Source: The Weekly Dish
by Andrew Sullivan
“The other day I sat, slack-jawed, reading Kamala Harris’[s] book — which was not easy to do with my eyeballs permanently rolled into the back of my head. … At one point, I even tried to imagine what America would be like today if this woke lawyer had actually won last year. Then it occurred to me that we already kind of know. We actually have a pretty good test case of exactly that: a center-left [sic] lawyer-politician coming to power last year after a massive immigration wave had discredited and ousted the previous incumbent. Enter Keir Starmer, my high school frenemy, and now prime minister. But unlike Harris, Starmer has at least shown signs of understanding his problem …” (10/03/25)
https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/how-utterly-lost-is-the-left-960
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“Becoming the Defendant: Macron v. Owens, the Amended Complaint.” (10/05/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMAAoQLpFQc
Source: The American Conservative
by Ted Galen Carpenter
“In the past few weeks, Russian drones and jet fighters have repeatedly penetrated the airspace of Poland, Estonia, and other NATO members. Western officials have reacted harshly to those episodes, shooting down intruding drones and, in the case of President Donald Trump, issuing threats to attack even manned Russian aircraft if such incidents continue. NATO leaders and their supporters in the news media are responding to the rising tensions by reviving an idea from the earliest days of the Kremlin’s February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine: imposing a no-fly zone over that country. It is an especially provocative and dangerous scheme that carries a serious risk of triggering World War III.” (10/04/25)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/nato-must-say-no-to-ukraine-no-fly-zone/
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Japan’s ruling conservative party has elected Sanae Takaichi as its new leader, positioning the 64-year-old to be Japan’s first female prime minister. Takaichi is among the more conservative candidates leaning to the ruling party’s right. A former government minister, TV host and avid heavy metal drummer, she is one of the best known figures in Japanese politics – and a controversial one at that. She faces many challenges, including contending with a sluggish economy and households struggling with relentless inflation and stagnant wages. She will also have to navigate a rocky US-Japan relationship and see through a tariff deal with the Trump administration agreed by the previous government. If confirmed as prime minister, one of Takaichi’s key challenges will be uniting the party after a turbulent few years which saw it rocked by scandals and internal conflicts.” (10/04/25)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2pmy7m72lo
Source: The Intercept
by Ian F Blair
“The consolidation of the new police state has not been announced. There was no press conference declaring that local, state, and federal law enforcement — plus the military — are all marching to the same drum. No news conference featuring a bunch of police captains standing before a microphone to express their commitment to the new regime. But it is here. In the past six months, a quiet, mass reorganization of resources and rules and personnel has rippled across the country in order to enforce the Trump administration’s desires. This realignment is happening swiftly, smoothly and without fanfare. That the police have been so quiet in a historically loud moment should be a dead giveaway that a shift is under way.” (10/04/25)
https://theintercept.com/2025/10/04/united-police-state-of-america/
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“From Madagascar and Morocco to Peru this week, from Serbia and Kenya earlier this year to Indonesia and Nepal last month, youth across the globe are calling to account political and economic systems that are not working for them. Young adults in the United States aren’t taking to the streets in such dramatic fashion. But American Gen Zers – generally those between 13 to 28 years of age – are also questioning prevailing priorities and seeking alternative approaches to political and economic challenges. Sixty-one percent of young Americans do not identify with either the Republican or Democratic party, says the Institute for Citizens and Scholars. But they value dialogue with those they disagree with: More than 37% of Gen Z respondents find such conversations ‘interesting and informative,’ compared with only 22% of respondents nationally.” (10/03/25)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2025/1003/Amid-Gen-Z-s-challenges-an-opportunity
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
“A federal appeals court in Boston ruled on Friday that the Trump administration cannot withhold citizenship from children born to people in the country illegally [sic] or temporarily, adding to the mounting legal setbacks for the president’s birthright order. A three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals became the fifth federal court since June to either issue or uphold orders blocking the president’s birthright order. The court concluded that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed on their claims that the children described in the order are entitled to birthright citizenship under the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment.” (10/03/25)
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/10/03/birthright-citizenship-order-blocked/
Source: SFGate
“A federal judge has temporarily blocked a new Trump administration policy to keep migrant children in detention after they turn 18, moving quickly to stop transfers to adult facilities that advocates said were scheduled for this weekend. U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras on Saturday issued a temporary restraining order to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to not detain any child who came to the country alone and without permission in ICE adult detention facilities after they become an adult. The Washington, D.C., judge found that such automatic detention violates a court order he issued in 2021 barring such practices. ICE and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security didn’t immediately respond Saturday to emails seeking comment.” (10/04/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/judge-blocks-trump-policy-to-detain-migrant-21084458.php
Source: Yascha Mounk
“Quentin Skinner on Liberty.” (10/04/25)
https://yaschamounk.substack.com/p/quentin-skinner
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Mark Nayler
“The strike that closed almost all of London’s underground network for four days in mid-September is estimated to have cost the UK economy £230 million ($307 million). It was arranged by the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, which campaigns for one of the most exploited groups of workers in British society: the capital’s tube drivers, who work 35 hours a week for £70,000 ($94,000) a year—almost double the national average salary.” (10/03/25)
https://fee.org/articles/europes-striking-syndrome/
