03/23 -- Iran: Power Outages Reported in Tehran as Israeli Regime Attempts to Trigger Escalation Threats; Trump Wants to Destroy Anthropic Because It Is Doing Congress's Job of Preventing Him from Abusing AI
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Thomas L. Knapp
Mar 23, 2026, 6:15:01 AM (3 days ago) Mar 23
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 03/23/26
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Iran: Power Outages Reported in Tehran as Israeli Regime Attempts to Trigger Escalation Threats
2) Trump: ICE gang will menace US air travelers due to TSA groper/ogler shortages
3) Palestine: Israeli squatters smash cars, set fires in attacks
4) Jury finds Elon Musk’s “stupid tweets” caused Twitter investors’ losses
5) Switzerland: Regime halts weapons exports to US over Iran conflict
6) Kazakhstan: Russian regime launches first rocket from repaired Baikonur launch pad
7) Federal judge reverses Pentagon press restrictions
8) Czech Republic: Mass Prague rally hits Babis over democracy concerns
9) MI: Detroit moms rushing to “no strings attached” cash aid program
10) Canada: A secularism law some women say makes them “feel like outsiders” heads to top court
11) Cuba: Power grid collapses for third time this month
12) CA: Massive animal rescue operation seizes over 300 dogs and cats
13) SCOTUS Revives Suit From Evangelical Christian Challenging Restrictions on Demonstrations
14) No assessment Iran could strike London, UK minister says
15) NASA hauls repaired moon rocket from hangar back to pad for early April launch
16) MO: Judge strikes ballot summary for Trump-backed congressional redistricting plan
17) Sudan: Drone attack on key hospital killed 64 people during Eid
18) Report: ICC Chief Prosecutor Khan cleared of sexual misconduct by judges
19) CA: Sheriff running for governor seizes more than a half million ballots from 2025 election
20) Robert Mueller, 1944-2026
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Trump Wants to Destroy Anthropic Because It Is Doing Congress’s Job of Preventing Him from Abusing AI
22) Autarky: Terrible at Political Scale, But Great as Individual Self-Defense
23) Immigration Restrictions Restrict Americans’ Liberties
24) The Palestine Context
25) Bluesky raises $100 million but faces a messy reality
26) You Can’t Make People Cheer For Your Wars After Committing A Live-Streamed Genocide
27) Attacking Iran’s Power Plants Would Be Despicable
28) Let Iran Be Someone Else’s Problem
29) A year after coming into power, Syria’s ruler faces his defining test in Lebanon
30) Defense Spending in FY 2026 Could Top $1.2 Trillion
31) Goodness Exists, Though You’d Never Know It From the Corporate Media
32) Brother, can you spare a dime?
33) In a rethink of aid, motivation over mercy
34) This Is a Lawless War
35) What Cognitive Science Tells Us About AI Warfare
36) The World At Large Has Eyes
37) TN: State Election Bill Could Change Everything
38) Israel accusing Iran of lawbreaking is the height of hypocrisy
39) We’d Be Winning This War if It Weren’t for Your Coverage
40) Bargaining with the Butcher, Baker, and Brewer: A New Look at Smith’s Most Famous Sentences
41) Beware Men Who Wage War to Prove They Are Men
42) There Is No GOP ‘Civil War’ Over Iran …
43) What 122 Universal Basic Income Experiments Actually Show
44) Section 230’s Legal Protections for Internet Speech Face New Challenge
45) Democrat logic: Chicago raises hotel tax … to attract tourists
46) The Bomb That Fizzled
47) When Police Sue Their Critics: Why Afroman’s Legal Victory Matters
48) Diogenes for Our Time
49) Court Demands Student Loan Borrowers Pay More
50) No Time for Losers: Why the War Meant to Save Israel May Destroy It
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Unattended Baggage, episode 333
52) System Update, 03/21/26
53) Free Talk Live, 03/21/26
54) The Good Fight, 03/21/26
55) TAC Right Now, 03/20/26
56) Serious Trouble, 03/20/26
57) Pink Flame of Liberty, 03/20/26
58) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 03/20/26
59) Freedom Works with Paul Molloy, 03/20/26
60) Friday Philosophy, 03/20/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Iran: Power Outages Reported in Tehran as Israeli Regime Attempts to Trigger Escalation Threats
Source: New York Times
“Residents reported blackouts across large parts of Tehran after heavy airstrikes struck multiple areas of Iran’s capital early Monday. It came shortly after Israel announced it would target Tehran’s infrastructure, without providing more details. … President Trump’s threat to strike power plants in Iran, which could plunge much of the country of 90 million people into darkness, has set off widespread fear and anxiety among Iranians at home and abroad. … Iranian officials responded defiantly on Sunday to President Trump’s threat to escalate attacks, warning that Iran would retaliate in kind if the United States or its allies widened their strikes against the country’s critical infrastructure.” (03/23/26)
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/03/23/world/iran-war-oil-trump
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2) Trump: ICE gang will menace US air travelers due to TSA groper/ogler shortages
Source: Axios
“President Trump said Sunday he will send ICE agents to U.S. airports starting Monday to assist TSA officers who have been working without pay for more than five weeks during a partial Homeland Security shutdown. … acting DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis told Axios in a Sunday afternoon email that Trump ‘is using every tool available to help American travelers who are facing hours long lines at airports across the country — especially during this spring break and holiday season that is very important for many American families.’ [editor’s note: The best “tool available to help American travelers” would be shutting down the “security” checkpoints and sending that job back to airports/airlines where it belongs – TLK] (03/22/26)
https://www.axios.com/2026/03/22/trump-ice-agents-airports-tsa-dhs-shutdown
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3) Palestine: Israeli squatters smash cars, set fires in attacks
Source: Associated Press
“Israeli [squatters] rampaged through multiple Palestinian villages overnight Saturday and into Sunday, smashing cars, setting fires and wounding several men in the latest flare-up of violence in the occupied West Bank. The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported attacks in at least six communities on Sunday. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said at least three Palestinians in the village of Jalud suffered head wounds from beatings and were hospitalized after confronting [squatters], who were also reported injured. The violence came as Israel’s government presses ahead with new ]squats] in the occupied West Bank. Attacks by [squatters] have intensified alongside a broader surge in violence since the Iran war started.” (03/22/26)
https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-west-bank-settlers-9ded87da79b032cff60ddd8797846f0e
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4) Jury finds Elon Musk’s “stupid tweets” caused Twitter investors’ losses
Source: The Verge
“A California jury determined that Elon Musk misled Twitter investors before making a $44 billion deal to buy the company in 2022, reports CNBC. The New York Times reports that Musk had testified this month that he didn’t believe his posts would spook markets, but he did say that ‘If this was a trial about whether I made stupid tweets, I would say I’m guilty.’ CNBC reports Musk’s attorneys are expected to file an appeal, as damages could reach as high as $2.6 billion, according to attorneys representing the plaintiffs. While finding that Musk did not engage in a specific scheme to defraud shareholders, the jury cited two of Musk’s tweets, from May 13th and May 27th, 2022, as materially false or misleading, causing some investors to sell shares in Twitter at values below the $54.20 per share bid.” (03/20/26)
https://archive.is/j7DYb
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5) Switzerland: Regime halts weapons exports to US over Iran conflict
Source: Politico
“Switzerland said it won’t allow weapons exports to the U.S. as long as Washington is involved in its ongoing military campaign against Iran. The Swiss government said on Friday that it will not sign off on any new licenses for the export of war materiel to countries involved in the conflict, citing Switzerland’s commitment to neutrality. Switzerland said that it has not issued new export licenses to send weapons to the U.S. since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Tehran on Feb. 28. Existing licenses to export weapons to the U.S. can continue as they are not relevant ‘to the war at present,’ but they will be kept under review in case they conflict with Swiss neutrality laws, it said.” (03/21/26)
https://www.politico.eu/article/switzerland-donald-trump-us-halts-weapons-exports-iran-conflict
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6) Kazakhstan: Russian regime launches first rocket from repaired Baikonur launch pad
Source: Reuters
“Russia launched a Soyuz rocket from a repaired launch pad at its Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Sunday, restoring its capability to fly to the International Space Station for the first time since the launch pad was damaged last year. At 1200 GMT, a Soyuz-2.1a rocket carrying the Progress MS-33 cargo spacecraft lifted off and was placed into orbit, Russia’s space agency said. The spacecraft is expected to dock with the International Space Station on March 24. The launch pad had been out of commission since it was badly damaged in November when a Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft with two Russian cosmonauts and one NASA astronaut on board blasted off. No one was hurt and the crew safely reached the space station, but the incident deprived Russia of its sole means of sending crew or cargo back to the ISS for months.” (03/22/26)
https://www.reuters.com/science/russia-launches-first-rocket-repaired-baikonur-launch-pad-2026-03-22/
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7) Federal judge reverses Pentagon press restrictions
Source: Politico
“The Trump administration violated the Constitution when it sought to restrict press access to the Pentagon and limit what reporters could cover, a federal judge ruled Friday. U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman granted a request from The New York Times to void the Pentagon’s press credential policy on grounds it violated the First and Fifth Amendment, rejecting the government’s argument that the restrictions were needed to prevent the disclosure of classified information. … The ruling, which comes as journalists around the world seek information about the war in Iran, rolls back a highly aggressive attack on press freedom implemented last year by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host who has had a strained relationship with the media.” (03/20/26)
https://archive.is/6842D
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8) Czech Republic: Mass Prague rally hits Babis over democracy concerns
Source: Deutsche Welle [German state media]
“Tens of of thousands of people rallied in the Czech capital, Prague, on Saturday to oppose the policies of Prime Minister Andrej Babis and his coalition government, accusing it of what they called ‘arrogance of power.’ Organizers from the Million Moments for Democracy movement estimated that more than 200,000 people filled the Letna plain, though that figure has not been independently verified. The demonstrators accused Babis of steering the country away from democratic values and aligning with the pro-Russia policies of Hungary and Slovakia. … In addition to concerns over public media, state institutions, and foreign policy, demonstrators also warned against draft legislation they say resembles Russian-style restrictions on civil society.” (03/21/26)
https://www.dw.com/en/mass-prague-rally-hits-babis-over-democracy-concerns/a-76470345
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9) MI: Detroit moms rushing to “no strings attached” cash aid program
Source: Fox News
“Over 1,000 Detroit moms rushed to a ‘no-strings-attached’ cash aid program tailored to new and expectant mothers, the city’s mayor announced on Tuesday. ‘Seeing more than 1,000 Detroit mothers enrolling so quickly tells you everything: families are ready, and Detroit is delivering,’ Mayor Mary Sheffield said in a written statement. Detroit officials distributed around $1 million to more than 1,000 mothers as part of the city’s Rx Kids program, which launched the application process on Feb. 9. The cash assistance program is a statewide initiative that’s intended to issue $1,500 cash to new and expectant mothers in the Motor City as well as $500 per month after a child’s birth for at least six months. The program is considered the largest cash aid program for prenatal and infant care in the country.” (03/22/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/media/detroit-moms-rushed-no-strings-attached-cash-aid-program-tailored-new-mothers
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10) Canada: A secularism law some women say makes them “feel like outsiders” heads to top court
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Since 2019, a secularism law in Quebec has barred some public sector workers, like judges, police officers and teachers, from wearing religious attire at work. Now, the country’s highest court is preparing to consider its future. Lisa Robicheau describes her life as ‘stuck between a rock and a hard place’. The 41-year-old single mother of two, who wears a hijab, works in Montreal’s English-language school system as a contract support worker for students with disabilities – a job she loves and where she is exempt from the current law. But Robicheau can’t help feeling anxious about her future and whether she will be able to continue working in a public school while being visibly Muslim in Quebec. The uncertainty has led her to enroll back in university, hoping to find a different job—or even leave the province.” (03/22/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ceqw5j5lx32o
