[link removed]

October 23, 2025

Welcome to The Lighthouse, the weekly email newsletter of the Independent Institute covering politics, economics, current events, and everything in between.

Dear Readers,

From free expression to foreign policy, this week’s featured pieces explore how power—whether governmental or individual—shapes the limits of freedom.

This week, James Rushmore reflects on the temptation to use the government to silence dissent under the guise of dangerous speech. With the film The Social Reckoning forthcoming, Rushmore emphasizes the importance of questioning censorship, even in the name of safety.

Alvaro Vargas Llosa gives his autobiographical observations in “My Migration Story,” reminding us that the human impulse to move, to seek better lives, is as enduring as history itself. No matter how high the walls or loud the rhetoric, migration remains a force that enriches societies—culturally, economically, and politically.

Craig Eyermann and Scott Beyer separately write about Washington’s spending habits.

Finally, in “Constitutional War Powers and the Kaine Amendment,” Rushmore returns to examine the future of Congress’s warmaking authority.

Happy reading.

Jonathan Hofer
Managing Editor

Top picks this week
[link removed]


** Facebook and Free Expression ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------


** by James Rushmore
------------------------------------------------------------

The Social Reckoning, though still a year away from arriving in theaters, will hopefully reflect a new political sensibility that rejects the notion that freedom can be saved by silencing people.
Read More ([link removed])

[link removed]


** My Migration Story ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------


** by Alvaro Vargas Llosa
------------------------------------------------------------

No demagogue will ever be able to reverse the law of migration.
Read More ([link removed])

[link removed]


** DOGE 2.0 Gets a Slow Start ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------


** by Craig Eyermann
------------------------------------------------------------

If there’s one other thing you can count on in Washington D.C., it’s that both politicians and bureaucrats like to spend as many taxpayer dollars as possible.
Read More ([link removed])

[link removed]


** The Federal Reserve’s Decadence ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------


** Spending within the powerful agency is a metaphor for the excess found across the federal government. ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------


** by Scott Beyer
------------------------------------------------------------

The Federal Reserve has long been a target of libertarians—and for good reason.
Read More ([link removed])

[link removed]


** Constitutional War Powers and the Kaine Amendment ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------


** by James Rushmore
------------------------------------------------------------

Are Trump's critics in Congress ready to reclaim their warmaking powers?
Read More ([link removed])


** FEATURED BOOK — COMING SOON!
------------------------------------------------------------


** Beyond Homeless ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------


** Good Intentions, Bad Outcomes, Transformative Solutions ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------


** Edited by Mary L. G. Theroux, Lawrence J. McQuillan, and Adam B. Summers
------------------------------------------------------------

“With an impressive array of scholars and data, Beyond Homeless should be essential reading for those curious about how to change course on homelessness.”

—Judge Glock, Director of Research and Senior Fellow at the

Manhattan Institute; contributing editor of City Journal
[link removed]

Donate ([link removed])

[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
mailto:[email protected]

You received this message because you are subscribed to The Lighthouse.

Independent Institute, 100 Swan Way, Oakland, CA 94621-1428
Manage preferences ([link removed]) | Unsubscribe ([link removed])

Copyright © 2025 Independent Institute, All rights reserved.