A Bold Demand to Liberate the US From the Medical-Industrial Complex

Source: Common Dreams
by Judy Albert, Claire M Cohen, Ed Grystar, Ana Malinow, Julie Noh-Smith, & Kay Tillow

“On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass addressed the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society with an oration called, ‘What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?’ In 1852, the United States was a young country, only 76 years old, and given its youth, Douglass held out hope for the country that put him and 3 million Black men, women, and children in chains. He called Congress and judges ‘inhuman, disgraceful, and scandalous’. He accused the church of being the ‘bulwark of American slavery, and the shield of American slave-hunters’. Still, he held out hope.” [editor’s note: SIX co-writers? I know all too well how song cowriting by committee turns out, most of the time – SAT] (08/15/26)

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/free-us-from-medical-industrial-complex

Steve Trinward

True Courage in Hong Kong

Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Rachel Chiu

“As Jimmy Lai’s imprisonment shows, a country’s economic prosperity means very little if it fails to preserve civil liberties. … Lai, a self-made entrepreneur and billionaire, had the opportunity to flee before his arrest, but chose to stay to encourage millions of Hong Kongers to keep fighting for the freedom and autonomy that the region has had for decades. His plight resonates strongly with me because of my family’s experiences during the Chinese Communist Revolution, but it should be just as meaningful for every American who believes in the virtues of economic and social freedoms.” (08/14/26)

https://fee.org/articles/true-courage-in-hong-kong/

Thomas L. Knapp

Small Missouri Towns Are Paying a High Price for Open Government

Source: Show-Me Institute
by Patrick Tuohey

“Between April 2021 and February 2026, the small city of Sedalia paid a single law firm, Lauber Municipal Law, just shy of $2 million—nearly one invoice per business day, according to reporting by Genevieve Smith and Annie Goldman of the Columbia Missourian. Sedalia’s population is a little over 20,000. Out of its $35 million budget for fiscal year 2026, the city set aside $500,000 for legal fees. Residents are asking why. The answer, at least in part, is Missouri’s Sunshine Law.” (08/14/26)

https://showmeinstitute.org/article/state-and-local-government/small-missouri-towns-are-paying-a-high-price-for-open-government/

Thomas L. Knapp

Australia: State regime to launch gun buyback after Bondi Beach attack

Source: BBC News [UK state media]

“Australia’s most populous state will launch a gun buyback scheme later this year, becoming the first to offer cash in exchange for firearms in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack. Gun owners in New South Wales (NSW) will be offered up to AUS$1,000 (£523) to hand over eligible handguns, shotguns and rifles from 2 November. Australian authorities had pledged sweeping firearm law reforms after 15 people were shot dead at a Jewish festival on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, which is located in NSW, last December. The state’s premier Chris Minns said on Saturday: ‘We want those guns handed in, compensated for and safely destroyed’. He said the move could see hundreds of thousands of guns surrendered.” (08/15/26)

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgjee21eenvo

Steve Trinward

South Korea: Lee proposes talks with Pyongyang to formally end war

Source: France 24 [French state media]

“South Korean President Lee Jae-myung proposed talks with North Korea to formally end the long-running Korean War, as Pyongyang deepens ties with Russia while asserting its status as an ‘irreversible’ nuclear state. The two Koreas remain technically at war because their 1950-53 conflict, triggered by a North Korean attack, ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty. Lee made the proposal in his speech at a ceremony marking the anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule. … Lee has reversed the stance of his hawkish predecessor since taking power in Seoul in June 2025, offering nuclear-armed Pyongyang talks without preconditions.” (08/15/26)

https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20260815-south-korea-president-proposes-talks-with-pyongyang-to-formally-end-korean-war

Thomas L. Knapp