03/10 -- Iran: Regime says oil blockade will continue until attacks end, Trump threatens heavier strikes; American Gerontocracy
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Thomas L. Knapp
Mar 10, 2026, 6:18:12 AM (11 days ago) Mar 10
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 03/10/26
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Iran: Regime says oil blockade will continue until attacks end, Trump threatens heavier strikes
2) Bitcoin jumps past $70,000 as war volatility fades
3) Judge extends limit on fedgoons’ use of chemical weapons against Portland protesters
4) Turkey: Istanbul mayor, 400 other political prisoners go on (show) trial
5) Anthropic sues Trump regime over fake supply chain risk designation
6) SCOTUS to hear Guam hazardous waste explosions case
7) Congressional Democrats whine about people in another country getting oil from yet a third country
8) Norway: Police release images of Oslo US embassy explosion suspect
9) Travelers encounter long waits at some airports as DHS shutdown affects groper checkpoints
10) CA: Lawsuit accuses Meta of sending nude video from AI glasses to workers
11) Orban: Hungary’s regime will set price cap on gasoline and diesel
12) Country Joe McDonald, 1942-2026
13) Canadian officials rescue 23 people who floated away on ice sheet
14) Colombia: Leftist bloc dominates divided congress in legislative polls
15) NY: Complaint says men who brought explosives to protest said they were inspired by ISIS
16) NM: Brothers of Epstein Accuser Virginia Giuffre Visit Ranch, Demand Unredacted Documents
17) Booker proposes “Keep Your Pay Act,” eliminating federal income tax on first $75,000
18) Bangladesh: Regime shuts universities, limits fuel sale as Iran war causes shortage
19) Gen Z’s weed habits are flipping California’s cannabis industry
20) IL: Homeowner shoots intruder
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) American Gerontocracy
22) Expecting Iran to Unconditionally Surrender Is a Fool’s Errand
23) Why Healthcare Is So Expensive in America, and What to Do About It
24) As I Predicted (Feared) in Iran
25) 250 Years Later, The Wealth of Nations Still Has Lessons To Offer the Political Class
26) Planet Palantir: The Brave New War Machine
27) Trump’s Political Strategy on Iran Is Brilliant
28) There is No Truth in This
29) What We Do Tells Us Who We Are
30) The Children’s Iran War
31) Why “pursuit of happiness”remains the Declaration of Independence’s most novel phrase
32) Call You This Liberty?
33) Missiles, Memes, and Masculinity: When the White House Turns War Into Entertainment
34) Reflections on Four Decades of Teaching ECON 101
35) Will the Dollar be a Casualty of the Iran War?
36) Cruising to Dubai
37) Trump’s strike on Iran deals a major blow to Putin’s war machine in Ukraine
38) A Second Vietnam War? Hanoi Waits and Prepares
39) The Poisoning of Tehran
40) Observe the Economic Fallout Six Years Later
41) A Brief History of America’s Involvement in Iran
42) The Real Threat Is Artificial Credit, Not Artificial Intelligence
43) US and Iran Were Close to a Deal Before Trump Chose War
44) The myth of the billionaire wealth tax
45) Stop the Harmful Time-Changing Ritual
46) Apocalypse Soon? War on Iran Heralds Worse to Come.
47) Immigrants reduce America’s deficit. Congress should take notice.
48) Russia Resurrected and Exported a Fascist Ideology to the West
49) Poem: Watching Amazon Prime While The Iranians Burn
50) Marketing Boards are a Menace
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Reason Roundtable, 03/09/26
52) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 03/09/26
53) Gracearchy with Jim Babka, episode 155
54) The Evil Within, part 4
55) EconTalk, 03/09/26
56) TechTank, season 5, episode 38
57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 03/09/26
58) LPALive, episode 64
59) Bulwark Takes, 03/08/26
60) Free Talk Live, 03/08/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Iran: Regime says oil blockade will continue until attacks end, Trump threatens heavier strikes
Source: Reuters
“Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday they would not let any oil be shipped from the Middle East if U.S. and Israeli attacks continue, prompting President Donald Trump to say the U.S. would hit Iran much harder if it blocked exports. The rhetoric did little to quell a fall in crude prices and a rally in global shares that followed Trump expressing confidence in a swift end to hostilities, even after Iran showed defiance by naming Mojtaba Khamenei as its new supreme leader. … Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran was unlikely to resume negotiations with the U.S, which he said had spoken of progress after three rounds of talks. ‘Still, they decided to attack us. So, I don’t think talking to the Americans anymore would be on our agenda any more,” he said in an interview with PBS.'” (03/10/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/iran-says-oil-blockade-will-continue-until-attacks-end-trump-threatens-hit-2026-03-10/
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2) Bitcoin jumps past $70,000 as war volatility fades
Source: CoinDesk
“Bitcoin pushed back above $70,000 Tuesday morning East Asia time, completing a rapid recovery from a weekend selloff that briefly dragged the largest digital asset down to around $65,000. The move higher came as oil prices fell back below $100 and U.S. equity markets rallied. Markets turned risk off early Monday as disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz sent major oil benchmarks, WTI and brent, above $100 for the first time in years. Bitcoin dipped alongside risk assets during the initial shock but quickly stabilized in the mid $60,000 range — given Wall Street’s insulation from the energy crisis — before climbing again as markets digested the geopolitical headlines.” (03/10/26)
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/03/10/bitcoin-jumps-past-usd70-000-as-war-volatility-fades
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3) Judge extends limit on fedgoons’ use of chemical weapons against Portland protesters
Source: KOIN 6 News
“A federal judge furthered protections for demonstrators protesting federal immigration enforcement activities outside of Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement building. In an opinion and order issued Monday afternoon, U.S. District Judge Michael Simon granted the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction, further limiting the ability of federal law enforcement to use chemical munitions. … The class action lawsuit was filed in November after numerous protesters, including an elderly couple and children, said they were targeted with chemical munitions while peacefully demonstrating outside the ICE building in Portland.” (03/09/26)
https://www.koin.com/news/portland/judge-extends-limit-on-federal-agents-use-of-tear-gas-against-portland-protesters/
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4) Turkey: Istanbul mayor, 400 other political prisoners go on (show) trial
Source: ABC News
“Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu went on trial on Monday with more than 400 other defendants accused of widespread corruption in a case critics see as a politically motivated move against Turkey’s opposition. Imamoglu, who has been behind bars for nearly a year, is the main challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ’s 23-year rule. He was elected as the main opposition party’s candidate for an election due in 2028 just days after he was detained. The hearing began in a tense atmosphere, with Imamoglu asking to speak and the panel of judges refusing the request, Halk TV news channel and other media reported. The judges accused Imamoglu of disrupting the proceedings, and then left the courtroom. The trial was adjourned until the afternoon. Most of the 402 defendants worked for the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, headed by Imamoglu since 2019. Many are elected officials from the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, while journalists are also among the accused.” (03/09/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/istanbuls-mayor-trial-400-defendants-corruption-case-130895435
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5) Anthropic sues Trump regime over fake supply chain risk designation
Source: The Hill
“Artificial intelligence company Anthropic filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration Monday challenging the Pentagon’s decision to label the company and its products as a ‘supply chain risk’ after negotiations over safety guardrails fell apart earlier this month. The suit, filed in federal court in California on Monday, argues the designation and President Trump’s order for all federal agencies to cease the use of Anthropic are ‘unprecedented and unlawful.’ The AI firm asked the court to reverse the Pentagon’s decision, warning the ‘consequences of this case are enormous.’ The supply chain risk designation has typically been reserved for foreign adversaries and restricts defense contractors from using the company’s products.” (03/09/26)
https://thehill.com/policy/technology/5775049-anthropic-sues-trump-administration/
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6) SCOTUS to hear Guam hazardous waste explosions case
Source: Yahoo! News
“The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear a bid by President Donald Trump’s administration to dismiss a challenge by environmentalists to the U.S. Air Force’s practice of detonating hazardous waste explosives on a beach in Guam. The justices agreed to hear the Justice Department’s appeal of a lower court’s ruling allowing a lawsuit pursued by the environmental groups Prutehi Guahan and Earthjustice …. Since 1982, the Air Force has disposed of hazardous munitions such as tear gas and propellants on Tarague Beach, a restricted-access location in Guam, a U.S. territory roughly 3,800 miles (6,100 km) from Hawaii that acts as an anchor for military operations in the Western Pacific. Tarague Beach serves as a nesting habitat for the endangered turtles and sits above an aquifer that provides more than 80% of the island’s population with drinking water.” (03/09/26)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/us-supreme-court-hear-guam-173224946.html
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7) Congressional Democrats whine about people in another country getting oil from yet a third country
Source: CNBC
“Congressional Democrats are demanding that the Trump administration immediately reverse a sanctions waiver allowing Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil as the Iran war wreaks havoc on global energy markets. ‘Your recent decision to provide a 30-day waiver is dangerous, self-defeating, and indefensible,’ Rep. Sam Liccardo, D-Calif., and Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., wrote in a letter Monday to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, which was shared exclusively with CNBC. ‘This waiver constitutes an inexplicable act of material benefit to the enemy.’ The Treasury Department last week issued a temporary 30-day sanctions carve-out to allow India to buy Russian oil, an effort to ease skyrocketing oil prices caused by the war and the traffic standstill at the Strait of Hormuz.” [editor’s note: In what universe is it Liccardo’s, Gallego’s, or the US government’s business where Indian customers get their oil from? – TLK] (03/09/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/09/bessent-russian-oil-sales-india.html
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8) Norway: Police release images of Oslo US embassy explosion suspect
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Police in Norway have released pictures of a suspect linked to an explosion outside the US’s embassy in Norway’s capital Oslo on Sunday. Two heavily pixelated images taken from surveillance footage show a person with their face concealed, dressed in dark clothing and carrying a backpack. Police said in a statement on Monday that their investigation had so far showed the explosion was caused by an improvised device that was placed at the building’s entrance. The blast caused minor damage and no injuries were reported. Police previously said it was possible the explosion was an act of terrorism. They said in their latest update that they had no developments on the attacker’s motive. As well as the images, investigators were also examining a video published on Google Maps around the time of the incident, police said.” (03/09/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce8wk563473o
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9) Travelers encounter long waits at some airports as DHS shutdown affects groper checkpoints
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
“Travelers complained of long waits Sunday — lasting hours in some cases — at security checkpoints at airports in Houston and New Orleans, which officials blamed on a government shutdown of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.” [editor’s note: There’s an easy fix for that — “standing in a line to get groped has been suspended until further notice, just go to your gate and board your flight” – TLK] (03/09/26)
