11/12 -- Russian regime says ready to resume Istanbul peace talks with Ukrainian regime; Congressional Republicans Must Stand Up to the President on Venezuela!
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Thomas L. Knapp
Nov 12, 2025, 6:18:37 AM (9 days ago) Nov 12
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 11/12/25
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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:
0) Getting a Move On (Literally) -- Year-End Fundraiser Update
1) Russian regime says ready to resume Istanbul peace talks with Ukrainian regime
2) Chinese regime accuses US regime of carrying out $13 billion bitcoin hack
3) SCOTUS extends brief stay on SNAP payments as shutdown deal nears
4) Palestine: Israeli squatters attack West Bank villages
5) Watchdog group asks for investigation into Lindsey Halligan over Comey, James cases
6) Astronomers detect first “radio signal” from interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS — but it wasn’t aliens
7) China: 2,500 foot Hongqi bridge collapses during landslide just months after opening
8) Shutdown deal lets senators sue for $500,000 over data seizures like those in January 6 probe
9) UC Berkeley chaos outside TPUSA gathering ends in multiple arrests as conservative event runs smoothly
10) Turkish military plane crashes in Georgia with at least 20 on board
11) Top diplomats from G7 countries meet in Canada as trade tensions rise with Trump
12) Hamdi to be released following ICE gang abduction, family say
13) Venezuela: Military preparing guerrilla response in case of US attack
14) Yemen: Houthis signal that they’ve stopped attacks on Israel and Red Sea shipping
15) ME: Tattoo artist finds herself in an unexpected role in Senate race
16) SpaceX Starlink launch breaks record for Florida spaceport
17) Amid tensions with Venezuela, US aircraft carrier moves into Latin America region
18) Pakistan: “Suicide bomber” kills at least 12 outside Islamabad court
19) Lawsuit challenges TSA’s ban on transgender officers conducting pat-downs
20) Trump asks SCOTUS to toss sex abuse verdict
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Congressional Republicans Must Stand Up to the President on Venezuela!
22) The Middle Class is Shrinking — And That’s a Good Thing
23) Will You Die One Day?
24) The Supreme Court is right to question this trade war
25) Left-Wing Socialism versus Right-Wing Socialism
26) This Is All Our Rulers Are Offering Us
27) Once again Congress fails to rein in Trump, leaving SCOTUS to consider doing it
28) Trade and Status
29) On Veterans Day and Beyond, Resisting and Healing From Violence
30) Will Taiwan Make Noise in Trump’s Second Term?
31) Democrats despair as colleagues cave on Schumer shutdown
32) 2025 Shutdown Ends Amid Hemp Cronyism
33) Democrats Can Win Back Trump Voters, If They Don’t Blow It
34) Applaud All Market-Made Millions
35) Drawing Delinquency Down
36) On Veterans’ Day, Remember the Lies That Filled Military Cemeteries
37) Why AI matters for every veteran
38) Trump doesn’t need to buy Saudi loyalty with a security pact
39) The Nostalgic Delusion of 1989
40) Paleoconservatism: Hard-Right Zombies Rule
41) One Weird Trick to Get Rid of Chuck Schumer
42) Exploiting MAGA Sentiments to Back Nigerian Intervention
43) The sandwich man walks, and Trump nets a bagel
44) Scandal or coup or what?
45) A Virtuous, Limited Government Would Have Prevented a Shutdown
46) Trump’s Tariffs in Trouble
47) The Blaze’s Pipe-Bomb Bombshell Appears to Bomb
48) How to Confront Highbrow Misinformation
49) Dropkick Murphys’ Ken Casey Wants You to Wake the Fuck Up
50) Snipers, censorship, and unaccountability: Indiana University’s free speech crisis
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 11/11/25
52) Trump Watch, 11/11/25
53) The Bryan Hyde Show, 11/11/25
54) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 11/11/25
55) Fountainhead Forum, episode 387
56) Advisory Opinions, 11/11/25
57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 11/11/25
58) Quillette Podcast, episode 311
59) Finding Freedom, 11/10/25
60) TechTank, season 5, episode 30
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
0) Getting a Move On (Literally) -- Year-End Fundraiser Update
THANK YOU to long-time supporter T (who went above and beyond with a birthday donation) and subscribing contributor BT! Their contributions yesterday, totaling $22.50, bring our year-end fundraiser total (as of 5:30am Wednesday) to $1,133.34!
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I prefer a positive "support the freedom movement's daily newspaper because you value it" approach to our one annual fundraiser, versus a "poor me, let me tell you about the operation my late mother needs" charity plea. But today's personal news is of both the "good" and "expensive" variety:
After nearly 12 years of renting (since we moved to Florida from Missouri at the beginning of 2013 for my wife's job), we're buying a house! "Closing" is this afternoon, and while we have until the end of the year to vacate our rental, we'll at least TRY to move quickly.
And of course there will be moving expenses. In fact, there already have been. For example, I have $300+ worth of Starlink equipment on the way, as satellite is the only available/reliable Internet access at the new digs. So, if you're more interested in the "Tom needs help!" angle than the "wow, they've been providing me with something I value for years, I should help keep that going" angle, well ... Tom needs help (or can at least USE help)!
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.... and have a great day!
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily
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1) Russian regime says ready to resume Istanbul peace talks with Ukrainian regime
Sourcee: Firstpost [India]
“Russia is ready to resume peace talks with Ukraine in Turkey, state-run TASS news agency has quoted a foreign ministry official as saying. ‘The Russian team is ready for this, the ball is in the Ukrainian court,’ TASS quoted Alexei Polishchuk as saying. Russia and Ukraine have had multiple rounds of talks in Istanbul, but those talks did not lead to any breakthrough. No meeting has been scheduled since the last meeting in July.” (11/12/25)
https://www.firstpost.com/world/russia-ready-to-resume-istanbul-peace-talks-with-ukraine-foreign-ministry-official-13950021.html
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2) Chinese regime accuses US regime of carrying out $13 billion bitcoin hack
SourceL Nikkei Asia [Japan]
“China has accused the U.S. government of carrying out a cyberattack that led to the theft of over $13 billion in bitcoin, as disputes over digital assets ratchet up tensions between Beijing and Washington. According to China’s National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center (CVERC), Washington was behind the December 2020 hack that stole 127,272 bitcoin from LuBian, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency miners. The bitcoin belonged to Chen Zhi, the agency said in a report, referring to the Chinese-born Cambodian tycoon who is the founder and chairman of Prince Group. … The U.S. Department of Justice indicted Chen in October on charges of wire fraud and money laundering. The DOJ said Chen directed operations at forced labor scam centers across Cambodia under his business empire. It also announced the forfeiture of 127,271 bitcoin, the largest seizure of its kind in history for any country.” (11/12/25)
https://archive.is/N3QSB
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3) SCOTUS extends brief stay on SNAP payments as shutdown deal nears
Source: CBS News
“With Congress on the brink of a deal to end the government shutdown, the Supreme Court has agreed to let the political process play out and keep in place a brief pause of a federal court judge’s ruling that ordered the Trump administration to fully fund SNAP benefits in November. About 42 million Americans rely on food aid from SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. On Friday, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson had granted a stay on behalf of the Court, blocking the lower court’s order that the administration transfer some $4 billion from other food security programs to SNAP payments. That Supreme Court stay was set to expire late Tuesday night, but will now stay in place until 11:59 p.m. ET Thursday.” (11/11/25)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme-court-extends-stay-on-snap-payments-in-government-shutdown/
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4) Palestine: Israeli squatters attack West Bank villages
Source: Yahoo! News
“Dozens of masked Israeli [squatters] attacked a pair of Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, setting fire to vehicles and other property before clashing with Israeli soldiers sent to halt the rampage, Israeli and Palestinian officials said. It was the latest in a series of attacks by young [squatters] in the West Bank. Israeli police said four Israelis were arrested in what it described as ‘extremist violence,’ while the Israeli military said four Palestinians were wounded. Police and Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency said they were investigating.” (11/11/25)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/tens-thousands-israelis-attend-funeral-090515667.html
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5) Watchdog group asks for investigation into Lindsey Halligan over Comey, James cases
Source: The Hill
“A government watchdog group has asked two different bar associations to investigate Lindsey Halligan, a former personal attorney for President Trump whom he tapped to lead prosecutions of two of his foes. Halligan, who is currently serving as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia on an interim basis, took over the role after a career prosecutor resigned from it amid questions over whether there was sufficient evidence to bring charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James (D). The complaints, filed by the Campaign for Accountability, asks the bar in both Florida and Virginia to probe misconduct they argue spans bringing charges not supported by probable cause to speaking about the case with a reporter.” (11/11/25)
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5600737-halligan-james-comey-letitia-james-campaign-for-accountability/
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6) Astronomers detect first “radio signal” from interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS — but it wasn’t aliens
Source: Live Science
“Astronomers have detected the first-ever ‘radio signal’ coming from the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, right as it passed the halfway mark on its oneway trip through the solar system. And while this may seem like ostensible proof of the comet’s supposed alien origins — it’s actually the complete opposite. … the signals did not have a technological origin. Instead, they are the result of specific wavelength absorption related to the presence of hydroxyl radicals, or OH molecules, in the comet’s coma. These radicals are formed by the breakdown of water molecules as they are ejected from the comet via a natural process known as outgassing, which is a clear sign of cometary activity, according to a 2016 study.” (11/11/25)
