Britain, Land of the Unfree By Michael Barone
When the Irish comedian Graham Linehan arrived at London Heathrow Airport this past weekend, he was greeted by five armed British police officers who arrested him for -- get this -- three rude tweets.
When the Irish comedian Graham Linehan arrived at London Heathrow Airport this past weekend, he was greeted by five armed British police officers who arrested him for -- get this -- three rude tweets.
A new Rasmussen Reports survey reveals that 40% of Americans now believe the minimum wage should be at least $15 an hour, up from 36% a year ago. That’s a strong sentiment. After all, who doesn’t want working Americans to earn more? But compassion and sound economics are two very different things.
— As the post-Labor Day sprint to the November gubernatorial races begins, we are upgrading Democrats in Virginia, moving that race to Likely Democratic. New Jersey remains as Leans Democratic.
— For the 2026 races, open seats in Iowa and Maine get more competitive in our ratings.
— Republicans should be able to easily win a new seat in Missouri as the result of a new proposed gerrymander, the latest development in the fast-moving redistricting wars.
"Mental health is declining," says psychologist Jonathan Haidt.
The Elizabeth Warrens of the world have long complained about how the rules in Washington and on Wall Street are rigged in favor of the rich.
The Constitution of the United States lays out a complex scheme of governance that has mostly worked for the 237 years since it became effective with the ratification of the ninth state, New Hampshire, in 1788.
— In Iowa, Democrats continued to rack up special election overperformances by flipping a Trump-won state Senate seat that is based in Sioux City.
— Democrats have broken the GOP’s supermajority in the state Senate, although Republicans still hold comfortable majorities in both chambers of the legislature.
— A judge threw out Utah’s current House map, a GOP gerrymander, ruling that it does not fit with the guidelines set by a 2018 voter-approved state ballot issue.
— A fairer map of Utah would probably have one blue seat and three red ones, instead of four red ones, though Utah Republicans may try to delay a new map’s implementation.
Let's start with a very simple truism: You can't have prosperity without people.
Is it Comrade President now?
The extraordinary pair of meetings in the past week -- the Trump-Putin summit in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday and Donald Trump's hosting of the leaders of Ukraine, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Finland, as well as the NATO alliance and the European Commission -- were prompted by the latest iteration of a continuing source of instability over hundreds of years.
— This cycle, 31 states will hold elections for attorney general—one in 2025 (Virginia) and the rest in 2026.
— Currently, the GOP holds 28 attorney general offices to 22 for the Democrats (counting an independent in Hawaii who was appointed by Democratic Gov. Josh Green).
— Our analysis suggests that seven AG races this year are currently competitive, including five Toss-ups. Democrats will largely be playing defense: All five seats in the Toss-up category are currently held by Democrats, with at least two of them open-seat races.
I am addicted!
To my phone.
I check an email and before I realize it, I'm watching TikTok videos: lions fight hyenas, military dads reunite with kids, athletes do amazing things ...
Gavin Newsom wants to be the new Donald Trump.
Well, so much for the vaunted renewable energy "transition" to save the planet. This was always a fable. We get 80% of our energy from fossil fuels, and with Donald Trump now in the White House, that ratio is rising, not falling.
In assessing the current controversy over Texas Republicans' proposed redistricting of the state's U.S. House seats, two historic facts should be considered.
— The recent mid-decade redistricting developments have prompted a debate about proportionality and representation in the House.
— There are several states across the country where either party lacks representation in the House even as its candidates routinely take a sizable minority share of the vote in statewide elections.
— Redistricting could yield more equitable House delegations in those states, although in many cases, it is hard to get a party’s share of the vote exactly in line with its seat count.
— In Ohio, former Sen. Sherrod Brown’s (D) entrance into the 2026 Senate race against appointed Sen. Jon Husted (R) has prompted us to move the race from Likely Republican to Leans Republican.
One of the keys to President Donald Trump’s political success is his unpredictability. He keeps both domestic opponents and foreign adversaries off balance by refusing to follow the well-worn playbook of his presidential predecessors.
This is the dawning of the age of school choice.