06/01 -- US, Iranian regimes trade new strikes; We Must End the TSA "License to Loot"
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Thomas L. Knapp
Jun 1, 2026, 6:12:55 AMJun 1
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 06/01/26
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Today's Freedom News:
1) US, Iranian regimes trade new strikes
2) Colombia: Presidential election goes to runoff
3) “Security” idiocy: US-to-Spain flight diverted over Bluetooth device name
4) Libertarian National Committee Votes to Disaffiliate New Hampshire Affiliate
5) Ukraine war: Ukrainian forces hit Russian energy targets, deny striking nuclear plant in occupied territory
6) Trial: Daily pill nearly doubled survival time for people with advanced pancreatic cancer
7) Israel: Netanyahu vows to expand occupation of Lebanon after deepest incursion in 26 years
8) WHO confirms five patients have recovered from rare type of Ebola that has killed over 200 in the Congo
9) Trump says he’ll appear himself after performers drop out of “Great American State Fair”
10) ME: Platner’s wife “angry, disappointed” her past disclosures of his extramarital sexting were made public
11) WA: Eleven confirmed dead in chemical accident
12) Judge launches inquiry into Trump-IRS settlement that led to “anti-weaponization” fund
13) NJ: Newark mayor imposes curfew after protesters clash with violent gang members
14) Meteor explodes over New England, causes massive “double boom” that shakes local homes
15) Judge: Trump’s name must be removed from Kennedy Center
16) France: Hundreds arrested and dozens of police injured after Champions League riots
17) Occupied Ireland: Pastor convicted for preaching near hospital files appeal, warns of free speech precedent
18) Venezuela: President-elect, thwarted by Maduro rigging, calls for elections
19) CA: Governor’s race poll shows Becerra growing lead with days to go
20) NH: Court rules signed affidavit enough to register to vote
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) We Must End the TSA “License to Loot”
22) AI fiction is the new fast food
23) Tennessee Celebrates the New-Fangled “Nuclear Family”
24) Trump Loves Accusing Critics of Treason. US Law Makes That Charge Hard To Prove — for Good Reason.
25) A Nation of Suspects
26) An Iran rebuilt on mercy
27) Ryanair, Easyjet, and just say no to a Financial Transactions Tax
28) When is enough enough for the Iran war hawks?
29) Warmongers Keep Generating AI Atrocity Propaganda About Iran
30) Nothing Should Be Nationalized
31) We Must Rise Up to Defend Democracy [sic] Now
32) Of Course We’re Fighting on the Lawn
33) There Is No Right Way for the State to Kill People
34) Patents: The Damage of Coerced Intellectual Monopoly
35) The New Religion of AI Accelerationism
36) The Bottle of Freedom
37) Black People Are Not Children, Nor Are They “Special”
38) You can’t hide your lying ICE: The covered-up killing of Ruben Ray Martinez
39) Liberalism’s Uneasy Relationship with Democracy
40) The Bitter Lessons of Sugar Control in World War I
41) AIPAC and Auchincloss
42) Age Limits for Federal Office Are Wildly Popular, But Washington’s Gerontocracy Won’t Hear of it
43) Is the FDA’s War on Vaping Coming to an End?
44) Beyond Babel
45) James Talarico’s desperate drive to detransition from his woke past
46) Should an Industry-Friendly Rider in the Farm Bill Override Over 1,000 State Laws?
47) The Dicey Details of the Federal Government’s New School Choice Tax Credit Program
48) The Most Important Question Facing Humanity
49) “We Demand Freedom”: Immigrants on Strike in New Jersey Prison
50) Why Trump dumped Europe from Iran talks
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Pink Flame of Liberty, 05/30/26
52) Unattended Baggage, episode 342
53) Free Talk Live, 05/30/26
54) The Inner Life of Liberalism, episode 2
55) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 05/29/26
56) Serious Trouble, 05/29/26
57) Fountainhead Forum, episode 451
58) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 05/29/26
59) The Business List, episode 45
60) Rising, 05/29/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) US, Iranian regimes trade new strikes
Source: NBC News
“The U.S. military said it carried out what it called self-defense strikes on Iranian radar and drone control sites over the weekend, while Iran said it targeted an air base used in the U.S. attack as the two countries continued to trade strikes amid talks to end their war. On Monday morning, the Kuwaiti army said in a post on X that it was ‘currently responding to hostile missile and drone threats’ and that any sounds of explosions were the result of air defense systems intercepting attacks. It did not say where the attack was coming from or what was being targeted, but Kuwait hosts a U.S. air base that has previously been attacked by Iran and its proxies.” (06/01/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/world/middle-east/us-says-struck-iranian-drone-radar-sites-iran-claims-attack-air-base-rcna347809
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2) Colombia: Presidential election goes to runoff
Source: CNN
“In a surprisingly strong performance, right-wing outsider candidate Abelardo de la Espriella will face leftist candidate senator Iván Cepeda in a June runoff election to decide Colombia’s presidency, setting the stage for a battle over the country’s political future and the direction of its relationships with key international partners, including the United States. With more than 99% of the votes counted in Sunday’s first round of the presidential election, de la Espriella won the most ballots with 43.74% of the vote, falling short of the absolute majority required to win outright in the contest. Cepeda, representing the left-wing Historic Pact coalition, was in second place with 40.90%. The left Democratic Center candidate Paloma Valencia was trailing well behind with 6.92%, according to preliminary results released by the National Civil Registry.” (05/31/26)
https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/31/americas/colombia-runoff-espriella-cepeda-latam-intl
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3) “Security” idiocy: US-to-Spain flight diverted over Bluetooth device name
Source: New York Post
“A Spain-bound United Airlines flight out of Newark turned around mid-flight on Saturday because a teenager named his Fitbit ‘bomb’ and it popped up on available Bluetooth devices, officials and sources said. The plane took off from Newark Liberty International Airport at about 6 p.m., but landed back at Newark by roughly 9:30 p.m after security was flagged to inspect a suspicious Bluetooth device onboard that showed up as ‘bomb,’ sources told The Post. The flight was turned around and landed back in Newark late Saturday after passengers were directed to turn off their devices and the alarming name remained online. It was later determined that the device was a name for a Fitbit owned by a 16-year-old on board.” [editor’s note: Obviously, even if a real bomber was going to use Bluetooth to control a real bomb, the device name would be “ThisDeviceIsTotallyNotABomb” – TLK] (05/31/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/05/31/us-news/united-airlines-flight-diverts-back-to-newark-after-bluetooth-devices-name-sparks-security-scare/
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4) Libertarian National Committee Votes to Disaffiliate New Hampshire Affiliate
Source: Independent Political Report
“The Libertarian National Committee has voted to disaffiliate the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire, making one of the newly seated committee’s first acts a break with an affiliate that had become a serious point of controversy inside the national party. … A recording of the meeting, though sometimes hard to hear, shows national committee members referencing the New Hampshire affiliate’s public endorsement of Donald Trump during the 2024 election, its criticism of Libertarian candidates, and what the national party called a repeated promotion of ‘anti-libertarian positions’ at the national level. … The affiliate argues that the LNC acted without notice and without its representatives present, as well as without evidence that its current leadership violated party bylaws or libertarian principles.” (05/29/26)
https://independentpoliticalreport.com/2026/05/libertarian-national-committee-votes-to-disaffiliate-new-hampshire-affiliate/
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5) Ukraine war: Ukrainian forces hit Russian energy targets, deny striking nuclear plant in occupied territory
Source: US News & World Report
“Ukraine launched fresh strikes on Russian energy sites overnight into Sunday, Russian authorities and media reported, while Kyiv denied Russian claims that a Ukrainian drone struck a key Kremlin-occupied nuclear plant. Drone debris set fire to a fuel storage facility in Russia’s southwestern Rostov region, Gov. Yuriy Slyusar reported on Telegram on Sunday. He said residents of nearby homes were evacuated. The drones also damaged civilian infrastructure in Saratov province, also in southwestern Russia, according to Gov. Roman Busargin. Astra, an independent Russian news channel, said an oil refinery was on fire in the regional capital, Saratov. … Meanwhile, Kyiv denied Russia’s claims that a Ukrainian drone struck the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, the largest in Ukraine and Europe.” (05/31/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-05-31/ukraine-hits-russian-energy-targets-and-denies-striking-kremlin-occupied-nuclear-plant
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6) Trial: Daily pill nearly doubled survival time for people with advanced pancreatic cancer
Source: Times of Israel [Jerusalem]
“A novel pill helped people with advanced pancreatic cancer live longer, researchers report, raising hopes of long-needed better treatments for one of the deadliest types of cancer. ‘While not curing the cancer, it is a very large step forward,’ says Dr. Zev Wainberg, of the University of California, Los Angeles, who helped lead the study. The drug is called daraxonrasib and it blocks a mutated protein that fuels tumor growth in more than 90% of pancreatic cancer cases — a target that had eluded treatment for decades. The daily pills nearly doubled survival time, with fewer severe side effects, in a study that randomly assigned the experimental drug or more chemotherapy to 500 patients whose metastatic, or spreading, cancer had quit responding to prior treatment. The findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the American Society for Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago.” (05/31/26)
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/daily-pill-nearly-doubled-survival-time-for-people-with-advanced-pancreatic-cancer-trial-shows/
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7) Israel: Netanyahu vows to expand occupation of Lebanon after deepest incursion in 26 years
Source: NBC News
“Israeli forces have captured a strategic site in Lebanon across the Litani River, marking Israel’s deepest incursion into the country in 26 years. The capture of Beaufort Ridge, the site of a medieval castle, comes after days of intense fighting in southern Lebanon, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying Sunday the seizure marks a ‘dramatic change’ in Israeli strategy. … ‘My instruction is to deepen and expand our grip on the places that were under Hezbollah’s control,’ he added. ‘The occupation of Beaufort is a dramatic stage and a dramatic change in the policy that we are leading.'” (05/31/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/world/lebanon/israel-captures-key-lebanon-site-crossing-litani-river-rcna347732
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8) WHO confirms five patients have recovered from rare type of Ebola that has killed over 200 in the Congo
Source: New York Post
“Five patients have recovered from a rare type of Ebola, the head of the World Health Organization said Sunday during a visit to eastern Congo’s Bunia, a city at the heart of an outbreak. ‘Four people will be discharged today and there was one that was discharged the day before yesterday,’ WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during the opening of a new Ebola treatment center in Bunia, the provinical capital of Ituri. ‘Of course, we’re still working on vaccines and treatments but that doesn’t mean that people cannot recover from Ebola,’ he added. … The health organization said latest official figures showed 906 suspected cases and 223 suspected deaths. Neighboring Uganda has confirmed nine cases and one death, the Ugandan Health Ministry said Friday.” (05/31/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/05/31/world-news/who-confirms-5-patients-have-recovered-from-rare-type-of-ebola-that-has-killed-over-200-in-the-congo/
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9) Trump says he’ll appear himself after performers drop out of “Great American State Fair”
Source: Reuters
“U.S. President Donald Trump will headline an event commemorating the nation’s 250th anniversary on the National Mall next month, organizers said on Saturday, after several musical performers scheduled to appear in the celebration canceled, citing concerns about its association with him. The concerts were planned as the opening ceremony of the Great American State Fair, a 16-day event running from June 25 to July 10, 2026. … the musical lineup has been hit by a series of cancellations. On Friday, Bret Michaels, the lead singer of the rock band Poison, became the fifth performer to withdraw from the concerts, saying that the event was not the nonpartisan celebration that he thought it would be. … ‘The fact is that I am, according to many, the Number One Attraction anywhere in the World,’ Trump wrote.” (05/30/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-considers-dropping-concerts-us-capital-after-artists-drop-out-2026-05-30/
