02/04 -- Palestine: Israeli strikes kill 18 in Gaza as patient crossings at Rafah halted; Will Trump’s "Right About Everything" BS Wreck Republicans?
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Thomas L. Knapp
Feb 4, 2026, 6:15:31 AM (7 days ago) Feb 4
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 02/04/26
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Palestine: Israeli strikes kill 18 in Gaza as patient crossings at Rafah halted
2) Gulf of Tonk … er, Arabian Sea: US military says it shot down Iranian drone
3) Trump signs bill ending federal government shutdown
4) “Record number of missiles” hit Ukraine leaving thousands with no heating in -20C
5) FL: GOP Effort to Re-Gerrymander House Seats Hits Court Snag
6) Disney parks chief Josh D’Amaro named to succeed Bob Iger as CEO
7) UK: Starmer will change law to kick Mandelson out of House of Lords
8) Clintons appear ready to testify in Congress about Jeffrey Epstein after contempt threat
9) Sudan: Military claims to break siege of key Kordofan city of Kadugli
10) NASA delays Artemis II launch following wet dress rehearsal
11) France: Prosecutors ask appeal court to keep ban on Marine Le Pen running for office
12) Spain sets a new tourism record with nearly 96.8 million foreign visitors in 2025
13) Japan: Heavy snowfall claims at least 30 lives
14) China: Regime to Ban Hidden Door Handles on Cars Starting 2027
15) NY: AG to deploy legal observers to monitor federal gang activity
16) US DOJ demotes Ed Martin, stripping Trump ally of most authority
17) Dog bites man: Gang members abduct Minneapolis activists at gunpoint
18) France: Regime may seek to restrict VPNs
19) NV: Fake elector case resumes with debate over intent behind 2020 pro-Trump ceremony
20) Judge says Trump regime must let lawmakers make unannounced visits to ICE gang lairs
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Will Trump’s “Right About Everything” BS Wreck Republicans?
22) Another Question That Only Libertarians Are Asking
23) Bon Voyage, David Brooks (and Let Laissez-Faire Come Back!)
24) The Government’s Long War on Free Speech
25) The Myth That Foreigners Pay Our Tariffs
26) Meditations On Delivery Robot Steering To Avoid Homeless Man On The Sidewalk
27) Iran’s Brutal Religious Persecutions
28) The US military strategy in Iran feels eerily familiar
29) Canada Has Concluded That Binding Itself to the US Isn’t Safe
30) Nipah Virus and the New Public Health Order
31) History warns: when elites cheer the mob, revolutions devour their own
32) Bureaucracy Increases Accidents and Risks
33) Trump Dragging World Toward New Nuclear Arms Race
34) Trump vs. Scalia on Sanctuary Cities and the Minneapolis Immigration Crackdown
35) First, they came for the journalist
36) Russell Kirk’s Tragic Sense of Life
37) A glint of liberation for Venezuela
38) Trump Pushes Gun-Rights Advocates Into a Quagmire
39) Could Trump bomb Iran before settling on a rationale?
40) Initiative Killers
41) What’s Next, an Invasion of Iran?
42) Three Takeaways from the Taylor Rehmet Texas Shocker
43) US Sanctions on Iran Failed — So Why Do They Continue?
44) The Fashionable Notion of “Free Speech Culture” Is Justifying State Censorship, Ironically
45) I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues
46) The Federal Bureau of Investigation (of protected speech)
47) More and more States “destroying” the soda-pop industry? Or something else?
48) Homeownership, Renting and the American Dream
49) Poll Shows Massive Participation in Minnesota Shutdown Against ICE
50) American exceptionalism is now at a crossroads
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Free Speech Unmuted, 02/03/26
52) Trump Watch, 02/03/26
53) Cato Daily Podcast, 02/03/26
54) Law & Liberty Podcast, 02/03/26
55) The Good Fight, 02/03/26
56) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 02/03/26
57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 02/03/26
58) Finding Freedom, 02/02/26
59) Fountainhead Forum, episode 416
60) The Tom Woods Show, episode 2731
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Palestine: Israeli strikes kill 18 in Gaza as patient crossings at Rafah halted
Source: Reuters
“Israeli tank shelling and airstrikes killed 18 people, including four children, in Gaza on Wednesday, and Israel halted the passage of patients through the Rafah border crossing, Palestinian officials said. The Israeli military said tanks had fired on Gaza and airstrikes had been launched after a gunman shot at Israeli soldiers and seriously injured a reservist. The strikes targeted Gaza City and the southern city of Khan Younis. A Gazan health official told Reuters that Israel had also halted the passage of patients through the Rafah border crossing to Egypt, two days after it had reopened, allowing a trickle of Palestinians to cross for the first time in months.” (02/04/26)
https://archive.is/670vH
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2) Gulf of Tonk … er, Arabian Sea: US military says it shot down Iranian drone
Source: CBS News
“U.S. forces shot down an Iranian drone that flew towards a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea on Tuesday, U.S. Central Command confirmed. The military said the drone ‘aggressively’ approached the USS Abraham Lincoln as it was crossing through the Arabian Sea roughly 500 miles from the southern coast of Iran and ‘unnecessarily maneuvered’ toward the ship. … U.S. Central Command also confirmed that hours later, forces with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps harassed a U.S.-flagged and crewed oil tanker, Stena Imperative, that was moving through the Strait of Hormuz.” (02/03/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-shoots-down-iranian-drone-approached-us-aircraft-carrier-military-says/
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3) Trump signs bill ending federal government shutdown
Source: CNBC
“President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a bill into law to reopen most of the government, officially ending a partial shutdown that began last weekend. The House of Representatives narrowly passed the bill 217-214 earlier in the day after the Senate approved it last week. Much of the government has been shuttered since Saturday morning. The bill provides funding for the departments of Defense, Treasury, State, Health and Human Services, Labor, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, and Education through the remainder of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. It also provides two weeks of stopgap funding for the Department of Homeland Security after the Senate stripped full-year funding for the agency in response to the [murders] of two U.S. citizens by federal immigration officers.” (02/03/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/03/house-republicans-reopen-us-government-shutdown.html
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4) “Record number of missiles” hit Ukraine leaving thousands with no heating in -20C
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Russia has used a record number of ballistic missiles to target Ukraine’s energy sector, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said. The combined missile and drone strikes hit power plants and infrastructure in Kyiv and multiple locations causing ‘the most powerful blow’ so far this year, according to private energy company DTEK. The strikes were launched as temperatures dropped to -20C (-4F) and left more than 1,000 tower blocks in the capital without heating once again and damaged a power plant in the eastern city of Kharkiv beyond repair. Zelensky said Russia was “choosing terror and escalation” rather than diplomacy to end this war and called for ‘maximum pressure’ on Moscow from Ukraine’s allies.” (02/03/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpwng25114ro
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5) FL: GOP Effort to Re-Gerrymander House Seats Hits Court Snag
Source: US News & World Report
“Republican groups seeking to add U.S. House seats in Florida by challenging the 2020 census suffered a major setback Tuesday as a federal court ruled the lawsuit was filed too late. The suit alleges that the statistical methods used to calculate the census undercounted the state’s population, costing the state two seats in Congress. The legal challenge comes as President Donald Trump has been pressuring Republican-led state legislatures to redraw their congressional districts to benefit the GOP ahead of this year’s midterm elections. A three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court in Tampa threw out the suit but did give the plaintiffs a chance to amend and refile. The judges said the plaintiffs should have mounted their legal challenge within four years from the time the statistical methods were used.” (02/03/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2026-02-03/gop-effort-to-add-house-seats-in-florida-through-census-lawsuit-hits-a-snag
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6) Disney parks chief Josh D’Amaro named to succeed Bob Iger as CEO
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
“Disney has named its parks chief Josh D’Amaro to succeed Bob Iger as the entertainment giant’s top executive. D’Amaro is the Disney Experiences Chairman, spearheading efforts for the company’s theme parks, cruises and resorts. He steps into the position at a time when Disney is flush with box-office hits like ‘Zootopia 2’ and ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ and its streaming business is strong. But the company is also dealing with a decline in foreign visitors to its domestic theme parks, with tourism to the U.S. falling during an aggressive immigration crack down by the Trump administration, as well as clashes with almost all of country’s trading partners. The decision on the next chief executive at Disney comes almost four years after the company’s choice to replace Iger went badly, forcing Iger back into the job.” (02/03/26)
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/02/03/disney-names-ceo-iger-successor/
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7) UK: Starmer will change law to kick Mandelson out of House of Lords
Source: Politico
“Keir Starmer will draft a new law to strip Peter Mandelson of his right to sit in Britain’s House of Lords after new revelations about the former British ambassador to Washington’s links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein appeared in the Epstein files. The British prime minister has asked officials to draft legislation to remove Mandelson from the House of Lords ‘as quickly as possible,’ his spokesman told reporters Tuesday afternoon. No.10 Downing Street said the Cabinet Office has also referred material to the police after the newly released files appeared to show Mandelson sharing live government policy deliberations with the disgraced financier. The Metropolitan Police said Monday it is reviewing allegations of misconduct in a public office.” (02/03/26)
https://www.politico.eu/article/keir-starmer-draft-law-remove-peter-mandelson-house-of-lords/
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8) Clintons appear ready to testify in Congress about Jeffrey Epstein after contempt threat
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“Former U.S. president Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, will testify in a congressional investigation into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a staffer said on Monday. The House’s Republican-led oversight committee recommended last week that the Clintons be held in contempt for refusing to testify about their relationship with Epstein, with several Democrats on the panel agreeing. The Clintons had offered to co-operate with the panel but had refused to appear in person, saying the investigation was a partisan exercise aimed at protecting Republican President Donald Trump. The House of Representatives had later this week planned to hold the two prominent Democrats in contempt, a finding that potentially could lead to criminal charges.” (02/03/26)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/us-congress-house-clintons-epstein-testimony-9.7071863
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9) Sudan: Military claims to break siege of key Kordofan city of Kadugli
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Sudan’s military says it has broken through a siege by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group of the South Kordofan capital of Kadugli, marking its second major advance in less than a week. General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the de facto leader of the country, visited Sudan’s public television station in the city of Omdurman on Tuesday to assert that his forces had opened a supply route to the capital. … Al-Burhan insisted that the military government of Sudan supports peace efforts but will not agree to a truce with the RSF, with which it has been fighting a vicious civil war since April 2023, while cities are under siege.” (02/03/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/3/sudan-military-claims-to-break-siege-of-key-kordofan-city-of-kadugli
