01/25 -- Biden executive order will attempt to out-Trump Trump on economic dumb-assery; Joe Biden And The Death Of Free Speech

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Thomas L. Knapp

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Jan 25, 2021, 8:15:18 AM1/25/21
to Freedom News Daily
  Freedom News Daily, 01/25/21
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Produced by the staff of Rational Review News Digest
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Today's Freedom News:

1)  Biden executive order will attempt to out-Trump Trump on economic dumb-assery
2)  China surpasses US as largest recipient of foreign direct investment during Covid pandemic
3)  Trump impeachment: Senate trial delayed until next month
4)  Netherlands: Police attack anti-lockdown protesters in two cities
5)  SpaceX launches a record 143 satellites on one rocket, aces landing
6)  BTC falls back below $32,000 as prices struggle to find steady support
7)  Sanders: Democrats will use reconciliation "as soon as we possibly can" to pass massive welfare package
8)  Biden apologises over National Guard troops sleeping in car park
9)  PA: Calls mount for Perry to resign for reported role in effort to overturn Georgia election
10) Brazil: Thousands take to streets protesting Bolsonaro
11) TN: Man abducted over alleged disrespect toward dead gang member
12) Biden to reinstate COVID travel ban for most non-US citizens
13) Italy: Regime uses girl's death as excuse to order TikTok around
14) Taiwan: Regime reports large incursion by Chinese warplanes for second day
15) AZ: GOP Censures top members for insufficient loyalty to Der Fuhr ... er, Trump
16) Israel: Regime targets flights, religious scofflaws, as virus rages
17) Iran: Regime blames cryptocurrency mining for massive blackouts in Tehran and other cities
18) Watchdog calls on Chinese regime to probe death of monk in occupied Tibet
19) TX: Paxton runs to head of meritless immigration lawsuit parade
20) Switzerland: Steinmetz Sentenced to Five Years in Bribery Case

Today's Freedom Commentary:

21) Joe Biden And The Death Of Free Speech
22) You Can't Fight Fascism with Fascism
23) Political "Unity" is Neither Necessary nor Desirable
24) Is It Time to Boycott Niskanen? Why Jerry Taylor Must Resign
25) The Software Prison
26) Beware Corporate "Democracy Washing": Twitter, Trump & the Danger of Privatizing the Fight Against Fascism
27) The new (center) left
28) It's time for major institutions to make their employees get off of Twitter
29) America's Teeter-Tottering Democracy
30) Trump's Empire
31) Capitol insurrection fallout: A PATRIOT Act 2.0?
32) The upside of lockdowns: More savings
33) Fintech Loves This Rumored Biden Nominee
34) Reap the Whirlwind
35) On Abortion
36) Our Amazing Clean Energy Future Has Arrived
37) The "Essential Worker" Swindle
38) Will Biden Leave Little Sisters Free to Choose?
39) How FDR's Historic "Four Freedoms" Speech Changed the Meaning of Freedom
40) Technology Will Destroy Us
41) Nationwide Dementiafest
42) To Win over Allies, US Must Moderate Anti‐China Agenda
43) President Biden's Unity Has a High Price Tag
44) What is Justice?
45) Lincoln Project Sets New Standard for Shameless Grift
46) The Most Essential Danger
47) Collectivism Breeds Indifference to the Loss of Liberty
48) Quantum Vibe, 01/22/21
49) The moral of the pandemic story
50) The Moronic Firing of Will Wilkinson Illustrates Why Fear and Bad Faith Mob Demands Reign Supreme
51) "The answer to hate speech is more speech"
52) The $165,000 Question
53) Immigration Pipe Dream at the Los Angeles Times
54) The Revolution Won't Be Tweeted
55) Now that Biden is in charge, are "liberals" coming to steal away Free Speech?

Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:

56) Free Man Beyond The Wall, episode 528
57) Free Talk Live, 01/24/21
58) The Anarchist Experience, episode 303
59) Matt Agorist on The Scott Horton Show
60) The Tom Woods Show, episode 1820
61) Don't Tread On Anyone, 01/24/21
62) This Week in Common Sense, 01/23/21
63) The Chris Spangle Show, 01/23/21
64) David Swanson on The Scott Horton Show
65) Part Of The Problem, 01/23/21
66) Everything Voluntary with Skyler J. Collins, episode 456
67) Lions of Liberty Bonus Podcast, 01/23/21
68) Year Zero with Tommy Salmons, 01/22/21
69) Soho Forum Debate: Should the US Government Adopt an Industrial Policy?
70) Free Thoughts Podcast, episode 378
71) Bloggingheads.tv, 01/22/21
72) Conflicts of Interest, episode 61
73) The Fifth Column, episode 220
74) The Tom Woods Show, episode 1819
75) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 01/22/21

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_____ Today's Freedom News _____

1)  Biden executive order will attempt to out-Trump Trump on economic dumb-assery
Source: CNN

"President Joe Biden will sign an executive order Monday aimed at boosting American manufacturing, setting in motion a process to fulfill his campaign pledge to strengthen the federal government's Buy American rules. Similar executive orders signed by former President Donald Trump had little effect because [sic] his administration waited to formalize changes until his second to last day in office. By contrast, Biden will set a 180-day deadline to deliver on fundamental change to the process, according to an administration official. ... Currently, a patchwork of federal rules requires that a portion of government spending on things like infrastructure, vehicles and other equipment is restricted to goods that are made in the United States. But there are loopholes depending on the material, the amount of the purchase, and what qualifies as American made." (01/25/21)


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2)  China surpasses US as largest recipient of foreign direct investment during Covid pandemic
Source: CNBC