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10) ME: Platner’s wife “angry, disappointed” her past disclosures of his extramarital sexting were made public
Source: NBC News
“The wife of Graham Platner, the presumptive Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine, said she is ‘really angry’ about reports that she had previously told her husband’s campaign he had exchanged sexually explicit texts with other women. ‘It makes me really angry, disappointed,’ Platner’s wife, Amy Gertner, said in a direct-to-camera video released by Platner’s campaign on Saturday night. ‘And I find it really shameful that there’s a group of media outlets and people who are willing to spread gossip instead of talking about real issues that Graham is running on.’ Gertner’s remarks came after The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reported that Gertner had told Platner’s campaign about the sexually explicit texts last year, near the start of his Senate bid.” (05/31/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/graham-platner-wife-amy-gertner-disclosed-extramarital-sexting-rcna347737
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11) WA: Eleven confirmed dead in chemical accident
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“The death toll from a chemical tank rupture in the U.S. state of Washington climbed to 11 as crews recovered the bodies of all nine missing people, authorities said on Saturday. Two fatalities had been confirmed after the tank containing ‘white liquor’ — a chemical solution of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide used in making paper pulp — imploded at a Nippon Dynawave Packaging facility on Tuesday. … The ruptured tank contained about 3.4 million litres of white liquor, and tests confirmed that contamination entered the nearby Columbia River, officials have said, although no ‘negative health impacts’ had been detected on air quality or the city of Longview’s drinking water.” (05/31/26)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/washington-state-chemical-accident-9.7218298
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12) Judge launches inquiry into Trump-IRS settlement that led to “anti-weaponization” fund
Source: Politico
“A federal judge is demanding answers to allegations that President Donald Trump defrauded her court by filing a lawsuit against the IRS as a pretext to reach a settlement that resulted in a $1.8 billion ‘anti-weaponization’ fund to make payouts to his political allies. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams launched the inquiry Friday, after closing the lawsuit on her docket last week. The Miami-based Obama appointee cited a request by 35 former federal judges who urged her to reopen the case to determine whether Trump’s effort amounted to ‘serious misconduct’ and an abuse of the court system.” (05/30/26)
https://www.politico.eu/article/judge-launches-inquiry-into-trump-irs-settlement-that-led-to-anti-weaponization-fund/
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13) NJ: Newark mayor imposes curfew after protesters clash with violent gang members
Source: SFGate
“The mayor of Newark imposed a curfew early Sunday around an immigration [concentration camp] in New Jersey after a series of intense clashes between protestors and [gang members]. The curfew around Delaney Hall will be in place between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. until further notice, Mayor Ras Baraka said in a statement. The move came after another night of standoffs between [gang members] and demonstrators at the facility, as protestors could be seen in photographs and videos fighting over barricades as [gang members] used riot shields to push them back. A video posted on social media showed [gang members] on horseback marching into crowds attempting to break up groups of protestors. The demonstrations at Delaney Hall began earlier this month after advocates said detainees inside launched a hunger strike over poor living conditions at the 1,000-bed facility, the latest hotbed of opposition over the federal government’s immigration crackdown.” (05/31/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/newark-mayor-imposes-curfew-around-delaney-hall-22284790.php
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14) Meteor explodes over New England, causes massive “double boom” that shakes local homes
Source: New York Post
“A meteor exploded over New England Saturday afternoon, creating a daytime fireball and a massive ‘double boom’ that shook local homes. The American Meteor Society reported the space rock puncture the atmosphere around 2:30 p.m. before disintegrating over the ocean near eastern Massachusetts. … Several people filed reports with the US Geological Survey registered the shaking with the National Earthquake Information Center, according to an agency spokesperson. … The phenomenon was observed from Delaware to Montreal.” (05/30/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/05/30/us-news/double-boom-meteor-fireball-shakes-homes-spooks-new-england-residents/
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15) Judge: Trump’s name must be removed from Kennedy Center
Source: Axios
“President Trump’s name must be removed from the Kennedy Center, according to an order signed Friday by a D.C. district judge. The ruling is a hit to the president’s effort to renovate the performing arts venue, which was scheduled to close later this year so work could begin. Friday’s order also halted the closure. ‘The Court has concluded that the Board overstepped its statutory bounds by unilaterally renaming the Kennedy Center after President Trump,’ U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper wrote in a 94-page ruling.” (05/29/26)
https://archive.is/UuYzJ
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16) France: Hundreds arrested and dozens of police injured after Champions League riots
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“A total of 219 people have been injured in clashes between football fans and police across France after Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) won the Champions League final against Arsenal. Eight were in a serious condition, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said. Thousands of officers were deployed to curb unrest that disrupted bus, train and rail services in the capital, Paris. Fifty-seven of them were injured. Nuñez said 780 people had been arrested over the violence — with more than 450 in custody. A person was found dead after an accident on Paris’s ring road, which rioters tried to block overnight. Some 6,000 police have been mobilised for Sunday’s victory parade at the site of the Eiffel Tower.” (05/31/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0r2ejg1w9xo
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17) Occupied Ireland: Pastor convicted for preaching near hospital files appeal, warns of free speech precedent
Source: Fox News
“A retired pastor who was convicted and fined for preaching a gospel sermon near a hospital in [the British-occupied part of] Ireland is appealing his conviction. On May 7, a judge found Clive Johnston, 78, breached Northern Ireland’s Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act when he preached a sermon on John 3:16 near Coleraine’s Causeway Hospital in July 2024. The buffer zone law prohibits ‘influencing,’ ‘preventing or impeding access,’ or ‘causing harassment, alarm or distress’ to a protected person within 100 meters (about 328 feet) of facilities where abortions are performed. Johnston announced Wednesday he filed an appeal challenging his conviction. He warned that convicting a person for publicly preaching a well-known Bible passage sets a troubling precedent for religious liberty and free speech.” (05/31/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/media/pastor-convicted-preaching-john-316-near-hospital-files-appeal-warns-free-speech-precedent
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18) Venezuela: President-elect, thwarted by Maduro rigging, calls for elections
Source: ABC News
“Venezuela’s former opposition candidate Edmundo González called on Saturday for presidential elections as the five-month mark of interim President Delcy Rodríguez’s administration approaches in the wake of the U.S. military intervention that ousted Nicolás Maduro in early January. The 76-year-old former diplomat was recognized by several countries as the legitimate winner of the July 2024 elections amid a post-election crisis and street protests as the opposition alleged fraud. Electoral records that showed González’s victory over Maduro were deemed credible by international observers.” (05/30/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/venezuelas-opposition-candidate-edmundo-gonzlez-calls-presidential-elections-133455086
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19) CA: Governor’s race poll shows Becerra growing lead with days to go
Source: SFGate
“The latest poll of the California governor’s race just days before the primary election shows Democrat Xavier Becerra widening his late lead. A sprawling survey published Wednesday by the Public Policy Institute of California asked nearly 40 questions on California and national issues and gauged voters’ preferences in the governor’s race. Becerra, who has climbed in recent polls, is the leading candidate with 23% support among likely voters in PPIC’s poll, despite heavy scrutiny from his opponents in the last gubernatorial debate. … Just behind Becerra in the recent poll is Republican and former Fox News host Steve Hilton, with 20% support. Hilton has consistently fared well in the polls and received an endorsement from President Donald Trump. … While Becerra and Hilton appear to be the leaders ahead of the primary, billionaire and Democratic candidate Tom Steyer is next behind the front-runners in the PPIC poll with 15% support.” (05/29/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/california-governor-race-2026-22281527.php
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20) NH: Court rules signed affidavit enough to register to vote
Source: United Press International
“A federal judge declared a New Hampshire law that would have required new voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship because it is unconstitutional. U.S. District Court Judge Samantha Elliott wrote in the ruling, issued on Thursday, that New Hampshire House Bill 1569 would have made it harder for people to register to vote and cast ballots by removing methods for them to do so. The law would have required all new voters to provide a document proving citizenship, rather than attesting to their citizenship under penalty of perjury on an affidavit. New Hampshire state law already states that the form filled out and signed when registering qualifies as an affidavit, whether it is filed 30 days before an election or on election day, per state law, Elliott wrote.” (05/29/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/05/29/new-hampshire-voting-law-documents-unconstitutional/4311780094793/
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) We Must End the TSA “License to Loot”
Source: Independent Institute
by Jim Bovard
“For more than a decade, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents have plundered passengers at airport security checkpoints on the flimsiest or most shameless pretexts. If you get stopped at an airport security checkpoint with $100 or more in cash, TSA agents can fleece you. More than 10,000 travelers have been stripped of their money by TSA agents since 2014. But the feds almost never bother filing criminal charges against the victims of asset forfeiture. TSA considers itself generous when it ‘permits the passenger to continue on to their destination’ — after taking away their money.” (05/29/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/we-must-end-the-tsa-license-to-loot
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22) AI fiction is the new fast food
Source: Washington Post
by Megan McArdle
“If the proliferation of AI writing is a problem, it’s not because it’s terrible slop unfit for human consumption; it’s a problem because in some specific ways, it’s too good. It is the literary equivalent of fast food: convenient, cheap, hyper-consistent and relentlessly optimized to tickle our pleasure centers. Sure, AI produces some crazy metaphors and weird hallucinations, because the models have all of our text and none of our context. On the other hand, AI is really good at optimizing for readability, both stylistically and structurally. … as with fast food, what people want now isn’t necessarily good for them in the long run.” (05/31/26)
https://archive.is/Oe1zp
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23) Tennessee Celebrates the New-Fangled “Nuclear Family”
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“The nostalgia for a 1950s ‘mom, dad, two kids, Chevy four-door, well-manicured lawn around a tidy cottage’ way of life is not nostalgia for ‘the old days,’ let alone for the days shortly after ‘the creation of the world.’ It’s nostalgia for post-World-War-2 Pasadena, California.” (05/31/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20637
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24) Trump Loves Accusing Critics of Treason. US Law Makes That Charge Hard To Prove — for Good Reason.
