Groups keyboard shortcuts have been updated
Dismiss
See shortcuts
04/10 -- Trump flip-flops on tariffs. Again; Risks from a wounded president
6 views
Skip to first unread message
Thomas L. Knapp
Apr 10, 2025, 6:31:08 AMApr 10
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 04/10/25
---------------------------------------------------------------------
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) Trump flip-flops on tariffs. Again.
2) Palestine: At least 29 murdered in Israeli airstrike on residential building
3) Johnson punts on key budget blueprint vote as GOP holdouts seek concessions on spending cuts
4) Germany: Centrist parties reach coalition deal
5) US Regime Bond Sell-Off Raises Questions About “Safe Haven” Status
6) Russia: Regime expels two Romanian diplomats in a tit-for-tat move
7) Nicaragua: Regime’s crackdown on the Catholic Church is worsening, exiles and human rights advocates say
8) Ukraine: Military chief says new Russian offensive has begun
9) UK: Regime says deal to bail out or seize Chinese-owned British Steel “within sight”
10) ACLU Files Lawsuit to Stop Deportation of Three Venezuelans Abducted and Held in Texas
11) Colombia: Eight members of powerful cartel shot dead days after one of its top commanders killed
12) $731 Billion In Home Equity Expected To Be Locked-In Due To “Negative Credit Shocks” US Homeowners Will Face This Year
13) Three Americans jailed over failed DR Congo coup returned home
14) Yemen: At least eight murdered in suspected US airstrikes
15) NC: Nickel enters US Senate race
16) Judge: Trump must reinstate Associated Press to White House press pool
17) CA: Sick sea lions attacking beachgoers
18) Nationwide strike for better pay brings Greece to standstill
19) CA: Zizians Bay Area court appearance descends into chaos
20) Federal lawsuit filed over murder of Brandon Durham by Las Vegas cop
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Risks from a wounded president
22) The All-Devouring Machine: Pentagon Malfeasance and Insatiable Empire
23) It’s Time for Republicans to Listen to the Markets, Not Trump
24) From Apprenticeships to Microcredentials, Why Alternatives to College Are Gaining Popularity
25) The War On Drugs Was Supposed To Protect Kids — It’s Doing The Opposite
26) Tech-savvy farmer getting young Nigerians excited about agriculture
27) Kenneth Arrow’s 1963 Article on Health Care Doesn’t Say What You Think
28) AGI Will Be Just Like *Subservience* Except …
29) The Absurd Excuse Notre Dame Gave Me When They Canceled My Talk
30) Four Roads Before the Abyss
31) Democrats are the true party of “oligarchy”
32) Praying to the Deep State
33) The Economic Consequences of the Tariff War
34) Trump Abuses Government Power To Punish Democrats’ Law Firms
35) Politics compromises rational thought
36) The New McCarthyism Was Started by Liberals
37) Trump’s given Iran a way out from impending war: the easy way or the hard way
38) The fuel that feeds the Trump chaos machine? Fear.
39) America’s Trade “Deficit” Is a Ringing Endorsement
40) Why a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine is pointless
41) Hands Off — Yes! But What Are the Working-Class Demands?
42) About Tariffs: We Are Enablers, Not Victims of Trump’s Passions
43) “All Governments Lie”: Why We Need a Radical and Independent Free Press Now
44) Why We Distrust Technology
45) Big, Beautiful Tax Cuts Should Offset Any Tariff Increases
46) Trump, Vance peddle fictions to sell Americans on massive tax increase
47) Don’t Forget the Victims of Our Wars
48) The World Shouldn’t Ignore that Hamas Terrorizes Innocents in Gaza, Too
49) Timeline: A Recent History of Tariffs
50) Big Tech Antitrust: Postelection Edition
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, 04/09/25
52) The Chris Spangle Show, 04/09/25
53) The Good Fight, 04/09/25
54) The Daily Blast with Greg Sargent, 04/09/25
55) Conflicts of Interest, episode 783
56) Freakonomics Radio, 04/09/25
57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 04/09/25
58) Fountainhead Forum, episode 294
59) Show-Me Institute Podcast, 04/08/25
60) Anarcho Agenda, episode 132
61) Advisory Opinions, 04/08/25
62) Dangerous History Podcast, episode 278
63) Nonzero, 04/08/25
64) Milton Friedman’s Warning to DOGE
65) System Update, episode 435
vvvvv SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS vvvvv
Tyranny Demands AN ACT OF SELF-DEFENSE: A NOVEL BY ERNE LEWIS
https://tinyurl.com/actofselfdefense
ONE IDENTITY FOR ALL YOUR CRYPTO
https://fioprotocol.io/
SAMUEL EDWARD KONKIN III REVOLUTIONARY FRIEND BY WENDY MCELROY
https://www.amazon.com/Samuel-Edward-Konkin-Revolutionary-Friend-ebook/dp/B0DP7B6127
SHOP ONLINE, COLLECT A REBATE IN BITCOIN!
https://www.lolli.com/share/MZB4cCpheL
THE CONSTITUTION OF NON-STATE GOVERNMENT: FIELD GUIDE TO TEXAS SECESSION, by TL Hulsey
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1947660853
^^^^^ SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS ^^^^^
_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Trump flip-flops on tariffs. Again.
Source: New York Post
“President Trump announced Wednesday that his heightened ‘reciprocal’ tariff scheme was being paused for 90 days in response to overtures from dozens of countries — but duties on Chinese imports would be ratcheted up to 125% due to a ‘lack of respect’ from Beijing. ‘Based on the fact that more than 75 Countries have called Representatives of the United States, including the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, and the [US Trade Representative], to negotiate a solution to the subjects being discussed relative to Trade, Trade Barriers, Tariffs, Currency Manipulation, and Non Monetary Tariffs, and that these Countries have not, at my strong suggestion, retaliated in any way, shape, or form against the United States, I have authorized a 90 day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social, sending Wall Street soaring.” (04/09/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/04/09/us-news/trump-pauses-tariff-hikes-for-90-days-against-most-countries-hikes-china-rate-to-125/
-----
2)
Palestine: At least 29 murdered in Israeli airstrike on residential building
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“At least 29 Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli air strike on a multi-storey residential building in the east of Gaza City, a local hospital says. The Hamas-run Civil Defence agency said warplanes targeted the area near al-Hawashi mosque in the Shejaiya neighbourhood on Tuesday morning. It said eight children were among the dead, more than 60 people were injured, and that rescuers were still searching for two dozen others under the rubble. The Israeli military said it had struck a ‘senior Hamas terrorist’ who was responsible for planning and executing attacks in the area. Numerous steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians, including the use of ‘precision weapons,’ it added.” (04/09/24)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy5rrnzw0kwo
-----
3) Johnson punts on key budget blueprint vote as GOP holdouts seek concessions on spending cuts
Source: CNN
“Rep. Andy Ogles personally warned Speaker Mike Johnson not to go ahead Wednesday with a contentious House vote essential to advancing President Donald Trump’s agenda that had drawn scorn from the right. After hours of scrambling to convince the Tennessee Republican and a dozen other defectors, Johnson finally obliged. The speaker punted Wednesday night on that key vote on the Senate Republicans’ budget blueprint after failing to appease a group of House GOP conservatives demanding steep spending cuts. Now, GOP leaders will spend the coming hours in thorny talks about how to come up with more spending cuts — despite the Senate GOP’s firm resistance to any changes to their plan. Trump had spent recent days, even amid his own political calamity on his escalating trade war, trying to rescue the plan.” (04/09/25)
https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/09/politics/gop-conservatives-johnson-budget-vote/index.html
-----
4) Germany: Centrist parties reach coalition deal
Source: CNBC
“Germany’s centrist parties on Wednesday finalized a coalition agreement, paving the way for the Christian Democratic Union, Christian Social Union and Social Democratic Party to form the country’s new government. Party members must now sign off on the deal before the new government can assume its post. … Negotiations between the parties began soon after the German election in February, but ran into hurdles in recent weeks after initial strong progress with the talks prompting a major fiscal reform package. Policies around taxes, the federal budget and migration were widely seen as contentious points among the parties.” (04/09/25)
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/09/german-centrist-parties-reach-coalition-deal.html
-----
5) US Regime Bond Sell-Off Raises Questions About “Safe Haven” Status
Source: New York Times
“A sharp sell-off in U.S. government bond markets has sparked fears about the growing fallout from President Trump’s sweeping tariffs and retaliation by China, the European Union and others …. Yields on 10-year Treasuries — the benchmark for a wide variety of debt — shot 0.2 percentage points higher on Wednesday, to 4.45 percent …. Yields on the 30-year bond rose significantly as well, at one point on Wednesday topping 5 percent. …. Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury secretary, sought to tamp down concerns on Wednesday, brushing off the sell-off as nothing more than investors who bought assets with borrowed money having to cover their losses. …. former U.S. Treasury secretary Lawrence H. Summers said the broader sell-off suggested a ‘generalized aversion to US assets in global financial markets’ and warned about the possibility of a ‘serious financial crisis wholly induced by US government tariff policy.'” (04/09/25)
https://archive.is/nLAzP
-----
6) Russia: Regime expels two Romanian diplomats in a tit-for-tat move
Source: ABC News
“Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday announced the expulsion of two military diplomats from the Romanian Embassy in a tit-for-tat move a month after Romania expelled two Russian diplomats. Mutual expulsions of diplomats by Russia and Western countries have become increasingly common in recent years amid heightened tensions over the fighting in Ukraine. The ministry said in a statement that it summoned the embassy’s deputy head of mission, Liliana Burda, and handed her a notice declaring the embassy’s defense attaché and his deputy ‘persona non grata.'” (04/09/25)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/russia-expels-2-romanian-diplomats-tit-tat-move-120641515
-----
7) Nicaragua: Regime’s crackdown on the Catholic Church is worsening, exiles and human rights advocates say
Source: Seattle Times
“Preparations for popular, often daylong Lent and Holy Week processions are underway across Latin America — but not in Nicaragua. They’ve been largely banned for a second year, one of many concerns for the faithful in a country that human rights advocates, exiled priests and the U.S. government say is pursuing one of the world’s most flagrant persecutions of religion. … More than 200 religious figures are in exile, making it difficult to hold Mass or hear confessions in Nicaragua, especially in small villages. Many pastors still in Nicaragua are under near-constant surveillance, obliged to inform the police if they want to visit someone who’s ill and to submit drafts of their sermons for approval, according to those in exile and human rights activists.” (04/09/25)
https://archive.is/2UmlX
-----
8) Ukraine: Military chief says new Russian offensive has begun
Source: Reuters
“Ukraine’s military chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said in an interview published on Wednesday that Russia had launched a new offensive on the northeast of the country, adding that a large increase in assaults was already being observed. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had warned earlier that Russia was preparing an offensive on the two regions of Kharkiv and Sumy. … The war, the first year of which was marked by rapid Russian territorial gains followed by Ukrainian counter-attacks, has since become far more of a battlefield stalemate, with Moscow grinding out relatively small gains by attacking with wave after wave of infantry squads.” (04/09/25)
https://archive.is/GXBw5
-----
9) UK: Regime says deal to bail out or seize Chinese-owned British Steel “within sight”
Source: United Press International
“British Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said Wednesday that a deal to save British Steel is within sight as talks with Chinese owner Jingye continue. Nandy told the BBC that an agreement to make sure British Steel continues ‘to be an important part of our economy for years to come’ is ‘achievable and within sight.’ Nationalization is possible after Jingye said in March that British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant is no longer financially sustainable and is in danger of running out of raw materials within weeks. The British government has offered $639 million to Jingye to convert the plant to greener electric arc furnaces that can use scrap metal rather than raw materials. The company has rejected that and is reportedly asking for approximately $1.2 billion.” (04/09/25)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2025/04/09/steel-talks-Jingye-tariffs/7071744208768/
-----
10) ACLU Files Lawsuit to Stop Deportation of Three Venezuelans Abducted and Held in Texas
Source: US News & World Report
“The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Texas filed a class action civil lawsuit Tuesday in defense of three Venezuelans who are at risk of removal from the U.S. under a rarely-invoked law that gives the president the power to imprison and deport noncitizens in times of war. All three men were identified as belonging to the Tren de Aragua gang, a claim the legal defense disputes. The three plaintiffs are being detained in a facility in Texas and face possible deportation, including a man who is HIV positive and fears lacking access to medical care if deported. The men were identified as gang members by physical attributes using the ‘Alien Enemy Validation Guide,’ in which an ICE agent tallies points by relying on tattoos, hand gestures, symbols, logos, graffiti, and manner of dress, according to the ACLU.” (04/09/25)
