The Lonely Realist is a bridge across the partisan gap, raising questions and making pointed observations about politics, economics, international relations and the markets. Its goal is to raise awareness and inspire thought on controversial issues that impact America and Americans, highlighting issues that should be, but rarely are, the focus of bipartisan discussion.
In seeking to promote dialogue, The Lonely Realist is not an advocate of conclusions or remedies. To the extent perceived biases leak into these pages, as they sometimes do, please ignore them. They are inadvertent missteps.
“Wars are messy, their consequences unpredictable.” – The Lonely Realist “The implications of developments in the Middle East for the US economy are uncertain.” – Jerome Powell (March 18, 2026) Loading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player... History teaches that wars are disruptive. They...
“It’s about energy.” – The Lonely RealistLoading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player... Today’s TLR is a brief follow-up to this past Thursday’s “The Iran War”: One month ago, writing about whether the US Dollar might surrender its reserve currency status, TLR noted that...
“Is the Iran War a terrible mistake or a brilliant geopolitical gambit?” – The Lonely RealistLoading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player... Thomas Paine in 1776 said: “These are the times that try men’s souls.” Wars do that. What happens to Iran and the...
“Gold is a rare, corrosion-resistant precious metal used for thousands of years as a currency, in jewelry and, more recently, in technology.” – The Lonely RealistLoading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player... Physical gold, as well as silver, is many things…, but it’s not...
“Don’t judge a book by its cover.” – The Lonely RealistLoading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player… Every issue has at least three sides: your side; the opposite side; and what is arguably the right side. Don’t be deceived into believing that there is
Historians eagerly highlight the foreign policy strategies pursued by the overtly hawkish Reagan Administration, a strategy of “peace through strength.” As described in “Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick” in the March 27, 2019 TLR, Reagan adopted a set of muscular U.S. policies that
“It’s about energy.” – The Lonely RealistLoading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player… Today’s TLR is a brief follow-up to this past Thursday’s “The Iran War”: One month ago, writing about whether the US Dollar might surrender its reserve currency status, TLR noted that
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William (Bill) Natbony is The Lonely Realist, its author and originator. The opinions expressed in TLR are solely Bill’s opinions, have not been edited or reviewed, and do not reflect the views or opinions or any other person.