https://www.livescience.com/space/comets/astronomers-detect-first-radio-signal-from-interstellar-comet-3i-atlas-but-it-wasnt-aliens
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7) China: 2,500 foot Hongqi bridge collapses during landslide just months after opening
Source: The Mirror
“Part of a newly opened bridge collapsed in China’s Sichuan province on Tuesday after authorities closed it to all traffic the previous day when cracks appeared on nearby hills and roads. The Hongqi bridge, part of a national highway connecting China to neighboring Tibet, was a 2,500-foot structure that had been in operation for less than a year. Video of the collapse showed a landslide of rock and debris pouring onto the bridge until part of it crumbled into the river below in a plume of dust. Authorities did not report any casualties.” (11/11/25)
https://www.themirror.com/news/world-news/breaking-2500-foot-hongqi-bridge-1499557
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8) Shutdown deal lets senators sue for $500,000 over data seizures like those in January 6 probe
Source: CBS News
“A provision of the legislative package that would end the government shutdown allows senators to bring lawsuits if federal law enforcement seizes or subpoenas their data without notifying them, with potential damages of $500,000 for each violation. The language appears to allow GOP senators to sue over steps that the Justice Department took during special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into President Trump related to the 2020 election. In October, Senate Republicans revealed an FBI document that showed investigators had obtained phone record data from eight senators and one congressman for calls they made in the days before and after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The records were obtained pursuant to a subpoena in 2023, and the new legislation covers alleged violations dating back to 2022.” (11/11/25)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/government-shutdown-senate-lawsuits-500k-january-6/
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9) UC Berkeley chaos outside TPUSA gathering ends in multiple arrests as conservative event runs smoothly
Source: Fox News
“At least eight people were arrested Monday in relation to a Turning Point USA event held on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. Four of the arrestees were students at the university, according to The Daily Californian, which omitted the suspects’ names from its report. They were described as females between the ages of 20 and 22. Each was reportedly charged with felony vandalism. Santa Rita County Jail records show four women who fit that description were arrested on Monday. Fox News Digital is awaiting confirmation of their identities from authorities, but UC Berkeley Assistant Vice Chancellor of Public Affairs Dan Mogulof confirmed the arrests. Mogulof told Fox News Digital that they were arrested early Monday morning overnight.” (11/11/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/us/uc-berkeley-chaos-outside-turning-point-gathering-ends-multiple-arrests-conservative-event-runs-smoothly
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10) Turkish military plane crashes in Georgia with at least 20 on board
Source: Reuters
“A Turkish C-130 military cargo plane crashed in Georgia after taking off from Azerbaijan on Tuesday, prompting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to offer condolences for ‘our martyrs’ as search and rescue crews headed for the scene. Turkey’s defence ministry announced the crash, near Georgia’s border with Azerbaijan, and said it was coordinating with Georgian authorities to reach the site.” (11/11/25)
https://archive.is/ilD8C
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11) Top diplomats from G7 countries meet in Canada as trade tensions rise with Trump
Source: SFGate
“Top diplomats from the Group of Seven industrialized democracies are converging on southern Ontario as tensions rise between the U.S. and traditional allies like Canada over defense spending, trade and uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan in Gaza and efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war. Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said in an interview with The Associated Press that ‘the relationship has to continue across a range of issues’ despite trade pressures as she prepared to host U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and their counterparts from Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Japan on Tuesday and Wednesday. Anand also invited the foreign ministers of Australia, Brazil, India, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, South Korea, South Africa and Ukraine. She said ’15 foreign ministers are coming from around the world to the Great White North and funnily enough on the week of our first large snowfall.'” (11/11/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/top-diplomats-from-g7-countries-meet-in-canada-as-21160939.php
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12) Hamdi to be released following ICE gang abduction, family say
Source: Independent [UK]
“British journalist and commentator Sami Hamdi is to be released and returned to the UK after being [abducted] by ICE. The activist and outspoken critic of Israel’s military action in Gaza was [abducted] by US immigration agents at San Francisco International Airport on 26 October. Mr Hamdi had spoken at a gala for chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, in California and was heading to Florida for another event prior to his arrest.” (11/10/25)
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/sami-hamdi-released-ice-detention-immigration-trump-b2862443.html
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13) Venezuela: Military preparing guerrilla response in case of US attack
Source: Reuters
“Venezuela is deploying weapons, including decades-old Russian-made equipment, and is planning to mount a guerrilla-style resistance or sow chaos in the event of a U.S. air or ground attack, according to sources with knowledge of the efforts and planning documents seen by Reuters. The approach is a tacit admission of the South American country’s shortage of personnel and equipment. U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested the possibility of ground operations in Venezuela, saying ‘the land is going to be next’ following multiple strikes on alleged drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and a large U.S. military build-up in the region. He later denied he was considering strikes inside Venezuela.” (11/11/25)
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/venezuelan-military-preparing-guerrilla-response-case-us-attack-2025-11-11/
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14) Yemen: Houthis signal that they’ve stopped attacks on Israel and Red Sea shipping
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“Yemen’s Houthi rebels [sic] are signalling they’ve stopped their attacks against Israel and shipping in the Red Sea as a shaky ceasefire holds in the Gaza Strip. In an undated letter to Hamas’ Qassam Brigades published online by the group, the Houthis offered their clearest signal that their attacks have halted. ‘We are closely monitoring developments and declare that if the enemy resumes its aggression against Gaza, we will return to our military operations deep inside the Zionist entity, and we will reinstate the ban on Israeli navigation in the Red and Arabian Seas,’ reads the letter from Maj.-Gen. Yusuf Hassan al-Madani, the Houthi military’s chief of staff.” (11/11/25)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/yemen-houthi-rebels-attacks-stop-red-sea-9.6974532
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15) ME: Tattoo artist finds herself in an unexpected role in Senate race
Source: SFGate
“Graham Platner was looking for a cover-up. Nearly 20 years ago, the Maine Democrat soldier drunkenly selected a skull and crossbones design while out on leave with his fellow Marines in Croatia. It wasn’t until several weeks into his campaign for a key U.S. Senate seat that Platner says he discovered that the design was recognized as a Nazi symbol. Rather than wait through multiple sessions of laser removal, Platner called a friend to help him get rid of it. ‘It was a phone call like: ‘Hey, I have a tattoo. I found out it’s something I don’t want, can you help me cover it up?’’ Mischa Ostberg, an artist based in Ellsworth, Maine, told The Associated Press in an interview. Ostberg, a self-proclaimed ‘baby tattooer’ who has been licensed to ink for just two years, was eager to help.” (11/11/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/how-a-tattoo-artist-got-involved-in-a-nazi-symbol-21161554.php
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16) SpaceX Starlink launch breaks record for Florida spaceport
Source: United Press International
“The SpaceX launch of 29 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit Monday night from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station broke an annual launch record for Florida’s spaceport. Monday’s liftoff was the 94th launch of an orbital class rocket in the state, breaking the previous record set at the end of last year. … Florida’s spaceport — which covers NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station — has seen a significant increase in the number of launches over the last five years, especially with the frequency of flights by SpaceX. The only other rockets to launch from Florida this year were Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, a United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket and three ULA Atlas V rockets.” (11/11/25)
https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2025/11/11/florida-spacex-starlink-launch-record/1881762833095/
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17) Amid tensions with Venezuela, US aircraft carrier moves into Latin America region
Source: New York Post
“The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier moved into Latin American waters Tuesday as the US ramped up its military presence in the region while targeting drug traffickers operating out of Venezuela. The Navy’s 4th Fleet did not specify the Ford’s location Tuesday, but did confirm the vessel was inside the US Southern Command’s (SOUTHCOM) area of responsibility — which includes the waters off Central and South America and the Caribbean Sea. The Ford and its escort of three guided-missile destroyers join eight warships, a nuclear submarine and F-35 aircraft already in the SOUTHCOM region. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the vessels’ presence would ‘bolster US capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland and our security in the Western Hemisphere.'” (11/11/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/11/11/world-news/us-aircraft-carrier-moves-into-latin-america-region-amid-tensions-with-venezuela/
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18) Pakistan: “Suicide bomber” kills at least 12 outside Islamabad court