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11) Cuba: Power grid collapses for third time this month
Source: National Public Radio [US state media]
“Cuba’s power grid collapsed Saturday leaving the country without electricity for a third time in March as the communist government battles with a decaying infrastructure and a U.S.-imposed oil blockade. The Cuban Electric Union, which reports to the Ministry of Energy and Mines, announced a total blackout across the island without initially giving a cause for the outage. The union later said the blackout was caused by an unexpected failure of a generating unit at the Nuevitas thermoelectric plant in Camagüey province.” (03/22/26)
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/22/nx-s1-5756288/cubas-power-grid-collapses
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12) CA: Massive animal rescue operation seizes over 300 dogs and cats
Source: SFGate
“A large-scale animal rescue operation for hundreds of dogs and cats took place on Friday in Lake Hughes, roughly 60 miles north of Los Angeles. The Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control served a search warrant at a property on 266th Street West in Lake Hughes, following reports of a violation of animal welfare laws. The operation involved over 70 people, and officials initially estimated that over 700 animals were located on the property in need of rescue, according to an Instagram post by DACC Friday. The post said the operation could be the largest of its kind to have taken place in the U.S., but in an update, that number was revised down to about 250 dogs and 66 cats.\” (03/21/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/california-animal-rescue-operation-22089455.php
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13) SCOTUS Revives Suit From Evangelical Christian Challenging Restrictions on Demonstrations
Source: US News & World Report
“The Supreme Court on Friday revived a lawsuit from an evangelical Christian barred from demonstrating in Mississippi after authorities say he shouted insults at people over a loudspeaker. The high court unanimously ruled in the case of Gabriel Olivier, who says his religious and free speech rights were violated when he was arrested for refusing to move his preaching away from a suburban amphitheater. The city said he had shouted insults like ‘whores,’ ‘Jezebel’ and ‘nasty’ at people, sometimes holding signs showing aborted fetuses. Olivier wanted to challenge the law as an unconstitutional restriction on free speech, but lower courts stopped him from suing because he’d been convicted of breaking it. A Supreme Court case from the 1990s found people can’t use civil lawsuits to undermine criminal convictions. But the justices found that doesn’t stop Olivier from suing because he only wants to block future enforcement.” (03/20/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2026-03-20/supreme-court-revives-suit-from-evangelical-christian-challenging-restrictions-on-demonstrations
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14) No assessment Iran could strike London, UK minister says
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“There is ‘no assessment to substantiate’ Israel’s claim that Iran has long-range missiles capable of reaching London, a UK cabinet minister has said. Housing Secretary Steve Reed told the BBC there was ‘no specific assessment that the Iranians are targeting the UK – or even could if they wanted to,’ after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Saturday that Tehran had weapons that could reach up to 4,000km (2,485 miles). It comes after it emerged Iran targeted the joint US-UK military base on the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, around 3,800km from Iran. Reed refused to say how close the missiles came to the British overseas territory, saying he could not share ‘operational details.'” (03/22/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crm120x4lzxo
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15) NASA hauls repaired moon rocket from hangar back to pad for early April launch
Source: SFGate
“For the second time this year, NASA moved its moon rocket from the hangar out toward the pad Friday in hopes of launching four astronauts on a lunar fly-around next month. If the latest repairs work and everything else goes NASA’s way, the Space Launch System could blast off as early as April 1 from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. The Artemis II crew went into quarantine this week in Houston. The 322-foot (98-meter) rocket began the slow 4-mile (6.4-kilometer) trek in the middle of the night, transported atop a massive crawler used since the 1960s Apollo era. The trip was held up for several hours by high wind but completed by midday, 11 hours after it began. The three Americans and one Canadian will zip around the moon in their capsule and then come straight home without stopping.” (03/22/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/nasa-hauls-its-repaired-moon-rocket-from-the-22087175.php
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16) MO: Judge strikes ballot summary for Trump-backed congressional redistricting plan
Source: Seattle Times
“If Missouri voters get to decide whether to adopt new U.S. House districts backed by President Donald Trump, the ballot proposal presented to them won’t say a word about gerrymandering. A state judge on Friday ordered a new, toned-down description of the redistricting plan after Missouri’s Republican secretary of state acknowledged that he had crafted an unfair summary likely to create bias for the new districts by describing the old ones as ‘gerrymandered.’ … it remains to be seen whether the referendum actually will occur this November. Election officials are still in the process of verifying whether opponents gathered enough valid petition signatures. And the state Supreme Court is considering a separate lawsuit seeking to invalidate the new map based on assertions that mid-decade redistricting isn’t allowed under the state constitution.” (03/20/26)
https://archive.is/siDHd
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17) Sudan: Drone attack on key hospital killed 64 people during Eid
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Sudan’s army has denied it carried out a deadly attack on a major hospital on Friday night in a city in the west of the country held by its rivals, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said 64 people – including 13 children, two nurses and a doctor – had died in the strike on el-Daein Teaching Hospital and 89 others had been wounded. ‘Enough blood has been spilled,’ Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted on X, urging the warring parties to end the conflict, which started nearly three years ago. The RSF said an army drone had hit the hospital in el-Daein, the capital of East Darfur state, on the day Muslims were marking the festival of Eid. (03/22/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr715xynkvvo
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18) Report: ICC Chief Prosecutor Khan cleared of sexual misconduct by judges
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Judges have cleared the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, of all wrongdoing after an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct, Middle East Eye reports. A report by Middle East Eye published on Saturday said a panel of three judges submitted a confidential report to the court’s oversight body, the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP), on March 9. … The OIOS investigation was commissioned by the head of the ASP in November 2024 after a member of Khan’s office accused the prosecutor of sexual misconduct. In August last year, a second woman came forward and alleged that Khan had abused his power over her while she was working for the British lawyer.” (03/21/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/21/icc-chief-prosecutor-khan-cleared-of-sexual-misconduct-by-judges-report
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19) CA: Sheriff running for governor seizes more than a half million ballots from 2025 election
Source: SFGate
“A California sheriff running for governor has seized more than half a million ballots cast in a November special election from county election officials, saying he’s investigating a ballot count discrepancy. County elections officials have disputed the claims by Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, called Bianco’s move unprecedented and says it is designed to sow distrust in elections. Bianco held a news conference Friday saying his office had launched the investigation after receiving a complaint from a local citizens group about the ballot count from a November 2025 special election on redistricting. In the special election, voters approved a measure to redraw congressional district lines to favor Democrats in the upcoming midterm election. The measure passed in the county by a margin of more than 80,000 votes.” (03/22/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/california-sheriff-running-for-governor-seizes-22090546.php
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20) Robert Mueller, 1944-2026
Source: New York Times
“Robert S. Mueller III, who led the Federal Bureau of Investigation for 12 tumultuous years, brought politically explosive indictments as a special counsel examining Russia’s attack on the 2016 presidential election, and then concluded that he could neither absolve nor accuse President Trump of a crime, died on Friday. He was 81. His family confirmed the death in a statement but did not say where he died or give the cause.” (03/21/26)
https://archive.is/GcQaS
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Trump Wants to Destroy Anthropic Because It Is Doing Congress’s Job of Preventing Him from Abusing AI
Source: The UnPopulist
by Adam Conner
“Over the last two weeks, the Department of Defense has initiated two wars: one against a nation with a long history of conflict with the United States; the other against one of the fastest-growing new companies in American history: Anthropic, the frontier artificial intelligence lab behind the popular Claude model. The DOD has effectively declared both Iran and Anthropic to be enemies of America, and though the weapons the DOD is using in each conflict differ dramatically — explosive missiles versus bureaucratic legal statutes — the department has made clear in both cases that its objective is to severely damage, if not totally destroy, the enemy. … Why this fight started and how the government has chosen to wage it are two separate questions, and conflating them is one of the major mistakes most coverage of this conflict has made.” (03/21/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/trump-wants-to-destroy-anthropic
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22) Autarky: Terrible at Political Scale, But Great as Individual Self-Defense
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“The war on Iran is temporarily producing the same result that actual US ‘energy independence’ — usually promoted as proposed autarky in the production/sale of oil — would deliver without ‘armies crossing borders.’ Almost all oil and gas produced in the US comes from ‘tight formation production’ — horizontally drilled wells and hydraulic fracturing (‘fracking’) to extract the stuff from shale . That’s more expensive than just drilling a vertical well and pumping the black gold out, as is done in the Middle East. That’s a ‘competitive disadvantage’ for US oil companies. The only way for US oil production to be profitable is for the price per barrel to be kept artificially high through ‘protectionist’ measures … or war. The US producers can only profit by increasing YOUR costs. At the level of the individual American, on the other hand, a certain amount of ‘energy independence’ — autarky! — makes a good deal of sense.” (03/21/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20457
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23) Immigration Restrictions Restrict Americans’ Liberties
Source: Liberalism.org
by Ilya Somin
“The biggest victims of immigration restrictions are the would-be migrants, who are consigned to a lifetime of poverty and oppression simply because they were born in the wrong place, to the wrong parents. But the horrific experience of the second Trump administration highlights how restrictionism also poses a grave threat to the liberty and welfare of native-born citizens. While some of the harms caused to natives are specific to the policies of this administration, many are inherent in the very nature of exclusion and deportation, and they occur even under more conventional presidents. The ultimate solution is to end all or most immigration restrictions, or at least to severely curb them.” (903/20/26)
https://www.liberalism.org/p/immigration-restrictions-restrict-americans-liberties
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24) The Palestine Context
Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman
“Much turmoil in the Middle East today is attributable to this overlooked fact: Jewish European descendants of people who had freely chosen to leave ancient Judea/Palestine established a project, Zionism, in the late 19th and early 20th century with the intention of displacing the descendants of Judeans who had chosen to stay. This is a dispute, in other words, between Canaanites who remained — from whom the Palestinian Muslims and Christians descended — and the Canaanites who willingly departed — from whom the Ashkenazi Jews descended. … For both Jewish and Christian Zionists, the alleged Roman exile of the Jews from Judea in the first century CE is a key part of the Zionist property claim, on behalf of all Jews the world over, to the land of Israel. But exile did not happen.” (03/20/26)
https://sheldonrichman.substack.com/p/tgif-the-palestine-context
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25) Bluesky raises $100 million but faces a messy reality
