01/28 Russia: Regime thugs abduct Navalny allies, threaten social networks; It's Not 230 You Hate, It's Oligopolies
3 views
Skip to first unread message
Thomas L. Knapp
Jan 28, 2021, 8:17:50 AM1/28/21
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 01/28/21
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Presented by the Liberty International
Produced by the staff of Rational Review News Digest
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Today's Freedom News:
1) Russia: Regime thugs abduct Navalny allies, threaten social networks
2) Republicans press Biden to reopen big government's daycare / indoctrination centers
3) Biden Hits "Pause" on Oil and Gas Leasing
4) Iran: Pols Keep Focus on Biden As Israeli Regime Threatens Military Strike Over Nuclear Deal
5) Court transcript: Proud Boys leader was "prolific" snitch for law enforcement
6) MT: House Considers Campus Free Speech Bill
7) French, Italian Regimes Pull Fincantieri Shipyard Deal
8) Dow tumbles 630 points to mark worst selloff in three months
9) US regime "actively looking" at requiring COVID testing before domestic flights
10) Spacewalking astronauts tackle European lab upgrade at space station
11) India: ByteDance cuts jobs, not clear if it can make a comeback after prolonged regime ban
12) US Heimatschutz tries to keep up the Capitol riot scare with "National Terrorism Advisory System bulletin"
13) Sources: Biden regime pauses arms sales to Saudi Arabia and UAE
14) UK: Johnson thinking about the possibility of considering easing up on the lockdown BS
15) MD: Lawsuit alleges cops harassed and assaulted five-year-old kindergartener
16) Spain: Madrid halts COVID-19 vaccination two weeks as it runs out of doses
17) Russia: Regime threatens TikTok with fines over Navalny protest posts
18) Walmart adding automated warehouses with robots to stores to help fulfill pickup, delivery orders
19) Bernie Sanders's mittens & memes help raise $1.8 million for charity
20) Tunisia: Protests rage on as latest victim named
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) It's Not 230 You Hate, It's Oligopolies
22) Can do without Biden's "unity"
23) More Freedom Is the Whole Point of Vaccines
24) The Miseducation of Antony Blinken
25) Federal Regulations Sometimes Stymie Efforts to Recover Formerly Endangered Species
26) Be Your Own Revolution
27) Viewpoint Diversity Will Get a Boost From School Choice
28) Antitrust Policy Should Target Government Monopolies
29) Save the Filibuster
30) Democrats' meaning of "equity and inclusion": "Believe what we say, or else!"
31) Too Many Experts, Too Little Knowledge
32) The Capitol Coup Attempt Was the Far-Right's Opening Shot
33) How Falsehoods Take Root
34) Who Benefits from the Post-Presidency Impeachment?
35) What "Action" Can Biden Take Against Putin or Other Repressive Regimes?
36) Biden's Presidency Has Already Failed
37) Local Government Is a Managerial Convenience to the State, Not a Blank Check
38) Against Ad-Hocracy
39) Redefining US leadership with foreign aid
40) The dystopian reality of Big Tech
41) Morley v. CIA
42) A Public Persona In Public Space
43) Book Review: Fatherland by Robert Harris
44) SolarWinds: No "Hack of the Century"; Blowback for NSA Dominance of Cyberspace
45) How Much Did COVID-19 Affect The 2020 Election?
46) UCF is killing academic freedom to punish tweets it didn't like
47) Low rates and limited liability mean hot markets
48) The "Humanitarian" Left Still Ignores the Lessons of Iraq, Libya and Syria To Cheer On More War
49) Don't Let "It's a Private Company" Become a Fig Leaf for Totalitarianism
50) It Usually Begins with Plato (or Cicero)!
51) Reflecting the Authoritarian Climate, Washington Will Remain Militarized Until At Least March
52) I'm being censored, and you can read, hear, and see me talk about it in the news, on the radio, and on TV
53) Even Libertarians
54) Biden's Executive Actions Just Scratch the Surface
55) Some Free Advice for Will Wilkinson
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
56) Free Talk Live, 01/27/21
57) Everything Voluntary with Skyler J. Collins, episode 457
58) The Tatiana Show, episode 292
59) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 01/27/21
60) Conflicts Of Interest, episode 63
61) The Tom Woods Show, episode 1822
62) Bloggingheads.tv, 01/27/21
63) The Science of Politics, 01/27/21
64) The Chris Spangle Show, 01/27/21
65) Free Man Beyond The Wall, episode 529
66) Electric Libertyland, episode 213
67) Truth In Media with Ben Swann, 01/26/21
68) Declare Your Independence with Ernest Hancock, 01/26/21
69) Mad Dogs and Englishmen, episode 297
70) Steve Ellner on The Scott Horton Show
vvvvv SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS vvvvv
25 TEXAS HEROES, by TL and Helen Hulsey
SHOP ONLINE, GET A REBATE IN BITCOIN!
TOM WOODS'S LIBERTY CLASSROOM
Learn REAL history and economics!
