08/12 -- WI: "Moderate" Democrat pulls off upset over socialist in gubernatorial primary; The Jones Act Trap: Why Temporary Shipping Waivers Prove Protectionism Fails
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Thomas L. Knapp
Aug 12, 2026, 6:12:15 AM (6 days ago) Aug 12
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 08/12/26
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Today's Freedom News:
1) WI: “Moderate” Democrat pulls off upset over socialist in gubernatorial primary
2) US-based pirates fire on ship in Gulf of Oman
3) US appeals court voids Biden-era efficiency rule for stoves, ovens
4) Kyiv sends new proposals to Trump’s negotiators for plan to end conflict, says Zelenskyy
5) Rights groups launch new legal challenge to Trump campaign against ICC
6) US records hottest month as relentless July heat shatters records
7) Four crew killed in Red Sea attack while missile strike reported in Gulf
8) NY: State will hide identities of jury members in Mangione trial
9) Hungary: Parliament approves Orban-critic judge as president
10) Trump Media’s Quarterly Loss Widens to $238 Million From $20 Million a Year Earlier
11) SCOTUS: Alito knocked down big bucks on oil, gas investments
12) Syria: Assad sentenced to death in absentia at trial
13) Russia: US Marine veteran freed from prison after nearly four years
14) Libya: Drone strike sparks massive blaze at refinery
15) Colombia: Rescuers scramble for survivors with 180 dead in earthquake
16) Judge dismisses Gautam Adani criminal charges, chastises DOJ
17) Barred Little League team from Tulsa gets reinstated for chance to play in World Series
18) Yemen: Houthis launch ballistic missile attacks on al-Makha and Marib
19) CA: Timber Fire in Big Sur spreads overnight, burning 2,000 acres
20) FL: Homeowner shoots, kills alleged intruder
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) The Jones Act Trap: Why Temporary Shipping Waivers Prove Protectionism Fails
22) “Town Hall” Pageants Lose Their Luster for Politicians
23) Trump’s Iran War Raises a Midterm Question: Who Decides When America Goes to War?
24) What’s Worse — Authoritarian Capitalism or Democratic Socialism?
25) Countries are hiding censorship in “cybercrime” bills. A UN treaty could make things worse.
26) Socialism moves into the mainstream; the warning signs are all here
27) Sentinel, or the case of the high price of technical delivery risk
28) Is liberal democracy dead? Here’s a new answer.
29) Before we move on from “Woke 1”, Lefties like AOC need to answer some questions
30) When 20th-Century Regulations Meet 21st-Century Streaming
31) “Niceness as Whiteness”: Professors Denounce Niceness as White Privilege
32) The Case for a Liberalism That Dares Again
33) Young people bid for online agency
34) Deep Capture
35) Sullivan Revisited
36) The Guardian proves that renewables are not, in fact, cheaper
37) What Bank ATMs Teach Us About AI
38) Substance Beats Labels in Fighting Marxism
39) Do Hegseth’s Reforms to Military Universities Go Far Enough?
40) Action Figures and the Balance of Payments
41) What Trump Should Say to the Nation to Truly Become a Peace President
42) Trump’s $23 billion ship will be outdated before it even hits water
43) The biggest virtue?
44) Rehabilitating Nixon? Not So Fast!
45) Not Winning? Just Change the Rules
46) Brexit and Its Discontents
47) Ain’t democracy wunnerful?
48) The romance of fair use and fiction
49) Disgraced Anti-Sex-Trafficking NGO Gets $244 Million to Rep Migrant Kids
50) What Research from Boston Zoning Can Teach Chicago
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Cato Podcast, 08/11/26
52) Rising, 08/11/26
53) Parallax Views w/ JG Michael, 08/11/26
54) Capital Record, episode 318
55) Show-Me Institute Podcast, 08/11/26
56) The Good Fight, 08/11/26
57) Fountainhead Forum, episode 477
58) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 08/10/26
59) Sal and Mark, episode 15
60) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 08/10/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) WI: “Moderate” Democrat pulls off upset over socialist in gubernatorial primary
Source: NBC News
“Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley has won the Democratic primary in Wisconsin’s race for governor, NBC News projects, dealing a major upset to democratic socialist Francesca Hong. The result marks a dramatic turnaround for Crowley, who had dropped out of the race roughly a month ago after initially struggling to gain traction only to re-enter days later with outgoing Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’[s] endorsement. Hong, a state lawmaker from Madison, had led in the polls in the final stretch of the race, but faced growing scrutiny over her past controversial positions and general election viability.” (08/11/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/francesca-hong-david-crowley-democratic-primary-wisconsin-governor-rcna592056
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2) US-based pirates fire on ship in Gulf of Oman
Source: Associated Press
“The U.S. military said Tuesday that its forces fired on a Panamanian-flagged ship in the Gulf of Oman that tried to evade the American blockade on Iranian ports, a move that comes as President Donald Trump tries to keep economic pressure on the Islamic Republic. U.S. Central Command said the vessel had ignored warnings to stop, prompting an American helicopter to fire missiles into the engine room of the M/V Vela Nova, disabling the ship. U.S. Central Command’s statement does not say whether the ship’s crew suffered any casualties.” (08/11/25)
https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-iran-updates-08-11-2026
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3) US appeals court voids Biden-era efficiency rule for stoves, ovens
Source: Reuters
“A federal appeals court on Tuesday struck down a Biden administration-era rule setting efficiency standards for gas and electric stoves and ovens, saying the agency improperly bypassed public comment procedures. In a 3-0 decision, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled in favor of seven Republican-led states — Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Tennessee, Texas and Utah — that challenged the Department of Energy’s ‘direct final rule’ for consumer-grade stoves and ovens. The August 2024 rule was intended to limit how much energy consumers use in kitchen appliances, and to ban an older technology known as linear power supplies. Circuit Judge Andrew Oldham said the Energy Department should not have fast-tracked the rule, knowing that numerous states opposed a 2023 attempt to enact similar efficiency standards.” (08/11/26)
https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/us-appeals-court-voids-biden-era-efficiency-rule-stoves-ovens-2026-08-11/
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4) Kyiv sends new proposals to Trump’s negotiators for plan to end conflict, says Zelenskyy
Source: Independent [UK]
“Volodymyr Zelensky revealed on Tuesday that Kyiv has delivered fresh proposals to American negotiators aimed at ending the four-year war with Russia. US-mediated talks have been on ice since the war in Iran broke out in February. Efforts to bring Ukraine and Russia back to the table have not produced any material results since. But even with the war in the Middle East no closer to being resolved, the Ukrainian president said in his nightly address: ‘We have conveyed our proposals to the American side.'” (08/11/26)
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-live-putin-zelensky-drone-strikes-north-korea-b3030836.html
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5) Rights groups launch new legal challenge to Trump campaign against ICC
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Four leading human rights groups have launched a new lawsuit against the Trump administration’s campaign against the International Criminal Court. The new lawsuit filed on Tuesday charges that the administration’s wide-ranging sanctions against the international tribunal and organisations that cooperate with it risk treading on the constitutional rights of US citizens and groups. It adds to several previous legal challenges making similar claims. The four US-based groups – The American Friends Service Committee, the Centre for Constitutional Rights, Human Rights Watch, and the Open Society Institute – charge the sanctions ‘force them to curtail a wide range of human rights and legal work’. That, in turn, violates their constitutional rights, including their freedom of speech and their right to due process.” (08/11/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/11/rights-groups-launch-new-legal-challenge-to-trump-campaign-against-icc
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6) US records hottest month as relentless July heat shatters records
Source: USA Today
“Unrelenting heat waves across the United States in July helped push the nation to its warmest month, breaking a 132-year-old record, federal officials say. The 76.9-degree average was 3.3 degrees above the 20th century average, according to the July climate summary released Aug. 10 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which tracks the nation’s weather and long-term climate. That temperature was a fraction warmer than records set in July 1936 and July 2012. Though daytime temperatures were blazing hot and disrupted many of the festivities around the nation’s 250th anniversary, it was the overnight temperatures that proved most extreme, soaring above the record set in July 2022 by 0.7 degrees. The U.S. records mirror a pattern seen across many parts of the world in July.” (08/11/26)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/weather/2026/08/10/july-heat-produced-warmest-month-record-us/91241077007/
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7) Four crew killed in Red Sea attack while missile strike reported in Gulf
Source: Reuters
“Four crew members were killed in an attack by Iran-backed Houthis on a small cargo ship in the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Tuesday, Yemen’s [Saudi puppet] transport ministry said, while sources reported a missile attack on a container ship off Pakistan in a suspected U.S. strike. The fatalities aboard the Egyptian-owned Tihamah, if confirmed, would mark the first deaths in a Houthi strike on shipping since the Iran war began on February 28. The Houthis have not claimed the attack. Three Pakistanis and one Indonesian were killed, the Yemeni [Saudi puppet] ministry said, adding the crew lost control of the vessel after being attacked. Three coastguard personnel were injured after being targeted by a drone while trying to rescue the crew, Yemeni military sources said. The Houthis declared a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea on July 20 in response to what they described as a Saudi siege.” (08/11/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/three-killed-attacks-ships-red-sea-gulf-sources-say-2026-08-11/
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8) NY: State will hide identities of jury members in Mangione trial
Source: NBC News
“Luigi Mangione appeared in a New York courtroom Tuesday where plans were nearly finalized for his state murder trial next month, including the judge’s ruling that the jury of Manhattan residents will be anonymous. Mangione, 28, has pleaded not guilty to several state charges in connection with the December 2024 fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside the New York Hilton Midtown. … Carro also said there would be expanded media and public access to the trial. After fielding complaints from Mangione’s defense team about potential space limitations, court administrators arranged for an overflow room.” [editor’s note: If the jurors’ identities aren’t known the the public, how can the public know the jury wasn’t stacked? – TLK] (08/11/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/luigi-mangione-returns-court-less-month-state-trial-rcna591890
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9) Hungary: Parliament approves Orban-critic judge as president
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“Hungarian lawmakers on Tuesday approved former supreme court chief Andras Baka, a critic of Viktor Orban who was fired during the ex-premier’s time in power, as the country’s next head of state. The post became vacant following the contested removal last month of the previous president, an Orban ally, as pro-EU conservative Prime Minister Peter Magyar pushes to loosen his predecessor’s lingering hold over state institutions. Parliament, where the ruling Tisza party holds a two-thirds majority, elected Baka – who served 17 years as a judge on the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) – with 140 votes in favour and six votes against. Tisza on Saturday nominated Baka, 73, for the largely ceremonial role.” (08/11/26)
https://archive.is/YuGSf
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10) Trump Media’s Quarterly Loss Widens to $238 Million From $20 Million a Year Earlier
Source: US News & World Report