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/03/09/dhs-shutdown-airport-security/
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10) CA: Lawsuit accuses Meta of sending nude video from AI glasses to workers
Source: SFGate
“Meta’s AI glasses were a breakout hit of 2025, with more than 7 million pairs sold. But the Bay Area tech giant now faces disconcerting allegations about the footage recorded by the devices’ cameras. The company pitches its glasses, with their small cameras that have raised some privacy concerns, as safe: ‘Designed for privacy, controlled by you’. In late February, the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet, or SvD, published an investigation that said Kenyan subcontractors end up seeing deeply personal footage from the glasses — including bank cards, people changing and people having sex. A new federal lawsuit filed in San Francisco on Wednesday points to the article and accuses Meta of false advertising, fraud and breach of contract. ‘Consumers purchased these Glasses believing Meta’s privacy assurances,’ the complaint says. ‘They did not, and could not reasonably, understand that their bedrooms, bathrooms, families, bodies, and more would be exposed to strangers around the world.'” (03/08/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/meta-ai-glasses-lawsuit-21960004.php
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11) Orban: Hungary’s regime will set price cap on gasoline and diesel
Source: SFGate
“Hungary’s government will introduce a price cap on gasoline and diesel at fueling stations beginning at midnight local time, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced on Monday. The move came against the backdrop of soaring global oil prices as the Iran war, now in its second week, ensnares countries and infrastructure critical to the production and movement of oil and gas. In a video posted on social media, Orbán said ‘the international oil price explosion has reached Hungary as well’, and that the government would cap the price of gasoline at 595 forints ($1.75) per liter and diesel at 615 forints ($1.81) per liter. He added that the capped price would only apply to vehicles with Hungarian license plates and registration documents, and that Hungary would free up its oil reserves to ensure adequate supply.” (03/09/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/hungarian-leader-orb-n-urges-european-union-to-21963895.php
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12) Country Joe McDonald, 1942-2026
Source: United Press International
“Country Joe McDonald, who formerly helmed Country Joe and the Fish, died Saturday. He was 84. The band announced the music artist’s death in Berkeley, Calif. on Facebook Sunday. The cause was listed as Parkinson’s Disease complications. … McDonald’s psychedelic rock band took to the stage before some 400,000 during Woodstock, The New York Times reported, performing ‘I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag,’ which criticized the Vietnam War. … McDonald ultimately branched off on his own, launching his solo career with Thinking of Woodie Guthrie.” (03/09/26)
https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2026/03/09/obit-country-joe-mcdonald/2901773058567/
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13) Canadian officials rescue 23 people who floated away on ice sheet
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Twenty-three people have been rescued by helicopter crews in Ontario, Canada, after the ice shelf they were standing on broke, sending the group floating into Lake Huron. Ontario Provincial Police said on social media that the rescue began around noon (16:00 GMT) on Sunday after ‘winds and current moved the ice shelf away from shore’ approximately 2km (1.2 miles). The rescue involved two helicopters making multiple trips to pluck people off the shelf as it continued to fracture into more pieces in the Owen Sound, about 200km north-west of Toronto. One member of the group said that he only realised the ice he was fishing on had detached from shore when he noticed that his GPS showed him moving. Members of the rescued group described harrowing moments, with several of them becoming partially submerged in the cold waters as they sought out the thickest ice on the floe, or sheet.” (03/09/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gqyw154lyo
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14) Colombia: Leftist bloc dominates divided congress in legislative polls
Source: United Press International
“Preliminary results in Colombia’s legislative elections on Sunday showed President Gustavo Petro’s left-wing bloc maintaining its status as a dominant force, but with congress continuing to be divided. The results offered a glimmer of hope that Petro’s party may contend against the resurgent right in the May 31 presidential vote, which is projected to head to a runoff in June. Petro, Colombia’s first leftist president, is barred by law from running for re-election and had been eying to push through reforms ahead of his term running out. While the makeup of the lower chamber remained uncertain, Petro’s leftist coalition was expected to be among the biggest, while in the Senate it was expected to be the largest.” (03/09/26)
https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20260309-colombia-elects-a-divided-congress-ahead-of-may-presidential-polls
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15) NY: Complaint says men who brought explosives to protest said they were inspired by ISIS
Source: SFGate
“Two men who brought explosives to a protest outside New York City’s mayoral mansion said they were inspired by the Islamic State extremist group, a court complaint said. Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi are awaiting arraignment Monday on charges of attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass destruction. Kayumi blurted out, as he was being arrested Saturday, that ‘ISIS’ was the reason for his conduct, the complaint said. Balat, 18, later told authorities that he had pledged allegiance to the extremist group, and Kayumi, 19, asserted that he was affiliated with the Islamic State group, the complaint said. Officers asked Balat whether he was aiming to accomplish something akin to the bombing of the Boston Marathon in 2013, when when two pressure-cooker bombs exploded near the finish line, killing three people and wounding hundreds more.” (03/09/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/explosives-thrown-near-new-york-city-mayor-s-21964148.php
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16) NM: Brothers of Epstein Accuser Virginia Giuffre Visit Ranch, Demand Unredacted Documents
Source: US News & World Report
“Two brothers of one of Jeffrey Epstein’s most prominent accusers visited the sex offender’s former New Mexico ranch on Sunday for the first time to demand the Trump administration release unredacted documents to reveal the identities of men their late sister alleged sexually abused her at the property. With Epstein’s hacienda-style mansion in the background, the brothers of Virginia Giuffre, who took her own life in April, joined hundreds of protesters at a roadside rally to mark international women’s day near the gate of the ranch located 30 miles (48 km) south of state capital Santa Fe. Giuffre’s brother Sky Roberts, 37, called on the U.S. Department of Justice to release documents showing, among other things, names of visitors to Epstein’s Zorro Ranch where he and his acquaintances are accused of sexually abusing women and girls.” (03/08/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-03-08/brothers-of-epstein-accuser-virginia-giuffre-visit-new-mexico-ranch-demand-unredacted-documents
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17) Booker proposes “Keep Your Pay Act,” eliminating federal income tax on first $75,000
Source: Fox News
“Sen. Cory Booker [D-NJ], facing a re-election campaign in 2026, announced a new tax-cut bill, the Keep Your Pay Act, that would eliminate federal income taxes on the first $75,000 of income for most households and expand key tax credits for working families. Booker’s plan increases the standard deduction to $75,000 for married couples filing jointly, with proportional relief for single filers and heads of household, reducing federal income tax on the median American family by an estimated 85%. ‘New Jerseyans are working harder than ever, but they’re struggling to get by because they’re facing out of control costs and an economy that is stacked against them — so we need big ideas to start making the American Dream possible for everyone again,’ he wrote in a statement unveiling his bill. ‘No income tax on the first $75,000 families earn would be a game changer for working people.'” (03/09/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sen-cory-booker-proposes-keep-your-pay-act-eliminating-federal-income-tax-first-75000
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18) Bangladesh: Regime shuts universities, limits fuel sale as Iran war causes shortage
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Bangladesh has closed universities and launched fuel rationing amid a worsening energy crisis linked to the conflict in the Middle East. Authorities shut all public and private universities across the country from Monday, bringing forward the Eid al-Fitr holidays as part of emergency measures to conserve electricity and fuel. Officials said the move will not only reduce electricity consumption but also ease traffic congestion, which leads to fuel wastage. They said the university campuses consume large amounts of electricity for residential halls, classrooms, laboratories and air conditioning, and the early closure would help ease pressure on the country’s strained power system.” (03/09/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/9/bangladesh-shuts-universities-limits-fuel-sale-as-iran-war-causes-shortage
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19) Gen Z’s weed habits are flipping California’s cannabis industry
Source: SFGate
“Gen Z has shredded a long-held dynamic in the cannabis industry. For centuries, cannabis flower has been the king of marijuana. And since legalization, flower has always been the most popular product at legal pot shops in California. But that dominance is now all over, largely thanks to Gen Z. Cannabis vapes surpassed flower in June and are consistently the top-selling product category in California, according to state data. California shoppers spent over 10% more on cannabis vapes than flower last month, and more than 170% more on vapes compared to edibles, according to state data. This growth is being driven primarily by Gen Z, who have an overwhelming preference for the handheld vapes and are the first generation to prefer vape pens over any other type of cannabis product, according to data shared with SFGATE by cannabis analytics company Headset.” (03/09/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/cannabis/article/gen-z-cannabis-vapes-21956541.php
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20) IL: Homeowner shoots intruder
Source: Yahoo! News
“A man is recovering in the hospital after he was shot by a CCL holder while allegedly attempting to break into a home on the city’s South Side early Saturday morning. … According to police, the suspect, a 59-year-old man, allegedly broke into a garage in the area but was confronted by the homeowner amid the attempt. The homeowner, a valid CCL holder, then pulled out a gun and opened fire on the suspect. Officers said the suspect suffered a gunshot wound to his right leg and was later hospitalized in good condition.” (03/08/26)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/alleged-home-intruder-shot-ccl-132101777.html
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) American Gerontocracy
Source: Law & Liberty
by Aidan Grogan
“America’s Boomers have established a bipartisan gerontocracy — a political and economic system under the leadership of the elderly. They take care of their own and make younger Americans foot the bill for their longer and more luxurious retirements. It’s obviously unfair, but no one on either side of the political aisle seems inclined to do anything about it. The federal government has run a budget deficit for 24 consecutive years as the gerontocracy tightened its grip on power. It’s particularly worrisome given that the political influence of senior citizens is likely to grow as the population ages, even as the economics of America’s gerontocracy become more and more unsustainable.” (03/09/26)
https://lawliberty.org/american-gerontocracy/
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22) Expecting Iran to Unconditionally Surrender Is a Fool’s Errand
Source: Persuasion
by Francis Fukuyama
