Advisory Opinions, 12/02/25
Source: The Dispatch
“‘Kill Everybody.’” (12/02/25)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/advisoryopinions/kill-everybody/
Barriers to Affordable Housing
Source: EconLog
by Tyler Watts & Joel Watts
“The economics of housing affordability is very straightforward. If prices have gone up, either demand has shifted right, supply has shifted left, or some combination of the two. While supply constraints are the major culprit in the affordability problem, we want to acknowledge that buyers are partly responsible for the market shifts that we’ve seen — it takes two to tango. Housing is a normal good with a long-run income elasticity of demand close to one, meaning housing demand rises in tandem with household income growth. To bring prices down, we need builders to shift the housing supply curve ‘out and right’ by a larger factor than buyers are shifting the demand curve.” (12/02/25)
https://www.econlib.org/econlog/barriers-to-affordable-housing/
Pinning a Ukraine peace to principles
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“The Trump administration’s drive to end the war in Ukraine – initially under a plan that favored Moscow’s terms – has hit a big speed bump: American allies in Europe are demanding that Russia be held accountable for war crimes, such as the abduction of Ukrainian children and the execution of prisoners of war. For Ukrainians, real peace demands at least truth-telling if not justice for such violations of international law. For Europe, too, any deal that wipes the slate clean for Russia ‘would be sowing the seeds of the next round of aggression and the next invasion,’ said Michael McGrath, the European commissioner for justice and democracy. ‘We cannot give up on the rights of the victims of Russian aggression and Russian crimes,’ he told Politico.” (12/02/25)
Trump’s Murderous Hypocrisy on Drug Trafficking Is Bone-Chilling
Source: Washington Monthly
by Bill Scher
“A president killing boaters on specious claims of ‘narcoterrorism’ while pardoning major drug traffickers should be a major scandal.” (12/02/25)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2025/12/02/trumps-hypocrisy-drug-trafficking/
French journalists file lawsuit against Israeli regime for blocking access to Gaza, West Bank
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“Two journalist unions have filed a legal complaint in France against Israel for allegedly obstructing the work of French journalists in the Palestinian territories, including by denying access to Gaza, they said Tuesday. Israel has not allowed international journalists into the blockaded Palestinian territory since the start of the war in October 2023 against Palestinian militant group Hamas, except when embedded with Israeli forces. … It is the latest of several such complaints linked to the Gaza war in France, where the authorities have jurisdiction in the case of an alleged breach of rights or crime against a French citizen.” (12/02/25)
US FDA’s top drug regulator submits his resignation to the agency
Source: Politico
“Rick Pazdur, the FDA’s top drug regulator, told staff Tuesday he submitted his resignation to the agency, an abrupt departure weeks after he was convinced by Commissioner Marty Makary to take the post to help bring stability to an agency reeling from months of upheaval, according to four people familiar with the decision granted anonymity to discuss the move. … Pazdur in recent weeks clashed with Makary over the Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher program, according to media reports. That program — which aims to speed final review of drugs that address health priorities, pose a transformative innovative impact, address an unmet medical need, help onshoring efforts or increase affordability — was also criticized by Pazdur’s predecessor, George Tidmarsh.” (12/02/25)
Right Now With Perry Bacon
Source: The New Republic
“Trump’s Hold on the GOP Has Never Been Weaker.” (12/02/25)
https://newrepublic.com/article/203806/trump-hold-gop-never-weaker
SolutionsWatch, 12/02/25
Source: The Corbett Report
“A single video can change the world. This week’s mission, if you choose to accept it, is simple. Watch this video on The Philosophy of Liberty.” (12/02/25)
Inside Israel’s shadow campaign to win over American media
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Connor Echols
“Back in March 2011, the Israeli consulate in New York City had a problem. A group of soldiers from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were coming to the U.S. on a PR trip, and Israeli officials needed help persuading influential media outlets to interview the delegation. Luckily for the consulate, a new organization called Act For Israel, led by Israeli-American actor Noa Tishby, was prepared to swing into action. … The previously unreported campaign appears to have violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which mandates that American citizens and organizations publicly disclose any work that seeks to influence American politics on behalf of a foreign power.” (12/02/25)
“War Department” Mission: Saving Secretary Hegseth
Source: The American Prospect
by Harold Meyerson
“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s scramble to avoid responsibility for his order to kill everyone on a boat allegedly transporting drugs, including two survivors treading water and clinging to flotsam after their boat had been blown up in mid-Caribbean, is a violation of law and a moral disgrace, but not without precedent. When things go visibly awry in our nation’s military actions (the key word in that clause is, of course, ‘visibly’), we have a long tradition of laying the blame on the underling. According to The Washington Post, Hegseth specifically ordered the operation’s commander, Adm. Frank Bradley, to have his sailors gun down those two survivors. According to The New York Times, Hegseth gave no such order, but he did issue the initial order to kill the people on that boat, which followed from President Trump’s order to the military to view such boats as enemy warships.” (12/02/25)
https://prospect.org/2025/12/02/war-department-mission-saving-secretary-hegseth/