Source: Reason
by Jacob Sullum
“The president’s habitual attempts to criminalize dissent hark back to tyrants of yore.” (05/30/26)
https://reason.com/2026/05/30/trump-loves-accusing-critics-of-treason-u-s-law-makes-that-charge-hard-to-prove-for-good-reason/
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25) A Nation of Suspects
Source: Antiwar.com
by Andrew P Napolitano
“Some of the recent legal challenges to the use of surveillance by the Department of Homeland Security upon Americans have resulted in the revelation of truly terrifying behavior by the government, in direct defiance of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution. We now know that the federal government spies on innocent Americans without suspicion and without warrants.” (05/29/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/andrew-p-napolitano/2026/05/28/a-nation-of-suspects
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26) An Iran rebuilt on mercy
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“Over the past year, two military campaigns against Iran by the United States and Israel never triggered a popular uprising that would fell the Islamic Republic, as hoped. Instead, President Donald Trump has now reached a tentative deal with the regime to address two international concerns: ending Iran’s nuclear program and opening the vital Strait of Hormuz to shipping. Still, many Iranians, especially the millions living abroad, have been busier than usual. They are trying to unite behind new plans for what to do if the government does collapse – notably, how to ensure no violence against the regime and its followers as a way to entice defections. They are heartened by reports of a power struggle in Tehran.” (05/29/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0529/An-Iran-rebuilt-on-mercy
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27) Ryanair, Easyjet, and just say no to a Financial Transactions Tax
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Tim Worstall
“Those with long memories will recall the campaign to have a Financial Transactions Tax. Something we were vehemently opposed to no doubt because we’re neoliberals or something. The idea was to have a miserly — say, 0.1%, or 0.05%, that sort of amount — tax on every financial transaction. The claim was that this would not affect ‘real’ trade and would only reduce the amount of speculative froth in the marketplace. Which would, according to the proposers, be good. Because, well, speculative froth and all that. Just capitalists playing with money, see? Except speculative froth does have a point …” (05/31/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/ryanair-easyjet-and-just-say-no-to-a-financial-transactions-tax
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28) When is enough enough for the Iran war hawks?
Source: The Hill
by Douglas MacKinnon
“Many of the those pushing for war over the last few decades were politicians, news editors and pundits thousands of miles from the battlefield. These ‘hawks’ continued their lives of luxury and safety within their bubbles of entitlement while young American troops became the disposable pawns to be moved about the surface of a macabre board game. … as President Trump seeks to find a lasting solution to end the war with Iran, their harsh voices can be heard screeching out their disapproval. Just the very thought of an extended ceasefire is enough to trigger some of the hawks. When is enough enough for the Iran war hawks? Naturally, they will say when Iran is no longer a threat to the U.S. or Israel. But what does ‘no longer a threat’ really mean? And what does the now ubiquitous phrase ‘finish the job’ really mean with respect to Iran?” (05/30/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/5900029-iran-war-hawks-debate/
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29) Warmongers Keep Generating AI Atrocity Propaganda About Iran
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Another AI atrocity propaganda project about Iran has been unleashed, this time in the form of a movie titled ‘Dreams of Violets’ at the Tribeca film festival. … The film’s trailer depicts sympathetic protagonists being brutally victimized by Iranian authorities, and concludes with the image of fighter jets soaring overhead while an English-captioned Persian voiceover says ‘If Iran gets liberated, celebrate for me. Enjoy it for us!'” (05/29/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/05/29/warmongers-keep-generating-ai-atrocity-propaganda-about-iran/
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30) Nothing Should Be Nationalized
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Laurence M Vance
“There is one main problem with President Trump’s call to nationalize elections: the Constitution, which decentralizes the election process with a minor role for Congress. Article I, Section 4, of the Constitution states that ‘the Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.’ There is no provision for the president to have anything to do with elections through executive action. … Another problem with President Trump’s call to nationalize elections is that it is based on something that is largely imaginary.” (05/29/26)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/nothing-should-be-nationalized/
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31) We Must Rise Up to Defend Democracy [sic] Now
Source: Our Future
by Sulma Arias
“In a healthy democracy, we have a say in how our daily lives are run, how our neighbors are treated, and how our tax dollars are spent. Right now, the majority of Americans are dissatisfied with how the country is being run, and where it is going. In a healthy democracy, we would be able to demand the change of direction we need with our votes. Yet our democracy [sic] is not healthy. This fundamental right – for every vote to count and be counted – is being taken away from us as we speak. That is why it is our duty to rise up and restore the health of our democracy, while we still can.” (05/31/26)
https://ourfuture.org/20260531/we-must-rise-up-to-defend-democracy-now
-----
32) Of Course We’re Fighting on the Lawn
Source: The Dispatch
by Kevin D Williamson
“It does not matter whether you live in a trailer park or a brick ranch house or something more grand and getting grander, it is all the same: Tornado bait is tornado bait. When the Trump administration announced that it was staging a UFC fight on the South Lawn of the White House, I knew what I was seeing. It is as familiar to me as the taste of canned Ranch Style Beans on cornbread …. I know my people. My people know what they like. And they will have what they like even if it harelips the pope — especially if it harelips the pope. It took 250 years, but you got here. All the way down here. From Greatest Generation to White Trash Nation in the space of one lifetime.” (05/29/26)
https://thedispatch.com/article/ufc-fight-white-house-american-decline/
-----
33) There Is No Right Way for the State to Kill People
Source: OtherWords
by Furonda Brasfield
“As a long-time death penalty abolitionist, I’ve often compared the death penalty in America to a train with no brakes: Once the machinery starts moving, it becomes extraordinarily difficult to stop. But the real problem is that the train should never have been built. Today, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Arkansas are experimenting with nitrogen gas executions, a method officials claim is more humane. But from noose to needle to nitrogen, our constant search for a more acceptable way to kill is a story of failure, not moral progress. There’s no acceptable way to practice a form of state killing that, for Black Americans especially, has long been intertwined with terror. History should make us skeptical whenever governments begin searching for new technologies to make killing appear more acceptable.” (05/31/26)
https://otherwords.org/theres-no-moral-death-penalty/
-----
34) Patents: The Damage of Coerced Intellectual Monopoly
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Jorge Besada
“One of the reasons why we fall for the erroneous idea that patents are good for society is because we greatly overestimate the importance of the specific individual or company making a discovery while being unaware of how the market process — via its various mechanisms like prices, the profit motive, and economic competition — plays a key role in innovation.” (05/29/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/patents-damage-coerced-intellectual-monopoly
-----
35) The New Religion of AI Accelerationism
Source: CounterPunch
by David S D’Amato
“Today’s technology sector does not represent the principles of anything like actual free-market competition; intensively subsidized by the public and deeply tied to the federal government, the major tech companies are a state-capital oligopoly that have benefited enormously from a variety of special subsidies and perks unavailable to ordinary companies and citizens. When we account for direct federal grants and subsidies, infrastructure support, and hardware manufacturing, public subsidies and allocations for AI have reached well into the hundreds of billions of dollars.” (05/29/26)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/05/29/the-new-religion-of-ai-accelerationism/
-----
36) The Bottle of Freedom
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Cláudia Ascensão Nunes
“When the Portuguese government decided to add a 10-cent deposit to the price of every plastic bottle under 3 liters (101 fl oz), a small family business in central Portugal did the math and launched a 3.1-liter (105 fl oz) bottle.” (05/29/26)
https://fee.org/articles/the-bottle-of-freedom/
-----
37) Black People Are Not Children, Nor Are They “Special”
Source: Town Hall
by Derek Hunter
“To hear Democrats talk about black people is a mix of arrogance, racism and more condescension than could be crammed into the Grand Canyon. What do I mean by that? It’s pretty simple, really: the left simultaneously insists black people are perpetual victims with economic hardship thrust upon them by ‘systemic racism’ and the sole builders of everything good and superior to everyone else. None of it is true, but all of it is designed to manipulate. Democrats, even black Democrats, treat the average black American like they’re a child and special; neither is true. They’re just people, like everyone else.” (05/31/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2026/05/31/black-people-are-not-children-nor-are-they-special-n2676957
-----
38) You can’t hide your lying ICE: The covered-up killing of Ruben Ray Martinez
Source: The Watch
by Radley Balko
“It took nearly a year for the public to learn that a DHS officer killed a Latino man and U.S. citizen — and that federal officers lied about how it happened.” (05/29/26)
https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/you-cant-hide-your-lying-ice-the-432
-----
39) Liberalism’s Uneasy Relationship with Democracy
Source: Liberalism.org
by Ilya Somin
“Liberalism — defined as the political philosophy that prioritizes individual freedom and human happiness — has always had an equivocal relationship with democracy. Democratic governments generally feature much greater liberty and happiness than other types of regimes. Liberals should resist the temptation to embrace authoritarianism. But there are also multiple ways in which democracy can often threaten liberty and human welfare. These dangers include the tyranny of the majority and widespread voter ignorance. Democracy can also be a threat to its own perpetuation, by bringing to power authoritarian political movements. These are all longstanding problems. But recent events demonstrate their continuing — and in some cases growing — significance.” (05/29/26)
https://www.liberalism.org/p/liberalism-s-uneasy-relationship-with-democracy
-----
40) The Bitter Lessons of Sugar Control in World War I
Source: The Daily Economy
by Daniel J Smith
“Herbert Hoover’s wartime sugar program generated shortages that led to expanding rationing systems and increasingly centralized control over the allocation of sugar.” (05/29/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/the-bitter-lessons-of-sugar-control-in-world-war-i/
-----
41) AIPAC and Auchincloss
Source: The American Prospect
by Robert Kuttner
“The other day, Rep. Jake Auchincloss, a corporate Democrat who represents one of the most liberal districts in Massachusetts, dredged up the issue of Graham Platner’s tattoo, attacking the certain Democratic nominee in a must-win Senate contest two states away. ‘I find that tattoo and his commentary about it to be personally disqualifying,’ Auchincloss told CNN Monday. ‘I think that it would be a mistake for the Democratic Party to think that Graham Platner’s brand of the Democratic Party is what wins us durable majorities throughout this country,’ he added …. Since Platner’s opponent in the Democratic primary, Janet Mills, has folded her campaign in the face of Platner’s overwhelming [sic] lead, in effect Auchincloss has endorsed the Republican incumbent, Susan Collins. What in hell is Auchincloss up to?” [editor’s note: Maybe he’s trying to be consistent with the party’s alleged “principles?” -SAT] (05/29/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/05/29/aipac-auchincloss-massachusetts-platner-maine-congress/
-----
42) Age Limits for Federal Office Are Wildly Popular, But Washington’s Gerontocracy Won’t Hear of it
Source: The UnPopulist
by Andy Craig
“America’s political gerontocracy is a genuine problem. It fuels dysfunction, distrust, and concrete negative policy consequences. We can’t sweep it under the rug any longer: too many of our high officeholders, including a disproportionate number of Democrats, are simply too old. It’s not unacceptable ageism to say so; it’s the cold, hard reality. And it’s time to confront it head on: we need a mandatory retirement age for politicians.” (05/29/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/age-limits-for-federal-office-are
-----
43) Is the FDA’s War on Vaping Coming to an End?
