Source: Liberalism.org
by Christopher R Hallenbrook & Ryan Reed
“The harms of climate change are now well documented, from rising sea levels to destructive wildfires, severe flooding, and now the strongest El Niño on record. Yet classical liberals have often criticized proposals addressing this threat as impractical, costly, and/or beyond the legitimate scope of government power. We engage the latter critique by turning to John Locke’s writings. Locke is both a proponent of limited government and profoundly influential on liberal democracies. He argued that government exists solely to enforce natural law, and in doing so, it protects life, liberty, and property. While Locke presented the earth’s resources as existing to be exploited, he crucially limited property acquisition, arguing that natural law prohibits spoilage and requires we leave ‘enough and as good for others.’ We argue that because these caveats are part of the natural law, governments are obligated to take comprehensive action addressing climate change.” (10/28/26)
“Amendment 6 is dangerous. If it passes, it will be a disaster for Missouri. It would effectively strip the elected legislature of its power to address laws passed by initiative petition or rejected by referendum. Lawmakers could not change or repeal laws passed by initiative petition, nor could they pass any laws similar to one rejected by referendum, without approval from at least 80% of both chambers, and even then they could only send the change back to voters. That bar is so high that errors and bad policies would stay on the books. The ballot title calls the amendment an expansion of the petition process ‘by making it a fundamental right,’ but what it really does is empower special interests over elected officials and the voters.” (10/28/26)
“There’s no denying that J.D. Vance, Donald Trump’s vice president and heir apparent to the MAGA movement, has been dealt a bad hand in these final days of the midterm campaign. The country’s in an anti-incumbent mood. Trump has perhaps worn out his welcome with voters after 10 years. Prices on necessities are stubbornly high. During a Monday rally in Montana, where the average cost of diesel is well over $6 a gallon, the veep was reduced to reminding his audience that, hey, petroleum prices have been high before, and it’s not the Trump administration’s fault.” (10/28/26)
“Trump’s primary rationale for why voters should support the GOP, as best I can tell, is that the affordability crisis is a ‘hoax,’ Bill Maher is a ‘loser,’ and Senator Jon Husted of Ohio has a nice physique. That easy-to-mock message has been accompanied by a staggering number of missteps. Just for starters, he’s belittled the impact of his stalled war with Iran, sided with Russia as it continues to pummel Ukrainian cities, defended an attack ad from the GOP candidate for Ohio governor that repulsed other top Republicans, downplayed high energy prices while boasting that U.S. oil and gas companies are ‘making a freaking fortune,’ embraced AI as the nation turns against it, obsessed over White House construction projects, and spent a lot of time talking about handsome men, Husted being just one.” (10/28/26)
“The empty spaces inside Colombia’s National Museum in Bogotá offer a dramatic, if not painful introduction to its new, right-wing government. Several dozen objects related to the peace process with the M-19 rebel group; the historic 1991 Constitution; and mementos of social movements, LGBTQ rights, and other artifacts of the country’s complex history have disappeared from public view. Those objects included a Carlos Pizarro campaign poster, an armband from the political movement that emerged from the M-19’s demobilization, and the student ballot associated with the constituent process that produced the 1991 Constitution. These histories record how Colombians previously excluded from national power fought to enter public life in a country governed for generations by a white, economically powerful, and politically exclusionary elite. Critics say removing them from the public view diminishes the evidence of that decades-long struggle. Museum anthropologist Andrés Góngora described it in El País as ‘a mutilated museum’.” (10/29/26)
“Within hours of the tragic shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon on October 15th, the familiar political script was dusted off. Gun control organizations were immediately mobilized to demand fresh restrictions on firearm access, expanded waiting periods, and outright bans. Yet no policy proposed by gun control advocates would have changed the outcome, save for the one that left every student and teacher on campus defenseless.” (10/28/26)
“One week before the midterm elections, most Hispanic Americans are unhappy with the direction of the country. Should Republicans be worried? According to PRRI’s newly released 2026 American Values Survey, where I serve as the Director of Research, nearly three in four Hispanic Americans (74%) say the country is headed in the wrong direction, up from 67% in 2025. Since the beginning of the current Trump administration, immigration has become an even larger pain point for Hispanic Americans. As arrests of undocumented immigrants without a criminal record continue to increase, alongside deportations and deadly ICE raids, most Hispanic Americans (77%) disagree with the way the federal government is dealing with undocumented immigrants. Even most Hispanic Protestants, who largely supported Trump in 2024, say their opinion of President Donald Trump has mostly changed for the worse.” [editor’s note: That might depend on their immigration status, legal or not; some may think it’s the only thing he has done right! – SAT] [additional editor’s note: According to the US Constitution, there’s no such thing as “illegal” immigration status; and if anyone is thinking what SAT suggests, that thing they’re doing that they think is thinking isn’t – TLK] (10/29/26)
“The Denver region built a rail transit system but struggles to attract riders due to tradeoffs made in its planning and construction to prioritize speedy project delivery over ridership potential. Colorado’s recently enacted Transit Oriented Communities (TOC) law encourages communities to upzone land around transit infrastructure to boost the state’s housing supply and grow transit ridership. The law is likely to drive substantial housing growth that will complement the Denver region’s existing transit infrastructure, but to be most effective the state should better support communities that facilitate this growth.” (10/28/26)
“Those who depend on ruling others to make money, secure their position, or to gain power won’t let it go. Respecting your natural human rights isn’t in their interest. It’s up to you to secure your rights — to assume your liberty in the face of all those who want to rule you. Those who govern you hate your realization that liberty is your natural birthright as a human being. They’ll treat you like a criminal if you don’t pretend they have the right to rule you. Which they don’t, because this ‘right’ can’t exist. … Remember: you own your life and your property. You don’t owe them to everyone who demands them.” (10/28/26)
