“The government raid on Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Washington home last week is yet another example of the president abusing his authority to go after his political foes. It also shows how the vile anti-immigrant sentiment that used to mold the fringe of the American tapestry now sits at the heart of power. The Trump administration is reportedly trying to strip Omar of her U.S. citizenship. … This is not the first time that Omar has been targeted. According to the Washington Post, officials scrutinized her record in 2019 and found no evidence of fraud. Has anything changed in the meantime? The biggest difference is that since Donald Trump returned to the White House, the government has not only engaged in mass deportation efforts of undocumented immigrants, but it has also waged war against unquestionably legal immigrants like Omar.” (10/19/26)
“As gratifying as it might be to see unprincipled Trump enablers reduced to minority status after signing off on economy-wrecking tariffs, inhumane immigration detentions, and wars of choice, there’s at least one good reason to dread a Democratic majority too: Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts progressive who is spending the run-up to the midterms freaking out over possible consolidation in the condiments business and accusing private equity firms of gutting such shopping-mall favorites as Claire’s and Toys R Us. There’s every reason to believe that a Senate run by Warren and other economic interventionists will waste time, money, and resources trying to prevent a world in which, per the X wag Iowahawkblog, ‘a panopticon conglomerate owns two brands of hot sauce.'” (10/19/26)
“A murder warrant was issued Oct. 19 in Florida for former Cuban leader Raul Castro in connection with two humanitarian planes shot down 30 years ago. The warrant, signed by Chief Judge Ariana Fajardo Orshan of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, charges Castro with one-count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Castro, then Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and First Vice President of Cuba, was a final decision-maker in the chain of command that authorized the shootdown, according to the affidavit. Two planes, operated by the Miami-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue, were shot down by the Cuban Air Force in [allegedly] international waters Feb. 25, 1996. Four people were killed.” (10/19/26)
“There was a time when the most dangerous thing in a British autumn was a well-aimed conker. Children threaded them on string, soaked them in vinegar, baked them in the oven and smashed them together until one shattered. Knuckles were bruised. Pride was punctured. Nobody died. That was before the clipboard came to town. In South Tyneside the council decided to fell six horse chestnut trees lining a suburban road. The trees had done nothing wrong except produce conkers. A boy had fallen out of one, and children had been throwing sticks to knock the conkers down. The answer was not to teach children to climb with care, or to throw with better aim. It was to remove the trees. Residents protested. The chainsaws won. Elsewhere a head teacher told pupils not to walk under a conker tree without a helmet.” (10/19/26)
“Recently, Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York City announced the launch of a new municipal Strategy to Combat Antisemitism, beginning his video with an oft-repeated Talmudic quote: ‘Whoever saves a single life is considered by scripture to have saved the whole world.’ That lesson is something of a cliché in Reform Jewish circles, and not at all controversial. But given the nature of social media, it shouldn’t be surprising that the replies to Mamdani on Elon Musk’s X were a cesspit of antisemitism, islamophobia, and general hatred. What surprised and even alarmed some observers was how much of the negative reaction came from popular left-wing influencers and journalists.” (10/19/26)
“A Serbian prosecutor investigating alleged corruption surrounding a Trump real estate project in Belgrade was targeted with Israeli-made Pegasus spyware after speaking out about political interference and abuses of power, according to research made public Monday. Rade Bajić, a member of Serbia’s Public Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime, is reported to be the latest target identified in a growing spyware scandal that has engulfed the country’s political opposition, civil society and institutions. … The spyware revelation comes amid mounting controversy over plans to redevelop the former Yugoslav military headquarters in Belgrade into a luxury Trump Tower skyscraper. The project, associated with Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, has faced allegations of political interference and irregularities surrounding the removal of the site’s protected heritage status.” (10/19/26)
