04/15 -- Iran: Regime says $270 billion war loss must be compensated as fresh talks loom; Nothing Special About April 15 -- Every Day is Tax Day
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Thomas L. Knapp
Apr 15, 2026, 6:15:00 AMApr 15
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 04/15/26
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Iran: Regime says $270 billion war loss must be compensated as fresh talks loom
2) Slow-moving Typhoon Sinlaku skirts Guam, threatens Northern Marianas
3) ME: Legislature approves first-in-nation temporary ban on data centers
4) Italy: Regime Suspends Defense Pact With Israel
5) US DOJ moves to toss seditious conspiracy convictions of Oath Keepers, Proud Boys
6) Spain: Prime minister’s wife charged with corruption
7) Hezbollah official says the group won’t abide by any agreements from Lebanon-Israel talks in the US
8) US Snail Union Launches Ad Campaign Promoting Mail Voting as Trump Assails the Method
9) France: Regime seeks ban of Ye concert in Marseille
10) US wholesale prices surged 4% last month as the Iran war sent energy prices soaring
11) Pakistan: Hospital at centre of child HIV outbreak caught reusing syringes in undercover filming
12) Founder of Chinese property giant Evergrande admits theft, fraud, bribery
13) Greece: Police using masked migrants to forcibly push other migrants back across border
14) Amazon signs $11.57 billion deal for satellite firm Globalstar to challenge Musk’s Starlink
15) CA: Los Angeles schools avoid strike as last-minute deal reached with staff
16) Sudan: Drone strikes kill nearly 700 in three months as civil war reaches grim milestone
17) Spain: Regime approves plan to give around 500,000 undocumented migrants legal status
18) US regime publicly confesses to two more maritime murders
19) US forces to join combat drills in Philippines to show commitment to Asia while fighting Iran
20) China: Regime calls US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz “dangerous and irresponsible’”
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Nothing Special About April 15 — Every Day is Tax Day
22) The Art of Failure
23) Bootleggers, Baptists, and Others Who Benefit From Tax Complexity
24) Trump risks war backlash from the heartland: American farmers
25) The Critical Issue Is Not Dependence on Oil, but the Destruction Caused by States
26) Eric Swalwell’s enablers knew the truth, and protected him anyway
27) What the Economic Report of the President Gets Wrong and Right About Housing Supply
28) Trump’s crusade against the Vatican
29) Fifteen Bucks a Signature: The Crisis of Money in US Politics Is Growing
30) Douglass Rejected That Black Gratitude to Lincoln Required Jingoistic Praise
31) 48-Hour Hold-Up
32) Right-wing Hypocrisy on Cuban and Venezuelan Socialism
33) Hungary’s moving message to populists
34) What AI doomers won’t say about terrorism (but I will)
35) What’s Next in Iran?
36) Will Migration From Blue States to Red States Give the GOP a Boost in the Electoral College? Not Necessarily.
37) The lesson behind Argentina’s miracle recovery, after rolling back socialism
38) To Win at All Costs
39) This Wasn’t About Conversion Therapy – It Was About Free Speech
40) Fourth Amendment Battle Won!: My Journey as a Constitutional Plaintiff
41) Finding the Right Process to Enable Productive Peace Negotiations in the Iran War
42) The results are in, and same-sex marriage was a win for children and society
43) This Is the Basic Political Problem for Republicans
44) Chiles v. Salazar: A New Frontier of Speech
45) Big Beautiful Tax Returns Are Keeping Consumers Afloat
46) Trump Is Making the Best of ObamaCare
47) The Supreme Court’s refusal to stand up for press freedom is catastrophic
48) Goodbye to the property ladder
49) Aftermath: Plastics Clogged in the Persian Gulf
50) Oil prices, data centers pave way for renewable energy comeback
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Rising, 04/14/26
52) Trump Watch, 04/14/26
53) Matt Wolfson on The Scott Horton Show
54) The Bryan Hyde Show, 04/14/26
55) Speech in Vienna on Robotics and the Future of War
56) The Good Fight, 04/14/26
57) The Corbett Report, episode 498
58) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 04/13/26
59) AI Summer, 04/13/26
60) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 04/13/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Iran: Regime says $270 billion war loss must be compensated as fresh talks loom
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Iran has demanded that it receive compensation for the destruction caused by the United States and Israel’s attacks, as the country remains defiant and regional powers continue their attempts to mediate an end to the conflict. Tehran’s envoy to the United Nations said on Tuesday that five regional countries must pay compensation, based on his accusation that their territories were used for launching attacks on Iran. … An early estimate indicates that Iran has suffered about $270bn in direct and indirect damages since the start of the US-Israel war on February 28 …. Despite the scope and depth of the damage, as well as the impact of the US naval blockade on Iranian ports that began on Monday, Iranian authorities have signalled that they do not intend to give major concessions in negotiations with Washington, including on nuclear enrichment.” (04/15/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/15/iran-says-270bn-war-loss-must-be-compensated-as-fresh-talks-with-us-loom
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2) Slow-moving Typhoon Sinlaku skirts Guam, threatens Northern Marianas
Source: Stars and Stripes [US state media]
“Typhoon Sinlaku pushed past Guam on Wednesday headed for the Northern Mariana Islands packing sustained winds of 125 mph, according to a series of alerts from Guam’s Joint Information Center. Roads blocked by debris, scattered utility outages and reports of low water pressure were among the immediate issues on Guam, which remained under Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness 1. … The storm had slowed to a crawl overnight and moved only 25 miles over 14 hours, a speed that prolonged dangerous conditions near the westernmost U.S. territory.” (04/15/26)
https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2026-04-15/typhoon-sinlaku-guam-northern-marianas-21382380.html
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3) ME: Legislature approves first-in-nation temporary ban on data centers
Source: Portland Press Herald
“The Maine Legislature on Tuesday passed a controversial measure temporarily prohibiting new data center development for more than a year, sending it to Gov. Janet Mills for final approval. The bill, LD 307, would create a limitation on data centers with electric loads of at least 20 megawatts by preventing the state, local governments and quasi-governmental agencies from issuing permits or other approvals until November 2027. In the meantime, a new Data Center Coordination Council — also created in the bill — would get time to study the centers’ potential impact in Maine and issue policy recommendations. The House voted 79-62 to enact Tuesday, sending it to the Senate, which voted 21-13 to approve it later that evening. The bill’s fate now lies with Mills, who has expressed concerns that it does not include a carveout for a data center proposal in Jay.” (04/14/26)
https://www.pressherald.com/2026/04/14/maine-lawmakers-approve-first-in-nation-ban-on-data-centers-2/
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4) Italy: Regime Suspends Defense Pact With Israel
Source: New York Times
“Italy is declining to renew a longstanding defense agreement with Israel, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Tuesday, a sharp reversal for her right-wing government. Ms. Meloni made the announcement on the sidelines of an event in Verona, and a government official said that Italy’s defense minister, Guido Crosetto, had sent a letter to his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, announcing the decision. … Opposition parties had put pressure on the government for over a year to suspend the renewal. Marco Grimaldi, an opposition lawmaker, said the decision was ‘a victory’ for those who had protested Israel’s military offensive in Gaza over the last three years.” (04/14/26)
https://archive.is/VO7cn
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5) US DOJ moves to toss seditious conspiracy convictions of Oath Keepers, Proud Boys
Source: Seattle Times
“The Justice Department on Tuesday asked a federal appeals court to throw out the seditious conspiracy convictions of Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders who were sentenced to prison terms for leading members of the far-right extremist groups in attacking the U.S. Capitol to keep President Donald Trump in office over five years ago. Trump commuted the prison sentences of several Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders last January in a sweeping act of clemency for all 1,500-plus defendants charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. The request by the Justice Department would go a step further and erase the convictions for the extremist group leaders, including Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes. … Juries in Washington, D.C., convicted the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders of orchestrating violent plots to stop the peaceful transfer of power after Trump’s 2020 election loss to Democratic President Joe Biden.” (04/14/26)
https://archive.is/qllld
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6) Spain: Prime minister’s wife charged with corruption
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Begoña Gómez, the wife of Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has been charged with embezzlement, influence peddling, corruption in business dealings and misappropriation of funds at the end of a two-year investigation by a judge in Madrid. Gómez, 55, has been accused of using her influence as the wife of the socialist prime minister to secure and manage a post at Madrid’s Complutense University, and of using public resources and personal connections to further her private interests. … The investigation into Gómez was triggered by a complaint from Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), a self-styled trade union with far-right links that has a history of using the courts to pursue those it deems a threat to Spain’s democratic interests.” (04/14/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/14/spanish-prime-minister-wife-charged-with-corruption-pedro-sanchez-begona-gomez
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7) Hezbollah official says the group won’t abide by any agreements from Lebanon-Israel talks in the US
Source: Associated Press
“The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah will not abide by any agreements that may result from the direct Lebanon-Israel talks in the United States, negotiations it firmly opposes, a senior Hezbollah official said Monday. Wafiq Safa, a high-ranking member of Hezbollah’s political council, spoke on the eve of the talks expected in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the U.S. It will be the first time in decades that envoys from Lebanon and Israel, which do not have diplomatic relations, meet face-to-face in direct talks. ‘As for the outcomes of this negotiation between Lebanon and the Israeli enemy, we are not interested in or concerned with them at all,’ Safa told The Associated Press. ‘We are not bound by what they agree to,’ he added in a rare interview with international media.” (04/14/26)
https://apnews.com/article/hezbollah-lebanon-israel-wafiq-safa-a7af20b76ace9a34d8f641bca91e0b23
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8) US Snail Union Launches Ad Campaign Promoting Mail Voting as Trump Assails the Method
Source: US News & World Report
