09/18 -- Russian regime calls on World Court to throw out Ukraine genocide case; Trump Prosecution: Judge Chutkan Should Stifle Her Gag Reflex
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Thomas L. Knapp
Sep 18, 2023, 6:27:40 AM9/18/23
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 09/18/23
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Produced by the staff of Rational Review News Digest
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Russian regime calls on World Court to throw out Ukraine genocide case
2) Smith requests gag order on disgraced former president
3) Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso juntas establish alliance
4) Armed man posing as US Marshal arrested at RFK Jr. campaign event
5) Palestine: Israeli forces attack worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque
6) Wenner ousted from Rock Hall of Fame board after comments on black, women musicians
7) Libya: Flood survivors weigh water shortages against landmine risk
8) UK: Brand denies media allegations of sex assaults
9) MA: WWI-era plane flips onto roof trying to land near museum; pilot unhurt
10) TX: Senate acquits Paxton on all corruption charges
11) CEO of NYC migrant contractor DocGo resigns after allegedly lying about college credentials
12) Germany: Climate protestors spray paint Brandenburg Gate columns
13) Germany: Hundreds of Eritrean opposition supporters arrested in Stuttgart
14) Iraq: Three killed in Turkish drone strike
15) NY: Demanding an End to “Deadly Fossil Fuels”, Tens of Thousands Take the Streets
16) MI: Last three men charged with plot to kidnap Whitmer acquitted
17) Former Yale student acquitted of rape in 2018 cleared to sue his accuser
18) Newly unearthed letter reveals Pope Pius XII knew of Nazi killings of Jews and Poles
19) CO: Cop gets probation for putting woman in police vehicle that was hit by a train
20) GA: Ohio man suspected of murder shot by resident during home invasion
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Trump Prosecution: Judge Chutkan Should Stifle Her Gag Reflex
22) Russell Brand and the crisis of scepticism
23) Doing wrong thing worse than nothing
24) Green Protectionism While the Earth Is Burning?
25) Trying to disqualify Trump is lawlessness masquerading as legality
26) Racial unity in America’s pews
27) The Tablets of Madison
28) Enforcing the Constitution
29) UAW’s “Element of Surprise” Strike Appears to Be Working
30) Debunking Crypto Myths: An Analysis of Kenyan Interior Minister’s Crypto Activity and Terror Funding Argument
31) Beating Brandon
32) What It’s Like to Live Under Russian Occupation
33) Freedom of Choice in Education: The Origins of a Slogan
34) How Do You Spell Relief?
35) Antony Blinken and the diplomacy deficit
36) Can the US Grow Its Way Out of the National Debt?
37) Don’t Be Distracted by Alarmism Over a Diversionary War
38) Cold hard reality: We must rein in drunken government spending
39) Inflation Jump Highlights Biden’s Vulnerability on Energy
40) El Chapo’s Wife and the Forever War on Drugs
41) Do we really have to relive a Trump-Biden election?
42) Barack Obama Belongs In A Fucking Cage
43) Free Speech Affirmed — Pretty Much
44) From Where Will the Breakthrough Come for Julian Assange?
45) NM: After gun ban, we must impeach governor or face these consequences
46) Must Known Musk
47) The Cancellation of Bertrand Russell
48) The Secret of Trump’s Political Success
49) How Deep Canvass Conversations Can Transform America
50) Humiliation vs. Self-Respect: The Untold Story of the Abuse of Palestinian Women in Hebron
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) The Fifth Column, 09/17/23
52) DMZ with Bill Scher and Matt Lewis, 09/17/23
53) The Anarchist Experience, episode 441
54) Unattended Baggage Episode, episode 214
55) This Week in Common Sense, 09/16/23
56) The Libertarian Angle, 09/15/23
57) The Charles C.W. Cooke Podcast, episode 41
58) Freedom Works with Paul Molloy, 09/15/23
59) Rising, 09/15/23
60) System Update, episode 148
61) The Bryan Hyde Show, 09/15/23
62) Politics Politics Politics, 09/15/23
63) Conflicts of Interest, episode 472
64) Nonzero, 09/15/23
65) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 09/15/23
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Russian regime calls on World Court to throw out Ukraine genocide case
Source: Reuters
“Russia called on the U.N.’s highest court in The Hague on Monday to throw out a case that centres around claims by Moscow that its invasion of Ukraine was carried out to prevent genocide. The request was made at the start of hearings dealing with the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court. Ukraine brought the case just days after the Russian invasion on Feb. 24 last year. Kyiv argues Russia is abusing international law by saying the invasion was justified to prevent an alleged genocide in eastern Ukraine. Russian officials continue to accuse Ukraine of committing genocide. … Russia wants the case to be thrown out and says the court has no jurisdiction. The hearings, set to run until Sept. 27, will not delve into the merits of the case and are instead focused on legal arguments about jurisdiction.” (09/18/23)
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-calls-world-court-throw-out-ukraine-genocide-case-2023-09-18/
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3) Smith requests gag order on disgraced former president
Source: The Hill
“Special counsel Jack Smith on Friday asked a judge to limit the extent former President Trump can discuss his looming trial on charges related to his effort to block the transfer of power in the 2020 election, citing a history of targeting those who ‘present an obstacle’ to him. The order asks federal district court Judge Tanya Chutkan to restrict ‘certain prejudicial extrajudicial statements’ from Trump about the 2020 election case, seeking a ‘narrow, well-defined restriction’ limiting discussion about the testimony or credibility of witnesses in the case, as well as court personnel and jurors. … ‘The defendant knows that when he publicly attacks individuals and institutions, he inspires others to perpetrate threats and harassment against his targets,’ prosecutors wrote in the filing.” (09/15/23)
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4207272-judge-asked-to-limit-trump-public-statements-on-jan-6-case-prosecutors-cite-witness-intimidation/
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3) Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso juntas establish alliance
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“The military leaders of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger on Saturday signed a mutual defence pact, ministerial delegations from the three Sahel countries announced in Mali’s capital Bamako. The Liptako-Gourma Charter establishes the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), Mali’s junta leader Assimi Goita posted on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter. … All three countries have undergone coups since 2020, most recently Niger, where soldiers in July overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum. The West African regional bloc ECOWAS has threatened to intervene militarily in Niger over the coup.” (09/16/23)
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230916-mali-niger-burkina-sign-mutual-defence-pact
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4) Armed man posing as US Marshal arrested at RFK Jr. campaign event
Source: United Press International
“A man armed with a loaded pistol was arrested Friday at Robert F. Kennedy Jr. presidential campaign event after he was caught posing as a U.S. Marshal. Kennedy, the 69-year-old son of late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, was scheduled to give a speech to honor Hispanic Heritage Month at Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles at the time of the incident, his campaign said in a statement. The man, who was not identified by Kennedy’s team, presented himself at the side entrance to the theater and claimed to be a part of Kennedy’s security team. He said he needed to be taken to Kennedy immediately. He was identified in jail records reviewed by UPI as 44-year-old Adrian Aispuro and his bail has been set at $35,000. … Kennedy’s actual security team removed him from the area and surrounded him before notifying the Los Angeles Police Department.” (09/16/23)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2023/09/16/armed-man-posing-us-marshal-arrested-rfk-jr-campaign-event/6401694904706/
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5) Palestine: Israeli forces attack worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatar state media]
“Israeli forces have attacked Palestinian worshippers at Bab as-Silsila, one of the main entrances to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, according to local sources. Israeli forces imposed tight security measures on Sunday, ejecting worshippers from Al-Aqsa Mosque and intensifying their presence around it, denying access to any Palestinian below the age of 50 to clear the way for Israeli [squatters] on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. In celebration of Rosh Hashanah, hundreds of ultranationalist Israelis made an incursion into the Al-Aqsa courtyard through the Morocco Gate under the protection of Israeli troops, according to news outlet Al-Mayadeen.” (09/17/23)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/17/israeli-forces-attack-palestinian-worshippers-at-al-aqsa-mosque
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6) Wenner ousted from Rock Hall of Fame board after comments on black, women musicians
Source: Chicago Sun-Times
“Jann Wenner, who founded Rolling Stone magazine and was a co-founder of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, has been removed from the hall’s board of directors after making comments that were seen as denigrating [b]lack and female musicians. … Wenner created a firestorm doing publicity for his new book ‘The Masters,’ which features interviews with musicians … all white and male. Asked why he didn’t interview women or [b]lack musicians, Wenner responded: ‘It’s not that they’re inarticulate, although, go have a deep conversation with Grace Slick or Janis Joplin. Please, be my guest. You know, Joni [Mitchell] was not a philosopher of rock ’n’ roll. She didn’t, in my mind, meet that test,’ he told the Times. ‘Of Black artists — you know, Stevie Wonder, genius, right? … I mean, they just didn’t articulate at that level,’ Wenner said.” (09/16/23)
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2023/9/16/23876863/jann-wenner-rock-roll-hall-fame-black-women-music-rolling-stone
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7) Libya: Flood survivors weigh water shortages against landmine risk
Source: Reuters
“People whose homes were swept away by flooding in Libya’s eastern city of Derna a week ago faced the dilemma on Sunday of whether to stay and risk infection or flee through areas where landmines have been displaced by the torrents. Thousands of people were killed after two dams above Derna broke on Sept. 10 during a powerful storm, bringing down residential blocks lining a usually dry riverbed as people slept. Many bodies have been washed out to sea. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Saturday cited a death toll of 11,300 from the Libyan Red Crescent. However, a spokesman for the Libyan Red Crescent appeared to cast doubt on that, saying ‘figures are changing and the Red Crescent is not responsible for this.'” (09/17/23)
https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/libyan-flood-survivors-weigh-water-shortages-against-landmine-risk-2023-09-17/
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8) UK: Brand denies media allegations of sex assaults
Source: Reuters
“British comedian and actor Russell Brand has denied any criminal wrongdoing as the Sunday Times newspaper reported four women had accused him of sexual assaults, including rape, during a seven-year period when he was at the height of his fame. Brand, 48, the former husband of U.S. singer Katy Perry, issued a denial to unspecified ‘very serious criminal allegations’ hours before they were published online by the newspaper on Saturday. The Sunday Times did not say if any of the women had made complaints to the police. Reuters was unable to reach Brand’s representatives for further response after the paper’s report was published.” (09/17/23)
https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-comedian-russell-brand-denies-media-allegations-sex-assaults-2023-09-16/
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9) MA: WWI-era plane flips onto roof trying to land near museum; pilot unhurt
Source: SFGate
“A World War I-era plane crashed and flipped over onto its roof as the pilot tried to land outside of a military history museum in Massachusetts, authorities said Sunday. The pilot was not hurt. The vintage single-engine Nieuport 28 was attempting to land shortly after 11 a.m. at the American Heritage Museum in Stow when the front landing gear failed, the local police and fire chiefs said in a joint news release. The pilot, the only person on board, had removed himself from the plane before first responders arrived, the news release said. The pilot’s name was not released. ‘The pilot did not report any injuries but was evaluated at the scene as a precaution,’ it said. The Federal Aviation Administration has been notified about the crash.” (09/17/23)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/world-war-i-era-plane-flips-onto-roof-trying-to-18372060.php
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10) TX: Senate acquits Paxton on all corruption charges
Source: Politico
“The Texas Senate voted to acquit Attorney General Ken Paxton on all 16 articles of impeachment Saturday, marking the end of a stunning saga that has divided the ruby red state’s GOP. Paxton, a Republican, dodged removal from office amid allegations of corruption and bribery, which would have required 21 votes from a jury of 30 senators to convict on any of the articles of impeachment. The state’s highest law enforcement official was only the third office holder in Texas’ nearly 200-year history to be impeached. … His impeachment followed an investigation by a Texas House committee that concluded Paxton may have committed numerous crimes and that he had abused his office to help his friend and donor Nate Paul, an Austin real estate developer. The GOP-controlled Texas House voted overwhelmingly to impeach Paxton in May, and House impeachment managers served as the prosecution in the Senate trial.” (09/16/23)