"The Chinese economy brought in more foreign direct investment than any other country last year, knocking the United States from its perch atop the list. China brought in $163 billion in inflows last year, compared to $134 billion attracted by the U.S., the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development wrote in a report released on Sunday. In 2019, the U.S. received $251 billion in inflows and China received $140 billion. Overall, the report found that foreign direct investment tanked globally, as the Covid-19 pandemic brought countries large and small to virtual stand-stills. ... Beijing reported 2020 GDP growth of 2.3% earlier this month, and is expected to be the only major economy to report a positive annual growth rate." (01/24/21)


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3)  Trump impeachment: Senate trial delayed until next month
Source: BBC News [UK state media]

"The second impeachment trial of Donald Trump will begin next month under an agreement reached between Senate Democrats and Republicans. House of Representatives Democrats will send the charge of 'inciting insurrection' to the Senate on Monday. But arguments will not begin until the week of 8 February, allowing Mr Trump's lawyers two weeks to build a defence. Democrats accuse the ex-president of instigating the deadly 6 January riot at the US Capitol. The House last week paved the way for the Senate proceedings by charging Mr Trump with inciting the violence, which left five people dead. His second impeachment trial will begin almost exactly a year after the Senate acquitted him on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress." (01/24/20)


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4)  Netherlands: Police attack anti-lockdown protesters in two cities
Source: San Francisco Chronicle

"Rioters set fires in the center of the southern Dutch city of Eindhoven and pelted police with rocks Sunday at a banned demonstration against coronavirus lockdown measures, while officers responded with tear gas and water cannons, arresting at least 55 people. Police in the capital of Amsterdam also used a water cannon to disperse an outlawed anti-lockdown demonstration on a major square ringed by museums. Video showed police spraying people grouped against a wall of the Van Gogh Museum. It was the worst violence to hit the Netherlands since the pandemic began and the second straight Sunday that police clashed with protesters in Amsterdam. The country has been in a tough lockdown since mid-December that is due to continue at least until Feb. 9. The government beefed up the lockdown with a 9 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. curfew that went into force on Saturday." (01/24/20)


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5)  SpaceX launches a record 143 satellites on one rocket, aces landing
Source: Space.com

"SpaceX successfully launched an ambitious rideshare mission as one of its veteran boosters hoisted 143 small satellites -- a new record for a single rocket -- into space before nailing a landing at sea. ... Acting as a cosmic carpool, SpaceX sent the bevy of small satellites into space alongside 10 of its own Starlink internet satellites. The mission is expected to deposit the flat-paneled Starlink satellites in a unique polar orbit -- a first for its broadband fleet that will help provide coverage to customers in Alaska and other polar regions." (01/24/21)


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6)  BTC falls back below $32,000 as prices struggle to find steady support
Source: Business Insider

"Bitcoin tumbled back below $32,000 as a brief weekend uptrend gave way to another bout of selling. Bitcoin traded at $31,885.49 as of 12:15 p.m. ET Sunday, down 0.9% from 24 hours ago. The world's largest cryptocurrency has struggled to find a floor as volatile price swings cut into investor bullishness. The token notched its biggest one-week plunge since September on Saturday, and downward momentum continues to wipe out key support levels. ... Commentary from Treasury Secretary-designate Janet Yellen also curbed bitcoin's momentum. The former Federal Reserve chairwoman said on Wednesday the government should consider 'curtailing' cryptocurrencies like bitcoin to prevent their use in illicit financing. Investors viewed the statement as a sign the Biden administration could take a more hostile approach toward regulating bitcoin." [editor's note: Sorry, Ms. Yellen. We've decided we're not going to let you regulate us. xoxo, Crypto Enthusiasts – TLK] (01/24/21)


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7)  Sanders: Democrats will use reconciliation "as soon as we possibly can" to pass massive welfare package
Source: CNN

"Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the incoming chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said Sunday that Democrats would use a rare procedural tactic to pass major parts of a Covid-19 relief package if Republicans refuse to move on the measure. Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, told CNN's Dana Bash on 'State of the Union' that Democrats will use the move -- known as reconciliation -- 'as soon as we possibly can' to pass the package by 51 votes in the Senate, rather than 60, if Republicans don't move the legislation. ... Republicans used the reconciliation process when they attempted to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act in 2017 in the Senate. The GOP successfully used the process months later to overhaul the country's tax code, which passed with just Republican votes." (01/24/21)


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8)  Biden apologises over National Guard troops sleeping in car park
Source: BBC News [UK state media]

"US President Joe Biden has apologised after some members of the National Guard stationed at the Capitol were pictured sleeping in a car park. More than 25,000 troops were deployed to Washington DC for his inauguration after violence earlier this month. Images spread on Thursday showing them forced to rest in a nearby parking garage after lawmakers returned. The conditions sparked anger among politicians, and some state governors recalled troops over the controversy." [editor's note: "Sorry" plus biscuits ain't gonna cut it, fools – SAT] [editor's note: If I had pissed and moaned over some of the places I slept in the Marine Corps (for example, a hole in the snow in Minnesota), I'd have been told to grow the f**k up. And I would have deserved it. A parking garage is Grade A Luxury Bivouac Space – TLK] (01/24/20)


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9)  PA: Calls mount for Perry to resign for reported role in effort to overturn Georgia election
Source: USA Today

"Calls are mounting for U.S. Rep. Scott Perry to resign after a report late Saturday exposed his 'significant role' in trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Perry, a Republican from York County, connected President Donald Trump with a Justice Department official to try to remove the acting U.S. attorney general from his post and pressure Georgia lawmakers to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential contest, according to The New York Times. ... It was Perry, according to the report, who made Trump aware that Jeffrey Clark, 'a relatively obscure Justice Department official' and acting chief of the civil division, supported the former president's view that the election had been stolen. ... Perry worked with Clark to craft a plan to pressure Georgia leaders, the report said, citing unnamed former administration officials." (01/24/21)


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10) Brazil: Thousands take to streets protesting Bolsonaro
Source: WLOS 13 News

