“A blackout hit Havana and the rest of the western half of Cuba on Wednesday, leaving millions of people without power on an island struggling with chronic outages blamed on a crumbling electric grid. Lázaro Guerra, general director of the Ministry of Energy and Mines, said the massive outage was caused by a failure on a transmission line that connects two major plants. He said power would be restored gradually. In Havana, dozens of police officers were trying to direct traffic while many students who were already in school were sent back home. Small businesses that have generators resumed their sales, especially of food. Some areas had intermittent internet service, so many residents were left wondering what had happened. ‘There’s no connection. No one knows why the power is out. … They’re not saying anything; it’s all silence,’ grumbled Raúl Calderón, an 82-year-old retiree, as he waited to hear official reports on the radio.” (12/03/25)
“Mark Twain allegedly quipped, ‘God created war so Americans would learn geography.’ Whether or not he actually said that, might it not be a good test, that the world’s most mighty military power be prevented from waging war if a majority of Americans failed to find the alleged enemy on a world map? Frivolity aside, this should not need to be said, but the United States has no legal authority to attack Venezuela (nor Iran, Sudan, Somalia, or any other country), nor engage in covert action to overthrow its government. Should the US do so, it will be opposed by everyone south of the Rio Grande …. Whatever one thinks of the current government, nearly 30 million people live in Venezuela, and they don’t deserve to be demonized or threatened for the policies of their president, as Venezuela poses no threat to the United States.” (12/03/25)
“The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee has subpoenaed former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith for a closed-door interview later this month even though he had earlier volunteered to appear for an open hearing about his prosecutions of President Donald Trump. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the committee’s Republican chairman, directed Smith in a letter dated Wednesday to appear for a private deposition on Dec. 17 as part of the panel’s investigations into the prosecutor’s work. ‘Due to your service as Special Counsel, the Committee believes that you possess information that is vital to its oversight of this matter,’ Jordan wrote. He also asked Smith to produce records to the committee in addition to his testimony. A lawyer for Smith, Peter Koski, said in a statement that Smith had offered nearly six weeks ago to appear before the committee in an open hearing but would nonetheless appear as requested for the deposition.” (12/03/25)
“Republicans dodged a bullet on Tuesday night as GOP candidate Matt Van Epps defeated far left progressive Democrat Aftyn Behn by a mere nine points in a district Donald Trump won by 22 points a year ago. But make no mistake: The socialist electoral gun is still locked, loaded and aimed at middle America. A win is a win, but Van Epps’[s] relatively narrow margin of victory will set off alarm bells for Republicans nationally, and embolden the socialist wing of the Democratic Party, which is already fast on its way to establishing its dominance. This election is also a validation for all those folks in the Volunteer State with T-shirts and bumper stickers that say ‘Don’t California my Tennessee,’ …” [editor’s note: I voted for Jon Thorp, the only real pro-liberty candidate, and I’m glad we dodged at least one deadly bullet – SAT] (12/03/25)
“Lebanon’s prime minister said Wednesday that his country was ‘far from’ diplomatic normalization or economic relations with Israel, despite a move toward direct negotiations between the two countries aimed at defusing tensions. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s comments to a small group of journalists in Beirut came in contradiction to a statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel would send an envoy to talks with Lebanese diplomatic and economic officials, which he described as ‘an initial attempt to create a basis for relations and economic cooperation’ between the two countries. Lebanon and Israel both announced the appointment of civilian members to a previously military-only committee monitoring enforcement of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire that halted the latest war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah a year ago.” (12/03/25)
“A University of Delaware student was arrested with a car full of guns, body armor, and a manifesto that declared he wanted to ‘kill all’ in a mass shooting on the Wilmington campus to achieve ‘martyrdom.’ Luqmaan Khan, 25, was arrested on Nov. 24 after cops found the high-powered cache in his car where he was parked in a public park after class hours. Khan had ammunition with him, a pistol, numerous extended ammo magazines, and a conversion kit which can turn a handgun into a semi-automatic rifle. He was allegedly plotting a violent attack on his school’s police department, with a notebook of handwritten plans including phrases like ‘kill all – martyrdom,’ according to ABC 6.” (12/03/25)
“There are, of course, two components to affordability: sellers’ prices and buyers’ incomes. For most American families, buying (or renting) focuses either heavily or entirely on life’s essentials: housing, food, transportation, education, health care, and other forms of care (child, senior). That a clear majority of American families are, at minimum, stressed by these costs is a consequence of not just a host of factors on the sellers’ side, but of one big factor on the buyers’ side: a half-century of wage stagnation, even as investment income has soared. Or, if you prefer, a half-century of buyers’ income stagnation, even as sellers’ income has soared. If you depend on investments for most of your income, this is a pretty damn good time.” (12/03/25)
“Defying a warning from the government, farmers in northern Greece blocked traffic at border crossings on Wednesday in an escalating protest over delayed European Union-backed subsidy payments linked to a corruption scandal. Convoys of tractors blocked routes to North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Turkey forcing drivers into lengthy detours. Over the weekend, hundreds of farmers took to the streets, blocking roads with tractors in several areas. Protests by farmers are common in Greece, but the latest unrest erupted over delays in subsidy payments following revelations of widespread fraudulent claims for EU funds. The scandal prompted the resignation in June of five senior government officials and the phased shutdown of a state agency that handled agricultural subsidies.” (12/03/25)
“Few Americans lie awake at night worrying about the federal debt — so the Republicans’ plan to end ‘temporary’ COVID-era Obamacare subsidies due to their exorbitant cost won’t win them votes. It will save Uncle Sam money: A staggering 93% of Obamacare premiums are now paid directly by the federal government to health-insurance companies. But will that bring victory in the coming midterm elections? No. That’s why Democrats are gloating that reducing the subsidies will mean higher costs for enrollees, and increase the number of Americans who go without insurance. Because of it, Republicans ‘are going to get their clocks cleaned’ in November, Sen. Chris Murphy (D- Conn.) predicts. Democrats cynically insist on continuing to spend huge sums of taxpayers’ money — $450 billion over the next 10 years — to prop up lousy insurance, defending the indefensible because of its Obamacare label. Even though Obamacare is an utter failure.” (12/02/25)
“Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released ‘never-before-seen’ images and videos of late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s notorious private island in the Caribbean Wednesday as official Washington waits for the Justice Department to hand over its files on the infamous case. The eerie images show several rooms in the disgraced financier’s luxury retreat on Little St. James in the US Virgin Islands, including one room that looks like a dentist’s operating office and is decorated with what appear to be masks of notorious historical figures. ‘These new images are a disturbing look into the world of Jeffrey Epstein and his island,’ said Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), the Oversight Committee’s ranking member.” (12/03/25)