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10) NASA delays Artemis II launch following wet dress rehearsal
Source: United Press International
“NASA early Tuesday announced it was pushing the launch date of its Artemis II mission to March, after engineers encountered a liquid hydrogen leak during a critical prelaunch test. … NASA had initially aimed to launch Artemis II in a Feb. 8-11 window. Moving the mission’s launch window will give teams time to review data and conduct a second wet dress rehearsal, NASA said in a separate statement.” (02/03/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/02/03/Artemis-II-launch-delayed/3821770109031/
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11) France: Prosecutors ask appeal court to keep ban on Marine Le Pen running for office
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“French state prosecutors have asked appeal court judges to maintain a five-year election ban on the far-right leader Marine Le Pen for embezzlement of European parliament funds in a fake jobs scandal. If the judges decide to grant the request, Le Pen would probably not be able to run in France’s 2027 presidential election. The state prosecutors also recommended a four-year prison sentence against Le Pen, three of which would be suspended, and one served at home with an electronic bracelet. They also requested a €100,000 fine.” (02/03/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/03/french-prosecutors-ask-appeal-court-to-keep-ban-on-marine-le-pen-running-for-office
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12) Spain sets a new tourism record with nearly 96.8 million foreign visitors in 2025
Source: ABC News
“Spain has set a new tourism record, welcoming nearly 96.8 million foreign visitors in 2025, according to figures released Tuesday by the National Statistics Institute. The number of international visitors witnessed an increase of 3.2%, compared to 2024, which saw 94 million tourists. Spain is one of the world’s most popular destinations, where tourism accounts for 12.6% of the country’s gross domestic product. It has ranked third as the world’s top tourism earners, after the United Kingdom and France, on the U.N. World Tourism Barometer.” (02/03/26)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/spain-sets-new-tourism-record-968-million-foreign-129807917
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13) Japan: Heavy snowfall claims at least 30 lives
Source: Japan Times [Japan]
“At least 30 people have died and another 324 injured due to heavy snowfall along the Sea of Japan coast over the past two weeks, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said Tuesday. The highest death toll was seen in Niigata Prefecture, with 12 fatalities, followed by six in Akita Prefecture and four in Aomori Prefecture. Many deaths involved people attempting to remove snow from around their homes. … The Sea of Japan coast continued to see heavy snowfall on Tuesday as a result of wintry pressure patterns bringing freezing cold air above the Tohoku region.” (02/03/26)
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/03/japan/fatalities-heavy-snow/
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14) China: Regime to Ban Hidden Door Handles on Cars Starting 2027
Source: US News & World Report
“China will ban hidden door handles on cars, commonly used on Tesla’s electric vehicles and many other EV models, starting next year. All car doors must include a mechanical release function for handles, except for the tailgate, according to details released by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Monday. Officials said the policy aims to address safety concerns after fatal EV accidents where electronic doors reportedly failed to operate and trapped passengers inside vehicles.” (02/03/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2026-02-03/china-to-ban-hidden-door-handles-on-cars-starting-2027
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15) NY: AG to deploy legal observers to monitor federal gang activity
Source: SFGate
“New York’s attorney general announced plans Tuesday to deploy legal observers to monitor federal immigration enforcement actions in the state. The initiative will send observers, who will wear purple safety vests, to areas of reported immigration enforcement activity to collect information ‘that may inform future legal action,’ according to Attorney General Letitia James. Tensions remain high nationwide over President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown, particularly following the [murders] of two U.S. citizens at the hands of federal agents in Minnesota. Videos of agents conducting immigration [abductions] throughout the country have drawn criticism over heavy-handed tactics, often going viral online. In a statement, James, a Democrat, said she is ‘proud to protect New Yorkers’ constitutional rights to speak freely, protest peacefully, and go about their lives without fear of unlawful federal action’. ‘We have seen in Minnesota how quickly and tragically federal operations can escalate in the absence of transparency and accountability,’ she said.” (02/03/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/new-york-attorney-general-to-deploy-legal-21331524.php
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16) US DOJ demotes Ed Martin, stripping Trump ally of most authority
Source: Washington Post
“Top Justice Department officials have stripped Ed Martin of the bulk of his expansive responsibilities, leaving the staunch ally of President Donald Trump on the sidelines of many of the controversial investigations he has championed, according to two people familiar with the personnel move. As a result of the changes, Martin will no longer chair the department’s Weaponization Working Group, which was tasked with reviewing special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecutions of Trump and other perceived examples of ‘prosecutorial abuse,’ according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel move that has not been made public. Martin will continue to serve as the Justice Department’s pardon attorney but will no longer work at Justice Department headquarters.” (02/02/26)
https://archive.is/F7fPX
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17) Dog bites man: Gang members abduct Minneapolis activists at gunpoint
Source: Associated Press
“Immigration officers with guns drawn [abducted] some activists who were trailing their vehicles on Tuesday in Minneapolis, a sign that tensions have not eased since the departure last week of a high-profile commander. At least one person who had an anti-ICE message on clothing was handcuffed while face-down on the ground. An Associated Press photographer witnessed the [abductions]. … Meanwhile, Tuesday was the deadline for the Minnesota governor, state attorney general and the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul to produce documents to a federal grand jury in response to a Justice Department request for records of any effort to stifle the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Officials have denounced it as a bullying tactic.” (02/03/26)
https://apnews.com/article/minneapolis-immigration-crackdown-arrests-29ab636ca0f7db5389418463ca8b67c7
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18) France: Regime may seek to restrict VPNs
Source: Engadget
“France may take additional steps to prevent minors from accessing social media platforms. As its government advances a proposed ban on social media use for anyone under age 15, some leaders are already looking to add further restrictions. During an appearance on public broadcast service Franceinfo, Minister Delegate for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Affairs Anne Le Hénanff said VPNs might be the next target. ‘If [this legislation] allows us to protect [sic] a very large majority of children, we will continue. And VPNs are the next topic on my list,’ she said.” (02/02/26)
https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/france-might-seek-restrictions-on-vpn-use-in-campaign-to-keep-minors-off-social-media-205308716.html
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19) NV: Fake elector case resumes with debate over intent behind 2020 pro-Trump ceremony
Source: SFGate
“The criminal case against Nevada’s six so-called ‘fake electors,’ who tried to falsely award the state’s 2020 electoral votes to President Donald Trump, returned to Clark County on Monday after the Nevada Supreme Court ruled it was a proper jurisdiction to hear the case. During Monday’s hearing, lawyers for the fake electors challenged the legality of the two charges facing their clients: offering a false instrument for filing and uttering a forged instrument. Although no ruling was issued, Clark County Judge Mary Kay Holthus was skeptical of the prosecution’s arguments for the second charge because it requires ‘an intent to defraud.’ Holthus called that intent ‘impossible’ to prove. ‘They’re not really thinking that they’re going to pull one over, that … ‘we’re going to sign this document and make everybody think that Trump was elected when he wasn’t elected,’’ Holthus said.” (02/03/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/nevada-fake-elector-case-resumes-with-debate-over-21331560.php
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20) Judge says Trump regime must let lawmakers make unannounced visits to ICE gang lairs
Source: Politico
“A federal judge ruled Monday that the Department of Homeland Security likely broke the law when it barred members of Congress from visiting immigrant detention facilities without a week’s notice. U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb found that in crafting and enforcing the one-week-notice policy, the department relied on funds that Congress specifically forbade from being used to deny lawmakers access to those facilities. The ruling applies to 13 Democratic members of Congress who have joined a lawsuit filed last year, challenging limits on their ability to visit locations where Immigration and Customs Enforcement detains people facing deportation proceedings.” (02/02/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/02/ice-detention-congress-visit-00759990
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Will Trump’s “Right About Everything” BS Wreck Republicans?
Source: JimBovard.com
by James Bovard
“Trump has already lost the support of hordes of folks who voted for him in November 2024. Consumer confidence last month plunged to the lowest level since 2014, according to a Conference Board survey. More than half of voters say Trump has ‘made life less affordable’ for them and their families, and only 34% approved of his handling of ‘the cost of living.’ Trump’s economic victory proclamations are starting to resemble a bad magician whose tricks are so lame that his audience starts to heckle him. But in his Wall Street Journal op-ed, Trump taunted his critics by telling them to wear ‘one of my favorite red hats — the one that reads, ‘TRUMP WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING!’'” (02/03/26)
https://jimbovard.com/blog/2026/02/03/will-trumps-right-about-everything-b-s-wreck-republicans/
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22) Another Question That Only Libertarians Are Asking
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Laurence M Vance
“The newest U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Dietary Guidelines for Americans turns the iconic food pyramid upside down. It recommends that Americans eat the right amount of food, prioritize protein at every meal, consume full-fat dairy with no added sugars, eat vegetables and fruits throughout the day, incorporate healthy fats, prioritize fiber-rich whole grains, and avoid highly processed packaged, prepared, ready-to-eat, or other foods that are salty or sweet. … People are asking many questions about the new guidelines, but there is one question that only libertarians ask whenever the federal government issues new or revised guidelines: Why is the government issuing guidelines in the first place?” (02/03/26)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/another-question-that-only-libertarians-are-asking/
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23) Bon Voyage, David Brooks (and Let Laissez-Faire Come Back!)
