10/31 -- Brazil: Lula declared presidential election winner; The Censorship Temptation
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Thomas L. Knapp
Oct 31, 2022, 6:32:05 AM10/31/22
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 10/31/22
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https://news.rationalreview.com/
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Today's Freedom News:
0) A Very Scary Year-End Fundraiser Update
1) Brazil: Lula declared presidential election winner
2) Ukraine war: Wave of "massive" strikes hits major cities including Kyiv
3) Iran: Protests continue despite panicked threats from Revolutionary Guard
4) AZ: Federal judge declines to block group from monitoring ballot drop boxes
5) Somalia: Explosions near education ministry kill at least 100
6) UK: Politicians demand probe into Liz Truss phone hack claim
7) AR: Group asks SCOTUS to nix state regime's required loyalty oath to foreign power
8) Senate Republicans want SEC to explain why staff are quitting
9) FL: Regime "medical" board approves DeSantis's "grandstand for the base" move to ban healthcare for transgender minors
10) EU urges Russia to revoke Ukraine Black Sea grain deal suspension
11) MI: Roaches spoil Halloween on suburban street
12) SpaceX to launch Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time in three years
13) Haitians, Peace Activists Denounce Plan for Another US-Backed Intervention
14) India: At least 60 dead, many more injured after bridge collapse
15) UK: Museums willing to return skulls to Zimbabwe
16) US regime releases oldest Gitmo abductee
17) South Korea mourns, wants answers after Halloween crush kills 153
18) Lebanon: Aoun leaves as president a day early as parliament fails to choose successor
19) Palestine: Israeli occupation troops kill Arab motorist, allege attack
20) Dog bites man: Suspect in Pelosi assault was apparently QAnon nutbar
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) The Censorship Temptation
22) Missouri v. Biden: Putting America's Lysenko Under Oath
23) It Should Be OK To Talk About Negotiating With Russia Over Ukraine
24) They Never Learn: Politicians Continue to Grant Themselves Powers Later Abused by Their Opponents
25) Affirmative Action and Racial Prejudice
26) Wired for Conspiracism
27) Racial Discrimination Is Not the Path to Racial Justice
28) Election About Crash in Middle Class Pocket Books
29) Why "No Gods" -- How To Avoid Atheist Zealotry
30) Lockdowns: The Great Gaslighting
31) Advocating World War Three Just Mainstream Punditry Now
32) Free Markets and Greed
33) The Consortium Imposing the Growing Censorship Regime -- and Our New Live, Prime-Time Rumble Program
34) Biden and Dems About to Reap Electoral Whirlwind
35) Is the Government the Only Reason for DEI Workshops?
36) Biden's nuke review abandons campaign rhetoric on disarmament
37) Biden's Foreign Policy: Sinking the Congressional Dems, and Ukraine
38) Did PayPal quietly bring back its financial penalty for spreading "misinformation?"
39) Biden Pitches Failed Economic Vision
40) Elon Musk and the great fear of free speech
41) "Our Democracy" Is Just Fine, It's Democrats That Are Threatened
42) Privacy in Social Media: The Paradox Doesn't Exist
43) Liberalism and Fascism
44) Should We Thank Russian Troops for Their Service?
45) Republicans' Secret Swing-Seat Weapon? Dozens of Rich Nominees
46) Two Cheers for Approval of New Desalination Plant in Orange County
47) No, Prop. 31 isn't really about protecting "the children"
48) An Introduction to Politics for the Politically Clueless
49) Halloween and the Horrors of Capitalism: Have you ever seen a poor vampire?
50) Ukraine: Will US Back Off as Russia Did on Cuba?
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Nonzero, 10/28/22
52) The Anarchist Experience, episode 395
53) This Week in Common Sense, 10/29/22
54) Agorist Nexus Podcast, episode 123
55) LiberatED Podcast, 10/28/22
56) Conflicts of Interest, episode 342
57) The Fifth Column, episode 379
58) The Bryan Hyde Show, 10/28/22
59) The Enrages, episode 20
60) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 10/28/22
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
0) A Very Scary Year-End Fundraiser Update
THANK YOU to "subscribing contributers" IH and JF, whose payments totaling $5.50 arrived over the weekend, bringing our year-end fundraiser total (as of 6am Eastern this morning) to $1,398!
What's scary about that? Nothing -- I was just grasping for a Halloweenish headline.
But what's KIND OF scary about it is that $2.75 per day will NOT get us to our goal by December 31.
We're trying to raise $5,150, but with supporter GL's "matching funds" offer, we only need to raise $2,575 from all our other readers combined.
We're more than halfway there, but we're still $1,177 short.
If you value the freedom movement's daily newspaper (you wouldn't be reading it if you didn't), please return that value in the form of whatever financial support you consider appropriate and can afford at:
https://news.rationalreview.com/support-rrnd
Instead of trotting out any more "mini-goals" between here and the finish line, I'll just say that I'd like to wrap this thing up by my 56th birthday (November 10) so that I can mostly shut up about money until next October. That would mean averaging $117.70 per day for the next ten days. Can we do that? YES, we can, if you help out at:
https://news.rationalreview.com/support-rrnd
Happy Halloween and have a great day!
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily
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1) Brazil: Lula declared presidential election winner
Source: CBS News
"Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called for 'peace and unity' after narrowly winning a divisive runoff election Sunday, capping a remarkable political comeback by defeating far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, who has yet to accept defeat. The victory marks a stunning turnaround for the charismatic but tarnished leftist heavyweight, who left office in 2010 as the most popular president in Brazilian history, fell into disgrace when he was imprisoned for 18 months on controversial, since-quashed corruption charges, and now returns for an unprecedented third term at age 77. ... Bolsonaro, 67, was silent in the hours after the result was declared. ... Some Bolsonaro supporters, gathered in the capital Brasilia, refused to accept the results. ... Electoral officials declared the election for Lula, who had 50.9 percent of the vote to 49.1 percent for Bolsonaro with more than 99.9 percent of polling stations reporting, in the closest race since Brazil returned to democracy after its 1964-1985 dictatorship." (10/31/22)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brazil-election-results-2022-jair-bolsonaro-luiz-inacio-lula-da-silva/
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2) Ukraine war: Wave of "massive" strikes hits major cities including Kyiv
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
"Russia has launched more than 50 missiles targeting critical infrastructure across Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, causing power and water outages, Ukraine says. At least two blasts were reported in Kyiv. One resident told the BBC his district was without electricity. In the north-eastern city of Kharkiv, energy facilities were hit. The strikes come after Russia blamed Ukraine for a drone attack on its Black Sea Fleet in the annexed Crimea. On Monday morning, missile strikes were also reported in the central Vinnytsia region, as well as Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia in the south-east, and Lviv in western Ukraine. ... Russia has so far made no public comments on the reported latest strikes." (10/31/22)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63454230
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3) Iran: Protests continue despite panicked threats from Revolutionary Guard
Source: Axios
"Protests in Iran over the [police murder] of Mahsa Amini continued unabated Sunday despite a warning from Iran's Revolutionary Guard the day before that Saturday would be 'the last day of the riots.' The warning prompted fears that the country's security forces could preparing to intensify their crackdown, which has already entailed the use of deadly violence against protesters, internet restrictions and mass arrests. Videos proliferating on social media Sunday showed security forces firing tear gas and shooting into crowds of protesters at a number of universities in Iran, as well as beating protesters, Reuters reported." (10/30/22)
https://www.axios.com/2022/10/30/iran-protest-continue-revolutionary-guard
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4) AZ: Federal judge declines to block group from monitoring ballot drop boxes
Source: The Hill
"A federal judge on Friday rejected a request to bar a group that wants to observe ballot drop box locations in an Arizona county from doing so, ruling that it would infringe on 'core constitutional rights.' U.S. District Judge Michael Liburdi ruled against the motion from the Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans, which works to educate and mobilize senior citizens to engage in activism and voting, and Voto Latino, which encourages Latinos to vote and be politically engaged. The groups argued that members of the group that wants to monitor the boxes, Clean Elections USA, would intimidate voters and have violated the Voting Rights Act and the Ku Klux Klan Act. ... Liburdi said in his ruling that any definition of intimidation needs to account for constitutional rights and that the intended conduct from the organization is protected under the First Amendment." (10/28/22)
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/3709976-federal-judge-declines-to-block-group-from-monitoring-arizona-ballot-drop-boxes/
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5) Somalia: Explosions near education ministry kill at least 100
Source: CNN
"At least 100 people were killed after two car bombs exploded near Somalia's education ministry in the capital Mogadishu on Saturday. More than 300 others were wounded in the attack, said Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in a video statement posted on his official Twitter account. Mohamud claimed the al-Shabaab terror group in Somalia was responsible. ... The two car bombs exploded near a busy intersection in the capital and near the Ministry of Education, according to an official with the president's office. The intersection, Zobe junction, was the same location as a deadly bombing attack on October 14, 2017, which killed more than 500 people and injured around 300 others." (10/30/22)
https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/30/africa/explosions-somalia-education-ministry-intl-hnk/index.html
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6) UK: Politicians demand probe into Liz Truss phone hack claim
Source: The Mercury News
"The British government insisted Sunday it has robust cybersecurity for government officials, after a newspaper reported that former Prime Minister Liz Truss'[s] phone was hacked while she was U.K. foreign minister. The Mail on Sunday said that the hack was discovered when Truss was running to become Conservative Party leader and prime minister in the summer. It said the security breach was kept secret by then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the head of the civil service. ... Opposition parties demanded an independent investigation into the hack, and into the leak of the information to a newspaper." (10/30/22)
https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/10/30/uk-politicians-demand-probe-into-liz-truss-phone-hack-claim/
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7) AR: Group asks SCOTUS to nix state regime's required loyalty oath to foreign power
Source: KOLR 10 News
"Free-speech advocates asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to overturn a federal appeals court ruling that upheld an Arkansas law requiring state contractors to pledge not to boycott Israel. Contractors that don't sign the pledge must reduce their fees by 20%. Republican legislators who drafted the 2017 law have said it was not prompted by a specific incident in the state. The American Civil Liberties Union sued on behalf of the Arkansas Times, a Little Rock-based alternative weekly newspaper. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in June that the law does not unconstitutionally infringe on free-speech rights. The full St. Louis-based court's decision overturned a three-judge panel's ruling last year that the law violated contractors' free-speech rights." (10/30/22)
https://www.ozarksfirst.com/local-news/regional-news/arkansas/high-court-asked-to-stop-arkansas-law-against-israel-boycott/
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8) Senate Republicans want SEC to explain why staff are quitting
Source: Reuters
"Senate Republicans want the SEC to explain why staff are leaving the nation's corporate watchdog at the highest rate in 10 years amid a flurry of proposed rules, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Sunday. The private letter dated Oct. 27 from Senate Republicans to the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Gary Gensler, adds to mounting criticism that the U.S. regulator lacks the internal firepower it needs to accomplish its ambitious rulemaking plans. ... The SEC is losing employees at its highest pace in 10 years, said the Inspector General's report. The agency expected attrition in senior officer positions to be 20.8% this fiscal year and 8.4% for attorney positions, it said." (10/30/22)
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/senate-republicans-want-sec-explain-why-staff-are-quitting-2022-10-30/
