“Defending the rights of students and faculty to speak freely has been part and parcel of FIRE’s mission for 26 years. We’ve seen universities try all sorts of ways to restrict expression, from free speech zones and excessive security fees to extensive pre-approval requirements for events. But one technique is particularly disturbing — using ostensibly pro-free speech policies to chill student and faculty expression. As my colleague Graham Piro recently wrote, colleges and universities regularly claim to embrace ‘institutional neutrality’ — an institution’s commitment to refrain from speaking out on the issues of the day — only to silence speech in the principle’s name. Under a genuine policy of institutional neutrality, students and faculty are empowered to debate such issues, without feeling as if the school administration has declared the matter settled.” (12/16/25)
“The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has rolled out the first official rule proposal stemming from the new law governing stablecoin issuers, with its board voting Tuesday to open a 60-day public comment period on its system for handling applications from its regulated banks looking to issue stablecoins from subsidiaries. The agency — led by Acting Chairman Travis Hill, who is also President Donald Trump’s nominee for the permanent seat — will gather comments and review them before it can release a final rule. The Tuesday proposal, approved by all three members of the shorthanded board, would establish the procedures for accepting applications, reviewing them under a 120-day approval window and offering an appeal process for those rejected.” (12/16/25)
“Every two years, Americans spend an average of $15 billion on campaign advertising trying to fend off the wolves attacking them. But we just end up changing which wolves are briefly ascendant. Maybe we could fend off those wolves once and for all—if we could just get our foot out of that dang trap. But what’s the trap? The trap is an electoral system that has been captured by party processes gone wrong. We’ve had decades of changes — some of them well-intentioned, some about accruing power — to how our political parties operate. They have left us in a place where most members of Congress are elected by only 5 to 8 percent of the electorate in their districts. … Every year, our two parties get better at claiming ever more power for a continuously shrinking membership base.” (12/16/25)
“If a new poll is any indication, both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party should be worried about the youth vote in the 2026 midterm elections. According to polling from the University of Chicago, about 60% of Gen Z and millennial voters are dissatisfied with both political parties. This includes 25% of Republican voters ages 18-42 who have an unfavorable view of the GOP, as well as 36% of Democrats in that age range who have an unfavorable view of their party. None of this is really surprising, given that polling across age ranges has shown that voters are unhappy with both political parties. What might surprise party leaders, however, are the specific issues that Generation Z and millennials are worried about.” (12/16/25)
“House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday he won’t call for an amendment vote to renew enhanced subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, ensuring higher health insurance premiums through the healthcare marketplace next year. Speaking during a news conference after a House Republican Conference meeting, Johnson blamed the decision on about a dozen Republican members of the House in swing districts ‘fighting hard to make sure that they reduce costs for all of their constituents.'” (12/16/25)
“Postliberals certainly agree that serious political, economic, and cultural missteps have happened under liberal regimes. But their critique runs much deeper than that. They believe liberalism itself is fatally flawed. Although postliberals come in many varieties, a common thread is that liberalism is intrinsically defective — that it inexorably leads to social atomization, cultural degradation, and oppression and inequality. Perhaps the best known purveyor of this view is Notre Dame political theorist Patrick Deneen …. Deneen’s analysis suffers from three basic problems: he misrepresents liberalism’s fundamental principles; he presents a warped history of liberalism that dismisses its achievements and exaggerates its weaknesses; and he offers nothing in place of the liberal-democratic framework he wants to destroy.” (12/16/25)
THANK YOU to long-time supporters DH and RRS, whose $105 in contributions yesterday bring our year-end fundraiser total to $1,973.84!
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“Most people would know that totalitarianism is not a desirable social or political set of circumstances. Even the word sounds ominous, but that is probably only to those who already know what it denotes. I have written on it before, in different contexts, but it is now more relevant than ever. We should remind ourselves what Orwell wrote in that uncannily premonitory novel.” (12/16/25)
“French lawmakers formally approved the country’s 2026 social security budget on Tuesday, handing Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu an important political victory and offering some optimism to skittish markets worried France isn’t serious about getting its public finances in check. The bill, which covers state health care and pensions spending, was expected to pass after having already been approved by the National Assembly, France’s more powerful lower legislative chamber, last week, but its rejection by the Senate over the weekend forced another vote.” (12/16/25)
