Where’s the “Progress?”

Source: Town Hall
by Mark Lewis

“‘Man will become immeasurably stronger, wiser, and subtler. His body will become more harmonized, his movements more rhythmic, his voice more musical, the forms of life will become dynamically dramatic. The average human type will rise to the heights of an Aristotle, a Goethe, or a Marx. And above these heights, new peaks will rise.’ — Leon Trotsky … Those have got to be among the most idiotic words I have ever read in my life. Any quarter-witted human being, looking at the history of our species, who thinks that man is ‘progressing towards perfection’, that the average ‘human type’ in the future will be an Aristotle, Goethe, or (heaven forbid) a Marx, is … missing something upstairs. And yet, leftists today, in America and around the globe, believe they can bring this ‘perfection’ into existence. … In fact, I see the exact opposite.” (09/29/26)

https://townhall.com/columnists/marklewis/2026/09/29/wheres-the-progress-n2683736

Spain: Regime announces ban on evictions after protests over 87-year-old woman’s removal from flat

Source: BBC News [UK state media]

“Spain’s coalition government has approved new housing measures following protests over the country’s housing crisis, sparked by the eviction of an 87-year-old woman from her home in Madrid last week. Ministers met on Tuesday to discuss the proposals, which include a ban on evictions until 2030. Announcing the measures, Health Minister Mónica García said they would bring relief to more than five million people – but opposition politician Míriam Nogueras said the agreement left ‘small landlords out in the cold’. The proposals (which have been presented in the form of two decrees) come into effect immediately, but must be approved by Congress within a month, although the government hopes to hold the vote as soon as this Friday. Pedro Sánchez’s leftist coalition government lacks a majority in parliament and has struggled to get right-leaning parties to approve previous decrees.” (09/29/26)

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwm2qmjgy93do

Remember Who You Are, Liberal

Source: Liberal Currents
by Samantha Hancox-Li

“Has liberalism run out of steam? After the second election of Donald Trump, it sure felt that way. MAGA was ascendant. A new, muscular, vigorous, cruel energy had taken over America, and it was our task to just adapt ourselves to this fact. Even as resistance to Trump built on the ground, elite liberals felt at sea. Maybe Charlie Kirk was doing politics the right way.” (09/28/26)

https://www.liberalcurrents.com/remember-who-you-are-liberal/

Remembering the False Gloom & Doom of the 1992 Elections, and the Upcoming Midterms

Source: American Greatness
by Victor Davis Hanson

“In 1992, Bill Clinton won the presidential election partly on the basis of his campaign’s false accusation that George H. W. Bush had overseen ‘the worst economic performance since the Great Depression’. Or so claimed Clinton’s running mate Al Gore. James Carville, chief campaign adviser to Clinton/Gore, amplified that message with the constant refrain: ‘It’s the economy, stupid!’ That strategy worked for three reasons: First, third-party candidate Ross Perot siphoned off nearly 19 percent of the vote. Most of his supporters would otherwise likely have gone to Bush. Perot allowed Clinton to win with a mere 43 percent of the popular vote, in part by echoing the false narrative of a crushing Bush recession. Second, the brilliant Bush campaign strategist Lee Atwater, who had virtually destroyed the Dukakis campaign in 1988 (remember the tank ad, the Boston Harbor ad, and the Willie Horton ad?) had died in 1991 at the age of 40 from a brain tumor.” (09/29/26)

https://amgreatness.com/2026/09/29/remembering-the-false-gloom-and-doom-of-the-1992-elections-and-the-upcoming-midterms/

Florida set to execute 77-year-old man convicted of 1995 murder

Source: SFGate

“A 77-year-old Florida man convicted of beating a woman to death with a hammer is scheduled Tuesday to become the 16th person executed this year in the nation’s busiest death chamber. Curtis Wilkie Beasley was sentenced to death after being convicted of first-degree murder, robbery and grand theft auto in a 1995 attack on Carolyn Monfort. The Florida Supreme Court last week rejected appeals that executing a man his age who is suffering from cognitive decline would amount to cruel and unusual punishment. Beasley, who would become Florida’s seventh prisoner over the age of 70 to be executed this year, is set to receive a three-drug injection at the state prison starting at 6 p.m.” (09/29/26)

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/florida-is-set-to-execute-a-77-year-old-man-22453871.php

We Had First Flock, Yes, But What About Second Flock?

Source: Libertarian Institute
by Alan Mosley

“The 1998 action thriller Enemy of the State (RIP Gene Hackman) imagined a world in which government surveillance could follow an ordinary citizen almost anywhere, drawing on cameras, communications data, and increasingly sophisticated technology to monitor his movements. What once played as an exaggerated warning about the surveillance state now looks considerably less exotic. Some of today’s most consequential surveillance infrastructure is far less dramatic than the machinery of a Hollywood thriller. Instead of hidden trackers in your buttons and shoes, you instead have cameras mounted on utility poles, quietly recording your every move.” (09/29/26)

https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/we-had-first-flock-yes-but-what-about-second-flock

Mistrial declared in Trayon White federal bribery trial

Source: United Press International

“A jury deliberating on a federal bribery charge against Trayon White, a Washington, D.C., councilmember, could not come to a unanimous decision, leading to a mistrial Monday. The jury, eight women and four women, told U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras that they could not agree on a decision after four days of deliberations. A meeting will take place after Oct. 14 to what happens next. … White was allegedly shown on video accepting envelopes full of cash from business owner Allieu Kamara, who reportedly said he wanted the favor of D.C. officials. White was arrested in August 2024. White and his defense attorney said that there was no crime: that White accepted money but that it was not a bribe and there was no quid pro quo. Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for D.C., said she plans to retry the case.” (09/28/26)

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/09/28/trayon-white-bribery-charge-leads-to-mistrial/9381790629948/

Do Democrats have bold enough ideas to break from the past?

Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Sam Fraser & William Hartung

“With Trump’s overall polling numbers cratering, Democrats appear to have a decisive advantage in November’s midterms. Yet this has not translated into a lead in foreign affairs, where polling suggests the two parties are essentially tied. This reality may stem from the fact that, while Democrats have correctly lambasted the president’s actions abroad, the party — and especially its top leadership — has yet to articulate a vision for U.S. foreign policy that reckons with how Trump’s two terms have changed the world and America’s role in it.” (09/28/26)

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/democratic-party-foreign-policy/