Everywhere you look, it seems like there is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to plans for futuristic, dystopian systems of government. However, one such plan has already materialized and has caught the attention of some very powerful people: freedom cities.

While it’s too early to tell if freedom cities will be a dystopian nightmare or, in the more likely scenario, a merely fascinating innovation, what is clear is that many powerful people have been interested in the idea for years.

‘Our objective will be a quantum leap in the American standard of living.’

First, what are freedom cities?

Freedom cities are essentially deregulated economic zones designed to encourage innovation and technological development without (or with much less) cumbersome bureaucracy, rules, and taxes.

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Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

According to an article by Newsweek, the creation of a freedom city in the United States would require at least two states to demarcate land along their borders and to agree on taxation and policy.

But why should we care about what is probably just a billionaire pipe dream to ease the billionaire tax burden?

Well, one of the powerful people who is very interested in these cities is President Donald Trump.

Freedom cities have been on President Trump’s mind for nearly three years at least.

In March 2023, then-former President Trump issued a video statement detailing several plans to revitalize American innovation.

Past generations of Americans pursued big dreams and daring projects that once seemed absolutely impossible. They pushed across an unsettled continent and built new cities in the wild frontier. They transformed American life with the interstate highway system — magnificent, it was. And they launched a vast network of satellites into orbit all around the earth.

But today our country has lost its boldness. Under my leadership, we will get it back in a very big way. If you look at just three years ago, what we were doing was unthinkable — how good it was, how great it was for our country.

Our objective will be a quantum leap in the American standard of living. … Here are just a few of the ways we can do it.

Almost one-third of the land mass of the United States is owned by the federal government. With just a very, very small portion of that land, just a fraction, one-half of one percent — would you believe that? — we should hold a contest to charter up to 10 new cities and award them to the best proposals for development.

In other words, we’ll actually build new cities in our country again. These freedom cities will reopen the frontier, reignite American imagination, and give hundreds of thousands of young people and other people — all hardworking families — a new shot at home ownership and in fact the American dream.

While President Trump’s plans have not yet been put into practice in the United States, the idea of a freedom city has already been put into practice in Honduras, for example.

According to Newsweek, Pronomos Capital, a venture capital firm backed by tech billionaires Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen, has helped push for the creation and development of Prospera ZEDE, a privately run economic zone on parts of Roatan, an island off the coast of Honduras, and on the coast of La Ceiba, Honduras.

According to the company’s website, Próspera ZEDE (Zone of Economic Development and Employment) is “a startup zone with a regulatory system designed for entrepreneurs to build better, cheaper, and faster than anywhere else in the world.”

However, this economic zone in Honduras has seen its fair share of criticism from locals, pushback from the Honduran government, and legal challenges since its establishment.

Think tanks like the American Enterprise Institute have also taken an interest in the creation of freedom cities in the United States. According to a March 2025 report produced by the AEI Housing Center, freedom cities “offer a dynamic framework for re-shoring critical industries, expanding housing affordability, and facilitating rapid progress in emerging fields such as biotechnology, aeronautics, and energy.”

The AEI even drafted a “homesteading map” showing the pockets of federal land in Western states that could potentially be used for freedom cities, forecasting that the development of freedom cities would take anywhere between 40 and 50 years.

​Tech, Freedom cities, Trump, Trump administration, Pronomos capital, Prospera zede, American enterprise institute, Honduras, Peter thiel, President trump 

As we come to the end of 2025, peace feels hard to find. We are surrounded by news of barbaric terrorism once again — most recently in Australia — erupting in violent displays of prideful, ethnic hatred. We watch regional wars grind on, prolonged by an implacable tyrant bent on self-glorification and the expansion of his own wealth and power.

At such a time, it is good to remember that 2,000 years ago, a child was born for whom there was no room at the inn — a child laid instead in a stable because there was nowhere else to go. Jesus spent his childhood in the simplest of households and his adulthood accounting for every penny, for the life of a carpenter brought little money.

Let us set aside the calamities of the world, if only for a moment, and celebrate the birth of the most extraordinary child ever born — the one who offers eternal love and shelter from the storm.

When Jesus left his home to serve the world, his life became unlike that of the foxes, who have dens, or the birds, who have nests. The Son of Man had no place to lay his head. He rejected the paths of wealth, power, and pride, choosing instead humility, love, and suffering.

His ministry began when he read from the prophet Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.” That good news was revolutionary. God was not, as the Greeks imagined, a distant and uncaring master of abstractions. Nor was he, as many expected, a cold and exacting judge.

The good news was that God is filled with love for humanity — and that was cause for celebration.

So Jesus’ first miracle was not an act of conquest or condemnation, but joy: the transformation of water into wine at a wedding in Cana.

When Jesus chose his companions, he chose people like himself — humble, ordinary, and yet extraordinary. He welcomed women into his ministry, from his mother Mary to Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and many others, treating their womanhood as sacred. As F.R. Maltby observed, Jesus promised his followers three things: that they would be completely fearless, absurdly happy, and in constant trouble. Wherever they went, they brought hope, kindness, and cheer, and when Jesus spoke, his words carried the breath of heaven.

