08/06 -- US House Committee subpoenas Clintons, Epstein files; Are you ready for "Hawley Bucks?"
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Thomas L. Knapp
Aug 6, 2025, 6:25:41 AMAug 6
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 08/06/25
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Today's Freedom News:
1) US House Committee subpoenas Clintons, Epstein files
2) Ukraine: Russian Strikes Kill Two People, Injure 10 in Zaporizhzhia, Regional Governor Says
3) Trump threatens to sextuple Americans’ medicine costs
4) Moldova: Regime jails pro-Russian pol for election fraud weeks before crucial vote
5) Swedish, Norwegian, Danish regimes give $500 million to NATO project to send US weapons to Ukraine
6) Krill fishery in Antarctica shut down after record catch triggers unprecedented early closure
7) CA: Wildfire scorches 72,000 acres and threatens hundreds of structures
8) Sri Lanka: Parliament votes to fire country’s police chief over abuse of power
9) Sudan: Regime accuses UAE regime of funding Colombian mercenaries to fight alongside the RSF in civil war
10) TN: State employees kill prisoner
11) TX: Republicans vote to arrest Democrats blocking redistricting plan
12) Rwanda: Regime agrees to host 250 of US regime’s kidnapping victims
13) Trump rules out Bessent for Fed chair
14) Bangladesh: Regime to hold parliamentary elections in February 2026, interim leader Yunus says
15) Trump regime dismisses all Democrats on federal board overseeing Puerto Rico’s finances
16) CBO: Republican megabill to cost $4.1 trillion due to higher borrowing costs
17) Violent Channel migrant smuggling gang’s French & UK network exposed by undercover BBC investigation
18) Russia: Medvedev issues warning as Moscow says not bound by missile treaty
19) Lebanon: Regime pushes for army plan to disarm Hezbollah by year’s end
20) KS: Passerby subdues intruder who attacked woman
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Are you ready for “Hawley Bucks?”
22) Trump’s Tariffs Come For Your Morning Wake-Up Routine
23) Should Strong Gods Bet On GDP?
24) Pursuing Regime Change in China and Russia Is Delusional
25) Why Would Media Report on Public Broadcasting Funding and Ignore their Financial Records?
26) An inclusive Lebanon, one less gun at a time
27) In Pursuit of True Speech
28) Sorts of Deals
29) America the FUBAR: Reclaiming and Restoring America
30) The Sigmoidal Moral Value Function
31) Why I’m launching a legal war against California Democrats’ unconstitutional power grab
32) Trade-Offs in Trump’s Trade Policy
33) It’s Not Okay To Be A Grown Adult In August 2025 And Still Believe Lies About Gaza
34) Why Welfare Statists Hate People Like Wallis Annenberg
35) Academic Freedom: How Universities Lost Their Way
36) Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Imperils the Fourth Amendment Rights of US Citizens
37) Why Death Row Captures Headlines
38) The War Economy at the Border
39) Linking tariff “deals” to US security interests is harder than it looks
40) Tariffs Tanked GDP, Not Imports
41) US Must Understand: Story of Gaza Genocide Did Not Begin on October 7
42) Texas Range War
43) Here’s What Gabbard’s Russiagate Report Missed
44) The Trump administration doesn’t need to go to Brazil to find government censorship. It can look in a mirror.
45) Don’t whine about federal budget cuts, lefties; put your money where your mouths are
46) Are We Over-Medicalising Menopause?
47) Keeping AI agents under control doesn’t seem very hard
48) Why red tape holds back Mexico’s entrepreneurs
49) Surveillance at the Border
50) Data Brokers Are Ignoring Privacy Law. We Deserve Better.
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Pink Flame of Liberty, 08/05/25
52) Health Care News Podcast, episode 603
53) Trump Watch, 08/05/25
54) Capital Record, episode 249
55) The Bryan Hyde Show, 08/05/25
56) Legal Spirits, episode 69
57) Agorist Nexus Podcast,episode 175
58) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 08/05/25
59) Bulwark Takes, 08/04/25
60) System Update, episode 497
61) (Re)Imagining Liberty, episode 89
62) Declare Your Independence with Ernest Hancock 08/04/25
63) The Tom Woods Show, episode 2676
64) Washington Monthly Podcast, 08/04/25
65) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 08/04/25
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) US House Committee subpoenas Clintons, Epstein files
Source: Axios
“House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer subpoenaed multiple former government officials, including Bill and Hillary Clinton, and former FBI director James Comey — and is demanding the Justice Department release all documents related to its Jeffrey Epstein probe. Despite President Trump’s efforts to shut down questions surrounding Epstein, Democratic lawmakers have time and again forced their Republican colleagues to confront the issue. The subpoena demands the DOJ turn over all Epstein-related materials by August 19. The panel is also seeking to compel testimony from former Attorneys General Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, Merrick Garland, William Barr, Jeff Sessions, and Alberto Gonzales — as well as from former FBI director Robert Mueller.” (08/05/25)
https://archive.is/7ExHg
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2) Ukraine: Russian Strikes Kill Two People, Injure 10 in Zaporizhzhia, Regional Governor Says
Source: US News & World Report
“Russian strikes killed two people and wounded 10 others, including four children, in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, Governor Ivan Fedorov said on Wednesday. Russian forces carried out 567 attacks over the 24 hours into Wednesday morning across 16 settlements in the region, Fedorov said. Zaporizhzhia has been on the front lines of the war that Russia launched against its smaller neighbour in February 2022. At least nine buildings were damaged in the early morning strikes on the Zaporizhzhia city district alone, Fedorov said on the Telegram messaging app.” (08/06/25)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2025-08-06/russian-strikes-kill-two-people-injure-10-in-zaporizhzhia-regional-governor-says
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3) Trump threatens to sextuple Americans’ medicine costs
Source: The Hill
“President Trump on Tuesday threatened to impose tariffs of up to 250 percent on pharmaceutical imports, the highest rate he’s discussed to date. ‘We’ll be putting a, initially small tariff on pharmaceuticals,’ Trump told CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box.’ ‘But in one year, one in a half years maximum, it’s going to go to 150 percent, and then it’s going to go to 250 percent, because we want pharmaceuticals made in our country,’ Trump said. … Drug companies have said the industry is bracing for chaos in case Trump follows through on his threats. Tariffs would disrupt international supply chains, forcing companies to decide whether to pass on increased costs to patients and exacerbate existing drug shortages.” (08/05/25)
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5436846-drug-import-tariffs-trump/
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4) Moldova: Regime jails pro-Russian pol for election fraud weeks before crucial vote
Source: CNN
“A court in Moldova has sentenced a Kremlin-friendly regional politician to seven years in prison for funneling money from Russia to finance a political party. Evgenia Gutul, the leader of Gagauzia, a historically pro-Russian ethnic region in southern Moldova, was detained in March on suspicion of electoral fraud and sentenced on Tuesday. Prosecutors said that from 2019 to 2022, Gutul channeled undeclared funds into the country to finance a political party founded by Ilan Shor, Reuters reported. Shor is a pro-Russian businessman who has been convicted of fraud in Moldova and now lives in exile. Gutul’s conviction comes just weeks before Moldovans vote in a crucial parliamentary election, in which Maia Sandu, the pro-Western president of the former Soviet country, is hoping to retain her governing majority.” (08/05/25)
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/05/europe/moldova-gutul-gagauzia-russia-election-intl
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5) Swedish, Norwegian, Danish regimes give $500 million to NATO project to send US weapons to Ukraine
Source: Reuters
“weden, Norway and Denmark will contribute around $500 million to a NATO-led initiative to supply Ukraine with U.S. weapons, including Patriot missiles, to ensure it can continue to defend itself against Russia, the three countries said on Tuesday. U.S. President Donald Trump said last month the United States would supply weapons to Ukraine, paid for by European allies, but did not indicate how this would be done.” (08/05/25)
https://archive.is/dM4Bm
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6) Krill fishery in Antarctica shut down after record catch triggers unprecedented early closure
Source: Associated Press
“Officials have shut down early the remote krill fishery near Antarctica after trawling for the tiny crustacean — a vital food source for whales that also helps fight climate change — exceeded the seasonal catch limit for the first time. The unprecedented early closure of the fishery follows a report by The Associated Press last week detailing a record surge in the krill catch after a longstanding conservation framework was allowed to lapse with no plan in place to handle growing pressures in the world’s southernmost fishery. The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, or CCAMLR, the international organization that manages the fishery, declined to comment but confirmed the closure earlier this month of the 2024-25 season, which should have extended until December, after fishing hit the 620,000 metric ton limit.” (08/05/25)
https://apnews.com/article/whales-antarctica-krill-global-warming-fishing-a4525f1f68d3beca3212caa9096dde27
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7) CA: Wildfire scorches 72,000 acres and threatens hundreds of structures
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“A huge wildfire tearing through California’s Los Padres national forest is threatening hundreds of homes and structures, after injuring at least three people in the days before. The Gifford fire has already scorched more than 72,000 acres (29,000 hectares) in coastal Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, north of Los Angeles, and was still burning out of control on Tuesday morning, according to the California department of forestry and fire protection, known as Cal Fire. It is 7% contained. … The blaze is threatening more than 800 structures and has forced the closure of the highway in both directions east of Santa Maria, a city of about 110,000 people in Santa Barbara county.” (08/06/25)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/05/california-gifford-wildfire
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8) Sri Lanka: Parliament votes to fire country’s police chief over abuse of power
Source: Seattle Times
“Lawmakers in Sri Lanka voted Tuesday to fire the country’s police chief for misconduct and gross abuse of power, making him the island nation’s first inspector-general to be impeached. In the 225-member parliament, 117 lawmakers voted to fire Deshabandu Tennakoon. No one opposed, while one member abstained. The removal came after a parliament-appointed committee inquired into the allegations against him and last month released a report that found him guilty. Tennakoon, who oversaw 85,000 police officers, faced charges of sending a team of armed officers for an illegal raid in 2023 that triggered a gun battle with a separate police unit in southern Sri Lanka. One officer was killed.” (08/05/25)
https://archive.is/n2L5G
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9) Sudan: Regime accuses UAE regime of funding Colombian mercenaries to fight alongside the RSF in civil war
Source: ABC News
“Sudan has accused the United Arab Emirates of sending Colombian mercenaries to fight alongside the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces against the military in the country’s civil war. The foreign ministry said in a statement Monday that the Sudanese government has ‘irrefutable evidence’ confirming mercenaries from Colombia and some neighboring African countries were sponsored and financed by Emirati authorities. The statement didn’t share the evidence or name the neighboring countries.” (08/05/25)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/sudan-accuses-uae-funding-colombian-mercenaries-fight-alongside-124371474
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10) TN: State employees kill prisoner
Source: United Press International
“Tennessee [state employees killed] death row inmate Byron Black on Tuesday despite raised concerns about his implanted heart device, which could cause a ‘prolonged and torturous execution.’ Black, who was convicted 37 years ago for killing Angela Clay and her two daughters, 9-year-old Latoya and 6-year-old Lakeisha, was [killed] by lethal injection at 11 a.m. EDT at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. … On July 22, a judge ordered that the heart implant be removed before his execution, but Nashville hospital declined to participate.” (08/05/25)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2025/08/05/tennessee-execute-Byron-Black/8451754404879/
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11) TX: Republicans vote to arrest Democrats blocking redistricting plan
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Texas Republicans have voted for the arrest of dozens of Democratic legislators who fled the state in an attempt to block a plan to re-draw electoral boundaries. Republican Governor Greg Abbott ordered state troopers ‘to locate, arrest, and return to the House chamber any member who has abandoned their duty to Texans’. Abbott has also threatened to charge the absent Democrats with bribery if they raised public money to cover the daily fine they incur for boycotting the chamber. The re-drawn congressional map would create five more Republican-leaning seats in the US House of Representatives in Washington DC, where Republicans hold a slim majority. At least two-thirds of the 150-member state legislative body in Texas must be present to proceed with the vote. The quorum became unreachable after more than 50 Democratic lawmakers left the state.” (08/05/25)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c93dkwnx94ro
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12) Rwanda: Regime agrees to host 250 of US regime’s kidnapping victims
Source: Politico
“Rwanda has agreed to accept up to 250 migrant deportees from the U.S., making it the latest country to acquiesce to diplomatic pressure from the Trump administration to take in some of the thousands of migrants it has [abducted]. … A number of African countries have seen the Trump administration’s focus on immigration as an opportunity to build goodwill with Washington, which has not always prioritized the continent. Rwanda took the action in part to strengthen relations with the U.S., according to a second Rwandan official, granted anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic relations.” (08/05/25)
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/04/rwanda-agrees-take-migrant-deportees-00493206
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13) Trump rules out Bessent for Fed chair
Source: Reuters
“U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he had removed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent from consideration for an open seat on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, but said he would ‘very shortly’ announce his choice. In an interview with CNBC, Trump said Fed Governor Adriana Kugler’s decision to vacate her seat early was a ‘pleasant surprise.’ The departure of Kugler, whose term would have ended on January 31, appears to have accelerated Trump’s planning for the U.S. central bank, giving him an immediate opening to fill with a person who could also be promoted to the top policymaking role when Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s term ends in May. ‘It’ll be one of four people,’ Trump said, adding that he considered both current White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett and former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh as ‘very good’ possibilities.” (08/05/25)
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-rules-out-bessent-fed-chair-2025-08-05/
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14) Bangladesh: Regime to hold parliamentary elections in February 2026, interim leader Yunus says
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“Bangladesh’s interim leader, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, said Tuesday that the country’s parliamentary election would be held in February. … Yunus had sought an April election, but major political parties, mainly the Bangladesh Nationalist Party led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, sought a February vote before the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in the Muslim-majority nation of 170 million people.” (08/05/25)
https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20250805-bangladesh-hold-parliamentary-elections-in-february-2026-interim-leader-yunus-says
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15) Trump regime dismisses all Democrats on federal board overseeing Puerto Rico’s finances
Source: SFGate
“The Trump administration has dismissed five out of seven members on Puerto Rico’s federal control board that oversees the U.S. territory’s finances, sparking concern about the future of the island’s fragile economy. The five fired are all Democrats. A White House official told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the board ‘has been run inefficiently and ineffectively by its governing members for far too long and it’s time to restore common sense leadership.’ Those fired are board chairman Arthur Gonzalez, along with Cameron McKenzie, Betty Rosa, Juan Sabater and Luis Ubiñas. The board’s two remaining members — Andrew G. Biggs and John E. Nixon — are Republicans. The board confirmed in a brief statement that the five were terminated and noted that the board would continue to fulfill its mandate and work ‘in the interest of the people of Puerto Rico.'” (08/05/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/the-trump-administration-dismisses-most-on-a-20803178.php
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16) CBO: Republican megabill to cost $4.1 trillion due to higher borrowing costs
Source: Politico
“Interest rates will be higher over the next decade because of the GOP’s megabill and drive up borrowing costs even for the federal government, Congress’[s] nonpartisan scorekeeper predicts in a new report released Monday. In an analysis of the massive domestic policy package President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4, the Congressional Budget Office estimated the measure will increase the federal deficit by $4.1 trillion over a decade. Because the bill’s red ink is not offset by more spending cuts or new revenue, CBO found, the legislation will drive up interest rates. That increase could affect investors and regular people getting loans for a range of assets, from cars to homes. But it will also hike costs for the federal government in a real way, according to the budget office — increasing interest payments on the nearly $37 trillion national debt by $718 billion over a decade.” (08/04/25)
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/04/congressional-budget-office-gop-megabill-to-cost-4-1t-drive-up-borrowing-costs-00492581
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17) Violent Channel migrant smuggling gang’s French & UK network exposed by undercover BBC investigation
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“A BBC investigation has exposed the French and UK operations of a powerful and violent smuggling gang taking people across the English Channel in small boats. A reporter, posing as a migrant wanting to cross, helped us gain unprecedented access to the smugglers’ notorious forest hideout in northern France – an area plagued by armed battles between rival gangs. Secret filming at a major UK railway station also captured associates of the gang collecting cash payments to secure migrant places on illegal Channel crossings. Two men met us on separate occasions on the busy concourse at Birmingham’s New Street Station to collect envelopes containing hundreds of pounds. Multiple sources have described how gang leaders, who keep one step ahead of the authorities by changing mobile phone numbers and the gang’s name, subjected their henchmen and migrants to violent beatings.” (08/05/25)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly48nmmzdro
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Russia: Medvedev issues warning as Moscow says not bound by missile treaty
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Russia is no longer bound by a moratorium on the deployment of short- and medium-range nuclear missiles, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said, with former President Dmitry Medvedev blaming NATO’s ‘anti-Russian policy’ and warning that Moscow will take ‘further steps’ in response. Medvedev, who has engaged in a war of words on social media with United States President Donald Trump, made his latest broadside after the Foreign Ministry’s announcement on Monday. … Last week, Trump said that he had ordered two US nuclear submarines to be repositioned to ‘the appropriate regions’ in response to Medvedev’s remarks about the risk of war between Washington and Moscow. In its statement, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the developing situation in Europe and the Asia Pacific prompted its reassessment on the deployment of short- and medium-range missiles.” (08/05/25)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/5/russias-medvedev-issues-warning-as-moscow-says-not-bound-by-missile-treaty
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19) 18) Lebanon: Regime pushes for army plan to disarm Hezbollah by year’s end
Source: SFGate
“The Lebanese government asked the national army on Tuesday to prepare a plan in which only state institutions will have weapons in the small nation by the end of the year, a move that aims to disarm the militant Hezbollah group. The announcement by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam after a nearly six-hour Cabinet meeting, came shortly after Hezbollah’s leader said his group would not disarm and warned that the Iran-backed faction would resume missile attacks on Israel if military operations against them intensify. Salam said the government asked the army to have the plan ready by the end of the month for discussion and approval. The government’s move came as Beirut is under U.S. pressure to disarm the group that recently fought a 14-month war with Israel and was left gravely weakened, with many of its political and military leaders dead.” (08/05/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/hezbollah-threatens-to-resume-firing-missiles-at-20803039.php
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20) KS: Passerby subdues intruder who attacked woman
Source: WJTV 12 News
“Police in Lawrence, Kansas, say they have a good Samaritan to thank for helping subdue a suspect who was attacking a woman in her home. Austin Netherton says he is just thankful he happened to pass by the woman’s home when he did. … At the time of the attack, Netherton was walking into his apartment building. ‘I was just punching in my door code and kind of heard what sounded like violent TV, obviously a struggle. When I looked over at the window, it was wide open, and he was on top of her. He was attacking her. I just went through the window and grabbed him,’ Netherton explained. Netherton said he held the attacker down while the woman called 911 and continued to subdue the suspect until police responded.” (08/04/25)
https://www.wjtv.com/news/kansas-man-with-the-right-skill-set-saves-woman-attacked-by-intruder-in-her-home/
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Are you ready for “Hawley Bucks?”
Source: The Hill
by Merrill Matthews
“There is no public policy idea so dumb to preclude some member of Congress from whole-heartedly supporting it. … Now that Trump’s tariffs are extracting billions of taxpayer dollars from Americans, Hawley proposes to have the government hand out checks to most Americans. Let’s call them Hawley Bucks. According to The Hill, Hawley’s proposal would offer $600 ‘tariff rebates.’ Children are included, meaning that it ‘would give a family of four $2,400.’ The senator says, ‘Like President Trump proposed, my legislation would allow hard-working Americans to benefit from the wealth that Trump’s tariffs are returning to this country.’ What a stupid statement. That ‘wealth’ Hawley’s referring to belonged to Americans, and the money isn’t ‘returning’ to America because it was already here.” (08/05/25)
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5436045-american-worker-rebate-act/
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22) Trump’s Tariffs Come For Your Morning Wake-Up Routine
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“Brazil … accounts for 45% of US coffee imports, and 99% of the coffee we drink is imported (outside of Hawaii, American soil/climate are apparently not very hospitable to coffee cultivation). How much coffee comes to the US from Brazil? About eight million 60-kilogram (132 pound) bags per year. Americans drink 179 billion cups of coffee per year, 491 million cups per day. That’s about to get a LOT more expensive, whether you go in for fru-fru bespoke beverages prepared by expert baristas at your favorite shop, or just fire up your drip, ‘k-cup,’ or espresso machine at home. ‘DON’T MESS WITH PEOPLE’S COFFEE’ strikes me as one of the most basic rules implicit in the maintenance of civil society, but apparently Trump didn’t get the memo.” (08/05/25)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/19857
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23) Should Strong Gods Bet On GDP?
Source: Astral Codex Ten
by Scott Alexander
“[Y]es, part of the good life is participation in a tight-knit community with strong values. Liberalism’s shared values are comparatively weak, and its knitting comparatively loose. But that’s no argument against the liberal project. Its goal isn’t to become this kind of community itself, but to be the platform where communities like this can grow up. So in a liberal democracy, Christians can have their church, Jews their synagogue, Communists their commune, and so on. Everyone gets the tight-knit community they want — which beats illiberalism, where (at most) one group gets the community they want and everyone else gets persecuted. On a theoretical level, this is a great answer. On a practical level — is it really working?” (08/05/25)
https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/should-strong-gods-bet-on-gdp
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24) Pursuing Regime Change in China and Russia Is Delusional
Source: The American Conservative
by Ted Galen Carpenter
“Members of Washington’s foreign policy elite (which Ben Rhodes, Barack Obama’s deputy national security advisor, once labeled ‘the blob’ during a moment of candor) are extremely fond of ‘regime change’ as the preferred method for dealing with adversarial governments. Hawkish allies in Europe share that mentality. Some activists now want to see if the strategy can work to oust Russian president Vladimir Putin and end the war between Russia and Ukraine with a definitive victory for NATO’s Ukrainian proxy. A few hawks even advocate pursuing regime change in China. In both cases, the strategy likely would prove catastrophic.” (08/05/25)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/pursuing-regime-change-in-china-and-russia-is-delusional/
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25) Why Would Media Report on Public Broadcasting Funding and Ignore their Financial Records?
Source: Racket News
by Greg Collard
“One would think reporters would give their audience an idea of stations’ finances by doing something very simple: report on the money they have. There’s no excuse not to. The information is public record and especially easy to look up, thanks to ProPublica’s fantastic Nonprofit Explorer tool. It’s also on stations’ websites. I generally don’t support taxpayer funding — I never did in my 23 years in public media — but even if you do, supporters of public broadcasting and reporters should never make either assumption. … It turns out that CPB had nearly $400 million in assets as of September 30th, according to its audit completed in February. That includes nearly $180 million in cash, and about the same amount in investments. ” (08/05/25)
https://www.racket.news/p/why-would-media-report-on-public?
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26) An inclusive Lebanon, one less gun at a time
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“A frequent diplomatic success in recent years has been persuading armed militias to give up their weapons and focus on peaceful politics. Examples can be found in Northern Ireland, Colombia, the Palestinian territories, and, lately, in Turkey. On Tuesday, Lebanon headed down this road. For the first time in decades, the country’s highest executive body took up the issue of a timetable to disarm the Shiite militant group Hezbollah. Lebanon’s collective identity as a nation, as well as its ability to rebuild after a 13-month war with Israel, depends on Hezbollah acknowledging that the state must have a monopoly over the use of force. Or, as President Joseph Aoun said last month, the Lebanese army ‘alone reflects the Lebanese people’s desire to see their country free, sovereign and independent.'” (08/05/25)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2025/0805/An-inclusive-Lebanon-one-less-gun-at-a-time
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27) In Pursuit of True Speech
Source: Law & Liberty
by Adam Tomkins
“Freedom of speech is in a bad place. The modern, young identitarian left appears to have given up on it, regarding it as a dinosaur, of value only to bigots, billionaires, and kleptocrats. Elements of the political right regard it as little more than a political football, to be kicked about in the culture wars as a weapon in the war on woke. The former are more interested in cancelling speakers who offend them than in engaging them in debate and seeking to defeat them in argument. The latter take an extremist approach to free speech (as long as it is speech they agree with), holding that anything goes in an unlicensed, unregulated marketplace of ideas. Both are profoundly wrong and are doing immense damage to the once-cherished ideal of free speech.” (08/05/25)
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/in-pursuit-of-true-speech/
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28) Sorts of Deals
Source: EconLog
by Pierre Lemieux
“A deal is an agreement to exchange something for some consideration, but different sorts of deals exist. A deal is not necessarily a free exchange and a free exchange is not necessarily a free-market exchange. The gold standard of all deals is a free-market exchange: a voluntary exchange where alternative demanders and suppliers exist. The free market does not need to be perfectly competitive, but alternatives are available at costs that are not too high.” (08/05/25)
https://www.econlib.org/sorts-of-deals/
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29) America the FUBAR: Reclaiming and Restoring America
Source: TomDispatch
by William Astore
“As a retired U.S. Air Force officer, I firmly believe in civilian control of our military. This country should be a nation of laws — not of special interests, oligarchs, or kings. Before committing our forces to battle, Congress should always declare war in the name of the people. Our military should indeed be a citizen-soldier force, not an isolated caste driven by a warrior ethos. And above all, the United States should be a republic ruled by law and shaped by sound moral values, not a greed-driven empire fueled by militarism. Yet when I express such views, I feel like I’m clinging to a belief in the tooth fairy, the Easter Bunny, and Santa Claus. It feels idealistic, naïve, even painful to think that way.” (08/05/25)
https://tomdispatch.com/america-the-fubar/
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30) The Sigmoidal Moral Value Function
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
“What’s the most familiar form of radiation damage? Sunburn. And as we all know, 100 minutes in the sun does not do ten times as much harm as 10 minutes in the sun! Instead, there is a sigmoidal dose-response function. 10 minutes in the sun does zero visible damage to even the lightest-skinned person, but 100 minutes will burn such a person to a crisp. Which is virtually the same effect as 1000 minutes in the sun! … I’ve known about Devanney’s arguments in favor of the sigmoidal model of the harm of radiation for a year or two now. Once I understood the model, however, I started to notice additional applications. Sigmoidal dose-response functions are common not only in the natural world, but in the social world.” (08/05/25)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/the-sigmoidal-moral-value-function
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31) Why I’m launching a legal war against California Democrats’ unconstitutional power grab
Source: Fox News
by Steve Hilton
“California Democrats are once again trying to rig the system, overturn elections and steal congressional seats from Republicans. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta are planning to redraw California’s congressional maps in 2025 or 2026, halfway through the decade and years before the next census. This isn’t about ‘fairness’ or ‘democracy.’ It’s a blatant, unconstitutional power grab designed to silence millions of voters and cement one-party rule in California. Democrats are already trying to rewrite the history of this redistricting fight, claiming it’s just retaliation for Republican maps in Texas. But let’s be clear: California started this.” (08/05/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/steve-hilton-why-im-launching-legal-war-against-california-democrats-unconstitutional-power-grab
-----
32) Trade-Offs in Trump’s Trade Policy
Source: Cobden Centre
by Michael Froman
“One of the hardest jobs of a policymaker is to weigh trade-offs. Few policies are clean, absolute, and without costs. The art and science of policymaking often comes down to ensuring that the dots between different policy objectives are connected, and the trade-offs are accurately identified and assessed, as part of the decision-making process. Occasionally, policymakers find themselves managing inherent contradictions: the policies they choose to pursue to achieve one of their objectives make another one of their objectives harder or impossible to achieve. Now that the contours of the Trump administration’s trade policy are coming into greater focus — as initial draft frameworks for agreements emerge from the back and forth of escalatory and de-escalatory rhetoric and positioning — those contradictions are coming into stark relief.” (08/05/25)
https://www.cobdencentre.org/2025/08/trade-offs-in-trumps-trade-policy/
-----
33) It’s Not Okay To Be A Grown Adult In August 2025 And Still Believe Lies About Gaza
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“It’s not okay to be a grown adult with internet access in August 2025 and still believe that what we are seeing in Gaza is not a genocide. It’s not okay to be a grown adult with internet access in August 2025 and still believe this mass atrocity is about self-defense. It’s not okay to be a grown adult with internet access in August 2025 and still believe that people in Gaza are not being deliberately starved by Israel. It’s not okay to be a grown adult with internet access in August 2025 and still believe that Israel destroyed Gaza’s entire healthcare system because there were Hamas bases in every part of that healthcare system. It’s not okay to be a grown adult with internet access in August 2025 and still believe that Israel is banning foreign journalists from entering Gaza because it is concerned for the journalists’ safety.” (08/05/25)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2025/08/05/its-not-okay-to-be-a-grown-adult-in-august-2025-and-still-believe-lies-about-gaza/
-----
34) Why Welfare Statists Hate People Like Wallis Annenberg
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“Before she died last month, longtime Los Angeles resident Wallis Annenberg gave away around $2 billion of her fortune. … While welfare statists undoubtedly like many of the projects she funded, they hate the fact that they were funded through the benevolence of a rich person. You see, the rationale for the welfare state is that people need to be forced to be good, caring, and compassionate. If people were free to decide for themselves what to do with their own money, most of them would turn their backs on their neighbors, the welfare-state argument goes. Therefore, the federal government must step in, seize people’s money through income taxation, and then distribute it to the poor and others.” (08/05/25)
https://www.fff.org/2025/08/05/why-welfare-statists-hate-people-like-wallis-annenberg/
-----
35) Academic Freedom: How Universities Lost Their Way
Source: Washington Monthly
by Jonathan Zimmerman
“We’ve got this, say some colleges and universities. Yes, we’re cutting deals with Donald Trump’s administration. But we are also preserving our core value: academic freedom. We’ll be OK. That’s what Columbia University declared last month, when it agreed to pay the administration $200 million for allegedly failing to protect students from antisemitic harassment. And it’s what Harvard said last week, when it canceled a journal’s special issue devoted to education in Palestine. Don’t believe them. The Harvard episode is a textbook case of censorship, brought to you by those who proclaim fealty to academic freedom. And once we have turned our back on that principle, we won’t have any reason to exist.” (08/05/25)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2025/08/05/academic-freedom-how-universities-lost-their-way/
-----
36) Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Imperils the Fourth Amendment Rights of US Citizens
Source: Reason
by Damon Root
“The Fourth Amendment’s guarantee against unreasonable searches and seizures has been regrettably whittled down over the years by the federal courts. Still, some meaningful protections contained in the amendment have managed to persist in U.S. law. As an example, consider a recent federal appellate court decision arising from the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Los Angeles. Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit largely affirmed a lower court ruling that found that the Trump administration was likely guilty of conducting illegal immigration raids in the greater Los Angeles area that violated the Fourth Amendment rights of multiple U.S. citizens.” (08/05/25)
https://reason.com/2025/08/05/trumps-immigration-crackdown-imperils-the-fourth-amendment-rights-of-u-s-citizens/
-----
37) Why Death Row Captures Headlines
Source: The Pamphleteer
by Davis Hunt
“This morning, the state of Tennessee executed convicted murderer Bryon Black. You’ve probably been inundated with news coverage of this man’s petitions to get off death row, but do you know the details of what he actually did? In 1988, Black was convicted of murdering his girlfriend and her two young daughters. … Experts testified that while one of the deaths was instantaneous, the other two were not. ‘Bullet holes and blood stains on the bed indicated that she was lying in bed when shot and had moved from the bed to the floor after being shot,’ reads a court opinion. ‘There were bloody finger marks down the rail running from the head of the bed to the foot of the bed.’ So, why all the aggressive coverage of this man’s attempts to dodge his sentencing with so little detail about his crime?” (08/05/25)
https://pamphleteer.co/newsletter/much-talk-about-killers/
-----
38) The War Economy at the Border
Source: CounterPunch
by Michelle Ellner
“In July 2025, the U.S. Congress passed a budget that commits $131 billion to expanding detention, deportation, and border militarization. It is the largest immigration enforcement package in modern U.S. history and one that most people are funding without knowing. Public pension funds, university endowments, and municipal budgets are deeply invested in ICE’s machinery. If you pay into a retirement fund, attend a university, or live in a major city, your money might be helping detain someone. Your tax dollars already are.” (08/05/25)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/08/05/the-war-economy-at-the-border/
-----
39) Linking tariff “deals” to US security interests is harder than it looks
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Karthik Sankaran
“Behind the headlines of billion-dollar commitments lie questions about enforcement, consistency, and international buy-in.” (08/05/25)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-tariffs-2673858212/
-----
40) Tariffs Tanked GDP, Not Imports
Source: The Daily Economy
by David Hebert
“The latest GDP report has Washington officials buzzing. Growth hit 3.0 percent for Q2, which is a staggering reversal of the dismal -0.5 percent growth in Q1. The White House claims that this is evidence that their trade policies are ‘an absolute blockbuster.’ New Right pundits are pointing out that it beat expectations and that it ‘has good internals.’ … ‘Collapsing imports,’ these pundits say, ‘saved the day’ with regard to GDP figures, just as they were quick to use a surge in imports to explain the Q1 shrinkage. Both are dead wrong. This latest report is just more evidence that tariffs are a disaster, and the economists who warned about them were correct.” (08/05/25)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/tariffs-tanked-gdp-not-imports/
-----
41) US Must Understand: Story of Gaza Genocide Did Not Begin on October 7
Source: Common Dreams
by James Zogby
“Our understanding of an historical event’s meaning is a function of two factors. The first is what we choose to identify as the starting point leading up to the event. The second is the lens through which we view it. This should be obvious, but unfortunately it is not, and the failure to acknowledge or understand it has consequences in everything from public policy to personal relationships. This truth can be ignored due to thoughtlessness, blindness to one’s biases, or just plain ignorance. On some occasions there can be malign intent, including efforts to deliberately hide what one knows to be an event’s antecedents for political or personal reasons. Before examining the issue that prompted this column, I want to share an example. The comedian Dick Gregory once noted that despite what we were taught in school, ‘Columbus didn’t discover America, because it wasn’t lost.'” (08/05/25)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/history-didn-t-start-october-7
-----
42) Texas Range War
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“Fifty-one Democrats have left the Republic — er, State — of Texas. Well, 51 Democratic state legislators have run past the border, all to prevent a redistricting scheme. They constitute a minority in the House, but without them a quorum cannot be reached. Think of it as a form of filibuster. Or ‘voting with their feet.’ … Twenty-five years ago I wrote that ‘courts have struck down districts drawn to get a certain racial outcome, but have turned a blind eye to districts that arbitrarily favor one party over another. The solution to incumbents monopolizing our elections is term limits. But another key factor in promoting democracy is to stop the politicians from drawing rigged districts that squelch competition.'” (08/05/25)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2025/08/05/texas-range-war/
-----
43) Here’s What Gabbard’s Russiagate Report Missed
Source: Antiwar.com
by William Dunkerley
“‘An easing of tensions and improved relations with Russia — from a position of strength — is possible. Common sense says this cycle of hostility must end.’ Candidate Donald Trump said that on April 27, 2016. At first glance that might sound rather irrelevant to Gabbard’s Russiagate revelations. But let me connect the dots for you.” (08/05/25)
https://original.antiwar.com/williamdunkerley/2025/08/04/heres-what-gabbards-russiagate-report-missed/
-----
44) The Trump administration doesn’t need to go to Brazil to find government censorship. It can look in a mirror.
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Sarah McLaughlin
“There is plenty to debate about how to best protect free speech on the global internet, and around the world more generally, and what actions the United States can take in its defense. But, even though Brazil’s adversarial relationship with free expression is deeply alarming, it’s impossible to ignore the incongruity of the Trump administration putting itself in the position of diagnosing and treating government censorship. Physician, heal thyself.” (08/04/25)
https://www.thefire.org/news/trump-administration-doesnt-need-go-brazil-find-government-censorship-it-can-look-mirror
-----
45) Don’t whine about federal budget cuts, lefties; put your money where your mouths are
Source: New York Post
by Daniel McCarthy
“Before politics overwhelmed the word, the primary meaning of ‘liberal’ was ‘generous’. President Donald Trump and the Republican Congress have given political liberals a chance to take that meaning back — by opening their wallets to show just how much they value NPR, PBS and other programs defunded by the GOP. There’s no shortage of funds on the left. Laurene Powell Jobs, the mega-rich backer of The Atlantic, has a net worth estimated at above $11 billion a year ago and believed to be even higher today. George Soros, at 94, has a fortune in the vicinity of $7 billion, with billions more in his Open Society Foundation. Bill Gates has about $115 billion, his ex-wife Melinda around $30 billion. Any one of these left-leaning billionaires could single-handedly make up the $535 million that NPR, PBS and local stations were getting annually from taxpayers before Congress zeroed out the subsidies.” (08/04/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/08/04/opinion/dont-whine-about-federal-budget-cuts-lefties-put-your-money-where-your-mouths-are/
-----
46) Are We Over-Medicalising Menopause?
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Maryanne Demasi
“On July 15, the FDA convened a two-hour expert panel to review its longstanding guidance on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for menopause. At first glance, it appeared to be a genuine opportunity to revisit the legacy of the landmark Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), engage with clinical experts, and improve public messaging around hormone treatment. But beneath the surface, the event raised uncomfortable questions. There was no dissent. The risks of HRT were downplayed, and women were left with the impression that they were jeopardising their health by not taking it. What unfolded was a lineup of pro-HRT advocates, many with industry ties, in what often felt more like a public relations campaign than a balanced scientific discussion.” (08/04/25)
https://brownstone.org/articles/are-we-over-medicalising-menopause/
-----
47) Keeping AI agents under control doesn’t seem very hard
Source: Understanding AI
by Timothy B Lee
“In the AI safety community, discussions of AI risk typically focus on ‘alignment.’ It’s taken for granted that we will cede more and more power to AI agents, and the debate focuses on how to ensure our AI overlords turn out to be benevolent. In my view, a more promising approach is to just not cede that much power to AI agents in the first place. We can have AI agents perform routine tasks under the supervision of humans who make higher-level strategic decisions. … Organizations will not face a stark choice between turning control over to AI systems or missing out on the benefits of AI. If they’re smart about it, they can have the best of both worlds.” (08/04/25)
https://www.understandingai.org/p/keeping-ai-agents-under-control-doesnt
-----
48) Why red tape holds back Mexico’s entrepreneurs
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Sergio Martínez
“Imagine if Steve Jobs or Jeff Bezos had been required to obtain fifteen permits, pay multiple unrelated fees, and navigate unreliable public services before launching their businesses. The world might have missed out on Apple and Amazon. For too many aspiring entrepreneurs in Mexico, this is what they face.” (08/04/25)
https://fee.org/articles/why-red-tape-holds-back-mexicos-entrepreneurs/
-----
49) Surveillance at the Border
Source: The American Prospect
by James Baratta
“Santa Cruz County, Arizona, is the smallest county in the Grand Canyon State, but its location makes it significant. Home to more than 50,000 people, the vast majority of whom identify as Hispanic or Latino, the county is located in the southernmost part of central Arizona and shares a 54-mile stretch of border with the Mexican state of Sonora. Along this stretch of land is Nogales, the county’s administrative seat and a major port of entry into the United States; millions of people and billions of dollars in trade pass through it every year. Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora, are bisected by a demarcation line established by the purchase, six years after the Mexican-American War, of Mexican land by the United States. But the sister cities — collectively referred to as Ambos Nogales — comprise a single urban area characterized by high levels of cross-border interaction and a common culture.” (08/05/25)
https://prospect.org/justice/2025-08-05-border-surveillance-algorithms/
-----
50) Data Brokers Are Ignoring Privacy Law. We Deserve Better.
Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
by Hayley Tsukayama
“Of the many principles EFF fights for in consumer data privacy legislation, one of the most basic is a right to access the data companies have about you. It’s only fair. So many companies collect information about us without our knowledge or consent. We at least should have a way to find out what they purport to know about our lives. Yet a recent paper from researchers at the University of Californian-Irvine found that, of 543 data brokers in California’s data broker registry at time of publishing, 43 percent failed to even respond to requests to access data. Let’s stop there for a second. That’s more than four in ten companies from an industry that makes its money from collecting and selling our personal information, ignoring one of our most basic rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act: the right to know what information companies have about us.” (08/04/25)
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/08/data-brokers-are-ignoring-privacy-law-we-deserve-better
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Pink Flame of Liberty, 08/05/25
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“Angela McArdle: Fear, Loathing, and Self-Dealing on the LNC, discussion with Jake Porter.” (08/05/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS2n1PQnCFo
-----
52) Health Care News Podcast, episode 603
Source: Heartland Institute
“RFK Jr. is clamping down on removing organs from patients declared ‘brain dead.'” (08/05/25)
https://heartland.org/podcasts/rfk-jr-is-clamping-down-on-removing-organs-from-patients-declared-brain-dead/
-----
53) Trump Watch, 08/05/25
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“Killing the Messenger.” (08/05/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC_k1VsvqdA
-----
54) Capital Record, episode 249
Source: National Review
“Why I Will Always Be a Free Trader.” (08/05/25)
https://www.nationalreview.com/podcasts/capital-record/why-i-will-always-be-a-free-trader/
-----
55) The Bryan Hyde Show, 08/05/25
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
“Eric Peters from Eric Peters Autos is my guest. We talk current events, personal freedom and all things automotive, all while managing to keep a sense of humor.” (08/05/25)
https://www.podbean.com/ep/pb-69q8q-1925f15
-----
56) Legal Spirits, episode 69
Source: Law and Religion Forum
“Center Director Mark Movsesian talks with legal scholar Steven D. Smith about a question that goes to the heart of American law and politics: What happens when people stop believing in ‘the consent of the governed?'” (08/05/25)
https://lawandreligionforum.org/2025/08/05/legal-spirits-069-the-consent-of-the-governed/
-----
57) Agorist Nexus Podcast,episode 175
Source: Agorist Nexus
“Software, blockchain and the Agorist Cipher with TechLibre.” (08/05/25)
https://www.agoristnexus.com/software-blockchain-and-the-agorist-cipher-with-techlibre-175/
-----
58) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 08/05/25
Source: Antiwar.com
“Netanyahu Plans Full Israeli Occupation of Gaza, Russia No Longer Bound by INF Limits, and More.” (08/05/25)
https://rumble.com/v6x5ja8-netanyahu-plans-full-israeli-occupation-of-gaza-russia-no-longer-bound-by-i.html
-----
59) Bulwark Takes, 08/04/25
Source: The Bulwark
“Marjorie Taylor Greene Threatens GOP Mutiny.” (08/04/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sdETM-tFUo
-----
60) System Update, episode 497
Source: System Update
“Trump Admin Unleashes More Policies That Prioritize Israel Over American Citizens; The Smear Campaign Against Gaza Aid Whistleblower with Journalist Mel Witte.” (08/04/25)
https://rumble.com/v6x4ykg-system-update-show-497.html
-----
61) (Re)Imagining Liberty, episode 89
Source: Aaron Ross Powell
“AI, Cultural Tools, and Pluralism (w/ Ted Underwood)” (08/04/25)
https://shows.acast.com/68374f956e5b65d78756e10f/6890b3bec6d705dd3a961b98
-----
62) Declare Your Independence with Ernest Hancock 08/04/25
Source: Freedom’s Phoenix
“Quinten van Welzen (Head of Marketing & Growth @ ZANO) comes on the show to discuss Zano, an open-source cryptocurrency and ecosystem with enterprise-grade privacy, security, and scalability that operates as a robust foundation for confidential assets and decentralised applications (dApps).” (08/04/25)
https://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Media/382573-2025-08-03-2025-08-04-ernest-hancock-interviews-quinten-van-welzen-head.htm
-----
63) The Tom Woods Show, episode 2676
Source: The Tom Woods Show
“Inflation vs. Families, Children, and Social Health.” (08/04/25)
https://tomwoods.com/ep-2676-inflation-vs-families-children-and-social-health/
-----
64) Washington Monthly Podcast, 08/04/25
Source: Washington Monthly
“Matt Cooper, Paul Glastris, and Bill Scher discuss the ongoing redistricting chaos in Texas, the implications of recent economic turmoil, and the shifting dynamics of GOP support for Israel amidst the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.” (08/04/25)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2025/08/04/gop-under-pressure-redistricting-economy-israel/
-----
65) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 08/04/25
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“BLS-Gate: Lies, Damned Lies, And (Government) Statistics.” (08/04/25)
https://rumble.com/v6x4kus-bls-gate-lies-damned-lies-and-government-statistics.html
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Today's Freedom News:
1) US House Committee subpoenas Clintons, Epstein files
2) Ukraine: Russian Strikes Kill Two People, Injure 10 in Zaporizhzhia, Regional Governor Says
3) Trump threatens to sextuple Americans’ medicine costs
4) Moldova: Regime jails pro-Russian pol for election fraud weeks before crucial vote
5) Swedish, Norwegian, Danish regimes give $500 million to NATO project to send US weapons to Ukraine
6) Krill fishery in Antarctica shut down after record catch triggers unprecedented early closure
7) CA: Wildfire scorches 72,000 acres and threatens hundreds of structures
8) Sri Lanka: Parliament votes to fire country’s police chief over abuse of power
9) Sudan: Regime accuses UAE regime of funding Colombian mercenaries to fight alongside the RSF in civil war
10) TN: State employees kill prisoner
11) TX: Republicans vote to arrest Democrats blocking redistricting plan
12) Rwanda: Regime agrees to host 250 of US regime’s kidnapping victims
13) Trump rules out Bessent for Fed chair
14) Bangladesh: Regime to hold parliamentary elections in February 2026, interim leader Yunus says
15) Trump regime dismisses all Democrats on federal board overseeing Puerto Rico’s finances
16) CBO: Republican megabill to cost $4.1 trillion due to higher borrowing costs
17) Violent Channel migrant smuggling gang’s French & UK network exposed by undercover BBC investigation
18) Russia: Medvedev issues warning as Moscow says not bound by missile treaty
19) Lebanon: Regime pushes for army plan to disarm Hezbollah by year’s end
20) KS: Passerby subdues intruder who attacked woman
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Are you ready for “Hawley Bucks?”
22) Trump’s Tariffs Come For Your Morning Wake-Up Routine
23) Should Strong Gods Bet On GDP?
24) Pursuing Regime Change in China and Russia Is Delusional
25) Why Would Media Report on Public Broadcasting Funding and Ignore their Financial Records?
26) An inclusive Lebanon, one less gun at a time
27) In Pursuit of True Speech
28) Sorts of Deals
29) America the FUBAR: Reclaiming and Restoring America
30) The Sigmoidal Moral Value Function
31) Why I’m launching a legal war against California Democrats’ unconstitutional power grab
32) Trade-Offs in Trump’s Trade Policy
33) It’s Not Okay To Be A Grown Adult In August 2025 And Still Believe Lies About Gaza
34) Why Welfare Statists Hate People Like Wallis Annenberg
35) Academic Freedom: How Universities Lost Their Way
36) Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Imperils the Fourth Amendment Rights of US Citizens
37) Why Death Row Captures Headlines
38) The War Economy at the Border
39) Linking tariff “deals” to US security interests is harder than it looks
40) Tariffs Tanked GDP, Not Imports
41) US Must Understand: Story of Gaza Genocide Did Not Begin on October 7
42) Texas Range War
43) Here’s What Gabbard’s Russiagate Report Missed
44) The Trump administration doesn’t need to go to Brazil to find government censorship. It can look in a mirror.
45) Don’t whine about federal budget cuts, lefties; put your money where your mouths are
46) Are We Over-Medicalising Menopause?
47) Keeping AI agents under control doesn’t seem very hard
48) Why red tape holds back Mexico’s entrepreneurs
49) Surveillance at the Border
50) Data Brokers Are Ignoring Privacy Law. We Deserve Better.
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Pink Flame of Liberty, 08/05/25
52) Health Care News Podcast, episode 603
53) Trump Watch, 08/05/25
54) Capital Record, episode 249
55) The Bryan Hyde Show, 08/05/25
56) Legal Spirits, episode 69
57) Agorist Nexus Podcast,episode 175
58) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 08/05/25
59) Bulwark Takes, 08/04/25
60) System Update, episode 497
61) (Re)Imagining Liberty, episode 89
62) Declare Your Independence with Ernest Hancock 08/04/25
63) The Tom Woods Show, episode 2676
64) Washington Monthly Podcast, 08/04/25
65) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 08/04/25
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) US House Committee subpoenas Clintons, Epstein files
Source: Axios
“House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer subpoenaed multiple former government officials, including Bill and Hillary Clinton, and former FBI director James Comey — and is demanding the Justice Department release all documents related to its Jeffrey Epstein probe. Despite President Trump’s efforts to shut down questions surrounding Epstein, Democratic lawmakers have time and again forced their Republican colleagues to confront the issue. The subpoena demands the DOJ turn over all Epstein-related materials by August 19. The panel is also seeking to compel testimony from former Attorneys General Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, Merrick Garland, William Barr, Jeff Sessions, and Alberto Gonzales — as well as from former FBI director Robert Mueller.” (08/05/25)
https://archive.is/7ExHg
-----
2) Ukraine: Russian Strikes Kill Two People, Injure 10 in Zaporizhzhia, Regional Governor Says
Source: US News & World Report
“Russian strikes killed two people and wounded 10 others, including four children, in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, Governor Ivan Fedorov said on Wednesday. Russian forces carried out 567 attacks over the 24 hours into Wednesday morning across 16 settlements in the region, Fedorov said. Zaporizhzhia has been on the front lines of the war that Russia launched against its smaller neighbour in February 2022. At least nine buildings were damaged in the early morning strikes on the Zaporizhzhia city district alone, Fedorov said on the Telegram messaging app.” (08/06/25)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2025-08-06/russian-strikes-kill-two-people-injure-10-in-zaporizhzhia-regional-governor-says
-----
3) Trump threatens to sextuple Americans’ medicine costs
Source: The Hill
“President Trump on Tuesday threatened to impose tariffs of up to 250 percent on pharmaceutical imports, the highest rate he’s discussed to date. ‘We’ll be putting a, initially small tariff on pharmaceuticals,’ Trump told CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box.’ ‘But in one year, one in a half years maximum, it’s going to go to 150 percent, and then it’s going to go to 250 percent, because we want pharmaceuticals made in our country,’ Trump said. … Drug companies have said the industry is bracing for chaos in case Trump follows through on his threats. Tariffs would disrupt international supply chains, forcing companies to decide whether to pass on increased costs to patients and exacerbate existing drug shortages.” (08/05/25)
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5436846-drug-import-tariffs-trump/
-----
4) Moldova: Regime jails pro-Russian pol for election fraud weeks before crucial vote
Source: CNN
“A court in Moldova has sentenced a Kremlin-friendly regional politician to seven years in prison for funneling money from Russia to finance a political party. Evgenia Gutul, the leader of Gagauzia, a historically pro-Russian ethnic region in southern Moldova, was detained in March on suspicion of electoral fraud and sentenced on Tuesday. Prosecutors said that from 2019 to 2022, Gutul channeled undeclared funds into the country to finance a political party founded by Ilan Shor, Reuters reported. Shor is a pro-Russian businessman who has been convicted of fraud in Moldova and now lives in exile. Gutul’s conviction comes just weeks before Moldovans vote in a crucial parliamentary election, in which Maia Sandu, the pro-Western president of the former Soviet country, is hoping to retain her governing majority.” (08/05/25)
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/05/europe/moldova-gutul-gagauzia-russia-election-intl
-----
5) Swedish, Norwegian, Danish regimes give $500 million to NATO project to send US weapons to Ukraine
Source: Reuters
“weden, Norway and Denmark will contribute around $500 million to a NATO-led initiative to supply Ukraine with U.S. weapons, including Patriot missiles, to ensure it can continue to defend itself against Russia, the three countries said on Tuesday. U.S. President Donald Trump said last month the United States would supply weapons to Ukraine, paid for by European allies, but did not indicate how this would be done.” (08/05/25)
https://archive.is/dM4Bm
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6) Krill fishery in Antarctica shut down after record catch triggers unprecedented early closure
Source: Associated Press
“Officials have shut down early the remote krill fishery near Antarctica after trawling for the tiny crustacean — a vital food source for whales that also helps fight climate change — exceeded the seasonal catch limit for the first time. The unprecedented early closure of the fishery follows a report by The Associated Press last week detailing a record surge in the krill catch after a longstanding conservation framework was allowed to lapse with no plan in place to handle growing pressures in the world’s southernmost fishery. The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, or CCAMLR, the international organization that manages the fishery, declined to comment but confirmed the closure earlier this month of the 2024-25 season, which should have extended until December, after fishing hit the 620,000 metric ton limit.” (08/05/25)
https://apnews.com/article/whales-antarctica-krill-global-warming-fishing-a4525f1f68d3beca3212caa9096dde27
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7) CA: Wildfire scorches 72,000 acres and threatens hundreds of structures
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“A huge wildfire tearing through California’s Los Padres national forest is threatening hundreds of homes and structures, after injuring at least three people in the days before. The Gifford fire has already scorched more than 72,000 acres (29,000 hectares) in coastal Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, north of Los Angeles, and was still burning out of control on Tuesday morning, according to the California department of forestry and fire protection, known as Cal Fire. It is 7% contained. … The blaze is threatening more than 800 structures and has forced the closure of the highway in both directions east of Santa Maria, a city of about 110,000 people in Santa Barbara county.” (08/06/25)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/05/california-gifford-wildfire
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8) Sri Lanka: Parliament votes to fire country’s police chief over abuse of power
Source: Seattle Times
“Lawmakers in Sri Lanka voted Tuesday to fire the country’s police chief for misconduct and gross abuse of power, making him the island nation’s first inspector-general to be impeached. In the 225-member parliament, 117 lawmakers voted to fire Deshabandu Tennakoon. No one opposed, while one member abstained. The removal came after a parliament-appointed committee inquired into the allegations against him and last month released a report that found him guilty. Tennakoon, who oversaw 85,000 police officers, faced charges of sending a team of armed officers for an illegal raid in 2023 that triggered a gun battle with a separate police unit in southern Sri Lanka. One officer was killed.” (08/05/25)
https://archive.is/n2L5G
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9) Sudan: Regime accuses UAE regime of funding Colombian mercenaries to fight alongside the RSF in civil war
Source: ABC News
“Sudan has accused the United Arab Emirates of sending Colombian mercenaries to fight alongside the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces against the military in the country’s civil war. The foreign ministry said in a statement Monday that the Sudanese government has ‘irrefutable evidence’ confirming mercenaries from Colombia and some neighboring African countries were sponsored and financed by Emirati authorities. The statement didn’t share the evidence or name the neighboring countries.” (08/05/25)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/sudan-accuses-uae-funding-colombian-mercenaries-fight-alongside-124371474
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10) TN: State employees kill prisoner
Source: United Press International
“Tennessee [state employees killed] death row inmate Byron Black on Tuesday despite raised concerns about his implanted heart device, which could cause a ‘prolonged and torturous execution.’ Black, who was convicted 37 years ago for killing Angela Clay and her two daughters, 9-year-old Latoya and 6-year-old Lakeisha, was [killed] by lethal injection at 11 a.m. EDT at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. … On July 22, a judge ordered that the heart implant be removed before his execution, but Nashville hospital declined to participate.” (08/05/25)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2025/08/05/tennessee-execute-Byron-Black/8451754404879/
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11) TX: Republicans vote to arrest Democrats blocking redistricting plan
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Texas Republicans have voted for the arrest of dozens of Democratic legislators who fled the state in an attempt to block a plan to re-draw electoral boundaries. Republican Governor Greg Abbott ordered state troopers ‘to locate, arrest, and return to the House chamber any member who has abandoned their duty to Texans’. Abbott has also threatened to charge the absent Democrats with bribery if they raised public money to cover the daily fine they incur for boycotting the chamber. The re-drawn congressional map would create five more Republican-leaning seats in the US House of Representatives in Washington DC, where Republicans hold a slim majority. At least two-thirds of the 150-member state legislative body in Texas must be present to proceed with the vote. The quorum became unreachable after more than 50 Democratic lawmakers left the state.” (08/05/25)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c93dkwnx94ro
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12) Rwanda: Regime agrees to host 250 of US regime’s kidnapping victims
Source: Politico
“Rwanda has agreed to accept up to 250 migrant deportees from the U.S., making it the latest country to acquiesce to diplomatic pressure from the Trump administration to take in some of the thousands of migrants it has [abducted]. … A number of African countries have seen the Trump administration’s focus on immigration as an opportunity to build goodwill with Washington, which has not always prioritized the continent. Rwanda took the action in part to strengthen relations with the U.S., according to a second Rwandan official, granted anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic relations.” (08/05/25)
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/04/rwanda-agrees-take-migrant-deportees-00493206
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13) Trump rules out Bessent for Fed chair
Source: Reuters
“U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he had removed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent from consideration for an open seat on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, but said he would ‘very shortly’ announce his choice. In an interview with CNBC, Trump said Fed Governor Adriana Kugler’s decision to vacate her seat early was a ‘pleasant surprise.’ The departure of Kugler, whose term would have ended on January 31, appears to have accelerated Trump’s planning for the U.S. central bank, giving him an immediate opening to fill with a person who could also be promoted to the top policymaking role when Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s term ends in May. ‘It’ll be one of four people,’ Trump said, adding that he considered both current White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett and former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh as ‘very good’ possibilities.” (08/05/25)
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-rules-out-bessent-fed-chair-2025-08-05/
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14) Bangladesh: Regime to hold parliamentary elections in February 2026, interim leader Yunus says
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“Bangladesh’s interim leader, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, said Tuesday that the country’s parliamentary election would be held in February. … Yunus had sought an April election, but major political parties, mainly the Bangladesh Nationalist Party led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, sought a February vote before the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in the Muslim-majority nation of 170 million people.” (08/05/25)
https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20250805-bangladesh-hold-parliamentary-elections-in-february-2026-interim-leader-yunus-says
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15) Trump regime dismisses all Democrats on federal board overseeing Puerto Rico’s finances
Source: SFGate
“The Trump administration has dismissed five out of seven members on Puerto Rico’s federal control board that oversees the U.S. territory’s finances, sparking concern about the future of the island’s fragile economy. The five fired are all Democrats. A White House official told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the board ‘has been run inefficiently and ineffectively by its governing members for far too long and it’s time to restore common sense leadership.’ Those fired are board chairman Arthur Gonzalez, along with Cameron McKenzie, Betty Rosa, Juan Sabater and Luis Ubiñas. The board’s two remaining members — Andrew G. Biggs and John E. Nixon — are Republicans. The board confirmed in a brief statement that the five were terminated and noted that the board would continue to fulfill its mandate and work ‘in the interest of the people of Puerto Rico.'” (08/05/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/the-trump-administration-dismisses-most-on-a-20803178.php
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16) CBO: Republican megabill to cost $4.1 trillion due to higher borrowing costs
Source: Politico
“Interest rates will be higher over the next decade because of the GOP’s megabill and drive up borrowing costs even for the federal government, Congress’[s] nonpartisan scorekeeper predicts in a new report released Monday. In an analysis of the massive domestic policy package President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4, the Congressional Budget Office estimated the measure will increase the federal deficit by $4.1 trillion over a decade. Because the bill’s red ink is not offset by more spending cuts or new revenue, CBO found, the legislation will drive up interest rates. That increase could affect investors and regular people getting loans for a range of assets, from cars to homes. But it will also hike costs for the federal government in a real way, according to the budget office — increasing interest payments on the nearly $37 trillion national debt by $718 billion over a decade.” (08/04/25)
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/04/congressional-budget-office-gop-megabill-to-cost-4-1t-drive-up-borrowing-costs-00492581
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17) Violent Channel migrant smuggling gang’s French & UK network exposed by undercover BBC investigation
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“A BBC investigation has exposed the French and UK operations of a powerful and violent smuggling gang taking people across the English Channel in small boats. A reporter, posing as a migrant wanting to cross, helped us gain unprecedented access to the smugglers’ notorious forest hideout in northern France – an area plagued by armed battles between rival gangs. Secret filming at a major UK railway station also captured associates of the gang collecting cash payments to secure migrant places on illegal Channel crossings. Two men met us on separate occasions on the busy concourse at Birmingham’s New Street Station to collect envelopes containing hundreds of pounds. Multiple sources have described how gang leaders, who keep one step ahead of the authorities by changing mobile phone numbers and the gang’s name, subjected their henchmen and migrants to violent beatings.” (08/05/25)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly48nmmzdro
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Russia: Medvedev issues warning as Moscow says not bound by missile treaty
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Russia is no longer bound by a moratorium on the deployment of short- and medium-range nuclear missiles, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said, with former President Dmitry Medvedev blaming NATO’s ‘anti-Russian policy’ and warning that Moscow will take ‘further steps’ in response. Medvedev, who has engaged in a war of words on social media with United States President Donald Trump, made his latest broadside after the Foreign Ministry’s announcement on Monday. … Last week, Trump said that he had ordered two US nuclear submarines to be repositioned to ‘the appropriate regions’ in response to Medvedev’s remarks about the risk of war between Washington and Moscow. In its statement, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the developing situation in Europe and the Asia Pacific prompted its reassessment on the deployment of short- and medium-range missiles.” (08/05/25)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/5/russias-medvedev-issues-warning-as-moscow-says-not-bound-by-missile-treaty
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19) 18) Lebanon: Regime pushes for army plan to disarm Hezbollah by year’s end
Source: SFGate
“The Lebanese government asked the national army on Tuesday to prepare a plan in which only state institutions will have weapons in the small nation by the end of the year, a move that aims to disarm the militant Hezbollah group. The announcement by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam after a nearly six-hour Cabinet meeting, came shortly after Hezbollah’s leader said his group would not disarm and warned that the Iran-backed faction would resume missile attacks on Israel if military operations against them intensify. Salam said the government asked the army to have the plan ready by the end of the month for discussion and approval. The government’s move came as Beirut is under U.S. pressure to disarm the group that recently fought a 14-month war with Israel and was left gravely weakened, with many of its political and military leaders dead.” (08/05/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/hezbollah-threatens-to-resume-firing-missiles-at-20803039.php
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20) KS: Passerby subdues intruder who attacked woman
Source: WJTV 12 News
“Police in Lawrence, Kansas, say they have a good Samaritan to thank for helping subdue a suspect who was attacking a woman in her home. Austin Netherton says he is just thankful he happened to pass by the woman’s home when he did. … At the time of the attack, Netherton was walking into his apartment building. ‘I was just punching in my door code and kind of heard what sounded like violent TV, obviously a struggle. When I looked over at the window, it was wide open, and he was on top of her. He was attacking her. I just went through the window and grabbed him,’ Netherton explained. Netherton said he held the attacker down while the woman called 911 and continued to subdue the suspect until police responded.” (08/04/25)
https://www.wjtv.com/news/kansas-man-with-the-right-skill-set-saves-woman-attacked-by-intruder-in-her-home/
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Are you ready for “Hawley Bucks?”
Source: The Hill
by Merrill Matthews
“There is no public policy idea so dumb to preclude some member of Congress from whole-heartedly supporting it. … Now that Trump’s tariffs are extracting billions of taxpayer dollars from Americans, Hawley proposes to have the government hand out checks to most Americans. Let’s call them Hawley Bucks. According to The Hill, Hawley’s proposal would offer $600 ‘tariff rebates.’ Children are included, meaning that it ‘would give a family of four $2,400.’ The senator says, ‘Like President Trump proposed, my legislation would allow hard-working Americans to benefit from the wealth that Trump’s tariffs are returning to this country.’ What a stupid statement. That ‘wealth’ Hawley’s referring to belonged to Americans, and the money isn’t ‘returning’ to America because it was already here.” (08/05/25)
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5436045-american-worker-rebate-act/
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22) Trump’s Tariffs Come For Your Morning Wake-Up Routine
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“Brazil … accounts for 45% of US coffee imports, and 99% of the coffee we drink is imported (outside of Hawaii, American soil/climate are apparently not very hospitable to coffee cultivation). How much coffee comes to the US from Brazil? About eight million 60-kilogram (132 pound) bags per year. Americans drink 179 billion cups of coffee per year, 491 million cups per day. That’s about to get a LOT more expensive, whether you go in for fru-fru bespoke beverages prepared by expert baristas at your favorite shop, or just fire up your drip, ‘k-cup,’ or espresso machine at home. ‘DON’T MESS WITH PEOPLE’S COFFEE’ strikes me as one of the most basic rules implicit in the maintenance of civil society, but apparently Trump didn’t get the memo.” (08/05/25)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/19857
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23) Should Strong Gods Bet On GDP?
Source: Astral Codex Ten
by Scott Alexander
“[Y]es, part of the good life is participation in a tight-knit community with strong values. Liberalism’s shared values are comparatively weak, and its knitting comparatively loose. But that’s no argument against the liberal project. Its goal isn’t to become this kind of community itself, but to be the platform where communities like this can grow up. So in a liberal democracy, Christians can have their church, Jews their synagogue, Communists their commune, and so on. Everyone gets the tight-knit community they want — which beats illiberalism, where (at most) one group gets the community they want and everyone else gets persecuted. On a theoretical level, this is a great answer. On a practical level — is it really working?” (08/05/25)
https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/should-strong-gods-bet-on-gdp
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24) Pursuing Regime Change in China and Russia Is Delusional
Source: The American Conservative
by Ted Galen Carpenter
“Members of Washington’s foreign policy elite (which Ben Rhodes, Barack Obama’s deputy national security advisor, once labeled ‘the blob’ during a moment of candor) are extremely fond of ‘regime change’ as the preferred method for dealing with adversarial governments. Hawkish allies in Europe share that mentality. Some activists now want to see if the strategy can work to oust Russian president Vladimir Putin and end the war between Russia and Ukraine with a definitive victory for NATO’s Ukrainian proxy. A few hawks even advocate pursuing regime change in China. In both cases, the strategy likely would prove catastrophic.” (08/05/25)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/pursuing-regime-change-in-china-and-russia-is-delusional/
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25) Why Would Media Report on Public Broadcasting Funding and Ignore their Financial Records?
Source: Racket News
by Greg Collard
“One would think reporters would give their audience an idea of stations’ finances by doing something very simple: report on the money they have. There’s no excuse not to. The information is public record and especially easy to look up, thanks to ProPublica’s fantastic Nonprofit Explorer tool. It’s also on stations’ websites. I generally don’t support taxpayer funding — I never did in my 23 years in public media — but even if you do, supporters of public broadcasting and reporters should never make either assumption. … It turns out that CPB had nearly $400 million in assets as of September 30th, according to its audit completed in February. That includes nearly $180 million in cash, and about the same amount in investments. ” (08/05/25)
https://www.racket.news/p/why-would-media-report-on-public?
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26) An inclusive Lebanon, one less gun at a time
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“A frequent diplomatic success in recent years has been persuading armed militias to give up their weapons and focus on peaceful politics. Examples can be found in Northern Ireland, Colombia, the Palestinian territories, and, lately, in Turkey. On Tuesday, Lebanon headed down this road. For the first time in decades, the country’s highest executive body took up the issue of a timetable to disarm the Shiite militant group Hezbollah. Lebanon’s collective identity as a nation, as well as its ability to rebuild after a 13-month war with Israel, depends on Hezbollah acknowledging that the state must have a monopoly over the use of force. Or, as President Joseph Aoun said last month, the Lebanese army ‘alone reflects the Lebanese people’s desire to see their country free, sovereign and independent.'” (08/05/25)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2025/0805/An-inclusive-Lebanon-one-less-gun-at-a-time
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27) In Pursuit of True Speech
Source: Law & Liberty
by Adam Tomkins
“Freedom of speech is in a bad place. The modern, young identitarian left appears to have given up on it, regarding it as a dinosaur, of value only to bigots, billionaires, and kleptocrats. Elements of the political right regard it as little more than a political football, to be kicked about in the culture wars as a weapon in the war on woke. The former are more interested in cancelling speakers who offend them than in engaging them in debate and seeking to defeat them in argument. The latter take an extremist approach to free speech (as long as it is speech they agree with), holding that anything goes in an unlicensed, unregulated marketplace of ideas. Both are profoundly wrong and are doing immense damage to the once-cherished ideal of free speech.” (08/05/25)
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/in-pursuit-of-true-speech/
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28) Sorts of Deals
Source: EconLog
by Pierre Lemieux
“A deal is an agreement to exchange something for some consideration, but different sorts of deals exist. A deal is not necessarily a free exchange and a free exchange is not necessarily a free-market exchange. The gold standard of all deals is a free-market exchange: a voluntary exchange where alternative demanders and suppliers exist. The free market does not need to be perfectly competitive, but alternatives are available at costs that are not too high.” (08/05/25)
https://www.econlib.org/sorts-of-deals/
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29) America the FUBAR: Reclaiming and Restoring America
Source: TomDispatch
by William Astore
“As a retired U.S. Air Force officer, I firmly believe in civilian control of our military. This country should be a nation of laws — not of special interests, oligarchs, or kings. Before committing our forces to battle, Congress should always declare war in the name of the people. Our military should indeed be a citizen-soldier force, not an isolated caste driven by a warrior ethos. And above all, the United States should be a republic ruled by law and shaped by sound moral values, not a greed-driven empire fueled by militarism. Yet when I express such views, I feel like I’m clinging to a belief in the tooth fairy, the Easter Bunny, and Santa Claus. It feels idealistic, naïve, even painful to think that way.” (08/05/25)
https://tomdispatch.com/america-the-fubar/
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30) The Sigmoidal Moral Value Function
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
“What’s the most familiar form of radiation damage? Sunburn. And as we all know, 100 minutes in the sun does not do ten times as much harm as 10 minutes in the sun! Instead, there is a sigmoidal dose-response function. 10 minutes in the sun does zero visible damage to even the lightest-skinned person, but 100 minutes will burn such a person to a crisp. Which is virtually the same effect as 1000 minutes in the sun! … I’ve known about Devanney’s arguments in favor of the sigmoidal model of the harm of radiation for a year or two now. Once I understood the model, however, I started to notice additional applications. Sigmoidal dose-response functions are common not only in the natural world, but in the social world.” (08/05/25)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/the-sigmoidal-moral-value-function
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31) Why I’m launching a legal war against California Democrats’ unconstitutional power grab
Source: Fox News
by Steve Hilton
“California Democrats are once again trying to rig the system, overturn elections and steal congressional seats from Republicans. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta are planning to redraw California’s congressional maps in 2025 or 2026, halfway through the decade and years before the next census. This isn’t about ‘fairness’ or ‘democracy.’ It’s a blatant, unconstitutional power grab designed to silence millions of voters and cement one-party rule in California. Democrats are already trying to rewrite the history of this redistricting fight, claiming it’s just retaliation for Republican maps in Texas. But let’s be clear: California started this.” (08/05/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/steve-hilton-why-im-launching-legal-war-against-california-democrats-unconstitutional-power-grab
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32) Trade-Offs in Trump’s Trade Policy
Source: Cobden Centre
by Michael Froman
“One of the hardest jobs of a policymaker is to weigh trade-offs. Few policies are clean, absolute, and without costs. The art and science of policymaking often comes down to ensuring that the dots between different policy objectives are connected, and the trade-offs are accurately identified and assessed, as part of the decision-making process. Occasionally, policymakers find themselves managing inherent contradictions: the policies they choose to pursue to achieve one of their objectives make another one of their objectives harder or impossible to achieve. Now that the contours of the Trump administration’s trade policy are coming into greater focus — as initial draft frameworks for agreements emerge from the back and forth of escalatory and de-escalatory rhetoric and positioning — those contradictions are coming into stark relief.” (08/05/25)
https://www.cobdencentre.org/2025/08/trade-offs-in-trumps-trade-policy/
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33) It’s Not Okay To Be A Grown Adult In August 2025 And Still Believe Lies About Gaza
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“It’s not okay to be a grown adult with internet access in August 2025 and still believe that what we are seeing in Gaza is not a genocide. It’s not okay to be a grown adult with internet access in August 2025 and still believe this mass atrocity is about self-defense. It’s not okay to be a grown adult with internet access in August 2025 and still believe that people in Gaza are not being deliberately starved by Israel. It’s not okay to be a grown adult with internet access in August 2025 and still believe that Israel destroyed Gaza’s entire healthcare system because there were Hamas bases in every part of that healthcare system. It’s not okay to be a grown adult with internet access in August 2025 and still believe that Israel is banning foreign journalists from entering Gaza because it is concerned for the journalists’ safety.” (08/05/25)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2025/08/05/its-not-okay-to-be-a-grown-adult-in-august-2025-and-still-believe-lies-about-gaza/
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34) Why Welfare Statists Hate People Like Wallis Annenberg
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“Before she died last month, longtime Los Angeles resident Wallis Annenberg gave away around $2 billion of her fortune. … While welfare statists undoubtedly like many of the projects she funded, they hate the fact that they were funded through the benevolence of a rich person. You see, the rationale for the welfare state is that people need to be forced to be good, caring, and compassionate. If people were free to decide for themselves what to do with their own money, most of them would turn their backs on their neighbors, the welfare-state argument goes. Therefore, the federal government must step in, seize people’s money through income taxation, and then distribute it to the poor and others.” (08/05/25)
https://www.fff.org/2025/08/05/why-welfare-statists-hate-people-like-wallis-annenberg/
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35) Academic Freedom: How Universities Lost Their Way
Source: Washington Monthly
by Jonathan Zimmerman
“We’ve got this, say some colleges and universities. Yes, we’re cutting deals with Donald Trump’s administration. But we are also preserving our core value: academic freedom. We’ll be OK. That’s what Columbia University declared last month, when it agreed to pay the administration $200 million for allegedly failing to protect students from antisemitic harassment. And it’s what Harvard said last week, when it canceled a journal’s special issue devoted to education in Palestine. Don’t believe them. The Harvard episode is a textbook case of censorship, brought to you by those who proclaim fealty to academic freedom. And once we have turned our back on that principle, we won’t have any reason to exist.” (08/05/25)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2025/08/05/academic-freedom-how-universities-lost-their-way/
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36) Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Imperils the Fourth Amendment Rights of US Citizens
Source: Reason
by Damon Root
“The Fourth Amendment’s guarantee against unreasonable searches and seizures has been regrettably whittled down over the years by the federal courts. Still, some meaningful protections contained in the amendment have managed to persist in U.S. law. As an example, consider a recent federal appellate court decision arising from the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Los Angeles. Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit largely affirmed a lower court ruling that found that the Trump administration was likely guilty of conducting illegal immigration raids in the greater Los Angeles area that violated the Fourth Amendment rights of multiple U.S. citizens.” (08/05/25)
https://reason.com/2025/08/05/trumps-immigration-crackdown-imperils-the-fourth-amendment-rights-of-u-s-citizens/
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37) Why Death Row Captures Headlines
Source: The Pamphleteer
by Davis Hunt
“This morning, the state of Tennessee executed convicted murderer Bryon Black. You’ve probably been inundated with news coverage of this man’s petitions to get off death row, but do you know the details of what he actually did? In 1988, Black was convicted of murdering his girlfriend and her two young daughters. … Experts testified that while one of the deaths was instantaneous, the other two were not. ‘Bullet holes and blood stains on the bed indicated that she was lying in bed when shot and had moved from the bed to the floor after being shot,’ reads a court opinion. ‘There were bloody finger marks down the rail running from the head of the bed to the foot of the bed.’ So, why all the aggressive coverage of this man’s attempts to dodge his sentencing with so little detail about his crime?” (08/05/25)
https://pamphleteer.co/newsletter/much-talk-about-killers/
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38) The War Economy at the Border
Source: CounterPunch
by Michelle Ellner
“In July 2025, the U.S. Congress passed a budget that commits $131 billion to expanding detention, deportation, and border militarization. It is the largest immigration enforcement package in modern U.S. history and one that most people are funding without knowing. Public pension funds, university endowments, and municipal budgets are deeply invested in ICE’s machinery. If you pay into a retirement fund, attend a university, or live in a major city, your money might be helping detain someone. Your tax dollars already are.” (08/05/25)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/08/05/the-war-economy-at-the-border/
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39) Linking tariff “deals” to US security interests is harder than it looks
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Karthik Sankaran
“Behind the headlines of billion-dollar commitments lie questions about enforcement, consistency, and international buy-in.” (08/05/25)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-tariffs-2673858212/
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40) Tariffs Tanked GDP, Not Imports
Source: The Daily Economy
by David Hebert
“The latest GDP report has Washington officials buzzing. Growth hit 3.0 percent for Q2, which is a staggering reversal of the dismal -0.5 percent growth in Q1. The White House claims that this is evidence that their trade policies are ‘an absolute blockbuster.’ New Right pundits are pointing out that it beat expectations and that it ‘has good internals.’ … ‘Collapsing imports,’ these pundits say, ‘saved the day’ with regard to GDP figures, just as they were quick to use a surge in imports to explain the Q1 shrinkage. Both are dead wrong. This latest report is just more evidence that tariffs are a disaster, and the economists who warned about them were correct.” (08/05/25)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/tariffs-tanked-gdp-not-imports/
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41) US Must Understand: Story of Gaza Genocide Did Not Begin on October 7
Source: Common Dreams
by James Zogby
“Our understanding of an historical event’s meaning is a function of two factors. The first is what we choose to identify as the starting point leading up to the event. The second is the lens through which we view it. This should be obvious, but unfortunately it is not, and the failure to acknowledge or understand it has consequences in everything from public policy to personal relationships. This truth can be ignored due to thoughtlessness, blindness to one’s biases, or just plain ignorance. On some occasions there can be malign intent, including efforts to deliberately hide what one knows to be an event’s antecedents for political or personal reasons. Before examining the issue that prompted this column, I want to share an example. The comedian Dick Gregory once noted that despite what we were taught in school, ‘Columbus didn’t discover America, because it wasn’t lost.'” (08/05/25)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/history-didn-t-start-october-7
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42) Texas Range War
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“Fifty-one Democrats have left the Republic — er, State — of Texas. Well, 51 Democratic state legislators have run past the border, all to prevent a redistricting scheme. They constitute a minority in the House, but without them a quorum cannot be reached. Think of it as a form of filibuster. Or ‘voting with their feet.’ … Twenty-five years ago I wrote that ‘courts have struck down districts drawn to get a certain racial outcome, but have turned a blind eye to districts that arbitrarily favor one party over another. The solution to incumbents monopolizing our elections is term limits. But another key factor in promoting democracy is to stop the politicians from drawing rigged districts that squelch competition.'” (08/05/25)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2025/08/05/texas-range-war/
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43) Here’s What Gabbard’s Russiagate Report Missed
Source: Antiwar.com
by William Dunkerley
“‘An easing of tensions and improved relations with Russia — from a position of strength — is possible. Common sense says this cycle of hostility must end.’ Candidate Donald Trump said that on April 27, 2016. At first glance that might sound rather irrelevant to Gabbard’s Russiagate revelations. But let me connect the dots for you.” (08/05/25)
https://original.antiwar.com/williamdunkerley/2025/08/04/heres-what-gabbards-russiagate-report-missed/
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44) The Trump administration doesn’t need to go to Brazil to find government censorship. It can look in a mirror.
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Sarah McLaughlin
“There is plenty to debate about how to best protect free speech on the global internet, and around the world more generally, and what actions the United States can take in its defense. But, even though Brazil’s adversarial relationship with free expression is deeply alarming, it’s impossible to ignore the incongruity of the Trump administration putting itself in the position of diagnosing and treating government censorship. Physician, heal thyself.” (08/04/25)
https://www.thefire.org/news/trump-administration-doesnt-need-go-brazil-find-government-censorship-it-can-look-mirror
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45) Don’t whine about federal budget cuts, lefties; put your money where your mouths are
Source: New York Post
by Daniel McCarthy
“Before politics overwhelmed the word, the primary meaning of ‘liberal’ was ‘generous’. President Donald Trump and the Republican Congress have given political liberals a chance to take that meaning back — by opening their wallets to show just how much they value NPR, PBS and other programs defunded by the GOP. There’s no shortage of funds on the left. Laurene Powell Jobs, the mega-rich backer of The Atlantic, has a net worth estimated at above $11 billion a year ago and believed to be even higher today. George Soros, at 94, has a fortune in the vicinity of $7 billion, with billions more in his Open Society Foundation. Bill Gates has about $115 billion, his ex-wife Melinda around $30 billion. Any one of these left-leaning billionaires could single-handedly make up the $535 million that NPR, PBS and local stations were getting annually from taxpayers before Congress zeroed out the subsidies.” (08/04/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/08/04/opinion/dont-whine-about-federal-budget-cuts-lefties-put-your-money-where-your-mouths-are/
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46) Are We Over-Medicalising Menopause?
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Maryanne Demasi
“On July 15, the FDA convened a two-hour expert panel to review its longstanding guidance on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for menopause. At first glance, it appeared to be a genuine opportunity to revisit the legacy of the landmark Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), engage with clinical experts, and improve public messaging around hormone treatment. But beneath the surface, the event raised uncomfortable questions. There was no dissent. The risks of HRT were downplayed, and women were left with the impression that they were jeopardising their health by not taking it. What unfolded was a lineup of pro-HRT advocates, many with industry ties, in what often felt more like a public relations campaign than a balanced scientific discussion.” (08/04/25)
https://brownstone.org/articles/are-we-over-medicalising-menopause/
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47) Keeping AI agents under control doesn’t seem very hard
Source: Understanding AI
by Timothy B Lee
“In the AI safety community, discussions of AI risk typically focus on ‘alignment.’ It’s taken for granted that we will cede more and more power to AI agents, and the debate focuses on how to ensure our AI overlords turn out to be benevolent. In my view, a more promising approach is to just not cede that much power to AI agents in the first place. We can have AI agents perform routine tasks under the supervision of humans who make higher-level strategic decisions. … Organizations will not face a stark choice between turning control over to AI systems or missing out on the benefits of AI. If they’re smart about it, they can have the best of both worlds.” (08/04/25)
https://www.understandingai.org/p/keeping-ai-agents-under-control-doesnt
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48) Why red tape holds back Mexico’s entrepreneurs
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Sergio Martínez
“Imagine if Steve Jobs or Jeff Bezos had been required to obtain fifteen permits, pay multiple unrelated fees, and navigate unreliable public services before launching their businesses. The world might have missed out on Apple and Amazon. For too many aspiring entrepreneurs in Mexico, this is what they face.” (08/04/25)
https://fee.org/articles/why-red-tape-holds-back-mexicos-entrepreneurs/
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49) Surveillance at the Border
Source: The American Prospect
by James Baratta
“Santa Cruz County, Arizona, is the smallest county in the Grand Canyon State, but its location makes it significant. Home to more than 50,000 people, the vast majority of whom identify as Hispanic or Latino, the county is located in the southernmost part of central Arizona and shares a 54-mile stretch of border with the Mexican state of Sonora. Along this stretch of land is Nogales, the county’s administrative seat and a major port of entry into the United States; millions of people and billions of dollars in trade pass through it every year. Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora, are bisected by a demarcation line established by the purchase, six years after the Mexican-American War, of Mexican land by the United States. But the sister cities — collectively referred to as Ambos Nogales — comprise a single urban area characterized by high levels of cross-border interaction and a common culture.” (08/05/25)
https://prospect.org/justice/2025-08-05-border-surveillance-algorithms/
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50) Data Brokers Are Ignoring Privacy Law. We Deserve Better.
Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
by Hayley Tsukayama
“Of the many principles EFF fights for in consumer data privacy legislation, one of the most basic is a right to access the data companies have about you. It’s only fair. So many companies collect information about us without our knowledge or consent. We at least should have a way to find out what they purport to know about our lives. Yet a recent paper from researchers at the University of Californian-Irvine found that, of 543 data brokers in California’s data broker registry at time of publishing, 43 percent failed to even respond to requests to access data. Let’s stop there for a second. That’s more than four in ten companies from an industry that makes its money from collecting and selling our personal information, ignoring one of our most basic rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act: the right to know what information companies have about us.” (08/04/25)
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/08/data-brokers-are-ignoring-privacy-law-we-deserve-better
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Pink Flame of Liberty, 08/05/25
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“Angela McArdle: Fear, Loathing, and Self-Dealing on the LNC, discussion with Jake Porter.” (08/05/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS2n1PQnCFo
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52) Health Care News Podcast, episode 603
Source: Heartland Institute
“RFK Jr. is clamping down on removing organs from patients declared ‘brain dead.'” (08/05/25)
https://heartland.org/podcasts/rfk-jr-is-clamping-down-on-removing-organs-from-patients-declared-brain-dead/
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53) Trump Watch, 08/05/25
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“Killing the Messenger.” (08/05/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC_k1VsvqdA
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54) Capital Record, episode 249
Source: National Review
“Why I Will Always Be a Free Trader.” (08/05/25)
https://www.nationalreview.com/podcasts/capital-record/why-i-will-always-be-a-free-trader/
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55) The Bryan Hyde Show, 08/05/25
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
“Eric Peters from Eric Peters Autos is my guest. We talk current events, personal freedom and all things automotive, all while managing to keep a sense of humor.” (08/05/25)
https://www.podbean.com/ep/pb-69q8q-1925f15
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56) Legal Spirits, episode 69
Source: Law and Religion Forum
“Center Director Mark Movsesian talks with legal scholar Steven D. Smith about a question that goes to the heart of American law and politics: What happens when people stop believing in ‘the consent of the governed?'” (08/05/25)
https://lawandreligionforum.org/2025/08/05/legal-spirits-069-the-consent-of-the-governed/
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57) Agorist Nexus Podcast,episode 175
Source: Agorist Nexus
“Software, blockchain and the Agorist Cipher with TechLibre.” (08/05/25)
https://www.agoristnexus.com/software-blockchain-and-the-agorist-cipher-with-techlibre-175/
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58) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 08/05/25
Source: Antiwar.com
“Netanyahu Plans Full Israeli Occupation of Gaza, Russia No Longer Bound by INF Limits, and More.” (08/05/25)
https://rumble.com/v6x5ja8-netanyahu-plans-full-israeli-occupation-of-gaza-russia-no-longer-bound-by-i.html
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59) Bulwark Takes, 08/04/25
Source: The Bulwark
“Marjorie Taylor Greene Threatens GOP Mutiny.” (08/04/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sdETM-tFUo
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60) System Update, episode 497
Source: System Update
“Trump Admin Unleashes More Policies That Prioritize Israel Over American Citizens; The Smear Campaign Against Gaza Aid Whistleblower with Journalist Mel Witte.” (08/04/25)
https://rumble.com/v6x4ykg-system-update-show-497.html
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61) (Re)Imagining Liberty, episode 89
Source: Aaron Ross Powell
“AI, Cultural Tools, and Pluralism (w/ Ted Underwood)” (08/04/25)
https://shows.acast.com/68374f956e5b65d78756e10f/6890b3bec6d705dd3a961b98
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62) Declare Your Independence with Ernest Hancock 08/04/25
Source: Freedom’s Phoenix
“Quinten van Welzen (Head of Marketing & Growth @ ZANO) comes on the show to discuss Zano, an open-source cryptocurrency and ecosystem with enterprise-grade privacy, security, and scalability that operates as a robust foundation for confidential assets and decentralised applications (dApps).” (08/04/25)
https://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Media/382573-2025-08-03-2025-08-04-ernest-hancock-interviews-quinten-van-welzen-head.htm
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63) The Tom Woods Show, episode 2676
Source: The Tom Woods Show
“Inflation vs. Families, Children, and Social Health.” (08/04/25)
https://tomwoods.com/ep-2676-inflation-vs-families-children-and-social-health/
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64) Washington Monthly Podcast, 08/04/25
Source: Washington Monthly
“Matt Cooper, Paul Glastris, and Bill Scher discuss the ongoing redistricting chaos in Texas, the implications of recent economic turmoil, and the shifting dynamics of GOP support for Israel amidst the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.” (08/04/25)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2025/08/04/gop-under-pressure-redistricting-economy-israel/
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65) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 08/04/25
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“BLS-Gate: Lies, Damned Lies, And (Government) Statistics.” (08/04/25)
https://rumble.com/v6x4kus-bls-gate-lies-damned-lies-and-government-statistics.html
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