Can Ants Teach Us Anything About Free Markets?

Source: Students For Liberty
by Ilia Zhuzhunashvili

“Observing a single ant often reveals little about the organization of ant behavior. Its movements may appear erratic: it changes direction, retraces its path, pauses, and resumes without any obvious plan. Considered in isolation, the ant does not seem to act with clear purpose or coordination. The colony, however, presents a very different picture. What appears disordered at the level of the individual can become highly structured at the level of the group. When a source of food is introduced, ants may rapidly establish a direct and efficient route between the nest and the food. The resulting trail can resemble a carefully planned transport network. Yet no individual ant designs the route, issues instructions, or oversees the movement of the colony.” (08/10/26)

https://studentsforliberty.org/blog/can-ants-teach-us-anything-about-free-markets/

Thomas L. Knapp

Is It (Still) Un-American to Care?

Source: Common Dreams
by Danaka Katovich

“I initially wrote this piece in 2024 during the student uprisings that took place around the United States. The content was focused on Gaza and the people who made up the movement for Palestine in the belly of the beast. I’ve rewritten some of it and replaced Gaza with Cuba. The arguments needed no editing at all. In March, a delegation traveled to Cuba to bring medical aid to Cubans who were suffering under the fuel blockade imposed on them by the United States of America. In recent months, people and organizations who took part, including my own organization, have been targeted by the Trump administration via investigations, subpoenas, and threatening reports such as Marco Rubio’s 100-page report ‘The Capital of 21st Century Communism’.” (08/10/26)

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/un-american-to-care

Steve Trinward

Greenland: Regime warns Trump-linked oil company not to drill without permission

Source: Yahoo! News

“Greenland has issued a ‘strong warning’ after a US oil company linked to Donald Trump landed drilling equipment onto the Arctic island without permission. The Greenland government said it was aware of drilling machinery being brought onshore on the island’s eastern coast last month ‘in connection with planned oil exploration drilling’. … The equipment is for a large oil-drilling project being funded by Greenland Energy, a Texas company set up last year with ties to Mr Trump. … Days after oil-drilling equipment was seen being hauled ashore by Greenland locals last month, Mr Trump renewed his threats to claim the semi-autonomous island.” (08/09/26)

https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/greenland-warns-trump-linked-oil-170943746.html

Thomas L. Knapp

Rediscovering the Comparative Advantage of Business Schools

Source: The Daily Economy
by Kimberlee Josephson

“Before asking students how businesses should change society, business schools should ensure they understand how businesses create value in the first place.” (08/10/26)

https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/rediscovering-the-comparative-advantage-of-business-schools/

Thomas L. Knapp

The Barbarous Relic’s Revenge

Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by George Ford Smith

“For Americans, the gold standard was killed by presidential decree during the crisis of the Great Depression. In 1971, another president told foreigners they could no longer get gold for American dollars and thus removed the last trace of monetary gold from international trade. Since then all governments have been on a fiat money standard, depreciating their currencies as a matter of policy. The story of gold’s disappearance is part of a larger narrative about the growth of government. Besides being a check on bank counterfeiting, or inflation, gold is also a serious restriction on government expansion. For the advocates of big government, therefore, gold becomes a barbarous relic that stands in their way.” (08/10/26)

https://mises.org/mises-wire/barbarous-relics-revenge

Thomas L. Knapp

Under Trump, State Department has yanked over 175k visas so far

Source: Fox News

“The U.S. State Department announced on Monday that it has revoked more than 175,000 visas during President Donald Trump’s administration so far. The announcement comes less than two years since Trump started his second term. ‘Under President Trump, the United States Department of State has revoked more than 175,000 visas from foreign nationals who violated the terms of their visas, committed crimes, called for violence against U.S. citizens, defrauded Americans, abused our immigration system, or endangered national security,’ the State Department noted. ‘The majority of these visas were revoked due to law enforcement encounters for a range of criminal activity, with assault, driving under the influence, theft, and drug crimes being the leading causes. A significant share of visas were revoked for reckless driving, sexual assault, child abuse, fraud and embezzlement, and other crimes,’ according to the department.” (08/10/26)

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/us-state-department-has-yanked-more-than-175k-visas-under-trump-administration-so-far

Steve Trinward

You Want a Real Commie?

Source: The American Conservative
by Bill Kauffman

“Fox World is all a-twitter because a handful of members or fellow travelers of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) are about to be elected to the U.S. Congress and various state legislatures. They’re ‘godless communists,’ according to President Trump, and what with inflation, an insane war, and Trump family grift, we’ll be hearing about commies all election season. Michael ‘The Other America’ Harrington, founder of DSA, was about as threatening as the Mills Brothers. The current DSA candidates seem, at first glance, as off-putting as your typical hectoring grad-school wokester, but I can’t get too worked up over them. After all, New York City once sent a real communist to Congress—and his example complicates the Sean Hannity narrative.” (08/10/26)

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/you-want-a-real-commie/

Thomas L. Knapp