Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Orlando Pérez

“President Donald Trump likes to say he is ‘nine for nine’ with the candidates he has backed in Latin America and the Caribbean, and Brazil’s Oct. 25 runoff could make it ten. Senator Flávio Bolsonaro led the first round on Oct. 4, and Brazil under his leadership could seek to join the Shield of the Americas, the security coalition Washington launched in March and now presents as proof that the hemisphere has turned its way. How much support do the coalition’s current members have at home? Less than Trump’s scorecard suggests.” (10/14/26)

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/shield-of-the-americas/

Source: Common Dreams
by Greg Pence

“On October 11, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to stop using taxpayer funds for television ads featuring the president. Yet two commercials continued airing past the court’s deadline. By the following evening, Justice Department lawyers had apologized, explaining that agency counsel had not seen the order in time. What had been a political accusation had now become a judicial intervention. And now even the government’s response to the order was under scrutiny. For President Donald Trump, the larger danger is electoral. His presidency has turned expansive executive authority into a political calling card. But when that authority appears to serve the president’s campaign interests rather than the public as a whole, it can become a liability. What began as a dispute over advertisements could help turn the November 3 midterms into a contest over where government ends and Trump’s political operation begins.” (10/14/26)

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/trump-gov-power-election

Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Jonathan Newman

“The Keynesian paradigm suffered in the stagflation of the 1970s. Price inflation and unemployment surged simultaneously, which resulted in broad skepticism of the old Keynesian models while loyal Keynesians scrambled to offer explanations. Moreover, it became apparent that the Keynesian consumption function didn’t hold up to empirical scrutiny—disposable income wasn’t as good of a predictor of aggregate consumption as early Keynesian models assumed. This watershed moment in the history of economic thought produced new tributaries and strengthened some existing ones. … The mainstream consensus that has emerged out of this hodgepodge is that Keynes was right about a lot, but his framework needs ‘microfoundations.'” (10/14/26)

https://mises.org/mises-wire/tragic-path-new-keynesianism

Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille

“Is a college educations worth the hassle and expense? Amid concerns over soaring tuition costs and campus political intolerance, a growing share of Americans aren’t convinced that higher education is worthwhile. Academics themselves—the honest ones, anyway—acknowledge that they’ve squandered a lot of goodwill over the years. Fortunately, it’s still possible to get an education that justifies the time and money—though the path doesn’t necessarily go through college.” (10/14/26)

https://reason.com/2026/10/14/college-still-has-a-future-but-its-no-longer-the-default-choice/