06/18 -- Russia: Moscow suspends all flights as massive Ukrainian drone attack sparks oil refinery fire; Trump in Defeat
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Thomas L. Knapp
Jun 18, 2026, 6:06:24 AMJun 18
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 06/18/26
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Russia: Moscow suspends all flights as massive Ukrainian drone attack sparks oil refinery fire
2) Iran war: Trump, Pezeshkian sign instrument of US surrender
3) FL: US regime transfers abductees out of “Alligator Alcatraz” concentration camp
4) Federal Reserve holds interest rates steady but leaves door open to hike
5) Finland: Parliament votes to lift decades-old ban on nuclear weapons
6) South Africa: Labour Unions Urge Workers to Shun Anti-Migrant Protests
7) US asks judge to halt first reparations program for black people in US
8) US DOJ tries to block environmental lawsuit against Elon Musk’s xAI
9) African & Commonwealth nations in Kenya urge quick execution of a key treaty protecting oceans
10) US retail sales up a strong 0.9% in May
11) Somaliland: No Talks to Establish Israeli Military Base, Defence Minister Says
12) Japan: Regime raids ice cream giants over price-fixing allegations
13) Trump cancels hearing for replacement intel chief Clayton
14) Cuba: Communist Party convenes extraordinary session to debate new economic measures
15) Philippines: Senate president removed ahead of his Duterte’s impeachment trial
16) US DOJ accuses New York regime of unlawful Medicaid home care “scheme”
17) NY: Mangione will assert psychiatric defense in murder case in UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killing
18) Norway: Crown princess has “successful” lung transplant
19) CA: City torn apart by recalled city council that refuses to leave
20) Oklahomans reject $15 minimum wage; Hern wins GOP primary
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Trump in Defeat
22) Tariff Math Doesn’t Work, and the White House Already Admitted It
23) Find better solutions without government
24) Trump Bump Is a Welfare Increase
25) The University As We Know It Is Finished
26) Everyone Should Be Free To Stay In or Get Out Of Social Security
27) Your financial records have no Fourth Amendment protections
28) The US-Iran Deal Could Help Transform America’s Mideast Strategy
29) The Paradoxical Utopia of the World Cup
30) Europe’s Digital Protectionism
31) What would happen if US actually cut off military aid to Israel?
32) Bipartisan JAWBONE Act Targets Government Censorship Threats
33) Winning Back the Working Class: To What, Exactly?
34) Taxing the rich won’t save Social Security
35) Florida House Blocks DeSantis AI Bill of Rights
36) Finding American Integrity
37) Trump reindustrialization agenda faces its biggest hurdle: Americans
38) Look who’s losing it over Trump’s Iran deal
39) The Musk Trillionaire Panic Is a Distraction
40) Can Trust Exist Between the United States and Iran?
41) In New York’s “Commie Corridor”, a Race Over How to Build Power
42) The Trillion-Dollar Alarm Bell
43) Hey, POTUS, The Point of the War Was What Again?
44) My 40 Year War on Psychiatry
45) NY unions put a target on my back, for helping their members escape
46) Does Immigration Lead to “Democratic Drain” and Illiberalism in Native Countries?
47) The FDA Can’t Manage Its Own Risk Problem
48) UK teen social media ban is anonymity-killer for adults
49) Real Estate Merger Poised to Create Several Local Apartment Monopolies
50) “Dangerous” AI Models Are Coming No Matter What
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, 06/17/26
52) Rising, 06/17/26
53) Reason Interview: Matt Welch
54) Reasonably Optimistic, 06/17/26
55) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 06/17/26
56) The Political Orphanage, 06/17/26
57) Nonzero, 06/16/26
58) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 06/16/26
59) LPA Solidarity Stream, 06/16/26
60) Law & Liberty Podcast, 06/16/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Russia: Moscow suspends all flights as massive Ukrainian drone attack sparks oil refinery fire
Source: Independent [UK]
“Russia faced one of the biggest aerial assaults of the war so far from Ukraine overnight, saying its air defences downed as many as 555 Ukrainian drones over multiple regions. Moscow has ordered the suspension of flights at all its major airports, while traffic was halted on Moscow’s ring road near an oil refinery after multiple drone strikes. Photos and videos shared online purported to show massive explosions at the refinery, including one that blew an oil container lid hundreds of feet into the air. Moscow’s mayor Sergei Sobhyanin said around 180 drones heading for the capital alone had been downed.” (06/18/26)
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-live-putin-trump-zelensky-g7-news-b2998092.html
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2) Iran war: Trump, Pezeshkian sign instrument of US surrender
Source: CNBC
“President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday digitally signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at developing a permanent peace deal to end the war between their two nations, officials said. … Trump signed the MOU before a dinner in Versailles, France, with French President Emmanuel Macron, France’s first lady Brigitte Macron, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and others, according to a video posted online by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino.” (06/17/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/17/trump-vance-iran-deal-nuclear-g7.html
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3) FL: US regime transfers abductees out of “Alligator Alcatraz” concentration camp
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“The administration of United States President Donald Trump has announced that all immigrant [abductees] have been transferred out of a Florida [concentration camp] known as Alligator Alcatraz, effectively shuttering the controversial facility. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Wednesday that everyone being held in the state-run facility had been transferred out, citing concerns about the start of the Atlantic hurricane season. … reports of its impending closure had intensified for months. Several anonymous officials told The New York Times in May that the isolated facility, located inside Florida’s Big Cypress Natural Preserve, was too costly to maintain.” (06/18/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/6/18/us-transfers-immigrants-out-of-florida-alligator-alcatraz-detention-centre
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4) Federal Reserve holds interest rates steady but leaves door open to hike
Source: CBS News
“The Federal Reserve on Wednesday left its benchmark interest rate unchanged amid resurgent inflation, but nearly half of its policymakers said they would support a rate hike later this year. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) kept the federal funds rate, which affects borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, in its current range of 3.5% to 3.75%. Economists had widely expected the central bank to keep rates steady. … The central bank’s previous forecast, issued in March, forecast that the Personal Consumption Expenditures index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, would end the year at an annual rate of 2.7%. But in today’s forecast, the FOMC members are penciling in inflation rising to an annualized 3.6% by year-end.” (06/17/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fed-meeting-fomc-today-kevin-warsh-interest-rates/
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5) Finland: Parliament votes to lift decades-old ban on nuclear weapons
Source: Fox News
“Finland’s parliament on Wednesday voted to lift a decades-old ban on nuclear weapons, approving a major defense policy shift aimed at aligning the country more closely with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) deterrence strategy. Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen said a strong majority backed the amendment to the Nuclear Energy Act, calling it a ‘historic reform’ that strengthens Finland’s security and that of the alliance. … The measure repeals provisions in Finland’s 1987 Nuclear Energy Act that banned the import, production, possession and detonation of nuclear explosives. If enacted, the legislation would allow nuclear weapons to be transported, supplied or possessed in Finland where the country’s military defense requires it. … The bill now moves to the president for final approval.” (06/17/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/world/finlands-parliament-votes-lift-decades-old-ban-nuclear-weapons-historic-nato-defense-shift
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6) South Africa: Labour Unions Urge Workers to Shun Anti-Migrant Protests
Source: US News & World Report
“South Africa’s biggest labour unions on Wednesday urged workers not to participate in anti-immigrant protests that have seized the country, and said they could face consequences if they skip work to attend. South Africa is on edge ahead of a June 30 deadline which anti-immigrant groups have given for all undocumented foreigners to leave the country. Protests and potential civil unrest are expected, after weeks of sometimes violent xenophobic attacks. Four major unions including the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), which represents around 2 million people, said in a statement that workers would not be protected if they do not go to work on June 30. … ‘Removing foreign nationals from workplaces, communities or public spaces will not reopen factories, repair municipalities, strengthen public healthcare or create sustainable jobs,’ said the unions COSATU, FEDUSA, SAFTU and NACTU.” (06/17/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-06-17/south-african-labour-unions-urge-workers-to-shun-anti-migrant-protests
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7) US asks judge to halt first reparations program for black people in US
Source: The Hill
“The Justice Department is seeking to intervene in a federal lawsuit challenging a Chicago suburb’s housing reparations program for [b]lack residents, arguing it is ‘racially discriminatory’ and unconstitutional. The city council in Evanston, Ill., earmarked $10 million in revenue generated from cannabis sales taxes in 2019 for a first-of-its-kind local reparations program for [b]lack residents and their direct descendants who suffered housing discrimination due to the city’s policies and practices between 1919 and 1969. … The Justice Department has alleged that the program violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and the Fair Housing Act because it is ‘not narrowly tailored to remediating specific, identified instances of past discrimination’ and public money is distributed solely based on race.” (06/17/26)
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5927763-justice-department-evanston-reparations-housing-discrimination/
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8) US DOJ tries to block environmental lawsuit against Elon Musk’s xAI
Source: United Press International
“The Department of Justice is trying to quash a lawsuit against a power plant that supports an xAI data center and is arguing that the turbines are essential to national security. The suit, filed by the NAACP and several environmental groups against Elon Musk’s xAI, alleges that a power plant in Southaven, Miss., is operating without permits and violates the Clean Air Act. The plant powers the xAI Colossus 2 data center, which is over the state line in Memphis, Tenn. Colossus 2 supports the Grok artificial intelligence bot. The NAACP alleges that the power plant runs 57 turbines with no pollution controls, making it one of the biggest single industrial sources of smog-forming nitrogen oxide in the United States and a significant source of other harmful air pollutants like particulate matter and formaldehyde, disproportionately affecting vulnerable groups like children, older adults and low-income or minority households.” (06/17/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/06/17/doj-elon-musk-xai-naacp/9421781703391/
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9) African & Commonwealth nations in Kenya urge quick execution of a key treaty protecting oceans
Source: SFGate
“African and Commonwealth nations called Tuesday for a swift implementation of a landmark treaty protecting the high seas, warning that despite record commitments to marine conservation, much of the world’s ocean protection still exists only on paper. The call to action was issued at the 11th Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa, the first time an African nation has hosted the major annual event, which focuses on addressing critical ocean issues, including climate change, biodiversity and pollution. Hundreds of delegates from Africa, the United States, the European Union, and climate-vulnerable Caribbean and Pacific island nations are taking part in the conference, where leaders have sought to position Africa as a driving force in global ocean governance.” (06/16/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/african-and-commonwealth-nations-in-kenya-urge-22307870.php
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10) US retail sales up a strong 0.9% in May
Source: Seattle Times
“Shoppers stepped up their spending in May and surpassed expectations as temperatures warmed and gasoline prices cooled. Retail sales rose 0.9%, up from a revised 0.4% gain in April, according to new Commerce Department data released Wednesday. Sales got a boost from generous government tax refunds in both April and May, though economists say that cash cushion is starting to fade. Excluding sales at gas stations, retail sales in May rose 0.7%. Spending was broad-based. Business at clothing, accessory and furniture stores all posted increases. Online sales rose 1.5%. There were a few weak spots. Electronics and appliance stores and department stores both registered slight declines.” (06/17/26)
https://archive.is/QRxQ6
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11) Somaliland: No Talks to Establish Israeli Military Base, Defence Minister Says
Source: US News & World Report
