‘A failed war does not end when the drones stop flying. It creates a new danger: A government that refuses to admit defeat and a president who, having failed abroad, seeks muscular victories elsewhere. The war against Iran is a case study in the limits of military power, the dangers of presidential overreach and the enduring wisdom of the Constitution’s separation of powers. It was unauthorized, unconstitutional, illegal, strategically incoherent and — by the standards by which wars must be judged — a geopolitical failure.” (09/10/26)
“Federal agents on Thursday captured an accused election fraud ringleader who allegedly paid Skid Row homeless a few bucks each to sign California ballot petitions using the stolen identities of real voters. The FBI apprehended alleged election crook James Brass, a.k.a. ‘Lord,’ in Victorville, San Bernardino County, just before dawn. He allegedly ran his scheme through a small company he owns called Pinnacle Brass …. Also charged in the two-count indictment against Brass are two petition circulators who allegedly worked for him: Courtney Price, 49, of Jacksonville, Florida, and Jateisha Herron, 33, of Boron, California. … All three defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit identity fraud in furtherance of a state felony. Brass and Price are charged with an additional count of identity fraud in furtherance of a state felony.” (09/10/26)
“Vice-president JD Vance appeared to partially row back on Donald Trump’s outlandish claims that every adult citizen in the US would receive $5,000 if the Republicans retain the House and Senate in the midterm elections. … Vance, speaking after the president, suggested the so-called dividend payments would not go to the wealthy and that it could be paid for by US tariff revenues – though the suggested payment dwarfs what the US has taken in through the protectionist measures. Congress would need to approve or otherwise acquiesce to the payment. The sum would far exceed US tariff revenues even before the Supreme Court tossed much of the president’s tariff program last year.” (09/10/26)
“Abdul El-Sayed and his wife prosper by treating their medical credentials as private goods. Now he campaigns against the system that made it possible.” (09/10/26)
“In a world where great-power competition is intensifying, a revealing test of foreign-policy acumen is a country’s ability to avoid costly conflicts or other endeavors that waste resources, divert attention, and ultimately leave them weaker rather than stronger. In other words: staying out of quagmires. Great powers are often happy to see their rivals stumble into strategic quicksand and may even try to encourage such developments, but wise leaders try to stay out of this kind of trouble. In recent decades, China has done a far better job of avoiding quagmires than either the United States or Russia.” (09/10/26)
