12/18 -- NATO takes over coordination of military aid to Kyiv regime, source says; Dean Baker (Unintentionally?) Makes The Case Against Fiat Currency
6 views
Skip to first unread message
Thomas L. Knapp
Dec 18, 2024, 6:24:53 AM (7 days ago) Dec 18
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 12/18/24
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Presented by the Liberty International
https://liberty-intl.org/
Produced by the staff of Rational Review News Digest
https://news.rationalreview.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Today's Freedom News:
1) NATO takes over coordination of military aid to Kyiv regime, source says
2) Government Shutdown Theater: US Congress calls holiday intermission
3) Canada: Trudeau “considering resignation” after shock clash with finance minister
4) Idiot pol sues Des Moines Register for “election interference” over Iowa poll
5) Syria: Rebels to disband military wings and form army, leader says
6) Cocoa prices climb to new record high, prompting fresh warnings about extreme volatility
7) TX: Regime reveals plan to purchase auctioned border wall materials to store for Trump
8) Pope Francis reveals assassination attempt in new memoir
9) Sanders Rips Lawmakers Saying “We Don’t Have the Money” While Backing $900 Billion for Military
10) Alabama woman doing well after experimental pig kidney transplant
11) Los Zetas cartel boss re-arrested in Mexico after US jail time
12) Science: Two stars may be orbiting each other near supermassive black hole in Milky Way galaxy
13) NJ mayor: “They’re ‘looking for something” with the drones
14) IL: CBP gang’s local chapter brags on size of vape theft haul
15) Filipina who won last-minute reprieve from Indonesian firing squad now returning home
16) Bolivia: Regime issues arrest warrant for Morales over alleged minor trafficking
17) US airplane stowaway attempts fresh escape to Canada
18) TikTok asks SCOTUS for emergency order to block upcoming ban
19) Lawsuit accuses US State Department of creating loopholes for Israel on military aid & human rights
20) Philippines: Senate ratifies new military pact with Japanese regime
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Dean Baker (Unintentionally?) Makes The Case Against Fiat Currency
22) Biden’s Transformation From a Dove to a Hawk
23) Tariffs as a Substitute for Income Taxes? An Economic Reality Check
24) In Defence of Hate
25) Trump says his tariffs are dressing for revenge. Don’t believe him.
26) Can Trump Trump China (or Vice Versa)?
27) The Year of the Zealot
28) Government-run health care systems also deny or delay treatment
29) Peter Thiel Reveals How Scared Oligarchs Are Of The People
30) Autocrats, on the Knife’s Edge
31) Caitlin Clark, white privilege and me
32) The Decline and Fall of the Wall Street Journal
33) The Moral Shame of US Foreign Policy
34) To Make America Healthy Again Trump should get rid of PMTAs
35) Sanctions Relief for Syria Now
36) What Are Daniel Penny’s Politics?
37) To Bring Joy to America, End Weaponization of IRS
38) Invading Mexico Will Not Solve the Cartel Problem
39) The Trial of Daniel Penny
40) Biblical Originalism?
41) Solving the Housing Crisis Will Take More Than YIMBY
42) A Review of “The Age of Debt Bubbles”
43) The Hypocrisy of Bombing Iran
44) The King James Test for American Democracy
45) Biden may set dangerous new precedent with “pre-emptive” pardons
46) The Adoption Market
47) On Chief Executive Officers
48) Argentina’s Hard Reset: Milei’s Economic Reforms One Year Later
49) All the President’s Apologists
50) How Exclusionary Zoning Increases Homelessness
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) The Political Orphanage, 12/17/24
52) Conflicts of Interest, episode 729
53) The Bryan Hyde Show, 12/17/24
54) Parallel Society Podcast, 12/17/24
55) The Law and Liberty Podcast, 12/17/24
56) Pod Save America, 12/17/24
57) Agorist Nexus Podcast, episode 157
58) Advisory Opinions, 12/17/24
59) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 12/17/24
60) Free Talk Live, 12/16/24
vvvvv SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS vvvvv
ONE IDENTITY FOR ALL YOUR CRYPTO
https://fioprotocol.io/
LIBERTAS BELLA — LIBERTARIAN APPAREL
https://libertasbella.com/?rfsn=5518703.fba7280
SHOP ONLINE, COLLECT A REBATE IN BITCOIN!
https://www.lolli.com/share/MZB4cCpheL
THE CONSTITUTION OF NON-STATE GOVERNMENT: FIELD GUIDE TO TEXAS SECESSION, by TL Hulsey
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1947660853
Tyranny Demands AN ACT OF SELF-DEFENSE: A NOVEL BY ERNE LEWIS
https://tinyurl.com/actofselfdefense
^^^^^ SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS ^^^^^
_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) NATO takes over coordination of military aid to Kyiv regime, source says
Source: Reuters
“NATO has taken over coordination of Western military aid to Ukraine from the U.S. as planned, a source said on Tuesday, in a move widely seen as aiming to safeguard the support mechanism against NATO sceptic U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. The step, coming after a delay of several months, gives NATO a more direct role in the war against Russia’s invasion while stopping well short of committing its own forces. Diplomats, however, acknowledge that the handover to NATO may have a limited effect given that the U.S. under Trump could still deal a major setback to Ukraine by slashing its support, as it is the alliance’s dominant power and provides the majority of arms to Kyiv.” (12/17/24)
https://archive.is/09ctI
-----
2) Government Shutdown Theater: US Congress calls holiday intermission
Source: The Hill
“Congressional leaders have struck a bipartisan deal to keep the government funded beyond a looming Dec. 20 shutdown [sic] deadline. Legislation rolled out by leadership on Tuesday would kick the Friday funding deadline to March 14 to buy more time for the next Congress and incoming president to hash out how the government should be funded for much of next year. The newly unveiled 1,500-page package also features a host of add-ons, including a one-year farm bill extension, roughly $100 billion in disaster relief, about $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers, and other authorizations.” (12/17/24)
https://thehill.com/business/budget/5040567-government-funding-deal-shutdown-deadline/
-----
3) Canada: Trudeau “considering resignation” after shock clash with finance minister
Source: Independent [UK]
“Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau is reported to be considering stepping down amid a crisis that saw his own finance minister resign over Donald Trump’s threat to hike trade tariffs. Mr Trudeau told his cabinet that he is considering either resignation or prorogation – the process of ending the parliamentary session – according to the broadcaster CTV News. The prime minister is planning to address parliament on Tuesday, the report said. The episode represents one of the greatest challenges yet of Mr Trudeau’s nearly 10 years as prime minister. His approval rating, which was as high as 63 per cent when he was first elected, has repeatedly dipped below 30 per cent this year amid economic struggles, a housing shortage and disagreements about the issue of immigration. Some senior figures in Mr Trudeau’s own party have also called for him to resign ahead of a general election due before October next year.” (12/17/24)
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/justin-trudeau-resigning-canada-prime-minister-b2665485.html
-----
4) Idiot pol sues Des Moines Register for “election interference” over Iowa poll
Source: Axios
“President-elect Trump on Monday sued the Des Moines Register and its top pollster for ‘brazen election interference’ and ‘fraud’ over a poll the newspaper published showing him on track to lose Iowa in the 2024 presidential election, according to the complaint. The new lawsuit is a part of Trump’s broader effort to target media companies with legal action for coverage he [pretends to believe] is unfair. … The lawsuit alleges a violation of the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act, arguing that Trump and all Iowa and American voters were misled by the poll ‘for the improper purpose of deceptively influencing the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.'” (12/17/24)
https://www.axios.com/2024/12/17/trump-iowa-poll-election-lawsuit-des-moines-register
-----
5) Syria: Rebels to disband military wings and form army, leader says
Source: Financial Times [UK]
“The Syrian rebel groups that ousted Bashar al-Assad are to disband their military wings and form an army, the head of the most powerful faction said, as the new rulers seek to consolidate control over the country. Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), said the fighters would join an army that falls under the Ministry of Defence. ‘We have to adopt a state mentality, not an opposition mentality,’ Jolani, who recently began going by his birth name Ahmed al-Sharea, said. … The disbanding is a strategic move designed in part to ease restrictions on HTS, an Islamist group once affiliated with al-Qaeda and which remains on US and EU terror lists.” (12/17/24)
https://archive.is/kSkAu
-----
6) Cocoa prices climb to new record high, prompting fresh warnings about extreme volatility
Source: CNBC
“The price of chocolate’s key ingredient has skyrocketed this year, prompting analysts to issue fresh warnings about extreme price volatility. The New York Cocoa futures contract with March delivery traded as much as 1% higher at $11,938 per metric ton on Tuesday, notching yet another record high. It has since pared some of those gains, trading at $11,864 at around 8:20 a.m. ET. The benchmark contract, which hit an all-time intraday high of $11,925 in the previous session, is up over 180% year-to-date. It comes amid renewed concerns about adverse weather conditions and supply tightness in West Africa, home to around three-quarters of the world’s cocoa production. … Like cocoa, coffee prices have also soared in 2024, with analysts recently warning it could take years for one of the world’s most traded commodities to recover.” (12/17/24)
httpas://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/17/cocoa-prices-rally-to-record-high-prompting-fresh-volatility-warnings.html
-----
7) TX: Regime reveals plan to purchase auctioned border wall materials to store for Trump
Source: Fox News
“Officials in Texas say they are preparing to buy and store border wall materials being auctioned off by the federal government and keep them in place until the Trump administration takes office in January. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick reacted to reports of continued auctions of border wall materials that have been left near the border after the sudden stop of border wall construction in 2021. ‘I will bid on all of that wall, and we will buy it in Texas, and we will give it to Donald Trump,’ Patrick said on ‘The Ingraham Angle.’ ‘I’ve got a billion dollars in my pocket to do it,’ he said. His comments were supported by Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, who said she is ‘fully prepared’ to help in the effort..” (12/17/24)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/red-state-reveals-plan-purchase-auctioned-border-wall-materials-store-for-trump
-----
8) Pope Francis reveals assassination attempt in new memoir
Source: Semafor
“Pope Francis has revealed he was targeted in a failed assassination attempt during his 2021 visit to Iraq, according to excerpts of his upcoming memoir published in Italian media. UK intelligence warned Iraqi authorities — who in turn told Vatican security — that a woman wearing explosives was traveling to Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, with the intention of blowing herself up during the papal visit, the memoir revealed. A van traveled to the city with ‘the same intent,’ his security detail told the pope at the time.” (12/17/24)
https://www.semafor.com/article/12/17/2024/pope-francis-details-assassination-attempt-in-iraq
-----
9) Sanders Rips Lawmakers Saying “We Don’t Have the Money” While Backing $900 Billion for Military
Source: Common Dreams
“U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday derided those of his colleagues who claim it’s too expensive for the federal government to take ambitious action on national crises in housing and healthcare while simultaneously supporting a military budget that’s approaching $1 trillion a year. ‘I find it amusing that any time we come to the floor and members point out that we have a housing crisis, that we have some 600 million Americans who are homeless, that we have millions and millions of people in this country spending 40, 50, 60% of their limited incomes on housing and that we need to invest in low-income and affordable housing, what I hear is, ‘We don’t have the money!” Sanders (I-Vt.) said on the floor of the Senate.” (12/17/24)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/sanders-pentagon-budget
-----
10) Alabama woman doing well after experimental pig kidney transplant
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
“An Alabama woman is recovering well after a pig kidney transplant last month that freed her from eight years of dialysis, the latest effort to save human lives with animal organs. Towana Looney is the fifth American given a gene-edited pig organ — and notably, she isn’t as sick as prior recipients who died within two months of receiving a pig kidney or heart. ‘It’s like a new beginning,’ Looney, 53, told The Associated Press. Right away, ‘the energy I had was amazing. To have a working kidney — and to feel it — is unbelievable.’ Looney’s surgery marks an important step as scientists get ready for formal studies of xenotransplantation expected to begin next year, said Dr. Robert Montgomery of NYU Langone Health, who led the highly experimental procedure.” (12/17/24)
