“Unbeknownst to most Americans, federal regulatory agencies have their own court system for adjudicating disputes that businesses and citizens have with regulators. These agencies rely on special courts headed by administrative law judges (ALJs). One big problem with this system is that it operates independently of legitimate Article III courts. Another problem is that agency-housed tribunals have a strong tendency to favor regulators over the regulated. And yet another problem is how these judges (which I call ‘transitory’) get loaned out between agencies. Inter-agency borrowing of ALJs may not immediately stand out to the average citizen as problematic, but it raises serious questions about constitutionality, executive transparency, and bureaucratic oversight.” (12/01/25)
Source: The American Conservative
by Liam Childers
“or years, Xi Jinping has encouraged the usage of many Maoist era slogans. One such slogan, ‘Sailing the Seas Depends on the Helmsman,’ was a Cultural Revolution staple, used in song, speeches, and on posters praising the chairman. The slogan’s reemergence highlights a connection in how the state viewed itself then and now. The slogan also reflects Xi’s view of himself. As his years in office have gone on, this self-portrait has also been imposed on the party itself. Xi is presented as singular and irreplaceable. And yet, inevitably, he will need one day to be replaced.” (12/01/25)
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Almut Rochowanski
“Before the two sides have even sat at the same table, the fate of the Donbas territories has emerged as the issue on which the sides are so far apart, and so unlikely to give in to the other, that it may doom peace talks before they even open. Ukraine considers conceding territory bitter, humiliating, and painful. Understandably so: giving up even more, after the country has lost so much and so many in defending itself, is intolerable. Russia seems grimly determined to gain the territory, if need be militarily, its recent progress on the battlefield making this threat all too credible. In this conundrum, the inhabitants of this sliver of the Donbas are offered only two futures, both of them devastating.” (12/01/25)
“‘Everyone is a V.I.P.’ was the motto of the Disney theme parks for decades after the opening of Disneyland in 1955. A broad middle class could afford a trip to a Disney park, and visitors had equal access to the attractions once they were there. Unfortunately, America is a long way from that middle-class ideal today. Disney and other companies now make more money from people with high incomes, and they tailor their services accordingly. So much for the old Disney theme song: ‘When you wish upon a star / Makes no difference who you are.’ The original Disney vision reflected a long history of popular cultural affordability that once set America apart.” (12/01/25)
“The chaotic rollout of the latest Ukraine peace initiative reveals a troubling reality that transcends partisan politics. Three years into a devastating European war, American policymakers still operate under the delusion that diplomatic papering over irreconcilable positions can substitute for the hard work of strategic disengagement.” (12/01/25)
“The Caribbean has a choice between two futures. One path leads toward deeper militarisation, dependency, and incorporation into the US security apparatus. The other leads toward the revitalisation of regional autonomy, South-South cooperation, and the anti-imperialist traditions that have long sustained the Caribbean’s political imagination.” (12/01/25)
“More Americans are wising up to the fact that higher education has become a raw deal for all too many young people. A new NBC News poll finds that a full 63% of voters believe a four-year college degree now isn’t worth it, since many students graduate with ‘a large amount of debt’ but ‘no specific job skills.’ That’s up markedly from 2013, when a majority took the opposite view, as 53% called a degree ‘worth the cost because people have a better chance to get a good job and earn more money over their lifetime.’ That was the case for generations of Americans, who saw college as a key step to higher-paying jobs and a better life: ‘Upwardly mobile’ was almost entirely synonymous with ‘college-educated.’ But over the last few decades, the dynamic has shifted: Far too many college degrees guarantee nothing … except onerous debt.” (11/30/25)
“The possible death of the Trump administration’s latest attempt at a diplomatic settlement is the latest tragedy in the story of this war. It was likely the best chance at granting Russia what it had to have to end the war while granting Ukraine what it had to have to achieve its own goals, as opposed to America’s or Europe’s.” (12/01/25)
“Until very recently, it was standard to dismiss as alarmists those who would invoke ‘fascism’ to describe the right’s transformation in the era of Trump. But even for the most committed of us — I’m someone who does use the f-word — endless media obliviousness and obfuscation can get in your head: Are things really as bad as I’m suggesting? Is liberal democracy really in this much danger? The modern illiberal right is bad, sure, but is this really fascism? And then you listen to a few sentences out of Elon Musk’s mouth and all doubts are dispelled.” (11/30/25)