Jesus welcomed everyone he encountered — Jews and Romans, Greeks and Samaritans. He spoke with rabbis, tax collectors, and sinners alike. But he devoted his deepest attention to those who suffered: the blind, the deaf, the lame, the lepers. He touched those no one else would touch and loved those no one else would love.

When disciples of John the Baptist asked who he was, Jesus answered simply: “Tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them” (Luke 7:22).

Even more radical was his teaching. “Love your enemies,” he said. “Bless those who curse you. Do good to those who hate you. Pray for those who mistreat you. As you would have others treat you, so must you treat them.”

And above all: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27).

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Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images

Jesus taught through parables, stories anyone could understand. Perhaps the most famous is that of the prodigal son — a young man who squandered his inheritance on gambling, drink, and excess, only to be welcomed home with celebration rather than condemnation. Jesus explained it this way: “If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?” (Matthew 18:12).

God, in his love, was searching for a lost humanity, and Jesus was the shepherd sent to bring it home.

When the Pharisees asked when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus answered, “The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). It is entered freely — not by force, not by empire, not by the power of Caesar. There exists a realm where Caesar’s writ does not run, a domain belonging wholly to God.

To bring us into that kingdom of peace, Christ endured the cross — the only place on earth that finally made room for one so profoundly good.

Before he departed, he instructed his apostles to greet every home with a prayer for peace — a peace available only in the kingdom he builds within each of us.

So let us set aside the calamities of the world, if only for a moment, and celebrate the birth of the most extraordinary child ever born — the one who offers eternal love and shelter from the storm.

Merry Christmas.

​Opinion & analysis, Christmas, Jesus christ, Gospel, Gospel of matthew, Gospel of luke, Love, Salvation, Sacrifice, Kingdom 

The news never stops telling us everything is falling apart, but the latest data says the exact opposite — at least when it comes to preventable deaths.

On this episode of “Stu Does America,” Stu Burguiere dives into five sets of federal numbers that prove America is quietly winning on life-and-death issues.

1. The US mortality rate is the lowest it has been since 2020, with COVID no longer a leading cause

According to the CDC’s latest provisional data, the 2024 mortality rate “was 3.8% lower than in 2023 and was the lowest death rate since 2020.”

Further, for the first time since the virus’ emergence, COVID was not one of the top 10 leading causes of death.

“This is going to disappoint the Taylor Lorenzes of the world, who want to still wear masks outdoors right now, but COVID is pretty much off the map,” says Stu.

2. Deaths related to heart attacks have plummeted

Research conducted by Stanford Medicine and published in the Journal of the American Heart Association indicates that over the last five decades, there has been a substantial decline in deaths from heart attacks.

The study concluded that since 1970, age-adjusted heart attack deaths have decreased by nearly 90%, while deaths from heart disease are down roughly 66%.

Although chronic heart conditions have risen alongside obesity and diabetes, these drops still reflect major progress in preventing and treating sudden heart attacks.

“Deaths from other types of heart disease … increased by 81% in the United States according to the study, so there are still issues, and that has a lot to do with us becoming fat fat fatties,” Stu jokes.

3. Drug overdose death have declined

A recent CDC report revealed that deaths from drug overdose have declined nearly 24% in the 12 months ending September 2024, compared to the previous year.

Stu displays the following chart to give a visual of this significant improvement in deaths from drug overdose, which skyrocketed during the 2020 COVID pandemic and remained high until last year.

“We’re not back down quite to the pre-COVID levels, but we are approaching that, which is a real positive,” he says.

4. US mass killings are the lowest they’ve been since 2006

Based on the latest data from the Associated Press and USA Today Mass Killing Database, which tracks incidents in which four or more people are killed (excluding the perpetrator) within a 24-hour period, there have been just 17 mass killings in the U.S. this year — the lowest annual total since the database began in 2006.

While one mass killing is too many, the dip indicates that we are thankfully beginning to return from “big COVID/Biden-era peaks,” says Stu.

“We’re going in the right direction.”

5. Teen suicide is declining

Recent federal data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the CDC reveals a decline in teen suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health — an annual federal survey of over 70,000 people ages 12 and older that tracks mental health, substance use, and related trends — shows positive shifts among adolescents (ages 12-17) between 2021 and 2024, following pandemic-era spikes.

Serious suicidal thoughts in adolescents fell from 13% in 2021 to 10% by 2024. Further, suicide attempts in this age group dropped from 3.6% to 2.7%.

“Obviously, all way, way too high, but a good decrease,” says Stu.

All in all, Stu is encouraged by these statistics.

“This is really, really good news. … It is important to every once in a while note the fact that not everything sucks,” he says.

To hear more, watch the episode above.

Want more from Stu?

To enjoy more of Stu’s lethal wit, wisdom, and mockery, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Stu does america, Stu burguiere, Blazetv, Blaze media, Mortality rate, Death rate, Teen suicide, Overdose deaths, Heart attacks, Covid, Biden era 

As the years pass by, it can feel like Christmas has become less about the birth of Christ and his salvific mission and more about secularism and winter.

