Are the Days of Ronna McDaniel As Chair of the RNC Coming to an End?

A quick recap of how hit TV The Traitors works‚ for the uninitiated. A group of contestants enter a mansion‚ where they are assigned either the role of traitor or faithful. There are only three traitors to begin with (they may recruit more at a later time‚ if people among them are caught) with the rest made up of faithfuls‚ who must try to catch them. If the faithful survive being murdered by the traitors‚ and eliminate all the traitors‚ they take the money. If there are any traitors left at the end of the game‚ however‚ they steal all the money.If you want to do well at it‚ there are many different paths you can go down. You could be loud and influential‚ bending others to your opinions‚ or simply stay quiet the whole game and hope that nobody notices you. You could be smart and catch the traitors‚ or so stupid that the traitors don't bother wasting a precious murder on you. But a little math‚ game theory‚ and logic doesn't hurt either. In fact‚ it could have helped a few contestants win in their series in crucial moments. For instance‚ it might be good for the traitors to know that faithful contestants (in the UK version at least) are only a little bit better at capturing them than random chance. IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.Faithful contestants in another series (don't worry‚ there are many versions around the world and we will try not to reveal which) ended up faring significantly worse. Due to a series of increasingly baffling decisions‚ at the game's end‚ there were still three traitors in the mansion.In the final episode‚ the show revealed a new mechanic created for such a scenario‚ which they termed the "traitor's dilemma". After winning the game‚ the traitors were asked to write "share" or "steal" on their chalkboards‚ before revealing their choice. If all three chose share‚ they would all share the money. If one or two chose to steal‚ they would take (and‚ if it's two of them‚ split) the money‚ leaving anyone who wrote "share" with nothing. If all three voted to steal‚ however‚ then nobody would get the money at all.This is based pretty closely on the Prisoner's Dilemma‚ a thought experiment in game theory involving two prisoners facing jail time‚ who are offered the chance to go free if they flip on their fellow prisoner. But there a few other possible outcomes.If they both flip‚ they will each go to jail for two years. If one flips on the other‚ they will go free while the other gets three years. If they both remain silent‚ they will receive one year in jail each. If you are in that situation‚ should you choose to betray your fellow prisoner‚ or stay silent?The main thing that would have helped the traitors by knowing this dilemma beforehand‚ is to know precisely how dire their situation was. It is generally used as an example of how rational self-interest of individuals can lead to worse outcomes for the group. Rationally‚ it makes sense to betray your fellow prisoner. If you flip you will either go free‚ or have a two year sentence instead of three. Unfortunately‚ it also makes sense for the other prisoner to betray you‚ and so the optimal choice for both of you – one year for both staying silent – is taken off the table.The dilemma has been used to explain things such as ever-increasing advertising spends‚ as people compete over other individuals for higher rewards‚ rather than (for idealized example) agreeing on an advertising spend‚ saving money for all involved.      In The Traitors finale‚ the choice was roughly the same as the prisoner's dilemma. A large amount of money for stealing‚ a smaller amount for cooperating‚ or a slightly bigger amount for two stealing together. What was different‚ of course‚ was the number of players. Instead of relying on just one person to share the prize with you‚ you would need to be certain that two other people would also share the prize‚ otherwise‚ you will leave with nothing. This is especially difficult to do after watching them betray people night after night for the past two weeks. Though it may be tempting to judge anyone for not sharing the prize‚ if you have any suspicions about any of the other two – or think they might have the same of you – then the rational thing is to choose to steal. Deciding to share would be (almost) guaranteeing you leave home with the same bank balance you entered with.

