Source: Town Hall
by Betsy McCaughey
“Get ready to be bombarded with ghoulish paid ads and Democratic politicians warning about grandmothers dying, children denied needed cancer treatments, and pregnant women suffering. The demagoguery is in full swing against Republicans’ efforts to control federal spending on Medicaid and stabilize the nation’s debt. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul screamed last week that ‘House Republicans just voted to rip health care away from up to 1.8 million New Yorkers — all to bankroll giveaways for billionaires.’ … Rep. Delia Ramirez [D-IL] shrieked, ‘People will die!’ These are lies. Helpless children, the elderly, pregnant women and the disabled are not going to lose their health care. And the Medicaid changes are designed to help all Americans, not just billionaires. The economic impact of Congress not containing Medicaid spending is what’s truly scary.” (03/05/25)
https://townhall.com/columnists/betsymccaughey/2025/03/05/the-truth-behind-the-medicaid-melodrama-n2653235
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Syria’s foreign minister has told the global chemical weapons watchdog that the new government is committed to destroying any remaining stockpiles produced under ousted president Bashar al-Assad. Addressing a meeting of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague, Asaad al-Shibani vowed ‘to put an end to this painful legacy, to bring justice to victims, and to ensure that the compliance with international law is a solid one.’ But he added that Syria would ‘need the support of the international community.’ Assad’s government denied ever using chemical weapons during the 14-year civil war, but activists accused it of carrying out of dozens of chemical attacks.” (03/05/25)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg70j91n811o
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“Imperial Tirade at the White House.” (03/04/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyt2gE5_z-M
Source: EconLog
by Pierre Lemieux
“As the US government’s enervation and economically illiterate interventionism fuel trade wars and dreams of autarky, it is worth looking at the long historical experience of economic isolation that started under the late Chinese emperors at the time of our High and Late Middle Ages. Three books help us understand the world in that regard.” (03/04/25)
https://www.econlib.org/repeating-a-historical-experience-of-autarky/
Source: US News & World Report
“South Sudanese forces have arrested a senior military official allied with First Vice President Riek Machar, and deployed troops around Machar’s residence, risking a 2018 peace deal that ended a civil war, his spokesperson said. South Sudan has formally been at peace since the 2018 agreement ended a five-year conflict between Machar and President Salva Kiir that killed hundreds of thousands of people, but violence between rival communities flares up frequently. On Tuesday, General Paul Nang, the head of South Sudan’s defence forces, arrested one of his deputies, Lieutenant General Gabriel Doup Lam, while security forces surrounded Machar’s residence, Machar’s spokesperson Pal Mai Deng said in a statement late on Tuesday.” (03/05/25)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2025-03-05/south-sudan-vice-presidents-spokesman-says-deputy-head-of-military-arrested-risking-peace-deal
Source: Yascha Mounk
“Yascha Answers Your Questions #1.” (03/04/25)
https://yaschamounk.substack.com/p/yascha-answers-your-questions-1
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Robert Shibley
“It’s no secret that politicians are getting more involved in higher education. And while some level of involvement with how colleges and universities operate is appropriate given the amount of taxpayer money spent on campuses, nobody should be surprised to learn that greater political involvement can pose academic freedom risks.” (03/04/25)
https://www.thefire.org/news/govs-desantis-hochul-threaten-academic-freedom-political-interference
Source: SFGate
“A health economist who once famously clashed with officials at the National Institutes of Health and now is the nominee to lead the agency faced questions from senators from both parties Wednesday about drastic funding cuts and research priorities. Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford University professor, was an outspoken critic of the government’s COVID-19 shutdowns and vaccine policies. Now he’s poised to become director of the NIH, long called the government’s crown jewel, as it faces mass firings and drastic funding cutbacks. ‘I love the NIH but post-pandemic, America’s biomedical sciences are at a crossroads,’ Bhattacharya told senators. He laid out priorities including a bigger focus on chronic diseases, including diabetes and obesity. But he also said the agency needs to be more open to scientific dissent, saying influential NIH leaders early in the pandemic shut down his own criticisms about responses to COVID-19.” (03/05/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/senate-panel-questions-trump-nominee-to-lead-20203672.php
Source: Politics Politics Politics
“Trump’s Trade War! How The Internet Collided With Politics (with Bill Scher and Katie Harbath).” (03/04/25)
https://www.politicspoliticspolitics.com/p/trumps-trade-war-how-the-internet
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“Congratulations, your cancer is cured. But that might be a heart attack.” (03/04/25)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/my-views-of-the-trump-administration
