04/16 -- Ukraine: Russian strikes kill at least 12; Trump's Illegal War in Iran Is Financed by Your Taxes. That’s a Good Reason To Stop Paying Them.
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Thomas L. Knapp
Apr 16, 2026, 6:25:24 AMApr 16
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 04/16/26
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Ukraine: Russian strikes kill at least 12
2) Dog bites man: US Senate refuses to do its job again
3) Israel: Top Court Hears Petitions to Remove Ben-Gvir Over Alleged Police Politicization
4) China: Xi hails Russia ties, signals bigger role in Iran war
5) Peru: Presidential candidate demands vote annulment as count tightens
6) EU Regime Unveils Age Verification App as Social Media Bans Gain Steam
7) FL: Doctor faces manslaughter charge for allegedly removing wrong organ during surgery
8) South Africa: Regime names apartheid-era politician as new ambassador to the US
9) US GOP shot-callers delay FISA vote amid rebellion
10) Australia’s richest person must share part of her mining fortunes, court rules
11) Prosecutors seek access to Federal Reserve building as Trump threatens to fire Powell
12) CA: Drivers sue San Jose regime over nearly 500 police cameras used to track drivers across the state
13) Sri Lanka: Regime repatriates 238 Iranian sailors stranded after US attack
14) Canada: Carney suspends fuel excise tax as Iran war drives up prices
15) FL: Lawyer says guards beat & pepper-sprayed abductees at “Alligator Alcatraz”
16) Netgear Scores the First Exemption From the FCC’s Foreign-Made Router Ban
17) Chinese national given one year in prison for smuggling ants out of Kenya
18) Italy: Court allows class action against Meta over Facebook data scraping
19) Pope arrives in Cameroon as separatists announce 3-day pause in fighting
20) TMZ launches DC bureau, tracks down Graham, Cruz on first day
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Trump’s Illegal War in Iran Is Financed by Your Taxes. That’s a Good Reason To Stop Paying Them.
22) Civil Society Needs the High Trust that Only Individuals Can Provide
23) The government never stops growing
24) It Has Never Been About Freedom
25) Tax Freedom Day Underestimates How Long You Work for the Government
26) I Hope The US Loses And The Empire Collapses
27) Digital Hopes, Real Power: The Rise of Network Shutdowns
28) Open Secret Re-opened
29) Taking Heart From Hungary to Protect US Elections
30) Abundance Pragmatism Fails
31) From Iran to the fake Jesus image, Trump facing growing backlash for his inflammatory rhetoric
32) America’s Insane Tax-Filing Process
33) To Organize for Peace, We Must First Dare to Imagine It
34) International Appeal
35) Another Trump Flip Flop: From “Kill FISA” to “Clean Renewal”
36) Ending Israel’s War on Peace
37) Better #MeToo scrutiny on Capitol Hill
38) Trump Reverses Himself, Joins Obama and Biden in Demanding “Clean” Renewal of NSA Domestic Spying Powers
39) Is this the grand bargain that could end the Iran war?
40) Property Taxes Invert the Moral Order of Ownership
41) A Hole in the “Open-and-Shut” Case Against Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin?
42) How Trump Should Handle the Hormuz
43) Unplugging the Sun: Applying 19th-Century Wisdom to 21st-Century Panic
44) Gerrymandering and the Tyranny of Big Cities
45) Elise Stefanik reveals sick truth of elite colleges’ moral collapse
46) Move 37 and the Coming Mindhack
47) Are you paying taxes on phantom gains this year? Congress should abolish them.
48) The FTC’s Probe of Media Matters for America Is a Blatant Assault on Freedom of Speech
49) We Need To Tax the Corporations Cashing In On the Iran War
50) Strait of Hormuz Tensions and the Material Benefits of Fossil Fuels
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) The Political Orphanage, 04/15/26
52) The Fifth Column, episode 553
53) Reasonably Optimistic, 04/15/26
54) Reason Interview: Emma Ashford
55) Rising, 04/15/26
56) Gracearchy with Jim Babka, episode 158
57) Fountainhead Forum, episode 436
58) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 04/14/26
59) Cato Daily Podcast, 04/14/26
60) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 04/14/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Ukraine: Russian strikes kill at least 12
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Russian strikes killed at least 12 people in Ukraine, local authorities have said, after Moscow pummelled its neighbour in overnight attacks. Missile and drone attacks on the southern port city of Odesa killed six people, the head of the city’s military administration, Sergiy Lysak, wrote on Telegram on Thursday. Strikes on the capital Kyiv killed at least four people, including a 12-year-old, the state emergency service of Ukraine said, while another two people died in the central city of Dnipro, according to Oleksandr Ganzha, the head of the regional administration.” 904/16/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/16/russia-drone-missile-strikes-ukraine-kyiv-dnipro
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2) Dog bites man: US Senate refuses to do its job again
Source: NBC News
“Senate Republicans voted down a resolution Wednesday pushed by Democrats to prohibit President Donald Trump from taking further military action in Iran. The vote was 47-52, largely along party lines. Once again, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was the only Republican to vote for the measure and Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., was the only Democrat or independent to vote against it. (Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., missed the vote.) It was the latest instance of Republicans rejecting attempts to end the war or rein in Trump’s authority to act without congressional approval.” [editor’s note: Trump HAS no “authority” under US law to wage war without a congressional declaration – TLK] (04/15/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senate-republicans-block-democratic-effort-end-trumps-iran-war-rcna331819
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3) Israel: Top Court Hears Petitions to Remove Ben-Gvir Over Alleged Police Politicization
Source: Haaretz [Israel]
“Israel’s High Court of Justice is discussing petitions seeking to compel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to remove Itamar Ben-Gvir from his position as national security minister, citing alleged interference in police work and harm to democratic norms. Four groups of citizens filed the petitions against Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir and the government. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara supports the petitioners, who argue that the minister’s removal is required due to what they describe as systematic, ongoing violations of police independence and the transformation of the police from a law-enforcement body into a political instrument.” (04/15/26)
https://archive.is/8UADd
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4) China: Xi hails Russia ties, signals bigger role in Iran war
Source: Deutsche Welle [German state media]
“Chinese President Xi Jinping brought up the significance of the friendship treaty between Beijing and Moscow on Wednesday in a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Xi described relations with Russia as particularly ‘precious,’ calling for deeper cooperation and mutual support. He said both countries should strengthen coordination and defend shared interests, Chinese state media reported. The Russian foreign minister offered China Russia’s help in boosting energy supplies to offset disruptions caused by the Iran war, including constraints on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.” (04/15/26)
https://www.dw.com/en/xi-hails-china-russia-ties-signals-bigger-role-in-iran-war/a-76787130
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5) Peru: Presidential candidate demands vote annulment as count tightens
Source: Yahoo! News
“Peruvian right-wing presidential hopeful Rafael Lopez Aliaga gathered hundreds of supporters in Lima on Tuesday and gave authorities 24 hours to annul the first round of the country’s election over allegations of fraud. Lopez Aliaga, a fan of US President Donald Trump, is locked in a tight three-way race with a leftist candidate and a social democrat for second place in Sunday’s vote. The election runner-up wins a ticket to June’s presidential run-off against conservative frontrunner Keiko Fujimori. ‘I am giving them 24 hours to declare this electoral fraud null and void,’ said Lopez Aliaga, surrounded by a crowd of several hundred supporters. ‘If it is not declared null and void tomorrow, I will call for a nationwide protest.’ … Aliaga saw his lead over leftist ex-minister Roberto Sanchez and social democratic candidate Jorge Nieto shrink as the vote count continued.” (04/15/26)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/peru-candidate-calls-vote-annulment-233504287.html
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6) EU Regime Unveils Age Verification App as Social Media Bans Gain Steam
Source: Bloomberg
“The European Union has unveiled an app to confirm users’ age online, setting the standard for verification technology as more countries consider laws banning young teenagers from social media. … The software was originally pitched as a way to prevent children from accessing obscene or harmful content online and comes as many EU members are debating restricting social media for minors. EU member states France and Greece have announced plans to pass measures banning younger teens from social media, pointing to studies on the sites’ addictiveness and harmful effects on minors.” (04/15/26)
https://archive.is/GBcTi
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7) FL: Doctor faces manslaughter charge for allegedly removing wrong organ during surgery
Source: WESH 2 News
“A grand jury indicted a Florida doctor on a manslaughter charge for allegedly removing a patient’s liver instead of his spleen during a 2024 surgery. The prosecutor for the First Judicial Circuit on Monday announced the charge of second-degree manslaughter against Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky. Prosecutors said that during an Aug. 21, 2024, surgery, which was scheduled to be a laparoscopic splenectomy, Shaknovsky removed the victim’s liver instead of his spleen. That resulted in ‘catastrophic blood loss and the patient’s death on the operating table,’ law enforcement officials wrote in a press release. The patient was a 70-year-old man from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. … Florida suspended Shaknovsky’s medical license after the surgery. Records show he voluntarily surrendered his medical license in Alabama after regulators moved to revoke his license.” (04/15/26)
https://www.wesh.com/article/florida-doctor-manslaughter-removing-wrong-organ/71026650
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8) South Africa: Regime names apartheid-era politician as new ambassador to the US
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Roelf Meyer, who served in the last government of the apartheid era, as his new ambassador to the US, his office has said. The country has not had a top envoy in the US since Ebrahim Rasool was expelled last year after he accused President Donald Trump of trying to ‘project white victimhood as a dog whistle.’ This worsened already strained relations between the nations, which took a downward spiral after Trump’s return to office last year. … Meyer, 78, played a key role as one of the chief mediators, alongside Ramaphosa, during the talks to end the racist system of white-minority rule known as apartheid in South Africa in the 1990s.” (04/15/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyjjjz8n8ko
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9) US GOP shot-callers delay FISA vote amid rebellion
Source: Politico
