02/23 -- Mexico: Violence erupts after cartel leader "El Mencho" killed in military operation; All aboard America’s strategic blunder train. Next stop: Iran
6 views
Skip to first unread message
Thomas L. Knapp
Feb 23, 2026, 6:22:08 AM (9 days ago) Feb 23
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 02/23/26
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Presented by the Liberty International
https://liberty-intl.org/
Produced by the staff of Rational Review News Digest
More News, More Commentary, More Audio/Video at Our Web Edition!
https://news.rationalreview.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Today's Freedom News:
1) Mexico: Violence erupts after cartel leader “El Mencho” killed in military operation
2) Trump whines about SCOTUS tariff ruling, imposes 10% “global tariff,” then raises it to 15%
3) Iran: Unrest escalates as regime thugs, protesters clash
4) TSA returns to full grope mode in response to US heimatschutz shutdown
5) Ukraine: Explosions kill police officer, injure 25
6) Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s taxpayer funded Met bodyguards told to provide security for Epstein party, emails reveal
7) Secret Service: Armed man shot and killed after entering Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence
8) Hundreds of students suspended, schools under close watch over anti-ICE walkouts
9) Indian, Brazilian regimes sign minerals deal
10) CT: Former Police Chief Arrested Over Alleged $85,000 Theft From Department Funds
11) CA: Campaign for idiotic “billionaire tax” proposal warns of hospitals shutting down in first TV ad
12) GA: McKinney Seeks Return to Congress
13) PA: High school senior accused of running ‘large-scale’ catfishing, sextortion scheme targeting 21 minors
14) Poland: Regime formally withdraws from Ottawa Convention on landmines, citing Russian threat
15) Pakistan: Regime launches deadly strikes on Afghanistan
16) NYC: Nurses reach deal with hospital to end strike
17) Hungary: Regime threatens to block EU loan to Ukraine unless Russian oil shipments resume
18) Turkey: Deutsche Welle journalist arrested for insulting thin-skinned politician
19) Judge forced to slash jury pool over hate for Elon Musk
20) US Judge Upholds $243 Million Verdict Against Tesla Over Fatal Autopilot Crash
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) All aboard America’s strategic blunder train. Next stop: Iran
22) Liberation Day for Real? Not Really
23) CHARLIE Against Dialectics
24) On Taiwan and Japan, Chinese Belligerence Backfires
25) The Sordid Reality of the Global Power Elite
26) SCOTUS has ruled on tariffs, but who will ultimately pay?
27) Tariffs as Taxes
28) If you can’t make America great again, can you stop making it worse?
29) Tell Iranian And Cuban Diaspora Warmongers To STFU
30) Should There Even Be A Libertarian Party?
31) Eileen Gu Indicts Birthright Citizenship And Our Entire Immigration Orthodoxy
32) The US is on the brink of a major new war that Trump has not even bothered explaining
33) The Decapitation That Failed: Venezuela After the Abduction of President Maduro
34) German chancellor echoes the frequent — and illiberal — call to end online anonymity
35) A Footnote on Jesse Jackson
36) The GDP Illusion: Surging Statistics Hide Pain for Average Americans
37) Democrats Are Obsessed With White Men
38) Immigration and Culture
39) Supreme Court Decides Our Tariff Case — and We Won!
40) Return to Reality: The Economy is Pivoting Amid Digital Overload
41) Pro-Palestine Super PAC Brings Multimillion-Dollar War Chest to Midterms
42) Conservatives are dumb and lonely
43) In the Age of AI, New School Models are Writing Their Own Rules
44) Friedman on Immigration: Setting the Record Straight
45) Mamdani’s Jim Crow 2.0 snow removal operation requires ID
46) Civilizational Hardware and Software
47) DC Stench No Longer Metaphorical
48) Canada’s Government-Dominated Health Care Chokes Access to New Drugs
49) Terrorized By ICE, Unable to Pay Rent, Minnesotans Get Ready for a Rent Strike
50) The Supreme Court Upheld the Rule of Law in the IEEPA Tariffs Case
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Pink Flame of Liberty, 02/21/26
52) The Climate Realism Show, episode 191
53) Serious Trouble, 02/21/26
54) Rising, 02/20/26
55) The Tom Woods Show, 02/20/26
56) Freedom Works with Paul Molloy, 02/20/26
57) Friday Philosophy, 02/20/26
58) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 02/20/26
59) Reason Interview: Michael Shermer
60) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 02/20/26
vvvvv SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS vvvvv
Tyranny Demands AN ACT OF SELF-DEFENSE: A NOVEL BY ERNE LEWIS
https://tinyurl.com/actofselfdefense
ONE IDENTITY FOR ALL YOUR CRYPTO
https://fioprotocol.io/
SAMUEL EDWARD KONKIN III REVOLUTIONARY FRIEND BY WENDY MCELROY
https://www.amazon.com/Samuel-Edward-Konkin-Revolutionary-Friend-ebook/dp/B0DP7B6127
TRY STARLINK: YOU GET A FREE MONTH AND SO DO WE!
https://starlink.com/residential?referral=RC-DF-8980236-19330-50
THE CONSTITUTION OF NON-STATE GOVERNMENT: FIELD GUIDE TO TEXAS SECESSION (2nd edition), by TL Hulsey
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1883853117
^^^^^ SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS ^^^^^
_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Mexico: Violence erupts after cartel leader “El Mencho” killed in military operation
Source: CBS News
“Violent clashes erupted in parts of western Mexico on Sunday amid a military operation that led to the death of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader, triggering widespread security concerns throughout the region. Mexican security forces killed Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, also known as ‘El Mencho,’ during an operation in the western state of Jalisco, Mexico’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement on X. It said he was wounded during the raid in the town of Tapalpa and died while being flown to Mexico City. The state of Jalisco is the base of the cartel known for trafficking huge quantities of fentanyl and other drugs to the United States.” (02/23/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/violence-mexico-jalisco-new-generation-cartel-killed-military-puerto-vallarta/
-----
2) Trump whines about SCOTUS tariff ruling, imposes 10% “global tariff,” then raises it to 15%
Source: Yahoo! News
“The Supreme Court scrambled the US trade landscape Friday when it struck down the centerpiece of President Trump’s second-term tariff program, ruling 6-3 that his sweeping blanket tariffs are illegal. … Trump attacked the high court in his first response Friday, particularly the justices in the majority, saying they were a ‘disgrace to our nation.’ He hinted that the administration would pursue alternative methods toward implementing its trade goals. His first move: Imposing a 10% ‘global tariff’ under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. … Then on Saturday, he raised the levy to 15%” (02/22/26)
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/live/tariff-ruling-live-coverage-trump-attacks-supreme-court-imposes-10-global-tariff-then-raises-it-to-15-184403258.html
-----
3) Iran: Unrest escalates as regime thugs, protesters clash
Source: Fox News
“Tensions flared Sunday across Iran as anti-government protests reignited at major universities and in the streets of Tehran, with reports of tear gas and shots fired in the capital. Students gathered in Tehran and the northeastern city of Mashhad to mark 40-day memorials for those killed during January’s nationwide anti-government demonstrations before violence broke out. … Iran’s state TV showed videos of what it said were people ‘pretending to be students’ attacking pro-government students in Tehran who were taking part in protests to condemn January’s protests. The individuals were allegedly injuring students by throwing rocks, Reuters reported. Some witness accounts and opposition groups described a more forceful response by authorities. Security forces reportedly fired tear gas at crowds of demonstrators, many of them young people.” (02/22/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/world/iran-unrest-escalates-gunfire-tear-gas-hit-universities-amid-looming-us-strike
-----
4) TSA returns to full grope mode in response to US heimatschutz shutdown
Source: CNBC
“The Department of Homeland Security on Sunday suspended the TSA PreCheck and Global Entry security programs that speed through airport security checkpoints, citing a partial government shutdown. The move comes as the U.S. Northeast braces for a massive winter storm that could disrupt airline flights for days. … The U.S. Travel Association, which represents major hotel chains and many other businesses in the industry, called DHS’s move ‘extremely disappointing.'” (02/22/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/22/tsa-airlines-weather-shutdown-blizzard-dhs.html
-----
5) Ukraine: Explosions kill police officer, injure 25
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“A 23-year-old female police officer has been killed and 25 people injured in what Ukrainian officials have called a terror attack in the western city of Lviv. Two homemade explosive devices detonated after police crews responded to a reported break-in shortly after midnight on Sunday, the National Police of Ukraine said. The devices were planted in waste bins, it added. President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed ‘an individual suspected of carrying out the terrorist attack’ had been detained. Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said she was a Ukrainian woman. The police later said the 33-year-old suspect had made and planted the explosives on the ‘instruction’ of an agent of Russia’s special services.” (02/22/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyz8d79djeo
-----
6) Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s taxpayer funded Met bodyguards told to provide security for Epstein party, emails reveal
Source: Independent [UK]
“Taxpayer-funded Metropolitan Police bodyguards assigned to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor were instructed to provide door security for a lavish celebrity dinner party at Jeffrey Epstein’s New York home, emails suggest. Two royal protection officers appear to have been told to act as doormen at the paedophile financier’s seven-floor Manhattan mansion in 2010, after he had been convicted of a child sex offence. The officers, given the job of protecting the prince, were staying at the multimillion-pound townhouse on 71st Street during the royal’s trip to visit his friend, according to emails unearthed in the latest tranche of the Epstein files released by the US Department of Justice.” (02/22/26)
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/andrew-bodyguard-epstein-party-met-police-b2925184.html
-----
7) Secret Service: Armed man shot and killed after entering Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“The US Secret Service announced on Sunday morning that an armed man was shot and killed after entering the secure perimeter of Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump’s Florida residence and private club in Palm Beach. Although the US president often spends weekends at the ocean resort, he was at the White House in Washington during this incident, as was first lady Melania Trump. The identity of the man who was shot has not been released. According to the Secret Service, he was ‘observed by the north gate of the Mar-a-Lago property carrying what appeared to be a shotgun and a fuel can.’ The suspect was in his early 20s and from North Carolina, according to investigators. He was reported missing a few days ago by his family.” (02/22/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/22/mar-a-lago-armed-man-shot-killed
-----
8) Hundreds of students suspended, schools under close watch over anti-ICE walkouts
Source: The Hill
“Hundreds of K-12 students across the country have received detention or suspension after participating in classroom walkouts to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) efforts. Such anti-ICE or ‘ICE out’ walkouts have increasingly popped up after Renee Good and Alex Pretti were shot and killed by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis last month. But experts say leaving school grounds is not a form of protest protected under the First Amendment for students, and Republican leaders are warning of consequences for those who participate. … schools in Florida and Texas in particular are facing increased pressure from Republican officials to curtail anti-ICE walkouts.” [editor’s note: They hate it when the inmates escape the day prisons even briefly – TLK] (02/20/26)
https://thehill.com/homenews/education/5745489-ice-out-student-protests-texas-florida-oklahoma/
-----
9) Indian, Brazilian regimes sign minerals deal
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Brazil and India have signed an agreement to boost cooperation on critical minerals and rare earths, as the Indian government seeks new suppliers to curb its dependence on China. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Saturday and discussed boosting trade and investment opportunities. … China dominates the mining and processing of the world’s rare-earth and critical minerals, and has increased its grip on exports in recent months as the United States attempts to break its hold on the growing industry. Still, for Brazil, which follows China as the world’s second-largest holder of critical minerals, its resources are used across a range of fields, including electric vehicles, solar panels, smartphones, jet engines, and guided missiles.” (02/21/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/21/india-brazil-sign-critical-minerals-deal-as-partners-seek-trade-growth
-----
10) CT: Former Police Chief Arrested Over Alleged $85,000 Theft From Department Funds
Source: US News & World Report
“The former police chief in New Haven, Connecticut, was arrested Friday on larceny charges following allegations he stole $85,000 from two department accounts. Karl Jacobson, 56, who abruptly retired from the department in January, turned himself in on an arrest warrant. He was later released on a court-set bond of $150,000, a state prosecutor said in a news release. Jacobson faces two counts of larceny related to defrauding a public community. … The state prosecutor’s office said Friday the city of New Haven first reported the embezzlement allegations on Jan. 5, which prompted an investigation by the Connecticut State Police. The probe revealed $81,500 was unaccounted for or misappropriated from the New Haven Police Department Narcotic Enforcement Fund between Jan. 1, 2024, and Jan. 5, 2026. Money from the fund is used to pay confidential informants who help in narcotics investigations.” (02/20/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2026-02-20/former-connecticut-police-chief-arrested-over-alleged-85-000-theft-from-department-funds
