08/28 -- Judge again blocks Trump's mail ballot election-rigging scheme; The Trade Declaration Carney Should Make
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Thomas L. Knapp
Aug 28, 2026, 6:09:00 AMAug 28
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 08/28/26
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Today's Freedom News:
0) Publisher's Note
1) Judge again blocks Trump’s mail ballot election-rigging scheme
2) Harald V, 1937-2026
3) Russia: Regime spokesperson threatens strikes on UK military targets
4) FL: Grand jury finds DeSantis regime “misappropriated” $10 million from Medicaid settlement
5) Anthropic was illegally blacklisted by the Trump regime, court rules
6) Amazon to close Mechanical Turk amid rise of AI
7) Ratko Mladic, Murderous “Butcher of Bosnia,” Dies at 83
8) TX: Wanted gangland fugitive released from jail instead of extradited
9) Tanzania: Resigning Vice President Expelled From Governing Party
10) Taiwan: Man wins lawsuit but gets jailed for using robot vacuum to record wife’s affair
11) ME: GOP Nominee for Governor Calls for Gang Presence at Polling Stations
12) US Army plans nuclear microreactors at five military bases as part of $2.2 billion energy security push
13) Florida becomes first state to block welfare cash for tattoos, vapes and more
14) More than 1,300 are missing in Nepal and Tibet after catastrophic floods caused by glacier collapse
15) GA: Date set for state employees to kill man convicted of killing two real estate agents
16) Appeals court allows charges to proceed against politician who tried to protect another politician from violent gang members
17) Jellyfish force partial shutdown of French nuclear plant
18) Malaysia: Former PM Ismail Sabri charged with concealing assets
19) FL: Shackled Tate brothers in court ask to be released from jail during extradition fight
20) Military trial date set for alleged mastermind of 9/11 attacks
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) The Trade Declaration Carney Should Make
22) How to Stop Chinese, Russian Support for Iran’s War Efforts
23) Mamdani socialism and Trump socialism — reject them both
24) Gilded or Golden?
25) In the US-Canada Trade Spat, Tariffs Are Not the Only Problem
26) Tech bros must channel the moguls of old to get back in America’s good graces
27) Bill Gates Wants to Tax AI and Reserve Jobs for Humans. History Says That’s a Mistake
28) Economists can’t explain American misery. Luckily, I can.
29) Ukraine’s edge in war: Esprit de (military) corps
30) Thank you, Brendan Carr
31) Monopoly Money: Why Meta “Likes” the $16 Billion Settlement
32) Game Theory and the Push to Go Along
33) Lebanon Pressured to Disarm Hezbollah While Israel Stays; How Is That Sovereignty?
34) He Spent Nearly Six Years in Prison Based on the Word of a Notoriously Dishonest Houston Drug Cop
35) A Hostile Takeover?
36) US Aided Brazilian Tyranny?
37) The FDA Needs Better Leadership, Not Patronage
38) The Destabilizing Stabilizers: Why Increasing Government Spending Prolongs a Recession
39) The Fourth Amendment and ICE
40) The rise and fall of “resistance” hero Alexander Vindman
41) Health Care Reform Needs More Than Universal Coverage
42) Postliberalism Gets the “Common Good” Wrong
43) Bessent Suggests Economic Warfare Against Iran Could “Blow Up the Global Financial System”
44) Don’t cave to fear of government
45) The New WWE: Women’s Wrestling Entertainment
46) The Bunker State: The Government Will Survive, but Will the Constitution?
47) Two Cults, One Country: No Liberty.
48) What Is “Reasonable” Gun Control?
49) An Open Letter While Iran Resists an Illegal War of Aggression
50) The Affordability Debate Unwrapped
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Underthrow Podcast, 08/27/26
52) Libertarian Angle, 08/27/26
53) Rising, 08/27/26
54) Show-Me Institute Podcast, 08/27/26
55) Cato Podcast, 08/27/26
56) The Moynihan Report, 08/27/26
57) The Blessings of Liberty with Jeffrey Rosen, 08/27/26
58) Kibbe on Liberty, episode 401
59) The Tom Woods Show, episode 2790
60) LPA Two Hour Lunch Hour, episode 8
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0) Publisher's Note
Hey, everyone ...
A reminder! A few months back, we changed how we do things. The daily email edition of RRND/FND still includes (usually) 60 news stories, opinion pieces, and audio/video links, but now our web edition includes more. How many more? Usually at least 10 more links, sometimes 20. This morning, it's at least 40, for a total of 100 (I may find a few more between the time I write this and the time you read it). So today (and every other day), drop by and check the additional content out at:
https://news.rationalreview.com/
Another reminder! We're a reader-supported publication and you are, obviously, a reader. Please fund our Maserati maintenance costs and spur of the moment breakfasts in Paris at:
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Have a healthy, happy, and prosperous weekend!
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily
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1) Judge again blocks Trump’s mail ballot election-rigging scheme
Source: Associated Press
“A federal judge on Thursday halted — at least for now — attempts to implement President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting mail voting. The move stalled the directive for a second time only about a week before the first mail ballots are due to be sent out for the rapidly approaching midterm elections. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani blocked the government from implementing the order for two weeks. The case could soon be appealed back to the Supreme Court, days after the justices handed down a procedural decision that allowed the the administration to move ahead. … The high court’s conservative majority did not rule on the legality of Trump’s executive order, instead saying Talwani had acted too soon. Now the administration has issued a formal rule governing whether the U.S. Postal Service will deliver states’ mail ballots, effectively restarting the legal fight.” (08/27/26)
https://apnews.com/article/trump-voting-mail-ballots-democrats-lawsuits-15cf1ec7dcdb8211bf6b624b75a7f4ab
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2) Harald V, 1937-2026
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Norway’s King Harald V has died at the age of 89, after he was taken to hospital last week for treatment for a rare blood condition. The palace in Oslo said he passed away peacefully at 06:35 local time (04:35GMT) on Friday at the national hospital in Oslo. The royal flag on the roof of the palace has been lowered to half-mast. In the 24 hours leading up to his death, members of the royal family had visited the king, and crowds had laid flowers at the palace. Harald was Norway’s first king born in Norway since the 14th Century. He has been succeeded by his son Haakon, 53, who will hold an extraordinary council of state with the government later on Friday.” (08/28/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clykn5p5172o
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3) Russia: Regime spokesperson threatens strikes on UK military targets
Source: Reuters
“Russia warned on Thursday that it could strike British military targets inside and outside Ukraine in response to Ukrainian attacks on targets inside Russia using long-range British cruise missiles. The warning, delivered by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova at a news briefing in Moscow, has been made before but without such rhetorical force or urgency. … ‘We have repeatedly warned that any British military installations and equipment in Ukraine and beyond its borders could be targeted in response to Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory carried out using British weapons,’ Zakharova said. … Western analysts said the strength of Moscow’s warning reflected Russian fury over Britain’s decision — made public on Monday — to allow Kyiv access to classified technology to start its own production of Storm Shadow cruise missiles, capable of carrying out strikes deep within Russia.” (08/27/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-says-it-could-strike-uk-military-targets-response-ukrainian-strikes-using-2026-08-27/
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4) FL: Grand jury finds DeSantis regime “misappropriated” $10 million from Medicaid settlement
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“A Florida grand jury has found that the administration of the governor, Ron DeSantis, ‘misappropriated’ $10m in taxpayer money from a Medicaid settlement into the Hope Florida Foundation, a charity with ties to DeSantis’s wife, before the money was reportedly ‘funneled’ into ‘two political action committees’. In the grand jury report, which remains sealed but was obtained and published by CBS News Miami on Wednesday, the grand jurors wrote that ‘we conclude that these funds were misappropriated as part of a sophisticated scheme to fund political activities’ but said that they found ‘insufficient evidence to charge anyone criminally’. … The grand jurors wrote that no witness admitted or identified who directed the money to go to Hope Florida and noted that testimony also revealed that [attorney general James] Uthmeier’s political action committee, Keep Florida Clean, was the ‘prime recipient of the majority’ of the $10m.” (08/27/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/27/florida-grand-jury-desantis-administration-misappropriated-funds-medicaid
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5) Anthropic was illegally blacklisted by the Trump regime, court rules
Source: The Verge
“On Thursday, a judge ruled that the Pentagon’s blacklisting of Anthropic earlier this year was unconstitutional, delivering the AI lab a win in a monthslong rollercoaster of a battle with the Trump administration. The lawsuit, filed in March in a California district court, accused the Trump administration of unlawfully retaliating against Anthropic for setting ‘red lines,’ or unacceptable military use cases of its AI technology. ‘The empty invocation of national security is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against government critics,’ Judge Rita F. Lin, a district judge in the northern district of California, wrote in the ruling.” (08/27/26)
https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/985947/anthropic-supply-chain-risk-lawsuit-judge-ruling
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6) Amazon to close Mechanical Turk amid rise of AI
Source: Seattle Times
“Amazon announced it will shutter its 21-year-old crowdsourced labor market platform, Mechanical Turk, by the end of September. Some say the rising usage of artificial intelligence delivered the fatal blow. The company launched Mechanical Turk, which users commonly call MTurk, in 2005 to pay gig workers to complete simple digital tasks that were easy for humans but challenging for computers. People looking for side jobs could transcribe audio, categorize data or label images for a few cents per task. Amazon co-founder Jeff Bezos described the platform as ‘artificial artificial intelligence.’ But AI has become more capable of such mundane tasks in recent years. A 2023 study by researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne found that between 33% and 46% of workers on Amazon Mechanical Turk used large language models like ChatGPT to complete some of those tasks.” (08/27/26)
https://archive.is/1fuSx
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7) Ratko Mladic, Murderous “Butcher of Bosnia,” Dies at 83
Source: New York Times
“Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb general whose actions during the Balkan wars of the 1990s led to him being called the ‘Butcher of Bosnia’ and who was held responsible for Europe’s deadliest massacre since World War II, the killing of some 8,000 Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica in 1995, has died. He was 83. His death was announced on Thursday by Serbian state media. Mr. Mladic was captured on May 26, 2011, in a farming village north of Belgrade, Serbia’s capital, after almost 16 years as a fugitive, ending one of the longest manhunts in modern history. His 2017 conviction by an international tribunal on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes marked the end of a dark and bloody chapter.” (08/27/26)
https://archive.is/A2r3K
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8) TX: Wanted gangland fugitive released from jail instead of extradited
Source: KSTP 5 News
“An ICE [gang member] charged in connection with a shooting that wounded a Venezuelan man in Minneapolis has been released from a jail in Texas. A Texas federal judge denied Minnesota’s request on Wednesday to compel the extradition of Christian Castro. Thursday’s release from the jail in Brownsville, Texas, came as the 90-day clock on Castro’s detention expired …. Castro is accused of shooting at Julio Sosa-Celis through the door of a north Minneapolis home on Jan. 14 in the course of his duties as a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement [gang member] during Operation Metro Surge. He had initially told FBI investigators that Sosa-Celis and others had attacked him, using a snow shovel and a broom handle as weapons. Video evidence of the shooting contradicted his sworn statement, and Castro was placed on leave as the U.S. Department of Justice investigated whether he lied under oath.” (08/27/26)
https://kstp.com/kstp-news/top-news/judge-denies-minnesotas-request-to-force-extradition-of-ice-agent-from-texas/
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9) Tanzania: Resigning Vice President Expelled From Governing Party
Source: US News & World Report
“Tanzania’s governing party expelled the vice president who resigned this week, in an act of retaliation that will further test the credentials of the East African nation as a place of relative peace and stability. A meeting of the Chama cha Mapinduzi, or CCM, party decided to punish Emmanuel Nchimbi for indiscipline, and it nominated Energy Minister Deogratius Ndejembi to become President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s deputy, CCM Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro told reporters late Wednesday. The maneuver is believed to be part of the ongoing fallout from Hassan’s contentious election in October, when the security forces were deployed to put down riots over the disqualification of the president’s main rivals. The internet was shut down for days, a move that Hassan later apologized for and promised would never happen again. Hassan’s main rival, Tundu Lissu, is jailed over treason charges he says are politically motivated.” (08/27/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2026-08-27/tanzanias-resigning-vice-president-expelled-from-the-governing-party-deepening-test-to-democracy
