Source: Libertarian Institute
by Joseph Solis-Mullen

“For decades Washington has advertised its air and naval supremacy as the indispensable guarantor of global order. Recent events have shown this to be little but increasingly expensive theater. The 2026 Iran War has paused not with Iranian capitulation but in a cascade of humiliations that have permanently altered the strategic landscape. Washington’s vaunted power-projection capabilities proved unable to shield even its own forward bases, depleted critical munitions stockpiles, and ultimately ceded effective control of the Strait of Hormuz to Tehran. These lessons will not be lost on Beijing or Taipei.” (04/16/26)

https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/the-iran-war-exposes-the-emptiness-of-american-strength-in-east-asia/

Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen

“Today, we’ll talk about jet fuel, the good news/bad news situation for China, and more. For the time being, yes. The U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is starting to actually work, though the Iranian fuel kept in floating storage or already on the ocean is unaffected. Of course, the products a blockade does prevent from safe passage only deepens the damage to the global economy. There has been talk of more talks between the U.S. and Iran, but nothing finalized. I spent Wednesday in LAX and O’Hare Airport in Chicago, and things looked relatively normal. The (actually illegal) payments to TSA workers, despite lapsed appropriations to the Department of Homeland Security, meant that metal detectors were running full-speed, and my flight was full.” (04/16/26)

https://prospect.org/2026/04/16/aftermath-how-the-war-might-cancel-your-flight/

Source: Washington Monthly
by Steven Hill

“The Hungarian strongman’s electoral manipulations created a system so volatile that a modest popular swing wiped out his supermajority.” (04/16/26)

https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/04/16/how-viktor-orban-got-rolled-by-his-own-gerrymander/

Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Grant Stark

“Adding more generation capacity without hardening the last-mile delivery network leaves the cake half-baked.” [editor’s note: Relying on centralized generation and long-distance transmission is the problem – TLK] (04/16/26)

https://fee.org/articles/energy-reliability-is-only-as-strong-as-its-weakest-wire/

Source: Los Angeles Times
by Jackie Calmes

“Once again, as in Trump’s first term, the public and press are inattentive to the nation’s fiscal health relative to past years. But that reflects the president’s own disengagement with reconciling spending and revenue — this from a president many Americans voted for based on his purported prowess as a businessman. For decades back to Ronald Reagan’s time, so-called deficit wars in Washington were a big story. Now, even Republicans in Congress complain of Trump’s absence from the fiscal fray as they struggle to belatedly finish this year’s budget work that was due last fall, and to end a weeks-old partial government shutdown, before turning to the budget for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1. Yet it’s worth paying attention to U.S. budgets even if Trump won’t, for the sake of our children and grandchildren who’ll inherit the bills.” (04/16/26)

https://archive.is/NHrgF