03/19 -- Trump cuts and runs vs. Iran on natural gas attacks; The Iran War Is Not a Just War
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Thomas L. Knapp
Mar 19, 2026, 6:13:04 AM (yesterday) Mar 19
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 03/19/26
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Trump cuts and runs vs. Iran on natural gas attacks
2) Federal Reserve holds interest rates steady, citing elevated economic uncertainty
3) Russia: Ukrainian regime claims strikes on aircraft sites 800 km from border
4) Trump regime retaliates against resigning official with FBI “investigation”
5) At least 17 dead in fighting on Sudan’s border with Chad, aid group says
6) Bitrefill accuses North Korea-linked Lazarus hacker group for compromising 18,500 purchase records
7) US Home Loan Demand Drops 10.9% Following Four-Week Growth Streak
8) US wholesale prices rose 0.7% in February, much more than expected and up 3.4% annually
9) Pakistan: Regime to pause Afghan strikes for Eid at request of other Islamic regimes
10) US judge orders Trump administration to reopen Voice of America
11) New Bill Would Crack Down on Prediction Markets After Suspicious Bets on Maduro, Iran
12) Trump waives idiotic US shipping law for 60 days to steady oil market
13) India’s cheap weight-loss drugs could reshape global obesity fight
14) Scotland: Parliament votes that you don’t own yourself, they own you
15) CA: New poll shows Republicans leading crowded California gubernatorial field
16) WI: Legislature votes to “allow” online sports betting
17) Chinese national charged for trying to smuggle 2,000 ants from Kenya
18) Ilia II, 1933-2026
19) Brazil: Police operation in Rio favelas leaves at least 8 dead, including local drug boss
20) IL: Stratton wins Democratic primary for US Senate
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) The Iran War Is Not a Just War
22) Politics tend to produce stupid opinions
23) Seeing with Two I’s: States, Markets, and Some Advice for Us Liberals
24) Iran war shows perils of America’s Mideast bases
25) Support Your Local Collaborator
26) Why AIPAC shouldn’t get too excited about its Illinois primary strategy
27) The Federal Punishment of an Innocent Man, Part 2
28) The Constitution’s Sweeping Pardon Power Is Its Achilles’ Heel for Checking an Imperial President
29) US Marine Corps being destroyed from within
30) The nation’s accelerating self-assassination
31) There’s No Sheriff in Town: Can Congress Fix Health Care?
32) The Federal Spending Spree Will Make the Next Economic Shock Even Worse
33) Ending the deceit that lures Africans into Russia’s war
34) Mandatory Conscription Makes War Easier, Not Harder to Fight
35) Yes, MAGA’s Fracturing Over Iran
36) Immigration questions for Markwayne Mullin
37) Senate GOP should take Fetterman’s deal on voter ID
38) Obscenely Unacceptable
39) No, We Cannot “Afford” This War with Iran Either
40) Free Speech in the Digital Age: From Natural Right to Digital Credential
41) What a “Democratic Socialist” Economic Agenda Looks Like
42) The Explosion Inside Trump’s War Machine: Joe Kent Resigns
43) The Logic of Liberalism
44) The professor who hated babies
45) Susan Rice no stranger to dirty tricks; her latest threat shows how shameless Dems are
46) Paul Ehrlich Helped Create Roe v. Wade
47) Spain’s new AI “hate” tracker raises familiar risks for online speech
48) The Irish saga: Stolen land and the blame game
49) Senate Democrats Should Kill the Filibuster
50) Historical Lessons for the Bay Area’s Transit Crisis
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) The Political Orphanage, 03/18/26
52) Reason Interview: Stewart Brand
53) Reasonably Optimistic, 03/18/26
54) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 03/18/26
55) The Good Fight, 03/18/26
56) Bulwark Takes, 03/18/26
57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 03/18/26
58) Politics Politics Politics, 03/17/26
59) Pink Flame of Liberty, 03/17/26
60) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 03/17/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Trump cuts and runs vs. Iran on natural gas attacks
Source: Axios
“President Trump said Wednesday that Israel will not conduct further attacks on Iran’s main natural gas facility. Trump’s comments that seem to be an effort to de-escalate the situation came hours after he green-lit the Israeli strike on the facility that marked a significant escalation in the war. The Israeli Air Force struck a natural gas processing facility in southwestern Iran on Wednesday. … Several hours later, the Iranian military conducted two missile strikes on Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City and hit natural gas facilities, QatarEnergy said in a statement.” (03/19/26)
https://archive.is/GMe4p
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2) Federal Reserve holds interest rates steady, citing elevated economic uncertainty
Source: CBS News
“The Federal Reserve on Wednesday left its benchmark interest rate unchanged, marking the central bank’s second consecutive pause in 2026. In its policy statement, the Fed said U.S. economic uncertainty remains elevated, adding that the impact of the Iran war also remains unclear. The Fed maintained the federal funds rate — what banks charge each other for short-term loans — in its current range of 3.5% to 3.75%. The decision to keep rates steady was widely expected by investors.” (03/18/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/federal-reserve-fomc-march-18-interest-rate-decision/
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3) Russia: Ukrainian regime claims strikes on aircraft sites 800 km from border
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Ukraine’s military struck two Russian plants producing and repairing military transport and cargo planes in the Ulyanovsk and Novgorod regions, the Ukrainian general staff said on Wednesday. It said in a statement that the attack on the Aviastar plant, part of Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation, in the city of Ulyanovsk, was carried out on 16 March. The plant produces Ilyushin-76MD-90A military transport planes, Ilyushin-78M-90A refueling planes, and provides maintenance for ‘Ruslan’ cargo planes, and is located about 800km (about 500 miles) from the Ukrainian border. … The attack on the 123rd aircraft maintenance plant in the city of Staraya Russia in the Novgorod region took place one day later, the general staff said.” (03/19/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/19/ukraine-war-briefing-ukraine-strikes-russian-aircraft-sites-800km-from-border
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4) Trump regime retaliates against resigning official with FBI “investigation”
Source: The Hill
“The FBI is investigating [sic] Joe Kent, the former director of the National Counterterrorism Center, who resigned earlier this week over opposition to the U.S. ongoing war with Iran, over allegedly leaking classified information, The Hill’s sister network confirmed on Wednesday. The agency’s [PR witch hunt] was [supposedly] underway before Kent, a top aide to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, announced his resignation from the post on Tuesday, arguing that Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the U.S. and urging President Trump to change course regarding the Middle East conflict, a source told NewsNation. The FBI declined to comment when reached by The Hill.” ()3/18/26)
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5790949-fbi-investigates-joe-kent
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5) At least 17 dead in fighting on Sudan’s border with Chad, aid group says
Source: Seattle Times
“The latest heavy fighting between warring parties along Sudan ’s border with Chad has killed 17 people and many wounded, a medical group said. The attacks on Monday in Tina left 66 people in serious condition, Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières, or MSF, said in a post on X late Tuesday. The army said in an update that the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, had expanded its attacks on military areas in Tina, but that troops were able to repel them and forced them to withdraw.” (03/18/26)
https://archive.is/Db4Gp
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6) Bitrefill accuses North Korea-linked Lazarus hacker group for compromising 18,500 purchase records
Source: CoinDesk
“Cryptocurrency payments and gift card platform Bitrefill has blamed the North Korea-linked hacking group Lazarus for a cyberattack on March 1, 2026, that compromised parts of its infrastructure and cryptocurrency wallets. The attackers gained access to production keys, transferred funds from hot wallets, and exposed 18,500 purchase records containing emails, payment addresses, and IP addresses. Approximately 1,000 records included encrypted usernames. Affected users were notified. Operations have resumed, with the company announcing to cover losses from operational capital. The incident underscores the importance of vigilance regarding crypto and on-chain security.” (03/18/26)
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/03/18/bitrefill-accuses-north-korea-linked-lazarus-hacker-group-for-compromising-18-500-purchase-records
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7) US Home Loan Demand Drops 10.9% Following Four-Week Growth Streak
Source: Realtor.com
“Home loan applications decreased 10.9% for the week ending March 13, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The decrease comes after four consecutive weeks in which demand for mortgage applications was on the rise. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 10.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 10% compared with the previous week.” (03/18/26)
https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/mortgage-applications-apply-for-loan-march-18-2026/
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8) US wholesale prices rose 0.7% in February, much more than expected and up 3.4% annually
Source: CNBC
“Wholesale prices rose sharply in February, providing another sign that inflation continues to percolate even aside from rising energy costs. The producer price index, a measure of pipeline costs that producers receive for their products, increased a seasonally adjusted 0.7% on the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. Excluding volatile food and energy costs, the so-called core PPI increased 0.5%. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for increases of 0.3% for both measures. For the all-items index, prices rose faster than the 0.5% pace in January. However, the core increase was less than the 0.8% for the prior month. On a 12-month basis, headline PPI inflation was at 3.4%, the most since February 2025, while core was at 3.9%, according to the BLS. The Federal Reserve targets inflation at 2%.” (03/18/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/18/ppi-inflation-february-2026.html
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9) Pakistan: Regime to pause Afghan strikes for Eid at request of other Islamic regimes
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“Pakistan announced on Wednesday a pause in strikes against Afghanistan, saying the decision was made ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr at the request of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey. In a statement, Pakistan’s information minister Attaullah Tarar said the pause in strikes on ‘terrorists and their support infrastructure in Afghanistan’ would take effect at midnight on Wednesday and remain in place until midnight on Monday. ‘Pakistan offers this gesture in good faith and in keeping with the Islamic norms,’ he said. However, he said, ‘in case of any cross-border attack, drone attack or any terrorist incident inside Pakistan,’ the operations would immediately resume with renewed intensity.” (03/18/26)
https://archive.is/jyw28
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10) US judge orders Trump administration to reopen Voice of America
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“A judge in the US has ruled that the effective closure of the Voice of America (VOA) last year was ‘illegal’ and that hundreds of its journalists should be reinstated. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth has given authorities one week to put the international broadcaster back on air. The VOA was set up during World War Two to counter Nazi propaganda. Just weeks after returning to office as president, Donald Trump issued an executive order to close the broadcaster which his officials accused of left-wing bias.” (03/18/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce3g3j1y2ldo
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11) New Bill Would Crack Down on Prediction Markets After Suspicious Bets on Maduro, Iran
Source: Common Dreams
“Two Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday introduced legislation that would prohibit online prediction markets from allowing bets on government actions that could be easily gamed by insiders. The proposed Banning Event Trading on Sensitive Operations and Federal Functions (BETS OFF) Act, unveiled by US Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Rep. Greg Casar [D-TX], would ban ‘wagering on government actions, terrorism, war, assassination, and events where an individual knows or controls the outcome.’ The lawmakers said the legislation was necessary due to suspiciously timed bets that were placed on the cryptocurrency-based prediction platform Polymarket related to imminent US military actions in Venezuela and Iran, raising concerns that Trump administration officials were using insider information to profit from life-or-death policy decisions.” (03/18/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/polymarket-war-bets-ban
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12) Trump waives idiotic US shipping law for 60 days to steady oil market
Source: CNBC
