“There are two schools of conservative immigration thought. The first, to which I subscribe, acknowledges immigrants often flee countries ravaged by crime, tyranny and disorder. That’s why many people come to the United States. Our nation’s settlers fled persecution. My father escaped Nazi Germany, which was literally putting people in ovens (although many Republicans lately have struggled with their views on such horrors). Under this long-standing view, Americans should welcome immigrants, but promote E Pluribus Unum. The other conservative view, which is clearly embraced by national conservatives and populists, is that America is fundamentally a white, Christian nation and that immigration, to whatever limited degree we allow it, should align with those demographics.” (12/12/25)
“In December 2024, Congress did something unusual: it introduced a bill that openly acknowledges tobacco harm reduction. The POUCH Act of 2024, sponsored by Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI) and co-sponsored by Rep. Don Davis (D-NC), aims to prevent states and cities from banning or restricting FDA–authorized lower-risk products, including modern nicotine pouches and vaping products. … This should not be a radical idea, but within the chaos of American nicotine regulation, it almost counts as revolutionary. However, the bill also reveals a deeper truth about why the United States struggles so badly with harm reduction. It exposes the forces that keep smokers tied to cigarettes, protect government revenue streams, and effectively eliminate smaller innovators who cannot survive the regulatory gauntlet.” (12/12/25)
“Supporters of 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi say she has been arrested while attending a memorial ceremony in the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad. The Narges Foundation said on Friday that Mohammadi, 53, was arrested during an event honouring a human rights lawyer who recently died in unclear circumstances. Iranian authorities have not commented on her reported detention, and it remains uncertain whether she will be returned to prison to complete a previous sentence. The arrest comes amid a broader clampdown on activists and civil society figures as Iran faces sanctions, economic pressures and heightened regional tensions.” (12/12/25)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by David Gordon
“The Constitution of 1787 — though not without its good points — had two main defects. First, although the preamble recognized that Americans came together as ‘We the People’ to choose their own form of government, it failed to failed to rule out explicitly the argument of the South that the Constitution was formed by the states, with states having the right to secede if, in their judgment, the terms of the original compact had been violated. Second, it restricted popular sovereignty and called for government by an elite who were deemed fit to rule over the masses.” (12/12/25)
“For most of modern history, the perception of whether a country is ‘rich’ or ‘poor’ has centered on the wealth of its citizens. We look at median incomes and GDP per capita to divide the world into prosperous nations — usually Western democracies with median household incomes above $30,000 — and poorer ones in the developing world, where typical earnings are a fraction of that. This citizen-level view of wealth makes intuitive sense, because income dictates living standards. But there’s another, increasingly-important way of understanding national wealth: by examining the financial health of the state itself.” (12/12/25)
“A federal judge on Friday barred U.S. immigration authorities from re-detaining Kilmar Abrego García, acting on fears raised by his lawyers that officials intended to take him into custody just hours after he was ordered released. Those concerns arose in response to government maneuvers in the wake of U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis’s ruling Thursday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had been unlawfully detaining Abrego for months. Abrego, a 30-year-old undocumented immigrant and longtime Maryland resident, became a flash point in the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on illegal immigration. The White House had repeatedly called Abrego a smuggler and ‘a proven gang member,’ though those allegations are still pending in the courts, and threatened to deport him to countries in Africa or Central America.” (12/12/25)
