05/27 -- TX: GOP primary voters back Talarico for US Senate; The Triumph of the Libertarian-Hyphenates
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Thomas L. Knapp
May 27, 2026, 6:29:37 AMMay 27
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 05/27/26
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Today's Freedom News:
1) TX: GOP primary voters back Talarico for US Senate
2) Crimea: Sevastopol governor says Ukrainian regime used Storm Shadow missiles in attack
3) Trump gathers cabinet to discuss terms of US regime’s surrender in Iran war
4) SCOTUS tosses Florida regime’s lawsuit against states for driver’s licenses issued to undocumented immigrants
5) Bitcoin Volatility Hits Nine-Month Low
6) Ireland: Regime to Ban Goods from Israeli Squats in Palestine’s Occupied West Bank
7) Netherlands: Regime blocks US company’s takeover of vital digital supplier
8) Accuser’s lawyer drops him as client in sex slavery lawsuit
9) Canada: Teen girl charged with arson after allegedly torching American baseball team’s charter bus
10) KY: Massie files paperwork to run in 2028, says he hasn’t made a “final decision” about his political future
11) Laos: Rescuers race to free seven people trapped in flooded cave
12) Senegal: Ousted PM Sonko elected parliament speaker in challenge to President Faye
13) France: Gisèle Pelicot “deeply shocked” by decision not to jail boys in rape case
14) Indianapolis resident to lead Libertarian National Committee
15) Hong Kong: Beijing puppet regime proposes issuing 10,000 permits for drivers on ride-hailing apps like Uber
16) Spaniard tests positive for hantavirus in cruise-linked oubtreak
17) France: Wave of child abuse cases shakes schools in Paris
18) Blue Origin cleared to launch New Glenn rocket again after FAA investigation
19) AL: Federal court blocks plan for new congressional districts
20) Tunisia: Political prisoner sentenced to new jail term
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) The Triumph of the Libertarian-Hyphenates
22) War With Iran, Phase Two: All Three Plausible Explanations Call for One Corrective Action
23) When Our Word Is No Longer Good
24) The Posterity Pact
25) Ayn Rand Is Alive in Ankara
26) Spare Us the Selective Outrage
27) Why the Ten Commandments Don’t Belong in Public Schools
28) The Danger of an Unexamined Status Quo
29) To Understand Where America Is Heading, Read Sports
30) Is deflation bad for the economy?
31) Trump’s SCOTUS appeal targets #MeToo injustice that’s warping our courts
32) The Normalization Distraction
33) It’s Not Okay To Join The Military
34) The Slow Disappearance of Cash in Europe
35) A Century of Progressive Apartheid
36) Could Inflation Help Explain Falling Birth Rates?
37) Trump understands what Washington politicians forgot: Cuba is a major threat to America
38) More Iran war? There goes the neighborhood, and global economy.
39) What the marriage and family nostalgia is really about
40) Would Hasan Piker Steal A Car?
41) Do US War Crimes Doom the World to Endless War and Chaos?
42) How Western Intelligence Agencies Built the Global Jihadist Network
43) Driving VPNs South
44) Homeric Heresies
45) All Stephen Colbert Had To Do Was Not Suck; He Couldn’t Do It
46) Contra Yglesias
47) Are You Pulling, Or Are You The Rope?
48) Why Is the Milei Economy Struggling?
49) Stephen Miller’s Impossible America
50) The military’s broken promotion system is a major suicide risk
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Reason Roundtable, 05/26/26
52) Trump Watch, 05/26/26
53) Rising, 05/26/26
54) The Bryan Hyde Show, 05/26/26
55) The Good Fight, 05/26/26
56) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 05/26/26
57) PropagandaWatch, 05/25/26
58) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 05/25/26
59) Finding Freedom, 05/25/26
60) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 05/25/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) TX: GOP primary voters back Talarico for US Senate
Source: Axios
“Republican primary voters on Tuesday rejected U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, one of the Senate’s most senior GOP members, in favor of Trump-backed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. … ‘Tonight is the beginning of the fight to preserve every value we hold dear,’ Paxton told supporters, referring to his upcoming general election campaign against Democrat James Talarico. … Cornyn and his supporters warned that the outcome could complicate Republicans’ efforts to hold the seat in November against Talarico, a state representative from Austin.” [editor’s note: Paxton seems to think Texas Republicans hold fraud, bribery, and adultery “dear” as “values.” And he just may be right – TLK] (05/27/26)
https://www.axios.com/local/austin/2026/05/27/texas-senate-gop-cornyn-paxton
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2) Crimea: Sevastopol governor says Ukrainian regime used Storm Shadow missiles in attack
Source: Reuters
“Air defence units in the port of Sevastopol in Russian-occupied [sic] Crimea downed more than 20 Ukrainian drones early on Wednesday, with Ukraine also using Storm Shadow missiles, the city’s governor said on Telegram. There were no injuries, according to preliminary data, Mikhail Razvozhayev said, adding that a few buildings, including a regional office of the central bank and an eight-story apartment block, were damaged in the attack. Storm Shadow missiles are made by a Franco-British consortium. Russia, which annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, has previously summoned the British and French ambassadors to protest Ukraine’s use of the weapons.” (05/27/26)
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/sevastopol-governor-says-ukraine-used-storm-shadow-missiles-attack-2026-05-27/
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5) Trump gathers cabinet to discuss terms of US regime’s surrender in Iran war
Source: Associated Press
“President Donald Trump will meet with his Cabinet on Wednesday at a precarious moment for talks aimed at ending the war with Iran, just days after insisting that his administration and Tehran had ‘largely negotiated’ a settlement but with the negotiations still in a state of flux. As he prepares to huddle with his top aides, Trump is projecting confidence that he’s closing in on a deal that will reopen the Strait of Hormuz and provide him a credible argument that Iran’s nuclear capability has been diminished enough to declare victory, winding down a conflict that’s been politically unpopular for Republicans. … The emerging deal puts off many critical issues to be resolved later and has already exposed the president to fierce criticism — even from some of his own supporters — that Iran’s hardline leaders will emerge from the conflict battered but emboldened.” (05/27/26)
https://apnews.com/article/trump-iran-nuclear-cabinet-meeting-af77d581873bfeec32d7342b56841244
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4) SCOTUS tosses Florida regime’s lawsuit against states for driver’s licenses issued to undocumented immigrants
Source: NBC News
“The Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out a long-shot lawsuit in which Florida sought to sue California and Washington for allegedly allowing people who entered the country illegally [sic] to obtain commercial truck driver’s licenses. Florida’s claim was filed in the aftermath of a high-profile crash in the state last year in which a truck driven by an Indian man, Harjinder Singh, was involved in an accident that left three people dead. The state, which says Singh did not have legal status in the United States, alleges he was wrongly issued licenses in both California and Washington. … The court denied the state’s appeal without comment. Conservative [sic] Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a separate opinion saying he would have heard the case. He was joined by fellow conservative [sic] Justice Samuel Alito.” (05/26/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-florida-lawsuit-drivers-licenses-undocumented-immigrants-rcna265323
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5) Bitcoin Volatility Hits Nine-Month Low
Source: Bloomberg
“Bitcoin’s expected volatility has fallen to the lowest level in nine months, as subdued trading and a shift in speculative interest away from the largest cryptocurrency dampen demand for options protection. The Bitcoin Volmex Implied Volatility Index fell to 36.11 Monday in Singapore, its lowest since September last year and close to its lowest since 2023. The index reflects the market’s expected 30-day volatility in Bitcoin, derived from real-time crypto options prices.” (05/26/26)
https://archive.is/HfhT7
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6) Ireland: Regime to Ban Goods from Israeli Squats in Palestine’s Occupied West Bank
Source: US News & World Report
“Ireland aims to pass a law curbing goods trade with settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank by mid-July with Israel, some U.S. lawmakers and business groups opposing the move, Foreign Minister Helen McEntee said on Tuesday. Ireland’s government, one of the most outspoken critics of Israel’s war in Gaza, first promised to sanction Israeli settlements in October 2024. The legislation has since been held up by pressure from opposition politicians who aimed to extend the ban also to services trade, on one side, and international company lobbyists seeking to scrap the bill, on the other. Sources told Reuters last October that the bill was set to be limited to goods. Prime Minister Micheal Martin confirmed that last week and said widening the scope to services was neither ‘implementable’ nor ‘viable.'” (05/26/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-05-26/ireland-to-ban-goods-from-israeli-settlements-in-west-bank-by-july
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7) Netherlands: Regime blocks US company’s takeover of vital digital supplier
Source: Politico
“The Dutch government is blocking a United States-based company’s attempts to acquire a key online identification IT supplier. Dutch firm Solvinity runs a platform for the country’s DigiD app, which allows the country’s citizens to authenticate themselves online when they want to book a doctor’s appointment, buy a house or interact with public authorities. In November, U.S.-based Kyndryl announced it would acquire Solvinity, triggering concerns that a key Dutch online identification tool would fall under foreign control. Across Europe, there have been increased concerns about the bloc’s reliance on U.S. technology. … The decision comes a week before the European Commission is set to unveil its tech sovereignty package, a set of proposals to reduce Europe’s reliance on foreign technology in the areas of cloud, microchips and AI.” (05/26/26)
https://www.politico.eu/article/netherlands-blocks-us-takeover-vital-digital-supplier
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8) Accuser’s lawyer drops him as client in sex slavery lawsuit
Source: New York Post
“The high-flying lawyer repping disgraced former JPMorgan banker Chirayu Rana in his salacious sex-slave lawsuit has suddenly dropped his client — just hours before a court hearing, The Post has learned. Daniel Kaiser, who previously repped Jeffrey Epstein accusers, filed a consent to be ‘discharged’ as attorney for Rana just hours before they were due to appear in court on Tuesday. Shockingly, the document reveals that Rana does not have a new lawyer lined up, and will be representing himself ‘pro se’ until he decides to find a new attorney. … JPMorgan Chase executive Lorna Hajdini — who Rana claims turned him into a sex slave — has since filed defamation claims against him.” (05/26/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/05/26/business/ex-jpmorgan-banker-chirayu-rana-hit-with-major-setback-in-outrageous-sex-slave-lawsuit-hours-before-court-appearance/
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9) Canada: Teen girl charged with arson after allegedly torching American baseball team’s charter bus
Source: Fox News
“A Canadian teenager is facing arson charges after authorities say she torched a charter bus belonging to an American professional baseball team during a road trip to Winnipeg, Canada. The Kane County Cougars, a U.S.-based independent professional baseball team, were traveling in Canada for games against the Winnipeg Goldeyes. On May 21, law enforcement agencies responded to the team’s bus engulfed in flames outside Blue Cross Park, according to Winnipeg Police Service. Authorities determined that the fire was intentionally set. Two teenagers were initially taken into custody. A 15-year-old girl has since been charged with arson causing damage to property and possession of incendiary material.” (05/25/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/world/canadian-teen-girl-charged-arson-allegedly-torching-american-baseball-teams-charter-bus
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10) KY: Massie files paperwork to run in 2028, says he hasn’t made a “final decision” about his political future
Source: NBC News
“Fresh off last week’s primary loss, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., announced Monday he had filed paperwork for a 2028 run for the House — or something else. ‘I filed with the [Federal Election Commission] for the 2028 House race. This allows me to raise funds to continue my political operations supporting my position as a current office holder and as a potential candidate for federal office,’” Massie wrote on X. ‘I haven’t made a final decision about which office to seek, if I run,’ he added. In an interview Sunday on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press,’ Massie declined to rule out a 2028 presidential bid.” (05/25/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/rep-thomas-massie-files-paperwork-run-2028-says-hasnt-made-final-decis-rcna346831
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11) Laos: Rescuers race to free seven people trapped in flooded cave
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Rescuers are racing against time to free seven people who have been trapped for nearly a week in a flooded cave in Laos. The seven were part of a group of villagers from the central province of Xaysomboun who had gone into the cave on Wednesday in search of gold and wildlife, but could not get out as rain and landslides blocked the cave’s entrance. Footage shared by the rescue groups show the cave divers crawling into the cave through narrow, muddy passageways that are almost completely flooded. Several experts involved in the dramatic rescue of a team of teenage footballers trapped deep inside a Thai cave back in 2018 are among those helping with the current rescue effort. A survivor who had managed to escape alerted the authorities about those still trapped, according to reports.” (05/26/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cglpp1g388zo
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12) Senegal: Ousted PM Sonko elected parliament speaker in challenge to President Faye
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“Senegal is mired in a deep political crisis after President Bassirou Diomaye Faye on Friday sacked the popular Ousmane Sonko and dissolved the government after months of tensions. Sonko’s election as parliament speaker comes a day after Faye named senior economist Ahmadou Al Aminou, former regional central bank official, as prime minister. … Faye essentially owes his position to Sonko, his one time mentor who would almost certainly have taken the top job had he not been barred from running in the last presidential election due to a defamation conviction. The two men have fallen out in recent months as Senegal battles public debt. Faye wants to discuss a new aid programme with the IMF, while Sonko prefers a domestic, sovereigntist approach.” (05/26/260
https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20260526-senegal-ousted-pm-sonko-elected-parliament-speaker-in-challenge-to-president-faye
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13) France: Gisèle Pelicot “deeply shocked” by decision not to jail boys in rape case
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“French rape survivor Gisèle Pelicot has told the BBC she is ‘deeply shocked’ that three teenage boys have been spared custodial sentences over the rape of two girls in Hampshire. The girls, then aged 15 and 14, were raped in separate incidents in Fordingbridge in November 2024 and January 2025, by two 14-year-olds. Another boy, then 13, was also convicted for his involvement in the second attack. The judge had said last week he wanted to avoid criminalizing the ‘very young’ boys. The youth rehabilitation order sentences handed to the boys are being referred to the Court of Appeal by the attorney general. Pelicot said she ‘saluted the strength’ and courage of one of the girls for speaking out.” (05/26/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2117685lwo
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14) Indianapolis resident to lead Libertarian National Committee
Source: Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
“An Indianapolis resident who has served as the chair of the Libertarian Party of Indiana since 2021 has been elected chair of the Libertarian National Committee. Evan McMahon was chosen as the party chair out of a multi-candidate field during this weekend’s Libertarian Party convention in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the party said in a Monday news release.” [editor’s note: As is often the case, McMahon’s candidacy proved controversial. Too early to tell how much of the controversy is warranted, though my early evaluation of Libertarian National Convention outcomes is “mixed,” but I did not attend and haven’t completely caught up yet – TLK] (05/25/26)
https://www.journalgazette.net/local/indiana/indianapolis-resident-to-lead-libertarian-national-committee/article_211a4782-e274-45bc-8048-e26fd4480ffa.html
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15) Hong Kong: Beijing puppet regime proposes issuing 10,000 permits for drivers on ride-hailing apps like Uber
Source: SFGate
“The Hong Kong government on Tuesday proposed issuing 10,000 new vehicle permits for drivers to work for online ride-hailing services like Uber, less than half the amount that industry representatives were hoping for. Hong Kong has about 18,000 licensed taxis and caps private service car-hire permits at 1,500, and these drivers can be summoned through ride-hailing apps. But the additional drivers who operate through those apps technically are outside the law and in the past have faced arrest, though they are prevalent in the city. The Hong Kong government unveiled details of a regulatory framework last summer to bring the industry under formal regulation, following years of pressure from taxi companies. Smart Transportation Alliance, whose members include ride-hailing firms and other transportation companies, had proposed in May that 20,500 new car permits be allowed in an initial phase.” (05/26/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/hong-kong-proposes-issuing-10-000-permits-for-22276741.php
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16) Spaniard tests positive for hantavirus in cruise-linked oubtreak
Source: United Press International
“A Spanish national who was aboard the hantavirus-hit cruise ship has tested positive for the virus, Spanish health officials said, apparently increasing the number of confirmed and probable cases linked to the outbreak to 13. The unidentified patient was among the 14 Spanish nationals who disembarked from the vessel in Tenerife, Canary Islands, on the morning of May 10, after the hantavirus cluster was identified earlier that month. Three of the cases have died. Spain’s Ministry of Health said the patient was confirmed positive while in preventive quarantine at Gomez Ulla Hospital in Madrid, where the individual has been under clinical surveillance and isolation since disembarking from the vessel.” (05/26/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/05/26/spain-Spaniard-hantavirus-positive-cruise/6841779771727/
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17) France: Wave of child abuse cases shakes schools in Paris
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“A school assistant will go on trial in Paris on Tuesday accused of sexual mistreatment of young children in his care. It is the latest case in a year-long scandal that has shaken the school system in the French capital, where some 15,000 such assistants (known as animateurs) are employed as non-teaching staff. Currently enquiries are under way at nearly 100 Paris crèches, kindergartens and junior schools where animateurs have been accused of inappropriate, aggressive or sexualised behaviour. Trials in three other cases are to take place over the summer, and a verdict is due in a fourth which was held earlier this month. More are likely to follow. Last week police detained 16 people after a swoop at three schools in the 7th arrondissement or district. Three people were subsequently charged with sexually inappropriate behaviour to children.” (05/26/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8e8gx2d7j4o
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18) Blue Origin cleared to launch New Glenn rocket again after FAA investigation
Source: Engadget
“Blue Origin can now make more concrete plans for New Glenn’s next flight after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has cleared the rocket for launch. If you’ll recall, the FAA grounded New Glenn after failing to properly put its payload in orbit during its third mission. Now, in a post on X, the aerospace company announced that the agency approved its report for the flight and accepted the corrective measures it implemented. … the FAA revealed that the final report had identified the direct cause of the mishap ‘”as a cryogenic leak that froze a hydraulic line and led to a thrust anomaly during the second-stage engine burn.'” (05/26/26)
https://www.engadget.com/2180875/blue-origin-new-glenn-faa-clearance/
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19) AL: Federal court blocks plan for new congressional districts
Source: SFGate
“Federal judges on Tuesday blocked Alabama’s plan to use a congressional map that could give Republicans an advantage in a key U.S. House race in the midterm elections. A three-judge panel in the state’s long-running redistricting case issued a preliminary injunction that prevents the state from switching maps, ruling that the Republican-backed plan ‘intentionally discriminated based on race’ by including only one [b]lack-majority district. The judges instead required Alabama to continue using a court-ordered map in place for the 2024 elections that includes two districts where [b]lack residents compose a majority or close to it. ‘Ultimately, we cannot see our way clear to requiring Alabamians to cast their votes in the 2026 elections under a districting plan tainted by intentional race-based discrimination,’ the judges wrote.” (05/26/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/federal-court-blocks-alabama-plan-for-new-22276610.php
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20) Tunisia: Political prisoner sentenced to new jail term
Source: The New Arab [UK]
“Tunisian lawyer and media commentator Sonia Dahmani, who was released from detention last year, was sentenced on Monday to two years in prison over comments she made about the country’s jails, her lawyer said. A Tunis court issued the verdict following a hearing on Friday, according to defence lawyer Sami Ben Ghazi, who said he had filed an appeal. Dahmani was freed in November after spending more than 18 months in prison over comments she made denouncing racism in Tunisia. A critic of President Kais Saied, she faces prosecution in five separate cases, all tied to her comments and media appearances.” (05/25/26)
https://www.newarab.com/news/prominent-tunisian-lawyer-gets-new-jail-term
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) The Triumph of the Libertarian-Hyphenates
Source: Chris’s Substack
by Chris Matthew Sciabarra
“Libertarians are not unique in their diversity or their internal squabbles. Indeed, as a friend of mine once quipped, wherever there’s an ‘ism,’ there’s a schism — whether in religion, philosophy, or political thought. For example, socialism has long been an umbrella term for a diverse and often bitterly opposed group of thinkers and traditions …. And there’s even socialist overlap with libertarianism since figures associated with the latter, such as Benjamin Tucker, have identified with the former. Indeed, many anarchists and libertarian-socialists — from Proudhon to Emma Goldman — have inspired contemporary American libertarians. Zwolinski reminds us that the very term ‘libertarian’ was introduced by the French anarcho-communist Joseph Déjacque in the 1850s. … Internal squabbles have also been found among the followers of Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism.” (05/26/26)
https://chrismatthewsciabarra.substack.com/p/the-triumph-of-the-libertarian-hyphenates
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22) War With Iran, Phase Two: All Three Plausible Explanations Call for One Corrective Action
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“So, here we are: Instead of taking his lumps, letting the war end, and hoping for an economic upturn before the midterm elections mangle his party’s present projects and future prospects, Trump is doubling down. There are three, and only three, plausible explanations: Explanation One is that he’s evil, hates America, and is doing his damnedest to destroy the US economy. … Explanation Two is that he’s stupid — whether by nature or due to his obvious cognitive decline — and just doesn’t know what he’s doing or understand its moral, political, or economic implications. … Explanation Three is that Trump — again, possibly due to the obvious cognitive decline he’s publicly and frequently displayed since before his second inauguration — isn’t in charge; the presidency is effectively controlled by other people who happen to be evildoers.” (05/26/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20632
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23) When Our Word Is No Longer Good
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ron Paul
“The pattern of media reports – based on White House leaks – that an agreement with Iran is almost completed has become predictable. Where once the markets fluctuated wildly (and some insiders made huge profits with the information), each time we hear that the deal is almost complete only to see it fall through, the markets barely move. It is dangerous to have a US Administration that no one in the US or the rest of the world believes.” (05/26/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/paul/2026/05/25/when-our-word-is-no-longer-good
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24) The Posterity Pact
Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders
“The dead made promises on our behalf. We pay their debts, inherit their quarrels, and walk roads they laid and ruins they left. This is the ordinary condition of being alive. We arrive in a world built by the hands of the dead, which, for better or worse, is our inheritance. Some accept this fact without much thought. What we accept less readily is its mirroring — that we, too, will shape the world for others to inherit. Just as the dying left us an inheritance of gifts and debts, we will leave one, too.” (05/26/26)
https://underthrow.substack.com/p/the-posterity-pact
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25) Ayn Rand Is Alive in Ankara
Source: Reason
by Selim Koru
“Turkey’s major political traditions of the past two generations — Kemalist secular statism, political Islam, and ethnic nationalism — all subordinate the individual to a collective project in different ways. Rand is countercultural against all three, and yet she articulates something that life in Turkey has quietly become: more individualist, more disenchanted, more on the hustle. That is why her readers pop up in unexpected places, and why they have been multiplying for over half a century. Today, the political scene is more conducive to young readers of Rand than ever before.” (05/26/26)
https://reason.com/2026/05/26/ayn-rand-is-alive-in-ankara/
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26) Spare Us the Selective Outrage
Source: American Greatness
by Victor Davis Hanson
“Since October 7, we have been lectured nonstop about the supposedly singular sins of Israel. The campuses, the left-wing media, and the new Democratic Socialist officials, both federal and state, following the cue of student activists and professors from the Middle East, have painted Israel and their Jewish supporters as Nazis, fascists, and among the worst murderers in today’s bloody world. This is nonsensical. The medieval-style massacre of 1,200 Jews in their homes on October 7, during a time of peace, should have increased awareness of the existential dangers Israel faced. Instead, it spawned a gathering storm of antisemitism.” (05/26/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/05/26/spare-us-the-selective-outrage/
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27) Why the Ten Commandments Don’t Belong in Public Schools
Source: The Dispatch
by Michael A Helfand
“There’s a reason so many conservative justices over the past 40 years have rejected the idea that the establishment clause prohibits only compelled religious exercise. If government is permitted to use its power, prestige, and resources to overwhelm citizens with government-preferred religious messages, it paves the way for the manipulation of religious conscience, especially when dealing with children in classrooms. Protecting the independence of religious conscience is a core constitutional commitment, expressed perhaps most famously by James Madison in his 1785 ‘Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments,’ where he insisted that ‘[t]he Religion then of every man must be left to the conviction and conscience of every man.’ The First Amendment is allergic to religious orthodoxies. For this reason, requiring the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms crosses a fundamental constitutional line.” (05/26/26)
https://thedispatch.com/article/ten-commandments-religion-state-public-schools/
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28) The Danger of an Unexamined Status Quo
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Russ Gonnering
“Medical school always had its own set of peculiar struggles, as, I suppose, does everything. Certainly, Basic Training in the military is an eye-opener. What makes medical school unique is the profound contrast of the reality with the ideal.” (05/26/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/the-danger-of-an-unexamined-status-quo/
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29) To Understand Where America Is Heading, Read Sports
Source: TomDispatch
by Robert Lipsyte
“When Chinese leaders claim that the American empire is in decline, I immediately assume their analysts are decoding dispatches from ESPN, The Athletic, and columnist Shams Charania. After all, it’s in sportswriting, I’ve come to think, that the songs of the canary in the all-American coal mine couldn’t be clearer. If the games we play and watch reflect our past and present lives, then the coverage and commentary about them may help predict our future. American sportswriters have been cheerleaders for empire since the early twentieth century, when Bat Masterson decided that shooting people in Dodge City wasn’t fulfilling enough for a man of his talent and ambition. Yes, that Bat Masterson. He came East and, as a boxing columnist for the New York Morning Telegraph, became a new sheriff in the emerging industry I’ve come to call SportsWorld.” (05/26/26)
https://tomdispatch.com/a-short-history-of-sportswriting-from-bat-masterson-to-shams-charania/
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30) Is deflation bad for the economy?
Source: Cobden Centre
by Dr. Frank Shostak
“It is maintained by most experts that a general fall in prices labelled as deflation is ‘bad news’ for the economy for it postpones people’s buying of goods and services, which in turn undermines investment in plant and machinery. All this sets in motion an economic slump. Moreover, as the slump further depresses the prices of goods and services, this intensifies the pace of economic decline. … The emergence of deflation is always good news to the economy since it is in response to the liquidation of various activities that caused the erosion of the savings generation process.” (05/26/26)
https://www.cobdencentre.org/2026/05/is-deflation-bad-for-the-economy-2/
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31) Trump’s SCOTUS appeal targets #MeToo injustice that’s warping our courts
Source: New York Post
by Betsy McCaughey
“When the accusation is sexual assault or rape, the rights of the accused go out the window. President Trump knows that firsthand — and he’s asking the US Supreme Court to remedy it. Prosecutors and plaintiffs’ lawyers can drag in character assassins who know nothing about the alleged assault, but instead make their own claims — without proof — that they too were victims of the accused, often years or even decades earlier. That’s what happened to Trump in the E. Jean Carroll case, and why he’s appealing the jury’s decision. Last week, the justices delayed for the 11th time answering whether they will take up E. Jean Carroll v. Trump.” (05/26/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/05/26/opinion/trumps-supreme-court-appeal-targets-metoo-injustice/
-----
32) The Normalization Distraction
Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison
“The president’s attempt to get more states to establish diplomatic ties with Israel will be no more successful than the criminal war he started.” (05/26/26)
https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/the-normalization-distraction
-----
33) It’s Not Okay To Join The Military
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Polly on Twitter asks, ‘Is there a pejorative term for military like what pig is for cops?’ Dear Polly, No, but there should be. We need to start stigmatizing that shit. It is not okay to be a stormtrooper for the western empire. It is not honorable. It is not worthy of respect. If you are a westerner who is considering joining the military, you should choose a different career path instead. Don’t thank soldiers for their ‘service.’ Don’t play along with the lie that your nation’s soldiers fight for your rights or your freedom. It only encourages more people to join the military when you do that. It’s irresponsible and unethical.” (05/26/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/05/26/its-not-okay-to-join-the-military/
-----
34) The Slow Disappearance of Cash in Europe
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Cláudia Ascensão Nunes
“Under the guise of fighting money laundering, the EU is making anonymous economic activity progressively harder. Starting in July 2027, Europeans will no longer be allowed to pay businesses or professionals more than €10,000 in cash (roughly $11,500). Any transaction above €3,000 (just under $3,500) will require mandatory customer identification. This is another step toward political uniformity across Europe, stripping countries of autonomy and subtly pushing citizens toward the digital euro. This measure, part of the new Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR), applies directly to all Member States. Under the pretext of fighting money laundering, Brussels is imposing yet another form of forced harmonization that ignores the principle of subsidiarity: the idea that decisions should be made at the level closest to citizens and national governments.” (05/26/26)
https://fee.org/articles/the-slow-disappearance-of-cash-in-europe/
-----
35) A Century of Progressive Apartheid
Source: Law & Liberty
by Paul Moreno
“This year marks the centennial of zoning in the United States, when the Supreme Court upheld comprehensive municipal land-use restrictions over the claims of property owners. The decision, Euclid v. Ambler Realty, was a milestone in the progressives’ campaign to overcome constitutional impediments to their plans for social engineering. In the ensuing century, zoning fundamentally altered the geography of American life, turning what had just become an urban-majority nation into a suburban one. Critics on both the libertarian right and woke left condemn zoning as a back-door version of apartheid, a stealthy way to keep immigrants and blacks out of ‘desirable’ neighborhoods.” (05/26/26)
https://lawliberty.org/a-century-of-progressive-apartheid/
-----
36) Could Inflation Help Explain Falling Birth Rates?
Source: The Daily Economy
by Vincent Geloso
“Jeffery Degner’s recent book makes the case that monetary policy reshapes time preference, and with it, decisions about family formation.” (05/26/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/could-inflation-help-explain-falling-birth-rates/
-----
37) Trump understands what Washington politicians forgot: Cuba is a major threat to America
Source: Fox News
by Carlos Trujillo & Alberto Martinez
“On May 20, 1902, the Cuban flag flew for the first time over an independent country. One hundred and twenty-four years later, the Cuban people are still not free. Every president before Donald Trump either did nothing about Cuba, did too little, or did too much for the regime. Trump is the first to recognize that the regime is a threat to America itself and to resolve to confront it once and for all. That his predecessors failed to do so is not only the Cuban people’s tragedy. It is ours. Cuba’s communist regime is a designated State Sponsor of Terrorism. It ran two of the most damaging espionage operations against the United States in modern memory. It was the intelligence backbone of the Maduro narco-state. It has served as a coordinating hub for the migration flows and drug routes flooding American communities. The suffering Havana exports has cost American lives.” (05/26/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/trump-understands-washington-politicians-forgot-cuba-major-threat-america
-----
38) More Iran war? There goes the neighborhood, and global economy.
