Kibbe on Liberty, episode 386
Source: Free the People
“The CIA Is a Lawless Agency | Guest: Sen. Rand Paul.” (05/15/26)
The Trump-Xi summit was a battle of two waning superpowers
Source: spiked
by James Woudhuysen
“America is in long-term decline, but it has proved more resilient than critics allow. But China too now encounters unmistakable problems. The US is growing, but saddled with burgeoning debt – and China also has trouble brewing in that domain. Of course, Trump faces domestic dissent – but so, in a very different form, does the CCP. China has long had too much housing built, is heavily indebted and is hurtling towards a demographic cliff.” (05/15/26)
SCOTUS rejects bid to revive Democrats’ Virginia redistricting plan
Source: Politico
“Virginia Democrats’ last-ditch bid to revive their plan to redraw the state’s congressional districts to gain additional Democratic seats fizzled out Friday at the Supreme Court as the justices refused to restore the results of the referendum voters approved last month. Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones asked the nation’s highest court to take emergency action to block a Virginia Supreme Court ruling earlier this month that nullified the referendum after concluding that it violated the state’s constitution. The emergency appeal found no traction at the Supreme Court. A one-sentence order released shortly after Jones filed his final brief on the appeal said Chief Justice John Roberts referred the stay request to the full bench, which denied relief.” (05/15/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/15/supreme-court-democrats-virginia-redistricting-00925046
Egalitarianism and Value-Free Economics
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
“Dr. Wanjiru Njoya argues that Rothbard’s political philosophy is not a sideshow to his economics but its essential second pillar, and that this integrated system is precisely what is needed to challenge the egalitarian premise at its root. Correcting Piketty’s spreadsheets isn’t enough; the moral case for liberty has to be made explicitly and on philosophical grounds.” (05/15/26)
https://mises.org/podcasts/rothbard-university/egalitarianism-and-value-free-economics
Taxpayers Still on the Hook for a Gas Tax Holiday
Source: Exiled Policy
by Jason Pye & Eric Harrison
“Of course, Congress needs to find a way to ease the pain Americans feel at the pump. This is why it was so critical for lawmakers to exercise their constitutional and statutory powers to stop the military action against Iran, which led to higher gas prices. Unfortunately, Americans are paying the price for that military action in more ways than just higher gas prices.” (05/15/26)
https://exiledpolicy.substack.com/p/taxpayers-still-on-the-hook-for-a
Data centers: true menace or fearmongering?
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
“The opportunity for government interference grows because of fear. Which is no doubt one reason that certain groups of people encourage and do the fearmongering. Wealth and power is a constant theme.” (05/15/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/05/15/data-centers-true-menace-or-fearmongering/
WHO declares Ebola outbreak in DR Congo a global health emergency
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern Ituri province a public health emergency of international concern. The agency added that the outbreak, with around 246 suspected cases and 80 deaths reported, does not meet the criteria of pandemic emergency. WHO director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned there are currently ‘significant uncertainties to the true number of infected persons and geographic spread’ of the outbreak. The current strain of Ebola is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, the health agency said, for which there are no approved drugs or vaccines. The WHO said there are now eight laboratory-confirmed cases of the virus, with other suspected cases and deaths across three health zones including Bunia the capital of Ituri province, and the gold-mining towns of Mongwalu and Rwampara.” (05/16/26)
System Update, 05/15/26
Source: System Update
“Q&A on ISRAEL SUING NYT, Trust in the Mainstream Media, Tucker Carlson, Ukraine & More!” (05/15/26)
https://greenwald.substack.com/p/q-and-a-on-israel-suing-nyt-trust
Universities’ Best Defense Against Censorship in the Public Square Is Free Inquiry
Source: The UnPopulist
by Jonathan Marks
“In their otherwise valuable new book, two prominent professors acknowledge the need for diverse viewpoints on campuses but don’t offer a cure for intellectual uniformity.” (05/15/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/universities-best-defense-against
How to Stop Mega Gerrymandering From Scrambling Democracy
Source: Common Dreams
by Ralph Nader
“‘Gerrymandering’ is the historic term for politicians picking their voters by manipulating congressional and state electoral districts. Redistricting usually happens every 10 years. It is fair to say that most voters don’t want politicians rigging the system to help one party win elections. Both the Republican and Democratic parties have played this partisan gerrymandering game for years. Recently, the Republicans have become more ruthlessly partisan and have outpaced the Democrats. That is why, for example, in Pennsylvania, Democrats substantially outvote the Republicans but have fewer seats in the House of Representatives. In the past year, the gerrymandering race has run amok. It was ignited by Tyrant Trump, who told his buddy Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to break with the decennial tradition and get the GOP legislature this year to redistrict Texas to knock out four or five Democrats who are now in Congress.” (05/16/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/stop-mega-gerrymandering