Source: Garrison Center
by Joel Schlosberg
“When David Brooks claims that his preferred ‘moderate conservative political philosophy’ is in 2026 ‘so fantastically successful … that moderate Republicans are now the dominant force in American politics,’ his intentional sarcasm is clear before the fourth paragraph of his final New York Times column (‘Time to Say Goodbye,’ February 1): ‘I’m kidding.’ Even if a reader missed out on the decades of Brooks’s commentary as resolutely as literally-frozen-in-time Futurama protagonist Philip J. Fry, its remainder would beg for the response of Fry’s snarky robotic sidekick Bender: ‘Oh wait, you’re serious. Let me laugh even harder.'” (02/03/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20299
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24) The Government’s Long War on Free Speech
Source: CounterPunch
by David S D’Amato
“Americans suffer in large part because we don’t know our government‘s history, because we don’t care about that history. We root for our teams and we don’t notice or care until it’s too late. What we are watching play out today is an upshot of the fathomless ignorance and apathy of Americans who treat politics as professional sports or fake wrestling. Don Lemon’s case represents something close to the opposite of its portrayal in the corporate media. Rather than breaking with some pristine history of free speech and press freedom in our country, this moment represents our embarrassing history of noticing persistent constitutional violations only when they touch some celebrity.” (02/03/26)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/02/03/the-governments-long-war-on-free-speech/
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25) The Myth That Foreigners Pay Our Tariffs
Source: The Daily Economy
by Donald J Boudreaux
“The answer to the question ‘Who pays the cost of tariffs?’ is obviously important. If the costs of all tariffs were paid exclusively by foreigners, with no negative consequences suffered by citizens of the country that imposes the tariffs, the case for a policy of free trade would be far weaker than if tariffs inflict some damage on the domestic economy. Ethical objections to tariffs would still be available, but the conventional economic case against protective tariffs would be null and void, as that case focuses almost exclusively on the economic welfare of citizens of the home country. Yet the costs of tariffs are always shared by buyers and sellers of tariffed goods and services.” (02/03/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/the-myth-that-foreigners-pay-our-tariffs/
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26) Meditations On Delivery Robot Steering To Avoid Homeless Man On The Sidewalk
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“I saw a video of a food delivery robot navigating around the body of a homeless person lying on the sidewalk, and I can’t stop thinking about it. This video is as close to a self-portrait of western civilization as it gets. This is who we are. This is where we’re at. … It captures so perfectly the creepy dance between suffering, apathy, frivolity and corporate profiteering that makes our particular dystopia so distinctive, in just a few short seconds of footage. This is the dance that makes the empire go round. It’s got everything: * A man splayed out on the concrete because it hurts to be human in this global ghost town, and because he was unsuccessful at becoming a productive gear-turner in the capitalist machine, and because social safety nets have been stripped bare in order to help millionaires become billionaires.” (02/03/25)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/02/03/meditations-on-a-delivery-robot-steering-to-avoid-a-homeless-man-on-the-sidewalk/
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27) Iran’s Brutal Religious Persecutions
Source: Cato Institute
by Doug Bandow
“The ongoing murderous repression of protesters in Iran is symptomatic of a long-term and deeper cruelty on the part of the regime: the attempt to eradicate freedom of conscience.” (02/03/26)
https://www.cato.org/commentary/irans-brutal-religious-persecutions
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28) The US military strategy in Iran feels eerily familiar
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Jon Duffy
“As the United States assembles a ‘massive armada’ off the coast of Iran — an aircraft carrier, accompanying destroyers, strike aircraft positioned across the region — the choreography is instantly recognizable. Forces move into place. Officials speak of ‘options.’ The president’s social media account warns of ‘far worse’ attacks than those launched against Iran last summer. What remains conspicuously absent is any explanation of what the use of that force is meant to accomplish.
If this sequence sounds familiar, it should. In late 2002 and early 2003, the U.S. followed a similar path. … Two decades later, the circumstances are different, but the failure is unmistakable.” (02/03/26)
https://archive.is/Qk9rn
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29) Canada Has Concluded That Binding Itself to the US Isn’t Safe
Source: Foreign Policy In Focus
by Reza Hasmath
“Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum on January 20 was not an exercise in pique. It was the clearest articulation yet of a strategic shift that has profound implications – not just for US-Canada relations, but for the entire structure of American alliances worldwide. Carney told the Davos audience that ‘the old order is not coming back’ and that the rules-based international system was always ‘partially false’. The strongest exempted themselves when convenient, trade rules were enforced asymmetrically, and Canada ‘placed the sign in the window’ while avoiding the gaps between rhetoric and reality. That bargain, he declared, no longer works. Canada is now building what Carney called ‘strategic autonomy’: the capacity to feed itself, fuel itself, and defend itself without depending on the United States.” (02/03/25)
https://fpif.org/canadas-pivot-is-a-warning-to-the-united-states-and-the-entire-alliance-system/
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30) Nipah Virus and the New Public Health Order
Source: Brownstone Institute
by David Bell
“A large outbreak of hysteria occurred in the media over the past week, regarding a small Nipah virus outbreak in eastern India. ‘Hysteria’ is the correct word in terms of proportionality. It is not, unfortunately, the right word in terms of intent. Ten years ago this episode of Nipah virus disease would barely have rated a mention internationally, and certainly not stimulated airport screening and travel warnings – there have been many larger outbreaks of Nipah virus than this one, which did not. The change over recent years is not that people have lost their minds. It relates to the adoption of the fear-panic-profit model that has entrenched itself in international public health.” (02/03/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/nipah-virus-and-the-new-public-health-order/
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31) History warns: when elites cheer the mob, revolutions devour their own
Source: Fox News
by Jonathan Turley
“‘This is time for a revolution … They can’t take us all down.’ Those words from ‘Breaking Bad’ actor Giancarlo Esposito are being echoed by a growing number of armchair revolutionaries today. Revolution is again in the air as we approach the 250th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence. On Tuesday, Simon & Schuster is releasing my book, Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution, an exploration of the founding and the future of our unique republic. It is a book about revolutions and how they can consume those who start them. Both the American and French revolutions arose during the same period, but one became the world’s oldest democracy while the other became a blood-soaked tyranny known as the Reign of Terror.” [editor’s note: The American revolution created … Iceland? – TLK] (02/03/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/jonathan-turley-elites-cheer-mob-history-warns-revolutions-devour-their-own
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32) Bureaucracy Increases Accidents and Risks
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Alejandro A Tagliavini
“[T]he US Army — specifically the Army Corps of Engineers — built and maintained the canals and walls protecting New Orleans. Unfortunately, they knew that they would fail to withstand storms of the magnitude of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, leaving the city devastated. Insurance and reinsurance companies could easily have erected adequate defense infrastructure if state regulations had allowed it. Swiss Re estimated global insurers’ contributions for natural disasters in 2024 at over $135 billion, but total economic losses from disasters were higher, exceeding $318 billion, leaving a significant protection gap because states interfere by discouraging — if not outright prohibiting — coverage in many cases.” (02/03/26)
https://mises.org/power-market/bureaucracy-increases-accidents-and-risks
-----
33) Trump Dragging World Toward New Nuclear Arms Race
Source: Common Dreams
by Kevin Martin
“Among the critical issues facing our country today, nuclear arms control is seldom top of mind for most people, understandably, given our myriad political, social and economic crises. Recent books and films such as Annie Jacobsen’s 2004 non-fiction tome Nuclear War: A Scenario and last fall’s A House of Dynamite, directed by Kathryn Bigelow, garnered needed attention for the still-existential threat of nuclear weapons, yet the problem remains mostly absent from our political discourse. Part of the fault for that lies with President Donald Trump, who while constantly touting his ability to ‘make deals,’ is missing in action on a simple agreement that would make the US and the world safer. New START, the arms control treaty negotiated by President Barack Obama and extended by President Joe Biden, will expire on February 5.” (02/03/25)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/trump-putin-nuclear-start-treaty
-----
34) Trump vs. Scalia on Sanctuary Cities and the Minneapolis Immigration Crackdown
Source: Reason
by Damon Root
“According to President Donald Trump, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey endorsed ‘a very serious violation of the Law’ last week when Frey said that ‘Minneapolis does not, and will not, enforce federal immigration law.’ But it is Trump whose understanding of the law is seriously impaired. Under both constitutional principle and judicial precedent, state and local authorities may decline to participate in the enforcement of a federal regulatory scheme. So-called sanctuary city policies that either limit or prohibit local enforcement of federal immigration law are themselves lawful. Why? Just ask the conservative legal hero Justice Antonin Scalia.” (02/03/26)
https://reason.com/2026/02/03/trump-vs-scalia-on-sanctuary-cities-and-the-minneapolis-immigration-crackdown/
-----
35) First, they came for the journalist
Source: The Hill
by Bill Press
“Among all the attacks on journalists, the arrest and prosecution of [Don] Lemon is especially troubling and should strike fear in the hearts of every American, liberal or conservative. Lemon is not a big news organization — he is one, independent podcaster. He didn’t do anything wrong. He did his job. As a journalist, he followed protestors into the Cities Church of St. Paul to film their protest and interview the pastor. He did not commit a crime. He committed an act of journalism. That is protected by the First Amendment — or, at least, it used to be. As practiced by the Trump administration, the First Amendment only protects journalists or journalism that the president agrees with.” (02/03/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/5719717-trump-department-of-war/
-----
36) Russell Kirk’s Tragic Sense of Life
Source: Law & Liberty
by Miles Smith IV
“In the past decade, the political (and to a lesser extent the intellectual) right in the United States has been possessed by ideas of greatness and golden ages. MAGA pithily encapsulates the idea that there was an era of American greatness in the misty past that is somehow remembered by still-living Americans. Kevin Roberts, the current head of the Heritage Foundation, believes that Americans in 2025 are ‘witnessing the dawn of a golden age. Not because of one man — though he has been a battering ram through the fortress of the ruling class. But because of what this moment now makes possible: a return not just to strength or prosperity or sovereignty — but to the permanent things.’ Roberts appeals to Russell Kirk to back up his sense of an emerging golden era for the American republic.” (02/03/26)
https://lawliberty.org/russell-kirks-tragic-sense-of-life/
-----
37) A glint of liberation for Venezuela
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“It’s been a month since the United States captured Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, to put him on trial in New York. Rather than force his regime to dismantle, however, the U.S. chose to work with it, more on economic stabilization than on wholesale political transformation. Yet, while focusing on Venezuela’s vast oil potential, the Trump administration has, ironically, used undemocratic pressure to push the government to take a step toward democracy. So far, about 30% of an estimated 1,000 political detainees have been released. Mr. Maduro’s former deputy, and current interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, announced the release – which she called an amnesty – for all those imprisoned for political activity since 1999, as well as plans to shut down a Caracas prison where political opponents have been held and reportedly tortured. The aim, Ms. Rodríguez said, is ‘to heal the wounds left by political confrontation … to restore justice … [and] coexistence.'” (02/02/25)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0202/A-glint-of-liberation-for-Venezuela
-----
38) Trump Pushes Gun-Rights Advocates Into a Quagmire
Source: The Dispatch
by Stephen Gutowski
“Trump and his top officials’ blame-the-gun comments certainly risk backlash from a key Republican constituency, but they also put the gun-rights movement in a no-win position. The heel-turn was foreseeable since this isn’t the first time Trump has proved unreliable on guns. Trump backed the idea of stricter gun laws three times during his first term.” 902/03/26)
https://thedispatch.com/article/trump-administration-pretti-gun-rights-control/
-----
39) Could Trump bomb Iran before settling on a rationale?
