08/19 -- Trump proposes Putin-Zelenskyy summit in push to end Ukraine war; The Dangers of "Trump Devotion Syndrome"
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Thomas L. Knapp
Aug 19, 2025, 6:25:33 AMAug 19
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 08/19/25
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Produced by the staff of Rational Review News Digest
https://news.rationalreview.com/
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Trump proposes Putin-Zelenskyy summit in push to end Ukraine war
2) Comer: US DOJ to begin sharing Epstein files with Congress
3) Hamas Accepts New Gaza Cease-Fire Proposal, Officials Say
4) Newsmax Settles Dominion Lawsuit For $67 Million Over Coverage Of 2020 Election Rigging Claims
5) Norway: Prosecutors indict son of crown princess on multiple counts including rape
6) Dogecoin’s $2.3 million daily mining profits lure Qubic after Monero network takeover
7) CA: Gang members open fire on San Bernardino family during abduction attempt, US heimatschutz admits
8) TX: Democrats return to Austin, ending redistricting standoff
9) MSNBC reveals new name it will take after being stripped of peacock logo
10) OH: Brown enters US Senate race to unseat Husted
11) Trump Vow to “Get Rid of Mail-In Ballots” for 2026 called “‘Unconstitutional”
12) Navarro whines about India’s “opportunistic” purchases of Russian crude
13) US regime yanks more than 6k student visas
14) Thailand: Regime to allow crypto-to-baht conversions for foreign visitors “to support tourism”
15) PA: Garrity launches GOP challenge to Shapiro for governor
16) OpenAI weighs encryption for temporary chats
17) Study: Cutting out one food type could nearly double weight loss
18) Australia: Google to pay $36 million bribe to regime
19) Strike by 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants declared illegal
20) Bahamas: Two cruise passengers die in separate drowning incidents at resort
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) The Dangers of “Trump Devotion Syndrome”
22) Should Libertarians Support Welfare Work Requirements?
23) Court Kills California’s One-Gun-a-Month Law
24) Government Statistics Are Always Political
25) Getting Up With Fleas
26) A Presidential Wrecking Ball: Trump Spitting on Grave of MLK Jr.
27) Trump’s tariffs on Brazil’s coffee is going to be a real buzz kill
28) Law and Order: Sandwich Crimes Unit
29) Alternate Reality Israel, And Other Reader Questions
30) My Career Opportunities With ICE
31) Just One Week in Liberal Stupidity
32) Military leaders must resist Trump’s politically motivated invasion of cities
33) The Choice Between Peace and Escalation After Trump-Putin Talks
34) Christopher Rufo vs. The New Yorker
35) Is Modern Medicine a Sham?
36) One man’s poison is another man’s cure
37) Politicians want you to pay for “cashless bail;” it’s dangerous and expensive
38) Are the BLS and Other Government Statistical Agencies Partisan? Here’s What My Research Found
39) How Microschools Became the Latest Tech Mogul Obsession
40) The Gentlemanly Heart of American Liberty
41) When L’État C’est Trump, the U.S. Goes in for State Capitalism
42) The Lies Behind Trump’s DC Troop Surge
43) Europe Reveals Itself as Ridiculous in Ukraine
44) Rubio takes annual human rights report to new cynical heights
45) NYC Mayor Eric Adams deserves credit for his stunning housing wins
46) Quantum Vibe, 08/18/25
47) Notes on a Relational Theory of Power
48) Florida’s Sports Betting Fight Shows Why Liberty, Not Lawsuits, Should Decide
49) Conservatives’ Long War on Free Thought
50) Someone Needs to Stop Israel but It Won’t Be the West
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) EconTalk, 08/18/25
52) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 08/18/25
53) Conflicts of Interest, episode 829
54) Rising, 08/18/25
55) The Dispatch Podcast, 08/18/25
56) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 08/18/25
57) Neon Liberalism, episode 39
58) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 08/18/25
59) Fountainhead Forum, episode 344
60) Free Talk Live, 08/17/25
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Trump proposes Putin-Zelenskyy summit in push to end Ukraine war
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“United States President Donald Trump has announced plans to convene a face-to-face summit between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his latest bid to end Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Trump’s proposal on Monday came as he hosted Zelenskyy and top European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer, at the White House for high-stakes talks on ending the conflict, which has raged since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. … German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte separately confirmed that Putin had agreed to the bilateral meeting, but did not specify a date or location. Zelenskyy, who described his meeting with Trump as a ‘very good conversation,’ told reporters that he was ‘ready’ to meet the Russian leader one-on-one.” (08/19/25)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/19/trump-proposes-putin-zelenskyy-summit-in-push-to-end-ukraine-war
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2) Comer: US DOJ to begin sharing Epstein files with Congress
Source: The Globe and Mail [Canada]
“The Justice Department has agreed to provide to Congress documents from the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation, a key House lawmaker said Monday in announcing a move that appears to avert, at least temporarily, a potential separation of powers clash. The records are to be turned over starting Friday to the House Oversight Committee, which earlier this month issued a broad subpoena …. ‘There are many records in DOJ’s custody, and it will take the Department time to produce all the records and ensure the identification of victims and any child sexual abuse material are redacted,’ Kentucky Rep. James Comer, the Republican committee chair, said in a statement. … The panel separately issued subpoenas to eight former law enforcement leaders as well as former Democratic President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.” (08/18/25)
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-us-justice-department-to-begin-sharing-jeffrey-epstein-files-with/
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3) Hamas Accepts New Gaza Cease-Fire Proposal, Officials Say
Source: New York Times
“Hamas has accepted a new cease-fire proposal for Gaza put forward by Qatar and Egypt that would see the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, two diplomats familiar with the negotiations and an Egyptian official said on Monday. It was unclear whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel would accept the proposal, which came as Qatar and Egypt were intensifying their mediation efforts ahead of a possible Israeli ground invasion into Gaza City. The plan would also require Israel to redeploy its forces in Gaza, and it would allow enough humanitarian aid to enter the territory to meet the needs of Palestinians, two of the officials said.” (08/18/25)
https://archive.is/SlIxK
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4) Newsmax Settles Dominion Lawsuit For $67 Million Over Coverage Of 2020 Election Rigging Claims
Source: Deadline
“Newsmax has settled with Dominion Voting Systems in its lawsuit over the network’s amplification of false claims that it was involved in rigging the 2020 presidential election. The lawsuit was settled for $67 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. … In April, Judge Eric M. Davis, in a summary judgment ruling, determined that Newsmax ran defamatory and false statements about Dominion in the aftermath of the 2020 election, as personalities and guests amplified claims that the company was involved in rigging the results. He left it up to a jury to decide whether Newsmax was liable for actual malice, and whether Dominion could collect punitive damages. … Newsmax settled with another election systems company, Smartmatic, last year, and agreed to pay $40 million, according to an SEC filing.” (08/18/25)
https://deadline.com/2025/08/newsmax-dominion-defamation-settlement-1236490687/
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5) Norway: Prosecutors indict son of crown princess on multiple counts including rape
Source: SFGate
“Norwegian prosecutors on Monday announced that they have indicted Marius Borg Høiby, the eldest son of Norway’s crown princess, on multiple charges including rape after a lengthy investigation. Oslo state attorney Sturla Henriksbø said Høiby could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted, broadcaster NRK reported. The 32 counts include rape, abuse in a close relationship against one former partner and acts of violence against another. Other charges include making death threats and traffic violations. Høiby, the 28-year-old son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit and stepson of the heir to the throne, Crown Prince Haakon, has been under scrutiny since he was repeatedly arrested last year on various allegations of wrongdoing. He is currently free pending trial, and Henriksbø said there is currently no reason to arrest and jail him.” (08/18/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/prosecutors-indict-the-son-of-norway-s-crown-20822237.php
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6) Dogecoin’s $2.3 million daily mining profits lure Qubic after Monero network takeover
Source: Cryptoslate
“The controversial AI-focused crypto project Qubic has suggested it may mine Dogecoin (DOGE), the largest memecoin, after completing its current operations on Monero (XMR), the privacy-focused blockchain network. On Aug. 17, Qubic Network founder Sergey Ivancheglo shared a Discord screenshot showing that the community voted to target Dogecoin for the upcoming mining season. … Ivancheglo explained that his AI project targets these PoW blockchains to redirect energy-intensive proof-of-work computations toward artificial intelligence applications.” (08/18/25)
https://cryptoslate.com/dogecoins-2-daily-mining-profits-lure-qubic-after-monero-network-takeover/
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7) CA: Gang members open fire on San Bernardino family during abduction attempt, US heimatschutz admits
Source: CNN
“US Customs and Border Protection officers opened fire during a targeted immigration enforcement operation in San Bernadino, California, on Saturday, calling it an act of self-defense after a man ‘struck two CBP officers with his vehicle,’ the Department of Homeland Security said. But the family inside the vehicle said they drove away out of fear for their safety after masked men emerged from unmarked cars and surrounded their truck with weapons drawn before smashing the truck’s windows. … DHS said local police ‘located the subject at a residence and briefly had him in custody,’ but ‘he was set free’ and officers left the scene. … San Bernardino police cited the California Values Act, which prevents local law enforcement from helping federal officials with immigration enforcement actions.” (08/18/25)
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/18/us/federal-agents-open-fire-san-bernardino-enforcement-hnk
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8) TX: Democrats return to Austin, ending redistricting standoff
Source: The Hill
“Texas House Democrats announced on Monday that they had returned to Austin for the next stage in a broader redistricting battle playing out across the country, saying their conditions to return to the Lone Star State had been met. ‘We killed the corrupt special session, withstood unprecedented surveillance and intimidation, and rallied Democrats nationwide to join this existential fight for fair representation — reshaping the entire 2026 landscape,’ Texas Democratic House Caucus Chair Gene Wu said in a statement. ‘We’re returning to Texas more dangerous to Republicans’ plans than when we left.’ … Texas Democrats had signaled they would return to the state after Texas lawmakers adjourned from their first special session on Friday and once California Democrats’ introduced their own set of congressional lines aimed at neutralizing expected gains Texas will make with their new House map.” (08/18/25)
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5457485-texas-democrats-return-austin
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9) MSNBC reveals new name it will take after being stripped of peacock logo
Source: New York Post
“Lefty [sic] cable channel MSNBC is being forced to take on a new name after its spinoff – as the NBC brand strips the network of its iconic peacock symbol. Mark Lazarus, who will lead Versant, the new company consisting of MSNBC and other cable assets, announced that the channel will be renamed to MS NOW — short for My Source News Opinion World. Its logo will change from NBC’s trademark rainbow peacock to a blue background with a red-and-white striped flag. That’s a sharp turnaround from his assurances earlier this year that the cable news channel would be able to hold onto its name. … The CNBC business news channel, meanwhile, will keep its ‘Consumer News and Business Channel’ name, though it will be forced to launch a new logo without the peacock.” (08/18/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/08/18/media/msnbc-reveals-new-name-it-will-take-after-spinoff/
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10) OH: Brown enters US Senate race to unseat Husted
Source: Seattle Times
“Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown officially launched his campaign Monday to return to the U.S. Senate next year, brushing aside his bitter loss to Republican Bernie Moreno last fall and expressing confidence his pro-working class message can continue to resonate with the state’s voters. The state’s best-known Democrat, Brown is seeking the seat held by Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, a former Ohio lieutenant governor, state senator and secretary of state who’s already landed President Donald Trump’s endorsement. Husted was appointed to the seat in January to succeed JD Vance when he was elected vice president. Next year’s election is for the final two years of the six-year term.” (08/18/25)
https://archive.is/MZAOM
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11) Trump Vow to “Get Rid of Mail-In Ballots” for 2026 called “‘Unconstitutional”
Source: Common Dreams
