02/15 -- Myanmar: Coup forces cut Internet, fire on protesters; How To Make Housing Less Affordable
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Thomas L. Knapp
Feb 15, 2021, 8:03:14 AM2/15/21
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 02/15/21
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Presented by the Liberty International
Produced by the staff of Rational Review News Digest
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Myanmar: Coup forces cut Internet, fire on protesters
2) Biden Calls on Congress to Enact Victim Disarmament Legislation
3) New Zealand: Regime orders Auckland lockdown
4) BTC approaches $50,000 as wider adoption fuels record rally
5) Guinea: Regime Declares New Ebola Outbreak
6) Republicans who voted to convict Trump face backlash at home
7) CDC Director: Government day prisons can open without guard vaccines, "even in areas of the highest community spread"
8) Russia: Navalny supporters hold Valentine's Day protests
9) India: Activist arrested for "spreading toolkit" for farmers' protest
10) UAE's Hope mission returns first image of Mars
11) Hubble researchers find a gaggle of small black holes
12) Graham: McConnell "put a load on Republicans' backs" by telling truth about Trump
13) Oman: Regime extends Omanisation by giving locals higher education jobs
14) UK scientist defends WHO fact-finding [sic] mission to Wuhan
15) UK: Regime hits target of at least one vaccine shot to 15 million
16) IL: Chicago regime opens 4 COVID-19 vaccine sites for school employees
17) Fox News hosts Bartiromo, Dobbs and Pirro seek dismissal of Smartmatic $2.7 billion lawsuit
18) Duterte to Biden Regime: "You Have to Pay" to Keep Troop Deal
19) NY: Cuomo faces call to resign after leaked call reveals deeper COVID-19 cover-up
20) UK: Top court allows Nigerian farmers to sue Shell over oil spills
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) How To Make Housing Less Affordable
22) Classical Liberals in a Polarized Age: A Warlike Politics Is the Greatest Threat to Liberty
23) What Now, Libertarians?
24) Sovereignty Still Rests with the People, Not Congress
25) Have We Reached Herd Immunity?
26) Conspiracy Theories Are Caused By Government Secrecy
27) Why I'm Still Not Worried about Biden's "Gun Control" Proposals
28) On the Acquittal of the Murderous Thug Donald Trump
29) Hypocritical Democrats pillory GOP for following their example
30) The Case for a New Approach to North Korea
31) Why Competition Is the Antidote to Big Tech's Bad Behavior, Not Politicians
32) A "love project" to counter religious stereotypes in India
33) Statement on New York Times Article
34) Again on Comparing Jobs Lost to Trade with Jobs Lost to Minimum Wages
35) A Letter to a Young Organizer
36) Dissoi Logio
37) The Prose and Poetry of Creation
38) Should Iran Even Take Us Back?
39) Bitcoin: The Amazon of crypto
40) The Cost Of Xenophobia
41) On China, Biden should stop following in Trump's footsteps
42) And Yet It Moves
43) The Lincoln Project, Facing Multiple Scandals, is Accused by its Own Co-Founder of Likely Criminality
44) Tracking Big-Tech Attacks
45) Impeachment Boomerangs on Democrats
46) Hayek, Prices, and the Super Bowl Halftime Show
47) Menthol Cigarette Bans Will Fail Like Every Other Prohibition Scheme
48) The Omnipotent Power to Assassinate
49) Fight for $15 Minimum Wage a Fight for Racial Justice
50) The Inductive Argument Against Wokism
51) Joe Biden Will Embroil America In "Great Power" Politics
52) The persecution of Gina Carano
53) Joe's Just Gotta Let Us Know: Will He Stay or Will He Go?
54) Populism [sic] May Be on the Rise Again in Europe
55) Gamestop market mayhem and the sickness of the economy
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
56) Free Talk Live, 02/14/21
57) Agorist Nexus Podcast, episode 53
58) The Anarchist Experience, episode 306
59) Agoric Cafe, episode 27
60) The Chris Spangle Show, 02/13/21
61) The Tom Woods Show, episode 1835
62) Part Of The Problem, 02/13/21
63) Alan Macleod on The Scott Horton Show
64) Free Thoughts Podcast, episode 381
65) Conflicts Of Interest, episode 70
66) Declare Your Independence with Ernest Hancock, 02/12/21
67) Don't Tread on Anyone, 02/12/21
68) Politico Nerdcast, 02/12/21
69) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 02/12/21
70) Bloggingheads.tv, 02/12/21
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Myanmar: Coup forces cut Internet, fire on protesters
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
"Myanmar's junta deployed extra troops around the country and choked the internet on Monday as it intensified a crackdown on anti-coup protests, but defiant demonstrators again took to the streets. The military has steadily escalated efforts to quell an uprising against their seizure of power two weeks ago, which saw civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi detained along with hundreds, including members of her democratically elected government. ... Intensifying fears the military was going to impose a far harsher crackdown, troops in the northern city of Myitkyina fired tear gas then shot at a crowd on Sunday night. A journalist at the scene said it was unclear whether police had used rubber bullets or live rounds." (02/15/21)
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2) Biden Calls on Congress to Enact Victim Disarmament Legislation
Source: Bloomberg
"President Joe Biden called on Congress to move forward on [victim disarmament] legislation, including a ban on assault weapons [sic], in a bid to help [pretend disarming victims would help] prevent another mass shooting in the U.S. ... Biden's statement marked the three-year anniversary of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in which a gunman killed 14 [unarmed] students and three [unarmed] educators." (02/14/21)
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3) New Zealand: Regime orders Auckland lockdown
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
"New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has ordered the country's biggest city Auckland to go into lockdown after the discovery of three new local cases of Covid-19. The measures will last three days and require residents to stay at home. Ms Ardern said the country was going 'hard and early' after the cases were identified. New Zealand has won widespread praise for its handling of the pandemic, going months without community transmission. The country closed its borders entirely to almost all non-citizens or residents early on in the pandemic, aiming to eliminate the virus. New Zealand, with a population of five million, has recorded just over 2,300 cases of Covid and 25 deaths." (02/14/21)