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2024/12/17/alabama-woman-experimental-pig-kidney-transplant/
-----
11) Los Zetas cartel boss re-arrested in Mexico after US jail time
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“The founder of the feared Los Zetas drugs cartel has been deported to Mexico after serving a lengthy jail sentence in the United States. Osiel Cardenas Guillen, 57, led Los Zetas until 2003, when he was cornered by Mexican soldiers near his hometown of Matamoros. Under his leadership, the group became one of the most powerful and brutal hit squads in the Mexican drug wars. US immigration officials handed Cardenas over to Mexican police at the Otay border crossing, where he was quickly re-arrested and taken to El Altiplano maximum security jail in Mexico state. Mexican prosecutors said he had been arrested on charges of murder and organised crime dating back to his time as one of the most powerful drug lords in Mexico.” (12/17/24)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c99xmp73ello
-----
12) Science: Two stars may be orbiting each other near supermassive black hole in Milky Way galaxy
Source: SFGate
“Scientists have spotted what appear to be two stars whipping around each other near the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Nearly every large galaxy has a supermassive black hole at its heart. The one in the middle of the Milky Way, called Sagittarius A (with an asterisk denoting star), is about 4 million times more massive than our sun and is relatively quiet, occasionally swallowing gas or dust that comes its way. Scientists know stars can form near and even orbit these black hole behemoths, but they’ve never seen a pair of stars survive so close by. The research was published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications. The celestial sighting is interesting and unusual, and more research is needed to be certain of what the objects are, said astrophysicist Anna Ciurlo with the University of California, Los Angeles.” (12/17/24)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/two-stars-may-be-orbiting-each-other-near-a-19985988.php
-----
13) NJ mayor: “They’re ‘looking for something” with the drones
Source: New York Post
“A New Jersey mayor warned Tuesday that the troubling drone sightings over the state may be linked to missing radioactive material, although federal officials say the amount poses no serious threat either way. Belleville Mayor Michael Melham said the drones flying in a grid-like pattern over his Essex County township appear to be ‘looking for something.’ ‘What might they be looking for? Maybe that’s radioactive material,’ Melham told Fox TV’s ‘Good Day New York.’ ‘It was a shipment. It arrived at its destination. The container was damaged, and it was empty,’ Melham said. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued an alert earlier this week regarding a piece of medical equipment used for cancer scans that was ‘lost in transit’ Dec. 2 while being shipped from the Nazha Cancer Center in Newfield in Gloucester County in southern New Jersey.” (12/17/24)
https://nypost.com/2024/12/17/us-news/missing-radioactive-material-in-new-jersey-sparks-drone-theories/
-----
14) IL: CBP gang’s local chapter brags on size of vape theft haul
Source: United Press International
“U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Chicago made 121 [thefts] over the past year, containing more than 3.2 million banned Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems worth more than $81.5 million. … ‘Criminals are using every means imaginable to expand the reach of their illicit enterprises,’ said Mike Pfeiffer, Chicago Area Port Director. ‘The sales from illegal goods are used to fuel further criminal activities such as the trafficking of drugs, defrauding innocent people and purchases of illegal weapons.’ Customs and Border Patrol [steals] millions of counterfeit goods from countries around the world to protect [in the mafia usage of the word] U.S. businesses and consumers.” (12/17/24)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2024/12/16/chicago-customs-border-seizures-electronic-nicotine-delivery/7631734409164/
-----
15) Filipina who won last-minute reprieve from Indonesian firing squad now returning home
Source: SFGate
“Indonesian authorities have returned a Filipina woman to the Philippines who had been on death row and nearly executed by firing squad in Indonesia in 2015, after a longstanding request from her home country. Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso had spent almost 15 years in prison for drug trafficking but won a last-minute reprieve that will lead to her testimony exposing how a criminal syndicate duped her into being an unwitting accomplice and drug courier. Veloso was moved late Sunday from a female prison in Yogyakarta to Indonesia’s capital of Jakarta, then escorted Tuesday night for a flight to Manila. Her repatriation was made possible by ‘a practical arrangement’ for the transfer of prisoners signed between the two countries on Dec. 6. Her transfer removes the possibility of execution. The Philippines, Asia’s largest Roman Catholic nation, has long abolished the death penalty.” (12/17/24)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/filipina-who-won-a-last-minute-reprieve-from-the-19985919.php
-----
16) Bolivia: Regime issues arrest warrant for Morales over alleged minor trafficking
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“Bolivian authorities have issued an arrest warrant for ex-President Evo Morales, accused of trafficking a 15-year-old during his tenure from 2006 to 2019. Prosecutor Sandra Gutierrez confirmed the warrant was issued on Oct. 16, delayed announcement due to the case’s complexity and Morales'[s] vehement denials. … Days before the warrant was granted, supporters of Morales initiated a series of grassroots protests by forming roadblocks across highways across the country, with the blockades lasting 23 days. Despite the upheaval, Gutierrez confirmed police operations were initiated to arrest Morales, who has since taken refuge in the central province of Chapare, a political stronghold of his. ‘It was impossible to proceed with the execution of the arrest warrant against this citizen … many police officers were victims of aggression and attempted murder on behalf of the blockade protesters,’ Gutierrez said.” (12/17/24)
https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20241217-bolivia-prosecutor-morales-arrest-warrant-trafficking-minor
-----
17) US airplane stowaway attempts fresh escape to Canada
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“A stowaway who allegedly flew from New York to Paris without a ticket last month has been arrested again for trying to escape by bus from the US to Canada. Svetlana Dali made the attempt after cutting off an ankle monitor that she had been given to wear after the earlier offence, US media reported. A New York court mandated that she wear the monitor after allegedly flying on a Delta Airlines flight from New York’s JFK International Airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport without a boarding pass. During a court hearing, she was ordered not leave Philadelphia unless she was going to New York for meetings regarding her trial. She was arrested in Buffalo, New York, on Monday, and is due to appear in court Tuesday afternoon.” (12/17/24)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd60n28vjqlo
-----
18) TikTok asks SCOTUS for emergency order to block upcoming ban
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“TikTok on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step in on an emergency basis to block the federal law that would ban the popular platform in the United States unless its China-based parent company, ByteDance, agreed to sell it. Lawyers for the company and ByteDance urged the justices to step in before the law’s Jan. 19 deadline. A similar plea was filed by content creators who rely on the platform for income and some of TikTok’s more than 170 million users in the U.S. … The companies have said that a shutdown lasting just a month would cause TikTok to lose significant advertising revenue and about a third of its daily users in the U.S. The case could attract the court’s interest because it pits free speech rights against the government’s [bullshit claims] of protecting national security, while raising novel issues about social media platforms.” (12/16/24)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/tiktok-ban-supreme-court-1.7411997
-----
19) Lawsuit accuses US State Department of creating loopholes for Israel on military aid & human rights
Source: SFGate
“The State Department has carved out loopholes for Israel that give the close American ally a pass on U.S. law that restricts aid to foreign militaries over human rights abuses, a lawsuit from a group of Palestinians in Gaza and American relatives asserts Tuesday. Former State Department officials and crafters of the 1997 Leahy law were among those advising and backing the lawsuit. The lawsuit details the barriers it accuses the State Department of creating on behalf of Israel to skirt enforcement and asks courts to intervene. … ‘It’s really a modest set of goals here: There’s a U.S. law. We’d like the federal government to adhere to U.S. law,’ said Ahmed Moor, a Philadelphia-based Palestinian American who joined the lawsuit on behalf of cousins, uncles and aunts displaced and killed in the 14-month war.” (12/17/24)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/lawsuit-accuses-state-department-of-creating-19986171.php
-----
20) Philippines: Senate ratifies new military pact with Japanese regime
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“The Philippines has ratified a new defence pact with Japan that would allow each country’s military to deploy on each other’s soil amid increased regional tensions with China. The Philippine Senate announced the ratification in a statement on Monday, saying it would ‘enhance the interoperability’ between Japanese and Philippine forces. … The agreement between the two countries was signed in July over shared concerns about China’s growing assertiveness in the region and confrontations between Philippine and Chinese naval vessels in contested areas of the South China Sea. China claims much of the South China Sea, a key focal point for global shipping, but these claims are disputed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. Known as the reciprocal access agreement (RAA), Japanese lawmakers must also now ratify the agreement for it to be fully implemented.” (12/17/24)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/17/philippines-ratifies-new-military-defence-pact-with-japan
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Dean Baker (Unintentionally?) Makes The Case Against Fiat Currency
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“‘Bitcoin,’ economist Dean Baker argues at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, ‘won’t put food on the table. Bitcoin also won’t put gas in your car or provide medical care for your family. … Bitcoin doesn’t actually produce these items or anything else that we directly consume.’ Baker is absolutely right. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies don’t produce the various goods or services that we directly consume. Neither, however, do dollars, euros, rubles, rupees, etc. produce the various goods or services that we directly consume. For the most part, that is. Dollars, euros, rubles, rupees, etc. — and Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies — do produce one thing, and it’s possibly the most important of all consumables: Trust.” (12/17/24)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/19236
-----
22) Biden’s Transformation From a Dove to a Hawk
Source: Reason
by Matthew Petti
“President Joe Biden came to office promising to end ‘forever war,’ and that’s the promise that could have been the easiest to fulfill. When it comes to war and peace, the U.S. president is more powerful than anyone else on earth. His promise was put to the test with the Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel. With each crisis, Biden seems to have grown more hawkish, embroiling the United States deeper in foreign wars.” (for publication 01/25/24)
https://reason.com/2024/12/17/from-dove-to-hawk/
-----
23) Tariffs as a Substitute for Income Taxes? An Economic Reality Check
Source: The Daily Economy
by Dorothy Chan & Peter C Earle
“US president-elect Donald Trump has floated a seemingly radical policy idea, although it goes back to the early days of the American nation: financing the Federal government with revenue from tariffs rather than income taxes. … while reviving such a policy might appear a bold reimagining of fiscal policy, it is in reality deeply problematic. Trump’s claim that tariffs are a tax on a foreign country misconstrues common economic understanding of the domestic impacts of tariffs, including on employment, economic growth, and national debt, let alone impairing international relationships. This policy, if enacted, would likely result in job losses, lower growth, inflation, larger federal deficits, and other potential side effects.” (12/17/24)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/tariffs-as-a-substitute-for-income-taxes-an-economic-reality-check/
-----
24) In Defence of Hate
Source: Students For Liberty
by Daniel B Klein
“Governments and their allies are using the label of ‘hate’ to censor people. The speech they hate they call ‘hate speech.’ Before we start hating on censorship, let’s put aside the ugliness of politics and get straight on hate. Is it improper to hate?” (12/17/24)
https://studentsforliberty.org/blog/in-defence-of-hate/
-----
25) Trump says his tariffs are dressing for revenge. Don’t believe him.
