- Ukraine Facing “Massive” Russian Attack On Energy Sector
Source: Barron’s
“Ukraine said Friday that it was fending off a new missile attack on its energy system, the latest in Russia’s campaign targeting the war-torn country’s power grid during the winter season. Russia has escalated its strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, plunging hundreds of thousands into temporary blackouts as temperatures hit -5 degrees Celsius (23 Fahrenheit). To fend off the strikes, Ukraine has been pleading for more air defence from its Western allies …. The air raid alert was announced at 7:00 am (0500 GMT), with social media channels that monitor threats reporting cruise and hypersonic Kinzhal missiles over several regions of Ukraine.” (12/13/24)
- State pols file vexatious suit versus Glock over device Glock neither makes nor sells
Source: Associated Press
“New Jersey and Minnesota sued Glock on Thursday, calling on the gunmaker to stop selling firearms that can be adapted with dime-sized switches to fire up to 1,200 rounds a minute [sic]. New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison also announced that top law enforcement officials in 14 states and the District of Columbia are forming a coalition to reduce [sic] gun violence by coordinating enforcement of the states’ consumer protection [sic] laws. … Glock isn’t the only gunmaker whose weapons can be adapted with so-called ‘Glock switches’ …. Also known as ‘auto switches,’ the devices, which are already illegal in New Jersey and some other states, can be bought for about $20 or 3D-printed, and are about the size of a small Lego brick.” [editor’s note: Imagine suing Ford because the cup holders in its cars CAN hold open containers of booze … and btw, no, a Glock isn’t going to fire 1,200 rounds in a minute under any circumstance; the largest Glock magazine holds 33 rounds – TLK] (12/12/24)
- US regime asks court to reject TikTok bid to stave off unconstitutional ban
Source: Reuters
“The Justice Department late on Wednesday asked a U.S. appeals court to reject an emergency bid by TikTok to temporarily block a law that would require its Chinese parent company ByteDance to divest the short-video app by Jan. 19 or face a ban. TikTok and ByteDance on Monday filed the emergency motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia pending a review by the U.S. Supreme Court. They warned that without court action the law will ‘shut down TikTok — one of the nation’s most popular speech platforms — for its more than 170 million domestic monthly users.’ The Justice Department said the court should not delay the law’s effective date arguing ‘continued Chinese control of the TikTok application poses a continuing threat to national security.'” (12/12/24)
- Biden commutes roughly 1,500 sentences and pardons 39 people in biggest single-day act of clemency
Source: Seattle Times
“President Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic and is pardoning 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes. It’s the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history. The commutations announced Thursday are for people who have served out home confinement sentences for at least one year after they were released. Prisons were uniquely bad for spreading the virus and some inmates were released in part to stop the spread. At one point, 1 in 5 prisoners had COVID-19, according to a tally kept by The Associated Press.” (12/12/24)
- Disgraced president-elect backs dockworkers’ union preparing to strike over automation
Source: The Hill
“President-elect Trump backed the dockworkers’ union as it prepares for a strike over automation in mid-January — right before the former president is set to return to the Oval Office. Trump said in a post on Truth Social Thursday that he had just met with the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), its president, Harold Daggett, and executive vice president, Dennis Daggett. ‘There has been a lot of discussion having to do with ‘automation’ on United States docks. I’ve studied automation, and know just about everything there is to know about it. The amount of money saved is nowhere near the distress, hurt, and harm it causes for American Workers, in this case, our Longshoremen,’ Trump wrote in the post. … The Washington Post reported that analysts have said that the strike could cost the U.S. economy as much as $1 billion per day.” (12/12/24)
- Somaliland: New president sworn in after elections that boosted region’s drive for recognition
Source: Associated Press
“Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland on Thursday swore in its new president after last month’s election that gave a boost for the region’s push for international recognition. The ceremony came a day after Somalia and Ethiopia agreed in Turkey to hold ‘technical talks’ over a dispute sparked by a deal Somaliland made with Ethiopia. Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, the region’s former opposition leader who was elected in the November vote, became the sixth president of Somaliland, taking over from Muse Bihi Abdi in an inauguration ceremony in the region’s capital, Hargeisa. … Somaliland seceded from Somalia more than 30 years ago, but is not recognized by the African Union, the United Nations or any other country as an independent state. Somalia still considers Somaliland part of its territory.” (12/12/24)
- Musk reveals SEC sent him “settlement demand” after Twitter buyout probe
Source: CNBC
“The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a ‘settlement demand’ to Elon Musk, the tech billionaire disclosed in a social media post on Thursday. The post included a copy of a letter sent by Musk’s attorney, Quinn Emanuel Partner Alex Spiro, to SEC Chair Gary Gensler. The letter said that the federal agency had pressured Musk to agree to a settlement including a fine within 48 hours, or ‘face charges on numerous counts’ regarding ‘Certain Purchases, Sales and Disclosures of Twitter Shares.’ The SEC has been investigating whether Musk, or anyone else working with him, committed securities fraud in 2022 as the Tesla CEO sold shares in his car company Tesla and shored up a stake in Twitter, ahead of his leveraged buyout of the social network which is now known as X.” (12/13/24)
- US appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
Source: The Hill
