Source: Reason
by Gord Magill
“For years we have been told that the American economy is at risk of total collapse if the American Trucking Associations (ATA) can’t find another 60,000 or 70,000 or 160,000 truckers. If there were an actual shortage of truckers, trucking companies wouldn’t get away with barely paying minimum wage, would they? … In a properly functioning market economy, wouldn’t the shortage boost the price of truckers’ labor a little higher than what one might expect at a fast-food restaurant? What are we missing here? … When the ATA hit on the phrase truck driver shortage, it found a messaging tool that has helped them line their pockets with oodles of taxpayer money. In the process, it stymied wage growth — to the advantage of trucking-fleet owners and the Fortune 500 companies that are their customers.” (for publication 05/26)
https://reason.com/2026/03/24/welfare-on-wheels/
Source: KOMO News
“A New Mexico jury found Meta liable for misleading consumers about the safety of its platforms and endangering children, ordering the company to pay $375 million in civil penalties for violating the state’s consumer protection laws. The verdict in the landmark State of New Mexico v. Meta Platforms, Inc. trial makes New Mexico the first state in the nation to win against a major tech company accused of harming young people. The jury ordered Meta to pay the maximum penalty under the law of $5,000 per violation, totaling $375 million.” [editor’s note: On the up side, idiocy like this will hopefully help move social media toward more decentralized/ownerless models so that there aren’t any deep pockets to pick – TLK] (03/24/26)
https://komonews.com/news/nation-world/jury-orders-meta-to-pay-375-million-in-new-mexico-child-safety-deception-case
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ted Galen Carpenter
“For more than a decade, naval and air forces of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have exerted a strong presence in Taiwan’s immediate neighborhood. One U.S. expert calculated that Taiwan recorded an average of about 10 Chinese military flights a day in 2025, and on some days the number was in the dozens. The message being delivered was that the Chinese military was prepared to act quickly and decisively if pro-independence leaders in Taiwan tried to implement their agenda. Then, in late February of this year, a sudden, dramatic lull in PRC military flights near the island began.” (03/24/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/ted_galen_carpenter/2026/03/23/what-is-china-up-to-in-the-taiwan-strait
Source: SFGate
“Asian countries are turning to coal as the Iran war disrupts oil and gas shipments. The continent is exposed because it relies on imported fuel, much of it passing through the Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint for about a fifth of global oil and natural gas trade. … It burns cleaner than coal, but still emits climate change-causing gases, especially methane. The war has countries shifting back to coal to cover LNG shortfalls. India is burning more coal to meet higher summer demand. South Korea has lifted caps on electricity from coal. Indonesia is prioritizing using its domestic supply. Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam are boosting coal-fired power. Burning more coal risks worsening smog in major cities, slowing the transition to renewable energy and increasing the region’s planet-warming emissions.” (03/24/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/asia-boosts-coal-use-as-iran-war-squeezes-global-22092897.php
Source: The Hill
by Merrill Matthews
“It appears Congress will finally get to vote on President Trump’s self-initiated war with Iran. It won’t be a direct vote on the war, even though Article I of the U.S. Constitution vests that power in Congress and not the executive branch. It will be an indirect vote providing funding for the war effort and replenishing our munitions — and perhaps other items. But given Trump’s resentment at needing congressional support for his actions, the effort to pass a funding bill may not go well. … Trump will need Senate Democrats to pass the supplemental funding. And he may not even have all Republicans on board.” (03/24/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5797370-trump-congress-iran-war/
Source: Town Hall
by Stephen Moore
“For most of the last 40 years, pollsters have asked voters: Which party do you trust more on healthcare? The answer has been pretty much the same over this whole period. Voters trust Democrats more, sometimes by a two-to-one margin. When I’ve asked my Republican politicos why that is, the answer I typically receive is: Our party doesn’t do healthcare. Then they crouch in the fetal position. Well, the GOP certainly better start ‘doing healthcare’, because the issue of medical care access and affordability is front and center for American families. The Republican promise to voters should be better healthcare at half the cost. Here are five easy pieces to this saner and higher-quality healthcare system.” (03/24/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/stephenmoore/2026/03/24/republicans-can-win-on-healthcare-affordability-n2673329#google_vignette
Source: Reuters
“Israel will occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River to create a ‘defensive buffer,’ Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday, spelling out for the first time Israel’s intent to seize territory amounting to nearly a tenth of Lebanon. At a meeting with the military chief of staff, Katz said Israeli forces would ‘control the remaining bridges and the security zone up to the Litani,’ a river that meets the Mediterranean about 30 km (20 miles) north of Israel’s border. Lebanese armed group Hezbollah said it would fight to prevent Israeli troops from occupying southern Lebanon, calling such a move an ‘existential threat’ to the Lebanese state.” (03/24/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israels-military-occupy-swathe-southern-lebanon-defence-chief-says-2026-03-24/
Source: The Political Orphanage
“Maine is Smarter Than Your State about Prison.” (03/24/26)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/maine-is-smarter-than-your-state-about-prison
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“In a press conference with Tanaichi, Trump was asked why he hadn’t advised U.S. allies of the attack on Iran prior to it being initiated. In an interesting reveal — albeit somewhat impolitic — Trump used the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor to justify the U.S. surprise attack on Iran. He stated: ‘Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor, OK?’ Yet, doesn’t Trump’s answer raise the question I raised in my article: Should the official narrative on the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor now be revised, given that the U.S. government is now using it to justify its sneak attack on Iran?” (03/24/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/03/24/how-japans-prime-minister-could-have-responded-to-trump/
Source: SFGate
“A rebel group in eastern Congo has detained civilians, including two journalists, in metal shipping containers without light or ventilation, an advocacy group said Tuesday. Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, said the Rwanda-backed M23, which controls parts of eastern Congo, used the containers in the city of Goma as makeshift detention cells under ‘inhumane’ and ‘degrading’conditions. … As many as 80 detainees at a time were placed inside a container, without light or ventilation and allowed out only once a day. Witnesses said they received minimal food, while some reported routine beatings. According to the testimonies, conditions were extreme — suffocating heat by day and cold at night — with deaths reported. Survivors were often held for weeks before being transferred to other locations.” (03/24/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/rebels-in-congo-used-containers-to-hold-22093305.php