Scientists have now fully mapped a legendary lake in New Zealand that was once an important setting for a famous M&;amacr;ori love story. Their analysis reveals never-before-seen details about the deep hydrothermal systems that are concealed below its disarmingly peaceful surface. Peaceful water and violent histories Lake Rotorua (Te Rotorua nui &;amacr; Kahumatamomoe in M&;amacr;ori) is a special place. It is the second-largest lake on New Zealand’s North Island and was formed by the violent explosions of a now dormant ancient volcano. Around 200‚000 years ago‚ that volcano experienced a massive eruption‚ which caused its underlying magma chamber to collapse‚ creating a large 9.94 mile (16 kilometers) wide caldera. Then‚ around 65‚000 years ago‚ the crater filled with water to form Lake Rotorua‚ which has been at its current level for the last 22‚000 years.Despite its beauty‚ Lake Rotorua is still home to hydrothermal activity that reminds us of the violent volcanic processes that created it. In fact‚ some have described how its waters sometimes have clouds of steam drifting across them and that the lake’s heavy sulfur content gives it a “magical green-blue” appearance.Now‚ researchers at GNS Science‚ a New Zealand-based institute‚ have mapped Lake Rotorua’s floor and revealed new details about its ancient base. According to their work‚ the lake hides thousands of “pockmarks” – essentially‚ smaller caters – some of which were 50 meters (164 feet) in diameter. These pockmarks mark where gas bubbles have disturbed the sediment on the lake’s floor.The map also shows evidence of an ancient river that predates the lake. The river can be seen meandering off the shore of Sulphur Point and then winding west of Mokoia Island before curving northeast. The island‚ which was formed by a rhyolite dome created by slowly flowing lava‚ is now a lush green environment that serves as a sanctuary for many of New Zealand’s endangered wildlife and rare birds. It is also steeped in cultural significance for the Te Arawa people‚ who see it as a sacred space. Importantly‚ Mokoia Island is the setting for one of the most famous legends in New Zealand‚ the love story of Hinemoa and Tt&;amacr;nekai.The maps reveal the hidden history behind this serene scene.Image credit: Troy Wegman/Shutterstock.comMagnetic anomaliesIn total‚ the maps cover around 21 square miles (55 square kilometers) and account for about 68 percent of the lake’s floor. The mapping process was achieved through various techniques‚ some of which were performed by the New Zealand Navy; they used multibeam sonar to map the lake’s physical features and also conducted magnetic surveys of the lake floor. This latter technique revealed interesting magnetic anomalies towards the center of the lake.Under normal conditions‚ volcanic rocks contain magnetite‚ a mineral (not to be mistaken for the similarly named Pokémon) that is highly magnetic and aligns itself to Earth’s magnetic field. However‚ in places like Lake Rotorua‚ hot water can pass through the rock and transform magnetite into pyrite (fool’s gold)‚ which has pretty much no magnetic signal.“Normally with volcanic rocks‚ when you run a magnetometer over the top of them‚ you get very positive anomalies‚ but in this case we're getting negative anomalies‚ likely due to very low magnetic susceptibilities‚” Dr Cornel de Ronde‚ a principal scientist at GNS‚ told Live Science.This anomaly seems to coincide with a “subtle heat flow anomaly”‚ researchers explained in a statement‚ which hints at a "possible igneous intrusion and another hydrothermal system nearby—exciting clues as to the hydrothermal processes at play beneath the lake floor.”This could explain why there is a negative anomaly in that part of the lake.“We are excited not only for how these new maps broaden our collective knowledge of region‚” said the researchers‚ “but also celebrate the iconic landscape and will contribute to further study in the future.”

The age of nuclear fusion is upon us. After decades of work by thousands of scientists‚ this fabled tree has started bearing its fruit: it is possible to have a fusion reaction on Earth that releases more energy than what is put in. The breakthrough‚ announced in late 2022‚ has now been confirmed. Fusion breakeven has happened. And that is not all – a series of papers highlight how there’s a lot to be hopeful about too.Nuclear fusion is constantly happening in stars. Lighter elements‚ usually hydrogen‚ are fused into heavier ones. This reaction releases a lot of energy that goes on to power the stars. A consequence dear to us in the case of the Sun is that part of that energy powers life on Earth. Since we worked out how fusion works last century‚ humans have wondered if we can control it and use it for ourselves. The answer so far has been “sort of”.In the lab‚ we can’t reproduce the conditions that are found at the center of stars: the enormous pressures and high temperatures that push elements to naturally fuse‚ releasing energy. To achieve that in the lab‚ we need to provide much higher temperatures – and that requires energy. So the goal for quite a while has been to get a fusion reaction that produces more energy than it needs to get started‚ with different designs aiming to make that happen.The first one to have crossed that line is the National Ignition Facility (NIF) experiment. This approach is known as Inertial Fusion. Powerful lasers are sent into a capsule (known as a hohlraum) that contains a pellet that has two types of heavy hydrogen. The lasers interact with the hohlraum‚ releasing an incredible amount of x-rays that slam onto the fuel‚ starting the fusion process.On December 5‚ 2022‚ the system released 3.1 MegaJoules of fusion yield. Given that the laser pulse required 2.05 MegaJoules‚ the system produced more than 150 percent of the energy needed to start it.Having surpassed the “scientific breakeven” is truly a breakthrough – but it is not enough for a full-scale power plant. The yield needs to be over 10 times the initial energy to make sense. For this reason‚ the team has taken the time to study in detail everything that happened 14 months ago. One intriguing event was that the fusion led to a reheating of the hohlraum to energies higher than what the laser could have supplied.“In summary‚ we have observed for the first time substantial reheating of indirect-drive hohlraums from burning fusion capsules‚ at levels comparable‚ and exceeding‚ the original NIF laser drive‚” the scientists wrote in one of the five papers presented today.The ability to create a stable burning plasma might be the game-changer scenario to bring Inertial Fusion to a real-life power plant.Three papers published today‚ including the one quoted above‚ are published in the journal Physical Review Letters (here‚ here‚ and here). The other two are published in the journal Physical Review E (here and here).

