Yesterday, President Trump signed an executive order directing the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to replace “Lake Ontario” with “Lake America” in federal maps, contracts, documents, and communications within 30 days. The order can’t force Canada, international organizations, private mapmakers, state governments, or ordinary people to follow along. It…
The U.S.-Canada Tariff Dispute and Its Economic Stakes
For two countries that share the world’s longest international border, the United States and Canada are doing a remarkable impression of neighbors arguing over whose tree dropped leaves into whose yard. Unfortunately, this disagreement involves 50 percent tariffs, billions of dollars in trade, and enough economic collateral damage to make an ordinary property-line dispute look…
The Senate’s New Sanctions Push Against Russia and Iran
The Senate has taken a major step toward dramatically increasing economic pressure on Russia, the countries purchasing its energy, and Iran. In an 86–12 procedural vote, senators advanced the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, although the measure still requires additional votes before it can pass the Senate and move to…
Trump’s New Canada Tariffs and the Debate Over Fair Trade
The latest chapter in the increasingly tense U.S.-Canada relationship involves trade barriers, dairy quotas, provincial liquor bans, automobile policy, and, hovering strangely in the background, wildfire smoke. President Trump has signed three proclamations imposing additional 50 percent tariffs on a range of Canadian imports beginning August 19. The duties will affect nearly $20 billion in…
Tariffs, Pills, and Politics: Will 100% Drug Tariffs Fix Anything or Break Everything?
If there’s one issue that reliably unites Americans across the political spectrum, it’s this: prescription drugs cost too much. Whether you’re paying out of pocket, dealing with insurance headaches, or watching premiums creep higher every year, the system feels expensive, opaque, and—at times—downright unfair. So, when President Trump steps in with a bold proposal like…
SCOTUS Draws a Hard Line on Tariffs
The Supreme Court’s recent decision striking down President Trump’s sweeping emergency tariff program wasn’t some vague procedural technicality. It was a direct constitutional confrontation over who has the authority to impose tariffs and how far a president can stretch an emergency statute to achieve economic policy goals. In Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, the Court…
Coffee Prices, Baseball Bats, and the Fine Art of Governing Without Losing Our Minds
Sometimes American politics feels like someone dumped a grocery cart, a legal thriller, and a reality show into a blender, hit purée, and said, “Here, taxpayers, drink this.” Yet in the middle of the chaos, we get moments that show how governing actually works: a mix of pressure, course-correction, and the occasional crazy person showing…
Why President Trump’s Trade Fight Deserves a Second Look
When President Trump rolled out his new 10 % across-the-board tariff this year, the usual fireworks went off in Washington. Democrats clutched their pearls, the media went into DEFCON 1, and—perhaps most surprisingly—a handful of Senate Republicans broke ranks to challenge the plan. This week, the Senate even voted to roll back some of the…
Trump’s 10% Tariff Threat Over Ontario’s Reagan Ad: Smart Leverage or Overreaction?
Sometimes it feels like President Trump is one headline away from dropping a tariff. This weekend’s flare-up with Canada proves the point. While flying aboard Air Force One to Malaysia, Trump posted on Truth Social that he’s planning to raise tariffs on Canadian goods by another 10%. The reason? A television ad from the province…
Tariffs as a Foreign Policy Tool: Strength or Strategic Overreach?
When President Trump announced plans for a 100% tariff on Chinese imports, the usual suspects on Wall Street gasped like they’d just seen the national debt clock explode. But while the markets hyperventilated, Main Street folks nodded and said, “Well, it’s about time somebody stood up to China.” And that’s the heart of the debate…
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