“Of the many questionable decisions Donald Trump has made with regard to Iran, one of the strangest was his declaration last Friday that the United States would demand ‘unconditional surrender’ from Tehran. When Trump launched the attack with Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel, he was obviously hoping for a quick victory, something like the outcome he achieved when he snatched Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela in January. But the war expanded across the Middle East … Normally, a smart leader in such a situation would try to lower expectations and declare an achievable objective in the war, such as degrading the better part of Iran’s ability to strike targets with ballistic missiles and drones. This would offer an opportunity for Trump to declare victory and disengage. Instead, Trump did the opposite. The new objective of unconditional surrender suddenly raised the goalposts to an unachievable height.” (03/09/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/iran-probably-wont-surrender
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23) Why Healthcare Is So Expensive in America, and What to Do About It
Source: Cato Institute
by Veronique de Rugy
“America’s healthcare system consistently ranks as the most expensive in the developed world. It’s not, as some politicians claim, expensive because markets have failed. It’s expensive because the market has been repeatedly blocked from succeeding. Until we’re honest about that, any potential reforms will only address symptoms while ignoring the disease. The healthcare market is hindered in many ways, but the core structural problem is simple: The person receiving care is almost never the person actually paying for it.” (03/09/26)
https://www.cato.org/commentary/why-healthcare-so-expensive-america-what-do-about-it
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24) As I Predicted (Feared) in Iran
Source: Coyote Blog
by Warren Meyer
“Back in the first heady days of the attacks on Iran I cautioned that it was relatively easy to kill a few leaders and bomb a bunch of stuff, but harder to understand how a liberal democracy was to magically eventuate in Iran. The US has a history of removing one bad leader and getting only something worse afterwards (remember Diem? Gaddafi?). One problem is that after 40 years of rule, the totalitarian government there is strong and deeply entrenched, and the opposition (while it certainly exists) does not seem to have leadership, plans, or coherent organization. Would killing Hitler in 1943 or Stalin in 1937 have incited a successful revolution? Almost certainly not — not because they were loved but because their party’s instruments of control were strong and the opposition was smashed flat.” (03/09/26)
https://coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2026/03/as-i-predicted-feared-in-iran.html
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25) 250 Years Later, The Wealth of Nations Still Has Lessons To Offer the Political Class
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“Few books can be said to have withstood the test of time 250 years later, but Adam Smith’s An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (usually shortened to The Wealth of Nations), published for the first time in 1776, certainly has. At a time when even the governments of nominally free countries once again dabble with guiding economies, and the president of the United States rails against trade as if it’s a team sport where some countries are winners and others are losers, Smith’s book reminds us that unfettered societies are both good and productive, and that free trade produces the best outcomes for all.” (03/09/26)
https://reason.com/2026/03/09/250-years-later-the-wealth-of-nations-still-has-lessons-to-offer-the-political-class/
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26) Planet Palantir: The Brave New War Machine
Source: TomDispatch
by Janet Abou-Elias & William D. Hartung
“‘I love the idea of getting a drone and having light fentanyl-laced urine spraying on analysts that tried to screw us’, said Alex Karp, the CEO of the emerging military tech firm Palantir. Far from an offhand outburst, his statement reflects a broader ethos taking hold in Silicon Valley’s military-tech sector, one that treats coercion as innovation, cruelty as candor, and the unchecked application of technological power as both inevitable and desirable. Karp loves verbal combat as much as he likes running a firm that makes high-tech weaponry. His company has helped Israel increase the pace at which it has bombed and slaughtered Palestinians in Gaza, and its technology has helped ICE accelerate deportations, while also helping locate and identify demonstrators in Minneapolis. Not only is Karp unapologetic about the damage done by his company’s products, he openly revels in it.” (03/08/26)
https://tomdispatch.com/the-brave-new-war-machine/
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27) Trump’s Political Strategy on Iran Is Brilliant
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“Political commentators are saying that President Trump has made a big political mistake by promoting many justifications for his war on Iran. … I say that President Trump showed political brilliance in coming up with an extremely large number of justifications for his war. … it gives his MAGA supporters a justification that is certain to satisfy all of them. In other words, if he had come up with only one or two justifications, there is a good possibility that a large percentage of MAGA men would not find them to be persuasive. Oh, to be sure, they would still be supportive, given their blind, loyal, patriotic, subservient, and obsequious support of whatever Trump says or does, but it might not be as enthusiastic as Trump would like it.” (03/09/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/03/09/trumps-political-strategy-on-iran-is-brilliant/
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28) There is No Truth in This
Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders
“William Tecumseh Sherman said, ‘War is hell.’ And he was right, though I can’t remember if he said that before or after torching everything he could on his march to the sea. Of the latest military adventure, enlightened commenters sit in their easy chairs and slap cheap bumper-sticker assessments on the Web for all the world to see. They baptize themselves in their own rectitude, having neither dodged a bullet in Fallujah nor watched a buddy’s legs get blown off by a roadside IED. Nor have they had to live a life of conformity forced by zealots pretending to believe in a religion they never converted to. They never had to be beaten and raped for showing their hair, or singing an ancient song, or dancing an ancient dance.” (03/09/26)
https://underthrow.substack.com/p/there-is-no-truth-in-this
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29) What We Do Tells Us Who We Are
Source: Our Future
by Sulma Arias
“I’m a practical person. Ideas matter, but they only come to life when we put them into practice. So if you haven’t heard from me recently, it’s because I’ve been out there, around the country, putting the Organizing Revival into practice on the ground with People’s Action organizers and our growing family of allies. And I’ve been cooking! Yes, I mean that literally. As I’ve met with different people, we’ve been making chiles rellenos, one of my most cherished dishes! Cooking and eating together has become an important part of these strategic gatherings, as we commit to move forward together into an uncertain landscape that holds dark but certain challenges. I’ll share more about this, and my recipe, in a bit. But first, I want to talk about the moment we’re in. I recently wrote an article in Convergence Magazine that I hope you’ve seen.” (03/09/26)
https://ourfuture.org/20260308/what-we-do-tells-us-who-we-are
-----
30) The Children’s Iran War
Source: The American Conservative
by Ben Sixsmith
“A long-running theme in the right-wing critique of progressive politics in the 2010s was mockery of its reliance on fantasy fiction. Left-leaning commentators appeared to have been trapped within the reference points of the novels of their childhood. Harry Potter was especially prominent in left-wing arguments. … we critics of ‘social justice’ activism found this discourse entertaining. We mocked its Manichaean vision of the world, in which everyone was either a goodie or a baddie. We made fun of its at least implicit reliance on magic. ‘Read another book’ was a popular jibe. This was more than legitimate. Still, as the American-Israeli war against Iran continues, I can’t help feeling that some people on the right were laughing without thinking. Now, some right-wing figures seem to be viewing the world through the lens of childish fiction. Prowar rhetoric is seething with cheap comparisons to popular culture.” (03/09/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-childrens-iran-war/
-----
31) Why “pursuit of happiness”remains the Declaration of Independence’s most novel phrase
Source: New York Post
by Steven F Hayward
“The primary obligation of any government, the Declaration of Independence tells us in its famous second paragraph, is the ‘safety and happiness’ of its citizens. The necessity of securing safety is obvious (except to progressive politicians in big blue cities, who are often diffident about crime and disorder), but it is thought something of a novelty of the Declaration to set out ‘the pursuit of happiness’ as one of the central ‘inalienable rights’, along with life and liberty. It is well established that Thomas Jefferson and his collaborators in writing the Declaration (John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston) followed the language and logic of John Locke’s ‘Second Treatise of Government’. But Locke and other social-contract theorists of the era typically spoke of the inalienable natural rights to ‘life, liberty and property’, or ‘life, liberty and estate.’?” (03/08/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/03/08/us-news/the-pursuit-of-happiness-remains-a-novel-moment-in-us-history/
-----
32) Call You This Liberty?
Source: Liberal Currents
by Guillaume AW Attia
“When the Middle East journalist Omid Memariam was arrested by the Iranian government, his interrogators intentionally chose not to wear masks in order to convey both the legitimacy of the government and the propriety of the interrogation. ‘Once a mask is involved,’ Memariam explains, ‘people understand it as a sign of weakness, that the government has something to hide.’ With the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, it is hard to see how the government can convince large portions of the American public that they do not have something to hide. This raises a core issue at the heart of the mask discussion: the erosion of certain basic and long-standing moral and legal norms in America.” (03/09/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/call-you-this-liberty/
-----
33) Missiles, Memes, and Masculinity: When the White House Turns War Into Entertainment
Source: Common Dreams
by Rob Okun
“A week into Trump’s illegal war against Iran, the White House released a 42-second video on X, featuring movie scenes spliced with real military footage of strikes in Iran, promising ‘justice, the American way’. Rather than sober statements about national security or the grim human realities of war, the March 5 video resembled a movie trailer. The clips stitched together real footage of missile strikes with pop-culture heroes: Russell Crowe in Gladiator, Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick, Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, Keanu Reeves’ relentless assassin in the John Wick films. Even SpongeBob SquarePants made an appearance. The video was immediately mocked for reflecting the militaristic fantasies of teenage boys (see Hegseth, Pete), more than that of the US starting a war. The editing followed a familiar formula: a heroic movie quote, a dramatic cut to real explosions, then a video-game style victory sound. War, apparently, has become content.” (03/09/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/white-house-war-meme-video
-----
34) Reflections on Four Decades of Teaching ECON 101
Source: The Daily Economy
by Donald J Boudreaux
“My ECON 101 course is taught as if it’s the only economic course my students will ever take. Unlike many professors, I do not teach Principles of Microeconomics to prepare my students for Intermediate Microeconomics, which is the next course up in the curriculum. Some such preparation occurs, I’m pleased to report, but that’s all incidental. My chief goal is to inject my students with the rudiments of the economic way of thinking in order to inoculate them against the most virulent fallacies that are likely to try to infect their minds as they go through life.” (03/09/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/reflections-on-four-decades-of-teaching-econ-101/
-----
35) Will the Dollar be a Casualty of the Iran War?