-----
11) CA: Campaign for idiotic “billionaire tax” proposal warns of hospitals shutting down in first TV ad
Source: SFGate
“The labor union pushing forward the highly controversial billionaire’s wealth tax is launching its first TV ad during the Olympics this weekend, SFGATE has learned. The 30-second ad, paid for by the Service Employees International Union, a health care union, will play during the men’s gold hockey game Sunday, the union confirmed. The commercial warns that California’s health care industry is under threat of collapse under looming federal health care cuts, and warns that more hospitals could close and that there are likely to be ‘longer wait times and overcrowded emergency rooms’ as a result. ‘Massive federal cuts will shut hospitals and emergency rooms forever because billionaires refuse to pay their fair share,’ the commercial says.” [editor’s note: And when the billionaires leave (and defeat the ex post facto part of the proposal in court)? How much tax revenue evaporates THEN? – TLK] (02/21/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/california-politics/article/billionaire-tax-tv-ad-olympics-21618922.php
-----
12) GA: McKinney Seeks Return to Congress
Source: Independent Political Report
“Former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney, a Georgia Democrat who later became the Green Party’s 2008 presidential nominee, has declared her candidacy for Georgia’s 14th congressional district, seeking a return to Congress this November as a Green candidate. McKinney announced her bid this week, saying her campaign would prioritize healthcare and education, economic justice, and constitutional rights. … McKinney represented Georgia’s 11th congressional district as a Democrat from 1992 through 1996, and then its 4th district through 2002 after the Supreme Court ruled the former a racial gerrymander. While in office, she gained national attention for her frequent criticism of U.S. foreign policy and the Bush administration’s handling of Iraq following the September 11 attacks as well as her views on Israel and Palestine, factors that contributed to her defeat in the 2002 Democratic primary. She returned to Congress in 2004 for another term before losing in a Democratic primary runoff.” (02/20/26)
https://independentpoliticalreport.com/2026/02/former-democratic-rep-and-green-presidential-nominee-cynthia-mckinney-seeking-return-to-congress/
-----
13) PA: High school senior accused of running ‘large-scale’ catfishing, sextortion scheme targeting 21 minors
Source: New York Post
“A Pennsylvania high school senior is facing hundreds of felony charges after authorities reportedly accused him of operating a ‘large-scale criminal network’ involving sextortion and catfishing. Zachariah Abraham Meyers, 18, of McMurray — about 15 miles southwest of Pittsburgh — was arrested Friday and charged with more than 300 felonies, including trafficking in minors, sexual extortion, unlawful contact with a minor, distribution of child sexual abuse material, among other offenses, according to a court docket obtained by Fox News Digital. Police allege Meyers, a senior at Peters Township High School, used social media platforms, including TikTok and Snapchat, to lure the victims into communicating with him, according to local outlets WTAE and WPXI.” (02/22/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/02/22/us-news/pennsylvania-high-school-student-zachariah-abraham-meyers-accused-of-running-large-scale-catfishing-sextortion-scheme-targeting-21-minors/
-----
14) Poland: Regime formally withdraws from Ottawa Convention on landmines, citing Russian threat
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“Poland will use anti-personnel as well as anti-tank landmines to defend its eastern border against the growing threat from Russia, Poland’s deputy defence minister told The Associated Press on Friday, as the country officially left an international convention banning the use of the controversial weapons. The 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty, also known as the Ottawa Convention, prohibits signatories from keeping or using anti-personnel mines, which can last for years and are known for having caused large-scale suffering among civilians in former conflict zones in countries including Cambodia, Angola and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Poland, which ratified the document in 2012 and completed the destruction of its domestic anti-personnel mine stockpile in 2016, withdrew from the treaty on Friday and says it plans to renew manufacturing weapons.” (02/20/26)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/poland-ottawa-convention-landmines-9.7098794
-----
15) Pakistan: Regime launches deadly strikes on Afghanistan
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Pakistan has carried out multiple overnight air strikes on Afghanistan, which the Taliban has said killed at least 18 people, including women and children. Islamabad said the attacks targeted seven alleged militant camps and hideouts near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and that they had been launched after recent suicide bombings in Pakistan. Afghanistan condemned the attacks, saying they targeted multiple civilian homes and a religious school. The fresh strikes come after the two countries agreed to a fragile ceasefire in October following deadly cross-border clashes, though subsequent fighting has taken place.” (02/22/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdxgln3gnd6o
-----
16) NYC: Nurses reach deal with hospital to end strike
Source: United Press International
“Nurses and hospitals in New York City have reached a tentative agreement to end the nurses strike after six weeks of picketing. About 15,000 nurses in the New York State Nurses Association went on strike on Jan. 12 from Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Morningside, Mount Sinai West, Montefiore Einstein and New York-Presbyterian/Columbia. New York-Presbyterian/Columbia is the only hospital left with striking nurses as the others have all reached deals with the union. The 4,000 nurses at New York-Presbyterian held out for a better deal.” (02/20/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/02/20/new-york-nurses-hopitals-deal-end-strike/8651771605484/
-----
17) Hungary: Regime threatens to block EU loan to Ukraine unless Russian oil shipments resume
Source: Fox News
“Hungary is threatening to block a proposed 90 billion-euro European Union loan to Ukraine — worth roughly $106 billion — unless oil shipments through the Druzhba pipeline are restored. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó wrote Friday on X that Hungary would oppose the EU funding package until oil transit via the Russian-linked Druzhba pipeline resumes. ‘Ukraine is blackmailing Hungary by halting oil transit in coordination with Brussels and the Hungarian opposition to create supply disruptions in Hungary and push fuel prices higher before the elections,’ Szijjártó said. He further claimed that blocking oil transit violates the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement and breaches Kyiv’s commitments to the European Union.” (02/22/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/world/hungary-threatens-block-eu-loan-ukraine-unless-russian-oil-shipments-resume
-----
18) Turkey: Deutsche Welle journalist arrested for insulting thin-skinned politician
Source: The New Arab [UK]
“A Turkish journalist with German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) was jailed by an Istanbul court on Friday on charges of ‘insulting the president,’ an NGO said a day after his arrest by 30 police officers. Alican Uludag was arrested in Ankara on Thursday evening following a warrant issued by the Istanbul public prosecutor’s office, which said it had opened an investigation into him for “insulting” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and ‘disseminating false news’ in connection with ‘certain posts’ on X.” (02/20/26)
https://www.newarab.com/news/turkish-authorities-arrest-journalist-insulting-president
-----
19) Judge forced to slash jury pool over hate for Elon Musk
Source: SFGate
“There are a few ways to get out of jury duty. Maybe you have a job you can’t leave, or caregiving responsibilities, or a prohibitively long commute. Or, in the case of an upcoming California trial, you could be one of the many people who despise Elon Musk. On Thursday, federal judge Charles Breyer slashed more than a third of a 93-person jury pool over their biases about the billionaire, according to multiple reports from the San Francisco courtroom. The civil trial is over Musk’s behavior during his 2022 purchase of Twitter. The investor plaintiffs allege that he violated securities law by omitting information from filings and making false statements to drive down the company’s stock price; Musk denies wrongdoing. All told, selection for the nine-person jury took about five hours.” (02/20/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/sf-jury-elon-musk-21369850.php
-----
20) US Judge Upholds $243 Million Verdict Against Tesla Over Fatal Autopilot Crash
Source: US News & World Report
“A federal judge rejected Tesla’s request to overturn a $243 million jury verdict over the 2019 crash of an Autopilot-equipped Model S, which killed a 22-year-old woman and severely injured her boyfriend. In a decision made public on Friday, U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom in Miami said the evidence at trial ‘more than supports’ the August 2025 verdict, and Tesla raised no new arguments to set the verdict aside. Tesla, led by Elon Musk, is expected to appeal. Neither Tesla nor its lawyers immediately responded to requests for comment.” (02/20/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2026-02-20/us-judge-upholds-243-million-verdict-against-tesla-over-fatal-autopilot-crash
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) All aboard America’s strategic blunder train. Next stop: Iran
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by James A Russell
“With not just one — but two — carrier battle groups now steaming in circles somewhere off the coast of Oman out of the range of Iranian missiles, we are all left with the head-scratching question: what is it, exactly, that the United States hopes to accomplish with another round of air strikes on Iran? Trump hasn’t told us. The latest crisis du jour with Iran illustrates the strategic swamp willingly stepped into not just by Donald Trump but his predecessors as well. The swamp is built on a singular and hopelessly misguided assumption: that the use of force either by stand-off, limited strikes from 12,000 feet or even invasions will somehow solve complex political problems on the ground below.” (02/22/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/iran-war-trump/
-----
22) Liberation Day for Real? Not Really
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“‘[The International Emergency Economic Powers Act] does not authorize the President to impose tariffs.’ That’s the single really important sentence from the US Supreme Court’s February 20 ruling in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump. Trump’s ongoing tariff tantrums, starting with his ‘Liberation Day’ schedule of ‘reciprocal’ tariffs, were illegal under the law in question, and under the US Constitution, which gives Congress, and only Congress, the power to levy taxes. … but don’t hold your breath waiting for relief, let alone recompense.” (02/21/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20387
-----
23) CHARLIE Against Dialectics
Source: Notablog
by Chris Matthew Sciabarra
“It appears that the legislature in New Hampshire — a state declared in December 2025 as the ‘freest place in North America’ — has passed a bill that bans ‘leftist indoctrination’ and ‘LGBTQ+ teaching in public schools.’ But wait, there’s more! House Bill 1792, known as the CHARLIE Act (in a nod to assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk) is designed to ‘ban certain types of instruction and punish teachers who carried it out.’ CHARLIE is an acronym for ‘Countering Hate And Revolutionary Leftist Indoctrination in Education Act.’ … the bill prohibits the teaching of any ‘critical theories or related practices that promote division, dialectical world-views, critical consciousness or anti-constitutional indoctrination’ (emphasis added). … Dialectical thinking is a crucial component of critical thinking. … Alas, the right-wing zealots know that critical, dialectical thinking is also a component of radical thinking. And it is the radical that they most fear.” (02/21/26)
https://notablog.net/2026/02/21/charlie-against-dialectics/
-----
24) On Taiwan and Japan, Chinese Belligerence Backfires
Source: The American Conservative
by Ted Galen Carpenter
“When conservative Sanae Takaichi became the new leader of Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the country’s prime minister in October 2025, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) clearly was unhappy about that development. Chinese officials became even more annoyed when Takaichi voiced strong support for preserving the de facto independence of Taiwan …. President Xi Jinping’s government responded with vitriol and threats. … However, if Chinese leaders thought that Japanese voters would repudiate their new prime minister and her uncompromising stance toward Beijing, they miscalculated badly. Takaichi gambled by calling a snap election for early February, and the results were a spectacular political success for her and her party.” (02/22/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/on-taiwan-and-japan-chinese-belligerence-backfires/
-----
25) The Sordid Reality of the Global Power Elite
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by John W Whitehead
“A decision by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals allowing thousands of pages of Epstein-related documents to be unsealed referenced allegations involving ‘numerous prominent American politicians, powerful business executives, foreign presidents, a well-known Prime Minister, and other world leaders.’ That alone should have been enough to trigger full transparency. Instead, nearly 30 years after the first complaints against Epstein were filed, the full truth remains obscured. Why are documents still partially sealed? Why do redactions remain? Why are investigations declared ‘closed’ while unanswered questions linger? Epstein may have conveniently died in a jail cell six weeks after his arrest on federal sex trafficking charges, but the machinery that empowered and protected him is still very much intact and it continues to work overtime to shield the global power elite, silence victims, and erase accountability. And that is the real scandal.” (02/20/26)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/the-sordid-reality-of-the-global-power-elite/
-----
26) SCOTUS has ruled on tariffs, but who will ultimately pay?
