12/04 -- UN demands Russian regime return abducted Ukrainian children; Obama Paved the Way for Trump's Venezuelan Killings
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Thomas L. Knapp
Dec 4, 2025, 6:20:52 AM (7 days ago) Dec 4
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 12/04/25
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Today's Freedom News:
0) Year-End Fundraiser Update
1) UN demands Russian regime return abducted Ukrainian children
2) Bitcoin Hits Two-Week High in Cautious Crypto Market Recovery
3) India: Regime revokes order for smartphone makers to install spyware
4) ADP: US private payrolls unexpectedly decrease in November
5) Smith to testify before House Judiciary
6) Watchdog finds Hegseth risked endangering troops by sharing sensitive war plans on Signal, sources say
7) Trump pardons Azerbaijan’s alleged congressional mole
8) Cuba: Massive power outage hits western region after transmission line fails
9) House Republicans subpoena Jack Smith for closed-door interview about his prosecutions of Trump
10) Amazon tests 30-minute delivery with pilot
11) Lebanon “far from” diplomatic normalization or economic relations with Israel, prime minister says
12) As AI devours RAM supply, Crucial exits consumer PC market
13) University of Delaware student arrested with car full of guns, plans to carry out mass shooting
14) EU bans Russian gas imports after last-minute agreement
15) Defying a government warning, Greek farmers block border crossings in wake of EU subsidy scandal
16) Trump: National Guard troops to occupy New Orleans “pretty soon”
17) House Democrats release “never-before-seen” pics, video of Epstein island
18) Palestine: Israeli regime to reopen Rafah crossing, but only for ethnic cleansing operations
19) Billionaire spacewalker is back before the Senate seeking NASA’s top job
20) Trump regime halts immigration applications from 19 countries
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Obama Paved the Way for Trump’s Venezuelan Killings
22) Government wants to keep you poor
23) Our Ism-less Quarter Century
24) What Uber and AirBnB Really Sell: Sharing with Transaction Costs Slashed
25) Pardons — With Advice and Consent
26) World’s Most Tyrannical Government Wants To Free Venezuela From Tyranny
27) A Thought Experiment for Pro-War Liberals
28) Trumpian Nonsense on Employing Native-Born Workers
29) 200+ Luminaries Back Demand for Israel to Free Marwan Barghouti
30) Castro Didn’t Participate in the JFK Autopsy
31) How Many Terrorists Came From Afghanistan to America?
32) Now Trump Is Threatening Naturalized Americans
33) There They Go Again, Venezuela Edition
34) Khanna & Massie tag team against war. And they’re friends, too.
35) The Monroe Doctrine, Redux
36) The case against “good character” provisions
37) GOP win shows Tennessee hasn’t been Californicated, at least not yet
38) 21st Century First 25 Years: US Government Bankruptcy
39) The War on Drugs War
40) Switzerland Just Overwhelmingly Rejected a New Wealth Tax. Will California Lawmakers Learn?
41) The $79 Trillion Heist
42) Ask Me Again After Dinner
43) Trump’s War on Democracy in Honduras
44) The Use of Free Labor
45) Enough with Obamacare’s 12-year failure; Congress, start here to unwind it
46) The tyranny of licenses, permits, and permission slips — and trusting without verifying the truth
47) Trump Threatens Mark Kelly for Reiterating the Military’s Obligation to the Constitution
48) Theatre’s “Timid Libertarian”
49) Off the Rails: Mega-Merger Between Rail Giants A Disaster for Workers & Communities
50) California Housing Shortage
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) The Political Orphanage, 12/03/25
52) Collateral Damage, episode 8
53) Reason Interview: Matt Ridley
54) Underthrow Podcast, 12/03/25
55) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 12/03/25
56) The Fifth Column, Members Only #286 Unlocked
57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 12/03/25
58) Politics Politics Politics, 12/02/25
59) LPA Solidarity Stream, episode 12
60) Nonzero, 12/02/25
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0) Year-End Fundraiser Update
THANK YOU to subscribing contributors DFD and SLH, and to multi-time supporter PH! Their combined $40 yesterday brings our year-end fundraiser total to $1,408.34!
We're $1,342.16 away from the finish line (once we've raised $2,750.50, reader GL will "match funds" to get us to our goal of $5,501).
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Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
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1) UN demands Russian regime return abducted Ukrainian children
Source: WION [India]
“The UN General Assembly on Wednesday (Dec 3) urged Russia to immediately and without conditions return the Ukrainian children ‘forcibly transferred.’ Member states voted 91 to 12 in favour of a resolution demanding their immediate and unconditional return. Meanwhile, 57 countries abstained from voting, and Russia rejected the move outright. The resolution ‘demands that the Russian Federation ensure the immediate, safe and unconditional return of all Ukrainian children who have been forcibly transferred or deported.’ It also urges an end to the indoctrination of Ukrainian children. … Ukraine says at least 20,000 children have been taken since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Only about 1,850 have made it back. … Russia, meanwhile, insists it moved some children to safety from active combat zones. Its deputy UN envoy, Maria Zabolotskaya, dismissed the resolution as “full of mendacious accusations,” arguing that votes in favour only fuel division.” (12/04/25)
https://www.wionews.com/world/-largest-state-abduction-operation-in-history-un-demands-russia-return-thousands-of-captive-ukrainian-children-1764815231216
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2) Bitcoin Hits Two-Week High in Cautious Crypto Market Recovery
Source: Yahoo! News
“Bitcoin extended a tentative rebound on Wednesday, climbing to a two-week high as traders look for signs that the wider crypto market may be regaining its footing after a prolonged selloff. The original cryptocurrency rose as much as 2.6% to about $93,965, its highest intraday level since Nov. 17. Ether gained more, rising more than 4%, as Ethereum undergoes a network upgrade called Fusaka that aims to make the blockchain faster and more efficient. Other smaller tokens were mixed. The digital assets market remains on shaky ground after a bruising selloff that began in early October, just days after Bitcoin hit a record of over $126,000. Since then, more than $1 trillion in crypto market value has been wiped out.” (12/03/25)
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-hits-two-week-high-071352153.html
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3) India: Regime revokes order for smartphone makers to install spyware
Source: CBS News
“India’s government revoked an order on Wednesday that had directed smartphone makers such as Apple and Samsung to install a state-developed and owned security app on all new devices. The move came after two days of criticism from opposition politicians and privacy organizations that the ‘Sanchar Saathi’ app was an effort to snoop on citizens through their phones. … While the order for it to be installed universally was revoked, the government continued defending the app on Wednesday, saying the intent had been to ‘provide access to cybersecurity to all citizens,’ and insisting that it was ‘secure and purely meant to help citizens.'” (12/03/25)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/india-smartphone-app-sanchar-saathi-government-install-order-revoked-privacy-uproar/
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4) ADP: US private payrolls unexpectedly decrease in November
Source: Reuters
“U.S. private payrolls unexpectedly declined in November, the ADP employment report showed on Wednesday. Private employment decreased by 32,000 jobs last month after an upwardly revised 47,000 increase in October. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast private employment rising by 10,000 jobs after a previously reported 42,000 rebound in October. The ADP report is jointly developed with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab. The monthly estimate has historically diverted [sic] from the government’s private payrolls count produced by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS will release the closely watched employment report for November on December 16.” (12/03/25)
https://archive.is/3yYTY
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5) Smith to testify before House Judiciary
Source: United Press International
“The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday subpoenaed former special counsel Jack Smith to have him testify during a closed-door hearing on Dec. 17. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, wrote Smith on Wednesday to inform him of the subpoena as the committee investigates Smith’s and the Biden administration’s efforts to prosecute President Donald Trump. … Smith’s investigation of Trump ended when the Supreme Court in July 2024 ruled that presidents have broad immunity against prosecution for actions taken while in office, including the matters being investigated by Smith.” (12/03/25)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2025/12/03/jack-smith-house-testimony/3071764800241/
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6) Watchdog finds Hegseth risked endangering troops by sharing sensitive war plans on Signal, sources say
Source: CNN
“Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth risked compromising sensitive military information, which could have endangered American troops and mission objectives, when he used Signal in March of this year to share highly-sensitive attack plans targeting Houthi rebels in Yemen, according to four sources familiar with the contents of a classified Inspector General report. The repercussions of Hegseth’s action, two sources told CNN, are less clear since the IG concluded that the defense secretary has the authority to declassify information and Hegseth asserted he made an operational decision in the moment to share that information, though there is no documentation of such a decision. An unclassified version of the report is set to be publicly released Thursday. The classified report was sent to Congress on Tuesday night.” (12/03/25)
https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/03/politics/report-hegseth-signal
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7) Trump pardons Azerbaijan’s alleged congressional mole
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Donald Trump pardoned Texas Democratic representative Henry Cuellar and his wife in a federal bribery and conspiracy case on Wednesday, citing what he called a ‘weaponized’ justice system. Trump, who has argued that his own legal troubles were a partisan witch-hunt, said on social media that the congressman and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, were prosecuted because the representative had been critical of Joe Biden’s immigration policies. … Federal authorities had charged Cuellar, 69, and his wife with accepting thousands of dollars in exchange for the congressman advancing the interests of an Azerbaijan-controlled energy company and a bank in Mexico. Cuellar is accused of agreeing to influence legislation favorable to Azerbaijan and deliver a pro-Azerbaijan speech on the floor of the US House.” (12/03/25)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/03/trump-pardons-democrat-henry-cuellar
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8) Cuba: Massive power outage hits western region after transmission line fails
Source: SFGate
“A blackout hit Havana and the rest of the western half of Cuba on Wednesday, leaving millions of people without power on an island struggling with chronic outages blamed on a crumbling electric grid. Lázaro Guerra, general director of the Ministry of Energy and Mines, said the massive outage was caused by a failure on a transmission line that connects two major plants. He said power would be restored gradually. In Havana, dozens of police officers were trying to direct traffic while many students who were already in school were sent back home. Small businesses that have generators resumed their sales, especially of food. Some areas had intermittent internet service, so many residents were left wondering what had happened. ‘There’s no connection. No one knows why the power is out. … They’re not saying anything; it’s all silence,’ grumbled Raúl Calderón, an 82-year-old retiree, as he waited to hear official reports on the radio.” (12/03/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/massive-power-outage-hits-cuba-s-western-region-21220643.php
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9) House Republicans subpoena Jack Smith for closed-door interview about his prosecutions of Trump
Source: SFGate
“The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee has subpoenaed former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith for a closed-door interview later this month even though he had earlier volunteered to appear for an open hearing about his prosecutions of President Donald Trump. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the committee’s Republican chairman, directed Smith in a letter dated Wednesday to appear for a private deposition on Dec. 17 as part of the panel’s investigations into the prosecutor’s work. ‘Due to your service as Special Counsel, the Committee believes that you possess information that is vital to its oversight of this matter,’ Jordan wrote. He also asked Smith to produce records to the committee in addition to his testimony. A lawyer for Smith, Peter Koski, said in a statement that Smith had offered nearly six weeks ago to appear before the committee in an open hearing but would nonetheless appear as requested for the deposition.” (12/03/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/house-republicans-subpoena-jack-smith-for-21221263.php
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10) Amazon tests 30-minute delivery with pilot
Source: Seattle Times
