Around the Block, Around the World…So Very Much to Consider

I will keep the editorial comments to a minimum in this piece; there is a lot to think about and there is plenty of professional content to review.  The Mid-Term Elections are approaching and sucking the air out of the room.  The Supreme Court of the United States continues its struggles to interpret the ridiculous legal content of Congress, the Trump Administration, and the lower Federal Court System.  The American Educational Collective continues to wander about in search of its fundamental purpose.  While Trump addresses the world at the United Nations…the Iran Conflict grinds on…and Canada continues dating the EU.    The carnival staff has escaped and been elected to public office in Kentucky and WDC.  Technology has become the new boogeyman of the left.  And finally…while the Economy is sound, people cannot get past the high price of gas and diesel; be very careful what you wish for.  The world and our country are evolving; and it is happening quickly.

 

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The November elections that are rapidly closing on us will be a monumental political marker in the history of this nation.  At this point in time, the anticipated climax of that event is extremely hard to predict.  There are many facets to this dynamic and only time will tell what the results will be.  Think carefully before you cast your vote…and then, cast your vote.

 

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/wkdnearly-90-midterm-races-not-competitive-all-analysis

 

https://amgreatness.com/2026/09/20/the-political-weather-is-changing/

 

https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/09/20/both-parties-aiming-lose-election/

 

https://thefederalist.com/2026/09/24/exclusive-trump-admin-releases-blueprint-to-protect-election-infrastructure-ahead-of-midterms/

 

https://amgreatness.com/2026/09/24/individualism-versus-collectivism-is-on-the-ballot-in-november/

 

Perhaps the “least of two evils” is in play here … https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/09/23/one-bright-spot-for-republicans/

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning-jolt/the-republican-abandonment-of-donald-trump-begins/

 

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/elections/minnesota-senate-race-locked-dead-heat-dems-beset-state-welfare-fraud

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning-jolt/the-democrats-2026-midterm-freak-show/

 

https://amgreatness.com/2026/09/19/calling-bullsh-t-on-james-talarico/

 

https://newsbusters.org/blogs/cnsnews/craig-bannister/2026/09/24/el-sayed-once-called-president-purge-media-and-police

 

https://freebeacon.com/democrats/abdul-el-sayed-quietly-headlines-fundraiser-alongside-hamas-loving-activist-who-urged-jews-to-be-sent-back-to-poland-speaker-who-backs-islamic-militants/

 

https://freebeacon.com/democrats/abdul-el-sayed-called-on-egypts-muslim-brotherhood-to-purge-the-media-and-police-shortly-before-islamic-government-arrested-reporters-for-insulting-islam/

 

Democrat Party policy goals are clear.  Is this what you want for America’s…and YOUR CHILDREN’S… future?

 

https://jonathanturley.org/2026/09/24/bring-on-the-generals-roughly-60-percent-of-polled-democrats-would-support-a-military-coup/

 

https://amgreatness.com/2026/09/19/the-fall-of-california/

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/virginias-misleading-bid-for-no-limits-abortion-and-beyond/

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/2026/09/no-on-virginia-amendment-1/

 

Have both of our national political parties lost their way?  In the words of Pink Floyd:  “Hello….Is there anybody out there?”….

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/the-next-vibe-shift/

 

Crime and Justice…

 

https://jonathanturley.org/2026/09/20/unpacking-the-narrative-the-supreme-court-remains-a-court-of-consensus/

 

https://jonathanturley.org/2026/09/23/second-shot-at-the-second-amendment-could-heller-be-undone-by-an-errant-qualifier/#more-249564

 

https://jonathanturley.org/2026/09/20/fake-news-or-viewpoint-discrimination-can-the-president-ban-disfavored-media/#more-249522

 

https://reason.com/2026/09/18/lindsay-clancys-holdout-juror-did-what-jurors-are-supposed-to-do/

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/ninth-circuit-vacates-ruling-putting-men-in-womens-prison-in-oregon/

 

https://justthenews.com/nation/crime/two-tiered-justice-local-das-shield-noncitizens-immigration-consequences

 

https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/database-noncitizen-voters-donald-trump/2026/09/25/id/1270693/

 

Education…Education…Education…

 

https://jamesgmartin.center/2026/09/three-year-bachelors-degrees-states/

 

https://freebeacon.com/campus/an-f-for-yale-university-president-maurie-mcinnis/

 

https://jonathanturley.org/2026/09/18/the-purge-princeton-faculty-reach-perfect-zero-support-for-republicans/

 

https://amgreatness.com/2026/09/23/scores-on-pisa-are-leaning-the-wrong-way/

 

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2026/09/who-defends-the-decline-in-higher-education.php

 

https://jamesgmartin.center/2026/09/prestige-economy-higher-education/

 

Foreign Policy…

 

There is the Middle East…

 

For the life of me…I cannot understand our country, many of its people, and many of its institutions.  Israel is the only nation in the Middle East that even comes close to having a government similar to America’s … and it relishes the same principles and freedoms as we do.  Yet many Americans today…even elected leaders…spew anti-Semitic venom with every ounce of energy they possess. 

