12/26 -- Year-End Fundraiser: Please Help, We're Stuck; US regime launches Christmas Day war in Nigeria; The Real War of the Century: Artificial Intelligence
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Thomas L. Knapp
Dec 26, 2025, 6:19:44 AM (6 days ago) Dec 26
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 12/26/25
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Presented by the Liberty International
https://liberty-intl.org/
Produced by the staff of Rational Review News Digest
https://news.rationalreview.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Today's Freedom News:
0) Year-End Fundraiser: Please Help, We're Stuck
1) US regime launches Christmas Day war in Nigeria
2) Ukraine: Two sides exchange drone attacks as Kupyansk reportedly changes hands
3) US DOJ says “over a million more documents” found, potentially related to Epstein case
4) Nigeria: Bomb blast in packed mosque kills five
5) AR: Man protecting girlfriend and children shoots intruder dead
Today's Freedom Commentary:
6) The Real War of the Century: Artificial Intelligence
7) The Most Overlooked Holiday Miracle: Abundance
8) Why Russians haven’t risen up to stop the Ukraine war
9) Goodbye to Language: The Year in Trumpspeak
10) Evergreens and Embers: What the Solstice Teaches Us About Economic Renewal
11) Stop Defending Bari Weiss
12) Peace on Earth? Government says no
13) The Increasingly Assertive Japan-Taiwan Axis
14) Trump might make the nation’s data disappear, but he can’t change reality
15) This Is Not a Christmas Story — But Maybe It Should Be
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
16) The Libertarian Angle, 12/24/25
17) The Chris Spangle Show, 12/24/25
18) Pink Flame of Liberty, 12/24/25
19) Reasonably Optimistic, 12/24/25
20) Phil Tourney on The Scott Horton Show
vvvvv SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS vvvvv
TRY STARLINK: YOU GET A FREE MONTH AND SO DO WE!
https://starlink.com/residential?referral=RC-DF-8980236-19330-50
THE CONSTITUTION OF NON-STATE GOVERNMENT: FIELD GUIDE TO TEXAS SECESSION, by TL Hulsey
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1947660853
Tyranny Demands AN ACT OF SELF-DEFENSE: A NOVEL BY ERNE LEWIS
https://tinyurl.com/actofselfdefense
ONE IDENTITY FOR ALL YOUR CRYPTO
https://fioprotocol.io/
SAMUEL EDWARD KONKIN III REVOLUTIONARY FRIEND BY WENDY MCELROY
https://www.amazon.com/Samuel-Edward-Konkin-Revolutionary-Friend-ebook/dp/B0DP7B6127
^^^^^ SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS ^^^^^
_____ Today's Freedom News _____
0) Year-End Fundraiser: Please Help, We're Stuck
Hey, everyone ...
With five days left in the year (and therefore in our year-end fundraiser period), we're stuck at $2,453.84.
When -- IF -- we've raised $2,750.50, supporter GL has pledged to "match funds" in that same amount to get us to our goal of $5,501.
To put it a different way, raising another $296.66 means that we ACTUALLY raise another $3,047.16 ... and not raising it means we don't.
So, if you haven't already,
PLEASE SUPPORT THE FREEDOM MOVEMENT'S DAILY NEWSPAPER:
https://news.rationalreview.com/support-rrnd
Here's hoping you and yours are enjoying a happy, healthy, and prosperous holiday break. As usual, we're taking it easier (mostly because there's less content to bring you) but we'll continue bringing you daily editions during the annual Christmas-to-New-Year period.