“A major U.S. Postal Service union is launching a national TV ad campaign promoting voting by mail, stepping into a politically charged debate as skepticism about mail-in ballots has been raised by President Donald Trump and others. The 30-second message features a variety of voters, among them a busy farmer and a flight attendant, explaining why they cast their ballots by mail. Sponsored by the 200,000-member American Postal Workers Union, the advertising campaign announced Tuesday will begin airing this week in Ohio, where Union Army soldiers during the Civil War cast the first mail ballots in 1864. It will then move to other states.” (04/14/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/ohio/articles/2026-04-14/postal-service-union-launches-ad-campaign-promoting-mail-voting-as-trump-assails-the-method
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9) France: Regime seeks ban of Ye concert in Marseille
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“France’s interior minister is seeking to block US rapper Kanye West from performing in the southern city of Marseille in June due to his antisemitic remarks, a source close to the minister said on Tuesday. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez is ‘highly determined’ to ban the June 11 concert at Marseille’s Velodrome stadium and is exploring “all possibilities”, the source said. West, 48, has been heavily criticised for making antisemitic remarks and voicing admiration for Adolf Hitler. Britain has blocked the US rapper, also known as Ye, from entering the country due to his outbursts, prompting organisers of a festival he was to headline to cancel the July event.” (04/14/26)
https://archive.is/ikMnG
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10) US wholesale prices surged 4% last month as the Iran war sent energy prices soaring
Source: Seattle Times
“U.S. wholesale prices surged last month as the Iran war drove up the cost of energy. The Labor Department reported Tuesday that its producer price index — which measures inflation before it hits consumers — rose 0.5% from February and 4% from March 2025. The year-over-year gains was the biggest in more than three years. Energy prices surged 8.5% from February. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core producer prices rose a modest 0.1% from February and 3.8% from a year earlier. The gains in wholesale prices were smaller than economists had forecast.” (04/14/26)
https://archive.is/P15Jt
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11) Pakistan: Hospital at centre of child HIV outbreak caught reusing syringes in undercover filming
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Mohammed Amin was eight when he died shortly after testing positive for HIV. His fevers were so bad that he insisted on sleeping in the rain, and he writhed in pain ‘like he’d been thrown in hot oil,’ says his mother, Sughra. ‘He used to fight with me, but he also loved me,’ 10-year-old Asma says as she kneels at her younger brother’s graveside. Not long after her brother contracted the virus, Asma was also diagnosed with HIV. Her family believe both children contracted it from injections with contaminated needles during routine medical treatment at a government hospital in Taunsa, in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. They are two of the 331 children that BBC Eye has identified as testing positive for HIV in the city between November 2024 and October 2025.” (04/14/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyrd818gd2o
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12) Founder of Chinese property giant Evergrande admits theft, fraud, bribery
Source: United Press International
“The founder and former chairman of Chinese property giant China Evergrande Group pleaded guilty Tuesday to a slew of charges, including embezzlement, securities fraud and corporate graft at a trial in the southern city of Shenzhen. Hui Ka Yan admitted ‘illegally absorbing public deposits’ where buyers’ down payments on apartments off-plan were used to fund hundreds of other projects in the case in which Evergrande Real Estate Group also faced a similar set of charges, the Intermediate People’s Court of Shenzhen said in a statement online. Evergrande took in millions of dollars from buyers that, instead of being used to complete the properties they were purchasing, were diverted to new developments, the court heard.” (04/14/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/04/14/Evergrande-chief-admits-fraud-embezzlement-charges/8611776154632/
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13) Greece: Police using masked migrants to forcibly push other migrants back across border
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Police in Greece have been recruiting migrants to violently push other migrants back across its land border with Turkey, according to wide-ranging evidence uncovered by the BBC. We have seen internal police documents in which guards describe how the recruitment of so-called mercenaries was ordered and overseen by senior officers. Our findings reveal allegations of brutality, with witnesses reporting migrants being stripped, robbed, beaten and even sexually assaulted. It has been claimed that mercenaries have been unofficially employed on the border since at least 2020. The Greek prime minister told the BBC he was ‘totally unaware’ about allegations of the use of migrants for pushbacks, while the country’s authorities have not responded to our written detailed requests for comment.” (04/14/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c86vpq42dl0o
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14) Amazon signs $11.57 billion deal for satellite firm Globalstar to challenge Musk’s Starlink
Source: Yahoo! Finance
“Amazon.com said on Tuesday it would acquire Globalstar in an $11.57 billion deal, bolstering its fledgling satellite business as it tries to catch up with Elon Musk’s Starlink. Tech companies are pouring in billions of dollars to capture the lucrative market for satellite-based connectivity, but it will be a tall order to match Starlink’s 10,000-unit-strong network. Through the deal, Amazon adds Globalstar’s two dozen satellites to its existing network of more than 200. Amazon has been working to ramp up its network by deploying about 3,200 satellites in Earth’s low orbit by 2029, with roughly half required to be in place by a July regulatory deadline. It is also preparing to roll out its satellite internet services later this year.” (04/14/26)
https://finance.yahoo.com/sectors/technology/articles/amazon-signs-11-57-billion-120533254.html
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15) CA: Los Angeles schools avoid strike as last-minute deal reached with staff
Source: SFGate
“Los Angeles schools avoided a strike that would have impacted nearly 400,000 students in Southern California as the school district and the union representing support staff reached a tentative deal early Tuesday. Local 99 of the Service Employees International Union announced on social media that it won a tentative agreement with ‘major gains’ including raises and more hours. The district announced that an agreement in principle had been reached with SEIU Local 99 allowing schools to be open Tuesday and they would work to finalize the details of a tentative agreement. SEIU Local 99 said the tentative deal also included protections against subcontracting, stopped IT layoffs and increased staffing. SEIU Local 99 told members to report to work as usual on Tuesday and thanked its fellow unions and the Los Angeles community, saying the ‘victory belongs to ALL of us.'” (04/14/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/los-angeles-schools-avoid-a-strike-as-a-22205414.php
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16) Sudan: Drone strikes kill nearly 700 in three months as civil war reaches grim milestone
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“Nearly 700 civilians have reportedly been killed in drone strikes in Sudan since January, the United Nations aid chief said Tuesday, decrying that three years of civil war had created the ‘world’s largest humanitarian crisis.’ Now entering a fourth year, the war between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced more than 11 million, and thrust several areas into hunger and famine.” (04/14/26)
https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20260414-sudan-drone-strikes-kill-nearly-700-in-three-months-as-civil-war-reaches-grim-milestone
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17) Spain: Regime approves plan to give around 500,000 undocumented migrants legal status
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Spain’s government has approved plans to give legal status to 500,000 undocumented migrants, allowing them to be integrated formally into the workforce. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez described his government’s decision as both ‘an act of justice’ and a necessity for Spain. In a letter to Spaniards posted on social media, Sánchez, a socialist, said the mass legalisation sought ‘to acknowledge the reality of nearly half a million people who already form part of our everyday lives’. Spain’s conservative opposition People’s Party (PP) has pledged to attempt to block the legalisation, which it said rewards illegal migrants and would encourage more to come. The government’s plan will offer a one-year, renewable residence permit to undocumented migrants. In order to be eligible, applicants must prove that they have already spent five months living in Spain and have a clean criminal record.” (04/14/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy511nln2xvo
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18) US regime publicly confesses to two more maritime murders
Source: CBS News
“The U.S. military said it [murdered] two people in a strike on an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Monday, bringing the death toll to at least 170 since strikes began last September. U.S. Southern Command, which is responsible for Washington’s forces in the region, said in a post on X that ‘the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.’ … The latest strike comes two days after U.S. military strikes [murdered] five people in two boats, also in the eastern Pacific.” (04/13/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-military-alleged-drug-boat-strike-eastern-pacific/
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19) US forces to join combat drills in Philippines to show commitment to Asia while fighting Iran
Source: SFGate
“More than 17,000 American and Filipino military personnel will participate in one of their largest annual combat exercises in the Philippines that underscore the United States’ staunch commitment to Asia despite its preoccupation with the Middle East, a U.S. military official said Tuesday. During the April 20-May 8 maneuvers, called the Balikatan, Japanese forces will fire a missile in a ship-sinking exercise in northwestern Philippine waters facing the disputed South China Sea. Japan’s defense chief has been invited to witness the live-fire drill, Philippine military officials said. The large-scale combat drills between the U.S. and Philippines, which are longtime treaty allies, will expand this year to include other friendly forces, including those from Japan, France and Canada, which have signed visiting forces agreements with Manila, the Philippine military said.” (04/14/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/us-forces-to-join-combat-drills-in-philippines-to-22205418.php
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20) China: Regime calls US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz “dangerous and irresponsible’”
Source: CNBC
“China has called the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz a ‘dangerous and irresponsible act’ that will further enflame tensions in the region. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday that the targeted blockade of the vital shipping channel, which began at 10:00 a.m. ET on Monday, coupled with an increase in U.S. military deployment, risks undermining an ‘already fragile ceasefire situation.’ Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a press conference that only a full ceasefire can help ease the situation, adding that Beijing would make efforts to help restore peace and stability in the Middle East.” (04/14/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/14/china-us-strait-of-hormuz-war-donald-trump-oil-energy-crisis-conflict-middle-east-iran.html
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Nothing Special About April 15 — Every Day is Tax Day