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10) Taiwan: Man wins lawsuit but gets jailed for using robot vacuum to record wife’s affair
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“A man in Taiwan who used a robot vacuum cleaner to gather evidence of his wife’s affair won a civil lawsuit but was subsequently sentenced to prison for invading her privacy. … he remotely activated the home’s robot vacuum cleaner via its mobile application, planning to use its built-in audio feature to communicate with his wife. However, the live feed captured his wife in an intimate encounter with another man. Seeking evidence for a legal claim, he began recording the footage. … the husband used the footage as evidence to sue his wife and her lover for infringing on his marital rights, seeking NT$2 million (US$68,000) in damages. The court determined that their relationship had surpassed the limits of ordinary friendship and ordered the pair to pay the husband NT$500,000 in compensation. However, this civil victory did not protect the husband from legal repercussions regarding how the evidence was obtained.” (08/27/26)
https://archive.is/oe2ln
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11) ME: GOP Nominee for Governor Calls for Gang Presence at Polling Stations
Source: Common Dreams
“[T]he state’s Republican nominee for governor detailed a proposal that, according to one public policy think tank, is wholly illegal. In an audio clip released Wednesday by the Bangor Daily News, Bobby Charles, a lawyer and former Reagan administration staffer, boasted about his connections to the Trump administration’s border czar, Tom Homan, a key figure in President Donald Trump’s mass deportation operation. ‘Here’s my secret. I have a friend named Tom Homan,’ said Charles, drawing applause from the GOP voters. ‘I’m going to ask Tom … three or four weeks before the election, maybe three, I’m going to make an appeal for ICE and Marshals to be at our voting booths.’ Charles was referring to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the US Marshals, both armed federal law enforcement officers whose presence at polling sites to intimidate voters would be against the law, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.” (08/27/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/bobby-charles-maine-governor-race
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12) US Army plans nuclear microreactors at five military bases as part of $2.2 billion energy security push
Source: Fox Business
“The U.S. Army is moving forward with plans to bring nuclear power to five military installations as part of a multibillion-dollar effort to strengthen the military’s energy security and reduce its reliance on potentially vulnerable power grids. The Army announced Wednesday that its Janus Program selected five nuclear energy companies for awards of up to a combined $2.2 billion to own, build and operate nuclear microreactors at bases in North Carolina, Kentucky, Texas, Georgia and New York. … Combined with expected private-sector investment, the Army said it expects more than 20 nuclear microreactors to eventually be built and operated across Department of War installations.” (08/27/26)
https://www.foxbusiness.com/energy/us-army-plans-nuclear-microreactors-5-military-bases-part-2-2b-energy-security-push
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13) Florida becomes first state to block welfare cash for tattoos, vapes and more
Source: Fox News
“Florida is becoming the first state to impose sweeping new limits on how welfare cash can be spent, blocking recipients from using cash-assistance benefits loaded onto EBT cards for purchases like tattoos, theme park tickets, video games, vaping products and other items not generally considered ‘basic needs’ under a plan the Trump administration is urging other states to emulate. Florida’s cash-assistance program, known as Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA), is funded through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. It is separate from SNAP, the food-assistance program, though families may receive both types of benefits through separate balances on the same EBT card. The Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families (ACF) determined Florida’s updated TANF plan to be complete Thursday in a letter sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis and obtained by Fox News Digital.” (08/27/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/florida-becomes-first-state-block-welfare-cash-tattoos-vapes-more
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14) More than 1,300 are missing in Nepal and Tibet after catastrophic floods caused by glacier collapse
Source: ABC News
“Rescue teams searched on Thursday for hundreds of missing people along the Nepal-China border after a catastrophic and deadly torrent of floods and mud swept through several communities a day earlier following a glacier collapse. The disaster left at least 168 people dead and more than 1,300 missing, including foreigners and pilgrims, and displaced hundreds of people across the Himalayan region. Videos of the tragedy showed the flood swallowing up people as they tried to escape, and destroying buildings and bridges. On Thursday, drone footage from Nepal showed the scale of the destruction.” (08/27/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/1300-missing-nepal-tibet-after-catastrophic-floods-caused-135993574
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15) GA: Date set for state employees to kill man convicted of killing two real estate agents
Source: SFGate
“Georgia prison officials plan to [kill] a man next month who was convicted of fatally shooting two real estate agents in Atlanta’s suburbs more than two decades ago. Stacey Humphreys, 53, was convicted of malice murder in the 2003 killings of 33-year-old Cyndi Williams and 21-year-old Lori Brown. He is set to receive a lethal injection at the state prison near Jackson at 7 p.m. on Sept. 16, according to the Department of Corrections. Humphreys would be the first person [killed by state employees in this particular way] in Georgia this year. The death penalty in the state has largely been tied up in litigation over an agreement related to the coronavirus pandemic that defense lawyers contend temporarily shields many death row residents from execution. The last [killing of this type by state employees] in the state was in March 2024.” (08/27/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/execution-date-set-for-man-convicted-of-killing-2-22406145.php
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16) Appeals court allows charges to proceed against politician who tried to protect another politician from violent gang members
Source: United Press International
“A divided federal appeals court has ruled that Rep. LaMonica McIver is not immune from prosecution on charges stemming from a confrontation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents outside a federal [concentration camp] in 2025. The New Jersey Democrat was charged with three federal counts of impeding and interfering with federal immigration officers over alleged conduct on May 9, 2025, as they were attempting to [abduct] Newark Mayor Ras Baraka during an unannounced congressional oversight inspection of Delaney Hall Federal Immigration Facility. … McIver allegedly placed herself in front of Baraka and wrapped her arms around him to prevent his [abduction].” (08/27/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/08/27/LaMonica-McIver-charges-proceed/6031787805552/
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17) Jellyfish force partial shutdown of French nuclear plant
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“A massive influx of jellyfish has led to the partial shutdown of a nuclear reactor in northern France. Two of Gravelines nuclear power station’s six units were shut down on Wednesday and Thursday because of the presence of jellyfish in the seawater filtration system, which is used for cooling, Électricité de France (EDF) said. A third unit has been shut down since 10 August due to the same issue, while a fourth has been closed for an inspection. Gravelines, one of the country’s biggest nuclear power stations located between Dunkirk and Calais in the Hauts-de-France region, was also closed last August because of jellyfish in its filters.” (08/27/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy8znx3g4e2o
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18) Malaysia: Former PM Ismail Sabri charged with concealing assets
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Former Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has been charged with failing to declare tens of millions of dollars worth of assets, becoming the country’s third former prime minister to face criminal charges after leaving office. The 66-year-old pleaded not guilty at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court on Thursday to a charge that alleges he failed to provide a complete declaration of assets to Malaysia’s anti-corruption agency. He is accused of concealing holdings worth about $40m, spread across nine currencies, as well as bars of gold and silver. His lawyer, Amer Hamzah Arshad, said at a media conference that the charge was essentially a failure to comply with a notice to declare certain assets.” (08/27/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/27/malaysias-former-pm-ismail-sabri-charged-with-concealing-assets
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19) FL: Shackled Tate brothers in court ask to be released from jail during extradition fight
Source: SFGate
“Defense lawyers for social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate argued Thursday if Romania is OK with them being out of jail as they challenge sex charges, then the U.S. should free them too as they fight extradition to the United Kingdom. The brothers have remained in a federal detention center in Miami since they were arrested July 18 on rape and sex trafficking charges from the U.K. Their attorneys have argued that their high profile and active social media presence make it nearly impossible for them to flee. The Tates have become among the world’s most polarizing internet personalities by promoting wealth, male dominance and misogyny through their social media empire.” (08/27/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/tate-brothers-extradition-fight-back-in-miami-22405547.php
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20) Military trial date set for alleged mastermind of 9/11 attacks
Source: NBC News
“A military judge ruled Wednesday that the man accused of being the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks will stand trial starting in June 2028. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will be prosecuted alongside others suspected of conspiring in the attacks: Walid bin Attash, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi. Mohammed is accused of orchestrating the plot to crash hijacked planes into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. A fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania during the attacks. He has been held at the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, since 2006.” [editor’s note: He was entitled to a speedy, REAL, legal trial 20 years ago; the US regime has spent 20 years fighting to just hold a fake, illegal “trial” instead. The delay kind of eliminated the publicity value of the show – TLK] (08/26/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/military-trial-date-set-alleged-mastermind-sept-11-attacks-ksm-rcna594621
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) The Trade Declaration Carney Should Make
Source: Independent Institute
by Pierre Lemieux
“The trade war between the United States and Canada—or, more exactly, between Donald Trump, who declared it, and Canadian politicians, who try to limit the damage though using the same logic as Trump’s—provides a good opportunity to reflect on how trade and freedom work. It is not a brilliant idea for the Canadian government to impose a tariff on Canadians who purchase American appliances, for example, in order to retaliate against the American ruler who has imposed a tariff on Americans importing Canadian whisky. … Instead of retaliation—imposing a border tax on Canadians because Trump has imposed one on Americans—[prime minister Mark Carney] could make a declaration of unilateral free trade along the following lines …” (08/27/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/08/27/the-trade-declaration-carney-should-make/
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22) How to Stop Chinese, Russian Support for Iran’s War Efforts
Source: The American Conservative
by Doug Bandow
“For the Trump administration to complain about foreign interference in America’s war of choice is manifestly absurd. No country interferes in the affairs of other nations more often. No government is more presumptuous in its demands. No nation more frequently uses force against other states. Russian and Chinese intervention in the Iran war is unfortunate—Americans likely have died and certainly have been injured as a result. Yet the administration shares responsibility for the resulting harm. … American policymakers long have viewed themselves as virtuous vestal virgins, entitled, even required, to purify the terrible world around them. Alas, no one else views the solons of Washington in such terms, and for good reason: They have repeatedly failed, often disastrously.” (08/27/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/how-to-stop-chinese-russian-support-for-irans-war-efforts/
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23) Mamdani socialism and Trump socialism — reject them both
Source: The Hill
by Benjamin Powell
“New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced this summer that he will open city-owned grocery stores in the coming years. Meanwhile, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick recently announced that the federal government will take a nearly $1 billion equity stake in seven semiconductor companies. There is a common name for these policies: creeping socialism. … President Trump’s criticism of Mamdani is consistent with his pledge in his 2019 State of the Union address that ‘America will never be a socialist country.’ But his own administration’s actions are even less consistent with that pledge than Mamdani’s grocery stores.” (08/27/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/6051425-rejecting-left-right-socialism/
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24) Gilded or Golden?
