"Those celebrating this turn of events should hold off on the champagne toasts," Samuel @scharap.bsky.social and @jekavanagh.bsky.social write. "There’s a problem with the emerging plan."

This song has ended the decades-long run of “Piano Man” as the most requested song at piano bars, @jesserifkin writes.

Farewell to a year that brought the Cracker Barrel brouhaha, the DOGE dud and the Gulf of America, George F. Will writes. https://wapo.st/3MTDx9a

"'Buy now, pay later' plans have already generated a great deal of fearmongering, but there’s almost certainly no need for panic," Robby Soave writes. https://wapo.st/44G5EP0

"Here are 25 events during 2025 that renewed our sense of optimism." The latest from the Editorial Board:

"Follywood," as drawn by Michael Ramirez 🎨 https://wapo.st/498gVcr

"Given that a therapist can be subject to prosecution in many states for leading a person toward suicide, might LLMs also be held responsible?" The latest from Samuel Kimbriel:

"When shoppers express frustration over rising food prices, they’re comparing today’s prices with recent history," a reader writes in #PostLetters. "So, let’s take a look at 2020 through 2024."

"President Donald Trump has made no secret of his dislike for wind power over the years," the Editorial Board writes. https://wapo.st/4j7P3cO

"I was a local‑hire photo editor at the AP in Saigon that day in June 1972," Carl Robinson writes in Post Letters. "I knew it was taken by a stringer, or freelancer, but was ordered by my superior, Horst Faas, to put Ut’s name on the caption." https://wapo.st/3MVBoJS

"This is yet another important infrastructure project Americans needed yesterday that will take decades to complete — and only in the unlikely event that it stays on schedule," the Editorial Board writes. https://wapo.st/4j9dsid

"The rush Down Under to criminalize 'hate speech' following the horrific massacre of 15 Jews celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach in Sydney will not stop future acts of terrorism," the Editorial Board writes.

“The Church does not tolerate antisemitism,” Pope Leo XIV proclaimed in a speech this October. Lev Golinkin writes, “If the new pontiff is serious, he’s got his work cut out for him.”

An editorial guest cartoon by Nick Anderson 🎨 https://wapo.st/4qoaNUj

"Now the White House has two options: Reconsider its strategy of militarizing law enforcement — or escalate," the Editorial Board writes. https://wapo.st/49eJxRh

"What’s fascinating — and this is largely due to a magnificent performance from Timothée Chalamet — is that despite Marty’s incorrigible narcissism, you can’t help but root for him," @williamfleitch.bsky.social writes. https://wapo.st/4qtGdJ2

"My first encounter with Christmas magic was electric," @drtedj.bsky.social writes. https://wapo.st/4qsEBz7

Marc Thiessen shares his favorite concerts of 2025:

"The point isn’t just how good the food tastes, it’s that the care and preparation leave us with stories and memories, something fruitful to pass around," Oanh Ngo Usadi writes. https://wapo.st/4qq4OhR

"My colleagues, the students, we all stepped up to it, because we realized that was under our control." UVU President Astrid Tuminez talks with @mcmegan.bsky.social about how she found the strength to lead her university in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s killing. wapo.st/4s7BQ7X

The Trump administration’s approval of an $11.1 billion arms sale will help Taiwan gear up for and deter a potential Chinese attack, the Editorial Board writes. "It’s an overdo correction after months of policy changes that favored Beijing over Taipei."

"Everyone in media, academia and entertainment knew it was happening. A number of them had qualms. Almost none spoke up," Megan McArdle writes. "I am talking about how for years, at many institutions, there was a hiring preference for anyone but White, straight men."

"It’s true that a House majority would give Democrats more leverage in spending negotiations. But it would not remove Democrats’ frustrating sense of powerlessness over the Trump initiatives they most oppose." The latest from Ramesh Ponnuru:

An editorial guest cartoon by @claybennett.bsky.social. 🎅

"What this really means is that Chicago needs more politicians who treat budgeting as a way to plan for the future, rather than an opportunity to steal from it." The latest from the Editorial Board:

The play is “Birthday Candles,” and it is running until Dec. 28 at 1st Stage in Tysons, Virginia, Rachel Manteuffel writes. "Each show, the character I understudy mixes the ingredients and bakes a cake from start to finish in an onstage oven. ... So. Much. Can go wrong." https://wapo.st/44T1eEu

