03/16 -- Mueller, desperate to keep himself in the news, subpoenas Trump Organization; Donald Trump's authoritarian opponents

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Thomas L. Knapp

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Mar 16, 2018, 12:01:29 AM3/16/18
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 03/16/18
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Presented by the Liberty International

Produced by the staff of Rational Review News Digest
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Today's Freedom News:

1)  Mueller, desperate to keep himself in the news, subpoenas Trump Organization
2)  Bitcoin Lightning startup goes beta with Twitter CEO backing
3)  Trump regime announces Russia sanctions over alleged election meddling
4)  UN: Finland is world's happiest country; US drops to 18th
5)  FDA gang moves to increase smoking
6)  Saudi war criminal / terror kingpin threatens to develop a nuke as kingdom seeks foreign technology
7)  Russia: Plane loses diamonds, platinum, gold on takeoff
8)  Extreme secrecy surrounds Comey book manuscript
9)  IHeartMedia files for bankruptcy with last-minute creditor deal
10) SC: Dylann Roof's sister arrested for carrying weapons to school
11) SEC knocks down $500k palm greasing in fraud settlement with Theranos, Holmes
12) Syria: Thousands flee Eastern Ghouta as regime troops close in
13) Unilever chooses Rotterdam over London for HQ
14) CA: Senate Rules Committee appoints "undocumented" immigrant to post
15) Gaza: Israeli forces conduct airstrikes
16) Australia: Regime considers fast-track visas for white South African farmers
17) FL: Woman kills attempted kidnapper who said he helped dispose of Natalee Holloway's body
18) CA: Two die in crash fleeing kidnappers
19) OK: Regime will use gas instead of drugs to kill prisoners
20) Jamaican singer files frivolous copyright suit vs. Miley Cyrus

Today's Freedom Commentary:

21) Donald Trump's authoritarian opponents
22) Some questions from the edge of immortality
23) Haspel's CIA nomination a women's milestone we'd be wise to avoid
24) Forget bucks and Bitcoins, libertarian ChocoChange is here!
25) Why "expert opinions" so often are dead wrong
26) Trump should test North Korea with the offer of a grand bargain
27) President Trump and the freedom of speech
28) The cruelty of being voiceless on freedom
29) Food co-ops and capitalism
30) John Bolton would be more like a National INsecurity Advisor
31) Washington breaks out the "just following orders" Nazi defense for Haspel
32) Post-Parkland -- support for gun control is not as high as pollsters want you to believe
33) Warning: Dangerous cult!
34) How the Iraq war destabilized the entire Middle East
35) Jeff Sessions's immigration lies
36) Trade wars
37) School shootings are extraordinarily rare. Why is fear of them driving policy?
38) All politics is religion
39) Telling the truth about CIA torture
40) What about a travel ban to reduce the trade deficit?
41) Tillerson fall shows Trump learning game of politics
42) Liberty rising?
43) Censorship is never the answer, Sadiq
44) Russian to judgment: Who poisoned Sergei Skripal?
45) Selection of Pompeo solidifies Trump's position with Koch Brothers
46) Why gun control doesn't explain Australia's low homicide rates
47) A chat about libertarianism, pregnancy, and birth
48) Operation Mongoose and North Korea
49) Redefining the media, part 2
50) Republicans in denial about their Trump curse

Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:

51) Free Talk Live, 03/15/18
52) The Tom Woods Show, episode 1114
53) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 03/15/18
54) Everything Voluntary Podcast, episode 105
55) Gary Taubes on how big government made us fat
56) Scott Adams Says, 03/15/18
57) Cato Daily Podcast, 03/14/18
58) The Tom Woods Show, episode 1113
59) Political Research Digest, episode 12
60) Bloggingheads.tv, 03/14/18

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_____ Today's Freedom News _____

1)  Mueller, desperate to keep himself in the news, subpoenas Trump Organization
Source: The Hill

"Special counsel Robert Mueller has subpoenaed the Trump Organization for documents as part of the federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, The New York Times reported on Thursday. Mueller's subpoena concerns documents related to Russia in addition to other topics, the Times reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter. The scope of the subpoena, including how far it extends to topics outside Russia, was not immediately known, nor was it clear why Mueller subpoenaed the organization for the documents as opposed to simply requesting them." (03/15/18)


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2)  Bitcoin Lightning startup goes beta with Twitter CEO backing
Source: CoinDesk

"A version of bitcoin's much-anticipated Lightning Network is finally ready for real users. Announced today, California startup Lightning Labs has officially launched a beta version of its software (LND), making available what investors and project leads say is the first thoroughly tested version of the tech to date. This means that users can now leverage LND to send bitcoin and litecoin to other users, all without settling those transactions on the blockchain. While this software is one of several seeking to form a combined network that aims to make cryptocurrency transactions faster and cheaper, today's development effectively takes bitcoin a step closer to new kinds of applications, such as Internet of Things payments and recurring billing." [editor's note: This is for old/wrecked Bitcoin (BTC), of course. Real Bitcoin, now known as Bitcoin Cash, just increased the block size instead of inventing an off-chain "solution" to a simple problem – TLK] (03/15/18)


