Weekend Special Edition, 11/01 -- Turkey to host Gaza meeting on Monday amid ceasefire concerns; Separating Powers
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Thomas L. Knapp
Nov 1, 2025, 6:26:40 AMNov 1
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 11/01/25
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Presented by the Liberty International
https://liberty-intl.org/
Produced by the staff of Rational Review News Digest
https://news.rationalreview.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Today's Freedom News:
0) Weekend Special Edition (and Year-End Fundraiser Update)
1) Turkey to host Gaza meeting on Monday amid ceasefire concerns
2) Two judges rule US regime must keep SNAP benefits in place as shutdown drags on
3) YouTube TV loses ESPN, ABC and other Disney channels
4) Tanzania: Opposition says “hundreds” killed in post-election protests
5) Trump calls on Republicans to use “nuclear option,” end fake shutdown
Today's Freedom Commentary:
6) Separating Powers
7) Trump’s Targeting of “Narcoterrorists” Is a Crime in Itself
8) Electricity Prices are the New Inflation Flashpoint
9) The Gaza ceasefire is falling apart
10) ICE’s Mass Arrests Ensnare US Citizens and Show No Signs of Stopping
11) A Ghostly Parable Against Central Planning
12) Trump’s Plan Is Now Out in the Open
13) Twilight of Electrical Civilization
14) Elon Musk and the Trump Administration Really Don’t Get Tolkien
15) Rethinking Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge (QME): A Policy Past Its Prime
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
16) ReImagining Liberty, episode 92
17) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 10/31/25
18) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 10/31/25
vvvvv SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS vvvvv
SAMUEL EDWARD KONKIN III REVOLUTIONARY FRIEND BY WENDY MCELROY
https://www.amazon.com/Samuel-Edward-Konkin-Revolutionary-Friend-ebook/dp/B0DP7B6127
SHOP ONLINE, COLLECT A REBATE IN BITCOIN!
https://www.lolli.com/share/MZB4cCpheL
THE CONSTITUTION OF NON-STATE GOVERNMENT: FIELD GUIDE TO TEXAS SECESSION, by TL Hulsey
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1947660853
Tyranny Demands AN ACT OF SELF-DEFENSE: A NOVEL BY ERNE LEWIS
https://tinyurl.com/actofselfdefense
ONE IDENTITY FOR ALL YOUR CRYPTO
https://fioprotocol.io/
^^^^^ SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS ^^^^^
_____ Today's Freedom News _____
0) Weekend Special Edition (and Year-End Fundraiser Update)
Hey, everyone ...
We've got a short (18-item) "weekend special edition" for you today -- mostly, as you might guess, because we're running our one fundraiser of the year and every edition is a chance to 1) update you as to its status and 2) ask you to support the freedom movement's daily newspaper.
Thanks to long-time supporter CF, whose $20 donation yesterday brings our total, as of 5am on Saturday, to $942.34!
We WERE shooting for $1,000 by today, and ARE hoping to hit $1,200 by Monday.
Once we reach $2,750.50, reader GL will "match funds" to get us to our $5,501 goal ... and I'll stop running my mouth at you about money entirely for the rest of the year and mostly until next October.
If you find our work here valuable, please return some of that value as financial support at:
https://news.rationalreview.com/support-rrnd
In the meantime, enjoy your weekend!