“If two-day or even same-day delivery is too slow for you, a new feature from Amazon might have you covered. The Seattle-based e-commerce giant on Monday launched Amazon Now, a delivery offering with a promise to deliver groceries and other household items in 30 minutes or less. … Amazon is testing the program in certain areas of Seattle and Philadelphia, the company said. … The move puts Amazon into direct competition with companies like Instacart and Uber, the latter of which delivers food and groceries through its Uber Eats service. It also builds on Amazon’s push to become a widely recognized grocery retailer with a robust delivery service.” (12/03/25)
https://archive.is/24XVk
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11) Lebanon “far from” diplomatic normalization or economic relations with Israel, prime minister says
Source: SFGate
“Lebanon’s prime minister said Wednesday that his country was ‘far from’ diplomatic normalization or economic relations with Israel, despite a move toward direct negotiations between the two countries aimed at defusing tensions. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s comments to a small group of journalists in Beirut came in contradiction to a statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel would send an envoy to talks with Lebanese diplomatic and economic officials, which he described as ‘an initial attempt to create a basis for relations and economic cooperation’ between the two countries. Lebanon and Israel both announced the appointment of civilian members to a previously military-only committee monitoring enforcement of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire that halted the latest war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah a year ago.” (12/03/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/lebanon-far-from-diplomatic-normalization-or-21220993.php
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12) As AI devours RAM supply, Crucial exits consumer PC market
Source: Ars Technica
“On Wednesday, Micron Technology announced it will exit the consumer RAM business in 2026, ending 29 years of selling RAM and SSDs to PC builders and enthusiasts under the Crucial brand. The company cited heavy demand from AI data centers as the reason for abandoning its consumer brand, a move that will remove one of the most recognizable names in the do-it-yourself PC upgrade market. … Micron said it will continue shipping Crucial consumer products through the end of its fiscal second quarter in February 2026 and will honor warranties on existing products. The company will continue selling Micron-branded enterprise products to commercial customers and plans to redeploy affected employees to other positions within the company.” (12/03/25)
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/12/after-nearly-30-years-crucial-will-stop-selling-ram-to-consumers/
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13) University of Delaware student arrested with car full of guns, plans to carry out mass shooting
Source: New York Post
“A University of Delaware student was arrested with a car full of guns, body armor, and a manifesto that declared he wanted to ‘kill all’ in a mass shooting on the Wilmington campus to achieve ‘martyrdom.’ Luqmaan Khan, 25, was arrested on Nov. 24 after cops found the high-powered cache in his car where he was parked in a public park after class hours. Khan had ammunition with him, a pistol, numerous extended ammo magazines, and a conversion kit which can turn a handgun into a semi-automatic rifle. He was allegedly plotting a violent attack on his school’s police department, with a notebook of handwritten plans including phrases like ‘kill all – martyrdom,’ according to ABC 6.” (12/03/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/12/03/us-news/university-of-delaware-student-arrested-with-car-full-of-guns-plans-to-carry-out-mass-shooting-and-chilling-note-about-martyrdom/
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14) EU bans Russian gas imports after last-minute agreement
Source: Politico
“The EU will begin to ban all Russian gas imports to the bloc early next year after lawmakers, officials and diplomatic negotiators struck a last-minute deal over a key piece of legislation set to reshape Europe’s energy sector. Put forward over the summer, the bill is designed to kill off the EU’s lingering Russian energy dependency at a critical juncture in the Ukraine war, with Russia advancing steadily and Kyiv fast running out of cash. While Europe’s imports of Russian gas have fallen sharply since 2022, the country still accounts for around 19 percent of its total intake. The EU is already set to sanction Russian gas imports, but those measures are temporary and subject to renewal every six months. The new legislation is designed to make that rupture permanent and put member countries that still operate contracts with Russia on a surer footing in the event of legal action.” (12/03/25)
https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-bans-russian-gas-imports-11th-hour-agreement-ukraine-von-der-leyen
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15) Defying a government warning, Greek farmers block border crossings in wake of EU subsidy scandal
Source: SFGate
“Defying a warning from the government, farmers in northern Greece blocked traffic at border crossings on Wednesday in an escalating protest over delayed European Union-backed subsidy payments linked to a corruption scandal. Convoys of tractors blocked routes to North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Turkey forcing drivers into lengthy detours. Over the weekend, hundreds of farmers took to the streets, blocking roads with tractors in several areas. Protests by farmers are common in Greece, but the latest unrest erupted over delays in subsidy payments following revelations of widespread fraudulent claims for EU funds. The scandal prompted the resignation in June of five senior government officials and the phased shutdown of a state agency that handled agricultural subsidies.” (12/03/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/greek-farmers-block-border-crossing-routes-in-21220510.php
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16) Trump: National Guard troops to occupy New Orleans “pretty soon”
Source: United Press International
“President Donald Trump said the National Guard will be deployed to New Orleans ‘pretty soon,’ making The Big Easy the next U.S. city to see a surge in military operations. The Trump administration has deployed the National Guard to Democrat-run cities including Los Angeles, Calif., Memphis, Tenn., Washington, D.C., and has sought to deploy troops to other cities, including Chicago, Ill., and Portland, Ore., though those efforts were blocked by the courts.” (12/03/25)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2025/12/03/Trump-New-Orleans-National-Guard/9521764747338/
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17) House Democrats release “never-before-seen” pics, video of Epstein island
Source: New York Post
“Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released ‘never-before-seen’ images and videos of late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s notorious private island in the Caribbean Wednesday as official Washington waits for the Justice Department to hand over its files on the infamous case. The eerie images show several rooms in the disgraced financier’s luxury retreat on Little St. James in the US Virgin Islands, including one room that looks like a dentist’s operating office and is decorated with what appear to be masks of notorious historical figures. ‘These new images are a disturbing look into the world of Jeffrey Epstein and his island,’ said Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), the Oversight Committee’s ranking member.” (12/03/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/12/03/us-news/house-dems-release-never-before-seen-pics-video-of-jeffrey-epsteins-infamous-private-island/
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18) Palestine: Israeli regime to reopen Rafah crossing, but only for ethnic cleansing operations
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“Israel on Wednesday said it would open the Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt to allow residents ‘exclusively’ to exit the besieged Palestinian territory ‘in the coming days.’ Humanitarian groups have called for the reopening of the critical border crossing under the terms of the US-brokered ceasefire deal. … The Rafah crossing is a crucial entry point for humanitarian workers and for lorries transporting aid, food and fuel, which is essential for daily life in a territory deprived of electricity. The crossing has long been the main exit point for Palestinians from Gaza who were authorised to leave the narrow strip of land, which has been under Israeli blockade since 2007.” (12/03/25)
https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20251203-israel-reopen-rafah-crossing-gazans-to-exit-egypt
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19) Billionaire spacewalker is back before the Senate seeking NASA’s top job
Source: SFGate
“Billionaire spacewalker Jared Isaacman urged senators on Wednesday to take swift action on his bid to lead NASA, after being yanked and then renominated by President Donald Trump. Isaacman appeared before the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee in Washington eight months after his first nomination hearing. The tech entrepreneur who’s rocketed into orbit twice with SpaceX stressed the need for ‘full-time leadership’ at NASA as the space agency prepares to send astronauts back to the moon early next year. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has been filling in as NASA’s acting administrator since summer. Returning astronauts to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years will be ‘a challenging endeavor to say the least,’ Isaacman told the committee led by Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. NASA is targeting early next year for a lunar flyaround by four astronauts.” (12/03/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/billionaire-spacewalker-is-back-before-the-senate-21220867.php
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20) Trump regime halts immigration applications from 19 countries
Source: Axios
“The Trump administration paused all immigration applications from 19 countries it determined to be ‘high-risk,’ per a Tuesday evening U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services memorandum. The action marks the administration’s latest move to curtail immigration after an Afghan national was identified as the suspect in last week’s deadly shooting in D.C. that targeted National Guard members. The suspension that the New York Times first reported on impacts people from countries already facing travel restrictions from a June order that President Trump signed — including Afghanistan, Haiti, Iran, Somalia and Venezuela. The other nations are: Burundi, Chad, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, Laos, Libya, Myanmar, Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan and Yemen.” (12/03/25)
https://archive.is/1f3MA
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Obama Paved the Way for Trump’s Venezuelan Killings
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Jim Bovard
“The Trump administration’s killings of scores of Venezuelans are justifiably provoking outrage. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth recently proclaimed, ‘We have only just begun to kill narco-terrorists.’ Donald Trump and Hegseth are cashing a blank check for carnage that was written years earlier by President Barack Obama. … Many Americans who voted for Obama in 2008 expected a seachange in Washington. However, from his first weeks in office, Obama authorized widespread secret attacks against foreign suspects, some of which spurred headlines when drones slaughtered wedding parties or other innocents. On February 3, 2010, Obama’s Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair stunned Washington by announcing that the administration was also targeting Americans for killing.” (12/03/25)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/obama-paved-the-way-for-trumps-venezuelan-killings
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22) Government wants to keep you poor
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“Legitimacy doesn’t come from official recognition. Government attention is poison to innovation. Look at Bitcoin: the moment government began paying attention, regulators attacked it with taxes, rules, and other interference. This destroyed much of the freedom and utility of cryptocurrency. Keep your filthy government off my life! Government doesn’t need a process to smother every human activity. Life doesn’t need to be micromanaged by politicians. Liberty — freedom tempered with responsibility — is enough. The market regulates itself when freed from government meddling. Dishonest companies go broke without government protecting them from competition or from cheated customers. Anyone seeking government protection from competition or consequences is in the wrong. Monopolies can only persist with government help. Irresponsible individuals never learn to be better when protected from consequences, or from their victims, by government rules.” (12/03/25)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2025/12/03/voices/opinion-government-wants-to-keep-you-poor/232269.html
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23) Our Ism-less Quarter Century
Source: Law & Liberty
by Daniel M Rothschild
“The history of the twentieth century is, in large part, the story of competing totalitarian ideas put into practice, and the destruction, immiseration, and death they produced. … A quarter of the way into the twenty-first century, the difference between then and now could not be more stark. While ours is a moment racked by popular discontent, the diminution and desecration of formal and informal institutions (often at the hands of these institutions’ ostensible leaders), and a significant increase in the breadth of ideas in circulation, there has been very little in the way of legitimately new ideas this century, either at the level of ideology or public policy. Indeed, most of the bad ideas in circulation today are old bad ideas, not new bad ideas.” (12/03/25)
https://lawliberty.org/our-ism-less-quarter-century/
