12/28 -- Syria: Israeli forces attack port; America's Divisions May Have Passed the Tipping Point
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Thomas L. Knapp
Dec 28, 2021, 7:48:37 AM12/28/21
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 12/28/21
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Presented by the Liberty International
https://liberty-intl.org/
Produced by the staff of Rational Review News Digest
https://news.rationalreview.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Today's Freedom News:
1) Syria: Israeli forces attack port
2) Capitol riot exploitation panel to investigate Trump call to Willard hotel in hours before riot
3) Russia: Gulag historian, activist Yuri Dmitriyev sentenced to 15 years
4) Five GOP state regimes extend unemployment benefits to workers who refuse vaccination
5) Somalia: President suspends prime minister amid election spat
Today's Freedom Commentary:
6) America's Divisions May Have Passed the Tipping Point
7) On Foreign Policy, Biden Should Have Taken Golf Lessons
8) The case for empowering Americans to vote with their feet
9) The Classical Economists Were Smarter than You Think
10) Facemasks Are Not a Mere "Inconvenience"
11) The Real Reason Politicians Want Legal Cannabis Is Tax Money
12) Three Signs You're Not Actually a Socialist
13) Tragedy of the victor: America and the end of the Soviet Union
14) Three kinds of people
15) Will Christmas 2022 Be Any Different From This Year?
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
16) Free Talk Live, 12/27/21
17) The Bryan Hyde Show, 12/27/21
18) Lions of Liberty Podcast, episode 545
19) EconTalk, 12/27/21
20) Gareth Porter on The Scott Horton Show
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https://tinyurl.com/actofselfdefense
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^^^^^ SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS ^^^^^
_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Syria: Israeli forces attack port
Source: Reuters
"Israel launched an air strike on the Syrian port of Latakia on Tuesday, setting ablaze the container storage area and damaging nearby buildings in a second attack on the facility this month, Syrian state media reported. An Israeli military spokesperson declined to comment. 'We don't comment on foreign reports,' the spokesperson said. ... Israel has mounted frequent attacks against what it says are Iranian targets in Syria, where Tehran-backed forces including Lebanon's Hezbollah have deployed over the last decade in support of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's civil war." (12/28/21)
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/syrian-air-defences-confront-israeli-aggression-latakia-port-syrian-state-tv-2021-12-28/
-----
2) Capitol riot exploitation panel to investigate Trump call to Willard hotel in hours before riot
Source: The Guardian [UK]
"Congressman Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the House select committee investigating the Capitol attack, has said the panel will open an inquiry into Donald Trump's phone call seeking to stop Joe Biden's certification from taking place on 6 January hours before the insurrection. The chairman said the select committee intended to scrutinize the phone call -- revealed last month by the Guardian – should they prevail in their legal effort to obtain Trump White House records over the former president's objections of executive privilege. ... The Guardian reported last month that Trump, according to multiple sources, called lieutenants based at the Willard hotel in Washington DC from the White House in the late hours of 5 January and sought ways to stop Biden's certification from taking place on 6 January." (12/27/21)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/27/capitol-attack-panel-investigate-trump-call-willard-hotel-before-assault
-----
3) Russia: Gulag historian, activist Yuri Dmitriyev sentenced to 15 years
Source: Deutsche Welle [Germany]
"A Russian court on Monday found historian Yuri Dmitriyev guilty of possessing images of child sexual abuse and indecent acts against his adopted daughter, as well as possession of weapon components. The Petrozavodsk City Court thereby increased a jail sentence for the prominent Gulag historian to a total of 15 years in a penal colony. He was previously sentenced to 13 years on what his supporters insist are fabricated child sex charges. ... Dmitriyev was first arrested in December 2016 for possessing naked photographs of his adopted daughter, following an anonymous tip made to authorities. The historian said the nude photos had been taken to document the development of the child's malnourishment in case of problems with social services, as she had been underweight when he and his wife adopted her. His claim was backed by experts, who did not classify the images as child sex abuse." (12/27/21)