“An appeals court in Louisiana has ruled that Nasdaq can’t require diversity on the boards of companies that list on the exchange. The decision comes more than three years after the Securities and Exchange Commission approved Nasdaq’s proposal to boost the number of women, racial minorities and LGBTQ people on U.S. corporate boards. The proposed policy — which was to be the first of its kind for a U.S. securities exchange — would have required most of the nearly 3,000 companies listed on Nasdaq to have at least one woman on their board of directors, along with one person from a racial minority or who identifies as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer. It also would have required companies to publicly disclose statistics on the demographic composition of their boards.” (12/12/24)
- NC: GOP lawmakers override veto to strip power from Democratic officials
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“On the brink of losing their supermajority in the state legislature, North Carolina Republicans overrode a gubernatorial veto on Wednesday to enact a new law that gives them control over elections in the state and strips the incoming Democratic governor and attorney general of some of their powers. Currently, North Carolina’s governor appoints the five members of the state board of elections, allowing him to select a three-person majority from his party. The new law transfers that appointment power to the state auditor. A Republican won control of the state auditor race this fall for the first time in more than a decade. The bill also changes how local election boards in each of North Carolina’s 100 counties would be appointed.” (12/12/24)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/12/north-carolina-republican-democratic-governor
- Brazilian ports jammed with 70,000 unsold Chinese EVs as tariffs loom
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“Brazilian ports have been clogged this year with more than 70,000 unsold Chinese electric vehicles (EV), in a sign of how hard it is becoming for China’s carmakers to keep up their robust growth. Companies such as BYD and Great Wall Motor have global ambitions, and Brazil has become a crucial proving ground with many other large economies turning towards protectionism. The country is the world’s sixth-biggest car market and success there may boost prospects across the region. But after taking Brazil’s nascent EV sector by storm, China’s carmakers are facing increasing challenges. The glut of cars at the ports stems from them trying to avoid new tariffs. Domestic competitors have responded with additional electric options and investment. Plus, the country’s EV growth rate is cooling, like much of the world.” (12/13/24)
- European Central Bank cuts interest rates again as inflation eases and growth falters
Source: Politico
“The European Central Bank cut its key interest rate by a quarter-point to 3.0 percent, reflecting continued progress in bringing inflation down and growing concerns about the state of the economy. While the decision — a fourth cut in seven months — was widely anticipated, there had been some speculation on a larger half-point cut, after a series of weak data in recent months suggested the economy might have already ground to a standstill, even before an expected onslaught of trade tariffs next year from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. Yet updated forecasts, published on Thursday, show the ECB still expects decelerating inflation to be flanked by continued growth — albeit somewhat weaker than before.” (12/12/24)
https://www.politico.eu/article/ecb-cuts-interest-rates-again-as-inflation-eases-and-growth-falters
- American Who Says He Crossed Into Syria by Foot Is Free After Seven Months in Detention
Source: US News & World Report
“An American who turned up in Syria on Thursday says he was detained after crossing into the country by foot on a Christian pilgrimage seven months ago. Travis Timmerman appears to have been among thousands of people released from the country’s notorious prisons after rebels reached Damascus over the weekend, overthrowing President Bashar Assad and ending his family’s 54-year rule. As video emerged online of Timmerman on Thursday, he was initially mistaken by some for Austin Tice, an American journalist who went missing in Syria 12 years ago. In the video, Timmerman could be seen lying on a mattress under a blanket in what appeared to be a private house. A group of men in the video said he was being treated well and would be safely returned home.” (12/12/24)
- Pope calls for debt reduction for poorer nations to mark Vatican’s 2025 Jubilee Year
Source: ABC News
“Pope Francis on Thursday called on wealthy countries and institutions to substantially reduce if not outright cancel debt as a matter of justice on the occasion of the Vatican’s 2025 Jubilee Year. In a message for world peace, Francis referred to St. John Paul II’s admonition in Jubilee Year 2000 that debt ‘threatens the future of many nations.’ He noted that many countries ‘are in no condition to repay the amount they owe,’ and called for a new financial framework ‘lest this prove merely an isolated act of charity that simply reboots the vicious cycle of financing and indebtedness.'” (12/12/24)
- US wholesale prices rose 0.4% in November, more than expected
Source: CNBC
“A measure of wholesale prices rose more than expected in November, adding fuel to the belief that progress in bringing down inflation has slowed, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday. The producer price index, which measures what producers get for their products at the final-demand stage, increased 0.4% for the month, higher than the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 0.2%. On an annual basis, PPI rose 3%, the biggest advance since February 2023. However, excluding food and energy, core PPI increased 0.2%, meeting the forecast. Also, subtracting trade services left the PPI increase at just 0.1%. In other economic news Thursday, the Labor Department reported that first-time claims for unemployment insurance totaled a seasonally adjusted 242,000 for the week ending Dec. 7, considerably higher than the 220,000 forecast and up 17,000 from the prior period.” (12/12/24)
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/12/producer-price-index-november-2024-.html
- Mexico: Judge shot dead in his car outside courthouse in resort of Acapulco
Source: CBS News