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“A suicide bomber has set off a blast outside a court building in Islamabad that has killed at least 12 people, according to Pakistan’s interior minister. At least 27 others were injured in the explosion on Tuesday near the entrance of the district court in the Pakistani capital, which is typically crowded with large numbers of people. … As officials investigated the scene in the immediate aftermath, no group had claimed responsibility. However, similar blasts have been carried out by armed groups, including the Pakistan Taliban, also known by the acronym TTP.” (11/11/25)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/11/11/blast-outside-islamabad-court-in-pakistan-injures-at-least-eight
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19) Lawsuit challenges TSA’s ban on transgender officers conducting pat-downs
Source: SFGate
“A Virginia transportation security officer is accusing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security of sex discrimination over a policy that bars transgender officers from performing security screening pat-downs, according to a federal lawsuit. The Transportation Security Administration, which operates under DHS, enacted the policy in February to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order declaring two unchangeable sexes: male and female. According to internal documents explaining the policy change that The Associated Press obtained from four independent sources, including one current and two former TSA workers, ‘transgender officers will no longer engage in pat-down duties, which are conducted based on both the traveler’s and officer’s biological sex. In addition, transgender officers will no longer serve as a TSA-required witness when a traveler elects to have a pat-down conducted in a private screening area.'” (11/11/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/lawsuit-challenges-tsa-s-ban-on-transgender-21164044.php
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20) Trump asks SCOTUS to toss sex abuse verdict
Source: The Hill
“President Trump asked the Supreme Court on Monday to toss a jury’s verdict finding him liable for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll in the mid-1990s, according to the president’s personal legal team. Carroll has taken Trump to trial twice and won a total of $88.3 million in damages, and the petition marks the first time the long-running litigation has reached the justices.” (11/10/25)
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5599298-supreme-court-trump-carroll/
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Congressional Republicans Must Stand Up to the President on Venezuela!
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ron Paul
“I recall when then-President Barack Obama was planning to send troops to enforce his ‘Assad must go’ policy in Syria, many Republican US Senators passionately argued that the US President must come to Congress for approval before sending US troops into combat overseas. At the time, they portrayed themselves as brave defenders of the US Constitution. Last week, when the Senate held a vote to remind President Trump that he is required to seek approval from the Legislative Branch before launching an attack on Venezuela, only two Republican Senators stood up to defend the Constitution. Why? Perhaps because a Republican President was now in office. … We fought a war against George III to negate the ability of a king to take the people to war on his whim. Now, Congress scrambles to abrogate that hard-fought achievement in the name of political expediency.” (11/11/25)
https://original.antiwar.com/paul/2025/11/10/congressional-republicans-must-stand-up-to-the-president-on-venezuela/
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22) The Middle Class is Shrinking — And That’s a Good Thing
Source: Coyote Blog
by Warren Meyer
“Yes the middle class is shrinking — because people in it are becoming richer. They are not (on average, certainly there are individuals who go up and down) getting poorer because the poorest band on this chart is shrinking even faster than the middle class. This is an enormous freaking victory for most everyone, but yet we are electing radical communists to tear down capitalism. Incredible.” (11/11/25)
https://coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2025/11/the-middle-class-is-shrinking-and-thats-a-good-thing.html
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23) Will You Die One Day?
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
“When the truth is ugly, people lie. That’s human nature. Psychologists call this Social Desirability Bias, and it’s the intellectual foundation of my forthcoming Unbeatable: The Brutally Honest Case for Free Markets. But there’s one classic ugly inquiry which, as best as I recall, I’ve never known to be answered with a bald-faced lie. It’s a high-stakes question that children often ask their parents. The question: ‘Will you die one day?’ Faced with this query of existential dread, plenty of parents respond evasively — or just ignore the question.” (11/11/25)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/will-you-die-one-day
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24) The Supreme Court is right to question this trade war
Source: Orange County Register
by Kyle Handley
“At the U.S. Supreme Court last week, the government’s lawyer argued that President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs, issued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), aren’t really taxes at all. ‘The fact that they raise revenue is only incidental,’ he told the Court. ‘The tariffs would be most effective … if no person ever paid them.’ That defense captures the problem with emergency economics: Tariffs that raise no revenue still raise uncertainty. They tax planning, investment, and trust. A tariff no one pays is self-defeating. It deters trade and investment without delivering even the limited fiscal benefit of real revenue. The result is slower growth, higher prices, and weaker supply chains. Chief Justice John Roberts pressed that point, describing the government’s reasoning as ‘two-facing.'” (11/11/25)
https://www.ocregister.com/2025/11/11/the-supreme-court-is-right-to-question-this-trade-war/
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25) Left-Wing Socialism versus Right-Wing Socialism
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“While American progressives celebrate the electoral triumph of self-labeled socialist Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City, American conservatives are lamenting his victory of socialism over right-wing ‘capitalism.’ But the discomforting reality is that although conservatives are loathe to acknowledge the reality of their own mindsets, they are, in principle, as committed to socialism as Mamdani. When it comes to socialism, the difference between Mamdani and conservatives is one of degree, not one of principle. Mamdani simply takes socialism further than conservatives do.” (11/11/25)
https://www.fff.org/2025/11/11/left-wing-socialism-versus-right-wing-socialism/
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26) This Is All Our Rulers Are Offering Us
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Pentagon contractor Elon Musk, currently the richest person alive, has posted a video clip showing off how people can use his AI video generation tool Grok Imagine to create the image of a woman’s face saying ‘I will always love you.’ The AI-generated clip looks fake and creepy, and everything about Musk’s post is downright depressing. But it’s not quite as fake, creepy and depressing as the capitalist dystopia which birthed it. … The underlying argument for continuing with the capitalism experiment even though it’s destroying our ecosystem is that these megabillionaires will save us all with green energy and carry humanity’s surplus population out into the stars to colonize the galaxy, which is a terrible vision for the future in and of itself. But that isn’t even happening.” (11/11/25)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2025/11/11/this-is-all-our-rulers-are-offering-us/
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27) Once again Congress fails to rein in Trump, leaving SCOTUS to consider doing it
Source: USA Today
by Dace Potas
“The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Nov. 5 in a case challenging the validity of President Donald Trump’s tariff authority. After listening to those arguments, a few things are clear. The tariff authority belongs to Congress, and in the cases that its members delegate that authority, they are clear about doing so. Trump cites imprecise language, not meant to authorize tariffs, bent to meet his needs. Congress should have stepped in to clarify that authority, but instead, the Supreme Court is once again forced to answer questions borne from congressional inaction. The Supreme Court should curb Trump’s tariff authority, even if the president will lash out at the justices for doing so.” (11/11/25)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2025/11/11/trump-tariffs-supreme-court-arguments-congress-failure/87140297007/
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28) Trade and Status
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“Many years ago I noticed that being paid to give a speech felt better than being paid to be a professor even though it was much less money. My payment for a speech was by people who wanted to hear it. My pay as a professor was decided by administrators, only indirectly by the students who were the consumers of what I was producing. It felt to my intuition less real, less something I deserved. I got the same pleasure out of collecting royalties when my books were first published. A friend and fellow professor who was also a serious gambler, a card counter at blackjack, told me that the money he got the most pleasure from was money he won from other players in open combat. I conclude that for me, perhaps for many others, being paid for something cuts both ways.” (11/11/25)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/trade-and-status
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29) On Veterans Day and Beyond, Resisting and Healing From Violence
Source: TomDispatch
by Kelly Denton-Borhaug
“It’s been a while since I’ve written for TomDispatch, and there’s a reason for that. About 16 months ago, I experienced a catastrophic car crash. An SUV veered across the double yellow line of the highway I was traveling on and hit my little Chevy Spark head-on — on the driver’s side. I’ve been told that I’m lucky to be alive. I was left with multiple injuries and have been on the slow road to recovery. I’ve always seen myself as a person who pushes forward to overcome obstacles. Since the collision, however, doing so has become more complicated, because I’m learning that recovery is a long road, filled with detours I couldn’t have predicted. Time and again, my expectations have been turned upside down. I’ve had to take deep breaths, sit back, and pay close attention.” (11/11/25)
https://tomdispatch.com/military-moral-injury-violence-and-the-parable-of-the-guinea-worm/
-----
30) Will Taiwan Make Noise in Trump’s Second Term?
