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WARVENEZUELA

-The US pirated ANOTHER ship off the coast of VZ Saturday (and, evidently, it was Chinese-owned and Panamanian-flagged), just two days after two almost-pass-moments for House Resolutions to push the Prez close, just CLOSE, to what the Constitution requires: either a Declaration of War against a nation state or Letters of Marque and Reprisal to let the Prez hire mercenaries to go after non-state combatants. The bills were H.J.Res. 61, (sponsored by Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY): This resolution would have directed the president to terminate U.S. Armed Forces hostilities against any presidentially designated terrorist organizations in the Western Hemisphere unless explicitly authorized by Congress. It failed on a vote of 210-216) and H.J.Res. 64, (sponsored by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA): This resolution would have directed the president to remove U.S. Armed Forces from all hostilities in or against Venezuela unless explicitly authorized by Congress. It failed on a vote of 211-213). They came close to passage and should have signaled Trump that, even if he didn’t care about his lovely Constitution, his political fortunes might be souring due to his criminal bellicosity. LINK MORE LINK
-Hegseth says the piracy will continue, the blockade will continue. He openly states that the Executive Branch intends to continue breaching the US Constitution and attacking anyone it wishes. LINK

UKRAINE

Please recall that Friday at an EU summit in Brussels, EU “leaders” did not steal Russian assets held at Euroclear Bank. Instead, they voted to provide Ukraine with a €90 billion ($106 billion) interest-free, taxpayer-backed loan to cover most of its military and budgetary needs for 2026 and 2027. This decision required unanimous approval from all 27 member states, as is standard for major EU budget-related decisions.
The loan was pushed because Ukraine has an estimated €137 billion shortfall identified by the International Monetary Fund, and this will help prevent Ukraine from facing bankruptcy amid its ongoing war with Russia. The original plan was to fund this support through a “reparations loan” secured directly against approximately €210 billion in frozen Russian assets (mostly held in Belgium via the Euroclear depository). However, this unraveled due to strong objections from Belgium, whose Prime Minister Bart De Wever deemed it “legally risky” with “a lot of loose ends,” citing potential harm to Euroclear’s operations and ongoing lawsuits from Russia’s central bank. Concerns also included Russian retaliation and broader risks to global legal certainty. As a fallback, the loan will instead be raised on capital markets and backed by the EU budget, with a provision allowing the use of Russian assets for repayment only if Russia fails to pay war reparations (estimated by the corrupt govt of Ukraine at over €600 billion).
While all 27 EU members approved the overall deal, not all will contribute funds due to built-in exemptions. Specifically, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic insisted on and received assurances that the loan guarantees “will not have an impact on [their] financial obligations.” These countries opposed the package initially (with Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stating it would mean “war” for the EU) but agreed not to block it in exchange for protection from any financial fallout or contributions. This structure allows the EU to borrow collectively without mandating equal participation, ensuring the deal could proceed unanimously while exempting objectors from bearing costs. The remaining 24 members will effectively shoulder the guarantees, though the EU as a whole reserves the right to tap Russian assets for ultimate repayment.
-Orban also noted that Ukraine cannot win on the battlefield. LINK
More on the “EU DEAL” - LINK
Jeffrey Sachs has some choice words for the EU warmongers, and German Chancellor Merz, in particular. LINK

ISRAEL

-A new report tells us that Netanyahu and Trump planned the Iranian bomb attack many months ahead of the action. This might be a leak that serves ulterior purposes. LINK
-How the government of Egypt can make energy deals with Israel is unfathomable. LINK

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CHINA

Please remember that on the 18th, the Trump Admin approved the transfer (sale) of $11.1 BILLION in arms to Taiwan. This actually represents just a portion of what they plan to send, and it was NOT part of the NDAA. LINK This particular “arms package” to Taiwan (comprising eight separate Foreign Military Sales notifications announced on December 17) is not part of a specific already-passed piece of appropriations legislation that directly funds or mandates this exact transaction. - You read that right. Not only is there no declared War, meaning that the US should not be sending weapons to anyone, this weapons transfer is based on Congress, in essence, ceding budgetary power to the Executive branch when it comes to sending arms to Taiwan.
Since 1979, the executive branch has claimed authority to simply SEND WEAPONS TO TAIWAN, and various Presidents have done it under two key previously passed statutes from the 1970s!
One is the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 (Public Law 96-8; 22 U.S.C. § 3301 et seq.), which commits the U.S. to provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character to maintain its self-defense capabilities, and the other is the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 (Public Law 94-329; 22 U.S.C. § 2751 et seq.), which governs the overall process for foreign arms sales. Under this framework, the Trump administration (via the State Department) initiated and approved the sales, with the Defense Security Cooperation Agency notifying Congress of the potential deals - how nice of them! Congress has a 30-day window to potentially block them via joint resolution but does not need to actively approve them for the sales to proceed. Taiwan funds the vast majority of these purchases from its own defense budget, with no direct U.S. taxpayer allocation involved in this package—it’s a commercial sale, not grant aid. Separately, the recently enacted National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026 (enacted as Public Law 119-XXX after being signed by President Trump on or around December 19, 2025; originated as S. 2296 in the Senate) does include additional U.S.-funded commitments to Taiwan beyond the $11.1 billion sales package. Key Taiwan-related provisions in the FY2026 NDAA include:

• Authorization of up to $1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative, which supports security assistance, training, and capabilities such as uncrewed and counter-uncrewed systems, medical equipment, and supplies.

• A requirement for the Department of Defense to establish a joint program with Taiwan by March 1, 2026, focused on fielding uncrewed systems and counter-uncrewed systems.

• Authorization for U.S. forces to conduct training with Taiwan (and other Indo-Pacific partners) to resist China’s aggression and malign influence.

These NDAA provisions represent U.S.-funded aid and cooperation (these, distinct from sales), and actual funding would require separate appropriations bills to allocate the money. Here is more. LINK AND MORE, showing some of the Chinese reaction. LINK

US ECONOMY

White House National Economic Advisory Council Director (such a wholly “constitutional” title, isn’t it?) Kevin Hasset threw himself in front of a camera to gush that the US economy is doing great, calling the latest fake inflation report (the data for most of October and half of November is missing, so the government just made up a number) “blockbuster”. LINK The recent November CPI report (released December 18) indicates headline inflation at 2.7% year-over-year, down from 3.0% in September, but, as I mentioned, “less steep rise in prices” is attributed to methodological adjustments due to the government shutdown in October, which skipped data collection for that month and combined September-November changes. Core inflation (excluding food and energy) stands at 2.6% year-over-year. This is not good. It is not “blockbuster” inflation data. Cumulative price increases since 2021 mean many goods are still 20-30% more expensive than pre-lockdown levels. Unemployment has risen gradually throughout the year to 4.6%, signaling a dying labor market. Beef prices are up appx16% yoy , coffee 35% depending on terport, and eggs (+49.3% due to culling mandates from the USDA and their bogus “avian flu” bogeyman) drove upward pressure. Overall, groceries are up ~29.5% since 2019, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Grocery “inflation” typically is measured by combining prices for many products rather than singling out individual items. And overall grocery prices were up 1.9% over the 12 months ending in November, according to the Consumer Price Index.

IMMIGRATION POLICE STATE

-New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani said he’s prepared to face consequences if he defies President Donald Trump’s immigration policies and that he will not have the NYPD assist the Immigration and Customs Enforcement with enforcement. LINK
-FOUR more people, dying in ICE “custody”, this week. LINK
-The Trump Admin fired ANOTHER “immigration judge” who had been brought over from the US military, but who did not conform to the Trump push to simply kidnap and expel people without even the “immigration court” pretense of its fake, not-real-court version of “due process.” LINK
**Please keep in mind that the Supreme Court ruled Friday that the Trump Administration could NOT stop “immigration judges” from speaking out against Trump policies when outside of their offices, such as at public speaking engagements.
This policy, originally enacted during the Biden administration in 2020, prohibits “immigration judges” from making public statements—even in their personal capacities—about immigration matters, the EOIR (Executive Office of Immigration Review), or related agency policies. Critics, including the judges themselves, describe it as a “gag order” that acts as an unconstitutional prior restraint on their First Amendment rights, preventing them from activities like guest lecturing at universities, speaking to community groups, or commenting on matters of public concern. The policy also implicates the public’s right to hear from these experts on immigration issues. As a result, the National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ), a labor union representing about 500 immigration judges, filed a lawsuit in 2020 challenging the policy’s constitutionality. The suit was brought with support from the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, arguing that the restrictions violate free speech protections and should be struck down.
This legal action is tangentially related to the Trump administration’s recent firings of appx 100 immigration judges (out of around 700) since taking office this year. Those firings, often targeting judges in liberal-leaning areas with higher asylum approval rates, have been criticized as an effort to purge the bench and accelerate deportations, potentially in retaliation for judges’ resistance to certain policies that dismiss the Bill of Rights.
While the firings have sparked additional controversy and may tie into individual retaliation claims, the core free speech lawsuit focuses on the broader speaking restrictions rather than the terminations themselves. The Trump administration has defended the muzzle-policy and sought to halt the NAIJ’s lawsuit, arguing that any disputes over employment conditions (including speech restrictions) must first be channeled through administrative processes under the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA), specifically via the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) and the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). The administration’s position is that allowing direct federal court challenges could disrupt government operations.
The case, formally known as National Association of Immigration Judges v. Executive Office for Immigration Review (or referenced in Supreme Court filings as Margolin, Daren K. v. Nat. Assn. of Immigration Judges, where Margolin is a DOJ official acting on behalf of the government), has progressed through multiple levels of the federal judiciary:
FIRST -District Court (Eastern District of Virginia): In 2023, the district court dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that the CSRA required the judges to exhaust administrative remedies through the OSC and MSPB before seeking judicial review.
SECOND -U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit: In June, a three-judge panel revived the case, finding uncertainty about whether the OSC and MSPB could effectively handle such claims. The court noted that Trump’s firings of key officials at these agencies (e.g., the former special counsel and MSPB chair) might have compromised their independence and functionality, potentially allowing the judges to bypass the administrative process and proceed directly in federal court. The case was remanded back to the district court for further fact-finding on this issue. In November 2025, the Fourth Circuit denied the government’s request for a full (en banc) rehearing.
THIRD -Supreme Court: On December 5, the Trump administration filed an emergency application for a stay on the Court’s “shadow docket” (used for urgent matters without full briefings or arguments), seeking to pause all lower court proceedings while preparing a petition for certiorari (full review). The government argued that the Fourth Circuit’s ruling could cause “havoc” by opening the floodgates to similar lawsuits. But, on Friday, the 19th, the Supreme Court denied the stay in a brief order, stating that the government had not demonstrated “irreparable harm” at this stage. The denial was without prejudice, meaning the government can reapply if the district court advances to discovery (evidence-gathering) before the certiorari petition is resolved. There were no noted dissents, and an earlier temporary stay issued by Chief Justice John Roberts was vacated. Currently, the case is back in the district court, where the judge must evaluate whether Trump’s firings of OSC and MSPB officials have indeed undermined those agencies. If so, the free speech challenge can proceed directly in federal court; otherwise, it may be routed back to administrative channels. No timeline has been set, but the government’s certiorari petition is expected soon, which could lead to full Supreme Court review in the 2025-2026 term.
This is a big matter, encompassing freedom of speech, freedom to receive info, and the larger, unaddressed issue of federal claims of power over immigration policing…

TARIFF TERRORISM

This is a very good piece on economic fundamentals, from Don Boudreaux LINK

EPSTEIN FILES

Thomas Massie spells out what we expected, even after already expecting that most of the important and damning material would not be included in the entire universe of the “files”. From his X POST: “Compare Language of Epstein Files Transparency Act directing DOJ to provide internal communications regarding their decisions — Versus — DOJ letter to Congress asserting privilege to omit materials related to decisions, because they weren’t specified by law. THEY ARE FLAUNTING LAW”

That’s it for text links and investigations of those stories. NOW, let’s offer two key video links!

ONE - This conversation with Scott Horton about warmongering US, — excellent.

TWO! This conversation between Garland Nixon and Dr. Jim Cavanaugh, mostly about Trump’s ties to Israel and the aggressive behavior of that political entity, is great, as well. LINK!!

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