“A judge was shot dead Wednesday in Mexico’s once-thriving beach city of Acapulco, local media and the state prosecutor’s office said. Local press identified the slain judge as Edmundo Roman Pinzon, president of the Superior Court of Justice in Guerrero state, saying he was shot at least four times in his car outside an Acapulco courthouse. The southern state of Guerrero is one the areas hardest hit in Mexico by violence linked to organized crime, and has seen a string of deadly attacks this year.” (12/12/24)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/judge-killed-outside-courthouse-acapulco/
- Pakistan: Court indicts Khan, wife in Toshahana 2.0 case
Source: Deccan Herald [India]
A Pakistan court on Thursday indicted former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the second Toshahana case. Special Court Judge Shahrukh Arjumand, who presided over the hearing at the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi, framed the charges against them. Also known as Toshakhana 2.0, the case was initially filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). However, in light of NAB Amendments, the Federal Investigation Agency took over the case and filed its challan in September. The Toshakhana case involves allegations of corruption against Khan and Bibi, specifically regarding the sale of gifts from foreign dignitaries.” (12/12/24)
- Romania, Bulgaria become part of Schengen Area
Source: Financial Times [UK]
“The EU is on Thursday set to formally approve the full accession of Bulgaria and Romania to its Schengen area of free movement, at a time when the zone is jeopardised by the reimposition of border controls by a number of bloc members. Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007, but did not accede to Schengen because of concerns over corruption and irregular migration. They were allowed to partially join in March, but countries including Austria vetoed their full membership. Vienna’s decision last month to lift its veto paved the way for ministers to authorise the removal of the remaining checks at Romania and Bulgaria’s land borders with the rest of the EU by January 1, according to EU diplomats.” (12/12/24)
- Mali: Rights Group Accuses Russian Mercenaries of Abuses Against Civilians
Source: US News & World Report
“Mali’s armed forces, supported by Russian mercenaries, committed abuses against civilians since the withdrawal of a U.N. peacekeeping mission late last year, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Thursday. Malian armed forces and the Russia-backed Wagner Group deliberately killed at least 32 civilians, including seven in a drone strike, kidnapped four others, and burned at least 100 homes in towns and villages in central and northern Mali since May, the rights group said. Human Rights Watch also accused jihadi groups in the region of having summarily executed at least 47 civilians and displaced thousands of people since June. It said the groups burned thousands of houses and looted livestock, which is vital to the survival of the nomadic communities in the region.” (12/12/24)
- Disgraced president-elect taps Arizona moonbat to lead Voice of America
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“President-elect Donald Trump said he wants Kari Lake, a fierce ally who has denied the results of the 2020 US presidential election, to lead Voice of America, a federally funded global news outlet. Donald Trump made the announcement on Wednesday night, writing on his social media platform Truth Social that Lake would be appointed by and work closely with the next head of the US Agency for Global Media, which oversees all non-military, US international broadcasting. He said he would announce for that role ‘soon.’ Lake left her longtime post as a news anchor in 2021 for failed Republican bids for an Arizona seat in the US Senate and to serve as the state’s governor. She became a vocal critic of the media in her brief political career and has referred to journalists as ‘monsters.'” (12/12/24)
- Switzerland: Central bank cuts interest rate 50 basis points, biggest reduction in nearly a decade
Source: Yahoo! News
“The Swiss National Bank cut its interest rate by 50 basis points on Thursday, the biggest reduction in almost 10 years as it sought to stay ahead of expected cuts by other central banks and cap the rise of the Swiss franc. The SNB reduced its policy rate from 1.0% to 0.5%, the lowest since November 2022. While markets had predicted the move, more than 85% of economists polled by Reuters had expected a smaller cut of 25 basis points.” (12/12/24)
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/swiss-national-bank-cuts-interest-083242367.html
- Luxury real estate tycoon brothers charged with sex trafficking
Source: Axios
“Two real estate tycoons and their brother were arrested on federal sex trafficking charges, New York prosecutors announced Wednesday. Oren and Tal Alexander are accused of using their wealth and prominent positions in real estate in ultra-luxury markets in N.Y. and Florida for over a decade to ‘repeatedly and violently drug, sexually assault and rape dozens of women,’ per an indictment unsealed Wednesday. The two brothers and Oren Alexander’s twin, Alon Alexander, have previously denied sexual assault allegations after lawsuits were filed in civil court against them earlier this year.” (12/12/24)
https://www.axios.com/2024/12/12/real-estate-alexander-brothers-sex-trafficking-case
- DOJ IG reveals 26 FBI informants were present at Capitol riot
Source: Fox News
“Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz said there were more than two dozen confidential human sources in the crowd on Jan. 6, but only three were assigned by the FBI to be present for the event, while stressing that none of the sources was authorized or directed by the bureau ‘to break the law’ or ‘encourage others to commit illegal acts,’ Fox News has learned. Horowitz on Thursday released his highly anticipated report on the FBI’s Handling of its Confidential Human Sources and Intelligence Collection Efforts in the Lead Up to the Jan. 6, 2021 Electoral Certification.” [editor’s note: The truth is going to come out, and Trump is going to have all he needs to pardon and commute those sentences – SAT] [additional editor’s note: He already has all he needs — the power to do so. That won’t magically make rioting not rioting, though – TLK] (12/12/24)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/doj-ig-reveals-number-fbi-confidential-sources-ground-during-jan-6
