“Documents obtained by Cato via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) reveal that more than a year before the 2026 midterms, the FBI was quietly building two election-related capabilities at once. The first was a set of internal ‘triggers’ that told field agents when they could investigate AI-generated or ‘synthetic’ political content — rules the Bureau is still keeping secret. The second was an apparently new headquarters post called the ‘FBI Election Executive,’ who stood up in mid-2025 to ‘handle preparations for the 2026 midterm cycle.’ In the months since that ‘Election Executive’ position became public, nearly every public trace of the official who holds it has disappeared — her LinkedIn profile has been taken down, and there is no findable record of her on the FBI’s own website.” (10/20/26)
“‘This historic fraud happened under her watch, and suddenly, she’s looking out for Medicaid and SNAP? Sell it to someone else, Peggy.’ With this debate response to Minnesota Democratic Senate nominee Peggy Flanagan’s protestations of concern over access to benefits for the very poor, Republican nominee for Senate Michele Tafoya sealed her status as ‘rookie of the year’ in American politics. A longtime NFL broadcast professional, Tafoya demonstrated decades of quick on-camera thinking in her debate last week with Flanagan and combined it with a deft slash at Flanagan’s greatest vulnerability: Flanagan’s apprenticeship as lieutenant governor to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz during the tidal wave of fraud that swept across Minnesota after COVID-era ‘look-the-other-way’ policies became a feature, not a bug, in Minnesota’s vast system of ‘safety net’ programs.” [editor’s note: At the moment, Flanagan seems to be polling ahead of Tafoya, but not by a lot. It will be about turnout – TLK] (10/20/26)
“Just a year ago, governments across the region were condemning Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarianism, questioning the legitimacy of his electoral victories and supporting international pressure on Caracas. Today, many engage directly with Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former vice president and Venezuela’s interim president. The region has moved from demanding democratic change in Caracas to normalizing relations with the very political establishment it once sought to isolate.” (10/20/26)
“Californians have been told for months or even years: Noncitizen voting is as mythical as Bigfoot. Well, we just had a few sightings. As the California Post reported, federal authorities on Monday charged 28 foreign nationals with alleged election-related crimes, including illegally registering to vote and, in some cases, casting votes in past elections. The feds called ‘Operation Protect the Vote’ the largest voter fraud bust in state history. And it underscores a basic truth in California: Fraud of all kinds has run amok for years; it needs to end; and state voters in November would do well to support Prop. 39, the Voter ID act — to help ensure that at least part of it does.” [editor’s note: Prosecutors claim 21 of those charged voted illegally. So slightly fewer than one one-millionth of registered California voters -TLK] (10/19/26)
“hat should the principles of development policy be? In light of the often-dark history of Western attempts to develop other parts of the world—from the conquest of the Americas and the colonization of Africa and Asia to the more banal ‘development’ policies of the twentieth century—what regularly went wrong in this history? What was lacking in allegedly benevolent policies that turned into tyranny and oppression? And how can development economics prevent this history from continuing? These are the questions at the heart of William Easterly’s Violent Saviors: The West’s Conquest of the Rest.” (10/20/26)
“Imagine you’re walking through a quiet park with your best friend. You lower your voices and speak privately about something very personal and sensitive. You need no government permission to have this conversation. You do not expect an intelligence agency to listen in and decide whether your conversation sounds suspicious. You’re just two friends, talking. Why shouldn’t we expect the same freedom to speak freely and privately when we communicate online? Wednesday, Oct. 21, is Global Encryption Day, an occasion to defend the technology that makes digital conversations as private as those you have with your friends and family. But encryption is in danger of being broken by demands from governments at home and abroad.” [editor’s note: Congress or no Congress, we can defend our own rights by using encryption with or without permission – TLK]
“AI can be extremely valuable as a ‘library’ of what is already known. When used as a tool in the Simple and Complicated domains, it streamlines the understanding of the problem. However, it can be counterproductive in the Complex Domain, as the journey to asking the right question is just as important as obtaining the right answer. Its utility in the Chaotic Domain is still nebulous. When faced with a ticking time bomb, it is not important that the wiring be understood but that the bomb be rapidly defused with a water disrupter. Analysis can come later.” (10/20/26)
“Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse [D-RI] has added schoolyard taunts to his call to pack the Supreme Court with an instant liberal majority. Last week, Whitehouse denounced former President Joe Biden and other Democrats for being ‘too chicken’ to pack the Court and, in the view of many of us, destroy the institution that has been critical to the success of this Republic for 250 years. The Lever’s David Sirota, a former speechwriter and adviser to Bernie Sanders, set the table for Whitehouse by asking him about how the public can join the resistance to the Court, which is ‘enabling an anti-democratic project.'” (10/20/26)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Cláudia Ascensão Nunes
“Steel tariffs protect producers at the expense of the businesses that depend on them. As of July 1, the European Union has capped duty-free steel imports at about 18.3 million tonnes (20.2 US tons) a year, 47% below 2024 quota levels. Regulation (EU) 2026/1384 also doubles the duty on imports that exceed those limits, from 25% to 50%. Brussels justifies these measures by pointing to global overcapacity and the need for strategic autonomy. Yet, by making imported steel more expensive, it risks hurting thousands of European companies that rely on this raw material to compete in domestic and international markets.” (10/20/26)
“Previous administrations have made deals with erstwhile adversaries, as Nixon did with China, and given up on support for failing allies, as the U.S. did in Vietnam and Afghanistan. But never before have we outright switched sides, let alone supported an aggressor while vilifying that aggressor’s victim. What makes Trump’s support for Putin even more remarkable is that Russia has, by many accounts, been actively aiding Iran against America in the war Trump started. Who says so? Well, among others, Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. … What would Republicans be saying if a Democratic president were supporting a foreign dictator even as that dictator was helping another nation kill American troops? They would be crying ‘treason.’ But this is all apparently ‘fine’ with Trump.” (10/20/26)
