Penna Dexter
On Christmas Day, as I rushed to set my dining room table, I felt a strange sense of gratitude — for the table. And for the dining room. More and more Americans don’t have them and, in my opinion, they’re missing something special.
In an article for The Atlantic, city planner M. Nolan Gray wrote of the disappearing dining room: “Americans now tend to eat in spaces that double as kitchens or living rooms — a small price to pay for making the most of their square footage.” He points to housing scarcity and regulation as reasons many new apartments “lack even a space to put a table and chairs.” Residents are eating on their couches or in their bedrooms, and “hosting a meal has become virtually impossible.” The unfortunate result, says Mr. Gray, is that we’re “designing loneliness into American floor plans.”
For his article, Mr. Gray spoke with real estate developer and floor plan expert, Bobby Fijan who told him, “The reason the dining room is disappearing is that we are allocating [our] limited space to bedrooms and walk-in closets.”
Consumer preference, lack of housing supply, and certainly zoning codes are all behind what Mr. Gray describes as “the death of dining space.”
So is demographics.
“Shrinking household size” is a huge factor. Lower marriage rates and lower birthrates mean fewer people are living together in families. Mr. Gray cites U.S. Census figures showing that “the share of one-person households more than tripled from 1940 to 2020.” Of necessity, or by choice, people are more isolated and often lonelier.
M. Nolan Gray, the urban planner, wants to know “how many more dinners would be shared if we had the space to host guests?
Do you live alone? Invite someone in for dinner. No dining table, no kitchen table? Use the coffee table, an end table or even an electrical spool with a cloth over it.
Voila! You have a dining room.

Kerby Anderson
The U.S. faces a significant threat from communist China. Gordon Chang goes into disturbing detail about this threat in his new book, Plan Red: China’s Project to Destroy America. It is a sobering warning about the plans China has developed so that it can be the one superpower for the rest of this century.
China is preparing for war. But Gordon Chang explains that this would not be just “unrestricted war” or even political war. It would be a hot war initiated to destroy the U.S. and its influence around the world.
China is also waging a campaign against America and American values. The goal is to destroy American society. It is working to accomplish this goal by using both forces outside of this country as well as forces deployed inside this country.
In one of his chapters, “Killing Americans,” Gordon Chang explains how China has been able to penetrate American society, that the Communist Party has been able to kill Americans with impunity.
As you would imagine, he also talks about the pandemic. The virus was from China and has devastated other countries around the world. Meanwhile, a Chinese spy balloon drifted over the U.S. without any major response from the current administration.
One of his final chapters describes “China’s War Plans.” He warns us that Xi Jinping cannot stop talking about going into battle with the U.S. Of course, he is doing more than just talking. He has implemented the largest and fastest military buildup since the Second World War. He is stockpiling grain and other commodities. He is surveying America for strikes and sabotage. He is mobilizing China’s civilians for battle.
His final chapter details “What America Must Do Now.” I pray that the incoming administration is taking note.

Kerby Anderson
As the year of 2024 winds down, I predict the year 2025 be different. There is reason to believe that the political landscape will be different in the U.S. due to the election of Donald Trump. But there is growing evidence that the political change here will also be felt in other countries due to the rise of populism.
But I also predict that the economic landscape will be different. Earlier this month I talked about the desire by some members of Congress to build a bitcoin strategic reserve. And Trump has been exploring the possibility of issuing an executive order to create a bitcoin reserve. Other countries have noticed.
Sarah Knafo is a European MP from France. She recently gave a speech in front of the European Parliament. The quotes I am using here have been translated into English using AI. She began by giving a brief history of how one country has successfully used bitcoin and then asked these questions. “Bitcoin is skyrocketing and what about the European Union? What is the European Union doing? It’s squandering our money on unbelievable waste. It continues to accumulate tragically inflationary deficits.”
She then suggested that it is time to change the paradigm. “It’s time to protect our people from inflation and the poor economic choices of our states. It’s time to say no to the totalitarian temptations of the European Central Bank which wants to impose a fully controlled digital Euro.” Instead, she argues, “It’s time to bet on freedom. It’s time for our states to invest in bitcoin to build national strategic reserves.”
I would suggest to you that a speech like this wouldn’t have been given six months ago in front of the European Parliament. We may be seeing an entirely new economic paradigm in the year 2025.