“As generative AI is embedded into search engines, email, and word processors, it will mediate ever larger parts of the information ecosystem that people rely on. Governments are discovering that they can pressure companies to censor what may be the most consequential communications technology since the printing press. Recent efforts go well beyond combating clearly illegal content such as child sexual abuse material. From Brussels to New Delhi, Warsaw to Washington, officials are wielding regulations, threats, and public shaming to shape what information, ideas, and perspectives billions of people can access through AI.” (12/22/25)
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Jennifer Kavanagh
“Under the current plan — or what is publicly known about it — Ukraine would cede the 20 percent of Donetsk that it currently controls to Russia in return for a package of security guarantees including an ‘Article 5-style’ commitment from the United States, a European ‘reassurance force’ inside post-war Ukraine, and peacetime Ukrainian military of 800,000 personnel. Despite optimism from U.S. officials, this proposal is unlikely to be the one that ends the conflict. There is a better path for Ukraine, one that will leave the country more secure and more confident in that security over the long run, without crossing Russian redlines or requiring expansive commitments from the United States: armed un-alignment.” (12/22/25)
“The major artificial intelligence companies’ prime directive to literally bulldoze AI infrastructure into states with minimal regulation has produced citizen-led, bipartisan demands for local and national moratoriums on data center siting. While the Trump administration is doing everything it can to facilitate the only capital spending with a pulse in the economy, these calls for moratoriums are growing, and connecting with local successes in blocking data center construction. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) recently called for a national moratorium on the construction of data centers that are ‘powering this unregulated sprint to develop and deploy AI’. Sanders did credit ‘the transformative power of AI and robotics’ before calling out Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, and Bill Gates with a simple question: ‘Are these multibillionaires staying up nights worrying about what AI and robotics will do to the working families of our country and the world?'” (12/22/25)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Mark Nayler
“El Gordo is the world’s second longest-running lottery, behind the Netherlands’ Staatsloterji, which started in 1726. It was first held on December 18, 1812, in the southwestern city of Cádiz, the home of Spain’s government-in-exile during the Napoleonic Wars. Though it raised much-needed money for cannons and bullets, some thought it morally questionable. Agustín de Argüelles, a member of the national congress, claimed that it ‘would be desirable to adopt more decent means … to sustain public necessities because the lottery, raffles and other games are resources that conspire with immorality and, as a consequence, are incompatible with the virtuous character that should be what distinguishes Spaniards in the future.’ Argüelles’s fears proved unfounded: over two centuries on, El Gordo is surely one of the most wholesome instances of mass-gambling on the planet.” (12/22/25)
“The Constitution of the Roberts Court is not color-blind. It is a Constitution that permits discrimination on the basis of race, but forbids alleviating discrimination on the basis of race. And over the next year, the Court will face more cases that could further erode both the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, pushing America back toward what some on the right believe is the true, Antebellum Constitution.” (12/21/25)
“Many commenting on American politics use the term conservative to describe anyone on the right side of the political spectrum, but that is inaccurate. Conservatives, libertarians, nationalists and populists are all distinct from each other but are all too often lumped together as one. It’s just as false to say liberal, progressive and socialist are all the same. Sure, all three might want to raise my taxes, but that doesn’t mean they’re identical philosophies. … Trump doesn’t govern like someone interested in limited government. In fact, he’s expanded government power at times and attempted to consolidate power for himself at other times. Trump’s use of executive orders and his novel interpretations of the Constitution have sought to seize more power for the Executive Branch than many of his predecessors. In this he is much closer to Franklin D. Roosevelt than he is to George Washington.” (12/21/25)
“A family friend, a single mom of two small children, just got denied help from Tennessee’s Families First, a program that is supposed to, among other things, help offset skyrocketing daycare costs for working families. This program is obviously huge because for lower-income people, the cost of daycare can be equal to or even more than what they make working a job. … She relies on her around $16/hour entry-level full-time job to pay rent, utilities, gas, car, vehicle maintenance, clothing, and other expenses (she does get some help for food and healthcare). You would think this person would be a prime candidate for childcare help, especially since she is working full-time and genuinely trying to move up the income ladder and make good decisions after somewhat of a troubled past that includes some minor drug charges.” (12/22/25)
“It is with deep regret that I must resign my position as Senior Editor of the Heritage Guide to the Constitution. Indeed, I could not have even conceived of such an action only a few months ago when we launched the third edition of the guide. On Constitution Day, I proudly stood at the Heritage Foundation as we released this book to the world. But your actions have made my continued affiliation with Heritage untenable. … My resignation is effective immediately.” (12/21/25)