Source: Law & Liberty
by John O McGinnis
“The Gilded Age was convicted by its name before its history was ever written. Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner coined that appellation in their political satire by the same name. Their point was clear—the American era of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century was the opposite of a golden age. Instead, it was a time when a thin layer of glitter concealed corruption, useless speculation, and harmful self-interest. The name stuck, permitting Twain’s summary judgment to masquerade as neutral historical judgment. … It is a relief then to have Julian Fellowes’s series, The Gilded Age …. [it] shows that the era produced many public benefits and that the rich were substantially responsible for the dynamism that led not only to economic prosperity but also to broader social inclusion, even if they were hardly always innocent or admirable.” (08/27/26)
https://lawliberty.org/gilded-or-golden/
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25) In the US-Canada Trade Spat, Tariffs Are Not the Only Problem
Source: Cato Institute
by Scott Lincicome
“After US-Canada trade talks collapsed Friday, the United States imposed a 50% tariff on a long list of Canadian goods via the never-used Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer went on TV first thing Monday in an attempt to calm financial markets with some basic tariff math. He said the new action hits a small percentage of Canadian imports into the US and an even smaller share of consumption, so there’s ‘no possible way it can really affect US well-being.’Greer is basically right on the issue of the tariffs’ direct effects. The problem for both America’s chief trade negotiator and the US economy is that the new levies raise other issues that are much more important – and troubling. … First, the spat injects significant new uncertainty into both the trillion-dollar bilateral relationship and the broader global economy.” (08/27/26)
https://www.cato.org/commentary/us-canada-trade-spat-tariffs-are-not-only-problem
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26) Tech bros must channel the moguls of old to get back in America’s good graces
Source: New York Post
by Glenn Harlan Reynolds
“In the face of massive public resistance and anger, tech bros need to start thinking like Andrew Carnegie and the ‘robber barons’ of the Gilded Age — or even like Xi Jinping. The tech world is in bad odor these days. Social media’s addictive qualities have parents in such an uproar that Meta just agreed to pay out an $18 billion settlement, and data-center projects are facing rejection across the country. Yet for decades America’s tech industry was cherished as a center of innovation, a world in which hard-working entrepreneurs started businesses in garages and produced things that made everyone’s lives better. Because it was constantly innovating, it stayed ahead of government’s ability to regulate it, resulting in ‘permissionless innovation’ — change that didn’t have to ask first.” (08/26/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/08/26/opinion/tech-bros-must-channel-the-moguls-of-old-to-get-back-in-americas-good-graces/
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27) Bill Gates Wants to Tax AI and Reserve Jobs for Humans. History Says That’s a Mistake
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey
“In his 6,000-word essay, Gates proposes three direct state interventions. First, he proposes a payroll-style tax on artificial intelligence and robots to penalize companies that automate labor. Second, he proposes legal mandates that reserve specific job categories for humans only. Third, he advocates for global government coordination to slow down artificial intelligence development. As we see so often, government interventions cause more problems than they propose to solve, often having the opposite effect of their stated goals — so government intervention is a terrible idea to solve problems that have not yet happened. After all, adding a tax on automation will negate the increased profits the automation will bring. His ‘solutions’ will bring higher consumer prices; they would protect inefficient monopolies while reducing productivity. Negating the whole point of AI.” (08/27/26)
https://palmbeachexaminer.substack.com/p/bill-gates-wants-to-tax-ai-and-reserve
-----
28) Economists can’t explain American misery. Luckily, I can.
Source: Sex and the State
by Cathy Reisenwitz
“In Asia Times, Noah Smith just wrote that standard economic measures can’t really explain why Americans are growing less happy with their lives over time. The problem is that what makes for a happy, meaningful life is much harder to measure than GDP or median income. I agree that standard economic measures alone won’t do the trick. But it’s not because it’s so hard to measure what predicts a happy, meaningful life. That’s actually pretty easy. Connecting economic realities to those measures is also fairly straightforward. What Smith is missing is that relationships predict happiness. And, increasingly, economic conditions predict relationships.” (08/27/26)
https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/bottom-half-families-explain-americas
-----
29) Ukraine’s edge in war: Esprit de (military) corps
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“News about the wars in Iran and Gaza has lately eclipsed that of a more consequential war: the one in Ukraine, now in its fifth year. Yet that conflict could soon take a turn against the aggressor, Russia – less on the battlefront and more on the homefront. By various reports, young Russians are showing more bravery through subtle opposition to the war, while young men have become less brave about joining the military – actively avoiding coercive new ways of recruiting them to replace the vast number of soldiers lost on the front lines. The contrast with Ukraine could not be more stark.” (08/26/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0826/Ukraine-s-edge-in-war-Esprit-de-military-corps
-----
30) Thank you, Brendan Carr
Source: Checks & Balances
by Bob Corn-Revere
“It is widely said that you are nothing but a political hack who sold out your previously professed beliefs about free expression and the rule of law for the short-term goal of being named FCC chairman, that you corrupted the agency’s nonpartisan purpose by focusing its efforts on punishing perceived critics of the Trump administration, and that you regularly prostrate yourself with cringe-worthy displays of servility to soothe the president’s fragile ego. All these things may be true. But the criticism is terribly unfair because it fails to acknowledge your substantive accomplishments. When the dust settles, it may turn out that you have done more than any FCC chairman since the agency’s creation in 1934 to advance full First Amendment protection for the broadcast medium.” (08/27/26)
https://chkbal.substack.com/p/thank-you-brendan-carr
-----
31) Monopoly Money: Why Meta “Likes” the $16 Billion Settlement
Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley
“It is not every day that a company can settle a case for over $16 billion and celebrate. However, Meta’s settlement with 29 states is a remarkably good deal for a company facing a demand of over $1.4 trillion and years of litigation. In the end, it may not even take a loss from the litigation. The settlement ends the latest mass liability case, following similar settlements in tobacco, opiates, and other products. It will require Meta to make changes to its platform, though the company already appeared to be moving to make such changes. The maximum payment of closer to $17 billion is tied to whether competing platforms (like TikTok and YouTube) adopt parallel protections for children. Otherwise, the company is on the hook for at least $12.1 billion over 10 years under the agreement.” (08/27/26)
https://jonathanturley.org/2026/08/27/monopoly-money-why-meta-likes-the-16-billion-settlement/
-----
32) Game Theory and the Push to Go Along
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Richard Burt
“World War II ended when America dropped the atomic bombs named ‘Little Boy’ and ‘Fat Man’ on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Hundreds of thousands of Japanese died in an instant and of radiation poisoning over the subsequent years. Several American politicians, military brass, and university academics advocated for preemptive war against Russia to prevent it from acquiring nuclear bombs. Francis Matthews, Secretary of the Navy, advocated becoming ‘aggressors for peace.’ The mathematician John von Neuman, who was a pioneer in game theory, remarked: ‘If you say bomb them tomorrow, I say why not bomb them today?'” (08/27/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/game-theory-and-the-push-to-go-along/
-----
33) Lebanon Pressured to Disarm Hezbollah While Israel Stays; How Is That Sovereignty?
Source: Common Dreams
by Faheem Kazimi
“This week, the argument over Lebanese sovereignty became concrete on a ridge overlooking Nabatieh. The New Arab reported on August 24 that Washington is pressing for the strategic Ali al-Taher ridge, where Hezbollah fighters are present, to be transferred to the Lebanese Army in exchange for Israeli withdrawal. The same area has been subjected to repeated Israeli shelling. In one small patch of southern Lebanon, the larger problem is suddenly hard to hide: Beirut is being asked to move first, while the withdrawal of foreign forces from Lebanese territory remains the inducement offered in return. That pressure did not begin this week. Reuters reported in July 2025 that Washington was pressing Lebanon to make a formal cabinet commitment to disarm Hezbollah before talks could continue on halting Israeli military operations.” (08/27/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/israel-lebanon-sovereignty
-----
34) He Spent Nearly Six Years in Prison Based on the Word of a Notoriously Dishonest Houston Drug Cop
Source: Reason
by Jacob Sullum
“When a crime consists of nothing but handing a police officer or an informant something in exchange for money, the evidence often consists of nothing but that purported buyer’s word, along with drugs that easily could have been obtained through other means. This situation invites dishonest cops to invent drug offenses and take credit for the resulting arrests, as [Gerald] Goines did for years with impunity. When your job is to create crimes by arranging illegal drug sales, it is not such a big leap to create crimes out of whole cloth, especially if you are convinced that your target is a drug dealer.” (08/27/26)
https://reason.com/2026/08/27/he-spent-nearly-6-years-in-prison-based-on-the-word-of-a-notoriously-dishonest-houston-drug-cop/
-----
35) A Hostile Takeover?
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Mark Nayler
“Following Britain’s vote to leave the EU, both easyJet and Ryanair were told by Brussels that they needed to relocate their headquarters and/or sell the majority of their shares to EU citizens in order to keep operating across the continent. easyJet solved the problem by opening a European office in Vienna, although its overall base of operations has remained in Luton, 30 miles north of London. New York-based Apollo has revealed few details about how it proposes to adhere to Europe’s airline ownership regulations, under which its stake is capped at 49.9%. Some aviation experts have noted that Apollo could satisfy Brussels by leaving majority voting rights with EU stakeholders, but still restructure or break up the airline to gain overall economic control.” (08/27/26)
https://fee.org/articles/a-hostile-takeover/
-----
36) US Aided Brazilian Tyranny?
