03/24 -- Tehran strikes Israel and US Gulf allies after calling Trump peace talks "fake news;" The War on Immigrants Meets the War on Iran
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Thomas L. Knapp
Mar 24, 2026, 6:18:03 AM (2 days ago) Mar 24
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 03/24/26
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Tehran strikes Israel and US Gulf allies after calling Trump peace talks “fake news”
2) US regime acts to make your next router more expensive because “national security”
3) Russia: Ukrainian drones, missiles strike oil export hub
4) Colombia: Military plane crash kills at least 66, wounds dozens
5) US Senate confirms Mullin as new heimatschutz shot-caller
6) China: Regime limits fuel price hike to cushion impact of rising oil prices
7) Pfizer to seek US FDA approval for Lyme disease vaccine candidate despite trial miss
8) Zimbabwe: Regime thugs abduct top opponent of changes extending president’s rule
9) SCOTUS turns down journalist’s case against Texas regime thugs who arrested her for reporting
10) DoorDash offers added payments to US and Canadian drivers as Trump’s war idiocy drives up gas prices
11) Photos show ICE thugs at US airports to fill in for absentee TSA gropers
12) Leonid Radvinsky, 1982-2026
13) NY: Two pilots killed after Air Canada jet hits fire truck, forcing LaGuardia airport to close
14) Trump regime, French company reach “nearly $1 billion” deal to reduce US energy independence, raise electricity rates
15) SCOTUS to decide whether states can keep counting late mail ballots
16) UK: Police investigate apparent antisemitic attack after a Jewish charity’s ambulances set on fire
17) Germany: With shortage of workers, turning to India for help
18) Musk announces Terafab project he claims will be the “largest chip manufacturing facility ever”
19) Italy: In setback for Premier Meloni, voters reject judicial reform
20) France: Socialist Emmanuel Grégoire elected Paris mayor, as National Rally fails to take key cities
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) The War on Immigrants Meets the War on Iran
22) The Late Robert Mueller, Bill of Rights Executioner
23) Why AI may never be profitable
24) The Quest for Authenticity
25) Imagining a 2028 Presidential Campaign for a Limited Presidency
26) Power Is Built One Conversation at a Time
27) Trump wants an Iwo Jima moment in Iran; will Americans be OK with the fallout?
28) Britain Is Bringing Back the Blasphemy Laws — and the Free Speech Union is Taking the Government to Court
29) Why Donald Trump Just Can’t Stop Going to War
30) Could Artificial Intelligence Finally Make Central Planning Work?
31) Two great ideas on how to deal with the Iran war consequences that Trump should consider
32) The Bottleneck is the Birth Canal
33) It’s Unethical To Have Sympathy For Israelis
34) “Identifying with,” Politics, and Life
35) Scarcity and the Machine: Opportunity Cost in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
36) Weaponized Data via Silencer
37) Afroman turns court into First Amendment rap lesson on rights
38) The destruction of Gaza has not ended
39) Adam Smith on the Labor Theory of Value
40) Quantum Vibe, 03/23/26
41) Why US Cuba Coverage Falls Far Short of the Truth
42) Silent Cal’s Loud Lesson on Tax Cuts
43) The Day the UN Died
44) The Art of Coping with Unfathomable Rage in Infuriating Times
45) A Tariff Ceasefire in Time of War Would Help Everybody
46) Trump Destroyed the EV Industry, Just When We Need It Most
47) Tariffs Will Not Save Britain’s Steel Industry
48) Meanwhile, in Sudan
49) Warrantless Spying Reform Just Got a Whole Lot More Interesting
50) The Turning Point in Our Lives
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Reason Roundtable, 03/23/26
52) The Political Orphanage
53) Rising, 03/23/26
54) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 03/23/26
55) EconTalk, 03/23/26
56) The Evil Within, part 6
57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 03/22/26
58) Larry Johnson on The Scott Horton Show
59) AI Summer, 03/22/26
60) How to Fix It with John Avlon, 03/22/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Tehran strikes Israel and US Gulf allies after calling Trump peace talks “fake news”
Source: Independent [UK]
“Iran launched another blistering attack against Israel and American allies in the Gulf on Tuesday after dismissing Donald Trump’s claims that Washington and Tehran were holding ‘productive’ talks to end the war as ‘fake news.’ The Israeli military reported a fresh wave of missile attacks, triggering air raid sirens across the country …. Kuwait also responded to drone and missile attacks overnight, while Saudi Arabia intercepted a wave of more than 20 drones and Bahrain activated alert sirens. Explosions continued to rock Iran through the night, heard in Tehran, Tabriz, Isfahan and Karaj. There was no sign of de-escalation after Iran rubbished Donald Trump’s claims that talks towards a ceasefire were ongoing with an unnamed ‘top person’ in Iran.” (03/24/26)
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-us-war-live-trump-deadline-oil-strait-of-hormuz-b2944254.html
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2) US regime acts to make your next router more expensive because “national security”
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“The US has banned new foreign-made consumer internet routers over [fake] national security concerns. In an update on Monday to a list of equipment seen as not secure enough for use, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) added all consumer-grade routers made outside the US. … Any new router made outside the US will now need to be approved by the FCC before it can be imported, marketed, or sold in the country. In order to get that approval, companies manufacturing routers outside the US must apply for conditional approval in a process that will require the disclosure of the firm’s foreign investors or influence, as well as a plan to bring the manufacturing of the routers to the US.” [editor’s note: In other words, the US regime is suppressing price competition on behalf of some Trump crony – TLK] (03/24/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c74787w149zo
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3) Russia: Ukrainian drones, missiles strike oil export hub
Source: Yahoo! News
“Ukraine has struck Russia’s largest western export terminal in an effort to stifle Moscow’s windfall from rising global oil prices. A wave of drones targeted the Baltic Sea port of Primorsk, which exports one million barrels of crude a day and serves as a hub for the Kremlin’s sanctions-busting ‘shadow fleet’ of oil tankers. Satellite images showed a huge fire and thick plumes of smoke above the facility near Finland, 570 miles from the Ukrainian border, after several fuel reservoirs were hit. Ukrainian drones struck Primorsk last September, but the considerably more explosive results of the latest attack have fuelled speculation missiles were used, specifically the new Flamingo weapon, which has a 1,150kg warhead. An oil refinery in the central Russian city of Ufa was also targeted and forced to suspend operations.” (03/23/26)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/ukraine-strikes-russian-oil-export-175342141.html
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4) Colombia: Military plane crash kills at least 66, wounds dozens
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“At least 66 people have died and dozens of others have been wounded after a Colombian military plane with 125 people on board crashed after takeoff in the south of the country, officials have said. The Lockheed Martin-built C-130 Hercules aircraft went down on Monday shortly after it had departed from Puerto Leguizamo, near the southern border with Ecuador and Peru, strewing burning wreckage on the jungle floor.” (03/24/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/23/colombian-military-plane-with-125-on-board-crashes-after-takeoff
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5) US Senate confirms Mullin as new heimatschutz shot-caller
Source: New York Post
“The Senate confirmed Markwayne Mullin to replace Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary on Monday, following a fiery hearing last week where Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) claimed his colleague was too angry for the promotion. In a 54-45 vote, the Oklahoma Republican senator was approved to lead the beleaguered Department of Homeland Security, where carrying out the president’s ‘mass deportations’ actions has led to low public approval in the second year of his term. … two Democrats — Sens. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) — supported Mullin to helm DHS, along with 52 Republicans. Paul was the lone GOP ‘no’ vote on his confirmation.” (03/23/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/03/23/us-news/senate-confirms-sen-markwayne-mullin-to-replace-kristi-noem-as-homeland-security-secretary/
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6) China: Regime limits fuel price hike to cushion impact of rising oil prices
Source: Reuters
“China took steps to cushion the impact of rising fuel prices on Monday, increasing the regulated ceiling prices for retail gasoline and diesel but limiting the hike to about half what would normally be applied under the government’s pricing mechanism. The adjustments brought on by rising oil prices linked to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran were still the largest on record, however, lifting price limits close to levels seen in 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine. State planner the National Development and Reform Commission said on Monday it would raise the maximum retail prices for gasoline and diesel by 1,160 yuan ($168) per metric ton and 1,115 yuan per metric ton, respectively, starting from Monday midnight.” (03/23/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/china-limits-fuel-price-hike-cushion-impact-rising-oil-prices-2026-03-23/
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7) Pfizer to seek US FDA approval for Lyme disease vaccine candidate despite trial miss
Source: CNBC
“Pfizer on Monday said it will seek regulatory approval for a Lyme disease vaccine candidate despite the shot failing a late-stage trial. Pfizer said the vaccine missed the trial’s statistical goal because not enough people in the study contracted Lyme disease to be confident in the results. Still, the company said the shot reduced the rate of infection by more than 70% in people who received the vaccine versus placebo, efficacy the company thinks is strong enough to take to regulators. … A vaccine for Lyme disease isn’t expected to become a best-seller for Pfizer …. But Pfizer had billed the Lyme vaccine results as one of its major catalysts this year, and it represented a chance to introduce the only human vaccine for Lyme disease.” (03/23/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/23/pfizer-lyme-disease-vaccine-trial-fda-approval.html
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8) Zimbabwe: Regime thugs abduct top opponent of changes extending president’s rule
Source: ABC News
“Zimbabwe has detained the leading opponent to planned constitutional amendments that would extend the rule of the country’s 83-year-old president and make the post elected by Parliament, not the people. Former finance minister Tendai Biti was set to appear in court on Monday. It’s the highest profile detention yet of critics of the attempt to allow President Emmerson Mnangagwa to extend his rule, due to end in 2028, by two years. Police in recent months have banned meetings or arrested people for gathering to express opposition. Biti leads the Constitutional Defenders Forum, a group campaigning against the amendments. CDF spokesman Jacob Rukweza said Biti and programs director Morgan Ncube are accused of holding a public meeting without notifying police.” (03/23/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/zimbabwe-detains-top-opponent-extending-presidents-rule-131321547
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9) SCOTUS turns down journalist’s case against Texas regime thugs who arrested her for reporting
Source: NBC News
“The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an attempt by a citizen journalist to revive her civil rights claim after she was arrested for soliciting information from a police officer. At issue in the case brought by reporter Priscilla Villarreal was whether the officials in Laredo, Texas, could claim the legal defense of ‘qualified immunity,’ which would protect them from being sued. The court’s refusal to hear the case means her claim that the officials had violated the Constitution’s First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech, cannot go forward.” (03/23/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-rejects-citizen-journalists-case-texas-officials-arreste-rcna252422
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10) DoorDash offers added payments to US and Canadian drivers as Trump’s war idiocy drives up gas prices
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
“DoorDash is offering extra compensation to U.S. and Canadian drivers as part of a temporary program to help offset rising gas prices. The San Francisco-based delivery company announced the program Monday as the national average price for gas hit $3.96 per gallon in the U.S., according to AAA. That’s 35% higher than one month ago. DoorDash said U.S. drivers with a DoorDash debit card will earn 10% cash back on any gas purchase, up from the usual rate of 2%. More than half of DoorDash drivers have the card, the company said. The company said drivers who travel 125 miles or more while making deliveries will also receive a weekly fuel payment, starting at $5 and up to a maximum of $15. … It’s not yet clear if rivals will match DoorDash’s payments.” (03/23/26)
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/03/23/doordash-gas-prices/
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11) Photos show ICE thugs at US airports to fill in for absentee TSA gropers
Source: SFGate
“Federal immigration officers have arrived at U.S. airports, fulfilling President Donald Trump’s pledge to deploy them to help the Transportation Security Administration during a partial government shutdown. The shutdown has caused long lines at security checkpoints across the country. This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.” (03/23/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/photos-show-ice-agents-at-us-airports-where-the-22091897.php
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12) Leonid Radvinsky, 1982-2026
Source: US News & World Report