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4) BTC approaches $50,000 as wider adoption fuels record rally
Source: Reuters
"[BTC, aka old] Bitcoin hit a new record high and approached $50,000 on Sunday, building on its record rally as Wall Street and Main Street increasingly adopt the world's biggest cryptocurrency. [BTC] recently stood at $48,700 on Sunday morning, up more than 3%. It had traded as high as $49,714 earlier in the day. The cryptocurrency is up almost 70% year to date. After long being shunned by traditional financial firms, bitcoin and other virtual currencies appear to be increasingly entering the mainstream as an asset and routine payment vehicle. BNY Mellon said last week it formed a new unit to help clients hold, transfer and issue digital assets, just days after Elon Musk's Tesla revealed it had bought $1.5 billion worth of the cryptocurrency and would soon accept it as a form of payment for its cars." (02/14/21)
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5) Guinea: Regime Declares New Ebola Outbreak
Source: US News & World Report
"Guinea declared a new Ebola outbreak on Sunday, as tests came back positive for the virus after at least three people died and four fell ill in the southeast – the first resurgence of the disease there since the world's worst outbreak in 2013-2016. The seven patients fell ill with diarrhoea, vomiting and bleeding after attending a burial in Goueke sub-prefecture. Those still alive have been isolated in treatment centres, the health ministry said. It was not clear if the person buried on Feb. 1 had also died of Ebola. ... on Sunday, [the Democratic Republic of Congo's regime] reported a fourth new case of Ebola in North Kivu province where a resurgence of the virus was announced on Feb. 7." (02/14/21)
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6) Republicans who voted to convict Trump face backlash at home
Source: Fox News
"Republican senators who voted to convict former President Donald Trump on Saturday in the Senate impeachment trial on the charge of inciting an insurrection are already facing backlash in their home states. The seven GOP senators who joined with all Democrats in finding Trump guilty were: Sens. Richard Burr of North Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania. The Louisiana GOP said Saturday that it unanimously voted to censure Cassidy because of his vote. 'Our Constitution and our country is more important than any one person. I voted to convict President Trump because he is guilty,' Cassidy said on Twitter Saturday night." (02/14/21)
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7) CDC Director: Government day prisons can open without guard vaccines, "even in areas of the highest community spread"
Source: Fox News
"CDC Director Rochelle Walensky confirmed that her agency's newly-released guidance states that it is possible for schools 'even in areas of the highest community spread' to reopen safely (at least in a hybrid fashion) without teachers getting vaccinated first. The CDC released new guidance last week, highlighting 'layered mitigation strategies' to reduce COVID transmission. 'We are advocating with the strict mitigation measures ... including universal and mandatory masking as well as six-foot of distancing, that at least our K-5 children should be able to get back to school at least in a hybrid mode,' Walensky told 'Fox News Sunday,' referring to a model that would combine in-person and remote learning. Walensky acknowledged that some measures, such as reducing classroom density, will be more difficult to achieve but it is just one step of several suggested by the new guidance." (02/14/21)
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8) Russia: Navalny supporters hold Valentine's Day protests
Source: Deutsche Welle [Germany]
"Supporters of the jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalnyheld novel candle-lit minidemonstrations in residential courtyards across Russia on Sunday. On Valentine's Day evening, people stood outside for 15 minutes. They used the flashlight function on their smartphones and arranged candles in the shape of a heart. The action went ahead under the motto 'Love is stronger than fear.' Organizers described it as a response to the 'unprecedented wave of violence and repression' by security forces at past rallies in support of Navalny. ... Sunday's decentralized and particularly peaceful initiative is meant to make it difficult for the police to take action against it. Russian law enforcement agencies warned on Thursday that people taking part in unsanctioned rallies could face criminal charges." (02/14/21)
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9) India: Activist arrested for "spreading toolkit" for farmers' protest
Source: The Hindu [India]
"The Delhi Police cyber cell has arrested a 21-year-old climate activist Disha Ravi from Bengaluru on Saturday after her alleged role in "spreading a toolkit" related to the farmers' protests came to light. A senior police officer said that while trailing the toolkit related to the farmers' protest, they tracked Ms. Ravi in Bengaluru. A police team was sent there for further investigation and she was picked up from her home. Police has also seized her laptop and mobile phone for further investigation. She was brought to Delhi where she was formally arrested and will be produced before a magistrate. ... Recently, Delhi police had registered an FIR under Section 124A (sedition), 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) against the people who created and spread [the] toolkit." (02/14/21)
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10) UAE's Hope mission returns first image of Mars
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
"The United Arab Emirates' Hope mission has returned its first picture of Mars. The spacecraft entered into an orbit around the Red Planet on Tuesday, making the UAE the first Arab nation in history to have a scientific presence at Earth's near neighbour. This first image will be followed by many similar such views of Mars. Hope was put in a wide orbit so it could study the planet's weather and climate systems, which means it also will see the planet's full disk. It's a type of view that's familiar fare from Earth-based telescopes, but less so from satellites actually positioned at Mars. They traditionally have been kept close in to the planet so they can get high-resolution pictures of the surface and act as telecommunications relay stations for landed robots in contact with Earth." (02/14/21)