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Paul R Pillar
“Shifting justifications for a war are never a good sign, and they strongly suggest that the war in question was not warranted. In the Vietnam War, the principal public rationale of saving South Vietnam from communism got replaced in the minds of the warmakers — especially after losing hope of winning the contest in Vietnam — by the belief that the United States had to keep fighting to preserve its credibility. In the Iraq War, when President George W. Bush’s prewar argument about weapons of mass destruction fell apart, he shifted to a rationale centered on bringing freedom and democracy to Iraq. Now, with President Donald Trump threatening a new armed attack on Iran amid a buildup of U.S. forces in the region, the Washington Post’s headline writers aptly describe the rationale for any such attack as being ‘in flux’ and, for the online version of the same article, ask, ‘what’s the mission?'” (02/03/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-war-iran/
-----
40) Initiative Killers
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“Politicians generally don’t like citizens creating laws any more than they like citizens limiting their terms in office. It really cramps their style.” (02/03/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/02/03/initiative-killers/
-----
41) What’s Next, an Invasion of Iran?
Source: The American Prospect
by Robert Kuttner
“The pattern is all too clear by now. When Trump hits a stone wall, his strategy invariably is to backpedal tactically and change the subject to create new headlines and sometimes new crises. Often, the new subject is merely a ludicrous diversion. Other times, he is playing with fire. Are the ICE raids creating ‘a moral and political debacle’ for the administration, as Trump’s usual allies on The Wall Street Journal editorial page delicately put it? Then let’s lower the temperature, bring in new leadership, begin prolonged negotiations to get the pictures off TV, and get tongues wagging about other stories. How about a two-year closing of the Kennedy Center that every self-respecting artist is boycotting, for ‘repairs’ that were never needed before? Or a new Trumpian Arc de Triomphe, bigger than the one in Paris? Most serious people get that this stuff is a silly distraction. And then there is Iran.” (02/03/25)
https://prospect.org/2026/02/03/trump-iran-military-venezuela-qatar-saudi-arabia/
-----
42) Three Takeaways from the Taylor Rehmet Texas Shocker
Source: Washington Monthly
by Bill Scher
“Taylor Rehmet, a 33-year-old Lockheed Martin machinist and president of the Texas chapter of the international machinist union, in a Saturday special election, flipped a Republican-held state Senate seat in the suburbs of Fort Worth. The neophyte Democratic candidate won a district by 14 points, while Donald Trump carried it by 17 points. While the 31-point swing is particularly wide, Democrats have consistently outperformed in state legislative special elections throughout Trump’s second term. Therefore, Rehmet’s triumph is no fluke, and more than a mere extension of a trend, perhaps, an acceleration. Of course, we must always be careful not to overinterpret a single data point. But some lessons can be reasonably drawn from Rehmet’s shocking upset.” (02/03/26)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/02/03/three-takeaways-taylor-rehmet-texas-shocker/
-----
43) US Sanctions on Iran Failed — So Why Do They Continue?
Source: The American Conservative
by Harrison Berger
“Economic warfare immiserates populations without achieving political goals.” (02/03/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/u-s-sanctions-on-iran-failed-so-why-do-they-continue/
-----
44) The Fashionable Notion of “Free Speech Culture” Is Justifying State Censorship, Ironically
Source: The UnPopulist
by Ken White
“I’m a long-time critic of the modern concept of ‘free speech culture’ — the culturally pervasive notion that supporting freedom of speech requires me not just to refrain from official censorship, but to avoid a wide array of expression that might chill, deter, or punish other people’s speech. The legal view of free speech protects an unpopular speaker from being jailed or (successfully) sued; ‘free speech culture,’ by contrast, is a social norm that discourages me from calling for that person to be fired, shunned, socially sanctioned, or criticized to a degree that is, by some poorly defined measure, excessive.” (02/02/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/the-fashionable-notion-of-free-speech
-----
45) I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues
Source: Town Hall
by Stephen Moore
“The Democrats circa 2026 have almost become tax-and-spend parodies of themselves. They used to pretend that raising taxes was a last resort. Now, the left-wing base regards raising taxes as a badge of honor. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani declared last week that he has no other choice but to raise taxes on the rich and corporations because there aren’t enough savings from efficiencies in agency budgets. New York City spends more money per capita than any other major city in the country, but there’s no way to save money. Uh-huh! At least Mamdani was honest and campaigned as a socialist. The Manhattanites are getting exactly what they voted for. But the two new rising stars of the party, Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger, the newly elected governors of New Jersey and Virginia, respectively, won what were thought to be tight races by comfortable margins.” (02/03/25)
https://townhall.com/columnists/stephenmoore/2026/02/03/i-guess-thats-why-they-call-it-the-blues-n2670602
-----
46) The Federal Bureau of Investigation (of protected speech)
Source: Expression
by Aaron Terr
“Last Monday, FBI Director Kash Patel announced an investigation into Signal group chats that Minnesotans are using to track ICE activity. Independent journalist Cam Higby spurred the move with an X thread that appears to show users of the encrypted messaging app reporting ICE sightings and sharing license plate numbers of agency vehicles. What the thread doesn’t show is evidence of a crime. … speech does not lose constitutional protection simply because it might lead others to break the law. That was true when progressive commentators warned about ‘stochastic terrorism’ — the idea that conservative rhetoric on hot-button issues incites violence against minority groups — and it’s true now.” (02/02/26)
https://expression.fire.org/p/the-federal-bureau-of-investigation
-----
47) More and more States “destroying” the soda-pop industry? Or something else?
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
“You may have heard talk about making soda ineligible for purchase under the SNAP program (food stamps). Among others, the HHS Secretary (RJK Jr. points out the problems with such consumables. We don’t think he considers them to be ‘food.’) Oddly, a number of supposed pro-Trump influencers suddenly began arguing against the idea on social media. ‘This is government overreach! People’s choices shouldn’t be dictated by government! Even Donald Trump enjoys his Diet Coke!’ Of course, it comes as no surprise that anti-Trumpers, especially of the Transzi (Regressive) persuasion, would object to limiting the use of welfare funds. But some so-called libertarians also seem to be critical.” (02/02/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/02/02/more-and-more-states-destroying-the-soda-pop-industry-or-something-else/
-----
48) Homeownership, Renting and the American Dream
Source: Independent Institute
by Kritstian Fors & Jonathan Hofer
“The emphasis on buying a home has likely contributed to a widespread misconception that owning a home is the ‘best’ investment compared to renting. Certainly, homeownership can be advantageous, particularly when interest rates are low, home prices are reasonable and stock market returns are poor to modest. Emotional and behavioral factors also play a role. For some individuals, a mortgage acts as a motivating force, encouraging people who might not otherwise invest to commit to building wealth through homeownership. However, for others, their home represents their largest investment, mainly because it is the only investment they ever make and the belief that renting is ‘throwing money away’ often does not align with the mathematical realities of financial investment.” (02/02/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/02/02/homeownership-american-dream/
-----
49) Poll Shows Massive Participation in Minnesota Shutdown Against ICE
Source: In These Times
by Sarah Lazare, Thomas Birmingham, & Ari Bloomekatz
“Roughly one in four Minnesota voters either participated in the January 23 day of shutdown and protest against ICE, or have a loved one who did, according to new polling data. Of those participants, 38% percent stayed off the job, either because they did not go to work, or because their employer closed for the day of action. The data does not distinguish between those who made the choice to stay out, and those who saw their workplaces close. (Some workplaces were shuttered that day due to worker pressure.) The poll was commissioned by the May Day Strong coalition, a network of local and national unions and community organizations, and was conducted by polling firm Blue Rose Research. McKenzie Wilson, director of external affairs and message strategy at the firm, explained that researchers surveyed 1,940 Minnesotans who voted in 2024.” (02/02/25)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/labor-general-strike-minnesotans-ice-protest-trump-cbp
-----
50) American exceptionalism is now at a crossroads
Source: Orange County Register
by Fabian Naranjo Gonzalez
“The brutal killing of Alex Pretti is just the latest reminder of the reality that has been setting in across the nation: we are living through dark times in America, a regression after centuries and decades of progress; and if we continue down this path, the light from Lady Liberty’s torch will almost certainly be extinguished. How did we get here? Since our nation’s founding, every subsequent generation of Americans has fought to make our country, and the world, a better, more inclusive place. And for a long time, we got it right. … Unfortunately, the care-free, inclusive attitude that was born during the 1960’s counter-culture revolution and extended well into the 90’s feel good era of ‘anything goes’ has been co-opted and repurposed by modern day demagogues by creating space for hatred and ideas that past generations gave their very lives to defeat.” (02/02/26)
https://archive.is/P8qx0
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Free Speech Unmuted, 02/03/26
Source: Hoover Institution
“Can Journalists Be Charged for Involvement in Protests? The Don Lemon Dilemma.” (02/03/26)
https://www.hoover.org/research/can-journalists-be-charged-involvement-protests-don-lemon-dilemma
-----
52) Trump Watch, 02/03/26
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“The U.S. Partnership with Communism and Narco-Terrorism.” (02/03/26)
https://www.fff.org/freedom-in-motion/video/trump-watch-the-u-s-partnership-with-communism-and-narco-terrorism/
-----
53) Cato Daily Podcast, 02/03/26
Source: Cato Institute
“Reforming the Federal Reserve, Brick by Brick.” (02/03/26)
https://www.cato.org/multimedia/cato-podcast/reforming-federal-reserve-brick-brick
-----
54) Law & Liberty Podcast, 02/03/26
Source: Law & Liberty
“From Communist to Conservative.” (02/03/26)
https://lawliberty.org/podcast/from-communist-to-conservative/
-----
55) The Good Fight, 02/03/26
Source: Yascha Mounk
“Ruud Koopmans on Immigration and Integration in Europe.” (02/03/26)
https://writing.yaschamounk.com/p/ruud-koopmans
-----
56) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 02/03/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump ICE Threats Take Darker Turn as MAGA Erupts in Demands for Blood.” (02/03/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/206052/trump-ice-threats-take-darker-turn-maga-erupts-demands-blood
-----
57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 02/03/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“US and Iran May Hold Talks in Istanbul on Friday, IDF Kills Three-Year-Old in Gaza, and More.” (02/03/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brwuRCkXLiI
-----
58) Finding Freedom, 02/02/26
Source: Lions of Liberty
“Why is Everyone Suddenly Sick All the Time.” (02/02/26)
https://www.lionsofliberty.com/episodes/ff-why-is-everyone-suddenly-sick-all-the-time
-----
59) Fountainhead Forum, episode 416
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Gustavo Perednik on the two terrorist bombings in Argentina in the early 1990s.” (02/02/26)
https://rumble.com/v7578a6-ff-416-gustavo-perednik-on-the-two-terrorist-bombings-in-argentina-in-the-e.html
-----
60) The Tom Woods Show, episode 2731
Source: The Tom Woods Show
“Reconstruction: The Marxist’s Favorite Period of US History.” (02/02/26)
https://tomwoods.com/ep-2731-reconstruction-the-marxists-favorite-period-of-us-history/
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Palestine: Israeli strikes kill 18 in Gaza as patient crossings at Rafah halted
2) Gulf of Tonk … er, Arabian Sea: US military says it shot down Iranian drone
3) Trump signs bill ending federal government shutdown
4) “Record number of missiles” hit Ukraine leaving thousands with no heating in -20C
5) FL: GOP Effort to Re-Gerrymander House Seats Hits Court Snag
6) Disney parks chief Josh D’Amaro named to succeed Bob Iger as CEO
7) UK: Starmer will change law to kick Mandelson out of House of Lords
8) Clintons appear ready to testify in Congress about Jeffrey Epstein after contempt threat
9) Sudan: Military claims to break siege of key Kordofan city of Kadugli
10) NASA delays Artemis II launch following wet dress rehearsal
11) France: Prosecutors ask appeal court to keep ban on Marine Le Pen running for office
12) Spain sets a new tourism record with nearly 96.8 million foreign visitors in 2025
13) Japan: Heavy snowfall claims at least 30 lives
14) China: Regime to Ban Hidden Door Handles on Cars Starting 2027
15) NY: AG to deploy legal observers to monitor federal gang activity
16) US DOJ demotes Ed Martin, stripping Trump ally of most authority
17) Dog bites man: Gang members abduct Minneapolis activists at gunpoint
18) France: Regime may seek to restrict VPNs
19) NV: Fake elector case resumes with debate over intent behind 2020 pro-Trump ceremony
20) Judge says Trump regime must let lawmakers make unannounced visits to ICE gang lairs
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Will Trump’s “Right About Everything” BS Wreck Republicans?