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24) What Uber and AirBnB Really Sell: Sharing with Transaction Costs Slashed
Source: The Daily Economy
by Michael Munger
“Platforms make on-demand access a real alternative to ownership, by reducing the three core transaction costs of sharing with strangers.” (12/03/25)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/what-uber-and-airbnb-really-sell-sharing-with-transaction-costs-slashed/
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25) Pardons — With Advice and Consent
Source: The Dispatch
by Kevin D Williamson
“Trump’s cynical abuse of the pardon power to reward allies or simply to enrich himself and his family is obviously corrupt, which is hardly news. But as Lord Acton knew, absolute power does not corrupt only those who wield it: It ‘corrupts absolutely’ those who are adjacent to it, who are servants of that power. It is difficult to imagine that figures such as Pete Hegseth would be doing what they are doing … without the promise of a pardon should it come to that. … Congress lately cannot manage to perform even its most basic functions, and so this is not exactly a ripe time for a constitutional amendment. But we should begin the work of converting the president’s unilateral pardon power into something less corrupting, for example by requiring that pardons be ratified by a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate — even a simple majority would be an improvement.” (12/03/25)
https://thedispatch.com/article/trump-pardon-cocaine-honduras-hegseth-congress/
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26) World’s Most Tyrannical Government Wants To Free Venezuela From Tyranny
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“President Trump has been holding talks with top advisors this week regarding potential US attacks on Venezuela in order to bring about regime change in yet another oil-rich nation. As the western political/media class frames Venezuela’s President Maduro as a ‘dictator’ who must urgently be removed from power, it is worth noting that any US military operation to remove him would be taking place directly against the will of the American public. A recent CBS News poll found that seventy percent of Americans ‘would oppose’ the US taking military action against Venezuela. So here we have the president of a nation which calls itself a democracy, holding meetings to plan military operations which are completely and unambiguously against the wishes of the electorate, in the name of removing a dictator and spreading freedom and democracy. Interesting.” (12/03/25)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2025/12/03/worlds-most-tyrannical-government-wants-to-free-venezuela-from-tyranny/
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27) A Thought Experiment for Pro-War Liberals
Source: The Realist Review
by James W Carden
“Who are the Good and Bad guys again?” (12/03/25)
https://therealistreview.substack.com/p/a-thought-experiment-for-pro-war
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28) Trumpian Nonsense on Employing Native-Born Workers
Source: CounterPunch
by Dean Baker
“There are so many absurdities coming out of the Trump administration on the economy that it’s hard to keep up. But one recurring theme with a solid basis in a misunderstanding of statistics is the claim that employment of native-born workers is exploding under Trump, after plummeting under Biden. We even got an official tweet of this ignorance from the Labor Department over Thanksgiving weekend. The problem, as I and others have explained, is that the Bureau of Labor Statistics has no direct count of native-born workers.” (12/03/25)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/12/03/trumpian-nonsense-on-employing-native-born-workers/
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29) 200+ Luminaries Back Demand for Israel to Free Marwan Barghouti
Source: Informed Comment
by Juan Cole
“Two hundred prominent literary, cultural and political figures have signed an open letter demanding the release from Israeli prison of Palestinian activist Marwan Barghouti. Barghouti 66, is widely thought to be one of the few figures who could unite the Palestinians and lead them to statehood. Israel has imprisoned him for 23 years after a trial most observers consider extremely flawed to say the least. Israel is apparently preparing to go on an execution spree against Palestinian prisoners, some of whom are held without charges or trial for indefinite periods of time. The star-studded list of signatories includes Margaret Atwood of ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ fame; Mark Ruffalo (a.k.a. the Incredible Hulk); Philip Pullman (author of ‘His Dark Materials’); Paul Simon, who knows a thing or two about bridges over troubled waters; Benedict Cumberbatch (a.k.a. Dr. Strange); Sting, who knows when someone’s watching you …” (12/03/25)
https://www.juancole.com/2025/12/luminaries-business-palestinian.html
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30) Castro Didn’t Participate in the JFK Autopsy
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“Last week, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius wrote about ‘a startling document’ that the CIA has kept hidden for some 50 years. The document apparently said that ‘the Mexican government had investigated Kennedy’s assassination and concluded Cuba was responsible.’ It’s just more misdirection on the part of the CIA. Its targeted audience is those Americans who cannot bring themselves to recognize that the Pentagon and the CIA orchestrated and carried out the assassination of a U.S. president. The misdirection serves to confuse and confound that segment of American society.” (12/03/25)
https://www.fff.org/2025/12/03/castro-didnt-participate-in-the-jfk-autopsy/
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31) How Many Terrorists Came From Afghanistan to America?
Source: Town Hall
by Terry Jeffrey
“Former President Joe Biden’s record as commander in chief will forever be defined by Aug. 26, 2021. That was the catastrophic day in the American withdrawal from Afghanistan that Biden declared should be completed by Sept. 11, 2021 — the 20th anniversary of the al-Qaeda terrorist attacks that had triggered the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. ‘U.S. troops as well as forces deployed by our NATO Allies and operational partners, will be out of Afghanistan before we mark the 20th anniversary of that heinous attack on September 11th,’ Biden said on April 14, 2021. As American forces prepared to meet Biden’s deadline, the Taliban — that Afghan regime that had provided sanctuary to al-Qaeda before the 9/11 terrorist attacks — returned to power.” [editor’s note: The withdrawal that Trump negotiated but didn’t follow through on? That withdrawal there? – TLK] (12/03/25)
https://townhall.com/columnists/terryjeffrey/2025/12/03/how-many-terrorists-came-from-afghanistan-to-america-n2667275
-----
32) Now Trump Is Threatening Naturalized Americans
Source: The Bulwark
by Will Saletan
“Donald Trump’s war on immigrants has crossed another line. First, he targeted illegal immigrants. Then he went after legal immigrants. Now, he’s attacking naturalized Americans: citizens of this country who were born elsewhere, particularly in what Trump contemptuously calls the ‘third world.’ He’s trying to turn white Americans against nonwhite Americans.” (12/03/25)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-threatening-naturalized-american-citizens
-----
33) There They Go Again, Venezuela Edition
Source: Common Dreams
by Kevin Martin
“Mark Twain allegedly quipped, ‘God created war so Americans would learn geography.’ Whether or not he actually said that, might it not be a good test, that the world’s most mighty military power be prevented from waging war if a majority of Americans failed to find the alleged enemy on a world map? Frivolity aside, this should not need to be said, but the United States has no legal authority to attack Venezuela (nor Iran, Sudan, Somalia, or any other country), nor engage in covert action to overthrow its government. Should the US do so, it will be opposed by everyone south of the Rio Grande …. Whatever one thinks of the current government, nearly 30 million people live in Venezuela, and they don’t deserve to be demonized or threatened for the policies of their president, as Venezuela poses no threat to the United States.” (12/03/25)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/no-war-in-venezuela
-----
34) Khanna & Massie tag team against war. And they’re friends, too.
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Jack Hunter
“Republican President Donald Trump ran on an ‘America First’ platform yet now seems on the verge of a U.S.-led regime change war in Venezuela. Republican Congressman Thomas Massie (Ky.) has questions about this. During the government shutdown last month, Massie asked a practical, very America first question, ‘How is it that we have money for regime change in Venezuela but not money to pay air traffic controllers in our country?’ It was a good point. Trump, who once vowed to ‘expel the warmongers’ in Washington, prefers to attack Massie on a regular basis. The Kentucky lawmaker is not alone. Massie appeared in June on CBS News’ Face the Nation with his friend and frequent ally, Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna (Calif.).” (12/03/25)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/khanna-massie-war/
-----
35) The Monroe Doctrine, Redux
Source: Independent Institute
by Alex Tokarev
“For over two centuries, the Western Hemisphere has been a cul-de-sac where the United States has parked its foreign policy. The principle behind this is known as the Monroe Doctrine, named after James Monroe (1758-1831). (A refresher for those who slept through their high school American history classes: He’s the fifth U.S. president and the only one whose surname sounds like a type of cheese you’d politely refuse.) In recent months, the Monroe Doctrine has made a comeback — like the whale tail on the plumber who came to fix my kitchen sink. And the man at the center of this shift is none other than Donald J. Trump. … Trump isn’t just an American President. He’s also the hemisphere’s new father figure. NATO officials are already calling him ‘daddy,’ a term most people agree should never be used outside of very specific circumstances.” (12/03/25)
https://www.independent.org/article/2025/12/03/monroe-doctrine-redux/
-----
36) The case against “good character” provisions
Source: Washington Post
by Stephen Slivinski
“Earlier this year, the Palisade and Eaton wildfires near Los Angeles were fought by an army of over 4,000 California state firefighters, alongside thousands of other support personnel. Within that number were more than 780 inmates from state prisons enrolled in the state’s ‘fire camp’ program, which has been operational since World War II. This program provides essential assistance to frontline wildfire containment efforts, as well as providing valuable training to inmates looking for skills — including first aid — they can use to help find work after finishing their sentences. But those released from California prisons would, for many years, run into one of several brick walls. Some couldn’t be hired as a firefighter at municipal-level firehouses because of their prison records. Others might have qualified for firefighter certification but couldn’t obtain an EMT license, a requirement for many firefighter jobs.” (12/03/25)
https://archive.is/TmP5F
-----
37) GOP win shows Tennessee hasn’t been Californicated, at least not yet
Source: Fox News
by David Marcus
“Republicans dodged a bullet on Tuesday night as GOP candidate Matt Van Epps defeated far left progressive Democrat Aftyn Behn by a mere nine points in a district Donald Trump won by 22 points a year ago. But make no mistake: The socialist electoral gun is still locked, loaded and aimed at middle America. A win is a win, but Van Epps’[s] relatively narrow margin of victory will set off alarm bells for Republicans nationally, and embolden the socialist wing of the Democratic Party, which is already fast on its way to establishing its dominance. This election is also a validation for all those folks in the Volunteer State with T-shirts and bumper stickers that say ‘Don’t California my Tennessee,’ …” [editor’s note: I voted for Jon Thorp, the only real pro-liberty candidate, and I’m glad we dodged at least one deadly bullet – SAT] (12/03/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/david-marcus-gop-win-shows-tennessee-hasnt-been-californiad-least-not-yet
-----
38) 21st Century First 25 Years: US Government Bankruptcy
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Stephen Anderson
“December 31, 2025, concludes the first twenty-five years of the 21st century. The US government’s future bankruptcy results from poor personnel, policy, and money decisions that have impacted everyday people. Looking back from 2000 to 2025 showed a numbing expansion of federal government and Federal Reserve Bank power, economic intervention, regulation, and waste. Personal and economic freedoms have declined. The United States federal government debt at the end of fiscal year (FY) 2000 was $5.67 trillion. It doubled to $11.91 trillion at the end of FY 2009. This doubled again to $26.95 trillion at the end of FY 2020. It stood at $33.51 trillion at the end of FY 2024 and it approaches $37.6 trillion at the end of FY 2025.” (12/03/25)
https://mises.org/power-market/21st-century-first-25-years-us-government-bankruptcy
-----
39) The War on Drugs War
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“The Trump Administration is at war … with Senator Rand Paul. Tensions between the President and Senator Paul have heated up noticeably since mid-October, with Trump taking sharp public swipes at Paul, a longtime ally. This scuffle seems primarily driven by Paul’s outspoken criticism of the Venezuelan boat strikes, which Trump sees as a betrayal of his ‘tough on drugs’ agenda and a threat to GOP unity. The budget hawk angle — mentioned here in a weekend update — is a secondary irritant, tied to Paul’s broader push for fiscal restraint. But it hasn’t dominated the feud.” (12/03/25)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2025/12/03/the-war-on-drugs-war/
-----
40) Switzerland Just Overwhelmingly Rejected a New Wealth Tax. Will California Lawmakers Learn?
