Reasonably Optimistic, 10/14/26
Source: Washington Post
“The fight for fed-up voters in the 2026 midterms.” (10/14/26)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/impromptu/the-fight-for-fedup-voters-in-the-2026-midterms/
The Politics of Solar Energy Are Getting Weird, Mean, and a Little MAGA
Source: Wired
by Noah Shachtman
“A mysteriously named political action committee has started running ads reminding voters in Colorado about that time GOP representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado and her date were caught on camera in 2023 getting handsy during a performance of the musical Beetlejuice. That same PAC is producing a spot hitting Anthony Constantino, a Trumpist congressional candidate in upstate New York, because someone used his sticker-printing company to briefly make stickers that read, ‘Kill the Police.’ Attack ads are everywhere in the last month ahead of November’s election. But these spots are a little different. The semi-anonymous PAC that’s funding and making the ads, the Invest in Tomorrow Coalition, is a pro-solar-energy outfit.” (10/14/26)
Republican Candidates Break with Trump on Tariffs
Source: Independent Institute
by Brady Leonard
“All eyes are on the Upper Midwest as both parties battle for control of Congress this November. Democrats need to flip four Senate seats to take control of the upper chamber, and the hotly contested race between former Republican Congressman Mike Rogers and progressive Democrat Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan could be the deciding factor. The RealClearPolitics polling average has El-Sayed up by over three points, although many recent polls have the race well within the margin of error. Interestingly, in an attempt to make up ground, Mike Rogers has released a new ad this week that directly breaks with President Trump’s trade policies, explicitly targeting the 50% tariff imposed on Canadian goods.” (10/14/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/10/14/republican-candidates-trump-tariffs/
Germany: Ukrainian soldier goes on trial over sabotage of Nord Stream gas pipelines
Source: The Guardian
“A Ukrainian soldier has gone on trial in Hamburg accused of taking part in one of the most brazen acts of sabotage in postwar European history – the 2022 attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines between Russia and Germany. Serhii Kuznetsov, a special forces officer from the Ukrainian military, is accused by prosecutors of being an accomplice to war crimes by attacking civilian infrastructure, causing an explosion, damaging property and disrupting public services. … He is alleged to have prepared and carried out the detonation of at least four incendiary devices of up to 27kg in weight at a depth of about 80 metres under the Baltic Sea, close to the Danish island of Bornholm.” (10/14/26)
Parallax Views w/ JG Michael, 10/14/26
Source: Parallax Views w/ JG Michael
“Ori Goldberg Tribute Part 2 w/ a Special Introduction by J.G. Michael.” (10/14/26)
A Nobel for Microfoundations
Source: EconLog
by Jon Murphy
“Under the Keynesian model, a given increase in income will mechanically generate a given increase in consumption, and thus national output. Readers with a background in economics will recognize this as the Keynesian multiplier. But what Hall showed, building off Friedman, is that such a mechanical relationship is conditional, at best. Whether the change in income was anticipated or unexpected, permanent or temporary, will influence how effective the policy will be.” (10/14/26)
https://www.econlib.org/econlog/a-nobel-for-microfoundations
The Liberal Gentleman
Source: Law & Liberty
by James Hankins
“William F. Buckley may not have fully subscribed to liberal principles, but he lived them.” (10/14/260
Netflix to lay off 1,000 staff in steepest cuts since 2022
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Netflix has said it will cut 1,000 jobs globally as the streaming giant faces competition from rivals. The cuts – the steepest since 2022 – will mainly affect its human resources, legal, product and technology teams and equates to around 6% of its total workforce. Last month, Netflix ‘s co-chief executive, Ted Sarandos, told the Bloomberg Screentime summit that the company was ‘not growing as fast as I want us to’. The streaming industry is going through a period of consolidation following Paramount’s $110bn (£83.6bn) merger with Warner Bros, the owner of HBO, while free platforms such as YouTube and TikTok continue to attract viewers. In an email to staff, Sarandos and co-chief executive Greg Peters said Netflix would ‘continue to invest aggressively in high-impact areas to improve our service and further drive growth and innovation’.” (10/14/26)
UK: Island fossil identified as new dinosaur species
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“A new species of dinosaur (a long-clawed predator the size of a large tiger) has been identified from a fossil found on the Isle of Wight more than 100 years ago. The dinosaur, named Invictibellatrix amberina, is described in a new paper in the journal Royal Society Open Science and belongs to a group of agile, two-legged carnivores called megaraptorans. Megaraptorans were closely related to tyrannosaurs including Tyrannosaurus rex but had slender heads and attacked prey with their large arms and giant curved claws instead of their jaws. Dr Cassius Morrison of University College London (UCL) said it was ‘a real mystery’ why the fossil – a chunk of the back of a skull – had been overlooked in the Natural History Museum.” (10/14/26)
The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 10/14/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump Rages as New Press Sec Debut Fiasco Harshly Mocked Even by MAGA.” (10/14/26)