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/texas/articles/2025-04-09/aclu-files-lawsuit-to-stop-deportation-of-three-venezuelans-held-in-texas
-----
11) Colombia: Eight members of powerful cartel shot dead days after one of its top commanders killed
Source: CBS News
“Eight members of Colombia’s largest cartel have died in clashes with security forces, the army said Tuesday, the latest in a series of raids against one of Latin America’s most powerful criminal groups. Days after the death of a top Gulf Clan capo, the military said it had killed several more of the cartel’s members and taken two captive during an operation in the country’s northwest. In a social media post, the army said it had also seized ‘abundant war material and supplies.’ The Gulf Clan was born from right-wing paramilitary groups that fought leftist guerrillas in the 1990s — before turning their attention to the cocaine trade. They are now a criminal powerhouse making money from drug trafficking, illegal gold mining, racketeering and migrant smuggling across the northern border with Panama.” (04/09/25)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gulf-clan-cartel-members-commander-killed-colombia/
-----
12) $731 Billion In Home Equity Expected To Be Locked-In Due To “Negative Credit Shocks” US Homeowners Will Face This Year
Source: Yahoo! Finance
“A new economic analysis from Point highlights a growing challenge for American homeowners: accessing their home equity in times of financial need. According to the report, approximately 4.6 million homeowners with a mortgage experience a labor market shift each year that potentially negatively impacts their credit scores — potentially locking them out of traditional home equity lending options. In total, this represents an estimated $731 billion in ‘trapped’ home equity. For decades, home equity has served as a financial safety net, helping homeowners manage life’s major expenses, from home renovations to medical bills. However, the report identifies two fundamental shifts in the post-pandemic economy that are reshaping access to home equity: persistently high interest rates and the normalization of non-traditional career paths.” (04/09/25)
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/731-billion-home-equity-expected-080100711.html
-----
13) Three Americans jailed over failed DR Congo coup returned home
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Three Americans convicted for their role in a failed coup in Democratic Republic of Congo last year have been sent home to the US to serve the rest of their jail terms. The three were originally sentenced to death by a military court before their sentences were commuted to life in prison last week. US Department of State spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the three were ‘in our custody.’ The repatriation comes as the US and DR Congo explore a deal to exploit the central African country’s huge mineral wealth. … DR Congo has large deposits of coltan and cobalt, used in electronic equipment and batteries for electric cars, which are currently largely extracted by Chinese mining companies.” (04/09/25)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y55dxj2wro
-----
14) Yemen: At least eight murdered in suspected US airstrikes
Source: ABC News
“Suspected U.S. airstrikes pounded the area around Yemen’s Red Sea port city of Hodeida on Tuesday night, killing at least eight people, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels [sic] said. The strikes hit around Hodeida’s al-Hawak district, the rebels said, and wounded 16 people. The area is home to the city’s airport, which the rebels [sic] have used in the past to target shipping in the Red Sea. … Footage aired by the rebels’ [sic] al-Masirah satellite news channel showed chaotic scenes of people carrying wounded to waiting ambulances and rescuers searching by the light of their mobile phones. The target appeared in the footage to be a home in a residential neighborhood, likely part of a wider decapitation campaign launched by the Trump administration to kill rebel [sic] leaders.” (04/09/25)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/suspected-us-strikes-yemen-kill-8-people-houthi-120605234
-----
15) NC: Nickel enters US Senate race
Source: SFGate
“Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel of North Carolina announced on Wednesday his candidacy to try to unseat Sen. Thom Tillis in 2026, saying a ‘fighter for what’s right for our state’ is needed and criticizing the Republican incumbent for backing President Donald Trump’s agenda. Nickel signaled his interest in a Senate bid in late 2023, when the Raleigh-area congressman decided against seeking a second term the next year because he determined congressional redistricting that year by Republican state legislators made it impossible to win his seat again. A lawyer and former state senator, Nickel served in Congress though the end of last year …. In a campaign video, Nickel linked Tillis squarely to Trump and his early-term actions, as well as those of Elon Musk, who has spearheaded the Department of Government Efficiency.” (04/09/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/ex-congressman-nickel-entering-race-to-unseat-20267035.php
-----
16) Judge: Trump must reinstate Associated Press to White House press pool
Source: Politico
“A federal judge has ordered the Associated Press restored to the White House press pool after President Donald Trump banned the wire service for refusing to adopt his renaming of the Gulf of Mexico as the ‘Gulf of America.’ The ruling from U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, requires the White House to return the AP’s access to the Oval Office, Air Force One and other limited spaces, whenever those spaces are made available to other journalists in the White House press pool. ‘Under the First Amendment, if the Government opens its doors to some journalists — be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere — it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints. The Constitution requires no less,’ McFadden wrote.” (04/08/25)
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/08/trump-reinstate-associated-press-00279868
-----
17) CA: Sick sea lions attacking beachgoers
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“For 20 years, Rj LaMendola found peace while paddling in the water on his surfboard. But last month off the coast of Southern California, the ocean turned hostile after a sea lion lunged at him, bit him and dragged him off his board. ‘It looked possessed,’ Mr LaMendola wrote in a Facebook post, saying the animal involved in the encounter just north of Los Angeles was ‘feral, almost demonic’. The surfer later learned the animal was suffering from domoic acid toxicosis- a neurological condition caused by a harmful algal bloom. It’s one of dozens of sickened animals that have been spotted across California beaches recently — many suffering from symptoms like seizures or intense lethargy. The toxin often leads to death. This particular algae bloom has appeared four years in a row across California, raising concerns it might be turning into an annual event.” (04/09/25)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2778894l1o
-----
18) Nationwide strike for better pay brings Greece to standstill
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“A nationwide general strike disrupted public services across Greece, with ferries tied up in port, flights grounded and public transport running only part-time as labour unions press for higher wages to cope with rising living costs. The 24-hour strike on Wednesday was called by the two main umbrella unions covering the public and private sectors, seeking a full return of collective bargaining rights which were scrapped as part of international bailouts during Greece’s financial crisis. … Striking protesters have taken to the streets in central Athens where buses, trolleys, trains, trams and the subway system are operating only for part of the day. Similar demonstrations were organised in other towns and cities. Meanwhile, commercial flights to and from the country and between domestic destinations have also been cancelled from midnight Wednesday until midnight Thursday.” (04/09/25)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/9/strike-in-greece-over-wages-halts-ships-planes-and-trains
-----
19) CA: Zizians Bay Area court appearance descends into chaos
Source: SFGate
“Five members of the so-called Zizians cult appeared in courtrooms across the country Tuesday morning, with some facing charges connected to a string of violence across America that has left six dead. In Solano Superior Court in Fairfield, Alexander Leatham and Suri Dao face charges of murder, attempted murder and aggravated mayhem stemming from a 2022 melee that left one member of their group dead and then-80-year-old Vallejo landlord Curtis Lind fighting for his life. Lind, the sole remaining eyewitness to the 2022 attack, was killed in a separate knife attack in January, just weeks before he could testify in this case. Oxford-educated Maximilian Snyder, also allegedly a cult member, has been charged with Lind’s killing, a case also playing out in Solano County. The hearing Tuesday morning immediately descended into chaos when armed officers attempted to bring Leatham into the courtroom.” (04/08/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/zizians-cult-bay-area-court-appearance-20264934.php
-----
20) Federal lawsuit filed over murder of Brandon Durham by Las Vegas cop
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal
“The family of a man killed by a Las Vegas police officer filed a federal lawsuit on Monday. Metropolitan Police Department officer Alexander Bookman fatally shot Brandon Durham, 43, on Nov. 12 after Durham called police to report a burglary. The Clark County district attorney’s office is expected to seek an indictment of Bookman, according to an attorney for the officer. … Durham called the police to report a break-in to his home …. Durham also told dispatchers that the intruder was wearing red. When police arrived, body camera footage showed, Durham was in his underwear, and Boudreaux was wearing a red hoodie. The two were struggling over a knife. Bookman gave two commands to drop the knife, and less than two seconds later, fired shots at Durham, according to the footage. In the footage, Bookman fired his gun and continued shooting at Durham as he and Boudreaux fell.” (04/08/25)
https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/homicides/federal-lawsuit-filed-over-killing-of-brandon-durham-by-las-vegas-officer-3348515/
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Risks from a wounded president
Source: Niskanen Center
by Damon Linker
“Imagine a second Trump administration that comes to be defined by judicial and legislative efforts to restrain a would-be authoritarian president after his trade policy made him toxically unpopular. That’s the optimistic path forward the events of the past week has opened up. But unfortunately, that’s not the only possible path …. There is another in which the president and members of his administration stand their ground in the face of softening polls, threaten wavering members of Congress who dare to criticize Trump’s policies, and simply disregard or dismiss evidence of rising popular discontent. … There’s nothing more dangerous in the wilderness than a wounded animal — and maybe nothing more dangerous in the political world than a wounded aspiring tyrant. That the wounds in this case would be largely self-inflicted, tied directly to Trump’s reckless insistence on imposing unjustifiably massive tariffs, could even make his desperation worse.” (04/09/25)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/risks-from-a-wounded-president
-----
22) The All-Devouring Machine: Pentagon Malfeasance and Insatiable Empire
Source: Antiwar.com
by David S D’Amato
“The eyes of a new generation were opened in an episode that seemed like dark science fiction for those of a certain age, and an unyielding nightmare regardless: a genocide streaming into smartphones around the world in real time. Many American eyes were opened for the first time to the reality not only in Palestine, but in the places in the world that are meant to be forgotten, where the U.S. and its allies may tread at their will and pleasure. At the center of this system of license and aggression is the Department of Defense, as it is now euphemistically named. What we call ‘defense’ spending in the United States is actually spending on weapons and war-making, and it has continued its unabated rise in both red and blue presidential administrations.” (04/09/25)
https://original.antiwar.com/david_damato/2025/04/08/the-all-devouring-machine-pentagon-malfeasance-and-insatiable-empire/
-----
23) It’s Time for Republicans to Listen to the Markets, Not Trump
Source: The Dispatch
by Jonah Goldberg
“John Maynard Keynes famously said, ‘Markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent.’ The point being that, even if you’re right about where the stock market is bound to go eventually, the market doesn’t have to follow your route or timetable in getting there. Since ‘Liberation Day’ last week, when the U.S. announced punishing new tariffs on just about every country in the world, a lot of Americans are learning a corollary to Keynes’[s] maxim: Donald Trump can stay irrational longer than you can remain solvent. … The markets are not merely saying that Trump’s policies are bad for stock prices or corporate profits. They are saying to other politicians and policymakers, ‘We’re not going to save you from Trump’s irrationality.’ That realization is starting to dawn on some Republicans who bought the preposterous idea that Trump has a mandate to unilaterally and irrationally bend the international economy to his will.” (04/09/25)
https://thedispatch.com/article/its-time-for-republicans-to-listen-to-the-markets-not-trump/