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“California progressives are pushing a wealth tax that would skim 5 percent of the assets of billionaires to cover the state government’s fiscal gap. That is, it would hit billionaires to start—there’s no telling who would come to be regarded as wealthy enough to be fleeced as the state’s spending likely continues to outstrip its revenues. But before Californians proceed down the path of chasing high earners out of the state, they should consider the example of Swiss voters, who just rejected a billionaire tax of their own.” (12/03/25)
https://reason.com/2025/12/03/switzerland-just-overwhelmingly-rejected-a-new-wealth-tax-will-california-lawmakers-learn/
-----
41) The $79 Trillion Heist
Source: The American Prospect
by Harold Meyerson
“There are, of course, two components to affordability: sellers’ prices and buyers’ incomes. For most American families, buying (or renting) focuses either heavily or entirely on life’s essentials: housing, food, transportation, education, health care, and other forms of care (child, senior). That a clear majority of American families are, at minimum, stressed by these costs is a consequence of not just a host of factors on the sellers’ side, but of one big factor on the buyers’ side: a half-century of wage stagnation, even as investment income has soared. Or, if you prefer, a half-century of buyers’ income stagnation, even as sellers’ income has soared. If you depend on investments for most of your income, this is a pretty damn good time.” (12/03/25)
https://prospect.org/2025/12/03/79-trillion-heist-worker-pay/
-----
42) Ask Me Again After Dinner
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
“Kids say the darndest things — and ask the darndest questions. Especially when they were 8-12 years old, my kids would often bring up sensitive topics at dinner. Sexy topics. Disgusting topics. Sexy, disgusting topics. Though I was proud of their unconventional curiosity, I didn’t want to ruin dinner for the whole family. Before long, I came up with a simple response to defuse such situations: ‘Ask me again after dinner.’ A response that simultaneously expresses two distinct positions: First, it’s a fine question to ask, and I’m happy to discuss it with you in detail before bedtime. Second, it’s a bad question to ask right now, so let’s change the subject so everyone has a nice dinner.” (12/03/25)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/ask-me-again-after-dinner
-----
43) Trump’s War on Democracy in Honduras
Source: The American Conservative
by Ted Snider
“The people of Honduras had not yet made up their minds. So, Donald Trump intervened to help them. … The time has long passed for the U.S. to stop engaging in colonial-style interference in the elections of Latin American countries and to stop ‘defending democracy’ when our candidate wins and subverting it when our candidate loses.” (12/03/25)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/trumps-war-on-democracy-in-honduras/
-----
44) The Use of Free Labor
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“Week before last I was up for jury duty, instructed to check a web page twice a day to see if they wanted me to come in. The first two days they did not, the third day they did. I was told to come to the south county courthouse by nine in the morning; so were more than eighty other people. … What most struck me, as an economist, about the process was the implication of its having access to nearly free labor — there was no payment for the first day, fifteen dollars a day thereafter.” (12/02/25)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/the-use-of-free-labor
-----
45) Enough with Obamacare’s 12-year failure; Congress, start here to unwind it
Source: New York Post
by Betsy McCaughey
“Few Americans lie awake at night worrying about the federal debt — so the Republicans’ plan to end ‘temporary’ COVID-era Obamacare subsidies due to their exorbitant cost won’t win them votes. It will save Uncle Sam money: A staggering 93% of Obamacare premiums are now paid directly by the federal government to health-insurance companies. But will that bring victory in the coming midterm elections? No. That’s why Democrats are gloating that reducing the subsidies will mean higher costs for enrollees, and increase the number of Americans who go without insurance. Because of it, Republicans ‘are going to get their clocks cleaned’ in November, Sen. Chris Murphy (D- Conn.) predicts. Democrats cynically insist on continuing to spend huge sums of taxpayers’ money — $450 billion over the next 10 years — to prop up lousy insurance, defending the indefensible because of its Obamacare label. Even though Obamacare is an utter failure.” (12/02/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/12/02/opinion/enough-with-obamacares-12-year-failure-congress-start-here-to-unwind-it/
-----
46) The tyranny of licenses, permits, and permission slips — and trusting without verifying the truth
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
“[I]f wishes were horses, beggars would ride. At some point, apparently somebody invented an imaginary citation regarding taxes, fees, and natural rights and liberties. And since then, many people have swallowed that whole, repeating it and even seeking to get the courts to accept this fake decision.” (12/02/25)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2025/12/02/the-tyranny-of-licenses-permits-and-permission-slips-and-trusting-without-verifying-the-truth/
-----
47) Trump Threatens Mark Kelly for Reiterating the Military’s Obligation to the Constitution
Source: Independent Institute
by Ivan Eland
“The Trump administration recently threatened to return retired Navy captain, former astronaut, and now Senator Mark Kelly to active duty and court-martial him—along with investigating other veterans in Congress—merely for publicly advising members of the military to honor their oath to defend the Constitution and refuse to obey illegal orders (presumably from President Donald Trump, the commander in chief of the U.S. armed forces). Of course, Trump’s threats are outrageous but unsurprising. He has said he wants to terminate the Constitution. He has also said that Article II, which defines the presidency, allows him to do whatever he wants. More than the flag, the national anthem, the pledge of allegiance, and the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution provides the pillars for the preservation of the American republic. That’s why the military Oath of Enlistment pledges allegiance to the Constitution rather than to a person or branch of government.” (12/02/25)
https://www.independent.org/article/2025/12/02/trump-threatens-mark-kelly-for-reiterating-the-militarys-obligation-to-the-constitution/
-----
48) Theatre’s “Timid Libertarian”
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Diogo Costa
“Tom Stoppard died on Saturday, November 29th, at 88. Some would call him a scholar’s playwright, due to his allusions and philosophical meditations. When my friend Pedro Sette-Câmara introduced me to his work, I was pursuing graduate studies in New York. The Coast of Utopia was premiering at Lincoln Center, and I couldn’t find an affordable ticket to see it. Instead, I read his trilogy in book format. Partially because of my studies in political philosophy at the time, I started to see in his work the themes related to human freedom and human knowledge, as well as the forces that threaten them.” (12/02/25)
https://fee.org/articles/theatres-timid-libertarian/
-----
49) Off the Rails: Mega-Merger Between Rail Giants A Disaster for Workers & Communities
Source: In These Times
by Maximillian Alvarez
“Having lived through what they call a ‘meltdown,’ a massive service failure in 1999 that actually continued into the year 2000. I think they didn’t get this mess cleaned up for probably about 18 months. Our main line looked like a parking lot and the Norfolk Southern takeover of our portion of Conrail was an unmitigated disaster. This is not good for railroad workers. We worked endlessly, largely 12 hours every time we went to work. It’s a complete chaotic environment. This is not a safe environment. Workers are demoralized. It’s a state of confusion, and we are all constantly fatigued. And we’re pretty upset that we’ve seen our railroad turned upside down and largely destroyed by a corporate takeover. So I would postulate that this kind of meltdown is certainly not in our interest, and there’s very good reason to believe that a UP and NS merger would result in this.” (12/03/25)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/working-people-podcast-railroad-workers-norfolk-southern-union-pacific
-----
50) California Housing Shortage
Source: Coyote Blog
by Warren Meyer
“Perhaps the largest barrier to housing availability and affordability in places like California are permitting rules, land use restrictions, and construction codes that make it absurdly expensive, or even outright impossible, to construct new single or multi-family housing. Part of this is a conspiracy of current homeowners to protect and increase the value of their property … Another part of this is ‘everything bagel liberalism’ where every program has to achieve every Leftish goal — eg we want new housing but it has to have solar and appliances with a minimum SEER and use recycled materials and have a certain number of units set aside for protected groups and create a conservation easement on part of the land, etc …. But another barrier to housing availability and affordability that is less talked-about is the combination of rent control and tenant protections for existing housing stock.” (12/02/25)
https://coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2025/12/california-housing-shortage.html
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) The Political Orphanage, 12/03/25
Source: The Political Orphanage
“Freddie deBoer: What It’s Like to Have a Mental Breakdown.” (12/03/25)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/freddie-deboer-what-its-like-to-have-a-mental-breakdown
-----
52) Collateral Damage, episode 8
Source: The Intercept
“Donald Scott was killed in his home by an ad hoc team of raiding cops who were looking for marijuana — but the larger prize may have been his 200-acre Malibu ranch.” (12/03/25)
https://theintercept.com/2025/12/03/collateral-damage-episode-eight-legalized-takings/
-----
53) Reason Interview: Matt Ridley
Source: Reason
“Why Science Lost Its Way.” (12/03/25)
https://reason.com/podcast/2025/12/03/why-science-lost-its-way/
-----
54) Underthrow Podcast, 12/03/25
Source: Underthrow
“Building Hong Kong in Honduras with Niklas Anzinger.” (12/03/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S38TFOsGZ48
-----
55) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 12/03/25
Source: The New Republic
“Trump Tirades at Media Darken as MAGA Bloodlust on Bombings Boils Over.” (12/03/25)
https://newrepublic.com/article/203887/trump-seethes-darkly-media-maga-bloodlust-bombings-boils
-----
56) The Fifth Column, Members Only #286 Unlocked
Source: The Fifth Column
“Atheist in a Foxhole, w/ the Great Sebastian Junger.” (12/03/25)
https://www.wethefifth.com/p/unlocked-atheist-in-a-foxhole-w-the
-----
57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 12/03/25
Source: Antiwar.com
“Hegseth Says He Wasn’t in the Room for 2nd Boat Strike, IDF Kills Photojournalist in Gaza, and More.” (12/03/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epdzaXEphRs
-----
58) Politics Politics Politics, 12/02/25
Source: Politics Politics Politics
“Tennessee Special Election Explainer! Are House Members Facing Impending Dread?” (12/02/25)
https://www.politicspoliticspolitics.com/p/tennessee-special-election-explainer
-----
59) LPA Solidarity Stream, episode 12
Source: Libertarian Alliance
“Join us for an interview with Amanda Griffiths, an ally and first mover who has just announced her candidacy for Vice Chair of the Libertarian Party!” (12/02/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRGC8UeyKqs
-----
60) Nonzero, 12/02/25
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“The Life and Legacy of William F. Buckley (Robert Wright & Sam Tanenhaus).” (12/02/25)
https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/69159
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Today's Freedom News:
0) Year-End Fundraiser Update
1) UN demands Russian regime return abducted Ukrainian children
2) Bitcoin Hits Two-Week High in Cautious Crypto Market Recovery
3) India: Regime revokes order for smartphone makers to install spyware
4) ADP: US private payrolls unexpectedly decrease in November
5) Smith to testify before House Judiciary
6) Watchdog finds Hegseth risked endangering troops by sharing sensitive war plans on Signal, sources say
7) Trump pardons Azerbaijan’s alleged congressional mole
8) Cuba: Massive power outage hits western region after transmission line fails
9) House Republicans subpoena Jack Smith for closed-door interview about his prosecutions of Trump
10) Amazon tests 30-minute delivery with pilot
11) Lebanon “far from” diplomatic normalization or economic relations with Israel, prime minister says
12) As AI devours RAM supply, Crucial exits consumer PC market
13) University of Delaware student arrested with car full of guns, plans to carry out mass shooting
14) EU bans Russian gas imports after last-minute agreement
15) Defying a government warning, Greek farmers block border crossings in wake of EU subsidy scandal
16) Trump: National Guard troops to occupy New Orleans “pretty soon”
17) House Democrats release “never-before-seen” pics, video of Epstein island
18) Palestine: Israeli regime to reopen Rafah crossing, but only for ethnic cleansing operations
19) Billionaire spacewalker is back before the Senate seeking NASA’s top job
20) Trump regime halts immigration applications from 19 countries
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Obama Paved the Way for Trump’s Venezuelan Killings
22) Government wants to keep you poor
23) Our Ism-less Quarter Century
24) What Uber and AirBnB Really Sell: Sharing with Transaction Costs Slashed
25) Pardons — With Advice and Consent
26) World’s Most Tyrannical Government Wants To Free Venezuela From Tyranny
27) A Thought Experiment for Pro-War Liberals
28) Trumpian Nonsense on Employing Native-Born Workers
29) 200+ Luminaries Back Demand for Israel to Free Marwan Barghouti
30) Castro Didn’t Participate in the JFK Autopsy
31) How Many Terrorists Came From Afghanistan to America?