https://www.dw.com/en/russia-gulag-historian-activist-yuri-dmitriyev-sentenced-to-15-years/a-60262435
-----
4) Five GOP state regimes extend unemployment benefits to workers who refuse vaccination
Source: Seattle Times
"At least five Republican-led states have extended unemployment benefits to people who've lost jobs over vaccine mandates -- and a smattering of others may soon follow. Workers who quit or are fired for cause -- including for defying company policy -- are generally ineligible for jobless benefits. But Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Kansas and Tennessee have carved out exceptions for those who won't submit to the multi-shot coronavirus vaccine regimens that many companies now require. Similar ideas have been floated in Wyoming, Wisconsin and Missouri." (12/27/21)
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/5-gop-led-states-extend-unemployment-aid-to-workers-who-lose-jobs-over-vaccine-mandates/
-----
5) Somalia: President suspends prime minister amid election spat
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatar state media]
"Somalia's President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed says he has suspended Prime Minister Hussein Roble's powers, sparking accusations of an 'indirect coup' amid a protracted feud that has seen both leaders trade allegations over the holding up of parliamentary elections. Roble responded by saying that he was ordering all security forces to take orders directly from him, potentially deepening the ongoing dispute with the president. ... Roble's office called the statement 'outrageous,' saying on Twitter the attempt to 'militarily take over' the office of the prime minister was in breach of the law. In a separate post, it said Roble remained 'fully committed to fulfilling his national responsibility to conduct an acceptable electoral process that culminates in a peaceful transition of power.'" (12/27/21)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/27/somalias-president-suspends-pm-amid-tensions-over-elections
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
6) America's Divisions May Have Passed the Tipping Point
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
"Have America's much-discussed political tensions reached a point of no return? Political tribalists who sort their lives along partisan lines and despise opponents have become regular features of national life. But now researchers say polarization can reach a 'tipping point' at which external threats, such as pandemics, no longer drive people together but instead become further sources of strife that spiral out of control. Their warning comes as Americans seem poised to further escalate disagreements into open violence." (12/27/21)
https://reason.com/2021/12/27/americas-divisions-may-have-passed-the-tipping-point/
-----
7) On Foreign Policy, Biden Should Have Taken Golf Lessons
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
"If foreign policy was a game of golf, the Afghanistan withdrawal would sound like the driver making solid contact with the ball for a likely long drive off the tee. But in foreign policy, as in golf, the initial swing is likely to go bad if the golfer doesn't 'follow through.' Unfortunately, Biden isn't." (12/27/21)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/16498
-----
8) The case for empowering Americans to vote with their feet
Source: The Week
by Ilya Somin
"American democratic institutions are in crisis. One of the worst flaws of the status quo is the near-powerlessness of the individual voter over the policies which determine so much of daily life. Closely related is the need to promote opportunity and choice for the poor and disadvantaged. Both these problems can be greatly alleviated by expanding opportunities for people to 'vote with their feet.' If you don't like state or local laws, it should be easier to escape them. We normally think of voting at the ballot box as our principal means of exercising political choice, and ballot-box voting has great value. But it also has two severe limitations: the very low odds that an individual vote will make a difference, and the resulting incentive to make poorly informed decisions. Foot voting is superior on both dimensions." (12/27/21)
https://theweek.com/election/1008300/voting-with-your-feet
-----
9) The Classical Economists Were Smarter than You Think
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by David Weinberger
"[T]hroughout most of the 19th century economists agreed that the purpose of economics was to generate wealth and improve living standards, which meant growing the number and quality of goods and services on the market. Proper economic policies therefore aimed at expanding production (the 'supply side'). Spending (the 'demand side') warranted little attention because it was understood to follow from production. ... This explains why classical economists regarded entrepreneurs as vitally important. Not only did they innovate technological advancements and improve methods of production, but they also had to manage resources responsibly, including structuring the production process to correctly anticipate consumer demand. That was no easy task." (12/27/21)
https://fee.org/articles/the-classical-economists-were-smarter-than-you-think/
-----
10) Facemasks Are Not a Mere "Inconvenience"
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Aaron Hertzberg
"One of the most trenchant arguments made by proponents of forced masking is some variation of 'it's just an inconvenience,' so/and/or 'why do you have to make such a big deal about it.' (To be clear, this is not a legitimate scientific or factual argument for the adoption of any policy, but that is not what this article is about.) I am largely going to avoid the issues unique to masking children -- what is plainly institutionalized child abuse -- and for people with disabilities or past trauma, as many of the harms inflicted by masks are readily apparent and easily articulable." (12/27/21)
https://brownstone.org/articles/facemasks-are-not-a-mere-inconvenience/
-----
11) The Real Reason Politicians Want Legal Cannabis Is Tax Money
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Georg Grassmueck
"The latest two states to legalize recreational cannabis are New York and New Jersey. However, if one believes governors and legislators in those states have finally adopted a more libertarian view of the topic, one will be severely disappointed. Legalization of recreational cannabis in both states is driven by the need for tax revenue -- tax revenue to plug the holes in state budgets for social programs, holes in the state budget that were exasperated by the failed covid policies in both states. Politicians, clever as they are in hiding their true intentions for public policy changes, want the public to believe that legalization is mostly aimed at ending decades-long practices of racist cannabis enforcement, pointing to the disparities in drug enforcement. However, one will quickly realize that this is only a smokescreen to hide the true reason." (12/27/21)
https://mises.org/wire/real-reason-politicians-want-legal-cannabis-tax-money
-----
12) Three Signs You're Not Actually a Socialist
Source: American Institute for Economic Research
by Albert Eisenberg
"America's youngest generations are succumbing to the lure of socialism. What Winston Churchill called 'the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance and the gospel of envy' is increasingly the de facto mindset for young Americans, including a majority of young Democrats. How can this be? Do Millennials and Gen Zers, the same generations that revolutionized ride-sharing, bought into AirBnB and demanded mobile banking, truly support a centralized, planned economy? Probably not. The truth is, most self-professed 'socialists' don't really know what socialism is and are really just conscientious (or frustrated) consumers. Could this be you?" (12/27/21)
https://www.aier.org/article/three-signs-youre-not-actually-a-socialist/
-----
13) Tragedy of the victor: America and the end of the Soviet Union
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Anatol Lieven
"President Vladimir Putin has described the fall of the Soviet Union, which came to a formal end 30 years ago, on December 26, 1991, as a geopolitical tragedy; and it is easy to understand why he and many other Russians would see it as such. In a deeper, more classical sense, however, it may be said that the true tragedy of the end of the Cold War was that of the apparent victor, the United States. The last acts of this tragedy are still to be written. We can hope that it will end with the relative reconciliation and harmony of Coriolanus, and not the nihilistic horror of Titus Andronicus. The New Year, when (ideally) people consider the past in order to commit themselves to do better in future, is a good time to think about the meaning of this tragedy." (12/27/21)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2021/12/27/tragedy-of-the-victor-america-and-the-end-of-the-soviet-union/
-----
14) Three kinds of people
Source: EconLog
by Scott Sumner
"One argument against libertarianism is that people need to be protected from themselves. I suspect, however, that statists underestimate the extent to which paternalism actually causes bad behavior ..." (12/27/21)
https://www.econlib.org/three-kinds-of-people/
-----
15) Will Christmas 2022 Be Any Different From This Year?
