08/03 -- Blanche Gives GOP Senators Written Assurances on Trump's IRS Scam; How "School Choice" Makes Every School a Government School, Florida Edition
8 views
Skip to first unread message
Thomas L. Knapp
Aug 3, 2026, 6:05:14 AM (2 days ago) Aug 3
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 08/03/26
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Presented by the Liberty International
https://liberty-intl.org/
Produced by the staff of Rational Review News Digest
More News, More Commentary, More Audio/Video at Our Web Edition!
https://news.rationalreview.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Today's Freedom News:
1) Blanche Gives GOP Senators Written Assurances on Trump’s IRS Scam
2) Pakistan: Suicide bomber kills 14
3) US regime agrees to pause attacks on Iran subject to “rapidly” making deal, Trump says
4) Russia: Ukrainian drones kill five, set fire to Wildberries warehouse
5) Family to sue after woman released by ICE gang kidnappers froze to death
6) Hungary: Regime plans to shut down only nuclear power plant amid drought
7) Bitcoin cold-wallet attack spreads to 4,500 addresses as losses near $89 million
8) Icelanding pirates steal ship, abduct crew
9) Cyberattacks on water systems spread to seven US states
10) Russia: At least three killed in Moscow restaurant bombing
11) OH: Lawyer for pol’s ex-wife files for restraining order as abuse allegations swirl
12) IL: Cop who murdered Sonya Massey denied medical release from prison
13) ID: Armed citizen opens fire on In-N-Out gunman
14) FIFA drops plan to sell stakes in the World Cup after backlash
15) Hundreds of flights cancelled as workers strike at Canada’s WestJet
16) Trump appeals judge’s ruling that accused him of manipulating courts in IRS lawsuit
17) Satellite images show evidence of oil leak spreading from sanctioned vessel near Oman
18) Peru: Humala released after conviction overturned
19) Study finds California farmland is sinking shockingly fast
20) US DOJ admits Reflecting Pool renovation was “hasty and botched,” drops case against former Olympian
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) How “School Choice” Makes Every School a Government School, Florida Edition
22) The Yearning for Stasis
23) The dishonesty inside Trump’s new tariff plan
24) How Federal Overspending Causes Your High Grocery Bills
25) Joe Biden confessed to everything on tape
26) Reflecting Pool controversy is mirror for our broken politics
27) Is AI Leading Us Inexorably Towards Dystopian Collectivism?
28) Aggression? Or self-defense?
29) Taxes Need a Rebrand
30) Censorship never stops with just two words
31) West Point Professor Challenges Ban on “Un-American, Divisive…Radical, Extremist, and Irrational Theories”
32) Americans Hate the Two-Party System But Don’t Know What Should Replace It, ISMA Populism Survey Finds
33) Let’s Stay Human
34) Medical Segregation: A Coming Coup in American Medical Care?
35) The Automated Overton Window
36) The applause that disrupted nothing — yet still led to an arrest
37) The Tuition Rule 14 States Decided to Ignore
38) What happens when the US drives away the world’s best talent?
39) Trump’s Tariffs Will Cost Each American Household $900 in 2026
40) The Folly of “Golden Age” Dreams
41) Hubert Harrison, the Greatest Civil Rights Activist You’ve Never Heard Of
42) Section 219: More Than a Defense Provision – The Battle Over the Future of US-Israel Relations
43) Party elites so blind they can’t see their base turning against the war
44) Are You Rich?
45) The Fifth for Fauci and the Administrative State
46) AI Won’t Destroy Work — It Will Just Change It
47) Democracy + Bureaucracy = Idiocracy
48) A Libertarian Case for Regulating Sports Betting
49) Abdul El-Sayed In Fight to Transform Democratic Party
50) Zelensky’s Caspian Gambit Failed — for Now
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Pink Flame of Liberty, 08/01/26
52) Free Talk Live, 08/01/26
53) Nonzero, 07/31/26
54) Show-Me Institute Podcast, 07/31/26
55) Fountainhead Forum, episode 474
56) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 07/31/26
57) The Housewives Underground: A Video Commentary
58) SolutionsWatch, 07/31/26
59) Freakonomics Radio, episode 683
60) Ted Galen Carpenter on The Scott Horton Show
vvvvv SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS vvvvv
HOW INDEPENDENT ARE "YOUR" CONGRESS/SENATE MEMBERS?
https://congressionalindependence.deathbutt.org/
SAMUEL EDWARD KONKIN III REVOLUTIONARY FRIEND BY WENDY MCELROY
https://www.amazon.com/Samuel-Edward-Konkin-Revolutionary-Friend-ebook/dp/B0DP7B6127
SHARE YOUR OPINIONS. EARN POINTS. REDEEM POINTS FOR AWARDS
https://account.yougov.com/us-en/join?referral=eAi-FP2i9s1Jzb5lj2zw5A
THE CONSTITUTION OF NON-STATE GOVERNMENT: FIELD GUIDE TO TEXAS SECESSION (2nd edition), by TL Hulsey
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1883853117
Tyranny Demands AN ACT OF SELF-DEFENSE: A NOVEL BY ERNE LEWIS
https://tinyurl.com/actofselfdefense
^^^^^ SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS ^^^^^
_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Blanche Gives GOP Senators Written Assurances on Trump’s IRS Scam
Source: New York Times
“Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, confirmed in writing on Sunday night that the Justice Department would abandon elements of the deal it struck with President Trump to resolve his lawsuit against the I.R.S., conceding to demands from Republican senators who had threatened to block his nomination as attorney general. The Republican holdouts, Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, had vowed that they would not confirm Mr. Blanche for the role unless he provided written assurances that the Justice Department had formally killed a planned $1.8 billion fund to pay those who claim they were unfairly persecuted by the government. The senators also insisted that Mr. Blanche narrow the scope of the sweeping immunity from I.R.S. scrutiny that was granted to Mr. Trump, his family and their businesses under the same agreement.” (08/03/26)
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/us/politics/todd-blanche-trump-irs-fund-order.html
-----
2) Pakistan: Suicide bomber kills 14
Source: NDTV [India]
“At least 14 people, including five police personnel, were killed and over 15 others injured in a suspected suicide attack outside a police station during a peace rally in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Sunday, officials said. The blast occurred in Kabal town in the Swat district while the Swat Peace Rally was underway opposite the Kabal Police Station. The rally, organised by the Swat Aman Jirga, saw participants carrying placards and raising slogans demanding peace in the region. Protesters alleged that police inaction had contributed to the deteriorating security situation in recent months. According to the Swat District Police Officer, the suspected suicide bomber attempted to enter the Kabal Police Station and Police Lines compound but was stopped by security personnel at the main gate. The attacker then detonated the explosives, damaging the entrance but failing to breach the heavily guarded compound.” (08/02/26)
https://www.ndtvprofit.com/world/14-dead-in-explosion-during-peace-rally-in-nw-pakistan-11856795
-----
3) US regime agrees to pause attacks on Iran subject to “rapidly” making deal, Trump says
Source: NBC News
“The U.S. has agreed to pause attacks on Iran, President Donald Trump said Saturday, amid what he said were the ‘perimeters of a deal’ that would include the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. … The president said the U.S. was ‘locked and loaded and ready to go’ but that he agreed to cancel attacks ‘subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL.’ … The statement came after the State Department on Saturday urged Americans across the Middle East to consider leaving the region or be prepared to depart on short notice. It also warned of flight disruptions and security risks as the conflict with Iran appeared to be escalating.” (08/02/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/world/middle-east/state-department-urges-americans-consider-leaving-middle-east-region-rcna590396
-----
4) Russia: Ukrainian drones kill five, set fire to Wildberries warehouse
Source: Associated Press
“Ukrainian drone strikes killed at least five people across Russia, also hitting industrial sites and a further warehouse belonging to Russia’s e-commerce giant Wildberries, local officials said. Wildberries, Russia’s largest online marketplace, is sometimes described as the country’s answer to Amazon. In under two weeks, Ukraine has struck over a dozen of the retailer’s depots, part of Kyiv’s aerial campaign aimed at undermining Moscow’s war effort, hurting its economy and making people feel the consequences of the Kremlin’s all-out invasion of Ukraine. … Meanwhile, Russia attacked Ukraine with 133 drones during the night, 24 of which hit targets, according to the Ukrainian air force. Later on Sunday, separate Russian attacks on the Ukrainian cities of Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv killed at least two people, according to local officials.” (08/02/26)
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-wildberries-warehouses-drones-d2c705445dad07fced4fb8c1e3d314c5
-----
5) Family to sue after woman released by ICE gang kidnappers froze to death
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“The family of a Haitian immigrant who froze to death in early March at a bus shelter in Pittsburgh after she was dropped off in the city by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is poised to file a lawsuit this month against the United States and ‘multiple other governmental and non-governmental entities’, the Guardian has learned. Daphy Michel, 31, had been in county jail for six months after a reported mental health crisis and street incident, and then was [abducted] by ICE before being released with a ankle monitor. She was left to make her way home to Charleroi, a small community on the outskirts of Pittsburgh about 20 miles (32km) away, but was found dead three days later. In June, Pennsylvania officials said she died from hypothermia and ruled her death a homicide.” (08/02/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/02/ice-death-pittsburgh-daphy-michel-haiti
-----
6) Hungary: Regime plans to shut down only nuclear power plant amid drought
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Hungary has announced it will shut down its only nuclear power plant after record-low levels on the Danube River reduced the water available for cooling its reactors. Prime Minister Peter Magyar said the Paks Nuclear Power Plant in central Hungary would be powered down on Sunday, the first full shutdown in its 44-year history. The plant supplies nearly half of Hungary’s electricity. Magyar said output had fallen to 965 megawatts on Friday and to 240 overnight, far below the normal 2,000. The Soviet-built, four-reactor plant south of Budapest siphons water from the Danube for cooling, but low river levels have impacted its pumps’ ability to draw in enough water.” (08/02/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/2/hungary-plans-to-shut-down-only-nuclear-power-plant-amid-drought
-----
7) Bitcoin cold-wallet attack spreads to 4,500 addresses as losses near $89 million
Source: CoinDesk
“The attacker working through Coldcard-generated keys is now emptying wallets worth a few thousand dollars each. Galaxy Research flagged a third wave of sweeps early Sunday, roughly 208 bitcoin drained from 1,912 addresses between Friday midday and Saturday morning UTC. That is just over a tenth of a bitcoin per victim. … The flaw traces to a March 2021 firmware build that routed seed generation to a predictable software randomiser instead of the chip’s hardware one, leaving a bounded set of possible keys that anyone with the disclosure and enough compute can reproduce offline, without ever touching a device.” (08/02/26)
https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2026/08/02/bitcoin-cold-wallet-attack-spreads-to-4-500-addresses-as-losses-near-usd89-million
-----
8) Icelanding pirates steal ship, abduct crew
Sourc: ABC News
“Icelandic coast guards and special forces seized a ship operated by a group founded by anti-whaling activist Paul Watson and detained its crew, officials in the Arctic island nation said Saturday. The Icelandic Coast Guard said the crew of whaling ship Hvalur 9 requested assistance on Thursday evening because they believed their safety was under threat from the protest vessel Bandero. It said the Bandero ignored coast guards’ instructions to leave Icelandic waters, and later an order to stop its engines. Coast guards and the police special forces Viking Squad boarded the vessel around midnight on Thursday and detained its crew. Watson was not aboard.” (08/01/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/iceland-seizes-paul-watson-foundations-anti-whaling-ship-135283766
-----
9) Cyberattacks on water systems spread to seven US states
Source: United Press International
“At least seven states have suffered cyberattacks on water systems as cities and states work to keep the water supplies safe. There has been no indication that any water supply is unsafe to drink, the New York Times reported. Minnesota first reported a cyberattack and now Michigan has also reported attacks. The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency said in a release that it’s ‘observing a significant increase in cyber threat actors targeting programmable logic controllers in the Water and Wastewater Systems sector. CISA urges critical infrastructure owners, operators, and integrators to remove publicly exposed PLCs and other operational technology from the Internet as soon as possible. Threat actors targeting exposed PLCs have modified passwords to lock out operators and disconnected the PLCs by changing their IP addresses.'” [editor’s note: Somehow we had robust water systems without Internet connections for decades – TLK] (08/01/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/08/01/cyberattacks-water-systems-7-states/5441785618113/
-----
10) Russia: At least three killed in Moscow restaurant bombing
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“An explosion Saturday at a Moscow restaurant that killed three people and wounded 21 others was a bombing, Russia’s national anti-terrorism committee said, the Tass state news agency reported. … An unidentified woman who attempted to carry the explosive device into the restaurant died in the blast as did a security guard and a patron, the news agency said. Ria Novosti reported the woman attempted to smuggle the bomb into the establishment but the security guard refused to let her in before the bomb exploded. … The Kommersant daily newspaper cited its own sources as saying that the bomb had been intended to maim and kill guests who were enjoying themselves on the restaurant’s summer terrace outside. It suggested that the bomb had been set off by someone else remotely and that the woman carrying it may not have known that it was an explosive device.” (08/02/26)