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3)  Trump regime announces Russia sanctions over alleged election meddling
Source: CNN

"The Trump administration announced Thursday it is enacting new sanctions on Russia, including individuals indicted last month by special counsel Robert Mueller, in a sweeping new effort to punish Moscow for its attempts to interfere in the 2016 US election. The measures come a month-and-a-half after the administration missed a congressionally mandated deadline to impose the new sanctions, which led to questions over President Donald Trump's willingness to punish Moscow for its cyber intrusion. The new measures, however delayed, amount to the most stringent punishment yet by Trump for Russia's election interference. In announcing the measures, the administration also disclosed a Russian attempt to penetrate the US energy grid, and said the new sanctions would punish actors for their participation in other major cyberattacks." (03/15/18)


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4)  UN: Finland is world's happiest country; US drops to 18th
Source: KTLA 5 News

"Finland is the happiest country in the world, according to the latest World Happiness Report. Norway, last year's winner, came in second place in the 2018 report. It's followed by Denmark, Iceland and Switzerland. ... The report ranks countries on six key variables that support well-being: income, freedom, trust, healthy life expectancy, social support and generosity. ... The United States landed in 18th place, dropping four spots from last year." (03/15/18)


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5)  FDA gang moves to increase smoking
Source: Washington Post

"Cigarettes would contain less addictive nicotine -- making them less attractive to smokers -- under an 'unprecedented' plan the Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday. Stripping cigarettes of all or most of their addictive power could lead 5 million adults to quit smoking within a year of the plan going into place and another 8 million to quit within five years, according to an analysis published Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine." [editor's note: No, smokers would just smoke MORE CIGARETTES to get their nicotine fix, idiots. More carcinogens in the lungs for the same payoff. Heckuva job, Brownie – TLK] (03/15/18)


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6)  Saudi war criminal / terror kingpin threatens to develop a nuke as kingdom seeks foreign technology
Source: CNBC

"Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince says the kingdom would pursue a nuclear weapon if its regional rival Iran obtains one. ... In an interview with CBS, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Saudi Arabia is not actively pursuing a nuclear weapon, but that could change suddenly. ... Concerns have surfaced that the Trump administration could relax restrictions on enrichment activities that the United States typically places on countries that receive U.S. nuclear technology and training. The measures, enshrined in so-called 123 agreements, aim to prevent uranium enrichment or plutonium reprocessing geared toward developing nuclear weapons. ... Republican Sen. Bob Corker, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Democratic Sen. Edward Markey have come out in favor of maintaining strict controls on enrichment. 'Saudi Arabia's crown prince has confirmed what many have long suspected -- nuclear energy in Saudi Arabia is about more than just electrical power, it's about geopolitical power,' Markey said in a statement Thursday. ... The kingdom has balked at such restrictions." (03/15/18)


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7)  Russia: Plane loses diamonds, platinum, gold on takeoff
Source: Metro [UK]

"A plane lost £265,000,000 of diamonds, platinum and gold after the precious cargo fell out of a loose hatch in the hold. Precious metals and diamonds rained over the runway and a swathe of Yakutia, the coldest region in Russia. The hatch door fell off, causing the contents of the planes hold to haemorrhage valuables. The plane, bound for Krasnoyarsk, made an emergency landing at Magan. No passengers or crew were injured. ... Technical engineers at the airport who prepared it for take off have been detained although it's unclear if the incident was an accident or a deliberate attempt at a heist. 'They are undergoing interrogation,' said a source.


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8)  Extreme secrecy surrounds Comey book manuscript
Source: Politico

"James Comey's book is getting the Harry Potter treatment. 'A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership,' the upcoming memoir from former FBI Director James Comey, is set for publication on April 18 -- and with anticipation rivaling that of the cult children's favorite, the publisher is taking extreme precautions to prevent potentially explosive revelations detailing Comey's interactions with President Donald Trump from leaking. Instead of circulating multiple print drafts among the editors and agents working on the book, the publisher, Flatiron Books, has implemented a password-protected electronic system so that only those involved in the project have access to it. The project is stored under a code name so that staffers who are not involved in the project wouldn't know where to find it if they tried. At warehouses that will ship out copies of the book, workers are being asked to sign nondisclosure agreements, according to people familiar with the procedures." (03/15/18)


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9)  IHeartMedia files for bankruptcy with last-minute creditor deal
Source: Bloomberg

"IHeartMedia Inc., the biggest U.S. radio-station owner, filed for bankruptcy with a plan to halve its debt load of more than $20 billion, the legacy of a leveraged buyout that hobbled the company as the digital era spawned new rivals. IHeart, with about 850 radio stations and 17,000 employees worldwide, filed for Chapter 11 protection on Wednesday in Houston, a move that allows iHeart to keep operating while it tries to cement its turnaround plan. The deal still needs approval from the court and some holdout creditors, and the company could hear again from John Malone's Liberty Media LLC, which has said it wants a stake in the reorganized media giant." (03/15/18)


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10) SC: Dylann Roof's sister arrested for carrying weapons to school
Source: Charleston Post & Courier

