“I was a public school teacher. Many of my closest friends still are, and my daughter attends our local public school. I know firsthand the challenges teachers face and the slow pace of systemic change. I stepped away from traditional public schools over 15 years ago, not from a lack of faith in public education, but to create a better model for students, families and teachers. That journey led me to apply to open what could become Kentucky’s first public charter school. I believe more families – especially those with limited financial means – deserve real options for their children’s education. Kentucky’s teachers deserve environments where they are trusted, supported and given the freedom to innovate. Public charter schools can deliver these opportunities.” (10/16/25)
“The growing mysticism of MAGA has been a running concern among many political observers for years now. It’s found expression in specific charismatic Christian theologies, viral conspiracy theories like QAnon, and more esoteric New Age thinking. What unites a lot of these attitudes is a tendency to treat the MAGA cause as one that transcends petty, earthly concerns and whose leaders are not bound by finite, mortal limitations.” (10/16/25)
“The Justice Department is expected to ask a grand jury on Thursday to indict President Donald Trump’s former U.S. national security adviser John Bolton, a person familiar with the matter said. The possible indictment comes two months after FBI agents found documents labeled as ‘confidential’ in Bolton’s Washington, D.C. office that referenced weapons of mass destruction, unsealed court records show. It was not immediately clear whether the charges prosecutors would seek were related to those documents. If the grand jury decides to indict Bolton, it would mark the third time in recent weeks that the Justice Department has secured criminal charges against one of the Republican president’s critics.” (10/16/25)
“In serious matters of war and peace, Congress has decided, yet again, to take a pass. By a vote of 51-48, the Senate on October 8 voted down a bipartisan proposal that would have required congressional approval before the Trump administration carries out additional strikes against suspected drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea bound for the U.S. It represents yet another lawmaker leap into irrelevance regarding one of the fundamental duties of the legislative branch of the U.S. government. It also telegraphs something new: In the past, Congress has often passed an Authorization for the Use of Military Force (technical legal name: fig leaf, from the Latin meaning ‘don’t blame us’) before a president ordered military attacks. But this time around, lawmakers are so weak-kneed they’re refusing even to backdate a blank check for combat.” (10/16/25)
“The Vatican’s child protection commission criticized senior Catholic leaders in an annual report on Thursday for not moving quickly enough to help victims of sexual abuse by clergy and to implement new safeguarding efforts worldwide. For decades, the 1.4-billion-member Catholic Church has been shaken by scandals across the world involving abuse and coverups, damaging its credibility and costing it hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements. The new report faulted church leaders for not providing information to victims about how their reports of abuse were being handled or whether negligent bishops had been sanctioned. It also said the commission’s own requests for information about safeguarding protocols had not always been answered and the Italian church had failed to provide full details.” (10/16/25)
“[T]he rush to declare a new dawn in the Middle East, as Trump and his claque have done, is unworthy of grownups. Yes, it is an unmixed good that the bombs have stopped falling on Palestinian neighborhoods and that the hostages, imprisoned in dungeons for two years, are at last free. Trump deserves praise for getting us to this moment with whatever combination of promises, threats, and inducements he offered. All good. Furthermore, it’s important to note that Benjamin Netanyahu, having placed all his chips on Trump, was uniquely vulnerable to Trump’s pressure. But let’s keep our heads. This is a ceasefire; it is not peace. Peace requires that both parties to a conflict accept they cannot achieve their objectives through further violence.” (10/16/25)