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“In a case with ‘serious repercussions,’ insists journalist Brazilian-based American journalist Glenn Greenwald, a ‘U.S. federal judge concluded that an immigration record entered in the Customs and Border Protection system during the Biden administration was fraudulent.’ While the idea of fraudulent behavior in a government bureau will hardly shock you, this record was special. It was used to imprison a Brazilian official. The official? Filipe Martins. He filed suit in the U.S., and as a result a truth came out.” (08/27/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/08/27/u-s-aided-brazilian-tyranny/
-----
37) The FDA Needs Better Leadership, Not Patronage
Source: Town Hall
by Derek Hunter
“It’s probably not very often, if ever, that a Republican nomination to head a federal agency is compared to a Democratic mayor’s race in Baltimore, but that’s where I’m going here. It’s not crazy; I swear it makes sense. Just stick with me, and you’ll see. When I lived in Baltimore in 2016, then-Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake decided not to run for reelection. She was an accidental mayor, the city council president who ascended to the top job when a criminal scandal forced the mayor to resign. Rawlings-Blake served the second half of Sheila Dixon’s term, then won her own in 2011. She was never really good or comfortable in the job she found herself in, so she announced she wouldn’t seek reelection. This led to a feeding frenzy of Baltimore politicians scrambling for the gig.” (08/27/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2026/08/27/the-fda-needs-better-leadership-not-patronage-n2681993
-----
38) The Destabilizing Stabilizers: Why Increasing Government Spending Prolongs a Recession
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by William L Anderson
“Keynesians hold that the economy is directed by ‘aggregate demand,’ that is overall spending, and that if consumers slow their spending, then the central bank can respond by lowering interest rates, which would encourage businesses to borrow money for expansion purposes, thus redirecting some of the lost consumer spending. However, according to Keynesians, if interest rates already are near-zero, then lowering rates is self-defeating and can lead to a ‘Liquidity Trap.’ … Mainstream economists speak of so-called automatic stabilizers in which government policies act in a counter-cyclical way to reverse harmful economic trends.” (08/27/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/destabilizing-stabilizers-why-increasing-government-spending-prolongs-recession
-----
39) The Fourth Amendment and ICE
Source: CounterPunch
by Matt Witt
“Last year, Carrboro, N.C. became the first town in America to officially declare itself a ‘Fourth Amendment City.’ At the same time, many small businesses in Carrboro have pledged to be ‘Fourth Amendment Businesses’ and to take specific steps to protect employees and customers from federal persecution by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). Under the Fourth Amendment, ICE agents cannot constitutionally enter a private area that is not open to the public unless they have a judicial warrant signed by a judge that says ‘U.S. District Court’ or a state court at the top. Despite claims by the Trump administration to the contrary, an administrative warrant from the Department of Homeland Security does not satisfy this constitutional requirement.” (08/27/26)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/08/27/the-fourth-amendment-and-ice/
-----
40) The rise and fall of “resistance” hero Alexander Vindman
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Blaise Malley
“On paper, Alexander Vindman’s loss in last week’s Florida Democratic Senate was a shocking upset. After all, Vindman had a 16-to-1 fundraising advantage and far more national name recognition than the winner — progressive state Rep. Angie Nixon. But the results reflect more than one poorly-run campaign. Vindman is one of the most prominent faces of a bygone political era known as ‘Russia-gate’ — a period which Democratic voters appear ready to leave behind. … the very reason Vindman succeeded in those heady days is likely — at least partly — to blame for why he and others lost their primaries. Their democracies vs. autocracies (read: Russia) foreign policy is not salient with the voters anymore. Another country is, however.” (08/27/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/alex-vindman-resistance-foreign-policy/
-----
41) Health Care Reform Needs More Than Universal Coverage
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen
“The Trump administration is desperate for good news on inflation, so when they saw that prescription drug prices had dropped by the largest amount in 60 years, they grabbed onto that for dear life. ‘No previous Administration achieved this,’ the White House boasted in a press release, congratulating themselves for ‘delivering real relief to American families and putting patients first.’ It seems reasonably clear that the administration that delivered this was, in fact, the ‘previous Administration’, namely, Joe Biden’s. The lion’s share of the drop is attributable to drug price negotiations in Medicare, which just kicked in this year for ten high-priced medications. Some of the negotiated prices are 79 percent below the previous level. That Democrats put together a health care intervention designed not to lower prices until the next president’s term is severe political malpractice, but it happens to be the truth.” (08/27/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/08/27/health-care-reform-universal-coverage-medicare-for-all/
-----
42) Postliberalism Gets the “Common Good” Wrong
Source: The Daily Economy
by Logan Tantibanchachai
“Individual liberty is an essential feature of the constitutional order, not a competing good. To claim otherwise, critics must reject or rewrite our Founding.” (08/27/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/postliberalism-gets-the-common-good-wrong/
-----
43) Bessent Suggests Economic Warfare Against Iran Could “Blow Up the Global Financial System”
Source: Antiwar.com
by Brett Wilkins
“With the United States unable to militarily defeat Iran in President Donald Trump’s illegal US-Israeli war of choice, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday escalated the administration’s economic attacks on Tehran, warning countries and companies around the world that continuing to do business with the nation could expose them to punitive sanctions. … While Bessent did not say which countries would likely be targeted, China, Türkiye, and the United Arab Emirates are Iran’s biggest trading partners. The secretary was also asked why sanctions aren’t being imposed immediately. ‘Well, we are giving everyone the opportunity to remedy bad behavior,’ he replied. ‘Why would I want to blow up the global financial system?'” (08/27/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/brett_wilkins/2026/08/26/bessent-suggests-economic-warfare-against-iran-could-blow-up-the-global-financial-system/
-----
44) Don’t cave to fear of government
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“Government is obviously a criminal gang; unaccountable to the people it rules, and refusing to be limited by the rules that apply to it. Like in all criminal gangs, there is infighting. Sometimes the opposing factions fight and focus on someone who is also in government, but they’ll ignore those who have done worse to punish someone who has stepped across a line the other politicians somehow notice and care about. I used to wonder how people could be so blind to the situation and keep supporting the existence of government in spite of the evidence right under their noses. I used to wonder, but I don’t anymore. It’s fear.” (08/26/26)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2026/08/26/voices/opinion-dont-cave-to-fear-of-government/234072.html
-----
45) The New WWE: Women’s Wrestling Entertainment
Source: American Greatness
by Victor Davis Hanson
“A better name for the current Women’s National Basketball League (WNBA) might be Women’s Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), given the growing performance-art violence that is now endemic in the league. Prior to the 2024 arrival of then-22-year-old Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark, very few people watched the WNBA. Team franchises were worth less than $20 million. The league ran chronic deficits and was subsidized by the men’s professional basketball league, the National Basketball Association (NBA). An unspoken subtext of the WNBA was that the owners and coaches were left-wing and made little effort to hide their political biases. Despite talk of diversity, the league was (and remains) about 83 percent nonwhite and about 70 percent black. Some media outlets have suggested that about 50 percent of the players are lesbians. By Clark’s third year, her level of play had revolutionized the WNBA – or rather, saved it from financial collapse and cultural obscurity.” (08/27/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/08/27/the-new-wwe-womens-wrestling-entertainment/
-----
46) The Bunker State: The Government Will Survive, but Will the Constitution?
Source: Rutherford Institute
by John & Nisha Whitehead
“What began publicly as Donald Trump’s lavish, taxpayer-funded vision of a gilded White House ballroom is now being justified by the administration—in and out of court—as a matter of national security. To President Trump, it seems, a ballroom by any other name is a bunker. … hundreds of workers have been laboring around the clock, 20 hours a day, seven days a week, to push the project forward as quickly as possible. The message seems clear: get far enough along, fast enough, and it becomes that much harder for Congress, the courts or some future administration to undo what has already been built. There is a lesson in that, and it speaks to much more than a ballroom or a bunker.” (08/26/26)
https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/the_bunker_state_the_government_will_survive_but_will_the_constitution
-----
47) Two Cults, One Country: No Liberty.
Source: Tenth Amendment Center
by Michael Boldin
“‘Evil is turned into Good, and Good into Evil’ … Written almost 300 years ago, Thomas Gordon warned us about political parties being little more than cults that promise to protect your country – while really killing it. It was so prophetic that it sounds like it was written today.” (08/26/26)
https://tenthamendmentcenter.com/2026/08/26/two-cults-one-country-no-liberty/
-----
48) What Is “Reasonable” Gun Control?
Source: The Volokh Conspiracy
by David Kopel
“According to the Gun Control Lobbies, Everything, Including Prohibition.” (08/26/26)
https://reason.com/volokh/2026/08/26/what-is-reasonable-gun-control/
-----
49) An Open Letter While Iran Resists an Illegal War of Aggression
Source: In These Times
by Vijay Prashad
“Dear friends and colleagues, The United States and Israel launched a war of aggression against Iran in February of this year. For six months, US missiles and bombs have fallen upon civilian and military targets inside the country. Hospitals, schools, energy facilities, and neighbourhoods have been struck. The 168 schoolgirls killed in Minab have become the terrible symbol of this war. Iranians have been forced to live under the constant expectation of another attack, while Iranian families outside the country endure the peculiar agony of watching the destruction from afar. This follows on three years of Israeli genocide in Gaza, which has been carried out due to the relentless military support of the United States.” (08/27/26)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/vijay-prashad-gaurdian-scissors-open-letter-iran-resists-illegal-war-aggression
-----
50) The Affordability Debate Unwrapped
Source: Law & Liberty
by Thomas Savidge
“Pricey burritos are neither proof of an affordability crisis nor evidence of personal irresponsibility.” (08/26/26)
https://lawliberty.org/the-affordability-debate-unwrapped/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Underthrow Podcast, 08/27/26
Source: Underthrow
“Why Can’t You Switch Your Government?” (08/27/26)
https://underthrow.substack.com/p/why-cant-you-switch-your-government
-----
52) Libertarian Angle, 08/27/26
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“Jacob and Richard discuss FFF’s great new book, Liberty and the History of Economic Ideas, by Richard Ebeling.” (08/27/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbzZlXdHhfk
-----
53) Rising, 08/27/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave gives his radar on Meta paying nearly $17 billion to settle a lawsuit on social media addiction.” (08/27/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/6043117-rising-august-27-2026/
-----
54) Show-Me Institute Podcast, 08/27/26
Source: Show-Me Institute
“Missouri’s School Personnel Boom with Avery Frank and Cory Koedel.” (08/27/26)
https://showmeinstitute.org/article/accountability/missouris-school-personnel-boom-with-avery-frank-and-cory-koedel/
-----
55) Cato Podcast, 08/27/26
Source: Cato Institute
“How to Spot a Wrong Number.” (08/27/26)
https://www.cato.org/multimedia/cato-podcast/how-spot-wrong-number
-----
56) The Moynihan Report, 08/27/26
Source: The Moynihan Report
“William Shatner Doesn’t Want to Die.” (08/27/26)
https://www.themoynihan.report/p/william-shatner-doesnt-want-to-die
-----
57) The Blessings of Liberty with Jeffrey Rosen, 08/27/26
Source: The Blessings of Liberty with Jeffrey Rosen
“How has the Declaration of Independence Inspired Americans Over Time?” (08/27/26)
https://rosenjeffrey.substack.com/p/how-has-the-declaration-of-independence
-----
58) Kibbe on Liberty, episode 401
Source: Free the People
“California Is Failing the Homeless | Guest: Mary Theroux.” (08/26/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh7d9FHl1eQ
-----
59) The Tom Woods Show, episode 2790
Source: The Tom Woods Show
“The Old Food Pyramid Was Killing You.” (08/26/26)
https://tomwoods.com/ep-2790-the-old-food-pyramid-was-killing-you/
-----
60) LPA Two Hour Lunch Hour, episode 8
Source: LP Alliance
“Join us for our anything goes podcast every Wednesday at noon eastern!” (08/26/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGKlmKe_mIE
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Today's Freedom News:
0) Publisher's Note
1) Judge again blocks Trump’s mail ballot election-rigging scheme
2) Harald V, 1937-2026
3) Russia: Regime spokesperson threatens strikes on UK military targets
4) FL: Grand jury finds DeSantis regime “misappropriated” $10 million from Medicaid settlement
5) Anthropic was illegally blacklisted by the Trump regime, court rules
6) Amazon to close Mechanical Turk amid rise of AI
7) Ratko Mladic, Murderous “Butcher of Bosnia,” Dies at 83
8) TX: Wanted gangland fugitive released from jail instead of extradited
9) Tanzania: Resigning Vice President Expelled From Governing Party
10) Taiwan: Man wins lawsuit but gets jailed for using robot vacuum to record wife’s affair
11) ME: GOP Nominee for Governor Calls for Gang Presence at Polling Stations
12) US Army plans nuclear microreactors at five military bases as part of $2.2 billion energy security push
13) Florida becomes first state to block welfare cash for tattoos, vapes and more
14) More than 1,300 are missing in Nepal and Tibet after catastrophic floods caused by glacier collapse
15) GA: Date set for state employees to kill man convicted of killing two real estate agents
16) Appeals court allows charges to proceed against politician who tried to protect another politician from violent gang members
17) Jellyfish force partial shutdown of French nuclear plant
18) Malaysia: Former PM Ismail Sabri charged with concealing assets
19) FL: Shackled Tate brothers in court ask to be released from jail during extradition fight
20) Military trial date set for alleged mastermind of 9/11 attacks
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) The Trade Declaration Carney Should Make
22) How to Stop Chinese, Russian Support for Iran’s War Efforts
23) Mamdani socialism and Trump socialism — reject them both
24) Gilded or Golden?