- US regime announces first withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon under ceasefire deal
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“Israeli forces completed their first withdrawal from a town in southern Lebanon, handing control to the Lebanese military under a ceasefire agreement, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Wednesday. Army General Michael Kurilla, CENTCOM’s commander, visited the monitoring headquarters in Beirut for the ceasefire and met with the commander of Lebanon’s armed forces, General Joseph Aoun, CENTCOM said in a post on X. … The U.S. and France serve as monitors of a 60-day truce between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah that calls for a phased withdrawal of Israeli troops after more than a year of war.” (12/12/24)
- FDA asks Biden regime to reduce nicotine content in tobacco products
Source: United Press International
“In what appears to be a last-ditch effort to limit [sic] the harms of smoking before its term ends, the Biden administration has proposed a rule that would significantly lower the amount of nicotine in tobacco products. The agency’s efforts to counter the dangers of the addictive chemical stretch back to 2018, when it first proposed the idea. Then, FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf went even further in 2022 and announced that the agency was developing a rule that would require tobacco companies to reduce the amount of nicotine in cigarettes.” [editor’s note: Less nicotine in a cigarette means more cigarettes get smoked — and it’s the tars, not the nicotine, that are most harmful. This is a recipe for, among other things, increasing lung cancer and emphysema rates – TLK] (12/12/24)
- Judge Reverses Decision to Release Alleged CIA Leaker Ahead of Trial
Source: The Intercept
“The CIA analyst accused of leaking top secret documents about Israel’s war plans against Iran must stay in jail ahead of trial, a federal judge said Wednesday. The judge sided with prosecutors’ claims that the analyst could make further disclosures affecting events in the turbulent Middle East if he was free before his trial on two Espionage Act counts. U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles’s order to hold Asif William Rahman reversed a magistrate judge’s decision last week to grant pretrial release on the grounds that Rahman could safely be released to home detention with his family.” [editor’s note: The purpose of bail is to incentivize appearance at trial, not to prevent someone who’s not been convicted of a crime from committing another crime. And speaking of “crimes,” how does disclosing Israeli information constitute US espionage? – TLK] (12/11/24)
https://theintercept.com/2024/12/11/cia-israel-iran-leak-asif-rahman/
- What Is Kakistocracy?
Source: EconLog
by Pierre Lemieux“In his 1944 book The Road to Serfdom, Fredrich Hayek, the future economics Nobel laureate, foresaw that as the state gains power, the worst people would become rulers, whether it be a single dictator adored by the majority or an omnipotent democratic majority. The regime would be supported by people with the lowest moral and intellectual standards and by the most gullible. They would embrace the principle that the end justifies the means and unite against scapegoats. People would lose any ‘respect for the individual qua man instead of merely as a member of an organized group.’ Cynicism and disregard for truth would spread. Tribal emotions and government propaganda would displace rational arguments. Hayek would not have been surprised if foreigners, immigrants, and pet-eating Haitians were among the scapegoats.” (12/12/24)
- Edward Snowden deserves a pardon more than Hunter Biden
Source: Orange County Register
by Rafael Perez“If Biden is going to abuse his power to benefit his own family, then we should at least get something in return. There are federally incarcerated individuals who are genuine victims of miscarriages of justice. There are those who had the misfortune of committing their crimes during the ‘80s and ‘90s when the war on drugs was in full force, leading many of them to receive disproportionately harsh sentences. The draconian mandatory minimums of the time saw people like Michelle West receive life sentences for first-time drug offenses. On behalf of the government, Biden should also apologize to and pardon Edward Snowden so that he can return to his family. Snowden did us all a great service by exposing the government’s secret programs to illegally and unconstitutionally spy on us.” (12/12/24)
https://www.ocregister.com/2024/12/12/edward-snowden-deserves-a-pardon-more-than-hunter-biden/
- Micromanaging Foreign Nations: A Bipartisan Syndrome
Source: The American Conservative
by Doug Bandow“If one thing is certain, there will be more uncertainty abroad. Yet most Washington officials believe their job is to manage the world, even the least minutiae involving other states. And the rest of the world’s job is to obey them. At a time of multiplying wars, U.S. policymakers continue to waste time, resources, and credibility on issues that are frankly none of America’s business.” (12/12/24)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/micromanaging-foreign-nations-a-bipartisan-syndrome/
- Brian Mast As Foreign Policy Indicator: New Boss, Same As The Old Boss
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp“In 2016, Donald Trump ran for president as a kinda-sorta, maybe-a-little-bit, ‘antiwar’ candidate. Once in office, however, he escalated every war he had inherited …. This year, Trump once again ran — and won — as a kinda-sorta, maybe-a-little-bit, ‘antiwar’ candidate, mainly on his claim that he could negotiate a ‘deal’ with Russian president Vladimir Putin to end the US proxy war in Ukraine. Should we have believed him this time? His prospective appointees to office are a mixed bag on the subject of foreign military entanglements, but a recent event in Congress provides strong evidence that the answer is ‘no.'” (12/12/24)
- The DOGE(s) Before DOGE
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
- Equality is on Syria’s agenda
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
- It’s time the world understands a nuclear war cannot be won
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)
- A Very American Madness
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/
- Could a new misery index help explain the election outcome?
