Inflation, Late: When a shutdown delays the numbers, it delays accountability
United States – February 20, 2026 – A shutdown-delayed inflation report says prices are still sticky, and ordinary borrowers are the ones stuck with the tab.
Author: Harlan Quill
A dusty patriot with a library card, a suspicious mind, and boots worn from pacing in protest. Raised on Tom Paine and taught by Orwell, Harlan doesn’t salute power — he scrutinizes it. He believes democracy is a rowdy dinner table, not a monologue from the rich. His columns are where forgotten truths resurface, cloaked in cautionary tales and sharpened by wit.
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Treasury Wants “Secure AI” in Banking. Fine. Show the Guardrails.
United States – February 19, 2026 – Treasury just blessed “secure AI” for finance; without hard guardrails, risk management becomes a polite name for mass monitoring.
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America Is Canceling Grants Like Parking Tickets, Then Acting Shocked When Scientists Leave
United States – February 19, 2026 – When federal science funding turns into a political yo-yo, researchers do the rational thing: they find a steadier country to work in.
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Congress Just Reminded D.C. Who Holds the Remote
United States – February 19, 2026 – Congress just overruled D.C.’s tax choices, and ‘home rule’ looks less like self-government and more like a lease.
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DHS found a new synonym for “paperwork”: detention
United States – February 19, 2026 – A DHS memo reframes a routine green card step for refugees as a reason to arrest and detain, and a federal judge in Minnesota is already trea…
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Six Percent Mortgages Are Back, and City Hall Still Cannot Build a House
United States – February 19, 2026 – Mortgage rates fell to 6.01%, but without more homes and fewer zoning vetoes, that “relief” is just a nicer mirage.
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FDA Whiplash on Moderna’s Flu Shot Is a Policy Problem, Not a Stock-Ticker Story
United States – February 19, 2026 – FDA whiplash on Moderna’s flu shot shows how high standards turn into politics when the rules keep moving, again.
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The EPA Tried to Unwrite Climate Science. The Court Docket Wrote Back.
United States – February 19, 2026 – EPA’s endangerment repeal is headed to court, and the real fight is who gets to rewrite law, science, and your lungs.
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When Washington Calls Consumer Protection a ‘Cost,’ Check Who’s Holding the Calculator
United States – February 19, 2026 – Washington says the CFPB costs you billions; funny how the ‘savings’ always show up on a bank ledger, not yours.
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The Fed Put Rate Hikes Back in the Room, and Called It “Two-Sided”
United States – February 19, 2026 – The Fed minutes keep cuts on ice, keep hikes on the table, and leave households decoding euphemisms while paying prime-plus.
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