11/07 -- US elections: Democrats take control of House; Republicans increase Senate margin; Why ignorance prevails in politics

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Thomas L. Knapp

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Nov 7, 2018, 6:13:30 AM11/7/18
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 11/07/18
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Presented by the Liberty International

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

1)  US elections: Democrats take control of House; Republicans increase Senate margin
2)  Turkey: Regime won't abide by US sanctions on Iran
3)  Trump regime asks SCOTUS to rule on DACA sooner, not later
4)  HSBC Bank confirms US data breach
5)  Cameroon: Regime suspends vehicle movement in region where 79 children were kidnapped
6)  Democrats could make history if they lose Senate seats while winning the House in midterms
7)  Study: Superbugs kill 33,000 in Europe each year
8)  "I was literally in it": Man sits in feces on Delta flight
9)  Report: Facebook used to "incite offline violence" in Myanmar
10) France: Macron calls for creation of a "true European army" to defend against Russia and the US
11) A dozen US states see problems with voting machines
12) UK: Five arrested for making video that pols found "unacceptable"
13) NH: Ballot measure would limit government intrusion; "critics" call proposal "dangerous"
14) Tanzania: Hundreds in hiding as regime launches anti-gay crackdown
15) Duncan Hines recalls 2.4 million boxes of cake mix for potential salmonella risk
16) Germany: Former Nazi camp guard, 94, faces trial
17) Four states vote on cannabis legalization
18) FCC gang will "take action" in 2019 if carriers aren't doing "enough" to fight robocalls
19) NY: Ocasio-Cortez calls question about how to pay for Medicare for all "puzzling"
20) NY: Facebook meddles in election in attempt to stop Libertarians from winning continuing ballot access

Today's Freedom Commentary:

21) Why ignorance prevails in politics
22) What's wrong with employer sponsored health insurance
23) Independents: Has unofficial "third party" become America's political kingmaker?
24) Why America is increasingly divided (and James Madison would have predicted it)
25) Federal judge advocates jury nullification after being shocked by overzealous child pornography prosecution
26) Is it time to lick the food stamp program?
27) Shattering the myth of Democratic unity
28) Immigration is an economic necessity, not a threat to America
29) Why you can do anything you want ... and why you can't
30) Why the left should vote right
31) If a pre-trial risk assessment tool does not satisfy these criteria, it needs to stay out of the platform
32) It took six months to split Czechoslovakia. Why should Brexit take six years?
33) Is it now a crime to be a twat?
34) This Supreme Court term will show that there is no 5-4 "conservative majority"
35) When experts are wrong
36) Donald Trump victory: More like Dukakis than Reagan
37) The futility of Trump's Iran policy
38) Failure forecast: Sanctions won't work on Iran
39) The Kafkaesque machinery of the death penalty in America
40) It's real property because we said so!
41) Competition between the obese and the thin
42) Debate: Making American democracy representative
43) Election Day: Whoop de doo!
44) Why don't we just abolish tax poverty -- instead of this living wage nonsense -- altogether then?
45) The factual basis of political opinions
46) The case for a Democratic Socialist caucus In Congress
47) Not on the agenda -- America's wars are a non-factor in today's midterm elections
48) Trump already won the midterms
49) Are Missouri's neighbors passing it by?
50) The best rules are those you can't write down

Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:

51) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 11/06/18
52) FIREside Chats, episode 16
53) Cato Daily Podcast, 11/06/18
54) The Libertarian Angle, 11/06/18
55) Scott Adams Says, 11/06/18
56) Postcards From Somalia, episode 18
57) Leading Liberty Podcast, 11/06/18
58) Humans of Bitcoin, 11/06/18
59) Liberty Chronicles Podcast, episode 81
60) The LAVA Flow Podcast, episode 110
61) Free Talk Live, 11/05/18
62) Editor's Break, episode 106
63) The Tom Woods Show, episode 1277
64) Free Man Beyond the Wall, episode 177
65) Bloggingheads.tv, 11/05/18

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_____ Today's Freedom News _____

1)  US elections: Democrats take control of House; Republicans increase Senate margin
Source: Yahoo! News

"Propelled by an unprecedented surge of rank-and-file enthusiasm and widespread urban and suburban dissatisfaction with President Trump, Democrats took control of the House of Representatives for the first time since 2011. ... Yet with victories in Tennessee, Indiana, North Dakota, Missouri, Florida and Texas, Donald Trump's Republican Party extended its majority in the U.S. Senate, capitalizing on a lopsided battlefield that forced Democrats to defend 10 seats in states Trump won in 2016." (11/07/18)


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2)  Turkey: Regime won't abide by US sanctions on Iran
Source: Reuters

"President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday Turkey would not abide by the renewed U.S. sanctions on Iran's oil and shipping industries as they were aimed at 'unbalancing the world.' Washington reimposed the sanctions on Monday, [violating] a 2015 deal between world powers and Iran over its nuclear program. ... 'These are steps aimed at unbalancing the world. We don't want to live in an imperialist world. These issues will be put on the table at the summit (this weekend) in Paris,' [Erdogan] told reporters." (11/06/18)


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3)  Trump regime asks SCOTUS to rule on DACA sooner, not later
Source: National Public Radio [US state media]

"The Department of Justice has once again petitioned the Supreme Court to intervene in pending cases over the future of DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the Obama-era program that protects immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children. The program is keeping about 700,000 young people from being deported, NPR's Joel Rose notes. At the moment, DACA is accepting renewals but not new applicants. If the program is ended, currently protected individuals could be deported, though it's not clear how quickly that might happen. More than a year ago, the Trump administration announced it was ending the program. Multiple judges have blocked that change, and three cases have worked their way to the federal appellate level." (11/06/18)


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4)  HSBC Bank confirms US data breach
Source: BBC News [UK state media]

"HSBC has said some of its US customers' bank accounts were hacked in October. The lender said that the perpetrators may have accessed information including account numbers and balances, statement and transaction histories and payee details, as well as users' names, addresses and dates of birth. The BBC understands the firm believes that fewer than 1% of its American clients were affected. It said it had already contacted those thought to have been exposed. 'HSBC regrets this incident, and we take our responsibility for protecting our customers very seriously,' the bank said in a statement. 'We have notified those customers whose accounts may have experienced unauthorised access, and are offering them one year of credit monitoring and identify theft protection service.' The bank said the online accounts were breached between 4 and 14 October. It is not clear whether the attackers have tried to make use of the data to steal savings." (11/06/18)


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5)  Cameroon: Regime suspends vehicle movement in region where 79 children were kidnapped
Source: CNN

"Cameroon's northwest authorities suspended the movement of all non-emergency vehicles in the area where they say 79 schoolchildren were abducted. The restrictions began Tuesday in some districts in Bamenda to facilitate search and rescue operations for the abducted children, according to local authorities. The pupils were taken around midnight Monday along with their teacher, the principal and a driver, from their boarding school, the Presbyterian Secondary School in Bamenda city, authorities told CNN." (11/06/18)


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6)  Democrats could make history if they lose Senate seats while winning the House in midterms
Source: USA Today

"Senate Democrats could break a record in the midterm elections, but it may not be one they want. Since the nation started directly electing senators in 1914, the House has never flipped control without the winning party gaining seats in the Senate. Although House Democrats headed into Tuesday with the wind at their backs, Senate Republicans had hopes of adding to their slim 51-49 majority. The reason? Democrats are defending 26 of the 35 seats on the ballot, including 10 in states won by Donald Trump. 'It's the worst map for one party I have ever seen,' wrote veteran political handicapper Stuart Rothenberg. Democrats Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Jon Tester of Montana, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Joe Manchin of West Virginia are trying to hold onto states that voted for Trump by double digits." (11/06/18)


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7)  Study: Superbugs kill 33,000 in Europe each year
Source: Deutsche Welle [Germany]

"Superbugs resistant to antibiotics cause more than 33,000 deaths in the EU each year, according to a new study. Scientists say the picture has become worse since 2007, with Italy and Greece by far the hardest hit. ... The ECDC study used data from 2015 and looked at five types of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the European Union and the European Economic Area." (11/06/18)


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8)  "I was literally in it": Man sits in feces on Delta flight
Source: USA Today

"Delta has apologized after a Michigan man sat in feces left behind by a service dog last week. Bay City resident Matthew Meehan had already sat down on his flight from Atlanta to Miami on Nov. 1 when he realized that feces was all over his seat and the surrounding floor, he told news outlets. 'I was literally in it,' he said. Meehan said he asked flight attendants for help cleaning up, but they only provided two paper towels and a small bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin. He cleaned himself and the seat as best he could. When he spoke to a manager, he said, she was dismissive and asked what his problem was. ... He and his fellow passengers laid a blanket down on their seats for the remainder of the flight. Upon arrival, the aircraft was taken out of service to be cleaned and disinfected. According to Delta, an ill service animal was aboard the previous flight. Meehan was offered a full refund and additional compensation." [editor's note: Okay, Delta is off the list permanently now; I'd rather take a Lyft a little further, and skip the dogshit! – SAT] (11/06/18)


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9)  Report: Facebook used to "incite offline violence" in Myanmar
Source: BBC News [UK state media]

"Facebook has said it agrees with a report that found it had failed to prevent its platform being used to 'incite offline violence' in Myanmar. The independent report, commissioned by Facebook, said the platform had created an 'enabling environment' for the proliferation of human rights abuse. It comes after widespread violence against the Rohingya minority which the UN has said may amount to genocide. The report said Facebook would have to 'get it right' before 2020 elections. Facebook has more than 18 million users in Myanmar. For many, the social media site is their main or only way of getting and sharing news. The network said it had made progress in tackling its problems in Myanmar but that there was 'more to do.'" (11/06/18)


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10) France: Macron calls for creation of a "true European army" to defend against Russia and the US
Source: Independent [UK]

"Emmanuel Macron has called for the creation of a 'true European army' to allow the EU defend itself from threats ranging from Donald Trump to Vladimir Putin. The French president has pushed for closer EU defence union since coming to power last year but has been so far met with limited success amid foot-dragging by other member states. 'We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States of America,' Mr Macron told France's Europe 1 radio in an interview. ... Mr Macron was speaking in Verdun, northeast France, as part of a week-long tour of battlefields leading up to First World War armistice centenary commemorations on Sunday." (11/06/18)


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11) A dozen US states see problems with voting machines
Source: Reuters

"Problems with voting machines were preventing some Americans from casting ballots in a dozen states in Tuesday's congressional elections, U.S. rights advocates said, following complaints about registration problems, faulty equipment and intimidation they have received throughout early balloting. Democrats and advocacy groups said they have been grappling with a diverse crop of new voting restrictions for these elections, which will determine whether Republicans keep control of the U.S. Congress. Thirty-six governorships and hundreds of state offices are also up for grabs. A U.S. Department of Homeland Security official told reporters the agency had received reports of 'sparse' voting technology failures, but said that so far they appeared to have had no significant impact in preventing people from voting. Broken voting machines were reported in at least 12 states by noon (1700 GMT) on Tuesday, according to an 'election protection' coalition of more than 100 groups that set up a national hotline for reporting irregularities." (11/06/18)


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12) UK: Five arrested for making video that pols found "unacceptable"
Source: Daily Mail [UK]

"Five men have been arrested over a video showing a model of Grenfell Tower burning on a bonfire. The Metropolitan Police said the men, who are all from south and south-east London, handed themselves in on Monday night. They are a 19-year-old, a 46-year-old and a 49-year-old, all from South Norwood, a 49-year-old from Lambeth and a 55-year-old from Beckenham. .... Prime Minister Theresa May condemned the 'utterly unacceptable' video, while Khadijah Mamudu, whose mother and younger brother escaped the fire, said the burning of the model was a 'vile act.' Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Cundy, who is leading the investigation into the Grenfell Tower disaster, said he was 'frankly appalled by the callous nature' of the video." (11/05/18)


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13) NH: Ballot measure would limit government intrusion; "critics" call proposal "dangerous"
Source: Fox News

"New Hampshire State Rep. Neal Kurk welcomes the freedom technology has brought, explaining that 'we can do things so quickly, so effectively today.' But, he is more fearful of the freedom it's taking away. Kurk told Fox News' Douglas Kennedy that government has more power than ever before, and he's concerned with the power the government has to invade people's personal lives. 'The courts have made it very clear that governments can have access to our texts, to our cell phone conversations,' Kurk said. He's also worried about warrantless DNA collection, pointing out that police can take your DNA off of a fork at a restaurant -- without a warrant. It's a power to intrude he says violates the spirit of the constitutional protection against unreasonable search and seizure. Which is why he is sponsoring a ballot measure that would add language to New Hampshire's state constitution clarifying that 'an individual's right to live free from governmental intrusion in private or personal information is natural, essential, and inherent.' But critics say the ballot measure would hamper law enforcement efforts." (11/06/18)


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14) Tanzania: Hundreds in hiding as regime launches anti-gay crackdown
Source: The Guardian [UK]

"Hundreds of LGBT activists in Tanzania have gone into hiding after a senior official announced a taskforce aiming to identify and punish gay people in Dar es Salaam. Paul Makonda, the city's administrative head, said he had put together a team of officials and police that would target gay people, who could face lengthy prison sentences, in an intensification of anti-LGBT discrimination. In an interview posted on YouTube, Makonda called for Tanzanians to report gay people and told a news conference he had already received more than 5,700 messages from the public, including more than 100 names. ... The Tanzanian foreign ministry has said Makonda's campaign represents his own views and not the official government position. But officials have repeatedly backed a series of homophobic measures since John Magufuli became president in 2015 on an anti-graft platform." (11/05/18)


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15) Duncan Hines recalls 2.4 million boxes of cake mix for potential salmonella risk
Source: USA Today

"Time to check your pantry: Four types of Duncan Hines cake mixes have been voluntarily recalled by parent company Conagra Brands over the potential risk of salmonella contamination. During an investigation into a salmonella outbreak, the Food & Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found salmonella in a sample of Duncan Hines Classic White cake mix. As a result, Conagra says it has voluntarily recalled about 2.4 million boxes of cake mix, including Classic White and three other varieties (Classic Butter Golden, Signature Confetti and Classic Yellow) made during the same time period out of an abundance of caution. 'We are recalling these products out of an abundance of caution and always encourage consumers to follow baking instructions provided,' the company said in a statement to USA TODAY. Five cases of salmonella are being investigated, and multiple individuals involved reported consuming a cake mix at some point prior to becoming ill. Some may have consumed these products raw and not baked, the FDA says." (11/06/18)


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16) Germany: Former Nazi camp guard, 94, faces trial
Source: ABC News

"A 94-year-old former enlisted SS man went on trial Tuesday in Germany, charged with being an accessory to murder for crimes committed during the years he served as a guard at the Nazis' Stutthof concentration camp. Johann Rehbogen is accused of working as a guard at the camp east of Danzig, which is today the Polish city of Gdansk, from June 1942 to about the beginning of September 1944. There is no evidence linking him to a specific crime, but more than 60,000 people were killed at Stutthof and prosecutors argue that as a guard, he was an accessory to at least hundreds of those deaths." (11/06/18)


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17) Four states vote on cannabis legalization
Source: Smell the Truth

"As voters are preparing for possibly the most important midterm election in recent history, the future of cannabis legalization also hangs in the balance in a handful of states. While most states are concerning themselves with a referendum on the current presidential administration, Michigan and North Dakota will also have to decide on legalizing marijuana for adult recreational use. Meanwhile, Missouri and Utah will have the opportunity to approve marijuana use for medical purposes. These initiatives come with the added pressure of Canada's recent rollout of nationwide legalization, as well as Mexico's supreme court decision ruling cannabis prohibition to be unconstitutional." (11/06/18)