Source: Washington Post
by Megan McArdle
“To partisans behind Bluesky, it must have seemed like a gift from the gods when Elon Musk bought Twitter. In short order he changed its name to X, shifted its moderation policies sharply to the right and sent millions of internet refugees searching for a new home. But as the ancients knew, gifts of the gods often come with strings attached. In the two years since Bluesky opened to all comers, the social media app has gained 43 million users, an amazing feat for a company with fewer than 50 full-time employees. That growth got a huge boost from Musk’s antics in the lead-up to the 2024 election, which endowed Bluesky with a base of devoted users — users who skewed heavily progressive and brought with them cancel culture tactics that had flourished on X. Those users are now the platform’s biggest barrier to growth.” (03/22/26)
https://archive.is/qMWRN
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26) You Can’t Make People Cheer For Your Wars After Committing A Live-Streamed Genocide
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“I saw a clip of Fox News war propagandist Sean Hannity solemnly reading a tweet by Atlantic Council fellow Jamie Metzl which said, ‘It is profoundly disturbing that a growing segment of the far left appears to be almost rooting for Hamas, Hezbollah, the Iranian regime, and other forces fundamentally opposed to the US and our allies. This seems to reflect a corrosive strain of anti-Americanism dressed up in post-colonial theory that risks blinding us to the moral realities of our world and the nature of our adversaries.’ These assholes really thought they could commit a genocide in full view of the entire world for years and then expect everyone cheer for them to win. Of course we’re seeing more ‘anti-Americanism.’ You don’t get to commit horrific atrocities year after year and then cry when the world starts to hate you.” (03/21/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/03/21/you-cant-make-people-cheer-for-your-wars-after-committing-a-live-streamed-genocide-and-other-notes/
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27) Attacking Iran’s Power Plants Would Be Despicable
Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison
“Threatening to damage or destroy power generation for the entire country is outrageous. If the U.S. does this, it will be inflicting collective punishment on the civilian population on a massive scale. Attacking Iran’s power plants would be comparable to Russian attacks on Ukraine’s power grid, and it would be just as despicable.” (03/21/26)
https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/attacking-irans-power-plants-would
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28) Let Iran Be Someone Else’s Problem
Source: The American Conservative
by Benjamin H Friedman
“The United States is not going to win this war with Iran. The good news is that we do not need to. There was no good reason for the Israeli–U.S. attack in the first place, and American security does not require us to win anything new from Tehran—not the regime change President Donald Trump fantasizes about, not the militarily-crippled Iran his defense secretary describes as the goal, not even the nuclear deal Washington might have had before it chose war. The United States can simply stop. It can declare a phony victory and even call it the ‘unconditional surrender’ Trump demands.” (03/21/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/let-iran-be-someone-elses-problem/
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29) A year after coming into power, Syria’s ruler faces his defining test in Lebanon
Source: New York Post
by Dan Perry
“Since Ahmed al-Sharaa came to power in Damascus last January, a question has hovered in the air: Has Syria truly changed, or merely changed hands Seeking sanctions relief, investment and a measure of international legitimacy, the new leadership, despite its past association with Al Qaeda, has signaled moderation. The symbols of the old regime are gone. The suffocating omnipresence of the Assad state has receded. Cafes have reopened, checkpoints have thinned and Syrians speak more freely. Yes, there have been killings of members of the Druze and the formerly dominant Alawite minorities, which the government denies direct involvement in. But even this mixed picture is no small achievement. The Russia- and Iran-backed Assad regime was not simply authoritarian; it was claustrophobic, built on surveillance, coercion and inherited power. Its collapse created space.” (03/21/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/03/21/opinion/syrian-leader-ahmed-al-sharaa-is-tested-with-situation-in-lebanon/
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30) Defense Spending in FY 2026 Could Top $1.2 Trillion
Source: Exiled Policy
by Jason Pye
“Congress should not treat this supplemental as routine. It’s not. A $200 billion request tied to an open-ended conflict demands more than a simple funding vote. It requires a clear endpoint. Without that, lawmakers are writing a blank check for a war without an endgame, financed through additional borrowing at a time of already elevated deficits. And let’s be clear. If this war expands and boots are put on the ground, the fiscal cost will grow beyond $200 billion. Service members will be killed or wounded, adding to the $3 trillion that the federal government will spend on veterans over the next ten years.” (03/21/26)
https://exiledpolicy.substack.com/p/defense-spending-in-fy-2026-could
-----
31) Goodness Exists, Though You’d Never Know It From the Corporate Media
Source: Town Hall
by Mark Lewis
“One of the first things I do every morning, even before I get out of bed, is check the news to discover if something good happened while I was asleep. I rarely find any such news. Just about all that is reported is crime, war, hatred, Democrats, Washington, D.C., California, New York City, the Middle East, Congress, China, Trump is Hitler, transgenderism, promiscuity and decadence, ad nauseam, ad infinitum. Every time I see a picture of Gavin Newsom, AOC, Nancy Pelosi, or Chuck Schumer, I want to puke. And since I’m only allowed 1,000 words for this article and want to say other things, I’ll leave it at that, and let the reader add to the list of barbaric and barfable objects as he/she wishes. But I don’t really wonder why I’m so cynical and have chronic depression. However, this morning, I got a boost in the other direction.” (03/21/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/marklewis/2026/03/22/goodness-exists-though-youd-never-know-it-from-the-corporate-media-n2673152
-----
32) Brother, can you spare a dime?
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
“From the Rapid City Regional Airport in the Black Hills of South Dakota, we have a ‘NextDoor’ posting. We are reminded that (courtesy of Congressional wrangling and other factors), DHS has not been funded. So your friendly airport trolls in TSA get-up are not getting paid. So, the poster tells us, travelers in and out of the airport are asked to drop a few dimes (or dollars) into tip baskets to give a little help to the unpaid TSA agents for pawing through your luggage, your carry-on, powering up your laptop, making you take your belt buckle and shoes off, and wanding you so that you can fly to visit Aunt Ginnie in Seattle or Houston. Right.” (03/20/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/03/20/brother-can-you-spare-a-dime/
-----
33) In a rethink of aid, motivation over mercy
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“What’s in a name? For global aid groups hit hard last year when the world’s largest donor – the United States – slashed its humanitarian and development budget, a name change can bring a refreshing change in how to view poor, unwell, and homeless people. On March 18, Mercy Corps, which once directly helped about 37 million people in 35 countries, announced it would soon call itself Prosper Global, after a major downsizing of the Oregon-based organization. ‘We believe strongly that what these communities need is prosperity, not mercy,’ chief development officer Mary Stata told Axios. The rebranding reflects a view that ‘participants’ in programs are leaders, not ‘passive recipients of humanitarian aid,’ as Ms. Stata explained.” (03/20/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0320/In-a-rethink-of-aid-motivation-over-mercy
-----
34) This Is a Lawless War
Source: The Dispatch
by Kevin D Williamson
“The case against the Iran war is not the $200 billion that Secretary of Don’t You Dare Call It a War Pete Hegseth is asking for to fund U.S. operations in Iran. … Nor should we be persuaded by sentimentality about the loss of the lives of U.S. troops. … the entire military enterprise is based on the assumption that lives will be lost. … The case against this war is that it is illegal — whatever Secretary Jägerbomb has to say about it, this is a war, and it is being conducted with no congressional authorization in a haphazard, chaotic, ad hoc way by a president who is profoundly corrupt, nearly 80 years old, and unable to write an ordinary English sentence, surrounded by a constellation of grifters, addicts, and incompetents unrivaled by anything in Washington since the days of Franklin Pierce.” (03/20/26)
https://archive.is/uAmp5
-----
35) What Cognitive Science Tells Us About AI Warfare
Source: Persuasion
by Tim Requarth
“In the intricate standoff between the Pentagon and Anthropic over the use of AI in weaponry, it was easy to be distracted by the strange bedfellows-aspect of the struggle – with OpenAI becoming a willing partner of the Pentagon even while Anthropic established itself as a darling of the #Resistance. But, more importantly, the standoff represents a significant turn of the wheel in how the debate around AI has entered into cultural space. It’s no longer Big Tech behemoths one-upping each other with upgrades. It’s about the vibes, man. And the future of AI may well be a kind of extended ELIZA effect — with consumers and contractors choosing between different AIs sort of as if they were sports teams, with the competing AIs corresponding to different sides in the culture wars.” (03/20/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/ai-is-about-the-vibes-now
-----
36) The World At Large Has Eyes
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“Current communication technology is often immediately public, as in that example. An email message is private when it is sent but copies remain in the possession of sender, receiver, and possibly others, who may be compelled to release them if sender, receiver, or the employer of either becomes involved in a law suit or criminal prosecution. What are the consequences? One is to make communication more difficult; if you are corresponding via a public medium, arguing with someone on Facebook, it is prudent to avoid making any argument that could be quoted out of context to make you look bad. If you don’t you are likely to regret it. You may even find it prudent to avoid arguing for unpopular positions that you believe in …. Another effect is to make company executives more guarded in internal correspondence.” (03/20/26)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/the-world-at-large-has-eyes
-----
37) TN: State Election Bill Could Change Everything
Source: The Pamphleteer
by Davis Hunt
“Much hay has been made of voting laws in Tennessee and across the country lately. You’ve probably heard about the SAVE Act at the federal level, and maybe some proposed laws at the state level too. The Banner wrote about some of the proposals at the state-level yesterday, but focusing so narrowly on ‘disparate impact’ type bills, they missed the Big Kahuna. There’s a proposal moving through the General Assembly right now that could change how local elections work in Nashville. The bill, sponsored by Scott Cepicky in the House and Joey Hensley in the Senate, would move the date of city elections to line up with the August primary or November general election. In other words, the off-cycle August 2027 Metro elections would get pushed to November 2028, landing on the same ballot as the presidential race every four years.” (03/20/26)
https://pamphleteer.co/newsletter/state-election-bill-could-change-everything/
-----
38) Israel accusing Iran of lawbreaking is the height of hypocrisy
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Sarah Leah Whitson
“After years of flouting the UN and Geneva Conventions Israel suddenly has an attack of legal propriety now that it is on the receiving end.” (03/20/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/israel-iran-bombing/
-----
39) We’d Be Winning This War if It Weren’t for Your Coverage
Source: The Atlantic
by Alexandra Petri
“Dear Media: There is no other way of putting this. The Fake News’s contumacious insistence on reporting what is actually happening in Iran rather than what Donald Trump would prefer was happening is setting back the war effort. So we at the FCC would like to provide you with some suggestions for updating your coverage. This is not a threat. However, please remember that we are in the process of consolidating every media company under the control of a man with a named boat who hates all the programming and has preemptively given Donald Trump his kidney, ‘just in case it ever comes in handy.’ … Clap! Why don’t you clap?” (03/20/26)
https://archive.is/AaRQm
-----
40) Bargaining with the Butcher, Baker, and Brewer: A New Look at Smith’s Most Famous Sentences
Source: EconLog
by Jacob Sider Jost
“Smith’s famous sentences about the butcher, brewer, and baker have often been taken to place interest (often silently emended to ‘self-interest’) at the root of human activity. Gregory Mankiw’s widely used introductory economics textbook glosses them in just this way: ‘Smith is saying that participants in the economy are motivated by self-interest.’ Smith could have said this. His famous sentences might have read ‘The butcher, brewer and baker provide us with dinner not out of benevolence, but out of self-interest. They act not out of humanity, but out of self-love, and seek their own advantage.’ But this is not what Smith wrote.” (03/20/26)