Source: Washington Post
by Ramesh Ponnuru
“Howard Lutnick, Donald Trump’s choice to be commerce secretary, suggested at a news conference with Trump on Monday that ‘reciprocity’ would be the watchword for the new administration’s trade policy. The president-elect agreed: ‘If they tax us, we’ll tax them the same amount.’ It’s an attractive idea. It sounds fair, and frames the alternative as letting other countries take advantage of us. ‘Our country loses to everybody,’ Trump groused to the gathered media. Even free traders might think reciprocal tariffs are a useful tactic to get other countries to let in U.S. exports. But the idea has a track record, as does Trump. Those records belie the sales pitch.” (12/17/24)
https://archive.is/bA7yB
-----
26) Can Trump Trump China (or Vice Versa)?
Source: TomDispatch
by Michael Klare
“Gaza, Haiti, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Russia, Syria, Ukraine, and Venezuela: President-elect Donald Trump will face no shortage of foreign-policy challenges when he assumes office in January. None, however, comes close to China in scope, scale, or complexity. No other country has the capacity to resist his predictable antagonism with the same degree of strength and tenacity, and none arouses more hostility and outrage among MAGA Republicans. In short, China is guaranteed to put President Trump in a difficult bind the second time around: he can either choose to cut deals with Beijing and risk being branded an appeaser by the China hawks in his party, or he can punish and further encircle Beijing, risking a potentially violent clash and possibly even nuclear escalation.” (12/17/24)
https://tomdispatch.com/trump-confronts-a-rising-china/
-----
27) The Year of the Zealot
Source: Consent Factory, Inc.
by CJ Hopkins
“It was the best of years, it was the worst of years, it was a year of brilliance, it was a year of buffoonery, it was a year of faith, it was a year of incredulity, it was a year of expectation, it was a year of tribulation, it was a year of uncertainty, and passionate intensity, and monomania, and paranoia, and fanatical fervor. I’m designating it ‘The Year of the Zealot.’ Now, before I review the cavalcade of bug-eyed zealotry that the year comprised, let me say a few words about zealotry. Because I get it. I understand the attraction.” (12/17/24)
https://consentfactory.org/2024/12/17/the-year-of-the-zealot/
-----
28) Government-run health care systems also deny or delay treatment
Source: The Hill
by Merrill Matthews
“Many critics of the U.S. health care system claim the tragic murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson is understandable because health insurance companies occasionally refuse to cover certain medical treatments. And they often assert that if the country were to embrace a U.K. or Canadian-style government-run health care system, no one would be denied care. Those critics are either misinformed or intentionally trying to deceive the public, because government-run health care systems frequently delay or deny needed medical care.” (12/17/24)
https://thehill.com/opinion/5043364-health-care-systems-problems/
-----
29) Peter Thiel Reveals How Scared Oligarchs Are Of The People
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Billionaire Peter Thiel had a fascinating televised moment the other day when asked by Piers Morgan what he thought about the public making a hero of the man suspected of murdering health insurance CEO Brian Thompson. The way he stumbled and stuttered when trying to answer the question gives a lot of insight into how terrified such people are of the public turning against them one day. ‘And to those who think this shooter is a hero, because he did it because he said this healthcare executive is presiding over a healthcare system which kills thousands of Americans by denying them cover, what would you say to them?’ Morgan asked. Thiel paused for a long time, and then stuttered for a long time …” (12/17/24)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2024/12/17/peter-thiel-reveals-how-scared-oligarchs-are-of-the-people/
-----
30) Autocrats, on the Knife’s Edge
Source: The Dispatch
by Kevin D Williamson
“When people in the West are reading about civil unrest in China, things in China are bad — normally, Beijing does a reasonably effective job of suffocating news about domestic political discontent. As the Wall Street Journal reports, there has been a rush of knife attacks, vehicular homicides, and things of that nature that have the men who rule China on the edge. I do not have a lot of the hell-raising Jefferson-Jackson element in me — I’m an Adams-Adams-Eisenhower man — but, upon reading the Journal’s report, my first thought was: ‘These people need guns. Lots of guns.'” (12/17/24)
https://thedispatch.com/article/autocrats-on-the-knifes-edge/
-----
31) Caitlin Clark, white privilege and me
Source: Fox News Forum
by Corey Brooks
“I have been following the rise of WNBA star Caitlin Clark since her Iowa University days. I am a hoops man myself and I’ve seen so many flashes in the pan, but I knew there was something different, something solid about Clark from the get-go. In her eyes and in the hustle of her game, I could see that she had that determin[ation], that no-quit factor that the greats have. There are others with more talent but not that killer instinct. She has both and that’s what makes her so dynamic to watch — her basketball charisma is undeniable. That is why I was disappointed to hear her tell Time magazine after winning the ‘Athlete of the Year’ that she benefits from [w]hite privilege. The magazine quotes Clark saying: ‘I’ve earned every single thing, but as a white person, there is privilege.'” (12/17/24)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/caitlin-clark-white-privilege
-----
32) The Decline and Fall of the Wall Street Journal
Source: The Bulwark
by Mona Charen
“Many American institutions have beclowned themselves in the past ten years — too many to list. To count the right-leaning institutions that have not succumbed to Trumpian populism takes only one hand. But the decline of the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page has been particularly galling because, compared to the Heritage Foundation, Hillsdale College, or the Claremont Institute, it had farther to fall. … In the Trump era, the Journal has become, if not Pravda, then something like the Nation. The Nation reliably whitewashed the sins of the Soviet Union and other communist regimes because it regarded anti-communism as a greater threat to the world than communism itself. Similarly, the Wall Street Journal has gradually become a parody of itself on the grounds that Democrats are always and forever the greatest threat to the country.” (12/17/24)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/the-decline-and-fall-of-the-wall-street-journal
-----
33) The Moral Shame of US Foreign Policy
Source: Common Dreams
by Mark Harris
“The election of former President Donald Trump to another term as U.S. president has been cause for profound despair among millions of Democratic voters. Certainly anyone who cares about human and democratic rights can only feel dismay about the return of this notorious megalomaniac to the White House. But worse than the election results is another deflating reality. Neither major party candidate represented a challenge to U.S. complicity in Israel’s horrific war on the people and land of Gaza. The presidential election proved to be a choice between two electable candidates, manifestly different on the surface, yet neither of whom was capable of taking a principled stand against the worst crime imaginable: genocide. Consider that reality for a moment.” (12/17/24)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/moral-shame-us-foreign-policy
-----
34) To Make America Healthy Again Trump should get rid of PMTAs
Source: Orange County Register
by Peter Clark
“The incoming Trump administration made many promises on the Campaign trail. Among these are assurances that he would revitalize U.S. business, to ‘save vaping.’ He can kill two birds with one stone by eliminating the Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) process for e-cigarettes. In so doing, he would affirm free enterprise and individual liberty as the foundation of prosperity. Currently, the FDA mandates vape producers to submit PMTAs before having approval to sell their products in the U.S., a process that ranges in cost from $28,566-$2,595,224 …. The FDA has only approved 34 e-cigarettes for sale. These requirements pose significant barriers to entry for vaping products and only make it harder for smokers to quit. If the Trump administration is serious about American health and business, it should be looking to cut the red tape.” (12/17/24)
https://archive.is/0qCYY
-----
35) Sanctions Relief for Syria Now
Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison
“The U.S. should have lifted these sanctions years ago, and now that Assad is out of power there is no excuse for continuing this policy.” (12/17/24)
https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/sanctions-relief-for-syria-now
-----
36) What Are Daniel Penny’s Politics?
Source: RealClearPolitics
by Froma Harrop
“Donald Trump put Penny on display at the Army-Navy Football Game, having him join the retinue of his uniquely unqualified Cabinet picks. J.D. Vance wrote on X that ‘New York’s mob district attorney tried to ruin his (Penny’s) life for having a backbone.’ I’m glad Alvin Bragg followed through on a second-degree manslaughter charge after the medical examiner declared the death to be a homicide. That gave a New York jury the opportunity to look at the facts and, in this case, clear the defendant’s name. It is notable that when past Manhattan juries ruled against Trump, MAGA accused New York of being a venue hopelessly biased against the ex-president. Penny’s acquitters came from the same jury pool. Penny’s lawyer said his client was not making a political statement by joining Trump and company at the football game.” (12/17/24)
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2024/12/17/_what_are_daniel_pennys_politics_152098.html
-----
37) To Bring Joy to America, End Weaponization of IRS
Source: Town Hall
by Stephen Moore
“One of the highest priorities for the incoming Trump administration should be to end the Democrats’ weaponization of powerful government agencies against taxpayers and businesses they don’t like. Nowhere has this mission been more pernicious than the party-line vote to fund the IRS with nearly $80 billion and hire tens of thousands of new tax snoops. By the way, according to the IRS press office, the additional audits have so far raised less than $2 billion, far less than the additional expenditures. So how is this program ‘paying for itself?’ This was never about seeking tax fairness as liberals claimed. It was about unleashing an aggressive, permanent and unchecked enforcement assault on U.S. taxpayers to rake in more tax dollars to pay for liberals’ political agenda.” (12/17/24)
https://townhall.com/columnists/stephenmoore/2024/12/17/to-bring-joy-to-america-end-the-weaponization-of-the-irs-n2649153
-----
38) Invading Mexico Will Not Solve the Cartel Problem
Source: The American Conservative
by Brandan Buck
“The further militarization of the war on drugs, especially unilateral military action within Mexico, would jeopardize two of the Trump administration’s big-ticket agenda items: controlling illegal [sic] immigration and countering a rising China. … Such tradeoffs could perhaps be excused if the use of American military force against the cartels came with a high probability of success. Yet a cursory look at the strategic picture suggests otherwise.” (12/17/24)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/invading-mexico-will-not-solve-the-cartel-problem/
-----
39) The Trial of Daniel Penny
Source: Quillette
by Eli Steele
“Perhaps the most damaging aspect of Bragg’s racial-equity regime as Manhattan DA has been the perception of racial unfairness it created in one of America’s most racially diverse cities.” (12/17/24)
https://quillette.com/2024/12/17/the-trial-of-daniel-penny-jordan-neely-alvin-bragg-blm/
-----
40) Biblical Originalism?