“Leonid Radvinsky, the secretive billionaire owner of OnlyFans who reshaped the porn industry with a subscription model, has died at 43 from cancer, the company said on Monday. The Ukrainian-American entrepreneur bought Fenix International, the parent company of OnlyFans, from the platform’s British founder Tim Stokely in 2018. He served as a director on Fenix’s board and was its majority shareholder. Under his ownership, OnlyFans turned from a platform that once avoided explicit content into an adults-only phenomenon with more than 300 million users and over $1 billion in annual revenue, powered by erotic performers and celebrity influencers.” (03/23/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-03-23/onlyfans-owner-leonid-radvinsky-dies-of-cancer-at-43-bloomberg-news-reports
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13) NY: Two pilots killed after Air Canada jet hits fire truck, forcing LaGuardia airport to close
Source: Fox News
“Two pilots were killed at New York’s LaGuardia Airport late Sunday night after an Air Canada jet struck a Port Authority vehicle on the ground while landing, officials said. More than 40 passengers, crew members and Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting officers were hospitalized. The airport is expected to be closed until 2 p.m. Monday. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney commented on the ground collision at LaGuardia Airport in New York that left two pilots dead and dozens of others injured. Carney wrote in a post on X that the fatal collision involving an Air Canada Express aircraft was ‘deeply saddening.’ ‘Canadian officials are working closely with their U.S. counterparts on the ground as the investigation continues,’ Carney wrote. ‘My thoughts are with the victims, their families, and all those impacted.'” (03/23/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/new-york-laguardia-plane-crash-march-23
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14) Trump regime, French company reach “nearly $1 billion” deal to reduce US energy independence, raise electricity rates
Source: Barron’s
“The United States and TotalEnergies on Monday signed an agreement to end the French company’s offshore US wind farm projects and redirect those funds towards fossil fuel production, with the US interior secretary saying the deal was worth ‘nearly $1 billion.’ … [TotalEnergies CEO Patrick] Pouyanne welcomed the deal, saying it redirected TotalEnergies’s $928 million investment in two wind farm leases off the North Carolina and New York coasts into US natural gas projects, in particular the Rio Grande LNG plant.” (03/23/26)
https://www.barrons.com/news/us-totalenergies-reach-nearly-1-bn-deal-to-end-offshore-wind-projects-681b56ea
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15) SCOTUS to decide whether states can keep counting late mail ballots
Source: SFGate
“The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments on Monday to decide whether states can continue to count late-arriving mail ballots — an election issue targeted by President Donald Trump. All 50 states require ballots to be cast or postmarked on or before Election Day, but 14 states have grace periods for receiving and counting regular mailed ballots, ranging from a day to several weeks after the election. A final ruling will almost certainly come by late June, early enough to govern the counting of ballots in the 2026 midterm congressional elections. Justice Brett Kavanaugh asked whether the court’s legal principle that decisions shouldn’t disrupt upcoming elections would stay their hands if the justices forbade states from counting mail ballots received after Election Day.” (03/23/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/the-latest-supreme-court-will-decide-whether-22091408.php
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16) UK: Police investigate apparent antisemitic attack after a Jewish charity’s ambulances set on fire
Source: ABC News
“our ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity in London were set on fire early Monday morning in London, in what British police are investigating as an antisemitic hate crime. No one was injured in the overnight attack, which shattered windows in nearby homes. … Officers were called to Golders Green, a London neighborhood with a large Jewish population, after receiving reports of a fire, the Metropolitan Police force said. Four ambulances belonging to Hatzola Northwest, a volunteer organization that provides emergency medical response, were damaged, according to the London Fire Brigade.” (03/23/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/vehicles-belonging-jewish-ambulance-service-set-fire-london-131315454
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17) Germany: With shortage of workers, turning to India for help
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Germany is continuing to struggle with a shortage of skilled workers, as elderly staff retire, and there are not enough young candidates to fill their roles. To try to alleviate the problem the country is increasingly turning to workers from India. For Handirk von Ungern-Sternberg, it started with an email that dropped into his inbox in February 2021. It had come from India. The gist of the message was: ‘We have lots of young, motivated people looking for vocational training and we’re wondering if you’re interested.’ Von Ungern-Sternberg was working for the Freiburg Chamber of Skilled Crafts in southwest Germany, a trade body that represents skilled workers, from bricklayers and carpenters, to butchers and bakers, and the companies that employ them. The email arrived at an opportune moment.” (03/23/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3wlww83yv4o
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18) Musk announces Terafab project he claims will be the “largest chip manufacturing facility ever”
Source: Engadget
“Elon Musk has announced the Terafab project, a joint venture between Tesla, SpaceX and xAI, to build the ‘largest chip manufacturing facility ever.’ In his usual grandiose fashion, Musk claims Terafab is the next step towards harnessing the power of the sun and creating a ‘galactic civilization.’ Musk, CEO of all three companies, announced plans for the Terafab in a livestream on X. As the name implies, the project’s ultimate goal is to produce a terawatt of computing power each year so that it can match the companies’ growing demand for chips.” (03/22/26)
https://www.engadget.com/science/elon-musk-announces-terafab-project-he-claims-will-be-the-largest-chip-manufacturing-facility-ever-171718545.html?src=rss
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19) Italy: In setback for Premier Meloni, voters reject judicial reform
Source: SFGate
“Italian voters rejected a judicial reform backed by conservative Premier Giorgia Meloni, delivering a stinging setback to the right-wing government one year ahead of national elections. The ‘No’ camp won around 54% of the vote against the government‑backed ‘Yes’ campaign, which secured about 46%, according to almost final Interior Ministry data. Turnout over the two‑day ballot, which began Sunday, was considerably higher than expected at almost 59% following a polarizing campaign. The vote galvanized the center‑left opposition while exposing fractures within the right‑wing coalition that supports Meloni. The defeat of the referendum risks weakening Meloni’s leadership both at home and abroad. It may also complicate her efforts to defend her controversial alignment with U.S. President Donald Trump and his increasingly unpopular war on Iran. The referendum centered on long-debated reforms aimed at reshaping the structure of Italy’s judiciary.” (03/23/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/italian-voters-reject-judicial-reform-in-a-22091881.php
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20) France: Socialist Emmanuel Grégoire elected Paris mayor, as National Rally fails to take key cities
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“The Socialist Emmanuel Grégoire has been elected mayor of Paris, beating the former rightwing minister Rachida Dati, with Marine Le Pen’s far-right, anti-immigration National Rally (RN) failing to take key cities targeted in Sunday’s second round of local elections. Grégoire took a victory bike ride with future councillors in Paris on Sunday night to show that the French capital would continue its pro-cycling and environmental policies. … In France’s second city, Marseille, the mayor, Benoît Payan, won with his leftwing coalition including the Socialists and the Greens – holding back a rise of the RN. … Elsewhere, the former prime minister Édouard Philippe is now expected to kickstart his centre-right candidacy for the French presidency next year after being re-elected as mayor of the northern port town of Le Havre.” (03/22/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/22/paris-mayoral-race-socialist-emmanuel-gregoire-projected-to-win
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) The War on Immigrants Meets the War on Iran
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“For those Americans who still believe that the U.S. government’s deadly, destructive, illegal, and unconstitutional war of aggression against Iran is about concern for the freedom and well-being of the people of Iran, what the U.S. government is now doing with its war on immigrants will help dispel such Americans of such a quaint notion. That’s because U.S. officials are in the process of deporting 400 Iranian immigrants to Iran as part of their war on immigrants. Yes, you read that right! U.S. officials are forcibly returning 400 Iranian immigrants to a country that the U.S. government and the Israeli government continue to bomb to smithereens. How is that action consistent with a supposed concern for the freedom and well-being of the Iranian people?” (03/23/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/03/23/the-war-on-immigrants-meets-the-war-on-iran/
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22) The Late Robert Mueller, Bill of Rights Executioner
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Jim Bovard
“Former FBI director Robert Mueller died last week at the age of 81. The New York Times eulogized him as a ‘button-down, lockjawed, rock-ribbed exemplar of a vanishing caste.’ In reality, Mueller was simply a twenty-first century version of J. Edgar Hoover, trampling the Constitution and seizing new power on any pretext.” (03/23/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/the-late-robert-mueller-bill-of-rights-executioner
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23) Why AI may never be profitable
Source: Sex and the State
by Cathy Reisenwitz
“I’d kind of assumed that the frontier AI labs (Anthropic, OpenAI, X) would reap the financial rewards of frontier AI development. But that might not be correct. AI might be more like electricity than Google. After all, who profited from electrification? It certainly wasn’t the inventors. Or their companies. The people who got rich from electricity were the ones who used it to make other things. Profits went to the factory owners who electrified their factories and the folks who sold light bulbs. The electric companies became utilities. I had assumed that the companies currently building AI would become the next Google and Bing. However, many believe that the actual models are more likely to become cheap and interchangeable, like electricity. Or Wi-Fi. Or railroads.” (03/23/26)
https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/why-ai-may-never-be-profitable
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24) The Quest for Authenticity
Source: Law & Liberty
by Samuel Mace
“In democracies, rulers require the consent of the governed. Even within elite theories of democracies, some sort of common consent is necessary. The easiest way to secure such consent is to persuade the people that you are really one of them. Politicians from elite backgrounds work to appear as if they are unafraid of working a day in McDonald’s, or plead for the fortunes of a favourite football team. They are not ‘regular people,’ but they try to look like they belong. These efforts cut across ideology as attempts to cultivate authenticity emerge on both the left and right. But politics cannot be defined by personality alone.” (03/23/26)
https://lawliberty.org/the-quest-for-authenticity/
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25) Imagining a 2028 Presidential Campaign for a Limited Presidency
Source: Liberal Currents
by Dennis Lytton
“Jimmy Carter in 1977 cut the size of the White House staff by 30%. Coming just two years after Nixon’s resignation, Carter’s election coincided with a series of legislative reforms to tame the imperial presidency. Carter for a brief shining time seemed to embody that smaller presidency. He announced on his inauguration day that, ‘I would never permit my White House staff to try to run the major departments of government.’ We’ve endured nine withering years of Trump’s America (including what we now realize was but a fleeting interregnum under Biden). The idea that the presidency should be an executive with cabinet secretaries and independent agencies constrained strictly to statute and the constitution seems distant. Instead, the American imperial executive is led now by a few unaccountable staffers in the West Wing with the opaque character of a monarch’s courtiers.” (03/23/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/imagining-a-2028-presidential-campaign-for-a-limited-presidency/
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26) Power Is Built One Conversation at a Time
Source: Our Future
by Sulma Arias
“Many people in this country feel attacks on our civil liberties have gone too far. I agree. Heavily armed ICE and CBP agents, who are paid with our tax dollars, hide their identities as they storm into our homes without warrants, suppress free speech, and even murder U.S. citizens who engage in peaceful protest. Many people feel it is time to stop this cruelty and violence. Yet what can we do? One answer is to flood the streets. Indeed, in places like Chicago and Minneapolis, we’ve seen tens of thousands show up to demand an end to the militarized occupation of their cities. And millions nationwide have turned out to No Kings rallies, and will do so again this March 28th. Mass moments like this are important; they show us we are not alone. Yet on their own, they are not enough …” (03/22/26)
https://ourfuture.org/20260322/power-is-built-one-conversation-at-a-time
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27) Trump wants an Iwo Jima moment in Iran; will Americans be OK with the fallout?
