We are currently in a period of deliberate deregulation. Sold as freedom for business to grow. What it actually produces — when the major players are left to their own devices — is consolidation until competition disappears and the consumer pays whatever the monopoly decides they pay.

So there we are, folks. Three Horsemen accounted for.

What??? There are FOUR Horsemen?

You're right. There are four. So who are we missing? Who are we waiting for?

If the tools exist, and they clearly do — why aren't they being used here? And if it turns out the forgiveness itself was secured by deceiving a federal court — what happens then?

I can remember when the news was presented as news. Facts. This is what is happening. If an outlet wanted to offer opinion it was called an editorial and labeled as such. The separation was clear and it was honored because the public expected it and the license required it.

That line has been erased. Rebuilding it requires more than nostalgia. It requires structural protection with enforceable consequences.

The Electoral College asks how states should be represented.

Ranked-choice voting asks how voters should be represented.

Maybe before we decide which system is best, we should decide whose voice we are trying to hear more clearly.

The Supreme Court needs its own enforcement mechanism. A Marshal's service with the specific authority to detain anyone — anyone — that the court by majority vote determines is willfully operating outside their constitutional limits and has become a national threat.

No exceptions. No immunity. No rank that places a person beyond the reach of a court order.

But enough of beer bars and bedrooms. Off to where the real back-stabbing and dirty stuff happens — politics and government.

We didn't just lose the newspaper. We lost the commons it created.

Oh, I would love a basket of Ol' English Fish and Chips with a bottle of malt vinegar right now.

Document and report any suspicious activity, like voter purges or intimidation, to the FBI or state attorneys general.

Ultimately, the strongest defense is high participation and collective action—history shows that when voters mobilize, attempts to restrict access often fail. If things escalate, resources like the DOJ's Civil Rights Division can provide enforcement.

The obvious goal with this set of foundation blocks isn't to fix the broken system. It's to provide a structure with enough strength that it cannot be so easily broken and manipulated again.

The strength comes from simplicity.

Not complexity.