“Placing marijuana in Schedule III would not legalize recreational use, and it would allow medical use only if the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved specific cannabis-based products as prescription drugs. Producing and distributing marijuana, even in compliance with state law, would still be federal crimes, albeit subject to somewhat less severe penalties. Reclassifying marijuana nevertheless would be a financial boon to state-licensed marijuana businesses, relieving them of a disability that results in staggeringly high effective income tax rates. It also would make medical research easier by eliminating federal restrictions that are specific to Schedule I.” (12/15/25)
“The U.S. military says it struck three more alleged drug-carrying boats in the Eastern Pacific on Monday, the latest in a campaign of vessel strikes ordered by the Trump administration that have [murdered] at least 95 people in 25 boats. Monday’s strikes [murdered] eight men across three boats, the U.S. military’s Southern Command said in a post on X. It alleged the [victims] were ‘male narco-terrorists’ and the boats were ‘transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and were engaged in narco-trafficking.’ The strike was authorized by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Southern Command said.” (12/15/25)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Douglas E French
“Donald Trump told Politico’s Dasha Burns that he gives the US economy an A+++++. He posted on Truth Social, ‘When will I get credit for having created, with No Inflation, perhaps the Greatest Economy in the History of our Country?’ Herbert Hoover had the same view back in 1930. In his book 1929, Andrew Ross Sorkin points out that Hoover used every press conference to convince people the post crash economy was better than people thought. … Hoover said the very high 16 percent unemployment rate was deceptive. Trump would have called it a ‘hoax,’ as he calls continued price inflation a hoax. Jimmy Carter telling us to turn down our thermostats comes to mind when Trump says kids don’t need 37 pencils or 37 dolls for Christmas.” (12/15/25)
“Ukrainian underwater drones struck a Russian submarine for the first time on Monday, causing critical damage to the vessel and making it the first publicly acknowledged use of the new class of Ukrainian weapons, according to Ukraine’s domestic intelligence agency. At the time of the attack, the Kilo-class submarine was docked in a Russian Black Sea port near the city of Novorossiysk and carried four launchers for Kalibr cruise missiles, which Moscow regularly uses to attack across Ukraine, the agency said. Kilo-class vessels are not nuclear-powered and do not carry nuclear-armed ballistic missiles. The Russian government made no immediate comment on Ukraine’s claim.” (12/15/25)
“My personal definition of libertarianism for over a decade has been that liberty is the core principle, and on every issue, you put liberty first, grounded in individualism, private property rights, and the NAP. Though I probably need to update my definition slightly. Dave Smith’s definition of libertarianism, put roughly, is self-ownership, private property rights, and the non-aggression principle (NAP) — the idea that no one may initiate force against another person or their property. He describes this as a philosophically consistent foundation that avoids circular reasoning, emphasizing that libertarianism rejects government as a monopoly on the use of force. So why is he advocating for socialist state borders and mass deportations if this is an initiation of force against another person, which is part of his own definition of libertarianism — and thus goes against it?” (12/15/25)
“President Trump weighed in on the apparent homicide of director Rob Reiner and his wife in a Truth Social post Monday, suggesting the cause of death was reportedly ‘Trump derangement syndrome.’ ‘A very sad thing happened last night in Hollywood. Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away, together with his wife, Michele, reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS,’ Trump wrote. … Reiner — a Democrat and donor — and his wife were found stabbed to death in their home Sunday afternoon.” (12/15/25)
“Rules for Radicals, published in 1971, was intended as a tactical guide for organizers to challenge adversaries and entrenched power structures. Aimed initially at the disenfranchised, educated elites and their children picked up the manual and ran with it. Its tactics include psychological warfare, relentless pressure, and turning adversaries’ strengths against them through dissembling and distortion. For decades, the American Left adopted Alinsky’s playbook with zeal …. the American Left beat Alinsky’s rules to death. And this led to a spectacular backfire in 2024. … The ultimate irony? The Right co-opted Alinsky, using his rules against the Left. Figures like Donald Trump employed ridicule, personalization, and constant pressure to portray progressives as radicals, turning the playbook against them. The Right even started to think of themselves as both victors and victims. But just as the Right figured out how to do it, it flamed out.” (12/15/25)
“The appeals chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has rejected one of Israel’s legal challenges seeking to block an investigation into its actions in the genocidal war against the Palestinian people in Gaza, dealing a blow to Israel’s efforts to derail the case. In their decision issued on Monday, judges refused to overturn a lower court decision allowing the ICC prosecutor to investigate alleged crimes in Israel’s war on Gaza following the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. … The appeal focused on whether the ICC prosecutor was required to issue a fresh notification to Israel before investigating events that took place after October 7, 2023. Israel argued that the post-October 7 assault on Gaza constituted a new situation …. Judges rejected that argument, ruling that the original notification issued in 2021 – when the ICC formally opened its investigation into alleged crimes in occupied Palestine – already covered later events.” (12/15/25)
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“A popular belief among statists is that a powerful military equals a powerful nation. Actually, it’s the opposite. A powerful military equals a weak nation, and a weak military equals a powerful nation. The Americans who founded the United States understood this principle well. They were fiercely opposed to a powerful military, which they referred to as a ‘standing army.’ So did their successors, for some 150 years. From 1789, when the Constitution went into effect, through most of the 19th century, through the early part of the 20th century, our American ancestors had a system of government that entailed a small and weak military force. The result was the most powerful nation in history.” (12/15/25)
