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January 7, 2026

Welcome to The Lighthouse, the weekly email newsletter of the Independent Institute covering politics, economics, current events, and everything in between.

Dear Readers,

This weekend, the U.S. extraction of Nicolás Maduro has plunged Venezuela into a power vacuum as Delcy Rodríguez, Hugo Chávez’s vice president, has been sworn in as the interim president. In the latest episode of Independent Conversations, President Graham Walker sits down with Ivan Eland, Gabriel Gasave and Leo Brito to discuss whether or not Trump's raid in Caracas was legal and what's next for Venezuela.

Ivan Eland writes about Washington’s murky intentions toward the country and the legal, political, and strategic chaos now unfolding on both sides of the Caribbean.

Also this week, Craig Eyermann recounts the story of daycare fraud in Minnesota, revealing industrial‑scale abuse of federal funds enabled by officials who failed to verify where billions of taxpayer dollars were going.

Raymond J. March questions whether the FDA’s new fast-track approval reforms are truly a form of deregulation or simply inviting a new wave of regulatory capture—as the FDA faces its first real test with a life‑saving, rare‑disease drug.

Finally, Jane Shaw Stroup explains how Uber shattered the taxi cartel’s decades‑old protection racket … only to trigger a new wave of regulation as governments scramble to reassert control.

Enjoy.

Jonathan Hofer
Managing Editor

Top picks this week


** VIDEO
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** Venezuela on the Brink ([link removed])
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Does a U.S. President have the authority to order a military raid on a foreign capital like Caracas, will America “run” Venezuela or play a lesser role—and what does it all mean for Venezuelans themselves? We discuss it with on-the-ground insight from a Venezuelan voice inside the country.
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** Does Ousting Maduro Mean Regime Change or Something Else? ([link removed])
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** Maduro’s removal leaves Venezuela in limbo, exposing unanswered questions about U.S. authority, legality, and the country’s political future. ([link removed])
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** by Ivan Eland
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Maduro may be gone, but the path ahead is fraught with uncertainty about the U.S. government’s intentions—or even a coherent game plan for what happens next.
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** Massive Fraud Uncovered Against U.S. Taxpayers ([link removed])
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** by Craig Eyermmann
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For politicians and bureaucrats, what was once so easy to ignore has now become impossible to avoid.
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** A Real Test for New FDA Reforms ([link removed])
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** by Raymond J. March
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Will the FDA’s recent actions lead to genuine deregulation or succumb to regulatory capture?
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** How Uber Broke the Taxi Cartel—and Triggered New Regulatory Backlash ([link removed])
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** Schumpeter’s theory of creative destruction in real markets ([link removed])
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** by Jane Shaw Stroup
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Uber Technologies, the ride-hailing company that swept through the transportation service industry like a rush of fresh air, is becoming more like other companies: It is under increasing government control.
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** FEATURED BOOK
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** Crossroads for Liberty
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** Recovering the Anti-Federalist Values of America’s First Constitution
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** by William J. Watkins, Jr.
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“Given that the Anti-Federalists’ predictions about the growth of national power have come true, their views of the weaknesses of the Constitution deserve to be heard.”

—Randy E. Barnett, Patrick Hotung Professor of Constitutional Law at the Georgetown University Law Center
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