“Ten years after Donald Trump first ran for president, he stands at the helm of Titanic America. How did this happen? No factors were more pivotal than the outlooks and actions of the Democratic Party leadership. Scrutinizing them now is vital not only for clarity about the past. It also makes possible a clear focus on ways to prevent further catastrophe. Here’s the actual history that corporate Democrats pretend didn’t happen: 2016: Hillary Clinton offers more of the status quo. Her allies in the Democratic Party pull out all the stops so she can win the party’s presidential nomination. With a big assist from the Democratic National Committee, she prevails over the strong primary challenge from Bernie Sanders, but her campaign trail goes downhill from there.” (12/09/25)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Wanjiru Njoya
“One of the most basic threats to liberty, which is often overlooked, is that the defense of individual liberty as an ideal is seldom heard in political debate. The ideal of liberty is often overshadowed by quotidian political concerns that follow the latest outrage. In public debates on policies designed to advance social justice goals, the disputants generally argue about the effectiveness of the policies without questioning the underlying ideological premise or its implications for liberty. Most critiques attempt to show that for one reason or another the policy will not work as intended, or that the costs of the policy outweigh any benefits. They focus on problems of scope and implementation. This is why both sides of the political divide are often referred to as a ‘uniparty’ –two sides of the same coin that merely debate the speed at which government policies should unfold.” (12/09/25)
“Despite unsteady economic winds, housing remains unaffordable in many parts of the country, with high soft costs — expenses for planning, zoning approvals, and engineering — bearing much of the blame. Recent efforts in Michigan and Ohio, however, aim to reduce these costs through statewide catalogs of preapproved building plans for homes and small multifamily buildings. These follow locally led efforts in places like South Bend, Indiana, and Kalamazoo, Michigan, which built out their own catalogs of preapproved residential buildings, enabling a growing number of homes built to be open to source specifications. Are these statewide plan catalogs the right approach to affordability? And is there a helpful federal role in all this?” (12/09/25)
Source: The American Conservative
by Abdelhalim Abdelrahman
“Current Venezuela discourse within the Trump administration is eerily reminiscent of the run-up to the Iraq war. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Fox News are beating the drums of war, perpetuating falsehoods that grossly exaggerate Venezuela’s threat to the U.S. Over the last few weeks, inaccurate claims that Caracas bears responsibility for America’s fentanyl crisis, supplies Hamas with uranium, or directly conspires against America with Iran and Hezbollah have become the new ‘Saddam has WMDs’ deception to justify a sham war and regime change in Venezuela. … If Congress does not immediately assert its rightful authority, under the 1973 War Powers Resolution, to stop the escalating intervention, then the United States risks following the same dark path that laid the groundwork for the horrific invasion of Iraq.” (12/09/25)
“Peace is preferable. In Europe, new drums are beating, joining those drums of war already present in Eastern Europe. The Russo-Ukrainian War drags on, despite efforts by The Donald and a few others to negotiate at least a longer-lasting ceasefire. To believe the news stories on mainstream media sources, both Russia and Ukraine are bleeding themselves dry. According to many (whom we once viewed as rational, neutral, and observant commentators), Russia has failed, is doomed, and Putin and his entire regime are toast. … Of course, it just might be that once again the MSM (and various and sundry governments) are lying to their audience, figuring they have cozened the public. Again. Such fun! Such profits!” (12/08/25)
“The Canada-US trade relationship is over 150 years old and remains one of the world’s most closely aligned economic partnerships. The two countries conduct annual trade valued at $1.3 trillion. Currently, that relationship is in shambles. Tariff negotiations have stalled, and Prime Minister Mark Carney is redirecting Canadian trade away from the U.S. He is committed to doubling Canada’s non-U.S. exports over the next decade. … While Carney has prioritized the economy in his government’s policy initiatives, he often overpromises and fails to deliver on commitments made.” (12/09/25)
Source: Property and Environment Research Center
by staff
“Starting January 1, 2026, overseas visitors who pull up to the gates of 11 of the most popular U.S. national parks (including destinations like Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon) will pay a $100 surcharge on top of the base entrance fee. The price of non-resident ‘America the Beautiful’ annual passes will also rise, to $250, while remaining $80 for Americans. The policy change is fantastic news for anyone who cares about national parks, including visitors from abroad. For years, PERC has argued that higher fees for non-resident visitors are one of the smartest, fairest ways to protect America’s best idea at a time when our most famous parks are straining under record crowds and aging infrastructure.” (12/08/25)
“It’s a great party. But as the music gets louder, the lights dimmer, and the drinks stronger, you already know how it ends: a miserable day in bed nursing an epic hangover. So why not one more margarita before calling that Uber? Welcome to the AI Bubble. All the warning signs are there, and the aftermath is equally predictable. But with your portfolio brushing the stratosphere, why not spike it with a little margin? You may think your ETF is diversified, but with more than half of the S&P 500’s gains for 2025 coming from the so-called ‘Magnificent Seven’ AI-exposed stocks, you’ve already doubled down on one massive bet—that the new wave of Generative AI will soon drive exponential earnings growth far into the future.” (12/08/25)
“Vladimir Putin last week sent Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner packing, passing on President Donald Trump’s latest peace plan, and has followed up with yet more aerial assaults on Ukrainian civilians; it’s plainly time for Trump to up the economic pressure to get Vlad to the table. Absent that, the only peace Putin is interested in is the total conquest of Ukraine. Trump may grumble about Volodymyr Zelensky, but Ukraine’s president has been happy to negotiate; Putin’s the one who keeps saying nyet, even as he orders his forces to prepare for winter operations. European leaders who met Monday with Zelensky say they’re going to up their aid to Kyiv and look to further squeeze Moscow; if they follow through, Trump can surely do the same.” (12/08/25)
“The Trump administration’s National Security Strategy isn’t a strategy. Despite its pedantic condescension of explaining that ‘a ‘strategy’ is a concrete, realistic plan that explains the essential connection between ends and means,’ the document, released on Dec. 5, fails to meet that standard itself. This ‘strategy’ is instead a statement of values. And those values are vandalism against the very things that have made the United States of America strong, safe, and prosperous.” (12/08/25)
