Source: Aaron Ross Powell
by Aaron Ross Powell

“So much of being online is constructing and performing identity. You present yourself as something to people listening to, reading, or watching what you choose to put online, and that “something” isn’t who you really are. … This sounds grim: You’re just a brand you’ve constructed. My Marxist friends would say it’s another example of the late capitalism draining us of humanity. But let me push back. Because there’s something amazing and optimistic and encouraging about this. Online, you get to be who you want, or who you can figure out how to present. And you can be that thing consistently. You can, in other words, go all-in on your obsessions. … Except. The other thing about the online world, as it is now in its major structures, even if not as it always used to be, is that there are metrics. And metrics interfere with, smooth out, and dissipate obsessions.” (09/16/26)

https://www.aaronrosspowell.com/3mvnouy6tss22

Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff

“In the run-up to November’s midterm elections, potshots at opponents have been coming fast and hard in advertisements and social media, while legislating on Capitol Hill has slowed to a crawl. But state capitals and city halls across the United States offer encouraging examples of what the nonpartisan Future Caucus calls ‘constructive, collaborative governance’. This ‘get it done’ attitude is particularly evident among younger generations of elected officials, according to the organization’s head, Layla Zaidane. And that’s what offers hope for upcoming legislative cycles, she wrote Tuesday in Governing, a digital publication. Future Caucus supports and mentors more than 2,000 young lawmakers, Republicans and Democrats, ranging from liberal to centrist to conservative. Together, they take part in workshops, field visits, and online connections. And together, they hone skills in negotiation and compromise across party lines, while deepening their understanding of each other as well as bread-and-butter public issues.” (09/15/26)

https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0915/Despite-polarization-Americans-still-prize-political-compromise

Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Lilly Rossi

“Out of nearly 6,900 bills in Illinois that proposed changes to laws, programs, projects and personnel, lawmakers provided the estimated cost to taxpayers of a mere 32—fewer than half of 1%. Only those 32 bills in the 104th General Assembly came with ‘fiscal notes,’ which estimate the financial effects of proposed legislation, giving lawmakers and taxpayers information about its potential cost. While such estimates are required in many other states, Illinois law allows a bill’s sponsor to determine whether it needs a fiscal note. If the sponsor decides it does not, a lawmaker who disagrees must gain the support of a majority of members to require a fiscal note.” (09/16/26)

https://fee.org/articles/more-than-10000-bills-only-32-provided-a-cost-estimate/

Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob

“Call him ‘The Rock.’ That’s what John Kennedy, Louisiana’s wittiest U.S. senator, dubbed Mitch McConnell, yesterday. Why? From the Wall Street Journal’s write-up, it must be the Kentucky’s senator’s fortitude and resilience that qualify him as hard and stony. The 84-year-old lame duck solon was rolled into the Capitol after a three-month absence, and it appears that everyone was nice to the wheelchair-bound octogenarian. … McConnell should step … roll … aside. Let someone else do the job. But, as it is, he serves as a stark reminder of the gerontocracy.” (09/16/26)

https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/09/16/2be-a-rock-and-not2roll/

Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone

“As American rapper Macklemore becomes a frontline for renewed mainstream discourse about Israeli atrocities in Gaza, Israel apologists have been falling all over themselves to circulate the demonstrably false narrative that the artist has a history of antisemitic behavior. Zionist billionaire Robert Kraft defended his intervention to remove Macklemore from the Ed Sheeran tour for saying ‘Free Palestine’ onstage, falsely claiming in a statement that the artist has a ‘history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community.’ The Anti-Defamation League falsely claimed that Macklemore’s onstage pro-Palestine rhetoric is colored by the artist’s ‘record of demonizing Israel and Israelis, falsely accusing Israel of genocide and engaging in antisemitic rhetoric and behavior.'” (09/16/26)

https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/09/16/debunking-the-claim-that-macklemore-has-a-history-of-antisemitism/