Source: Reason
by Joe Lancaster

“Unlike most of his superhero compatriots, the Punisher is an unrepentant murderer, focused less on restorative justice than on simply massacring his enemies. He is quite possibly the worst role model comics have ever produced. While sometimes a thrilling story of a man able to right the wrongs he sees in the world, the Punisher also functions as an indictment of feckless or corrupt police and a military that sends people off to kill but does too little when they come home damaged. Some of the people who lionize the character these days miss that point — to our detriment.” (for publication 12/25)

https://reason.com/2025/11/02/the-punisher-isnt-a-role-model/

Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton

“An appeals court has reversed a lower court ruling that a Wisconsin mother defamed a teacher of her children, and the school district, in a social media post in 2022. Calling her ‘Woke’ and sarcastically a ‘White savior’ because of what was being taught and noting that the teacher was also the school’s DEI coordinator was just an opinion and vague enough to not merit a charge of defamation. Scarlett Johnson, the mom, said the lawsuit was intended to intimidate her and others, especially members of the Wisconsin chapter of Moms for Liberty. We would tend to agree, given that it has taken three years to get to this point. … It is not just government-run schools and DEI advocates and the like who try to intimidate and even punish people for speaking out.” (11/02/25)

https://thepriceofliberty.org/2025/11/01/pushing-free-speech-where/

Source: The American Prospect
by Gabrielle Gurley

“Throughout the course of Virginia’s only gubernatorial debate, Abigail Spanberger fixed her eyes on the middle distance as Winsome Earle-Sears unleashed a relentless barrage of interruptions. Spanberger, a former Democratic member of Congress and CIA operations officer, and Earle-Sears, the Republican lieutenant governor, descended into a series of bizarre scenes so often that viewers were probably wondering what they’d stumbled into. It had everything: exasperated moderators, rapid-fire questions on the government shutdown, the state’s controversial car tax, and more, followed by answers that had to clock in at 60 seconds. Earle-Sears even managed to insert herself into Spanberger’s closing remarks. If Saturday Night Live writers want to turn it into a skit, as they did with Sarah Palin in 2008, they won’t have to do much.” [editor’s note: Fearful for NJ if this witch ascends to the throne – SAT] (11/03/25)

https://prospect.org/2025/11/03/virginia-governors-race-major-test-for-democrats/

Source: Washington Monthly
by Zach Marcus

“Instead of accepting the existing digital political battlefield as inevitable, Democrats should challenge it as a root cause of our dysfunctional politics, and vow to be the party that cleans it up.” (11/02/25)

https://washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/02/social-media-reform-democrats/

Source: exile in happy valley
by Nicky Reid

“Thousands of years ago, on the sacred rock from which my ancestors fled, this season of the year was celebrated as Samhain, an ancient Celtic festival marking the end of the summer harvest and the beginning of the darker months of the year. This was also a time of sacred upheaval and spiritual transformation, when the veil between the material world and the spirit world was thin, allowing lost spirits to return to earth and the normal roles of society to be inverted. At twilight, the craggy hills of the moors were alive with the glow of massive bonfires set by peasants embracing the darkness in drag. Eventually, this became what is now known as Halloween and it is really little wonder considering those roots that what became known as Halloween became less commonly known among my people as ‘Queer Christmas.'” (11/02/25)

https://exileinhappyvalley.blogspot.com/2025/11/a-samhain-message-to-embattled-trans.html

Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp

“let’s take [White House Office of Legal Counsel chief T. Elliot] Gaiser at his word for a moment: If the drone strike campaign in the Caribbean isn’t war, what is it? It’s not law enforcement. In law enforcement, there are investigations, charges filed, judicial warrants issued, and attempts at arrest. These drone strikes include none of those elements except, supposedly, investigations. They also take place entirely outside the legal jurisdiction of the United States. Not war. Not law enforcement. What, then? Murder. Murder most foul. Murder plain and simple.” (11/02/25)

https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20133