Declining party identification - ‘no preference’ on a survey of political attitudes - is a general phenomenon in advanced democracies, but the proud self-designation ‘Independent’ does not have a counterpart in other places.
Ms Rosenblum, author of On the Side of the Angels: An Appreciation of Parties and Partisanship.

‎”What we have today is a far cry from what the Founders intended. George Washington and James Madison both warned of the dangers posed by political parties…The problem is not division but partisanship—advantage-seeking by private clubs whose central goal is to win political power.” - Former Congressman Mickey Edwards

This week, the Commerce Department imposed modest tariffs on Chinese solar panels due to their unfair state subsidies. The tariffs range from 2.9% to 4.73%. Trade wars usually do start out small but have a nasty habit of escalating. Additional tariffs may be coming in May after a ruling on Chinese dumping of solar panels.