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily
-----
1) US regime launches Christmas Day war in Nigeria
Source: Politico
"American forces launched airstrikes against ISIS in Nigeria on Thursday, President Donald Trump announced in a post on Truth Social, the administration’s latest show of lethal force in the international arena since Trump returned to the White House early this year. A Pentagon official told POLITICO the agency worked with the Nigerian government to carry out the strikes. On his social media platform, the president said the strike was a consequence for the militant group’s killing of Christians 'at levels not seen for many years, and even centuries!'" (12/25/25)
https://archive.is/jX5zN
-----
2) Ukraine: Two sides exchange drone attacks as Kupyansk reportedly changes hands
Source: AOL
"Ukraine dealt Russian dictator Vladimir Putin a humiliating Christmas Day blow when it routed Kremlin troops to wrest back control of its key eastern city of Kupyansk, a vital railroad hub, Kviv said. ... Putin’s embarrassing setback in Kupyansk came as the two sides exchanged a barrage of military drones over the holiday, with Russia launching more than 130 drones overnight. The Russian attacks caused major power outages in Odesa, Ukraine’s most important port, and inflicted heavy damage in the city and surrounding areas, CNN reported Thursday. ... A Ukrainian 'Storm Shadow' missile also struck a major Russian oil refinery in the Rostov region, one of the largest oil producers in southern Russia, media outlet France24 said Thursday. The uptick in fighting comes as a peace plan brokered by President Trump remains at a standstill." (12/25/25)
https://www.aol.com/news/ukraine-delivers-humiliating-christmas-day-204515095.html
-----
3) US DOJ says “over a million more documents” found, potentially related to Epstein case
Source: CBS News
“The Justice Department said Wednesday that ‘over a million more documents’ potentially related to the Jeffrey Epstein case have been found by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and FBI, and it is reviewing them for release. DOJ released thousands of new documents from the Epstein files on Tuesday, including many that mention President Trump. … One notable file includes a 2020 email from a prosecutor in New York saying that flight logs revealed that Mr. Trump flew on Epstein’s private jet ‘many more times’ than was previously known. Emails from July 2019 showed investigators discussing ’10 co-conspirators’ before Epstein’s arrest. Another email from 2020 showed that prosecutors had drafted a memo about ‘co-conspirators we could potentially charge.'” (12/24/25)
https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/epstein-files-released-documents-2025/
-----
4) Nigeria: Bomb blast in packed mosque kills five
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“At least five people have been killed in a bomb explosion in a packed mosque in Nigeria’s north-eastern Borno state, a police spokesman has said. Nahum Daso told local media another 35 people were injured in the blast in the Gamboru market of Maiduguri, the state capital, during evening prayers. Unverified footage on social media appears to show the aftermath of the explosion, with people stood in a market area with dust particles in the air. No group has admitted carrying out the attack, but militants have previously targeted mosques and crowded places in the area with suicide attacks and improvised explosive devices (IED).” (12/24/25)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0je3v3en01o
-----
5) AR: Man protecting girlfriend and children shoots intruder dead
Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
“A man protecting his girlfriend and three children fatally shot an man trying to break into their apartment as police were nearly on the scene, the Fort Smith Police Department reported. The suspect, later identified as Wayne Nance, died of one gunshot wound …. The caller was inside the apartment with his girlfriend and three children and told dispatchers the intruder, later identified as Nance, attempted to force his way into the apartment through the door, according to Restine. … Officers arrived at the scene at 8:54 p.m. and, as they were trying to access the property through secured gates and fencing, the caller contacted dispatchers again to report Nance had opened a window and tried to get into the apartment, yelling at the occupants, Restine said. The caller fired one shot and Nance left from the window area …. Emergency responders arrived and pronounced Nance dead at the scene, according to police.” (12/24/25)
