06/14 -- US Senate rejects effort to block arms sale to Saudi terrorists and war criminals; Will they succeed in removing Trump from office?

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Thomas L. Knapp

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Jun 14, 2017, 6:59:23 AM6/14/17
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 06/14/17
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Produced by the staff of Rational Review News Digest
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Today's Freedom News:

1)  US Senate rejects effort to block arms sale to Saudi terrorists and war criminals
2)  Full text: Sessions Senate testimony transcript
3)  Prison phones: Global Tel*Link's ripoff scheme survives court fight
4)  University of Virginia student Otto Warmbier released from North Korea in a coma
5)  EU moves to gain control of key London financial market
6)  Mattis whine: "We are not winning in Afghanistan"
7)  Report: Rolling Stone settles with UVA fraternity in defamation case
8)  Putin accuses US of backing "terrorists" in Chechnya
9)  Florida man who tried to hack Clinton Foundation avoids additional jail time
10) NJ: Teacher suspended over Trump yearbook censorship
11) Panama: Regime cuts ties with Taiwan in favor of China
12) Erdogan: Qatar isolation violates Islamic values
13) Trump Twitter whinefest of the day: "Dangerous time" to nix Muslim ban
14) Vxlabs reveals Jaxx wallet "vulnerability"
15) Israel: Regime reduces Gaza electricity to four hours daily to aid Abbas v. Hamas
16) Months after firing US attorneys, Trump nominates replacements
17) CA: Brown proposes slight reduction in cannabis regulation nonsense
18) US Air Force grounds one in four F-35s over oxygen issues
19) Venezuela: Court sides with Maduro over constitutional rewrite
20) Rodman returns to North Korea for third round of "basketball diplomacy"

Today's Freedom Commentary:

21) Will they succeed in removing Trump from office?
22) The myth of infrastructure spending
23) Entropy and spontaneous generation
24) Federal education budget: Teapot, meet tempest
25) Russia inquiry: Little bit of history repeating
26) The making of a pariah nation
27) An open letter to the Republican leadership
28) The regime of liberty
29) The rise of a nanny state "nudger"
30) Naomi Klein: Why the revolution must be led by ordinary people
31) A softer Brexit may be May's best hope -- for now
32) DSRC isn't the path forward for connected vehicles
33) Trail of fears
34) Are free riders really a problem for libertarians?
35) America IS "cultural appropriation," so get over it
36) Eminent domain: The government loves your stuff
37) Trump's silver lining in Iraq
38) A war on teachers? Let's hope so.
39) Nobody won the Brexit election -- but we Leavers risk losing now
40) A 21st century Marxism: The revolutionary possibilities of the "new economy"
41) How we can help, not punish, drug users
42) The rise of digital money has exploded since Bitcoin's creation
43) The technology and telecommunications sectors and Trump's crucial second 100 days
44) Most hated
45) The Gold Clause cases
46) The need for digital and Internet freedom in Africa
47) Did Obama White House & Loretta Lynch illegally meddle in 2016 election?
48) NBC's Kelly hits Putin with a beloved canard
49) The libertarian conference improvement list
50) Indiana doubles down on warm beer

Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:

51) The KN@PP Stir Podcast, episode 131
52) Freedom Feens Radio, 06/13/17
53) Thoughts from Maharrey Head, episode 96
54) Cato Daily Podcast, 06/12/17
55) Free Talk Live, 06/12/17
56) The Tom Woods Show, episode 929
57) Foreign Policy Focus, episode 52
58) The Bob Zadek Show, 06/11/17

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_____ Today's Freedom News _____

1)  US Senate rejects effort to block arms sale to Saudi terrorists and war criminals
Source: The Hill

"The Senate on Tuesday narrowly rejected an effort to block part of President Trump's $110 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia. Senators voted 47-53 on advancing the resolution, falling short of the simple majority needed to move forward. GOP Sens. Mike Lee (Utah), Rand Paul (Ky.) Todd Young (Ind.) and Dean Heller (Nev.) voted with most Democrats to advance it. Democratic Sens. Joe Donnelly (Ind.), Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Bill Nelson (Fla.), Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Mark Warner (Va.) voted against moving the measure." [editor's note: If we ever get around to reprising Nuremberg, this roll call vote may come in handy – TLK] (06/13/17)


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2)  Full text: Sessions Senate testimony transcript
Source: Politico

[editor's note: As with the similar testimony of former FBI director James Comey, it seems to me that just linking to the transcript makes more sense than trying to find an unbiased account of US Attorney General Jeff Sessions's appearance – TLK] (06/13/17)


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3)  Prison phones: Global Tel*Link's ripoff scheme survives court fight
Source: Ars Technica

"A federal appeals court today struck down price caps on intrastate phone calls made by prisoners. Inmates will thus have to continue paying high prices to make phone calls to family members, friends, and lawyers. The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sided with prison phone company Global Tel*Link in its lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission. But that's exactly what the FCC's current leadership wanted. The FCC imposed the prison phone rate caps during the Obama administration, but current FCC Chairman Ajit Pai instructed commission lawyers to drop their court defense of the intrastate caps. Today's court decision, a 2-1 vote by a three-judge panel, said that the FCC's proposed caps on intrastate rates exceed the commission's statutory authority under the Telecommunications Act of 1996." [editor's note: This was a matter of the FCC exceeding its authority; hopefully some other remedy can be found for these greedhead abusting a literally captive market – TLK] (06/13/17)