We’ve reached that not-so-wonderful time of year when it seems like everywhere you go‚ everyone is coughing – trying to avoid catching something feels like an extreme sport. For most people unlucky enough to join the ranks‚ a cough might make them feel rough‚ but shouldn’t be too much cause for concern. However‚ with COVID-19 still circulating and a resurgence of whooping cough‚ it helps to know the difference between them.Whooping coughWhooping cough‚ or pertussis‚ is a bacterial infection and is also known as the “100-day cough” because of how long it can last for; according to the NHS‚ it “may last for several weeks or months”. It’s a concern at the moment in the UK‚ with cases having risen from 69 in 2022 to 856 in 2023‚ with nearly 30 percent of those reported in December.In its early days‚ the infection appears much like a regular cold‚ with symptoms such as a runny nose or a sore throat. It’s usually after around a week or two that the coughing starts. As Professor Paul Hunter described in The Conversation‚ this coughing comes in intense bouts. “Each bout can last several minutes and is occasionally followed by the loud whoop that gives the disease its name. Afterwards‚ a chronic cough can remain for several weeks.”  The bouts of coughing often lead to mucus being expelled and can sometimes be so intense that they can cause vomiting or breathing difficulties; the risk of the latter is higher in babies under 6 months old. COVID-19COVID-19‚ on the other hand‚ is a viral infection. As with many respiratory illnesses‚ cases have seen an uptick in the winter months‚ and currently the relatively new JN.1 is the most prevalent variant of the virus worldwide.Though symptoms of JN.1 can also include fever‚ fatigue‚ and body aches‚ one of the characteristic signs of COVID that’s persisted through the evolution of the disease is‚ coincidentally‚ a persistent cough. That’s part of what sets it apart from whooping cough; COVID-19 can give a continuous cough as opposed to coughing fits.There’s also the way the cough sounds and feels. A COVID cough often starts with a tickle in the throat and the resulting cough is dry‚ usually making quite a coarse sound. In comparison‚ whooping cough is wet – remember that mucus can be coughed up – and has the distinctive “whoop”.If a cough doesn’t feel like any of those and you have the symptoms of a regular cold‚ it’s likely that it’s just that. However‚ as always‚ if a cough is causing you concern or doesn’t seem to be going away‚ the best approach is to speak to a healthcare professional in order to figure out its cause and the best course of action.All “explainer” articles are confirmed by fact checkers to be correct at time of publishing. Text‚ images‚ and links may be edited‚ removed‚ or added to at a later date to keep information current.  The content of this article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice‚ diagnosis‚ or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.  