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/16/texas-senate-acquits-ag-ken-paxton-on-all-corruption-charges-00116397
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11) CEO of NYC migrant contractor DocGo resigns after allegedly lying about college credentials
Source: New York Post
“The CEO of the controversial New York migrant contractor DocGo has abruptly resigned — after getting caught allegedly lying about his educational background. The publicly traded company divulged CEO Anthony Capone’s departure in a terse statement provided to the Securities Exchange and Commission on Friday. ‘On September 15, 2023, effective immediately, Anthony Capone resigned as the Chief Executive Officer of DocGo Inc. (the ‘Company’) and from all other positions with the Company due to personal reasons,’ the statement filed with the SEC said. Capone’s exodus came a day after the upstate Times Union said the CEO lied about his college credentials. In his professional biography and an earlier SEC filing, Capone claimed to have earned a master’s degree in computer science from Clarkson University in St. Lawrence County.” (09/17/23)
https://nypost.com/2023/09/17/ceo-of-nyc-migrant-contractor-docgo-resigns-after-allegedly-lying-about-college-credentials/
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12) Germany: Climate protestors spray paint Brandenburg Gate columns
Source: Fox News
“Climate activists in Berlin, Germany used orange and yellow paint on Sunday to spray the columns of the Brandenburg Gate, demanding all use of fossil fuels come to a halt by 2030. The 18th century landmark was painted by members of Letzte Generation (‘Last Generation’), though Berlin Police made efforts to stop the protestors from doing further damage. ‘Members of the so-called ‘Last Generation’ sprayed the columns on the east side of the Brandenburg Gate with orange paint from fire extinguishers during the morning,’ police said on X, formerly known as Twitter. The department added that officers saw a hydraulic lift being used at the gate, which helped keep protestors from climbing the landmark. Police arrested 14 protestors at the Brandenburg Gate and launched an investigation to assess how much damage was done to the property.” (09/17/23)
https://www.foxnews.com/world/german-climate-protestors-spray-paint-brandenburg-gate-columns
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13) Germany: Hundreds of Eritrean opposition supporters arrested in Stuttgart
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“More than 200 Eritrean opposition supporters have been arrested in Germany after clashing with police. The violence erupted as an Eritrean cultural festival was set to begin in the city of Stuttgart on Saturday. The festival was organised by supporters of the Eritrean regime loyal to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. Police sent to the scene found themselves caught in ‘massive violence’ between the two opposing groups, the deputy police commissioner said. ‘Neither the extent nor the intensity of the violence was apparent in advance,’ Carsten Hoefler said in a statement on Saturday. Officers were attacked with bats, nails, metal rods, bottles and stones, the statement added. Six officers were admitted to hospital, while 228 people were arrested. The violence has been condemned by officials in the city.” (09/17/23)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66838394
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14) Iraq: Three killed in Turkish drone strike
Source: US News & World Report
“A Turkish drone strike in northern Iraq on Sunday killed three fighters from the Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS), a militia affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Iraqi security sources said. Three YBS fighters were in their vehicle in the Sinjar area when the drone strike hit them, two security sources told Reuters. There has been a long-running Turkish campaign in Iraq and Syria against militants of the PKK, YBS and the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which are all regarded as terrorist groups by Ankara. Turkey regularly carries out air strikes in northern Iraq and has dozens of outposts on Iraqi territory but has stepped up its drone attacks in recent days, striking closer to urban areas and on main roads.” (09/17/23)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2023-09-17/three-killed-in-turkish-drone-strike-on-ybs-fighters-in-northern-iraq
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15) NY: Demanding an End to “Deadly Fossil Fuels”, Tens of Thousands Take the Streets
Source: Common Dreams
“Tens of thousands poured into the streets of New York City on Sunday for the largest climate mobilization in the U.S. in years, with organizers and marchers telling President Joe Biden to stop approving planet-wrecking fossil fuel projects and start doing everything in his power to accelerate the nation’s renewable energy transition. Campaigners expressed outrage that Biden has refused to declare a national climate emergency and is planning to skip United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres'[s] Climate Ambition Summit on Wednesday. ‘It’s unbelievable that Biden is sitting on the sidelines when he’s got more power than anyone on Earth to end deadly fossil fuels [sic],’ said Jean Su, energy justice director at the Center for Biological Diversity. ‘Cowering in a corner is not a credible climate plan from the world’s largest oil and gas producer.'” (09/17/23)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/march-end-fossil-fuels
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16) MI: Last three men charged with plot to kidnap Whitmer acquitted
Source: ABC News
“The last three men to stand trial in connection with a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer have been found not guilty on all counts. Eric Molitor and twin brothers William Null and Michael Null were among the 14 men charged in state and federal court over the alleged plan to kidnap the governor at her vacation home in Antrim County in 2020, largely over the Democratic governor’s strict COVID-19 shutdowns. Molitor, 39, and the Null brothers, both 41, had pleaded not guilty to state charges of providing material support for terrorist acts and illegally possessing firearms. The Antrim County jury reached its verdict on Friday after about a day of deliberations following a three-week trial. Molitor broke down in tears of relief after his verdict was read.” (09/15/23)
https://abcnews.go.com/US/3-men-charged-plotting-kidnap-michigan-gov-gretchen/story?id=103154701
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17) Former Yale student acquitted of rape in 2018 cleared to sue his accuser
Source: New York Post
“The former Yale student who was acquitted of rape in 2018 — but later ousted from the Ivy League institution — can sue his accuser for defamation over statements she made during a school hearing, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled this summer. Saifullah Khan, 30, has had a $110 million defamation lawsuit pending against the Ivy League institution since 2019. Khan has been fighting to bring his accuser, a fellow student, into the suit over a 2018 university hearing that eventually resulted in his expulsion. Connecticut’s high court granted Khan’s request in June. The court ruled that the accuser shouldn’t receive ‘qualified immunity’ from her school testimony that Khan raped her following a Halloween party in 2015. Qualified immunity protects people from being sued for statements they make in judicial cases or ‘quasi judicial’ cases. But the high court said the university hearing wasn’t a stand-in court proceeding, since Khan wasn’t given the opportunity to cross-examine the accuser.” (09/17/23)
https://nypost.com/2023/09/17/former-yale-student-saifullah-khan-who-was-acquitted-of-rape-can-sue-accuser/
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18) Newly unearthed letter reveals Pope Pius XII knew of Nazi killings of Jews and Poles
Source: WION [India]
“A previously undisclosed correspondence showed that World War II-era Pope Pius XII had detailed information about the mass killings of Jews by the Nazis, AP news agency reported. The documents, found in the Vatican archives, challenge the Holy See’s claim that it could not confirm Nazi atrocities reports in order to condemn them. This has revived the age-old debate over Pope Pius XII’s legacy. … The newly uncovered letter, dated December 14, 1942, was written by a trusted German Jesuit priest named Rev. Lothar Koenig to Pope Pius XII’s secretary, Rev. Robert Leiber, who was also a German Jesuit. … Koenig’s letter, written in German, reported that the Nazis were killing up to 6,000 Jews and Poles daily in Rava Ruska, a town in pre-war Poland (now in Ukraine), and transporting them to the Belzec death camp.” (09/16/23)
https://www.wionews.com/world/newly-unearthed-letter-reveals-pope-pius-xii-knew-of-nazi-killings-of-6000-jews-636624
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19) CO: Cop gets probation for putting woman in police vehicle that was hit by a train
Source: SFGate
“A former Colorado police officer who put a handcuffed woman in a parked police vehicle that was hit by a freight train, causing the woman to suffer serious injuries, has avoided a jail sentence and must instead serve 30 months on supervised probation. Jordan Steinke, 29, was sentenced Friday by Weld County District Court Judge Timothy Kerns, who found her guilty of reckless endangerment and assault for the Sept. 16, 2022, crash near Platteville. Kerns acquitted the former Fort Lupton police officer of criminal attempt to commit manslaughter after her bench trial in July. Kerns said he had planned to sentence Steinke to jail, but he changed his mind after both prosecutors and defense attorneys sought a probationary sentence, The Denver Post reported. ‘Someone is going to hear this and say: ‘Another officer gets off,” Kerns said. ‘That’s not the facts of this case.'” (09/17/23)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/former-colorado-officer-gets-probation-for-18372143.php
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20) GA: Ohio man suspected of murder shot by resident during home invasion
Source: WFFT News
“A man accused of killing an elderly woman in Ohio was recovering Friday at a Georgia hospital after he was shot twice during a home invasion, authorities said. … The homeowner, armed with a gun, confronted the intruder — who had a knife — in the basement, the sheriff’s office said. Deputies said the homeowner warned the intruder before shooting him. The homeowner then left the basement and took up a position on the second floor staircase to protect his family, investigators said. ‘There, he took his stand as the subject made his way up to the second floor. (He) made the comment, something to the effect of, ‘You’re going to have to kill me.’ When the resident fired a second shot. That was about the time the deputies got there.'” (09/15/23)
https://www.wfft.com/news/ohio/ohio-man-suspected-of-murder-shot-by-georgia-man-defending-family-during-home-invasion/article_81ee5081-5356-5851-a04f-dabfb4d07f42.html
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Trump Prosecution: Judge Chutkan Should Stifle Her Gag Reflex
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“Comes now special counsel Jack Smith … asking judge Tanya Chutkan to issue a ‘gag order’ under which [Donald] Trump would be forbidden to publicly make ‘certain prejudicial extrajudicial statements.’ I tend toward a dim view of ‘gag orders’ in general, but this proposal is particularly silly and counter-productive. It embodies the same level of evil as any other demand that someone’s public speech be curtailed, but it’s also likely to be ineffectual, or even actually damage Smith’s efforts to convict Trump. To steal a quote incorrectly attributed to French diplomat Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord concerning an 1804 trial and execution, ‘it’s worse than a crime, it’s a blunder.'” (09/17/23)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/17982
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22) Russell Brand and the crisis of scepticism
Source: spiked
by Brendan O’Neill
“So, this Russell Brand thing. Is it an open-and-shut case of rape? Or is it a stitch-up by ‘the regime?’ Here’s my radical proposition: it’s neither. The accusations against Brand, which are serious and grim, have not been tested in a rigorous enough fashion for any of us to be able to say: ‘He is guilty of sexual assault.’ At the same time, the cries from Brand fanboys about ‘Them’ taking him down, about Big Pharma and its lackeys in Big Media targeting Brand because he hosts a popular, vax-sceptical YouTube show, sound cranky in the extreme. On one side we have a rush to judgement, on the other a rush to conspiracism. Where has good, honest scepticism gone?” (09/17/23)
https://www.spiked-online.com/2023/09/17/russell-brand-and-the-crisis-of-scepticism/
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23) Doing wrong thing worse than nothing
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“Political crimes aren’t like ordinary crimes. They are worse. They are also outside the ‘innocent until proven guilty’ standard, which applies to most other crimes; crimes committed by people without political power. With an ordinary crime, you often have to figure out whether any crime was committed at all. Maybe it was an accident or a natural occurrence. Then, if it is discovered there was a crime, you have to try to find out who committed it. This isn’t how political crimes work. Most political crimes are committed in public, in front of cameras, with the guilty party bragging afterward about what they’ve done.” (09/17/23)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2023/09/17/voices/opinion-doing-wrong-thing-worse-than-nothing/176076.html
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24) Green Protectionism While the Earth Is Burning?
