“In the summer of 2003, at the age of 18, I found myself sitting in the gallery of the US House of Representatives refusing the advances of a 61-year-old congressman. It’s all come to the front of my mind lately, a place from which I am wont to arduously push it, in the wake of three men, one of them only 17 at the time, coming forward to share their experiences being paid for sex by Lindsey Graham.” (11/04/26)
“The Special School District (SSD) of St. Louis County provides public education for children with special needs throughout St. Louis County and portions of Jefferson County. It is one of two special school districts in Missouri, with the other one being Pemiscot County. (Why Pemiscot County has its own countywide special school district is a topic for another blog post.) Some St. Louis and Jefferson County residents who may not have been that familiar with the district are about to become more familiar, as it just raised its tax rates substantially without a vote of the people.” (11/04/26)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Vincent Cook
“Being free to cast just one trifling vote among thousands or millions of votes for deciding how to run the breadline, how to assign living quarters, etc. is not some magical ‘power’ that gives you any meaningful control over your own life. Quite to the contrary, it’s the commissars and their enforcers (secret police, neighborhood watch committees, people’s tribunals, etc.) who would exercise a terrifying arbitrary power of life and death over all voters, rendering their voting rights irrelevant and any dignified life under their rule impossible.” (11/04/26)
“Congressional Progressive Caucus chair Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX), appearing with four progressives who won in swing seats in the midterms, called for Democrats to pass populist legislation ‘every week’ in the next term focusing on corporate corruption, lower costs, and higher wages. The Progressive Caucus, which expects to welcome at least 25 new members, and will begin the upcoming 120th Congress with more than 100, is putting down an early marker on how Democrats should conduct themselves, with what is likely to be one of the biggest House majorities since the early 1990s. ‘We have won immense amounts of political power, and now is the most important time to deliver to keep that power,’ said Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL), a vice chair of the caucus and co-chair of the CPC’s political action committee, which spent millions of dollars in swing seats this year.” (11/04/26)
“Trump says that he accepts the midterm results today. Perhaps this is a case like Hungary and Serbia, where the margins proved too big for Viktor Orban and Aleksandar Vucic to rig. We’ll see what the mercurial president says tomorrow. But who among Trump’s henchmen will stick their necks out for him now? Once seated, the new Congress must ensure there are consequences for the administration’s overreach and malfeasance—even in the unlikely event that Trump keeps up the conciliatory tone. Failure to do so will only invite another, more competent demagogue to attack American democracy.” (11/04/26)
“Under authoritarian regimes, F.A. Hayek wrote, the worst get to the top because they are the only ones willing to engage in the kind of depravity that the Dear Leader demands. So this election season, Trump’s Own Party put its dregs on the ballot. By contrast, Democrats leaned into a strategy of liberal inclusion—meritocratic multiculturalism—and ferreted out political talent wherever it existed: Muslims, Hispanics, gays, even a Paralympian. What resulted was a contest between kakistocracy and meritocracy—and kakistocracy lost. Bigly. Even by the standards of authoritarians, Donald Trump is in a class apart—a rational strongman would have helped his party field candidates with the best shot at keeping its grip on Congress, or at least not losing as badly as it did.” (11/04/26)
Source: Rutherford Institute
by John & Nisha Whitehead
“After a midterm election that saw billions of dollars spent on political advertising and a Democratic wave sweep Republicans out of power in Congress, Americans have once again been promised a new direction for the country. The voters have spoken. The balance of power in Washington has shifted. A new Congress will have the opportunity to rein in an imperial presidency and hold the government accountable for its abuses. But the question that must rightfully be asked is: what comes next? Will Congress finally rein in the surveillance state, the militarization of the police, the detention machinery, the endless wars, the government spending spree and the corporate interests that profit from the American police state? Or will the politicians settle back into their comfortable routines while the government machine keeps right on running? This is where Hollywood’s dystopian warnings become disturbingly relevant.” (11/04/26)
“The party in power typically loses seats in a midterm election, but the president has to do something catastrophically stupid to provoke a backlash this large. In Trump’s case, it was his decision to start an illegal war of aggression against Iran that destroyed his presidency and wrecked his party. The party running proudly antiwar candidates prevailed, and the mindlessly pro-war party was routed. While there were several reasons for the extensive Republican losses, this was above all a great antiwar victory. … Voters want an end to the war and accountability for the government’s destructive policies. Americans are giving the Democrats a chance to rein in the president’s open corruption and abuses of power. Once the new Congress is in session, the priority has to be forcing an end to the war using the power of the purse.” (11/04/26)
“When Russia designated the Human Rights Foundation as ‘undesirable’ earlier this year, the New York City–based nonprofit knew what was coming next. In September, the HRF received a notice demanding it block Russians from accessing its signature Tyranny Tracker. But the notice did not come from Russia; it came from WP Engine, a web hosting company headquartered in Austin, Texas. … The Guaranteeing Rights Against Novel International Tyranny and Extortion (GRANITE) Act aims to stop this. Introduced in the House by Rep. Michael Rulli (R–Ohio) in August and currently sitting in the Judiciary Committee, the bill would confirm in statute that U.S. courts will not enforce foreign censorship orders, and would allow individuals to sue foreign censors for attempting to restrict the protected speech of American citizens. The former is the shield; the latter is the sword.” (11/04/26)
“With another election season behind us, we should revisit some of the great economic and political debates about the merits of voting and electoral politics. While majorities successfully elected candidates and passed referenda across the country on Tuesday, they will likely not be happy with all the effects of their choices on society. Or, to put it another way, the majority got what it wanted, but it is not going to like it.” (11/04/26)