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11) Hubble researchers find a gaggle of small black holes
Source: Engadget
"Larger black holes may be the usual attention-getters, but the smaller ones may be at least as important. A team using the Hubble Space Telescope has discovered a concentration of small black holes in the NGC 6397 globular star cluster (pictured above) 7,800 light-years away -- the first to have its mass and extent recorded. While the researchers had hoped to find an elusive intermediate-mass black hole, this represents a breakthrough of its own. ... The findings could expand humanity's understanding of black holes and the phenomena they create. A bunch like this may be a key source of gravitational waves, for instance. So long as researchers can collect more data, this surprise discovery might pay plenty of dividends." (02/13/21)
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12) Graham: McConnell "put a load on Republicans' backs" by telling truth about Trump
Source: Fox News
"Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., called out Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for speaking out against former President Donald Trump after voting to acquit Trump at his impeachment trial. Despite voting in Trump's favor, McConnell, R-Ky., blamed the former president for the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Graham warned on 'Fox News Sunday' that this will be used against Republicans as they try to retake control of Congress in 2022. 'I think Sen. McConnell's speech, he got a load off his chest, obviously, but unfortunately he put a load on the back of Republicans,' Graham said. 'That speech you will see in 2022 campaigns.' ... McConnell said Saturday that Trump committed 'a disgraceful dereliction of duty' by his actions prior to the deadly riot and was 'practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day.'" (02/14/21)
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13) Oman: Regime extends Omanisation by giving locals higher education jobs
Source: Reuters
"Oman pushed forward its programme of replacing foreign workers with locals on Sunday with a decision to allocate many jobs at higher education establishments to citizens, the labour ministry said. Oman's government has in recent weeks intensified a long-standing policy, known as Omanisation, to create employment opportunities for its citizens to help shore-up an economy weakened by low oil prices and the coronavirus crisis. In the latest move to create jobs for Omanis, the ministry of labour on Sunday said jobs in administration, finance, student affairs and student and career guidance would be given to Omanis in the country's 28 private higher education institutions. Omanis will replace foreigners in those positions when existing work permits expire, the ministry said." (02/14/21)
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14) UK scientist defends WHO fact-finding [sic] mission to Wuhan
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
"A member of the World Health Organization (WHO) team investigating the origins of Covid-19 has defended the credibility of its work amid mounting criticism. Prof John Watson told the BBC that the trip to Wuhan, China -- where the virus was first detected -- was only a start and more research would be needed. The US, UK and members of the team have complained of insufficient access given to the mission by the authorities. China has insisted it was transparent. The international team of experts concluded their trip to the city of Wuhan earlier this week without any definitive answers on what caused the outbreak. Wuhan was the first place in the world where the virus was detected, in late 2019. Since then, more than 108 million cases and 2.3 million deaths have been reported worldwide." (02/14/21)
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15) UK: Regime hits target of at least one vaccine shot to 15 million
Source: Houston Chronicle
"The U.K. government said Sunday that it reached its goal of giving at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot to the most vulnerable people in the country, increasing pressure on ministers to clarify when they will ease a lockdown imposed in early January. Some 15 million people, or 22% of the U.K. population, have received their first shot or were offered one. The figure includes most people in the government's top four priority groups, including everyone over 75, frontline healthcare workers and nursing home staff." (02/14/21)
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16) IL: Chicago regime opens 4 COVID-19 vaccine sites for school employees
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
"Four COVID-19 vaccination sites dedicated to Chicago Public Schools teachers and staff are expected to be fully operational in the coming week, district officials said. Starting Monday, Chicago will reserve 1,500 shots weekly for employees in the nation's third-largest school district. That's on top of about 2,000 doses offered in recent days to teachers who are at higher risk of illness or starting back in classrooms sooner as the district gradually reopens. Some pre-K and special education students started in-person classes Thursday. The vaccination sites are at four schools, including Clemente High School where some educators have already received shots. District officials said employees will be excused from work duties during their vaccination appointments." (02/14/21)
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17) Fox News hosts Bartiromo, Dobbs and Pirro seek dismissal of Smartmatic $2.7 billion lawsuit
Source: USA Today