Source: The Hill
by Jos Joseph
“The news that the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) might be headed to the Middle East to reinforce the 31st MEU, which was already ordered there, raises the odds that ground troops might play a part in President Trump’s war with Iran. … We all know of Joe Rosenthal’s famous picture of the raising of the American flag on Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima. Trump will want to have a similar image to get the American public hyped about an unpopular war and to boost his own image as a warfighting President along the likes of Abraham Lincoln or Franklin Roosevelt. But what Trump needs to understand is what happened after the Iwo Jima photo was released to the public.” (03/23/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/5795673-marines-middle-east-trump/
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28) Britain Is Bringing Back the Blasphemy Laws — and the Free Speech Union is Taking the Government to Court
Source: The American Conservative
by Toby Young
“[UK secretary of state for communities Steve] Reed has officially adopted a definition of ‘anti-Muslim hostility’ — ‘Islamophobia’ by another name — and announced that a government-appointed ‘special representative,’ a so-called ‘czar,’ will record complaints and ensure that anyone who falls foul of the definition is ‘appropriately’ dealt with. … Now, you might think: What’s wrong with that? Nobody wants Muslims to face hatred or discrimination. But here’s the problem. Discrimination against Muslims — indeed, against people of any religion — is already illegal under Britain’s Equality Act of 2010. … Britain repealed blasphemy laws that proscribed attacks on Christianity in 2008. It would be a peculiar irony if, 18 years later, a Labour government reinstated a new version of them …” (03/23/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/britain-is-bringing-back-the-blasphemy-laws-and-the-free-speech-union-is-taking-the-government-to-court/
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29) Why Donald Trump Just Can’t Stop Going to War
Source: TomDispatch
by Patrick Strickland
“After protests across Iran turned deadly in January, President Donald Trump promised Iranians that ‘help is on the way’. On February 28th, the U.S. and Israel launched what immediately became a devastating war on Iran. American and Israeli warplanes began dropping bombs on a country of some 93 million people. Trump soon put out a video address, telling Iranians that ‘the hour of your freedom is at hand’. Around the time that video appeared, Iranians in the city of Minab were sorting through the corpses of more than 165 people killed in an airstrike on an elementary school for girls. That same day, an airstrike killed Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, an 86-year-old who was supposedly already in poor health. Throughout the ensuing days, American and Israeli attacks struck hospitals, historic sites, and more schools.” (03/22/26)
https://tomdispatch.com/why-donald-trump-just-cant-stop-going-to-war/
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30) Could Artificial Intelligence Finally Make Central Planning Work?
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Sergio Martinez
“During the early 1970s, the Chilean government imposed price controls on thousands of goods while expanding state control over industry. Shortages multiplied, black markets expanded, and economic coordination deteriorated. Political instability soon followed, culminating in the military coup of 1973. At first glance, the lesson seemed clear: central planning could not replicate the complex coordination performed by markets. And yet the idea never completely disappeared. Recent advances in artificial intelligence have revived an old argument. If earlier socialist planners failed because they lacked sufficient computing power, perhaps modern algorithms could finally solve the problem. Some contemporary writers have openly suggested this possibility.” (03/23/26)
https://fee.org/articles/could-artificial-intelligence-finally-make-central-planning-work/
-----
31) Two great ideas on how to deal with the Iran war consequences that Trump should consider
Source: New York Post
by Miranda Devine
“As we enter the fourth week of the Iran war (or ‘excursion’), here are two great ideas about how to deal with some of the consequences — both from outside the Beltway. In fact, right in New York. One idea, unusually, is from longtime President Trump critic and former swamp creature Richard Haass, now back in his hometown. The other is from Wall Street guru Larry Kudlow, Trump’s great friend and former economic adviser. Both ideas are elegantly unconventional. In his Substack last week, Haass took a moment from trashing the president to suggest an alternative to boots on the ground for the prickly problem of opening the Strait of Hormuz, where tankers carrying one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas are being throttled by Iran. Don’t send the Marines in to seize Kharg Island, Iran’s principal export terminal — just close the Strait.” (03/22/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/03/22/opinion/2-great-ideas-on-how-to-deal-with-the-iran-war-consequences-that-trump-should-consider/
-----
32) The Bottleneck is the Birth Canal
Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders
“A confluence of trends, events, and crises are all hitting the West at about the same time. We have entered an era of profound transformation. What lies beyond the pain?” (03/23/26)
https://underthrow.substack.com/p/the-bottleneck-is-the-birth-canal
-----
33) It’s Unethical To Have Sympathy For Israelis
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Israel’s Foreign Ministry has posted a statement on Twitter which reads, ‘The Iranian regime devastated Arad and Dimona by deliberately striking civilians with missiles. Over 100 people were injured, including children. A blatant war crime. Pure terrorism.’ I don’t want to be one of those people who wastes their time criticizing ‘hypocrisy’ in foreign policy, but holy fucking shit, dude. Jesus Christ. My God. I will never, ever express sympathy for Israelis. Ever. Under any circumstances. To do so would be irresponsible, because Israel always weaponizes sympathy and then uses that weapon to commit mass atrocities. If the world gives Israel sympathy for civilians injured by an Iranian airstrike over the weekend in a war Israel started, by Friday they’ll be using that sympathy to justify nuking Tehran. I don’t enjoy holding this position.” [editor’s note: Then perhaps you should start distinguishing Israeli non-combatants from the Israeli regime, Ms. Johnstone; then you’d have a shot at getting it right – TLK] (03/22/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/03/22/its-unethical-to-have-sympathy-for-israelis-and-other-notes/
-----
34) “Identifying with,” Politics, and Life
Source: ProSocial Libertarians
by Andrew Jason Cohen
“Its common today to talk about an individual’s ‘identity’ and mean the group or groups they either associate themselves with (i.e., take themselves to be members of) or that they are, ascriptively, taken by others to be associated with. People ‘identify as’ straight, gay, trans, black, Hispanic, Latino, Conservative, Christian, Jewish, etc. etc. etc. What is this really? On one influential account, from (I think) Kwame Appiah (see his The Ethics of Identity), to ‘identify with’ a group is to take reasons from that group as one’s own reasons. This strikes me as a plausible way to understand the term. If Joe identifies as Hispanic, he would take reasons common to other Hispanic people as his own. Ascriptively, I gather, others would assume — rightly or wrongly — that Joe has such reasons. All of that seems entirely plausible. I also think it is (if accurate) unfortunate.” (03/23/26)
https://prosociallibertarians.substack.com/p/identifying-with-politics-and-life
-----
35) Scarcity and the Machine: Opportunity Cost in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Michael Matulef
“AI is everywhere now — woven into our workplaces, our devices, and our daily routines — and with its spread comes a rising fear: what happens when there’s no meaningful work left for humans? AI is becoming the silent collaborator behind almost everything we make. Yet its presence creates a new kind of tension: not whether we can use it, but how we should. Regardless of the advancements in AI, the central question does not change: given scarcity, what should you do with your time, and what should you let the tools do?” (03/23/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/scarcity-and-machine-opportunity-cost-age-artificial-intelligence
-----
36) Weaponized Data via Silencer
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“‘Authoritarian regimes have developed strong cyber espionage capabilities that enable their influence and coercion operations,’ explains a National Intelligence Council ‘assessment,’ dated April 7, 2020. … The report calls this technological capacity ‘digital authoritarian capabilities’ — yet our own government has the same. It accuses China of marshaling ‘mass surveillance and AI-driven algorithmic tracking of its citizens’ behavior at home to inform the use of soft or coercive incentives and disincentives to control them,’ but that, I’m afraid, is what our government does, too.” (03/24/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/03/23/weaponized-data-via-silencer/
-----
37) Afroman turns court into First Amendment rap lesson on rights
Source: Fox News
by Jonathan Turley
“When singer Joseph E. Foreman took the stand recently in Ohio, his message, like his lyrics, was hardly subtle. Indeed, counsel may have been unsure whether to examine or to hoist him. The rapper, known as ‘Afroman,’ appeared in a suit modeled after an American flag with matching flag-patterned sunglasses. He lashed out at the seven police officers who raided his home and then sued him for publicly mocking them. He insisted that he was the virtual embodiment of the First Amendment in all of its glory. The jury agreed, at least insofar as finding him protected in his parody and public portrayal of the officers. Almost three years ago, I wrote about the case and expressed deep skepticism about the legal viability of the case in light of free speech protections for filming and criticizing public officials.” (03/23/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/jonathan-turley-afroman-turns-court-first-amendment-rap-lesson-rights
-----
38) The destruction of Gaza has not ended
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Martin Di Caro
“As the war in Iran absorbs the world’s attention, with its images of dead school girls and flattened buildings, it may be easy to overlook Gaza. It has been a full five months since a ceasefire went into effect. It did not stop the bloodshed and intense suffering: Israeli forces have killed hundreds of Palestinians since October, and the enclave remains in dire need of food and medicine. Yet Gaza has disappeared from America’s front pages as the Trump administration’s Board of Peace, mostly bereft of Palestinian leadership, attempts to steer a peace plan to its second phase.” (03/23/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/the-destruction-of-gaza-has-not-ended/
-----
39) Adam Smith on the Labor Theory of Value
Source: EconLog
by Steven Horwitz
“There are many things Adam Smith got right about economics, including the discipline’s fundamental insight about the unplanned nature of market-driven economic and social order. He is rightly called the founder of economics for that reason. However, he did not get everything right. One of his most important errors, and one he shared with many 18th and 19th century economists, including Karl Marx, was his erroneous theory of value and explanation of price.” (03/23/26)
https://www.econlib.org/econlog/adam-smith-on-the-labor-theory-of-value
-----
40) Quantum Vibe, 03/23/26
Source: Big Head Press
by Scott Bieser
Cartoon. (03/23/26)
https://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=2580
-----
41) Why US Cuba Coverage Falls Far Short of the Truth
Source: Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting
by Tyler Wann
