Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“Last week, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius wrote about ‘a startling document’ that the CIA has kept hidden for some 50 years. The document apparently said that ‘the Mexican government had investigated Kennedy’s assassination and concluded Cuba was responsible.’ It’s just more misdirection on the part of the CIA. Its targeted audience is those Americans who cannot bring themselves to recognize that the Pentagon and the CIA orchestrated and carried out the assassination of a U.S. president. The misdirection serves to confuse and confound that segment of American society.” (12/03/25)
“Former President Joe Biden’s record as commander in chief will forever be defined by Aug. 26, 2021. That was the catastrophic day in the American withdrawal from Afghanistan that Biden declared should be completed by Sept. 11, 2021 — the 20th anniversary of the al-Qaeda terrorist attacks that had triggered the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. ‘U.S. troops as well as forces deployed by our NATO Allies and operational partners, will be out of Afghanistan before we mark the 20th anniversary of that heinous attack on September 11th,’ Biden said on April 14, 2021. As American forces prepared to meet Biden’s deadline, the Taliban — that Afghan regime that had provided sanctuary to al-Qaeda before the 9/11 terrorist attacks — returned to power.” [editor’s note: The withdrawal that Trump negotiated but didn’t follow through on? That withdrawal there? – TLK] (12/03/25)
“Donald Trump’s war on immigrants has crossed another line. First, he targeted illegal immigrants. Then he went after legal immigrants. Now, he’s attacking naturalized Americans: citizens of this country who were born elsewhere, particularly in what Trump contemptuously calls the ‘third world.’ He’s trying to turn white Americans against nonwhite Americans.” (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)
“Republican President Donald Trump ran on an ‘America First’ platform yet now seems on the verge of a U.S.-led regime change war in Venezuela. Republican Congressman Thomas Massie (Ky.) has questions about this. During the government shutdown last month, Massie asked a practical, very America first question, ‘How is it that we have money for regime change in Venezuela but not money to pay air traffic controllers in our country?’ It was a good point. Trump, who once vowed to ‘expel the warmongers’ in Washington, prefers to attack Massie on a regular basis. The Kentucky lawmaker is not alone. Massie appeared in June on CBS News’ Face the Nation with his friend and frequent ally, Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna (Calif.).” (12/03/25)
“For over two centuries, the Western Hemisphere has been a cul-de-sac where the United States has parked its foreign policy. The principle behind this is known as the Monroe Doctrine, named after James Monroe (1758-1831). (A refresher for those who slept through their high school American history classes: He’s the fifth U.S. president and the only one whose surname sounds like a type of cheese you’d politely refuse.) In recent months, the Monroe Doctrine has made a comeback — like the whale tail on the plumber who came to fix my kitchen sink. And the man at the center of this shift is none other than Donald J. Trump. … Trump isn’t just an American President. He’s also the hemisphere’s new father figure. NATO officials are already calling him ‘daddy,’ a term most people agree should never be used outside of very specific circumstances.” (12/03/25)
“Earlier this year, the Palisade and Eaton wildfires near Los Angeles were fought by an army of over 4,000 California state firefighters, alongside thousands of other support personnel. Within that number were more than 780 inmates from state prisons enrolled in the state’s ‘fire camp’ program, which has been operational since World War II. This program provides essential assistance to frontline wildfire containment efforts, as well as providing valuable training to inmates looking for skills — including first aid — they can use to help find work after finishing their sentences. But those released from California prisons would, for many years, run into one of several brick walls. Some couldn’t be hired as a firefighter at municipal-level firehouses because of their prison records. Others might have qualified for firefighter certification but couldn’t obtain an EMT license, a requirement for many firefighter jobs.” (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)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Stephen Anderson
“December 31, 2025, concludes the first twenty-five years of the 21st century. The US government’s future bankruptcy results from poor personnel, policy, and money decisions that have impacted everyday people. Looking back from 2000 to 2025 showed a numbing expansion of federal government and Federal Reserve Bank power, economic intervention, regulation, and waste. Personal and economic freedoms have declined. The United States federal government debt at the end of fiscal year (FY) 2000 was $5.67 trillion. It doubled to $11.91 trillion at the end of FY 2009. This doubled again to $26.95 trillion at the end of FY 2020. It stood at $33.51 trillion at the end of FY 2024 and it approaches $37.6 trillion at the end of FY 2025.” (12/03/25)
“The Trump Administration is at war … with Senator Rand Paul. Tensions between the President and Senator Paul have heated up noticeably since mid-October, with Trump taking sharp public swipes at Paul, a longtime ally. This scuffle seems primarily driven by Paul’s outspoken criticism of the Venezuelan boat strikes, which Trump sees as a betrayal of his ‘tough on drugs’ agenda and a threat to GOP unity. The budget hawk angle — mentioned here in a weekend update — is a secondary irritant, tied to Paul’s broader push for fiscal restraint. But it hasn’t dominated the feud.” (12/03/25)