If you thought playing music to cheese or digging up 2‚600-year-old halloumi was as wild as dairy-based research gets‚ boy have we got the study for you. Scientists at the University of Nottingham have – in their own words – broken “the mold” by discovering a way to make blue cheese in a whole new array of colors. Blue cheese is a bit of an acquired taste. On the one hand‚ you’ve got your people who’ll slather their salads in the stuff and shove it in anything from soup‚ to pies‚ to mac and cheese; on the other hand‚ there are those of us who pick gingerly around the Roquefort in favor of the white Cheddar or Brie. But what is it that makes blue cheese so blue?The answer is fungi‚ specifically a species called Penicillium roqueforti. It’s used in the manufacture of many blue-veined cheeses – its namesake Roquefort‚ as well as other familiar varieties like Stilton and Gorgonzola. As the fungus grows‚ it produces spores that contain a blue-green pigment.For many years‚ we’ve all just kind of just accepted that cheese manufactured in this way will be blue. But Dr Paul Dyer and the team dared to dream of a different‚ more colorful future.“We’ve been interested in cheese fungi for over 10 years and traditionally when you develop mould-ripened cheeses‚ you get blue cheeses such as Stilton‚ Roquefort and Gorgonzola which use fixed strains of fungi that are blue-green in colour. We wanted to see if we could develop new strains with new flavours and appearances‚” said Dr Dyer‚ a professor of fungal biology‚ in a statement sent to IFLScience.“The way we went about that was to induce sexual reproduction in the fungus‚ so for the first time we were able to generate a wide range of strains which had novel flavours including attractive new mild and intense tastes. We then made new colour versions of some of these novel strains.”The researchers began by using bioinformatics and genetic analysis to pinpoint the biochemical pathway that gradually forms the blue pigment in P. roqueforti. The pigment actually starts off white‚ and progresses through shades of yellow-green‚ red-brown-pink‚ dark brown‚ and light blue before ending up at the classic hue we’ve all seen on our holiday cheeseboard. By mutating genes within this pathway using a food-safe technique‚ they were able to produce different color variants that they could use for making cheese‚ after checking that there were no unintended effects that might compromise safety‚ such as an increase in fungal toxin production.The new cheeses would certainly add some aesthetic flair to your charcuterie board‚ but what about flavor? When the team tested the cheeses using diagnostic instruments in the lab‚ “We found that the taste was very similar to the original blue strains from which they were derived‚” Dr Dyer explained.But when the cheeses were unleashed on the unsuspecting students and staff of the University of Nottingham‚ it was a slightly different story.“The interesting part was that once we went on to make some cheese‚ we then did some taste trials with volunteers from across the wider University‚ and we found that when people were trying the lighter-coloured strains they thought they tasted more mild. Whereas they thought the darker strain had a more intense flavour. Similarly‚ with the more reddish brown and a light green one‚ people thought they had a fruity tangy element to them – whereas according to the lab instruments they were very similar in flavour. This shows that people do perceive taste not only from what they taste but also by what they see.”If you’re dying to get your hands on some rainbow cheese‚ that may actually be possible in the near future. The researchers are working with a spinout company at the university called Myconeos‚ which is already trying to make the dream of marketing multicolored cheese a reality.Dr Dyer even tentatively suggested that the makeover could persuade some blue-cheese newbies over to the dark side: “Personally‚ I think it will give people a really satisfying sensorial feeling eating these new cheeses and hopefully might attract some new people into the market.”The study is published in the journal NPJ Science of Food. 

Bridges come in all shapes and sizes: from the world’s longest suspension bridge that connects Europe and Asia‚ to India’s ingenious bridges made of living roots. However‚ the Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge in China holds not one‚ but two titles for both the longest and second-longest bridge in the world.Forming part of the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway‚ the Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge in China connects Shanghai and Nanjing to form the world’s longest bridge. This impressive feat of engineering stretches for a whopping 164.8 kilometers (102.4 miles) and traverses rice paddies‚ lakes‚ rivers‚ and even cities.Running parallel to the Yangtze River from its mouth in Shanghai‚ the bridge has an average height of 100 meters (328 feet) – but‚ as it’s designed to allow ships to pass underneath it‚ some areas of the bridge have a clearance of 150 meters (492 feet).Due to its length and the differences in terrain beneath the bridge‚ it is technically both a viaduct and a cable-stayed bridge in different sections. Viaducts are characterized as bridges that are supported by a series of towers or arches beneath the bridge‚ while cable-stayed bridges are supported by diagonal‚ tension-straight cables that run from towers above the bridge.The Danyang–Kunshan Grand Bridge is so long that a sub-section of the bridge‚ known as the Langfang–Qingxian viaduct‚ can even be considered the second longest bridge in the world with a length of 114 kilometers (70.8 miles).The completion of the Danyang–Kunshan Grand Bridge in 2011‚ after just four short years of construction‚ has transformed railway travel in the area by reducing a 4-hour 30-minute journey from Nigbo to Jiaxing down to just 2 hours by train.Costing a staggering $8.5 billion to build – that’s $51 million per kilometer – the entire bridge is made up of around hundreds of thousands of tonnes of steel and is supported by roughly 11‚500 concrete pillars. One section of the bridge alone uses 2‚000 pillars to cross Yangcheng Lake in Suzhou.Despite the comparatively speedy construction‚ the bridge has been built to withstand a host of natural disasters that have been known to affect the area such as earthquakes and typhoons‚ as well as being equipped to take on a direct 300‚000-tonne hit from a navy vessel. The bridge's estimated lifespan is over 100 years.Not only has the bridge improved the function of public transport for the region‚ but it has also become a tourist attraction in its own right‚ with people travelling from around to world to experience the picturesque views from this surprisingly short train ride.

