Source: Cato Institute
by Ryan Bourne & Nathan Miller
“In reaction to Mamdani’s success, some Republicans want to carve out their own affordability policy offer. Tyler Cowen has a good piece in The Free Press that warns about the consequences of both parties rushing headlong into fighting on this ‘affordability politics’ front. He is right, not least because the context has changed since I advocated for just such a focus. We’ve just lived through the sharpest burst of inflation since 1981, and inflation is still above target. Groceries (food-at-home) prices are up 30 percent since January 2020, having previously taken sixteen years to increase by that proportion. The pre-inflation price level is still recent enough that people remember how sharply prices have risen and hanker for those good ol’ days at the old price level.” (11/07/25)
“At September’s televised memorial service for Charlie Kirk, President Donald Trump commented on the conservative commentator’s character, saying, ‘He did not hate his opponents; he wanted the best for them.’ He then added, ‘That’s where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponents. And I don’t want the best for them.’ Like too much of the political class across the ideological spectrum, Trump is prone to despising those he disagrees with. It raises questions about why people should ever submit to the governance of those who hate them — and whether politicians realize they’re a big part of what brought us to this unfortunate moment.” (for publication 12/25)
“In the spirit of American democracy and federalism, New Yorkers are now going all in on socialism — choosing to leave behind more traditional Democrats who signal at least some allegiance to economic reality and free markets. Mamdani’s big win New York gives the Democratic Party an even stronger leftward shove, making socialism less a fringe ideal and more a governing philosophy. A common refrain among socialists is that socialism has never been properly tried or implemented — a convenient coping mechanism to dismiss the wreckage that socialist policies have caused throughout history. … Federalism offers New Yorkers a chance at another swing at the utopian dream, while limiting much of the damage to the city’s five boroughs. Yes, this will be an expensive civics lesson, but many Americans need another reminder of the ruins and rubble socialism leaves behind it.” (11/06/25)
“Thousands of flights will be canceled because the federal government is in a supposed ‘shutdown.’ Air traffic controllers are working without pay until that ‘shutdown’ gets resolved. As you might imagine, employees who aren’t getting paychecks become less reliable about showing up for work. Some of them quit. Others call in sick. Towers are short-staffed. … Now we’re reaching the point where there just aren’t enough controllers working to safely handle the 10 million commercial flights that take off and land each year at American airports. … There’s an easy long-term solution to this problem, and it doesn’t involve screaming at politicians to get their act together, pass a spending bill, and start paying all those air traffic controllers again. It’s time to take air traffic control away from the government, at least with respect to letting the Federal Aviation Administration serve as the controllers’ employer.” (11/06/25)
Source: CounterPunch
by John W Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead
“America has been backsliding into kleptocratic territory for years now, but this may finally be it. A kleptocracy is literally ‘rule by thieves.’ It is a form of government in which a network of ruling elites ‘steal public funds for their own private gain using public institutions.’ … One could fairly say that a kleptocracy was always going to be the end result of the oligarchy that was America. The signs were visible long before now: power and wealth have been trading places for decades.” (11/06/25)
“Trump’s threatened intervention in Nigeria’s internal affairs is not legitimate in any way. The U.S. has no international mandate to act, and it doesn’t have permission from the Nigerian government. Congress certainly hasn’t authorized any mission in Nigeria for any purpose. None of this matters to the lawless president, but it does matter for the interests and reputation of the United States. The president is not an emperor with a responsibility to protect Christians in other lands.” (11/06/25)
“I’ve been seeing a lot of teeth-gnashing among Cuomo supporters and a lot of finger pointing at other folks — at Curtis Sliwa, at the media, etc. — for their guy’s loss. And I just need to say: while Zohran Mamdani deserves the credit for his historic victory, if you are facing the next mayoralty with dread, overwhelmingly the person you should blame is the one you probably voted for: Andrew Cuomo. That’s the case first and foremost because Cuomo ran a disdainful, entitled, fear-mongering campaign that could inspire nobody. In fact, he ran two of them — after losing to a virtual unknown in a ranked-choice primary contest that made it unequivocally clear he lacked majority support in his own party, Cuomo refused to take the hint and tried again in the general election without materially changing his approach to anything.” (11/06/25)
“To the Democratic Socialists of America and their fellow travelers, ‘The Moment’ has arrived. With the victory of Zohran Mamdani in New York City’s mayoral election Tuesday night, the DSA has another attractive face to add to its advocates nationwide, someone to complement Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders as socialism marches to its inevitable triumph over the entire United States. As one who believed that the US was on its way to a real revolution of free markets and personal freedom with the election of Ronald Reagan to the US presidency in 1980, and later his sweeping re-election in 1984, I realize that the DSA supporters who presently are giddy and ready to roll will experience the inevitable disappointment just as the free market supporters of Reagan did 40 years ago. However, before that moment arrives — and it will arrive — the socialists are going to do a lot of damage.” (11/06/25)
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Wendy McElroy
“Howard Homan Buffett’s concern about foreign intervention predated the Cold War, however. On March 2, 1944, he contested the wisdom of a bill in the House, which was meant to increase America’s oil reserves through the massive taxpayer funding of an Arabian pipeline. Buffett expressed a theme that would permeate his political career: empire versus freedom …” (11/06/25)
Source: Orange County Register
by Veronique de Rugy
“In Washington today, the word ’emergency’ is a magic key; it unlocks powers Congress never granted, suspends the discipline of regular order and decorates bloated bills with provisions too dubious to pass on their own. What was once meant to be a narrow exception for genuine crises has become a routine pretext for government overreach — a means of inflating executive power and corroding the nation’s fiscal credibility. Start with the most brazen claim, and one now being scrutinized by the Supreme Court: that a president may impose sweeping tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act merely by declaring that a half-century of trade deficits constitutes an emergency.” (11/06/25)
