Source: EconLog
by Jon Murphy

“In theory, tariffs should shift jobs to the protected industries. If these tariffs protect manufacturing, why aren’t jobs shifting there? The argument for tariffs to protect manufacturing relies on an assumption that the imports are of final goods and that the protected country has tariff-free access to intermediate goods (the goods used in manufacturing). In 21st-century America, that assumption doesn’t hold.” (12/16/25)

https://www.econlib.org/econlog/no-manufacturing-jolt-from-tariffs

Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Connor Echols

“Discussions of the war in Gaza tend to focus on what’s visible. The instinct is understandable: Over two years of brutal conflict, the Israel Defense Forces have all but destroyed the diminutive strip on the Mediterranean coast, with the scale of the carnage illustrated by images of emaciated children, shrapnel-ridden bodies, and flattened buildings. But underlying all of this destruction is a hidden force — a carefully constructed infrastructure of Israeli surveillance that powers the war effort and keeps tabs on the smallest facets of Palestinians’ lives.” (12/16/25)

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/israel-surveillance/

Source: The Hill
by Nina Teicholz

“For more than half a century, Americans have been urged to shy away from saturated fats, found mainly in animal products. We have been told to cook with canola oil instead of butter, select skim instead of whole milk, and to fill our plates with pasta instead of steak. Paradoxically, decades of adherence to this advice has coincided with rising levels of chronic disease. As people cut more saturated fat from their diets, the nation grew heavier and sicker — not healthier. Put plainly, the war on saturated fat, rooted in the hypothesis that it causes heart disease, has never been based on sound science. In fact, a large and growing body of evidence reveals that saturated fats aren’t a menace but a key part of a healthy diet. And they should be recognized as such in national nutrition policy.” (12/16/25)

https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/5649677-the-war-on-saturated-fat-never-based-on-good-science-can-now-end/

Source: Town Hall
by Derek Hunter

“When someone you disagree with politically dies, no matter the circumstances, should you be happy? That’s a rhetorical question; I don’t really care what your personal answer is. Everyone has weird thoughts that pop through their mind over which they have no control, most of which are fleeting and ignored. The problem occurs when those thoughts are followed by an ‘and the world needs to know this’ action. The world does not need to know your every thought, or even most of them. It’s hard not to laugh when you see someone in a ‘blooper’ video do something stupid or fall on their face somehow. You might feel phantom pain from it, but it’s still funny. It’s funny, at least in part, because we’ve all been there – there isn’t anyone who hasn’t done something stupid or clumsy.” (12/16/25)

https://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2025/12/16/its-not-hard-to-not-be-a-jerk-n2667932

Source: Cobden Centre
by Walter E Block

“Trump has recently gone berserk with his interferences of international trade for a change. How should Canada react? There are four and only four realistic options (I rule out physically attacking the US over this imbecilic action of their government). One, do nothing, stand pat, ignore this latest moronic display of economic ignorance. Two, raise our tariff levels against the US; Trump threatens that if we do so, he will reciprocate, and then we will be off to the races with a real trade war. Three, lower the barriers to trade with the US that we have previously enacted. Four, eliminate them entirely.” (12/16/25)

https://www.cobdencentre.org/2025/12/trump-is-at-it-again-with-his-tariff-craziness-how-should-canada-respond/