“There is no Israeli military presence in Somaliland and no talks about Israel opening a base there, Somaliland’s Defence Minister Mohamed Yusuf Ali told Reuters on Wednesday. Speaking on the sidelines of a business conference in Tel Aviv, he said Israel was training Somaliland’s military and police, but dismissed reports that Israel was in negotiations to establish a military base in the territory as ‘rumours.’ Michael Lotem, Israel’s ambassador to Somaliland, declined to comment. … Israel recognised Somaliland as an independent state last December, the first country to formally do so, in a move Somalia rejected and termed a ‘deliberate attack’ on its sovereignty.” (06/17/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-06-17/no-talks-to-establish-israeli-military-base-in-somaliland-defence-minister-says
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12) Japan: Regime raids ice cream giants over price-fixing allegations
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Japan’s competition watchdog has raided some of the country’s biggest ice cream makers for allegedly forming a cartel to raise the price of their products. Some of the firms, including Meiji and Pocky maker Ezaki Glico, said this week that they have been subject to an “on-site inspection” by the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) over suspicions that they fixed the prices of frozen desserts. The JFTC said it is not releasing a statement regarding the investigation. The companies are suspected of inflating ice cream prices beyond increases in the cost of raw materials, even as the country faces a hot summer with record high temperatures.” (06/17/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0ly0k88e61o
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13) Trump cancels hearing for replacement intel chief Clayton
Source: Semafor
“Jay Clayton won’t be sitting for his confirmation hearing today to be President Donald Trump’s permanent director of national intelligence, after Trump said in an early morning Truth Social post that he wants Clayton’s replacement confirmed as the top US attorney in Manhattan first. The abrupt move is sure to rankle Senate Republicans, who moved quickly to schedule Clayton’s hearing to confirm him — and clear the way for passage of an extension of a key surveillance tool that lapsed as Democrats protested Trump’s pick of Bill Pulte for acting DNI. It also guarantees that the surveillance law won’t be renewed anytime soon. Trump also reiterated his demand that Republicans’ voter ID bill, the SAVE America Act, be approved along with the surveillance law despite Senate Majority Leader John Thune saying that can’t happen.” (06/17/26)
https://www.semafor.com/article/06/17/2026/trump-cancels-hearing-for-replacement-intel-chief-clayton
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14) Cuba: Communist Party convenes extraordinary session to debate new economic measures
Source: SFGate
“Cuba’s powerful Communist Party, or PCC, called an extraordinary plenary session Wednesday, days after President Miguel Díaz-Canel’s announced an economic reform package aimed at opening up the struggling island’s economy. Also Wednesday, in a surprise move, the National Assembly was also convened for Thursday to follow up on the party meeting. Both sessions come at a critical time for Cuba, as it grapples with the effects of a U.S. energy blockade aimed at forcing a change in the island’s economic model. The deepening economic crisis that has gripped Cuba for the past years — intensified by the energy embargo enacted under U.S. President Donald Trump — continues to disproportionately affect the island’s most vulnerable. Persistent blackouts, cuts to the state-run food ration system, and severe shortages of water and medicine have transformed daily life into an ordeal for many of the island’s nearly 10 million residents.” (06/17/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/cuba-s-communist-party-convenes-extraordinary-22309545.php
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15) Philippines: Senate president removed ahead of his Duterte’s impeachment trial
Source: ABC News
“A leadership standoff in the Philippine Senate ended Wednesday with the removal of an ally of former President Rodrigo Duterte as leader of the chamber, which will soon start the impeachment trial of his daughter, incumbent Vice President Sara Duterte. With 13 of 24 senators backing him, Sherwin Gatchalian, an ally of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., was elected Senate president. His rival, Alan Peter Cayetano, a key supporter of Duterte, conceded defeat. Both had claimed leadership of the Senate in the last two weeks based on contrasting legal interpretations of the quorum that led to their elections. … Control over the Senate is crucial. It’s expected to start the trial in July of the vice president, who was impeached by the House of Representatives last month over criminal charges, including unexplained wealth and publicly threatening to have Marcos assassinated.” (06/17/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/philippine-senate-president-allied-duterte-removed-ahead-daughters-133952994
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16) US DOJ accuses New York regime of unlawful Medicaid home care “scheme”
Source: Politico
“The Justice Department sued Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration Tuesday over its handling of a popular Medicaid home care program that enables over 200,000 New Yorkers to hire their own caregivers, court records show. The civil lawsuit accuses state Health Commissioner James McDonald and Medicaid Director Amir Bassiri of making false or misleading statements about the consolidation of Medicaid’s consumer-directed personal assistance program, or CDPAP, under financial services company Public Partnerships LLC. The DOJ’s complaint also accuses PPL of creating an ‘artificially attractive proposal’ to administer the Medicaid program through a ‘sham bid process,’ making false statements about its communications with state officials before winning the CDPAP contract and improperly inflating hourly billable rates upon taking over the program in 2025.” (06/16/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/16/doj-accuses-new-york-of-unlawful-medicaid-home-care-scheme-00964284
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17) NY: Mangione will assert psychiatric defense in murder case in UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killing
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“Luigi Mangione plans to assert a psychiatric defense at his state murder trial, claiming he was suffering from extreme emotional disturbance when he gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a judge said Wednesday. That could mean less prison time if he’s convicted. A jury that accepts such a defense would be obligated to convict Mangione of manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison, instead of murder, which could put him behind bars for the rest of his life. An emotional disturbance defense isn’t available in Mangione’s federal case, where he also faces a possible life sentence. New York Judge Gregory Carro announced the defense’s decision in court two weeks after holding a secret hearing on the matter. He said he will unseal a transcript and other records from that hearing once redactions are made.” (06/17/26)
https://www.post-gazette.com/news/crime-courts/2026/06/17/luigi-mangione-defense-argument-ruling/stories/202606170041
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18) Norway: Crown princess has “successful” lung transplant
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit has undergone a successful lung transplant and is recovering from the procedure, the royal household said in a statement on Wednesday. The 52-year-old wife of Crown Prince Haakon, the heir to the Norwegian throne, was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2018, a chronic disease that causes scarring in the lungs and leads to a reduced oxygen uptake. … Oslo University Hospital on June 5 said Mette-Marit had been placed on a waiting list for a lung transplant after a significant deterioration in her health that likely gave her only a year to live without the surgery.” (06/17/26)
https://archive.is/Jiffc
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19) CA: City torn apart by recalled city council that refuses to leave
Source: SFGate
“A small farm community an hour from Fresno is tangled up in an ongoing legal battle that has erupted into disarray after its mayor and city council, except for one member, were recalled in a special election that they claim was illegal. The councilmembers and mayor are now refusing to leave office. A special election was held in April after a citizen-led campaign pushed to oust four of the five members of the Avenal City Council after disagreements over a new fire protocol policy boiled over, according to local reporting from the Fresno Bee. During the April 28 special election, residents voted in favor of the recall. Kings County officially certified the results in May after more than 75% of voters agreed to recall Mayor Alvaro Preciado and councilmembers Leticia Gamez, David Reynosa and Pablo Hernandez.” (06/17/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/avenal-city-council-recall-22307899.php
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20) Oklahomans reject $15 minimum wage; Hern wins GOP primary
Source: United Press International
“Oklahoma voters have rejected raising the state’s nation-lowest minimum wage as several states held primaries on Tuesday. The Sooner State sets its minimum at $7.25, the federal minimum wage floor, tying it with 19 other mostly Republican-led or -leaning states for the nation’s lowest. Oklahoma raised its minimum wage to $7.25 in 2009 to comply with federal law. Voters were asked in State Question 832 whether Oklahoma employers must pay employees at least $15 per hour by 2029, putting the state above the median of $11.63 an hour but still below the highest-wage states. However, voters rejected the move. … Oklahoma voters also heavily backed Rep. Kevin Hern for the Republican nomination for the Senate seat held by Markwayne Mullin until March, when he was sworn in as secretary of Homeland Security, replacing Kristi Noem. … Meanwhile, the GOP gubernatorial primary appears to be heading to a runoff.” (06/17/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/06/17/Oklahoma-minimum-wage/8631781670598/
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Trump in Defeat
Source: The Atlantic
by Jonathan Lemire
“President Trump lost. The war he waged against Iran promises to conclude in a humbling whimper with the signing of a cease-fire agreement later this week. The United States is left weaker — diminished militarily, strategically, economically, and perhaps morally. The war, which the United States fought alongside Israel, accomplished none of the goals that Trump named at the outset. Instead, it only empowered the hard-liners in Tehran and arguably emboldened them to someday seek a nuclear weapon. … Trump won’t admit to any of this. He has spent recent days furiously spinning the tentative deal as a clear win, and has seethed at unflattering comparisons with the deal that President Obama struck with Iran more than a decade ago, aides and outside advisers told me.” (06/17/26)
https://archive.is/I4Oz8
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22) Tariff Math Doesn’t Work, and the White House Already Admitted It
Source: The Daily Economy
by David Clement
“The Trump Administration’s initial demand for renegotiating the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) includes an opening position that vehicles covered by the deal be composed of at least 50 percent American-made components, in terms of dollar value. It’s a revealing concession, because if the goal is truly to manufacture everything in America, the threshold would be 100 percent, not 50 percent. As it turns out, executive orders cannot unwind a global economy. The White House’s concession should jump-start a more honest accounting of what their tariffs actually are: a consumption tax, paid by American households, spread across nearly every goods-producing sector in the economy.” (06/17/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/tariff-math-doesnt-work-and-the-white-house-already-admitted-it/
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23) Find better solutions without government
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“I hear a lot of people saying the community should have this or that. Or pointing out things they believe should be improved. But they always seem to want government, or at least someone else, to provide what they want or to fix their problems. If you have complaints about the community, don’t wait for government to fix them. See what you can do for yourself, maybe with help from others, with or without government permission. Government wants you to depend on it for solutions, but its solutions can be worse than the original problem.” (06/17/26)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2026/06/17/voices/opinion-find-better-solutions-without-government/233660.html
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24) Trump Bump Is a Welfare Increase
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Laurence M Vance
“This year’s [Social Security] COLA was 2.8 percent — the fifth straight year of a COLA at or above 2.5 percent. The COLA was called a ‘Trump bump’ because Trump’s tariff increases led to increased prices on certain goods, which increased the CPI-W, which increased the COLA. Retirement analysts are expecting an even larger ‘Trump bump’ next year due to the tremendous increase in fuel prices due to Trump’s war in Iran. … These ‘Trump bumps’ are nothing more than welfare increases that will be eaten up by inflation, higher premiums for Medicare Part B (which are deducted from Social Security checks), and taxes on Social Security benefits.” (06/17/26)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/trump-bump-is-a-welfare-increase/
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25) The University As We Know It Is Finished
Source: Persuasion
by Nils Gilman