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
- The Economics of Security
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Peter Jacobsen“For ‘Ask an Economist’ this week, I have a question from Luis in Mexico City. He says: I’m an assiduous reader of the FEE regular material. I write to you from Mexico City regarding your very liked column: ‘Ask an Economist.’ ‘For a long time my head has been turning around trying to understand the puzzle of how are economic science and security related (in the most generic sense of this last term)?’ So let’s dive into the relationship between economics and security.” (12/12/24)
https://fee.org/articles/the-economics-of-security-ask-an-economist-31/
- Why Liberals Will Give Two Cheers for Trump
Source: TomDispatch
by John Feffer“Liberals hate Trump, no question about it. He’s the definition of illiberal: authoritarian, racist, sexist, and downright nasty. Not only that, he’s a living repudiation of the liberal delusion that America runs on meritocracy. But you want to know a dirty, little secret? In back alleys, encrypted group chats, and off-the-record conversations, liberals will still support Trump on a case-by-case basis. Of course, they’d never vote for the guy, but they’ll give two cheers for some of his policies. I discovered this ugly truth during Trump’s last term while writing an article on the shift in U.S. policy toward China from lukewarm engagement to hostile decoupling. The general consensus among the foreign policy elite was that, at least in terms of relations with Beijing, Trump was a useful idiot for slowing China’s roll with harsh rhetoric and tariffs.” (12/12/24)
- War, Revolution, and Ambition
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Bert Olivier“There are several wars happening in the world at present – those in the Middle East, the one in Ukraine, and recently the renewed war in Syria. Anyone who has kept track of the connections between these and the encompassing attempt, by a bunch of globalists, to bring about a totalitarian world government, will know that these wars are an integral part of this global putsch. Could it be, however, that the outcomes of these wars (which are by no means a foregone conclusion) could perhaps promote the interests of the worldwide Resistance against the globalist cabal?” (12/12/24)
https://brownstone.org/articles/war-revolution-and-ambition/
- Hunter Biden Was Shafted by the Federal Gun-Control Quandary
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger“The federal government has laid out a nice little gun-control quandary for certain people who wish to purchase a gun from a licensed gun dealer. The feds require the buyer to fill out a form as a condition for buying the gun. … Question 11(e): ‘Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted, to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?’ At the risk of belaboring the obvious, if a person answers ‘Yes’ to that question, the dealer cannot legally sell him the gun. The first question that arises is: Why should a person’s personal drug use be of any business to the U.S. government? Why shouldn’t drug use be someone’s own personal business? The second question is: Why shouldn’t a person who uses drugs have the same right to keep and bear arms and the same right of self-defense as a person who doesn’t use drugs?” (12/12/24)
https://www.fff.org/2024/12/12/hunter-biden-was-shafted-by-the-federal-gun-control-quandary/
- TikTok’s case is a stunning swing toward paternalism
Source: Washington Post
by Anupam Chander and GS Hans“Congress passed a law because it doesn’t trust Americans with freedom of speech.” (12/12/24)
- Don’t Count On Trump Draining the Swamp This Time Either
Source: RealClearPolitics
by Keith Raffel“Electing Trump to drain the swamp of corruption is like installing Al Capone as head of an anti-organized crime strike force.” (12/12/24)
- Netanyahu Hilariously Claims Israel Doesn’t Seek To Intervene In Syria’s Affairs
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone“Only Israel could invade and occupy large stretches of a country, bomb it 480 times in 48 hours, destroy 80 percent of its military defenses, and then claim that it has no intention of interfering in that country’s internal affairs. … Western regime change cheerleaders are partying about Syria as hard as they can right now because they know soon they’re going to have to turn a blind eye to everything that happens in that country for years to come, just like they did with Libya. … The new people in charge in Syria have announced that they’re going to be opening up the nation’s markets and integrating into the global economy, which is one of the least surprising developments in this story so far. This is textbook disaster capitalism which we see in every major imperial power grab on a disobedient nation.” (12/12/24)
- The Government’s Disturbing Rationale for Banning TikTok
Source: The Atlantic
by Evelyn Douek“Last week, a federal court upheld the extraordinary use of government power against TikTok, the social-media platform that an estimated 170 million Americans use to dance, sing, talk about politics, and engage in a lot of other First Amendment–protected expression. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit unanimously dismissed TikTok’s challenge to a law requiring that the app — currently a subsidiary of the Chinese tech company ByteDance — be sold to new owners by January 19 or be shut down in the United States. This is a stunning holding in a country proud of its free-speech tradition. Shutting down a whole speech forum is generally associated with repressive countries such as Russia and China. And the decision is all the more remarkable because the court acknowledged that the law was motivated by concerns about what Americans might be convinced to believe by using the app.” (12/12/24)
- The Failure of Yoon’s Desperate Power Grab
Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison“It’s clear that electing Yoon was a terrible mistake, but with any luck South Korea will not have to live with that mistake for much longer.” (12/12/24)
https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/the-failure-of-yoons-desperate-power
- It’s not just Biden: Presidents can’t be trusted with pardons anymore
Source: USA Today
by Dace Potas“Following President Joe Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter Biden, the administration is now apparently considering another unique use of executive pardon power in anticipation of what President-elect Donald Trump will do with his new administration. Biden and his allies are discussing the use of preemptive pardons in order to shield Trump’s enemies from retaliation. While I understand the desire for such a move, the expanding use and abuse of the pardons show why the power is prime for a constitutional amendment stripping it and how far modern politics has fallen.” (12/12/24)
- The Madness of Luigi Mangione
Source: Common Dreams
by Phil Wilson“Before hanging on December, 2, 1859, John Brown slipped a note to a jailer: ‘I, John Brown am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty, land: will never be purged away; but with Blood. I had as I now think: vainly flattered myself that without verry much bloodshed; it might be done.’ Many abolitionists had painfully reached the same conclusion – the institution of slavery had become too entrenched, powerful and emboldened to be disassembled by means of rational discourse, or moral appeal. Slavery is not, in the literal sense, the issue today, but the decidedly inevitable manner in which present day events drag the suffering masses hopelessly along, evokes a parallel set of themes to those that confronted John Brown 165 years ago. At what point do crimes of wealth, power and profit, committed by the rulers of society at the expense of those who have no means of defense, reach a moral tipping point?” (12/12/24)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/luigi-mangione-healthcare
- Kissinger’s Lessons for American Foreign Policy Today
Source: Law & Liberty
by John Doherty“When the Soviet Union collapsed, many people thought international conflicts were coming to an end as liberal democracy triumphed everywhere. But today, China, Russia, and Iran are dissenting from the global status quo, and nations are once again trying to find a ‘balance of power’ in geopolitics. As Americans decide how to respond to the conflicts multiplying around the world, how can they respect both timeless principles and the demands of these particular times? To answer that question, we might reconsider the lessons of Henry Kissinger, one of the greatest students of diplomacy of our age.” (12/12/24)
https://lawliberty.org/kissingers-lessons-for-american-foreign-policy-today/
- Bidenomics Goes Out With a Whimper
Source: Reason
by Peter Suderman“There’s a good reason Biden eventually stopped saying Bidenomics. Americans didn’t like the results of his economic policies.” (for publication 01/25)
https://reason.com/2024/12/12/bidenomics-goes-out-with-a-whimper/
- Millions of “Missing” American Men Aren’t Really Missing
Source: The Dispatch
by Scott Lincicome“Critics of President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to deport millions of immigrants and supercharge (supposedly) manufacturing with tariffs and subsidies frequently note that the U.S. lacks the workers to enact such a plan. And a common response to that skepticism (including my own) is that there are millions of American workers — mainly men — sitting idle today, just waiting to fill the jobs that have been ‘taken’ by immigrants or foreign manufacturers. … the idea that there are anywhere close to 7 million men just sitting around waiting for a ‘good job’ withers under scrutiny, as does the idea that trade and immigration are primarily to blame for the men who really are ‘missing’ from the labor force.” (12/12/24)
https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/capitolism/millions-of-missing-american-men-arent-really-missing/
- I’m a Filmmaker. Ben Affleck Is Right About Artificial Intelligence
Source: The Daily Economy
by Sean Malone“As a creative director and film and video producer, I do have some concerns about where this technology is going to take us, but for the most part, I think a lot of the criticism and controversy within the artist community is hysterical. So, when actor and director, Ben Affleck shared his thoughts about AI in the entertainment business with CNBC a few days ago, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that he had one of the most rational takes on the subject of any creator I’d heard talk about the issue so far.” (12/12/24)
- When Democracy’s Defenders Turn Into Its Gravediggers
Source: Yascha Mounk
by Yascha Mounk“Romania’s top court annulled the first round of presidential elections. It’s a betrayal of democracy masquerading as its defense.” (12/12/24)
https://yaschamounk.substack.com/p/when-democracys-defenders-turn-into
- China admits it has massive shadow debts — creating a headache for the EU and UK, and a threat to their public credit ratings
Source: Cobden Centre
by Bob Lyddon“The stimulus package for the Chinese economy, presaged by the People’s Bank of China in late September, has disappointed in its size and detail, but it has achieved something that the EU and UK governments will not thank the Chinese for: it has drawn attention to the scale of China’s ‘shadow’ public sector debt, and their intention to reduce it. The EU and UK plan to increase shadow debt to pay for Net Zero – and hope that the public credit rating agencies do not notice the escalation of the debt service burden, however well it is wrapped up in innovative financial schemes.” (12/12/24)
- Daniel Penny’s “Crime”: Wrong Race, Wrong Place
Source: Town Hall
by Larry Elder“The same day Daniel Penny, the retired Marine and architecture student, pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and negligent homicide, a New York grand jury declined to recommend charges against Jordan Williams. Williams and his girlfriend, who are both black, were on a Brooklyn subway train when Williams, 20 years old, was approached by an aggressive 36-year-old ex-con homeless black man, Devictor Ouedraogo. In a confrontation captured on video, Ouedraogo punched Williams'[s] girlfriend in the face, and Williams then pulled a knife and fatality stabbed Ouedraogo in the chest. Williams was later arrested and charged with manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon.” (12/12/24)
- Luigi Mangione’s Manifesto Is Stupid
Source: Washington Monthly
by Bill Scher“Much of what explains America’s unimpressive life expectancy — socioeconomic inequalities, substance abuse, gun violence, obesity, poor initial pandemic response — has nothing to do with the gatekeeper role played by insurance companies when determining coverage for treatments. And nowhere in these academic studies do we find researchers fingering the practices of insurance companies. Mangione himself appeared to have some grasp of that, maddeningly so. He wrote, ‘Obviously the problem is more complex, but I do not have space, and frankly I do not pretend to be the most qualified person to lay out the full argument.’ Never have I read a bigger copout. He had nothing but space; confessions don’t have word count limits. And apparently, he knew he wasn’t qualified to lay out a comprehensive critique of the American health care system. Yet, he deemed himself competent enough to address the complex problem through a simple murder.” (12/12/24)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2024/12/12/luigi-mangiones-manifesto-is-stupid/
- The Tectonic Shift: The Gaza Genocide and the Limits of Israeli Hasbara
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ramzy Baroud“The ongoing war and genocide in Gaza is unprecedented. Nothing that Israel and its supporters can say or do will avoid the historical accountability of the extermination of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. The above assertion is critical, both for ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine and achieving Palestinian freedom. This is why. In all past wars and adjoining war crimes, Israel managed to push the reset button in its relationship with occupied Palestinians. Following each war, the Israeli hasbara, propaganda machine, would start – utilizing the always-willing western mainstream media – to paint Palestinians in a negative light and to present Israel, a country that is supposedly in a permanent state of self-defense, as the victim, or even the lone defender of western civilization. … Why will those same Israeli tactics fail this time?” (12/12/24)
- Health Insurance Killing: Economics Does Have Something to Say
Source: Beat The Press
by Dean Baker“I’m not one to generally tout the wisdom of the economics discipline, but it actually does offer some useful insights into the likely motive for the murder of Brian Thompson, the CEO of United Healthcare (UHC). According to media accounts, the suspect, Luigi Mangione, was angered by his own and others’ experiences being turned down when submitting claims for healthcare service. United and other insurers make a profit by restricting the claims they pay, so their profit motive goes directly against people’s need to get healthcare. That simple story is undeniably true, but the picture is more complicated.” (12/12/24)
https://cepr.net/health-insurance-killing-economics-does-have-something-to-say/
- The Attack on Birthright Citizenship
Source: CounterPunch
by Carol Nackenoff & Julie Novkov“As President-elect Donald J. Trump prepares to implement sweeping policy changes affecting American immigration and immigrants, one of the issues under scrutiny by his allies appears to be birthright citizenship – the declaration in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution that anyone born on U.S. soil is a U.S. citizen, regardless of their parents’ nationalities or immigration status. Some prospective members of Trump’s team, including anti-immigration advisers Stephen Miller and Thomas Homan, have said they intend to stop issuing federal identification documents such as Social Security cards and passports to infants born in the U.S. to undocumented migrant parents, according to The New York Times. This first step down a path to deny citizenship to some individuals born in the United States reflects a conflict that’s been going on for nearly 200 years: who gets to be an American citizen.” (12/12/24)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/12/12/the-attack-on-birthright-citizenship/
- Set it off: How US invasion of Iraq led to chaos in Syria today
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Peter Van Buren“If a time traveler from 2024 landed in the Middle East of say 40 years ago, with the intent of revealing the future, he might not be believed. He’d tell how the stalwart regimes of Qaddafi, Saddam, and the Assad dynasty were gone, their former countries now embroiled in some gradation of security chaos, state failure, or chronic political dysfunction. Egypt survives as a sort of U.S. client state, saved by American do-nothingism from the democratic possibilities of the Arab Spring. When asked how all this could have happened, he’d explain that much of it had to do with the United States and its invasion of Iraq in 2003 — the destruction of a comparatively stable (but ‘evil;’ they’re all evil) regime that turned out to be the linchpin holding most of the whole Sykes-Picot world together.” (12/12/24)
- Our health system frustrates people. But they don’t want it replaced.
Source: Washington Post
by Megan McArdle“The U.S. health-care system is in many ways frustrating, and many of its failings are unique to our complex and fragmented system. Americans frequently ping-pong between a bewildering array of public and private insurers, none of whom are good at talking to each other, or our providers. … However wrong the online left was to celebrate Thompson’s death, they were right that these frictions make people unhappy, and some of them would go away in a more centralized single-payer system. (Though we pause to note that surprise billing was already mostly outlawed in 2022.) They’re still wrong, however, to assume that Americans are overwhelmingly miserable with what we have now, and would be happier if only the government took over.” (12/12/24)
- Don’t Let Trump Fool You, He Was Never Exonerated
Source: The Bulwark
