Trump Hands Dems Their Best Gift Yet

Source: The Bulwark
by Lauren Egan

“For months, Democrats running in competitive races have taken note of the widespread and growing public backlash to data centers and have begun elevating their opposition to them in campaign settings. Given the public perception that data centers are responsible for rising utility costs, Democrats have tied the proliferation of those facilities to the party’s overarching midterm theme of affordability, and they’ve blamed Republican incumbents for courting them. … in the past few weeks, Republican officials have seemingly started to wake up to the fact that their party is on the wrong political side of the issue. … All that, however, was before Trump’s Truth Social post Monday morning.” (09/02/26)

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-republicans-data-centers

Libertarians and Political Action

Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Hamoon Soleimani

“For most of the twentieth century, the trouble with libertarianism was never its ideas, it was its posture. Theorists stood outside the arena with folded arms, waiting for voters to reason their way to liberty, treating political philosophy as a kind of religion of non-participation. That turned one of the sharpest critiques of state power into a seminar-room parlor trick. While purists argued over who would pave the roads without a transportation ministry, the people who actually wanted power simply took it, grabbing the money, locking down capital, and dictating the granular details of everyday life. Surviving runaway state intervention means dropping the fantasy of keeping your hands clean, and giving up on a mass awakening that is never going to arrive.” (09/02/26)

https://mises.org/mises-wire/libertarians-and-political-action

Vigilante? No, showing love

Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton

“No one in their right mind wants to actually kill someone. But sometimes, that is the only sane choice. A choice to take lethal action, defensively, to end the ability of the shooter to harm (more) people. Some would claim that this is a ‘civic duty’ or negatively, ‘taking justice into your own hands.’ That is often labeled as being a vigilante. We at TPOL believe it to be an act of love.” (09/02/26)

https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/09/02/vigilante-no-showing-love/

Norwegian pirates steal Russian ship in Arctic over Crimea compensation claim

Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]

“Norway has seized a Russian ship in ⁠the Arctic to ⁠enforce a compensation claim by Ukrainian energy firm Naftogaz, linked to Russian asset seizures in Crimea. Norway seized the ship on Wednesday, after Moscow failed to pay Naftogaz $4.22bn plus interest and legal costs to compensate for ⁠assets it seized in ⁠Crimea after a tribunal ruling at The Hague in 2023. … The vessel, the Professor Molchanov, was taken off the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard after a 24-hour standoff with the Norwegian Coast Guard, according ⁠to Covington, the US law firm representing Naftogaz.⁠” (09/003/26)

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/3/norway-seizes-russian-ship-in-arctic-over-crimea-compensation-claim?traffic_source=rss

Despite all of the rage, evidence doesn’t point to a genocide in Gaza

Source: New York Post
by David Harsanyi

“In May 2025, Tom Fletcher, the United Nations under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, went on BBC Radio and told the audience that 14,000 babies in Gaza were going to die ‘in the next 48 hours unless we can reach them’. Two days. Fourteen thousand babies. According to UNICEF, there are around 20,000 babies in the entirety of Gaza. Which means 70% of all infants were in danger of dying in mere hours. An ‘utterly chilling’ figure, Fletcher stressed. The New York Times, along with numerous other establishment media outlets, relayed Fletcher’s allegation to its credulous audience without any skepticism. The usual experts were summoned to discuss this unfolding famine on cable news. And the antisemites across social media amplified the claim. No matter how far-fetched a story is about Israel, including preposterous evidence-free accusations that it trains dogs to rape Palestinians, papers such as The New York Times will spread it to feed the perception that the Jewish state operates as a genocidal entity.” (09/02/26)

https://nypost.com/2026/09/02/opinion/evidence-doesnt-point-to-a-genocide-in-gaza-despite-all-of-the-rage/

TAC Right Now, 09/02/26

Source: The American Conservative

“Andrew Day and Luke Nicastro talk to Connor Echols of Responsible Statecraft about Dan Driscoll’s resignation as Army secretary, Vice President J.D. Vance’s controversial speech to an Israel lobby group, whether the Iran War is becoming a Forever War, and Israel’s sponsoring ads on the podcast of Sen. Ted Cruz.” (09/02/26)

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/j-d-vances-perplexing-moves-w-connor-echols/

In Hong Kong, remembering the past is now a crime

Source: spiked
by Chloe Lo

“The lies are all aligned now. For 37 years, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has tried to erase the truth of what happened on 4 June 1989. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of peaceful protesters were massacred by the military in Tiananmen Square. Since then, the CCP has censored what happened and silenced those who refuse to forget. Hong Kong used to be different. For more than three decades, we gathered peacefully every year in Victoria Park. We lit candles, remembered those who died and called for accountability. It was one of the freedoms that separated Hong Kong from mainland China. That freedom is now gone.” (09/02/26)

https://archive.is/IFnYS

Social Media and Anti-Social Pluralism

Source: Aaron Ross Powell
by Aaron Ross Powell

“Every day it seems we have some version of The Discourse About Social Media Community Values, Norms, and Tone. I see it on Bluesky now and mostly because that’s where I spend my time, but versions of it persist and recur, and reflect prior recurrences, on every platform and as far back as there have been social media platforms. The idea is that everyone, mashed together into a single feed (or a single global village or town square, or clustered around a single watercooler) has things to say about ‘What kind of place this should be.’ As if it can be one place. As if it should.” (09/02/26)

https://www.aaronrosspowell.com/3mul5xnuuhk2k

British police try to track down theft of 70,000 pints worth of Guinness stout

Source: SFGate

“British police have a stout task ahead: recovering 70,000 pints worth of stolen Guinness. Two trailer truckloads of the famously creamy dark beer valued at 115,000 pounds ($155,000) were stolen from a depot near Liverpool in northwest England, the Cheshire Constabulary said Thursday. ‘It is famously said that ‘Guinness is good for you,’ but that is only the case when it has been bought and paid for,’ Det. Sgt. Gary McClatchy said. ‘We will settle for nothing less than the full recovery of all the items stolen.’ The Guinness had been destined for pubs, but was snatched Monday night by two drivers who pulled up to an industrial park in Runcorn and hauled away the trailers containing about 800 barrels of stout. The value of the trailers was estimated at 50,000 pounds ($67,000).” (09/03/26)

https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/british-police-try-to-track-down-theft-of-70-000-22416323.php