“When Emperor Hirohito decided to surrender to the Allies, he provoked an attempted military coup. When asked, ‘Why didn’t Czar Nicholas back down in 1914?’ historians’ standard answer is, ‘Because if he had, Pan-Slavist hawks would have overthrown him.’ … Even if a large faction of the leadership of theocratic Iran, Imperial Japan, Nazi Germany, or Czarist Russia wants to make peace, they probably won’t. Indeed, even if the Supreme Leader wants to make peace, they probably won’t. My reaction, in contrast, is agentic. If by some miracle, I were the Supreme Leader of any of these countries, I have devised a strategy to make peace with high probability of success — and low risk to myself. It’s not pretty, and once you grasp my strategy, you may think ill of me for publicizing this forbidden knowledge.” [editor’s note: It would work just as well for the US or Israel, if THEIR “Supreme Leaders” actually wanted peace – TLK] (03/24/26)
“As you may have noticed, the price of one key lawn maintenance ingredient — gasoline for your mower — is way up lately. As you may not have noticed yet, you’ll also be paying more for a second ingredient, fertilizer. Both of those hits to your wallet result from war-related shipping woes (in particular, the partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz), and both are likely to drag on for some time even if the war comes to an end soon. It’s always a good time to consider converting your surrounding green space from a carefully trimmed, lovingly landscaped ‘lawn’ to a more natural (or, if water usage matters, xeriscaped) ‘yard.’ But this year, it’s an even better time than usual.” (03/24/26)
“For years we have been told that the American economy is at risk of total collapse if the American Trucking Associations (ATA) can’t find another 60,000 or 70,000 or 160,000 truckers. If there were an actual shortage of truckers, trucking companies wouldn’t get away with barely paying minimum wage, would they? … In a properly functioning market economy, wouldn’t the shortage boost the price of truckers’ labor a little higher than what one might expect at a fast-food restaurant? What are we missing here? … When the ATA hit on the phrase truck driver shortage, it found a messaging tool that has helped them line their pockets with oodles of taxpayer money. In the process, it stymied wage growth — to the advantage of trucking-fleet owners and the Fortune 500 companies that are their customers.” (for publication 05/26)
“For more than a decade, naval and air forces of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have exerted a strong presence in Taiwan’s immediate neighborhood. One U.S. expert calculated that Taiwan recorded an average of about 10 Chinese military flights a day in 2025, and on some days the number was in the dozens. The message being delivered was that the Chinese military was prepared to act quickly and decisively if pro-independence leaders in Taiwan tried to implement their agenda. Then, in late February of this year, a sudden, dramatic lull in PRC military flights near the island began.” (03/24/26)
“It appears Congress will finally get to vote on President Trump’s self-initiated war with Iran. It won’t be a direct vote on the war, even though Article I of the U.S. Constitution vests that power in Congress and not the executive branch. It will be an indirect vote providing funding for the war effort and replenishing our munitions — and perhaps other items. But given Trump’s resentment at needing congressional support for his actions, the effort to pass a funding bill may not go well. … Trump will need Senate Democrats to pass the supplemental funding. And he may not even have all Republicans on board.” (03/24/26)
“For most of the last 40 years, pollsters have asked voters: Which party do you trust more on healthcare? The answer has been pretty much the same over this whole period. Voters trust Democrats more, sometimes by a two-to-one margin. When I’ve asked my Republican politicos why that is, the answer I typically receive is: Our party doesn’t do healthcare. Then they crouch in the fetal position. Well, the GOP certainly better start ‘doing healthcare’, because the issue of medical care access and affordability is front and center for American families. The Republican promise to voters should be better healthcare at half the cost. Here are five easy pieces to this saner and higher-quality healthcare system.” (03/24/26)
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“In a press conference with Tanaichi, Trump was asked why he hadn’t advised U.S. allies of the attack on Iran prior to it being initiated. In an interesting reveal — albeit somewhat impolitic — Trump used the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor to justify the U.S. surprise attack on Iran. He stated: ‘Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor, OK?’ Yet, doesn’t Trump’s answer raise the question I raised in my article: Should the official narrative on the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor now be revised, given that the U.S. government is now using it to justify its sneak attack on Iran?” (03/24/26)
Source: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus
by David Beckworth
“It is not easy being a central banker in a world plagued by supply shocks. These disturbances push economic activity and inflation in opposite directions, forcing difficult tradeoffs between full employment and price stability. Fed officials now face such a challenge with the war in the Middle East. The resulting reduction in oil production could dampen economic activity while temporarily raising inflation. In this environment, it may be tempting to ease monetary policy to cushion the blow. But doing so would risk further stoking inflation. And if the public were already sensitive to inflation, such easing could unanchor expectations and make matters worse.” (03/24/26)
“The March 4, 2026, edition of the Arizona Daily Star put the facts succinctly: ‘A Haitian asylum seeker held for four months at Florence Correctional Center died Monday at a Scottsdale hospital due to complications from an infected tooth.’ It seems the infection spread from his tooth to his lungs, and he developed the pneumonia that killed him. In other words, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) allowed a prisoner to die of a toothache. His name was Emmanuel Damas. He was 56 years old and the father of two. And we can only expect medical treatment at ICE centers to deteriorate further.” (03/24/26)
“There’s no doubt that the Americas were irrevocably changed by European contact. The decimation and sociopolitical transformation of the Western Hemisphere was so thorough that many scholars speak of an indigenous genocide — the intentional destruction of native societies. But there’s also no doubt that the story is not so simple.” (03/24/26)
