The Good Fight, 12/16/25
Source: Yascha Mounk
“Kelly Born on All the Ways AI Is Changing Politics.” (12/16/25)
Author: Thomas L. Knapp
Conservatism Can’t Conserve Itself
Source: The Dispatch
by Matthew J Franck
“The past decade, since the entry of Donald J. Trump into electoral politics, has been a disorienting one for … well, everyone. But especially, perhaps, for ‘movement’ conservatives who regard the principles they have always held dear to be as sound as ever, but beleaguered in practice by the events of this young century. Conservatism, from this point of view, should have emerged from the Bush and Obama years bloodied but unbowed, ready to refresh and recommit itself to principles of classical liberalism …. Yet that form of conservatism … is now eclipsed by a new right that is in many ways very old and reactionary: preferring authority to law and rent-seeking to free markets, cheap moralism to authentic morals, and a fearful and inward-looking nationalism to a confident, patriotic internationalism.” (12/16/25)
https://thedispatch.com/article/maga-right-intellect-trump-ideas-extremism/
Pakistan: Court sentences cleric from banned party to 35 years for inciting violence
Source: ABC News
“A Pakistani anti-terrorism court sentenced a senior leader of a banned Islamist party to 35 years in prison for inciting violence, more than a year after the cleric publicly called for the killing of the country’s then-chief justice, court officials and a defense lawyer said Tuesday. Zaheerul Hassan Shah, a leader of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, was arrested last year after a video circulated on social media showing him offering 10 million rupees ($36,000) to anyone who beheaded then-Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa. Isa had faced criticism from hardline religious groups last year after he granted bail to a man from the minority Ahmadi community in a blasphemy case.” (12/16/25)
White House launches damage control over unfiltered Wiles interviews
Source: Axios
“The White House rushed to defend chief of staff Susie Wiles on Tuesday after her blunt private views on President Trump’s first year were revealed in a series of stunning on-the-record interviews. Wiles is the most powerful aide in the White House — credited with running a more disciplined, loyal and effective operation than Trump’s first term, which was routinely undercut by leaks and internal feuds. That makes her candid commentary to Vanity Fair — in which she questioned the judgment, execution or consequences of many of Trump’s most aggressive policies — all the more striking.” (12/16/25)
Poor Madsen’s Almanack
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen Pirie
“Based on shrewd observation of likely weather patterns and early budding of snowdrops and Indian maize, Madsen has been able to describe the events of 2026 as they actually happened.” (12/16/25)
PayPal applies to become a bank under Trump’s looser financial rules
Source: Engadget
“PayPal is the latest company looking to become a bank in the US. On Monday, the company announced it had submitted applications for PayPal Bank to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Utah Department of Financial Institutions (UDFI). PayPal is already a bank in Europe, based in Luxembourg. … Applications to become a bank have popped up left and right this year, with approval odds increasing under the Trump administration. On Friday, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced that five cryptocurrency companies, including BitGo, Circle and Ripple, received conditional approval to become federally charted trust banks.” (12/16/25)
Advisory Opinions, 12/16/25
Source: The Dispatch
“Burkeanism and the Administrative State.” (12/16/25)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/advisoryopinions/burkeanism-and-the-administrative-state/
No Manufacturing Jolt from Tariffs
Source: EconLog
by Jon Murphy
“In theory, tariffs should shift jobs to the protected industries. If these tariffs protect manufacturing, why aren’t jobs shifting there? The argument for tariffs to protect manufacturing relies on an assumption that the imports are of final goods and that the protected country has tariff-free access to intermediate goods (the goods used in manufacturing). In 21st-century America, that assumption doesn’t hold.” (12/16/25)
https://www.econlib.org/econlog/no-manufacturing-jolt-from-tariffs
Israel’s all-seeing eye is the stealthiest cruelty of all in Gaza
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Connor Echols
“Discussions of the war in Gaza tend to focus on what’s visible. The instinct is understandable: Over two years of brutal conflict, the Israel Defense Forces have all but destroyed the diminutive strip on the Mediterranean coast, with the scale of the carnage illustrated by images of emaciated children, shrapnel-ridden bodies, and flattened buildings. But underlying all of this destruction is a hidden force — a carefully constructed infrastructure of Israeli surveillance that powers the war effort and keeps tabs on the smallest facets of Palestinians’ lives.” (12/16/25)
The Bryan Hyde Show, 12/16/25
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
“It’s my weekly therapy session with Eric Peters from Eric Peters Autos where we discuss current events and how to keep one’s sanity in a world turned upside down. Come and bask in the normalcy that we once took for granted.” (12/16/25)