“House GOP leaders postponed a Wednesday procedural vote on an extension of a key federal spy powers program as they scramble to land a deal with hard-liners around changes — acknowledging the truly ‘clean’ extension that President Donald Trump is demanding is currently DOA in the chamber. There are ongoing discussions around modifying the clean, 18-month extension of the surveillance authority known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, that Trump is ordering. GOP leaders acknowledged in private conversations Tuesday night and publicly Wednesday morning that at least some tweaks are necessary to quell a GOP rebellion that could lead to Section 702’s expiration April 20. … Democrats aren’t expected to help Republicans overcome the procedural rule, even though some of them support a reauthorization without policy changes at this time.” (04/15/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/15/republicans-fisa-trump-house-00872766
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10) Australia’s richest person must share part of her mining fortunes, court rules
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Australia’s wealthiest person Gina Rinehart must part with some of her riches, a court has ruled in a high-profile dispute over her mining empire. Worth an estimated A$38bn (£20bn; $27bn), Rinehart inherited the iron ore ventures of her father in 1992, before going on to develop mines in the mineral-rich Pilbara region of Western Australia (WA). Two of her children and the heirs of her late father’s business partners argued they were entitled to a significant share of royalties and mining rights. On Wednesday, more than 13 years after the legal battle began, a Supreme Court judge ruled that Rinehart must pay past and future royalties to her rival heirs but that the mining rights remain hers. The legal battle centres around Hope Downs, one of Australia’s largest and most lucrative iron ore projects.” (04/15/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq5990nqjg2o
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11) Prosecutors seek access to Federal Reserve building as Trump threatens to fire Powell
Source: SFGate
“Federal prosecutors made an unannounced visit this week to a construction site at Federal Reserve headquarters that is the focus of an investigation into a $2.5 billion renovation project, according to two people familiar with the visit. Two prosecutors and an investigator from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office were turned away on Tuesday by a building contractor and referred to Fed attorneys, one of the people said. The two people familiar with the visit spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to publicly discuss an ongoing investigation. The visit indicates that the Trump administration is not backing down in its investigation of the Fed and its chair, Jerome Powell, even though the probe has delayed the confirmation of a new chair nominated by President Donald Trump.” (04/15/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/trump-threatens-to-fire-powell-if-the-fed-chair-22207703.php
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12) CA: Drivers sue San Jose regime over nearly 500 police cameras used to track drivers across the state
Source: NBC News
“Three drivers in San Jose, California, filed a class action suit against the city and police department over the deployment of nearly 500 cameras operated by Flock Safety, a controversial surveillance tech company that uses AI and dedicated cameras to catalogue vehicles’ movements. Organized by the Institute for Justice, a libertarian nonprofit law firm, the suit argues that the city’s use of the technology constitutes an unreasonable law enforcement search, in violation of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution. … Unlike other ALPR companies, Flock offers its customers the chance to share access locally, statewide or across the country. Its databases can be accessed without warrants by officials at participating law enforcement departments. San Jose shares its Flock data with hundreds of other law enforcement agencies in California, but not nationwide.” (04/15/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/san-jose-drivers-sue-city-police-flock-cameras-rcna331750
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13) Sri Lanka: Regime repatriates 238 Iranian sailors stranded after US attack
Source: Straits Times [Singapore]
“Sri Lanka has repatriated 238 Iranian sailors stranded in the South Asian country after one of their warships was torpedoed by a US submarine, a minister told AFP on April 15. Deputy Defence Minister Aruna Jayasekara said 32 sailors rescued from the IRIS Dena – a frigate attacked on March 4 just off Sri Lanka – and another 206 from the IRIS Bushehr left on April 14. … The attack on the IRIS Dena brought the Middle East conflict into the Indian Ocean, killing 104 sailors in the early days of the US and Israeli war against Iran, according to Iranian authorities. The bodies of 84 victims were recovered and have been repatriated.” (04/15/26)
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-asia/sri-lanka-repatriates-238-stranded-iranian-sailors-minister
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14) Canada: Carney suspends fuel excise tax as Iran war drives up prices
Source: United Press International
“Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada has announced a temporary suspension of the federal fuel excise tax amid ongoing instability in the oil market due to war in the Middle East. Carney announced the move Tuesday during a press conference in Ottawa, stating the tax will be suspended from Monday through the end of Labor Day on Sept. 7. … The fuel excise tax is 10 Canadian cents per liter of regular gasoline and 4 Canadian cents per liter on diesel, equivalent to about 28 U.S. cents a gallon for gasoline and 11 U.S. cents a gallon for diesel.” (04/15/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/04/15/canada-gas-tax-suspended/8311776238714/
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15) FL: Lawyer says guards beat & pepper-sprayed abductees at “Alligator Alcatraz”
Source: SFGate
“Guards severely beat and pepper-sprayed [abductees] at a state-run immigration detention center known as ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ in the Florida Everglades this month, according to a lawyer for two detainees. The guards targeted Katherine Blankenship’s clients and other detainees at the facility after they complained about not having phone access on April 2, Blankenship said in a court declaration. The phones, which weren’t functioning, are the primary way for detainees to communicate with family and their attorneys while in the detention center. The guards began taunting the detainees, who were in a cell, then became ‘more aggressive and were yelling and threatening to enter the cage,’ Blankenship wrote. When one detainee approached a guard, he was punched in the face. The guards then started beating other detainees in the cell. One of Blankenship’s clients was punched in the right eye, thrown to the floor and beaten by several guards.” (04/15/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/lawyer-says-guards-beat-and-pepper-sprayed-22208021.php
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16) Netgear Scores the First Exemption From the FCC’s Foreign-Made Router Ban
Source: PC Mag
“Less than a month after announcing a controversial ban on foreign-made routers, the FCC says it will exempt Netgear, allowing it to sell new Wi-Fi routers and mesh models to consumers, even though they’re manufactured outside the US. The Defense Department reviewed Netgear’s application for an exemption and found that its products ‘do not pose risks to US national security.’ The FCC’s order doesn’t elaborate on why. Netgear is based in San Jose, California, although its products are made in Asia.” [editor’s note: Amazing what some brown paper bags stuffed with cash can get done, isn’t it? – TLK] (04/14/26)
https://www.pcmag.com/news/netgear-scores-the-first-exemption-from-the-fccs-foreign-made-router-ban
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17) Chinese national given one year in prison for smuggling ants out of Kenya
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“A Chinese national has been sentenced to a year in prison for attempting to smuggle thousands of live queen garden ants out of Kenya. The court in Nairobi on Wednesday also fined Zhang Kequn 1m Kenyan shillings (£5,713; $7,737). Judge Irene Gichobi described Zhang as not ‘entirely honest’ and lacking in remorse. Last month, he was charged with illegally dealing in wildlife species after being arrested at Nairobi’s main airport while attempting to travel to China with more than 2,000 ants in his luggage. Kenyan authorities have warned of a growing demand for the ants in Europe and Asia, where they are prized by collectors. They can be worth around $220 (£170) each. ‘There is need for a stiff deterrent sentence,’ Judge Gichobi said, noting the ‘rising cases of dealing in large quantities of garden ants and the negative ecological side effects.'” (04/15/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz788z27j2jo
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18) Italy: Court allows class action against Meta over Facebook data scraping
Source: Reuters
“A Milan court on Tuesday accepted a class action brought by a consumer group against Meta Platforms over the theft of personal data suffered by Facebook Italy. According to the court order, the data scraping incident, which took place between January 2018 and September 2019 and was disclosed by Meta in 2021, affected around 533 million Facebook users globally. The CTCU consumer association is seeking compensation on behalf of social media users who lost, or feared losing, control over their personal data in breach of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).” (04/14/26)
https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/italy-court-allows-class-action-against-meta-over-facebook-data-scraping-2026-04-14/
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19) Pope arrives in Cameroon as separatists announce 3-day pause in fighting
Source: SFGate
“Pope Leo XIV arrived Wednesday in the central African nation of Cameroon with a message of peace for its separatist region and for talks with President Paul Biya, the 93-year-old leader whose grip on power was extended for an eighth term in a widely disputed election last year. Cheering Cameroonians lined the road into the capital Yaounde from the airport, two and three deep in places, dancing and waving palm fronds as the pope’s motorcade whizzed by. Many women dressed in identical bright dresses and stood behind banners announcing the name of their parish, while billboards splashed posters of the pope and Biya under the banner ‘Land of Hope.’ The Vatican says fighting corruption in the mineral-rich country and insisting on the correct uses of political authority are expected to be themes of Leo’s visit. Leo was traveling from Algeria, the first stop on his four-nation Africa tour.” (04/15/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/pope-heads-to-cameroon-as-separatists-announce-22207402.php
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20) TMZ launches DC bureau, tracks down Graham, Cruz on first day
Source: The Hill
“TMZ, the tabloid known for its sensational headlines and dirt-digging on Hollywood celebrities and other famous people, is opening up shop in Washington, D.C., with an eye on covering Congress. Producers for the website arrived on Capitol Hill this week as Congress returned from a two-week recess, and confronted Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and Ted Cruz (Texas) as they got settled in the halls of the Capitol. A video the outlet posted on Monday showed Graham putting his hand in front of the camera and ignoring a TMZ staffer who asked him, ‘Can I just ask you about the bubble wand, sir?'” (04/14/26)
https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5830247-tmz-opens-dc-bureau/
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Trump’s Illegal War in Iran Is Financed by Your Taxes. That’s a Good Reason To Stop Paying Them.