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Ted Galen Carpenter
“President Donald Trump professed to be extremely pleased with the results of his recent summit meeting with Xi Jinping in South Korea. Indeed, with his typical hyperbole, he rated it ‘a 12 out of 10.’ Trump expressed special satisfaction with the conclusion of new trade agreements that significantly eased bilateral economic tensions between the United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). In what amounted to a casual comment, he also stated that he had received a pledge from Xi that the PRC would not take any military action to change Taiwan’s political status during the remainder of Trump’s term. Interestingly, neither the United States nor PRC documents summarizing the summit indicated that the Taiwan issue was discussed at all — a very surprising omission given the usual importance of the topic.” (11/11/25)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/will-taiwan-make-noise-in-trumps-second-term
-----
31) Democrats despair as colleagues cave on Schumer shutdown
Source: New York Post
by staff
“The shutdown’s uselessness is demonstrated by the fury of those who want it to keep it going (and indeed are still delaying the Senate’s final floor vote). ‘People want us to hold the line,’ thundered Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Bx-Queens), furious that eight of her Senate colleagues crossed the aisle to get the government working again (at least until January). Who to blame for the sanity caucus quashing the six-week tantrum? Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-Brooklyn) of course. Sure he voted to keep the shutdown going, but he’s friends with the ‘traitors’ and failed to make them obey the demands of the Trump-deranged.” (11/10/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/11/10/opinion/democrats-despair-as-colleagues-cave-on-schumer-shutdown/
-----
32) 2025 Shutdown Ends Amid Hemp Cronyism
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey
“Senate defeats Rand Paul’s amendment protecting Kentucky hemp farmers. ACA enhanced premium subsidies expire in bipartisan vote. ACA regular subsidies remain.” (11/11/25)
https://palmbeachexaminer.substack.com/p/2025-shutdown-ends-amid-hemp-cronyism
-----
33) Democrats Can Win Back Trump Voters, If They Don’t Blow It
Source: Common Dreams
by Martin Burns
“While the media has covered extensively Democratic successes in the 2025 off-year elections, there is one story that has been dramatically undercovered. This is the fact that the 2025 Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races show that Democrats can win over Trump voters. Granted, these are not dramatic slices of the Trump coalition, but they are enough in these hyper-polarized times to win elections. According to CNN polling, in New Jersey Rep. Mikie Sherrill in her race for governor was able to win 7% of those who had voted for Donald Trump in 2024. Interestingly, the Virginia exit polling data shows that Rep. Abigail Spanberger won the identical (7%) of Trump voters.” (11/11/25)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/dems-win-back-trump-voters
-----
34) Applaud All Market-Made Millions
Source: EconLog
by Christopher Freiman
“In the NFL offseason, star running back Saquon Barkley signed a $40 million contract extension with the Philadelphia Eagles. Make no mistake, he earned it after rushing for 2,005 yards in the regular season and helping to bring another Lombardi Trophy to Philadelphia. I’m not alone in thinking this. As one sports writer put the point, ‘He deserves it … Barkley is easy to root for, not only because he can jump backward over people, but also because he works hard, he’s kind, and he’s a great teammate.’ Rarely does anyone argue that it’s morally wrong for a football player, or other performer, to earn tens of millions of dollars. But if a CEO earns the same amount, it’s greed, exploitation, or a symptom of the ills of late-stage capitalism.” (11/11/25)
https://www.econlib.org/econlog/applaud-all-market-made-millions/
-----
35) Drawing Delinquency Down
Source: Law & Liberty
by Marc A Levin
“Americans frequently disagree over how to respond to crime, and partisan agendas sometimes lead to imprudent policy decisions, whether seen in progressive prosecutors’ refusal to charge certain offenses or in the dispatching of the military to American cities. Yet beyond the headlines, the New Right’s growing concern about the fate of the family provides a fresh opportunity for left and right to find common ground on preventing crime, particularly juvenile delinquency. The right has an opportunity to bolster families and help young men to thrive, while staying true to the fusionist alliance between traditional conservatives and libertarians.” (11/11/25)
https://lawliberty.org/drawing-delinquency-down/
-----
36) On Veterans’ Day, Remember the Lies That Filled Military Cemeteries
Source: JimBovard.com
by James Bovard
“Politicians will be heartily applauded for saluting American’s soldiers today. But if citizens had better memories, elected officials would instead be fleeing tar and feathers. Politicians have a long record of betraying the veterans they valorize.” (originally published 11/11/28; re-posted 11/11/25)
https://jimbovard.com/blog/2025/11/11/on-veterans-day-remember-the-lies-that-filled-military-cemeteries/
-----
37) Why AI matters for every veteran
Source: Fox News
by Paul Nakasone
“For more than three decades, I had the honor of serving our country in uniform. I led soldiers at home and abroad. I commanded U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency through some of the most complex technological shifts in our history. But the transition that came after my time in uniform came to an end was its own kind of mission. The structure, tempo and identity that comes with military service doesn’t simply disappear when you step out of it. The day you enter civilian life, you begin a new chapter – and you’re expected to write it while you’re living it. Every year, more than 200,000 service members make that same transition. And nearly half of post-9/11 veterans say it was harder than they expected – not because they lack discipline or talent, but because translating your experience into civilian terms can be difficult.” (11/11/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/why-ai-matters-every-veteran
-----
38) Trump doesn’t need to buy Saudi loyalty with a security pact
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Christopher Preble & Will Smith
“The United States and Saudi Arabia are reportedly in talks over a pledge ‘similar to [the] recent security agreement the United States made with Qatar,’ with a ‘Qatar-plus’ security commitment expected to be announced during a visit to the White House by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) on November 18. Together, these developments suggest a troubling belief that handing out security guarantees is a quick, cost-free way to reassure anxious partners and ensure their alignment with U.S. priorities. That belief is mistaken. A U.S.–Saudi defense pact would be unnecessary, risky, and unlikely to achieve its unclear aims. Rather than revive the misguided Biden administration initiative, the Trump administration should shelve the idea once and for all.” (11/11/25)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-saudi-arabia-security-pact/
-----
39) The Nostalgic Delusion of 1989
Source: Foreign Policy
by Carlos Ruiz-Hernández
“The U.S. military buildup around Venezuela has drawn comparisons to past regime change in Panama. But Washington cannot invade its way to democracy in Caracas.” (11/11/25)
https://archive.is/ncFrI
-----
40) Paleoconservatism: Hard-Right Zombies Rule
Source: CounterPunch
by David Rosen