https://www.econlib.org/econlog/bargaining-with-the-butcher-baker-and-brewer
-----
41) Beware Men Who Wage War to Prove They Are Men
Source: Common Dreams
by Toby Miller & Joan Pedro-Caranana
“Seemingly endless recitations throughout history of what constitutes virtuous citizenship emphasize military life. A specifically masculine heritage of violence in the service of the nation oversees and delimits democracy and authority—a privileged area of social welfare in contrast to health, education, the environment, or poverty. Much classical and modern political theory assumes and even endorses domestic violence, bellicose masculinity, and the notion that ‘real’ politics is generated, discussed, and concluded between men. The idea that male virtue is tied to violence, whether in defense of faith, family, or the border, is immensely strong. From individual duels to national campaigns, the ‘right’ way to engage in violence has given rise to ideas of nobility. Masculine worth is supposedly incarnate in bloodshed and authoritarian leadership, embodied in the military as a righteous national embodiment of power, spirit, religiosity, and victory.” (03/21/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/war-toxic-masculinity
-----
42) There Is No GOP ‘Civil War’ Over Iran …
Source: The Realist Review
by James W Carden
“As I pointed out exactly three years ago, on March 20, 2023, in the pages of The Spectator, the idea that there is a brewing ‘civil war’ within the Republican Party over foreign policy would be nice, if it were actually true. Then as now, stories appeared in Beltway broadsheets claiming that the GOP was at war with itself over foreign policy. … What is now unfolding isn’t a GOP civil war over Iran — it is simply a reassertion of control by the people who actually control the Republican Party. We should understand this group as distinct from Republican voters, who most assuredly do not control the President or the Party apparatus on Capitol Hill.” (03/20/26)
https://therealistreview.substack.com/p/this-isnt-a-gop-civil-warits-a-reversion
-----
43) What 122 Universal Basic Income Experiments Actually Show
Source: The Daily Economy
by Vance Ginn
“Artificial intelligence has become the latest excuse for reviving one of the oldest bad ideas in economic policy: a universal basic income. Recent pieces in Newsweek, the LSE Business Review, and Fortune have all helped push the idea that AI may soon wipe out so many jobs that Washington will need to send everyone a check. That makes for a catchy headline. It also makes for terrible economics.” (03/20/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/what-122-universal-basic-income-experiments-actually-show/
-----
44) Section 230’s Legal Protections for Internet Speech Face New Challenge
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“For 30 years, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act has protected online speech, shielding platforms from liability for content posted by third parties. Basically, comments sections, discussion boards, and social media are made possible by that law. But Section 230 has long suffered attacks from people who don’t like what they see published in the digital world. This week, the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee heard arguments from both those who favor maintaining the current free environment for online speech and those who want to roll it back or outright repeal its protections.” (03/20/26)
https://reason.com/2026/03/20/section-230s-legal-protections-for-internet-speech-face-new-challenge/
-----
45) Democrat logic: Chicago raises hotel tax … to attract tourists
Source: Fox News
by David Marcus
“Just when you thought that the hare-brained schemes of the Democrats who run our beleaguered big cities couldn’t get goofier, Chicago has passed a new doozy. The Windy City is raising hotel taxes to, get this, increase tourism. Ordinance 2026-0022544 will raise the tax on hotel rooms within that district to 19% from the rate of 17.5%, with the proceeds going to an organization called Choose Chicago, which will use the cash for tourism marketing campaigns. The top target on Choose Chicago’s wish list of events is the 2028 Democratic National Convention, and now, everyone who books a room in Second City gets to chip in a bit on the effort. It’s quite a thing: Only a leftist Democrat could possibly think that making it more expensive to visit Chicago will increase tourism. Maybe they should throw in a complimentary mugging to sweeten the deal.” (03/21/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/david-marcus-democrat-logic-chicago-raises-hotel-tax-attract-tourists
-----
46) The Bomb That Fizzled
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“The current population reality is the opposite of what the Ehrlichs said it would be. All over the world, except for places in Africa, legacy populations are declining. In the United States, our population would be declining were it not for immigration. Elsewhere, the replication rate is plummeting — and it’s not just the West, but in China and Taiwan; both Koreas, as different as they are; and in Japan. Without growing populations, our modern (if jury-rigged) social safety net pension systems are jeopardized, as is the possibility of finding caregivers to aging-and-dying populations. We cannot blame it all on Ehrlich of course. There are many factors at work. But is it possible to be more wrong than he was?” (03/20/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/03/20/fizzled/
-----
47) When Police Sue Their Critics: Why Afroman’s Legal Victory Matters
Source: Independent Institute
by Sam Jenson
“On March 18th, an Ohio jury sided with rapper Joseph Foreman, better known by his stagename Afroman, in a civil tort case. Afroman, known for his over-the-top comedic style and the hit track ‘Crazy Rap,’ was in court this past week after sheriff’s deputies sued him for criticizing and making fun of them in several music videos and in interviews. In an important symbolic victory for freedom of expression, Afroman won the lawsuit. Had the government prevailed, it would have signaled that documenting government conduct and criticizing police could come at a steep price.” (03/20/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/03/20/police-sue-critics-afroman/
-----
48) Diogenes for Our Time
Source: Law & Liberty
by Thomas M Ward
“Plato once called Diogenes ‘a raving Socrates’ and a dog. The latter insult stuck. The word ‘Cynic’ is a transliteration of the Greek Kynikos, which means dog-like. Diogenes owned the insult because the life of a dog so much resembled his own ideal of how human life should be lived. Human beings organize themselves into families and cities, and these institutions are upheld through strict customs and laws. We are animals but have deeply ingrained convictions about when and where to eat, to relieve ourselves, and to express and satisfy sexual desire. Diogenes thought these institutions and convictions, these nomismata, were ‘absurd’ and ‘ridiculous.'” (03/20/26)
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/diogenes-for-our-time/
-----
49) Court Demands Student Loan Borrowers Pay More
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen
“Since the inauguration of Donald Trump for a second presidential term, a student loan borrower has fallen into default every nine seconds. A federal appeals court wants to accelerate that process. Last week, a three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit (which includes two Trump appointees and one appointed by George W. Bush) nullified the Biden administration’s income-driven repayment (IDR) program, versions of which have been in place under presidents of both parties for over three decades. The specific Biden-era version, known as Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE), which nearly seven million borrowers have opted into, was authorized through 2028 by Congress and President Trump in the fiscal mega-bill passed just last year. Yet without any hearing on the merits, the Eighth Circuit unilaterally tossed out the program.” (03/20/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/03/20/trump-biden-student-loan-borrowers-default-saving-on-valuable-education-save-act/
-----
50) No Time for Losers: Why the War Meant to Save Israel May Destroy It
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ramzy Baroud
“When Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu launched their military aggression against Iran on February 28, they appeared convinced that the war would be swift. Netanyahu reportedly assured Washington that the campaign would deliver a decisive strategic victory – one capable of reordering the Middle East and restoring Israel’s battered deterrence. Whether Netanyahu himself believed that promise is another matter.” (03/20/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/ramzy-baroud/2026/03/19/no-time-for-losers-why-the-war-meant-to-save-israel-may-destroy-it
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Unattended Baggage, episode 333
Source: Unattended Baggage
“The war is over! Long live the war!” (03/21/26)
https://unattendedbaggage.substack.com/p/episode-333-the-war-is-over-long
-----
52) System Update, 03/21/26
Source: System Update
“The US and Israel Are Not Winning the War.” (03/21/26)
https://greenwald.substack.com/p/us-israel-losing-the-war-with-glenn
-----
53) Free Talk Live, 03/21/26
Source: Free Talk Live
“Mark Edge Interviews Joe Quirk about Seasteading and the future of living on the open waters, autonomously :: Jason Osborne, New Hampshire House Majority Leader :: Jeremy Kauffman, member of the Free State Project and the Free State Party and Chair of The Libertarian Party of New Hampshire :: Hosts: Mark Edgington :: 2026-03-21.” (03/21/26)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/ftl2026-03-21
-----
54) The Good Fight, 03/21/26
Source: Yascha Mounk
“Shashank Joshi on Why the War in the Middle East Won’t End Anytime Soon.” (03/21/26)
https://writing.yaschamounk.com/p/shashank-joshi-2
-----
55) TAC Right Now, 03/20/26
Source: The American Conservative
“Joe Kent Discusses His Resignation over the Iran War.” (03/20/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/tac-right-now-joe-kent-discusses-his-resignation-over-the-iran-war/
-----
56) Serious Trouble, 03/20/26
Source: Serious Trouble
“Pound Cake for Everyone.” (03/20/26)
https://www.serioustrouble.show/p/pound-cake-for-everyone
-----
57) Pink Flame of Liberty, 03/20/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“Former Mises Caucus PARTY WRECKERS mount NARCISSISTIC Attempt to Dissolive the LP of Washington.” (03/20/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t71AOXc36HM
-----
58) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 03/20/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“War Isn’t Free … How The American People Pay Dearly For It.” (03/20/26)
https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1qJDzPmWVPYKV
-----
59) Freedom Works with Paul Molloy, 03/20/26
Source: Freedom Works
“William LeoGrande, Quincy Institute ‘The Fate of Cuba.'” (03/20/26)
https://internetradiopros.com/freedomworks/?name=2026-03-20_zfw03182026.mp3
-----
60) Friday Philosophy, 03/20/26
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
“Do we have free will? If, for example, you have decided to read my article, was it up to you whether to do so, or was your decision determined by forces beyond your control? Most people think we do have free will, but there are some influential philosophical arguments that claim we don’t. The situation is quite complex; some philosophers argue that we have free will but are also determined.” (03/20/26)
https://mises.org/friday-philosophy/pink
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Iran: Power Outages Reported in Tehran as Israeli Regime Attempts to Trigger Escalation Threats
2) Trump: ICE gang will menace US air travelers due to TSA groper/ogler shortages
3) Palestine: Israeli squatters smash cars, set fires in attacks
4) Jury finds Elon Musk’s “stupid tweets” caused Twitter investors’ losses
5) Switzerland: Regime halts weapons exports to US over Iran conflict
6) Kazakhstan: Russian regime launches first rocket from repaired Baikonur launch pad
7) Federal judge reverses Pentagon press restrictions
8) Czech Republic: Mass Prague rally hits Babis over democracy concerns
9) MI: Detroit moms rushing to “no strings attached” cash aid program
10) Canada: A secularism law some women say makes them “feel like outsiders” heads to top court
11) Cuba: Power grid collapses for third time this month
12) CA: Massive animal rescue operation seizes over 300 dogs and cats
13) SCOTUS Revives Suit From Evangelical Christian Challenging Restrictions on Demonstrations
14) No assessment Iran could strike London, UK minister says
15) NASA hauls repaired moon rocket from hangar back to pad for early April launch
16) MO: Judge strikes ballot summary for Trump-backed congressional redistricting plan
17) Sudan: Drone attack on key hospital killed 64 people during Eid
18) Report: ICC Chief Prosecutor Khan cleared of sexual misconduct by judges
19) CA: Sheriff running for governor seizes more than a half million ballots from 2025 election
20) Robert Mueller, 1944-2026
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Trump Wants to Destroy Anthropic Because It Is Doing Congress’s Job of Preventing Him from Abusing AI
22) Autarky: Terrible at Political Scale, But Great as Individual Self-Defense
23) Immigration Restrictions Restrict Americans’ Liberties
24) The Palestine Context
25) Bluesky raises $100 million but faces a messy reality
26) You Can’t Make People Cheer For Your Wars After Committing A Live-Streamed Genocide
27) Attacking Iran’s Power Plants Would Be Despicable
28) Let Iran Be Someone Else’s Problem
29) A year after coming into power, Syria’s ruler faces his defining test in Lebanon
30) Defense Spending in FY 2026 Could Top $1.2 Trillion
31) Goodness Exists, Though You’d Never Know It From the Corporate Media
32) Brother, can you spare a dime?
33) In a rethink of aid, motivation over mercy
34) This Is a Lawless War
35) What Cognitive Science Tells Us About AI Warfare
36) The World At Large Has Eyes
37) TN: State Election Bill Could Change Everything
38) Israel accusing Iran of lawbreaking is the height of hypocrisy
39) We’d Be Winning This War if It Weren’t for Your Coverage
40) Bargaining with the Butcher, Baker, and Brewer: A New Look at Smith’s Most Famous Sentences
41) Beware Men Who Wage War to Prove They Are Men
42) There Is No GOP ‘Civil War’ Over Iran …
43) What 122 Universal Basic Income Experiments Actually Show
44) Section 230’s Legal Protections for Internet Speech Face New Challenge
45) Democrat logic: Chicago raises hotel tax … to attract tourists
46) The Bomb That Fizzled
47) When Police Sue Their Critics: Why Afroman’s Legal Victory Matters
48) Diogenes for Our Time
49) Court Demands Student Loan Borrowers Pay More
50) No Time for Losers: Why the War Meant to Save Israel May Destroy It
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Unattended Baggage, episode 333
52) System Update, 03/21/26
53) Free Talk Live, 03/21/26
54) The Good Fight, 03/21/26
55) TAC Right Now, 03/20/26
56) Serious Trouble, 03/20/26
57) Pink Flame of Liberty, 03/20/26
58) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 03/20/26
59) Freedom Works with Paul Molloy, 03/20/26
60) Friday Philosophy, 03/20/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Iran: Power Outages Reported in Tehran as Israeli Regime Attempts to Trigger Escalation Threats
Source: New York Times
“Residents reported blackouts across large parts of Tehran after heavy airstrikes struck multiple areas of Iran’s capital early Monday. It came shortly after Israel announced it would target Tehran’s infrastructure, without providing more details. … President Trump’s threat to strike power plants in Iran, which could plunge much of the country of 90 million people into darkness, has set off widespread fear and anxiety among Iranians at home and abroad. … Iranian officials responded defiantly on Sunday to President Trump’s threat to escalate attacks, warning that Iran would retaliate in kind if the United States or its allies widened their strikes against the country’s critical infrastructure.” (03/23/26)
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/03/23/world/iran-war-oil-trump
-----
2) Trump: ICE gang will menace US air travelers due to TSA groper/ogler shortages
Source: Axios
“President Trump said Sunday he will send ICE agents to U.S. airports starting Monday to assist TSA officers who have been working without pay for more than five weeks during a partial Homeland Security shutdown. … acting DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis told Axios in a Sunday afternoon email that Trump ‘is using every tool available to help American travelers who are facing hours long lines at airports across the country — especially during this spring break and holiday season that is very important for many American families.’ [editor’s note: The best “tool available to help American travelers” would be shutting down the “security” checkpoints and sending that job back to airports/airlines where it belongs – TLK] (03/22/26)
https://www.axios.com/2026/03/22/trump-ice-agents-airports-tsa-dhs-shutdown
-----
3) Palestine: Israeli squatters smash cars, set fires in attacks
Source: Associated Press
“Israeli [squatters] rampaged through multiple Palestinian villages overnight Saturday and into Sunday, smashing cars, setting fires and wounding several men in the latest flare-up of violence in the occupied West Bank. The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported attacks in at least six communities on Sunday. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said at least three Palestinians in the village of Jalud suffered head wounds from beatings and were hospitalized after confronting [squatters], who were also reported injured. The violence came as Israel’s government presses ahead with new ]squats] in the occupied West Bank. Attacks by [squatters] have intensified alongside a broader surge in violence since the Iran war started.” (03/22/26)
https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-west-bank-settlers-9ded87da79b032cff60ddd8797846f0e
-----
4) Jury finds Elon Musk’s “stupid tweets” caused Twitter investors’ losses
Source: The Verge
“A California jury determined that Elon Musk misled Twitter investors before making a $44 billion deal to buy the company in 2022, reports CNBC. The New York Times reports that Musk had testified this month that he didn’t believe his posts would spook markets, but he did say that ‘If this was a trial about whether I made stupid tweets, I would say I’m guilty.’ CNBC reports Musk’s attorneys are expected to file an appeal, as damages could reach as high as $2.6 billion, according to attorneys representing the plaintiffs. While finding that Musk did not engage in a specific scheme to defraud shareholders, the jury cited two of Musk’s tweets, from May 13th and May 27th, 2022, as materially false or misleading, causing some investors to sell shares in Twitter at values below the $54.20 per share bid.” (03/20/26)
https://archive.is/j7DYb
-----
5) Switzerland: Regime halts weapons exports to US over Iran conflict
Source: Politico
“Switzerland said it won’t allow weapons exports to the U.S. as long as Washington is involved in its ongoing military campaign against Iran. The Swiss government said on Friday that it will not sign off on any new licenses for the export of war materiel to countries involved in the conflict, citing Switzerland’s commitment to neutrality. Switzerland said that it has not issued new export licenses to send weapons to the U.S. since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Tehran on Feb. 28. Existing licenses to export weapons to the U.S. can continue as they are not relevant ‘to the war at present,’ but they will be kept under review in case they conflict with Swiss neutrality laws, it said.” (03/21/26)
https://www.politico.eu/article/switzerland-donald-trump-us-halts-weapons-exports-iran-conflict
-----
6) Kazakhstan: Russian regime launches first rocket from repaired Baikonur launch pad
Source: Reuters
“Russia launched a Soyuz rocket from a repaired launch pad at its Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Sunday, restoring its capability to fly to the International Space Station for the first time since the launch pad was damaged last year. At 1200 GMT, a Soyuz-2.1a rocket carrying the Progress MS-33 cargo spacecraft lifted off and was placed into orbit, Russia’s space agency said. The spacecraft is expected to dock with the International Space Station on March 24. The launch pad had been out of commission since it was badly damaged in November when a Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft with two Russian cosmonauts and one NASA astronaut on board blasted off. No one was hurt and the crew safely reached the space station, but the incident deprived Russia of its sole means of sending crew or cargo back to the ISS for months.” (03/22/26)
https://www.reuters.com/science/russia-launches-first-rocket-repaired-baikonur-launch-pad-2026-03-22/
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7) Federal judge reverses Pentagon press restrictions
Source: Politico
“The Trump administration violated the Constitution when it sought to restrict press access to the Pentagon and limit what reporters could cover, a federal judge ruled Friday. U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman granted a request from The New York Times to void the Pentagon’s press credential policy on grounds it violated the First and Fifth Amendment, rejecting the government’s argument that the restrictions were needed to prevent the disclosure of classified information. … The ruling, which comes as journalists around the world seek information about the war in Iran, rolls back a highly aggressive attack on press freedom implemented last year by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host who has had a strained relationship with the media.” (03/20/26)
https://archive.is/6842D
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8) Czech Republic: Mass Prague rally hits Babis over democracy concerns
Source: Deutsche Welle [German state media]
“Tens of of thousands of people rallied in the Czech capital, Prague, on Saturday to oppose the policies of Prime Minister Andrej Babis and his coalition government, accusing it of what they called ‘arrogance of power.’ Organizers from the Million Moments for Democracy movement estimated that more than 200,000 people filled the Letna plain, though that figure has not been independently verified. The demonstrators accused Babis of steering the country away from democratic values and aligning with the pro-Russia policies of Hungary and Slovakia. … In addition to concerns over public media, state institutions, and foreign policy, demonstrators also warned against draft legislation they say resembles Russian-style restrictions on civil society.” (03/21/26)
https://www.dw.com/en/mass-prague-rally-hits-babis-over-democracy-concerns/a-76470345
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9) MI: Detroit moms rushing to “no strings attached” cash aid program
Source: Fox News
“Over 1,000 Detroit moms rushed to a ‘no-strings-attached’ cash aid program tailored to new and expectant mothers, the city’s mayor announced on Tuesday. ‘Seeing more than 1,000 Detroit mothers enrolling so quickly tells you everything: families are ready, and Detroit is delivering,’ Mayor Mary Sheffield said in a written statement. Detroit officials distributed around $1 million to more than 1,000 mothers as part of the city’s Rx Kids program, which launched the application process on Feb. 9. The cash assistance program is a statewide initiative that’s intended to issue $1,500 cash to new and expectant mothers in the Motor City as well as $500 per month after a child’s birth for at least six months. The program is considered the largest cash aid program for prenatal and infant care in the country.” (03/22/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/media/detroit-moms-rushed-no-strings-attached-cash-aid-program-tailored-new-mothers
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10) Canada: A secularism law some women say makes them “feel like outsiders” heads to top court
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Since 2019, a secularism law in Quebec has barred some public sector workers, like judges, police officers and teachers, from wearing religious attire at work. Now, the country’s highest court is preparing to consider its future. Lisa Robicheau describes her life as ‘stuck between a rock and a hard place’. The 41-year-old single mother of two, who wears a hijab, works in Montreal’s English-language school system as a contract support worker for students with disabilities – a job she loves and where she is exempt from the current law. But Robicheau can’t help feeling anxious about her future and whether she will be able to continue working in a public school while being visibly Muslim in Quebec. The uncertainty has led her to enroll back in university, hoping to find a different job—or even leave the province.” (03/22/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ceqw5j5lx32o
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11) Cuba: Power grid collapses for third time this month
Source: National Public Radio [US state media]
“Cuba’s power grid collapsed Saturday leaving the country without electricity for a third time in March as the communist government battles with a decaying infrastructure and a U.S.-imposed oil blockade. The Cuban Electric Union, which reports to the Ministry of Energy and Mines, announced a total blackout across the island without initially giving a cause for the outage. The union later said the blackout was caused by an unexpected failure of a generating unit at the Nuevitas thermoelectric plant in Camagüey province.” (03/22/26)
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/22/nx-s1-5756288/cubas-power-grid-collapses
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12) CA: Massive animal rescue operation seizes over 300 dogs and cats
Source: SFGate
“A large-scale animal rescue operation for hundreds of dogs and cats took place on Friday in Lake Hughes, roughly 60 miles north of Los Angeles. The Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control served a search warrant at a property on 266th Street West in Lake Hughes, following reports of a violation of animal welfare laws. The operation involved over 70 people, and officials initially estimated that over 700 animals were located on the property in need of rescue, according to an Instagram post by DACC Friday. The post said the operation could be the largest of its kind to have taken place in the U.S., but in an update, that number was revised down to about 250 dogs and 66 cats.\” (03/21/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/california-animal-rescue-operation-22089455.php
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13) SCOTUS Revives Suit From Evangelical Christian Challenging Restrictions on Demonstrations
