Fly the Cruel and Unusual Skies

Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob

“Sometimes, cruel punishment is the usual, as in states like the People’s Republic of China. Everybody is a victim there. But entire ethnic or religious groups of people are routinely subjected to even more cruel tyranny than most Chinese people must put with. If Americans aren’t yet in this situation — not for lack of trying by various local, state, and federal autocrats — one reason is that instances of cruel and unusual punishment can be fought in court. Which is what Ken Jouppi is doing with the help of the Institute for Justice. What was Jouppi’s alleged crime? He let a passenger bring ‘visible’ containers of beer on board his Cessna 206. … Jouppi was punished 13 years ago, a year after the ‘crime,’ with three days in jail and a $1,500 fine. But that wasn’t good enough for the Alaska government, which tenaciously enforces local alcohol prohibitions — it demanded that Jouppi forfeit his $95,000 airplane.” (10/02/26)

https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/10/02/fly-the-cruel-and-unusual-skies/

Latvia: PM on track to lead pro-Ukraine coalition after parliamentary election victory

Source: France 24 [French state media]

“Latvian ​Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs was set to retain power and form a coalition after his centrist United List won parliamentary elections on Sunday, the biggest in the country’s post-independence history. While the result is expected to reinforce the Baltic country’s pro-European and pro-Ukrainian stance, populist parties also made significant gains. … Populist parties, boosted by support from Latvia’s Russian-speaking minority, also had a good night after an election campaign dominated by fears over neighbouring Russia, the cost of living and other social issues.” (10/03/26)

https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20261003-latvia-elections-pm-kulbergs-pro-ukraine-party-ahead-coalition-partners-stumble

Government Failure Is Still Failure

Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Shahid Islam

“Introductory economics textbooks devote considerable attention to market failure: monopoly power, externalities, public goods and asymmetric information. However, government failure deserves the same scrutiny. Markets are made up of imperfect human beings and so are governments. Legislators, regulators, and civil servants possess limited knowledge, imperfect foresight and incentives of their own. Evidence of market failure is not evidence that government intervention will improve the outcome. The relevant comparison is between feasible alternatives.” (10/02/26)

https://mises.org/power-market/government-failure-still-failure

The China factor behind the Iran war

Source: Asia Times
by Altaf Moti

“The war between the United States and Iran is no longer just a confrontation between Washington and Tehran. A second contest is taking shape alongside and behind it. China is not fighting the United States directly, but its economic, technological and diplomatic links to Iran are complicating Washington’s strategy and ability to win the conflict.” (10/02/26)

https://asiatimes.com/2026/10/the-china-factor-behind-the-iran-war/

Trump announces $90 bribes for seniors on Medicare for premium costs

Source: SFGate

“President Donald Trump is promising more payments to voters just ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections — this time, to more than 20 million seniors, giving them $90 each to help pay for Medicare premiums. The announcement, made late Friday night by Trump on social media, comes after the president last month said about 1 million people would get rebate checks of $500 for Affordable Care Act premiums. He has also promised on the campaign trail to send every American adult $5,000 if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections. That pledge (which would require approval from Congress) would likely cost more than $1 trillion, adding to the deficit and worsening inflation. Trump highlighted his $5,000 promise at a rally in Vandalia, Ohio, on Saturday night, and told supporters that 70,000 families in the state would receive the ACA rebates ‘within the next couple of days’.” (10/03/26)

https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/trump-announces-90-payments-for-seniors-on-22461222.php