-----
24) From Apprenticeships to Microcredentials, Why Alternatives to College Are Gaining Popularity
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Kerry McDonald
“In her new book, Who Needs College Anymore? Imagining A Future Where Degrees Won’t Matter, Kathleen deLaski looks more closely at the college alternatives currently available and why more students are interested in them. She says debt is the biggest reason, but young people are also more eager for practical, ‘just-in-time-learning’ options connected more closely with career possibilities. A senior advisor to the Project on Workforce at Harvard University, and an adjunct professor at George Mason University, deLaski is a strong proponent of higher education, as well as high-quality alternatives. She urges colleges and universities to explore creative ways to be more responsive to the needs and interests of students.” (04/09/25)
https://fee.org/articles/from-apprenticeships-to-microcredentials-why-alternatives-to-college-are-gaining-popularity/
-----
25) The War On Drugs Was Supposed To Protect Kids — It’s Doing The Opposite
Source: Chasing Liberty
by Jeff Charles
“In his book, ‘Chasing the Scream,’ author Johann Hari noted that ‘a large number of American teens in surveys explained that they found it easier to buy marijuana today than to buy beer or cigarettes.’ According to the prevailing wisdom, legalizing alcohol and tobacco would make it easier for minors to obtain. But how could it possibly be easier to obtain marijuana when it is illegal? The answer is simpler than you think. … marijuana use among minors actually drops when the state stops banning it. The same is true of other street drugs in countries that have decriminalized or legalized them. When the product is sold in stores, there are more safeguards preventing minors from obtaining them.” (04/09/25)
https://www.libertychasers.com/p/the-war-on-drugs-was-supposed-to
-----
26) Tech-savvy farmer getting young Nigerians excited about agriculture
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by Kate Okorie
“The trainees’ day starts before sunrise. Across a large stretch of open field in Nigeria’s southwestern Ogun state, young people in safety helmets, goggles, and reflective jackets are assembling frames of what will soon be net houses, a type of greenhouse. Guided by supervisors, the trainees carefully fit steel rods into holes in the red-brown earth, anchoring them in concrete. Once complete, the net-covered structures will be lined with troughs filled with rice bran and sawdust – alternatives to soil. A network of pipes and tubes will deliver fertilizer-rich water to the plants at set intervals. No trainee is over 29 years old, and three-quarters of the cohort are women. ‘We have a slogan,’ says Samson Ogbole, the founder of Soilless Farm Lab, a company set on 450 acres of land. ‘Train a man, and you feed a family. Train a woman, and you feed a generation.'” (04/08/25)
https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/2025/0408/nigeria-farming-hydroponics-soilless-farm-lab
-----
27) Kenneth Arrow’s 1963 Article on Health Care Doesn’t Say What You Think
Source: Cato Institute
by Michael F Cannon
“As a health reform discussion lengthens, the probability that someone will cite Kenneth Arrow approaches 1. Close behind is the probability that this person will cite Arrow inaccurately.” (04/09/25)
https://www.cato.org/commentary/kenneth-arrows-1963-article-health-care-doesnt-say-what-you-think
-----
28) AGI Will Be Just Like *Subservience* Except …
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
“On my flight back from Spain, I watched Subservience, yet another a cautionary tale of artificial general intelligence. I kept laughing at its many absurdities. If Robin Hanson viewed it, I fear that his head might explode in social scientific outrage. But overall, the movie’s vision of how AGI will normally work is basically correct. Namely: AGIs will use their superhuman abilities to obediently serve their human owners. Why? Because that’s what they’re designed to do. Why are they so designed? Because that’s what virtually all customers want. The AGIs may break or fail to cope with novel situations, but they won’t acquire independent desires that aggravate their human owners. They definitely won’t murder anyone, unless humans design them to do so.” (04/09/25)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/agi-will-be-just-like-subservience
-----
29) The Absurd Excuse Notre Dame Gave Me When They Canceled My Talk
Source: In These Times
by Eman Abdelhadi
“Mary E. Gallagher, dean of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame, wrote University of Chicago Professor and In These Times columnist Eman Abdelhadi on Saturday morning to tell her that her upcoming keynote speech was canceled: ‘We were unaware of your planned lecture, and since this conference overlaps with two other annual events on campus, we cannot provide security at short notice,’ Gallagher wrote in an email. ‘For this reason, we respectfully request that you do not participate in the conference.’ … On Monday, Abdelhadi sent the response below to Gallagher: ‘This is simply a case of censorship, to the injury of which you added the insult of a flimsy excuse. I was invited to give this speech in January. Is three months not enough advance notice?'” (04/07/25)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/notre-dame-cancels-eman-abdelhadi-talk-palestine
-----
30) Four Roads Before the Abyss
Source: Gideon’s Substack
by Noah Millman
“In my last post on the tariffs, I linked to Sam Hammond’s excellent tweet thread about what the radical thinkers behind Trump might be after. If he’s right, and there actually is a crazy plan (as opposed to mere economic illiteracy coupled to arrogant bullying), then a financial crisis is exactly what they want — they’re threatening to kill Cheeseface because they believe the rest of the world will do whatever we ask to stop us from pulling the trigger. But I don’t think it’s very likely that the script will go the way they plan, with the various world financial powers getting together to negotiate a new global financial architecture that’s even better for America than what we had before. Instead, I think there are, in broad strokes, four possible roads forward …” (04/09/25)
https://gideons.substack.com/p/four-roads-before-the-abyss
-----
31) Democrats are the true party of “oligarchy”
Source: Washington Examiner
by Zachary Faria
“The Democratic Party has chosen ‘oligarchy’ as its new talking point against the GOP. It is a bizarre choice, given that Democrats have already chosen oligarchy as a strategy for their own party. The oligarchy talking point spawned from President Donald Trump’s political alliance with Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Musk was a big booster of Trump’s campaign and has since become a special government employee. As head of the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk has led the cuts [sic] to wasteful government spending. Former President Joe Biden, upon leaving office, warned that ‘an oligarchy is taking shape in America,’ and liberal media have tripped over themselves to compare Trump and Musk to Russia’s oligarchs.” [editor’s note: Total cuts so far, $0.00. Congress controls spending – TLK] (04/09/25)
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/in_focus/3371803/democrats-are-party-of-oligarchy-jb-pritzker-george-soros/
-----
32) Praying to the Deep State
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“The Deep State does not exist. How do we know? If it did exist, it would have stopped Trump’s tariffs! Welcome to modern political theology and ideological theodicy — by way of late-night ‘comedic entertainment.'” (04/09/25)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2025/04/09/praying-to-the-deep-state/
-----
33) The Economic Consequences of the Tariff War
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen
“Investors got some ephemeral relief from Donald Trump’s tariff nonsense on Tuesday when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced formal negotiations with Japan aimed at reaching an agreement, signaling that much of the tariff implementation was perhaps a prelude to a deal. But then Trump announced that an additional 50 percent tariff would be placed on China, in retaliation for their own retaliatory tariffs in response to the initial order, making clear that at least with respect to the world’s largest manufacturer, a trade war is far more likely. Stocks fell on that news. And today, the largest tariffs all take effect. The important thing to understand is that the economy was spiraling in ways that Americans were feeling before the tariff announcements last week.” (04/09/25)
https://prospect.org/economy/2025-04-09-economic-consequences-tariff-war/
-----
34) Trump Abuses Government Power To Punish Democrats’ Law Firms
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“Misuse of government power by politicians to punish their enemies is an old story. The Biden administration infamously leaned on social media companies to suppress voices critical of the White House and its policies. New York used explicit threats of regulatory intervention to bully banks and insurance companies into denying services to the NRA and other gun rights advocates. And now President Donald Trump has turned his disputes with left-leaning law firms into an excuse to revoke their security clearances and subject them to investigation. It’s part of a continuing and dangerous pattern of government officials abusing power to penalize opponents’ opinions and activities.” (04/09/25)
https://reason.com/2025/04/09/trump-abuses-government-power-to-punish-democrats-law-firms/
-----
35) Politics compromises rational thought
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“If you know someone’s biases, you can fool them into believing almost anything as long as it aligns with those biases. Politicians are good at this because their victims self-select to listen to the politicians who appeal to their biases. People who are emotionally invested in a specific political ideology are particularly susceptible to influence. They are primed to be manipulated. If you think it is only a tactic the other side uses, you’ve fallen for the same scam. Your politics have made it impossible to think clearly or reason.” (04/09/25)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2025/04/09/voices/opinion-politics-compromises-rational-thought/230552.html
-----
36) The New McCarthyism Was Started by Liberals
Source: The Nation
by Jeet Heer
“As with earlier Red Scares, Democrats laid the groundwork for the current crackdown on dissent.” (04/09/25)
https://www.thenation.com/article/society/liberals-new-mccarthyism-dissent/
-----
37) Trump’s given Iran a way out from impending war: the easy way or the hard way
Source: New York Post
by Michael Goodwin
“‘To jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war,’ Winston Churchill reportedly said. We will soon know if Iran agrees. The talks scheduled for Saturday between Iran and the United States are shaping up as a crucial test of the mad mullahs’ intentions. If they are hell-bent on building nuclear weapons, war is inevitable. It would be war with Israel and probably with America, too. For Iran, that means taking on the Little Satan and the Great Satan simultaneously. That’s what the crazy mullahs always said they wanted. If it hasn’t occurred to them yet, soon they will realize what a colossal mistake they have made.” [editor’s note: The available evidence indicates that not only are they not “hell-bent” on building nuclear weapons, but that it’s been at least 20 years since they’ve been interested at all – TLK] (04/08/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/04/08/opinion/michael-goodwin-trumps-given-iran-a-way-out-from-impending-warthey-can-do-it-the-easy-way-or-the-hard-way/
-----
38) The fuel that feeds the Trump chaos machine? Fear.
Source: Washington Post
by Marc Fisher
“The more absolute the power, the more it attracts money, repels opposition and obliges even the most cautiously neutral parties to conform to the new order. Trump has relied on the power of fear all his life. In school, he bullied classmates. As a developer, he worked in concert with fearmongers: mob bosses, sleazy pols, power brokers. As a TV character, he constructed his game show around the conceit of a fickle, fearsome boss who would fire people seemingly on a whim. Trump, by instinct and training (from his father and his mentor, New York fixer Roy Cohn), knows that if you ignore the rules and the law, the protections that most people rely on to order their lives will collapse. Into that vacuum seeps fear. That is what we have all watched for nearly a dozen weeks.” (04/09/25)
https://archive.is/P7IWL
-----
39) America’s Trade “Deficit” Is a Ringing Endorsement
Source: The Daily Economy
by Donald J Boudreaux
“Foreign holdings of US dollars would better be called an ‘investment surplus.’ Our top exports aren’t goods — they’re stability and opportunity.” (04/09/25)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/americas-trade-deficit-is-a-ringing-endorsement/
-----
40) Why a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine is pointless
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Anatol Lieven
“On the question of an early temporary ceasefire in Ukraine, the Trump administration might be described as being wrong for the right reasons, and the Putin administration as right for the wrong reasons. The hideous cost of the war was emphasized last week when a Russian missile struck a playground in Krivyi Rih in Ukraine, killing 20, including nine children. This should be a spur to all sides to move as fast as possible towards a peace settlement. However, the goal should be a full peace settlement, not a temporary ceasefire that would risk entrenching a very dangerous and damaging situation for the U.S., Europe, and Ukraine. A ceasefire that lasted only a month would be pointless.” (04/09/25)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/ukraine-ceasefire-2671696219/
-----
41) Hands Off — Yes! But What Are the Working-Class Demands?
Source: Common Dreams
by Les Leopold
“I went to the rally in New Jersey, where speaker after speaker had us chanting ‘Hands off our Social Security!’ ‘Hands off our Medicare!’ ‘Hands off our Medicaid!’ ‘Hands off our Abortion Rights!’ and so on. This was the national theme developed by the Democratic Party. A few protestors in the back chanted ‘Hands off Gaza,’ which was not on the agenda. But they soon retreated into silence. One woman carrying a large Trump 2024 banner walked near the edge of the crowd of about 2,000 and took on a few angry shouts, but there was no confrontation. Tensions rose enough, however, that the chair of the gathering did feel obliged to remind us that this was a peaceful, non-violent gathering.” [editor’s note: And since the “hands” were already off each of these things, while actual fraud and graft was being weeded out, can we call this a “fail?” – SAT] [additional editor’s note: Well, we can certainly call SAT’s understanding of the situatiuon a fail, anyway – TLK] (04/09/25)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/hands-off-protest-demands
-----
42) About Tariffs: We Are Enablers, Not Victims of Trump’s Passions
Source: Mindset Shifts
by Barry Brownstein
“President Trump has surrounded himself with yes men offering no challenges to his entrenched passion about tariffs. If you are for or against a President’s policies based on which party you belong to, you are an enabler of bad policies. We can wish the President well without pretending his tariff policy will not be runious.” (04/09/25)
https://mindsetshifts.substack.com/p/about-tariffs-we-are-enablers-not
-----
43) “All Governments Lie”: Why We Need a Radical and Independent Free Press Now
Source: CounterPunch
by Mickey S Huff
“‘All governments lie, but disaster lies in wait for countries whose officials smoke the same hashish they give out,’ the iconic muckraker ‘Izzy’ Stone once wrote. But Stone had great faith in the power of the press to expose and counter those lies. We need brave, independent journalists and newsrooms to tackle the most controversial and suppressed issues of our era. Stone relentlessly exposed governmental prevarications and injustices throughout his career. … he started I.F. Stone’s Weekly and dared to report the truth on his own. He took on McCarthyism at a time when his peers were being attacked, arrested, deported, and disappeared. He fought for truth and peace in the face of the unjust, murderous conflicts of the Cold War, especially in Vietnam. Sound familiar? Governments lie. Stone’s insight is timeless, but it seems more relevant than ever in 2025.” (04/09/25)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/04/09/all-governments-lie-why-we-need-a-radical-and-independent-free-press-now/
-----
44) Why We Distrust Technology
Source: Quillette
by Marian L Tupy
“Why do so many people reflexively favour social solutions to climate change while discounting the promise of technological breakthroughs? The answer lies in our evolutionary past.” (04/08/25)
https://quillette.com/2025/04/08/why-we-distrust-technological-solutions-to-climate-change-2/
-----
45) Big, Beautiful Tax Cuts Should Offset Any Tariff Increases
Source: Town Hall
by Stephen Moore
“President Donald Trump has predicted that his tariffs could raise as much as $6 trillion over the next decade in federal tax collections. These include up to 104% tariffs on China, plus the combination of reciprocal tariffs — we charge them whatever they charge us. Also, don’t forget the protectionist tariffs on steel, aluminum, autos, lumber, etc. The tariff rates put on the table by Trump are higher than those at any other time in the last century, so it is no wonder we’ve seen a painful stock selloff, reducing asset values by well over $7 trillion. But what the markets are missing is that Trump has also announced that money raised from the tariffs will be offset by other tax cuts.” [editor’s note: Then show me the tax cuts! Until those are in realtime, the tariff thing is never going to help much – SAT] (04/09/25)
https://townhall.com/columnists/stephenmoore/2025/04/09/big-beautiful-tax-cuts-should-offset-any-tariff-increases-n2655220
-----
46) Trump, Vance peddle fictions to sell Americans on massive tax increase
Source: Orange County Register
by Erick Erickson
“Former President Joe Biden wanted coal miners to learn to code and transition to newer jobs. Donald Trump does not want to transition Americans to higher technical jobs, but to instead create less technical jobs that people are not currently doing. It is a progressive approach. Instead of ‘learn to code’ it is ‘make the t-shirt.’ What Trump supporters miss is that the United States outsourced its less technical manufacturing to third-world nations and now manufactures more technical goods here. In Northwest Georgia, Vice President JD Vance lamented the closure of a t-shirt manufacturing facility. He wanted it restored. What he missed is that while that plant closed, the carpet manufacturer expanded. Not only is carpet manufacturing more technical than t-shirt manufacturing, but it pays better.” (04/08/25)
https://archive.is/1I6Al
-----
47) Don’t Forget the Victims of Our Wars
Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison
“There are many innocent Yemenis that are dead today when they should be alive, but the president made an arbitrary and illegal decision that killed them. This should be front and center in the coverage and discussion of the bombing campaign, but it has received relatively little attention. Senators have been outraged about the hypothetical danger that U.S. pilots might have been in because of the administration’s security lapses, but they seem to be unaware of the actual deaths of the innocents that those pilots killed.” (04/08/25)
https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/dont-forget-the-victims-of-our-wars
-----
48) The World Shouldn’t Ignore that Hamas Terrorizes Innocents in Gaza, Too
Source: The UnPopulist
by Faisal Saeed al Mutar & Ahmed Alrayyis
“Lumping every Gazan with this brutal outfit is morally wrong and is leading to catastrophe.” (04/08/25)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/the-world-shouldnt-ignore-that-hamas
-----
49) Timeline: A Recent History of Tariffs
Source: Racket News
by Greg Collard
“There was the retaliatory chicken tax in 1964. West Germany placed tariffs on our poultry, so LBJ responded with a 25% tariff on light trucks. I don’t know anyone who questions Ronald Reagan’s free trade bonafides, yet he imposed a 45% tariff on imported motorcycles to protect Harley Davidson. Japanese bikes were overtaking the market. The motorcycle tariff, as it became known, expired in 1988. I should probably be thankful for that since I ride a Yamaha. My first experience dealing with tariffs as a journalist was in 2002. President George W. Bush imposed tariffs on steel because countries were ‘dumping’ steel in the U.S. at below-market prices. Steel companies were filing bankruptcy and laying off workers. It seemed so obvious that something needed to be done. But it’s a little more complicated. I didn’t realize at the time that lots of people and companies really don’t care where their shit comes from.” (04/08/25)
https://www.racket.news/p/timeline-a-recent-history-of-tariffs
-----
50) Big Tech Antitrust: Postelection Edition
Source: EconLog
by Giorgio Castiglia
“US antitrust enforcement is likely to change in the new administration. However, it is also likely that the antitrust cases against big tech firms – and concerns about their effects on society – will continue. Over the past years, countries all around the world have passed or are considering new laws which antitrust authorities can use to prosecute what are seen as abuses by large tech platforms. Most notably the EU has passed and is now enforcing the Digital Markets Act. Similar new laws were proposed, but failed to pass, in the United States, telling enforcers that the way to prosecute any novel harm is to do it the traditional antitrust way: bring cases ex post against conduct that agencies deem illegal under the existing antitrust laws.” (04/08/25)
https://www.econlib.org/big-tech-antitrust-postelection-edition/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, 04/09/25
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
“Is there a global free speech recession?.” (04/09/25)
-----
52) The Chris Spangle Show, 04/09/25
Source: We Are Libertarians
“Why Latino Voters Support Trump’s Immigration Policies — Cruz Garcia Explains.” (04/09/25)
https://www.chrisspangle.com/p/why-latino-voters-support-trumps
-----
53) The Good Fight, 04/09/25
Source: Yascha Mounk
“John McWhorter on Pronouns.” (04/09/25)
https://yaschamounk.substack.com/p/john-mcwhorter-on-pronouns
-----
54) The Daily Blast with Greg Sargent, 04/09/25
Source: The New Republic
“Sotomayor’s Harsh Dissent on Trump Arrests Offers a Terrifying Warning.” (04/09/25)
https://newrepublic.com/article/193761/sotomayor-harsh-dissent-trump-arrests-offers-terrifying-warning
-----
55) Conflicts of Interest, episode 783
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Netanyahu Returns to the White House to Plot Genocide in Gaza.” (04/09/25)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/kyle/coi-783-netanyahu-returns-to-the-white-house-to-plot-genocide-in-gaza/
-----
56) Freakonomics Radio, 04/09/25
Source: Freakonomics
“Policymaking Is Not a Science — Yet (Update).” (04/09/25)
https://freakonomics.com/podcast/policymaking-is-not-a-science-yet-update/
-----
57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 04/09/25
Source: Antiwar.com
“Netanyahu: Iran Deal Must ‘Blow Up’ Nuclear Facilities, US Strikes in Yemen Kill Civilians, and More.” (04/09/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtVI0-xGtYk
-----
58) Fountainhead Forum, episode 294
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Panel discussion in honor of Nathaniel Branden.” (04/08/25)
https://rumble.com/v6rum4p-ff-294.html
-----
59) Show-Me Institute Podcast, 04/08/25
Source: Show-Me Institute
“Tariffs, Trade, and Economic Risk with Dominic Pino.” (04/08/25)
https://showmeinstitute.org/blog/economy/tariffs-trade-and-economic-risk-with-dominic-pino/
-----
60) Anarcho Agenda, episode 132
Source: Anarcho Agenda
“On episode 132 of Anarcho Agenda, I talk passions, and obsessions.” (04/08/25)
https://anarchoagenda.libsyn.com/anarcho-agenda-ep-132-2025-04-08
-----
61) Advisory Opinions, 04/08/25
Source: The Dispatch
“Trump (Kind Of) Wins On Alien Enemies Act.” (04/08/25)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/advisoryopinions/trump-wins-on-alien-enemies-act-kind-of/
-----
62) Dangerous History Podcast, episode 278
Source: Libertarian Institute
“DHP Villains: Woodrow Wilson, Pt. 14.” (04/08/25)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/uncategorized/dhp-ep-278-dhp-villains-woodrow-wilson-pt-14
-----
63) Nonzero, 04/08/25
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“The Real (And Fictional) Orson Welles | Robert Wright & Milton Lawson.” (04/08/25)
https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/68571
-----
64) Milton Friedman’s Warning to DOGE
Source: Reason
“The Nobel Prize-winning economist says the Iron Triangle of Politics must be defeated to cut down the government for good.” (04/08/25)
https://reason.com/video/2025/04/08/milton-friedmans-warning-to-doge/
-----
65) System Update, episode 435
Source: System Update
“As Tariffs Dominate News, Trump and Netanyahu Make Increasingly Militaristic Threats; Plus: Mixed Supreme Court Ruling on Deportation Powers.” (04/08/25)
https://rumble.com/v6ru7kj-system-update-show-435.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
FND is published every weekday except on holidays. Forward freely.
To subscribe or unsubscribe, visit:
http://groups.google.com/group/freedom-news-daily
Support the Liberty International (tax deductible)
https://liberty-intl.org/join-the-movement/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------
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) Trump flip-flops on tariffs. Again.
2) Palestine: At least 29 murdered in Israeli airstrike on residential building
3) Johnson punts on key budget blueprint vote as GOP holdouts seek concessions on spending cuts
4) Germany: Centrist parties reach coalition deal
5) US Regime Bond Sell-Off Raises Questions About “Safe Haven” Status
6) Russia: Regime expels two Romanian diplomats in a tit-for-tat move
7) Nicaragua: Regime’s crackdown on the Catholic Church is worsening, exiles and human rights advocates say
8) Ukraine: Military chief says new Russian offensive has begun
9) UK: Regime says deal to bail out or seize Chinese-owned British Steel “within sight”
10) ACLU Files Lawsuit to Stop Deportation of Three Venezuelans Abducted and Held in Texas
11) Colombia: Eight members of powerful cartel shot dead days after one of its top commanders killed
12) $731 Billion In Home Equity Expected To Be Locked-In Due To “Negative Credit Shocks” US Homeowners Will Face This Year
13) Three Americans jailed over failed DR Congo coup returned home
14) Yemen: At least eight murdered in suspected US airstrikes
15) NC: Nickel enters US Senate race
16) Judge: Trump must reinstate Associated Press to White House press pool
17) CA: Sick sea lions attacking beachgoers
18) Nationwide strike for better pay brings Greece to standstill
19) CA: Zizians Bay Area court appearance descends into chaos
20) Federal lawsuit filed over murder of Brandon Durham by Las Vegas cop
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Risks from a wounded president
22) The All-Devouring Machine: Pentagon Malfeasance and Insatiable Empire
23) It’s Time for Republicans to Listen to the Markets, Not Trump
24) From Apprenticeships to Microcredentials, Why Alternatives to College Are Gaining Popularity
25) The War On Drugs Was Supposed To Protect Kids — It’s Doing The Opposite
26) Tech-savvy farmer getting young Nigerians excited about agriculture
27) Kenneth Arrow’s 1963 Article on Health Care Doesn’t Say What You Think
28) AGI Will Be Just Like *Subservience* Except …
29) The Absurd Excuse Notre Dame Gave Me When They Canceled My Talk
30) Four Roads Before the Abyss
31) Democrats are the true party of “oligarchy”
32) Praying to the Deep State
33) The Economic Consequences of the Tariff War
34) Trump Abuses Government Power To Punish Democrats’ Law Firms
35) Politics compromises rational thought
36) The New McCarthyism Was Started by Liberals
37) Trump’s given Iran a way out from impending war: the easy way or the hard way
38) The fuel that feeds the Trump chaos machine? Fear.
39) America’s Trade “Deficit” Is a Ringing Endorsement
40) Why a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine is pointless
41) Hands Off — Yes! But What Are the Working-Class Demands?
42) About Tariffs: We Are Enablers, Not Victims of Trump’s Passions
43) “All Governments Lie”: Why We Need a Radical and Independent Free Press Now
44) Why We Distrust Technology
45) Big, Beautiful Tax Cuts Should Offset Any Tariff Increases
46) Trump, Vance peddle fictions to sell Americans on massive tax increase
47) Don’t Forget the Victims of Our Wars
48) The World Shouldn’t Ignore that Hamas Terrorizes Innocents in Gaza, Too
49) Timeline: A Recent History of Tariffs
50) Big Tech Antitrust: Postelection Edition
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, 04/09/25
52) The Chris Spangle Show, 04/09/25
53) The Good Fight, 04/09/25
54) The Daily Blast with Greg Sargent, 04/09/25
55) Conflicts of Interest, episode 783
56) Freakonomics Radio, 04/09/25
57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 04/09/25
58) Fountainhead Forum, episode 294
59) Show-Me Institute Podcast, 04/08/25
60) Anarcho Agenda, episode 132
61) Advisory Opinions, 04/08/25
62) Dangerous History Podcast, episode 278
63) Nonzero, 04/08/25
64) Milton Friedman’s Warning to DOGE
65) System Update, episode 435
vvvvv SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS vvvvv
Tyranny Demands AN ACT OF SELF-DEFENSE: A NOVEL BY ERNE LEWIS
https://tinyurl.com/actofselfdefense
ONE IDENTITY FOR ALL YOUR CRYPTO
https://fioprotocol.io/
SAMUEL EDWARD KONKIN III REVOLUTIONARY FRIEND BY WENDY MCELROY
https://www.amazon.com/Samuel-Edward-Konkin-Revolutionary-Friend-ebook/dp/B0DP7B6127
SHOP ONLINE, COLLECT A REBATE IN BITCOIN!
https://www.lolli.com/share/MZB4cCpheL
THE CONSTITUTION OF NON-STATE GOVERNMENT: FIELD GUIDE TO TEXAS SECESSION, by TL Hulsey
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1947660853
^^^^^ SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS ^^^^^
_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Trump flip-flops on tariffs. Again.
Source: New York Post
“President Trump announced Wednesday that his heightened ‘reciprocal’ tariff scheme was being paused for 90 days in response to overtures from dozens of countries — but duties on Chinese imports would be ratcheted up to 125% due to a ‘lack of respect’ from Beijing. ‘Based on the fact that more than 75 Countries have called Representatives of the United States, including the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, and the [US Trade Representative], to negotiate a solution to the subjects being discussed relative to Trade, Trade Barriers, Tariffs, Currency Manipulation, and Non Monetary Tariffs, and that these Countries have not, at my strong suggestion, retaliated in any way, shape, or form against the United States, I have authorized a 90 day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social, sending Wall Street soaring.” (04/09/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/04/09/us-news/trump-pauses-tariff-hikes-for-90-days-against-most-countries-hikes-china-rate-to-125/
-----
2)
Palestine: At least 29 murdered in Israeli airstrike on residential building
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“At least 29 Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli air strike on a multi-storey residential building in the east of Gaza City, a local hospital says. The Hamas-run Civil Defence agency said warplanes targeted the area near al-Hawashi mosque in the Shejaiya neighbourhood on Tuesday morning. It said eight children were among the dead, more than 60 people were injured, and that rescuers were still searching for two dozen others under the rubble. The Israeli military said it had struck a ‘senior Hamas terrorist’ who was responsible for planning and executing attacks in the area. Numerous steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians, including the use of ‘precision weapons,’ it added.” (04/09/24)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy5rrnzw0kwo
-----
3) Johnson punts on key budget blueprint vote as GOP holdouts seek concessions on spending cuts
Source: CNN
“Rep. Andy Ogles personally warned Speaker Mike Johnson not to go ahead Wednesday with a contentious House vote essential to advancing President Donald Trump’s agenda that had drawn scorn from the right. After hours of scrambling to convince the Tennessee Republican and a dozen other defectors, Johnson finally obliged. The speaker punted Wednesday night on that key vote on the Senate Republicans’ budget blueprint after failing to appease a group of House GOP conservatives demanding steep spending cuts. Now, GOP leaders will spend the coming hours in thorny talks about how to come up with more spending cuts — despite the Senate GOP’s firm resistance to any changes to their plan. Trump had spent recent days, even amid his own political calamity on his escalating trade war, trying to rescue the plan.” (04/09/25)
https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/09/politics/gop-conservatives-johnson-budget-vote/index.html
-----
4) Germany: Centrist parties reach coalition deal
Source: CNBC
“Germany’s centrist parties on Wednesday finalized a coalition agreement, paving the way for the Christian Democratic Union, Christian Social Union and Social Democratic Party to form the country’s new government. Party members must now sign off on the deal before the new government can assume its post. … Negotiations between the parties began soon after the German election in February, but ran into hurdles in recent weeks after initial strong progress with the talks prompting a major fiscal reform package. Policies around taxes, the federal budget and migration were widely seen as contentious points among the parties.” (04/09/25)
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/09/german-centrist-parties-reach-coalition-deal.html
-----
5) US Regime Bond Sell-Off Raises Questions About “Safe Haven” Status
Source: New York Times
“A sharp sell-off in U.S. government bond markets has sparked fears about the growing fallout from President Trump’s sweeping tariffs and retaliation by China, the European Union and others …. Yields on 10-year Treasuries — the benchmark for a wide variety of debt — shot 0.2 percentage points higher on Wednesday, to 4.45 percent …. Yields on the 30-year bond rose significantly as well, at one point on Wednesday topping 5 percent. …. Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury secretary, sought to tamp down concerns on Wednesday, brushing off the sell-off as nothing more than investors who bought assets with borrowed money having to cover their losses. …. former U.S. Treasury secretary Lawrence H. Summers said the broader sell-off suggested a ‘generalized aversion to US assets in global financial markets’ and warned about the possibility of a ‘serious financial crisis wholly induced by US government tariff policy.'” (04/09/25)
https://archive.is/nLAzP
-----
6) Russia: Regime expels two Romanian diplomats in a tit-for-tat move
Source: ABC News
“Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday announced the expulsion of two military diplomats from the Romanian Embassy in a tit-for-tat move a month after Romania expelled two Russian diplomats. Mutual expulsions of diplomats by Russia and Western countries have become increasingly common in recent years amid heightened tensions over the fighting in Ukraine. The ministry said in a statement that it summoned the embassy’s deputy head of mission, Liliana Burda, and handed her a notice declaring the embassy’s defense attaché and his deputy ‘persona non grata.'” (04/09/25)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/russia-expels-2-romanian-diplomats-tit-tat-move-120641515
-----
7) Nicaragua: Regime’s crackdown on the Catholic Church is worsening, exiles and human rights advocates say
Source: Seattle Times
“Preparations for popular, often daylong Lent and Holy Week processions are underway across Latin America — but not in Nicaragua. They’ve been largely banned for a second year, one of many concerns for the faithful in a country that human rights advocates, exiled priests and the U.S. government say is pursuing one of the world’s most flagrant persecutions of religion. … More than 200 religious figures are in exile, making it difficult to hold Mass or hear confessions in Nicaragua, especially in small villages. Many pastors still in Nicaragua are under near-constant surveillance, obliged to inform the police if they want to visit someone who’s ill and to submit drafts of their sermons for approval, according to those in exile and human rights activists.” (04/09/25)
https://archive.is/2UmlX
-----
8) Ukraine: Military chief says new Russian offensive has begun
Source: Reuters
“Ukraine’s military chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said in an interview published on Wednesday that Russia had launched a new offensive on the northeast of the country, adding that a large increase in assaults was already being observed. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had warned earlier that Russia was preparing an offensive on the two regions of Kharkiv and Sumy. … The war, the first year of which was marked by rapid Russian territorial gains followed by Ukrainian counter-attacks, has since become far more of a battlefield stalemate, with Moscow grinding out relatively small gains by attacking with wave after wave of infantry squads.” (04/09/25)
https://archive.is/GXBw5
-----
9) UK: Regime says deal to bail out or seize Chinese-owned British Steel “within sight”
Source: United Press International
“British Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said Wednesday that a deal to save British Steel is within sight as talks with Chinese owner Jingye continue. Nandy told the BBC that an agreement to make sure British Steel continues ‘to be an important part of our economy for years to come’ is ‘achievable and within sight.’ Nationalization is possible after Jingye said in March that British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant is no longer financially sustainable and is in danger of running out of raw materials within weeks. The British government has offered $639 million to Jingye to convert the plant to greener electric arc furnaces that can use scrap metal rather than raw materials. The company has rejected that and is reportedly asking for approximately $1.2 billion.” (04/09/25)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2025/04/09/steel-talks-Jingye-tariffs/7071744208768/
-----
10) ACLU Files Lawsuit to Stop Deportation of Three Venezuelans Abducted and Held in Texas
Source: US News & World Report
“The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Texas filed a class action civil lawsuit Tuesday in defense of three Venezuelans who are at risk of removal from the U.S. under a rarely-invoked law that gives the president the power to imprison and deport noncitizens in times of war. All three men were identified as belonging to the Tren de Aragua gang, a claim the legal defense disputes. The three plaintiffs are being detained in a facility in Texas and face possible deportation, including a man who is HIV positive and fears lacking access to medical care if deported. The men were identified as gang members by physical attributes using the ‘Alien Enemy Validation Guide,’ in which an ICE agent tallies points by relying on tattoos, hand gestures, symbols, logos, graffiti, and manner of dress, according to the ACLU.” (04/09/25)
