A new New York Times/Siena poll is showing Democrats ahead in some reliably Republican states. For those of you who don’t follow this, the New York Times/Sienna poll has shown high reliability. It is a quality sample of opinion.

As shocking as it is to see Democrats competitive in Alaska and Texas thanks to high quality candidates and good strategy, the Kansas result is truly shocking. Both parties are neck and neck in a state that has not voted for a Democratic Senator since 1932.

Something big is happening.

Ohio has been drifting right for decades, so that result is also surprising. And for Democrats to be in the game in an Iowa Senate battle is also illustrative.

Here’s a link to the whole article.

Very interesting article this morning from the NYTimes, which spoke to dozens of education experts on how to improve student achievement.

Initiatives were ranked by how much they cost and how effective they were at improving over-all student math and reading scores.

A bit of a surprise: cell phone bans. The issue gets lots of public attention, but doesn’t really have much of an impact on student performance.

And as most people who spend a lot of time in the classroom will tell you, knowing how to read early and being able to interpret and apply what you read helps a lot.

Classroom size does have an impact. Tutoring in small groups is effective, but also expensive.

Saskatchewan’s Minister of Education, PLEASE TAKE NOTE: increasing per student funding improves student performance.

And Universal pre-K: very expensive but effective.

Here’s the link to the whole article:

Education is not an app. It’s not a franchise. It’s not a short-term scheme. It is a cross-generational investment in our collective future. It is a long term play to help young minds think critically and make their best possible contribution to our collective future. Education is a public service. It’s not a mechanism for making a buck.

Public life begins and ends in the middle of these two notions.

There are some things that will never change.

That doesn’t mean you should stop trying.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-leverage-tradewar-cost-economists-9.7324779

Leverage the things they say are the most important. Use US Treasury Bond holdings to send a message. Didn’t know we had an export tax on oil and natural gas once before. Could happen again. And Visas. All of these are excellent responses to American escalation that we all know is coming.

“…domination for the gratification of its present’s slapdash vanity.” Sadly, that sums it up nicely.

Here’s the whole article

Click to access Burning_Questions_Pembina_Institute_August_2026.pdf