“Any reimagining of the university in the age of AI must begin with an honest reckoning with what AI cannot do — and what therefore becomes relatively valuable precisely because AI can do everything else. The key distinction is between work that AI does well (such as synthesis of known patterns, argument elaboration, template instantiation, and generating local coherence) and work it structurally cannot do because of the architecture of the technology as such. AI cannot build the trust on which institutional cooperation depends, because trust is not a conclusion reached by processing information about another agent but instead is a relationship constituted over time between persons who have staked something on each other, and who can be betrayed. AI cannot give a person good taste or style, because taste and style are about personal distinctiveness within a community which shares an aesthetic.” (06/17/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/the-multiversity-is-finished
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26) Everyone Should Be Free To Stay In or Get Out Of Social Security
Source: Town Hall
by Star Parker
“Trustees of the Social Security program just issued their annual report. Each year, the picture of the program’s solvency is dismal. But this year it’s even worse. Rather than falling short in 2033, as reported last year, this year the shortfall is projected to be in late 2032. That’s six years from now. Without action taken, benefits, per the report, will be cut 22% late in 2032. That means that every young working person is now forced to pay, by law, 12.4% of their pay — half paid by them and half paid by their employee — into a bankrupt system. As I recall, this is a free country. So, the fault is ours. We, the voters, sit by and allow this to be done to us. Even if the system was not broken and could pay benefits as promised, it still is a horrible situation.” (06/17/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/starparker/2026/06/17/everyone-should-be-free-to-stay-in-or-get-out-of-social-security-n2677864
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27) Your financial records have no Fourth Amendment protections
Source: The Hill
by Jay Rogers
“The protection that the framers wrote into our Constitution was not a general right to privacy. Rather, it was a specific warrant requirement for specific records — the same records that federal agencies can now reach through administrative subpoenas that require no judge’s signature. This is because of two key and relatively recent Supreme Court decisions. U.S. v. Miller in 1976 and Smith v. Maryland in 1979 replaced the Fourth Amendment’s requirement with a doctrine the Founders never intended. They established that information voluntarily shared with a third party loses Fourth Amendment protection.” (06/17/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/5926033-financial-records-fourth-amendment/
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28) The US-Iran Deal Could Help Transform America’s Mideast Strategy
Source: The American Conservative
by Eldar Mamedov
“The threat of war had preserved American leverage, and the waging of war destroyed it. So long as the prospect of the use of force remained ambiguous, Iran had to hedge. Once force was actually applied and failed to produce decisive results, Tehran learned that the United States could not achieve its maximalist objectives militarily. That knowledge permanently shifted the bargaining dynamic. But this outcome need not be seen as catastrophic. It can instead produce a realistic reassessment of American presence and partnerships in the Middle East.” (06/17/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-u-s-iran-deal-could-help-transform-americas-mideast-strategy/
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29) The Paradoxical Utopia of the World Cup
Source: Flagler Live
by Pierre Tristam
“Simon Kuper is 56 now. His first memory of a World Cup, if not his first-ever vivid memory — for many of us who grew up outside the United States, the two are often the same — was the 1978 final between the Netherlands and Argentina. ‘I recall that night as vividly as almost anything else in my childhood,’ he writes in World Cup Fever. ‘A World Cup is like Proust’s Madeleine. Each new World Cup reminds you of past World Cups, and the people you watched them with.’ The book is a history of the World Cup through a few dozen madeleines. For Americans, it’s as good a guide as any to a tournament of paradoxes, this too-big-to-fail quadrennial festival of corruption, cheating, profiteering, nationalist chauvinism, and mostly crappy soccer that nevertheless can hypnotize and transport to a utopia of competition as idealized and convincing as Pelé’s deification of the sport as ‘the beautiful game.'” (06/17/26)
https://flaglerlive.com/world-cup-fever/
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30) Europe’s Digital Protectionism
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Cláudia Ascensão Nunes
“When a government grants a monopoly in certain industries, it is protecting itself from competition it cannot control. The cost of that decision always falls on the people who depend on services that become more expensive, slower, and less innovative by decree. This is exactly what the European Commission proposed on June 3, 2026, this time applied to the digital infrastructure that supports hospitals, universities, public administrations, and businesses across Europe. It is called the Cloud and AI Development Act (CADA), and it is the centerpiece of the Tech Sovereignty Package. The logic behind it is protectionist: restrict who can compete, and guarantee market share for alternatives selected by the state.” (06/17/26)
https://fee.org/articles/europes-digital-protectionism/
-----
31) What would happen if US actually cut off military aid to Israel?
Source: American Greatness
by Connor Echols
“As Israeli officials lash out against a preliminary deal to end the war in Iran, President Donald Trump is returning the favor. ‘I’m not happy with the way Israel has handled themselves with Lebanon,’ Trump said Tuesday. ‘Israel would have been blown up a long time ago had I not gotten involved.’ The comments represent a nadir in U.S.-Israel relations under Trump. The dispute is fundamental. Trump is determined to end the war with Iran, and Iran has made clear that a peace deal is only possible if Israel halts its operations against Hezbollah, an Iranian ally, in Lebanon. … Israel, for its part, believes its interests are best served by continued war with both Hezbollah and Iran, and it’s insisting that it won’t be bound by the terms of any deal negotiated between Tehran and Washington alone.” (06/17/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/us-military-aid-to-israel/
-----
32) Bipartisan JAWBONE Act Targets Government Censorship Threats
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“When the state is so big and intrusive that people need its permission to do everything from building a house to merging businesses, it’s easy for the lines to blur between conversations in which government officials merely voice preferences and those in which they twist arms to get their way. That creates room for partisans to defend ‘jawboning’ — government bullying of private parties to do what officials won’t or can’t do themselves — as nothing more than casual chats. The best way to handle jawboning is to strip government of power so it has little coercive leverage, and we should always work to do just that. Another good approach, embodied in legislation cosponsored by Sens. Ted Cruz (R–Texas) and Ron Wyden (D–Ore.), is to make it easier to monitor government communications with private parties and to punish officials who cross the line.” (06/17/26)
https://reason.com/2026/06/17/bipartisan-jawbone-act-targets-government-censorship-threats/
-----
33) Winning Back the Working Class: To What, Exactly?
Source: Common Dreams
by Les Leopold
“I recently attended a webinar sponsored by the Working Families Party, entitled Winning Back the Working Class. Everyone attending seemed to share the view that the working class has drifted away from the Democratic Party and that Democrats must change their messaging in order to win these voters back and prevail against MAGA Republicans. The presenters provided sophisticated polling analyses, looking closely at the issues that matter most to working-class voters and what turns them off about the Democratic Party. The bottom line was that the Democrats needed to put forward a strong, progressive economic-populist agenda. While I share the desire to derail MAGA in the coming elections, I find the ‘winning back’ framework problematic. For starters, why do Democrats need to be convinced that a progressive economic platform should be adopted?” (06/17/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/working-class-independent-party
-----
34) Taxing the rich won’t save Social Security
Source: Washington Post
by Ramesh Ponnuru
“Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) greeted the news that Elon Musk had become a trillionaire by — what else? — touting a plan to raise federal spending and taxes. Musk ‘pays the same amount into Social Security as someone making $184,500,’ Sanders tweeted. He said his bill would ‘end that absurdity,’ eliminate the program’s shortfall for 75 years and pay for an expansion of Social Security benefits. … Sanders’s idea is terrible. It would be a much larger and more harmful tax increase than its supporters let on and would further warp the federal government’s already perverse spending priorities. … The tax cap is there to keep benefits related to contributions. Musk won’t pay any more than someone making $184,500, but he also won’t get a bigger check than that person.” (06/17/26)
https://archive.is/mJmVJ
-----
35) Florida House Blocks DeSantis AI Bill of Rights
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey
“Not many people paid attention, but the 2026 Florida legislative session took an unusual turn with regard to AI regulation. The main issue isn’t whether AI should be regulated, but whether that should happen at the state or national level, or not at all. In Florida, lawmakers rejected Governor DeSantis’[s] ‘AI Bill of Rights.’ The Florida Senate supported DeSantis, but the House did not. When it comes to the Internet, how can a state control how its citizens use certain websites, especially when people can easily circumvent the rules? And I would posit that, even if one were in favor of regulating AI, we do not even know which regulation would be most prudent without inhibiting its positive impact on society. So far, it seems most regulatory proposals I have seen around the country, including in Florida, have been alarmist, reactionary, and driven by emotion rather than objective reasoning.” (06/17/26)
https://palmbeachexaminer.substack.com/p/florida-house-blocks-desantis-ai
-----
36) Finding American Integrity
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Joe Murphy
“Last week, Dr. Steven Quay published recommendations to improve the integrity of the nation’s biosecurity research following the Covid-19 crisis. Dr. Quay is a prominent figure in the resistance to the Covid-19 origins coverup in addition to his medical and academic pedigrees. His recommendations complement those of James Erdman, an Office of the Director of National Intelligence and CIA professional, who articulated before Congress in April that the government’s biosecurity apparatus is convoluted, clumsy, and unaccountable. I echoed similar comments in a prior piece from my perspective as a military officer also involved in countering the coverup. In the vein of Dr. Quay and Mr. Erdman’s recommendations, I offer further comments towards America’s Covid-19 post-mortem.” (06/17/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/finding-american-integrity/
-----
37) Trump reindustrialization agenda faces its biggest hurdle: Americans
Source: Fox News
by Chris Johnson
“Americans say they want to bring back industry. President Donald Trump ran on reindustrialization and won. But when it comes to actual building, mining, and developing, people too often shut it down. Build, they say, just not in my backyard. Peter Thiel put his finger on this pathology over a decade ago. ‘We wanted flying cars,’ he wrote, ‘instead we got 140 characters.’ His point wasn’t merely about venture capital timidity. It was about a society that stopped building physical things, retreating into digital abstraction while factories closed, supply chains migrated to China, and infrastructure crumbled. Now, we are making the same mistake again, in real time, with higher stakes.” [editor’s note: Actually, the US builds more “physical things” than it ever has before — it just doesn’t use as much human labor to do so – TLK] (06/17/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/trumps-reindustrialization-agenda-faces-biggest-hurdle
-----
38) Look who’s losing it over Trump’s Iran deal
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Jack Hunter
“When Trump launched a war against Iran in late February, his MAGA movement suddenly became nearly indistinguishable from the neoconservative foreign policy Trump once abhorred. For nearly four months, Washington hawks like Senator Lindsey Graham and radio jock Mark Levin were riding high. But over time it became clearer that the president was looking for a way out and now the president has reportedly reached a memorandum of understanding with Iran to end the fighting, open the Strait of Hormuz, and to keep talking. Trump’s friends, who were hoping for Iranian capitulation and regime change, even if that meant indefinite bombing and blockading, aren’t very happy today.” (06/17/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-criticized-iran-deal/
-----
39) The Musk Trillionaire Panic Is a Distraction
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Connor O’Keeffe
“The eye-catching dollar amounts reported as the net worths of the richest people in the world, like Elon Musk, are not large piles of cash sitting around in bank accounts gathering dust. They are mostly the present value of the companies they own. It is not even possible to tax or confiscate these assets without destroying most or all of the initial value. Figures like Warren and Newsom know this. But the implication that the rich are simply ‘hoarding’ trillions of dollars of wealth is useful to them. It feeds the impression that all of our economic problems are, in essence, problems with the distribution of final consumable wealth.” (06/17/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/musk-trillionaire-panic-distraction
-----
40) Can Trust Exist Between the United States and Iran?
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Ted Snider
“Iran was consistently and demonstrably in compliance with all their commitments under the agreement. It was Trump who broke faith, betrayed Iran and unilaterally and illegally pulled the United States out of the agreement. When, despite this history of nuclear negotiations with Trump, Iran returned to the negotiating table, the U.S. three times bombed Iran while negotiating. … Other negotiations with the U.S. have also taught Iran distrust.” (06/17/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/can-trust-exist-between-the-united-states-and-iran/
-----
41) In New York’s “Commie Corridor”, a Race Over How to Build Power
Source: The American Prospect
by Whitney Curry Wimbish
“To the casual observer, the two candidates vying for the Democratic nomination in New York’s Seventh Congressional District to replace retiring 16-term stalwart Nydia Velázquez may look indistinguishable. New York Assemblymember Claire Valdez and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso are both Democrats, and both intend to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), fund affordable housing, institute health care for all, and end Israel’s war on Palestine, which they agree is a genocide. Both candidates have substantial endorsements from powerful figures and organizations. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani backs Valdez, a fellow Democratic Socialists of America member, as do DSA-NYC and Justice Democrats; Rep. Velázquez, the New York Working Families Party, and state Attorney General Letitia James back Reynoso.” (06/17/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/06/17/new-york-commie-corridor-valdez-reynoso-seventh-district-congressional-race/
-----
42) The Trillion-Dollar Alarm Bell
Source: CounterPunch
by David S D’Amato
“Last week’s SpaceX IPO made Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire, despite the fact that the company has lost tens of billions of dollars since it was founded almost 25 years ago. Shares of the company climbed steadily after markets closed on Friday, pushing its market cap to $2.2 trillion. The public conversation about Musk’s vast wealth often obscures the fact that he is actually a very fancy welfare recipient, having taken billions of dollars from the public coffers by even the most conservative measures.” (06/17/26)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/06/17/the-trillion-dollar-alarm-bell/
-----
43) Hey, POTUS, The Point of the War Was What Again?
Source: Antiwar.com
by David Stockman
“Self-evidently, the reason for the attack is not that Iran was days, weeks or months away from a nuke: Even the Donald’s own former DNI, Tulsi Gabbard, had recently affirmed in Congressional testimony that the long-standing assessment of the US intelligence agencies that Iran had ceased all research and activities designed to weaponize HEUs was still the case, and with a high degree of confidence. Likewise, the January 2026 street uprisings throughout Iran, which had been the catalyst for war that Netanyahu had peddled to the SUCKER he finally found in the Oval Office, has long since become a moot point. … what the hell was the reason for going to war on February 28th when there was no bomb and, self-evidently, no prospect of a regime change uprising, as MOU item #3 makes clear as a bell?” (06/17/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/david_stockman/2026/06/16/hey-potus-the-point-of-the-war-was-what-again/
-----
44) My 40 Year War on Psychiatry
Source: JimBovard.com
by James Bovard
“Forty years ago, I attended the annual meetings of the American Psychiatric Association in Washington and my sanity never recovered. Or at least that is what therapists presume based on my writings about their endless fabrication of bogus mental illnesses.” (06/16/26)
https://jimbovard.com/blog/2026/06/16/my-40-year-war-on-psychiatry/
-----
45) NY unions put a target on my back, for helping their members escape
Source: New York Post
by Aaron Withe
“I run the organization New York is trying to shut down. A few days ago, at the tail end of its legislative session, Albany lawmakers passed a bill giving Attorney General Letitia James sweeping new powers to investigate and fine any organization — even those based in other states — for communications she determines to ‘falsely impersonate’ a union. The fine is $1,000 per incident: $1,000 for every mailer or email my group, the Freedom Foundation, sends to tens of thousands of workers annually. The bill claims it’s meant to stop the impersonation of union representatives, but its real purpose is to stop groups like mine from telling public employees what their unions don’t want them to know: That they have a constitutional right to decline union membership and dues without losing their jobs.” (06/17/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/06/17/opinion/ny-unions-put-a-target-on-my-back-for-helping-members-escape/
-----
46) Does Immigration Lead to “Democratic Drain” and Illiberalism in Native Countries?
Source: The UnPopulist
by Stan Veuger
“A fascinating book by a political scientist says yes — but, in fact, there is strong evidence for the opposite case, too.” (06/16/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/does-immigration-lead-to-democratic
-----
47) The FDA Can’t Manage Its Own Risk Problem
Source: Independent Institute
by Raymond J March
“Private companies—whether making medical goods or anything else — flourish or fail by assessing risk well. The FDA doesn’t face that discipline. The agency’s only real power is to remove products from the market or stop them from entering it. That is a blunt instrument applied to an incredibly dynamic market for medical goods. More importantly, accepting risk is a matter of personal preference and available alternatives — circumstances that differ for every patient and cannot be aggregated into a one-size-fits-all standard without discarding what makes medical treatment effective in the first place.” (06/16/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/06/16/fda-risk-problem/
-----
48) UK teen social media ban is anonymity-killer for adults
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
by Sarah McLaughlin
“The United Kingdom is unveiling a grand new policy it claims will protect children on social media platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and X. The exact rules governing the ban will be released before its launch next year, but it will use age verification tools to restrict youth access to social media and other programs. But this new ‘under-16’ policy, like many others before it, is a misnomer. Because whether you’re 15 or 55, it will affect people regardless of age — and drain away all UK citizens’ ability to speak freely and anonymously online.” (06/16/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/blogs/free-speech-dispatch/uk-teen-social-media-ban-anonymity-killer-adults
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49) Real Estate Merger Poised to Create Several Local Apartment Monopolies
Source: In These Times
by Rebecca Burns
“A $69 billion merger between two real estate behemoths is set to create the largest publicly traded apartment landlord in U.S. history, dramatically expanding the market power of two firms that have been sued repeatedly over alleged tenant abuses and illegal price-fixing. Together, real estate investment trusts (REITs) AvalonBay Communities and Equity Residential own more than 180,000 apartments nationwide, with another 20,000 under development. Were these two companies banks or broadcast networks or grocery stores, their merger would face mandatory review by federal regulators. But long-standing loopholes exempt real estate mergers from antitrust scrutiny — even as concerns mount about the consolidation of housing in the hands of large investors.” (06/17/26)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/real-estate-monopoly-equity-residential-avalon-bay
-----
50) “Dangerous” AI Models Are Coming No Matter What
Source: Wired
by Lily Hay Newman
“The US government crackdown on Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 hides a glaring truth: AI models with advanced hacking capabilities will soon be the norm.” (06/16/26)
https://archive.is/Yy2Sp
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, 06/17/26
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
“Stress-testing the limits of the First Amendment w/ Chaz Stevens.” (06/17/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/podcasts/so-speak-free-speech-podcast/stress-testing-limits-first-amendment-w-chaz-stevens
-----
52) Rising, 06/17/26
Source: The Hill
“Lindsey Granger gives her lens on Vice President JD Vance’s recent appearance on ABC’s The View.” (06/17/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/5921344-rising-june-17-2026/
-----
53) Reason Interview: Matt Welch
Source: Reason
“What 1976 Got Right About America.” (06/17/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/06/17/what-1976-got-right-about-america/
-----
54) Reasonably Optimistic, 06/17/26
Source: Washington Post
“Is there such a thing as too much empathy?” (06/17/26)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/impromptu/is-there-such-a-thing-as-too-much-empathy/
-----
55) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 06/17/26
Source: The New Republic
"Trumpworld Quietly Shivs JD Vance as Damning Leaks Discredit Iran Deal." (06/17/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/211966/trumpworld-quietly-shivs-jd-vance-damning-leaks-discredit-iran-deal
-----
56) The Political Orphanage, 06/17/26
Source: The Political Orphanage
“The Dark Side of Corporate Utopia: Pullman vs. Hershey.” (06/17/26)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/the-dark-side-of-corporate-utopia-pullman-vs-hershey
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57) Nonzero, 06/16/26
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“The US-China AI Race | Robert Wright & Ryan Fedasiuk.” (06/16/26)
https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/69557
-----
58) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 06/16/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Iran Warns of Response to Israel’s Lebanon War, Trump: Syria Should Take Care of Hezbollah, and More.” (06/16/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAwIoKmTpDE
-----
59) LPA Solidarity Stream, 06/16/26
Source: LP Alliance
“[W]e go LIVE with Iowa House candidate Marco Battaglia to talk about his contested campaign, why Republicans are running scared, and the phone call from RFK Jr. asking him to drop out.” (06/16/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_paamjZ3F4
-----
60) Law & Liberty Podcast, 06/16/26
Source: Law & Liberty
“Tinfoil Hats in the White House.” (06/16/26)
https://lawliberty.org/podcast/tinfoil-hats-in-the-white-house/
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Russia: Moscow suspends all flights as massive Ukrainian drone attack sparks oil refinery fire
2) Iran war: Trump, Pezeshkian sign instrument of US surrender
3) FL: US regime transfers abductees out of “Alligator Alcatraz” concentration camp
4) Federal Reserve holds interest rates steady but leaves door open to hike
5) Finland: Parliament votes to lift decades-old ban on nuclear weapons
6) South Africa: Labour Unions Urge Workers to Shun Anti-Migrant Protests
7) US asks judge to halt first reparations program for black people in US
8) US DOJ tries to block environmental lawsuit against Elon Musk’s xAI
9) African & Commonwealth nations in Kenya urge quick execution of a key treaty protecting oceans
10) US retail sales up a strong 0.9% in May
11) Somaliland: No Talks to Establish Israeli Military Base, Defence Minister Says
12) Japan: Regime raids ice cream giants over price-fixing allegations
13) Trump cancels hearing for replacement intel chief Clayton
14) Cuba: Communist Party convenes extraordinary session to debate new economic measures
15) Philippines: Senate president removed ahead of his Duterte’s impeachment trial
16) US DOJ accuses New York regime of unlawful Medicaid home care “scheme”
17) NY: Mangione will assert psychiatric defense in murder case in UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killing
18) Norway: Crown princess has “successful” lung transplant
19) CA: City torn apart by recalled city council that refuses to leave
20) Oklahomans reject $15 minimum wage; Hern wins GOP primary
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Trump in Defeat
22) Tariff Math Doesn’t Work, and the White House Already Admitted It
23) Find better solutions without government
24) Trump Bump Is a Welfare Increase
25) The University As We Know It Is Finished
26) Everyone Should Be Free To Stay In or Get Out Of Social Security
27) Your financial records have no Fourth Amendment protections
28) The US-Iran Deal Could Help Transform America’s Mideast Strategy
29) The Paradoxical Utopia of the World Cup
30) Europe’s Digital Protectionism
31) What would happen if US actually cut off military aid to Israel?
32) Bipartisan JAWBONE Act Targets Government Censorship Threats
33) Winning Back the Working Class: To What, Exactly?
34) Taxing the rich won’t save Social Security
35) Florida House Blocks DeSantis AI Bill of Rights
36) Finding American Integrity
37) Trump reindustrialization agenda faces its biggest hurdle: Americans
38) Look who’s losing it over Trump’s Iran deal
39) The Musk Trillionaire Panic Is a Distraction
40) Can Trust Exist Between the United States and Iran?
41) In New York’s “Commie Corridor”, a Race Over How to Build Power
42) The Trillion-Dollar Alarm Bell
43) Hey, POTUS, The Point of the War Was What Again?
44) My 40 Year War on Psychiatry
45) NY unions put a target on my back, for helping their members escape
46) Does Immigration Lead to “Democratic Drain” and Illiberalism in Native Countries?
47) The FDA Can’t Manage Its Own Risk Problem
48) UK teen social media ban is anonymity-killer for adults
49) Real Estate Merger Poised to Create Several Local Apartment Monopolies
50) “Dangerous” AI Models Are Coming No Matter What
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, 06/17/26
52) Rising, 06/17/26
53) Reason Interview: Matt Welch
54) Reasonably Optimistic, 06/17/26
55) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 06/17/26
56) The Political Orphanage, 06/17/26
57) Nonzero, 06/16/26
58) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 06/16/26
59) LPA Solidarity Stream, 06/16/26
60) Law & Liberty Podcast, 06/16/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Russia: Moscow suspends all flights as massive Ukrainian drone attack sparks oil refinery fire
Source: Independent [UK]
“Russia faced one of the biggest aerial assaults of the war so far from Ukraine overnight, saying its air defences downed as many as 555 Ukrainian drones over multiple regions. Moscow has ordered the suspension of flights at all its major airports, while traffic was halted on Moscow’s ring road near an oil refinery after multiple drone strikes. Photos and videos shared online purported to show massive explosions at the refinery, including one that blew an oil container lid hundreds of feet into the air. Moscow’s mayor Sergei Sobhyanin said around 180 drones heading for the capital alone had been downed.” (06/18/26)
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-live-putin-trump-zelensky-g7-news-b2998092.html
-----
2) Iran war: Trump, Pezeshkian sign instrument of US surrender
Source: CNBC
“President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday digitally signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at developing a permanent peace deal to end the war between their two nations, officials said. … Trump signed the MOU before a dinner in Versailles, France, with French President Emmanuel Macron, France’s first lady Brigitte Macron, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and others, according to a video posted online by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino.” (06/17/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/17/trump-vance-iran-deal-nuclear-g7.html
-----
3) FL: US regime transfers abductees out of “Alligator Alcatraz” concentration camp
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“The administration of United States President Donald Trump has announced that all immigrant [abductees] have been transferred out of a Florida [concentration camp] known as Alligator Alcatraz, effectively shuttering the controversial facility. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Wednesday that everyone being held in the state-run facility had been transferred out, citing concerns about the start of the Atlantic hurricane season. … reports of its impending closure had intensified for months. Several anonymous officials told The New York Times in May that the isolated facility, located inside Florida’s Big Cypress Natural Preserve, was too costly to maintain.” (06/18/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/6/18/us-transfers-immigrants-out-of-florida-alligator-alcatraz-detention-centre
-----
4) Federal Reserve holds interest rates steady but leaves door open to hike
Source: CBS News
“The Federal Reserve on Wednesday left its benchmark interest rate unchanged amid resurgent inflation, but nearly half of its policymakers said they would support a rate hike later this year. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) kept the federal funds rate, which affects borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, in its current range of 3.5% to 3.75%. Economists had widely expected the central bank to keep rates steady. … The central bank’s previous forecast, issued in March, forecast that the Personal Consumption Expenditures index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, would end the year at an annual rate of 2.7%. But in today’s forecast, the FOMC members are penciling in inflation rising to an annualized 3.6% by year-end.” (06/17/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fed-meeting-fomc-today-kevin-warsh-interest-rates/
-----
5) Finland: Parliament votes to lift decades-old ban on nuclear weapons
Source: Fox News
“Finland’s parliament on Wednesday voted to lift a decades-old ban on nuclear weapons, approving a major defense policy shift aimed at aligning the country more closely with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) deterrence strategy. Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen said a strong majority backed the amendment to the Nuclear Energy Act, calling it a ‘historic reform’ that strengthens Finland’s security and that of the alliance. … The measure repeals provisions in Finland’s 1987 Nuclear Energy Act that banned the import, production, possession and detonation of nuclear explosives. If enacted, the legislation would allow nuclear weapons to be transported, supplied or possessed in Finland where the country’s military defense requires it. … The bill now moves to the president for final approval.” (06/17/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/world/finlands-parliament-votes-lift-decades-old-ban-nuclear-weapons-historic-nato-defense-shift
-----
6) South Africa: Labour Unions Urge Workers to Shun Anti-Migrant Protests
Source: US News & World Report
“South Africa’s biggest labour unions on Wednesday urged workers not to participate in anti-immigrant protests that have seized the country, and said they could face consequences if they skip work to attend. South Africa is on edge ahead of a June 30 deadline which anti-immigrant groups have given for all undocumented foreigners to leave the country. Protests and potential civil unrest are expected, after weeks of sometimes violent xenophobic attacks. Four major unions including the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), which represents around 2 million people, said in a statement that workers would not be protected if they do not go to work on June 30. … ‘Removing foreign nationals from workplaces, communities or public spaces will not reopen factories, repair municipalities, strengthen public healthcare or create sustainable jobs,’ said the unions COSATU, FEDUSA, SAFTU and NACTU.” (06/17/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-06-17/south-african-labour-unions-urge-workers-to-shun-anti-migrant-protests
-----
7) US asks judge to halt first reparations program for black people in US
Source: The Hill
“The Justice Department is seeking to intervene in a federal lawsuit challenging a Chicago suburb’s housing reparations program for [b]lack residents, arguing it is ‘racially discriminatory’ and unconstitutional. The city council in Evanston, Ill., earmarked $10 million in revenue generated from cannabis sales taxes in 2019 for a first-of-its-kind local reparations program for [b]lack residents and their direct descendants who suffered housing discrimination due to the city’s policies and practices between 1919 and 1969. … The Justice Department has alleged that the program violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and the Fair Housing Act because it is ‘not narrowly tailored to remediating specific, identified instances of past discrimination’ and public money is distributed solely based on race.” (06/17/26)
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5927763-justice-department-evanston-reparations-housing-discrimination/
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8) US DOJ tries to block environmental lawsuit against Elon Musk’s xAI
Source: United Press International
“The Department of Justice is trying to quash a lawsuit against a power plant that supports an xAI data center and is arguing that the turbines are essential to national security. The suit, filed by the NAACP and several environmental groups against Elon Musk’s xAI, alleges that a power plant in Southaven, Miss., is operating without permits and violates the Clean Air Act. The plant powers the xAI Colossus 2 data center, which is over the state line in Memphis, Tenn. Colossus 2 supports the Grok artificial intelligence bot. The NAACP alleges that the power plant runs 57 turbines with no pollution controls, making it one of the biggest single industrial sources of smog-forming nitrogen oxide in the United States and a significant source of other harmful air pollutants like particulate matter and formaldehyde, disproportionately affecting vulnerable groups like children, older adults and low-income or minority households.” (06/17/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/06/17/doj-elon-musk-xai-naacp/9421781703391/
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9) African & Commonwealth nations in Kenya urge quick execution of a key treaty protecting oceans
Source: SFGate
“African and Commonwealth nations called Tuesday for a swift implementation of a landmark treaty protecting the high seas, warning that despite record commitments to marine conservation, much of the world’s ocean protection still exists only on paper. The call to action was issued at the 11th Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa, the first time an African nation has hosted the major annual event, which focuses on addressing critical ocean issues, including climate change, biodiversity and pollution. Hundreds of delegates from Africa, the United States, the European Union, and climate-vulnerable Caribbean and Pacific island nations are taking part in the conference, where leaders have sought to position Africa as a driving force in global ocean governance.” (06/16/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/african-and-commonwealth-nations-in-kenya-urge-22307870.php
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10) US retail sales up a strong 0.9% in May
Source: Seattle Times
“Shoppers stepped up their spending in May and surpassed expectations as temperatures warmed and gasoline prices cooled. Retail sales rose 0.9%, up from a revised 0.4% gain in April, according to new Commerce Department data released Wednesday. Sales got a boost from generous government tax refunds in both April and May, though economists say that cash cushion is starting to fade. Excluding sales at gas stations, retail sales in May rose 0.7%. Spending was broad-based. Business at clothing, accessory and furniture stores all posted increases. Online sales rose 1.5%. There were a few weak spots. Electronics and appliance stores and department stores both registered slight declines.” (06/17/26)
https://archive.is/QRxQ6
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11) Somaliland: No Talks to Establish Israeli Military Base, Defence Minister Says
Source: US News & World Report
“There is no Israeli military presence in Somaliland and no talks about Israel opening a base there, Somaliland’s Defence Minister Mohamed Yusuf Ali told Reuters on Wednesday. Speaking on the sidelines of a business conference in Tel Aviv, he said Israel was training Somaliland’s military and police, but dismissed reports that Israel was in negotiations to establish a military base in the territory as ‘rumours.’ Michael Lotem, Israel’s ambassador to Somaliland, declined to comment. … Israel recognised Somaliland as an independent state last December, the first country to formally do so, in a move Somalia rejected and termed a ‘deliberate attack’ on its sovereignty.” (06/17/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-06-17/no-talks-to-establish-israeli-military-base-in-somaliland-defence-minister-says
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12) Japan: Regime raids ice cream giants over price-fixing allegations
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Japan’s competition watchdog has raided some of the country’s biggest ice cream makers for allegedly forming a cartel to raise the price of their products. Some of the firms, including Meiji and Pocky maker Ezaki Glico, said this week that they have been subject to an “on-site inspection” by the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) over suspicions that they fixed the prices of frozen desserts. The JFTC said it is not releasing a statement regarding the investigation. The companies are suspected of inflating ice cream prices beyond increases in the cost of raw materials, even as the country faces a hot summer with record high temperatures.” (06/17/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0ly0k88e61o
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13) Trump cancels hearing for replacement intel chief Clayton
Source: Semafor
“Jay Clayton won’t be sitting for his confirmation hearing today to be President Donald Trump’s permanent director of national intelligence, after Trump said in an early morning Truth Social post that he wants Clayton’s replacement confirmed as the top US attorney in Manhattan first. The abrupt move is sure to rankle Senate Republicans, who moved quickly to schedule Clayton’s hearing to confirm him — and clear the way for passage of an extension of a key surveillance tool that lapsed as Democrats protested Trump’s pick of Bill Pulte for acting DNI. It also guarantees that the surveillance law won’t be renewed anytime soon. Trump also reiterated his demand that Republicans’ voter ID bill, the SAVE America Act, be approved along with the surveillance law despite Senate Majority Leader John Thune saying that can’t happen.” (06/17/26)
https://www.semafor.com/article/06/17/2026/trump-cancels-hearing-for-replacement-intel-chief-clayton
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14) Cuba: Communist Party convenes extraordinary session to debate new economic measures
Source: SFGate
“Cuba’s powerful Communist Party, or PCC, called an extraordinary plenary session Wednesday, days after President Miguel Díaz-Canel’s announced an economic reform package aimed at opening up the struggling island’s economy. Also Wednesday, in a surprise move, the National Assembly was also convened for Thursday to follow up on the party meeting. Both sessions come at a critical time for Cuba, as it grapples with the effects of a U.S. energy blockade aimed at forcing a change in the island’s economic model. The deepening economic crisis that has gripped Cuba for the past years — intensified by the energy embargo enacted under U.S. President Donald Trump — continues to disproportionately affect the island’s most vulnerable. Persistent blackouts, cuts to the state-run food ration system, and severe shortages of water and medicine have transformed daily life into an ordeal for many of the island’s nearly 10 million residents.” (06/17/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/cuba-s-communist-party-convenes-extraordinary-22309545.php
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15) Philippines: Senate president removed ahead of his Duterte’s impeachment trial
Source: ABC News
“A leadership standoff in the Philippine Senate ended Wednesday with the removal of an ally of former President Rodrigo Duterte as leader of the chamber, which will soon start the impeachment trial of his daughter, incumbent Vice President Sara Duterte. With 13 of 24 senators backing him, Sherwin Gatchalian, an ally of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., was elected Senate president. His rival, Alan Peter Cayetano, a key supporter of Duterte, conceded defeat. Both had claimed leadership of the Senate in the last two weeks based on contrasting legal interpretations of the quorum that led to their elections. … Control over the Senate is crucial. It’s expected to start the trial in July of the vice president, who was impeached by the House of Representatives last month over criminal charges, including unexplained wealth and publicly threatening to have Marcos assassinated.” (06/17/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/philippine-senate-president-allied-duterte-removed-ahead-daughters-133952994
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16) US DOJ accuses New York regime of unlawful Medicaid home care “scheme”
Source: Politico
“The Justice Department sued Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration Tuesday over its handling of a popular Medicaid home care program that enables over 200,000 New Yorkers to hire their own caregivers, court records show. The civil lawsuit accuses state Health Commissioner James McDonald and Medicaid Director Amir Bassiri of making false or misleading statements about the consolidation of Medicaid’s consumer-directed personal assistance program, or CDPAP, under financial services company Public Partnerships LLC. The DOJ’s complaint also accuses PPL of creating an ‘artificially attractive proposal’ to administer the Medicaid program through a ‘sham bid process,’ making false statements about its communications with state officials before winning the CDPAP contract and improperly inflating hourly billable rates upon taking over the program in 2025.” (06/16/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/16/doj-accuses-new-york-of-unlawful-medicaid-home-care-scheme-00964284
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17) NY: Mangione will assert psychiatric defense in murder case in UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killing
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“Luigi Mangione plans to assert a psychiatric defense at his state murder trial, claiming he was suffering from extreme emotional disturbance when he gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a judge said Wednesday. That could mean less prison time if he’s convicted. A jury that accepts such a defense would be obligated to convict Mangione of manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison, instead of murder, which could put him behind bars for the rest of his life. An emotional disturbance defense isn’t available in Mangione’s federal case, where he also faces a possible life sentence. New York Judge Gregory Carro announced the defense’s decision in court two weeks after holding a secret hearing on the matter. He said he will unseal a transcript and other records from that hearing once redactions are made.” (06/17/26)
https://www.post-gazette.com/news/crime-courts/2026/06/17/luigi-mangione-defense-argument-ruling/stories/202606170041
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18) Norway: Crown princess has “successful” lung transplant
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit has undergone a successful lung transplant and is recovering from the procedure, the royal household said in a statement on Wednesday. The 52-year-old wife of Crown Prince Haakon, the heir to the Norwegian throne, was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2018, a chronic disease that causes scarring in the lungs and leads to a reduced oxygen uptake. … Oslo University Hospital on June 5 said Mette-Marit had been placed on a waiting list for a lung transplant after a significant deterioration in her health that likely gave her only a year to live without the surgery.” (06/17/26)
https://archive.is/Jiffc
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19) CA: City torn apart by recalled city council that refuses to leave
Source: SFGate
“A small farm community an hour from Fresno is tangled up in an ongoing legal battle that has erupted into disarray after its mayor and city council, except for one member, were recalled in a special election that they claim was illegal. The councilmembers and mayor are now refusing to leave office. A special election was held in April after a citizen-led campaign pushed to oust four of the five members of the Avenal City Council after disagreements over a new fire protocol policy boiled over, according to local reporting from the Fresno Bee. During the April 28 special election, residents voted in favor of the recall. Kings County officially certified the results in May after more than 75% of voters agreed to recall Mayor Alvaro Preciado and councilmembers Leticia Gamez, David Reynosa and Pablo Hernandez.” (06/17/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/avenal-city-council-recall-22307899.php
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20) Oklahomans reject $15 minimum wage; Hern wins GOP primary
Source: United Press International
“Oklahoma voters have rejected raising the state’s nation-lowest minimum wage as several states held primaries on Tuesday. The Sooner State sets its minimum at $7.25, the federal minimum wage floor, tying it with 19 other mostly Republican-led or -leaning states for the nation’s lowest. Oklahoma raised its minimum wage to $7.25 in 2009 to comply with federal law. Voters were asked in State Question 832 whether Oklahoma employers must pay employees at least $15 per hour by 2029, putting the state above the median of $11.63 an hour but still below the highest-wage states. However, voters rejected the move. … Oklahoma voters also heavily backed Rep. Kevin Hern for the Republican nomination for the Senate seat held by Markwayne Mullin until March, when he was sworn in as secretary of Homeland Security, replacing Kristi Noem. … Meanwhile, the GOP gubernatorial primary appears to be heading to a runoff.” (06/17/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/06/17/Oklahoma-minimum-wage/8631781670598/
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Trump in Defeat
Source: The Atlantic
by Jonathan Lemire
“President Trump lost. The war he waged against Iran promises to conclude in a humbling whimper with the signing of a cease-fire agreement later this week. The United States is left weaker — diminished militarily, strategically, economically, and perhaps morally. The war, which the United States fought alongside Israel, accomplished none of the goals that Trump named at the outset. Instead, it only empowered the hard-liners in Tehran and arguably emboldened them to someday seek a nuclear weapon. … Trump won’t admit to any of this. He has spent recent days furiously spinning the tentative deal as a clear win, and has seethed at unflattering comparisons with the deal that President Obama struck with Iran more than a decade ago, aides and outside advisers told me.” (06/17/26)
https://archive.is/I4Oz8
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22) Tariff Math Doesn’t Work, and the White House Already Admitted It
Source: The Daily Economy
by David Clement
“The Trump Administration’s initial demand for renegotiating the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) includes an opening position that vehicles covered by the deal be composed of at least 50 percent American-made components, in terms of dollar value. It’s a revealing concession, because if the goal is truly to manufacture everything in America, the threshold would be 100 percent, not 50 percent. As it turns out, executive orders cannot unwind a global economy. The White House’s concession should jump-start a more honest accounting of what their tariffs actually are: a consumption tax, paid by American households, spread across nearly every goods-producing sector in the economy.” (06/17/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/tariff-math-doesnt-work-and-the-white-house-already-admitted-it/
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23) Find better solutions without government
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“I hear a lot of people saying the community should have this or that. Or pointing out things they believe should be improved. But they always seem to want government, or at least someone else, to provide what they want or to fix their problems. If you have complaints about the community, don’t wait for government to fix them. See what you can do for yourself, maybe with help from others, with or without government permission. Government wants you to depend on it for solutions, but its solutions can be worse than the original problem.” (06/17/26)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2026/06/17/voices/opinion-find-better-solutions-without-government/233660.html
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24) Trump Bump Is a Welfare Increase
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Laurence M Vance
“This year’s [Social Security] COLA was 2.8 percent — the fifth straight year of a COLA at or above 2.5 percent. The COLA was called a ‘Trump bump’ because Trump’s tariff increases led to increased prices on certain goods, which increased the CPI-W, which increased the COLA. Retirement analysts are expecting an even larger ‘Trump bump’ next year due to the tremendous increase in fuel prices due to Trump’s war in Iran. … These ‘Trump bumps’ are nothing more than welfare increases that will be eaten up by inflation, higher premiums for Medicare Part B (which are deducted from Social Security checks), and taxes on Social Security benefits.” (06/17/26)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/trump-bump-is-a-welfare-increase/
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25) The University As We Know It Is Finished
Source: Persuasion
by Nils Gilman
“Any reimagining of the university in the age of AI must begin with an honest reckoning with what AI cannot do — and what therefore becomes relatively valuable precisely because AI can do everything else. The key distinction is between work that AI does well (such as synthesis of known patterns, argument elaboration, template instantiation, and generating local coherence) and work it structurally cannot do because of the architecture of the technology as such. AI cannot build the trust on which institutional cooperation depends, because trust is not a conclusion reached by processing information about another agent but instead is a relationship constituted over time between persons who have staked something on each other, and who can be betrayed. AI cannot give a person good taste or style, because taste and style are about personal distinctiveness within a community which shares an aesthetic.” (06/17/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/the-multiversity-is-finished
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26) Everyone Should Be Free To Stay In or Get Out Of Social Security
Source: Town Hall
by Star Parker
“Trustees of the Social Security program just issued their annual report. Each year, the picture of the program’s solvency is dismal. But this year it’s even worse. Rather than falling short in 2033, as reported last year, this year the shortfall is projected to be in late 2032. That’s six years from now. Without action taken, benefits, per the report, will be cut 22% late in 2032. That means that every young working person is now forced to pay, by law, 12.4% of their pay — half paid by them and half paid by their employee — into a bankrupt system. As I recall, this is a free country. So, the fault is ours. We, the voters, sit by and allow this to be done to us. Even if the system was not broken and could pay benefits as promised, it still is a horrible situation.” (06/17/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/starparker/2026/06/17/everyone-should-be-free-to-stay-in-or-get-out-of-social-security-n2677864
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27) Your financial records have no Fourth Amendment protections
Source: The Hill
by Jay Rogers
“The protection that the framers wrote into our Constitution was not a general right to privacy. Rather, it was a specific warrant requirement for specific records — the same records that federal agencies can now reach through administrative subpoenas that require no judge’s signature. This is because of two key and relatively recent Supreme Court decisions. U.S. v. Miller in 1976 and Smith v. Maryland in 1979 replaced the Fourth Amendment’s requirement with a doctrine the Founders never intended. They established that information voluntarily shared with a third party loses Fourth Amendment protection.” (06/17/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/5926033-financial-records-fourth-amendment/
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28) The US-Iran Deal Could Help Transform America’s Mideast Strategy
Source: The American Conservative
by Eldar Mamedov
“The threat of war had preserved American leverage, and the waging of war destroyed it. So long as the prospect of the use of force remained ambiguous, Iran had to hedge. Once force was actually applied and failed to produce decisive results, Tehran learned that the United States could not achieve its maximalist objectives militarily. That knowledge permanently shifted the bargaining dynamic. But this outcome need not be seen as catastrophic. It can instead produce a realistic reassessment of American presence and partnerships in the Middle East.” (06/17/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-u-s-iran-deal-could-help-transform-americas-mideast-strategy/
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29) The Paradoxical Utopia of the World Cup
Source: Flagler Live
by Pierre Tristam
“Simon Kuper is 56 now. His first memory of a World Cup, if not his first-ever vivid memory — for many of us who grew up outside the United States, the two are often the same — was the 1978 final between the Netherlands and Argentina. ‘I recall that night as vividly as almost anything else in my childhood,’ he writes in World Cup Fever. ‘A World Cup is like Proust’s Madeleine. Each new World Cup reminds you of past World Cups, and the people you watched them with.’ The book is a history of the World Cup through a few dozen madeleines. For Americans, it’s as good a guide as any to a tournament of paradoxes, this too-big-to-fail quadrennial festival of corruption, cheating, profiteering, nationalist chauvinism, and mostly crappy soccer that nevertheless can hypnotize and transport to a utopia of competition as idealized and convincing as Pelé’s deification of the sport as ‘the beautiful game.'” (06/17/26)
https://flaglerlive.com/world-cup-fever/
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30) Europe’s Digital Protectionism
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Cláudia Ascensão Nunes
“When a government grants a monopoly in certain industries, it is protecting itself from competition it cannot control. The cost of that decision always falls on the people who depend on services that become more expensive, slower, and less innovative by decree. This is exactly what the European Commission proposed on June 3, 2026, this time applied to the digital infrastructure that supports hospitals, universities, public administrations, and businesses across Europe. It is called the Cloud and AI Development Act (CADA), and it is the centerpiece of the Tech Sovereignty Package. The logic behind it is protectionist: restrict who can compete, and guarantee market share for alternatives selected by the state.” (06/17/26)
https://fee.org/articles/europes-digital-protectionism/
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31) What would happen if US actually cut off military aid to Israel?
Source: American Greatness
by Connor Echols
“As Israeli officials lash out against a preliminary deal to end the war in Iran, President Donald Trump is returning the favor. ‘I’m not happy with the way Israel has handled themselves with Lebanon,’ Trump said Tuesday. ‘Israel would have been blown up a long time ago had I not gotten involved.’ The comments represent a nadir in U.S.-Israel relations under Trump. The dispute is fundamental. Trump is determined to end the war with Iran, and Iran has made clear that a peace deal is only possible if Israel halts its operations against Hezbollah, an Iranian ally, in Lebanon. … Israel, for its part, believes its interests are best served by continued war with both Hezbollah and Iran, and it’s insisting that it won’t be bound by the terms of any deal negotiated between Tehran and Washington alone.” (06/17/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/us-military-aid-to-israel/
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32) Bipartisan JAWBONE Act Targets Government Censorship Threats
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“When the state is so big and intrusive that people need its permission to do everything from building a house to merging businesses, it’s easy for the lines to blur between conversations in which government officials merely voice preferences and those in which they twist arms to get their way. That creates room for partisans to defend ‘jawboning’ — government bullying of private parties to do what officials won’t or can’t do themselves — as nothing more than casual chats. The best way to handle jawboning is to strip government of power so it has little coercive leverage, and we should always work to do just that. Another good approach, embodied in legislation cosponsored by Sens. Ted Cruz (R–Texas) and Ron Wyden (D–Ore.), is to make it easier to monitor government communications with private parties and to punish officials who cross the line.” (06/17/26)
https://reason.com/2026/06/17/bipartisan-jawbone-act-targets-government-censorship-threats/
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33) Winning Back the Working Class: To What, Exactly?
Source: Common Dreams
by Les Leopold
“I recently attended a webinar sponsored by the Working Families Party, entitled Winning Back the Working Class. Everyone attending seemed to share the view that the working class has drifted away from the Democratic Party and that Democrats must change their messaging in order to win these voters back and prevail against MAGA Republicans. The presenters provided sophisticated polling analyses, looking closely at the issues that matter most to working-class voters and what turns them off about the Democratic Party. The bottom line was that the Democrats needed to put forward a strong, progressive economic-populist agenda. While I share the desire to derail MAGA in the coming elections, I find the ‘winning back’ framework problematic. For starters, why do Democrats need to be convinced that a progressive economic platform should be adopted?” (06/17/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/working-class-independent-party
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34) Taxing the rich won’t save Social Security
Source: Washington Post
by Ramesh Ponnuru
“Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) greeted the news that Elon Musk had become a trillionaire by — what else? — touting a plan to raise federal spending and taxes. Musk ‘pays the same amount into Social Security as someone making $184,500,’ Sanders tweeted. He said his bill would ‘end that absurdity,’ eliminate the program’s shortfall for 75 years and pay for an expansion of Social Security benefits. … Sanders’s idea is terrible. It would be a much larger and more harmful tax increase than its supporters let on and would further warp the federal government’s already perverse spending priorities. … The tax cap is there to keep benefits related to contributions. Musk won’t pay any more than someone making $184,500, but he also won’t get a bigger check than that person.” (06/17/26)
https://archive.is/mJmVJ
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35) Florida House Blocks DeSantis AI Bill of Rights
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey
“Not many people paid attention, but the 2026 Florida legislative session took an unusual turn with regard to AI regulation. The main issue isn’t whether AI should be regulated, but whether that should happen at the state or national level, or not at all. In Florida, lawmakers rejected Governor DeSantis’[s] ‘AI Bill of Rights.’ The Florida Senate supported DeSantis, but the House did not. When it comes to the Internet, how can a state control how its citizens use certain websites, especially when people can easily circumvent the rules? And I would posit that, even if one were in favor of regulating AI, we do not even know which regulation would be most prudent without inhibiting its positive impact on society. So far, it seems most regulatory proposals I have seen around the country, including in Florida, have been alarmist, reactionary, and driven by emotion rather than objective reasoning.” (06/17/26)
https://palmbeachexaminer.substack.com/p/florida-house-blocks-desantis-ai
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36) Finding American Integrity
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Joe Murphy
“Last week, Dr. Steven Quay published recommendations to improve the integrity of the nation’s biosecurity research following the Covid-19 crisis. Dr. Quay is a prominent figure in the resistance to the Covid-19 origins coverup in addition to his medical and academic pedigrees. His recommendations complement those of James Erdman, an Office of the Director of National Intelligence and CIA professional, who articulated before Congress in April that the government’s biosecurity apparatus is convoluted, clumsy, and unaccountable. I echoed similar comments in a prior piece from my perspective as a military officer also involved in countering the coverup. In the vein of Dr. Quay and Mr. Erdman’s recommendations, I offer further comments towards America’s Covid-19 post-mortem.” (06/17/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/finding-american-integrity/
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37) Trump reindustrialization agenda faces its biggest hurdle: Americans
Source: Fox News
by Chris Johnson
“Americans say they want to bring back industry. President Donald Trump ran on reindustrialization and won. But when it comes to actual building, mining, and developing, people too often shut it down. Build, they say, just not in my backyard. Peter Thiel put his finger on this pathology over a decade ago. ‘We wanted flying cars,’ he wrote, ‘instead we got 140 characters.’ His point wasn’t merely about venture capital timidity. It was about a society that stopped building physical things, retreating into digital abstraction while factories closed, supply chains migrated to China, and infrastructure crumbled. Now, we are making the same mistake again, in real time, with higher stakes.” [editor’s note: Actually, the US builds more “physical things” than it ever has before — it just doesn’t use as much human labor to do so – TLK] (06/17/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/trumps-reindustrialization-agenda-faces-biggest-hurdle
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38) Look who’s losing it over Trump’s Iran deal
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Jack Hunter
“When Trump launched a war against Iran in late February, his MAGA movement suddenly became nearly indistinguishable from the neoconservative foreign policy Trump once abhorred. For nearly four months, Washington hawks like Senator Lindsey Graham and radio jock Mark Levin were riding high. But over time it became clearer that the president was looking for a way out and now the president has reportedly reached a memorandum of understanding with Iran to end the fighting, open the Strait of Hormuz, and to keep talking. Trump’s friends, who were hoping for Iranian capitulation and regime change, even if that meant indefinite bombing and blockading, aren’t very happy today.” (06/17/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-criticized-iran-deal/
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39) The Musk Trillionaire Panic Is a Distraction
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Connor O’Keeffe
“The eye-catching dollar amounts reported as the net worths of the richest people in the world, like Elon Musk, are not large piles of cash sitting around in bank accounts gathering dust. They are mostly the present value of the companies they own. It is not even possible to tax or confiscate these assets without destroying most or all of the initial value. Figures like Warren and Newsom know this. But the implication that the rich are simply ‘hoarding’ trillions of dollars of wealth is useful to them. It feeds the impression that all of our economic problems are, in essence, problems with the distribution of final consumable wealth.” (06/17/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/musk-trillionaire-panic-distraction
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40) Can Trust Exist Between the United States and Iran?
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Ted Snider
“Iran was consistently and demonstrably in compliance with all their commitments under the agreement. It was Trump who broke faith, betrayed Iran and unilaterally and illegally pulled the United States out of the agreement. When, despite this history of nuclear negotiations with Trump, Iran returned to the negotiating table, the U.S. three times bombed Iran while negotiating. … Other negotiations with the U.S. have also taught Iran distrust.” (06/17/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/can-trust-exist-between-the-united-states-and-iran/
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41) In New York’s “Commie Corridor”, a Race Over How to Build Power
Source: The American Prospect
by Whitney Curry Wimbish
“To the casual observer, the two candidates vying for the Democratic nomination in New York’s Seventh Congressional District to replace retiring 16-term stalwart Nydia Velázquez may look indistinguishable. New York Assemblymember Claire Valdez and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso are both Democrats, and both intend to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), fund affordable housing, institute health care for all, and end Israel’s war on Palestine, which they agree is a genocide. Both candidates have substantial endorsements from powerful figures and organizations. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani backs Valdez, a fellow Democratic Socialists of America member, as do DSA-NYC and Justice Democrats; Rep. Velázquez, the New York Working Families Party, and state Attorney General Letitia James back Reynoso.” (06/17/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/06/17/new-york-commie-corridor-valdez-reynoso-seventh-district-congressional-race/
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42) The Trillion-Dollar Alarm Bell
Source: CounterPunch
by David S D’Amato
“Last week’s SpaceX IPO made Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire, despite the fact that the company has lost tens of billions of dollars since it was founded almost 25 years ago. Shares of the company climbed steadily after markets closed on Friday, pushing its market cap to $2.2 trillion. The public conversation about Musk’s vast wealth often obscures the fact that he is actually a very fancy welfare recipient, having taken billions of dollars from the public coffers by even the most conservative measures.” (06/17/26)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/06/17/the-trillion-dollar-alarm-bell/
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43) Hey, POTUS, The Point of the War Was What Again?
Source: Antiwar.com
by David Stockman
“Self-evidently, the reason for the attack is not that Iran was days, weeks or months away from a nuke: Even the Donald’s own former DNI, Tulsi Gabbard, had recently affirmed in Congressional testimony that the long-standing assessment of the US intelligence agencies that Iran had ceased all research and activities designed to weaponize HEUs was still the case, and with a high degree of confidence. Likewise, the January 2026 street uprisings throughout Iran, which had been the catalyst for war that Netanyahu had peddled to the SUCKER he finally found in the Oval Office, has long since become a moot point. … what the hell was the reason for going to war on February 28th when there was no bomb and, self-evidently, no prospect of a regime change uprising, as MOU item #3 makes clear as a bell?” (06/17/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/david_stockman/2026/06/16/hey-potus-the-point-of-the-war-was-what-again/
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44) My 40 Year War on Psychiatry
Source: JimBovard.com
by James Bovard
“Forty years ago, I attended the annual meetings of the American Psychiatric Association in Washington and my sanity never recovered. Or at least that is what therapists presume based on my writings about their endless fabrication of bogus mental illnesses.” (06/16/26)
https://jimbovard.com/blog/2026/06/16/my-40-year-war-on-psychiatry/
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45) NY unions put a target on my back, for helping their members escape
Source: New York Post
by Aaron Withe
“I run the organization New York is trying to shut down. A few days ago, at the tail end of its legislative session, Albany lawmakers passed a bill giving Attorney General Letitia James sweeping new powers to investigate and fine any organization — even those based in other states — for communications she determines to ‘falsely impersonate’ a union. The fine is $1,000 per incident: $1,000 for every mailer or email my group, the Freedom Foundation, sends to tens of thousands of workers annually. The bill claims it’s meant to stop the impersonation of union representatives, but its real purpose is to stop groups like mine from telling public employees what their unions don’t want them to know: That they have a constitutional right to decline union membership and dues without losing their jobs.” (06/17/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/06/17/opinion/ny-unions-put-a-target-on-my-back-for-helping-members-escape/
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46) Does Immigration Lead to “Democratic Drain” and Illiberalism in Native Countries?
Source: The UnPopulist
by Stan Veuger
“A fascinating book by a political scientist says yes — but, in fact, there is strong evidence for the opposite case, too.” (06/16/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/does-immigration-lead-to-democratic
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47) The FDA Can’t Manage Its Own Risk Problem
Source: Independent Institute
by Raymond J March
“Private companies—whether making medical goods or anything else — flourish or fail by assessing risk well. The FDA doesn’t face that discipline. The agency’s only real power is to remove products from the market or stop them from entering it. That is a blunt instrument applied to an incredibly dynamic market for medical goods. More importantly, accepting risk is a matter of personal preference and available alternatives — circumstances that differ for every patient and cannot be aggregated into a one-size-fits-all standard without discarding what makes medical treatment effective in the first place.” (06/16/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/06/16/fda-risk-problem/
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48) UK teen social media ban is anonymity-killer for adults
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
by Sarah McLaughlin
“The United Kingdom is unveiling a grand new policy it claims will protect children on social media platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and X. The exact rules governing the ban will be released before its launch next year, but it will use age verification tools to restrict youth access to social media and other programs. But this new ‘under-16’ policy, like many others before it, is a misnomer. Because whether you’re 15 or 55, it will affect people regardless of age — and drain away all UK citizens’ ability to speak freely and anonymously online.” (06/16/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/blogs/free-speech-dispatch/uk-teen-social-media-ban-anonymity-killer-adults
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49) Real Estate Merger Poised to Create Several Local Apartment Monopolies
Source: In These Times
by Rebecca Burns
“A $69 billion merger between two real estate behemoths is set to create the largest publicly traded apartment landlord in U.S. history, dramatically expanding the market power of two firms that have been sued repeatedly over alleged tenant abuses and illegal price-fixing. Together, real estate investment trusts (REITs) AvalonBay Communities and Equity Residential own more than 180,000 apartments nationwide, with another 20,000 under development. Were these two companies banks or broadcast networks or grocery stores, their merger would face mandatory review by federal regulators. But long-standing loopholes exempt real estate mergers from antitrust scrutiny — even as concerns mount about the consolidation of housing in the hands of large investors.” (06/17/26)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/real-estate-monopoly-equity-residential-avalon-bay
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50) “Dangerous” AI Models Are Coming No Matter What
Source: Wired
by Lily Hay Newman
“The US government crackdown on Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 hides a glaring truth: AI models with advanced hacking capabilities will soon be the norm.” (06/16/26)
https://archive.is/Yy2Sp
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, 06/17/26
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
“Stress-testing the limits of the First Amendment w/ Chaz Stevens.” (06/17/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/podcasts/so-speak-free-speech-podcast/stress-testing-limits-first-amendment-w-chaz-stevens
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52) Rising, 06/17/26
Source: The Hill
“Lindsey Granger gives her lens on Vice President JD Vance’s recent appearance on ABC’s The View.” (06/17/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/5921344-rising-june-17-2026/
-----
53) Reason Interview: Matt Welch
Source: Reason
“What 1976 Got Right About America.” (06/17/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/06/17/what-1976-got-right-about-america/
-----
54) Reasonably Optimistic, 06/17/26
Source: Washington Post
“Is there such a thing as too much empathy?” (06/17/26)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/impromptu/is-there-such-a-thing-as-too-much-empathy/
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55) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 06/17/26
Source: The New Republic
"Trumpworld Quietly Shivs JD Vance as Damning Leaks Discredit Iran Deal." (06/17/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/211966/trumpworld-quietly-shivs-jd-vance-damning-leaks-discredit-iran-deal
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56) The Political Orphanage, 06/17/26
Source: The Political Orphanage
“The Dark Side of Corporate Utopia: Pullman vs. Hershey.” (06/17/26)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/the-dark-side-of-corporate-utopia-pullman-vs-hershey
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57) Nonzero, 06/16/26
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“The US-China AI Race | Robert Wright & Ryan Fedasiuk.” (06/16/26)
https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/69557
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58) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 06/16/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Iran Warns of Response to Israel’s Lebanon War, Trump: Syria Should Take Care of Hezbollah, and More.” (06/16/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAwIoKmTpDE
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59) LPA Solidarity Stream, 06/16/26
Source: LP Alliance
“[W]e go LIVE with Iowa House candidate Marco Battaglia to talk about his contested campaign, why Republicans are running scared, and the phone call from RFK Jr. asking him to drop out.” (06/16/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_paamjZ3F4
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60) Law & Liberty Podcast, 06/16/26
Source: Law & Liberty
“Tinfoil Hats in the White House.” (06/16/26)
https://lawliberty.org/podcast/tinfoil-hats-in-the-white-house/
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