Source: Law & Liberty
by Andrew D Graham
“When a religious teacher questioned Jesus on the law, Jesus answered, ‘How do you read it?’ (Luke 10:26). That’s fundamentally the same question that lawyers routinely face from the courts in cases involving the interpretation of legal documents, including the Constitution. That question motivates a new book of nine essays edited by Mark J. Boone and Mark D. Eckel, entitled Originalism in Theology and Law: Comparing Perspectives on the Bible and Constitution. Fittingly, Boone’s introduction begins with George W. Bush’s short-lived nomination of Harriet Miers to the United States Supreme Court.” (12/17/24)
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/biblical-originalism/
-----
41) Solving the Housing Crisis Will Take More Than YIMBY
Source: The American Prospect
by Robert Kuttner
“The YIMBY movement is being touted as a major solution to the shortage of affordable housing. YIMBY stands for ‘Yes In My Backyard’, the opposite of NIMBY. YIMBY would alter zoning codes that favor or require single-family housing, to make it easier to free land to build apartments, especially affordable ones, and remove other obstacles. The Prospect recently ran a smart piece by Robert Cruickshank on YIMBY strategies, and our former colleague Matt Yglesias is obsessed by the idea. I don’t want to throw too much cold water on YIMBY, which can help. But we should be clear that it is only a small part of the solution. The housing shortage is massive, and curing it will take a lot more than YIMBY.” (12/17/24)
https://prospect.org/infrastructure/housing/2024-12-17-solving-housing-crisis-more-than-yimby/
-----
42) A Review of “The Age of Debt Bubbles”
Source: Cobden Centre
by James Turk
“This excellent book does much more than analyse historic and current market bubbles caused by excessive debt. Essays by several authors – with extensive references – offer a deep dive into the damage central banks are doing to economic activity with consequences that hinder progress toward humanity’s quest for ever higher standards of living.” (12/17/24)
https://www.cobdencentre.org/2024/12/a-review-of-the-age-of-debt-bubbles/
-----
43) The Hypocrisy of Bombing Iran
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ted Snider
“[T]hat Trump is considering bombing Iranian nuclear facilities because he is concerned that Iran could build a nuclear bomb during his term as president is laden with hypocrisy almost too obvious to mention. There are three glaring hypocrisies. The first is that …. there would be no risk of Iran developing a nuclear bomb during Trump’s second term had Trump not killed the JCPOA nuclear deal in his first term. The second is that there is no intelligence basis for Trump’s concern nor for his consideration of airstrikes on Iran. Trump has no reason to believe that Iran is building a nuclear bomb. … The third is the hypocrisy of considering pre-emptively bombing a sovereign country while lecturing the world on international law.” (12/17/24)
https://original.antiwar.com/ted_snider/2024/12/16/the-hypocrisy-of-bombing-iran/
-----
44) The King James Test for American Democracy
Source: JimBovard.com
by James Bovard
“On December 1, President Joe Biden announced that he was pardoning his son Hunter for all the crimes he committed from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024. Biden’s sweeping pardon of all of his son’s abuses epitomizes how presidents and their families are now above the law. It also illustrates how the ‘King James Test for American Democracy’ could become the death of the Constitution. The American Revolution was heavily influenced by a political backlash that began across the ocean in the early 1600s. King James I claimed a ‘divine right’ to unlimited power in England, sparking fierce clashes with Parliament. Since the 9/11 attacks, some of the same moral and legal principles have been advanced in this nation, but few people recognize the historical roots.” (12/16/24)
https://jimbovard.com/blog/2024/12/16/the-king-james-test-for-american-democracy/
-----
45) Biden may set dangerous new precedent with “pre-emptive” pardons
Source: New York Post
by Jonathan Turley
“There are growing indications that President Biden is about to fundamentally change the use of presidential pardons by granting ‘prospective’ or ‘pre-emptive’ pardons to political allies. Despite repeated denials by President-elect Donald Trump that he is seeking retaliation against opponents and wants ‘success [to be] my revenge,’ Democratic politicians and pundits have called for up to thousands of such pardons. While there is little threat of any viable prosecution of figures like the members of the House’s Jan. 6 committee, the use of ‘white knight pardons’ offers obvious political benefits.” [editor’s note: It wouldn’t be establishing a precedent, “dangerous” or otherwise. Ford pardoned Nixon prior to him being charged with any crime – TLK] (12/16/24)
https://nypost.com/2024/12/16/opinion/joe-biden-may-set-a-dangerous-new-precedent-with-preemptive-pardons/
-----
46) The Adoption Market
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“Quite a long time ago, when our children were still children, they decided that they wanted kittens so we took a trip to the local Humane Society. … We ended up spending several hours waiting in line to receive one of a small number of permissions to adopt a pet, filling out forms, and then being interviewed by a Humane Society employee to make sure we were suitable adopters. What was puzzling about the experience was that kittens were and are a good in excess supply. The Humane Society had more of them … than it could find homes for …. Yet the Humane Society was deliberately making it costly, in time and effort, to adopt a kitten, and trying to select which lucky people got to do so, despite their knowledge that the alternative to being adopted was not another adoption but death. Why?” (12/16/24)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/the-adoption-market
-----
47) On Chief Executive Officers
Source: Waste No More Time
by Nicholas Sarwark
“Corporations and governments being legal entities that aren’t natural persons, they still require natural persons to direct their efforts. This is an incredible amount of power for a person to have. CEOs of some of the larger public companies can direct the efforts of thousands of people and millions of dollars by sending a text message. They can buy entire media outlets to present the best face of their company to the public. They can change elections. The killing of a CEO is a reminder that with great power comes great responsibility. The corporation is a fictional person but the CEO is a very real human being, as is a leader of a government. When the legal fictions start to break down in holding the organization accountable for abuse, people have historically taken their grievances to the Chief Executive Officers of corporations and governments.” (12/16/24)
https://nsarwark.substack.com/p/on-chief-executive-officers
-----
48) Argentina’s Hard Reset: Milei’s Economic Reforms One Year Later
Source: Independent Institute
by Alvaro Vargas Llosa
“When Javier Milei assumed office a year ago, skeptics saw three potential risks. One, he might take an authoritarian turn, subverting liberal democracy. Two, his libertarian agenda could stall under the constraints of an opposition-controlled Congress and powerful and socialist unions, that his libertarian agenda would stall. Three, the pain of shock therapy would destroy his popular base, leaving him politically neutered. None of those fears have materialized. Despite Milei’s combative rhetoric and some political maneuvering that has seen him flirt with unpalatable members of the political or judicial ‘caste’ he despises, Milei has largely operated within democratic norms. He’s made significant progress on fiscal, monetary, and deregulatory reforms, warning Argentines upfront that sacrifices would be necessary to undo decades of economic mismanagement. Polls show that, despite hardship, half the country still supports him.” (12/16/24)
https://blog.independent.org/2024/12/16/argentina-milei-economic-reforms-one-year-later/
-----
49) All the President’s Apologists
Source: In These Times
by Caleb Brennan
“If the Richard Nixon Foundation transfers your call, a haunting song chimes through the receiver. It’s the disgraced president’s 1972 reelection song, ’More Than Ever,’ the upbeat, School of Rock-esque fanfare that was once pumped into millions of televisions 52 years ago. ‘More than ever we need Nixon now!’ sings a choir as sturdy horns, snares and piano chords crescendo. But transmitted through a landline, the tune curdles into something more like a funeral dirge. I was calling the guardians of Nixon’s endowment because I wanted to understand how a man once cast into the dustbin of history has come to experience a renaissance. In recent years, the foundation has become active online, framing Tricky Dick not as a craven megalomaniac but a champion of the people, and — in tandem with popular conservative pundits and leaders — has sought to rewrite the story of Watergate as a kind of putsch via bureaucratic cabal.” (12/17/24)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/all-the-presidents-apologists
-----
50) How Exclusionary Zoning Increases Homelessness
Source: The Volokh Conspiracy
by Ilya Somin
“Homelessness has been in the news a great deal lately, and become a major focus of public debate. I’ve written previously about how homelessness is greatly exacerbated by exclusionary zoning rules and other restrictions that make it difficult or impossible to build new housing in response to demand. Much evidence indicates that the expansion of homelessness in recent years is primarily a problem of housing availability, rather than increasing incidence of social problems like mental illness, alcoholism, or drug abuse.” (12/16/24)
https://reason.com/volokh/2024/12/16/how-exclusionary-zoning-increases-homelessness/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) The Political Orphanage, 12/17/24
Source: The Political Orphanage
“The Original War on Christmas.” (12/17/24)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/the-original-war-on-christmas
-----
52) Conflicts of Interest, episode 729
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Assad Makes First Statement Since Fleeing Syria.” (12/17/24)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/kyle/coi-729-assad-makes-first-statement-since-fleeing-syria
-----
53) The Bryan Hyde Show, 12/17/24
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
“It’s my weekly conversation with Eric Peters from Eric Peters Autos. Eric can always be counted on for a rational take on our unpredictable world.” (12/17/24)
https://www.podbean.com/ep/pb-i5h7i-17760ad
-----
54) Parallel Society Podcast, 12/17/24
Source: Freeman’s Perspective
‘The Kingdom of God.” (12/17/24)
https://freemansperspective.com/podcast-the-kingdom-of-god/
-----
55) The Law and Liberty Podcast, 12/17/24
Source: Law & Liberty
“Optimism for the Western Project.” (12/17/24)
https://lawliberty.org/podcast/optimism-for-the-western-project/
-----
56) Pod Save America, 12/17/24
Source: Crooked Media
“Is Biden Quiet Quitting?” (12/17/24)
https://stitcher.simplecastaudio.com/9aa1e238-cbed-4305-9808-c9228fc6dd4f/episodes/83edcb9a-8157-4fa4-ae9e-f972615f75e9/audio/128/default.mp3
-----
57) Agorist Nexus Podcast, episode 157
Source: Agorist Nexus
“Crypto Secrets, Border Paradoxes, and the Agorist Whisper with Sal Mayweathe.” (12/17/24)
https://www.agoristnexus.com/crypto-secrets-border-paradoxes-and-the-agorist-whisper-with-sal-mayweather-157/
-----
58) Advisory Opinions, 12/17/24
Source: The Dispatch
“Southern Squabbles.” (12/16/24)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/advisoryopinions/southern-squabbles/
-----
59) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 12/17/24
Source: Antiwar.com
“US Bombs Syria and Claims ISIS Fighters Killed, Israel Kills 52 More Palestinians in Gaza, and More.” (12/17/24)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJnxZMw-XXs
-----
60) Free Talk Live, 12/16/24
Source: Free Talk Live
“Spit hoods, used by the police, are deadly :: Overreactions to the AIDS crisis caused a lot of bad pro cop laws :: Policing is inherently violent :: Robinhooding in Keene :: Institute for Justice cases :: We’re all presumed guilty by cops :: Cops destroying people’s houses when raiding all of the time :: Gov narrative on the Syria/ Assad over throw :: Cops shouldn’t be handling mental health breaks :: Cops are parasites :: NH Business free speech donut sign :: Ghost guns :: Kids should learn gun saftey :: 2024-12-16 :: Hosts: Bonnie and Mr. Penguin” (12/16/24)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/free-talk-live-2024-12-16
----------------------------------------------------------------------
FND is published every weekday except on holidays. Forward freely.