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4)  University of Virginia student Otto Warmbier released from North Korea in a coma
Source: New York Daily News

"The University of Virginia student who has been detained in North Korea for more than a year was finally released Tuesday -- after mysteriously falling ill and spending most of his imprisonment in a coma, his family said. Otto Warmbier, who was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for alleged theft, left the isolated empire comatose on a Medivac flight, according to a statement from his parents. The family told The Washington Post Warmbier came down with botulism the same month he was sentenced to prison last year. He then fell into a coma after taking a sleeping pill, North Korean officials told them." (06/13/17)


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5)  EU moves to gain control of key London financial market
Source: San Francisco Chronicle

"The European Union moved Tuesday to tighten its oversight of firms that clear euro-denominated derivatives contracts, threatening tens of thousands of jobs in Britain once the country exits the bloc. Draft regulations published by the European Commission, the EU's executive body, would force any clearinghouse considered important to the EU financial system to accept direct oversight from the bloc and, if requested, relocate to inside the EU. 'The continued safety and stability of our financial system remains a key priority,' Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said. 'As we face the departure of the largest EU financial center, we need to make certain adjustments to our rules to ensure that our efforts remain on track.'" (06/13/17)


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6)  Mattis whine: "We are not winning in Afghanistan"
Source: Reuters

"The United States is not winning in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told Congress on Tuesday, saying he was crafting a new war strategy to brief lawmakers about by mid-July that is widely expected to call for thousands more U.S. troops. The remarks were a blunt reminder of the gloom underscoring U.S. military assessments of the war between the U.S.-backed Afghan government and Taliban insurgents, classified by U.S. commanders as a 'stalemate' despite almost 16 years of fighting. 'We are not winning in Afghanistan right now. And we will correct this as soon as possible,' Mattis said in testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee." [editor's note: Who ever said "we" were supposed to be "winning in Afghanistan?" Does this imbecile honestly think sacrificing more cannon fodder will change that? – SAT] (06/13/17)


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7)  Report: Rolling Stone settles with UVA fraternity in defamation case
Source: Fox News

"Rolling Stone will pay a University of Virginia fraternity $1.65 million, settling a lawsuit over a 2014 discredited story about a campus rape, a report said. The magazine agreed to pay the settlement to Phi Kappa Psi by Aug. 31, a source told the Daily Caller on Monday. The fraternity sued Rolling Stone for $25 million. The chapter at the university filed the lawsuit after Rolling Stone published the article titled 'A Rape on Campus,' which told a story of a student named 'Jackie' who claimed she was raped by members of the fraternity. The article was later discredited. Rolling Stone claimed that the fraternity knew about the factual inaccuracies in the article, but didn't speak up about it before it went to print, according to documents filed in the case." (096/13/17)


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8)  Putin accuses US of backing "terrorists" in Chechnya
Source: Raw Story

"Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the U.S. of supporting the most violent insurgency in post-Soviet Russia, during an interview with American director Oliver Stone. The pair spoke about a breadth of topics in conversations that make up Stone's four-hour film, 'The Putin Interviews.' The series took place in a variety of settings, from opulent reception halls and bucolic residences to the inside of Putin's car, with the leader in the driver's seat. During one of their sit-down exchanges, broadcast on Showtime, Putin gave credence to a claim about the wars in Russia's Chechnya region often made by the more fringe elements among the Russian establishment, that the U.S. directly supported 'terrorist' rebels." (06/13/17)


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9)  Florida man who tried to hack Clinton Foundation avoids additional jail time
Source: Fox News

"A Florida man already serving time for a child pornography avoided additional jail time Monday for attempting to hack into the Clinton Foundation's computer network hundreds of thousands of times in 2015. Timothy Sedlak, 44, of Ocoee, Fla., was sentenced to 18 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams in New York City, according to Reuters. Sedlak will carry out his 18 months while serving the 42-years he was sentenced to for having child pornography on his computer. Authorities found the pornography when they looked through his computers while investigating the hacking." [editor's note: The hacking should not have been a crime, so the discovery of his personal stash should never have occurred – SAT] (06/13/17)


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10) NJ: Teacher suspended over Trump yearbook censorship
Source: USA Today

"The Wall High School teacher and adviser of the yearbook club has been suspended due to alleged censorship of images and quotes by students supporting President Trump. Superintendent Cheryl Dyer said Monday that the teacher, who she declined to name, was suspended 'pending further disciplinary action' from the school board. On the high school's website, the yearbook club's adviser is listed as Susan Parsons. According to public records, she collected an $87,950 salary last year. 'I don't have definitive answers to all of my questions yet, but I knew enough at this point to get board approval to take that action,' Dyer said." (06/13/17)


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11) Panama: Regime cuts ties with Taiwan in favor of China
Source: BBC [UK state media]