In the early hours of January 21‚ asteroid 2024 BX1 flew through the atmosphere over Germany‚ burning up and breaking apart about 100 kilometers (62 miles) west of Berlin. It was only the eighth asteroid ever predicted to collide with Earth before it hit the planet‚ giving us a rare 95-minute warning. This led to a scientific hunt for possible meteorites and quickly one was found – which has turned out to be a very rare find.Researchers from the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin as well as colleagues from the Freie Universität Berlin and the German Aerospace Center initially recovered the walnut-sized meteorite from a field in the town of Ribbeck‚ about 80 kilometers north-west of Berlin. Analysis of the rock suggests that it is in the rare group of achondrites known as aubrites. There are only 87 known samples of this type of space rock from just 17 sites globally."Based on a comparison against the Aubrés fall‚ we were able to make a rough classification of the Ribbeck meteorites relatively quickly‚" Dr Ansgar Greshake‚ scientific head of the museum's Meteorite Collection‚ said in a statement. "This underlines the immense importance of scientific collections for research. So far‚ there is only material from eleven observed aubrite falls in collections worldwide."Aubrites look very different from other meteorites. They are typically light-colored and if they have a fusion crust then they are brownish‚ a difference that stems from their peculiar composition. The team has now found 20 meteorite samples‚ the analysis of which is ongoing. Electron microprobes of the first revealed the kinship to aubrites."Aubrites look more like a grayish granite and consist mainly of the magnesium silicates enstatite and forsterite‚" explained Dr Christopher Hamann‚ who was involved in the meteorite’s initial classification and is with the museum’s Solar System‚ Impacts and Meteorites department. "It contains hardly any iron and the fusion crust‚ a thin‚ tell-tale layer of quenched melt coating meteorites and which typically allows identifying them as such in the field‚ looks completely different than that of most other meteorites. Aubrites are therefore difficult to detect in the field."The peculiar mineralogical structures seen in aubrites suggest that their parent body must have had a violent history. Not that their parent body is known. One hypothesis is that the parent belongs to the E-type asteroids in the Solar System's inner Asteroid Belt that are thought to have achondrite surfaces. Or maybe they were broken off from a near-Earth object‚ 3103 Eger‚ which is also an E-type but gets very close to Earth. Another suggestion is that they are pieces of another planet: Mercury.The samples were submitted to the Nomenclature Committee of the Meteoritical Society on February 2 for examination and confirmation. Hopefully‚ we might find out more about these rare types of meteorites. 

Former RNC chairman Michael Steele awarded Democrat presidential candidate Dean Phillips a forum on their new show The Weekend on Sunday after Phillips drew two percent in the South Carolina primary. But this is MSDNC‚ so it was mostly so he could shame him into getting out of the race and stop "prolonging" anti-Biden narratives. As if the Republicans will knock it off if Phillips gets out? MSNBC proudly put out the tweet of the shaming:  WATCH: @MichaelSteele asks @RepDeanPhillips “What the hell are you doing?” pic.twitter.com/1pXSABAP82 — The Weekend on MSNBC (@TheWeekendMSNBC) February 4‚ 2024 One could easily say: What's the harm in staying in if he's only pulling two percent? But somehow‚ Biden having any challengers‚ no matter how much the pro-Biden media ignore them‚ is dangerous to the Democrats.  “The chairman in me says‚ ‘What the hell you doing? And why are you doing it?’” Steele asked. He said the party chose Biden in 2020‚ and not Kamala Harris or Bernie Sanders‚ and now he's the incumbent. "So what makes you think after that -- an incumbent president‚ Joe Biden's not going anywhere. He's not stepping down!" Phillips piped up: "Big mistake. Big‚ big mistake!" Steele said that's a "matter of opinion‚" but he won South Carolina decisively. "So the question becomes‚ in reality‚ are you creating a drain in the process‚ prolonging the narratives around his age‚ prolonging the narratives around other things that people are distracted by with Joe Biden‚ when the real threat is the man across the aisle‚ in Donald Trump. And the polling shows that‚ at the end of the day‚ Donald Trump is going to lose to Joe Biden." Phillips replied by insisting in MSNBC circles and other Democrat circles‚ everyone is privately wishing Biden didn’t run again.  Phillips insisted Biden’s approval ratings are in the thirties‚ and no one’s ever been re-elected with those numbers. He said Biden trails Trump in seven battleground states in the last Bloomberg poll. "The country has made up its mind about his age‚" Phillips said. "I respect Joe Biden‚ he should have passed the torch." Phillips insisted that "encapsulating" the president isn't going to work for much longer. When Biden can no longer avoid campaigning‚ and debating‚ and doing town halls and interviews on television‚ "when people see it‚ it's going to be really difficult to overcome." So if Biden fails‚ watch them blame Phillips for "prolonging" the obvious. 