"Thousands of Brazilians took the streets for a second day Sunday to call for the impeachment of President Jair Bolsonaro, who is under fire for his government's handling of COVID-19, which has raged through the country and claimed more than 216,000 lives. Horn-honking cars paraded through the streets of Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and a dozen or more other cities as other protesters marched on foot, some calling, 'Get out Bolsonaro!' Sunday's protests were called by conservative groups that had once backed the president, while those on Saturday had come from the left." (01/24/20)


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11) TN: Man abducted over alleged disrespect toward dead gang member
Source: Yahoo! News

"A Tennessee man was arrested Friday for alleged harassment after authorities said he distributed a disrespectful photo of a law enforcement officer's grave on social media. Joshua Andrew Garton, 28, was arrested on suspicion of harassment and jailed in Dickson County, Tennessee, on $76,000 bond, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said in a statement. The bureau said Garton recently produced and distributed a doctored photo of two men urinating on the grave of Dickson County sheriff's Sgt. Daniel Baker, who was fatally shot in the line of duty in 2018. ... Nashville lawyer Daniel Horwitz, who does not represent Garton, said by email that the arrest appeared to be a violation of the Constitution." (01/23/21)


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12) Biden to reinstate COVID travel ban for most non-US citizens
Source: Fox News

"President Joe Biden will impose a ban on most non-U.S. citizens entering the country who have recently been in South Africa starting Saturday in a bid to contain the spread of a new variant of COVID-19, U.S. public health officials told Reuters. Biden on Monday is also reimposing an entry ban on nearly all non-U.S. travelers who have been in Brazil, the United Kingdom, Ireland and 26 countries in Europe that allow travel across open borders, said the sources, who requested anonymity because the plans have not yet been made public. Then-President Donald Trump directed on Jan. 18 those restrictions on Brazil and Europe be lifted effective Tuesday but Biden's proclamation will rescind that decision." (01/24/20)


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13) Italy: Regime uses girl's death as excuse to order TikTok around
Source: New York Post

"Italy ordered the Chinese-owned TikTok to make sure young children aren't using its app, after the death of a 10-year-old girl who accidentally killed herself in a 'Blackout Challenge.' Kids under 13 aren't supposed to use TikTok. But the Italian state regulator wants the app to block unverified user accounts until Feb. 15, noting it was easy for children under 13 to bypass the app's registration rules, according to reports. The unidentified girl from Palermo, Sicily, was pronounced brain dead last week after she .... tied a belt around her neck and accidentally asphyxiated herself, according to the Italian news agency ANSA." (01/23/21)


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14) Taiwan: Regime reports large incursion by Chinese warplanes for second day
Source: BBC News [UK state media]

"Taiwan has reported a large incursion by Chinese warplanes for the second day running, a show of force that coincides with the first days of US President Joe Biden's term of office. Sunday's operation involved 15 aircraft and followed a similar drill that led to a warning from Washington. ... Taiwan's defence ministry said eight Chinese bomber planes capable of carrying nuclear weapons, four fighter jets and one anti-submarine aircraft entered its south-western air defence identification zone on Saturday. Sunday's operation involved 12 fighters, two anti-submarine aircraft and a reconnaissance plane, the ministry said. In both occasions, Taiwan's air force warned away the aircraft and deployed missiles to monitor them, it added." (01/24/20)


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15) AZ: GOP Censures top members for insufficient loyalty to Der Fuhr ... er, Trump
Source: New York Times

"Arizona Republicans issued rebukes to three of the party's most prominent figures on Saturday, approving resolutions to censure Gov. Doug Ducey, former Senator Jeff Flake and Cindy McCain, the widow of former Senator John McCain. Though largely symbolic, the political scolding during a meeting of the state G.O.P. on Saturday underscored a widening rift in Arizona between party officials who have made clear that their loyalty lies with former President Donald J. Trump and those in the party who refused to support him or his effort to overturn the election results in Arizona .... Mr. Flake and Ms. McCain endorsed Mr. Biden leading up to the November election. Though Mr. Ducey continually made it clear that he backed Mr. Trump, he drew ire from some Republicans by defending the state's election process, rather than supporting efforts to challenge the November results in court." (01/23/21)


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16) Israel: Regime targets flights, religious scofflaws, as virus rages
Source: San Francisco Chronicle

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said Israel will be closing its international airport to nearly all flights, while Israeli police clashed with ultra-Orthodox protesters in several major cities and the government raced to bring a raging coronavirus outbreak under control. The entry of highly contagious variants of the virus, coupled with poor enforcement of safety rules in ultra-Orthodox communities, has contributed to one of the world's highest rates of infections. It also has threatened to undercut Israel's highly successful campaign to vaccinate its population against the virus." (01/24/20)


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17) Iran: Regime blames cryptocurrency mining for massive blackouts in Tehran and other cities
Source: Business Insider

"The Iranian government has blamed Bitcoin and other forms of cryptocurrency for power outages across the country that have left millions in darkness. Much of the capital, Tehran, and other large cities, including Mashhad, Tabriz, and Urmia, have experienced repeated blackouts. ... the government blames cryptocurrency, particularly Bitcoin, for straining the electricity grid and causing blackouts across the country. Others say 'decades of mismanagement' of the energy supply is to blame." (01/23/21)


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18) Watchdog calls on Chinese regime to probe death of monk in occupied Tibet
Source: New York Post

"China should answer for the death of a 19-year-old Tibetan monk who was brutally beaten while in police custody, a humanitarian watchdog group claims. The New York-based Human Rights Watch has called on Chinese authorities to be held accountable in the January death of Tibetan monk Tenzin Nyima, who was initially detained in November 2019 after attending a pro-Tibetan Independence protest outside a government office, officials said. ... Nyima's relatives were then told to come and get him from the prison in early October, with officials citing a medical condition. Sources told Human Rights Watch that Nyima could not move or speak due to beatings and malnourishment while in custody, leading to an acute respiratory infection and other injuries. Nyima was taken to a hospital on Oct. 9, but had already lost consciousness." (01/22/21)


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19) TX: Paxton runs to head of meritless immigration lawsuit parade
Source: Texas Tribune

"Three days into the Biden administration, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed his first lawsuit against the federal government. The lawsuit seeks an halt to one of the president's executive actions on immigration, a 100-day pause on some deportations. ... Paxton said the moratorium violates the U.S. Constitution and various federal and administrative laws, as well as an agreement between Texas and DHS. 'When DHS fails to remove illegal aliens in compliance with federal law, Texas faces significant costs,' reads the complaint, which was filed in federal court in the U.S. Southern District of Texas. 'A higher number of illegal aliens in Texas leads to budgetary harms, including higher education and healthcare costs.'" [editor's note: Under the US Constitution there's neither any such thing as an "illegal alien" nor any federal authority to deport same – TLK] (01/22/21)


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20) Switzerland: Steinmetz Sentenced to Five Years in Bribery Case
Source: Bloomberg

"Beny Steinmetz was found guilty of bribing a public official to secure an iron-ore mine in Guinea worth billions of dollars, a massive setback to the Israeli diamond and mining tycoon after years of allegations. Steinmetz was sentenced to five years by Judge Alexandra Banna in a Geneva court Friday. The 64-year-old and two colleagues were convicted of paying bribes of $8.5 million to Mamadie Toure, the wife of Guinea's deceased former president Lansana Conte to help secure rights to the country's giant Simandou iron-ore mine. ... The verdict is a major blow to Steinmetz, who made his fortune in the diamond trade, as he fights multiple legal battles around the world relating to the mine in the West African country, which he acquired in 2008. The mine was stripped from him in 2012 amid allegations of corruption that have dogged him ever since." (01/22/21)


_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____

21) Joe Biden And The Death Of Free Speech
Source: The American Conservative
by James Bovard

"Is speculation about a rising censorship peril misguided, considering the euphoric atmosphere in Washington over Biden taking power? Remember that the Bush administration exploited a presidential popularity surge after the 9/11 attacks to crack down on dissent. Nor is there grounds for optimism in Biden's half-century record in Washington. When Biden was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, his civil liberties record was dreadful; he boasted of co-authoring almost 20 years of repressive legislation that helped quadruple the nation's prison population. Before launching any repressive binges, Biden's handlers might want to recall that John Adams looked like he was also on a roll, routing the political opposition with the help of that 1798 law." (01/25/21)


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22) You Can't Fight Fascism with Fascism
Source: exile in happy valley
by Nicky Reid

"January 6th was a day that will live on in infamy, or at least so I'm told. Maybe I've just become too jaded in my young age, but three weeks later and I still don't see it. The great Capitol Hill Siege sounds terrifying coming from some breathless dweeb at CNN but the whole thing seemed like a pretty second rate shitshow from where I was sitting. With the last gasp of Orange Man Bad, the Administration Who Couldn't Shoot Straight whooped up a few thousand devoted MAGA monsters with tall tales of stolen elections and sicked them on a congress playing democracy with the Electoral College. ... I'm sorry if I'm being a dick but I just don't see this septuagenarian riot as being the new 9/11. But that is exactly how the Washington politicos and their mainstream media hype-men are playing this." (01/24/21)


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23) Political "Unity" is Neither Necessary nor Desirable
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp

"There's nothing wrong with unity as such. Unity is desirable when it's voluntary, unanimous and based on shared values and interests. Otherwise, people should just do their own things. Nor is politics as we know it about unity as such. It's about ruling, and about making sure those who disagree with the rulers don't GET to do their own things. That produces unity of a sort, among those who support the rulers. It also produces polarization between those who do and those who don't. ... Such polarization might be ugly, but not as ugly as prospective political unity. Such unity would look like George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four: A society united under the rule of a single party dedicated to stamping out not only dissent but the very possibility and concept of dissent." (01/23/21)


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24) Is It Time to Boycott Niskanen? Why Jerry Taylor Must Resign
Source: 200-Proof Liberals
by Jason Brennan

"Will Wilkinson made a pretty good joke criticizing American politics. It was some of his best work at Niskanen to date. ... Wilkinson cannot be read by anyone familiar with the English language and familiar with these recent events as advocating that Pence be lynched. (For you pearl-clutching right-wingers who claim otherwise, frankly, I don't believe you. I think you are pretending to be offended because you want to portray the opposition as evil and unreasonable. Indeed, you can read my own work for summaries of research showing such behavior is common.) Jerry promptly fired Will or told Will to resign. Will's presence was scrubbed from Niskanen's website that day. But, as I noted here simply by quoting Jerry, this is utterly hypocritical. While Will did not advocate violence, even in jest, Jerry did, and did so recently." (01/23/21)


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25) The Software Prison
Source: WendyMcElroy.com
by Brad

"Imagine that you're getting ready to buy a lovely little house in a quiet and prosperous town, but before you can close the deal, you must meet with the community elders: Elder: 'We have an ... unusual ... restrictive covenant that you must agree to. You're not allowed to bring in any books.' You: 'What? But I love reading!' Elder: 'Oh, we have books. There's a well-stocked library, with plenty of reading material.' You: 'But I can't bring my own books?' Elder: 'No.' You: 'Can I purchase books and have them shipped to me?' Elder: 'No.' You: 'Can I request that the library obtain books for me?' Elder: 'No. The librarian is in charge of book selection, and she insures that all the books in the library are wholesome and safe.' ... Now, would you move to such a town? Because that's what you're doing when you buy an iPhone." (01/25/21)


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26) Beware Corporate "Democracy Washing": Twitter, Trump & the Danger of Privatizing the Fight Against Fascism
Source: Common Dreams
by Peter Bloom & Carl Rhodes