"Panama has cut long-standing diplomatic ties with Taiwan and established relations with China, in a diplomatic coup for Beijing. The Panamanian government said it recognised there was 'only one China' and considered Taiwan part of it. Taiwan expressed 'anger and regret,' and accused Panama of 'bullying.' China regards Taiwan as a breakaway province. A few countries maintain ties with Taipei instead of Beijing, and Panama is the latest to switch sides. In December last year, the African island nation of Sao Tome and Principe made a similar move. Now only 20 countries have diplomatic relations with Taiwan. In recent years China has intensified its economic investment into the Central American country -- home of the economically vital Panama Canal." (06/13/17)


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12) Erdogan: Qatar isolation violates Islamic values
Source: Reuters

"Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan denounced the isolation of Qatar by neighboring states as a violation of Islamic values and tantamount to a 'death penalty' against Doha in a crisis reverberating through the Middle East and beyond. Erdogan's comments marked the strongest intervention yet by a powerful regional ally of Doha eight days after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Qatar and imposed stringent economic sanctions on it." (06/13/17)


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13) Trump Twitter whinefest of the day: "Dangerous time" to nix Muslim ban
Source: WNAX Radio 570

"U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday criticized the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals one day after it handed him another legal setback by refusing to revive his U.S. travel ban on people from six Muslim-majority nations. ... 'Well, as predicted, the 9th Circuit did it again -- Ruled against the TRAVEL BAN at such a dangerous time in the history of our country. S.C.' ... Trump has been on the losing side in all four court rulings on the March order. White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the administration is reviewing Monday's decision and expressed continued confidence that the order is fully lawful and ultimately will be upheld by the Supreme Court." (06/13/17)


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14) Vxlabs reveals Jaxx wallet "vulnerability"
Source: ETHNews

"On June 9, 2017, Dr. Charl Botha, owner and software engineer at vxlabs, published a brief analysis of the 12-word backup phrase used to restore Jaxx wallets. Botha positively identified the vulnerability on the Jaxx Chrome extension v1.2.17 and the Jaxx Linux desktop app 1.2.13. The Jaxx wallet does not need to be running for this weakness to be exposed. Botha expressed the primary problem is that Jaxx encrypts the 12-word phrase using a 'hard-coded encryption key.' Using relatively straightforward code, decryption from local storage is possible. ... Today, tenuous reports circulated claiming that Jaxx users have lost $400,000 to theft. Jaxx's director of business and community development, Charlie Shrem, told ETHNews he categorically denies this allegation: 'There is no vulnerability, no one lost funds here. The author of the article basically says that someone can retrieve your 12 word backup seed if they have access to your device. If you aren't securing your device (pin, password, encryption, etc) how can you blame JAXX if someone steals your unsecured device and steals your money?'" (06/12/17)


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15) Israel: Regime reduces Gaza electricity to four hours daily to aid Abbas v. Hamas
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatar]

"The Israeli government has agreed to cut down its electricity supply in the Gaza Strip, at the behest of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA), Israeli officials said. According to Yoav Mordechai, the Israeli head of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), President Mahmoud Abbas requested Israel to stop supplying electricity to Gaza back in April. The PA declined to comment to Al Jazeera. Khalil Shaheen, a Ramallah-based political analyst, said the PA was applying heavy pressure on the Hamas government to relinquish its control over the Gaza Strip." (06/13/17)


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16) Months after firing US attorneys, Trump nominates replacements
Source: New York Times

"President Trump began on Monday to nominate replacements for dozens of United States attorneys whom he fired shortly after taking office, sending eight names to the Senate for confirmation as chief federal prosecutors in their regions. Mr. Trump purged most of the nation's top federal prosecutors in March, demanding their immediate resignations to ensure what an administration spokeswoman at the time called 'a uniform transition.'" [hat tip -- David Klaus] (06/12/17)


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17) CA: Brown proposes slight reduction in cannabis regulation nonsense
Source: KTLA 5 News

"Gov. Jerry Brown and legislators proposed Monday to allow medical and recreational marijuana to be sold out of the same locations. The pot industry had sought the change to cut costs and the number of operations. The co-location rule was one of dozens of new regulations contained in budget bills released Monday. They are aimed at merging regulations of medical cannabis, which the Legislature approved in 2015, and recreational marijuana, approved by voters in November." [editor's note: How about Brown and the legislators draw up a quick schedule of complete repeal of all state laws relating to cannabis? – TLK] (06/12/17)


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18) US Air Force grounds one in four F-35s over oxygen issues
Source: Newsweek

"About a quarter of the F-35 fighter jets made by Lockheed Martin Corp, or 55 planes, have stopped flying until further notice because of irregularities in pilots' oxygen supplies, U.S. Air Force spokesman Captain Mark Graff said on Monday. Training flights at Arizona's Luke Air Force Base, where the 55 jets are based, were canceled on Friday and scheduled to resume on Monday, but the grounding was extended indefinitely. More than 220 F-35s are flying worldwide. The grounding comes at a critical time for Lockheed, which plans to demonstrate the advanced jet at the Paris Air Show next week." (06/13/17)