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20260802-at-least-three-killed-in-moscow-restaurant-bombing-russian-officials-say
-----
11) OH: Lawyer for pol’s ex-wife files for restraining order as abuse allegations swirl
Source: CBS News
“The ex-wife of Republican Rep. Max Miller asked a court Thursday to issue a restraining order blocking the two-term Ohio congressman from contacting her lawyer, as her allegations that he assaulted her — which Miller denies — continue to plague his contentious reelection campaign. Miller pledged on Sunday to stay in the race as he vehemently denied the recent allegations that have swirled against him. … In court filings, ex-wife Emily Moreno alleged that Miller has repeatedly had physical and verbal altercations with her attorney, Andrew Zashin, after recent court hearings in an ongoing custody battle. The pair already have court-ordered restraining orders against each other. They share a young daughter after a brief marriage that began in 2022 and ended in June 2025. … Miller represents a Republican-leaning district in the Cleveland area and is running for a third term. Moreno is the daughter of Republican Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno.” (08/02/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/max-miller-ex-wife-emily-moreno-allegations-restraining-order-lawyer/
-----
12) IL: Cop who murdered Sonya Massey denied medical release from prison
Source: The Guardian
“A former Illinois sheriff’s deputy won’t get an early medical release from his two-decade prison sentence for killing Sonya Massey inside her home after the [b]lack woman called 911 about a possible prowler, state officials decided on Friday. Sean Grayson had been diagnosed with colon cancer prior to the 2024 shooting, and his attorney noted in January that the cancer had advanced to his liver and lungs. The three-member Illinois prisoner review board voted unanimously on Friday to deny Grayson’s application for early medical release, panel spokesperson Liz Mitchell said in an email. Grayson, who is white, was convicted in October of second-degree murder for Massey’s killing, a case that sparked protests over systemic racism and a US justice department review.” (07/31/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/31/sonya-massey-shooting-prison
-----
13) ID: Armed citizen opens fire on In-N-Out gunman
Source: New York Post
“A heroic armed citizen tried to take out a gunman as he opened fire on an Idaho In-N-Out, according to heart-stopping video and witnesses. Harrowing footage shows a man with a handgun exchanging fire with the shooter outside the restaurant in Twin Falls. Two people were killed and seven wounded. The gunman is believed to have killed himself, according to police. The actions of the good Samaritan may have saved lives by distracting the gunman long enough for diners and workers at the crowded burger joint to get away, according to Lane Koehn, who took the video from his car.” (08/02/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/08/02/us-news/hero-armed-citizen-opened-fire-on-idaho-in-n-out-gunman-during-deadly-shooting/
-----
14) FIFA drops plan to sell stakes in the World Cup after backlash
Source: United Press International
“FIFA dropped Friday a plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors after severe backlash from worldwide soccer confederations. President Gianni Infantino had revealed earlier this week a plan to create FIFA Forward Enterprise, which would have offered a 20% stake to private investors in the $20 billion venture. … Finding investors for FFE would have been handled by Thrive Eternal — an investment firm owned by Joshua Kushner, who is the brother of President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. But the move was widely panned. The Union of European Football Associations said its 55 national teams would boycott all upcoming FIFA competitions ‘so long as these proposals remain alive.'” (07/31/26)
https://www.upi.com/Sports_News/Soccer/2026/07/31/fifa-drops-ffe/2911785547844/
-----
15) Hundreds of flights cancelled as workers strike at Canada’s WestJet
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Flight attendants at Canada’s second-largest airline WestJet have gone on strike during one of the busiest summer holiday weekends in the country. As of early Sunday morning, 309 flights have been cancelled, according to the airline. The industrial action centres on issues related to pay, specifically compensation for work they do when the plane has yet to take off – known as ground pay in the airline industry. … Flight attendants and WestJet have been engaged in contract negotiations since September 2025.” (08/02/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq568j06zgxo
-----
16) Trump appeals judge’s ruling that accused him of manipulating courts in IRS lawsuit
Source: Politico
“President Donald Trump is appealing a federal judge’s decision to continue investigating whether his lawsuit against the IRS was part of a greater scheme to mislead the court. Trump filed his notice to appeal the ruling by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams, who ruled earlier this month that her court had the authority to continue probing a $10 billion lawsuit Trump, his family and businesses filed against the IRS for failing to safeguard his tax return information from leaks. The parties announced a controversial out-of-court agreement in May in which the Justice Department — representing the IRS — would create a nearly $1.8 billion ‘anti-weaponization fund’ …. In a blistering order July 13, Williams accused Trump of filing the lawsuit to ‘gain the imprimatur of judicial legitimacy for a ‘settlement’ that had no viable basis in law or fact.’ She also said exempting Trump from audits would violate a federal law that prohibits the White House from directing IRS investigations.” (07/31/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/31/trump-appeals-judges-ruling-that-accused-him-of-manipulating-courts-in-irs-lawsuit-01020894
-----
17) Satellite images show evidence of oil leak spreading from sanctioned vessel near Oman
Source: Fox News
“A sanctioned tanker loaded with crude is leaving a growing trail of oil in protected waters off the coast of Oman, according to newly reviewed satellite images, as experts warn the stranded vessel could break apart during the region’s rough monsoon season. Satellite images reviewed by The Associated Press show an oil sheen covering roughly 20 square kilometers, or about 8 square miles, around Dhofar’s Qibliyah Island, part of Oman’s protected Hallaniyat Islands. Dark patches of crude have also reached the shoreline. … The 899-foot, Cameroon-flagged Caroline Bezengi has been stranded off Oman’s southern coast since June after its crew reported an onboard explosion, according to maritime news outlets.” (08/02/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/world/satellite-images-show-evidence-oil-leak-spreading-sanctioned-vessel-near-oman
-----
18) Peru: Humala released after conviction overturned
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Former Peruvian President Ollanta Humala has been released from prison after the country’s Constitutional Court overturned his 15-year prison sentence for a case linked to a globe-spanning corruption scandal involving Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht. Humala was serving his sentence at a special detention facility in eastern Lima that houses several of Peru’s jailed former leaders. The 64-year-old and his wife, Nadine Heredia, were found guilty last year of money laundering for receiving illegal contributions from Odebrecht, now known as Novonor, and the Venezuelan government in two presidential campaigns. … Humala, a former army officer who led the country from 2011 to 2016, was the first Peruvian ex-leader to face trial in the Odebrecht corruption scandal, which has also tainted three other former presidents.” (07/31/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/1/perus-ex-president-humala-released-after-conviction-overturned
-----
19) Study finds California farmland is sinking shockingly fast
Source: SFGate
“Farmland across the Sacramento Valley sank rapidly as water was drained from underground aquifers during the historic 2020 drought, a new study found, a sign that the Central Valley’s water problems could be spreading north. Satellite observations over the Sacramento Valley detected ‘irreversible deformation’ from 2020 to 2022 due to increased groundwater pumping, according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday. The study found that land did not rebound following the extreme drought years. The rapid and extensive land subsidence in the region pointed to a loss of storage capacity in the aquifer system, which researchers said poses ‘a serious threat to California’s water resources and infrastructure.'” (08/02/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/california-farmland-study-22365713.php
-----
20) US DOJ admits Reflecting Pool renovation was “hasty and botched,” drops case against former Olympian
Source: CNN
“The Justice Department admitted Friday that President Donald Trump’s $14 million renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was ‘hasty and botched,’ and it is dropping the criminal case against former Olympian David Hearn that accused him of vandalizing the pool, according to a new court filing from DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro. … Three other people have been swept up in the administration’s push to blame the pool’s problems on alleged vandals — each pleading not guilty to lesser, misdemeanor charges. Federal prosecutors dropped the charges against at least one of those people as well Friday, according to DC court records.” (07/31/26)
https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/31/politics/doj-admits-reflecting-pool-renovation-flawed-drops-case-david-hearn
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) How “School Choice” Makes Every School a Government School, Florida Edition
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“The ‘school choice’ movement in the US supports tax-funded ‘vouchers,’ targeted tax credits, and ‘charter’ schools, on the theory that giving parents more options on where, how, and by whom their children are taught isn’t just a good thing, but a thing that government ought to be, and can legitimately be, involved in. Unfortunately, the real effect of that kind of ‘school choice’ is to turn all the available options into carbon copies of the ‘public’ school system it supposedly helps parents and students escape.” (08/02/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20781
-----
22) The Yearning for Stasis
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen Pirie
“Stasis is a state in which opposing forces balance so precisely that nothing moves. It is a useful word because it names something real, and something increasingly common in political and social argument. There are people, and indeed whole movements, who want the world to stop where it is now, as though the present moment were a plateau to be defended rather than a point passed through on the way to somewhere else. This yearning deserves examination, because it is often mistaken for Conservatism, and the mistake matters.” (07/31/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/the-yearning-for-stasis
-----
23) The dishonesty inside Trump’s new tariff plan
Source: Washington Post
by Fareed Zakaria
“The administration has declared that countries ranging from Cambodia and China to Norway, Japan and Australia have failed to keep products made with forced labor out of their markets, and that this failure burdens American commerce. The charge is so obviously spurious and sweeping (Sweden is as bad as Cambodia?) that it gives away the game. It was almost certainly devised because the White House needed a legal pretext to subvert the spirit of the Supreme Court ruling against Trump. This is more than ordinary political spin. The president appears to be ordering the United States government to formally certify as fact something it knows is not true. Agencies must publish findings, construct legal arguments and affix the authority of the American state to a falsehood manufactured for the apparent purpose of evading the nation’s highest court.” (07/31/26)
https://archive.is/KMrLr
-----
24) How Federal Overspending Causes Your High Grocery Bills
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey
“The federal government is spending $7 trillion, yet only collects $5 trillion. This $2 trillion annual deficit destroys the purchasing power of every dollar in your bank account. What is even clearer is that Washington politicians know no other way to get your vote than to buy it through reckless spending. This constant theft of your wealth is a major frustration of mine, and sadly, most Americans are too busy to take the time to understand the destructive effect on our nation’s future.” (08/02/26)
https://palmbeachexaminer.substack.com/p/how-federal-overspending-causes-your
-----
25) Joe Biden confessed to everything on tape
Source: The Hill
by Jonathan Turley
“For years, former President Joe Biden has fought to prevent the release of tapes acquired by former special counsel Robert Hur in his investigation. After those efforts collapsed this month, it became clear why Biden and his aides were so determined to keep the public from seeing the evidence. In addition to showing Biden’s mental diminution even before he was elected president, the tapes show that Biden effectively confessed to the crimes Hur would later excuse on the grounds of his mental infirmity.” (08/01/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/criminal-justice/6002930-biden-classified-materials-confession/
-----
26) Reflecting Pool controversy is mirror for our broken politics
Source: Fox News
by David Marcus
“In the 104 years that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has stood on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the event it is most closely associated with is the 1963 ‘I Have a Dream’, speech by the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. But today, far from a symbol of national unity, this body of water has created a wave of anger and discontent. On Friday, United States Attorney for the District of Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro did the right thing and dropped charges against David Hearn, a former Olympic athlete who had been facing 10 years in jail for allegedly defacing the monument. Hearn was accused of pulling up pieces of the new sealant installed this year during President Donald Trump’s renovation of the pool. He claims he was just curious about the preexisting damage he saw. It may have been as annoying as chipping away at dried paint, but it wasn’t a felony.” (08/01/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/david-marcus-reflecting-pool-controversy-mirror-broken-politics
-----
27) Is AI Leading Us Inexorably Towards Dystopian Collectivism?
