Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille

“Few books can be said to have withstood the test of time 250 years later, but Adam Smith’s An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (usually shortened to The Wealth of Nations), published for the first time in 1776, certainly has. At a time when even the governments of nominally free countries once again dabble with guiding economies, and the president of the United States rails against trade as if it’s a team sport where some countries are winners and others are losers, Smith’s book reminds us that unfettered societies are both good and productive, and that free trade produces the best outcomes for all.” (03/09/26)

https://reason.com/2026/03/09/250-years-later-the-wealth-of-nations-still-has-lessons-to-offer-the-political-class/

Source: TomDispatch
by Janet Abou-Elias & William D. Hartung

“‘I love the idea of getting a drone and having light fentanyl-laced urine spraying on analysts that tried to screw us’, said Alex Karp, the CEO of the emerging military tech firm Palantir. Far from an offhand outburst, his statement reflects a broader ethos taking hold in Silicon Valley’s military-tech sector, one that treats coercion as innovation, cruelty as candor, and the unchecked application of technological power as both inevitable and desirable. Karp loves verbal combat as much as he likes running a firm that makes high-tech weaponry. His company has helped Israel increase the pace at which it has bombed and slaughtered Palestinians in Gaza, and its technology has helped ICE accelerate deportations, while also helping locate and identify demonstrators in Minneapolis. Not only is Karp unapologetic about the damage done by his company’s products, he openly revels in it.” (03/08/26)

https://tomdispatch.com/the-brave-new-war-machine/

Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger

“Political commentators are saying that President Trump has made a big political mistake by promoting many justifications for his war on Iran. … I say that President Trump showed political brilliance in coming up with an extremely large number of justifications for his war. … it gives his MAGA supporters a justification that is certain to satisfy all of them. In other words, if he had come up with only one or two justifications, there is a good possibility that a large percentage of MAGA men would not find them to be persuasive. Oh, to be sure, they would still be supportive, given their blind, loyal, patriotic, subservient, and obsequious support of whatever Trump says or does, but it might not be as enthusiastic as Trump would like it.” (03/09/26)

https://www.fff.org/2026/03/09/trumps-political-strategy-on-iran-is-brilliant/

Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders

“William Tecumseh Sherman said, ‘War is hell.’ And he was right, though I can’t remember if he said that before or after torching everything he could on his march to the sea. Of the latest military adventure, enlightened commenters sit in their easy chairs and slap cheap bumper-sticker assessments on the Web for all the world to see. They baptize themselves in their own rectitude, having neither dodged a bullet in Fallujah nor watched a buddy’s legs get blown off by a roadside IED. Nor have they had to live a life of conformity forced by zealots pretending to believe in a religion they never converted to. They never had to be beaten and raped for showing their hair, or singing an ancient song, or dancing an ancient dance.” (03/09/26)

https://underthrow.substack.com/p/there-is-no-truth-in-this

Source: Our Future
by Sulma Arias

“I’m a practical person. Ideas matter, but they only come to life when we put them into practice. So if you haven’t heard from me recently, it’s because I’ve been out there, around the country, putting the Organizing Revival into practice on the ground with People’s Action organizers and our growing family of allies. And I’ve been cooking! Yes, I mean that literally. As I’ve met with different people, we’ve been making chiles rellenos, one of my most cherished dishes! Cooking and eating together has become an important part of these strategic gatherings, as we commit to move forward together into an uncertain landscape that holds dark but certain challenges. I’ll share more about this, and my recipe, in a bit. But first, I want to talk about the moment we’re in. I recently wrote an article in Convergence Magazine that I hope you’ve seen.” (03/09/26)

https://ourfuture.org/20260308/what-we-do-tells-us-who-we-are