“President Donald Trump issued a 60-day waiver of a longstanding U.S. shipping law in an attempt to stabilize oil markets amid the Iran war, the White House confirmed to CNBC on Wednesday. The temporary suspension of the Jones Act ‘will allow vital resources like oil, natural gas, fertilizer, and coal to flow freely to U.S. ports for sixty days,’ White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. … The Jones Act, signed into law in 1920 by then-President Woodrow Wilson, requires that the transport of goods between U.S. ports must be conducted by U.S. vessels.” [editor’s note: He should just ask Congress to repeal the law, then sign the bill that does so – TLK] (03/18/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/18/trump-jones-act-oil-iran-war.html
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13) India’s cheap weight-loss drugs could reshape global obesity fight
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“India could soon get a lot thinner – at least in theory. On Friday the patent on semaglutide – the molecule behind Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Ozempic – expires in the country. This will allow domestic pharmaceutical companies to release cheaper copies or generics, triggering a rush of competition that could slash prices by more than half and rapidly expand access for people in India, and eventually in other countries too. Investment bank Jefferies has called it a potential ‘magic-pill moment’ for India, predicting the semaglutide market could eventually reach $1bn domestically with the right pricing and uptake. Analysts expect around 50 branded semaglutide generics to enter the market within months – a familiar pattern in India’s fiercely competitive pharmaceutical industry. When the diabetes drug sitagliptin went off patent in 2022, about 30 branded versions appeared within a month and nearly 100 within a year.” (03/18/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2g4411en3o
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14) Scotland: Parliament votes that you don’t own yourself, they own you
Source: Politico
“Scottish lawmakers on Tuesday evening rejected a bill allowing [sic] terminally ill adults to access assisted dying. Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) opposed Liberal Democrat Liam McArthur’s legislation which would have given [sic] terminally ill adults with fewer than six months to live assistance to end their lives. The bill fell by 69 votes to 57, with Scottish Health Secretary Neil Gray abstaining. MSPs previously backed the initial principles of the bill and allowed it to progress through the parliament last May by 70 votes to 56.” (03/18/26)
https://www.politico.eu/article/scotland-votes-against-legalizing-assisted-dying/
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15) CA: New poll shows Republicans leading crowded California gubernatorial field
Source: Fox News
“Steve Hilton, a legal immigrant and political newcomer running as a Republican for governor of California, said the ‘absolute failure on every front’ by current Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democrats means the GOP has a real shot at pulling off an upset in the Golden State. Though California has long since been written off by many as a progressive stronghold, the most recent polling indicates Hilton may be right. On Wednesday, Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies released a poll showing Hilton leading California voter preferences at 17 percent. Another Republican, Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco, follows at 16 percent. Both Republicans are ahead of the two top Democratic names, Rep. Eric Swalwell [D-CA] and former Rep. Katie Porter, who are each at 13 percent.” (03/18/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-candidate-cites-failure-newsom-dems-new-poll-shows-republicans-leading-crowded-california-field
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16) WI: Legislature votes to “allow” online sports betting
Source: US News & World Report
“As sports fans wager billions of dollars on the NCAA basketball tournaments, Wisconsin lawmakers are taking a shot at an expanded sports betting plan that could bank big bucks for the state in the future. A measure given final approval Tuesday would let the state’s tribal gambling sites start offering online sports betting to people anywhere in Wisconsin. But the bill is contingent on the signature of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, which is no sure bet. And it wouldn’t take effect until after the state negotiates new deals with American Indian tribes who would run the sports betting — long after the current basketball tournaments wrap up.” [editor’s note: If it’s online, it’s interstate/international. Even if it WAS any government’s business whether you bet online (it isn’t), the government in question would be the US Congress, to which the Constitution assigns power to regulate interstate/international commerce – TLK] (03/18/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/sports/articles/2026-03-18/wisconsin-lawmakers-take-a-shot-at-joining-the-ranks-of-states-allowing-online-sports-betting
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17) Chinese national charged for trying to smuggle 2,000 ants from Kenya
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“A Chinese man and his Kenyan associate have been charged with illegally dealing in wildlife species after they were caught trying to smuggle more than 2,000 live queen garden ants out of Kenya. Zhang Kequn was arrested at the international airport in the capital Nairobi last week after authorities discovered the large consignment of ants in his luggage – each of them either stashed in a test tube or wrapped in tissue. On Tuesday, a court in Nairobi heard that Zhang bought the ants from Charles Mwangi at 10,000 Kenyan shillings ($77; £58) for every 100 of them. Kenyan authorities have been warning about of a growing demand for garden ants in Europe and Asia, where collectors keep them as pets. Officials have not said if this were the case for the insects Zhang tried to bring out of the country, but his luggage was bound for China.” (03/18/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1mjmg0ymk9o
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18) Ilia II, 1933-2026
Source: ABC News
“Georgia’s Patriarch Ilia II, the longtime head of the Georgian Orthodox Church and one of the country’s most influential figures, has died. He was 93. Ilia II died late Tuesday after being hospitalized in critical condition with internal bleeding. … Ilia II led the church for nearly five decades. He assumed the leadership role in 1977, when Georgia was part of the Soviet Union and religious practices were restricted, and remained a dominant spiritual and public figure after Georgia regained independence.” (03/18/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/georgian-orthodox-patriarch-ilia-ii-hailed-epochal-figure-131174318
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19) Brazil: Police operation in Rio favelas leaves at least 8 dead, including local drug boss
Source: SFGate
“A Brazilian police operation in Rio de Janeiro favelas on Wednesday killed seven presumed drug traffickers, including a gang chief, as well as a local resident caught in the crossfire, law enforcement officials said. Claúdio Augusto dos Santos, a drug-trafficking boss and member of the notorious Red Command criminal organization, was among those killed in the operation in central Rio, Secretary of the Military Police Col. Marcelo de Menezes said in a press conference. In retaliation, police said ‘criminals’ set fire to a bus and blocked roads in Rio’s central zone, leading to four arrests. Márcio Sousa, the driver of the bus set alight, reported that the attackers boarded the vehicle with two bottles of gasoline.” (03/18/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/brazilian-police-operation-in-rio-favelas-leaves-22083835.php
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20) IL: Stratton wins Democratic primary for US Senate
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Illinois lieutenant governor Juliana Stratton won the Democratic primary race to succeed Illinois’[s] US senator Dick Durbin, beating out US representative Raja Krishnamoorthi. With nearly 90% of the vote tallied, Stratton was leading Krishnamoorthi by more than six percentage points on Tuesday night, according to the Associated Press. … Stratton, a progressive with the support of governor JB Pritzker, had been behind Krishnamoorthi in polling until recent weeks, when an infusion of cash from the governor and a hardening sentiment on immigration pushed aside the relatively moderate congressman. Stratton also faced competition on her left from congresswoman Robin Kelly, which threatened to split the progressive vote. Kelly drew less than 20% of the vote, according to the Associated Press. Durbin, 81, is retiring after service five terms in the Senate.” (03/18/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/18/illinois-democratic-senate-primary-race-juliana-stratton
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) The Iran War Is Not a Just War
Source: The Bulwark
by David Opderbeck
“For all the impassioned impromptu defenses of the current war in Iran, there have been remarkably few that have used the traditional criteria Western (and many non-Western) theologians, ethicist, politicians, and soldiers have used to evaluate the righteousness of armed struggle, the ‘just war’ principles. Even those leaders who have called the war ‘just’ have not engaged with any of the specifics of just war reasoning. The paucity of such efforts likely results from the fact that this war cannot be considered a just war when all the relevant criteria are considered.” (03/18/26)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/the-iran-war-is-not-a-just-war-theory-trump-hegseth-israel
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22) Politics tend to produce stupid opinions
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“Everyone has opinions, usually on almost everything. Not all opinions are equally valid, though, and there are good reasons why this is true. It doesn’t bother me when people have opinions that differ from mine, as long as those opinions are based in reality and on facts. What bothers me is when people have different opinions based on superstition, lies, hallucinations, or some combination of all those. … This is common in what passes for political opinions, especially on the Internet.” (03/18/26)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2026/03/18/voices/opinion-politics-tend-to-produce-stupid-opinions/233030.html
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23) Seeing with Two I’s: States, Markets, and Some Advice for Us Liberals
Source: Liberalism.org
by Michael C Munger
“Markets may fail; governments may help. But much about market activity will forever be invisible. A pair of unlikely thinkers helps illustrate the limits of what we know and the need for epistemic humility.” (03/18/26)
https://www.liberalism.org/p/seeing-with-two-i-s-states-markets-and-some-advice-for-us-liberals
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24) Iran war shows perils of America’s Mideast bases
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Naman Karl-Thomas Habtom
“U.S. military bases in the Middle East have served as a key launchpad for American attacks on Iran. But they’ve also served as a vulnerable target for retaliation. In less than two weeks, the Iranian military has fired thousands of missiles and drones at these bases, killing seven U.S. soldiers and wounding at least 140 more. So it is that America’s war of choice in Iran has exposed the dangers and futility of U.S. overseas bases. In order to minimize the risk of future wars and reduce the threat faced by allies and partners, the United States should learn from this war and begin shuttering these outposts.” (03/18/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/us-gulf-bases/
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25) Support Your Local Collaborator
Source: Astral Codex Ten
by Scott Alexander
“Every few weeks, a Trump administration official comes up with an insane plan that would devastate some American industry, region, or demographic. Maybe an Undersecretary of the Interior decides that aluminum is ‘woke’ and should be banned. … You’ve got to find someone who’s supported Trump until now, built up a reputation for loyalty, but this one time they finally snap and cash in some of their favors and agree to speak out. Sometimes it’s because they’re an aluminum magnate themselves and this would destroy their business. Other times they’re just a think tank guy or influencer who happens to be really knowledgeable on this one issue and willing to take a stand on it. By such people is the world preserved.” (03/18/26)
https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/support-your-local-collaborator
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26) Why AIPAC shouldn’t get too excited about its Illinois primary strategy
Source: Semafor
by David Weigel
“Five years ago, when pro-Israel groups began spending to beat left-wing candidates, their raison d’etre didn’t really become an issue in their races. UDP and the Democratic Majority for Israel didn’t focus on the Jewish state in their advertising. Progressives, winning or losing to them, didn’t talk about it either. But nowadays, unconditional US aid to Israel is deeply unpopular with Democratic voters, who are more likely than ever to sympathize with Palestinians over the Jewish state. That’s an existential threat to AIPAC. Why hasn’t it translated clearly into more primary victories for critics of the Netanyahu government?” (03/18/26)
https://www.semafor.com/article/03/18/2026/why-aipac-shouldnt-get-too-excited-about-its-illinois-primary-strategy
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27) The Federal Punishment of an Innocent Man, Part 2
