Source: Law & Liberty
by Samuel Mace

“In democracies, rulers require the consent of the governed. Even within elite theories of democracies, some sort of common consent is necessary. The easiest way to secure such consent is to persuade the people that you are really one of them. Politicians from elite backgrounds work to appear as if they are unafraid of working a day in McDonald’s, or plead for the fortunes of a favourite football team. They are not ‘regular people,’ but they try to look like they belong. These efforts cut across ideology as attempts to cultivate authenticity emerge on both the left and right. But politics cannot be defined by personality alone.” (03/23/26)

https://lawliberty.org/the-quest-for-authenticity/

Source: Liberal Currents
by Dennis Lytton

“Jimmy Carter in 1977 cut the size of the White House staff by 30%. Coming just two years after Nixon’s resignation, Carter’s election coincided with a series of legislative reforms to tame the imperial presidency. Carter for a brief shining time seemed to embody that smaller presidency. He announced on his inauguration day that, ‘I would never permit my White House staff to try to run the major departments of government.’ We’ve endured nine withering years of Trump’s America (including what we now realize was but a fleeting interregnum under Biden). The idea that the presidency should be an executive with cabinet secretaries and independent agencies constrained strictly to statute and the constitution seems distant. Instead, the American imperial executive is led now by a few unaccountable staffers in the West Wing with the opaque character of a monarch’s courtiers.” (03/23/26)

https://www.liberalcurrents.com/imagining-a-2028-presidential-campaign-for-a-limited-presidency/

Source: Our Future
by Sulma Arias

“Many people in this country feel attacks on our civil liberties have gone too far. I agree. Heavily armed ICE and CBP agents, who are paid with our tax dollars, hide their identities as they storm into our homes without warrants, suppress free speech, and even murder U.S. citizens who engage in peaceful protest. Many people feel it is time to stop this cruelty and violence. Yet what can we do? One answer is to flood the streets. Indeed, in places like Chicago and Minneapolis, we’ve seen tens of thousands show up to demand an end to the militarized occupation of their cities. And millions nationwide have turned out to No Kings rallies, and will do so again this March 28th. Mass moments like this are important; they show us we are not alone. Yet on their own, they are not enough …” (03/22/26)

https://ourfuture.org/20260322/power-is-built-one-conversation-at-a-time

Source: The Hill
by Jos Joseph

“The news that the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) might be headed to the Middle East to reinforce the 31st MEU, which was already ordered there, raises the odds that ground troops might play a part in President Trump’s war with Iran. … We all know of Joe Rosenthal’s famous picture of the raising of the American flag on Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima. Trump will want to have a similar image to get the American public hyped about an unpopular war and to boost his own image as a warfighting President along the likes of Abraham Lincoln or Franklin Roosevelt. But what Trump needs to understand is what happened after the Iwo Jima photo was released to the public.” (03/23/26)

https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/5795673-marines-middle-east-trump/

Source: The American Conservative
by Toby Young

“[UK secretary of state for communities Steve] Reed has officially adopted a definition of ‘anti-Muslim hostility’ — ‘Islamophobia’ by another name — and announced that a government-appointed ‘special representative,’ a so-called ‘czar,’ will record complaints and ensure that anyone who falls foul of the definition is ‘appropriately’ dealt with. … Now, you might think: What’s wrong with that? Nobody wants Muslims to face hatred or discrimination. But here’s the problem. Discrimination against Muslims — indeed, against people of any religion — is already illegal under Britain’s Equality Act of 2010. … Britain repealed blasphemy laws that proscribed attacks on Christianity in 2008. It would be a peculiar irony if, 18 years later, a Labour government reinstated a new version of them …” (03/23/26)

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/britain-is-bringing-back-the-blasphemy-laws-and-the-free-speech-union-is-taking-the-government-to-court/

Source: TomDispatch
by Patrick Strickland

“After protests across Iran turned deadly in January, President Donald Trump promised Iranians that ‘help is on the way’. On February 28th, the U.S. and Israel launched what immediately became a devastating war on Iran. American and Israeli warplanes began dropping bombs on a country of some 93 million people. Trump soon put out a video address, telling Iranians that ‘the hour of your freedom is at hand’. Around the time that video appeared, Iranians in the city of Minab were sorting through the corpses of more than 165 people killed in an airstrike on an elementary school for girls. That same day, an airstrike killed Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, an 86-year-old who was supposedly already in poor health. Throughout the ensuing days, American and Israeli attacks struck hospitals, historic sites, and more schools.” (03/22/26)

https://tomdispatch.com/why-donald-trump-just-cant-stop-going-to-war/