The numbers are in: after numerous extensions, exemptions, and delays, about two million people signed up for insurance in state and federal exchanges by the December 24th deadline. What kind of health care experience will those two million people have? The WSJ reports that people who bought new insurance on the exchange are flocking to providers to make use of their old coverage before it expires. Whatever you think about the benefits of networks restrictions generally in lowering costs, the particular way the ACA is pushing people into smaller networks will ensure that the law will continue getting bad press far into the future, fixed website or not.

At the same time it was reforming its pension plans for teachers, Puerto Rico was also borrowing money from its own public employee retirement funds to plug a hole in its budget. Is Puerto Rico going the way of Argentina?

Theists and atheists are different. While both groups think life means something, they understand that meaning in different ways.

The American Interest is operating on a skeleton crew this late December week as we all spend time with our families all across the country and around the world. Here’s what you might’ve missed this week if you too were spending less time online.

Wether you’re looking at figures for murder or GDP growth, if they come from the Argentinian government they’re probably false. Buenos Aires has a tradition of inflating statistics. This wouldn’t matter too much if the statistics in question weren’t so badly disguised, so habitually, by the government, or if those statistics didn’t have knock-on effects for Argentinian citizens.

Team Obama is making moves against disability fraud, which has ballooned under its watch during the recent economic downturn. This weekend, the Social Security Administration will improve oversight over 1,500 administrative law judges who had been awarding or denying benefits as they liked. A smart move, but a sign of serious trouble for Social Security.

Russia just inked a major energy deal with the Assad regime that will allow it to explore offshore oil and gas fields in Syria. Obama’s “Smart Diplomacy” strategy in the Middle East is paying dividends—just not for the US.

Why do Christians and so many other people believe in an invisible ruler and creator of the universe – and then how does the Christian idea of God differ from the others?

Solar energy is threatening to overload grids in Hawaii. That has one utility telling its solar-minded customers to slow down.

Here’s another indication that law schools are in deep trouble: Law libraries are going the way of the dodo. A working paper by law professor James G. Miles claims that as law schools shrink, revenue-losing departments such as legal libraries are likely to be among the first things to go. Although he notes that the importance these libraries has long been boosted by some odd incentives in the US News and World Report rankings, the cutbacks are reaching a point where retaining them will no longer be justifiable.