“The US government’s decades-long economic blockade against Cuba is in many ways not a complicated issue. The policy of restricting trade with the country’s Communist government was put into full force under the Kennedy administration, with the explicit goal of causing enough economic hardship, hunger and desperation to spur regime change. The UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly and consistently voted to end the embargo since a resolution to that effect was first introduced in 1992. Member countries argue that the embargo violates international law. It has cost the country anywhere between $130–170 billion since its inception, and has restricted the Cuban people’s access to food and medicine. And it has not accomplished its primary goal of overthrowing the Cuban government. These are key points that should be included in any article reporting on Cuba’s economic struggles.” (03/22/26)
https://fair.org/home/as-washington-succeeds-in-wrecking-cubas-economy-us-media-blame-the-victim/
-----
42) Silent Cal’s Loud Lesson on Tax Cuts
Source: The Daily Economy
by Jeffery L Degner
“A century ago, the federal government ran surpluses under lower tax rates. But that’s impossible with our out-of-control spending.” (03/23/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/silent-cals-loud-lesson-on-tax-cuts/
-----
43) The Day the UN Died
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ted Snider
“On March 1, a massive attack was launched on Iran in violation of UN Charter Article 2.3 that demands that member states ‘settle their international disputes by peaceful means’ and Article 2.4 that requires all members to ‘refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.’ This norm has no exemptions and cannot be modified, including, according to the International Court of Justice, in self-defense. The war on Iran was legitimized neither by Security Council authorization nor by an immediate need for self-defense. Iran responded, in part, by targeting neighboring countries that hosted U.S. bases. On March 11, the Security Council responded by condemning the latter, but not the former.” (03/23/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/ted_snider/2026/03/22/the-day-the-un-died
-----
44) The Art of Coping with Unfathomable Rage in Infuriating Times
Source: exile in happy valley
by Nicky Reid
“In case you haven’t noticed, our president is a literal pedophile who kills children. Not only do I feel like I have every fucking right to my rage, I feel like anyone still capable of staying calm in this situation is the sick one and that their apathetic sickness in dire times might actually be getting people killed. I can just hear them now; ‘Stay calm and vote blue no matter who, the woker section of Team Epstein will clean up this mess!’ Fuck you, you Chicken Noodle Soup reading mental insect.” (03/22/26)
https://exileinhappyvalley.blogspot.com/2026/03/the-art-of-coping-with-unfathomable.html
-----
45) A Tariff Ceasefire in Time of War Would Help Everybody
Source: Town Hall
by EJ Antoni, Ph.D.
“Iran’s efforts to close the Strait of Hormuz have made gas prices rise to the point where they may threaten President Donald Trump’s affordability agenda. Whether the closure is short or long, consumers are feeling the pain just as the latest economic figures show an economy that is sputtering and can use a boost. But the President can help absorb the disruption and deprive Tehran of its goal to push our economy into reverse by cutting a deal on planned global tariff increases. The Strait of Hormuz has been a key bottleneck for oil exports from the Gulf region with roughly one-fifth of global oil flows being impacted by the threat of Iranian missiles, mines, and drone strikes through the narrow waterway. The economic situation is becoming increasingly precarious as energy stockpiles worldwide quickly dwindle and prices rise in response to the choked-off supply that is not easily substituted.” (03/23/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/ej-antoni/2026/03/23/a-tariff-ceasefire-in-time-of-war-would-help-everybody-n2673269#google_vignette
-----
46) Trump Destroyed the EV Industry, Just When We Need It Most
Source: The Bulwark
by Jonathan Cohn
“General Motors just rolled out a car that’s perfect for the moment. It’s the 2027 Chevrolet Bolt — a relatively cheap, all-electric subcompact that will let you drive right past gas stations, and dodge those high prices from the war in Iran. But if you want a Bolt, you’d better act fast, because they won’t be on dealer lots for long. GM has already confirmed that production will end next year. The plan is to convert the Bolt’s factory in Kansas City back to manufacturing vehicles with internal combustion engines. … a big part of the story is Donald Trump. Since taking office, he has launched an all-out assault on EVs — by working with Republicans in Congress to eliminate tax breaks for vehicle production and purchases, and by using his regulatory powers to gut federal and state emissions standards that favored fuel efficiency.” [editor’s note: No, those were good moves. But the US government should stop its similar subsidies, etc. to Big Oil as well, and let the market decide – TLK] (03/22/26)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-electric-vehicle-ev-industry-chevy-bolt-gas-prices
-----
47) Tariffs Will Not Save Britain’s Steel Industry
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Eliot Wilson
“The Government’s approach to the UK’s steel industry has always looked like a cross between inveterate, unshakeable optimism and the panicked thrashings of a drowning man clutching for a flotation aid. An extremely charitable observer would argue that the Government had always had a very clear aim: to preserve Britain’s steel industry in order to safeguard employment in the sector and to provide resilience in manufacturing a product vital for growth and security. A more cynical mind might counter that someone who makes a wish as a penny is flipped down a well has a very clear aim. Without a practical, sustainable and realistic plan to achieve that aim, such airy, wouldn’t-it-be-nice ambitions are politically worthless at best.” (03/22/26)
https://fee.org/articles/tariffs-will-not-save-britains-steel-industry/
-----
48) Meanwhile, in Sudan
Source: Quillette
by Brian Stewart
“While Iran, Israel, and Gaza have dominated headlines, a bloody power struggle among Sudanese warlords grinds on.” (03/22/26)
https://quillette.com/2026/03/22/meanwhile-in-sudan/
-----
49) Warrantless Spying Reform Just Got a Whole Lot More Interesting
Source: The American Prospect
by James Baratta
“For many years, Congress has maintained a bipartisan consensus on warrantless surveillance. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) has allowed the U.S. government to surveil foreign nationals abroad since its passage in 2008, and as the Prospect has reported time and time again, domestic intelligence agencies have amassed troves of communications data, including from American citizens, through the program. The National Security Agency (NSA) and FBI do not need a warrant to access this data, regardless of whether it comes from a foreign national or U.S. citizen. Section 702, which must be reauthorized by Congress periodically, is set to expire on April 20. The House is expected to vote on it in the coming weeks. Historically, lawmakers’ attempts to meaningfully reform the program have failed.” (03/23/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/03/23/spying-reform-congress-foreign-intelligence-surveillance-act-section-702-save-act-voter-suppression/
-----
50) The Turning Point in Our Lives
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Jeffrey A Tucker
“The Covid period was a turning point in our lives. We saw how the system that rules us truly operates and that of which it is capable. We experienced the apotheosis of the corporatist planning state, as close to dystopian-level totalitarianism as we ever knew. We observed how the media, tech, elected and unelected government, and the medical industry all work together when the stakes are high. And we observed and experienced just how completely controlling this cartel can be once it is unleashed on the entire population.” (03/22/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/the-turning-point-in-our-lives/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Reason Roundtable, 03/23/26
Source: Reason
"It's Time To Abolish the TSA." (03/23/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/03/23/its-time-to-abolish-the-tsa/
-----
52) The Political Orphanage
Source: The Political Orphanage
“Heaton Goes to Prison.” (03/23/26)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/heaton-goes-to-prison
-----
53) Rising, 03/23/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave gives his radar on a hypothetical Tucker Carlson/Joe Kent ticket for the 2028 Presidential Election, highlighting how some on the right have become disgruntled with President Trump’s involvement in Iran.” (03/23/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/5792908-rising-march-23-2026/
-----
54) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 03/23/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump’s Angry Tirade at Media Goes Haywire, Exposing a Dark MAGA Truth.” (03/23/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/208048/trump-angry-tirade-media-goes-haywire-exposing-dark-maga-truth
-----
55) EconTalk, 03/23/26
Source: EconTalk
“The Match That Lit the Flame: Hannah Senesh and the Creation of Modern Israel (with Matti Friedman).” (03/23/26)
https://www.econtalk.org/the-match-that-lit-the-flame-hannah-senesh-and-the-creation-of-modern-israel-with-matti-friedman/
-----
56) The Evil Within, part 6
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“Immigration.” (03/23/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLlwS99wN2E
-----
57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 03/22/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Iran Responds To Trump’s Power Plant Threat, Trump Considers Ground Ops in Iran, and More.” (03/22/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVOOI8PFMzo
-----
58) Larry Johnson on The Scott Horton Show
Source: The Scott Horton Show
“Larry Johnson on the Ongoing and Coming Failures in the US and Israel’s War with Iran.” (03/22/26)
https://scotthorton.org/interviews/3-19-26-larry-johnson-on-the-ongoing-and-coming-failures-in-the-us-and-israels-war-with-iran/
-----
59) AI Summer, 03/22/26
Source: AI Summer
“Ryan Avent on self-driving cars and the future of the labor market.” (03/22/26)
https://www.aisummer.org/p/ryan-avent-on-self-driving-cars-and
-----
60) How to Fix It with John Avlon, 03/22/26
Source: The Bulwark
“MAGA Isn’t a Majority—So Why Is It Winning? (w/ Dan Cantor).” (03/22/26)
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/maga-isnt-a-majority-so-why-is-it-winning-w-dan-cantor/id1772157676?i=1000756572052
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Tehran strikes Israel and US Gulf allies after calling Trump peace talks “fake news”
2) US regime acts to make your next router more expensive because “national security”
3) Russia: Ukrainian drones, missiles strike oil export hub
4) Colombia: Military plane crash kills at least 66, wounds dozens
5) US Senate confirms Mullin as new heimatschutz shot-caller
6) China: Regime limits fuel price hike to cushion impact of rising oil prices
7) Pfizer to seek US FDA approval for Lyme disease vaccine candidate despite trial miss
8) Zimbabwe: Regime thugs abduct top opponent of changes extending president’s rule
9) SCOTUS turns down journalist’s case against Texas regime thugs who arrested her for reporting
10) DoorDash offers added payments to US and Canadian drivers as Trump’s war idiocy drives up gas prices
11) Photos show ICE thugs at US airports to fill in for absentee TSA gropers
12) Leonid Radvinsky, 1982-2026
13) NY: Two pilots killed after Air Canada jet hits fire truck, forcing LaGuardia airport to close
14) Trump regime, French company reach “nearly $1 billion” deal to reduce US energy independence, raise electricity rates
15) SCOTUS to decide whether states can keep counting late mail ballots
16) UK: Police investigate apparent antisemitic attack after a Jewish charity’s ambulances set on fire
17) Germany: With shortage of workers, turning to India for help
18) Musk announces Terafab project he claims will be the “largest chip manufacturing facility ever”
19) Italy: In setback for Premier Meloni, voters reject judicial reform
20) France: Socialist Emmanuel Grégoire elected Paris mayor, as National Rally fails to take key cities
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) The War on Immigrants Meets the War on Iran
22) The Late Robert Mueller, Bill of Rights Executioner
23) Why AI may never be profitable
24) The Quest for Authenticity
25) Imagining a 2028 Presidential Campaign for a Limited Presidency
26) Power Is Built One Conversation at a Time
27) Trump wants an Iwo Jima moment in Iran; will Americans be OK with the fallout?