"Watching the Capitol stormed by a far-right mob was a tragic if not the all too predictable result of four years of Trumpism. Vile conspiracy theories and racist vitriol drove a motley group of misled radicals to a pathetic act of domestic terrorism. Equally predictable was how social media corporations would suddenly dump Trump, recasting themselves on the side of democracy against fascism. For many, even on the Left, this highly publicized banning of Trump is hugely welcome. Others saw it as setting a dangerous precedent for privately backed censorship. Beyond the immediate headlines is a more severe threat to democracy. That threat comes from granting social media and tech firms the power of political self-regulation." (01/23/20)


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27) The new (center) left
Source: EconLog
by Scott Sumner

"The tone of the article is sort of dismissive of conservative arguments that the welfare state discourages work, but the actual empirical evidence suggests that it discourages work among the young, the old, women, and among men it leads to shorter work hours. This is one reason why per capita GDP (PPP) is far lower in Europe than in America. It's not true that 'the world works differently;' it works exactly the way that classical economic theory predicts. The European welfare state makes Europe a much poorer place. That may be fine (perhaps people prefer the extra leisure time), but it's foolish to minimize the effect. And to head off criticism, note that while some European welfare states have incomes well above the European average, so do some American states. Lots of things affect income, not just welfare and taxes." (01/24/21)


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28) It's time for major institutions to make their employees get off of Twitter
Source: Washington Post
by Megan McArdle

"Early Thursday morning, Will Wilkinson, the vice president for policy at the Niskanen Center, tweeted out an extraordinarily ill-advised joke: 'If Biden really wanted unity,' Wilkinson suggested, 'he'd lynch Mike Pence.' By morning he had issued a handsome apology. By evening he was no longer the vice president for policy at the Niskanen Center. Will is a friend, so naturally I'm dismayed by what happened. I'm also dismayed that it should have happened at Niskanen, a center-to-leftish institution I admire. And I'm even more worried to have yet another example of the damage Twitter is doing to American discourse -- damage so profound that I'm beginning to think that the only way to fix it is not to urge tolerance, but for major institutions in the media and think-tank world to tell their employees to get the hell off Twitter." (01/22/21)


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29) America's Teeter-Tottering Democracy
Source: American Consequences
by PJ O'Rourke

"Storming the Capitol Building was an attack on libertarian conservatism [sic]. To be a libertarian is to believe in the sanctity of individual liberty and the duty of individual responsibility. To be a conservative [sic] is to believe in the primacy of moral values and the continuity of civilized institutions. To be a mob is to surrender individual liberty to the madness of crowds, to shed responsibility like a pair of dirty socks, to put moral values out with the trash, and to piss on the walls (or break the windows and litter the floors) of civilized institutions. Given that America has the institution of democracy (and nothing, to date, has proven more civilized), our political construct is always going to be imperfect. It is, after all, the work of a committee." (01/22/20)


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30) Trump's Empire
Source: CounterPunch
by Anthony DiMaggio

"As the Trump administration recedes into memory and Joe Biden takes the reins of the warfare state, it's important to reflect on the changing nature of American militarism over the last decade. Trump received a lot of attention for his proclamation that 'we are ending the era of endless wars.' But this was more rhetoric than reality, and never received much support from his base, which appeared perfectly fine with militarism and war. As I documented during Trump's term using national survey data, support (in hindsight) for the war in Iraq, continued support for war with Syria, and agreement that Trump should escalate the U.S. conflict with Iran, were all significantly associated with increased support for Trump." (01/24/21)


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31) Capitol insurrection fallout: A PATRIOT Act 2.0?
Source: The Hill
by Patrick G Eddington

"Let me get this part out of the way, right up front. Anybody who, on Jan. 6, 2021 while on the Capitol Hill campus, 1) attacked, injured or killed a cop or 2) broke into the Capitol building and threatened lawmakers, staff or journalists while attempting to subvert the lawful certification of the free and fair 2020 presidential election should be found, arrested, and prosecuted with the full force of the law. Beyond that, lawmakers need to pause, take a deep breath, and not do the same idiotic thing their predecessors did six weeks after the 9/11 attacks: pass a terrible 'domestic security' law (i.e., like the PATRIOT Act) that trashes the very rights they took an oath to uphold." (01/23/21)


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32) The upside of lockdowns: More savings
Source: Cobden Centre
by Doug French

"Something good is coming out of the covid lockdowns. Economist David Rosenberg released a special report via the eponymous Rosenberg Research, concluding 'the pre-COVID-19 'norm' of a 7% personal savings rate will morph into a post-COVID-19 norm of 10%.' ... Rosenberg doesn't portray his prediction of a savings rate increase necessarily as a positive, instead writing, 'for the 70% of aggregate demand called 'the consumer,' this will exert an everlasting drag on the pace of economic activity.' But, he quickly follows with, 'Then again, it will also mean a deeper pool of savings for productive investment.'" (01/22/21)


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33) Fintech Loves This Rumored Biden Nominee
Source: The American Prospect
by Alexander Sammon

"Late Wednesday, reports surfaced that President Biden plans to appoint Michael Barr, currently a public-policy professor at the University of Michigan, to head up the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. While OCC is not one of the flashiest desks in government, it is an important and powerful independent bureau within the Treasury Department that regulates and oversees all nationally chartered banks. Barr's name is familiar, but that is not a good thing. Keeping the former Tim Geithner-era Treasury Department official from confirmation to a Federal Reserve Board of Governors position became a heated and ultimately successful campaign for progressives in 2014. Barr was a key figure in the crafting of the Dodd-Frank financial reform, and a willing destroyer of more progressive ideas for it, on behalf of the Obama administration." (01/22/20)


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34) Reap the Whirlwind
Source: The Honest Courtesan