Source: The Hill
by Jonathan Turley
“Friday’s blockbuster ruling on tariffs was hardly welcomed by the Trump administration, but it was also widely expected. The Supreme Court clearly established in its 6-3 decision that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not afford presidents authority to issue sweeping, unilateral tariffs like those imposed by President Trump over the last year. The justices fractured on other issues. And they left one issue conspicuously unaddressed: What happens to the hundreds of billions of dollars collected from these tariffs so far?” (02/21/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/5748475-the-supreme-court-has-ruled-on-tariffs-but-who-will-ultimately-pay/
-----
27)
Tariffs as Taxes
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“A tariff, for reasons described in earlier posts, generally makes the country that imposes it poorer. So do other taxes. Does it cost us more to raise a million dollars of revenue from a tariff than from an income tax, a sales tax, or some other alternative? What does that mean, what does a tax cost beyond the money handed over?” (02/21/26)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/tariffs-as-taxes
-----
28) If you can’t make America great again, can you stop making it worse?
Source: Orange County Register
by Matt Fleming
“Hey guys, can we admit now that President Donald Trump’s trade agenda is failing, or do we need a little more time? Trump’s toxic mix of tariffs and new trade agreements alienated allies, drove up costs on American consumers and failed to accomplish its stated goals of turning around the U.S. trade deficit and reviving domestic manufacturing. Oh, and most of his tariffs are also illegal. Now would be a perfect time for the Administration to reassess its goals and tactics, especially since the majority of Trump’s tariffs were ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. Hopefully Trump seizes the moment.” (02/20/26)
https://archive.is/xGpnD
-----
29) Tell Iranian And Cuban Diaspora Warmongers To STFU
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Whenever you say anything online opposing the way the US is preparing for war with Iran or strangling Cuba to death with siege warfare, you’ll always get people whose family comes from the nation in question telling you to be silent and support the US war machine. Their family emigrated at some point because they didn’t like the government, so now they spend their time on social media telling everyone to support US operations to topple that government. The correct response to such people is ‘Shut the fuck up.'” (02/22/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/02/22/tell-iranian-and-cuban-diaspora-warmongers-to-shut-the-fuck-up/
-----
30) Should There Even Be A Libertarian Party?
Source: Independent Institute
by Scott Beyer
“In last week’s column, I argued that while neither major party consistently fights to shrink government and protect civil liberties, the Republican Party is closer than the Democratic Party to practicing such ideals. Meanwhile the actual Libertarian Party, despite existing for over a half-century, has failed to break into the mainstream, rarely making a dent in federal and state elections. These two realities raise a question: should libertarians stop propping up an uninfluential third party and try instead to overtake the GOP?” (02/20/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/02/20/should-there-even-be-a-libertarian-party/
-----
31) Eileen Gu Indicts Birthright Citizenship And Our Entire Immigration Orthodoxy
Source: The Federalist
by Elle Purnell
“If Eileen Gu’s mother came to America for a better life, she got it. Yan Gu, the daughter of two Chinese government officials, emigrated to the U.S. in the 1980s, just a few decades after the passage of the Hart-Celler Act, which overhauled immigration policies and prompted a massive increase in arrivals from Asia and Latin America. Educated at Auburn University, Rockefeller University, and eventually Stanford Graduate School of Business, she dabbled as a ski instructor and, apparently, in venture capital. In 2003, she gave birth to a daughter in San Francisco, raising her in an affluent Bay Area neighborhood. What’s known of Eileen Gu’s childhood reads like a caricature of coastal elitism …. Her story would be elevated as a saccharine picture of the neoliberal American dream, if Gu hadn’t decided to ski for China.” (02/20/26)
https://thefederalist.com/2026/02/20/eileen-gu-indicts-birthright-citizenship-and-our-entire-immigration-orthodoxy/
-----
32) The US is on the brink of a major new war that Trump has not even bothered explaining
Source: Glenn Greenwald
by Glenn Greenwald
“The U.S. under both parties has been insisting for two decades that it must abandon its heavy military involvement in the Middle East and instead “pivot to Asia” in light of a rapidly rising China. Yet in the midst of those vows, Trump has now assembled the largest military presence in the Middle East since 2003, when the U.S. was preparing to invade Iraq with overwhelming military force. One of the most striking and alarming aspects of all of this is that Trump — outside of a few off-the-cuff banalities — has barely attempted to offer a case to the American public as to why such a major new war is necessary.” (02/20/26)
https://greenwald.substack.com/p/the-us-is-on-the-brink-of-a-major
-----
33) The Decapitation That Failed: Venezuela After the Abduction of President Maduro
Source: Common Dreams
by Roger D Harris & John Perry
“The kidnapping of a sitting head of state marks a grave escalation in US-Venezuela relations. By seizing Venezuela’s constitutional president, Washington signaled both its disregard for international law and its confidence that it would face little immediate consequence. The response within the US political establishment to the attack on Venezuela has been striking. Without the slightest cognitive dissonance over President Nicolás Maduro’s violent abduction, Democrats call for ‘restoring democracy’ — but not for returning Venezuela’s lawful [sic] president. So why didn’t the imperialists simply assassinate him? From their perspective, it would have been cleaner and more cost-efficient. It would have been the DOGE thing to do …” (02/22/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/venezuela-post-maduro
-----
34) German chancellor echoes the frequent — and illiberal — call to end online anonymity
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Sarah McLaughlin
“We’ve said it before. We’ll say it again. Ending online anonymity is not some magical cure to “fix” whatever problems you believe plague the internet and its culture. And for whatever ills may exist on social media, this kind of cure would be worse than the disease. But German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said at an event this week that online anonymity is a problem — and he wants it to end. ‘I want to see real names on the internet. I want to know who is speaking,’ Merz said on Wednesday in Trier, Germany. ‘In politics, we engage in debates in our society using our real names and without visors. I expect the same from everyone else who critically examines our country and our society.’ … It’s one thing to praise the value and benefits of speaking out under your true identity, but German citizens have reason to be troubled by Merz’s comments.” (02/20/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/blogs/free-speech-dispatch/german-chancellor-echoes-frequent-and-illiberal-call-end-online
-----
35) A Footnote on Jesse Jackson
Source: The Dispatch
by Kevin D Williamson
“One expects that history will extend to Jesse Jackson the same indulgence it has extended to his mentor, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and to such figures as Mohandas K. Gandhi and (to a lesser extent) Thomas Jefferson — he was on the right side of the immensely important issue with which he was most intimately associated, and, while that is not everything, it is enough. And that is an excellent prospect for the reputation of Jesse Jackson, who, like the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mohandas K. Gandhi and (to a lesser extent) Thomas Jefferson, had a lot of bad political ideas and some positively daft economic ideas, some of which got worse over the years.” (02/20/26)
https://archive.is/xbyCa
-----
36) The GDP Illusion: Surging Statistics Hide Pain for Average Americans
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Kevin Duffy
“No, the economy is not booming. Far from it. Last month, the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index hit its lowest level since 2014. The monthly ISM manufacturing index registered ten consecutive months of contraction through December. On February 5, the Challenger Report on the US labor market showed announced job cuts in January more than doubled year-over-year, ‘hitting their highest level since the 2009 Great Recession,’ according to Mohamed El-Erian, former CEO of Pimco. … How do we square vigorous GDP statistics with an economy clearly deteriorating?” (02/20/26)
https://mises.org/power-market/gdp-illusion-surging-statistics-hide-pain-average-americans
-----
37) Democrats Are Obsessed With White Men
Source: Town Hall
by Derek Hunter
“You can’t turn around these days without seeing some leftist somewhere whining about white men. As a white man, it seems like every Democrat is an obsessed stalker – it’s enough to make us want to take out a restraining order. I speak for all white men in this piece because, after watching a week’s worth of fawning coverage of the death of Jesse Jackson that glossed over or ignored his racism, affair (oh, the stories I’ve heard) and grifting, I remembered who he simply appointed himself a ‘leader’ and the corporate media crowned him the spokesman for black people, so I’ll take the job for whitey for today. What is the obsession the left has with us? It’s flattering, I suppose. We’ve done pretty well, though you never know it from the way Democrats talk about us.” (02/22/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2026/02/22/democrats-are-obsessed-with-white-men-n2671696
-----
38) Immigration and Culture
Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman
“All signs point to cultural insecurity (at best) as to why so many people are uncomfortable with the prospect of free, or ever freer, immigration. A few moments’ reflection is enough to show why that’s silly, especially in the United States. Trying to control a culture is like (my apologies; I can’t improve on this) trying to nail Jello to the wall. Ain’t gonna happen. … the desire to bar foreign-born people on grounds of cultural incompatibility is ridiculous. Since wonderful America, the envy of the world, has always been a changing mix of countless cultural elements, we’d be harming ourselves by any attempt to keep things ‘traditional.'” (02/20/26)
https://sheldonrichman.substack.com/p/tgif-immigration-and-culture
-----
39) Supreme Court Decides Our Tariff Case — and We Won!
