Source: Independent Institute
by Thomas D Howes

“An increasing amount of public attention has been drawn to an obscure ideological movement called ‘postliberalism,’ which argues that free markets, individual liberty, and limited government handicap a societal commitment to what they call the ‘common good.’ Until just a few years ago, postliberalism hovered around the extreme periphery of the political right. That is no longer the case. The most obvious reason is that Vice President J.D. Vance self-identifies as a postliberal. And more recently, the postliberal movement has found itself at the center of a string of controversies.” (11/20/25)

https://www.independent.org/article/2025/11/20/postliberal-carl-schmitt-authoritarianism/

Source: The Peaceful Revolutionist
by David S D’Amato

“Rather than continuing to pretend that we’re in an agreement or mutually beneficial relationship with a predatory ruling class, we could start to put facts ahead of abstractions and thought experiments. We could reimagine the social contract in Proudhonian terms, as working from the bottom-up, first relationships of equality and solidarity between individuals, then between their cooperative bodies, and outward from there in federations and agreements as may be needed for specific times and purposes. This is precisely the reverse of Rawlsian social contract philosophy in that it does not take the state as a given: it begins with contract where it can be found as a social fact and insists that any social arrangement must harmonize with genuine contract. But I don’t want to suggest that this reversal of Rawls is in method only.” (11/20/25)

https://dsdamato.substack.com/p/thoughts-on-oligarchy-xvi

Source: Town Hall
by Larry Elder

“No, this isn’t a satirical Babylon Bee headline: ”Black Women Can’t Swim Because of Societal Expectations’: Michelle Obama’s Viral Claim Sparks Controversy.’ The former first lady, in a live podcast, recently said, ‘Let me explain something to white people. Our hair comes out of our head naturally in a curly pattern. So, when we’re straightening it to follow your beauty standards, we are trapped by the straightness. That’s why so many of us can’t swim, and we run away from the water. People won’t go to the gym because we’re trying to keep our hair straight for y’all. It is exhausting, and it is so expensive, and it takes up so much time!’ Who knew that black women straighten their hair to conform to the expectations of whites? Even worse, who knew this oppressive white standard of beauty, according to Obama, has the real-world effect of preventing black kids from learning to swim?” (11/20/25)

https://townhall.com/columnists/larryelder/2025/11/20/michelles-hair-raising-theory-white-folks-stop-blacks-from-learning-how-to-swim-n2666727

Source: Antiwar.com
by Andy Worthington

“On June 19, 2024, Khaled Mahajneh, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, became the first lawyer to visit a notorious detention facility for Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, located inside the Sde Teiman military base in the Negev Desert, one of several detention facilities established after October 7, 2023 to hold Palestinians seized in Gaza. Speaking to +972 Magazine a week after his visit, Mahanjeh drew a pertinent comparison with the treatment of Muslim prisoners in the US’s post-9/11 ‘war on terror,’ but concluded that Israel’s behavior was even worse.” (11/20/25)

https://original.antiwar.com/worthington/2025/11/19/more-horrific-than-abu-ghraib-and-guantnamo-the-unsalvageable-depravity-of-israels-prisons-for-palestinians/

Source: Semafor
by David Weigel

The shutdown was its own risk — but not one that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had a real choice on, after the blowback to his decision to fund the government in March. Schumer’s camp kept insisting that he didn’t want to reopen without a cleaner victory on health care, but the defection of his centrists underscored that the risk hadn’t paid off. Since the shutdown ended, Democrats who are behaving like potential presidential candidates have been lining up to argue that their party gave in because its Senate leaders were too cautious. … As the party’s base demands more brawls and more risks, Democrats in power are trying to catch up.” (11/19/25)

https://www.semafor.com/article/11/19/2025/democrats-start-falling-for-risk-takers-as-their-early-2028-conversation-begins