The authoritative measure of public opinion and consumer behaviour
Tyranny Demands AN ACT OF SELF-DEFENSE: A NOVEL BY ERNE LEWIS
^^^^^ SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS ^^^^^
_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Russia: Regime thugs abduct Navalny allies, threaten social networks
Source: Charlotte Observer
"Russian authorities on Thursday detained several allies of opposition leader Alexei Navalny and issued warnings to social media giants after tens of thousands of people took to the streets in over 100 Russian cities last weekend to demand his release. The detention of Navalny's brother Oleg, his top ally Lyubov Sobol, Dr. Anastasia Vasilyeva from the Navalny-backed Alliance of Doctors and Maria Alyokhina from the Pussy Riot punk collective comes as authorities try to stem another wave of protests set for Sunday. ... Russian prosecutors on Thursday also issued warnings to Facebook, Google, Twitter, TikTok and Russian social networks demanding that they block calls for more protests." (01/28/21)
-----
2) Republicans press Biden to reopen big government's daycare / indoctrination centers
Source: The Hill
"The Biden administration is coming under pressure from Republicans to support the reopening of [government "schools"] after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published new research that says that schools can operate safely despite COVID-19. The CDC researchers on Tuesday wrote that there is 'little evidence' of widespread coronavirus transmission in schools when proper precautions are followed. Teachers['] unions in several places across the country, however, are resisting the push to return to in-person instruction, arguing it is not safe. ... 'Open the schools,' the Senate Republican Conference tweeted simply on Tuesday night." (01/28/21)
-----
3) Biden Hits "Pause" on Oil and Gas Leasing
Source: National Public Radio [US state media]
"In an effort to slow the nation's contribution to climate change, President Biden has signed an executive order to begin halting oil and gas leasing on federal lands and waters. The much-anticipated move is one of several executive actions the president took on Wednesday to address the worsening climate crisis and the broader decline of the natural world, but it won't come without pushback. ... The oil and gas industry, hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, is expected to challenge the move, as are fossil-fuel rich Western states whose economies are closely linked to extractive industry on public lands." (01/27/21)
-----
4) Iran: Pols Keep Focus on Biden As Israeli Regime Threatens Military Strike Over Nuclear Deal
Source: Newsweek
"Iranian leaders are trying to keep the pressure on President Joe Biden in the hope he will quickly lift American sanctions and rejoin the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal, even as the head of the Israel Defense Forces threatens military action if the accord is revived. President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday made more of what have become near-daily comments on Biden's plan to rejoin the JCPOA, from which former President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018. Though both sides are in favor of reviving the JCPOA, Iran is demanding that the U.S. lift crippling sanctions before it returns to full compliance. But the Biden administration has said the JCPOA can only come back into force if Iran scales back its nuclear activity in line with the original deal." [editor's note: The US violated the deal first and is in no position to set preconditions on resuming its obligations – TLK] (01/27/21)
-----
5) Court transcript: Proud Boys leader was "prolific" snitch for law enforcement
Source: Reuters
"Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys extremist group, has a past as an informer for federal and local law enforcement, repeatedly working undercover for investigators after he was arrested in 2012, according to a former prosecutor and a transcript of a 2014 federal court proceeding obtained by Reuters. In the Miami hearing, a federal prosecutor, a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent and Tarrio's own lawyer described his undercover work and said he had helped authorities prosecute more than a dozen people in various cases involving drugs, gambling and human smuggling. Tarrio, in an interview with Reuters Tuesday, denied working undercover or cooperating in cases against others." (01/27/21)
-----
6) MT: House Considers Campus Free Speech Bill
Source: US News & World Report
"The Montana House Judiciary Committee held a hearing Wednesday on a bill that seeks to protect free speech on public university campuses in the state -- even as university administrators say their campuses already protect free speech. Bill sponsor Rep. Mike Hopkins said that current university policy allows some groups, including conservative organizations, to be silenced on campuses, and that the measure would ensure that students are exposed to a broad range of views even if they do not agree with them. ... Under the bill, universities could be required to pay between $2,000 and $75,000 in damages to students or groups whose free speech rights are violated. But university administrators said their policies are already aligned with the bill contents." (01/27/21)
-----
7) French, Italian Regimes Pull Fincantieri Shipyard Deal
Source: Bloomberg
"Italy and France scrapped a long-planned tie-up between their Fincantieri SpA and Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyards, blaming the economic downturn and a failure to get European antitrust approval. 'The economic environment no longer permits' the combination, France's finance ministry and Italy's economic development ministry said in a joint statement Wednesday. Bloomberg News reported earlier on the collapse of the deal. The decision was made to allow the two companies to focus on getting through the pandemic and new projects, according to the governments, who also pointed to 'an absence' of a ruling on the deal by the European competition authority." (01/27/21)
-----
8) Dow tumbles 630 points to mark worst selloff in three months
Source: MarketWatch
"The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wednesday booked its worst daily decline since late October, ringing up the fifth straight decline and its longest losing streak since February in the process. The drop for the Dow and the broader market comes as investors appeared increasingly concerned about COVID-19 vaccine distribution and fixated on the surge in prices in heavily shorted companies movie chain AMC Entertainment Holdings and videogame retailer GameStop Corp. which have been propped up by a band of retail investors on social-media platforms. ... The Dow closed down 634 points, or 2.1%, to end at 30,302, on a preliminary basis, representing its sharpest one-day slide since Oct. 28. The fifth straight decline also was the most since a seven-session slide ended Feb. 28. The S&P 500 index retreated 2.6% to close around 3,750, also marking its worst day since late October. The Nasdaq Composite Index retreated 2.6% to 13,270." (01/27/21)