 

While the Prime Minister of Israel stands to address the United Nations General Assembly in New York City and watches representatives of supposedly free nations and so-called American allies walk out … the President of Iran, the nation that has sponsored the death of thousands of Americans and is currently doing all it can to kill American soldiers in the Middle East is being interviewed as the headline guest on the FOX Special Report with Bret Baier.  What the hell is wrong with these people?

 

 American soldiers have fought and died side-by-side with Israeli soldiers.  Are we so deluded as to have become incapable of distinguishing between good and evil?  The unabashed mantra of Iran is “Death to America”.  America and Israel share military secrets, assets, strategies, and implementations as if we were joined at the hip.  We fight and die together…for the same cause. 

 

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) rules Iran with a cruel and sadistic hand.  It brutally abuses its own people in abhorrent fashion.  The medieval and Nazi-esque acts perpetrated by Hamas and Hezbollah against the Jewish people on October 7 were hideous and malevolent; they were truly beyond the pale of heinous.  War is vicious…war is hell; but October 7 was Satan incarnate. 

 

The IRGC makes no effort whatsoever to deny what it is and what its mission is.  Yet somehow…it has found legions of useful idiots to support its cause in the nations that it seeks to destroy.  Radical Islam does not strive to coexist; it strives to dominate and indoctrinate.  America today truly stands upon the precipice of Alice’s looking glass.

 

https://www.newsmax.com/world/globaltalk/israel-palestinians-abbas-netanyahu/2026/09/24/id/1270604/

 

https://reason.com/2026/09/18/trumps-4-week-war-with-iran-approaches-month-7/

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-trump-un-speech-annihilate-threat-talks-resume/

 

https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/muslim-brotherhood-campaign-islamize-canada

 

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2026/09/do-you-condemn-the-irgc.php

 

And there is everything else…

 

https://justthenews.com/government/white-house/trump-0

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning-jolt/venezuelas-golden-opportunity/

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/trump-china-xi-jinping-state-visit-dinner-tariffs-ai/

 

https://amgreatness.com/2026/09/23/are-we-once-again-overestimating-an-authoritarian-superpower/

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning-jolt/one-way-or-another-change-is-coming-to-cuba/

 

https://americanmind.org/salvo/trump-attacks-cartels-at-the-root/

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/2026/09/the-canada-eu-folly/

 

https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/09/20/hanson-fantasy-house-mark-carney/

 

https://reason.com/2026/09/17/canada-is-moving-closer-to-europe-trumps-tariffs-help-explain-why/

 

https://www.newsmax.com/politics/carney-canada-eu-trump-parliament-speech/2026/09/17/id/1269836/

 

I’m no diplomat, but this sure sounds like a good deal to me…

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2026/09/terms-of-the-greenland-deal.php

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-u-s-greenland-deal-security-denmark-bases/

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/denmark-greenland-leaders-us-security-deal-trump/

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/2026/09/trumps-costly-greenland-play/

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-greenland-deal-denmark-united-nations/

 

https://thefederalist.com/2026/09/21/trumps-greenland-deal-makes-the-world-more-secure-and-makes-the-media-less-relevant-than-ever/

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-us-drone-defense-deal-kyiv-iran-war/

 

https://www.newsmax.com/world/globaltalk/zelenskyy-rubio-warn-ukraine-war-could-spread-beyond-borders/2026/09/23/id/1270436/

 

Two stories that demonstrate how our elected leaders can act like clowns; both of these guys are certainly capable of that…

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-triumphal-arch-arlington-top-grade-military-complex/

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/democrat-andy-beshear-on-pursuing-the-great-american-reset/

 

Technology is overwhelming the world and we are all racing to keep up…

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/shazam-shasm-laws-and-the-first-amendment/

 

https://reason.com/2026/09/21/no-warrant-no-suspicion-no-problem-flock-and-border-cellphone-searches-excluded-from-4th-amendment-rules/

 

https://jewishworldreview.com/0926/hammer091826.php

 

https://victorhanson.com/ai-and-the-same-old-politicized-hysteria/

 

https://americanmind.org/salvo/the-ai-capitalists-in-search-of-cronies/

 

https://mag.commonplace.org/p/how-to-worry-about-ai

 

Someone…a human being or beings…must load the basic logic into a Super Intelligence effort, device, or system.  We should be very, very careful about precisely who does this and it MUST be transparent…

https://freebeacon.com/america/suicidal-compassion-meet-the-anthropic-officials-who-think-ai-might-be-justified-in-going-rogue-against-the-humans-enslaving-it/

 

Election integrity is improving… https://www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme-court-trump-save-database-voter-citizenship/

 

The Trump Administration has competent and intelligent people guiding our economy.  It is reducing the size of government, attempting to bring fiscal integrity back to entitlement programs, and doing its best to revitalize American industry and investment.  If it would only turn this zeal and energy towards reducing federal spending…

 

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2026/09/a-booming-economy-who-cares.php

 

https://newsbusters.org/blogs/cnsnews/craig-bannister/2026/09/23/benefits-trumps-2025-tax-cuts-touted-manufacturers-all-50

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/proof-trump-s-economy-is-better-than-they-re-telling-you/ar-AA2cOCjA?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=6ab3e1fa2d8d44f5a44a257e759a6ecf&ei=118

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/trump-administration-removes-760000-aca-enrollees-citing-fraud-and-improper-enrollment/

 

The U.S. Congress is Guilty of Nonfeasance

Several years back, I had the opportunity to work with several of my peers from around America in a coordinated effort to promote the federal agency we worked for and civil service employee status to Congress.  It was a great experience and I still value the sights, sounds, and impressions I gained from visiting with our WDC elected officials and their staffs on Capitol Hill.  I can still recall eating lunch in the Longworth, Rayburn, Dirksen, and Russell cafeterias…watching the personalities I had only viewed in the media prior to that time as they interacted with each other. 

 

The brief and whirlwind meetings me and my peers held with Representatives, Senators, and their staff members were a marvelous insight into the legislative process that drives our nation’s government.  The constant demand for the time of elected officials was driven home to me by the tight and demanding schedules we had to maintain.  It seemed that everyone was constantly seeking a piece of their attention.  Is it any wonder that at some point, regardless of their innermost humility and modesty, these folks begin to think that perhaps their station in life is a bit higher than that of their constituents?  I dare say that any one of us who was placed in that politically-charged environment for a term or two would eventually forget where we came from and who we represented.  They tend to lose touch with reality.

 

My brief and non-professional lobbying efforts helped move me to be a strong supporter of term limits.  I wrote about this some time back: https://centerlineright.blogspot.com/2018/11/a-place-to-begin.html .  I realize that there is a downside to losing a good man or woman from public service simply because they have served up to a term limit.  I acknowledge that there would also be an experience loss for the membership turnover in the House and Senate.  But to me, these costs pale when compared to the benefit of guaranteeing a new and fresh perspective on tackling the challenges faced by our Congress.  There will always be good, bad, and indifferent Senators and Representatives.  The voters will make that choice.  But one choice that could be made is to eliminate the possibility of a career politician who has atrophied in their empathy for those they serve.

 

I recall how awed I was when walking through the Senate office buildings in WDC.  The supersized scale of the halls, doors, windows, stairs, and furniture was simply hard to ignore.  I have said many times since those days that the nearest thing we have to royalty in this country is a two-term Senator.  I also cling to the opinion that most every sitting Senator in WDC today believes in their own mind that they should the president.   Considering some that we have elected over the last couple of decades…regrettably, many of them are correct in that belief.

 

At some point in the mid 1990’s, a power shift began transferring effectual power and authority from the Legislative Branch over to the Executive Branch.  This was a bipartisan, organic occurrence stemming from both ultra-ambitious presidents and non-motivated, lackadaisical Congressmen and women.  Congress began generating legislation that is poorly written, non-specific, and underdeveloped in that it gives sweeping authority and discretion to Department Secretaries and other high-ranking officials. 

 

This poor authorship leads to partisan political appointees filling in the blanks of loosely-worded federal rules and regulations that sometimes end up being light years removed from their original intent.  It is simply ill-considered, at times incoherent, and fails miserably when anticipating real and collateral effect.  Congress has eschewed the hard work of generating detailed, rational, and substantive legislation…based on facts and research…and instead focuses the bulk of their energies and resources on maintaining their own political careers and the standing of their respective parties.

 

Presented with this opening, Democrat and Republican presidents alike took the ball and ran with it.  Executive Actions became the flavor du jour when partisan concerns made routine and proper legislative functions tedious.  Bills were not written with a long view of constituent benefit; but were instead crafted by deep-pocketed corporations, vested entities, and their professional lobbyists. 

 

Abraham Lincoln’s line from his Gettysburg address has long been forgotten… “…government of the people, by the people, for the people”.  The simple function of writing and passing 12…TWELVE…ONE PER MONTH…annual appropriation bills before their effective date of the succeeding fiscal year has apparently become a bridge too far for our Legislative Branch of government to cross. 

 

The constitutional formula of beginning the legislative process in the House…where America’s working men and women would ideally serve two or three terms and then return home to their families and careers…has become all too rare.  Thomas Jefferson referred to the “hot tea of House legislation moving over to the Senate for cooling”; that process has become extinct.  Gone are the halcyon days when House and Senate versions of a particular bill would go to a conference committee, where thoughtful debate and compromise could lead to actual law.  These days, it is common for legislation to go the president’s desk without specificity and clear intent.  It has become routine to have omnibus and “Big Beautiful” bills that represent a hodgepodge of self-serving gifts that will be bankrolled by the taxpayers. Just as Nancy Pelosi famously said about the Affordable Care Act…they had to pass it to find out what was in it.  

 

Our Congress is myopic, lazy, and fully enthralled with themselves and their political futures.  They should be term-limited.  They should be subject to the same rules, regulations, and civil service benefits as are all other federal employees, and they should be required to attend an annual, pre-session training on the U.S. Constitution: https://sutherlandinstitute.org/learning-about-america-through-primary-sources-constitution-of-the-united-states/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23075461182&gbraid=0AAAAADfu1j5-8i9uMW62f3kJJ48GkTEJs&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIydXYxYiIlgMVEE7_AR16gSPQEAAYASAAEgJj3vD_BwE .  All of the Senate and House ethics committee hearing transcripts should be available to the public; with proper redacting to protect non-elected individuals. 

 

The voters of America should be held to account for the malfeasance of the elected officials we send to Congress.  We deserve the government we elect.  America: We need to do better.  But our Constitution clearly sets forth the duties and responsibilities of that Congress, and their ongoing nonfeasance in adhering to that blueprint is inexcusable.  Congress: You need to do better.  Our Constitution is a masterful document that not only sets forth a brilliant and noble ideal…it clearly defines its parts, their functions, and most importantly…the balance of their powers.  Congress will legislate; our President will lead and manage; our Courts will insure fealty to the law.  Our nation has strayed from this premise.  If we are to remain the envy of the world and the bastion of freedom and hope, we must return to these principles.

 

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Crime and Justice…

 

President Trump does pretty much as he damn well pleases when executing his official duties.  In fact, he oftentimes broadly oversteps his power and authority when he endeavors to do things “his way”.  His railing against various SCOTUS rulings is a case in point.  Although I have trouble understanding the logic expressed by various Justices (esp Roberts), the simple fact is that SCOTUS must interpret the law as it is written.  Trump would have them twist the laws they consider in a fashion he finds amenable.  It just doesn’t work that way.  If we want better laws, then the President must work with the Congress to pass better legislation, which then leads to better laws.  Do the work.

 

https://reason.com/2026/09/15/trump-again-condemns-his-supreme-court-nominees-as-too-cowardly-to-agree-with-him/

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/on-todays-ruling-on-birthright-citizenship/

 

https://jonathanturley.org/2026/07/01/the-28th-amendment-will-trump-v-barbara-be-the-final-word-on-birthright-citizenship/

 

https://www.newsmax.com/politics/trump-supreme-court-vote-by-mail/2026/09/15/id/1269481/

 

https://reason.com/2026/09/15/why-a-trump-appointed-judge-just-blocked-the-presidents-mail-in-ballot-restrictions/

 

https://amgreatness.com/2026/09/15/morning-greatness-scotus-rejects-trump-bid-to-revive-strict-mail-ballot-rules-before-midterms/

 

https://reason.com/2026/09/17/thomas-and-alito-are-more-reliable-votes-for-trump-than-his-own-supreme-court-appointees/

 

THIS is how a Republican President and a Republican Congress should change the law…

 

https://jonathanturley.org/2026/09/16/sen-paul-introduces-birthright-citizenship-amendment/

 

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/22/text

 

THIS is why the law needs to be changed…

 

https://thefederalist.com/2026/09/15/in-corrupt-milwaukee-election-integrity-dies-in-darkness/

 

https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/jeff-van-drew-voters-illegal-aliens/2026/09/16/id/1269643/

 

Education…Education…Education…

 

https://jamesgmartin.center/2026/09/general-education-requirements-college-core/

 

https://amgreatness.com/2026/09/15/its-time-to-revoke-the-activist-teachers-unions-federal-charter/

 

Foreign Policy…

 

https://amgreatness.com/2026/09/17/iran-the-midterms-and-october-surprises/

 

Will we ever learn?

 

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22863/hamas-elections-mistake

 

THIS is Europe (i.e. the EU)…

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/2026/09/germanys-mess/

 

Canadian Prime Minister Carney wants to ditch America for the EU?  He is OF Europe, BY Europe, and FOR Europe…but he runs Canada.  Methinks PM Carney is into self harm…

 

https://amgreatness.com/2026/09/15/the-fantasy-house-of-mark-carney/

 

It is time for Trump to stop playing patty cake with Putin and use the authority Congress is giving him to punish Russia for its bad behavior…

 

https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/russia-sanctions-bill-2/

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/house-votes-russia-sanctions-bill/

 

https://understandingwar.org/research/defense-of-europe/the-russian-military-campaign-against-europe-defining-the-threat/

 

The Economy…

 

The fundamentals are in place…

 

https://newsbusters.org/blogs/cnsnews/craig-bannister/2026/09/16/household-income-set-record-high-2025

 

Fed Chair Kevin Warsh appears to be a highly qualified and independent-minded official.  It is refreshing that he refrains from showboating and carrying the Trump Administration’s water.  The root causes of the affordability crisis were created by the Biden Administration, but it is up to the Trump Administration to deal with it.  The only way to deal with it is to BRING DOWN THE INFLATION RATE. 

 

Trump should be quiet and let the man he appointed do his job.  Inflation is like compound interest…it continues to build upon itself.  Over Biden’s four years, inflation drove up prices by 21.5 percent.  That is a monthly average of the annual inflation rate at 4.9 percent.  The highest monthly annual inflation rate thus far under Trump is 3.4 percent.  That pales in comparison to Biden, but it is still too high.

 

https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/current-inflation-rates/

 

https://www.newsmax.com/us/trump-pushes-back-after-fed-raises-rates-to-fight-inflation/2026/09/16/id/1269688/

 

THIS is how you bring down inflation…

 

https://justthenews.com/government/white-house/trump-working-spare-us-effects-global-oil-crunch-eyeing-venezuela-and-fast

 

Technology…

 

AI is the future; denying that fact will not change the reality.  America must lead in this new frontier.  Congress must strike a balance between implementing thoughtful and evolving guardrails to protect corruptive influences in this new technology, while simultaneously doing all it can to insure that the U.S. leads the world in this critical field.  This discussion should not be political; it is not an either/or game.  The single best way to monitor AI is to establish TRANSPARENCY; not to establish GOVERNMENT CONTROL.

 

https://americanmind.org/memo/catechizing-the-bots/

 

https://reason.com/2026/09/14/ai-executives-want-international-regulation-they-could-just-slow-down-themselves/

 

https://www.newsnationnow.com/business/tech/ai/openai-new-cases-ai-model-behavior/

 

https://amgreatness.com/2026/09/16/dario-amodeis-brain-trust-of-bad-ideas/

 

Coming to a street near you…We MUST have guardrails and transparency; absolute power corrupts absolutely…

 

https://reason.com/2026/09/16/trump-backs-flock-cameras-continuing-his-long-time-support-for-unchecked-police-power/

 

The Approaching Mid-Term Elections…and Beyond…

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/2026/09/republicans-should-run-against-medicare-for-all/

 

What should we consider when casting our upcoming votes?

 

https://centerlineright.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-vision-i-seek.html

 

https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2026/09/15/too-good-to-check-a-virtual-dead-heat-in-minnesota-n3819019

 

https://freebeacon.com/democrats/abdul-el-sayeds-imam-scrubs-videos-of-sermons-lauding-hamas-leader-urging-congregants-to-vote-for-el-sayed/