INTERNACIONAL
The 2025 election that may determine if Republicans hold House in 2026 midterms
Obama pushes Newsom’s Proposition 50 ahead of Election Day
Paul Gigot hosts a ‘Journal Editorial Report’ panel to discuss California’s upcoming special election to vote on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Prop 50, which some criticize as gerrymandering, and the upcoming Pennsylvania Supreme court justice retention vote.
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It’s Election Day in California, where a ballot initiative will make a huge impact on next year’s battle for the U.S. House majority whether it passes or fails.
California voters are deciding whether to pass a ballot proposition which would dramatically alter the state’s congressional districts, putting the left-leaning state front-and-center in the high-stakes political fight over redistricting that pits President Donald Trump and the GOP against the Democrats.
California state lawmakers this summer approved a special proposition on the November ballot to obtain voter approval to temporarily sidetrack the state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission and return the power to draw the congressional maps to the Democrat-dominated legislature. Early voting by mail in the contest has been underway for a month.
The effort in California, which could create five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts, aims to counter the passage in the reliable red state of Texas of a new map that aims to create up to five right-leaning House seats. Failure to approve what’s known as Proposition 50 would be a stinging setback for Democrats.
OBAMA ENDORSES NEWSOM CALIFORNIA REDISTRICTING PROP 50
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a plan for a special election to seek voter approval for a new congressional map, on Aug. 14, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP)
Two-term Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is seen as a likely 2028 Democratic presidential contender, is spearheading the push to pass the proposition.
«If we lose here, we are going to have total Republican control in the House, the Senate and the White House for at least two more years,» Newsom emphasized in a recent fundraising appeal to supporters. «If we win here, we can put a check on Trump for his final two years.»
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The push by Trump and Republicans for a rare mid-decade redistricting is part of a broad effort by the GOP to pad its razor-thin House majority to keep control of the chamber in the 2026 midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats.
Trump and his political team are aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House, when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterm elections.
President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office at the White House Oct. 6, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Missouri last month joined Texas as the second GOP-controlled state to pass congressional redistricting ahead of next year’s elections. The new map in Missouri is likely to give the GOP another right-leaning seat.
And North Carolina’s Republican-controlled legislature also passed a new map, which is likely to score another congressional seat for the GOP. Republican-controlled Indiana is on deck, with a special legislative session getting underway this week.
But unlike those states, California voters need to weigh in before giving redistricting power back to the legislature in Sacramento.
«Heaven help us if we lose,» Newsom said in a fundraising pitch. «This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for Democrats.»
FIVE KEY 2025 RACES TO WATCH
Proponents and opponents of Proposition 50 raised hundreds of millions of dollars in fundraising, with much of the money being dished out to pay for a deluge of ads on both sides.
One of the two main groups countering Newsom and the Democrats labeled their effort «Stop Sacramento’s Power Grab.»
Getting into the fight was former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was the last Republican governor of California.
Actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger opposes the move by Democrats to suspend the state’s nonpartisan redistricting panel. (Tristar Media/WireImage)
During his tenure as governor, Schwarzenegger had a starring role in the passage of constitutional amendments in California in 2008 and 2010 that took the power to draw state legislative and congressional districts away from politicians and placed it in the hands of an independent commission.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA VOTERS WEIGH IN ON PROP 50 REDISTRICTING FIGHT
«That’s what they want to do is take us backwards — this is why it is important for you to vote no on Prop 50,» Schwarzenegger said in an ad against Proposition 50. «Democracy — we’ve got to protect it, and we’ve got to go and fight for it.»
But as Election Day neared in California, the Yes forces had dramatically outraised the No forces, and public opinion polling indicated majority support for the proposition.
Even before Trump initiated his redistricting push, Ohio was under court order to redraw its maps. That could boost Republicans in a one-time battleground state that now leans right.
Republicans in GOP-dominated Florida are also mulling congressional redistricting. And Democrats in heavily blue Maryland are weighing a redistricting push, while the Democrat-controlled legislature in Virginia is already pushing redistricting.
