US Senate again refuses to do job on Iran war

Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

“Despite rising political anxiety over the Iran war, senators on Thursday narrowly rejected a war powers resolution seeking to halt President Donald Trump’s military action, which has been largely blamed for the spike in gas prices and become a flashpoint in the midterm election. The Senate tally, 49-50, coming days after Trump’s bombastic address to the United Nations in which he threatened to ‘annihilate’ Iran, was likely the last chance for lawmakers to go on record about the war ahead of November. … This was the 14th time the Senate has considered a war powers resolution since Trump launched the conflict on Feb. 28.” (09/25/26)

https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2026/sep/25/senate-again-rejects-war-powers-resolution/

Assimilation Is No Solution If Success Is the Problem

Source: Gideon’s Substack
by Noah Millman

“How could anyone possibly object to this image? You want immigrants to work hard and play by the rules? These guys managed to get into the flagship campus of the University of Texas. You want them to assimilate to American culture? These guys are all wearing their school colors, roaring their excitement at their football team’s amazing victory. Several are wearing cowboy hats. If you asked an A.I. for an image that would reinforce the view that South Asian immigration is nothing to worry about, this would be the image it would create. Yet this is the image Bo French used to argue that ‘the problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined,’ said problem being ‘Americans’ being displaced by ‘foreigners.'” (09/24/26)

https://gideons.substack.com/p/assimilation-is-no-solution-if-success

International fugitive whines at UN after mass walkout

Source: New York Times

“Fighting for his political life back home, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel gave a pugnacious address at the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, casting his nation as falsely accused of genocide and his people as indomitable fighters against terrorism and antisemitism. At times pounding the lectern and raising his voice, Mr. Netanyahu took aim at Israel’s military enemies like Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas and their allied forces in Yemen and Iraq. But he also assailed Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York City, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Western European leaders he said had ‘chosen to succumb to the antisemitic mob.’ As the Israeli leader took the podium, many of the international diplomats filed out of the hall, as they have in the past, but his speech seemed tuned far more to a domestic audience than an international one.” (09/24/26)

https://archive.is/NfHpT

The Slippery Constitutionality of Open Primaries

Source: Law & Liberty
by Robert G Natelson

“Since the early days of the American Republic, political parties have been vehicles through which people of modest means can participate effectively in politics. Like churches, families, associations, and corporations, parties are mediating organizations between the individual and government. And like other mediating organizations, parties have come under fierce attack from the left. One form of attack has been promotion of state election laws allowing non-party members to vote for party nominees. But on June 30, the Supreme Court issued a case that brought it one step closer to ruling that such laws violate the Constitution’s First Amendment, as incorporated against the states by the Fourteenth.” (09/24/26)

https://lawliberty.org/the-slippery-constitutionality-of-open-primaries/

NJ: Sherrill calls on lieutenant governor to resign over ethics report

Source: NBC News

“New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said Thursday evening that she gave Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell ‘until tomorrow’ to resign after an investigation found he had violated state ethics and harassment policy. … The state said this month that it had hired a law firm to investigate allegations against Caldwell, a Democrat who was elected on the ticket with Sherrill last year, claiming that he had behaved inappropriately toward women. … Sherrill said Caldwell’s ‘ethical lapses persisted despite multiple warnings and trainings.’ … Lawyers for Caldwell, who has denied the allegations, said in a statement Thursday night that they ‘strongly disputed the three findings in the investigation,’ as its conclusions ‘go further than the evidence supports.'” (09/24/26)

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/new-jerseys-governor-calls-lieutenant-governor-resign-ethics-report-rcna599771

“Blue Wave” or Not, Expect Business as Usual After the Midterms

Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp

“All year we’ve heard predictions of a ‘blue wave’ in the midterms, with Democrats taking majorities in both houses of Congress. As of this writing, most forecasts I’ve consulted say that there’s a good chance of a Democratic House come January, but that the Republicans will likely hang on to the Senate. My own forecast is ‘don’t get your hopes up for substantial change no matter how the midterms turn out.’ That’s just not how American government works. Or at least that’s not how American government USUALLY works.” (09/24/26)

https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20908

US jobless claims fall to 197,000, lowest since July

Source: Siasat Daily [India]

“Fewer people applied for US unemployment benefits last week, as US jobless claims remain at historically low levels as most Americans enjoy job security. The Labour Department said Thursday, September 24, that 197,000 applied for unemployment checks last week, the fewest since mid-July and down from a revised 198,000 the week before. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week ups and downs, fell to 202,250 last week from 204,000. Claims for jobless benefits are a proxy for layoffs, and economists watch them because they can be a sign of where the job market is headed. So far this year, claims have mostly stayed below 220,000 — historically low.” (09/24/26)

https://www.siasat.com/us-jobless-claims-fall-to-197000-lowest-since-july-3547690/

Insult a cop or city employee in Montreal? Prepare to pay up.

Source: Expression
by Sarah McLaughlin

“What, exactly, counts as an insult? For Montrealers, this is not just a hypothetical question about the limits of civility and good taste. In Canada’s second-most populous metropolis, the city council just banned insults to municipal employees — police officers included — and offending parties could now pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars for saying the wrong thing to the wrong city worker. If that wasn’t bad enough, the new rules don’t even bother to define what is an ‘insult’ or what speech is ‘offensive.'” (09/24/26)

https://expression.fire.org/p/insult-a-cop-or-city-employee-in