Source: The Volokh Conspiracy
by Ilya Somin
“Today, the Supreme Court decided our case challenging Donald Trump’s massive IEEPA tariffs. In a 6-3 decision, Court rightly ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not give the President the power to ‘impose tariffs on imports from any country, of any product, at any rate, for any amount of time.’ It’s a major victory for the constitutional separation of powers, for the rule of law, for free trade, and for the millions of American consumers and businesses enduring higher taxes and higher prices as a result of these tariffs. Our case was filed by Liberty Justice Center and myself on behalf of five small US businesses.” (02/20/26)
https://reason.com/volokh/2026/02/20/supreme-court-decides-our-tariff-case-and-we-won/
-----
40) Return to Reality: The Economy is Pivoting Amid Digital Overload
Source: The Daily Economy
by Taylor Davidson
“Both social research and market trends show people are pushing back against digital saturation, paying a premium for presence and authenticity.” (02/20/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/return-to-reality-the-economy-is-pivoting-amid-digital-overload/
-----
41) Pro-Palestine Super PAC Brings Multimillion-Dollar War Chest to Midterms
Source: The American Prospect
by Whitney Curry Wimbish
“A new super PAC is throwing its weight behind progressive Democrats in upcoming midterm election primaries to counter the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the pro-Israel lobbyist that has recently hidden behind ‘shell PACs’ to fund its preferred candidates, as opposition grows to its unconditional support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza, sources told the Prospect. The new PAC, American Priorities, filed a statement of organization with the Federal Election Commission last Thursday. It’s committing to spending multiple millions of dollars across several races, the sources said, beginning with a focus on a pair of Democratic congressional primaries in the South, where progressive candidates are up against establishment opponents. It has so far spent $550,000 on Durham, North Carolina, County Commissioner Nida Allam, who is challenging incumbent Democratic Rep. Valerie Foushee for the state’s Fourth Congressional District seat.” (02/20/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/02/20/pro-palestine-super-pac-midterm-elections-aipac-israel-gaza/
-----
42) Conservatives are dumb and lonely
Source: Sex and the State
by Cathy Reisenwitz
“Unlike Robyn Pennacchia, I am of the opinion that while IQ has its problems, it also measures something useful. For example, I’ve found links between low IQ and higher levels of racism and homophobia. Homophobia correlates with hostile sexism and with traits strongly associated with misogyny. Sexual conservatism and religious fundamentalism are also linked to misogyny, hostile sexism, racism, and homophobia. Researchers have found strong connections between anti-Semitism, ethnocentrism, political and economical conservatism, and authoritarianism. Voting Republican also strongly predicts sexism, racist attitudes, racial resentment, and homophobia. Smart people, Democrats, and liberals are also sometimes dumb and bigoted. But Republicans and conservatives are, on average, dumber and more bigoted. … Loneliness and trauma (which feed each other) diminish cognitive complexity. That’s part of why chronically lonely people are easier to con” (02/20/26)
https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/conservatives-are-dumb-and-lonely
-----
43) In the Age of AI, New School Models are Writing Their Own Rules
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Kerry McDonald
“One reason today’s emerging schools are able to navigate artificial intelligence in creative ways is their agility. Unburdened by the bureaucratic constraints and curriculum pressures that many educators in traditional schools encounter, new school founders are able to respond quickly to the needs and interests of their students and families and pivot as needed. If a new AI tool seems promising, they can adopt it quickly without waiting for permission. Similarly, if it’s not adding value, they can drop it. As AI tools evolve at a rapid pace, smaller, more flexible learning environments are well-positioned to test new approaches, develop school-based expectations for responsible use, and adjust as needed.” (02/20/26)
https://fee.org/articles/in-the-age-of-ai-new-school-models-are-writing-their-own-rules/
-----
44) Friedman on Immigration: Setting the Record Straight
Source: EconLog
by Christopher Freiman
“Even people who are otherwise enthusiastic about a free market in labor can get cold feet about immigration once redistribution enters the picture. Some are fond of quoting Milton Friedman, who famously (or infamously) said: ‘It’s just obvious you can’t have free immigration and a welfare state.’ On this view, immigration is fine under fully free market institutions, but in the actual world with its abundant government-provided benefits, immigration restrictions are justified to protect taxpayers from the added expense that could arise if immigrants consume these benefits. But this conclusion is too quick, and even Friedman’s position is more nuanced than people on both sides of the immigration debate tend to realize.” (02/20/26)
https://www.econlib.org/econlog/friedman-on-immigration-setting-the-record-straight
-----
45) Mamdani’s Jim Crow 2.0 snow removal operation requires ID
Source: Fox News
by David Marcus
“With a blizzard bearing down on New York City, socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani has offered citizens a chance to make a few extra bucks removing snow, but there is a catch, and it’s a doozy: As racist as the Left tells us this is, workers must bring valid ID. Say it ain’t so, Zo. We know from the voter ID debate that marginalized Brown and Black people just can’t figure out how to get driver’s licenses. According to Kamala Harris, it has something to do with not having a Kinkos. So why is Hizzoner pushing Jim Crow 2.0 here? Oh, and, the ID required includes a Social Security card, so in addition to excluding minorities, Mamdani is barring illegal immigrants. Is the mayor worried that people may not be honest about who they actually are?” (02/22/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/david-marcus-mamdanis-jim-crow-2-0-snow-removal-operation-requires-id
-----
46) Civilizational Hardware and Software
Source: Law & Liberty
by Nadya William
“One of the earliest known instances of writing using the Greek alphabet combines vandalism with poetic experimentation. Sometime in the eighth century BC at Pithekoussai, a Greek colony on Ischia, a small island off the coast of Italy, a dinner guest rudely defaced one of his host’s fine drinking cups. … While the Greeks eventually settled on writing from left to right, a variety of letter shapes and directions of writing survive in the earliest inscriptions in the Greek alphabet. … the three lines of writing proceed in a boustrophedon fashion — as the ox ploughs. The first line goes from right to left, then the second line turns around and goes from left to right, and the last one is from right to left again. What we see is a civilization on the cusp of adopting a new revolutionary technology: writing with an alphabet.” (02/20/26)
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/civilizational-hardware-and-software/
-----
47) DC Stench No Longer Metaphorical
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“Matt Walsh says that ‘one of the worst ecological disasters in American history is currently unfolding. A river of sewage is flowing into the Potomac. When you dig into this story, and who is responsible for it, you start to see why the media doesn’t want to talk about it.’ He’s not wrong, the disaster began January 19th but we’ve heard little about it. On his podcast, No. 1736; Mr. Walsh goes all into a ‘Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’ explanation. … In between retches, ask the question: Why would there be a general incompetence rising in public utilities now? Is it race as such? Of course not. Is it DEI putting race over competence? Maybe in part. But the general trend for a long time has been to put more and more domains of everyday life under direct government control.” (02/20/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/dc-stench-no-longer-metaphorical/
-----
48) Canada’s Government-Dominated Health Care Chokes Access to New Drugs
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“Price controls and regulatory burdens make the market unattractive for pharmaceutical companies.” (02/20/26)
https://reason.com/2026/02/20/canadas-government-dominated-healthcare-chokes-access-to-new-drugs/
-----
49) Terrorized By ICE, Unable to Pay Rent, Minnesotans Get Ready for a Rent Strike
Source: In These Times
by Rebecca Burns & Sarah Lazare
“First, she started checking for suspicious cars each day before leaving the house for work. Then, she began skipping work whenever she saw Facebook posts about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents nearby. By the end of December, she wasn’t working at all. And since the first week of January, Anain, who declined to use her last name, has barely left the home she shares with her spouse and two young daughters in South Minneapolis, the neighborhood where she’s lived for more than 20 years. To pay their rent, Anain and her spouse have had to dip into their savings. With neither of them working, ’we don’t know how long we’ll be able to keep going,’ she says in Spanish. For immigrant families like Anain’s, the crisis in Minnesota is far from over.” (02/19/26)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/ice-minnesota-rent-strike-twin-cities-labor-unions
-----
50) The Supreme Court Upheld the Rule of Law in the IEEPA Tariffs Case
Source: Exiled Policy
by Jason Pye
“This morning, the Court held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not authorize a president to impose tariffs. Because obviously. … Whether we’re talking about the Trade Expansion Act, the Trade Act, or some other delegated tariff authority, Congress has always been clear about the intent. This is a fact, and, as Roberts would explain, ‘IEEPA contains no reference to tariffs or duties.’ Nor did the administration offer any law ‘in which Congress used the word ‘regulate’ to authorize taxation.'” (02/20/26)
https://exiledpolicy.substack.com/p/the-supreme-court-upheld-the-rule
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Pink Flame of Liberty, 02/21/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“Libertarian Party Time Capsule Jan/Feb 1976 — Tax Revolt.” (02/21/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH0yBjiaP9E
-----
52) The Climate Realism Show, episode 191
Source: Heartland Institute
“Unlearning Climate Alarmism.” (02/21/26)
https://heartland.org/podcasts/unlearning-climate-alarmism-the-climate-realism-show-191/
-----
53) Serious Trouble, 02/21/26
Source: Serious Trouble
“IEEPA, You EEPA, We EEPA.” (02/21/26)
https://www.serioustrouble.show/p/ieepa-you-eepa-we-eepa
-----
54) Rising, 02/20/26
Source: The Hill
“Lindsey Granger gives her lens on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saying the Pentagon will cut ties with Harvard University.” (02/20/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/5735557-rising-february-20-2026/
-----
55) The Tom Woods Show, 02/20/26
Source: The Tom Woods Show
“Ron Paul Was Right About Everything.” (02/20/26)
https://tomwoods.com/ep-2737-ron-paul-was-right-about-everything/
-----
56) Freedom Works with Paul Molloy, 02/20/26
Source: Freedom Works
“Chris Edwards, CATO Institute ‘Ending Federal Tobacco Subsidies.'” (02/20/26)
https://internetradiopros.com/freedomworks/?name=2026-02-21_zfw002202026.mp3
-----
57) Friday Philosophy, 02/20/26
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
“Winch Way Forward?” (02/20/26)
https://mises.org/friday-philosophy/winch-way-forward
-----
58) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 02/20/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“A Growing Threat to Trump’s Tariffs — What Happens Next?” (02/20/26)
https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1dKrPEEeQwAJX
-----
59) Reason Interview: Michael Shermer
Source: Reason
“How the Epstein Files Became the Ultimate Conspiracy Theory.” (02/20/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/02/20/how-the-epstein-files-became-the-ultimate-conspiracy-theory/
-----
60) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 02/20/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Trump Threatens Iran War at First ‘Board of Peace’ Meeting, US To Build Major Base in Gaza, and More.” (02/20/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkDKs0wpefQ
----------------------------------------------------------------------
FND is published every weekday except on holidays. Forward freely.