"As usual, politicians and the mainstream media are pretending that a disaster they helped create, born from an evil they planted at the turn of the century and have lovingly tended and fed since then, has absolutely nothing to do with them. As the internet meme expresses it, 'But we didn't think the face-eating leopards would eat our faces!' ... The Capitol riot was the direct result of hysteria that politicians of both major parties, aided and abetted by the US journalism establishment and supplied with propaganda by hordes of religious fanatics, violent thugs and sociopathic profiteers, have enthusiastically promoted for a generation in order to trick useful idiots into accepting ever-increasing levels of surveillance, censorship, and police violence. Yet their reaction to this is akin to that of a lifelong smoker pretending that his lung cancer was due entirely to his most recent pack ..." (01/22/21)


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35) On Abortion
Source: Dispatches From Heck
by Frank Clarke

"Received in email today from The Babylon Bee an appeal from Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) to sign a petition in favor of the 'Life at Conception Act' (LACA) that would define 'personhood' as beginning at conception. Should such an act ever be passed, abortion would be summarily reclassified as 'murder'. A number of typical and ordinary medical procedures would likewise be summarily recategorized as 'murder.' How odd that the pro-life movement waited until both houses of Congress and the Executive Mansion are all in the hands of Democrats to bring this issue forward. They should have done this in 2017 when both houses of Congress and the Executive Mansion were in the hands of Republicans. Perhaps they were anxious that, were such legislation to fail under perfect laboratory conditions, their entire movement might collapse." (01/23/21)


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36) Our Amazing Clean Energy Future Has Arrived
Source: Foreign Policy
by Vivek Wadhwa & Alex Salkever

"Its attention consumed by pandemics and politics, the world has overlooked an undeniable silver lining: the arrival of the green future. Almost without exception, renewable energy is now cheaper than that produced from fossil fuels. Prices of battery packs for electric vehicles and solar panels continue to plunge, and adoption is increasing exponentially. The 2020s will be the decade in which the planet finally closes the chapter on destruction and pollution by fossil fuels and enters a new realm of clean and nearly free energy. And this changes everything." (01/23/21)


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37) The "Essential Worker" Swindle
Source: In These Times
by Sarah Lazare

"Politicians, pundits, CEOs and think tank staffers have spent the past 10 months effusively praising the heroism and sacrifice of essential workers. 'I'm not alone in being grateful for the work you are doing,' Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos declared in a March 2020 open letter to the company's workers who have labored throughout the pandemic, risking their lives to deliver hand sanitizer, face masks and baby formula (and increased Bezos'[s] personal fortune by 65%). Walmart has taken out television ads praising and thanking essential workers (even as it has imperiled and underpaid those under its employ). ... Whatever mitigation of suffering and hardship has been achieved during the pandemic, it's been built on the backs of an 'essential' workforce that is hyper-exploited, underpaid, placed in extreme danger, and nowhere close to fairly compensated." (01/22/20)


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38) Will Biden Leave Little Sisters Free to Choose?
Source: The American Spectator
by Debra J Saunders

"President Joe Biden likes to talk about unity and his intent to rise above partisan rancor to heal the divisions that led a pro-Trump mob to swarm the Capitol on Jan. 6. Given his history of cutting deals with Republicans, I believe he wants to work across the aisle. But a hail-fellow-well-met demeanor can't paper over his party's intolerance and readiness to use government as a club to beat dissenters into submission. Choice? That's not for Little Sisters of the Poor -- or at least it wasn't last year as Biden was the presumptive Democratic nominee and the Supreme Court ruled in their favor. ... You would think the federal government would have better things to do than pick on nuns caring for old people." (01/24/21)


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39) How FDR's Historic "Four Freedoms" Speech Changed the Meaning of Freedom
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Gary M Galles

"One of the most impactful speeches in American history has just passed its 80th anniversary--Franklin Roosevelt's famous 1941 'Four Freedoms' speech. The speech introduced cognitive dissonance into Americans' understanding of freedom that is still cited today as justification for expanding government power over citizens' lives. If we want to advance our 'General Welfare,' as the Constitution aims for, it is particularly important that we reconsider that speech and reclaim resonance with freedom, rightly understood, rather than dissonance. On the surface, an articulation of multiple freedoms would seem to be consistent with freedom for all. But FDR's version was not." (01/22/21)


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40) Technology Will Destroy Us
Source: National Review
by Cameron Hilditch

"A curious symmetry between the most online contingents of the Left and the Right has emerged over recent years. The more time any given conservative or progressive partisan spends immersed in media -- whether social or traditional -- the more those partisans tend to resemble one another in certain key respects. They become febrile, wounded, and enraged when confronted with facts that challenge their convictions .... Some conservatives are in the habit of skewering progressives who engage in this wallowing as 'snowflakes,' but the past two months have shown definitively that the blizzard is a bipartisan one. ... The people who've been driven to distraction by their own media engagement are victims, in a sense, though not of dark money or of Dominion voting systems. To understand why this is the case, we really have to understand the technological revolution that took place during the 18th and 19th centuries." (01/23/21)


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41) Nationwide Dementiafest
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone

"Joe Biden. Joe Biden. Joe fucking fucking motherfucking Biden. In a country of 328 million people the guy that gets elevated to the top is literally one of the very worst human beings in the entire population. That's the 'democracy' you're being told is under attack. And this isn't even prime Joe Biden. This is coming out of retirement for a half-assed exhibition match Joe Biden. This is way past sell-by date Joe Biden. This is Joe Biden with missing pieces. That's the sort of animal that rises to the highest elected office in US 'democracy.' The inauguration was a whole internet of liberals performing amazing mental contortions to forget that Joe Biden is a disgusting piece of shit. Now everyone has forgotten who Joe Biden is, including Joe Biden." (01/23/20)


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42) To Win over Allies, US Must Moderate Anti‐China Agenda
Source: Cato Institute
by Doug Bandow

