Source: Libertarian Institute
by Joseph Solis-Mullen

“President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, represents the latest in a long line of ambitious attempts to streamline the U.S. federal government and address fiscal inefficiencies. While the symbolic aspects of DOGE — its internet meme-inspired acronym and high-profile leadership — signal a modern approach to government reform, the initiative bears striking similarities to previous efforts, notably the Keep Commission under President Theodore Roosevelt, the Grace Commission under President Ronald Reagan, and the National Partnership for Reinventing Government under President Bill Clinton. These historical examples provide a cautionary tale about the limitations of advisory commissions in achieving meaningful reform in a system rife with entrenched interests.” (12/12/24)

https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/the-doges-before-doge

Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff

“Just a day after capturing Syria’s capital Dec. 8, the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) felt compelled to issue a rule for its fighters: Do not interfere with ‘the right’ of women ‘to choose their attire or appearance.’ Whether the Islamist group – with roots in Al Qaeda – sticks to the rule remains in doubt. In areas long under its control in northwest Syria, HTS has not put any women in high government positions. Yet the timing was telling. To quickly unify a shattered nation after a half-century of dictatorship, HTS will need the support of Syrian women, whose views on gender equality have risen since the 2011 Arab Spring, the spread of social media, and 13 years of conflict and mass displacement. ‘We’re not afraid of them,’ a nurse named Noor told the BBC.” (12/12/24)

https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2024/1212/Equality-is-on-Syria-s-agenda

Source: Al Jazeera
by Melissa Parke

“When United States President Ronald Reagan and his Soviet counterpart Mikhail Gorbachev met in Geneva in 1985 they agreed ‘A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.’ It was the prelude to the beginning of the end of the Cold War nuclear arms race and subsequent deep cuts in American and Soviet – later Russian – arsenals. Since then, the original five nuclear weapons states have reaffirmed this statement, most recently in 2022. But some disagree and hark back to the military strategies of the 1950s that envisaged the use of nuclear weapons by troops on the battlefield to win wars.” (12/12/24)

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/12/12/its-time-the-world-understands-a-nuclear-war-cannot-be-won

Source: Quillette
by Ronald W Dworkin

“Many conservatives fear for this country’s future — and for themselves. America — or at least progressive America — has lapsed from the family tradition, they argue. Swathes of the country repudiate religion, democracy, and patriotism. They root for terrorist organisations. They call for defunding the police and the elimination of traditional gender categories. Conservative expositions on America’s decline often read like sermons once preached in a Home for Fallen Women, the point of which is to allege that America has slipped into disrepute and become a discredit to its ancestors. Some conservatives even live in a state of panic, wondering how they will survive in the new order. … the correct analogy is not always a Home for Fallen Women but an insane asylum, and what is needed is not a sermon but a diagnosis. America is not fallen; it is simply given to periodic bouts of madness. The country has always been a little crazy.” (12/12/24)

https://quillette.com/2024/12/12/a-very-american-madness-populism-progressivism-conspiracism/

Source: Niskanen Center
by Ed Dolan

“In 1970 everyone was feeling bad about the economy. How bad? To put a number to the pervasively negative vibe, Arthur Okun created the ‘misery index:’ the sum of inflation and unemployment rates. But now everyone is puzzled. Why was the economic vibe of 2024 bad enough to get the Democrats thrown out of office? After all, Okun’s misery index for the quarter leading up to the election stood at just 6.8, which was actually a whisker below its average of 6.9 for the Trump years. What is more, it had been falling almost continuously for nine quarters after peaking in April 2022. … Paul Krugman wrote that for most Americans, the answer to the question, ‘Are you better off than you were four years ago?’ should clearly be, ‘Yes.’ But Krugman ruefully added, ‘for reasons that still remain unclear, many seem disinclined to believe it.’ What went wrong?” (12/12/24)

https://www.niskanencenter.org/could-a-new-misery-index-help-explain-the-election-outcome