To subscribe or unsubscribe, visit:
http://groups.google.com/group/freedom-news-daily
Support the Liberty International (tax deductible)
https://liberty-intl.org/join-the-movement/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Presented by the Liberty International
https://liberty-intl.org/
Produced by the staff of Rational Review News Digest
https://news.rationalreview.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Today's Freedom News:
1) NATO takes over coordination of military aid to Kyiv regime, source says
2) Government Shutdown Theater: US Congress calls holiday intermission
3) Canada: Trudeau “considering resignation” after shock clash with finance minister
4) Idiot pol sues Des Moines Register for “election interference” over Iowa poll
5) Syria: Rebels to disband military wings and form army, leader says
6) Cocoa prices climb to new record high, prompting fresh warnings about extreme volatility
7) TX: Regime reveals plan to purchase auctioned border wall materials to store for Trump
8) Pope Francis reveals assassination attempt in new memoir
9) Sanders Rips Lawmakers Saying “We Don’t Have the Money” While Backing $900 Billion for Military
10) Alabama woman doing well after experimental pig kidney transplant
11) Los Zetas cartel boss re-arrested in Mexico after US jail time
12) Science: Two stars may be orbiting each other near supermassive black hole in Milky Way galaxy
13) NJ mayor: “They’re ‘looking for something” with the drones
14) IL: CBP gang’s local chapter brags on size of vape theft haul
15) Filipina who won last-minute reprieve from Indonesian firing squad now returning home
16) Bolivia: Regime issues arrest warrant for Morales over alleged minor trafficking
17) US airplane stowaway attempts fresh escape to Canada
18) TikTok asks SCOTUS for emergency order to block upcoming ban
19) Lawsuit accuses US State Department of creating loopholes for Israel on military aid & human rights
20) Philippines: Senate ratifies new military pact with Japanese regime
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Dean Baker (Unintentionally?) Makes The Case Against Fiat Currency
22) Biden’s Transformation From a Dove to a Hawk
23) Tariffs as a Substitute for Income Taxes? An Economic Reality Check
24) In Defence of Hate
25) Trump says his tariffs are dressing for revenge. Don’t believe him.
26) Can Trump Trump China (or Vice Versa)?
27) The Year of the Zealot
28) Government-run health care systems also deny or delay treatment
29) Peter Thiel Reveals How Scared Oligarchs Are Of The People
30) Autocrats, on the Knife’s Edge
31) Caitlin Clark, white privilege and me
32) The Decline and Fall of the Wall Street Journal
33) The Moral Shame of US Foreign Policy
34) To Make America Healthy Again Trump should get rid of PMTAs
35) Sanctions Relief for Syria Now
36) What Are Daniel Penny’s Politics?
37) To Bring Joy to America, End Weaponization of IRS
38) Invading Mexico Will Not Solve the Cartel Problem
39) The Trial of Daniel Penny
40) Biblical Originalism?
41) Solving the Housing Crisis Will Take More Than YIMBY
42) A Review of “The Age of Debt Bubbles”
43) The Hypocrisy of Bombing Iran
44) The King James Test for American Democracy
45) Biden may set dangerous new precedent with “pre-emptive” pardons
46) The Adoption Market
47) On Chief Executive Officers
48) Argentina’s Hard Reset: Milei’s Economic Reforms One Year Later
49) All the President’s Apologists
50) How Exclusionary Zoning Increases Homelessness
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) The Political Orphanage, 12/17/24
52) Conflicts of Interest, episode 729
53) The Bryan Hyde Show, 12/17/24
54) Parallel Society Podcast, 12/17/24
55) The Law and Liberty Podcast, 12/17/24
56) Pod Save America, 12/17/24
57) Agorist Nexus Podcast, episode 157
58) Advisory Opinions, 12/17/24
59) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 12/17/24
60) Free Talk Live, 12/16/24
vvvvv SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS vvvvv
ONE IDENTITY FOR ALL YOUR CRYPTO
https://fioprotocol.io/
LIBERTAS BELLA — LIBERTARIAN APPAREL
https://libertasbella.com/?rfsn=5518703.fba7280
SHOP ONLINE, COLLECT A REBATE IN BITCOIN!
https://www.lolli.com/share/MZB4cCpheL
THE CONSTITUTION OF NON-STATE GOVERNMENT: FIELD GUIDE TO TEXAS SECESSION, by TL Hulsey
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1947660853
Tyranny Demands AN ACT OF SELF-DEFENSE: A NOVEL BY ERNE LEWIS
https://tinyurl.com/actofselfdefense
^^^^^ SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS ^^^^^
_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) NATO takes over coordination of military aid to Kyiv regime, source says
Source: Reuters
“NATO has taken over coordination of Western military aid to Ukraine from the U.S. as planned, a source said on Tuesday, in a move widely seen as aiming to safeguard the support mechanism against NATO sceptic U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. The step, coming after a delay of several months, gives NATO a more direct role in the war against Russia’s invasion while stopping well short of committing its own forces. Diplomats, however, acknowledge that the handover to NATO may have a limited effect given that the U.S. under Trump could still deal a major setback to Ukraine by slashing its support, as it is the alliance’s dominant power and provides the majority of arms to Kyiv.” (12/17/24)
https://archive.is/09ctI
-----
2) Government Shutdown Theater: US Congress calls holiday intermission
Source: The Hill
“Congressional leaders have struck a bipartisan deal to keep the government funded beyond a looming Dec. 20 shutdown [sic] deadline. Legislation rolled out by leadership on Tuesday would kick the Friday funding deadline to March 14 to buy more time for the next Congress and incoming president to hash out how the government should be funded for much of next year. The newly unveiled 1,500-page package also features a host of add-ons, including a one-year farm bill extension, roughly $100 billion in disaster relief, about $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers, and other authorizations.” (12/17/24)
https://thehill.com/business/budget/5040567-government-funding-deal-shutdown-deadline/
-----
3) Canada: Trudeau “considering resignation” after shock clash with finance minister
Source: Independent [UK]
“Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau is reported to be considering stepping down amid a crisis that saw his own finance minister resign over Donald Trump’s threat to hike trade tariffs. Mr Trudeau told his cabinet that he is considering either resignation or prorogation – the process of ending the parliamentary session – according to the broadcaster CTV News. The prime minister is planning to address parliament on Tuesday, the report said. The episode represents one of the greatest challenges yet of Mr Trudeau’s nearly 10 years as prime minister. His approval rating, which was as high as 63 per cent when he was first elected, has repeatedly dipped below 30 per cent this year amid economic struggles, a housing shortage and disagreements about the issue of immigration. Some senior figures in Mr Trudeau’s own party have also called for him to resign ahead of a general election due before October next year.” (12/17/24)
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/justin-trudeau-resigning-canada-prime-minister-b2665485.html
-----
4) Idiot pol sues Des Moines Register for “election interference” over Iowa poll
Source: Axios
“President-elect Trump on Monday sued the Des Moines Register and its top pollster for ‘brazen election interference’ and ‘fraud’ over a poll the newspaper published showing him on track to lose Iowa in the 2024 presidential election, according to the complaint. The new lawsuit is a part of Trump’s broader effort to target media companies with legal action for coverage he [pretends to believe] is unfair. … The lawsuit alleges a violation of the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act, arguing that Trump and all Iowa and American voters were misled by the poll ‘for the improper purpose of deceptively influencing the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.'” (12/17/24)
https://www.axios.com/2024/12/17/trump-iowa-poll-election-lawsuit-des-moines-register
-----
5) Syria: Rebels to disband military wings and form army, leader says
Source: Financial Times [UK]
“The Syrian rebel groups that ousted Bashar al-Assad are to disband their military wings and form an army, the head of the most powerful faction said, as the new rulers seek to consolidate control over the country. Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), said the fighters would join an army that falls under the Ministry of Defence. ‘We have to adopt a state mentality, not an opposition mentality,’ Jolani, who recently began going by his birth name Ahmed al-Sharea, said. … The disbanding is a strategic move designed in part to ease restrictions on HTS, an Islamist group once affiliated with al-Qaeda and which remains on US and EU terror lists.” (12/17/24)
https://archive.is/kSkAu
-----
6) Cocoa prices climb to new record high, prompting fresh warnings about extreme volatility
Source: CNBC
“The price of chocolate’s key ingredient has skyrocketed this year, prompting analysts to issue fresh warnings about extreme price volatility. The New York Cocoa futures contract with March delivery traded as much as 1% higher at $11,938 per metric ton on Tuesday, notching yet another record high. It has since pared some of those gains, trading at $11,864 at around 8:20 a.m. ET. The benchmark contract, which hit an all-time intraday high of $11,925 in the previous session, is up over 180% year-to-date. It comes amid renewed concerns about adverse weather conditions and supply tightness in West Africa, home to around three-quarters of the world’s cocoa production. … Like cocoa, coffee prices have also soared in 2024, with analysts recently warning it could take years for one of the world’s most traded commodities to recover.” (12/17/24)
httpas://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/17/cocoa-prices-rally-to-record-high-prompting-fresh-volatility-warnings.html
-----
7) TX: Regime reveals plan to purchase auctioned border wall materials to store for Trump
Source: Fox News
“Officials in Texas say they are preparing to buy and store border wall materials being auctioned off by the federal government and keep them in place until the Trump administration takes office in January. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick reacted to reports of continued auctions of border wall materials that have been left near the border after the sudden stop of border wall construction in 2021. ‘I will bid on all of that wall, and we will buy it in Texas, and we will give it to Donald Trump,’ Patrick said on ‘The Ingraham Angle.’ ‘I’ve got a billion dollars in my pocket to do it,’ he said. His comments were supported by Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, who said she is ‘fully prepared’ to help in the effort..” (12/17/24)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/red-state-reveals-plan-purchase-auctioned-border-wall-materials-store-for-trump
-----
8) Pope Francis reveals assassination attempt in new memoir
Source: Semafor
“Pope Francis has revealed he was targeted in a failed assassination attempt during his 2021 visit to Iraq, according to excerpts of his upcoming memoir published in Italian media. UK intelligence warned Iraqi authorities — who in turn told Vatican security — that a woman wearing explosives was traveling to Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, with the intention of blowing herself up during the papal visit, the memoir revealed. A van traveled to the city with ‘the same intent,’ his security detail told the pope at the time.” (12/17/24)
https://www.semafor.com/article/12/17/2024/pope-francis-details-assassination-attempt-in-iraq
-----
9) Sanders Rips Lawmakers Saying “We Don’t Have the Money” While Backing $900 Billion for Military
Source: Common Dreams
“U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday derided those of his colleagues who claim it’s too expensive for the federal government to take ambitious action on national crises in housing and healthcare while simultaneously supporting a military budget that’s approaching $1 trillion a year. ‘I find it amusing that any time we come to the floor and members point out that we have a housing crisis, that we have some 600 million Americans who are homeless, that we have millions and millions of people in this country spending 40, 50, 60% of their limited incomes on housing and that we need to invest in low-income and affordable housing, what I hear is, ‘We don’t have the money!” Sanders (I-Vt.) said on the floor of the Senate.” (12/17/24)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/sanders-pentagon-budget
-----
10) Alabama woman doing well after experimental pig kidney transplant
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
“An Alabama woman is recovering well after a pig kidney transplant last month that freed her from eight years of dialysis, the latest effort to save human lives with animal organs. Towana Looney is the fifth American given a gene-edited pig organ — and notably, she isn’t as sick as prior recipients who died within two months of receiving a pig kidney or heart. ‘It’s like a new beginning,’ Looney, 53, told The Associated Press. Right away, ‘the energy I had was amazing. To have a working kidney — and to feel it — is unbelievable.’ Looney’s surgery marks an important step as scientists get ready for formal studies of xenotransplantation expected to begin next year, said Dr. Robert Montgomery of NYU Langone Health, who led the highly experimental procedure.” (12/17/24)