“Donald Trump secured the presidency by forging a scary coalition of conservative forces and effectively playing upon many Americans worst fears. His coalition includes his MAGA base and Christian nationalists; ‘free market’ business opportunists and Silicon Valley billionaires; and ‘limited’ government advocates, be it for domestic programs or foreign involvements. The most conservative force in Trump’s coalition is known as ‘paleoconservatism’ – aka ‘paleocons.’ They advocate for a strong market economy, a shrunken federal government, restricted immigration and limited foreign involvement (unless it benefits national interests) as well as strong Christian values, the patriarchal family and a white America.” (11/11/25)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/11/11/paleoconservatism-hard-right-zombies-rule/
-----
41) One Weird Trick to Get Rid of Chuck Schumer
Source: The American Prospect
by Whitney Curry Wimbish
“Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) has to go. That’s the conclusion of multiple Democratic groups, House members, and candidates after Schumer oversaw his caucus implode ahead of passing a continuing resolution to fund the government with nothing more than a meaningless promise on the Affordable Care Act subsidies. Preserving health care was the whole point of the government shutdown; Democrats and workers nationwide begged Schumer to hold the line. Now, they say he has disappointed them for the last time. No Senate Democrats have joined their colleagues in seeking Schumer’s resignation and none responded to requests for comment from the Prospect. But every single one of them has the power to force a vote on Schumer’s continued control of the caucus.” (11/11/25)
https://prospect.org/2025/11/11/one-weird-trick-to-get-rid-of-chuck-schumer/
-----
42) Exploiting MAGA Sentiments to Back Nigerian Intervention
Source: The American Conservative
by Scott Greer
“We intervened in Somalia, Iraq, Libya, and elsewhere based in large part on humanitarian arguments. America was supposed to make these countries safer and protect minorities from oppression. Instead, our interventions turned local crises into humanitarian nightmares and demonstrated we can’t solve these issues. We, in fact, made them worse. Take for instance what happened to Iraqi Christians following Operation Shock and Awe in 2003: Thousands of them were murdered and over a million fled the country. One of the oldest Christian populations in the world now stands close to extinction. It’s unlikely intervention in Nigeria will be any different from these past failures.” (11/11/25)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/exploiting-maga-sentiments-to-back-nigerian-intervention/
-----
43) The sandwich man walks, and Trump nets a bagel
Source: The Hill
by James D Zirin
“You remember the case of the sandwich man. He’s the 37-year-old former Department of Justice paralegal, Sean Dunn, who was captured on video throwing a salami sub straight at the buff chest of a federal agent. Dunn was protesting the deployment of National Guard troops on the streets of the nation’s capital. When I was in college, more years ago than I care to remember, the sandwich du jour was called a ‘Hero.’ And, if I were president, I would rename all salami subs ‘Heroes’ in Dunn’s honor. After all, Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America and it appears that being president gives you unbounded naming opportunities. … It is notable that the trial began on Nov. 3, National Sandwich Day.” (1/11/25)
https://thehill.com/opinion/criminal-justice/5598495-federal-agent-salami-assault/
-----
44) Scandal or coup or what?
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
“We constantly fail to learn from history: even recent history. But especially from ancient history. Especially when it comes to doing nasty things, like overthrowing republics, enslaving people, and pushing tyranny. From dynastic conflicts and conspiracies in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, through the checkered and sickening history of Greek city-states and Phoenician/Carthaginian tyrants, to Rome, France, England and all the way to 2025, we know that power corrupts, that absolute power corrupts absolutely, but that even a little power can and usually does corrupt those who hold it. Especially when it is stolen.” (11/10/25)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2025/11/10/scandal-or-coup-or-what/
-----
45) A Virtuous, Limited Government Would Have Prevented a Shutdown
Source: Town Hall
by Mark Lewis
“I don’t especially like Republicans, and I certainly don’t like Democrats. I’m not a fan of government, period, though I realize that, because there are people called ‘Democrats’ on this earth (and other such vile creatures), government is ‘a necessary evil,’ often intolerable, and it has, by far, killed, tortured, oppressed, and robbed from more people, and been the most barbaric institution man has ever created. And it still is. Our government shutdown has finally ended. I, frankly, hoped the government would never open again. If it hadn’t, people would have had to start doing what God and our Founding Fathers intended them to do in the first place: take care of themselves, with families, individuals, and churches.” (11/11/25)
https://townhall.com/columnists/marklewis/2025/11/11/a-virtuous-limited-government-would-have-prevented-a-shutdown-n2666215
-----
46) Trump’s Tariffs in Trouble
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Ethan Savka
“After a long and hostile oral argument, President Trump’s tariffs, predicated on the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), are sinking under the weight of the administration’s own arguments. Their eventual demise brightens America’s constitutional and economic future.” (11/10/25)
https://fee.org/articles/trumps-tariffs-in-trouble/
-----
47) The Blaze’s Pipe-Bomb Bombshell Appears to Bomb
Source: The Bulwark
by Will Sommer
“The right-wing outlet claimed to solve the Jan. 6th pipe-bomb mystery. Things quickly looked less certain.” (11/10/25)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/the-blaze-right-wing-media-pipe-bomb-january-6th
-----
48) How to Confront Highbrow Misinformation
Source: Persuasion
by Dan Williams
“When confronted with the growing popularity of populist, extremist, and generally destructive ideas over the past decade or so, many establishment politicians, journalists, and experts have blamed ‘misinformation’ (see also ‘disinformation,’ ‘fake news’ ‘information disorder,’ and ‘post-truth’). Although this narrative comes in different forms, it typically involves three core ideas: (1) misinformation is widespread, (2) it is much worse than in the recent past, and (3) it is highly impactful in driving worrying political trends and developments. But there is much to question about this narrative.” (11/10/25)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/how-to-confront-highbrow-misinformation
-----
49) Dropkick Murphys’ Ken Casey Wants You to Wake the Fuck Up
Source: In These Times
by Kim Kelly
“Ken Casey carries himself like a man who has no interest in looking for a fight but would have no problem finishing one if the need arose. Glancing at his silvered hair and faded tattoos, you might even assume the stocky musician’s street-fighting days are over now that he’s in his fifties. But you’d be wrong. Right now, Casey’s focused on using everything he’s learned to fight fascism by whatever means possible. As far as he’s concerned, ‘There is no neutral. If you’re neutral, you’re on the wrong side.’ As the kinetic frontman and sole remaining founding member of the Irish American ’Celtic punk’ band Dropkick Murphys, Casey is more likely to be found speaking to crowds of rowdy concertgoers in defense of immigrant rights, in support of Ukraine, and criticizing the Trump regime than bloodying his knuckles, but the man could never be accused of going soft.” (11/11/25)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/dropkick-murphys-ken-casey-wants-you-to-wake-the-f-ck-up
-----
