December 14, 2025, Issue 16

The Sad Banality of Antisemitism

This morning we woke to the news of another terror attack on Jews, this time in a seaside suburb of Sydney, Australia. Jews had gathered at an event organized by the local Chabad to celebrate the first day of Chanukkah. As of this writing 16 people were killed and 40 others seriously injured. The worst part? The collective yawn that we hear from most of the world. This has become normal, almost accepted. Why? There is an incoming mayor of New York City who will not condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada”. Well, they just globalized it to Australia. He is joined by many members of the far left in the USA, and around the world. On the far right, many influencers with high profiles like Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens have come to the realization that Anti-Semitism sells and gains followers. I believe we can draw a straight line from these stances as well as the college protests directly to the violent and often deadly attacks on Jews worldwide. Washington, DC, Boulder, Colorado, Paris, France, and now Sydney, Australia have all seen violence against Jews recently. Less publicized incidents are happening across the globe as we speak, and on a daily basis. The scariest part from Dad’s point of view? The far left meets the far right in the middle, and suddenly there is no safety, no one to stand up for Jewish people. Violence against Jews becomes further normalized, and we once again, 80 years after the Holocaust will have to ask our friends to hide us. This is something that seemed unthinkable for so long. Now we stand on guard, worry about the safety of our families wherever they may be. Am I overreacting? Is the danger not as clear and present as I believe? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Another Reminder of Ageing and the Quick Passage of Time

Also this morning, we got news of a family member who passed. We take the moment to again remind ourselves that we are not here forever. As Dad is about to turn 60 (which still does not seem possible!), we all need to acknowledge how fast time passes and how precious that time is. We all get busy with our lives, but here is another prompt to stay in touch, pick up the phone, and just stay connected. Especially as parents and grandparents enter their 70’s, 80’s, and beyond let’s make it our business to celebrate each day, and let our people know we are thinking about them.

Sports can be Good for the Soul and the Mind

We need something as a community that can take our minds off of the harsh realities of this world. We led with 2 somewhat depressing takes, so let’s look at a couple of stories that are certainly not life-changing, but can help us to remember the fun parts of life. With Dadsadvice location in North Carolina, we have adopted the Panthers as our football team. Sadly it has been a rough 7 seasons since the move south. But as we get ready for today’s games, the Panthers would be in first place in their division with a win today….words I did not think would be written this season. They have been the model of inconsistency, beating the first-place Packers, and losing to the last-place Saints. Even so, we are firmly planted on the bandwagon. Keep Pounding!
Jacob Fowler made his goaltending debut this week for the Montreal Canadiens. Again, as North Carolinians, we are proud fans of the Hurricanes. But the Canadiens have had our hearts for over 50 years, and they are still number 1. Being old enough to remember Ken Dryden’s debut and ensuing career, during which he won 6 Stanley Cups in 8 seasons, I have always been a fan of goalies. Dryden was the reason I played the position for a while. Patrick Roy was also a savior for the Habs and won 4 Stanley Cups of his own. Both Dryden and Roy made their first NHL starts against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Enter Fowler against the Pens on Thursday and the young man stops 36 of 38 shots in a 4-2 Canadiens victory. Could he be the next great Habs goalie? We certainly hope so!
One last sports observation/question. The New England Patriots were 4-13 last year. How have they suddenly become part of the Super Bowl story at 11-2??

Santa Claus Rally or Lump of Coal?

I guess the answer to that depends on the stocks and market you’re invested in. The Nasdaq, home to most of the growth stocks that have led the last couple of years worth of rally, had an awful week losing 1.6%. On the other hand, The Dow Average of 30 stocks, many of which are cyclical like the banks, enjoyed a 1.1% gain. This transfer of capital out of stocks like Nvidia and Robinhood into “boring” companies like Bank of America or Boeing may be an indication of some fear in the growth area. Our feeling is that rotation into other areas is healthy for the market. Nothing follows a straight line up and to the right of the graph. However, with the pace of innovation in technology still in the early days of the AI revolution, we firmly believe that these companies still need to be a part of any portfolio. No need to panic at this time. I mean, Santa still has 8 trading days before he comes down the chimney.

Whither Warner?

Last week we wrote about the Netflix offer for Warner Bros/Discovery. On Monday a hostile bid of $30 per share came directly to WB shareholders from Paramount. While it is a couple more dollars, they have bid for the entirety of the company whereas Netflix was leaving some parts out as noted in last week’s letter. Where does this go? And where does it end? While we don’t know the answer to that, we do know that this process will likely take the majority of 2026 to finalize. We also have a pretty good idea that whoever wins this battle, those of us locked into shows like Yellowstone, White Lotus, Nobody Wants This, or any other popular streaming show or movie will likely be paying more for the pleasure of watching.

Tax Loss Harvesting

An often overlooked tax break is the use of booking your losses to offset your gains. In Canada, losses can only go against any gains you have realized in stocks. You can use them to cover gains from as much as three years back, or carry them forward indefinitely. In the USA, the rules are similar, but the losses can also offset regular income ($1,500 for single filers, and $3,000 for those married filing jointly). Just remember that you CANNOT buy the same stock back for 30 days. So if there are losers you dump but still love, wait until February to bring them back. Are we still talking stocks? Yes!

Best Stocks for 2026

This is what is known in the industry as a teaser. Dadsadvice has been hard at work crunching numbers, going over industry reports, and checking with analysts for our list of the ten best stocks for 2026.
Be sure to open next week’s letter for this feature.

Thought of the Day

Back to our lead story, and to the celebration of Chanukkah. All of humanity cannot be evil. This holiday is known as the festival of lights. Let’s all do our best to not stay scared, not stay angry, and not get depressed. My hope is that good is still with the majority. We need to not just let the light in, we need to be the source of that light.