Source: Antiwar.com
by Doug Bandow
"Christmas 2021 looked a lot like Christmas last year and the year before. Wars and rumors of war circling the planet. With America amid most of them. Washington's War Party naturally wanted the US to confront China and Russia, threaten Iran, disarm North Korea, protect worthless yet contested rocks throughout the Pacific, kill terrorists the world over, and ensure that none of its allies need inconvenience themselves by doing anything for themselves. Such was Uncle Sam's gift to the world, courtesy Americans' lives and wealth. ... Maybe a better 2022 Christmas wish would be for American policymakers to recognize that the US government's principal duty is to protect Americans, not the rest of the world. Running foreign crusades with other people's lives and money isn't appropriate." (12/27/21)
https://original.antiwar.com/doug-bandow/2021/12/26/will-christmas-2022-be-any-different-from-this-year/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
16) Free Talk Live, 12/27/21
Source: Free Talk Live
"NY State Vaccination or Mask Mandate :: Police Lt Calls for Mass Mask Disobedience in Keene :: Conservative Cognitive Dissonance on Cops :: El Salvador Bitcoin City Bond :: Foster Parenting :: Satoshi Nakamoto's Real Identity? :: Matrix Trans? :: Show: 2021-12-27 Ian, Aria, Bonnie." [Flash audio or MP3] (12/27/21)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/free-talk-live-2021-12-27
-----
17) The Bryan Hyde Show, 12/27/21
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
"The folks in power are working themselves into another tizzy as the first anniversary of the January 6 uprising approaches. Patricia Henry says now is as good a time as any to take a closer look at how we're entering the American Twilight Zone." [various formats] (12/27/21)
https://thebryanhydeshow.podbean.com/e/2021-december-27-the-bryan-hyde-show-hour-one/
-----
18) Lions of Liberty Podcast, episode 545
Source: Lions of Liberty
"Unplug Your Kids from the Matrix w/ Michael Strong and Mikkel Thorup." [various formats] (12/27/21)
https://www.lionsofliberty.com/episodes/unplug-your-kids-from-the-matrix
-----
19) EconTalk, 12/27/21
Source: EconTalk
"Megan McArdle on Belonging, Home, and National Identity." [Flash audio or MP3] (12/27/21)
https://www.econtalk.org/megan-mcardle-on-belonging-home-and-national-identity/
-----
20) Gareth Porter on The Scott Horton Show
Source: Libertarian Institute
"Gareth Porter on Iran and Afghanistan." [various formats] (12/26/21)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/scotthortonshow/12-22-21-gareth-porter-on-iran-and-afghanistan/
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---------------------------------------------------------------------
Presented by the Liberty International
https://liberty-intl.org/
Produced by the staff of Rational Review News Digest
https://news.rationalreview.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Today's Freedom News:
1) Syria: Israeli forces attack port
2) Capitol riot exploitation panel to investigate Trump call to Willard hotel in hours before riot
3) Russia: Gulag historian, activist Yuri Dmitriyev sentenced to 15 years
4) Five GOP state regimes extend unemployment benefits to workers who refuse vaccination
5) Somalia: President suspends prime minister amid election spat
Today's Freedom Commentary:
6) America's Divisions May Have Passed the Tipping Point
7) On Foreign Policy, Biden Should Have Taken Golf Lessons
8) The case for empowering Americans to vote with their feet
9) The Classical Economists Were Smarter than You Think
10) Facemasks Are Not a Mere "Inconvenience"
11) The Real Reason Politicians Want Legal Cannabis Is Tax Money
12) Three Signs You're Not Actually a Socialist
13) Tragedy of the victor: America and the end of the Soviet Union
14) Three kinds of people
15) Will Christmas 2022 Be Any Different From This Year?
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
16) Free Talk Live, 12/27/21
17) The Bryan Hyde Show, 12/27/21
18) Lions of Liberty Podcast, episode 545
19) EconTalk, 12/27/21
20) Gareth Porter on The Scott Horton Show
vvvvv SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS vvvvv
COINBITS: THE WORLD'S EASIEST WAY TO INVEST IN BITCOIN
https://coinbitsapp.com/?ref=0RUAyB4cnVcKsaceTi2N
Tyranny Demands AN ACT OF SELF-DEFENSE: A NOVEL BY ERNE LEWIS
https://tinyurl.com/actofselfdefense
YOUGOV: SHARE YOUR OPINION, EARN REWARDS
https://account.yougov.com/us-en/join?referral=eAi-FP2i9s1Jzb5lj2zw5A
SHOP ONLINE, GET A REBATE IN BITCOIN!
https://www.lolli.com/share/MZB4cCpheL
25 TEXAS HEROES, by TL and Helen Hulsey
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1947660535
^^^^^ SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS ^^^^^
_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Syria: Israeli forces attack port
Source: Reuters
"Israel launched an air strike on the Syrian port of Latakia on Tuesday, setting ablaze the container storage area and damaging nearby buildings in a second attack on the facility this month, Syrian state media reported. An Israeli military spokesperson declined to comment. 'We don't comment on foreign reports,' the spokesperson said. ... Israel has mounted frequent attacks against what it says are Iranian targets in Syria, where Tehran-backed forces including Lebanon's Hezbollah have deployed over the last decade in support of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's civil war." (12/28/21)
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/syrian-air-defences-confront-israeli-aggression-latakia-port-syrian-state-tv-2021-12-28/
-----
2) Capitol riot exploitation panel to investigate Trump call to Willard hotel in hours before riot
Source: The Guardian [UK]
"Congressman Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the House select committee investigating the Capitol attack, has said the panel will open an inquiry into Donald Trump's phone call seeking to stop Joe Biden's certification from taking place on 6 January hours before the insurrection. The chairman said the select committee intended to scrutinize the phone call -- revealed last month by the Guardian – should they prevail in their legal effort to obtain Trump White House records over the former president's objections of executive privilege. ... The Guardian reported last month that Trump, according to multiple sources, called lieutenants based at the Willard hotel in Washington DC from the White House in the late hours of 5 January and sought ways to stop Biden's certification from taking place on 6 January." (12/27/21)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/27/capitol-attack-panel-investigate-trump-call-willard-hotel-before-assault
-----
3) Russia: Gulag historian, activist Yuri Dmitriyev sentenced to 15 years
Source: Deutsche Welle [Germany]
"A Russian court on Monday found historian Yuri Dmitriyev guilty of possessing images of child sexual abuse and indecent acts against his adopted daughter, as well as possession of weapon components. The Petrozavodsk City Court thereby increased a jail sentence for the prominent Gulag historian to a total of 15 years in a penal colony. He was previously sentenced to 13 years on what his supporters insist are fabricated child sex charges. ... Dmitriyev was first arrested in December 2016 for possessing naked photographs of his adopted daughter, following an anonymous tip made to authorities. The historian said the nude photos had been taken to document the development of the child's malnourishment in case of problems with social services, as she had been underweight when he and his wife adopted her. His claim was backed by experts, who did not classify the images as child sex abuse." (12/27/21)
https://www.dw.com/en/russia-gulag-historian-activist-yuri-dmitriyev-sentenced-to-15-years/a-60262435
-----
4) Five GOP state regimes extend unemployment benefits to workers who refuse vaccination
Source: Seattle Times
"At least five Republican-led states have extended unemployment benefits to people who've lost jobs over vaccine mandates -- and a smattering of others may soon follow. Workers who quit or are fired for cause -- including for defying company policy -- are generally ineligible for jobless benefits. But Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Kansas and Tennessee have carved out exceptions for those who won't submit to the multi-shot coronavirus vaccine regimens that many companies now require. Similar ideas have been floated in Wyoming, Wisconsin and Missouri." (12/27/21)
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/5-gop-led-states-extend-unemployment-aid-to-workers-who-lose-jobs-over-vaccine-mandates/
-----
5) Somalia: President suspends prime minister amid election spat
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatar state media]
"Somalia's President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed says he has suspended Prime Minister Hussein Roble's powers, sparking accusations of an 'indirect coup' amid a protracted feud that has seen both leaders trade allegations over the holding up of parliamentary elections. Roble responded by saying that he was ordering all security forces to take orders directly from him, potentially deepening the ongoing dispute with the president. ... Roble's office called the statement 'outrageous,' saying on Twitter the attempt to 'militarily take over' the office of the prime minister was in breach of the law. In a separate post, it said Roble remained 'fully committed to fulfilling his national responsibility to conduct an acceptable electoral process that culminates in a peaceful transition of power.'" (12/27/21)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/27/somalias-president-suspends-pm-amid-tensions-over-elections