50) Snipers, censorship, and unaccountability: Indiana University’s free speech crisis
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by William Harris
“‘I had a sniper gun pointed at me when trying to defend a protest that was in compliance with school policies.’ The student who wrote that line in FIRE’s annual free speech survey wasn’t using a metaphor. They were describing a spring afternoon in 2024 at Indiana University’s Dunn Meadow … when officers with rifles took positions on the roof of the Indiana Memorial Union over the heads of student protesters. Indiana State Police later confirmed they had positioned officers ‘with sniper capabilities’ on rooftops. The night before, administrators had convened an ad hoc meeting that rewrote IU’s Outdoor Spaces policy to require approval for structures that had long been permitted. By morning, a peaceful protest was recast as a policy violation. By noon, state police had taken a ‘closed sniper position’ above the lawn.” (11/10/25)
https://www.thefire.org/news/snipers-censorship-and-unaccountability-indiana-universitys-free-speech-crisis
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 11/11/25
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Trump’s Foreign Policy Is An Anti-American Disaster.” (11/11/25)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/blog/the-kyle-anzalone-show-trumps-foreign-policy-is-an-anti-american-disaster
-----
52) Trump Watch, 11/11/25
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“President Trump’s Wars on Trade and Drugs.” (11/11/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6pFqdPA7N8
-----
53) The Bryan Hyde Show, 11/11/25
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
“One thing I appreciate about my weekly chat with Eric Peters from Eric Peters Autos is that he’s the kind of friend who will tell you the truth as opposed to what you want to hear. We all need a friend like that.” (11/11/25)
https://www.podbean.com/ep/pb-frzf4-19bdc55
-----
54) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 11/11/25
Source: The New Republic
“Trump’s Rage at Shutdown Boils Over in Rant That Should Wake Up Dems.” (11/11/25)
https://newrepublic.com/article/202994/trump-rage-shutdown-boils-rant-wake-dems
-----
55) Fountainhead Forum, episode 387
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Chris Baker on Mann Sharma’s Rational Frontier.” (11/11/25)
https://rumble.com/v71jrv8-ff-387-chris-baker-on-mann-sharmas-rational-frontier.html
-----
56) Advisory Opinions, 11/11/25
Source: The Dispatch
“Sarah Isgur and David French recap the Federalist Society’s antisemitism panel at last week’s National Lawyers Conference before interviewing Judge Jennifer Elrod about the judicial funding crisis.” (11/11/25)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/advisoryopinions/the-federalist-society-takes-a-stand/
-----
57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 11/11/25
Source: Antiwar.com
“US Bombs Somalia for 90th Time This Year, Trump Hosts Former Al Qaeda Chief at White House, and More.” (11/11/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TteSeWQ6OJI
-----
58) Quillette Podcast, episode 311
Source: Quillette
“Finding Humour in Dark Places.” (11/10/25)
https://quillette.com/2025/11/10/podcast-311-finding-humour-in-dark-places/
-----
59) Finding Freedom, 11/10/25
Source: Lions of Liberty
“Movement. Lymphatic Activation. Energy. 50 Day Challenge to End 2025.” (11/10/25)
https://www.lionsofliberty.com/episodes/ff-movement-lymphatic-activation-energy-50-day-challenge-to-end-2025
-----
60) TechTank, season 5, episode 30
Source: Brookings Institution
“Why data centers are important for AI.” (11/10/25)
https://shows.acast.com/tech-tank/episodes/why-data-centers-are-important-for-ai
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Today's Freedom News:
0) Getting a Move On (Literally) -- Year-End Fundraiser Update
1) Russian regime says ready to resume Istanbul peace talks with Ukrainian regime
2) Chinese regime accuses US regime of carrying out $13 billion bitcoin hack
3) SCOTUS extends brief stay on SNAP payments as shutdown deal nears
4) Palestine: Israeli squatters attack West Bank villages
5) Watchdog group asks for investigation into Lindsey Halligan over Comey, James cases
6) Astronomers detect first “radio signal” from interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS — but it wasn’t aliens
7) China: 2,500 foot Hongqi bridge collapses during landslide just months after opening
8) Shutdown deal lets senators sue for $500,000 over data seizures like those in January 6 probe
9) UC Berkeley chaos outside TPUSA gathering ends in multiple arrests as conservative event runs smoothly
10) Turkish military plane crashes in Georgia with at least 20 on board
11) Top diplomats from G7 countries meet in Canada as trade tensions rise with Trump
12) Hamdi to be released following ICE gang abduction, family say
13) Venezuela: Military preparing guerrilla response in case of US attack
14) Yemen: Houthis signal that they’ve stopped attacks on Israel and Red Sea shipping
15) ME: Tattoo artist finds herself in an unexpected role in Senate race
16) SpaceX Starlink launch breaks record for Florida spaceport
17) Amid tensions with Venezuela, US aircraft carrier moves into Latin America region
18) Pakistan: “Suicide bomber” kills at least 12 outside Islamabad court
19) Lawsuit challenges TSA’s ban on transgender officers conducting pat-downs
20) Trump asks SCOTUS to toss sex abuse verdict
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Congressional Republicans Must Stand Up to the President on Venezuela!
22) The Middle Class is Shrinking — And That’s a Good Thing
23) Will You Die One Day?
24) The Supreme Court is right to question this trade war
25) Left-Wing Socialism versus Right-Wing Socialism
26) This Is All Our Rulers Are Offering Us
27) Once again Congress fails to rein in Trump, leaving SCOTUS to consider doing it
28) Trade and Status
29) On Veterans Day and Beyond, Resisting and Healing From Violence
30) Will Taiwan Make Noise in Trump’s Second Term?
31) Democrats despair as colleagues cave on Schumer shutdown
32) 2025 Shutdown Ends Amid Hemp Cronyism
33) Democrats Can Win Back Trump Voters, If They Don’t Blow It
34) Applaud All Market-Made Millions
35) Drawing Delinquency Down
36) On Veterans’ Day, Remember the Lies That Filled Military Cemeteries
37) Why AI matters for every veteran
38) Trump doesn’t need to buy Saudi loyalty with a security pact
39) The Nostalgic Delusion of 1989
40) Paleoconservatism: Hard-Right Zombies Rule
41) One Weird Trick to Get Rid of Chuck Schumer
42) Exploiting MAGA Sentiments to Back Nigerian Intervention
43) The sandwich man walks, and Trump nets a bagel
44) Scandal or coup or what?
45) A Virtuous, Limited Government Would Have Prevented a Shutdown
46) Trump’s Tariffs in Trouble
47) The Blaze’s Pipe-Bomb Bombshell Appears to Bomb
48) How to Confront Highbrow Misinformation
49) Dropkick Murphys’ Ken Casey Wants You to Wake the Fuck Up
50) Snipers, censorship, and unaccountability: Indiana University’s free speech crisis
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 11/11/25
52) Trump Watch, 11/11/25
53) The Bryan Hyde Show, 11/11/25
54) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 11/11/25
55) Fountainhead Forum, episode 387
56) Advisory Opinions, 11/11/25
57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 11/11/25
58) Quillette Podcast, episode 311
59) Finding Freedom, 11/10/25
60) TechTank, season 5, episode 30
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0) Getting a Move On (Literally) -- Year-End Fundraiser Update
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After nearly 12 years of renting (since we moved to Florida from Missouri at the beginning of 2013 for my wife's job), we're buying a house! "Closing" is this afternoon, and while we have until the end of the year to vacate our rental, we'll at least TRY to move quickly.
