“To those of us who studied political science, Perú presents a bit of a taxonomic conundrum. We’re all taught at school that systems where the executive needs to keep parliament on side to stay in power are called ‘parliamentary,’ and systems where the executive is separately elected and serves a fixed term independent of legislative majorities are called ‘presidential.’ These are the two flavors democracy comes in. Everyone knows this. Perú didn’t get the memo. Peruvian legislators have figured out one weird trick that magically turns a presidential system parliamentary.” (02/26/26)
“Severe weather events now cause billions in damages annually, while electricity demand is on the rise — driven by economic growth and the expansion of artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing. Building resilient, modern infrastructure will be essential for maintaining global competitiveness, ensuring affordability and reliability, and supporting a growing domestic economy. Yet even as our capacity to build the economic and technical infrastructure we need has stalled, we are also losing much of the natural infrastructure we depend on.” (02/26/26)
“The Supreme Court’s decision is clear. The president did not have the authority to impose most of his tariffs. President Donald Trump argued that, under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, his actions were justified because of a national emergency caused by a foreign threat. In the 6-3 ruling, the court said that, on the contrary, that act provides Congress with that authority, which hadn’t delegated it to the president. The tariffs left standing are largely by sector: cars, semiconductors, steel. Trump, like the infamous honey badger, don’t care. The president immediately insulted the six justices who ruled against him, calling them ‘disloyal’, ‘unpatriotic’ and ‘lapdogs… for the radical left Democrats’. Then he turned around and reimposed a global 15% tariff rate.” (02/26/26)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Jake Scott
“In the wake of Japan’s early general election on February 8, 2026, much of the commentary has focused on two major aspects: the landslide victory of Sanae Takaichi’s Jiyū-Minshutō (Liberal Democrat Party, LDP) of 316 seats; and LDP’s hardline shift against immigration and foreign workers. Underdiscussed, however, are the likely impacts the election outcome has on Japan’s economic fortunes.” (02/26/26)
“Trump administration officials are apparently aware that Americans do not want to go to war with Iran. Indeed, poll after poll (after poll) shows that voters have no interest in starting another Middle East conflict, let alone embarking on an Iraq war-style regime change operation. But the White House is working on ways around that. Trump officials’ latest thinking, according to a new report from Politico, is to have the Israelis attack Iran first and hope the Iranian retaliation targets U.S. forces in the region, which, in turn the theory apparently goes, Americans back home would be more supportive of a U.S. counterstrike in defense of U.S. troops.” (02/26/26)
“Iran may be willing to accept a new nonproliferation agreement with limits far beyond what the Non-Proliferation Treaty requires, but it is not going to accept those limits indefinitely. You can have significant limitations on Iran’s nuclear program for a certain period of time, but you are never going to get those limitations made permanent. Smart negotiators would understand that and adjust accordingly. The U.S. has Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner instead.” (02/26/26)
“It truly is something to behold, the way President Donald Trump plays these Democrats like a cat swats around a mouse. The only difference in that dynamic is that the mouse can’t help itself; it doesn’t know it’s being played. Democrats…well, maybe they are only as smart as a mouse. It’s tough to know. The only things that can be known are just how pathetic Democrats are, and Donald Trump lives rent-free in their head, their dreams and in every breath they take. I expect pathetic Democrat activists to be able to control themselves about as well as a starved Pavlovian dog in a bell factory; they aren’t very bright and have spent their lives buying into the BS the leftist corporate media and their masters in the Democrat Party have been selling.” (02/26/26)
“On October 30, 1938 a very young Orson Welles pulled a clever stunt. He masterminded a live radio dramatization of H.G. Wells’s War of the Worlds, presented as if CBS was actually reporting on a Martian invasion. Although the program occasionally notified listeners that it was a dramatic presentation, not news, thousands of Americans panicked, packing churches, fleeing their homes, and jamming switchboards. Last weekend Citrini Research released a report — on Substack! — titled The 2028 Global Intelligence Crisis. The report, which rapidly went viral, laid out a scenario for economic and financial chaos caused by AI, written as if it were a retrospective published after the dire developments it projected. … There are two distinct questions about the huge reaction to a report that didn’t actually contain any news.” (02/26/26)
“The latest tranche of the Epstein Files has fleshed out the sheer scale of the billionaire’s reach and highlighted the fragility of good character.” (02/26/26)
“Innovative, low-cost weapons have destroyed sophisticated military systems that can be dramatically costlier to build and operate. Russian warships costing tens of millions of dollars have succumbed to semi-autonomous Ukrainian sea drones costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Even cheaper commercial drones have not only destroyed million-dollar tanks but have also performed missions that were once only possible with advanced military helicopters. Countering these drones can drain the defender’s coffers. … The barrier to entry for sophisticated, high-impact warfare is collapsing with the global availability of cheap, powerful, and adaptable commercial technology. This new reality leaves policymakers and citizens grappling with a set of profound challenges. Countries are confronting central issues around these novel strategic asymmetries and how to control the proliferation of advanced weapons when they are built from commercial components.” (02/26/26)