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
by Ron Paul
“The costs of this war will put added pressure on the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low and increase its purchase of Treasury bonds in order to monetize the federal debt. The pressure on the Fed will also increase as other countries reduce their purchase of US debt. These reductions will be motivated by concerns over the economic instability caused by the US government’s out of control spending and by resentment over the US government’s hyper-interventionist foreign policy. These factors could also accelerate the increasing rejection of the dollar’s world reserve currency status. A loss of the reserve currency status will cause a dollar crisis, leading to an economic crash worse than the Great Depression.” (03/09/26)
http://www.ronpaullibertyreport.com/archives/will-the-dollar-be-a-casualty-of-the-iran-war
-----
36) Cruising to Dubai
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
“When Americans initially hear the facts about the Emirates, most are incredulous. How can anywhere be 88% foreign-born yet remain a country? Isn’t ‘guest worker’ just a euphemism for ‘slave?’ But once you see the UAE with your own eyes, it’s hard not to scoff at these naive complaints. The UAE is totally a country, and no one buys plane tickets to become a slave. After Americans spend time in the UAE, their most sensible remaining critique is simply: ‘This immigration system works fine over in the Middle East. Maybe better than fine. But the American people would never tolerate the extreme inequality.’ … But are Americans really such egalitarian pearl clutchers?” (03/09/26)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/cruising-to-dubai
-----
37) Trump’s strike on Iran deals a major blow to Putin’s war machine in Ukraine
Source: Fox News
by Clara Kaluderovic
“Within hours of American munitions striking Iranian soil, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a statement that the Western press largely treated as a diplomatic footnote, but it was a signal that what happens in the skies over Tehran has a direct impact on the ground in Ukraine. President Zelenskyy explicitly endorsed the strikes, called Iran ‘Putin’s accomplice’, noted that his country has absorbed over 57,000 Iranian-supplied drone attacks, and took aim at Moscow: ‘Whenever there is American resolve, global criminals weaken. This understanding must also come to the Russians.’ Zelenskyy’s framing of the war in Iran through the lens of Ukraine’s war is not incidental. Whatever Washington’s stated objectives, the president, who has lived through the Ukraine conflict since the 2022 invasion, understands that Iran has been an active accomplice in Russia’s war against Ukraine, and the United States has now acted against that accomplice.” (03/09/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/trumps-strike-iran-deals-major-blow-putins-war-machine-ukraine
-----
38) A Second Vietnam War? Hanoi Waits and Prepares
Source: Libertarian Institute
by José Niño
“On the surface, everything between Vietnam and the United States looked better than it ever had. In September 2023, President Joe Biden and General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, elevating relations to their highest diplomatic tier. American officials toasted prosperity. Vietnamese leaders smiled for cameras. The messaging suggested a new chapter in a relationship once defined by napalm and body counts. Then, in early February 2026, a very different story emerged from behind the curtain.” (03/09/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/a-second-vietnam-war-hanoi-waits-and-prepares
-----
39) The Poisoning of Tehran
Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison
“It is not surprising that a genocidal government would commit more crimes against humanity in this war, but it is important to recognize and condemn those crimes when we see them. Poisoning the air that the entire population breathes is a horrifying crime. The U.S. and Israel are inflicting monstrous collective punishment on one of the largest cities in the world in a war they started. The attackers have made clear through their actions that this is a war to wreck Iran and hurt its people.” (03/09/26)
https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/the-poisoning-of-tehran
-----
40) Observe the Economic Fallout Six Years Later
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Jeffrey A Tucker
“Many people want to be done with Covid lockdowns as a topic. The trouble is that Covid lockdowns are not done with us. Nothing like this had ever been tried in real life, a forced stoppage of most human activity as it affects the material and social world. The impact would be far reaching, long lasting, and devastation – one of the more significant calamities of modern times. Prevailing economic weakness and resulting stagnation for living standards is only one result. It’s nowhere near over.” (03/09/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/observe-the-economic-fallout-six-years-later/
-----
41) A Brief History of America’s Involvement in Iran
Source: The American Prospect
by Naomi Bethune
“Why did President Donald Trump launch Operation Epic Fury? He’s provided a stream of reasons: forcing regime change; destroying Iran’s missile capabilities (to eliminate what he called ‘imminent threats’); ‘annihilating’ the Iranian navy; ensuring that Iran cannot further develop nuclear weapons; and blocking Iran’s support of groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. Regardless of the reason (if one truly exists), such military action is at odds with Trump’s stated ‘America First’ foreign-policy strategy, ostensibly prioritizing unilateralist and noninterventionist behavior. Trump has routinely made a point of withdrawing from prominent international treaties and organizations (the Paris climate accords and North American Free Trade Agreement) in an effort to isolate American interests. Why, then, did Trump join Israel in going to war with Iran? What can history tell us about the possible outcomes of this decision?” (03/09/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/03/09/iran-america-history-involvement-middle-east-cold-war-nuclear-reagan-trump/
-----
42) The Real Threat Is Artificial Credit, Not Artificial Intelligence
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by George Ford Smith
“Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming one of the most capital-intensive industries in history. Consider: Semiconductor fabrication plants cost tens of billions of dollars. Massive data centers consume extraordinary amounts of electricity, sending power bills soaring. Specialized engineering talent commands premium wages. (Although the median salary for an AI professional is $160K annually, the top 1 percent of AI researchers receive compensation packages exceeding $1 million). Global supply chains must coordinate rare materials, precision manufacturing, and complex infrastructure. Yet discussions about artificial intelligence almost never address the most important economic variable shaping its development: money. From an Austrian perspective, the future of artificial intelligence ties directly to the monetary system that finances it. Whether AI produces sustainable prosperity or another boom-bust cycle depends less on algorithms than on interest rates.” (03/09/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/real-threat-artificial-credit-not-artificial-intelligence
-----
43) US and Iran Were Close to a Deal Before Trump Chose War
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ted Snider
“Iran has an ‘inalienable right’ to enrich uranium for civilian use, Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, told the U.S. delegation with frustration in the final round of talks before the bombs started to fall on Iran. And the U.S. has an ‘inalienable right’ to stop you, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff answered with hubris. Araghchi is right, and Witkoff is wrong. The U.S. and its partners have presented the public with a war that was caused by Iran’s refusal to compromise on its civilian nuclear program; however, as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran has ‘the inalienable right to a civilian program that uses nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.'” (03/09/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/ted_snider/2026/03/08/us-and-iran-were-close-to-a-deal-before-trump-and-netanyahu-chose-war/
-----
44) The myth of the billionaire wealth tax
Source: Washington Post
by Megan McArdle
“The problem with government spending is that you have to pay for it. New programs often poll well when you tell people about the benefits. Mention raising taxes, however, and it’s a whole different story. But what if you didn’t have to tax reluctant voters to fund your big ideas? I mean, Elon Musk is sitting on somewhere north of $670 billion. If the government took just 5 percent of that, it would have almost $34 billion to spend on health care and child care and green energy, right? And there are almost a thousand other billionaires in the country, so pass that wealth tax and warm up the money cannons! If only it were so easy. … wealth taxes have been tried over and over, and most countries that adopted them eventually abandoned the idea, finding that such taxes were difficult to administer, caused capital flight and raised little revenue.” (03/08/26)
https://archive.is/npZ0W
-----
45) Stop the Harmful Time-Changing Ritual
Source: Town Hall
by Jeff Crouere
“Except for the wise people of Arizona and Hawaii, who have year-round standard time, Americans were once again forced to ‘spring forward’ and lose an hour of sleep on Sunday morning. This practice, known as daylight saving time, gives Americans more time in the evening to enjoy sunlight. This helps owners of golf courses, tennis courts, and other outdoor entertainment venues. Conversely, it also forces parents to drive their children to school in the dark. With the time change, accidents increase, as do health-related issues. Losing an hour of sleep disrupts our ‘body clocks’. As William Shughart, II writes in the Miami Herald, daylight saving time misaligns ‘our human body clocks with morning sunlight, thereby disrupting circadian rhythms and causing the spikes in heart attacks, strokes, depression and other health problems observed in the days following the one-hour spring and fall time shifts’.” (03/09/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/jeffcrouere/2026/03/09/stop-the-harmful-time-change-ritual-n2672498
-----
46) Apocalypse Soon? War on Iran Heralds Worse to Come.
Source: The Realist Review
by Martin Sieff
“One did not have to be Michel de Nostradamus to anticipate that this was going to happen. Nostradamus repeatedly warned about the immeasurable catastrophes that would flow from provoking the Iranian people into a wild, once-in-two-millennia jihad against the West. Not that such an eventuality was ever going to happen unless some Western leaders were stupid enough to martyr an Iranian Shiite leader during the holy month of Ramadan. Great thinking, guys.” (03/08/26)
https://therealistreview.substack.com/p/apocalypse-soon-war-on-iran-heralds
-----
47) Immigrants reduce America’s deficit. Congress should take notice.
Source: Orange County Register
by David Bier
“Amid ongoing congressional debates—culminating, of course, in a partial shutdown—over Trump’s mass deportation agenda, one fact in particular should capture both Democrats’ and Republicans’ attention: immigrants provide an enormous boost to the country’s long-term economic and fiscal health, reducing our massive deficit by a third.” (03/08/26)
https://archive.is/FMx10
-----
48) Russia Resurrected and Exported a Fascist Ideology to the West
Source: The UnPopulist
by Tom G Palmer
“That the Trump administration is targeting ‘enemies within’ instead of Putin shows how much America has already succumbed to it.” (03/08/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/russia-resurrected-and-exported-a
-----
49) Poem: Watching Amazon Prime While The Iranians Burn
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Watching Amazon Prime while the Iranians burn. / Stuffing our mouths with cheesysugarbacon / while the sky turns black over Tehran. / Laughing without smiling. / Laughing with full mouths and empty eyes / while their water mixes with oil and blood. / ‘Hoho this will hurt Trump in the midterms’ / the liberal chortles, masturbating furiously / while ruined parents pull ruined schoolbags / out of ruined schools. / Frolicking on lawns with hamburgers in both fists / doing patchouli tai chi / in clothes made by slaves / as black rain waters gardens / of severed limbs and blown-out eyeballs. / This is our culture. / This is our religion. / Praying to Pornhub while children scream, / telling ourselves it will all be worth it / when Iranian women can do OnlyFans / to pay for boob jobs and butt lifts / and go to Capitalist Heaven when they die….” (03/09/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/03/09/watching-amazon-prime-while-the-iranians-burn/
-----
50) Marketing Boards are a Menace
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Walter Block
“Ordinarily, in the absence of such market interferences, free trade would be the policy most conducive to prosperity. We produce the products for which we have a comparative advantage, and interfere with the international division of labor as little as possible. However, matters change with marketing boards. Is it possible that a second economically illiterate regulation may benefit us by (partially) reducing the impact of the first? Yes, without marketing boards, free trade is the ticket to economic well-being. But with them, is there a case for tariffs on grounds of economic development? Here is the argument in favor of such a paradoxical hypothesis.” (03/08/26)
https://fee.org/articles/marketing-boards-are-a-menace/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Reason Roundtable, 03/09/26
Source: Reason
"Will the War in Iran Crash the Global Economy?" (03/09/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/03/09/will-the-war-in-iran-crash-the-global-economy/
-----
52) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 03/09/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Trump Ignored Intel Warning On Iran Attack!” (03/09/26)
https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1qGoNeMrzyjKv
-----
53) Gracearchy with Jim Babka, episode 155
Source: Gracearchy with Jim Babka
“The MAGA Case for Open Immigration by Ammon Bundy.” (03/09/26)
https://rumble.com/v76sfnk-155-the-maga-case-for-open-immigration-by-ammon-bundy-gracearchy-with-jim-b.html
-----
54) The Evil Within, part 4
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“Foreign Interventionism.” (03/09/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-ttM7CpuOg
-----
55) EconTalk, 03/09/26
Source: EconTalk
“How We Tamed Ourselves and Invented Good and Evil (with Hanno Sauer).” (03/09/26)
https://www.econtalk.org/how-we-tamed-ourselves-and-invented-good-and-evil-with-hanno-sauer/
-----
56) TechTank, season 5, episode 38
Source: Brookings Institution
“Going back to the moon.” (03/09/26)
https://shows.acast.com/tech-tank/episodes/going-back-to-the-moon
-----
57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 03/09/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Iran Chooses Khamenei’s Son as New Leader, Israeli Strikes Kill 394 in Lebanon in One Week, and More.” (03/09/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV5ONqxXDn8
-----
58) LPALive, episode 64
Source: LP Alliance
“Michigan EC meeting.” (03/08/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flAjtWZAZJM
-----
59) Bulwark Takes, 03/08/26
Source: The Bulwark
“The GOP Screamed About Debt — Now They’re Burning $2B a Day.” (03/08/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06CQ_C6BHZE
-----
60) Free Talk Live, 03/08/26
Source: Free Talk Live
“Mark Edge Live — Daylight Savings Time is dumb :: Time zones :: The Free State Project, New Hampshire, protests, activism, Liberty Clubs :: Interstates :: You don’t own your land :: New Hampshire Liberty club, Free State Party :: NH Secession :: Porcupine Freedom Festival :: ForkFest.party ::Mark Edgington, Tall Bill, Stu.” (03/08/26)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/ftl2026-03-08
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Iran: Regime says oil blockade will continue until attacks end, Trump threatens heavier strikes
2) Bitcoin jumps past $70,000 as war volatility fades
3) Judge extends limit on fedgoons’ use of chemical weapons against Portland protesters
4) Turkey: Istanbul mayor, 400 other political prisoners go on (show) trial
5) Anthropic sues Trump regime over fake supply chain risk designation
6) SCOTUS to hear Guam hazardous waste explosions case
7) Congressional Democrats whine about people in another country getting oil from yet a third country
8) Norway: Police release images of Oslo US embassy explosion suspect
9) Travelers encounter long waits at some airports as DHS shutdown affects groper checkpoints
10) CA: Lawsuit accuses Meta of sending nude video from AI glasses to workers
11) Orban: Hungary’s regime will set price cap on gasoline and diesel
12) Country Joe McDonald, 1942-2026
13) Canadian officials rescue 23 people who floated away on ice sheet
14) Colombia: Leftist bloc dominates divided congress in legislative polls
15) NY: Complaint says men who brought explosives to protest said they were inspired by ISIS
16) NM: Brothers of Epstein Accuser Virginia Giuffre Visit Ranch, Demand Unredacted Documents
17) Booker proposes “Keep Your Pay Act,” eliminating federal income tax on first $75,000
18) Bangladesh: Regime shuts universities, limits fuel sale as Iran war causes shortage
19) Gen Z’s weed habits are flipping California’s cannabis industry
20) IL: Homeowner shoots intruder
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) American Gerontocracy
22) Expecting Iran to Unconditionally Surrender Is a Fool’s Errand
23) Why Healthcare Is So Expensive in America, and What to Do About It
24) As I Predicted (Feared) in Iran
25) 250 Years Later, The Wealth of Nations Still Has Lessons To Offer the Political Class
26) Planet Palantir: The Brave New War Machine
27) Trump’s Political Strategy on Iran Is Brilliant
28) There is No Truth in This
29) What We Do Tells Us Who We Are
30) The Children’s Iran War
31) Why “pursuit of happiness”remains the Declaration of Independence’s most novel phrase
32) Call You This Liberty?