32) Now Trump Is Threatening Naturalized Americans
33) There They Go Again, Venezuela Edition
34) Khanna & Massie tag team against war. And they’re friends, too.
35) The Monroe Doctrine, Redux
36) The case against “good character” provisions
37) GOP win shows Tennessee hasn’t been Californicated, at least not yet
38) 21st Century First 25 Years: US Government Bankruptcy
39) The War on Drugs War
40) Switzerland Just Overwhelmingly Rejected a New Wealth Tax. Will California Lawmakers Learn?
41) The $79 Trillion Heist
42) Ask Me Again After Dinner
43) Trump’s War on Democracy in Honduras
44) The Use of Free Labor
45) Enough with Obamacare’s 12-year failure; Congress, start here to unwind it
46) The tyranny of licenses, permits, and permission slips — and trusting without verifying the truth
47) Trump Threatens Mark Kelly for Reiterating the Military’s Obligation to the Constitution
48) Theatre’s “Timid Libertarian”
49) Off the Rails: Mega-Merger Between Rail Giants A Disaster for Workers & Communities
50) California Housing Shortage
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) The Political Orphanage, 12/03/25
52) Collateral Damage, episode 8
53) Reason Interview: Matt Ridley
54) Underthrow Podcast, 12/03/25
55) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 12/03/25
56) The Fifth Column, Members Only #286 Unlocked
57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 12/03/25
58) Politics Politics Politics, 12/02/25
59) LPA Solidarity Stream, episode 12
60) Nonzero, 12/02/25
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1) UN demands Russian regime return abducted Ukrainian children
Source: WION [India]
“The UN General Assembly on Wednesday (Dec 3) urged Russia to immediately and without conditions return the Ukrainian children ‘forcibly transferred.’ Member states voted 91 to 12 in favour of a resolution demanding their immediate and unconditional return. Meanwhile, 57 countries abstained from voting, and Russia rejected the move outright. The resolution ‘demands that the Russian Federation ensure the immediate, safe and unconditional return of all Ukrainian children who have been forcibly transferred or deported.’ It also urges an end to the indoctrination of Ukrainian children. … Ukraine says at least 20,000 children have been taken since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Only about 1,850 have made it back. … Russia, meanwhile, insists it moved some children to safety from active combat zones. Its deputy UN envoy, Maria Zabolotskaya, dismissed the resolution as “full of mendacious accusations,” arguing that votes in favour only fuel division.” (12/04/25)
https://www.wionews.com/world/-largest-state-abduction-operation-in-history-un-demands-russia-return-thousands-of-captive-ukrainian-children-1764815231216
-----
2) Bitcoin Hits Two-Week High in Cautious Crypto Market Recovery
Source: Yahoo! News
“Bitcoin extended a tentative rebound on Wednesday, climbing to a two-week high as traders look for signs that the wider crypto market may be regaining its footing after a prolonged selloff. The original cryptocurrency rose as much as 2.6% to about $93,965, its highest intraday level since Nov. 17. Ether gained more, rising more than 4%, as Ethereum undergoes a network upgrade called Fusaka that aims to make the blockchain faster and more efficient. Other smaller tokens were mixed. The digital assets market remains on shaky ground after a bruising selloff that began in early October, just days after Bitcoin hit a record of over $126,000. Since then, more than $1 trillion in crypto market value has been wiped out.” (12/03/25)
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-hits-two-week-high-071352153.html
-----
3) India: Regime revokes order for smartphone makers to install spyware
Source: CBS News
“India’s government revoked an order on Wednesday that had directed smartphone makers such as Apple and Samsung to install a state-developed and owned security app on all new devices. The move came after two days of criticism from opposition politicians and privacy organizations that the ‘Sanchar Saathi’ app was an effort to snoop on citizens through their phones. … While the order for it to be installed universally was revoked, the government continued defending the app on Wednesday, saying the intent had been to ‘provide access to cybersecurity to all citizens,’ and insisting that it was ‘secure and purely meant to help citizens.'” (12/03/25)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/india-smartphone-app-sanchar-saathi-government-install-order-revoked-privacy-uproar/
-----
4) ADP: US private payrolls unexpectedly decrease in November
Source: Reuters
“U.S. private payrolls unexpectedly declined in November, the ADP employment report showed on Wednesday. Private employment decreased by 32,000 jobs last month after an upwardly revised 47,000 increase in October. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast private employment rising by 10,000 jobs after a previously reported 42,000 rebound in October. The ADP report is jointly developed with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab. The monthly estimate has historically diverted [sic] from the government’s private payrolls count produced by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS will release the closely watched employment report for November on December 16.” (12/03/25)
https://archive.is/3yYTY
-----
5) Smith to testify before House Judiciary
Source: United Press International
“The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday subpoenaed former special counsel Jack Smith to have him testify during a closed-door hearing on Dec. 17. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, wrote Smith on Wednesday to inform him of the subpoena as the committee investigates Smith’s and the Biden administration’s efforts to prosecute President Donald Trump. … Smith’s investigation of Trump ended when the Supreme Court in July 2024 ruled that presidents have broad immunity against prosecution for actions taken while in office, including the matters being investigated by Smith.” (12/03/25)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2025/12/03/jack-smith-house-testimony/3071764800241/
-----
6) Watchdog finds Hegseth risked endangering troops by sharing sensitive war plans on Signal, sources say
Source: CNN
“Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth risked compromising sensitive military information, which could have endangered American troops and mission objectives, when he used Signal in March of this year to share highly-sensitive attack plans targeting Houthi rebels in Yemen, according to four sources familiar with the contents of a classified Inspector General report. The repercussions of Hegseth’s action, two sources told CNN, are less clear since the IG concluded that the defense secretary has the authority to declassify information and Hegseth asserted he made an operational decision in the moment to share that information, though there is no documentation of such a decision. An unclassified version of the report is set to be publicly released Thursday. The classified report was sent to Congress on Tuesday night.” (12/03/25)
https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/03/politics/report-hegseth-signal
-----
7) Trump pardons Azerbaijan’s alleged congressional mole
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Donald Trump pardoned Texas Democratic representative Henry Cuellar and his wife in a federal bribery and conspiracy case on Wednesday, citing what he called a ‘weaponized’ justice system. Trump, who has argued that his own legal troubles were a partisan witch-hunt, said on social media that the congressman and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, were prosecuted because the representative had been critical of Joe Biden’s immigration policies. … Federal authorities had charged Cuellar, 69, and his wife with accepting thousands of dollars in exchange for the congressman advancing the interests of an Azerbaijan-controlled energy company and a bank in Mexico. Cuellar is accused of agreeing to influence legislation favorable to Azerbaijan and deliver a pro-Azerbaijan speech on the floor of the US House.” (12/03/25)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/03/trump-pardons-democrat-henry-cuellar
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8) Cuba: Massive power outage hits western region after transmission line fails
Source: SFGate
“A blackout hit Havana and the rest of the western half of Cuba on Wednesday, leaving millions of people without power on an island struggling with chronic outages blamed on a crumbling electric grid. Lázaro Guerra, general director of the Ministry of Energy and Mines, said the massive outage was caused by a failure on a transmission line that connects two major plants. He said power would be restored gradually. In Havana, dozens of police officers were trying to direct traffic while many students who were already in school were sent back home. Small businesses that have generators resumed their sales, especially of food. Some areas had intermittent internet service, so many residents were left wondering what had happened. ‘There’s no connection. No one knows why the power is out. … They’re not saying anything; it’s all silence,’ grumbled Raúl Calderón, an 82-year-old retiree, as he waited to hear official reports on the radio.” (12/03/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/massive-power-outage-hits-cuba-s-western-region-21220643.php
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9) House Republicans subpoena Jack Smith for closed-door interview about his prosecutions of Trump
Source: SFGate
“The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee has subpoenaed former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith for a closed-door interview later this month even though he had earlier volunteered to appear for an open hearing about his prosecutions of President Donald Trump. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the committee’s Republican chairman, directed Smith in a letter dated Wednesday to appear for a private deposition on Dec. 17 as part of the panel’s investigations into the prosecutor’s work. ‘Due to your service as Special Counsel, the Committee believes that you possess information that is vital to its oversight of this matter,’ Jordan wrote. He also asked Smith to produce records to the committee in addition to his testimony. A lawyer for Smith, Peter Koski, said in a statement that Smith had offered nearly six weeks ago to appear before the committee in an open hearing but would nonetheless appear as requested for the deposition.” (12/03/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/house-republicans-subpoena-jack-smith-for-21221263.php
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10) Amazon tests 30-minute delivery with pilot
Source: Seattle Times
“If two-day or even same-day delivery is too slow for you, a new feature from Amazon might have you covered. The Seattle-based e-commerce giant on Monday launched Amazon Now, a delivery offering with a promise to deliver groceries and other household items in 30 minutes or less. … Amazon is testing the program in certain areas of Seattle and Philadelphia, the company said. … The move puts Amazon into direct competition with companies like Instacart and Uber, the latter of which delivers food and groceries through its Uber Eats service. It also builds on Amazon’s push to become a widely recognized grocery retailer with a robust delivery service.” (12/03/25)
https://archive.is/24XVk
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11) Lebanon “far from” diplomatic normalization or economic relations with Israel, prime minister says
Source: SFGate
“Lebanon’s prime minister said Wednesday that his country was ‘far from’ diplomatic normalization or economic relations with Israel, despite a move toward direct negotiations between the two countries aimed at defusing tensions. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s comments to a small group of journalists in Beirut came in contradiction to a statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel would send an envoy to talks with Lebanese diplomatic and economic officials, which he described as ‘an initial attempt to create a basis for relations and economic cooperation’ between the two countries. Lebanon and Israel both announced the appointment of civilian members to a previously military-only committee monitoring enforcement of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire that halted the latest war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah a year ago.” (12/03/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/lebanon-far-from-diplomatic-normalization-or-21220993.php
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12) As AI devours RAM supply, Crucial exits consumer PC market
Source: Ars Technica
“On Wednesday, Micron Technology announced it will exit the consumer RAM business in 2026, ending 29 years of selling RAM and SSDs to PC builders and enthusiasts under the Crucial brand. The company cited heavy demand from AI data centers as the reason for abandoning its consumer brand, a move that will remove one of the most recognizable names in the do-it-yourself PC upgrade market. … Micron said it will continue shipping Crucial consumer products through the end of its fiscal second quarter in February 2026 and will honor warranties on existing products. The company will continue selling Micron-branded enterprise products to commercial customers and plans to redeploy affected employees to other positions within the company.” (12/03/25)