“In his latest full-frontal assault on democratic access and voting rights, President Donald Trump early Monday said he will lead an effort to ban both mail-in ballots and voting machines for next year’s mid-term elections — a vow met with immediate rebuke from progressive critics. ‘I am going to lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS, and also, while we’re at it, Highly ‘Inaccurate,’ Very Expensive, and Seriously Controversial VOTING MACHINES, which cost Ten Times more than accurate and sophisticated Watermark Paper, which is faster, and leaves NO DOUBT, at the end of the evening, as to who WON, and who LOST, the Election,’ Trump wrote in a social media post infested with lies and falsehoods.” (08/18/25)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-mail-in-voting-ban
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12) Navarro whines about India’s “opportunistic” purchases of Russian crude
Source: CNBC
“U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade advisor Peter Navarro on Monday called on India to stop buying Russian crude oil, accusing the Asian giant of undermining international efforts to isolate Vladimir Putin’s war economy. Writing in in the Financial Times, Navarro described India’s dependence on Russian oil as ‘opportunistic,’ adding that if India ‘wants to be treated as a strategic partner of the US, it needs to start acting like one.’ ‘In effect, India acts as a global clearinghouse for Russian oil, converting embargoed crude into high-value exports while giving Moscow the dollars it needs,’ Navarro said in the op-ed. His comments come shortly after trade negotiations between the U.S. and India, which had been scheduled to take place in New Delhi later this month, were reportedly called off.” (08/18/25)
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/18/trump-advisor-peter-navarro-says-india-must-stop-buying-russian-oil.html
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13) US regime yanks more than 6k student visas
Source: Fox News
“The State Department has yanked more than 6,000 student visas in 2025 for overstays and law violations — including support for terrorism, Fox News Digital has learned. The Trump administration has launched multiple initiatives aimed at cracking down on immigration and revoking visas of those attending academic institutions in the U.S. Those who’ve publicly protested supporting Palestine have faced heightened scrutiny, as one example, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in May that the administration was reviewing the visa status of students who participated in pro-Palestine protests. The roughly 6,000 visas that were pulled primarily were due to visa overstays or encounters with the law, including assault, DUIs, burglary and support for terrorism, the State Department told Fox News Digital.” (08/18/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/rubios-state-department-yanks-more-than-6k-student-visas-due-assault-burglary-support-terrorism
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14) Thailand: Regime to allow crypto-to-baht conversions for foreign visitors “to support tourism”
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“Thailand will launch an 18-month pilot programme to allow foreign visitors to convert cryptocurrencies into baht to make payments locally, officials have said, part of efforts to rejuvenate the country’s critical tourist sector. Conversions will be capped at 550,000 baht (US$16,950) to test the system and prevent money laundering, Finance Ministry permanent secretary Lavaron Sangsnit told reporters on Monday, adding that the limit could be reassessed after the pilot period was over. The initiative comes amid a decline in foreign tourist arrivals in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy.” (08/18/25)
https://archive.is/suCBs
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15) PA: Garrity launches GOP challenge to Shapiro for governor
Source: Politico
“Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity announced Monday she is challenging Gov. Josh Shapiro, giving establishment Republicans in the state a recruiting win. The two-term incumbent, 61, slammed Shapiro in her campaign kickoff video as vying for the White House while overlooking Pennsylvania’s woes. … GOP leaders in the state are expected to throw their support behind Garrity. Many of them are concerned about the prospect of far-right state Sen. Doug Mastriano mounting a comeback bid against Shapiro after losing to him by 15 percentage points in 2022 — and dragging down the rest of the ticket, including incumbents in must-win House races. Mastriano has been teasing a run on social media, and has said he would not be deterred by GOP efforts to clear the field.” (08/18/25)
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/18/stacy-garrity-challenge-shapiro-pennsylvania-governor-00513317
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16) OpenAI weighs encryption for temporary chats
Source: Axios
“Sam Altman says OpenAI is strongly considering adding encryption to ChatGPT, likely starting with temporary chats. Users are sharing sensitive data with ChatGPT, but those conversations lack the legal confidentiality of a doctor or lawyer. … Encrypted messaging keeps providers from reading content unless an endpoint holds the keys. With chatbots, the provider is often an endpoint, complicating true end-to-end encryption. In this case, OpenAI would be a party to the conversation. Encrypting the data while it is in transit isn’t enough to keep OpenAI from having sensitive information available to share with law enforcement.” (08/18/25)
https://archive.is/PbzG3
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17) Study: Cutting out one food type could nearly double weight loss
Source: Fox News
“A new study suggests that cutting out a single category of foods could nearly double people’s weight-loss results. The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine on Aug. 4, found that overweight adults who ditched ultra-processed foods (UPFs) lost nearly twice as much weight over a two-month span as those who did not. UPFs include microwave meals, sodas, potato chips and packaged cookies, among others. But they can also include items marketed as ‘health foods,’ some medical professionals say. UPFs go through multiple processes to be ‘stabilized for consumption’, Dr. Jeffrey Kraft, a bariatric surgeon at Hackensack Meridian Palisades Medical Center in New Jersey, told Fox News Digital.” (08/18/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/cutting-one-food-type-could-nearly-double-weight-loss-study-suggests
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18) Australia: Google to pay $36 million bribe to regime
Source: ABC News
“Google has agreed to pay a 55 million Australian dollar ($36 million) fine for signing anticompetitive deals with Australia’s two largest telcos that banned the installation of competing search engines on some smartphones, the U.S. tech giant and Australia’s competition watchdog said. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said in a statement it had commenced proceedings in the Australian Federal Court on Monday against the Singapore-based Google Asia Pacific division. The court will decide whether the AU$50 million ($36 million) penalty is appropriate. Under the anticompetitive agreements, which were in place for 15 months until March 2021, Telstra and Optus only pre-installed Google Search on Android phones sold to customers.” (08/18/25)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/google-pay-36m-fine-anticompetitive-deals-australias-largest-124734578
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19) Strike by 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants declared illegal
Source: SFGate
“The Canada Industrial Relations Board declared a strike by 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants illegal Monday and ordered them back on the job after they ignored an earlier order to return to work and submit to arbitration. The strike at Canada’s largest airline entered its third day on Monday and is affecting about 130,000 travelers per day during the peak summer travel season, and the two sides remain far apart on pay and other issues. Air Canada suspended plans to restart operations Sunday after the union defied an earlier return-to-work order. ‘The members of the union’s bargaining unit are directed to resume the performance of their duties immediately and to refrain from engaging in unlawful strike activities,’ the Canada Industrial Relations Board board, or CIRB, said in a written decision.” (08/18/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/strike-by-10-000-air-canada-flight-attendants-20822118.php
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20) Bahamas: Two cruise passengers die in separate drowning incidents at resort
Source: CBS News
“Two U.S. tourists drowned last week in separate incidents at Carnival Cruise Line’s new Bahamas resort, authorities said. Both were passengers on Carnival cruise ships that had sailed to the Caribbean, the company confirmed to CBS News on Sunday. They died Friday while swimming at Celebration Key, a private resort on Grand Bahama Island that only Carnival cruise passengers can use, according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force and Carnival. … Carnival opened Celebration Key — a $600 million resort compound on Grand Bahama Island that features numerous restaurants, pools, live music venues, a retail hub and amusement park-style activities — in July.” (08/17/25)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/carnival-cruise-passengers-die-separate-drowning-incidents-bahamas-resort/
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) The Dangers of “Trump Devotion Syndrome”
Source: Libertarian Institute
by James Rushmore
“During a debate with political commentator Ryan Girdusky back in May, journalist Michael Tracey described a phenomenon he calls ‘Trump devotion syndrome.’ (As far as I can tell, that term was originally coined by the Christian ethicist Andrew T. Walker, who referenced it in a 2024 piece. It was also used by Bill Maher this past March.) According to Tracey, those afflicted with the lesser-known TDS ‘dismiss any critical observation about [Donald] Trump, no matter how substantive, as frivolous or petty — like it’s just about his manner of speech or style.’ In essence, individuals suffering from TDS sidestep any substantive critiques of Trump. … The appeal of such a worldview is understandable. After all, it transforms pro-Trump politics into a form of liturgy, one in which supporters of the president can trust the plan and cede all decision making to The Donald.” (08/18/25)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/the-dangers-of-trump-devotion-syndrome
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22) Should Libertarians Support Welfare Work Requirements?
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Laurence M Vance
“It is without dispute among libertarians, or at least it should be, that Medicaid and food stamps are both unconstitutional and illegitimate welfare programs that are immorally sustained by taxes taken from Americans by coercion and threat of violence. … It is not a legitimate purpose of government at any level to fund or operate welfare programs; fight poverty; supplement or subsidize anyone’s wages; help the poor, the disabled, the sick, or the aged; or maintain a safety net. … Because Medicaid and food stamps are illegitimate programs that should not exist, anything done by government at the federal or state level to reduce the number of people eligible for welfare, reduce the number of people on welfare, reduce the amount of welfare benefits, or reduce the time that someone can receive welfare benefits is a good thing that should be welcomed by libertarians.” (08/18/25)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/should-libertarians-support-welfare-work-requirements/
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23) Court Kills California’s One-Gun-a-Month Law
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“What if you were only allowed to make one purchase of printers, signs, or gear for podcasts per month? Would you consider that fully respectful of your free speech rights? Or would you view it as an attempt to muffle people’s natural right to speak out — and perhaps a hint of more restrictions to come? California has something similar in the form of a law that limits people to buy one gun per month. If you rightfully believe that rationing the ability to express oneself violates First Amendment protections for speech, you’ll be glad to know the courts have found California’s law in violation of the Second Amendment’s protections for self-defense rights and barred its enforcement.” (08/’18/25)
https://reason.com/2025/08/18/court-kills-californias-one-gun-a-month-law/
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24) Government Statistics Are Always Political
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Tho Bishop
“The perceived importance of government statistics is precisely because they are the tools used to justify and execute the labyrinth of interventions in society. Real-world conditions — be they in markets or the safety of neighbors — are secondary to the ability of politicians to point to the officially-credentialed statistical measures to tout the wisdom of their desired policy aims. … As such, questioning the credibility of the government statistics is a means by which to erode credibility in the state itself. Perceiving the collection of government statistics as being partisan, erodes the credibility of the state itself. It is better, then, to maintain the tradition and the perception of norms in the accounting and releasing of government statistics than it is to meaningfully consider the underlying value of what is being recorded in the first place.” (08/18/25)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/government-statistics-are-always-political
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25) Getting Up With Fleas
Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders
“Rightwing assholery is on the rise among media influencers big and small. Just as the left has started to eat its own, so also has the right.” (08/18/25)
https://underthrow.substack.com/p/getting-up-with-fleas
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26) A Presidential Wrecking Ball: Trump Spitting on Grave of MLK Jr.