"The sister of Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof was arrested Wednesday for carrying weapons at her affluent Columbia-area high school, authorities said. Morgan Roof, 18, also was charged with simple possession of marijuana, the Richland County Sheriff's Department said. An administrator at A.C. Flora High School alerted a school resource officer about a student having pepper spray and a knife and making a Snapchat post that alarmed the campus. The incident took place on a same day when thousands of students nationwide walked out of schools to protest gun violence after last month's Parkland, Fla., high school mass shooting." (03/15/18)


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11) SEC knocks down $500k palm greasing in fraud settlement with Theranos, Holmes
Source: CTV [Canada]

"Elizabeth Holmes, a Stanford University dropout once billed as the 'next Steve Jobs,' has forfeited control of Theranos, the blood-testing startup she founded, and will pay $500,000 to settle charges that she oversaw a 'massive fraud.' Under an agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Holmes is barred from serving as an officer or director of a public company for 10 years. The SEC said Wednesday that it will pursue its case against the president of the company, Ramesh 'Sunny' Balwani, in federal court." (03/15/18)


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12) Syria: Thousands flee Eastern Ghouta as regime troops close in
Source: CNN

"Thousands of people fled the besieged area of Eastern Ghouta on Thursday as Syrian forces advanced into the rebel-held enclave on the edge of Damascus, state TV and monitoring groups reported. The Syrian news agency SANA said more than 10,000 had escaped from the town of Hamoriya to government-controlled parts of the Syrian capital. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) put the figure at more than 12,500. Images on state TV showed hundreds of people carring their belongings out the enclave on foot and in the back of pickup trucks. Soldiers were seen in the footage, but there were no signs of local or international aid groups. ... One of Eastern Ghouta's major rebel groups, Faylaq al Rahman, withdrew from Hamoriya as the Syrian military moved rapidly into the town, according to SOHR." (03/15/18)


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13) Unilever chooses Rotterdam over London for HQ
Source: MarketWatch

"Unilever PLC has decided to consolidate its dual headquarters in Rotterdam over London, an emotionally charged move that came despite last-minute lobbying from the British government. In a Wednesday board meeting, directors decided on the Dutch city but Unilever's board was still receiving calls from the U.K. government on Wednesday night, according to a person familiar with the matter." (03/15/18)


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14) CA: Senate Rules Committee appoints "undocumented" immigrant to post
Source: Sacramento Bee

"The Senate Rules Committee on Wednesday appointed the first undocumented resident to a statewide post, according to Senate President pro Tem Kevin de Leon's office. Lizbeth Mateo, a 33-year-old attorney and immigrant rights activist, will serve on the California Student Opportunity and Access Program Project Grant Advisory Committee. The committee advises the California Student Aid Commission on efforts to increase college access for California students from low-income or underserved communities. ... According to de Leon's office, Mateo graduated from Santa Clara University law School in 2016 and passed the California bar last year. She was born in Oaxaca, Mexico and came to the United States with her parents when she was 14, according to de Leon's office." [editor's note: She doesn't sound very "undocumented" to me. I suspect the only document she lacks is permission from the federal gang-bangers to cross their turf lines – TLK] (03/15/18)


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15) Gaza: Israeli forces conduct airstrikes
Source: Charlotte Observer

"Israel says it struck four militant positions in the Gaza Strip after fighters there detonated two explosive devices near the border. Military spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said the two devices were detonated on the Gaza side of the border and caused no injuries. The positions targeted Thursday belong to Hamas and Islamic Jihad militant groups. It was not immediately clear if anyone was killed or wounded." (03/15/18)


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16) Australia: Regime considers fast-track visas for white South African farmers
Source: The Guardian [UK]

"White South African farmers 'deserve special attention' from Australia due to the 'horrific circumstances' of land seizures and violence, Peter Dutton has said. The home affairs minister told the Daily Telegraph on Wednesday his department was examining a range of methods to fast-track their path to Australia on humanitarian or other visa programs. South Africa's new president, Cyril Ramaphosa, is pursuing legal changes to allow appropriation of farm lands without compensation for redistribution to black South Africans. The policy has led to reports, including in the Australian media, that white farmers are being murdered at a rate of more than one per week." (03/14/18)


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17) FL: Woman kills attempted kidnapper who said he helped dispose of Natalee Holloway's body
Source: WTSP 10 News

"In the series 'The Disappearance of Natalee Holloway,' John Christopher Ludwick made headlines when claiming he helped Joran van der Sloot dispose of the missing teen's body. Ludwick, 32, of Port Charlotte, was disposed of by a stab wound on Tuesday after he attempted to kidnap a woman from her vehicle on the 4300 block of Wesley Lane at about 6:50 a.m., North Port police said. Ludwick was roommates with the woman at one point and wanted a romantic relationship with her, but she didn't, North Port police spokesperson Joshua Taylor said. 'He essentially ambushed her getting out of her car, going into her home,' Taylor said. The woman was able to wrestle a knife from Ludwick, then stabbed him in the abdomen, police said." (03/14/18)


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18) CA: Two die in crash fleeing kidnappers
Source: Sacramento Bee

