Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Wanjiru Njoya
“Texas Republicans recently became embroiled in a dispute between two factions that we could call, for purposes of exposition, the ‘Heritage Texans’ and the ‘Creedal Texans.’ Heritage Republicans believe that a nation is constituted by a specific and identifiable people who are historically rooted in a place over time, while Creedal Republicans believe in a concept they call ‘the idea of Texas.’ Their idea of Texas involves hard work, love of football, and the savoir-faire to say, ‘Hook ‘em Horns.’ To the Creedals, anyone from anywhere in the world who embraces this idea is as much a Texan as anyone whose ancestors rode with the Texas cavalry in 1861. Which of these factions represents true conservatism? What is real conservatism, anyway, in a situation where different sides of an allegedly conservative party are unable to agree on such a fundamental issue?” (10/13/26)
“The Justice Department once prosecuted a U.S. journalist for coming home without a passport after a reporting trip to Cuba. He was charged with violating an obscure requirement in the Immigration and Nationality Act. As the journalist pointed out, dozens of white Americans had reentered the United States without passports for various reasons since the law’s enactment, but only he—a Black reporter with a penchant for muckraking—had been punished for doing so. This happened in 1962, under President John F. Kennedy, and the target was William Worthy, one of the nation’s most distinguished international correspondents. … Today, Worthy is unknown to most Americans. But 64 years after the court case that briefly made him a household name, his legacy is more relevant than ever. His story shows how precedent set by Kennedy helped pave the way for future administrations, including Donald Trump’s, to suppress speech and foreign influences that challenge U.S. geopolitical interests.” (10/13/26)
“My recent USA Today column discusses how the Democrats have suddenly discovered God in elections after recruiting various far-left ministers to run on faith-based anti-Trump messages. I discussed how Divinity Schools have shown the same trend as other departments in higher education with a radical shift to the left. That was evident in a controversy this week at Point Loma Nazarene University, where Dean of Students Jason Cha told student leaders that identifying as being ‘in Christ alone’ is a sign of ‘white privilege’. Dean Cha is an example of the resumes that draw appointments and presentations in higher education. According to The College Fix, Cha’s 2023 dissertation at Azusa Pacific University was titled ‘Raging Waters of Whiteness: Addressing White Evangelical Racism in Higher Education’. His scholarship draws on critical pedagogy, incorporating ‘critical race theory, critical white studies, and evangelical postcolonial studies’.” (10/13/26)
“Some advocates of the strict separation between church and state have suggested that for a practice to be constitutional, there must be a long history and tradition of states engaging in that specific act. For instance, in several of the recent cases involving posting copies of the Ten Commandments in public schools, a few advocates and judges thought it significant that the states could not demonstrate that there is a long and unbroken tradition of posting the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. A chief problem with this argument is that the Supreme Court has never said that there must be longstanding and widespread history of governments engaging in specific practices in order for them to be permissible.” (10/13/26)
“Sure, I’m frustrated. After years of litigation, deep audits, and some extreme dedication by the vaccine-injured, we now are in possession of a 1,048-page book that details ghastly and widespread injury from shots people were forced to get. Many died. Many have lifelong suffering. Many have seen their lives, finances, and families shattered. These are not statistics on a preprint server awaiting the arduous process of slogging through anonymous peer-reviewers. This is not another model that conjures up possible scenarios. This is not some dry dashboard with probabilities and possibilities. These are the life stories of real people as reported to the CDC through its own vaccine-safety monitoring system called V-safe.” (10/13/26)
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by W James Antle III
“Republicans could be looking at a major wipeout in the midterm elections. Their tiny House majority was always going to be difficult to maintain, but the Senate should not be in play at all. Yet it surely is, with Democrats leading in nearly all the toss-up races, including in the reddest states, and competitive in at least a dozen of the contests that will determine which party controls the upper chamber. The Iran war is a big reason this has come to pass. … there is a potential for a midterm election more like 2006. Twenty years ago, as Cook Political Report’s Amy Walter pointed out earlier this year, we had an unpopular president waging an unpopular war while Republican congressional incumbents were beset by assorted scandals.” (10/13/26)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“There’s a viral video clip showing a group of wild boars getting caught in a corral trap. When the gate snaps shut the poor animals run around in a panic, searching in vain for an exit. According to the caption that’s been going around, the trapper waited patiently for five days for the entire sounder to get comfortable enough to take the bait and enter the trap all at once. The gate didn’t close until the final pig walked into the enclosure. And, yeah. That’s pretty much where we’re at right now. We’ve been standing around munching on our bait, enjoying our bread and our circuses, blissfully unaware of the trapper who is patiently waiting for the perfect moment to slam the gate shut on us all: ‘Man, AI sure is great.'” (10/13/26)
“After [US defense secretary Pete] Hegseth announced plans to livestream [Nidal] Hasan’s Dec. 3 execution by firing squad, retired Admiral James Stavridis, a former NATO supreme allied commander, condemned the spectacle. ‘It is not who we are as a military or a nation,’ he said. Stavridis is right about who we should be. The moral character of the condemned does not determine the moral obligations of the state. Executing a paralyzed prisoner before a public audience demonstrates nothing about American strength. It transforms state violence into grotesque entertainment. But I fear the admiral is wrong about who we are.” (10/13/26)
“Contrary to the mainstream framework, Murray N. Rothbard held that valuations do not exist apart of the things to be valued. Whenever an individual is confronted with a good, he assesses it in accordance with it expected benefits to his life and well-being. These benefits are likely to vary given changes in individual’s circumstances. From this, it follows that an unchanged scale of preferences does not comply with the reality. Obviously, human beings do change their minds, so it is not surprising that the [behavioral economics] practitioners have ‘discovered’ that human beings’ behavior systematically deviates from the one depicted by the mainstream economics. … Since in the BE framework reason is not the key driver of individuals’ choices; individuals’ evaluations of goods are arbitrary i.e. not connected to the facts of reality.” (10/13/26)
“The Forbes 400 may only own 4 percent of U.S. wealth; but the New York Times found that 300 billionaires accounted for 19 percent of all reported federal campaign contributions in the 2024 election. And these are only reported, cash donations. Include other forms of influence — exemplified by Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter and his conversion of the former public square into a site that elevates extreme right-wing propaganda — and it’s obvious that the malign political influence of a handful of the ultra-rich is much bigger than even those stunningly large donations suggest. Now the Times reports that Musk is giving even more money in an attempt to help Republicans stave off midterm disaster than he gave in 2024 …” (10/13/26)
