Sorry for limited skeets; frozen fingers! Large Chicago crowd has hit the streets in protest of the U.S. bombing of Venezuela and kidnapping of President Maduro.

I’m at Times Square, where an emergency “No War On Venezuela” protest just took to the street. Easily a thousand people here in real-feel 20°F weather. “No more coups, no more wars, Venezuela’s not yours!” “No boots on the ground no bombs in the air, U.S. out of everywhere!”

Among the many reasons you don’t kidnap a foreign head of state at gunpoint even if you have the capability, is that it sparks consequences you can neither control nor anticipate.

A good summary. So far ... open.substack.com/pub/contrari...

Mamdani has only been Mayor for a day & criminals are already fleeing New York

And whose mom is a legendary film director...

Smith: He was getting calls from people he trusts, people he relies on—and he still refused to come to the aid of the people at the Capitol. That’s very important evidence for criminal intent in our case.

Man, that's a great triple-shot, right there. Diane Keaton, Pope Francis and Ozzy. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Great read. As usual. open.substack.com/pub/paulwald...

I miss John Le Carre. www.countrylife.co.uk/luxury/art-a...

Excellent words and photos from David Bacon, as usual. davidbaconrealitycheck.blogspot.com/2025/12/a-mo...

Brilliant talk by Elmore Leonard at San Jose State in 1998. I was at this event. So good. Earlier that day, I brought over a tattered paperback copy of City Primeval and he signed it. substack.com/@gpsutter/no...

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, And 1 million Epstein files appeared from thin air

Reading Sam Dalrymple's book Shattered Lands. This series is a fantastic supplement to the book. Empire | 279. Partition: How Dubai Almost Became Part of India (Part 2) on Podbean, check it out! www.podbean.com/ea/dir-fxwww...

Excellent summary, as usual. open.substack.com/pub/lucid/p/...

"Calling a fully vetted, corroborated investigation into torture 'not ready' because the alleged torturers didn’t get enough airtime is not editorial judgment. It’s hostage negotiation with yourself." www.closertotheedge.net/p/a-letter-t...

Just want to point out that this man was leading the whole Turning Point USA crowd in prayer last week. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crim...

This is true. 👇 (From a dude with several close platonic women friends.)

In case you didn't know where to watch it. 👇 archive.org/details/60mi...

CBS didn't run the 60 Minutes segment on CECOT, but over here at @propublica.org we've been working on the story since March, including finding out who each and every man sent to that maximum security prison was. You can see our reporting here: www.propublica.org/series/depor...

CBS News may not want you to see its CECOT reporting, but I'm happy to share this powerful video that our team produced this year.

This was the definitive piece I wrote in 2025. Long-form braided essay about the intergenerational effects of Partition on my career as a traveling writer. Currently expanding this into a book. hiddencompass.net/story/truth-...

This new magazine is doing amazing work. Have a look.

You'll need a subscription. www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...

Great interview with Greil Marcus. The mystery train rides again. www.thetonearm.com/the-world-br...

As a Quakes dude, count me among the haters. The California teams should be in the same division. The whole thing reeks of ulterior motives, like everything in MLS.

This was a great episode. Live from Chicago. 👇 We The People: A conversation with Rachel Maddow and Timothy Snyder on Podbean, check it out! www.podbean.com/ea/dir-qf4x6...

"...he leaves behind a rich political legacy that began long before Trump’s political career. Reiner redefined celebrity political advocacy, not only lending his voice to important causes, but also implementing strategies that brought change." popular.info/p/what-rob-r...

This week, we extended my regular column into the cover story. That happens a few times a year. If you see it around, please pick it up. Otherwise, link is below. ⚽ www.metrosiliconvalley.com/fifa-world-c...

Good words and photos from David Bacon, as usual. davidbaconrealitycheck.blogspot.com/2025/12/phot...

Marjorie Taylor Greene told me to go back to my country and kicked our then-18-year-old communications director. And then sent an army of trolls and death threats my way when I called her out. She doesn’t get to play victim now.

MAGA world rushing to attack Europe in defense of Musk.

"The group rallied amid frigid conditions at the Target store on East Lake Street, alleging it allowed agents to stage raids in the parking lot. 'You cannot celebrate our communities on your commercials while letting ICE stalk them in your parking lot'...” www.startribune.com/twin-cities-...

The Financial Times finally covers the Network State cult. Is this tech fascism? "I mean,we are funding companies that will operate non-democratic cities...and if you're not into that you shouldn't move there," says Peter Thiel protégé Patri Friedman.

Best exchange of the day, so far.

“AI does not have free will, it doesn't want to do anything. If young people are not finding jobs because they're being automated by tech — realize that this is not AI taking a job. *A CEO* has decided not to backfill a role or hire young people or create new roles.” www.kalw.org/show/notes-f...

OK, I see three in this list I've read this year. Jeff Chang, Kaila and Katie Kitamura. Maybe a few more I'm missing ... apps.npr.org/best-books/?...

Man, I've been waiting for someone to write a story like this. I keep bringing up the Dada artists, who originally organized during WWI, and showed that ridicule could be effective in dislodging the fascists, but in this piece, she went with the Surrealists. I am still reading ...

Yes.

"But if history teaches us anything, it’s that bubbles don’t pop harmlessly; they burst outward. And when they do, the people who had nothing to do with inflating them are usually the ones who end up paying the biggest part of the price." hartmannreport.com/p/what-happe...

From the one and only Bill McKibben. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

The AI bubble may be about to bust. Peter Thiel has sold all of his Nvidia stock. We all need to say this very clearly: NO BAILOUTS FOR THEFT-TECH! Expropriate their asses instead. They stole from all of us and fully plan to burn the planet. They owe us - not the other way around. 1/3

NEW: Peter Thiel has blinked. Yesterday, I posted an article about the "Great AI Bubble". And today, we find out that he's bailed on the market. Has he cut & run? Or is this some 3-D chess-type voodoo? Thoughts please. open.substack.com/pub/broligar...

Fantastic piece. So great to see Roger McNamee mentioned in here. open.substack.com/pub/broligar...

From my friend Don Lattin, who covered the Jonestown massacre. I covered the Jonestown massacre. Donald Trump is giving me flashbacks www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/open...

"gluttons for clichéd dross who...head to the Instagram page will find several generic AI-generated videos of stubbly cowboys looking like factory-reject Ben Afflecks walking on snow-covered train tracks, lifting weights and holding their hats under the rain." www.euronews.com/culture/2025...

A quick run-through, if you need it. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Cleansing the timeline. youtu.be/GwmdscZNTQU?...

just opening up the new Epstein docs at random:

BREAKING: Grijalva has signed the Epstein Files discharge petition. It doesn't appear that Mace or Boebert have removed their names.