'Underneath the noise, however, there's an existential crisis'

'The Germany we knew is gone'

Anna Sauerbrey at The New York Times

Outside of "Germany, Germany is still intact," but "in Germany, Germany doesn't feel like Germany anymore," says Anna Sauerbrey. The "economically prosperous, socially cohesive and politically stable Germany has gone," and "this government, ideologically torn and rocked by outside shocks, proved unable to cope." These "travails have combined to devastating political effect." But "not all is lost," as "Germany's crisis is real, but it is as much a crisis of confidence as anything else."

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'How we can resist Trump's deportation plans'

Leah Montange at The Progressive

Donald Trump's campaign "drummed up support through scapegoating 'migrant crime,'" and "this is a pretext for mass deportations," says Leah Montange. The "best way to resist these kinds of enforcement activities" is for "citizens and non-citizens to claim one another as fellow community members, and then work together." What is "needed now is a blossoming of local-level efforts to defend immigrants," and it is "crucial that we build solidarity within our local communities."

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'Trump should make TikTok American'

National Review editors

Trump has said he "wants to save" TikTok, and the "way for him to do that — the only defensible way — is to facilitate a sale to one of multiple potential buyers," say the National Review editors. A "forced divestiture is the outcome that's most consistent with Trump's stated ambitions on China policy." Removing "TikTok from Beijing's control would send Xi Jinping a signal about America's resolve," and "would be a small but prominent step toward reciprocity."

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'The new AI stock pickers are destined to disappoint'

Nir Kaissar at Bloomberg

Something to "watch for next year is AI-driven investment products," says Nir Kaissar. AI has "hopes of doing what mortal managers can't. Don't hold your breath." Some AI bots "will beat the market, but many won't win by a big enough margin to overcome their fees." The "experience of real-life stock pickers is instructive," so "AI will have to go beyond traditional stock picking — it will have to invent new ways to beat the market."

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