"No magic elixir will make China into America or Europe. However, better cooperation between the U.S. and Europe could improve relations with the PRC while pushing back against dangerous or malign actions by Beijing. Ultimately, an isolated regime in China would be more dangerous for its own people as well as those outside its borders. An isolated Washington would more likely exacerbate the ongoing slide toward a Sino‐American cold war. The U.S. can learn from Europe: Beijing is a challenge, not an enemy." (01/22/21)


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43) President Biden's Unity Has a High Price Tag
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille

"President Joe Biden's inauguration speech was full of calls for 'unity' to a bitterly divided nation. But mixed in with a positive acknowledgment that 'politics need not be a raging fire destroying everything in its path' were a politician's traditional calls to unify around favored policy proposals. And among those proposals is a $1.9 trillion pandemic 'relief' package that might unite Americans the way a sinking ship brings passengers and crew together as they await their fate. 'We must set aside the politics and finally face this pandemic as one nation,' Biden urged in his speech. But there's no way to set aside politics when government acts, since political concerns inevitably determine how governments use their power, including in terms of gathering and spending other people's money." (01/22/21)


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44) What is Justice?
Source: Center for a Stateless Society
by Cayce Jamil

"If you listen to a protest, you will more than likely hear phrases related to realizing justice, like 'no justice, no peace.' However, what is meant by the term 'justice' isn't defined. Some assume the term means direct reparations from the state should be made to an aggrieved group. Others assume it warrants some form of retaliation against the aggressor group. In reality, neither of those forms of 'justice' is actually justice." (01/22/21)


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45) Lincoln Project Sets New Standard for Shameless Grift
Source: Town Hall
by Terry Schilling

"It's difficult to put into words what is so distasteful about The Lincoln Project. Not that the words don't come to mind; they do, almost too readily. But seeing them all put down, next to each other -- it starts to feel a little cruel. The obvious starting point is last week's revelation that Lincoln Project co-founder John Weaver allegedly offered young men jobs in exchange for sex. Those reports were enough to elicit criticism even from the left-wing press, which had previously fawned over the Lincoln Project for months. But the truth is that this was only the lowest act in a long string of lows for the group: the shameless grift, the questionable political strategy, and of course, the disgusting attacks on Trump supporters." (01/23/20)


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46) The Most Essential Danger
Source: Tenth Amendment Center
by Mike Maharrey

"During the Great Depression, the Soil Conservation Service promoted Kudzu for soil erosion control. Soon, Civilian Conservation Corps workers spread out across the southeast planting Kudzu. In the early 1940s, the government offered up to $8 an acre to farmers as an incentive to plant the vines in their fields. The hot humid climate proved ideal for the plant's growth, and Kudzu began a march across the south like Sherman's army. Turns out, it was a little too much of a 'good' thing. Kudzu grows as much as a foot a day. Soon it began to overgrow everything, squeezing out native plants and damaging the environment it was meant to protect. Kind of like the federal government. Sometimes, bigger isn't better. It's badder." (01/22/21)


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47) Collectivism Breeds Indifference to the Loss of Liberty
Source: Heartland Institute
by Richard Ebeling

"Who does not want to make the world a better place? With so much sorrow and suffering, poverty and plunder, cynicism and corruption in far too many places, nearly everyone, if asked, will usually say that if he could he would try to make this shared planet of ours a safer, prettier, more prosperous, and less unjust shared domicile on which we all live. The problem is, what are the best means to that end. The answer to that question has plagued mankind for a very long time, going back to the ancients. With all the nuances and distinctions that have been discussed and debated, I would suggest that it all comes down to a decision between force and freedom." (01/22/21)


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48) Quantum Vibe, 01/22/21
Source: Big Head Press
by Scott Bieser

Cartoon. (01/22/21)


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49) The moral of the pandemic story
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by Noelle Swan

"This time last year, climate scientists, policymakers, and activists around the world were gearing up for what they had hoped would be a linchpin year in securing meaningful climate action. As the pandemic consumed the world's attention, climate scientists marched on, including many of the modelers featured in this week's cover story. But like so many things, momentum for climate action came to a virtual standstill. Something else happened as the world confronted COVID-19. We caught a glimpse of what a global effort can accomplish in a shared crisis. Almost immediately, the rigid walls of scientific publication came crashing down, if only temporarily, as journals and institutions rushed to share what they were learning about the new coronavirus." (01/22/20)


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50) The Moronic Firing of Will Wilkinson Illustrates Why Fear and Bad Faith Mob Demands Reign Supreme
Source: Glenn Greenwald
by Glenn Greenwald

"Will Wilkinson is about as mainstream and conventional a thinker as one can find, and is unfailingly civil and restrained in his rhetoric. But yesterday, he was fired by the technocratic centrist think tank for which he worked, the Niskanen Center, and appears on the verge of being fired as well by The New York Times, where he is a contributing writer. This multi-pronged retribution is due to a single tweet that was obviously satirical and sarcastic and for which he abjectly apologized. But no matter: the tweet has been purposely distorted into something malevolent and the prevailing repressive climate weaponized it against him." (01/22/21)


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51) "The answer to hate speech is more speech"
Source: spiked
by staff

"Parler's chief policy officer, Amy Peikoff, on the app's cancellation by Big Tech." (01/22/21)


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52) The $165,000 Question
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob

"How far will the enemies of liberty go? Well, almost all the way to armed robbery, for the latest outrage by foes of individual rights looks an awful lot like just that, plain armed robbery. The victims? The owners and staff of Atilis Gym in Bellmawr, New Jersey. On January 13, at the behest of Governor Phil Murphy, state officials seized the assets of the gym. These assets included $165,000 in the business's bank account, all of which, says co-owner Ian Smith, had come from donations and online sales of T-shirts and other apparel. For months, the owners of Atilis have been involved in a pitched battle with the state of New Jersey over orders to shut down the gym, which they have kept open despite those orders (for which disobedience they were arrested in July)." (01/22/21)


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53) Immigration Pipe Dream at the Los Angeles Times
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger

"America's immigration system is based on the socialist principle of central planning. The government centrally plans the movements of millions of people across borders, especially with respect to very complex, constantly changing labor markets. The government central planners decide what the overall number of allowable immigrants will be, how many immigrants will be allowed from each country, and what everyone's credentials will be. It simply cannot be done. Central planning always leads to what Ludwig von Mises called 'planned chaos.' What better term to use to describe America's decades-long immigration crisis? Just ask all those American farmers whose crops have rotted in the fields owing to a shortage of workers to harvest them." (01/22/21)


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54) The Revolution Won't Be Tweeted
Source: A Geek With Guns
by Christopher Burg

"Social media sites have made it clear that they will not host heterodox ideas. The revolution won't be tweeted. So what's a heterodox thinker to do? The first thing you need to do, if you haven't already, is establish additional means of contacting your fellow heterodox thinkers. Secure means of communication are preferable. My tribe and I have make extensive use of Signal and Element. But even e-mail is enough to notify your tribe that you were purged. The second thing is tidy up your tribe. In an environment where friends and family members are bragging about selling each other out, it pays to raise some walls between your social circles." (01/22/21)


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55) Now that Biden is in charge, are "liberals" coming to steal away Free Speech?
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton

"New York Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has an idea. She wants to set up a 'truth commission.' And she is not alone. This governmental body would examine news media and root out 'misinformation.' Misinformation? That is, any information that the members of the Commission (and their bosses (at the Capitol and White House and their puppet masters) happen to disagree with. This is a standard tactic of statists: authoritarians, totalitarians, socialists, communists, fascists and Tranzis. We see it throughout history, from the ban on reading the Bible (imposed by the Roman Catholic Church for centuries) by laymen, to the Nazi book-burnings. And modern American book burning by both 'conservatives' AND 'liberals.'" (01/22/21)


_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____

56) Free Man Beyond The Wall, episode 528
Source: Free Man Beyond The Wall

"Preparing for the 'Collapse' w/ Skip (CollapsitARian-15)." [various formats] (01/25/21)


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57) Free Talk Live, 01/24/21
Source: Free Talk Live

"Sex app gives 24 hour consent :: Sex spam :: Victim Centered Justice might not be justice :: Divi Investment :: Law Enforcement Officer tells stories of sexual assaults :: False accusation punishments :: Gun ownership extremes :: Mark, Peakless Mountaineer and Richie Rich." [Flash audio or MP3] (01/24/21)


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58) The Anarchist Experience, episode 303
Source: The Anarchist Experience

"Rich, MC, and KS discuss the good and the bad of President Sniffing Joe's recent Executive Orders." [various formats] (01/24/21)


-----

59) Matt Agorist on The Scott Horton Show
Source: Libertarian Institute

"Matt Agorist on the Growth of the American Police State." [various formats] (01/24/21)


-----

60) The Tom Woods Show, episode 1820
Source: The Tom Woods Show

"What Can Be Done About the Deplatforming Mania?" [various formats] (01/24/21)


-----

61) Don't Tread On Anyone, 01/24/21
Source: Libertarian Institute

"The Solution to Big Tech Censorship. Jeremy Kauffman & Keith Knight." [various formats] (01/24/21)


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62) This Week in Common Sense, 01/23/21
Source: Common Sense

"The Divider Conquers." [various formats] (01/23/21)


-----

63) The Chris Spangle Show, 01/23/21
Source: We Are Libertarians

"Tricia is Her Own President, Social Media Censorship." [various formats] (01/23/21)


-----

64) David Swanson on The Scott Horton Show
Source: Libertarian Institute

"David Swanson on Joe Biden's Dangerous Cabinet Appointments." [various formats] (01/23/21)


-----

65) Part Of The Problem, 01/23/21
Source: GaS Digital Network

"Joe Biden: Day One." [various formats] (01/23/21)


-----

66) Everything Voluntary with Skyler J. Collins, episode 456
Source: Everything Voluntary

"ARK3 Returns, Pessimism, US Capitol Building, & Bureaucratic Character." [various formats] (01/23/21)


-----

67) Lions of Liberty Bonus Podcast, 01/23/21
Source: Lions Of Liberty

"Is There Any Hope for Liberty? Good Morning Liberty -- Lions of Liberty Crossover Special!" [various formats] (01/23/21)


-----

68) Year Zero with Tommy Salmons, 01/22/21
Source: Libertarian Institute

"Ideology And The Death Of Nations w/Coop." [various formats] (01/22/21)


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69) Soho Forum Debate: Should the US Government Adopt an Industrial Policy?
Source: Reason

"American Compass Executive Director Oren Cass vs. the Cato Institute's Scott Lincicome on whether the U.S. should increase its intervention in the manufacturing industry." [various formats] (01/22/21)


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70) Free Thoughts Podcast, episode 378
Source: Libertarianism.org

"Andy Matuschak joins the show to discuss how different learning models will help students in different ways." [various formats] (01/22/21)


-----

71) Bloggingheads.tv, 01/22/21
Source: Bloggingheads.tv

"Biden's Opening Acts." [Flash video] (01/22/21)


-----

72) Conflicts of Interest, episode 61
Source: Libertarian Institute

"Biden's Foreign Policy Takes Form." [various formats] (01/22/21)


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73) The Fifth Column, episode 220
Source: The Fifth Column

"The Dawning of Yet Another Terrible Era." [various formats] (01/22/21)


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74) The Tom Woods Show, episode 1819
Source: The Tom Woods Show

"The Overlooked Source of Police Abuse." [various formats] (01/22/21)


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75) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 01/22/21
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report

"The 'Easy' Answer To The Bipartisan National Debt Racket." [Flash video] (01/22/21)


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