The Workaround Presidency: Constitutional Arbitrage
We're witnessing the emergence of a decorative judiciary. A constitutional Potemkin village.
Rebecca Rowan
The Racket Never Dies
Ninety-one years ago today, on February 17th, 1935, Smedley Butler took to WCAU radio in Philadelphia and told the American public what Congress wouldn’t.
The Wrong Fight: Why Democrats Keep Debating Who They Are Instead of What Things Cost
A democratic socialist who wants city-owned grocery stores in every borough. A moderate who just posted the largest raw vote margin in Virginia gubernatorial history. A Navy helicopter pilot who froze utility rates as her first official act in office. Three candidates. Three wildly different ideological starting points. One identical
The Parking Spot: How Federalism Became America's Oldest Political Weapon
Nobody defends a parking spot on principle. You defend it because your car is there.
The Hangman: Erosion of American Democracy
In 2016, a new force entered our political landscape. A force unmoored from principles, norms, and the rule of law itself.
authoritarianism
The Lie of the Strong Man
The strongman always arrives at the same moment: when patience runs out and faith in rules runs thin.
politics
American Empire: Spheres of Influence
What Donald Trump is saying in this moment is that legitimacy and international law do not matter. Only power does.
politics
The Rage Machine
Anger feels righteous. It's viral. It wins elections. But it's also burning us out and turning neighbors into enemies.
ai
The Medium Place: If AI Doesn't Kill Us All
AGI might not kill us, but it probably won’t save us either. The more likely future is a dreadfully average world that’s neither hell nor utopia; just a comfortable cage run by a new aristocracy.
"Unaligned" is now "For the Republic"
Hey everyone, As a quick housekeeping note, Unaligned has rebranded! Unaligned → For the Republic As of today, this publication will be rebranding from “Unaligned” to “For the Republic.” When I first launched Unaligned, my focus was on not being “captured” by partisanship and on speaking for the “exhausted majority” that’
dystopia
The Enshittification of Everything
The ad economy ate the internet. Then they came for work, culture, and your own sanity.
politics
The Hydra Chokes: Inside MAGA's Stalemate and Self-Inflicted Decay
Some big problems are grinding Trump’s second term into stalemate.