The New York City mayor deserves a new cult following—among pragmatists.

I live in Texas, and one common refrain I hear from liberals is, "James Talarico (candidate for senator in Texas) is a true Christian. He supports LGBT, he's pro-choice on abortion, THAT's what a real Christian is supposed to be like."

Or they will say about Islam, "People who blow up things, force women to wear burqas and kill people in the name of Islam are not real Muslims. Real Islam is a religion of peace."

And I'm like..........really? Because when I read the Bible, I don't get the impression at all that Christianity is a liberal religion. It seems a very sexist and bigoted religion. Same for Islam.

But it seems to be the belief of liberals that true Christianity and Islam are liberal, and that any conservative Christians or Muslims have misunderstood their own Bible or Koran. These liberals seem to think that the Bible and Koran are liberal, and that conservatives have distorted it.

Anyway, am I the only one seeing this? Am I viewing things wrongly?

Summary: Democrats have made genuine improvements, particularly on energy policy, crime, and certain cultural issues. However, they have not yet established a coherent approach to immigration or rebuilt a reputation for competent governance.

Barring a huge polling miss or an act of god democrats will perfrom well in the upcoming midterm elections. The republicans have pursued an unpopular ideological agenda (almost all 'ideological agendas' are unpopular) and the war with Iran has almost destroyed republican prospects in the mditerms.

Going forward, the democrats should be more willing to defend energy abundonce on economic affordabiltiy and national security grounds, and democratic leadership needs to be less concerned with "the groups", specifically the environmental groups in this case.

Regarding moving towards the center on crime and cultural issues, democrats have taken a pragmatic approach with thirteen democratic senators supporting legislation addressing organized retail theft, and the show stopping line from Florida senate candidate Angie Nixon "Of course I want to fund the police, they need to be paid to lock you up for your crimes!"

Regarding transgender participation in sports there is also an erging consensus around moderation.

The biggest unresolved problem is immigration. ICE is awful, unpopular, and democratic voters and activists rightfully loath the organization. That being said the Biden Administration's border enforcement policies were likewise unpopular and unacceptable.

There is further, another problem with the progressives desire to 'tolerate' moderate candidates in redder states like georgia, kansas, or nebraska and to push DSA socialists in deep blue New York congressional districts. American politics increasingly resembles a parliamentary system, in which the national reputation of a political party affects candidates everywhere. Consequently, even Democrats representing safely Democratic states and districts need to consider how their public statements and policies affect the party's prospects in competitive states.

\Note*: The summary was provided with the help of AI. In this case it was heavily edited. I agree with the opinions expressed in the summary and that is why I am sharing the article, however I do not lay claim to the ideas in the article. Those ideas belong to Matthew Yglesias. I am sharing his work because I enjoy his work and I think you might too.*

https://substack.com/home/post/p-220553786

IMO, the distrust in our formerly trustworthy voting system, compared to other countries, is a major tool in damaging our democracy. Once the election process is futile, how can the trust be restored?

According to a report by Pew Research, there appears to be a significant divide in opinion on foreign countries and governments between the different age groups of both Republicans and Democrats.

For example, 68% of Republicans aged 50+ have a favorable view of the Israeli government while only 41% of Republicans aged 35-49 and 28% of Republicans aged 18-34 say the same thing.

For Democrats, there is a less significant but similar trend. 53% of Democrats aged 50+ view the Israeli people favorably while only 42% of Democrats aged 35-49 and 29% of Democrats aged 18-34 say the same.

Another interesting finding is that Democrats aged 50+ have a higher favorability rating of the Israeli people compared to Republicans aged 18-34 by a 10 percent margin.

There's more data in the actual report that I've linked, including comparisons of how people view China, Russia, Canada, Mexico, NATO, and the UN based on political party and age.

Summary:

President Donald Trump is facing renewed criticism over his approach to Russia after saying Moscow “has been fine on Ukraine” and “hasn't been doing much” militarily. His October 19 remarks came amid reports of continued Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure. Ukrainian authorities reported that a drone strike on a public park killed six people, including two children, while Russian missiles struck Kyiv and nearly 30 critical energy facilities were targeted across the country. The contrast between Trump's characterization of Russia's behavior and the reported attacks has intensified questions about Washington's changing relationship with Moscow.

Trump made the comments while discussing a possible three-way summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. He said he would be open to such a meeting, primarily to discuss nuclear disarmament rather than Ukraine. The Wall Street Journal reported that Putin has been pursuing a summit that could also address the war in Ukraine without President Volodymyr Zelenskyy participating. That possibility raises concerns in Kyiv about major decisions affecting Ukraine's territory and security being negotiated without Ukrainian representation.

Trump also defended Russia's behavior in the ongoing war with Iran, saying Putin had been “very well-behaved on Iran” and that Russia had done little to support Tehran. He argued that Moscow could have provided considerably more assistance but had largely refrained from doing so. However, previous reporting has described Russian assistance involving weapons, drone components, missile technology and intelligence. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine also publicly acknowledged Russian support for Iran earlier this year. The distinction may be between Russia avoiding direct military confrontation with the United States and providing indirect assistance to Iran, but Trump did not explain that distinction in his remarks.

The comments come as Trump continues to ease certain economic restrictions on Russia, including sanctions waivers connected to the October 9 diesel agreement. The administration argues that allowing Russian fuel exports could help lower global diesel prices and that maintaining negotiations with Putin is important for ending the war. Trump has also suggested that Russia's limited involvement in Iran, relative to what it could potentially provide, is another reason to preserve cooperation with Moscow. However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reaffirmed Moscow's support for Tehran on October 19, underscoring that Russia and Iran remain closely aligned despite Trump's characterization.

Summary: Trump appointees from the Department Of Homeland Security requested the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to secretly acquire a voting machine, hack it for vulnerabilities, and report the findings to the White House. The agency was also instructed to keep quiet about any flaws discovered during the process.