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Other states considering altering their maps are Democrat-dominated Illinois and red states Kansas and Nebraska.
Meanwhile, Democrats could possibly pick up a seat in Republican-dominated Utah, due to a new, more competitive map, mandated by a judge.
donald trump,gavin newsom,california,2025 2026 elections coverage,elections,elections state and local,house of representatives politics,campaigning
INTERNACIONAL
US assets in Middle East positioned for ‘highly kinetic’ war, ex-Pentagon official warns
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The U.S. is in position for a «highly kinetic» campaign against Iran after launching one of its largest recent military buildups in the Middle East, a former senior Pentagon official has claimed.
Dana Stroul, now research director at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, made the assessment Sunday as Washington and Tehran prepare for a second round of indirect nuclear talks in Oman.
«The US military is ready for a sustained, highly kinetic campaign should President Trump order it, and also prepared to defend allies and partners in the Middle East from Iran’s missiles,» Stroul told Fox News Digital.
«The US military can rapidly reposition assets from all over the world and deploy overwhelmingly lethal force in a short period of time to one theater,» she said before highlighting how there is «no ally or enemy capable of what we have seen from the US in this current buildup.»
PRESIDENT TRUMP’S IRAN BUILDUP MIRRORS 2003 IRAQ WAR SCALE AS TENSIONS ESCALATE
The world’s largest warship, U.S. aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, on its way out of the Oslofjord at Nesodden and Bygdoy, Norway, September 17, 2025. (NTB/Lise Aserud via Reuters)
Describing how the current posture differs from the June 2025 strikes on Iranian-linked nuclear targets, Stroul said the U.S. has expanded its offensive and defensive capabilities.
«Two US aircraft carriers and their accompanying vessels and air wings were stationed in the Middle East last summer during the 12-day war and the US operation Midnight Hammer,» she explained.
«The addition of the Ford is really important, it expands US offensive capabilities if we go to war with Iran,» she said.
While in June 2025, the US carried out limited but highly targeted strikes against Iranian nuclear infrastructure to degrade key facilities without triggering a regional war, now, Stroul said the force posture is broader and more sustained.
The US has also «increased the number of guided-missile destroyers, fighter aircraft, refuelers, and air defense systems» in the region, she explained.
TRUMP SAYS IRAN HAS 15 DAYS TO REACH A DEAL OR FACE ‘UNFORTUNATE’ OUTCOME
An F/A-18F Super Hornet, assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 41, prepares to make an arrested landing on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Pacific Ocean on Aug. 10, 2024. (U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Daniel Kimmelman/Reuters)
The deployment of aircraft carriers such as the USS Gerald R. Ford and USS Abraham Lincoln has assumed heightened strategic importance.
The USS Gerald R. Ford was recently tracked transiting the Strait of Gibraltar eastward, while the USS Abraham Lincoln is operating in the Arabian Sea.
«They will both be in the Middle East CENTCOM theater,» Stroul explained before clarifying that there could be «one in the eastern Mediterranean and the other in the Arabian Gulf.»
«There would probably be a combination of reasons for that based on availability, readiness, proximity to the Middle East.
«The Ford was heading home and directed to turn around,» she added.
While the specific destinations of the carriers have not been publicly disclosed for operational security reasons, their presence alone signals escalatory leverage and deterrence.
WITKOFF WARNS IRAN IS ‘A WEEK AWAY’ FROM ‘BOMB-MAKING MATERIAL’ AS TRUMP WEIGHS ACTION
Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Hamad Al Busaidi, US President Donald Trump’s Special Representative for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff and U.S. negotiator Jared Kushner meet ahead of the US-Iran talks, in Muscat, the capital of Oman, on February 06, 2026. (f Oman, on FebruarOman Foreign Ministry/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The military buildup comes as indirect diplomatic talks between Washington and Tehran continue, with Oman once again serving as a mediator Feb. 26.