25) In the US-Canada Trade Spat, Tariffs Are Not the Only Problem
26) Tech bros must channel the moguls of old to get back in America’s good graces
27) Bill Gates Wants to Tax AI and Reserve Jobs for Humans. History Says That’s a Mistake
28) Economists can’t explain American misery. Luckily, I can.
29) Ukraine’s edge in war: Esprit de (military) corps
30) Thank you, Brendan Carr
31) Monopoly Money: Why Meta “Likes” the $16 Billion Settlement
32) Game Theory and the Push to Go Along
33) Lebanon Pressured to Disarm Hezbollah While Israel Stays; How Is That Sovereignty?
34) He Spent Nearly Six Years in Prison Based on the Word of a Notoriously Dishonest Houston Drug Cop
35) A Hostile Takeover?
36) US Aided Brazilian Tyranny?
37) The FDA Needs Better Leadership, Not Patronage
38) The Destabilizing Stabilizers: Why Increasing Government Spending Prolongs a Recession
39) The Fourth Amendment and ICE
40) The rise and fall of “resistance” hero Alexander Vindman
41) Health Care Reform Needs More Than Universal Coverage
42) Postliberalism Gets the “Common Good” Wrong
43) Bessent Suggests Economic Warfare Against Iran Could “Blow Up the Global Financial System”
44) Don’t cave to fear of government
45) The New WWE: Women’s Wrestling Entertainment
46) The Bunker State: The Government Will Survive, but Will the Constitution?
47) Two Cults, One Country: No Liberty.
48) What Is “Reasonable” Gun Control?
49) An Open Letter While Iran Resists an Illegal War of Aggression
50) The Affordability Debate Unwrapped
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Underthrow Podcast, 08/27/26
52) Libertarian Angle, 08/27/26
53) Rising, 08/27/26
54) Show-Me Institute Podcast, 08/27/26
55) Cato Podcast, 08/27/26
56) The Moynihan Report, 08/27/26
57) The Blessings of Liberty with Jeffrey Rosen, 08/27/26
58) Kibbe on Liberty, episode 401
59) The Tom Woods Show, episode 2790
60) LPA Two Hour Lunch Hour, episode 8
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0) Publisher's Note
Hey, everyone ...
A reminder! A few months back, we changed how we do things. The daily email edition of RRND/FND still includes (usually) 60 news stories, opinion pieces, and audio/video links, but now our web edition includes more. How many more? Usually at least 10 more links, sometimes 20. This morning, it's at least 40, for a total of 100 (I may find a few more between the time I write this and the time you read it). So today (and every other day), drop by and check the additional content out at:
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Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily
-----
1) Judge again blocks Trump’s mail ballot election-rigging scheme
Source: Associated Press
“A federal judge on Thursday halted — at least for now — attempts to implement President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting mail voting. The move stalled the directive for a second time only about a week before the first mail ballots are due to be sent out for the rapidly approaching midterm elections. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani blocked the government from implementing the order for two weeks. The case could soon be appealed back to the Supreme Court, days after the justices handed down a procedural decision that allowed the the administration to move ahead. … The high court’s conservative majority did not rule on the legality of Trump’s executive order, instead saying Talwani had acted too soon. Now the administration has issued a formal rule governing whether the U.S. Postal Service will deliver states’ mail ballots, effectively restarting the legal fight.” (08/27/26)
https://apnews.com/article/trump-voting-mail-ballots-democrats-lawsuits-15cf1ec7dcdb8211bf6b624b75a7f4ab
-----
2) Harald V, 1937-2026
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Norway’s King Harald V has died at the age of 89, after he was taken to hospital last week for treatment for a rare blood condition. The palace in Oslo said he passed away peacefully at 06:35 local time (04:35GMT) on Friday at the national hospital in Oslo. The royal flag on the roof of the palace has been lowered to half-mast. In the 24 hours leading up to his death, members of the royal family had visited the king, and crowds had laid flowers at the palace. Harald was Norway’s first king born in Norway since the 14th Century. He has been succeeded by his son Haakon, 53, who will hold an extraordinary council of state with the government later on Friday.” (08/28/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clykn5p5172o
-----
3) Russia: Regime spokesperson threatens strikes on UK military targets
Source: Reuters
“Russia warned on Thursday that it could strike British military targets inside and outside Ukraine in response to Ukrainian attacks on targets inside Russia using long-range British cruise missiles. The warning, delivered by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova at a news briefing in Moscow, has been made before but without such rhetorical force or urgency. … ‘We have repeatedly warned that any British military installations and equipment in Ukraine and beyond its borders could be targeted in response to Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory carried out using British weapons,’ Zakharova said. … Western analysts said the strength of Moscow’s warning reflected Russian fury over Britain’s decision — made public on Monday — to allow Kyiv access to classified technology to start its own production of Storm Shadow cruise missiles, capable of carrying out strikes deep within Russia.” (08/27/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-says-it-could-strike-uk-military-targets-response-ukrainian-strikes-using-2026-08-27/
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4) FL: Grand jury finds DeSantis regime “misappropriated” $10 million from Medicaid settlement
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“A Florida grand jury has found that the administration of the governor, Ron DeSantis, ‘misappropriated’ $10m in taxpayer money from a Medicaid settlement into the Hope Florida Foundation, a charity with ties to DeSantis’s wife, before the money was reportedly ‘funneled’ into ‘two political action committees’. In the grand jury report, which remains sealed but was obtained and published by CBS News Miami on Wednesday, the grand jurors wrote that ‘we conclude that these funds were misappropriated as part of a sophisticated scheme to fund political activities’ but said that they found ‘insufficient evidence to charge anyone criminally’. … The grand jurors wrote that no witness admitted or identified who directed the money to go to Hope Florida and noted that testimony also revealed that [attorney general James] Uthmeier’s political action committee, Keep Florida Clean, was the ‘prime recipient of the majority’ of the $10m.” (08/27/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/27/florida-grand-jury-desantis-administration-misappropriated-funds-medicaid
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5) Anthropic was illegally blacklisted by the Trump regime, court rules
Source: The Verge
“On Thursday, a judge ruled that the Pentagon’s blacklisting of Anthropic earlier this year was unconstitutional, delivering the AI lab a win in a monthslong rollercoaster of a battle with the Trump administration. The lawsuit, filed in March in a California district court, accused the Trump administration of unlawfully retaliating against Anthropic for setting ‘red lines,’ or unacceptable military use cases of its AI technology. ‘The empty invocation of national security is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against government critics,’ Judge Rita F. Lin, a district judge in the northern district of California, wrote in the ruling.” (08/27/26)
https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/985947/anthropic-supply-chain-risk-lawsuit-judge-ruling
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6) Amazon to close Mechanical Turk amid rise of AI
Source: Seattle Times
“Amazon announced it will shutter its 21-year-old crowdsourced labor market platform, Mechanical Turk, by the end of September. Some say the rising usage of artificial intelligence delivered the fatal blow. The company launched Mechanical Turk, which users commonly call MTurk, in 2005 to pay gig workers to complete simple digital tasks that were easy for humans but challenging for computers. People looking for side jobs could transcribe audio, categorize data or label images for a few cents per task. Amazon co-founder Jeff Bezos described the platform as ‘artificial artificial intelligence.’ But AI has become more capable of such mundane tasks in recent years. A 2023 study by researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne found that between 33% and 46% of workers on Amazon Mechanical Turk used large language models like ChatGPT to complete some of those tasks.” (08/27/26)
https://archive.is/1fuSx
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7) Ratko Mladic, Murderous “Butcher of Bosnia,” Dies at 83
Source: New York Times
“Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb general whose actions during the Balkan wars of the 1990s led to him being called the ‘Butcher of Bosnia’ and who was held responsible for Europe’s deadliest massacre since World War II, the killing of some 8,000 Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica in 1995, has died. He was 83. His death was announced on Thursday by Serbian state media. Mr. Mladic was captured on May 26, 2011, in a farming village north of Belgrade, Serbia’s capital, after almost 16 years as a fugitive, ending one of the longest manhunts in modern history. His 2017 conviction by an international tribunal on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes marked the end of a dark and bloody chapter.” (08/27/26)
https://archive.is/A2r3K
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8) TX: Wanted gangland fugitive released from jail instead of extradited
Source: KSTP 5 News
“An ICE [gang member] charged in connection with a shooting that wounded a Venezuelan man in Minneapolis has been released from a jail in Texas. A Texas federal judge denied Minnesota’s request on Wednesday to compel the extradition of Christian Castro. Thursday’s release from the jail in Brownsville, Texas, came as the 90-day clock on Castro’s detention expired …. Castro is accused of shooting at Julio Sosa-Celis through the door of a north Minneapolis home on Jan. 14 in the course of his duties as a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement [gang member] during Operation Metro Surge. He had initially told FBI investigators that Sosa-Celis and others had attacked him, using a snow shovel and a broom handle as weapons. Video evidence of the shooting contradicted his sworn statement, and Castro was placed on leave as the U.S. Department of Justice investigated whether he lied under oath.” (08/27/26)
https://kstp.com/kstp-news/top-news/judge-denies-minnesotas-request-to-force-extradition-of-ice-agent-from-texas/
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9) Tanzania: Resigning Vice President Expelled From Governing Party
Source: US News & World Report
“Tanzania’s governing party expelled the vice president who resigned this week, in an act of retaliation that will further test the credentials of the East African nation as a place of relative peace and stability. A meeting of the Chama cha Mapinduzi, or CCM, party decided to punish Emmanuel Nchimbi for indiscipline, and it nominated Energy Minister Deogratius Ndejembi to become President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s deputy, CCM Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro told reporters late Wednesday. The maneuver is believed to be part of the ongoing fallout from Hassan’s contentious election in October, when the security forces were deployed to put down riots over the disqualification of the president’s main rivals. The internet was shut down for days, a move that Hassan later apologized for and promised would never happen again. Hassan’s main rival, Tundu Lissu, is jailed over treason charges he says are politically motivated.” (08/27/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2026-08-27/tanzanias-resigning-vice-president-expelled-from-the-governing-party-deepening-test-to-democracy
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10) Taiwan: Man wins lawsuit but gets jailed for using robot vacuum to record wife’s affair
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“A man in Taiwan who used a robot vacuum cleaner to gather evidence of his wife’s affair won a civil lawsuit but was subsequently sentenced to prison for invading her privacy. … he remotely activated the home’s robot vacuum cleaner via its mobile application, planning to use its built-in audio feature to communicate with his wife. However, the live feed captured his wife in an intimate encounter with another man. Seeking evidence for a legal claim, he began recording the footage. … the husband used the footage as evidence to sue his wife and her lover for infringing on his marital rights, seeking NT$2 million (US$68,000) in damages. The court determined that their relationship had surpassed the limits of ordinary friendship and ordered the pair to pay the husband NT$500,000 in compensation. However, this civil victory did not protect the husband from legal repercussions regarding how the evidence was obtained.” (08/27/26)
https://archive.is/oe2ln
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11) ME: GOP Nominee for Governor Calls for Gang Presence at Polling Stations
Source: Common Dreams
“[T]he state’s Republican nominee for governor detailed a proposal that, according to one public policy think tank, is wholly illegal. In an audio clip released Wednesday by the Bangor Daily News, Bobby Charles, a lawyer and former Reagan administration staffer, boasted about his connections to the Trump administration’s border czar, Tom Homan, a key figure in President Donald Trump’s mass deportation operation. ‘Here’s my secret. I have a friend named Tom Homan,’ said Charles, drawing applause from the GOP voters. ‘I’m going to ask Tom … three or four weeks before the election, maybe three, I’m going to make an appeal for ICE and Marshals to be at our voting booths.’ Charles was referring to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the US Marshals, both armed federal law enforcement officers whose presence at polling sites to intimidate voters would be against the law, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.” (08/27/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/bobby-charles-maine-governor-race
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12) US Army plans nuclear microreactors at five military bases as part of $2.2 billion energy security push
Source: Fox Business
“The U.S. Army is moving forward with plans to bring nuclear power to five military installations as part of a multibillion-dollar effort to strengthen the military’s energy security and reduce its reliance on potentially vulnerable power grids. The Army announced Wednesday that its Janus Program selected five nuclear energy companies for awards of up to a combined $2.2 billion to own, build and operate nuclear microreactors at bases in North Carolina, Kentucky, Texas, Georgia and New York. … Combined with expected private-sector investment, the Army said it expects more than 20 nuclear microreactors to eventually be built and operated across Department of War installations.” (08/27/26)
https://www.foxbusiness.com/energy/us-army-plans-nuclear-microreactors-5-military-bases-part-2-2b-energy-security-push
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13) Florida becomes first state to block welfare cash for tattoos, vapes and more
Source: Fox News
“Florida is becoming the first state to impose sweeping new limits on how welfare cash can be spent, blocking recipients from using cash-assistance benefits loaded onto EBT cards for purchases like tattoos, theme park tickets, video games, vaping products and other items not generally considered ‘basic needs’ under a plan the Trump administration is urging other states to emulate. Florida’s cash-assistance program, known as Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA), is funded through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. It is separate from SNAP, the food-assistance program, though families may receive both types of benefits through separate balances on the same EBT card. The Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families (ACF) determined Florida’s updated TANF plan to be complete Thursday in a letter sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis and obtained by Fox News Digital.” (08/27/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/florida-becomes-first-state-block-welfare-cash-tattoos-vapes-more
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14) More than 1,300 are missing in Nepal and Tibet after catastrophic floods caused by glacier collapse
Source: ABC News
“Rescue teams searched on Thursday for hundreds of missing people along the Nepal-China border after a catastrophic and deadly torrent of floods and mud swept through several communities a day earlier following a glacier collapse. The disaster left at least 168 people dead and more than 1,300 missing, including foreigners and pilgrims, and displaced hundreds of people across the Himalayan region. Videos of the tragedy showed the flood swallowing up people as they tried to escape, and destroying buildings and bridges. On Thursday, drone footage from Nepal showed the scale of the destruction.” (08/27/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/1300-missing-nepal-tibet-after-catastrophic-floods-caused-135993574
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15) GA: Date set for state employees to kill man convicted of killing two real estate agents
Source: SFGate
“Georgia prison officials plan to [kill] a man next month who was convicted of fatally shooting two real estate agents in Atlanta’s suburbs more than two decades ago. Stacey Humphreys, 53, was convicted of malice murder in the 2003 killings of 33-year-old Cyndi Williams and 21-year-old Lori Brown. He is set to receive a lethal injection at the state prison near Jackson at 7 p.m. on Sept. 16, according to the Department of Corrections. Humphreys would be the first person [killed by state employees in this particular way] in Georgia this year. The death penalty in the state has largely been tied up in litigation over an agreement related to the coronavirus pandemic that defense lawyers contend temporarily shields many death row residents from execution. The last [killing of this type by state employees] in the state was in March 2024.” (08/27/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/execution-date-set-for-man-convicted-of-killing-2-22406145.php
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16) Appeals court allows charges to proceed against politician who tried to protect another politician from violent gang members
Source: United Press International
“A divided federal appeals court has ruled that Rep. LaMonica McIver is not immune from prosecution on charges stemming from a confrontation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents outside a federal [concentration camp] in 2025. The New Jersey Democrat was charged with three federal counts of impeding and interfering with federal immigration officers over alleged conduct on May 9, 2025, as they were attempting to [abduct] Newark Mayor Ras Baraka during an unannounced congressional oversight inspection of Delaney Hall Federal Immigration Facility. … McIver allegedly placed herself in front of Baraka and wrapped her arms around him to prevent his [abduction].” (08/27/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/08/27/LaMonica-McIver-charges-proceed/6031787805552/
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17) Jellyfish force partial shutdown of French nuclear plant
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“A massive influx of jellyfish has led to the partial shutdown of a nuclear reactor in northern France. Two of Gravelines nuclear power station’s six units were shut down on Wednesday and Thursday because of the presence of jellyfish in the seawater filtration system, which is used for cooling, Électricité de France (EDF) said. A third unit has been shut down since 10 August due to the same issue, while a fourth has been closed for an inspection. Gravelines, one of the country’s biggest nuclear power stations located between Dunkirk and Calais in the Hauts-de-France region, was also closed last August because of jellyfish in its filters.” (08/27/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy8znx3g4e2o
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18) Malaysia: Former PM Ismail Sabri charged with concealing assets
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Former Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has been charged with failing to declare tens of millions of dollars worth of assets, becoming the country’s third former prime minister to face criminal charges after leaving office. The 66-year-old pleaded not guilty at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court on Thursday to a charge that alleges he failed to provide a complete declaration of assets to Malaysia’s anti-corruption agency. He is accused of concealing holdings worth about $40m, spread across nine currencies, as well as bars of gold and silver. His lawyer, Amer Hamzah Arshad, said at a media conference that the charge was essentially a failure to comply with a notice to declare certain assets.” (08/27/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/27/malaysias-former-pm-ismail-sabri-charged-with-concealing-assets
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19) FL: Shackled Tate brothers in court ask to be released from jail during extradition fight
Source: SFGate
“Defense lawyers for social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate argued Thursday if Romania is OK with them being out of jail as they challenge sex charges, then the U.S. should free them too as they fight extradition to the United Kingdom. The brothers have remained in a federal detention center in Miami since they were arrested July 18 on rape and sex trafficking charges from the U.K. Their attorneys have argued that their high profile and active social media presence make it nearly impossible for them to flee. The Tates have become among the world’s most polarizing internet personalities by promoting wealth, male dominance and misogyny through their social media empire.” (08/27/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/tate-brothers-extradition-fight-back-in-miami-22405547.php
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20) Military trial date set for alleged mastermind of 9/11 attacks
Source: NBC News
“A military judge ruled Wednesday that the man accused of being the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks will stand trial starting in June 2028. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will be prosecuted alongside others suspected of conspiring in the attacks: Walid bin Attash, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi. Mohammed is accused of orchestrating the plot to crash hijacked planes into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. A fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania during the attacks. He has been held at the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, since 2006.” [editor’s note: He was entitled to a speedy, REAL, legal trial 20 years ago; the US regime has spent 20 years fighting to just hold a fake, illegal “trial” instead. The delay kind of eliminated the publicity value of the show – TLK] (08/26/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/military-trial-date-set-alleged-mastermind-sept-11-attacks-ksm-rcna594621
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) The Trade Declaration Carney Should Make
Source: Independent Institute
by Pierre Lemieux
“The trade war between the United States and Canada—or, more exactly, between Donald Trump, who declared it, and Canadian politicians, who try to limit the damage though using the same logic as Trump’s—provides a good opportunity to reflect on how trade and freedom work. It is not a brilliant idea for the Canadian government to impose a tariff on Canadians who purchase American appliances, for example, in order to retaliate against the American ruler who has imposed a tariff on Americans importing Canadian whisky. … Instead of retaliation—imposing a border tax on Canadians because Trump has imposed one on Americans—[prime minister Mark Carney] could make a declaration of unilateral free trade along the following lines …” (08/27/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/08/27/the-trade-declaration-carney-should-make/
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22) How to Stop Chinese, Russian Support for Iran’s War Efforts
Source: The American Conservative
by Doug Bandow
“For the Trump administration to complain about foreign interference in America’s war of choice is manifestly absurd. No country interferes in the affairs of other nations more often. No government is more presumptuous in its demands. No nation more frequently uses force against other states. Russian and Chinese intervention in the Iran war is unfortunate—Americans likely have died and certainly have been injured as a result. Yet the administration shares responsibility for the resulting harm. … American policymakers long have viewed themselves as virtuous vestal virgins, entitled, even required, to purify the terrible world around them. Alas, no one else views the solons of Washington in such terms, and for good reason: They have repeatedly failed, often disastrously.” (08/27/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/how-to-stop-chinese-russian-support-for-irans-war-efforts/
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23) Mamdani socialism and Trump socialism — reject them both
Source: The Hill
by Benjamin Powell
“New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced this summer that he will open city-owned grocery stores in the coming years. Meanwhile, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick recently announced that the federal government will take a nearly $1 billion equity stake in seven semiconductor companies. There is a common name for these policies: creeping socialism. … President Trump’s criticism of Mamdani is consistent with his pledge in his 2019 State of the Union address that ‘America will never be a socialist country.’ But his own administration’s actions are even less consistent with that pledge than Mamdani’s grocery stores.” (08/27/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/6051425-rejecting-left-right-socialism/
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24) Gilded or Golden?