"When federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement [thugs] flashed emergency lights at an SUV just before 7 a.m. Tuesday in rural California, the driver initially pulled over. But when agents emerged from their vehicle, the driver took off again, according to a Delano Police Department release. The SUV drifted onto a dirt shoulder at high speed, overturned and slammed into a power pole. Santo Hilario Garcia, 35, and Marcelina Garcia Profecto, 33, died in the crash, police said. Both were residents of Delano, a rural Kern County town 30 miles north of Bakersfield in California's Central Valley. United Farm Workers told KBAK the two were a couple and left behind six children. ICE could not be reached for comment on the couple's immigration status." [editor's note: Delano's a nice town (I spent a month or so there back in the '90s). Hopefully the local businesses refuse service to the ICE gangsters – TLK] (03/14/18)


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19) OK: Regime will use gas instead of drugs to kill prisoners
Source: NBC News

"Oklahoma plans to resume [prisoner killings] by using nitrogen or another gas to starve an inmate of oxygen because it cannot obtain the drugs needed for lethal injections, state officials said on Wednesday. Corrections Director Joe Allbaugh said his agency is working to develop a protocol for the new method -- which is certain to spark fierce legal challenges. No details of how it might work have been released. ... Oklahoma is the latest state to explore alternative [prisoner-killing] methods -- including the electric chair and firing squad -- because pharmaceutical companies will no longer sell their drugs to prisons for [use in killing prisoners]." (03/14/18)


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20) Jamaican singer files frivolous copyright suit vs. Miley Cyrus
Source: People

"Miley Cyrus's single 'We Can't Stop' became a summer hit in 2013, but now the singer is facing legal troubles over the song. According to legal documents obtained by PEOPLE and first reported by The Blast, Jamaican singer and songwriter Michael May (who performs as Flourgon) is claiming the Cyrus stole the lyrics from his 1988 track 'We Run Things.' May alleges Cyrus's lyrics 'We run things / Things don't run we' were taken from his lyrics 'We run things / Things no run we,' and adds that the former Voice coach's track 'substantially incorporated' his 'vocal melody/rhythm/cadence/inflection.' ... Though the lawsuit doesn't specify how much May is suing Cyrus and her co-writers, including Mike Will Made It, May's lawyers told Reuters the performer is seeking $300 million in damages." (03/14/18)


_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____

21) Donald Trump's authoritarian opponents
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by James Bovard

"President Trump has said and done many things to appall the friends of freedom. From Trump's pro-torture comments to his praise of police brutality to his cruise-missile barrage against Syria to his threat to annihilate North Korea, there are ample signs that he scorns a freedom-and-peace posture. Unfortunately, many of Trump's opponents are even more statist than the president." (03/15/18)


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22) Some questions from the edge of immortality
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp

"What or who is a 'person' -- a human being whom we recognize as having rights that ought not to be violated? Is a physical body a necessary component of 'personhood,' or would a mind running on a computer likewise enjoy the right to not be robbed or killed, the right to own property, to vote, etc.?
If so, are those rights contingent upon the mind being the transplanted brain schematic of a former physical human, or would artificial intelligences qualify? Would the transplanted mind of a former physical human be the same person as that human, or a different entity altogether? And what if it becomes possible for a human to 'upload' his or her mind to a computer without dying? Is that second mind the first person's property, or a new 'person' in its own right?" (03/15/18)


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23) Haspel's CIA nomination a women's milestone we'd be wise to avoid
Source: USA Today
by Jonathan Turley

"The firing of Rex Tillerson occupied much of the news yesterday as shocked anchors recounted how the Secretary of State was effectively dispatched by a single Trump tweet. The shock, however, should not be over Twitter but torture. Once CIA Director Mike Pompeo replaces Tillerson, President Donald Trump wants Pompeo's second in command to take over the CIA: Deputy Director Gina Haspel. Most people have no idea who Haspel is. She is, however, well-known to human rights advocates and civil libertarians around the world. Haspel was not simply a key figure in the torture program run by the Bush administration, she headed one of the infamous foreign black sites and was accused of knowingly destroying evidence of the torture carried out on her watch." (03/14/18)


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24) Forget bucks and Bitcoins, libertarian ChocoChange is here!
Source: HubPages
by Garry Reed

"Forget government-issued specie and online cryptocurrency. The ultimate libertarian money is finally here and it's easily available to all! Libertarian foil-wrapped chocolate ChocoChange is here! But let's do a bit of background, intro, lead-in stuff first just like real, serious, normal articles do. Many people were first introduced to libertarianism from reading the works of the great free market economists such as Friedrich Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, Milton Friedman, Murray Rothbard, Thomas Sowell and many others, and then arguing endlessly over the relative merits of the Austrian School verses the Chicago School verses Old School classical liberals. None of them ever mentioned ChocoChange!" (03/14/18)


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25) Why "expert opinions" so often are dead wrong
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Isaac M Morehouse

"Manned flight is impossible. Computers will never be smaller than a house. Space flight is 'utter bilge.' The food pyramid. One doesn't have to look far to find embarrassing, peer-reviewed, max-credentialed, decades-held-as-orthodoxy proclamations by the most respected experts in the world. Every single successful business idea or invention heard orders of magnitude more of 'Not interested,' 'No,' 'It's doomed to fail,' or 'It's impossible,' than 'Yes.' Usually, the greater the paper, 'official' expertise, the more likely to be wrong about the future. All that purchased prestige is backward looking." (03/15/18)