Stroul argued that Iran’s leadership is trying to balance brinkmanship with negotiation.
«Iran’s leaders are playing a weak hand by combining saber-rattling about their own capabilities, staging preparations and exercises to signal readiness,» she claimed.
«They are attempting to slow this down by pursuing negotiations. No one should be under any illusions about the reality of US dominance — Iran is completely outmatched in conventional terms,» Stroul said.
BUILT FOR WEEKS OF WAR: INSIDE THE FIREPOWER THE US HAS POSITIONED IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Armed NOPO special police units are on the scene as Iranians take to the streets in the downtown Enghelab (Revolution) Square in Tehran, Iran on June 24, 2025, to celebrate the ceasefire after a 12-day war with Israel. (NEGAR/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
«Israel dominated Iranian airspace in one day last year, targeted many of Iran’s security leaders, took out half of its missile arsenal, and the US significantly set back its nuclear program,» Stroul said.
Iran’s long-cultivated network of proxies across the region — including Hezbollah, Shiite militias in Iraq, and elements in Syria — has also been weakened after sustained Israeli military pressure.
«Iran’s long-cultivated network of proxies across the region is degraded after more than two years of Israeli operations, and they declined to enter the war and support Iran’s defense last summer,» Stroul explained.
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«No matter what Iran’s leaders say, Iran is not able to rebuild a decades-long project in a few months.»
«That said, the US military is in a position to execute whatever orders President Trump gives,» she said. «It is not a question of military readiness, but a political decision.»
iran,middle east,wars,donald trump,ali khamenei,pentagon defense,pentagon,us navy,military
La larga y sinuosa ruta de Christopher Beha desde un ateísmo bien fundamentado hasta una fe cristiana aún más cultivada comienza con una imagen poderosa: un ángel se le aparece. No es Clarence, el atolondrado amigo de Jimmy Stewart en ¡Qué bello es vivir!, sino una aparición exigente y persistente.
En su profunda reflexión sobre la fe y la filosofía, Why I Am Not an Atheist (Por qué no soy ateo), explica que el espíritu le dijo que confiara en Dios. “Esto no fue un sueño”, escribe sobre la primera visita, ocurrida a mediados de los años noventa, cuando tenía 15 años. “Estaba despierto —tan seguro de eso como de que ahora estoy despierto mientras escribo estas palabras— y una presencia aterradora se comunicaba conmigo”.
Las visitas continuaron durante años. Beha creció en una familia católica y amante de los libros en el Upper East Side de Nueva York, que lo envió a Princeton. Fue editor de Harper’s Magazine y es autor de cuatro libros anteriores, cuyos temas abarcan desde novelas sobre complicaciones emocionales hasta un repaso por los clásicos, mostrando así su versatilidad literaria.
Unos años después de que el imperioso querubín le indicara que debía acercarse a Dios, Beha comprendió que todo podía explicarse desde la ciencia. Había experimentado parálisis del sueño, un estado en el que permanecía despierto pero inmovilizado, acompañado de alucinaciones.
“Había sufrido un padecimiento físico bastante común y, en vez de buscar una causa racional, me refugié en la superstición”, escribe. “En realidad me había convencido de que Dios me enviaba un mensaje”.
Como alguien que también presenció algo inexplicable (una santa fallecida que abrió los ojos en una cripta en Italia), me resultaba más atractivo el Beha adolescente, colmado de asombro religioso. Pero al final del libro, regresa al ángel con una visión ampliada. Fue a la vez un milagro y algo real. “Sé lo que ‘causó’ esas visitas, desde un punto de vista material, pero también sé lo que provocaron después: un viaje de toda la vida en el que todavía sigo”.
Entre esos extremos se despliegan varios cientos de páginas que componen ese trayecto, casi todas centradas en los filósofos mayoritariamente ateos del canon occidental. No es una peregrinación tradicional, sino una odisea intelectual. Beha debate con los grandes maestros: Descartes, Kant, Locke, Mill, Hobbes, Camus, Nietzsche y muchos más, pero empieza cuestionando a los “nuevos ateos” como Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens y similares, a quienes considera ya superados.
Hace algunos años, el periodista Michael Kinsley describió el libro de Hitchens God Is Not Great con una frase memorable: “Hitchens es un ateo de aldea a la antigua, parado en la plaza tratando de discutir con los buenos ciudadanos que van camino a la iglesia”.
Beha no es de los que lanzan piedras ni busca peleas. Tiene una devoción casi obsesiva por las grandes mentes. Es el tipo de persona que habrías querido como compañero de habitación antes de la era de la inteligencia artificial. O tal vez no. Ha leído todo y hasta escribió una memoria al respecto, The Whole Five Feet, en la que narra el año que dedicó a leer los 51 volúmenes de los Harvard Classics. Solo mirar esa lista agota a la mayoría.
Él escaló esa montaña para que otros no tuvieran que hacerlo. Pero, a veces, en su nuevo libro se pierde en las nubes. Un ejemplo, al tratar a Immanuel Kant, el filósofo alemán: “Kant aquí invoca dos binarios que ya hemos discutido. El primero es el que existe entre la verdad a priori y a posteriori; el segundo, entre análisis y síntesis”.
Beha es sincero, honesto y resulta agradable en la página. Su historia personal resulta más interesante que la intelectual. Empezó a dudar de su fe a los 18 años, tras casi perder a su hermano gemelo en un accidente de auto. Sufrió depresión y un cáncer que puso su vida en riesgo, abusó del alcohol y las drogas. Fue ateo durante mucho tiempo.
El libro es una larga réplica a “Why I Am Not a Christian”, el célebre ensayo del polímata británico Bertrand Russell, quien calificaba la creencia en Dios como “una concepción indigna de hombres libres”. Russell fue una de las figuras que empujaron a Beha a años de escepticismo comprometido.
No le resultaba suficiente el agnosticismo tibio de los espiritualmente errantes, una condición que el comediante católico Stephen Colbert comparó alguna vez con ser “un ateo sin agallas”. Beha se entregó por completo.
El argumento de Russell es conciso, refuta cada una de las razones principales a favor de la fe. El de Beha no lo es. Descompone la visión atea en dos categorías y dedica la mayor parte del libro a detallarlas e incluso simpatizar con ellas. Una es el “materialismo científico”, que sostiene que solo existe el mundo material. La otra es el “idealismo romántico”, que él define como la creación de la propia realidad.
Durante sus largos años en el desierto de la incredulidad, Beha intentó encajar en alguna de esas narrativas, buscando “hacer significativa una vida sin Dios”.
Al final, el ateísmo le resultó insuficiente, igual que a algunos revolucionarios franceses que transformaron brevemente la catedral de Notre-Dame en el árido Templo de la Razón. La religión de la no-religión puede parecerse a la cerveza sin alcohol: ¿para qué?
Beha no pretende convencer a quienes ya han renunciado a Dios. Solo quiere explicar qué lo llevó a regresar a la fe de sus padres, “escuchando la voz susurrante en el alma”. No hay una conversión fulminante, ninguna luz cegadora. Más bien, su vida, a menudo miserable, mejora con la mujer adecuada, una confesión católica, la asistencia regular a misa. Y esa mujer —“ella era la razón por la que creía en Dios”— ni siquiera es creyente. Es episcopaliana no practicante.
Si Beha no logra necesariamente ganar su debate con Russell, al menos hay que reconocerle que cumple la exigencia de los seres conscientes: reflexionar a fondo sobre el misterio de lo que somos en un universo incognoscible.
“No creo que alguna vez vea las cosas con claridad; no en esta vida mortal”, concluye. “Lo mejor que podemos esperar es estar mirando en la dirección correcta, orientados del modo adecuado”.
Fuente: The New York Times
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