“Western civilization is inconceivable without the biblical proposition that all humans were created in God’s image (Tzelem Elokim [צֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים] in Hebrew; imago Dei in Latin). But over time, paradoxically, the idea turned humanity against its own Maker. So argues Tomer Persico of the Shalom Hartman Institute in his ambitiously titled In God’s Image: How Western Civilization Was Shaped by a Revolutionary Idea, recently translated from the 2021 Hebrew version.” (12/17/25)
“Do you know what a ‘neopronoun’ or a ‘xeopronoun’ is? The teachers’ unions want to make sure your little kids do. Earlier this month, the National Education Association held an ‘Advancing LGBTQ+ Justice’ event. Documents obtained by the education watchdog group Defending Education (full disclosure: I am on the group’s board) contained slides illustrating these neo- and xeopronouns. Neopronouns are ‘new’ ‘pronouns’ such as ‘xe/xem/xyr’, and other letters randomly shoved together. Xeopronouns are for ‘conceptual identities’ such as ‘cat/cats/catself’. Got it? No? But our kids are being force-fed this garbage in America’s public schools.” (12/16/25)
“The rapid growth of AI data centers has become a major election issue, emerging as a flashpoint in statewide races in November and a central theme in candidates’ platforms. Once-overlooked state public service commissioners — utility regulators — drew unprecedented attention this cycle, with Democrats in Georgia unseating two Republican incumbents criticized for raising rates and expanding fossil fuels for data centers. Why the growing voter interest? Because our energy bills are skyrocketing. … utilities are relying on unreliable, often inflated data center demand forecasts, which may never materialize. They are offering data centers sweetheart deals and states are greenlighting them in opaque, fast-tracked proceedings. We deserve to know how big these discounts are.” (12/17/25)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Looks like some kind of memo went out or something, because pro-Israel outlets and individuals are all loudly amplifying one specific talking point about the Bondi Beach shooting. Here are some examples: ‘Bondi Beach Is What ‘Globalize the Intifada’ Looks Like’ ~ Bret Stephens, New York Times; ‘The Intifada Comes to Bondi Beach’ ~ David Frum, The Atlantic; ‘The Intifada Comes to Australia’ ~ Walter Russell Mead, Wall Street Journal; ‘Shooting at Bondi Beach is what a globalized intifada looks like’ ~ Herb Keinon, Jerusalem Post; ‘The Intifada Comes to Australia’ ~ Ayaan Hirsi Ali, The Free Press; ‘Welcome to the global intifada’ ~ David Harsanyi, Washington Examiner; ‘Palestinian propaganda has globalized the intifada’ ~ Zachary Faria, Washington Examiner; ‘Bondi Beach massacre is what globalizing the intifada looks like’ ~ Vivian Bercovici, National Post; ‘Chanting ‘globalise the intifada’ leads to Bondi Beach’ ~ Danny Cohen, The Telegraph…” (12/17/25)
“On most days, America’s air traffic control system is invisible. The radar screens flicker, the controllers thread needles as planes approach and depart, and millions of passengers move through the sky supported by a grid they never see. We are reminded of its fragility only when something breaks. The most recent federal government shutdown provided just such a reminder. The system strained not because of storms or technological failure, but because Washington stopped paying its bills. Controllers continued working without pay, modernization projects halted, safety inspectors were furloughed, and as a result, flights were canceled. This was an institutional failure. If the skies darken whenever Congress deadlocks, the problem is not aviation, but governance.” (12/17/25)
“In America, antisemitism has gone mainstream. Both the woke right and woke left are poisoning their followers with their hatred. Whether people like Candace Owens personally believe the hatred they spew is justified doesn’t matter; their followers believe it is. Vanishing are the guardrails of social sanctions that restrain hatred of others. … Perhaps this is wishful thinking, but I believe the majority of Americans and Australians are not antisemitic. Yet the majority are staying silent. In his essay ‘Spiritual Laws’ Emerson wrote, ‘Human character evermore publishes itself. The most fugitive deed and word, the mere air of doing a thing, the intimated purpose, expresses character. If you act you show character; if you sit still, if you sleep, you show it.'” (12/17/25)
“The Trump administration’s National Security Strategy, or NSS, creates a basis for a more chaotic and violent American empire. Already coming under heavy criticism, with Foreign Policy in Focus publishing warnings about its implications for global development and grand strategy, the strategy remains perhaps most dangerous for its imperious dictates to the world. Behind platitudes of peace and prosperity, it provides a crude imperial logic for violence and aggression, even gesturing at a need for military interventions. ‘For a country whose interests are as numerous and diverse as ours, rigid adherence to non-interventionism is not possible’, the strategy notes. The Trump administration tries to distinguish itself from previous administrations by criticizing foreign policy elites for seeking ‘permanent American domination of the entire world’, but it displays similar ambitions, even if framing them differently.” (12/17/25)
“Priscilla Villarreal was not arrested for ‘merely asking questions,’ Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton insists in a brief urging the Supreme Court to reject the Laredo news vlogger’s petition for review of her First Amendment case. Yet that is literally what happened to Villarreal in 2017, and the precedent set by that incident poses a threat to journalists across the country. Villarreal, who operates a locally popular news outlet on Facebook, alleges that local officials, annoyed by her ‘unfiltered style’ and periodic criticism of them, conspired to punish her by treating her journalism as a crime. After months of looking for ‘any excuse’ to arrest her, she says, they settled on an obscure, rarely used Texas law, located in a chapter targeting ‘Abuse of Office,’ that makes it a felony to ‘solicit’ nonpublic information from a government official ‘with intent to obtain a benefit.'” (12/17/25)
Source: The American Conservative
by Eldar Mamedov
“When NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warns, as he did last week, that the alliance must prepare ‘for the scale of war our grandparents or great-grandparents endured,’ he is not merely outlining a defense posture. He intends to commit more American blood and treasure, backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. taxpayer, for an endless war in Europe against Russia. But Rutte could, ultimately, help bring about the opposite: an American backlash to NATO that sees a reduction of U.S. commitment to the Western alliance.” (12/17/25)