Source: Law & Liberty
by John O McGinnis
“The Gilded Age was convicted by its name before its history was ever written. Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner coined that appellation in their political satire by the same name. Their point was clear—the American era of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century was the opposite of a golden age. Instead, it was a time when a thin layer of glitter concealed corruption, useless speculation, and harmful self-interest. The name stuck, permitting Twain’s summary judgment to masquerade as neutral historical judgment. … It is a relief then to have Julian Fellowes’s series, The Gilded Age …. [it] shows that the era produced many public benefits and that the rich were substantially responsible for the dynamism that led not only to economic prosperity but also to broader social inclusion, even if they were hardly always innocent or admirable.” (08/27/26)
https://lawliberty.org/gilded-or-golden/
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25) In the US-Canada Trade Spat, Tariffs Are Not the Only Problem
Source: Cato Institute
by Scott Lincicome
“After US-Canada trade talks collapsed Friday, the United States imposed a 50% tariff on a long list of Canadian goods via the never-used Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer went on TV first thing Monday in an attempt to calm financial markets with some basic tariff math. He said the new action hits a small percentage of Canadian imports into the US and an even smaller share of consumption, so there’s ‘no possible way it can really affect US well-being.’Greer is basically right on the issue of the tariffs’ direct effects. The problem for both America’s chief trade negotiator and the US economy is that the new levies raise other issues that are much more important – and troubling. … First, the spat injects significant new uncertainty into both the trillion-dollar bilateral relationship and the broader global economy.” (08/27/26)
https://www.cato.org/commentary/us-canada-trade-spat-tariffs-are-not-only-problem
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26) Tech bros must channel the moguls of old to get back in America’s good graces
Source: New York Post
by Glenn Harlan Reynolds
“In the face of massive public resistance and anger, tech bros need to start thinking like Andrew Carnegie and the ‘robber barons’ of the Gilded Age — or even like Xi Jinping. The tech world is in bad odor these days. Social media’s addictive qualities have parents in such an uproar that Meta just agreed to pay out an $18 billion settlement, and data-center projects are facing rejection across the country. Yet for decades America’s tech industry was cherished as a center of innovation, a world in which hard-working entrepreneurs started businesses in garages and produced things that made everyone’s lives better. Because it was constantly innovating, it stayed ahead of government’s ability to regulate it, resulting in ‘permissionless innovation’ — change that didn’t have to ask first.” (08/26/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/08/26/opinion/tech-bros-must-channel-the-moguls-of-old-to-get-back-in-americas-good-graces/
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27) Bill Gates Wants to Tax AI and Reserve Jobs for Humans. History Says That’s a Mistake
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey
“In his 6,000-word essay, Gates proposes three direct state interventions. First, he proposes a payroll-style tax on artificial intelligence and robots to penalize companies that automate labor. Second, he proposes legal mandates that reserve specific job categories for humans only. Third, he advocates for global government coordination to slow down artificial intelligence development. As we see so often, government interventions cause more problems than they propose to solve, often having the opposite effect of their stated goals — so government intervention is a terrible idea to solve problems that have not yet happened. After all, adding a tax on automation will negate the increased profits the automation will bring. His ‘solutions’ will bring higher consumer prices; they would protect inefficient monopolies while reducing productivity. Negating the whole point of AI.” (08/27/26)
https://palmbeachexaminer.substack.com/p/bill-gates-wants-to-tax-ai-and-reserve
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28) Economists can’t explain American misery. Luckily, I can.
Source: Sex and the State
by Cathy Reisenwitz
“In Asia Times, Noah Smith just wrote that standard economic measures can’t really explain why Americans are growing less happy with their lives over time. The problem is that what makes for a happy, meaningful life is much harder to measure than GDP or median income. I agree that standard economic measures alone won’t do the trick. But it’s not because it’s so hard to measure what predicts a happy, meaningful life. That’s actually pretty easy. Connecting economic realities to those measures is also fairly straightforward. What Smith is missing is that relationships predict happiness. And, increasingly, economic conditions predict relationships.” (08/27/26)
https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/bottom-half-families-explain-americas
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29) Ukraine’s edge in war: Esprit de (military) corps
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“News about the wars in Iran and Gaza has lately eclipsed that of a more consequential war: the one in Ukraine, now in its fifth year. Yet that conflict could soon take a turn against the aggressor, Russia – less on the battlefront and more on the homefront. By various reports, young Russians are showing more bravery through subtle opposition to the war, while young men have become less brave about joining the military – actively avoiding coercive new ways of recruiting them to replace the vast number of soldiers lost on the front lines. The contrast with Ukraine could not be more stark.” (08/26/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0826/Ukraine-s-edge-in-war-Esprit-de-military-corps
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30) Thank you, Brendan Carr
Source: Checks & Balances
by Bob Corn-Revere
“It is widely said that you are nothing but a political hack who sold out your previously professed beliefs about free expression and the rule of law for the short-term goal of being named FCC chairman, that you corrupted the agency’s nonpartisan purpose by focusing its efforts on punishing perceived critics of the Trump administration, and that you regularly prostrate yourself with cringe-worthy displays of servility to soothe the president’s fragile ego. All these things may be true. But the criticism is terribly unfair because it fails to acknowledge your substantive accomplishments. When the dust settles, it may turn out that you have done more than any FCC chairman since the agency’s creation in 1934 to advance full First Amendment protection for the broadcast medium.” (08/27/26)
https://chkbal.substack.com/p/thank-you-brendan-carr
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31) Monopoly Money: Why Meta “Likes” the $16 Billion Settlement
Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley
“It is not every day that a company can settle a case for over $16 billion and celebrate. However, Meta’s settlement with 29 states is a remarkably good deal for a company facing a demand of over $1.4 trillion and years of litigation. In the end, it may not even take a loss from the litigation. The settlement ends the latest mass liability case, following similar settlements in tobacco, opiates, and other products. It will require Meta to make changes to its platform, though the company already appeared to be moving to make such changes. The maximum payment of closer to $17 billion is tied to whether competing platforms (like TikTok and YouTube) adopt parallel protections for children. Otherwise, the company is on the hook for at least $12.1 billion over 10 years under the agreement.” (08/27/26)
https://jonathanturley.org/2026/08/27/monopoly-money-why-meta-likes-the-16-billion-settlement/
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32) Game Theory and the Push to Go Along
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Richard Burt
“World War II ended when America dropped the atomic bombs named ‘Little Boy’ and ‘Fat Man’ on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Hundreds of thousands of Japanese died in an instant and of radiation poisoning over the subsequent years. Several American politicians, military brass, and university academics advocated for preemptive war against Russia to prevent it from acquiring nuclear bombs. Francis Matthews, Secretary of the Navy, advocated becoming ‘aggressors for peace.’ The mathematician John von Neuman, who was a pioneer in game theory, remarked: ‘If you say bomb them tomorrow, I say why not bomb them today?'” (08/27/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/game-theory-and-the-push-to-go-along/
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33) Lebanon Pressured to Disarm Hezbollah While Israel Stays; How Is That Sovereignty?
Source: Common Dreams
by Faheem Kazimi
“This week, the argument over Lebanese sovereignty became concrete on a ridge overlooking Nabatieh. The New Arab reported on August 24 that Washington is pressing for the strategic Ali al-Taher ridge, where Hezbollah fighters are present, to be transferred to the Lebanese Army in exchange for Israeli withdrawal. The same area has been subjected to repeated Israeli shelling. In one small patch of southern Lebanon, the larger problem is suddenly hard to hide: Beirut is being asked to move first, while the withdrawal of foreign forces from Lebanese territory remains the inducement offered in return. That pressure did not begin this week. Reuters reported in July 2025 that Washington was pressing Lebanon to make a formal cabinet commitment to disarm Hezbollah before talks could continue on halting Israeli military operations.” (08/27/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/israel-lebanon-sovereignty
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34) He Spent Nearly Six Years in Prison Based on the Word of a Notoriously Dishonest Houston Drug Cop
Source: Reason
by Jacob Sullum
“When a crime consists of nothing but handing a police officer or an informant something in exchange for money, the evidence often consists of nothing but that purported buyer’s word, along with drugs that easily could have been obtained through other means. This situation invites dishonest cops to invent drug offenses and take credit for the resulting arrests, as [Gerald] Goines did for years with impunity. When your job is to create crimes by arranging illegal drug sales, it is not such a big leap to create crimes out of whole cloth, especially if you are convinced that your target is a drug dealer.” (08/27/26)
https://reason.com/2026/08/27/he-spent-nearly-6-years-in-prison-based-on-the-word-of-a-notoriously-dishonest-houston-drug-cop/
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35) A Hostile Takeover?
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Mark Nayler
“Following Britain’s vote to leave the EU, both easyJet and Ryanair were told by Brussels that they needed to relocate their headquarters and/or sell the majority of their shares to EU citizens in order to keep operating across the continent. easyJet solved the problem by opening a European office in Vienna, although its overall base of operations has remained in Luton, 30 miles north of London. New York-based Apollo has revealed few details about how it proposes to adhere to Europe’s airline ownership regulations, under which its stake is capped at 49.9%. Some aviation experts have noted that Apollo could satisfy Brussels by leaving majority voting rights with EU stakeholders, but still restructure or break up the airline to gain overall economic control.” (08/27/26)
https://fee.org/articles/a-hostile-takeover/
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36) US Aided Brazilian Tyranny?
