Source: CounterPunch
by Nick Licata

“The folly of assassinations is that they generate the opposite of what the assassin intended. Aside from the tragedy of taking a human life, there is a pattern of how assassinations work against what the assassins aim to accomplish. Perhaps this realization could prevent assassins before they pull the trigger, if even a small amount of thought replaces the emotion driving the act. Here are six assassinations, spanning over 2,000 years to the present, that illustrate how the folly of assassinations has unfolded repeatedly.” (09/30/25)

https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/09/30/the-folly-of-assassinations/

Source: The UnPopulist
by Andy Craig

“Once again, Washington is facing the prospect of a government shutdown when congressional appropriations lapse at the end of this month. But this is anything but a normal shutdown standoff. Against the backdrop of an administration that is waging an unprecedented war on free speech, ginning up corrupt prosecutions of its opponents, facilitating unimaginable levels of self-dealing and personal grift, and subjecting states and cities to military occupation, this standoff cannot help but take on a heightened valence. If ever there was a time for a legislature to wield its power of the purse against a power-grabbing executive, this is it. And what are congressional Democrats — whose votes are essential to reach the 60-vote threshold in the Senate — reportedly demanding in exchange for keeping the government open? Their main condition is a temporary patch for health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.” (09/29/25)

https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/democrats-should-do-the-honorable

Source: The Federalist
by Parker Thayer

“In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, conservatives and moderates alike are crying out for the decimation of hyper-politicized nonprofit organizations and the ‘NGO complex’ that many believe enables and encourages left-wing extremism. The sentiment is correct, but the righteous anger is currently directionless, leading to dubious comments about ‘hate speech,’ vague notions of charges under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, and talk of investigations into Antifa funding, with no real sense of where to strike first. There needs to be a clear target, and it should be one easily hit for maximum effect. The ‘charitable’ voter registration industry is that target, and this is a uniquely opportune moment to hit it.” (09/29/25)

https://thefederalist.com/2025/09/29/to-take-down-the-ngo-industrial-complex-start-with-nonpartisan-voter-registration/

Source: Persuasion
by Clare Ashcraft

“If everybody is struggling to figure out what AI really is, or how it will affect our lives as a whole, one thing would seem to be certain: Gen Z is defined by AI in the way that flappers might have been by the radio or Boomers by the electric guitar. But the equation of AI and Gen Z misses a great deal of nuance — it misses both the more skeptical approach that many young people are quietly taking towards AI; and it misses that AI is exacerbating, not causing, an educational crisis that is affecting Gen Z more deeply than any particular technology and which necessitates urgent reform.” (09/29/25)

https://www.persuasion.community/p/gen-z-is-not-as-besotted-with-ai