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily
-----
1) Turkey to host Gaza meeting on Monday amid ceasefire concerns
Source: Reuters
“Foreign ministers of some Muslim countries will meet in Istanbul on Monday to discuss the Gaza ceasefire and next steps there, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Friday, voicing concern over whether the ceasefire will continue. Speaking at a press conference in Ankara, Fidan said the gathering would include foreign ministers of countries represented at a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in New York in September. … Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted last week at his opposition to any role for Turkish security forces in the Gaza Strip as part of a mission to monitor a U.S.-backed ceasefire with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.” (10/31/25)
https://archive.is/Tz5hR
-----
2) Two judges rule US regime must keep SNAP benefits in place as shutdown drags on
Source: Fox News
“A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to continue to fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) during the ongoing government shutdown, delivering near-term relief to roughly 42 million Americans who received the aid just hours before the funding was slated to dry up. The emergency order from U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani said the Trump administration must resume SNAP benefits, which were slated to expire Nov. 1, ruling that plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit are likely to succeed on their claims that the suspension of the benefits is unlawful. She ordered the government to provide the court no later than Monday, Nov. 3, with additional details on how it plans to keep the program funded, and whether the appropriated benefits must be distributed in full or in part. Moments later, a separate federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the Trump administration to continue paying for food stamps during the shutdown.” (10/31/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/two-judges-rule-trump-admin-must-keep-snap-benefits-place-shutdown-drags
-----
3) YouTube TV loses ESPN, ABC and other Disney channels
Source: Engadget
Disney’s channels have gone dark on YouTube TV after the companies failed to reach an agreement by their October 30 deadline. The affected channels include ESPN, local ABC stations, ABC News, FX, NatGeo, Disney Channel and Freeform. ‘Last week Disney used the threat of a blackout on YouTube TV as a negotiating tactic to force deal terms that would raise prices on our customers,’ YouTube said in an announcement on its blog. ‘They’re now following through on that threat, suspending their content on YouTube TV.’ YouTube added that Disney’s decision harms its subscribers while benefiting its own live TV products, such as Hulu+Live TV and Fubo. In a statement sent to the Los Angeles Times, however, Disney accused Google’s YouTube TV of choosing to deny ‘subscribers the content they value most by refusing to pay fair rates for [its] channels, including ESPN and ABC.'” (10/31/25)
https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/youtube/youtube-tv-loses-espn-abc-and-other-disney-channels-113026329.html
-----
4) Tanzania: Opposition says “hundreds” killed in post-election protests
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Tanzania’s main opposition party has claimed that hundreds of people were killed in protests following this week’s disputed elections, while the United Nations says it has ‘credible reports’ at least 10 people died. ‘As we speak, the number of deaths in [Dar-es-Salaam] is around 350 and there are more than 200 in Mwanza,’ Chadema party spokesperson John Kitoka told the AFP news agency on Friday, referring to the commercial capital in northern Tanzania. ‘If we add the figures from other places in the country, we arrive at a total of around 700 deaths.’ … Demonstrations erupted on Wednesday in Dar-es-Salaam, a city of more than seven million people, after disputed and chaotic elections that saw the two main opposition parties barred from participating.” (10/31/25)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/31/protests-over-disputed-tanzania-election-enter-3rd-day-military-deployed
-----
5) Trump calls on Republicans to use “nuclear option,” end fake shutdown
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“President Donald Trump has called on Republicans in the US Senate to scrap the filibuster [sic] rule in a bid to end the ongoing government shutdown, now entering its 30th day. The filibuster [sic] is a long-standing senate rule that requires 60 of the 100 members to approve most legislation. With a 53-47 majority, removing the rule would allow Republicans to pass a funding bill without Democratic support. … Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune has previously rejected calls to change the filibuster [sic] rule to end the shutdown.” [editor’s note: The filibuster involves extended speeches to delay voting. The 60-vote rule is for “cloture,” which ends debate, but there need not be a filibuster occurring for cloture to fail of 60 votes. They’re not the same thing – TLK] (10/31/25)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1d0qwx5z2vo
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
6) Separating Powers
Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman
“We may be sure that the ‘separation of powers’ doctrine is of no interest to the vulgar egotist currently residing in the White House, which happens to be undergoing the most glorious renovation the world has ever known. Or so we hear. But it stands to reason that the doctrine is vital to personal liberty. No imagination is needed to understand what concentrated political power is likely to mean for the individual and society. … If political power must exist, it must be contained, and the way to do that is dispersion among branches and levels.” (10/31/25)
https://sheldonfreeassociation.blogspot.com/2025/10/tgif-separating-powers.html
-----
7) Trump’s Targeting of “Narcoterrorists” Is a Crime in Itself
Source: The Bulwark
by Mona Charen
“The United States is engaged in summary executions on the high seas. That bald fact is being obscured by talk of drug interdiction and war powers and whether we’re certain the drugs on those boats were headed for the United States or somewhere else. Let’s be clear. Even if we knew for certain that the boats being destroyed in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific 1) contained illegal drugs; 2) those drugs were headed for our shores; and 3) all on board were criminals, it would still be grossly illegal and immoral to blast them out of the water as we have now done some 14 reported times, killing 61 people. This is not drug enforcement. This is murder.” (10/31/25)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-targeting-narcoterrorists-crime-itself-boats-caribbean-pacific
-----
8) Electricity Prices are the New Inflation Flashpoint
Source: The Daily Economy
by Peter C Earle
“Electricity prices have moved from the background of daily life to the front lines of politics. What was once a quiet household expense is now a visible burden and a potent symbol of policy failure. Prices are rising not because of corporate greed or runaway markets, but because regulation, politically directed investment, and top-down energy planning have collided with the explosive growth of artificial intelligence. Inflation, supply constraints, and government mandates have turned the grid — once a model of steady reliability — into an arena where economics, technology, and politics now clash.” (10/31/25)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/electricity-prices-are-the-new-inflation-flashpoint/
-----
9) The Gaza ceasefire is falling apart
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Paul R Pillar
“Even a limited pause in the unspeakable suffering that residents of the Gaza Strip have endured for two years is welcome, and thus it is unsurprising that the deal on Gaza that was reached in early October was widely and mistakenly termed a ‘peace agreement.’ The deal was instead a prisoner exchange and limited ceasefire. It came about because the slaughter and starvation of Gazans had gone so far that Hamas was willing to give up its scant leverage in the form of the remaining Israeli hostages. With their release, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu removed the main immediate domestic source of opposition to his policies, while the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) got a needed break before resuming operations.” (10/31/25)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/netanyahu-gaza-2674252261/
-----
10) ICE’s Mass Arrests Ensnare US Citizens and Show No Signs of Stopping
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“The Trump administration’s emphasis on immigration enforcement is sparking protests across the country. It has also caused disagreement among Republicans and, as covered by Reason‘s Autumn Billings, within the executive branch between those who want to target criminals and officials who are more interested in driving up the numbers of deportations. Unfortunately, the hardline faction’s apparent victory could result in more botched arrests, such as that of U.S. citizen Leo Garcia Venegas, who was detained twice and has now filed a federal lawsuit over his mistreatment.” (10/31/25)
https://reason.com/2025/10/31/ices-mass-arrests-ensnare-u-s-citizens-and-show-no-signs-of-stopping/
-----
11) A Ghostly Parable Against Central Planning
Source: Law & Liberty
by Mark Lucchese
“Halloween was the favorite holiday of Russell Kirk, modern American conservatism’s founder. As much as he enjoyed trick-or-treating and other spooky festivities, October 31 meant something even more profound to him. Kirk believed All Hallows’ Eve serves as a reminder of what Edmund Burke called the ‘eternal contract of society’ that exists between the living and the dead. It is altogether fitting and proper, then, that Kirk devoted much of his literary efforts to a classic American genre: the ghost story.” (10/31/25)
https://lawliberty.org/a-ghostly-parable-against-central-planning/
-----
12) Trump’s Plan Is Now Out in the Open
Source: The Atlantic
by Peter Wehner
“Give Donald Trump this much: He has never tried to hide his malice, his lawlessness, or his desire to inflict pain on others. These were on vivid display when he engaged in a multipart conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and stood by as a mob of supporters sought to hang his vice president. These were displayed, as well, every day during his 2024 vengeance campaign. Yet more than 77 million Americans decided that he was the man with whom they wanted to entrust the care of this nation. For more Americans than not, and for many more evangelical Christians than not, Trump is the representative man of our time. His ethic is theirs. So are his corruptions.” (10/31/25)
https://archive.is/4LgXc
-----
13) Twilight of Electrical Civilization
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“Paige Lambermont reminds us that Germany’s phase-out of nuclear power has its reasons. Construction, transport, and other processes involved in making and maintaining a nuclear power plant emit carbon dioxide. But nuclear power itself does not emit carbon dioxide, which is supposed to be terrible for climate and planet. So, ‘What would prompt a country seeking to sharply reduce CO2 emissions to get rid of its largest source of carbon-free energy?'” (10/31/25)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2025/10/31/twilight/
-----
14) Elon Musk and the Trump Administration Really Don’t Get Tolkien
Source: Wired
by John Semley
“Recently, the US Department of Homeland Security has taken to ‘Shire-posting.’ That is: using quotes and imagery from Tolkien’s books (and director Peter Jackson’s blockbuster movie adaptations) as part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s enrollment efforts. … I don’t seem to recall any scenes of Frodo, Samwise, Gandalf, Galadriel, and the gang ripping around in an unmarked van, wearing face-smothering neck gaiters, hassling immigrants at carwashes, and kicking down housing complex doors in late night raids. If anything, such scenes bear more direct comparison to ‘The Scouring of the Shire,’ the penultimate chapter of The Lord of the Rings, which sees the hobbits returning home from their epic adventure to find their sleepy province tyrannized by ruffians and two-bit rent-a-cops, all in the thrall of a decrepit wizard.” (10/31/25)
https://archive.is/0zyw2
-----
15) Rethinking Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge (QME): A Policy Past Its Prime
Source: Antiwar.com
by Jamie Haase
“In business, an edge is earned. In U.S. diplomacy, it is handed out – nepotism with a human cost. Corporate America calls it a ‘sustainable competitive advantage,’ the factor that separates market leaders from the rest, reflecting a company’s key competencies. In American foreign policy, however, winning can be guaranteed – and the price is measured not in profit, but in lives. Nowhere is this more apparent than in America’s obligation to maintain Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge (QME), a mandate ensuring Israel remains militarily superior to its neighbors. What began as a Cold War-era security assurance has become a guarantee of supremacy. Under Israel’s current government, which openly disregards human rights and international law, the QME policy now threatens U.S. diplomacy across the Middle East.” (10/31/25)
https://original.antiwar.com/jamie_haase/2025/10/30/rethinking-israels-qualitative-military-edge-qme-a-policy-past-its-prime/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
16) ReImagining Liberty, episode 92
Source: ReImagining Liberty
“Liberalism’s Common Ground (w/ Matt Zwolinski and Matthew McManus).” (10/31/25)
https://audio2.redcircle.com/episodes/c45b691e-496e-4582-bb6b-2b30a5bfee8d/stream.mp3
-----
17) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 10/31/25
Source: The New Republic
“Trump ICE Raids Take Jarring Turn as Dem Gov Drops Scary New Warning.” (10/31/25)
https://newrepublic.com/article/202499/trump-ice-raids-take-jarring-turn-dem-gov-drops-scary-new-warning
-----
18) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 10/31/25
Source: Antiwar.com
“US Doesn’t Know Who It’s Killing in Boat Strikes, Netanyahu: IDF Will ‘Demilitarize’ Gaza, and More.” (10/31/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGUeZTLc_EM
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Support the Liberty International (tax deductible)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Presented by the Liberty International
https://liberty-intl.org/
Produced by the staff of Rational Review News Digest
https://news.rationalreview.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Today's Freedom News:
0) Weekend Special Edition (and Year-End Fundraiser Update)
1) Turkey to host Gaza meeting on Monday amid ceasefire concerns
2) Two judges rule US regime must keep SNAP benefits in place as shutdown drags on
3) YouTube TV loses ESPN, ABC and other Disney channels
4) Tanzania: Opposition says “hundreds” killed in post-election protests
5) Trump calls on Republicans to use “nuclear option,” end fake shutdown
Today's Freedom Commentary:
6) Separating Powers
7) Trump’s Targeting of “Narcoterrorists” Is a Crime in Itself
8) Electricity Prices are the New Inflation Flashpoint
9) The Gaza ceasefire is falling apart
10) ICE’s Mass Arrests Ensnare US Citizens and Show No Signs of Stopping
11) A Ghostly Parable Against Central Planning
12) Trump’s Plan Is Now Out in the Open
13) Twilight of Electrical Civilization
14) Elon Musk and the Trump Administration Really Don’t Get Tolkien
15) Rethinking Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge (QME): A Policy Past Its Prime
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
16) ReImagining Liberty, episode 92
17) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 10/31/25
18) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 10/31/25
vvvvv SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS vvvvv
SAMUEL EDWARD KONKIN III REVOLUTIONARY FRIEND BY WENDY MCELROY
https://www.amazon.com/Samuel-Edward-Konkin-Revolutionary-Friend-ebook/dp/B0DP7B6127
SHOP ONLINE, COLLECT A REBATE IN BITCOIN!
https://www.lolli.com/share/MZB4cCpheL
THE CONSTITUTION OF NON-STATE GOVERNMENT: FIELD GUIDE TO TEXAS SECESSION, by TL Hulsey
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1947660853
Tyranny Demands AN ACT OF SELF-DEFENSE: A NOVEL BY ERNE LEWIS
https://tinyurl.com/actofselfdefense
ONE IDENTITY FOR ALL YOUR CRYPTO
https://fioprotocol.io/
^^^^^ SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS ^^^^^
_____ Today's Freedom News _____
0) Weekend Special Edition (and Year-End Fundraiser Update)
Hey, everyone ...