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“In a case with ‘serious repercussions,’ insists journalist Brazilian-based American journalist Glenn Greenwald, a ‘U.S. federal judge concluded that an immigration record entered in the Customs and Border Protection system during the Biden administration was fraudulent.’ While the idea of fraudulent behavior in a government bureau will hardly shock you, this record was special. It was used to imprison a Brazilian official. The official? Filipe Martins. He filed suit in the U.S., and as a result a truth came out.” (08/27/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/08/27/u-s-aided-brazilian-tyranny/
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37) The FDA Needs Better Leadership, Not Patronage
Source: Town Hall
by Derek Hunter
“It’s probably not very often, if ever, that a Republican nomination to head a federal agency is compared to a Democratic mayor’s race in Baltimore, but that’s where I’m going here. It’s not crazy; I swear it makes sense. Just stick with me, and you’ll see. When I lived in Baltimore in 2016, then-Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake decided not to run for reelection. She was an accidental mayor, the city council president who ascended to the top job when a criminal scandal forced the mayor to resign. Rawlings-Blake served the second half of Sheila Dixon’s term, then won her own in 2011. She was never really good or comfortable in the job she found herself in, so she announced she wouldn’t seek reelection. This led to a feeding frenzy of Baltimore politicians scrambling for the gig.” (08/27/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2026/08/27/the-fda-needs-better-leadership-not-patronage-n2681993
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38) The Destabilizing Stabilizers: Why Increasing Government Spending Prolongs a Recession
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by William L Anderson
“Keynesians hold that the economy is directed by ‘aggregate demand,’ that is overall spending, and that if consumers slow their spending, then the central bank can respond by lowering interest rates, which would encourage businesses to borrow money for expansion purposes, thus redirecting some of the lost consumer spending. However, according to Keynesians, if interest rates already are near-zero, then lowering rates is self-defeating and can lead to a ‘Liquidity Trap.’ … Mainstream economists speak of so-called automatic stabilizers in which government policies act in a counter-cyclical way to reverse harmful economic trends.” (08/27/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/destabilizing-stabilizers-why-increasing-government-spending-prolongs-recession
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39) The Fourth Amendment and ICE
Source: CounterPunch
by Matt Witt
“Last year, Carrboro, N.C. became the first town in America to officially declare itself a ‘Fourth Amendment City.’ At the same time, many small businesses in Carrboro have pledged to be ‘Fourth Amendment Businesses’ and to take specific steps to protect employees and customers from federal persecution by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). Under the Fourth Amendment, ICE agents cannot constitutionally enter a private area that is not open to the public unless they have a judicial warrant signed by a judge that says ‘U.S. District Court’ or a state court at the top. Despite claims by the Trump administration to the contrary, an administrative warrant from the Department of Homeland Security does not satisfy this constitutional requirement.” (08/27/26)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/08/27/the-fourth-amendment-and-ice/
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40) The rise and fall of “resistance” hero Alexander Vindman
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Blaise Malley
“On paper, Alexander Vindman’s loss in last week’s Florida Democratic Senate was a shocking upset. After all, Vindman had a 16-to-1 fundraising advantage and far more national name recognition than the winner — progressive state Rep. Angie Nixon. But the results reflect more than one poorly-run campaign. Vindman is one of the most prominent faces of a bygone political era known as ‘Russia-gate’ — a period which Democratic voters appear ready to leave behind. … the very reason Vindman succeeded in those heady days is likely — at least partly — to blame for why he and others lost their primaries. Their democracies vs. autocracies (read: Russia) foreign policy is not salient with the voters anymore. Another country is, however.” (08/27/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/alex-vindman-resistance-foreign-policy/
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41) Health Care Reform Needs More Than Universal Coverage
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen
“The Trump administration is desperate for good news on inflation, so when they saw that prescription drug prices had dropped by the largest amount in 60 years, they grabbed onto that for dear life. ‘No previous Administration achieved this,’ the White House boasted in a press release, congratulating themselves for ‘delivering real relief to American families and putting patients first.’ It seems reasonably clear that the administration that delivered this was, in fact, the ‘previous Administration’, namely, Joe Biden’s. The lion’s share of the drop is attributable to drug price negotiations in Medicare, which just kicked in this year for ten high-priced medications. Some of the negotiated prices are 79 percent below the previous level. That Democrats put together a health care intervention designed not to lower prices until the next president’s term is severe political malpractice, but it happens to be the truth.” (08/27/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/08/27/health-care-reform-universal-coverage-medicare-for-all/
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42) Postliberalism Gets the “Common Good” Wrong
Source: The Daily Economy
by Logan Tantibanchachai
“Individual liberty is an essential feature of the constitutional order, not a competing good. To claim otherwise, critics must reject or rewrite our Founding.” (08/27/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/postliberalism-gets-the-common-good-wrong/
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43) Bessent Suggests Economic Warfare Against Iran Could “Blow Up the Global Financial System”
Source: Antiwar.com
by Brett Wilkins
“With the United States unable to militarily defeat Iran in President Donald Trump’s illegal US-Israeli war of choice, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday escalated the administration’s economic attacks on Tehran, warning countries and companies around the world that continuing to do business with the nation could expose them to punitive sanctions. … While Bessent did not say which countries would likely be targeted, China, Türkiye, and the United Arab Emirates are Iran’s biggest trading partners. The secretary was also asked why sanctions aren’t being imposed immediately. ‘Well, we are giving everyone the opportunity to remedy bad behavior,’ he replied. ‘Why would I want to blow up the global financial system?'” (08/27/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/brett_wilkins/2026/08/26/bessent-suggests-economic-warfare-against-iran-could-blow-up-the-global-financial-system/
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44) Don’t cave to fear of government
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“Government is obviously a criminal gang; unaccountable to the people it rules, and refusing to be limited by the rules that apply to it. Like in all criminal gangs, there is infighting. Sometimes the opposing factions fight and focus on someone who is also in government, but they’ll ignore those who have done worse to punish someone who has stepped across a line the other politicians somehow notice and care about. I used to wonder how people could be so blind to the situation and keep supporting the existence of government in spite of the evidence right under their noses. I used to wonder, but I don’t anymore. It’s fear.” (08/26/26)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2026/08/26/voices/opinion-dont-cave-to-fear-of-government/234072.html
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45) The New WWE: Women’s Wrestling Entertainment
Source: American Greatness
by Victor Davis Hanson
“A better name for the current Women’s National Basketball League (WNBA) might be Women’s Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), given the growing performance-art violence that is now endemic in the league. Prior to the 2024 arrival of then-22-year-old Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark, very few people watched the WNBA. Team franchises were worth less than $20 million. The league ran chronic deficits and was subsidized by the men’s professional basketball league, the National Basketball Association (NBA). An unspoken subtext of the WNBA was that the owners and coaches were left-wing and made little effort to hide their political biases. Despite talk of diversity, the league was (and remains) about 83 percent nonwhite and about 70 percent black. Some media outlets have suggested that about 50 percent of the players are lesbians. By Clark’s third year, her level of play had revolutionized the WNBA – or rather, saved it from financial collapse and cultural obscurity.” (08/27/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/08/27/the-new-wwe-womens-wrestling-entertainment/
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46) The Bunker State: The Government Will Survive, but Will the Constitution?
Source: Rutherford Institute
by John & Nisha Whitehead
“What began publicly as Donald Trump’s lavish, taxpayer-funded vision of a gilded White House ballroom is now being justified by the administration—in and out of court—as a matter of national security. To President Trump, it seems, a ballroom by any other name is a bunker. … hundreds of workers have been laboring around the clock, 20 hours a day, seven days a week, to push the project forward as quickly as possible. The message seems clear: get far enough along, fast enough, and it becomes that much harder for Congress, the courts or some future administration to undo what has already been built. There is a lesson in that, and it speaks to much more than a ballroom or a bunker.” (08/26/26)
https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/the_bunker_state_the_government_will_survive_but_will_the_constitution
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47) Two Cults, One Country: No Liberty.
Source: Tenth Amendment Center
by Michael Boldin
“‘Evil is turned into Good, and Good into Evil’ … Written almost 300 years ago, Thomas Gordon warned us about political parties being little more than cults that promise to protect your country – while really killing it. It was so prophetic that it sounds like it was written today.” (08/26/26)
https://tenthamendmentcenter.com/2026/08/26/two-cults-one-country-no-liberty/
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48) What Is “Reasonable” Gun Control?
Source: The Volokh Conspiracy
by David Kopel
“According to the Gun Control Lobbies, Everything, Including Prohibition.” (08/26/26)
https://reason.com/volokh/2026/08/26/what-is-reasonable-gun-control/
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49) An Open Letter While Iran Resists an Illegal War of Aggression
Source: In These Times
by Vijay Prashad
“Dear friends and colleagues, The United States and Israel launched a war of aggression against Iran in February of this year. For six months, US missiles and bombs have fallen upon civilian and military targets inside the country. Hospitals, schools, energy facilities, and neighbourhoods have been struck. The 168 schoolgirls killed in Minab have become the terrible symbol of this war. Iranians have been forced to live under the constant expectation of another attack, while Iranian families outside the country endure the peculiar agony of watching the destruction from afar. This follows on three years of Israeli genocide in Gaza, which has been carried out due to the relentless military support of the United States.” (08/27/26)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/vijay-prashad-gaurdian-scissors-open-letter-iran-resists-illegal-war-aggression
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50) The Affordability Debate Unwrapped
Source: Law & Liberty
by Thomas Savidge
“Pricey burritos are neither proof of an affordability crisis nor evidence of personal irresponsibility.” (08/26/26)
https://lawliberty.org/the-affordability-debate-unwrapped/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Underthrow Podcast, 08/27/26
Source: Underthrow
“Why Can’t You Switch Your Government?” (08/27/26)
https://underthrow.substack.com/p/why-cant-you-switch-your-government
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52) Libertarian Angle, 08/27/26
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“Jacob and Richard discuss FFF’s great new book, Liberty and the History of Economic Ideas, by Richard Ebeling.” (08/27/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbzZlXdHhfk
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53) Rising, 08/27/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave gives his radar on Meta paying nearly $17 billion to settle a lawsuit on social media addiction.” (08/27/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/6043117-rising-august-27-2026/
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54) Show-Me Institute Podcast, 08/27/26
Source: Show-Me Institute
“Missouri’s School Personnel Boom with Avery Frank and Cory Koedel.” (08/27/26)
https://showmeinstitute.org/article/accountability/missouris-school-personnel-boom-with-avery-frank-and-cory-koedel/
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55) Cato Podcast, 08/27/26
Source: Cato Institute
“How to Spot a Wrong Number.” (08/27/26)
https://www.cato.org/multimedia/cato-podcast/how-spot-wrong-number
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56) The Moynihan Report, 08/27/26
Source: The Moynihan Report
“William Shatner Doesn’t Want to Die.” (08/27/26)
https://www.themoynihan.report/p/william-shatner-doesnt-want-to-die
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57) The Blessings of Liberty with Jeffrey Rosen, 08/27/26
Source: The Blessings of Liberty with Jeffrey Rosen
“How has the Declaration of Independence Inspired Americans Over Time?” (08/27/26)
https://rosenjeffrey.substack.com/p/how-has-the-declaration-of-independence
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58) Kibbe on Liberty, episode 401
Source: Free the People
“California Is Failing the Homeless | Guest: Mary Theroux.” (08/26/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh7d9FHl1eQ
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59) The Tom Woods Show, episode 2790
Source: The Tom Woods Show
“The Old Food Pyramid Was Killing You.” (08/26/26)
https://tomwoods.com/ep-2790-the-old-food-pyramid-was-killing-you/
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60) LPA Two Hour Lunch Hour, episode 8
Source: LP Alliance
“Join us for our anything goes podcast every Wednesday at noon eastern!” (08/26/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGKlmKe_mIE
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