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9) FL: Regime "medical" board approves DeSantis's "grandstand for the base" move to ban healthcare for transgender minors
Source: ABC News
"The Florida medical board committee on Friday approved a prospective rule that will ban medical or surgical gender affirming care for trans youth under the age of 18. The committee's recommendation will be passed to the board, who will make the official ruling next Friday. The meeting, open to the public, was met with boisterous and emotionally-charged commentary on both sides of the proposed rule. Uproar ensued when the opportunity to provide public testimony was cut short, with several attendees still awaiting a chance to address the committee. ... If approved, the rule would limit care for the treatment of gender dysphoria in Florida." (10/28/22)
https://abcnews.go.com/US/transgender-youth-care-ban-moved-forward-florida-medical/story?id=92296302
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10) EU urges Russia to revoke Ukraine Black Sea grain deal suspension
Source: CNBC
"The European Union on Sunday called on Russia to reverse its decision to pull out of a U.N.-brokered grain deal, a move that undermined efforts to ease a global food crisis, and that Ukraine said Moscow had planned well in advance. ... Russia's defence ministry said Ukraine attacked the Black Sea Fleet near Sevastopol with 16 drones early on Saturday, and that British navy 'specialists' had helped coordinate what it called a terrorist attack. Russia said it had repelled the attack but that the ships targeted were involved in ensuring the grain corridor out of Ukraine's Black Sea ports. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Moscow used the explosions 220 kilometres (137 miles) away from the grain corridor as a 'false pretext' for a long-intended move." (10/30/22)
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/30/eu-urges-russia-to-revoke-ukraine-black-sea-grain-deal-suspension.html
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11) MI: Roaches spoil Halloween on suburban street
Source: SFGate
"Trick-or-treating is off limits in a suburban Detroit neighborhood: There's nothing sweet about bringing home a cockroach. Officials in Wyandotte said a cockroach infestation has been confirmed at a vacant home after a tip from a trash hauler. The pests have been moving to other homes. Sidewalks will be closed Monday night on a portion of 20th Street. City engineer Greg Mayhew said a Halloween ban will prevent 'further roach migration.' Officials don't want the bugs hitching a ride on costumes, the Detroit Free Press reported. The city is trying to exterminate the roaches but 'it will take some time,' Mayhew said. Walking the street could help kill the cockroaches, but their eggs still could spread and survive, City Council member Todd Hanna said." (10/30/22)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/That-s-scary-Roaches-spoil-Halloween-on-suburban-17545086.php
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12) SpaceX to launch Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time in three years
Source: Fox 35 Orlando
"SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket is sitting on the launchpad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and it is now scheduled to go up Tuesday, Nov. 1 -- the day after Halloween. It will mark the first launch of the heavy lift vehicle and triple-booster landing since 2019. The rocket will carry a U.S. Space Force payload from Launchpad 39A. The USSF-44 spacecraft was initially scheduled to launch in 2020. Liftoff is scheduled for 9:40 a.m. SpaceX says it's the most powerful rocket in the world -- basically three Falcon nine boosters strapped together for three times the thrust. The Falcon Heavy boosters produce sonic booms that can be heard around Kennedy Space Center and as far inland as Orlando. The double sonic booms set off many car alarms at KSC and rattled windows throughout Central Florida during the 2018 landing." (10/28/22)
https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/spacex-to-launch-falcon-heavy-rocket-for-the-first-time-in-3-years
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13) Haitians, Peace Activists Denounce Plan for Another US-Backed Intervention
Source: Common Dreams
"As U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met Thursday in Ottawa to discuss a possible multilateral invasion of Haiti in the name of 'restoring stability', Haitian and anti-war voices denounced the prospect of yet another U.S.-backed intervention, which they say will bring the opposite of stability to the crisis-ridden nation. The Biden administration is seeking a nation to lead a rapid-deployment international military force, an intervention backed by the United Nations Security Council and requested by de facto Haitian prime minister Ariel Henry to quell the gang violence that has spiked since last year's presidential assassination, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake, and a hurricane that devastated much of the deeply impoverished nation. While some Haitians (especially elites) and the U.S. corporate media push for armed intervention, other Haitians and peace activists have taken to the streets and to social media to condemn any new invasion." (10/28/22)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/10/28/haitians-peace-activists-denounce-plan-another-us-backed-intervention
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14) India: At least 60 dead, many more injured after bridge collapse
Source: Fox News
"More than 60 people are reportedly dead, and many others are injured after a bridge collapsed in India on Sunday. The bridge, located in the western Indian state of Gujarat, had been constructed in the 19th century. It was closed to for renovations for months up until its reopening last week, according to Reuters. The bridge extends more than 750 feet across [a] body of water. Local officials say they brought pumps to lower the water level under the bridge to facilitate the recovery of bodies. The cause of the suspension bridge collapse remains unclear, but local media has speculated it may have been overloaded." (10/30/22)
https://www.foxnews.com/world/at-least-60-dead-many-more-injured-after-bridge-collapse-india-report
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15) UK: Museums willing to return skulls to Zimbabwe
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
"London's Natural History Museum and Cambridge University have said that they are ready to co-operate with Zimbabwe to return human remains that were taken in the colonial era. The fresh statements come after a delegation from Zimbabwe held talks with officials from both institutions. The Zimbabweans are looking for the skulls of late-19th Century anti-colonial heroes, which they believe could be in the UK. But these have not yet been found. The authorities in Zimbabwe have long suspected that the remains of some of the leaders of an uprising against British rule in the 1890s (known as the First Chimurenga) were taken to the UK as trophies. The most significant among them was a woman who became known as Mbuya Nehanda. She was executed in what is now the capital, Harare and is revered as a national heroine." (10/30/22)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-63171981
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16) US regime releases oldest Gitmo abductee
Source: NBC News
"The oldest prisoner at the Guantanamo Bay detention center was released and 'reunited with his family' in Pakistan, the country's foreign ministry said in a statement Saturday. Saifullah Paracha, 75, had been held on suspicion of ties to Al Qaeda since 2003, but he was never charged with a crime during the more than 17 years he was detained at the U.S. base in Cuba .... Once a wealthy businessman who lived in the U.S. and owned property in New York City, Paracha was captured in 2003 in Thailand's capital, Bangkok. He was accused of being an Al Qaeda 'facilitator' who helped two of the conspirators in the 9/11 plot with a financial transaction. Paracha said he did not know the men were Al Qaeda and has always denied any involvement in terrorism and the events of Sept. 11, 2001 ..." (10/29/22)
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/guantanamo-bay-oldest-prisoner-9-11-attacks-al-qaeda-pakistan-rcna54646
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17) South Korea mourns, wants answers after Halloween crush kills 153
Source: Reuters
"Shocked family members collected bodies, parents searched for children and a country sought answers on Sunday after at least 153 people were crushed to death when a crowd in South Korea surged in an alleyway during Halloween festivities. President Yoon Suk-yeol declared a period of national mourning and designated Seoul's popularItaewon district a disaster zone after the Saturday night disaster. 'This news came like a bolt from the blue sky,' said a father who burst into tears as he collected his daughter's body from a morgue in the nation's capital." (10/30/22)
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/yoon-declares-mourning-south-korea-after-halloween-crush-kills-151-2022-10-30/
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18) Lebanon: Aoun leaves as president a day early as parliament fails to choose successor
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatar state media]
"Lebanon's President Michel Aoun has vacated the presidential palace with no successor in line to replace him as the divided country struggles to recover from a years-long financial crisis. Addressing his supporters outside the Baabda presidential palace in Beirut on Sunday, the 89-year-old Christian leader, who took office in 2016, said the Middle East country was entering a new 'chapter which requires huge efforts.' ... Lebanon's parliament has so far been unable to agree on who would take over the role -- which has the power to sign bills into law, appoint new prime ministers and greenlight government formations before they are voted on by parliament. Lebanon has been governed by a caretaker cabinet as the prime minister-designate, Najib Mikati, has been trying for six months to form a government." (10/30/22)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/30/president-michael-aoun-leaves-office-as-lebanons-crisis-worsens
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19) Palestine: Israeli occupation troops kill Arab motorist, allege attack
Source: SFGate
"Israeli forces on Sunday shot and killed a Palestinian motorist who slammed his car into a bus stop in the occupied West Bank -- the latest in a monthslong wave of deadly violence that shows no signs of slowing. The incident came a day after a Palestinian gunman killed an Israeli man near a Jewish settlement in the West Bank, and just two days before Israel holds national elections. In Sunday's violence, the Israeli military said the Palestinian driver drove his car toward a group of soldiers at a bus stop near the Palestinian town of Jericho, and then continued to a nearby intersection where other soldiers were standing. It said a total of five soldiers suffered light or moderate injuries. It said an Israeli police officer and armed civilian were at the scene and shot the motorist." (10/30/22)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Israeli-army-preps-Palestinian-gunman-s-home-for-17544773.php
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20) Dog bites man: Suspect in Pelosi assault was apparently QAnon nutbar
Source: CBS News
"The man accused of breaking into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's California home, and severely beating her husband with a hammer, appears to have made racist and often rambling posts online, including some that questioned the results of the 2020 election, defended former President Donald Trump and echoed QAnon conspiracy theories. David DePape, 42, grew up in Powell River, British Columbia, before leaving about 20 years ago to follow an older girlfriend to San Francisco. ... The suspect was known in Berkeley as a pro-nudity activist who had picketed naked at protests against local ordinances requiring people to be clothed in public. ... A pair of web blogs posted in recent months online under the name David DePape contained rants about technology, aliens, communists, religious minorities, transexuals and global elites." (10/28/22)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nancy-and-paul-pelosi-home-invasion-assault-suspect-posted-about-qanon/
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) The Censorship Temptation
Source: Liberty
by Douglas Young
"The root of censorship is a lack of faith in ordinary people since the censor is a sincere but arrogant elitist, 'idealistically' bent on saving the rest of us from our own ignorant, depraved selves. ... There's never a dearth of fervent ideologues and purists, secular and religious alike, eager to pounce on any deviation from their enlightened orthodoxy, and always under the guise of protecting morality, public safety, and everything decent. But the censor's work is never done and, since he secretly lacks confidence in the currency of his own ideas, he tries to stifle all opposition." (10/29/22)
https://libertyunbound.com/the-censorship-temptation/
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22) Missouri v. Biden: Putting America's Lysenko Under Oath
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
