Source: AOL
“The Trump administration failed Friday to meet a statutory deadline to release all government records tied to Jeffrey Epstein. The Department of Justice faces an 11:59 p.m. Friday deadline to make the disclosures required by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the statute President Donald Trump signed into law on Nov. 19. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Department of Justice has begun publishing Epstein-related materials under the Epstein Files Transparency Act but will continue producing additional records on a rolling basis as internal review proceeds and victim protections are applied.” (12/19/25)
https://www.aol.com/news/trump-administration-misses-deadline-release-043842290.html
Source: The Findings Substack
by Paul Rosenberg
“Contrary to most beliefs, major changes in our world can occur very quickly, and in fact they often have. Take the fall of the Soviet Union, for example; it vanished in a shockingly short period of time, and to the utter surprise of nearly all the world. In certain cities, like Prague, the fall was faster still. Precisely how these events form is a rather deep study, of course, and more than we’ll cover today. Nonetheless, there is a sort of geometry to these changes; a very powerful one. And so I’ll familiarize you with it.” (12/19/25)
https://thefindings.substack.com/p/the-geometry-of-change
Sourec: The Hill
“President Trump on Thursday signed an executive order to speed up the rescheduling of marijuana from Schedule I to the less severe Schedule III, with the stated goal of expanding cannabis research. The executive order will direct the attorney general to expedite the completion of the rescheduling process. The Biden administration had begun the rescheduling process but left the matter unfinished by the time Trump assumed office. In August, Trump signaled he was open to finishing where Biden left off. … The executive order will have no impact on criminal penalties or the recreational use of marijuana.” (12/18/25)
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5655160-marijuana-rescheduling-trump-executive-order
Source: CounterPunch
by John W Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead
“What was once dismissed as a joke — ‘Santa is watching’ — has morphed into a chilling reality. Instead of elves, the watchers are data brokers, intelligence agencies, predictive algorithms, and fusion centers. Instead of a naughty-or-nice list, Americans are sorted into databases, risk profiles, and threat assessments — lists that never disappear. The shift is subtle but profound. Innocence is no longer presumed. Everyone is watched. Everyone is scored. Everyone is a potential suspect. This is the surveillance state in action.” (12/18/25)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/12/18/the-surveillance-state-is-making-a-naughty-list-and-youre-on-it/
Source: The Anarchist Experience
“Rich & Lori discuss the abundance of recent shootings, the 50 year mortgage, and what would you do with a high wealth mentality.” (12/18/25)
https://theanarchistexperience.wordpress.com/2025/12/19/the-anarchist-experience-559/
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“European Union leaders have struck a deal to give Ukraine a €90bn (£79bn; $105bn) loan after failing to agree on using frozen Russian assets …. This EU loan is about two-thirds of the €135bn that Kyiv is thought to need to stay afloat over the next two years.” (12/19/25)
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/ce8np3pnljdt
Source: Independent [UK]
“Venezuela’s navy has escorted commercial oil tankers to Asia in direct defiance of a U.S. military blockade targeting the country’s oil industry. Three ships carrying urea, petroleum coke and other oil-based products sailed on Tuesday and Wednesday and were accompanied by naval escorts ordered by President Nicolas Maduro, according to the New York Times. A U.S. official said that Washington was aware of the escorts and was considering various courses of actions. The vessels were not on a list of sanctioned tankers maintained by the Treasury and threatened with attack, according to a review by the publication.” (12/18/25)
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/venezuela-navy-oil-tankers-trump-blockade-b2886965.html
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“The war on drugs has always been stupid and evil; its application to marijuana particularly so. Far too many people have spent far too many years in prison for possession and use of a common and benign plant, and taxpayers have been mulcted of far too much money to put them there.” (12/18/25)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20206
Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan was found guilty of a felony count of obstructing federal agents seeking to make an immigration [abduction] outside her courtroom, a precedent-setting case that has been closely watched nationally and drawn passionate protests. A jury of seven men and five women deliberated more than six hours before delivering a split verdict. They found the judge not guilty on a lesser misdemeanor charge of concealing a wanted person. … The case has become a bellwether in the clash between the judiciary and the Trump administration as it executes a sweeping immigration crackdown nationwide.” (12/18/25)
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2025/12/18/milwaukee-county-judge-hannah-dugan-found-guilty-of-felony-obstruction/87675227007/
Source: Reason
by Veronique de Rugy
“For years, pointing out the obvious was considered impolite: America’s biggest, most distortionary transfer of wealth does not flow from elites to the working class. Nor does it show up as corporate welfare. It flows from the relatively young and poor to the relatively old and wealthy. It’s the defining injustice of our fiscal regime, the largest driver of our government debt, and the quiet engine behind the malaise of Millennials and Gen Z. More than a decade ago, Reason editor at large Nick Gillespie and I wrote a piece arguing that Social Security and Medicare had together become the great cause of America’s generational inequity. We noted that senior households were wealthier than ever while young households still working to make ends meet had to prop them up further.” (12/18/25)
https://reason.com/2025/12/18/the-u-s-is-stealing-from-millennials-and-gen-z-to-make-boomers-even-richer/
