Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Birsen Filip

“In recent years, Cubans have been forced to endure one of their worst shortages of basic necessities, such as food, medical supplies, and fuel. The fuel shortage has been particularly devastating, as it causes regular power outages, which makes it extremely difficult to work and engage in production, and obstructs the transport and distribution of goods across the island. A number factors have contributed to the current economic crisis in Cuba, including a slow recovery of the tourism industry from covid restrictions and the elimination of the dual currency system, which has resulted in persistently high inflation. However, it is ultimately the American financial and economic blockade that is, by far, the biggest contributing factor to the recent economic crisis, as well as the main issue holding back the economic growth and development of Cuba, more broadly.” (10/25/25)

https://mises.org/mises-wire/brief-history-enduring-american-embargo-against-cuba

Source: The Peaceful Revolutionist
by David S D’Amato

“As we’ve seen, the stagnating real sector, having undermined capital’s ability to increase itself by skimming from actually productive activity, has meant a shift in capital’s attention. Over the past half-century, parasitic capital has turned its gaze in the direction of finance, state-aided rent extraction, intellectual property rights and ‘professional’ services, a trend that has further entrenched the state-capital system. This entrenchment is intimately connected, as a practical matter, with the fourth branch of the U.S. government in that this is the site of interchange between the agents of the corporate rent-extraction mechanism and the formal state.” (10/25/25)

https://dsdamato.substack.com/p/the-engines-of-state-capitalism-part-920

Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff

“On Friday, Alabama officials unveiled statues of two indomitable native daughters – civil rights activist Rosa Parks and disability pioneer Helen Keller. The move, unanimously approved by the state legislature in 2019, makes Ms. Parks and Ms. Keller the first women to be depicted among the many monuments on the Capitol grounds in Montgomery. And it underscores how, in overcoming limitations, both women overturned restrictive societal views and values about individual ability and worth. While they faced vastly different challenges, their lives are entwined by a common thread of quiet determination and dignity.” (10/24/25)

https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2025/1024/Two-women-s-indelible-impact-on-the-US

Source: Quillette
by Ron Capshaw

“William F. Buckley once observed that, without the powerful apparatus of the state at his disposal, Adolf Hitler would have been merely a ‘street corner racist.’ In this excellent and wonderfully compact book, historian William Nester makes the similar observation that Joseph Stalin would have been little more than a sadistic village bandit without the might of the communist dictatorship at his command.” (10/25/25)

https://quillette.com/2025/10/25/a-self-created-tyrant-joseph-stalin-art-of-tyranny-william-nester-review/

Source: Fox News
by Howard Husock

“The most consequential Supreme Court case involving race in the current session centers on whether Louisiana must, per the Voting Rights Act, have not one, but two, majority Black congressional districts. Progressives fighting a challenge to the current congressional district map — which includes two such districts — are already crying foul, as oral argument seemed to indicate that a majority of the justices are inclined to bar consideration of race in drawing district lines — much as they barred Harvard from considering race in its admissions decisions. For progressives, such a change would, as Politico put it, ‘gut’ the Voting Rights Act, which ended Jim Crow’s outright disenfranchisement, through such means as poll taxes and literacy tests. But, there’s another goal which once commanded liberal support that drawing Black majority districts contravenes: residential racial integration.” (10/24/25)

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/supreme-court-case-exposes-liberal-contradictions-race-segregation