Source: TomDispatch
by Clarence Lusane
“On January 20th, Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office with — at least in his mind — an aura of invincibility. A fully compliant Congress was controlled by Republicans who were, in turn, controlled by him. Conservative justices, three of whom he had appointed, dominated the Supreme Court. The defeated opposition, the Democratic Party, seemed distinctly befuddled and weak. Trump then smashed and bullied his way through his first 100 days, ruling via dictator-like decrees — executive orders — and carrying out retribution at every turn. Democracy’s redlines were crossed daily and his MAGA base remained passionately loyal even as the rest of the nation soured watching him do little to make the country better. However, his ‘realignment’ was never faintly as broad or as solid as he pretended it was.” (08/18/25)
https://tomdispatch.com/a-presidential-wrecking-ball/
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27) Trump’s tariffs on Brazil’s coffee is going to be a real buzz kill
Source: Palm Beach Post
by Frank Cerabino
“Of all of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, the one that’s really got me frothed up is the one on coffee beans. Allow me to venti. As Trump’s new tariffs create an inflationary pressure on a wide range of items, I can pretend they don’t exist. Toys? I’ve outgrown them. Tools? I don’t need any new drills or hammers. Cars? Not in the market this year. But coffee? That’s another story. Without coffee I am a mere husk of a man with a mid-afternoon headache and way too much oat milk on my hands. … That long line of cars idling every morning in the drive-thru line at the Starbucks isn’t there due to a craving for the kale and mushroom egg bites. If you mess with coffee, you’re reminding people on a daily basis who really are the end-of-the-line suckers that pay for import tariffs.” (08/18/25)
https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/opinion/columns/2025/08/18/brazil-trump-coffee-tariff-prices-bolsonaro-us-consumer/85666156007/
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28) Law and Order: Sandwich Crimes Unit
Source: The Atlantic
by Alexandra Petri
“Officer J: You think 25 years without sandwich crime just HAPPENS? Trainee: No. Officer J: We worked for this. It hasn’t been easy. When I got started on this beat, you couldn’t walk down the street in Washington without having a grilled cheese shoved in your face, if you were lucky. Egg salad, if you weren’t. Detective F: Not all the sandwiches were harmless. Some were clubs. People were too frightened of sandwiches to build a Subway in Georgetown. Officer K: I still have a scar from when I took a meatball sub to the chin in ’96 and, afterward, got into an unrelated knife fight.” (08/18/25)
https://archive.is/RAujr
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29) Alternate Reality Israel, And Other Reader Questions
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“The most culturally consequential fictional fantasy land ever authored is not Oz or Narnia or Middle Earth, but the liberal Zionist creation of Alternate Reality Israel. In the minds of its authors, Alternate Reality Israel exists in a parallel universe at the geographic location of actual real-life Israel, but never became a genocidal apartheid state. In this fictional timeline, Alternate Reality Israel magically came into existence without the mass murder, ethnic cleansing and land theft which would normally be required for the creation of a brand-new ethnostate dropped on top of a pre-existing civilization. Because of magic, Alternate Reality Israel has not needed to use nonstop violence and tyranny to maintain its existence as a theocratic ethnostate …. The position of the liberal Zionist is therefore not self-contradictory, because the existence of Alternate Reality Israel is not at all incompatible with progressive values.” (08/18/25)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2025/08/18/alternate-reality-israel-and-other-reader-questions/
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30) My Career Opportunities With ICE
Source: The Bulwark
by Bill Lueders
“First of all, I’d like to thank Kristi Noem for making it possible for me to apply for a job with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, one of the agencies under her purview as secretary of homeland security. On August 6, Noem announced that she was waiving the age limit for new applicants ‘so even more patriots will qualify to join ICE in its mission to arrest murderers, pedophiles, gang members, rapists, and other criminal illegal aliens from America’s streets.’ … I just turned 66, and I hate to be excluded from anything. … Anyway, I decided to look into what the government was offering.” (08/18/25)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/my-career-opportunities-with-ice
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31) Just One Week in Liberal Stupidity
Source: Town Hall
by Derek Hunter
“A productive person can get a lot done in 7 days. Democrats are not good at getting things done, but still manage to do a lot. Most of what they do is standing in the way of getting things done, and while they’d like to portray themselves as the Chinese man standing up to the tanks in Tiananmen Square, ideologically they are more in line with the guys driving those tanks. Over the last 7 days, Democrats have packed in a lot of stupid. It’s almost a skill, really, as people with high or even average intelligence would have difficulty finding so many new and creative ways to be idiots.” [editor’s note: Like most Democrats, Hunter is certainly no “liberal;” he’s a “progressive” who likes to cosplay as a “conservative” – TLK] (08/18/25)
https://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2025/08/18/just-one-week-in-liberal-stupidity-n2661961
-----
32) Military leaders must resist Trump’s politically motivated invasion of cities
Source: The Hill
by William S Becker
“Although Trump is in office, the U.S. military might be the last line of defense for protecting our democratic republic, since Congress and the courts have largely capitulated to his autocratic rule. What happens if top military officers and next year’s voters don’t stand up to Trump? We can ask the nearly 6 [n]illion people, more than 70 percent of the world’s population, what their lives are like under authoritarian rule. America is on a slippery slope to join them.” (08/18/25)
https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/5454974-military-capitulation-trump-threat/
-----
33) The Choice Between Peace and Escalation After Trump-Putin Talks
Source: Common Dreams
by Medea Benjamin & Nicolas JS Davies
“Donald Trump came into office promising to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. Now, six months later, his high stakes meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska may have put the United States and Russia on a new path toward peace, or, if this initiative fails, could trigger an even more dangerous escalation, with warhawks in Congress already pushing for another $54.6 billion in weapons for Ukraine. After emerging from the meeting, Putin correctly framed the historical moment: ‘This was a very hard time for bilateral relations and, let’s be frank, they’ve fallen to the lowest point since the Cold War. I think that’s not benefiting our countries and the world as a whole. Sooner or later, we have to amend the situation to move on from confrontation to dialogue.'” (08/18/25)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/putin-trump-peace-talks
-----
34) Christopher Rufo vs. The New Yorker
Source: Persuasion
by Meghan Daum
“The writer Doreen St. Félix has struck gold twice. In 2017, at the age of 25, she secured a staff position at the ne plus ultra of literary prestige, The New Yorker. Then, this week, her profile rose again when she became the subject of a pile-on from conservative activist Christopher Rufo, who decided to punish her for an August 2 think piece about American Eagle’s supposedly racist ad campaign featuring the actress Sydney Sweeney. Rufo’s method of choice? That reliable standby: decade-old tweets.” (08/18/25)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/what-it-took-to-make-the-new-yorker
-----
35) Is Modern Medicine a Sham?