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19) Venezuela: Court sides with Maduro over constitutional rewrite
Source: The Atlantic

"Venezuela's Supreme Court voted Monday to reject a motion that would prohibit the nation's president, Nicolas Maduro, from rewriting its constitution. The decision comes just days after Venezuela's chief prosecutor, Luisa Ortega Diaz, stood on the steps of the Supreme Court with a copy of the nation's blue constitution book and defended Venezuela's current laws. 'What's at play here is the country,' she said, 'the integrity of Venezuelans.' A few weeks earlier, on May 24, Maduro signed a document calling for a 'constituent assembly' to draft a new version of Venezuela's constitution in what he considers to be an effort to bring peace to the nation. The assembly would also have the authority to dissolve public powers and convene general elections -- stipulations that could give Maduro undue influence. With voting for the new assembly scheduled for July, many have accused Maduro of giving extra weight to populations that might secure his re-election." (06/13/17)


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20) Rodman returns to North Korea for third round of "basketball diplomacy"
Source: Time

"The Worm has returned. On Tuesday, former NBA great Dennis Rodman flew back to North Korea during a time of heightened tensions with Washington, after the rogue state's 16 missile tests so far this year, and its arrest of two more U.S. citizens, bringing the total number of Americans held by the regime to four. It's the third trip to North Korea for Rodman, who was previously hosted in 2013 and 2014 by Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, a known basketball fanatic. ... Sources close to Rodman told TIME that the visit would likely last until the weekend. Senior U.S. diplomats in South Korea confessed to having no knowledge of the trip, while the State Department said it was aware but stressed the visit was unofficial." (06/13/17)


_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____

21) Will they succeed in removing Trump from office?
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger

"Look, I'm no fan of Donald Trump. The guy is statist to the core, as reflected by his allegiance to both the welfare state and the warfare state. But I also don't believe in coups, including those engineered by the national-security establishment and its supporters and acolytes within the mainstream media and the Washington establishment. Let's ask ourselves a basic question: Why are these people so intent on removing Trump from office before his term is up? There are two reasons. First, they don't like him. He's volatile, erratic, and temperamental and displays all the characteristics of an authoritarian dictator. ... It's just personal. They don't like the guy. ... That's the primary motive of those on the left to remove Trump from office early. But that's not the primary motive of the national-security establishment. That brings us to the second reason for wanting to remove him early. Trump has never bought into their anti-Russia obsession, which, as we have seen, is critically important to them." (06/13/17)


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22) The myth of infrastructure spending
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Ryan McMaken

"Trump's $1-trillion infrastructure spending plan continues to be one of his less controversial proposed policies. In Washington, and even among many in the general public, there is a consensus that government spending on more roads and bridges is always necessarily a slam dunk. This is stated matter-of-factly in a recent CNN article about the president's plan: 'Infrastructure spending is a proven winner for the economy: It creates jobs, fuels growth and allows Americans to get from point A to B faster, making them more productive.' This statement is not a quotation from any supporter of the the plan. The author of the article is simply stating what he believes to be an indisputable fact. The fact that statements like this are made in such a blase way should not surprise us." (06/13/17)


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23) Entropy and spontaneous generation
Source: Freeman's Perspective
by Paul Rosenberg

"When I wrote two weeks ago about spontaneous generation still being enthroned in science as the primordial soup (and it is), I wanted to avoid a long discussion on entropy. But since that's the only option left open to die-hards, it became an issue. So today I'll explain entropy and how it ties into this discussion. Even if you're not particularly interested in science, I think this will be of value to you. And I'll keep it brief." (06/13/17)


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24) Federal education budget: Teapot, meet tempest
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp

"The Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 requires the president of the United States to submit a budget proposal to Congress for each fiscal year. Congress isn't required to honor that proposal. In fact its budget resolutions and actual appropriations seldom reflect presidents' requests very closely. But there are always fireworks over the request anyway. President Donald Trump's proposed budget for FY2018 calls for a 13% ($9 billion) cut to the US Department of Education versus 2017's discretionary funding. That may sound like a big big hit to your kids' schools, and the usual suspects would like you to think it constitutes a gutting of 'public' (read: government) education in America, but there are a few things to keep in mind when thinking about it." (06/13/17)


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25) Russia inquiry: Little bit of history repeating
Source: Town Hall
by Debra J Saunders

"If you watched the testimony of former FBI chief James Comey before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, you heard Democratic senators refer to Russian attempts to interfere with the 2016 presidential election as a 'hostile' act by a 'hostile' government, an affront, their tone suggested, heretofore unknown in American politics. Yet two decades earlier, in that very same hearing room, a Senate committee investigated Chinese attempts to interfere with the 1996 presidential election. In his opening statement, Sen. Fred Thompson [R-TN] chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, warned of a plan 'hatched by the Chinese government' designed to 'pour illegal contributions' into U.S. election campaigns. A key beneficiary was President Bill Clinton. Different hostile country, different party benefited, same reputed intent, but now a cobweb for the history books." [editor's note: Interesting how this "conservative" columnist evokes one former President who is not Nixon, while a "progressive" one goes for Andy Jackson in his comparisons – SAT] (06/13/17)