Source: Independent Institute
by Raymond J March
“Makary’s resignation may finally close the book on the FDA’s disastrous campaign.” (05/29/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/05/29/fda-war-vaping/
-----
44) Beyond Babel
Source: Law & Liberty
by Spencer A Klavan
“f you had told me at the turn of this century that the two most hotly anticipated cultural events of summer 2026 would be a screen adaptation of Homer and a papal encyclical, I’d have blessed your heart and called you crazy. Yet here we are, and the subjects everyone told me were ‘useless’ in school — philosophy, literature, dead languages — are informing several ferocious disputes over the fate of our civilization. The future looks bright for the humanities!” (05/29/26)
https://lawliberty.org/forum/beyond-babel/
-----
45) James Talarico’s desperate drive to detransition from his woke past
Source: New York Post
by Rich Lowry
“James Talarico has decided that God isn’t non-binary after all. Anyone who has relied on the Texas senatorial candidate for theological guidance might be experiencing whiplash. Talarico is trying to clean up a series of idiotic statements — including about God’s supposed non-conforming gender — that are vulnerabilities ahead of a competitive race against the scandal-plagued Republican candidate, Ken Paxton. Once upon a time, Talarico, a former Presbyterian seminarian, wanted to make the Bible into a tool of radical gender ideology.” [editor’s note: The irony here is he is correct, in that the concept of “God” as omniscient and omnipotent and All.That.Is (which is the premise of nearly ALL religious paths) implies neither gender nor humanic measurement of such, but “something greater than us” – SAT] (05/30/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/05/30/opinion/texas-dem-james-talaricos-big-hurdle-in-detransitioning-from-his-woke-past/
-----
46) Should an Industry-Friendly Rider in the Farm Bill Override Over 1,000 State Laws?
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Meryl Nass
“The battle over the Save Our Bacon Act is not merely a dispute about pork production or animal welfare standards. It is a constitutional and political struggle over whether states retain meaningful authority to govern agricultural commerce within their own borders — or whether that authority will increasingly be consolidated in Washington at the urging of large corporate interests. At the center of the debate lies a broader question that has shaped American federalism since the founding of the republic: who decides how communities govern themselves?” (05/29/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/should-an-industry-friendly-rider-in-the-farm-bill-override-over-1000-state-laws/
-----
47) The Dicey Details of the Federal Government’s New School Choice Tax Credit Program
Source: Show-Me Institute
by Cory Koedel
“During his State of the State address in January, Governor Mike Kehoe indicated Missouri is opting into the federal government’s new school choice tax credit program. The program resembles Missouri’s MOScholars program. Taxpayers can receive a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit for donations up to $1,700 annually to a scholarship-granting organization, or SGO, in Missouri. The SGO then distributes scholarships to families in Missouri seeking alternatives to their residentially assigned public schools. For many families, the scholarships will be used to pay private school tuition. But the potential is broader.” (05/29/26)
https://showmeinstitute.org/article/education/the-dicey-details-of-the-federal-governments-new-school-choice-tax-credit-program/
-----
48) The Most Important Question Facing Humanity
Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman
“In [Auberon] Herbert’s day, as in ours, people took for granted that the state (‘the people’) may properly exercise power over peaceful others (through, say, a parliament) for a variety of purposes. So he asked, ‘Have men any right to this power?’ And again, ‘If they have it, do they possess it for all matters? If not for all matters, for what matters? and in this last case how are we to tell what these matters are?'” (05/29/26)
https://sheldonrichman.substack.com/p/tgif-the-great-question-facing-humanity
-----
49) “We Demand Freedom”: Immigrants on Strike in New Jersey Prison
Source: In These Times
by Luis Feliz Leon
“On a patch of sidewalk on a busy industrial corridor in Newark, federal agents with rifles, metal batons, flak vests, and balaclavas faced off against unarmed activists with cardboard signs and a bullhorn. Detained workers could be heard on the soccer field behind the prison walls, shouting in Spanish: ‘Libertad!’ (Freedom!) Since May 22, 300 of them are on a work stoppage and hunger strike. Over video chat, one worker told the crowd outside that they had stopped eating and working for as little as $1 an hour (or no pay at all) to demand an improvement in their living conditions. ’But that’s not all we demand,’ he said. ‘We are also doing this to demand freedom. We’re not treated like people. We’re treated like animals.'” (05/29/26)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/new-jersey-prison-immigrants-strike-ice-trump
-----
50) Why Trump dumped Europe from Iran talks
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Eldar Mamedov
“[I]n his own erratic way, Trump wants to pacify the Middle East and claim sole credit for that. This is probably why he’s been pushing his improbable proposal that all countries in the greater region — from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan — join the Abraham Accords. Sharing a diplomatic trophy with Brussels, Berlin or London would presumably detract from his achievement.” (05/29/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-europe-iran/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Pink Flame of Liberty, 05/30/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“LNC Convention Discussion.” (05/30/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs8zYxakGxU
-----
52) Unattended Baggage, episode 342
Source: Unattended Baggage
“They walk among us.” (05/30/26)
https://unattendedbaggage.substack.com/p/episode-342-they-walk-among-us
-----
53) Free Talk Live, 05/30/26
Source: Free Talk Live
“Does AI deserve Personhood? :: Libertarian Socialism? What’s that??? :: Should politics come with a dress code? :: What is YOUR pet freedom? :: Compelling people into your beliefs is bad, guys. :: Should the libertarian party exist? :: Public schools aren’t teaching anyone anything. :: Bonnies LNC highlights and lowlights :: Libertarian on Libertarian violence :: How big of a society can you really have? :: Free city of Orania, South Africa :: 2026-05-30 Hosts: Lori, Bonnie, Riley.” (05/30/26)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/ftl2026-05-30
-----
54) The Inner Life of Liberalism, episode 2
Source: The Inner Life of Liberalism
“The Virtues of Honesty — with Christian Miller.” (05/29/26)
https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/aaronpowell/episodes/002-The-Virtues-of-Honestywith-Christian-Miller-e3k1oai
-----
55) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 05/29/26
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Trump Has Allowed Netanyahu to Control Negotiations, and it’s hurting Americans.” (05/29/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/blog/the-kyle-anzalone-show-trump-has-allowed-netanyahu-to-control-negotiations-and-its-hurting-americans/
-----
56) Serious Trouble, 05/29/26
Source: Serious Trouble
“Court Officers Behaving Badly.” (05/29/26)
https://www.serioustrouble.show/p/court-officers-behaving-badly
-----
57) Fountainhead Forum, episode 451
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Libertarian Goth on Thomas Massie and Goth subculture.” (05/29/26)
https://rumble.com/v7ai94s-ff-451-libertarian-goth.html
-----
58) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 05/29/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Is Ron Paul Still Optimistic?” (05/29/26)
https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1qKVmmvADbmxB
-----
59) The Business List, episode 45
Source: LP Alliance
“Your source for stories inside the [Libertarian Party], across the country, and around the world!” (05/29/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1R9E4kqEJs8
-----
60) Rising, 05/29/26
Source: The Hill
“Lindsey Granger gives her lens on Republican consultant Karl Rove bashing Texas senate candidate Ken Paxton, and suggesting that it may not be a good idea for President Trump to support him.” (05/29/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/5891222-rising-may-29-2026/
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Today's Freedom News:
1) US, Iranian regimes trade new strikes
2) Colombia: Presidential election goes to runoff
3) “Security” idiocy: US-to-Spain flight diverted over Bluetooth device name
4) Libertarian National Committee Votes to Disaffiliate New Hampshire Affiliate
5) Ukraine war: Ukrainian forces hit Russian energy targets, deny striking nuclear plant in occupied territory
6) Trial: Daily pill nearly doubled survival time for people with advanced pancreatic cancer
7) Israel: Netanyahu vows to expand occupation of Lebanon after deepest incursion in 26 years
8) WHO confirms five patients have recovered from rare type of Ebola that has killed over 200 in the Congo
9) Trump says he’ll appear himself after performers drop out of “Great American State Fair”
10) ME: Platner’s wife “angry, disappointed” her past disclosures of his extramarital sexting were made public
11) WA: Eleven confirmed dead in chemical accident
12) Judge launches inquiry into Trump-IRS settlement that led to “anti-weaponization” fund
13) NJ: Newark mayor imposes curfew after protesters clash with violent gang members
14) Meteor explodes over New England, causes massive “double boom” that shakes local homes
15) Judge: Trump’s name must be removed from Kennedy Center
16) France: Hundreds arrested and dozens of police injured after Champions League riots
17) Occupied Ireland: Pastor convicted for preaching near hospital files appeal, warns of free speech precedent
18) Venezuela: President-elect, thwarted by Maduro rigging, calls for elections
19) CA: Governor’s race poll shows Becerra growing lead with days to go
20) NH: Court rules signed affidavit enough to register to vote
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) We Must End the TSA “License to Loot”
22) AI fiction is the new fast food
23) Tennessee Celebrates the New-Fangled “Nuclear Family”
24) Trump Loves Accusing Critics of Treason. US Law Makes That Charge Hard To Prove — for Good Reason.