“Trump Media & Technology Group, founded by U.S. President Donald Trump and known for its Truth Social platform, reported a wider second-quarter loss, largely due to unrealized losses tied to its cryptocurrency assets. Its second-quarter net loss jumped to $238.1 million from about $20 million a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, came under pressure during the April-to-June quarter as investors shunned riskier assets amid uncertainty over U.S. interest rates, geopolitical tensions and persistent outflows from crypto investment products.” [editor’s note: The guy went bankrupt running a casino, which is the second-closest thing to a license to print money. The closest thing is a corrupt White House and he apparently can’t make even THAT work. He seems to be about as good at business, and in the same way, as he is at golf – TLK] (08/11/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2026-08-11/trump-medias-quarterly-loss-widens-to-238-million-from-20-million-a-year-earlier
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11) SCOTUS: Alito knocked down big bucks on oil, gas investments
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“The supreme court justice Samuel Alito gained up to $2.9m from his fossil fuel interests between 2005 and 2024, a new review of financial disclosures shows. The analysis from the non-profit advocacy group and judicial watchdog Court Accountability, shared exclusively with the Guardian, found that even at the lowest range of estimates, Alito gained almost $400,000 from his oil and gas interests since being tapped for the high court by George W Bush in 2005. The findings come as the supreme court prepares to take up a case in which the oil companies Suncor Energy and Exxon asked the justices to find that federal law prevents subnational governments from filing lawsuits against fossil fuel producers for the climate-warming effects of their products. … Court Accountability and other groups have called for a Senate committee to investigate Alito, the sole supreme court justice with holdings in energy companies, and said he should recuse himself. He and the court rejected those calls.” (08/11/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/11/samuel-alito-oil-gas-assets-supreme-court-analysis
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12) Syria: Assad sentenced to death in absentia at trial
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“A Syrian court sentenced ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad along with his younger brother to death in absentia on Tuesday for crimes against humanity and war crimes during Syria’s 14-year conflict that left about half a million people dead. The sentences at the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus are the first against Assad or members of his inner circle since the family’s five decades in power came to an end 20 months ago. … Also sentenced to death in the same case was Assad’s maternal cousin Atef Najib, who was convicted of overseeing a crackdown in the southern province of Daraa that led to the uprising and later the civil war.” (08/11/26)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/syria-assads-najib-sentences-9.7302765
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13) Russia: US Marine veteran freed from prison after nearly four years
Source: CBS News
“Russia has released an American military veteran who spent more than four years in prison, President Trump said Tuesday, days after a group advocating for his freedom said he was gravely ill. Mr. Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to release Robert Gilman on a ‘humanitarian basis’ and that ‘Russia asked for no one in return.’ … Gilman, a 32-year-old teacher from Lowell, Massachusetts, had been detained since 2022. He was initially handed a 3 1/2-year sentence in 2022 when he was convicted of beating a police officer after being taken off a train for causing a disturbance.” (08/11/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/robert-gilman-russia-released/
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14) Libya: Drone strike sparks massive blaze at refinery
Source: ABC News
“Firefighters in western Libya fought Tuesday to extinguish the remnants of a massive fire caused by a drone strike on an oil facility, and a car bomb killed a senior military officer in the country’s east, in the latest attacks in the chaos-stricken North African nation. The drone hit a gasoline tank at the Zawiya oil refinery in the Mediterranean town of Zawiya on Monday, about 47 kilometers (about 30 miles) west of capital Tripoli, the state-run National Oil Corporation said. … Monday’s strikes were the latest in a series of drone attacks on oil infrastructure in Zawiya, which houses critical energy infrastructure including the country’s largest oil refinery, an export terminal and a power plant. … The attacks come as tensions are rising between the government of western Libya and a warlord who controls the city of Zawiya.” (08/11/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/drone-strike-sparks-massive-blaze-libyas-zawiya-refinery-135538868
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15) Colombia: Rescuers scramble for survivors with 180 dead in earthquake
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Rescue workers in Colombia are working against the clock to free survivors trapped in buildings and under rubble following Monday’s powerful earthquake. More than 180 people have been confirmed dead – most in the cities of Cali and Pereira. The magnitude 7.4 quake struck at 07:34 (12:34 GMT) on Monday and was felt across an enormous area, stretching for hundreds of miles across western Colombia – with fresh aftershocks still being felt on Tuesday. While the official death toll remains 181, an aggregated figure gathered from local officials puts it higher – potentially at more than 240. A state of emergency has been declared by President Abelardo de la Espriella.” (08/11/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20dqd9qwq4o
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16) Judge dismisses Gautam Adani criminal charges, chastises DOJ
Source: United Press International
“A federal judge has approved the Trump administration’s request to dismiss criminal charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani while chastising the Justice Department for its reasoning and methods for abandoning the high-profile case. … The Justice Department charged Gautam Adani and the seven other defendants, all current or former executives of Adani Group or its subsidiary Adani Green Energy, in November 2024, alleging various defendants participated in schemes to pay $265 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure lucrative solar energy contracts, lied to U.S. and international investors to raise billions of dollars in financing and impede the investigations of three U.S. government entities.” (08/11/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/08/11/judge-dismisses-Gautam-Adani-charges/5531786425116/
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17) Barred Little League team from Tulsa gets reinstated for chance to play in World Series
Source: Fox News
“Little League Baseball is on fire even before the big days in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Little League on Monday ruled that Tulsa National Little League’s 12U team had an ineligible player on the roster and booted it from the Southwest Region Tournament, the final stop before the Little League World Series. However, a Texas judge reinstated the team just hours later through a temporary restraining order, despite Little League saying its decision was ‘final and binding.’ … Little League initially ruled that Boerne Little League’s Monday game against Louisiana (Ascension Parish Little League) would be for the Southwest championship — Boerne won 4-1 and celebrated on the field, thinking it had just earned a trip to every child’s dream. However, it now must play one more game against a team with an ineligible player. Little League did not immediately respond to a request for comment.” (08/11/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/barred-little-league-team-tulsa-reinstated-chance-play-world-series
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18) Yemen: Houthis launch ballistic missile attacks on al-Makha and Marib
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“The armed forces of Yemen’s [Saudi puppet regime] have accused the Houthis of launching another round of ballistic missile attacks on the Red Sea port city of al-Makha and on residential areas in the central city of Marib. Yemeni forces did not state whether the attacks on Monday caused any casualties. The attacks came a day after Houthi missiles killed at least seven people and wounded 30 others in al-Makha, which is also known as Mocha. The strikes caused extensive damage at the city’s port area. Elsewhere in Yemen on Monday, a Houthi drone strike killed two Yemeni [puppet regime] soldiers and wounded seven others in the south-central province of Shabwa, according to local media reports.” (08/11/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/11/yemens-houthis-launch-ballistic-missile-attacks-on-al-makha-and-marib?traffic_source=rss
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19) CA: Timber Fire in Big Sur spreads overnight, burning 2,000 acres
Source: SFGate
“A wildfire that erupted along some of California’s most iconic coastline has spread overnight, reaching 2,000 acres as of 7 a.m. on Tuesday morning. The Timber wildfire ignited on Sunday morning, according to Cal Fire, and spread quickly throughout the day on Monday, leading to evacuation orders that affected several iconic businesses, including the luxury Alila Ventana Big Sur resort, the Esalen Institute and the Nepenthe restaurant. Currently, at least 500 firefighting personnel are responding to the fire, which is 5% contained. At least 259 structures are threatened by the blaze, but no damage has been reported. … The U.S. has been dealing with a particularly difficult wildfire season, with 104 large fires currently burning in 15 states.” (08/11/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/centralcoast/article/timber-fire-big-sur-22383409.php
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20) FL: Homeowner shoots, kills alleged intruder
Source: Fox 35 Orlando
“A man was shot and killed by a homeowner after deputies said he showed up unannounced at a Lake County home where his ex-girlfriend was visiting and tried to force his way inside. According to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, a physical altercation broke out between the man and the homeowner near the entrance to the residence. ‘The male subject attempted to force his way into the residence during the altercation,’ a sheriff’s office spokesperson said. Deputies said the homeowner then pulled out a gun and fatally shot the man.” (08/10/26)
https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/man-shot-killed-during-alleged-break-in-lake-county-home
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) The Jones Act Trap: Why Temporary Shipping Waivers Prove Protectionism Fails
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey
“Most Americans have never heard of the Jones Act, which is a protectionist law that has been on the books for over 100 years with the intent to protect U.S. based shipping and shipbuilding, put in place after World War I. As with many U.S. laws, it has backfired on the American people and business, with higher costs to consumers for their goods and energy. I argue that government should just get out of the way and let the free market run, which benefits both consumers and business. Now, the Trump administration has extended its 90-day waiver of the Jones Act, allowing foreign-flagged shipping vessels to transport fuel and energy commodities between U.S. ports (The Hindu). This 90-day waiver exposes the reality that the Jones Act helps to lower energy costs for Americans and helps to prevent economic bottlenecks, confirming my assertion to let the free market run.” (08/11/26)
https://palmbeachexaminer.substack.com/p/the-jones-act-trap-why-temporary
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22) “Town Hall” Pageants Lose Their Luster for Politicians
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“The purpose of political events these days isn’t so much retail public engagement as it is the production of sound bites for campaign use that’s more controlled and enjoys more reach than a huddle with a few citizens at a high school auditorium. But the main reason for real, physical, local ‘town hall aversion’ is the possibility of embarrassing confrontations with the angry sector of the public in question. And there’s ALWAYS an angry sector of the public, no matter which party the politician in question affiliates with or what policy positions that politician takes. We’ve all seen it on TV. In fact, it’s generally the only part of a ‘town hall’ event we ever DO see on TV outside of actual campaign ads.” (08/11/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20830
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23) Trump’s Iran War Raises a Midterm Question: Who Decides When America Goes to War?
Source: Antiwar.com
by Peter Rodgers
“Washington has long debated individual interventions while paying less attention to the expanding presidential authority that made them possible. Trump did not create this system; he inherited it. His presidency, however, exposed how much war-making power has accumulated in the executive branch and how far the country has moved from the constitutional balance the founders envisioned. The Constitution’s principle is clear: decisions about war should not rest with one person. The president is commander in chief, but Congress received the authority to declare war because the framers feared concentrated power.” (08/11/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/peter_rodgers/2026/08/10/trumps-iran-war-raises-a-midterm-question-who-decides-when-america-goes-to-war/=
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24) What’s Worse — Authoritarian Capitalism or Democratic Socialism?
Source: The Daily Economy
by Alex Tokarev, Gabriel F. Benzecry, & Kristin Tokarev
“ou’ve no doubt heard the horrifying stories of dictators who abused their people for personal gain or sheer cruelty. Stalin’s Great Purge, Mao’s engineered famine, and Pinochet’s brutal torture of dissidents are just a few notorious examples. If all dictatorships are hell, a difficult question remains: which offers the better odds of survival, or even prosperity? Is it a dictatorship that tolerates some free-market capitalism, or one built on socialism?” (08/11/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/whats-worse-authoritarian-capitalism-or-democratic-socialism/
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25) Countries are hiding censorship in “cybercrime” bills. A UN treaty could make things worse.
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Sarah McLaughlin
“Late last year, the United Kingdom, France, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and dozens more nations signed the United Nations Convention Against Cybercrime, a treaty ostensibly intended to improve global cooperation to fight crimes taking place over computer systems. Canada joined them this summer. The United States remains a notable exception and says it is still reviewing the treaty. Three nations have since ratified it, and the treaty will enter into force 90 days after 40 states do so. As FIRE has long warned, the treaty opens the door to greater violations of free expression online — and new cybercrime bills popping up around the world show why.” (08/11/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/blogs/free-speech-dispatch/countries-are-hiding-censorship-cybercrime-bills-un-treaty-could
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26) Socialism moves into the mainstream; the warning signs are all here
Source: Fox News Forum
by Jeremy Hunt
“For the 333 million Americans who don’t live in New York City, there are plenty of reasons not to care what goes on there. It doesn’t affect our day-to-day lives. New Yorkers democratically elected their socialist leader. It’s their bed, let them lie in it. Or as the mainstream media likes to put it, it’s probably just hyped-up right-wing hysteria. And of course, that’s exactly how the communists in our country want us to think. But right now may be the most important moment to push back. It’s incumbent on all of us to resist the normalization of socialism in America. Speak up now, so that what’s radical in New York today doesn’t become the norm in your neighborhood tomorrow. And to be clear, there are plenty of radical things going on in New York right now.” (08/11/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/socialism-moves-mainstream-warning-signs-here
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27) Sentinel, or the case of the high price of technical delivery risk
Source: Niskanen Center
by Mark Lerner
“The Federal Bureau of Investigations launched Sentinel in 2005 with an expanded budget and intensified project management discipline. With the active involvement of at least 18 concurrent oversight and governance bodies — the Government Accountability Office, the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General, and numerous congressional committees among them — what could go wrong? Turns out, quite a lot. Sentinel rapidly degraded into an unusable product that threatened to waste hundreds of millions of dollars.” (08/11/26)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/sentinel-or-the-case-of-the-high-price-of-technical-delivery-risk/
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28) Is liberal democracy dead? Here’s a new answer.
Source: Washington Post
by Julia Cartwright
“On June 16, 1989, a bearded 26-year-old stood before a quarter million Hungarians in Budapest and demanded that Soviet troops leave his country. His fearless call for free elections helped bring down communism in Hungary. The young firebrand was Viktor Orban. Twenty-five years later, he proudly announced he was building an ‘illiberal state.’ What happened in between is a microcosm of what has happened to liberal democracy itself. That story gives Daron Acemoglu’s new book ‘What Happened to Liberal Democracy?’ its urgency.” (08/11/26)
https://archive.is/iEoeW
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29) Before we move on from “Woke 1”, Lefties like AOC need to answer some questions
Source: New York Post
by Karol Markowicz
“Remember the early 2020s when cancel culture ran rampant, defunding police was a standard position on the left and we were all supposed to fall in line with their bad ideas, or else? Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants us to pretend it all went away. AOC took to ‘This Week with Jonathan Karl’ on ABC to defend Francesca Hong, the latest Democratic Socialist star, running for governor of Wisconsin. In 2020, Hong said Thanksgiving should be canceled, claiming it’s ‘a time that’s incredibly painful for people’ in her community. Now that she wants to get elected, Hong suddenly called Thanksgiving her ‘favorite holiday’. AOC argued that Hong has ‘moved away’ from some of her more controversial positions then giggled that she agreed with NYC Councilman Chi Ossé, who had said, ‘Woke 1 was crazyyyy’. Tee-hee, woke 1, you guys!” (08/10/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/08/10/opinion/lefties-like-aoc-need-to-answer-some-questions-before-we-move-on-from-woke-1/
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30) When 20th-Century Regulations Meet 21st-Century Streaming
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Cláudia Ascensão Nunes
“If a regulator struggles to decide whether a live transmission on YouTube should be considered ‘television,’ the real problem may not be the platform, but the rules and the state’s insistence on continuing to apply them.” (08/11/26)
https://fee.org/articles/when-20th-century-regulations-meet-21st-century-streaming/
-----
31) “Niceness as Whiteness”: Professors Denounce Niceness as White Privilege
Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley
“We have previously discussed how many professors seem to compete in finding new forms of racism in every facet of society and education. Astrophysics, math, runoffs, science, statistics, and meritocracy have all been denounced as racist. In this academic cottage industry, professors secure publications and speaking opportunities by identifying racism in expressions, images, or entire fields. Even time itself has been declared racist. Now, however, academics have found another undiscovered continent of white privilege: niceness. When I saw a story in The College Fix on a study of ‘niceness as Whiteness,’ I was skeptical and decided to take a look.” (08/11/26)
https://jonathanturley.org/2026/08/11/niceness-as-whiteness-professors-denounce-niceness-as-perpetuating-white-privilege/
-----
32) The Case for a Liberalism That Dares Again
Source: The UnPopulist
by Joshua Reed Eakle
“In the contemporary imagination, liberalism means different things to different people. To some on the left, it means a set of deceptive platitudes masking an eventual, inevitable collaboration with fascists. To those on the populist right, it stands for out-of-touch technocracy, woke identity politics, and globalization hollowing out rural and industrial America. To many less ideological voters, it simply stands for the status quo and existing institutions—a status quo that many believe, or can be convinced to believe, is just not working for them. What liberalism isn’t, for the most part, is appealing. Liberalism is in peril not because of philosophical defects or better available alternatives, but because liberals have too often struggled to make liberalism seem attractive, compelling, and exciting.” (08/11/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/the-case-for-a-liberalism-that-dares
-----
33) Young people bid for online agency
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“Keeping pace with new developments in the world of social media and artificial intelligence is no easy task. Almost as challenging is keeping up with the slew of regulatory, judicial, and civil society actions seeking greater transparency from Big Tech into the design parameters, data extraction, and internal research behind social media apps used extensively by children and adolescents. Last Wednesday, a U.S. Senate committee unanimously advanced the Kids Online Safety Act, which would mandate default privacy settings and require ‘reasonable care’ when designing platforms to minimize potential harm to minors. The next day, a New Mexico court fined Meta $567 million to address harms it knowingly caused to young people through design features of its Facebook and Instagram platforms. The range of recent and pending laws and legal actions is notable for a few key reasons.” (08/10/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0810/Young-people-bid-for-online-agency
-----
34) Deep Capture
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Sofia Karstens
“[Woodrow] Wilson’s central argument was that government should be split into two separate domains: politics, where elected officials set broad goals and policy direction, and administration, a technical, expert-driven sphere that should be run with ‘large powers and unhampered discretion’ and insulated from day-to-day political interference. Wilson suggested that government ought to be removed from the political process…in other words: ‘Democracy is too important to be left to voters.'” (08/11/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/deep-capture/
-----
35) Sullivan Revisited
Source: Law & Liberty
by Glenn Reynolds
“The outcome of the famous libel case rests on fabricated legal foundations.” (08/11/26)
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/sullivan-revisited/
-----
36) The Guardian proves that renewables are not, in fact, cheaper
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Tim Worstall
“[R]enewables are not cheaper than fossil fuels. If they were then we’d not even have a climate change problem in the first place – everyone would just be naturally scrambling for the now cheaper option and the problem would go away. Which does mean that every plan, every insistence, every fine and policy imposed is proof that renewables are not cheaper. Could even still be worthwhile, but not cheaper.” (08/11/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/the-guardian-proves-that-renewables-are-not-in-fact-cheaper
-----
37) What Bank ATMs Teach Us About AI
Source: Town Hall
by Stephen Moore
“New inventions and technologies, from the lightbulb to the farm tractor to the automobile to the laptop computer to Uber drivers, cause serious job market disruptions. They also cause a backlash, as horse and buggy operators, cab drivers, video rental stores, and typewriter makers inevitably predicted chaos and job losses. Artificial intelligence will make life much better and healthier for most people, but it will bring massive disruptions, too. What will happen to the people whose livelihoods are jeopardized by what ChatGPT or Claude can do faster, cheaper, and better? It is a fair question. But let’s look at one of the inventions of the past several decades that we almost all use routinely: the automated teller machine.” (08/11/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/stephenmoore/2026/08/11/what-bank-atms-teach-us-about-ai-n2681017
-----
38) Substance Beats Labels in Fighting Marxism
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Wanjiru Njoya
“In a recent controversy over ideological indoctrination at the Smithsonian museum, one member of staff mockingly said, ‘I didn’t realize all my colleagues were Marxists.’ The implication is that their critics are using the label ‘Marxist’ to denote any historical interpretations with which they disagree. The museum’s staff insist that their only goal is to offer an ‘inclusive’ portrayal of history. Similarly, many who support diversity, equity, and inclusiveness do not necessarily see themselves as neo-Marxists, even though they promote the tenets of cultural Marxism.” (08/11/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/substance-beats-labels-fighting-marxism
-----
39) Do Hegseth’s Reforms to Military Universities Go Far Enough?
Source: The American Conservative
by Kelley Beaucar Vlahos
“In his crusade to exorcise ‘wokeness’ from the military and imbue it with a new spirit of lethality, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is waging battles on the nation’s storied war colleges and service academies. But is he fighting the wrong war? … While no one who spoke to us believes there is a place for intrusive diversity, equity, and inclusion requirements or social engineering at these institutions, they agreed the attention should be on the schools’ broader inability to produce exceptional leaders who win wars—rather than ambitious yes-men with soft critical thinking skills who, despite losing records, collect stars, pensions, and lucrative post-service second careers with all the entitlement of entrenched bureaucrats.” (08/11/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/do-hegseths-reforms-to-military-universities-go-far-enough/
-----
40) Action Figures and the Balance of Payments
Source: EconLog
by Art Carden
“In the run-up to the 2024 election, many people claimed that, in ‘Econ 101,’ GDP goes down when imports increase because the last part of the GDP equation is Net Exports (exports – imports). This demonstrates a failure to understand precisely what GDP measures and why net exports appear at the end of the equation. Gross Domestic Product is a measure of the economy’s total value added, and measuring value added is pretty complicated in a global economy where almost everything we buy has ‘value added’ somewhere other than the United States, and many things people in foreign countries buy reflect value that was added in the United States.” (08/11/26)
https://www.econlib.org/econlog/action-figures-and-the-balance-of-payments
-----
41) What Trump Should Say to the Nation to Truly Become a Peace President
Source: Common Dreams
by Martin Halpern
“Almost 60 years ago, in his book Vietnam: The Logic of Withdrawal, historian Howard Zinn wrote a speech for Lyndon Johnson in which the then president announced a withdrawal and the end of the US attempt to control Vietnam. Unfortunately, Johnson did not embrace Zinn’s sensible approach. Instead, he announced the end of his reelection bid, and the US war effort continued for another six years, with the signing of the Paris Peace Agreement, or eight years, with the ending of the war and the reunification of Vietnam. President Donald Trump is at least as concerned as Johnson about not looking like a loser. So, my effort to compose a speech for Trump certainly seems like a quixotic effort. … Here is the speech I think Trump should deliver.” (08/11/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/trump-speech-peace
-----
42) Trump’s $23 billion ship will be outdated before it even hits water
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Dan Grazier
“The first proposed Trump-class battleship now has a price tag: $23 billion. This cost, as assessed by the Congressional Budget Office, will garner a lot of attention. But the primary concern for policymakers and citizens alike should be the complexity of the ship’s design. The U.S. Navy has a poor shipbuilding record in the 21st century. The Zumwalt-class destroyer, the Littoral Combat Ship, and the Constellation-class frigate have been complete failures. The final verdict of the Ford-class aircraft carrier is not yet in, but when the ship’s crew can’t even rely on the sewage system to work properly, the case isn’t looking too good. It becomes clear reading through the CBO’s report that Navy officials in Washington have learned nothing over the past 25 years from their shipbuilding mistakes.” (08/11/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-class-battleship/
-----
43) The biggest virtue?
Source: Cobden Centre
by Tim Price
“A number of highly successful fund managers and investors have emphasised patience as one of the core virtues in investing, often linking it to long-term compounding, waiting for the right opportunities, and resisting short-term market noise, the siren song of ‘news, or the urge to overtrade.” (08/11/26)
https://www.cobdencentre.org/2026/08/the-biggest-virtue/
-----
44) Rehabilitating Nixon? Not So Fast!
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Charles Goyette
“There is a lot of Richad Nixon rehabilitation going on these days. Before we get too far down that road, we should note that this month marks the fifty-fifth anniversary of one of the most pernicious acts of monetary destruction by modern presidents. On August 15, 1971, President Nixon announced a sweeping set of economic policies, his eerily Soviet-sounding ‘New Economic Policy.’ Today’s sympathy for the thirty-seventh president has something to do with a welcome recognition of the Deep State’s hand in his removal from office.” (08/10/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/rehabilitating-nixon-not-so-fast
-----
45) Not Winning? Just Change the Rules
Source: American Greatness
by Victor Davis Hanson
“What binds the new Democratic Party to the new Democratic Socialists is a set of shared issues and values. That is, the radicalism of the Democrats in the age of Trump Derangement Syndrome (lawfare, de-balloting, the Mar-a-Lago raid, and calls to destroy the Electoral College, the nine-justice Supreme Court, and the filibuster) helped give birth to the socialists. But the overriding commonality among those on the new Left is that if they do not get their way, they blame ‘the system’. Then they seek to change the rules, no matter how hallowed those laws and conventions may have been or how much they themselves benefited from them in the past. When the Left lost the White House, Congress, and, for the most part, the Supreme Court, it began clamoring to change the system.” (08/11/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/08/11/not-winning-just-change-the-rules/
-----
46) Brexit and Its Discontents
Source: Independent Institute
by Carl Schramm
“To most Americans, the momentous event ten years ago when Britain voted to leave the European Union seems a lesser curiosity when compared to, say, the fall of the Berlin Wall. Few Americans understand the real struggle to compose an economic union among Europe’s many nations that had for hundreds of years shown a distinct proclivity to war with each other. Twice, America had [sic] to enter global conflicts that were triggered by Germany’s belligerence toward its immediate neighbors.” (08/10/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/08/10/brexit-discontents/
-----
47) Ain’t democracy wunnerful?
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
“We are constantly told that democracy is the worst form of government… except for all the rest. We are constantly told that in a true democratic scheme of government, minority rights are protected against the tyranny of the majority. We are also told that representative democracy is one of the best forms of democracy because we can elect and empower men and women who can concentrate on the matters and decisions facing our polity – town, county, tribe, State, etc. – and make wise decisions. We are told that fears of corrupt elections, vote-buying, fake voters, fraud, and all the rest of the limpets on the hull of democracy can be and are controlled. Especially now that we have electronic voting and counting systems and because we have a watchful, vigilant press and courts and all the trappings that are wrapped around modern democracy. But what have we seen?” (08/10/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/08/10/aint-democracy-wunnerful/
-----
48) The romance of fair use and fiction
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Ally Duong
“‘Romantasy’ is a genre marriage of romance and fantasy that has been selling books like wildfire. And this year, your local bookstore’s romantasy section is likely lined with covers featuring a curly-haired brunette heroine next to a suave, silver-haired hero–all because fans who saw what an author couldn’t see decided to write stories about a couple that never came to be. … The attraction for publishers is obvious: a popular fanfic may arrive with a ready-made audience and social-media buzz. But that shift raises a serious legal question: What must an author change before an unauthorized derivative work becomes an independent — and lawfully marketable — novel?” (08/10/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/romance-fair-use-and-fiction
-----
49) Disgraced Anti-Sex-Trafficking NGO Gets $244 Million to Rep Migrant Kids
Source: The American Prospect
by Whitney Curry Wimbish
“An anti-sex-trafficking nonprofit in Utah whose founder resigned after multiple women accused him of trafficking and sexual abuse has won a federal contract to provide legal services to unaccompanied immigrant children in government custody. The Trump administration gave Our Rescue a no-bid $244,034,658 contract on August 7, according to the federal award notice posted late Friday night. The deal floods the organization with seven times the amount of money it had in 2025, according to its most recently available Form 990, which put total assets at $36.9 million. It’s unclear how many children Our Rescue will represent. The notice says only that it will provide legal services to children in the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), established to offer support for victims of human trafficking and those seeking asylum in the United States. Nearly 1,800 children were in the agency’s care in June; over the last year, it has averaged about 1,908 children monthly.” (08/11/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/08/11/our-rescue-disgraced-anti-sex-trafficking-ngo-migrant-kids/
-----
50) What Research from Boston Zoning Can Teach Chicago
Source: Cato Institute
by Jeffrey Miron
“To economists, America’s housing crisis — in the form of high prices — is no surprise. For years, lawmakers have distorted the market through zoning laws that restrict new building and limit housing density. More recently, however, cities around the United States have been working to loosen restrictive zoning codes to increase housing supply. Chicago, meanwhile, has so far kicked the can down the road on zoning reform.” (08/10/26)
https://www.cato.org/commentary/what-research-boston-zoning-can-teach-chicago
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Cato Podcast, 08/11/26
Source: Cato Institute
“The Eternal Quest for More Tariffs.” (08/11/26)
https://www.cato.org/multimedia/cato-podcast/eternal-quest-more-tariffs
-----
52) Rising, 08/11/26
Source: The Hill
“AOC is lying about wokeness—she enforced it ruthlessly!” (08/11/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/6016110-rising-august-11-2026/
-----
53) Parallax Views w/ JG Michael, 08/11/26
Source: Parallax Views w/ JG Michael
“Inside Israel’s Big-Budget Campaign of Direct Foreign Influence w/ Nick Cleveland-Stout.” (08/11/26)
https://parallaxviews.podbean.com/e/stout8-1-26/
-----
54) Capital Record, episode 318
Source: National Review
“The Common Good, Pornography, Gambling, and You.” (08/11/26)
https://www.nationalreview.com/podcasts/capital-record/the-common-good-pornography-gambling-and-you/
-----
55) Show-Me Institute Podcast, 08/11/26
Source: Show-Me Institute
“The Rising Appeal of Socialism in America with Emily Ekins.” (08/11/26)
https://showmeinstitute.org/article/state-and-local-government/the-rising-appeal-of-socialism-in-america-with-emily-ekins/
-----
56) The Good Fight, 08/11/26
Source: Yascha Mounk
“Adam Bodnar on Why Defeating Populists at the Ballot Box Isn’t Enough.” (08/11/26)
https://writing.yaschamounk.com/p/adam-bodnar
-----
57) Fountainhead Forum, episode 477
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Hannah Henriksen on what libertarian activists can learn from sports.” (08/11/26)
https://rumble.com/v7e0bf8-ff-477-hannah-henriksen-on-what-libertarian-activists-can-learn-from-sports.html
-----
58) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 08/10/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Hegseth Pushes $1.5T Budget at Base Graham, Israel Wants Gaza ‘Destroyed for Generations,’ and More.” (08/10/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Frxaj_iTSHg
-----
59) Sal and Mark, episode 15
Source: Free Talk Live
“Jeffrey Tucker, one of the most well known voices in the liberty movement and founder of the Brownstone Institute, joins to talk about Anthony Fauci’s stunning testimony where he pleaded the fifth 111 times, the origins of pandemic planning going back to 2005, and Rand Paul’s explosive claim that the 2020 lockdowns were designed to halt money velocity while six trillion dollars was printed.” (08/10/26)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/samep15
-----
60) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 08/10/26
Source: Libertarian Institute
“US COLLAPSE IMMINENT? The Middle East’s SHOCKING New Order!” (08/10/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/blog/the-kyle-anzalone-show-us-collapse-imminent-the-middle-easts-shocking-new-order/
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Today's Freedom News:
1) WI: “Moderate” Democrat pulls off upset over socialist in gubernatorial primary
2) US-based pirates fire on ship in Gulf of Oman
3) US appeals court voids Biden-era efficiency rule for stoves, ovens
4) Kyiv sends new proposals to Trump’s negotiators for plan to end conflict, says Zelenskyy
5) Rights groups launch new legal challenge to Trump campaign against ICC
6) US records hottest month as relentless July heat shatters records
7) Four crew killed in Red Sea attack while missile strike reported in Gulf
8) NY: State will hide identities of jury members in Mangione trial
9) Hungary: Parliament approves Orban-critic judge as president
10) Trump Media’s Quarterly Loss Widens to $238 Million From $20 Million a Year Earlier
11) SCOTUS: Alito knocked down big bucks on oil, gas investments
12) Syria: Assad sentenced to death in absentia at trial
13) Russia: US Marine veteran freed from prison after nearly four years
14) Libya: Drone strike sparks massive blaze at refinery
15) Colombia: Rescuers scramble for survivors with 180 dead in earthquake
16) Judge dismisses Gautam Adani criminal charges, chastises DOJ
17) Barred Little League team from Tulsa gets reinstated for chance to play in World Series
18) Yemen: Houthis launch ballistic missile attacks on al-Makha and Marib
19) CA: Timber Fire in Big Sur spreads overnight, burning 2,000 acres
20) FL: Homeowner shoots, kills alleged intruder
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) The Jones Act Trap: Why Temporary Shipping Waivers Prove Protectionism Fails
22) “Town Hall” Pageants Lose Their Luster for Politicians
23) Trump’s Iran War Raises a Midterm Question: Who Decides When America Goes to War?
24) What’s Worse — Authoritarian Capitalism or Democratic Socialism?
25) Countries are hiding censorship in “cybercrime” bills. A UN treaty could make things worse.
26) Socialism moves into the mainstream; the warning signs are all here
27) Sentinel, or the case of the high price of technical delivery risk
28) Is liberal democracy dead? Here’s a new answer.
29) Before we move on from “Woke 1”, Lefties like AOC need to answer some questions
30) When 20th-Century Regulations Meet 21st-Century Streaming
31) “Niceness as Whiteness”: Professors Denounce Niceness as White Privilege
32) The Case for a Liberalism That Dares Again
33) Young people bid for online agency
34) Deep Capture
35) Sullivan Revisited
36) The Guardian proves that renewables are not, in fact, cheaper
37) What Bank ATMs Teach Us About AI
38) Substance Beats Labels in Fighting Marxism
39) Do Hegseth’s Reforms to Military Universities Go Far Enough?
40) Action Figures and the Balance of Payments
41) What Trump Should Say to the Nation to Truly Become a Peace President
42) Trump’s $23 billion ship will be outdated before it even hits water
43) The biggest virtue?
44) Rehabilitating Nixon? Not So Fast!
45) Not Winning? Just Change the Rules
46) Brexit and Its Discontents
47) Ain’t democracy wunnerful?
48) The romance of fair use and fiction
49) Disgraced Anti-Sex-Trafficking NGO Gets $244 Million to Rep Migrant Kids
50) What Research from Boston Zoning Can Teach Chicago
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Cato Podcast, 08/11/26
52) Rising, 08/11/26
53) Parallax Views w/ JG Michael, 08/11/26
54) Capital Record, episode 318
55) Show-Me Institute Podcast, 08/11/26
56) The Good Fight, 08/11/26
57) Fountainhead Forum, episode 477
58) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 08/10/26
59) Sal and Mark, episode 15
60) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 08/10/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) WI: “Moderate” Democrat pulls off upset over socialist in gubernatorial primary
Source: NBC News
“Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley has won the Democratic primary in Wisconsin’s race for governor, NBC News projects, dealing a major upset to democratic socialist Francesca Hong. The result marks a dramatic turnaround for Crowley, who had dropped out of the race roughly a month ago after initially struggling to gain traction only to re-enter days later with outgoing Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’[s] endorsement. Hong, a state lawmaker from Madison, had led in the polls in the final stretch of the race, but faced growing scrutiny over her past controversial positions and general election viability.” (08/11/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/francesca-hong-david-crowley-democratic-primary-wisconsin-governor-rcna592056
-----
2) US-based pirates fire on ship in Gulf of Oman
Source: Associated Press
“The U.S. military said Tuesday that its forces fired on a Panamanian-flagged ship in the Gulf of Oman that tried to evade the American blockade on Iranian ports, a move that comes as President Donald Trump tries to keep economic pressure on the Islamic Republic. U.S. Central Command said the vessel had ignored warnings to stop, prompting an American helicopter to fire missiles into the engine room of the M/V Vela Nova, disabling the ship. U.S. Central Command’s statement does not say whether the ship’s crew suffered any casualties.” (08/11/25)
https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-iran-updates-08-11-2026
-----
3) US appeals court voids Biden-era efficiency rule for stoves, ovens
Source: Reuters
“A federal appeals court on Tuesday struck down a Biden administration-era rule setting efficiency standards for gas and electric stoves and ovens, saying the agency improperly bypassed public comment procedures. In a 3-0 decision, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled in favor of seven Republican-led states — Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Tennessee, Texas and Utah — that challenged the Department of Energy’s ‘direct final rule’ for consumer-grade stoves and ovens. The August 2024 rule was intended to limit how much energy consumers use in kitchen appliances, and to ban an older technology known as linear power supplies. Circuit Judge Andrew Oldham said the Energy Department should not have fast-tracked the rule, knowing that numerous states opposed a 2023 attempt to enact similar efficiency standards.” (08/11/26)
https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/us-appeals-court-voids-biden-era-efficiency-rule-stoves-ovens-2026-08-11/
-----
4) Kyiv sends new proposals to Trump’s negotiators for plan to end conflict, says Zelenskyy
Source: Independent [UK]
“Volodymyr Zelensky revealed on Tuesday that Kyiv has delivered fresh proposals to American negotiators aimed at ending the four-year war with Russia. US-mediated talks have been on ice since the war in Iran broke out in February. Efforts to bring Ukraine and Russia back to the table have not produced any material results since. But even with the war in the Middle East no closer to being resolved, the Ukrainian president said in his nightly address: ‘We have conveyed our proposals to the American side.'” (08/11/26)
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-live-putin-zelensky-drone-strikes-north-korea-b3030836.html
-----
5) Rights groups launch new legal challenge to Trump campaign against ICC
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Four leading human rights groups have launched a new lawsuit against the Trump administration’s campaign against the International Criminal Court. The new lawsuit filed on Tuesday charges that the administration’s wide-ranging sanctions against the international tribunal and organisations that cooperate with it risk treading on the constitutional rights of US citizens and groups. It adds to several previous legal challenges making similar claims. The four US-based groups – The American Friends Service Committee, the Centre for Constitutional Rights, Human Rights Watch, and the Open Society Institute – charge the sanctions ‘force them to curtail a wide range of human rights and legal work’. That, in turn, violates their constitutional rights, including their freedom of speech and their right to due process.” (08/11/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/11/rights-groups-launch-new-legal-challenge-to-trump-campaign-against-icc
-----
6) US records hottest month as relentless July heat shatters records
Source: USA Today
“Unrelenting heat waves across the United States in July helped push the nation to its warmest month, breaking a 132-year-old record, federal officials say. The 76.9-degree average was 3.3 degrees above the 20th century average, according to the July climate summary released Aug. 10 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which tracks the nation’s weather and long-term climate. That temperature was a fraction warmer than records set in July 1936 and July 2012. Though daytime temperatures were blazing hot and disrupted many of the festivities around the nation’s 250th anniversary, it was the overnight temperatures that proved most extreme, soaring above the record set in July 2022 by 0.7 degrees. The U.S. records mirror a pattern seen across many parts of the world in July.” (08/11/26)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/weather/2026/08/10/july-heat-produced-warmest-month-record-us/91241077007/
-----
7) Four crew killed in Red Sea attack while missile strike reported in Gulf
Source: Reuters
“Four crew members were killed in an attack by Iran-backed Houthis on a small cargo ship in the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Tuesday, Yemen’s [Saudi puppet] transport ministry said, while sources reported a missile attack on a container ship off Pakistan in a suspected U.S. strike. The fatalities aboard the Egyptian-owned Tihamah, if confirmed, would mark the first deaths in a Houthi strike on shipping since the Iran war began on February 28. The Houthis have not claimed the attack. Three Pakistanis and one Indonesian were killed, the Yemeni [Saudi puppet] ministry said, adding the crew lost control of the vessel after being attacked. Three coastguard personnel were injured after being targeted by a drone while trying to rescue the crew, Yemeni military sources said. The Houthis declared a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea on July 20 in response to what they described as a Saudi siege.” (08/11/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/three-killed-attacks-ships-red-sea-gulf-sources-say-2026-08-11/
-----
8) NY: State will hide identities of jury members in Mangione trial
Source: NBC News
“Luigi Mangione appeared in a New York courtroom Tuesday where plans were nearly finalized for his state murder trial next month, including the judge’s ruling that the jury of Manhattan residents will be anonymous. Mangione, 28, has pleaded not guilty to several state charges in connection with the December 2024 fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside the New York Hilton Midtown. … Carro also said there would be expanded media and public access to the trial. After fielding complaints from Mangione’s defense team about potential space limitations, court administrators arranged for an overflow room.” [editor’s note: If the jurors’ identities aren’t known the the public, how can the public know the jury wasn’t stacked? – TLK] (08/11/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/luigi-mangione-returns-court-less-month-state-trial-rcna591890
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9) Hungary: Parliament approves Orban-critic judge as president
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“Hungarian lawmakers on Tuesday approved former supreme court chief Andras Baka, a critic of Viktor Orban who was fired during the ex-premier’s time in power, as the country’s next head of state. The post became vacant following the contested removal last month of the previous president, an Orban ally, as pro-EU conservative Prime Minister Peter Magyar pushes to loosen his predecessor’s lingering hold over state institutions. Parliament, where the ruling Tisza party holds a two-thirds majority, elected Baka – who served 17 years as a judge on the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) – with 140 votes in favour and six votes against. Tisza on Saturday nominated Baka, 73, for the largely ceremonial role.” (08/11/26)
https://archive.is/YuGSf
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10) Trump Media’s Quarterly Loss Widens to $238 Million From $20 Million a Year Earlier
Source: US News & World Report
“Trump Media & Technology Group, founded by U.S. President Donald Trump and known for its Truth Social platform, reported a wider second-quarter loss, largely due to unrealized losses tied to its cryptocurrency assets. Its second-quarter net loss jumped to $238.1 million from about $20 million a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, came under pressure during the April-to-June quarter as investors shunned riskier assets amid uncertainty over U.S. interest rates, geopolitical tensions and persistent outflows from crypto investment products.” [editor’s note: The guy went bankrupt running a casino, which is the second-closest thing to a license to print money. The closest thing is a corrupt White House and he apparently can’t make even THAT work. He seems to be about as good at business, and in the same way, as he is at golf – TLK] (08/11/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2026-08-11/trump-medias-quarterly-loss-widens-to-238-million-from-20-million-a-year-earlier
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11) SCOTUS: Alito knocked down big bucks on oil, gas investments
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“The supreme court justice Samuel Alito gained up to $2.9m from his fossil fuel interests between 2005 and 2024, a new review of financial disclosures shows. The analysis from the non-profit advocacy group and judicial watchdog Court Accountability, shared exclusively with the Guardian, found that even at the lowest range of estimates, Alito gained almost $400,000 from his oil and gas interests since being tapped for the high court by George W Bush in 2005. The findings come as the supreme court prepares to take up a case in which the oil companies Suncor Energy and Exxon asked the justices to find that federal law prevents subnational governments from filing lawsuits against fossil fuel producers for the climate-warming effects of their products. … Court Accountability and other groups have called for a Senate committee to investigate Alito, the sole supreme court justice with holdings in energy companies, and said he should recuse himself. He and the court rejected those calls.” (08/11/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/11/samuel-alito-oil-gas-assets-supreme-court-analysis
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12) Syria: Assad sentenced to death in absentia at trial
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“A Syrian court sentenced ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad along with his younger brother to death in absentia on Tuesday for crimes against humanity and war crimes during Syria’s 14-year conflict that left about half a million people dead. The sentences at the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus are the first against Assad or members of his inner circle since the family’s five decades in power came to an end 20 months ago. … Also sentenced to death in the same case was Assad’s maternal cousin Atef Najib, who was convicted of overseeing a crackdown in the southern province of Daraa that led to the uprising and later the civil war.” (08/11/26)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/syria-assads-najib-sentences-9.7302765
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13) Russia: US Marine veteran freed from prison after nearly four years
Source: CBS News
“Russia has released an American military veteran who spent more than four years in prison, President Trump said Tuesday, days after a group advocating for his freedom said he was gravely ill. Mr. Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to release Robert Gilman on a ‘humanitarian basis’ and that ‘Russia asked for no one in return.’ … Gilman, a 32-year-old teacher from Lowell, Massachusetts, had been detained since 2022. He was initially handed a 3 1/2-year sentence in 2022 when he was convicted of beating a police officer after being taken off a train for causing a disturbance.” (08/11/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/robert-gilman-russia-released/
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14) Libya: Drone strike sparks massive blaze at refinery
Source: ABC News
“Firefighters in western Libya fought Tuesday to extinguish the remnants of a massive fire caused by a drone strike on an oil facility, and a car bomb killed a senior military officer in the country’s east, in the latest attacks in the chaos-stricken North African nation. The drone hit a gasoline tank at the Zawiya oil refinery in the Mediterranean town of Zawiya on Monday, about 47 kilometers (about 30 miles) west of capital Tripoli, the state-run National Oil Corporation said. … Monday’s strikes were the latest in a series of drone attacks on oil infrastructure in Zawiya, which houses critical energy infrastructure including the country’s largest oil refinery, an export terminal and a power plant. … The attacks come as tensions are rising between the government of western Libya and a warlord who controls the city of Zawiya.” (08/11/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/drone-strike-sparks-massive-blaze-libyas-zawiya-refinery-135538868
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15) Colombia: Rescuers scramble for survivors with 180 dead in earthquake
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Rescue workers in Colombia are working against the clock to free survivors trapped in buildings and under rubble following Monday’s powerful earthquake. More than 180 people have been confirmed dead – most in the cities of Cali and Pereira. The magnitude 7.4 quake struck at 07:34 (12:34 GMT) on Monday and was felt across an enormous area, stretching for hundreds of miles across western Colombia – with fresh aftershocks still being felt on Tuesday. While the official death toll remains 181, an aggregated figure gathered from local officials puts it higher – potentially at more than 240. A state of emergency has been declared by President Abelardo de la Espriella.” (08/11/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20dqd9qwq4o
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16) Judge dismisses Gautam Adani criminal charges, chastises DOJ
Source: United Press International
“A federal judge has approved the Trump administration’s request to dismiss criminal charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani while chastising the Justice Department for its reasoning and methods for abandoning the high-profile case. … The Justice Department charged Gautam Adani and the seven other defendants, all current or former executives of Adani Group or its subsidiary Adani Green Energy, in November 2024, alleging various defendants participated in schemes to pay $265 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure lucrative solar energy contracts, lied to U.S. and international investors to raise billions of dollars in financing and impede the investigations of three U.S. government entities.” (08/11/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/08/11/judge-dismisses-Gautam-Adani-charges/5531786425116/
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17) Barred Little League team from Tulsa gets reinstated for chance to play in World Series
Source: Fox News
“Little League Baseball is on fire even before the big days in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Little League on Monday ruled that Tulsa National Little League’s 12U team had an ineligible player on the roster and booted it from the Southwest Region Tournament, the final stop before the Little League World Series. However, a Texas judge reinstated the team just hours later through a temporary restraining order, despite Little League saying its decision was ‘final and binding.’ … Little League initially ruled that Boerne Little League’s Monday game against Louisiana (Ascension Parish Little League) would be for the Southwest championship — Boerne won 4-1 and celebrated on the field, thinking it had just earned a trip to every child’s dream. However, it now must play one more game against a team with an ineligible player. Little League did not immediately respond to a request for comment.” (08/11/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/barred-little-league-team-tulsa-reinstated-chance-play-world-series
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18) Yemen: Houthis launch ballistic missile attacks on al-Makha and Marib
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“The armed forces of Yemen’s [Saudi puppet regime] have accused the Houthis of launching another round of ballistic missile attacks on the Red Sea port city of al-Makha and on residential areas in the central city of Marib. Yemeni forces did not state whether the attacks on Monday caused any casualties. The attacks came a day after Houthi missiles killed at least seven people and wounded 30 others in al-Makha, which is also known as Mocha. The strikes caused extensive damage at the city’s port area. Elsewhere in Yemen on Monday, a Houthi drone strike killed two Yemeni [puppet regime] soldiers and wounded seven others in the south-central province of Shabwa, according to local media reports.” (08/11/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/11/yemens-houthis-launch-ballistic-missile-attacks-on-al-makha-and-marib?traffic_source=rss
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19) CA: Timber Fire in Big Sur spreads overnight, burning 2,000 acres
Source: SFGate
“A wildfire that erupted along some of California’s most iconic coastline has spread overnight, reaching 2,000 acres as of 7 a.m. on Tuesday morning. The Timber wildfire ignited on Sunday morning, according to Cal Fire, and spread quickly throughout the day on Monday, leading to evacuation orders that affected several iconic businesses, including the luxury Alila Ventana Big Sur resort, the Esalen Institute and the Nepenthe restaurant. Currently, at least 500 firefighting personnel are responding to the fire, which is 5% contained. At least 259 structures are threatened by the blaze, but no damage has been reported. … The U.S. has been dealing with a particularly difficult wildfire season, with 104 large fires currently burning in 15 states.” (08/11/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/centralcoast/article/timber-fire-big-sur-22383409.php
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20) FL: Homeowner shoots, kills alleged intruder
Source: Fox 35 Orlando
“A man was shot and killed by a homeowner after deputies said he showed up unannounced at a Lake County home where his ex-girlfriend was visiting and tried to force his way inside. According to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, a physical altercation broke out between the man and the homeowner near the entrance to the residence. ‘The male subject attempted to force his way into the residence during the altercation,’ a sheriff’s office spokesperson said. Deputies said the homeowner then pulled out a gun and fatally shot the man.” (08/10/26)
https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/man-shot-killed-during-alleged-break-in-lake-county-home
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) The Jones Act Trap: Why Temporary Shipping Waivers Prove Protectionism Fails
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey
“Most Americans have never heard of the Jones Act, which is a protectionist law that has been on the books for over 100 years with the intent to protect U.S. based shipping and shipbuilding, put in place after World War I. As with many U.S. laws, it has backfired on the American people and business, with higher costs to consumers for their goods and energy. I argue that government should just get out of the way and let the free market run, which benefits both consumers and business. Now, the Trump administration has extended its 90-day waiver of the Jones Act, allowing foreign-flagged shipping vessels to transport fuel and energy commodities between U.S. ports (The Hindu). This 90-day waiver exposes the reality that the Jones Act helps to lower energy costs for Americans and helps to prevent economic bottlenecks, confirming my assertion to let the free market run.” (08/11/26)
https://palmbeachexaminer.substack.com/p/the-jones-act-trap-why-temporary
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22) “Town Hall” Pageants Lose Their Luster for Politicians
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“The purpose of political events these days isn’t so much retail public engagement as it is the production of sound bites for campaign use that’s more controlled and enjoys more reach than a huddle with a few citizens at a high school auditorium. But the main reason for real, physical, local ‘town hall aversion’ is the possibility of embarrassing confrontations with the angry sector of the public in question. And there’s ALWAYS an angry sector of the public, no matter which party the politician in question affiliates with or what policy positions that politician takes. We’ve all seen it on TV. In fact, it’s generally the only part of a ‘town hall’ event we ever DO see on TV outside of actual campaign ads.” (08/11/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20830
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23) Trump’s Iran War Raises a Midterm Question: Who Decides When America Goes to War?
Source: Antiwar.com
by Peter Rodgers
“Washington has long debated individual interventions while paying less attention to the expanding presidential authority that made them possible. Trump did not create this system; he inherited it. His presidency, however, exposed how much war-making power has accumulated in the executive branch and how far the country has moved from the constitutional balance the founders envisioned. The Constitution’s principle is clear: decisions about war should not rest with one person. The president is commander in chief, but Congress received the authority to declare war because the framers feared concentrated power.” (08/11/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/peter_rodgers/2026/08/10/trumps-iran-war-raises-a-midterm-question-who-decides-when-america-goes-to-war/=
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24) What’s Worse — Authoritarian Capitalism or Democratic Socialism?
Source: The Daily Economy
by Alex Tokarev, Gabriel F. Benzecry, & Kristin Tokarev
“ou’ve no doubt heard the horrifying stories of dictators who abused their people for personal gain or sheer cruelty. Stalin’s Great Purge, Mao’s engineered famine, and Pinochet’s brutal torture of dissidents are just a few notorious examples. If all dictatorships are hell, a difficult question remains: which offers the better odds of survival, or even prosperity? Is it a dictatorship that tolerates some free-market capitalism, or one built on socialism?” (08/11/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/whats-worse-authoritarian-capitalism-or-democratic-socialism/
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25) Countries are hiding censorship in “cybercrime” bills. A UN treaty could make things worse.
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Sarah McLaughlin
“Late last year, the United Kingdom, France, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and dozens more nations signed the United Nations Convention Against Cybercrime, a treaty ostensibly intended to improve global cooperation to fight crimes taking place over computer systems. Canada joined them this summer. The United States remains a notable exception and says it is still reviewing the treaty. Three nations have since ratified it, and the treaty will enter into force 90 days after 40 states do so. As FIRE has long warned, the treaty opens the door to greater violations of free expression online — and new cybercrime bills popping up around the world show why.” (08/11/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/blogs/free-speech-dispatch/countries-are-hiding-censorship-cybercrime-bills-un-treaty-could
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26) Socialism moves into the mainstream; the warning signs are all here
Source: Fox News Forum
by Jeremy Hunt
“For the 333 million Americans who don’t live in New York City, there are plenty of reasons not to care what goes on there. It doesn’t affect our day-to-day lives. New Yorkers democratically elected their socialist leader. It’s their bed, let them lie in it. Or as the mainstream media likes to put it, it’s probably just hyped-up right-wing hysteria. And of course, that’s exactly how the communists in our country want us to think. But right now may be the most important moment to push back. It’s incumbent on all of us to resist the normalization of socialism in America. Speak up now, so that what’s radical in New York today doesn’t become the norm in your neighborhood tomorrow. And to be clear, there are plenty of radical things going on in New York right now.” (08/11/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/socialism-moves-mainstream-warning-signs-here
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27) Sentinel, or the case of the high price of technical delivery risk
Source: Niskanen Center
by Mark Lerner
“The Federal Bureau of Investigations launched Sentinel in 2005 with an expanded budget and intensified project management discipline. With the active involvement of at least 18 concurrent oversight and governance bodies — the Government Accountability Office, the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General, and numerous congressional committees among them — what could go wrong? Turns out, quite a lot. Sentinel rapidly degraded into an unusable product that threatened to waste hundreds of millions of dollars.” (08/11/26)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/sentinel-or-the-case-of-the-high-price-of-technical-delivery-risk/
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28) Is liberal democracy dead? Here’s a new answer.
Source: Washington Post
by Julia Cartwright
“On June 16, 1989, a bearded 26-year-old stood before a quarter million Hungarians in Budapest and demanded that Soviet troops leave his country. His fearless call for free elections helped bring down communism in Hungary. The young firebrand was Viktor Orban. Twenty-five years later, he proudly announced he was building an ‘illiberal state.’ What happened in between is a microcosm of what has happened to liberal democracy itself. That story gives Daron Acemoglu’s new book ‘What Happened to Liberal Democracy?’ its urgency.” (08/11/26)
https://archive.is/iEoeW
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29) Before we move on from “Woke 1”, Lefties like AOC need to answer some questions
Source: New York Post
by Karol Markowicz
“Remember the early 2020s when cancel culture ran rampant, defunding police was a standard position on the left and we were all supposed to fall in line with their bad ideas, or else? Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants us to pretend it all went away. AOC took to ‘This Week with Jonathan Karl’ on ABC to defend Francesca Hong, the latest Democratic Socialist star, running for governor of Wisconsin. In 2020, Hong said Thanksgiving should be canceled, claiming it’s ‘a time that’s incredibly painful for people’ in her community. Now that she wants to get elected, Hong suddenly called Thanksgiving her ‘favorite holiday’. AOC argued that Hong has ‘moved away’ from some of her more controversial positions then giggled that she agreed with NYC Councilman Chi Ossé, who had said, ‘Woke 1 was crazyyyy’. Tee-hee, woke 1, you guys!” (08/10/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/08/10/opinion/lefties-like-aoc-need-to-answer-some-questions-before-we-move-on-from-woke-1/
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30) When 20th-Century Regulations Meet 21st-Century Streaming
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Cláudia Ascensão Nunes
“If a regulator struggles to decide whether a live transmission on YouTube should be considered ‘television,’ the real problem may not be the platform, but the rules and the state’s insistence on continuing to apply them.” (08/11/26)
https://fee.org/articles/when-20th-century-regulations-meet-21st-century-streaming/
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31) “Niceness as Whiteness”: Professors Denounce Niceness as White Privilege
Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley
“We have previously discussed how many professors seem to compete in finding new forms of racism in every facet of society and education. Astrophysics, math, runoffs, science, statistics, and meritocracy have all been denounced as racist. In this academic cottage industry, professors secure publications and speaking opportunities by identifying racism in expressions, images, or entire fields. Even time itself has been declared racist. Now, however, academics have found another undiscovered continent of white privilege: niceness. When I saw a story in The College Fix on a study of ‘niceness as Whiteness,’ I was skeptical and decided to take a look.” (08/11/26)
https://jonathanturley.org/2026/08/11/niceness-as-whiteness-professors-denounce-niceness-as-perpetuating-white-privilege/
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32) The Case for a Liberalism That Dares Again
Source: The UnPopulist
by Joshua Reed Eakle
“In the contemporary imagination, liberalism means different things to different people. To some on the left, it means a set of deceptive platitudes masking an eventual, inevitable collaboration with fascists. To those on the populist right, it stands for out-of-touch technocracy, woke identity politics, and globalization hollowing out rural and industrial America. To many less ideological voters, it simply stands for the status quo and existing institutions—a status quo that many believe, or can be convinced to believe, is just not working for them. What liberalism isn’t, for the most part, is appealing. Liberalism is in peril not because of philosophical defects or better available alternatives, but because liberals have too often struggled to make liberalism seem attractive, compelling, and exciting.” (08/11/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/the-case-for-a-liberalism-that-dares
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33) Young people bid for online agency
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“Keeping pace with new developments in the world of social media and artificial intelligence is no easy task. Almost as challenging is keeping up with the slew of regulatory, judicial, and civil society actions seeking greater transparency from Big Tech into the design parameters, data extraction, and internal research behind social media apps used extensively by children and adolescents. Last Wednesday, a U.S. Senate committee unanimously advanced the Kids Online Safety Act, which would mandate default privacy settings and require ‘reasonable care’ when designing platforms to minimize potential harm to minors. The next day, a New Mexico court fined Meta $567 million to address harms it knowingly caused to young people through design features of its Facebook and Instagram platforms. The range of recent and pending laws and legal actions is notable for a few key reasons.” (08/10/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0810/Young-people-bid-for-online-agency
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34) Deep Capture
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Sofia Karstens
“[Woodrow] Wilson’s central argument was that government should be split into two separate domains: politics, where elected officials set broad goals and policy direction, and administration, a technical, expert-driven sphere that should be run with ‘large powers and unhampered discretion’ and insulated from day-to-day political interference. Wilson suggested that government ought to be removed from the political process…in other words: ‘Democracy is too important to be left to voters.'” (08/11/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/deep-capture/
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35) Sullivan Revisited
Source: Law & Liberty
by Glenn Reynolds
“The outcome of the famous libel case rests on fabricated legal foundations.” (08/11/26)
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/sullivan-revisited/
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36) The Guardian proves that renewables are not, in fact, cheaper
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Tim Worstall
“[R]enewables are not cheaper than fossil fuels. If they were then we’d not even have a climate change problem in the first place – everyone would just be naturally scrambling for the now cheaper option and the problem would go away. Which does mean that every plan, every insistence, every fine and policy imposed is proof that renewables are not cheaper. Could even still be worthwhile, but not cheaper.” (08/11/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/the-guardian-proves-that-renewables-are-not-in-fact-cheaper
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37) What Bank ATMs Teach Us About AI
Source: Town Hall
by Stephen Moore
“New inventions and technologies, from the lightbulb to the farm tractor to the automobile to the laptop computer to Uber drivers, cause serious job market disruptions. They also cause a backlash, as horse and buggy operators, cab drivers, video rental stores, and typewriter makers inevitably predicted chaos and job losses. Artificial intelligence will make life much better and healthier for most people, but it will bring massive disruptions, too. What will happen to the people whose livelihoods are jeopardized by what ChatGPT or Claude can do faster, cheaper, and better? It is a fair question. But let’s look at one of the inventions of the past several decades that we almost all use routinely: the automated teller machine.” (08/11/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/stephenmoore/2026/08/11/what-bank-atms-teach-us-about-ai-n2681017
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38) Substance Beats Labels in Fighting Marxism
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Wanjiru Njoya
“In a recent controversy over ideological indoctrination at the Smithsonian museum, one member of staff mockingly said, ‘I didn’t realize all my colleagues were Marxists.’ The implication is that their critics are using the label ‘Marxist’ to denote any historical interpretations with which they disagree. The museum’s staff insist that their only goal is to offer an ‘inclusive’ portrayal of history. Similarly, many who support diversity, equity, and inclusiveness do not necessarily see themselves as neo-Marxists, even though they promote the tenets of cultural Marxism.” (08/11/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/substance-beats-labels-fighting-marxism
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39) Do Hegseth’s Reforms to Military Universities Go Far Enough?
Source: The American Conservative
by Kelley Beaucar Vlahos
“In his crusade to exorcise ‘wokeness’ from the military and imbue it with a new spirit of lethality, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is waging battles on the nation’s storied war colleges and service academies. But is he fighting the wrong war? … While no one who spoke to us believes there is a place for intrusive diversity, equity, and inclusion requirements or social engineering at these institutions, they agreed the attention should be on the schools’ broader inability to produce exceptional leaders who win wars—rather than ambitious yes-men with soft critical thinking skills who, despite losing records, collect stars, pensions, and lucrative post-service second careers with all the entitlement of entrenched bureaucrats.” (08/11/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/do-hegseths-reforms-to-military-universities-go-far-enough/
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40) Action Figures and the Balance of Payments
Source: EconLog
by Art Carden
“In the run-up to the 2024 election, many people claimed that, in ‘Econ 101,’ GDP goes down when imports increase because the last part of the GDP equation is Net Exports (exports – imports). This demonstrates a failure to understand precisely what GDP measures and why net exports appear at the end of the equation. Gross Domestic Product is a measure of the economy’s total value added, and measuring value added is pretty complicated in a global economy where almost everything we buy has ‘value added’ somewhere other than the United States, and many things people in foreign countries buy reflect value that was added in the United States.” (08/11/26)
https://www.econlib.org/econlog/action-figures-and-the-balance-of-payments
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41) What Trump Should Say to the Nation to Truly Become a Peace President
Source: Common Dreams
by Martin Halpern
“Almost 60 years ago, in his book Vietnam: The Logic of Withdrawal, historian Howard Zinn wrote a speech for Lyndon Johnson in which the then president announced a withdrawal and the end of the US attempt to control Vietnam. Unfortunately, Johnson did not embrace Zinn’s sensible approach. Instead, he announced the end of his reelection bid, and the US war effort continued for another six years, with the signing of the Paris Peace Agreement, or eight years, with the ending of the war and the reunification of Vietnam. President Donald Trump is at least as concerned as Johnson about not looking like a loser. So, my effort to compose a speech for Trump certainly seems like a quixotic effort. … Here is the speech I think Trump should deliver.” (08/11/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/trump-speech-peace
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42) Trump’s $23 billion ship will be outdated before it even hits water
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Dan Grazier
“The first proposed Trump-class battleship now has a price tag: $23 billion. This cost, as assessed by the Congressional Budget Office, will garner a lot of attention. But the primary concern for policymakers and citizens alike should be the complexity of the ship’s design. The U.S. Navy has a poor shipbuilding record in the 21st century. The Zumwalt-class destroyer, the Littoral Combat Ship, and the Constellation-class frigate have been complete failures. The final verdict of the Ford-class aircraft carrier is not yet in, but when the ship’s crew can’t even rely on the sewage system to work properly, the case isn’t looking too good. It becomes clear reading through the CBO’s report that Navy officials in Washington have learned nothing over the past 25 years from their shipbuilding mistakes.” (08/11/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-class-battleship/
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43) The biggest virtue?
Source: Cobden Centre
by Tim Price
“A number of highly successful fund managers and investors have emphasised patience as one of the core virtues in investing, often linking it to long-term compounding, waiting for the right opportunities, and resisting short-term market noise, the siren song of ‘news, or the urge to overtrade.” (08/11/26)
https://www.cobdencentre.org/2026/08/the-biggest-virtue/
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44) Rehabilitating Nixon? Not So Fast!
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Charles Goyette
“There is a lot of Richad Nixon rehabilitation going on these days. Before we get too far down that road, we should note that this month marks the fifty-fifth anniversary of one of the most pernicious acts of monetary destruction by modern presidents. On August 15, 1971, President Nixon announced a sweeping set of economic policies, his eerily Soviet-sounding ‘New Economic Policy.’ Today’s sympathy for the thirty-seventh president has something to do with a welcome recognition of the Deep State’s hand in his removal from office.” (08/10/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/rehabilitating-nixon-not-so-fast
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45) Not Winning? Just Change the Rules
Source: American Greatness
by Victor Davis Hanson
“What binds the new Democratic Party to the new Democratic Socialists is a set of shared issues and values. That is, the radicalism of the Democrats in the age of Trump Derangement Syndrome (lawfare, de-balloting, the Mar-a-Lago raid, and calls to destroy the Electoral College, the nine-justice Supreme Court, and the filibuster) helped give birth to the socialists. But the overriding commonality among those on the new Left is that if they do not get their way, they blame ‘the system’. Then they seek to change the rules, no matter how hallowed those laws and conventions may have been or how much they themselves benefited from them in the past. When the Left lost the White House, Congress, and, for the most part, the Supreme Court, it began clamoring to change the system.” (08/11/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/08/11/not-winning-just-change-the-rules/
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46) Brexit and Its Discontents
Source: Independent Institute
by Carl Schramm
“To most Americans, the momentous event ten years ago when Britain voted to leave the European Union seems a lesser curiosity when compared to, say, the fall of the Berlin Wall. Few Americans understand the real struggle to compose an economic union among Europe’s many nations that had for hundreds of years shown a distinct proclivity to war with each other. Twice, America had [sic] to enter global conflicts that were triggered by Germany’s belligerence toward its immediate neighbors.” (08/10/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/08/10/brexit-discontents/
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47) Ain’t democracy wunnerful?
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
“We are constantly told that democracy is the worst form of government… except for all the rest. We are constantly told that in a true democratic scheme of government, minority rights are protected against the tyranny of the majority. We are also told that representative democracy is one of the best forms of democracy because we can elect and empower men and women who can concentrate on the matters and decisions facing our polity – town, county, tribe, State, etc. – and make wise decisions. We are told that fears of corrupt elections, vote-buying, fake voters, fraud, and all the rest of the limpets on the hull of democracy can be and are controlled. Especially now that we have electronic voting and counting systems and because we have a watchful, vigilant press and courts and all the trappings that are wrapped around modern democracy. But what have we seen?” (08/10/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/08/10/aint-democracy-wunnerful/
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48) The romance of fair use and fiction
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Ally Duong
“‘Romantasy’ is a genre marriage of romance and fantasy that has been selling books like wildfire. And this year, your local bookstore’s romantasy section is likely lined with covers featuring a curly-haired brunette heroine next to a suave, silver-haired hero–all because fans who saw what an author couldn’t see decided to write stories about a couple that never came to be. … The attraction for publishers is obvious: a popular fanfic may arrive with a ready-made audience and social-media buzz. But that shift raises a serious legal question: What must an author change before an unauthorized derivative work becomes an independent — and lawfully marketable — novel?” (08/10/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/romance-fair-use-and-fiction
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49) Disgraced Anti-Sex-Trafficking NGO Gets $244 Million to Rep Migrant Kids
Source: The American Prospect
by Whitney Curry Wimbish
“An anti-sex-trafficking nonprofit in Utah whose founder resigned after multiple women accused him of trafficking and sexual abuse has won a federal contract to provide legal services to unaccompanied immigrant children in government custody. The Trump administration gave Our Rescue a no-bid $244,034,658 contract on August 7, according to the federal award notice posted late Friday night. The deal floods the organization with seven times the amount of money it had in 2025, according to its most recently available Form 990, which put total assets at $36.9 million. It’s unclear how many children Our Rescue will represent. The notice says only that it will provide legal services to children in the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), established to offer support for victims of human trafficking and those seeking asylum in the United States. Nearly 1,800 children were in the agency’s care in June; over the last year, it has averaged about 1,908 children monthly.” (08/11/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/08/11/our-rescue-disgraced-anti-sex-trafficking-ngo-migrant-kids/
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50) What Research from Boston Zoning Can Teach Chicago
Source: Cato Institute
by Jeffrey Miron
“To economists, America’s housing crisis — in the form of high prices — is no surprise. For years, lawmakers have distorted the market through zoning laws that restrict new building and limit housing density. More recently, however, cities around the United States have been working to loosen restrictive zoning codes to increase housing supply. Chicago, meanwhile, has so far kicked the can down the road on zoning reform.” (08/10/26)
https://www.cato.org/commentary/what-research-boston-zoning-can-teach-chicago
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Cato Podcast, 08/11/26
Source: Cato Institute
“The Eternal Quest for More Tariffs.” (08/11/26)
https://www.cato.org/multimedia/cato-podcast/eternal-quest-more-tariffs
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52) Rising, 08/11/26
Source: The Hill
“AOC is lying about wokeness—she enforced it ruthlessly!” (08/11/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/6016110-rising-august-11-2026/
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53) Parallax Views w/ JG Michael, 08/11/26
Source: Parallax Views w/ JG Michael
“Inside Israel’s Big-Budget Campaign of Direct Foreign Influence w/ Nick Cleveland-Stout.” (08/11/26)
https://parallaxviews.podbean.com/e/stout8-1-26/
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54) Capital Record, episode 318
Source: National Review
“The Common Good, Pornography, Gambling, and You.” (08/11/26)
https://www.nationalreview.com/podcasts/capital-record/the-common-good-pornography-gambling-and-you/
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55) Show-Me Institute Podcast, 08/11/26
Source: Show-Me Institute
“The Rising Appeal of Socialism in America with Emily Ekins.” (08/11/26)
https://showmeinstitute.org/article/state-and-local-government/the-rising-appeal-of-socialism-in-america-with-emily-ekins/
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56) The Good Fight, 08/11/26
Source: Yascha Mounk
“Adam Bodnar on Why Defeating Populists at the Ballot Box Isn’t Enough.” (08/11/26)
https://writing.yaschamounk.com/p/adam-bodnar
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57) Fountainhead Forum, episode 477
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Hannah Henriksen on what libertarian activists can learn from sports.” (08/11/26)
https://rumble.com/v7e0bf8-ff-477-hannah-henriksen-on-what-libertarian-activists-can-learn-from-sports.html
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58) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 08/10/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Hegseth Pushes $1.5T Budget at Base Graham, Israel Wants Gaza ‘Destroyed for Generations,’ and More.” (08/10/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Frxaj_iTSHg
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59) Sal and Mark, episode 15
Source: Free Talk Live
“Jeffrey Tucker, one of the most well known voices in the liberty movement and founder of the Brownstone Institute, joins to talk about Anthony Fauci’s stunning testimony where he pleaded the fifth 111 times, the origins of pandemic planning going back to 2005, and Rand Paul’s explosive claim that the 2020 lockdowns were designed to halt money velocity while six trillion dollars was printed.” (08/10/26)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/samep15
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60) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 08/10/26
Source: Libertarian Institute
“US COLLAPSE IMMINENT? The Middle East’s SHOCKING New Order!” (08/10/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/blog/the-kyle-anzalone-show-us-collapse-imminent-the-middle-easts-shocking-new-order/
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