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26) The making of a pariah nation
Source: TomDispatch
by Tom Engelhardt

"In its own inside-out, upside-down way, it's almost wondrous to behold. As befits our president's wildest dreams, it may even prove to be a record for the ages, one for the history books. He was, after all, the candidate who sensed it first. When those he was running against, like the rest of Washington's politicians, were still insisting that the United States remained at the top of its game -- not an, but the 'indispensable nation,' the only truly 'exceptional' one on the face of the Earth, he said nothing of the sort. He campaigned on America's decline, on this country's increasing lack of exceptionality, its potential dispensability. He ran on the single word 'again' (as in 'make America great again') because (the implication was) it just isn't anymore. And he swore that he and he alone was the best shot Americans, or at least non-immigrant white Americans, had at ever seeing the best of days again. In that sense, he was our first declinist candidate for president and if that didn't tell you something during the election season, it should have." (06/13/17)


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27) An open letter to the Republican leadership
Source: The American Prospect
by Robert Kuttner

"Dear Messrs. Ryan, McConnell, Pence, and Priebus, It's now pretty clear that President Trump, one way or another, will be removed from office. Events and James Comey's testimony have established an open-and-shut case of obstruction of justice. Trump tried to get Comey to drop the investigation of Michael Flynn; then when Comey refused, Trump fired him. It doesn't get any clearer than that. Not even in Watergate. In addition, details of the Trump campaign's collusion with the Russians' successful efforts to undermine the 2016 election have yet to come out from the special prosecutor's investigation. When they do, they won't be pretty; nor will the details of Trump's repeated co-mingling of his business interests with his official business as president. There is also the fact that Trump is plainly insane." (06/13/17)


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28) The regime of liberty
Source: Center for a Stateless Society
by Gabriel Amadej

"Oppression comes in all forms. Any exercise of liberty can, in certain conditions, succumb to tyranny. Even if we, as anarchists, stand in opposition to democracy, it would be a mistake to consider it tyrannical in its own right. Compared to monarchy and communism, democracy stands firmly on the side of liberty. Proudhon was keen to emphasize this point. Far from advocating democracy, however, he held his ground and asserted the principles of anarchy. While anarchy and democracy share important characteristics, Proudhon was careful to not reduce anarchy to democracy." (06/13/17)


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29) The rise of a nanny state "nudger"
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Bill Wirtz

"It's an average morning in the European Parliament in Brussels, the center of power for the European Union. Avalanches of lawmakers, policy advisors, and lobbyists trickle through the immense doors at the Place de Luxembourg, filling the chamber's committee rooms with discussions over new laws and regulations. At the cafeteria of the parliament's Northern aisle, Brussels' most powerful lobbyist is meeting a Member of the European Parliament. Alberto Alemanno is an Italian public interest lawyer, author, and activist who has made a name for himself in the EU's capital. He co-founded The Good Lobby -- an NGO pretending to lobby for the interest of everyday people -- and specializes in risk regulation, public health, consumer rights, and food policy. Alemanno is an advocate of nudge theory, the basic premise of which does not rely on forcing people in the immediate effect to follow one behavioral pattern or another, but to enact surrounding policies which will indirectly push consumers into conducting themselves in certain ways." (06/13/17)


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30) Naomi Klein: Why the revolution must be led by ordinary people
Source: In These Times
by Sarah Jaffe

"Since election night 2016, the streets of the United States have rung with resistance. People all over the country have woken up with the conviction that they must do something to fight inequality in all its forms. But many are wondering what it is they can do. In this series, we'll be talking with experienced organizers, troublemakers and thinkers who have been doing the hard work of fighting for a long time. They'll be sharing their insights on what works, what doesn't, what has changed and what is still the same." (06/12/17)


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31) A softer Brexit may be May's best hope -- for now
Source: Cato Institute
by Ryan Bourne

"It is unclear whether the Prime Minister's position is tenable in anything other than the short-term. But the disastrous election result last week has thrown the previous clarity on the government's approach to Brexit into disarray. Everyone now has a view on 'what the result means' for our EU exit negotiations, and no two people can be heard to agree. The question on everyone's lips appears to be this: does the result suggest the public wants a 'softer Brexit,' which would see the UK remain in the Single Market?" (06/13/17)


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32) DSRC isn't the path forward for connected vehicles
Source: Niskanen Center
by Ryan Hagemann

"As noted in my recent op-ed in WIRED, autonomous vehicles are the next frontier of transportation. But, as depicted in the infographic below, DSRC is just one potential component of autonomous vehicle technology. Driverless cars need technology that accomplishes many things--sensing real world objects, sophisticated mapping of the environment, and making choices in real time about the data it processes. If DSRC gets deployed in all vehicles, it will only meet a fraction of those needs, and over a very long period of time. A partial timeline of autonomous vehicle and V2V developments, depicted in the accompanying infographic, shows how various technologies have outpaced DSRC." (06/13/17)


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33) Trail of fears
Source: The New Republic
by Kevin Baker