25) A Nation of Suspects
26) An Iran rebuilt on mercy
27) Ryanair, Easyjet, and just say no to a Financial Transactions Tax
28) When is enough enough for the Iran war hawks?
29) Warmongers Keep Generating AI Atrocity Propaganda About Iran
30) Nothing Should Be Nationalized
31) We Must Rise Up to Defend Democracy [sic] Now
32) Of Course We’re Fighting on the Lawn
33) There Is No Right Way for the State to Kill People
34) Patents: The Damage of Coerced Intellectual Monopoly
35) The New Religion of AI Accelerationism
36) The Bottle of Freedom
37) Black People Are Not Children, Nor Are They “Special”
38) You can’t hide your lying ICE: The covered-up killing of Ruben Ray Martinez
39) Liberalism’s Uneasy Relationship with Democracy
40) The Bitter Lessons of Sugar Control in World War I
41) AIPAC and Auchincloss
42) Age Limits for Federal Office Are Wildly Popular, But Washington’s Gerontocracy Won’t Hear of it
43) Is the FDA’s War on Vaping Coming to an End?
44) Beyond Babel
45) James Talarico’s desperate drive to detransition from his woke past
46) Should an Industry-Friendly Rider in the Farm Bill Override Over 1,000 State Laws?
47) The Dicey Details of the Federal Government’s New School Choice Tax Credit Program
48) The Most Important Question Facing Humanity
49) “We Demand Freedom”: Immigrants on Strike in New Jersey Prison
50) Why Trump dumped Europe from Iran talks
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Pink Flame of Liberty, 05/30/26
52) Unattended Baggage, episode 342
53) Free Talk Live, 05/30/26
54) The Inner Life of Liberalism, episode 2
55) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 05/29/26
56) Serious Trouble, 05/29/26
57) Fountainhead Forum, episode 451
58) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 05/29/26
59) The Business List, episode 45
60) Rising, 05/29/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) US, Iranian regimes trade new strikes
Source: NBC News
“The U.S. military said it carried out what it called self-defense strikes on Iranian radar and drone control sites over the weekend, while Iran said it targeted an air base used in the U.S. attack as the two countries continued to trade strikes amid talks to end their war. On Monday morning, the Kuwaiti army said in a post on X that it was ‘currently responding to hostile missile and drone threats’ and that any sounds of explosions were the result of air defense systems intercepting attacks. It did not say where the attack was coming from or what was being targeted, but Kuwait hosts a U.S. air base that has previously been attacked by Iran and its proxies.” (06/01/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/world/middle-east/us-says-struck-iranian-drone-radar-sites-iran-claims-attack-air-base-rcna347809
-----
2) Colombia: Presidential election goes to runoff
Source: CNN
“In a surprisingly strong performance, right-wing outsider candidate Abelardo de la Espriella will face leftist candidate senator Iván Cepeda in a June runoff election to decide Colombia’s presidency, setting the stage for a battle over the country’s political future and the direction of its relationships with key international partners, including the United States. With more than 99% of the votes counted in Sunday’s first round of the presidential election, de la Espriella won the most ballots with 43.74% of the vote, falling short of the absolute majority required to win outright in the contest. Cepeda, representing the left-wing Historic Pact coalition, was in second place with 40.90%. The left Democratic Center candidate Paloma Valencia was trailing well behind with 6.92%, according to preliminary results released by the National Civil Registry.” (05/31/26)
https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/31/americas/colombia-runoff-espriella-cepeda-latam-intl
-----
3) “Security” idiocy: US-to-Spain flight diverted over Bluetooth device name
Source: New York Post
“A Spain-bound United Airlines flight out of Newark turned around mid-flight on Saturday because a teenager named his Fitbit ‘bomb’ and it popped up on available Bluetooth devices, officials and sources said. The plane took off from Newark Liberty International Airport at about 6 p.m., but landed back at Newark by roughly 9:30 p.m after security was flagged to inspect a suspicious Bluetooth device onboard that showed up as ‘bomb,’ sources told The Post. The flight was turned around and landed back in Newark late Saturday after passengers were directed to turn off their devices and the alarming name remained online. It was later determined that the device was a name for a Fitbit owned by a 16-year-old on board.” [editor’s note: Obviously, even if a real bomber was going to use Bluetooth to control a real bomb, the device name would be “ThisDeviceIsTotallyNotABomb” – TLK] (05/31/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/05/31/us-news/united-airlines-flight-diverts-back-to-newark-after-bluetooth-devices-name-sparks-security-scare/
-----
4) Libertarian National Committee Votes to Disaffiliate New Hampshire Affiliate
Source: Independent Political Report
“The Libertarian National Committee has voted to disaffiliate the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire, making one of the newly seated committee’s first acts a break with an affiliate that had become a serious point of controversy inside the national party. … A recording of the meeting, though sometimes hard to hear, shows national committee members referencing the New Hampshire affiliate’s public endorsement of Donald Trump during the 2024 election, its criticism of Libertarian candidates, and what the national party called a repeated promotion of ‘anti-libertarian positions’ at the national level. … The affiliate argues that the LNC acted without notice and without its representatives present, as well as without evidence that its current leadership violated party bylaws or libertarian principles.” (05/29/26)
https://independentpoliticalreport.com/2026/05/libertarian-national-committee-votes-to-disaffiliate-new-hampshire-affiliate/
-----
5) Ukraine war: Ukrainian forces hit Russian energy targets, deny striking nuclear plant in occupied territory
Source: US News & World Report
“Ukraine launched fresh strikes on Russian energy sites overnight into Sunday, Russian authorities and media reported, while Kyiv denied Russian claims that a Ukrainian drone struck a key Kremlin-occupied nuclear plant. Drone debris set fire to a fuel storage facility in Russia’s southwestern Rostov region, Gov. Yuriy Slyusar reported on Telegram on Sunday. He said residents of nearby homes were evacuated. The drones also damaged civilian infrastructure in Saratov province, also in southwestern Russia, according to Gov. Roman Busargin. Astra, an independent Russian news channel, said an oil refinery was on fire in the regional capital, Saratov. … Meanwhile, Kyiv denied Russia’s claims that a Ukrainian drone struck the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, the largest in Ukraine and Europe.” (05/31/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-05-31/ukraine-hits-russian-energy-targets-and-denies-striking-kremlin-occupied-nuclear-plant
-----
6) Trial: Daily pill nearly doubled survival time for people with advanced pancreatic cancer
Source: Times of Israel [Jerusalem]
“A novel pill helped people with advanced pancreatic cancer live longer, researchers report, raising hopes of long-needed better treatments for one of the deadliest types of cancer. ‘While not curing the cancer, it is a very large step forward,’ says Dr. Zev Wainberg, of the University of California, Los Angeles, who helped lead the study. The drug is called daraxonrasib and it blocks a mutated protein that fuels tumor growth in more than 90% of pancreatic cancer cases — a target that had eluded treatment for decades. The daily pills nearly doubled survival time, with fewer severe side effects, in a study that randomly assigned the experimental drug or more chemotherapy to 500 patients whose metastatic, or spreading, cancer had quit responding to prior treatment. The findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the American Society for Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago.” (05/31/26)
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/daily-pill-nearly-doubled-survival-time-for-people-with-advanced-pancreatic-cancer-trial-shows/
-----
7) Israel: Netanyahu vows to expand occupation of Lebanon after deepest incursion in 26 years
Source: NBC News
“Israeli forces have captured a strategic site in Lebanon across the Litani River, marking Israel’s deepest incursion into the country in 26 years. The capture of Beaufort Ridge, the site of a medieval castle, comes after days of intense fighting in southern Lebanon, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying Sunday the seizure marks a ‘dramatic change’ in Israeli strategy. … ‘My instruction is to deepen and expand our grip on the places that were under Hezbollah’s control,’ he added. ‘The occupation of Beaufort is a dramatic stage and a dramatic change in the policy that we are leading.'” (05/31/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/world/lebanon/israel-captures-key-lebanon-site-crossing-litani-river-rcna347732
-----
8) WHO confirms five patients have recovered from rare type of Ebola that has killed over 200 in the Congo
Source: New York Post
“Five patients have recovered from a rare type of Ebola, the head of the World Health Organization said Sunday during a visit to eastern Congo’s Bunia, a city at the heart of an outbreak. ‘Four people will be discharged today and there was one that was discharged the day before yesterday,’ WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during the opening of a new Ebola treatment center in Bunia, the provinical capital of Ituri. ‘Of course, we’re still working on vaccines and treatments but that doesn’t mean that people cannot recover from Ebola,’ he added. … The health organization said latest official figures showed 906 suspected cases and 223 suspected deaths. Neighboring Uganda has confirmed nine cases and one death, the Ugandan Health Ministry said Friday.” (05/31/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/05/31/world-news/who-confirms-5-patients-have-recovered-from-rare-type-of-ebola-that-has-killed-over-200-in-the-congo/
-----
9) Trump says he’ll appear himself after performers drop out of “Great American State Fair”
Source: Reuters
“U.S. President Donald Trump will headline an event commemorating the nation’s 250th anniversary on the National Mall next month, organizers said on Saturday, after several musical performers scheduled to appear in the celebration canceled, citing concerns about its association with him. The concerts were planned as the opening ceremony of the Great American State Fair, a 16-day event running from June 25 to July 10, 2026. … the musical lineup has been hit by a series of cancellations. On Friday, Bret Michaels, the lead singer of the rock band Poison, became the fifth performer to withdraw from the concerts, saying that the event was not the nonpartisan celebration that he thought it would be. … ‘The fact is that I am, according to many, the Number One Attraction anywhere in the World,’ Trump wrote.” (05/30/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-considers-dropping-concerts-us-capital-after-artists-drop-out-2026-05-30/
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10) ME: Platner’s wife “angry, disappointed” her past disclosures of his extramarital sexting were made public
Source: NBC News
“The wife of Graham Platner, the presumptive Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine, said she is ‘really angry’ about reports that she had previously told her husband’s campaign he had exchanged sexually explicit texts with other women. ‘It makes me really angry, disappointed,’ Platner’s wife, Amy Gertner, said in a direct-to-camera video released by Platner’s campaign on Saturday night. ‘And I find it really shameful that there’s a group of media outlets and people who are willing to spread gossip instead of talking about real issues that Graham is running on.’ Gertner’s remarks came after The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reported that Gertner had told Platner’s campaign about the sexually explicit texts last year, near the start of his Senate bid.” (05/31/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/graham-platner-wife-amy-gertner-disclosed-extramarital-sexting-rcna347737