We've got a short (18-item) "weekend special edition" for you today -- mostly, as you might guess, because we're running our one fundraiser of the year and every edition is a chance to 1) update you as to its status and 2) ask you to support the freedom movement's daily newspaper.
Thanks to long-time supporter CF, whose $20 donation yesterday brings our total, as of 5am on Saturday, to $942.34!
We WERE shooting for $1,000 by today, and ARE hoping to hit $1,200 by Monday.
Once we reach $2,750.50, reader GL will "match funds" to get us to our $5,501 goal ... and I'll stop running my mouth at you about money entirely for the rest of the year and mostly until next October.
If you find our work here valuable, please return some of that value as financial support at:
https://news.rationalreview.com/support-rrnd
In the meantime, enjoy your weekend!
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily
-----
1) Turkey to host Gaza meeting on Monday amid ceasefire concerns
Source: Reuters
“Foreign ministers of some Muslim countries will meet in Istanbul on Monday to discuss the Gaza ceasefire and next steps there, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Friday, voicing concern over whether the ceasefire will continue. Speaking at a press conference in Ankara, Fidan said the gathering would include foreign ministers of countries represented at a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in New York in September. … Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted last week at his opposition to any role for Turkish security forces in the Gaza Strip as part of a mission to monitor a U.S.-backed ceasefire with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.” (10/31/25)
https://archive.is/Tz5hR
-----
2) Two judges rule US regime must keep SNAP benefits in place as shutdown drags on
Source: Fox News
“A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to continue to fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) during the ongoing government shutdown, delivering near-term relief to roughly 42 million Americans who received the aid just hours before the funding was slated to dry up. The emergency order from U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani said the Trump administration must resume SNAP benefits, which were slated to expire Nov. 1, ruling that plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit are likely to succeed on their claims that the suspension of the benefits is unlawful. She ordered the government to provide the court no later than Monday, Nov. 3, with additional details on how it plans to keep the program funded, and whether the appropriated benefits must be distributed in full or in part. Moments later, a separate federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the Trump administration to continue paying for food stamps during the shutdown.” (10/31/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/two-judges-rule-trump-admin-must-keep-snap-benefits-place-shutdown-drags
-----
3) YouTube TV loses ESPN, ABC and other Disney channels
Source: Engadget
Disney’s channels have gone dark on YouTube TV after the companies failed to reach an agreement by their October 30 deadline. The affected channels include ESPN, local ABC stations, ABC News, FX, NatGeo, Disney Channel and Freeform. ‘Last week Disney used the threat of a blackout on YouTube TV as a negotiating tactic to force deal terms that would raise prices on our customers,’ YouTube said in an announcement on its blog. ‘They’re now following through on that threat, suspending their content on YouTube TV.’ YouTube added that Disney’s decision harms its subscribers while benefiting its own live TV products, such as Hulu+Live TV and Fubo. In a statement sent to the Los Angeles Times, however, Disney accused Google’s YouTube TV of choosing to deny ‘subscribers the content they value most by refusing to pay fair rates for [its] channels, including ESPN and ABC.'” (10/31/25)
https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/youtube/youtube-tv-loses-espn-abc-and-other-disney-channels-113026329.html
-----
4) Tanzania: Opposition says “hundreds” killed in post-election protests
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Tanzania’s main opposition party has claimed that hundreds of people were killed in protests following this week’s disputed elections, while the United Nations says it has ‘credible reports’ at least 10 people died. ‘As we speak, the number of deaths in [Dar-es-Salaam] is around 350 and there are more than 200 in Mwanza,’ Chadema party spokesperson John Kitoka told the AFP news agency on Friday, referring to the commercial capital in northern Tanzania. ‘If we add the figures from other places in the country, we arrive at a total of around 700 deaths.’ … Demonstrations erupted on Wednesday in Dar-es-Salaam, a city of more than seven million people, after disputed and chaotic elections that saw the two main opposition parties barred from participating.” (10/31/25)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/31/protests-over-disputed-tanzania-election-enter-3rd-day-military-deployed
-----
5) Trump calls on Republicans to use “nuclear option,” end fake shutdown
