08/07 -- Trump tries to repeal 14th Amendment by edict again; I Stopped Being a Libertarian Because I Realized the Sky is Blue
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Thomas L. Knapp
Aug 7, 2026, 6:04:31 AM (11 days ago) Aug 7
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 08/07/26
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Trump tries to repeal 14th Amendment by edict again
2) Hormuz deal may block US, Israeli shipments
3) Yemen: Houthi attacks on Saudi puppet regime forces kill at least 30
4) Court orders Instagram and Facebook’s Meta to pay $567 million bribe after frivolous lawsuit
5) KY: Someone claiming to be Mitch McConnell says he’s leaving rehab, heading home
6) UK: Youngest black professor at Cambridge resigns as university investigates allegations of plagiarism
7) FCC scraps limit on broadcast TV ownership
8) US Senate committee votes to hold Fauci in contempt
9) Nigeria: President hails “largest ever” single-day rescue as 308 abductees freed
10) Sanders’s answer when asked if he will endorse socialist Hong in Wisconsin sparks instant mockery
11) US regime seeks extradition of Filipino church leader accused of sex crimes and fraud
12) FDA approves Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine after initially refusing to review it
13) UK: Women tell BBC of rape and abuse at Army teen college
14) Sweden: Top Court Clears Way for Transfer of Stolen Ship to Ukraine
15) Congo monitors nearly 200 boat passengers after traveler dies with Ebola-like symptoms
16) Trump tries to revise frivolous BBC lawsuit to avoid discovery
17) US beef prices have soared but farmers aren’t making more money
18) Canada: Carney says he has no confidence in FIFA’s Infantino
19) Cameroon: President draws concern and criticism by staying abroad for two months
20) US Senate confirms Schwartz as new CDC chief
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) I Stopped Being a Libertarian Because I Realized the Sky is Blue
22) For Real “Farm Aid,” Go “Free Trade”
23) Trump’s Commerce Department as Venture Capitalist: Political Investment at its Worst
24) Censorship Will Never Solve Antisemitism
25) Data Centers Are Not the Problem. Bad Policy Is.
26) The Long View of Iran
27) Can a Freely Given Coconut Begin Civilization?
28) Trump-Approved Profits
29) A soft way to harden homes against wildfire
30) Why James Madison Wanted Greater Limits on States’ Rights
31) Time for the Few Remaining Sensible Democrats to Put Up or Shut Up
32) What Is in Your Wallet? Not Very Much.
33) Fauci Contempt of Congress Can Be Challenged, but his Contempt for the Public is Undeniable
34) War, Peace, and Free Trade
35) Human Flourishing and Marginal Utility
36) Iran Is a Wake-Up Call for the Defense Establishment
37) Rogers versus El-Sayed a referendum on future of America
38) The Promising Young Man defence
39) Palantir’s weird tax trick — paying the staff
40) American veterans know the cost of a military-first foreign policy
41) Can DSA’s Francesca Hong Win in Cheese Country?
42) Trump’s New Section 301 Tariffs Are a Tax on American Consumers
43) Permanent Victory for the Democrats’ Left Flank Is Not Assured
44) The DSA Is a Menace
45) Mamdani’s grocery-store specs show idea even crazier than we thought
46) Trump Should Need a Warrant to See Your Phone
47) Why Stopping Fraud Still Isn’t Enough
48) When a President Promises a Massacre
49) 81 Years on the Brink of Nuclear Annihilation
50) Morals and society
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Underthrow Podcast, 08/06/26
52) Rising, 08/06/26
53) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 08/06/26
54) Libertarian Angle, 08/06/26
55) Make It Make Sense, 08/06/26
56) Cato Podcast, 08/06/26
57) The Blessings of Liberty with Jeffrey Rosen, 08/06/26
58) Kibbe on Liberty, episode 398
59) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 08/05/26
60) Parallax Views w/ JG Michael, 08/05/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Trump tries to repeal 14th Amendment by edict again
Source: Reuters
“U.S. President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Thursday that the White House said expands the definition of people who are ineligible for birthright citizenship and bans ‘birth tourism.’ Limiting birthright citizenship has been one of the top priorities in the Republican president’s crackdown on immigration. An earlier effort by Trump was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court in June, prompting him to call upon Congress to act.” (08/06/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/trump-sign-orders-birthright-citizenship-axios-reports-2026-08-06/
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2) Hormuz deal may block US, Israeli shipments
Source: Yahoo! News
“Iranian state media on Thursday reported that Tehran could attempt to block U.S. and Israeli shipments from transiting the Strait of Hormuz under its joint venture with Oman to reopen the critical waterway to commercial traffic. Members of Iran’s parliament are reviewing a proposed bill to block “hostile” vessels from moving through the choke point responsible for carrying a fifth of the world’s oil transports per day under normal conditions. Ships caught violating the policy could face a 20 percent fine if caught by Iranian authorities, per state media. Each ship approved to transit the strait will face fees for insurance, refueling and or environmental costs, according to Iranian state media. … The Trump administration has maintained that there will be no tolls on the strait.” (08/06/26)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/iran-moves-block-us-israeli-032540520.html
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3) Yemen: Houthi attacks on Saudi puppet regime forces kill at least 30
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Yemen’s Houthi group has killed at least 30 [Saudi puppet regime] soldiers and injured 15 others in missile attacks on Yemeni military camps in the governorates of Hadramout and Marib, government sources told Al Jazeera. Thursday’s strikes on military sites, including some run by Yemen’s Emergency Forces, are the deadliest in years in the country’s civil [sic] war. They follow an increase in violence in Yemen seen in recent weeks. … the attack struck at 2pm local time (11:00 GMT) on Thursday, hitting camps belonging to several [Saudi puppet regime] military formations, the Homeland Shield Forces, the Emergency Forces and the First Military Region in Hadramout. The Homeland Shield Forces, formed in 2022 with Saudi backing and numbering tens of thousands, guard the Marib-Hadramout frontier and the Saudi border.” (08/06/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/6/houthis-claim-to-have-killed-45-in-attacks-on-yemeni-government-forces
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4) Court orders Instagram and Facebook’s Meta to pay $567 million bribe after frivolous lawsuit
Source: Associated Press
“A New Mexico court has ordered Instagram and Facebook parent company Meta to pay $567 million to address harms [sic] to young people from its platforms in the second phase of a landmark trial. Judge Bryan Biedscheid said in a ruling late Thursday that the bulk of the money — $420 million — will be used for treatment services for young people. The rest will go toward awareness and prevention, screening services and other costs over the next five years. The new penalty is in addition to the $375 million in civil penalties that jurors ordered against Meta in March after [hallucinating that] the company knowingly harmed children’s mental health and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its platforms.” (08/06/26)
https://apnews.com/article/meta-court-ruling-mental-health-online-platforms-21b425faf745d0f736b310ebd8bc6b89
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5) KY: Someone claiming to be Mitch McConnell says he’s leaving rehab, heading home
Source: WLKY News
“Another update from Sen. Mitch McConnell’s office. On Thursday, they sent out another statement from him, saying he’s headed home. … ‘Earlier today, I was discharged from the rehabilitation center to continue my recovery at home. … On the advice of my doctors, I’ll maintain an intensive regimen of physical therapy from home during the state work period, and I’ll continue to engage with my staff and colleagues on important Senate business.’ … The 84-year-old senator was hospitalized June 14 after reportedly suffering a fall. On July 12, it was announced he was moved to a rehab facility where he has been until now. This is only the third statement said to be directly from McConnell since then. He has not been publicly seen, but his staff has provided two photos.” (08/06/26)
https://www.wlky.com/article/sen-mitch-mcconnell-health-update-out-of-rehab-home/73368744
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6) UK: Youngest black professor at Cambridge resigns as university investigates allegations of plagiarism
Source: Associated Press
“A British sociologist who became famous as the youngest [b]lack professor ever at the University of Cambridge has resigned after the university opened an investigation into ‘new information’ about his academic qualifications. Professor Jason Arday, who was 37 when he became a Cambridge professor in 2023, announced his decision late Wednesday following weeks of allegations about plagiarism in his academic work and questions surrounding claims about his athletic and fundraising accomplishments. … Questions about his qualifications were raised publicly last month by Nathan Cofnas, a one-time Cambridge philosophy researcher who left the university after his critique of diversity, equity and inclusion programs sparked widespread protests.” (08/06/26)
https://apnews.com/article/britain-cambridge-professor-arday-culture-wars-black-dddb05e9ade901ec35f85b6b3e7d9056
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7) FCC scraps limit on broadcast TV ownership
Source: NBC News
“The Federal Communications Commission, the government agency that regulates the broadcast airwaves, voted Thursday to eliminate a cap on the share of U.S. television households a single company can reach, a major move that could pave the way for more corporate consolidation in the media industry. In a 2-1 vote, the FCC repealed a 22-year-old rule holding that a company cannot own stations that reach more than a combined 39% of the U.S. television audience. The ownership limit will be replaced by a case-by-case approach.” [editor’s note: It should be replaced by a “none of the government’s business” approach – TLK] (08/06/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/media/federal-communications-commission-scraps-limit-broadcast-tv-ownership-rcna587641
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8) US Senate committee votes to hold Fauci in contempt
Source: The Hill
“The Senate committee chaired by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Thursday voted to refer former chief White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci to be held in contempt. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in a party-line, 8-5 vote, with two additional ‘no’ votes by proxy, approved a resolution to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress following his hearing last week, during which the doctor invoked his Fifth Amendment rights 111 times and refused to answer a single question posed to him by the panel centered on the COVID-19 pandemic. … Criminal referrals that come from committees usually go to the full Senate for a vote, but Paul can also send it to the Department of Justice (DOJ). The Kentucky Republican indicated last week that he planned to move it directly to DOJ to not ‘waste time.’” [editor’s note: Why on earth would Paul suddenly stop wasting time now? It seems to be his favorite pastime – TLK] (08/06/26)
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/6012952-anthony-fauci-rand-paul-senate-homeland-security-panel-contempt-vote-covid-19/
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9) Nigeria: President hails “largest ever” single-day rescue as 308 abductees freed
Source: ABC News
“At least 308 people abducted in different attacks in the northern part of Nigeria were rescued, the country’s president said Wednesday. Those rescued include 163 people abducted from Woro community in Kaiama area of Kwara state in February, and 145 people kidnapped mostly from Niger state, Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu said in a statement. Details of the operation that freed the more than 300 people who spent months in captivity were not disclosed, with the statement only saying they were rescued from a forest and are now receiving medical attention. … Armed groups, known as bandits in Nigeria, regularly carry out raids and kidnappings for ransom in the northwest and north-central parts of the country.” (08/06/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/nigerian-president-hails-largest-single-day-rescue-308-135413965
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10) Sanders’s answer when asked if he will endorse socialist Hong in Wisconsin sparks instant mockery
Source: Fox News
“Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., was asked if he would endorse Democratic Socialist of America (DSA) member Francesca Hong’s Wisconsin gubernatorial bid, and his response sparked immediate mockery on social media. ‘I don’t think so,’ the Vermont socialist told ‘Pod Save America’ host Jon Favreau when asked if he is going to endorse Hong’s campaign for governor. ‘I met Francesca a couple of years ago. I was in Wisconsin, and she seems very, very nice, but again this is a race I’m just not that familiar with.’ Sanders added that ‘we have not gotten involved in many governors’ races’ …. Political commentators quickly chimed in on social media suggesting that Sanders not endorsing Hong shows the senator doesn’t think she can win, with many pointing to Sanders’ strident support of Platner despite all of his political baggage.” (08/06/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sanders-answer-asked-endorse-socialist-hong-wisconsin-sparks-instant-mockery-says-lot
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11) US regime seeks extradition of Filipino church leader accused of sex crimes and fraud
Source: Seattle Times
“The United States has asked the Philippine government to extradite a Filipino church leader, who was once an influential adviser to former President Rodrigo Duterte, to face trial on charges including child sex trafficking and fraud that landed him on the FBI’s most wanted list, two Philippine officials said Thursday. The U.S. request for Apollo Carreon Quiboloy’s extradition was sent to the Department of Justice in Manila through the Philippine Foreign Affairs Department in July. The request needs the approval of two Philippine courts, which have been trying the detained former televangelist for human trafficking and child abuse charges, according to two high-ranking officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because of a lack of authority to publicly discuss the issues.” (08/06/26)
https://archive.is/7qugF
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13) FDA approves Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine after initially refusing to review it
Source: Engadget
“After initially refusing to even review it, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Moderna’s mRNA seasonal flu vaccine, the pharmaceutical company announced in a press release. Known as mFlusiva (or mRNA-1010), the immunization is effective against the four most common strains of influenza and has been in human testing trials since 2021. Those variants cause up to five million severe flu cases every year and result in as many as 650,000 respiratory deaths annually, the World Health Organization (WHO) wrote in 2017. The vaccine is approved for adults aged 50 and over.” (08/06/26)
https://www.engadget.com/2231390/fda-approves-modernas-mrna-flusiva-vaccine/
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13) UK: Women tell BBC of rape and abuse at Army teen college
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Four young women have told the BBC they were sexually assaulted and harassed at an Army training college for teenagers – with one saying she was raped by several fellow junior soldiers in an attack that lasted hours. The women all attended the Army Foundation College (AFC) at Harrogate, North Yorkshire, over the past five years and say the incidents happened when they were aged 17. The college has a dangerous culture of misogyny and sexual violence, say the women, who are all speaking out for the first time. These reports are ‘extremely distressing and serious’, said an Army spokesperson in a statement. The BBC can also reveal that North Yorkshire Police received 16 reports of sexual offences linked to the college in the year to June, according to a Freedom of Information request.” (08/06/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3w07p7wqv1o
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14) Sweden: Top Court Clears Way for Transfer of Stolen Ship to Ukraine
Source: US News & World Report
“Sweden’s top court said on Thursday it has upheld a ruling that a cargo vessel seized in the Baltic Sea this year can be handed over to Ukraine, where it is suspected of illegally transporting grain from Russian-occupied territory. The supreme court dismissed an appeal from the owners of the Caffa vessel, which was seized in March off southern Sweden on suspicion of sailing under a false flag and of violating maritime and ship safety laws due to a lack of seaworthiness. Ukraine has sought the ship as part of a probe into suspected war crimes involving the appropriation and removal of property from Russian-occupied territory.” (08/06/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-08-06/swedens-top-court-clears-way-for-transfer-of-seized-ship-to-ukraine
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15) Congo monitors nearly 200 boat passengers after traveler dies with Ebola-like symptoms
Source: SFGate
“Congolese health authorities monitored Thursday passengers traveling on a boat stationed near Kinshasa after a traveler died with symptoms matching the Ebola virus. Congo has been battling an Ebola outbreak since May, declared the fastest in history in terms of transmission, with confirmed cases reaching 4,000, including over 1,800 deaths, according to Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director-General of Africa CDC. The passenger had disembarked after getting sick in Pimu, in the province of Mongala, more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) from Kinshasa, Kaseya said Thursday, adding that the capital has no confirmed Ebola case. The boat had been traveling for nearly three weeks along the Congo River with nearly 200 passengers on board. They have been tested for Ebola and are in quarantine while awaiting their results. ‘We decided to do that even if some of them didn’t have symptoms because we want to make sure that we don’t miss anything,’ Kaseya added.” (08/06/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/dozens-of-health-workers-at-epicenter-of-22376735.php
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16) Trump tries to revise frivolous BBC lawsuit to avoid discovery
Source: Politico
“President Donald Trump is seeking to stave off a court order that requires him to begin giving the BBC financial details on his business empire by Thursday in connection with a defamation lawsuit he is pressing against the network. Trump’s attorneys filed the emergency stay motion Wednesday with Miami-based U.S. Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett, urging her to lift the order she issued last month that the British TV broadcaster is entitled to information on the financial performance of hundreds of Trump’s companies because he claimed his ‘brand, properties and businesses’ were damaged by a documentary the BBC aired in the U.K. in 2024. … The proposed new complaint ‘focuses on President Trump’s damages allegations on the reputational harm that he has suffered, which is at the core of this defamation action,’ Trump attorney Alejandro Brito wrote.” (08/05/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/05/BBC-donald-trump-lawsuit
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17) US beef prices have soared but farmers aren’t making more money
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“With US beef prices soaring to record highs, you might think that South Dakota cattle rancher Eric Gropper would be celebrating. Yet while the cost of the meat in US supermarkets is now 12% higher than it was a year ago, a rise more than three times the rate of general inflation, Gropper says that he and all the other beef farmers aren’t making any more profit than usual. The BBC World Service’s Follow the Money series spent a week tracing the American beef supply chain to find out what has caused the price jump and discover where all the cash is going.” (08/06/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdrv0k0j662o
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18) Canada: Carney says he has no confidence in FIFA’s Infantino
Source: ABC News
“Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday he no longer has confidence in FIFA President Gianni Infantino, adding to growing pressure on the soccer leader after his abandoned plan to sell stakes in the World Cup sparked a global backlash. Carney said Infantino committed a ‘fatal’ governance failure by not consulting senior advisers, including FIFA’s chief operating officer and board members. … UEFA’s 55 member associations had agreed to boycott the World Cup and other FIFA competitions if the plan moved forward, while the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football and the Asian Football Confederation also opposed it.” (08/05/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/canadas-carney-confidence-fifas-infantino-135403074
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19) Cameroon: President draws concern and criticism by staying abroad for two months
Source: SFGate
“Cameroon President Paul Biya on Thursday reached two months since the last time he was inside the borders of his country, a prolonged absence that has raised concerns for his health and criticisms about a possible power vacuum in the Central African nation. The world’s oldest president, who has led Cameroon since 1982, began his eighth term in office in November after winning a widely disputed election in October. But the 93-year-old left the country on June 7 for what Biya’s office described as ‘a brief private stay in Europe’ that has become one of his longest trips overseas. His government later confirmed he was in Switzerland. The health of the president has long been a topic of speculation as he spends significant time in Europe, including France and Switzerland, where he often spends weeks while leaving governance to key party officials and family members.” (08/06/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/cameroon-s-president-draws-concern-and-criticism-22376979.php
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20) US Senate confirms Schwartz as new CDC chief
Source: United Press International
“The U.S. Senate voted Wednesday to confirm Dr. Erica Schwartz as the leader of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, finally installing a new director for the agency after nearly a year. Schwartz was deputy surgeon general during President Donald Trump’s first term. She is a retired U.S. Coast Guard officer and Navy physician. The vote Wednesday was 51-44, mostly along party lines, NBC News reported. Sen.Tim Kaine, D-Va., voted with Republicans to approve Schwartz.” (08/05/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/08/05/senate-oks-erica-schwartz-as-CDC-leader/2421785968039/
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) I Stopped Being a Libertarian Because I Realized the Sky is Blue
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
“When a thinker publicly changes his mind on major questions, neutral observers normally interpret it as a sign of courage and maturity. Almost no one enjoys admitting they were wrong — and ‘I changed my mind’ is tantamount to ‘I was wrong.’ On reflection, however, this favorable interpretation is premature. Yes, changing your mind because you discover surprising new evidence or arguments is courageous and mature. But what if you change your mind for purely emotional reasons, like ‘The idea that murderers shouldn’t be punished started to disgust me’? Or because you have a falling out with friends who share your views? ‘My girlfriend dumped me, so I left the church.’ Neither of these intellectual paths even hints at courage or maturity. The situation only slightly shifts if you change your mind because you ‘discover’ blatantly obvious evidence or arguments.” (08/06/26)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/i-stopped-being-a-libertarian-because
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22) For Real “Farm Aid,” Go “Free Trade”
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“The ‘farm bill’ concept is 93 years old, and it’s as bad an idea now, when only 1% of Americans work in agriculture, as it was in 1933’s first round of New Deal legislation, back when that number was 25%. We keep getting better at producing more food with less labor, but apparently buried deep within the US Constitution there’s an amendment obligating American taxpayers and consumers to ensure that anyone whose great-grandfather wore overalls and drove a tractor gets to make a living and have a career doing the same thing. I can’t find it, but it must be in there somewhere, right? Otherwise, why does Congress spend more than $70 billion a year to make it so?” (08/06/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20823
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23) Trump’s Commerce Department as Venture Capitalist: Political Investment at its Worst
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by William L Anderson
“As America’s first reality-show president, Donald Trump wants people to think he is breaking new ground and transforming America for the better. Stepping where no president before has gone, Trump has directed the US Commerce Department to take equity positions in 30 American firms, which clearly is controversial. Although the US is new to this policy, it isn’t the first country to do this, as France, Norway, Germany, China, and others have already seen governments purchase partial ownership in private firms. Supporters of this practice claim that any government infusion of cash into these businesses will expand the economy’s capital base, but there are plenty of reasons to oppose this practice, which economist Randall Holcomb has labeled ‘political capitalism.'” (08/06/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/trumps-commerce-department-venture-capitalist-political-investment-its-worst
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24) Censorship Will Never Solve Antisemitism
Source: Yascha Mounk
by Yascha Mounk
“When a group of neo-Nazis planned to march through the town of Skokie, Illinois, home to many Holocaust survivors, it was a Jewish attorney who stood up for their right of assembly. David Goldberger, then the legal director of the ACLU of Illinois, was no self-hating Jew, and he certainly harbored no sympathy for the National Socialist Party of America. But he realized that ‘the constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech and press would be meaningless if the government could pick and choose the persons to whom they apply.’ … The smartest case for free speech has never turned on denying that some utterances are so vile that all of us would be better off if they somehow disappeared from the public sphere. Rather, it was always based on skepticism that any institution, private or public, would consistently make these determinations in a reasonable and selfless manner.” (08/06/26)
https://writing.yaschamounk.com/p/dear-jews-dont-forget-your-free-speech
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25) Data Centers Are Not the Problem. Bad Policy Is.