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11) WA: Eleven confirmed dead in chemical accident
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“The death toll from a chemical tank rupture in the U.S. state of Washington climbed to 11 as crews recovered the bodies of all nine missing people, authorities said on Saturday. Two fatalities had been confirmed after the tank containing ‘white liquor’ — a chemical solution of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide used in making paper pulp — imploded at a Nippon Dynawave Packaging facility on Tuesday. … The ruptured tank contained about 3.4 million litres of white liquor, and tests confirmed that contamination entered the nearby Columbia River, officials have said, although no ‘negative health impacts’ had been detected on air quality or the city of Longview’s drinking water.” (05/31/26)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/washington-state-chemical-accident-9.7218298
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12) Judge launches inquiry into Trump-IRS settlement that led to “anti-weaponization” fund
Source: Politico
“A federal judge is demanding answers to allegations that President Donald Trump defrauded her court by filing a lawsuit against the IRS as a pretext to reach a settlement that resulted in a $1.8 billion ‘anti-weaponization’ fund to make payouts to his political allies. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams launched the inquiry Friday, after closing the lawsuit on her docket last week. The Miami-based Obama appointee cited a request by 35 former federal judges who urged her to reopen the case to determine whether Trump’s effort amounted to ‘serious misconduct’ and an abuse of the court system.” (05/30/26)
https://www.politico.eu/article/judge-launches-inquiry-into-trump-irs-settlement-that-led-to-anti-weaponization-fund/
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13) NJ: Newark mayor imposes curfew after protesters clash with violent gang members
Source: SFGate
“The mayor of Newark imposed a curfew early Sunday around an immigration [concentration camp] in New Jersey after a series of intense clashes between protestors and [gang members]. The curfew around Delaney Hall will be in place between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. until further notice, Mayor Ras Baraka said in a statement. The move came after another night of standoffs between [gang members] and demonstrators at the facility, as protestors could be seen in photographs and videos fighting over barricades as [gang members] used riot shields to push them back. A video posted on social media showed [gang members] on horseback marching into crowds attempting to break up groups of protestors. The demonstrations at Delaney Hall began earlier this month after advocates said detainees inside launched a hunger strike over poor living conditions at the 1,000-bed facility, the latest hotbed of opposition over the federal government’s immigration crackdown.” (05/31/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/newark-mayor-imposes-curfew-around-delaney-hall-22284790.php
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14) Meteor explodes over New England, causes massive “double boom” that shakes local homes
Source: New York Post
“A meteor exploded over New England Saturday afternoon, creating a daytime fireball and a massive ‘double boom’ that shook local homes. The American Meteor Society reported the space rock puncture the atmosphere around 2:30 p.m. before disintegrating over the ocean near eastern Massachusetts. … Several people filed reports with the US Geological Survey registered the shaking with the National Earthquake Information Center, according to an agency spokesperson. … The phenomenon was observed from Delaware to Montreal.” (05/30/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/05/30/us-news/double-boom-meteor-fireball-shakes-homes-spooks-new-england-residents/
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15) Judge: Trump’s name must be removed from Kennedy Center
Source: Axios
“President Trump’s name must be removed from the Kennedy Center, according to an order signed Friday by a D.C. district judge. The ruling is a hit to the president’s effort to renovate the performing arts venue, which was scheduled to close later this year so work could begin. Friday’s order also halted the closure. ‘The Court has concluded that the Board overstepped its statutory bounds by unilaterally renaming the Kennedy Center after President Trump,’ U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper wrote in a 94-page ruling.” (05/29/26)
https://archive.is/UuYzJ
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16) France: Hundreds arrested and dozens of police injured after Champions League riots
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“A total of 219 people have been injured in clashes between football fans and police across France after Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) won the Champions League final against Arsenal. Eight were in a serious condition, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said. Thousands of officers were deployed to curb unrest that disrupted bus, train and rail services in the capital, Paris. Fifty-seven of them were injured. Nuñez said 780 people had been arrested over the violence — with more than 450 in custody. A person was found dead after an accident on Paris’s ring road, which rioters tried to block overnight. Some 6,000 police have been mobilised for Sunday’s victory parade at the site of the Eiffel Tower.” (05/31/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0r2ejg1w9xo
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17) Occupied Ireland: Pastor convicted for preaching near hospital files appeal, warns of free speech precedent
Source: Fox News
“A retired pastor who was convicted and fined for preaching a gospel sermon near a hospital in [the British-occupied part of] Ireland is appealing his conviction. On May 7, a judge found Clive Johnston, 78, breached Northern Ireland’s Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act when he preached a sermon on John 3:16 near Coleraine’s Causeway Hospital in July 2024. The buffer zone law prohibits ‘influencing,’ ‘preventing or impeding access,’ or ‘causing harassment, alarm or distress’ to a protected person within 100 meters (about 328 feet) of facilities where abortions are performed. Johnston announced Wednesday he filed an appeal challenging his conviction. He warned that convicting a person for publicly preaching a well-known Bible passage sets a troubling precedent for religious liberty and free speech.” (05/31/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/media/pastor-convicted-preaching-john-316-near-hospital-files-appeal-warns-free-speech-precedent
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18) Venezuela: President-elect, thwarted by Maduro rigging, calls for elections
Source: ABC News
“Venezuela’s former opposition candidate Edmundo González called on Saturday for presidential elections as the five-month mark of interim President Delcy Rodríguez’s administration approaches in the wake of the U.S. military intervention that ousted Nicolás Maduro in early January. The 76-year-old former diplomat was recognized by several countries as the legitimate winner of the July 2024 elections amid a post-election crisis and street protests as the opposition alleged fraud. Electoral records that showed González’s victory over Maduro were deemed credible by international observers.” (05/30/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/venezuelas-opposition-candidate-edmundo-gonzlez-calls-presidential-elections-133455086
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19) CA: Governor’s race poll shows Becerra growing lead with days to go
Source: SFGate
“The latest poll of the California governor’s race just days before the primary election shows Democrat Xavier Becerra widening his late lead. A sprawling survey published Wednesday by the Public Policy Institute of California asked nearly 40 questions on California and national issues and gauged voters’ preferences in the governor’s race. Becerra, who has climbed in recent polls, is the leading candidate with 23% support among likely voters in PPIC’s poll, despite heavy scrutiny from his opponents in the last gubernatorial debate. … Just behind Becerra in the recent poll is Republican and former Fox News host Steve Hilton, with 20% support. Hilton has consistently fared well in the polls and received an endorsement from President Donald Trump. … While Becerra and Hilton appear to be the leaders ahead of the primary, billionaire and Democratic candidate Tom Steyer is next behind the front-runners in the PPIC poll with 15% support.” (05/29/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/california-governor-race-2026-22281527.php
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20) NH: Court rules signed affidavit enough to register to vote
Source: United Press International
“A federal judge declared a New Hampshire law that would have required new voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship because it is unconstitutional. U.S. District Court Judge Samantha Elliott wrote in the ruling, issued on Thursday, that New Hampshire House Bill 1569 would have made it harder for people to register to vote and cast ballots by removing methods for them to do so. The law would have required all new voters to provide a document proving citizenship, rather than attesting to their citizenship under penalty of perjury on an affidavit. New Hampshire state law already states that the form filled out and signed when registering qualifies as an affidavit, whether it is filed 30 days before an election or on election day, per state law, Elliott wrote.” (05/29/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/05/29/new-hampshire-voting-law-documents-unconstitutional/4311780094793/
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) We Must End the TSA “License to Loot”
Source: Independent Institute
by Jim Bovard
“For more than a decade, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents have plundered passengers at airport security checkpoints on the flimsiest or most shameless pretexts. If you get stopped at an airport security checkpoint with $100 or more in cash, TSA agents can fleece you. More than 10,000 travelers have been stripped of their money by TSA agents since 2014. But the feds almost never bother filing criminal charges against the victims of asset forfeiture. TSA considers itself generous when it ‘permits the passenger to continue on to their destination’ — after taking away their money.” (05/29/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/we-must-end-the-tsa-license-to-loot
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22) AI fiction is the new fast food
Source: Washington Post
by Megan McArdle
“If the proliferation of AI writing is a problem, it’s not because it’s terrible slop unfit for human consumption; it’s a problem because in some specific ways, it’s too good. It is the literary equivalent of fast food: convenient, cheap, hyper-consistent and relentlessly optimized to tickle our pleasure centers. Sure, AI produces some crazy metaphors and weird hallucinations, because the models have all of our text and none of our context. On the other hand, AI is really good at optimizing for readability, both stylistically and structurally. … as with fast food, what people want now isn’t necessarily good for them in the long run.” (05/31/26)
https://archive.is/Oe1zp
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23) Tennessee Celebrates the New-Fangled “Nuclear Family”
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“The nostalgia for a 1950s ‘mom, dad, two kids, Chevy four-door, well-manicured lawn around a tidy cottage’ way of life is not nostalgia for ‘the old days,’ let alone for the days shortly after ‘the creation of the world.’ It’s nostalgia for post-World-War-2 Pasadena, California.” (05/31/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20637
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24) Trump Loves Accusing Critics of Treason. US Law Makes That Charge Hard To Prove — for Good Reason.
Source: Reason
by Jacob Sullum
“The president’s habitual attempts to criminalize dissent hark back to tyrants of yore.” (05/30/26)
https://reason.com/2026/05/30/trump-loves-accusing-critics-of-treason-u-s-law-makes-that-charge-hard-to-prove-for-good-reason/
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25) A Nation of Suspects
Source: Antiwar.com
by Andrew P Napolitano
“Some of the recent legal challenges to the use of surveillance by the Department of Homeland Security upon Americans have resulted in the revelation of truly terrifying behavior by the government, in direct defiance of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution. We now know that the federal government spies on innocent Americans without suspicion and without warrants.” (05/29/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/andrew-p-napolitano/2026/05/28/a-nation-of-suspects
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26) An Iran rebuilt on mercy
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“Over the past year, two military campaigns against Iran by the United States and Israel never triggered a popular uprising that would fell the Islamic Republic, as hoped. Instead, President Donald Trump has now reached a tentative deal with the regime to address two international concerns: ending Iran’s nuclear program and opening the vital Strait of Hormuz to shipping. Still, many Iranians, especially the millions living abroad, have been busier than usual. They are trying to unite behind new plans for what to do if the government does collapse – notably, how to ensure no violence against the regime and its followers as a way to entice defections. They are heartened by reports of a power struggle in Tehran.” (05/29/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0529/An-Iran-rebuilt-on-mercy
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27) Ryanair, Easyjet, and just say no to a Financial Transactions Tax
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Tim Worstall
“Those with long memories will recall the campaign to have a Financial Transactions Tax. Something we were vehemently opposed to no doubt because we’re neoliberals or something. The idea was to have a miserly — say, 0.1%, or 0.05%, that sort of amount — tax on every financial transaction. The claim was that this would not affect ‘real’ trade and would only reduce the amount of speculative froth in the marketplace. Which would, according to the proposers, be good. Because, well, speculative froth and all that. Just capitalists playing with money, see? Except speculative froth does have a point …” (05/31/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/ryanair-easyjet-and-just-say-no-to-a-financial-transactions-tax
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28) When is enough enough for the Iran war hawks?
Source: The Hill
by Douglas MacKinnon
“Many of the those pushing for war over the last few decades were politicians, news editors and pundits thousands of miles from the battlefield. These ‘hawks’ continued their lives of luxury and safety within their bubbles of entitlement while young American troops became the disposable pawns to be moved about the surface of a macabre board game. … as President Trump seeks to find a lasting solution to end the war with Iran, their harsh voices can be heard screeching out their disapproval. Just the very thought of an extended ceasefire is enough to trigger some of the hawks. When is enough enough for the Iran war hawks? Naturally, they will say when Iran is no longer a threat to the U.S. or Israel. But what does ‘no longer a threat’ really mean? And what does the now ubiquitous phrase ‘finish the job’ really mean with respect to Iran?” (05/30/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/5900029-iran-war-hawks-debate/
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29) Warmongers Keep Generating AI Atrocity Propaganda About Iran
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Another AI atrocity propaganda project about Iran has been unleashed, this time in the form of a movie titled ‘Dreams of Violets’ at the Tribeca film festival. … The film’s trailer depicts sympathetic protagonists being brutally victimized by Iranian authorities, and concludes with the image of fighter jets soaring overhead while an English-captioned Persian voiceover says ‘If Iran gets liberated, celebrate for me. Enjoy it for us!'” (05/29/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/05/29/warmongers-keep-generating-ai-atrocity-propaganda-about-iran/
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30) Nothing Should Be Nationalized
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Laurence M Vance
“There is one main problem with President Trump’s call to nationalize elections: the Constitution, which decentralizes the election process with a minor role for Congress. Article I, Section 4, of the Constitution states that ‘the Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.’ There is no provision for the president to have anything to do with elections through executive action. … Another problem with President Trump’s call to nationalize elections is that it is based on something that is largely imaginary.” (05/29/26)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/nothing-should-be-nationalized/
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31) We Must Rise Up to Defend Democracy [sic] Now
Source: Our Future
by Sulma Arias
“In a healthy democracy, we have a say in how our daily lives are run, how our neighbors are treated, and how our tax dollars are spent. Right now, the majority of Americans are dissatisfied with how the country is being run, and where it is going. In a healthy democracy, we would be able to demand the change of direction we need with our votes. Yet our democracy [sic] is not healthy. This fundamental right – for every vote to count and be counted – is being taken away from us as we speak. That is why it is our duty to rise up and restore the health of our democracy, while we still can.” (05/31/26)
https://ourfuture.org/20260531/we-must-rise-up-to-defend-democracy-now
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32) Of Course We’re Fighting on the Lawn
Source: The Dispatch
by Kevin D Williamson
“It does not matter whether you live in a trailer park or a brick ranch house or something more grand and getting grander, it is all the same: Tornado bait is tornado bait. When the Trump administration announced that it was staging a UFC fight on the South Lawn of the White House, I knew what I was seeing. It is as familiar to me as the taste of canned Ranch Style Beans on cornbread …. I know my people. My people know what they like. And they will have what they like even if it harelips the pope — especially if it harelips the pope. It took 250 years, but you got here. All the way down here. From Greatest Generation to White Trash Nation in the space of one lifetime.” (05/29/26)
https://thedispatch.com/article/ufc-fight-white-house-american-decline/
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33) There Is No Right Way for the State to Kill People
Source: OtherWords
by Furonda Brasfield
“As a long-time death penalty abolitionist, I’ve often compared the death penalty in America to a train with no brakes: Once the machinery starts moving, it becomes extraordinarily difficult to stop. But the real problem is that the train should never have been built. Today, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Arkansas are experimenting with nitrogen gas executions, a method officials claim is more humane. But from noose to needle to nitrogen, our constant search for a more acceptable way to kill is a story of failure, not moral progress. There’s no acceptable way to practice a form of state killing that, for Black Americans especially, has long been intertwined with terror. History should make us skeptical whenever governments begin searching for new technologies to make killing appear more acceptable.” (05/31/26)
https://otherwords.org/theres-no-moral-death-penalty/
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34) Patents: The Damage of Coerced Intellectual Monopoly
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Jorge Besada
“One of the reasons why we fall for the erroneous idea that patents are good for society is because we greatly overestimate the importance of the specific individual or company making a discovery while being unaware of how the market process — via its various mechanisms like prices, the profit motive, and economic competition — plays a key role in innovation.” (05/29/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/patents-damage-coerced-intellectual-monopoly
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35) The New Religion of AI Accelerationism
Source: CounterPunch
by David S D’Amato
“Today’s technology sector does not represent the principles of anything like actual free-market competition; intensively subsidized by the public and deeply tied to the federal government, the major tech companies are a state-capital oligopoly that have benefited enormously from a variety of special subsidies and perks unavailable to ordinary companies and citizens. When we account for direct federal grants and subsidies, infrastructure support, and hardware manufacturing, public subsidies and allocations for AI have reached well into the hundreds of billions of dollars.” (05/29/26)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/05/29/the-new-religion-of-ai-accelerationism/
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36) The Bottle of Freedom
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Cláudia Ascensão Nunes
“When the Portuguese government decided to add a 10-cent deposit to the price of every plastic bottle under 3 liters (101 fl oz), a small family business in central Portugal did the math and launched a 3.1-liter (105 fl oz) bottle.” (05/29/26)
https://fee.org/articles/the-bottle-of-freedom/
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37) Black People Are Not Children, Nor Are They “Special”
Source: Town Hall
by Derek Hunter
“To hear Democrats talk about black people is a mix of arrogance, racism and more condescension than could be crammed into the Grand Canyon. What do I mean by that? It’s pretty simple, really: the left simultaneously insists black people are perpetual victims with economic hardship thrust upon them by ‘systemic racism’ and the sole builders of everything good and superior to everyone else. None of it is true, but all of it is designed to manipulate. Democrats, even black Democrats, treat the average black American like they’re a child and special; neither is true. They’re just people, like everyone else.” (05/31/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2026/05/31/black-people-are-not-children-nor-are-they-special-n2676957
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38) You can’t hide your lying ICE: The covered-up killing of Ruben Ray Martinez
Source: The Watch
by Radley Balko
“It took nearly a year for the public to learn that a DHS officer killed a Latino man and U.S. citizen — and that federal officers lied about how it happened.” (05/29/26)
https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/you-cant-hide-your-lying-ice-the-432
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39) Liberalism’s Uneasy Relationship with Democracy
Source: Liberalism.org
by Ilya Somin
“Liberalism — defined as the political philosophy that prioritizes individual freedom and human happiness — has always had an equivocal relationship with democracy. Democratic governments generally feature much greater liberty and happiness than other types of regimes. Liberals should resist the temptation to embrace authoritarianism. But there are also multiple ways in which democracy can often threaten liberty and human welfare. These dangers include the tyranny of the majority and widespread voter ignorance. Democracy can also be a threat to its own perpetuation, by bringing to power authoritarian political movements. These are all longstanding problems. But recent events demonstrate their continuing — and in some cases growing — significance.” (05/29/26)
https://www.liberalism.org/p/liberalism-s-uneasy-relationship-with-democracy
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40) The Bitter Lessons of Sugar Control in World War I
Source: The Daily Economy
by Daniel J Smith
“Herbert Hoover’s wartime sugar program generated shortages that led to expanding rationing systems and increasingly centralized control over the allocation of sugar.” (05/29/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/the-bitter-lessons-of-sugar-control-in-world-war-i/
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41) AIPAC and Auchincloss
Source: The American Prospect
by Robert Kuttner
“The other day, Rep. Jake Auchincloss, a corporate Democrat who represents one of the most liberal districts in Massachusetts, dredged up the issue of Graham Platner’s tattoo, attacking the certain Democratic nominee in a must-win Senate contest two states away. ‘I find that tattoo and his commentary about it to be personally disqualifying,’ Auchincloss told CNN Monday. ‘I think that it would be a mistake for the Democratic Party to think that Graham Platner’s brand of the Democratic Party is what wins us durable majorities throughout this country,’ he added …. Since Platner’s opponent in the Democratic primary, Janet Mills, has folded her campaign in the face of Platner’s overwhelming [sic] lead, in effect Auchincloss has endorsed the Republican incumbent, Susan Collins. What in hell is Auchincloss up to?” [editor’s note: Maybe he’s trying to be consistent with the party’s alleged “principles?” -SAT] (05/29/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/05/29/aipac-auchincloss-massachusetts-platner-maine-congress/
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42) Age Limits for Federal Office Are Wildly Popular, But Washington’s Gerontocracy Won’t Hear of it
Source: The UnPopulist
by Andy Craig
“America’s political gerontocracy is a genuine problem. It fuels dysfunction, distrust, and concrete negative policy consequences. We can’t sweep it under the rug any longer: too many of our high officeholders, including a disproportionate number of Democrats, are simply too old. It’s not unacceptable ageism to say so; it’s the cold, hard reality. And it’s time to confront it head on: we need a mandatory retirement age for politicians.” (05/29/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/age-limits-for-federal-office-are
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43) Is the FDA’s War on Vaping Coming to an End?
Source: Independent Institute
by Raymond J March
“Makary’s resignation may finally close the book on the FDA’s disastrous campaign.” (05/29/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/05/29/fda-war-vaping/
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44) Beyond Babel
Source: Law & Liberty
by Spencer A Klavan
“f you had told me at the turn of this century that the two most hotly anticipated cultural events of summer 2026 would be a screen adaptation of Homer and a papal encyclical, I’d have blessed your heart and called you crazy. Yet here we are, and the subjects everyone told me were ‘useless’ in school — philosophy, literature, dead languages — are informing several ferocious disputes over the fate of our civilization. The future looks bright for the humanities!” (05/29/26)
https://lawliberty.org/forum/beyond-babel/
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45) James Talarico’s desperate drive to detransition from his woke past
Source: New York Post
by Rich Lowry
“James Talarico has decided that God isn’t non-binary after all. Anyone who has relied on the Texas senatorial candidate for theological guidance might be experiencing whiplash. Talarico is trying to clean up a series of idiotic statements — including about God’s supposed non-conforming gender — that are vulnerabilities ahead of a competitive race against the scandal-plagued Republican candidate, Ken Paxton. Once upon a time, Talarico, a former Presbyterian seminarian, wanted to make the Bible into a tool of radical gender ideology.” [editor’s note: The irony here is he is correct, in that the concept of “God” as omniscient and omnipotent and All.That.Is (which is the premise of nearly ALL religious paths) implies neither gender nor humanic measurement of such, but “something greater than us” – SAT] (05/30/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/05/30/opinion/texas-dem-james-talaricos-big-hurdle-in-detransitioning-from-his-woke-past/
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46) Should an Industry-Friendly Rider in the Farm Bill Override Over 1,000 State Laws?
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Meryl Nass
“The battle over the Save Our Bacon Act is not merely a dispute about pork production or animal welfare standards. It is a constitutional and political struggle over whether states retain meaningful authority to govern agricultural commerce within their own borders — or whether that authority will increasingly be consolidated in Washington at the urging of large corporate interests. At the center of the debate lies a broader question that has shaped American federalism since the founding of the republic: who decides how communities govern themselves?” (05/29/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/should-an-industry-friendly-rider-in-the-farm-bill-override-over-1000-state-laws/
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47) The Dicey Details of the Federal Government’s New School Choice Tax Credit Program
Source: Show-Me Institute
by Cory Koedel
“During his State of the State address in January, Governor Mike Kehoe indicated Missouri is opting into the federal government’s new school choice tax credit program. The program resembles Missouri’s MOScholars program. Taxpayers can receive a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit for donations up to $1,700 annually to a scholarship-granting organization, or SGO, in Missouri. The SGO then distributes scholarships to families in Missouri seeking alternatives to their residentially assigned public schools. For many families, the scholarships will be used to pay private school tuition. But the potential is broader.” (05/29/26)
https://showmeinstitute.org/article/education/the-dicey-details-of-the-federal-governments-new-school-choice-tax-credit-program/
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48) The Most Important Question Facing Humanity
Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman
“In [Auberon] Herbert’s day, as in ours, people took for granted that the state (‘the people’) may properly exercise power over peaceful others (through, say, a parliament) for a variety of purposes. So he asked, ‘Have men any right to this power?’ And again, ‘If they have it, do they possess it for all matters? If not for all matters, for what matters? and in this last case how are we to tell what these matters are?'” (05/29/26)
https://sheldonrichman.substack.com/p/tgif-the-great-question-facing-humanity
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49) “We Demand Freedom”: Immigrants on Strike in New Jersey Prison
Source: In These Times
by Luis Feliz Leon
“On a patch of sidewalk on a busy industrial corridor in Newark, federal agents with rifles, metal batons, flak vests, and balaclavas faced off against unarmed activists with cardboard signs and a bullhorn. Detained workers could be heard on the soccer field behind the prison walls, shouting in Spanish: ‘Libertad!’ (Freedom!) Since May 22, 300 of them are on a work stoppage and hunger strike. Over video chat, one worker told the crowd outside that they had stopped eating and working for as little as $1 an hour (or no pay at all) to demand an improvement in their living conditions. ’But that’s not all we demand,’ he said. ‘We are also doing this to demand freedom. We’re not treated like people. We’re treated like animals.'” (05/29/26)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/new-jersey-prison-immigrants-strike-ice-trump
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50) Why Trump dumped Europe from Iran talks
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Eldar Mamedov
“[I]n his own erratic way, Trump wants to pacify the Middle East and claim sole credit for that. This is probably why he’s been pushing his improbable proposal that all countries in the greater region — from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan — join the Abraham Accords. Sharing a diplomatic trophy with Brussels, Berlin or London would presumably detract from his achievement.” (05/29/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-europe-iran/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Pink Flame of Liberty, 05/30/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“LNC Convention Discussion.” (05/30/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs8zYxakGxU
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52) Unattended Baggage, episode 342
Source: Unattended Baggage
“They walk among us.” (05/30/26)
https://unattendedbaggage.substack.com/p/episode-342-they-walk-among-us
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53) Free Talk Live, 05/30/26
Source: Free Talk Live
“Does AI deserve Personhood? :: Libertarian Socialism? What’s that??? :: Should politics come with a dress code? :: What is YOUR pet freedom? :: Compelling people into your beliefs is bad, guys. :: Should the libertarian party exist? :: Public schools aren’t teaching anyone anything. :: Bonnies LNC highlights and lowlights :: Libertarian on Libertarian violence :: How big of a society can you really have? :: Free city of Orania, South Africa :: 2026-05-30 Hosts: Lori, Bonnie, Riley.” (05/30/26)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/ftl2026-05-30
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54) The Inner Life of Liberalism, episode 2
Source: The Inner Life of Liberalism
“The Virtues of Honesty — with Christian Miller.” (05/29/26)
https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/aaronpowell/episodes/002-The-Virtues-of-Honestywith-Christian-Miller-e3k1oai
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55) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 05/29/26
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Trump Has Allowed Netanyahu to Control Negotiations, and it’s hurting Americans.” (05/29/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/blog/the-kyle-anzalone-show-trump-has-allowed-netanyahu-to-control-negotiations-and-its-hurting-americans/
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56) Serious Trouble, 05/29/26
Source: Serious Trouble
“Court Officers Behaving Badly.” (05/29/26)
https://www.serioustrouble.show/p/court-officers-behaving-badly
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57) Fountainhead Forum, episode 451
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Libertarian Goth on Thomas Massie and Goth subculture.” (05/29/26)
https://rumble.com/v7ai94s-ff-451-libertarian-goth.html
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58) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 05/29/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Is Ron Paul Still Optimistic?” (05/29/26)
https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1qKVmmvADbmxB
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59) The Business List, episode 45
Source: LP Alliance
“Your source for stories inside the [Libertarian Party], across the country, and around the world!” (05/29/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1R9E4kqEJs8
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60) Rising, 05/29/26
Source: The Hill
“Lindsey Granger gives her lens on Republican consultant Karl Rove bashing Texas senate candidate Ken Paxton, and suggesting that it may not be a good idea for President Trump to support him.” (05/29/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/5891222-rising-may-29-2026/
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