Source: EconLog
by Pierre Lemieux
“If governments really believed that anthropogenic CO2 emissions will seriously harm their citizens or subjects, and if they were really pursuing the general welfare, isn’t it prima facie obvious that reducing these emissions would be their first priority, as opposed to competing priorities based on debunked, prescientific economic theories? Looking at what is happening in practice provides a good introduction to how governments actually work and what they pursue. Western governments are ‘protecting’ their subjects from less costly imports of solar panels and other ‘green’ products, in order to reduce competition and keep prices higher for domestic producers.” (09/16/23)
https://www.econlib.org/green-protectionism-while-the-earth-is-burning/
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25) Trying to disqualify Trump is lawlessness masquerading as legality
Source: Washington Post
by George F Will
“[P]eople who would wield the [14th Amendment] to extinguish Trump’s electoral career are trying to solve a political problem by cleverness, citing the amendment’s Section 3. It says that no person may ‘hold any office, civil or military, under the United States’ who, having taken an oath as ‘an officer of the United States’ to ‘support the Constitution,’ has subsequently ‘engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.’ … Arguments about the continuing force and sweep of Section 3 are interesting; unleavened by prudence, they are dangerous. There could be no surer way to further embitter and calcify Trump’s supporters than to stretch constitutional language to eliminate an electoral choice. And, in the process, to preempt judicial determinations about the nature and legal status of Trump’s Jan. 6 behavior.” (09/15/23)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/09/15/14th-amendment-trump-disqualification-dangerous/
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26) Racial unity in America’s pews
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“Every few months, a new survey offers another snapshot of the state of Christianity in the United States. Taken separately, the surveys invite different conclusions. Yet together, they point to a stirring of spiritual thought – particularly in regard to the role of church in racial reconciliation. Indeed, even as millions of Americans have stopped going to church over the past 25 years, churches have become more multiracial during the same period. Earnest wrestling to uproot legacies of racial division coincides with a broadly shared hunger among churchgoers for unity and inclusivity. A Lifeway Research poll earlier this year found that large majorities of American Christians, across denominations, want their churches to do more to promote ethnic diversity. That may reflect the unique capacity of religious institutions to emphasize shared values, notes Daniel Williams, author of a 2021 book on Christianity and politics in America.” (09/15/23)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2023/0915/Racial-unity-in-America-s-pews
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27) The Tablets of Madison
Source: Underthrow
by Christopher Cook
“Why do American conservatives treat the Constitution as if It were holy scripture? The Founders certainly didn’t.” (09/16/23)
https://underthrow.substack.com/p/the-tablets-of-madison
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28) Enforcing the Constitution
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“Enforcing the Supreme Court’s view of the Constitution was a problem I had been thinking about after reading arguments online from cynical right wingers. They argued that Supreme Court decisions in support of their interpretation of the Second Amendment did not matter since a state could, New York, they claimed, did, pass a law effectively preventing most citizens from owning firearms, enforce it until the case made it to the Supreme Court and the law was declared unconstitutional, then repeal it and pass another law achieving the same result through some different mechanism.” (09/16/23)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/enforcing-the-constitution
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29) UAW’s “Element of Surprise” Strike Appears to Be Working
Source: In These Times
by Sarah Lazare & Jeff Schuhrke
“Workers walked off their shifts on September 14 at midnight to cheering crowds as the United Auto Workers launched its first simultaneous strike against the ‘Big Three’ automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. The initial work stoppages were not company-wide but instead targeted three locations: GM’s Wentzville Assembly in Missouri, Stellantis’ Toledo Assembly Complex in Ohio, and Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich., just outside Detroit. The plants employ some 12,700 of the roughly 150,000 UAW members who work for the Big Three. The strike strategy, developed under the leadership of reform challenger Shawn Fain, was defined by its element of surprise. The union did not publicly reveal the strike targets until 10:00 p.m. on September 14, two hours before the contracts jointly expired.” (09/15/23)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/stellantis-uaw-surprise-stand-up-strike-working
-----
30) Debunking Crypto Myths: An Analysis of Kenyan Interior Minister’s Crypto Activity and Terror Funding Argument
Source: Bitcoin.com
by Terence Zimwara
“Despite Kenyan Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki’s recent attempt to revive the old crypto terrorism funding narrative, evidence suggests that criminal elements primarily use conventional financial systems when transferring funds. Contrary to Kindiki’s claims, crypto transactions can be traced and this is evidenced by the arrests of hackers and seizure of stolen crypto assets.” (09/16/23)
https://news.bitcoin.com/debunking-crypto-myths-an-analysis-of-kenyan-interior-ministers-crypto-activity-and-terror-funding-argument/
-----
31) Beating Brandon
Source: The American Conservative
by Bradley Devlin
“State of the Union: If Biden is an invalid on stimulants, which he very well may be, what does that make Republicans who keep losing to him?” (09/16/23)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/beating-brandon/
-----
32) What It’s Like to Live Under Russian Occupation
Source: Town Hall
by Mitzi Perdue
“In the West, when we hear news that an area in Ukraine has been liberated, we likely feel a short sense of relief: but we don’t grasp the full extent of what this means. In reality, the experience of being occupied by the Russian invaders is utterly nightmarish. It was for Galyna Matyoshko. It involved the murder of one son and the permanent injury of her other son. Her older son has had 18 surgeries and will never completely recover. … At 2:00AM in her home in Bucha, Matyoshko awoke to a loud, terrifying hammering on her front door. Still in her night clothes, she opened the door and saw a group of Russian soldiers. ‘Where is your husband?’ they demanded. Matyoshko’s husband had died years ago, but as she later learned, had he been there, he would have been killed.” (09/16/23)
https://townhall.com/columnists/mitzi-perdue/2023/09/16/what-its-like-to-live-under-russian-occupation-n2628367
-----
33) Freedom of Choice in Education: The Origins of a Slogan
Source: American Institute for Economic Research
by Phillip W Magness
“American Federation of Teachers leader Randi Weingarten is currently taking heat for her attempts to revive an old smear against school vouchers. In a recent interview, the teacher’s union boss claimed that pro-voucher slogans about ‘choice’ were really coded dog whistles from the segregationist era. Weingarten has a long history of falsely claiming that vouchers originated as part of the backlash against the 1954 desegregation ruling of Brown v. Board of Education. In reality, the concept of school choice traces back centuries prior. It can be found in the works of classical liberal philosophers Adam Smith, Thomas Paine, and John Stuart Mill, all of whom were also outspoken antislavery men.” (09/16/23)
https://www.aier.org/article/freedom-of-choice-in-education-the-origins-of-a-slogan/
-----
34) How Do You Spell Relief?
Source: The American Prospect
by Robert Kuttner
“This week, an advisory panel of the FDA unanimously concluded that a widely used nasal decongestant is ineffective and basically worthless. The ingredient, phenylephrine, is found in numerous over-the-counter remedies (including Mucinex, NyQuil, and Theraflu) in all, in some 250 different products worth $1.8 billion in sales last year. Decongestants in general are not very good. There is a well-known rebound effect. You get some relief for a while but then are more congested than ever. As it happens, there is a near-miraculous generic cold medicine, ambroxol, that is available over the counter all over the world, but not in the United States. I stumbled on this medication last year when I was in France and had a bad cold. I went to the local pharmacy and asked if they carried something like Mucinex or Robitussin.” (09/15/23)
https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2023-09-15-how-do-you-spell-relief/
-----
35) Antony Blinken and the diplomacy deficit
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by James Carden
“His remarks to students this week shows how much American exceptionalism and Great Power competition have taken over the craft.” (09/15/23)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/antony-blinken-on-ukraine/
-----
36) Can the US Grow Its Way Out of the National Debt?
Source: Independent Institute
by Craig Eyermann
“In April 2020, the size of the U.S. government’s total public debt outstanding as measured against the country’s GDP spiked up to 135% in the wake of government-mandated pandemic lockdowns. That’s the highest the U.S. national debt-to-GDP ratio has ever been, breaking the previous record of 121% set in the World War II era. 121% is about where the U.S. total national debt-to-GDP ratio is today. It’s been hovering around that level since July 2021. After initially falling rapidly after the economy was allowed to reopen in 2020, progress in lowering the national debt burden has stalled. This stagnation has occurred even though the nation’s GDP has risen. That contradicts the experience of what happened to the national debt-to-GDP ratio after World War II. It has long been held that this ratio fell rapidly because of strong economic growth. But a new working paper by Julien Acalin and Laurence M. Ball challenges that explanation.” (09/15/23)
https://blog.independent.org/2023/09/15/can-us-grow-its-way-out-of-the-national-debt
-----
37) Don’t Be Distracted by Alarmism Over a Diversionary War
Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison
“The idea that China might start a diversionary war is certainly convenient for China hawks now that Chinese economic growth is slowing. Then again, China hawks are nothing if not flexible when it comes to predicting future Chinese government behavior. When the Chinese economy was growing at a fast clip, they warned of impending aggression. Now that it is slowing down, many of them also warn of impending aggression. It’s almost as if they reached their conclusions about what they think the Chinese government is going to do first and then worked backwards.” (09/15/23)
https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/dont-be-distracted-by-alarmism-over
-----
38) Cold hard reality: We must rein in drunken government spending
Source: New York Post
by staff
“For all President Joe Biden’s boasts of cutting the deficit, new figures show the gap actually doubled this year — to a jaw-dropping $2 trillion, the highest ever outside a recession or national emergency. Such monstrous red ink not only saddles future generations with today’s excesses; it fuels enormous interest costs that crowd out truly necessary spending, such as for defense. As Congress and the White House race to hammer out a budget for the fiscal year that starts in two weeks (and avoid a government shutdown) it’s imperative they shave spending and rein in deficits (for real). How dangerous is the current nut? Consider: Experts saw the hole as outrageously reckless at $500 billion in 2015, during the Obama days; it’s now four times that amount, less than a decade later.” (09/16/23)
https://nypost.com/2023/09/16/joe-biden-and-congress-must-cut-spending-or-us-is-doomed/
-----
39) Inflation Jump Highlights Biden’s Vulnerability on Energy
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“Inflation has blipped back up to nibble at Americans’ budgets and patience. While the rise is relatively modest, it’s enough to revive the public’s concerns about the eroding value of their dollars. Worse for the Biden administration, the most severe effects were seen in the price of gasoline, which emphasizes the White House’s vulnerability on economics and, especially, energy. The pain will be felt by consumers, and they’ll be looking for somebody to punish.” (09/15/23)
https://reason.com/2023/09/15/inflation-jump-highlights-bidens-vulnerability-on-energy/
-----
40) El Chapo’s Wife and the Forever War on Drugs
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“Coronel’s release was simply due to her having served her 3-year jail sentence at the hands of the feds for supposedly having helped her husband, El Chapo, run his multibillion-dollar drug business in Mexico. The question naturally arises: What good did jailing that woman do? Did her jailing move the U.S. government closer to victory in the forever war on drugs? For that matter, it’s also worth asking what good has the the jailing of El Chapo done? Has his jailing brought the feds closer to drug-war victory? Alas, the answer is no.” (09/15/23)
https://www.fff.org/2023/09/15/el-chapos-wife-and-the-forever-war-on-drugs/
-----
41) Do we really have to relive a Trump-Biden election?
