Author: nick

[ad_1] There have been fewer golden orioles in my garden in France this year: or perhaps, more accurately, I should say that I have heard fewer of them. Their single, slightly melancholy or plaintive whistling cry (one could hardly call it a song) has been much less evident than last year above the chirping chorus of the cicadas. It is difficult to see golden orioles, despite the brilliant yellow plumage of the males, for they are shy birds, and are much more manifest by sound than by sight. It is possible that it had been too hot for them this…

[ad_1] Hawaii was admitted as the 50th state in 1959. The experience of the Hawaiian people was very, very different from the experience of the people in the other 49 states. The United States of America was established by overthrowing a monarch in 1776. Hawaii remained under the control of a monarch until 1893. During the Nineteenth Century, as the American states and territories lived with a right to keep and bear arms, Hawaii had no such protection. Justice Jackson recounts this history in her Wolford dissent: Since its time as a sovereign kingdom, Hawaii has never permitted the widespread carrying…

[ad_1] Illustration: Lex Villena; Joe Sohm A recent Echelon Insights poll finds that the “free market economy” is more popular than “capitalism.” 53% of respondents say they have a “very” or “somewhat” favorable view of the former, while only 12% have an very or somewhat unfavorable view. By contrast, “capitalism” is viewed very or somewhat favorably by 49%, while the two unfavorable categories combine for 29% (more than the double percentage for “free market economy”). Other polls show similar results. For example, a recent Gallup survey finds 54% have a positive  view of “capitalism,” but 81% say the same of…

[ad_1] To say that we live in an age of polarization is akin to saying that Senegal is hot. It’s so obvious that it almost feels insulting to point it out. Ya think?! On many issues, this sort of polarization is inevitable. Either the U.S. should attack Iran or it shouldn’t. Either men can become women or they can’t. Mutual agreement is not always possible, any more than all businesses can be profitable, or all nations can win the World Cup. Sometimes, though, there are opportunities for productive bipartisan accord. A surprising example? Animal welfare. Generally, of course, right-wingers are…

[ad_1] Proportional representation is an extremely boring thing. Which is precisely why, if you want to destroy British democracy, it is such a very useful tool.  The mind-numbingly tedious voting system is even known by the initialism “PR,” which is ideal for a structure whose main public appeal really is a matter of pure public relations. Marching into Parliament wielding machine-guns is far too obvious a way to stage a coup. Instead, you could more effectively enlist polling companies like YouGov to go out and ask the general public a harmless-sounding, but very carefully phrased, question like the following: Some…

[ad_1] Healthcare in the United States is in a death spiral. Costs continue to rise, chronic diseases consume 90% of healthcare spending, and millions of Americans feel trapped in a system that often limits choice. Patients increasingly want insurance for a broader spectrum of care — from functional/integrative medicine, to preventive, and more holistic approaches — yet insurers frequently fail to recognize these services due to a lack of billing codes. The result is a healthcare environment where innovation is constrained, patient autonomy is reduced, and effective alternatives to conventional medicine remain invisible to insurers and financially inaccessible to most patients. Two forces…

[ad_1] Pkchai | Dreamstime.com The Trump administration recently adopted new, gratuitously restrictive, rules constraining foreign students at US universities. My Cato Institute colleague David Bier, a leading expert on immigration policy, has a helpful piece summarizing the policy changes, and their pernicious nature: Previously, international students on F visas, exchange visitors on J visas, and foreign media on I visas were granted admission for their “duration of status”—that is, for as long as they were in status or following the rules of the visa programs. DHS’s final rule replaces that with a fixed period of entry of no more than…

[ad_1] On average, tariffs are a jobs killer. They protect one industry while costing others. Manufacturing was dismal in 2025. 2026 is off to a weak but positive start in 2026 averaging about a thousand jobs a month. Change In Manufacturing, Construction, Private Education and Health Construction has had a few great months but its sporadic and tied to AI and utilities, not residential or office construction. The big source of jobs has been private education and health care, related to the mass aging of baby boomers needing health care services. Manufacturing and Services Jobs Percent of Nonfarm Payrolls Manufacturing…

[ad_1] Steering America's Museums Back Toward Reality [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] Will Lester/ZUMA Press/Newscom Much of the eastern United States has recently been affected by smoke originating from massive wildfires in Canada. It’s a genuine problem. But Trump’s threat to impose new tariffs on Canadian goods in response won’t make the situation any better. If implemented, it would damage both the US and Canadian economies, and further poison relations between the two countries. And it has no chance of actually alleviating the wildfire problem. Furthermore, no law authorizes the president to impose tariffs in response to natural disasters like this one. Trump claims the tariffs are justified because “[w]e are…