To subscribe or unsubscribe, visit:
http://groups.google.com/group/freedom-news-daily
Support the Liberty International (tax deductible)
https://liberty-intl.org/join-the-movement/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Presented by the Liberty International
https://liberty-intl.org/
Produced by the staff of Rational Review News Digest
More News, More Commentary, More Audio/Video at Our Web Edition!
https://news.rationalreview.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Today's Freedom News:
1) Mexico: Violence erupts after cartel leader “El Mencho” killed in military operation
2) Trump whines about SCOTUS tariff ruling, imposes 10% “global tariff,” then raises it to 15%
3) Iran: Unrest escalates as regime thugs, protesters clash
4) TSA returns to full grope mode in response to US heimatschutz shutdown
5) Ukraine: Explosions kill police officer, injure 25
6) Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s taxpayer funded Met bodyguards told to provide security for Epstein party, emails reveal
7) Secret Service: Armed man shot and killed after entering Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence
8) Hundreds of students suspended, schools under close watch over anti-ICE walkouts
9) Indian, Brazilian regimes sign minerals deal
10) CT: Former Police Chief Arrested Over Alleged $85,000 Theft From Department Funds
11) CA: Campaign for idiotic “billionaire tax” proposal warns of hospitals shutting down in first TV ad
12) GA: McKinney Seeks Return to Congress
13) PA: High school senior accused of running ‘large-scale’ catfishing, sextortion scheme targeting 21 minors
14) Poland: Regime formally withdraws from Ottawa Convention on landmines, citing Russian threat
15) Pakistan: Regime launches deadly strikes on Afghanistan
16) NYC: Nurses reach deal with hospital to end strike
17) Hungary: Regime threatens to block EU loan to Ukraine unless Russian oil shipments resume
18) Turkey: Deutsche Welle journalist arrested for insulting thin-skinned politician
19) Judge forced to slash jury pool over hate for Elon Musk
20) US Judge Upholds $243 Million Verdict Against Tesla Over Fatal Autopilot Crash
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) All aboard America’s strategic blunder train. Next stop: Iran
22) Liberation Day for Real? Not Really
23) CHARLIE Against Dialectics
24) On Taiwan and Japan, Chinese Belligerence Backfires
25) The Sordid Reality of the Global Power Elite
26) SCOTUS has ruled on tariffs, but who will ultimately pay?
27) Tariffs as Taxes
28) If you can’t make America great again, can you stop making it worse?
29) Tell Iranian And Cuban Diaspora Warmongers To STFU
30) Should There Even Be A Libertarian Party?
31) Eileen Gu Indicts Birthright Citizenship And Our Entire Immigration Orthodoxy
32) The US is on the brink of a major new war that Trump has not even bothered explaining
33) The Decapitation That Failed: Venezuela After the Abduction of President Maduro
34) German chancellor echoes the frequent — and illiberal — call to end online anonymity
35) A Footnote on Jesse Jackson
36) The GDP Illusion: Surging Statistics Hide Pain for Average Americans
37) Democrats Are Obsessed With White Men
38) Immigration and Culture
39) Supreme Court Decides Our Tariff Case — and We Won!
40) Return to Reality: The Economy is Pivoting Amid Digital Overload
41) Pro-Palestine Super PAC Brings Multimillion-Dollar War Chest to Midterms
42) Conservatives are dumb and lonely
43) In the Age of AI, New School Models are Writing Their Own Rules
44) Friedman on Immigration: Setting the Record Straight
45) Mamdani’s Jim Crow 2.0 snow removal operation requires ID
46) Civilizational Hardware and Software
47) DC Stench No Longer Metaphorical
48) Canada’s Government-Dominated Health Care Chokes Access to New Drugs
49) Terrorized By ICE, Unable to Pay Rent, Minnesotans Get Ready for a Rent Strike
50) The Supreme Court Upheld the Rule of Law in the IEEPA Tariffs Case
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Pink Flame of Liberty, 02/21/26
52) The Climate Realism Show, episode 191
53) Serious Trouble, 02/21/26
54) Rising, 02/20/26
55) The Tom Woods Show, 02/20/26
56) Freedom Works with Paul Molloy, 02/20/26
57) Friday Philosophy, 02/20/26
58) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 02/20/26
59) Reason Interview: Michael Shermer
60) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 02/20/26
vvvvv SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS vvvvv
Tyranny Demands AN ACT OF SELF-DEFENSE: A NOVEL BY ERNE LEWIS
https://tinyurl.com/actofselfdefense
ONE IDENTITY FOR ALL YOUR CRYPTO
https://fioprotocol.io/
SAMUEL EDWARD KONKIN III REVOLUTIONARY FRIEND BY WENDY MCELROY
https://www.amazon.com/Samuel-Edward-Konkin-Revolutionary-Friend-ebook/dp/B0DP7B6127
TRY STARLINK: YOU GET A FREE MONTH AND SO DO WE!
https://starlink.com/residential?referral=RC-DF-8980236-19330-50
THE CONSTITUTION OF NON-STATE GOVERNMENT: FIELD GUIDE TO TEXAS SECESSION (2nd edition), by TL Hulsey
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1883853117
^^^^^ SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS ^^^^^
_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Mexico: Violence erupts after cartel leader “El Mencho” killed in military operation
Source: CBS News
“Violent clashes erupted in parts of western Mexico on Sunday amid a military operation that led to the death of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader, triggering widespread security concerns throughout the region. Mexican security forces killed Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, also known as ‘El Mencho,’ during an operation in the western state of Jalisco, Mexico’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement on X. It said he was wounded during the raid in the town of Tapalpa and died while being flown to Mexico City. The state of Jalisco is the base of the cartel known for trafficking huge quantities of fentanyl and other drugs to the United States.” (02/23/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/violence-mexico-jalisco-new-generation-cartel-killed-military-puerto-vallarta/
-----
2) Trump whines about SCOTUS tariff ruling, imposes 10% “global tariff,” then raises it to 15%
Source: Yahoo! News
“The Supreme Court scrambled the US trade landscape Friday when it struck down the centerpiece of President Trump’s second-term tariff program, ruling 6-3 that his sweeping blanket tariffs are illegal. … Trump attacked the high court in his first response Friday, particularly the justices in the majority, saying they were a ‘disgrace to our nation.’ He hinted that the administration would pursue alternative methods toward implementing its trade goals. His first move: Imposing a 10% ‘global tariff’ under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. … Then on Saturday, he raised the levy to 15%” (02/22/26)
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/live/tariff-ruling-live-coverage-trump-attacks-supreme-court-imposes-10-global-tariff-then-raises-it-to-15-184403258.html
-----
3) Iran: Unrest escalates as regime thugs, protesters clash
Source: Fox News
“Tensions flared Sunday across Iran as anti-government protests reignited at major universities and in the streets of Tehran, with reports of tear gas and shots fired in the capital. Students gathered in Tehran and the northeastern city of Mashhad to mark 40-day memorials for those killed during January’s nationwide anti-government demonstrations before violence broke out. … Iran’s state TV showed videos of what it said were people ‘pretending to be students’ attacking pro-government students in Tehran who were taking part in protests to condemn January’s protests. The individuals were allegedly injuring students by throwing rocks, Reuters reported. Some witness accounts and opposition groups described a more forceful response by authorities. Security forces reportedly fired tear gas at crowds of demonstrators, many of them young people.” (02/22/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/world/iran-unrest-escalates-gunfire-tear-gas-hit-universities-amid-looming-us-strike
-----
4) TSA returns to full grope mode in response to US heimatschutz shutdown
Source: CNBC
“The Department of Homeland Security on Sunday suspended the TSA PreCheck and Global Entry security programs that speed through airport security checkpoints, citing a partial government shutdown. The move comes as the U.S. Northeast braces for a massive winter storm that could disrupt airline flights for days. … The U.S. Travel Association, which represents major hotel chains and many other businesses in the industry, called DHS’s move ‘extremely disappointing.'” (02/22/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/22/tsa-airlines-weather-shutdown-blizzard-dhs.html
-----
5) Ukraine: Explosions kill police officer, injure 25
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“A 23-year-old female police officer has been killed and 25 people injured in what Ukrainian officials have called a terror attack in the western city of Lviv. Two homemade explosive devices detonated after police crews responded to a reported break-in shortly after midnight on Sunday, the National Police of Ukraine said. The devices were planted in waste bins, it added. President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed ‘an individual suspected of carrying out the terrorist attack’ had been detained. Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said she was a Ukrainian woman. The police later said the 33-year-old suspect had made and planted the explosives on the ‘instruction’ of an agent of Russia’s special services.” (02/22/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyz8d79djeo
-----
6) Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s taxpayer funded Met bodyguards told to provide security for Epstein party, emails reveal
Source: Independent [UK]
“Taxpayer-funded Metropolitan Police bodyguards assigned to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor were instructed to provide door security for a lavish celebrity dinner party at Jeffrey Epstein’s New York home, emails suggest. Two royal protection officers appear to have been told to act as doormen at the paedophile financier’s seven-floor Manhattan mansion in 2010, after he had been convicted of a child sex offence. The officers, given the job of protecting the prince, were staying at the multimillion-pound townhouse on 71st Street during the royal’s trip to visit his friend, according to emails unearthed in the latest tranche of the Epstein files released by the US Department of Justice.” (02/22/26)
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/andrew-bodyguard-epstein-party-met-police-b2925184.html
-----
7) Secret Service: Armed man shot and killed after entering Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“The US Secret Service announced on Sunday morning that an armed man was shot and killed after entering the secure perimeter of Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump’s Florida residence and private club in Palm Beach. Although the US president often spends weekends at the ocean resort, he was at the White House in Washington during this incident, as was first lady Melania Trump. The identity of the man who was shot has not been released. According to the Secret Service, he was ‘observed by the north gate of the Mar-a-Lago property carrying what appeared to be a shotgun and a fuel can.’ The suspect was in his early 20s and from North Carolina, according to investigators. He was reported missing a few days ago by his family.” (02/22/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/22/mar-a-lago-armed-man-shot-killed
-----
8) Hundreds of students suspended, schools under close watch over anti-ICE walkouts
Source: The Hill
“Hundreds of K-12 students across the country have received detention or suspension after participating in classroom walkouts to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) efforts. Such anti-ICE or ‘ICE out’ walkouts have increasingly popped up after Renee Good and Alex Pretti were shot and killed by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis last month. But experts say leaving school grounds is not a form of protest protected under the First Amendment for students, and Republican leaders are warning of consequences for those who participate. … schools in Florida and Texas in particular are facing increased pressure from Republican officials to curtail anti-ICE walkouts.” [editor’s note: They hate it when the inmates escape the day prisons even briefly – TLK] (02/20/26)
https://thehill.com/homenews/education/5745489-ice-out-student-protests-texas-florida-oklahoma/
-----
9) Indian, Brazilian regimes sign minerals deal
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Brazil and India have signed an agreement to boost cooperation on critical minerals and rare earths, as the Indian government seeks new suppliers to curb its dependence on China. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Saturday and discussed boosting trade and investment opportunities. … China dominates the mining and processing of the world’s rare-earth and critical minerals, and has increased its grip on exports in recent months as the United States attempts to break its hold on the growing industry. Still, for Brazil, which follows China as the world’s second-largest holder of critical minerals, its resources are used across a range of fields, including electric vehicles, solar panels, smartphones, jet engines, and guided missiles.” (02/21/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/21/india-brazil-sign-critical-minerals-deal-as-partners-seek-trade-growth
-----
10) CT: Former Police Chief Arrested Over Alleged $85,000 Theft From Department Funds
Source: US News & World Report
“The former police chief in New Haven, Connecticut, was arrested Friday on larceny charges following allegations he stole $85,000 from two department accounts. Karl Jacobson, 56, who abruptly retired from the department in January, turned himself in on an arrest warrant. He was later released on a court-set bond of $150,000, a state prosecutor said in a news release. Jacobson faces two counts of larceny related to defrauding a public community. … The state prosecutor’s office said Friday the city of New Haven first reported the embezzlement allegations on Jan. 5, which prompted an investigation by the Connecticut State Police. The probe revealed $81,500 was unaccounted for or misappropriated from the New Haven Police Department Narcotic Enforcement Fund between Jan. 1, 2024, and Jan. 5, 2026. Money from the fund is used to pay confidential informants who help in narcotics investigations.” (02/20/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2026-02-20/former-connecticut-police-chief-arrested-over-alleged-85-000-theft-from-department-funds
-----