"Trofim Lysenko, head of the Soviet Union's Lenin All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences, imposed a 'Marxist-Leninist' line on biological research. He 'represented science' in the USSR, and actual scientists who disagreed with him were censored, suppressed, even imprisoned and executed. Fortunately, we never got to the imprisonment/execution stage with the COVID-19 pandemic. What we did get was suppression of actual science and actual scientists in support of a politically driven line on everything from masking to school closures to vaccine mandates. From his perch atop NIAID, [Anthony] Fauci set himself up as, effectively, America's Lysenko." (10/29/22)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/17215
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23) It Should Be OK To Talk About Negotiating With Russia Over Ukraine
Source: Reason
by Eric Boehm
"The first step toward ending a war is talking about ending a war. This week, unfortunately, we learned that even starting that conversation is apparently off-limits. On Monday, a group of 30 House Democrats sent a letter to President Joe Biden calling for the United States to negotiate directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the hopes of ending the war in Ukraine. Less than 24 hours later, the lawmakers withdrew the letter, apologized for having sent it, and blamed the whole mess on a staffer." (10/28/22)
https://reason.com/2022/10/28/it-should-be-ok-to-talk-about-negotiating-with-russia-over-ukraine/
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24) They Never Learn: Politicians Continue to Grant Themselves Powers Later Abused by Their Opponents
Source: Cato Institute
by David Boaz
"President Biden will be remembered for denying a second term to a president who claimed that 'when somebody's the president of the United States, the authority is total,' and who subsequently tried to overturn the election he lost. History will rate Biden more highly if he uses the remaining two years of his term to work with Congress to restore the checks and balances envisioned in the Constitution. He's not off to a good start." (10/28/22)
https://www.cato.org/commentary/they-never-learn-politicians-continue-grant-themselves-powers-later-abused-their
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25) Affirmative Action and Racial Prejudice
Source: Ideas
by David Friedman
"Suppose you are a white student at an elite college or law school in an America without affirmative action in admissions. You observe that although there are not very many black students in the school, the ones that are there are about as smart as you and your fellow white students, that being why they, like you, got in. ... Suppose you are a white student at an elite college or law school in an America with affirmative action in admissions. A few of your black fellow students are about as smart as you are -- the ones who would have gotten in without affirmative action -- but most are not. ... Hence one effect of affirmative action is to increase racial prejudice." (10/30/22)
https://daviddfriedman.blogspot.com/2022/10/affirmative-action-and-racial-prejudice.html
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26) Wired for Conspiracism
Source: Quillette
by Michael Shermer
"I have devoted my scientific career to the question of why people believe weird things, and how conspiracy theories such as these can encourage otherwise seemingly rational people to embrace irrational claims--with a small minority then acting on those irrational beliefs in a violent way. When I saw the video of that middle-aged man walking across the rotunda in the Capitol Building dome on January 6th, 2021, proudly waving a large Confederate flag, representing the losing, pro-slavery side in America's Civil War, I couldn't help but wonder: What beliefs led him to that moment? Such belief systems, I've come to understand, have less to do with specific conspiracy theories, and more to do with generalized conspiracist attitudes about the world. I have grouped these attitudes into three overarching categories." (10/30/22)
https://quillette.com/2022/10/30/wired-for-conspiracism/
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27) Racial Discrimination Is Not the Path to Racial Justice
Source: The Dispatch
by David French
"Tomorrow morning the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the most important case of this term, a case which is arguably among the most important of this new century. It will decide whether schools can continue to discriminate on the basis of race in college admissions. The Supreme Court should say no. It should say no because the law should compel it to say no. We should cheer that outcome because morality and justice are in harmony with the law. Racial discrimination is in fundamental tension with racial justice, even when racial discrimination is purportedly designed to advance racial justice." (10/30/22)
https://thedispatch.com/article/racial-discrimination-is-not-the-path-to-racial-justice/
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28) Election About Crash in Middle Class Pocket Books
Source: Fox Business
by Larry Kudlow
"[P]olls increasingly show a Democratic shellacking and a GOP broadening out its victories, but polls don't matter, only votes matter. Message matters. Facts are supposed to matter and credibility matters. So, I'm not so sure about these closing arguments per se, but I do know all campaign season long the Democrats have completely missed the boat. By the by, I don't think that's changing right now -- it's way too late in the game. There's not going to be any new influences, but the Biden Democrats have pushed abortion, making Roe v. Wade permanent (whatever that means). They've also continuously argued impending doom and gloom over climate change and spending several fortunes to fight it, whatever that means and lately that old standby, Donald Trump, MAGA, Mega MAGA, Mega MAGA trickle down, whatever any of that means." (10/30/22)
https://www.foxbusiness.com/media/larry-kudlow-election-about-crash-working-folks-pocket-books
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29) Why "No Gods" -- How To Avoid Atheist Zealotry
Source: Center for a Stateless Society
by Spooky
"Where the intolerance of atheism is merely implied, anti-theism leads with it. The problem, from the anti-theist perspective, is that belief in religion or the 'supernatural' is an inherent threat, therefore any liberatory project needs to be adamantly secular, materialistic, and rational to the explicit exclusion of religion-as-belief to avoid the inevitable creation of a theocracy. Where atheists might acknowledge a domain in which faith can truly be individual, anti-theists condemn all faith as a slippery slope to literal fascism -- a trajectory that the US is currently going down for what appears to be this exact reason." (10/29/22)
https://c4ss.org/content/57517
-----
30) Lockdowns: The Great Gaslighting
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Michael Senger
"More than two years since the lockdowns of 2020, the political mainstream, particularly on the left, is just beginning to realize that the response to Covid was an unprecedented catastrophe. But that realization hasn't taken the form of a mea culpa. Far from it. ... the prevailing narrative of the mainstream left [sic] is that any upside from the response to Covid is attributable to the state-ordered closures and mandates that they supported, while any downside was an inevitable consequence of the virus independent of any state-ordered closures and mandates which never happened and which anyway they never supported." (10/29/22)
https://brownstone.org/articles/lockdowns-the-great-gaslighting/
-----
31) Advocating World War Three Just Mainstream Punditry Now
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
"Mainstream punditry in the latter half of 2022 is rife with op-eds arguing that the US needs to vastly increase military spending because a world war is about to erupt, and they always frame it as though this would be something that happens to the US, as though its own actions would have nothing to do with it. As though it would not be the direct result of the US-centralized empire continually accelerating towards that horrific event while refusing every possible diplomatic off-ramp due to its inability to relinquish its goal of total unipolar planetary domination. The latest example of this trend is an article titled 'Could America Win a New World War? -- What It Would Take to Defeat Both China and Russia' published by Foreign Affairs, a magazine that is owned and operated by the supremely influential think tank Council on Foreign Relations." (10/28/22)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2022/10/28/advocating-world-war-three-is-just-mainstream-punditry-now/
-----
32) Free Markets and Greed
Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman
"'Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.' Ever since corporate raider Gordon Gekko, the lead character in Oliver Stone's Wall Street (1987), made that declaration, left-wing opponents of the market economy have regarded that one-liner as the only rebuttal required to silence their libertarian adversaries. (Right-wingers like the national conservatives probably find Gekko's line useful too.) But Gekko's scriptwriters, Stone and Stanley Weiser, neglected to have their creature define the word." (10/28/22)
https://sheldonfreeassociation.blogspot.com/2022/10/tgif-free-markets-and-greed.html
-----
33) The Consortium Imposing the Growing Censorship Regime -- and Our New Live, Prime-Time Rumble Program
Source: Glenn Greenwald
by Glenn Greenwald
"The rapid escalation of online censorship, and increasingly offline censorship, cannot be overstated. The silencing tactic that has most commonly provoked attention and debate is the banning of particular posts or individuals by specific social media platforms. But the censorship regime that has been developed, and which is now rapidly escalating, extends far beyond those relatively limited punishments." (10/28/22)
https://greenwald.substack.com/p/the-consortium-imposing-the-growing
-----
34) Biden and Dems About to Reap Electoral Whirlwind
Source: DC Examiner
by W James Antle III
"Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) doesn't remember when inflation and crime undid the last period of Democratic dominance and sustained liberal governance. She was born in 1989. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is old enough to remember, but he was also a socialist at the height of the Cold War. He is committed, regardless of the electoral consequences. President Joe Biden spent the bulk of his political career watching Democrats slide from New Deal and Great Society-era dominance, only to repeat the same errors that ushered in a string of Republican presidents, followed by the first GOP congressional majorities in 40 years. The supposed advantage of nominating Biden, who will turn 80 after the midterm elections, was that having lived through this history, he might not be doomed to repeat it." (10/30/22)
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/biden-leads-democrats-off-a-cliff
-----
35) Is the Government the Only Reason for DEI Workshops?
Source: Bet On It
by anonymous
"By Betteridge's law of headlines, the answer is surely 'probably not, no.' But I do think government has likely played an underrated role in explosion of DEI workshops in private companies .... While there may not be laws mandating DEI workshops, such programs can develop as a natural response to hostile members of government." (10/28/22)
https://betonit.substack.com/p/is-the-government-the-only-reason
-----
36) Biden's nuke review abandons campaign rhetoric on disarmament
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Emma Claire Foley
"Yesterday, the Biden administration released its long-awaited Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) as part of a suite of documents, along with the National Defense Strategy and the Missile Defense Review, outlining the administration's approach to national security and nuclear strategy. The NPR, produced once per administration as a programmatic statement, was originally anticipated to be released early this year. However, eight months into the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has included repeated threats of nuclear use, the strategic landscape has altered considerably. The introductory letter to the documents frames ours as a 'decisive decade.' Yet, likely as a result of the instability caused by the Ukraine invasion and its uncertain outcome, their horizons are relatively short." (10/28/22)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2022/10/28/bidens-nuke-review-abandons-campaign-rhetoric-on-disarmament
-----
37) Biden's Foreign Policy: Sinking the Congressional Dems, and Ukraine
Source: Common Dreams
by Jeffrey D Sachs
"President Joe Biden is undermining his party's Congressional prospects through a deeply flawed foreign policy. Biden believes that America's global reputation is at stake in the Ukraine War and has consistently rejected a diplomatic off-ramp. The Ukraine War, combined with the administration's disruptions of economic relations with China, is aggravating the stagflation that will likely deliver one or both houses of Congress to the Republicans. Far worse, Biden's dismissal of diplomacy prolongs the destruction of Ukraine and threatens nuclear war. Biden inherited an economy beset by deep disruptions to global supply chains caused by the pandemic and by Trump's erratic trade policies. Yet instead of trying to calm the waters and repair the disruptions, Biden escalated the U.S. conflicts with both Russia and China." (10/30/22)
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2022/10/30/bidens-foreign-policy-sinking-congressional-dems-and-ukraine
-----
38) Did PayPal quietly bring back its financial penalty for spreading "misinformation?"
