“On most days, America’s air traffic control system is invisible. The radar screens flicker, the controllers thread needles as planes approach and depart, and millions of passengers move through the sky supported by a grid they never see. We are reminded of its fragility only when something breaks. The most recent federal government shutdown provided just such a reminder. The system strained not because of storms or technological failure, but because Washington stopped paying its bills. Controllers continued working without pay, modernization projects halted, safety inspectors were furloughed, and as a result, flights were canceled. This was an institutional failure. If the skies darken whenever Congress deadlocks, the problem is not aviation, but governance.” (12/17/25)
“In America, antisemitism has gone mainstream. Both the woke right and woke left are poisoning their followers with their hatred. Whether people like Candace Owens personally believe the hatred they spew is justified doesn’t matter; their followers believe it is. Vanishing are the guardrails of social sanctions that restrain hatred of others. … Perhaps this is wishful thinking, but I believe the majority of Americans and Australians are not antisemitic. Yet the majority are staying silent. In his essay ‘Spiritual Laws’ Emerson wrote, ‘Human character evermore publishes itself. The most fugitive deed and word, the mere air of doing a thing, the intimated purpose, expresses character. If you act you show character; if you sit still, if you sleep, you show it.'” (12/17/25)
“Amazon is in discussions with OpenAI to invest $10 billion in the company while supplying more of its AI chips and cloud computing services, according to The Financial Times. The deal would push OpenAI’s valuation over $500 billion but is likely to raise more questions about the company’s circular investment agreements involving chips and data centers. The two companies are also in talks about the possibility of OpenAI helping Amazon with its online marketplace, similar to deals it has made with Etsy, Shopify and Instacart. However, any agreement still wouldn’t allow Amazon to market OpenAI’s most advanced models on its developer cloud platform, as Microsoft holds the exclusive rights to those until the 2030s.” (12/17/25)
“Cato’s Ian Vásquez and the Fraser Institute’s Matt Mitchell walk through the 2025 edition of the Human Freedom Index, documenting a worldwide decline in economic, civil, and personal freedoms that began before the pandemic and sharply accelerated after it. They explain how populism, authoritarian emergency powers, trade restrictions, and speech controls have left nine in ten people living in less free societies, and why the recovery remains uneven and fragile.” (12/16/25)
“Priscilla Villarreal was not arrested for ‘merely asking questions,’ Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton insists in a brief urging the Supreme Court to reject the Laredo news vlogger’s petition for review of her First Amendment case. Yet that is literally what happened to Villarreal in 2017, and the precedent set by that incident poses a threat to journalists across the country. Villarreal, who operates a locally popular news outlet on Facebook, alleges that local officials, annoyed by her ‘unfiltered style’ and periodic criticism of them, conspired to punish her by treating her journalism as a crime. After months of looking for ‘any excuse’ to arrest her, she says, they settled on an obscure, rarely used Texas law, located in a chapter targeting ‘Abuse of Office,’ that makes it a felony to ‘solicit’ nonpublic information from a government official ‘with intent to obtain a benefit.'” (12/17/25)
“Employees at the Louvre Museum voted to extend a strike that has disrupted operations at the world’s most visited museum, though the attraction partially opened Wednesday to allow visitors to enjoy the ‘Mona Lisa’ and other highlights. The museum said that visitors have started entering the building, where they had access to a limited ‘masterpiece route’ which includes Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa’ and the famous Venus de Milo. … Union workers are protesting chronic understaffing, building deterioration and recent management decisions — pressures intensified by a brazen crown jewels heist in October.” (12/17/25)
Source: The American Conservative
by Eldar Mamedov
“When NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warns, as he did last week, that the alliance must prepare ‘for the scale of war our grandparents or great-grandparents endured,’ he is not merely outlining a defense posture. He intends to commit more American blood and treasure, backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. taxpayer, for an endless war in Europe against Russia. But Rutte could, ultimately, help bring about the opposite: an American backlash to NATO that sees a reduction of U.S. commitment to the Western alliance.” (12/17/25)