Argentina actually elected a libertarian president. Javier Milei campaigned with a chainsaw‚ promising to cut the size of government. Argentina’s leftists had so clogged the country’s economic arteries with regulations that what once was one of the world’s richest countries is now one of the poorest. Inflation is more than 200%. People save their whole lives -- and then find their savings worth nearly nothing. They got so fed up they did something never done before in modern history: they elected a full-throated libertarian. Milei understands that government can’t create wealth. He surprised diplomats at the World Economic Forum this month by saying‚ “The state is the problem!” He spoke up for capitalism‚ “Do not be intimidated by the political caste or by parasites who live off the state ... If you make money‚ it’s because you offer a better product at a better price‚ thereby contributing to general well-being. Do not surrender to the advance of the state. The state is not the solution.” Go‚ Milei! I wish current American politicians talked that way. In the West‚ young people turn socialist. In Argentina‚ they live under socialist policies. They voted for Milei. Sixty-nine percent of voters under 25 voted for him. That helped him win by a whopping 3 million votes. He won promising to reverse “decades of decadence.” He told the Economic Forum‚ “If measures are adopted that hinder the free functioning of markets‚ competition‚ price systems‚ trade and ownership of private property‚ the only possible fate is poverty.” Right. Poor countries demonstrate that again and again. The media say Milei will never pass his reforms‚ and leftists may yet stop him. But already‚ “He was able to repeal rent controls‚ price controls‚” says economist Daniel Di Martino in my new video. He points out that Milei already‚ “Eliminated all restrictions on exports and imports‚ all with one sign of a pen.” “He can just do that without Congress?” I ask. “The president of Argentina has a lot more power than the president of the United States.” Milei also loosened rules limiting where airlines can fly. “Now (some) air fares are cheaper than bus fares!” says Di Martino. He scrapped laws that say‚ “Buy in Argentina.” I point out that America has “Buy America” rules. “It only makes poor people poorer because it increases costs!” Di Martino replies‚ “Why shouldn’t Argentinians be able to buy Brazilian pencils or Chilean grapes?” “To support Argentina‚” I push back. “Guess what?” Says Di Martino‚ “Not every country is able to produce everything at the lowest cost. Imagine if you had to produce bananas in America.” Argentina’s leftist governments tried to control pretty much everything. “The regulations were such that everything not explicitly legal was illegal‚” laughs Di Martino. “Now ... everything not illegal is legal.” One government agency Milei demoted was a “Department for Women‚ Gender and Diversity.” DiMartino says that reminds him of Venezuela’s Vice Ministry for Supreme Social Happiness. “These agencies exist just so government officials can hire their cronies.” Cutting government jobs and subsidies for interest groups is risky for vote-seeking politicians. There are often riots in countries when politicians cut subsidies. Sometimes politicians get voted out. Or jailed. “What’s incredible about Milei‚” notes Di Martino‚ “Is that he was able to win on the promise of cutting subsidies.” That is remarkable. Why would Argentinians vote for cuts? “Argentinians are fed up with the status quo‚” replies Di Martino. Milei is an economist. He named his dogs after Milton Friedman‚ Murray Rothbard and Robert Lucas‚ all libertarian economists. I point out that most Americans don’t know who those men were. “The fact that he’s naming his dogs after these famous economists‚” replies Di Martino‚ “shows that he’s really a nerd. It’s a good thing to have an economics nerd president of a country.” “What can Americans learn from Argentina?” “Keep America prosperous. So we never are in the spot of Argentina in the first place. That requires free markets.” Yes. Actually‚ free markets plus rule of law. When people have those things‚ prosperity happens. It’s good that once again‚ a country may try it.