The Opinions, 07/02/25
Source: New York Times
“U.S.A.I.D. Might Be Dead, but the Waste Is Alive and Well.” (07/02/25)
Are we free?
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
“Are we free? No, absolutely not. Either in absolute terms or even in relative terms. Today, we suffer under the micro-management of multiple levels of government that the Founders never imagined while they were alive. And no doubt observe with frustration as they observe us from eternity. Most readers, and most lovers of liberty, will readily admit that in absolute terms, no American enjoys the liberties that the citizens of the Thirteen original States took for granted. Even given the tremendous advantages that two and a half centuries of advances in science and engineering have given us.” (07/01/25)
Defying the Data: Standard of Living Edition
Source: EconLog
by Kevin Corcoran
“In 2007, Eliezer Yudkowsky wrote an interesting article advocating for what he called ‘defying the data.’ The idea was fairly simple – say you have some theory explaining how the world works. A new study is published with data that can’t be accounted for with your theoretical framework. How should you respond? One response is to abandon your theory in favor of the new data. Another response is to keep your theory intact and, as Yudkowsky says, ‘attack the experiment – accuse the researchers of dishonesty, or flawed design, or conflict of interest.’ But there is a third possibility – that of simply defying the data.” (07/01/25)
https://www.econlib.org/defying-the-data-standard-of-living-edition/
Azerbaijan: Regime thugs abduct seven linked to a Russian media outlet as a rift between Baku and Moscow deepens
Source: ABC News
“Seven people linked to a Kremlin-funded media outlet in Azerbaijan’s capital have been detained after a raid on its office, the Interior Ministry was quoted by local media as saying Tuesday, in the latest sign of the rift between Moscow and Baku over the deaths of two ethnic Azerbaijanis in Russian custody. Tensions have been growing since December, when an Azerbaijani passenger jet was attacked as it approached Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, It later crashed, killing 38 of 67 people aboard, and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev blamed Moscow and said Russian President Vladimir Putin had tried to ‘hush up’ what happened. On Monday, masked police stormed the offices of Sputnik Azerbaijan. The Interior Ministry said the Kremlin-backed media outlet had continued operating via ‘illegal financing,’ despite having its accreditation revoked in February.” (07/01/25)
SolutionsWatch, 07/02/25
Source: The Corbett Report
“The 9/11 Timeline.” (07/02/25)
The Vital Center, episode 83
Source: Niskanen Center
“The libertarian prophet of the abundance movement, with Virginia Postrel.” (07/01/25)
Three former Ubisoft executives convicted of sexual and psychological harassment
Source: The Verge
“A court in France has sentenced three former Ubisoft executives for sexual and psychological harassment. Serge Hascoet, Tommy Francois, and Guillaume Patrux each received fines and suspended prison sentences for their actions that were discovered as a part of a years-long investigation into sexual harassment and bullying at the game publisher. According to The Guardian, Hascoet, Ubisoft’s former chief creative officer, allegedly commented that a female employee’s mood could be improved if someone were to have sex with her in order to, ‘how how to calm her.’ Francois, Ubisoft’s former editorial vice president, was additionally convicted of attempted sexual assault as well as sexual harassment related to an alleged incident where he tried to forcefully kiss a female employee at a party while colleagues held her down. Patrux, a former game director, was alleged to have thrown furniture in open-plan office space, throwing other objects at employees, and drawing swastikas on a colleague’s notebook.” (07/02/25)
https://www.theverge.com/games/696996/ubisoft-me-too-former-executive-convictions
They Didn’t Have to Do This
Source: The Atlantic
by Jonathan Chait
“In their heedless rush to enact a deficit-exploding tax bill so massive that they barely understand it, Senate Republicans call to mind a scene in The Sopranos. A group of young aspiring gangsters decides to stick up a Mafia card game in hopes of gaining the mobsters’ respect and being brought into the crew. At the last moment, the guys briefly reconsider, before one of them supplies the decisive argument in favor of proceeding: ‘Let’s do it before the crank wears off.’ After that, things go as you might expect. Like the Mafia wannabes, congressional Republicans have talked themselves into a plan so incomprehensibly reckless that to describe it is to question its authors’ sanity.” (07/01/25)
NPR Politics Podcast, 07/02/25
Source: National Public Radio [US state media]
“Poll: most Americans think democracy is under serious threat.” (07/02/25)
https://www.npr.org/2025/07/02/1255100738/podcast-poll-democracy-threat
Mass Deportation Is Happening
Source: Liberal Currents
by Adam Gurri
“Donald Trump and Stephen Miller’s commitment to mass deportation was never in question. They were always going to try it, however unfeasible a goal it is to forcibly expel 20 million people. Of course, such attempts were always going to run into problems with costs and logistical feasibility. By mid-June, ICE was $1 billion over their budget and claimed they would be out of money entirely within a month. Moreover, even with adequate funds, it takes time to hire and train new personnel. It takes time and resources to build up enough facilities to hold the people you want to deport. It takes time and vehicles to actually move those people out of the country. And of course, you have to have other countries that are willing to accept the people you are deporting. … But now matters are proceeding further still.” (07/01/25)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/mass-deportation-is-happening/