Source: Reason
by Eric Boehm
“The executive branch is out of control. We’re now more than six weeks into a deeply unpopular, unnecessary war with Iran that lacks any semblance of congressional authorization. The Trump administration has sent masked, unaccountable goons into American cities, where they have harassed and arrested innocent people and killed multiple times. President Donald Trump’s signature economic policy is an illegal tax increase that his administration is refusing to refund. Congress has been unwilling or unable to stop these unlawful actions. If legislators will not deploy ‘the power of the purse,’ then it falls to the rest of us to do something. That’s why I have stopped paying the federal income tax. I’m not the only one doing it. I think you should, too.” (04/15/26)
https://reason.com/2026/04/15/trumps-illegal-war-in-iran-is-financed-by-your-taxes-thats-a-good-reason-to-stop-paying-them/
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22) Civil Society Needs the High Trust that Only Individuals Can Provide
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Wendy McElroy
“Individuals may feel powerless but, in fact, individuals are the only restorative for civil society because they are the ones who can bind it together by establishing what is called ‘high trust.’ A high-trust society is characterized by members who reasonably expect others in the community to treat them fairly, which encourages voluntary association far beyond family bonds or other tight networks.” (04/16/26)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/civil-society-needs-the-high-trust-that-only-individuals-can-provide/
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23) The government never stops growing
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“Why does government continually grow in size and in power? If you look at a roster of things it meddled with a century ago compared to today, you’ll notice today’s list is much longer and more comprehensive. Government is never satisfied; it never has enough control. It won’t give up control or take “no” for a final answer. If it loses in court (which it controls), it acts as though it didn’t. Often, it doubles down on its illegal activities. This is because there are no immediate, painful consequences for its defiant criminality. It lies, and many people still believe it.” (04/16/26)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2026/04/15/voices/opinion-the-government-never-stops-growing/233211.html
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24) It Has Never Been About Freedom
Source: Cato Institute
by Jon Hoffman
“For more than eight decades, Washington has rooted its regional strategy in the ‘myth of authoritarian stability’ — the belief that select autocratic states are the best guarantors of regional stability and US interests in the Middle East. … The United States has consistently sought to expand its authoritarian client network by acting against adversarial governments in the region with the objective of installing more compliant regimes. Since the end of World War II, Washington has pursued regime change in the Middle East on average once per decade. The governments residing within the US-led regional order also push the United States toward status quo policies to advance their own interests, echoing the same pro-authoritarian rationales used by Washington to justify continued American support. Freedom, therefore, was never the objective in Iran.” (04/15/26)
https://www.cato.org/commentary/it-has-never-been-about-freedom
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25) Tax Freedom Day Underestimates How Long You Work for the Government
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Jonathan Newman
“Tax Freedom Day, calculated by the Tax Foundation, ‘represents how long Americans as a whole have to work in order to pay the nation’s tax burden.’ It appears that they stopped publishing this in 2019, but others have picked up where they left off. The idea is that the income earned by taxpayers over a certain proportion of the year goes to Uncle Sam. In 2025, that date was April 16th. But the burden of government is much larger than the amount we pay in taxes. The government spends much more than it collects in taxes, diverting valuable resources away from where they would be used in the private market economy, subject to the profit and loss test of the market. The difference is made up by new government debt.” (04/15/26)
https://mises.org/power-market/tax-freedom-day-underestimates-how-long-you-work-government
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26) I Hope The US Loses And The Empire Collapses
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“I don’t mind admitting that I hope the US and Israel suffer a crushing, devastating defeat in Iran. I hope this war collapses the entire US empire. My only loyalty is to humanity, and being on Team Human in today’s world means being against the US empire and against Israel. I hope the empire falls. I hope the apartheid state of Israel is dismantled. … YouTube has banned the channel that’s been creating viral AI Lego music videos criticizing the US war on Iran. The Google-owned platform claims the Lego videos somehow constituted ‘violent content,’ but we all know it was to facilitate the US propaganda effort by shutting down effective propaganda for the other side.” (04/15/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/04/15/i-hope-the-us-loses-and-the-empire-collapses-and-other-notes/
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27) Digital Hopes, Real Power: The Rise of Network Shutdowns
Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
by Jillian C York
“Even where laws do not explicitly authorize [Internet access] shutdowns, broadly worded provisions around national security or public order are routinely used to justify them. The result is a growing legal architecture that treats network disruptions not as extraordinary measures, but as standard tools for managing populations.” (04/15/26)
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/04/digital-hopes-real-power-rise-network-shutdowns
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28) Open Secret Re-opened
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“Sometimes the news, hot off the press, turns out to be re-heated leftovers. But while some foods should not be re-cooked, the latest declassification appears worth a second feast.” (04/15/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/04/15/open-secret-re-opened/
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29) Taking Heart From Hungary to Protect US Elections
Source: Brennan Center for Justice
by Michael Waldman
“This week, autocrat Viktor Orbán conceded defeat in Hungary’s general election. It was a landslide victory for Péter Magyar, and for democracy worldwide. Over the course of 16 years, Orbán worked to dismantle and undermine democratic institutions. He took control of most news outlets. He rewrote election rules. He replaced judges with loyalists. His government faced numerous corruption scandals, including one surrounding a presidential pardon. He was also a fan favorite of the Trump administration. Our vice president campaigned for him. What are the implications of his defeat for democracy in the United States? To be sure, midterm elections often rebuke the party in power, and it’s hard to predict whether this election augurs any November results. But just as Brexit presaged Trump in 2016, worldwide trends are at play.” (04/15/26)
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/people-speak-hungary-and-home
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30) Abundance Pragmatism Fails
Source: Law & LIberty
by Richard M |Reinsch II
“The Abundance movement makes a pragmatic case for more essential goods and services and isn’t really concerned with how this supply is incentivized or generated. It forsakes what advocates regard as tired philosophical debates about limited government, markets, and freedom. Of course, to argue in such a way is to choose ends that justify a variety of human actions. Supply-side progressivism can take many different courses.” (04/16/26)
https://lawliberty.org/forum/abundance-pragmatism-fails/
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31) From Iran to the fake Jesus image, Trump facing growing backlash for his inflammatory rhetoric
Source: Fox News
by Howard Kurtz
“Donald Trump is nothing if not impulsive – and there’s often a method to his seeming madness. At times that means going way over the line – consciously, deliberately – and at others it’s just rash. Whether he’s dealing with Iran, the Epstein files, mass deportation or the leader of the Catholic Church, the president busts through the usual guardrails of decency and compassion. I know this is often intentional, because the president has acknowledged it to me. Ripping others may bring him negative publicity, but Trump doesn’t mind that if it gets the pundits and the public chattering about the issue he wants driving the media agenda. Trump posting a user’s AI image of himself as Jesus Christ, healing a patient with glowing hands – and adding a demon in the background – was such a fiasco that he deleted it 12 hours later, which he almost never does.” (04/15/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/iran-fake-jesus-image-trump-facing-growing-backlash-inflammatory-rhetoric
----
32) America’s Insane Tax-Filing Process
Source: The Atlantic
by Annie Lowrey
“If you earn a salary or an hourly wage, the Internal Revenue Service already knows how much money you make. It likely knows how much you owe or how big your refund should be too. Nine in 10 households take the standard deduction, making their liability easy to glean from payroll and banking data. Yet Uncle Sam demands that Americans fire up TurboTax, head to a storefront preparer, hire an accountant, or sit down with a sharp pencil and a strong cup of coffee to get their taxes done each spring. The average filer spends 13 hours on their 1040 — a time tax that many of our wealthy peer countries have reduced to a couple of minutes, if that. Prepopulated documents and return-free systems are common everywhere but here.” (04/15/26)
https://archive.is/c8Nl0
----
33) To Organize for Peace, We Must First Dare to Imagine It
Source: Common Dreams
by Lior Stenrfeld
“On April 7, the United States, Israel, and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire. By the afternoon of the same day, it was already unraveling. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who mediated the deal, announced it would cover ‘everywhere, including Lebanon and elsewher, —effective immediately’. Within hours, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office contradicted him: The ceasefire ‘does not include Lebanon’. Israel’s military said it ‘continues fighting and ground operations’ against Hezbollah. Missile alerts sounded across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Kuwait. A gas facility in Abu Dhabi was ablaze. Iran and Israel each accused the other of violating a truce that neither had fully agreed to in the first place. This is not a diplomatic miscommunication. This is a structural diagnosis.” (04/15/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/imagine-peace-middle-east
----
34) International Appeal
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Mark Nayler
“Although it’s the world’s second most-visited country, Spain hasn’t been sending out a welcoming message recently. Its Socialist-led government has proposed or passed several measures aimed at deterring foreign property investors, such as a 100% tax on non-EU citizens buying houses (so far just an idea) and a ban on Golden Visas, which awarded residency to non-Spanish citizens who purchased real estate worth at least €500,000 (effective from last April). Over the last few years, there have also been protests against what residents see as over-tourism in hotspots such as Valencia, Málaga, Catalonia, and the Balearic Islands. One might have expected all this negative publicity to have dented Spain’s reputation as one of the best places in the world to take a vacation or buy a second home. But the opposite seems to be true: Spain set a new tourism record in 2025 with 97 million visitors, a 3.2% increase on 2024’s 94 million.” (04/15/26)
https://fee.org/articles/international-appeal/
----
35) Another Trump Flip Flop: From “Kill FISA” to “Clean Renewal”
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Alan Mosley
“Recently, President Donald Trump asked Republicans to unify to extend the [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] with no changes in oversight or accountability. Trump posted on Truth Social, ‘When used properly, FISA is an effective tool to keep Americans safe. For these reasons, I have called for a clean 18-month extension.’ … In May 2020, Trump urged Republicans to vote ‘NO’ on FISA, explicitly tying the law to fears of abuse, including against his own re-election campaign. Four years later, he told lawmakers to ‘KILL FISA,’ claiming it had been ‘illegally used’ against him and that officials had ‘spied on my campaign.'” (04/15/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/another-trump-flip-flop-from-kill-fisa-to-clean-renewal
----
36) Ending Israel’s War on Peace
Source: Antiwar.com
by Jeffrey D Sachs & Sybil Fares
“To make lasting peace in the Middle East, the US must end its blank check to Israel’s perpetual wars and join with the rest of the world to force Israel to live within its internationally recognized borders.” (04/15/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/jeffrey_sachs/2026/04/14/ending-israels-war-on-peace
----
37) Better #MeToo scrutiny on Capitol Hill
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“Bipartisan agreement on Capitol Hill is rare these days. But it has been in evidence in recent weeks among a handful of congresswomen concerned about allegations of sexual misconduct by a few House members. They have called for Congress to expel three representatives and to publicly release records of its recent investigations (a motion voted down in early March). ‘Women deserve to be safe,’ Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina said last month. ‘And the American people deserve to know’ when elected officials are ‘abusing power instead of serving their constituent.’ On Monday, two House members announced they would step down – Democrat Eric Swalwell of California, who denies allegations of sexual assault by a former staff member and three other women, and Republican Tony Gonzales of Texas, who has admitted to an affair with an aide.” (04/14/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0414/Better-MeToo-scrutiny-on-Capitol-Hill
----
38) Trump Reverses Himself, Joins Obama and Biden in Demanding “Clean” Renewal of NSA Domestic Spying Powers
Source: Glenn Greenwald
by Glenn Greenwald
“In 2024, Trump urged Congress to ‘KILL FISA.’ With a vote upcoming this week, he now demands its renewal with no limits or safeguards, and he has ample Democratic support.” (04/15/26)
https://greenwald.substack.com/p/trump-reverses-himself-joins-obama
----
39) Is this the grand bargain that could end the Iran war?
