Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
“Do we have free will? If, for example, you have decided to read my article, was it up to you whether to do so, or was your decision determined by forces beyond your control? Most people think we do have free will, but there are some influential philosophical arguments that claim we don’t. The situation is quite complex; some philosophers argue that we have free will but are also determined.” (03/20/26)
Source: The American Conservative
by Anik Joshi
“he Iran hawks got the war they’d been seeking for the past decade or more—and they managed to kill off not just nuclear nonproliferation, but the concept of nuclear negotiations altogether. Every regime around the world remotely hostile to superpower interests will have to consider investing in nuclear weapons, as those have proven to be the only way to ensure any given regime’s survival. Given what just happened in Iran, the concept of negotiating that away has been torched, not unlike Golestan Palace in Tehran.” (03/20/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/thanks-to-the-iran-hawks-nuclear-nonproliferation-is-dead/
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ramzy Baroud
“When Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu launched their military aggression against Iran on February 28, they appeared convinced that the war would be swift. Netanyahu reportedly assured Washington that the campaign would deliver a decisive strategic victory – one capable of reordering the Middle East and restoring Israel’s battered deterrence. Whether Netanyahu himself believed that promise is another matter.” (03/20/26)
Source: NBC News
“Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirms that General Ali Mohammad Naeini, its spokesperson, has been killed in an Israeli-US missile attack. … Israel’s Oil Refineries, a refining and petrochemicals company, says an Iranian attack on its complex in Haifa has damaged essential infrastructure. … Iran’s attack on the Ras Laffan gas facility will cut Qatar’s liquefied natural gas export capacity by an estimated 17 percent, which could disrupt supplies to Europe, Asia and beyond. … Millions of Muslims across the Middle East celebrate Eid while Iran also marks Nowruz under the threat of war.” (03/20/26)
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“Five years ago, the Postal Service came up with a 10-year plan for fortifying its financial situation. That was after it had lost $14 billion over a period of 14 years. For the past five years, however, the financial situation has not gotten any better. … Thus, to resolve its crisis, the Postal Service is asking Congress to permit it to borrow more money and to charge more for postage. But does anyone really think that borrowing more money and charging consumers more for postage is going to resolve the Postal Service’s financial woes? There is another solution, one that seemingly hasn’t yet entered the minds of the members of Congress: Simply abolish the Postal Service.” (03/19/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/03/19/abolish-the-postal-service-3/
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
“How foreign censors target American speakers.” (03/19/26)
Source: Seattle Times
“U.S. applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, remaining in the same range of recent years despite a broadly tepid labor market. The number of Americans filing for jobless aid for the week ending March 14 fell by 8,000 from the previous week to 205,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s fewer than the 215,000 new filings analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet were expecting. Filings for unemployment benefits are viewed as a proxy for U.S. layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the job market.” (03/19/26)
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“Since Congress hasn’t declared war, the executive branch has no authority to wage war. Congress shouldn’t fund something that only Congress has the power to approve when it hasn’t exercised that power. … The beauty of the situation is that all Congress has to do to take control of the situation is the same thing it’s been doing: Sit on its hands, with one of those hands gripping the budgetary wallet tight. They don’t even have to say ‘no.’ They just have to NOT say ‘yes.’ … If Congress doesn’t even possess the testicular fortitude to refrain from shelling out billions every time Hegseth sticks his hand out, what is Congress even good for? The question kind of answers itself.” (03/19/26)
Source: Politico
“British authorities are seeking the cooperation of the Justice Department as they pursue investigations arising from the Epstein files, the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police said in an interview Wednesday. Commissioner Mark Rowley declined to opine on why the files have resulted in the arrests of two high-profile figures in the U.K. — Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, and former ambassador to the U.S. Peter Mandelson — while U.S. authorities have made no arrests or charges in the wake of the files’ release. But Rowley touted British authorities’ willingness to pursue ’eminent’ figures. … He said communication between British and American law enforcement is a precursor to more formal requests British authorities intend to file, including mutual legal assistance treaty — or MLAT — requests.” (03/19/26)
Source: Antiwar.com
by Andrew P Napolitano
“During the first Trump administration, the FBI quietly spent $5 million on Pegasus, an Israeli-developed software product known generically as zero click. Zero click permits the user to download the contents of another mobile or desktop device without tricking the user of that device into clicking on a viral link. When FBI Director Christopher Wray was confronted with evidence of this purchase in 2021, he stated under oath at a congressional hearing that his agents did not and would not use it; but they bought it because they wanted to understand how it worked. … Not trusting his own FBI director, President Joe Biden signed an executive order in 2023 prohibiting the use of this software by any employee of the federal government except for true national security emergencies. Last week, we learned that President Donald Trump quietly rescinded Biden’s executive order.” (03/19/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/andrew-p-napolitano/2026/03/18/silent-attacks-on-personal-freedom