Incoming Feed Items

Land tax retreat is a betrayal of working Victorians

— Organisation: Prosper Australia — Sunday 4th October 2026

Prosper Australia has condemned the Victorian Government’s decision to unwind its land tax reforms, warning that the move puts short-term political relief ahead of the long-term interests of working Victorians. Premier Ben Carroll has announced that Victoria’s land tax-free threshold will progressively return to $300,000, ultimately removing around 250,000 people from the land tax system. […]

The post Land tax retreat is a betrayal of working Victorians first appeared on Prosper Australia.

Tune In, Drop Out, Start Up

— Organisation: The Claremont Institute — Friday 2nd October 2026

Because I’m going to be quite critical of Theo Baker’s How to Rule the World, it feels only right to start with three pieces of sincere praise: the book held my attention all the way to the end, I learned things from it, and I read it twice. These are not reactions I expect most new books to generate, let alone one written by someone not yet of legal drinking age. Hence on this basis alone, I would have to concede that Rule (borrowing Baker’s shorthand for a “secret” Stanford class, about which more below) is a real achievement.

Why the Populist Right Is Gaining Ground

— Organisation: The Claremont Institute — Friday 2nd October 2026

The first round of Brazil’s presidential election is on Sunday. Two candidates are locked in a dead heat: Lula da Silva, incumbent president and founder of the center-left Workers’ Party, and Flávio Bolsonaro, the 45-year-old son of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro (2018-2022). Last year, Jair Bolsonaro was convicted of plotting a coup to remain in power after losing the 2022 election and sentenced to more than 27 years in prison.

The parallels between Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro are notable. They were elected in 2016 and 2018, respectively. Both are populist nationalists. Both are coarse, politically incorrect, and hostile to critics. Most remarkably, both lost re-election, after which supporters stormed the halls of Congress seeking to overturn the result. Though Trump, in contrast to Bolsonaro, avoided prison and returned to office, both command die-hard support and lead political movements that dominate the Right in their countries.

It is reasonable to ask why two countries as different as the U.S. and Brazil have followed such similar political tracks since the late 2010s. Why did the Trump model work in Brazil? Trump’s signature issues—illegal immigration and tariffs—were irrelevant there. To answer this question, we need to step back and consider populism in broad terms.

The Greens’ new leader | Between the Lines

— Organisation: The Australia Institute — Friday 2nd October 2026

From our CEOs – with Richard Denniss

The Greens’ recent switch from Larissa Waters to David Shoebridge was both rapid and polite. But while the change might have come as a surprise, what is more predictable is the hand wringing from much of the commentariat and the PM about whether the Greens should be ‘populist’ or ‘pragmatic’, and whether they should act like a ‘party of government’ or a ‘party of protest’.

Have you ever heard that question asked of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation?

Senator Shoebridge has taken on one of the most powerful roles in Australia at the midpoint in the Albanese Government’s second term. To be clear, whenever the Prime Minister can’t get Angus Taylor to support his proposed laws his next call is, quite literally, to the Greens.

While the PM may take comfort in the fact that Angus Taylor is so receptive to much of Labor’s legislative agenda, for example his recent cuts to the NDIS and his weak efforts on gambling reform, much to his frustration sometimes his Cabinet and party room push him to do things that even Angus won’t support. And that’s when he needs the Greens’ 10 votes in the Senate to combine with Labor’s 30 to get the minimum 39 votes he needs to pass a bill through the Senate.

Obviously, Anthony Albanese would like the Greens to hand those 10 votes over for free, and obviously both the Greens elected representatives and their voters want them to extract a progressive price. And that’s where Senator Shoebridge’s job becomes so interesting.

September 2026 Newsletter

— Organisation: Open Access Australasia — Friday 2nd October 2026

George Washington’s Wisdom for the Midterms

— Organisation: The Claremont Institute — Thursday 1st October 2026

The 2026 midterm elections present a tough environment for the Republican Party, raising questions about how to campaign in such challenging circumstances. As is often the case in American politics, the economy is a central concern for voters. In the last few weeks, prices—particularly for gas—have been too high for the comfort of any incumbent party. What have Republicans been saying to assuage voters’ concerns?

Some have taken a kind of high road, encouraging or even admonishing voters to rise above self-interest and consider the loftier aims President Trump and his administration are pursuing. Yes, gas prices may be high, but the president is trying to end the Iranian threat to American national security. This process is taking longer and causing more economic pain than anyone would like. But it is worth it for the nation in the long run, and so patriotic voters should toughen up. So the argument runs.

This approach, however, has no shortage of critics. They think it is futile or worse (maybe insulting) to tell ordinary voters, whose economic means are increasingly limited, to grin and bear higher prices on the necessities of life. This environment, they suggest, is a recipe for electoral disaster for the Republican Party.

Thérèse Casgrain: An Unlikely Social Democrat

— Publication: Perspectives Journal — Thursday 1st October 2026

Listen to the full conversation on the Perspectives Journal podcast, available to subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Amazon Music, and all other major podcast platforms.

Adam Creighton: Land tax should replace stamp duty and substantially reduce income taxes

— Organisation: Prosper Australia — Thursday 24th September 2026

Renowned economist and journalist Adam Creighton will describe land tax as “the most unsuccessful great idea in economic history”, remaining a tiny share of government revenues despite having strong intellectual support from economists across the political spectrum, from Friedman to Stiglitz over centuries. “Australia has a fascinating and promising history of land tax reform, from […]

The post Adam Creighton: Land tax should replace stamp duty and substantially reduce income taxes first appeared on Prosper Australia.

Big Gas still taking the piss: New data shows zero tax paid by major exporters

— Organisation: The Australia Institute — Thursday 1st October 2026

The new ATO data has prompted renewed calls for the introduction of a flat 25% gas export tax, which Australia Institute research estimates would raise $17 billion a year.

Just last week, The Australia Institute released a sequel to its popular Big Gas Is Taking The Piss ad campaign. Today, the ATO underlined the failure of the existing tax arrangements on gas exports.

Today’s ATO data reveals:

Santos Limited has racked up an 11th straight year of paying zero corporate tax payments from a total of nearly $52 billion in sales.
Darwin’s Ichthys LNG Pty Ltd paid zero corporate tax or PRRT for the 7th year running, from a total of $53 billion in sales.
Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT) revenue was a mere $1.8 billion, down from a peak of $2.0 billion in 2021-22.

“Every Australian should be furious that they are getting nothing in return for the sale of their resources,” said Greg Jericho, Chief Economist at The Australia Institute.

“How on earth can a company like Santos sell nearly $52 billion worth of Australian gas yet, for an 11th year in a row, pay not a single cent in corporate tax?

One Must Imagine Sisyphus Happy

— Author: Julia Doubleday — Thursday 1st October 2026

“Is it politically incorrect to say 90% of the time Long Covid is pure hysteria”

So reads a tweet with 13 thousand likes on my timeline.

I sigh and consider before I decide to respond.

Should I bother?

It’s been a long, long week. This round of tiring opinions about the disease that left me homebound over two years ago was kicked off by the infamous “masked lesbian bar” discourse, which has served its purpose of kicking up a rancid round of ableism, queerphobia and “anti-woke” panic.

I do ultimately reply. I link to a recent article in Smithsonian Magazine about where the science is on Long COVID today, a good and thorough piece which interviewed prominent researchers. I ask the original poster to stop making the lives of sick people more difficult.

I mute my response and move on with my day.

While the original tweet received 13 thousand likes, I can see now that my response received 331.

This isn’t the only tweet I replied to during the long week.

There was the tweet about Long Covid “not really being a specific condition.”

Release of Financial Stability Review – October 2026

— Organisation: Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) — Thursday 1st October 2026

Media release number 2026-28: The RBA today published its October 2026 Financial Stability Review.

New world, same Reserve Bank

— Organisation: The Australia Institute — Thursday 1st October 2026

On this episode of Dollars & Sense, Greg tells Skye that households will struggle “for not much good” because of the Reserve Bank’s latest interest rate hike.

This discussion was recorded on Wednesday 30 September 2026.

Join an outstanding line-up of policymakers, academics and independent experts at the Australia Institute’s Revenue Summit 2026. Tickets are on sale now for the event at Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday 14 October.

Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute // @grogsgamut

Host: Skye Predavec, Researcher, the Australia Institute // @skyelark

Show notes:

If turbocharged petrol prices are driving up inflation, then why are Australia’s unemployed on the line? by Greg Jericho, Guardian Australia (October 2026)

Call It Evil: Understanding the Trump Era (w/ Susan Neiman) | TCHR

— Author: Chris Hedges — Thursday 1st October 2026

This interview is also available on podcast platforms and Rumble.

There are many books exploring how and why voters in the United States elected President Donald Trump, but author Susan Neiman argues that “Nobody has really focused on the moral background to this administration and to our acceptance of it.” It was that void she sought to fill in her newest book, “Call It Evil: Understanding the Trump Era.”

Neiman joins Hedges in this episode of The Chris Hedges Report to discuss her new book and examine the crises of today: the rise of fascism, the ravages of neoliberalism, and how institutions and individuals have surrendered to them.

The Crisis of America is the Crisis of the West | The American Mind Podcast ft. Steve Hayward

— Organisation: The Claremont Institute — Wednesday 30th September 2026

The American Mind’s podcast is a weekly conversation with Ryan Williams, Spencer Klavan, and Mike Sabo devoted to uncovering the ideas and principles that drive American political life. Stream here or download from your favorite podcast host.

The Crisis of America is the Crisis of the West | The American Mind Podcast ft. Steve Hayward

Current ScholarshipA Fabulous Debt The Epic Story of How Bonds Built the Modern World

— Organisation: Just Money — Wednesday 30th September 2026

Robin Wigglesworth

A Public Flat Earth

— Author: Sarah Kendzior — Wednesday 30th September 2026

This is an excerpt from my book They Knew, published in 2022. I’m posting it due to the tremendous response to my article Gutting the Fourth Estate, published last week. They Knew provides more context — and maps out the disastrous changes in tech and media for which we now pay the price.

I will not paywall an article about why paywalls are bad. I don’t paywall any articles. My work is supported by volunteer paying subscribers. You can support me here:

Congress and the Collapse of Constitutional Republicanism in America

— Organisation: The Claremont Institute — Wednesday 30th September 2026

There’s nothing Congress likes better than not legislating. The legislative process in theory still takes place in Congress, but the results, which have the name and form of law, are in reality not law, properly understood. Legislative policy is still made in America, but it overwhelmingly takes forms other than laws enacted by Congress according to the process set forth in Article I of the Constitution. By conferring legislative power on others and leaving vital public issues unaddressed through congressional action, members of the legislature are effectively failing to carry out their constitutionally designated duties.

The importance of this change in the American political system cannot be overstated. Delegation—Congress’s abdication of its core legislative function—is key to understanding both the modern Congress and the crisis of constitutional government in America. Congress’s regular use of delegation has led to two seismic consequences: institutional failure on a massive scale and, more fundamentally, a transformation in the very character of the American regime.

Congress and the Legislative Power

NSW approves huge coal mine, says offsets provide “real environmental benefit”

— Organisation: The Australia Institute — Wednesday 30th September 2026

The mine, approved by the NSW Independent Planning Commission (IPC), now has approval to operate to 2045, generating 809 million tonnes of climate pollution, equivalent to almost two years of Australia’s national emissions.

“This is not a ‘just transition’. It’s not even a transition. It’s an expansion,” said Rod Campbell, Research Director at The Australia Institute.

“The government pretends it’s ok to dig up more coal in the Hunter Valley because someone, somewhere else promised to do something to reduced emissions.

“This approval shows that Australia’s climate policies are working exactly as the government intended: pretend to be tackling emissions reduction while carrying on expanding coal.

“Australia’s climate policies are designed to safeguard fossil fuel projects like this one, and carbon offsets are central to this.

“The decision states on page 1 that the climate impacts of the huge coal mine ‘are managed effectively within the parameters of the NSW and Commonwealth statutory and policy regimes’.

“Scientists say there should be no new coal mines, but NSW decision makers say this huge mine is fine because of ‘requirements for minimisation and offsets’.

“The approval text says that carbon offsets have “real environmental benefits” not once, not twice, but three times.

“This is partly a result of key figures in NSW environment groups spending months, if not years, promoting and developing dodgy carbon offset proposals.

Rent cap call as intergenerational housing inquiry report drops

— Organisation: Everybody's Home — Wednesday 30th September 2026

A Senate inquiry report out today must be a turning point for renters, Everybody’s Home said, as the campaign urges the federal government to turbocharge social housing and limit rent increases.

The Select Committee on Intergenerational Housing Inequity has made 10 findings including that the housing crisis is affecting every generation and fuelling inequality.

Across party lines, the committee agreed that many elements of the housing crisis arise from the decline in investment in public housing, and it must be addressed by more investment in these rentals.

The committee also found that rent increases have outpaced wages growth by several multiples, and that too many Australians live in real anxiety about maintaining a safe roof over their heads and affording rent.

Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azize said rents have been rising for years and there’s no end in sight.

“Renters have been forced to pay higher and higher rents for years. The odds of being pushed into housing stress or turning to homelessness services for help have never been higher,” Ms Azize said.

“Renters can never catch a break. No matter whether interest rates rise or fall, renters still cop rent hikes year on year.

How the NT won Australia’s race-to-the-bottom on online gambling regulation

— Organisation: The Australia Institute — Wednesday 30th September 2026

On this episode of Follow the Money, Justine Davis, Independent Member for Johnston in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, joins Ebony Bennett to discuss Australians’ extraordinary gambling losses, the federal government’s failure to create a national regulator for online gambling, and her proposal to lift standards in the NT.

This episode was recorded on Friday 25 September.

If this episode raised issues for you, you can call the National Gambling Helpline on 1800 858 858 for free, professional and confidential support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Or visit Gambling Help Online at www.gamblinghelponline.org.au.

If you or anyone you know needs help, you can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or online at www.lifeline.org.au.

Guest: Justine Davis, Member for Johnston, Northern Territory Legislative Assembly // @justinedavismla

Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebonybennett

Senator John Kennedy's Joke Book

— Organisation: Climate Town — Tuesday 29th September 2026

The End of Old Guard Conservatism

— Organisation: The Claremont Institute — Tuesday 29th September 2026

Over the past few weeks, Old Guard conservatives have been making a concerted effort to attack Vice President JD Vance and the New Right.

Many were critical of Vance’s support for a Trump Administration proposal to allow federal dollars to go to stay-at-home parents. Dana Loesch suggested that those who accepted such funds weren’t “man enough.” Another conservative called it a “scheme” and “a longstanding tenet of the Postliberal/Orbanist policy agenda.”

Old Guard critic Jay Caruso mocked Vance for saying the administration would not “let” companies exchange American workers “with cheap foreign labor,” accusing the vice president of turning his back on the free market. Simultaneously, a chorus of Old Guard conservatives have been blasting Vance for supposedly refusing to distance himself from Nazis and groypers—and from a group of trinitarian Christians, the Society for American Civic Renewal.

Our Political Economy and Theirs

— Publication: Progress in Political Economy — Tuesday 29th September 2026

Political economy approaches are an increasingly popular framework in the Public Health and Biomedical Sciences scholarships. A quick search of major biomedical and public health databases, PubMed and Ovid, highlights over 2,000 and 1,200 papers, respectively, using ‘political economy’ in their title or abstract. Most of these papers that utilise political economy in some way, shape or form have been published since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which suggests that the crisis helped elucidate the centrality of political economy factors to matters of health and illness. This is, of course, a welcome development; the more that our colleagues in Biomedical and Public Health fields can integrate political economy analysis into their studies, the better it will be for us all.

Enough Division: An Alberta Referendum Explainer

— Publication: Perspectives Journal — Tuesday 29th September 2026

Progressive Albertans are on the front lines organizing for the referendum fight that Premier Danielle Smith, and her United Conservative Party government, have imposed upon the people of Alberta on October 19. It is not just Alberta separatism that is on the table: there are 10 questions being put to Albertans this fall that target immigrants and the province’s legal authority over the federal government.

There are mechanisms in Alberta for citizen engagement that would, through petitioning, force the government to call referenda on questions designed by the public, but this decision did not happen through these public mechanisms. A previous attempt to petition for an independence referendum was deemed unconstitutional by a federal judge earlier this spring as no consultation took place with First Nations whose sovereignty would be affected by this process. Instead of committing to democratic processes, Smith’s government, through an ‘Orders in Council’ executive decision, has authorized these referenda to take place. No mass of real public urgency forced these issues to referendum votes.

Advancing a National Conversation about Australia’s future, with Taylor Hawkins

— Organisation: Per Capita — Wednesday 16th September 2026

At our September 2026 John Cain Lunch we heard from Managing Director of Foundations for Tomorrow, Taylor Hawkins, about building the vision and infrastructure for long-term governance in Australia for a thriving community, environment and economy. Watch the recording below.

Australia’s future is bigger than the next election. Australia’s capacity to govern for the long-term and safeguard the wellbeing of current and future generations depends on more than individual policies or political champions. It requires leaders equipped to think and act beyond immediate pressures, institutions capable of planning for the future and a public mandate that supports long-term decision-making.

Foundations For Tomorrow (FFT) is a non-profit organisation working to equip Australian leaders to think beyond electoral cycles and financial quarters to make the strategic long-term investments that lay the foundations for a thriving community, environment, and economy for years to come.

FFT is spearheading the National Conversation Development Lab, a collaborative project bringing together 240+ organisations and experts to develop a National Conversation about Australia’s future.

Good International Citizenship

— Organisation: Per Capita — Tuesday 29th September 2026

Per Capita’s 2026 John Cain Memorial Oration was delivered by Professor the Honourable Gareth Evans AC KC on Tuesday 22 September at the State Library of Victoria. Prof Evans spoke on the subject of good international citizenship. You can find the text of his Oration below.

—

Good International Citizenship: Recapturing the Decency Dimension in Australian Foreign Policy

John Cain is one of the most unequivocally decent persons ever to have held Australian public office, and it’s a privilege to have been invited by Per Capita – an NGO which understands better than most what decency in public policy is all about – to give this annual oration in his honour.

I first became aware of John’s quality – his commitment to progressive values, humanitarian instincts, courage in taking on formidable political opponents and total incorruptibility – when watching at a distance the leadership role he played, with a group of Melbourne Labor dissidents, in working with Gough Whitlam to overturn the hopelessly-dysfunctional, dinosaur-Left then leadership of the Victorian Branch of the ALP, which had made the party unelectable not only in this State but nationally.

When it comes to international law, we can talk the talk, but can we walk the walk?

— Organisation: The Australia Institute — Tuesday 29th September 2026

Australia is once again pushing for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council, alongside Finland and Mongolia, because ‘a safer world is one governed by rules, not power and force alone’. While Australia consistently talks the talk on supporting the international rules-based order, it only walks the walk occasionally.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made the pitch for the Security Council with a simple vision: ” We listen with respect, we partner as equals and we protect what matters most.” The trouble is, on many issues the Australian government appears to hear, but not listen to its allies and neighbours. And when it comes to protecting what matters most, the Australian government appears to stand up for international law selectively, not consistently, when it comes to two issues in particular: climate change and US military interventions.

Our Place: How to Solve the Housing Crisis and Rebuild the Australian Dream

— Organisation: Per Capita — Tuesday 29th September 2026

Per Capita Research Fellow, Matt Lloyd-Cape, founding director of Per Capita’s Centre for Equitable Housing, has released a book examining Australia’s housing system, Our Place: How to Solve the Housing Crisis and Rebuild the Australian Dream. You can read a free excerpt below.

In Our Place, Matt cuts through the noise, showing exactly how our housing system broke. Drawing on the latest research, he reveals that although social housing tenants, renters and first-home buyers are worst affected, the whole of society suffers in a housing crisis. From the rise of far-right politics to intergenerational inequality, the housing crisis is reshaping the nation.

To solve the crisis, he argues, we need to think bigger – much bigger. Our Place shows how a bold national housing plan could:

End homelessness by 2045
Provide the next generation with appropriate rental standards and an affordable path to home ownership
Create thriving urban centres away from the capital cities
Place housing at the heart of an ambitious plan for a fairer and more prosperous Australia.

The tools are within reach. What’s missing are leaders willing to rethink the economic and political assumptions that got us here.

Statement by the Monetary Policy Board: Monetary Policy Decision

— Organisation: Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) — Tuesday 29th September 2026

At its meeting today, the Board decided to increase the cash rate target by 25 basis points to 4.60 per cent.

The Historic Value of the Seigenthaler Bridge

— Author: Betsy Phillips — Monday 28th September 2026

With the Titans hoping to extend the 100-plus-year-old pedestrian bridge, here's a look at the structure's greater context

What’s Really Fueling Anti-Data Center Sentiment

— Organisation: The Claremont Institute — Monday 28th September 2026

Increasing numbers of Americans are deeply opposed to building more data centers.

Over the summer, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro imposed the strictest data center rules in the country, Kathy Hochul ordered a statewide moratorium on hyperscale construction, and Greg Abbott paused new approvals in Texas pending a grid audit. At the local level, dozens of county and municipal fights have followed no reliable partisan pattern. Polling from Heatmap and Embold, collected by the anon Cremieux, shows data center popularity plummeting over the last year.

Though Cremieux argues the opposition is fundamentally driven by NIMBYism, I’m unconvinced. The polling seems to follow the pattern you’d expect if NIMBYism were the primary driver, but posing the problem as a generic national issue produces substantially less opposition. Something else is going on that NIMBYism can’t fully explain.

Placid Trump-Xi summit bucks Washington ‘consensus’ of ever-rising tensions

— Organisation: The Australia Institute — Monday 28th September 2026

On this episode of After America, Professor James Laurenceson joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss the latest US-China leaders’ meeting, why the Biden administration’s hawkish approach to China may not be coming back, and what it all means for Australia.

This episode was recorded on Monday 28 September.

Guest: James Laurenceson, Professor and Director, Australia-China Relations Institute, University of Technology Sydney // @j-laurenceson

Host: Emma Shortis, Director, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @emmashortis

Show notes:

Trump on throwing a state dinner for Xi Jinping, Mother Jones on Bsky (September 2026)

As fears of China wane, Americans favor greater engagement with Beijing, Chicago Council on Global Affairs (September 2026)

Trump dismisses China spying concerns after reports they provided Iran with Jordan airbase images, The Hill on YouTube (September 2026)

What’s the point of inflation?

— Organisation: The Australia Institute — Monday 28th September 2026

On this episode of What’s the Point?, Richard Denniss explains what’s really driving inflation in Australia and why interest rates aren’t actually the only way to control it.

This episode was recorded on Friday 11 September.

More Fool Me: How the gas industry tricked Australia by Richard Denniss, the latest Vantage Point essay from Australia Institute Press, is available now.

Use the code ‘FOOLME’ on a four-edition Vantage Point subscription to receive a free copy of Richard’s book, Econobabble.

Read more on The Point.

