Jun
3
2026

Surprise: the Road to Serfdom has Tolls

At National Review, Andrew Stuttaford comments pithily on Sanders's AI Interference: From Smash to Grab. (archive.today link)

I’m old enough to remember when Bernie Sanders proposed a moratorium on the construction of data centers.

That's right: our Getty Image du Jour is a pic of the press conference where Bernie and Sandy (AKA AOC) announced that scheme. That was the "smash" part.

Andrew goes on to note Bernie's "grab" followup in the NYT: A.I. Is a Public Resource. You Should Own Half of It. (archive.today link) Bernie sez:

I will soon be introducing the American A.I. Sovereign Wealth Fund Act. This legislation would give the public a direct ownership stake in the largest A.I. companies in our country. How? It would create a sovereign wealth fund through a one-time 50 percent tax — not on the profits of OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI and other companies, but paid with something far more valuable than that: the stock.

Bernie is 84 years young, and like many older drivers, he can't seem to decide whether to hit the AI brakes, or stomp on the AI gas. Or (to strain this metaphor furtuer) just advocate a bit of real-life Grand Theft AI.

Let's bounce over to Reason where Tosin Akintola observes: Bernie Sanders' AI wealth fund bill shows that he doesn't understand AI or wealth. Among the many things Sanders either doesn't know, or wants to ignore:

Sanders also appears to fundamentally misunderstand that AI is benefiting most Americans, not just the ultrarich. A retirement report from Fidelity Investments found that through the first quarter of 2026, the average 401(k) account balance was up 11 percent from the previous year.

It's also creating nonmaterial gains. AI detection tools can identify breast cancer earlier and more accurately, while bilingual conversational agents have been shown to improve students' language and vocabulary at an early age. If every advancement in AI is subject to government approval, as Sanders proposes, it's unlikely that breakthroughs like these would be achieved at the pace and scale society demands.

Do you ever get the feeling that we're living in the middle of an Ayn Rand novel? (I was going to leave that as a comment on Andrew's NR article, but someone else beat me to it.)

Also of note:

  • And yet, somehow always dumb. Jacob Sullum points out: Trump’s self-promotion is always shameless and sometimes illegal.

    President Donald Trump has a long history of naming things after himself, including Trump Tower, the Trump National Golf Club, the Trump Taj Mahal casino, Trump University, Trump Steaks, Trump Vodka, and Trump: The Game. But as he discovered last week, such self-promotion can be legally problematic when it requires congressional approval.

    On Friday, a federal judge ruled that Trump's appointees exceeded their statutory authority when they attached his name to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The decision was the latest reminder of the president's tendency to trample the rule of law in his rush to glorify himself.

    It was somewhat fitting that Trump wanted to stick his name on one of D.C.'s ugliest buildings.

  • He's got a fever, and the only prescription is: Less Israel! The WSJ editorialists reveal The Real Problem With Graham Platner. (WSJ gifted link)

    Maine Democrat Graham Platner’s bid for Senate has looked like it may have a half-life near the bottom of the periodic table, with unsavory revelations about his personal conduct. So what’s his master plan to pull his campaign out of a stall? Ginning up the progressive base with toxic insinuations about the Jews, apparently.

    “Senator Collins is bought and paid for by Benjamin Netanyahu, and she votes accordingly,” Mr. Platner’s campaign account posted on X.com on Monday. The complaint is that Ms. Collins receives donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

    But so what? “Unsurprising that Jewish Americans are supporting the candidate who does not have a Nazi tattoo,” as GOP Sen. Tim Sheehy put it in his own post. Mr. Platner has said his now infamous chest tattoo was a drunken mistake and that he didn’t realize the symbol was associated with Nazis. But he’s hardly helping his case by implying that Israel controls American politicians.

    At least one Platner supporter is on the watch for any sneaky Jews that publish "hit pieces". AKA, facts.


Last Modified 2026-06-03 9:30 AM EDT