28) Britain Is Bringing Back the Blasphemy Laws — and the Free Speech Union is Taking the Government to Court
29) Why Donald Trump Just Can’t Stop Going to War
30) Could Artificial Intelligence Finally Make Central Planning Work?
31) Two great ideas on how to deal with the Iran war consequences that Trump should consider
32) The Bottleneck is the Birth Canal
33) It’s Unethical To Have Sympathy For Israelis
34) “Identifying with,” Politics, and Life
35) Scarcity and the Machine: Opportunity Cost in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
36) Weaponized Data via Silencer
37) Afroman turns court into First Amendment rap lesson on rights
38) The destruction of Gaza has not ended
39) Adam Smith on the Labor Theory of Value
40) Quantum Vibe, 03/23/26
41) Why US Cuba Coverage Falls Far Short of the Truth
42) Silent Cal’s Loud Lesson on Tax Cuts
43) The Day the UN Died
44) The Art of Coping with Unfathomable Rage in Infuriating Times
45) A Tariff Ceasefire in Time of War Would Help Everybody
46) Trump Destroyed the EV Industry, Just When We Need It Most
47) Tariffs Will Not Save Britain’s Steel Industry
48) Meanwhile, in Sudan
49) Warrantless Spying Reform Just Got a Whole Lot More Interesting
50) The Turning Point in Our Lives
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Reason Roundtable, 03/23/26
52) The Political Orphanage
53) Rising, 03/23/26
54) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 03/23/26
55) EconTalk, 03/23/26
56) The Evil Within, part 6
57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 03/22/26
58) Larry Johnson on The Scott Horton Show
59) AI Summer, 03/22/26
60) How to Fix It with John Avlon, 03/22/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Tehran strikes Israel and US Gulf allies after calling Trump peace talks “fake news”
Source: Independent [UK]
“Iran launched another blistering attack against Israel and American allies in the Gulf on Tuesday after dismissing Donald Trump’s claims that Washington and Tehran were holding ‘productive’ talks to end the war as ‘fake news.’ The Israeli military reported a fresh wave of missile attacks, triggering air raid sirens across the country …. Kuwait also responded to drone and missile attacks overnight, while Saudi Arabia intercepted a wave of more than 20 drones and Bahrain activated alert sirens. Explosions continued to rock Iran through the night, heard in Tehran, Tabriz, Isfahan and Karaj. There was no sign of de-escalation after Iran rubbished Donald Trump’s claims that talks towards a ceasefire were ongoing with an unnamed ‘top person’ in Iran.” (03/24/26)
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-us-war-live-trump-deadline-oil-strait-of-hormuz-b2944254.html
-----
2) US regime acts to make your next router more expensive because “national security”
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“The US has banned new foreign-made consumer internet routers over [fake] national security concerns. In an update on Monday to a list of equipment seen as not secure enough for use, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) added all consumer-grade routers made outside the US. … Any new router made outside the US will now need to be approved by the FCC before it can be imported, marketed, or sold in the country. In order to get that approval, companies manufacturing routers outside the US must apply for conditional approval in a process that will require the disclosure of the firm’s foreign investors or influence, as well as a plan to bring the manufacturing of the routers to the US.” [editor’s note: In other words, the US regime is suppressing price competition on behalf of some Trump crony – TLK] (03/24/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c74787w149zo
-----
3) Russia: Ukrainian drones, missiles strike oil export hub
Source: Yahoo! News
“Ukraine has struck Russia’s largest western export terminal in an effort to stifle Moscow’s windfall from rising global oil prices. A wave of drones targeted the Baltic Sea port of Primorsk, which exports one million barrels of crude a day and serves as a hub for the Kremlin’s sanctions-busting ‘shadow fleet’ of oil tankers. Satellite images showed a huge fire and thick plumes of smoke above the facility near Finland, 570 miles from the Ukrainian border, after several fuel reservoirs were hit. Ukrainian drones struck Primorsk last September, but the considerably more explosive results of the latest attack have fuelled speculation missiles were used, specifically the new Flamingo weapon, which has a 1,150kg warhead. An oil refinery in the central Russian city of Ufa was also targeted and forced to suspend operations.” (03/23/26)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/ukraine-strikes-russian-oil-export-175342141.html
-----
4) Colombia: Military plane crash kills at least 66, wounds dozens
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“At least 66 people have died and dozens of others have been wounded after a Colombian military plane with 125 people on board crashed after takeoff in the south of the country, officials have said. The Lockheed Martin-built C-130 Hercules aircraft went down on Monday shortly after it had departed from Puerto Leguizamo, near the southern border with Ecuador and Peru, strewing burning wreckage on the jungle floor.” (03/24/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/23/colombian-military-plane-with-125-on-board-crashes-after-takeoff
-----
5) US Senate confirms Mullin as new heimatschutz shot-caller
Source: New York Post
“The Senate confirmed Markwayne Mullin to replace Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary on Monday, following a fiery hearing last week where Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) claimed his colleague was too angry for the promotion. In a 54-45 vote, the Oklahoma Republican senator was approved to lead the beleaguered Department of Homeland Security, where carrying out the president’s ‘mass deportations’ actions has led to low public approval in the second year of his term. … two Democrats — Sens. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) — supported Mullin to helm DHS, along with 52 Republicans. Paul was the lone GOP ‘no’ vote on his confirmation.” (03/23/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/03/23/us-news/senate-confirms-sen-markwayne-mullin-to-replace-kristi-noem-as-homeland-security-secretary/
-----
6) China: Regime limits fuel price hike to cushion impact of rising oil prices
Source: Reuters
“China took steps to cushion the impact of rising fuel prices on Monday, increasing the regulated ceiling prices for retail gasoline and diesel but limiting the hike to about half what would normally be applied under the government’s pricing mechanism. The adjustments brought on by rising oil prices linked to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran were still the largest on record, however, lifting price limits close to levels seen in 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine. State planner the National Development and Reform Commission said on Monday it would raise the maximum retail prices for gasoline and diesel by 1,160 yuan ($168) per metric ton and 1,115 yuan per metric ton, respectively, starting from Monday midnight.” (03/23/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/china-limits-fuel-price-hike-cushion-impact-rising-oil-prices-2026-03-23/
-----
7) Pfizer to seek US FDA approval for Lyme disease vaccine candidate despite trial miss
Source: CNBC
“Pfizer on Monday said it will seek regulatory approval for a Lyme disease vaccine candidate despite the shot failing a late-stage trial. Pfizer said the vaccine missed the trial’s statistical goal because not enough people in the study contracted Lyme disease to be confident in the results. Still, the company said the shot reduced the rate of infection by more than 70% in people who received the vaccine versus placebo, efficacy the company thinks is strong enough to take to regulators. … A vaccine for Lyme disease isn’t expected to become a best-seller for Pfizer …. But Pfizer had billed the Lyme vaccine results as one of its major catalysts this year, and it represented a chance to introduce the only human vaccine for Lyme disease.” (03/23/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/23/pfizer-lyme-disease-vaccine-trial-fda-approval.html
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8) Zimbabwe: Regime thugs abduct top opponent of changes extending president’s rule
Source: ABC News
“Zimbabwe has detained the leading opponent to planned constitutional amendments that would extend the rule of the country’s 83-year-old president and make the post elected by Parliament, not the people. Former finance minister Tendai Biti was set to appear in court on Monday. It’s the highest profile detention yet of critics of the attempt to allow President Emmerson Mnangagwa to extend his rule, due to end in 2028, by two years. Police in recent months have banned meetings or arrested people for gathering to express opposition. Biti leads the Constitutional Defenders Forum, a group campaigning against the amendments. CDF spokesman Jacob Rukweza said Biti and programs director Morgan Ncube are accused of holding a public meeting without notifying police.” (03/23/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/zimbabwe-detains-top-opponent-extending-presidents-rule-131321547
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9) SCOTUS turns down journalist’s case against Texas regime thugs who arrested her for reporting
Source: NBC News
“The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an attempt by a citizen journalist to revive her civil rights claim after she was arrested for soliciting information from a police officer. At issue in the case brought by reporter Priscilla Villarreal was whether the officials in Laredo, Texas, could claim the legal defense of ‘qualified immunity,’ which would protect them from being sued. The court’s refusal to hear the case means her claim that the officials had violated the Constitution’s First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech, cannot go forward.” (03/23/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-rejects-citizen-journalists-case-texas-officials-arreste-rcna252422
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10) DoorDash offers added payments to US and Canadian drivers as Trump’s war idiocy drives up gas prices
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
“DoorDash is offering extra compensation to U.S. and Canadian drivers as part of a temporary program to help offset rising gas prices. The San Francisco-based delivery company announced the program Monday as the national average price for gas hit $3.96 per gallon in the U.S., according to AAA. That’s 35% higher than one month ago. DoorDash said U.S. drivers with a DoorDash debit card will earn 10% cash back on any gas purchase, up from the usual rate of 2%. More than half of DoorDash drivers have the card, the company said. The company said drivers who travel 125 miles or more while making deliveries will also receive a weekly fuel payment, starting at $5 and up to a maximum of $15. … It’s not yet clear if rivals will match DoorDash’s payments.” (03/23/26)
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/03/23/doordash-gas-prices/
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11) Photos show ICE thugs at US airports to fill in for absentee TSA gropers
Source: SFGate
“Federal immigration officers have arrived at U.S. airports, fulfilling President Donald Trump’s pledge to deploy them to help the Transportation Security Administration during a partial government shutdown. The shutdown has caused long lines at security checkpoints across the country. This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.” (03/23/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/photos-show-ice-agents-at-us-airports-where-the-22091897.php
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12) Leonid Radvinsky, 1982-2026
Source: US News & World Report
“Leonid Radvinsky, the secretive billionaire owner of OnlyFans who reshaped the porn industry with a subscription model, has died at 43 from cancer, the company said on Monday. The Ukrainian-American entrepreneur bought Fenix International, the parent company of OnlyFans, from the platform’s British founder Tim Stokely in 2018. He served as a director on Fenix’s board and was its majority shareholder. Under his ownership, OnlyFans turned from a platform that once avoided explicit content into an adults-only phenomenon with more than 300 million users and over $1 billion in annual revenue, powered by erotic performers and celebrity influencers.” (03/23/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-03-23/onlyfans-owner-leonid-radvinsky-dies-of-cancer-at-43-bloomberg-news-reports
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13) NY: Two pilots killed after Air Canada jet hits fire truck, forcing LaGuardia airport to close
Source: Fox News
“Two pilots were killed at New York’s LaGuardia Airport late Sunday night after an Air Canada jet struck a Port Authority vehicle on the ground while landing, officials said. More than 40 passengers, crew members and Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting officers were hospitalized. The airport is expected to be closed until 2 p.m. Monday. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney commented on the ground collision at LaGuardia Airport in New York that left two pilots dead and dozens of others injured. Carney wrote in a post on X that the fatal collision involving an Air Canada Express aircraft was ‘deeply saddening.’ ‘Canadian officials are working closely with their U.S. counterparts on the ground as the investigation continues,’ Carney wrote. ‘My thoughts are with the victims, their families, and all those impacted.'” (03/23/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/new-york-laguardia-plane-crash-march-23
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14) Trump regime, French company reach “nearly $1 billion” deal to reduce US energy independence, raise electricity rates
Source: Barron’s
“The United States and TotalEnergies on Monday signed an agreement to end the French company’s offshore US wind farm projects and redirect those funds towards fossil fuel production, with the US interior secretary saying the deal was worth ‘nearly $1 billion.’ … [TotalEnergies CEO Patrick] Pouyanne welcomed the deal, saying it redirected TotalEnergies’s $928 million investment in two wind farm leases off the North Carolina and New York coasts into US natural gas projects, in particular the Rio Grande LNG plant.” (03/23/26)
https://www.barrons.com/news/us-totalenergies-reach-nearly-1-bn-deal-to-end-offshore-wind-projects-681b56ea
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15) SCOTUS to decide whether states can keep counting late mail ballots
Source: SFGate
“The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments on Monday to decide whether states can continue to count late-arriving mail ballots — an election issue targeted by President Donald Trump. All 50 states require ballots to be cast or postmarked on or before Election Day, but 14 states have grace periods for receiving and counting regular mailed ballots, ranging from a day to several weeks after the election. A final ruling will almost certainly come by late June, early enough to govern the counting of ballots in the 2026 midterm congressional elections. Justice Brett Kavanaugh asked whether the court’s legal principle that decisions shouldn’t disrupt upcoming elections would stay their hands if the justices forbade states from counting mail ballots received after Election Day.” (03/23/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/the-latest-supreme-court-will-decide-whether-22091408.php
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16) UK: Police investigate apparent antisemitic attack after a Jewish charity’s ambulances set on fire
Source: ABC News
“our ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity in London were set on fire early Monday morning in London, in what British police are investigating as an antisemitic hate crime. No one was injured in the overnight attack, which shattered windows in nearby homes. … Officers were called to Golders Green, a London neighborhood with a large Jewish population, after receiving reports of a fire, the Metropolitan Police force said. Four ambulances belonging to Hatzola Northwest, a volunteer organization that provides emergency medical response, were damaged, according to the London Fire Brigade.” (03/23/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/vehicles-belonging-jewish-ambulance-service-set-fire-london-131315454
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17) Germany: With shortage of workers, turning to India for help
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Germany is continuing to struggle with a shortage of skilled workers, as elderly staff retire, and there are not enough young candidates to fill their roles. To try to alleviate the problem the country is increasingly turning to workers from India. For Handirk von Ungern-Sternberg, it started with an email that dropped into his inbox in February 2021. It had come from India. The gist of the message was: ‘We have lots of young, motivated people looking for vocational training and we’re wondering if you’re interested.’ Von Ungern-Sternberg was working for the Freiburg Chamber of Skilled Crafts in southwest Germany, a trade body that represents skilled workers, from bricklayers and carpenters, to butchers and bakers, and the companies that employ them. The email arrived at an opportune moment.” (03/23/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3wlww83yv4o
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18) Musk announces Terafab project he claims will be the “largest chip manufacturing facility ever”
Source: Engadget
“Elon Musk has announced the Terafab project, a joint venture between Tesla, SpaceX and xAI, to build the ‘largest chip manufacturing facility ever.’ In his usual grandiose fashion, Musk claims Terafab is the next step towards harnessing the power of the sun and creating a ‘galactic civilization.’ Musk, CEO of all three companies, announced plans for the Terafab in a livestream on X. As the name implies, the project’s ultimate goal is to produce a terawatt of computing power each year so that it can match the companies’ growing demand for chips.” (03/22/26)
https://www.engadget.com/science/elon-musk-announces-terafab-project-he-claims-will-be-the-largest-chip-manufacturing-facility-ever-171718545.html?src=rss
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19) Italy: In setback for Premier Meloni, voters reject judicial reform
Source: SFGate
“Italian voters rejected a judicial reform backed by conservative Premier Giorgia Meloni, delivering a stinging setback to the right-wing government one year ahead of national elections. The ‘No’ camp won around 54% of the vote against the government‑backed ‘Yes’ campaign, which secured about 46%, according to almost final Interior Ministry data. Turnout over the two‑day ballot, which began Sunday, was considerably higher than expected at almost 59% following a polarizing campaign. The vote galvanized the center‑left opposition while exposing fractures within the right‑wing coalition that supports Meloni. The defeat of the referendum risks weakening Meloni’s leadership both at home and abroad. It may also complicate her efforts to defend her controversial alignment with U.S. President Donald Trump and his increasingly unpopular war on Iran. The referendum centered on long-debated reforms aimed at reshaping the structure of Italy’s judiciary.” (03/23/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/italian-voters-reject-judicial-reform-in-a-22091881.php
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20) France: Socialist Emmanuel Grégoire elected Paris mayor, as National Rally fails to take key cities
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“The Socialist Emmanuel Grégoire has been elected mayor of Paris, beating the former rightwing minister Rachida Dati, with Marine Le Pen’s far-right, anti-immigration National Rally (RN) failing to take key cities targeted in Sunday’s second round of local elections. Grégoire took a victory bike ride with future councillors in Paris on Sunday night to show that the French capital would continue its pro-cycling and environmental policies. … In France’s second city, Marseille, the mayor, Benoît Payan, won with his leftwing coalition including the Socialists and the Greens – holding back a rise of the RN. … Elsewhere, the former prime minister Édouard Philippe is now expected to kickstart his centre-right candidacy for the French presidency next year after being re-elected as mayor of the northern port town of Le Havre.” (03/22/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/22/paris-mayoral-race-socialist-emmanuel-gregoire-projected-to-win
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) The War on Immigrants Meets the War on Iran
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“For those Americans who still believe that the U.S. government’s deadly, destructive, illegal, and unconstitutional war of aggression against Iran is about concern for the freedom and well-being of the people of Iran, what the U.S. government is now doing with its war on immigrants will help dispel such Americans of such a quaint notion. That’s because U.S. officials are in the process of deporting 400 Iranian immigrants to Iran as part of their war on immigrants. Yes, you read that right! U.S. officials are forcibly returning 400 Iranian immigrants to a country that the U.S. government and the Israeli government continue to bomb to smithereens. How is that action consistent with a supposed concern for the freedom and well-being of the Iranian people?” (03/23/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/03/23/the-war-on-immigrants-meets-the-war-on-iran/
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22) The Late Robert Mueller, Bill of Rights Executioner
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Jim Bovard
“Former FBI director Robert Mueller died last week at the age of 81. The New York Times eulogized him as a ‘button-down, lockjawed, rock-ribbed exemplar of a vanishing caste.’ In reality, Mueller was simply a twenty-first century version of J. Edgar Hoover, trampling the Constitution and seizing new power on any pretext.” (03/23/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/the-late-robert-mueller-bill-of-rights-executioner
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23) Why AI may never be profitable
Source: Sex and the State
by Cathy Reisenwitz
“I’d kind of assumed that the frontier AI labs (Anthropic, OpenAI, X) would reap the financial rewards of frontier AI development. But that might not be correct. AI might be more like electricity than Google. After all, who profited from electrification? It certainly wasn’t the inventors. Or their companies. The people who got rich from electricity were the ones who used it to make other things. Profits went to the factory owners who electrified their factories and the folks who sold light bulbs. The electric companies became utilities. I had assumed that the companies currently building AI would become the next Google and Bing. However, many believe that the actual models are more likely to become cheap and interchangeable, like electricity. Or Wi-Fi. Or railroads.” (03/23/26)
https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/why-ai-may-never-be-profitable
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24) The Quest for Authenticity
Source: Law & Liberty
by Samuel Mace
“In democracies, rulers require the consent of the governed. Even within elite theories of democracies, some sort of common consent is necessary. The easiest way to secure such consent is to persuade the people that you are really one of them. Politicians from elite backgrounds work to appear as if they are unafraid of working a day in McDonald’s, or plead for the fortunes of a favourite football team. They are not ‘regular people,’ but they try to look like they belong. These efforts cut across ideology as attempts to cultivate authenticity emerge on both the left and right. But politics cannot be defined by personality alone.” (03/23/26)
https://lawliberty.org/the-quest-for-authenticity/
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25) Imagining a 2028 Presidential Campaign for a Limited Presidency
Source: Liberal Currents
by Dennis Lytton
“Jimmy Carter in 1977 cut the size of the White House staff by 30%. Coming just two years after Nixon’s resignation, Carter’s election coincided with a series of legislative reforms to tame the imperial presidency. Carter for a brief shining time seemed to embody that smaller presidency. He announced on his inauguration day that, ‘I would never permit my White House staff to try to run the major departments of government.’ We’ve endured nine withering years of Trump’s America (including what we now realize was but a fleeting interregnum under Biden). The idea that the presidency should be an executive with cabinet secretaries and independent agencies constrained strictly to statute and the constitution seems distant. Instead, the American imperial executive is led now by a few unaccountable staffers in the West Wing with the opaque character of a monarch’s courtiers.” (03/23/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/imagining-a-2028-presidential-campaign-for-a-limited-presidency/
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26) Power Is Built One Conversation at a Time
Source: Our Future
by Sulma Arias
“Many people in this country feel attacks on our civil liberties have gone too far. I agree. Heavily armed ICE and CBP agents, who are paid with our tax dollars, hide their identities as they storm into our homes without warrants, suppress free speech, and even murder U.S. citizens who engage in peaceful protest. Many people feel it is time to stop this cruelty and violence. Yet what can we do? One answer is to flood the streets. Indeed, in places like Chicago and Minneapolis, we’ve seen tens of thousands show up to demand an end to the militarized occupation of their cities. And millions nationwide have turned out to No Kings rallies, and will do so again this March 28th. Mass moments like this are important; they show us we are not alone. Yet on their own, they are not enough …” (03/22/26)
https://ourfuture.org/20260322/power-is-built-one-conversation-at-a-time
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27) Trump wants an Iwo Jima moment in Iran; will Americans be OK with the fallout?
Source: The Hill
by Jos Joseph
“The news that the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) might be headed to the Middle East to reinforce the 31st MEU, which was already ordered there, raises the odds that ground troops might play a part in President Trump’s war with Iran. … We all know of Joe Rosenthal’s famous picture of the raising of the American flag on Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima. Trump will want to have a similar image to get the American public hyped about an unpopular war and to boost his own image as a warfighting President along the likes of Abraham Lincoln or Franklin Roosevelt. But what Trump needs to understand is what happened after the Iwo Jima photo was released to the public.” (03/23/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/5795673-marines-middle-east-trump/
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28) Britain Is Bringing Back the Blasphemy Laws — and the Free Speech Union is Taking the Government to Court
Source: The American Conservative
by Toby Young
“[UK secretary of state for communities Steve] Reed has officially adopted a definition of ‘anti-Muslim hostility’ — ‘Islamophobia’ by another name — and announced that a government-appointed ‘special representative,’ a so-called ‘czar,’ will record complaints and ensure that anyone who falls foul of the definition is ‘appropriately’ dealt with. … Now, you might think: What’s wrong with that? Nobody wants Muslims to face hatred or discrimination. But here’s the problem. Discrimination against Muslims — indeed, against people of any religion — is already illegal under Britain’s Equality Act of 2010. … Britain repealed blasphemy laws that proscribed attacks on Christianity in 2008. It would be a peculiar irony if, 18 years later, a Labour government reinstated a new version of them …” (03/23/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/britain-is-bringing-back-the-blasphemy-laws-and-the-free-speech-union-is-taking-the-government-to-court/
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29) Why Donald Trump Just Can’t Stop Going to War
Source: TomDispatch
by Patrick Strickland
“After protests across Iran turned deadly in January, President Donald Trump promised Iranians that ‘help is on the way’. On February 28th, the U.S. and Israel launched what immediately became a devastating war on Iran. American and Israeli warplanes began dropping bombs on a country of some 93 million people. Trump soon put out a video address, telling Iranians that ‘the hour of your freedom is at hand’. Around the time that video appeared, Iranians in the city of Minab were sorting through the corpses of more than 165 people killed in an airstrike on an elementary school for girls. That same day, an airstrike killed Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, an 86-year-old who was supposedly already in poor health. Throughout the ensuing days, American and Israeli attacks struck hospitals, historic sites, and more schools.” (03/22/26)
https://tomdispatch.com/why-donald-trump-just-cant-stop-going-to-war/
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30) Could Artificial Intelligence Finally Make Central Planning Work?
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Sergio Martinez
“During the early 1970s, the Chilean government imposed price controls on thousands of goods while expanding state control over industry. Shortages multiplied, black markets expanded, and economic coordination deteriorated. Political instability soon followed, culminating in the military coup of 1973. At first glance, the lesson seemed clear: central planning could not replicate the complex coordination performed by markets. And yet the idea never completely disappeared. Recent advances in artificial intelligence have revived an old argument. If earlier socialist planners failed because they lacked sufficient computing power, perhaps modern algorithms could finally solve the problem. Some contemporary writers have openly suggested this possibility.” (03/23/26)
https://fee.org/articles/could-artificial-intelligence-finally-make-central-planning-work/
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31) Two great ideas on how to deal with the Iran war consequences that Trump should consider
Source: New York Post
by Miranda Devine
“As we enter the fourth week of the Iran war (or ‘excursion’), here are two great ideas about how to deal with some of the consequences — both from outside the Beltway. In fact, right in New York. One idea, unusually, is from longtime President Trump critic and former swamp creature Richard Haass, now back in his hometown. The other is from Wall Street guru Larry Kudlow, Trump’s great friend and former economic adviser. Both ideas are elegantly unconventional. In his Substack last week, Haass took a moment from trashing the president to suggest an alternative to boots on the ground for the prickly problem of opening the Strait of Hormuz, where tankers carrying one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas are being throttled by Iran. Don’t send the Marines in to seize Kharg Island, Iran’s principal export terminal — just close the Strait.” (03/22/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/03/22/opinion/2-great-ideas-on-how-to-deal-with-the-iran-war-consequences-that-trump-should-consider/
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32) The Bottleneck is the Birth Canal
Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders
“A confluence of trends, events, and crises are all hitting the West at about the same time. We have entered an era of profound transformation. What lies beyond the pain?” (03/23/26)
https://underthrow.substack.com/p/the-bottleneck-is-the-birth-canal
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33) It’s Unethical To Have Sympathy For Israelis
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Israel’s Foreign Ministry has posted a statement on Twitter which reads, ‘The Iranian regime devastated Arad and Dimona by deliberately striking civilians with missiles. Over 100 people were injured, including children. A blatant war crime. Pure terrorism.’ I don’t want to be one of those people who wastes their time criticizing ‘hypocrisy’ in foreign policy, but holy fucking shit, dude. Jesus Christ. My God. I will never, ever express sympathy for Israelis. Ever. Under any circumstances. To do so would be irresponsible, because Israel always weaponizes sympathy and then uses that weapon to commit mass atrocities. If the world gives Israel sympathy for civilians injured by an Iranian airstrike over the weekend in a war Israel started, by Friday they’ll be using that sympathy to justify nuking Tehran. I don’t enjoy holding this position.” [editor’s note: Then perhaps you should start distinguishing Israeli non-combatants from the Israeli regime, Ms. Johnstone; then you’d have a shot at getting it right – TLK] (03/22/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/03/22/its-unethical-to-have-sympathy-for-israelis-and-other-notes/
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34) “Identifying with,” Politics, and Life
Source: ProSocial Libertarians
by Andrew Jason Cohen
“Its common today to talk about an individual’s ‘identity’ and mean the group or groups they either associate themselves with (i.e., take themselves to be members of) or that they are, ascriptively, taken by others to be associated with. People ‘identify as’ straight, gay, trans, black, Hispanic, Latino, Conservative, Christian, Jewish, etc. etc. etc. What is this really? On one influential account, from (I think) Kwame Appiah (see his The Ethics of Identity), to ‘identify with’ a group is to take reasons from that group as one’s own reasons. This strikes me as a plausible way to understand the term. If Joe identifies as Hispanic, he would take reasons common to other Hispanic people as his own. Ascriptively, I gather, others would assume — rightly or wrongly — that Joe has such reasons. All of that seems entirely plausible. I also think it is (if accurate) unfortunate.” (03/23/26)
https://prosociallibertarians.substack.com/p/identifying-with-politics-and-life
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35) Scarcity and the Machine: Opportunity Cost in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Michael Matulef
“AI is everywhere now — woven into our workplaces, our devices, and our daily routines — and with its spread comes a rising fear: what happens when there’s no meaningful work left for humans? AI is becoming the silent collaborator behind almost everything we make. Yet its presence creates a new kind of tension: not whether we can use it, but how we should. Regardless of the advancements in AI, the central question does not change: given scarcity, what should you do with your time, and what should you let the tools do?” (03/23/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/scarcity-and-machine-opportunity-cost-age-artificial-intelligence
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36) Weaponized Data via Silencer
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“‘Authoritarian regimes have developed strong cyber espionage capabilities that enable their influence and coercion operations,’ explains a National Intelligence Council ‘assessment,’ dated April 7, 2020. … The report calls this technological capacity ‘digital authoritarian capabilities’ — yet our own government has the same. It accuses China of marshaling ‘mass surveillance and AI-driven algorithmic tracking of its citizens’ behavior at home to inform the use of soft or coercive incentives and disincentives to control them,’ but that, I’m afraid, is what our government does, too.” (03/24/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/03/23/weaponized-data-via-silencer/
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37) Afroman turns court into First Amendment rap lesson on rights
Source: Fox News
by Jonathan Turley
“When singer Joseph E. Foreman took the stand recently in Ohio, his message, like his lyrics, was hardly subtle. Indeed, counsel may have been unsure whether to examine or to hoist him. The rapper, known as ‘Afroman,’ appeared in a suit modeled after an American flag with matching flag-patterned sunglasses. He lashed out at the seven police officers who raided his home and then sued him for publicly mocking them. He insisted that he was the virtual embodiment of the First Amendment in all of its glory. The jury agreed, at least insofar as finding him protected in his parody and public portrayal of the officers. Almost three years ago, I wrote about the case and expressed deep skepticism about the legal viability of the case in light of free speech protections for filming and criticizing public officials.” (03/23/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/jonathan-turley-afroman-turns-court-first-amendment-rap-lesson-rights
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38) The destruction of Gaza has not ended
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Martin Di Caro
“As the war in Iran absorbs the world’s attention, with its images of dead school girls and flattened buildings, it may be easy to overlook Gaza. It has been a full five months since a ceasefire went into effect. It did not stop the bloodshed and intense suffering: Israeli forces have killed hundreds of Palestinians since October, and the enclave remains in dire need of food and medicine. Yet Gaza has disappeared from America’s front pages as the Trump administration’s Board of Peace, mostly bereft of Palestinian leadership, attempts to steer a peace plan to its second phase.” (03/23/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/the-destruction-of-gaza-has-not-ended/
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39) Adam Smith on the Labor Theory of Value
Source: EconLog
by Steven Horwitz
“There are many things Adam Smith got right about economics, including the discipline’s fundamental insight about the unplanned nature of market-driven economic and social order. He is rightly called the founder of economics for that reason. However, he did not get everything right. One of his most important errors, and one he shared with many 18th and 19th century economists, including Karl Marx, was his erroneous theory of value and explanation of price.” (03/23/26)