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Amir Handjani
“The blockades are bad but consider them points of leverage for an actual negotiation. Here is what a positive outcome — for both sides — might look like.” (04/15/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/iran-us-ceasefire-deal/
----
40) Property Taxes Invert the Moral Order of Ownership
Source: The Daily Economy
by Vance Ginn
“A property deed should mean ownership, not a renewable lease from the government. Yet that is what property taxes amount to in practice. A family can earn the income, buy the home, pay off the mortgage, maintain and improve the property, and still owe the government every year merely to retain possession of it. Miss enough payments, and the state can seize the property. That may be common. It is not normal in any morally serious sense.” (04/15/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/property-taxes-invert-the-moral-order-of-ownership/
----
41) A Hole in the “Open-and-Shut” Case Against Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin?
Source: The American Prospect
by Maureen Tkacik
“On the evening of September 11, 2025, a user called zealous_monkey_55095 told the members of one of his Discord chats that he had ‘bad news.’ ‘It was me at UVU yesterday. Im sorry for all of this. im surrendering through a sheriff friend in a few moments. thanks for all the good times and laughs, you’ve all been so amazing. thank you all for everything.’ Exactly five minutes later, at 8:02 p.m., former Washington County sheriff Nate Brooksby recalled a few days later in a press conference, he received a phone call from an old colleague, a former Washington County deputy sheriff. ‘His voice is kinda shaky so my first thought is, who died?’ Brooksby said. ‘He says, hey I know who Charlie Kirk’s shooter is.'” (04/15/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/04/15/hole-in-open-and-shut-case-against-charlie-kirks-alleged-assassin-tyler-robinson/
----
42) How Trump Should Handle the Hormuz
Source: The American Conservative
by Andrew Day
“If Washington truly wants peace in the Middle East (a rather gargantuan if, I know) it will need to accommodate itself to reality: The U.S. can’t force Iran to accept all its hardline demands, so the White House needs to make meaningful concessions.” (04/15/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/how-trump-should-handle-the-hormuz/
----
43) Unplugging the Sun: Applying 19th-Century Wisdom to 21st-Century Panic
Source: Students For Liberty
by Ketevani Kadagishvili
“Economic progress has always been shadowed by the fear of technological unemployment. It is a belief that a new machine or a more efficient process will leave the human race with nothing to do. In 1845, the French economist Frédéric Bastiat shattered this logic with his famous satire, the ‘Petition of the Candlemakers.’ In his story, the manufacturers of candles and lamps demanded that the government block out the sun because its free light was ruining their business and causing unemployment in the tallow industry. Today, we are seeing those same fears with the onset of Artificial Intelligence (AI) developments or taxing robot labor. Unfortunately, we seem to be repeating the historical mistake of prioritizing the survival of specific job titles over the general prosperity of the entire population.” (04/15/26)
https://studentsforliberty.org/blog/unplugging-the-sun-applying-19th-century-wisdom-to-21st-century-panic/
----
44) Gerrymandering and the Tyranny of Big Cities
Source: The American Spectator
by James H McGee
“I’ve written an analysis of the April 21st redistricting vote here in Virginia. At that time, I made the urgent and emphatic point that this is an egregious power grab on the part of Democrat Governor Abigail Spanberger and the Democrat majority in our legislature. Not content with their good fortune in the most recent electoral cycle, they now insist that this should be made permanent by rigging our congressional districts in their favor — and permanent it will be, despite the dishonest framing of the measure as temporary. We’ve seen how this works too many times in the years since the left [sic] has taken control of the culture.” (04/14/26)
https://spectator.org/gerrymandering-and-the-tyranny-of-big-cities/
----
45) Elise Stefanik reveals sick truth of elite colleges’ moral collapse
Source: New York Post
by Bethany Mandel
“With one question, Rep. Elise Stefanik became the general of a war against antisemitism on college campuses across America: ‘Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate your university’s code of conduct?’ The Ivy League presidents she questioned in December 2023 — just weeks after the atrocities of Oct. 7 led to an explosion of antisemitism at their schools — couldn’t answer it. The viral video of her query became the most-watched congressional hearing clip in history. Stefanik’s new book Poisoned Ivies explains how elite universities arrived at that moment — and why it was no flash-in-the-pan controversy, but an indicator of a long decline. The story she tells is about everything that led up to that hearing, and everything that followed — as reactions and responses came pouring into her office over weeks and months.” (04/15/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/04/15/opinion/elise-stefanik-and-the-sick-truth-of-colleges-moral-collapse/
----
46) Move 37 and the Coming Mindhack
Source: Quillette
by Michael Morgenstern
“What happens when human manipulation arrives at its Claude Mythos moment?” (04/14/26)
https://quillette.com/2026/04/15/move-37-and-the-coming-mindhack-claude-mythos-anthropic-ai/
----
47) Are you paying taxes on phantom gains this year? Congress should abolish them.
Source: The Hill
by Ryan Ellis
“It’s tax time, and talk of budget reconciliation is in the air on Capitol Hill. There is no better time than now to tackle one of the more bizarre features of our tax code: a phantom capital gains tax on mutual fund savers. Most taxpayers assume confusing tax rules have at least one constant: that capital gains tax is only owed when an asset is sold. If only that were true. Each year at this time, millions of Americans open their brokerage statements and find capital gains reported in Box 2a of their 1099 tax forms, despite never having sold a single share of stock or a mutual fund.” (04/14/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/5828953-phantom-capital-gains-tax/
----
48) The FTC’s Probe of Media Matters for America Is a Blatant Assault on Freedom of Speech
Source: Reason
by Jacob Sullum
“In the guise of investigating ‘potentially unlawful advertiser boycotts,’ the commission is punishing the organization for its views.” (04/14/26)
https://reason.com/2026/04/15/the-ftcs-probe-of-media-matters-for-america-is-a-blatant-assault-on-freedom-of-speech/
----
49) We Need To Tax the Corporations Cashing In On the Iran War
Source: In These Times
by Meghan Schneider & Cass DiPaola
“Our dependence on fossil fuels does more than pollute our air. It destabilizes the world and empowers the ultra-wealthy to profit off of that volatility, leaving working families to pay the price. This dynamic has been on full display since President Trump’s attack on Iran. Trump’s invasion of one of the world’s most oil-rich regions jolted energy markets, sending gas prices soaring to the highest level in either of his terms. In 2024 he campaigned on cutting them in half. Instead, Americans are now on track to pay roughly $720 more for gasoline this year. The full cost to working families will be much steeper as high gas prices drive up prices on consumer goods across the board.” [editor’s note: And additional taxes will drive those prices even higher, geniuses – TLK] (04/14/26)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/corporations-iran-war-trump-hormuz
----
50) Strait of Hormuz Tensions and the Material Benefits of Fossil Fuels
Source: Heartland Institute
by Ronald Stein, PE
“Recent calls for a more realistic shift from ‘decarbonization’ to ‘low carbon’ suggest that discomfort with ideology-driven climate policy is finally beginning to surface in public debate. For years, climate discussions in many countries have been dominated by abstract targets, slogans, and numerical commitments. Yet behind these lofty ideals lies a deeper and more practical question: have we come to understand energy far too narrowly? Tensions in the Strait of Hormuz in early 2026 have made that question impossible to ignore.” (04/14/26)
https://heartland.org/opinion/strait-of-hormuz-tensions-and-the-material-benefits-of-fossil-fuels/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) The Political Orphanage, 04/15/26
Source: The Political Orphanage
“War Without Coffins.” (04/15/26)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/war-without-coffins
----
52) The Fifth Column, episode 553
Source: The Fifth Column
“A Blockade of the Blockade.” (04/15/26)
https://www.wethefifth.com/p/a-blockade-of-the-blockade-553
----
53) Reasonably Optimistic, 04/15/26
Source: Washington Post
“The temperature is rising on AI. What comes next?” (04/15/26)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/impromptu/the-temperature-is-rising-on-ai-what-comes-next
----
54) Reason Interview: Emma Ashford
Source: Reason
“How the Iran War Could Backfire.” (04/15/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/04/15/how-the-iran-war-could-backfire/
----
55) Rising, 04/15/26
Source: The Hill
“Péter Magyar exposes Hungarian corruption; payments to CPAC?” (04/15/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/5825246-rising-april-15-2026/
----
56) Gracearchy with Jim Babka, episode 158
Source: Gracearchy with Jim Babka
“Hard Truths About Warmongering.” (04/14/26)
https://rumble.com/v78gl5i-158-5-hard-truths-about-warmongering-gracearchy-with-jim-babka.html
----
57) Fountainhead Forum, episode 436
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“oah Revoy on family and divorce in modern life.” (04/14/26)
https://rumble.com/v78icm0-ff-436-noah-revoy-on-family-and-divorce-in-modern-life.html
----
58) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 04/14/26
Source: Libertarian Institute
“LtCOL Karen Kwiatkowski: Trump Orders Hormuz Blockade After Talks Fail — Ceasefire at Risk?” (04/14/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/news/the-kyle-anzalone-show-guest-ltcol-karen-kwiatkowski-trump-orders-hormuz-blockade-after-talks-fail-ceasefire-at-risk/
----
59) Cato Daily Podcast, 04/14/26
Source: Cato Institute
“Who Actually Pays Federal Taxes?” (04/14/26)
https://www.cato.org/multimedia/cato-podcast/who-actually-pays-federal-taxes
-----
60) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 04/14/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Saudi Arabia Wants US to End Its Hormuz Blockade, Israeli Strike Kills 3-Year-Old in Gaza, and More.” (04/14/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvtDF7GljMY
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Ukraine: Russian strikes kill at least 12
2) Dog bites man: US Senate refuses to do its job again
3) Israel: Top Court Hears Petitions to Remove Ben-Gvir Over Alleged Police Politicization
4) China: Xi hails Russia ties, signals bigger role in Iran war
5) Peru: Presidential candidate demands vote annulment as count tightens
6) EU Regime Unveils Age Verification App as Social Media Bans Gain Steam
7) FL: Doctor faces manslaughter charge for allegedly removing wrong organ during surgery
8) South Africa: Regime names apartheid-era politician as new ambassador to the US
9) US GOP shot-callers delay FISA vote amid rebellion
10) Australia’s richest person must share part of her mining fortunes, court rules
11) Prosecutors seek access to Federal Reserve building as Trump threatens to fire Powell
12) CA: Drivers sue San Jose regime over nearly 500 police cameras used to track drivers across the state
13) Sri Lanka: Regime repatriates 238 Iranian sailors stranded after US attack
14) Canada: Carney suspends fuel excise tax as Iran war drives up prices
15) FL: Lawyer says guards beat & pepper-sprayed abductees at “Alligator Alcatraz”
16) Netgear Scores the First Exemption From the FCC’s Foreign-Made Router Ban
17) Chinese national given one year in prison for smuggling ants out of Kenya
18) Italy: Court allows class action against Meta over Facebook data scraping
19) Pope arrives in Cameroon as separatists announce 3-day pause in fighting
20) TMZ launches DC bureau, tracks down Graham, Cruz on first day
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Trump’s Illegal War in Iran Is Financed by Your Taxes. That’s a Good Reason To Stop Paying Them.