Host: Richard Denniss, co-Chief Executive Officer, the Australia Institute // @richarddenniss

Host: Anna Chang, Managing Editor, The Point // @annachang

Show notes:

Hon Dr Jim Chalmers MP | Bernie Fraser Oration 2026, the Australia Institute

Cycling Made Difficult (but it's getting better!)

— Publication: Not Just Bikes — Sunday 27th September 2026

Donald Trump and the Age of Evil

— Author: Chris Hedges — Saturday 26th September 2026

Bosnia and Herzegovina: What Is the American People’s Interest?

— Organisation: The Claremont Institute — Friday 25th September 2026

President Trump’s America First foreign policy asks a simple question of every foreign engagement: What does it do for the American people? A trifecta of developments in July 2026 highlights a threefold answer to this question in regard to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the central European country formed by the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement, which ended the Balkan War and created two legal entities: Republika Srpska, consisting mostly of Serbian Orthodox Christians; and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, consisting mostly of Muslims (called Bosniaks), with a significant minority of ethnically Croat Roman Catholic Christians.

First, on July 1, 2026, as we were celebrating 250 years of independence from a tyrant named King George III, a non-elected German “High Representative” in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, who, like George III, has been enacting what our July 4, 1776, Declaration called “Acts of pretended Legislation,” resigned.

Second, our 250th commemoration of the beginning of our Revolutionary War reminds us that wars happen, and our security can never be taken for granted.

The Iran War and the Looming Economic Collapse (w/ John Mearsheimer) | TCHR

— Author: Chris Hedges — Friday 25th September 2026

This interview is also available on podcast platforms and Rumble.

For all of President Trump’s recent threats to “annihilate Iran,” the reality is that the United States is running out of both options and time to resolve this US- Israeli-initiated war. The US has made overtures toward renewing a hot war, but it has not gone further than that as the economy, both domestically and globally, deteriorates and other countries reconsider their relationships to the US and to each other. The midterm elections this Fall, with Republicans not poised to do well, are further impacting decisions being made by the Trump administration as well.

Challenging norms underpinning gender-based violence: feminist and LGBTQI+ movements working together in Bangladesh

— Publication: Advancing Learning and Innovation on Gender Norms (ALIGN) — Thursday 24th September 2026

Challenging norms underpinning gender-based violence: feminist and LGBTQI+ movements working together in Bangladesh ESubden Thu, 09/24/2026 - 14:58 24 September 2026 Report Madhumita Das, Roshni Kapoor, Tasaffy Hossain, Samina Yasmin, Sabrina Haque ALIGN, Bonhishikha

What Claremont Is For

— Organisation: The Claremont Institute — Thursday 24th September 2026

Conservative blogger Erick Erickson published an essay last week on Substack, “The Midwestern Führerbunker Driving the Right Off a Cliff,” maligning the Claremont Institute, one of our donors, and a few of our fellows and alumni.

Claremont Institute Senior Fellow Steve Hayward published the first in a promised series (“Is Conservatism In Crisis?”) on his Political Questions Substack, criticizing the tone, rhetorical tactics, and substance of Erickson’s essay. As Hayward shows, Erickson relies on guilt-by-association smears and innuendo that let the juxtaposition do the arguing. Many of his citations come from untrustworthy and hostile sources, like The Guardian, which has published numerous hit pieces against Claremont. Erickson’s essay is a mile-wide, inch-deep bit of motivated reasoning.

On Bill C-39: The Feds’ Controversial New Labour Law

— Publication: Perspectives Journal — Thursday 24th September 2026

This article is republished from the ‘Law of Work’ blog by David Doorey, Professor of Work Law and Industrial Relations at York University.

The federal Liberals introduced Bill C-39 on September 21, 2026, the much-anticipated omnibus law with the catchy title, An Act respecting certain measures to strengthen the economy. It’s a doozy and I’m glad I don’t have to carry around a hard copy. I won’t pretend to have read the entire Bill, which runs some 232 pages and 360 sections spanning three Parts each with multiple divisions.