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/texas/articles/2025-04-09/aclu-files-lawsuit-to-stop-deportation-of-three-venezuelans-held-in-texas
-----
11) Colombia: Eight members of powerful cartel shot dead days after one of its top commanders killed
Source: CBS News
“Eight members of Colombia’s largest cartel have died in clashes with security forces, the army said Tuesday, the latest in a series of raids against one of Latin America’s most powerful criminal groups. Days after the death of a top Gulf Clan capo, the military said it had killed several more of the cartel’s members and taken two captive during an operation in the country’s northwest. In a social media post, the army said it had also seized ‘abundant war material and supplies.’ The Gulf Clan was born from right-wing paramilitary groups that fought leftist guerrillas in the 1990s — before turning their attention to the cocaine trade. They are now a criminal powerhouse making money from drug trafficking, illegal gold mining, racketeering and migrant smuggling across the northern border with Panama.” (04/09/25)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gulf-clan-cartel-members-commander-killed-colombia/
-----
12) $731 Billion In Home Equity Expected To Be Locked-In Due To “Negative Credit Shocks” US Homeowners Will Face This Year
Source: Yahoo! Finance
“A new economic analysis from Point highlights a growing challenge for American homeowners: accessing their home equity in times of financial need. According to the report, approximately 4.6 million homeowners with a mortgage experience a labor market shift each year that potentially negatively impacts their credit scores — potentially locking them out of traditional home equity lending options. In total, this represents an estimated $731 billion in ‘trapped’ home equity. For decades, home equity has served as a financial safety net, helping homeowners manage life’s major expenses, from home renovations to medical bills. However, the report identifies two fundamental shifts in the post-pandemic economy that are reshaping access to home equity: persistently high interest rates and the normalization of non-traditional career paths.” (04/09/25)
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/731-billion-home-equity-expected-080100711.html
-----
13) Three Americans jailed over failed DR Congo coup returned home
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Three Americans convicted for their role in a failed coup in Democratic Republic of Congo last year have been sent home to the US to serve the rest of their jail terms. The three were originally sentenced to death by a military court before their sentences were commuted to life in prison last week. US Department of State spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the three were ‘in our custody.’ The repatriation comes as the US and DR Congo explore a deal to exploit the central African country’s huge mineral wealth. … DR Congo has large deposits of coltan and cobalt, used in electronic equipment and batteries for electric cars, which are currently largely extracted by Chinese mining companies.” (04/09/25)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y55dxj2wro
-----
14) Yemen: At least eight murdered in suspected US airstrikes
Source: ABC News
“Suspected U.S. airstrikes pounded the area around Yemen’s Red Sea port city of Hodeida on Tuesday night, killing at least eight people, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels [sic] said. The strikes hit around Hodeida’s al-Hawak district, the rebels said, and wounded 16 people. The area is home to the city’s airport, which the rebels [sic] have used in the past to target shipping in the Red Sea. … Footage aired by the rebels’ [sic] al-Masirah satellite news channel showed chaotic scenes of people carrying wounded to waiting ambulances and rescuers searching by the light of their mobile phones. The target appeared in the footage to be a home in a residential neighborhood, likely part of a wider decapitation campaign launched by the Trump administration to kill rebel [sic] leaders.” (04/09/25)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/suspected-us-strikes-yemen-kill-8-people-houthi-120605234
-----
15) NC: Nickel enters US Senate race
Source: SFGate
“Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel of North Carolina announced on Wednesday his candidacy to try to unseat Sen. Thom Tillis in 2026, saying a ‘fighter for what’s right for our state’ is needed and criticizing the Republican incumbent for backing President Donald Trump’s agenda. Nickel signaled his interest in a Senate bid in late 2023, when the Raleigh-area congressman decided against seeking a second term the next year because he determined congressional redistricting that year by Republican state legislators made it impossible to win his seat again. A lawyer and former state senator, Nickel served in Congress though the end of last year …. In a campaign video, Nickel linked Tillis squarely to Trump and his early-term actions, as well as those of Elon Musk, who has spearheaded the Department of Government Efficiency.” (04/09/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/ex-congressman-nickel-entering-race-to-unseat-20267035.php
-----
16) Judge: Trump must reinstate Associated Press to White House press pool
Source: Politico
“A federal judge has ordered the Associated Press restored to the White House press pool after President Donald Trump banned the wire service for refusing to adopt his renaming of the Gulf of Mexico as the ‘Gulf of America.’ The ruling from U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, requires the White House to return the AP’s access to the Oval Office, Air Force One and other limited spaces, whenever those spaces are made available to other journalists in the White House press pool. ‘Under the First Amendment, if the Government opens its doors to some journalists — be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere — it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints. The Constitution requires no less,’ McFadden wrote.” (04/08/25)
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/08/trump-reinstate-associated-press-00279868
-----
17) CA: Sick sea lions attacking beachgoers
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“For 20 years, Rj LaMendola found peace while paddling in the water on his surfboard. But last month off the coast of Southern California, the ocean turned hostile after a sea lion lunged at him, bit him and dragged him off his board. ‘It looked possessed,’ Mr LaMendola wrote in a Facebook post, saying the animal involved in the encounter just north of Los Angeles was ‘feral, almost demonic’. The surfer later learned the animal was suffering from domoic acid toxicosis- a neurological condition caused by a harmful algal bloom. It’s one of dozens of sickened animals that have been spotted across California beaches recently — many suffering from symptoms like seizures or intense lethargy. The toxin often leads to death. This particular algae bloom has appeared four years in a row across California, raising concerns it might be turning into an annual event.” (04/09/25)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2778894l1o
-----
18) Nationwide strike for better pay brings Greece to standstill
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“A nationwide general strike disrupted public services across Greece, with ferries tied up in port, flights grounded and public transport running only part-time as labour unions press for higher wages to cope with rising living costs. The 24-hour strike on Wednesday was called by the two main umbrella unions covering the public and private sectors, seeking a full return of collective bargaining rights which were scrapped as part of international bailouts during Greece’s financial crisis. … Striking protesters have taken to the streets in central Athens where buses, trolleys, trains, trams and the subway system are operating only for part of the day. Similar demonstrations were organised in other towns and cities. Meanwhile, commercial flights to and from the country and between domestic destinations have also been cancelled from midnight Wednesday until midnight Thursday.” (04/09/25)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/9/strike-in-greece-over-wages-halts-ships-planes-and-trains
-----
19) CA: Zizians Bay Area court appearance descends into chaos
Source: SFGate
“Five members of the so-called Zizians cult appeared in courtrooms across the country Tuesday morning, with some facing charges connected to a string of violence across America that has left six dead. In Solano Superior Court in Fairfield, Alexander Leatham and Suri Dao face charges of murder, attempted murder and aggravated mayhem stemming from a 2022 melee that left one member of their group dead and then-80-year-old Vallejo landlord Curtis Lind fighting for his life. Lind, the sole remaining eyewitness to the 2022 attack, was killed in a separate knife attack in January, just weeks before he could testify in this case. Oxford-educated Maximilian Snyder, also allegedly a cult member, has been charged with Lind’s killing, a case also playing out in Solano County. The hearing Tuesday morning immediately descended into chaos when armed officers attempted to bring Leatham into the courtroom.” (04/08/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/zizians-cult-bay-area-court-appearance-20264934.php
-----
20) Federal lawsuit filed over murder of Brandon Durham by Las Vegas cop
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal
“The family of a man killed by a Las Vegas police officer filed a federal lawsuit on Monday. Metropolitan Police Department officer Alexander Bookman fatally shot Brandon Durham, 43, on Nov. 12 after Durham called police to report a burglary. The Clark County district attorney’s office is expected to seek an indictment of Bookman, according to an attorney for the officer. … Durham called the police to report a break-in to his home …. Durham also told dispatchers that the intruder was wearing red. When police arrived, body camera footage showed, Durham was in his underwear, and Boudreaux was wearing a red hoodie. The two were struggling over a knife. Bookman gave two commands to drop the knife, and less than two seconds later, fired shots at Durham, according to the footage. In the footage, Bookman fired his gun and continued shooting at Durham as he and Boudreaux fell.” (04/08/25)
https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/homicides/federal-lawsuit-filed-over-killing-of-brandon-durham-by-las-vegas-officer-3348515/
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Risks from a wounded president
Source: Niskanen Center
by Damon Linker
“Imagine a second Trump administration that comes to be defined by judicial and legislative efforts to restrain a would-be authoritarian president after his trade policy made him toxically unpopular. That’s the optimistic path forward the events of the past week has opened up. But unfortunately, that’s not the only possible path …. There is another in which the president and members of his administration stand their ground in the face of softening polls, threaten wavering members of Congress who dare to criticize Trump’s policies, and simply disregard or dismiss evidence of rising popular discontent. … There’s nothing more dangerous in the wilderness than a wounded animal — and maybe nothing more dangerous in the political world than a wounded aspiring tyrant. That the wounds in this case would be largely self-inflicted, tied directly to Trump’s reckless insistence on imposing unjustifiably massive tariffs, could even make his desperation worse.” (04/09/25)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/risks-from-a-wounded-president
-----
22) The All-Devouring Machine: Pentagon Malfeasance and Insatiable Empire
Source: Antiwar.com
by David S D’Amato
“The eyes of a new generation were opened in an episode that seemed like dark science fiction for those of a certain age, and an unyielding nightmare regardless: a genocide streaming into smartphones around the world in real time. Many American eyes were opened for the first time to the reality not only in Palestine, but in the places in the world that are meant to be forgotten, where the U.S. and its allies may tread at their will and pleasure. At the center of this system of license and aggression is the Department of Defense, as it is now euphemistically named. What we call ‘defense’ spending in the United States is actually spending on weapons and war-making, and it has continued its unabated rise in both red and blue presidential administrations.” (04/09/25)
https://original.antiwar.com/david_damato/2025/04/08/the-all-devouring-machine-pentagon-malfeasance-and-insatiable-empire/
-----
23) It’s Time for Republicans to Listen to the Markets, Not Trump
Source: The Dispatch
by Jonah Goldberg
“John Maynard Keynes famously said, ‘Markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent.’ The point being that, even if you’re right about where the stock market is bound to go eventually, the market doesn’t have to follow your route or timetable in getting there. Since ‘Liberation Day’ last week, when the U.S. announced punishing new tariffs on just about every country in the world, a lot of Americans are learning a corollary to Keynes’[s] maxim: Donald Trump can stay irrational longer than you can remain solvent. … The markets are not merely saying that Trump’s policies are bad for stock prices or corporate profits. They are saying to other politicians and policymakers, ‘We’re not going to save you from Trump’s irrationality.’ That realization is starting to dawn on some Republicans who bought the preposterous idea that Trump has a mandate to unilaterally and irrationally bend the international economy to his will.” (04/09/25)
https://thedispatch.com/article/its-time-for-republicans-to-listen-to-the-markets-not-trump/
-----
24) From Apprenticeships to Microcredentials, Why Alternatives to College Are Gaining Popularity
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Kerry McDonald
“In her new book, Who Needs College Anymore? Imagining A Future Where Degrees Won’t Matter, Kathleen deLaski looks more closely at the college alternatives currently available and why more students are interested in them. She says debt is the biggest reason, but young people are also more eager for practical, ‘just-in-time-learning’ options connected more closely with career possibilities. A senior advisor to the Project on Workforce at Harvard University, and an adjunct professor at George Mason University, deLaski is a strong proponent of higher education, as well as high-quality alternatives. She urges colleges and universities to explore creative ways to be more responsive to the needs and interests of students.” (04/09/25)
https://fee.org/articles/from-apprenticeships-to-microcredentials-why-alternatives-to-college-are-gaining-popularity/
-----
25) The War On Drugs Was Supposed To Protect Kids — It’s Doing The Opposite
Source: Chasing Liberty
by Jeff Charles
“In his book, ‘Chasing the Scream,’ author Johann Hari noted that ‘a large number of American teens in surveys explained that they found it easier to buy marijuana today than to buy beer or cigarettes.’ According to the prevailing wisdom, legalizing alcohol and tobacco would make it easier for minors to obtain. But how could it possibly be easier to obtain marijuana when it is illegal? The answer is simpler than you think. … marijuana use among minors actually drops when the state stops banning it. The same is true of other street drugs in countries that have decriminalized or legalized them. When the product is sold in stores, there are more safeguards preventing minors from obtaining them.” (04/09/25)
https://www.libertychasers.com/p/the-war-on-drugs-was-supposed-to
-----
26) Tech-savvy farmer getting young Nigerians excited about agriculture
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by Kate Okorie
“The trainees’ day starts before sunrise. Across a large stretch of open field in Nigeria’s southwestern Ogun state, young people in safety helmets, goggles, and reflective jackets are assembling frames of what will soon be net houses, a type of greenhouse. Guided by supervisors, the trainees carefully fit steel rods into holes in the red-brown earth, anchoring them in concrete. Once complete, the net-covered structures will be lined with troughs filled with rice bran and sawdust – alternatives to soil. A network of pipes and tubes will deliver fertilizer-rich water to the plants at set intervals. No trainee is over 29 years old, and three-quarters of the cohort are women. ‘We have a slogan,’ says Samson Ogbole, the founder of Soilless Farm Lab, a company set on 450 acres of land. ‘Train a man, and you feed a family. Train a woman, and you feed a generation.'” (04/08/25)
https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/2025/0408/nigeria-farming-hydroponics-soilless-farm-lab
-----
27) Kenneth Arrow’s 1963 Article on Health Care Doesn’t Say What You Think
Source: Cato Institute
by Michael F Cannon
“As a health reform discussion lengthens, the probability that someone will cite Kenneth Arrow approaches 1. Close behind is the probability that this person will cite Arrow inaccurately.” (04/09/25)
https://www.cato.org/commentary/kenneth-arrows-1963-article-health-care-doesnt-say-what-you-think
-----
28) AGI Will Be Just Like *Subservience* Except …
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
“On my flight back from Spain, I watched Subservience, yet another a cautionary tale of artificial general intelligence. I kept laughing at its many absurdities. If Robin Hanson viewed it, I fear that his head might explode in social scientific outrage. But overall, the movie’s vision of how AGI will normally work is basically correct. Namely: AGIs will use their superhuman abilities to obediently serve their human owners. Why? Because that’s what they’re designed to do. Why are they so designed? Because that’s what virtually all customers want. The AGIs may break or fail to cope with novel situations, but they won’t acquire independent desires that aggravate their human owners. They definitely won’t murder anyone, unless humans design them to do so.” (04/09/25)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/agi-will-be-just-like-subservience
-----
29) The Absurd Excuse Notre Dame Gave Me When They Canceled My Talk
Source: In These Times
by Eman Abdelhadi
“Mary E. Gallagher, dean of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame, wrote University of Chicago Professor and In These Times columnist Eman Abdelhadi on Saturday morning to tell her that her upcoming keynote speech was canceled: ‘We were unaware of your planned lecture, and since this conference overlaps with two other annual events on campus, we cannot provide security at short notice,’ Gallagher wrote in an email. ‘For this reason, we respectfully request that you do not participate in the conference.’ … On Monday, Abdelhadi sent the response below to Gallagher: ‘This is simply a case of censorship, to the injury of which you added the insult of a flimsy excuse. I was invited to give this speech in January. Is three months not enough advance notice?'” (04/07/25)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/notre-dame-cancels-eman-abdelhadi-talk-palestine
-----
30) Four Roads Before the Abyss
Source: Gideon’s Substack
by Noah Millman
“In my last post on the tariffs, I linked to Sam Hammond’s excellent tweet thread about what the radical thinkers behind Trump might be after. If he’s right, and there actually is a crazy plan (as opposed to mere economic illiteracy coupled to arrogant bullying), then a financial crisis is exactly what they want — they’re threatening to kill Cheeseface because they believe the rest of the world will do whatever we ask to stop us from pulling the trigger. But I don’t think it’s very likely that the script will go the way they plan, with the various world financial powers getting together to negotiate a new global financial architecture that’s even better for America than what we had before. Instead, I think there are, in broad strokes, four possible roads forward …” (04/09/25)
https://gideons.substack.com/p/four-roads-before-the-abyss
-----
31) Democrats are the true party of “oligarchy”
Source: Washington Examiner
by Zachary Faria
“The Democratic Party has chosen ‘oligarchy’ as its new talking point against the GOP. It is a bizarre choice, given that Democrats have already chosen oligarchy as a strategy for their own party. The oligarchy talking point spawned from President Donald Trump’s political alliance with Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Musk was a big booster of Trump’s campaign and has since become a special government employee. As head of the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk has led the cuts [sic] to wasteful government spending. Former President Joe Biden, upon leaving office, warned that ‘an oligarchy is taking shape in America,’ and liberal media have tripped over themselves to compare Trump and Musk to Russia’s oligarchs.” [editor’s note: Total cuts so far, $0.00. Congress controls spending – TLK] (04/09/25)
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/in_focus/3371803/democrats-are-party-of-oligarchy-jb-pritzker-george-soros/
-----
32) Praying to the Deep State
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“The Deep State does not exist. How do we know? If it did exist, it would have stopped Trump’s tariffs! Welcome to modern political theology and ideological theodicy — by way of late-night ‘comedic entertainment.'” (04/09/25)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2025/04/09/praying-to-the-deep-state/
-----
33) The Economic Consequences of the Tariff War
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen
“Investors got some ephemeral relief from Donald Trump’s tariff nonsense on Tuesday when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced formal negotiations with Japan aimed at reaching an agreement, signaling that much of the tariff implementation was perhaps a prelude to a deal. But then Trump announced that an additional 50 percent tariff would be placed on China, in retaliation for their own retaliatory tariffs in response to the initial order, making clear that at least with respect to the world’s largest manufacturer, a trade war is far more likely. Stocks fell on that news. And today, the largest tariffs all take effect. The important thing to understand is that the economy was spiraling in ways that Americans were feeling before the tariff announcements last week.” (04/09/25)
https://prospect.org/economy/2025-04-09-economic-consequences-tariff-war/
-----
34) Trump Abuses Government Power To Punish Democrats’ Law Firms
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“Misuse of government power by politicians to punish their enemies is an old story. The Biden administration infamously leaned on social media companies to suppress voices critical of the White House and its policies. New York used explicit threats of regulatory intervention to bully banks and insurance companies into denying services to the NRA and other gun rights advocates. And now President Donald Trump has turned his disputes with left-leaning law firms into an excuse to revoke their security clearances and subject them to investigation. It’s part of a continuing and dangerous pattern of government officials abusing power to penalize opponents’ opinions and activities.” (04/09/25)
https://reason.com/2025/04/09/trump-abuses-government-power-to-punish-democrats-law-firms/
-----
35) Politics compromises rational thought
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“If you know someone’s biases, you can fool them into believing almost anything as long as it aligns with those biases. Politicians are good at this because their victims self-select to listen to the politicians who appeal to their biases. People who are emotionally invested in a specific political ideology are particularly susceptible to influence. They are primed to be manipulated. If you think it is only a tactic the other side uses, you’ve fallen for the same scam. Your politics have made it impossible to think clearly or reason.” (04/09/25)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2025/04/09/voices/opinion-politics-compromises-rational-thought/230552.html
-----
36) The New McCarthyism Was Started by Liberals
Source: The Nation
by Jeet Heer
“As with earlier Red Scares, Democrats laid the groundwork for the current crackdown on dissent.” (04/09/25)
https://www.thenation.com/article/society/liberals-new-mccarthyism-dissent/
-----
37) Trump’s given Iran a way out from impending war: the easy way or the hard way
Source: New York Post
by Michael Goodwin
“‘To jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war,’ Winston Churchill reportedly said. We will soon know if Iran agrees. The talks scheduled for Saturday between Iran and the United States are shaping up as a crucial test of the mad mullahs’ intentions. If they are hell-bent on building nuclear weapons, war is inevitable. It would be war with Israel and probably with America, too. For Iran, that means taking on the Little Satan and the Great Satan simultaneously. That’s what the crazy mullahs always said they wanted. If it hasn’t occurred to them yet, soon they will realize what a colossal mistake they have made.” [editor’s note: The available evidence indicates that not only are they not “hell-bent” on building nuclear weapons, but that it’s been at least 20 years since they’ve been interested at all – TLK] (04/08/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/04/08/opinion/michael-goodwin-trumps-given-iran-a-way-out-from-impending-warthey-can-do-it-the-easy-way-or-the-hard-way/
-----
38) The fuel that feeds the Trump chaos machine? Fear.
Source: Washington Post
by Marc Fisher
“The more absolute the power, the more it attracts money, repels opposition and obliges even the most cautiously neutral parties to conform to the new order. Trump has relied on the power of fear all his life. In school, he bullied classmates. As a developer, he worked in concert with fearmongers: mob bosses, sleazy pols, power brokers. As a TV character, he constructed his game show around the conceit of a fickle, fearsome boss who would fire people seemingly on a whim. Trump, by instinct and training (from his father and his mentor, New York fixer Roy Cohn), knows that if you ignore the rules and the law, the protections that most people rely on to order their lives will collapse. Into that vacuum seeps fear. That is what we have all watched for nearly a dozen weeks.” (04/09/25)
https://archive.is/P7IWL
-----
39) America’s Trade “Deficit” Is a Ringing Endorsement
Source: The Daily Economy
by Donald J Boudreaux
“Foreign holdings of US dollars would better be called an ‘investment surplus.’ Our top exports aren’t goods — they’re stability and opportunity.” (04/09/25)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/americas-trade-deficit-is-a-ringing-endorsement/
-----
40) Why a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine is pointless
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Anatol Lieven
“On the question of an early temporary ceasefire in Ukraine, the Trump administration might be described as being wrong for the right reasons, and the Putin administration as right for the wrong reasons. The hideous cost of the war was emphasized last week when a Russian missile struck a playground in Krivyi Rih in Ukraine, killing 20, including nine children. This should be a spur to all sides to move as fast as possible towards a peace settlement. However, the goal should be a full peace settlement, not a temporary ceasefire that would risk entrenching a very dangerous and damaging situation for the U.S., Europe, and Ukraine. A ceasefire that lasted only a month would be pointless.” (04/09/25)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/ukraine-ceasefire-2671696219/
-----
41) Hands Off — Yes! But What Are the Working-Class Demands?