22) Civil Society Needs the High Trust that Only Individuals Can Provide
23) The government never stops growing
24) It Has Never Been About Freedom
25) Tax Freedom Day Underestimates How Long You Work for the Government
26) I Hope The US Loses And The Empire Collapses
27) Digital Hopes, Real Power: The Rise of Network Shutdowns
28) Open Secret Re-opened
29) Taking Heart From Hungary to Protect US Elections
30) Abundance Pragmatism Fails
31) From Iran to the fake Jesus image, Trump facing growing backlash for his inflammatory rhetoric
32) America’s Insane Tax-Filing Process
33) To Organize for Peace, We Must First Dare to Imagine It
34) International Appeal
35) Another Trump Flip Flop: From “Kill FISA” to “Clean Renewal”
36) Ending Israel’s War on Peace
37) Better #MeToo scrutiny on Capitol Hill
38) Trump Reverses Himself, Joins Obama and Biden in Demanding “Clean” Renewal of NSA Domestic Spying Powers
39) Is this the grand bargain that could end the Iran war?
40) Property Taxes Invert the Moral Order of Ownership
41) A Hole in the “Open-and-Shut” Case Against Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin?
42) How Trump Should Handle the Hormuz
43) Unplugging the Sun: Applying 19th-Century Wisdom to 21st-Century Panic
44) Gerrymandering and the Tyranny of Big Cities
45) Elise Stefanik reveals sick truth of elite colleges’ moral collapse
46) Move 37 and the Coming Mindhack
47) Are you paying taxes on phantom gains this year? Congress should abolish them.
48) The FTC’s Probe of Media Matters for America Is a Blatant Assault on Freedom of Speech
49) We Need To Tax the Corporations Cashing In On the Iran War
50) Strait of Hormuz Tensions and the Material Benefits of Fossil Fuels
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) The Political Orphanage, 04/15/26
52) The Fifth Column, episode 553
53) Reasonably Optimistic, 04/15/26
54) Reason Interview: Emma Ashford
55) Rising, 04/15/26
56) Gracearchy with Jim Babka, episode 158
57) Fountainhead Forum, episode 436
58) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 04/14/26
59) Cato Daily Podcast, 04/14/26
60) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 04/14/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Ukraine: Russian strikes kill at least 12
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Russian strikes killed at least 12 people in Ukraine, local authorities have said, after Moscow pummelled its neighbour in overnight attacks. Missile and drone attacks on the southern port city of Odesa killed six people, the head of the city’s military administration, Sergiy Lysak, wrote on Telegram on Thursday. Strikes on the capital Kyiv killed at least four people, including a 12-year-old, the state emergency service of Ukraine said, while another two people died in the central city of Dnipro, according to Oleksandr Ganzha, the head of the regional administration.” 904/16/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/16/russia-drone-missile-strikes-ukraine-kyiv-dnipro
-----
2) Dog bites man: US Senate refuses to do its job again
Source: NBC News
“Senate Republicans voted down a resolution Wednesday pushed by Democrats to prohibit President Donald Trump from taking further military action in Iran. The vote was 47-52, largely along party lines. Once again, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was the only Republican to vote for the measure and Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., was the only Democrat or independent to vote against it. (Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., missed the vote.) It was the latest instance of Republicans rejecting attempts to end the war or rein in Trump’s authority to act without congressional approval.” [editor’s note: Trump HAS no “authority” under US law to wage war without a congressional declaration – TLK] (04/15/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senate-republicans-block-democratic-effort-end-trumps-iran-war-rcna331819
-----
3) Israel: Top Court Hears Petitions to Remove Ben-Gvir Over Alleged Police Politicization
Source: Haaretz [Israel]
“Israel’s High Court of Justice is discussing petitions seeking to compel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to remove Itamar Ben-Gvir from his position as national security minister, citing alleged interference in police work and harm to democratic norms. Four groups of citizens filed the petitions against Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir and the government. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara supports the petitioners, who argue that the minister’s removal is required due to what they describe as systematic, ongoing violations of police independence and the transformation of the police from a law-enforcement body into a political instrument.” (04/15/26)
https://archive.is/8UADd
-----
4) China: Xi hails Russia ties, signals bigger role in Iran war
Source: Deutsche Welle [German state media]
“Chinese President Xi Jinping brought up the significance of the friendship treaty between Beijing and Moscow on Wednesday in a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Xi described relations with Russia as particularly ‘precious,’ calling for deeper cooperation and mutual support. He said both countries should strengthen coordination and defend shared interests, Chinese state media reported. The Russian foreign minister offered China Russia’s help in boosting energy supplies to offset disruptions caused by the Iran war, including constraints on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.” (04/15/26)
https://www.dw.com/en/xi-hails-china-russia-ties-signals-bigger-role-in-iran-war/a-76787130
-----
5) Peru: Presidential candidate demands vote annulment as count tightens
Source: Yahoo! News
“Peruvian right-wing presidential hopeful Rafael Lopez Aliaga gathered hundreds of supporters in Lima on Tuesday and gave authorities 24 hours to annul the first round of the country’s election over allegations of fraud. Lopez Aliaga, a fan of US President Donald Trump, is locked in a tight three-way race with a leftist candidate and a social democrat for second place in Sunday’s vote. The election runner-up wins a ticket to June’s presidential run-off against conservative frontrunner Keiko Fujimori. ‘I am giving them 24 hours to declare this electoral fraud null and void,’ said Lopez Aliaga, surrounded by a crowd of several hundred supporters. ‘If it is not declared null and void tomorrow, I will call for a nationwide protest.’ … Aliaga saw his lead over leftist ex-minister Roberto Sanchez and social democratic candidate Jorge Nieto shrink as the vote count continued.” (04/15/26)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/peru-candidate-calls-vote-annulment-233504287.html
-----
6) EU Regime Unveils Age Verification App as Social Media Bans Gain Steam
Source: Bloomberg
“The European Union has unveiled an app to confirm users’ age online, setting the standard for verification technology as more countries consider laws banning young teenagers from social media. … The software was originally pitched as a way to prevent children from accessing obscene or harmful content online and comes as many EU members are debating restricting social media for minors. EU member states France and Greece have announced plans to pass measures banning younger teens from social media, pointing to studies on the sites’ addictiveness and harmful effects on minors.” (04/15/26)
https://archive.is/GBcTi
----
7) FL: Doctor faces manslaughter charge for allegedly removing wrong organ during surgery
Source: WESH 2 News
“A grand jury indicted a Florida doctor on a manslaughter charge for allegedly removing a patient’s liver instead of his spleen during a 2024 surgery. The prosecutor for the First Judicial Circuit on Monday announced the charge of second-degree manslaughter against Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky. Prosecutors said that during an Aug. 21, 2024, surgery, which was scheduled to be a laparoscopic splenectomy, Shaknovsky removed the victim’s liver instead of his spleen. That resulted in ‘catastrophic blood loss and the patient’s death on the operating table,’ law enforcement officials wrote in a press release. The patient was a 70-year-old man from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. … Florida suspended Shaknovsky’s medical license after the surgery. Records show he voluntarily surrendered his medical license in Alabama after regulators moved to revoke his license.” (04/15/26)
https://www.wesh.com/article/florida-doctor-manslaughter-removing-wrong-organ/71026650
----
8) South Africa: Regime names apartheid-era politician as new ambassador to the US
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Roelf Meyer, who served in the last government of the apartheid era, as his new ambassador to the US, his office has said. The country has not had a top envoy in the US since Ebrahim Rasool was expelled last year after he accused President Donald Trump of trying to ‘project white victimhood as a dog whistle.’ This worsened already strained relations between the nations, which took a downward spiral after Trump’s return to office last year. … Meyer, 78, played a key role as one of the chief mediators, alongside Ramaphosa, during the talks to end the racist system of white-minority rule known as apartheid in South Africa in the 1990s.” (04/15/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyjjjz8n8ko
----
9) US GOP shot-callers delay FISA vote amid rebellion
Source: Politico
“House GOP leaders postponed a Wednesday procedural vote on an extension of a key federal spy powers program as they scramble to land a deal with hard-liners around changes — acknowledging the truly ‘clean’ extension that President Donald Trump is demanding is currently DOA in the chamber. There are ongoing discussions around modifying the clean, 18-month extension of the surveillance authority known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, that Trump is ordering. GOP leaders acknowledged in private conversations Tuesday night and publicly Wednesday morning that at least some tweaks are necessary to quell a GOP rebellion that could lead to Section 702’s expiration April 20. … Democrats aren’t expected to help Republicans overcome the procedural rule, even though some of them support a reauthorization without policy changes at this time.” (04/15/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/15/republicans-fisa-trump-house-00872766
----
10) Australia’s richest person must share part of her mining fortunes, court rules