Source: US News & World Report
“The Supreme Court on Friday revived a lawsuit from an evangelical Christian barred from demonstrating in Mississippi after authorities say he shouted insults at people over a loudspeaker. The high court unanimously ruled in the case of Gabriel Olivier, who says his religious and free speech rights were violated when he was arrested for refusing to move his preaching away from a suburban amphitheater. The city said he had shouted insults like ‘whores,’ ‘Jezebel’ and ‘nasty’ at people, sometimes holding signs showing aborted fetuses. Olivier wanted to challenge the law as an unconstitutional restriction on free speech, but lower courts stopped him from suing because he’d been convicted of breaking it. A Supreme Court case from the 1990s found people can’t use civil lawsuits to undermine criminal convictions. But the justices found that doesn’t stop Olivier from suing because he only wants to block future enforcement.” (03/20/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2026-03-20/supreme-court-revives-suit-from-evangelical-christian-challenging-restrictions-on-demonstrations
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14) No assessment Iran could strike London, UK minister says
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“There is ‘no assessment to substantiate’ Israel’s claim that Iran has long-range missiles capable of reaching London, a UK cabinet minister has said. Housing Secretary Steve Reed told the BBC there was ‘no specific assessment that the Iranians are targeting the UK – or even could if they wanted to,’ after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Saturday that Tehran had weapons that could reach up to 4,000km (2,485 miles). It comes after it emerged Iran targeted the joint US-UK military base on the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, around 3,800km from Iran. Reed refused to say how close the missiles came to the British overseas territory, saying he could not share ‘operational details.'” (03/22/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crm120x4lzxo
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15) NASA hauls repaired moon rocket from hangar back to pad for early April launch
Source: SFGate
“For the second time this year, NASA moved its moon rocket from the hangar out toward the pad Friday in hopes of launching four astronauts on a lunar fly-around next month. If the latest repairs work and everything else goes NASA’s way, the Space Launch System could blast off as early as April 1 from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. The Artemis II crew went into quarantine this week in Houston. The 322-foot (98-meter) rocket began the slow 4-mile (6.4-kilometer) trek in the middle of the night, transported atop a massive crawler used since the 1960s Apollo era. The trip was held up for several hours by high wind but completed by midday, 11 hours after it began. The three Americans and one Canadian will zip around the moon in their capsule and then come straight home without stopping.” (03/22/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/nasa-hauls-its-repaired-moon-rocket-from-the-22087175.php
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16) MO: Judge strikes ballot summary for Trump-backed congressional redistricting plan
Source: Seattle Times
“If Missouri voters get to decide whether to adopt new U.S. House districts backed by President Donald Trump, the ballot proposal presented to them won’t say a word about gerrymandering. A state judge on Friday ordered a new, toned-down description of the redistricting plan after Missouri’s Republican secretary of state acknowledged that he had crafted an unfair summary likely to create bias for the new districts by describing the old ones as ‘gerrymandered.’ … it remains to be seen whether the referendum actually will occur this November. Election officials are still in the process of verifying whether opponents gathered enough valid petition signatures. And the state Supreme Court is considering a separate lawsuit seeking to invalidate the new map based on assertions that mid-decade redistricting isn’t allowed under the state constitution.” (03/20/26)
https://archive.is/siDHd
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17) Sudan: Drone attack on key hospital killed 64 people during Eid
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Sudan’s army has denied it carried out a deadly attack on a major hospital on Friday night in a city in the west of the country held by its rivals, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said 64 people – including 13 children, two nurses and a doctor – had died in the strike on el-Daein Teaching Hospital and 89 others had been wounded. ‘Enough blood has been spilled,’ Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted on X, urging the warring parties to end the conflict, which started nearly three years ago. The RSF said an army drone had hit the hospital in el-Daein, the capital of East Darfur state, on the day Muslims were marking the festival of Eid. (03/22/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr715xynkvvo
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18) Report: ICC Chief Prosecutor Khan cleared of sexual misconduct by judges
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Judges have cleared the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, of all wrongdoing after an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct, Middle East Eye reports. A report by Middle East Eye published on Saturday said a panel of three judges submitted a confidential report to the court’s oversight body, the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP), on March 9. … The OIOS investigation was commissioned by the head of the ASP in November 2024 after a member of Khan’s office accused the prosecutor of sexual misconduct. In August last year, a second woman came forward and alleged that Khan had abused his power over her while she was working for the British lawyer.” (03/21/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/21/icc-chief-prosecutor-khan-cleared-of-sexual-misconduct-by-judges-report
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19) CA: Sheriff running for governor seizes more than a half million ballots from 2025 election
Source: SFGate
“A California sheriff running for governor has seized more than half a million ballots cast in a November special election from county election officials, saying he’s investigating a ballot count discrepancy. County elections officials have disputed the claims by Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, called Bianco’s move unprecedented and says it is designed to sow distrust in elections. Bianco held a news conference Friday saying his office had launched the investigation after receiving a complaint from a local citizens group about the ballot count from a November 2025 special election on redistricting. In the special election, voters approved a measure to redraw congressional district lines to favor Democrats in the upcoming midterm election. The measure passed in the county by a margin of more than 80,000 votes.” (03/22/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/california-sheriff-running-for-governor-seizes-22090546.php
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20) Robert Mueller, 1944-2026
Source: New York Times
“Robert S. Mueller III, who led the Federal Bureau of Investigation for 12 tumultuous years, brought politically explosive indictments as a special counsel examining Russia’s attack on the 2016 presidential election, and then concluded that he could neither absolve nor accuse President Trump of a crime, died on Friday. He was 81. His family confirmed the death in a statement but did not say where he died or give the cause.” (03/21/26)
https://archive.is/GcQaS
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Trump Wants to Destroy Anthropic Because It Is Doing Congress’s Job of Preventing Him from Abusing AI
Source: The UnPopulist
by Adam Conner
“Over the last two weeks, the Department of Defense has initiated two wars: one against a nation with a long history of conflict with the United States; the other against one of the fastest-growing new companies in American history: Anthropic, the frontier artificial intelligence lab behind the popular Claude model. The DOD has effectively declared both Iran and Anthropic to be enemies of America, and though the weapons the DOD is using in each conflict differ dramatically — explosive missiles versus bureaucratic legal statutes — the department has made clear in both cases that its objective is to severely damage, if not totally destroy, the enemy. … Why this fight started and how the government has chosen to wage it are two separate questions, and conflating them is one of the major mistakes most coverage of this conflict has made.” (03/21/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/trump-wants-to-destroy-anthropic
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22) Autarky: Terrible at Political Scale, But Great as Individual Self-Defense
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“The war on Iran is temporarily producing the same result that actual US ‘energy independence’ — usually promoted as proposed autarky in the production/sale of oil — would deliver without ‘armies crossing borders.’ Almost all oil and gas produced in the US comes from ‘tight formation production’ — horizontally drilled wells and hydraulic fracturing (‘fracking’) to extract the stuff from shale . That’s more expensive than just drilling a vertical well and pumping the black gold out, as is done in the Middle East. That’s a ‘competitive disadvantage’ for US oil companies. The only way for US oil production to be profitable is for the price per barrel to be kept artificially high through ‘protectionist’ measures … or war. The US producers can only profit by increasing YOUR costs. At the level of the individual American, on the other hand, a certain amount of ‘energy independence’ — autarky! — makes a good deal of sense.” (03/21/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20457
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23) Immigration Restrictions Restrict Americans’ Liberties
Source: Liberalism.org
by Ilya Somin
“The biggest victims of immigration restrictions are the would-be migrants, who are consigned to a lifetime of poverty and oppression simply because they were born in the wrong place, to the wrong parents. But the horrific experience of the second Trump administration highlights how restrictionism also poses a grave threat to the liberty and welfare of native-born citizens. While some of the harms caused to natives are specific to the policies of this administration, many are inherent in the very nature of exclusion and deportation, and they occur even under more conventional presidents. The ultimate solution is to end all or most immigration restrictions, or at least to severely curb them.” (903/20/26)
https://www.liberalism.org/p/immigration-restrictions-restrict-americans-liberties
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24) The Palestine Context
Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman
“Much turmoil in the Middle East today is attributable to this overlooked fact: Jewish European descendants of people who had freely chosen to leave ancient Judea/Palestine established a project, Zionism, in the late 19th and early 20th century with the intention of displacing the descendants of Judeans who had chosen to stay. This is a dispute, in other words, between Canaanites who remained — from whom the Palestinian Muslims and Christians descended — and the Canaanites who willingly departed — from whom the Ashkenazi Jews descended. … For both Jewish and Christian Zionists, the alleged Roman exile of the Jews from Judea in the first century CE is a key part of the Zionist property claim, on behalf of all Jews the world over, to the land of Israel. But exile did not happen.” (03/20/26)
https://sheldonrichman.substack.com/p/tgif-the-palestine-context
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25) Bluesky raises $100 million but faces a messy reality
Source: Washington Post
by Megan McArdle
“To partisans behind Bluesky, it must have seemed like a gift from the gods when Elon Musk bought Twitter. In short order he changed its name to X, shifted its moderation policies sharply to the right and sent millions of internet refugees searching for a new home. But as the ancients knew, gifts of the gods often come with strings attached. In the two years since Bluesky opened to all comers, the social media app has gained 43 million users, an amazing feat for a company with fewer than 50 full-time employees. That growth got a huge boost from Musk’s antics in the lead-up to the 2024 election, which endowed Bluesky with a base of devoted users — users who skewed heavily progressive and brought with them cancel culture tactics that had flourished on X. Those users are now the platform’s biggest barrier to growth.” (03/22/26)
https://archive.is/qMWRN
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26) You Can’t Make People Cheer For Your Wars After Committing A Live-Streamed Genocide
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“I saw a clip of Fox News war propagandist Sean Hannity solemnly reading a tweet by Atlantic Council fellow Jamie Metzl which said, ‘It is profoundly disturbing that a growing segment of the far left appears to be almost rooting for Hamas, Hezbollah, the Iranian regime, and other forces fundamentally opposed to the US and our allies. This seems to reflect a corrosive strain of anti-Americanism dressed up in post-colonial theory that risks blinding us to the moral realities of our world and the nature of our adversaries.’ These assholes really thought they could commit a genocide in full view of the entire world for years and then expect everyone cheer for them to win. Of course we’re seeing more ‘anti-Americanism.’ You don’t get to commit horrific atrocities year after year and then cry when the world starts to hate you.” (03/21/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/03/21/you-cant-make-people-cheer-for-your-wars-after-committing-a-live-streamed-genocide-and-other-notes/
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27) Attacking Iran’s Power Plants Would Be Despicable
Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison
“Threatening to damage or destroy power generation for the entire country is outrageous. If the U.S. does this, it will be inflicting collective punishment on the civilian population on a massive scale. Attacking Iran’s power plants would be comparable to Russian attacks on Ukraine’s power grid, and it would be just as despicable.” (03/21/26)
https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/attacking-irans-power-plants-would
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28) Let Iran Be Someone Else’s Problem
Source: The American Conservative
by Benjamin H Friedman
“The United States is not going to win this war with Iran. The good news is that we do not need to. There was no good reason for the Israeli–U.S. attack in the first place, and American security does not require us to win anything new from Tehran—not the regime change President Donald Trump fantasizes about, not the militarily-crippled Iran his defense secretary describes as the goal, not even the nuclear deal Washington might have had before it chose war. The United States can simply stop. It can declare a phony victory and even call it the ‘unconditional surrender’ Trump demands.” (03/21/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/let-iran-be-someone-elses-problem/
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29) A year after coming into power, Syria’s ruler faces his defining test in Lebanon
Source: New York Post
by Dan Perry
“Since Ahmed al-Sharaa came to power in Damascus last January, a question has hovered in the air: Has Syria truly changed, or merely changed hands Seeking sanctions relief, investment and a measure of international legitimacy, the new leadership, despite its past association with Al Qaeda, has signaled moderation. The symbols of the old regime are gone. The suffocating omnipresence of the Assad state has receded. Cafes have reopened, checkpoints have thinned and Syrians speak more freely. Yes, there have been killings of members of the Druze and the formerly dominant Alawite minorities, which the government denies direct involvement in. But even this mixed picture is no small achievement. The Russia- and Iran-backed Assad regime was not simply authoritarian; it was claustrophobic, built on surveillance, coercion and inherited power. Its collapse created space.” (03/21/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/03/21/opinion/syrian-leader-ahmed-al-sharaa-is-tested-with-situation-in-lebanon/
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30) Defense Spending in FY 2026 Could Top $1.2 Trillion
Source: Exiled Policy
by Jason Pye
“Congress should not treat this supplemental as routine. It’s not. A $200 billion request tied to an open-ended conflict demands more than a simple funding vote. It requires a clear endpoint. Without that, lawmakers are writing a blank check for a war without an endgame, financed through additional borrowing at a time of already elevated deficits. And let’s be clear. If this war expands and boots are put on the ground, the fiscal cost will grow beyond $200 billion. Service members will be killed or wounded, adding to the $3 trillion that the federal government will spend on veterans over the next ten years.” (03/21/26)
https://exiledpolicy.substack.com/p/defense-spending-in-fy-2026-could
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31) Goodness Exists, Though You’d Never Know It From the Corporate Media
Source: Town Hall
by Mark Lewis
“One of the first things I do every morning, even before I get out of bed, is check the news to discover if something good happened while I was asleep. I rarely find any such news. Just about all that is reported is crime, war, hatred, Democrats, Washington, D.C., California, New York City, the Middle East, Congress, China, Trump is Hitler, transgenderism, promiscuity and decadence, ad nauseam, ad infinitum. Every time I see a picture of Gavin Newsom, AOC, Nancy Pelosi, or Chuck Schumer, I want to puke. And since I’m only allowed 1,000 words for this article and want to say other things, I’ll leave it at that, and let the reader add to the list of barbaric and barfable objects as he/she wishes. But I don’t really wonder why I’m so cynical and have chronic depression. However, this morning, I got a boost in the other direction.” (03/21/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/marklewis/2026/03/22/goodness-exists-though-youd-never-know-it-from-the-corporate-media-n2673152
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32) Brother, can you spare a dime?
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
“From the Rapid City Regional Airport in the Black Hills of South Dakota, we have a ‘NextDoor’ posting. We are reminded that (courtesy of Congressional wrangling and other factors), DHS has not been funded. So your friendly airport trolls in TSA get-up are not getting paid. So, the poster tells us, travelers in and out of the airport are asked to drop a few dimes (or dollars) into tip baskets to give a little help to the unpaid TSA agents for pawing through your luggage, your carry-on, powering up your laptop, making you take your belt buckle and shoes off, and wanding you so that you can fly to visit Aunt Ginnie in Seattle or Houston. Right.” (03/20/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/03/20/brother-can-you-spare-a-dime/
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33) In a rethink of aid, motivation over mercy
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“What’s in a name? For global aid groups hit hard last year when the world’s largest donor – the United States – slashed its humanitarian and development budget, a name change can bring a refreshing change in how to view poor, unwell, and homeless people. On March 18, Mercy Corps, which once directly helped about 37 million people in 35 countries, announced it would soon call itself Prosper Global, after a major downsizing of the Oregon-based organization. ‘We believe strongly that what these communities need is prosperity, not mercy,’ chief development officer Mary Stata told Axios. The rebranding reflects a view that ‘participants’ in programs are leaders, not ‘passive recipients of humanitarian aid,’ as Ms. Stata explained.” (03/20/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0320/In-a-rethink-of-aid-motivation-over-mercy
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34) This Is a Lawless War
Source: The Dispatch
by Kevin D Williamson
“The case against the Iran war is not the $200 billion that Secretary of Don’t You Dare Call It a War Pete Hegseth is asking for to fund U.S. operations in Iran. … Nor should we be persuaded by sentimentality about the loss of the lives of U.S. troops. … the entire military enterprise is based on the assumption that lives will be lost. … The case against this war is that it is illegal — whatever Secretary Jägerbomb has to say about it, this is a war, and it is being conducted with no congressional authorization in a haphazard, chaotic, ad hoc way by a president who is profoundly corrupt, nearly 80 years old, and unable to write an ordinary English sentence, surrounded by a constellation of grifters, addicts, and incompetents unrivaled by anything in Washington since the days of Franklin Pierce.” (03/20/26)
https://archive.is/uAmp5
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35) What Cognitive Science Tells Us About AI Warfare
Source: Persuasion
by Tim Requarth
“In the intricate standoff between the Pentagon and Anthropic over the use of AI in weaponry, it was easy to be distracted by the strange bedfellows-aspect of the struggle – with OpenAI becoming a willing partner of the Pentagon even while Anthropic established itself as a darling of the #Resistance. But, more importantly, the standoff represents a significant turn of the wheel in how the debate around AI has entered into cultural space. It’s no longer Big Tech behemoths one-upping each other with upgrades. It’s about the vibes, man. And the future of AI may well be a kind of extended ELIZA effect — with consumers and contractors choosing between different AIs sort of as if they were sports teams, with the competing AIs corresponding to different sides in the culture wars.” (03/20/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/ai-is-about-the-vibes-now
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36) The World At Large Has Eyes
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“Current communication technology is often immediately public, as in that example. An email message is private when it is sent but copies remain in the possession of sender, receiver, and possibly others, who may be compelled to release them if sender, receiver, or the employer of either becomes involved in a law suit or criminal prosecution. What are the consequences? One is to make communication more difficult; if you are corresponding via a public medium, arguing with someone on Facebook, it is prudent to avoid making any argument that could be quoted out of context to make you look bad. If you don’t you are likely to regret it. You may even find it prudent to avoid arguing for unpopular positions that you believe in …. Another effect is to make company executives more guarded in internal correspondence.” (03/20/26)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/the-world-at-large-has-eyes
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37) TN: State Election Bill Could Change Everything
Source: The Pamphleteer
by Davis Hunt
“Much hay has been made of voting laws in Tennessee and across the country lately. You’ve probably heard about the SAVE Act at the federal level, and maybe some proposed laws at the state level too. The Banner wrote about some of the proposals at the state-level yesterday, but focusing so narrowly on ‘disparate impact’ type bills, they missed the Big Kahuna. There’s a proposal moving through the General Assembly right now that could change how local elections work in Nashville. The bill, sponsored by Scott Cepicky in the House and Joey Hensley in the Senate, would move the date of city elections to line up with the August primary or November general election. In other words, the off-cycle August 2027 Metro elections would get pushed to November 2028, landing on the same ballot as the presidential race every four years.” (03/20/26)
https://pamphleteer.co/newsletter/state-election-bill-could-change-everything/
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38) Israel accusing Iran of lawbreaking is the height of hypocrisy
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Sarah Leah Whitson
“After years of flouting the UN and Geneva Conventions Israel suddenly has an attack of legal propriety now that it is on the receiving end.” (03/20/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/israel-iran-bombing/
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39) We’d Be Winning This War if It Weren’t for Your Coverage
Source: The Atlantic
by Alexandra Petri
“Dear Media: There is no other way of putting this. The Fake News’s contumacious insistence on reporting what is actually happening in Iran rather than what Donald Trump would prefer was happening is setting back the war effort. So we at the FCC would like to provide you with some suggestions for updating your coverage. This is not a threat. However, please remember that we are in the process of consolidating every media company under the control of a man with a named boat who hates all the programming and has preemptively given Donald Trump his kidney, ‘just in case it ever comes in handy.’ … Clap! Why don’t you clap?” (03/20/26)
https://archive.is/AaRQm
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40) Bargaining with the Butcher, Baker, and Brewer: A New Look at Smith’s Most Famous Sentences
Source: EconLog
by Jacob Sider Jost
“Smith’s famous sentences about the butcher, brewer, and baker have often been taken to place interest (often silently emended to ‘self-interest’) at the root of human activity. Gregory Mankiw’s widely used introductory economics textbook glosses them in just this way: ‘Smith is saying that participants in the economy are motivated by self-interest.’ Smith could have said this. His famous sentences might have read ‘The butcher, brewer and baker provide us with dinner not out of benevolence, but out of self-interest. They act not out of humanity, but out of self-love, and seek their own advantage.’ But this is not what Smith wrote.” (03/20/26)
https://www.econlib.org/econlog/bargaining-with-the-butcher-baker-and-brewer
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41) Beware Men Who Wage War to Prove They Are Men
Source: Common Dreams
by Toby Miller & Joan Pedro-Caranana
“Seemingly endless recitations throughout history of what constitutes virtuous citizenship emphasize military life. A specifically masculine heritage of violence in the service of the nation oversees and delimits democracy and authority—a privileged area of social welfare in contrast to health, education, the environment, or poverty. Much classical and modern political theory assumes and even endorses domestic violence, bellicose masculinity, and the notion that ‘real’ politics is generated, discussed, and concluded between men. The idea that male virtue is tied to violence, whether in defense of faith, family, or the border, is immensely strong. From individual duels to national campaigns, the ‘right’ way to engage in violence has given rise to ideas of nobility. Masculine worth is supposedly incarnate in bloodshed and authoritarian leadership, embodied in the military as a righteous national embodiment of power, spirit, religiosity, and victory.” (03/21/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/war-toxic-masculinity
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42) There Is No GOP ‘Civil War’ Over Iran …
Source: The Realist Review
by James W Carden
“As I pointed out exactly three years ago, on March 20, 2023, in the pages of The Spectator, the idea that there is a brewing ‘civil war’ within the Republican Party over foreign policy would be nice, if it were actually true. Then as now, stories appeared in Beltway broadsheets claiming that the GOP was at war with itself over foreign policy. … What is now unfolding isn’t a GOP civil war over Iran — it is simply a reassertion of control by the people who actually control the Republican Party. We should understand this group as distinct from Republican voters, who most assuredly do not control the President or the Party apparatus on Capitol Hill.” (03/20/26)
https://therealistreview.substack.com/p/this-isnt-a-gop-civil-warits-a-reversion
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43) What 122 Universal Basic Income Experiments Actually Show
Source: The Daily Economy
by Vance Ginn
“Artificial intelligence has become the latest excuse for reviving one of the oldest bad ideas in economic policy: a universal basic income. Recent pieces in Newsweek, the LSE Business Review, and Fortune have all helped push the idea that AI may soon wipe out so many jobs that Washington will need to send everyone a check. That makes for a catchy headline. It also makes for terrible economics.” (03/20/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/what-122-universal-basic-income-experiments-actually-show/
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44) Section 230’s Legal Protections for Internet Speech Face New Challenge
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“For 30 years, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act has protected online speech, shielding platforms from liability for content posted by third parties. Basically, comments sections, discussion boards, and social media are made possible by that law. But Section 230 has long suffered attacks from people who don’t like what they see published in the digital world. This week, the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee heard arguments from both those who favor maintaining the current free environment for online speech and those who want to roll it back or outright repeal its protections.” (03/20/26)
https://reason.com/2026/03/20/section-230s-legal-protections-for-internet-speech-face-new-challenge/
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45) Democrat logic: Chicago raises hotel tax … to attract tourists
Source: Fox News
by David Marcus
“Just when you thought that the hare-brained schemes of the Democrats who run our beleaguered big cities couldn’t get goofier, Chicago has passed a new doozy. The Windy City is raising hotel taxes to, get this, increase tourism. Ordinance 2026-0022544 will raise the tax on hotel rooms within that district to 19% from the rate of 17.5%, with the proceeds going to an organization called Choose Chicago, which will use the cash for tourism marketing campaigns. The top target on Choose Chicago’s wish list of events is the 2028 Democratic National Convention, and now, everyone who books a room in Second City gets to chip in a bit on the effort. It’s quite a thing: Only a leftist Democrat could possibly think that making it more expensive to visit Chicago will increase tourism. Maybe they should throw in a complimentary mugging to sweeten the deal.” (03/21/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/david-marcus-democrat-logic-chicago-raises-hotel-tax-attract-tourists
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46) The Bomb That Fizzled
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“The current population reality is the opposite of what the Ehrlichs said it would be. All over the world, except for places in Africa, legacy populations are declining. In the United States, our population would be declining were it not for immigration. Elsewhere, the replication rate is plummeting — and it’s not just the West, but in China and Taiwan; both Koreas, as different as they are; and in Japan. Without growing populations, our modern (if jury-rigged) social safety net pension systems are jeopardized, as is the possibility of finding caregivers to aging-and-dying populations. We cannot blame it all on Ehrlich of course. There are many factors at work. But is it possible to be more wrong than he was?” (03/20/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/03/20/fizzled/
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47) When Police Sue Their Critics: Why Afroman’s Legal Victory Matters
Source: Independent Institute
by Sam Jenson
“On March 18th, an Ohio jury sided with rapper Joseph Foreman, better known by his stagename Afroman, in a civil tort case. Afroman, known for his over-the-top comedic style and the hit track ‘Crazy Rap,’ was in court this past week after sheriff’s deputies sued him for criticizing and making fun of them in several music videos and in interviews. In an important symbolic victory for freedom of expression, Afroman won the lawsuit. Had the government prevailed, it would have signaled that documenting government conduct and criticizing police could come at a steep price.” (03/20/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/03/20/police-sue-critics-afroman/
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48) Diogenes for Our Time
Source: Law & Liberty
by Thomas M Ward
“Plato once called Diogenes ‘a raving Socrates’ and a dog. The latter insult stuck. The word ‘Cynic’ is a transliteration of the Greek Kynikos, which means dog-like. Diogenes owned the insult because the life of a dog so much resembled his own ideal of how human life should be lived. Human beings organize themselves into families and cities, and these institutions are upheld through strict customs and laws. We are animals but have deeply ingrained convictions about when and where to eat, to relieve ourselves, and to express and satisfy sexual desire. Diogenes thought these institutions and convictions, these nomismata, were ‘absurd’ and ‘ridiculous.'” (03/20/26)
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/diogenes-for-our-time/
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49) Court Demands Student Loan Borrowers Pay More
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen
“Since the inauguration of Donald Trump for a second presidential term, a student loan borrower has fallen into default every nine seconds. A federal appeals court wants to accelerate that process. Last week, a three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit (which includes two Trump appointees and one appointed by George W. Bush) nullified the Biden administration’s income-driven repayment (IDR) program, versions of which have been in place under presidents of both parties for over three decades. The specific Biden-era version, known as Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE), which nearly seven million borrowers have opted into, was authorized through 2028 by Congress and President Trump in the fiscal mega-bill passed just last year. Yet without any hearing on the merits, the Eighth Circuit unilaterally tossed out the program.” (03/20/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/03/20/trump-biden-student-loan-borrowers-default-saving-on-valuable-education-save-act/
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50) No Time for Losers: Why the War Meant to Save Israel May Destroy It
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ramzy Baroud
“When Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu launched their military aggression against Iran on February 28, they appeared convinced that the war would be swift. Netanyahu reportedly assured Washington that the campaign would deliver a decisive strategic victory – one capable of reordering the Middle East and restoring Israel’s battered deterrence. Whether Netanyahu himself believed that promise is another matter.” (03/20/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/ramzy-baroud/2026/03/19/no-time-for-losers-why-the-war-meant-to-save-israel-may-destroy-it
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Unattended Baggage, episode 333
Source: Unattended Baggage
“The war is over! Long live the war!” (03/21/26)
https://unattendedbaggage.substack.com/p/episode-333-the-war-is-over-long
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52) System Update, 03/21/26
Source: System Update
“The US and Israel Are Not Winning the War.” (03/21/26)
https://greenwald.substack.com/p/us-israel-losing-the-war-with-glenn
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53) Free Talk Live, 03/21/26
Source: Free Talk Live
“Mark Edge Interviews Joe Quirk about Seasteading and the future of living on the open waters, autonomously :: Jason Osborne, New Hampshire House Majority Leader :: Jeremy Kauffman, member of the Free State Project and the Free State Party and Chair of The Libertarian Party of New Hampshire :: Hosts: Mark Edgington :: 2026-03-21.” (03/21/26)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/ftl2026-03-21
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54) The Good Fight, 03/21/26
Source: Yascha Mounk
“Shashank Joshi on Why the War in the Middle East Won’t End Anytime Soon.” (03/21/26)
https://writing.yaschamounk.com/p/shashank-joshi-2
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55) TAC Right Now, 03/20/26
Source: The American Conservative
“Joe Kent Discusses His Resignation over the Iran War.” (03/20/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/tac-right-now-joe-kent-discusses-his-resignation-over-the-iran-war/
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56) Serious Trouble, 03/20/26
Source: Serious Trouble
“Pound Cake for Everyone.” (03/20/26)
https://www.serioustrouble.show/p/pound-cake-for-everyone
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57) Pink Flame of Liberty, 03/20/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“Former Mises Caucus PARTY WRECKERS mount NARCISSISTIC Attempt to Dissolive the LP of Washington.” (03/20/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t71AOXc36HM
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58) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 03/20/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“War Isn’t Free … How The American People Pay Dearly For It.” (03/20/26)
https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1qJDzPmWVPYKV
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59) Freedom Works with Paul Molloy, 03/20/26
Source: Freedom Works
“William LeoGrande, Quincy Institute ‘The Fate of Cuba.'” (03/20/26)
https://internetradiopros.com/freedomworks/?name=2026-03-20_zfw03182026.mp3
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60) Friday Philosophy, 03/20/26
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
“Do we have free will? If, for example, you have decided to read my article, was it up to you whether to do so, or was your decision determined by forces beyond your control? Most people think we do have free will, but there are some influential philosophical arguments that claim we don’t. The situation is quite complex; some philosophers argue that we have free will but are also determined.” (03/20/26)
https://mises.org/friday-philosophy/pink
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