Commentary | LobbySeven

The Iran Deal

Our reality TV presidency is nearing its zenith. With John Bolton joining the inner sanctum of our national security team, we will have officially reached the point where most of our country is run not by experts and professionals, but rather cable TV talking heads. Say what you will about the Rex Tillersons of the world, but the knowledge that nobody leaves the Trump administration with their dignity intact has clearly put a damper on the number of people willing in the White House. This has left the door open to primarily charlatans and cranks. Maybe none of this will matter. Larry Kudlow has been impressively wrong about everything during an unimpressive two-decade span of playing an econ

Russia's Managed Democracy

As you may be aware, Russia yesterday held its presidential “election” and, as was widely expected, Vladimir Putin was “elected” president for a new six-year term. The share of “voting” won by his United Russia party matches their pre-election goal almost exactly: 70% of the vote on 70% turnout. In addition to the unlikelihood of such an accurate prediction, it takes only the most cursory glance at voting data to recognize the Russian “elections” as the sham they are. Russia openly states – proudly states – that it is a “managed democracy.” As far as I can tell, this means that the government makes some choices for the people with respect to elections (specifically, closely controlling who c

Trumpcare in Action

As we all remember well, Donald Trump and the Republican Party failed to repeal the Affordable Care Act via legislation. As we also know, certain unrelated legislation, as well as various executive actions taken by the White House, have put the imprint of GOP-style government on our already strained health insurance market. So far, the effects of these actions have been limited – but only because many of the major changes were delayed until 2019. With the 2019 non-group insurance cycle (participation, requested premium increases, approved premium increases, formal offerings, open enrollment) launching now, we can start to have an idea of what the future looks like. Needless to say, it is not

Volume 21: The Post Office

Neither by Snow, nor Rain, nor Heat, nor Darkness “The post office, or any world of work, is only one institutionalized system of control that is designed to beat people, to condition them into accepting that humiliation and failure is the norm. Those who do not rebel against this lose any ability to think for themselves. The workers are robbed of power whilst the bosses have only a small amount of it and can only use it arbitrarily, which is to say, pointlessly.” “We’re forced into absurd lives, against which the only sane response is to wage a guerilla operation of humor and lust and madness.” - Charles Bukowski, Post Office The United States Postal Service has an image problem. The last t

Volume 24: The 2018 Election, Who Projected It Best?

The Book Launch Party

Volume 23: 1918, An Alternative History

The Iran Deal

Russia's Managed Democracy

Trumpcare in Action

Volume 21: The Post Office