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/12/after-nearly-30-years-crucial-will-stop-selling-ram-to-consumers/
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13) University of Delaware student arrested with car full of guns, plans to carry out mass shooting
Source: New York Post
“A University of Delaware student was arrested with a car full of guns, body armor, and a manifesto that declared he wanted to ‘kill all’ in a mass shooting on the Wilmington campus to achieve ‘martyrdom.’ Luqmaan Khan, 25, was arrested on Nov. 24 after cops found the high-powered cache in his car where he was parked in a public park after class hours. Khan had ammunition with him, a pistol, numerous extended ammo magazines, and a conversion kit which can turn a handgun into a semi-automatic rifle. He was allegedly plotting a violent attack on his school’s police department, with a notebook of handwritten plans including phrases like ‘kill all – martyrdom,’ according to ABC 6.” (12/03/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/12/03/us-news/university-of-delaware-student-arrested-with-car-full-of-guns-plans-to-carry-out-mass-shooting-and-chilling-note-about-martyrdom/
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14) EU bans Russian gas imports after last-minute agreement
Source: Politico
“The EU will begin to ban all Russian gas imports to the bloc early next year after lawmakers, officials and diplomatic negotiators struck a last-minute deal over a key piece of legislation set to reshape Europe’s energy sector. Put forward over the summer, the bill is designed to kill off the EU’s lingering Russian energy dependency at a critical juncture in the Ukraine war, with Russia advancing steadily and Kyiv fast running out of cash. While Europe’s imports of Russian gas have fallen sharply since 2022, the country still accounts for around 19 percent of its total intake. The EU is already set to sanction Russian gas imports, but those measures are temporary and subject to renewal every six months. The new legislation is designed to make that rupture permanent and put member countries that still operate contracts with Russia on a surer footing in the event of legal action.” (12/03/25)
https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-bans-russian-gas-imports-11th-hour-agreement-ukraine-von-der-leyen
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15) Defying a government warning, Greek farmers block border crossings in wake of EU subsidy scandal
Source: SFGate
“Defying a warning from the government, farmers in northern Greece blocked traffic at border crossings on Wednesday in an escalating protest over delayed European Union-backed subsidy payments linked to a corruption scandal. Convoys of tractors blocked routes to North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Turkey forcing drivers into lengthy detours. Over the weekend, hundreds of farmers took to the streets, blocking roads with tractors in several areas. Protests by farmers are common in Greece, but the latest unrest erupted over delays in subsidy payments following revelations of widespread fraudulent claims for EU funds. The scandal prompted the resignation in June of five senior government officials and the phased shutdown of a state agency that handled agricultural subsidies.” (12/03/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/greek-farmers-block-border-crossing-routes-in-21220510.php
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16) Trump: National Guard troops to occupy New Orleans “pretty soon”
Source: United Press International
“President Donald Trump said the National Guard will be deployed to New Orleans ‘pretty soon,’ making The Big Easy the next U.S. city to see a surge in military operations. The Trump administration has deployed the National Guard to Democrat-run cities including Los Angeles, Calif., Memphis, Tenn., Washington, D.C., and has sought to deploy troops to other cities, including Chicago, Ill., and Portland, Ore., though those efforts were blocked by the courts.” (12/03/25)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2025/12/03/Trump-New-Orleans-National-Guard/9521764747338/
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17) House Democrats release “never-before-seen” pics, video of Epstein island
Source: New York Post
“Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released ‘never-before-seen’ images and videos of late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s notorious private island in the Caribbean Wednesday as official Washington waits for the Justice Department to hand over its files on the infamous case. The eerie images show several rooms in the disgraced financier’s luxury retreat on Little St. James in the US Virgin Islands, including one room that looks like a dentist’s operating office and is decorated with what appear to be masks of notorious historical figures. ‘These new images are a disturbing look into the world of Jeffrey Epstein and his island,’ said Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), the Oversight Committee’s ranking member.” (12/03/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/12/03/us-news/house-dems-release-never-before-seen-pics-video-of-jeffrey-epsteins-infamous-private-island/
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18) Palestine: Israeli regime to reopen Rafah crossing, but only for ethnic cleansing operations
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“Israel on Wednesday said it would open the Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt to allow residents ‘exclusively’ to exit the besieged Palestinian territory ‘in the coming days.’ Humanitarian groups have called for the reopening of the critical border crossing under the terms of the US-brokered ceasefire deal. … The Rafah crossing is a crucial entry point for humanitarian workers and for lorries transporting aid, food and fuel, which is essential for daily life in a territory deprived of electricity. The crossing has long been the main exit point for Palestinians from Gaza who were authorised to leave the narrow strip of land, which has been under Israeli blockade since 2007.” (12/03/25)
https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20251203-israel-reopen-rafah-crossing-gazans-to-exit-egypt
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19) Billionaire spacewalker is back before the Senate seeking NASA’s top job
Source: SFGate
“Billionaire spacewalker Jared Isaacman urged senators on Wednesday to take swift action on his bid to lead NASA, after being yanked and then renominated by President Donald Trump. Isaacman appeared before the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee in Washington eight months after his first nomination hearing. The tech entrepreneur who’s rocketed into orbit twice with SpaceX stressed the need for ‘full-time leadership’ at NASA as the space agency prepares to send astronauts back to the moon early next year. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has been filling in as NASA’s acting administrator since summer. Returning astronauts to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years will be ‘a challenging endeavor to say the least,’ Isaacman told the committee led by Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. NASA is targeting early next year for a lunar flyaround by four astronauts.” (12/03/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/billionaire-spacewalker-is-back-before-the-senate-21220867.php
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20) Trump regime halts immigration applications from 19 countries
Source: Axios
“The Trump administration paused all immigration applications from 19 countries it determined to be ‘high-risk,’ per a Tuesday evening U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services memorandum. The action marks the administration’s latest move to curtail immigration after an Afghan national was identified as the suspect in last week’s deadly shooting in D.C. that targeted National Guard members. The suspension that the New York Times first reported on impacts people from countries already facing travel restrictions from a June order that President Trump signed — including Afghanistan, Haiti, Iran, Somalia and Venezuela. The other nations are: Burundi, Chad, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, Laos, Libya, Myanmar, Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan and Yemen.” (12/03/25)
https://archive.is/1f3MA
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Obama Paved the Way for Trump’s Venezuelan Killings
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Jim Bovard
“The Trump administration’s killings of scores of Venezuelans are justifiably provoking outrage. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth recently proclaimed, ‘We have only just begun to kill narco-terrorists.’ Donald Trump and Hegseth are cashing a blank check for carnage that was written years earlier by President Barack Obama. … Many Americans who voted for Obama in 2008 expected a seachange in Washington. However, from his first weeks in office, Obama authorized widespread secret attacks against foreign suspects, some of which spurred headlines when drones slaughtered wedding parties or other innocents. On February 3, 2010, Obama’s Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair stunned Washington by announcing that the administration was also targeting Americans for killing.” (12/03/25)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/obama-paved-the-way-for-trumps-venezuelan-killings
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22) Government wants to keep you poor
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“Legitimacy doesn’t come from official recognition. Government attention is poison to innovation. Look at Bitcoin: the moment government began paying attention, regulators attacked it with taxes, rules, and other interference. This destroyed much of the freedom and utility of cryptocurrency. Keep your filthy government off my life! Government doesn’t need a process to smother every human activity. Life doesn’t need to be micromanaged by politicians. Liberty — freedom tempered with responsibility — is enough. The market regulates itself when freed from government meddling. Dishonest companies go broke without government protecting them from competition or from cheated customers. Anyone seeking government protection from competition or consequences is in the wrong. Monopolies can only persist with government help. Irresponsible individuals never learn to be better when protected from consequences, or from their victims, by government rules.” (12/03/25)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2025/12/03/voices/opinion-government-wants-to-keep-you-poor/232269.html
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23) Our Ism-less Quarter Century
Source: Law & Liberty
by Daniel M Rothschild
“The history of the twentieth century is, in large part, the story of competing totalitarian ideas put into practice, and the destruction, immiseration, and death they produced. … A quarter of the way into the twenty-first century, the difference between then and now could not be more stark. While ours is a moment racked by popular discontent, the diminution and desecration of formal and informal institutions (often at the hands of these institutions’ ostensible leaders), and a significant increase in the breadth of ideas in circulation, there has been very little in the way of legitimately new ideas this century, either at the level of ideology or public policy. Indeed, most of the bad ideas in circulation today are old bad ideas, not new bad ideas.” (12/03/25)
https://lawliberty.org/our-ism-less-quarter-century/
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24) What Uber and AirBnB Really Sell: Sharing with Transaction Costs Slashed
Source: The Daily Economy
by Michael Munger
“Platforms make on-demand access a real alternative to ownership, by reducing the three core transaction costs of sharing with strangers.” (12/03/25)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/what-uber-and-airbnb-really-sell-sharing-with-transaction-costs-slashed/
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25) Pardons — With Advice and Consent
Source: The Dispatch
by Kevin D Williamson
“Trump’s cynical abuse of the pardon power to reward allies or simply to enrich himself and his family is obviously corrupt, which is hardly news. But as Lord Acton knew, absolute power does not corrupt only those who wield it: It ‘corrupts absolutely’ those who are adjacent to it, who are servants of that power. It is difficult to imagine that figures such as Pete Hegseth would be doing what they are doing … without the promise of a pardon should it come to that. … Congress lately cannot manage to perform even its most basic functions, and so this is not exactly a ripe time for a constitutional amendment. But we should begin the work of converting the president’s unilateral pardon power into something less corrupting, for example by requiring that pardons be ratified by a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate — even a simple majority would be an improvement.” (12/03/25)