11) CA: Campaign for idiotic “billionaire tax” proposal warns of hospitals shutting down in first TV ad
Source: SFGate
“The labor union pushing forward the highly controversial billionaire’s wealth tax is launching its first TV ad during the Olympics this weekend, SFGATE has learned. The 30-second ad, paid for by the Service Employees International Union, a health care union, will play during the men’s gold hockey game Sunday, the union confirmed. The commercial warns that California’s health care industry is under threat of collapse under looming federal health care cuts, and warns that more hospitals could close and that there are likely to be ‘longer wait times and overcrowded emergency rooms’ as a result. ‘Massive federal cuts will shut hospitals and emergency rooms forever because billionaires refuse to pay their fair share,’ the commercial says.” [editor’s note: And when the billionaires leave (and defeat the ex post facto part of the proposal in court)? How much tax revenue evaporates THEN? – TLK] (02/21/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/california-politics/article/billionaire-tax-tv-ad-olympics-21618922.php
-----
12) GA: McKinney Seeks Return to Congress
Source: Independent Political Report
“Former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney, a Georgia Democrat who later became the Green Party’s 2008 presidential nominee, has declared her candidacy for Georgia’s 14th congressional district, seeking a return to Congress this November as a Green candidate. McKinney announced her bid this week, saying her campaign would prioritize healthcare and education, economic justice, and constitutional rights. … McKinney represented Georgia’s 11th congressional district as a Democrat from 1992 through 1996, and then its 4th district through 2002 after the Supreme Court ruled the former a racial gerrymander. While in office, she gained national attention for her frequent criticism of U.S. foreign policy and the Bush administration’s handling of Iraq following the September 11 attacks as well as her views on Israel and Palestine, factors that contributed to her defeat in the 2002 Democratic primary. She returned to Congress in 2004 for another term before losing in a Democratic primary runoff.” (02/20/26)
https://independentpoliticalreport.com/2026/02/former-democratic-rep-and-green-presidential-nominee-cynthia-mckinney-seeking-return-to-congress/
-----
13) PA: High school senior accused of running ‘large-scale’ catfishing, sextortion scheme targeting 21 minors
Source: New York Post
“A Pennsylvania high school senior is facing hundreds of felony charges after authorities reportedly accused him of operating a ‘large-scale criminal network’ involving sextortion and catfishing. Zachariah Abraham Meyers, 18, of McMurray — about 15 miles southwest of Pittsburgh — was arrested Friday and charged with more than 300 felonies, including trafficking in minors, sexual extortion, unlawful contact with a minor, distribution of child sexual abuse material, among other offenses, according to a court docket obtained by Fox News Digital. Police allege Meyers, a senior at Peters Township High School, used social media platforms, including TikTok and Snapchat, to lure the victims into communicating with him, according to local outlets WTAE and WPXI.” (02/22/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/02/22/us-news/pennsylvania-high-school-student-zachariah-abraham-meyers-accused-of-running-large-scale-catfishing-sextortion-scheme-targeting-21-minors/
-----
14) Poland: Regime formally withdraws from Ottawa Convention on landmines, citing Russian threat
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“Poland will use anti-personnel as well as anti-tank landmines to defend its eastern border against the growing threat from Russia, Poland’s deputy defence minister told The Associated Press on Friday, as the country officially left an international convention banning the use of the controversial weapons. The 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty, also known as the Ottawa Convention, prohibits signatories from keeping or using anti-personnel mines, which can last for years and are known for having caused large-scale suffering among civilians in former conflict zones in countries including Cambodia, Angola and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Poland, which ratified the document in 2012 and completed the destruction of its domestic anti-personnel mine stockpile in 2016, withdrew from the treaty on Friday and says it plans to renew manufacturing weapons.” (02/20/26)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/poland-ottawa-convention-landmines-9.7098794
-----
15) Pakistan: Regime launches deadly strikes on Afghanistan
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Pakistan has carried out multiple overnight air strikes on Afghanistan, which the Taliban has said killed at least 18 people, including women and children. Islamabad said the attacks targeted seven alleged militant camps and hideouts near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and that they had been launched after recent suicide bombings in Pakistan. Afghanistan condemned the attacks, saying they targeted multiple civilian homes and a religious school. The fresh strikes come after the two countries agreed to a fragile ceasefire in October following deadly cross-border clashes, though subsequent fighting has taken place.” (02/22/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdxgln3gnd6o
-----
16) NYC: Nurses reach deal with hospital to end strike
Source: United Press International
“Nurses and hospitals in New York City have reached a tentative agreement to end the nurses strike after six weeks of picketing. About 15,000 nurses in the New York State Nurses Association went on strike on Jan. 12 from Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Morningside, Mount Sinai West, Montefiore Einstein and New York-Presbyterian/Columbia. New York-Presbyterian/Columbia is the only hospital left with striking nurses as the others have all reached deals with the union. The 4,000 nurses at New York-Presbyterian held out for a better deal.” (02/20/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/02/20/new-york-nurses-hopitals-deal-end-strike/8651771605484/
-----
17) Hungary: Regime threatens to block EU loan to Ukraine unless Russian oil shipments resume
Source: Fox News
“Hungary is threatening to block a proposed 90 billion-euro European Union loan to Ukraine — worth roughly $106 billion — unless oil shipments through the Druzhba pipeline are restored. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó wrote Friday on X that Hungary would oppose the EU funding package until oil transit via the Russian-linked Druzhba pipeline resumes. ‘Ukraine is blackmailing Hungary by halting oil transit in coordination with Brussels and the Hungarian opposition to create supply disruptions in Hungary and push fuel prices higher before the elections,’ Szijjártó said. He further claimed that blocking oil transit violates the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement and breaches Kyiv’s commitments to the European Union.” (02/22/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/world/hungary-threatens-block-eu-loan-ukraine-unless-russian-oil-shipments-resume
-----
18) Turkey: Deutsche Welle journalist arrested for insulting thin-skinned politician
Source: The New Arab [UK]
“A Turkish journalist with German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) was jailed by an Istanbul court on Friday on charges of ‘insulting the president,’ an NGO said a day after his arrest by 30 police officers. Alican Uludag was arrested in Ankara on Thursday evening following a warrant issued by the Istanbul public prosecutor’s office, which said it had opened an investigation into him for “insulting” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and ‘disseminating false news’ in connection with ‘certain posts’ on X.” (02/20/26)
https://www.newarab.com/news/turkish-authorities-arrest-journalist-insulting-president
-----
19) Judge forced to slash jury pool over hate for Elon Musk
Source: SFGate
“There are a few ways to get out of jury duty. Maybe you have a job you can’t leave, or caregiving responsibilities, or a prohibitively long commute. Or, in the case of an upcoming California trial, you could be one of the many people who despise Elon Musk. On Thursday, federal judge Charles Breyer slashed more than a third of a 93-person jury pool over their biases about the billionaire, according to multiple reports from the San Francisco courtroom. The civil trial is over Musk’s behavior during his 2022 purchase of Twitter. The investor plaintiffs allege that he violated securities law by omitting information from filings and making false statements to drive down the company’s stock price; Musk denies wrongdoing. All told, selection for the nine-person jury took about five hours.” (02/20/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/sf-jury-elon-musk-21369850.php
-----
20) US Judge Upholds $243 Million Verdict Against Tesla Over Fatal Autopilot Crash
Source: US News & World Report
“A federal judge rejected Tesla’s request to overturn a $243 million jury verdict over the 2019 crash of an Autopilot-equipped Model S, which killed a 22-year-old woman and severely injured her boyfriend. In a decision made public on Friday, U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom in Miami said the evidence at trial ‘more than supports’ the August 2025 verdict, and Tesla raised no new arguments to set the verdict aside. Tesla, led by Elon Musk, is expected to appeal. Neither Tesla nor its lawyers immediately responded to requests for comment.” (02/20/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2026-02-20/us-judge-upholds-243-million-verdict-against-tesla-over-fatal-autopilot-crash
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) All aboard America’s strategic blunder train. Next stop: Iran
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by James A Russell
“With not just one — but two — carrier battle groups now steaming in circles somewhere off the coast of Oman out of the range of Iranian missiles, we are all left with the head-scratching question: what is it, exactly, that the United States hopes to accomplish with another round of air strikes on Iran? Trump hasn’t told us. The latest crisis du jour with Iran illustrates the strategic swamp willingly stepped into not just by Donald Trump but his predecessors as well. The swamp is built on a singular and hopelessly misguided assumption: that the use of force either by stand-off, limited strikes from 12,000 feet or even invasions will somehow solve complex political problems on the ground below.” (02/22/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/iran-war-trump/
-----
22) Liberation Day for Real? Not Really
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“‘[The International Emergency Economic Powers Act] does not authorize the President to impose tariffs.’ That’s the single really important sentence from the US Supreme Court’s February 20 ruling in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump. Trump’s ongoing tariff tantrums, starting with his ‘Liberation Day’ schedule of ‘reciprocal’ tariffs, were illegal under the law in question, and under the US Constitution, which gives Congress, and only Congress, the power to levy taxes. … but don’t hold your breath waiting for relief, let alone recompense.” (02/21/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20387
-----
23) CHARLIE Against Dialectics
Source: Notablog
by Chris Matthew Sciabarra
“It appears that the legislature in New Hampshire — a state declared in December 2025 as the ‘freest place in North America’ — has passed a bill that bans ‘leftist indoctrination’ and ‘LGBTQ+ teaching in public schools.’ But wait, there’s more! House Bill 1792, known as the CHARLIE Act (in a nod to assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk) is designed to ‘ban certain types of instruction and punish teachers who carried it out.’ CHARLIE is an acronym for ‘Countering Hate And Revolutionary Leftist Indoctrination in Education Act.’ … the bill prohibits the teaching of any ‘critical theories or related practices that promote division, dialectical world-views, critical consciousness or anti-constitutional indoctrination’ (emphasis added). … Dialectical thinking is a crucial component of critical thinking. … Alas, the right-wing zealots know that critical, dialectical thinking is also a component of radical thinking. And it is the radical that they most fear.” (02/21/26)
https://notablog.net/2026/02/21/charlie-against-dialectics/
-----
24) On Taiwan and Japan, Chinese Belligerence Backfires
Source: The American Conservative
by Ted Galen Carpenter
“When conservative Sanae Takaichi became the new leader of Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the country’s prime minister in October 2025, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) clearly was unhappy about that development. Chinese officials became even more annoyed when Takaichi voiced strong support for preserving the de facto independence of Taiwan …. President Xi Jinping’s government responded with vitriol and threats. … However, if Chinese leaders thought that Japanese voters would repudiate their new prime minister and her uncompromising stance toward Beijing, they miscalculated badly. Takaichi gambled by calling a snap election for early February, and the results were a spectacular political success for her and her party.” (02/22/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/on-taiwan-and-japan-chinese-belligerence-backfires/
-----
25) The Sordid Reality of the Global Power Elite
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by John W Whitehead
“A decision by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals allowing thousands of pages of Epstein-related documents to be unsealed referenced allegations involving ‘numerous prominent American politicians, powerful business executives, foreign presidents, a well-known Prime Minister, and other world leaders.’ That alone should have been enough to trigger full transparency. Instead, nearly 30 years after the first complaints against Epstein were filed, the full truth remains obscured. Why are documents still partially sealed? Why do redactions remain? Why are investigations declared ‘closed’ while unanswered questions linger? Epstein may have conveniently died in a jail cell six weeks after his arrest on federal sex trafficking charges, but the machinery that empowered and protected him is still very much intact and it continues to work overtime to shield the global power elite, silence victims, and erase accountability. And that is the real scandal.” (02/20/26)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/the-sordid-reality-of-the-global-power-elite/
-----
26) SCOTUS has ruled on tariffs, but who will ultimately pay?