Source: Freedom and Flourishing
by Winton Bates
“In The Father We Never Had: Artificial Intelligence Before and After, Cristian Daniel Bolocan lays out a deeply unsettling roadmap for the future of human governance. He describes a highly automated, frictionless ‘gilded cage’ where humanity willingly trades its autonomy and intellectual capacity for the supreme safety, stability, and material comfort provided by a centralized network of collaborated artificial intelligences. … Is Bolocan’s destination dystopian, or merely uncomfortable to contemplate?” (08/01/26)
https://www.freedomandflourishing.com/2026/08/is-ai-leading-us-inexorably-towards.html
-----
28) Aggression? Or self-defense?
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
“Obviously, free-market/free-enterprise anarchists (like us at TPOL) believe we have come up with the answer to Von Mises’ ‘main political problem.’ Get rid of mandatory human government! Now, we understand that such a statement is considered ‘extremist’ and not viewed as either feasible or desirable by the general public. And certainly not by those in power. So we are condemned when we act to provide that situation, in word or deed. And that is the point of the question: when we resist human government and human governors (political rulers) are we acting in self-defense, or are we taking aggressive action against them, and those who support them? Is it extreme to take action against the system?” (08/01/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/08/01/aggression-or-self-defense/
-----
29) Taxes Need a Rebrand
Source: Common Dreams
by Michael Jarvis
“Few issues matter more to the future of societies than how we fund the systems we all depend on. Yet tax remains one of the most misunderstood and poorly communicated public issues of our time. For many people, taxation is associated with complexity, bureaucracy, and cost. Public debate often centers on what individuals or businesses are required to give up, rather than what those contributions make possible. That is the problem. Tax’s biggest challenge isn’t policy. It’s a narrative challenge that every society faces, whether in the United States, Argentina, Botswana, Thailand, or anywhere in between. Too often, tax is framed as a burden instead of a form of shared investment.” [editor’s note: I think I’ll just stick with “theft” – SAT] (08/01/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/rebrand-taxes
-----
30) Censorship never stops with just two words
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Angel Eduardo
“Members of the Los Angeles City Council would like a word or two — to ban. Last July, the council adopted a motion to prohibit two terms — a racial epithet and a slur against women — during the legally required public comment periods of their meetings. … you may loathe the words in question and never use them yourself. You may share the council’s desire to make public comment more civil and appropriate. You may believe Harris-Dawson and the other council members’ hearts are in the right place. But make no mistake: The council is effectively claiming the authority to ban any words it decides are inappropriate or offensive in the future.” (08/01/26)
https://archive.is/y9qFT
-----
31) West Point Professor Challenges Ban on “Un-American, Divisive…Radical, Extremist, and Irrational Theories”
Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley
“There is an important lawsuit being litigated in the Southern District of New York over the limits of free speech and academic freedom for faculty at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Professor Tim Bakken, West Point’s longest-serving civilian law professor, is challenging new Trump Administration regulations that allegedly constitute unconstitutional prior restraints on academic publications and limit academic freedom and free speech. Professor Bakken has been a public critic of West Point’s leadership in public writing, including a report concerning alleged wrongdoing by senior West Point military officers. He is also the author of a book entitled The Cost of Loyalty: Dishonesty, Hubris, and Failure in the U.S. Military. The class action was filed on behalf of more than 100 civilian faculty members against West Point and several academy leaders, specifically challenging two policies issued in 2025.” (08/01/26)
https://jonathanturley.org/2026/08/01/west-point-professor-challenges-trump-bans-on-un-americanun-american-divisive-discriminatory-radical-extremist-and-irrational-theories/
-----
32) Americans Hate the Two-Party System But Don’t Know What Should Replace It, ISMA Populism Survey Finds
Source: The UnPopulist
by Andy Craig
“Complaining about the two-party system may be the last genuinely bipartisan activity in American life. It gets said at dinner tables and on cable panels, a beat before someone announces that what this country really needs is a third party. A new survey from the Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism, fielded through YouGov in late June, confirms Americans overwhelmingly dislike our political system. But what it also found is that familiarity with possible reform options remains low. The survey suggests a way forward for negotiating this information gap and implementing reforms.” (07/31/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/americans-hate-the-two-party-system
-----
33) Let’s Stay Human
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“There’s a creepy tweet going around by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recommending that parents feed their kids’ interests and schedules into ChatGPT so it can generate a daily custom-made bot podcast to listen to on their morning drive to school. Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch posted the viral reply, ‘What if you just talked to your children?’ Which is a crazy thing to have to say. But here we are. They’re trying to make us worse. These billionaire generative AI corporations reap profits by making us worse human beings. They want us to become less human. Less connected. Less creative. Less capable. Less wise. Less intelligent. They want to atrophy our ability to speak, write, research, relate, draw, make music, and cultivate intimate connections with the most important people in our lives, and then sell those things back to us at the hands of some chatbot.” (08/01/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/08/01/lets-stay-human/
-----
34) Medical Segregation: A Coming Coup in American Medical Care?
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Wendy McElroy
“Federalization leads medicine down a very bad path toward bureaucracy and away from competitive markets, which are the best hope to deliver quality at reasonable cost. Remember Covid? Remember President Ronald Reagan’s famous comment, ‘The nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help’?’ Bureaucrats helped us good and hard with Covid; now they want to help with women’s health. They make no pretense of ‘helping’ men good and hard, of course. To men, the program offers a medical segregation that is as medically unfair as it would be to medically segregate blacks along racial lines. Clearly, medical differences between women and men sometimes require totally different hands-on care; but medical differences, like breast cancer rates, is not what is being discussed. Political and economic power is under discussion.” (08/01/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/medical-segregation-a-coming-coup-in-american-medical-care/
-----
35) The Automated Overton Window
Source: Liberalism.org
by Eli Talbert
“Consider a hypothetical tenant in Phoenix, Arizona, asking an AI assistant whether allowing five-story mixed-use apartments near a light-rail stop would make housing cheaper before she writes to her city council member. The answer cites the City of Phoenix Planning and Development Department, notes displacement, and summarizes the mayor’s affordability set-aside. Nothing feels coercive. The tenant remains free to disagree. Yet a practical risk is already present. The AI has chosen which sources to retrieve, which follow-up questions to encourage, which frame feels neutral—and which serious alternatives will take extra effort to find. By the time she reaches the public meeting, the tenant may have concluded that the boundaries of the argument are settled.” (07/31/26)
https://www.liberalism.org/p/the-automated-overton-window
-----
36) The applause that disrupted nothing — yet still led to an arrest
Source: Isabelle Brito
“The city commission of Emporia, Kansas, has endured countless hours of public criticism. What it could not endure was a few seconds of clapping. At its July 22 meeting, citizens contested a proposed data center, briefly applauding between public comments as one speaker left the microphone and another approached. Commissioners sometimes ignored the applause and other times warned the audience to stop. But their warnings soon expanded to cover even more muted reactions like finger-snapping and a woman in the back of the room silently waving her hands. When high school physics teacher Lux Claridge clapped five times for a speaker, a commissioner told officers to remove the next person who clapped. But instead of waiting for another round of applause, officers immediately ordered Claridge to leave.” (07/31/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/applause-disrupted-nothing-yet-still-led-arrest
-----
37) The Tuition Rule 14 States Decided to Ignore
Source: Town Hall
by Jay Rogers
“I’ve spent 30 years as a fiduciary, which mostly means telling people why they can’t do the thing they want to do. When a trustee wants to make a distribution the trust document doesn’t authorize, there are two honest answers. Amend the document, or don’t make the distribution. What you don’t do is rewrite the beneficiary definition until the distribution qualifies, book it, and hope nobody opens the file for 20 years. About 14 states took the third option on college tuition. Somebody finally opened the file. On July 24, Judge David Dugan of the Southern District of Illinois struck down the state’s in-state tuition rules, its RISE Act, and its DREAM Act as unconstitutional for illegal [sic] aliens. A day earlier, the Justice Department sued Colorado, the 14th such case. Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Nebraska have already surrendered; suits are pending against a dozen more, including California and Virginia.” (08/01/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/jay-rogers/2026/08/01/the-tuition-rule-14-states-decided-to-ignore-n2680419
-----
38) What happens when the US drives away the world’s best talent?