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26) Trump should test North Korea with the offer of a grand bargain
Source: Cato Institute
by Ted Galen Carpenter

"Demanding North Korean concessions in advance reflects a fundamental flaw in Washington's entire diplomatic strategy to this point regarding the Korea crisis. The U.S. approach emphasizes sticks with little willingness to offer any meaningful carrots. That strategy has proven utterly futile, and it is time to adopt a radically different approach. The Trump administration should offer the DPRK a 'grand bargain' in exchange for that country's complete denuclearization. Such an offer is the best (probably the only) chance of resolving an increasingly dangerous situation. It also would be a definitive test of whether Pyongyang would agree to resume a nonnuclear status under any circumstances." (03/15/18)


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27) President Trump and the freedom of speech
Source: Fox News Forum
by Andrew P Napolitano

"The freedom of speech has its origins in our humanity. It is a natural right. It exists in the absence of government. By the exercise of normal human reasoning, all rational people are drawn to exercise this freedom. Madison understood this. He could have written, 'Congress shall grant freedom of speech.' He did not because that freedom is not Congress'[s] to grant or to abridge. I am presenting this thumbnail sketch of the historical and philosophical underpinnings of the freedom of speech by way of background to a hot dispute now raging off the front pages. The dispute addresses whether the president of the United States can use federal courts to block the exercise of this right. CBS News wants to air an interview with an adult-film actress who alleges a sexual relationship with Donald Trump -- a relationship he denies -- and President Trump wants to prevent the airing." (03/15/18)


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28) The cruelty of being voiceless on freedom
Source: PanAm Post
by Jose Azel

"As a new leadership generation emerges in Cuba, it is necessary to reestablish the necessity of freedom for human happiness. For the Cuban people, the answer to their lethargic despair is not some form of Castro-light governance where they can struggle unsuccessfully a little longer in a new experimental glass tube. They can only climb out of their communitarian experiment once there is a citizenry free to exercise its political and economic rights. For Cuba it will be a perilous transition." (03/14/18)


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29) Food co-ops and capitalism
Source: American Institute for Economic Research
by Max Gulker, PhD

"Take a stroll through your local food co-op and you're likely to find plenty of folks who don't react so well to the phrase 'free market capitalism.' You might get a couple of lectures on social justice, and an earful on the industrialization of global food production and the havoc it wreaks on society. But political tribalism aside, co-ops can be great practitioners of free market capitalism and integral parts of thriving free market economies." (03/15/18)


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30) John Bolton would be more like a National INsecurity Advisor
Source: Downsize DC
by Perry Willis and Jim Babka

"The people a President hires will often exercise more power than the President does. It's unusual that we focus on personnel. But some appointments may bring policies so bad that we must oppose the person. To us, policies that defend against aggression are legitimate, while those that commit aggression are illegitimate. The rumored appointment of John Bolton as National Security Advisor would move foreign policy in an aggressive, illegitimate direction." (03/15/18)


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31) Washington breaks out the "just following orders" Nazi defense for Haspel
Source: The Intercept
by Jon Schwarz

"During the Nuremberg trial after World War II, several Nazis, including top German generals Alfred Jodl and Wilhelm Keitel, claimed they were not guilty of the tribunal's charges because they had been acting at the directive of their superiors. Ever since, this justification has been popularly known as the 'Nuremberg defense,' in which the accused states they were 'only following orders.' The Nuremberg judges rejected the Nuremberg defense, and both Jodl and Keitel were hanged. The United Nations International Law Commission later codified the underlying principle from Nuremberg as 'the fact that a person acted pursuant to order of his Government or of a superior does not relieve him from responsibility under international law, provided a moral choice was in fact possible to him.' This is likely the most famous declaration in the history of international law and is as settled as anything possibly can be. However, many members of the Washington, D.C. elite are now stating that it, in fact, is a legitimate defense for American officials who violate international law to claim they were just following orders." (03/15/18)


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32) Post-Parkland -- support for gun control is not as high as pollsters want you to believe
Source: The Hill
by Jen Kerns

"In the wake of the horrific school shooting in Parkland, Fla. most Americans were stunned at the brazen ease at which the suspect killed 17 students and injured many more. Sadly, before the bodies were even identified the mainstream media waded into an attempt to affect public opinion -- and ever since, they have suggested that support for gun control has reached an 'all-time high' in American history. However, the mainstream media may have spoken too soon." (03/14/18)


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33) Warning: Dangerous cult!
Source: Everything Voluntary
by Larken Rose

"This is a serious warning to all parents about a nefarious and very dangerous cult that has recently been approaching and recruiting innocent but ignorant souls, enticing them into joining a very violent gang -- which is really more of a cult than a mere gang. This cult has been responsible for countless murders, acts of terrorism, and many other forms of violence. And the members of the cult have been so brainwashed that they view their violent aggression against innocents as being righteous and noble, because they have been taught that such actions are for the common good, because they serve the religious 'vision' of the group's leaders, which involves coercing everyone else into blind obedience to the agenda and decrees of the leaders of the group, and into compliance with their view of how everyone and everything should be." (03/14/18)


