11/20 -- US military officials in Ukraine amid reports of draft Russia peace plan; Fearmongering 101: How Politicians Turn Panic into Power
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Thomas L. Knapp
Nov 20, 2025, 6:10:34 AM (yesterday) Nov 20
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 11/20/25
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Produced by the staff of Rational Review News Digest
https://news.rationalreview.com/
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Today's Freedom News:
0) Hybrid Thursday and Year-End Fundraiser Update
1) US military officials in Ukraine amid reports of draft Russia peace plan
2) Bondi: US Justice Department will release Epstein files within 30 days
3) Gaza: At least 28 dead in latest Israeli ceasefire violations
4) DOJ says full grand jury in Comey case didn’t review copy of final indictment
5) China suspends Japanese seafood imports in Taiwan comment fallout
6) Iran: Regime releases Marshall Islands-flagged tanker and crew
7) Mexico: Warning signs appear on beach declaring area restricted by US
8) Summers resigns from OpenAI board amid Epstein revelations
9) Ukraine: Parliament Sacks Two Ministers Amid Major Corruption Scandal
10) NASA discovers rock on Mars that shouldn’t be there; scientists think it’s a visitor from outer space
11) Poland: Regime to close last Russian consulate over “unprecedented act of sabotage”
12) Migrants thought they were in court for a routine hearing; instead, it was a deportation trap
13) FL: Homeowner shoots armed intruder
14) Nigeria: One of 25 students abducted found safe as search continues for missing girls
15) Veteran FBI employee sues bureau after being fired over displaying a pride flag
16) US Energy Department loans $1 billion to help finance the restart of nuclear reactor on Three Mile Island
17) Ultra-processed food is global health threat, experts warn
18) Mexico: Sheinbaum rejects Trump’s suggestion of US strikes on cartel targets
19) CA: Billionaire and climate activist Tom Steyer joins crowded 2026 governor race
20) TX: Court blocks new congressional map
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Fearmongering 101: How Politicians Turn Panic into Power
22) Penny symbolic of useless government
23) The Case Against Property Taxes
24) Why Blaming Walmart and Amazon for Public Assistance Is Misguided
25) Profiteering, Protection Rackets, & a Pay-to-Play Presidency
26) Lawful checks on cocaine traffickers
27) Trump’s Red-Carpet Welcome of Mohammed bin Salman
28) How Donald Trump Lost Control of the Epstein Spin Cycle
29) Zionists Freaking Out About Losing Control Of The Narrative
30) After Liberalism
31) Beware Housing Bills With Socialist Goals
32) How Much Freedom Did the Founders Win—If the Government Can Still Take It All?
33) “Trillion Dollar War Machine”: Understanding US Militarism and How to Dismantle It
34) Red Alert for the British Economy
35) Why Individuals Take Center Stage in “Foundation”
36) The Strange Demise of Mainstream Parties
37) SCOTUS must save Texas from meddling liberal judges
38) Misconduct in the James Comey Case Stemmed From a Reckless Rush To Indict Him
39) Property Rights Ping Pong Pandemonium
40) “Military” and “Foreign Policy” Are Not Magic Words to Give the Government Unrestrained Power
41) The AI Bubble Is Bigger Than You Think
42) Booming tech sector wants govt intervention for “national security”
43) Decapitation Diplomacy
44) War in Venezuela, Brought to You By the Same People Who Lied Us Into Iraq
45) After UN backs Gaza peace plan, Trump miraculously receives praise from New York Times
46) The global race for talent: Other nations are outpacing the U.S. on high-skill immigration
47) Jeffrey Epstein Pursued Swiss Rothschild Bank to Finance Israeli Cyberweapons Empire
48) Labour’s rush to digital ID reveals the idiocy of the technocrats
49) The Mamdani Freak-Out
50) A Postmortem on the 2025 Government Shutdown
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Collateral Damage, episode 7
52) The Learning Curve, 11/19/25
53) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 11/19/25
54) Rising, 11/19/25
55) Reason Interview: Adam O’Neal
56) Fountainhead Forum, episode 391
57) The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg, 11/19/25
58) Underthrow Podcast, 11/19/25
59) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 11/19/25
60) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 11/19/25
61) The Tom Woods Show, episode 2710
62) Capital Record, episode 269
63) Politics Politics Politics. 11/18/25
64) The Bryan Hyde Show, 11/18/25
65) Law & Liberty Podcast, 11/18/25
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1) US military officials in Ukraine amid reports of draft Russia peace plan
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Senior Pentagon officials have arrived in Ukraine to ‘discuss efforts to end the war’ with Russia, the US military has said. The team, led by US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, is expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Thursday. Reports began surfacing on Wednesday that the US and Russia had prepared a new framework peace plan, requiring significant concessions from Ukraine including giving up territory it still controls and dramatically cutting the size of its military. Neither Washington nor Moscow has officially confirmed the plan, drafted by President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev.” (11/20/25)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgdgrqwnq9o
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2) Bondi: US Justice Department will release Epstein files within 30 days
Source: Reuters
“The U.S. Justice Department will release files from its investigation into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein within 30 days, Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Wednesday, after Congress voted nearly unanimously to force President Donald Trump’s administration to make them public. The material could shed more light on the activities of Epstein, who socialized with Trump and other notable figures before his 2008 conviction on charges of soliciting a minor for prostitution. The scandal has been a thorn in Trump’s side for months, partly because he amplified conspiracy theories about Epstein to his own supporters. Many Trump voters believe his administration has covered up Epstein’s ties to powerful figures and obscured details surrounding his death, which was ruled a suicide, in a Manhattan jail in 2019 as he faced federal sex trafficking charges.” (11/19/25)
https://archive.is/wuYMg
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3) Gaza: At least 28 dead in latest Israeli ceasefire violations
Source: CNN
“Israeli strikes across Gaza killed at least 28 Palestinians on Wednesday in the latest escalation of violence since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect. The Israel Defense Forces said it carried out the strikes on Hamas targets after ‘several terrorists’ fired on Israeli soldiers operating in Khan Younis in southern Gaza. … Hamas condemned the strikes as ‘a dangerous escalation’ and rejected the IDF’s account, accusing Israel of trying to ‘justify its ongoing crimes and violations.'” (11/19/25)
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/19/middleeast/israel-strikes-gaza-escalation-latam-intl
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4) DOJ says full grand jury in Comey case didn’t review copy of final indictment
Source: Maryland Daily Record
“The Justice Department acknowledged in court Wednesday the grand jury that charged former FBI Director James Comey was not presented with a copy of the final indictment, a concession that may further imperil a prosecution already subject to multiple challenges and demands for its dismissal. The revelation is the latest indication of a troubled presentation of the case to the grand jury by an inexperienced and hastily appointed U.S. attorney named to the job just days earlier by President Donald Trump. Concerns about the process surfaced earlier in the week when a different judge in the case said there was no record in the transcript he had reviewed of the grand jury reviewing the indictment that was actually presented against Comey.” (11/19/25)
https://thedailyrecord.com/2025/11/19/comey-indictment-grand-jury-errors-doj/
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5) China suspends Japanese seafood imports in Taiwan comment fallout
Source: United Press International
“China will suspend importing Japanese seafood products after a diplomatic spat brought on by recent comments by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. According to Japanese new media, China’s rationale to suspend the imports was to enable Chinese authorities to monitor wastewater from Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Takaihi’s statements ‘fundamentally damaged the political foundation of China-Japan relations,’ Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Wednesday. Mao added there there was ‘no longer a market for Japanese seafood.’ … Takaichi told lawmakers Japan could use its military to intervene in any conflict that might occur in the Taiwan Strait, which separates Taiwan from mainland China.” (11/19/25)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2025/11/19/Japan-Taiwan-seafood-import-fish-economy/4201763581709/
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6) Iran: Regime releases Marshall Islands-flagged tanker and crew
Source: ABC News
“Iran on Wednesday released a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker with all its 21 crew members aboard days after Tehran seized the ship without explanation, the vessel’s managers said. Tehran had no immediate comment on the release of the Talara, which marked the first ship seizure by Iran in months. The Middle East remains tense after its 12-day war in June with Israel and as concerns [sic] remain over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.” (11/19/25)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/iran-releases-marshall-islands-flagged-tanker-crew-127658882
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7) Mexico: Warning signs appear on beach declaring area restricted by US
Source: CBS News
“On Monday, men arrived in a boat at a beach in northeast Mexico and installed some signs signaling land that the U.S. Department of Defense considered restricted. Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said late Monday that the country’s navy had removed the signs, which appeared to be on Mexican territory. … The signs read in English and Spanish, ‘Warning: Restricted Area,’ and went on to explain that it was Department of Defense property and had been declared restricted by ‘the commander.’ … The U.S. Embassy in Mexico shared a comment from the Pentagon Tuesday about the incident, confirming that contractors putting up signs to mark the ‘National Defense Area III’ had placed signs at the mouth of the Rio Grande. … The Pentagon said the contractors would ‘coordinate with appropriate agencies to avoid confusion in the future.'” (11/19/25)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/warning-signs-mexico-beach-us-department-of-defense-property/
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8) Summers resigns from OpenAI board amid Epstein revelations
Source: Axios
“Former Treasury secretary and Harvard president Larry Summers has resigned from the OpenAI board, he and the company told Axios in separate statements Wednesday, amid new revelations about the depths of his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. … In recent days, a House panel released years of email exchanges between Epstein and Summers. Among them was one in which Summers appeared to be seeking advice on a relationship with a woman.” (11/19/25)
https://archive.is/yTB0q
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9) Ukraine: Parliament Sacks Two Ministers Amid Major Corruption Scandal
Source: US News & World Report
“Ukraine’s parliament voted on Wednesday to dismiss the energy and justice ministers after a major corruption investigation into the energy sector sparked the country’s biggest wartime political crisis. The probe into an alleged $100 million scheme to control contracting at the state nuclear agency has stirred public anger at Ukraine’s leadership as it struggles to fend off Russian forces. Justice Minister German Galushchenko, who served as energy minister from 2021 until 2025, and current Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk had both resigned earlier under pressure from President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Both cabinet ministers deny any wrongdoing in the scandal.” (11/19/25)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2025-11-19/ukrainian-parliament-sacks-two-ministers-amid-major-corruption-scandal
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10) NASA discovers rock on Mars that shouldn’t be there; scientists think it’s a visitor from outer space
Source: New York Post
“Like an interstellar rolling stone. NASA scientists were baffled after uncovering a rock on Mars that didn’t belong there — with a composition pointing to potentially interstellar origins. ‘This rock was identified as a target of interest,’ the space agency wrote in a recent blog post detailing the potentially intergalactic gravelstone. … while finding a stone on Mars might not seem groundbreaking, this particular specimen stood out due to its ‘sculpted, high-standing appearance that differed from that of the low-lying, flat and fragmented surrounding rocks.’ Subsequent analysis by the Rover’s SuperCam revealed that the Martian pebble was high in iron and nickel — an element combo associated more with ‘iron-nickel’ meteorites rather than more run-of-the-mill rocks.” (11/19/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/11/19/science/nasa-discovers-rock-on-mars-that-shouldnt-be-there/
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11) Poland: Regime to close last Russian consulate over “unprecedented act of sabotage”
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Poland has announced it will close its last remaining Russian consulate in the northern Polish city of Gdansk following the targeting of a railway line to Ukraine from Warsaw, blaming Moscow for the incident. ‘I have decided to withdraw consent for the operation of the Russian consulate in Gdansk,’ Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told journalists on Wednesday. … The move means the only Russian diplomatic mission that will remain open in Poland will be the embassy in Warsaw. The Kremlin responded to the allegation by accusing Poland of ‘Russophobia.'” (11/19/25)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/11/19/poland-to-close-last-russian-consulate-over-unprecedented-act-of-sabotage
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12) Migrants thought they were in court for a routine hearing; instead, it was a deportation trap
Source: SFGate
“The government lawyer knew what was coming as she stood inside a courtroom and texted an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent waiting in a corridor a few feet away. ‘I can’t do this,’ the lawyer said in a text message as she looked at her docket of cases. ‘This is a new emotional load.’ ‘I understand,’ the agent responded. ‘Hopefully we meet again in a better situation.’ Nearby, a Cuban man who had lived in the United States for years stepped from an elevator and into the courtroom where the government lawyer was waiting for what the man thought was a routine hearing. The man was doing what the law required, and brought along his wife, a legal resident, and their 7-month-old infant. Then the lawyer quickly moved to have the man’s asylum claim dismissed and a judge agreed, making the man eligible for ‘expedited removal.'” (11/19/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/migrants-thought-they-were-in-court-for-a-routine-21196117.php
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13) FL: Homeowner shoots armed intruder
Source: News4JAX
“An Arlington homeowner shot an intruder who broke into his house Tuesday afternoon, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said. JSO said the armed intruder broke into a rear bedroom window at a home on Arlex Drive North around 12:45 p.m. Then, led the man to the back bedroom, where he demanded valuables and car keys. The man was able to retrieve his gun from the bedroom and shot the man in the shoulder, police said. … The intruder was taken to the hospital in police custody.” (11/18/25)
https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2025/11/19/arlington-homeowner-shoots-armed-intruder-during-home-invasion-jso/
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14) Nigeria: One of 25 students abducted found safe as search continues for missing girls
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“A schoolgirl who was abducted with 24 others from a dormitory in northwestern Nigeria has escaped and is safe, the school’s principal told The Associated Press on Tuesday, as hunters joined security forces in the search for the missing students in forests close to the school. The girls were kidnapped before dawn on Monday, when gunmen attacked the dorm at the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Kebbi state’s Maga town. Local police said the gunmen scaled the fence to enter the school premises and exchanged gunfire with police officers before seizing the girls and killing a staff member. No group has claimed responsibility for taking the girls, but analysts and locals say gangs of bandits often target schools, travellers and remote villagers in kidnappings for ransom.” (11/18/25)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/nigeria-school-girls-abduction-escape-9.6984052
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15) Veteran FBI employee sues bureau after being fired over displaying a pride flag
Source: SFGate
“A veteran FBI employee training to become a special agent was fired last month for displaying at his workspace an LGBTQ+ flag, which had previously flown outside a field office, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court. David Maltinsky had worked at the FBI for 16 years and was nearly finished with special agent training in Quantico, Virginia, when he was called into a meeting last month with FBI officials, given a letter from Director Kash Patel and told he was being ‘summarily dismissed’ over the inappropriate display of political signage, Maltinsky’s lawsuit said. The suit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Washington, said Maltinsky had been a decorated intelligence specialist working in the Los Angeles field office and most recently was pursuing a longtime dream of becoming a special agent.” (11/19/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/veteran-fbi-employee-sues-bureau-after-being-21196999.php
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16) US Energy Department loans $1 billion to help finance the restart of nuclear reactor on Three Mile Island
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
“The U.S. Department of Energy said Tuesday that it will loan $1 billion to help finance the restart of the nuclear power plant on Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island that is under contract to supply power to data centers for tech giant Microsoft. The loan is in line with the priorities of President Donald Trump’s administration, including bolstering nuclear power and artificial intelligence. For Constellation Energy, which owns Three Mile Island’s lone functioning nuclear power reactor, the federal loan will lower its financing cost to get the mothballed plant up and running again. The 835-megawatt reactor can power the equivalent of approximately 800,000 homes, the Department of Energy said.” (11/18/25)
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/11/18/three-mile-island-doe/
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17) Ultra-processed food is global health threat, experts warn
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Action is needed now to reduce ultra-processed food (UPF) in diets worldwide because of their threat to health, say international experts in a global review of research. They say the way we eat is changing – with a move away from fresh, whole foods to cheap, highly-processed meals – which is increasing our risk of a range of chronic diseases, including obesity and depression. Writing in The Lancet, the researchers say governments need ‘to step up’ and introduce warnings and higher taxes on UPF products, to help fund access to more nutritious foods. However some scientists say this review can not prove that UPFs directly cause health harms and more research and trials are needed to show that. Ultra-processed foods are defined as containing more than five ingredients you would not find at home in your kitchen cupboard, such as emulsifiers, preservatives, additives, dyes and sweeteners.” (11/19/25)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy4pjjzd784o
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18) Mexico: Sheinbaum rejects Trump’s suggestion of US strikes on cartel targets
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“Mexico’s president on Tuesday ruled out allowing US strikes against cartels on Mexican soil, a day after President Donald Trump said he was willing to do whatever it takes to stop drugs entering the United States. ‘It’s not going to happen,’ President Claudia Sheinbaum said. … Sheinbaum said she had given this message to Trump and to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on previous occasions and that they had understood. ‘Would I want strikes in Mexico to stop drugs? OK with me, whatever we have to do to stop drugs,’ Trump said Monday, adding that he’s ‘not happy with Mexico.'” (11/18/25)
https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20251119-mexico-president-rejects-trump-usa-cartel-strikes
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19) CA: Billionaire and climate activist Tom Steyer joins crowded 2026 governor race
Source: SFGate
“Billionaire and climate change activist Tom Steyer is throwing his hat in the ring to become the next California governor, further crowding the pool of candidates seeking to lead the world’s fourth-largest economy. Steyer, the Democrat who once attempted to run for president and joined an effort to impeach Donald Trump during his first presidential term, announced on Wednesday a gubernatorial run focused on addressing California’s affordability issues. ‘I wanted to build a business here. Now, it’s worth billions of dollars. And I walked away from it because I wanted to give back to California,’ Steyer said in a video announcing his campaign. In his release, Steyer touts several achievements that include his roles in defeating a proposal to roll back California’s clean air and climate laws and raising the state’s tobacco tax to fund health care programs.” (11/19/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/billionaire-activist-joins-crowded-2026-21196445.php
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20) TX: Court blocks new congressional map
Source: The Hill
“A panel of federal judges in Texas on Tuesday blocked the state’s new GOP-favored House map from being used ahead of the 2026 midterms by declaring it a likely racial gerrymander, dealing a blow to Republicans who have looked to net extra seats. In a 2-1 vote, the panel ordered Texas Republicans to use the congressional lines they had in place before they redistricted earlier this year. The new map would have offered Republicans up to five pickup opportunities in the House in 2026. … Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) quickly vowed to appeal to the Supreme Court, which is already considering wide-ranging questions about racial gerrymandering lawsuits in a long-running battle in Louisiana.” (11/18/25)
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5611065-texas-republican-redistricting-challenge
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Fearmongering 101: How Politicians Turn Panic into Power
Source: International Guild of Professional Anarchists
“Politicians don’t stand up and shout, ‘Give me liberty or give me death,’ anymore. Their version is closer to: ‘Give me your fear and I’ll rent your freedom back to you, one crisis at a time.’ That’s the real slogan of modern governance, and Fearmongering 101 is the core course every aspiring ruler passes with honors. The curriculum is simple: invent or exaggerate a crisis, declare yourself the only solution, demand more power, money, and obedience, then repeat the process until the public is too anxious and exhausted to notice the chains tightening. This isn’t a conspiracy theory; it’s standard operating procedure.” (11/19/25)
https://alexandersnitker.substack.com/p/fearmongering-101-how-politicians
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22) Penny symbolic of useless government
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“Where do you stand on the penny issue? Are you pro-penny, anti-penny, or do you not care one way or the other? Did you even know there was a ‘penny issue?’ On Nov. 12, the U.S. Mint stopped issuing pennies; it minted its final one-cent coin. Maybe. Some people are upset by this development; others think it’s long past due. The problem with pennies is two-fold: due to the devaluation of the dollar (‘inflation’), each penny costs over three cents to make and distribute. In addition, the rampant creation of inflated U.S. dollars by the Federal Reserve — which I consider the largest counterfeiting operation in world history — has made them useless. Other than psychologically, I suppose.” (11/19/25)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2025/11/19/voices/opinion-penny-symbolic-of-useless-government/232161.html
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23) The Case Against Property Taxes
Source: Bluegrass Institute
by Vance Ginn
“Property ownership is the cornerstone of a free society. It reflects the natural right of individuals to control what they create, earn, or voluntarily exchange with others. From that right flows responsibility, independence, and the ability to build a legacy. Yet today, homeowners must pay the government every year simply to keep what they already own. Property taxes are not a reasonable price for local services — they are an outdated, overly coercive, and economically destructive way to fund government.” (11/19/25)
https://www.bluegrassinstitute.org/the-case-against-property-taxes/
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24) Why Blaming Walmart and Amazon for Public Assistance Is Misguided
Source: The Daily Economy
by Christopher Freiman
“With SNAP funding in the news, we’re seeing a revival of a familiar complaint against big business. The reason millions of Americans need public benefits like SNAP, critics say, is that their employers don’t pay them enough. … this complaint is morally confused. To see why, let’s start with a simple point: an employer is a buyer of labor. So when critics say that big corporations should raise their employees’ wages to the point where they don’t need public assistance, what they’re really saying is that corporations should pay more for what they buy. But we shouldn’t assume that merely buying something from someone obligates you to pay them so much that they never need public assistance, rather than simply paying them the mutually agreeable price.” (11/19/25)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/do-employers-shift-labor-costs-onto-taxpayers/
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25) Profiteering, Protection Rackets, & a Pay-to-Play Presidency
Source: CounterPunch
by John W Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead
“Pay-to-play schemes. Protection rackets. Extortion. Corruption. Self-enrichment. Graft. Grift. Brutality. Roaming bands of thugs smashing car windows and terrorizing communities. Immunity for criminal behavior coupled with prosecutions of whistleblowers. This is how a crime syndicate operates — not a constitutional republic. What we are witnessing today is the steady transformation of the federal government — especially the executive branch — into a criminalized system of power in which justice is weaponized, law is selectively enforced, and crime becomes a form of political currency.” (11/19/25)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/11/19/profiteering-protection-rackets-a-pay-to-play-presidency/
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26) Lawful checks on cocaine traffickers
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“In a referendum on Sunday, voters in Ecuador – where some 70% of global cocaine flows – soundly rejected the idea of foreign bases in the country to help fight the drug trade. And in the last three months, as the United States military has built up forces near Venezuela and conducted lethal strikes against alleged drug-carrying boats – dubbed by the White House as ‘narco-terrorists’ – cries have grown louder that such attacks might violate international law. Meanwhile, amid this forceful approach, one country in the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic, has received a largely unnoticed accolade for an alternative tactic to dealing with crime – whether it is petty theft or international drug runners coming to its shores.” (11/18/25)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2025/1118/Lawful-checks-on-cocaine-traffickers
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27) Trump’s Red-Carpet Welcome of Mohammed bin Salman
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“Many people are up in arms over President Trump’s red-carpet welcome of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). They cite the CIA’s conclusion that bin Salman orchestrated and ordered the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi after he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to secure documents relating to his upcoming marriage. … When it comes to the power of government to kill its own citizens, the Saudi system and the U.S. system are now very similar. That is, in both systems, the regime wields the omnipotent power to kill any citizen who is deemed to be a threat to ‘national security.'” (11/19/25)
https://www.fff.org/2025/11/19/trumps-red-carpet-welcome-of-mohammed-bin-salman/
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28) How Donald Trump Lost Control of the Epstein Spin Cycle
Source: Wired
by David Gilbert
“For almost a decade, President Donald Trump has managed to control the conspiracy theory spin around disgraced financier and registered sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The conspiracy theories benefited him; they were one of the factors buoying him to office. It’s only been in the last few weeks — spurred by the release of new Epstein documents and the public defection of GOP lawamkers — that the complex web of misinformation has spun out of Trump’s control. It all began with QAnon.” (11/19/25)
https://archive.is/WGyca
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29) Zionists Freaking Out About Losing Control Of The Narrative
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Former Obama speechwriter Sarah Hurwitz made some very revealing remarks during an appearance at the Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly on Sunday, expressing frustration with the way younger Jews are dismissing pro-Israel arguments because of the carnage they’ve seen in Gaza. ‘We are now wrestling with a new I think generational divide here, and I think that’s particularly true in that social media is now our source of media,’ Hurwitz said. ‘It used to be that the news you got in America was American media, and it was pretty mainstream … You had to go to a pretty weird bookstore to find global media and fringe media. But today we have social media, which is the global medium; its algorithms are shaped by billions of people worldwide who don’t really love Jews” (11/19/25)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2025/11/19/zionists-are-freaking-out-about-losing-control-of-the-narrative/
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30) After Liberalism
Source: Quillette
by Alan S Rome
“The core principles of liberalism — freedom and equality — are insufficient for the good life. We need to supplement them with a more robust, metaphysically thicker understanding of human nature and the good.” (11/19/25)
https://quillette.com/2025/11/19/after-liberalism-virtue-politics-philosophy-democracy/
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31) Beware Housing Bills With Socialist Goals
Source: Town Hall
by Betsy McCaughey
“The Democrats’ lurch to the extreme left is accelerating at warp speed — and Connecticut is the latest victim. The state legislature’s Democratic supermajority last week rammed through a bill, HB 8002, that’s a thinly disguised socialist wishlist. Cynically couched as a remedy for the affordable housing crisis, its real purpose is ideological: forcing Connecticut’s 169 towns to achieve what the bill calls ‘economic diversity’. Translation: If you’ve worked hard to own a home in a leafy suburb with quiet streets, you can’t live there unless everybody can — including the homeless and those with low incomes. The state, through regional councils, will dictate how many people at each income level a town must house. The councils are mere middlemen, a cosmetic addition to paper over a fundamental loss of local control.” (11/19/25)
https://townhall.com/columnists/betsymccaughey/2025/11/19/beware-housing-bills-with-socialist-goals-n2666652
-----
32) How Much Freedom Did the Founders Win—If the Government Can Still Take It All?
Source: Chasing Liberty
by Jeff Charles
“Joseph Rivers was a 22-year-old from Romulus, Michigan, who boarded an Amtrak train in 2015 with about $16,000 in cash — his life savings — to start a new life in Los Angeles as a music video producer. His dream was cut short when federal agents decided the government was more entitled to that cash than he was. In Albuquerque, New Mexico, DEA agents boarded the train, questioned passengers, and asked to search his bags; Rivers agreed, and agents found the cash in a bank envelope, even calling his mother to confirm his story before stealing the money anyway under civil asset forfeiture, leaving him with no charges and no way to continue his trip or get home.” (11/19/25)
https://www.libertychasers.com/p/how-much-freedom-did-the-founders
-----
33) “Trillion Dollar War Machine”: Understanding US Militarism and How to Dismantle It
Source: Common Dreams
by Joseph Bouchard
“At this very second, Washington is pouring billions into escalations toward a potential invasion of Venezuela that would set Latin America on fire, escalate tensions with neighbors, and trap US troops in another undefined quagmire. It has already conducted about a dozen strikes on unproven ‘drug boats’ in the Caribbean, without congressional approval, a trial, or even demonstrated intelligence, killing innumerable Venezuelan and foreign civilians, while it has moved Naval strike groups and carriers near Venezuela’s shores. This is one of the disastrous and preventable results of American militarism, exceptionalism, and the military-industrial complex that fuels them. Such is the context in which The Trillion Dollar War Machine lands on bookshelves.” (11/19/25)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/trillion-dollar-us-war-machine
-----
34) Red Alert for the British Economy
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Oliver Dean
“The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) statistics paint a bleak picture for Britain’s economic outlook. Growth over the last three months is even slower than expected, with the UK’s GDP rising just 0.1% from July to September, half as much as forecast. That comes hard on the heels of the news on Tuesday that unemployment has hit 5%, the highest it has been in four years. With more young people not in education, employment or training and businesses repeatedly voicing concerns over tax hikes, it is clear that Britain is no longer the welcome home to businesses it once was. With the Budget just two weeks away, the Chancellor still has the power to turn the British economy around. But only if she signals to businesses that she has their interests at heart.” (11/19/25)
https://fee.org/articles/red-alert-for-the-british-economy/
-----
35) Why Individuals Take Center Stage in “Foundation”
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Matthew Hisrich
“A refrain in the television series Foundation is that, in the grand scheme of history, individuals and individual actions do not matter. Amusingly, the focus of the series is on individuals and individual actions. As it turns out, the lives of individuals make for more compelling storytelling than long arcs of history. Show creators David S. Goyer and Josh Friedman were wise in this regard to deviate from Isaac Asimov’s source material. But the tactic simultaneously undermines the central premise of Foundation as a concept while also revealing two fundamental truths about human existence: individuals matter and we cannot predict the future.” (11/19/25)
https://mises.org/power-market/why-individuals-take-center-stage-foundation
-----
36) The Strange Demise of Mainstream Parties
Source: The Atlantic
by Idrees Kahloon
“In democracies all across the world, the party system appears unhealthy: Trust in parties is low, partisan antagonism is high, and elections feel existential instead of routine. Many countries’ equivalents of the Democrats and Republicans — parties that have been dominant at least since World War II — are suffering similar decline. Some are on the precipice of extinction. Populist parties are ascending seemingly everywhere. The synchronized collapse of mainstream parties around the world shows that what is happening in America is unexceptional — and, as a result, that many prominent theories for the American electorate’s malaise and discontent are incomplete.” (11/19/25)
https://archive.is/CFvJ1
-----
37) SCOTUS must save Texas from meddling liberal judges
Source: Fox News Forum
by Mike Davis
“Gerrymandering has been a staple of the Republic since its beginning. The practice has such a storied tradition that it is named after Elbridge Gerry, one of our founding fathers who served as vice president under President James Madison. For decades, leftists attempted to outlaw partisan gerrymandering. Justice Anthony Kennedy could not make up his mind on the issue, so it languished until he retired. Fortunately for the Constitution, President Trump replaced Justice Kennedy — the Court’s swing vote for over a dozen years — with solid constitutionalist Justice Brett Kavanaugh. In 2019, thanks to Kavanaugh’s addition, the Court upheld partisan gerrymandering in Rucho v. Common Cause. Legislatures cannot gerrymander based on race, but they can do so based on partisanship.” (11/19/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/mike-davis-scotus-must-save-texas-from-meddling-liberal-judges
-----
38) Misconduct in the James Comey Case Stemmed From a Reckless Rush To Indict Him
Source: Reason
by Jacob Sullum
“When U.S. Magistrate Judge William E. Fitzpatrick blasted the Justice Department’s handling of the James Comey case on Monday, he did not address the merits of the perjury and obstruction charges against the former FBI director. But the government misconduct that Fitzpatrick described was largely a product of the reckless rush to deliver the grudge-driven indictment that President Donald Trump demanded. … These missteps, which Fitzpatrick said might prove serious enough to require dismissal of the indictment, did not happen in a vacuum. They were the consequences of Trump’s determination to get Comey, regardless of the facts or the law.” (11/19/25)
https://reason.com/2025/11/19/misconduct-in-the-james-comey-case-stemmed-from-a-reckless-rush-to-indict-him/
-----
39) Property Rights Ping Pong Pandemonium
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Jim Bovard
“Remind me again why any reasonable person expects the federal government to obey the law. The Trump administration this week gravely imperiled the nation’s water supply by curtailing federal regulations over dry land. Or at least that’s the story the media is hustling. A Washington Post headline epitomized the fretting: ‘Trump proposal would limit protections for U.S. waterways’ by narrowing the definition of wetlands. The Post did not mention that mere puddles or land that is dry 350 days a year have been categorized as ‘waters of the United States’ under the Clean Water Act.” (11/19/25)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/property-rights-ping-pong-pandemonium
-----
40) “Military” and “Foreign Policy” Are Not Magic Words to Give the Government Unrestrained Power
Source: The Bulwark
by Anthony Sanders
“‘Military’ and ‘foreign policy’ are not magic words that automatically get the government out of court. However, similarly to what the Bush administration claimed during the War on Terror, the Trump administration is advancing that argument in various contexts, from deportations to sending the National Guard into cities that have not requested them. And some judges want to submit to this ‘magic.’ The Supreme Court should shut this hocus-pocus down before it unleashes unrestrained power in the name of ‘judicial restraint.'” (11/19/25)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/military-and-foreign-policy-are-not-magic-words
-----
41) The AI Bubble Is Bigger Than You Think
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen
“One thing I’ve been tracking this year is the areas where Wall Street and Silicon Valley are going to war. Tech firms clearly want to become banking apps and receive special charters, private equity and crypto are jostling for position in worker 401(k) plans, and the tech right in general wants to supplant big banks as the go-to director of conservative business policy. That’s all still going on. But in one area, Silicon Valley and Wall Street are in sync: conjuring up sketchy credit deals that are pointing us toward another financial crash.” (11/19/25)
https://prospect.org/2025/11/19/ai-bubble-bigger-than-you-think/
-----
42) Booming tech sector wants govt intervention for “national security”
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Stavroula Pabst
“Authors of a new Council on Foreign Relations report are framing government subsidies and bailouts for key tech industries as a national security imperative. Not surprisingly, many of the report’s authors stand to benefit financially from such an arrangement.” (11/19/25)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/national-security-tech/
-----
43) Decapitation Diplomacy
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“Earlier this month, during a parliamentary session, Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was pressed by an opposition lawmaker on scenarios that could trigger the clause in Japan’s constitution concerning ‘survival-threatening situations,’ thus allowing collective self-defense. Takaichi explicitly stated that Chinese military action against Taiwan--such as a naval blockade, invasion, or interference with U.S. forces--could qualify. … scandalous as Takaichi’s answers were to the Communist Party in China, it was the response of Xue Jian, consul general of the People’s Republic of China, in Osaka, Japan, that raised more than eyebrows: ‘I have no choice but to cut off that filthy head that barged in without hesitation--are you ready?'” (11/19/25)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2025/11/19/decapitation-diplomacy/
-----
44) War in Venezuela, Brought to You By the Same People Who Lied Us Into Iraq
Source: The Intercept
by Alain Stephens
“The echoes of Iraq are everywhere: the moral certainty, the insistence on a narrow mission, laws stretched to accommodate force, the journalist class nudging readers toward the idea of escalation. The Times leans on that posture — the intellectual confidence that if a dictator is cruel enough, if his country is chaotic enough, then U.S. firepower is not only justified but prudent and even moral. … This is not law enforcement. It is coercive statecraft backed by military power. And when the press uncritically repeats the administration’s framing, the escalation becomes easier to swallow.” (11/18/25)
https://theintercept.com/2025/11/18/venezuela-iraq-war-new-york-times/
-----
45) After UN backs Gaza peace plan, Trump miraculously receives praise from New York Times
Source: New York Post
by Michael Goodwin
“Miracles come in all shapes and circumstances, but here is a truly remarkable one: The New York Times has said something positive about President Trump. All he had to do was get most of the world to back his sweeping plan for bringing peace to Gaza. It was a long shot, but he and his skilled negotiating team pulled it off. So much so that a Monday Times headline called it ‘A Major Breakthrough.’ The story went on to declare that the United Nations Security Council vote to support the president’s plan represents ‘a major diplomatic victory for the Trump administration.’ It is that, and a helluva lot more, including the fact that it already has saved untold lives, both Jewish and Arab, and will save many more each day if it is fully implemented.” (11/19/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/11/18/opinion/michael-goodwin-trump-miraculously-receives-praise-from-new-york-times-after-un-backs-gaza-peace-plan/
-----
46) The global race for talent: Other nations are outpacing the U.S. on high-skill immigration
Source: Niskanen Center
by Cecilia Ignatio
“Immigration policy has become a critical tool for labor and economic strategy. But as governments around the world compete for valuable workplace talent, the United States has gone in the opposite direction by adding new restrictions on legal immigration for high-skilled workers, explicitly targeting the H-1B visa program through a $100,000 fee. … The administration has said the amount will encourage companies to hire American workers instead of relying on foreign talent. However, in practice, the policy has created confusion among employers regarding the extent of its implementation.” (11/18/25)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/the-global-race-for-talent
-----
47) Jeffrey Epstein Pursued Swiss Rothschild Bank to Finance Israeli Cyberweapons Empire
Source: Drop Site
by Ryan Grim and Murtaza Hussain
“With an avalanche of new documents released by the House Oversight Committee, and looming legislation mandating further disclosures, the press has renewed its relentless coverage of the life and times of Jeffrey Epstein. Yet, with some notable exceptions, a major part of his life’s work has remained outside the media’s gaze, his relationship with the state of Israel and his prominent role in helping advance the Israeli cyberweapons industry.” (11/18/25)
https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/jeffrey-epstein-ariane-de-rothschild-ehud-barak-swiss-bank-israeli-cyberweapons
-----
48) Labour’s rush to digital ID reveals the idiocy of the technocrats
Source: spiked
by Andrew Orlowski
“The UK scrapped war-time identity cards in 1952. It remains one of the few countries that eschews a ‘papers, please’ relationship with the state. In the 2000s, the 9/11 terror attacks gave Tony Blair’s government a justification to re-introduce state-issued identity cards …. Introduced via legislation in 2004, ID cards became one of New Labour’s most contentious policies, dogging the final years of the government. They were scrapped in 2010 by the Tory-Lib Dem coalition. By then, they had already cost an estimated £5 billion, officially, or between £10 billion and £20 billion, unofficially. Surely no one would want to do that all over again? Almost nobody did, until this year.” (11/18/25)
https://www.spiked-online.com/2025/11/18/labours-rush-to-digital-id-reveals-the-idiocy-of-the-technocrats/
-----
49) The Mamdani Freak-Out
Source: In These Times
by Dania Rajendra
“Roughly two weeks before the New York City mayoral election, more than 1,000 rabbis signed onto an open letter against anti-Zionism in politics, and thus, against Zohran Mamdani, under the misnomer ‘The Jewish Majority.’ They wrote the letter ‘to declare that we cannot remain silent in the face of rising anti-Zionism and its political normalization throughout our nation.’ In doing so, they discredited themselves and expanded Jewish leftists’ opportunity to redefine the political — and spiritual – parameters of Jewish identity. Anti-Zionism has existed since the beginning of Zionism itself, and has, indeed, grown as Israel’s genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank remains deeply unpopular across the United States and around the world. Democrats’ refusal to contend with this fact – to actually represent their base – has become a symbol of the party’s overall inability to listen to, and fight for, its members.” (11/19/25)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/zohran-mamdani-islamophobia-antisemitism-adl
-----
50) A Postmortem on the 2025 Government Shutdown
Source: Independent Institute
by Craig Eyermann
“There was a way the 2025 shutdown could have been avoided. Congress could pass a temporary spending bill to fund government operations while continuing to hammer out regular spending bills. The Republican majority in the House of Representatives drafted a straightforward Continuing Resolution to do just that, sending the bill to the Senate, well before the government would shut down. That’s when things went wrong.” (11/18/25)
https://www.independent.org/article/2025/11/18/postmortem-2025-government-shutdown/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Collateral Damage, episode 7
Source: The Intercept
“Dirty Information: The NYPD’s Shock Tactics and the death of Alberta Spruill.” (11/19/25)
https://theintercept.com/2025/11/19/collateral-damage-episode-seven-dirty-information/
-----
52) The Learning Curve, 11/19/25
Source: Pioneer Institute
“Houston Supt. Mike Miles on Urban School District Reform.” (11/19/25)
https://pioneerinstitute.org/learning-curve/houston-supt-mike-miles-on-urban-school-district-reform/
-----
53) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 11/19/25
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“A ‘Secret’ Peace Deal For Ukraine?” (11/19/25)
https://rumble.com/v71yei0-a-secret-peace-deal-for-ukraine.html
-----
54) Rising, 11/19/25
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave delivers his radar on the Trump administration moving forward with plans to dismantle the Department of Education, something Republicans have long wanted to do.” (11/19/25)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/5612613-rising-november-19-2025/
-----
55) Reason Interview: Adam O’Neal
Source: Reason
“Is The Washington Post Becoming Libertarian?” (11/19/25)
https://reason.com/podcast/2025/11/19/is-the-washington-post-becoming-libertarian/
-----
56) Fountainhead Forum, episode 391
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Brian Reisinger on issues facing cattle farmers in the USA.” (11/19/25)
https://rumble.com/v71yb2c-ff-391-brian-reisinger-on-issues-facing-cattle-farmers-in-the-usa.html
-----
57) The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg, 11/19/25
Source: The Dispatch
“Postliberalism: Flirting with Fascism | Interview: George Weigel.” (11/19/25)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/remnant/postliberalism-flirting-with-fascism-interview-george-weigel/
-----
58) Underthrow Podcast, 11/19/25
Source: Underthrow
“We Have Got to Talk About Healthcare | With Michael Cannon.” (11/19/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpV9L3KuWns
-----
59) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 11/19/25
Source: The New Republic
“Trump’s Plot to Rig 2026 Is Falling Apart, and Boy Is He Mad About It.” (11/19/25)
https://newrepublic.com/article/203369/trump-plot-rig-2026-falling-apart-boy-mad
-----
60) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 11/19/25
Source: Antiwar.com
“Maduro Ready for ‘Face-To-Face’ Talks With US, Israel Bombs Palestinian Camp in Lebanon, and More.” (11/19/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlHAQpjDr44
-----
61) The Tom Woods Show, episode 2710
Source: The Tom Woods Show
“Walter Block and Ilana Mercer debate the war in Gaza.” (11/18/25)
https://tomwoods.com/ep-2710-gaza-in-retrospect-a-debate/
-----
62) Capital Record, episode 269
Source: National Review
“The Antidote to Mamdani.” (11/18/25)
https://www.nationalreview.com/podcasts/capital-record/the-antidote-to-mamdani/
-----
63) Politics Politics Politics. 11/18/25
Source: Politics Politics Politics
“The Epstein Files Are Coming. How Politics is Adjusting to the AI Age (with Tom Merritt).” (11/18/25)
https://www.politicspoliticspolitics.com/p/the-epstein-files-are-coming-how
-----
64) The Bryan Hyde Show, 11/18/25
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
“Eric Peters from Eric Peters Autos joins me for our weekly chat. This is a time of decision for a number of people–will they choose principle or personality.” (11/18/25)
https://www.podbean.com/ep/pb-jwxx8-19c8635
-----
65) Law & Liberty Podcast, 11/18/25
Source: Law & Liberty
“The Recent History of Free Speech.” (11/18/25)
https://lawliberty.org/podcast/the-recent-history-of-free-speech/
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Today's Freedom News:
0) Hybrid Thursday and Year-End Fundraiser Update
1) US military officials in Ukraine amid reports of draft Russia peace plan
2) Bondi: US Justice Department will release Epstein files within 30 days
3) Gaza: At least 28 dead in latest Israeli ceasefire violations
4) DOJ says full grand jury in Comey case didn’t review copy of final indictment
5) China suspends Japanese seafood imports in Taiwan comment fallout
6) Iran: Regime releases Marshall Islands-flagged tanker and crew
7) Mexico: Warning signs appear on beach declaring area restricted by US
8) Summers resigns from OpenAI board amid Epstein revelations
9) Ukraine: Parliament Sacks Two Ministers Amid Major Corruption Scandal
10) NASA discovers rock on Mars that shouldn’t be there; scientists think it’s a visitor from outer space
11) Poland: Regime to close last Russian consulate over “unprecedented act of sabotage”
12) Migrants thought they were in court for a routine hearing; instead, it was a deportation trap
13) FL: Homeowner shoots armed intruder
14) Nigeria: One of 25 students abducted found safe as search continues for missing girls
15) Veteran FBI employee sues bureau after being fired over displaying a pride flag
16) US Energy Department loans $1 billion to help finance the restart of nuclear reactor on Three Mile Island
17) Ultra-processed food is global health threat, experts warn
18) Mexico: Sheinbaum rejects Trump’s suggestion of US strikes on cartel targets
19) CA: Billionaire and climate activist Tom Steyer joins crowded 2026 governor race
20) TX: Court blocks new congressional map
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Fearmongering 101: How Politicians Turn Panic into Power
22) Penny symbolic of useless government
23) The Case Against Property Taxes
24) Why Blaming Walmart and Amazon for Public Assistance Is Misguided
25) Profiteering, Protection Rackets, & a Pay-to-Play Presidency
26) Lawful checks on cocaine traffickers
27) Trump’s Red-Carpet Welcome of Mohammed bin Salman
28) How Donald Trump Lost Control of the Epstein Spin Cycle
29) Zionists Freaking Out About Losing Control Of The Narrative
30) After Liberalism
31) Beware Housing Bills With Socialist Goals
32) How Much Freedom Did the Founders Win—If the Government Can Still Take It All?
33) “Trillion Dollar War Machine”: Understanding US Militarism and How to Dismantle It
34) Red Alert for the British Economy
35) Why Individuals Take Center Stage in “Foundation”
36) The Strange Demise of Mainstream Parties
37) SCOTUS must save Texas from meddling liberal judges
38) Misconduct in the James Comey Case Stemmed From a Reckless Rush To Indict Him
39) Property Rights Ping Pong Pandemonium
40) “Military” and “Foreign Policy” Are Not Magic Words to Give the Government Unrestrained Power
41) The AI Bubble Is Bigger Than You Think
42) Booming tech sector wants govt intervention for “national security”
43) Decapitation Diplomacy
44) War in Venezuela, Brought to You By the Same People Who Lied Us Into Iraq
45) After UN backs Gaza peace plan, Trump miraculously receives praise from New York Times
46) The global race for talent: Other nations are outpacing the U.S. on high-skill immigration
47) Jeffrey Epstein Pursued Swiss Rothschild Bank to Finance Israeli Cyberweapons Empire
48) Labour’s rush to digital ID reveals the idiocy of the technocrats
49) The Mamdani Freak-Out
50) A Postmortem on the 2025 Government Shutdown
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Collateral Damage, episode 7
52) The Learning Curve, 11/19/25
53) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 11/19/25
54) Rising, 11/19/25
55) Reason Interview: Adam O’Neal
56) Fountainhead Forum, episode 391
57) The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg, 11/19/25
58) Underthrow Podcast, 11/19/25
59) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 11/19/25
60) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 11/19/25
61) The Tom Woods Show, episode 2710
62) Capital Record, episode 269
63) Politics Politics Politics. 11/18/25
64) The Bryan Hyde Show, 11/18/25
65) Law & Liberty Podcast, 11/18/25
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1) US military officials in Ukraine amid reports of draft Russia peace plan
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Senior Pentagon officials have arrived in Ukraine to ‘discuss efforts to end the war’ with Russia, the US military has said. The team, led by US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, is expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Thursday. Reports began surfacing on Wednesday that the US and Russia had prepared a new framework peace plan, requiring significant concessions from Ukraine including giving up territory it still controls and dramatically cutting the size of its military. Neither Washington nor Moscow has officially confirmed the plan, drafted by President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev.” (11/20/25)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgdgrqwnq9o
-----
2) Bondi: US Justice Department will release Epstein files within 30 days
Source: Reuters
“The U.S. Justice Department will release files from its investigation into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein within 30 days, Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Wednesday, after Congress voted nearly unanimously to force President Donald Trump’s administration to make them public. The material could shed more light on the activities of Epstein, who socialized with Trump and other notable figures before his 2008 conviction on charges of soliciting a minor for prostitution. The scandal has been a thorn in Trump’s side for months, partly because he amplified conspiracy theories about Epstein to his own supporters. Many Trump voters believe his administration has covered up Epstein’s ties to powerful figures and obscured details surrounding his death, which was ruled a suicide, in a Manhattan jail in 2019 as he faced federal sex trafficking charges.” (11/19/25)
https://archive.is/wuYMg
-----
3) Gaza: At least 28 dead in latest Israeli ceasefire violations
Source: CNN
“Israeli strikes across Gaza killed at least 28 Palestinians on Wednesday in the latest escalation of violence since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect. The Israel Defense Forces said it carried out the strikes on Hamas targets after ‘several terrorists’ fired on Israeli soldiers operating in Khan Younis in southern Gaza. … Hamas condemned the strikes as ‘a dangerous escalation’ and rejected the IDF’s account, accusing Israel of trying to ‘justify its ongoing crimes and violations.'” (11/19/25)
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/19/middleeast/israel-strikes-gaza-escalation-latam-intl
-----
4) DOJ says full grand jury in Comey case didn’t review copy of final indictment
Source: Maryland Daily Record
“The Justice Department acknowledged in court Wednesday the grand jury that charged former FBI Director James Comey was not presented with a copy of the final indictment, a concession that may further imperil a prosecution already subject to multiple challenges and demands for its dismissal. The revelation is the latest indication of a troubled presentation of the case to the grand jury by an inexperienced and hastily appointed U.S. attorney named to the job just days earlier by President Donald Trump. Concerns about the process surfaced earlier in the week when a different judge in the case said there was no record in the transcript he had reviewed of the grand jury reviewing the indictment that was actually presented against Comey.” (11/19/25)
https://thedailyrecord.com/2025/11/19/comey-indictment-grand-jury-errors-doj/
-----
5) China suspends Japanese seafood imports in Taiwan comment fallout
Source: United Press International
“China will suspend importing Japanese seafood products after a diplomatic spat brought on by recent comments by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. According to Japanese new media, China’s rationale to suspend the imports was to enable Chinese authorities to monitor wastewater from Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Takaihi’s statements ‘fundamentally damaged the political foundation of China-Japan relations,’ Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Wednesday. Mao added there there was ‘no longer a market for Japanese seafood.’ … Takaichi told lawmakers Japan could use its military to intervene in any conflict that might occur in the Taiwan Strait, which separates Taiwan from mainland China.” (11/19/25)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2025/11/19/Japan-Taiwan-seafood-import-fish-economy/4201763581709/
-----
6) Iran: Regime releases Marshall Islands-flagged tanker and crew
Source: ABC News
“Iran on Wednesday released a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker with all its 21 crew members aboard days after Tehran seized the ship without explanation, the vessel’s managers said. Tehran had no immediate comment on the release of the Talara, which marked the first ship seizure by Iran in months. The Middle East remains tense after its 12-day war in June with Israel and as concerns [sic] remain over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.” (11/19/25)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/iran-releases-marshall-islands-flagged-tanker-crew-127658882
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7) Mexico: Warning signs appear on beach declaring area restricted by US
Source: CBS News
“On Monday, men arrived in a boat at a beach in northeast Mexico and installed some signs signaling land that the U.S. Department of Defense considered restricted. Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said late Monday that the country’s navy had removed the signs, which appeared to be on Mexican territory. … The signs read in English and Spanish, ‘Warning: Restricted Area,’ and went on to explain that it was Department of Defense property and had been declared restricted by ‘the commander.’ … The U.S. Embassy in Mexico shared a comment from the Pentagon Tuesday about the incident, confirming that contractors putting up signs to mark the ‘National Defense Area III’ had placed signs at the mouth of the Rio Grande. … The Pentagon said the contractors would ‘coordinate with appropriate agencies to avoid confusion in the future.'” (11/19/25)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/warning-signs-mexico-beach-us-department-of-defense-property/
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8) Summers resigns from OpenAI board amid Epstein revelations
Source: Axios
“Former Treasury secretary and Harvard president Larry Summers has resigned from the OpenAI board, he and the company told Axios in separate statements Wednesday, amid new revelations about the depths of his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. … In recent days, a House panel released years of email exchanges between Epstein and Summers. Among them was one in which Summers appeared to be seeking advice on a relationship with a woman.” (11/19/25)
https://archive.is/yTB0q
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9) Ukraine: Parliament Sacks Two Ministers Amid Major Corruption Scandal
Source: US News & World Report
“Ukraine’s parliament voted on Wednesday to dismiss the energy and justice ministers after a major corruption investigation into the energy sector sparked the country’s biggest wartime political crisis. The probe into an alleged $100 million scheme to control contracting at the state nuclear agency has stirred public anger at Ukraine’s leadership as it struggles to fend off Russian forces. Justice Minister German Galushchenko, who served as energy minister from 2021 until 2025, and current Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk had both resigned earlier under pressure from President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Both cabinet ministers deny any wrongdoing in the scandal.” (11/19/25)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2025-11-19/ukrainian-parliament-sacks-two-ministers-amid-major-corruption-scandal
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10) NASA discovers rock on Mars that shouldn’t be there; scientists think it’s a visitor from outer space
Source: New York Post
“Like an interstellar rolling stone. NASA scientists were baffled after uncovering a rock on Mars that didn’t belong there — with a composition pointing to potentially interstellar origins. ‘This rock was identified as a target of interest,’ the space agency wrote in a recent blog post detailing the potentially intergalactic gravelstone. … while finding a stone on Mars might not seem groundbreaking, this particular specimen stood out due to its ‘sculpted, high-standing appearance that differed from that of the low-lying, flat and fragmented surrounding rocks.’ Subsequent analysis by the Rover’s SuperCam revealed that the Martian pebble was high in iron and nickel — an element combo associated more with ‘iron-nickel’ meteorites rather than more run-of-the-mill rocks.” (11/19/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/11/19/science/nasa-discovers-rock-on-mars-that-shouldnt-be-there/
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11) Poland: Regime to close last Russian consulate over “unprecedented act of sabotage”
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Poland has announced it will close its last remaining Russian consulate in the northern Polish city of Gdansk following the targeting of a railway line to Ukraine from Warsaw, blaming Moscow for the incident. ‘I have decided to withdraw consent for the operation of the Russian consulate in Gdansk,’ Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told journalists on Wednesday. … The move means the only Russian diplomatic mission that will remain open in Poland will be the embassy in Warsaw. The Kremlin responded to the allegation by accusing Poland of ‘Russophobia.'” (11/19/25)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/11/19/poland-to-close-last-russian-consulate-over-unprecedented-act-of-sabotage
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12) Migrants thought they were in court for a routine hearing; instead, it was a deportation trap
Source: SFGate
“The government lawyer knew what was coming as she stood inside a courtroom and texted an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent waiting in a corridor a few feet away. ‘I can’t do this,’ the lawyer said in a text message as she looked at her docket of cases. ‘This is a new emotional load.’ ‘I understand,’ the agent responded. ‘Hopefully we meet again in a better situation.’ Nearby, a Cuban man who had lived in the United States for years stepped from an elevator and into the courtroom where the government lawyer was waiting for what the man thought was a routine hearing. The man was doing what the law required, and brought along his wife, a legal resident, and their 7-month-old infant. Then the lawyer quickly moved to have the man’s asylum claim dismissed and a judge agreed, making the man eligible for ‘expedited removal.'” (11/19/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/migrants-thought-they-were-in-court-for-a-routine-21196117.php
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13) FL: Homeowner shoots armed intruder
Source: News4JAX
“An Arlington homeowner shot an intruder who broke into his house Tuesday afternoon, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said. JSO said the armed intruder broke into a rear bedroom window at a home on Arlex Drive North around 12:45 p.m. Then, led the man to the back bedroom, where he demanded valuables and car keys. The man was able to retrieve his gun from the bedroom and shot the man in the shoulder, police said. … The intruder was taken to the hospital in police custody.” (11/18/25)
https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2025/11/19/arlington-homeowner-shoots-armed-intruder-during-home-invasion-jso/
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14) Nigeria: One of 25 students abducted found safe as search continues for missing girls
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“A schoolgirl who was abducted with 24 others from a dormitory in northwestern Nigeria has escaped and is safe, the school’s principal told The Associated Press on Tuesday, as hunters joined security forces in the search for the missing students in forests close to the school. The girls were kidnapped before dawn on Monday, when gunmen attacked the dorm at the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Kebbi state’s Maga town. Local police said the gunmen scaled the fence to enter the school premises and exchanged gunfire with police officers before seizing the girls and killing a staff member. No group has claimed responsibility for taking the girls, but analysts and locals say gangs of bandits often target schools, travellers and remote villagers in kidnappings for ransom.” (11/18/25)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/nigeria-school-girls-abduction-escape-9.6984052
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15) Veteran FBI employee sues bureau after being fired over displaying a pride flag
Source: SFGate
“A veteran FBI employee training to become a special agent was fired last month for displaying at his workspace an LGBTQ+ flag, which had previously flown outside a field office, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court. David Maltinsky had worked at the FBI for 16 years and was nearly finished with special agent training in Quantico, Virginia, when he was called into a meeting last month with FBI officials, given a letter from Director Kash Patel and told he was being ‘summarily dismissed’ over the inappropriate display of political signage, Maltinsky’s lawsuit said. The suit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Washington, said Maltinsky had been a decorated intelligence specialist working in the Los Angeles field office and most recently was pursuing a longtime dream of becoming a special agent.” (11/19/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/veteran-fbi-employee-sues-bureau-after-being-21196999.php
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16) US Energy Department loans $1 billion to help finance the restart of nuclear reactor on Three Mile Island
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
“The U.S. Department of Energy said Tuesday that it will loan $1 billion to help finance the restart of the nuclear power plant on Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island that is under contract to supply power to data centers for tech giant Microsoft. The loan is in line with the priorities of President Donald Trump’s administration, including bolstering nuclear power and artificial intelligence. For Constellation Energy, which owns Three Mile Island’s lone functioning nuclear power reactor, the federal loan will lower its financing cost to get the mothballed plant up and running again. The 835-megawatt reactor can power the equivalent of approximately 800,000 homes, the Department of Energy said.” (11/18/25)
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/11/18/three-mile-island-doe/
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17) Ultra-processed food is global health threat, experts warn
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Action is needed now to reduce ultra-processed food (UPF) in diets worldwide because of their threat to health, say international experts in a global review of research. They say the way we eat is changing – with a move away from fresh, whole foods to cheap, highly-processed meals – which is increasing our risk of a range of chronic diseases, including obesity and depression. Writing in The Lancet, the researchers say governments need ‘to step up’ and introduce warnings and higher taxes on UPF products, to help fund access to more nutritious foods. However some scientists say this review can not prove that UPFs directly cause health harms and more research and trials are needed to show that. Ultra-processed foods are defined as containing more than five ingredients you would not find at home in your kitchen cupboard, such as emulsifiers, preservatives, additives, dyes and sweeteners.” (11/19/25)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy4pjjzd784o
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18) Mexico: Sheinbaum rejects Trump’s suggestion of US strikes on cartel targets
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“Mexico’s president on Tuesday ruled out allowing US strikes against cartels on Mexican soil, a day after President Donald Trump said he was willing to do whatever it takes to stop drugs entering the United States. ‘It’s not going to happen,’ President Claudia Sheinbaum said. … Sheinbaum said she had given this message to Trump and to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on previous occasions and that they had understood. ‘Would I want strikes in Mexico to stop drugs? OK with me, whatever we have to do to stop drugs,’ Trump said Monday, adding that he’s ‘not happy with Mexico.'” (11/18/25)
https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20251119-mexico-president-rejects-trump-usa-cartel-strikes
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19) CA: Billionaire and climate activist Tom Steyer joins crowded 2026 governor race
Source: SFGate
“Billionaire and climate change activist Tom Steyer is throwing his hat in the ring to become the next California governor, further crowding the pool of candidates seeking to lead the world’s fourth-largest economy. Steyer, the Democrat who once attempted to run for president and joined an effort to impeach Donald Trump during his first presidential term, announced on Wednesday a gubernatorial run focused on addressing California’s affordability issues. ‘I wanted to build a business here. Now, it’s worth billions of dollars. And I walked away from it because I wanted to give back to California,’ Steyer said in a video announcing his campaign. In his release, Steyer touts several achievements that include his roles in defeating a proposal to roll back California’s clean air and climate laws and raising the state’s tobacco tax to fund health care programs.” (11/19/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/billionaire-activist-joins-crowded-2026-21196445.php
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20) TX: Court blocks new congressional map
Source: The Hill
“A panel of federal judges in Texas on Tuesday blocked the state’s new GOP-favored House map from being used ahead of the 2026 midterms by declaring it a likely racial gerrymander, dealing a blow to Republicans who have looked to net extra seats. In a 2-1 vote, the panel ordered Texas Republicans to use the congressional lines they had in place before they redistricted earlier this year. The new map would have offered Republicans up to five pickup opportunities in the House in 2026. … Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) quickly vowed to appeal to the Supreme Court, which is already considering wide-ranging questions about racial gerrymandering lawsuits in a long-running battle in Louisiana.” (11/18/25)
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5611065-texas-republican-redistricting-challenge
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Fearmongering 101: How Politicians Turn Panic into Power
Source: International Guild of Professional Anarchists
“Politicians don’t stand up and shout, ‘Give me liberty or give me death,’ anymore. Their version is closer to: ‘Give me your fear and I’ll rent your freedom back to you, one crisis at a time.’ That’s the real slogan of modern governance, and Fearmongering 101 is the core course every aspiring ruler passes with honors. The curriculum is simple: invent or exaggerate a crisis, declare yourself the only solution, demand more power, money, and obedience, then repeat the process until the public is too anxious and exhausted to notice the chains tightening. This isn’t a conspiracy theory; it’s standard operating procedure.” (11/19/25)
https://alexandersnitker.substack.com/p/fearmongering-101-how-politicians
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22) Penny symbolic of useless government
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“Where do you stand on the penny issue? Are you pro-penny, anti-penny, or do you not care one way or the other? Did you even know there was a ‘penny issue?’ On Nov. 12, the U.S. Mint stopped issuing pennies; it minted its final one-cent coin. Maybe. Some people are upset by this development; others think it’s long past due. The problem with pennies is two-fold: due to the devaluation of the dollar (‘inflation’), each penny costs over three cents to make and distribute. In addition, the rampant creation of inflated U.S. dollars by the Federal Reserve — which I consider the largest counterfeiting operation in world history — has made them useless. Other than psychologically, I suppose.” (11/19/25)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2025/11/19/voices/opinion-penny-symbolic-of-useless-government/232161.html
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23) The Case Against Property Taxes
Source: Bluegrass Institute
by Vance Ginn
“Property ownership is the cornerstone of a free society. It reflects the natural right of individuals to control what they create, earn, or voluntarily exchange with others. From that right flows responsibility, independence, and the ability to build a legacy. Yet today, homeowners must pay the government every year simply to keep what they already own. Property taxes are not a reasonable price for local services — they are an outdated, overly coercive, and economically destructive way to fund government.” (11/19/25)
https://www.bluegrassinstitute.org/the-case-against-property-taxes/
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24) Why Blaming Walmart and Amazon for Public Assistance Is Misguided
Source: The Daily Economy
by Christopher Freiman
“With SNAP funding in the news, we’re seeing a revival of a familiar complaint against big business. The reason millions of Americans need public benefits like SNAP, critics say, is that their employers don’t pay them enough. … this complaint is morally confused. To see why, let’s start with a simple point: an employer is a buyer of labor. So when critics say that big corporations should raise their employees’ wages to the point where they don’t need public assistance, what they’re really saying is that corporations should pay more for what they buy. But we shouldn’t assume that merely buying something from someone obligates you to pay them so much that they never need public assistance, rather than simply paying them the mutually agreeable price.” (11/19/25)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/do-employers-shift-labor-costs-onto-taxpayers/
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25) Profiteering, Protection Rackets, & a Pay-to-Play Presidency
Source: CounterPunch
by John W Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead
“Pay-to-play schemes. Protection rackets. Extortion. Corruption. Self-enrichment. Graft. Grift. Brutality. Roaming bands of thugs smashing car windows and terrorizing communities. Immunity for criminal behavior coupled with prosecutions of whistleblowers. This is how a crime syndicate operates — not a constitutional republic. What we are witnessing today is the steady transformation of the federal government — especially the executive branch — into a criminalized system of power in which justice is weaponized, law is selectively enforced, and crime becomes a form of political currency.” (11/19/25)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/11/19/profiteering-protection-rackets-a-pay-to-play-presidency/
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26) Lawful checks on cocaine traffickers
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“In a referendum on Sunday, voters in Ecuador – where some 70% of global cocaine flows – soundly rejected the idea of foreign bases in the country to help fight the drug trade. And in the last three months, as the United States military has built up forces near Venezuela and conducted lethal strikes against alleged drug-carrying boats – dubbed by the White House as ‘narco-terrorists’ – cries have grown louder that such attacks might violate international law. Meanwhile, amid this forceful approach, one country in the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic, has received a largely unnoticed accolade for an alternative tactic to dealing with crime – whether it is petty theft or international drug runners coming to its shores.” (11/18/25)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2025/1118/Lawful-checks-on-cocaine-traffickers
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27) Trump’s Red-Carpet Welcome of Mohammed bin Salman
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“Many people are up in arms over President Trump’s red-carpet welcome of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). They cite the CIA’s conclusion that bin Salman orchestrated and ordered the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi after he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to secure documents relating to his upcoming marriage. … When it comes to the power of government to kill its own citizens, the Saudi system and the U.S. system are now very similar. That is, in both systems, the regime wields the omnipotent power to kill any citizen who is deemed to be a threat to ‘national security.'” (11/19/25)
https://www.fff.org/2025/11/19/trumps-red-carpet-welcome-of-mohammed-bin-salman/
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28) How Donald Trump Lost Control of the Epstein Spin Cycle
Source: Wired
by David Gilbert
“For almost a decade, President Donald Trump has managed to control the conspiracy theory spin around disgraced financier and registered sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The conspiracy theories benefited him; they were one of the factors buoying him to office. It’s only been in the last few weeks — spurred by the release of new Epstein documents and the public defection of GOP lawamkers — that the complex web of misinformation has spun out of Trump’s control. It all began with QAnon.” (11/19/25)
https://archive.is/WGyca
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29) Zionists Freaking Out About Losing Control Of The Narrative
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Former Obama speechwriter Sarah Hurwitz made some very revealing remarks during an appearance at the Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly on Sunday, expressing frustration with the way younger Jews are dismissing pro-Israel arguments because of the carnage they’ve seen in Gaza. ‘We are now wrestling with a new I think generational divide here, and I think that’s particularly true in that social media is now our source of media,’ Hurwitz said. ‘It used to be that the news you got in America was American media, and it was pretty mainstream … You had to go to a pretty weird bookstore to find global media and fringe media. But today we have social media, which is the global medium; its algorithms are shaped by billions of people worldwide who don’t really love Jews” (11/19/25)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2025/11/19/zionists-are-freaking-out-about-losing-control-of-the-narrative/
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30) After Liberalism
Source: Quillette
by Alan S Rome
“The core principles of liberalism — freedom and equality — are insufficient for the good life. We need to supplement them with a more robust, metaphysically thicker understanding of human nature and the good.” (11/19/25)
https://quillette.com/2025/11/19/after-liberalism-virtue-politics-philosophy-democracy/
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31) Beware Housing Bills With Socialist Goals
Source: Town Hall
by Betsy McCaughey
“The Democrats’ lurch to the extreme left is accelerating at warp speed — and Connecticut is the latest victim. The state legislature’s Democratic supermajority last week rammed through a bill, HB 8002, that’s a thinly disguised socialist wishlist. Cynically couched as a remedy for the affordable housing crisis, its real purpose is ideological: forcing Connecticut’s 169 towns to achieve what the bill calls ‘economic diversity’. Translation: If you’ve worked hard to own a home in a leafy suburb with quiet streets, you can’t live there unless everybody can — including the homeless and those with low incomes. The state, through regional councils, will dictate how many people at each income level a town must house. The councils are mere middlemen, a cosmetic addition to paper over a fundamental loss of local control.” (11/19/25)
https://townhall.com/columnists/betsymccaughey/2025/11/19/beware-housing-bills-with-socialist-goals-n2666652
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32) How Much Freedom Did the Founders Win—If the Government Can Still Take It All?
Source: Chasing Liberty
by Jeff Charles
“Joseph Rivers was a 22-year-old from Romulus, Michigan, who boarded an Amtrak train in 2015 with about $16,000 in cash — his life savings — to start a new life in Los Angeles as a music video producer. His dream was cut short when federal agents decided the government was more entitled to that cash than he was. In Albuquerque, New Mexico, DEA agents boarded the train, questioned passengers, and asked to search his bags; Rivers agreed, and agents found the cash in a bank envelope, even calling his mother to confirm his story before stealing the money anyway under civil asset forfeiture, leaving him with no charges and no way to continue his trip or get home.” (11/19/25)
https://www.libertychasers.com/p/how-much-freedom-did-the-founders
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33) “Trillion Dollar War Machine”: Understanding US Militarism and How to Dismantle It
Source: Common Dreams
by Joseph Bouchard
“At this very second, Washington is pouring billions into escalations toward a potential invasion of Venezuela that would set Latin America on fire, escalate tensions with neighbors, and trap US troops in another undefined quagmire. It has already conducted about a dozen strikes on unproven ‘drug boats’ in the Caribbean, without congressional approval, a trial, or even demonstrated intelligence, killing innumerable Venezuelan and foreign civilians, while it has moved Naval strike groups and carriers near Venezuela’s shores. This is one of the disastrous and preventable results of American militarism, exceptionalism, and the military-industrial complex that fuels them. Such is the context in which The Trillion Dollar War Machine lands on bookshelves.” (11/19/25)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/trillion-dollar-us-war-machine
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34) Red Alert for the British Economy
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Oliver Dean
“The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) statistics paint a bleak picture for Britain’s economic outlook. Growth over the last three months is even slower than expected, with the UK’s GDP rising just 0.1% from July to September, half as much as forecast. That comes hard on the heels of the news on Tuesday that unemployment has hit 5%, the highest it has been in four years. With more young people not in education, employment or training and businesses repeatedly voicing concerns over tax hikes, it is clear that Britain is no longer the welcome home to businesses it once was. With the Budget just two weeks away, the Chancellor still has the power to turn the British economy around. But only if she signals to businesses that she has their interests at heart.” (11/19/25)
https://fee.org/articles/red-alert-for-the-british-economy/
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35) Why Individuals Take Center Stage in “Foundation”
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Matthew Hisrich
“A refrain in the television series Foundation is that, in the grand scheme of history, individuals and individual actions do not matter. Amusingly, the focus of the series is on individuals and individual actions. As it turns out, the lives of individuals make for more compelling storytelling than long arcs of history. Show creators David S. Goyer and Josh Friedman were wise in this regard to deviate from Isaac Asimov’s source material. But the tactic simultaneously undermines the central premise of Foundation as a concept while also revealing two fundamental truths about human existence: individuals matter and we cannot predict the future.” (11/19/25)
https://mises.org/power-market/why-individuals-take-center-stage-foundation
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36) The Strange Demise of Mainstream Parties
Source: The Atlantic
by Idrees Kahloon
“In democracies all across the world, the party system appears unhealthy: Trust in parties is low, partisan antagonism is high, and elections feel existential instead of routine. Many countries’ equivalents of the Democrats and Republicans — parties that have been dominant at least since World War II — are suffering similar decline. Some are on the precipice of extinction. Populist parties are ascending seemingly everywhere. The synchronized collapse of mainstream parties around the world shows that what is happening in America is unexceptional — and, as a result, that many prominent theories for the American electorate’s malaise and discontent are incomplete.” (11/19/25)
https://archive.is/CFvJ1
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37) SCOTUS must save Texas from meddling liberal judges
Source: Fox News Forum
by Mike Davis
“Gerrymandering has been a staple of the Republic since its beginning. The practice has such a storied tradition that it is named after Elbridge Gerry, one of our founding fathers who served as vice president under President James Madison. For decades, leftists attempted to outlaw partisan gerrymandering. Justice Anthony Kennedy could not make up his mind on the issue, so it languished until he retired. Fortunately for the Constitution, President Trump replaced Justice Kennedy — the Court’s swing vote for over a dozen years — with solid constitutionalist Justice Brett Kavanaugh. In 2019, thanks to Kavanaugh’s addition, the Court upheld partisan gerrymandering in Rucho v. Common Cause. Legislatures cannot gerrymander based on race, but they can do so based on partisanship.” (11/19/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/mike-davis-scotus-must-save-texas-from-meddling-liberal-judges
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38) Misconduct in the James Comey Case Stemmed From a Reckless Rush To Indict Him
Source: Reason
by Jacob Sullum
“When U.S. Magistrate Judge William E. Fitzpatrick blasted the Justice Department’s handling of the James Comey case on Monday, he did not address the merits of the perjury and obstruction charges against the former FBI director. But the government misconduct that Fitzpatrick described was largely a product of the reckless rush to deliver the grudge-driven indictment that President Donald Trump demanded. … These missteps, which Fitzpatrick said might prove serious enough to require dismissal of the indictment, did not happen in a vacuum. They were the consequences of Trump’s determination to get Comey, regardless of the facts or the law.” (11/19/25)
https://reason.com/2025/11/19/misconduct-in-the-james-comey-case-stemmed-from-a-reckless-rush-to-indict-him/
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39) Property Rights Ping Pong Pandemonium
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Jim Bovard
“Remind me again why any reasonable person expects the federal government to obey the law. The Trump administration this week gravely imperiled the nation’s water supply by curtailing federal regulations over dry land. Or at least that’s the story the media is hustling. A Washington Post headline epitomized the fretting: ‘Trump proposal would limit protections for U.S. waterways’ by narrowing the definition of wetlands. The Post did not mention that mere puddles or land that is dry 350 days a year have been categorized as ‘waters of the United States’ under the Clean Water Act.” (11/19/25)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/property-rights-ping-pong-pandemonium
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40) “Military” and “Foreign Policy” Are Not Magic Words to Give the Government Unrestrained Power
Source: The Bulwark
by Anthony Sanders
“‘Military’ and ‘foreign policy’ are not magic words that automatically get the government out of court. However, similarly to what the Bush administration claimed during the War on Terror, the Trump administration is advancing that argument in various contexts, from deportations to sending the National Guard into cities that have not requested them. And some judges want to submit to this ‘magic.’ The Supreme Court should shut this hocus-pocus down before it unleashes unrestrained power in the name of ‘judicial restraint.'” (11/19/25)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/military-and-foreign-policy-are-not-magic-words
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41) The AI Bubble Is Bigger Than You Think
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen
“One thing I’ve been tracking this year is the areas where Wall Street and Silicon Valley are going to war. Tech firms clearly want to become banking apps and receive special charters, private equity and crypto are jostling for position in worker 401(k) plans, and the tech right in general wants to supplant big banks as the go-to director of conservative business policy. That’s all still going on. But in one area, Silicon Valley and Wall Street are in sync: conjuring up sketchy credit deals that are pointing us toward another financial crash.” (11/19/25)
https://prospect.org/2025/11/19/ai-bubble-bigger-than-you-think/
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42) Booming tech sector wants govt intervention for “national security”
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Stavroula Pabst
“Authors of a new Council on Foreign Relations report are framing government subsidies and bailouts for key tech industries as a national security imperative. Not surprisingly, many of the report’s authors stand to benefit financially from such an arrangement.” (11/19/25)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/national-security-tech/
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43) Decapitation Diplomacy
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“Earlier this month, during a parliamentary session, Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was pressed by an opposition lawmaker on scenarios that could trigger the clause in Japan’s constitution concerning ‘survival-threatening situations,’ thus allowing collective self-defense. Takaichi explicitly stated that Chinese military action against Taiwan--such as a naval blockade, invasion, or interference with U.S. forces--could qualify. … scandalous as Takaichi’s answers were to the Communist Party in China, it was the response of Xue Jian, consul general of the People’s Republic of China, in Osaka, Japan, that raised more than eyebrows: ‘I have no choice but to cut off that filthy head that barged in without hesitation--are you ready?'” (11/19/25)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2025/11/19/decapitation-diplomacy/
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44) War in Venezuela, Brought to You By the Same People Who Lied Us Into Iraq
Source: The Intercept
by Alain Stephens
“The echoes of Iraq are everywhere: the moral certainty, the insistence on a narrow mission, laws stretched to accommodate force, the journalist class nudging readers toward the idea of escalation. The Times leans on that posture — the intellectual confidence that if a dictator is cruel enough, if his country is chaotic enough, then U.S. firepower is not only justified but prudent and even moral. … This is not law enforcement. It is coercive statecraft backed by military power. And when the press uncritically repeats the administration’s framing, the escalation becomes easier to swallow.” (11/18/25)
https://theintercept.com/2025/11/18/venezuela-iraq-war-new-york-times/
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45) After UN backs Gaza peace plan, Trump miraculously receives praise from New York Times
Source: New York Post
by Michael Goodwin
“Miracles come in all shapes and circumstances, but here is a truly remarkable one: The New York Times has said something positive about President Trump. All he had to do was get most of the world to back his sweeping plan for bringing peace to Gaza. It was a long shot, but he and his skilled negotiating team pulled it off. So much so that a Monday Times headline called it ‘A Major Breakthrough.’ The story went on to declare that the United Nations Security Council vote to support the president’s plan represents ‘a major diplomatic victory for the Trump administration.’ It is that, and a helluva lot more, including the fact that it already has saved untold lives, both Jewish and Arab, and will save many more each day if it is fully implemented.” (11/19/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/11/18/opinion/michael-goodwin-trump-miraculously-receives-praise-from-new-york-times-after-un-backs-gaza-peace-plan/
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46) The global race for talent: Other nations are outpacing the U.S. on high-skill immigration
Source: Niskanen Center
by Cecilia Ignatio
“Immigration policy has become a critical tool for labor and economic strategy. But as governments around the world compete for valuable workplace talent, the United States has gone in the opposite direction by adding new restrictions on legal immigration for high-skilled workers, explicitly targeting the H-1B visa program through a $100,000 fee. … The administration has said the amount will encourage companies to hire American workers instead of relying on foreign talent. However, in practice, the policy has created confusion among employers regarding the extent of its implementation.” (11/18/25)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/the-global-race-for-talent
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47) Jeffrey Epstein Pursued Swiss Rothschild Bank to Finance Israeli Cyberweapons Empire
Source: Drop Site
by Ryan Grim and Murtaza Hussain
“With an avalanche of new documents released by the House Oversight Committee, and looming legislation mandating further disclosures, the press has renewed its relentless coverage of the life and times of Jeffrey Epstein. Yet, with some notable exceptions, a major part of his life’s work has remained outside the media’s gaze, his relationship with the state of Israel and his prominent role in helping advance the Israeli cyberweapons industry.” (11/18/25)
https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/jeffrey-epstein-ariane-de-rothschild-ehud-barak-swiss-bank-israeli-cyberweapons
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48) Labour’s rush to digital ID reveals the idiocy of the technocrats
Source: spiked
by Andrew Orlowski
“The UK scrapped war-time identity cards in 1952. It remains one of the few countries that eschews a ‘papers, please’ relationship with the state. In the 2000s, the 9/11 terror attacks gave Tony Blair’s government a justification to re-introduce state-issued identity cards …. Introduced via legislation in 2004, ID cards became one of New Labour’s most contentious policies, dogging the final years of the government. They were scrapped in 2010 by the Tory-Lib Dem coalition. By then, they had already cost an estimated £5 billion, officially, or between £10 billion and £20 billion, unofficially. Surely no one would want to do that all over again? Almost nobody did, until this year.” (11/18/25)
https://www.spiked-online.com/2025/11/18/labours-rush-to-digital-id-reveals-the-idiocy-of-the-technocrats/
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49) The Mamdani Freak-Out
Source: In These Times
by Dania Rajendra
“Roughly two weeks before the New York City mayoral election, more than 1,000 rabbis signed onto an open letter against anti-Zionism in politics, and thus, against Zohran Mamdani, under the misnomer ‘The Jewish Majority.’ They wrote the letter ‘to declare that we cannot remain silent in the face of rising anti-Zionism and its political normalization throughout our nation.’ In doing so, they discredited themselves and expanded Jewish leftists’ opportunity to redefine the political — and spiritual – parameters of Jewish identity. Anti-Zionism has existed since the beginning of Zionism itself, and has, indeed, grown as Israel’s genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank remains deeply unpopular across the United States and around the world. Democrats’ refusal to contend with this fact – to actually represent their base – has become a symbol of the party’s overall inability to listen to, and fight for, its members.” (11/19/25)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/zohran-mamdani-islamophobia-antisemitism-adl
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50) A Postmortem on the 2025 Government Shutdown
Source: Independent Institute
by Craig Eyermann
“There was a way the 2025 shutdown could have been avoided. Congress could pass a temporary spending bill to fund government operations while continuing to hammer out regular spending bills. The Republican majority in the House of Representatives drafted a straightforward Continuing Resolution to do just that, sending the bill to the Senate, well before the government would shut down. That’s when things went wrong.” (11/18/25)
https://www.independent.org/article/2025/11/18/postmortem-2025-government-shutdown/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Collateral Damage, episode 7
Source: The Intercept
“Dirty Information: The NYPD’s Shock Tactics and the death of Alberta Spruill.” (11/19/25)
https://theintercept.com/2025/11/19/collateral-damage-episode-seven-dirty-information/
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52) The Learning Curve, 11/19/25
Source: Pioneer Institute
“Houston Supt. Mike Miles on Urban School District Reform.” (11/19/25)
https://pioneerinstitute.org/learning-curve/houston-supt-mike-miles-on-urban-school-district-reform/
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53) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 11/19/25
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“A ‘Secret’ Peace Deal For Ukraine?” (11/19/25)
https://rumble.com/v71yei0-a-secret-peace-deal-for-ukraine.html
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54) Rising, 11/19/25
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave delivers his radar on the Trump administration moving forward with plans to dismantle the Department of Education, something Republicans have long wanted to do.” (11/19/25)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/5612613-rising-november-19-2025/
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55) Reason Interview: Adam O’Neal
Source: Reason
“Is The Washington Post Becoming Libertarian?” (11/19/25)
https://reason.com/podcast/2025/11/19/is-the-washington-post-becoming-libertarian/
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56) Fountainhead Forum, episode 391
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Brian Reisinger on issues facing cattle farmers in the USA.” (11/19/25)
https://rumble.com/v71yb2c-ff-391-brian-reisinger-on-issues-facing-cattle-farmers-in-the-usa.html
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57) The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg, 11/19/25
Source: The Dispatch
“Postliberalism: Flirting with Fascism | Interview: George Weigel.” (11/19/25)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/remnant/postliberalism-flirting-with-fascism-interview-george-weigel/
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58) Underthrow Podcast, 11/19/25
Source: Underthrow
“We Have Got to Talk About Healthcare | With Michael Cannon.” (11/19/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpV9L3KuWns
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59) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 11/19/25
Source: The New Republic
“Trump’s Plot to Rig 2026 Is Falling Apart, and Boy Is He Mad About It.” (11/19/25)
https://newrepublic.com/article/203369/trump-plot-rig-2026-falling-apart-boy-mad
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60) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 11/19/25
Source: Antiwar.com
“Maduro Ready for ‘Face-To-Face’ Talks With US, Israel Bombs Palestinian Camp in Lebanon, and More.” (11/19/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlHAQpjDr44
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61) The Tom Woods Show, episode 2710
Source: The Tom Woods Show
“Walter Block and Ilana Mercer debate the war in Gaza.” (11/18/25)
https://tomwoods.com/ep-2710-gaza-in-retrospect-a-debate/
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62) Capital Record, episode 269
Source: National Review
“The Antidote to Mamdani.” (11/18/25)
https://www.nationalreview.com/podcasts/capital-record/the-antidote-to-mamdani/
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63) Politics Politics Politics. 11/18/25
Source: Politics Politics Politics
“The Epstein Files Are Coming. How Politics is Adjusting to the AI Age (with Tom Merritt).” (11/18/25)
https://www.politicspoliticspolitics.com/p/the-epstein-files-are-coming-how
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64) The Bryan Hyde Show, 11/18/25
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
“Eric Peters from Eric Peters Autos joins me for our weekly chat. This is a time of decision for a number of people–will they choose principle or personality.” (11/18/25)
https://www.podbean.com/ep/pb-jwxx8-19c8635
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65) Law & Liberty Podcast, 11/18/25
Source: Law & Liberty
“The Recent History of Free Speech.” (11/18/25)
https://lawliberty.org/podcast/the-recent-history-of-free-speech/
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