“We are now in a global fossil fuel crisis. With oil and liquefied natural gas from the Persian Gulf unable to reach international markets due to Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, hydrocarbon prices have been soaring around the world and widespread shortages are emerging. Anyone who thought that the U.S. would be insulated from this dire picture thanks to its large domestic oil production has had a rude awakening: the average retail price of gasoline has risen more than $1 per gallon over the past month, while the price of diesel is up $1.60. But the Trump administration hasn’t allowed these short-run distractions to divert it from its long-run goals: It remains deeply committed to killing renewable energy, especially wind power, and increasing America’s reliance on fossil fuels.” (03/25/26)
“‘I’ve never been more pleased by ‘losing’ in my life,’ tweeted Jay Bhattacharya. What makes the Director of the National Institutes of Health a ‘loser?’ Well, the doctor (who also serves as current Acting Director of the Centers for Disease Control) has not always served in the federal government. In his days between Trump administrations he’d run afoul of censors on social media. Now he’s jubilant that a major case against censorship has come to a freedom-of-speech conclusion.” (03/25/26)
“The idea that there are huge swaths of the United States populace who want and need the right wing’s unreality — their alternative reality — is a farce: a gaudy, festering artifice constructed and maintained by a million people who need it to be real for financial, political, and cultural purposes. And it was on full horrifying display during Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, where Bad Bunny sang his catchy Spanish-language pop tunes at halftime, intermingled with some nonoffensive and rather hopeful political messaging. This was preemptively framed by the American right as an assault on the country itself: a Spanish-speaking Latino man doing Latin music during the nation’s biggest sporting event. During a time of revanchist white supremacy, this would simply not do. … So they fled, as they always do, to an alternative venue: an all-American halftime show hosted by Turning Point USA.” (03/25/26)
“America is more fragmented and polarized than since the Civil War. More and more Americans are seeking refuge in the arms of movements seeking to upend the status quo. The center of the political world is losing more and more as the extremes offer alternatives and possible solutions to economic and cultural issues. Lest we think this is unique, history has a way of reminding us that something has already happened. The more our polarization grows, the more it seems that we are living in the Weimarization of America. This is not to say that America is becoming Germany, but instead that there is a dissatisfaction with the system that is similar to Germany on the cusp of the rise of Hitler.” (03/25/26)
“New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s recent plea for wealthy residents to return to the Empire State reveals more than she likely intended. When a state’s chief executive effectively says, ‘We need your money,’ it’s not a sign of strength, it’s an admission that the model is broken. Her plea to well-to-do former residents comes across as a comedy skit: New York is already overtaxed and overregulated, but please come back as we are in the process of enacting higher taxes and imposing more anti-growth regulations. For years, New York has operated under the illusion that ever-higher taxes and ever-expanding government services can coexist with economic dynamism. That illusion is now colliding with reality.” (03/25/26)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Connor O’Keeffe
“As all of this has unfolded in the last three weeks — the surprise attack during negotiations, the violent deaths of Iranian civilians as a result of US and Israeli bombs, and the credible threats of escalations that would significantly intensify civilian deaths — anyone who has voiced any concern about the ethics of any of this has been either dismissed by the administration and its supporters as a naïve utopian pacifist or demonized as a serious internal impediment to an operation that will finally bring about the kind of lasting regional peace that virtually everyone claims to desire. But ethics matter, especially in war. War is no trivial subject. It’s violence on the widest scale. At their best, wars can throw off the worst tyrannies and liberate the oppressed. But they can also bring about the worst atrocities.” (03/25/26)
“Much of Book 3 is dedicated to a historical account of how and why the feudal order that prevailed throughout Europe for many centuries eventually gave way to a liberal, commercial order—that is, how a world dominated by hierarchy, dependence, and intrastate conflict was superseded by one in which the rule of law reigned and people enjoyed comparative freedom and safety. Smith’s account of how the feudal lords squandered their immense power for the sake of frivolous luxuries has become a famous one.” 903/25/26)
“Two years after the European Union (EU)’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) took effect, the results have been mixed to negative. Promises about certainty, lower enforcement costs, and a more innovative and competitive digital ecosystem haven’t materialized. Rather than learn from Europe’s mistakes, Californian policymakers and federal proponents of Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)’s American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA) would import similar ideas to ostensibly help small businesses and hold tech giants accountable. The EU’s experience shows that DMA-style proposals aren’t just unlikely to achieve these goals. They’re also likely to harm consumers, competition, and innovation.” (03/25/26)
“This is a story of the unintended consequences of a Pyrrhic victory celebrated 35 years ago as a history-making triumph. As the U.S. fights its latest war in the Persian Gulf — this time against Iran, the country that benefited most from Saddam Hussein’s demise — it’s a good moment to reflect on Operation Desert Storm. That intervention now appears to have been an avoidable war that set the United States on a disastrous course from which it has failed to extricate itself. What seemed like a clean victory in 1991 has turned into a strategic quagmire.” (03/25/26)
Source: Grist
by Jake Bittle & Rebecca Egan McCarthy
“The government is paying TotalEnergies to halt a wind farm it isn’t building, in exchange for fossil fuel investments it’s already making.” (03/25/26)
