Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“Much of what schools are spend money on has at most a tenuous connection to the quality of education. That left me wondering whether there are any schools for smart cheapskates, schools that provide a good education in the company of smart people at the lowest practical cost — which I would expect to be less half the cost of the elite schools I looked at when my children were choosing where to apply. I went online to look.” (04/07/26)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/more-on-colleges-dc1
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“The US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire on Tuesday evening after a last-minute diplomatic intervention led by Pakistan, canceling an ultimatum from Donald Trump for Iran to surrender or face widespread destruction. Trump’s announcement of the ceasefire agreement came less than two hours before the US president’s self-imposed 8pm Eastern time deadline to bomb Iran’s power plants and bridges in a move that legal scholars, as well as officials from numerous countries and the Pope, had warned could constitute war crimes. … Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, issued a statement shortly after Trump’s announcement saying Iran had agreed to the ceasefire.” (04/07/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/07/trump-iran-war-ceasefire
Source: Desultory Scribblings
by Tyler Harris
“There’s a big difference between a man who hits on 1,000 women and finds only two who are interested, and another man who asks two women out and they both respond positively. Both men have gotten two dates over that same time period, but they’ve adopted very different approaches and built very different reputations. The latter is likely respectful, charismatic, and creates an environment where the women he interacts with feel good. The former’s a loser. In the same way, when the Libertarian Party fields thousands of candidates to win dozens of offices, they sacrifice their success rate on the altar of raw numbers. Like pickup artists, they, too, have adopted in advance the narratives necessary to reinforce this approach even in the face of repeated failures.” (04/07/26)
https://tylerjohnharris.substack.com/p/libertarian-office-seeking-as-political
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
“News and misinformation in early America.” (04/07/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/podcasts/so-speak-free-speech-podcast/news-and-misinformation-early-america
Source: CoinDesk
“Days of bearish positioning unraveled in about two hours on Tuesday night as bitcoin surged past $72,700 after Trump confirmed a two-week ceasefire with Iran via Truth Social just before his 8 p.m. ET deadline. The move triggered $595 million in total crypto liquidations across 118,489 traders, according to CoinGlass data. Short positions accounted for $427 million versus $168 million in longs, a ratio of more than 2.5-to-1 that reflects just how heavily the market was positioned for further downside heading into the deadline.” (04/08/26)
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/04/08/bitcoin-ether-oil-shorts-lead-usd427-million-wipeout-on-us-iran-ceasefire
Source: Garrison Center
by Joel Schlosberg
“Bill Gates owes much of his fortune to emulating Apple. The video game Halo was first showcased at MacWorld by Jobs before it became an exclusive killer app for Microsoft’s Xbox. Gates’s Windows operating system tapped the talent of Macintosh’s iconic icon designer Susan Kare. And yet the broader impact of Apple’s innovations is hardly confined to such sheerly financial windfalls. This is not just because Apple efforts like the HyperCard which made creating and viewing multimedia straightforward, the Pippin which brought built-in Internet access to a video game console, and the Newton which pioneered the personal digital assistant were influential on later developments without managing to become profitable products for them or anyone else. Indeed, much of the creativity that spread from Apple’s roots in Cupertino, California to cyberspace is closer in spirit to Wozniak than Jobs.” (04/07/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20475
Source: Reuters
“U.S. Vice President JD Vance lashed out on Tuesday at what he called ‘disgraceful’ European Union interference in Hungary’s election, even as he openly endorsed Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a close ally of both President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, days before the vote. Vance’s visit to Budapest came ahead of Sunday’s election, which independent public opinion polls show Orban is likely to lose. The trip — and the rare endorsement by a sitting U.S. official — underscored how crucial Trump deems the veteran Hungarian nationalist’s reelection. The visit broke with the norms of prior U.S. presidential administrations of not openly campaigning in foreign elections, especially for a government that has maintained close ties with Putin. It was not immediately clear whether Vance’s public support would strengthen Orban’s candidacy.” (04/07/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/vice-president-vance-visits-hungary-boost-orban-ahead-pivotal-election-2026-04-07/
Source: The Realist Review
by Peter Kuznick
“Trump is capable of declaring victory and walking away but he is equally capable of unleashing the worst violence we have seen in decades. How does one read the mind of a madman? A desperate madman for that matter. … Iran didn’t put Trump in this position, he did it himself with the help of Netanyahu and his other enablers who I mentioned above. So all bets are off. Trump is capable of anything. The world is holding its collective breath and hoping that saner individuals intervene to put Trump out to pasture or that the military refuses to obey illegal and immoral orders.” (04/07/26)
https://therealistreview.substack.com/p/time-for-the-25th-amendment
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“The World Health Organization has suspended medical evacuations from Gaza to Egypt via the Rafah crossing after a contractor was killed by Israeli troops on Monday. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the contractor (named locally as Majdi Aslan, 54) was killed in a ‘security incident’ and that two staff were present but not injured. He gave no further details. Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said the contractor was driving a WHO-rented vehicle in southern Gaza when it was targeted by Israeli forces. Israel’s military said its troops ‘identified an unmarked vehicle approaching them and the Yellow Line, posing an immediate threat,’ referring to the line marking Israeli-held territory. ‘In response, the troops fired warning shots. The vehicle continued to accelerate toward the troops, who then responded with additional fire that hit the vehicle,’ it added. ‘The incident is under review.'” (04/07/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g8pzpw2g2o
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“Commentators are pointing out that if Trump follows through with his vow, he and the Pentagon will be committing a war crime because they will be attacking the civilian population rather than military targets. But why should Trump worry about that? He knows full well that he can commit any act he wants, including criminal acts, and will not be held to account for it. The same, of course, holds true for the Pentagon, the CIA, and the rest of the national-security establishment. There are two entities about which Trump would ordinarily have to be concerned. One is Congress …. Trump has nothing to fear because he controls both houses of Congress though his loyal and deferential Republican toadies. … The other entity is the federal judicial system, which has the power of indicting people for crimes. But Trump controls the Justice Department …” (04/07/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/04/07/why-should-trump-worry-about-war-crimes/