"Three Fox News hosts -- Maria Bartiromo, Lou Dobbs and Jeanine Pirro -- are seeking the dismissal of claims against them and their employer as part of a $2.7 billion libel lawsuit brought by the voting technology company Smartmatic. Bartiromo, Dobbs and Pirro, as well as Donald Trump lawyers Rudolph Giuliani and Sidney Powell, were sued this month for the eye-popping amount by Smartmatic, which accused them of conspiring to spread false claims that the company was involved in an effort to steal the presidential election from Trump. ... The filings by the Fox personalities note instances in which they questioned [Sidney] Powell and [Rudy] Giuliani for evidence to back their claims, as well as Smartmatic's own denial of the charges. It also argues that Dobbs' statements appearing to validate the claims of his guests were constitutionally protected opinions, not statements of fact." (02/12/21)
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18) Duterte to Biden Regime: "You Have to Pay" to Keep Troop Deal
Source: US News & World Report
"Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Friday the United States must pay if it wants to keep a two-decade-old troop deployment agreement with his country that is central to U.S. strategy in Asia. Duterte, a firebrand nationalist who openly disapproves of the long-standing U.S. military alliance, unilaterally cancelled the Visiting Force Agreement last year in an angry response to an ally being denied a U.S. visa. The withdrawal period has been twice extended, however, to create what Philippine officials say is a window for better terms to be agreed." (02/12/21)
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19) NY: Cuomo faces call to resign after leaked call reveals deeper COVID-19 cover-up
Source: Business Insider
"Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York is under pressure from both sides of the aisle following a leaked call from his top aide about COVID-19 nursing-home deaths. Melissa DeRosa, the secretary to the governor and widely considered to be one of the most powerful New York state officials, told lawmakers on a video call Wednesday that the administration withheld additional death totals while facing both federal and state inquiries. The New York Post reported details of the call Thursday night. Both Democrats and Republicans are calling for Cuomo to be stripped of his pandemic emergency powers in response to the call, with some going further to demand investigations and even the governor's resignation. Cuomo was already facing criticism after a report from his own attorney general accused his administration of undercounting nursing-home deaths." (02/12/21)
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20) UK: Top court allows Nigerian farmers to sue Shell over oil spills
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatar state media]
"The United Kingdom's Supreme Court has ruled that a group of 42,500 Nigerian farmers and fishermen can sue Royal Dutch Shell in English courts after years of oil spills in the Niger Delta contaminated land and groundwater there. Senior judges said there was an arguable case that UK-domiciled Shell, one of the world's biggest energy companies, is responsible, in the latest test of whether multinationals can be held to account for the acts of overseas subsidiaries. Represented by law firm Leigh Day, the group of Nigerians have argued that the parent company Shell owed them a duty of care because it either had significant control of, and was responsible for, its subsidiary SPDC. Shell countered that the court had no jurisdiction to try the claims." (02/12/21)
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) How To Make Housing Less Affordable
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Bradley Thomas
"Few things in life are more certain than the costs of something exploding whenever government embarks on programs to make them 'affordable.' It took just five years after the passage of the 'Affordable Care Act' for insurance premiums on the private market to more than double. In the 1940s, the GI Bill kicked off decades of federal government's increasing involvement in making college more affordable. The result? Since 1985, college costs have soared by 538%, nearly five times overall inflation during that time. And so it goes with housing." (02/15/21)
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22) Classical Liberals in a Polarized Age: A Warlike Politics Is the Greatest Threat to Liberty
Source: Cato Unbound
by Kevin Vallier
"Classical liberalism, the political movement to which I belong, is in decline. Illiberalisms, both left and right, grow bold, spurring one another on with outrage, censorship, and tribalism. Politics is more warlike than at any time in living memory. And classical liberals have joined the conflict, taking sides rather than defending freedom. Too many of us care more about the red or blue team than about preserving liberalism from them both. Instead of choosing a side, we classical liberals must take on a new role in American society as a movement that can reduce political polarization and restore social trust through the limitation and decentralization of political power." (02/12/21)
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23) What Now, Libertarians?
Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman
"The prospects for individual liberty and the required rollback of the government seem as bleak as ever, but we can't let appearances, no matter how pervasive, be decisive. The spark within most people -- the longing to chart one's course in life -- never really dies. We've got to remember this as we search for new and innovative ways to make our case to an apparently uninterested public. But I admit that things don't look good." (02/12/21)
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24) Sovereignty Still Rests with the People, Not Congress
Source: American Institute for Economic Research
by James Bovard
"Politicians believe they are so superior to common folks that citizens will be better off even when politicians have little clue of what they are dictating to the American people. ... No wonder federal spending is out of control and the federal debt is a growing threat to our future. Legislators also occasionally make stark how they view themselves as a superior caste. This week's Senate impeachment trial was spurred by 800 pro-Trump protestors swarming into the Capitol on January 6. Some of the protestors clashed violently with police and some legislators tearfully testified about their personal trauma. But some members of Congress have no hesitation to throw other Americans to the wolves at the same time they demand unlimited police protection themselves." (02/12/21)
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25) Have We Reached Herd Immunity?