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Karthik Sankaran
“For all the uncertainty about what will happen next on the military and diplomatic front in the Iran war, there is certainty about what has already happened on the economic front. And it is not good.” (05/26/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/economy-iran-war/
-----
39) What the marriage and family nostalgia is really about
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Stephanie Coontz
“I’ve spent much of my career as a historian criticizing any idealization of 1950s marriages. Domestic violence and child abuse were much more common then than today. It was perfectly legal for a man to forcibly rape his wife. And depression among homemakers was so widespread that by the end of the decade, physicians had labeled it the ‘housewife’s syndrome.’ … But I now believe I’ve been too dismissive of such nostalgia. The sense of loss that underlies it is not ‘all in people’s heads.’ Instead, I’ve come to see it as an example of what physicians call ‘referred pain,’ like when a problem in one part of the body is experienced as pain elsewhere. So too, I think, much of the pain we feel in our social and family relations originates in a deeper part of the economy and the body politic.” (05/26/26)
https://archive.is/4PsMG
-----
40) Would Hasan Piker Steal A Car?
Source: EconLog
by Joy Buchanan
“In a controversial conversation platformed by the New York Times and recently discussed in The Atlantic, streamer Hasan Piker implied that he might steal a car if it carried no consequences. In the interview, author Jia Tolentino also casually admits to shoplifting lemons from Whole Foods. Although petty theft is common, the interview clip spread quickly because the justification for looting felt oddly assertive. Piker referred to the iconic anti-piracy campaign that sought to use moral vibes (rather than rational arguments) against taking physical property to convince people to further control their impulses and not copy music without paying. The anti-piracy clip ‘You Wouldn’t Steal a Car’ indicates an implicit assumption from 2004 that American society was broadly agreed on the stability of physical property. In other words, most Americans do not think ‘property is theft.'” (05/26/26)
https://www.econlib.org/econlog/would-hasan-piker-steal-a-car
-----
41) Do US War Crimes Doom the World to Endless War and Chaos?
Source: Common Dreams
by Nicolas JS Davies
“On May 24, Iran rejected President Trump’s latest fake peace deal, confirming that he had misrepresented what Iran had agreed to and that the two sides are still very far apart, on nuclear enrichment, on control of the Strait of Hormuz, on peace in Palestine and Lebanon, and on lifting US sanctions, paying war reparations, and Iran’s $100 billion in frozen assets. Iran’s conditions for a peace agreement are necessarily uncompromising, in response to the US record of using negotiations as cover for sneak attacks, and the charade of one-sided ‘ceasefires with Israeli characteristics,’ in which the US and Israel routinely ignore and violate every ceasefire they agree to, including the present ones in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran.” (05/26/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/trump-s-war-crimes
-----
42) How Western Intelligence Agencies Built the Global Jihadist Network
Source: Libertarian Institute
by José Niño
“Americans have been fed a comforting fairy tale about Islamic terrorism. Radical jihadists attack the West simply because they despise freedom, democracy, and the American way of life. This narrative flatters domestic audiences while conveniently obscuring a far more troubling reality. For decades, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Israel have armed, financed, tolerated, and tapped into Sunni Islamist extremists as geopolitical tools to destabilize rivals. The evidence spans multiple theaters and rests on declassified documents, congressional investigations, and credible investigative journalism.” (05/26/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/how-western-intelligence-agencies-built-the-global-jihadist-network/
-----
43) Driving VPNs South
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“Public Safety Canada, an agency responsible for safety, security, emergency preparedness and this kind of thing, recently urged Canadians to protect themselves when using public Wi-Fi by also using a VPN. ‘Using a VPN protects your data,’ the agency said. True. Unless — unless others in the government succeed in requiring VPN companies to uniformly sabotage the privacy of their customers. The mechanism for crippling VPNs? That would be the pending legislation to force VPN providers to retain personal data which users expect them not to retain, in this way killing these companies’ very reason for being as well as Canadian Internet users’ reasons to employ these companies.” (05/26/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/05/26/driving-vpns-south/
-----
44) Homeric Heresies
Source: Quillette
by Cathy Young
“Outrage over a black Helen of Troy misunderstands the long Western tradition of radically reinventing classical myths.” (05/25/26)
https://quillette.com/2026/05/25/homeric-heresies-christopher-nolan-odyssey-lupita-nyongo/
-----
45) All Stephen Colbert Had To Do Was Not Suck; He Couldn’t Do It
Source: Town Hall
by Derek Hunter
“It was his last show and it was the only episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert I’ve ever watched. Yes, I’d seen clips, but I had honestly never watched a full episode ever. I never actually watched an episode of The Colbert Report either, or The Daily Show for that matter. Watching liberals pretend to be honest brokers on the news of the day never appealed to me. But Colbert’s last show did, mostly because I wanted to see one fresh before it was too late and I figured he and his ample staff would bring their A-game. Boy, was I wrong.” (05/26/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2026/05/26/all-stephen-colbert-had-to-do-was-not-suck-he-couldnt-do-it-n2676621
-----
46) Contra Yglesias
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“My usual explanation for why I call myself a libertarian instead of a liberal is that after the enemies of liberalism stole its name we needed a new one. In a recent Substack post, however, Matthew Yglesias writes that: ‘while some classical liberals have called the Republican Party home, liberalism has largely been a Democratic Party project.’ His view is that ‘liberals’ in the modern American sense, classical liberals and libertarians are all liberals in the same sense. Is he right?” (05/25/26)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/contra-yglesias
-----
47) Are You Pulling, Or Are You The Rope?
Source: The Reframe
by AR Moxon
“[O]ne way of looking at an audience is ‘anyone who experiences the art.’ This expansive view is, I think, is a vital and true way of defining audience. It’s important to hold the expansive idea of audience in mind, and to be open to it. Another way to think about audience is to say it is the community with whom the artist is in conversation. In this sense, audience moves closer to the artistic intent. It’s not that the art is closed to anyone else; it’s that it is entering an already-existing conversation and speaking into it, and so it exists within that specific conversation in a specific way. Which version of audience is true? I think both are true.” (05/25/26)
https://www.the-reframe.com/are-you-pulling-or-are-you-the-rope
-----
48) Why Is the Milei Economy Struggling?
Source: Independent Institute
by Alvaro Vargas Llosa
“One problem with raising expectations, as a government such as Javier Milei’s did in Argentina, is that when things don’t look as bright as one would like, people begin to lose faith in the ideas. Much emphasis was placed at the beginning on the superiority of the libertarian ideas the president professes, and they were proclaimed with such forceful, aggressive assertiveness that, even though he himself made clear it would take time and sacrifices to clean up the disaster he inherited, people became convinced of the inevitability of progress. Such faith inevitably carried with it high expectations and impatience. Now, almost two and a half years into his administration, many Argentines are losing sight of the legacy of so many years of failed policies he had to confront when he came into office and beginning to associate what is happening today … with the present administration rather than past ones.” (05/25/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/05/25/milei-economy-struggling/
-----
49) Stephen Miller’s Impossible America
Source: The American Prospect
by Paul Starr
“Last New Year’s Eve, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted an image online of an inviting, deserted beach with a classic mid-20th-century car parked on the sand. In the sky were the words ‘America After 100 Million Deportations,’ and above the image was a caption, ‘The peace of a nation no longer besieged by the third world.’ This fantasy scenario, the removal of more than a quarter of the U.S. population, didn’t come from a random online troll. It was posted on X by the official feed of the federal agency charged with immigration enforcement. The driving force behind the Trump administration’s efforts to stop the ‘third world’ from ‘besieging’ the United States is Stephen Miller, the president’s deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser.” (05/26/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/05/26/stephen-millers-impossible-america/
-----
50) The military’s broken promotion system is a major suicide risk
Source: Sex and the State
by Cathy Reisenwitz
“In 2022, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin put together a Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee (SPRIRC). This body released a report full of recommendations for reducing suicides among current and former military personnel. … According to the SPRIRC, the military promotion system is so broken that it’s on par with firearms availability and access to mental health professionals as meaningful contributors to suicide risk. If that’s true, imagine how much money that broken system wastes outside of suicides. It’s hard to fathom.” (05/25/26)
https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/the-militarys-broken-promotion-system
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Reason Roundtable, 05/26/26
Source: Reason
"Does Anyone Know What's Happening in Iran?" (05/26/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/05/26/does-anyone-know-whats-happening-in-iran/
-----
52) Trump Watch, 05/26/26
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“U.S. Terrorism Against Cuba.” (05/26/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsZAJjyhfaw
-----
53) Rising, 05/26/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave gives his radar on Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt claiming that homeless people in LA are not truly homeless, but rather choose to live on the street because of their drug addiction.” (05/26/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/5891215-rising-may-26-2026/
-----
54) The Bryan Hyde Show, 05/26/26
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
“Thomas Massie may have primaried by the DC swamp but he still has seven months to continue holding the uniparty accountable.” (05/26/26)
https://www.podbean.com/ep/pb-yctm2-1ad2aee
-----
55) The Good Fight, 05/26/26
Source: Yascha Mounk
“H.W. Brands on the Making of George Washington.” (05/26/26)
https://writing.yaschamounk.com/p/hw-brands
-----
56) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 05/26/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump Tirades Take Unhinged Turn as His Epic Poll Collapse Rattles GOP.” (05/26/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/210866/trump-tirades-take-unhinged-turn-epic-poll-collapse-rattles-gop
-----
57) PropagandaWatch, 05/25/26
Source: The Corbett Report
“So, they’re wearing literal skin suits on the news now …” (05/25/26)
https://corbettreport.com/so-theyre-wearing-literal-skin-suits-on-the-news-now/
-----
58) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 05/25/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“US Military Says It Bombed Southern Iran, US Backs Israel’s Escalation in Lebanon, and More.” (05/25/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HcEfb6mQAQ
-----
59) Finding Freedom, 05/25/26
Source: Lions of Liberty
“The Financialist Kill Chain: 400 Years of Global Looting with E.M. Burlingame.” (05/25/26)
https://www.lionsofliberty.com/episodes/ff-the-financialist-kill-chain-400-years-of-global-looting-with-em-burlingame
-----
60) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 05/25/26
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Larry Johnson: How Trump’s Failure in China Impacts the War Against Iran.” (05/25/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/blog/larry-johnson-how-trumps-failure-in-china-impacts-the-war-against-iran/
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Today's Freedom News:
1) TX: GOP primary voters back Talarico for US Senate
2) Crimea: Sevastopol governor says Ukrainian regime used Storm Shadow missiles in attack
3) Trump gathers cabinet to discuss terms of US regime’s surrender in Iran war
4) SCOTUS tosses Florida regime’s lawsuit against states for driver’s licenses issued to undocumented immigrants
5) Bitcoin Volatility Hits Nine-Month Low
6) Ireland: Regime to Ban Goods from Israeli Squats in Palestine’s Occupied West Bank
7) Netherlands: Regime blocks US company’s takeover of vital digital supplier
8) Accuser’s lawyer drops him as client in sex slavery lawsuit
9) Canada: Teen girl charged with arson after allegedly torching American baseball team’s charter bus
10) KY: Massie files paperwork to run in 2028, says he hasn’t made a “final decision” about his political future
11) Laos: Rescuers race to free seven people trapped in flooded cave
12) Senegal: Ousted PM Sonko elected parliament speaker in challenge to President Faye
13) France: Gisèle Pelicot “deeply shocked” by decision not to jail boys in rape case
14) Indianapolis resident to lead Libertarian National Committee
15) Hong Kong: Beijing puppet regime proposes issuing 10,000 permits for drivers on ride-hailing apps like Uber
16) Spaniard tests positive for hantavirus in cruise-linked oubtreak
17) France: Wave of child abuse cases shakes schools in Paris
18) Blue Origin cleared to launch New Glenn rocket again after FAA investigation
19) AL: Federal court blocks plan for new congressional districts
20) Tunisia: Political prisoner sentenced to new jail term
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) The Triumph of the Libertarian-Hyphenates
22) War With Iran, Phase Two: All Three Plausible Explanations Call for One Corrective Action
23) When Our Word Is No Longer Good
24) The Posterity Pact
25) Ayn Rand Is Alive in Ankara
26) Spare Us the Selective Outrage
27) Why the Ten Commandments Don’t Belong in Public Schools
28) The Danger of an Unexamined Status Quo
29) To Understand Where America Is Heading, Read Sports
30) Is deflation bad for the economy?
31) Trump’s SCOTUS appeal targets #MeToo injustice that’s warping our courts
32) The Normalization Distraction
33) It’s Not Okay To Join The Military
34) The Slow Disappearance of Cash in Europe
35) A Century of Progressive Apartheid
36) Could Inflation Help Explain Falling Birth Rates?
37) Trump understands what Washington politicians forgot: Cuba is a major threat to America
38) More Iran war? There goes the neighborhood, and global economy.
39) What the marriage and family nostalgia is really about
40) Would Hasan Piker Steal A Car?
41) Do US War Crimes Doom the World to Endless War and Chaos?
42) How Western Intelligence Agencies Built the Global Jihadist Network
43) Driving VPNs South
44) Homeric Heresies
45) All Stephen Colbert Had To Do Was Not Suck; He Couldn’t Do It
46) Contra Yglesias
47) Are You Pulling, Or Are You The Rope?
48) Why Is the Milei Economy Struggling?
49) Stephen Miller’s Impossible America
50) The military’s broken promotion system is a major suicide risk
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Reason Roundtable, 05/26/26
52) Trump Watch, 05/26/26
53) Rising, 05/26/26
54) The Bryan Hyde Show, 05/26/26
55) The Good Fight, 05/26/26
56) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 05/26/26
57) PropagandaWatch, 05/25/26
58) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 05/25/26
59) Finding Freedom, 05/25/26
60) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 05/25/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) TX: GOP primary voters back Talarico for US Senate
Source: Axios
“Republican primary voters on Tuesday rejected U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, one of the Senate’s most senior GOP members, in favor of Trump-backed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. … ‘Tonight is the beginning of the fight to preserve every value we hold dear,’ Paxton told supporters, referring to his upcoming general election campaign against Democrat James Talarico. … Cornyn and his supporters warned that the outcome could complicate Republicans’ efforts to hold the seat in November against Talarico, a state representative from Austin.” [editor’s note: Paxton seems to think Texas Republicans hold fraud, bribery, and adultery “dear” as “values.” And he just may be right – TLK] (05/27/26)
https://www.axios.com/local/austin/2026/05/27/texas-senate-gop-cornyn-paxton
-----
2) Crimea: Sevastopol governor says Ukrainian regime used Storm Shadow missiles in attack
Source: Reuters
“Air defence units in the port of Sevastopol in Russian-occupied [sic] Crimea downed more than 20 Ukrainian drones early on Wednesday, with Ukraine also using Storm Shadow missiles, the city’s governor said on Telegram. There were no injuries, according to preliminary data, Mikhail Razvozhayev said, adding that a few buildings, including a regional office of the central bank and an eight-story apartment block, were damaged in the attack. Storm Shadow missiles are made by a Franco-British consortium. Russia, which annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, has previously summoned the British and French ambassadors to protest Ukraine’s use of the weapons.” (05/27/26)
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/sevastopol-governor-says-ukraine-used-storm-shadow-missiles-attack-2026-05-27/
-----
5) Trump gathers cabinet to discuss terms of US regime’s surrender in Iran war
Source: Associated Press
“President Donald Trump will meet with his Cabinet on Wednesday at a precarious moment for talks aimed at ending the war with Iran, just days after insisting that his administration and Tehran had ‘largely negotiated’ a settlement but with the negotiations still in a state of flux. As he prepares to huddle with his top aides, Trump is projecting confidence that he’s closing in on a deal that will reopen the Strait of Hormuz and provide him a credible argument that Iran’s nuclear capability has been diminished enough to declare victory, winding down a conflict that’s been politically unpopular for Republicans. … The emerging deal puts off many critical issues to be resolved later and has already exposed the president to fierce criticism — even from some of his own supporters — that Iran’s hardline leaders will emerge from the conflict battered but emboldened.” (05/27/26)
https://apnews.com/article/trump-iran-nuclear-cabinet-meeting-af77d581873bfeec32d7342b56841244
-----
4) SCOTUS tosses Florida regime’s lawsuit against states for driver’s licenses issued to undocumented immigrants
Source: NBC News
“The Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out a long-shot lawsuit in which Florida sought to sue California and Washington for allegedly allowing people who entered the country illegally [sic] to obtain commercial truck driver’s licenses. Florida’s claim was filed in the aftermath of a high-profile crash in the state last year in which a truck driven by an Indian man, Harjinder Singh, was involved in an accident that left three people dead. The state, which says Singh did not have legal status in the United States, alleges he was wrongly issued licenses in both California and Washington. … The court denied the state’s appeal without comment. Conservative [sic] Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a separate opinion saying he would have heard the case. He was joined by fellow conservative [sic] Justice Samuel Alito.” (05/26/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-florida-lawsuit-drivers-licenses-undocumented-immigrants-rcna265323
-----
5) Bitcoin Volatility Hits Nine-Month Low
Source: Bloomberg
“Bitcoin’s expected volatility has fallen to the lowest level in nine months, as subdued trading and a shift in speculative interest away from the largest cryptocurrency dampen demand for options protection. The Bitcoin Volmex Implied Volatility Index fell to 36.11 Monday in Singapore, its lowest since September last year and close to its lowest since 2023. The index reflects the market’s expected 30-day volatility in Bitcoin, derived from real-time crypto options prices.” (05/26/26)
https://archive.is/HfhT7
-----
6) Ireland: Regime to Ban Goods from Israeli Squats in Palestine’s Occupied West Bank
Source: US News & World Report
“Ireland aims to pass a law curbing goods trade with settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank by mid-July with Israel, some U.S. lawmakers and business groups opposing the move, Foreign Minister Helen McEntee said on Tuesday. Ireland’s government, one of the most outspoken critics of Israel’s war in Gaza, first promised to sanction Israeli settlements in October 2024. The legislation has since been held up by pressure from opposition politicians who aimed to extend the ban also to services trade, on one side, and international company lobbyists seeking to scrap the bill, on the other. Sources told Reuters last October that the bill was set to be limited to goods. Prime Minister Micheal Martin confirmed that last week and said widening the scope to services was neither ‘implementable’ nor ‘viable.'” (05/26/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-05-26/ireland-to-ban-goods-from-israeli-settlements-in-west-bank-by-july
-----
7) Netherlands: Regime blocks US company’s takeover of vital digital supplier
Source: Politico
“The Dutch government is blocking a United States-based company’s attempts to acquire a key online identification IT supplier. Dutch firm Solvinity runs a platform for the country’s DigiD app, which allows the country’s citizens to authenticate themselves online when they want to book a doctor’s appointment, buy a house or interact with public authorities. In November, U.S.-based Kyndryl announced it would acquire Solvinity, triggering concerns that a key Dutch online identification tool would fall under foreign control. Across Europe, there have been increased concerns about the bloc’s reliance on U.S. technology. … The decision comes a week before the European Commission is set to unveil its tech sovereignty package, a set of proposals to reduce Europe’s reliance on foreign technology in the areas of cloud, microchips and AI.” (05/26/26)
https://www.politico.eu/article/netherlands-blocks-us-takeover-vital-digital-supplier
-----
8) Accuser’s lawyer drops him as client in sex slavery lawsuit
Source: New York Post
“The high-flying lawyer repping disgraced former JPMorgan banker Chirayu Rana in his salacious sex-slave lawsuit has suddenly dropped his client — just hours before a court hearing, The Post has learned. Daniel Kaiser, who previously repped Jeffrey Epstein accusers, filed a consent to be ‘discharged’ as attorney for Rana just hours before they were due to appear in court on Tuesday. Shockingly, the document reveals that Rana does not have a new lawyer lined up, and will be representing himself ‘pro se’ until he decides to find a new attorney. … JPMorgan Chase executive Lorna Hajdini — who Rana claims turned him into a sex slave — has since filed defamation claims against him.” (05/26/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/05/26/business/ex-jpmorgan-banker-chirayu-rana-hit-with-major-setback-in-outrageous-sex-slave-lawsuit-hours-before-court-appearance/
-----
9) Canada: Teen girl charged with arson after allegedly torching American baseball team’s charter bus
Source: Fox News
“A Canadian teenager is facing arson charges after authorities say she torched a charter bus belonging to an American professional baseball team during a road trip to Winnipeg, Canada. The Kane County Cougars, a U.S.-based independent professional baseball team, were traveling in Canada for games against the Winnipeg Goldeyes. On May 21, law enforcement agencies responded to the team’s bus engulfed in flames outside Blue Cross Park, according to Winnipeg Police Service. Authorities determined that the fire was intentionally set. Two teenagers were initially taken into custody. A 15-year-old girl has since been charged with arson causing damage to property and possession of incendiary material.” (05/25/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/world/canadian-teen-girl-charged-arson-allegedly-torching-american-baseball-teams-charter-bus
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10) KY: Massie files paperwork to run in 2028, says he hasn’t made a “final decision” about his political future
Source: NBC News
“Fresh off last week’s primary loss, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., announced Monday he had filed paperwork for a 2028 run for the House — or something else. ‘I filed with the [Federal Election Commission] for the 2028 House race. This allows me to raise funds to continue my political operations supporting my position as a current office holder and as a potential candidate for federal office,’” Massie wrote on X. ‘I haven’t made a final decision about which office to seek, if I run,’ he added. In an interview Sunday on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press,’ Massie declined to rule out a 2028 presidential bid.” (05/25/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/rep-thomas-massie-files-paperwork-run-2028-says-hasnt-made-final-decis-rcna346831
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11) Laos: Rescuers race to free seven people trapped in flooded cave
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Rescuers are racing against time to free seven people who have been trapped for nearly a week in a flooded cave in Laos. The seven were part of a group of villagers from the central province of Xaysomboun who had gone into the cave on Wednesday in search of gold and wildlife, but could not get out as rain and landslides blocked the cave’s entrance. Footage shared by the rescue groups show the cave divers crawling into the cave through narrow, muddy passageways that are almost completely flooded. Several experts involved in the dramatic rescue of a team of teenage footballers trapped deep inside a Thai cave back in 2018 are among those helping with the current rescue effort. A survivor who had managed to escape alerted the authorities about those still trapped, according to reports.” (05/26/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cglpp1g388zo