https://thedispatch.com/article/trump-pardon-cocaine-honduras-hegseth-congress/
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26) World’s Most Tyrannical Government Wants To Free Venezuela From Tyranny
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“President Trump has been holding talks with top advisors this week regarding potential US attacks on Venezuela in order to bring about regime change in yet another oil-rich nation. As the western political/media class frames Venezuela’s President Maduro as a ‘dictator’ who must urgently be removed from power, it is worth noting that any US military operation to remove him would be taking place directly against the will of the American public. A recent CBS News poll found that seventy percent of Americans ‘would oppose’ the US taking military action against Venezuela. So here we have the president of a nation which calls itself a democracy, holding meetings to plan military operations which are completely and unambiguously against the wishes of the electorate, in the name of removing a dictator and spreading freedom and democracy. Interesting.” (12/03/25)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2025/12/03/worlds-most-tyrannical-government-wants-to-free-venezuela-from-tyranny/
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27) A Thought Experiment for Pro-War Liberals
Source: The Realist Review
by James W Carden
“Who are the Good and Bad guys again?” (12/03/25)
https://therealistreview.substack.com/p/a-thought-experiment-for-pro-war
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28) Trumpian Nonsense on Employing Native-Born Workers
Source: CounterPunch
by Dean Baker
“There are so many absurdities coming out of the Trump administration on the economy that it’s hard to keep up. But one recurring theme with a solid basis in a misunderstanding of statistics is the claim that employment of native-born workers is exploding under Trump, after plummeting under Biden. We even got an official tweet of this ignorance from the Labor Department over Thanksgiving weekend. The problem, as I and others have explained, is that the Bureau of Labor Statistics has no direct count of native-born workers.” (12/03/25)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/12/03/trumpian-nonsense-on-employing-native-born-workers/
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29) 200+ Luminaries Back Demand for Israel to Free Marwan Barghouti
Source: Informed Comment
by Juan Cole
“Two hundred prominent literary, cultural and political figures have signed an open letter demanding the release from Israeli prison of Palestinian activist Marwan Barghouti. Barghouti 66, is widely thought to be one of the few figures who could unite the Palestinians and lead them to statehood. Israel has imprisoned him for 23 years after a trial most observers consider extremely flawed to say the least. Israel is apparently preparing to go on an execution spree against Palestinian prisoners, some of whom are held without charges or trial for indefinite periods of time. The star-studded list of signatories includes Margaret Atwood of ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ fame; Mark Ruffalo (a.k.a. the Incredible Hulk); Philip Pullman (author of ‘His Dark Materials’); Paul Simon, who knows a thing or two about bridges over troubled waters; Benedict Cumberbatch (a.k.a. Dr. Strange); Sting, who knows when someone’s watching you …” (12/03/25)
https://www.juancole.com/2025/12/luminaries-business-palestinian.html
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30) Castro Didn’t Participate in the JFK Autopsy
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“Last week, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius wrote about ‘a startling document’ that the CIA has kept hidden for some 50 years. The document apparently said that ‘the Mexican government had investigated Kennedy’s assassination and concluded Cuba was responsible.’ It’s just more misdirection on the part of the CIA. Its targeted audience is those Americans who cannot bring themselves to recognize that the Pentagon and the CIA orchestrated and carried out the assassination of a U.S. president. The misdirection serves to confuse and confound that segment of American society.” (12/03/25)
https://www.fff.org/2025/12/03/castro-didnt-participate-in-the-jfk-autopsy/
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31) How Many Terrorists Came From Afghanistan to America?
Source: Town Hall
by Terry Jeffrey
“Former President Joe Biden’s record as commander in chief will forever be defined by Aug. 26, 2021. That was the catastrophic day in the American withdrawal from Afghanistan that Biden declared should be completed by Sept. 11, 2021 — the 20th anniversary of the al-Qaeda terrorist attacks that had triggered the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. ‘U.S. troops as well as forces deployed by our NATO Allies and operational partners, will be out of Afghanistan before we mark the 20th anniversary of that heinous attack on September 11th,’ Biden said on April 14, 2021. As American forces prepared to meet Biden’s deadline, the Taliban — that Afghan regime that had provided sanctuary to al-Qaeda before the 9/11 terrorist attacks — returned to power.” [editor’s note: The withdrawal that Trump negotiated but didn’t follow through on? That withdrawal there? – TLK] (12/03/25)
https://townhall.com/columnists/terryjeffrey/2025/12/03/how-many-terrorists-came-from-afghanistan-to-america-n2667275
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32) Now Trump Is Threatening Naturalized Americans
Source: The Bulwark
by Will Saletan
“Donald Trump’s war on immigrants has crossed another line. First, he targeted illegal immigrants. Then he went after legal immigrants. Now, he’s attacking naturalized Americans: citizens of this country who were born elsewhere, particularly in what Trump contemptuously calls the ‘third world.’ He’s trying to turn white Americans against nonwhite Americans.” (12/03/25)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-threatening-naturalized-american-citizens
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33) There They Go Again, Venezuela Edition
Source: Common Dreams
by Kevin Martin
“Mark Twain allegedly quipped, ‘God created war so Americans would learn geography.’ Whether or not he actually said that, might it not be a good test, that the world’s most mighty military power be prevented from waging war if a majority of Americans failed to find the alleged enemy on a world map? Frivolity aside, this should not need to be said, but the United States has no legal authority to attack Venezuela (nor Iran, Sudan, Somalia, or any other country), nor engage in covert action to overthrow its government. Should the US do so, it will be opposed by everyone south of the Rio Grande …. Whatever one thinks of the current government, nearly 30 million people live in Venezuela, and they don’t deserve to be demonized or threatened for the policies of their president, as Venezuela poses no threat to the United States.” (12/03/25)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/no-war-in-venezuela
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34) Khanna & Massie tag team against war. And they’re friends, too.
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Jack Hunter
“Republican President Donald Trump ran on an ‘America First’ platform yet now seems on the verge of a U.S.-led regime change war in Venezuela. Republican Congressman Thomas Massie (Ky.) has questions about this. During the government shutdown last month, Massie asked a practical, very America first question, ‘How is it that we have money for regime change in Venezuela but not money to pay air traffic controllers in our country?’ It was a good point. Trump, who once vowed to ‘expel the warmongers’ in Washington, prefers to attack Massie on a regular basis. The Kentucky lawmaker is not alone. Massie appeared in June on CBS News’ Face the Nation with his friend and frequent ally, Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna (Calif.).” (12/03/25)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/khanna-massie-war/
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35) The Monroe Doctrine, Redux
Source: Independent Institute
by Alex Tokarev
“For over two centuries, the Western Hemisphere has been a cul-de-sac where the United States has parked its foreign policy. The principle behind this is known as the Monroe Doctrine, named after James Monroe (1758-1831). (A refresher for those who slept through their high school American history classes: He’s the fifth U.S. president and the only one whose surname sounds like a type of cheese you’d politely refuse.) In recent months, the Monroe Doctrine has made a comeback — like the whale tail on the plumber who came to fix my kitchen sink. And the man at the center of this shift is none other than Donald J. Trump. … Trump isn’t just an American President. He’s also the hemisphere’s new father figure. NATO officials are already calling him ‘daddy,’ a term most people agree should never be used outside of very specific circumstances.” (12/03/25)
https://www.independent.org/article/2025/12/03/monroe-doctrine-redux/
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36) The case against “good character” provisions
Source: Washington Post
by Stephen Slivinski
“Earlier this year, the Palisade and Eaton wildfires near Los Angeles were fought by an army of over 4,000 California state firefighters, alongside thousands of other support personnel. Within that number were more than 780 inmates from state prisons enrolled in the state’s ‘fire camp’ program, which has been operational since World War II. This program provides essential assistance to frontline wildfire containment efforts, as well as providing valuable training to inmates looking for skills — including first aid — they can use to help find work after finishing their sentences. But those released from California prisons would, for many years, run into one of several brick walls. Some couldn’t be hired as a firefighter at municipal-level firehouses because of their prison records. Others might have qualified for firefighter certification but couldn’t obtain an EMT license, a requirement for many firefighter jobs.” (12/03/25)
https://archive.is/TmP5F
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37) GOP win shows Tennessee hasn’t been Californicated, at least not yet
Source: Fox News
by David Marcus
“Republicans dodged a bullet on Tuesday night as GOP candidate Matt Van Epps defeated far left progressive Democrat Aftyn Behn by a mere nine points in a district Donald Trump won by 22 points a year ago. But make no mistake: The socialist electoral gun is still locked, loaded and aimed at middle America. A win is a win, but Van Epps’[s] relatively narrow margin of victory will set off alarm bells for Republicans nationally, and embolden the socialist wing of the Democratic Party, which is already fast on its way to establishing its dominance. This election is also a validation for all those folks in the Volunteer State with T-shirts and bumper stickers that say ‘Don’t California my Tennessee,’ …” [editor’s note: I voted for Jon Thorp, the only real pro-liberty candidate, and I’m glad we dodged at least one deadly bullet – SAT] (12/03/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/david-marcus-gop-win-shows-tennessee-hasnt-been-californiad-least-not-yet
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38) 21st Century First 25 Years: US Government Bankruptcy
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Stephen Anderson
“December 31, 2025, concludes the first twenty-five years of the 21st century. The US government’s future bankruptcy results from poor personnel, policy, and money decisions that have impacted everyday people. Looking back from 2000 to 2025 showed a numbing expansion of federal government and Federal Reserve Bank power, economic intervention, regulation, and waste. Personal and economic freedoms have declined. The United States federal government debt at the end of fiscal year (FY) 2000 was $5.67 trillion. It doubled to $11.91 trillion at the end of FY 2009. This doubled again to $26.95 trillion at the end of FY 2020. It stood at $33.51 trillion at the end of FY 2024 and it approaches $37.6 trillion at the end of FY 2025.” (12/03/25)
https://mises.org/power-market/21st-century-first-25-years-us-government-bankruptcy
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39) The War on Drugs War
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“The Trump Administration is at war … with Senator Rand Paul. Tensions between the President and Senator Paul have heated up noticeably since mid-October, with Trump taking sharp public swipes at Paul, a longtime ally. This scuffle seems primarily driven by Paul’s outspoken criticism of the Venezuelan boat strikes, which Trump sees as a betrayal of his ‘tough on drugs’ agenda and a threat to GOP unity. The budget hawk angle — mentioned here in a weekend update — is a secondary irritant, tied to Paul’s broader push for fiscal restraint. But it hasn’t dominated the feud.” (12/03/25)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2025/12/03/the-war-on-drugs-war/
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40) Switzerland Just Overwhelmingly Rejected a New Wealth Tax. Will California Lawmakers Learn?