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights in Expression
by Aaron Terr
"All eyes remain on PayPal, and with good reason, after the company notified users last month it was adding a slew of new categories of prohibited speech, including any content or materials that 'promote misinformation.' After significant backlash, PayPal claimed notice of the policy changes went out 'in error,' but just a few short weeks later many critics are saying the company quietly went ahead with the controversial misinformation ban anyway, complaining that PayPal may fine users $2,500 for violating the policy. Is this true?" (10/28/22)
https://www.thefire.org/did-paypal-quietly-bring-back-its-financial-penalty-for-spreading-misinformation/
-----
39) Biden Pitches Failed Economic Vision
Source: JimBovard.com
by James Bovard
"President Biden and Gov. Hochul strutted Thursday at a celebration for a future Micron semiconductor plant outside of Syracuse. The groundbreaking for the factory won't happen until 2024, but Democrats needed something, anything, to pretend they care about the economy before the midterm elections. Biden used his speech to launch his final economic pre-election attacks on Republicans. Biden's biggest howler was claiming that the price of a gallon of gasoline is now 'down from over $5 when I took office.' Actually, the average price of a gallon of gas was less than half of that -- $2.39 -- when Biden took power. Biden, sporadically shouting during his spiel, also made a barrage of claims about reducing the deficits that were so ludicrous that even the Washington Post condemned his deceit. Biden also mumbled angrily about Republicans cutting Social Security, which they haven't done." (10/28/22)
https://jimbovard.com/blog/2022/10/28/new-york-post-biden-pitches-failed-economic-vision/
-----
40) Elon Musk and the great fear of free speech
Source: spiked
by Brendan O'Neill
"So he's done it. The richest man in the world and self-styled 'free-speech absolutist' has taken over Twitter. The bete noire of illiberal liberals has got his hands on social media. Cue meltdown. Listening to the woke set you'd be forgiven for thinking that the gates of hell had been flung open and every manner of evil and blasphemy will now pour forth. Twitter could become a 'soap box for hate speech,' fretted one media outlet yesterday. It really is extraordinary how much some people fear freedom." (10/28/22)
https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/10/28/elon-musk-and-the-great-fear-of-free-speech/
-----
41) "Our Democracy" Is Just Fine, It's Democrats That Are Threatened
Source: Town Hall
by Derek Hunter
"If we had a dollar for every time some whiny leftist on cable news whined about a 'threat to our democracy' we could pay off the national debt and have enough left over for an epic bender in Vegas with Hunter Biden. The only thing missing from the Democrats' cries is any actual threat to our system of government from anyone but themselves. The real threat that has them upset is the American public threatening their hold on power by voting their worthless selves out of office. 'The Republicans are dangerous!' cried the progressive seeking to criminalize speech, declaring everything they don't like to be some kind of hate crime. ... Democrats are terrified the American people are about to strip them of their ability to pass legislation, but that's just the tip of the iceberg." (10/30/22)
https://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2022/10/30/our-democracy-is-just-fine-its-democrats-that-are-threatened-n2615210
-----
42) Privacy in Social Media: The Paradox Doesn't Exist
Source: American Institute for Economic Research
by April Liu
"[S]ocial media platforms are now the world's largest pool for market research, leaving room for companies worldwide to access our personal information. Americans are growing increasingly aware of this, and 84 percent say they are concerned with the safety of personal data they put on the Internet, and 80 percent claim they value data privacy more than keeping social media free to use. Nonetheless, 72.3 percent of Americans were active on social media platforms in 2020, and this number is continuing to grow. To explain this inconsistency, researchers have alleged the existence of a 'privacy paradox,' where individuals claim they care about their privacy but do not act like it." (10/28/22)
https://www.aier.org/article/privacy-in-social-media-the-paradox-doesnt-exist/
-----
43) Liberalism and Fascism
Source: CounterPunch
by Rob Urie
"For those who may have forgotten, Joe Biden was elected in 2020 to 'restore' humane and technically competent governance that would send the nefarious political forces then aligning in the US packing. In fact, the Biden administration has overseen one of the worst failures to govern in modern history. In 2021, Biden's first year in office, half again more Americans (150%) died from Covid than had under Donald Trump. And an additional 500,000 'excess deaths' brought the total to 1.1 million excess deaths in the US during Biden's first year in office. These are end-of-empire numbers. And they represent an unfolding human and political tragedy." (10/28/22)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/10/28/liberalism-and-fascism/
-----
44) Should We Thank Russian Troops for Their Service?
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
"After the U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, the American people were constantly exhorted to thank the troops for their service. The mantra spread throughout American society. Politicians used it in their campaigns. Church ministers emphasized it in their sermons. Airliners used it when giving the troops early boarding privileges. That raises an obvious question: Should we also thank the Russian troops for their service? I think most Americans, especially those imbued with a strong anti-Russia mentality, would say no. They would say that Russian troops don't deserve our thanks because they are waging an illegal or unjust war against Ukraine. But doesn't that imply then that when we thank the troops for their service over here, it's not because there is something special and noble about being a soldier?" (10/28/22)
https://www.fff.org/2022/10/28/should-we-thank-russian-troops-for-their-service/
-----
45) Republicans' Secret Swing-Seat Weapon? Dozens of Rich Nominees
Source: The American Prospect
by Austin Ahlman
"While Republicans' financial strength is largely attributable to their close relationships with the millionaire and billionaire donors who fund their political action committees, they are increasingly utilizing their connection with wealthy political donors in another fashion: by recruiting them to run for office. The most egregious example of a candidate bankrolling their own run this cycle is Pennsylvania Senate nominee Mehmet Oz, who has used the fortune he obtained hawking questionable medical advice to pour over $20 million into his race against Lt. Gov. John Fetterman. But while the high-profile nature of competitive Senate races ensures both nominees will raise enough money to get out their message, self-funding often has a much greater impact in House races, where a sizable financial edge can end a potentially competitive race before it even begins." (10/28/22)
https://prospect.org/politics/republicans-secret-swing-seat-weapon-dozens-of-rich-nominees/
-----
46) Two Cheers for Approval of New Desalination Plant in Orange County
Source: Independent Institute
by K Lloyd Billingsley
"The California Coastal Commission (CCC) has approved the Doheny Ocean Desalination Plant in Orange County. As the California Globe reports, the new plant will produce five million gallons a day for the South Coast Water District, 'reducing the freshwater burden for a large swath of Orange County.' Such approval, in a drought-stricken state, is the exception rather than the rule. As the Globe explains, in May the CCC rejected the Poseidon desalination plant in Huntington Beach that had been in progress for nearly 20 years. That project was supported by a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, Governor Gavin Newsom, and approved by an appellate court ruling. As we noted, that plant would have provided 50 million gallons of fresh water per day." (10/28/22)
https://blog.independent.org/2022/10/28/desalination-orange-county/
-----
47) No, Prop. 31 isn't really about protecting "the children"
Source: Orange County Register
by Steven Greenhut
"Los Angeles Times columnist George Skelton usually is a sensible guy. But not his latest piece, which calls Proposition 31 -- a referendum on a law that bans the retail sale of flavored tobacco, including most vaping and smokeless nicotine products -- one of the 'easiest 'yes' votes you'll ever find.' That's because, in his view, it benefits children. Protecting people from themselves isn't easy -- and sometimes the 'sensible' policy doesn't make much sense upon closer scrutiny. When it comes to this statewide ballot measure, I prefer the advice of the far more cynical journalist, the late H.L. Mencken, who declared that 'there is always a well-known solution to every human problem -- neat, plausible, and wrong.'" (10/28/22)
https://www.ocregister.com/2022/10/28/no-prop-31-isnt-really-about-protecting-the-children/
-----
48) An Introduction to Politics for the Politically Clueless
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Patrick Carroll
"With midterm elections around the corner, many are undoubtedly trying to brush up on their knowledge of politics, having mostly ignored the topic since the last election. Maybe you know some of these people. Maybe you are one of these people. For those trying to get a crash course in politics before they vote, the process can be a little daunting. You might try reaching out to a politically-knowledgeable friend, but chances are you'll end up getting more of a rant than answers to your simple questions. So, in an attempt to provide less of a rant and more of an introduction, here are some basic ideas that will help you get oriented on the political landscape." (10/28/22)
https://fee.org/articles/an-introduction-to-politics-for-the-politically-clueless/
-----
49) Halloween and the Horrors of Capitalism: Have you ever seen a poor vampire?
Source: In These Times
by Naty Uhlmann
"A mother forced to carry something sinister in her womb. ... A hopeless, deindustrialized town with a family like yours or mine -- except they eat people. ... A wealthy count that feasts lavishly on our blood. What can the horror genre tell us about the world we live in? As it turns out, quite a bit. Karl Marx's writings are rife with allusions to things that go bump in the night -- from capitalism's unquenchable, vampiric thirst 'for the living blood of labor' to werewolves and ghosts skulking in the dark corners of our political economy. When Marx writes that capital 'comes dripping from head to foot, from every pore, with blood and dirt,' it's hardly an abstraction; he speaks to a system that finds new and novel ways to ravage us day after day, like how UPS workers and coal miners are dying to make a living, for example." (10/28/22)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/halloween-and-the-horrors-of-capitalism-vampire-film
-----
50) Ukraine: Will US Back Off as Russia Did on Cuba?
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ray McGovern
"Sixty years ago today (October 28) the U.S. and Russia stepped back from the brink of nuclear war by making a deal. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev would yield to President John F. Kennedy's demand that Soviet missiles be removed from Cuba; Kennedy pledged not to invade. There is an instructive analogy with Ukraine today." (10/28/22)
https://original.antiwar.com/mcgovern/2022/10/27/ukraine-will-us-back-off-as-russia-did-on-cuba/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Nonzero, 10/28/22
Source: Bloggingheads.tv
"Ukraine's Blank Check | Robert Wright & Mickey Kaus." (10/28/22)
https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/65124
-----
52) The Anarchist Experience, episode 395
Source: The Anarchist Experience
"MC is still on vacation. So Rich E Rich Reads the News. HEADLINES: Government Is Largely Guesswork ... If Red States Want Protection From Collapse They Will Have To Build Alternative Economies." (10/30/22)
https://theanarchistexperience.wordpress.com/2022/10/30/the-anarchist-experience-395/
-----
53) This Week in Common Sense, 10/29/22
Source: Common Sense
"Tiptoe Through the ..." (10/29/22)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2022/10/29/listen-tiptoe-through-the/
-----
54) Agorist Nexus Podcast, episode 123
Source: Agorist Nexus
"Gump-bashing and Forrest of tyranny." (10/29/22)
https://www.agoristnexus.com/gump-bashing-and-forrest-of-tyranny-episode-123/
-----
55) LiberatED Podcast, 10/28/22
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
"'100 Schools in 10 Years,' Award-Winning Microschool Founder Shares Her Vision." (10/28/22)
https://fee.org/articles/100-schools-in-10-years-award-winning-microschool-founder-shares-her-vision/
-----
56) Conflicts of Interest, episode 342
Source: Libertarian Institute
"US to Upgrade Nuclear Weapons in Europe." (10/28/22)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/kyle/coi-342-us-to-upgrade-nuclear-weapons-in-europe/
-----
57) The Fifth Column, episode 379
Source: The Fifth Column
"Midterm Closing Arguments, Killing Kanye w/ Coleman Hughes and Nick Gillespie." (10/28/22)
https://wethefifth.substack.com/p/379-midterm-closing-arguments-killing
-----
58) The Bryan Hyde Show, 10/28/22
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
"What's the difference between government and the mafia? As Eric Peters explains, the difference is that the mafia doesn't pretend it's doing you a favor as it threatens you." (10/28/22)
https://anchor.fm/bryan-hyde/episodes/2022-Oct-28-The-Bryan-Hyde-Show-e1psr4b
-----
59) The Enrages, episode 20
Source: Center for a Stateless Society
"Anarcha-Genderism with Selena Q. Rose." (10/28/22)
https://c4ss.org/content/57524
-----
60) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 10/28/22
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
"'Corporate Greed' Doesn't Cause Inflation -- The Federal Reserve Does!" (10/28/22)
https://rumble.com/v1qcel2-corporate-greed-doesnt-cause-inflation-the-federal-reserve-does.html
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Today's Freedom News:
0) A Very Scary Year-End Fundraiser Update
1) Brazil: Lula declared presidential election winner
2) Ukraine war: Wave of "massive" strikes hits major cities including Kyiv
3) Iran: Protests continue despite panicked threats from Revolutionary Guard
4) AZ: Federal judge declines to block group from monitoring ballot drop boxes
5) Somalia: Explosions near education ministry kill at least 100
6) UK: Politicians demand probe into Liz Truss phone hack claim
7) AR: Group asks SCOTUS to nix state regime's required loyalty oath to foreign power
8) Senate Republicans want SEC to explain why staff are quitting
9) FL: Regime "medical" board approves DeSantis's "grandstand for the base" move to ban healthcare for transgender minors
10) EU urges Russia to revoke Ukraine Black Sea grain deal suspension
11) MI: Roaches spoil Halloween on suburban street
12) SpaceX to launch Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time in three years
13) Haitians, Peace Activists Denounce Plan for Another US-Backed Intervention
14) India: At least 60 dead, many more injured after bridge collapse
15) UK: Museums willing to return skulls to Zimbabwe
16) US regime releases oldest Gitmo abductee
17) South Korea mourns, wants answers after Halloween crush kills 153
18) Lebanon: Aoun leaves as president a day early as parliament fails to choose successor
19) Palestine: Israeli occupation troops kill Arab motorist, allege attack
20) Dog bites man: Suspect in Pelosi assault was apparently QAnon nutbar
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) The Censorship Temptation
22) Missouri v. Biden: Putting America's Lysenko Under Oath
23) It Should Be OK To Talk About Negotiating With Russia Over Ukraine
24) They Never Learn: Politicians Continue to Grant Themselves Powers Later Abused by Their Opponents
25) Affirmative Action and Racial Prejudice
26) Wired for Conspiracism
27) Racial Discrimination Is Not the Path to Racial Justice
28) Election About Crash in Middle Class Pocket Books
29) Why "No Gods" -- How To Avoid Atheist Zealotry
30) Lockdowns: The Great Gaslighting
31) Advocating World War Three Just Mainstream Punditry Now
32) Free Markets and Greed
33) The Consortium Imposing the Growing Censorship Regime -- and Our New Live, Prime-Time Rumble Program
34) Biden and Dems About to Reap Electoral Whirlwind
35) Is the Government the Only Reason for DEI Workshops?
