[Editor’s Note: This week, a new ruling from the US Supreme court chipped away at the administrative powers of the federal bureaucracy. The case, Loper Bright Ent. vs. Raimondo, largely overturned the 1984 Chevron ruling which had solidified the bureaucracy’s power to interpret laws for itself.

I attended a neighborhood association meeting recently on the inner west side of San Antonio. The concerns were probably not unlike those of residents in other United States urban centers: crime, public intoxication, vagrancy, etc.

One that drew a notable response from the local councilwoman was the cost of housing. This issue provides a good example of how actions of the federal government trickle down and leave collateral damage in our neighborhoods.

Immediately after taking office, the president of Argentina, Javier Milei, signed a decree and reduced the number of ministries from twenty-two to nine. Although tens of thousands of public employees have been disposed of since then, the celebrated reduction is still symbolic, because it only ordered some ministries to absorb others and did not reduce public employment significantly. Milei has managed to achieve five budget surpluses so far. Public works have ceased to be financed to an important degree.

The most pervasive and prevalent aspect of government to the average American is the regulatory bureaucracy. Starting a business requires the acquisition of a license. Bureaucrats were given powers to create new legal requirements, accounting measures, and deviations from profit management. This was enabled by the law, through the delegation of powers by Congress to the bureaucrats, but also by the Supreme Court.

Many people argue in this way: The 1964 Civil Rights Act was fine. No one should be discriminated against because of his race or sex. Because blacks and women have suffered such discrimination in the past, it may be that programs like affirmative action are justified, at least temporarily. However, the purpose of these programs should be to promote equality of opportunity. Everybody deserves an equal chance to live a good life or, at any rate, a fair chance.

Last night, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump faced off in Atlanta in what’s supposed to be the first of two presidential debates. Each man had essentially one job. Trump needed to appear stable enough to counter the characterization his opponents have built up of an unhinged maniac who is dead set on tearing the country down to nurse the hit his ego suffered in 2020. And Trump did a perfectly good job at that. 

A long battle surrounding Julian Assange has finally come to an end. Founder of divisive group, Wikileaks, Julian would gain popularity in 2010 when helping former US soldier, Chelsea Manning uncover and spread evidence that the United States and Australia committed war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A quite-revealing speech about the future of the European Union was given in Brussels on April 16, 2024 by Mario Draghi, who at one time had been slated to become the next president of the EU Commission, replacing scandal-ridden Ursula von der Leyen, who recent