The FDA Can’t Manage Its Own Risk Problem

Source: Independent Institute
by Raymond J March

“Private companies—whether making medical goods or anything else — flourish or fail by assessing risk well. The FDA doesn’t face that discipline. The agency’s only real power is to remove products from the market or stop them from entering it. That is a blunt instrument applied to an incredibly dynamic market for medical goods. More importantly, accepting risk is a matter of personal preference and available alternatives — circumstances that differ for every patient and cannot be aggregated into a one-size-fits-all standard without discarding what makes medical treatment effective in the first place.” (06/16/26)

https://www.independent.org/article/2026/06/16/fda-risk-problem/

Never Cross a River Four Feet Deep on Average

Source: Astral Codex Ten
by Sasha Putilin

“The results of my ACX Grants 2024 project are in. The project attempted to replicate the 2023 study ‘Learning at your brain’s rhythm: individualized entrainment boosts learning for perceptual decisions.’ It claimed that if you read a person’s brain waves, figured out an individual peak alpha frequency, and flashed a bright white light at that frequency, then they learned a certain perceptual task faster. Why bother? The result hinted that learning may depend in part on how well the brain keeps its rhythms coordinated.” (06/16/26)

https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/never-cross-a-river-four-feet-deep

CA: City torn apart by recalled city council that refuses to leave

Source: SFGate

“A small farm community an hour from Fresno is tangled up in an ongoing legal battle that has erupted into disarray after its mayor and city council, except for one member, were recalled in a special election that they claim was illegal. The councilmembers and mayor are now refusing to leave office. A special election was held in April after a citizen-led campaign pushed to oust four of the five members of the Avenal City Council after disagreements over a new fire protocol policy boiled over, according to local reporting from the Fresno Bee. During the April 28 special election, residents voted in favor of the recall. Kings County officially certified the results in May after more than 75% of voters agreed to recall Mayor Alvaro Preciado and councilmembers Leticia Gamez, David Reynosa and Pablo Hernandez.” (06/17/26)

https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/avenal-city-council-recall-22307899.php

UK teen social media ban is anonymity-killer for adults

Source: Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
by Sarah McLaughlin

“The United Kingdom is unveiling a grand new policy it claims will protect children on social media platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and X. The exact rules governing the ban will be released before its launch next year, but it will use age verification tools to restrict youth access to social media and other programs. But this new ‘under-16’ policy, like many others before it, is a misnomer. Because whether you’re 15 or 55, it will affect people regardless of age — and drain away all UK citizens’ ability to speak freely and anonymously online.” (06/16/26)

https://www.fire.org/news/blogs/free-speech-dispatch/uk-teen-social-media-ban-anonymity-killer-adults

Real Estate Merger Poised to Create Several Local Apartment Monopolies

Source: In These Times
by Rebecca Burns

“A $69 billion merger between two real estate behemoths is set to create the largest publicly traded apartment landlord in U.S. history, dramatically expanding the market power of two firms that have been sued repeatedly over alleged tenant abuses and illegal price-fixing. Together, real estate investment trusts (REITs) AvalonBay Communities and Equity Residential own more than 180,000 apartments nationwide, with another 20,000 under development. Were these two companies banks or broadcast networks or grocery stores, their merger would face mandatory review by federal regulators. But long-standing loopholes exempt real estate mergers from antitrust scrutiny — even as concerns mount about the consolidation of housing in the hands of large investors.” (06/17/26)

https://inthesetimes.com/article/real-estate-monopoly-equity-residential-avalon-bay

Oklahomans reject $15 minimum wage; Hern wins GOP primary

Source: United Press International

“Oklahoma voters have rejected raising the state’s nation-lowest minimum wage as several states held primaries on Tuesday. The Sooner State sets its minimum at $7.25, the federal minimum wage floor, tying it with 19 other mostly Republican-led or -leaning states for the nation’s lowest. Oklahoma raised its minimum wage to $7.25 in 2009 to comply with federal law. Voters were asked in State Question 832 whether Oklahoma employers must pay employees at least $15 per hour by 2029, putting the state above the median of $11.63 an hour but still below the highest-wage states. However, voters rejected the move. … Oklahoma voters also heavily backed Rep. Kevin Hern for the Republican nomination for the Senate seat held by Markwayne Mullin until March, when he was sworn in as secretary of Homeland Security, replacing Kristi Noem. … Meanwhile, the GOP gubernatorial primary appears to be heading to a runoff.” (06/17/26)

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/06/17/Oklahoma-minimum-wage/8631781670598/

Principles for a Centrist Realignment: The Grand Alliance

Source: American Greatness
by Edward Ring

“With midterm elections just around the corner, both major political parties are themselves coping with divided constituencies. The Democratic Socialists vie for dominance against more moderate Democrats. MAGA Republicans confront disaffected libertarians and neocons. And outside all these polarized factions are millions of voters that don’t find any politician or political agenda credible enough to earn their allegiance. But there is a common thread shared by most disillusioned voters. They believe that America’s ruling class has abandoned its fellow citizens. They’re right. Notwithstanding notable recent defections, America’s elites view ordinary citizens as no longer necessary. Because of globalism, they are replaceable. Because of automation, supercharged by AI, they are superfluous. Because of environmentalism, they are unsustainable. A plurality (at the least) of America’s elites have decided the nation’s middle class is disposable, and this is the real reason they continue to push woke degeneracy and extreme environmentalism, designed to lower birthrates and reduce standards of living.” (06/17/26)

https://amgreatness.com/2026/06/17/principles-for-a-centrist-realignment-the-grand-alliance/