Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“I recently received an email asking me to sign a petition that would put ‘biblical lessons’ back in public schools. The petition was sent out by an organization named Brave for Good, whose mission is to ‘equip families with stories, experiences, and community gatherings that nurture imagination, strengthen biblical values, and help raise a generation grounded in truth, courage, and character.’ … notice what that petition purports to do: It is based on forcing parents to send their children to a state institution to receive what amounts to religious indoctrination from government officials. How in the world can such a law be reconciled with the principles of a free society? It can’t be.” (10/26/26)
Source: Wall Street Journal
by Mary Anastasia O’Grady
“Brazil’s leftist President Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva of the Workers’ Party defeated Senator Flávio Bolsonaro of the conservative Liberal Party in a runoff election Sunday. Going into the vote, pollsters gave Mr. Bolsonaro the edge but Lula had narrowed the gap. With 99% of the vote counted Lula had 52% to Mr. Bolsonaro’s 48%. This is a bitter disappointment for conservatives. But they’ll do well to note that Lula will take the oath of office Jan. 5 with the Brazilian right having gained ground. Mr. Bolsonaro surprised pollsters when he finished first in the first round on Oct. 4 with 47% of the vote against Lula’s 45.2%. Down ballot the right did even better. In the Senate, the Liberals won 19 seats out of 54 contested.” (10/25/26)
“Eight months into the Iran war, Washington has neither broken Tehran’s resolve nor found a clear path out. The president’s own remarks point to a narrowing set of options. Trump told Time magazine he does not believe peace with Iran is ever possible, a striking admission from the leader still expected to negotiate one. … The Gulf states have reached the same conclusion. They are hedging accordingly against an American policy they no longer trust to last. The UAE joined the campaign against Iran in February, yet they opened a back channel with Iranians lately after the realization that it is better to deal directly instead of relying on the US.” (10/26/26)
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Andrew Earvolino
“‘The story of our civilization is the greatest story ever known to man.’ Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered these triumphalist words earlier this month as he stood before the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. Rubio’s speech, which centered the need for Western civilizational rejuvenation, received laudatory marks among conservative circles. On a certain level, this is unsurprising. Civilizationism is indeed the cause du jour on the new right. But on closer examination, one suspects that Rubio is not truly offering some radical new vision, but a lot of the same.” (10/26/26)
“Over the weekend, Barack Obama appeared at a campaign rally for Democrats in Ohio and managed to make some headlines by ridiculing President Trump’s design skills. ‘He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory’, the former president quipped. The crowd, of course, loved it. The media did too. Republicans responded with some mockery of their own, pointing out that Obama has little room to talk about design preferences, given the architectural monstrosity that is his presidential library in Chicago. All things considered, Obama accomplished what he set out to do: he made himself the center of attention, which is the only place, apparently, that he feels comfortable. Now, I know what you’re thinking: Obama? The guy who left office ten years ago? Why is this multi-deci-millionaire running around the country trying to get socialists and socialist-adjacent candidates (including Abdul El-Sayed) elected to high office?” (10/26/26)
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Laurence M Vance
“Education is a service just like the many other services that Americans purchase every day. … But, it has been argued, education is different. It is one of the most important services there is. It can’t possibly be left up to the free market. If the government doesn’t provide, fund, or regulate education, then many children will receive a substandard education or no education at all.” (10/26/26)
“There are certainly still millions of God-fearing, patriotic Americans remaining in the country. And they’ll vote next week. But the question has become: Are there enough of us left to save the nation? To too many Americans, politics and politicians have become the do-all and end-all for the country. To them, government is the new Messiah, and the people who work in it are our only hope and saviors. Thus, ‘electing the right people’ is the redemption of the nation. Countless Americans have now been taught to look at the world horizontally, at fallible, carnal, secular humans who have virtually no wisdom to deliver us, rather than looking up where the only answers are truly found.” (10/26/26)
“America’s founders understood that liberty and the common good were not competing ideals. Today’s postliberals are blaming the wrong tradition.” (10/26/26)
“The United States, losing its influence in Eurasia, has retreated to its own hemisphere to reassert its hegemony in the region. Congress offers no brake. A Senate war powers resolution on Venezuela died after Vice President J.D. Vance broke a 50-to-50 tie, and a U.S. House version failed 215 to 215. Regional diplomacy proved just as feeble. Brazil’s Lula said the Maduro operation ‘crossed an unacceptable line,’ yet an emergency CELAC meeting on January 4 ended without a statement because Argentina and roughly 9 other governments blocked consensus. The tragedy is that Latin Americans saw this coming two centuries ago. … The strong gods of hard power have returned, Washington tramples international law, and great powers everywhere assert themselves without apology. A bully stops only when someone stands up to their aggression.” (10/26/26)