Next Past & Present Reading Group Text

— Publication: Progress in Political Economy — Thursday 24th September 2026

This is to announce that the Past & Present Reading Group will be meeting to discuss, on a weekly basis and starting in October 2026, our next text which is: Susan Buck-Morss, Hegel, Haiti and Universal History (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2009).

How the Left’s Climate Agenda Caused the West’s Economic Downfall | The American Mind Podcast ft. Rupert Darwall

— Organisation: The Claremont Institute — Thursday 24th September 2026

The American Mind’s podcast is a weekly conversation with Ryan Williams, Spencer Klavan, and Mike Sabo devoted to uncovering the ideas and principles that drive American political life. Stream here or download from your favorite podcast host.

How the Left’s Climate Agenda Caused the West’s Economic Downfall | The American Mind Podcast ft. Rupert Darwall

Immigration Cannot Be a ‘Magic Number’ Question

— Publication: Perspectives Journal — Thursday 24th September 2026

A recent report published by RBC, A Smarter Immigration Strategy for Canada, laid out five critical “questions” for resetting Canada’s immigration policy. The first asks whether there is a “magic number” of how many immigrants to admit in Canada’s “Levels Plan” released annually by the Minister of Immigration. The Levels Plan sets out who to admit based on who has the highest earning capacity, the criteria on which to admit addressing skills gaps, the ways to admit through various temporary categorizations, and finally, how to collect data on all the above.

Will Australia “keep up and succeed”? Lessons from the Intergenerational Report

— Organisation: The Australia Institute — Thursday 24th September 2026

On this episode of Dollars & Sense, Greg and Skye discuss the focus on artificial intelligence in the latest 40-year outlook, the latest data on ‘middle Australia’, and why homeowners have reported higher levels of financial stress.

This discussion was recorded on Wednesday 23 September 2026.

Join an outstanding line-up of policymakers, academics and independent experts at the Australia Institute’s Revenue Summit 2026. Tickets are on sale now for the event at Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday 14 October.

Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute // @grogsgamut

Host: Skye Predavec, Researcher, the Australia Institute // @skyelark

Show notes:

Single, couple or family: not all Australian middle-income earners are equal by Greg Jericho, Guardian Australia (August 2026)

Onward. Forward. With your help.

— Author: Thomas Zimmer — Thursday 24th September 2026

Announcement22nd Annual Conference of the American Monetary Institute (AMI)

— Organisation: Just Money — Thursday 24th September 2026

September 25-27, 2026
“Preparing for the Next Collapse:
Monetary and Financial Reforms Are Crucial”

Register Now More “Announcement
22nd Annual Conference of the American Monetary Institute (AMI)”

Russell Vought: How to Control the Administrative State | The American Mind Podcast

— Organisation: The Claremont Institute — Wednesday 23rd September 2026

The American Mind’s podcast is a weekly conversation with Ryan Williams, Spencer Klavan, and Mike Sabo devoted to uncovering the ideas and principles that drive American political life. Stream here or download from your favorite podcast host.

Russell Vought: How to Control the Administrative State | The American Mind Podcast

Day Pass Season 2 — Official Teaser

— Publication: Not Just Bikes — Wednesday 23rd September 2026

Resourcing LGBTQI+ movements in the Global South and East to build inclusive civic space

— Publication: Advancing Learning and Innovation on Gender Norms (ALIGN) — Wednesday 23rd September 2026

Resourcing LGBTQI+ movements in the Global South and East to build inclusive civic space ESubden Wed, 09/23/2026 - 14:45 23 September 2026 Briefing paper Evie Browne, Carmen Leon-Himmelstine, Ayesha Khan ODI Global, ALIGN, Global Philanthropy Project View brief

Don Corleone Trump - Read by Eunice Wong

— Author: Chris Hedges — Wednesday 23rd September 2026

This article was read by Eunice Wong. You can find her work at www.eunicewong.actor.

Text originally published August 3, 2026.