https://www.econlib.org/econlog/adam-smith-on-the-labor-theory-of-value
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40) Quantum Vibe, 03/23/26
Source: Big Head Press
by Scott Bieser
Cartoon. (03/23/26)
https://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=2580
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41) Why US Cuba Coverage Falls Far Short of the Truth
Source: Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting
by Tyler Wann
“The US government’s decades-long economic blockade against Cuba is in many ways not a complicated issue. The policy of restricting trade with the country’s Communist government was put into full force under the Kennedy administration, with the explicit goal of causing enough economic hardship, hunger and desperation to spur regime change. The UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly and consistently voted to end the embargo since a resolution to that effect was first introduced in 1992. Member countries argue that the embargo violates international law. It has cost the country anywhere between $130–170 billion since its inception, and has restricted the Cuban people’s access to food and medicine. And it has not accomplished its primary goal of overthrowing the Cuban government. These are key points that should be included in any article reporting on Cuba’s economic struggles.” (03/22/26)
https://fair.org/home/as-washington-succeeds-in-wrecking-cubas-economy-us-media-blame-the-victim/
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42) Silent Cal’s Loud Lesson on Tax Cuts
Source: The Daily Economy
by Jeffery L Degner
“A century ago, the federal government ran surpluses under lower tax rates. But that’s impossible with our out-of-control spending.” (03/23/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/silent-cals-loud-lesson-on-tax-cuts/
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43) The Day the UN Died
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ted Snider
“On March 1, a massive attack was launched on Iran in violation of UN Charter Article 2.3 that demands that member states ‘settle their international disputes by peaceful means’ and Article 2.4 that requires all members to ‘refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.’ This norm has no exemptions and cannot be modified, including, according to the International Court of Justice, in self-defense. The war on Iran was legitimized neither by Security Council authorization nor by an immediate need for self-defense. Iran responded, in part, by targeting neighboring countries that hosted U.S. bases. On March 11, the Security Council responded by condemning the latter, but not the former.” (03/23/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/ted_snider/2026/03/22/the-day-the-un-died
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44) The Art of Coping with Unfathomable Rage in Infuriating Times
Source: exile in happy valley
by Nicky Reid
“In case you haven’t noticed, our president is a literal pedophile who kills children. Not only do I feel like I have every fucking right to my rage, I feel like anyone still capable of staying calm in this situation is the sick one and that their apathetic sickness in dire times might actually be getting people killed. I can just hear them now; ‘Stay calm and vote blue no matter who, the woker section of Team Epstein will clean up this mess!’ Fuck you, you Chicken Noodle Soup reading mental insect.” (03/22/26)
https://exileinhappyvalley.blogspot.com/2026/03/the-art-of-coping-with-unfathomable.html
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45) A Tariff Ceasefire in Time of War Would Help Everybody
Source: Town Hall
by EJ Antoni, Ph.D.
“Iran’s efforts to close the Strait of Hormuz have made gas prices rise to the point where they may threaten President Donald Trump’s affordability agenda. Whether the closure is short or long, consumers are feeling the pain just as the latest economic figures show an economy that is sputtering and can use a boost. But the President can help absorb the disruption and deprive Tehran of its goal to push our economy into reverse by cutting a deal on planned global tariff increases. The Strait of Hormuz has been a key bottleneck for oil exports from the Gulf region with roughly one-fifth of global oil flows being impacted by the threat of Iranian missiles, mines, and drone strikes through the narrow waterway. The economic situation is becoming increasingly precarious as energy stockpiles worldwide quickly dwindle and prices rise in response to the choked-off supply that is not easily substituted.” (03/23/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/ej-antoni/2026/03/23/a-tariff-ceasefire-in-time-of-war-would-help-everybody-n2673269#google_vignette
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46) Trump Destroyed the EV Industry, Just When We Need It Most
Source: The Bulwark
by Jonathan Cohn
“General Motors just rolled out a car that’s perfect for the moment. It’s the 2027 Chevrolet Bolt — a relatively cheap, all-electric subcompact that will let you drive right past gas stations, and dodge those high prices from the war in Iran. But if you want a Bolt, you’d better act fast, because they won’t be on dealer lots for long. GM has already confirmed that production will end next year. The plan is to convert the Bolt’s factory in Kansas City back to manufacturing vehicles with internal combustion engines. … a big part of the story is Donald Trump. Since taking office, he has launched an all-out assault on EVs — by working with Republicans in Congress to eliminate tax breaks for vehicle production and purchases, and by using his regulatory powers to gut federal and state emissions standards that favored fuel efficiency.” [editor’s note: No, those were good moves. But the US government should stop its similar subsidies, etc. to Big Oil as well, and let the market decide – TLK] (03/22/26)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-electric-vehicle-ev-industry-chevy-bolt-gas-prices
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47) Tariffs Will Not Save Britain’s Steel Industry
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Eliot Wilson
“The Government’s approach to the UK’s steel industry has always looked like a cross between inveterate, unshakeable optimism and the panicked thrashings of a drowning man clutching for a flotation aid. An extremely charitable observer would argue that the Government had always had a very clear aim: to preserve Britain’s steel industry in order to safeguard employment in the sector and to provide resilience in manufacturing a product vital for growth and security. A more cynical mind might counter that someone who makes a wish as a penny is flipped down a well has a very clear aim. Without a practical, sustainable and realistic plan to achieve that aim, such airy, wouldn’t-it-be-nice ambitions are politically worthless at best.” (03/22/26)
https://fee.org/articles/tariffs-will-not-save-britains-steel-industry/
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48) Meanwhile, in Sudan
Source: Quillette
by Brian Stewart
“While Iran, Israel, and Gaza have dominated headlines, a bloody power struggle among Sudanese warlords grinds on.” (03/22/26)
https://quillette.com/2026/03/22/meanwhile-in-sudan/
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49) Warrantless Spying Reform Just Got a Whole Lot More Interesting
Source: The American Prospect
by James Baratta
“For many years, Congress has maintained a bipartisan consensus on warrantless surveillance. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) has allowed the U.S. government to surveil foreign nationals abroad since its passage in 2008, and as the Prospect has reported time and time again, domestic intelligence agencies have amassed troves of communications data, including from American citizens, through the program. The National Security Agency (NSA) and FBI do not need a warrant to access this data, regardless of whether it comes from a foreign national or U.S. citizen. Section 702, which must be reauthorized by Congress periodically, is set to expire on April 20. The House is expected to vote on it in the coming weeks. Historically, lawmakers’ attempts to meaningfully reform the program have failed.” (03/23/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/03/23/spying-reform-congress-foreign-intelligence-surveillance-act-section-702-save-act-voter-suppression/
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50) The Turning Point in Our Lives
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Jeffrey A Tucker
“The Covid period was a turning point in our lives. We saw how the system that rules us truly operates and that of which it is capable. We experienced the apotheosis of the corporatist planning state, as close to dystopian-level totalitarianism as we ever knew. We observed how the media, tech, elected and unelected government, and the medical industry all work together when the stakes are high. And we observed and experienced just how completely controlling this cartel can be once it is unleashed on the entire population.” (03/22/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/the-turning-point-in-our-lives/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Reason Roundtable, 03/23/26
Source: Reason
"It's Time To Abolish the TSA." (03/23/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/03/23/its-time-to-abolish-the-tsa/
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52) The Political Orphanage
Source: The Political Orphanage
“Heaton Goes to Prison.” (03/23/26)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/heaton-goes-to-prison
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53) Rising, 03/23/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave gives his radar on a hypothetical Tucker Carlson/Joe Kent ticket for the 2028 Presidential Election, highlighting how some on the right have become disgruntled with President Trump’s involvement in Iran.” (03/23/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/5792908-rising-march-23-2026/
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54) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 03/23/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump’s Angry Tirade at Media Goes Haywire, Exposing a Dark MAGA Truth.” (03/23/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/208048/trump-angry-tirade-media-goes-haywire-exposing-dark-maga-truth
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55) EconTalk, 03/23/26
Source: EconTalk
“The Match That Lit the Flame: Hannah Senesh and the Creation of Modern Israel (with Matti Friedman).” (03/23/26)
https://www.econtalk.org/the-match-that-lit-the-flame-hannah-senesh-and-the-creation-of-modern-israel-with-matti-friedman/
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56) The Evil Within, part 6
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“Immigration.” (03/23/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLlwS99wN2E
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57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 03/22/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Iran Responds To Trump’s Power Plant Threat, Trump Considers Ground Ops in Iran, and More.” (03/22/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVOOI8PFMzo
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58) Larry Johnson on The Scott Horton Show
Source: The Scott Horton Show
“Larry Johnson on the Ongoing and Coming Failures in the US and Israel’s War with Iran.” (03/22/26)
https://scotthorton.org/interviews/3-19-26-larry-johnson-on-the-ongoing-and-coming-failures-in-the-us-and-israels-war-with-iran/
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59) AI Summer, 03/22/26
Source: AI Summer
“Ryan Avent on self-driving cars and the future of the labor market.” (03/22/26)
https://www.aisummer.org/p/ryan-avent-on-self-driving-cars-and
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60) How to Fix It with John Avlon, 03/22/26
Source: The Bulwark
“MAGA Isn’t a Majority—So Why Is It Winning? (w/ Dan Cantor).” (03/22/26)
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/maga-isnt-a-majority-so-why-is-it-winning-w-dan-cantor/id1772157676?i=1000756572052
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