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18) FCC gang will "take action" in 2019 if carriers aren't doing "enough" to fight robocalls
Source: The Verge

"Ajit Pai and the FCC's commissioners are growing as incensed and fed up with robocalls as the rest of us. Today, Pai sent a letter to over a dozen US mobile providers urging them to deploy an industry-wide method of combatting the automated nuisance calls -- or else. 'By this time next year, I expect that consumers will begin to see this on their phones,' Pai said in a press release." (11/05/18)


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19) NY: Ocasio-Cortez calls question about how to pay for Medicare for all "puzzling"
Source: Fox News

"New York congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had a quick answer when asked how Americans would pay for the 'Medicare for all' plan she and other socialist-leaning Democrats favor: 'Just pay for it.' In an interview with Jorge Ramos last week, Ocasio-Cortez was asked how she would pay for the multibillion-dollar health care plan promoted by liberal lawmakers like Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Kamala Harris, D-Calif. Ramos noted critics say the program would be 'more expensive' than the current system, to which she answered that people would 'just pay for it.' ... 'People often say, like, how are you going to pay for it, and I find the question so puzzling because 'How do you pay for something that's more affordable? How do you pay for cheaper rent?' You just pay for it,' she said. 'We're paying more now.' According to recent studies, the program, first introduced by Sanders over the summer, would increase government health spending by $32.6 trillion over 10 years." (11/06/18)


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20) NY: Facebook meddles in election in attempt to stop Libertarians from winning continuing ballot access
Source: The Libertarian Republic

"New York Gubernatorial Candidate Larry Sharpe is the latest target of Facebook's political censorship and election meddling. The incident occurred on the eve of the 2018 Midterm Elections where Sharpe is a candidate for Governor of New York on the Libertarian Party ticket. Facebook suspended their ability to purchase social media ads for the New York race the day before voters went to the polls." (11/06/18)


_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____

21) Why ignorance prevails in politics
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Gary M Galles

"As Americans approach another even-year trip to the polls, those currently running and those positioning themselves for 2020 are revealing their vast ignorance in how they would 'fix' what they view as our core problems. The many free lunches (or more accurately, stolen lunches) they promise, all the way up to multi-trillion-dollar utopian health care boondoggles-in-waiting, show that few know enough to pass an economics principles course much less advance Americans' general welfare." (11/06/18)


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22) What's wrong with employer sponsored health insurance
Source: Niskanen Center
by Ed Dolan

"The term job lock refers to the tendency of employer-sponsored health insurance to discourage people from changing jobs; from starting a business of their own; or from reducing their hours to care for family members or move gradually toward retirement. Job lock undermines labor market mobility, makes it harder to match workers to the most suitable jobs, and cuts labor productivity. Anecdotal evidence of job lock abounds. Almost everyone seems to have a friend or relative who has taken a job that is otherwise unsuitable, or not left such a job, simply because it is the only way to get health coverage." (11/06/18)


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23) Independents: Has unofficial "third party" become America's political kingmaker?
Source: Investor's Business Daily
by staff

"Who will win the 2018 midterm elections? Or the one in 2020? The fact is, we increasingly don't know the answer, despite ever-cleverer polling techniques. The reason: More and more people are choosing 'Independent' instead of the traditional two parties. Today, 'Independents,' like it or not, constitute a de facto third party. This month's IBD/TIPP Poll is a case in point. Of the 900 voters we interviewed, 296 were Democrats, 274 were Republicans and 305 were Independents. Another 25 declined to say. So, by percentage, that's 32.9% Democrat, 30.4% Republican and 33.9% Independent. This has a number of meanings from a purely polling perspective. For one thing, the political parties have become somewhat more ideological, in particular the Democratic Party. The reason for this is that many of the less ideologically pure members of both major parties (people who used to be called 'centrists' or 'moderates') have abandoned the two-party system." [editor's note: As neither a "moderate" nor a "centrist" I resent this claim; I also know far too many other "Independents" who would agree – SAT] (11/06/18)


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24) Why America is increasingly divided (and James Madison would have predicted it)
Source: Independent Institute
by Lawrence McQuillan

"In 1925, President Calvin Coolidge famously said that the 'chief business of the American people is business.' Today, however, this could be reworded as 'the business of the American people is redistribution.' And government redistribution of income and wealth -- violations of personal property rights -- is tearing apart the social fabric of the country." (11/06/18)


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25) Federal judge advocates jury nullification after being shocked by overzealous child pornography prosecution
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille

"'This is a shocking case. This is a case that calls for jury nullification.' Many have had similar reactions when confronting cases involving authorities running roughshod over people with bad laws, punitive sentences, and ill-considered prosecutions. But this time, the person invoking jury nullification was a federal judge -- District Judge Stefan R. Underhill of the District of Connecticut -- and he spoke in court about a case over which he presided. The prosecution that shocked Underhill involves Yehudi Manzano, a 30-something man charged with producing and transporting child pornography after saving, and then deleting, a video of his teenage sex partner to and from his own phone and its associated Google cloud account. 'The only people who ever saw it were the guy who made it, the girl who was in it, and the federal agents,' Norman Pattis, Manzano's attorney, told me. ... he mandatory minimum sentence under federal law for recording video of sex with an underage partner is 15 years. That draconian sentence -- independent of what was in store in the entirely separate state trial for sex with a minor -- was too much for Judge Underhill." (11/06/18)


