Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob

“There are long-standing debates among those who oppose big government. One is whether we should promote every budget cut and any tax cut, or whether we should more-or-less carefully support only some cuts — on the grounds that some possible cuts might scuttle future reforms. This came to mind upon hearing Michigan Governor Gretch Whitmer’s plan to reduce the budget of one of her state’s bureaucracies by 28 percent. Hooray! But wait a moment: the department to be cut is the Office of the Auditor General!” (04/18/24)

https://thisiscommonsense.org/2024/04/18/less-oversight/

Source: Freeman’s Perspective
by Paul Rosenberg

“Millions of decent people are wasting their time and energy, trying to identify the secret bad guys of the world, then prove that they’re right. What I want to say is that it’s a magnificent waste. Even worse, monster hunts keep people with strong ethics on the Establishment Plantation. So, here are five reasons why I’m not interested in secret bad guys …” (04/18/24)

https://freemansperspective.com/why-i-dont-care-about-the-secret-bad-guys/

Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Alex Little

“As NATO commemorated its 75th anniversary this month, the direction of the alliance’s posture toward the Arctic region has been called into question. The recent accession of Sweden means that seven of eight of the world’s Arctic nations fall under NATO’s security umbrella, with Russia being the outlier. While some analysts see the addition of Sweden and Finland as an opportunity for NATO to ‘increase its footprint’ and ‘deter Russia,’ the last thing the alliance needs is to scour for another avenue for confrontation with Russia. Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership undoubtedly affects the alliance’s influence in the Arctic.” (04/18/24)

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/arctic-nato-russia/

Source: CounterPunch
by Binoy Kampmark

“Last month, the UK High Court gave what can only be regarded as an absurd prescription to the prosecution should they wish to succeed. Extradition would unlikely be refused if Assange was availed of protections offered by the First Amendment (though rejecting claims that he was a legitimate journalist), was guaranteed not to be prejudiced, both during the trial and in sentence on account of his nationality, and not be subject to the death penalty. That such directions were even countenanced shows the somewhat delusionary nature of British justices towards their US counterparts. On April 16, Assange’s supporters received confirmation that the extradition battle, far from ending, would continue in its tormenting grind. Not wishing to see the prospect of a full hearing of Assange’s already hobbled arguments, the US State Department, almost to the hour, filed the assurances in a diplomatic note to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).” (04/18/24)

https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/04/18/faulty-assurances-the-judicial-torture-of-assange-continues/

Source: Law & Liberty
by John O McGinnis

“Every new regime not born from revolutionary violence must win the support of an elite to survive. Mere theories of sound social arrangements do not suffice. A powerful cohort must be invested in the regime’s success, ready to uphold its ideals. Lacking allies to enforce its vision, a regime’s framework may ironically undermine the principles it is designed to uphold. An entrenched opposing elite can turn the discretion inherent in all political settlements against the objectives of their proponents.” (04/18/24)

https://lawliberty.org/summoning-up-the-state/