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“President Donald Trump has called on Republicans in the US Senate to scrap the filibuster [sic] rule in a bid to end the ongoing government shutdown, now entering its 30th day. The filibuster [sic] is a long-standing senate rule that requires 60 of the 100 members to approve most legislation. With a 53-47 majority, removing the rule would allow Republicans to pass a funding bill without Democratic support. … Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune has previously rejected calls to change the filibuster [sic] rule to end the shutdown.” [editor’s note: The filibuster involves extended speeches to delay voting. The 60-vote rule is for “cloture,” which ends debate, but there need not be a filibuster occurring for cloture to fail of 60 votes. They’re not the same thing – TLK] (10/31/25)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1d0qwx5z2vo
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
6) Separating Powers
Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman
“We may be sure that the ‘separation of powers’ doctrine is of no interest to the vulgar egotist currently residing in the White House, which happens to be undergoing the most glorious renovation the world has ever known. Or so we hear. But it stands to reason that the doctrine is vital to personal liberty. No imagination is needed to understand what concentrated political power is likely to mean for the individual and society. … If political power must exist, it must be contained, and the way to do that is dispersion among branches and levels.” (10/31/25)
https://sheldonfreeassociation.blogspot.com/2025/10/tgif-separating-powers.html
-----
7) Trump’s Targeting of “Narcoterrorists” Is a Crime in Itself
Source: The Bulwark
by Mona Charen
“The United States is engaged in summary executions on the high seas. That bald fact is being obscured by talk of drug interdiction and war powers and whether we’re certain the drugs on those boats were headed for the United States or somewhere else. Let’s be clear. Even if we knew for certain that the boats being destroyed in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific 1) contained illegal drugs; 2) those drugs were headed for our shores; and 3) all on board were criminals, it would still be grossly illegal and immoral to blast them out of the water as we have now done some 14 reported times, killing 61 people. This is not drug enforcement. This is murder.” (10/31/25)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-targeting-narcoterrorists-crime-itself-boats-caribbean-pacific
-----
8) Electricity Prices are the New Inflation Flashpoint
Source: The Daily Economy
by Peter C Earle
“Electricity prices have moved from the background of daily life to the front lines of politics. What was once a quiet household expense is now a visible burden and a potent symbol of policy failure. Prices are rising not because of corporate greed or runaway markets, but because regulation, politically directed investment, and top-down energy planning have collided with the explosive growth of artificial intelligence. Inflation, supply constraints, and government mandates have turned the grid — once a model of steady reliability — into an arena where economics, technology, and politics now clash.” (10/31/25)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/electricity-prices-are-the-new-inflation-flashpoint/
-----
9) The Gaza ceasefire is falling apart
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Paul R Pillar
“Even a limited pause in the unspeakable suffering that residents of the Gaza Strip have endured for two years is welcome, and thus it is unsurprising that the deal on Gaza that was reached in early October was widely and mistakenly termed a ‘peace agreement.’ The deal was instead a prisoner exchange and limited ceasefire. It came about because the slaughter and starvation of Gazans had gone so far that Hamas was willing to give up its scant leverage in the form of the remaining Israeli hostages. With their release, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu removed the main immediate domestic source of opposition to his policies, while the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) got a needed break before resuming operations.” (10/31/25)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/netanyahu-gaza-2674252261/
-----
10) ICE’s Mass Arrests Ensnare US Citizens and Show No Signs of Stopping
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“The Trump administration’s emphasis on immigration enforcement is sparking protests across the country. It has also caused disagreement among Republicans and, as covered by Reason‘s Autumn Billings, within the executive branch between those who want to target criminals and officials who are more interested in driving up the numbers of deportations. Unfortunately, the hardline faction’s apparent victory could result in more botched arrests, such as that of U.S. citizen Leo Garcia Venegas, who was detained twice and has now filed a federal lawsuit over his mistreatment.” (10/31/25)
https://reason.com/2025/10/31/ices-mass-arrests-ensnare-u-s-citizens-and-show-no-signs-of-stopping/
-----
11) A Ghostly Parable Against Central Planning