36) Biden's nuke review abandons campaign rhetoric on disarmament
37) Biden's Foreign Policy: Sinking the Congressional Dems, and Ukraine
38) Did PayPal quietly bring back its financial penalty for spreading "misinformation?"
39) Biden Pitches Failed Economic Vision
40) Elon Musk and the great fear of free speech
41) "Our Democracy" Is Just Fine, It's Democrats That Are Threatened
42) Privacy in Social Media: The Paradox Doesn't Exist
43) Liberalism and Fascism
44) Should We Thank Russian Troops for Their Service?
45) Republicans' Secret Swing-Seat Weapon? Dozens of Rich Nominees
46) Two Cheers for Approval of New Desalination Plant in Orange County
47) No, Prop. 31 isn't really about protecting "the children"
48) An Introduction to Politics for the Politically Clueless
49) Halloween and the Horrors of Capitalism: Have you ever seen a poor vampire?
50) Ukraine: Will US Back Off as Russia Did on Cuba?
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Nonzero, 10/28/22
52) The Anarchist Experience, episode 395
53) This Week in Common Sense, 10/29/22
54) Agorist Nexus Podcast, episode 123
55) LiberatED Podcast, 10/28/22
56) Conflicts of Interest, episode 342
57) The Fifth Column, episode 379
58) The Bryan Hyde Show, 10/28/22
59) The Enrages, episode 20
60) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 10/28/22
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0) A Very Scary Year-End Fundraiser Update
THANK YOU to "subscribing contributers" IH and JF, whose payments totaling $5.50 arrived over the weekend, bringing our year-end fundraiser total (as of 6am Eastern this morning) to $1,398!
What's scary about that? Nothing -- I was just grasping for a Halloweenish headline.
But what's KIND OF scary about it is that $2.75 per day will NOT get us to our goal by December 31.
We're trying to raise $5,150, but with supporter GL's "matching funds" offer, we only need to raise $2,575 from all our other readers combined.
We're more than halfway there, but we're still $1,177 short.
If you value the freedom movement's daily newspaper (you wouldn't be reading it if you didn't), please return that value in the form of whatever financial support you consider appropriate and can afford at:
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Instead of trotting out any more "mini-goals" between here and the finish line, I'll just say that I'd like to wrap this thing up by my 56th birthday (November 10) so that I can mostly shut up about money until next October. That would mean averaging $117.70 per day for the next ten days. Can we do that? YES, we can, if you help out at:
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Happy Halloween and have a great day!
Yours in liberty,
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Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily
-----
1) Brazil: Lula declared presidential election winner
Source: CBS News
"Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called for 'peace and unity' after narrowly winning a divisive runoff election Sunday, capping a remarkable political comeback by defeating far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, who has yet to accept defeat. The victory marks a stunning turnaround for the charismatic but tarnished leftist heavyweight, who left office in 2010 as the most popular president in Brazilian history, fell into disgrace when he was imprisoned for 18 months on controversial, since-quashed corruption charges, and now returns for an unprecedented third term at age 77. ... Bolsonaro, 67, was silent in the hours after the result was declared. ... Some Bolsonaro supporters, gathered in the capital Brasilia, refused to accept the results. ... Electoral officials declared the election for Lula, who had 50.9 percent of the vote to 49.1 percent for Bolsonaro with more than 99.9 percent of polling stations reporting, in the closest race since Brazil returned to democracy after its 1964-1985 dictatorship." (10/31/22)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brazil-election-results-2022-jair-bolsonaro-luiz-inacio-lula-da-silva/
-----
2) Ukraine war: Wave of "massive" strikes hits major cities including Kyiv
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
"Russia has launched more than 50 missiles targeting critical infrastructure across Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, causing power and water outages, Ukraine says. At least two blasts were reported in Kyiv. One resident told the BBC his district was without electricity. In the north-eastern city of Kharkiv, energy facilities were hit. The strikes come after Russia blamed Ukraine for a drone attack on its Black Sea Fleet in the annexed Crimea. On Monday morning, missile strikes were also reported in the central Vinnytsia region, as well as Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia in the south-east, and Lviv in western Ukraine. ... Russia has so far made no public comments on the reported latest strikes." (10/31/22)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63454230
-----
3) Iran: Protests continue despite panicked threats from Revolutionary Guard
Source: Axios
"Protests in Iran over the [police murder] of Mahsa Amini continued unabated Sunday despite a warning from Iran's Revolutionary Guard the day before that Saturday would be 'the last day of the riots.' The warning prompted fears that the country's security forces could preparing to intensify their crackdown, which has already entailed the use of deadly violence against protesters, internet restrictions and mass arrests. Videos proliferating on social media Sunday showed security forces firing tear gas and shooting into crowds of protesters at a number of universities in Iran, as well as beating protesters, Reuters reported." (10/30/22)
https://www.axios.com/2022/10/30/iran-protest-continue-revolutionary-guard
-----
4) AZ: Federal judge declines to block group from monitoring ballot drop boxes
Source: The Hill
"A federal judge on Friday rejected a request to bar a group that wants to observe ballot drop box locations in an Arizona county from doing so, ruling that it would infringe on 'core constitutional rights.' U.S. District Judge Michael Liburdi ruled against the motion from the Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans, which works to educate and mobilize senior citizens to engage in activism and voting, and Voto Latino, which encourages Latinos to vote and be politically engaged. The groups argued that members of the group that wants to monitor the boxes, Clean Elections USA, would intimidate voters and have violated the Voting Rights Act and the Ku Klux Klan Act. ... Liburdi said in his ruling that any definition of intimidation needs to account for constitutional rights and that the intended conduct from the organization is protected under the First Amendment." (10/28/22)
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/3709976-federal-judge-declines-to-block-group-from-monitoring-arizona-ballot-drop-boxes/
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5) Somalia: Explosions near education ministry kill at least 100
Source: CNN
"At least 100 people were killed after two car bombs exploded near Somalia's education ministry in the capital Mogadishu on Saturday. More than 300 others were wounded in the attack, said Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in a video statement posted on his official Twitter account. Mohamud claimed the al-Shabaab terror group in Somalia was responsible. ... The two car bombs exploded near a busy intersection in the capital and near the Ministry of Education, according to an official with the president's office. The intersection, Zobe junction, was the same location as a deadly bombing attack on October 14, 2017, which killed more than 500 people and injured around 300 others." (10/30/22)
https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/30/africa/explosions-somalia-education-ministry-intl-hnk/index.html
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6) UK: Politicians demand probe into Liz Truss phone hack claim
Source: The Mercury News
"The British government insisted Sunday it has robust cybersecurity for government officials, after a newspaper reported that former Prime Minister Liz Truss'[s] phone was hacked while she was U.K. foreign minister. The Mail on Sunday said that the hack was discovered when Truss was running to become Conservative Party leader and prime minister in the summer. It said the security breach was kept secret by then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the head of the civil service. ... Opposition parties demanded an independent investigation into the hack, and into the leak of the information to a newspaper." (10/30/22)
https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/10/30/uk-politicians-demand-probe-into-liz-truss-phone-hack-claim/
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7) AR: Group asks SCOTUS to nix state regime's required loyalty oath to foreign power
Source: KOLR 10 News
"Free-speech advocates asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to overturn a federal appeals court ruling that upheld an Arkansas law requiring state contractors to pledge not to boycott Israel. Contractors that don't sign the pledge must reduce their fees by 20%. Republican legislators who drafted the 2017 law have said it was not prompted by a specific incident in the state. The American Civil Liberties Union sued on behalf of the Arkansas Times, a Little Rock-based alternative weekly newspaper. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in June that the law does not unconstitutionally infringe on free-speech rights. The full St. Louis-based court's decision overturned a three-judge panel's ruling last year that the law violated contractors' free-speech rights." (10/30/22)
https://www.ozarksfirst.com/local-news/regional-news/arkansas/high-court-asked-to-stop-arkansas-law-against-israel-boycott/
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8) Senate Republicans want SEC to explain why staff are quitting
Source: Reuters
"Senate Republicans want the SEC to explain why staff are leaving the nation's corporate watchdog at the highest rate in 10 years amid a flurry of proposed rules, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Sunday. The private letter dated Oct. 27 from Senate Republicans to the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Gary Gensler, adds to mounting criticism that the U.S. regulator lacks the internal firepower it needs to accomplish its ambitious rulemaking plans. ... The SEC is losing employees at its highest pace in 10 years, said the Inspector General's report. The agency expected attrition in senior officer positions to be 20.8% this fiscal year and 8.4% for attorney positions, it said." (10/30/22)
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/senate-republicans-want-sec-explain-why-staff-are-quitting-2022-10-30/
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9) FL: Regime "medical" board approves DeSantis's "grandstand for the base" move to ban healthcare for transgender minors
Source: ABC News
"The Florida medical board committee on Friday approved a prospective rule that will ban medical or surgical gender affirming care for trans youth under the age of 18. The committee's recommendation will be passed to the board, who will make the official ruling next Friday. The meeting, open to the public, was met with boisterous and emotionally-charged commentary on both sides of the proposed rule. Uproar ensued when the opportunity to provide public testimony was cut short, with several attendees still awaiting a chance to address the committee. ... If approved, the rule would limit care for the treatment of gender dysphoria in Florida." (10/28/22)
https://abcnews.go.com/US/transgender-youth-care-ban-moved-forward-florida-medical/story?id=92296302
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10) EU urges Russia to revoke Ukraine Black Sea grain deal suspension
Source: CNBC
"The European Union on Sunday called on Russia to reverse its decision to pull out of a U.N.-brokered grain deal, a move that undermined efforts to ease a global food crisis, and that Ukraine said Moscow had planned well in advance. ... Russia's defence ministry said Ukraine attacked the Black Sea Fleet near Sevastopol with 16 drones early on Saturday, and that British navy 'specialists' had helped coordinate what it called a terrorist attack. Russia said it had repelled the attack but that the ships targeted were involved in ensuring the grain corridor out of Ukraine's Black Sea ports. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Moscow used the explosions 220 kilometres (137 miles) away from the grain corridor as a 'false pretext' for a long-intended move." (10/30/22)
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/30/eu-urges-russia-to-revoke-ukraine-black-sea-grain-deal-suspension.html
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11) MI: Roaches spoil Halloween on suburban street
Source: SFGate
"Trick-or-treating is off limits in a suburban Detroit neighborhood: There's nothing sweet about bringing home a cockroach. Officials in Wyandotte said a cockroach infestation has been confirmed at a vacant home after a tip from a trash hauler. The pests have been moving to other homes. Sidewalks will be closed Monday night on a portion of 20th Street. City engineer Greg Mayhew said a Halloween ban will prevent 'further roach migration.' Officials don't want the bugs hitching a ride on costumes, the Detroit Free Press reported. The city is trying to exterminate the roaches but 'it will take some time,' Mayhew said. Walking the street could help kill the cockroaches, but their eggs still could spread and survive, City Council member Todd Hanna said." (10/30/22)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/That-s-scary-Roaches-spoil-Halloween-on-suburban-17545086.php
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12) SpaceX to launch Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time in three years
Source: Fox 35 Orlando
"SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket is sitting on the launchpad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and it is now scheduled to go up Tuesday, Nov. 1 -- the day after Halloween. It will mark the first launch of the heavy lift vehicle and triple-booster landing since 2019. The rocket will carry a U.S. Space Force payload from Launchpad 39A. The USSF-44 spacecraft was initially scheduled to launch in 2020. Liftoff is scheduled for 9:40 a.m. SpaceX says it's the most powerful rocket in the world -- basically three Falcon nine boosters strapped together for three times the thrust. The Falcon Heavy boosters produce sonic booms that can be heard around Kennedy Space Center and as far inland as Orlando. The double sonic booms set off many car alarms at KSC and rattled windows throughout Central Florida during the 2018 landing." (10/28/22)
https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/spacex-to-launch-falcon-heavy-rocket-for-the-first-time-in-3-years
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13) Haitians, Peace Activists Denounce Plan for Another US-Backed Intervention
Source: Common Dreams
"As U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met Thursday in Ottawa to discuss a possible multilateral invasion of Haiti in the name of 'restoring stability', Haitian and anti-war voices denounced the prospect of yet another U.S.-backed intervention, which they say will bring the opposite of stability to the crisis-ridden nation. The Biden administration is seeking a nation to lead a rapid-deployment international military force, an intervention backed by the United Nations Security Council and requested by de facto Haitian prime minister Ariel Henry to quell the gang violence that has spiked since last year's presidential assassination, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake, and a hurricane that devastated much of the deeply impoverished nation. While some Haitians (especially elites) and the U.S. corporate media push for armed intervention, other Haitians and peace activists have taken to the streets and to social media to condemn any new invasion." (10/28/22)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/10/28/haitians-peace-activists-denounce-plan-another-us-backed-intervention
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14) India: At least 60 dead, many more injured after bridge collapse
Source: Fox News
"More than 60 people are reportedly dead, and many others are injured after a bridge collapsed in India on Sunday. The bridge, located in the western Indian state of Gujarat, had been constructed in the 19th century. It was closed to for renovations for months up until its reopening last week, according to Reuters. The bridge extends more than 750 feet across [a] body of water. Local officials say they brought pumps to lower the water level under the bridge to facilitate the recovery of bodies. The cause of the suspension bridge collapse remains unclear, but local media has speculated it may have been overloaded." (10/30/22)
https://www.foxnews.com/world/at-least-60-dead-many-more-injured-after-bridge-collapse-india-report
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15) UK: Museums willing to return skulls to Zimbabwe
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
"London's Natural History Museum and Cambridge University have said that they are ready to co-operate with Zimbabwe to return human remains that were taken in the colonial era. The fresh statements come after a delegation from Zimbabwe held talks with officials from both institutions. The Zimbabweans are looking for the skulls of late-19th Century anti-colonial heroes, which they believe could be in the UK. But these have not yet been found. The authorities in Zimbabwe have long suspected that the remains of some of the leaders of an uprising against British rule in the 1890s (known as the First Chimurenga) were taken to the UK as trophies. The most significant among them was a woman who became known as Mbuya Nehanda. She was executed in what is now the capital, Harare and is revered as a national heroine." (10/30/22)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-63171981
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16) US regime releases oldest Gitmo abductee
Source: NBC News
"The oldest prisoner at the Guantanamo Bay detention center was released and 'reunited with his family' in Pakistan, the country's foreign ministry said in a statement Saturday. Saifullah Paracha, 75, had been held on suspicion of ties to Al Qaeda since 2003, but he was never charged with a crime during the more than 17 years he was detained at the U.S. base in Cuba .... Once a wealthy businessman who lived in the U.S. and owned property in New York City, Paracha was captured in 2003 in Thailand's capital, Bangkok. He was accused of being an Al Qaeda 'facilitator' who helped two of the conspirators in the 9/11 plot with a financial transaction. Paracha said he did not know the men were Al Qaeda and has always denied any involvement in terrorism and the events of Sept. 11, 2001 ..." (10/29/22)
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/guantanamo-bay-oldest-prisoner-9-11-attacks-al-qaeda-pakistan-rcna54646
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17) South Korea mourns, wants answers after Halloween crush kills 153
Source: Reuters
"Shocked family members collected bodies, parents searched for children and a country sought answers on Sunday after at least 153 people were crushed to death when a crowd in South Korea surged in an alleyway during Halloween festivities. President Yoon Suk-yeol declared a period of national mourning and designated Seoul's popularItaewon district a disaster zone after the Saturday night disaster. 'This news came like a bolt from the blue sky,' said a father who burst into tears as he collected his daughter's body from a morgue in the nation's capital." (10/30/22)
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/yoon-declares-mourning-south-korea-after-halloween-crush-kills-151-2022-10-30/
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18) Lebanon: Aoun leaves as president a day early as parliament fails to choose successor
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatar state media]
"Lebanon's President Michel Aoun has vacated the presidential palace with no successor in line to replace him as the divided country struggles to recover from a years-long financial crisis. Addressing his supporters outside the Baabda presidential palace in Beirut on Sunday, the 89-year-old Christian leader, who took office in 2016, said the Middle East country was entering a new 'chapter which requires huge efforts.' ... Lebanon's parliament has so far been unable to agree on who would take over the role -- which has the power to sign bills into law, appoint new prime ministers and greenlight government formations before they are voted on by parliament. Lebanon has been governed by a caretaker cabinet as the prime minister-designate, Najib Mikati, has been trying for six months to form a government." (10/30/22)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/30/president-michael-aoun-leaves-office-as-lebanons-crisis-worsens
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19) Palestine: Israeli occupation troops kill Arab motorist, allege attack
Source: SFGate
"Israeli forces on Sunday shot and killed a Palestinian motorist who slammed his car into a bus stop in the occupied West Bank -- the latest in a monthslong wave of deadly violence that shows no signs of slowing. The incident came a day after a Palestinian gunman killed an Israeli man near a Jewish settlement in the West Bank, and just two days before Israel holds national elections. In Sunday's violence, the Israeli military said the Palestinian driver drove his car toward a group of soldiers at a bus stop near the Palestinian town of Jericho, and then continued to a nearby intersection where other soldiers were standing. It said a total of five soldiers suffered light or moderate injuries. It said an Israeli police officer and armed civilian were at the scene and shot the motorist." (10/30/22)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Israeli-army-preps-Palestinian-gunman-s-home-for-17544773.php
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20) Dog bites man: Suspect in Pelosi assault was apparently QAnon nutbar
Source: CBS News
"The man accused of breaking into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's California home, and severely beating her husband with a hammer, appears to have made racist and often rambling posts online, including some that questioned the results of the 2020 election, defended former President Donald Trump and echoed QAnon conspiracy theories. David DePape, 42, grew up in Powell River, British Columbia, before leaving about 20 years ago to follow an older girlfriend to San Francisco. ... The suspect was known in Berkeley as a pro-nudity activist who had picketed naked at protests against local ordinances requiring people to be clothed in public. ... A pair of web blogs posted in recent months online under the name David DePape contained rants about technology, aliens, communists, religious minorities, transexuals and global elites." (10/28/22)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nancy-and-paul-pelosi-home-invasion-assault-suspect-posted-about-qanon/
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) The Censorship Temptation
Source: Liberty
by Douglas Young
"The root of censorship is a lack of faith in ordinary people since the censor is a sincere but arrogant elitist, 'idealistically' bent on saving the rest of us from our own ignorant, depraved selves. ... There's never a dearth of fervent ideologues and purists, secular and religious alike, eager to pounce on any deviation from their enlightened orthodoxy, and always under the guise of protecting morality, public safety, and everything decent. But the censor's work is never done and, since he secretly lacks confidence in the currency of his own ideas, he tries to stifle all opposition." (10/29/22)
https://libertyunbound.com/the-censorship-temptation/
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22) Missouri v. Biden: Putting America's Lysenko Under Oath
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
"Trofim Lysenko, head of the Soviet Union's Lenin All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences, imposed a 'Marxist-Leninist' line on biological research. He 'represented science' in the USSR, and actual scientists who disagreed with him were censored, suppressed, even imprisoned and executed. Fortunately, we never got to the imprisonment/execution stage with the COVID-19 pandemic. What we did get was suppression of actual science and actual scientists in support of a politically driven line on everything from masking to school closures to vaccine mandates. From his perch atop NIAID, [Anthony] Fauci set himself up as, effectively, America's Lysenko." (10/29/22)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/17215
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23) It Should Be OK To Talk About Negotiating With Russia Over Ukraine
Source: Reason
by Eric Boehm
"The first step toward ending a war is talking about ending a war. This week, unfortunately, we learned that even starting that conversation is apparently off-limits. On Monday, a group of 30 House Democrats sent a letter to President Joe Biden calling for the United States to negotiate directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the hopes of ending the war in Ukraine. Less than 24 hours later, the lawmakers withdrew the letter, apologized for having sent it, and blamed the whole mess on a staffer." (10/28/22)
