out eventually, but none of it needed to be. People must realize that it is what you actually do that matters, not your sad tale of woe nor any part of your biography.” (08/17/26)

https://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2026/08/17/the-simple-lesson-of-jason-arday-dont-be-a-fraud-n2681331#google_vignette

Source: Project Liberal
by Oliver Gale

“How the UK is changing the rules on petty crime to attack free speech.” (08/17/26)

https://projectliberal.substack.com/p/when-does-protest-become-terrorism

Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Nick Cleveland-Stout

“At a glance, the Hanover Institute for Public Policy looks like a new think tank dedicated to Israel/Palestine. The organization churns out think-tank style reports on questions such as ‘Does AIPAC Use ‘Dark Money in Elections?’ and ‘Is Israel Carrying out a Deliberate Campaign of Starvation in Gaza?’ But the Hanover Institute is not a real think tank. None of the reports have bylines. A small disclaimer at the bottom of the webpage notes that the organization was created on behalf of the Israeli Government Advertising Agency by Piro, Inc, a firm co-founded by Daniel Rosenberg, the producer of Spike Lee’s ‘Inside Man.’ The Hanover Institute’s reports — all of which are about Israel and Palestine — appear to be part of an Israeli effort to influence chatbots.” (08/17/26)

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/israel-influence-chatgpt/

Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff

“In trying to hatch their own artificial intelligence, many countries are playing catch-up to the two world giants: the United States and China. In recent months, however, Japan has taken a different course. It admits it cannot create the most advanced AI models. Yet it might be the first nation to put AI at the center of a new economic strategy. In late July, Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae’s Cabinet approved a plan to inject $2.3 trillion in public and private investment toward strengthening key industries by 2040, starting with AI and the computer chips that run it. The plan goes beyond merely automating current work, improving efficiencies, cutting costs, or boosting the economy. It would also enhance human creativity and innovation by focusing on applying AI to real-world problems – starting on the factory floor of Japan’s existing world-class manufacturing industries.” (08/14/26)

https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0814/Japan-eyes-nonartificial-intelligence