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34) How the Iraq war destabilized the entire Middle East
Source: CounterPunch
by Mel Goodman

"As we approach the fifteenth anniversary of the unwarranted invasion of Iraq, which we are still paying for in so many ways, it is important to remember the misuse of intelligence that provided a false justification for war. It is particularly important to do so at this time because President Donald Trump has talked about a military option against North Korea or Iran (or Venezuela for that matter). Since there is no cause to justify such wars, it is quite likely that politicized intelligence would once again be used to provide a justification for audiences at home and abroad." (03/15/18)


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35) Jeff Sessions's immigration lies
Source: Reason
by Matt Welch

"Last week in Sacramento, U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions said that because Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf gave a public warning before a recent immigration sweep, agents from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement 'failed to make 800 arrests that they would have made if the mayor had not acted as she did.' This was, like so many things Sessions and his boss, President Trump, say about immigration, a lie. From sanctuary cities to voter fraud to the visa lottery system, this administration is not only bending the truth about the foreigners in our midst, but also actively basing policy on its fever dreams." (03/15/18)


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36) Trade wars
Source: Cobden Centre
by Alasdair Macleod

"An overt trade war has commenced. President Trump has fired the starting gun, setting in motion an election promise, part of his Make America Great Again undertaking. It is a blow squarely aimed against China, costing China some trade perhaps, but basically a loser's last roll of the dice. The back story appears to be far deeper than some relatively minor tariffs on steel and aluminium would suggest. It comes after a prolonged period of shadow-boxing between America in the blue corner and Russia and China in the red. To pursue the boxing analogy, China and Russia have been soaking up America's punches on the basis America would simply tire herself out. It has been a replay of Muhammed Ali's dope-on-a-rope strategy in the rumble-in-the-jungle, with America cast as George Foreman. However, in the last few days, China and Russia seem to have lost patience with America." (03/15/18)


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37) School shootings are extraordinarily rare. Why is fear of them driving policy?
Source: Washington Post
by David Ropeik

"The first recorded school shooting in the United States took place in 1840, when a law student shot and killed his professor at the University of Virginia. But the modern fear dawned on April 20, 1999, when Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris killed 12 classmates and a teacher, and then themselves, at Colorado's Columbine High. Since then, the murder of children in their classrooms has come to seem common, a regular feature of modern American life, and our fears so strong that we are certain the next horror is sure to come not long after the last. ... the statistical likelihood of any given public school student being killed by a gun, in school, on any given day since 1999 was roughly 1 in 614,000,000. And since the 1990s, shootings at schools have been getting less common." (03/08/18)


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38) All politics is religion
Source: The American Conservative
by Michael Warren Davis

"Because roughly 70 percent of Americans identify as Christian, conservatives like to think we're still basically a Christian nation. But that's only our privately held faith. Christian conservatives no less than liberal atheists balk at any whiff of theocracy. (Consider Rusty Reno's and Rod Dreher's responses to the Mortara debate.) But that doesn't mean America has evolved beyond the need for a corporate religious identity. Indeed, American politics makes more sense if we look at the issue through a sectarian lens. There are fundamental, almost metaphysical, differences between the various factions vying for control of the republic. On the one hand, we have Trumpism, which bears a close resemblance to the Roman imperial cultus. ... Movement conservatism, meanwhile, is a kind of Protestantism. The Constitution fills the role of the Bible. ... And the left? I defer to Adrian Vermeule's brilliant essay 'The Liturgy of Liberalism.'" (03/15/18)


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39) Telling the truth about CIA torture
Source: The Atlantic
by Ali Soufan

"It is a matter of public record that Gina Haspel, President Trump's nominee to be the next director of the CIA, played a key role in the agency's now-defunct program of 'enhanced interrogation techniques' -- an Orwellian euphemism for a system of violence most Americans would recognize as torture. Indeed, Haspel was in charge of one of the agency's secret 'black sites' where at least two detainees were tortured. ... Against this backdrop, it is reasonable to ask the nominee: What does she think about the techniques used under her supervision? Did she condone torture at the time, or was she just following a superior's orders? How, if at all, have her feelings changed over the years? Does she stand behind the attempts to mislead the public as to the techniques' effectiveness? These are important questions, and they will need to be explored in detail at Haspel's confirmation hearing. But the fact that Haspel once presided over torture is actually not the most troubling aspect of her record; for it is also an established fact that she later participated in an attempt to cover up the torture techniques." (03/15/18)


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40) What about a travel ban to reduce the trade deficit?
Source: EconLog
by Pierre Lemieux

"Besides the failure to understand the straight economic arguments for free trade, a methodological error often seems to underlie protectionist arguments. The error is to assume that 'countries' trade. ... The only way to make sense of such statements is that 'country' means the government of the country. It is more useful to distinguish the two concepts. Countries are collections of individuals and trade no more than they eat, consume drugs, or travel. Only individuals do that. ... a ban on foreign leisure travel by Americans would have a potentially larger effect on the trade deficit than the $100 billion deficit reduction than the U.S. government is asking 'China' to achieve ..." (03/14/18)


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41) Tillerson fall shows Trump learning game of politics
Source: Reuters
by Peter Apps

"Donald Trump is learning to work the presidency. The current U.S. president is like few, if any, other leaders in American history. He reportedly shows little interest in reading briefing documents, spends much of his time on the golf course or watching cable television -- all the while disagreeing with the Washington establishment on just about everything. After 14 months in the Oval Office, however, it's hard to dispute that he is becoming more successful at marrying his idiosyncratic style with the levers of power to get his own way. Tuesday's ousting of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson suggests Trump's confidence is still growing -- as is his ability to use the power of his office." (03/14/18)


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42) Liberty rising?
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob

"'Let me make something very clear,' Nick Freitas stated unequivocally. 'I don't have a political career.' Freitas, a Republican member of Virginia's House of Delegates announcing his candidacy for the United States Senate, was responding to advice that running against incumbent Sen. Tim Kaine 'could hurt [his] political career.' It's music to my ears." (03/15/18)


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43) Censorship is never the answer, Sadiq
Source: spiked
by Ella Whelan

"Censorship is the worst way to deal with unpleasant or objectionable views. History shows us that censorship lends glamour to opinions which would otherwise be seen as ridiculous, and drives dangerous ideas underground where they fester and grow unchallenged. Khan has obviously forgotten that many of the historic battles against racism, sexism and bigotry used freedom of speech as a means to fight injustice. While the internet has made it easier to spread unpleasant and backward ideas, it has also made it easier to challenge them." (03/15/18)


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44) Russian to judgment: Who poisoned Sergei Skripal?
Source: Antiwar.com
by Justin Raimondo

"The latest example of alleged Russian perfidy -- the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia -- is yet another case of faith-based attribution. In accusing Russia of some heinous crime -- in this instance, the murder of a former double agent working for MI6 -- one needn't present any real evidence: it's only necessary to point the finger at the Kremlin. And of course we haven't had any real evidence proffered by the British government: Prime Minister Theresa May simply declared that Russia is the culprit and gave a midnight deadline for the Kremlin to explain how 'its nerve weapon' -- as NBC reported it -- was used to attacked Skripal on British soil. She has since announced the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats." (03/15/18)


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45) Selection of Pompeo solidifies Trump's position with Koch Brothers
Source: The American Prospect
by Adele M Stan

"I've long said that Donald J. Trump would remain U.S. president as long as the Koch brothers deemed it so. After all, the billionaire siblings and political pooh-bahs all but own the House of Representatives, being largely responsible for electing the Republican majority in 2010. In our system of government, any plausible effort to remove the president from office begins with the House, the only body that can issue articles of impeachment. In short, Trump needs the Koch brothers in his corner if he's to avoid that fate. Having signed their top priority -- massive tax cuts -- into law, he's a little vulnerable now. In 2016, both Charles and David Koch, principals in Koch Industries and builders of a vast, right-wing political infrastructure, made a big show of their contempt for Trump. Charles compared the choice of either Trump and Hillary Clinton to one between a heart attack and cancer. David declined to attend the Republican National Convention, to which he had served as a delegate in 2012, when he hosted a big party." (03/14/18)


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46) Why gun control doesn't explain Australia's low homicide rates
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Ryan McMaken

"Gun control advocates often point to Australia as an example of how 'banning' guns leads to significant declines in homicide rates. Whether or not the much vaunted gun laws were ever fully implemented remains a matter of debate, but data does indeed suggest Australia's already-low homicide rates continued to slide downward in the twenty years following the alleged banning of guns. Unfortunately, as Leah Libresco writes at the Washington Post, this doesn't give us enough information to draw many conclusions ..." (03/14/18)


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47) A chat about libertarianism, pregnancy, and birth
Source: Bleeding Heart Libertarians
by Lauren Hall and Jessica Flanigan

"I was actually thrilled to see your [Flanigan's] article on obstetric autonomy and informed consent because it is really close to some of the work I'm doing right now on birth. I'm looking more at the political side of things. Namely, the laws, regulations, and general policy structure that prevents women from giving birth the way they want to. It's basically a sort of deep dive into the political and policy limitations on informed consent, because there are so many other things operating before a woman even enters the hospital to give birth that artificially limit her choices. I found it pretty depressing, actually." (03/14/18)


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48) Operation Mongoose and North Korea
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger

"To understand the import of the point that the Times makes about Pompeo, it is helpful to examine a top secret document of the U.S. national-security establishment, a document that was kept secret from the American people for more than 40 years. In fact, the only reason that we are able to see it now is because of the JFK Records Act, which mandated that the Pentagon, CIA, and other federal agencies release to the public all their records relating to the assassination of President Kennedy. This particular document wasn't released until 1998. The document related to Operation Mongoose, which was a top-secret regime-change plan of the U.S. national security establishment, one intended to oust the communist regime in Cuba, headed by Fidel Castro, and replace it with a pro-U.S. dictatorship, similar to the Fulgencio Batista regime that Cuban revolutionaries ousted from power in their 1959 revolution." (03/15/18)


