Friday, September 11, 2026

Good morning, and welcome to RedState's "Morning Minute" — a brief glimpse at which stories are trending at the moment and a look ahead at what the day may bring. Consider this your one-stop shop for news to kickstart your day. 

TOP O' THE MORNIN'

Red-Hot at RedState 

Boom: RFK Jr. Torches the Democrat Party in Epic Convention Speech

He started off noting how he was 72, and that for 70 years of his life, he would have bet he would not be addressing a Republican convention. Given his family, he had of course been to many Democrat conventions. He spoke of the party of his father, Robert Kennedy and his uncle, President John Kennedy. RFK Jr. explained how his uncle ran on a platform in 1960 of "tax cuts, strong defense, and fighting Communism." 

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Horror in Austin: A Man Was Nearly 'Beheaded' on a Park Bench — and Texas Voters Should Be Furious Teri Christoph New Info Just Revealed About Lindsay Clancy Holdout Juror Shocks Liberal Media Host Nick Arama

Vance Hilariously Skewers a Heckler, While Also Demolishing El-Sayed and the Dems

"Well, my friend, if you love Mexico so much, get your a** over there! I'll buy you the plane ticket!" Vance exclaimed. That might have earned the loudest cheers of the convention, as well as chants of "JD! JD!" and "USA!" 

The Thing That Never Happens Keeps Happening — Now the Proof Is Undeniable

When elections are broken, the entire system is broken. Such illegal voting cases are piling up and are adding to Americans' frustration. 

Trending Across Townhall Media

Bearing Arms — My Changing Views on Revolvers

Knowledge, particularly industrial knowledge, can only be preserved through demand. There has to be a reason to keep that knowledge alive, and if something were to happen where revolvers stop getting made, it's entirely possible that, should a bizarre event take place where we need them again, there will be no one left to make them.

HotAir — Too Fun to Check: Has Hollywood Finally Had Enough of Dems?

Small wonder these Hollywood creatives have decided to focus their attention elsewhere in this cycle. You have to have a product consumers want to create an ad campaign that will sell it.

PJ Media — RFK Tells Brutal Truth of Islam on Eve of 9/11 Anniversary

The Persians who have fought their Islamic regime and watched their family members killed this year would fully agree with Kennedy’s assessment and his warning. The 9/11 attacks were not an anomaly; they were part of an ongoing and global war.

Townhall — How JD Vance Responded to This Heckler at the GOP Midterm Convention Was Hilarious

It was a dripping red meat address, much like the president’s Wednesday night, but it also showcased one thing: his ability to shine when the moment calls for it. 

Twitchy — Elon Musk, Grok, and ALL of X Fact-Check TF Out of AOC Making Gross Claim About Lynchings in America

But if she goes away, who will fan the hate and racial division that Democrats (Socialists) need to win elections?

WHAT'S ON TAP?

Today on Capitol Hill...

The Republican midterm convention wrapped up Thursday night. 

The Senate will be back at it next week. 

White House What's Up

As we remember and mark the 25th anniversary of 9/11, President Trump starts out his day in Washington, D.C., and will participate in an observance ceremony at the Pentagon.

The President, of course, closed out the convention Thursday night, shortly after Vice President JD Vance delivered a rousing speech.

Keeping Up With the Cabinet

Dir. Federal Bureau of Investigation - Kash Patel — to mark the 9/11 anniversary, Patel delivered remarks via video.

Full Court Press...

We had a big development in the USPS mail ballot rule case(s) on Thursday — that one's now up before SCOTUS on an emergency application for stay.  

And things got wild and woolly in MO, with the state supreme court holding Secretary of State Denny Hoskins in contempt (but finding that he'd purged it by essentially complying with the court's order reverting back to the old 6-2 map). And then the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals stepped in and said it will be hearing the constitutional claims on an expedited basis. Never a dull moment in the Show-Me State!

COMING ATTRACTIONS

As noted above, President Trump heads off to Ireland later this afternoon

Vice President JD Vance will visit a federal law enforcement facility in Kansas City, Missouri, on Monday, and will deliver remarks on the Trump Administration’s crackdown on fraud.

MORNING MUSING

I have written several articles over the years reflecting on 9/11, and I'll likely reshare them today, but here, I wanted to share something I wrote on the 10-year anniversary. There's been a lot of talk about how there's an entire generation of Americans who weren't even alive on September 11, 2001 — or who were too young to remember it. My daughter is one of those — I was seven or eight weeks pregnant with her when it happened. So she was only 9 years old at the time I wrote this. But it shows that even those who don't remember it can still understand:

The other day, Riley surprised me with the following exchange: "Five more days," she mused as we got into the car and headed to the pool. "Five more days 'til what?" I asked. "September 11th," came the reply. (Note: She was off by a day, but I can forgive her that -- my days and dates are all mixed up this week, too.) Surprised that she was bringing it up, I responded, "That's right. Can't believe it's been ten years." After a moment, she said, "I just missed it." I wasn't quite sure what to say to that. Finally, I said, "Well, yes -- you were just an itty-bitty baby in Mommy's belly at that point. But...you know...I'm not so sure it's a bad thing to have missed, Baby. That was a very sad day for us all."

Later that evening, I was still reflecting on the conversation and turned on the Smithsonian's retrospective on 9/11. I thought maybe watching some of it with her might be a good way to help her understand a little better. It wasn't long, though, before the tears welled up in my eyes and spilled down my cheeks. I guess it isn't hard to understand why, but it did suprise me a little -- the power of those emotions as I started reliving them. Riley came over to me and hugged me and patted my back, and I decided to hit "Record" and save it for another time. I'm not sure she's ready for it. Or, really, I'm not sure I'm ready for her to be ready for it. I look into her pretty little eyes and like the fact that they don't look like she's seen too much of the world already.

It's made me reflect on my own perspective -- today versus ten years ago. Much has changed in my life since then and it's hard to say how much of a role the events of that day and its aftermath played in that. I know that it caused me to look at things quite differently -- philosophically, spiritually, politically. I'm glad for that in a lot of ways, sad for it in others.

There's a lot of focus on the remembrance this year -- as there should be. But, honestly, it's hard to look back. To see the photos and the video, hear the audio. To remember the terror and overwhelming sadness of that day. It cuts down deep in a way nothing else I've experienced has. Like a psychic wound. Not just for me, but, I suspect, for most who remember that day.  I think I'm glad that, for now, Riley doesn't really understand that -- and that a sunny day in September, to her, is just that.    

At the time, I thought of it in terms of her not understanding — and it's true, on some level, she couldn't. But looking back at this now, I realize that in a larger sense, she did. This is what we need to share with the younger generation(s).

LIGHTER FARE 

Needed today. 

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