Source: Paul Krugman
by Paul Krugman
“The rise of generative AI has led to alternating waves of hype and fear. One day the S&P 500 is soaring, led by AI-adjacent companies. A few months later the S&P is falling due to fears that too much money is being spent on datacenters and that AI will undermine business models. It’s still difficult to predict what AI will actually do, and I have no special insights on that front. But while AI is an unprecedented technology, hype and fear about the impacts of new technology — together with hard thinking about the issue — are anything but new. In fact, concerns about the effects of new technology and attempts to model those effects go back more than two centuries, to the early days of the Industrial Revolution and the dawn of economics as an intellectual field.” (03/01/26)
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/the-economics-of-technological-change
Source: NBC News
“The Supreme Court on Monday hears its latest gun rights case concerning a federal law that bars frequent users of illegal drugs from possessing firearms. Gun rights advocates [point out that] the law falls afoul of the Constitution’s Second Amendment, which protects the right to bear arms. The case puts a spotlight on the Trump administration’s mixed messaging on gun rights. Although the Justice Department is defending the law in court, to the annoyance of Second Amendment advocates, it has in other areas backed challenges to firearms restrictions. The Justice Department turned to the Supreme Court after an appeals court ruled last year in favor of Texas-based Ali Danial Hemani, an alleged regular user of marijuana who had a handgun at his home in the Dallas area when it was searched by the FBI in 2022.” (03/02/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-hears-challenge-law-drug-users-guns-rcna260986
Source: Politico
“Trump’s Iran equation.” (03/02/26)
https://traffic.megaphone.fm/POLL1879491084.mp3
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“Let’s watch the LNC Meeting.” (03/01/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXu5Kn_9Co4
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Rachel Chiu
“Earlier this month, US District Judge Alan Albright granted an injunction against Texas Senate Bill 13 (‘SB 13’), a state law aimed at curbing ‘woke capitalism’ and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices. Over the past few years, these practices have taken the form of regulations, reporting requirements, and credit metrics on areas including environmental impact and diversity. Conservatives have pushed back on ESG, believing that these initiatives have enabled progressive ideology and values to undermine business investments. … Lawmakers have good reason to be skeptical of ESG principles and their effects on investment. However, Judge Albright’s ruling is a potent reminder that overly expansive legislative fixes can skirt too close to civil liberties and ultimately fail to achieve their intended objectives.” (03/01/26)
https://fee.org/articles/let-the-market-decide/
Source: Downsize DC
by Jim Babka
“In 1996, Harry answered the call to run for president. I discovered Harry and libertarianism as he won and accepted the Libertarian Party nomination. I read his first campaign book, Why Government Doesn’t Work. As a result of that campaign, I became a party member, almost immediately a county chair, then quickly a state chair. That could’ve been the end of the story, and Harry Browne still would’ve made an indelible impression on my life. But then I was hired to be his 2000 campaign press secretary.” (03/01/26)
https://downsizedc.org/remembering-harry-browne-20-years-later/
Source: Persuasion
by Mitra Vand
“Even in wars described as strategic, children die first. In many cities, including Tehran, explosions were heard near major government and military sites, including parts of the Supreme Leader’s compound. News followed that Ayatollah Khamenei himself was dead. I can’t lie — when I saw satellite images of his compound in ruins and heard the reports of his assassination, it felt surreal. When I lived in Iran, I passed that heavily guarded building many times on the way to my grandmother’s house. I would not dare look up at the armed guards, irrationally afraid they might recognize my hatred. For many Iranians inside the country — and for those condemned to exile — this is a cathartic moment decades in the making.” (03/01/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/fear-mourning-and-celebration
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“A long lost painting by Rembrandt has been rediscovered and authenticated by experts, after its whereabouts were unknown for decades. Rembrandt’s Vision of Zacharias in the Temple, from 1633, was excluded from a list of the Dutch master’s works in 1960, and disappeared after being sold to a private collector the following year. But it resurfaced when its owners presented it for tests at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, which undertook a two-year examination. ‘When I saw it in our studio when it was restored, I was immediately struck by the incredible power it has,’ Rijksmuseum director Taco Dibbits said. The Rijksmuseum receives many emails from people asking for information about paintings they have inherited or bought, Dibbits said. In this case, they knew it could be something special.” (03/02/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1kgln0yg3po
Source: Washington Post
“An internal government database reviewed by The Washington Post demonstrates the vast scope of the Trump administration’s ongoing effort to revise or remove information on African American history, climate change and other topics at hundreds of national park sites.” (03/02/26)
https://archive.is/7YDTe
Source: Liberal Currents
“Samantha and returning guest Jamelle Bouie take a step back and assess the overall arc of the Trump administration. Bouie argues that Trump’s theory of the case when he came into office was fundamentally based on speed: move fast, break things, and present American society with strongman rule as a fait accompli. But instead of producing compliance and popularity, Trump’s authoritarian policies have produced increasing backlash from numerous sectors of society. Now we see a presidency adrift, out of ideas and trapped in its own echo chamber. What comes next?” (03/01/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/the-state-of-the-union-neon-liberalism-65-with-jamelle-bouie/
