Trita Parsi on The Scott Horton Show
Source: The Scott Horton Show
“Netanyahu is Back Demanding Trump Attack Iran Again.” (12/28/25)
A Single Step: The Ancient Wisdom that Won American Independence
Source: Tenth Amendment Center
by Michael Boldin
“‘A single step’ beyond the limits of the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson warned that just one solitary act lays the foundation for unlimited power. Consider the road to 1776. It wasn’t about a tiny tax on tea; it was about the claimed authority to levy it. From the Revolution back to ancient Greece, the Founders knew the score: once government seizes power, it keeps growing and it never gives it back.” (12/28/25)
Chinese military forces hold military drills around Taiwan as warning to “separatist forces”
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“China is holding military drills around Taiwan simulating the seizure and blockade of the island’s key areas, as a warning against ‘separatist forces.’ The army, navy, air force and rocket force have been dispatched for the drills which include live-fire exercises, the Chinese military said. Codenamed ‘Justice Mission 2025,’ the drills are taking place days after the US announced the sale of one of its largest weapons packages to Taiwan worth $11bn (£8.2bn). That move drew sharp protest from Beijing which in turn sanctioned US defence firms. Taiwan’s push to ramp up its defence this year has also angered Beijing, which [pretends] the self-ruled island [is] its territory.” (12/29/25)
2026 Pessimism: Put Not Your Trust in Midterms
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L. Knapp
“We live in the age of the permanent campaign, and everywhere I turn I see Democrats, actual Republicans (as opposed to Trumpists), and supposed ‘independents’ looking forward to next November’s midterm congressional elections with hope, even excitement: Democrats will take the US Senate and the House, they hope, thwarting Donald Trump’s policy agenda. The odds are not with those hopes or that excitement. … Government THROUGH politics is not going to get us out of the mess we’ve been putting and keeping ourselves in WITH politics for more than a century now.” (12/27/25)
Unattended Baggage, episode 322
Source: Unattended Baggage
“If you thought 2025 was weird, just wait …” (12/27/25)
https://unattendedbaggage.substack.com/p/episode-322-if-you-thought-2025-was
Trump says US and Ukrainian regimes “a lot closer” on peace deal but “thorny issues” remain
Source: Reuters
“U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy were ‘getting a lot closer, maybe very close’ to an agreement to end the war in Ukraine, while acknowledging that the fate of the Donbas region remains a key unresolved issue. The two leaders spoke at a joint news conference after meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Sunday afternoon. Both leaders reported progress on two of the most contentious issues in peace talks — security guarantees for Ukraine and the division of eastern Ukraine’s [former] Donbas region that Russia has sought to capture.” (12/29/25)
Free Talk Live, 12/27/25
Source: Free Talk Live
“Trump’s act of war against Venezuela – US exactly like pirates :: Trump’s executive order telling the FDA to reschedule weed to a lower level :: Have ICE deaths gone up? :: ISPs may be forced to kick users off for piracy :: Trump actually stands up to EU for trying to encroach on Free Speech :: Keeping Bitcoin in a roth IRA :: TSA giving names and photos of everyone to ICE :: the Fed to end paper checks :: 2025-12-27 Hosts: Bonnie, Angelo, Mr.Penguin.” (12/27/25)
GOP battles show a party heading deeper into fever swamps
Source: Orange County Register
by Steven Greenhut
“The Republican Party that I joined in the 1980s (and later left) espoused a straightforward set of principles. It believed in free markets, limited government, peace through strength in dealing with international aggressors, and ‘traditional’ values. Sure, the last one was nebulous and the party often was hypocritical, but these core ideas were the key to its eventual resurgence. … Engaging in nostalgia is a hazard of growing older, but one need not be misty-eyed to compare that Grand Old Party to the current freak show. Sure, Democrats were pretty awful during that era (and embraced views surprisingly common in Republican circles today) and largely remain so, but the GOP was the voice of sanity. With the GOP’s dark and nasty pivot, advocates for those age-old ideals have nowhere to turn.” (12/26/25)
THANK YOU (Final Year-End Fundraiser Update)!!!
Hey, everyone …
As of Friday, we were $296.66 short of making our year-end fundraiser goal.
Between then and now, P&KAW, PH, WW, T, and JR contributed a total of $396.66, bringing our total to $2850.50 — $100 more than the “halfway point” that triggers GL’s “matching funds” pledge to get us to our goal of $5,501.
THANK ALL OF YOU WHO SUPPORTED THE FREEDOM MOVEMENT’S DAILY NEWSPAPER!!!
While I try not to single out any particular donor, I do want to “single out” two categories and congratulate one individual.
The first category is the few of you who supported our work financially for the first time ever. I’m glad you decided we’re worth it, and we’ll continue to try to meet that expectation.
The second is our long-time supporters, those of you who always come through — often multiple times per year — to get us through this single fundraiser every year. Without you, we’d never have made it through these last 23 years.
The individual is JR, who has supported us monthly for years, has sent us extra donations more than once throughout this fundraiser, and who sent a final big one with this note:
“In honor of my first grandson (born this past Thursday!), in hopes that he will grow up to a world of liberty and responsibility.”
Congratulations, JR! We share those hopes for your grandson, and will continue doing our little part toward creating such a world!
And now I get to stop talking about money entirely for what little is left of the rest of the year, and ALMOST entirely until next October. For which I’m sure we’re all very glad!
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily
The Regulator War of 1771: A Forgotten Rebellion Against Corruption
Source: Tenth Amendment Center
by Joe Wolverton, II
“There are many events in the history of the formation of this Republic that go unnoticed, unremembered, and unheralded. Today is a chance to remedy that and remember the Regulators. As if cut from today’s headlines, patriot farmers and small ranchers in North and South Carolina led a rebellion against armed government officials trying to exercise control over western lands. History has dubbed the uprising the War of the Regulation, the final battle of which happened on May 16 in 1771. The West in this case, of course, was not Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico, but the rural counties of the Carolina backcountry. Historian James Whittenburg described the events as ‘the last and greatest of the social upheavals’ that led to the War for Independence.” (12/27/25)