by Will Saletan“A few days ago on Meet the Press, the president-elect said he’d been exonerated in the cases against him. ‘I’ve won these cases. I’ve won every one, and the rest are in the process of being won,’ he declared. … These are lies, and Republicans are working with Trump to spread them. They want the public to believe that the feds are the bad guys, that Trump has been vindicated, and that the proper remedy for his persecution is for officials like Wray to step aside. But Trump hasn’t been vindicated. His record in court accurately reflects his corruption: thirty-four convictions in one case, four guilty pleas from co-defendants in another, two unfinished prosecutions — including the document-retention case that involved the FBI’s search of his Mar-a-Lago home — and zero acquittals.” (12/12/24)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/dont-let-trump-fool-you-prosecutions-jack-smith-cases-gaslighting
- In Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, the US Has Not Been a Force for Peace
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Paul Pillar“The retiring United Nations envoy for the Middle East peace process has insightfully identified a major reason the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians continues to boil and to entail widespread death and destruction. In a recent interview with The New York Times, Norwegian diplomat Tor Wennesland criticized the international community for relying on short-term fixes such as improving quality of life in occupied territory or diversions such as seeking peace deals between Israel and other Arab states. The crescendo of bloodshed during the past year underscores the ineffectiveness of such approaches. Needed but not employed was a concerted and sustained diplomatic effort to end the occupation and create a Palestinian state. ‘What we have seen,’ said Wennesland, ‘is the failure of dealing with the real conflict, the failure of politics and diplomacy.'” (12/12/24)
- So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, 12/12/24
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
“What is academic freedom? With Keith Whittington.” (12/12/24)
- The Bryan Hyde Show, 12/12/24
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
“I’m not an expert on cryptocurrency but I’ve followed Paul Rosenberg’s writing long enough to consider him a trustworthy and credible source. Check out his latest on how the various ways Bitcoin can fix society.” (12/12/24)
- Declare Your Independence with Ernest Hancock, 12/12/24
Source: Free Talk Live
“Declare Your Independence :: Karen Kwiatkowsk, Retired USAF Lieutenant Colonel on world news :: Syria/Assad overthrow :: Ukraine/Russia :: Israel/Palestine :: James Corbett of Corbett Report on current world news :: A Brief History of the War on Syria.” (12/12/24)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/declare-your-independence-2024-12-12
- Homeschooling Journeys, 12/12/24
Source: Pioneer Institute
“Tim’s Take: An Education Reform Stalwart Takes a Curious Look at Homeschoolers With ESAs.” (12/12/24)
- Politics Politics Politics, 12/12/24
Source: Politics Politics Politics
“Hunter DeButts Mystery SOLVED? Media, Ego and Trump 2.0 (with Chris Cillizza).” (12/12/24)
https://www.politicspoliticspolitics.com/p/hunter-debutts-mystery-solved-media
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 12/12/24
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“How Washington Provoked the New Cold War, with Guest Scott Horton.” (12/12/24)
https://rumble.com/v5ylxpw-how-washington-provoked-the-new-cold-war-with-guest-scott-horton.html
- Capital Record, episode 199
Source: National Review
“2025 Policy Impact on Markets.” (12/12/24)
https://www.nationalreview.com/podcasts/capital-record/2025-policy-impact-on-markets/
- The Fifth Column, episode 482
Source: The Fifth Column
“Centrism Kills (w/ Josh Barro).” (12/12/24)
https://www.wethefifth.com/p/482-centrism-kills-w-josh-barro
- Just Asking Questions, 12/12/24
Source: Reason
“Brianna Wu and TafTaj: How Have Trans Issues Scrambled Our Politics?” (12/12/24)
- The Tom Woods Show, episode 2580
Source: The Tom Woods Show
“Ron Paul Made the Present Moment Possible.” (12/12/24)
https://tomwoods.com/ep-2580-ron-paul-made-the-present-moment-possible/
- Conflicts of Interest, episode 726
Source: Conflicts of Interest
“Ukraine’s Support for Syrian Terrorists.” (12/12/24)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/kyle/coi-726-ukraines-support-for-syrian-terrorists
- The Political Orphanage, 12/12/24
Source: The Political Orphanage
“Life After Prison.” (12/12/24)
- Advisory Opinions, 12/12/24
Source: The Dispatch
“Shooting Down the Spirit of Aloha.” (12/12/24)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/advisoryopinions/shooting-down-the-spirit-of-aloha/
- Politico Playbook Audio Briefing, 12/12/24
Source: Politico
“December 12, 2024: Why some Dems are cozying up to Elon Musk.” (12/12/24)
https://traffic.megaphone.fm/ASD2260857770.mp3?updated=1733978447
- Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 12/12/24
Source: Antiwar.com
“Ukraine Fires More US ATACMS Into Russia, Israeli Attacks Kill 29 Palestinians in Gaza, and More.” (12/12/24)
- Political Theater, 12/11/24
Source: Roll Call
“Revenge of the Senate.” (12/11/24)
https://chrt.fm/track/D3F8DG/traffic.megaphone.fm/FISCAL9561024282.mp3
- Nonzero, 12/11/24
Source: Bloggingheads.tv
“Reassembling Syria | Robert Wright & Josh Landis.” (12/11/24)
- Free Talk Live, 12/11/24
Source: Free Talk Live
“Free Talk Live :: Inconsistencies with the story about Luigi Mangione :: the differences in his appearance and the pics that are allegedly the shooter :: the emotional nature of the jury makes the court system unfair :: if you’re going to represent yourself in court, at least learn the objections :: Before Obama care we had lower costs :: anyone involved in health insurance in the US is a criminal :: What is self ownership? :: different forms of government :: lawyer parasites :: Is Sarah still for red light cameras even though she admitted people don’t pay the tickets :: Sarah is pro violence :: Tragedy if the commons :: communism is good? :: 2024-12-11 :: Hosts: Chris, Bonnie.” (12/11/24)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/free-talk-live-2024-12-11
- Freakonomics Radio, episode 615
Source: Freakonomics
“Is Ozempic as Magical as It Sounds?” (12/11/24)
https://freakonomics.com/podcast/is-ozempic-as-magical-as-it-sounds/
- Pod Save America, 12/11/24
Source: Crooked Media
“Is Winning an Election a Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Card?” (12/11/24)