Reason Roundtable, 10/05/26
Source: Reason
“Are the Cornell 7 Being Tried on Social Media?” (10/05/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/10/05/are-the-cornell-7-being-tried-on-social-media/
Author: Thomas L. Knapp
Trump signs executive order temporarily leashing diesel tax dogs
Source: CNN
“President Donald Trump signed an executive order late Monday aimed at bringing down near-record diesel prices by waiving restrictions on cheaper red-dyed diesel. Speaking at a campaign event in Nebraska, a state hit hard by the spike in diesel prices, Trump said the order will ‘allow anyone to purchase tax-free red-dyed diesel for any reason.’ … Red-dyed diesel is the same as regular diesel. It’s just untaxed and dyed red to distinguish it for off-road use only, such as for tractors or industrial purposes. … The fact sheet says the order directs the Treasury secretary, in consultation with the secretary of defense, to defer payment for on-road use of dyed diesel fuel for the rest of the year without interest or penalties and to ‘explore pathways to eliminate the obligation to pay the deferred taxes.'” [editor’s note: So the taxes aren’t actually coming off, they’re just getting extorted later – TLK] (10/05/26)
https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/05/business/trump-diesel-prices-executive-order
Moderation in the Pursuit of Liberty
Source: Garrison Center
by Joel Schlosberg
“Wall Street Journal columnist Barton Swaim’s ‘A Suggestion for Young Radicals’ to embrace moderation (October 1) might seem to bring the second least appealing news hook for a commentator whose outlet is named after the abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison who famously asserted that he would rather ‘tell a man whose house is on fire to give a moderate alarm’ than ‘use moderation in a cause like the present … I will not equivocate — I will not excuse — I will not retreat a single inch — AND I WILL BE HEARD.’ At least Swaim’s contribution keeps the Journal‘s op-ed page going when even the New York Times has moved on to so-called ‘guest essays.'” (10/05/26)
Turkish, Pakistani regimes agree Saudi Arabia military deployment under Mecca pact
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Turkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have agreed to activate ‘deterrence measures’ under a mutual defence pact and rapidly deploy forces to the Gulf kingdom to counter attacks by Yemen’s Houthis. The decision was announced on Monday after the three countries’ defence and foreign ministers held an emergency meeting in Riyadh. It marked the first time the alliance – known as the Mecca Alliance for Defence – has been invoked since it was signed on August 7. … The announcements came hours after forces aligned with Yemen’s [Saudi puppet regime] launched a counteroffensive to retake territory the Iran-aligned Houthis captured last month. ” (10/05/26)
Trump’s Other War
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
by Ron Paul
“As the midterm election draws near, a number of Republicans in tough races are distancing themselves from President Trump’s war. The war is unpopular because it has inflicted economic pain on the already-suffering American people. No, I am not talking about the Iran War. I am talking about President Trump’s tariff war.” (10/05/26)
https://www.ronpaullibertyreport.com/archives/trumps-other-war
US commodities regulator proposes new federal crypto oversight rules
Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram
“The US commodities regulator proposed on Monday a new federal framework for cryptocurrency exchanges that offer leveraged digital asset trading, seeking to bring parts of the spot crypto market under federal oversight weeks after Congress failed to advance comprehensive crypto regulation. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s proposed rules would effectively allow [sic] US crypto exchanges to opt into a federal regulatory framework instead of relying primarily on a patchwork of state money-transmitter licenses, the agency said. The proposed rules make use of a specific authority the CFTC has to oversee margined or leveraged spot assets. The CFTC has long sought authority to regulate spot cryptocurrency markets – which currently operate in a regulatory grey area – but only Congress has the ability to provide the regulator with that purview.” (10/05/26)
https://www.star-telegram.com/news/business/article317498369.html
Trump’s Antipathy Toward the Separation of Powers
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“It shouldn’t surprise us that Trump would want little or no interference with his MAGA vision and program. After all, why else would the Framers incorporate the separation of powers concept into the Constitution? They knew that rulers inevitably had a propensity toward exercising dictatorial powers to implement their vision and their plans. After all, Trump isn’t the first head of state to have this propensity.” (10/05/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/10/05/trumps-antipathy-toward-the-separation-of-powers/
ICC unseals arrest warrants for four Taliban leaders wanted on gender persecution charges
Source: Ottumwa Courier
“The International Criminal Court on Monday unsealed arrest warrants against four senior Taliban leaders, accusing them of the crime against humanity of gender persecution against women, girls and members of the LGBTQI+ community in Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power in 2021. The court said in a statement that warrants were issued in July and September last year for the Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, and the head of Afghanistan’s Supreme Court, Abdul Hakim Haqqani. Also wanted are Education Minister Habibullah Agha and Minister of Higher Education Neda Mohammad Nadim. The existence of the warrants against Akhundzada and Haqqani was revealed last year, but the warrants remained sealed. With the Taliban in control of Afghanistan and the court having no police force to execute warrants, the prospect of any of the suspects being arrested is remote.” (10/05/26)
The President Doesn’t Have Unlimited Power to Impose Import Bans
Source: Lawfare
by Ilya Somin
“Like tariffs, import restrictions are a congressional power under the Constitution, not an executive one. Thus, the president cannot impose import bans without congressional authorization. While some statutes delegate import restriction authority to the president, that power is strictly limited. And, as with tariffs, interpreting these authorities in a way that gives the president a blank check to impose import bans would run afoul of the major questions doctrine and constitutional nondelegation. It remains to be seen whether Trump or a future president might decide to claim sweeping authority to impose import bans at will. But when and if such an effort materializes, courts should strike it down.” (10/05/26)
Libya: Teachers’ strike escalates as union demands major education reforms
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Teachers in Libya have escalated their protests over salaries into an open-ended strike at public schools. Protests began on September 13, the day the school year was due to start. Sit-ins were held outside schools and government buildings in the capital, Tripoli. Two weeks later, Libya’s teachers union stepped up the campaign with a nationwide strike. It has kept students out of classrooms across the country. On Sunday, several Libyan unions representing other sectors threatened to join the strike unless the government entered talks to address a cost of living crisis.” (10/05/26)