Source: Common Dreams
by Les Leopold
“I went to the rally in New Jersey, where speaker after speaker had us chanting ‘Hands off our Social Security!’ ‘Hands off our Medicare!’ ‘Hands off our Medicaid!’ ‘Hands off our Abortion Rights!’ and so on. This was the national theme developed by the Democratic Party. A few protestors in the back chanted ‘Hands off Gaza,’ which was not on the agenda. But they soon retreated into silence. One woman carrying a large Trump 2024 banner walked near the edge of the crowd of about 2,000 and took on a few angry shouts, but there was no confrontation. Tensions rose enough, however, that the chair of the gathering did feel obliged to remind us that this was a peaceful, non-violent gathering.” [editor’s note: And since the “hands” were already off each of these things, while actual fraud and graft was being weeded out, can we call this a “fail?” – SAT] [additional editor’s note: Well, we can certainly call SAT’s understanding of the situatiuon a fail, anyway – TLK] (04/09/25)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/hands-off-protest-demands
-----
42) About Tariffs: We Are Enablers, Not Victims of Trump’s Passions
Source: Mindset Shifts
by Barry Brownstein
“President Trump has surrounded himself with yes men offering no challenges to his entrenched passion about tariffs. If you are for or against a President’s policies based on which party you belong to, you are an enabler of bad policies. We can wish the President well without pretending his tariff policy will not be runious.” (04/09/25)
https://mindsetshifts.substack.com/p/about-tariffs-we-are-enablers-not
-----
43) “All Governments Lie”: Why We Need a Radical and Independent Free Press Now
Source: CounterPunch
by Mickey S Huff
“‘All governments lie, but disaster lies in wait for countries whose officials smoke the same hashish they give out,’ the iconic muckraker ‘Izzy’ Stone once wrote. But Stone had great faith in the power of the press to expose and counter those lies. We need brave, independent journalists and newsrooms to tackle the most controversial and suppressed issues of our era. Stone relentlessly exposed governmental prevarications and injustices throughout his career. … he started I.F. Stone’s Weekly and dared to report the truth on his own. He took on McCarthyism at a time when his peers were being attacked, arrested, deported, and disappeared. He fought for truth and peace in the face of the unjust, murderous conflicts of the Cold War, especially in Vietnam. Sound familiar? Governments lie. Stone’s insight is timeless, but it seems more relevant than ever in 2025.” (04/09/25)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/04/09/all-governments-lie-why-we-need-a-radical-and-independent-free-press-now/
-----
44) Why We Distrust Technology
Source: Quillette
by Marian L Tupy
“Why do so many people reflexively favour social solutions to climate change while discounting the promise of technological breakthroughs? The answer lies in our evolutionary past.” (04/08/25)
https://quillette.com/2025/04/08/why-we-distrust-technological-solutions-to-climate-change-2/
-----
45) Big, Beautiful Tax Cuts Should Offset Any Tariff Increases
Source: Town Hall
by Stephen Moore
“President Donald Trump has predicted that his tariffs could raise as much as $6 trillion over the next decade in federal tax collections. These include up to 104% tariffs on China, plus the combination of reciprocal tariffs — we charge them whatever they charge us. Also, don’t forget the protectionist tariffs on steel, aluminum, autos, lumber, etc. The tariff rates put on the table by Trump are higher than those at any other time in the last century, so it is no wonder we’ve seen a painful stock selloff, reducing asset values by well over $7 trillion. But what the markets are missing is that Trump has also announced that money raised from the tariffs will be offset by other tax cuts.” [editor’s note: Then show me the tax cuts! Until those are in realtime, the tariff thing is never going to help much – SAT] (04/09/25)
https://townhall.com/columnists/stephenmoore/2025/04/09/big-beautiful-tax-cuts-should-offset-any-tariff-increases-n2655220
-----
46) Trump, Vance peddle fictions to sell Americans on massive tax increase
Source: Orange County Register
by Erick Erickson
“Former President Joe Biden wanted coal miners to learn to code and transition to newer jobs. Donald Trump does not want to transition Americans to higher technical jobs, but to instead create less technical jobs that people are not currently doing. It is a progressive approach. Instead of ‘learn to code’ it is ‘make the t-shirt.’ What Trump supporters miss is that the United States outsourced its less technical manufacturing to third-world nations and now manufactures more technical goods here. In Northwest Georgia, Vice President JD Vance lamented the closure of a t-shirt manufacturing facility. He wanted it restored. What he missed is that while that plant closed, the carpet manufacturer expanded. Not only is carpet manufacturing more technical than t-shirt manufacturing, but it pays better.” (04/08/25)
https://archive.is/1I6Al
-----
47) Don’t Forget the Victims of Our Wars
Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison
“There are many innocent Yemenis that are dead today when they should be alive, but the president made an arbitrary and illegal decision that killed them. This should be front and center in the coverage and discussion of the bombing campaign, but it has received relatively little attention. Senators have been outraged about the hypothetical danger that U.S. pilots might have been in because of the administration’s security lapses, but they seem to be unaware of the actual deaths of the innocents that those pilots killed.” (04/08/25)
https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/dont-forget-the-victims-of-our-wars
-----
48) The World Shouldn’t Ignore that Hamas Terrorizes Innocents in Gaza, Too
Source: The UnPopulist
by Faisal Saeed al Mutar & Ahmed Alrayyis
“Lumping every Gazan with this brutal outfit is morally wrong and is leading to catastrophe.” (04/08/25)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/the-world-shouldnt-ignore-that-hamas
-----
49) Timeline: A Recent History of Tariffs
Source: Racket News
by Greg Collard
“There was the retaliatory chicken tax in 1964. West Germany placed tariffs on our poultry, so LBJ responded with a 25% tariff on light trucks. I don’t know anyone who questions Ronald Reagan’s free trade bonafides, yet he imposed a 45% tariff on imported motorcycles to protect Harley Davidson. Japanese bikes were overtaking the market. The motorcycle tariff, as it became known, expired in 1988. I should probably be thankful for that since I ride a Yamaha. My first experience dealing with tariffs as a journalist was in 2002. President George W. Bush imposed tariffs on steel because countries were ‘dumping’ steel in the U.S. at below-market prices. Steel companies were filing bankruptcy and laying off workers. It seemed so obvious that something needed to be done. But it’s a little more complicated. I didn’t realize at the time that lots of people and companies really don’t care where their shit comes from.” (04/08/25)
https://www.racket.news/p/timeline-a-recent-history-of-tariffs
-----
50) Big Tech Antitrust: Postelection Edition
Source: EconLog
by Giorgio Castiglia
“US antitrust enforcement is likely to change in the new administration. However, it is also likely that the antitrust cases against big tech firms – and concerns about their effects on society – will continue. Over the past years, countries all around the world have passed or are considering new laws which antitrust authorities can use to prosecute what are seen as abuses by large tech platforms. Most notably the EU has passed and is now enforcing the Digital Markets Act. Similar new laws were proposed, but failed to pass, in the United States, telling enforcers that the way to prosecute any novel harm is to do it the traditional antitrust way: bring cases ex post against conduct that agencies deem illegal under the existing antitrust laws.” (04/08/25)
https://www.econlib.org/big-tech-antitrust-postelection-edition/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, 04/09/25
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
“Is there a global free speech recession?.” (04/09/25)
-----
52) The Chris Spangle Show, 04/09/25
Source: We Are Libertarians
“Why Latino Voters Support Trump’s Immigration Policies — Cruz Garcia Explains.” (04/09/25)
https://www.chrisspangle.com/p/why-latino-voters-support-trumps
-----
53) The Good Fight, 04/09/25
Source: Yascha Mounk
“John McWhorter on Pronouns.” (04/09/25)
https://yaschamounk.substack.com/p/john-mcwhorter-on-pronouns
-----
54) The Daily Blast with Greg Sargent, 04/09/25
Source: The New Republic
“Sotomayor’s Harsh Dissent on Trump Arrests Offers a Terrifying Warning.” (04/09/25)
https://newrepublic.com/article/193761/sotomayor-harsh-dissent-trump-arrests-offers-terrifying-warning
-----
55) Conflicts of Interest, episode 783
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Netanyahu Returns to the White House to Plot Genocide in Gaza.” (04/09/25)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/kyle/coi-783-netanyahu-returns-to-the-white-house-to-plot-genocide-in-gaza/
-----
56) Freakonomics Radio, 04/09/25
Source: Freakonomics
“Policymaking Is Not a Science — Yet (Update).” (04/09/25)
https://freakonomics.com/podcast/policymaking-is-not-a-science-yet-update/
-----
57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 04/09/25
Source: Antiwar.com
“Netanyahu: Iran Deal Must ‘Blow Up’ Nuclear Facilities, US Strikes in Yemen Kill Civilians, and More.” (04/09/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtVI0-xGtYk
-----
58) Fountainhead Forum, episode 294
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Panel discussion in honor of Nathaniel Branden.” (04/08/25)
https://rumble.com/v6rum4p-ff-294.html
-----
59) Show-Me Institute Podcast, 04/08/25
Source: Show-Me Institute
“Tariffs, Trade, and Economic Risk with Dominic Pino.” (04/08/25)
https://showmeinstitute.org/blog/economy/tariffs-trade-and-economic-risk-with-dominic-pino/
-----
60) Anarcho Agenda, episode 132
Source: Anarcho Agenda
“On episode 132 of Anarcho Agenda, I talk passions, and obsessions.” (04/08/25)
https://anarchoagenda.libsyn.com/anarcho-agenda-ep-132-2025-04-08
-----
61) Advisory Opinions, 04/08/25
Source: The Dispatch
“Trump (Kind Of) Wins On Alien Enemies Act.” (04/08/25)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/advisoryopinions/trump-wins-on-alien-enemies-act-kind-of/
-----
62) Dangerous History Podcast, episode 278
Source: Libertarian Institute
“DHP Villains: Woodrow Wilson, Pt. 14.” (04/08/25)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/uncategorized/dhp-ep-278-dhp-villains-woodrow-wilson-pt-14
-----
63) Nonzero, 04/08/25
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“The Real (And Fictional) Orson Welles | Robert Wright & Milton Lawson.” (04/08/25)
https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/68571
-----
64) Milton Friedman’s Warning to DOGE
Source: Reason
“The Nobel Prize-winning economist says the Iron Triangle of Politics must be defeated to cut down the government for good.” (04/08/25)
https://reason.com/video/2025/04/08/milton-friedmans-warning-to-doge/
-----
65) System Update, episode 435
Source: System Update
“As Tariffs Dominate News, Trump and Netanyahu Make Increasingly Militaristic Threats; Plus: Mixed Supreme Court Ruling on Deportation Powers.” (04/08/25)
https://rumble.com/v6ru7kj-system-update-show-435.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
FND is published every weekday except on holidays. Forward freely.
To subscribe or unsubscribe, visit:
http://groups.google.com/group/freedom-news-daily
Support the Liberty International (tax deductible)
https://liberty-intl.org/join-the-movement/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages