12/20 -- Weekend Special Edition (with Year-End Fundraiser Update); US regime carries out "massive strike" in Syria; 104 murders in 107 days

[Thomas L. Knapp]

Freedom News Daily, Weekend Special Edition, 12/20/25
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Today's Freedom News:

0)  Weekend Special Edition (with Year-End Fundraiser Update)
1)  US regime carries out “massive strike” in Syria
2)  Mediterranean Sea: Ukrainian drones strike Russian “shadow fleet” tanker
3)  Trump Regime Misses Deadline to Release All Epstein Files

Today's Freedom Commentary:

4)  104 murders in 107 days
5)  Trump Won on Immigration. Now Most Americans Say His Deportations Are Going Too Far.
6)  Drug-war chest-pounding will cost lives, erode our liberties
7)  Wealth Tax: A Simplistic Answer to Complex Problems
8)  The Geometry of Change

Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:

9)  Soho Forum Debate: Is It Time To Break Up Big Tech?
10) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 12/19/25

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_____ Today's Freedom News _____

0)  Weekend Special Edition (with Year-End Fundraiser Update)

Hey, everyone ...

As Christmas and the new year approach, our daily editions will likely get shorter -- not because we're not willing to do the work, but because many of our sources take some time off this time of year. Content is still rolling in, though, so we've got a short (10-item) "weekend special edition" for you this morning.

THANK YOU to supporter CS, whose $15 donation yesterday brings our year-end fundraiser total to $2,108.84!

We're $641.66 short of our goal -- once we've raised $2,750.50, supporter GL will "match funds" to get us to the $5,501 finish line. We're reader-supported, so please weigh in with some holiday reader support cheer at:

https://news.rationalreview.com/support-rrnd

Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily

PS: A couple of asides ...

My family's in the process of moving house, and I decided to purchase an old (1990), cheap ($700) "pop-up camper" to use as a home office. This is my first morning working from it, and I've only got one complaint: It's COLD. Well, cold for Florida -- it's 44 degrees outside and not much warmer in the camper. I'm gonna have to run a bigger space heater. Anyway, this marks the first time since RRND started in 2002 that we have our own dedicated office space! Huzzah!

Also as part of the move (further out into the country, outside cable Internet reach), I switched to Starlink satellite Internet, and after a month I have to pronounce myself VERY satisfied with its price, quality, and reliability. If you're looking for Internet service, please try Starlink through the link below. You'll get a free month and so will I:

https://starlink.com/residential?referral=RC-DF-8980236-19330-50

I suggest buying the equipment through Amazon or Walmart rather than directly from Starlink. It's usually less expensive.

Have a happy, healthy, and prosperous weekend! - Tom

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1)  US regime carries out “massive strike” in Syria
Source: BBC News [UK state media]

“The US says its military has carried out a ‘massive strike’ against the Islamic State group (IS) in Syria, in response to a deadly attack on American forces in the country. The US Central Command (Centcom) said fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery ‘struck more than 70 targets at multiple locations across central Syria’ Aircraft from Jordan were also involved. It said the operation ’employed more than 100 precision munitions’ targeting known IS infrastructure and weapons sites.” [editor’s note: If American forces weren’t in the country, where they have no business being, they wouldn’t be getting attacked there, would they? – TLK] (12/20/25)

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yq7zzw618o

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2)  Mediterranean Sea: Ukrainian drones strike Russian “shadow fleet” tanker
Source: Reuters

“Ukraine has struck a Russian ‘shadow fleet’ oil tanker in the Mediterranean Sea with aerial drones for the first time, an official said on Friday, reflecting the growing intensity of Kyiv’s attacks on Russian oil shipping. The vessel — the Qendil — was empty when it was struck by drones in neutral waters more than 2,000 km (1,250 miles) from Ukraine, sustaining critical damage, the official at the SBU security service said in a written statement. … Ukraine has been attacking Russian oil refineries throughout 2024 and 2025, but has visibly widened its campaign in recent weeks, striking oil rigs in the Caspian Sea and claiming credit for sea-drone attacks on three tankers in the Black Sea.” (12/19/25)

https://archive.is/hOBAp

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3)  Trump Regime Misses Deadline to Release All Epstein Files
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

_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____

4)  104 murders in 107 days
Source: The Watch
by Radley Balko

“The Trump administration’s assault on alleged drug boats has killed about one person per day since early September. These are murders, and basic humanity demands that we not get complacent about them.” (12/19/25)

https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/104-murders-in-107-days

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5)  Trump Won on Immigration. Now Most Americans Say His Deportations Are Going Too Far.
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille

“Donald Trump won the U.S. presidency in no small part thanks to his promise to enforce immigration restrictions that the Biden administration largely ignored. Election year polls found more voters preferred Trump over then-president Joe Biden on the issue and even favored his proposals for mass deportations. But the reality of tough border policies is a harsh reality check; since the current administration took office, Americans have cooled on its policies and warmed to immigration. That’s not to say the country is embracing Biden’s nudge-and-wink approach to border crossings. Instead, people seem to want a middle ground combining enforcement with a touch of humanity.” (12/19/25)

https://reason.com/2025/12/19/trump-won-on-immigration-now-most-americans-say-his-deportations-are-going-too-far/

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6)  Drug-war chest-pounding will cost lives, erode our liberties
Source: Orange County Register
by Steven Greenhut

“The United States government first launched a War on Drugs on June 17, 1971, when President Richard Nixon declared: ‘America’s public enemy number one … is drug abuse. In order to fight and defeat this enemy, it is necessary to wage a new all-out offensive. … This will be a worldwide offensive dealing with the problems of sources of supply.’ The war has ebbed and flowed over the past 54 years, but the results are clear. Drugs won. But instead of learning the requisite lessons, the Trump administration is ramping up anti-drug-war rhetoric to lunatic levels.” (12/19/25)

https://archive.is/huzx6

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7)  Wealth Tax: A Simplistic Answer to Complex Problems
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Kristian Guise

“Wealth taxes are over-reliant upon the few, making the tax superficially attractive to money-hungry legislators, but the tax revenue is unstable. A pseudo-wealth tax was proposed in the State of Washington of 1% on assets over $250 million, but once this was announced/expected, Jeff Bezos moved himself and many of his assets to Florida, costing Washington State nearly 45% ($1.44 billion) of the predicted $3.2 billion/year revenue. The people with the highest assets are also highly mobile; threatened with a wealth tax, many will just leave. Applying the tax itself also has high administrative costs.” (12/19/25)

https://fee.org/articles/wealth-tax-a-simplistic-answer-to-complex-problems/

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8)  The Geometry of Change
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

_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____

9)  Soho Forum Debate: Is It Time To Break Up Big Tech?
Source: Reason

“Matt Stoller and Geoffrey A. Manne debate antitrust law and Big Tech.” (12/19/25)

https://reason.com/podcast/2025/12/19/is-it-time-to-break-up-big-tech/

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10) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 12/19/25
Source: Antiwar.com

“Trump Gets $1 Trillion Military Budget, US Bombs Somalia Four More Times, and More.” (12/19/25)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiDr6z8EU1s

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