Honest Men Turned Knaves
Source: Law & Liberty
by Max Skjönsberg
“The force of partisan strife in modern politics should make us appreciate the need for checks and balances.” (10/26/26)
Author: Thomas L. Knapp
The Spirit of Democracy Remains Strong
Source: Persuasion
by Francis Fukuyama
“The news from Brazil, Serbia, and Venezuela should be celebrated. But it’s too soon to say if these victories are sustainable.” (10/26/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/the-spirit-of-democracy-remains-strong
Interviews by Claire Lehmann, 10/26/26
Source: Quillette
“Gemma Tognini on Australia’s Political Revolt.” (10/26/26)
https://quillette.com/2026/10/26/gemma-tognini-on-australias-political-revolt/
China: Communist Party opens fifth plenum with focus on discipline and loyalty to Xi
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“The Communist Party has started a key four-day conclave focused on party discipline and fighting corruption, as official media outlets say adherence to the party’s leadership under President Xi Jinping is key to the country’s success. The meeting – the fifth plenum of the Communist Party’s 20th Central Committee – began in Beijing on Monday, according to state news agency Xinhua. It said the main agenda for the plenum included a work report by the Politburo to the Central Committee and the adoption of a document aimed at ‘deepening party self-governance’.” (10/26/26)
EconTalk, 10/26/26
Source: EconTalk
“How Your Situation Shapes You (with Angela Duckworth).” (10/26/26)
https://www.econtalk.org/how-your-situation-shapes-you-with-angela-duckworth/
At Harvard, a pitch for constitutional free fall
Source: hypertext
by Matt Dreher
“Frustrated by our politics, some intellectuals want to roll the dice on a vaguely defined Article V convention. What could go wrong?” (10/26/26)
https://hypertext.niskanencenter.org/p/at-harvard-a-pitch-for-constitutional
The Write-In Stuff
Source: The American Conservative
by Bill Kauffman
“Must all change always be for the worst? In classic ‘arsenic or cyanide, sir?’ fashion, New Yorkers are given the Hobson’s choice between a Democratic Party that has lost any connection to rural and working-class Americans and a Republican Party that is running this year on the Iran War and building more data centers. Whoopee! Ever Pollyanna, I tease out the silver lining in this assault on democracy by scribbling write-in votes, so on November 3, 2026, I’ll be doing just that. And y’know, it’s kinda fun.” (10/26/26)
From 1215 to 2026
Source: Law & Liberty
by Luke C Sheahan
“The principles of the Declaration are rooted in a heritage much older than 250 years.” (10/26/26)
Neon Liberalism, episode 96
Source: Liberal Currents
“The Lies of Hearts of Iron.” (10/26/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/the-lies-of-hearts-of-iron-neon-liberalism-96-with-bret-devereaux/
Elvis Presley’s rights [sic] holders sue Anthropic, saying it trained AI on his music
Source: NBC News
“The owners [sic] of Elvis Presley’s music have sued Anthropic, alleging it used his copyrighted lyrics without permission to train its AI models and generating infringing versions of his songs. In a lawsuit filed Friday, Authentic Brands Group, the licensing platform that controls Presley’s intellectual property [sic] — along with other companies, trusts and individuals who own rights [sic] to his music — accused Anthropic of infringing copyrights to 274 songs without any license or payment. … The lawsuit by Presley’s rights [sic] holders comes amid a larger wave of lawsuits against Anthropic and other AI companies accused of using copyrighted musical works without consent or compensation.” (10/25/26)