“Europe has obvious reason to be concerned about Russia’s operations. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys cited the recent explosion damaging a Polish train line to Ukraine as a dangerous ‘escalation’ by Russia: ‘we should address it really seriously because we are minutes from big casualties here.’ Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski declared, ‘This time, it was not just sabotage, as before, but an act of state terrorism, as the clear intention was to cause human casualties.’ However, this is precisely what the allies intend with their aid to Kiev. To kill Russians, lots of them. … Although American sympathies should be with the Ukrainian people, the United States has little at stake in the ongoing war.” (01/01/26)
“Today’s economic interdependence makes it surprisingly difficult to know when trade restrictions actually strengthen security — and when they backfire.” (01/01/26)
“Betty Boop is one of the most iconic cartoons of the 20th century. A pinup drawn to look like a 1920s flapper, the character debuted nearly a century ago and quickly became a household name: In 1932, just two years after her debut, one newspaper article dubbed Betty Boop ‘without question … the most popular film personage on the screen today.’ Today, the character enters the public domain, meaning it’s free for anyone to use — but perhaps only as a dog. The bizarre saga illustrates what’s wrong with modern copyright law.” (01/01/26)
“‘Russia’s defensive war against NATO expansion’ — a concept that has become almost axiomatic for many Western leftists. This concept conveniently serves both to rationalize Russia’s actions and to radicalize criticism of their own governments. But what role does Putin himself assign to the supposed NATO threat? A close reading of his key speeches reveals that Putin explicitly denies any danger of a NATO attack on Russia. Instead, all the ruler’s attention and passion are focused elsewhere — on the question of primordial ‘historical justice.’ Putin dusts off millennia-old chronicles, finding in them proof of his reactionary utopia, his imagined historical right to possess Ukraine. Let’s talk about the most underestimated cause of this war — ideological obsession. The Russian idée fixe.” (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)
“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)
“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)
“As New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani prepares to take office, tax-happy progressive groups are eager to let you know that the idea that rich people move because of taxes is all a big myth. There are no consequences to raising taxes on rich people, they argue, because rich people will be rich no matter what. It’s a pretty picture, and a convenient one for those who have never met anything economically productive that they didn’t want to tax. The only problem is that the data proves it just isn’t true.” (12/30/25)
“It would be easy to end this year discouraged. From campus unrest to ideological extremes at some of the most prestigious universities in America, 2025 gave us more than enough to lament. But as a university president, and as we approach this season of Christmas, a time marked by reflection, renewal and hope, I believe the full story of higher education this year was not just about collapse. It was also about conviction. This was a year when students spoke up. Parents got involved. Christian leaders stayed the course. And across the country, signs of renewal began to take shape. Not everywhere. Not perfectly. But undeniably. As I reflect on this year in higher education, I believe these five moments signal that a meaningful shift is already underway.” (12/29/25)
