June 12, 2026 — Scott Johnson

We regret to inform you…

Featured image that our attack tonight has been called off. That was President Trump’s big news about our conflict with Iran yesterday. The attack had been advertised by Trump to take place last night. Trump’s announcement put me in mind of the title of Philip Gourevitch’s award-winning book about the slaughter of the Tutsis in Rwanda — We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families (1998). »
June 11, 2026 — John Hinderaker

Europeans Prepare to Defend Themselves, Or Don’t

Featured imageEuropeans are facing the prospect that Russia may attack them, and they may have to defend themselves without much help from the United States. At a minimum, they have taken to heart Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s warning that the U.S. is preoccupied with our peer rival, China, and our own borders, and Europeans must take the lead on defending themselves against Russia, a peer rival for them. As a »
June 11, 2026 — John Hinderaker

Will Supreme Court Crack Down on Election Autumn?

Featured imageThere are a great many things wrong with our election systems, but one of them may be addressed in a case that awaits decision in the Supreme Court. The case is Watson v. Republican National Committee, and the issue is whether the State of Mississippi’s statute allowing ballots that arrive after Election Day to be counted violates federal law. Article 1, Section 4 of the Constitution says: The Times, Places »
June 11, 2026 — John Hinderaker

Peace In Iran?

Featured imagePresident Trump says an agreement with the IRGC has been reached “in both concept and great detail,” and has suspended further bombing for the time being: Trump subsequently had a brief call with the New York Post in which he said, “It’s pretty much all wrapped up.” Whether this time is different from the many previous occasions on which the President has said that a deal is very close, remains »
June 11, 2026 — Bill Glahn

Fujimori inches ahead

Featured imageAs predicted, with the vote count continuing in the Peruvian presidential election, right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori has retaken the lead from her left-wing opponent, Roberto Sanchez. With more than 98 percent of the total vote counted, Fujimori leads by fewer than 600 votes, out of more than 18 million cast. Polymarket favors a Fujimori win over 96 percent. »
June 11, 2026 — Scott Johnson

Thinking about the Aiken gambit

Featured imageThe idea of declaring victory and going home is attributed to the late Vermont Senator George Aiken with respect to the Vietnam War in 1966. He didn’t exactly say it or propose it, but the idea lives on. A declaration of victory wouldn’t have been true in 1966 and it wouldn’t be true now. However, might it be close enough for political comfort? Just a few thoughts. Let’s call the »
June 10, 2026 — John Hinderaker

Beginning of the End?

Featured imageFor the second night in a row, US forces are bombing Iran. There aren’t many details: U.S. Central Command said the strikes began at 5:15 p.m. ET “against multiple targets in Iran … in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression.” A U.S. official told Axios all targets were in southern Iran and included air defense systems, radar systems, and drone command and control units. President Trump has grown impatient »
June 10, 2026 — John Hinderaker

Congressmen Call on Walz, Ellison to Resign

Featured imageThe four Republican House members from Minnesota, Tom Emmer, Pete Stauber, Michelle Fischbach and Brad Finstad, have called on Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison to resign in the wake of the House Oversight Committee’s scathing report on fraud in Minnesota, which was released on Monday and cited work by American Experiment eight times. Emmer issued a press release that says in part: Today, Congressman Tom Emmer (MN-06) »
June 10, 2026 — Scott Johnson

Quote of the day

Featured imageGordon Wood was our great historian of the founding era. He was killed by a driver who hit him while he was walking this past Sunday afternoon. His death at the age of 92 represents a great loss to our country and our culture. I hope to have a few words about him from Professor Wilfred McClay to post on Power Line some time soon. AEI called on Professor Wood »
June 10, 2026 — Scott Johnson

After last night

Featured imageMaine, Nevada, North Dakota and South Carolina all held primaries yesterday. Miraculously — miraculously in light of the California experience — the results are in! RealClearPolitics has compiled them here. Most notable by far is the expected victory of Maine’s Graham Platiner as the Democrats’ man to take on incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins. Platner’s principal primary opponent was outgoing Govenor Janet Mills. She is old and respectable in a »
June 9, 2026 — John Hinderaker

Immigration Comes to Belfast

Featured imageIt seems that hardly a day goes by without the United Kingdom suffering another immigration-related disaster. This one involves a Sudanese who tried to decapitate a passer-by: A Sudanese migrant has been arrested after a barbaric video shows someone seemingly trying to behead another man in the middle of a UK street in scenes likened to “something out of a horror movie.” The horrific footage shows the blood-soaked knifeman pinning »
June 11, 2026 — Scott Johnson

Gordon Wood, RIP

Featured imageWilfred McClay holds the Victor Davis Hanson Chair in Classical History and Western Civilization at Hillsdale College. He is the author of Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story and several related volumes as well as the co-editor of Jewish Roots of American Liberty: The Impact of Hebraic Ideas on the American Story, all published by Encounter Books. After Gordon Wood — the most prominent historian of »
June 10, 2026 — Bill Glahn

Feeding Our Future fugitive caught

Featured imageSaid Abdullahi Ereg, an international fugitive wanted in the Feeding Our Future fraud scandal, has returned from Kenya to America to face justice. U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen announced Ereg’s arrest this afternoon at a press conference in downtown Minneapolis. Your correspondent was there. The press release can be found here. You will recall that just last week the FBI placed Ereg on their newly-created most-wanted fraudster list. Apparently, that was enough to prompt »
June 10, 2026 — Scott Johnson

Look back in anger

Featured imageThe Wall Street Journal’s opinion editors have posted the documentary The Lockdown Dissidents. The documentary was produced, written, and directed by Michael Pack. Tim Blake Nelson provides the voiceover narration. The documentary comes with this précis: “During the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of prominent scientists challenged the prevailing government approach to lockdowns. The Lockdown Dissidents tells the story of researchers like Jay Bhattacharya, Scott Atlas, and Robert Redfield—voices who say »
June 10, 2026 — Scott Johnson

Treating advanced breast cancer

Featured imageIn 1998 my friend Brian Sullivan served as the chairman of our state Republican Party’s platform committee. I think Brian appointed John Hinderaker and me committee members. We wrote the audacious platform that Brian assured us he would get approved at the party convention, as he did. We have been friends for a long time. In his current business venture, Brian is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Celcuity, »
June 9, 2026 — John Hinderaker

Government Fraud: Not Just an American Problem

Featured imageThis is another story that is roiling the U.K.: “Billions in aid handed to terrorists and criminals.” Sounds just like us: Terrorists, hostile states and gangsters have been given more than £28bn of taxpayers’ money, including through aid payments, according to a secret government report. The Telegraph can reveal details of a dossier showing that billions of pounds went to organised crime, with millions going to Russia and Islamic State. »
June 9, 2026 — Steven Hayward

Another Declaration Podcast: Brad Birzer’s “A Radical Experiment in Liberty”

Featured imageThis week’s spotlight on new books about the Declaration of Independence features Hillsdale College historian Bradley Birzer, whose book is The Declaration of Independence: A Radical Experiment in Liberty, just out last month from Stone House Press. Prof. Birzer’s book has a somewhat shorter time frame than some of the other books we have discussed in this series, which often take the run-up to the Declaration back to the 1760s »