Source: The Dispatch
by Scott Lincicome
“In one sense, public backlash to data centers in the United States shouldn’t be surprising: Their construction and deployment have skyrocketed across the country, creating—not to get all goopy on you—a highly visible target for American angst about AI, Big Tech, U.S. politics, the turbulent economy, male-pattern baldness, and surely more. A recent New York Times op-ed captures the mood on the left well: These giant bricks guzzle water, gobble electricity, buzz loudly 24/7, and enrich Silicon Valley billionaires at regular folks’ expense. Opposition, however, isn’t just on the left: You’ll find similar takes from MAGA types on Facebook and NextDoor, and—as I just saw myself when driving outside Raleigh last week—big ‘NO DATA CENTER’ signs along many a rural roadside. Yet most of the common objections to data centers collapse under scrutiny.” (08/06/26)
https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/dispatch-markets/data-center-water-electric-taxes-benefits/
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26) The Long View of Iran
Source: American Greatness
by Victor Davis Hanson
“One day, the United States seems ready to unleash a Curtis LeMay-style devastating bombing campaign of Iran. The next, it appears trapped in endless haggling with Iranian dissimulators. Of the roughly 150 days since the first strike, about 90 have passed without major military operations. Iran believes time is on its side. The Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted, gas prices are too high, and antiwar House Democrats seem poised to win the midterms and bring Trump’s war to a halt. Trump, by contrast, believes Iran can talk all it wants while sanctions, embargoes, and military pressure steadily weaken the regime. The war has become so politicized in an election year that several basic realities have gone largely unnoticed by the media. First, the cycle of bombing, pausing, negotiating, and bombing again may seem endless. But the confusion obscures the continuing effects of the embargoes, sanctions, blockade, and financial isolation imposed on Iran.” (08/06/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/08/06/the-long-view-of-iran/
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27) Can a Freely Given Coconut Begin Civilization?
Source: The Daily Economy
by Anthony Gill
“Trust precedes trade. Our natural empathy, our desire to see others do well, cultivates social order and generates the wealth of nations.” (08/06/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/can-a-freely-given-coconut-begin-civilization/
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28) Trump-Approved Profits
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“Occasionally, President Trump takes an anti-capitalist rhetorical turn. He apparently supposes his unleashing of an Inner Mamdani will help him through a political rough patch. Or perhaps he is just momentarily confused. The president recently asserted that oil companies are making too much money right now and ‘ought to give back’ some of it to the public. This, although ‘I’m a big free enterprise guy.’ But oil companies don’t owe buyers anything more than the oil they supply. Nor, when prices are low, do buyers owe oil companies or gas stations more money than what they pay.” (08/06/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/08/06/trump-approved-profits/
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29) A soft way to harden homes against wildfire
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“With wildfires again threatening the American West this summer, Utah has become the latest state helping homeowners in high-risk areas to fortify their properties against drought-driven fire. From 2021 to 2024, the state saw the largest percentage increase in home insurance costs – a 59% hike – of any U.S. state. Yet unlike in Colorado and California, both of which recently enacted stricter rules on insurance companies and tough building codes to ‘harden’ a home from fire, Utah’s plan is more partnership than paternalism. It will first nudge homeowners with information on risks and remedies and only threaten a fee for noncompliance with new codes that aim to ensure a ‘defensible space’ from wildfire. ‘Our goal is to empower homeowners, communities, fire departments, and municipalities to act in reducing their vulnerability to wildfire by giving them the necessary tools to identify and understand their wildfire risk,’ states an official Utah website.” (08/05/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0805/A-soft-way-to-harden-homes-against-wildfire
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30) Why James Madison Wanted Greater Limits on States’ Rights
Source: Reason
by Damon Root
“On June 8, 1789, James Madison announced the batch of proposed constitutional amendments that would eventually become enshrined as the Bill of Rights. One of Madison’s would-be amendments, however, did not make the final cut, as it failed in the Senate after passing the House of Representatives. Here is what that lost Madisonian amendment to the Constitution would have said: ‘No state shall violate the equal rights of conscience, or the freedom of the press, or the trial by jury in criminal cases.’ Put differently, Madison wanted several parts of the Bill of Rights to apply equally against the federal government and the states. Why? ‘Because it must be admitted, on all hands,’ Madison said, ‘that the state governments are as liable to attack these invaluable privileges as the general [national] government is, and therefore ought to be as cautiously guarded against.'” (08/06/26)
https://reason.com/2026/08/06/why-james-madison-wanted-greater-limits-on-states-rights/
-----
31) Time for the Few Remaining Sensible Democrats to Put Up or Shut Up
Source: Town Hall
by Derek Hunter
“Only 25 years after the September 11 attacks on the United States, a major political party has fallen in with people who view that attack as deserved and the attackers as righteous. If it were parody, no one would accept it because good parody is based in truth and the truth is this fall of the Democratic Party is not believable. Sure, they’ve expressed sympathies for enemies of the United States before, but always for political advantage only; now they appear to mean it or are so afraid of it they won’t say anything to the contrary. Democrats have gone from being wrong to being an existential threat to the country. I have not seen a single Democrat candidate for office this election cycle praise the United States or even say anything that could be perceived as positive about it. Seriously, have you?” (08/06/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2026/08/06/time-for-the-few-remaining-sensible-democrats-to-put-up-or-shut-up-n2680766
-----
32) What Is in Your Wallet? Not Very Much.
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Angelo Monaco
“The classic virtue of thrift — once celebrated as a moral cornerstone of self-reliance, discipline, and stewardship — has largely been cast aside by a modern economic system designed to punish it. For centuries, saving was viewed as a quiet duty to one’s family and future, a practice that paired material restraint with ethical responsibility. Today, however, our financial architecture actively undermines this morality. Persistent inflation erodes the purchasing power of uninvested savings, while hyper-financialization and record-low interest rates reduce traditional thrift to a losing strategy. In a culture driven by immediate gratification and an economic engine fueled by perpetual consumer debt, the deliberate act of saving is no longer a protected path to security, but rather a virtue systematically penalized by the very system that once relied on it.” (08/06/26)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/what-is-in-your-wallet-not-very-much/
-----
33) Fauci Contempt of Congress Can Be Challenged, but his Contempt for the Public is Undeniable
Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley
“‘Today I am the most famous and talked-about person in the country’. Those words from the diary of Dr. Anthony Fauci will certainly be true today as the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs moves forward with holding him in contempt for refusing to answer over a hundred questions about his past conduct and statements as the former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The contempt vote will start a process that is fraught with political and legal challenges. Even putting aside the objections to the direct referral from the Committee to the Justice Department (rather than submit the matter to a full Senate vote), there remain serious questions about whether Fauci can be held in contempt after invoking his right to remain silent under the Fifth Amendment.” (08/06/26)
https://jonathanturley.org/2026/08/06/the-sound-of-silence-dr-faucis-contempt-of-congress-can-be-challenged-but-his-contempt-for-the-public-cannot-be-denied/
-----
34) War, Peace, and Free Trade
Source: Law & Liberty
by Edwin van de Haar
“Many classical liberals see themselves as myth busters. In particular, they take aim at those myths that erroneously link a big state and collectivist action with welfare and prosperity. No thinker is too prominent or a theory too grand to be undermined by proper and sound classical liberal analysis. And rightly so. Yet many classical liberals are blind to their own myth, which is the idea that trade or commerce fosters, or leads to, peace. Admittedly, they share this misconception with some of the great names in the wider liberal tradition, such as Mill, Cobden, Kant, and Montesquieu. Yet they were erroneous nonetheless.” (08/06/26)
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/war-peace-and-free-trade/
-----
35) Human Flourishing and Marginal Utility
Source: EconLog
by Clifford A Bates Jr.
“The law of diminishing marginal utility is one of the foundational principles of economics, but its significance extends far beyond the marketplace. The principle states that as a person acquires additional units of a good, the satisfaction gained from each successive unit tends to decline. The first glass of water relieves intense thirst, the second provides comfort, and the third offers only modest enjoyment. While economists developed this concept to explain value and choice, it also reveals a deeper truth about human existence.” (08/06/26)
https://www.econlib.org/econlog/human-flourishing-and-marginal-utility
-----
36) Iran Is a Wake-Up Call for the Defense Establishment
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ioannis Vlahos
“As the war in Iran has reached its fifth month, progress fails to be made and opposition continues to mount. And while President Donald Trump certainly deserves his fair share of the blame, the playbook he’s using is in no way his own. Since the Cold War, the United States has become the preeminent world power, utilizing its heavily budgeted and expansive military to enforce its hegemony across the globe. During the later years of the 20th century especially, this has primarily taken the form of strategic bombing and overwhelming air power. … The Iran War not only illustrated the defense establishment’s affinity for aerial bombardment, but it also greatly exposed the problematic nature of this framework as official DoD strategy.” (08/06/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/ioannis_vlahos/2026/08/05/iran-is-a-wake-up-call-for-the-defense-establishment/
-----
37) Rogers versus El-Sayed a referendum on future of America
Source: Fox News
by Hugh Hewitt
“Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan’s Senate Democratic primary Tuesday over Congresswoman Haley Stevens. El-Sayed had a 1% win in a race that featured a third candidate, Mallory McMorrow, who had dropped out but who nevertheless polled around 4% of the total vote. Mike Rogers is the GOP nominee in the fall against El-Sayed. In 2024, Rogers — a very respected, former seven-term Congressman from Michigan who served as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee — tallied 2,693,680 votes, or 48.30% of the total electorate in the state in a Senate race he lost to Elissa Slotkin. Republicans need only turn out the same electorate as voted in 2024 and Rogers will win the 2026 race. That sort of turnout is usually, however, a big lift in a non-presidential year, because statewide elections are not as exciting to the average American as presidential contests.” (08/06/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/morning-glory-mike-rogers-versus-abdul-el-sayed-referendum-future-america
-----
38) The Promising Young Man defence
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Kym Robinson
“A former high school baseball player, with a successful businessman as a father and, a promising young man with a ‘bright future’ ahead of him avoided prison for the rape, strangulation, and violent assault of two teenage girls. He was facing up to 78 years in prison, and was instead granted a youthful offender status. Where he must attend community service and counselling. Butler pleaded ‘no contest’ to the charges. And the district attorney claimed that Butler had suffered more than his victims by being subjected to the process of trial and harm to his credibility as a young man. … Butler’s case is not isolated. As many feminists and rights activists have continued to push to the fore front, young men from wealthy and connected families can get away with rape.” (08/06/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/blog/the-promising-young-man-defence
-----
39) Palantir’s weird tax trick — paying the staff
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Tim Worstall
“Apparently: ‘Palantir paid just £2m corporation tax in UK in 2024 despite lucrative public sector contracts.’ That someone tries to measure how useful the producer of something is by their tax payments – rather than the value of their output – is deeply weird in itself. … Palantir pays its staff well, partly in shares. That’s it, that’s the one weird trick. They pay the staff well. British political discourse is so perverted that this is seen as a problem.” (08/06/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/palantirs-weird-tax-trick-paying-the-staff
-----
40) American veterans know the cost of a military-first foreign policy
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Andrew M Leonard
“Those who have served have experienced first hand what it’s like to fight in conflicts without clearly defined political goals or adequate tools of statecraft.” (08/06/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/veterans-us-foreign-policy/
-----
41) Can DSA’s Francesca Hong Win in Cheese Country?
Source: The American Prospect
by Ryan Cooper
“Abdul El-Sayed has done it in Michigan. Though the race was much closer than polling predicted, El-Sayed, a progressive epidemiologist and former state public-health official, has defeated Rep. Haley Stevens by about one percentage point. He had to fend off a veritable ocean of money from outside corporate groups and AIPAC, which together spent some $70 million trying to stop him, making it the most expensive Democratic Senate primary in American history. Though El-Sayed is not a Democratic Socialists of America member, Donavan McKinney is, and he narrowly won the primary to represent Michigan’s 13th House District, which covers Detroit and some of its suburbs; he will be a lock to win the general election. There will almost certainly be seven DSA members in the next Congress: McKinney, incumbents Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib, and primary winners Chris Rabb, Claire Valdez, Darializa Avila Chevalier, and Melat Kiros.” (08/06/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/08/06/can-dsas-francesca-hong-win-in-cheese-country-wisconsin-governor/
-----
42) Trump’s New Section 301 Tariffs Are a Tax on American Consumers
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey
“The administration says the 10 percent to 12.5 percent import taxes will fight forced labor. The reality is they raise prices, punish working families, weaken manufacturers, and restrict free trade.” (08/06/26)
https://palmbeachexaminer.substack.com/p/trumps-new-section-301-tariffs-are
-----
43) Permanent Victory for the Democrats’ Left Flank Is Not Assured
Source: The American Conservative
by W James Antle III
“Trump’s job approval rating dipping below 40 percent, especially on the economy, creates openings for Democrats of all stripes. But most importantly, he has allowed the populist left to steal the America First mantle, with candidates promising to spend taxpayer dollars on needs at home rather than on weapons and wars abroad. But the socialists seem hell-bent on blowing their political opportunity as well. Even if their economic message is flawed, to put it mildly, an economically motivated left can compete better than a culturally motivated one.” (08/06/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/permanent-victory-for-the-democrats-left-flank-is-not-assured/
-----
44) The DSA Is a Menace
Source: Persuasion
by Garry Kasparov
“The DSA has moved from a principled pro-democracy stand on world affairs to tankie turpitude. Today’s DSA includes explicitly communist factions. Yet Harrington rejected the brutality of Soviet and Chinese communism and his icons were real social democrats. In 1980, the DSA founder organized a conference attended by West Germany’s Social Democratic Chancellor Willy Brandt, Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, and future French President François Mitterrand. In 1990, Mayor David Dinkins (the first DSA-member to serve as mayor of New York—not Zohran Mamdani) hosted Brandt, who was by then president of the Socialist International (an alliance of mainstream social democratic parties), at City Hall. Today’s DSA would regard those men as insufficiently socialist …” (08/05/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/the-dsa-is-a-menace
-----
45) Mamdani’s grocery-store specs show idea even crazier than we thought
Source: New York Post
by staff
“The specs for Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s magical city-run grocery stores demand the moon, but shoppers will be lucky to find some overripe green cheese. As with most city contracting, the Economic Development Corp.’s official Request For Proposals outlines an implausible wish-list that will deliver less than half what Mamdani promised at more than twice the price. The city wants potential operators of the stores to submit specific financial plans for stocking, staffing and operating five supermarkets — when the city hasn’t built any of the five, nor chosen locations for three. These imaginary stores must be managed under a business plan out of Alice in Wonderland: No deli counter allowed, but they must sell fruit, tuna, bean, chicken, egg and potato salads. The operator should have a pre-existing ‘cost-effective” supply chain, but also source from “local suppliers and small businesses while keeping prices low.'” (08/06/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/08/06/opinion/mamdanis-grocery-store-specs-show-the-idea-is-even-crazier-than-we-thought/
-----
46) Trump Should Need a Warrant to See Your Phone
Source: The Atlantic
by Adam Serwer
“The Supreme Court’s jurisprudence on warrantless border searches has previously focused on the illegal movement of goods and people in and out of the country. But a phone is a different kind of container from a car or a piece of luggage, and the high Court has yet to rule on digital searches. EFF rightly argues that device searches are different because only a few possible kinds of contraband can be contained on a phone—including child pornography. Nevertheless, as it stands, border officials anywhere in the country can initiate a manual search of your device simply by stating that they are looking for such digital contraband. That is a legal standard that is easily exploited as a pretext to target someone for reasons that have nothing to do with contraband, digital or otherwise.” (08/05/26)
https://archive.is/dP4Ft
-----
47) Why Stopping Fraud Still Isn’t Enough
Source: Independent Institute
by Craig Eyermann
“Historically speaking, Uncle Sam isn’t very good at managing money. Because the politicians and bureaucrats who run the U.S. government aren’t good at managing money, they’ve opened the door to massive losses through fraud. In 2024, the GAO estimated that from 2018 through 2022, the U.S. government lost between $233 billion and $512 billion dollars per year to fraudsters. These are not small amounts of money. … If fraud comes in at the low end of the GAO’s estimates, it would reduce the federal deficit by 12.5%. At the high end, it would reduce the U.S. government’s budget deficit by 28%. Either way, reducing its fraud losses to zero would not be enough to eliminate 2026’s budget deficit.” (08/05/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/08/05/stopping-fraud-isnt-enough/
-----
48) When a President Promises a Massacre
Source: The Intercept
by Nick Turse
“As his war in Iran has imploded, his poll numbers have plummeted, the U.S. economy has cratered, and he finds himself in the grip of a steep cognitive decline, President Donald Trump has increasingly lashed out, calling for cataclysm, slaughter, and even genocide. As he tries desperately, if ham-handedly, to extricate himself from a losing war, the commander-in-chief of the world’s most destructive military offers up deranged rants, baying for blood and issuing orders that throw the concept of proportionality in warfare out the window. Trump’s bloodthirsty rhetoric has been borne out in asymmetrical slaughter, with Iranian fatalities exceeding American deaths by multiple orders of magnitude. And this follows similarly lopsided casualty tolls in Trump’s conflicts in Somalia, Venezuela, Yemen, and on the high seas.” (08/05/26)
https://theintercept.com/2026/08/05/trump-colonial-extermination-asymmetric-warfare/
-----
49) 81 Years on the Brink of Nuclear Annihilation
Source: Common Dreams
by Robert Dodge
“On August 6, 1945 at 8:15 am local time, our world changed forever when the US dropped the first atomic bomb used in war over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The immediate death toll was approximately 70,000 with ~140,000 to have died by year’s end. Three days later, the US would drop a plutonium bomb over the city of Nagasaki. The immediate death toll there was ~40,000 with ~70,000 to have died by year’s end with a combined total of ~210,000. Three weeks earlier, following the atomic bombing of New Mexico with the Trinity test, the nuclear age was thrust upon mankind. The nuclear legacies from victims and survivors of the atomic bombings, Hibakusha, and their history lingers to this day. The legacy extends from the mining for the nuclear materials and its impact on local communities to the processing, testing, use, storage, and waste management, as well as the impacts and risks of nuclear power to this day.” (08/06/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/81-years-brink-nuclear-war
-----
50) Morals and society
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
“It is individuals who make moral choices. Even if they have been brainwashed by society, schools, or even parents, it is still ultimately their choice whether to act or refuse to act. Even if they are enslaved, assured of several punishment for disobeying their master(s), it is still a personal, individual decision. Organizations, even governments, have no morals of their own.” (08/05/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/08/05/morals-and-society/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Underthrow Podcast, 08/06/26
Source: Underthrow
“Let it Flow.” (08/06/26)
https://underthrow.substack.com/p/let-it-flow
-----
52) Rising, 08/06/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave gives his radar on Yale professor Samuel Moyn suggesting that American children should be indirectly given voting power by assigning their votes to young people over the age of 18.” (08/06/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/6001479-rising-august-6-2026/
-----
53) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 08/06/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“MAGA Meltdown As Tucker Unveils 10 Point Plan.” (08/06/26)
https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1mxPaavWddQKN
-----
54) Libertarian Angle, 08/06/26
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“Jacob and Richard share some fond reminisces about the libertarian movement back in the day.” (08/06/26)
https://www.fff.org/freedom-in-motion/video/libertarian-angle-back-in-day-memories/
-----
55) Make It Make Sense, 08/06/26
Source: Washington Post
"Kate Andrews talks with CNN correspondent and 'Black Pill' author Elle Reeve about the evolution of online radicalization since the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. They discuss how extremist ideas become normalized through jokes and algorithms, the return of white nationalists to major social platforms, declining trust in media and public institutions, reports of groypers working on Capitol Hill, conspiracy-driven influencer culture, and the forces radicalizing parts of both the right and the left." (08/06/26)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/make-it-make-sense/are-groypers-taking-over-the-right/
-----
56) Cato Podcast, 08/06/26
Source: Cato Institute
“Wealth Taxes Failed Abroad. Why Try Them Here?” (08/06/26)
https://www.cato.org/multimedia/cato-podcast/wealth-taxes-failed-abroad-why-try-them-here
-----
57) The Blessings of Liberty with Jeffrey Rosen, 08/06/26
Source: The Blessings of Liberty with Jeffrey Rosen
“America on the Docket: The 2026 Supreme Court.” (08/06/26)
https://rosenjeffrey.substack.com/p/america-on-the-docket-the-2026-supreme
-----
58) Kibbe on Liberty, episode 398
Source: Free the People
“What the Flock? We’re All Under Surveillance Now | Guest: Glenn Jacobs.” (08/05/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJxwJXobXQQ
-----
59) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 08/05/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Iran: Oman Deal Won’t Fully Open Hormuz Strait, Trump May Advance Major Taiwan Arms Sale, and More.” (08/05/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXOkJHud2n8
-----
60) Parallax Views w/ JG Michael, 08/05/26
Source: Parallax Views w/ JG Michael
“Trump’s Unconstitutional War and the Folly of Empires w/ Bruce Fein.” (08/05/26)
https://parallaxviews.podbean.com/e/bfein8-5-26/
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Trump tries to repeal 14th Amendment by edict again
2) Hormuz deal may block US, Israeli shipments
3) Yemen: Houthi attacks on Saudi puppet regime forces kill at least 30
4) Court orders Instagram and Facebook’s Meta to pay $567 million bribe after frivolous lawsuit
5) KY: Someone claiming to be Mitch McConnell says he’s leaving rehab, heading home
6) UK: Youngest black professor at Cambridge resigns as university investigates allegations of plagiarism
7) FCC scraps limit on broadcast TV ownership
8) US Senate committee votes to hold Fauci in contempt
9) Nigeria: President hails “largest ever” single-day rescue as 308 abductees freed
10) Sanders’s answer when asked if he will endorse socialist Hong in Wisconsin sparks instant mockery
11) US regime seeks extradition of Filipino church leader accused of sex crimes and fraud
12) FDA approves Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine after initially refusing to review it
13) UK: Women tell BBC of rape and abuse at Army teen college
14) Sweden: Top Court Clears Way for Transfer of Stolen Ship to Ukraine
15) Congo monitors nearly 200 boat passengers after traveler dies with Ebola-like symptoms
16) Trump tries to revise frivolous BBC lawsuit to avoid discovery
17) US beef prices have soared but farmers aren’t making more money
18) Canada: Carney says he has no confidence in FIFA’s Infantino
19) Cameroon: President draws concern and criticism by staying abroad for two months
20) US Senate confirms Schwartz as new CDC chief
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) I Stopped Being a Libertarian Because I Realized the Sky is Blue
22) For Real “Farm Aid,” Go “Free Trade”
23) Trump’s Commerce Department as Venture Capitalist: Political Investment at its Worst
24) Censorship Will Never Solve Antisemitism
25) Data Centers Are Not the Problem. Bad Policy Is.
26) The Long View of Iran
27) Can a Freely Given Coconut Begin Civilization?
28) Trump-Approved Profits
29) A soft way to harden homes against wildfire
30) Why James Madison Wanted Greater Limits on States’ Rights
31) Time for the Few Remaining Sensible Democrats to Put Up or Shut Up
32) What Is in Your Wallet? Not Very Much.
33) Fauci Contempt of Congress Can Be Challenged, but his Contempt for the Public is Undeniable
34) War, Peace, and Free Trade
35) Human Flourishing and Marginal Utility
36) Iran Is a Wake-Up Call for the Defense Establishment
37) Rogers versus El-Sayed a referendum on future of America
38) The Promising Young Man defence
39) Palantir’s weird tax trick — paying the staff
40) American veterans know the cost of a military-first foreign policy
41) Can DSA’s Francesca Hong Win in Cheese Country?
42) Trump’s New Section 301 Tariffs Are a Tax on American Consumers
43) Permanent Victory for the Democrats’ Left Flank Is Not Assured
44) The DSA Is a Menace
45) Mamdani’s grocery-store specs show idea even crazier than we thought
46) Trump Should Need a Warrant to See Your Phone
47) Why Stopping Fraud Still Isn’t Enough
48) When a President Promises a Massacre
49) 81 Years on the Brink of Nuclear Annihilation
50) Morals and society
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Underthrow Podcast, 08/06/26
52) Rising, 08/06/26
53) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 08/06/26
54) Libertarian Angle, 08/06/26
55) Make It Make Sense, 08/06/26
56) Cato Podcast, 08/06/26
57) The Blessings of Liberty with Jeffrey Rosen, 08/06/26
58) Kibbe on Liberty, episode 398
59) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 08/05/26
60) Parallax Views w/ JG Michael, 08/05/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Trump tries to repeal 14th Amendment by edict again
Source: Reuters
“U.S. President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Thursday that the White House said expands the definition of people who are ineligible for birthright citizenship and bans ‘birth tourism.’ Limiting birthright citizenship has been one of the top priorities in the Republican president’s crackdown on immigration. An earlier effort by Trump was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court in June, prompting him to call upon Congress to act.” (08/06/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/trump-sign-orders-birthright-citizenship-axios-reports-2026-08-06/
-----
2) Hormuz deal may block US, Israeli shipments
Source: Yahoo! News
“Iranian state media on Thursday reported that Tehran could attempt to block U.S. and Israeli shipments from transiting the Strait of Hormuz under its joint venture with Oman to reopen the critical waterway to commercial traffic. Members of Iran’s parliament are reviewing a proposed bill to block “hostile” vessels from moving through the choke point responsible for carrying a fifth of the world’s oil transports per day under normal conditions. Ships caught violating the policy could face a 20 percent fine if caught by Iranian authorities, per state media. Each ship approved to transit the strait will face fees for insurance, refueling and or environmental costs, according to Iranian state media. … The Trump administration has maintained that there will be no tolls on the strait.” (08/06/26)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/iran-moves-block-us-israeli-032540520.html
-----
3) Yemen: Houthi attacks on Saudi puppet regime forces kill at least 30
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Yemen’s Houthi group has killed at least 30 [Saudi puppet regime] soldiers and injured 15 others in missile attacks on Yemeni military camps in the governorates of Hadramout and Marib, government sources told Al Jazeera. Thursday’s strikes on military sites, including some run by Yemen’s Emergency Forces, are the deadliest in years in the country’s civil [sic] war. They follow an increase in violence in Yemen seen in recent weeks. … the attack struck at 2pm local time (11:00 GMT) on Thursday, hitting camps belonging to several [Saudi puppet regime] military formations, the Homeland Shield Forces, the Emergency Forces and the First Military Region in Hadramout. The Homeland Shield Forces, formed in 2022 with Saudi backing and numbering tens of thousands, guard the Marib-Hadramout frontier and the Saudi border.” (08/06/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/6/houthis-claim-to-have-killed-45-in-attacks-on-yemeni-government-forces
-----
4) Court orders Instagram and Facebook’s Meta to pay $567 million bribe after frivolous lawsuit
Source: Associated Press
“A New Mexico court has ordered Instagram and Facebook parent company Meta to pay $567 million to address harms [sic] to young people from its platforms in the second phase of a landmark trial. Judge Bryan Biedscheid said in a ruling late Thursday that the bulk of the money — $420 million — will be used for treatment services for young people. The rest will go toward awareness and prevention, screening services and other costs over the next five years. The new penalty is in addition to the $375 million in civil penalties that jurors ordered against Meta in March after [hallucinating that] the company knowingly harmed children’s mental health and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its platforms.” (08/06/26)
https://apnews.com/article/meta-court-ruling-mental-health-online-platforms-21b425faf745d0f736b310ebd8bc6b89
-----
5) KY: Someone claiming to be Mitch McConnell says he’s leaving rehab, heading home
Source: WLKY News
“Another update from Sen. Mitch McConnell’s office. On Thursday, they sent out another statement from him, saying he’s headed home. … ‘Earlier today, I was discharged from the rehabilitation center to continue my recovery at home. … On the advice of my doctors, I’ll maintain an intensive regimen of physical therapy from home during the state work period, and I’ll continue to engage with my staff and colleagues on important Senate business.’ … The 84-year-old senator was hospitalized June 14 after reportedly suffering a fall. On July 12, it was announced he was moved to a rehab facility where he has been until now. This is only the third statement said to be directly from McConnell since then. He has not been publicly seen, but his staff has provided two photos.” (08/06/26)
https://www.wlky.com/article/sen-mitch-mcconnell-health-update-out-of-rehab-home/73368744
-----
6) UK: Youngest black professor at Cambridge resigns as university investigates allegations of plagiarism
Source: Associated Press
“A British sociologist who became famous as the youngest [b]lack professor ever at the University of Cambridge has resigned after the university opened an investigation into ‘new information’ about his academic qualifications. Professor Jason Arday, who was 37 when he became a Cambridge professor in 2023, announced his decision late Wednesday following weeks of allegations about plagiarism in his academic work and questions surrounding claims about his athletic and fundraising accomplishments. … Questions about his qualifications were raised publicly last month by Nathan Cofnas, a one-time Cambridge philosophy researcher who left the university after his critique of diversity, equity and inclusion programs sparked widespread protests.” (08/06/26)
https://apnews.com/article/britain-cambridge-professor-arday-culture-wars-black-dddb05e9ade901ec35f85b6b3e7d9056
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7) FCC scraps limit on broadcast TV ownership
Source: NBC News
“The Federal Communications Commission, the government agency that regulates the broadcast airwaves, voted Thursday to eliminate a cap on the share of U.S. television households a single company can reach, a major move that could pave the way for more corporate consolidation in the media industry. In a 2-1 vote, the FCC repealed a 22-year-old rule holding that a company cannot own stations that reach more than a combined 39% of the U.S. television audience. The ownership limit will be replaced by a case-by-case approach.” [editor’s note: It should be replaced by a “none of the government’s business” approach – TLK] (08/06/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/media/federal-communications-commission-scraps-limit-broadcast-tv-ownership-rcna587641
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8) US Senate committee votes to hold Fauci in contempt
Source: The Hill
“The Senate committee chaired by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Thursday voted to refer former chief White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci to be held in contempt. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in a party-line, 8-5 vote, with two additional ‘no’ votes by proxy, approved a resolution to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress following his hearing last week, during which the doctor invoked his Fifth Amendment rights 111 times and refused to answer a single question posed to him by the panel centered on the COVID-19 pandemic. … Criminal referrals that come from committees usually go to the full Senate for a vote, but Paul can also send it to the Department of Justice (DOJ). The Kentucky Republican indicated last week that he planned to move it directly to DOJ to not ‘waste time.’” [editor’s note: Why on earth would Paul suddenly stop wasting time now? It seems to be his favorite pastime – TLK] (08/06/26)
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/6012952-anthony-fauci-rand-paul-senate-homeland-security-panel-contempt-vote-covid-19/
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9) Nigeria: President hails “largest ever” single-day rescue as 308 abductees freed
Source: ABC News
“At least 308 people abducted in different attacks in the northern part of Nigeria were rescued, the country’s president said Wednesday. Those rescued include 163 people abducted from Woro community in Kaiama area of Kwara state in February, and 145 people kidnapped mostly from Niger state, Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu said in a statement. Details of the operation that freed the more than 300 people who spent months in captivity were not disclosed, with the statement only saying they were rescued from a forest and are now receiving medical attention. … Armed groups, known as bandits in Nigeria, regularly carry out raids and kidnappings for ransom in the northwest and north-central parts of the country.” (08/06/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/nigerian-president-hails-largest-single-day-rescue-308-135413965
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10) Sanders’s answer when asked if he will endorse socialist Hong in Wisconsin sparks instant mockery
Source: Fox News
“Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., was asked if he would endorse Democratic Socialist of America (DSA) member Francesca Hong’s Wisconsin gubernatorial bid, and his response sparked immediate mockery on social media. ‘I don’t think so,’ the Vermont socialist told ‘Pod Save America’ host Jon Favreau when asked if he is going to endorse Hong’s campaign for governor. ‘I met Francesca a couple of years ago. I was in Wisconsin, and she seems very, very nice, but again this is a race I’m just not that familiar with.’ Sanders added that ‘we have not gotten involved in many governors’ races’ …. Political commentators quickly chimed in on social media suggesting that Sanders not endorsing Hong shows the senator doesn’t think she can win, with many pointing to Sanders’ strident support of Platner despite all of his political baggage.” (08/06/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sanders-answer-asked-endorse-socialist-hong-wisconsin-sparks-instant-mockery-says-lot
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11) US regime seeks extradition of Filipino church leader accused of sex crimes and fraud
Source: Seattle Times
“The United States has asked the Philippine government to extradite a Filipino church leader, who was once an influential adviser to former President Rodrigo Duterte, to face trial on charges including child sex trafficking and fraud that landed him on the FBI’s most wanted list, two Philippine officials said Thursday. The U.S. request for Apollo Carreon Quiboloy’s extradition was sent to the Department of Justice in Manila through the Philippine Foreign Affairs Department in July. The request needs the approval of two Philippine courts, which have been trying the detained former televangelist for human trafficking and child abuse charges, according to two high-ranking officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because of a lack of authority to publicly discuss the issues.” (08/06/26)
https://archive.is/7qugF
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13) FDA approves Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine after initially refusing to review it
Source: Engadget
“After initially refusing to even review it, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Moderna’s mRNA seasonal flu vaccine, the pharmaceutical company announced in a press release. Known as mFlusiva (or mRNA-1010), the immunization is effective against the four most common strains of influenza and has been in human testing trials since 2021. Those variants cause up to five million severe flu cases every year and result in as many as 650,000 respiratory deaths annually, the World Health Organization (WHO) wrote in 2017. The vaccine is approved for adults aged 50 and over.” (08/06/26)
https://www.engadget.com/2231390/fda-approves-modernas-mrna-flusiva-vaccine/
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13) UK: Women tell BBC of rape and abuse at Army teen college
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Four young women have told the BBC they were sexually assaulted and harassed at an Army training college for teenagers – with one saying she was raped by several fellow junior soldiers in an attack that lasted hours. The women all attended the Army Foundation College (AFC) at Harrogate, North Yorkshire, over the past five years and say the incidents happened when they were aged 17. The college has a dangerous culture of misogyny and sexual violence, say the women, who are all speaking out for the first time. These reports are ‘extremely distressing and serious’, said an Army spokesperson in a statement. The BBC can also reveal that North Yorkshire Police received 16 reports of sexual offences linked to the college in the year to June, according to a Freedom of Information request.” (08/06/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3w07p7wqv1o
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14) Sweden: Top Court Clears Way for Transfer of Stolen Ship to Ukraine
Source: US News & World Report
“Sweden’s top court said on Thursday it has upheld a ruling that a cargo vessel seized in the Baltic Sea this year can be handed over to Ukraine, where it is suspected of illegally transporting grain from Russian-occupied territory. The supreme court dismissed an appeal from the owners of the Caffa vessel, which was seized in March off southern Sweden on suspicion of sailing under a false flag and of violating maritime and ship safety laws due to a lack of seaworthiness. Ukraine has sought the ship as part of a probe into suspected war crimes involving the appropriation and removal of property from Russian-occupied territory.” (08/06/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-08-06/swedens-top-court-clears-way-for-transfer-of-seized-ship-to-ukraine
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15) Congo monitors nearly 200 boat passengers after traveler dies with Ebola-like symptoms
Source: SFGate
“Congolese health authorities monitored Thursday passengers traveling on a boat stationed near Kinshasa after a traveler died with symptoms matching the Ebola virus. Congo has been battling an Ebola outbreak since May, declared the fastest in history in terms of transmission, with confirmed cases reaching 4,000, including over 1,800 deaths, according to Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director-General of Africa CDC. The passenger had disembarked after getting sick in Pimu, in the province of Mongala, more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) from Kinshasa, Kaseya said Thursday, adding that the capital has no confirmed Ebola case. The boat had been traveling for nearly three weeks along the Congo River with nearly 200 passengers on board. They have been tested for Ebola and are in quarantine while awaiting their results. ‘We decided to do that even if some of them didn’t have symptoms because we want to make sure that we don’t miss anything,’ Kaseya added.” (08/06/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/dozens-of-health-workers-at-epicenter-of-22376735.php
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16) Trump tries to revise frivolous BBC lawsuit to avoid discovery
Source: Politico
“President Donald Trump is seeking to stave off a court order that requires him to begin giving the BBC financial details on his business empire by Thursday in connection with a defamation lawsuit he is pressing against the network. Trump’s attorneys filed the emergency stay motion Wednesday with Miami-based U.S. Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett, urging her to lift the order she issued last month that the British TV broadcaster is entitled to information on the financial performance of hundreds of Trump’s companies because he claimed his ‘brand, properties and businesses’ were damaged by a documentary the BBC aired in the U.K. in 2024. … The proposed new complaint ‘focuses on President Trump’s damages allegations on the reputational harm that he has suffered, which is at the core of this defamation action,’ Trump attorney Alejandro Brito wrote.” (08/05/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/05/BBC-donald-trump-lawsuit
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17) US beef prices have soared but farmers aren’t making more money
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“With US beef prices soaring to record highs, you might think that South Dakota cattle rancher Eric Gropper would be celebrating. Yet while the cost of the meat in US supermarkets is now 12% higher than it was a year ago, a rise more than three times the rate of general inflation, Gropper says that he and all the other beef farmers aren’t making any more profit than usual. The BBC World Service’s Follow the Money series spent a week tracing the American beef supply chain to find out what has caused the price jump and discover where all the cash is going.” (08/06/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdrv0k0j662o
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18) Canada: Carney says he has no confidence in FIFA’s Infantino
Source: ABC News
“Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday he no longer has confidence in FIFA President Gianni Infantino, adding to growing pressure on the soccer leader after his abandoned plan to sell stakes in the World Cup sparked a global backlash. Carney said Infantino committed a ‘fatal’ governance failure by not consulting senior advisers, including FIFA’s chief operating officer and board members. … UEFA’s 55 member associations had agreed to boycott the World Cup and other FIFA competitions if the plan moved forward, while the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football and the Asian Football Confederation also opposed it.” (08/05/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/canadas-carney-confidence-fifas-infantino-135403074
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19) Cameroon: President draws concern and criticism by staying abroad for two months
Source: SFGate
“Cameroon President Paul Biya on Thursday reached two months since the last time he was inside the borders of his country, a prolonged absence that has raised concerns for his health and criticisms about a possible power vacuum in the Central African nation. The world’s oldest president, who has led Cameroon since 1982, began his eighth term in office in November after winning a widely disputed election in October. But the 93-year-old left the country on June 7 for what Biya’s office described as ‘a brief private stay in Europe’ that has become one of his longest trips overseas. His government later confirmed he was in Switzerland. The health of the president has long been a topic of speculation as he spends significant time in Europe, including France and Switzerland, where he often spends weeks while leaving governance to key party officials and family members.” (08/06/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/cameroon-s-president-draws-concern-and-criticism-22376979.php
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20) US Senate confirms Schwartz as new CDC chief
Source: United Press International
“The U.S. Senate voted Wednesday to confirm Dr. Erica Schwartz as the leader of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, finally installing a new director for the agency after nearly a year. Schwartz was deputy surgeon general during President Donald Trump’s first term. She is a retired U.S. Coast Guard officer and Navy physician. The vote Wednesday was 51-44, mostly along party lines, NBC News reported. Sen.Tim Kaine, D-Va., voted with Republicans to approve Schwartz.” (08/05/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/08/05/senate-oks-erica-schwartz-as-CDC-leader/2421785968039/
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) I Stopped Being a Libertarian Because I Realized the Sky is Blue
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
“When a thinker publicly changes his mind on major questions, neutral observers normally interpret it as a sign of courage and maturity. Almost no one enjoys admitting they were wrong — and ‘I changed my mind’ is tantamount to ‘I was wrong.’ On reflection, however, this favorable interpretation is premature. Yes, changing your mind because you discover surprising new evidence or arguments is courageous and mature. But what if you change your mind for purely emotional reasons, like ‘The idea that murderers shouldn’t be punished started to disgust me’? Or because you have a falling out with friends who share your views? ‘My girlfriend dumped me, so I left the church.’ Neither of these intellectual paths even hints at courage or maturity. The situation only slightly shifts if you change your mind because you ‘discover’ blatantly obvious evidence or arguments.” (08/06/26)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/i-stopped-being-a-libertarian-because
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22) For Real “Farm Aid,” Go “Free Trade”
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“The ‘farm bill’ concept is 93 years old, and it’s as bad an idea now, when only 1% of Americans work in agriculture, as it was in 1933’s first round of New Deal legislation, back when that number was 25%. We keep getting better at producing more food with less labor, but apparently buried deep within the US Constitution there’s an amendment obligating American taxpayers and consumers to ensure that anyone whose great-grandfather wore overalls and drove a tractor gets to make a living and have a career doing the same thing. I can’t find it, but it must be in there somewhere, right? Otherwise, why does Congress spend more than $70 billion a year to make it so?” (08/06/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20823
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23) Trump’s Commerce Department as Venture Capitalist: Political Investment at its Worst
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by William L Anderson
“As America’s first reality-show president, Donald Trump wants people to think he is breaking new ground and transforming America for the better. Stepping where no president before has gone, Trump has directed the US Commerce Department to take equity positions in 30 American firms, which clearly is controversial. Although the US is new to this policy, it isn’t the first country to do this, as France, Norway, Germany, China, and others have already seen governments purchase partial ownership in private firms. Supporters of this practice claim that any government infusion of cash into these businesses will expand the economy’s capital base, but there are plenty of reasons to oppose this practice, which economist Randall Holcomb has labeled ‘political capitalism.'” (08/06/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/trumps-commerce-department-venture-capitalist-political-investment-its-worst
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24) Censorship Will Never Solve Antisemitism
Source: Yascha Mounk
by Yascha Mounk
“When a group of neo-Nazis planned to march through the town of Skokie, Illinois, home to many Holocaust survivors, it was a Jewish attorney who stood up for their right of assembly. David Goldberger, then the legal director of the ACLU of Illinois, was no self-hating Jew, and he certainly harbored no sympathy for the National Socialist Party of America. But he realized that ‘the constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech and press would be meaningless if the government could pick and choose the persons to whom they apply.’ … The smartest case for free speech has never turned on denying that some utterances are so vile that all of us would be better off if they somehow disappeared from the public sphere. Rather, it was always based on skepticism that any institution, private or public, would consistently make these determinations in a reasonable and selfless manner.” (08/06/26)
https://writing.yaschamounk.com/p/dear-jews-dont-forget-your-free-speech
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25) Data Centers Are Not the Problem. Bad Policy Is.
Source: The Dispatch
by Scott Lincicome
“In one sense, public backlash to data centers in the United States shouldn’t be surprising: Their construction and deployment have skyrocketed across the country, creating—not to get all goopy on you—a highly visible target for American angst about AI, Big Tech, U.S. politics, the turbulent economy, male-pattern baldness, and surely more. A recent New York Times op-ed captures the mood on the left well: These giant bricks guzzle water, gobble electricity, buzz loudly 24/7, and enrich Silicon Valley billionaires at regular folks’ expense. Opposition, however, isn’t just on the left: You’ll find similar takes from MAGA types on Facebook and NextDoor, and—as I just saw myself when driving outside Raleigh last week—big ‘NO DATA CENTER’ signs along many a rural roadside. Yet most of the common objections to data centers collapse under scrutiny.” (08/06/26)
https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/dispatch-markets/data-center-water-electric-taxes-benefits/
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26) The Long View of Iran
Source: American Greatness
by Victor Davis Hanson
“One day, the United States seems ready to unleash a Curtis LeMay-style devastating bombing campaign of Iran. The next, it appears trapped in endless haggling with Iranian dissimulators. Of the roughly 150 days since the first strike, about 90 have passed without major military operations. Iran believes time is on its side. The Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted, gas prices are too high, and antiwar House Democrats seem poised to win the midterms and bring Trump’s war to a halt. Trump, by contrast, believes Iran can talk all it wants while sanctions, embargoes, and military pressure steadily weaken the regime. The war has become so politicized in an election year that several basic realities have gone largely unnoticed by the media. First, the cycle of bombing, pausing, negotiating, and bombing again may seem endless. But the confusion obscures the continuing effects of the embargoes, sanctions, blockade, and financial isolation imposed on Iran.” (08/06/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/08/06/the-long-view-of-iran/
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27) Can a Freely Given Coconut Begin Civilization?
Source: The Daily Economy
by Anthony Gill
“Trust precedes trade. Our natural empathy, our desire to see others do well, cultivates social order and generates the wealth of nations.” (08/06/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/can-a-freely-given-coconut-begin-civilization/
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28) Trump-Approved Profits
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“Occasionally, President Trump takes an anti-capitalist rhetorical turn. He apparently supposes his unleashing of an Inner Mamdani will help him through a political rough patch. Or perhaps he is just momentarily confused. The president recently asserted that oil companies are making too much money right now and ‘ought to give back’ some of it to the public. This, although ‘I’m a big free enterprise guy.’ But oil companies don’t owe buyers anything more than the oil they supply. Nor, when prices are low, do buyers owe oil companies or gas stations more money than what they pay.” (08/06/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/08/06/trump-approved-profits/
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29) A soft way to harden homes against wildfire
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“With wildfires again threatening the American West this summer, Utah has become the latest state helping homeowners in high-risk areas to fortify their properties against drought-driven fire. From 2021 to 2024, the state saw the largest percentage increase in home insurance costs – a 59% hike – of any U.S. state. Yet unlike in Colorado and California, both of which recently enacted stricter rules on insurance companies and tough building codes to ‘harden’ a home from fire, Utah’s plan is more partnership than paternalism. It will first nudge homeowners with information on risks and remedies and only threaten a fee for noncompliance with new codes that aim to ensure a ‘defensible space’ from wildfire. ‘Our goal is to empower homeowners, communities, fire departments, and municipalities to act in reducing their vulnerability to wildfire by giving them the necessary tools to identify and understand their wildfire risk,’ states an official Utah website.” (08/05/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0805/A-soft-way-to-harden-homes-against-wildfire
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30) Why James Madison Wanted Greater Limits on States’ Rights
Source: Reason
by Damon Root
“On June 8, 1789, James Madison announced the batch of proposed constitutional amendments that would eventually become enshrined as the Bill of Rights. One of Madison’s would-be amendments, however, did not make the final cut, as it failed in the Senate after passing the House of Representatives. Here is what that lost Madisonian amendment to the Constitution would have said: ‘No state shall violate the equal rights of conscience, or the freedom of the press, or the trial by jury in criminal cases.’ Put differently, Madison wanted several parts of the Bill of Rights to apply equally against the federal government and the states. Why? ‘Because it must be admitted, on all hands,’ Madison said, ‘that the state governments are as liable to attack these invaluable privileges as the general [national] government is, and therefore ought to be as cautiously guarded against.'” (08/06/26)
https://reason.com/2026/08/06/why-james-madison-wanted-greater-limits-on-states-rights/
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31) Time for the Few Remaining Sensible Democrats to Put Up or Shut Up
Source: Town Hall
by Derek Hunter
“Only 25 years after the September 11 attacks on the United States, a major political party has fallen in with people who view that attack as deserved and the attackers as righteous. If it were parody, no one would accept it because good parody is based in truth and the truth is this fall of the Democratic Party is not believable. Sure, they’ve expressed sympathies for enemies of the United States before, but always for political advantage only; now they appear to mean it or are so afraid of it they won’t say anything to the contrary. Democrats have gone from being wrong to being an existential threat to the country. I have not seen a single Democrat candidate for office this election cycle praise the United States or even say anything that could be perceived as positive about it. Seriously, have you?” (08/06/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2026/08/06/time-for-the-few-remaining-sensible-democrats-to-put-up-or-shut-up-n2680766
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32) What Is in Your Wallet? Not Very Much.
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Angelo Monaco
“The classic virtue of thrift — once celebrated as a moral cornerstone of self-reliance, discipline, and stewardship — has largely been cast aside by a modern economic system designed to punish it. For centuries, saving was viewed as a quiet duty to one’s family and future, a practice that paired material restraint with ethical responsibility. Today, however, our financial architecture actively undermines this morality. Persistent inflation erodes the purchasing power of uninvested savings, while hyper-financialization and record-low interest rates reduce traditional thrift to a losing strategy. In a culture driven by immediate gratification and an economic engine fueled by perpetual consumer debt, the deliberate act of saving is no longer a protected path to security, but rather a virtue systematically penalized by the very system that once relied on it.” (08/06/26)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/what-is-in-your-wallet-not-very-much/
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33) Fauci Contempt of Congress Can Be Challenged, but his Contempt for the Public is Undeniable
Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley
“‘Today I am the most famous and talked-about person in the country’. Those words from the diary of Dr. Anthony Fauci will certainly be true today as the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs moves forward with holding him in contempt for refusing to answer over a hundred questions about his past conduct and statements as the former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The contempt vote will start a process that is fraught with political and legal challenges. Even putting aside the objections to the direct referral from the Committee to the Justice Department (rather than submit the matter to a full Senate vote), there remain serious questions about whether Fauci can be held in contempt after invoking his right to remain silent under the Fifth Amendment.” (08/06/26)
https://jonathanturley.org/2026/08/06/the-sound-of-silence-dr-faucis-contempt-of-congress-can-be-challenged-but-his-contempt-for-the-public-cannot-be-denied/
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34) War, Peace, and Free Trade
Source: Law & Liberty
by Edwin van de Haar
“Many classical liberals see themselves as myth busters. In particular, they take aim at those myths that erroneously link a big state and collectivist action with welfare and prosperity. No thinker is too prominent or a theory too grand to be undermined by proper and sound classical liberal analysis. And rightly so. Yet many classical liberals are blind to their own myth, which is the idea that trade or commerce fosters, or leads to, peace. Admittedly, they share this misconception with some of the great names in the wider liberal tradition, such as Mill, Cobden, Kant, and Montesquieu. Yet they were erroneous nonetheless.” (08/06/26)
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/war-peace-and-free-trade/
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35) Human Flourishing and Marginal Utility
Source: EconLog
by Clifford A Bates Jr.
“The law of diminishing marginal utility is one of the foundational principles of economics, but its significance extends far beyond the marketplace. The principle states that as a person acquires additional units of a good, the satisfaction gained from each successive unit tends to decline. The first glass of water relieves intense thirst, the second provides comfort, and the third offers only modest enjoyment. While economists developed this concept to explain value and choice, it also reveals a deeper truth about human existence.” (08/06/26)
https://www.econlib.org/econlog/human-flourishing-and-marginal-utility
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36) Iran Is a Wake-Up Call for the Defense Establishment
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ioannis Vlahos
“As the war in Iran has reached its fifth month, progress fails to be made and opposition continues to mount. And while President Donald Trump certainly deserves his fair share of the blame, the playbook he’s using is in no way his own. Since the Cold War, the United States has become the preeminent world power, utilizing its heavily budgeted and expansive military to enforce its hegemony across the globe. During the later years of the 20th century especially, this has primarily taken the form of strategic bombing and overwhelming air power. … The Iran War not only illustrated the defense establishment’s affinity for aerial bombardment, but it also greatly exposed the problematic nature of this framework as official DoD strategy.” (08/06/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/ioannis_vlahos/2026/08/05/iran-is-a-wake-up-call-for-the-defense-establishment/
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37) Rogers versus El-Sayed a referendum on future of America
Source: Fox News
by Hugh Hewitt
“Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan’s Senate Democratic primary Tuesday over Congresswoman Haley Stevens. El-Sayed had a 1% win in a race that featured a third candidate, Mallory McMorrow, who had dropped out but who nevertheless polled around 4% of the total vote. Mike Rogers is the GOP nominee in the fall against El-Sayed. In 2024, Rogers — a very respected, former seven-term Congressman from Michigan who served as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee — tallied 2,693,680 votes, or 48.30% of the total electorate in the state in a Senate race he lost to Elissa Slotkin. Republicans need only turn out the same electorate as voted in 2024 and Rogers will win the 2026 race. That sort of turnout is usually, however, a big lift in a non-presidential year, because statewide elections are not as exciting to the average American as presidential contests.” (08/06/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/morning-glory-mike-rogers-versus-abdul-el-sayed-referendum-future-america
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38) The Promising Young Man defence
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Kym Robinson
“A former high school baseball player, with a successful businessman as a father and, a promising young man with a ‘bright future’ ahead of him avoided prison for the rape, strangulation, and violent assault of two teenage girls. He was facing up to 78 years in prison, and was instead granted a youthful offender status. Where he must attend community service and counselling. Butler pleaded ‘no contest’ to the charges. And the district attorney claimed that Butler had suffered more than his victims by being subjected to the process of trial and harm to his credibility as a young man. … Butler’s case is not isolated. As many feminists and rights activists have continued to push to the fore front, young men from wealthy and connected families can get away with rape.” (08/06/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/blog/the-promising-young-man-defence
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39) Palantir’s weird tax trick — paying the staff
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Tim Worstall
“Apparently: ‘Palantir paid just £2m corporation tax in UK in 2024 despite lucrative public sector contracts.’ That someone tries to measure how useful the producer of something is by their tax payments – rather than the value of their output – is deeply weird in itself. … Palantir pays its staff well, partly in shares. That’s it, that’s the one weird trick. They pay the staff well. British political discourse is so perverted that this is seen as a problem.” (08/06/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/palantirs-weird-tax-trick-paying-the-staff
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40) American veterans know the cost of a military-first foreign policy
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Andrew M Leonard
“Those who have served have experienced first hand what it’s like to fight in conflicts without clearly defined political goals or adequate tools of statecraft.” (08/06/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/veterans-us-foreign-policy/
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41) Can DSA’s Francesca Hong Win in Cheese Country?
Source: The American Prospect
by Ryan Cooper
“Abdul El-Sayed has done it in Michigan. Though the race was much closer than polling predicted, El-Sayed, a progressive epidemiologist and former state public-health official, has defeated Rep. Haley Stevens by about one percentage point. He had to fend off a veritable ocean of money from outside corporate groups and AIPAC, which together spent some $70 million trying to stop him, making it the most expensive Democratic Senate primary in American history. Though El-Sayed is not a Democratic Socialists of America member, Donavan McKinney is, and he narrowly won the primary to represent Michigan’s 13th House District, which covers Detroit and some of its suburbs; he will be a lock to win the general election. There will almost certainly be seven DSA members in the next Congress: McKinney, incumbents Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib, and primary winners Chris Rabb, Claire Valdez, Darializa Avila Chevalier, and Melat Kiros.” (08/06/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/08/06/can-dsas-francesca-hong-win-in-cheese-country-wisconsin-governor/
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42) Trump’s New Section 301 Tariffs Are a Tax on American Consumers
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey
“The administration says the 10 percent to 12.5 percent import taxes will fight forced labor. The reality is they raise prices, punish working families, weaken manufacturers, and restrict free trade.” (08/06/26)
https://palmbeachexaminer.substack.com/p/trumps-new-section-301-tariffs-are
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43) Permanent Victory for the Democrats’ Left Flank Is Not Assured
Source: The American Conservative
by W James Antle III
“Trump’s job approval rating dipping below 40 percent, especially on the economy, creates openings for Democrats of all stripes. But most importantly, he has allowed the populist left to steal the America First mantle, with candidates promising to spend taxpayer dollars on needs at home rather than on weapons and wars abroad. But the socialists seem hell-bent on blowing their political opportunity as well. Even if their economic message is flawed, to put it mildly, an economically motivated left can compete better than a culturally motivated one.” (08/06/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/permanent-victory-for-the-democrats-left-flank-is-not-assured/
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44) The DSA Is a Menace
Source: Persuasion
by Garry Kasparov
“The DSA has moved from a principled pro-democracy stand on world affairs to tankie turpitude. Today’s DSA includes explicitly communist factions. Yet Harrington rejected the brutality of Soviet and Chinese communism and his icons were real social democrats. In 1980, the DSA founder organized a conference attended by West Germany’s Social Democratic Chancellor Willy Brandt, Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, and future French President François Mitterrand. In 1990, Mayor David Dinkins (the first DSA-member to serve as mayor of New York—not Zohran Mamdani) hosted Brandt, who was by then president of the Socialist International (an alliance of mainstream social democratic parties), at City Hall. Today’s DSA would regard those men as insufficiently socialist …” (08/05/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/the-dsa-is-a-menace
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45) Mamdani’s grocery-store specs show idea even crazier than we thought
Source: New York Post
by staff
“The specs for Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s magical city-run grocery stores demand the moon, but shoppers will be lucky to find some overripe green cheese. As with most city contracting, the Economic Development Corp.’s official Request For Proposals outlines an implausible wish-list that will deliver less than half what Mamdani promised at more than twice the price. The city wants potential operators of the stores to submit specific financial plans for stocking, staffing and operating five supermarkets — when the city hasn’t built any of the five, nor chosen locations for three. These imaginary stores must be managed under a business plan out of Alice in Wonderland: No deli counter allowed, but they must sell fruit, tuna, bean, chicken, egg and potato salads. The operator should have a pre-existing ‘cost-effective” supply chain, but also source from “local suppliers and small businesses while keeping prices low.'” (08/06/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/08/06/opinion/mamdanis-grocery-store-specs-show-the-idea-is-even-crazier-than-we-thought/
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46) Trump Should Need a Warrant to See Your Phone
Source: The Atlantic
by Adam Serwer
“The Supreme Court’s jurisprudence on warrantless border searches has previously focused on the illegal movement of goods and people in and out of the country. But a phone is a different kind of container from a car or a piece of luggage, and the high Court has yet to rule on digital searches. EFF rightly argues that device searches are different because only a few possible kinds of contraband can be contained on a phone—including child pornography. Nevertheless, as it stands, border officials anywhere in the country can initiate a manual search of your device simply by stating that they are looking for such digital contraband. That is a legal standard that is easily exploited as a pretext to target someone for reasons that have nothing to do with contraband, digital or otherwise.” (08/05/26)
https://archive.is/dP4Ft
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47) Why Stopping Fraud Still Isn’t Enough
Source: Independent Institute
by Craig Eyermann
“Historically speaking, Uncle Sam isn’t very good at managing money. Because the politicians and bureaucrats who run the U.S. government aren’t good at managing money, they’ve opened the door to massive losses through fraud. In 2024, the GAO estimated that from 2018 through 2022, the U.S. government lost between $233 billion and $512 billion dollars per year to fraudsters. These are not small amounts of money. … If fraud comes in at the low end of the GAO’s estimates, it would reduce the federal deficit by 12.5%. At the high end, it would reduce the U.S. government’s budget deficit by 28%. Either way, reducing its fraud losses to zero would not be enough to eliminate 2026’s budget deficit.” (08/05/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/08/05/stopping-fraud-isnt-enough/
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48) When a President Promises a Massacre
Source: The Intercept
by Nick Turse
“As his war in Iran has imploded, his poll numbers have plummeted, the U.S. economy has cratered, and he finds himself in the grip of a steep cognitive decline, President Donald Trump has increasingly lashed out, calling for cataclysm, slaughter, and even genocide. As he tries desperately, if ham-handedly, to extricate himself from a losing war, the commander-in-chief of the world’s most destructive military offers up deranged rants, baying for blood and issuing orders that throw the concept of proportionality in warfare out the window. Trump’s bloodthirsty rhetoric has been borne out in asymmetrical slaughter, with Iranian fatalities exceeding American deaths by multiple orders of magnitude. And this follows similarly lopsided casualty tolls in Trump’s conflicts in Somalia, Venezuela, Yemen, and on the high seas.” (08/05/26)
https://theintercept.com/2026/08/05/trump-colonial-extermination-asymmetric-warfare/
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49) 81 Years on the Brink of Nuclear Annihilation
Source: Common Dreams
by Robert Dodge
“On August 6, 1945 at 8:15 am local time, our world changed forever when the US dropped the first atomic bomb used in war over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The immediate death toll was approximately 70,000 with ~140,000 to have died by year’s end. Three days later, the US would drop a plutonium bomb over the city of Nagasaki. The immediate death toll there was ~40,000 with ~70,000 to have died by year’s end with a combined total of ~210,000. Three weeks earlier, following the atomic bombing of New Mexico with the Trinity test, the nuclear age was thrust upon mankind. The nuclear legacies from victims and survivors of the atomic bombings, Hibakusha, and their history lingers to this day. The legacy extends from the mining for the nuclear materials and its impact on local communities to the processing, testing, use, storage, and waste management, as well as the impacts and risks of nuclear power to this day.” (08/06/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/81-years-brink-nuclear-war
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50) Morals and society
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
“It is individuals who make moral choices. Even if they have been brainwashed by society, schools, or even parents, it is still ultimately their choice whether to act or refuse to act. Even if they are enslaved, assured of several punishment for disobeying their master(s), it is still a personal, individual decision. Organizations, even governments, have no morals of their own.” (08/05/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/08/05/morals-and-society/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Underthrow Podcast, 08/06/26
Source: Underthrow
“Let it Flow.” (08/06/26)
https://underthrow.substack.com/p/let-it-flow
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52) Rising, 08/06/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave gives his radar on Yale professor Samuel Moyn suggesting that American children should be indirectly given voting power by assigning their votes to young people over the age of 18.” (08/06/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/6001479-rising-august-6-2026/
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53) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 08/06/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“MAGA Meltdown As Tucker Unveils 10 Point Plan.” (08/06/26)
https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1mxPaavWddQKN
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54) Libertarian Angle, 08/06/26
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“Jacob and Richard share some fond reminisces about the libertarian movement back in the day.” (08/06/26)
https://www.fff.org/freedom-in-motion/video/libertarian-angle-back-in-day-memories/
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55) Make It Make Sense, 08/06/26
Source: Washington Post
"Kate Andrews talks with CNN correspondent and 'Black Pill' author Elle Reeve about the evolution of online radicalization since the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. They discuss how extremist ideas become normalized through jokes and algorithms, the return of white nationalists to major social platforms, declining trust in media and public institutions, reports of groypers working on Capitol Hill, conspiracy-driven influencer culture, and the forces radicalizing parts of both the right and the left." (08/06/26)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/make-it-make-sense/are-groypers-taking-over-the-right/
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56) Cato Podcast, 08/06/26
Source: Cato Institute
“Wealth Taxes Failed Abroad. Why Try Them Here?” (08/06/26)
https://www.cato.org/multimedia/cato-podcast/wealth-taxes-failed-abroad-why-try-them-here
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57) The Blessings of Liberty with Jeffrey Rosen, 08/06/26
Source: The Blessings of Liberty with Jeffrey Rosen
“America on the Docket: The 2026 Supreme Court.” (08/06/26)
https://rosenjeffrey.substack.com/p/america-on-the-docket-the-2026-supreme
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58) Kibbe on Liberty, episode 398
Source: Free the People
“What the Flock? We’re All Under Surveillance Now | Guest: Glenn Jacobs.” (08/05/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJxwJXobXQQ
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59) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 08/05/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Iran: Oman Deal Won’t Fully Open Hormuz Strait, Trump May Advance Major Taiwan Arms Sale, and More.” (08/05/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXOkJHud2n8
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60) Parallax Views w/ JG Michael, 08/05/26
Source: Parallax Views w/ JG Michael
“Trump’s Unconstitutional War and the Folly of Empires w/ Bruce Fein.” (08/05/26)
https://parallaxviews.podbean.com/e/bfein8-5-26/
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