Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Martin di Caro

“The term ‘narco-terrorist’ is meant to dehumanize and desensitize. Their conduct — murder, terrorism, and poisoning Americans’ bodies — morally disqualifies them and, therefore, justifies extraordinary punishment. The possibility that harmless fishermen are blown to pieces must not weaken our leaders’ resolve to defend the nation. The boat strikes may be illegal and appalling, but the Trump administration’s conduct follows a long historical pattern, where America’s enemies operate outside the acceptable boundaries of civilization, and Washington’s heavy-handed response can be justified by notions of national security, economic interests, racial superiority, or basic human decency — or all four simultaneously.” (12/12/25)

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/narco-boats-military/

Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman

“Even in our government-laden market economy, private enterprise — entrepreneurship — is extraordinary. Consumers at all levels are the beneficiaries. How could it be otherwise? If they don’t like something, they let the capitalists know, and other capitalists stand ready to take their place. … That the executive branch, thanks to Congress, has the power to approve, reject, or modify mergers and acquisitions is an abomination in a society that calls itself free. That The Maestro — the man who would be king — expects to review Netflix’s proposal personally is simply the latest outrage and perfectly consistent with Trump’s ‘philosophy’ of governance, or more to the point, his ridiculously expansive view of his coercive power over peaceful exchange, that is, social cooperation.” (12/12/25)

https://sheldonfreeassociation.blogspot.com/2025/12/tgif-trump-weighs-in-on-netflix-wbd-and.html

Source: Washington Post
by Ramesh Ponnuru

“‘Subject to the jurisdiction thereof’ is a legal term of art that requires some historical research to unpack. Cotton’s theory that it required ‘allegiance and obedience’ is based on an English case from 1608. But that case affirmed that even if a foreigner were in England only temporarily, he would have a duty of obedience while he was there — and any child he had there would be ‘a natural born subject’ of the king. In 1854, Secretary of State William Marcy wrote that birthright citizenship ‘is presumed’ except for children born in ‘foreign legations.’ The Supreme Court disturbed that understanding when, in the 1857 Dred Scott case, it excluded all Black people too. But the 14th Amendment restored the earlier understanding, and by 1871 Secretary of State Hamilton Fish was writing that the five words now in dispute were ‘probably intended to exclude the children of foreign ministers.'” (12/12/25)

https://archive.is/bs8sC

Source: Reason
by Jack Nicastro

“A years-long scheme to defraud $1.5 billion from federally subsidized social services is fueling a wave of xenophobia against Minnesotans of Somali descent. The real culprit is Uncle Sam. … The real story here is not the ethnicity of those who defrauded the HSS, EIDBI, and FCPN programs, but the fact that the majority of public funding for these programs came from the federal government instead of Minnesota’s own coffers. … We should not be surprised when states are overly generous and insufficiently circumspect about handing out money to their constituents when the majority of the money isn’t coming from their own coffers, but the Treasury Department.” (12/12/25)

https://reason.com/2025/12/12/the-real-villain-in-minnesotas-1-5-billion-fraud-scandal-isnt-somalis-its-the-feds/

Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp

“‘[T]here is no way on earth we should be going to war or trying to do regime change in Venezuela,’ US Representative Adam Smith (D-WA) told The Hill on December 4. The US, says Smith, ‘should be out of the regime-change business.’ So, did Smith still think that on December 9, when US military aircraft overflew the Gulf of Venezuela, and on December 10, when US troops — in a blatant act of piracy on the high seas — hijacked a Venezuelan oil tanker in the Caribbean? On December 10, Smith, the ranking Democrat on the  House Armed Services Committee, came out in support of forking over nearly $1 trillion to the US regime-change machine. … In what universe do you shut down a business by shoveling money at it?” (12/11/25)

https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20198