How the Internet Made the Far-Right
Source: Persuasion
by Katherine Dee
“To understand extremist politics, you have to understand online discourse.” (11/18/25)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/how-the-internet-made-the-far-right
Author: Thomas L. Knapp
Summers quits public roles amid Epstein emails: “I am deeply ashamed of my actions”
Source: mint [India]
“Former US Treasury Secretary and former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers announced on Monday that he would be ‘stepping back from public commitments’ following the release of communication documents between him and the late convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. Summers, a current Harvard University Professor, stated that while he will ‘continu[e] to fulfill my teaching obligations,’ the withdrawal from public roles is ‘one part of my broader effort to rebuild trust and repair relationships with the people closest to me.’ … The documents revealed that Summers and Epstein continued to exchange messages until July 5, 2019 — just one day before Epstein’s arrest on new sex-trafficking charges.” (11/18/25)
The Climate Realism Show, episode 182
Source: Heartland Institute
“Worst COP Ever?” (11/18/25)
https://heartland.org/podcasts/worst-cop-ever-the-climate-realism-show-182-guest-chris-martz-3/
Vietnam and the US at the Negotiating Table
Source: Foundation for Econic Education
by Jake Scott
“Global trade patterns are continuing to shift, and increasingly Eastward. As Gulf nations diversify and broaden their highly oil-dependent economies, ASEAN nations seem to be deepening theirs, focusing more on what they are good at while pursuing stability alongside. In this vein, Vietnam and the United States are now closing in on what may become one of the most strategically important bilateral trade agreements either has attempted in decades. … Two features of the emerging agreement stand out as especially consequential. The first is the pursuit of structured reciprocity, a model far more formal (and couched in the language favored by President Trump) than previous phases of US–Vietnam engagement. … The second is the macro-financial consultation mechanism.” (11/18/25)
https://fee.org/articles/vietnam-and-the-us-at-the-negotiating-table/
Trump gives a lesson in how not to handle a scandal
Source: The Hill
by Bill Press
“There’s nothing Washington likes more than a scandal. Most quickly fade away. But every once in a while, there’s a scandal that takes root, that just won’t go away. President Nixon had Water-gate, President Bill Clinton had Whitewater and President Trump now has Geoffrey Epstein. But what’s unique about the Epstein-gate scandal is that this is not something Democrats laid on Trump. From the start, this scandal was entirely of Trump’s own creation. He brought it on himself. He created it, he fanned the flames, and now he can’t get out from under it. Forget the politics. Just stand back for a moment and review how Trump’s mishandled the Epstein matter. It’s been one ham-handed mistake after another. Either he or whoever is advising him on how to deal with Epstein should be fired for incompetence.” (11/18/25)
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5610187-epstein-scandal-trump-fallout/
Australia: Prisoner sues for his “human right” to eat Vegemite
Source: ABC News
“A prisoner is challenging an Australian state’s ban on inmates eating Vegemite, claiming in a court suit that withholding the polarizing yeast-based spread breaches his human right to ‘enjoy his culture as an Australian.’ Andre McKechnie, 54, serving a life sentence for murder, took his battle for the salty, sticky, brown byproduct of brewing beer to the Supreme Court of Victoria, according to documents released to The Associated Press on Tuesday. Most Australians revere Vegemite as an unfairly maligned culinary icon, and more than 80% of Australian households are estimated to have a jar in their pantries. But inmates in all 12 prisons in Victoria are going without.” [editor’s note: I suspect Vegemite is an acquired taste. After giving it a try, I decided I don’t really want to acquire it – TLK] (11/18/25)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/australian-prisoner-sues-eat-vegemite-127619232
The Good Fight, 11/18/25
Source: Yascha Mounk
“James Loxton on Democracies and Dictators.” (11/18/25)
https://yaschamounk.substack.com/p/james-loxton-on-democracies-and-dictators
An Act of Contrition
Source: The Dispatch
by Kevin D Williamson
“Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia is in a penitent mood. ‘I would like to say, humbly, I’m sorry for taking part in the toxic politics,’ she said in an interview Sunday on CNN, where all normal, spiritually mature Christians such as Rep. Greene go to make their confessions. … Rep. Greene professes to put her Christian faith at the center of her life and American flourishing at the center of her politics. She has an opportunity to put those professions into action if she is sincere — as I will assume, arguendo, that she is, though I actually very much doubt it — about her regret over her contributions to ‘toxic politics.’ Rep. Greene should resign her office and return to private life. A period of penance might be good for her.” (11/18/25)
https://thedispatch.com/article/marjorie-taylor-greene-trump-penance/
Advisory Opinions, 11/18/25
Source: The Dispatch
“Did Congress Stretch the Commerce Clause Too Far? | Interview: Jonathan Karl.” (11/18/25)
The Forgotten Classical Liberal Who Fought Jim Crow and Championed Immigration
Source: Reason
by Damon Root
“A mostly forgotten figure today, [Louis] Marshall (1856-1929) was a prominent lawyer and activist who argued and won a series of significant legal victories during the Progressive Era …. Marshall was a leading reformer during the Progressive Era, but he was no Progressive. Rather, he was a classical liberal. He championed property rights and economic liberty in regulatory cases while championing the rights of racial, ethnic, and religious minorities in civil rights cases.” (11/18/25)