Source: The Hill
by Jonathan Turley
“Friday’s blockbuster ruling on tariffs was hardly welcomed by the Trump administration, but it was also widely expected. The Supreme Court clearly established in its 6-3 decision that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not afford presidents authority to issue sweeping, unilateral tariffs like those imposed by President Trump over the last year. The justices fractured on other issues. And they left one issue conspicuously unaddressed: What happens to the hundreds of billions of dollars collected from these tariffs so far?” (02/21/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/5748475-the-supreme-court-has-ruled-on-tariffs-but-who-will-ultimately-pay/
-----
27)
Tariffs as Taxes
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“A tariff, for reasons described in earlier posts, generally makes the country that imposes it poorer. So do other taxes. Does it cost us more to raise a million dollars of revenue from a tariff than from an income tax, a sales tax, or some other alternative? What does that mean, what does a tax cost beyond the money handed over?” (02/21/26)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/tariffs-as-taxes
-----
28) If you can’t make America great again, can you stop making it worse?
Source: Orange County Register
by Matt Fleming
“Hey guys, can we admit now that President Donald Trump’s trade agenda is failing, or do we need a little more time? Trump’s toxic mix of tariffs and new trade agreements alienated allies, drove up costs on American consumers and failed to accomplish its stated goals of turning around the U.S. trade deficit and reviving domestic manufacturing. Oh, and most of his tariffs are also illegal. Now would be a perfect time for the Administration to reassess its goals and tactics, especially since the majority of Trump’s tariffs were ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. Hopefully Trump seizes the moment.” (02/20/26)
https://archive.is/xGpnD
-----
29) Tell Iranian And Cuban Diaspora Warmongers To STFU
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Whenever you say anything online opposing the way the US is preparing for war with Iran or strangling Cuba to death with siege warfare, you’ll always get people whose family comes from the nation in question telling you to be silent and support the US war machine. Their family emigrated at some point because they didn’t like the government, so now they spend their time on social media telling everyone to support US operations to topple that government. The correct response to such people is ‘Shut the fuck up.'” (02/22/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/02/22/tell-iranian-and-cuban-diaspora-warmongers-to-shut-the-fuck-up/
-----
30) Should There Even Be A Libertarian Party?
Source: Independent Institute
by Scott Beyer
“In last week’s column, I argued that while neither major party consistently fights to shrink government and protect civil liberties, the Republican Party is closer than the Democratic Party to practicing such ideals. Meanwhile the actual Libertarian Party, despite existing for over a half-century, has failed to break into the mainstream, rarely making a dent in federal and state elections. These two realities raise a question: should libertarians stop propping up an uninfluential third party and try instead to overtake the GOP?” (02/20/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/02/20/should-there-even-be-a-libertarian-party/
-----
31) Eileen Gu Indicts Birthright Citizenship And Our Entire Immigration Orthodoxy
Source: The Federalist
by Elle Purnell
“If Eileen Gu’s mother came to America for a better life, she got it. Yan Gu, the daughter of two Chinese government officials, emigrated to the U.S. in the 1980s, just a few decades after the passage of the Hart-Celler Act, which overhauled immigration policies and prompted a massive increase in arrivals from Asia and Latin America. Educated at Auburn University, Rockefeller University, and eventually Stanford Graduate School of Business, she dabbled as a ski instructor and, apparently, in venture capital. In 2003, she gave birth to a daughter in San Francisco, raising her in an affluent Bay Area neighborhood. What’s known of Eileen Gu’s childhood reads like a caricature of coastal elitism …. Her story would be elevated as a saccharine picture of the neoliberal American dream, if Gu hadn’t decided to ski for China.” (02/20/26)
https://thefederalist.com/2026/02/20/eileen-gu-indicts-birthright-citizenship-and-our-entire-immigration-orthodoxy/
-----
32) The US is on the brink of a major new war that Trump has not even bothered explaining
Source: Glenn Greenwald
by Glenn Greenwald
“The U.S. under both parties has been insisting for two decades that it must abandon its heavy military involvement in the Middle East and instead “pivot to Asia” in light of a rapidly rising China. Yet in the midst of those vows, Trump has now assembled the largest military presence in the Middle East since 2003, when the U.S. was preparing to invade Iraq with overwhelming military force. One of the most striking and alarming aspects of all of this is that Trump — outside of a few off-the-cuff banalities — has barely attempted to offer a case to the American public as to why such a major new war is necessary.” (02/20/26)
https://greenwald.substack.com/p/the-us-is-on-the-brink-of-a-major
-----
33) The Decapitation That Failed: Venezuela After the Abduction of President Maduro
Source: Common Dreams
by Roger D Harris & John Perry
“The kidnapping of a sitting head of state marks a grave escalation in US-Venezuela relations. By seizing Venezuela’s constitutional president, Washington signaled both its disregard for international law and its confidence that it would face little immediate consequence. The response within the US political establishment to the attack on Venezuela has been striking. Without the slightest cognitive dissonance over President Nicolás Maduro’s violent abduction, Democrats call for ‘restoring democracy’ — but not for returning Venezuela’s lawful [sic] president. So why didn’t the imperialists simply assassinate him? From their perspective, it would have been cleaner and more cost-efficient. It would have been the DOGE thing to do …” (02/22/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/venezuela-post-maduro
-----
34) German chancellor echoes the frequent — and illiberal — call to end online anonymity
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Sarah McLaughlin
“We’ve said it before. We’ll say it again. Ending online anonymity is not some magical cure to “fix” whatever problems you believe plague the internet and its culture. And for whatever ills may exist on social media, this kind of cure would be worse than the disease. But German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said at an event this week that online anonymity is a problem — and he wants it to end. ‘I want to see real names on the internet. I want to know who is speaking,’ Merz said on Wednesday in Trier, Germany. ‘In politics, we engage in debates in our society using our real names and without visors. I expect the same from everyone else who critically examines our country and our society.’ … It’s one thing to praise the value and benefits of speaking out under your true identity, but German citizens have reason to be troubled by Merz’s comments.” (02/20/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/blogs/free-speech-dispatch/german-chancellor-echoes-frequent-and-illiberal-call-end-online
-----
35) A Footnote on Jesse Jackson
Source: The Dispatch
by Kevin D Williamson
“One expects that history will extend to Jesse Jackson the same indulgence it has extended to his mentor, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and to such figures as Mohandas K. Gandhi and (to a lesser extent) Thomas Jefferson — he was on the right side of the immensely important issue with which he was most intimately associated, and, while that is not everything, it is enough. And that is an excellent prospect for the reputation of Jesse Jackson, who, like the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mohandas K. Gandhi and (to a lesser extent) Thomas Jefferson, had a lot of bad political ideas and some positively daft economic ideas, some of which got worse over the years.” (02/20/26)
https://archive.is/xbyCa
-----
36) The GDP Illusion: Surging Statistics Hide Pain for Average Americans
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Kevin Duffy
“No, the economy is not booming. Far from it. Last month, the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index hit its lowest level since 2014. The monthly ISM manufacturing index registered ten consecutive months of contraction through December. On February 5, the Challenger Report on the US labor market showed announced job cuts in January more than doubled year-over-year, ‘hitting their highest level since the 2009 Great Recession,’ according to Mohamed El-Erian, former CEO of Pimco. … How do we square vigorous GDP statistics with an economy clearly deteriorating?” (02/20/26)
https://mises.org/power-market/gdp-illusion-surging-statistics-hide-pain-average-americans
-----
37) Democrats Are Obsessed With White Men
Source: Town Hall
by Derek Hunter
“You can’t turn around these days without seeing some leftist somewhere whining about white men. As a white man, it seems like every Democrat is an obsessed stalker – it’s enough to make us want to take out a restraining order. I speak for all white men in this piece because, after watching a week’s worth of fawning coverage of the death of Jesse Jackson that glossed over or ignored his racism, affair (oh, the stories I’ve heard) and grifting, I remembered who he simply appointed himself a ‘leader’ and the corporate media crowned him the spokesman for black people, so I’ll take the job for whitey for today. What is the obsession the left has with us? It’s flattering, I suppose. We’ve done pretty well, though you never know it from the way Democrats talk about us.” (02/22/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2026/02/22/democrats-are-obsessed-with-white-men-n2671696
-----
38) Immigration and Culture
Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman
“All signs point to cultural insecurity (at best) as to why so many people are uncomfortable with the prospect of free, or ever freer, immigration. A few moments’ reflection is enough to show why that’s silly, especially in the United States. Trying to control a culture is like (my apologies; I can’t improve on this) trying to nail Jello to the wall. Ain’t gonna happen. … the desire to bar foreign-born people on grounds of cultural incompatibility is ridiculous. Since wonderful America, the envy of the world, has always been a changing mix of countless cultural elements, we’d be harming ourselves by any attempt to keep things ‘traditional.'” (02/20/26)
https://sheldonrichman.substack.com/p/tgif-immigration-and-culture
-----
39) Supreme Court Decides Our Tariff Case — and We Won!