33) Missiles, Memes, and Masculinity: When the White House Turns War Into Entertainment
34) Reflections on Four Decades of Teaching ECON 101
35) Will the Dollar be a Casualty of the Iran War?
36) Cruising to Dubai
37) Trump’s strike on Iran deals a major blow to Putin’s war machine in Ukraine
38) A Second Vietnam War? Hanoi Waits and Prepares
39) The Poisoning of Tehran
40) Observe the Economic Fallout Six Years Later
41) A Brief History of America’s Involvement in Iran
42) The Real Threat Is Artificial Credit, Not Artificial Intelligence
43) US and Iran Were Close to a Deal Before Trump Chose War
44) The myth of the billionaire wealth tax
45) Stop the Harmful Time-Changing Ritual
46) Apocalypse Soon? War on Iran Heralds Worse to Come.
47) Immigrants reduce America’s deficit. Congress should take notice.
48) Russia Resurrected and Exported a Fascist Ideology to the West
49) Poem: Watching Amazon Prime While The Iranians Burn
50) Marketing Boards are a Menace
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Reason Roundtable, 03/09/26
52) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 03/09/26
53) Gracearchy with Jim Babka, episode 155
54) The Evil Within, part 4
55) EconTalk, 03/09/26
56) TechTank, season 5, episode 38
57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 03/09/26
58) LPALive, episode 64
59) Bulwark Takes, 03/08/26
60) Free Talk Live, 03/08/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Iran: Regime says oil blockade will continue until attacks end, Trump threatens heavier strikes
Source: Reuters
“Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday they would not let any oil be shipped from the Middle East if U.S. and Israeli attacks continue, prompting President Donald Trump to say the U.S. would hit Iran much harder if it blocked exports. The rhetoric did little to quell a fall in crude prices and a rally in global shares that followed Trump expressing confidence in a swift end to hostilities, even after Iran showed defiance by naming Mojtaba Khamenei as its new supreme leader. … Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran was unlikely to resume negotiations with the U.S, which he said had spoken of progress after three rounds of talks. ‘Still, they decided to attack us. So, I don’t think talking to the Americans anymore would be on our agenda any more,” he said in an interview with PBS.'” (03/10/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/iran-says-oil-blockade-will-continue-until-attacks-end-trump-threatens-hit-2026-03-10/
-----
2) Bitcoin jumps past $70,000 as war volatility fades
Source: CoinDesk
“Bitcoin pushed back above $70,000 Tuesday morning East Asia time, completing a rapid recovery from a weekend selloff that briefly dragged the largest digital asset down to around $65,000. The move higher came as oil prices fell back below $100 and U.S. equity markets rallied. Markets turned risk off early Monday as disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz sent major oil benchmarks, WTI and brent, above $100 for the first time in years. Bitcoin dipped alongside risk assets during the initial shock but quickly stabilized in the mid $60,000 range — given Wall Street’s insulation from the energy crisis — before climbing again as markets digested the geopolitical headlines.” (03/10/26)
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/03/10/bitcoin-jumps-past-usd70-000-as-war-volatility-fades
-----
3) Judge extends limit on fedgoons’ use of chemical weapons against Portland protesters
Source: KOIN 6 News
“A federal judge furthered protections for demonstrators protesting federal immigration enforcement activities outside of Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement building. In an opinion and order issued Monday afternoon, U.S. District Judge Michael Simon granted the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction, further limiting the ability of federal law enforcement to use chemical munitions. … The class action lawsuit was filed in November after numerous protesters, including an elderly couple and children, said they were targeted with chemical munitions while peacefully demonstrating outside the ICE building in Portland.” (03/09/26)
https://www.koin.com/news/portland/judge-extends-limit-on-federal-agents-use-of-tear-gas-against-portland-protesters/
-----
4) Turkey: Istanbul mayor, 400 other political prisoners go on (show) trial
Source: ABC News
“Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu went on trial on Monday with more than 400 other defendants accused of widespread corruption in a case critics see as a politically motivated move against Turkey’s opposition. Imamoglu, who has been behind bars for nearly a year, is the main challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ’s 23-year rule. He was elected as the main opposition party’s candidate for an election due in 2028 just days after he was detained. The hearing began in a tense atmosphere, with Imamoglu asking to speak and the panel of judges refusing the request, Halk TV news channel and other media reported. The judges accused Imamoglu of disrupting the proceedings, and then left the courtroom. The trial was adjourned until the afternoon. Most of the 402 defendants worked for the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, headed by Imamoglu since 2019. Many are elected officials from the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, while journalists are also among the accused.” (03/09/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/istanbuls-mayor-trial-400-defendants-corruption-case-130895435
-----
5) Anthropic sues Trump regime over fake supply chain risk designation
Source: The Hill
“Artificial intelligence company Anthropic filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration Monday challenging the Pentagon’s decision to label the company and its products as a ‘supply chain risk’ after negotiations over safety guardrails fell apart earlier this month. The suit, filed in federal court in California on Monday, argues the designation and President Trump’s order for all federal agencies to cease the use of Anthropic are ‘unprecedented and unlawful.’ The AI firm asked the court to reverse the Pentagon’s decision, warning the ‘consequences of this case are enormous.’ The supply chain risk designation has typically been reserved for foreign adversaries and restricts defense contractors from using the company’s products.” (03/09/26)
https://thehill.com/policy/technology/5775049-anthropic-sues-trump-administration/
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6) SCOTUS to hear Guam hazardous waste explosions case
Source: Yahoo! News
“The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear a bid by President Donald Trump’s administration to dismiss a challenge by environmentalists to the U.S. Air Force’s practice of detonating hazardous waste explosives on a beach in Guam. The justices agreed to hear the Justice Department’s appeal of a lower court’s ruling allowing a lawsuit pursued by the environmental groups Prutehi Guahan and Earthjustice …. Since 1982, the Air Force has disposed of hazardous munitions such as tear gas and propellants on Tarague Beach, a restricted-access location in Guam, a U.S. territory roughly 3,800 miles (6,100 km) from Hawaii that acts as an anchor for military operations in the Western Pacific. Tarague Beach serves as a nesting habitat for the endangered turtles and sits above an aquifer that provides more than 80% of the island’s population with drinking water.” (03/09/26)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/us-supreme-court-hear-guam-173224946.html
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7) Congressional Democrats whine about people in another country getting oil from yet a third country
Source: CNBC
“Congressional Democrats are demanding that the Trump administration immediately reverse a sanctions waiver allowing Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil as the Iran war wreaks havoc on global energy markets. ‘Your recent decision to provide a 30-day waiver is dangerous, self-defeating, and indefensible,’ Rep. Sam Liccardo, D-Calif., and Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., wrote in a letter Monday to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, which was shared exclusively with CNBC. ‘This waiver constitutes an inexplicable act of material benefit to the enemy.’ The Treasury Department last week issued a temporary 30-day sanctions carve-out to allow India to buy Russian oil, an effort to ease skyrocketing oil prices caused by the war and the traffic standstill at the Strait of Hormuz.” [editor’s note: In what universe is it Liccardo’s, Gallego’s, or the US government’s business where Indian customers get their oil from? – TLK] (03/09/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/09/bessent-russian-oil-sales-india.html
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8) Norway: Police release images of Oslo US embassy explosion suspect
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Police in Norway have released pictures of a suspect linked to an explosion outside the US’s embassy in Norway’s capital Oslo on Sunday. Two heavily pixelated images taken from surveillance footage show a person with their face concealed, dressed in dark clothing and carrying a backpack. Police said in a statement on Monday that their investigation had so far showed the explosion was caused by an improvised device that was placed at the building’s entrance. The blast caused minor damage and no injuries were reported. Police previously said it was possible the explosion was an act of terrorism. They said in their latest update that they had no developments on the attacker’s motive. As well as the images, investigators were also examining a video published on Google Maps around the time of the incident, police said.” (03/09/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce8wk563473o
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9) Travelers encounter long waits at some airports as DHS shutdown affects groper checkpoints
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
“Travelers complained of long waits Sunday — lasting hours in some cases — at security checkpoints at airports in Houston and New Orleans, which officials blamed on a government shutdown of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.” [editor’s note: There’s an easy fix for that — “standing in a line to get groped has been suspended until further notice, just go to your gate and board your flight” – TLK] (03/09/26)
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/03/09/dhs-shutdown-airport-security/
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10) CA: Lawsuit accuses Meta of sending nude video from AI glasses to workers
Source: SFGate
“Meta’s AI glasses were a breakout hit of 2025, with more than 7 million pairs sold. But the Bay Area tech giant now faces disconcerting allegations about the footage recorded by the devices’ cameras. The company pitches its glasses, with their small cameras that have raised some privacy concerns, as safe: ‘Designed for privacy, controlled by you’. In late February, the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet, or SvD, published an investigation that said Kenyan subcontractors end up seeing deeply personal footage from the glasses — including bank cards, people changing and people having sex. A new federal lawsuit filed in San Francisco on Wednesday points to the article and accuses Meta of false advertising, fraud and breach of contract. ‘Consumers purchased these Glasses believing Meta’s privacy assurances,’ the complaint says. ‘They did not, and could not reasonably, understand that their bedrooms, bathrooms, families, bodies, and more would be exposed to strangers around the world.'” (03/08/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/meta-ai-glasses-lawsuit-21960004.php
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11) Orban: Hungary’s regime will set price cap on gasoline and diesel
Source: SFGate