Source: Ideas
by David Friedman
"Over the past month, number of new cases per day in the U.S. has gone down by a factor of about 2.4, for [Santa Clara] county by a factor of about 3.5. Death rates are also down, although by much less, but one would expect death rates to lag case rates by a few weeks. ... If behavior is held constant, herd immunity ought to first appear as a constant rate of infection, each person passing the disease on to one other, then gradually become a shrinking rate. It looks as though we reached herd immunity under non-holiday behavior something close to two months ago, infection rates kept going up due to the holiday bump, and by the time that ended we were far enough into herd immunity (with non-holiday behavior) so that rates were falling." (02/14/21)
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26) Conspiracy Theories Are Caused By Government Secrecy
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
"The DC Circuit has ruled that the CIA is under no obligation to comply with Freedom of Information Act requests pertaining to its involvement with insurgent militias in Syria, overturning a lower court's previous ruling in favor of a Buzzfeed News reporter seeking such documents. As Sputnik's Morgan Artyukhina clearly outlines, this ruling comes despite the fact that mainstream news outlets have been reporting on the Central Intelligence Agency's activities in Syria for years, and despite a US president having openly tweeted about those activities. 'In other words, the CIA will not be required to admit to actions it is widely reported as having done, much less divulge documents about them to the press for even greater scrutiny,' Artyukhina writes, calling to mind the Julian Assange quote 'The overwhelming majority of information is classified to protect political security, not national security.'" (02/14/21)
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27) Why I'm Still Not Worried about Biden's "Gun Control" Proposals
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L. Knapp
"In a column last November, I dismissed worries that the incoming Biden/Harris administration would -- or, rather, could -- successfully implement a more aggressive victim disarmament (English for the euphemism 'gun control') agenda than previous administrations. On Valentine's Day, Biden cynically exploited the third anniversary of a school shooting in Parkland, Florida, asking Congress to pass laws making it even more difficult for people like the 14 unarmed students and three unarmed educators who were murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (while an armed cop on campus hid and failed to defend them) to defend themselves. I'm still not worried." (02/14/21)
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28) On the Acquittal of the Murderous Thug Donald Trump
Source: Empire Burlesque
by Chris Floyd
"A friend of mine wrote on Facebook after the acquittal tonight: 'America is truly lost.' ... America has been lost for my entire life, and I no longer have the slightest hope that it will ever be found again. It only exists in our dreams, in old movies and books and the music it created out of slavery and oppression. Good things have happened in and come from America, just as good things arise in every single godawful system and culture human beings find themselves in. But the idea so many of us had of America was lost long ago; or rather, it was never real. It was sham, and a hope, and a cheat, and a desire, and a dream of what could be but what never was." (02/14/21)
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29) Hypocritical Democrats pillory GOP for following their example
Source: Fox News Forum
by Deroy Murdock
"If Democratic politicians' hypocrisy were an energy source, Americans could let their lights burn around the clock and never see a bill. Democrats are roasting Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri for objecting to the Electoral College votes of Arizona and Pennsylvania due to serious questions [sic] about ballot-box irregularities. Democrats have reported these two lawmakers to the Senate Ethics Committee for their Jan. 6 legislative intervention, which, unfortunately, coincided with the U.S. Capitol riot. ... Harvard students, too many of whom resemble Mao's Red Guards, demand that university officials yank diplomas from alumni Cruz and Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y." (02/13/21)
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30) The Case for a New Approach to North Korea
Source: Antiwar.com
by Daniel Jasper
"As President Joe Biden takes office, a host of North Korea watchers, analysts, and former diplomats have put forward recommendations for how the new administration should deal with North Korea. Many rightly point out that the conflict in Korea will be among Biden's biggest foreign policy challenges -- and that the current circumstances portend significant humanitarian needs and the looming possibility of more military tensions. However, what these discussions leave out reveals a glaring gap between conventional thinking in Washington and the reality of the conflict. They also reveal the gap between domestic and foreign policy conversations in the United States. Closing these gaps are the only way to build lasting peace in Korea." (02/13/21)
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31) Why Competition Is the Antidote to Big Tech's Bad Behavior, Not Politicians
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Kimberlee Josephson
"Since the start of 2021, debates about hosting sites, web services, and social media bans have drawn attention from all sides of the spectrum with some calling foul, citing free speech concerns, while others attest that it is simply warranted ownership control. We have a love-hate relationship with technology that is confounded by ever evolving platforms, privacy concerns, and posting privileges. And those who recently rallied on Reddit are the latest instigators for attracting legislators. Big Tech is a hot button issue, and prohibiting access is a big deal. But these companies have the right to do so, just as hedge funders shouldn't be demonized for doing their jobs while rogue investors claim revolution." (02/13/21)
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32) A "love project" to counter religious stereotypes in India
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
"Most governments try by varying degrees to instill fairness into their systems of justice, land ownership, education, and health care. But progress toward equity is uneven and -- in some places, in reverse. In India, for example, the ruling Hindu nationalist party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, continues to limit the rights of Muslims. The latest example is a string of new restrictions on interfaith marriage in states it controls through laws banning religious conversion. Since November, three BJP-controlled states have enacted laws making such conversions a criminal offense. At least two more have drafted similar legislation. The real intent of such laws is to ban what is called 'love jihad.' The term falsely depicts Muslim men as predators out to convert vulnerable Hindu women through marriage. " (02/12/21)
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33) Statement on New York Times Article
Source: Astral Codex Ten
by Scott Alexander
"There was recently a negative article about me and my blog in the New York Times. Most of you already know the history behind this, but for anyone referred here by NYT, this is where I give my side and defend myself." (02/13/21)
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34) Again on Comparing Jobs Lost to Trade with Jobs Lost to Minimum Wages
Source: Cafe Hayek
by Don Boudreaux
"In 'The Burger Flipper Who Became a World Expert on the Minimum Wage' (Feb. 3), Peter Coy equates the losses that some workers suffer as a result of minimum wages with the costs that some workers pay as a result of free trade. This comparison is inapt. For many reasons, the losses from minimum wages differ categorically from the costs of free trade. The most fundamental of these reasons is that free trade is simply the absence of artificial restraints on peaceful commerce while minimum wages are the imposition of such restraints." (02/13/21)
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35) A Letter to a Young Organizer
Source: Our Future
by George Goehl
"There's no getting around it. Organizing is hard. But the context you are organizing in right now? It's a whole different thing. When I was coming up, the expectations felt big. People in the neighborhood were being screwed seven ways to Sunday. So, each night we'd knock 50 doors, have a dozen conversations, and go deep with three or four folks -- sign them up as members committed to hosting a house meeting. We were expected to build a neighborhood base, organize actions, put 200 people in a room every couple months, and win. None of this was easy. And, it's different from what's required today." (02/12/21)
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36) Dissoi Logio
Source: A Geek With Guns
by Christopher Burg
"Greek rhetoricians had a practice called Dissoi Logio. The practice involved arguing both sides of an issue in order to obtain a deeper understanding of it. I enjoy practicing this because it not only helps develop a deeper understanding of an issue, but it also helps demonstrate that truth isn't as absolute as commonly assumed. One of the best tools available to assist in this practice is statistics. If you follow any online argument long enough, you get to the point where both sides are throwing statistics at each other. A good example of this is the debate around gun restrictions." (02/13/21)
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37) The Prose and Poetry of Creation
Source: Notes On Liberty
by Vishnu Modur
"Every great civilization has simultaneously made breakthroughs in the natural sciences, mathematics, and in the investigation of that which penetrates beyond the mundane, beyond the external stimuli, beyond the world of solid, separate objects, names, and forms to peer into something changeless. When written down, these esoteric percepts have the natural tendency to decay over time because people tend to accept them too passively and literally. Consequently, people then value the conclusions of others over clarity and self-knowledge. Talking about esoteric percepts decaying over time, I recently read about the 1981 Act the state of Arkansas passed, which required that public school teachers give 'equal treatment' to 'creation science' and 'evolution science' in the biology classroom." (02/13/21)
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38) Should Iran Even Take Us Back?
Source: exile in happy valley
by Nicky Reid
"We've been told since the Donald childishly violated the JCPOA back in 2017 that the Dems would bring it back to compliance on day one. But since Biden's nomination as the Democratic nominee, we've been blitzed by mind bending doublespeak. Biden wants peace but he doesn't. He's open to conversation but not until Iran returns to a deal he technically continues to violate every second in power he refuses to make the the first step. What the fuck do these people want? Any sane imperialist would make peace with Iran and tell Saudi Arabia and Israel to fuck off." (02/14/21)
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39) Bitcoin: The Amazon of crypto
Source: American Consequences
by Trish Regan
"Dear reader, Everyone's getting in on it -- BlackRock, MassMutual, SkyBridge Capital, and of course, the one man who can change the economy's gravitational field with one tweet: Elon Musk. In a word, #bitcoin. Why is bitcoin hitting so hard right now? And with prices skyrocketing to upwards of $47,000 per coin and chatter about volatility, is it a safe investment for most Americans? On my podcast this week, my guest was former White House Press Secretary Anthony Scaramucci. Anthony recently kicked off his bitcoin-centric investment fund, and he helped me make sense of the current crypto craze. In Anthony's words, bitcoin is to cryptocurrency what Amazon is to retail, what Google is to search engines, and what Facebook is to social networks ..." (02/12/21)
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40) The Cost Of Xenophobia
Source: Liberty International
by Nicolai Heering
"In the afternoon of 28th March 1997, the Albanian motorboat Kateri i Rades sailed towards Italy with some 142 people on board. They were all desperately trying to escape the political and economic mayhem in their home country and make a better life for themselves abroad. Still within Albanian territorial waters, the boat was challenged by the Italian naval vessel Sibilia on suspicion of carrying 'irregular migrants.' The Italian vessel ended up colliding with the motorboat, causing the boat to capsize and sink. Some 83 people, aged between 3 months and 69 years, drowned as a result. Thus, 83 Europeans were arbitrarily killed by other Europeans in just one such event of the supposedly enlightened 1990s." (02/12/21)
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41) On China, Biden should stop following in Trump's footsteps
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Robert Ross
"The Biden administration has been in office for less than a month, but already its China policy is following in the footsteps of the Trump administration's. The administration is communicating its uncompromising intent to contain the rise of China, with little thought to either the costs and or the likelihood of success. ... But there can be no doubt that that Trump policy failed, and that there is no prospect that it will fare any better under the Biden administration. Despite four years of Cold War policies, including the trade war, the technology war, and the escalation of U.S. naval activities in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, China is now in a more competitive position vis-a-vis the United States than ever before." (02/12/21)
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42) And Yet It Moves
Source: The American Prospect
by Harold Meyerson
"At one point, the House managers prosecuting the impeachment case displayed numerous tweets from Trump's supporters saying that the cavalry (that is, Trump's legions) were coming to stop the alleged-without-a-shred-of-evidence steal. This prompted David Schoen, one of Trump's lawyers, to rise in indignation and point out that one of the tweets had said the 'calvary,' not the 'cavalry,' was coming. Rather than note that this was surely a typo, Schoen attacked the House managers for willful misrepresentation, and for making light of Christians' belief in Jesus' ordeals. I'm not making this up, I swear. This display typified the defense that Trump's lawyers mounted on his behalf. They didn't seriously challenge the facts in the case." (02/12/21)
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43) The Lincoln Project, Facing Multiple Scandals, is Accused by its Own Co-Founder of Likely Criminality
Source: Glenn Greenwald
by Glenn Greenwald
"Liberals [sic] heralded this group of life-long scammers, sleaze merchants and con artists as noble men of conscience, enabling them to fleece and deceive the public." (02/12/21)
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44) Tracking Big-Tech Attacks
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
"Every day, tyrannical governments and their private-sector allies -- the big-tech hall monitors now dropping all pretense of providing neutral forums -- act to smother discussion and dissent on the net. In self-defense, we need to know about these anti-speech efforts. But keeping track is a big job. Fortunately, ReclaimTheNet is doing this big job for us." (02/12/21)
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45) Impeachment Boomerangs on Democrats
Source: Town Hall
by Tom Tradup
"In just four days last week (plus a few short hours on Saturday) Democrats in the U.S. House managed to turn the once monolithic concept of Impeachment into a comic punchline. By standing the Constitution on its head and twisting traditions of the U.S. Senate into a Velveeta-slathered pretzel one might find on the midway at the Minnesota State Fair, House 'managers' (more comedy) transformed Donald J. Trump from a recluse at Mar-A-Lago into the undisputed frontrunner for the Republican nomination for President in 2024. Quite a feat. And all because they could not stop letting Trump rent space in their collective minds." [editor's note: It was a "heads the Democrats win, tales the Republicans lose" situation. The Democrats didn't win as bigly as they could have, but they still won, in part by leaving Trump out there to further wreck the GOP – TLK] (02/14/21)
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46) Hayek, Prices, and the Super Bowl Halftime Show
Source: EconLog
by Matt Bufton
"The price system is one of the greatest, and most misunderstood, elements of society. Prices drive market exchange. They tell us who wants what and how much of it they want it, and they give others a reason to supply it. The ways in which prices and markets guide human interaction are endless and fascinating. Anyone who has taken Econ 101 knows -- or should know -- that market exchanges are based on mutual benefits. If I want a cup of coffee more than I want $2, and you want $2 more than a cup of coffee, an exchange takes place and we're both better off. The purchase of a coffee is an example we're all familiar with. But an interesting feature of markets is that it's not always clear who should pay whom." (02/12/21)
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47) Menthol Cigarette Bans Will Fail Like Every Other Prohibition Scheme
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
"Menthol cigarettes are especially bad and should be banned, say a coalition of 23 state attorneys general in a recent letter to the Food and Drug Administration. The officials are eager to impose a new prohibition even as marijuana restrictions fall away across the country and Americans take tentative steps to undo decades of failed prohibition of other intoxicating drugs. ... As dubious as the claims of benefits from banning a particular flavor of tobacco may be, they don't venture quite so far into the land of magical thinking as another assertion in the letter. After several paragraphs insisting that they're up to the challenge, the attorneys general wave away the seemingly inevitable hurdles that have hobbled the enforcement of every other prohibition in human history. 'There is little reason to suggest that prohibiting menthol cigarettes will cause the emergence of an illicit market ...'" (02/12/21)
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48) The Omnipotent Power to Assassinate
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
"If the Constitution had proposed a government of omnipotent powers, there is no way the American people would have accepted it, in which case America would have continued operating under the Articles of Confederation. Our American ancestors didn't want a government of omnipotent powers. They wanted a government of few, limited, enumerated powers. Among the most omnipotent powers a government can wield is the power of government officials to assassinate people. Our American ancestors definitely did not want that type of government. That is why the power to assassinate is not among the enumerated powers of government in the Constitution." (02/12/21)
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49) Fight for $15 Minimum Wage a Fight for Racial Justice
Source: Common Dreams
by Rev. William J Barber II
"Sixty-two million people in the United States make less than $15 an hour. And here's the truth: the fight to raise the minimum wage to a living wage of $15 is as important as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. For [b]lack people, it's taken us 400 years to get to $7.25 an hour. We can't wait any longer. People in Appalachia can't wait any longer. Poor white people, brown people, we cannot wait any longer. And we won't be silent anymore." [editor's note: The "irony" is of course the fact that "minimum wage" hikes only disempower people with no skills or work record – SAT] (02/12/21)
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50) The Inductive Argument Against Wokism
Source: 200-Proof Liberals
by Jason Brennan
"A dialogue: A: Hey, leftist, can you explain to me how ideology works? L: Well, you see, it's very common for ideologies to be created which reinforce the existing power structures. The people who hold power and who serve as gatekeepers of power tend to create and spread ideas which maintain their power. This might mean the divine right of kings 500 years ago, or some theory of natural rights to property which legitimates and reinforces capitalist power relations. A: Ok, cool beans. So, how often do elite power holders adopt an ideology which undermines their status, power, and authority? L: Pretty rarely." (02/12/21)
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51) Joe Biden Will Embroil America In "Great Power" Politics
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Connor Freeman
"Since the George W. Bush era, when it comes to presidential elections, the American people have come to expect that the final contestants will be jingoes. After the primaries have finished and the nominees have been named, it can be presumed that both candidates will support, among other horrible things, an indefinite continuation of the overseas economic warfare, endless counter terrorism missions, support for authoritarian governments, and the assorted regime change operations synonymous with American foreign policy. At this point, we have entered an era where the options are even worse. It almost goes without saying that whomever the process turns out will still back the above hyper-interventionist foreign policy. But now it is practically certain that the so called 'serious' or 'electable' contenders will be ultra-belligerent toward Russia and China, the next two greatest nuclear superpowers." (02/12/21)
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52) The persecution of Gina Carano
Source: spiked
by Brendan O'Neill
"It's official: only liberals [sic] are allowed to talk shit about the Holocaust. That's the take-home message of the Gina Carano scandal. For here we have a right-wing woman being shamed and sacked for doing what luvvies and leftish [sic] types have been doing for years: comparing the early 21st century to Nazi Germany. ... Disney and its backers are essentially saying that their cultural power is such that they now own the historical memory of the Holocaust itself. It now falls to them, these cultural supremacists, to decide who may use the Holocaust to make a political point and who may not." (02/12/21)
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53) Joe's Just Gotta Let Us Know: Will He Stay or Will He Go?
