Communism’s Obsolescence
Source: Quillette
by Michael Aaron Cody
“The structural case for why collectivist systems fail.” (04/05/26)
Trump endorses Republican Steve Hilton for California governor
Source: SFGate
“President Donald Trump has endorsed Republican Steve Hilton for California governor, reordering a crowded, wide-open race to lead the nation’s most populous state. Trump posted late Sunday on his social media platform Truth Social that he has known Hilton for years and called the conservative commentator ‘a truly fine man’ who could turn around a state beset with notoriously high taxes. California, Trump wrote, ‘has gone to hell.’ ‘With Federal help, and a Great Governor, like Steve Hilton, California can be better than ever before!’ Trump added. The endorsement — coming about a month before mail ballots go to voters in advance of the June 2 primary — will help Hilton coalesce conservative support in a race with no clear leader. However, Trump is widely unpopular in heavily Democratic California outside his conservative base and Trump’s backing would become a liability if Hilton faces a Democrat in the November election.” (04/06/26)
Free Talk Live, 04/05/26
Source: Free Talk Live
“Seasteading Institute problems :: Jeffrey Epstein emails talking trash about libertarians :: Trump’s craziest post yet, ‘Praise be to Allah’ :: Calling out the dishonorable Ricky from the Commonwealth :: New Hampshire senate bill being considered in the house, could make Bitcoin vending machines illegal :: Caller got illegally swatted :: Iran now threatening to close another strait :: Pete Hegseth fired someone over their refusal to remove a black person from a promotion list :: Canadians to lose all guns in October :: Man who gets crucified every year in the Philippines :: 2026-04-05 :: Hosts: Bonnie, Lori, Rich E Rich.” (04/05/26)
A Delicate Balance
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Jake Scott
“‘Strong, if not perfect’ was European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s verdict on the trade deal hammered out between the United States and the European Union (EU) and signed at Turnberry, Scotland, in July 2025. Nothing is perfect, of course — but the carefully hedged endorsement has appeared increasingly prophetic as the deal overcame hurdles and was finally voted through by the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee on March 19, 2026, by 29 votes to 9, and by the wider Parliament on March 26, by 417 votes to 154. The road to passing was not a smooth one.” (04/05/26)
Fortress Yellowstone
Source: In These Times
by Joseph Bullington
“The taxi judders uphill into a forest brimming with life. Palm fronds droop over the road like huge, oily hands, and green birds flap between trees. And then, abruptly, the forest ends, and we emerge onto a denuded plain where the sun beats down on road and car and red dust. I am here to see firsthand how the ultra-rich are remapping the Earth’s remaining wild places, deciding what is sacrificed and what is conserved and for whom. For me, this road into the Brazilian Amazon began a few weeks prior and nearly 5,000 miles away, on a different dirt road through a sprawling Montana ranch. I had followed that county road up through creek bottoms onto a rolling plateau of rangeland, where the southern front of the Crazy Mountains filled the windshield. I stopped the truck and stepped out into the quiet.” (04/06/26)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/yellowstone-billionaires-conservation-montana-deforest-amazon
Explosives found near [sic] pipeline supplying gas to Serbia, Hungary
Source: United Press International
“Explosives were found in a border area between Hungary and Serbia near a pipeline that carries Russian gas, and which both depend heavily on. Serbian president Aleksander Vucic said Sunday that the explosives were found in backpacks ‘a few hundred miles from the gas pipeline,’ and that he’d alerted Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban that an investigation was being mounted, CNN and The BBC reported. … The purchase and use of Russian oil by Hungary and Serbia, both of whose leaders are allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been controversial in Europe amid Putin’s now four-year-long war to take Ukraine.” [editor’s note: Is there any place in Hungary or Serbia that ISN’T within “a few hundred miles” of the pipeline? – TLK] (04/05/26)
Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 04/05/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“In Easter Post, Trump Threatens Iran With ‘Hell,’ US Loses at Least 6 Aircraft, and More.” (04/05/26)
On war, Trump must remember the wisdom of St. Augustine
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Ronald Dodson
“The ‘just war’ theologian understood that force must be governed by prudence, reckoning with second and third order effects. We didn’t do that in Iraq, or now.” (04/05/26)
The Lost Art of Medicine: What Maimonides Knew That We Forgot
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Joseph Varon
“Contemporary medicine is not failing for lack of knowledge. It is failing under the weight of its own complexity. The present era is defined by unprecedented access to data, advanced technologies, an ever-expanding network of subspecialties, and a dense architecture of protocols and performance metrics. Nearly every aspect of patient care can now be measured, quantified, and standardized. Interventions that were unimaginable only decades ago are now routine. Yet despite these advances, a fundamental element has been eroded. This erosion is philosophical.” (04/05/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/the-lost-art-of-medicine-what-maimonides-knew-that-we-forgot/
Trump issues TACO Tuesday proclamation as strikes on, from Iran continue
Source: CNN
“[US president Donald] Trump appeared to set a new deadline for Iran to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz. ‘Tuesday, 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time,’ he wrote, after issuing a profane message renewing threats to bomb key Iranian infrastructure, including power plants, if Tehran does not comply. Targeting critical civilian infrastructure could be considered a war crime. Trump has declared and then modified deadlines for the opening of the strait multiple times. Senior Iranian officials issued their own threats in response and said the strait will remain blocked until Iran receives payment for war damages. … Two people were killed in the Israeli city of Haifa after a missile struck a seven-story building, with emergency workers still searching for two more missing persons early Monday. … At least 13 people were killed by a US-Israeli attack early Monday on two residential buildings in Baharestan County, a densely populated area southwest of Tehran, according to state media.” (04/06/26)
https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/05/middleeast/iran-us-israel-war-what-we-know-week-6-intl-hnk