22) Another Question That Only Libertarians Are Asking
23) Bon Voyage, David Brooks (and Let Laissez-Faire Come Back!)
24) The Government’s Long War on Free Speech
25) The Myth That Foreigners Pay Our Tariffs
26) Meditations On Delivery Robot Steering To Avoid Homeless Man On The Sidewalk
27) Iran’s Brutal Religious Persecutions
28) The US military strategy in Iran feels eerily familiar
29) Canada Has Concluded That Binding Itself to the US Isn’t Safe
30) Nipah Virus and the New Public Health Order
31) History warns: when elites cheer the mob, revolutions devour their own
32) Bureaucracy Increases Accidents and Risks
33) Trump Dragging World Toward New Nuclear Arms Race
34) Trump vs. Scalia on Sanctuary Cities and the Minneapolis Immigration Crackdown
35) First, they came for the journalist
36) Russell Kirk’s Tragic Sense of Life
37) A glint of liberation for Venezuela
38) Trump Pushes Gun-Rights Advocates Into a Quagmire
39) Could Trump bomb Iran before settling on a rationale?
40) Initiative Killers
41) What’s Next, an Invasion of Iran?
42) Three Takeaways from the Taylor Rehmet Texas Shocker
43) US Sanctions on Iran Failed — So Why Do They Continue?
44) The Fashionable Notion of “Free Speech Culture” Is Justifying State Censorship, Ironically
45) I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues
46) The Federal Bureau of Investigation (of protected speech)
47) More and more States “destroying” the soda-pop industry? Or something else?
48) Homeownership, Renting and the American Dream
49) Poll Shows Massive Participation in Minnesota Shutdown Against ICE
50) American exceptionalism is now at a crossroads
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Free Speech Unmuted, 02/03/26
52) Trump Watch, 02/03/26
53) Cato Daily Podcast, 02/03/26
54) Law & Liberty Podcast, 02/03/26
55) The Good Fight, 02/03/26
56) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 02/03/26
57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 02/03/26
58) Finding Freedom, 02/02/26
59) Fountainhead Forum, episode 416
60) The Tom Woods Show, episode 2731
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Palestine: Israeli strikes kill 18 in Gaza as patient crossings at Rafah halted
Source: Reuters
“Israeli tank shelling and airstrikes killed 18 people, including four children, in Gaza on Wednesday, and Israel halted the passage of patients through the Rafah border crossing, Palestinian officials said. The Israeli military said tanks had fired on Gaza and airstrikes had been launched after a gunman shot at Israeli soldiers and seriously injured a reservist. The strikes targeted Gaza City and the southern city of Khan Younis. A Gazan health official told Reuters that Israel had also halted the passage of patients through the Rafah border crossing to Egypt, two days after it had reopened, allowing a trickle of Palestinians to cross for the first time in months.” (02/04/26)
https://archive.is/670vH
-----
2) Gulf of Tonk … er, Arabian Sea: US military says it shot down Iranian drone
Source: CBS News
“U.S. forces shot down an Iranian drone that flew towards a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea on Tuesday, U.S. Central Command confirmed. The military said the drone ‘aggressively’ approached the USS Abraham Lincoln as it was crossing through the Arabian Sea roughly 500 miles from the southern coast of Iran and ‘unnecessarily maneuvered’ toward the ship. … U.S. Central Command also confirmed that hours later, forces with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps harassed a U.S.-flagged and crewed oil tanker, Stena Imperative, that was moving through the Strait of Hormuz.” (02/03/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-shoots-down-iranian-drone-approached-us-aircraft-carrier-military-says/
-----
3) Trump signs bill ending federal government shutdown
Source: CNBC
“President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a bill into law to reopen most of the government, officially ending a partial shutdown that began last weekend. The House of Representatives narrowly passed the bill 217-214 earlier in the day after the Senate approved it last week. Much of the government has been shuttered since Saturday morning. The bill provides funding for the departments of Defense, Treasury, State, Health and Human Services, Labor, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, and Education through the remainder of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. It also provides two weeks of stopgap funding for the Department of Homeland Security after the Senate stripped full-year funding for the agency in response to the [murders] of two U.S. citizens by federal immigration officers.” (02/03/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/03/house-republicans-reopen-us-government-shutdown.html
-----
4) “Record number of missiles” hit Ukraine leaving thousands with no heating in -20C
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Russia has used a record number of ballistic missiles to target Ukraine’s energy sector, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said. The combined missile and drone strikes hit power plants and infrastructure in Kyiv and multiple locations causing ‘the most powerful blow’ so far this year, according to private energy company DTEK. The strikes were launched as temperatures dropped to -20C (-4F) and left more than 1,000 tower blocks in the capital without heating once again and damaged a power plant in the eastern city of Kharkiv beyond repair. Zelensky said Russia was “choosing terror and escalation” rather than diplomacy to end this war and called for ‘maximum pressure’ on Moscow from Ukraine’s allies.” (02/03/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpwng25114ro
-----
5) FL: GOP Effort to Re-Gerrymander House Seats Hits Court Snag
Source: US News & World Report
“Republican groups seeking to add U.S. House seats in Florida by challenging the 2020 census suffered a major setback Tuesday as a federal court ruled the lawsuit was filed too late. The suit alleges that the statistical methods used to calculate the census undercounted the state’s population, costing the state two seats in Congress. The legal challenge comes as President Donald Trump has been pressuring Republican-led state legislatures to redraw their congressional districts to benefit the GOP ahead of this year’s midterm elections. A three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court in Tampa threw out the suit but did give the plaintiffs a chance to amend and refile. The judges said the plaintiffs should have mounted their legal challenge within four years from the time the statistical methods were used.” (02/03/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2026-02-03/gop-effort-to-add-house-seats-in-florida-through-census-lawsuit-hits-a-snag
-----
6) Disney parks chief Josh D’Amaro named to succeed Bob Iger as CEO
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
“Disney has named its parks chief Josh D’Amaro to succeed Bob Iger as the entertainment giant’s top executive. D’Amaro is the Disney Experiences Chairman, spearheading efforts for the company’s theme parks, cruises and resorts. He steps into the position at a time when Disney is flush with box-office hits like ‘Zootopia 2’ and ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ and its streaming business is strong. But the company is also dealing with a decline in foreign visitors to its domestic theme parks, with tourism to the U.S. falling during an aggressive immigration crack down by the Trump administration, as well as clashes with almost all of country’s trading partners. The decision on the next chief executive at Disney comes almost four years after the company’s choice to replace Iger went badly, forcing Iger back into the job.” (02/03/26)
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/02/03/disney-names-ceo-iger-successor/
-----
7) UK: Starmer will change law to kick Mandelson out of House of Lords
Source: Politico
“Keir Starmer will draft a new law to strip Peter Mandelson of his right to sit in Britain’s House of Lords after new revelations about the former British ambassador to Washington’s links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein appeared in the Epstein files. The British prime minister has asked officials to draft legislation to remove Mandelson from the House of Lords ‘as quickly as possible,’ his spokesman told reporters Tuesday afternoon. No.10 Downing Street said the Cabinet Office has also referred material to the police after the newly released files appeared to show Mandelson sharing live government policy deliberations with the disgraced financier. The Metropolitan Police said Monday it is reviewing allegations of misconduct in a public office.” (02/03/26)
https://www.politico.eu/article/keir-starmer-draft-law-remove-peter-mandelson-house-of-lords/
-----
8) Clintons appear ready to testify in Congress about Jeffrey Epstein after contempt threat
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“Former U.S. president Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, will testify in a congressional investigation into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a staffer said on Monday. The House’s Republican-led oversight committee recommended last week that the Clintons be held in contempt for refusing to testify about their relationship with Epstein, with several Democrats on the panel agreeing. The Clintons had offered to co-operate with the panel but had refused to appear in person, saying the investigation was a partisan exercise aimed at protecting Republican President Donald Trump. The House of Representatives had later this week planned to hold the two prominent Democrats in contempt, a finding that potentially could lead to criminal charges.” (02/03/26)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/us-congress-house-clintons-epstein-testimony-9.7071863
-----
9) Sudan: Military claims to break siege of key Kordofan city of Kadugli
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Sudan’s military says it has broken through a siege by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group of the South Kordofan capital of Kadugli, marking its second major advance in less than a week. General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the de facto leader of the country, visited Sudan’s public television station in the city of Omdurman on Tuesday to assert that his forces had opened a supply route to the capital. … Al-Burhan insisted that the military government of Sudan supports peace efforts but will not agree to a truce with the RSF, with which it has been fighting a vicious civil war since April 2023, while cities are under siege.” (02/03/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/3/sudan-military-claims-to-break-siege-of-key-kordofan-city-of-kadugli
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10) NASA delays Artemis II launch following wet dress rehearsal
Source: United Press International
“NASA early Tuesday announced it was pushing the launch date of its Artemis II mission to March, after engineers encountered a liquid hydrogen leak during a critical prelaunch test. … NASA had initially aimed to launch Artemis II in a Feb. 8-11 window. Moving the mission’s launch window will give teams time to review data and conduct a second wet dress rehearsal, NASA said in a separate statement.” (02/03/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/02/03/Artemis-II-launch-delayed/3821770109031/
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11) France: Prosecutors ask appeal court to keep ban on Marine Le Pen running for office
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“French state prosecutors have asked appeal court judges to maintain a five-year election ban on the far-right leader Marine Le Pen for embezzlement of European parliament funds in a fake jobs scandal. If the judges decide to grant the request, Le Pen would probably not be able to run in France’s 2027 presidential election. The state prosecutors also recommended a four-year prison sentence against Le Pen, three of which would be suspended, and one served at home with an electronic bracelet. They also requested a €100,000 fine.” (02/03/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/03/french-prosecutors-ask-appeal-court-to-keep-ban-on-marine-le-pen-running-for-office
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12) Spain sets a new tourism record with nearly 96.8 million foreign visitors in 2025
Source: ABC News
“Spain has set a new tourism record, welcoming nearly 96.8 million foreign visitors in 2025, according to figures released Tuesday by the National Statistics Institute. The number of international visitors witnessed an increase of 3.2%, compared to 2024, which saw 94 million tourists. Spain is one of the world’s most popular destinations, where tourism accounts for 12.6% of the country’s gross domestic product. It has ranked third as the world’s top tourism earners, after the United Kingdom and France, on the U.N. World Tourism Barometer.” (02/03/26)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/spain-sets-new-tourism-record-968-million-foreign-129807917
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13) Japan: Heavy snowfall claims at least 30 lives
Source: Japan Times [Japan]
“At least 30 people have died and another 324 injured due to heavy snowfall along the Sea of Japan coast over the past two weeks, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said Tuesday. The highest death toll was seen in Niigata Prefecture, with 12 fatalities, followed by six in Akita Prefecture and four in Aomori Prefecture. Many deaths involved people attempting to remove snow from around their homes. … The Sea of Japan coast continued to see heavy snowfall on Tuesday as a result of wintry pressure patterns bringing freezing cold air above the Tohoku region.” (02/03/26)
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/03/japan/fatalities-heavy-snow/
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14) China: Regime to Ban Hidden Door Handles on Cars Starting 2027
Source: US News & World Report
“China will ban hidden door handles on cars, commonly used on Tesla’s electric vehicles and many other EV models, starting next year. All car doors must include a mechanical release function for handles, except for the tailgate, according to details released by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Monday. Officials said the policy aims to address safety concerns after fatal EV accidents where electronic doors reportedly failed to operate and trapped passengers inside vehicles.” (02/03/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2026-02-03/china-to-ban-hidden-door-handles-on-cars-starting-2027
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15) NY: AG to deploy legal observers to monitor federal gang activity
Source: SFGate
“New York’s attorney general announced plans Tuesday to deploy legal observers to monitor federal immigration enforcement actions in the state. The initiative will send observers, who will wear purple safety vests, to areas of reported immigration enforcement activity to collect information ‘that may inform future legal action,’ according to Attorney General Letitia James. Tensions remain high nationwide over President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown, particularly following the [murders] of two U.S. citizens at the hands of federal agents in Minnesota. Videos of agents conducting immigration [abductions] throughout the country have drawn criticism over heavy-handed tactics, often going viral online. In a statement, James, a Democrat, said she is ‘proud to protect New Yorkers’ constitutional rights to speak freely, protest peacefully, and go about their lives without fear of unlawful federal action’. ‘We have seen in Minnesota how quickly and tragically federal operations can escalate in the absence of transparency and accountability,’ she said.” (02/03/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/new-york-attorney-general-to-deploy-legal-21331524.php
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16) US DOJ demotes Ed Martin, stripping Trump ally of most authority
Source: Washington Post
“Top Justice Department officials have stripped Ed Martin of the bulk of his expansive responsibilities, leaving the staunch ally of President Donald Trump on the sidelines of many of the controversial investigations he has championed, according to two people familiar with the personnel move. As a result of the changes, Martin will no longer chair the department’s Weaponization Working Group, which was tasked with reviewing special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecutions of Trump and other perceived examples of ‘prosecutorial abuse,’ according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel move that has not been made public. Martin will continue to serve as the Justice Department’s pardon attorney but will no longer work at Justice Department headquarters.” (02/02/26)
https://archive.is/F7fPX
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17) Dog bites man: Gang members abduct Minneapolis activists at gunpoint
Source: Associated Press
“Immigration officers with guns drawn [abducted] some activists who were trailing their vehicles on Tuesday in Minneapolis, a sign that tensions have not eased since the departure last week of a high-profile commander. At least one person who had an anti-ICE message on clothing was handcuffed while face-down on the ground. An Associated Press photographer witnessed the [abductions]. … Meanwhile, Tuesday was the deadline for the Minnesota governor, state attorney general and the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul to produce documents to a federal grand jury in response to a Justice Department request for records of any effort to stifle the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Officials have denounced it as a bullying tactic.” (02/03/26)
https://apnews.com/article/minneapolis-immigration-crackdown-arrests-29ab636ca0f7db5389418463ca8b67c7
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18) France: Regime may seek to restrict VPNs
Source: Engadget
“France may take additional steps to prevent minors from accessing social media platforms. As its government advances a proposed ban on social media use for anyone under age 15, some leaders are already looking to add further restrictions. During an appearance on public broadcast service Franceinfo, Minister Delegate for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Affairs Anne Le Hénanff said VPNs might be the next target. ‘If [this legislation] allows us to protect [sic] a very large majority of children, we will continue. And VPNs are the next topic on my list,’ she said.” (02/02/26)
https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/france-might-seek-restrictions-on-vpn-use-in-campaign-to-keep-minors-off-social-media-205308716.html
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19) NV: Fake elector case resumes with debate over intent behind 2020 pro-Trump ceremony
Source: SFGate
“The criminal case against Nevada’s six so-called ‘fake electors,’ who tried to falsely award the state’s 2020 electoral votes to President Donald Trump, returned to Clark County on Monday after the Nevada Supreme Court ruled it was a proper jurisdiction to hear the case. During Monday’s hearing, lawyers for the fake electors challenged the legality of the two charges facing their clients: offering a false instrument for filing and uttering a forged instrument. Although no ruling was issued, Clark County Judge Mary Kay Holthus was skeptical of the prosecution’s arguments for the second charge because it requires ‘an intent to defraud.’ Holthus called that intent ‘impossible’ to prove. ‘They’re not really thinking that they’re going to pull one over, that … ‘we’re going to sign this document and make everybody think that Trump was elected when he wasn’t elected,’’ Holthus said.” (02/03/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/nevada-fake-elector-case-resumes-with-debate-over-21331560.php
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20) Judge says Trump regime must let lawmakers make unannounced visits to ICE gang lairs
Source: Politico
“A federal judge ruled Monday that the Department of Homeland Security likely broke the law when it barred members of Congress from visiting immigrant detention facilities without a week’s notice. U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb found that in crafting and enforcing the one-week-notice policy, the department relied on funds that Congress specifically forbade from being used to deny lawmakers access to those facilities. The ruling applies to 13 Democratic members of Congress who have joined a lawsuit filed last year, challenging limits on their ability to visit locations where Immigration and Customs Enforcement detains people facing deportation proceedings.” (02/02/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/02/ice-detention-congress-visit-00759990
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Will Trump’s “Right About Everything” BS Wreck Republicans?
Source: JimBovard.com
by James Bovard
“Trump has already lost the support of hordes of folks who voted for him in November 2024. Consumer confidence last month plunged to the lowest level since 2014, according to a Conference Board survey. More than half of voters say Trump has ‘made life less affordable’ for them and their families, and only 34% approved of his handling of ‘the cost of living.’ Trump’s economic victory proclamations are starting to resemble a bad magician whose tricks are so lame that his audience starts to heckle him. But in his Wall Street Journal op-ed, Trump taunted his critics by telling them to wear ‘one of my favorite red hats — the one that reads, ‘TRUMP WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING!’'” (02/03/26)
https://jimbovard.com/blog/2026/02/03/will-trumps-right-about-everything-b-s-wreck-republicans/
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22) Another Question That Only Libertarians Are Asking
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Laurence M Vance
“The newest U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Dietary Guidelines for Americans turns the iconic food pyramid upside down. It recommends that Americans eat the right amount of food, prioritize protein at every meal, consume full-fat dairy with no added sugars, eat vegetables and fruits throughout the day, incorporate healthy fats, prioritize fiber-rich whole grains, and avoid highly processed packaged, prepared, ready-to-eat, or other foods that are salty or sweet. … People are asking many questions about the new guidelines, but there is one question that only libertarians ask whenever the federal government issues new or revised guidelines: Why is the government issuing guidelines in the first place?” (02/03/26)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/another-question-that-only-libertarians-are-asking/
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23) Bon Voyage, David Brooks (and Let Laissez-Faire Come Back!)