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Bobbie Anne Flower Cox
“We are living in a point in history where so many, if not all, of the foundational pillars of our society are being questioned. In some cases, those pillars are almost wholly being cast aside. Once the cornerstones of our American backbone, we are finding ourselves doubting it all as we ask ourselves and one another … Can the government truly be that corrupt? Are the courts actually compromised? Are major media outlets really just mouthpieces for propaganda? Is modern medicine a sham?” (08/18/25)
https://brownstone.org/articles/is-modern-medicine-a-sham/
-----
36) One man’s poison is another man’s cure
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Arthur Diamond
“Tim Friede let venomous snakes bite him roughly 200 times, suffering anaphylactic shocks, and spending four days hospitalized in a coma. But this wasn’t a suicide attempt. He was seeking immunity to all snake venom, so that his blood could be used to create a universal antitoxin. … The FDA does not ban people from letting snakes bite them, so Friede had the freedom to be bitten. His choice was focused on the greater good, as was Jonas Salk’s choice to test his polio vaccine on himself and his family, and as was the choice of over 38,000 volunteers who signed up for Covid ‘human challenge trials,’ which would have involved taking an experimental vaccine and then being deliberately exposed to Covid. If such trials had been allowed, we could have had safe and effective vaccines much sooner, saving many lives.” (08/18/25)
https://fee.org/articles/one-mans-poison-is-another-mans-cure/
-----
37) Politicians want you to pay for “cashless bail;” it’s dangerous and expensive
Source: Fox News
by Michelle Esquenazi
“‘Cashless bail’ is one of the most misleading phrases in modern politics. Reform advocates coined it, the media amplified it, and it stuck. The reality? What we provide is secured bail — a constitutionally protected, privately funded system that ensures defendants appear in court and protects the public, all without costing taxpayers a dime. Ironically, the term ‘cashless’ could make us sound like the good guys. We accept all forms of payment. We take the financial risk. We are legally liable for producing defendants in court. … Courts and judges who still have secured bail know it works, because we have skin in the game. In 2016, New Jersey passed the Bail Reform Act, removing the accused’s right to bail and replacing private secured bail with a taxpayer-funded pretrial release bureaucracy.” (08/18/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/politicians-want-you-pay-cashless-bail-its-dangerous-expensive
-----
38) Are the BLS and Other Government Statistical Agencies Partisan? Here’s What My Research Found
Source: The Daily Economy
by Vincent Geloso
“Finding consensus among economists is an occasional treat. Last week’s firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) commissioner Erika McEntarfer by President Trump was one such occasion. With few exceptions, the reaction has been that the claims she was dismissed for producing ‘low-quality’ data or displaying ‘partisanship’ are mere cover — a simple case of machine-gunning the messenger. There is little to substantiate the claim that the BLS produces low-quality data. The BLS (and every other statistical agency) frequently issues preliminary reports from surveys it conducts. As such, revisions are common. How big are those revisions? Pretty small!” (08/18/25)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/are-the-bls-and-other-government-statistical-agencies-partisan-heres-what-my-research-found/
-----
39) How Microschools Became the Latest Tech Mogul Obsession
Source: Wired
by Julia Black
“With Ad Astra, [Elon] Musk became an early pioneer in the emerging microschooling movement. Loosely defined as schools with fewer than 150 students, microschools often operate for profit, and outside the regulatory frameworks that govern traditional public schools. According to a 2024 RAND estimate, somewhere between 750,000 and 2.1 million students in the US are being educated in some form of microschool. Silicon Valley is playing an integral role. … The push for education alternatives appeals to Silicon Valley parents on a number of levels. Many are autodidacts who struggled with the social expectations of a traditional school environment. Others looked over their kids’ shoulders during Covid-era Zoom schooling and didn’t like what they saw. Tech elites who grew increasingly alienated from so-called ‘woke’ culture began seeking fresh options that felt more politically and culturally aligned.” (08/18/25)
https://archive.is/AacMz
-----
40) The Gentlemanly Heart of American Liberty
Source: Law & Liberty
by Michael Lucchese
“The American Right seems intent on proving John Stuart Mill’s infamous remark that ‘conservatives are the stupid party.’ Not only is the populist movement in Washington foundering because of infighting and general boorishness, its intellectual equivalent in the so-called ‘postliberal’ movement also seems to be descending into anger and what Lionel Trilling once called ‘irritable mental gestures.’ Neither force seems to be the engine of cultural renewal that they promised to be. John Wilsey’s new book, Religious Freedom: A Conservative Primer, offers a beautiful alternative: a vision to which conservatives might genuinely aspire.” (08/18/25)
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/the-gentlemanly-heart-of-american-liberty/
-----
41) When L’État C’est Trump, the U.S. Goes in for State Capitalism
Source: The American Prospect
by Harold Meyerson
“OK, who’s the dangerous radical pushing the state to take over private enterprise here? Who’s aping the Chinese Communist policy of having the government own or control major business entities? Zohran Mamdani? He’s called for more consumer-friendly regulation of some New York City markets (rental housing in particular), and proposed setting up a handful of city-run grocery stores, but he hasn’t advocated seizing big corporations or banks, though New York is lousy with them. On the other hand, there’s Donald Trump. His approval of Nippon Steel’s purchase of U.S. Steel was conditioned on giving the government a golden share through which the government (that is, Trump) could control the company’s policies and conduct. His decision to let chipmakers Nvidia and AMD sell their H20 chips to China … was conditioned on their having to pay our government 15 percent of the revenues they made from those sales.” (08/18/25)
https://prospect.org/economy/2025-08-18-when-letat-cest-trump-us-goes-in-for-state-capitalism/
-----
42) The Lies Behind Trump’s DC Troop Surge
Source: Washington Monthly
by Robert J Shapiro
“Last week, Donald Trump claimed the authority to deploy the country’s military to the streets of Washington, D.C. to help fight crime. Yet, hard data show it’s not about crime in the nation’s capital. Instead, the evidence points to other, more troubling reasons and aspirations, especially the president’s personal sense of entitlement to power, MAGA’s approach to partisan politics, and an implied threat to public opposition to his exercise of power in the future.” (08/18/25)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2025/08/18/the-lies-behind-trumps-d-c-troop-surge/
-----
43) Europe Reveals Itself as Ridiculous in Ukraine
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ted Snider
“By Donald Trump’s transactional criterion, NATO has been a costly failure that needs fixing or needs to be cut lose. Europe has failed to pay the price and has left the U.S. with the financial and military burden of defending Europe. The war in Ukraine has proven the point. But that was never the point of NATO. The point of NATO was never economic nor transactional. The point of NATO was, in large part, to keep Europe militarily coordinated with, dependent on and subordinate to the United States. The point wasn’t to extricate the U.S. from Europe, it was, as Lord Ismay, the first Secretary General of NATO explained, precisely ‘to keep the Americans in Europe, while keeping the Russians out.’ By that criterion, NATO has been a massive success. The Ukraine war has proven that point too.” (08/18/25)
https://original.antiwar.com/ted_snider/2025/08/17/europe-reveals-itself-as-ridiculous-in-ukraine/
-----
44) Rubio takes annual human rights report to new cynical heights
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Annelle Sheline
“Ignoring Israel’s abuses and erasing crimes wholesale has made this exercise a joke. But it is it any worse than what the Biden admin was doing?” (08/18/25)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/state-department-human-rights/
-----
45) NYC Mayor Eric Adams deserves credit for his stunning housing wins
Source: New York Post
by staff
“It’s odd how little credit Mayor Eric Adams gets for his relentless, steady and successful drive to get more housing, including more affordable homes, built in New York City. In under four years, he’s arguably done more than his predecessors achieved in the previous two decades, winning changes that will make a huge difference in the long term rather than offering empty promises of instant miracles. The latest: The City Council just OK’d Adams’[s] plan to rezone Midtown South, opening the door for nearly 10,000 new housing units, 2,800 of them affordable, in an area that was largely zoned for (outdated) industrial uses. Some of those units will come from converting commercial space to residential, an obvious next step for older, vacant office buildings.” (08/17/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/08/17/opinion/mayor-adams-deserves-credit-for-stunning-housing-wins/
-----
46) Quantum Vibe, 08/18/25
Source: Big Head Press
by Scott Bieser
Cartoon. (08/18/25)
https://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=2548
-----
47) Notes on a Relational Theory of Power
Source: The Peaceful Revolutionist
by David S D’Amato
“Or, Poulantzas Should’ve Been An Anarchist.” (08/17/25)
https://dsdamato.substack.com/p/notes-on-a-relational-theory-of-power
-----
48) Florida’s Sports Betting Fight Shows Why Liberty, Not Lawsuits, Should Decide
Source: The Libertarian Republic
by Austin Petersen
“The latest lawsuit over sports betting in Florida is once again dragging gamblers, businesses, and taxpayers into a courtroom battle. Filed by Protect The Constitution, LLC, the complaint argues that the state’s 2021 compact with the Seminole Tribe violates Amendment 3 of the Florida Constitution by expanding gambling without a voter referendum. The lawsuit highlights a familiar tug-of-war: government officials, powerful tribes, and industry lobbyists fighting over who gets to control betting rights. But the bigger question remains untouched — why should politicians or courts decide at all? In a free society, consenting adults should be able to place a wager without needing permission from Tallahassee or Washington.” (08/17/25)
https://thelibertarianrepublic.com/floridas-sports-betting-fight-shows-why-liberty-not-lawsuits-should-decide/
-----
49) Conservatives’ Long War on Free Thought
Source: In These Times
by Matt McManus
“In 2016, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump proclaimed, as part of his ham-fisted effort to present himself as a man of the people, that he loved ’the poorly educated’. As his post-election work to redistribute wealth upwards made clear, Trump’s professed affections had less to do with concern for working class wellbeing than his expectation that an uneducated population would more readily accept his relentless lies and hypocrisies. Since returning to office, Trump’s hostility to education has expanded dramatically into an all-out attack on higher education. He has threatened to cut funding to numerous universities he sees as sites of intellectual opposition, most spectacularly including Columbia University, which recently agreed to a $200 million settlement and a promise to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in exchange for not losing all federal funding.” [editor’s note: Posted to remind you how delulu most “progressive” pundits still are – SAT] (08/18/25)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/conservatives-censorship-trump-ron-desantis-christopher-rufo-education
-----
50) Someone Needs to Stop Israel but It Won’t Be the West
Source: exile in happy valley
by Nicky Reid
“For nearly 80 years now the world has been sold the same snake-oil sales pitch from every western globalist institution from the UN and the World Bank to NATO and the EU; that these vaunted institutions of liberal guilt are the only thing keeping the world safe and free from the wrath of another Hitler. Well, he[re] he is, in fact here’s two of them. Both Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are openly and unapologetically carrying out the most overt and unabashed genocide since the Third Reich and the ‘free world’ can’t be bothered to commit themselves to anything more severe than telling them to keep it down while white people are watching.” (08/17/25)
https://exileinhappyvalley.blogspot.com/2025/08/someone-needs-to-stop-israel-but-it.html
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) EconTalk, 08/18/25
Source: EconTalk
“Tim Ferriss on Tim Ferriss (and much much more).” (08/18/25)
https://www.econtalk.org/tim-ferriss-on-tim-ferriss-and-much-much-more/
-----
52) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 08/18/25
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“President Trump — Come Home From Ukraine — Promote Freedom In America.” (08/18/25)
https://rumble.com/v6xr2km-president-trump-come-home-from-ukraine-promote-freedom-in-america.html
-----
53) Conflicts of Interest, episode 829
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Netanyahu Touts His Decades-Long Policy of Preventing a Palestinian State.” (08/18/25)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/kyle/coi-829-netanyahu-touts-his-decades-long-policy-of-preventing-a-palestinian-state
-----
54) Rising, 08/18/25
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave delivers radar on the meeting between President Trump and President Putin in Alaska which lead to some progress on Russia-Ukraine peace deal.” (08/18/25)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/5457470-rising-august-18-2025/
-----
55) The Dispatch Podcast, 08/18/25
Source: The Dispatch
“No Deal in Alaska | Interview: Tim Mak.” (08/18/25)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/dispatch-podcast/no-deal-in-alaska-interview-tim-mak/
-----
56) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 08/18/25
Source: The New Republic
“As Trump’s ugly ramblings about his militarization of cities get worse, prominent legal observer Joyce Vance explains how and why this is all heading to a very dark place — and what we must do to stop it.” (08/18/25)
https://newrepublic.com/article/199192/trump-angry-new-dictator-rant-media-alarms-experts-wake-up
-----
57) Neon Liberalism, episode 39
Source: Liberal Currents
“An Unsettled Age.” (08/18/25)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/neon-liberalism-39-an-unsettled-age/
-----
58) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 08/18/25
Source: Antiwar.com
“Israeli Military Prepares To Purge Gaza City, Trump To Meet Zelensky After Putin Summit, and More.” (08/18/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFeoj5QKP2c
-----
59) Fountainhead Forum, episode 344
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Radha Stirling on fighting for travelers who have been Detained in Dubai.” (08/17/25)
https://rumble.com/v6xoty4-ff-344-radha-stirling-on-fighting-for-travelers-who-have-been-detained-in-d.html
-----
60) Free Talk Live, 08/17/25
Source: Free Talk Live
“51% attack on monero :: Tim from FL calls about Trump’s list of ‘good businesses’ :: Sarah from NM calls about people ignoring speeding cam tickets :: Brandon calls about skeeter-topia being a nightmare :: age verification for porn sites in UK :: Jet calls about the facade of magic government powers :: Alu calls about the excess of laws/codes/statutes :: Female cops in England drag for cat-calls so they can make an arrest :: Massachusetts teachers demand new wealth tax :: Government school is awful :: Moon landing evidence for Stu at rbse.us.moon :: freeiannow.org to sign the petition and get on the mailing list :: gofund.me/721964f7 to donate to fixing the roof of Rob from VT :: 2025-08-17 Hosts: Stu, Kahuna, Riley.” (08/17/25)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/ftl2025-08-17
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Trump proposes Putin-Zelenskyy summit in push to end Ukraine war
2) Comer: US DOJ to begin sharing Epstein files with Congress
3) Hamas Accepts New Gaza Cease-Fire Proposal, Officials Say
4) Newsmax Settles Dominion Lawsuit For $67 Million Over Coverage Of 2020 Election Rigging Claims
5) Norway: Prosecutors indict son of crown princess on multiple counts including rape
6) Dogecoin’s $2.3 million daily mining profits lure Qubic after Monero network takeover
7) CA: Gang members open fire on San Bernardino family during abduction attempt, US heimatschutz admits
8) TX: Democrats return to Austin, ending redistricting standoff
9) MSNBC reveals new name it will take after being stripped of peacock logo
10) OH: Brown enters US Senate race to unseat Husted
11) Trump Vow to “Get Rid of Mail-In Ballots” for 2026 called “‘Unconstitutional”
12) Navarro whines about India’s “opportunistic” purchases of Russian crude
13) US regime yanks more than 6k student visas
14) Thailand: Regime to allow crypto-to-baht conversions for foreign visitors “to support tourism”
15) PA: Garrity launches GOP challenge to Shapiro for governor
16) OpenAI weighs encryption for temporary chats
17) Study: Cutting out one food type could nearly double weight loss
18) Australia: Google to pay $36 million bribe to regime
19) Strike by 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants declared illegal
20) Bahamas: Two cruise passengers die in separate drowning incidents at resort
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) The Dangers of “Trump Devotion Syndrome”
22) Should Libertarians Support Welfare Work Requirements?