-----
9) US regime "actively looking" at requiring COVID testing before domestic flights
Source: ABC News
"The Biden administration is "actively looking" at requiring COVID-19 tests before domestic flights, a senior Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official said on Tuesday. 'These are conversations that are ongoing,' CDC Director for the Division of Global Migration and Quarantine Marty Cetron told reporters, 'and looking at what the types and locations of testing might be. We're actively looking at it.' This would be an expansion of the administration's mandatory testing requirement for U.S.-bound travelers that took effect on Tuesday. All travelers flying into the U.S. must now provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test, taken no more than three days before their flight, or they will be denied boarding. The order was initially announced by the CDC on Jan. 12 and formalized in an executive order President Joe Biden signed last week." (01/27/21)
-----
10) Spacewalking astronauts tackle European lab upgrade at space station
Source: Space.com
"Two spacewalking astronauts faced down and fixed numerous technical glitches during a busy spacewalk Wednesday (Jan. 27), but couldn't quite finish upgrading a European science platform on the International Space Station (ISS). NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins and Victor Glover spent nearly seven hours spacewalking outside the station to work on the Bartolomeo external science platform on the European Space Agency's Columbus module. While the astronauts managed to overcome most of their issues, they were unable to activate the Bartolomeo platform itself because one of three cables refused to connect." (01/27/21)
-----
11) India: ByteDance cuts jobs, not clear if it can make a comeback after prolonged regime ban
Source: CNBC
"ByteDance is reducing the size of its TikTok team in India -- months after the popular short video app from China was banned by the Indian government. India is in one of TikTok's most important markets. In June, India's Ministry of Information Technology blocked 59 Chinese apps it claimed were 'engaged in activities which is prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defense of India, security of state and public order.' TikTok was among them. Since then, the apps have remained blocked, leading TikTok parent ByteDance to announce job cuts on Wednesday. ... In September, India banned another 118 Chinese apps. All the apps remain blocked and the the Times of India reported on Tuesday that several, possibly including TikTok, will be permanently banned." (01/27/21)
-----
12) US Heimatschutz tries to keep up the Capitol riot scare with "National Terrorism Advisory System bulletin"
Source: CBS News
"Department of Homeland Security Secretary David Pekoske has issued a National Terrorism Advisory System bulletin warning the public of a 'heightened threat environment' across the United States following last week's presidential inauguration. The advisory, which comes after the violent assault on the Capitol on January 6, runs through the end of April. 'Information suggests that some ideologically-motivated violent extremists with objections to the exercise of governmental authority and the presidential transition, as well as other perceived grievances fueled by false narratives, could continue to mobilize to incite or commit violence,' DHS said in issuing the bulletin." (01/27/21)
-----
13) Sources: Biden regime pauses arms sales to Saudi Arabia and UAE
Source: CNN
"The Biden administration has paused arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as it conducts a wider review of agreements worth billions of dollars made by the Trump administration, sources familiar with the matter told CNN Wednesday. The move to freeze the sales to the Gulf allies could signal a change in approach by the Biden administration after the Trump administration approved major sales The State Department confirmed a pause is in effect but did not cite the countries that would be impacted." (01/27/21)
-----
14) UK: Johnson thinking about the possibility of considering easing up on the lockdown BS
Source: Politico
"Boris Johnson has begun to sketch a roadmap out of lockdown in England. The U.K. prime minister said the government would publish a review of the strict nationwide measures in late February, with the aim of opening schools -- long promised as the first big change to the rules -- after March 8. It will come as some relief to people -- including lawmakers in his own party -- tired of the restrictive measures. But it marks a partial climbdown after the government had hoped to have children back at school in February. Johnson too made clear, in the wake of data showing the U.K. had surpassed 100,000 deaths from the virus, that normal life remains a distant prospect." [editor's note: Lockdown didn't work! Must need we need more lockdown! – TLK] (01/27/21)
-----
15) MD: Lawsuit alleges cops harassed and assaulted five-year-old kindergartener
Source: CNN
"Two Maryland police officers have been accused of screaming at, grabbing and threatening a 5-year-old elementary school student. The boy's mother, Shanta Grant, filed a lawsuit this month against Montgomery County Police Officers Dionne Holliday and Kevin Christmon -- as well as Montgomery County and the Montgomery County Board of Education. ... The Maryland complaint alleges that in January 2020 the kindergartener walked off the East Silver Spring Elementary School premises when he 'was not being properly supervised.' ... The officers found the boy two-tenths of a mile away from the school and, after speaking to the boy for one minute, Christmon 'started to lose his patience' and 'forcefully grabbed' the boy's arm. ... Once back at the school, the officers allegedly made statements to each other in front of the child, calling the boy bad and Holliday allegedly saying 'this is why people need to beat their kids.'" (01/27/21)
-----
16) Spain: Madrid halts COVID-19 vaccination two weeks as it runs out of doses
Source: Metro
"Madrid health authorities have suspended vaccination against COVID-19 this week and next as they are running out of doses, Madrid's deputy regional president Ignacio Aguado said on Wednesday. The region has halted the vaccination of new people, keeping the few doses it still has to give second jab to patients, Aguado told reporters. The Madrid region has already vaccinated 180,000 people since the campaign started, he said. 'Unfortunately, as we suspected the pace of deliveries was interrupted,' he said." (01/27/21)
-----
17) Russia: Regime threatens TikTok with fines over Navalny protest posts
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