Source: Garrison Center
by Joel Schlosberg
“When David Brooks claims that his preferred ‘moderate conservative political philosophy’ is in 2026 ‘so fantastically successful … that moderate Republicans are now the dominant force in American politics,’ his intentional sarcasm is clear before the fourth paragraph of his final New York Times column (‘Time to Say Goodbye,’ February 1): ‘I’m kidding.’ Even if a reader missed out on the decades of Brooks’s commentary as resolutely as literally-frozen-in-time Futurama protagonist Philip J. Fry, its remainder would beg for the response of Fry’s snarky robotic sidekick Bender: ‘Oh wait, you’re serious. Let me laugh even harder.'” (02/03/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20299
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24) The Government’s Long War on Free Speech
Source: CounterPunch
by David S D’Amato
“Americans suffer in large part because we don’t know our government‘s history, because we don’t care about that history. We root for our teams and we don’t notice or care until it’s too late. What we are watching play out today is an upshot of the fathomless ignorance and apathy of Americans who treat politics as professional sports or fake wrestling. Don Lemon’s case represents something close to the opposite of its portrayal in the corporate media. Rather than breaking with some pristine history of free speech and press freedom in our country, this moment represents our embarrassing history of noticing persistent constitutional violations only when they touch some celebrity.” (02/03/26)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/02/03/the-governments-long-war-on-free-speech/
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25) The Myth That Foreigners Pay Our Tariffs
Source: The Daily Economy
by Donald J Boudreaux
“The answer to the question ‘Who pays the cost of tariffs?’ is obviously important. If the costs of all tariffs were paid exclusively by foreigners, with no negative consequences suffered by citizens of the country that imposes the tariffs, the case for a policy of free trade would be far weaker than if tariffs inflict some damage on the domestic economy. Ethical objections to tariffs would still be available, but the conventional economic case against protective tariffs would be null and void, as that case focuses almost exclusively on the economic welfare of citizens of the home country. Yet the costs of tariffs are always shared by buyers and sellers of tariffed goods and services.” (02/03/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/the-myth-that-foreigners-pay-our-tariffs/
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26) Meditations On Delivery Robot Steering To Avoid Homeless Man On The Sidewalk
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“I saw a video of a food delivery robot navigating around the body of a homeless person lying on the sidewalk, and I can’t stop thinking about it. This video is as close to a self-portrait of western civilization as it gets. This is who we are. This is where we’re at. … It captures so perfectly the creepy dance between suffering, apathy, frivolity and corporate profiteering that makes our particular dystopia so distinctive, in just a few short seconds of footage. This is the dance that makes the empire go round. It’s got everything: * A man splayed out on the concrete because it hurts to be human in this global ghost town, and because he was unsuccessful at becoming a productive gear-turner in the capitalist machine, and because social safety nets have been stripped bare in order to help millionaires become billionaires.” (02/03/25)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/02/03/meditations-on-a-delivery-robot-steering-to-avoid-a-homeless-man-on-the-sidewalk/
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27) Iran’s Brutal Religious Persecutions
Source: Cato Institute
by Doug Bandow
“The ongoing murderous repression of protesters in Iran is symptomatic of a long-term and deeper cruelty on the part of the regime: the attempt to eradicate freedom of conscience.” (02/03/26)
https://www.cato.org/commentary/irans-brutal-religious-persecutions
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28) The US military strategy in Iran feels eerily familiar
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Jon Duffy
“As the United States assembles a ‘massive armada’ off the coast of Iran — an aircraft carrier, accompanying destroyers, strike aircraft positioned across the region — the choreography is instantly recognizable. Forces move into place. Officials speak of ‘options.’ The president’s social media account warns of ‘far worse’ attacks than those launched against Iran last summer. What remains conspicuously absent is any explanation of what the use of that force is meant to accomplish.
If this sequence sounds familiar, it should. In late 2002 and early 2003, the U.S. followed a similar path. … Two decades later, the circumstances are different, but the failure is unmistakable.” (02/03/26)
https://archive.is/Qk9rn
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29) Canada Has Concluded That Binding Itself to the US Isn’t Safe
Source: Foreign Policy In Focus
by Reza Hasmath
“Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum on January 20 was not an exercise in pique. It was the clearest articulation yet of a strategic shift that has profound implications – not just for US-Canada relations, but for the entire structure of American alliances worldwide. Carney told the Davos audience that ‘the old order is not coming back’ and that the rules-based international system was always ‘partially false’. The strongest exempted themselves when convenient, trade rules were enforced asymmetrically, and Canada ‘placed the sign in the window’ while avoiding the gaps between rhetoric and reality. That bargain, he declared, no longer works. Canada is now building what Carney called ‘strategic autonomy’: the capacity to feed itself, fuel itself, and defend itself without depending on the United States.” (02/03/25)
https://fpif.org/canadas-pivot-is-a-warning-to-the-united-states-and-the-entire-alliance-system/
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30) Nipah Virus and the New Public Health Order
Source: Brownstone Institute
by David Bell
“A large outbreak of hysteria occurred in the media over the past week, regarding a small Nipah virus outbreak in eastern India. ‘Hysteria’ is the correct word in terms of proportionality. It is not, unfortunately, the right word in terms of intent. Ten years ago this episode of Nipah virus disease would barely have rated a mention internationally, and certainly not stimulated airport screening and travel warnings – there have been many larger outbreaks of Nipah virus than this one, which did not. The change over recent years is not that people have lost their minds. It relates to the adoption of the fear-panic-profit model that has entrenched itself in international public health.” (02/03/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/nipah-virus-and-the-new-public-health-order/
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31) History warns: when elites cheer the mob, revolutions devour their own
Source: Fox News
by Jonathan Turley
“‘This is time for a revolution … They can’t take us all down.’ Those words from ‘Breaking Bad’ actor Giancarlo Esposito are being echoed by a growing number of armchair revolutionaries today. Revolution is again in the air as we approach the 250th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence. On Tuesday, Simon & Schuster is releasing my book, Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution, an exploration of the founding and the future of our unique republic. It is a book about revolutions and how they can consume those who start them. Both the American and French revolutions arose during the same period, but one became the world’s oldest democracy while the other became a blood-soaked tyranny known as the Reign of Terror.” [editor’s note: The American revolution created … Iceland? – TLK] (02/03/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/jonathan-turley-elites-cheer-mob-history-warns-revolutions-devour-their-own
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32) Bureaucracy Increases Accidents and Risks
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Alejandro A Tagliavini
“[T]he US Army — specifically the Army Corps of Engineers — built and maintained the canals and walls protecting New Orleans. Unfortunately, they knew that they would fail to withstand storms of the magnitude of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, leaving the city devastated. Insurance and reinsurance companies could easily have erected adequate defense infrastructure if state regulations had allowed it. Swiss Re estimated global insurers’ contributions for natural disasters in 2024 at over $135 billion, but total economic losses from disasters were higher, exceeding $318 billion, leaving a significant protection gap because states interfere by discouraging — if not outright prohibiting — coverage in many cases.” (02/03/26)
https://mises.org/power-market/bureaucracy-increases-accidents-and-risks
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33) Trump Dragging World Toward New Nuclear Arms Race
Source: Common Dreams
by Kevin Martin
“Among the critical issues facing our country today, nuclear arms control is seldom top of mind for most people, understandably, given our myriad political, social and economic crises. Recent books and films such as Annie Jacobsen’s 2004 non-fiction tome Nuclear War: A Scenario and last fall’s A House of Dynamite, directed by Kathryn Bigelow, garnered needed attention for the still-existential threat of nuclear weapons, yet the problem remains mostly absent from our political discourse. Part of the fault for that lies with President Donald Trump, who while constantly touting his ability to ‘make deals,’ is missing in action on a simple agreement that would make the US and the world safer. New START, the arms control treaty negotiated by President Barack Obama and extended by President Joe Biden, will expire on February 5.” (02/03/25)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/trump-putin-nuclear-start-treaty
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34) Trump vs. Scalia on Sanctuary Cities and the Minneapolis Immigration Crackdown
Source: Reason
by Damon Root
“According to President Donald Trump, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey endorsed ‘a very serious violation of the Law’ last week when Frey said that ‘Minneapolis does not, and will not, enforce federal immigration law.’ But it is Trump whose understanding of the law is seriously impaired. Under both constitutional principle and judicial precedent, state and local authorities may decline to participate in the enforcement of a federal regulatory scheme. So-called sanctuary city policies that either limit or prohibit local enforcement of federal immigration law are themselves lawful. Why? Just ask the conservative legal hero Justice Antonin Scalia.” (02/03/26)
https://reason.com/2026/02/03/trump-vs-scalia-on-sanctuary-cities-and-the-minneapolis-immigration-crackdown/
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35) First, they came for the journalist
Source: The Hill
by Bill Press
“Among all the attacks on journalists, the arrest and prosecution of [Don] Lemon is especially troubling and should strike fear in the hearts of every American, liberal or conservative. Lemon is not a big news organization — he is one, independent podcaster. He didn’t do anything wrong. He did his job. As a journalist, he followed protestors into the Cities Church of St. Paul to film their protest and interview the pastor. He did not commit a crime. He committed an act of journalism. That is protected by the First Amendment — or, at least, it used to be. As practiced by the Trump administration, the First Amendment only protects journalists or journalism that the president agrees with.” (02/03/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/5719717-trump-department-of-war/
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36) Russell Kirk’s Tragic Sense of Life
Source: Law & Liberty
by Miles Smith IV
“In the past decade, the political (and to a lesser extent the intellectual) right in the United States has been possessed by ideas of greatness and golden ages. MAGA pithily encapsulates the idea that there was an era of American greatness in the misty past that is somehow remembered by still-living Americans. Kevin Roberts, the current head of the Heritage Foundation, believes that Americans in 2025 are ‘witnessing the dawn of a golden age. Not because of one man — though he has been a battering ram through the fortress of the ruling class. But because of what this moment now makes possible: a return not just to strength or prosperity or sovereignty — but to the permanent things.’ Roberts appeals to Russell Kirk to back up his sense of an emerging golden era for the American republic.” (02/03/26)
https://lawliberty.org/russell-kirks-tragic-sense-of-life/
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37) A glint of liberation for Venezuela
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“It’s been a month since the United States captured Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, to put him on trial in New York. Rather than force his regime to dismantle, however, the U.S. chose to work with it, more on economic stabilization than on wholesale political transformation. Yet, while focusing on Venezuela’s vast oil potential, the Trump administration has, ironically, used undemocratic pressure to push the government to take a step toward democracy. So far, about 30% of an estimated 1,000 political detainees have been released. Mr. Maduro’s former deputy, and current interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, announced the release – which she called an amnesty – for all those imprisoned for political activity since 1999, as well as plans to shut down a Caracas prison where political opponents have been held and reportedly tortured. The aim, Ms. Rodríguez said, is ‘to heal the wounds left by political confrontation … to restore justice … [and] coexistence.'” (02/02/25)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0202/A-glint-of-liberation-for-Venezuela
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38) Trump Pushes Gun-Rights Advocates Into a Quagmire
Source: The Dispatch
by Stephen Gutowski
“Trump and his top officials’ blame-the-gun comments certainly risk backlash from a key Republican constituency, but they also put the gun-rights movement in a no-win position. The heel-turn was foreseeable since this isn’t the first time Trump has proved unreliable on guns. Trump backed the idea of stricter gun laws three times during his first term.” 902/03/26)
https://thedispatch.com/article/trump-administration-pretti-gun-rights-control/
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39) Could Trump bomb Iran before settling on a rationale?