Source: The Volokh Conspiracy
by Ilya Somin
“Today, the Supreme Court decided our case challenging Donald Trump’s massive IEEPA tariffs. In a 6-3 decision, Court rightly ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not give the President the power to ‘impose tariffs on imports from any country, of any product, at any rate, for any amount of time.’ It’s a major victory for the constitutional separation of powers, for the rule of law, for free trade, and for the millions of American consumers and businesses enduring higher taxes and higher prices as a result of these tariffs. Our case was filed by Liberty Justice Center and myself on behalf of five small US businesses.” (02/20/26)
https://reason.com/volokh/2026/02/20/supreme-court-decides-our-tariff-case-and-we-won/
-----
40) Return to Reality: The Economy is Pivoting Amid Digital Overload
Source: The Daily Economy
by Taylor Davidson
“Both social research and market trends show people are pushing back against digital saturation, paying a premium for presence and authenticity.” (02/20/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/return-to-reality-the-economy-is-pivoting-amid-digital-overload/
-----
41) Pro-Palestine Super PAC Brings Multimillion-Dollar War Chest to Midterms
Source: The American Prospect
by Whitney Curry Wimbish
“A new super PAC is throwing its weight behind progressive Democrats in upcoming midterm election primaries to counter the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the pro-Israel lobbyist that has recently hidden behind ‘shell PACs’ to fund its preferred candidates, as opposition grows to its unconditional support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza, sources told the Prospect. The new PAC, American Priorities, filed a statement of organization with the Federal Election Commission last Thursday. It’s committing to spending multiple millions of dollars across several races, the sources said, beginning with a focus on a pair of Democratic congressional primaries in the South, where progressive candidates are up against establishment opponents. It has so far spent $550,000 on Durham, North Carolina, County Commissioner Nida Allam, who is challenging incumbent Democratic Rep. Valerie Foushee for the state’s Fourth Congressional District seat.” (02/20/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/02/20/pro-palestine-super-pac-midterm-elections-aipac-israel-gaza/
-----
42) Conservatives are dumb and lonely
Source: Sex and the State
by Cathy Reisenwitz
“Unlike Robyn Pennacchia, I am of the opinion that while IQ has its problems, it also measures something useful. For example, I’ve found links between low IQ and higher levels of racism and homophobia. Homophobia correlates with hostile sexism and with traits strongly associated with misogyny. Sexual conservatism and religious fundamentalism are also linked to misogyny, hostile sexism, racism, and homophobia. Researchers have found strong connections between anti-Semitism, ethnocentrism, political and economical conservatism, and authoritarianism. Voting Republican also strongly predicts sexism, racist attitudes, racial resentment, and homophobia. Smart people, Democrats, and liberals are also sometimes dumb and bigoted. But Republicans and conservatives are, on average, dumber and more bigoted. … Loneliness and trauma (which feed each other) diminish cognitive complexity. That’s part of why chronically lonely people are easier to con” (02/20/26)
https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/conservatives-are-dumb-and-lonely
-----
43) In the Age of AI, New School Models are Writing Their Own Rules
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Kerry McDonald
“One reason today’s emerging schools are able to navigate artificial intelligence in creative ways is their agility. Unburdened by the bureaucratic constraints and curriculum pressures that many educators in traditional schools encounter, new school founders are able to respond quickly to the needs and interests of their students and families and pivot as needed. If a new AI tool seems promising, they can adopt it quickly without waiting for permission. Similarly, if it’s not adding value, they can drop it. As AI tools evolve at a rapid pace, smaller, more flexible learning environments are well-positioned to test new approaches, develop school-based expectations for responsible use, and adjust as needed.” (02/20/26)
https://fee.org/articles/in-the-age-of-ai-new-school-models-are-writing-their-own-rules/
-----
44) Friedman on Immigration: Setting the Record Straight
Source: EconLog
by Christopher Freiman
“Even people who are otherwise enthusiastic about a free market in labor can get cold feet about immigration once redistribution enters the picture. Some are fond of quoting Milton Friedman, who famously (or infamously) said: ‘It’s just obvious you can’t have free immigration and a welfare state.’ On this view, immigration is fine under fully free market institutions, but in the actual world with its abundant government-provided benefits, immigration restrictions are justified to protect taxpayers from the added expense that could arise if immigrants consume these benefits. But this conclusion is too quick, and even Friedman’s position is more nuanced than people on both sides of the immigration debate tend to realize.” (02/20/26)
https://www.econlib.org/econlog/friedman-on-immigration-setting-the-record-straight
-----
45) Mamdani’s Jim Crow 2.0 snow removal operation requires ID
Source: Fox News
by David Marcus
“With a blizzard bearing down on New York City, socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani has offered citizens a chance to make a few extra bucks removing snow, but there is a catch, and it’s a doozy: As racist as the Left tells us this is, workers must bring valid ID. Say it ain’t so, Zo. We know from the voter ID debate that marginalized Brown and Black people just can’t figure out how to get driver’s licenses. According to Kamala Harris, it has something to do with not having a Kinkos. So why is Hizzoner pushing Jim Crow 2.0 here? Oh, and, the ID required includes a Social Security card, so in addition to excluding minorities, Mamdani is barring illegal immigrants. Is the mayor worried that people may not be honest about who they actually are?” (02/22/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/david-marcus-mamdanis-jim-crow-2-0-snow-removal-operation-requires-id
-----
46) Civilizational Hardware and Software
Source: Law & Liberty
by Nadya William
“One of the earliest known instances of writing using the Greek alphabet combines vandalism with poetic experimentation. Sometime in the eighth century BC at Pithekoussai, a Greek colony on Ischia, a small island off the coast of Italy, a dinner guest rudely defaced one of his host’s fine drinking cups. … While the Greeks eventually settled on writing from left to right, a variety of letter shapes and directions of writing survive in the earliest inscriptions in the Greek alphabet. … the three lines of writing proceed in a boustrophedon fashion — as the ox ploughs. The first line goes from right to left, then the second line turns around and goes from left to right, and the last one is from right to left again. What we see is a civilization on the cusp of adopting a new revolutionary technology: writing with an alphabet.” (02/20/26)
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/civilizational-hardware-and-software/
-----
47) DC Stench No Longer Metaphorical
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“Matt Walsh says that ‘one of the worst ecological disasters in American history is currently unfolding. A river of sewage is flowing into the Potomac. When you dig into this story, and who is responsible for it, you start to see why the media doesn’t want to talk about it.’ He’s not wrong, the disaster began January 19th but we’ve heard little about it. On his podcast, No. 1736; Mr. Walsh goes all into a ‘Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’ explanation. … In between retches, ask the question: Why would there be a general incompetence rising in public utilities now? Is it race as such? Of course not. Is it DEI putting race over competence? Maybe in part. But the general trend for a long time has been to put more and more domains of everyday life under direct government control.” (02/20/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/dc-stench-no-longer-metaphorical/
-----
48) Canada’s Government-Dominated Health Care Chokes Access to New Drugs
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“Price controls and regulatory burdens make the market unattractive for pharmaceutical companies.” (02/20/26)
https://reason.com/2026/02/20/canadas-government-dominated-healthcare-chokes-access-to-new-drugs/
-----
49) Terrorized By ICE, Unable to Pay Rent, Minnesotans Get Ready for a Rent Strike
Source: In These Times
by Rebecca Burns & Sarah Lazare
“First, she started checking for suspicious cars each day before leaving the house for work. Then, she began skipping work whenever she saw Facebook posts about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents nearby. By the end of December, she wasn’t working at all. And since the first week of January, Anain, who declined to use her last name, has barely left the home she shares with her spouse and two young daughters in South Minneapolis, the neighborhood where she’s lived for more than 20 years. To pay their rent, Anain and her spouse have had to dip into their savings. With neither of them working, ’we don’t know how long we’ll be able to keep going,’ she says in Spanish. For immigrant families like Anain’s, the crisis in Minnesota is far from over.” (02/19/26)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/ice-minnesota-rent-strike-twin-cities-labor-unions
-----
50) The Supreme Court Upheld the Rule of Law in the IEEPA Tariffs Case
Source: Exiled Policy
by Jason Pye
“This morning, the Court held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not authorize a president to impose tariffs. Because obviously. … Whether we’re talking about the Trade Expansion Act, the Trade Act, or some other delegated tariff authority, Congress has always been clear about the intent. This is a fact, and, as Roberts would explain, ‘IEEPA contains no reference to tariffs or duties.’ Nor did the administration offer any law ‘in which Congress used the word ‘regulate’ to authorize taxation.'” (02/20/26)
https://exiledpolicy.substack.com/p/the-supreme-court-upheld-the-rule
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Pink Flame of Liberty, 02/21/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“Libertarian Party Time Capsule Jan/Feb 1976 — Tax Revolt.” (02/21/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH0yBjiaP9E
-----
52) The Climate Realism Show, episode 191
Source: Heartland Institute
“Unlearning Climate Alarmism.” (02/21/26)
https://heartland.org/podcasts/unlearning-climate-alarmism-the-climate-realism-show-191/
-----
53) Serious Trouble, 02/21/26
Source: Serious Trouble
“IEEPA, You EEPA, We EEPA.” (02/21/26)
https://www.serioustrouble.show/p/ieepa-you-eepa-we-eepa
-----
54) Rising, 02/20/26
Source: The Hill
“Lindsey Granger gives her lens on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saying the Pentagon will cut ties with Harvard University.” (02/20/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/5735557-rising-february-20-2026/
-----
55) The Tom Woods Show, 02/20/26
Source: The Tom Woods Show
“Ron Paul Was Right About Everything.” (02/20/26)
https://tomwoods.com/ep-2737-ron-paul-was-right-about-everything/
-----
56) Freedom Works with Paul Molloy, 02/20/26
Source: Freedom Works
“Chris Edwards, CATO Institute ‘Ending Federal Tobacco Subsidies.'” (02/20/26)
https://internetradiopros.com/freedomworks/?name=2026-02-21_zfw002202026.mp3
-----
57) Friday Philosophy, 02/20/26
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
“Winch Way Forward?” (02/20/26)
https://mises.org/friday-philosophy/winch-way-forward
-----
58) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 02/20/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“A Growing Threat to Trump’s Tariffs — What Happens Next?” (02/20/26)
https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1dKrPEEeQwAJX
-----
59) Reason Interview: Michael Shermer
Source: Reason
“How the Epstein Files Became the Ultimate Conspiracy Theory.” (02/20/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/02/20/how-the-epstein-files-became-the-ultimate-conspiracy-theory/
-----
60) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 02/20/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Trump Threatens Iran War at First ‘Board of Peace’ Meeting, US To Build Major Base in Gaza, and More.” (02/20/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkDKs0wpefQ
----------------------------------------------------------------------
FND is published every weekday except on holidays. Forward freely.
To subscribe or unsubscribe, visit:
http://groups.google.com/group/freedom-news-daily
Support the Liberty International (tax deductible)
https://liberty-intl.org/join-the-movement/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages