Source: EconLog
by Pierre Lemieux
“If a free country is defined as a place where an individual or private organization is free to engage in voluntary cooperation — including trade — with whoever is willing or able to and on terms accepted by both parties, it follows that ‘trade war’ is a contradiction in terms. Free trade is peaceful trade. Why is this definition of a free country useful? Why should we see individual action as inseparable from social life? For two sorts of reasons. First, a free society is desirable to the extent that equal liberty, along with the opportunities and general prosperity that follow (as economics demonstrates), are themselves desirable. Second, understanding the consequences of social interaction requires methodological individualism — that is, to start the analysis from individual preferences, incentives, and self-interest.” (07/15/25)
https://www.econlib.org/trade-war-as-a-contradiction-in-terms
Source: Associated Press
“Syrian government officials and leaders in the Druze religious minority announced Wednesday a renewed ceasefire after days of clashes that have threatened to unravel the country’s postwar political transition and have drawn intervention by Syria’s powerful neighbor, Israel. It was not immediately clear if the new agreement — which was announced by Syrian state media and in a video message by a Druze religious leader — would hold. A previous ceasefire announced the day before quickly fell apart. The announcement came after Israel launched a series of rare airstrikes in the heart of Damascus, part of a campaign that it said is intended to defend the Druze — who also form a substantial community in Israel — and to push Islamic militants away from its border.” (07/16/25)
https://apnews.com/article/syria-clashes-druze-israel-92a72655b85fba1d0b12cc36ffe2cef3
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“Many missteps by the Biden–Harris administration and Democrats eased the path to victory for Donald Trump and the GOP, but Trump may be best known for embracing immigration and border control as his signature issues. His administration acted quickly to round up undocumented migrants and to publicize its activities, so you’d expect voters to be delighted. But surveys find declining concern about the border, lower support for deportations, and growing favorability for increased immigration. What gives? If you look at the data, it’s clear that most Americans like immigration and favor order at the border — not cruel overreaction.” (07/16/25)
https://reason.com/2025/07/16/americans-want-order-not-cruelty-at-the-border/
Source: ABC News
“A Turkish court on Wednesday convicted Istanbul’s jailed opposition mayor and the chief rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of insulting and threatening a public official and sentenced him to a year and eight months in prison. Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who is being held in a prison west of Istanbul since March 23, is expected to appeal the verdict, which is part of several ongoing legal proceedings against him. The case, which predates his arrest, stems from comments he made on Jan. 20 in which he criticized Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akin Gurlek, accusing him of targeting opposition figures through alleged politically motivated investigations.” (07/16/25)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/turkish-court-convicts-istanbul-mayor-insulting-official-123793663
Source: The Daily Economy
by Vance Ginn
“Larry Summers recently claimed on X that Republican tax policies — specifically the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) pushed by Trump and congressional Republicans — are a major reason why the US is headed toward a debt crisis. He even revived his favorite 40-year claim that ‘the economy performs better under Democratic presidents.’ Let’s be blunt: that’s nonsense. Summers is ignoring the actual root of the crisis — runaway spending by both major parties — while defending the very policies that got us into this mess. The real danger isn’t pro-growth tax reform, which the OBBB could improve. It’s the $2.5 trillion in overspending annually since COVID and the elevated trajectory that no one in Washington seems willing to reverse.” (07/16/25)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/the-real-debt-threat-government-spending-not-tax-cuts/
Source: Courthouse News Service
“Justice Brett Kavanaugh granted North Dakota tribes temporary reprieve on Wednesday from a federal appeals court’s ruling that could slash enforcement of the Voting Rights Act. Issuing an administrative stay, the Donald Trump appointee prevented changes to North Dakota’s 2021 redistricting maps while the justices review an emergency appeal from two tribes and three voters. At issue is whether private plaintiffs can sue to uphold Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which bans racial discrimination against voters. The remaining vestige of the landmark law has been at the center of voting rights litigation over the last decade, providing a path to challenge discriminatory redistricting plans that dilute the voting power of minorities.” (07/16/25)
https://www.courthousenews.com/kavanaugh-pauses-major-voting-rights-fight-over-tribal-vote-dilution-in-north-dakota/
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Peter Jacobsen
“A movement is growing in Europe about consumer protection in the video games industry. A citizen’s petition in the EU recently reached 1 million signatures, meaning that EU regulators will consider the issue. That petition has a simple message: stop killing games. The issue at hand is that game studios have been selling games as ‘licenses’ and then revoking those licenses without warning. While online multiplayer games have always had a problem with server shutdowns due to maintenance costs, developers are now tying even single-player games to online functionality. … The petitioners argue that studios should provide some sort of ‘offramp’ for buyers to enjoy their games individually, even when online support ends. The petition and problems in the industry deal with both single-player and multiplayer games. Are these demands a call for fair consumer protection or deleterious regulations?” (07/16/25)
https://fee.org/articles/game-over-for-ownership/
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“The New York Times has published an op-ed by a genocide scholar who says that he resisted acknowledging the truth of what Israel is doing in Gaza for as long as he could, but can no longer deny the obvious. It’s an admission that may as well have come from The New York Times itself. In an article titled ‘I’m a Genocide Scholar. I Know It When I See It,’ a Brown University professor of Holocaust and genocide studies named Omer Bartov argues that ‘Israel is literally trying to wipe out Palestinian existence in Gaza,’ and denounces his fellow Holocaust scholars for failing to acknowledge reality. ‘My inescapable conclusion has become that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people,’ Bartov writes. … ‘I have been teaching classes on genocide for a quarter of a century. I can recognize one when I see one.'” (07/16/25)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2025/07/16/the-new-york-times-finally-stops-avoiding-the-g-word/
Source: Reason
“How a Government Mind Control Experiment Backfired.” (07/16/25)
https://reason.com/podcast/2025/07/16/how-a-government-mind-control-experiment-backfired/
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Connor O’Keeffe
“[B]y far the loudest opposition we’ve seen to the Trump administration from some of its highest-profile supporters came in response to this Epstein announcement. It’s the biggest schism we’ve seen in Trump’s base since he first decided to enter politics. And when Trump tried to regain control with a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform, the post was ‘ratioed’ — meaning it received far more replies than likes or reposts, which is usually taken as a sign of widespread disapproval — despite the platform being home to his most fanatical supporters. What this signals is that — for a particularly sizable segment of the people who supported and voted for Trump — this effort is not all about the individual man they voted for but the ideas behind his campaign.” (07/16/25)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/split-over-epstein-tells-us-something-important-about-maga-movement