23) Court Kills California’s One-Gun-a-Month Law
24) Government Statistics Are Always Political
25) Getting Up With Fleas
26) A Presidential Wrecking Ball: Trump Spitting on Grave of MLK Jr.
27) Trump’s tariffs on Brazil’s coffee is going to be a real buzz kill
28) Law and Order: Sandwich Crimes Unit
29) Alternate Reality Israel, And Other Reader Questions
30) My Career Opportunities With ICE
31) Just One Week in Liberal Stupidity
32) Military leaders must resist Trump’s politically motivated invasion of cities
33) The Choice Between Peace and Escalation After Trump-Putin Talks
34) Christopher Rufo vs. The New Yorker
35) Is Modern Medicine a Sham?
36) One man’s poison is another man’s cure
37) Politicians want you to pay for “cashless bail;” it’s dangerous and expensive
38) Are the BLS and Other Government Statistical Agencies Partisan? Here’s What My Research Found
39) How Microschools Became the Latest Tech Mogul Obsession
40) The Gentlemanly Heart of American Liberty
41) When L’État C’est Trump, the U.S. Goes in for State Capitalism
42) The Lies Behind Trump’s DC Troop Surge
43) Europe Reveals Itself as Ridiculous in Ukraine
44) Rubio takes annual human rights report to new cynical heights
45) NYC Mayor Eric Adams deserves credit for his stunning housing wins
46) Quantum Vibe, 08/18/25
47) Notes on a Relational Theory of Power
48) Florida’s Sports Betting Fight Shows Why Liberty, Not Lawsuits, Should Decide
49) Conservatives’ Long War on Free Thought
50) Someone Needs to Stop Israel but It Won’t Be the West
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) EconTalk, 08/18/25
52) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 08/18/25
53) Conflicts of Interest, episode 829
54) Rising, 08/18/25
55) The Dispatch Podcast, 08/18/25
56) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 08/18/25
57) Neon Liberalism, episode 39
58) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 08/18/25
59) Fountainhead Forum, episode 344
60) Free Talk Live, 08/17/25
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Trump proposes Putin-Zelenskyy summit in push to end Ukraine war
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“United States President Donald Trump has announced plans to convene a face-to-face summit between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his latest bid to end Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Trump’s proposal on Monday came as he hosted Zelenskyy and top European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer, at the White House for high-stakes talks on ending the conflict, which has raged since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. … German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte separately confirmed that Putin had agreed to the bilateral meeting, but did not specify a date or location. Zelenskyy, who described his meeting with Trump as a ‘very good conversation,’ told reporters that he was ‘ready’ to meet the Russian leader one-on-one.” (08/19/25)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/19/trump-proposes-putin-zelenskyy-summit-in-push-to-end-ukraine-war
-----
2) Comer: US DOJ to begin sharing Epstein files with Congress
Source: The Globe and Mail [Canada]
“The Justice Department has agreed to provide to Congress documents from the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation, a key House lawmaker said Monday in announcing a move that appears to avert, at least temporarily, a potential separation of powers clash. The records are to be turned over starting Friday to the House Oversight Committee, which earlier this month issued a broad subpoena …. ‘There are many records in DOJ’s custody, and it will take the Department time to produce all the records and ensure the identification of victims and any child sexual abuse material are redacted,’ Kentucky Rep. James Comer, the Republican committee chair, said in a statement. … The panel separately issued subpoenas to eight former law enforcement leaders as well as former Democratic President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.” (08/18/25)
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-us-justice-department-to-begin-sharing-jeffrey-epstein-files-with/
-----
3) Hamas Accepts New Gaza Cease-Fire Proposal, Officials Say
Source: New York Times
“Hamas has accepted a new cease-fire proposal for Gaza put forward by Qatar and Egypt that would see the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, two diplomats familiar with the negotiations and an Egyptian official said on Monday. It was unclear whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel would accept the proposal, which came as Qatar and Egypt were intensifying their mediation efforts ahead of a possible Israeli ground invasion into Gaza City. The plan would also require Israel to redeploy its forces in Gaza, and it would allow enough humanitarian aid to enter the territory to meet the needs of Palestinians, two of the officials said.” (08/18/25)
https://archive.is/SlIxK
-----
4) Newsmax Settles Dominion Lawsuit For $67 Million Over Coverage Of 2020 Election Rigging Claims
Source: Deadline
“Newsmax has settled with Dominion Voting Systems in its lawsuit over the network’s amplification of false claims that it was involved in rigging the 2020 presidential election. The lawsuit was settled for $67 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. … In April, Judge Eric M. Davis, in a summary judgment ruling, determined that Newsmax ran defamatory and false statements about Dominion in the aftermath of the 2020 election, as personalities and guests amplified claims that the company was involved in rigging the results. He left it up to a jury to decide whether Newsmax was liable for actual malice, and whether Dominion could collect punitive damages. … Newsmax settled with another election systems company, Smartmatic, last year, and agreed to pay $40 million, according to an SEC filing.” (08/18/25)
https://deadline.com/2025/08/newsmax-dominion-defamation-settlement-1236490687/
-----
5) Norway: Prosecutors indict son of crown princess on multiple counts including rape
Source: SFGate
“Norwegian prosecutors on Monday announced that they have indicted Marius Borg Høiby, the eldest son of Norway’s crown princess, on multiple charges including rape after a lengthy investigation. Oslo state attorney Sturla Henriksbø said Høiby could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted, broadcaster NRK reported. The 32 counts include rape, abuse in a close relationship against one former partner and acts of violence against another. Other charges include making death threats and traffic violations. Høiby, the 28-year-old son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit and stepson of the heir to the throne, Crown Prince Haakon, has been under scrutiny since he was repeatedly arrested last year on various allegations of wrongdoing. He is currently free pending trial, and Henriksbø said there is currently no reason to arrest and jail him.” (08/18/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/prosecutors-indict-the-son-of-norway-s-crown-20822237.php
-----
6) Dogecoin’s $2.3 million daily mining profits lure Qubic after Monero network takeover
Source: Cryptoslate
“The controversial AI-focused crypto project Qubic has suggested it may mine Dogecoin (DOGE), the largest memecoin, after completing its current operations on Monero (XMR), the privacy-focused blockchain network. On Aug. 17, Qubic Network founder Sergey Ivancheglo shared a Discord screenshot showing that the community voted to target Dogecoin for the upcoming mining season. … Ivancheglo explained that his AI project targets these PoW blockchains to redirect energy-intensive proof-of-work computations toward artificial intelligence applications.” (08/18/25)
https://cryptoslate.com/dogecoins-2-daily-mining-profits-lure-qubic-after-monero-network-takeover/
-----
7) CA: Gang members open fire on San Bernardino family during abduction attempt, US heimatschutz admits
Source: CNN
“US Customs and Border Protection officers opened fire during a targeted immigration enforcement operation in San Bernadino, California, on Saturday, calling it an act of self-defense after a man ‘struck two CBP officers with his vehicle,’ the Department of Homeland Security said. But the family inside the vehicle said they drove away out of fear for their safety after masked men emerged from unmarked cars and surrounded their truck with weapons drawn before smashing the truck’s windows. … DHS said local police ‘located the subject at a residence and briefly had him in custody,’ but ‘he was set free’ and officers left the scene. … San Bernardino police cited the California Values Act, which prevents local law enforcement from helping federal officials with immigration enforcement actions.” (08/18/25)
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/18/us/federal-agents-open-fire-san-bernardino-enforcement-hnk
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8) TX: Democrats return to Austin, ending redistricting standoff
Source: The Hill
“Texas House Democrats announced on Monday that they had returned to Austin for the next stage in a broader redistricting battle playing out across the country, saying their conditions to return to the Lone Star State had been met. ‘We killed the corrupt special session, withstood unprecedented surveillance and intimidation, and rallied Democrats nationwide to join this existential fight for fair representation — reshaping the entire 2026 landscape,’ Texas Democratic House Caucus Chair Gene Wu said in a statement. ‘We’re returning to Texas more dangerous to Republicans’ plans than when we left.’ … Texas Democrats had signaled they would return to the state after Texas lawmakers adjourned from their first special session on Friday and once California Democrats’ introduced their own set of congressional lines aimed at neutralizing expected gains Texas will make with their new House map.” (08/18/25)
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5457485-texas-democrats-return-austin
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9) MSNBC reveals new name it will take after being stripped of peacock logo
Source: New York Post
“Lefty [sic] cable channel MSNBC is being forced to take on a new name after its spinoff – as the NBC brand strips the network of its iconic peacock symbol. Mark Lazarus, who will lead Versant, the new company consisting of MSNBC and other cable assets, announced that the channel will be renamed to MS NOW — short for My Source News Opinion World. Its logo will change from NBC’s trademark rainbow peacock to a blue background with a red-and-white striped flag. That’s a sharp turnaround from his assurances earlier this year that the cable news channel would be able to hold onto its name. … The CNBC business news channel, meanwhile, will keep its ‘Consumer News and Business Channel’ name, though it will be forced to launch a new logo without the peacock.” (08/18/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/08/18/media/msnbc-reveals-new-name-it-will-take-after-spinoff/
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10) OH: Brown enters US Senate race to unseat Husted
Source: Seattle Times
“Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown officially launched his campaign Monday to return to the U.S. Senate next year, brushing aside his bitter loss to Republican Bernie Moreno last fall and expressing confidence his pro-working class message can continue to resonate with the state’s voters. The state’s best-known Democrat, Brown is seeking the seat held by Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, a former Ohio lieutenant governor, state senator and secretary of state who’s already landed President Donald Trump’s endorsement. Husted was appointed to the seat in January to succeed JD Vance when he was elected vice president. Next year’s election is for the final two years of the six-year term.” (08/18/25)
https://archive.is/MZAOM
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11) Trump Vow to “Get Rid of Mail-In Ballots” for 2026 called “‘Unconstitutional”
Source: Common Dreams
“In his latest full-frontal assault on democratic access and voting rights, President Donald Trump early Monday said he will lead an effort to ban both mail-in ballots and voting machines for next year’s mid-term elections — a vow met with immediate rebuke from progressive critics. ‘I am going to lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS, and also, while we’re at it, Highly ‘Inaccurate,’ Very Expensive, and Seriously Controversial VOTING MACHINES, which cost Ten Times more than accurate and sophisticated Watermark Paper, which is faster, and leaves NO DOUBT, at the end of the evening, as to who WON, and who LOST, the Election,’ Trump wrote in a social media post infested with lies and falsehoods.” (08/18/25)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-mail-in-voting-ban
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12) Navarro whines about India’s “opportunistic” purchases of Russian crude
Source: CNBC