"Russia has said social media platforms will face fines for failing to delete posts that encourage young people to take part in opposition protests. Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and others 'failed to comply' with the government's demand to remove the posts, the Russian media watchdog said. The fines could be as much as 4 million rubles ($53,000; £39,000), it said. Rallies in support of the jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny were held around Russia on Saturday. Tens of thousands of people defied a heavy police presence to attend the demonstrations, and social media played a key role in driving young people to take to the streets. Posts promoting the rallies were viewed hundreds of millions of times on TikTok. The flood of videos prompted Russia's official media watchdog, Roskomnadzor, to demand the app take down any information 'encouraging minors to act illegally.'" (01/27/20)
-----
18) Walmart adding automated warehouses with robots to stores to help fulfill pickup, delivery orders
Source: USA Today
"Robots could help get your future Walmart pickup or delivery order filled and ready for you faster. Walmart announced Tuesday that it is increasing the number of its stores that will serve as local fulfillment centers, which are condensed modular automated warehouses built within a store or added to a store. The centers will house pantry items, frozen foods, consumables as well as electronics. Tom Ward, Walmart's senior vice president of customer product, said the retail giant is planning dozens of locations with additional stores to come in the future. Some stores also will add automated pickup points that would allow customers and delivery drivers to drive up, scan a code and grab their order." (01/27/21)
-----
19) Bernie Sanders's mittens & memes help raise $1.8 million for charity
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
"About those wooly mittens that U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders wore to the presidential inauguration, sparking endless quirky memes across social media? They've helped to raise $1.8 million in the last five days for charitable organizations in Sanders'[s] home state of Vermont, the independent senator announced Wednesday. The sum comes from the sale of merchandise with the Jan. 20 image of him sitting with his arms and legs crossed, clad in his brown parka and recycled wool mittens. Sanders put the first of the so-called 'Chairman Sanders' merchandise, including T-shirts, sweatshirts and stickers, on his website Thursday night and the first run sold out in less than 30 minutes, he said. More merchandise was added over the weekend and sold out by Monday morning, he said." (01/27/20)
-----
20) Tunisia: Protests rage on as latest victim named
Source: The Guardian [UK]
"The latest victim of Tunisia's current unrest has been named as Haykel Rachdi, from Sbeitla in Kasserine, near the Algerian border. He died of his injuries on Monday night after reportedly being struck on the head by a police teargas canister. Protests were continuing on Wednesday, with police pushing back hundreds of mainly young demonstrators outside the country's parliament in the capital, Tunis. One group had marched there from the working-class district of Hay Ettadhamen, in the north of the city. The protesters chanted refrains from the revolution of the winter of 2010-11 and anti-police slogans, while inside, politicians continued to debate whether to accept or reject a proposed new government, the fifth since 2019's inconclusive elections. The unrest continues to dominate much of public life." (01/27/21)
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) It's Not 230 You Hate, It's Oligopolies
Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
by Katharine Trendacosta
"As we continue to hear calls to repeal or change Section 230, it appears that many people have conflated a law that affects the tech giants (among many others) with Big Tech as a whole. Section 230 is not a gift to Big Tech, nor is repealing it a panacea for the problems Big Tech is causing -- to the contrary repealing it will only exacerbate those problems. The thing you hate is not 230. It's lack of competition." (01/27/21)
-----
22) Can do without Biden's "unity"
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
"John Brennan, an ex-CIA director from Obama's administration, claims the federal government is targeting 'religious extremists,' conservatives, and libertarians for extra scrutiny. All these people are said to be potential domestic terrorists. ... What scary company! For people who only want to leave everyone else alone, libertarians sure seem to attract a lot of powerful enemies. The worst things libertarians do are exercise the natural human right of self-defense and engage in non-compliance when legislation violates human rights. Not terrorist behaviors, but behaviors for which the government-supremacists hate and fear us." (01/27/21)
-----
23) More Freedom Is the Whole Point of Vaccines
Source: The Atlantic
by Julia Marcus
"When Americans began receiving coronavirus vaccines last month, people started fantasizing about the first thing they'd do when the pandemic ends: go back to work, visit family, hug friends. But the public discussion soon shifted. One news article after another warned about everything that could go wrong: Protection isn't immediate; vaccinated people can still transmit the virus; vaccinated people might get mild infections that could become chronic; vaccines might not work as well against new coronavirus variants. ... In a new social-media campaign, health officials from across the European Union stress that vaccination will help people get their lives back. ... But in the United States, the prevailing message is that, because vaccines aren't perfect, people who have received them shouldn't let down their guard in any way -- not even at gatherings with just a few other vaccinated people." (01/27/21)
-----
24) The Miseducation of Antony Blinken
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Kenny MacDonald
"When Senator Rand Paul asked Antony Blinken what lessons he has learned from his disastrous foreign policy record in Libya and Syria, Blinken replied that after 'some hard thinking' he's proud that he has done 'everything we possibly can to make sure that diplomacy is the first answer, not the last answer, and that war and conflict is our last resort.' ... the question is, war is the last resort to accomplish what? If war is the last resort to get a country to fully capitulate to Washington's demands then eventually the U.S. will be at war with everyone. To Blinken, war as the last resort can only be understood in the same way a mugger considers shooting his victim as a last resort to stealing their wallet." (01/27/21)
-----
25) Federal Regulations Sometimes Stymie Efforts to Recover Formerly Endangered Species
Source: Property and Environment Research Center
by Jonathan Wood
"One of the recurring conflicts under the Endangered Species Act is at what point a species should be delisted. If a species is no longer threatened with extinction but still has a ways to go before most people would consider it fully recovered, should it remain on the list or come off? Because a species' listing triggers significant regulatory restrictions, the answer to that question can have significant consequences for long-term recovery efforts. Indeed, the State of Colorado's plan to reintroduce gray wolves to the state has been complicated by uncertainty over the species status, which is currently the subject of litigation and an administrative review." (01/27/21)
-----
26) Be Your Own Revolution
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
"I made the mistake of involving myself in a sectarian Twitter spat when I was halfway through my morning coffee today and I instantly felt like an idiot. People from the Left Twitter faction I'd offended rushed in to push back against the offense I'd caused them, and within minutes I felt it: the all-too familiar sensation of inspiration and creativity draining away from my body. Tension, coldness and defensiveness where previously there was playfulness and the crackling sensation of an exciting new day in which anything was possible. If you're active online, you've probably experienced this too. ... The longer you engage in it, the lower the probability that you will produce something creative and inspired that day. As a general rule, you may find that it works best to reject cliques and factions altogether." (01/27/20)
-----
27) Viewpoint Diversity Will Get a Boost From School Choice
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
"With Americans beset by multiple crises, there's at least a glimmer of hope that one problem -- the collapse of public schools under the stress of the pandemic -- may offer a partial solution to another: the deepening political polarization reflected in bitter fights over lesson content. As families flee government institutions that seem incapable of offering education of any sort, let alone one on which all can agree, they leave behind squabbles over what students are taught in favor of educational approaches and curricula that better suit their preferences." (01/27/21)
-----
28) Antitrust Policy Should Target Government Monopolies
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Joshua Polk
"Recent headlines involving antitrust law have focused on government investigations into 'big tech' companies, like Facebook and Google. That's amusing, given that it's the government that is the biggest perpetrator of monopolistic behavior. It's now widely recognized that state licensing boards, often dominated by industry players, weaponize regulations to keep would-be competitors out of business." (01/27/21)
-----
29) Save the Filibuster
Source: Campaign For Liberty
by John McCardell
"The Biden blitz attacking our economic and health freedoms has one obvious weakness in the U.S. Senate -- the filibuster. Because the filibuster is one of the few roadblocks on liberty's side, it should be no surprise the Democratic caucus is looking to throw it on the scrap heap for good, meaning there would be nothing in the way of their far-left agenda. What would it mean if the filibuster is eliminated in 2021?" [editor's note: I suspect that both the current controversy and this article are referring to the 60-vote cloture requirement, not to actual filibuster, which involves actual commitment and effort on the part of a Senator to stand and talk without stopping for a long time – TLK] (01/27/21)
-----
30) Democrats' meaning of "equity and inclusion": "Believe what we say, or else!"
Source: Fox News Forum
by Tucker Carlson
"Let's begin with a basic point: The United States government should never, under any circumstances, favor one race of people over any other race of people. That is immoral. We are all citizens. We are all human beings. We are all created by God. We are all equal. Every one of us has a right to equal treatment by our government. That right is guaranteed by our Constitution. ... That right is inscribed on a monument on our National Mall to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who would be shocked and disgusted if he watched Susan Rice announce on television Tuesday that every agency in the U.S. government, the largest and most lavishly funded organization in human history, must 'place equity at the core' of its policy design specifically and for the benefit of 'marginalized communities.'" (01/27/20)
-----
31) Too Many Experts, Too Little Knowledge
Source: American Institute for Economic Research
by David Waugh & Byron B Carson, III
"We are all epidemiologists now. But we have lost an appreciation for the personal, intimate knowledge acquired from our own experiences. Our decisions are increasingly guided by expert recommendations and scientific data, with less reliance on local conditions and individual experience." (01/27/21)
-----
32) The Capitol Coup Attempt Was the Far-Right's Opening Shot
Source: Foreign Policy
by Alia Brahimi
"The current moment is particularly dangerous because it contains elements of both victory and defeat. The successful breach of the Capitol has been understood by some right-wing groups as a historic achievement. It was celebrated online as 'independence day' and the beginning of the fightback by the right. At the same time, however, the end of Donald Trump's term as president narrows the political space enjoyed by far-right actors in mainstream America. While many ordinary pro-Trump citizens will move on, a hardcore group will view the coming four years under Biden as a moral emergency requiring direct action." (01/27/21)
-----
33) How Falsehoods Take Root
Source: Notes On Liberty
by Jacques Delacroix
"'On the afternoon of January 6, most Americans watched in horror as an armed mob stormed the US Capitol ...' (Emphasis mine.) This is part of the opening sentence of an essay in the Wall Street Journal by Steven B. Smith (weekend edition, Jan 23-24, C5). The piece is entitled: "The Two Enemies of Patriotism." It's described as adapted from the author's forthcoming book to be published soon by Yale University Press. The author is a professor of political science at Yale. Even a superficial survey shows he possesses very good academic credentials. ... My question: were the protesters who breached the US Capitol on January 6 'armed,' as Mr Smith asserts? The answer to this question matters because it's one of the dividing line between two interpretations of the same events." (01/27/21)
-----
34) Who Benefits from the Post-Presidency Impeachment?
Source: American Consequences
by Buck Sexton
"Newly empowered Democrats have spent a lot of time telling America that this is a time for 'unity.' This appears strange to even a casual observer of politics ... because they're also insisting that the best way to bring the country together is through a second impeachment of Donald Trump, even though he's no longer president of the United States. That's right ... If you thought the era of Trump dominating the headlines was over, think again. ... what could make the 75 million Americans who voted for Trump feel better than a vindictive, post-presidency punishment phase? Unity through division appears to be the order of the day. While there's no benefit from this if Schumer and the Democrats really want to 'heal' the country, it does serve some obvious goals." (01/27/21)
-----
35) What "Action" Can Biden Take Against Putin or Other Repressive Regimes?
Source: Cato Institute
by Ted Galen Carpenter
"Even the imposition of targeted economic sanctions on regime leaders in autocratic countries usually proves provocative and counterproductive. Diplomatic statements and protests are little more than symbolic gestures, and that point understandably frustrates human rights and democracy activists. U.S. policymakers, however, must hold their noses and prioritize interests and objectives when dealing with nasty, repressive governments." (01/27/21)
-----
36) Biden's Presidency Has Already Failed
Source: CounterPunch
by Ted Rall
"Donald Trump may soon look back at his defeat as the best thing that ever happened to him. The former president has been disgraced, double-impeached and faces criminal prosecution. Fortunately for him, he slipped out of D.C. just in time to avoid the blame for an economic catastrophe no one can fix. No one inside this political system, anyway. 5.2 million Americans filed for first-time unemployment over the last month. The key civilian labor force participation rate is 61.5%. Those are staggeringly bad numbers, comparable to the Great Depression. And this is following a year of atrocious job losses. ... Even if Biden were to pull a miracle bunny out of his hat by convincing Congress to pass his stimulus package intact, those $1400 checks won't be nearly enough to pull the economy out of a tailspin." (01/27/21)
-----
37) Local Government Is a Managerial Convenience to the State, Not a Blank Check
Source: Show-Me Institute
by Patrick Ishmael
"Yesterday the House Special Committee on Small Business held hearings on a wide array of COVID-related legislation. These bills would limit what local government could do in picking winners and losers among Missouri businesses, whether by shutting them down or dramatically limiting their operations for public health reasons. As we've said before, living in Chiefs Kingdom doesn't make you Kansas City's peasant, and having a small business in Missouri doesn't make you a second-class citizen to big box stores and casinos. Now many local administrators are crying 'local control!' to defend their policy decisions from last year and to push back on these proposals as they pick up steam. Yet, shouting that 'local control' is important doesn't change what state subdivisions really are: managerial conveniences to the state. And when managers fail, the boss -- here, the state -- has to step in." (01/27/21)
-----
38) Against Ad-Hocracy
Source: National Review
by Kevin D Williamson
"Limited government is not some libertarian concoction -- if you prefer to keep the Bill of Rights, then you believe in limited government. If you prefer unlimited government, then history and a few unhappy corners of the modern world offer many examples." (01/27/21)
-----
39) Redefining US leadership with foreign aid
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
"President Joe Biden plans to renew American leadership in the world and the centerpiece of his foreign policy, according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, will be aid for less-well-off countries. That means, for example, more money for empowering women and building democratic institutions in what is called the global south. Mr. Biden has appointed a woman, Samantha Power, as administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). She is well known for promoting equality and the protection of individual rights. And, in a first, she will be an official member of the president's National Security Council. Yet this well-intentioned effort in Washington must also deal with a trend among Western-based aid organizations like Oxfam and Amnesty International. Their work now entails listening more to local recipients of aid rather than operating mostly from the priorities of private donors and wealthy countries." (01/27/20)
-----
40) The dystopian reality of Big Tech
Source: spiked
by Andrew Orlowski
"Anyone who hoped the internet would be a great leveller 25 years ago will be dumbfounded by how it looks today. Big Tech has seized the role of policing opinion, as the enforcer of Upper Normie, high-status opinion -- and is censoring speech on an industrial scale." (01/27/21)
-----
41) Morley v. CIA
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
"Immediately after the assassination of President Kennedy, the word went out that he had been killed by a communist, a young former U.S. Marine named Lee Harvey Oswald. The very first organization to begin publicizing Oswald's communist bona fides was an anti-Castro exile group in New Orleans called the DRE, which immediately sent out a press release announcing that Oswald was a communist. The publicity was highly effective in dissuading people, especially people on the left, from questioning the official narrative of the assassination -- that Kennedy had been killed by a communist. ... What people did not know at the time -- and what they would not discover for several decades -- was that the DRE was being secretly funded and directed by the CIA. The CIA's supervising officer for the DRE was a man named George Joannides." (01/27/21)
-----
42) A Public Persona In Public Space
Source: The American Conservative
by James Howard Kunstler
"Americans who ventured over to Europe in the late 20th century were in for a shock. Parisians, for instance, seemed to have a very firm sense of the difference between being home and being in the museum. They presented themselves accordingly in public, in quite formal costume: skirts and dresses for women and tailored suits for men. American tourists in their short pants and Star Wars T-shirts looked like six-year-olds to them. No wonder Americans complained that Parisians condescended to them. I was similarly conditioned to a strict sense of the public and private growing up in a Manhattan apartment in the 1950s and '60s. I was wearing a tie regularly as a teenager. Even beatniks back then wore sportjackets in the Greenwich Village cafes." (01/27/21)
-----
43) Book Review: Fatherland by Robert Harris
Source: The Jolly Libertarian
by Marco den Ouden
"I only came across Robert Harris last year when a Facebook friend recommended his novel Imperium, the first book in a trilogy about the life of Cicero. That was a terrific read but search as I might, I couldn't find the second book in the trilogy. Come the new year I tried again and it was finally available at Amazon, so I snapped it up as well as the final book. I also decided to take a look at Harris's first novel, Fatherland. Wow! That sums up Fatherland in a word. It is a powerful and dynamic novel, a first rate thriller, and also a unique look at history." (01/27/21)
-----
44) SolarWinds: No "Hack of the Century"; Blowback for NSA Dominance of Cyberspace
Source: Common Dreams
by Jesselyn Radack & William Neuheisel
"Last month, the private security firm FireEye discovered a widespread breach of government and corporate computer networks through a so-called 'supply chain' exploit of the network management firm SolarWinds, conducted by nation-state-level hackers, widely thought to be Russia. Most coverage of the breach featured ominous headlines and quotes from current and former government officials describing it as the biggest hack of modern times. Occasionally, buried in one of the closing paragraphs, there was an official quoted admitting that, so far, only 'business networks' were known to be compromised .... The SolarWinds hack is certainly a large and very damaging breach, but one could almost pick at random any five or ten of the hundreds of codename programs revealed in the Snowden documents that would top it." (01/27/20)
-----
45) How Much Did COVID-19 Affect The 2020 Election?
Source: FiveThirtyEight
by Seth Masket
"Enough time has passed since the 2020 presidential election that we can now ask: What effect did COVID-19, arguably the biggest event of the year -- of the century, even -- have on the election outcome? The answer to this question probably seems straightforward considering how abysmally Americans thought then-President Trump handled the pandemic. But the evidence we have points in many directions." (01/27/21)
-----
46) UCF is killing academic freedom to punish tweets it didn't like
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
by Adam Goldstein
"The University of Central Florida is trying to fire tenured professor Charles Negy for his speech, and if they succeed, it will undermine the concept of academic freedom. No UCF professor -- and, if a court permits this termination, no professor in that jurisdiction -- will be able to rely on it. To be clear, UCF does not want you to think Negy is being punished for his speech. They've written a 244-page report, which involved interviewing over 300 people over seven months about incidents covering more than 15 years, to convince you otherwise. But this is all either theater or self-delusion .... Nobody interviews 300 people over seven months about incidents covering 15 years unless they're desperate to find something, anything, to use against their target." (01/27/21)
-----
47) Low rates and limited liability mean hot markets
Source: Cobden Centre
by Doug French
"What clear-eyed mortgage underwriter would sign on to a thirty-year loan at less than 3 percent? After all, in Las Vegas, for instance, the unemployment rate in November was 11.5 percent, second highest in the country. The city's main engine, tourism, has been stymied by covid. But, as if there were nothing wrong, nothing to see, or no risks to consider, new home sales are on the verge of being the highest in 2020 since the historic housing-boom year of 2007." (01/27/21)
-----
48) The "Humanitarian" Left Still Ignores the Lessons of Iraq, Libya and Syria To Cheer On More War
Source: Antiwar.com
by Jonathan Cook
"The instinct among parts of the left to cheerlead the right's war crimes, so long as they are dressed up as liberal 'humanitarianism, is alive and kicking, as Owen Jones revealed in a column last week on the plight of the Uighurs at China's hands. The 'humanitarian war' instinct persists even after two decades of the horror shows that followed the invasion and occupation of Iraq by the US and UK; the western-sponsored butchering of Libya's Muammar Gaddafi that unleashed a new regional trade in slaves and arms; and the west's covert backing of Islamic jihadists who proceeded to tear Syria apart. In fact, those weren't really separate horror shows: they were installments of one long horror show." (01/27/21)
-----
49) Don't Let "It's a Private Company" Become a Fig Leaf for Totalitarianism
Source: Town Hall
by Georgi Boorman
"Social media platforms have exhibited some truly disturbing behavior in recent weeks, provoking anxiety over loss of freedom in America. Since Trump's ban from several online platforms and the quashing of the growing free speech micro-blogging platform Parler by tech giants acting in concert, a debate on the right has been raging: should the right cease calling for the government to act against Big Tech censorship because these corporations are 'private companies that can do whatever they want,' or should it double down on trying to keep these platforms, used by millions to billions of people that have effectively become de facto public squares, from silencing free speech? Free market [sic] conservatives (among whom I count myself) have largely stuck with the former, traditional line of thought." (01/27/20)
-----
50) It Usually Begins with Plato (or Cicero)!
Source: Cato Unbound
by C Bradley Thompson
"For the last two generations, scholars of the American founding have largely divided between those who interpret the broader revolutionary era either through the lens of the classical-republican tradition or the Lockean-liberal tradition, and never the twain shall meet. Mr. Meany seems to suggest that these two traditions can in fact be reconciled by demonstrating the philosophic relationship between Cicero and Locke and both on America's founding generation. I think Meany is onto something important. He is right to draw our attention to the important role played by the ancient Greek and Roman classics in the formation of America's revolutionary mind, particularly that of the Roman statesman and philosopher Cicero. In order to make both the general and the particular claim, however, some important distinctions must be made." (01/26/21)
-----
51) Reflecting the Authoritarian Climate, Washington Will Remain Militarized Until At Least March
Source: Glenn Greenwald
by Glenn Greenwald
"Washington, DC has been continuously militarized beginning the week leading up to Joe Biden's inauguration, when 20,000 National Guard troops were deployed onto the streets of the nation's capital. The original justification was that this show of massive force was necessary to secure the inauguration in light of the January 6 riot at the Capitol. But with the inauguration over and done, those troops remain and are not going anywhere any time soon. ... Deploying National Guard or military troops for domestic law enforcement purposes is so dangerous that laws in place from the country's founding strictly limit its use. It is meant only as a last resort, when concrete, specific threats are so overwhelming that they cannot be quelled by regular law enforcement absent military reinforcements." (01/26/21)
-----
52) I'm being censored, and you can read, hear, and see me talk about it in the news, on the radio, and on TV
Source: McSweeney's Internet Tendency
by Eli Grober
"Hi there, thanks for reading this. I'm being censored. That's why I'm writing a piece in a major publication that you are consuming easily and for free. Because I am being absolutely and completely muzzled. Also, I just went on a massively-watched TV show to let you know that my voice is being down-right suffocated. I basically can't talk to anyone. Which is why I'm talking to all of you. And now I'm here, in this widely-read media outlet, to say that there is a giant piece of tape over my mouth and, more importantly, the mouth of America. I have the eyes and ears of the world on me, and I am just totally and entirely gagged." [hat tip: Nick Sarwark] (01/26/21)
-----
53) Even Libertarians
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
"While libertarians defend freedom and peaceful change, the Democratic Party and the Deep State seem to find mass protest combined with violence in causes they like helpful ('Black Lives Matter,' etc.). For increasing their insider power, no doubt, and ramping it up to new, oppressive levels. But mass protest (say, against the lockdowns) they regard as dangerous -- because corrosive to their power." (01/26/21)
-----
54) Biden's Executive Actions Just Scratch the Surface
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen
"[On Tuesday] President Biden continued with the latest in a series of executive actions that have been pushed out non-stop since the first day of his presidency. The latest ones are focused on climate, and there are a couple big headlines. ... As a palate cleanser to get the taste of the Trump era out of our collective mouths, it's a great start. It gives the impression of decisive forward motion. The PR value of devoting each day to a particular crisis has paid off." (01/27/20)
-----
55) Some Free Advice for Will Wilkinson
Source: 200-Proof Liberals
by Jason Brennan
"Recently, the unjustly fired Will Wilkinson started a paid subscription blog, the ironically named Model Citizen. The initial content is available for free as of now. One of his first substantive posts concerns whether, having been canceled for making a funny joke, he now believes in so-called 'cancel culture.' He doesn't! He says that while he admits something got him, he doesn't know what cancel culture is, cannot define it, and cannot identify it. Neither do you, he asserts." (01/26/21)
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
56) Free Talk Live, 01/27/21
Source: Free Talk Live
"Internet Stock People Royally Screw Wall Street :: Proud Boys Leader a Federal Informant :: Boogaloo Boys :: HOSTS -- Ian, Aria, Bonnie." [Flash audio or MP3] (01/27/21)
-----
57) Everything Voluntary with Skyler J. Collins, episode 457
Source: Everything Voluntary
"How Does School Wound? Let Us Count The Ways." [various formats] (01/27/21)
-----
58) The Tatiana Show, episode 292
Source: The Tatiana Show
"Securing Your Crypto with Ron Stoner." [various formats] (01/27/21)
-----
59) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 01/27/21
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
"Fauci: 'Wear Two Masks!' Is Our Covid Policy Schizophrenic?" [Flash video] (01/27/21)
-----
60) Conflicts Of Interest, episode 63
Source: Libertarian Institute
"Biden's War Cabinet and Secure Communications." [various formats] (01/27/21)
-----
61) The Tom Woods Show, episode 1822
Source: The Tom Woods Show
"The COVID Stimulus Racket, with David Stockman." [various formats] (01/27/21)
-----
62) Bloggingheads.tv, 01/27/21
Source: Bloggingheads.tv
"QAnon as Symptom." [Flash video] (01/27/21)
-----
63) The Science of Politics, 01/27/21
Source: Niskanen Center
"Right-Wing Extremism and the Capitol Insurrection." [various formats] (01/27/21)
-----
64) The Chris Spangle Show, 01/27/21
Source: We Are Libertarians
"What is it Like to Run a Business in California During the Pandemic? With Jeff Bennett." [various formats] (01/27/21)
-----
65) Free Man Beyond The Wall, episode 529
Source: Free Man Beyond The Wall
"Hope for the Future of Education w/ Kerry McDonald." [various formats] (01/27/21)
-----
66) Electric Libertyland, episode 213
Source: Lions Of Liberty
"Today's Electric Libertyland goes live to reporter Brian McWilliams for ... BIRDWATCH! Aka, Twitter's new crowdsourced censoring service. Also: Biden's Christ-like welcome by media, Executive Orders, and truthful Covid admissions coming down suspiciously late but still obfuscating data." [various formats] (01/27/21)
-----
67) Truth In Media with Ben Swann, 01/26/21
Source: Truth In Media
"Are we watching the death of free speech?" [Flash video] (01/26/21)
-----
68) Declare Your Independence with Ernest Hancock, 01/26/21
Source: Freedom's Phoenix
"Max Igan (radio host, political commentator, activist, world traveler, author, lecturer, philosopher) predictions for 2021 -- John Sneisen (The Economic Truth) provides an economic update; predictions for 2021." [MP3] (01/26/21)
-----
69) Mad Dogs and Englishmen, episode 297
Source: National Review
"Kevin and Charlie discuss the varying levels of success different states are having with the COVID vaccine rollout." [various formats] (01/26/21)
https://www.nationalreview.com/podcasts/mad-dogs-englishmen/episode-297-administrative-incompetence/
-----
70) Steve Ellner on The Scott Horton Show
Source: Libertarian Institute
"Steve Ellner discusses the economic and political situation in Venezuela, and the U.S. role in pushing the country to where it is today." [various formats] (01/26/21)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
FND is published every weekday except on holidays. Forward freely.
To subscribe or unsubscribe, visit:
Support the Liberty International (tax deductible)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages