Written by a former administrative law judge who heard and decided thousands of Social Security disability cases, the newly published novel follows a veteran judge as he navigates a large federal bureaucracy, one that is constantly yanked in different directions by the politicians, lawyers and moneymen who inhabit the swamp in Washington, D.C.

CHARLESTON, S.C., Oct. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Palmetto Publishing has released Uncle Sam’s Buddies, a satirical novel by Jay Levine. The book is set inside the Social Security Administration’s disability hearing system and draws on the author’s twenty years of service as an administrative law judge. It is available now in print and digital formats.

The novel follows Administrative Law Judge James Prosser, who has more than twenty-five years’ experience hearing and deciding Social Security disability hearings. Every Monday and Wednesday, ALJ Prosser takes his seat in Hearing Room 3 and grinds through his docket of seven hearings. Most case files contain hundreds of pages of medical records, while some contain more than a thousand. Prosser has seen it all: indecipherable doctors’ notes, claimants who have difficulty taking the oath to tell the truth, and rookie attorneys who say embarrassing things on the record.

What occurs in Judge Prosser’s hearing room is just the beginning of the story. Beyond this little corner of the world, there exists a much larger contest involving uber-wealthy donors, accommodating politicians, and career bureaucrats. Ordinary Americans land in the middle of the stew. While many claimants are genuinely disabled and deserve to be awarded benefits, others attempt to manipulate the system to get on the dole. Judge Prosser’s job is to decide, with due consideration for applicable policies and regulations, who qualifies and who does not. The “System” is so tangled that no one can say where good intentions stop and chaos begins. The novel explores the divergent political points of view in contemporary America, and spares neither the Right nor the Left.

Jay Levine stated, “Don’t read ‘Uncle Sam’s Buddies’ if you are put off by sarcasm, satire, or salty dialogue; if your true heroes are politicians, bureaucrats, guns for hire, or megamillionaires; or if you are certain that you have no sense of humor and will never want one. If you are unfamiliar with the term ‘sense of humor,’ consult a dictionary.”

Aimed at general adult readers, Uncle Sam’s Buddies blends political satire with Levine’s firsthand experience inside the federal disability system, tackling bureaucracy, wealth, culture wars, and the competing political forces surrounding the federal safety net.

Uncle Sam’s Buddies is available for purchase online at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.

About the Author: Jay Levine is a West Point graduate, attorney, U.S. Army veteran, and retired Social Security administrative law judge who decided more than 10,000 disability cases. His firsthand experience inspired Uncle Sam’s Buddies: Inside the D.C. Swamp. When he is not writing, Levine enjoys Paris and making his popular margaritas. Occasionally, he will have only one.

About the Book:

Title: Uncle Sam’s Buddies
Author: Jay Levine

Publisher: Palmetto Publishing
Publication date: October 20, 2026
ISBN-13: 9798318842795

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SOURCE Palmetto Publishing