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26) Is it time to lick the food stamp program?
Source: Heartland Institute
by Chris Talgo

"The federal Food Stamps Program (FSP), now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), celebrated its 59th anniversary this September. Last year, more than 42 million Americans received SNAP benefits, which cost taxpayers more than $68 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. So, as the U.S. economy is booming and unemployment has reached all-time lows, is it time to stop the food stamp stampede?" (11/06/18)


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27) Shattering the myth of Democratic unity
Source: Investor's Business Daily
by JT Young

"Democrats may soon discover what Republicans have learned: Opposition creates only unity's illusion. Although neither party desires being out of the White House, opposition has its advantages -- as Republicans realized with growing Congressional numbers. Yet as opposition increases, cohesion does not necessarily. Today's Democrats are even more susceptible to this political paradox than Republicans. Absence may make the heart grow fonder, but opposition can make the body grow larger. At least it can if the body is a political party. Few things do that body better than a good dose of vitriol -- a vitamin of amazing political potency. Republicans discovered opposition's power during Obama's presidency. Obama's victory in 2008's election left Republicans with just 178 House seats and just 41 Senate seats (reduced shortly to 40 by party defection). Over the next six years, Republicans gained a net 68 House and 13 Senate seats (reaching a combined Congressional total unseen since Hoover) taking the House (2010), Senate (2014), and White House (2016)." (11/05/18)


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28) Immigration is an economic necessity, not a threat to America
Source: The Hill
by Ramiro Cavazos

"With the exception of the Native American community, we all had ancestors abroad that were uprooted, voluntarily or involuntarily, from their countries of origin and built new homes in the United States. The year your family immigrated -- whether it was seven generations ago, like my own ancestors, or only a few months ago -- is no determinate of your patriotism. The sentiment that immigrants are enemies is a divisive falsehood that has become a political strategy. If followed through, these immigration policies will have a crippling effect on our nation's economy." (11/06/18)


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29) Why you can do anything you want ... and why you can't
Source: Freeman's Perspective
by Paul Rosenberg

"People frequently tell children 'You can do anything you want.' And this causes a lot of confusion, because in the real world, they can't. And after their first clash with the aforesaid real world, the child is left wondering all sorts of unpleasant things: Did mom and dad lie to me? Are they just ignorant? Am I defective? Should I find someone to blame? The worst thing about this, however, is that the child is likely to have their opinion of themselves reduced. And that's tragic." (11/06/18)


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30) Why the left should vote right
Source: Town Hall
by Deroy Murdock

"If the Left really believes what it says it believes, it should vote Right in today's elections. The Left (Democrats and their liberal brethren) [sic] profess to stand for the little guy. Democrats claim solidarity with women, underrepresented minorities, and the working class, especially blue-collar workers. Rising wages, minimum and otherwise, are an oft-stated wish. And overseas, arms control and nuclear non-proliferation are urgent priorities. If liberal Democrats still cherish these things, they should vote Republican today -- for the U.S. Senate, the House, governors' mansions, city halls, and local school boards. Why? As much as it would pain the Left to admit it, the Republican leadership of President Donald J. Trump and the GOP Congress is delivering on liberals' reputed goals far better than Obama and the Democrats ever did. Voters should ask themselves this question: Are you better off now than you were two years ago? For the U.S., and most Americans, the answer is: Yes. And for this, they can thank the Right's policies that have secured peace and prosperity: tax reduction, deregulation, a pro-business tone, diplomatic resolve, and military might." (11/06/18)


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31) If a pre-trial risk assessment tool does not satisfy these criteria, it needs to stay out of the platform
Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
by Hayley Tsukayama & Jamie Williams

"Algorithms should not decide who spends time in a California jail. But that's exactly what will happen under S.B. 10, a new law slated to take effect in October 2019. The law, which Governor Jerry Brown signed in September, requires the state's criminal justice system to replace cash bail with an algorithmic pretrial risk assessment. Each county in California must use some form of pretrial risk assessment to categorize every person arrested as a 'low,' 'medium,' or 'high' risk of failing to appear for court, or committing another crime that poses a risk to public safety. Under S.B. 10, if someone receives a 'high' risk score, the person must be detained prior to arraignment, effectively placing crucial decisions about a person's freedom into the hands of companies that make assessment tools." (11/06/18)


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32) It took six months to split Czechoslovakia. Why should Brexit take six years?
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Martin Panek

"Two years, four months and a few days ago, on 23rd June 2016, the UK voted to leave the EU. The date of the UK leaving is currently set at 29th March 2019 -- almost three years after the vote. It could be postponed further. In the case of a transitional arrangement that could last until at least the end of 2020, possibly even beyond the general election in 2022. That would be an enormous six years after the historic vote. ... look at Czechoslovakia, the country where I was born, but a country I never think of as my birthplace. That is because before I even went to school, it had not only transformed from a socialist republic and a Soviet satellite to a liberal democracy, but it also split into two nations." (11/06/18)


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33) Is it now a crime to be a twat?
Source: spiked
by Brendan O'Neill

"I cannot be the only person who finds the Metropolitan Police's promise to investigate the Grenfell Tower bonfire video more chilling than the video itself. Yes, the video is repulsive. But what crime has been committed here? Being a wanker? Being a scumbag? Saying disgusting things in your own back garden? Those are criminal offences now? If they are, then Britain has far greater things to worry about than the fact that a handful of dreadful people decided to burn an effigy of Grenfell Tower for Bonfire Night." (11/06/18)


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34) This Supreme Court term will show that there is no 5-4 "conservative majority"
Source: Tenth Amendment Center
by Rob Natelson

"Some of the Supreme Court's decisions this term will show why the media's division of the justices into 'liberals' and 'conservatives' is deceptive. If one wants to divide the justices two ways, it would be more accurate to distinguish them as traditional judges or liberal activists. Five justices decide cases more or less in the Anglo American tradition of judging. Their results are sometimes 'conservative' and sometimes 'liberal.' The other four justices reach liberal results more uniformly, even when that requires breaking the normal rules of judging. At one time there were Supreme Court justices whom you could classify as conservative activists, but this has not been true for many decades." (11/06/18)


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35) When experts are wrong
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob

"Standard theory has it that 'mid-term elections' serve as a 'referendum on the President.' In a typical article this weekend, a political scientist trotted out that common wisdom and then went on to say that 'control of the referendum has shifted. It is now a referendum on leadership, on character ... and that's not good news for Donald Trump.' My crystal ball is in the repair shop, but I have my doubts." (11/06/18)


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36) Donald Trump victory: More like Dukakis than Reagan
Source: USA Today
by Jason Harrow

"Last week at the White House, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders unwittingly reminded Americans of just how badly the Electoral College distorts how we think about the popular support our president has. Sanders told reporters that the president 'got elected by an overwhelming majority of 63 million Americans who came out and supported him and wanted to see his policies enacted.' Except, that's not right. The president was actually elected by a minority of 63 million Americans, or 46.1 percent of the vote. That total, though, was filtered through the unfortunate winner-take-all system that 48 states use to allocate Electoral College votes, and it became enough to win despite the 66 million votes, or 48.2 percent, that Hillary Clinton received. ... In fact, on a percentage basis, Trump barely ekes out a victory over supposed blowout loser Michael Dukakis, who lost in 1988 by more than 300 electoral votes to George H.W. Bush. But if you take a look at the numbers, Dukakis' percent of the vote in that blowout loss (45.6 percent) was only half a percentage point less than Trump's (46.1 percent) in his supposed 'overwhelming majority' victory." [editor's note: Still comparing apples to kumquats – SAT] (11/06/18)


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37) The futility of Trump's Iran policy
Source: The American Conservative
by Daniel Larison

"If a foreign power waged an economic war against your country, would you be likely to respond to that foreign coercion by effectively taking their side against your own government? Of course not. The idea that Iranians will do the work of their country's enemies by rising up and toppling the regime has always been far-fetched, but it is particularly absurd to think that Iranians would do this after they have just seen their economy be destroyed by the actions of a foreign government. People normally do not respond to economic hardship and diminishing prospects by risking their lives by starting a rebellion against the state. As Mr. Shamsodini says above, it is much more likely that they will leave to find a way to make a living elsewhere. All that strangling Iran's economy will manage to do is push young and ambitious Iranians to go abroad while inflicting cruel collective punishment on everyone that remains behind." (11/06/18)


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38) Failure forecast: Sanctions won't work on Iran
Source: Cato Institute
by John Glaser

"As of today, the Trump administration has imposed a new set of harsh economic sanctions on Iran. This is in clear violation of the 2015 agreement that rolled back Iran's nuclear program and put a lid on it for the foreseeable future. Trump unilaterally withdrew [sic] from the deal in May, but Iran has remained in full compliance for three years. No matter, we've been told. An antagonistic approach toward Iran is necessary because Iran, as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo put it on Sunday, is a 'terror regime' that threatens our allies, destabilizes the Middle East, and abuses the rights of its own people. Sanctions, Pompeo promises, will change all that. Actually, they won't. Here are a few reasons for why sanctions will fail." [editor's note: No, Trump did not "withdraw" from the agreement, because he had no legal power to do so short of withdrawing the US from the United Nations. Violating an agreement (and US and international law) isn't "withdrawing" from that agreement – TLK] (11/05/18)


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39) The Kafkaesque machinery of the death penalty in America
Source: The New Republic
by Matt Ford

"The Supreme Court, its conservative majority in place for years, no longer debates whether state-imposed death is morally right or constitutionally valid. Justice Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation last month all but guarantees this will remain true for another generation, despite Justice Stephen Breyer's best efforts. Since the court doesn't weigh the substance of the death penalty, it instead focuses on the aesthetics of the system it oversees. These aesthetics are vital to maintaining public support for the system. American capital punishment is ritualized, with a carefully orchestrated set of appeals that often culminates in a last-minute denial from the Supreme Court. It's also theatrical: Executions are choreographed to produce a quiet spectacle for an audience of witnesses, who then convey what they see to the wider world. Justice Harry Blackmun, concluding in 1994 that the system no longer met constitutional standards, described it as 'the machinery of death.'" (11/06/18)


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40) It's real property because we said so!
Source: Hawaii Reporter
by Tom Yamachika

"Once upon a time there were a couple of companies that constructed some large wind turbines on mountain ridges on Maui. The wind farms aren't cheap. The first one built, on the West Maui Mountains, cost $69 million to construct. This caught the attention of alert real property assessors in Maui County, who said that the turbines were fixtures on real property and assessed real property tax on them. The companies, of course, didn't take that sitting down. They fought the assessments in court, and in 2014 the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals ruled that the turbines weren't real property, or at least weren't real property according to the definition of real property in the Maui ordinance that applied to the tax years assessed. ... In 2013, Maui County decided to try again. They figured that they lost under the definition of real property that was in their ordinance, so they amended the ordinance." (11/05/18)


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41) Competition between the obese and the thin
Source: EconLog
by Pierre Lemieux

"A few days ago on a flight, I faced the risk of being squashed by an enormous man in the seat next to me. (And I mean enormous: an extreme obese.) I deployed the usual defenses to preserve my space, but fat was still overflowing over the armrest. This experience gave me an opportunity to think again about the standard economic theory of externalities and how property rights contribute to minimizing them." (11/06/18)


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42) Debate: Making American democracy representative
Source: The American Prospect
by staff

"In their article in the Fall 2018 issue of The American Prospect, Benjamin I. Page and Martin Gilens argue that the way we vote for Congress has contributed to a highly polarized and unrepresentative government. In place of the current system, they call for three reforms to elections for the U.S. House of Representatives: ranked-choice voting, the abolition of primaries, and proportional representation in multi-member districts. This is a big, long-term agenda. Do Page and Gilens have the right ideas about how to reform voting? And do they have their priorities right? Two commentators address these questions. Drew Penrose is the legal and policy director of FairVote. Miles Rapoport is a long-time democracy advocate who served as Connecticut's secretary of state and president of both Dēmos and Common Cause. He is the Senior Practice Fellow in American Democracy at the Ash Center of the Kennedy School at Harvard and a member of the board of The American Prospect." (11/06/18)


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43) Election Day: Whoop de doo!
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger

"Notwithstanding all the heated pronouncements in the mainstream press and among the Republican and Democrat political machines, nothing is going to change as a result of today's election. There is a simple reason for that: There isn't really any difference between Democrats and Republicans, at least not in a fundamental sense. The election is about power and money. That's what the two political parties are fighting over." (11/06/18)


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44) Why don't we just abolish tax poverty -- instead of this living wage nonsense -- altogether then?
Source: Continental Telegraph
by Tim Worstall

"As we all know there's much muttering about how low pay should rise, about how there's some just and righteous minimum that anyone should earn for their labour. That the universe doesn't work this way, there is no set value to whatever it is that you wish to do with your life, doesn't matter. The political head of steam has been raised and that's that. The correct response is therefore to consider how we do this, not whether. And the answer is that if we wish the poor to have more money then we should stop taxing them so damn much." (11/06/18)


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45) The factual basis of political opinions
Source: Notes On Liberty
by Joakim Book

"'Ideology is a menace.' Paul Collier says in his forthcoming book The Future of Capitalism and I couldn't agree more: ideology (and by extension morality) 'binds and blinds,' as psychology professor Jonathan Haidt describes it, and ideology, especially utopian dreams by dedicated rulers, is what allows -- indeed accounts for -- the darkest episodes of humanity. There is a strange dissonance among people for whom political positions, ideology and politics are supremely important: * They portray their position as if supported by facts and empirical claims about the world (or at least spit out such claims as if they did believe that) * At the same time, believing that their 'core values' and 'ideological convictions' are immune to factual objections ('these are my values; this is my opinion')." (11/05/18)


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46) The case for a Democratic Socialist caucus In Congress
Source: In These Times
by Bhaskar Sunkara

"Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's primary victory in June took the Democratic Party and media establishment by surprise. Running in New York's fourteenth congressional district, she handily defeated one of the party's most entrenched politicians and quickly became a national figure. But the question suddenly became, 'What now?' There's every reason to believe that Ocasio-Cortez's success in NY-14 can be replicated. Previously powerful Democratic machines are sputtering. Voters are staying at home instead of turning out for Democratic National Committee–favored candidates. And as Ocasio Cortez's race shows, a small group of committed activists with a popular message can win in elections even if they're massively outspent. Consider the role of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), whose members helped canvass, phone bank, and fundraise for Ocasio-Cortez." [editor's note: Truth in advertising? Why not? – SAT] (11/06/18)


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47) Not on the agenda -- America's wars are a non-factor in today's midterm elections
Source: Antiwar.com
by Major Danny Sjursen, US Army

"The United States military is actively fighting in seven Muslim-majority countries; and no one cares. As Americans go to the polls today in a ritual pretense of democracy, they will vote for one of the two major political parties on issues ranging from healthcare to immigration to the basic personality of President Donald Trump. The three mainstream networks -- from 'liberal' MSNBC to 'conservative' Fox News -- have reported on little else for the last several months. The whole charade is little more than politics-as-entertainment, like some popular sporting event in which the opposing sides wave the flag for the blue team or the red team." (11/06/18)


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48) Trump already won the midterms
Source: The Atlantic
by McKay Coppins

"Regardless of how the midterm elections turn out Tuesday night, President Donald Trump will have at least one thing to celebrate: His mission to remake the Republican Party in his own image has been an unequivocal success. The MAGAfication of the GOP that Trump first set in motion three years ago has continued apace this campaign season -- with disloyal Republicans getting primaried and purged, formerly fringe media outlets gaining mainstream influence, and key party institutions mutating into weapons of presidential culture war. There's little sign these trends will abate with a defeat at the ballot box." (11/06/18)


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49) Are Missouri's neighbors passing it by?
Source: Show-Me Institute
by Kelvey Vander Hart

"As a general rule, it isn't wise to spend too much time worrying about keeping up with the neighbors. But we might make an exception to that rule for Missouri, especially in light of a new report that shows how weak our economy is relative to other states in the region." (11/05/18)


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50) The best rules are those you can't write down
Source: American Institute for Economic Research
by Michael Munger

"If you visit another country, it is foreign, partly because you aren't sure what the rules are. The etymology of the word 'foreign' is to be on the other side of a door or boundary, to be out of your home territory. What this suggests is that the rules may be different. Some of the rules you can look up or read about. But often the rules are just assumed because everyone knows them. In many cases, people may be so used to the rules they know that they don't even recognize the possibility that it could be otherwise, unless they are world travelers." (11/05/18)


_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____

51) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 11/06/18
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report

"Can anyone point out the major substantive areas of debate and difference between Republicans and Democrats as America (or at least part of it) goes to the voting booth? Do they disagree on the Fed? Spying? Civil liberties? War? What really is at stake in this midterm election? Anything?" [Flash video] (11/06/18)


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52) FIREside Chats, episode 16
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights in Education

"Recent cases of censorship on campus." [Flash video] (11/06/18)


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53) Cato Daily Podcast, 11/06/18
Source: Cato Institute

"Democrats have pinned some of their hopes on protecting Americans from pre-existing conditions from losing certain coverage mandates. What does polling have to say about it? Emily Ekins comments." [various formats] (11/06/18)


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54) The Libertarian Angle, 11/06/18
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation

"Jacob Hornberger and Richard Ebeling discuss why it doesn't make any difference, insofar as liberty is concerned, whether you vote Democrat or Republican." [various formats] (11/06/18)


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55) Scott Adams Says, 11/06/18
Source: Scott Adams Says

"Scott Adams talks about elections, alien probes, racist ads, and coffee." [Flash audio] (11/06/18)


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56) Postcards From Somalia, episode 18
Source: The Launch Pad Media

"In this installment, Alan and Sherry discuss the tragedy of politically correct culture and the demanded removal of Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, beloved Simpsons Character." [Flash audio or MP3] (11/06/18)


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57) Leading Liberty Podcast, 11/06/18
Source: Leading Liberty

"There Is No Them with State House Candidate Matt Dubin." [various formats] (11/06/18)


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58) Humans of Bitcoin, 11/06/18
Source: Bitcoin.com

"Bitcoin.com's global ambassador Sterlin is the first two time guest on the show. He talks about his fascinating worldwide bitcoin travels, psychadelics, and the battle with Facebook censoring his fan page." [various formats] (11/06/18)


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59) Liberty Chronicles Podcast, episode 81
Source: Libertarianism.org

"Stephen Maizlish joins us to discuss how important the power of words is when reconstructing the reality of political discourse prior to the Civil War." (11/06/18)


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60) The LAVA Flow Podcast, episode 110
Source: Pax Libertas Productions

"Today is election day. I'll be washing my hair instead of voting yet again. Don't legitimize the bastards! What's in the News with stories on John Gatto dies, government murder, Julian Assange update, cannabis in Mexico, bad cops, and free societies. And, an Ancap Apps segment on Smartcash, the latest advertiser on The LAVA Flow." [various formats] (11/06/18)


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61) Free Talk Live, 11/05/18
Source: Free Talk Live

"Anniversary Celebrations :: Bitcoin Wonderland to be Built in Nevada? :: Desert :: Evolution Critic :: More on Innovation Park :: Blockchain Skeptics :: Govt Debt :: Cryptocurrency Solution :: Federal Courts Okay With Invalid Warrant in Playpen Case :: HOSTS -- Ian, Mark, Melanie." [Flash audio or MP3] (11/05/18)


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62) Editor's Break, episode 106
Source: Everything Voluntary

"Editor's 106 has Skyler giving his commentary on the following topics: swear words, their playful and hateful uses, and the importance of intent; the possibility of believing in God and a short introduction to ignosticism; several reasons for his abstention from participating in electoral politics; and more." [various formats] (11/05/18)


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63) The Tom Woods Show, episode 1277
Source: The Tom Woods Show

"Neoclassical economics insists that a separate class of goods, called 'public goods,' cannot, because of their peculiar characteristics, be efficiently provided by the market and must instead be financed and produced by the state. The Austrian School rejects this line of argument. Today Jakub Wisniewski, author of a new book on the subject, takes on public goods theory and addresses the two toughest cases: law and defense services on the market." [various formats] (11/05/18)


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64) Free Man Beyond the Wall, episode 177
Source: Free Man Beyond the Wall

"Why I am a 'Broken Record' About Tyranny." [various formats] (11/05/18)


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65) Bloggingheads.tv, 11/05/18
Source: Bloggingheads.tv

"Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Hugo Godinho (@hugofazfotos) ... Hugo reports from Brazil on the election Jair Bolsonaro, who has drawn comparisons to Trump ... The Brazilian right's campaign to discredit the left as corrupt ... Why did the Workers' Party nominate Lula, the jailed ex-president? ... Is Bolsonaro a fascist? ... What Hugo fears from Bolsonaro's rule ... Why an improving economy didn't help the incumbent leftist party ... Hugo: Bolsonaro is worse than Trump." [Flash video] (11/05/18)


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