“Following the invasion of Venezuela, there have been suggestions that President Trump will direct the US military to invade other countries as well. For example, Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio said, ‘if I lived in Havana and I was in the government, I’d be concerned.’ To no one’ s surprise, Senator Lindsey Graham was delighted by the possibility that Venezuela was just the first of many regime change wars President Trump will wage. … President Trump’s newfound love of regime change wars may be one reason why he is seeking to increase the military budget to 1.5 trillion dollars.” (0/12/26)
“Bathers found five severed heads displayed on a beach in Ecuador in what appears to be a warning to gang members who have been threatening local fishermen. The gruesome discovery was made on Sunday on the beachfront in Puerto López, a town which has been wracked by gang violence. Next to the body parts, locals found a sign threatening those stealing from and extorting fishermen with the same fate. Ports and towns by the Pacific Ocean are among those worst hit by gangs which smuggle cocaine from Ecuador to the US and Europe. Police have identified the remains as those of five men who had been reported missing days earlier. They ranged between 20 and 34 years in age. Officials told local media one of them had a criminal record for gun possession. Their bodies have not yet been located.” (01/12/26)
Source: The American Conservative
by Spencer Neale
“These days, often your best bet to learn about what’s coming next, from hot-button political topics to shifts in cultural trends, is to check in with the round-the-clock traders on Polymarket and Kalshi. On the two foremost major prediction market websites, people bet real money nonstop on real-world events. Though both platforms have been operable for the better part of half a decade, it’s been the later stage of this year that has witnessed unmistakable growth in volume and name recognition for both. So much so that the two platforms are suddenly signing major deals with global tech and financial leaders amid their rise as the latest darlings of the internet these final months of 2025.” (01/12/26)
“Republican Sen. Thom Tillis (N.C.), a senior member of the Senate Banking Committee, is questioning the ‘credibility’ of the Department of Justice’s investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and threatening to oppose President Trump’s nominees to the central bank until the matter is resolved. ‘If there were any remaining doubt whether advisers within the Trump Administration are actively pushing to end the independence of the Federal Reserve, there should now be none. It is now the independence and credibility of the Department of Justice that are in question,’ Tillis said in a statement. He also vowed to keep Trump’s nominees to the Fed bottled up in the Banking Committee over the matter.” (01/12/26)
“Developed-world consciousness is in demographic decline. If people in developed countries don’t have more babies, the developing world will inherit the earth. Does a dystopian future await?” (01/12/26)
“In a normal world, the president and vice president would call for calm and note that proper investigations would take place. Matt Walsh would be unknown outside of crank religious right circles still fixated on “the gay agenda” or whatever. And Kristi Noem definitely would not be the head of Homeland Security and instead would have peaked with a term or two in the South Dakota House of Representatives. Alas, here we are. And it’s indeed because of the weird politics of today that Renee Good is dead.” (01/12/26)
“Total bankruptcy filings in Calendar Year (CY) 2025 were 565,759, an eleven percent increase from the 508,953 registered during CY 2024, according to data provided by Epiq AACER, the leading provider of US bankruptcy filing data. While representing a substantial year-over-year increase, total bankruptcy filings remain lower than the pre-pandemic total of 757,816 recorded in CY 2019.” (01/26/26)
“Meme-stock investment infusions rescued the company without redeeming its model. Did that borrowed time produce market discipline — or simply delay error correction?” (01/12/26)