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49) Redefining the media, part 2
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton

"The times have changed, and the role of media in our lives -- daily lives, work lives, and political lives -- has changed: not just grown but different in how much influence there is on us. If we lovers of liberty do not understand, use (and fight) the media, we lose a valuable weapon and tactic (if not strategy) for our fight for liberty. AND for our ability to live free. Think about it." (03/14/18)


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50) Republicans in denial about their Trump curse
Source: The New Republic
by Jeet Heer

"After the botched attempt to invade Cuba ended in disaster at the Bay of Pigs, President John F. Kennedy remarked, 'There's an old saying that victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan.' In other words: Everyone wants to take credit for winning, no one for losing. Kennedy's quip doesn't apply quite yet to the race for Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District, which remains too close to call after Tuesday's special election, but Republicans are already acting as though they have lost the race to Democrat Conor Lamb -- and they're making excuses for it. In fact, they've been making excuses for many days now, as polls showed Lamb leading in a district that Donald Trump carried by 20 percentage points in 2016. In the days before the election, Republicans 'trashed' their party's candidate, Rick Saccone. Trump privately called him 'weak.' Now that Lamb appears the likely victor (he won by fewer than 1,000 votes, within the margin for a recount), Republicans are also rushing to explain why this special election and has no bearing on the upcoming midterms in November." (03/14/18)


_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____

51) Free Talk Live, 03/15/18
Source: Free Talk Live

"Alabama Sheriff legally took $750k meant to feed inmates :: Small town corruption :: Undocumented immigrant appointed to statewide post in California :: California: land of opportunity? :: Welfare state :: Students are being brainwashed that it's 'college or nothing' :: Who are we? :: Vocational school :: IRS :: HOSTS -- Darryl, Chris." [Flash audio or MP3] (03/15/18)


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52) The Tom Woods Show, episode 1114
Source: The Tom Woods Show

"Today I cover two separate topics: Rand Paul's heroic opposition to the Mike Pompeo and Gina Haspel nominations, and the Libertarian Party's strange statement the day of the recent student walkout. That second thing should not have happened." [various formats] (03/15/18)


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53) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 03/15/18
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report

"New York Times bestselling author of 'Skin in the Game' Nassim Nicholas Taleb joins today's Liberty Report to discuss the 'interventionistas' who produce chaos everywhere in the name of 'doing good.' What does it mean to have "skin in the game"? Tune in!" [Flash video] (03/15/18)


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54) Everything Voluntary Podcast, episode 105
Source: Everything Voluntary

"Episode 105 welcomes Dennis Pratt to the podcast for a chat with Skyler. Topics include: writing for the open and curious with respect and empathy at Quora.com, his personal growth nonprofit organization, growing up as a New York liberal with a socialist perspective, debating with a staunch conservative colleague focused on logical consistency moved both of them toward libertarianism, recognizing the use of indirect violence, cognitive dissonance, why the Socratic method of disputation enrages people, raising a daughter who went in and out government schooling and his battles with teachers and school administrators, and more." [various formats] (03/15/18)


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55) Gary Taubes on how big government made us fat
Source: Reason

"Reason's Nick Gillespie sat down with[Gary] Taubes in his kitchen in Oakland, California, to talk about his latest book on nutrition, The Case Against Sugar, which recently came out in paperback." [Flash video] (03/15/18)


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56) Scott Adams Says, 03/15/18
Source: Scott Adams Says

"Scott Adams talks about mass hysteria and stuff." [Flash video] (03/15/18)


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57) Cato Daily Podcast, 03/14/18
Source: Cato Institute

"What does it mean for historical events to be regarded as victories of modern ideologies? Anthony Comegna comments." [various formats] (03/14/18)


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58) The Tom Woods Show, episode 1113
Source: The Tom Woods Show

"This and other questions are discussed in this freewheeling discussion with Michael Malice. Plenty of personal questions (directed at me), too. A total blast. Enjoy!" [various formats] (03/14/18)


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59) Political Research Digest, episode 12
Source: Niskanen Center

"Democrats and Republicans are sorting ideologically and socially and we're developing more negative opinions of one another. Are we dividing into two irreconcilable tribes -- or just tuning out both parties? Liliana Mason talks about new research showing our partisan identity is stronger when our ethnic, religious, and ideological identities are strong and linked to our party's predominant groups. But John Barry Ryan says many citizens dislike both parties and want to tune out of politics, hating the other party only a bit more than their own." [various formats] (03/14/18)


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60) Bloggingheads.tv, 03/14/18
Source: Bloggingheads.tv

"Aryeh Cohen-Wade (Joking on the Square, @AryehCW) and David Klion (Al Jazeera America, The Guardian) ... How the New York Times failed in 2016 ... and how it is failing in its Trump coverage ... The core problem with the NYT Opinion columnists ... Requiem for the political blogosphere ... David's critique of NYT Opinion under editor James Bennet ... Why there's no real threat to free speech on college campuses ... Aryeh: NYT Opinion needs to hire a Trump supporter." [Flash video] (03/14/18)


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