Source: American Greatness
by Victor Davis Hanson

“The novelist J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973) repeatedly insisted that his epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings, written from 1937 to 1949, was not allegorical. But some scholars have argued otherwise, detecting contemporary, 20th-century influences in his storytelling. Tolkien fought at the nightmarish Battle of the Somme in World War I. He witnessed the slaughter of the youth of Europe in the trenches that lived with him the rest of his life. In the 1930s, he despaired over both the rise of the godless Communist Soviet Union and the transformation of a once-enlightened Germany into a monstrous fascist regime. Tolkien, a devout Catholic, was dismayed not only by the growing power of these totalitarian empires but also by the West’s urbanized industrialism and secularized modernism on the eve of World War II. In middle age, he lived through the even greater slaughter of World War II.” (10/06/26)

https://amgreatness.com/2026/10/06/are-we-becoming-gondor/

Source: Common Dreams
by Cynthia Kaufman

“The billionaires are putting our world at risk through support for unregulated AI, funding the fossil fuel industry, and undermining democracy. They are using their unprecedented levels of power to lead us toward multiple pathways of total human annihilation. Now is a good time to reflect on ways to challenge capitalism, a driving force behind the madness we face. And yet, on one side we have many people who are hesitant to name capitalism as a force behind destruction we face. On the other side, many of those few who do name capitalism use outdated and unhelpful frameworks for understanding how to challenge capitalism. Sven Beckert’s Capitalism: A Global History (Penguin 2025) is a book worth reading if you are interested in building a world past capitalism. Beckert’s original approach to understanding capitalism helps us to see possibilities for challenging it in the present precarious time we are living in.” (10/06/26)

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/build-world-post-capitalism

Source: The Bulwark
by Ilyse Hogue

“Most political professionals behaved as though Donald Trump’s bid for the presidency was a joke: an elaborate ruse to set up a new reality show. The internecine wars that viciously pitted Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders supporters against each other were largely in the rearview mirror, and Democrats were busy measuring Oval Office drapes and donning ‘I’m With Her’ t-shirts. … So when the Washington Post broke the Access Hollywood story on the afternoon of October 7—ten years ago this week—the immediate reaction in the D.C. corridors of power was disgust mixed with faux shock commingled with barely contained glee. The three-minute clip played to all of the priors of the Democratic establishment, which had remained convinced America would never elect this con man, now confirmed as a raging misogynist. Uttering ‘grab ’em by the pussy’ to Access Hollywood host Billy Bush was surely the final nail in Trump’s coffin.” (10/06/26)

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/access-hollywood-metoo-ten-years-on-social-contract

Source: Libertarian Institute
by Charles Goyette

“[T]he St. Louis Fed offers us YouTube videos on How to Pay Down Credit Card Debt, and Budgeting 101 (‘Making a budget is like planning a road trip for your personal finances’). The self-described ‘very stable genius’ in the White House was not able to contemplate that his elective war on Iran would see the Strait of Hormuz shut down and America’s security umbrella over the Persian Gulf states get pummeled. Which falls into the category of their business. Yet his administration explains to us how to do our grocery shopping. Which falls into the category of our business. It is arrogant, presumptuous, and insulting. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins offered the latest installment recently. Confronted with complaints about soaring beef prices, Rollins had a straightforward solution: ‘If beef is too expensive…you can eat chicken, pork, salmon, eggs.’ Or cake?” (10/06/260

https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/let-them-eat-chicken/

Source: Washington Monthly
by Bill Scher

“New data shows the GOP’s money advantage has narrowed because it relies too heavily on super PACs, which pay more for broadcast ads.” (10/06/26)

https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/10/06/the-republican-plan-to-buy-the-election-got-too-expensive/

Source: Antiwar.com
by John Mearsheimer

“The Trump administration and its supporters – including the Wall Street Journal editorial page – are working overtime these days to spin the news around the Iran war to make it appear that the US is winning and Tehran had better submit to Washington’s demands before it is wrecked, maybe even ‘annihilated.’ Indeed, Trump is preparing the option of bringing the military hammer down on Iran after the midterm elections if Tehran has not surrendered by then. In effect, Trump and his supporters are waging a ‘maximum pressure campaign’ against Iran in the mainstream media. This campaign is sure to fail.” (10/06/26)

https://original.antiwar.com/john-mearsheimer/2026/10/05/trumps-big-bluff-on-iran