Source: The Daily Economy
by Peter C Earle
“American households are hurting. With wage growth lagging and inflation compounding, no amount of bluster can mask the math.” (12/09/25)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/denying-the-affordability-crisis-wont-change-the-data/
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ron Paul
“Last week the Pentagon, under ‘War Secretary’ Pete Hegseth, carried out yet another military attack on a boat in the high seas that the Administration claims is smuggling drugs. That makes 23 boats blown up by the US military in the waters off Latin America – most near Venezuela – and nearly 100 persons killed. To date the US government has provided no evidence to back up its claim that these boats are smuggling fentanyl and other dangerous drugs into the United States. The US Drug Enforcement Administration has reported that Venezuela neither manufactures nor transports fentanyl to the US. In fact, the DEA still concludes that Venezuela is barely a minor player in the drug game. Is this really about drugs? Or is it about ‘regime change’ for Venezuela?” (12/09/25)
https://original.antiwar.com/paul/2025/12/08/the-hegseth-killings-must-stop
Source: Persuasion
by Damon Linker
“Even if the Supreme Court overturns Trump’s executive order, he may eventually get what he wants.” (12/09/25)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/inside-the-battle-to-abolish-birthright
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“I think first we need to be clear that healing and feeling secure are two different things. Healing isn’t about getting away from uncomfortable feelings, it’s about moving right into them and feeling them fully. After we have done our work and healing has occurred we tend to notice that we feel better, but the actual work of healing begins in discomfort. That’s where the rubber meets the road on this path. Healing is when you find a part of yourself that has been acting out unconsciously over and over again throughout your life, by getting annoyed or upset or collapsing into helplessness, or by freezing up, freezing out, or freaking out. You start paying attention to how these unconscious behaviors play in yourself (either in your outward behavior or privately in your internal suffering), and you get real curious about how that is happening.” (12/09/25)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2025/12/09/how-to-heal-when-the-world-is-on-fire/
Source: Liberal Currents
by Joseph Stieb
“Donald Trump’s 2025 National Security Strategy reveals a radical blood-and-soil conception of national strategy based on maintaining white patriarchal Christian domination at home and abroad.” (12/09/25)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/sovereignty-for-me-none-for-thee/
Source: The Hill
“The Pentagon’s own manual on the laws of war describes a scenario similar to the Sept. 2 boat-strike in discussing when service members should refuse to comply with unlawful orders. ‘For example,’ says Section 7.3 of the manual, ‘orders to fire upon the shipwrecked would be clearly illegal.’ But I would argue that all the focus on the ‘double-tap’ is misguided. The real issue, the issue we should be focusing on, is not one illegal double-strike on Sept. 2. The issue is Trump’s whole illegal war. As of this writing, the U.S. military has bombed 23 small boats allegedly transporting illegal drugs off the coast of Venezuela, killing 87 people. And yet to date, the administration has not provided one iota of proof that the boats were actually carrying illegal drugs. Even if they were, those boats posed no national security threat to the U.S.” (12/09/25)
https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/5639880-double-tap-caribbean-bombing/
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen Pirie
“There are economic, environmental, and practical arguments for making landfill disposal free or even subsidized, rather than charging tipping fees. The major case for free or subsidized landfill disposal is that it reduces Illegal dumping. Charging per ton or per bag creates an incentive for some households and businesses to illegally dump waste to avoid fees. And illegal dumping cleanup is expensive for municipalities, because cleanup costs sometimes exceed the revenue from tipping fees. Eliminating fees would remove the incentive to dump in streets, rivers, or abandoned lots. Free disposal would lead to fewer external cleanup costs. Furthermore, it would encourage proper waste management by small businesses. Many small contractors, such as roofers, landscapers, carpenters face tight margins, and tipping fees can encourage burning waste onsite, causing air pollution, dumping in forests or fields.” (12/09/25)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/promoting-free-or-even-paid-for-landfill-use
Source: Washington Monthly
by Bill Scher
“Trump’s clemency record should be viewed alongside his deregulatory agenda, putting global markets at risk.” (12/09/25)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2025/12/09/trump-pardons-white-collar-crime-deregulation/
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“‘Social sector’ workers — described by Forbes as ‘nonprofit organizations and the social sector at-large’ — have been losing jobs because of budget cuts and corruption cuts. Many newly unemployed are unhappy about having to job-hunt. Some complain about having to take jobs from profit-making businesses. Others lament sparse communication from prospective employers. … Job seekers might feel less demoralized if they didn’t take the impersonal aspects of the search so personally.” (12/09/25)
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Jorge Heine
“The president’s new hemispheric strategy revives interventionist logic while ignoring the region’s urgent need for infrastructure and economic diversification.” (12/09/25)