Source: Orange County Register
by Steven Greenhut
“My favorite religious movie hands down is Groundhog Day, the 1993 Bill Murray comedy where an arrogant TV anchor is forced to relive the same day thousands of times until he fixes his attitude and learns to care about his neighbors. He can’t move on with his life until he graduates from his purgatory in Punxsutawney, Pa. It’s a brilliant allegory for our spiritual journey as individuals and, apparently, as a nation. The political parallels are obvious as the nation braces for a rerun of 2020’s bitter election pitting the most narcissistic and cruel person I’ve seen in public life against a man whose main attribute is he’s not the other guy.” (09/15/23)
https://www.ocregister.com/2023/09/15/do-we-really-have-to-relive-a-trump-biden-election/
-----
42) Barack Obama Belongs In A Fucking Cage
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“‘If you’re looking to help people impacted by the floods in Libya, check out these organizations providing relief,’ Obama tweeted. Uhh, excuse me? Sir? You know you’re literally Barack Obama, right? In 2010 the oil-rich Libya ranked higher on the UN Human Development Index than any other nation in Africa, with much better national infrastructure to protect itself from floods and other natural disasters. Today Libya is a chaotic humanitarian disaster where UN-backed investigators now say literal crimes against humanity have been taking place, including women being forced into sexual slavery. What changed?” (09/16/23)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2023/09/16/barack-obama-belongs-in-a-fucking-cage/
-----
43) Free Speech Affirmed — Pretty Much
Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman
“The preliminary injunction against federal censorship of social-media users has survived the Biden administration’s appeal. However, it remains on hold until Sept. 22 while the Supreme Court considers the matter. The latest ruling, 78 pages long, by a panel of Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals judges, affirmed the core of District Judge Terry Doughty’s July 4 preliminary order, but the revised order has two big differences. The appellate judges exempted some defendants and narrowed Judge Doughty’s list of prohibited actions to just one modified but broad prohibition. We’ll have to see how that works out, but the court has certainly admonished Biden officials for censoring Americans’ speech by systematically leaning — sometimes very heavily — on the social-media companies.” (09/15/23)
https://sheldonfreeassociation.blogspot.com/2023/09/tgif-free-speech-affirmed-pretty-much.html
-----
44) From Where Will the Breakthrough Come for Julian Assange?
Source: CounterPunch
by B Nimri Aziz
“Julian Assange is still imprisoned; journalism’s future is still in jeopardy. Delegates from Australia’s parliament are headed to Washington to appeal to the U.S. Congress on behalf of the Wikileaks founder. While anyone who recognizes the injustice of Washington’s insistence on extradition of the jailed journalist and publisher, this effort by representatives of several parties may be too late. In any event, it is very late.” (09/15/23)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/09/15/from-where-will-the-breakthrough-come-for-julian-assange/
-----
45) NM: After gun ban, we must impeach governor or face these consequences
Source: Fox News
by State Representatives Stefani Lord (R-NM) & John Block (R-NM)
“That infamous ‘I’ word: Impeachment. It’s the word Americans have become far too familiar with in recent history. President Trump was impeached twice. Joe Biden is now facing his own possible impeachment. And here in New Mexico, we are fighting to impeach the tyrant who occupies the governor’s mansion. In most instances, this action is highly politicized and overly partisan. Clearly, the justice system was, and still is, being weaponized against President Trump for political purposes. Now, Democrats in Washington are flocking to their leader’s side, and the partisan games are beginning. Here in New Mexico, it is quite the opposite. Last week, Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham used an emergency public health order, popularized by tyrants across the country to restrict our rights during the pandemic, to suspend open and concealed carry across Albuquerque and the surrounding Bernalillo County.” (09/15/23)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/gun-ban-impeach-new-mexicos-governor-face-consequences
-----
46) Must Known Musk
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“Enthusiasts for prohibiting political dissent must know that the First Amendment protects the right to utter controversial speech. They must know that there’s no constitutional loophole for speech that they disagree with. Another ‘must know?’ That calling the public statements of political opponents ‘misinformation,’ ‘disinformation,’ ‘hate speech,’ etc. is no substitute for open discussion. They just don’t care. They just know that if they keep plugging away, struggling to muzzle the badspeech, they’re more likely to get their way than playing by the rules of free speech and open debate.” (09/15/23)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2023/09/15/must-known-musk/
-----
47) The Cancellation of Bertrand Russell
Source: Quillette
by James Huffman
“Bertrand Russell is well known as a philosopher and mathematician. But few know that during his lifetime, he was cancelled — to use the contemporary term — by the New York judiciary and by mid-twentieth-century religious conservatives. Both those conservatives today who seek to ban books and regulate curricula and those progressives who wish to censor everyone who disagrees with them would do well to reflect on the Bertrand Russell case.” (09/15/23)
https://quillette.com/2023/09/15/the-cancellation-of-bertrand-russell/
-----
48) The Secret of Trump’s Political Success
Source: Eyes on the Right
by Damon Linker
“It’s not as if Republican voters haven’t been given alternatives to supporting a man who’s been indicted four times and faces 91 felony counts in multiple jurisdictions for crimes ranging from the mishandling of classified documents to conspiracy to commit election fraud. The field of law-abiding challengers includes two sitting governors, several former governors, a former UN ambassador, a sitting U.S. senator, a former congressman, and a businessman. It includes several candidates seeking to revive the high-minded and optimistic form of conservativism that dominated the party beginning with Ronald Reagan’s election in 1980, and a couple of candidates who hope to build on the right-wing populism Trump rode to the White House in 2016. Yet none of them have come close to threatening Trump’s lead.” (09/15/23)
https://damonlinker.substack.com/p/the-secret-of-trumps-political-success
-----
49) How Deep Canvass Conversations Can Transform America
Source: Our Future
by Sulma Arias & Ebony Taggart
“Here at People’s Action Institute, we feel the way Jill Murphy, a Michigan schoolteacher who is now a full-time organizer for one of our affiliates, felt when she first joined a deep canvass in her home state four years ago. A light bulb goes on in our heads when we experience the way conversations bridge divisions that feel impossible to heal. New possibilities open up before us. Deep canvassing can unlock the power we have to transform our lives, our communities and our society when we come together across differences. This is what all good organizing is all about. Like Jill, we all have this ‘ah-ha’ moment in our first deep canvass, as we learn how to engage in compassionate curiosity and active listening when we talk with neighbors, and even complete strangers.” (09/16/23)
https://ourfuture.org/20230916/how-deep-canvass-conversations-can-transform-america
-----
50) Humiliation vs. Self-Respect: The Untold Story of the Abuse of Palestinian Women in Hebron
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ramzy Baroud
“The humiliation of Palestinian women by Israeli soldiers in the occupied city of Al-Khalil (Hebron) on July 10 was not the first such episode. Sadly, it will not be the last. Indeed, the stripping of five women in front of their children, parading them naked around their family home and then stealing their jewelry by an Israeli military unit, was not a random act. It deserves deep reflection. Palestinians rightly understood the event – investigated at length by the Israeli rights group B’Tselem, in a report published on September 5 – as an intentional Israeli policy.” (09/15/23)
https://original.antiwar.com/ramzy-baroud/2023/09/14/humiliation-vs-self-respect-the-untold-story-of-the-abuse-of-palestinian-women-in-hebron/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) The Fifth Column, 09/17/23
Source: The Fifth Column
“Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice.” (09/17/23)
https://wethefifth.substack.com/p/421-beetlejuice-beetlejuice-beetlejuice
-----
52) DMZ with Bill Scher and Matt Lewis, 09/17/23
Source: Bloggingheads.tv
“Shutdowns and Impeachments.” (09/17/23)
https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/66722
-----
53) The Anarchist Experience, episode 441
Source: The Anarchist Experience
“Rich, MC, and KS discuss why MC chose to get a marriage license, what it means to really push back against State encroachment, and what are they really planning to do with Lahaina after the fires.” (09/16/23)
https://theanarchistexperience.wordpress.com/2023/09/16/the-anarchist-experience-441/
-----
54) Unattended Baggage Episode, episode 214
Source: International Guild of Professional Anarchists
“ET or BS? We don’t know what to think.” (09/16/23)
https://alexandersnitker.substack.com/p/unattended-baggage-episode-214-et
-----
55) This Week in Common Sense, 09/16/23
Source: Common Sense
“Without These Politicians.” (09/16/23)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2023/09/16/listen-without-these-politicians/
-----
56) The Libertarian Angle, 09/15/23
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“The Government’s Antitrust Suit against Google.” (09/15/23)
https://libertarianangle.libsyn.com/the-governments-antitrust-suit-against-google
-----
57) The Charles C.W. Cooke Podcast, episode 41
Source: National Review
“Cold War II.” (09/15/23)
https://www.nationalreview.com/podcasts/the-charles-c-w-cooke-podcast/cold-war-ii/
-----
58) Freedom Works with Paul Molloy, 09/15/23
Source: Freedom Works
“Jessica Melugin of CEI on Anti-trust case against Google.” (09/15/23)
http://internetradiopros.com/freedomworks/?name=2023-09-15_zfw09152023.mp3
-----
59) Rising, 09/15/23
Source: The Hill
“Michael LaRosa and May Mailman weigh in on Hunter Biden being indicted on gun charges.” (09/15/23)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/4206371-rising-september-15-2023/
-----
60) System Update, episode 148
Source: System Update
“As Biden Taps Billionaire Dem to Oversee Ukraine’s Business, More Insiders Are Enriched From the War. PLUS: Gabor Mate on the Explosion of Anti-Depressants in the West.” (09/15/23)
https://rumble.com/v3hzazm-system-update-show1-148.html
-----
61) The Bryan Hyde Show, 09/15/23
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
“Gary M. Galles says we need more people who are willing to ask why things are the way they are.” (09/15/23)
https://www.podbean.com/ep/pb-e63w7-14a7d83
-----
62) Politics Politics Politics, 09/15/23
Source: Politics Politics Politics
“Tim Scott’s Secret Girlfriend.” (09/15/23)
https://shows.acast.com/63f52ee5886da70011a1a1ec/episodes/tim-scotts-secret-girlfriend
-----
63) Conflicts of Interest, episode 472
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Western Sanctions Fail to Stop Russia from Ramping Up Its War Machine.” (09/15/23)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/kyle/coi-472-western-sanctions-fail-to-stop-russia-from-ramping-up-its-war-machine/
-----
64) Nonzero, 09/15/23
Source: Bloggingheads.tv
“Biden’s Bandwidth Problems | Robert Wright & Mickey Kaus.” (09/15/23)
https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/66714
-----
65) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 09/15/23
Source: Antiwar.com
“Zelensky to Visit White House Next Week, More US Military Aid for Taiwan, and More.” (09/15/23)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uzO07zdHt4
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https://news.rationalreview.com/
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Russian regime calls on World Court to throw out Ukraine genocide case
2) Smith requests gag order on disgraced former president
3) Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso juntas establish alliance
4) Armed man posing as US Marshal arrested at RFK Jr. campaign event
5) Palestine: Israeli forces attack worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque
6) Wenner ousted from Rock Hall of Fame board after comments on black, women musicians
7) Libya: Flood survivors weigh water shortages against landmine risk
8) UK: Brand denies media allegations of sex assaults
9) MA: WWI-era plane flips onto roof trying to land near museum; pilot unhurt
10) TX: Senate acquits Paxton on all corruption charges
11) CEO of NYC migrant contractor DocGo resigns after allegedly lying about college credentials
12) Germany: Climate protestors spray paint Brandenburg Gate columns
13) Germany: Hundreds of Eritrean opposition supporters arrested in Stuttgart
14) Iraq: Three killed in Turkish drone strike
15) NY: Demanding an End to “Deadly Fossil Fuels”, Tens of Thousands Take the Streets
16) MI: Last three men charged with plot to kidnap Whitmer acquitted
17) Former Yale student acquitted of rape in 2018 cleared to sue his accuser
18) Newly unearthed letter reveals Pope Pius XII knew of Nazi killings of Jews and Poles
19) CO: Cop gets probation for putting woman in police vehicle that was hit by a train
20) GA: Ohio man suspected of murder shot by resident during home invasion
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Trump Prosecution: Judge Chutkan Should Stifle Her Gag Reflex
22) Russell Brand and the crisis of scepticism
23) Doing wrong thing worse than nothing
24) Green Protectionism While the Earth Is Burning?
25) Trying to disqualify Trump is lawlessness masquerading as legality
26) Racial unity in America’s pews
27) The Tablets of Madison
28) Enforcing the Constitution
29) UAW’s “Element of Surprise” Strike Appears to Be Working
30) Debunking Crypto Myths: An Analysis of Kenyan Interior Minister’s Crypto Activity and Terror Funding Argument
31) Beating Brandon
32) What It’s Like to Live Under Russian Occupation
33) Freedom of Choice in Education: The Origins of a Slogan
34) How Do You Spell Relief?
35) Antony Blinken and the diplomacy deficit
36) Can the US Grow Its Way Out of the National Debt?
37) Don’t Be Distracted by Alarmism Over a Diversionary War
38) Cold hard reality: We must rein in drunken government spending
39) Inflation Jump Highlights Biden’s Vulnerability on Energy
40) El Chapo’s Wife and the Forever War on Drugs
41) Do we really have to relive a Trump-Biden election?
42) Barack Obama Belongs In A Fucking Cage
43) Free Speech Affirmed — Pretty Much
44) From Where Will the Breakthrough Come for Julian Assange?
45) NM: After gun ban, we must impeach governor or face these consequences
46) Must Known Musk
47) The Cancellation of Bertrand Russell
48) The Secret of Trump’s Political Success
49) How Deep Canvass Conversations Can Transform America
50) Humiliation vs. Self-Respect: The Untold Story of the Abuse of Palestinian Women in Hebron
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) The Fifth Column, 09/17/23
52) DMZ with Bill Scher and Matt Lewis, 09/17/23
53) The Anarchist Experience, episode 441
54) Unattended Baggage Episode, episode 214
55) This Week in Common Sense, 09/16/23
56) The Libertarian Angle, 09/15/23
57) The Charles C.W. Cooke Podcast, episode 41
58) Freedom Works with Paul Molloy, 09/15/23
59) Rising, 09/15/23
60) System Update, episode 148
61) The Bryan Hyde Show, 09/15/23
62) Politics Politics Politics, 09/15/23
63) Conflicts of Interest, episode 472
64) Nonzero, 09/15/23
65) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 09/15/23
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Russian regime calls on World Court to throw out Ukraine genocide case
Source: Reuters
“Russia called on the U.N.’s highest court in The Hague on Monday to throw out a case that centres around claims by Moscow that its invasion of Ukraine was carried out to prevent genocide. The request was made at the start of hearings dealing with the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court. Ukraine brought the case just days after the Russian invasion on Feb. 24 last year. Kyiv argues Russia is abusing international law by saying the invasion was justified to prevent an alleged genocide in eastern Ukraine. Russian officials continue to accuse Ukraine of committing genocide. … Russia wants the case to be thrown out and says the court has no jurisdiction. The hearings, set to run until Sept. 27, will not delve into the merits of the case and are instead focused on legal arguments about jurisdiction.” (09/18/23)
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-calls-world-court-throw-out-ukraine-genocide-case-2023-09-18/
-----
3) Smith requests gag order on disgraced former president
Source: The Hill
“Special counsel Jack Smith on Friday asked a judge to limit the extent former President Trump can discuss his looming trial on charges related to his effort to block the transfer of power in the 2020 election, citing a history of targeting those who ‘present an obstacle’ to him. The order asks federal district court Judge Tanya Chutkan to restrict ‘certain prejudicial extrajudicial statements’ from Trump about the 2020 election case, seeking a ‘narrow, well-defined restriction’ limiting discussion about the testimony or credibility of witnesses in the case, as well as court personnel and jurors. … ‘The defendant knows that when he publicly attacks individuals and institutions, he inspires others to perpetrate threats and harassment against his targets,’ prosecutors wrote in the filing.” (09/15/23)
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4207272-judge-asked-to-limit-trump-public-statements-on-jan-6-case-prosecutors-cite-witness-intimidation/
-----
3) Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso juntas establish alliance
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“The military leaders of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger on Saturday signed a mutual defence pact, ministerial delegations from the three Sahel countries announced in Mali’s capital Bamako. The Liptako-Gourma Charter establishes the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), Mali’s junta leader Assimi Goita posted on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter. … All three countries have undergone coups since 2020, most recently Niger, where soldiers in July overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum. The West African regional bloc ECOWAS has threatened to intervene militarily in Niger over the coup.” (09/16/23)
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230916-mali-niger-burkina-sign-mutual-defence-pact
-----
4) Armed man posing as US Marshal arrested at RFK Jr. campaign event
Source: United Press International
“A man armed with a loaded pistol was arrested Friday at Robert F. Kennedy Jr. presidential campaign event after he was caught posing as a U.S. Marshal. Kennedy, the 69-year-old son of late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, was scheduled to give a speech to honor Hispanic Heritage Month at Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles at the time of the incident, his campaign said in a statement. The man, who was not identified by Kennedy’s team, presented himself at the side entrance to the theater and claimed to be a part of Kennedy’s security team. He said he needed to be taken to Kennedy immediately. He was identified in jail records reviewed by UPI as 44-year-old Adrian Aispuro and his bail has been set at $35,000. … Kennedy’s actual security team removed him from the area and surrounded him before notifying the Los Angeles Police Department.” (09/16/23)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2023/09/16/armed-man-posing-us-marshal-arrested-rfk-jr-campaign-event/6401694904706/
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5) Palestine: Israeli forces attack worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatar state media]
“Israeli forces have attacked Palestinian worshippers at Bab as-Silsila, one of the main entrances to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, according to local sources. Israeli forces imposed tight security measures on Sunday, ejecting worshippers from Al-Aqsa Mosque and intensifying their presence around it, denying access to any Palestinian below the age of 50 to clear the way for Israeli [squatters] on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. In celebration of Rosh Hashanah, hundreds of ultranationalist Israelis made an incursion into the Al-Aqsa courtyard through the Morocco Gate under the protection of Israeli troops, according to news outlet Al-Mayadeen.” (09/17/23)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/17/israeli-forces-attack-palestinian-worshippers-at-al-aqsa-mosque
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6) Wenner ousted from Rock Hall of Fame board after comments on black, women musicians
Source: Chicago Sun-Times
“Jann Wenner, who founded Rolling Stone magazine and was a co-founder of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, has been removed from the hall’s board of directors after making comments that were seen as denigrating [b]lack and female musicians. … Wenner created a firestorm doing publicity for his new book ‘The Masters,’ which features interviews with musicians … all white and male. Asked why he didn’t interview women or [b]lack musicians, Wenner responded: ‘It’s not that they’re inarticulate, although, go have a deep conversation with Grace Slick or Janis Joplin. Please, be my guest. You know, Joni [Mitchell] was not a philosopher of rock ’n’ roll. She didn’t, in my mind, meet that test,’ he told the Times. ‘Of Black artists — you know, Stevie Wonder, genius, right? … I mean, they just didn’t articulate at that level,’ Wenner said.” (09/16/23)
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2023/9/16/23876863/jann-wenner-rock-roll-hall-fame-black-women-music-rolling-stone
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7) Libya: Flood survivors weigh water shortages against landmine risk
Source: Reuters
“People whose homes were swept away by flooding in Libya’s eastern city of Derna a week ago faced the dilemma on Sunday of whether to stay and risk infection or flee through areas where landmines have been displaced by the torrents. Thousands of people were killed after two dams above Derna broke on Sept. 10 during a powerful storm, bringing down residential blocks lining a usually dry riverbed as people slept. Many bodies have been washed out to sea. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Saturday cited a death toll of 11,300 from the Libyan Red Crescent. However, a spokesman for the Libyan Red Crescent appeared to cast doubt on that, saying ‘figures are changing and the Red Crescent is not responsible for this.'” (09/17/23)
https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/libyan-flood-survivors-weigh-water-shortages-against-landmine-risk-2023-09-17/
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8) UK: Brand denies media allegations of sex assaults
Source: Reuters
“British comedian and actor Russell Brand has denied any criminal wrongdoing as the Sunday Times newspaper reported four women had accused him of sexual assaults, including rape, during a seven-year period when he was at the height of his fame. Brand, 48, the former husband of U.S. singer Katy Perry, issued a denial to unspecified ‘very serious criminal allegations’ hours before they were published online by the newspaper on Saturday. The Sunday Times did not say if any of the women had made complaints to the police. Reuters was unable to reach Brand’s representatives for further response after the paper’s report was published.” (09/17/23)
https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-comedian-russell-brand-denies-media-allegations-sex-assaults-2023-09-16/
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9) MA: WWI-era plane flips onto roof trying to land near museum; pilot unhurt
Source: SFGate
“A World War I-era plane crashed and flipped over onto its roof as the pilot tried to land outside of a military history museum in Massachusetts, authorities said Sunday. The pilot was not hurt. The vintage single-engine Nieuport 28 was attempting to land shortly after 11 a.m. at the American Heritage Museum in Stow when the front landing gear failed, the local police and fire chiefs said in a joint news release. The pilot, the only person on board, had removed himself from the plane before first responders arrived, the news release said. The pilot’s name was not released. ‘The pilot did not report any injuries but was evaluated at the scene as a precaution,’ it said. The Federal Aviation Administration has been notified about the crash.” (09/17/23)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/world-war-i-era-plane-flips-onto-roof-trying-to-18372060.php
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10) TX: Senate acquits Paxton on all corruption charges
Source: Politico
“The Texas Senate voted to acquit Attorney General Ken Paxton on all 16 articles of impeachment Saturday, marking the end of a stunning saga that has divided the ruby red state’s GOP. Paxton, a Republican, dodged removal from office amid allegations of corruption and bribery, which would have required 21 votes from a jury of 30 senators to convict on any of the articles of impeachment. The state’s highest law enforcement official was only the third office holder in Texas’ nearly 200-year history to be impeached. … His impeachment followed an investigation by a Texas House committee that concluded Paxton may have committed numerous crimes and that he had abused his office to help his friend and donor Nate Paul, an Austin real estate developer. The GOP-controlled Texas House voted overwhelmingly to impeach Paxton in May, and House impeachment managers served as the prosecution in the Senate trial.” (09/16/23)
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/16/texas-senate-acquits-ag-ken-paxton-on-all-corruption-charges-00116397
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11) CEO of NYC migrant contractor DocGo resigns after allegedly lying about college credentials
Source: New York Post
“The CEO of the controversial New York migrant contractor DocGo has abruptly resigned — after getting caught allegedly lying about his educational background. The publicly traded company divulged CEO Anthony Capone’s departure in a terse statement provided to the Securities Exchange and Commission on Friday. ‘On September 15, 2023, effective immediately, Anthony Capone resigned as the Chief Executive Officer of DocGo Inc. (the ‘Company’) and from all other positions with the Company due to personal reasons,’ the statement filed with the SEC said. Capone’s exodus came a day after the upstate Times Union said the CEO lied about his college credentials. In his professional biography and an earlier SEC filing, Capone claimed to have earned a master’s degree in computer science from Clarkson University in St. Lawrence County.” (09/17/23)
https://nypost.com/2023/09/17/ceo-of-nyc-migrant-contractor-docgo-resigns-after-allegedly-lying-about-college-credentials/
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12) Germany: Climate protestors spray paint Brandenburg Gate columns
Source: Fox News
“Climate activists in Berlin, Germany used orange and yellow paint on Sunday to spray the columns of the Brandenburg Gate, demanding all use of fossil fuels come to a halt by 2030. The 18th century landmark was painted by members of Letzte Generation (‘Last Generation’), though Berlin Police made efforts to stop the protestors from doing further damage. ‘Members of the so-called ‘Last Generation’ sprayed the columns on the east side of the Brandenburg Gate with orange paint from fire extinguishers during the morning,’ police said on X, formerly known as Twitter. The department added that officers saw a hydraulic lift being used at the gate, which helped keep protestors from climbing the landmark. Police arrested 14 protestors at the Brandenburg Gate and launched an investigation to assess how much damage was done to the property.” (09/17/23)
https://www.foxnews.com/world/german-climate-protestors-spray-paint-brandenburg-gate-columns
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13) Germany: Hundreds of Eritrean opposition supporters arrested in Stuttgart
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“More than 200 Eritrean opposition supporters have been arrested in Germany after clashing with police. The violence erupted as an Eritrean cultural festival was set to begin in the city of Stuttgart on Saturday. The festival was organised by supporters of the Eritrean regime loyal to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. Police sent to the scene found themselves caught in ‘massive violence’ between the two opposing groups, the deputy police commissioner said. ‘Neither the extent nor the intensity of the violence was apparent in advance,’ Carsten Hoefler said in a statement on Saturday. Officers were attacked with bats, nails, metal rods, bottles and stones, the statement added. Six officers were admitted to hospital, while 228 people were arrested. The violence has been condemned by officials in the city.” (09/17/23)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66838394
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14) Iraq: Three killed in Turkish drone strike
Source: US News & World Report
“A Turkish drone strike in northern Iraq on Sunday killed three fighters from the Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS), a militia affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Iraqi security sources said. Three YBS fighters were in their vehicle in the Sinjar area when the drone strike hit them, two security sources told Reuters. There has been a long-running Turkish campaign in Iraq and Syria against militants of the PKK, YBS and the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which are all regarded as terrorist groups by Ankara. Turkey regularly carries out air strikes in northern Iraq and has dozens of outposts on Iraqi territory but has stepped up its drone attacks in recent days, striking closer to urban areas and on main roads.” (09/17/23)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2023-09-17/three-killed-in-turkish-drone-strike-on-ybs-fighters-in-northern-iraq
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15) NY: Demanding an End to “Deadly Fossil Fuels”, Tens of Thousands Take the Streets
Source: Common Dreams
“Tens of thousands poured into the streets of New York City on Sunday for the largest climate mobilization in the U.S. in years, with organizers and marchers telling President Joe Biden to stop approving planet-wrecking fossil fuel projects and start doing everything in his power to accelerate the nation’s renewable energy transition. Campaigners expressed outrage that Biden has refused to declare a national climate emergency and is planning to skip United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres'[s] Climate Ambition Summit on Wednesday. ‘It’s unbelievable that Biden is sitting on the sidelines when he’s got more power than anyone on Earth to end deadly fossil fuels [sic],’ said Jean Su, energy justice director at the Center for Biological Diversity. ‘Cowering in a corner is not a credible climate plan from the world’s largest oil and gas producer.'” (09/17/23)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/march-end-fossil-fuels
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16) MI: Last three men charged with plot to kidnap Whitmer acquitted
Source: ABC News
“The last three men to stand trial in connection with a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer have been found not guilty on all counts. Eric Molitor and twin brothers William Null and Michael Null were among the 14 men charged in state and federal court over the alleged plan to kidnap the governor at her vacation home in Antrim County in 2020, largely over the Democratic governor’s strict COVID-19 shutdowns. Molitor, 39, and the Null brothers, both 41, had pleaded not guilty to state charges of providing material support for terrorist acts and illegally possessing firearms. The Antrim County jury reached its verdict on Friday after about a day of deliberations following a three-week trial. Molitor broke down in tears of relief after his verdict was read.” (09/15/23)
https://abcnews.go.com/US/3-men-charged-plotting-kidnap-michigan-gov-gretchen/story?id=103154701
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17) Former Yale student acquitted of rape in 2018 cleared to sue his accuser
Source: New York Post
“The former Yale student who was acquitted of rape in 2018 — but later ousted from the Ivy League institution — can sue his accuser for defamation over statements she made during a school hearing, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled this summer. Saifullah Khan, 30, has had a $110 million defamation lawsuit pending against the Ivy League institution since 2019. Khan has been fighting to bring his accuser, a fellow student, into the suit over a 2018 university hearing that eventually resulted in his expulsion. Connecticut’s high court granted Khan’s request in June. The court ruled that the accuser shouldn’t receive ‘qualified immunity’ from her school testimony that Khan raped her following a Halloween party in 2015. Qualified immunity protects people from being sued for statements they make in judicial cases or ‘quasi judicial’ cases. But the high court said the university hearing wasn’t a stand-in court proceeding, since Khan wasn’t given the opportunity to cross-examine the accuser.” (09/17/23)
https://nypost.com/2023/09/17/former-yale-student-saifullah-khan-who-was-acquitted-of-rape-can-sue-accuser/
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18) Newly unearthed letter reveals Pope Pius XII knew of Nazi killings of Jews and Poles
Source: WION [India]
“A previously undisclosed correspondence showed that World War II-era Pope Pius XII had detailed information about the mass killings of Jews by the Nazis, AP news agency reported. The documents, found in the Vatican archives, challenge the Holy See’s claim that it could not confirm Nazi atrocities reports in order to condemn them. This has revived the age-old debate over Pope Pius XII’s legacy. … The newly uncovered letter, dated December 14, 1942, was written by a trusted German Jesuit priest named Rev. Lothar Koenig to Pope Pius XII’s secretary, Rev. Robert Leiber, who was also a German Jesuit. … Koenig’s letter, written in German, reported that the Nazis were killing up to 6,000 Jews and Poles daily in Rava Ruska, a town in pre-war Poland (now in Ukraine), and transporting them to the Belzec death camp.” (09/16/23)
https://www.wionews.com/world/newly-unearthed-letter-reveals-pope-pius-xii-knew-of-nazi-killings-of-6000-jews-636624
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19) CO: Cop gets probation for putting woman in police vehicle that was hit by a train
Source: SFGate
“A former Colorado police officer who put a handcuffed woman in a parked police vehicle that was hit by a freight train, causing the woman to suffer serious injuries, has avoided a jail sentence and must instead serve 30 months on supervised probation. Jordan Steinke, 29, was sentenced Friday by Weld County District Court Judge Timothy Kerns, who found her guilty of reckless endangerment and assault for the Sept. 16, 2022, crash near Platteville. Kerns acquitted the former Fort Lupton police officer of criminal attempt to commit manslaughter after her bench trial in July. Kerns said he had planned to sentence Steinke to jail, but he changed his mind after both prosecutors and defense attorneys sought a probationary sentence, The Denver Post reported. ‘Someone is going to hear this and say: ‘Another officer gets off,” Kerns said. ‘That’s not the facts of this case.'” (09/17/23)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/former-colorado-officer-gets-probation-for-18372143.php
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20) GA: Ohio man suspected of murder shot by resident during home invasion
Source: WFFT News
“A man accused of killing an elderly woman in Ohio was recovering Friday at a Georgia hospital after he was shot twice during a home invasion, authorities said. … The homeowner, armed with a gun, confronted the intruder — who had a knife — in the basement, the sheriff’s office said. Deputies said the homeowner warned the intruder before shooting him. The homeowner then left the basement and took up a position on the second floor staircase to protect his family, investigators said. ‘There, he took his stand as the subject made his way up to the second floor. (He) made the comment, something to the effect of, ‘You’re going to have to kill me.’ When the resident fired a second shot. That was about the time the deputies got there.'” (09/15/23)
https://www.wfft.com/news/ohio/ohio-man-suspected-of-murder-shot-by-georgia-man-defending-family-during-home-invasion/article_81ee5081-5356-5851-a04f-dabfb4d07f42.html
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Trump Prosecution: Judge Chutkan Should Stifle Her Gag Reflex
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“Comes now special counsel Jack Smith … asking judge Tanya Chutkan to issue a ‘gag order’ under which [Donald] Trump would be forbidden to publicly make ‘certain prejudicial extrajudicial statements.’ I tend toward a dim view of ‘gag orders’ in general, but this proposal is particularly silly and counter-productive. It embodies the same level of evil as any other demand that someone’s public speech be curtailed, but it’s also likely to be ineffectual, or even actually damage Smith’s efforts to convict Trump. To steal a quote incorrectly attributed to French diplomat Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord concerning an 1804 trial and execution, ‘it’s worse than a crime, it’s a blunder.'” (09/17/23)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/17982
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22) Russell Brand and the crisis of scepticism
Source: spiked
by Brendan O’Neill
“So, this Russell Brand thing. Is it an open-and-shut case of rape? Or is it a stitch-up by ‘the regime?’ Here’s my radical proposition: it’s neither. The accusations against Brand, which are serious and grim, have not been tested in a rigorous enough fashion for any of us to be able to say: ‘He is guilty of sexual assault.’ At the same time, the cries from Brand fanboys about ‘Them’ taking him down, about Big Pharma and its lackeys in Big Media targeting Brand because he hosts a popular, vax-sceptical YouTube show, sound cranky in the extreme. On one side we have a rush to judgement, on the other a rush to conspiracism. Where has good, honest scepticism gone?” (09/17/23)
https://www.spiked-online.com/2023/09/17/russell-brand-and-the-crisis-of-scepticism/
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23) Doing wrong thing worse than nothing
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“Political crimes aren’t like ordinary crimes. They are worse. They are also outside the ‘innocent until proven guilty’ standard, which applies to most other crimes; crimes committed by people without political power. With an ordinary crime, you often have to figure out whether any crime was committed at all. Maybe it was an accident or a natural occurrence. Then, if it is discovered there was a crime, you have to try to find out who committed it. This isn’t how political crimes work. Most political crimes are committed in public, in front of cameras, with the guilty party bragging afterward about what they’ve done.” (09/17/23)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2023/09/17/voices/opinion-doing-wrong-thing-worse-than-nothing/176076.html
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24) Green Protectionism While the Earth Is Burning?
Source: EconLog
by Pierre Lemieux
“If governments really believed that anthropogenic CO2 emissions will seriously harm their citizens or subjects, and if they were really pursuing the general welfare, isn’t it prima facie obvious that reducing these emissions would be their first priority, as opposed to competing priorities based on debunked, prescientific economic theories? Looking at what is happening in practice provides a good introduction to how governments actually work and what they pursue. Western governments are ‘protecting’ their subjects from less costly imports of solar panels and other ‘green’ products, in order to reduce competition and keep prices higher for domestic producers.” (09/16/23)
https://www.econlib.org/green-protectionism-while-the-earth-is-burning/
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25) Trying to disqualify Trump is lawlessness masquerading as legality
Source: Washington Post
by George F Will
“[P]eople who would wield the [14th Amendment] to extinguish Trump’s electoral career are trying to solve a political problem by cleverness, citing the amendment’s Section 3. It says that no person may ‘hold any office, civil or military, under the United States’ who, having taken an oath as ‘an officer of the United States’ to ‘support the Constitution,’ has subsequently ‘engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.’ … Arguments about the continuing force and sweep of Section 3 are interesting; unleavened by prudence, they are dangerous. There could be no surer way to further embitter and calcify Trump’s supporters than to stretch constitutional language to eliminate an electoral choice. And, in the process, to preempt judicial determinations about the nature and legal status of Trump’s Jan. 6 behavior.” (09/15/23)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/09/15/14th-amendment-trump-disqualification-dangerous/
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26) Racial unity in America’s pews
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“Every few months, a new survey offers another snapshot of the state of Christianity in the United States. Taken separately, the surveys invite different conclusions. Yet together, they point to a stirring of spiritual thought – particularly in regard to the role of church in racial reconciliation. Indeed, even as millions of Americans have stopped going to church over the past 25 years, churches have become more multiracial during the same period. Earnest wrestling to uproot legacies of racial division coincides with a broadly shared hunger among churchgoers for unity and inclusivity. A Lifeway Research poll earlier this year found that large majorities of American Christians, across denominations, want their churches to do more to promote ethnic diversity. That may reflect the unique capacity of religious institutions to emphasize shared values, notes Daniel Williams, author of a 2021 book on Christianity and politics in America.” (09/15/23)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2023/0915/Racial-unity-in-America-s-pews
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27) The Tablets of Madison
Source: Underthrow
by Christopher Cook
“Why do American conservatives treat the Constitution as if It were holy scripture? The Founders certainly didn’t.” (09/16/23)
https://underthrow.substack.com/p/the-tablets-of-madison
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28) Enforcing the Constitution
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“Enforcing the Supreme Court’s view of the Constitution was a problem I had been thinking about after reading arguments online from cynical right wingers. They argued that Supreme Court decisions in support of their interpretation of the Second Amendment did not matter since a state could, New York, they claimed, did, pass a law effectively preventing most citizens from owning firearms, enforce it until the case made it to the Supreme Court and the law was declared unconstitutional, then repeal it and pass another law achieving the same result through some different mechanism.” (09/16/23)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/enforcing-the-constitution
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29) UAW’s “Element of Surprise” Strike Appears to Be Working
Source: In These Times
by Sarah Lazare & Jeff Schuhrke
“Workers walked off their shifts on September 14 at midnight to cheering crowds as the United Auto Workers launched its first simultaneous strike against the ‘Big Three’ automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. The initial work stoppages were not company-wide but instead targeted three locations: GM’s Wentzville Assembly in Missouri, Stellantis’ Toledo Assembly Complex in Ohio, and Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich., just outside Detroit. The plants employ some 12,700 of the roughly 150,000 UAW members who work for the Big Three. The strike strategy, developed under the leadership of reform challenger Shawn Fain, was defined by its element of surprise. The union did not publicly reveal the strike targets until 10:00 p.m. on September 14, two hours before the contracts jointly expired.” (09/15/23)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/stellantis-uaw-surprise-stand-up-strike-working
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30) Debunking Crypto Myths: An Analysis of Kenyan Interior Minister’s Crypto Activity and Terror Funding Argument
Source: Bitcoin.com
by Terence Zimwara
“Despite Kenyan Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki’s recent attempt to revive the old crypto terrorism funding narrative, evidence suggests that criminal elements primarily use conventional financial systems when transferring funds. Contrary to Kindiki’s claims, crypto transactions can be traced and this is evidenced by the arrests of hackers and seizure of stolen crypto assets.” (09/16/23)
https://news.bitcoin.com/debunking-crypto-myths-an-analysis-of-kenyan-interior-ministers-crypto-activity-and-terror-funding-argument/
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31) Beating Brandon
Source: The American Conservative
by Bradley Devlin
“State of the Union: If Biden is an invalid on stimulants, which he very well may be, what does that make Republicans who keep losing to him?” (09/16/23)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/beating-brandon/
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32) What It’s Like to Live Under Russian Occupation
Source: Town Hall
by Mitzi Perdue
“In the West, when we hear news that an area in Ukraine has been liberated, we likely feel a short sense of relief: but we don’t grasp the full extent of what this means. In reality, the experience of being occupied by the Russian invaders is utterly nightmarish. It was for Galyna Matyoshko. It involved the murder of one son and the permanent injury of her other son. Her older son has had 18 surgeries and will never completely recover. … At 2:00AM in her home in Bucha, Matyoshko awoke to a loud, terrifying hammering on her front door. Still in her night clothes, she opened the door and saw a group of Russian soldiers. ‘Where is your husband?’ they demanded. Matyoshko’s husband had died years ago, but as she later learned, had he been there, he would have been killed.” (09/16/23)
https://townhall.com/columnists/mitzi-perdue/2023/09/16/what-its-like-to-live-under-russian-occupation-n2628367
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33) Freedom of Choice in Education: The Origins of a Slogan
Source: American Institute for Economic Research
by Phillip W Magness
“American Federation of Teachers leader Randi Weingarten is currently taking heat for her attempts to revive an old smear against school vouchers. In a recent interview, the teacher’s union boss claimed that pro-voucher slogans about ‘choice’ were really coded dog whistles from the segregationist era. Weingarten has a long history of falsely claiming that vouchers originated as part of the backlash against the 1954 desegregation ruling of Brown v. Board of Education. In reality, the concept of school choice traces back centuries prior. It can be found in the works of classical liberal philosophers Adam Smith, Thomas Paine, and John Stuart Mill, all of whom were also outspoken antislavery men.” (09/16/23)
https://www.aier.org/article/freedom-of-choice-in-education-the-origins-of-a-slogan/
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34) How Do You Spell Relief?
Source: The American Prospect
by Robert Kuttner
“This week, an advisory panel of the FDA unanimously concluded that a widely used nasal decongestant is ineffective and basically worthless. The ingredient, phenylephrine, is found in numerous over-the-counter remedies (including Mucinex, NyQuil, and Theraflu) in all, in some 250 different products worth $1.8 billion in sales last year. Decongestants in general are not very good. There is a well-known rebound effect. You get some relief for a while but then are more congested than ever. As it happens, there is a near-miraculous generic cold medicine, ambroxol, that is available over the counter all over the world, but not in the United States. I stumbled on this medication last year when I was in France and had a bad cold. I went to the local pharmacy and asked if they carried something like Mucinex or Robitussin.” (09/15/23)
https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2023-09-15-how-do-you-spell-relief/
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35) Antony Blinken and the diplomacy deficit
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by James Carden
“His remarks to students this week shows how much American exceptionalism and Great Power competition have taken over the craft.” (09/15/23)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/antony-blinken-on-ukraine/
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36) Can the US Grow Its Way Out of the National Debt?
Source: Independent Institute
by Craig Eyermann
“In April 2020, the size of the U.S. government’s total public debt outstanding as measured against the country’s GDP spiked up to 135% in the wake of government-mandated pandemic lockdowns. That’s the highest the U.S. national debt-to-GDP ratio has ever been, breaking the previous record of 121% set in the World War II era. 121% is about where the U.S. total national debt-to-GDP ratio is today. It’s been hovering around that level since July 2021. After initially falling rapidly after the economy was allowed to reopen in 2020, progress in lowering the national debt burden has stalled. This stagnation has occurred even though the nation’s GDP has risen. That contradicts the experience of what happened to the national debt-to-GDP ratio after World War II. It has long been held that this ratio fell rapidly because of strong economic growth. But a new working paper by Julien Acalin and Laurence M. Ball challenges that explanation.” (09/15/23)
https://blog.independent.org/2023/09/15/can-us-grow-its-way-out-of-the-national-debt
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37) Don’t Be Distracted by Alarmism Over a Diversionary War
Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison
“The idea that China might start a diversionary war is certainly convenient for China hawks now that Chinese economic growth is slowing. Then again, China hawks are nothing if not flexible when it comes to predicting future Chinese government behavior. When the Chinese economy was growing at a fast clip, they warned of impending aggression. Now that it is slowing down, many of them also warn of impending aggression. It’s almost as if they reached their conclusions about what they think the Chinese government is going to do first and then worked backwards.” (09/15/23)
https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/dont-be-distracted-by-alarmism-over
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38) Cold hard reality: We must rein in drunken government spending
Source: New York Post
by staff
“For all President Joe Biden’s boasts of cutting the deficit, new figures show the gap actually doubled this year — to a jaw-dropping $2 trillion, the highest ever outside a recession or national emergency. Such monstrous red ink not only saddles future generations with today’s excesses; it fuels enormous interest costs that crowd out truly necessary spending, such as for defense. As Congress and the White House race to hammer out a budget for the fiscal year that starts in two weeks (and avoid a government shutdown) it’s imperative they shave spending and rein in deficits (for real). How dangerous is the current nut? Consider: Experts saw the hole as outrageously reckless at $500 billion in 2015, during the Obama days; it’s now four times that amount, less than a decade later.” (09/16/23)
https://nypost.com/2023/09/16/joe-biden-and-congress-must-cut-spending-or-us-is-doomed/
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39) Inflation Jump Highlights Biden’s Vulnerability on Energy
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“Inflation has blipped back up to nibble at Americans’ budgets and patience. While the rise is relatively modest, it’s enough to revive the public’s concerns about the eroding value of their dollars. Worse for the Biden administration, the most severe effects were seen in the price of gasoline, which emphasizes the White House’s vulnerability on economics and, especially, energy. The pain will be felt by consumers, and they’ll be looking for somebody to punish.” (09/15/23)
https://reason.com/2023/09/15/inflation-jump-highlights-bidens-vulnerability-on-energy/
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40) El Chapo’s Wife and the Forever War on Drugs
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“Coronel’s release was simply due to her having served her 3-year jail sentence at the hands of the feds for supposedly having helped her husband, El Chapo, run his multibillion-dollar drug business in Mexico. The question naturally arises: What good did jailing that woman do? Did her jailing move the U.S. government closer to victory in the forever war on drugs? For that matter, it’s also worth asking what good has the the jailing of El Chapo done? Has his jailing brought the feds closer to drug-war victory? Alas, the answer is no.” (09/15/23)
https://www.fff.org/2023/09/15/el-chapos-wife-and-the-forever-war-on-drugs/
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41) Do we really have to relive a Trump-Biden election?
Source: Orange County Register
by Steven Greenhut
“My favorite religious movie hands down is Groundhog Day, the 1993 Bill Murray comedy where an arrogant TV anchor is forced to relive the same day thousands of times until he fixes his attitude and learns to care about his neighbors. He can’t move on with his life until he graduates from his purgatory in Punxsutawney, Pa. It’s a brilliant allegory for our spiritual journey as individuals and, apparently, as a nation. The political parallels are obvious as the nation braces for a rerun of 2020’s bitter election pitting the most narcissistic and cruel person I’ve seen in public life against a man whose main attribute is he’s not the other guy.” (09/15/23)
https://www.ocregister.com/2023/09/15/do-we-really-have-to-relive-a-trump-biden-election/
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42) Barack Obama Belongs In A Fucking Cage
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“‘If you’re looking to help people impacted by the floods in Libya, check out these organizations providing relief,’ Obama tweeted. Uhh, excuse me? Sir? You know you’re literally Barack Obama, right? In 2010 the oil-rich Libya ranked higher on the UN Human Development Index than any other nation in Africa, with much better national infrastructure to protect itself from floods and other natural disasters. Today Libya is a chaotic humanitarian disaster where UN-backed investigators now say literal crimes against humanity have been taking place, including women being forced into sexual slavery. What changed?” (09/16/23)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2023/09/16/barack-obama-belongs-in-a-fucking-cage/
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43) Free Speech Affirmed — Pretty Much
Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman
“The preliminary injunction against federal censorship of social-media users has survived the Biden administration’s appeal. However, it remains on hold until Sept. 22 while the Supreme Court considers the matter. The latest ruling, 78 pages long, by a panel of Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals judges, affirmed the core of District Judge Terry Doughty’s July 4 preliminary order, but the revised order has two big differences. The appellate judges exempted some defendants and narrowed Judge Doughty’s list of prohibited actions to just one modified but broad prohibition. We’ll have to see how that works out, but the court has certainly admonished Biden officials for censoring Americans’ speech by systematically leaning — sometimes very heavily — on the social-media companies.” (09/15/23)
https://sheldonfreeassociation.blogspot.com/2023/09/tgif-free-speech-affirmed-pretty-much.html
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44) From Where Will the Breakthrough Come for Julian Assange?
Source: CounterPunch
by B Nimri Aziz
“Julian Assange is still imprisoned; journalism’s future is still in jeopardy. Delegates from Australia’s parliament are headed to Washington to appeal to the U.S. Congress on behalf of the Wikileaks founder. While anyone who recognizes the injustice of Washington’s insistence on extradition of the jailed journalist and publisher, this effort by representatives of several parties may be too late. In any event, it is very late.” (09/15/23)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/09/15/from-where-will-the-breakthrough-come-for-julian-assange/
-----
45) NM: After gun ban, we must impeach governor or face these consequences
Source: Fox News
by State Representatives Stefani Lord (R-NM) & John Block (R-NM)
“That infamous ‘I’ word: Impeachment. It’s the word Americans have become far too familiar with in recent history. President Trump was impeached twice. Joe Biden is now facing his own possible impeachment. And here in New Mexico, we are fighting to impeach the tyrant who occupies the governor’s mansion. In most instances, this action is highly politicized and overly partisan. Clearly, the justice system was, and still is, being weaponized against President Trump for political purposes. Now, Democrats in Washington are flocking to their leader’s side, and the partisan games are beginning. Here in New Mexico, it is quite the opposite. Last week, Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham used an emergency public health order, popularized by tyrants across the country to restrict our rights during the pandemic, to suspend open and concealed carry across Albuquerque and the surrounding Bernalillo County.” (09/15/23)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/gun-ban-impeach-new-mexicos-governor-face-consequences
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46) Must Known Musk
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“Enthusiasts for prohibiting political dissent must know that the First Amendment protects the right to utter controversial speech. They must know that there’s no constitutional loophole for speech that they disagree with. Another ‘must know?’ That calling the public statements of political opponents ‘misinformation,’ ‘disinformation,’ ‘hate speech,’ etc. is no substitute for open discussion. They just don’t care. They just know that if they keep plugging away, struggling to muzzle the badspeech, they’re more likely to get their way than playing by the rules of free speech and open debate.” (09/15/23)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2023/09/15/must-known-musk/
-----
47) The Cancellation of Bertrand Russell
Source: Quillette
by James Huffman
“Bertrand Russell is well known as a philosopher and mathematician. But few know that during his lifetime, he was cancelled — to use the contemporary term — by the New York judiciary and by mid-twentieth-century religious conservatives. Both those conservatives today who seek to ban books and regulate curricula and those progressives who wish to censor everyone who disagrees with them would do well to reflect on the Bertrand Russell case.” (09/15/23)
https://quillette.com/2023/09/15/the-cancellation-of-bertrand-russell/
-----
48) The Secret of Trump’s Political Success
Source: Eyes on the Right
by Damon Linker
“It’s not as if Republican voters haven’t been given alternatives to supporting a man who’s been indicted four times and faces 91 felony counts in multiple jurisdictions for crimes ranging from the mishandling of classified documents to conspiracy to commit election fraud. The field of law-abiding challengers includes two sitting governors, several former governors, a former UN ambassador, a sitting U.S. senator, a former congressman, and a businessman. It includes several candidates seeking to revive the high-minded and optimistic form of conservativism that dominated the party beginning with Ronald Reagan’s election in 1980, and a couple of candidates who hope to build on the right-wing populism Trump rode to the White House in 2016. Yet none of them have come close to threatening Trump’s lead.” (09/15/23)
https://damonlinker.substack.com/p/the-secret-of-trumps-political-success
-----
49) How Deep Canvass Conversations Can Transform America
Source: Our Future
by Sulma Arias & Ebony Taggart
“Here at People’s Action Institute, we feel the way Jill Murphy, a Michigan schoolteacher who is now a full-time organizer for one of our affiliates, felt when she first joined a deep canvass in her home state four years ago. A light bulb goes on in our heads when we experience the way conversations bridge divisions that feel impossible to heal. New possibilities open up before us. Deep canvassing can unlock the power we have to transform our lives, our communities and our society when we come together across differences. This is what all good organizing is all about. Like Jill, we all have this ‘ah-ha’ moment in our first deep canvass, as we learn how to engage in compassionate curiosity and active listening when we talk with neighbors, and even complete strangers.” (09/16/23)
https://ourfuture.org/20230916/how-deep-canvass-conversations-can-transform-america
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50) Humiliation vs. Self-Respect: The Untold Story of the Abuse of Palestinian Women in Hebron
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ramzy Baroud
“The humiliation of Palestinian women by Israeli soldiers in the occupied city of Al-Khalil (Hebron) on July 10 was not the first such episode. Sadly, it will not be the last. Indeed, the stripping of five women in front of their children, parading them naked around their family home and then stealing their jewelry by an Israeli military unit, was not a random act. It deserves deep reflection. Palestinians rightly understood the event – investigated at length by the Israeli rights group B’Tselem, in a report published on September 5 – as an intentional Israeli policy.” (09/15/23)
https://original.antiwar.com/ramzy-baroud/2023/09/14/humiliation-vs-self-respect-the-untold-story-of-the-abuse-of-palestinian-women-in-hebron/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) The Fifth Column, 09/17/23
Source: The Fifth Column
“Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice.” (09/17/23)
https://wethefifth.substack.com/p/421-beetlejuice-beetlejuice-beetlejuice
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52) DMZ with Bill Scher and Matt Lewis, 09/17/23
Source: Bloggingheads.tv
“Shutdowns and Impeachments.” (09/17/23)
https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/66722
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53) The Anarchist Experience, episode 441
Source: The Anarchist Experience
“Rich, MC, and KS discuss why MC chose to get a marriage license, what it means to really push back against State encroachment, and what are they really planning to do with Lahaina after the fires.” (09/16/23)
https://theanarchistexperience.wordpress.com/2023/09/16/the-anarchist-experience-441/
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54) Unattended Baggage Episode, episode 214
Source: International Guild of Professional Anarchists
“ET or BS? We don’t know what to think.” (09/16/23)
https://alexandersnitker.substack.com/p/unattended-baggage-episode-214-et
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55) This Week in Common Sense, 09/16/23
Source: Common Sense
“Without These Politicians.” (09/16/23)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2023/09/16/listen-without-these-politicians/
-----
56) The Libertarian Angle, 09/15/23
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“The Government’s Antitrust Suit against Google.” (09/15/23)
https://libertarianangle.libsyn.com/the-governments-antitrust-suit-against-google
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57) The Charles C.W. Cooke Podcast, episode 41
Source: National Review
“Cold War II.” (09/15/23)
https://www.nationalreview.com/podcasts/the-charles-c-w-cooke-podcast/cold-war-ii/
-----
58) Freedom Works with Paul Molloy, 09/15/23
Source: Freedom Works
“Jessica Melugin of CEI on Anti-trust case against Google.” (09/15/23)
http://internetradiopros.com/freedomworks/?name=2023-09-15_zfw09152023.mp3
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59) Rising, 09/15/23
Source: The Hill
“Michael LaRosa and May Mailman weigh in on Hunter Biden being indicted on gun charges.” (09/15/23)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/4206371-rising-september-15-2023/
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60) System Update, episode 148
Source: System Update
“As Biden Taps Billionaire Dem to Oversee Ukraine’s Business, More Insiders Are Enriched From the War. PLUS: Gabor Mate on the Explosion of Anti-Depressants in the West.” (09/15/23)
https://rumble.com/v3hzazm-system-update-show1-148.html
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61) The Bryan Hyde Show, 09/15/23
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
“Gary M. Galles says we need more people who are willing to ask why things are the way they are.” (09/15/23)
https://www.podbean.com/ep/pb-e63w7-14a7d83
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62) Politics Politics Politics, 09/15/23
Source: Politics Politics Politics
“Tim Scott’s Secret Girlfriend.” (09/15/23)
https://shows.acast.com/63f52ee5886da70011a1a1ec/episodes/tim-scotts-secret-girlfriend
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63) Conflicts of Interest, episode 472
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Western Sanctions Fail to Stop Russia from Ramping Up Its War Machine.” (09/15/23)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/kyle/coi-472-western-sanctions-fail-to-stop-russia-from-ramping-up-its-war-machine/
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64) Nonzero, 09/15/23
Source: Bloggingheads.tv
“Biden’s Bandwidth Problems | Robert Wright & Mickey Kaus.” (09/15/23)
https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/66714
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65) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 09/15/23
Source: Antiwar.com
“Zelensky to Visit White House Next Week, More US Military Aid for Taiwan, and More.” (09/15/23)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uzO07zdHt4
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