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-----
1) Russian regime says ready to resume Istanbul peace talks with Ukrainian regime
Sourcee: Firstpost [India]
“Russia is ready to resume peace talks with Ukraine in Turkey, state-run TASS news agency has quoted a foreign ministry official as saying. ‘The Russian team is ready for this, the ball is in the Ukrainian court,’ TASS quoted Alexei Polishchuk as saying. Russia and Ukraine have had multiple rounds of talks in Istanbul, but those talks did not lead to any breakthrough. No meeting has been scheduled since the last meeting in July.” (11/12/25)
https://www.firstpost.com/world/russia-ready-to-resume-istanbul-peace-talks-with-ukraine-foreign-ministry-official-13950021.html
-----
2) Chinese regime accuses US regime of carrying out $13 billion bitcoin hack
SourceL Nikkei Asia [Japan]
“China has accused the U.S. government of carrying out a cyberattack that led to the theft of over $13 billion in bitcoin, as disputes over digital assets ratchet up tensions between Beijing and Washington. According to China’s National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center (CVERC), Washington was behind the December 2020 hack that stole 127,272 bitcoin from LuBian, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency miners. The bitcoin belonged to Chen Zhi, the agency said in a report, referring to the Chinese-born Cambodian tycoon who is the founder and chairman of Prince Group. … The U.S. Department of Justice indicted Chen in October on charges of wire fraud and money laundering. The DOJ said Chen directed operations at forced labor scam centers across Cambodia under his business empire. It also announced the forfeiture of 127,271 bitcoin, the largest seizure of its kind in history for any country.” (11/12/25)
https://archive.is/N3QSB
-----
3) SCOTUS extends brief stay on SNAP payments as shutdown deal nears
Source: CBS News
“With Congress on the brink of a deal to end the government shutdown, the Supreme Court has agreed to let the political process play out and keep in place a brief pause of a federal court judge’s ruling that ordered the Trump administration to fully fund SNAP benefits in November. About 42 million Americans rely on food aid from SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. On Friday, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson had granted a stay on behalf of the Court, blocking the lower court’s order that the administration transfer some $4 billion from other food security programs to SNAP payments. That Supreme Court stay was set to expire late Tuesday night, but will now stay in place until 11:59 p.m. ET Thursday.” (11/11/25)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme-court-extends-stay-on-snap-payments-in-government-shutdown/
-----
4) Palestine: Israeli squatters attack West Bank villages
Source: Yahoo! News
“Dozens of masked Israeli [squatters] attacked a pair of Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, setting fire to vehicles and other property before clashing with Israeli soldiers sent to halt the rampage, Israeli and Palestinian officials said. It was the latest in a series of attacks by young [squatters] in the West Bank. Israeli police said four Israelis were arrested in what it described as ‘extremist violence,’ while the Israeli military said four Palestinians were wounded. Police and Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency said they were investigating.” (11/11/25)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/tens-thousands-israelis-attend-funeral-090515667.html
-----
5) Watchdog group asks for investigation into Lindsey Halligan over Comey, James cases
Source: The Hill
“A government watchdog group has asked two different bar associations to investigate Lindsey Halligan, a former personal attorney for President Trump whom he tapped to lead prosecutions of two of his foes. Halligan, who is currently serving as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia on an interim basis, took over the role after a career prosecutor resigned from it amid questions over whether there was sufficient evidence to bring charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James (D). The complaints, filed by the Campaign for Accountability, asks the bar in both Florida and Virginia to probe misconduct they argue spans bringing charges not supported by probable cause to speaking about the case with a reporter.” (11/11/25)
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5600737-halligan-james-comey-letitia-james-campaign-for-accountability/
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6) Astronomers detect first “radio signal” from interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS — but it wasn’t aliens
Source: Live Science
“Astronomers have detected the first-ever ‘radio signal’ coming from the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, right as it passed the halfway mark on its oneway trip through the solar system. And while this may seem like ostensible proof of the comet’s supposed alien origins — it’s actually the complete opposite. … the signals did not have a technological origin. Instead, they are the result of specific wavelength absorption related to the presence of hydroxyl radicals, or OH molecules, in the comet’s coma. These radicals are formed by the breakdown of water molecules as they are ejected from the comet via a natural process known as outgassing, which is a clear sign of cometary activity, according to a 2016 study.” (11/11/25)
https://www.livescience.com/space/comets/astronomers-detect-first-radio-signal-from-interstellar-comet-3i-atlas-but-it-wasnt-aliens
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7) China: 2,500 foot Hongqi bridge collapses during landslide just months after opening
Source: The Mirror
“Part of a newly opened bridge collapsed in China’s Sichuan province on Tuesday after authorities closed it to all traffic the previous day when cracks appeared on nearby hills and roads. The Hongqi bridge, part of a national highway connecting China to neighboring Tibet, was a 2,500-foot structure that had been in operation for less than a year. Video of the collapse showed a landslide of rock and debris pouring onto the bridge until part of it crumbled into the river below in a plume of dust. Authorities did not report any casualties.” (11/11/25)
https://www.themirror.com/news/world-news/breaking-2500-foot-hongqi-bridge-1499557
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8) Shutdown deal lets senators sue for $500,000 over data seizures like those in January 6 probe
Source: CBS News
“A provision of the legislative package that would end the government shutdown allows senators to bring lawsuits if federal law enforcement seizes or subpoenas their data without notifying them, with potential damages of $500,000 for each violation. The language appears to allow GOP senators to sue over steps that the Justice Department took during special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into President Trump related to the 2020 election. In October, Senate Republicans revealed an FBI document that showed investigators had obtained phone record data from eight senators and one congressman for calls they made in the days before and after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The records were obtained pursuant to a subpoena in 2023, and the new legislation covers alleged violations dating back to 2022.” (11/11/25)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/government-shutdown-senate-lawsuits-500k-january-6/
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9) UC Berkeley chaos outside TPUSA gathering ends in multiple arrests as conservative event runs smoothly
Source: Fox News
“At least eight people were arrested Monday in relation to a Turning Point USA event held on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. Four of the arrestees were students at the university, according to The Daily Californian, which omitted the suspects’ names from its report. They were described as females between the ages of 20 and 22. Each was reportedly charged with felony vandalism. Santa Rita County Jail records show four women who fit that description were arrested on Monday. Fox News Digital is awaiting confirmation of their identities from authorities, but UC Berkeley Assistant Vice Chancellor of Public Affairs Dan Mogulof confirmed the arrests. Mogulof told Fox News Digital that they were arrested early Monday morning overnight.” (11/11/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/us/uc-berkeley-chaos-outside-turning-point-gathering-ends-multiple-arrests-conservative-event-runs-smoothly
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10) Turkish military plane crashes in Georgia with at least 20 on board
Source: Reuters
“A Turkish C-130 military cargo plane crashed in Georgia after taking off from Azerbaijan on Tuesday, prompting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to offer condolences for ‘our martyrs’ as search and rescue crews headed for the scene. Turkey’s defence ministry announced the crash, near Georgia’s border with Azerbaijan, and said it was coordinating with Georgian authorities to reach the site.” (11/11/25)
https://archive.is/ilD8C
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11) Top diplomats from G7 countries meet in Canada as trade tensions rise with Trump
Source: SFGate
“Top diplomats from the Group of Seven industrialized democracies are converging on southern Ontario as tensions rise between the U.S. and traditional allies like Canada over defense spending, trade and uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan in Gaza and efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war. Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said in an interview with The Associated Press that ‘the relationship has to continue across a range of issues’ despite trade pressures as she prepared to host U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and their counterparts from Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Japan on Tuesday and Wednesday. Anand also invited the foreign ministers of Australia, Brazil, India, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, South Korea, South Africa and Ukraine. She said ’15 foreign ministers are coming from around the world to the Great White North and funnily enough on the week of our first large snowfall.'” (11/11/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/top-diplomats-from-g7-countries-meet-in-canada-as-21160939.php
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12) Hamdi to be released following ICE gang abduction, family say
Source: Independent [UK]
“British journalist and commentator Sami Hamdi is to be released and returned to the UK after being [abducted] by ICE. The activist and outspoken critic of Israel’s military action in Gaza was [abducted] by US immigration agents at San Francisco International Airport on 26 October. Mr Hamdi had spoken at a gala for chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, in California and was heading to Florida for another event prior to his arrest.” (11/10/25)
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/sami-hamdi-released-ice-detention-immigration-trump-b2862443.html
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13) Venezuela: Military preparing guerrilla response in case of US attack
Source: Reuters
“Venezuela is deploying weapons, including decades-old Russian-made equipment, and is planning to mount a guerrilla-style resistance or sow chaos in the event of a U.S. air or ground attack, according to sources with knowledge of the efforts and planning documents seen by Reuters. The approach is a tacit admission of the South American country’s shortage of personnel and equipment. U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested the possibility of ground operations in Venezuela, saying ‘the land is going to be next’ following multiple strikes on alleged drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and a large U.S. military build-up in the region. He later denied he was considering strikes inside Venezuela.” (11/11/25)
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/venezuelan-military-preparing-guerrilla-response-case-us-attack-2025-11-11/
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14) Yemen: Houthis signal that they’ve stopped attacks on Israel and Red Sea shipping