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12) Senegal: Ousted PM Sonko elected parliament speaker in challenge to President Faye
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“Senegal is mired in a deep political crisis after President Bassirou Diomaye Faye on Friday sacked the popular Ousmane Sonko and dissolved the government after months of tensions. Sonko’s election as parliament speaker comes a day after Faye named senior economist Ahmadou Al Aminou, former regional central bank official, as prime minister. … Faye essentially owes his position to Sonko, his one time mentor who would almost certainly have taken the top job had he not been barred from running in the last presidential election due to a defamation conviction. The two men have fallen out in recent months as Senegal battles public debt. Faye wants to discuss a new aid programme with the IMF, while Sonko prefers a domestic, sovereigntist approach.” (05/26/260
https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20260526-senegal-ousted-pm-sonko-elected-parliament-speaker-in-challenge-to-president-faye
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13) France: Gisèle Pelicot “deeply shocked” by decision not to jail boys in rape case
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“French rape survivor Gisèle Pelicot has told the BBC she is ‘deeply shocked’ that three teenage boys have been spared custodial sentences over the rape of two girls in Hampshire. The girls, then aged 15 and 14, were raped in separate incidents in Fordingbridge in November 2024 and January 2025, by two 14-year-olds. Another boy, then 13, was also convicted for his involvement in the second attack. The judge had said last week he wanted to avoid criminalizing the ‘very young’ boys. The youth rehabilitation order sentences handed to the boys are being referred to the Court of Appeal by the attorney general. Pelicot said she ‘saluted the strength’ and courage of one of the girls for speaking out.” (05/26/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2117685lwo
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14) Indianapolis resident to lead Libertarian National Committee
Source: Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
“An Indianapolis resident who has served as the chair of the Libertarian Party of Indiana since 2021 has been elected chair of the Libertarian National Committee. Evan McMahon was chosen as the party chair out of a multi-candidate field during this weekend’s Libertarian Party convention in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the party said in a Monday news release.” [editor’s note: As is often the case, McMahon’s candidacy proved controversial. Too early to tell how much of the controversy is warranted, though my early evaluation of Libertarian National Convention outcomes is “mixed,” but I did not attend and haven’t completely caught up yet – TLK] (05/25/26)
https://www.journalgazette.net/local/indiana/indianapolis-resident-to-lead-libertarian-national-committee/article_211a4782-e274-45bc-8048-e26fd4480ffa.html
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15) Hong Kong: Beijing puppet regime proposes issuing 10,000 permits for drivers on ride-hailing apps like Uber
Source: SFGate
“The Hong Kong government on Tuesday proposed issuing 10,000 new vehicle permits for drivers to work for online ride-hailing services like Uber, less than half the amount that industry representatives were hoping for. Hong Kong has about 18,000 licensed taxis and caps private service car-hire permits at 1,500, and these drivers can be summoned through ride-hailing apps. But the additional drivers who operate through those apps technically are outside the law and in the past have faced arrest, though they are prevalent in the city. The Hong Kong government unveiled details of a regulatory framework last summer to bring the industry under formal regulation, following years of pressure from taxi companies. Smart Transportation Alliance, whose members include ride-hailing firms and other transportation companies, had proposed in May that 20,500 new car permits be allowed in an initial phase.” (05/26/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/hong-kong-proposes-issuing-10-000-permits-for-22276741.php
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16) Spaniard tests positive for hantavirus in cruise-linked oubtreak
Source: United Press International
“A Spanish national who was aboard the hantavirus-hit cruise ship has tested positive for the virus, Spanish health officials said, apparently increasing the number of confirmed and probable cases linked to the outbreak to 13. The unidentified patient was among the 14 Spanish nationals who disembarked from the vessel in Tenerife, Canary Islands, on the morning of May 10, after the hantavirus cluster was identified earlier that month. Three of the cases have died. Spain’s Ministry of Health said the patient was confirmed positive while in preventive quarantine at Gomez Ulla Hospital in Madrid, where the individual has been under clinical surveillance and isolation since disembarking from the vessel.” (05/26/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/05/26/spain-Spaniard-hantavirus-positive-cruise/6841779771727/
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17) France: Wave of child abuse cases shakes schools in Paris
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“A school assistant will go on trial in Paris on Tuesday accused of sexual mistreatment of young children in his care. It is the latest case in a year-long scandal that has shaken the school system in the French capital, where some 15,000 such assistants (known as animateurs) are employed as non-teaching staff. Currently enquiries are under way at nearly 100 Paris crèches, kindergartens and junior schools where animateurs have been accused of inappropriate, aggressive or sexualised behaviour. Trials in three other cases are to take place over the summer, and a verdict is due in a fourth which was held earlier this month. More are likely to follow. Last week police detained 16 people after a swoop at three schools in the 7th arrondissement or district. Three people were subsequently charged with sexually inappropriate behaviour to children.” (05/26/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8e8gx2d7j4o
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18) Blue Origin cleared to launch New Glenn rocket again after FAA investigation
Source: Engadget
“Blue Origin can now make more concrete plans for New Glenn’s next flight after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has cleared the rocket for launch. If you’ll recall, the FAA grounded New Glenn after failing to properly put its payload in orbit during its third mission. Now, in a post on X, the aerospace company announced that the agency approved its report for the flight and accepted the corrective measures it implemented. … the FAA revealed that the final report had identified the direct cause of the mishap ‘”as a cryogenic leak that froze a hydraulic line and led to a thrust anomaly during the second-stage engine burn.'” (05/26/26)
https://www.engadget.com/2180875/blue-origin-new-glenn-faa-clearance/
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19) AL: Federal court blocks plan for new congressional districts
Source: SFGate
“Federal judges on Tuesday blocked Alabama’s plan to use a congressional map that could give Republicans an advantage in a key U.S. House race in the midterm elections. A three-judge panel in the state’s long-running redistricting case issued a preliminary injunction that prevents the state from switching maps, ruling that the Republican-backed plan ‘intentionally discriminated based on race’ by including only one [b]lack-majority district. The judges instead required Alabama to continue using a court-ordered map in place for the 2024 elections that includes two districts where [b]lack residents compose a majority or close to it. ‘Ultimately, we cannot see our way clear to requiring Alabamians to cast their votes in the 2026 elections under a districting plan tainted by intentional race-based discrimination,’ the judges wrote.” (05/26/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/federal-court-blocks-alabama-plan-for-new-22276610.php
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20) Tunisia: Political prisoner sentenced to new jail term
Source: The New Arab [UK]
“Tunisian lawyer and media commentator Sonia Dahmani, who was released from detention last year, was sentenced on Monday to two years in prison over comments she made about the country’s jails, her lawyer said. A Tunis court issued the verdict following a hearing on Friday, according to defence lawyer Sami Ben Ghazi, who said he had filed an appeal. Dahmani was freed in November after spending more than 18 months in prison over comments she made denouncing racism in Tunisia. A critic of President Kais Saied, she faces prosecution in five separate cases, all tied to her comments and media appearances.” (05/25/26)
https://www.newarab.com/news/prominent-tunisian-lawyer-gets-new-jail-term
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) The Triumph of the Libertarian-Hyphenates
Source: Chris’s Substack
by Chris Matthew Sciabarra
“Libertarians are not unique in their diversity or their internal squabbles. Indeed, as a friend of mine once quipped, wherever there’s an ‘ism,’ there’s a schism — whether in religion, philosophy, or political thought. For example, socialism has long been an umbrella term for a diverse and often bitterly opposed group of thinkers and traditions …. And there’s even socialist overlap with libertarianism since figures associated with the latter, such as Benjamin Tucker, have identified with the former. Indeed, many anarchists and libertarian-socialists — from Proudhon to Emma Goldman — have inspired contemporary American libertarians. Zwolinski reminds us that the very term ‘libertarian’ was introduced by the French anarcho-communist Joseph Déjacque in the 1850s. … Internal squabbles have also been found among the followers of Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism.” (05/26/26)
https://chrismatthewsciabarra.substack.com/p/the-triumph-of-the-libertarian-hyphenates
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22) War With Iran, Phase Two: All Three Plausible Explanations Call for One Corrective Action
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“So, here we are: Instead of taking his lumps, letting the war end, and hoping for an economic upturn before the midterm elections mangle his party’s present projects and future prospects, Trump is doubling down. There are three, and only three, plausible explanations: Explanation One is that he’s evil, hates America, and is doing his damnedest to destroy the US economy. … Explanation Two is that he’s stupid — whether by nature or due to his obvious cognitive decline — and just doesn’t know what he’s doing or understand its moral, political, or economic implications. … Explanation Three is that Trump — again, possibly due to the obvious cognitive decline he’s publicly and frequently displayed since before his second inauguration — isn’t in charge; the presidency is effectively controlled by other people who happen to be evildoers.” (05/26/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20632
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23) When Our Word Is No Longer Good
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ron Paul
“The pattern of media reports – based on White House leaks – that an agreement with Iran is almost completed has become predictable. Where once the markets fluctuated wildly (and some insiders made huge profits with the information), each time we hear that the deal is almost complete only to see it fall through, the markets barely move. It is dangerous to have a US Administration that no one in the US or the rest of the world believes.” (05/26/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/paul/2026/05/25/when-our-word-is-no-longer-good
