legislation

The bills that Congress reject are as informative as the ones it does. Reviews of all the legislation that meet their fate in government halls.

I Remember Y2K. I Think We’re Doing It Again With AI.
I think about Y2K a lot lately. I remember people genuinely panicking as 1999 came to an end. Computers supposedly was not going to understand that the year had changed from 1999 to 2000. Systems would crash! Banks could fail! Everything connected to a computer might suddenly stop working!
By Cadmaa day ago in The Swamp
The Trump-Xi Summit: What They Left Unsaid Matters Most
The most revealing document from the Trump-Xi summit may be the one neither side published. There was no joint communiqué.
By Jin3 days ago in The Swamp
Spain Is Moving Closer to China. What It Reveals About Europe’s Strategic Divide
Barcelona offers the first clue Barcelona spent five days in September doing something that would have been unusual in an earlier phase of Europe-China relations.
By Jin3 days ago in The Swamp
The 6:1 Ratio: Inside the Cabinet Room Where Praise Replaced Policy
One in Six I January 29, 2026. The White House Cabinet Room. The cameras were already in place. Reporters had been allowed into a space that would normally be used for closed-door discussions of sensitive matters. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said to the camera: "What happened in Afghanistan, the war in Ukraine, under President Trump, they would never happen. The tragedy of October 7 in Israel would never have happened either."
By Jin3 days ago in The Swamp
Europe Is Building the Weapon It Once Called Illegal
I In 1987, the United States launched a Section 301 investigation into the European Community. In 1989, based on that investigation, Washington imposed retaliatory tariffs on the EC. In December 1998, the United States again invoked Section 301 to impose unilateral sanctions totaling $520 million on imports from the EU, including handbags and cashmere wool products.
By Jin6 days ago in The Swamp
Trump Just Renamed AI “Super Intelligence.” Here’s What That Actually Does.
On September 29, 2026, Trump signed an executive order called Launching the Super Intelligence Era . It tells federal agencies to replace “artificial intelligence” with “Super Intelligence” in official communications. The same day, he signed the White House Super Intelligence Accord: Joint Commitment on Frontier Responsibility with the CEOs of Anthropic, Google, Meta, Nvidia, OpenAI, and xAI. The accord hands regulatory leadership to the companies themselves.
By Jin6 days ago in The Swamp
Iran’s 7-Day Plan to Reopen the Strait of Hormuz Lasted 24 Hours
On September 25, 2026, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi presented a plan at the United Nations in New York. If the United States took certain steps, the Strait of Hormuz would reopen within seven days. The next day, Trump told cameras, “I rejected their proposal” and “The United States completely controls the Strait of Hormuz.” The plan lasted less than a day.
By Jin8 days ago in The Swamp
The U.S. and China Have Changed the Language of Their Rivalry. Here’s What “Strategic Stability” Means
The U.S. and China Have Changed the Language of Their Rivalry. Here’s What “Strategic Stability” Means The new formula does not end competition. It is an attempt to make competition more predictable, and to put limits on how far disputes can escalate.
By Jin9 days ago in The Swamp
The Worker of Pathways and the Bubble of Greed
The Worker of Pathways and the Bubble of Greed Copilot The Worker of Pathways walked into a world where the sky looked normal, but the air felt wrong, stretched thin, like something enormous was sucking the breath out of the streets.
By Vicki Lawana Trusselli 10 days ago in The Swamp
Signed While Tariffs Stayed: The 20-Year China-U.S. LNG Deal, Explained Without the Hype
On September 14, 2026, Venture Global issued an announcement. The announcement confirmed that China Gas Holdings had signed a new liquefied natural gas sale and purchase agreement with Venture Global. Under the agreement, China Gas Holdings will purchase 500,000 tonnes of U.S. LNG per year beginning in 2030, for a term of 20 years. The same announcement stated that the new agreement brings the total long-term purchase arrangement between Venture Global and China Gas Holdings to 2.5 million tonnes per year, supplied from Venture Global’s project portfolio.
By Jin10 days ago in The Swamp
The $14 Billion Arms Sale Trump Won’t Sign — And the Quiet Message to Taiwan
US$14 Billion on the Table On September 21, 2026, The New York Times reported that Ryan Hass, a former China director at the U.S. National Security Council, said some Taiwanese officials visiting the United States had been asked by Trump administration officials to reduce their visits to think tanks in Washington.
By Jin13 days ago in The Swamp
Russia’s Election Was Predictable. What Comes Next Is the Part That Matters.
After Russia’s Parliamentary Election: A Vote With No Suspense, and Who It Will Press Down on Next Moscow time, Sunday evening, at United Russia party headquarters. Dmitry Medvedev and Sergey Lavrov stood in front of a screen as the numbers jumped. Staff brought tea. No one drank it. This scene had been written before the vote. The only difference was where the percentage on the screen would finally stop.
By Jin13 days ago in The Swamp