Source: Drop Site
by Ryan Grim & Murtaza Hussain

“Since Jeffrey Epstein’s second arrest in 2019, the Clintons have spent considerable effort distancing themselves from the enigmatic financier, and they are currently fending off House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, who threatened contempt proceedings after the political power couple refused to testify this week regarding their relationship to Epstein. … Yet as Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign ramped up, it was Epstein looking to duck the Clintons. Epstein was facing increasingly dire legal consequences in South Florida, stemming from his years-long sexual exploitation of young women and girls. The glare of a presidential campaign risked unraveling what Epstein and his friend and ally Ghislaine Maxwell had so effectively constructed over the years, as they were increasingly associated with the spectacle of ‘Clintonworld.'” (12/19/25)

https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/jeffrey-epstein-hillary-bill-clinton-ghislaine-maxwell

Source: Persuasion
by Sam Kahn

“On the decline of America’s premier magazine.” (12/19/25)

https://www.persuasion.community/p/how-the-new-yorker-lost-its-soul

Source: Washington Post
by Keith B Richburg

“Signing a ceasefire deal before the cameras is usually just the beginning. Changing the realities on the ground — and getting combatants to lay down their weapons — requires a more sustained level of follow-through and commitment. It’s a lesson to keep in mind as Trump aims for what would be the grandest peace deal of all: an agreement between Russia and Ukraine to end the war about to enter its fourth bloody year. The Ukraine war is itself the product of entering into flimsy peace agreements and not following through.” (12/19/25)

https://archive.is/UJcfQ

Source: Common Dreams
by Angel Gomez

“On 16 December, 2025, President Donald Trump announced what he called ‘a total and complete blockade’ of oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela. Delivered via his personal media platform, the statement was sweeping in its implications. Trump declared that Venezuela was ‘completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America’, and he made clear this would not end until all Venezuelan ‘oil, land, and other assets’ were returned to the United States. But beneath the dramatic language lies a far more dangerous truth: this action marks a breach of US constitutional limits, a perilous expansion of executive authority, and a break with both legal precedent and historical norms of dispute resolution. At its core, this naval blockade (undeclared, unauthorized, and now operational) poses a direct challenge to the War Powers Resolution, a congressional statute designed specifically to prevent precisely this kind of unilateral military escalation.” (12/20/25)

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/unchecked-waters-the-constitutional-crisis-of-trumps-venezuela-oil-blockade

Source: Independent Institute
by Matthew B Crawford

“However, the ownership of Warner Bros. shakes out, it is worth thinking about the intuitions that caused people in the film and television business to freak out about the prospect of Netflix taking over a major studio. Last Thursday, a group of top film producers and other industry players sent a joint letter to congressional representatives, urging them to block the deal. It was published anonymously for fear of retaliation by Netflix and expressed skepticism that films produced under Netflix would continue to be released in theatres, despite Netflix’s assurances. The film industry group pointed out that Netflix’s incentives are such that they do not want people sitting in theatres, as this represents time not spent on the platform. The industry letter suggests the whole ecosystem of Hollywood would be put at risk with this deal, and the survival of an art form would be put in doubt.” (12/19/25)

https://www.independent.org/article/2025/12/19/netflixs-ownership-warner-bros-filmmaking-incentives/