“For Americans wondering about the future of China and its relationship with the West, the latest verdict in the Jimmy Lai case proves an ominous harbinger of Hong Kong’s continued slide towards authoritarianism. Lai, the self-made billionaire, media entrepreneur and pro-democracy activist, has been held prisoner of the Chinese Communist Party for five years under Hong Kong’s National Security Law. He was finally convicted Dec. 14 on trumped-up charges of sedition. This verdict, handed down in 855 pages of meaningless gobbledygook, is Lai’s second conviction during his state-sponsored persecution since Hong Kong’s 2019 pro-democracy protests. Lai was previously found guilty of lease violations in connection with Apple Daily, his popular former newspaper that was closed by the Chinese government in 2021, and sentenced to 69 months in prison. The latest charges, for which Lai will be sentenced in early January, carry a penalty of 10 years to life in prison.” (12/23/25)
“Yet again, the military community is struck with the death of two outstanding individuals in the midst of unnecessary military involvement in Syria. And yet again, there will not be a single person bearing the burden of this loss other than close family and friends. In the latter half of the Global War on Terror, the American people have largely remained unaffected by continuous years of war and politicians have deferred all responsibility to the office of the President. Our involvement in the Middle East continues regardless of which party holds the Presidency, with virtually no accountability when soldiers are killed in what is perhaps our nation’s most baseless war to date.” (12/23/25)
“Since the beginning of the Trump administration, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the brainchild of billionaire Elon Musk, has gone through several iterations, leading periodically to claims — most recently from the director of the Office of Personnel Management — that the group doesn’t exist, or has vanished altogether. But DOGE isn’t dead. Many of its original members are in full-time roles at various government agencies …. Even if DOGE doesn’t survive another year, or until the US semiquincentennial — its original expiration date, per the executive order establishing it — the organization’s larger project will continue. DOGE from its inception was used for two things, both of which have continued apace: the destruction of the administrative state and the wholesale consolidation of data in service of concentrating power in the executive branch. It is a pattern that experts say could spill over beyond the Trump administration.” (12/23/25)
“Bronze Age Mindset is distracting book. Distracting is on purpose. Poorly written on purpose too. Editor say no? Writer say fuck you, I write. Book like that. Of course, there was no editor. We know this because its literary devices fail — the literary device called the paragraph break is never attempted — the history is almost entirely garbage, and the metaphysics is even worse. Bronze Age Mindset may also be the most important book in America right now. And it’ll stay important for at least as long as our current Leader draws breath. Our Leader’s followers love this book. Book maybe important in far future too. Author sure hope so.” (12/23/25)
“Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, in her recent USA Today and Newsweek opinion pieces, has worked hard to present herself as a champion of American farmers and a steward of healthier food options. Alongside Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., she spoke of the values these farmers embody (independence, grit, patriotism) and celebrated a $700 million regenerative agriculture initiative as proof that this administration is delivering for rural America. But if you pull back the curtain on Secretary Rollins and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the narrative changes. What looks like a bold vision for ‘regeneration’ quickly reveals itself as a political performance designed to distract from the USDA’s business-as-usual that props up industrial agriculture, not family farmers.” (12/23/25)
“Netflix has learned that Christmas cheer sells even with modest-to-low production value. During their debut weeks this year, Jingle Bell Heist drew 19.3 million views, My Secret Santa reached 18.1 million, and Champagne Problems logged roughly 14.4 million. Those figures aren’t as jaw-dropping as the 59.6 million viewers who tuned in for the premiere of the final season of Stranger Things, but they’re far from insignificant. These ‘slop’ movies have plenty of critics, but they aren’t trying to be Oscar-worthy. And complaining that there are too many of them is akin to complaining that the grocery store has too many deodorants. No one is forcing you to buy the Dove Go Fresh Cucumber & Green Tea spray or Augustinus Bader’s $48 stick. The existence of options you don’t personally enjoy is not a cultural failure; it’s a luxury.” (12/23/25)
“‘Don’t lose hope.’ That’s what Bonnie Miller, president of the League of Women Voters of Arkansas, told her fellow Arkansans after the state’s highest court overturned a 74-year precedent. The justices ruled that constitutional amendments passed by citizens’ initiative can be amended or repealed by legislators with a two-thirds vote of both chambers. Without the issue ever going back to voters. … How long can politicians thwart the will of the people and get away with it? The people of Arkansas are finding out.” (12/23/25)
“When critics suggest potential illnesses President Donald Trump might have, they point to evidence of a possible ailment. They notice bruises on his hands, swollen joints, dozing off during televised meetings, and his rambling, disjointed speeches. However, they never identify the one hallmark of a serious illness that he had shown even before he became president. It is a mental condition officially defined and diagnosed by the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD).” (12/23/25)
“Antisemitism is on the upswing in the United States and around the world. Although antisemitism has a long tradition on the European right, the communists under Stalin were also very antisemitic. That’s why so many Russian Jews immigrated to Israel. What is surprising is the recent increase in antisemitism on the progressive left – particularly on college campuses. The explanation, I believe, lies in ‘woke’ ideology. By one widely respected measure, America is the most individualistic country in the world. Geert Hofstede, who pioneered the study of the subject, defines individualism as ‘a cultural orientation in which people see themselves primarily as independent individuals rather than as members of tight, cohesive groups.’ They also see others that way. That undoubtedly explains why America is the most successful melting pot in the world.” (12/23/25)
“The US on-line edition of the Mirror recently published an article about the infamous NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) map showing cities and areas that will be inundated in the year 2100. Don’t worry if it is too small to see exactly what areas are covered. Except for a very few areas right on the coast in Northern California and Oregon, and in Maine, they claim it is all gonna be underwater. (Yep, plus much of the Mississippi Valley, not shown.) Unless, of course, we bow down to government and stop driving our cars and trucks, stop flying, stop heating our houses about 55 in winter or below 85 in summer. And always charge our phones and tablets with solar panels. While of course, paying more and more taxes, and otherwise start behaving like the peasants that Pharaoh let Joseph squeeze.” (12/22/25)