Look no farther than some of the most popular “Christmas” carols of the past 100 years: “White Christmas,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Deck the Halls,” “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer,” and on and on.

This Christmas, as you gather with your family, return to the meaning of the holiday — the birth of Christ — by reflecting on the original French version of “O Holy Night.”

The closing lyrics proclaim, without equivocation, that it is Christ who has saved us and we celebrate his coming. In other words, Christ is King!

For those in the French-speaking world, and especially the Acadian and Quebecois diaspora in New England, “Minuit Chretien” was a staple entrance hymn of midnight Mass.

While the English version “O Holy Night” is a beautiful song, the lyrics were adapted by Unitarian minister John Sullivan Dwight, reducing the theological weight of the original French.

Here are those English lyrics.

O holy night, the stars are brightly shining;
it is the night of the dear Savior’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices,
for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!
Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices!
O night divine! O night when Christ was born!
O night divine! O night, O night divine!

According to Chicago Catholic, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Chicago, the song quickly became popular in Northern U.S. abolitionist circles due mainly to its third verse, which deals with breaking the chains of slavery.

Truly He taught us to love one another.
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother,
and in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we.
Let all within us praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever!
His power and glory evermore proclaim!
His power and glory evermore proclaim!

Again, this is beautiful, but it downplays the truly salvific mission of Jesus Christ, God incarnate.

Before examining the French lyrics and their literal English translation, listen to the definitive version of the song, sung by Luciano Pavarotti at Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal, Quebec, in 1978. The concert in which he sang this rendition was a long-standing PBS Christmas special.

French lyrics

Here are the French lyrics, as compiled by the Oxford International Song Festival.

Minuit, Chrétiens, c’est l’heure solennelle,
Où l’homme Dieu descendit jusqu’à nous
Pour effacer la tache originelle
Et de son Père arrêter le courroux.
Le monde entier tressaille d’espérance
À cette nuit qui lui donne un sauveur.
Peuple, à genoux, attends ta délivrance.
Noël, Noël, voici le Rédempteur.

The tone is set right at the start. The verse boldly announces that this song is for believers. “Midnight, Christians, it is the holy hour.”

There is no mistaking this for secularism or a postmodern, easy Christianity. It calls the listener to remember that he is Christian and that Christmas is about the coming of the Savior, as the second line says, “When God as man descended unto us.”

The next part boldly proclaims the reason Christ became man: to save mankind from the stain of original sin. “To erase the original stain, and to end the wrath of His Father.”

The next two lines are very close to the English translation: “The whole world thrills with hope on this night that gives it a Savior.”

The end of the first verse brings it home: “Kneel, people, await your deliverance: Christmas, Christmas, the Redeemer is here!”

A bold declaration of what the night is about: the coming of deliverance that Christ the Redeemer brings!

The second and third verses are as reverent and hopeful as the first. The closing lyrics proclaim, without equivocation, that it is Christ who has saved us and we celebrate his coming. In other words: Christ is King!

​Christmas, Culture, Lifestyle, Music 

A Democratic politician from Rhode Island was caught on camera berating and arguing with police officers during a DUI traffic stop.

‘God forbid I was a black person, I’d be arrested!’

East Greenwich police pulled over Cranston Democratic Committee Chair Maria Bucci after midnight on Thursday.

Bucci, a former Cranston City Council member and former mayoral candidate, told authorities that she only had one glass of wine and was driving her cousin home from a Christmas party, according to the officer’s bodycam footage.

One of the officers claimed that he could smell alcohol on her breath and noted that her driving was “pretty erratic.”

Bucci accused the officer of abuse and claimed he was trying to embarrass her.

“You know who I am, right?” she asked.

“I don’t know who you are, miss,” the officer responded.

RELATED: Police video shows unhinged Democrat official melting down during arrest: ‘You’re gonna regret this!’

Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images

After several outbursts, Bucci reluctantly agreed to a field sobriety test. The officer asked Bucci to follow the tip of his pen with her eyes, then asked whether she would submit to a walk-and-turn test.

Bucci began arguing with the officers at the scene.

“I honestly feel bad. If I was a black human, I think you guys — no, honestly … I feel bad for the people that are not in my position,” she shouted while pointing at the officers.

Bucci shouted at her cousin, who remained in the vehicle to make some phone calls for her.

“Call my husband right now, and call the attorney general and everybody else in town,” Bucci said.

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Photo by MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images

“This is disgusting. God forbid I was a black person, I’d be arrested,” she continued.

“What are you going to do? Shoot me? … Arrest me?”

After Bucci continued to be argumentative and did not complete the walk-and-turn portion of the sobriety test, the officer instructed her to turn around so he could place her in handcuffs.

“Give me the camera,” Bucci said, as she leaned toward the officer’s body camera. “You’re a dick!”

Bucci received a misdemeanor DUI charge, the New York Post reported.

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​News, Maria bucci, Rhode island, East greenwich, Dui, Politics