Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey
“Have we learned nothing from history of blowback? Shouldn’t we be cultivating friends and trade partners rather than bullying ourselves around the globe in search of lower prices to run our cars? For decades, politicos obfuscate the fact that we involve our country in Middle Eastern foreign entanglements over oil, while they claim everything under the sun but the fact, other than what Trump has now plainly stated. We’ll use our military might to plunder anywhere and do anything for cheap oil. But the reality of doing this is much more complicated, regardless of whether you believe the rhetoric coming out of D.C.” (09/15/26)
“‘Team Canada’ and ‘America First’ might be catchy slogans, but they survive on vagueness. The public’s willingness to go along for this ride quickly fades when those slogans are replaced by real costs and real job losses. The current back-and-forth ends up being nothing more than an exercise in national pride that ignores the fact that someone always loses when they face artificially higher prices at the checkout.” (09/15/26)
“When one party controls the White House and both chambers of Congress, the midterm elections are a referendum on the party in power. With President Donald Trump’s approval ratings falling into the 30s and affordability remaining a top issue for voters, it is rational for Republicans to direct attention to how much worse the economic pain will be under Democrats. Fortunately for congressional Republicans, the Democratic base is obliging them by nominating candidates aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America, whose platform includes defunding the police and abolishing the U.S. Senate. Unfortunately, the socialist attack would be more potent if the GOP offered a clear contrast. Instead, the last two years of Republican rule have ushered more government intrusion into the marketplace than a socialist congressional caucus could ever deliver.” (09/15/26)
“If you were a conspiracy theorist, you might think President Trump is trying his best to get Republican candidates defeated in the November midterm elections. That’s because the tariffs he recently imposed on Canadian imports, and Canada’s response by imposing tariffs on U.S. imports, hit several red states very hard, which is fueling voters’ anger.” (09/15/26)
Source: Common Dreams
by Jeff Cohen & Norman Solomon
“Fifteen years ago, during President Obama’s first term, we co-founded RootsAction as an online progressive group challenging not only Republicans but also the corporatism and militarism of the Democratic Party. RootsAction supported Bernie Sanders for president in 2016 and 2020. Two years before the 2024 election disaster that returned Donald Trump to the White House, RootsAction launched the Don’t Run Joe campaign, with the warning that the renomination of Joe Biden by Democrats ‘would be a tragic mistake’. Despite polls showing as early as 2022 that strong majorities of Democrats wanted a 2024 nominee other than Biden, the ‘Don’t Run Joe’ message went unheeded until Biden’s debate debacle in June 2024. By then, it was too late for the open primary process needed to produce a ticket that could inspire activists—and defeat the fascistic faux-populism of Trump.” (09/15/26)
“When central banks make decisions about inflation, interest rates, or financial stability, they rely heavily on economic research. But where does that research come from? And whose ideas end up shaping the global conversation? A new IREF Working Paper by Tom Bugdalle and Moritz Pfeifer takes a fascinating look at these questions by analyzing more than 330,000 economics articles and millions of citations between them. The results reveal a striking hierarchy in the world of economic research.” (09/15/26)
“I’m in a generous mood. Let’s say the newest scheme works: The latest iteration of attempted economic strangulation causes state collapse in Iran. I remain skeptical, but in my expansive goodwill, I’ll go ahead and grant the premise for the sake of argument. I’ll even grant that it happens on a manageable political timescale, oh, six months or so. What then?” (09/15/26)
“Written in the blunt and acerbic style that defined his political persona, The Hard Path to Unity is an unsparing and timely indictment of the ascendant left that all liberals would do well to read—and heed. Left unchallenged, Frank warns, left-wing dominance of the Democratic Party will doom it to political failure, thereby leaving Trumpist populism unchecked. Through its insistence on unrealistic ideals (and its ironic intolerance of differing viewpoints), Frank argues that progressives risk losing everything they purport to champion.” (09/15/26)