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“California progressives are pushing a wealth tax that would skim 5 percent of the assets of billionaires to cover the state government’s fiscal gap. That is, it would hit billionaires to start—there’s no telling who would come to be regarded as wealthy enough to be fleeced as the state’s spending likely continues to outstrip its revenues. But before Californians proceed down the path of chasing high earners out of the state, they should consider the example of Swiss voters, who just rejected a billionaire tax of their own.” (12/03/25)
https://reason.com/2025/12/03/switzerland-just-overwhelmingly-rejected-a-new-wealth-tax-will-california-lawmakers-learn/
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41) The $79 Trillion Heist
Source: The American Prospect
by Harold Meyerson
“There are, of course, two components to affordability: sellers’ prices and buyers’ incomes. For most American families, buying (or renting) focuses either heavily or entirely on life’s essentials: housing, food, transportation, education, health care, and other forms of care (child, senior). That a clear majority of American families are, at minimum, stressed by these costs is a consequence of not just a host of factors on the sellers’ side, but of one big factor on the buyers’ side: a half-century of wage stagnation, even as investment income has soared. Or, if you prefer, a half-century of buyers’ income stagnation, even as sellers’ income has soared. If you depend on investments for most of your income, this is a pretty damn good time.” (12/03/25)
https://prospect.org/2025/12/03/79-trillion-heist-worker-pay/
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42) Ask Me Again After Dinner
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
“Kids say the darndest things — and ask the darndest questions. Especially when they were 8-12 years old, my kids would often bring up sensitive topics at dinner. Sexy topics. Disgusting topics. Sexy, disgusting topics. Though I was proud of their unconventional curiosity, I didn’t want to ruin dinner for the whole family. Before long, I came up with a simple response to defuse such situations: ‘Ask me again after dinner.’ A response that simultaneously expresses two distinct positions: First, it’s a fine question to ask, and I’m happy to discuss it with you in detail before bedtime. Second, it’s a bad question to ask right now, so let’s change the subject so everyone has a nice dinner.” (12/03/25)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/ask-me-again-after-dinner
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43) Trump’s War on Democracy in Honduras
Source: The American Conservative
by Ted Snider
“The people of Honduras had not yet made up their minds. So, Donald Trump intervened to help them. … The time has long passed for the U.S. to stop engaging in colonial-style interference in the elections of Latin American countries and to stop ‘defending democracy’ when our candidate wins and subverting it when our candidate loses.” (12/03/25)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/trumps-war-on-democracy-in-honduras/
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44) The Use of Free Labor
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“Week before last I was up for jury duty, instructed to check a web page twice a day to see if they wanted me to come in. The first two days they did not, the third day they did. I was told to come to the south county courthouse by nine in the morning; so were more than eighty other people. … What most struck me, as an economist, about the process was the implication of its having access to nearly free labor — there was no payment for the first day, fifteen dollars a day thereafter.” (12/02/25)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/the-use-of-free-labor
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45) Enough with Obamacare’s 12-year failure; Congress, start here to unwind it
Source: New York Post
by Betsy McCaughey
“Few Americans lie awake at night worrying about the federal debt — so the Republicans’ plan to end ‘temporary’ COVID-era Obamacare subsidies due to their exorbitant cost won’t win them votes. It will save Uncle Sam money: A staggering 93% of Obamacare premiums are now paid directly by the federal government to health-insurance companies. But will that bring victory in the coming midterm elections? No. That’s why Democrats are gloating that reducing the subsidies will mean higher costs for enrollees, and increase the number of Americans who go without insurance. Because of it, Republicans ‘are going to get their clocks cleaned’ in November, Sen. Chris Murphy (D- Conn.) predicts. Democrats cynically insist on continuing to spend huge sums of taxpayers’ money — $450 billion over the next 10 years — to prop up lousy insurance, defending the indefensible because of its Obamacare label. Even though Obamacare is an utter failure.” (12/02/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/12/02/opinion/enough-with-obamacares-12-year-failure-congress-start-here-to-unwind-it/
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46) The tyranny of licenses, permits, and permission slips — and trusting without verifying the truth
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
“[I]f wishes were horses, beggars would ride. At some point, apparently somebody invented an imaginary citation regarding taxes, fees, and natural rights and liberties. And since then, many people have swallowed that whole, repeating it and even seeking to get the courts to accept this fake decision.” (12/02/25)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2025/12/02/the-tyranny-of-licenses-permits-and-permission-slips-and-trusting-without-verifying-the-truth/
-----
47) Trump Threatens Mark Kelly for Reiterating the Military’s Obligation to the Constitution
Source: Independent Institute
by Ivan Eland
“The Trump administration recently threatened to return retired Navy captain, former astronaut, and now Senator Mark Kelly to active duty and court-martial him—along with investigating other veterans in Congress—merely for publicly advising members of the military to honor their oath to defend the Constitution and refuse to obey illegal orders (presumably from President Donald Trump, the commander in chief of the U.S. armed forces). Of course, Trump’s threats are outrageous but unsurprising. He has said he wants to terminate the Constitution. He has also said that Article II, which defines the presidency, allows him to do whatever he wants. More than the flag, the national anthem, the pledge of allegiance, and the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution provides the pillars for the preservation of the American republic. That’s why the military Oath of Enlistment pledges allegiance to the Constitution rather than to a person or branch of government.” (12/02/25)
https://www.independent.org/article/2025/12/02/trump-threatens-mark-kelly-for-reiterating-the-militarys-obligation-to-the-constitution/
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48) Theatre’s “Timid Libertarian”
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Diogo Costa
“Tom Stoppard died on Saturday, November 29th, at 88. Some would call him a scholar’s playwright, due to his allusions and philosophical meditations. When my friend Pedro Sette-Câmara introduced me to his work, I was pursuing graduate studies in New York. The Coast of Utopia was premiering at Lincoln Center, and I couldn’t find an affordable ticket to see it. Instead, I read his trilogy in book format. Partially because of my studies in political philosophy at the time, I started to see in his work the themes related to human freedom and human knowledge, as well as the forces that threaten them.” (12/02/25)
https://fee.org/articles/theatres-timid-libertarian/
-----
49) Off the Rails: Mega-Merger Between Rail Giants A Disaster for Workers & Communities
Source: In These Times
by Maximillian Alvarez
“Having lived through what they call a ‘meltdown,’ a massive service failure in 1999 that actually continued into the year 2000. I think they didn’t get this mess cleaned up for probably about 18 months. Our main line looked like a parking lot and the Norfolk Southern takeover of our portion of Conrail was an unmitigated disaster. This is not good for railroad workers. We worked endlessly, largely 12 hours every time we went to work. It’s a complete chaotic environment. This is not a safe environment. Workers are demoralized. It’s a state of confusion, and we are all constantly fatigued. And we’re pretty upset that we’ve seen our railroad turned upside down and largely destroyed by a corporate takeover. So I would postulate that this kind of meltdown is certainly not in our interest, and there’s very good reason to believe that a UP and NS merger would result in this.” (12/03/25)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/working-people-podcast-railroad-workers-norfolk-southern-union-pacific
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50) California Housing Shortage
Source: Coyote Blog
by Warren Meyer
“Perhaps the largest barrier to housing availability and affordability in places like California are permitting rules, land use restrictions, and construction codes that make it absurdly expensive, or even outright impossible, to construct new single or multi-family housing. Part of this is a conspiracy of current homeowners to protect and increase the value of their property … Another part of this is ‘everything bagel liberalism’ where every program has to achieve every Leftish goal — eg we want new housing but it has to have solar and appliances with a minimum SEER and use recycled materials and have a certain number of units set aside for protected groups and create a conservation easement on part of the land, etc …. But another barrier to housing availability and affordability that is less talked-about is the combination of rent control and tenant protections for existing housing stock.” (12/02/25)
https://coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2025/12/california-housing-shortage.html
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) The Political Orphanage, 12/03/25
Source: The Political Orphanage
“Freddie deBoer: What It’s Like to Have a Mental Breakdown.” (12/03/25)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/freddie-deboer-what-its-like-to-have-a-mental-breakdown
-----
52) Collateral Damage, episode 8
Source: The Intercept
“Donald Scott was killed in his home by an ad hoc team of raiding cops who were looking for marijuana — but the larger prize may have been his 200-acre Malibu ranch.” (12/03/25)
https://theintercept.com/2025/12/03/collateral-damage-episode-eight-legalized-takings/
-----
53) Reason Interview: Matt Ridley
Source: Reason
“Why Science Lost Its Way.” (12/03/25)
https://reason.com/podcast/2025/12/03/why-science-lost-its-way/
-----
54) Underthrow Podcast, 12/03/25
Source: Underthrow
“Building Hong Kong in Honduras with Niklas Anzinger.” (12/03/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S38TFOsGZ48
-----
55) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 12/03/25
Source: The New Republic
“Trump Tirades at Media Darken as MAGA Bloodlust on Bombings Boils Over.” (12/03/25)
https://newrepublic.com/article/203887/trump-seethes-darkly-media-maga-bloodlust-bombings-boils
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56) The Fifth Column, Members Only #286 Unlocked
Source: The Fifth Column
“Atheist in a Foxhole, w/ the Great Sebastian Junger.” (12/03/25)
https://www.wethefifth.com/p/unlocked-atheist-in-a-foxhole-w-the
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57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 12/03/25
Source: Antiwar.com
“Hegseth Says He Wasn’t in the Room for 2nd Boat Strike, IDF Kills Photojournalist in Gaza, and More.” (12/03/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epdzaXEphRs
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58) Politics Politics Politics, 12/02/25
Source: Politics Politics Politics
“Tennessee Special Election Explainer! Are House Members Facing Impending Dread?” (12/02/25)
https://www.politicspoliticspolitics.com/p/tennessee-special-election-explainer
-----
59) LPA Solidarity Stream, episode 12
Source: Libertarian Alliance
“Join us for an interview with Amanda Griffiths, an ally and first mover who has just announced her candidacy for Vice Chair of the Libertarian Party!” (12/02/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRGC8UeyKqs
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60) Nonzero, 12/02/25
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“The Life and Legacy of William F. Buckley (Robert Wright & Sam Tanenhaus).” (12/02/25)
https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/69159
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