"Donald Trump's stunning decision to fire FBI Director James Comey brought inevitable comparisons to the 'Saturday Night Massacre,' that evening in October 1973 when President Richard Nixon, enmeshed in the throes of Watergate, ordered independent special prosecutor Archibald Cox fired, and then accepted the resignations of both Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus when they refused to carry out his instructions. ... To understand what can happen when the country is too divided for any common sense of justice to prevail, we should look not to Nixon but to a president from a more divided and chaotic era. Like Trump, Andrew Jackson was a populist wrecking ball who set out to upend a Washington establishment that considered him a crude and inept barbarian." (06/13/17)


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34) Are free riders really a problem for libertarians?
Source: HubPages
by Garry Reed

"Some economists and politicians call free riding a 'market failure.' But if a free market is by definition freely open to everyone who wants to participate in it, producers and free riders included, where's the failure? It's simply doing what a market is supposed to do and everyone ought to be aware of that fact before they participate in it. In one way or another everyone benefits from something someone else does or did without 'paying the costs' for it, producers and consumers alike. How have economists and politicians been able to turn a simple fact of human reality into a 'market failure' and a 'problem?'" (06/11/17)


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35) America IS "cultural appropriation," so get over it
Source: USA Today
by Jordan Harris

"A few weeks ago, upon the removal of four monuments to the Confederacy, Mitch Landrieu, the Mayor of New Orleans, gave the exact speech that America needed. It was a speech reminiscent of a time when politicians actually had something worth saying, and as Frank Bruni of The New York Times pointed out, a reminder that eloquence can still exist in a world otherwise dominated by childish tweets. It was an equally powerful reminder of a way of thinking that seemed to be left for dead by modern liberals. Landrieu, probably inadvertently, provided a valuable contrast to the narrative of 'cultural appropriation,' a term that some have adopted to discourage any attempt by people of different backgrounds to exchange and celebrate their differences." (06/13/17)


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36) Eminent domain: The government loves your stuff
Source: The Libertarian Republic
by Dries Van Thielen

"On May 24, the Dallas, Texas city council discussed item #11 on its agenda. Item #11 involves a case of eminent domain in which the council wants to low-ball an individual landowner out of his property to construct a 'much needed' waterline. For years, the owner, Monty Bennett, a wealthy businessman who founded the Ashford Hospitality Trust, has sued the council. He urges the Council to construct said pipeline around his property instead of right through it. Bennett's family purchased the land in 1955. In order to protect his land, Bennett has constructed a cemetery on his property, because under Texas law, 711.035 cemeteries are exempt from 'taxation, seizure by creditors and eminent domain.'" (06/13/17)


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37) Trump's silver lining in Iraq
Source: Reuters
by Peter Van Buren

"Will the defeat of Islamic State in Iraq be a foreign policy victory for Donald Trump? With the fall of Mosul imminent, what happens next? There will be winners, like the Kurds. There will be losers, like Iraq's Sunni minority. There will be gains for Iran, which backs the Shi'ite militias drafted to fight Sunni-dominated IS. And there may be a silver lining for the Trump administration, specifically in the form of Kurdish independence and permanent American bases in a Shi'ite-ruled Iraq. But any declaration of 'victory' on the part of the United States depends on how the measure of those results is taken. Start with the Kurds. Their military forces currently control a swath of northern territory, including the oil-rich province of Kirkuk. The area has been a functional confederacy since soon after the American invasion of 2003 and in spite of likely opposition from Baghdad, a fully-realized nation-state of Kurdistan seems inevitable. The Kurds certainly think so; they'll hold an independence referendum on September 25." (06/13/17)


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38) A war on teachers? Let's hope so.
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille

"'Are Trump and DeVos waging a war on teachers?' asks the Center for American Progress (CAP). A little reading reveals that by 'teachers,' the painfully establishmentarian CAP means one-size-fits-few, government-run institutions. Given that such institutions have spent decades waging their own sort of hostilities against children, innovation, and choice, we should certainly hope that the new Education Secretary has some sort of pushback in mind to give kids a better chance at a real education. What gets CAP so hot and bothered is that Secretary Betsy DeVos is a fan of allowing families to make decisions about their children's education with something like the freedom they exercise when deciding on food, clothing, housing, and most other areas of life." (06/13/17)


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39) Nobody won the Brexit election -- but we Leavers risk losing now
Source: spiked
by Mick Hume

"There is a far bigger issue in UK politics now than the survival prospects of hopeless Tory prime minister Theresa May. The future of Brexit is on the line, as the pro-EU elites seek to exploit the indecisive result of the General Election. The question of whether Britain really will withdraw from the anti-democratic institutions of the European Union is in serious doubt. The danger is that we end up with a sort of Remain-by-another-name. That would mark a serious defeat for democracy. It would mean that the vote to Leave by 17.4million last June has been effectively overturned by elitist political manoeuvres inside and outside parliament." (06/13/17)


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40) A 21st century Marxism: The revolutionary possibilities of the "new economy"
Source: CounterPunch
by Chris Wright

