Source: The American Prospect
by Henry Burke
“A group of Democratic Party moderates gathered in Charleston, South Carolina, last Sunday and Monday for an event organized by Third Way, an influential group in the party’s moderate wing. The event, entitled ‘Winning the Middle’, brought together elected officials, prominent pundits, data gurus, communication savants, and industry figures with one goal in mind: how to block a progressive from winning the party’s nomination for president in 2028. The event’s speakers celebrated their claim that a similar conference hosted by Third Way in the same location back in 2019 helped power Joe Biden (whom they touted as ‘the most conservative Democrat in the 2020 field’) to the White House, recalling that South Carolina served as both the last refuge of and launching pad for the then-former vice president’s flailing presidential campaign.” (03/10/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/03/10/centrists-better-things-arent-possible-democrats-south-carolina-third-way/
Source: ABC News
“A jury has found the Alexander brothers guilty on all counts in their federal sex trafficking trial in New York City. Jury deliberations began Thursday for the former real estate titans, Oren and Alon Alexander, 38-year-old twins, along with their brother, Tal Alexander, 39, who have denied sexually assaulting anyone or running a sex trafficking conspiracy, as prosecutors have charged. They pleaded not guilty. Throughout the five-week trial, 11 women testified that they were sexually assaulted by one or more of the brothers. At least eight of the women claimed they were drugged by one of the Alexanders.” (03/09/26)
https://abcnews.com/US/alexander-brothers-found-guilty-counts-sex-trafficking-trial/story?id=130904145
Source: Glenn Greenwald
“The US and Israel Liberate Iran by Setting It on Fire, Poisoning the Air, Bombing Schools.” (03/09/26)
https://greenwald.substack.com/p/the-us-and-israel-liberate-iran-by
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Trita Parsi
“Trump’s ‘all over the place’ press conference at his Miami resort on Monday appears to have had two key objectives: a) Calm the markets by signalling the conflict may soon be over because it has been so ‘successful,’ and b) Prepare the ground for Trump ending the war through a unilateral declaration of victory. Though ending a war that never should have been started in the first place — rather than fighting it endlessly in the pursuit of an illusory victory as the U.S. did in Afghanistan — is the right move, it won’t be as easy as Trump appears to think. Tehran also has a vote — and there is little to suggest that it will agree that the war is over.” (03/09/26)
Source: The UnPopulist
by Jonathan Rauch
“Critical self-appraisals are fine so long as they don’t validate bad-faith attacks on the liberal order.” (03/09/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/dear-liberals-dont-forget-to-brag
Source: Reuters
“Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday they would not let any oil be shipped from the Middle East if U.S. and Israeli attacks continue, prompting President Donald Trump to say the U.S. would hit Iran much harder if it blocked exports. The rhetoric did little to quell a fall in crude prices and a rally in global shares that followed Trump expressing confidence in a swift end to hostilities, even after Iran showed defiance by naming Mojtaba Khamenei as its new supreme leader. … Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran was unlikely to resume negotiations with the U.S, which he said had spoken of progress after three rounds of talks. ‘Still, they decided to attack us. So, I don’t think talking to the Americans anymore would be on our agenda any more,” he said in an interview with PBS.'” (03/10/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/iran-says-oil-blockade-will-continue-until-attacks-end-trump-threatens-hit-2026-03-10/
Source: Law & Liberty
by Aidan Grogan
“America’s Boomers have established a bipartisan gerontocracy — a political and economic system under the leadership of the elderly. They take care of their own and make younger Americans foot the bill for their longer and more luxurious retirements. It’s obviously unfair, but no one on either side of the political aisle seems inclined to do anything about it. The federal government has run a budget deficit for 24 consecutive years as the gerontocracy tightened its grip on power. It’s particularly worrisome given that the political influence of senior citizens is likely to grow as the population ages, even as the economics of America’s gerontocracy become more and more unsustainable.” (03/09/26)
https://lawliberty.org/american-gerontocracy/
Source: Reason
“Will the War in Iran Crash the Global Economy?” (03/09/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/03/09/will-the-war-in-iran-crash-the-global-economy/
Source: CoinDesk
“Bitcoin pushed back above $70,000 Tuesday morning East Asia time, completing a rapid recovery from a weekend selloff that briefly dragged the largest digital asset down to around $65,000. The move higher came as oil prices fell back below $100 and U.S. equity markets rallied. Markets turned risk off early Monday as disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz sent major oil benchmarks, WTI and brent, above $100 for the first time in years. Bitcoin dipped alongside risk assets during the initial shock but quickly stabilized in the mid $60,000 range — given Wall Street’s insulation from the energy crisis — before climbing again as markets digested the geopolitical headlines.” (03/10/26)
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/03/10/bitcoin-jumps-past-usd70-000-as-war-volatility-fades
Source: Persuasion
by Francis Fukuyama
“Of the many questionable decisions Donald Trump has made with regard to Iran, one of the strangest was his declaration last Friday that the United States would demand ‘unconditional surrender’ from Tehran. When Trump launched the attack with Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel, he was obviously hoping for a quick victory, something like the outcome he achieved when he snatched Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela in January. But the war expanded across the Middle East … Normally, a smart leader in such a situation would try to lower expectations and declare an achievable objective in the war, such as degrading the better part of Iran’s ability to strike targets with ballistic missiles and drones. This would offer an opportunity for Trump to declare victory and disengage. Instead, Trump did the opposite. The new objective of unconditional surrender suddenly raised the goalposts to an unachievable height.” (03/09/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/iran-probably-wont-surrender