“Hungary’s government will introduce a price cap on gasoline and diesel at fueling stations beginning at midnight local time, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced on Monday. The move came against the backdrop of soaring global oil prices as the Iran war, now in its second week, ensnares countries and infrastructure critical to the production and movement of oil and gas. In a video posted on social media, Orbán said ‘the international oil price explosion has reached Hungary as well’, and that the government would cap the price of gasoline at 595 forints ($1.75) per liter and diesel at 615 forints ($1.81) per liter. He added that the capped price would only apply to vehicles with Hungarian license plates and registration documents, and that Hungary would free up its oil reserves to ensure adequate supply.” (03/09/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/hungarian-leader-orb-n-urges-european-union-to-21963895.php
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12) Country Joe McDonald, 1942-2026
Source: United Press International
“Country Joe McDonald, who formerly helmed Country Joe and the Fish, died Saturday. He was 84. The band announced the music artist’s death in Berkeley, Calif. on Facebook Sunday. The cause was listed as Parkinson’s Disease complications. … McDonald’s psychedelic rock band took to the stage before some 400,000 during Woodstock, The New York Times reported, performing ‘I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag,’ which criticized the Vietnam War. … McDonald ultimately branched off on his own, launching his solo career with Thinking of Woodie Guthrie.” (03/09/26)
https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2026/03/09/obit-country-joe-mcdonald/2901773058567/
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13) Canadian officials rescue 23 people who floated away on ice sheet
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Twenty-three people have been rescued by helicopter crews in Ontario, Canada, after the ice shelf they were standing on broke, sending the group floating into Lake Huron. Ontario Provincial Police said on social media that the rescue began around noon (16:00 GMT) on Sunday after ‘winds and current moved the ice shelf away from shore’ approximately 2km (1.2 miles). The rescue involved two helicopters making multiple trips to pluck people off the shelf as it continued to fracture into more pieces in the Owen Sound, about 200km north-west of Toronto. One member of the group said that he only realised the ice he was fishing on had detached from shore when he noticed that his GPS showed him moving. Members of the rescued group described harrowing moments, with several of them becoming partially submerged in the cold waters as they sought out the thickest ice on the floe, or sheet.” (03/09/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gqyw154lyo
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14) Colombia: Leftist bloc dominates divided congress in legislative polls
Source: United Press International
“Preliminary results in Colombia’s legislative elections on Sunday showed President Gustavo Petro’s left-wing bloc maintaining its status as a dominant force, but with congress continuing to be divided. The results offered a glimmer of hope that Petro’s party may contend against the resurgent right in the May 31 presidential vote, which is projected to head to a runoff in June. Petro, Colombia’s first leftist president, is barred by law from running for re-election and had been eying to push through reforms ahead of his term running out. While the makeup of the lower chamber remained uncertain, Petro’s leftist coalition was expected to be among the biggest, while in the Senate it was expected to be the largest.” (03/09/26)
https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20260309-colombia-elects-a-divided-congress-ahead-of-may-presidential-polls
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15) NY: Complaint says men who brought explosives to protest said they were inspired by ISIS
Source: SFGate
“Two men who brought explosives to a protest outside New York City’s mayoral mansion said they were inspired by the Islamic State extremist group, a court complaint said. Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi are awaiting arraignment Monday on charges of attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass destruction. Kayumi blurted out, as he was being arrested Saturday, that ‘ISIS’ was the reason for his conduct, the complaint said. Balat, 18, later told authorities that he had pledged allegiance to the extremist group, and Kayumi, 19, asserted that he was affiliated with the Islamic State group, the complaint said. Officers asked Balat whether he was aiming to accomplish something akin to the bombing of the Boston Marathon in 2013, when when two pressure-cooker bombs exploded near the finish line, killing three people and wounding hundreds more.” (03/09/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/explosives-thrown-near-new-york-city-mayor-s-21964148.php
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16) NM: Brothers of Epstein Accuser Virginia Giuffre Visit Ranch, Demand Unredacted Documents
Source: US News & World Report
“Two brothers of one of Jeffrey Epstein’s most prominent accusers visited the sex offender’s former New Mexico ranch on Sunday for the first time to demand the Trump administration release unredacted documents to reveal the identities of men their late sister alleged sexually abused her at the property. With Epstein’s hacienda-style mansion in the background, the brothers of Virginia Giuffre, who took her own life in April, joined hundreds of protesters at a roadside rally to mark international women’s day near the gate of the ranch located 30 miles (48 km) south of state capital Santa Fe. Giuffre’s brother Sky Roberts, 37, called on the U.S. Department of Justice to release documents showing, among other things, names of visitors to Epstein’s Zorro Ranch where he and his acquaintances are accused of sexually abusing women and girls.” (03/08/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-03-08/brothers-of-epstein-accuser-virginia-giuffre-visit-new-mexico-ranch-demand-unredacted-documents
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17) Booker proposes “Keep Your Pay Act,” eliminating federal income tax on first $75,000
Source: Fox News
“Sen. Cory Booker [D-NJ], facing a re-election campaign in 2026, announced a new tax-cut bill, the Keep Your Pay Act, that would eliminate federal income taxes on the first $75,000 of income for most households and expand key tax credits for working families. Booker’s plan increases the standard deduction to $75,000 for married couples filing jointly, with proportional relief for single filers and heads of household, reducing federal income tax on the median American family by an estimated 85%. ‘New Jerseyans are working harder than ever, but they’re struggling to get by because they’re facing out of control costs and an economy that is stacked against them — so we need big ideas to start making the American Dream possible for everyone again,’ he wrote in a statement unveiling his bill. ‘No income tax on the first $75,000 families earn would be a game changer for working people.'” (03/09/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sen-cory-booker-proposes-keep-your-pay-act-eliminating-federal-income-tax-first-75000
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18) Bangladesh: Regime shuts universities, limits fuel sale as Iran war causes shortage
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Bangladesh has closed universities and launched fuel rationing amid a worsening energy crisis linked to the conflict in the Middle East. Authorities shut all public and private universities across the country from Monday, bringing forward the Eid al-Fitr holidays as part of emergency measures to conserve electricity and fuel. Officials said the move will not only reduce electricity consumption but also ease traffic congestion, which leads to fuel wastage. They said the university campuses consume large amounts of electricity for residential halls, classrooms, laboratories and air conditioning, and the early closure would help ease pressure on the country’s strained power system.” (03/09/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/9/bangladesh-shuts-universities-limits-fuel-sale-as-iran-war-causes-shortage
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19) Gen Z’s weed habits are flipping California’s cannabis industry
Source: SFGate
“Gen Z has shredded a long-held dynamic in the cannabis industry. For centuries, cannabis flower has been the king of marijuana. And since legalization, flower has always been the most popular product at legal pot shops in California. But that dominance is now all over, largely thanks to Gen Z. Cannabis vapes surpassed flower in June and are consistently the top-selling product category in California, according to state data. California shoppers spent over 10% more on cannabis vapes than flower last month, and more than 170% more on vapes compared to edibles, according to state data. This growth is being driven primarily by Gen Z, who have an overwhelming preference for the handheld vapes and are the first generation to prefer vape pens over any other type of cannabis product, according to data shared with SFGATE by cannabis analytics company Headset.” (03/09/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/cannabis/article/gen-z-cannabis-vapes-21956541.php
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20) IL: Homeowner shoots intruder
Source: Yahoo! News
“A man is recovering in the hospital after he was shot by a CCL holder while allegedly attempting to break into a home on the city’s South Side early Saturday morning. … According to police, the suspect, a 59-year-old man, allegedly broke into a garage in the area but was confronted by the homeowner amid the attempt. The homeowner, a valid CCL holder, then pulled out a gun and opened fire on the suspect. Officers said the suspect suffered a gunshot wound to his right leg and was later hospitalized in good condition.” (03/08/26)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/alleged-home-intruder-shot-ccl-132101777.html
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) American Gerontocracy
Source: Law & Liberty
by Aidan Grogan
“America’s Boomers have established a bipartisan gerontocracy — a political and economic system under the leadership of the elderly. They take care of their own and make younger Americans foot the bill for their longer and more luxurious retirements. It’s obviously unfair, but no one on either side of the political aisle seems inclined to do anything about it. The federal government has run a budget deficit for 24 consecutive years as the gerontocracy tightened its grip on power. It’s particularly worrisome given that the political influence of senior citizens is likely to grow as the population ages, even as the economics of America’s gerontocracy become more and more unsustainable.” (03/09/26)
https://lawliberty.org/american-gerontocracy/
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22) Expecting Iran to Unconditionally Surrender Is a Fool’s Errand
Source: Persuasion
by Francis Fukuyama
“Of the many questionable decisions Donald Trump has made with regard to Iran, one of the strangest was his declaration last Friday that the United States would demand ‘unconditional surrender’ from Tehran. When Trump launched the attack with Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel, he was obviously hoping for a quick victory, something like the outcome he achieved when he snatched Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela in January. But the war expanded across the Middle East … Normally, a smart leader in such a situation would try to lower expectations and declare an achievable objective in the war, such as degrading the better part of Iran’s ability to strike targets with ballistic missiles and drones. This would offer an opportunity for Trump to declare victory and disengage. Instead, Trump did the opposite. The new objective of unconditional surrender suddenly raised the goalposts to an unachievable height.” (03/09/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/iran-probably-wont-surrender
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23) Why Healthcare Is So Expensive in America, and What to Do About It