"Marx was mainly an analyst of capitalism, not a prophet or planner of socialism or communism. He did, however, predict socialist revolution, even arguing that it was inevitable and would inevitably take the form of a 'dictatorship of the proletariat.' This dictatorship, supposedly, would implement total economic and social reconstruction even in the face of massive opposition from the capitalist class, in effect drawing up blueprints to plan out a 'new society' that would, somehow, on the basis of sheer political will, overcome the authoritarian and exploitative legacies of capitalism. Through necessarily coercive means, the government would somehow plan and establish economic democracy, in the long run creating the conditions for a 'withering away of the state.' How such a withering away would actually happen was left a mystery; and none of Marx's followers ever succeeded in clearing the matter up." (06/13/17)


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41) How we can help, not punish, drug users
Source: Our Future
by Alyssa Aguilera

"More people die in the United States from drug overdoses every year than from car crashes or guns. Over half a million lives were lost between 2000 and 2015; data suggests 2016 will have the most overdose deaths in American history. These deaths have spiked because of a 'perfect storm' of addiction: the over-prescription of pain-killers, the growing availability of the highly potent synthetic opioid fentanyl, and failed drug-war tactics that prioritize punishment over public health. At VOCAL-NY, we have been organizing people to combat harmful drug policies for nearly two decades. We know the War on Drugs is a failure. It has exacerbated rates of HIV & Hepatitis C transmission, fueled mass incarceration, and diverted trillions of dollars from public health to fund overpolicing and prisons. The racial disparities of the drug war are stark: black and Latino communities bear the brunt of racially biased law enforcement, and negative health outcomes. The Trump administration's policies will be disastrous for people who use drugs." (06/13/17)


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42) The rise of digital money has exploded since Bitcoin's creation
Source: Bitcoin.com
by Jamie Redman

"Bitcoin changed the landscape of digital money when it was introduced to the world in 2009, and was followed by many other types of cryptocurrencies. Now bitcoin and the over 800 copycats (so called altcoins) have reached a very large market valuation of $110 billion. Let's take a look at how this emerging digital assets landscape began and where we are today." (06/12/17)


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43) The technology and telecommunications sectors and Trump's crucial second 100 days
Source: Competitive Enterprise Institute
by Clyde Wayne Crews

"Is it possible to keep federal government regulators' hands off the technology sector? We're in the middle of president Donald Trump's second '100 Days,' and there were a number of executive actions aimed at rolling back 'job-killing regulations' during the first 100. Congress still needs to act to make permanent changes, but the slowdown in regulation is unprecedented. If it can't get its act together on making permanent the rollback of regulations, the priority for Congress should be keeping regulatory bureaucrats' hands off the future." (06/12/17)


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44) Most hated
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob

"I was once 'the most hated man in Washington.' Why? For my work on term limits. I wore the appellation as a badge of honor. Last year I noted that Ted Cruz had taken up the mantle, but now, certainly, it's President Donald Trump's. Has ever a president been as hated? Thomas Jefferson was characterized as the Antichrist. Andrew Jackson made many enemies in overthrowing the Second National Bank. But John Tyler is the most interesting case." (06/13/17)


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45) The Gold Clause cases
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by David S D'Amato

"The Supreme Court's decision in the Legal Tender Cases in the late 1800s compelled the acceptance of otherwise worthless Treasury notes for all debts, removing from the individual's rightful sphere of control a matter of serious financial import. The Gold Clause Cases, decided in 1935, continued to erode the liberal tradition of economic freedom, the further decline of which corresponds to the growth of government in all areas during the Franklin Roosevelt administration." (06/13/17)


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46) The need for digital and Internet freedom in Africa
Source: Students for Liberty
by Nathaniel Luz

"We've been witnesses to frequent government shutdown of the internet in several parts of Africa in recent years. Earlier this year, it was Cameroon, and just recently, Ethiopia. It is however necessary to remind one another as well as relevant authorities that Internet Freedom is a fundamental human right, and should not be hindered or denied for any reason whatsoever." (06/12/17)


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47) Did Obama White House & Loretta Lynch illegally meddle in 2016 election?
Source: Investors Business Daily
by staff

"The recent Comey hearings revealed a serious problem with White House corruption, perhaps going all the way to the top. But, no, we're not talking about Donald Trump. We're talking about Barack Obama, his attorney general and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Among the gems that tumbled out of former FBI Director James Comey's testimony last week is that Obama Attorney General Loretta Lynch pressured him last September to refer to the FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton's illegal homebrew email server as a 'matter,' not an 'investigation.' Not by coincidence, that was how the Clinton campaign itself was characterizing the investigation. 'At one point, (Lynch) directed me not to call it an "investigation" but instead to call it a 'matter,' which confused me and concerned me,' Comey recalled. 'That was one of the bricks in the load that led me to conclude I have to step away from the department if we are to close this case credibly.'" (06/12/17)


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48) NBC's Kelly hits Putin with a beloved canard
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ray McGovern

"NBC's Megyn Kelly wielded one of Official Washington's most beloved groupthinks to smack Russian President Vladimir Putin over his denials that he and his government were responsible for hacking Democratic emails and interfering with the U.S. presidential election. In her June 2 interview with Putin, Kelly noted that all '17 intelligence agencies' of the US government concurred in their conclusion of Russian guilt and how could Putin suggest that they all are 'lying.' It's an argument that has been used to silence skeptics for months and apparently is so useful that no one seems to care that it isn't true."(06/13/17)


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49) The libertarian conference improvement list
Source: Avens O'Brien
by Avens O'Brien

"Some conferences do these things already. These things may apply to non-libertarian conferences. I know there's a lot to be thinking about when putting together a conference, and this is not an inclusive list -- it is simply something I notice lacking in some conferences because I'm lucky enough to attend over a dozen every year." (06/12/17)


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50) Indiana doubles down on warm beer
Source: The American Conservative
by C Jarrett Dieterle

"Indiana lawmakers recently announced that they plan to study the state's outdated alcohol laws this summer with an eye toward reforming them for the 21st century. While this is an encouraging sign, the road that led to this legislative soul-searching involved a missed opportunity to reform the state's infamous 'cold beer law' and underscored the cronyist forces Indiana reformers are up against. Although nearly every state has outdated and arcane alcohol laws, Indiana's cold beer law stands out as one of the most bizarre. In its present form, state law allows only liquor stores and restaurants to sell carryout beer that is either 'iced or cooled.' Gas stations and corner convenience stores are relegated to selling room temperature brews." (06/12/17)


_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____

51) The KN@PP Stir Podcast, episode 131
Source: KN@PPSTER

"In this episode: Thanks For Asking! (Listertarianism; Cuenca; We'll Always Have Paris; Blogging; Field Expedient Quick Meme Vivisection); The Alt-Right Are Marxists." [various formats] (06/13/17)


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52) Freedom Feens Radio, 06/13/17
Source: Freedom Feens Radio

"MWD, James and Darrell explain how inflation is theft, discuss the upcoming possible Bitcoin fork on August 1st, talk about tornadoes, and how to get Bitcoin out of a broken MultiBit HD Bitcoin Wallet, Ethereum vs Bitcoin, and so much more." [various formats] (06/13/17)


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53) Thoughts from Maharrey Head, episode 96
Source: Tenth Amendment Center

"Ron Paul mainstreamed the idea of 'ending the Fed.' Even today, we occasionally hear about efforts in Congress to audit the Federal Reserve and perhaps rein in some of its power. But as with most things, we simply can't count on Washington D.C. to fix a problem in Washington D.C. Nevertheless, all hope is not lost. Several states are moving forward legislation that takes on the Federal Reserve and sets the foundation to undermine its power. If enough states act, it could even effectively nullify the Fed. In this episode of Thoughts from Maharrey Head, I talk about these state effort and explain how a widespread shift to sound money could limit, or even nullify, the Federal Reserve." [Flash audio or MP3] (06/13/17)


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54) Cato Daily Podcast, 06/12/17
Source: Cato Institute

"What's happened since so-called 'interchange fees' have been limited by federal law? Thaya Brook Knight explains." [various formats] (06/12/17)


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55) Free Talk Live, 06/12/17
Source: Free Talk Live

"Gay Trump Supporters Rejected from Parade :: Catalonian Secession Vote Coming :: Dunker's Nationwide Bike Ride Continues :: Xbox Court Case :: Teen Commits Suicide After Police Threaten Him With Child Porn :: Genitalia Coloring Contest :: Third NH State Rep to Flip to Libertarian Party :: Somaliafest Kicks Off Friday! :: Phubbing :: HOSTS -- Ian, Mark, Melanie, Renee." [Flash audio or MP3] (06/12/17)


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56) The Tom Woods Show, episode 929
Source: The Tom Woods Show

"Michael Malice now has a weekly program called 'YOUR WELCOME' with Michael Malice -- if you correct his grammar I am going to commit an atrocity; you're smarter than that -- and he had me as his first guest. I happened to be in New York City at the time, so we were able to be in studio together. The result is a wide-ranging discussion of libertarianism, religion, history, the Federal Reserve, and lots more, plus listener calls." [various formats] (06/12/17)


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57) Foreign Policy Focus, episode 52
Source: Foreign Policy Focus

"On FPF #52, I discuss Trump's latest pledge to NATO. Trump confirmed that the US would uphold Article 5 of the NATO agreement. Article 5 requires the US to come to the defense of any NATO country that is attacked. Trump's confirmation of Article 5 is Trump biggest step from his campaign statement that NATO is obsolete. I also update Qatar, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, Iraq, and Syria." [various formats] (06/12/17)


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58) The Bob Zadek Show, 06/11/17
Source: The Bob Zadek Show

"For the past 70 years, Europe has proven a stable demonstration of the values of humanism, democracy, free trade, and solidarity – in a word, of liberalism. This experiment, supported by American leadership worldwide, gave rise to the hope of ever-increasing cooperation and trade among peaceful democratic nations. The European Union was supposed to spur this vision of unified diversity along. Columnist and foreign correspondent James Kirchick predicts the rapid demise of that dream, and vividly documents the beginning of the decline in his book, The End of Europe: Dictators, Demagogues and the Coming Dark Ages." [various formats] (06/11/17)


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