Pink Flame of Liberty, 12/24/25
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“Doug Wilson’s Christian Nationalist LIE.” (12/24/25)
Evergreens and Embers: What the Solstice Teaches Us About Economic Renewal
Source: The Daily Economy
by Laura Williams
“We conserve capital, tend embers, make plans, and orient ourselves toward the future. Prosperity demands we tend the embers, rather than curse the cold.” (12/25/25)
Stop Defending Bari Weiss
Source: The Atlantic
by Jonathan Chait
“The year is 2029. President Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, having spent years raging against Fox News as a propaganda organ whose very operation is illegal, has found a pressure point to control it. She enables its sale to owners who are friends of hers, and whose business depends on regulatory favors she has made a practice of doling out to allies. As the new editor in chief of Fox News, the owners install Tim Miller, a skeptic of conservatism who has never previously worked in television news. But then AOC complains that her friends at Fox News aren’t moving fast enough, and the network is still running critical coverage of her. Days later, Miller kills a long-scheduled report showing how AOC may have flouted the Constitution in order to have people tortured. It is safe to say, I think, that conservatives would be upset. … And they would be right.” (12/24/25)
Peace on Earth? Government says no
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“Merry Christmas! This is the traditional ‘Peace on earth; Good will to men’ season. It’s hard to keep this spirit alive even in the best situations. It’s nearly impossible with government around. Government doesn’t thrive on peace, but on conflict. War is the health of the state, after all. Where there isn’t conflict, government creates it. Where there is already conflict, government fans the flames and uses it against you and your liberty. This is true both overseas and within America’s increasingly militarized borders. You can’t show good will to others while governing them.” (12/24/25)
Nigeria: Bomb blast in packed mosque kills five
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“At least five people have been killed in a bomb explosion in a packed mosque in Nigeria’s north-eastern Borno state, a police spokesman has said. Nahum Daso told local media another 35 people were injured in the blast in the Gamboru market of Maiduguri, the state capital, during evening prayers. Unverified footage on social media appears to show the aftermath of the explosion, with people stood in a market area with dust particles in the air. No group has admitted carrying out the attack, but militants have previously targeted mosques and crowded places in the area with suicide attacks and improvised explosive devices (IED).” (12/24/25)
Reasonably Optimistic, 12/24/25
Source: Washington Post
“Charlie Kirk was killed on her campus. This is what happened next.” (12/24/25)
The Increasingly Assertive Japan-Taiwan Axis
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ted Galen Carpenter
“It is increasingly apparent that the new political leaders in both Taiwan and Japan are adopting more assertive, even explicitly confrontational, policies toward the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Their moves are stoking geostrategic tensions throughout the western Pacific. Washington has long regarded Taipei and Tokyo as important U.S. strategic partners. However, the Trump administration also wants to discourage any new military crises in the region. Achieving such a balance may prove to be challenging.” (12/24/25)
Trump might make the nation’s data disappear, but he can’t change reality
Source: The Hill
by Sheldon H Jacobson
“Recall the firing of the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the president this summer when a labor report did not shine a favorable light on the job market. Then the Environmental Protection Agency stopped collecting data in the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. Now, even economic reports are being cancelled. … Anytime data and statistics are ignored or compromised, the underpinnings of a well-functioning society are at risk of manipulation. Statistics permit the condition of a society to be measured, providing transparency and the ability to draw conclusions. If an activity is not measured, then it is difficult to assess its strengths and limitations. Without statistics, unlawful activities can be hidden and obfuscated. ” (12/24/25)
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5661319-politicizing-data-threatens-democracy/
AR: Man protecting girlfriend and children shoots intruder dead
Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
“A man protecting his girlfriend and three children fatally shot an man trying to break into their apartment as police were nearly on the scene, the Fort Smith Police Department reported. The suspect, later identified as Wayne Nance, died of one gunshot wound …. The caller was inside the apartment with his girlfriend and three children and told dispatchers the intruder, later identified as Nance, attempted to force his way into the apartment through the door, according to Restine. … Officers arrived at the scene at 8:54 p.m. and, as they were trying to access the property through secured gates and fencing, the caller contacted dispatchers again to report Nance had opened a window and tried to get into the apartment, yelling at the occupants, Restine said. The caller fired one shot and Nance left from the window area …. Emergency responders arrived and pronounced Nance dead at the scene, according to police.” (12/24/25)
https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2025/dec/24/police-man-protecting-girlfriend-and-children/
Phil Tourney on The Scott Horton Show
Source: The Scott Horton Show
“Scott interviews USS Liberty survivor, author and spokesperson Phil Tourney. They talk about what really happened the day of the attack, the infuriating lengths the US government went to ensure nobody would find out about it and the continued effort by figures and groups in the conservative movement to shut down discussion about this heinous chapter of US-Israeli relations.” (12/24/25)