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“The deadline for filing US federal income tax returns falls (usually) on April 15, a date that’s worked its way into the American vocabulary as ‘tax day.’ That’s really not a very accurate term. For one thing, most Americans pay all sorts of other taxes (sales taxes, excise taxes, property taxes, etc.) all the time. You can’t swing a cat without hitting a tax … and there’s probably a tax on swinging cats, which I recommend against doing for all kinds of reasons other than potential tax implications. For another, most Americans pay federal income tax year-round through withholding from their paychecks (or quarterly ‘estimated’ payments). April 15 is just the day when the government demands that you do their paperwork for them to make sure they took as much as they wanted to take from you last year.” (04/14/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20539
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22) The Art of Failure
Source: Antiwar.com
by Kyle Anzalone
“Donald Trump sold himself to the American people as the ultimate dealmaker during his first run for President. He argued that Obama’s poor negotiating skills had impoverished the American people, and he would Make America Great Again by getting tough with both allies and adversaries. The American people bought the narrative and elected him over Hillary Clinton in 2016. In the President’s five years in office, he had been unable to cement any agreement that benefited Americans. … It should come as no surprise that Saturday’s talks in Pakistan to end the conflict failed. Trump has proven he is unable to take a good deal when it is gifted to him.” (04/14/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/kyle_anzalone/2026/04/13/the-art-of-failure
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23) Bootleggers, Baptists, and Others Who Benefit From Tax Complexity
Source: The Daily Economy
by Julia R Cartwright
“To understand the American tax code, you first need to understand a theory developed while watching liquor regulations in the American South. Economist Bruce Yandle noticed that two groups supported Sunday alcohol bans: Baptist ministers, who wanted to protect communities from drinking, and bootleggers, who wanted to eliminate their competition for a day. The two groups had different motives, but pushed for the same policy. Yandle called this dynamic ‘bootleggers and Baptists,’ and it helps explain nearly every major provision in the US tax code.” (04/14/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/bootleggers-baptists-and-who-benefits-from-tax-complexity/
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24) Trump risks war backlash from the heartland: American farmers
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Blaise Malley
“Even if Gulf shipping reopens tomorrow, supply lags and energy costs are driving fertilizer and other input costs sky high — just in time for planting season.” (04/14/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/strait-of-hormuz-fertilizer/
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25) The Critical Issue Is Not Dependence on Oil, but the Destruction Caused by States
Source: Ludwig Mises Institute
by Alejandro A Tagliavini
“We have long normalized the idea that economics is the use of scarce resources. The problem is that, if resources are scarce, the only option left is to decide how to allocate them, leading to a real struggle — sometimes violent — between the parties to see who gets what little there is. … Creation is infinite; it has no limits as long as the order of the cosmos—the order of nature that predates humankind — is respected. In contrast, rationalism, state constructivism, and attempts to impose an ‘order’ that — not arising spontaneously from society — must be coercively imposed using the monopoly on violence that states claim for this purpose clashes with social nature and enters into a conflict that only destroys.” (04/14/26)
https://mises.org/power-market/critical-issue-not-dependence-oil-destruction-caused-states
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26) Eric Swalwell’s enablers knew the truth, and protected him anyway
Source: Fox News
by Jonathan Turley
“The resignation of Rep. Eric Swalwell [D-CA] came with one of the most spectacular falls in political history. Just days ago, Swalwell was the leading Democratic candidate for governor of California and positioned to be one of two final candidates, with the other a Republican. He expected that, regardless of his unpopularity, California Democrats would never vote for a Republican. Now Swalwell has pulled out of the race, left Congress, and was even tossed out of the home of a billionaire who had been letting him crash there during the scandal. Swalwell continues to deny the allegations against him and has pledged to fight them. For the record, I have been one of Swalwell’s most vocal critics for the last 10 years. Yet while I am not surprised by the allegations, I am surprised by how quickly Swalwell was abandoned by his political patrons in Congress and the unions.” (04/14/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/jonathan-turley-eric-swalwells-enablers-knew-truth-protected-anyway
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27) What the Economic Report of the President Gets Wrong and Right About Housing Supply
Source: Cato Institute
by Stephen Slivinski
“Yesterday, the President’s Council of Economic Advisers issued its annual Economic Report of the President. Like every year, it’s a wide-ranging analysis of several hot-button economic topics. While I can’t speak to the reliability of the analysis in every chapter, one thing that stands out is the chapter on housing supply. Like any policy document written by committee and expected to rationalize even the least justifiable policies of an administration, it doesn’t get everything right. Yet it doesn’t get everything wrong either.” (04/14/26)
https://www.cato.org/blog/what-economic-report-president-gets-wrong-right-about-housing-supply
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28) Trump’s crusade against the Vatican
Source: spiked
by Georgina Mumford
“Trump is not the first president to fall out with the Holy Father. That said, this latest outburst is worlds away from the ‘elegant row’ between Theodore Roosevelt and Pope Pius during the Second World War, or the cordial scolding given to Bill Clinton by Pope John Paul over abortion legislation. Trump’s tantrum comes after months of tension between the White House and the Holy See – where, much to his dismay, religious officials have failed to don their MAGA hats and cheer on America’s war with Iran. … American Catholics – who comprise both 20 per cent of the US population and 22 per cent of those who cast their vote for Trump in 2024 – will no doubt be baffled by Trump’s attacks on the pontiff. Moreover, his AI-powered Jesus impersonation managed to upset even the most enthusiastic of evangelical MAGA loyalists.” (04/14/26)
https://archive.is/E05Rd
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29) Fifteen Bucks a Signature: The Crisis of Money in US Politics Is Growing
Source: The Nation
by Katrina Vanden Heuvel
“There’s money to be made in California this spring, no start-up pitch or buzzy screenplay required. Instead, signatures are one of the state’s most coveted commodities: Campaigns are paying $15 apiece to those willing to collect them. Petition distributors can thank Sergey Brin for this pay bump. In an effort to kill California’s proposed billionaire tax, the Google cofounder and other local tycoons are funding a political group that has hiked the going rate for signatures collected in support of countermeasures. In all, foes of the wealth tax are expected to spend $75 million in their attempt to quash the proposal.” (04/14/26)
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/money-in-politics-billionaires-dark-money-citizens-united-crisis/
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30) Douglass Rejected That Black Gratitude to Lincoln Required Jingoistic Praise
Source: The UnPopulist
by Jonathan Marks
“On the Emancipation Memorial’s 150th anniversary, Douglass’ oration needs rescuing from both left and right.” (04/14/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/douglass-rejected-that-black-gratitude
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31) 48-Hour Hold-Up
Source: The Pamphleteer
by Megan Podsiedlik
“Today [Tuesday], the Tennessee senate will weigh in on a bill requiring local law enforcement agencies participating in the 287(g) program to honor ICE detainers. Under the proposal, participating local law enfocement agencies would be required to hold individuals subject to an immigration detainer for up to 48 hours, giving federal officials time to assume custody. Lay of the Land According to Tennessee’s new Centralized Immigration Enforcement Division, only 49 of the state’s 95 counties now participate in the 287(g) program.” [editor’s note: “Detainers” shouldn’t be honored. If ICE wants someone, ICE should go to an actual judge and get an actual warrant – TLK] (04/13/26)
https://pamphleteer.co/newsletter/48-hour-hold-up/
-----
32) Right-wing Hypocrisy on Cuban and Venezuelan Socialism
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“On seeing the deep economic suffering of the Cuban people, who are now on the precipice of massive death by starvation and illness, American right-wingers love to blame Cuban socialism for what is occurring. They say that it’s not really the U.S. economic embargo that has played a critically important role in all this. And, they claim, it’s not President Trump’s and the U.S. national-security state’s oil blockade that has put the finishing touches on this horror story. The U.S. role in all this death and suffering is non-existent, the right-wingers steadfastly maintain. It’s all because of Cuba’s socialist economic system. A big part of the problem here is the moral blindness of the American right-wing when it comes to the U.S. government and, specifically, the U.S. national-security establishment.” (04/14/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/04/14/right-wing-hypocrisy-on-cuban-and-venezuelan-socialism/
-----
33) Hungary’s moving message to populists
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“Populist politicians in Europe, whether left or right who use tactics of demonization and division to amass power, have been put on notice. In a much-watched election on April 12, voters in Hungary ousted Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who epitomized the continent’s identity politics of fear and hate over the past 16 years. In record turnout, they soundly opted for Péter Magyar, an astute coalition-builder who overcame a smear campaign thrown at him by offering ‘a message of love’ to all Hungarians. In a speech after his Tisza party won a supermajority in Parliament, Mr. Magyar touched on the election’s meaning: ‘It is a sin to divide the nation.'” (04/13/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0413/Hungary-s-moving-message-to-populists
-----
34) What AI doomers won’t say about terrorism (but I will)
Source: Sex and the State
by Cathy Reisenwitz
“It is trivially easy, in the year of our Lord 2026, to do a terrorism. Terrorism has always been trivially easy. So why do the doomers keep talking about how scared they are that AI will make it easier to do terrorism? It being hard is not the limiting factor. It has never been the limiting factor. There’s a reason they keep bringing up, as an example, the Sarin poisoning in Matsumoto, Japan. It’s the only instance of random weirdos using anything approaching advanced technology to do a mass murder. The 9/11 hijackers used the incredibly complex and hard-to-use technology otherwise known as ‘box cutters.'” (04/14/26)
https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/what-ai-doomers-wont-say-about-terrorism
-----
35) What’s Next in Iran?
Source: Law & Liberty
by Paul D Miller
“Washington must define its endgame in Iran, both for itself and for the Iranian people.” (04/14/26)
https://lawliberty.org/whats-next-in-iran/
-----
36) Will Migration From Blue States to Red States Give the GOP a Boost in the Electoral College? Not Necessarily.
Source: Reason
by Stephanie Slade
“While many of the states that are growing are currently seen as safe red territory, today’s Republican-voting states could be tomorrow’s swing states.” (for publication 05/26)
https://reason.com/2026/04/14/the-electoral-college-gets-redder/
-----
37) The lesson behind Argentina’s miracle recovery, after rolling back socialism
Source: New York Post
by David Harsanyi
“Capitalism remains undefeated. In 2023, over 100 leading economists from around the world, including progressive darling Thomas Piketty, signed a letter warning that ‘far-right’ Argentine presidential candidate Javier Milei’s policies, which were ‘rooted in laissez-faire economics,’ would cause ‘devastation,’ spike inflation, expand poverty and worsen unemployment. Celebrated economists never penned any open letters warning that the preceding Peronists’ or Kirchnerists’ perverse blend of fascism, socialism and unionism would drive Argentina — once one of world’s wealthiest nations — into destitution, unemployment, soaring inflation and bankruptcy. But that’s how it always goes.” (04/13/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/04/13/opinion/the-lesson-behind-argentinas-miracle-recovery-after-rolling-back-socialism/
-----
38) To Win at All Costs
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Meryl Nass
“Bayer bought Monsanto in 2018 for $63 billion — a few months before Monsanto lost its first liability case for causing non-Hodgkins lymphoma. I was not a close observer of the case, but the win seemed to hinge on documents obtained during discovery that revealed Monsanto knew a great deal about the injuries its product caused but deliberately hid those findings. Once there was a win — and the jury awarded the plaintiff with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma hundreds of millions, later reduced — the bandwagon effect began, with other lawyers seeking plaintiffs to sue Monsanto. … Bayer, a German company, hired a Texan, Bill Anderson, as CEO to come to its aid. CEO Anderson’s career hinged on stanching Bayer’s bleed. He initiated a very expensive series of legal and political strategies in the hopes that one would be successful. He also formed a new agricultural industry lobby group with a huge advertising budget.” (04/14/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/to-win-at-all-costs/
-----
39) This Wasn’t About Conversion Therapy – It Was About Free Speech
Source: RealClearPolitics
by Mark Mayfield & Megan Cannedy
“Headlines for the past few weeks have capitalized on the cruel connotations surrounding conversion therapy, proclaiming that the United States Supreme Court struck down ‘a conversion therapy ban.’ The problem is that the Supreme Court, in an 8-1 decision that included Justices Kagan and Sotomayor, told Colorado something that needed to be said: Your law was never actually about that. Chiles v. Salazar is being reported as a ‘conversion therapy’ ruling. That framing is a political bait-and-switch. What the court struck down was a government mandate on what therapists may say to a consenting minor, forbidden words depending entirely on which direction they pointed. That is not a ban on conversion therapy. That is ideological discrimination dressed in therapeutic clothing.” (04/14/26)
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2026/04/14/this_wasnt_about_conversion_therapy__it_was_about_free_speech_154030.html
-----
40) Fourth Amendment Battle Won!: My Journey as a Constitutional Plaintiff
Source: Independent Institute
by Robert E Wright
“Thanks to NCLA, I paid nothing to sue the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for violating my Fourth Amendment rights except some of my time, a little here and a little there, spread over half a decade. The suit never went to trial, so I did not even have to appear in court, though I could have gone to a preliminary hearing once if I wanted. I declined because I had already fled Massachusetts for distant freer climes. I also received nothing from the settlement except the satisfaction of helping to make my fellow Americans a little less like the subjects of a monarchy and a little more like the citizens of a free country. My name came first on the plaintiff side because I was the first to sign on, blazing a trail that made it easier for others aggrieved to join later.” (04/14/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/04/14/fourth-amendment-battle-won-my-journey-as-a-constitutional-plaintiff/
-----
41) Finding the Right Process to Enable Productive Peace Negotiations in the Iran War
Source: Common Dreams
by Connie Peck
“Although the international community still knows very little about the highest-level peace talks between the US and Iran in 47 years, facilitated by Shehbaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, some obvious red flags appeared in the morning-after news reports—as JD Vance, Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner flew home less than 24 hours after their arrival in Islamabad. As The New York Times reported: ‘Vice President JD Vance summed up the failure of 21 hours of negotiations with Iran in one sentence: ‘They have chosen not to accept our terms.’ To Iranian officials, that line reflected their biggest problem with the talks: The United States they argue, had not come to negotiate.'” (04/14/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/peace-process-us-iran
-----
42) The results are in, and same-sex marriage was a win for children and society
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Benjamin Karney
“To build public support for rolling back marriage rights, new campaigns have been repeating the claims that legal recognition of same-sex marriages may harm children or even the stability of different-sex marriages. These are some of the same concerns that were raised in the years prior to the Obergefell decision. They were groundless then, and, more than 10 years later, the data confirm these fears to be unfounded.” (04/14/26)
https://archive.is/aucmu
-----
43) This Is the Basic Political Problem for Republicans
Source: The American Conservative
by W James Antle III
“There is simply nothing that has happened in American politics between Trump’s epic 2024 political comeback and the Democrats’ romp in last year’s off-year elections running on an affordability mantra that would suggest voters prioritize a foreign war over higher prices. A thousand clips of Trump expressing his distaste for the ayatollahs or a hundred polls showing rank-and-file Republicans still support him do not prove otherwise. … Salvaging the Republicans’ midterm election prospects is going to require extricating the U.S. from the war in Iran while keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, whether GOP lawmakers know it (or are willing to publicly admit it) or not.” (04/14/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/this-is-the-basic-political-problem-for-republicans/
-----
44) Chiles v. Salazar: A New Frontier of Speech
Source: Washington Monthly
by Alison Gash
“In its 8–1 ruling on Colorado’s conversion therapy ban, the Supreme Court recast mental health care as protected expression.” [editor’s note: The First Amendment is not unclear. Speech is speech, Not liking particular content of speech doesn’t magically make it not speech – TLK] (04/13/26)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/04/13/chiles-v-salazar-conversion-therapy-a-new-frontier-of-speech/
-----
45) Big Beautiful Tax Returns Are Keeping Consumers Afloat
Source: Town Hall
by EJ Antoni, Ph.D.
“While families struggle with high gas prices in the wake of the Iran war, many American workers are getting help this year from an unlikely place: the Internal Revenue Service. Tax refunds from the IRS are up almost 14% from last year — another reason to file your taxes by Wednesday’s deadline, especially if you’re affected by a handful of changes to the tax code. Last Summer, the One Big Beautiful Bill became law, preserving some tax cuts that would’ve expired but also introducing a few new tax cuts too. Because many of the law’s provisions were made retroactive for the entirety of 2025, these changes significantly reduced some Americans’ tax liabilities, resulting in today’s big refunds.” (04/14/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/ej-antoni/2026/04/14/big-beautiful-tax-returns-are-keeping-consumers-afloat-n2674389
-----
46) Trump Is Making the Best of ObamaCare
Source: Independent Institute
by John C Goodman
“Healthcare usually benefits Democrats politically, but some of the most important health-policy changes of the past decade have come from Donald Trump’s White House. Now his administration is proposing a reform that could change the U.S. healthcare system as radically as Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act did. This latest proposed reform, the 2027 ACA Exchange Rule, would allow health insurers to offer nonnetwork plans on market exchanges where people buy their own insurance. Today, most healthcare plans cover care only from doctors and hospitals with which they have contracts for treatment and payment. Under the new rule, health insurers would be able to set ‘reference prices’ — say, for an MRI or a knee replacement — that would apply regardless of which provider a patient chooses.” (04/13/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/04/13/trump-is-making-the-best-of-obamacare/
-----
47) The Supreme Court’s refusal to stand up for press freedom is catastrophic
Source: The Hill
by Austin Sarat
“In 2017, journalist Priscilla Villarreal did what good journalists ordinarily do. She was working on two stories — one about the suicide of a border agent and the other about a serious car accident. To confirm the names of the people involved in those incidents, Villarreal texted a member of the Laredo Police Department. The officer responded and provided the information she was looking for. … But then someone in the police department got wind of what Villarreal was up to. Soon afterward, she was charged with violating an obscure, Orwellian provision of the Texas Penal Code, the Misuse of Official Information Act. … the Misuse of Official Information Act cannot be reconciled with the First Amendment’s protection of press freedom. But on March 23, the U.S. Supreme Court let it stand by declining to hear the case.” (04/13/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/5826184-texas-law-muzzles-journalists/
-----
48) Goodbye to the property ladder
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen Pirie
“The idea of the ‘property ladder,’ buying a starter home, then trading up over time to larger ones, was a huge part of UK culture from the late 20th century through the early 2000s. It has not disappeared entirely, but for many people it barely functions in the way that it once did. The average property now costs nearly eight times the average income, making it one of the toughest financial challenges of our time. According to the Resolution Foundation, it now takes the average first-time buyer about nine years to save for a deposit, and more than half of all first-time buyers under 35 rely on family help, the so-called ‘Bank of mum and dad,’ to enter the property market. Barclays research from 2025 found that many first-time buyers are no longer perceiving their first home as the start of a journey, but as the final destination.” (04/13/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/goodbye-to-the-property-ladder
-----
49) Aftermath: Plastics Clogged in the Persian Gulf
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen, Emma Janssen & Whitney Curry Wimbish
“It may seem strange to focus on consequences while the war is still occurring, but the truth is that the die has already been cast when the Strait of Hormuz became a choke point rather than a natural waterway. This will have deep implications on economic security, technology, energy, and geopolitics, which we can now begin to chronicle, regardless of the ultimate outcome of the fighting between the U.S., Israel, and Iran.” (04/14/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/04/14/aftermath-plastics-clogged-in-persian-gulf/
-----
50) Oil prices, data centers pave way for renewable energy comeback
Source: USA Today
by Paul Bledsoe
“The energy affordability crisis caused by the Iran war and electricity-hungry data centers has now risen, like prices, to near the top of Americans’ political concerns. … The good news is we no longer face the false choice between cutting emissions and cutting prices. We can do both. … Advanced technologies lower emissions while cutting prices. Adding electric car batteries in tens of millions of homes and workplaces along with other cheaper power storage units, which could provide a quarter of new U.S. power this year, might greatly reduce the need for expensive and polluting backup power plants on the grid.” (04/13/26)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2026/04/14/iran-war-ev-democrats-renewable-energy-policy/89518724007/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Rising, 04/14/26
Source: The Hill
"Robby Soave gives his radar on opposition to self-driving cars from some prominent progressive leftists, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani." (04/14/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/5825245-rising-april-14-2026/
-----
52) Trump Watch, 04/14/26
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“Annihilating People with Sanctions, Embargoes, and Blockades.” (04/14/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AQdBC08K9U
-----
53) Matt Wolfson on The Scott Horton Show
Source: The Scott Horton Show
“Matt Wolfson on Underappreciated Danger of the United Arab Emirates.” (04/14/26)
https://scotthorton.org/interviews/4-9-26-matt-wolfson-on-underappreciated-danger-of-the-united-arab-emirates/
-----
54) The Bryan Hyde Show, 04/14/26
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
“Eric Peters from Eric Peters Autos joins me to talk current events, cars, and how to stay free in a world where the enslavers pretend they’re doing you a favor.” (04/14/26)
https://www.podbean.com/ep/pb-hrsie-1a9b04d
-----
55) Speech in Vienna on Robotics and the Future of War
Source: Cobden Centre
“[Max Rangeley] recently gave this speech in Vienna, talking through Europe’s lack of a robotics industry compared to the US and China, and the disastrous consequences of this in the event of a major conflict.” (04/14/26)
https://www.cobdencentre.org/2026/04/speech-in-vienna-on-robotics-and-the-future-of-war/
-----
56) The Good Fight, 04/14/26
Source: Yascha Mounk
“Ivan Krastev on Why Even Dictators Can’t Escape Democracy.” (04/14/26)
https://writing.yaschamounk.com/p/ivan-krastev-4
-----
57) The Corbett Report, episode 498
Source: The Corbett Report
“How To Stage A Cover-Up.” (04/14/26)
https://corbettreport.com/how-to-stage-a-cover-up/
-----
58) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 04/13/26
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Larry Johnson: Are Russia, China and Iran the Big Winners of Trump and Netanyahu’s War?” (04/13/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/blog/the-kyle-anzalone-show-guest-larry-johnson-are-russia-china-and-iran-the-big-winners-of-trump-and-netanyahus-war/
-----
59) AI Summer, 04/13/26
Source: AI Summer
“Sayash Kapoor on Claude Mythos as normal technology.” (04/13/26)
https://www.aisummer.org/p/sayash-kapoor-on-claude-mythos-as
-----
60) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 04/13/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Netanyahu Says the Trump Admin Briefs Him Every Day, Pope Leo Responds to Trump Attack, and More.” (04/13/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNXvOyECmFU
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Iran: Regime says $270 billion war loss must be compensated as fresh talks loom
2) Slow-moving Typhoon Sinlaku skirts Guam, threatens Northern Marianas
3) ME: Legislature approves first-in-nation temporary ban on data centers
4) Italy: Regime Suspends Defense Pact With Israel
5) US DOJ moves to toss seditious conspiracy convictions of Oath Keepers, Proud Boys
6) Spain: Prime minister’s wife charged with corruption
7) Hezbollah official says the group won’t abide by any agreements from Lebanon-Israel talks in the US
8) US Snail Union Launches Ad Campaign Promoting Mail Voting as Trump Assails the Method
9) France: Regime seeks ban of Ye concert in Marseille
10) US wholesale prices surged 4% last month as the Iran war sent energy prices soaring
11) Pakistan: Hospital at centre of child HIV outbreak caught reusing syringes in undercover filming
12) Founder of Chinese property giant Evergrande admits theft, fraud, bribery
13) Greece: Police using masked migrants to forcibly push other migrants back across border
14) Amazon signs $11.57 billion deal for satellite firm Globalstar to challenge Musk’s Starlink
15) CA: Los Angeles schools avoid strike as last-minute deal reached with staff
16) Sudan: Drone strikes kill nearly 700 in three months as civil war reaches grim milestone
17) Spain: Regime approves plan to give around 500,000 undocumented migrants legal status
18) US regime publicly confesses to two more maritime murders
19) US forces to join combat drills in Philippines to show commitment to Asia while fighting Iran
20) China: Regime calls US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz “dangerous and irresponsible’”
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Nothing Special About April 15 — Every Day is Tax Day
22) The Art of Failure
23) Bootleggers, Baptists, and Others Who Benefit From Tax Complexity
24) Trump risks war backlash from the heartland: American farmers
25) The Critical Issue Is Not Dependence on Oil, but the Destruction Caused by States
26) Eric Swalwell’s enablers knew the truth, and protected him anyway
27) What the Economic Report of the President Gets Wrong and Right About Housing Supply
28) Trump’s crusade against the Vatican
29) Fifteen Bucks a Signature: The Crisis of Money in US Politics Is Growing
30) Douglass Rejected That Black Gratitude to Lincoln Required Jingoistic Praise
31) 48-Hour Hold-Up
32) Right-wing Hypocrisy on Cuban and Venezuelan Socialism
33) Hungary’s moving message to populists
34) What AI doomers won’t say about terrorism (but I will)
35) What’s Next in Iran?
36) Will Migration From Blue States to Red States Give the GOP a Boost in the Electoral College? Not Necessarily.
37) The lesson behind Argentina’s miracle recovery, after rolling back socialism
38) To Win at All Costs
39) This Wasn’t About Conversion Therapy – It Was About Free Speech
40) Fourth Amendment Battle Won!: My Journey as a Constitutional Plaintiff
41) Finding the Right Process to Enable Productive Peace Negotiations in the Iran War
42) The results are in, and same-sex marriage was a win for children and society
43) This Is the Basic Political Problem for Republicans
44) Chiles v. Salazar: A New Frontier of Speech
45) Big Beautiful Tax Returns Are Keeping Consumers Afloat
46) Trump Is Making the Best of ObamaCare
47) The Supreme Court’s refusal to stand up for press freedom is catastrophic
48) Goodbye to the property ladder
49) Aftermath: Plastics Clogged in the Persian Gulf
50) Oil prices, data centers pave way for renewable energy comeback
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Rising, 04/14/26
52) Trump Watch, 04/14/26
53) Matt Wolfson on The Scott Horton Show
54) The Bryan Hyde Show, 04/14/26
55) Speech in Vienna on Robotics and the Future of War
56) The Good Fight, 04/14/26
57) The Corbett Report, episode 498
58) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 04/13/26
59) AI Summer, 04/13/26
60) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 04/13/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Iran: Regime says $270 billion war loss must be compensated as fresh talks loom
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Iran has demanded that it receive compensation for the destruction caused by the United States and Israel’s attacks, as the country remains defiant and regional powers continue their attempts to mediate an end to the conflict. Tehran’s envoy to the United Nations said on Tuesday that five regional countries must pay compensation, based on his accusation that their territories were used for launching attacks on Iran. … An early estimate indicates that Iran has suffered about $270bn in direct and indirect damages since the start of the US-Israel war on February 28 …. Despite the scope and depth of the damage, as well as the impact of the US naval blockade on Iranian ports that began on Monday, Iranian authorities have signalled that they do not intend to give major concessions in negotiations with Washington, including on nuclear enrichment.” (04/15/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/15/iran-says-270bn-war-loss-must-be-compensated-as-fresh-talks-with-us-loom
-----
2) Slow-moving Typhoon Sinlaku skirts Guam, threatens Northern Marianas
Source: Stars and Stripes [US state media]
“Typhoon Sinlaku pushed past Guam on Wednesday headed for the Northern Mariana Islands packing sustained winds of 125 mph, according to a series of alerts from Guam’s Joint Information Center. Roads blocked by debris, scattered utility outages and reports of low water pressure were among the immediate issues on Guam, which remained under Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness 1. … The storm had slowed to a crawl overnight and moved only 25 miles over 14 hours, a speed that prolonged dangerous conditions near the westernmost U.S. territory.” (04/15/26)
https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2026-04-15/typhoon-sinlaku-guam-northern-marianas-21382380.html
-----
3) ME: Legislature approves first-in-nation temporary ban on data centers
Source: Portland Press Herald
“The Maine Legislature on Tuesday passed a controversial measure temporarily prohibiting new data center development for more than a year, sending it to Gov. Janet Mills for final approval. The bill, LD 307, would create a limitation on data centers with electric loads of at least 20 megawatts by preventing the state, local governments and quasi-governmental agencies from issuing permits or other approvals until November 2027. In the meantime, a new Data Center Coordination Council — also created in the bill — would get time to study the centers’ potential impact in Maine and issue policy recommendations. The House voted 79-62 to enact Tuesday, sending it to the Senate, which voted 21-13 to approve it later that evening. The bill’s fate now lies with Mills, who has expressed concerns that it does not include a carveout for a data center proposal in Jay.” (04/14/26)
https://www.pressherald.com/2026/04/14/maine-lawmakers-approve-first-in-nation-ban-on-data-centers-2/
-----
4) Italy: Regime Suspends Defense Pact With Israel
Source: New York Times
“Italy is declining to renew a longstanding defense agreement with Israel, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Tuesday, a sharp reversal for her right-wing government. Ms. Meloni made the announcement on the sidelines of an event in Verona, and a government official said that Italy’s defense minister, Guido Crosetto, had sent a letter to his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, announcing the decision. … Opposition parties had put pressure on the government for over a year to suspend the renewal. Marco Grimaldi, an opposition lawmaker, said the decision was ‘a victory’ for those who had protested Israel’s military offensive in Gaza over the last three years.” (04/14/26)
https://archive.is/VO7cn
-----
5) US DOJ moves to toss seditious conspiracy convictions of Oath Keepers, Proud Boys
Source: Seattle Times
“The Justice Department on Tuesday asked a federal appeals court to throw out the seditious conspiracy convictions of Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders who were sentenced to prison terms for leading members of the far-right extremist groups in attacking the U.S. Capitol to keep President Donald Trump in office over five years ago. Trump commuted the prison sentences of several Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders last January in a sweeping act of clemency for all 1,500-plus defendants charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. The request by the Justice Department would go a step further and erase the convictions for the extremist group leaders, including Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes. … Juries in Washington, D.C., convicted the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders of orchestrating violent plots to stop the peaceful transfer of power after Trump’s 2020 election loss to Democratic President Joe Biden.” (04/14/26)
https://archive.is/qllld
-----
6) Spain: Prime minister’s wife charged with corruption
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Begoña Gómez, the wife of Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has been charged with embezzlement, influence peddling, corruption in business dealings and misappropriation of funds at the end of a two-year investigation by a judge in Madrid. Gómez, 55, has been accused of using her influence as the wife of the socialist prime minister to secure and manage a post at Madrid’s Complutense University, and of using public resources and personal connections to further her private interests. … The investigation into Gómez was triggered by a complaint from Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), a self-styled trade union with far-right links that has a history of using the courts to pursue those it deems a threat to Spain’s democratic interests.” (04/14/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/14/spanish-prime-minister-wife-charged-with-corruption-pedro-sanchez-begona-gomez
-----
7) Hezbollah official says the group won’t abide by any agreements from Lebanon-Israel talks in the US
Source: Associated Press
“The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah will not abide by any agreements that may result from the direct Lebanon-Israel talks in the United States, negotiations it firmly opposes, a senior Hezbollah official said Monday. Wafiq Safa, a high-ranking member of Hezbollah’s political council, spoke on the eve of the talks expected in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the U.S. It will be the first time in decades that envoys from Lebanon and Israel, which do not have diplomatic relations, meet face-to-face in direct talks. ‘As for the outcomes of this negotiation between Lebanon and the Israeli enemy, we are not interested in or concerned with them at all,’ Safa told The Associated Press. ‘We are not bound by what they agree to,’ he added in a rare interview with international media.” (04/14/26)
https://apnews.com/article/hezbollah-lebanon-israel-wafiq-safa-a7af20b76ace9a34d8f641bca91e0b23
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8) US Snail Union Launches Ad Campaign Promoting Mail Voting as Trump Assails the Method
Source: US News & World Report
“A major U.S. Postal Service union is launching a national TV ad campaign promoting voting by mail, stepping into a politically charged debate as skepticism about mail-in ballots has been raised by President Donald Trump and others. The 30-second message features a variety of voters, among them a busy farmer and a flight attendant, explaining why they cast their ballots by mail. Sponsored by the 200,000-member American Postal Workers Union, the advertising campaign announced Tuesday will begin airing this week in Ohio, where Union Army soldiers during the Civil War cast the first mail ballots in 1864. It will then move to other states.” (04/14/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/ohio/articles/2026-04-14/postal-service-union-launches-ad-campaign-promoting-mail-voting-as-trump-assails-the-method
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9) France: Regime seeks ban of Ye concert in Marseille
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“France’s interior minister is seeking to block US rapper Kanye West from performing in the southern city of Marseille in June due to his antisemitic remarks, a source close to the minister said on Tuesday. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez is ‘highly determined’ to ban the June 11 concert at Marseille’s Velodrome stadium and is exploring “all possibilities”, the source said. West, 48, has been heavily criticised for making antisemitic remarks and voicing admiration for Adolf Hitler. Britain has blocked the US rapper, also known as Ye, from entering the country due to his outbursts, prompting organisers of a festival he was to headline to cancel the July event.” (04/14/26)
https://archive.is/ikMnG
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10) US wholesale prices surged 4% last month as the Iran war sent energy prices soaring
Source: Seattle Times
“U.S. wholesale prices surged last month as the Iran war drove up the cost of energy. The Labor Department reported Tuesday that its producer price index — which measures inflation before it hits consumers — rose 0.5% from February and 4% from March 2025. The year-over-year gains was the biggest in more than three years. Energy prices surged 8.5% from February. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core producer prices rose a modest 0.1% from February and 3.8% from a year earlier. The gains in wholesale prices were smaller than economists had forecast.” (04/14/26)
https://archive.is/P15Jt
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11) Pakistan: Hospital at centre of child HIV outbreak caught reusing syringes in undercover filming
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Mohammed Amin was eight when he died shortly after testing positive for HIV. His fevers were so bad that he insisted on sleeping in the rain, and he writhed in pain ‘like he’d been thrown in hot oil,’ says his mother, Sughra. ‘He used to fight with me, but he also loved me,’ 10-year-old Asma says as she kneels at her younger brother’s graveside. Not long after her brother contracted the virus, Asma was also diagnosed with HIV. Her family believe both children contracted it from injections with contaminated needles during routine medical treatment at a government hospital in Taunsa, in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. They are two of the 331 children that BBC Eye has identified as testing positive for HIV in the city between November 2024 and October 2025.” (04/14/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyrd818gd2o
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12) Founder of Chinese property giant Evergrande admits theft, fraud, bribery
Source: United Press International
“The founder and former chairman of Chinese property giant China Evergrande Group pleaded guilty Tuesday to a slew of charges, including embezzlement, securities fraud and corporate graft at a trial in the southern city of Shenzhen. Hui Ka Yan admitted ‘illegally absorbing public deposits’ where buyers’ down payments on apartments off-plan were used to fund hundreds of other projects in the case in which Evergrande Real Estate Group also faced a similar set of charges, the Intermediate People’s Court of Shenzhen said in a statement online. Evergrande took in millions of dollars from buyers that, instead of being used to complete the properties they were purchasing, were diverted to new developments, the court heard.” (04/14/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/04/14/Evergrande-chief-admits-fraud-embezzlement-charges/8611776154632/
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13) Greece: Police using masked migrants to forcibly push other migrants back across border
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Police in Greece have been recruiting migrants to violently push other migrants back across its land border with Turkey, according to wide-ranging evidence uncovered by the BBC. We have seen internal police documents in which guards describe how the recruitment of so-called mercenaries was ordered and overseen by senior officers. Our findings reveal allegations of brutality, with witnesses reporting migrants being stripped, robbed, beaten and even sexually assaulted. It has been claimed that mercenaries have been unofficially employed on the border since at least 2020. The Greek prime minister told the BBC he was ‘totally unaware’ about allegations of the use of migrants for pushbacks, while the country’s authorities have not responded to our written detailed requests for comment.” (04/14/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c86vpq42dl0o
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14) Amazon signs $11.57 billion deal for satellite firm Globalstar to challenge Musk’s Starlink
Source: Yahoo! Finance
“Amazon.com said on Tuesday it would acquire Globalstar in an $11.57 billion deal, bolstering its fledgling satellite business as it tries to catch up with Elon Musk’s Starlink. Tech companies are pouring in billions of dollars to capture the lucrative market for satellite-based connectivity, but it will be a tall order to match Starlink’s 10,000-unit-strong network. Through the deal, Amazon adds Globalstar’s two dozen satellites to its existing network of more than 200. Amazon has been working to ramp up its network by deploying about 3,200 satellites in Earth’s low orbit by 2029, with roughly half required to be in place by a July regulatory deadline. It is also preparing to roll out its satellite internet services later this year.” (04/14/26)
https://finance.yahoo.com/sectors/technology/articles/amazon-signs-11-57-billion-120533254.html
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15) CA: Los Angeles schools avoid strike as last-minute deal reached with staff
Source: SFGate
“Los Angeles schools avoided a strike that would have impacted nearly 400,000 students in Southern California as the school district and the union representing support staff reached a tentative deal early Tuesday. Local 99 of the Service Employees International Union announced on social media that it won a tentative agreement with ‘major gains’ including raises and more hours. The district announced that an agreement in principle had been reached with SEIU Local 99 allowing schools to be open Tuesday and they would work to finalize the details of a tentative agreement. SEIU Local 99 said the tentative deal also included protections against subcontracting, stopped IT layoffs and increased staffing. SEIU Local 99 told members to report to work as usual on Tuesday and thanked its fellow unions and the Los Angeles community, saying the ‘victory belongs to ALL of us.'” (04/14/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/los-angeles-schools-avoid-a-strike-as-a-22205414.php
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16) Sudan: Drone strikes kill nearly 700 in three months as civil war reaches grim milestone
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“Nearly 700 civilians have reportedly been killed in drone strikes in Sudan since January, the United Nations aid chief said Tuesday, decrying that three years of civil war had created the ‘world’s largest humanitarian crisis.’ Now entering a fourth year, the war between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced more than 11 million, and thrust several areas into hunger and famine.” (04/14/26)
https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20260414-sudan-drone-strikes-kill-nearly-700-in-three-months-as-civil-war-reaches-grim-milestone
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17) Spain: Regime approves plan to give around 500,000 undocumented migrants legal status
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Spain’s government has approved plans to give legal status to 500,000 undocumented migrants, allowing them to be integrated formally into the workforce. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez described his government’s decision as both ‘an act of justice’ and a necessity for Spain. In a letter to Spaniards posted on social media, Sánchez, a socialist, said the mass legalisation sought ‘to acknowledge the reality of nearly half a million people who already form part of our everyday lives’. Spain’s conservative opposition People’s Party (PP) has pledged to attempt to block the legalisation, which it said rewards illegal migrants and would encourage more to come. The government’s plan will offer a one-year, renewable residence permit to undocumented migrants. In order to be eligible, applicants must prove that they have already spent five months living in Spain and have a clean criminal record.” (04/14/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy511nln2xvo
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18) US regime publicly confesses to two more maritime murders
Source: CBS News
“The U.S. military said it [murdered] two people in a strike on an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Monday, bringing the death toll to at least 170 since strikes began last September. U.S. Southern Command, which is responsible for Washington’s forces in the region, said in a post on X that ‘the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.’ … The latest strike comes two days after U.S. military strikes [murdered] five people in two boats, also in the eastern Pacific.” (04/13/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-military-alleged-drug-boat-strike-eastern-pacific/
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19) US forces to join combat drills in Philippines to show commitment to Asia while fighting Iran
Source: SFGate
“More than 17,000 American and Filipino military personnel will participate in one of their largest annual combat exercises in the Philippines that underscore the United States’ staunch commitment to Asia despite its preoccupation with the Middle East, a U.S. military official said Tuesday. During the April 20-May 8 maneuvers, called the Balikatan, Japanese forces will fire a missile in a ship-sinking exercise in northwestern Philippine waters facing the disputed South China Sea. Japan’s defense chief has been invited to witness the live-fire drill, Philippine military officials said. The large-scale combat drills between the U.S. and Philippines, which are longtime treaty allies, will expand this year to include other friendly forces, including those from Japan, France and Canada, which have signed visiting forces agreements with Manila, the Philippine military said.” (04/14/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/us-forces-to-join-combat-drills-in-philippines-to-22205418.php
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20) China: Regime calls US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz “dangerous and irresponsible’”
Source: CNBC
“China has called the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz a ‘dangerous and irresponsible act’ that will further enflame tensions in the region. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday that the targeted blockade of the vital shipping channel, which began at 10:00 a.m. ET on Monday, coupled with an increase in U.S. military deployment, risks undermining an ‘already fragile ceasefire situation.’ Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a press conference that only a full ceasefire can help ease the situation, adding that Beijing would make efforts to help restore peace and stability in the Middle East.” (04/14/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/14/china-us-strait-of-hormuz-war-donald-trump-oil-energy-crisis-conflict-middle-east-iran.html
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Nothing Special About April 15 — Every Day is Tax Day
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“The deadline for filing US federal income tax returns falls (usually) on April 15, a date that’s worked its way into the American vocabulary as ‘tax day.’ That’s really not a very accurate term. For one thing, most Americans pay all sorts of other taxes (sales taxes, excise taxes, property taxes, etc.) all the time. You can’t swing a cat without hitting a tax … and there’s probably a tax on swinging cats, which I recommend against doing for all kinds of reasons other than potential tax implications. For another, most Americans pay federal income tax year-round through withholding from their paychecks (or quarterly ‘estimated’ payments). April 15 is just the day when the government demands that you do their paperwork for them to make sure they took as much as they wanted to take from you last year.” (04/14/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20539
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22) The Art of Failure
Source: Antiwar.com
by Kyle Anzalone
“Donald Trump sold himself to the American people as the ultimate dealmaker during his first run for President. He argued that Obama’s poor negotiating skills had impoverished the American people, and he would Make America Great Again by getting tough with both allies and adversaries. The American people bought the narrative and elected him over Hillary Clinton in 2016. In the President’s five years in office, he had been unable to cement any agreement that benefited Americans. … It should come as no surprise that Saturday’s talks in Pakistan to end the conflict failed. Trump has proven he is unable to take a good deal when it is gifted to him.” (04/14/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/kyle_anzalone/2026/04/13/the-art-of-failure
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23) Bootleggers, Baptists, and Others Who Benefit From Tax Complexity
Source: The Daily Economy
by Julia R Cartwright
“To understand the American tax code, you first need to understand a theory developed while watching liquor regulations in the American South. Economist Bruce Yandle noticed that two groups supported Sunday alcohol bans: Baptist ministers, who wanted to protect communities from drinking, and bootleggers, who wanted to eliminate their competition for a day. The two groups had different motives, but pushed for the same policy. Yandle called this dynamic ‘bootleggers and Baptists,’ and it helps explain nearly every major provision in the US tax code.” (04/14/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/bootleggers-baptists-and-who-benefits-from-tax-complexity/
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24) Trump risks war backlash from the heartland: American farmers
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Blaise Malley
“Even if Gulf shipping reopens tomorrow, supply lags and energy costs are driving fertilizer and other input costs sky high — just in time for planting season.” (04/14/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/strait-of-hormuz-fertilizer/
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25) The Critical Issue Is Not Dependence on Oil, but the Destruction Caused by States
Source: Ludwig Mises Institute
by Alejandro A Tagliavini
“We have long normalized the idea that economics is the use of scarce resources. The problem is that, if resources are scarce, the only option left is to decide how to allocate them, leading to a real struggle — sometimes violent — between the parties to see who gets what little there is. … Creation is infinite; it has no limits as long as the order of the cosmos—the order of nature that predates humankind — is respected. In contrast, rationalism, state constructivism, and attempts to impose an ‘order’ that — not arising spontaneously from society — must be coercively imposed using the monopoly on violence that states claim for this purpose clashes with social nature and enters into a conflict that only destroys.” (04/14/26)
https://mises.org/power-market/critical-issue-not-dependence-oil-destruction-caused-states
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26) Eric Swalwell’s enablers knew the truth, and protected him anyway
Source: Fox News
by Jonathan Turley
“The resignation of Rep. Eric Swalwell [D-CA] came with one of the most spectacular falls in political history. Just days ago, Swalwell was the leading Democratic candidate for governor of California and positioned to be one of two final candidates, with the other a Republican. He expected that, regardless of his unpopularity, California Democrats would never vote for a Republican. Now Swalwell has pulled out of the race, left Congress, and was even tossed out of the home of a billionaire who had been letting him crash there during the scandal. Swalwell continues to deny the allegations against him and has pledged to fight them. For the record, I have been one of Swalwell’s most vocal critics for the last 10 years. Yet while I am not surprised by the allegations, I am surprised by how quickly Swalwell was abandoned by his political patrons in Congress and the unions.” (04/14/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/jonathan-turley-eric-swalwells-enablers-knew-truth-protected-anyway
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27) What the Economic Report of the President Gets Wrong and Right About Housing Supply
Source: Cato Institute
by Stephen Slivinski
“Yesterday, the President’s Council of Economic Advisers issued its annual Economic Report of the President. Like every year, it’s a wide-ranging analysis of several hot-button economic topics. While I can’t speak to the reliability of the analysis in every chapter, one thing that stands out is the chapter on housing supply. Like any policy document written by committee and expected to rationalize even the least justifiable policies of an administration, it doesn’t get everything right. Yet it doesn’t get everything wrong either.” (04/14/26)
https://www.cato.org/blog/what-economic-report-president-gets-wrong-right-about-housing-supply
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28) Trump’s crusade against the Vatican
Source: spiked
by Georgina Mumford
“Trump is not the first president to fall out with the Holy Father. That said, this latest outburst is worlds away from the ‘elegant row’ between Theodore Roosevelt and Pope Pius during the Second World War, or the cordial scolding given to Bill Clinton by Pope John Paul over abortion legislation. Trump’s tantrum comes after months of tension between the White House and the Holy See – where, much to his dismay, religious officials have failed to don their MAGA hats and cheer on America’s war with Iran. … American Catholics – who comprise both 20 per cent of the US population and 22 per cent of those who cast their vote for Trump in 2024 – will no doubt be baffled by Trump’s attacks on the pontiff. Moreover, his AI-powered Jesus impersonation managed to upset even the most enthusiastic of evangelical MAGA loyalists.” (04/14/26)
https://archive.is/E05Rd
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29) Fifteen Bucks a Signature: The Crisis of Money in US Politics Is Growing
Source: The Nation
by Katrina Vanden Heuvel
“There’s money to be made in California this spring, no start-up pitch or buzzy screenplay required. Instead, signatures are one of the state’s most coveted commodities: Campaigns are paying $15 apiece to those willing to collect them. Petition distributors can thank Sergey Brin for this pay bump. In an effort to kill California’s proposed billionaire tax, the Google cofounder and other local tycoons are funding a political group that has hiked the going rate for signatures collected in support of countermeasures. In all, foes of the wealth tax are expected to spend $75 million in their attempt to quash the proposal.” (04/14/26)
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/money-in-politics-billionaires-dark-money-citizens-united-crisis/
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30) Douglass Rejected That Black Gratitude to Lincoln Required Jingoistic Praise
Source: The UnPopulist
by Jonathan Marks
“On the Emancipation Memorial’s 150th anniversary, Douglass’ oration needs rescuing from both left and right.” (04/14/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/douglass-rejected-that-black-gratitude
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31) 48-Hour Hold-Up
Source: The Pamphleteer
by Megan Podsiedlik
“Today [Tuesday], the Tennessee senate will weigh in on a bill requiring local law enforcement agencies participating in the 287(g) program to honor ICE detainers. Under the proposal, participating local law enfocement agencies would be required to hold individuals subject to an immigration detainer for up to 48 hours, giving federal officials time to assume custody. Lay of the Land According to Tennessee’s new Centralized Immigration Enforcement Division, only 49 of the state’s 95 counties now participate in the 287(g) program.” [editor’s note: “Detainers” shouldn’t be honored. If ICE wants someone, ICE should go to an actual judge and get an actual warrant – TLK] (04/13/26)
https://pamphleteer.co/newsletter/48-hour-hold-up/
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32) Right-wing Hypocrisy on Cuban and Venezuelan Socialism
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“On seeing the deep economic suffering of the Cuban people, who are now on the precipice of massive death by starvation and illness, American right-wingers love to blame Cuban socialism for what is occurring. They say that it’s not really the U.S. economic embargo that has played a critically important role in all this. And, they claim, it’s not President Trump’s and the U.S. national-security state’s oil blockade that has put the finishing touches on this horror story. The U.S. role in all this death and suffering is non-existent, the right-wingers steadfastly maintain. It’s all because of Cuba’s socialist economic system. A big part of the problem here is the moral blindness of the American right-wing when it comes to the U.S. government and, specifically, the U.S. national-security establishment.” (04/14/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/04/14/right-wing-hypocrisy-on-cuban-and-venezuelan-socialism/
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33) Hungary’s moving message to populists
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“Populist politicians in Europe, whether left or right who use tactics of demonization and division to amass power, have been put on notice. In a much-watched election on April 12, voters in Hungary ousted Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who epitomized the continent’s identity politics of fear and hate over the past 16 years. In record turnout, they soundly opted for Péter Magyar, an astute coalition-builder who overcame a smear campaign thrown at him by offering ‘a message of love’ to all Hungarians. In a speech after his Tisza party won a supermajority in Parliament, Mr. Magyar touched on the election’s meaning: ‘It is a sin to divide the nation.'” (04/13/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0413/Hungary-s-moving-message-to-populists
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34) What AI doomers won’t say about terrorism (but I will)
Source: Sex and the State
by Cathy Reisenwitz
“It is trivially easy, in the year of our Lord 2026, to do a terrorism. Terrorism has always been trivially easy. So why do the doomers keep talking about how scared they are that AI will make it easier to do terrorism? It being hard is not the limiting factor. It has never been the limiting factor. There’s a reason they keep bringing up, as an example, the Sarin poisoning in Matsumoto, Japan. It’s the only instance of random weirdos using anything approaching advanced technology to do a mass murder. The 9/11 hijackers used the incredibly complex and hard-to-use technology otherwise known as ‘box cutters.'” (04/14/26)
https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/what-ai-doomers-wont-say-about-terrorism
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35) What’s Next in Iran?
Source: Law & Liberty
by Paul D Miller
“Washington must define its endgame in Iran, both for itself and for the Iranian people.” (04/14/26)
https://lawliberty.org/whats-next-in-iran/
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36) Will Migration From Blue States to Red States Give the GOP a Boost in the Electoral College? Not Necessarily.
Source: Reason
by Stephanie Slade
“While many of the states that are growing are currently seen as safe red territory, today’s Republican-voting states could be tomorrow’s swing states.” (for publication 05/26)
https://reason.com/2026/04/14/the-electoral-college-gets-redder/
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37) The lesson behind Argentina’s miracle recovery, after rolling back socialism
Source: New York Post
by David Harsanyi
“Capitalism remains undefeated. In 2023, over 100 leading economists from around the world, including progressive darling Thomas Piketty, signed a letter warning that ‘far-right’ Argentine presidential candidate Javier Milei’s policies, which were ‘rooted in laissez-faire economics,’ would cause ‘devastation,’ spike inflation, expand poverty and worsen unemployment. Celebrated economists never penned any open letters warning that the preceding Peronists’ or Kirchnerists’ perverse blend of fascism, socialism and unionism would drive Argentina — once one of world’s wealthiest nations — into destitution, unemployment, soaring inflation and bankruptcy. But that’s how it always goes.” (04/13/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/04/13/opinion/the-lesson-behind-argentinas-miracle-recovery-after-rolling-back-socialism/
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38) To Win at All Costs
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Meryl Nass
“Bayer bought Monsanto in 2018 for $63 billion — a few months before Monsanto lost its first liability case for causing non-Hodgkins lymphoma. I was not a close observer of the case, but the win seemed to hinge on documents obtained during discovery that revealed Monsanto knew a great deal about the injuries its product caused but deliberately hid those findings. Once there was a win — and the jury awarded the plaintiff with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma hundreds of millions, later reduced — the bandwagon effect began, with other lawyers seeking plaintiffs to sue Monsanto. … Bayer, a German company, hired a Texan, Bill Anderson, as CEO to come to its aid. CEO Anderson’s career hinged on stanching Bayer’s bleed. He initiated a very expensive series of legal and political strategies in the hopes that one would be successful. He also formed a new agricultural industry lobby group with a huge advertising budget.” (04/14/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/to-win-at-all-costs/
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39) This Wasn’t About Conversion Therapy – It Was About Free Speech
Source: RealClearPolitics
by Mark Mayfield & Megan Cannedy
“Headlines for the past few weeks have capitalized on the cruel connotations surrounding conversion therapy, proclaiming that the United States Supreme Court struck down ‘a conversion therapy ban.’ The problem is that the Supreme Court, in an 8-1 decision that included Justices Kagan and Sotomayor, told Colorado something that needed to be said: Your law was never actually about that. Chiles v. Salazar is being reported as a ‘conversion therapy’ ruling. That framing is a political bait-and-switch. What the court struck down was a government mandate on what therapists may say to a consenting minor, forbidden words depending entirely on which direction they pointed. That is not a ban on conversion therapy. That is ideological discrimination dressed in therapeutic clothing.” (04/14/26)
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2026/04/14/this_wasnt_about_conversion_therapy__it_was_about_free_speech_154030.html
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40) Fourth Amendment Battle Won!: My Journey as a Constitutional Plaintiff
Source: Independent Institute
by Robert E Wright
“Thanks to NCLA, I paid nothing to sue the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for violating my Fourth Amendment rights except some of my time, a little here and a little there, spread over half a decade. The suit never went to trial, so I did not even have to appear in court, though I could have gone to a preliminary hearing once if I wanted. I declined because I had already fled Massachusetts for distant freer climes. I also received nothing from the settlement except the satisfaction of helping to make my fellow Americans a little less like the subjects of a monarchy and a little more like the citizens of a free country. My name came first on the plaintiff side because I was the first to sign on, blazing a trail that made it easier for others aggrieved to join later.” (04/14/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/04/14/fourth-amendment-battle-won-my-journey-as-a-constitutional-plaintiff/
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41) Finding the Right Process to Enable Productive Peace Negotiations in the Iran War
Source: Common Dreams
by Connie Peck
“Although the international community still knows very little about the highest-level peace talks between the US and Iran in 47 years, facilitated by Shehbaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, some obvious red flags appeared in the morning-after news reports—as JD Vance, Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner flew home less than 24 hours after their arrival in Islamabad. As The New York Times reported: ‘Vice President JD Vance summed up the failure of 21 hours of negotiations with Iran in one sentence: ‘They have chosen not to accept our terms.’ To Iranian officials, that line reflected their biggest problem with the talks: The United States they argue, had not come to negotiate.'” (04/14/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/peace-process-us-iran
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42) The results are in, and same-sex marriage was a win for children and society
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Benjamin Karney
“To build public support for rolling back marriage rights, new campaigns have been repeating the claims that legal recognition of same-sex marriages may harm children or even the stability of different-sex marriages. These are some of the same concerns that were raised in the years prior to the Obergefell decision. They were groundless then, and, more than 10 years later, the data confirm these fears to be unfounded.” (04/14/26)
https://archive.is/aucmu
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43) This Is the Basic Political Problem for Republicans
Source: The American Conservative
by W James Antle III
“There is simply nothing that has happened in American politics between Trump’s epic 2024 political comeback and the Democrats’ romp in last year’s off-year elections running on an affordability mantra that would suggest voters prioritize a foreign war over higher prices. A thousand clips of Trump expressing his distaste for the ayatollahs or a hundred polls showing rank-and-file Republicans still support him do not prove otherwise. … Salvaging the Republicans’ midterm election prospects is going to require extricating the U.S. from the war in Iran while keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, whether GOP lawmakers know it (or are willing to publicly admit it) or not.” (04/14/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/this-is-the-basic-political-problem-for-republicans/
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44) Chiles v. Salazar: A New Frontier of Speech
Source: Washington Monthly
by Alison Gash
“In its 8–1 ruling on Colorado’s conversion therapy ban, the Supreme Court recast mental health care as protected expression.” [editor’s note: The First Amendment is not unclear. Speech is speech, Not liking particular content of speech doesn’t magically make it not speech – TLK] (04/13/26)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/04/13/chiles-v-salazar-conversion-therapy-a-new-frontier-of-speech/
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45) Big Beautiful Tax Returns Are Keeping Consumers Afloat
Source: Town Hall
by EJ Antoni, Ph.D.
“While families struggle with high gas prices in the wake of the Iran war, many American workers are getting help this year from an unlikely place: the Internal Revenue Service. Tax refunds from the IRS are up almost 14% from last year — another reason to file your taxes by Wednesday’s deadline, especially if you’re affected by a handful of changes to the tax code. Last Summer, the One Big Beautiful Bill became law, preserving some tax cuts that would’ve expired but also introducing a few new tax cuts too. Because many of the law’s provisions were made retroactive for the entirety of 2025, these changes significantly reduced some Americans’ tax liabilities, resulting in today’s big refunds.” (04/14/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/ej-antoni/2026/04/14/big-beautiful-tax-returns-are-keeping-consumers-afloat-n2674389
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46) Trump Is Making the Best of ObamaCare
Source: Independent Institute
by John C Goodman
“Healthcare usually benefits Democrats politically, but some of the most important health-policy changes of the past decade have come from Donald Trump’s White House. Now his administration is proposing a reform that could change the U.S. healthcare system as radically as Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act did. This latest proposed reform, the 2027 ACA Exchange Rule, would allow health insurers to offer nonnetwork plans on market exchanges where people buy their own insurance. Today, most healthcare plans cover care only from doctors and hospitals with which they have contracts for treatment and payment. Under the new rule, health insurers would be able to set ‘reference prices’ — say, for an MRI or a knee replacement — that would apply regardless of which provider a patient chooses.” (04/13/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/04/13/trump-is-making-the-best-of-obamacare/
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47) The Supreme Court’s refusal to stand up for press freedom is catastrophic
Source: The Hill
by Austin Sarat
“In 2017, journalist Priscilla Villarreal did what good journalists ordinarily do. She was working on two stories — one about the suicide of a border agent and the other about a serious car accident. To confirm the names of the people involved in those incidents, Villarreal texted a member of the Laredo Police Department. The officer responded and provided the information she was looking for. … But then someone in the police department got wind of what Villarreal was up to. Soon afterward, she was charged with violating an obscure, Orwellian provision of the Texas Penal Code, the Misuse of Official Information Act. … the Misuse of Official Information Act cannot be reconciled with the First Amendment’s protection of press freedom. But on March 23, the U.S. Supreme Court let it stand by declining to hear the case.” (04/13/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/5826184-texas-law-muzzles-journalists/
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48) Goodbye to the property ladder
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen Pirie
“The idea of the ‘property ladder,’ buying a starter home, then trading up over time to larger ones, was a huge part of UK culture from the late 20th century through the early 2000s. It has not disappeared entirely, but for many people it barely functions in the way that it once did. The average property now costs nearly eight times the average income, making it one of the toughest financial challenges of our time. According to the Resolution Foundation, it now takes the average first-time buyer about nine years to save for a deposit, and more than half of all first-time buyers under 35 rely on family help, the so-called ‘Bank of mum and dad,’ to enter the property market. Barclays research from 2025 found that many first-time buyers are no longer perceiving their first home as the start of a journey, but as the final destination.” (04/13/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/goodbye-to-the-property-ladder
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49) Aftermath: Plastics Clogged in the Persian Gulf
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen, Emma Janssen & Whitney Curry Wimbish
“It may seem strange to focus on consequences while the war is still occurring, but the truth is that the die has already been cast when the Strait of Hormuz became a choke point rather than a natural waterway. This will have deep implications on economic security, technology, energy, and geopolitics, which we can now begin to chronicle, regardless of the ultimate outcome of the fighting between the U.S., Israel, and Iran.” (04/14/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/04/14/aftermath-plastics-clogged-in-persian-gulf/
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50) Oil prices, data centers pave way for renewable energy comeback
Source: USA Today
by Paul Bledsoe
“The energy affordability crisis caused by the Iran war and electricity-hungry data centers has now risen, like prices, to near the top of Americans’ political concerns. … The good news is we no longer face the false choice between cutting emissions and cutting prices. We can do both. … Advanced technologies lower emissions while cutting prices. Adding electric car batteries in tens of millions of homes and workplaces along with other cheaper power storage units, which could provide a quarter of new U.S. power this year, might greatly reduce the need for expensive and polluting backup power plants on the grid.” (04/13/26)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2026/04/14/iran-war-ev-democrats-renewable-energy-policy/89518724007/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Rising, 04/14/26
Source: The Hill
"Robby Soave gives his radar on opposition to self-driving cars from some prominent progressive leftists, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani." (04/14/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/5825245-rising-april-14-2026/
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52) Trump Watch, 04/14/26
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“Annihilating People with Sanctions, Embargoes, and Blockades.” (04/14/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AQdBC08K9U
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53) Matt Wolfson on The Scott Horton Show
Source: The Scott Horton Show
“Matt Wolfson on Underappreciated Danger of the United Arab Emirates.” (04/14/26)
https://scotthorton.org/interviews/4-9-26-matt-wolfson-on-underappreciated-danger-of-the-united-arab-emirates/
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54) The Bryan Hyde Show, 04/14/26
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
“Eric Peters from Eric Peters Autos joins me to talk current events, cars, and how to stay free in a world where the enslavers pretend they’re doing you a favor.” (04/14/26)
https://www.podbean.com/ep/pb-hrsie-1a9b04d
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55) Speech in Vienna on Robotics and the Future of War
Source: Cobden Centre
“[Max Rangeley] recently gave this speech in Vienna, talking through Europe’s lack of a robotics industry compared to the US and China, and the disastrous consequences of this in the event of a major conflict.” (04/14/26)
https://www.cobdencentre.org/2026/04/speech-in-vienna-on-robotics-and-the-future-of-war/
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56) The Good Fight, 04/14/26
Source: Yascha Mounk
“Ivan Krastev on Why Even Dictators Can’t Escape Democracy.” (04/14/26)
https://writing.yaschamounk.com/p/ivan-krastev-4
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57) The Corbett Report, episode 498
Source: The Corbett Report
“How To Stage A Cover-Up.” (04/14/26)
https://corbettreport.com/how-to-stage-a-cover-up/
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58) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 04/13/26
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Larry Johnson: Are Russia, China and Iran the Big Winners of Trump and Netanyahu’s War?” (04/13/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/blog/the-kyle-anzalone-show-guest-larry-johnson-are-russia-china-and-iran-the-big-winners-of-trump-and-netanyahus-war/
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59) AI Summer, 04/13/26
Source: AI Summer
“Sayash Kapoor on Claude Mythos as normal technology.” (04/13/26)
https://www.aisummer.org/p/sayash-kapoor-on-claude-mythos-as
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60) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 04/13/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Netanyahu Says the Trump Admin Briefs Him Every Day, Pope Leo Responds to Trump Attack, and More.” (04/13/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNXvOyECmFU
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