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
6) America's Divisions May Have Passed the Tipping Point
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
"Have America's much-discussed political tensions reached a point of no return? Political tribalists who sort their lives along partisan lines and despise opponents have become regular features of national life. But now researchers say polarization can reach a 'tipping point' at which external threats, such as pandemics, no longer drive people together but instead become further sources of strife that spiral out of control. Their warning comes as Americans seem poised to further escalate disagreements into open violence." (12/27/21)
https://reason.com/2021/12/27/americas-divisions-may-have-passed-the-tipping-point/
-----
7) On Foreign Policy, Biden Should Have Taken Golf Lessons
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
"If foreign policy was a game of golf, the Afghanistan withdrawal would sound like the driver making solid contact with the ball for a likely long drive off the tee. But in foreign policy, as in golf, the initial swing is likely to go bad if the golfer doesn't 'follow through.' Unfortunately, Biden isn't." (12/27/21)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/16498
-----
8) The case for empowering Americans to vote with their feet
Source: The Week
by Ilya Somin
"American democratic institutions are in crisis. One of the worst flaws of the status quo is the near-powerlessness of the individual voter over the policies which determine so much of daily life. Closely related is the need to promote opportunity and choice for the poor and disadvantaged. Both these problems can be greatly alleviated by expanding opportunities for people to 'vote with their feet.' If you don't like state or local laws, it should be easier to escape them. We normally think of voting at the ballot box as our principal means of exercising political choice, and ballot-box voting has great value. But it also has two severe limitations: the very low odds that an individual vote will make a difference, and the resulting incentive to make poorly informed decisions. Foot voting is superior on both dimensions." (12/27/21)
https://theweek.com/election/1008300/voting-with-your-feet
-----
9) The Classical Economists Were Smarter than You Think
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by David Weinberger
"[T]hroughout most of the 19th century economists agreed that the purpose of economics was to generate wealth and improve living standards, which meant growing the number and quality of goods and services on the market. Proper economic policies therefore aimed at expanding production (the 'supply side'). Spending (the 'demand side') warranted little attention because it was understood to follow from production. ... This explains why classical economists regarded entrepreneurs as vitally important. Not only did they innovate technological advancements and improve methods of production, but they also had to manage resources responsibly, including structuring the production process to correctly anticipate consumer demand. That was no easy task." (12/27/21)
https://fee.org/articles/the-classical-economists-were-smarter-than-you-think/
-----
10) Facemasks Are Not a Mere "Inconvenience"
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Aaron Hertzberg
"One of the most trenchant arguments made by proponents of forced masking is some variation of 'it's just an inconvenience,' so/and/or 'why do you have to make such a big deal about it.' (To be clear, this is not a legitimate scientific or factual argument for the adoption of any policy, but that is not what this article is about.) I am largely going to avoid the issues unique to masking children -- what is plainly institutionalized child abuse -- and for people with disabilities or past trauma, as many of the harms inflicted by masks are readily apparent and easily articulable." (12/27/21)
https://brownstone.org/articles/facemasks-are-not-a-mere-inconvenience/
-----
11) The Real Reason Politicians Want Legal Cannabis Is Tax Money
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Georg Grassmueck
"The latest two states to legalize recreational cannabis are New York and New Jersey. However, if one believes governors and legislators in those states have finally adopted a more libertarian view of the topic, one will be severely disappointed. Legalization of recreational cannabis in both states is driven by the need for tax revenue -- tax revenue to plug the holes in state budgets for social programs, holes in the state budget that were exasperated by the failed covid policies in both states. Politicians, clever as they are in hiding their true intentions for public policy changes, want the public to believe that legalization is mostly aimed at ending decades-long practices of racist cannabis enforcement, pointing to the disparities in drug enforcement. However, one will quickly realize that this is only a smokescreen to hide the true reason." (12/27/21)
https://mises.org/wire/real-reason-politicians-want-legal-cannabis-tax-money
