“Zohran Mamdani, the democratic socialist and former New York State Assemblyman whose star quickly rose over the last year, was sworn in as New York City mayor early Thursday. Mamdani was sworn in as the 112th mayor of the country’s largest city during a ceremony at an abandoned subway station near City Hall in Manhattan. The first Muslim to serve as New York City mayor, Mamdani took the oath while putting his hand on two different Qurans. The Qurans previously belonged to Puerto Rican historian Arturo Schomburg and Mamdani’s grandfather, according to The New York Times. … Mamdani shocked the political world after he defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor in June, leaning heavily into the issue of affordability on the campaign trail.” (01/01/26)
Source: Orange County Register
by Veronique de Rugy
“There is something emotionally satisfying about watching a wealthy person call for higher taxes on people like himself. It feels civic-minded, even noble. A recent commentary by former Utah senator, Massachusetts governor and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney fits squarely into this tradition. Faced with a looming fiscal cliff, Romney concludes that entitlement reform is unavoidable and that higher taxes on affluent Americans must be part of the solution. Don’t be fooled, though. Yes, the status quo is unsustainable, and pretending otherwise is reckless. But taxing the rich can’t meaningfully solve our underlying fiscal problems. Worse, pursuing that illusion risks making those problems harder to fix while foreclosing opportunities for the next generation.” (01/01/26)
This is our final edition of 2025 … putting us a few editions into our 24th year as Rational Review News Digest (before that, Freedom News Daily; before that, starting in 1991, Libernet).
In THEORY, we’ll be back on January 5 (Americans tend to treat the Fridays after holidays that fall on Thursday as holidays themselves), but it’s likely that there will be at least a short New Year’s Day and/or weekend special edition between now and then.
Thanks for another great year, and here’s wishing you a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2026!
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily
“A top Russian official on Monday issued personal threats against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after Russia claimed that Ukraine launched a drone attack on one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s official residences. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov alleged that Ukraine launched a drone attack on Putin’s state residence in Novgorod region on the night of Dec. 29. Lavrov offered no evidence to support the assertion, which Zelenskyy was quick to dismiss as a Russian disinformation effort. Dmitry Medvedev — the former Russian president and prime minister now serving on the country’s Security Council — posted to X accusing Zelenskyy of ‘trying to derail the settlement of the conflict,’ referring to the ongoing U.S.-sponsored peace talks. ‘He wants war. Well, now at least he’ll have to stay in hiding for the rest of his worthless life,’ Medvedev wrote.” (12/30/25)
“Gradually reducing American aid to Ukraine and transferring the war funding to wealthy Europeans would have been a defensible policy. The Europeans, being geographically closer to both Russia and Ukraine, have always had much more at stake in terms of security in the conflict than has the United States. … Yet Trump went beyond that distancing policy, seemingly aiming to weirdly appease Putin by concocting a twenty-point peace plan that was embarrassingly favorable to Russia and then trying to put the screws to Ukrainian leader Zelensky to sign on board. … Putin thinks he is winning the war and will likely reject any peace settlement at this time; Trump should not be blinded to this reality, give up his weird affinity for Putin, and quit bullying Zelensky to make a disadvantageous and unsustainable peace agreement.” (12/30/25)
Source: Independent Institute
by Christopher Baecker & Crystal Keen
“Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced his reelection bid in November by saying he wants to abolish school property taxes. Naturally there have been objections, and we’d like to add our own feedback: it doesn’t go far enough. He also proposed limiting appraisals to once every five years. That would ideally lead to a reduction of payrolls as well, realizing additional savings for taxpayers. Lowering the appraisal cap from 10% to 3% is another point in his plan. Both of those, however, carry their own risks, as do most government fixes per se. The ideal solution is simply to lift the entire burden, across all taxing jurisdictions. There are countless reasons why.” (12/30/25)
“Throughout 2025, many instances of Americans exercising their right to bear arms to protect themselves, their families and their property made headlines across the country. As of Dec. 23, the U.S. had seen 14,249 gun-related deaths and 25,606 injuries since the start of the year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Of those instances, 1,119 shootings were deemed to be in self-defense, with many cases going unprosecuted due to various laws throughout the country permitting the use of guns in life-threatening situations.” [editor’s note: And that doesn’t count the times when merely having, or being known to have, a gun prevented or put a stop to a “life-threatening situation – TLK] (12/30/25)
“The Trump administration’s military campaign against alleged drug-trafficking vessels reads like a government overreach textbook — complete with body counts, zero transparency, and the tired rhetorical fig leaf that always accompanies expanded executive power: national security. … The administration has never produced an iota of proof that these boats are actually carrying drugs. Not once. In fact, when PolitiFact asked the White House for proof that Venezuela was exporting drugs to America or that the targeted vessels contained narcotics, the administration answered with a chorus of crickets. If the case is so clear-cut, why is the American public not allowed to see a shred of proof?” (12/30/25)