“U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade advisor Peter Navarro on Monday called on India to stop buying Russian crude oil, accusing the Asian giant of undermining international efforts to isolate Vladimir Putin’s war economy. Writing in in the Financial Times, Navarro described India’s dependence on Russian oil as ‘opportunistic,’ adding that if India ‘wants to be treated as a strategic partner of the US, it needs to start acting like one.’ ‘In effect, India acts as a global clearinghouse for Russian oil, converting embargoed crude into high-value exports while giving Moscow the dollars it needs,’ Navarro said in the op-ed. His comments come shortly after trade negotiations between the U.S. and India, which had been scheduled to take place in New Delhi later this month, were reportedly called off.” (08/18/25)
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/18/trump-advisor-peter-navarro-says-india-must-stop-buying-russian-oil.html
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13) US regime yanks more than 6k student visas
Source: Fox News
“The State Department has yanked more than 6,000 student visas in 2025 for overstays and law violations — including support for terrorism, Fox News Digital has learned. The Trump administration has launched multiple initiatives aimed at cracking down on immigration and revoking visas of those attending academic institutions in the U.S. Those who’ve publicly protested supporting Palestine have faced heightened scrutiny, as one example, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in May that the administration was reviewing the visa status of students who participated in pro-Palestine protests. The roughly 6,000 visas that were pulled primarily were due to visa overstays or encounters with the law, including assault, DUIs, burglary and support for terrorism, the State Department told Fox News Digital.” (08/18/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/rubios-state-department-yanks-more-than-6k-student-visas-due-assault-burglary-support-terrorism
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14) Thailand: Regime to allow crypto-to-baht conversions for foreign visitors “to support tourism”
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“Thailand will launch an 18-month pilot programme to allow foreign visitors to convert cryptocurrencies into baht to make payments locally, officials have said, part of efforts to rejuvenate the country’s critical tourist sector. Conversions will be capped at 550,000 baht (US$16,950) to test the system and prevent money laundering, Finance Ministry permanent secretary Lavaron Sangsnit told reporters on Monday, adding that the limit could be reassessed after the pilot period was over. The initiative comes amid a decline in foreign tourist arrivals in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy.” (08/18/25)
https://archive.is/suCBs
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15) PA: Garrity launches GOP challenge to Shapiro for governor
Source: Politico
“Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity announced Monday she is challenging Gov. Josh Shapiro, giving establishment Republicans in the state a recruiting win. The two-term incumbent, 61, slammed Shapiro in her campaign kickoff video as vying for the White House while overlooking Pennsylvania’s woes. … GOP leaders in the state are expected to throw their support behind Garrity. Many of them are concerned about the prospect of far-right state Sen. Doug Mastriano mounting a comeback bid against Shapiro after losing to him by 15 percentage points in 2022 — and dragging down the rest of the ticket, including incumbents in must-win House races. Mastriano has been teasing a run on social media, and has said he would not be deterred by GOP efforts to clear the field.” (08/18/25)
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/18/stacy-garrity-challenge-shapiro-pennsylvania-governor-00513317
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16) OpenAI weighs encryption for temporary chats
Source: Axios
“Sam Altman says OpenAI is strongly considering adding encryption to ChatGPT, likely starting with temporary chats. Users are sharing sensitive data with ChatGPT, but those conversations lack the legal confidentiality of a doctor or lawyer. … Encrypted messaging keeps providers from reading content unless an endpoint holds the keys. With chatbots, the provider is often an endpoint, complicating true end-to-end encryption. In this case, OpenAI would be a party to the conversation. Encrypting the data while it is in transit isn’t enough to keep OpenAI from having sensitive information available to share with law enforcement.” (08/18/25)
https://archive.is/PbzG3
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17) Study: Cutting out one food type could nearly double weight loss
Source: Fox News
“A new study suggests that cutting out a single category of foods could nearly double people’s weight-loss results. The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine on Aug. 4, found that overweight adults who ditched ultra-processed foods (UPFs) lost nearly twice as much weight over a two-month span as those who did not. UPFs include microwave meals, sodas, potato chips and packaged cookies, among others. But they can also include items marketed as ‘health foods,’ some medical professionals say. UPFs go through multiple processes to be ‘stabilized for consumption’, Dr. Jeffrey Kraft, a bariatric surgeon at Hackensack Meridian Palisades Medical Center in New Jersey, told Fox News Digital.” (08/18/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/cutting-one-food-type-could-nearly-double-weight-loss-study-suggests
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18) Australia: Google to pay $36 million bribe to regime
Source: ABC News
“Google has agreed to pay a 55 million Australian dollar ($36 million) fine for signing anticompetitive deals with Australia’s two largest telcos that banned the installation of competing search engines on some smartphones, the U.S. tech giant and Australia’s competition watchdog said. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said in a statement it had commenced proceedings in the Australian Federal Court on Monday against the Singapore-based Google Asia Pacific division. The court will decide whether the AU$50 million ($36 million) penalty is appropriate. Under the anticompetitive agreements, which were in place for 15 months until March 2021, Telstra and Optus only pre-installed Google Search on Android phones sold to customers.” (08/18/25)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/google-pay-36m-fine-anticompetitive-deals-australias-largest-124734578
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19) Strike by 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants declared illegal
Source: SFGate
“The Canada Industrial Relations Board declared a strike by 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants illegal Monday and ordered them back on the job after they ignored an earlier order to return to work and submit to arbitration. The strike at Canada’s largest airline entered its third day on Monday and is affecting about 130,000 travelers per day during the peak summer travel season, and the two sides remain far apart on pay and other issues. Air Canada suspended plans to restart operations Sunday after the union defied an earlier return-to-work order. ‘The members of the union’s bargaining unit are directed to resume the performance of their duties immediately and to refrain from engaging in unlawful strike activities,’ the Canada Industrial Relations Board board, or CIRB, said in a written decision.” (08/18/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/strike-by-10-000-air-canada-flight-attendants-20822118.php
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20) Bahamas: Two cruise passengers die in separate drowning incidents at resort
Source: CBS News
“Two U.S. tourists drowned last week in separate incidents at Carnival Cruise Line’s new Bahamas resort, authorities said. Both were passengers on Carnival cruise ships that had sailed to the Caribbean, the company confirmed to CBS News on Sunday. They died Friday while swimming at Celebration Key, a private resort on Grand Bahama Island that only Carnival cruise passengers can use, according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force and Carnival. … Carnival opened Celebration Key — a $600 million resort compound on Grand Bahama Island that features numerous restaurants, pools, live music venues, a retail hub and amusement park-style activities — in July.” (08/17/25)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/carnival-cruise-passengers-die-separate-drowning-incidents-bahamas-resort/
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) The Dangers of “Trump Devotion Syndrome”
Source: Libertarian Institute
by James Rushmore
“During a debate with political commentator Ryan Girdusky back in May, journalist Michael Tracey described a phenomenon he calls ‘Trump devotion syndrome.’ (As far as I can tell, that term was originally coined by the Christian ethicist Andrew T. Walker, who referenced it in a 2024 piece. It was also used by Bill Maher this past March.) According to Tracey, those afflicted with the lesser-known TDS ‘dismiss any critical observation about [Donald] Trump, no matter how substantive, as frivolous or petty — like it’s just about his manner of speech or style.’ In essence, individuals suffering from TDS sidestep any substantive critiques of Trump. … The appeal of such a worldview is understandable. After all, it transforms pro-Trump politics into a form of liturgy, one in which supporters of the president can trust the plan and cede all decision making to The Donald.” (08/18/25)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/the-dangers-of-trump-devotion-syndrome
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22) Should Libertarians Support Welfare Work Requirements?
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Laurence M Vance
“It is without dispute among libertarians, or at least it should be, that Medicaid and food stamps are both unconstitutional and illegitimate welfare programs that are immorally sustained by taxes taken from Americans by coercion and threat of violence. … It is not a legitimate purpose of government at any level to fund or operate welfare programs; fight poverty; supplement or subsidize anyone’s wages; help the poor, the disabled, the sick, or the aged; or maintain a safety net. … Because Medicaid and food stamps are illegitimate programs that should not exist, anything done by government at the federal or state level to reduce the number of people eligible for welfare, reduce the number of people on welfare, reduce the amount of welfare benefits, or reduce the time that someone can receive welfare benefits is a good thing that should be welcomed by libertarians.” (08/18/25)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/should-libertarians-support-welfare-work-requirements/
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23) Court Kills California’s One-Gun-a-Month Law
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“What if you were only allowed to make one purchase of printers, signs, or gear for podcasts per month? Would you consider that fully respectful of your free speech rights? Or would you view it as an attempt to muffle people’s natural right to speak out — and perhaps a hint of more restrictions to come? California has something similar in the form of a law that limits people to buy one gun per month. If you rightfully believe that rationing the ability to express oneself violates First Amendment protections for speech, you’ll be glad to know the courts have found California’s law in violation of the Second Amendment’s protections for self-defense rights and barred its enforcement.” (08/’18/25)
https://reason.com/2025/08/18/court-kills-californias-one-gun-a-month-law/
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24) Government Statistics Are Always Political
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Tho Bishop
“The perceived importance of government statistics is precisely because they are the tools used to justify and execute the labyrinth of interventions in society. Real-world conditions — be they in markets or the safety of neighbors — are secondary to the ability of politicians to point to the officially-credentialed statistical measures to tout the wisdom of their desired policy aims. … As such, questioning the credibility of the government statistics is a means by which to erode credibility in the state itself. Perceiving the collection of government statistics as being partisan, erodes the credibility of the state itself. It is better, then, to maintain the tradition and the perception of norms in the accounting and releasing of government statistics than it is to meaningfully consider the underlying value of what is being recorded in the first place.” (08/18/25)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/government-statistics-are-always-political
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25) Getting Up With Fleas
Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders
“Rightwing assholery is on the rise among media influencers big and small. Just as the left has started to eat its own, so also has the right.” (08/18/25)
https://underthrow.substack.com/p/getting-up-with-fleas
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26) A Presidential Wrecking Ball: Trump Spitting on Grave of MLK Jr.
Source: TomDispatch
by Clarence Lusane
“On January 20th, Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office with — at least in his mind — an aura of invincibility. A fully compliant Congress was controlled by Republicans who were, in turn, controlled by him. Conservative justices, three of whom he had appointed, dominated the Supreme Court. The defeated opposition, the Democratic Party, seemed distinctly befuddled and weak. Trump then smashed and bullied his way through his first 100 days, ruling via dictator-like decrees — executive orders — and carrying out retribution at every turn. Democracy’s redlines were crossed daily and his MAGA base remained passionately loyal even as the rest of the nation soured watching him do little to make the country better. However, his ‘realignment’ was never faintly as broad or as solid as he pretended it was.” (08/18/25)
https://tomdispatch.com/a-presidential-wrecking-ball/
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27) Trump’s tariffs on Brazil’s coffee is going to be a real buzz kill
Source: Palm Beach Post
by Frank Cerabino
“Of all of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, the one that’s really got me frothed up is the one on coffee beans. Allow me to venti. As Trump’s new tariffs create an inflationary pressure on a wide range of items, I can pretend they don’t exist. Toys? I’ve outgrown them. Tools? I don’t need any new drills or hammers. Cars? Not in the market this year. But coffee? That’s another story. Without coffee I am a mere husk of a man with a mid-afternoon headache and way too much oat milk on my hands. … That long line of cars idling every morning in the drive-thru line at the Starbucks isn’t there due to a craving for the kale and mushroom egg bites. If you mess with coffee, you’re reminding people on a daily basis who really are the end-of-the-line suckers that pay for import tariffs.” (08/18/25)
https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/opinion/columns/2025/08/18/brazil-trump-coffee-tariff-prices-bolsonaro-us-consumer/85666156007/
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28) Law and Order: Sandwich Crimes Unit
Source: The Atlantic
by Alexandra Petri
“Officer J: You think 25 years without sandwich crime just HAPPENS? Trainee: No. Officer J: We worked for this. It hasn’t been easy. When I got started on this beat, you couldn’t walk down the street in Washington without having a grilled cheese shoved in your face, if you were lucky. Egg salad, if you weren’t. Detective F: Not all the sandwiches were harmless. Some were clubs. People were too frightened of sandwiches to build a Subway in Georgetown. Officer K: I still have a scar from when I took a meatball sub to the chin in ’96 and, afterward, got into an unrelated knife fight.” (08/18/25)
https://archive.is/RAujr
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29) Alternate Reality Israel, And Other Reader Questions
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“The most culturally consequential fictional fantasy land ever authored is not Oz or Narnia or Middle Earth, but the liberal Zionist creation of Alternate Reality Israel. In the minds of its authors, Alternate Reality Israel exists in a parallel universe at the geographic location of actual real-life Israel, but never became a genocidal apartheid state. In this fictional timeline, Alternate Reality Israel magically came into existence without the mass murder, ethnic cleansing and land theft which would normally be required for the creation of a brand-new ethnostate dropped on top of a pre-existing civilization. Because of magic, Alternate Reality Israel has not needed to use nonstop violence and tyranny to maintain its existence as a theocratic ethnostate …. The position of the liberal Zionist is therefore not self-contradictory, because the existence of Alternate Reality Israel is not at all incompatible with progressive values.” (08/18/25)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2025/08/18/alternate-reality-israel-and-other-reader-questions/
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30) My Career Opportunities With ICE
Source: The Bulwark
by Bill Lueders
“First of all, I’d like to thank Kristi Noem for making it possible for me to apply for a job with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, one of the agencies under her purview as secretary of homeland security. On August 6, Noem announced that she was waiving the age limit for new applicants ‘so even more patriots will qualify to join ICE in its mission to arrest murderers, pedophiles, gang members, rapists, and other criminal illegal aliens from America’s streets.’ … I just turned 66, and I hate to be excluded from anything. … Anyway, I decided to look into what the government was offering.” (08/18/25)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/my-career-opportunities-with-ice
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31) Just One Week in Liberal Stupidity
Source: Town Hall
by Derek Hunter
“A productive person can get a lot done in 7 days. Democrats are not good at getting things done, but still manage to do a lot. Most of what they do is standing in the way of getting things done, and while they’d like to portray themselves as the Chinese man standing up to the tanks in Tiananmen Square, ideologically they are more in line with the guys driving those tanks. Over the last 7 days, Democrats have packed in a lot of stupid. It’s almost a skill, really, as people with high or even average intelligence would have difficulty finding so many new and creative ways to be idiots.” [editor’s note: Like most Democrats, Hunter is certainly no “liberal;” he’s a “progressive” who likes to cosplay as a “conservative” – TLK] (08/18/25)
https://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2025/08/18/just-one-week-in-liberal-stupidity-n2661961
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32) Military leaders must resist Trump’s politically motivated invasion of cities
Source: The Hill
by William S Becker
“Although Trump is in office, the U.S. military might be the last line of defense for protecting our democratic republic, since Congress and the courts have largely capitulated to his autocratic rule. What happens if top military officers and next year’s voters don’t stand up to Trump? We can ask the nearly 6 [n]illion people, more than 70 percent of the world’s population, what their lives are like under authoritarian rule. America is on a slippery slope to join them.” (08/18/25)
https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/5454974-military-capitulation-trump-threat/
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33) The Choice Between Peace and Escalation After Trump-Putin Talks
Source: Common Dreams
by Medea Benjamin & Nicolas JS Davies
“Donald Trump came into office promising to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. Now, six months later, his high stakes meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska may have put the United States and Russia on a new path toward peace, or, if this initiative fails, could trigger an even more dangerous escalation, with warhawks in Congress already pushing for another $54.6 billion in weapons for Ukraine. After emerging from the meeting, Putin correctly framed the historical moment: ‘This was a very hard time for bilateral relations and, let’s be frank, they’ve fallen to the lowest point since the Cold War. I think that’s not benefiting our countries and the world as a whole. Sooner or later, we have to amend the situation to move on from confrontation to dialogue.'” (08/18/25)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/putin-trump-peace-talks
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34) Christopher Rufo vs. The New Yorker
Source: Persuasion
by Meghan Daum
“The writer Doreen St. Félix has struck gold twice. In 2017, at the age of 25, she secured a staff position at the ne plus ultra of literary prestige, The New Yorker. Then, this week, her profile rose again when she became the subject of a pile-on from conservative activist Christopher Rufo, who decided to punish her for an August 2 think piece about American Eagle’s supposedly racist ad campaign featuring the actress Sydney Sweeney. Rufo’s method of choice? That reliable standby: decade-old tweets.” (08/18/25)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/what-it-took-to-make-the-new-yorker
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35) Is Modern Medicine a Sham?
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Bobbie Anne Flower Cox
“We are living in a point in history where so many, if not all, of the foundational pillars of our society are being questioned. In some cases, those pillars are almost wholly being cast aside. Once the cornerstones of our American backbone, we are finding ourselves doubting it all as we ask ourselves and one another … Can the government truly be that corrupt? Are the courts actually compromised? Are major media outlets really just mouthpieces for propaganda? Is modern medicine a sham?” (08/18/25)
https://brownstone.org/articles/is-modern-medicine-a-sham/
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36) One man’s poison is another man’s cure
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Arthur Diamond
“Tim Friede let venomous snakes bite him roughly 200 times, suffering anaphylactic shocks, and spending four days hospitalized in a coma. But this wasn’t a suicide attempt. He was seeking immunity to all snake venom, so that his blood could be used to create a universal antitoxin. … The FDA does not ban people from letting snakes bite them, so Friede had the freedom to be bitten. His choice was focused on the greater good, as was Jonas Salk’s choice to test his polio vaccine on himself and his family, and as was the choice of over 38,000 volunteers who signed up for Covid ‘human challenge trials,’ which would have involved taking an experimental vaccine and then being deliberately exposed to Covid. If such trials had been allowed, we could have had safe and effective vaccines much sooner, saving many lives.” (08/18/25)
https://fee.org/articles/one-mans-poison-is-another-mans-cure/
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37) Politicians want you to pay for “cashless bail;” it’s dangerous and expensive
Source: Fox News
by Michelle Esquenazi
“‘Cashless bail’ is one of the most misleading phrases in modern politics. Reform advocates coined it, the media amplified it, and it stuck. The reality? What we provide is secured bail — a constitutionally protected, privately funded system that ensures defendants appear in court and protects the public, all without costing taxpayers a dime. Ironically, the term ‘cashless’ could make us sound like the good guys. We accept all forms of payment. We take the financial risk. We are legally liable for producing defendants in court. … Courts and judges who still have secured bail know it works, because we have skin in the game. In 2016, New Jersey passed the Bail Reform Act, removing the accused’s right to bail and replacing private secured bail with a taxpayer-funded pretrial release bureaucracy.” (08/18/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/politicians-want-you-pay-cashless-bail-its-dangerous-expensive
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38) Are the BLS and Other Government Statistical Agencies Partisan? Here’s What My Research Found
Source: The Daily Economy
by Vincent Geloso
“Finding consensus among economists is an occasional treat. Last week’s firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) commissioner Erika McEntarfer by President Trump was one such occasion. With few exceptions, the reaction has been that the claims she was dismissed for producing ‘low-quality’ data or displaying ‘partisanship’ are mere cover — a simple case of machine-gunning the messenger. There is little to substantiate the claim that the BLS produces low-quality data. The BLS (and every other statistical agency) frequently issues preliminary reports from surveys it conducts. As such, revisions are common. How big are those revisions? Pretty small!” (08/18/25)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/are-the-bls-and-other-government-statistical-agencies-partisan-heres-what-my-research-found/
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39) How Microschools Became the Latest Tech Mogul Obsession
Source: Wired
by Julia Black
“With Ad Astra, [Elon] Musk became an early pioneer in the emerging microschooling movement. Loosely defined as schools with fewer than 150 students, microschools often operate for profit, and outside the regulatory frameworks that govern traditional public schools. According to a 2024 RAND estimate, somewhere between 750,000 and 2.1 million students in the US are being educated in some form of microschool. Silicon Valley is playing an integral role. … The push for education alternatives appeals to Silicon Valley parents on a number of levels. Many are autodidacts who struggled with the social expectations of a traditional school environment. Others looked over their kids’ shoulders during Covid-era Zoom schooling and didn’t like what they saw. Tech elites who grew increasingly alienated from so-called ‘woke’ culture began seeking fresh options that felt more politically and culturally aligned.” (08/18/25)
https://archive.is/AacMz
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40) The Gentlemanly Heart of American Liberty
Source: Law & Liberty
by Michael Lucchese
“The American Right seems intent on proving John Stuart Mill’s infamous remark that ‘conservatives are the stupid party.’ Not only is the populist movement in Washington foundering because of infighting and general boorishness, its intellectual equivalent in the so-called ‘postliberal’ movement also seems to be descending into anger and what Lionel Trilling once called ‘irritable mental gestures.’ Neither force seems to be the engine of cultural renewal that they promised to be. John Wilsey’s new book, Religious Freedom: A Conservative Primer, offers a beautiful alternative: a vision to which conservatives might genuinely aspire.” (08/18/25)
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/the-gentlemanly-heart-of-american-liberty/
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41) When L’État C’est Trump, the U.S. Goes in for State Capitalism
Source: The American Prospect
by Harold Meyerson
“OK, who’s the dangerous radical pushing the state to take over private enterprise here? Who’s aping the Chinese Communist policy of having the government own or control major business entities? Zohran Mamdani? He’s called for more consumer-friendly regulation of some New York City markets (rental housing in particular), and proposed setting up a handful of city-run grocery stores, but he hasn’t advocated seizing big corporations or banks, though New York is lousy with them. On the other hand, there’s Donald Trump. His approval of Nippon Steel’s purchase of U.S. Steel was conditioned on giving the government a golden share through which the government (that is, Trump) could control the company’s policies and conduct. His decision to let chipmakers Nvidia and AMD sell their H20 chips to China … was conditioned on their having to pay our government 15 percent of the revenues they made from those sales.” (08/18/25)
https://prospect.org/economy/2025-08-18-when-letat-cest-trump-us-goes-in-for-state-capitalism/
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42) The Lies Behind Trump’s DC Troop Surge
Source: Washington Monthly
by Robert J Shapiro
“Last week, Donald Trump claimed the authority to deploy the country’s military to the streets of Washington, D.C. to help fight crime. Yet, hard data show it’s not about crime in the nation’s capital. Instead, the evidence points to other, more troubling reasons and aspirations, especially the president’s personal sense of entitlement to power, MAGA’s approach to partisan politics, and an implied threat to public opposition to his exercise of power in the future.” (08/18/25)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2025/08/18/the-lies-behind-trumps-d-c-troop-surge/
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43) Europe Reveals Itself as Ridiculous in Ukraine
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ted Snider
“By Donald Trump’s transactional criterion, NATO has been a costly failure that needs fixing or needs to be cut lose. Europe has failed to pay the price and has left the U.S. with the financial and military burden of defending Europe. The war in Ukraine has proven the point. But that was never the point of NATO. The point of NATO was never economic nor transactional. The point of NATO was, in large part, to keep Europe militarily coordinated with, dependent on and subordinate to the United States. The point wasn’t to extricate the U.S. from Europe, it was, as Lord Ismay, the first Secretary General of NATO explained, precisely ‘to keep the Americans in Europe, while keeping the Russians out.’ By that criterion, NATO has been a massive success. The Ukraine war has proven that point too.” (08/18/25)
https://original.antiwar.com/ted_snider/2025/08/17/europe-reveals-itself-as-ridiculous-in-ukraine/
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44) Rubio takes annual human rights report to new cynical heights
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Annelle Sheline
“Ignoring Israel’s abuses and erasing crimes wholesale has made this exercise a joke. But it is it any worse than what the Biden admin was doing?” (08/18/25)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/state-department-human-rights/
-----
45) NYC Mayor Eric Adams deserves credit for his stunning housing wins
Source: New York Post
by staff
“It’s odd how little credit Mayor Eric Adams gets for his relentless, steady and successful drive to get more housing, including more affordable homes, built in New York City. In under four years, he’s arguably done more than his predecessors achieved in the previous two decades, winning changes that will make a huge difference in the long term rather than offering empty promises of instant miracles. The latest: The City Council just OK’d Adams’[s] plan to rezone Midtown South, opening the door for nearly 10,000 new housing units, 2,800 of them affordable, in an area that was largely zoned for (outdated) industrial uses. Some of those units will come from converting commercial space to residential, an obvious next step for older, vacant office buildings.” (08/17/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/08/17/opinion/mayor-adams-deserves-credit-for-stunning-housing-wins/
-----
46) Quantum Vibe, 08/18/25
Source: Big Head Press
by Scott Bieser
Cartoon. (08/18/25)
https://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=2548
-----
47) Notes on a Relational Theory of Power
Source: The Peaceful Revolutionist
by David S D’Amato
“Or, Poulantzas Should’ve Been An Anarchist.” (08/17/25)
https://dsdamato.substack.com/p/notes-on-a-relational-theory-of-power
-----
48) Florida’s Sports Betting Fight Shows Why Liberty, Not Lawsuits, Should Decide
Source: The Libertarian Republic
by Austin Petersen
“The latest lawsuit over sports betting in Florida is once again dragging gamblers, businesses, and taxpayers into a courtroom battle. Filed by Protect The Constitution, LLC, the complaint argues that the state’s 2021 compact with the Seminole Tribe violates Amendment 3 of the Florida Constitution by expanding gambling without a voter referendum. The lawsuit highlights a familiar tug-of-war: government officials, powerful tribes, and industry lobbyists fighting over who gets to control betting rights. But the bigger question remains untouched — why should politicians or courts decide at all? In a free society, consenting adults should be able to place a wager without needing permission from Tallahassee or Washington.” (08/17/25)
https://thelibertarianrepublic.com/floridas-sports-betting-fight-shows-why-liberty-not-lawsuits-should-decide/
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49) Conservatives’ Long War on Free Thought
Source: In These Times
by Matt McManus
“In 2016, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump proclaimed, as part of his ham-fisted effort to present himself as a man of the people, that he loved ’the poorly educated’. As his post-election work to redistribute wealth upwards made clear, Trump’s professed affections had less to do with concern for working class wellbeing than his expectation that an uneducated population would more readily accept his relentless lies and hypocrisies. Since returning to office, Trump’s hostility to education has expanded dramatically into an all-out attack on higher education. He has threatened to cut funding to numerous universities he sees as sites of intellectual opposition, most spectacularly including Columbia University, which recently agreed to a $200 million settlement and a promise to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in exchange for not losing all federal funding.” [editor’s note: Posted to remind you how delulu most “progressive” pundits still are – SAT] (08/18/25)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/conservatives-censorship-trump-ron-desantis-christopher-rufo-education
-----
50) Someone Needs to Stop Israel but It Won’t Be the West
Source: exile in happy valley
by Nicky Reid
“For nearly 80 years now the world has been sold the same snake-oil sales pitch from every western globalist institution from the UN and the World Bank to NATO and the EU; that these vaunted institutions of liberal guilt are the only thing keeping the world safe and free from the wrath of another Hitler. Well, he[re] he is, in fact here’s two of them. Both Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are openly and unapologetically carrying out the most overt and unabashed genocide since the Third Reich and the ‘free world’ can’t be bothered to commit themselves to anything more severe than telling them to keep it down while white people are watching.” (08/17/25)
https://exileinhappyvalley.blogspot.com/2025/08/someone-needs-to-stop-israel-but-it.html
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) EconTalk, 08/18/25
Source: EconTalk
“Tim Ferriss on Tim Ferriss (and much much more).” (08/18/25)
https://www.econtalk.org/tim-ferriss-on-tim-ferriss-and-much-much-more/
-----
52) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 08/18/25
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“President Trump — Come Home From Ukraine — Promote Freedom In America.” (08/18/25)
https://rumble.com/v6xr2km-president-trump-come-home-from-ukraine-promote-freedom-in-america.html
-----
53) Conflicts of Interest, episode 829
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Netanyahu Touts His Decades-Long Policy of Preventing a Palestinian State.” (08/18/25)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/kyle/coi-829-netanyahu-touts-his-decades-long-policy-of-preventing-a-palestinian-state
-----
54) Rising, 08/18/25
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave delivers radar on the meeting between President Trump and President Putin in Alaska which lead to some progress on Russia-Ukraine peace deal.” (08/18/25)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/5457470-rising-august-18-2025/
-----
55) The Dispatch Podcast, 08/18/25
Source: The Dispatch
“No Deal in Alaska | Interview: Tim Mak.” (08/18/25)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/dispatch-podcast/no-deal-in-alaska-interview-tim-mak/
-----
56) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 08/18/25
Source: The New Republic
“As Trump’s ugly ramblings about his militarization of cities get worse, prominent legal observer Joyce Vance explains how and why this is all heading to a very dark place — and what we must do to stop it.” (08/18/25)
https://newrepublic.com/article/199192/trump-angry-new-dictator-rant-media-alarms-experts-wake-up
-----
57) Neon Liberalism, episode 39
Source: Liberal Currents
“An Unsettled Age.” (08/18/25)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/neon-liberalism-39-an-unsettled-age/
-----
58) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 08/18/25
Source: Antiwar.com
“Israeli Military Prepares To Purge Gaza City, Trump To Meet Zelensky After Putin Summit, and More.” (08/18/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFeoj5QKP2c
-----
59) Fountainhead Forum, episode 344
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Radha Stirling on fighting for travelers who have been Detained in Dubai.” (08/17/25)
https://rumble.com/v6xoty4-ff-344-radha-stirling-on-fighting-for-travelers-who-have-been-detained-in-d.html
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60) Free Talk Live, 08/17/25
Source: Free Talk Live
“51% attack on monero :: Tim from FL calls about Trump’s list of ‘good businesses’ :: Sarah from NM calls about people ignoring speeding cam tickets :: Brandon calls about skeeter-topia being a nightmare :: age verification for porn sites in UK :: Jet calls about the facade of magic government powers :: Alu calls about the excess of laws/codes/statutes :: Female cops in England drag for cat-calls so they can make an arrest :: Massachusetts teachers demand new wealth tax :: Government school is awful :: Moon landing evidence for Stu at rbse.us.moon :: freeiannow.org to sign the petition and get on the mailing list :: gofund.me/721964f7 to donate to fixing the roof of Rob from VT :: 2025-08-17 Hosts: Stu, Kahuna, Riley.” (08/17/25)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/ftl2025-08-17
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