Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob

“Long time ago, May Day was about celebrating Spring — for which rejoicing is appropriate. Over the last century, it has become International Workers’ Day. ‘In 1889, an international federation of socialist groups and trade unions designated May 1 as pro-workers day,’ informs the Wikidates.org website, ‘on the anniversary of the Haymarket Riots in Chicago (1886).’ Five years later, clearly opposed to cavorting with socialists, the U.S. established Labor Day on September 1, an alternative date to honor workers. Today, political rallies and protests are expected in major cities across the country.” (05/01/26)

https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/05/01/mayday-mayday-mayday/

Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff

“In its daily use of social media (three hours, 32 minutes on average), Latin America leads the world. Over the past quarter century, it has nearly tripled the number of people attending university and cut poverty by about half. This list of notable trends could go on, regardless of concerns about crime, corruption, and caudillo-style rulers. Together, however, they might help explain this latest news: Last year, the region saw the greatest improvement in key indicators of democracy, such as political participation and civil liberties, compared with Asia, Africa, and elsewhere. In fact, it was the only region to improve. And Latin America did so after seeing nine years of decline on the index of democracy compiled annually by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).” (05/01/26)

https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0501/Latin-America-s-grip-on-democracy

Source: The Daily Economy
by Richard Morrison

“In ‘It’s On You,’ Nick Chater and George Loewenstein turn from advocates of ‘nudging,’ subtle policy efforts to shape behavior without coercion, to critics who see it as ineffective and misleading.” (05/01/26)

https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/after-nudging-the-rise-and-fall-of-a-behavioral-economics-fad/

Source: The Volokh Conspiracy
by Ilya Somin

“In my March 5 Dispatch article on the Iran War and the Constitution, I explained why Donald Trump’s initiation of the war without congressional authorization is unconstitutional. As of today, it is also in violation of the War Powers Act of 1973. Enacted in the wake of the Vietnam War, the WPA requires the president to secure congressional approval within 60 days of entering U.S. troops into ‘hostilities’ or situations ‘where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances.’ The president can seek a 30 day extension without additional congressional authorization, but Trump has not done so in this case. The sixty day deadline expires today. Therefore, Trump is now in violation of the WPA, as well as the Constitution.” 905/01/26)

https://reason.com/volokh/2026/05/01/trumps-iran-war-continues-to-violate-the-constitution-and-now-also-the-war-powers-act-of-1973/

Source: Common Dreams
by Eirik Cheverud

“On three major occasions in President Trump’s second term, his opponents, including many elected officials, have taken to the streets under the banner of ‘No Kings.’ And yet just this week, King Charles III spoke before our joint houses of Congress, where his comments about governmental checks and balances drew a standing ovation from everyone there. A contradiction lies here, between our history and our perception of it. The truth is, the law that made kings untouchable (that ‘the king can do no wrong) has never gone away in the United States. Instead, it multiplied. Today we call it ‘sovereign immunity.'” [editor’s note: Fascinating how this “progressive” pundit babbles about “sovereign immunity” when the “qualified” version for police is the real problem – SAT] [editor’s note: Fascinating how SAT doesn’t understand that the “qualified” version is a just a subset of the “sovereign” version and that both are irredeemably evil – TLK] (05/02/26)

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/donald-trump-divine-right-of-kings