Source: Rutherford Institute
by John & Nisha Whitehead
“America, you got fooled. Again. For starters, the war on illegal immigration was never just about illegal immigration. If you fell for that, chances are you’re still falling for the government’s oldest trick: manufacture a crisis, identify an enemy, frighten the public, declare an emergency, and then use the resulting fear to justify another expansion of government power. Terrorism. Crime. Drugs. National security. Illegal immigration. Different threats. Same playbook.” (09/29/26)
“At the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s recent retreat at Sea Island, Ga., NRSC pollster Erik Iverson insisted that every incumbent GOP senator will be reelected and that Republicans are even on track to pick up a Senate seat. There is no public polling that agrees with this rosy GOP scenario. Ah yes, but the polls are ‘fake’ as Trump likes to say, even though, at the end of August he claimed in an interview that if the election were held today, he would win by ’25 points.’ Meanwhile, Trump’s disapproval ratings in the polls are at record or near record lows. If they were an EKG, doctors would tell the patient to get his affairs in order. But let’s ignore the polls. Given the difficulties with polling and its occasionally spotty record in recent years, skepticism is defensible.” (09/29/26)
“A commercial plane traveling from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to Israel was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, briefly raising concerns about a possible hijacking and prompting Israel to scramble warplanes. Israeli media, citing security officials, said the incident stemmed from a feud between the plane’s two pilots, and everyone on board was safe. The plane landed in Tabuk, a civilian and military base in the kingdom.” (09/30/26)
“In an attempt before American mid-term elections to shift blame for high U.S. fuel prices from his unnecessary and now counterproductive attack on Iran, President Donald Trump recently called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to ask him to quit targeting Russia’s oil refineries in retaliation for Russia’s aggressive war on his country. … The problem with Trump’s blame game is that it would be much easier for him to end his war with Iran to reduce pain at the pump for U.S. voters and the world than it would be for Ukraine to stop its air attacks on Russia, as long as Russian dictator Vladimir Putin fails to end his potential existential air attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure and civilian targets. And as winter nears, Putin is unlikely to stop the onslaught and pass up another chance to freeze Ukrainians as the weather turns colder.” (09/29/26)
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Tyler Coward
“Yesterday, the Department of Education formally repealed the Biden administration’s 2024 Title IX regulations and restored the 2020 rule promulgated during the first Trump administration. The repeal does little to change the status quo; federal courts already vacated the unlawful 2024 rule nationwide and ED has enforced the 2020 regulation for over a year and a half now. But the move does remove the last source of ambiguity by making the Code of Federal Regulations match the rule that is actually in force. For civil liberties advocates, this development is welcome news.” (09/29/26)
“Federal prosecutors in Texas announced charges Tuesday against Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez, a Venezuelan delivery driver shot and seriously wounded by an ICE officer in Austin this month. The charges came a day before he was set to appear in court to challenge the legality of his immigration detention. Garcés Pérez, 28, was charged with one count of assaulting, resisting and impeding a federal officer, according to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. Garcés Pérez was wounded by an ICE officer in the upper part of his back on Sept. 20 while he was in his car making DoorDash deliveries.” (09/29/26)
“Economist and historian Lawrence W. (‘Larry’) Reed, President Emeritus of the Foundation for Economic Education, discusses his book Born of Ideas: How Principles, Faith, and Courage Forged America, where he traces the founding of America from the Mayflower Compact in 1620 through the Bill of Rights.” (09/29/26)
“Cartels, we are told in our high school (and college) history and social study classes, were outlawed by Congress way back in 1890. That is 136 years ago. But that obviously applies to our situation today. We have a governmental cartel, from DC right down to the tiniest village and special district governing board, the smallest county, and everything in between. It is a cartel that consists of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. Two wings of the same vulture seeking out the next corpse to feast on.” (09/29/26)
“The United Nations Security Council on Tuesday extended by six months the mandate of an international security force in Haiti intended to fight powerful armed groups that have taken control of much of the country. Twelve nations voted to renew the mandate of the Gang Suppression Force (GSF) and none voted against. Three nations, however, abstained: China, Russia and Pakistan, whose representatives cited concerns over insufficient funds, personnel and efficacy. The extension is intended to provide security ahead of Haiti’s first election in a decade in December. Armed groups continue to control large parts of the Caribbean nation despite successive international deployments, and the force has struggled to deploy enough troops to carry out its mandate.” (09/29/26)