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24) The Posterity Pact
Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders
“The dead made promises on our behalf. We pay their debts, inherit their quarrels, and walk roads they laid and ruins they left. This is the ordinary condition of being alive. We arrive in a world built by the hands of the dead, which, for better or worse, is our inheritance. Some accept this fact without much thought. What we accept less readily is its mirroring — that we, too, will shape the world for others to inherit. Just as the dying left us an inheritance of gifts and debts, we will leave one, too.” (05/26/26)
https://underthrow.substack.com/p/the-posterity-pact
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25) Ayn Rand Is Alive in Ankara
Source: Reason
by Selim Koru
“Turkey’s major political traditions of the past two generations — Kemalist secular statism, political Islam, and ethnic nationalism — all subordinate the individual to a collective project in different ways. Rand is countercultural against all three, and yet she articulates something that life in Turkey has quietly become: more individualist, more disenchanted, more on the hustle. That is why her readers pop up in unexpected places, and why they have been multiplying for over half a century. Today, the political scene is more conducive to young readers of Rand than ever before.” (05/26/26)
https://reason.com/2026/05/26/ayn-rand-is-alive-in-ankara/
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26) Spare Us the Selective Outrage
Source: American Greatness
by Victor Davis Hanson
“Since October 7, we have been lectured nonstop about the supposedly singular sins of Israel. The campuses, the left-wing media, and the new Democratic Socialist officials, both federal and state, following the cue of student activists and professors from the Middle East, have painted Israel and their Jewish supporters as Nazis, fascists, and among the worst murderers in today’s bloody world. This is nonsensical. The medieval-style massacre of 1,200 Jews in their homes on October 7, during a time of peace, should have increased awareness of the existential dangers Israel faced. Instead, it spawned a gathering storm of antisemitism.” (05/26/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/05/26/spare-us-the-selective-outrage/
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27) Why the Ten Commandments Don’t Belong in Public Schools
Source: The Dispatch
by Michael A Helfand
“There’s a reason so many conservative justices over the past 40 years have rejected the idea that the establishment clause prohibits only compelled religious exercise. If government is permitted to use its power, prestige, and resources to overwhelm citizens with government-preferred religious messages, it paves the way for the manipulation of religious conscience, especially when dealing with children in classrooms. Protecting the independence of religious conscience is a core constitutional commitment, expressed perhaps most famously by James Madison in his 1785 ‘Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments,’ where he insisted that ‘[t]he Religion then of every man must be left to the conviction and conscience of every man.’ The First Amendment is allergic to religious orthodoxies. For this reason, requiring the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms crosses a fundamental constitutional line.” (05/26/26)
https://thedispatch.com/article/ten-commandments-religion-state-public-schools/
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28) The Danger of an Unexamined Status Quo
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Russ Gonnering
“Medical school always had its own set of peculiar struggles, as, I suppose, does everything. Certainly, Basic Training in the military is an eye-opener. What makes medical school unique is the profound contrast of the reality with the ideal.” (05/26/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/the-danger-of-an-unexamined-status-quo/
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29) To Understand Where America Is Heading, Read Sports
Source: TomDispatch
by Robert Lipsyte
“When Chinese leaders claim that the American empire is in decline, I immediately assume their analysts are decoding dispatches from ESPN, The Athletic, and columnist Shams Charania. After all, it’s in sportswriting, I’ve come to think, that the songs of the canary in the all-American coal mine couldn’t be clearer. If the games we play and watch reflect our past and present lives, then the coverage and commentary about them may help predict our future. American sportswriters have been cheerleaders for empire since the early twentieth century, when Bat Masterson decided that shooting people in Dodge City wasn’t fulfilling enough for a man of his talent and ambition. Yes, that Bat Masterson. He came East and, as a boxing columnist for the New York Morning Telegraph, became a new sheriff in the emerging industry I’ve come to call SportsWorld.” (05/26/26)
https://tomdispatch.com/a-short-history-of-sportswriting-from-bat-masterson-to-shams-charania/
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30) Is deflation bad for the economy?
Source: Cobden Centre
by Dr. Frank Shostak
“It is maintained by most experts that a general fall in prices labelled as deflation is ‘bad news’ for the economy for it postpones people’s buying of goods and services, which in turn undermines investment in plant and machinery. All this sets in motion an economic slump. Moreover, as the slump further depresses the prices of goods and services, this intensifies the pace of economic decline. … The emergence of deflation is always good news to the economy since it is in response to the liquidation of various activities that caused the erosion of the savings generation process.” (05/26/26)
https://www.cobdencentre.org/2026/05/is-deflation-bad-for-the-economy-2/
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31) Trump’s SCOTUS appeal targets #MeToo injustice that’s warping our courts
Source: New York Post
by Betsy McCaughey
“When the accusation is sexual assault or rape, the rights of the accused go out the window. President Trump knows that firsthand — and he’s asking the US Supreme Court to remedy it. Prosecutors and plaintiffs’ lawyers can drag in character assassins who know nothing about the alleged assault, but instead make their own claims — without proof — that they too were victims of the accused, often years or even decades earlier. That’s what happened to Trump in the E. Jean Carroll case, and why he’s appealing the jury’s decision. Last week, the justices delayed for the 11th time answering whether they will take up E. Jean Carroll v. Trump.” (05/26/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/05/26/opinion/trumps-supreme-court-appeal-targets-metoo-injustice/
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32) The Normalization Distraction
Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison
“The president’s attempt to get more states to establish diplomatic ties with Israel will be no more successful than the criminal war he started.” (05/26/26)
https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/the-normalization-distraction
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33) It’s Not Okay To Join The Military
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Polly on Twitter asks, ‘Is there a pejorative term for military like what pig is for cops?’ Dear Polly, No, but there should be. We need to start stigmatizing that shit. It is not okay to be a stormtrooper for the western empire. It is not honorable. It is not worthy of respect. If you are a westerner who is considering joining the military, you should choose a different career path instead. Don’t thank soldiers for their ‘service.’ Don’t play along with the lie that your nation’s soldiers fight for your rights or your freedom. It only encourages more people to join the military when you do that. It’s irresponsible and unethical.” (05/26/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/05/26/its-not-okay-to-join-the-military/
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34) The Slow Disappearance of Cash in Europe
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Cláudia Ascensão Nunes
“Under the guise of fighting money laundering, the EU is making anonymous economic activity progressively harder. Starting in July 2027, Europeans will no longer be allowed to pay businesses or professionals more than €10,000 in cash (roughly $11,500). Any transaction above €3,000 (just under $3,500) will require mandatory customer identification. This is another step toward political uniformity across Europe, stripping countries of autonomy and subtly pushing citizens toward the digital euro. This measure, part of the new Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR), applies directly to all Member States. Under the pretext of fighting money laundering, Brussels is imposing yet another form of forced harmonization that ignores the principle of subsidiarity: the idea that decisions should be made at the level closest to citizens and national governments.” (05/26/26)
https://fee.org/articles/the-slow-disappearance-of-cash-in-europe/
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35) A Century of Progressive Apartheid
Source: Law & Liberty
by Paul Moreno
“This year marks the centennial of zoning in the United States, when the Supreme Court upheld comprehensive municipal land-use restrictions over the claims of property owners. The decision, Euclid v. Ambler Realty, was a milestone in the progressives’ campaign to overcome constitutional impediments to their plans for social engineering. In the ensuing century, zoning fundamentally altered the geography of American life, turning what had just become an urban-majority nation into a suburban one. Critics on both the libertarian right and woke left condemn zoning as a back-door version of apartheid, a stealthy way to keep immigrants and blacks out of ‘desirable’ neighborhoods.” (05/26/26)
https://lawliberty.org/a-century-of-progressive-apartheid/
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36) Could Inflation Help Explain Falling Birth Rates?
Source: The Daily Economy
by Vincent Geloso
“Jeffery Degner’s recent book makes the case that monetary policy reshapes time preference, and with it, decisions about family formation.” (05/26/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/could-inflation-help-explain-falling-birth-rates/
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37) Trump understands what Washington politicians forgot: Cuba is a major threat to America
Source: Fox News
by Carlos Trujillo & Alberto Martinez
“On May 20, 1902, the Cuban flag flew for the first time over an independent country. One hundred and twenty-four years later, the Cuban people are still not free. Every president before Donald Trump either did nothing about Cuba, did too little, or did too much for the regime. Trump is the first to recognize that the regime is a threat to America itself and to resolve to confront it once and for all. That his predecessors failed to do so is not only the Cuban people’s tragedy. It is ours. Cuba’s communist regime is a designated State Sponsor of Terrorism. It ran two of the most damaging espionage operations against the United States in modern memory. It was the intelligence backbone of the Maduro narco-state. It has served as a coordinating hub for the migration flows and drug routes flooding American communities. The suffering Havana exports has cost American lives.” (05/26/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/trump-understands-washington-politicians-forgot-cuba-major-threat-america
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38) More Iran war? There goes the neighborhood, and global economy.
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Karthik Sankaran
“For all the uncertainty about what will happen next on the military and diplomatic front in the Iran war, there is certainty about what has already happened on the economic front. And it is not good.” (05/26/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/economy-iran-war/
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39) What the marriage and family nostalgia is really about
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Stephanie Coontz
“I’ve spent much of my career as a historian criticizing any idealization of 1950s marriages. Domestic violence and child abuse were much more common then than today. It was perfectly legal for a man to forcibly rape his wife. And depression among homemakers was so widespread that by the end of the decade, physicians had labeled it the ‘housewife’s syndrome.’ … But I now believe I’ve been too dismissive of such nostalgia. The sense of loss that underlies it is not ‘all in people’s heads.’ Instead, I’ve come to see it as an example of what physicians call ‘referred pain,’ like when a problem in one part of the body is experienced as pain elsewhere. So too, I think, much of the pain we feel in our social and family relations originates in a deeper part of the economy and the body politic.” (05/26/26)
https://archive.is/4PsMG
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40) Would Hasan Piker Steal A Car?
Source: EconLog
by Joy Buchanan
“In a controversial conversation platformed by the New York Times and recently discussed in The Atlantic, streamer Hasan Piker implied that he might steal a car if it carried no consequences. In the interview, author Jia Tolentino also casually admits to shoplifting lemons from Whole Foods. Although petty theft is common, the interview clip spread quickly because the justification for looting felt oddly assertive. Piker referred to the iconic anti-piracy campaign that sought to use moral vibes (rather than rational arguments) against taking physical property to convince people to further control their impulses and not copy music without paying. The anti-piracy clip ‘You Wouldn’t Steal a Car’ indicates an implicit assumption from 2004 that American society was broadly agreed on the stability of physical property. In other words, most Americans do not think ‘property is theft.'” (05/26/26)
https://www.econlib.org/econlog/would-hasan-piker-steal-a-car
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41) Do US War Crimes Doom the World to Endless War and Chaos?
Source: Common Dreams
by Nicolas JS Davies
“On May 24, Iran rejected President Trump’s latest fake peace deal, confirming that he had misrepresented what Iran had agreed to and that the two sides are still very far apart, on nuclear enrichment, on control of the Strait of Hormuz, on peace in Palestine and Lebanon, and on lifting US sanctions, paying war reparations, and Iran’s $100 billion in frozen assets. Iran’s conditions for a peace agreement are necessarily uncompromising, in response to the US record of using negotiations as cover for sneak attacks, and the charade of one-sided ‘ceasefires with Israeli characteristics,’ in which the US and Israel routinely ignore and violate every ceasefire they agree to, including the present ones in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran.” (05/26/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/trump-s-war-crimes
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42) How Western Intelligence Agencies Built the Global Jihadist Network
Source: Libertarian Institute
by José Niño
“Americans have been fed a comforting fairy tale about Islamic terrorism. Radical jihadists attack the West simply because they despise freedom, democracy, and the American way of life. This narrative flatters domestic audiences while conveniently obscuring a far more troubling reality. For decades, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Israel have armed, financed, tolerated, and tapped into Sunni Islamist extremists as geopolitical tools to destabilize rivals. The evidence spans multiple theaters and rests on declassified documents, congressional investigations, and credible investigative journalism.” (05/26/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/how-western-intelligence-agencies-built-the-global-jihadist-network/
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43) Driving VPNs South
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“Public Safety Canada, an agency responsible for safety, security, emergency preparedness and this kind of thing, recently urged Canadians to protect themselves when using public Wi-Fi by also using a VPN. ‘Using a VPN protects your data,’ the agency said. True. Unless — unless others in the government succeed in requiring VPN companies to uniformly sabotage the privacy of their customers. The mechanism for crippling VPNs? That would be the pending legislation to force VPN providers to retain personal data which users expect them not to retain, in this way killing these companies’ very reason for being as well as Canadian Internet users’ reasons to employ these companies.” (05/26/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/05/26/driving-vpns-south/
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44) Homeric Heresies
Source: Quillette
by Cathy Young
“Outrage over a black Helen of Troy misunderstands the long Western tradition of radically reinventing classical myths.” (05/25/26)
https://quillette.com/2026/05/25/homeric-heresies-christopher-nolan-odyssey-lupita-nyongo/
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45) All Stephen Colbert Had To Do Was Not Suck; He Couldn’t Do It
Source: Town Hall
by Derek Hunter
“It was his last show and it was the only episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert I’ve ever watched. Yes, I’d seen clips, but I had honestly never watched a full episode ever. I never actually watched an episode of The Colbert Report either, or The Daily Show for that matter. Watching liberals pretend to be honest brokers on the news of the day never appealed to me. But Colbert’s last show did, mostly because I wanted to see one fresh before it was too late and I figured he and his ample staff would bring their A-game. Boy, was I wrong.” (05/26/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2026/05/26/all-stephen-colbert-had-to-do-was-not-suck-he-couldnt-do-it-n2676621
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46) Contra Yglesias
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“My usual explanation for why I call myself a libertarian instead of a liberal is that after the enemies of liberalism stole its name we needed a new one. In a recent Substack post, however, Matthew Yglesias writes that: ‘while some classical liberals have called the Republican Party home, liberalism has largely been a Democratic Party project.’ His view is that ‘liberals’ in the modern American sense, classical liberals and libertarians are all liberals in the same sense. Is he right?” (05/25/26)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/contra-yglesias
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47) Are You Pulling, Or Are You The Rope?
Source: The Reframe
by AR Moxon
“[O]ne way of looking at an audience is ‘anyone who experiences the art.’ This expansive view is, I think, is a vital and true way of defining audience. It’s important to hold the expansive idea of audience in mind, and to be open to it. Another way to think about audience is to say it is the community with whom the artist is in conversation. In this sense, audience moves closer to the artistic intent. It’s not that the art is closed to anyone else; it’s that it is entering an already-existing conversation and speaking into it, and so it exists within that specific conversation in a specific way. Which version of audience is true? I think both are true.” (05/25/26)
https://www.the-reframe.com/are-you-pulling-or-are-you-the-rope
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48) Why Is the Milei Economy Struggling?
Source: Independent Institute
by Alvaro Vargas Llosa
“One problem with raising expectations, as a government such as Javier Milei’s did in Argentina, is that when things don’t look as bright as one would like, people begin to lose faith in the ideas. Much emphasis was placed at the beginning on the superiority of the libertarian ideas the president professes, and they were proclaimed with such forceful, aggressive assertiveness that, even though he himself made clear it would take time and sacrifices to clean up the disaster he inherited, people became convinced of the inevitability of progress. Such faith inevitably carried with it high expectations and impatience. Now, almost two and a half years into his administration, many Argentines are losing sight of the legacy of so many years of failed policies he had to confront when he came into office and beginning to associate what is happening today … with the present administration rather than past ones.” (05/25/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/05/25/milei-economy-struggling/
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49) Stephen Miller’s Impossible America
Source: The American Prospect
by Paul Starr
“Last New Year’s Eve, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted an image online of an inviting, deserted beach with a classic mid-20th-century car parked on the sand. In the sky were the words ‘America After 100 Million Deportations,’ and above the image was a caption, ‘The peace of a nation no longer besieged by the third world.’ This fantasy scenario, the removal of more than a quarter of the U.S. population, didn’t come from a random online troll. It was posted on X by the official feed of the federal agency charged with immigration enforcement. The driving force behind the Trump administration’s efforts to stop the ‘third world’ from ‘besieging’ the United States is Stephen Miller, the president’s deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser.” (05/26/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/05/26/stephen-millers-impossible-america/
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50) The military’s broken promotion system is a major suicide risk
Source: Sex and the State
by Cathy Reisenwitz
“In 2022, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin put together a Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee (SPRIRC). This body released a report full of recommendations for reducing suicides among current and former military personnel. … According to the SPRIRC, the military promotion system is so broken that it’s on par with firearms availability and access to mental health professionals as meaningful contributors to suicide risk. If that’s true, imagine how much money that broken system wastes outside of suicides. It’s hard to fathom.” (05/25/26)
https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/the-militarys-broken-promotion-system
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Reason Roundtable, 05/26/26
Source: Reason
"Does Anyone Know What's Happening in Iran?" (05/26/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/05/26/does-anyone-know-whats-happening-in-iran/
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52) Trump Watch, 05/26/26
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“U.S. Terrorism Against Cuba.” (05/26/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsZAJjyhfaw
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53) Rising, 05/26/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave gives his radar on Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt claiming that homeless people in LA are not truly homeless, but rather choose to live on the street because of their drug addiction.” (05/26/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/5891215-rising-may-26-2026/
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54) The Bryan Hyde Show, 05/26/26
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
“Thomas Massie may have primaried by the DC swamp but he still has seven months to continue holding the uniparty accountable.” (05/26/26)
https://www.podbean.com/ep/pb-yctm2-1ad2aee
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55) The Good Fight, 05/26/26
Source: Yascha Mounk
“H.W. Brands on the Making of George Washington.” (05/26/26)
https://writing.yaschamounk.com/p/hw-brands
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56) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 05/26/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump Tirades Take Unhinged Turn as His Epic Poll Collapse Rattles GOP.” (05/26/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/210866/trump-tirades-take-unhinged-turn-epic-poll-collapse-rattles-gop
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57) PropagandaWatch, 05/25/26
Source: The Corbett Report
“So, they’re wearing literal skin suits on the news now …” (05/25/26)
https://corbettreport.com/so-theyre-wearing-literal-skin-suits-on-the-news-now/
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58) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 05/25/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“US Military Says It Bombed Southern Iran, US Backs Israel’s Escalation in Lebanon, and More.” (05/25/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HcEfb6mQAQ
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59) Finding Freedom, 05/25/26
Source: Lions of Liberty
“The Financialist Kill Chain: 400 Years of Global Looting with E.M. Burlingame.” (05/25/26)
https://www.lionsofliberty.com/episodes/ff-the-financialist-kill-chain-400-years-of-global-looting-with-em-burlingame
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60) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 05/25/26
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Larry Johnson: How Trump’s Failure in China Impacts the War Against Iran.” (05/25/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/blog/larry-johnson-how-trumps-failure-in-china-impacts-the-war-against-iran/
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