Source: Cato Institute
by Veronique de Rugy
“America’s healthcare system consistently ranks as the most expensive in the developed world. It’s not, as some politicians claim, expensive because markets have failed. It’s expensive because the market has been repeatedly blocked from succeeding. Until we’re honest about that, any potential reforms will only address symptoms while ignoring the disease. The healthcare market is hindered in many ways, but the core structural problem is simple: The person receiving care is almost never the person actually paying for it.” (03/09/26)
https://www.cato.org/commentary/why-healthcare-so-expensive-america-what-do-about-it
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24) As I Predicted (Feared) in Iran
Source: Coyote Blog
by Warren Meyer
“Back in the first heady days of the attacks on Iran I cautioned that it was relatively easy to kill a few leaders and bomb a bunch of stuff, but harder to understand how a liberal democracy was to magically eventuate in Iran. The US has a history of removing one bad leader and getting only something worse afterwards (remember Diem? Gaddafi?). One problem is that after 40 years of rule, the totalitarian government there is strong and deeply entrenched, and the opposition (while it certainly exists) does not seem to have leadership, plans, or coherent organization. Would killing Hitler in 1943 or Stalin in 1937 have incited a successful revolution? Almost certainly not — not because they were loved but because their party’s instruments of control were strong and the opposition was smashed flat.” (03/09/26)
https://coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2026/03/as-i-predicted-feared-in-iran.html
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25) 250 Years Later, The Wealth of Nations Still Has Lessons To Offer the Political Class
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“Few books can be said to have withstood the test of time 250 years later, but Adam Smith’s An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (usually shortened to The Wealth of Nations), published for the first time in 1776, certainly has. At a time when even the governments of nominally free countries once again dabble with guiding economies, and the president of the United States rails against trade as if it’s a team sport where some countries are winners and others are losers, Smith’s book reminds us that unfettered societies are both good and productive, and that free trade produces the best outcomes for all.” (03/09/26)
https://reason.com/2026/03/09/250-years-later-the-wealth-of-nations-still-has-lessons-to-offer-the-political-class/
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26) Planet Palantir: The Brave New War Machine
Source: TomDispatch
by Janet Abou-Elias & William D. Hartung
“‘I love the idea of getting a drone and having light fentanyl-laced urine spraying on analysts that tried to screw us’, said Alex Karp, the CEO of the emerging military tech firm Palantir. Far from an offhand outburst, his statement reflects a broader ethos taking hold in Silicon Valley’s military-tech sector, one that treats coercion as innovation, cruelty as candor, and the unchecked application of technological power as both inevitable and desirable. Karp loves verbal combat as much as he likes running a firm that makes high-tech weaponry. His company has helped Israel increase the pace at which it has bombed and slaughtered Palestinians in Gaza, and its technology has helped ICE accelerate deportations, while also helping locate and identify demonstrators in Minneapolis. Not only is Karp unapologetic about the damage done by his company’s products, he openly revels in it.” (03/08/26)
https://tomdispatch.com/the-brave-new-war-machine/
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27) Trump’s Political Strategy on Iran Is Brilliant
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“Political commentators are saying that President Trump has made a big political mistake by promoting many justifications for his war on Iran. … I say that President Trump showed political brilliance in coming up with an extremely large number of justifications for his war. … it gives his MAGA supporters a justification that is certain to satisfy all of them. In other words, if he had come up with only one or two justifications, there is a good possibility that a large percentage of MAGA men would not find them to be persuasive. Oh, to be sure, they would still be supportive, given their blind, loyal, patriotic, subservient, and obsequious support of whatever Trump says or does, but it might not be as enthusiastic as Trump would like it.” (03/09/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/03/09/trumps-political-strategy-on-iran-is-brilliant/
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28) There is No Truth in This
Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders
“William Tecumseh Sherman said, ‘War is hell.’ And he was right, though I can’t remember if he said that before or after torching everything he could on his march to the sea. Of the latest military adventure, enlightened commenters sit in their easy chairs and slap cheap bumper-sticker assessments on the Web for all the world to see. They baptize themselves in their own rectitude, having neither dodged a bullet in Fallujah nor watched a buddy’s legs get blown off by a roadside IED. Nor have they had to live a life of conformity forced by zealots pretending to believe in a religion they never converted to. They never had to be beaten and raped for showing their hair, or singing an ancient song, or dancing an ancient dance.” (03/09/26)
https://underthrow.substack.com/p/there-is-no-truth-in-this
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29) What We Do Tells Us Who We Are
Source: Our Future
by Sulma Arias
“I’m a practical person. Ideas matter, but they only come to life when we put them into practice. So if you haven’t heard from me recently, it’s because I’ve been out there, around the country, putting the Organizing Revival into practice on the ground with People’s Action organizers and our growing family of allies. And I’ve been cooking! Yes, I mean that literally. As I’ve met with different people, we’ve been making chiles rellenos, one of my most cherished dishes! Cooking and eating together has become an important part of these strategic gatherings, as we commit to move forward together into an uncertain landscape that holds dark but certain challenges. I’ll share more about this, and my recipe, in a bit. But first, I want to talk about the moment we’re in. I recently wrote an article in Convergence Magazine that I hope you’ve seen.” (03/09/26)
https://ourfuture.org/20260308/what-we-do-tells-us-who-we-are
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30) The Children’s Iran War
Source: The American Conservative
by Ben Sixsmith
“A long-running theme in the right-wing critique of progressive politics in the 2010s was mockery of its reliance on fantasy fiction. Left-leaning commentators appeared to have been trapped within the reference points of the novels of their childhood. Harry Potter was especially prominent in left-wing arguments. … we critics of ‘social justice’ activism found this discourse entertaining. We mocked its Manichaean vision of the world, in which everyone was either a goodie or a baddie. We made fun of its at least implicit reliance on magic. ‘Read another book’ was a popular jibe. This was more than legitimate. Still, as the American-Israeli war against Iran continues, I can’t help feeling that some people on the right were laughing without thinking. Now, some right-wing figures seem to be viewing the world through the lens of childish fiction. Prowar rhetoric is seething with cheap comparisons to popular culture.” (03/09/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-childrens-iran-war/
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31) Why “pursuit of happiness”remains the Declaration of Independence’s most novel phrase
Source: New York Post
by Steven F Hayward
“The primary obligation of any government, the Declaration of Independence tells us in its famous second paragraph, is the ‘safety and happiness’ of its citizens. The necessity of securing safety is obvious (except to progressive politicians in big blue cities, who are often diffident about crime and disorder), but it is thought something of a novelty of the Declaration to set out ‘the pursuit of happiness’ as one of the central ‘inalienable rights’, along with life and liberty. It is well established that Thomas Jefferson and his collaborators in writing the Declaration (John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston) followed the language and logic of John Locke’s ‘Second Treatise of Government’. But Locke and other social-contract theorists of the era typically spoke of the inalienable natural rights to ‘life, liberty and property’, or ‘life, liberty and estate.’?” (03/08/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/03/08/us-news/the-pursuit-of-happiness-remains-a-novel-moment-in-us-history/
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32) Call You This Liberty?
Source: Liberal Currents
by Guillaume AW Attia
“When the Middle East journalist Omid Memariam was arrested by the Iranian government, his interrogators intentionally chose not to wear masks in order to convey both the legitimacy of the government and the propriety of the interrogation. ‘Once a mask is involved,’ Memariam explains, ‘people understand it as a sign of weakness, that the government has something to hide.’ With the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, it is hard to see how the government can convince large portions of the American public that they do not have something to hide. This raises a core issue at the heart of the mask discussion: the erosion of certain basic and long-standing moral and legal norms in America.” (03/09/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/call-you-this-liberty/
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33) Missiles, Memes, and Masculinity: When the White House Turns War Into Entertainment
Source: Common Dreams
by Rob Okun
“A week into Trump’s illegal war against Iran, the White House released a 42-second video on X, featuring movie scenes spliced with real military footage of strikes in Iran, promising ‘justice, the American way’. Rather than sober statements about national security or the grim human realities of war, the March 5 video resembled a movie trailer. The clips stitched together real footage of missile strikes with pop-culture heroes: Russell Crowe in Gladiator, Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick, Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, Keanu Reeves’ relentless assassin in the John Wick films. Even SpongeBob SquarePants made an appearance. The video was immediately mocked for reflecting the militaristic fantasies of teenage boys (see Hegseth, Pete), more than that of the US starting a war. The editing followed a familiar formula: a heroic movie quote, a dramatic cut to real explosions, then a video-game style victory sound. War, apparently, has become content.” (03/09/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/white-house-war-meme-video
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34) Reflections on Four Decades of Teaching ECON 101
Source: The Daily Economy
by Donald J Boudreaux
“My ECON 101 course is taught as if it’s the only economic course my students will ever take. Unlike many professors, I do not teach Principles of Microeconomics to prepare my students for Intermediate Microeconomics, which is the next course up in the curriculum. Some such preparation occurs, I’m pleased to report, but that’s all incidental. My chief goal is to inject my students with the rudiments of the economic way of thinking in order to inoculate them against the most virulent fallacies that are likely to try to infect their minds as they go through life.” (03/09/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/reflections-on-four-decades-of-teaching-econ-101/
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35) Will the Dollar be a Casualty of the Iran War?
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
by Ron Paul
“The costs of this war will put added pressure on the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low and increase its purchase of Treasury bonds in order to monetize the federal debt. The pressure on the Fed will also increase as other countries reduce their purchase of US debt. These reductions will be motivated by concerns over the economic instability caused by the US government’s out of control spending and by resentment over the US government’s hyper-interventionist foreign policy. These factors could also accelerate the increasing rejection of the dollar’s world reserve currency status. A loss of the reserve currency status will cause a dollar crisis, leading to an economic crash worse than the Great Depression.” (03/09/26)
http://www.ronpaullibertyreport.com/archives/will-the-dollar-be-a-casualty-of-the-iran-war
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36) Cruising to Dubai
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
“When Americans initially hear the facts about the Emirates, most are incredulous. How can anywhere be 88% foreign-born yet remain a country? Isn’t ‘guest worker’ just a euphemism for ‘slave?’ But once you see the UAE with your own eyes, it’s hard not to scoff at these naive complaints. The UAE is totally a country, and no one buys plane tickets to become a slave. After Americans spend time in the UAE, their most sensible remaining critique is simply: ‘This immigration system works fine over in the Middle East. Maybe better than fine. But the American people would never tolerate the extreme inequality.’ … But are Americans really such egalitarian pearl clutchers?” (03/09/26)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/cruising-to-dubai
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37) Trump’s strike on Iran deals a major blow to Putin’s war machine in Ukraine
Source: Fox News
by Clara Kaluderovic
“Within hours of American munitions striking Iranian soil, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a statement that the Western press largely treated as a diplomatic footnote, but it was a signal that what happens in the skies over Tehran has a direct impact on the ground in Ukraine. President Zelenskyy explicitly endorsed the strikes, called Iran ‘Putin’s accomplice’, noted that his country has absorbed over 57,000 Iranian-supplied drone attacks, and took aim at Moscow: ‘Whenever there is American resolve, global criminals weaken. This understanding must also come to the Russians.’ Zelenskyy’s framing of the war in Iran through the lens of Ukraine’s war is not incidental. Whatever Washington’s stated objectives, the president, who has lived through the Ukraine conflict since the 2022 invasion, understands that Iran has been an active accomplice in Russia’s war against Ukraine, and the United States has now acted against that accomplice.” (03/09/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/trumps-strike-iran-deals-major-blow-putins-war-machine-ukraine
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38) A Second Vietnam War? Hanoi Waits and Prepares
Source: Libertarian Institute
by José Niño
“On the surface, everything between Vietnam and the United States looked better than it ever had. In September 2023, President Joe Biden and General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, elevating relations to their highest diplomatic tier. American officials toasted prosperity. Vietnamese leaders smiled for cameras. The messaging suggested a new chapter in a relationship once defined by napalm and body counts. Then, in early February 2026, a very different story emerged from behind the curtain.” (03/09/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/a-second-vietnam-war-hanoi-waits-and-prepares
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39) The Poisoning of Tehran
Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison
“It is not surprising that a genocidal government would commit more crimes against humanity in this war, but it is important to recognize and condemn those crimes when we see them. Poisoning the air that the entire population breathes is a horrifying crime. The U.S. and Israel are inflicting monstrous collective punishment on one of the largest cities in the world in a war they started. The attackers have made clear through their actions that this is a war to wreck Iran and hurt its people.” (03/09/26)
https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/the-poisoning-of-tehran
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40) Observe the Economic Fallout Six Years Later
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Jeffrey A Tucker
“Many people want to be done with Covid lockdowns as a topic. The trouble is that Covid lockdowns are not done with us. Nothing like this had ever been tried in real life, a forced stoppage of most human activity as it affects the material and social world. The impact would be far reaching, long lasting, and devastation – one of the more significant calamities of modern times. Prevailing economic weakness and resulting stagnation for living standards is only one result. It’s nowhere near over.” (03/09/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/observe-the-economic-fallout-six-years-later/
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41) A Brief History of America’s Involvement in Iran
Source: The American Prospect
by Naomi Bethune
“Why did President Donald Trump launch Operation Epic Fury? He’s provided a stream of reasons: forcing regime change; destroying Iran’s missile capabilities (to eliminate what he called ‘imminent threats’); ‘annihilating’ the Iranian navy; ensuring that Iran cannot further develop nuclear weapons; and blocking Iran’s support of groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. Regardless of the reason (if one truly exists), such military action is at odds with Trump’s stated ‘America First’ foreign-policy strategy, ostensibly prioritizing unilateralist and noninterventionist behavior. Trump has routinely made a point of withdrawing from prominent international treaties and organizations (the Paris climate accords and North American Free Trade Agreement) in an effort to isolate American interests. Why, then, did Trump join Israel in going to war with Iran? What can history tell us about the possible outcomes of this decision?” (03/09/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/03/09/iran-america-history-involvement-middle-east-cold-war-nuclear-reagan-trump/
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42) The Real Threat Is Artificial Credit, Not Artificial Intelligence
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by George Ford Smith
“Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming one of the most capital-intensive industries in history. Consider: Semiconductor fabrication plants cost tens of billions of dollars. Massive data centers consume extraordinary amounts of electricity, sending power bills soaring. Specialized engineering talent commands premium wages. (Although the median salary for an AI professional is $160K annually, the top 1 percent of AI researchers receive compensation packages exceeding $1 million). Global supply chains must coordinate rare materials, precision manufacturing, and complex infrastructure. Yet discussions about artificial intelligence almost never address the most important economic variable shaping its development: money. From an Austrian perspective, the future of artificial intelligence ties directly to the monetary system that finances it. Whether AI produces sustainable prosperity or another boom-bust cycle depends less on algorithms than on interest rates.” (03/09/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/real-threat-artificial-credit-not-artificial-intelligence
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43) US and Iran Were Close to a Deal Before Trump Chose War
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ted Snider
“Iran has an ‘inalienable right’ to enrich uranium for civilian use, Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, told the U.S. delegation with frustration in the final round of talks before the bombs started to fall on Iran. And the U.S. has an ‘inalienable right’ to stop you, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff answered with hubris. Araghchi is right, and Witkoff is wrong. The U.S. and its partners have presented the public with a war that was caused by Iran’s refusal to compromise on its civilian nuclear program; however, as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran has ‘the inalienable right to a civilian program that uses nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.'” (03/09/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/ted_snider/2026/03/08/us-and-iran-were-close-to-a-deal-before-trump-and-netanyahu-chose-war/
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44) The myth of the billionaire wealth tax
Source: Washington Post
by Megan McArdle
“The problem with government spending is that you have to pay for it. New programs often poll well when you tell people about the benefits. Mention raising taxes, however, and it’s a whole different story. But what if you didn’t have to tax reluctant voters to fund your big ideas? I mean, Elon Musk is sitting on somewhere north of $670 billion. If the government took just 5 percent of that, it would have almost $34 billion to spend on health care and child care and green energy, right? And there are almost a thousand other billionaires in the country, so pass that wealth tax and warm up the money cannons! If only it were so easy. … wealth taxes have been tried over and over, and most countries that adopted them eventually abandoned the idea, finding that such taxes were difficult to administer, caused capital flight and raised little revenue.” (03/08/26)
https://archive.is/npZ0W
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45) Stop the Harmful Time-Changing Ritual
Source: Town Hall
by Jeff Crouere
“Except for the wise people of Arizona and Hawaii, who have year-round standard time, Americans were once again forced to ‘spring forward’ and lose an hour of sleep on Sunday morning. This practice, known as daylight saving time, gives Americans more time in the evening to enjoy sunlight. This helps owners of golf courses, tennis courts, and other outdoor entertainment venues. Conversely, it also forces parents to drive their children to school in the dark. With the time change, accidents increase, as do health-related issues. Losing an hour of sleep disrupts our ‘body clocks’. As William Shughart, II writes in the Miami Herald, daylight saving time misaligns ‘our human body clocks with morning sunlight, thereby disrupting circadian rhythms and causing the spikes in heart attacks, strokes, depression and other health problems observed in the days following the one-hour spring and fall time shifts’.” (03/09/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/jeffcrouere/2026/03/09/stop-the-harmful-time-change-ritual-n2672498
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46) Apocalypse Soon? War on Iran Heralds Worse to Come.
Source: The Realist Review
by Martin Sieff
“One did not have to be Michel de Nostradamus to anticipate that this was going to happen. Nostradamus repeatedly warned about the immeasurable catastrophes that would flow from provoking the Iranian people into a wild, once-in-two-millennia jihad against the West. Not that such an eventuality was ever going to happen unless some Western leaders were stupid enough to martyr an Iranian Shiite leader during the holy month of Ramadan. Great thinking, guys.” (03/08/26)
https://therealistreview.substack.com/p/apocalypse-soon-war-on-iran-heralds
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47) Immigrants reduce America’s deficit. Congress should take notice.
Source: Orange County Register
by David Bier
“Amid ongoing congressional debates—culminating, of course, in a partial shutdown—over Trump’s mass deportation agenda, one fact in particular should capture both Democrats’ and Republicans’ attention: immigrants provide an enormous boost to the country’s long-term economic and fiscal health, reducing our massive deficit by a third.” (03/08/26)
https://archive.is/FMx10
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48) Russia Resurrected and Exported a Fascist Ideology to the West
Source: The UnPopulist
by Tom G Palmer
“That the Trump administration is targeting ‘enemies within’ instead of Putin shows how much America has already succumbed to it.” (03/08/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/russia-resurrected-and-exported-a
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49) Poem: Watching Amazon Prime While The Iranians Burn
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Watching Amazon Prime while the Iranians burn. / Stuffing our mouths with cheesysugarbacon / while the sky turns black over Tehran. / Laughing without smiling. / Laughing with full mouths and empty eyes / while their water mixes with oil and blood. / ‘Hoho this will hurt Trump in the midterms’ / the liberal chortles, masturbating furiously / while ruined parents pull ruined schoolbags / out of ruined schools. / Frolicking on lawns with hamburgers in both fists / doing patchouli tai chi / in clothes made by slaves / as black rain waters gardens / of severed limbs and blown-out eyeballs. / This is our culture. / This is our religion. / Praying to Pornhub while children scream, / telling ourselves it will all be worth it / when Iranian women can do OnlyFans / to pay for boob jobs and butt lifts / and go to Capitalist Heaven when they die….” (03/09/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/03/09/watching-amazon-prime-while-the-iranians-burn/
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50) Marketing Boards are a Menace
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Walter Block
“Ordinarily, in the absence of such market interferences, free trade would be the policy most conducive to prosperity. We produce the products for which we have a comparative advantage, and interfere with the international division of labor as little as possible. However, matters change with marketing boards. Is it possible that a second economically illiterate regulation may benefit us by (partially) reducing the impact of the first? Yes, without marketing boards, free trade is the ticket to economic well-being. But with them, is there a case for tariffs on grounds of economic development? Here is the argument in favor of such a paradoxical hypothesis.” (03/08/26)
https://fee.org/articles/marketing-boards-are-a-menace/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Reason Roundtable, 03/09/26
Source: Reason
"Will the War in Iran Crash the Global Economy?" (03/09/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/03/09/will-the-war-in-iran-crash-the-global-economy/
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52) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 03/09/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Trump Ignored Intel Warning On Iran Attack!” (03/09/26)
https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1qGoNeMrzyjKv
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53) Gracearchy with Jim Babka, episode 155
Source: Gracearchy with Jim Babka
“The MAGA Case for Open Immigration by Ammon Bundy.” (03/09/26)
https://rumble.com/v76sfnk-155-the-maga-case-for-open-immigration-by-ammon-bundy-gracearchy-with-jim-b.html
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54) The Evil Within, part 4
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“Foreign Interventionism.” (03/09/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-ttM7CpuOg
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55) EconTalk, 03/09/26
Source: EconTalk
“How We Tamed Ourselves and Invented Good and Evil (with Hanno Sauer).” (03/09/26)
https://www.econtalk.org/how-we-tamed-ourselves-and-invented-good-and-evil-with-hanno-sauer/
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56) TechTank, season 5, episode 38
Source: Brookings Institution
“Going back to the moon.” (03/09/26)
https://shows.acast.com/tech-tank/episodes/going-back-to-the-moon
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57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 03/09/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Iran Chooses Khamenei’s Son as New Leader, Israeli Strikes Kill 394 in Lebanon in One Week, and More.” (03/09/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV5ONqxXDn8
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58) LPALive, episode 64
Source: LP Alliance
“Michigan EC meeting.” (03/08/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flAjtWZAZJM
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59) Bulwark Takes, 03/08/26
Source: The Bulwark
“The GOP Screamed About Debt — Now They’re Burning $2B a Day.” (03/08/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06CQ_C6BHZE
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60) Free Talk Live, 03/08/26
Source: Free Talk Live
“Mark Edge Live — Daylight Savings Time is dumb :: Time zones :: The Free State Project, New Hampshire, protests, activism, Liberty Clubs :: Interstates :: You don’t own your land :: New Hampshire Liberty club, Free State Party :: NH Secession :: Porcupine Freedom Festival :: ForkFest.party ::Mark Edgington, Tall Bill, Stu.” (03/08/26)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/ftl2026-03-08
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