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2024/12/17/alabama-woman-experimental-pig-kidney-transplant/
-----
11) Los Zetas cartel boss re-arrested in Mexico after US jail time
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“The founder of the feared Los Zetas drugs cartel has been deported to Mexico after serving a lengthy jail sentence in the United States. Osiel Cardenas Guillen, 57, led Los Zetas until 2003, when he was cornered by Mexican soldiers near his hometown of Matamoros. Under his leadership, the group became one of the most powerful and brutal hit squads in the Mexican drug wars. US immigration officials handed Cardenas over to Mexican police at the Otay border crossing, where he was quickly re-arrested and taken to El Altiplano maximum security jail in Mexico state. Mexican prosecutors said he had been arrested on charges of murder and organised crime dating back to his time as one of the most powerful drug lords in Mexico.” (12/17/24)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c99xmp73ello
-----
12) Science: Two stars may be orbiting each other near supermassive black hole in Milky Way galaxy
Source: SFGate
“Scientists have spotted what appear to be two stars whipping around each other near the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Nearly every large galaxy has a supermassive black hole at its heart. The one in the middle of the Milky Way, called Sagittarius A (with an asterisk denoting star), is about 4 million times more massive than our sun and is relatively quiet, occasionally swallowing gas or dust that comes its way. Scientists know stars can form near and even orbit these black hole behemoths, but they’ve never seen a pair of stars survive so close by. The research was published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications. The celestial sighting is interesting and unusual, and more research is needed to be certain of what the objects are, said astrophysicist Anna Ciurlo with the University of California, Los Angeles.” (12/17/24)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/two-stars-may-be-orbiting-each-other-near-a-19985988.php
-----
13) NJ mayor: “They’re ‘looking for something” with the drones
Source: New York Post
“A New Jersey mayor warned Tuesday that the troubling drone sightings over the state may be linked to missing radioactive material, although federal officials say the amount poses no serious threat either way. Belleville Mayor Michael Melham said the drones flying in a grid-like pattern over his Essex County township appear to be ‘looking for something.’ ‘What might they be looking for? Maybe that’s radioactive material,’ Melham told Fox TV’s ‘Good Day New York.’ ‘It was a shipment. It arrived at its destination. The container was damaged, and it was empty,’ Melham said. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued an alert earlier this week regarding a piece of medical equipment used for cancer scans that was ‘lost in transit’ Dec. 2 while being shipped from the Nazha Cancer Center in Newfield in Gloucester County in southern New Jersey.” (12/17/24)
https://nypost.com/2024/12/17/us-news/missing-radioactive-material-in-new-jersey-sparks-drone-theories/
-----
14) IL: CBP gang’s local chapter brags on size of vape theft haul
Source: United Press International
“U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Chicago made 121 [thefts] over the past year, containing more than 3.2 million banned Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems worth more than $81.5 million. … ‘Criminals are using every means imaginable to expand the reach of their illicit enterprises,’ said Mike Pfeiffer, Chicago Area Port Director. ‘The sales from illegal goods are used to fuel further criminal activities such as the trafficking of drugs, defrauding innocent people and purchases of illegal weapons.’ Customs and Border Patrol [steals] millions of counterfeit goods from countries around the world to protect [in the mafia usage of the word] U.S. businesses and consumers.” (12/17/24)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2024/12/16/chicago-customs-border-seizures-electronic-nicotine-delivery/7631734409164/
-----
15) Filipina who won last-minute reprieve from Indonesian firing squad now returning home
Source: SFGate
“Indonesian authorities have returned a Filipina woman to the Philippines who had been on death row and nearly executed by firing squad in Indonesia in 2015, after a longstanding request from her home country. Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso had spent almost 15 years in prison for drug trafficking but won a last-minute reprieve that will lead to her testimony exposing how a criminal syndicate duped her into being an unwitting accomplice and drug courier. Veloso was moved late Sunday from a female prison in Yogyakarta to Indonesia’s capital of Jakarta, then escorted Tuesday night for a flight to Manila. Her repatriation was made possible by ‘a practical arrangement’ for the transfer of prisoners signed between the two countries on Dec. 6. Her transfer removes the possibility of execution. The Philippines, Asia’s largest Roman Catholic nation, has long abolished the death penalty.” (12/17/24)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/filipina-who-won-a-last-minute-reprieve-from-the-19985919.php
-----
16) Bolivia: Regime issues arrest warrant for Morales over alleged minor trafficking
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“Bolivian authorities have issued an arrest warrant for ex-President Evo Morales, accused of trafficking a 15-year-old during his tenure from 2006 to 2019. Prosecutor Sandra Gutierrez confirmed the warrant was issued on Oct. 16, delayed announcement due to the case’s complexity and Morales'[s] vehement denials. … Days before the warrant was granted, supporters of Morales initiated a series of grassroots protests by forming roadblocks across highways across the country, with the blockades lasting 23 days. Despite the upheaval, Gutierrez confirmed police operations were initiated to arrest Morales, who has since taken refuge in the central province of Chapare, a political stronghold of his. ‘It was impossible to proceed with the execution of the arrest warrant against this citizen … many police officers were victims of aggression and attempted murder on behalf of the blockade protesters,’ Gutierrez said.” (12/17/24)
https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20241217-bolivia-prosecutor-morales-arrest-warrant-trafficking-minor
-----
17) US airplane stowaway attempts fresh escape to Canada
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“A stowaway who allegedly flew from New York to Paris without a ticket last month has been arrested again for trying to escape by bus from the US to Canada. Svetlana Dali made the attempt after cutting off an ankle monitor that she had been given to wear after the earlier offence, US media reported. A New York court mandated that she wear the monitor after allegedly flying on a Delta Airlines flight from New York’s JFK International Airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport without a boarding pass. During a court hearing, she was ordered not leave Philadelphia unless she was going to New York for meetings regarding her trial. She was arrested in Buffalo, New York, on Monday, and is due to appear in court Tuesday afternoon.” (12/17/24)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd60n28vjqlo
-----
18) TikTok asks SCOTUS for emergency order to block upcoming ban
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“TikTok on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step in on an emergency basis to block the federal law that would ban the popular platform in the United States unless its China-based parent company, ByteDance, agreed to sell it. Lawyers for the company and ByteDance urged the justices to step in before the law’s Jan. 19 deadline. A similar plea was filed by content creators who rely on the platform for income and some of TikTok’s more than 170 million users in the U.S. … The companies have said that a shutdown lasting just a month would cause TikTok to lose significant advertising revenue and about a third of its daily users in the U.S. The case could attract the court’s interest because it pits free speech rights against the government’s [bullshit claims] of protecting national security, while raising novel issues about social media platforms.” (12/16/24)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/tiktok-ban-supreme-court-1.7411997
-----
19) Lawsuit accuses US State Department of creating loopholes for Israel on military aid & human rights
Source: SFGate
“The State Department has carved out loopholes for Israel that give the close American ally a pass on U.S. law that restricts aid to foreign militaries over human rights abuses, a lawsuit from a group of Palestinians in Gaza and American relatives asserts Tuesday. Former State Department officials and crafters of the 1997 Leahy law were among those advising and backing the lawsuit. The lawsuit details the barriers it accuses the State Department of creating on behalf of Israel to skirt enforcement and asks courts to intervene. … ‘It’s really a modest set of goals here: There’s a U.S. law. We’d like the federal government to adhere to U.S. law,’ said Ahmed Moor, a Philadelphia-based Palestinian American who joined the lawsuit on behalf of cousins, uncles and aunts displaced and killed in the 14-month war.” (12/17/24)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/lawsuit-accuses-state-department-of-creating-19986171.php
-----
20) Philippines: Senate ratifies new military pact with Japanese regime
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“The Philippines has ratified a new defence pact with Japan that would allow each country’s military to deploy on each other’s soil amid increased regional tensions with China. The Philippine Senate announced the ratification in a statement on Monday, saying it would ‘enhance the interoperability’ between Japanese and Philippine forces. … The agreement between the two countries was signed in July over shared concerns about China’s growing assertiveness in the region and confrontations between Philippine and Chinese naval vessels in contested areas of the South China Sea. China claims much of the South China Sea, a key focal point for global shipping, but these claims are disputed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. Known as the reciprocal access agreement (RAA), Japanese lawmakers must also now ratify the agreement for it to be fully implemented.” (12/17/24)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/17/philippines-ratifies-new-military-defence-pact-with-japan
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Dean Baker (Unintentionally?) Makes The Case Against Fiat Currency
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“‘Bitcoin,’ economist Dean Baker argues at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, ‘won’t put food on the table. Bitcoin also won’t put gas in your car or provide medical care for your family. … Bitcoin doesn’t actually produce these items or anything else that we directly consume.’ Baker is absolutely right. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies don’t produce the various goods or services that we directly consume. Neither, however, do dollars, euros, rubles, rupees, etc. produce the various goods or services that we directly consume. For the most part, that is. Dollars, euros, rubles, rupees, etc. — and Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies — do produce one thing, and it’s possibly the most important of all consumables: Trust.” (12/17/24)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/19236
-----
22) Biden’s Transformation From a Dove to a Hawk
Source: Reason
by Matthew Petti
“President Joe Biden came to office promising to end ‘forever war,’ and that’s the promise that could have been the easiest to fulfill. When it comes to war and peace, the U.S. president is more powerful than anyone else on earth. His promise was put to the test with the Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel. With each crisis, Biden seems to have grown more hawkish, embroiling the United States deeper in foreign wars.” (for publication 01/25/24)
https://reason.com/2024/12/17/from-dove-to-hawk/
-----
23) Tariffs as a Substitute for Income Taxes? An Economic Reality Check
Source: The Daily Economy
by Dorothy Chan & Peter C Earle
“US president-elect Donald Trump has floated a seemingly radical policy idea, although it goes back to the early days of the American nation: financing the Federal government with revenue from tariffs rather than income taxes. … while reviving such a policy might appear a bold reimagining of fiscal policy, it is in reality deeply problematic. Trump’s claim that tariffs are a tax on a foreign country misconstrues common economic understanding of the domestic impacts of tariffs, including on employment, economic growth, and national debt, let alone impairing international relationships. This policy, if enacted, would likely result in job losses, lower growth, inflation, larger federal deficits, and other potential side effects.” (12/17/24)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/tariffs-as-a-substitute-for-income-taxes-an-economic-reality-check/
-----
24) In Defence of Hate
Source: Students For Liberty
by Daniel B Klein
“Governments and their allies are using the label of ‘hate’ to censor people. The speech they hate they call ‘hate speech.’ Before we start hating on censorship, let’s put aside the ugliness of politics and get straight on hate. Is it improper to hate?” (12/17/24)
https://studentsforliberty.org/blog/in-defence-of-hate/
-----
25) Trump says his tariffs are dressing for revenge. Don’t believe him.