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Paul R Pillar
“Shifting justifications for a war are never a good sign, and they strongly suggest that the war in question was not warranted. In the Vietnam War, the principal public rationale of saving South Vietnam from communism got replaced in the minds of the warmakers — especially after losing hope of winning the contest in Vietnam — by the belief that the United States had to keep fighting to preserve its credibility. In the Iraq War, when President George W. Bush’s prewar argument about weapons of mass destruction fell apart, he shifted to a rationale centered on bringing freedom and democracy to Iraq. Now, with President Donald Trump threatening a new armed attack on Iran amid a buildup of U.S. forces in the region, the Washington Post’s headline writers aptly describe the rationale for any such attack as being ‘in flux’ and, for the online version of the same article, ask, ‘what’s the mission?'” (02/03/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-war-iran/
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40) Initiative Killers
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“Politicians generally don’t like citizens creating laws any more than they like citizens limiting their terms in office. It really cramps their style.” (02/03/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/02/03/initiative-killers/
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41) What’s Next, an Invasion of Iran?
Source: The American Prospect
by Robert Kuttner
“The pattern is all too clear by now. When Trump hits a stone wall, his strategy invariably is to backpedal tactically and change the subject to create new headlines and sometimes new crises. Often, the new subject is merely a ludicrous diversion. Other times, he is playing with fire. Are the ICE raids creating ‘a moral and political debacle’ for the administration, as Trump’s usual allies on The Wall Street Journal editorial page delicately put it? Then let’s lower the temperature, bring in new leadership, begin prolonged negotiations to get the pictures off TV, and get tongues wagging about other stories. How about a two-year closing of the Kennedy Center that every self-respecting artist is boycotting, for ‘repairs’ that were never needed before? Or a new Trumpian Arc de Triomphe, bigger than the one in Paris? Most serious people get that this stuff is a silly distraction. And then there is Iran.” (02/03/25)
https://prospect.org/2026/02/03/trump-iran-military-venezuela-qatar-saudi-arabia/
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42) Three Takeaways from the Taylor Rehmet Texas Shocker
Source: Washington Monthly
by Bill Scher
“Taylor Rehmet, a 33-year-old Lockheed Martin machinist and president of the Texas chapter of the international machinist union, in a Saturday special election, flipped a Republican-held state Senate seat in the suburbs of Fort Worth. The neophyte Democratic candidate won a district by 14 points, while Donald Trump carried it by 17 points. While the 31-point swing is particularly wide, Democrats have consistently outperformed in state legislative special elections throughout Trump’s second term. Therefore, Rehmet’s triumph is no fluke, and more than a mere extension of a trend, perhaps, an acceleration. Of course, we must always be careful not to overinterpret a single data point. But some lessons can be reasonably drawn from Rehmet’s shocking upset.” (02/03/26)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/02/03/three-takeaways-taylor-rehmet-texas-shocker/
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43) US Sanctions on Iran Failed — So Why Do They Continue?
Source: The American Conservative
by Harrison Berger
“Economic warfare immiserates populations without achieving political goals.” (02/03/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/u-s-sanctions-on-iran-failed-so-why-do-they-continue/
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44) The Fashionable Notion of “Free Speech Culture” Is Justifying State Censorship, Ironically
Source: The UnPopulist
by Ken White
“I’m a long-time critic of the modern concept of ‘free speech culture’ — the culturally pervasive notion that supporting freedom of speech requires me not just to refrain from official censorship, but to avoid a wide array of expression that might chill, deter, or punish other people’s speech. The legal view of free speech protects an unpopular speaker from being jailed or (successfully) sued; ‘free speech culture,’ by contrast, is a social norm that discourages me from calling for that person to be fired, shunned, socially sanctioned, or criticized to a degree that is, by some poorly defined measure, excessive.” (02/02/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/the-fashionable-notion-of-free-speech
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45) I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues
Source: Town Hall
by Stephen Moore
“The Democrats circa 2026 have almost become tax-and-spend parodies of themselves. They used to pretend that raising taxes was a last resort. Now, the left-wing base regards raising taxes as a badge of honor. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani declared last week that he has no other choice but to raise taxes on the rich and corporations because there aren’t enough savings from efficiencies in agency budgets. New York City spends more money per capita than any other major city in the country, but there’s no way to save money. Uh-huh! At least Mamdani was honest and campaigned as a socialist. The Manhattanites are getting exactly what they voted for. But the two new rising stars of the party, Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger, the newly elected governors of New Jersey and Virginia, respectively, won what were thought to be tight races by comfortable margins.” (02/03/25)
https://townhall.com/columnists/stephenmoore/2026/02/03/i-guess-thats-why-they-call-it-the-blues-n2670602
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46) The Federal Bureau of Investigation (of protected speech)
Source: Expression
by Aaron Terr
“Last Monday, FBI Director Kash Patel announced an investigation into Signal group chats that Minnesotans are using to track ICE activity. Independent journalist Cam Higby spurred the move with an X thread that appears to show users of the encrypted messaging app reporting ICE sightings and sharing license plate numbers of agency vehicles. What the thread doesn’t show is evidence of a crime. … speech does not lose constitutional protection simply because it might lead others to break the law. That was true when progressive commentators warned about ‘stochastic terrorism’ — the idea that conservative rhetoric on hot-button issues incites violence against minority groups — and it’s true now.” (02/02/26)
https://expression.fire.org/p/the-federal-bureau-of-investigation
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47) More and more States “destroying” the soda-pop industry? Or something else?
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
“You may have heard talk about making soda ineligible for purchase under the SNAP program (food stamps). Among others, the HHS Secretary (RJK Jr. points out the problems with such consumables. We don’t think he considers them to be ‘food.’) Oddly, a number of supposed pro-Trump influencers suddenly began arguing against the idea on social media. ‘This is government overreach! People’s choices shouldn’t be dictated by government! Even Donald Trump enjoys his Diet Coke!’ Of course, it comes as no surprise that anti-Trumpers, especially of the Transzi (Regressive) persuasion, would object to limiting the use of welfare funds. But some so-called libertarians also seem to be critical.” (02/02/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/02/02/more-and-more-states-destroying-the-soda-pop-industry-or-something-else/
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48) Homeownership, Renting and the American Dream
Source: Independent Institute
by Kritstian Fors & Jonathan Hofer
“The emphasis on buying a home has likely contributed to a widespread misconception that owning a home is the ‘best’ investment compared to renting. Certainly, homeownership can be advantageous, particularly when interest rates are low, home prices are reasonable and stock market returns are poor to modest. Emotional and behavioral factors also play a role. For some individuals, a mortgage acts as a motivating force, encouraging people who might not otherwise invest to commit to building wealth through homeownership. However, for others, their home represents their largest investment, mainly because it is the only investment they ever make and the belief that renting is ‘throwing money away’ often does not align with the mathematical realities of financial investment.” (02/02/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/02/02/homeownership-american-dream/
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49) Poll Shows Massive Participation in Minnesota Shutdown Against ICE
Source: In These Times
by Sarah Lazare, Thomas Birmingham, & Ari Bloomekatz
“Roughly one in four Minnesota voters either participated in the January 23 day of shutdown and protest against ICE, or have a loved one who did, according to new polling data. Of those participants, 38% percent stayed off the job, either because they did not go to work, or because their employer closed for the day of action. The data does not distinguish between those who made the choice to stay out, and those who saw their workplaces close. (Some workplaces were shuttered that day due to worker pressure.) The poll was commissioned by the May Day Strong coalition, a network of local and national unions and community organizations, and was conducted by polling firm Blue Rose Research. McKenzie Wilson, director of external affairs and message strategy at the firm, explained that researchers surveyed 1,940 Minnesotans who voted in 2024.” (02/02/25)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/labor-general-strike-minnesotans-ice-protest-trump-cbp
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50) American exceptionalism is now at a crossroads
Source: Orange County Register
by Fabian Naranjo Gonzalez
“The brutal killing of Alex Pretti is just the latest reminder of the reality that has been setting in across the nation: we are living through dark times in America, a regression after centuries and decades of progress; and if we continue down this path, the light from Lady Liberty’s torch will almost certainly be extinguished. How did we get here? Since our nation’s founding, every subsequent generation of Americans has fought to make our country, and the world, a better, more inclusive place. And for a long time, we got it right. … Unfortunately, the care-free, inclusive attitude that was born during the 1960’s counter-culture revolution and extended well into the 90’s feel good era of ‘anything goes’ has been co-opted and repurposed by modern day demagogues by creating space for hatred and ideas that past generations gave their very lives to defeat.” (02/02/26)
https://archive.is/P8qx0
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Free Speech Unmuted, 02/03/26
Source: Hoover Institution
“Can Journalists Be Charged for Involvement in Protests? The Don Lemon Dilemma.” (02/03/26)
https://www.hoover.org/research/can-journalists-be-charged-involvement-protests-don-lemon-dilemma
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52) Trump Watch, 02/03/26
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“The U.S. Partnership with Communism and Narco-Terrorism.” (02/03/26)
https://www.fff.org/freedom-in-motion/video/trump-watch-the-u-s-partnership-with-communism-and-narco-terrorism/
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53) Cato Daily Podcast, 02/03/26
Source: Cato Institute
“Reforming the Federal Reserve, Brick by Brick.” (02/03/26)
https://www.cato.org/multimedia/cato-podcast/reforming-federal-reserve-brick-brick
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54) Law & Liberty Podcast, 02/03/26
Source: Law & Liberty
“From Communist to Conservative.” (02/03/26)
https://lawliberty.org/podcast/from-communist-to-conservative/
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55) The Good Fight, 02/03/26
Source: Yascha Mounk
“Ruud Koopmans on Immigration and Integration in Europe.” (02/03/26)
https://writing.yaschamounk.com/p/ruud-koopmans
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56) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 02/03/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump ICE Threats Take Darker Turn as MAGA Erupts in Demands for Blood.” (02/03/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/206052/trump-ice-threats-take-darker-turn-maga-erupts-demands-blood
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57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 02/03/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“US and Iran May Hold Talks in Istanbul on Friday, IDF Kills Three-Year-Old in Gaza, and More.” (02/03/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brwuRCkXLiI
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58) Finding Freedom, 02/02/26
Source: Lions of Liberty
“Why is Everyone Suddenly Sick All the Time.” (02/02/26)
https://www.lionsofliberty.com/episodes/ff-why-is-everyone-suddenly-sick-all-the-time
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59) Fountainhead Forum, episode 416
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Gustavo Perednik on the two terrorist bombings in Argentina in the early 1990s.” (02/02/26)
https://rumble.com/v7578a6-ff-416-gustavo-perednik-on-the-two-terrorist-bombings-in-argentina-in-the-e.html
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60) The Tom Woods Show, episode 2731
Source: The Tom Woods Show
“Reconstruction: The Marxist’s Favorite Period of US History.” (02/02/26)
https://tomwoods.com/ep-2731-reconstruction-the-marxists-favorite-period-of-us-history/
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