Source: Law & Liberty
by Mark Lucchese
“Halloween was the favorite holiday of Russell Kirk, modern American conservatism’s founder. As much as he enjoyed trick-or-treating and other spooky festivities, October 31 meant something even more profound to him. Kirk believed All Hallows’ Eve serves as a reminder of what Edmund Burke called the ‘eternal contract of society’ that exists between the living and the dead. It is altogether fitting and proper, then, that Kirk devoted much of his literary efforts to a classic American genre: the ghost story.” (10/31/25)
https://lawliberty.org/a-ghostly-parable-against-central-planning/
-----
12) Trump’s Plan Is Now Out in the Open
Source: The Atlantic
by Peter Wehner
“Give Donald Trump this much: He has never tried to hide his malice, his lawlessness, or his desire to inflict pain on others. These were on vivid display when he engaged in a multipart conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and stood by as a mob of supporters sought to hang his vice president. These were displayed, as well, every day during his 2024 vengeance campaign. Yet more than 77 million Americans decided that he was the man with whom they wanted to entrust the care of this nation. For more Americans than not, and for many more evangelical Christians than not, Trump is the representative man of our time. His ethic is theirs. So are his corruptions.” (10/31/25)
https://archive.is/4LgXc
-----
13) Twilight of Electrical Civilization
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“Paige Lambermont reminds us that Germany’s phase-out of nuclear power has its reasons. Construction, transport, and other processes involved in making and maintaining a nuclear power plant emit carbon dioxide. But nuclear power itself does not emit carbon dioxide, which is supposed to be terrible for climate and planet. So, ‘What would prompt a country seeking to sharply reduce CO2 emissions to get rid of its largest source of carbon-free energy?'” (10/31/25)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2025/10/31/twilight/
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14) Elon Musk and the Trump Administration Really Don’t Get Tolkien
Source: Wired
by John Semley
“Recently, the US Department of Homeland Security has taken to ‘Shire-posting.’ That is: using quotes and imagery from Tolkien’s books (and director Peter Jackson’s blockbuster movie adaptations) as part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s enrollment efforts. … I don’t seem to recall any scenes of Frodo, Samwise, Gandalf, Galadriel, and the gang ripping around in an unmarked van, wearing face-smothering neck gaiters, hassling immigrants at carwashes, and kicking down housing complex doors in late night raids. If anything, such scenes bear more direct comparison to ‘The Scouring of the Shire,’ the penultimate chapter of The Lord of the Rings, which sees the hobbits returning home from their epic adventure to find their sleepy province tyrannized by ruffians and two-bit rent-a-cops, all in the thrall of a decrepit wizard.” (10/31/25)
https://archive.is/0zyw2
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15) Rethinking Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge (QME): A Policy Past Its Prime
Source: Antiwar.com
by Jamie Haase
“In business, an edge is earned. In U.S. diplomacy, it is handed out – nepotism with a human cost. Corporate America calls it a ‘sustainable competitive advantage,’ the factor that separates market leaders from the rest, reflecting a company’s key competencies. In American foreign policy, however, winning can be guaranteed – and the price is measured not in profit, but in lives. Nowhere is this more apparent than in America’s obligation to maintain Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge (QME), a mandate ensuring Israel remains militarily superior to its neighbors. What began as a Cold War-era security assurance has become a guarantee of supremacy. Under Israel’s current government, which openly disregards human rights and international law, the QME policy now threatens U.S. diplomacy across the Middle East.” (10/31/25)
https://original.antiwar.com/jamie_haase/2025/10/30/rethinking-israels-qualitative-military-edge-qme-a-policy-past-its-prime/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
16) ReImagining Liberty, episode 92
Source: ReImagining Liberty
“Liberalism’s Common Ground (w/ Matt Zwolinski and Matthew McManus).” (10/31/25)
https://audio2.redcircle.com/episodes/c45b691e-496e-4582-bb6b-2b30a5bfee8d/stream.mp3
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17) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 10/31/25
Source: The New Republic
“Trump ICE Raids Take Jarring Turn as Dem Gov Drops Scary New Warning.” (10/31/25)
https://newrepublic.com/article/202499/trump-ice-raids-take-jarring-turn-dem-gov-drops-scary-new-warning
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18) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 10/31/25
Source: Antiwar.com
“US Doesn’t Know Who It’s Killing in Boat Strikes, Netanyahu: IDF Will ‘Demilitarize’ Gaza, and More.” (10/31/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGUeZTLc_EM
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