Source: Washington Post
by Ramesh Ponnuru
“Howard Lutnick, Donald Trump’s choice to be commerce secretary, suggested at a news conference with Trump on Monday that ‘reciprocity’ would be the watchword for the new administration’s trade policy. The president-elect agreed: ‘If they tax us, we’ll tax them the same amount.’ It’s an attractive idea. It sounds fair, and frames the alternative as letting other countries take advantage of us. ‘Our country loses to everybody,’ Trump groused to the gathered media. Even free traders might think reciprocal tariffs are a useful tactic to get other countries to let in U.S. exports. But the idea has a track record, as does Trump. Those records belie the sales pitch.” (12/17/24)
https://archive.is/bA7yB
-----
26) Can Trump Trump China (or Vice Versa)?
Source: TomDispatch
by Michael Klare
“Gaza, Haiti, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Russia, Syria, Ukraine, and Venezuela: President-elect Donald Trump will face no shortage of foreign-policy challenges when he assumes office in January. None, however, comes close to China in scope, scale, or complexity. No other country has the capacity to resist his predictable antagonism with the same degree of strength and tenacity, and none arouses more hostility and outrage among MAGA Republicans. In short, China is guaranteed to put President Trump in a difficult bind the second time around: he can either choose to cut deals with Beijing and risk being branded an appeaser by the China hawks in his party, or he can punish and further encircle Beijing, risking a potentially violent clash and possibly even nuclear escalation.” (12/17/24)
https://tomdispatch.com/trump-confronts-a-rising-china/
-----
27) The Year of the Zealot
Source: Consent Factory, Inc.
by CJ Hopkins
“It was the best of years, it was the worst of years, it was a year of brilliance, it was a year of buffoonery, it was a year of faith, it was a year of incredulity, it was a year of expectation, it was a year of tribulation, it was a year of uncertainty, and passionate intensity, and monomania, and paranoia, and fanatical fervor. I’m designating it ‘The Year of the Zealot.’ Now, before I review the cavalcade of bug-eyed zealotry that the year comprised, let me say a few words about zealotry. Because I get it. I understand the attraction.” (12/17/24)
https://consentfactory.org/2024/12/17/the-year-of-the-zealot/
-----
28) Government-run health care systems also deny or delay treatment
Source: The Hill
by Merrill Matthews
“Many critics of the U.S. health care system claim the tragic murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson is understandable because health insurance companies occasionally refuse to cover certain medical treatments. And they often assert that if the country were to embrace a U.K. or Canadian-style government-run health care system, no one would be denied care. Those critics are either misinformed or intentionally trying to deceive the public, because government-run health care systems frequently delay or deny needed medical care.” (12/17/24)
https://thehill.com/opinion/5043364-health-care-systems-problems/
-----
29) Peter Thiel Reveals How Scared Oligarchs Are Of The People
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Billionaire Peter Thiel had a fascinating televised moment the other day when asked by Piers Morgan what he thought about the public making a hero of the man suspected of murdering health insurance CEO Brian Thompson. The way he stumbled and stuttered when trying to answer the question gives a lot of insight into how terrified such people are of the public turning against them one day. ‘And to those who think this shooter is a hero, because he did it because he said this healthcare executive is presiding over a healthcare system which kills thousands of Americans by denying them cover, what would you say to them?’ Morgan asked. Thiel paused for a long time, and then stuttered for a long time …” (12/17/24)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2024/12/17/peter-thiel-reveals-how-scared-oligarchs-are-of-the-people/
-----
30) Autocrats, on the Knife’s Edge
Source: The Dispatch
by Kevin D Williamson
“When people in the West are reading about civil unrest in China, things in China are bad — normally, Beijing does a reasonably effective job of suffocating news about domestic political discontent. As the Wall Street Journal reports, there has been a rush of knife attacks, vehicular homicides, and things of that nature that have the men who rule China on the edge. I do not have a lot of the hell-raising Jefferson-Jackson element in me — I’m an Adams-Adams-Eisenhower man — but, upon reading the Journal’s report, my first thought was: ‘These people need guns. Lots of guns.'” (12/17/24)
https://thedispatch.com/article/autocrats-on-the-knifes-edge/
-----
31) Caitlin Clark, white privilege and me
Source: Fox News Forum
by Corey Brooks
“I have been following the rise of WNBA star Caitlin Clark since her Iowa University days. I am a hoops man myself and I’ve seen so many flashes in the pan, but I knew there was something different, something solid about Clark from the get-go. In her eyes and in the hustle of her game, I could see that she had that determin[ation], that no-quit factor that the greats have. There are others with more talent but not that killer instinct. She has both and that’s what makes her so dynamic to watch — her basketball charisma is undeniable. That is why I was disappointed to hear her tell Time magazine after winning the ‘Athlete of the Year’ that she benefits from [w]hite privilege. The magazine quotes Clark saying: ‘I’ve earned every single thing, but as a white person, there is privilege.'” (12/17/24)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/caitlin-clark-white-privilege
-----
32) The Decline and Fall of the Wall Street Journal
Source: The Bulwark
by Mona Charen
“Many American institutions have beclowned themselves in the past ten years — too many to list. To count the right-leaning institutions that have not succumbed to Trumpian populism takes only one hand. But the decline of the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page has been particularly galling because, compared to the Heritage Foundation, Hillsdale College, or the Claremont Institute, it had farther to fall. … In the Trump era, the Journal has become, if not Pravda, then something like the Nation. The Nation reliably whitewashed the sins of the Soviet Union and other communist regimes because it regarded anti-communism as a greater threat to the world than communism itself. Similarly, the Wall Street Journal has gradually become a parody of itself on the grounds that Democrats are always and forever the greatest threat to the country.” (12/17/24)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/the-decline-and-fall-of-the-wall-street-journal
-----
33) The Moral Shame of US Foreign Policy
Source: Common Dreams
by Mark Harris
“The election of former President Donald Trump to another term as U.S. president has been cause for profound despair among millions of Democratic voters. Certainly anyone who cares about human and democratic rights can only feel dismay about the return of this notorious megalomaniac to the White House. But worse than the election results is another deflating reality. Neither major party candidate represented a challenge to U.S. complicity in Israel’s horrific war on the people and land of Gaza. The presidential election proved to be a choice between two electable candidates, manifestly different on the surface, yet neither of whom was capable of taking a principled stand against the worst crime imaginable: genocide. Consider that reality for a moment.” (12/17/24)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/moral-shame-us-foreign-policy
-----
34) To Make America Healthy Again Trump should get rid of PMTAs
Source: Orange County Register
by Peter Clark
“The incoming Trump administration made many promises on the Campaign trail. Among these are assurances that he would revitalize U.S. business, to ‘save vaping.’ He can kill two birds with one stone by eliminating the Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) process for e-cigarettes. In so doing, he would affirm free enterprise and individual liberty as the foundation of prosperity. Currently, the FDA mandates vape producers to submit PMTAs before having approval to sell their products in the U.S., a process that ranges in cost from $28,566-$2,595,224 …. The FDA has only approved 34 e-cigarettes for sale. These requirements pose significant barriers to entry for vaping products and only make it harder for smokers to quit. If the Trump administration is serious about American health and business, it should be looking to cut the red tape.” (12/17/24)
https://archive.is/0qCYY
-----
35) Sanctions Relief for Syria Now
Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison
“The U.S. should have lifted these sanctions years ago, and now that Assad is out of power there is no excuse for continuing this policy.” (12/17/24)
https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/sanctions-relief-for-syria-now
-----
36) What Are Daniel Penny’s Politics?
Source: RealClearPolitics
by Froma Harrop
“Donald Trump put Penny on display at the Army-Navy Football Game, having him join the retinue of his uniquely unqualified Cabinet picks. J.D. Vance wrote on X that ‘New York’s mob district attorney tried to ruin his (Penny’s) life for having a backbone.’ I’m glad Alvin Bragg followed through on a second-degree manslaughter charge after the medical examiner declared the death to be a homicide. That gave a New York jury the opportunity to look at the facts and, in this case, clear the defendant’s name. It is notable that when past Manhattan juries ruled against Trump, MAGA accused New York of being a venue hopelessly biased against the ex-president. Penny’s acquitters came from the same jury pool. Penny’s lawyer said his client was not making a political statement by joining Trump and company at the football game.” (12/17/24)
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2024/12/17/_what_are_daniel_pennys_politics_152098.html
-----
37) To Bring Joy to America, End Weaponization of IRS
Source: Town Hall
by Stephen Moore
“One of the highest priorities for the incoming Trump administration should be to end the Democrats’ weaponization of powerful government agencies against taxpayers and businesses they don’t like. Nowhere has this mission been more pernicious than the party-line vote to fund the IRS with nearly $80 billion and hire tens of thousands of new tax snoops. By the way, according to the IRS press office, the additional audits have so far raised less than $2 billion, far less than the additional expenditures. So how is this program ‘paying for itself?’ This was never about seeking tax fairness as liberals claimed. It was about unleashing an aggressive, permanent and unchecked enforcement assault on U.S. taxpayers to rake in more tax dollars to pay for liberals’ political agenda.” (12/17/24)
https://townhall.com/columnists/stephenmoore/2024/12/17/to-bring-joy-to-america-end-the-weaponization-of-the-irs-n2649153
-----
38) Invading Mexico Will Not Solve the Cartel Problem
Source: The American Conservative
by Brandan Buck
“The further militarization of the war on drugs, especially unilateral military action within Mexico, would jeopardize two of the Trump administration’s big-ticket agenda items: controlling illegal [sic] immigration and countering a rising China. … Such tradeoffs could perhaps be excused if the use of American military force against the cartels came with a high probability of success. Yet a cursory look at the strategic picture suggests otherwise.” (12/17/24)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/invading-mexico-will-not-solve-the-cartel-problem/
-----
39) The Trial of Daniel Penny
Source: Quillette
by Eli Steele
“Perhaps the most damaging aspect of Bragg’s racial-equity regime as Manhattan DA has been the perception of racial unfairness it created in one of America’s most racially diverse cities.” (12/17/24)
https://quillette.com/2024/12/17/the-trial-of-daniel-penny-jordan-neely-alvin-bragg-blm/
-----
40) Biblical Originalism?