https://reason.com/2022/10/28/it-should-be-ok-to-talk-about-negotiating-with-russia-over-ukraine/
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24) They Never Learn: Politicians Continue to Grant Themselves Powers Later Abused by Their Opponents
Source: Cato Institute
by David Boaz
"President Biden will be remembered for denying a second term to a president who claimed that 'when somebody's the president of the United States, the authority is total,' and who subsequently tried to overturn the election he lost. History will rate Biden more highly if he uses the remaining two years of his term to work with Congress to restore the checks and balances envisioned in the Constitution. He's not off to a good start." (10/28/22)
https://www.cato.org/commentary/they-never-learn-politicians-continue-grant-themselves-powers-later-abused-their
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25) Affirmative Action and Racial Prejudice
Source: Ideas
by David Friedman
"Suppose you are a white student at an elite college or law school in an America without affirmative action in admissions. You observe that although there are not very many black students in the school, the ones that are there are about as smart as you and your fellow white students, that being why they, like you, got in. ... Suppose you are a white student at an elite college or law school in an America with affirmative action in admissions. A few of your black fellow students are about as smart as you are -- the ones who would have gotten in without affirmative action -- but most are not. ... Hence one effect of affirmative action is to increase racial prejudice." (10/30/22)
https://daviddfriedman.blogspot.com/2022/10/affirmative-action-and-racial-prejudice.html
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26) Wired for Conspiracism
Source: Quillette
by Michael Shermer
"I have devoted my scientific career to the question of why people believe weird things, and how conspiracy theories such as these can encourage otherwise seemingly rational people to embrace irrational claims--with a small minority then acting on those irrational beliefs in a violent way. When I saw the video of that middle-aged man walking across the rotunda in the Capitol Building dome on January 6th, 2021, proudly waving a large Confederate flag, representing the losing, pro-slavery side in America's Civil War, I couldn't help but wonder: What beliefs led him to that moment? Such belief systems, I've come to understand, have less to do with specific conspiracy theories, and more to do with generalized conspiracist attitudes about the world. I have grouped these attitudes into three overarching categories." (10/30/22)
https://quillette.com/2022/10/30/wired-for-conspiracism/
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27) Racial Discrimination Is Not the Path to Racial Justice
Source: The Dispatch
by David French
"Tomorrow morning the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the most important case of this term, a case which is arguably among the most important of this new century. It will decide whether schools can continue to discriminate on the basis of race in college admissions. The Supreme Court should say no. It should say no because the law should compel it to say no. We should cheer that outcome because morality and justice are in harmony with the law. Racial discrimination is in fundamental tension with racial justice, even when racial discrimination is purportedly designed to advance racial justice." (10/30/22)
https://thedispatch.com/article/racial-discrimination-is-not-the-path-to-racial-justice/
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28) Election About Crash in Middle Class Pocket Books
Source: Fox Business
by Larry Kudlow
"[P]olls increasingly show a Democratic shellacking and a GOP broadening out its victories, but polls don't matter, only votes matter. Message matters. Facts are supposed to matter and credibility matters. So, I'm not so sure about these closing arguments per se, but I do know all campaign season long the Democrats have completely missed the boat. By the by, I don't think that's changing right now -- it's way too late in the game. There's not going to be any new influences, but the Biden Democrats have pushed abortion, making Roe v. Wade permanent (whatever that means). They've also continuously argued impending doom and gloom over climate change and spending several fortunes to fight it, whatever that means and lately that old standby, Donald Trump, MAGA, Mega MAGA, Mega MAGA trickle down, whatever any of that means." (10/30/22)
https://www.foxbusiness.com/media/larry-kudlow-election-about-crash-working-folks-pocket-books
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29) Why "No Gods" -- How To Avoid Atheist Zealotry
Source: Center for a Stateless Society
by Spooky
"Where the intolerance of atheism is merely implied, anti-theism leads with it. The problem, from the anti-theist perspective, is that belief in religion or the 'supernatural' is an inherent threat, therefore any liberatory project needs to be adamantly secular, materialistic, and rational to the explicit exclusion of religion-as-belief to avoid the inevitable creation of a theocracy. Where atheists might acknowledge a domain in which faith can truly be individual, anti-theists condemn all faith as a slippery slope to literal fascism -- a trajectory that the US is currently going down for what appears to be this exact reason." (10/29/22)
https://c4ss.org/content/57517
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30) Lockdowns: The Great Gaslighting
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Michael Senger
"More than two years since the lockdowns of 2020, the political mainstream, particularly on the left, is just beginning to realize that the response to Covid was an unprecedented catastrophe. But that realization hasn't taken the form of a mea culpa. Far from it. ... the prevailing narrative of the mainstream left [sic] is that any upside from the response to Covid is attributable to the state-ordered closures and mandates that they supported, while any downside was an inevitable consequence of the virus independent of any state-ordered closures and mandates which never happened and which anyway they never supported." (10/29/22)
https://brownstone.org/articles/lockdowns-the-great-gaslighting/
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31) Advocating World War Three Just Mainstream Punditry Now
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
"Mainstream punditry in the latter half of 2022 is rife with op-eds arguing that the US needs to vastly increase military spending because a world war is about to erupt, and they always frame it as though this would be something that happens to the US, as though its own actions would have nothing to do with it. As though it would not be the direct result of the US-centralized empire continually accelerating towards that horrific event while refusing every possible diplomatic off-ramp due to its inability to relinquish its goal of total unipolar planetary domination. The latest example of this trend is an article titled 'Could America Win a New World War? -- What It Would Take to Defeat Both China and Russia' published by Foreign Affairs, a magazine that is owned and operated by the supremely influential think tank Council on Foreign Relations." (10/28/22)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2022/10/28/advocating-world-war-three-is-just-mainstream-punditry-now/
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32) Free Markets and Greed
Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman
"'Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.' Ever since corporate raider Gordon Gekko, the lead character in Oliver Stone's Wall Street (1987), made that declaration, left-wing opponents of the market economy have regarded that one-liner as the only rebuttal required to silence their libertarian adversaries. (Right-wingers like the national conservatives probably find Gekko's line useful too.) But Gekko's scriptwriters, Stone and Stanley Weiser, neglected to have their creature define the word." (10/28/22)
https://sheldonfreeassociation.blogspot.com/2022/10/tgif-free-markets-and-greed.html
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33) The Consortium Imposing the Growing Censorship Regime -- and Our New Live, Prime-Time Rumble Program
Source: Glenn Greenwald
by Glenn Greenwald
"The rapid escalation of online censorship, and increasingly offline censorship, cannot be overstated. The silencing tactic that has most commonly provoked attention and debate is the banning of particular posts or individuals by specific social media platforms. But the censorship regime that has been developed, and which is now rapidly escalating, extends far beyond those relatively limited punishments." (10/28/22)
https://greenwald.substack.com/p/the-consortium-imposing-the-growing
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34) Biden and Dems About to Reap Electoral Whirlwind
Source: DC Examiner
by W James Antle III
"Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) doesn't remember when inflation and crime undid the last period of Democratic dominance and sustained liberal governance. She was born in 1989. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is old enough to remember, but he was also a socialist at the height of the Cold War. He is committed, regardless of the electoral consequences. President Joe Biden spent the bulk of his political career watching Democrats slide from New Deal and Great Society-era dominance, only to repeat the same errors that ushered in a string of Republican presidents, followed by the first GOP congressional majorities in 40 years. The supposed advantage of nominating Biden, who will turn 80 after the midterm elections, was that having lived through this history, he might not be doomed to repeat it." (10/30/22)
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/biden-leads-democrats-off-a-cliff
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35) Is the Government the Only Reason for DEI Workshops?
Source: Bet On It
by anonymous
"By Betteridge's law of headlines, the answer is surely 'probably not, no.' But I do think government has likely played an underrated role in explosion of DEI workshops in private companies .... While there may not be laws mandating DEI workshops, such programs can develop as a natural response to hostile members of government." (10/28/22)
https://betonit.substack.com/p/is-the-government-the-only-reason
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36) Biden's nuke review abandons campaign rhetoric on disarmament
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Emma Claire Foley
"Yesterday, the Biden administration released its long-awaited Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) as part of a suite of documents, along with the National Defense Strategy and the Missile Defense Review, outlining the administration's approach to national security and nuclear strategy. The NPR, produced once per administration as a programmatic statement, was originally anticipated to be released early this year. However, eight months into the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has included repeated threats of nuclear use, the strategic landscape has altered considerably. The introductory letter to the documents frames ours as a 'decisive decade.' Yet, likely as a result of the instability caused by the Ukraine invasion and its uncertain outcome, their horizons are relatively short." (10/28/22)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2022/10/28/bidens-nuke-review-abandons-campaign-rhetoric-on-disarmament
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37) Biden's Foreign Policy: Sinking the Congressional Dems, and Ukraine
Source: Common Dreams
by Jeffrey D Sachs
"President Joe Biden is undermining his party's Congressional prospects through a deeply flawed foreign policy. Biden believes that America's global reputation is at stake in the Ukraine War and has consistently rejected a diplomatic off-ramp. The Ukraine War, combined with the administration's disruptions of economic relations with China, is aggravating the stagflation that will likely deliver one or both houses of Congress to the Republicans. Far worse, Biden's dismissal of diplomacy prolongs the destruction of Ukraine and threatens nuclear war. Biden inherited an economy beset by deep disruptions to global supply chains caused by the pandemic and by Trump's erratic trade policies. Yet instead of trying to calm the waters and repair the disruptions, Biden escalated the U.S. conflicts with both Russia and China." (10/30/22)
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2022/10/30/bidens-foreign-policy-sinking-congressional-dems-and-ukraine
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38) Did PayPal quietly bring back its financial penalty for spreading "misinformation?"