https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2025/dec/24/police-man-protecting-girlfriend-and-children/
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
6) The Real War of the Century: Artificial Intelligence
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Joaquim Couto
“here was a time when debates about determinism and free will belonged to philosophy departments and late-night dorm room conversations. They were enjoyable precisely because they seemed harmless. Whatever the answer, life went on. Courts judged, doctors decided, teachers taught, and politicians were still — at least nominally — held responsible for their actions. That era is over. Artificial intelligence has transformed what once appeared to be an abstract philosophical question into a concrete issue of governance, power, and accountability. Determinism is no longer merely a theory about how the universe works. It is becoming an operating principle for modern institutions. And that changes everything.” (12/25/25)
https://brownstone.org/articles/the-real-war-of-the-century-artificial-intelligence/
-----
7) The Most Overlooked Holiday Miracle: Abundance
Source: Reason
by Veronique de Rugy
“The Christmas season is a time to reflect on what we have, which includes the kind of society that has made countless blessings possible. The warmth, security, and generosity that many Americans experience during the holidays are not accidents or pure gifts of nature. In their tangible sense, they are the products of a long and extraordinary period of economic growth — one that has expanded opportunity, reduced hardship, and given moral ideals room to breathe. History shows quite clearly that the societies most capable of generosity and liberalism are not those trapped in poverty but those that have escaped it. An abundance of wealth does not corrupt moral life; it enables it. Economic growth is not a rival to our highest values. It’s a precondition to their most vigorous pursuit.” (12/25/25)
https://reason.com/2025/12/25/the-most-overlooked-holiday-miracle-abundance/
-----
8) Why Russians haven’t risen up to stop the Ukraine war
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Ann Matveeva
“Nearly four years of war has profoundly transformed Russia. Fostered by state propaganda, many ordinary Russians have developed a sense of pride that Russia has survived in the face of Western hostility. This feeling has been fed by Western expressions of contempt toward the Russian people and Russian culture — insults that are assiduously quoted by the state-controlled Russian media.The Russian public struggles to see how the situation can be viewed from the other side and acknowledge that Western concerns may have grounds behind them; for example, the Kremlin’s attempts at meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections better explain the negative attitudes toward Russia in Washington, rather than pre-existing cultural prejudices. … Even though it was Russia that invaded Ukraine and that continues to attack the formerly ‘brotherly nation,’ many in Russia view the war as defensive in nature and inevitable.” (12/24/25)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/russian-identity/
-----
9) Goodbye to Language: The Year in Trumpspeak
Source: CounterPunch
by Jeffrey St. Clair
“He’s easily triggered. He speaks on impulse. But where are the triggers? What are the impulses? Do the warps and perversions of Trump’s crude patois erupt from his subconscious? Or has Trump’s subconscious completely floated to the surface now and we are hearing directly from the fractured idiom of his Id? … Trump isn’t speaking in code so much as he is connecting at an instinctual level to a network of cultural affinities, prejudices and insecurities that exist beyond grammar and etymology and without which Trump and his followers would be lost. … Here then is a sampler of some of Trump’s most perplexing pronouncements over the last year. Good luck mining the meaning from the madness.” (12/25/25)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/12/25/goodbye-to-language-the-year-in-trumpspeak/
-----
10) Evergreens and Embers: What the Solstice Teaches Us About Economic Renewal
Source: The Daily Economy
by Laura Williams
“We conserve capital, tend embers, make plans, and orient ourselves toward the future. Prosperity demands we tend the embers, rather than curse the cold.” (12/25/25)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/evergreens-and-embers-what-the-solstice-teaches-us-about-economic-renewal/
