The Sindex: Gas Prices Rose 29% in 2 Months After Trump Went to War With Iran
The Reason Sindex tracks the price of vice: smoking, drinking, snacking, traveling, and more.
War
Trump's World Cup Intervention Shows His Sore Loser Philosophy
In sports as in foreign policy, he treats cheating as a virtue. And it doesn’t even work.
Trump Scapegoats Gas Companies for Price Hikes Caused by His Iran War
The president is threatening gas companies and retailers over prices his own Iran policy helped create, while demanding that prices drop to a level the market hasn't seen since 2020.
Is Socialism Going Mainstream?
Plus: the DSA's policy agenda, Trump's chaotic Iran strategy, and America's 250th birthday
Dire Strait
Plus: A federal flip-flop on AI innovation, the beauty of America as seen through World Cup tourists' eyes, and more...
The Senate's Failure To Rein in Trump on Iran Is Part of a Long History of Congress Abdicating Its War Powers
War making in "the power of a single man" is not what the Founders intended.
Why Did Congress Vote To End the Iran War After It Finished?
Democrats and Republicans alike dragged out the process to vote on the Iran war. Antiwar advocates say their vote still matters.
You Can Root for Iran at the World Cup Without Rooting for the Iranian Regime
Plus: the worst rule at the World Cup, and the worst person in golf?
Why U.K. Socialism Could Soon Be America's Problem
Plus: the rise of Democratic Socialists, Trump's Iran negotiations, and ICE abandons detention center plans
My Grandfather's Account of the Early Days of Germany's Attack on the Soviet Union in World War II
Today is the 85th anniversary of that momentous event.
Nuclear Inspectors
Plus: Keir Starmer steps down, Cuba privatizes, AOC inspires a copycat, and more...
America Spent a Fortune Shooting Down Cheap Drones. Now the Missile Stores Are Bare.
After burning through interceptors in the Iran war, the U.S. faces a dire math problem: Enemies can build drones faster than America can build missiles.
Compromise With Iran Isn't 'Surrender'
Hawks don’t understand what diplomacy is: Both sides give something up and both sides get something in return.
Bibi Tearing Up the Deal
Plus: Knicks appreciation, justice startup to watch the watchmen, M&Ms go natural, and more...
No, Trump Isn't 'Paying' Iran $24 Billion To End the War
There’s a lot of confusion about sanctions relief and the U.S.-Iranian deal on the table. Hawks are exploiting it to sabotage the peace.
Trump's Ceasefire Definition Sounds Wrong. History Sadly Suggests Otherwise.
The history of ceasefires is plagued by continued violence, ranging from "moderate shooting" to full-scale offensives.
Bernie Sanders Is Wrong About Trillionaires
Plus: the Supreme Court's biggest pending decisions, renewed court-packing debates, and the economic fallout from the Iran war
The Iran War Is Over, For Now
The U.S. and Iran have moved to the next stage of the peace process. Hawks on all sides are terrified that it will succeed.
The Art of the Deal
Plus: Anthropic vs. the government, Knicks win, bread and circuses, and more...
An Unconstitutional War Results in a Bad Deal
Trump's failure to secure constitutionally required congressional authorization for his war with Iran helped ensure the US lacked the staying power necessary to prevail.
'VERY HARD'
Plus: SpaceX's initial public offering, L.A. taking S.F.'s place, matchmaking reinvented, and more...
Inflation Reaches 4.2% as Prices Outpace Paychecks
The Iran war and Trump's tariffs are pushing prices higher, and neither will be easy to undo.
Israel Tests Iran
Plus: Trump watches the Knicks, H-1B fee ruling, Mormons off the list, and more...
Trump's Middle Eastern Ceasefire: Fiery But Mostly Peaceful
The White House keeps insisting that peace is around the corner. Meanwhile, Israel, Iran, and the United States keep shooting at each other.
Trump and Bibi Are Fighting
Plus: L.A. mayoral race updates, stabbing at Penn, Jon Ossoff thirst, and more...
This Attempt by the Trump Administration To Cripple Legal Immigration Is Illegal, Judge Rules
The government had imposed an indefinite pause on adjudicating asylum petitions and applications for green cards, work permits, and citizenship for legal immigrants from certain countries.
How Do You Define Ceasefire?
Plus: Lunchtime bullying, the decline of H-1B visas, orgy mating, and more...
As Rubio Declares Iran War 'Over,' Lawmakers Prepare War Powers Vote
Rubio offered more information than the president, but the hearings still offered little clarity on the war.
The Draft Is Unpopular. Registration Becomes Automatic in December Anyway.
The federal government will now dig through databases to register 18-year-olds for conscription.
How To Sell a War
Presidents use a web of private influence to garner support for foreign invasions.
Spiraling Out of Control
Plus: Jerome Powell talks, courtpacking watch, medical advancements, and more...
Psychic Soldiers, Mind Readers, and Dolphin Drones: The Cold War's Weird Paranormal History
How Soviet séances and CIA remote viewers sparked a decades-long arms race no one was supposed to know about
Iran Is Turning America's Sanctions Playbook Against It
The U.S. Treasury is trying to fight the kind of trade embargo that it usually imposes on other countries.
A 'More Decisive' Response
Plus: when the city government starts covering Ozempic, Jill Biden's lies, and more...
Does Reporting Bad News About the Iran War Make You a Foreign Agent?
The Trump administration invokes the notoriously vague FARA to threaten a critic.
Escalation in Iran
Plus: NDAs for federal employees, standardized test standards slipping, SpaceX IPO, and more...
250 Years Later, Benjamin Franklin's Warning Is Still Relevant
He famously said the Founders had created "a republic, if you can keep it." How have we kept it? And can we continue?
Why Has Trump Stopped Selling Weapons to Taiwan?
The administration is avoiding conflict with China to focus on war in the Middle East. Taiwan’s democracy hangs in the balance.
The Foreign-Born Heroes Who Chose America
Immigrants have fought for America's founding promise because they understood it, not because they inherited it.
War Powers Vote Is the Latest Embarrassment for House Speaker Mike Johnson
Johnson is seemingly incapable of standing up to the Trump administration, even when one of Congress' core responsibilities is at stake.
Review: A Sci-Fi War Movie About the Pentagon's Inscrutable Budget
The Pentagon's budget is so vast that a soldier believes the extraterrestrial machine shooting lasers at them might be taxpayer–funded.
Why Does Trump Keep Bringing Up Decades-Old Foreign Grievances?
Instead of making the case for war in Venezuela, Iran, and Cuba, the White House has been digging up conflicts from long ago.
The New York Times Sues Pentagon Over 'Retaliatory' Escort Requirement
The Pentagon instituted its new press rules in the fall, prompting a months-long legal battle over the First Amendment.
The U.S. Government's Shifting Excuses for Bombing a School in Iran
The Trump administration has come up with contradictory reasons to avoid admitting to an obvious, terrible mistake.
Thomas Massie Loses, Proving That Deficit Hawks and Foreign Policy Doves Aren't Welcome in Trump's GOP
If this is how the Republican Party treats the libertarian-leaning lawmakers in its midst, then libertarians should take note and act accordingly.