Source: Antiwar.com
by Major Danny Sjursen, US Army (retired)
"Biden's dissent on the Afghan War always lacked consistency and sophistication, plus was never the Road to Damascus pivot -- and more's the pity -- posited in last year's Washington Post headline: 'The war in Afghanistan shattered Joe Biden's faith in American military power.' Would that it had. Nevertheless, Biden's earlier skepticism came at a time when counterinsurgency 'surge' snake oil salesmen -- like Generals 'King' David Petraeus and Stan-the-Man McCrystal -- seemed immensely credible, and closed deals with a charisma straddling sociopathy. That's no small thing -- and almost enough to make even the self-styled cynic dare to hope. ... He'll be under immense pressure from the duopoly's establishment wings to undo all things Trump, his own -- more hawkish than he -- interventionist national security advisers, and the usual military-industrial complex masters of the universe, to stay the Afghan course just little longer." (02/12/21)
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54) Populism [sic] May Be on the Rise Again in Europe
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Andrew Moran
"Following former president Donald Trump's election defeat, the legacy media and Swamp creatures glowingly declared that populism is dead and buried, never to be resurrected on a massive scale ever again. But were the victories of Trump and Brexit matches that ignited the flames of populist movements? Despite the rest of Europe essentially dismissing figures and parties who championed comparable antiestablishment, anti-immigrant policies in 2017, voters might be giving these same forces a second look now that 'the experts' have failed tens of millions of people in the age of the pandemiconomy. From France to Portugal to the Netherlands, the populist wave may rise once more." (02/12/21)
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55) Gamestop market mayhem and the sickness of the economy
Source: Cobden Centre
by Weimen Chen
"Based on fundamentals, few would suggest that Gamestop's declining retail storefronts in dying shopping malls and shopping centers would warrant the current stock value. The Austrian assessment has long suggested that artificially low interest rates incentivize wild speculation rather than productive investment. This point strikes directly at the heart of the matter and should be the big picture takeaway: that the U.S. Federal Reserve's real market manipulation of money has so utterly distorted the market and incentives that the whole of society is driven to gamble at the Wall Street casino in hopes of saving their wealth. Throw in the previous year's big fiscal stimulus, widespread destruction of jobs, record profits for big corporations, and a bungled government response to the pandemic, and the situation looks ripe for a bang." (02/12/21)
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
56) Free Talk Live, 02/14/21
Source: Free Talk Live
"Government will ruin your credit :: Tying credit score to internet search history :: Caller is fighting the concept of money :: Usury defined :: Cops Playing Beatles to Trigger Instagram Copyright Filter :: why copyright law is unethical and damaging :: Reporter sued for FOIA request :: Hosts: Captain Kickass, Melanie, Peakless Mountaineer." [Flash audio or MP3] (02/14/21)
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57) Agorist Nexus Podcast, episode 53
Source: Agorist Nexus
"FDA's neglectful behavior with Raymond March." [Flash video] (02/14/21)
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58) The Anarchist Experience, episode 306
Source: The Anarchist Experience
"Rich, MC, and MC thoughts discuss these HEADLINES: German Regulators Seize $60 Million In Bitcoin But Don't Have The Password ... Activist claims LA cops playing copyrighted music to keep videos of interactions with the public off social media ... 'No Good Deed Goes Unpunished' ... The Problem with 'You Own What You Make.'" [various formats] (02/14/21)
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59) Agoric Cafe, episode 27
Source: Austro-Athenian Empire
"Continuing the San Diego bookstores series, I [Roderick T. Long] chat with Craig Maxwell of Maxwell's House of Books (good to the last drop of ink!) in La Mesa, featuring titles in philosophy, history, science, law, literature, poetry, drama, literary criticism, science fiction, mystery, and more." [Flash video] (02/13/21)
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60) The Chris Spangle Show, 02/13/21
Source: We Are Libertarians
"How To Have Uncomfortable Conversations featuring Deon Curry." [various formats] (02/13/21)
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61) The Tom Woods Show, episode 1835
Source: The Tom Woods Show
"True Statements Get You Banned, but Propaganda is A-OK." [various formats] (02/13/21)
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62) Part Of The Problem, 02/13/21
Source: GaS Digital Network
"They Fear Democracy." [various formats] (02/13/21)
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63) Alan Macleod on The Scott Horton Show
Source: Libertarian Institute
"Alan Macleod talks about the unholy alliance between government and social media." [various formats] (02/12/21)
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64) Free Thoughts Podcast, episode 381
Source: Libertarianism.org
"George Selgin joins the show again to discuss to explain how the New Deal is often mischaracterized as successful." [various formats] (02/12/21)
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65) Conflicts Of Interest, episode 70
Source: Libertarian Institute
"Biden Keeps Several Key Trump Policies and Tech Censorship." [various formats] (02/12/21)
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66) Declare Your Independence with Ernest Hancock, 02/12/21
Source: Freedom's Phoenix
"Paul Rosenberg (Freeman's Perspective) on his recent newsletter, LIFE, GEARED FOR HAPPINESS ... Dr Alan Palmer (eBook: 1200 Studies) on Covid-19 Vaccines Mark Passio (What on Earth is Happening) on One Great Work Network.: [MP3] (02/12/21)
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67) Don't Tread on Anyone, 02/12/21
Source: Libertarian Institute
"Communist Party Bans Free Speech Platform! Jeremy Kauffman & Keith Knight." [various formats] (02/12/21)
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68) Politico Nerdcast, 02/12/21
Source: Politico
"The post-Trump path of 'one dude.'" [various formats] (02/12/21)
https://politicos-nerdcast-874ac64d.simplecast.com/episodes/the-post-trump-path-of-one-dude-K3uLv3Qm
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69) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 02/12/21
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
"The Social-Cultural Authoritarian Bubble Will Pop!" [Flash video] (02/12/21)
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70) Bloggingheads.tv, 02/12/21
Source: Bloggingheads.tv
"Wokeism's Postmodern Roots | Glenn Loury & James Lindsay." [Flash video] (02/12/21)
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