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Veronique de Rugy
“There are many ways to measure the health of a country. One way is growth of gross domestic product. Another is economic productivity. But there’s a less conventional measure worth watching: Do the world’s most talented and ambitious people want to immigrate here? Throughout most of America’s history, the answer has been an emphatic yes. Scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, artists and strivers from around the world have chosen the United States because they believed they could build something, discover something or start a business while making a better life in this country. We should worry about the day when that is no longer true. Unfortunately, the Trump administration seems determined to make that day arrive sooner rather than later.” (07/31/26)
https://archive.is/vtCkK
-----
39) Trump’s Tariffs Will Cost Each American Household $900 in 2026
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“The president’s protectionism has constituted the largest tax increase since 1993.” (07/31/26)
https://reason.com/2026/07/31/trumps-tariffs-will-cost-each-american-household-900-in-2026/
-----
40) The Folly of “Golden Age” Dreams
Source: Law & Liberty
by Miles Smith IV
“Faulkner provides a grave Augustinian understanding of the human capacity for self-delusion and self-aggrandizement.” (07/31/26)
https://lawliberty.org/the-folly-of-golden-age-dreams/
-----
41) Hubert Harrison, the Greatest Civil Rights Activist You’ve Never Heard Of
Source: The American Prospect
by Naomi Bethune
“Understanding history is tricky. Classes in grade school are generally uneven and whitewashed, if not outright sanitized. Fewer and fewer students are studying it in college at all. Textbooks focus on a select few figures who are painted as defining social movements, particularly those who are looked back on as favorable, or even palatable. In many cases, the more revolutionary commitments of America’s greatest trailblazers are often reduced to a footnote, if not omitted completely. I myself encountered this phenomenon recently when I was working on my contribution to the Prospect Patriots issue, a profile of Ida B. Wells (1862-1931), one of the country’s first muckrakers and a courageous civil rights activist.” (08/01/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/08/01/hubert-harrison-civil-rights-activist-brian-kwoba/
-----
42) Section 219: More Than a Defense Provision – The Battle Over the Future of US-Israel Relations
Source: Antiwar.com
by Peter Rodgers
“Somewhere in the thousand-plus pages of America’s annual National Defense Authorization Act sits a provision that started out as Section 224 and later became Section 219 in the House version. On paper it looks straightforward: expand technological and defense cooperation between the United States and Israel. In practice it has turned into one of the more revealing fights in current U.S. politics. The reactions on both sides make clear that this is not really about joint research projects or sharing a few more technical papers. It has become a proxy for bigger arguments about how far American security commitments should go, what role Israel should play in Washington’s strategy, and where the Republican Party is headed on foreign policy.” (07/31/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/peter_rodgers/2026/07/30/section-219-more-than-a-defense-provision-the-battle-over-the-future-of-us-israel-relations
-----
43) Party elites so blind they can’t see their base turning against the war
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Jack Hunter
‘Numerous polls can’t all be wrong. At some point there will be a reckoning with the out-of-touch Republican establishment in Washington.” (07/31/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/republican-support-war-iran/
-----
44) Are You Rich?
Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman
“The long-run trend has been this: necessities and an array of luxuries (which have become necessities) are spectacularly cheap by historical standards. This is seen clearly in terms of the time price of goods. Governments, of course, have kept the trendline from being smooth. In a thousand ways, politicians and bureaucrats impede the general fall in prices.” (07/31/26)
https://sheldonrichman.substack.com/p/tgif-are-you-rich
-----
45) The Fifth for Fauci and the Administrative State
Source: American Greatness
by Thaddeus G McCotter
“It seems like a lifetime ago, and in many ways it was. Now called to testify before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Anthony Fauci’s craven charade of invoking his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent lest he incriminate himself (even after he had been preemptively pardoned by President Biden) the baleful memories of the COVID-19 pandemic flooded back: the insanity, misery, hubris, and hypocrisy of the ‘trust the science’ mob; and the crushing of dissenting voices and the canceling of the unvaccinated by the lockdown Left. I vividly recollected my disgust when the ‘medical community’s experts’ told us it was acceptable, if not imperative, in the midst of a readily communicable and lethal pandemic to pause the lockdowns and go protest against systemic racism, which, while an abstraction was supposedly more dangerous than COVID-19.” (08/01/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/08/01/the-fifth-for-fauci-and-the-administrative-state/
-----
46) AI Won’t Destroy Work — It Will Just Change It
Source: Independent Institute
by Scott Beyer
“The first time I realized how disruptive artificial intelligence could become wasn’t from reading an academic paper or watching a keynote speech. It was while working on a home design for our family construction business. In the past, we’ve paid architects thousands and waited weeks for them to produce CAD renderings. But I found while experimenting with AI that renderings of near-equal quality could be generated in minutes for free. … it’s easy to conclude that AI will put numerous architects out of work. Might it bring the same widespread unemployment to other white-collar professions? I don’t think so. AI will likely follow the same historical pattern as every revolutionary technology. Rather than destroying labor, it will reallocate it through “creative destruction.'” (07/31/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/07/31/ai-wont-destroy-work-it-will-just-change-it/
-----
47) Democracy + Bureaucracy = Idiocracy
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Joshua Mawhorter
“It has often been observed that it is good for pilots to sit at the front of the plane, because if they make a catastrophic mistake, they will be the first to hit the mountain. While this certainly does not prevent all plane crashes, it simply illustrates a true point: when people personally, immediately, and directly bear the costs of their actions and decisions, it heavily incentivizes them to be circumspect regarding whether their beliefs are true or false.” (07/31/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/democracy-bureaucracy-idiocracy
-----
48) A Libertarian Case for Regulating Sports Betting
Source: The Daily Economy
by Logan Tantibanchachai
“Prohibition won’t stop gambling’s social harms. But regulations aimed at transparency could protect individual rights to informed contract, while limiting predatory platforms.” (07/31/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/a-libertarian-case-for-regulating-sports-betting/
-----
49) Abdul El-Sayed In Fight to Transform Democratic Party
Source: In These Times
by Danny Postel
“Tuesday’s Democratic primary for the open U.S. Senate seat in Michigan is a national story, and not only because Michigan and Maine are likely to determine which party controls the upper chamber of Congress come January. The race between public health official Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and four-term U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens is also a microcosm of the struggle for the future of the Democratic Party — the war of position between progressives and centrists that is playing out all over the country. Last week I went to Metro Detroit and spent a few days talking with a range of people about this pivotal race. I was especially curious to explore the political dynamics in Michigan’s Jewish and Black communities, two voting blocks that could prove crucial in this contest.” (07/31/26)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/abdul-el-sayed-haley-stevens-michigan-senate-primary-democratic-party
-----
50) Zelensky’s Caspian Gambit Failed — for Now
Source: The American Conservative
by Eldar Mamedov
“With Trump running out of options, Zelensky saw an opening. He could demonstrate that Ukraine—unlike Western Europe, which Trump has publicly excoriated for its ‘weakness’—was a useful partner in confronting America’s enemies in the Middle East. It was a neoconservative dream come true. But there is critical context to the Caspian and Iraqi gambits that Kiev may have overlooked. The United States has been pressing Iraqi authorities to take on the numerous Iranian-oriented Shiite militias. If Ukrainian intelligence was indeed operating in Iraq, it appears Kiev was attempting to help implement Washington’s plan. However, judging by the statements and actions of Iraqi authorities, not everyone in Baghdad supports these intentions. By exposing Ukrainian involvement, Iraq has effectively told both Washington and Kiev: This is our country, not your battlefield.” (07/31/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/zelenskys-caspian-gambit-failed-for-now/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Pink Flame of Liberty, 08/01/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“PART FOUR: Let’s Examine JC Filings of Appeal of the Disaffiliation of the Libertarian Party of NH.” (08/01/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBjrewU39KE
-----
52) Free Talk Live, 08/01/26
Source: Free Talk Live
“Sarah in NM calls about ‘public choice financing’ :: Dave Ridley calls about AI film festival :: venice.AI :: Dave gives a teaser for his fiction work :: socialism vs. capitalism :: U.S. troops killed in Jordan :: is history a lie? :: New CDC director says mRNA is safe and effective :: things according to Jeff Berwick :: David in NM says it’s the Jews, but you can’t talk about it :: 2026-08-01 Hosts: Stu, Angelo.” (08/01/26)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/ftl2026-08-01
-----
53) Nonzero, 07/31/26
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/69621.” (07/31/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-eKgYEit1M
-----
54) Show-Me Institute Podcast, 07/31/26
Source: Show-Me Institute
“Declining School Enrollment with Susan Pendergrass.” (07/31/26)
https://showmeinstitute.org/article/education/declining-school-enrollment-with-susan-pendergrass/
-----
55) Fountainhead Forum, episode 474
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Jim Ostrowski on the high cost of government and defending yourself in New York City.” (07/31/26)
https://rumble.com/v7di3r8-ff-474-jim-ostrowski-on-the-high-cost-of-government-and-defending-yourself-.html
-----
56) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 07/31/26
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Larry Johnson: How Can Iran Keep Bombing US Bases.” (07/31/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/blog/the-kyle-anzalone-show-guest-larry-johnson-how-can-iran-keep-bombing-us-bases/
-----
57) The Housewives Underground: A Video Commentary
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“Jacob expands on his recent article ‘The Housewives Underground,’ which is about the new book The Housewives Underground: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the JFK Assassination Our Most Enduring Mystery by Kaitlyn Tiffany.” (07/31/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpS5b4nDTHw
-----
58) SolutionsWatch, 07/31/26
Source: SolutionsWatch
“Books That Inspire.” (07/31/26)
https://corbettreport.com/books-that-inspire/
-----
59) Freakonomics Radio, episode 683
Source: Freakonomics
“In the New Space Race, Who Makes the Rules?” (07/31/26)
https://freakonomics.com/podcast/in-the-new-space-race-who-makes-the-rules/
-----
60) Ted Galen Carpenter on The Scott Horton Show
Source: The Scott Horton Show
“Scott interviews author and writer Ted Galen Carpenter about the Iran war, Israel’s tensions with Turkey, the Saudi Nuclear deal, North Korea and more.” (07/31/26)
https://scotthorton.org/interviews/7-24-26-ted-galen-carpenter-on-the-remarkable-stupidity-of-the-iran-war/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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
More News, More Commentary, More Audio/Video at Our Web Edition!
https://news.rationalreview.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Today's Freedom News:
1) Blanche Gives GOP Senators Written Assurances on Trump’s IRS Scam
2) Pakistan: Suicide bomber kills 14
3) US regime agrees to pause attacks on Iran subject to “rapidly” making deal, Trump says
4) Russia: Ukrainian drones kill five, set fire to Wildberries warehouse
5) Family to sue after woman released by ICE gang kidnappers froze to death
6) Hungary: Regime plans to shut down only nuclear power plant amid drought
7) Bitcoin cold-wallet attack spreads to 4,500 addresses as losses near $89 million
8) Icelanding pirates steal ship, abduct crew
9) Cyberattacks on water systems spread to seven US states
10) Russia: At least three killed in Moscow restaurant bombing
11) OH: Lawyer for pol’s ex-wife files for restraining order as abuse allegations swirl
12) IL: Cop who murdered Sonya Massey denied medical release from prison
13) ID: Armed citizen opens fire on In-N-Out gunman
14) FIFA drops plan to sell stakes in the World Cup after backlash
15) Hundreds of flights cancelled as workers strike at Canada’s WestJet
16) Trump appeals judge’s ruling that accused him of manipulating courts in IRS lawsuit
17) Satellite images show evidence of oil leak spreading from sanctioned vessel near Oman
18) Peru: Humala released after conviction overturned
19) Study finds California farmland is sinking shockingly fast
20) US DOJ admits Reflecting Pool renovation was “hasty and botched,” drops case against former Olympian
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) How “School Choice” Makes Every School a Government School, Florida Edition
22) The Yearning for Stasis
23) The dishonesty inside Trump’s new tariff plan
24) How Federal Overspending Causes Your High Grocery Bills
25) Joe Biden confessed to everything on tape
26) Reflecting Pool controversy is mirror for our broken politics
27) Is AI Leading Us Inexorably Towards Dystopian Collectivism?
28) Aggression? Or self-defense?
29) Taxes Need a Rebrand
30) Censorship never stops with just two words
31) West Point Professor Challenges Ban on “Un-American, Divisive…Radical, Extremist, and Irrational Theories”
32) Americans Hate the Two-Party System But Don’t Know What Should Replace It, ISMA Populism Survey Finds
33) Let’s Stay Human
34) Medical Segregation: A Coming Coup in American Medical Care?
35) The Automated Overton Window
36) The applause that disrupted nothing — yet still led to an arrest
37) The Tuition Rule 14 States Decided to Ignore
38) What happens when the US drives away the world’s best talent?
39) Trump’s Tariffs Will Cost Each American Household $900 in 2026
40) The Folly of “Golden Age” Dreams
41) Hubert Harrison, the Greatest Civil Rights Activist You’ve Never Heard Of
42) Section 219: More Than a Defense Provision – The Battle Over the Future of US-Israel Relations
43) Party elites so blind they can’t see their base turning against the war
44) Are You Rich?
45) The Fifth for Fauci and the Administrative State
46) AI Won’t Destroy Work — It Will Just Change It
47) Democracy + Bureaucracy = Idiocracy
48) A Libertarian Case for Regulating Sports Betting
49) Abdul El-Sayed In Fight to Transform Democratic Party
50) Zelensky’s Caspian Gambit Failed — for Now
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Pink Flame of Liberty, 08/01/26
52) Free Talk Live, 08/01/26
53) Nonzero, 07/31/26
54) Show-Me Institute Podcast, 07/31/26
55) Fountainhead Forum, episode 474
56) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 07/31/26
57) The Housewives Underground: A Video Commentary
58) SolutionsWatch, 07/31/26
59) Freakonomics Radio, episode 683
60) Ted Galen Carpenter on The Scott Horton Show
vvvvv SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS vvvvv
HOW INDEPENDENT ARE "YOUR" CONGRESS/SENATE MEMBERS?
https://congressionalindependence.deathbutt.org/
SAMUEL EDWARD KONKIN III REVOLUTIONARY FRIEND BY WENDY MCELROY
https://www.amazon.com/Samuel-Edward-Konkin-Revolutionary-Friend-ebook/dp/B0DP7B6127
SHARE YOUR OPINIONS. EARN POINTS. REDEEM POINTS FOR AWARDS
https://account.yougov.com/us-en/join?referral=eAi-FP2i9s1Jzb5lj2zw5A
THE CONSTITUTION OF NON-STATE GOVERNMENT: FIELD GUIDE TO TEXAS SECESSION (2nd edition), by TL Hulsey
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1883853117
Tyranny Demands AN ACT OF SELF-DEFENSE: A NOVEL BY ERNE LEWIS
https://tinyurl.com/actofselfdefense
^^^^^ SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS ^^^^^
_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Blanche Gives GOP Senators Written Assurances on Trump’s IRS Scam
Source: New York Times
“Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, confirmed in writing on Sunday night that the Justice Department would abandon elements of the deal it struck with President Trump to resolve his lawsuit against the I.R.S., conceding to demands from Republican senators who had threatened to block his nomination as attorney general. The Republican holdouts, Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, had vowed that they would not confirm Mr. Blanche for the role unless he provided written assurances that the Justice Department had formally killed a planned $1.8 billion fund to pay those who claim they were unfairly persecuted by the government. The senators also insisted that Mr. Blanche narrow the scope of the sweeping immunity from I.R.S. scrutiny that was granted to Mr. Trump, his family and their businesses under the same agreement.” (08/03/26)
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/us/politics/todd-blanche-trump-irs-fund-order.html
-----
2) Pakistan: Suicide bomber kills 14
Source: NDTV [India]
“At least 14 people, including five police personnel, were killed and over 15 others injured in a suspected suicide attack outside a police station during a peace rally in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Sunday, officials said. The blast occurred in Kabal town in the Swat district while the Swat Peace Rally was underway opposite the Kabal Police Station. The rally, organised by the Swat Aman Jirga, saw participants carrying placards and raising slogans demanding peace in the region. Protesters alleged that police inaction had contributed to the deteriorating security situation in recent months. According to the Swat District Police Officer, the suspected suicide bomber attempted to enter the Kabal Police Station and Police Lines compound but was stopped by security personnel at the main gate. The attacker then detonated the explosives, damaging the entrance but failing to breach the heavily guarded compound.” (08/02/26)
https://www.ndtvprofit.com/world/14-dead-in-explosion-during-peace-rally-in-nw-pakistan-11856795
-----
3) US regime agrees to pause attacks on Iran subject to “rapidly” making deal, Trump says
Source: NBC News
“The U.S. has agreed to pause attacks on Iran, President Donald Trump said Saturday, amid what he said were the ‘perimeters of a deal’ that would include the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. … The president said the U.S. was ‘locked and loaded and ready to go’ but that he agreed to cancel attacks ‘subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL.’ … The statement came after the State Department on Saturday urged Americans across the Middle East to consider leaving the region or be prepared to depart on short notice. It also warned of flight disruptions and security risks as the conflict with Iran appeared to be escalating.” (08/02/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/world/middle-east/state-department-urges-americans-consider-leaving-middle-east-region-rcna590396
-----
4) Russia: Ukrainian drones kill five, set fire to Wildberries warehouse
Source: Associated Press
“Ukrainian drone strikes killed at least five people across Russia, also hitting industrial sites and a further warehouse belonging to Russia’s e-commerce giant Wildberries, local officials said. Wildberries, Russia’s largest online marketplace, is sometimes described as the country’s answer to Amazon. In under two weeks, Ukraine has struck over a dozen of the retailer’s depots, part of Kyiv’s aerial campaign aimed at undermining Moscow’s war effort, hurting its economy and making people feel the consequences of the Kremlin’s all-out invasion of Ukraine. … Meanwhile, Russia attacked Ukraine with 133 drones during the night, 24 of which hit targets, according to the Ukrainian air force. Later on Sunday, separate Russian attacks on the Ukrainian cities of Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv killed at least two people, according to local officials.” (08/02/26)
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-wildberries-warehouses-drones-d2c705445dad07fced4fb8c1e3d314c5
-----
5) Family to sue after woman released by ICE gang kidnappers froze to death
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“The family of a Haitian immigrant who froze to death in early March at a bus shelter in Pittsburgh after she was dropped off in the city by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is poised to file a lawsuit this month against the United States and ‘multiple other governmental and non-governmental entities’, the Guardian has learned. Daphy Michel, 31, had been in county jail for six months after a reported mental health crisis and street incident, and then was [abducted] by ICE before being released with a ankle monitor. She was left to make her way home to Charleroi, a small community on the outskirts of Pittsburgh about 20 miles (32km) away, but was found dead three days later. In June, Pennsylvania officials said she died from hypothermia and ruled her death a homicide.” (08/02/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/02/ice-death-pittsburgh-daphy-michel-haiti
-----
6) Hungary: Regime plans to shut down only nuclear power plant amid drought
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Hungary has announced it will shut down its only nuclear power plant after record-low levels on the Danube River reduced the water available for cooling its reactors. Prime Minister Peter Magyar said the Paks Nuclear Power Plant in central Hungary would be powered down on Sunday, the first full shutdown in its 44-year history. The plant supplies nearly half of Hungary’s electricity. Magyar said output had fallen to 965 megawatts on Friday and to 240 overnight, far below the normal 2,000. The Soviet-built, four-reactor plant south of Budapest siphons water from the Danube for cooling, but low river levels have impacted its pumps’ ability to draw in enough water.” (08/02/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/2/hungary-plans-to-shut-down-only-nuclear-power-plant-amid-drought
-----
7) Bitcoin cold-wallet attack spreads to 4,500 addresses as losses near $89 million
Source: CoinDesk
“The attacker working through Coldcard-generated keys is now emptying wallets worth a few thousand dollars each. Galaxy Research flagged a third wave of sweeps early Sunday, roughly 208 bitcoin drained from 1,912 addresses between Friday midday and Saturday morning UTC. That is just over a tenth of a bitcoin per victim. … The flaw traces to a March 2021 firmware build that routed seed generation to a predictable software randomiser instead of the chip’s hardware one, leaving a bounded set of possible keys that anyone with the disclosure and enough compute can reproduce offline, without ever touching a device.” (08/02/26)
https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2026/08/02/bitcoin-cold-wallet-attack-spreads-to-4-500-addresses-as-losses-near-usd89-million
-----
8) Icelanding pirates steal ship, abduct crew
Sourc: ABC News
“Icelandic coast guards and special forces seized a ship operated by a group founded by anti-whaling activist Paul Watson and detained its crew, officials in the Arctic island nation said Saturday. The Icelandic Coast Guard said the crew of whaling ship Hvalur 9 requested assistance on Thursday evening because they believed their safety was under threat from the protest vessel Bandero. It said the Bandero ignored coast guards’ instructions to leave Icelandic waters, and later an order to stop its engines. Coast guards and the police special forces Viking Squad boarded the vessel around midnight on Thursday and detained its crew. Watson was not aboard.” (08/01/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/iceland-seizes-paul-watson-foundations-anti-whaling-ship-135283766
-----
9) Cyberattacks on water systems spread to seven US states
Source: United Press International
“At least seven states have suffered cyberattacks on water systems as cities and states work to keep the water supplies safe. There has been no indication that any water supply is unsafe to drink, the New York Times reported. Minnesota first reported a cyberattack and now Michigan has also reported attacks. The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency said in a release that it’s ‘observing a significant increase in cyber threat actors targeting programmable logic controllers in the Water and Wastewater Systems sector. CISA urges critical infrastructure owners, operators, and integrators to remove publicly exposed PLCs and other operational technology from the Internet as soon as possible. Threat actors targeting exposed PLCs have modified passwords to lock out operators and disconnected the PLCs by changing their IP addresses.'” [editor’s note: Somehow we had robust water systems without Internet connections for decades – TLK] (08/01/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/08/01/cyberattacks-water-systems-7-states/5441785618113/
-----
10) Russia: At least three killed in Moscow restaurant bombing
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“An explosion Saturday at a Moscow restaurant that killed three people and wounded 21 others was a bombing, Russia’s national anti-terrorism committee said, the Tass state news agency reported. … An unidentified woman who attempted to carry the explosive device into the restaurant died in the blast as did a security guard and a patron, the news agency said. Ria Novosti reported the woman attempted to smuggle the bomb into the establishment but the security guard refused to let her in before the bomb exploded. … The Kommersant daily newspaper cited its own sources as saying that the bomb had been intended to maim and kill guests who were enjoying themselves on the restaurant’s summer terrace outside. It suggested that the bomb had been set off by someone else remotely and that the woman carrying it may not have known that it was an explosive device.” (08/02/26)
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20260802-at-least-three-killed-in-moscow-restaurant-bombing-russian-officials-say
-----
11) OH: Lawyer for pol’s ex-wife files for restraining order as abuse allegations swirl
Source: CBS News
“The ex-wife of Republican Rep. Max Miller asked a court Thursday to issue a restraining order blocking the two-term Ohio congressman from contacting her lawyer, as her allegations that he assaulted her — which Miller denies — continue to plague his contentious reelection campaign. Miller pledged on Sunday to stay in the race as he vehemently denied the recent allegations that have swirled against him. … In court filings, ex-wife Emily Moreno alleged that Miller has repeatedly had physical and verbal altercations with her attorney, Andrew Zashin, after recent court hearings in an ongoing custody battle. The pair already have court-ordered restraining orders against each other. They share a young daughter after a brief marriage that began in 2022 and ended in June 2025. … Miller represents a Republican-leaning district in the Cleveland area and is running for a third term. Moreno is the daughter of Republican Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno.” (08/02/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/max-miller-ex-wife-emily-moreno-allegations-restraining-order-lawyer/
-----
12) IL: Cop who murdered Sonya Massey denied medical release from prison
Source: The Guardian
“A former Illinois sheriff’s deputy won’t get an early medical release from his two-decade prison sentence for killing Sonya Massey inside her home after the [b]lack woman called 911 about a possible prowler, state officials decided on Friday. Sean Grayson had been diagnosed with colon cancer prior to the 2024 shooting, and his attorney noted in January that the cancer had advanced to his liver and lungs. The three-member Illinois prisoner review board voted unanimously on Friday to deny Grayson’s application for early medical release, panel spokesperson Liz Mitchell said in an email. Grayson, who is white, was convicted in October of second-degree murder for Massey’s killing, a case that sparked protests over systemic racism and a US justice department review.” (07/31/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/31/sonya-massey-shooting-prison
-----
13) ID: Armed citizen opens fire on In-N-Out gunman
Source: New York Post
“A heroic armed citizen tried to take out a gunman as he opened fire on an Idaho In-N-Out, according to heart-stopping video and witnesses. Harrowing footage shows a man with a handgun exchanging fire with the shooter outside the restaurant in Twin Falls. Two people were killed and seven wounded. The gunman is believed to have killed himself, according to police. The actions of the good Samaritan may have saved lives by distracting the gunman long enough for diners and workers at the crowded burger joint to get away, according to Lane Koehn, who took the video from his car.” (08/02/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/08/02/us-news/hero-armed-citizen-opened-fire-on-idaho-in-n-out-gunman-during-deadly-shooting/
-----
14) FIFA drops plan to sell stakes in the World Cup after backlash
Source: United Press International
“FIFA dropped Friday a plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors after severe backlash from worldwide soccer confederations. President Gianni Infantino had revealed earlier this week a plan to create FIFA Forward Enterprise, which would have offered a 20% stake to private investors in the $20 billion venture. … Finding investors for FFE would have been handled by Thrive Eternal — an investment firm owned by Joshua Kushner, who is the brother of President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. But the move was widely panned. The Union of European Football Associations said its 55 national teams would boycott all upcoming FIFA competitions ‘so long as these proposals remain alive.'” (07/31/26)
https://www.upi.com/Sports_News/Soccer/2026/07/31/fifa-drops-ffe/2911785547844/
-----
15) Hundreds of flights cancelled as workers strike at Canada’s WestJet
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Flight attendants at Canada’s second-largest airline WestJet have gone on strike during one of the busiest summer holiday weekends in the country. As of early Sunday morning, 309 flights have been cancelled, according to the airline. The industrial action centres on issues related to pay, specifically compensation for work they do when the plane has yet to take off – known as ground pay in the airline industry. … Flight attendants and WestJet have been engaged in contract negotiations since September 2025.” (08/02/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq568j06zgxo
-----
16) Trump appeals judge’s ruling that accused him of manipulating courts in IRS lawsuit
Source: Politico
“President Donald Trump is appealing a federal judge’s decision to continue investigating whether his lawsuit against the IRS was part of a greater scheme to mislead the court. Trump filed his notice to appeal the ruling by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams, who ruled earlier this month that her court had the authority to continue probing a $10 billion lawsuit Trump, his family and businesses filed against the IRS for failing to safeguard his tax return information from leaks. The parties announced a controversial out-of-court agreement in May in which the Justice Department — representing the IRS — would create a nearly $1.8 billion ‘anti-weaponization fund’ …. In a blistering order July 13, Williams accused Trump of filing the lawsuit to ‘gain the imprimatur of judicial legitimacy for a ‘settlement’ that had no viable basis in law or fact.’ She also said exempting Trump from audits would violate a federal law that prohibits the White House from directing IRS investigations.” (07/31/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/31/trump-appeals-judges-ruling-that-accused-him-of-manipulating-courts-in-irs-lawsuit-01020894
-----
17) Satellite images show evidence of oil leak spreading from sanctioned vessel near Oman
Source: Fox News
“A sanctioned tanker loaded with crude is leaving a growing trail of oil in protected waters off the coast of Oman, according to newly reviewed satellite images, as experts warn the stranded vessel could break apart during the region’s rough monsoon season. Satellite images reviewed by The Associated Press show an oil sheen covering roughly 20 square kilometers, or about 8 square miles, around Dhofar’s Qibliyah Island, part of Oman’s protected Hallaniyat Islands. Dark patches of crude have also reached the shoreline. … The 899-foot, Cameroon-flagged Caroline Bezengi has been stranded off Oman’s southern coast since June after its crew reported an onboard explosion, according to maritime news outlets.” (08/02/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/world/satellite-images-show-evidence-oil-leak-spreading-sanctioned-vessel-near-oman
-----
18) Peru: Humala released after conviction overturned
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Former Peruvian President Ollanta Humala has been released from prison after the country’s Constitutional Court overturned his 15-year prison sentence for a case linked to a globe-spanning corruption scandal involving Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht. Humala was serving his sentence at a special detention facility in eastern Lima that houses several of Peru’s jailed former leaders. The 64-year-old and his wife, Nadine Heredia, were found guilty last year of money laundering for receiving illegal contributions from Odebrecht, now known as Novonor, and the Venezuelan government in two presidential campaigns. … Humala, a former army officer who led the country from 2011 to 2016, was the first Peruvian ex-leader to face trial in the Odebrecht corruption scandal, which has also tainted three other former presidents.” (07/31/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/1/perus-ex-president-humala-released-after-conviction-overturned
-----
19) Study finds California farmland is sinking shockingly fast
Source: SFGate
“Farmland across the Sacramento Valley sank rapidly as water was drained from underground aquifers during the historic 2020 drought, a new study found, a sign that the Central Valley’s water problems could be spreading north. Satellite observations over the Sacramento Valley detected ‘irreversible deformation’ from 2020 to 2022 due to increased groundwater pumping, according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday. The study found that land did not rebound following the extreme drought years. The rapid and extensive land subsidence in the region pointed to a loss of storage capacity in the aquifer system, which researchers said poses ‘a serious threat to California’s water resources and infrastructure.'” (08/02/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/california-farmland-study-22365713.php
-----
20) US DOJ admits Reflecting Pool renovation was “hasty and botched,” drops case against former Olympian
Source: CNN
“The Justice Department admitted Friday that President Donald Trump’s $14 million renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was ‘hasty and botched,’ and it is dropping the criminal case against former Olympian David Hearn that accused him of vandalizing the pool, according to a new court filing from DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro. … Three other people have been swept up in the administration’s push to blame the pool’s problems on alleged vandals — each pleading not guilty to lesser, misdemeanor charges. Federal prosecutors dropped the charges against at least one of those people as well Friday, according to DC court records.” (07/31/26)
https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/31/politics/doj-admits-reflecting-pool-renovation-flawed-drops-case-david-hearn
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) How “School Choice” Makes Every School a Government School, Florida Edition
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“The ‘school choice’ movement in the US supports tax-funded ‘vouchers,’ targeted tax credits, and ‘charter’ schools, on the theory that giving parents more options on where, how, and by whom their children are taught isn’t just a good thing, but a thing that government ought to be, and can legitimately be, involved in. Unfortunately, the real effect of that kind of ‘school choice’ is to turn all the available options into carbon copies of the ‘public’ school system it supposedly helps parents and students escape.” (08/02/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20781
-----
22) The Yearning for Stasis
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen Pirie
“Stasis is a state in which opposing forces balance so precisely that nothing moves. It is a useful word because it names something real, and something increasingly common in political and social argument. There are people, and indeed whole movements, who want the world to stop where it is now, as though the present moment were a plateau to be defended rather than a point passed through on the way to somewhere else. This yearning deserves examination, because it is often mistaken for Conservatism, and the mistake matters.” (07/31/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/the-yearning-for-stasis
-----
23) The dishonesty inside Trump’s new tariff plan
Source: Washington Post
by Fareed Zakaria
“The administration has declared that countries ranging from Cambodia and China to Norway, Japan and Australia have failed to keep products made with forced labor out of their markets, and that this failure burdens American commerce. The charge is so obviously spurious and sweeping (Sweden is as bad as Cambodia?) that it gives away the game. It was almost certainly devised because the White House needed a legal pretext to subvert the spirit of the Supreme Court ruling against Trump. This is more than ordinary political spin. The president appears to be ordering the United States government to formally certify as fact something it knows is not true. Agencies must publish findings, construct legal arguments and affix the authority of the American state to a falsehood manufactured for the apparent purpose of evading the nation’s highest court.” (07/31/26)
https://archive.is/KMrLr
-----
24) How Federal Overspending Causes Your High Grocery Bills
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey
“The federal government is spending $7 trillion, yet only collects $5 trillion. This $2 trillion annual deficit destroys the purchasing power of every dollar in your bank account. What is even clearer is that Washington politicians know no other way to get your vote than to buy it through reckless spending. This constant theft of your wealth is a major frustration of mine, and sadly, most Americans are too busy to take the time to understand the destructive effect on our nation’s future.” (08/02/26)
https://palmbeachexaminer.substack.com/p/how-federal-overspending-causes-your
-----
25) Joe Biden confessed to everything on tape
Source: The Hill
by Jonathan Turley
“For years, former President Joe Biden has fought to prevent the release of tapes acquired by former special counsel Robert Hur in his investigation. After those efforts collapsed this month, it became clear why Biden and his aides were so determined to keep the public from seeing the evidence. In addition to showing Biden’s mental diminution even before he was elected president, the tapes show that Biden effectively confessed to the crimes Hur would later excuse on the grounds of his mental infirmity.” (08/01/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/criminal-justice/6002930-biden-classified-materials-confession/
-----
26) Reflecting Pool controversy is mirror for our broken politics
Source: Fox News
by David Marcus
“In the 104 years that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has stood on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the event it is most closely associated with is the 1963 ‘I Have a Dream’, speech by the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. But today, far from a symbol of national unity, this body of water has created a wave of anger and discontent. On Friday, United States Attorney for the District of Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro did the right thing and dropped charges against David Hearn, a former Olympic athlete who had been facing 10 years in jail for allegedly defacing the monument. Hearn was accused of pulling up pieces of the new sealant installed this year during President Donald Trump’s renovation of the pool. He claims he was just curious about the preexisting damage he saw. It may have been as annoying as chipping away at dried paint, but it wasn’t a felony.” (08/01/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/david-marcus-reflecting-pool-controversy-mirror-broken-politics
-----
27) Is AI Leading Us Inexorably Towards Dystopian Collectivism?
Source: Freedom and Flourishing
by Winton Bates
“In The Father We Never Had: Artificial Intelligence Before and After, Cristian Daniel Bolocan lays out a deeply unsettling roadmap for the future of human governance. He describes a highly automated, frictionless ‘gilded cage’ where humanity willingly trades its autonomy and intellectual capacity for the supreme safety, stability, and material comfort provided by a centralized network of collaborated artificial intelligences. … Is Bolocan’s destination dystopian, or merely uncomfortable to contemplate?” (08/01/26)
https://www.freedomandflourishing.com/2026/08/is-ai-leading-us-inexorably-towards.html
-----
28) Aggression? Or self-defense?
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
“Obviously, free-market/free-enterprise anarchists (like us at TPOL) believe we have come up with the answer to Von Mises’ ‘main political problem.’ Get rid of mandatory human government! Now, we understand that such a statement is considered ‘extremist’ and not viewed as either feasible or desirable by the general public. And certainly not by those in power. So we are condemned when we act to provide that situation, in word or deed. And that is the point of the question: when we resist human government and human governors (political rulers) are we acting in self-defense, or are we taking aggressive action against them, and those who support them? Is it extreme to take action against the system?” (08/01/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/08/01/aggression-or-self-defense/
-----
29) Taxes Need a Rebrand
Source: Common Dreams
by Michael Jarvis
“Few issues matter more to the future of societies than how we fund the systems we all depend on. Yet tax remains one of the most misunderstood and poorly communicated public issues of our time. For many people, taxation is associated with complexity, bureaucracy, and cost. Public debate often centers on what individuals or businesses are required to give up, rather than what those contributions make possible. That is the problem. Tax’s biggest challenge isn’t policy. It’s a narrative challenge that every society faces, whether in the United States, Argentina, Botswana, Thailand, or anywhere in between. Too often, tax is framed as a burden instead of a form of shared investment.” [editor’s note: I think I’ll just stick with “theft” – SAT] (08/01/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/rebrand-taxes
-----
30) Censorship never stops with just two words
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Angel Eduardo
“Members of the Los Angeles City Council would like a word or two — to ban. Last July, the council adopted a motion to prohibit two terms — a racial epithet and a slur against women — during the legally required public comment periods of their meetings. … you may loathe the words in question and never use them yourself. You may share the council’s desire to make public comment more civil and appropriate. You may believe Harris-Dawson and the other council members’ hearts are in the right place. But make no mistake: The council is effectively claiming the authority to ban any words it decides are inappropriate or offensive in the future.” (08/01/26)
https://archive.is/y9qFT
-----
31) West Point Professor Challenges Ban on “Un-American, Divisive…Radical, Extremist, and Irrational Theories”
Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley
“There is an important lawsuit being litigated in the Southern District of New York over the limits of free speech and academic freedom for faculty at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Professor Tim Bakken, West Point’s longest-serving civilian law professor, is challenging new Trump Administration regulations that allegedly constitute unconstitutional prior restraints on academic publications and limit academic freedom and free speech. Professor Bakken has been a public critic of West Point’s leadership in public writing, including a report concerning alleged wrongdoing by senior West Point military officers. He is also the author of a book entitled The Cost of Loyalty: Dishonesty, Hubris, and Failure in the U.S. Military. The class action was filed on behalf of more than 100 civilian faculty members against West Point and several academy leaders, specifically challenging two policies issued in 2025.” (08/01/26)
https://jonathanturley.org/2026/08/01/west-point-professor-challenges-trump-bans-on-un-americanun-american-divisive-discriminatory-radical-extremist-and-irrational-theories/
-----
32) Americans Hate the Two-Party System But Don’t Know What Should Replace It, ISMA Populism Survey Finds
Source: The UnPopulist
by Andy Craig
“Complaining about the two-party system may be the last genuinely bipartisan activity in American life. It gets said at dinner tables and on cable panels, a beat before someone announces that what this country really needs is a third party. A new survey from the Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism, fielded through YouGov in late June, confirms Americans overwhelmingly dislike our political system. But what it also found is that familiarity with possible reform options remains low. The survey suggests a way forward for negotiating this information gap and implementing reforms.” (07/31/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/americans-hate-the-two-party-system
-----
33) Let’s Stay Human
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“There’s a creepy tweet going around by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recommending that parents feed their kids’ interests and schedules into ChatGPT so it can generate a daily custom-made bot podcast to listen to on their morning drive to school. Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch posted the viral reply, ‘What if you just talked to your children?’ Which is a crazy thing to have to say. But here we are. They’re trying to make us worse. These billionaire generative AI corporations reap profits by making us worse human beings. They want us to become less human. Less connected. Less creative. Less capable. Less wise. Less intelligent. They want to atrophy our ability to speak, write, research, relate, draw, make music, and cultivate intimate connections with the most important people in our lives, and then sell those things back to us at the hands of some chatbot.” (08/01/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/08/01/lets-stay-human/
-----
34) Medical Segregation: A Coming Coup in American Medical Care?
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Wendy McElroy
“Federalization leads medicine down a very bad path toward bureaucracy and away from competitive markets, which are the best hope to deliver quality at reasonable cost. Remember Covid? Remember President Ronald Reagan’s famous comment, ‘The nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help’?’ Bureaucrats helped us good and hard with Covid; now they want to help with women’s health. They make no pretense of ‘helping’ men good and hard, of course. To men, the program offers a medical segregation that is as medically unfair as it would be to medically segregate blacks along racial lines. Clearly, medical differences between women and men sometimes require totally different hands-on care; but medical differences, like breast cancer rates, is not what is being discussed. Political and economic power is under discussion.” (08/01/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/medical-segregation-a-coming-coup-in-american-medical-care/
-----
35) The Automated Overton Window
Source: Liberalism.org
by Eli Talbert
“Consider a hypothetical tenant in Phoenix, Arizona, asking an AI assistant whether allowing five-story mixed-use apartments near a light-rail stop would make housing cheaper before she writes to her city council member. The answer cites the City of Phoenix Planning and Development Department, notes displacement, and summarizes the mayor’s affordability set-aside. Nothing feels coercive. The tenant remains free to disagree. Yet a practical risk is already present. The AI has chosen which sources to retrieve, which follow-up questions to encourage, which frame feels neutral—and which serious alternatives will take extra effort to find. By the time she reaches the public meeting, the tenant may have concluded that the boundaries of the argument are settled.” (07/31/26)
https://www.liberalism.org/p/the-automated-overton-window
-----
36) The applause that disrupted nothing — yet still led to an arrest
Source: Isabelle Brito
“The city commission of Emporia, Kansas, has endured countless hours of public criticism. What it could not endure was a few seconds of clapping. At its July 22 meeting, citizens contested a proposed data center, briefly applauding between public comments as one speaker left the microphone and another approached. Commissioners sometimes ignored the applause and other times warned the audience to stop. But their warnings soon expanded to cover even more muted reactions like finger-snapping and a woman in the back of the room silently waving her hands. When high school physics teacher Lux Claridge clapped five times for a speaker, a commissioner told officers to remove the next person who clapped. But instead of waiting for another round of applause, officers immediately ordered Claridge to leave.” (07/31/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/applause-disrupted-nothing-yet-still-led-arrest
-----
37) The Tuition Rule 14 States Decided to Ignore
Source: Town Hall
by Jay Rogers
“I’ve spent 30 years as a fiduciary, which mostly means telling people why they can’t do the thing they want to do. When a trustee wants to make a distribution the trust document doesn’t authorize, there are two honest answers. Amend the document, or don’t make the distribution. What you don’t do is rewrite the beneficiary definition until the distribution qualifies, book it, and hope nobody opens the file for 20 years. About 14 states took the third option on college tuition. Somebody finally opened the file. On July 24, Judge David Dugan of the Southern District of Illinois struck down the state’s in-state tuition rules, its RISE Act, and its DREAM Act as unconstitutional for illegal [sic] aliens. A day earlier, the Justice Department sued Colorado, the 14th such case. Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Nebraska have already surrendered; suits are pending against a dozen more, including California and Virginia.” (08/01/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/jay-rogers/2026/08/01/the-tuition-rule-14-states-decided-to-ignore-n2680419
-----
38) What happens when the US drives away the world’s best talent?
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Veronique de Rugy
“There are many ways to measure the health of a country. One way is growth of gross domestic product. Another is economic productivity. But there’s a less conventional measure worth watching: Do the world’s most talented and ambitious people want to immigrate here? Throughout most of America’s history, the answer has been an emphatic yes. Scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, artists and strivers from around the world have chosen the United States because they believed they could build something, discover something or start a business while making a better life in this country. We should worry about the day when that is no longer true. Unfortunately, the Trump administration seems determined to make that day arrive sooner rather than later.” (07/31/26)
https://archive.is/vtCkK
-----
39) Trump’s Tariffs Will Cost Each American Household $900 in 2026
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“The president’s protectionism has constituted the largest tax increase since 1993.” (07/31/26)
https://reason.com/2026/07/31/trumps-tariffs-will-cost-each-american-household-900-in-2026/
-----
40) The Folly of “Golden Age” Dreams
Source: Law & Liberty
by Miles Smith IV
“Faulkner provides a grave Augustinian understanding of the human capacity for self-delusion and self-aggrandizement.” (07/31/26)
https://lawliberty.org/the-folly-of-golden-age-dreams/
-----
41) Hubert Harrison, the Greatest Civil Rights Activist You’ve Never Heard Of
Source: The American Prospect
by Naomi Bethune
“Understanding history is tricky. Classes in grade school are generally uneven and whitewashed, if not outright sanitized. Fewer and fewer students are studying it in college at all. Textbooks focus on a select few figures who are painted as defining social movements, particularly those who are looked back on as favorable, or even palatable. In many cases, the more revolutionary commitments of America’s greatest trailblazers are often reduced to a footnote, if not omitted completely. I myself encountered this phenomenon recently when I was working on my contribution to the Prospect Patriots issue, a profile of Ida B. Wells (1862-1931), one of the country’s first muckrakers and a courageous civil rights activist.” (08/01/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/08/01/hubert-harrison-civil-rights-activist-brian-kwoba/
-----
42) Section 219: More Than a Defense Provision – The Battle Over the Future of US-Israel Relations
Source: Antiwar.com
by Peter Rodgers
“Somewhere in the thousand-plus pages of America’s annual National Defense Authorization Act sits a provision that started out as Section 224 and later became Section 219 in the House version. On paper it looks straightforward: expand technological and defense cooperation between the United States and Israel. In practice it has turned into one of the more revealing fights in current U.S. politics. The reactions on both sides make clear that this is not really about joint research projects or sharing a few more technical papers. It has become a proxy for bigger arguments about how far American security commitments should go, what role Israel should play in Washington’s strategy, and where the Republican Party is headed on foreign policy.” (07/31/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/peter_rodgers/2026/07/30/section-219-more-than-a-defense-provision-the-battle-over-the-future-of-us-israel-relations
-----
43) Party elites so blind they can’t see their base turning against the war
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Jack Hunter
‘Numerous polls can’t all be wrong. At some point there will be a reckoning with the out-of-touch Republican establishment in Washington.” (07/31/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/republican-support-war-iran/
-----
44) Are You Rich?
Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman
“The long-run trend has been this: necessities and an array of luxuries (which have become necessities) are spectacularly cheap by historical standards. This is seen clearly in terms of the time price of goods. Governments, of course, have kept the trendline from being smooth. In a thousand ways, politicians and bureaucrats impede the general fall in prices.” (07/31/26)
https://sheldonrichman.substack.com/p/tgif-are-you-rich
-----
45) The Fifth for Fauci and the Administrative State
Source: American Greatness
by Thaddeus G McCotter
“It seems like a lifetime ago, and in many ways it was. Now called to testify before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Anthony Fauci’s craven charade of invoking his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent lest he incriminate himself (even after he had been preemptively pardoned by President Biden) the baleful memories of the COVID-19 pandemic flooded back: the insanity, misery, hubris, and hypocrisy of the ‘trust the science’ mob; and the crushing of dissenting voices and the canceling of the unvaccinated by the lockdown Left. I vividly recollected my disgust when the ‘medical community’s experts’ told us it was acceptable, if not imperative, in the midst of a readily communicable and lethal pandemic to pause the lockdowns and go protest against systemic racism, which, while an abstraction was supposedly more dangerous than COVID-19.” (08/01/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/08/01/the-fifth-for-fauci-and-the-administrative-state/
-----
46) AI Won’t Destroy Work — It Will Just Change It
Source: Independent Institute
by Scott Beyer
“The first time I realized how disruptive artificial intelligence could become wasn’t from reading an academic paper or watching a keynote speech. It was while working on a home design for our family construction business. In the past, we’ve paid architects thousands and waited weeks for them to produce CAD renderings. But I found while experimenting with AI that renderings of near-equal quality could be generated in minutes for free. … it’s easy to conclude that AI will put numerous architects out of work. Might it bring the same widespread unemployment to other white-collar professions? I don’t think so. AI will likely follow the same historical pattern as every revolutionary technology. Rather than destroying labor, it will reallocate it through “creative destruction.'” (07/31/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/07/31/ai-wont-destroy-work-it-will-just-change-it/
-----
47) Democracy + Bureaucracy = Idiocracy
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Joshua Mawhorter
“It has often been observed that it is good for pilots to sit at the front of the plane, because if they make a catastrophic mistake, they will be the first to hit the mountain. While this certainly does not prevent all plane crashes, it simply illustrates a true point: when people personally, immediately, and directly bear the costs of their actions and decisions, it heavily incentivizes them to be circumspect regarding whether their beliefs are true or false.” (07/31/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/democracy-bureaucracy-idiocracy
-----
48) A Libertarian Case for Regulating Sports Betting
Source: The Daily Economy
by Logan Tantibanchachai
“Prohibition won’t stop gambling’s social harms. But regulations aimed at transparency could protect individual rights to informed contract, while limiting predatory platforms.” (07/31/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/a-libertarian-case-for-regulating-sports-betting/
-----
49) Abdul El-Sayed In Fight to Transform Democratic Party
Source: In These Times
by Danny Postel
“Tuesday’s Democratic primary for the open U.S. Senate seat in Michigan is a national story, and not only because Michigan and Maine are likely to determine which party controls the upper chamber of Congress come January. The race between public health official Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and four-term U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens is also a microcosm of the struggle for the future of the Democratic Party — the war of position between progressives and centrists that is playing out all over the country. Last week I went to Metro Detroit and spent a few days talking with a range of people about this pivotal race. I was especially curious to explore the political dynamics in Michigan’s Jewish and Black communities, two voting blocks that could prove crucial in this contest.” (07/31/26)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/abdul-el-sayed-haley-stevens-michigan-senate-primary-democratic-party
-----
50) Zelensky’s Caspian Gambit Failed — for Now
Source: The American Conservative
by Eldar Mamedov
“With Trump running out of options, Zelensky saw an opening. He could demonstrate that Ukraine—unlike Western Europe, which Trump has publicly excoriated for its ‘weakness’—was a useful partner in confronting America’s enemies in the Middle East. It was a neoconservative dream come true. But there is critical context to the Caspian and Iraqi gambits that Kiev may have overlooked. The United States has been pressing Iraqi authorities to take on the numerous Iranian-oriented Shiite militias. If Ukrainian intelligence was indeed operating in Iraq, it appears Kiev was attempting to help implement Washington’s plan. However, judging by the statements and actions of Iraqi authorities, not everyone in Baghdad supports these intentions. By exposing Ukrainian involvement, Iraq has effectively told both Washington and Kiev: This is our country, not your battlefield.” (07/31/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/zelenskys-caspian-gambit-failed-for-now/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Pink Flame of Liberty, 08/01/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“PART FOUR: Let’s Examine JC Filings of Appeal of the Disaffiliation of the Libertarian Party of NH.” (08/01/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBjrewU39KE
-----
52) Free Talk Live, 08/01/26
Source: Free Talk Live
“Sarah in NM calls about ‘public choice financing’ :: Dave Ridley calls about AI film festival :: venice.AI :: Dave gives a teaser for his fiction work :: socialism vs. capitalism :: U.S. troops killed in Jordan :: is history a lie? :: New CDC director says mRNA is safe and effective :: things according to Jeff Berwick :: David in NM says it’s the Jews, but you can’t talk about it :: 2026-08-01 Hosts: Stu, Angelo.” (08/01/26)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/ftl2026-08-01
-----
53) Nonzero, 07/31/26
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/69621.” (07/31/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-eKgYEit1M
-----
54) Show-Me Institute Podcast, 07/31/26
Source: Show-Me Institute
“Declining School Enrollment with Susan Pendergrass.” (07/31/26)
https://showmeinstitute.org/article/education/declining-school-enrollment-with-susan-pendergrass/
-----
55) Fountainhead Forum, episode 474
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Jim Ostrowski on the high cost of government and defending yourself in New York City.” (07/31/26)
https://rumble.com/v7di3r8-ff-474-jim-ostrowski-on-the-high-cost-of-government-and-defending-yourself-.html
-----
56) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 07/31/26
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Larry Johnson: How Can Iran Keep Bombing US Bases.” (07/31/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/blog/the-kyle-anzalone-show-guest-larry-johnson-how-can-iran-keep-bombing-us-bases/
-----
57) The Housewives Underground: A Video Commentary
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“Jacob expands on his recent article ‘The Housewives Underground,’ which is about the new book The Housewives Underground: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the JFK Assassination Our Most Enduring Mystery by Kaitlyn Tiffany.” (07/31/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpS5b4nDTHw
-----
58) SolutionsWatch, 07/31/26
Source: SolutionsWatch
“Books That Inspire.” (07/31/26)
https://corbettreport.com/books-that-inspire/
-----
59) Freakonomics Radio, episode 683
Source: Freakonomics
“In the New Space Race, Who Makes the Rules?” (07/31/26)
https://freakonomics.com/podcast/in-the-new-space-race-who-makes-the-rules/
-----
60) Ted Galen Carpenter on The Scott Horton Show
Source: The Scott Horton Show
“Scott interviews author and writer Ted Galen Carpenter about the Iran war, Israel’s tensions with Turkey, the Saudi Nuclear deal, North Korea and more.” (07/31/26)
https://scotthorton.org/interviews/7-24-26-ted-galen-carpenter-on-the-remarkable-stupidity-of-the-iran-war/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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