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights in Expression
by Aaron Terr
"All eyes remain on PayPal, and with good reason, after the company notified users last month it was adding a slew of new categories of prohibited speech, including any content or materials that 'promote misinformation.' After significant backlash, PayPal claimed notice of the policy changes went out 'in error,' but just a few short weeks later many critics are saying the company quietly went ahead with the controversial misinformation ban anyway, complaining that PayPal may fine users $2,500 for violating the policy. Is this true?" (10/28/22)
https://www.thefire.org/did-paypal-quietly-bring-back-its-financial-penalty-for-spreading-misinformation/
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39) Biden Pitches Failed Economic Vision
Source: JimBovard.com
by James Bovard
"President Biden and Gov. Hochul strutted Thursday at a celebration for a future Micron semiconductor plant outside of Syracuse. The groundbreaking for the factory won't happen until 2024, but Democrats needed something, anything, to pretend they care about the economy before the midterm elections. Biden used his speech to launch his final economic pre-election attacks on Republicans. Biden's biggest howler was claiming that the price of a gallon of gasoline is now 'down from over $5 when I took office.' Actually, the average price of a gallon of gas was less than half of that -- $2.39 -- when Biden took power. Biden, sporadically shouting during his spiel, also made a barrage of claims about reducing the deficits that were so ludicrous that even the Washington Post condemned his deceit. Biden also mumbled angrily about Republicans cutting Social Security, which they haven't done." (10/28/22)
https://jimbovard.com/blog/2022/10/28/new-york-post-biden-pitches-failed-economic-vision/
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40) Elon Musk and the great fear of free speech
Source: spiked
by Brendan O'Neill
"So he's done it. The richest man in the world and self-styled 'free-speech absolutist' has taken over Twitter. The bete noire of illiberal liberals has got his hands on social media. Cue meltdown. Listening to the woke set you'd be forgiven for thinking that the gates of hell had been flung open and every manner of evil and blasphemy will now pour forth. Twitter could become a 'soap box for hate speech,' fretted one media outlet yesterday. It really is extraordinary how much some people fear freedom." (10/28/22)
https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/10/28/elon-musk-and-the-great-fear-of-free-speech/
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41) "Our Democracy" Is Just Fine, It's Democrats That Are Threatened
Source: Town Hall
by Derek Hunter
"If we had a dollar for every time some whiny leftist on cable news whined about a 'threat to our democracy' we could pay off the national debt and have enough left over for an epic bender in Vegas with Hunter Biden. The only thing missing from the Democrats' cries is any actual threat to our system of government from anyone but themselves. The real threat that has them upset is the American public threatening their hold on power by voting their worthless selves out of office. 'The Republicans are dangerous!' cried the progressive seeking to criminalize speech, declaring everything they don't like to be some kind of hate crime. ... Democrats are terrified the American people are about to strip them of their ability to pass legislation, but that's just the tip of the iceberg." (10/30/22)
https://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2022/10/30/our-democracy-is-just-fine-its-democrats-that-are-threatened-n2615210
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42) Privacy in Social Media: The Paradox Doesn't Exist
Source: American Institute for Economic Research
by April Liu
"[S]ocial media platforms are now the world's largest pool for market research, leaving room for companies worldwide to access our personal information. Americans are growing increasingly aware of this, and 84 percent say they are concerned with the safety of personal data they put on the Internet, and 80 percent claim they value data privacy more than keeping social media free to use. Nonetheless, 72.3 percent of Americans were active on social media platforms in 2020, and this number is continuing to grow. To explain this inconsistency, researchers have alleged the existence of a 'privacy paradox,' where individuals claim they care about their privacy but do not act like it." (10/28/22)
https://www.aier.org/article/privacy-in-social-media-the-paradox-doesnt-exist/
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43) Liberalism and Fascism
Source: CounterPunch
by Rob Urie
"For those who may have forgotten, Joe Biden was elected in 2020 to 'restore' humane and technically competent governance that would send the nefarious political forces then aligning in the US packing. In fact, the Biden administration has overseen one of the worst failures to govern in modern history. In 2021, Biden's first year in office, half again more Americans (150%) died from Covid than had under Donald Trump. And an additional 500,000 'excess deaths' brought the total to 1.1 million excess deaths in the US during Biden's first year in office. These are end-of-empire numbers. And they represent an unfolding human and political tragedy." (10/28/22)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/10/28/liberalism-and-fascism/
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44) Should We Thank Russian Troops for Their Service?
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
"After the U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, the American people were constantly exhorted to thank the troops for their service. The mantra spread throughout American society. Politicians used it in their campaigns. Church ministers emphasized it in their sermons. Airliners used it when giving the troops early boarding privileges. That raises an obvious question: Should we also thank the Russian troops for their service? I think most Americans, especially those imbued with a strong anti-Russia mentality, would say no. They would say that Russian troops don't deserve our thanks because they are waging an illegal or unjust war against Ukraine. But doesn't that imply then that when we thank the troops for their service over here, it's not because there is something special and noble about being a soldier?" (10/28/22)
https://www.fff.org/2022/10/28/should-we-thank-russian-troops-for-their-service/
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45) Republicans' Secret Swing-Seat Weapon? Dozens of Rich Nominees
Source: The American Prospect
by Austin Ahlman
"While Republicans' financial strength is largely attributable to their close relationships with the millionaire and billionaire donors who fund their political action committees, they are increasingly utilizing their connection with wealthy political donors in another fashion: by recruiting them to run for office. The most egregious example of a candidate bankrolling their own run this cycle is Pennsylvania Senate nominee Mehmet Oz, who has used the fortune he obtained hawking questionable medical advice to pour over $20 million into his race against Lt. Gov. John Fetterman. But while the high-profile nature of competitive Senate races ensures both nominees will raise enough money to get out their message, self-funding often has a much greater impact in House races, where a sizable financial edge can end a potentially competitive race before it even begins." (10/28/22)
https://prospect.org/politics/republicans-secret-swing-seat-weapon-dozens-of-rich-nominees/
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46) Two Cheers for Approval of New Desalination Plant in Orange County
Source: Independent Institute
by K Lloyd Billingsley
"The California Coastal Commission (CCC) has approved the Doheny Ocean Desalination Plant in Orange County. As the California Globe reports, the new plant will produce five million gallons a day for the South Coast Water District, 'reducing the freshwater burden for a large swath of Orange County.' Such approval, in a drought-stricken state, is the exception rather than the rule. As the Globe explains, in May the CCC rejected the Poseidon desalination plant in Huntington Beach that had been in progress for nearly 20 years. That project was supported by a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, Governor Gavin Newsom, and approved by an appellate court ruling. As we noted, that plant would have provided 50 million gallons of fresh water per day." (10/28/22)
https://blog.independent.org/2022/10/28/desalination-orange-county/
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47) No, Prop. 31 isn't really about protecting "the children"
Source: Orange County Register
by Steven Greenhut
"Los Angeles Times columnist George Skelton usually is a sensible guy. But not his latest piece, which calls Proposition 31 -- a referendum on a law that bans the retail sale of flavored tobacco, including most vaping and smokeless nicotine products -- one of the 'easiest 'yes' votes you'll ever find.' That's because, in his view, it benefits children. Protecting people from themselves isn't easy -- and sometimes the 'sensible' policy doesn't make much sense upon closer scrutiny. When it comes to this statewide ballot measure, I prefer the advice of the far more cynical journalist, the late H.L. Mencken, who declared that 'there is always a well-known solution to every human problem -- neat, plausible, and wrong.'" (10/28/22)
https://www.ocregister.com/2022/10/28/no-prop-31-isnt-really-about-protecting-the-children/
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48) An Introduction to Politics for the Politically Clueless
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Patrick Carroll
"With midterm elections around the corner, many are undoubtedly trying to brush up on their knowledge of politics, having mostly ignored the topic since the last election. Maybe you know some of these people. Maybe you are one of these people. For those trying to get a crash course in politics before they vote, the process can be a little daunting. You might try reaching out to a politically-knowledgeable friend, but chances are you'll end up getting more of a rant than answers to your simple questions. So, in an attempt to provide less of a rant and more of an introduction, here are some basic ideas that will help you get oriented on the political landscape." (10/28/22)
https://fee.org/articles/an-introduction-to-politics-for-the-politically-clueless/
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49) Halloween and the Horrors of Capitalism: Have you ever seen a poor vampire?
Source: In These Times
by Naty Uhlmann
"A mother forced to carry something sinister in her womb. ... A hopeless, deindustrialized town with a family like yours or mine -- except they eat people. ... A wealthy count that feasts lavishly on our blood. What can the horror genre tell us about the world we live in? As it turns out, quite a bit. Karl Marx's writings are rife with allusions to things that go bump in the night -- from capitalism's unquenchable, vampiric thirst 'for the living blood of labor' to werewolves and ghosts skulking in the dark corners of our political economy. When Marx writes that capital 'comes dripping from head to foot, from every pore, with blood and dirt,' it's hardly an abstraction; he speaks to a system that finds new and novel ways to ravage us day after day, like how UPS workers and coal miners are dying to make a living, for example." (10/28/22)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/halloween-and-the-horrors-of-capitalism-vampire-film
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50) Ukraine: Will US Back Off as Russia Did on Cuba?
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ray McGovern
"Sixty years ago today (October 28) the U.S. and Russia stepped back from the brink of nuclear war by making a deal. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev would yield to President John F. Kennedy's demand that Soviet missiles be removed from Cuba; Kennedy pledged not to invade. There is an instructive analogy with Ukraine today." (10/28/22)
https://original.antiwar.com/mcgovern/2022/10/27/ukraine-will-us-back-off-as-russia-did-on-cuba/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Nonzero, 10/28/22
Source: Bloggingheads.tv
"Ukraine's Blank Check | Robert Wright & Mickey Kaus." (10/28/22)
https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/65124
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52) The Anarchist Experience, episode 395
Source: The Anarchist Experience
"MC is still on vacation. So Rich E Rich Reads the News. HEADLINES: Government Is Largely Guesswork ... If Red States Want Protection From Collapse They Will Have To Build Alternative Economies." (10/30/22)
https://theanarchistexperience.wordpress.com/2022/10/30/the-anarchist-experience-395/
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53) This Week in Common Sense, 10/29/22
Source: Common Sense
"Tiptoe Through the ..." (10/29/22)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2022/10/29/listen-tiptoe-through-the/
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54) Agorist Nexus Podcast, episode 123
Source: Agorist Nexus
"Gump-bashing and Forrest of tyranny." (10/29/22)
https://www.agoristnexus.com/gump-bashing-and-forrest-of-tyranny-episode-123/
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55) LiberatED Podcast, 10/28/22
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
"'100 Schools in 10 Years,' Award-Winning Microschool Founder Shares Her Vision." (10/28/22)
https://fee.org/articles/100-schools-in-10-years-award-winning-microschool-founder-shares-her-vision/
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56) Conflicts of Interest, episode 342
Source: Libertarian Institute
"US to Upgrade Nuclear Weapons in Europe." (10/28/22)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/kyle/coi-342-us-to-upgrade-nuclear-weapons-in-europe/
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57) The Fifth Column, episode 379
Source: The Fifth Column
"Midterm Closing Arguments, Killing Kanye w/ Coleman Hughes and Nick Gillespie." (10/28/22)
https://wethefifth.substack.com/p/379-midterm-closing-arguments-killing
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58) The Bryan Hyde Show, 10/28/22
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
"What's the difference between government and the mafia? As Eric Peters explains, the difference is that the mafia doesn't pretend it's doing you a favor as it threatens you." (10/28/22)
https://anchor.fm/bryan-hyde/episodes/2022-Oct-28-The-Bryan-Hyde-Show-e1psr4b
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59) The Enrages, episode 20
Source: Center for a Stateless Society
"Anarcha-Genderism with Selena Q. Rose." (10/28/22)
https://c4ss.org/content/57524
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60) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 10/28/22
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
"'Corporate Greed' Doesn't Cause Inflation -- The Federal Reserve Does!" (10/28/22)
https://rumble.com/v1qcel2-corporate-greed-doesnt-cause-inflation-the-federal-reserve-does.html
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