Source: Law & Liberty
by Andrew D Graham
“When a religious teacher questioned Jesus on the law, Jesus answered, ‘How do you read it?’ (Luke 10:26). That’s fundamentally the same question that lawyers routinely face from the courts in cases involving the interpretation of legal documents, including the Constitution. That question motivates a new book of nine essays edited by Mark J. Boone and Mark D. Eckel, entitled Originalism in Theology and Law: Comparing Perspectives on the Bible and Constitution. Fittingly, Boone’s introduction begins with George W. Bush’s short-lived nomination of Harriet Miers to the United States Supreme Court.” (12/17/24)
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/biblical-originalism/
-----
41) Solving the Housing Crisis Will Take More Than YIMBY
Source: The American Prospect
by Robert Kuttner
“The YIMBY movement is being touted as a major solution to the shortage of affordable housing. YIMBY stands for ‘Yes In My Backyard’, the opposite of NIMBY. YIMBY would alter zoning codes that favor or require single-family housing, to make it easier to free land to build apartments, especially affordable ones, and remove other obstacles. The Prospect recently ran a smart piece by Robert Cruickshank on YIMBY strategies, and our former colleague Matt Yglesias is obsessed by the idea. I don’t want to throw too much cold water on YIMBY, which can help. But we should be clear that it is only a small part of the solution. The housing shortage is massive, and curing it will take a lot more than YIMBY.” (12/17/24)
https://prospect.org/infrastructure/housing/2024-12-17-solving-housing-crisis-more-than-yimby/
-----
42) A Review of “The Age of Debt Bubbles”
Source: Cobden Centre
by James Turk
“This excellent book does much more than analyse historic and current market bubbles caused by excessive debt. Essays by several authors – with extensive references – offer a deep dive into the damage central banks are doing to economic activity with consequences that hinder progress toward humanity’s quest for ever higher standards of living.” (12/17/24)
https://www.cobdencentre.org/2024/12/a-review-of-the-age-of-debt-bubbles/
-----
43) The Hypocrisy of Bombing Iran
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ted Snider
“[T]hat Trump is considering bombing Iranian nuclear facilities because he is concerned that Iran could build a nuclear bomb during his term as president is laden with hypocrisy almost too obvious to mention. There are three glaring hypocrisies. The first is that …. there would be no risk of Iran developing a nuclear bomb during Trump’s second term had Trump not killed the JCPOA nuclear deal in his first term. The second is that there is no intelligence basis for Trump’s concern nor for his consideration of airstrikes on Iran. Trump has no reason to believe that Iran is building a nuclear bomb. … The third is the hypocrisy of considering pre-emptively bombing a sovereign country while lecturing the world on international law.” (12/17/24)
https://original.antiwar.com/ted_snider/2024/12/16/the-hypocrisy-of-bombing-iran/
-----
44) The King James Test for American Democracy
Source: JimBovard.com
by James Bovard
“On December 1, President Joe Biden announced that he was pardoning his son Hunter for all the crimes he committed from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024. Biden’s sweeping pardon of all of his son’s abuses epitomizes how presidents and their families are now above the law. It also illustrates how the ‘King James Test for American Democracy’ could become the death of the Constitution. The American Revolution was heavily influenced by a political backlash that began across the ocean in the early 1600s. King James I claimed a ‘divine right’ to unlimited power in England, sparking fierce clashes with Parliament. Since the 9/11 attacks, some of the same moral and legal principles have been advanced in this nation, but few people recognize the historical roots.” (12/16/24)
https://jimbovard.com/blog/2024/12/16/the-king-james-test-for-american-democracy/
-----
45) Biden may set dangerous new precedent with “pre-emptive” pardons
Source: New York Post
by Jonathan Turley
“There are growing indications that President Biden is about to fundamentally change the use of presidential pardons by granting ‘prospective’ or ‘pre-emptive’ pardons to political allies. Despite repeated denials by President-elect Donald Trump that he is seeking retaliation against opponents and wants ‘success [to be] my revenge,’ Democratic politicians and pundits have called for up to thousands of such pardons. While there is little threat of any viable prosecution of figures like the members of the House’s Jan. 6 committee, the use of ‘white knight pardons’ offers obvious political benefits.” [editor’s note: It wouldn’t be establishing a precedent, “dangerous” or otherwise. Ford pardoned Nixon prior to him being charged with any crime – TLK] (12/16/24)
https://nypost.com/2024/12/16/opinion/joe-biden-may-set-a-dangerous-new-precedent-with-preemptive-pardons/
-----
46) The Adoption Market
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“Quite a long time ago, when our children were still children, they decided that they wanted kittens so we took a trip to the local Humane Society. … We ended up spending several hours waiting in line to receive one of a small number of permissions to adopt a pet, filling out forms, and then being interviewed by a Humane Society employee to make sure we were suitable adopters. What was puzzling about the experience was that kittens were and are a good in excess supply. The Humane Society had more of them … than it could find homes for …. Yet the Humane Society was deliberately making it costly, in time and effort, to adopt a kitten, and trying to select which lucky people got to do so, despite their knowledge that the alternative to being adopted was not another adoption but death. Why?” (12/16/24)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/the-adoption-market
-----
47) On Chief Executive Officers
Source: Waste No More Time
by Nicholas Sarwark
“Corporations and governments being legal entities that aren’t natural persons, they still require natural persons to direct their efforts. This is an incredible amount of power for a person to have. CEOs of some of the larger public companies can direct the efforts of thousands of people and millions of dollars by sending a text message. They can buy entire media outlets to present the best face of their company to the public. They can change elections. The killing of a CEO is a reminder that with great power comes great responsibility. The corporation is a fictional person but the CEO is a very real human being, as is a leader of a government. When the legal fictions start to break down in holding the organization accountable for abuse, people have historically taken their grievances to the Chief Executive Officers of corporations and governments.” (12/16/24)
https://nsarwark.substack.com/p/on-chief-executive-officers
-----
48) Argentina’s Hard Reset: Milei’s Economic Reforms One Year Later
Source: Independent Institute
by Alvaro Vargas Llosa
“When Javier Milei assumed office a year ago, skeptics saw three potential risks. One, he might take an authoritarian turn, subverting liberal democracy. Two, his libertarian agenda could stall under the constraints of an opposition-controlled Congress and powerful and socialist unions, that his libertarian agenda would stall. Three, the pain of shock therapy would destroy his popular base, leaving him politically neutered. None of those fears have materialized. Despite Milei’s combative rhetoric and some political maneuvering that has seen him flirt with unpalatable members of the political or judicial ‘caste’ he despises, Milei has largely operated within democratic norms. He’s made significant progress on fiscal, monetary, and deregulatory reforms, warning Argentines upfront that sacrifices would be necessary to undo decades of economic mismanagement. Polls show that, despite hardship, half the country still supports him.” (12/16/24)
https://blog.independent.org/2024/12/16/argentina-milei-economic-reforms-one-year-later/
-----
49) All the President’s Apologists
Source: In These Times
by Caleb Brennan
“If the Richard Nixon Foundation transfers your call, a haunting song chimes through the receiver. It’s the disgraced president’s 1972 reelection song, ’More Than Ever,’ the upbeat, School of Rock-esque fanfare that was once pumped into millions of televisions 52 years ago. ‘More than ever we need Nixon now!’ sings a choir as sturdy horns, snares and piano chords crescendo. But transmitted through a landline, the tune curdles into something more like a funeral dirge. I was calling the guardians of Nixon’s endowment because I wanted to understand how a man once cast into the dustbin of history has come to experience a renaissance. In recent years, the foundation has become active online, framing Tricky Dick not as a craven megalomaniac but a champion of the people, and — in tandem with popular conservative pundits and leaders — has sought to rewrite the story of Watergate as a kind of putsch via bureaucratic cabal.” (12/17/24)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/all-the-presidents-apologists
-----
50) How Exclusionary Zoning Increases Homelessness
Source: The Volokh Conspiracy
by Ilya Somin
“Homelessness has been in the news a great deal lately, and become a major focus of public debate. I’ve written previously about how homelessness is greatly exacerbated by exclusionary zoning rules and other restrictions that make it difficult or impossible to build new housing in response to demand. Much evidence indicates that the expansion of homelessness in recent years is primarily a problem of housing availability, rather than increasing incidence of social problems like mental illness, alcoholism, or drug abuse.” (12/16/24)
https://reason.com/volokh/2024/12/16/how-exclusionary-zoning-increases-homelessness/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) The Political Orphanage, 12/17/24
Source: The Political Orphanage
“The Original War on Christmas.” (12/17/24)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/the-original-war-on-christmas
-----
52) Conflicts of Interest, episode 729
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Assad Makes First Statement Since Fleeing Syria.” (12/17/24)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/kyle/coi-729-assad-makes-first-statement-since-fleeing-syria
-----
53) The Bryan Hyde Show, 12/17/24
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
“It’s my weekly conversation with Eric Peters from Eric Peters Autos. Eric can always be counted on for a rational take on our unpredictable world.” (12/17/24)
https://www.podbean.com/ep/pb-i5h7i-17760ad
-----
54) Parallel Society Podcast, 12/17/24
Source: Freeman’s Perspective
‘The Kingdom of God.” (12/17/24)
https://freemansperspective.com/podcast-the-kingdom-of-god/
-----
55) The Law and Liberty Podcast, 12/17/24
Source: Law & Liberty
“Optimism for the Western Project.” (12/17/24)
https://lawliberty.org/podcast/optimism-for-the-western-project/
-----
56) Pod Save America, 12/17/24
Source: Crooked Media
“Is Biden Quiet Quitting?” (12/17/24)
https://stitcher.simplecastaudio.com/9aa1e238-cbed-4305-9808-c9228fc6dd4f/episodes/83edcb9a-8157-4fa4-ae9e-f972615f75e9/audio/128/default.mp3
-----
57) Agorist Nexus Podcast, episode 157
Source: Agorist Nexus
“Crypto Secrets, Border Paradoxes, and the Agorist Whisper with Sal Mayweathe.” (12/17/24)
https://www.agoristnexus.com/crypto-secrets-border-paradoxes-and-the-agorist-whisper-with-sal-mayweather-157/
-----
58) Advisory Opinions, 12/17/24
Source: The Dispatch
“Southern Squabbles.” (12/16/24)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/advisoryopinions/southern-squabbles/
-----
59) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 12/17/24
Source: Antiwar.com
“US Bombs Syria and Claims ISIS Fighters Killed, Israel Kills 52 More Palestinians in Gaza, and More.” (12/17/24)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJnxZMw-XXs
-----
60) Free Talk Live, 12/16/24
Source: Free Talk Live
“Spit hoods, used by the police, are deadly :: Overreactions to the AIDS crisis caused a lot of bad pro cop laws :: Policing is inherently violent :: Robinhooding in Keene :: Institute for Justice cases :: We’re all presumed guilty by cops :: Cops destroying people’s houses when raiding all of the time :: Gov narrative on the Syria/ Assad over throw :: Cops shouldn’t be handling mental health breaks :: Cops are parasites :: NH Business free speech donut sign :: Ghost guns :: Kids should learn gun saftey :: 2024-12-16 :: Hosts: Bonnie and Mr. Penguin” (12/16/24)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/free-talk-live-2024-12-16
----------------------------------------------------------------------
FND is published every weekday except on holidays. Forward freely.
To subscribe or unsubscribe, visit:
http://groups.google.com/group/freedom-news-daily
Support the Liberty International (tax deductible)
https://liberty-intl.org/join-the-movement/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages