“For over 250 years, Americans have relied on the United States Postal Service for timely processing of their mail, no matter the conditions. After we dropped it in a box or gave it to a letter carrier, we could count on our mail being postmarked on that date so that our bills and tax returns aren’t late and our election ballots are counted. Unfortunately, this trust is now increasingly risky, since we can no longer rely on USPS to postmark mail on the day it’s collected. As part of former Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s broader cost-cutting and restructuring plan, the Postal Service has stopped its practice of picking up mail at the end of every day from all post offices. This means your ballot or bill payment could sit there until the following morning or even longer before being postmarked at a huge processing center.” (03/19/26)
“1968 was an interesting year. Several of us here at The Price of Liberty recall that rather fateful year. For us, the impact of events of 1968 still is resonating around the world, and especially the States, in 2026.” (03/18/26)
“In 2023, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party held a slim, single-seat majority in the Minnesota State Senate and control of the State House and Governor’s Mansion. It had been a decade since the last Democratic trifecta in the state, which like many similar moments of prior eras, produced only incremental wins for progressives and the Left. Since the financial crisis and Great Recession of the early Obama era, a core group of community and union organizers in Minnesota had been building what they called ‘alignment’. It would go beyond the traditional coalitions so many of us were used to — ones coalesced around a single fight but too pragmatic to inspire people to action. Real power building, I was told, would require something different: An ability to work across organizations and ideologies while holding up bigger sets of common, universal demands.” (03/19/26)
“It’s axiomatic that child care should promote child development and enhance the capabilities of working parents. Congress can take an important step forward in achieving these goals by reauthorizing the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program, which would expand the type of care available to parents, make child care more affordable to more families, and strengthen families and communities in the process.” (03/18/26)
“On February 28th, the United States launched Operation Epic Fury. The goal of this operation, according to the White House, is to eliminate the threat of the Iranian regime. This is yet another attempt at regime change in the Middle East. While Donald Trump boasts about his new gold curtains, eleven United States service members have been killed, and it is estimated that the first twelve days of the war have cost a staggering $16.5 billion. Donald Trump promised peace during his second term; instead, he has involved the United States in a new conflict. This war was initiated without congressional approval, is financially reckless, and could have been avoided. When Donald Trump won re-election in November 2024, he made the promise, ‘I’m not going to start a war. I’m going to stop wars.'” (03/18/26)
“For all the impassioned impromptu defenses of the current war in Iran, there have been remarkably few that have used the traditional criteria Western (and many non-Western) theologians, ethicist, politicians, and soldiers have used to evaluate the righteousness of armed struggle, the ‘just war’ principles. Even those leaders who have called the war ‘just’ have not engaged with any of the specifics of just war reasoning. The paucity of such efforts likely results from the fact that this war cannot be considered a just war when all the relevant criteria are considered.” (03/18/26)
“Everyone has opinions, usually on almost everything. Not all opinions are equally valid, though, and there are good reasons why this is true. It doesn’t bother me when people have opinions that differ from mine, as long as those opinions are based in reality and on facts. What bothers me is when people have different opinions based on superstition, lies, hallucinations, or some combination of all those. … This is common in what passes for political opinions, especially on the Internet.” (03/18/26)
“Markets may fail; governments may help. But much about market activity will forever be invisible. A pair of unlikely thinkers helps illustrate the limits of what we know and the need for epistemic humility.” (03/18/26)
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Naman Karl-Thomas Habtom
“U.S. military bases in the Middle East have served as a key launchpad for American attacks on Iran. But they’ve also served as a vulnerable target for retaliation. In less than two weeks, the Iranian military has fired thousands of missiles and drones at these bases, killing seven U.S. soldiers and wounding at least 140 more. So it is that America’s war of choice in Iran has exposed the dangers and futility of U.S. overseas bases. In order to minimize the risk of future wars and reduce the threat faced by allies and partners, the United States should learn from this war and begin shuttering these outposts.” (03/18/26)