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Australia’s wealthiest person Gina Rinehart must part with some of her riches, a court has ruled in a high-profile dispute over her mining empire. Worth an estimated A$38bn (£20bn; $27bn), Rinehart inherited the iron ore ventures of her father in 1992, before going on to develop mines in the mineral-rich Pilbara region of Western Australia (WA). Two of her children and the heirs of her late father’s business partners argued they were entitled to a significant share of royalties and mining rights. On Wednesday, more than 13 years after the legal battle began, a Supreme Court judge ruled that Rinehart must pay past and future royalties to her rival heirs but that the mining rights remain hers. The legal battle centres around Hope Downs, one of Australia’s largest and most lucrative iron ore projects.” (04/15/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq5990nqjg2o
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11) Prosecutors seek access to Federal Reserve building as Trump threatens to fire Powell
Source: SFGate
“Federal prosecutors made an unannounced visit this week to a construction site at Federal Reserve headquarters that is the focus of an investigation into a $2.5 billion renovation project, according to two people familiar with the visit. Two prosecutors and an investigator from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office were turned away on Tuesday by a building contractor and referred to Fed attorneys, one of the people said. The two people familiar with the visit spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to publicly discuss an ongoing investigation. The visit indicates that the Trump administration is not backing down in its investigation of the Fed and its chair, Jerome Powell, even though the probe has delayed the confirmation of a new chair nominated by President Donald Trump.” (04/15/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/trump-threatens-to-fire-powell-if-the-fed-chair-22207703.php
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12) CA: Drivers sue San Jose regime over nearly 500 police cameras used to track drivers across the state
Source: NBC News
“Three drivers in San Jose, California, filed a class action suit against the city and police department over the deployment of nearly 500 cameras operated by Flock Safety, a controversial surveillance tech company that uses AI and dedicated cameras to catalogue vehicles’ movements. Organized by the Institute for Justice, a libertarian nonprofit law firm, the suit argues that the city’s use of the technology constitutes an unreasonable law enforcement search, in violation of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution. … Unlike other ALPR companies, Flock offers its customers the chance to share access locally, statewide or across the country. Its databases can be accessed without warrants by officials at participating law enforcement departments. San Jose shares its Flock data with hundreds of other law enforcement agencies in California, but not nationwide.” (04/15/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/san-jose-drivers-sue-city-police-flock-cameras-rcna331750
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13) Sri Lanka: Regime repatriates 238 Iranian sailors stranded after US attack
Source: Straits Times [Singapore]
“Sri Lanka has repatriated 238 Iranian sailors stranded in the South Asian country after one of their warships was torpedoed by a US submarine, a minister told AFP on April 15. Deputy Defence Minister Aruna Jayasekara said 32 sailors rescued from the IRIS Dena – a frigate attacked on March 4 just off Sri Lanka – and another 206 from the IRIS Bushehr left on April 14. … The attack on the IRIS Dena brought the Middle East conflict into the Indian Ocean, killing 104 sailors in the early days of the US and Israeli war against Iran, according to Iranian authorities. The bodies of 84 victims were recovered and have been repatriated.” (04/15/26)
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-asia/sri-lanka-repatriates-238-stranded-iranian-sailors-minister
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14) Canada: Carney suspends fuel excise tax as Iran war drives up prices
Source: United Press International
“Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada has announced a temporary suspension of the federal fuel excise tax amid ongoing instability in the oil market due to war in the Middle East. Carney announced the move Tuesday during a press conference in Ottawa, stating the tax will be suspended from Monday through the end of Labor Day on Sept. 7. … The fuel excise tax is 10 Canadian cents per liter of regular gasoline and 4 Canadian cents per liter on diesel, equivalent to about 28 U.S. cents a gallon for gasoline and 11 U.S. cents a gallon for diesel.” (04/15/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/04/15/canada-gas-tax-suspended/8311776238714/
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15) FL: Lawyer says guards beat & pepper-sprayed abductees at “Alligator Alcatraz”
Source: SFGate
“Guards severely beat and pepper-sprayed [abductees] at a state-run immigration detention center known as ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ in the Florida Everglades this month, according to a lawyer for two detainees. The guards targeted Katherine Blankenship’s clients and other detainees at the facility after they complained about not having phone access on April 2, Blankenship said in a court declaration. The phones, which weren’t functioning, are the primary way for detainees to communicate with family and their attorneys while in the detention center. The guards began taunting the detainees, who were in a cell, then became ‘more aggressive and were yelling and threatening to enter the cage,’ Blankenship wrote. When one detainee approached a guard, he was punched in the face. The guards then started beating other detainees in the cell. One of Blankenship’s clients was punched in the right eye, thrown to the floor and beaten by several guards.” (04/15/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/lawyer-says-guards-beat-and-pepper-sprayed-22208021.php
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16) Netgear Scores the First Exemption From the FCC’s Foreign-Made Router Ban
Source: PC Mag
“Less than a month after announcing a controversial ban on foreign-made routers, the FCC says it will exempt Netgear, allowing it to sell new Wi-Fi routers and mesh models to consumers, even though they’re manufactured outside the US. The Defense Department reviewed Netgear’s application for an exemption and found that its products ‘do not pose risks to US national security.’ The FCC’s order doesn’t elaborate on why. Netgear is based in San Jose, California, although its products are made in Asia.” [editor’s note: Amazing what some brown paper bags stuffed with cash can get done, isn’t it? – TLK] (04/14/26)
https://www.pcmag.com/news/netgear-scores-the-first-exemption-from-the-fccs-foreign-made-router-ban
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17) Chinese national given one year in prison for smuggling ants out of Kenya
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“A Chinese national has been sentenced to a year in prison for attempting to smuggle thousands of live queen garden ants out of Kenya. The court in Nairobi on Wednesday also fined Zhang Kequn 1m Kenyan shillings (£5,713; $7,737). Judge Irene Gichobi described Zhang as not ‘entirely honest’ and lacking in remorse. Last month, he was charged with illegally dealing in wildlife species after being arrested at Nairobi’s main airport while attempting to travel to China with more than 2,000 ants in his luggage. Kenyan authorities have warned of a growing demand for the ants in Europe and Asia, where they are prized by collectors. They can be worth around $220 (£170) each. ‘There is need for a stiff deterrent sentence,’ Judge Gichobi said, noting the ‘rising cases of dealing in large quantities of garden ants and the negative ecological side effects.'” (04/15/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz788z27j2jo
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18) Italy: Court allows class action against Meta over Facebook data scraping
Source: Reuters
“A Milan court on Tuesday accepted a class action brought by a consumer group against Meta Platforms over the theft of personal data suffered by Facebook Italy. According to the court order, the data scraping incident, which took place between January 2018 and September 2019 and was disclosed by Meta in 2021, affected around 533 million Facebook users globally. The CTCU consumer association is seeking compensation on behalf of social media users who lost, or feared losing, control over their personal data in breach of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).” (04/14/26)
https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/italy-court-allows-class-action-against-meta-over-facebook-data-scraping-2026-04-14/
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19) Pope arrives in Cameroon as separatists announce 3-day pause in fighting
Source: SFGate
“Pope Leo XIV arrived Wednesday in the central African nation of Cameroon with a message of peace for its separatist region and for talks with President Paul Biya, the 93-year-old leader whose grip on power was extended for an eighth term in a widely disputed election last year. Cheering Cameroonians lined the road into the capital Yaounde from the airport, two and three deep in places, dancing and waving palm fronds as the pope’s motorcade whizzed by. Many women dressed in identical bright dresses and stood behind banners announcing the name of their parish, while billboards splashed posters of the pope and Biya under the banner ‘Land of Hope.’ The Vatican says fighting corruption in the mineral-rich country and insisting on the correct uses of political authority are expected to be themes of Leo’s visit. Leo was traveling from Algeria, the first stop on his four-nation Africa tour.” (04/15/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/pope-heads-to-cameroon-as-separatists-announce-22207402.php
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20) TMZ launches DC bureau, tracks down Graham, Cruz on first day
Source: The Hill
“TMZ, the tabloid known for its sensational headlines and dirt-digging on Hollywood celebrities and other famous people, is opening up shop in Washington, D.C., with an eye on covering Congress. Producers for the website arrived on Capitol Hill this week as Congress returned from a two-week recess, and confronted Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and Ted Cruz (Texas) as they got settled in the halls of the Capitol. A video the outlet posted on Monday showed Graham putting his hand in front of the camera and ignoring a TMZ staffer who asked him, ‘Can I just ask you about the bubble wand, sir?'” (04/14/26)
https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5830247-tmz-opens-dc-bureau/
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Trump’s Illegal War in Iran Is Financed by Your Taxes. That’s a Good Reason To Stop Paying Them.
Source: Reason
by Eric Boehm
“The executive branch is out of control. We’re now more than six weeks into a deeply unpopular, unnecessary war with Iran that lacks any semblance of congressional authorization. The Trump administration has sent masked, unaccountable goons into American cities, where they have harassed and arrested innocent people and killed multiple times. President Donald Trump’s signature economic policy is an illegal tax increase that his administration is refusing to refund. Congress has been unwilling or unable to stop these unlawful actions. If legislators will not deploy ‘the power of the purse,’ then it falls to the rest of us to do something. That’s why I have stopped paying the federal income tax. I’m not the only one doing it. I think you should, too.” (04/15/26)
https://reason.com/2026/04/15/trumps-illegal-war-in-iran-is-financed-by-your-taxes-thats-a-good-reason-to-stop-paying-them/
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22) Civil Society Needs the High Trust that Only Individuals Can Provide
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Wendy McElroy
“Individuals may feel powerless but, in fact, individuals are the only restorative for civil society because they are the ones who can bind it together by establishing what is called ‘high trust.’ A high-trust society is characterized by members who reasonably expect others in the community to treat them fairly, which encourages voluntary association far beyond family bonds or other tight networks.” (04/16/26)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/civil-society-needs-the-high-trust-that-only-individuals-can-provide/
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23) The government never stops growing
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“Why does government continually grow in size and in power? If you look at a roster of things it meddled with a century ago compared to today, you’ll notice today’s list is much longer and more comprehensive. Government is never satisfied; it never has enough control. It won’t give up control or take “no” for a final answer. If it loses in court (which it controls), it acts as though it didn’t. Often, it doubles down on its illegal activities. This is because there are no immediate, painful consequences for its defiant criminality. It lies, and many people still believe it.” (04/16/26)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2026/04/15/voices/opinion-the-government-never-stops-growing/233211.html
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24) It Has Never Been About Freedom
Source: Cato Institute
by Jon Hoffman
“For more than eight decades, Washington has rooted its regional strategy in the ‘myth of authoritarian stability’ — the belief that select autocratic states are the best guarantors of regional stability and US interests in the Middle East. … The United States has consistently sought to expand its authoritarian client network by acting against adversarial governments in the region with the objective of installing more compliant regimes. Since the end of World War II, Washington has pursued regime change in the Middle East on average once per decade. The governments residing within the US-led regional order also push the United States toward status quo policies to advance their own interests, echoing the same pro-authoritarian rationales used by Washington to justify continued American support. Freedom, therefore, was never the objective in Iran.” (04/15/26)
https://www.cato.org/commentary/it-has-never-been-about-freedom
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25) Tax Freedom Day Underestimates How Long You Work for the Government
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Jonathan Newman
“Tax Freedom Day, calculated by the Tax Foundation, ‘represents how long Americans as a whole have to work in order to pay the nation’s tax burden.’ It appears that they stopped publishing this in 2019, but others have picked up where they left off. The idea is that the income earned by taxpayers over a certain proportion of the year goes to Uncle Sam. In 2025, that date was April 16th. But the burden of government is much larger than the amount we pay in taxes. The government spends much more than it collects in taxes, diverting valuable resources away from where they would be used in the private market economy, subject to the profit and loss test of the market. The difference is made up by new government debt.” (04/15/26)
https://mises.org/power-market/tax-freedom-day-underestimates-how-long-you-work-government
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26) I Hope The US Loses And The Empire Collapses
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“I don’t mind admitting that I hope the US and Israel suffer a crushing, devastating defeat in Iran. I hope this war collapses the entire US empire. My only loyalty is to humanity, and being on Team Human in today’s world means being against the US empire and against Israel. I hope the empire falls. I hope the apartheid state of Israel is dismantled. … YouTube has banned the channel that’s been creating viral AI Lego music videos criticizing the US war on Iran. The Google-owned platform claims the Lego videos somehow constituted ‘violent content,’ but we all know it was to facilitate the US propaganda effort by shutting down effective propaganda for the other side.” (04/15/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/04/15/i-hope-the-us-loses-and-the-empire-collapses-and-other-notes/
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27) Digital Hopes, Real Power: The Rise of Network Shutdowns
Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
by Jillian C York
“Even where laws do not explicitly authorize [Internet access] shutdowns, broadly worded provisions around national security or public order are routinely used to justify them. The result is a growing legal architecture that treats network disruptions not as extraordinary measures, but as standard tools for managing populations.” (04/15/26)
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/04/digital-hopes-real-power-rise-network-shutdowns
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28) Open Secret Re-opened
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“Sometimes the news, hot off the press, turns out to be re-heated leftovers. But while some foods should not be re-cooked, the latest declassification appears worth a second feast.” (04/15/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/04/15/open-secret-re-opened/
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29) Taking Heart From Hungary to Protect US Elections
Source: Brennan Center for Justice
by Michael Waldman
“This week, autocrat Viktor Orbán conceded defeat in Hungary’s general election. It was a landslide victory for Péter Magyar, and for democracy worldwide. Over the course of 16 years, Orbán worked to dismantle and undermine democratic institutions. He took control of most news outlets. He rewrote election rules. He replaced judges with loyalists. His government faced numerous corruption scandals, including one surrounding a presidential pardon. He was also a fan favorite of the Trump administration. Our vice president campaigned for him. What are the implications of his defeat for democracy in the United States? To be sure, midterm elections often rebuke the party in power, and it’s hard to predict whether this election augurs any November results. But just as Brexit presaged Trump in 2016, worldwide trends are at play.” (04/15/26)
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/people-speak-hungary-and-home
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30) Abundance Pragmatism Fails
Source: Law & LIberty
by Richard M |Reinsch II
“The Abundance movement makes a pragmatic case for more essential goods and services and isn’t really concerned with how this supply is incentivized or generated. It forsakes what advocates regard as tired philosophical debates about limited government, markets, and freedom. Of course, to argue in such a way is to choose ends that justify a variety of human actions. Supply-side progressivism can take many different courses.” (04/16/26)
https://lawliberty.org/forum/abundance-pragmatism-fails/
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31) From Iran to the fake Jesus image, Trump facing growing backlash for his inflammatory rhetoric
Source: Fox News
by Howard Kurtz
“Donald Trump is nothing if not impulsive – and there’s often a method to his seeming madness. At times that means going way over the line – consciously, deliberately – and at others it’s just rash. Whether he’s dealing with Iran, the Epstein files, mass deportation or the leader of the Catholic Church, the president busts through the usual guardrails of decency and compassion. I know this is often intentional, because the president has acknowledged it to me. Ripping others may bring him negative publicity, but Trump doesn’t mind that if it gets the pundits and the public chattering about the issue he wants driving the media agenda. Trump posting a user’s AI image of himself as Jesus Christ, healing a patient with glowing hands – and adding a demon in the background – was such a fiasco that he deleted it 12 hours later, which he almost never does.” (04/15/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/iran-fake-jesus-image-trump-facing-growing-backlash-inflammatory-rhetoric
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32) America’s Insane Tax-Filing Process
Source: The Atlantic
by Annie Lowrey
“If you earn a salary or an hourly wage, the Internal Revenue Service already knows how much money you make. It likely knows how much you owe or how big your refund should be too. Nine in 10 households take the standard deduction, making their liability easy to glean from payroll and banking data. Yet Uncle Sam demands that Americans fire up TurboTax, head to a storefront preparer, hire an accountant, or sit down with a sharp pencil and a strong cup of coffee to get their taxes done each spring. The average filer spends 13 hours on their 1040 — a time tax that many of our wealthy peer countries have reduced to a couple of minutes, if that. Prepopulated documents and return-free systems are common everywhere but here.” (04/15/26)
https://archive.is/c8Nl0
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33) To Organize for Peace, We Must First Dare to Imagine It
Source: Common Dreams
by Lior Stenrfeld
“On April 7, the United States, Israel, and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire. By the afternoon of the same day, it was already unraveling. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who mediated the deal, announced it would cover ‘everywhere, including Lebanon and elsewher, —effective immediately’. Within hours, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office contradicted him: The ceasefire ‘does not include Lebanon’. Israel’s military said it ‘continues fighting and ground operations’ against Hezbollah. Missile alerts sounded across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Kuwait. A gas facility in Abu Dhabi was ablaze. Iran and Israel each accused the other of violating a truce that neither had fully agreed to in the first place. This is not a diplomatic miscommunication. This is a structural diagnosis.” (04/15/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/imagine-peace-middle-east
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34) International Appeal
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Mark Nayler
“Although it’s the world’s second most-visited country, Spain hasn’t been sending out a welcoming message recently. Its Socialist-led government has proposed or passed several measures aimed at deterring foreign property investors, such as a 100% tax on non-EU citizens buying houses (so far just an idea) and a ban on Golden Visas, which awarded residency to non-Spanish citizens who purchased real estate worth at least €500,000 (effective from last April). Over the last few years, there have also been protests against what residents see as over-tourism in hotspots such as Valencia, Málaga, Catalonia, and the Balearic Islands. One might have expected all this negative publicity to have dented Spain’s reputation as one of the best places in the world to take a vacation or buy a second home. But the opposite seems to be true: Spain set a new tourism record in 2025 with 97 million visitors, a 3.2% increase on 2024’s 94 million.” (04/15/26)
https://fee.org/articles/international-appeal/
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35) Another Trump Flip Flop: From “Kill FISA” to “Clean Renewal”
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Alan Mosley
“Recently, President Donald Trump asked Republicans to unify to extend the [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] with no changes in oversight or accountability. Trump posted on Truth Social, ‘When used properly, FISA is an effective tool to keep Americans safe. For these reasons, I have called for a clean 18-month extension.’ … In May 2020, Trump urged Republicans to vote ‘NO’ on FISA, explicitly tying the law to fears of abuse, including against his own re-election campaign. Four years later, he told lawmakers to ‘KILL FISA,’ claiming it had been ‘illegally used’ against him and that officials had ‘spied on my campaign.'” (04/15/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/another-trump-flip-flop-from-kill-fisa-to-clean-renewal
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36) Ending Israel’s War on Peace
Source: Antiwar.com
by Jeffrey D Sachs & Sybil Fares
“To make lasting peace in the Middle East, the US must end its blank check to Israel’s perpetual wars and join with the rest of the world to force Israel to live within its internationally recognized borders.” (04/15/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/jeffrey_sachs/2026/04/14/ending-israels-war-on-peace
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37) Better #MeToo scrutiny on Capitol Hill
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“Bipartisan agreement on Capitol Hill is rare these days. But it has been in evidence in recent weeks among a handful of congresswomen concerned about allegations of sexual misconduct by a few House members. They have called for Congress to expel three representatives and to publicly release records of its recent investigations (a motion voted down in early March). ‘Women deserve to be safe,’ Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina said last month. ‘And the American people deserve to know’ when elected officials are ‘abusing power instead of serving their constituent.’ On Monday, two House members announced they would step down – Democrat Eric Swalwell of California, who denies allegations of sexual assault by a former staff member and three other women, and Republican Tony Gonzales of Texas, who has admitted to an affair with an aide.” (04/14/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0414/Better-MeToo-scrutiny-on-Capitol-Hill
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38) Trump Reverses Himself, Joins Obama and Biden in Demanding “Clean” Renewal of NSA Domestic Spying Powers
Source: Glenn Greenwald
by Glenn Greenwald
“In 2024, Trump urged Congress to ‘KILL FISA.’ With a vote upcoming this week, he now demands its renewal with no limits or safeguards, and he has ample Democratic support.” (04/15/26)
https://greenwald.substack.com/p/trump-reverses-himself-joins-obama
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39) Is this the grand bargain that could end the Iran war?
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Amir Handjani
“The blockades are bad but consider them points of leverage for an actual negotiation. Here is what a positive outcome — for both sides — might look like.” (04/15/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/iran-us-ceasefire-deal/
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40) Property Taxes Invert the Moral Order of Ownership
Source: The Daily Economy
by Vance Ginn
“A property deed should mean ownership, not a renewable lease from the government. Yet that is what property taxes amount to in practice. A family can earn the income, buy the home, pay off the mortgage, maintain and improve the property, and still owe the government every year merely to retain possession of it. Miss enough payments, and the state can seize the property. That may be common. It is not normal in any morally serious sense.” (04/15/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/property-taxes-invert-the-moral-order-of-ownership/
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41) A Hole in the “Open-and-Shut” Case Against Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin?
Source: The American Prospect
by Maureen Tkacik
“On the evening of September 11, 2025, a user called zealous_monkey_55095 told the members of one of his Discord chats that he had ‘bad news.’ ‘It was me at UVU yesterday. Im sorry for all of this. im surrendering through a sheriff friend in a few moments. thanks for all the good times and laughs, you’ve all been so amazing. thank you all for everything.’ Exactly five minutes later, at 8:02 p.m., former Washington County sheriff Nate Brooksby recalled a few days later in a press conference, he received a phone call from an old colleague, a former Washington County deputy sheriff. ‘His voice is kinda shaky so my first thought is, who died?’ Brooksby said. ‘He says, hey I know who Charlie Kirk’s shooter is.'” (04/15/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/04/15/hole-in-open-and-shut-case-against-charlie-kirks-alleged-assassin-tyler-robinson/
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42) How Trump Should Handle the Hormuz
Source: The American Conservative
by Andrew Day
“If Washington truly wants peace in the Middle East (a rather gargantuan if, I know) it will need to accommodate itself to reality: The U.S. can’t force Iran to accept all its hardline demands, so the White House needs to make meaningful concessions.” (04/15/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/how-trump-should-handle-the-hormuz/
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43) Unplugging the Sun: Applying 19th-Century Wisdom to 21st-Century Panic
Source: Students For Liberty
by Ketevani Kadagishvili
“Economic progress has always been shadowed by the fear of technological unemployment. It is a belief that a new machine or a more efficient process will leave the human race with nothing to do. In 1845, the French economist Frédéric Bastiat shattered this logic with his famous satire, the ‘Petition of the Candlemakers.’ In his story, the manufacturers of candles and lamps demanded that the government block out the sun because its free light was ruining their business and causing unemployment in the tallow industry. Today, we are seeing those same fears with the onset of Artificial Intelligence (AI) developments or taxing robot labor. Unfortunately, we seem to be repeating the historical mistake of prioritizing the survival of specific job titles over the general prosperity of the entire population.” (04/15/26)
https://studentsforliberty.org/blog/unplugging-the-sun-applying-19th-century-wisdom-to-21st-century-panic/
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44) Gerrymandering and the Tyranny of Big Cities
Source: The American Spectator
by James H McGee
“I’ve written an analysis of the April 21st redistricting vote here in Virginia. At that time, I made the urgent and emphatic point that this is an egregious power grab on the part of Democrat Governor Abigail Spanberger and the Democrat majority in our legislature. Not content with their good fortune in the most recent electoral cycle, they now insist that this should be made permanent by rigging our congressional districts in their favor — and permanent it will be, despite the dishonest framing of the measure as temporary. We’ve seen how this works too many times in the years since the left [sic] has taken control of the culture.” (04/14/26)
https://spectator.org/gerrymandering-and-the-tyranny-of-big-cities/
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45) Elise Stefanik reveals sick truth of elite colleges’ moral collapse
Source: New York Post
by Bethany Mandel
“With one question, Rep. Elise Stefanik became the general of a war against antisemitism on college campuses across America: ‘Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate your university’s code of conduct?’ The Ivy League presidents she questioned in December 2023 — just weeks after the atrocities of Oct. 7 led to an explosion of antisemitism at their schools — couldn’t answer it. The viral video of her query became the most-watched congressional hearing clip in history. Stefanik’s new book Poisoned Ivies explains how elite universities arrived at that moment — and why it was no flash-in-the-pan controversy, but an indicator of a long decline. The story she tells is about everything that led up to that hearing, and everything that followed — as reactions and responses came pouring into her office over weeks and months.” (04/15/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/04/15/opinion/elise-stefanik-and-the-sick-truth-of-colleges-moral-collapse/
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46) Move 37 and the Coming Mindhack
Source: Quillette
by Michael Morgenstern
“What happens when human manipulation arrives at its Claude Mythos moment?” (04/14/26)
https://quillette.com/2026/04/15/move-37-and-the-coming-mindhack-claude-mythos-anthropic-ai/
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47) Are you paying taxes on phantom gains this year? Congress should abolish them.
Source: The Hill
by Ryan Ellis
“It’s tax time, and talk of budget reconciliation is in the air on Capitol Hill. There is no better time than now to tackle one of the more bizarre features of our tax code: a phantom capital gains tax on mutual fund savers. Most taxpayers assume confusing tax rules have at least one constant: that capital gains tax is only owed when an asset is sold. If only that were true. Each year at this time, millions of Americans open their brokerage statements and find capital gains reported in Box 2a of their 1099 tax forms, despite never having sold a single share of stock or a mutual fund.” (04/14/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/5828953-phantom-capital-gains-tax/
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48) The FTC’s Probe of Media Matters for America Is a Blatant Assault on Freedom of Speech
Source: Reason
by Jacob Sullum
“In the guise of investigating ‘potentially unlawful advertiser boycotts,’ the commission is punishing the organization for its views.” (04/14/26)
https://reason.com/2026/04/15/the-ftcs-probe-of-media-matters-for-america-is-a-blatant-assault-on-freedom-of-speech/
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49) We Need To Tax the Corporations Cashing In On the Iran War
Source: In These Times
by Meghan Schneider & Cass DiPaola
“Our dependence on fossil fuels does more than pollute our air. It destabilizes the world and empowers the ultra-wealthy to profit off of that volatility, leaving working families to pay the price. This dynamic has been on full display since President Trump’s attack on Iran. Trump’s invasion of one of the world’s most oil-rich regions jolted energy markets, sending gas prices soaring to the highest level in either of his terms. In 2024 he campaigned on cutting them in half. Instead, Americans are now on track to pay roughly $720 more for gasoline this year. The full cost to working families will be much steeper as high gas prices drive up prices on consumer goods across the board.” [editor’s note: And additional taxes will drive those prices even higher, geniuses – TLK] (04/14/26)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/corporations-iran-war-trump-hormuz
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50) Strait of Hormuz Tensions and the Material Benefits of Fossil Fuels
Source: Heartland Institute
by Ronald Stein, PE
“Recent calls for a more realistic shift from ‘decarbonization’ to ‘low carbon’ suggest that discomfort with ideology-driven climate policy is finally beginning to surface in public debate. For years, climate discussions in many countries have been dominated by abstract targets, slogans, and numerical commitments. Yet behind these lofty ideals lies a deeper and more practical question: have we come to understand energy far too narrowly? Tensions in the Strait of Hormuz in early 2026 have made that question impossible to ignore.” (04/14/26)
https://heartland.org/opinion/strait-of-hormuz-tensions-and-the-material-benefits-of-fossil-fuels/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) The Political Orphanage, 04/15/26
Source: The Political Orphanage
“War Without Coffins.” (04/15/26)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/war-without-coffins
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52) The Fifth Column, episode 553
Source: The Fifth Column
“A Blockade of the Blockade.” (04/15/26)
https://www.wethefifth.com/p/a-blockade-of-the-blockade-553
----
53) Reasonably Optimistic, 04/15/26
Source: Washington Post
“The temperature is rising on AI. What comes next?” (04/15/26)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/impromptu/the-temperature-is-rising-on-ai-what-comes-next
----
54) Reason Interview: Emma Ashford
Source: Reason
“How the Iran War Could Backfire.” (04/15/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/04/15/how-the-iran-war-could-backfire/
----
55) Rising, 04/15/26
Source: The Hill
“Péter Magyar exposes Hungarian corruption; payments to CPAC?” (04/15/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/5825246-rising-april-15-2026/
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56) Gracearchy with Jim Babka, episode 158
Source: Gracearchy with Jim Babka
“Hard Truths About Warmongering.” (04/14/26)
https://rumble.com/v78gl5i-158-5-hard-truths-about-warmongering-gracearchy-with-jim-babka.html
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57) Fountainhead Forum, episode 436
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“oah Revoy on family and divorce in modern life.” (04/14/26)
https://rumble.com/v78icm0-ff-436-noah-revoy-on-family-and-divorce-in-modern-life.html
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58) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 04/14/26
Source: Libertarian Institute
“LtCOL Karen Kwiatkowski: Trump Orders Hormuz Blockade After Talks Fail — Ceasefire at Risk?” (04/14/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/news/the-kyle-anzalone-show-guest-ltcol-karen-kwiatkowski-trump-orders-hormuz-blockade-after-talks-fail-ceasefire-at-risk/
----
59) Cato Daily Podcast, 04/14/26
Source: Cato Institute
“Who Actually Pays Federal Taxes?” (04/14/26)
https://www.cato.org/multimedia/cato-podcast/who-actually-pays-federal-taxes
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60) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 04/14/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Saudi Arabia Wants US to End Its Hormuz Blockade, Israeli Strike Kills 3-Year-Old in Gaza, and More.” (04/14/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvtDF7GljMY
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