🚨 Fish in a Barrel – August 21 2025

*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 5:00 AM.

Lead: Israel Wants to Recruit American Soldiers Into The IDF

Photo credit: Gov.Il

Israel is facing a severe troop shortage — as many as 10,000–12,000 soldiers — and is now considering recruiting Jews from abroad to serve in the Israeli Defense Forces, multiple outlets report. The initial push would target Jewish youth in the U.S. and France between the ages of 18–25.

Why would an American or French citizen sign up to fight for a foreign military? Because Israel doesn’t just claim to represent its own population — it claims all Jews everywhere. That’s the underlying logic behind its appeal to the diaspora: your nationality may be American or French, but in Israel’s eyes, your duty is to them.

Benjamin Netanyahu has long claimed to see himself as leader not just of Israelis, but of Jews worldwide—a position that many in the Jewish diaspora reject. And that gets to the heart of the issue: it’s one thing to claim a global cultural connection. It’s another to claim global military conscription rights.

Imagine Italy telling Italian Americans that they owe allegiance and military service to Italy.

So why is Israel scrambling for soldiers now? Because they’re on the verge of a full takeover of Gaza. But the question hangs over this: are there other wars on the horizon? And what of the 60,000 reservists they just called up this week?

The IDF says this recruitment drive would be “voluntary.” But given America’s track record of bending over backwards for Israel, how long would it really stay that way? If Israel says they’re short on manpower and claims jurisdiction over Jews worldwide, what’s to stop Washington from turning a “voluntary” pipeline into an expectation — or even an obligation?

Would the U.S. government ever actually pressure Jewish Americans to serve a foreign army? Probably not directly. But subtle levers exist: immigration perks, financial incentives, political pressure, and social stigma against refusing “your duty.” The line between volunteering and conscription could blur quickly if Israel ramps up its demands — especially with Washington’s unwavering loyalty.

Democrats Lose 2.1 Million Voters — Newsom Bets on Trump-Style Politics

Photo credit: @GovPressOffice

Democrats lost about 2.1 million registered voters between the 2020 and 2024 elections in 30 states, according to The New York Times. They lost ground to Republicans in every state that tracks party affiliation.

The Times calls this “a deep political hole that could take years for Democrats to climb out of.”

Maybe that helps explain why California Governor Gavin Newsom has so much enthusiasm for his new X posts, which mirror President Trump’s online style. The gist is simple: Newsom has taken to posting in Trump’s erratic, brutish cadence — and Democrats, desperate for a fighter, seem to love it. Whether it lasts long enough to carry him into the 2028 nomination is another question — but in the absence of anything else, it just might. For a party floundering with its own politics, Newsom’s act offers at least a void to fill — and maybe even a little fun.

Trump Says He’ll Ban Mail-In Voting — Constitution Says Otherwise

Photo credit: AP

President Trump says that he is going to end mail-in voting by executive order. And, while he’s at it, he says, he will also end “Highly ‘Inaccurate,’ Very Expensive, and Seriously Controversial VOTING MACHINES, which cost Ten Times more than accurate and sophisticated Watermark Paper, which is faster, and leaves NO DOUBT, at the end of the evening, as to who WON, and who LOST, the Election.”

The White House clarified that this will not apply to overseas and out-of-state military ballots.

He predicts Democrats will oppose the move — which they surely will — but insists that states must follow whatever the federal government mandates. That, of course, is something the courts will have to decide. The Constitution is not on his side on that one. The Constitution assigns states the authority to determine the “times, places, and manner” of elections, subject only to congressional legislation, not to executive orders or administrative fiat.

Trump is correct that voter fraud has always been a concern, and the federal government does have the power to litigate when a state fails to secure elections. But it cannot simply impose a nationwide protocol by decree.

What happens next? If Trump does sign such an executive order, it would almost certainly face an immediate legal challenge. Federal courts have repeatedly struck down similar efforts, and judges tend to issue injunctions quickly in election cases to avoid chaos. Unless Congress were to pass a law backing him up — which is highly unlikely — Trump’s order would be tied up in litigation long before it could change how anyone votes.

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News By The Numbers

Photo credit: Sony Interactive

$50. That is how much more expensive all models of the PlayStation will cost, starting in August.

450%. That is how much the land rent at Carnegie House on Manhattan’s Billionaires’ Row is set to increase, sending monthly maintenance fees soaring from about $3,700 to $9,000 and putting residents’ homes at risk.

15–20 feet. That is how big the waves from Hurricane Erin are crashing along the East Coast, forcing beach closures from Florida to New York and triggering evacuations in parts of the Outer Banks.

Americans Are Reading Less for Pleasure — Phones Are Winning

Photo credit: AI-generated image (ChatGPT/OpenAI) 

Fewer Americans read for pleasure — with phones increasingly filling that brain space. What a sad commentary on modern society and attention span.

A new study by the University of Florida and University College London reveals a 40% decline in Americans reading for fun over the past 20 years. The share of people reading daily for reasons beyond work or school plunged from 28% in 2004 to just 16% in 2023. The decline averaged about 3% per year and occurred across all demographics measured—but the drop was especially steep among Black Americans, lower-income and less-educated individuals, and rural residents.

Men read for pleasure less than women, though the time spent by avid readers has actually increased.

Here is some good news though: reading with children remains steady. Yet another reason to keep them off screens for longer — and keep books in their hands.

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