Author: Thomas L. Knapp

Source: Liberal Currents
by Adam Gurri

“We often talk about how much worse the second term has been, and it has been worse. But that is not because they were just innocent men in the first term—their position was simply weaker, then. They were complete outsiders to the practice of politics and had to rely on personnel that did not share their objectives or methods. They began hollowing out that institutional resistance and building relationships that would give them a freer hand. That began right away, in 2017, with things like Kushner’s Dubai slush fund. It is a cliché to note that the abuses of empire frequently end up coming home. What we see in the Trump family instead is decades of cozying up to Gulf ‘monarchies’ and dictatorships coming home. Every ‘common form of Gulf Arab corruption’ is on display in both terms of the Trump administration, and then some.” (10/23/26)

https://www.liberalcurrents.com/jared-kushners-middle-eastern-spoils-system/

Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Sebastian Charleton

“Britain was the cradle of the Industrial Revolution—where cheap, abundant coal fuelled the inventions that built the modern world. Those breakthroughs—railways, modern medicine and electricity—transformed humanity. But we often forget that it was energy, our ability to produce it and (crucially) to store it, that made all of this possible. Yet despite this proud history as the original energy superpower, modern Britain is anything but: it is burdened by crumbling infrastructure, a sclerotic planning system and skyrocketing bills. Central to these energy challenges is our energy insecurity.” (10/23/26)

https://fee.org/articles/how-britain-lost-its-energy-advantage/

Source: The UnPopulist
by Gary Winslett

“In the lead-up to the midterms, Democrats have begun to fuse their messaging on the cost of living with a focus on corruption. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer went so far as to argue that the two reinforce each other. Rep. Jason Crow, Democrat of Colorado, even directly said ‘corruption is why costs are so high.’ It isn’t hard to see why the party wants to talk about both at the same time. As poll after poll has shown, the cost of living is voters’ top concern. Simultaneously, 89% of Americans say that government corruption is widespread. And the Trump administration in particular is astoundingly, breathtakingly corrupt. If Democrats take the House or Senate, they should aggressively investigate the Trump administration’s many misdeeds. But it is also important that Democrats not trick themselves into thinking that focusing on corruption is an adequate solution to lowering costs.” (10/23/26)

https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/democrats-need-both-subpoenas-and

Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob

“There’s this notion that in France, at least, violent protests are just a part of French culture. A culture warped by the disastrous French Revolution centuries ago? My bet is that, if we inquired deeper, we’d discover that this is not exactly so. That certain groups push violent protest every now and then for reasons of political goals that are not about either social justice or liberty. We in America, who have been blessed with the freest society on the planet, are not quite as prone as Europeans to the vice of violent protest. But we are not immune, and we must start taking virtue — responsible self-government — seriously. Again.” (10/23/26)

https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/10/23/what-is-it/

Source: The Weekly Dish
by Andrew Sullivan

“I haven’t written much about Elon Musk these past few years. I’m no expert in rocket science, or in cars of any kind. I tended to think of him as a classic robber-baron type, an American immigrant of excessive energy, pragmatism, and nerve. I watched the video of the flying car the other day and it was as mind-blowing as that now routinely re-captured rocket. But genius and character are not often aligned, and he is becoming, it seems to me, dangerous to our democracy and the world.” (10/23/26)

https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/my-musk-problem-and-ours