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“When I read what the feds did to secure the conviction of Ian Freeman for money-laundering, I was absolutely shocked. What they did perfectly exemplified the moral rot that exists within the federal criminal-justice system that operates within the statist box. Moreover, what is equally shocking to me is what appeared to me to be an utter lack of deep moral outrage by the federal judges in the case, both at the district-court level and the appellate-court level.” (03/18/26)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/the-federal-punishment-of-an-innocent-man-part-2/
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28) The Constitution’s Sweeping Pardon Power Is Its Achilles’ Heel for Checking an Imperial President
Source: The UnPopulist
by Gabriel Schoenfeld
“In our contemporary era, there have been a slew of controversies surrounding pardons, often issued by lame duck presidents. Gerald Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon is the most famous of these, but there is also George H.W. Bush’s pardon of the Iran-Contra defendants, Bill Clinton’s pardon of the financier Marc Rich, and George W. Bush’s commutation of I. Lewis ‘Scooter’ Libby (subsequently granted a full pardon by Trump). Joe Biden does not escape scrutiny and judgment. … Is there anything that can be done to help us exit our pardon dystopia? As Trump’s second term proceeds, things are likely to get far worse.” (03/18/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/the-constitutions-sweeping-pardon
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29) US Marine Corps being destroyed from within
Source: Washington Times
by Gary Anderson
“My first official act as the Marine Corps officer instructor at the Naval ROTC at Vanderbilt University in 1979 was to blow up a classroom. My predecessor had warned me that I would be teaching the evolution of warfare at the death hour (1 p.m.) after lunch, when the students were drowsy. He recommended an ‘attention getter.’ That day, I was lecturing on ancient Greek naval warfare and decided to use a cardboard scale model of a period warship to demonstrate the early use of fuel-air explosives. Frankly, chemistry had never been one of my strong points, and I apparently used more white gas in the mix than was needed. The resulting explosion blew the door open and set off the fire alarms.” [editor’s note: I had assumed the piece would be about the idiotic attempt to make the Corps no longer a complete self-contained force, but no, it’s another one of those “a noun, a verb, DEI” rants – TLK] (03/18/26)
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/mar/17/us-marine-corps-destroyed-within/
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30) The nation’s accelerating self-assassination
Source: Washington Post
by George F Will
“The Ides of March came and went with less drama than in 44 B.C., when Julius Caesar was assassinated. Nevertheless, 2,070 years on, there was a reason to beware mid-March this year. It marked another momentous, if mostly unremarked, moment in the nation’s accelerating self-assassination. The Peterson Foundation says that on or about March 18, the national debt will reach $39 trillion. This was less than five months after it reached $38 trillion. At our current pace of profligacy — it probably will accelerate — three trillion-dollar milestones can be passed during one fiscal year. … The debt has doubled in the 10 years since Donald Trump, on March 31, 2016, vowed to eliminate the debt in eight years. He did not try, but if he had, he would have been stymied by this grinding political dynamic: The fastest-growing age cohort is people 65 and older.” (03/18/26)
https://archive.is/0zN3P
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31) There’s No Sheriff in Town: Can Congress Fix Health Care?
Source: Town Hall
by Jared Whitley
“Health care has become so expensive in the US now that it has become a threat to public safety. At least that’s the message out of Okanogan County, Washington, where Sheriff Paul Budrow announced this month he’s stepping down because the elected position doesn’t come with health insurance for his family. … ‘As an elected official, the Sheriff’s position does not provide insurance benefits, and ensuring healthcare coverage and financial stability for my family became a responsibility I could not set aside.’ Health care affordability has become a national issue, with President Donald Trump having discussed it in his State of the Union address.” (03/18/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/jaredwhitley/2026/03/18/theres-no-sheriff-in-town-can-congress-fix-health-care-n2673003
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32) The Federal Spending Spree Will Make the Next Economic Shock Even Worse
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“You’re probably tired of hearing about the U.S. government’s looming debt crisis, because it’s a continuing backdrop to political conversations in this country. Unfortunately, the government’s debt problem comes up so often because most politicians do very little to address the issue. Year after year, they spend more than the government collects in revenue. A new report cautions that growing federal debt not only guarantees a day of reckoning but hobbles chances of fixing the situation.” (03/18/26)
https://reason.com/2026/03/18/the-federal-spending-spree-will-make-the-next-economic-shock-even-worse/
-----
33) Ending the deceit that lures Africans into Russia’s war
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“For most of the four-year war in Ukraine, Russia’s trading partners in Africa have maintained a studied silence on the issue. These nations rely on Russia for crucial imports – especially the oil that fuels their modernization and the wheat that feeds their burgeoning populations. But recently, civilians in several of these trade-dependent countries have pushed their governments to speak up about a much different, much murkier type of trade with Russia – the deceitful trafficking in humans who are forcibly thrown into the Russian battlefront in Ukraine. Last month, families of Kenyan men allegedly duped into fighting for Russia held protests in Nairobi, as the government revealed that more than 1,000 citizens had been so recruited. ‘These are … matters of human rights, national responsibility, and continental dignity,’ declared the Centre for Investigative Journalism in Zambia.” (03/17/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0317/Ending-the-deceit-that-lures-Africans-into-Russia-s-war
-----
34) Mandatory Conscription Makes War Easier, Not Harder to Fight
Source: CounterPunch
by Ron Jacobs
“An aspect of the argument that a draft would make politicians think twice before allowing a war to take place because politicians’ children might get drafted into the war is not really much of an argument when considered historically. Looking at the last war where US citizens were drafted — the war in Vietnam, it is more than apparent that those draftees who did most of the killing and dying in that war were working class men. If those men were black, they were even more likely to end up as nothing but cannon fodder. … Another part of this same argument is that the US people would be more likely to oppose US involvement in a war if their children were involved. Once again, history tells us something different.” (03/18/26)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/03/18/mandatory-conscription-makes-war-easier-not-harder-to-fight/
-----
35) Yes, MAGA’s Fracturing Over Iran
Source: The American Conservative
by Andrew Day
“I AM THAT I AM. Thus spake God to Moses, instructing him to ‘say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.’ President Donald Trump has been saying something similar lately: I AM MAGA! Trump’s latest declaration of his MAGA-ness came in a long post on Truth Social defending the Israel-first blowhard Mark Levin, who has gotten into recent spats on social media with conservatives who criticize the war with Iran. … Many Trump voters have been surprised to learn that ‘MAGA is about’ war on Iran. To be sure, Trump hasn’t always been rhetorically consistent on matters of war and peace, but in 2016 he distinguished himself in the Republican primary by lambasting the Forever Wars, in particular the one in Iraq. And in the 2020 and 2024 elections he bragged about not starting any new wars in his first term.” (03/18/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/yes-magas-fracturing-over-iran/
-----
36) Immigration questions for Markwayne Mullin
Source: The Watch
by Radley Balko
“Stephen Miller has reportedly set a quota that federal immigration officers deport 3,000 people per day. Do you think arrest/deportation quotas are good policy? Miller’s reported ultimate goal is to deport more than a million people per year. No country has ever forcibly displaced that many people without mass casualties, particularly in such a short period of time. Do you think this is a realistic goal? Do you think the U.S. currently has the infrastructure to deport that many people humanely? Does it matter if it’s done humanely? DHS has routinely denied members of Congress access to immigration detention facilities despite a federal law that authorizes members to enter and inspect any facility unannounced. Will you enforce that law, or will DHS continue to ignore it under your watch?” (03/18/26)
https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/immigration-questions-for-markwayne
-----
37) Senate GOP should take Fetterman’s deal on voter ID
Source: Fox News
by David Marcus
“Over the next several days, perhaps even stretching into next week, the United States Senate, that grave and august deliberative body, will performatively waste time with impassioned speeches over the SAVE America Act, which they all know will never pass. There may, however, be an off ramp to this Mobius loop of legislative futility: A proposal from Sen. John Fetterman [D-PA] would have the upper body vote on a clean, simple, voter ID bill, without provisions regarding mail-in ballots or citizenship. Make no mistake, President Donald Trump is correct that all the provisions of the SAVE America Act, including one banning men from women’s sports have broad popular support, and are of vital importance. But if the bill cannot pass, then so what?” (03/18/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/david-marcus-senate-gop-should-take-fettermans-deal-voter-id
-----
38) Obscenely Unacceptable
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“‘F*ck this sh*t.’ That’s how the erudite opponents of Michigan’s Citizen Only Voting Amendment responded to supporters submitting a petition with more than 750,000 voter signatures to place the measure on the November ballot. Sans the asterisks, actually, which I supplied. Back in 2022, these oppositionists, fraudulently calling themselves Voters Not Politicians (VNP), helped politicians weaken Michigan’s voter-enacted term limits. Now they’re fighting an initiative that I’m promoting, which would: (1) clarify that only U.S. citizens are eligible voters at the state and local level, (2) mandate that the Secretary of State check the voter rolls to ensure it contains only citizens, and (3) require photo ID to vote.” (03/18/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/03/18/obscenely-unacceptable/
-----
39) No, We Cannot “Afford” This War with Iran Either
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Connor O’Keeffe
“It is an almost constant frustration for Democratic members of Congress, their ideological supporters, and the American left more broadly that — whenever they propose a new social program or demand-side subsidy — Republicans immediately push back that the program is unworkable because the federal government is drowning in debt and teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. And yet, after Republicans launched this extremely expensive war, nearly all the same politicians who had been preaching fiscal restraint have now rallied behind an operation that has already cost billions of dollars in the first few days alone. Democrats have been quick to point out this hypocrisy. … However, the left-wingers leading this charge right now are wrong to imply that the GOP’s hypocrisy is actually evidence that there is plenty to spend on all these government programs. There isn’t.” (03/18/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/no-we-cannot-afford-war-iran-either
-----
40) Free Speech in the Digital Age: From Natural Right to Digital Credential
Source: The Daily Economy
by Stefan Bartl
“Freedom of speech is a natural right, not a privilege dispensed by governments when convenient. It precedes the state itself. Behind the vowels and consonants that leave our lips lie creative expression, communication, and ultimately liberty. As captured memorably in Good Will Hunting, ‘Liberty is the soul’s right to breathe.’ Yet in the digital age, speech is increasingly treated not as something to be protected but as something to be managed, licensed, monitored, and punished when it produces discomfort.” (03/18/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/free-speech-in-the-digital-age-from-natural-right-to-digital-credential-2/
-----
41) What a “Democratic Socialist” Economic Agenda Looks Like
Source: In These Times
by Max B Sawicky
“It’s increasingly difficult for U.S. political commentators to neglect the centrality of socialism to the country’s affairs. We now see a spate of polling results and other commentary testifying to the popularity of socialist ideas, if not the label, as well as to the prospects of rising political stars like Mayors Zohran Mamdani in New York City and Katie Wilson in Seattle, as well as State Senator Omar Fateh in Minneapolis. Whenever democratic socialism has a moment in the mainstream media, as it is having now, pundits and reporters ponder what ’democratic socialism’ really means. Those on the Left speculate on how, if at all, it differs from ‘social democracy’ — generally taken to refer to the more egalitarian economic arrangements observed in the Nordic countries, and to a lesser extent across Western Europe.” (03/17/26)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/democratic-socialism-economy-sanders-mamdani-aoc
-----
42) The Explosion Inside Trump’s War Machine: Joe Kent Resigns
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ramzy Baroud
“Joe Kent’s resignation is shocking, but not for the obvious reason. It is not shocking simply because it comes from within the Trump administration. Any administration of that size, stretching across thousands of officials, operatives and career personnel, will contain people who, despite the surrounding culture, still draw moral lines of their own. Even an administration defined by blunt militarism, racialized rhetoric and an unapologetic embrace of force is not morally monolithic. There is always room, however narrow, for someone to say: enough. What makes Kent’s resignation important is something else entirely: the language, the timing, and the political location from which it emerged. … He was not some liberal holdout inside a hawkish administration. He was the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, confirmed in July 2025, a former Green Beret, a former CIA paramilitary officer, and by every normal measure a deeply embedded figure within the national security state.” (03/18/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/ramzy-baroud/2026/03/17/the-explosion-inside-trumps-war-machine-joe-kent-resigns
-----
43) The Logic of Liberalism
Source: Law & Liberty
by Zachary Chambers
“Post-liberalism landed on the mainstream’s radar in 2018 with the publication of Patrick Deneen’s Why Liberalism Failed — though its roots go back decades, with Alasdair MacIntyre considered a foundational figure. The most virulent form of the ideology is itself a rebranding of integralism, a counter-revolutionary movement with totalitarian historical associations. Despite this, since 2018, the movement has gained significant traction, to the point where it has a substantial intellectual network and high-profile politicians showing at least an openness to some post-liberal ideas. Conservatives and liberals alike ought to recognize the danger of this new right-wing ideology, and confront it head-on, even if it may seem to some that the post-liberals’ goals align with theirs.” (03/18/26)
https://lawliberty.org/the-logic-of-liberalism/
-----
44) The professor who hated babies
Source: Unherd
by Elliot Haspel
“I’m something of a rarity: a liberal who is worried about declining birth rates across the West. I look at a rapidly aging and longer-living population with smaller and smaller birth cohorts, and see a future in which social spending buckles under top-heavy entitlement programs; workers struggle in sluggish economies; schools and libraries are forced to close or decay in the face of shrinking tax bases; and the national soul is harmed as more and more individuals fail to realize their desired family size. In recent years, concerns about declining family formation and fertility have spread to some respectable center-Left quarters. Yet liberals like me still find ourselves marooned on a small opinion island. One big reason for that is the work of the biologist Paul R. Ehrlich, who died over the weekend, aged 93. Ehrlich’s anti-birth, anti-human ideology continues to shadow every conversation about demographic change.” (03/18/26)
https://unherd.com/2026/03/the-paul-ehrlich-bomb
-----
45) Susan Rice no stranger to dirty tricks; her latest threat shows how shameless Dems are
Source: New York Post
By Michael Goodwin
“Susan Rice, who played leading roles in the Obama and Biden administrations, has broken a Washington code of silence by threatening that anyone who plays ball with the Trump administration will suffer payback the next time Democrats take control. ‘When it comes to the elites, you know, the corporate interests, the law firms, the universities, the media, it’s not going to end well for them,’ she said on a podcast. ‘They’re going to be held accountable by those who come in opposition to Trump and win at the ballot box,’ she added. She is no stranger to dirty tricks, having been involved in the Obama administration’s spying on Trump’s 2016 White House campaign. And she was in the top ranks of the Biden White House when its Justice Department broke with two centuries of history by indicting and trying to convict Trump …” (03/17/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/03/17/opinion/susan-rice-is-no-stranger-to-dirty-tricks-and-her-latest-threat-shows-how-shameless-the-democrats-are/
-----
46) Paul Ehrlich Helped Create Roe v. Wade
Source: The Volokh Conspiracy
by Josh Blackman
“Paul Ehrlich has died at the old age of 93. I am grateful he lived long enough to witness how many of his doomsday predictions were wrong. But he does not seem to have recognized his faults. As late as 2018, Ehrlich predicted (once again) that the collapse of civilization would happen in decades. How could a person who is consistently wrong about everything maintain his status as a public intellectual? I think the short answer is that Ehrlich told progressives what they wanted to hear and reaffirmed their world view. … There is much to say on Ehrlich’s death, but it may be most useful to connect his writings on population control with Roe v. Wade.” (03/17/26)
https://reason.com/volokh/2026/03/17/paul-ehrlich-helped-create-roe-v-wade/
-----
47) Spain’s new AI “hate” tracker raises familiar risks for online speech
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Sarah McLaughlin
“Spain is no longer just talking about regulating online ‘hate.’ Now it’s building an AI system to track it. Fresh off an announcement that he intends to pursue an under-16 social media ban, as well as regulations holding tech owners personally liable for hateful content on their platforms and algorithms that share that material, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is promoting the launch of an AI program to track online hate. … It’s valuable for governments to know and understand how prejudice operates and affects the citizens they govern, but this system risks expanding government pressure on platforms to censor lawful political expression.” (03/17/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/blogs/free-speech-dispatch/spains-new-ai-hate-tracker-raises-familiar-risks-online-speech
-----
48) The Irish saga: Stolen land and the blame game
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
“Irish history is lost in the infamous mists of time (so Irish) and buried under the bright green of the island’s sod (again, so Irish). Popular history speaks of Celts as being the ‘indigenous’ people of an Eire (Ireland) who were colonized and disinherited by evil Norman and English invaders (aided by their minion warriors and settlers of Scotland). It is much more complicated, of course. The history of Eire is indeed very much like that of North America (Turtle Island): a constant series of invasions, occupation, colonization, and war.” (03/17/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/03/17/the-irish-saga-stolen-land-and-the-blame-game/
-----
49) Senate Democrats Should Kill the Filibuster
Source: The American Prospect
by Ryan Cooper
“The SAVE Act is coming up for a Senate vote soon, having passed the House back in February. On Tuesday, it cleared its first hurdle, advancing a motion to begin debate on a 51-48 vote that fell mostly along party lines; that’s well short of the 60 votes needed to clear a filibuster and ultimately pass. This bill is probably the most sweeping abrogation of voting rights since Jim Crow. As the Brennan Center explains, it would require both voter ID and proof of citizenship to vote, as well as force the states to send their voter files to the Department of Homeland Security. Tens of millions [sic] of U.S. citizens do not have ready proof of their citizenship, and tens of millions more [sic] don’t match with the documents they do have (for instance, married women who have changed their last name).” (03/18/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/03/18/senate-democrats-should-kill-filibuster-save-act-trump-republicans/
-----
50) Historical Lessons for the Bay Area’s Transit Crisis
Source: Independent Institute
by Walter E Block
“[A]s a matter of history, the BMT and the IRT were originally built, owned and operated by private companies. That ought to put paid to the notion that there is a ‘market failure’ going on in this sector of the economy, and that free enterprise, which has done so much for our prosperity … is an utter failure here, and, necessarily so. Nonsense on a pogo stick. If the marketplace is so great, why, then, are these NYC subways under government control? The market couldn’t hack it after all? Not a bit of it. These two subways were in the process of raising their fares from a nickel to a dime, and the government authorities were horrified! So, in 1940, they nationalized these entities, or, rather, municipalized them (soon afterward, they doubled the fare that had so horrified them when under private control).” (03/17/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/03/17/historical-lesson-bay-area-transit-crisis/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) The Political Orphanage, 03/18/26
Source: The Political Orphanage
“Richer Than Ever, Miserable Anyway.” (03/18/26)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/richer-than-ever-miserable-anyway
-----
52) Reason Interview: Stewart Brand
Source: Reason
“Why Civilization Needs Better Manuals.” (03/18/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/03/18/why-civilization-needs-better-manuals/
-----
53) Reasonably Optimistic, 03/18/26
Source: Washington Post
“Until recently, universities were widely seen as places for asking questions, debating ideas and accessing upward mobility. Now, they’re just as likely to be seen as battlegrounds in the culture wars. As public trust eroded and political scrutiny intensified, a bigger question emerged: When did this shift happen? And more importantly, can it be repaired? Host Megan McArdle is joined by Daniel Diermeier, chancellor of Vanderbilt University. He is trying to answer those questions not just in theory but in practice.” (03/18/26)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/impromptu/universities-charged-into-the-culture-wars-now-theyre-fighting-to-get-out-1/
-----
54) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 03/18/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Trump vs. NATO — Would He Actually Leave?” (03/18/26)
https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1RJjpzdvVMwKw
-----
55) The Good Fight, 03/18/26
Source: Yascha Mounk
“Ibram X. Kendi on Great Replacement Theory.” (03/18/26)
https://writing.yaschamounk.com/p/ibram-x-kendi
-----
56) Bulwark Takes, 03/18/26
Source: The Bulwark
“Why Does Gen Z Hate Israel Now?” (03/18/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rx5zZTlWxU
-----
57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 03/18/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Top US Counterterrorism Official Resigns Over Iran War, Israel Kills Ali Larijani, and More.” (03/18/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoGtQBNmjgE
-----
58) Politics Politics Politics, 03/17/26
Source: Politics Politics Politics
“The Modern Rebirth of Yellow Journalism. Talking Paxton, Cornyn, and Oklahoma (with Reese Gorman).” (03/17/26)
https://www.politicspoliticspolitics.com/p/the-modern-rebirth-of-yellow-journalism
-----
59) Pink Flame of Liberty, 03/17/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“Wolff v. Trump — the Parties get SNIPPY (I am NOT A LAWYER, just a commenter).” (03/17/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U30Fc1sl2-k
-----
60) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 03/17/26
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Matt Hoh: The Iraq War Playbook Is Back — This Time for Iran.” (03/17/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/blog/the-kyle-anzalone-show-guest-matt-hoh-the-iraq-war-playbook-is-back-this-time-for-iran/
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Trump cuts and runs vs. Iran on natural gas attacks
2) Federal Reserve holds interest rates steady, citing elevated economic uncertainty
3) Russia: Ukrainian regime claims strikes on aircraft sites 800 km from border
4) Trump regime retaliates against resigning official with FBI “investigation”
5) At least 17 dead in fighting on Sudan’s border with Chad, aid group says
6) Bitrefill accuses North Korea-linked Lazarus hacker group for compromising 18,500 purchase records
7) US Home Loan Demand Drops 10.9% Following Four-Week Growth Streak
8) US wholesale prices rose 0.7% in February, much more than expected and up 3.4% annually
9) Pakistan: Regime to pause Afghan strikes for Eid at request of other Islamic regimes
10) US judge orders Trump administration to reopen Voice of America
11) New Bill Would Crack Down on Prediction Markets After Suspicious Bets on Maduro, Iran
12) Trump waives idiotic US shipping law for 60 days to steady oil market
13) India’s cheap weight-loss drugs could reshape global obesity fight
14) Scotland: Parliament votes that you don’t own yourself, they own you
15) CA: New poll shows Republicans leading crowded California gubernatorial field
16) WI: Legislature votes to “allow” online sports betting
17) Chinese national charged for trying to smuggle 2,000 ants from Kenya
18) Ilia II, 1933-2026
19) Brazil: Police operation in Rio favelas leaves at least 8 dead, including local drug boss
20) IL: Stratton wins Democratic primary for US Senate
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) The Iran War Is Not a Just War
22) Politics tend to produce stupid opinions
23) Seeing with Two I’s: States, Markets, and Some Advice for Us Liberals
24) Iran war shows perils of America’s Mideast bases
25) Support Your Local Collaborator
26) Why AIPAC shouldn’t get too excited about its Illinois primary strategy
27) The Federal Punishment of an Innocent Man, Part 2
28) The Constitution’s Sweeping Pardon Power Is Its Achilles’ Heel for Checking an Imperial President
29) US Marine Corps being destroyed from within
30) The nation’s accelerating self-assassination
31) There’s No Sheriff in Town: Can Congress Fix Health Care?
32) The Federal Spending Spree Will Make the Next Economic Shock Even Worse
33) Ending the deceit that lures Africans into Russia’s war
34) Mandatory Conscription Makes War Easier, Not Harder to Fight
35) Yes, MAGA’s Fracturing Over Iran
36) Immigration questions for Markwayne Mullin
37) Senate GOP should take Fetterman’s deal on voter ID
38) Obscenely Unacceptable
39) No, We Cannot “Afford” This War with Iran Either
40) Free Speech in the Digital Age: From Natural Right to Digital Credential
41) What a “Democratic Socialist” Economic Agenda Looks Like
42) The Explosion Inside Trump’s War Machine: Joe Kent Resigns
43) The Logic of Liberalism
44) The professor who hated babies
45) Susan Rice no stranger to dirty tricks; her latest threat shows how shameless Dems are
46) Paul Ehrlich Helped Create Roe v. Wade
47) Spain’s new AI “hate” tracker raises familiar risks for online speech
48) The Irish saga: Stolen land and the blame game
49) Senate Democrats Should Kill the Filibuster
50) Historical Lessons for the Bay Area’s Transit Crisis
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) The Political Orphanage, 03/18/26
52) Reason Interview: Stewart Brand
53) Reasonably Optimistic, 03/18/26
54) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 03/18/26
55) The Good Fight, 03/18/26
56) Bulwark Takes, 03/18/26
57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 03/18/26
58) Politics Politics Politics, 03/17/26
59) Pink Flame of Liberty, 03/17/26
60) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 03/17/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Trump cuts and runs vs. Iran on natural gas attacks
Source: Axios
“President Trump said Wednesday that Israel will not conduct further attacks on Iran’s main natural gas facility. Trump’s comments that seem to be an effort to de-escalate the situation came hours after he green-lit the Israeli strike on the facility that marked a significant escalation in the war. The Israeli Air Force struck a natural gas processing facility in southwestern Iran on Wednesday. … Several hours later, the Iranian military conducted two missile strikes on Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City and hit natural gas facilities, QatarEnergy said in a statement.” (03/19/26)
https://archive.is/GMe4p
-----
2) Federal Reserve holds interest rates steady, citing elevated economic uncertainty
Source: CBS News
“The Federal Reserve on Wednesday left its benchmark interest rate unchanged, marking the central bank’s second consecutive pause in 2026. In its policy statement, the Fed said U.S. economic uncertainty remains elevated, adding that the impact of the Iran war also remains unclear. The Fed maintained the federal funds rate — what banks charge each other for short-term loans — in its current range of 3.5% to 3.75%. The decision to keep rates steady was widely expected by investors.” (03/18/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/federal-reserve-fomc-march-18-interest-rate-decision/
-----
3) Russia: Ukrainian regime claims strikes on aircraft sites 800 km from border
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Ukraine’s military struck two Russian plants producing and repairing military transport and cargo planes in the Ulyanovsk and Novgorod regions, the Ukrainian general staff said on Wednesday. It said in a statement that the attack on the Aviastar plant, part of Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation, in the city of Ulyanovsk, was carried out on 16 March. The plant produces Ilyushin-76MD-90A military transport planes, Ilyushin-78M-90A refueling planes, and provides maintenance for ‘Ruslan’ cargo planes, and is located about 800km (about 500 miles) from the Ukrainian border. … The attack on the 123rd aircraft maintenance plant in the city of Staraya Russia in the Novgorod region took place one day later, the general staff said.” (03/19/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/19/ukraine-war-briefing-ukraine-strikes-russian-aircraft-sites-800km-from-border
-----
4) Trump regime retaliates against resigning official with FBI “investigation”
Source: The Hill
“The FBI is investigating [sic] Joe Kent, the former director of the National Counterterrorism Center, who resigned earlier this week over opposition to the U.S. ongoing war with Iran, over allegedly leaking classified information, The Hill’s sister network confirmed on Wednesday. The agency’s [PR witch hunt] was [supposedly] underway before Kent, a top aide to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, announced his resignation from the post on Tuesday, arguing that Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the U.S. and urging President Trump to change course regarding the Middle East conflict, a source told NewsNation. The FBI declined to comment when reached by The Hill.” ()3/18/26)
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5790949-fbi-investigates-joe-kent
-----
5) At least 17 dead in fighting on Sudan’s border with Chad, aid group says
Source: Seattle Times
“The latest heavy fighting between warring parties along Sudan ’s border with Chad has killed 17 people and many wounded, a medical group said. The attacks on Monday in Tina left 66 people in serious condition, Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières, or MSF, said in a post on X late Tuesday. The army said in an update that the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, had expanded its attacks on military areas in Tina, but that troops were able to repel them and forced them to withdraw.” (03/18/26)
https://archive.is/Db4Gp
-----
6) Bitrefill accuses North Korea-linked Lazarus hacker group for compromising 18,500 purchase records
Source: CoinDesk
“Cryptocurrency payments and gift card platform Bitrefill has blamed the North Korea-linked hacking group Lazarus for a cyberattack on March 1, 2026, that compromised parts of its infrastructure and cryptocurrency wallets. The attackers gained access to production keys, transferred funds from hot wallets, and exposed 18,500 purchase records containing emails, payment addresses, and IP addresses. Approximately 1,000 records included encrypted usernames. Affected users were notified. Operations have resumed, with the company announcing to cover losses from operational capital. The incident underscores the importance of vigilance regarding crypto and on-chain security.” (03/18/26)
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/03/18/bitrefill-accuses-north-korea-linked-lazarus-hacker-group-for-compromising-18-500-purchase-records
-----
7) US Home Loan Demand Drops 10.9% Following Four-Week Growth Streak
Source: Realtor.com
“Home loan applications decreased 10.9% for the week ending March 13, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The decrease comes after four consecutive weeks in which demand for mortgage applications was on the rise. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 10.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 10% compared with the previous week.” (03/18/26)
https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/mortgage-applications-apply-for-loan-march-18-2026/
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8) US wholesale prices rose 0.7% in February, much more than expected and up 3.4% annually
Source: CNBC
“Wholesale prices rose sharply in February, providing another sign that inflation continues to percolate even aside from rising energy costs. The producer price index, a measure of pipeline costs that producers receive for their products, increased a seasonally adjusted 0.7% on the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. Excluding volatile food and energy costs, the so-called core PPI increased 0.5%. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for increases of 0.3% for both measures. For the all-items index, prices rose faster than the 0.5% pace in January. However, the core increase was less than the 0.8% for the prior month. On a 12-month basis, headline PPI inflation was at 3.4%, the most since February 2025, while core was at 3.9%, according to the BLS. The Federal Reserve targets inflation at 2%.” (03/18/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/18/ppi-inflation-february-2026.html
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9) Pakistan: Regime to pause Afghan strikes for Eid at request of other Islamic regimes
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“Pakistan announced on Wednesday a pause in strikes against Afghanistan, saying the decision was made ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr at the request of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey. In a statement, Pakistan’s information minister Attaullah Tarar said the pause in strikes on ‘terrorists and their support infrastructure in Afghanistan’ would take effect at midnight on Wednesday and remain in place until midnight on Monday. ‘Pakistan offers this gesture in good faith and in keeping with the Islamic norms,’ he said. However, he said, ‘in case of any cross-border attack, drone attack or any terrorist incident inside Pakistan,’ the operations would immediately resume with renewed intensity.” (03/18/26)
https://archive.is/jyw28
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10) US judge orders Trump administration to reopen Voice of America
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“A judge in the US has ruled that the effective closure of the Voice of America (VOA) last year was ‘illegal’ and that hundreds of its journalists should be reinstated. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth has given authorities one week to put the international broadcaster back on air. The VOA was set up during World War Two to counter Nazi propaganda. Just weeks after returning to office as president, Donald Trump issued an executive order to close the broadcaster which his officials accused of left-wing bias.” (03/18/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce3g3j1y2ldo
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11) New Bill Would Crack Down on Prediction Markets After Suspicious Bets on Maduro, Iran
Source: Common Dreams
“Two Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday introduced legislation that would prohibit online prediction markets from allowing bets on government actions that could be easily gamed by insiders. The proposed Banning Event Trading on Sensitive Operations and Federal Functions (BETS OFF) Act, unveiled by US Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Rep. Greg Casar [D-TX], would ban ‘wagering on government actions, terrorism, war, assassination, and events where an individual knows or controls the outcome.’ The lawmakers said the legislation was necessary due to suspiciously timed bets that were placed on the cryptocurrency-based prediction platform Polymarket related to imminent US military actions in Venezuela and Iran, raising concerns that Trump administration officials were using insider information to profit from life-or-death policy decisions.” (03/18/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/polymarket-war-bets-ban
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12) Trump waives idiotic US shipping law for 60 days to steady oil market
Source: CNBC
“President Donald Trump issued a 60-day waiver of a longstanding U.S. shipping law in an attempt to stabilize oil markets amid the Iran war, the White House confirmed to CNBC on Wednesday. The temporary suspension of the Jones Act ‘will allow vital resources like oil, natural gas, fertilizer, and coal to flow freely to U.S. ports for sixty days,’ White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. … The Jones Act, signed into law in 1920 by then-President Woodrow Wilson, requires that the transport of goods between U.S. ports must be conducted by U.S. vessels.” [editor’s note: He should just ask Congress to repeal the law, then sign the bill that does so – TLK] (03/18/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/18/trump-jones-act-oil-iran-war.html
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13) India’s cheap weight-loss drugs could reshape global obesity fight
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“India could soon get a lot thinner – at least in theory. On Friday the patent on semaglutide – the molecule behind Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Ozempic – expires in the country. This will allow domestic pharmaceutical companies to release cheaper copies or generics, triggering a rush of competition that could slash prices by more than half and rapidly expand access for people in India, and eventually in other countries too. Investment bank Jefferies has called it a potential ‘magic-pill moment’ for India, predicting the semaglutide market could eventually reach $1bn domestically with the right pricing and uptake. Analysts expect around 50 branded semaglutide generics to enter the market within months – a familiar pattern in India’s fiercely competitive pharmaceutical industry. When the diabetes drug sitagliptin went off patent in 2022, about 30 branded versions appeared within a month and nearly 100 within a year.” (03/18/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2g4411en3o
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14) Scotland: Parliament votes that you don’t own yourself, they own you
Source: Politico
“Scottish lawmakers on Tuesday evening rejected a bill allowing [sic] terminally ill adults to access assisted dying. Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) opposed Liberal Democrat Liam McArthur’s legislation which would have given [sic] terminally ill adults with fewer than six months to live assistance to end their lives. The bill fell by 69 votes to 57, with Scottish Health Secretary Neil Gray abstaining. MSPs previously backed the initial principles of the bill and allowed it to progress through the parliament last May by 70 votes to 56.” (03/18/26)
https://www.politico.eu/article/scotland-votes-against-legalizing-assisted-dying/
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15) CA: New poll shows Republicans leading crowded California gubernatorial field
Source: Fox News
“Steve Hilton, a legal immigrant and political newcomer running as a Republican for governor of California, said the ‘absolute failure on every front’ by current Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democrats means the GOP has a real shot at pulling off an upset in the Golden State. Though California has long since been written off by many as a progressive stronghold, the most recent polling indicates Hilton may be right. On Wednesday, Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies released a poll showing Hilton leading California voter preferences at 17 percent. Another Republican, Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco, follows at 16 percent. Both Republicans are ahead of the two top Democratic names, Rep. Eric Swalwell [D-CA] and former Rep. Katie Porter, who are each at 13 percent.” (03/18/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-candidate-cites-failure-newsom-dems-new-poll-shows-republicans-leading-crowded-california-field
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16) WI: Legislature votes to “allow” online sports betting
Source: US News & World Report
“As sports fans wager billions of dollars on the NCAA basketball tournaments, Wisconsin lawmakers are taking a shot at an expanded sports betting plan that could bank big bucks for the state in the future. A measure given final approval Tuesday would let the state’s tribal gambling sites start offering online sports betting to people anywhere in Wisconsin. But the bill is contingent on the signature of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, which is no sure bet. And it wouldn’t take effect until after the state negotiates new deals with American Indian tribes who would run the sports betting — long after the current basketball tournaments wrap up.” [editor’s note: If it’s online, it’s interstate/international. Even if it WAS any government’s business whether you bet online (it isn’t), the government in question would be the US Congress, to which the Constitution assigns power to regulate interstate/international commerce – TLK] (03/18/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/sports/articles/2026-03-18/wisconsin-lawmakers-take-a-shot-at-joining-the-ranks-of-states-allowing-online-sports-betting
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17) Chinese national charged for trying to smuggle 2,000 ants from Kenya
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“A Chinese man and his Kenyan associate have been charged with illegally dealing in wildlife species after they were caught trying to smuggle more than 2,000 live queen garden ants out of Kenya. Zhang Kequn was arrested at the international airport in the capital Nairobi last week after authorities discovered the large consignment of ants in his luggage – each of them either stashed in a test tube or wrapped in tissue. On Tuesday, a court in Nairobi heard that Zhang bought the ants from Charles Mwangi at 10,000 Kenyan shillings ($77; £58) for every 100 of them. Kenyan authorities have been warning about of a growing demand for garden ants in Europe and Asia, where collectors keep them as pets. Officials have not said if this were the case for the insects Zhang tried to bring out of the country, but his luggage was bound for China.” (03/18/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1mjmg0ymk9o
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18) Ilia II, 1933-2026
Source: ABC News
“Georgia’s Patriarch Ilia II, the longtime head of the Georgian Orthodox Church and one of the country’s most influential figures, has died. He was 93. Ilia II died late Tuesday after being hospitalized in critical condition with internal bleeding. … Ilia II led the church for nearly five decades. He assumed the leadership role in 1977, when Georgia was part of the Soviet Union and religious practices were restricted, and remained a dominant spiritual and public figure after Georgia regained independence.” (03/18/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/georgian-orthodox-patriarch-ilia-ii-hailed-epochal-figure-131174318
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19) Brazil: Police operation in Rio favelas leaves at least 8 dead, including local drug boss
Source: SFGate
“A Brazilian police operation in Rio de Janeiro favelas on Wednesday killed seven presumed drug traffickers, including a gang chief, as well as a local resident caught in the crossfire, law enforcement officials said. Claúdio Augusto dos Santos, a drug-trafficking boss and member of the notorious Red Command criminal organization, was among those killed in the operation in central Rio, Secretary of the Military Police Col. Marcelo de Menezes said in a press conference. In retaliation, police said ‘criminals’ set fire to a bus and blocked roads in Rio’s central zone, leading to four arrests. Márcio Sousa, the driver of the bus set alight, reported that the attackers boarded the vehicle with two bottles of gasoline.” (03/18/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/brazilian-police-operation-in-rio-favelas-leaves-22083835.php
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20) IL: Stratton wins Democratic primary for US Senate
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Illinois lieutenant governor Juliana Stratton won the Democratic primary race to succeed Illinois’[s] US senator Dick Durbin, beating out US representative Raja Krishnamoorthi. With nearly 90% of the vote tallied, Stratton was leading Krishnamoorthi by more than six percentage points on Tuesday night, according to the Associated Press. … Stratton, a progressive with the support of governor JB Pritzker, had been behind Krishnamoorthi in polling until recent weeks, when an infusion of cash from the governor and a hardening sentiment on immigration pushed aside the relatively moderate congressman. Stratton also faced competition on her left from congresswoman Robin Kelly, which threatened to split the progressive vote. Kelly drew less than 20% of the vote, according to the Associated Press. Durbin, 81, is retiring after service five terms in the Senate.” (03/18/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/18/illinois-democratic-senate-primary-race-juliana-stratton
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) The Iran War Is Not a Just War
Source: The Bulwark
by David Opderbeck
“For all the impassioned impromptu defenses of the current war in Iran, there have been remarkably few that have used the traditional criteria Western (and many non-Western) theologians, ethicist, politicians, and soldiers have used to evaluate the righteousness of armed struggle, the ‘just war’ principles. Even those leaders who have called the war ‘just’ have not engaged with any of the specifics of just war reasoning. The paucity of such efforts likely results from the fact that this war cannot be considered a just war when all the relevant criteria are considered.” (03/18/26)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/the-iran-war-is-not-a-just-war-theory-trump-hegseth-israel
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22) Politics tend to produce stupid opinions
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“Everyone has opinions, usually on almost everything. Not all opinions are equally valid, though, and there are good reasons why this is true. It doesn’t bother me when people have opinions that differ from mine, as long as those opinions are based in reality and on facts. What bothers me is when people have different opinions based on superstition, lies, hallucinations, or some combination of all those. … This is common in what passes for political opinions, especially on the Internet.” (03/18/26)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2026/03/18/voices/opinion-politics-tend-to-produce-stupid-opinions/233030.html
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23) Seeing with Two I’s: States, Markets, and Some Advice for Us Liberals
Source: Liberalism.org
by Michael C Munger
“Markets may fail; governments may help. But much about market activity will forever be invisible. A pair of unlikely thinkers helps illustrate the limits of what we know and the need for epistemic humility.” (03/18/26)
https://www.liberalism.org/p/seeing-with-two-i-s-states-markets-and-some-advice-for-us-liberals
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24) Iran war shows perils of America’s Mideast bases
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Naman Karl-Thomas Habtom
“U.S. military bases in the Middle East have served as a key launchpad for American attacks on Iran. But they’ve also served as a vulnerable target for retaliation. In less than two weeks, the Iranian military has fired thousands of missiles and drones at these bases, killing seven U.S. soldiers and wounding at least 140 more. So it is that America’s war of choice in Iran has exposed the dangers and futility of U.S. overseas bases. In order to minimize the risk of future wars and reduce the threat faced by allies and partners, the United States should learn from this war and begin shuttering these outposts.” (03/18/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/us-gulf-bases/
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25) Support Your Local Collaborator
Source: Astral Codex Ten
by Scott Alexander
“Every few weeks, a Trump administration official comes up with an insane plan that would devastate some American industry, region, or demographic. Maybe an Undersecretary of the Interior decides that aluminum is ‘woke’ and should be banned. … You’ve got to find someone who’s supported Trump until now, built up a reputation for loyalty, but this one time they finally snap and cash in some of their favors and agree to speak out. Sometimes it’s because they’re an aluminum magnate themselves and this would destroy their business. Other times they’re just a think tank guy or influencer who happens to be really knowledgeable on this one issue and willing to take a stand on it. By such people is the world preserved.” (03/18/26)
https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/support-your-local-collaborator
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26) Why AIPAC shouldn’t get too excited about its Illinois primary strategy
Source: Semafor
by David Weigel
“Five years ago, when pro-Israel groups began spending to beat left-wing candidates, their raison d’etre didn’t really become an issue in their races. UDP and the Democratic Majority for Israel didn’t focus on the Jewish state in their advertising. Progressives, winning or losing to them, didn’t talk about it either. But nowadays, unconditional US aid to Israel is deeply unpopular with Democratic voters, who are more likely than ever to sympathize with Palestinians over the Jewish state. That’s an existential threat to AIPAC. Why hasn’t it translated clearly into more primary victories for critics of the Netanyahu government?” (03/18/26)
https://www.semafor.com/article/03/18/2026/why-aipac-shouldnt-get-too-excited-about-its-illinois-primary-strategy
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27) The Federal Punishment of an Innocent Man, Part 2
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“When I read what the feds did to secure the conviction of Ian Freeman for money-laundering, I was absolutely shocked. What they did perfectly exemplified the moral rot that exists within the federal criminal-justice system that operates within the statist box. Moreover, what is equally shocking to me is what appeared to me to be an utter lack of deep moral outrage by the federal judges in the case, both at the district-court level and the appellate-court level.” (03/18/26)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/the-federal-punishment-of-an-innocent-man-part-2/
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28) The Constitution’s Sweeping Pardon Power Is Its Achilles’ Heel for Checking an Imperial President
Source: The UnPopulist
by Gabriel Schoenfeld
“In our contemporary era, there have been a slew of controversies surrounding pardons, often issued by lame duck presidents. Gerald Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon is the most famous of these, but there is also George H.W. Bush’s pardon of the Iran-Contra defendants, Bill Clinton’s pardon of the financier Marc Rich, and George W. Bush’s commutation of I. Lewis ‘Scooter’ Libby (subsequently granted a full pardon by Trump). Joe Biden does not escape scrutiny and judgment. … Is there anything that can be done to help us exit our pardon dystopia? As Trump’s second term proceeds, things are likely to get far worse.” (03/18/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/the-constitutions-sweeping-pardon
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29) US Marine Corps being destroyed from within
Source: Washington Times
by Gary Anderson
“My first official act as the Marine Corps officer instructor at the Naval ROTC at Vanderbilt University in 1979 was to blow up a classroom. My predecessor had warned me that I would be teaching the evolution of warfare at the death hour (1 p.m.) after lunch, when the students were drowsy. He recommended an ‘attention getter.’ That day, I was lecturing on ancient Greek naval warfare and decided to use a cardboard scale model of a period warship to demonstrate the early use of fuel-air explosives. Frankly, chemistry had never been one of my strong points, and I apparently used more white gas in the mix than was needed. The resulting explosion blew the door open and set off the fire alarms.” [editor’s note: I had assumed the piece would be about the idiotic attempt to make the Corps no longer a complete self-contained force, but no, it’s another one of those “a noun, a verb, DEI” rants – TLK] (03/18/26)
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/mar/17/us-marine-corps-destroyed-within/
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30) The nation’s accelerating self-assassination
Source: Washington Post
by George F Will
“The Ides of March came and went with less drama than in 44 B.C., when Julius Caesar was assassinated. Nevertheless, 2,070 years on, there was a reason to beware mid-March this year. It marked another momentous, if mostly unremarked, moment in the nation’s accelerating self-assassination. The Peterson Foundation says that on or about March 18, the national debt will reach $39 trillion. This was less than five months after it reached $38 trillion. At our current pace of profligacy — it probably will accelerate — three trillion-dollar milestones can be passed during one fiscal year. … The debt has doubled in the 10 years since Donald Trump, on March 31, 2016, vowed to eliminate the debt in eight years. He did not try, but if he had, he would have been stymied by this grinding political dynamic: The fastest-growing age cohort is people 65 and older.” (03/18/26)
https://archive.is/0zN3P
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31) There’s No Sheriff in Town: Can Congress Fix Health Care?
Source: Town Hall
by Jared Whitley
“Health care has become so expensive in the US now that it has become a threat to public safety. At least that’s the message out of Okanogan County, Washington, where Sheriff Paul Budrow announced this month he’s stepping down because the elected position doesn’t come with health insurance for his family. … ‘As an elected official, the Sheriff’s position does not provide insurance benefits, and ensuring healthcare coverage and financial stability for my family became a responsibility I could not set aside.’ Health care affordability has become a national issue, with President Donald Trump having discussed it in his State of the Union address.” (03/18/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/jaredwhitley/2026/03/18/theres-no-sheriff-in-town-can-congress-fix-health-care-n2673003
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32) The Federal Spending Spree Will Make the Next Economic Shock Even Worse
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“You’re probably tired of hearing about the U.S. government’s looming debt crisis, because it’s a continuing backdrop to political conversations in this country. Unfortunately, the government’s debt problem comes up so often because most politicians do very little to address the issue. Year after year, they spend more than the government collects in revenue. A new report cautions that growing federal debt not only guarantees a day of reckoning but hobbles chances of fixing the situation.” (03/18/26)
https://reason.com/2026/03/18/the-federal-spending-spree-will-make-the-next-economic-shock-even-worse/
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33) Ending the deceit that lures Africans into Russia’s war
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“For most of the four-year war in Ukraine, Russia’s trading partners in Africa have maintained a studied silence on the issue. These nations rely on Russia for crucial imports – especially the oil that fuels their modernization and the wheat that feeds their burgeoning populations. But recently, civilians in several of these trade-dependent countries have pushed their governments to speak up about a much different, much murkier type of trade with Russia – the deceitful trafficking in humans who are forcibly thrown into the Russian battlefront in Ukraine. Last month, families of Kenyan men allegedly duped into fighting for Russia held protests in Nairobi, as the government revealed that more than 1,000 citizens had been so recruited. ‘These are … matters of human rights, national responsibility, and continental dignity,’ declared the Centre for Investigative Journalism in Zambia.” (03/17/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0317/Ending-the-deceit-that-lures-Africans-into-Russia-s-war
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34) Mandatory Conscription Makes War Easier, Not Harder to Fight
Source: CounterPunch
by Ron Jacobs
“An aspect of the argument that a draft would make politicians think twice before allowing a war to take place because politicians’ children might get drafted into the war is not really much of an argument when considered historically. Looking at the last war where US citizens were drafted — the war in Vietnam, it is more than apparent that those draftees who did most of the killing and dying in that war were working class men. If those men were black, they were even more likely to end up as nothing but cannon fodder. … Another part of this same argument is that the US people would be more likely to oppose US involvement in a war if their children were involved. Once again, history tells us something different.” (03/18/26)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/03/18/mandatory-conscription-makes-war-easier-not-harder-to-fight/
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35) Yes, MAGA’s Fracturing Over Iran
Source: The American Conservative
by Andrew Day
“I AM THAT I AM. Thus spake God to Moses, instructing him to ‘say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.’ President Donald Trump has been saying something similar lately: I AM MAGA! Trump’s latest declaration of his MAGA-ness came in a long post on Truth Social defending the Israel-first blowhard Mark Levin, who has gotten into recent spats on social media with conservatives who criticize the war with Iran. … Many Trump voters have been surprised to learn that ‘MAGA is about’ war on Iran. To be sure, Trump hasn’t always been rhetorically consistent on matters of war and peace, but in 2016 he distinguished himself in the Republican primary by lambasting the Forever Wars, in particular the one in Iraq. And in the 2020 and 2024 elections he bragged about not starting any new wars in his first term.” (03/18/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/yes-magas-fracturing-over-iran/
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36) Immigration questions for Markwayne Mullin
Source: The Watch
by Radley Balko
“Stephen Miller has reportedly set a quota that federal immigration officers deport 3,000 people per day. Do you think arrest/deportation quotas are good policy? Miller’s reported ultimate goal is to deport more than a million people per year. No country has ever forcibly displaced that many people without mass casualties, particularly in such a short period of time. Do you think this is a realistic goal? Do you think the U.S. currently has the infrastructure to deport that many people humanely? Does it matter if it’s done humanely? DHS has routinely denied members of Congress access to immigration detention facilities despite a federal law that authorizes members to enter and inspect any facility unannounced. Will you enforce that law, or will DHS continue to ignore it under your watch?” (03/18/26)
https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/immigration-questions-for-markwayne
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37) Senate GOP should take Fetterman’s deal on voter ID
Source: Fox News
by David Marcus
“Over the next several days, perhaps even stretching into next week, the United States Senate, that grave and august deliberative body, will performatively waste time with impassioned speeches over the SAVE America Act, which they all know will never pass. There may, however, be an off ramp to this Mobius loop of legislative futility: A proposal from Sen. John Fetterman [D-PA] would have the upper body vote on a clean, simple, voter ID bill, without provisions regarding mail-in ballots or citizenship. Make no mistake, President Donald Trump is correct that all the provisions of the SAVE America Act, including one banning men from women’s sports have broad popular support, and are of vital importance. But if the bill cannot pass, then so what?” (03/18/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/david-marcus-senate-gop-should-take-fettermans-deal-voter-id
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38) Obscenely Unacceptable
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“‘F*ck this sh*t.’ That’s how the erudite opponents of Michigan’s Citizen Only Voting Amendment responded to supporters submitting a petition with more than 750,000 voter signatures to place the measure on the November ballot. Sans the asterisks, actually, which I supplied. Back in 2022, these oppositionists, fraudulently calling themselves Voters Not Politicians (VNP), helped politicians weaken Michigan’s voter-enacted term limits. Now they’re fighting an initiative that I’m promoting, which would: (1) clarify that only U.S. citizens are eligible voters at the state and local level, (2) mandate that the Secretary of State check the voter rolls to ensure it contains only citizens, and (3) require photo ID to vote.” (03/18/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/03/18/obscenely-unacceptable/
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39) No, We Cannot “Afford” This War with Iran Either
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Connor O’Keeffe
“It is an almost constant frustration for Democratic members of Congress, their ideological supporters, and the American left more broadly that — whenever they propose a new social program or demand-side subsidy — Republicans immediately push back that the program is unworkable because the federal government is drowning in debt and teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. And yet, after Republicans launched this extremely expensive war, nearly all the same politicians who had been preaching fiscal restraint have now rallied behind an operation that has already cost billions of dollars in the first few days alone. Democrats have been quick to point out this hypocrisy. … However, the left-wingers leading this charge right now are wrong to imply that the GOP’s hypocrisy is actually evidence that there is plenty to spend on all these government programs. There isn’t.” (03/18/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/no-we-cannot-afford-war-iran-either
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40) Free Speech in the Digital Age: From Natural Right to Digital Credential
Source: The Daily Economy
by Stefan Bartl
“Freedom of speech is a natural right, not a privilege dispensed by governments when convenient. It precedes the state itself. Behind the vowels and consonants that leave our lips lie creative expression, communication, and ultimately liberty. As captured memorably in Good Will Hunting, ‘Liberty is the soul’s right to breathe.’ Yet in the digital age, speech is increasingly treated not as something to be protected but as something to be managed, licensed, monitored, and punished when it produces discomfort.” (03/18/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/free-speech-in-the-digital-age-from-natural-right-to-digital-credential-2/
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41) What a “Democratic Socialist” Economic Agenda Looks Like
Source: In These Times
by Max B Sawicky
“It’s increasingly difficult for U.S. political commentators to neglect the centrality of socialism to the country’s affairs. We now see a spate of polling results and other commentary testifying to the popularity of socialist ideas, if not the label, as well as to the prospects of rising political stars like Mayors Zohran Mamdani in New York City and Katie Wilson in Seattle, as well as State Senator Omar Fateh in Minneapolis. Whenever democratic socialism has a moment in the mainstream media, as it is having now, pundits and reporters ponder what ’democratic socialism’ really means. Those on the Left speculate on how, if at all, it differs from ‘social democracy’ — generally taken to refer to the more egalitarian economic arrangements observed in the Nordic countries, and to a lesser extent across Western Europe.” (03/17/26)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/democratic-socialism-economy-sanders-mamdani-aoc
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42) The Explosion Inside Trump’s War Machine: Joe Kent Resigns
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ramzy Baroud
“Joe Kent’s resignation is shocking, but not for the obvious reason. It is not shocking simply because it comes from within the Trump administration. Any administration of that size, stretching across thousands of officials, operatives and career personnel, will contain people who, despite the surrounding culture, still draw moral lines of their own. Even an administration defined by blunt militarism, racialized rhetoric and an unapologetic embrace of force is not morally monolithic. There is always room, however narrow, for someone to say: enough. What makes Kent’s resignation important is something else entirely: the language, the timing, and the political location from which it emerged. … He was not some liberal holdout inside a hawkish administration. He was the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, confirmed in July 2025, a former Green Beret, a former CIA paramilitary officer, and by every normal measure a deeply embedded figure within the national security state.” (03/18/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/ramzy-baroud/2026/03/17/the-explosion-inside-trumps-war-machine-joe-kent-resigns
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43) The Logic of Liberalism
Source: Law & Liberty
by Zachary Chambers
“Post-liberalism landed on the mainstream’s radar in 2018 with the publication of Patrick Deneen’s Why Liberalism Failed — though its roots go back decades, with Alasdair MacIntyre considered a foundational figure. The most virulent form of the ideology is itself a rebranding of integralism, a counter-revolutionary movement with totalitarian historical associations. Despite this, since 2018, the movement has gained significant traction, to the point where it has a substantial intellectual network and high-profile politicians showing at least an openness to some post-liberal ideas. Conservatives and liberals alike ought to recognize the danger of this new right-wing ideology, and confront it head-on, even if it may seem to some that the post-liberals’ goals align with theirs.” (03/18/26)
https://lawliberty.org/the-logic-of-liberalism/
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44) The professor who hated babies
Source: Unherd
by Elliot Haspel
“I’m something of a rarity: a liberal who is worried about declining birth rates across the West. I look at a rapidly aging and longer-living population with smaller and smaller birth cohorts, and see a future in which social spending buckles under top-heavy entitlement programs; workers struggle in sluggish economies; schools and libraries are forced to close or decay in the face of shrinking tax bases; and the national soul is harmed as more and more individuals fail to realize their desired family size. In recent years, concerns about declining family formation and fertility have spread to some respectable center-Left quarters. Yet liberals like me still find ourselves marooned on a small opinion island. One big reason for that is the work of the biologist Paul R. Ehrlich, who died over the weekend, aged 93. Ehrlich’s anti-birth, anti-human ideology continues to shadow every conversation about demographic change.” (03/18/26)
https://unherd.com/2026/03/the-paul-ehrlich-bomb
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45) Susan Rice no stranger to dirty tricks; her latest threat shows how shameless Dems are
Source: New York Post
By Michael Goodwin
“Susan Rice, who played leading roles in the Obama and Biden administrations, has broken a Washington code of silence by threatening that anyone who plays ball with the Trump administration will suffer payback the next time Democrats take control. ‘When it comes to the elites, you know, the corporate interests, the law firms, the universities, the media, it’s not going to end well for them,’ she said on a podcast. ‘They’re going to be held accountable by those who come in opposition to Trump and win at the ballot box,’ she added. She is no stranger to dirty tricks, having been involved in the Obama administration’s spying on Trump’s 2016 White House campaign. And she was in the top ranks of the Biden White House when its Justice Department broke with two centuries of history by indicting and trying to convict Trump …” (03/17/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/03/17/opinion/susan-rice-is-no-stranger-to-dirty-tricks-and-her-latest-threat-shows-how-shameless-the-democrats-are/
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46) Paul Ehrlich Helped Create Roe v. Wade
Source: The Volokh Conspiracy
by Josh Blackman
“Paul Ehrlich has died at the old age of 93. I am grateful he lived long enough to witness how many of his doomsday predictions were wrong. But he does not seem to have recognized his faults. As late as 2018, Ehrlich predicted (once again) that the collapse of civilization would happen in decades. How could a person who is consistently wrong about everything maintain his status as a public intellectual? I think the short answer is that Ehrlich told progressives what they wanted to hear and reaffirmed their world view. … There is much to say on Ehrlich’s death, but it may be most useful to connect his writings on population control with Roe v. Wade.” (03/17/26)
https://reason.com/volokh/2026/03/17/paul-ehrlich-helped-create-roe-v-wade/
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47) Spain’s new AI “hate” tracker raises familiar risks for online speech
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Sarah McLaughlin
“Spain is no longer just talking about regulating online ‘hate.’ Now it’s building an AI system to track it. Fresh off an announcement that he intends to pursue an under-16 social media ban, as well as regulations holding tech owners personally liable for hateful content on their platforms and algorithms that share that material, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is promoting the launch of an AI program to track online hate. … It’s valuable for governments to know and understand how prejudice operates and affects the citizens they govern, but this system risks expanding government pressure on platforms to censor lawful political expression.” (03/17/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/blogs/free-speech-dispatch/spains-new-ai-hate-tracker-raises-familiar-risks-online-speech
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48) The Irish saga: Stolen land and the blame game
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
“Irish history is lost in the infamous mists of time (so Irish) and buried under the bright green of the island’s sod (again, so Irish). Popular history speaks of Celts as being the ‘indigenous’ people of an Eire (Ireland) who were colonized and disinherited by evil Norman and English invaders (aided by their minion warriors and settlers of Scotland). It is much more complicated, of course. The history of Eire is indeed very much like that of North America (Turtle Island): a constant series of invasions, occupation, colonization, and war.” (03/17/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/03/17/the-irish-saga-stolen-land-and-the-blame-game/
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49) Senate Democrats Should Kill the Filibuster
Source: The American Prospect
by Ryan Cooper
“The SAVE Act is coming up for a Senate vote soon, having passed the House back in February. On Tuesday, it cleared its first hurdle, advancing a motion to begin debate on a 51-48 vote that fell mostly along party lines; that’s well short of the 60 votes needed to clear a filibuster and ultimately pass. This bill is probably the most sweeping abrogation of voting rights since Jim Crow. As the Brennan Center explains, it would require both voter ID and proof of citizenship to vote, as well as force the states to send their voter files to the Department of Homeland Security. Tens of millions [sic] of U.S. citizens do not have ready proof of their citizenship, and tens of millions more [sic] don’t match with the documents they do have (for instance, married women who have changed their last name).” (03/18/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/03/18/senate-democrats-should-kill-filibuster-save-act-trump-republicans/
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50) Historical Lessons for the Bay Area’s Transit Crisis
Source: Independent Institute
by Walter E Block
“[A]s a matter of history, the BMT and the IRT were originally built, owned and operated by private companies. That ought to put paid to the notion that there is a ‘market failure’ going on in this sector of the economy, and that free enterprise, which has done so much for our prosperity … is an utter failure here, and, necessarily so. Nonsense on a pogo stick. If the marketplace is so great, why, then, are these NYC subways under government control? The market couldn’t hack it after all? Not a bit of it. These two subways were in the process of raising their fares from a nickel to a dime, and the government authorities were horrified! So, in 1940, they nationalized these entities, or, rather, municipalized them (soon afterward, they doubled the fare that had so horrified them when under private control).” (03/17/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/03/17/historical-lesson-bay-area-transit-crisis/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) The Political Orphanage, 03/18/26
Source: The Political Orphanage
“Richer Than Ever, Miserable Anyway.” (03/18/26)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/richer-than-ever-miserable-anyway
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52) Reason Interview: Stewart Brand
Source: Reason
“Why Civilization Needs Better Manuals.” (03/18/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/03/18/why-civilization-needs-better-manuals/
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53) Reasonably Optimistic, 03/18/26
Source: Washington Post
“Until recently, universities were widely seen as places for asking questions, debating ideas and accessing upward mobility. Now, they’re just as likely to be seen as battlegrounds in the culture wars. As public trust eroded and political scrutiny intensified, a bigger question emerged: When did this shift happen? And more importantly, can it be repaired? Host Megan McArdle is joined by Daniel Diermeier, chancellor of Vanderbilt University. He is trying to answer those questions not just in theory but in practice.” (03/18/26)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/impromptu/universities-charged-into-the-culture-wars-now-theyre-fighting-to-get-out-1/
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54) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 03/18/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Trump vs. NATO — Would He Actually Leave?” (03/18/26)
https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1RJjpzdvVMwKw
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55) The Good Fight, 03/18/26
Source: Yascha Mounk
“Ibram X. Kendi on Great Replacement Theory.” (03/18/26)
https://writing.yaschamounk.com/p/ibram-x-kendi
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56) Bulwark Takes, 03/18/26
Source: The Bulwark
“Why Does Gen Z Hate Israel Now?” (03/18/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rx5zZTlWxU
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57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 03/18/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Top US Counterterrorism Official Resigns Over Iran War, Israel Kills Ali Larijani, and More.” (03/18/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoGtQBNmjgE
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58) Politics Politics Politics, 03/17/26
Source: Politics Politics Politics
“The Modern Rebirth of Yellow Journalism. Talking Paxton, Cornyn, and Oklahoma (with Reese Gorman).” (03/17/26)
https://www.politicspoliticspolitics.com/p/the-modern-rebirth-of-yellow-journalism
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59) Pink Flame of Liberty, 03/17/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“Wolff v. Trump — the Parties get SNIPPY (I am NOT A LAWYER, just a commenter).” (03/17/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U30Fc1sl2-k
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60) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 03/17/26
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Matt Hoh: The Iraq War Playbook Is Back — This Time for Iran.” (03/17/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/blog/the-kyle-anzalone-show-guest-matt-hoh-the-iraq-war-playbook-is-back-this-time-for-iran/
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