-----
11) Stop Defending Bari Weiss
Source: The Atlantic
by Jonathan Chait
“The year is 2029. President Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, having spent years raging against Fox News as a propaganda organ whose very operation is illegal, has found a pressure point to control it. She enables its sale to owners who are friends of hers, and whose business depends on regulatory favors she has made a practice of doling out to allies. As the new editor in chief of Fox News, the owners install Tim Miller, a skeptic of conservatism who has never previously worked in television news. But then AOC complains that her friends at Fox News aren’t moving fast enough, and the network is still running critical coverage of her. Days later, Miller kills a long-scheduled report showing how AOC may have flouted the Constitution in order to have people tortured. It is safe to say, I think, that conservatives would be upset. … And they would be right.” (12/24/25)
https://archive.is/hsT4b
-----
12) Peace on Earth? Government says no
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“Merry Christmas! This is the traditional ‘Peace on earth; Good will to men’ season. It’s hard to keep this spirit alive even in the best situations. It’s nearly impossible with government around. Government doesn’t thrive on peace, but on conflict. War is the health of the state, after all. Where there isn’t conflict, government creates it. Where there is already conflict, government fans the flames and uses it against you and your liberty. This is true both overseas and within America’s increasingly militarized borders. You can’t show good will to others while governing them.” (12/24/25)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2025/12/24/voices/opinion-peace-on-earth-government-says-no/232406.html
-----
13) The Increasingly Assertive Japan-Taiwan Axis
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ted Galen Carpenter
“It is increasingly apparent that the new political leaders in both Taiwan and Japan are adopting more assertive, even explicitly confrontational, policies toward the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Their moves are stoking geostrategic tensions throughout the western Pacific. Washington has long regarded Taipei and Tokyo as important U.S. strategic partners. However, the Trump administration also wants to discourage any new military crises in the region. Achieving such a balance may prove to be challenging.” (12/24/25)
https://original.antiwar.com/ted_galen_carpenter/2025/12/23/the-increasingly-assertive-japan-taiwan-axis
-----
14) Trump might make the nation’s data disappear, but he can’t change reality
Source: The Hill
by Sheldon H Jacobson
“Recall the firing of the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the president this summer when a labor report did not shine a favorable light on the job market. Then the Environmental Protection Agency stopped collecting data in the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. Now, even economic reports are being cancelled. … Anytime data and statistics are ignored or compromised, the underpinnings of a well-functioning society are at risk of manipulation. Statistics permit the condition of a society to be measured, providing transparency and the ability to draw conclusions. If an activity is not measured, then it is difficult to assess its strengths and limitations. Without statistics, unlawful activities can be hidden and obfuscated. ” (12/24/25)
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5661319-politicizing-data-threatens-democracy/
-----
15) This Is Not a Christmas Story — But Maybe It Should Be
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by William L Anderson
“Our plane landed at JFK at 10:30 p.m. after a nine-hour flight from Istanbul. … While in line, I had given my fanny pack to my wife, as it held our money and credit cards, and she handed it back to me as we were leaving the building. Instead of snapping it around my waist, I held it in my hand, placing my passport back into the pack. Because of my having to wait for two hours, the last shuttle to our motel had already gone, which meant we had to catch a taxi. … As I began to check into the motel, I realized I didn’t have my pack with me. After checking to see if I had dropped it on the ground, it hit me that it was on the floor of the cab, which was long gone.” (12/24/25)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/not-christmas-story-maybe-it-should-be
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
16) The Libertarian Angle, 12/24/25
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“Christmas and the Welfare State.” (12/24/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSzqcyVIQgM
-----
17) The Chris Spangle Show, 12/24/25
Source: We Are Libertarians
“Spike Cohen on Faith, ‘You Are the Power,’ and a Georgia Family Cleared in Child Abuse Case.” (12/24/25)
https://www.chrisspangle.com/p/spike-cohen-on-faith-you-are-the
-----
18) Pink Flame of Liberty, 12/24/25
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“Doug Wilson’s Christian Nationalist LIE.” (12/24/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DTuzptbDw8
-----
19) Reasonably Optimistic, 12/24/25
Source: Washington Post
“Charlie Kirk was killed on her campus. This is what happened next.” (12/24/25)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/impromptu/charlie-kirk-was-killed-on-her-campus-this-is-what-happened-next/
-----
20) Phil Tourney on The Scott Horton Show
Source: The Scott Horton Show
“Scott interviews USS Liberty survivor, author and spokesperson Phil Tourney. They talk about what really happened the day of the attack, the infuriating lengths the US government went to ensure nobody would find out about it and the continued effort by figures and groups in the conservative movement to shut down discussion about this heinous chapter of US-Israeli relations.” (12/24/25)
https://scotthorton.org/interviews/12-23-25-phil-tourney-on-the-barbarity-and-relevance-of-the-uss-liberty-attack
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---------------------------------------------------------------------
Presented by the Liberty International
https://liberty-intl.org/
Produced by the staff of Rational Review News Digest
https://news.rationalreview.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Today's Freedom News:
0) Year-End Fundraiser: Please Help, We're Stuck
1) US regime launches Christmas Day war in Nigeria
2) Ukraine: Two sides exchange drone attacks as Kupyansk reportedly changes hands
3) US DOJ says “over a million more documents” found, potentially related to Epstein case
4) Nigeria: Bomb blast in packed mosque kills five
5) AR: Man protecting girlfriend and children shoots intruder dead
Today's Freedom Commentary:
6) The Real War of the Century: Artificial Intelligence
7) The Most Overlooked Holiday Miracle: Abundance
8) Why Russians haven’t risen up to stop the Ukraine war
9) Goodbye to Language: The Year in Trumpspeak
10) Evergreens and Embers: What the Solstice Teaches Us About Economic Renewal
11) Stop Defending Bari Weiss
12) Peace on Earth? Government says no
13) The Increasingly Assertive Japan-Taiwan Axis
14) Trump might make the nation’s data disappear, but he can’t change reality
15) This Is Not a Christmas Story — But Maybe It Should Be
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
16) The Libertarian Angle, 12/24/25
17) The Chris Spangle Show, 12/24/25
18) Pink Flame of Liberty, 12/24/25
19) Reasonably Optimistic, 12/24/25
20) Phil Tourney on The Scott Horton Show
vvvvv SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS vvvvv
TRY STARLINK: YOU GET A FREE MONTH AND SO DO WE!
https://starlink.com/residential?referral=RC-DF-8980236-19330-50
THE CONSTITUTION OF NON-STATE GOVERNMENT: FIELD GUIDE TO TEXAS SECESSION, by TL Hulsey
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1947660853
Tyranny Demands AN ACT OF SELF-DEFENSE: A NOVEL BY ERNE LEWIS
https://tinyurl.com/actofselfdefense
ONE IDENTITY FOR ALL YOUR CRYPTO
https://fioprotocol.io/
SAMUEL EDWARD KONKIN III REVOLUTIONARY FRIEND BY WENDY MCELROY
https://www.amazon.com/Samuel-Edward-Konkin-Revolutionary-Friend-ebook/dp/B0DP7B6127
^^^^^ SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS ^^^^^
_____ Today's Freedom News _____
0) Year-End Fundraiser: Please Help, We're Stuck
Hey, everyone ...
With five days left in the year (and therefore in our year-end fundraiser period), we're stuck at $2,453.84.
When -- IF -- we've raised $2,750.50, supporter GL has pledged to "match funds" in that same amount to get us to our goal of $5,501.
To put it a different way, raising another $296.66 means that we ACTUALLY raise another $3,047.16 ... and not raising it means we don't.
So, if you haven't already,
PLEASE SUPPORT THE FREEDOM MOVEMENT'S DAILY NEWSPAPER:
https://news.rationalreview.com/support-rrnd
Here's hoping you and yours are enjoying a happy, healthy, and prosperous holiday break. As usual, we're taking it easier (mostly because there's less content to bring you) but we'll continue bringing you daily editions during the annual Christmas-to-New-Year period.
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily
-----
1) US regime launches Christmas Day war in Nigeria
Source: Politico
"American forces launched airstrikes against ISIS in Nigeria on Thursday, President Donald Trump announced in a post on Truth Social, the administration’s latest show of lethal force in the international arena since Trump returned to the White House early this year. A Pentagon official told POLITICO the agency worked with the Nigerian government to carry out the strikes. On his social media platform, the president said the strike was a consequence for the militant group’s killing of Christians 'at levels not seen for many years, and even centuries!'" (12/25/25)
https://archive.is/jX5zN
-----
2) Ukraine: Two sides exchange drone attacks as Kupyansk reportedly changes hands
Source: AOL
"Ukraine dealt Russian dictator Vladimir Putin a humiliating Christmas Day blow when it routed Kremlin troops to wrest back control of its key eastern city of Kupyansk, a vital railroad hub, Kviv said. ... Putin’s embarrassing setback in Kupyansk came as the two sides exchanged a barrage of military drones over the holiday, with Russia launching more than 130 drones overnight. The Russian attacks caused major power outages in Odesa, Ukraine’s most important port, and inflicted heavy damage in the city and surrounding areas, CNN reported Thursday. ... A Ukrainian 'Storm Shadow' missile also struck a major Russian oil refinery in the Rostov region, one of the largest oil producers in southern Russia, media outlet France24 said Thursday. The uptick in fighting comes as a peace plan brokered by President Trump remains at a standstill." (12/25/25)
https://www.aol.com/news/ukraine-delivers-humiliating-christmas-day-204515095.html
-----
3) US DOJ says “over a million more documents” found, potentially related to Epstein case
Source: CBS News
“The Justice Department said Wednesday that ‘over a million more documents’ potentially related to the Jeffrey Epstein case have been found by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and FBI, and it is reviewing them for release. DOJ released thousands of new documents from the Epstein files on Tuesday, including many that mention President Trump. … One notable file includes a 2020 email from a prosecutor in New York saying that flight logs revealed that Mr. Trump flew on Epstein’s private jet ‘many more times’ than was previously known. Emails from July 2019 showed investigators discussing ’10 co-conspirators’ before Epstein’s arrest. Another email from 2020 showed that prosecutors had drafted a memo about ‘co-conspirators we could potentially charge.'” (12/24/25)
https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/epstein-files-released-documents-2025/
-----
4) Nigeria: Bomb blast in packed mosque kills five
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“At least five people have been killed in a bomb explosion in a packed mosque in Nigeria’s north-eastern Borno state, a police spokesman has said. Nahum Daso told local media another 35 people were injured in the blast in the Gamboru market of Maiduguri, the state capital, during evening prayers. Unverified footage on social media appears to show the aftermath of the explosion, with people stood in a market area with dust particles in the air. No group has admitted carrying out the attack, but militants have previously targeted mosques and crowded places in the area with suicide attacks and improvised explosive devices (IED).” (12/24/25)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0je3v3en01o
-----
5) AR: Man protecting girlfriend and children shoots intruder dead
Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
“A man protecting his girlfriend and three children fatally shot an man trying to break into their apartment as police were nearly on the scene, the Fort Smith Police Department reported. The suspect, later identified as Wayne Nance, died of one gunshot wound …. The caller was inside the apartment with his girlfriend and three children and told dispatchers the intruder, later identified as Nance, attempted to force his way into the apartment through the door, according to Restine. … Officers arrived at the scene at 8:54 p.m. and, as they were trying to access the property through secured gates and fencing, the caller contacted dispatchers again to report Nance had opened a window and tried to get into the apartment, yelling at the occupants, Restine said. The caller fired one shot and Nance left from the window area …. Emergency responders arrived and pronounced Nance dead at the scene, according to police.” (12/24/25)
https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2025/dec/24/police-man-protecting-girlfriend-and-children/
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
6) The Real War of the Century: Artificial Intelligence
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Joaquim Couto
“here was a time when debates about determinism and free will belonged to philosophy departments and late-night dorm room conversations. They were enjoyable precisely because they seemed harmless. Whatever the answer, life went on. Courts judged, doctors decided, teachers taught, and politicians were still — at least nominally — held responsible for their actions. That era is over. Artificial intelligence has transformed what once appeared to be an abstract philosophical question into a concrete issue of governance, power, and accountability. Determinism is no longer merely a theory about how the universe works. It is becoming an operating principle for modern institutions. And that changes everything.” (12/25/25)
https://brownstone.org/articles/the-real-war-of-the-century-artificial-intelligence/
-----
7) The Most Overlooked Holiday Miracle: Abundance
Source: Reason
by Veronique de Rugy
“The Christmas season is a time to reflect on what we have, which includes the kind of society that has made countless blessings possible. The warmth, security, and generosity that many Americans experience during the holidays are not accidents or pure gifts of nature. In their tangible sense, they are the products of a long and extraordinary period of economic growth — one that has expanded opportunity, reduced hardship, and given moral ideals room to breathe. History shows quite clearly that the societies most capable of generosity and liberalism are not those trapped in poverty but those that have escaped it. An abundance of wealth does not corrupt moral life; it enables it. Economic growth is not a rival to our highest values. It’s a precondition to their most vigorous pursuit.” (12/25/25)
https://reason.com/2025/12/25/the-most-overlooked-holiday-miracle-abundance/
-----
8) Why Russians haven’t risen up to stop the Ukraine war
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Ann Matveeva
“Nearly four years of war has profoundly transformed Russia. Fostered by state propaganda, many ordinary Russians have developed a sense of pride that Russia has survived in the face of Western hostility. This feeling has been fed by Western expressions of contempt toward the Russian people and Russian culture — insults that are assiduously quoted by the state-controlled Russian media.The Russian public struggles to see how the situation can be viewed from the other side and acknowledge that Western concerns may have grounds behind them; for example, the Kremlin’s attempts at meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections better explain the negative attitudes toward Russia in Washington, rather than pre-existing cultural prejudices. … Even though it was Russia that invaded Ukraine and that continues to attack the formerly ‘brotherly nation,’ many in Russia view the war as defensive in nature and inevitable.” (12/24/25)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/russian-identity/
-----
9) Goodbye to Language: The Year in Trumpspeak
Source: CounterPunch
by Jeffrey St. Clair
“He’s easily triggered. He speaks on impulse. But where are the triggers? What are the impulses? Do the warps and perversions of Trump’s crude patois erupt from his subconscious? Or has Trump’s subconscious completely floated to the surface now and we are hearing directly from the fractured idiom of his Id? … Trump isn’t speaking in code so much as he is connecting at an instinctual level to a network of cultural affinities, prejudices and insecurities that exist beyond grammar and etymology and without which Trump and his followers would be lost. … Here then is a sampler of some of Trump’s most perplexing pronouncements over the last year. Good luck mining the meaning from the madness.” (12/25/25)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/12/25/goodbye-to-language-the-year-in-trumpspeak/
-----
10) Evergreens and Embers: What the Solstice Teaches Us About Economic Renewal
Source: The Daily Economy
by Laura Williams
“We conserve capital, tend embers, make plans, and orient ourselves toward the future. Prosperity demands we tend the embers, rather than curse the cold.” (12/25/25)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/evergreens-and-embers-what-the-solstice-teaches-us-about-economic-renewal/
-----
11) Stop Defending Bari Weiss
Source: The Atlantic
by Jonathan Chait
“The year is 2029. President Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, having spent years raging against Fox News as a propaganda organ whose very operation is illegal, has found a pressure point to control it. She enables its sale to owners who are friends of hers, and whose business depends on regulatory favors she has made a practice of doling out to allies. As the new editor in chief of Fox News, the owners install Tim Miller, a skeptic of conservatism who has never previously worked in television news. But then AOC complains that her friends at Fox News aren’t moving fast enough, and the network is still running critical coverage of her. Days later, Miller kills a long-scheduled report showing how AOC may have flouted the Constitution in order to have people tortured. It is safe to say, I think, that conservatives would be upset. … And they would be right.” (12/24/25)
https://archive.is/hsT4b
-----
12) Peace on Earth? Government says no
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“Merry Christmas! This is the traditional ‘Peace on earth; Good will to men’ season. It’s hard to keep this spirit alive even in the best situations. It’s nearly impossible with government around. Government doesn’t thrive on peace, but on conflict. War is the health of the state, after all. Where there isn’t conflict, government creates it. Where there is already conflict, government fans the flames and uses it against you and your liberty. This is true both overseas and within America’s increasingly militarized borders. You can’t show good will to others while governing them.” (12/24/25)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2025/12/24/voices/opinion-peace-on-earth-government-says-no/232406.html
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13) The Increasingly Assertive Japan-Taiwan Axis
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ted Galen Carpenter
“It is increasingly apparent that the new political leaders in both Taiwan and Japan are adopting more assertive, even explicitly confrontational, policies toward the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Their moves are stoking geostrategic tensions throughout the western Pacific. Washington has long regarded Taipei and Tokyo as important U.S. strategic partners. However, the Trump administration also wants to discourage any new military crises in the region. Achieving such a balance may prove to be challenging.” (12/24/25)
https://original.antiwar.com/ted_galen_carpenter/2025/12/23/the-increasingly-assertive-japan-taiwan-axis
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14) Trump might make the nation’s data disappear, but he can’t change reality
Source: The Hill
by Sheldon H Jacobson
“Recall the firing of the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the president this summer when a labor report did not shine a favorable light on the job market. Then the Environmental Protection Agency stopped collecting data in the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. Now, even economic reports are being cancelled. … Anytime data and statistics are ignored or compromised, the underpinnings of a well-functioning society are at risk of manipulation. Statistics permit the condition of a society to be measured, providing transparency and the ability to draw conclusions. If an activity is not measured, then it is difficult to assess its strengths and limitations. Without statistics, unlawful activities can be hidden and obfuscated. ” (12/24/25)
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5661319-politicizing-data-threatens-democracy/
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15) This Is Not a Christmas Story — But Maybe It Should Be
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by William L Anderson
“Our plane landed at JFK at 10:30 p.m. after a nine-hour flight from Istanbul. … While in line, I had given my fanny pack to my wife, as it held our money and credit cards, and she handed it back to me as we were leaving the building. Instead of snapping it around my waist, I held it in my hand, placing my passport back into the pack. Because of my having to wait for two hours, the last shuttle to our motel had already gone, which meant we had to catch a taxi. … As I began to check into the motel, I realized I didn’t have my pack with me. After checking to see if I had dropped it on the ground, it hit me that it was on the floor of the cab, which was long gone.” (12/24/25)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/not-christmas-story-maybe-it-should-be
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
16) The Libertarian Angle, 12/24/25
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“Christmas and the Welfare State.” (12/24/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSzqcyVIQgM
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17) The Chris Spangle Show, 12/24/25
Source: We Are Libertarians
“Spike Cohen on Faith, ‘You Are the Power,’ and a Georgia Family Cleared in Child Abuse Case.” (12/24/25)
https://www.chrisspangle.com/p/spike-cohen-on-faith-you-are-the
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18) Pink Flame of Liberty, 12/24/25
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“Doug Wilson’s Christian Nationalist LIE.” (12/24/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DTuzptbDw8
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19) Reasonably Optimistic, 12/24/25
Source: Washington Post
“Charlie Kirk was killed on her campus. This is what happened next.” (12/24/25)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/impromptu/charlie-kirk-was-killed-on-her-campus-this-is-what-happened-next/
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20) Phil Tourney on The Scott Horton Show
Source: The Scott Horton Show
“Scott interviews USS Liberty survivor, author and spokesperson Phil Tourney. They talk about what really happened the day of the attack, the infuriating lengths the US government went to ensure nobody would find out about it and the continued effort by figures and groups in the conservative movement to shut down discussion about this heinous chapter of US-Israeli relations.” (12/24/25)
https://scotthorton.org/interviews/12-23-25-phil-tourney-on-the-barbarity-and-relevance-of-the-uss-liberty-attack
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