Source: American Greatness
by Victor Davis Hanson
“There are two ways of looking at the midterms, now less than three weeks away: One is as a simple referendum on the issues and politicians of the day. The other involves a far deeper conflict of visions (as Thomas Sowell puts it): socialism versus capitalism, intrusive versus limited government, and the destruction of time-honored institutions and traditions versus their preservation and renewal. Rarely in American history have the two parties been so far apart or the choice between them so stark. In brief, Islamist-sympathizing socialism is on the ballot against free-market capitalism and American exceptionalism. The new Islamist-allied socialist Democratic Party is confident, largely because the party holding the White House has increased its share of House seats in a midterm election only three times since 1900. Each of those exceptions arose under unusual circumstances.” (10/20/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/10/20/the-deep-midterms/
Source: International Business Times
“Donald Trump faces mounting pressure in his $10 billion (£7.5 billion) legal battle against the BBC, as a judge threatens sanctions over his deposition dispute and the broadcaster seeks testimony from former special counsel Jack Smith. The president is suing the British Broadcasting Corporation over a documentary that he claims deceptively edited his 6 January 2021 speech to suggest he incited the Capitol riot. But the BBC is fighting back, demanding evidence to challenge Trump’s allegations while opposing his efforts to block Smith’s testimony. … US Magistrate Judge Enjolique A. Lett warned on 16 October that Trump could face sanctions if he continued to fail to comply with the court’s orders regarding his deposition. … The BBC says it had sought dates for Trump’s deposition since July. The two sides eventually agreed on 16 October, but Trump’s lawyers later said he was unavailable because of ‘other matters of national importance’.” (10/20/26)
https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/trump-faces-sanctions-bbc-legal-battle-1826732
Source: Reason
“The city mandates composting, but New Yorkers don’t like to be told what to do with their garbage—and don’t seem all that clear on the rules in the first place.” (10/20/26)
https://reason.com/video/2026/10/20/new-yorkers-dont-compost-will-they-be-fined-into-compliance/
Source: The Hill
by Richard L Revesz
“Five decades ago, when the United States faced unusually high fuel prices and energy-security concerns from the slowdown of Middle East exports, President Ford successfully urged Congress to pass the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. This bipartisan legislation gave the national highway authority the ability to promulgate fuel efficiency standards, which have reduced Americans’ fuel costs while also producing significant environmental and climate change benefits ever since. Now, the United States faces similar concerns with fuel prices and energy security, self-inflicted as a result of President Trump’s decision to attack Iran. But this time, the administration has eviscerated Congress’s solution.” (10/20/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/6158816-fuel-efficiency-rollback-costs/
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
“Intuitively, we tend to think that power flows from an ability to inflict punishment. Governments have power because they will imprison you or confiscate your property if you break the law. Employers have power because they will fire or demote you if you disobey orders. Teachers have power because they will give you a bad grade if you don’t do your work. Parents have power because they will ground you or take away your allowance if you don’t do what you’re told. What Milgram shows, however, is that this is only part of the story.” (10/20/26)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/milgram-vs-power-relations
Source: Town Hall
by Derek Hunter
“Paris is burning. So is much of France and other places across Europe. What was billed as a ‘student protest’ was soon overrun with communist and Palestinian flags (but I repeat myself), Arafat doilies draped over heads and shoulders, and ‘newly arrived’ Muslims from across the Mediterranean Sea. Unless schools are very different in France, I don’t think we’re dealing with students here. It is, as it is every single time you find violence, the radical left. Crazy, evil leftists willing to blindly throw bricks at police, loot stores, pummel anyone deemed impure and to do it all with a sense of superiority.” (10/20/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2026/10/20/france-has-to-stand-up-or-europe-could-fall-n2684946
Source: Politico
“Romania ended five months of political paralysis Tuesday with its parliament voting in Luca Niculescu as prime minister after three failed attempts to form a government — but the deal comes with a six-month deadline for the parties to strike a more lasting agreement. The threat of snap elections, which would likely see the populist right-wing Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) party surge, helped push the center-right National Liberal Party (PNL) and the center-left Social Democrats (PSD) to agree on a government led by independent Niculescu, a former journalist and diplomat who was nominated as prime minister by moderate President Nicușor Dan earlier this month. The socialists will join the cabinet, but the liberals will stay out.” (10/20/26)
https://www.politico.eu/article/romania-political-crisis-gets-6-month-truce-as-new-government-formed-luca-niculescu/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication
Source: The Dispatch
“A Constitutional Crisis Over a Golf Course.” (10/20/26)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/advisoryopinions/a-constitutional-crisis-over-a-golf-course/
Source: Show-Me Institute
“Socialism, Chavez, and the Collapse of Venezuela with Jim Epstein.” (10/20/26)
https://showmeinstitute.org/article/economy/socialism-chavez-and-the-collapse-of-venezuela-with-jim-epstein/
Source: Cato Institute
by Patrick G Eddington
“Documents obtained by Cato via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) reveal that more than a year before the 2026 midterms, the FBI was quietly building two election-related capabilities at once. The first was a set of internal ‘triggers’ that told field agents when they could investigate AI-generated or ‘synthetic’ political content — rules the Bureau is still keeping secret. The second was an apparently new headquarters post called the ‘FBI Election Executive,’ who stood up in mid-2025 to ‘handle preparations for the 2026 midterm cycle.’ In the months since that ‘Election Executive’ position became public, nearly every public trace of the official who holds it has disappeared — her LinkedIn profile has been taken down, and there is no findable record of her on the FBI’s own website.” (10/20/26)
https://www.cato.org/blog/fbi-built-secret-ai-election-investigation-rules-stood-election-executive-whose-public-trail
