Source: Town Hall
by Mark Lewis

“‘I go on this great republican principle, that the people will have virtue and intelligence to select men of virtue and wisdom. Is there no virtue among us? If there be not, we are in a wretched situation. To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people is a chimerical [fanciful] idea.’ — James Madison … Let’s examine this brilliant statement that the Left totally denies, in theory and practice. Three quick points: 1) Virtue and ‘intelligence’ (education) are requirements for a republican government. 2) If there is no virtue in the people, the country will be in a ‘wretched situation.’ 3) Government cannot make you happy or free. Only virtue in the people can do that. This is what the ‘Father of our Constitution’ taught us. He learned it from history, and he was exactly right.” (12/06/23)

https://townhall.com/columnists/marklewis/2023/12/06/no-freedom-without-virtue-part-one-n2632060

Source: CounterPunch
by Howard Lisnoff

“Attempting to reconstruct the Kennedy administration decades later is impossible. John Kennedy lived in an era much different from our own and his experiences were remote from the contemporary world. The halo of what was attributed to John Kennedy by way of a modern Camelot is far from the truth. Kennedy was the first president to successfully master the media and particularly television. Like today, however, war is a constant, including the threat of nuclear war, but the economy provides many with fewer opportunities to live without fear from want. I think the latter may have shocked John Kennedy.” (12/06/23)

https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/12/06/john-kennedys-september-1963-interview/

Source: Seymour Hersh
by Seymour Hersh

“The obituaries that followed [Henry Kissinger’s] death last week were as fawning as the coverage when he lied and manipulated his way to fame while in office. The reality is that his role in weaning Russia and China from their support of North Vietnam at the height of that horrific war has often been overstated. He was a facilitator of diplomatic realities that were initially promulgated by President Richard Nixon, whose public awkwardness masked a shrewd insight into the willingness of great powers to betray even the closest of allies.” (12/06/23)

https://seymourhersh.substack.com/p/kissinger-me-and-the-lies-of-the

Source: Responsible Statecraft
by William Hartung

“Discussions of Pentagon spending in Washington routinely ignore the fact that at $886 billion for next year, the military budget is already at one of the highest levels since World War II. With better management and a more realistic strategy, that sum would be far more than is needed to provide an effective defense of the United States and its allies. Unfortunately, the Pentagon, the arms industry, and their allies in Congress have failed to make a careful assessment of America’s defense needs. Instead, they’re pushing an ill-considered plan to supersize the weapons production base at the expense of other urgent national needs.” (12/06/23)

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/china-arms-race/

Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen

“Nearly two dozen advocacy groups are urging the Biden administration to ban the spreading practice of ‘stay-or-pay’ contracts, which force workers to compensate employers, sometimes for tens of thousands of dollars, if they leave their job before a set time period. The New York Times Magazine recently reported on these provisions, an innovation of the private equity industry that can require workers to pay ‘liquidated damages’ for on-the-job training or use of equipment, or unspecified damages resulting from the cost of recruiting a replacement, or even ‘lost profits’ from a worker’s departure. Seven detailed memos sent to federal agencies and the White House over the past two months and released this week argue that these provisions operate as ‘de facto non-compete agreements’ that lock workers into jobs and prevent them from speaking out about wages or working conditions.” (12/06/23)

https://prospect.org/labor/2023-12-06-federal-agencies-employer-debt-traps/