"Santa Claus has stolen jobs from American workers with his industrial policy, which uses Yuletide magic to subsidize the manufacturing and transportation of his exports," Dominic Pino writes. https://wapo.st/49dAfF9

One of our latest editorial guest cartoons by @claybennett.bsky.social. 🎅

"Can anyone in Europe deal effectively with Trump’s objectively pro-Russian behavior and the E.U.’s self-inflicted incapacity?" John R. Bolton writes. https://wapo.st/4sj3a3p

"When American conservatives abandon free-market principles, there’s no telling what follows," the Editorial Board writes. "The Heritage Foundation has been illustrating this the past few months."

"2025 ends on a positive note for the economy, in terms of the numbers and relative to expectations in April. That should be celebrated," Zachary Karabell writes. "Though the optimistic signs may be true, only a small portion of the American public feels it’s true."

"At the end of Trump’s first year back in office, the filibuster is looking less like a moderating force and more like an excuse for presidents to ignore Congress," Jason Willick writes.

"New York’s incoming mayor has elevated normal bureaucrats alongside left-wing zealots," the Editorial Board writes.

"I served in the Reagan and George W. Bush administrations and would like to believe conservatism wasn’t always thus, but I’m beginning to wonder," a reader writes in #PostLetters. https://wapo.st/48W9hBN

"While the administration focuses on pseudo-terrorists, it risks losing focus on the battle against actual no-kidding terrorists," @maxboot.bsky.social writes. https://wapo.st/3Y5gFWz

"I suppose if Turning Point USA wanted its conference to make a big splash, it accomplished its mission," Jim Geraghty writes. "When you book a bunch of clowns, don’t be surprised if you end up with a circus."

"Putin is betting the U.S. will talk itself into believing Ukraine cannot succeed. The past four years show the opposite," Sens. Jeanne @shaheen.senate.gov and Mitch McConnell (R) write. "It is up to Washington to match Ukraine’s resolve with the clarity this moment demands."

"My children are 10, 9, 7 and 6, and I can probably count on two hands how many times they’ve had a phone call with someone," a reader writes. "They FaceTime their grandparents every week. ... But can they hold a real-time conversation without relying on facial expressions and body language?"

“You always want to err on the side of individual autonomy.” @colorado.gov Jared Polis speaks to @mcmegan.bsky.social about gender-affirming care and the need for science-based advice for different therapies. wapo.st/4am6l3N

The best state of the year? Here is the winner of the Editorial Board's new year-end tradition:

"It’s tempting to say he had no idea what was coming, but this was Norman Podhoretz — of course he knew what was coming," Tevi Troy writes. "He was a master of reading signs of political and cultural change, and advocating for the best path to follow in the country he loved."

"December hasn’t been kind to President Donald Trump’s global peacemaking efforts," Keith B. Richburg writes. https://wapo.st/4alX6R2

"The five-term Democratic U.S. senator from Washington has some hair-raising questions for the industrialists who run the college sports money machine," George F. Will writes. https://wapo.st/4pLYFMS

There’s no one in politics quite like the Democratic governor of Colorado, Jared Polis. Check out his conversation with Megan McArdle and be sure to subscribe to "Reasonably Optimistic" on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts: https://wapo.st/4aWLjJ9

"VA’s EHR modernization effort is well on its way to improving the lives of millions of veterans across the country," Douglas A. Collins writes in Post Letters. https://wapo.st/4pHBzHd

"Toxic environment," as drawn by Michael Ramirez 🎨 https://wapo.st/48Z78VU

"New York doesn’t need to reinvent housing policy; it needs to unclog it," Nile Berry writes. https://wapo.st/4ajdeCR

"America’s caregiving challenge won’t be solved by more regulation or reliance on under-the-table, imported labor but by trusting markets and families to do what they do best." The latest from Carrie Lukas:

"The Bondi Beach shooting could have followed a grimly familiar script," a reader writes in #PostLetters. "Instead, something rare happened. The focus shifted to the actions of one man, Ahmed al Ahmed."

"The generation that grew up watching adults manage institutions imperfectly now occupies the same halls of power," @drtedj.bsky.social writes. https://wapo.st/4qfETJF