Source: The American Conservative
by Andrew Day

“Welcome to the barfing-in-the-neighbors’-bushes hangover of Ukraine’s ‘turning the tide’ exuberance this summer. Actually, the exuberance phase was short-lived, so we’ve been feeling the crapulence since at least mid-July, when President Volodymyr Zelensky axed the popular Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. Days later, he fired Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi and, one day after that, Chief of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Andrii Hnatov. Wartime presidents don’t strike down their top military leaders when battlefield developments are coming up roses. … This Sunday, Zelensky slapped sanctions on his own former press secretary, Iulia Mendel, who has become one of his fiercest and most prominent critics. According to a presidential decree, Mendel spreads ‘Russian propaganda’ …. Not only will she face economic restrictions like asset freezes, but internet users within Ukraine will be blocked from accessing her social media accounts.” (09/16/26)

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/as-walls-close-in-zelensky-lashes-out/

Source: Law & Liberty
by Max Skjönsberg

“Gregory Conti sheds new light on John Stuart Mill’s political life, constitutional writings, and distinctive liberalism.” (09/16/26)

https://lawliberty.org/book-review/mills-liberalism-revisited/

Source: Libertarian Institute
by Nolan Denaro

“How could it be, then, that the same party touting its credibility in the fight against big-government economic planning is also led by a president who is offering every American adult a free $5,000? Is this not an example of the very economic interventionism Republicans claim to oppose? This creates a clear bind for the Republicans. Are they for ‘free markets’ or ‘free handouts?'” (09/16/26)

https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/republicans-ditch-free-markets-for-free-money

Source: The American Prospect
by Chris Murphy

“In my recent book, Crisis of the Common Good, I make the argument that our hyper-individualistic, market-obsessed culture has made us more isolated and less powerful. I think Donald Trump is a symptom of this spiritual unspooling. My book argues that happiness comes from a sense of connection and shared purpose with others, and that government should not outsource virtue or morality to private markets. I do not suggest the public sector should dictate one single version of ‘the good life’. I suggest it should instead seek, as an agent of the public will, to order our economy in a way that gives power and dignity to every actor in it, and our culture in a way that encourages communion and shared experience. The Argument’s Jerusalem Demsas, in her critique ‘No, Senator Murphy, I don’t want to join your cult,’ argues confidently for more or less a maintenance of the status quo.” (09/16/26)

https://prospect.org/2026/09/16/hidden-divide-that-shapes-our-politics/