-----
12) Three Signs You're Not Actually a Socialist
Source: American Institute for Economic Research
by Albert Eisenberg
"America's youngest generations are succumbing to the lure of socialism. What Winston Churchill called 'the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance and the gospel of envy' is increasingly the de facto mindset for young Americans, including a majority of young Democrats. How can this be? Do Millennials and Gen Zers, the same generations that revolutionized ride-sharing, bought into AirBnB and demanded mobile banking, truly support a centralized, planned economy? Probably not. The truth is, most self-professed 'socialists' don't really know what socialism is and are really just conscientious (or frustrated) consumers. Could this be you?" (12/27/21)
https://www.aier.org/article/three-signs-youre-not-actually-a-socialist/
-----
13) Tragedy of the victor: America and the end of the Soviet Union
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Anatol Lieven
"President Vladimir Putin has described the fall of the Soviet Union, which came to a formal end 30 years ago, on December 26, 1991, as a geopolitical tragedy; and it is easy to understand why he and many other Russians would see it as such. In a deeper, more classical sense, however, it may be said that the true tragedy of the end of the Cold War was that of the apparent victor, the United States. The last acts of this tragedy are still to be written. We can hope that it will end with the relative reconciliation and harmony of Coriolanus, and not the nihilistic horror of Titus Andronicus. The New Year, when (ideally) people consider the past in order to commit themselves to do better in future, is a good time to think about the meaning of this tragedy." (12/27/21)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2021/12/27/tragedy-of-the-victor-america-and-the-end-of-the-soviet-union/
-----
14) Three kinds of people
Source: EconLog
by Scott Sumner
"One argument against libertarianism is that people need to be protected from themselves. I suspect, however, that statists underestimate the extent to which paternalism actually causes bad behavior ..." (12/27/21)
https://www.econlib.org/three-kinds-of-people/
-----
15) Will Christmas 2022 Be Any Different From This Year?
Source: Antiwar.com
by Doug Bandow
"Christmas 2021 looked a lot like Christmas last year and the year before. Wars and rumors of war circling the planet. With America amid most of them. Washington's War Party naturally wanted the US to confront China and Russia, threaten Iran, disarm North Korea, protect worthless yet contested rocks throughout the Pacific, kill terrorists the world over, and ensure that none of its allies need inconvenience themselves by doing anything for themselves. Such was Uncle Sam's gift to the world, courtesy Americans' lives and wealth. ... Maybe a better 2022 Christmas wish would be for American policymakers to recognize that the US government's principal duty is to protect Americans, not the rest of the world. Running foreign crusades with other people's lives and money isn't appropriate." (12/27/21)
https://original.antiwar.com/doug-bandow/2021/12/26/will-christmas-2022-be-any-different-from-this-year/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
16) Free Talk Live, 12/27/21
Source: Free Talk Live
"NY State Vaccination or Mask Mandate :: Police Lt Calls for Mass Mask Disobedience in Keene :: Conservative Cognitive Dissonance on Cops :: El Salvador Bitcoin City Bond :: Foster Parenting :: Satoshi Nakamoto's Real Identity? :: Matrix Trans? :: Show: 2021-12-27 Ian, Aria, Bonnie." [Flash audio or MP3] (12/27/21)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/free-talk-live-2021-12-27
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17) The Bryan Hyde Show, 12/27/21
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
"The folks in power are working themselves into another tizzy as the first anniversary of the January 6 uprising approaches. Patricia Henry says now is as good a time as any to take a closer look at how we're entering the American Twilight Zone." [various formats] (12/27/21)
https://thebryanhydeshow.podbean.com/e/2021-december-27-the-bryan-hyde-show-hour-one/
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18) Lions of Liberty Podcast, episode 545
Source: Lions of Liberty
"Unplug Your Kids from the Matrix w/ Michael Strong and Mikkel Thorup." [various formats] (12/27/21)
https://www.lionsofliberty.com/episodes/unplug-your-kids-from-the-matrix
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19) EconTalk, 12/27/21
Source: EconTalk
"Megan McArdle on Belonging, Home, and National Identity." [Flash audio or MP3] (12/27/21)
https://www.econtalk.org/megan-mcardle-on-belonging-home-and-national-identity/
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20) Gareth Porter on The Scott Horton Show
Source: Libertarian Institute
"Gareth Porter on Iran and Afghanistan." [various formats] (12/26/21)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/scotthortonshow/12-22-21-gareth-porter-on-iran-and-afghanistan/
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