Cato Podcast, 06/23/26
Source: Cato Institute
“What the Declaration Still Has to Say in 2026.” (06/23/26)
https://www.cato.org/multimedia/cato-podcast/what-declaration-still-has-say-2026
The Secret Origins of “Conspiracy Theory”
Source: Reason
by Jesse Walker
“A new book shows how a phrase made its way from the crime pages to our political arguments—and picked up a passel of meanings along the way.” (06/23/26)
https://reason.com/2026/06/23/the-secret-origins-of-conspiracy-theory/
Democrats Declare War on School Choice
Source: Town Hall
by Stephen Moore
“Why are Democrats and their teachers’ union masters trying to shoot down parental choice in education even when we now have so many examples of these programs working? Choice and competition are two of the hallmarks of the American economy. When stores compete, customers win. Turns out this is also true for schools. That’s an inviolable law of economics. A corollary is that monopolies tend to put customers last. This is all happening at a time when public monopoly schools are showing flat or negative performance despite more funding than ever before. This is one reason why so many states are turning to the new model of school choice, with public funds going to scholarships and charter schools, and tax incentives for charitable donations to private and Catholic schools.” (06/23/26)
Lithuania: Regime steps down after coalition reshuffle
Source: ABC News
“Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė and her cabinet stepped down Tuesday after changes to the ruling coalition, setting the stage for the Baltic country’s third prime minister in two years and an incoming government that has pledged to pursue a more pragmatic relationship with China after years of strained ties. Ruginienė’s government collapsed after the center-left Social Democrats ended their coalition agreement earlier this month with the scandal-ridden populist Nemuno Aušra party as one of its former leaders faces allegations of antisemitic rhetoric.” (06/23/26)
JD Vance Infuriates the Neocons
Source: The American Conservative
by Jack Hunter
“The vice president is putting Israel in its place and making all the right people mad.” (06/23/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/j-d-vance-infuriates-the-neocons/
Blaming Ordinary People For The Ecocidal Consequences Of AI
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“I just saw an article in The Conversation titled ‘Your AI habit is wasting precious resources. Here’s how to use it responsibly,’ and it pisses me off because you can already see where this is going. Neoliberalism is already doing that thing where they shift all the blame for the environmental consequences of ecocidal capitalism to the individual consumer, like how they told everyone to ride bikes and recycle instead of regulating the corporations who are actually destroying our biosphere. There are plenty of reasons why we should all avoid using AI, but the push to offload all the responsibility for the ecological consequences of data centers onto individual users instead of just regulating AI companies is typical capitalist power-serving bullshit.” [editor’s note: Is there a moral panic Johnstone WON’T jump on and ride hard? – TLK] (06/23/26)
Gold and silver tumble as rate-hike fears hit precious metals
Source: CNBC
“Gold and silver tumbled on Tuesday, as a global sell-off in tech stocks stoked by fears of higher interest rates spilled over into metals. Gold futures fell 1.5% on Tuesday to $4,142 an ounce, while silver futures tumbled over 5% to $61.80 an ounce, before paring some losses to settle around $62.25. Since the outbreak of the U.S.-Iran war on Feb. 28, gold’s reputation as a safe-haven asset in times of turmoil has come under pressure as some of the drivers behind its ascendance have been called into question. An unexpectedly hawkish Fed meeting chaired by Kevin Warsh last week boosted expectations for a year-end interest rate hike, further pressuring gold prices, as the prospect of higher interest rates tend to weigh on the non-yielding precious metal.” (06/23/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/23/gold-silver-rate-hike-fears.html
Fountainhead Forum, episode 462
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Chip Joyce on teaching your kids to think and the decline of New York City.” (06/23/26)
A Schematic History of Universities
Source: ProSocial Libertarians
by Andrew Jason Cohen
“In my last post I discussed Early Twenty-First Century Universities. They involve 6 groups of participants, several of which are primarily involved because of ancillary provisions. The sort of college I favor—what I think of as the classic model—is different. To understand that, I here lay out an idealized and schematic history of the university system. In another post, I will discuss what I think universities should be.” (06/23/26)
https://prosociallibertarians.substack.com/p/a-schematic-history-of-universities
A Healthy Constitutional Squabble
Source: Law & Liberty
by James Valvo & Ryan Mulvey
“The Presidential Records Act (PRA) has lately been a source of controversy. The Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) published an opinion at the beginning of April that concluded the PRA is unconstitutional because it ‘exceeds Congress’s enumerated and implied powers’ and ‘aggrandizes the Legislative Branch at the expense of the constitutional independence and autonomy of the Executive.’ OLC’s opinion has raised eyebrows. It may even be wrong on the law. Nevertheless, it is good to see the political branches jockeying for position over the constitutionality of one another’s actions. A healthy, antifragile government requires occasional interbranch battles over the structure of our government.” (06/23/26)