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“Yemen’s Houthi rebels [sic] are signalling they’ve stopped their attacks against Israel and shipping in the Red Sea as a shaky ceasefire holds in the Gaza Strip. In an undated letter to Hamas’ Qassam Brigades published online by the group, the Houthis offered their clearest signal that their attacks have halted. ‘We are closely monitoring developments and declare that if the enemy resumes its aggression against Gaza, we will return to our military operations deep inside the Zionist entity, and we will reinstate the ban on Israeli navigation in the Red and Arabian Seas,’ reads the letter from Maj.-Gen. Yusuf Hassan al-Madani, the Houthi military’s chief of staff.” (11/11/25)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/yemen-houthi-rebels-attacks-stop-red-sea-9.6974532
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15) ME: Tattoo artist finds herself in an unexpected role in Senate race
Source: SFGate
“Graham Platner was looking for a cover-up. Nearly 20 years ago, the Maine Democrat soldier drunkenly selected a skull and crossbones design while out on leave with his fellow Marines in Croatia. It wasn’t until several weeks into his campaign for a key U.S. Senate seat that Platner says he discovered that the design was recognized as a Nazi symbol. Rather than wait through multiple sessions of laser removal, Platner called a friend to help him get rid of it. ‘It was a phone call like: ‘Hey, I have a tattoo. I found out it’s something I don’t want, can you help me cover it up?’’ Mischa Ostberg, an artist based in Ellsworth, Maine, told The Associated Press in an interview. Ostberg, a self-proclaimed ‘baby tattooer’ who has been licensed to ink for just two years, was eager to help.” (11/11/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/how-a-tattoo-artist-got-involved-in-a-nazi-symbol-21161554.php
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16) SpaceX Starlink launch breaks record for Florida spaceport
Source: United Press International
“The SpaceX launch of 29 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit Monday night from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station broke an annual launch record for Florida’s spaceport. Monday’s liftoff was the 94th launch of an orbital class rocket in the state, breaking the previous record set at the end of last year. … Florida’s spaceport — which covers NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station — has seen a significant increase in the number of launches over the last five years, especially with the frequency of flights by SpaceX. The only other rockets to launch from Florida this year were Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, a United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket and three ULA Atlas V rockets.” (11/11/25)
https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2025/11/11/florida-spacex-starlink-launch-record/1881762833095/
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17) Amid tensions with Venezuela, US aircraft carrier moves into Latin America region
Source: New York Post
“The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier moved into Latin American waters Tuesday as the US ramped up its military presence in the region while targeting drug traffickers operating out of Venezuela. The Navy’s 4th Fleet did not specify the Ford’s location Tuesday, but did confirm the vessel was inside the US Southern Command’s (SOUTHCOM) area of responsibility — which includes the waters off Central and South America and the Caribbean Sea. The Ford and its escort of three guided-missile destroyers join eight warships, a nuclear submarine and F-35 aircraft already in the SOUTHCOM region. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the vessels’ presence would ‘bolster US capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland and our security in the Western Hemisphere.'” (11/11/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/11/11/world-news/us-aircraft-carrier-moves-into-latin-america-region-amid-tensions-with-venezuela/
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18) Pakistan: “Suicide bomber” kills at least 12 outside Islamabad court
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“A suicide bomber has set off a blast outside a court building in Islamabad that has killed at least 12 people, according to Pakistan’s interior minister. At least 27 others were injured in the explosion on Tuesday near the entrance of the district court in the Pakistani capital, which is typically crowded with large numbers of people. … As officials investigated the scene in the immediate aftermath, no group had claimed responsibility. However, similar blasts have been carried out by armed groups, including the Pakistan Taliban, also known by the acronym TTP.” (11/11/25)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/11/11/blast-outside-islamabad-court-in-pakistan-injures-at-least-eight
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19) Lawsuit challenges TSA’s ban on transgender officers conducting pat-downs
Source: SFGate
“A Virginia transportation security officer is accusing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security of sex discrimination over a policy that bars transgender officers from performing security screening pat-downs, according to a federal lawsuit. The Transportation Security Administration, which operates under DHS, enacted the policy in February to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order declaring two unchangeable sexes: male and female. According to internal documents explaining the policy change that The Associated Press obtained from four independent sources, including one current and two former TSA workers, ‘transgender officers will no longer engage in pat-down duties, which are conducted based on both the traveler’s and officer’s biological sex. In addition, transgender officers will no longer serve as a TSA-required witness when a traveler elects to have a pat-down conducted in a private screening area.'” (11/11/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/lawsuit-challenges-tsa-s-ban-on-transgender-21164044.php
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20) Trump asks SCOTUS to toss sex abuse verdict
Source: The Hill
“President Trump asked the Supreme Court on Monday to toss a jury’s verdict finding him liable for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll in the mid-1990s, according to the president’s personal legal team. Carroll has taken Trump to trial twice and won a total of $88.3 million in damages, and the petition marks the first time the long-running litigation has reached the justices.” (11/10/25)
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5599298-supreme-court-trump-carroll/
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Congressional Republicans Must Stand Up to the President on Venezuela!
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ron Paul
“I recall when then-President Barack Obama was planning to send troops to enforce his ‘Assad must go’ policy in Syria, many Republican US Senators passionately argued that the US President must come to Congress for approval before sending US troops into combat overseas. At the time, they portrayed themselves as brave defenders of the US Constitution. Last week, when the Senate held a vote to remind President Trump that he is required to seek approval from the Legislative Branch before launching an attack on Venezuela, only two Republican Senators stood up to defend the Constitution. Why? Perhaps because a Republican President was now in office. … We fought a war against George III to negate the ability of a king to take the people to war on his whim. Now, Congress scrambles to abrogate that hard-fought achievement in the name of political expediency.” (11/11/25)
https://original.antiwar.com/paul/2025/11/10/congressional-republicans-must-stand-up-to-the-president-on-venezuela/
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22) The Middle Class is Shrinking — And That’s a Good Thing
Source: Coyote Blog
by Warren Meyer
“Yes the middle class is shrinking — because people in it are becoming richer. They are not (on average, certainly there are individuals who go up and down) getting poorer because the poorest band on this chart is shrinking even faster than the middle class. This is an enormous freaking victory for most everyone, but yet we are electing radical communists to tear down capitalism. Incredible.” (11/11/25)
https://coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2025/11/the-middle-class-is-shrinking-and-thats-a-good-thing.html
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23) Will You Die One Day?
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
“When the truth is ugly, people lie. That’s human nature. Psychologists call this Social Desirability Bias, and it’s the intellectual foundation of my forthcoming Unbeatable: The Brutally Honest Case for Free Markets. But there’s one classic ugly inquiry which, as best as I recall, I’ve never known to be answered with a bald-faced lie. It’s a high-stakes question that children often ask their parents. The question: ‘Will you die one day?’ Faced with this query of existential dread, plenty of parents respond evasively — or just ignore the question.” (11/11/25)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/will-you-die-one-day
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24) The Supreme Court is right to question this trade war
Source: Orange County Register
by Kyle Handley
“At the U.S. Supreme Court last week, the government’s lawyer argued that President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs, issued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), aren’t really taxes at all. ‘The fact that they raise revenue is only incidental,’ he told the Court. ‘The tariffs would be most effective … if no person ever paid them.’ That defense captures the problem with emergency economics: Tariffs that raise no revenue still raise uncertainty. They tax planning, investment, and trust. A tariff no one pays is self-defeating. It deters trade and investment without delivering even the limited fiscal benefit of real revenue. The result is slower growth, higher prices, and weaker supply chains. Chief Justice John Roberts pressed that point, describing the government’s reasoning as ‘two-facing.'” (11/11/25)
https://www.ocregister.com/2025/11/11/the-supreme-court-is-right-to-question-this-trade-war/
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25) Left-Wing Socialism versus Right-Wing Socialism
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“While American progressives celebrate the electoral triumph of self-labeled socialist Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City, American conservatives are lamenting his victory of socialism over right-wing ‘capitalism.’ But the discomforting reality is that although conservatives are loathe to acknowledge the reality of their own mindsets, they are, in principle, as committed to socialism as Mamdani. When it comes to socialism, the difference between Mamdani and conservatives is one of degree, not one of principle. Mamdani simply takes socialism further than conservatives do.” (11/11/25)
https://www.fff.org/2025/11/11/left-wing-socialism-versus-right-wing-socialism/
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26) This Is All Our Rulers Are Offering Us
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Pentagon contractor Elon Musk, currently the richest person alive, has posted a video clip showing off how people can use his AI video generation tool Grok Imagine to create the image of a woman’s face saying ‘I will always love you.’ The AI-generated clip looks fake and creepy, and everything about Musk’s post is downright depressing. But it’s not quite as fake, creepy and depressing as the capitalist dystopia which birthed it. … The underlying argument for continuing with the capitalism experiment even though it’s destroying our ecosystem is that these megabillionaires will save us all with green energy and carry humanity’s surplus population out into the stars to colonize the galaxy, which is a terrible vision for the future in and of itself. But that isn’t even happening.” (11/11/25)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2025/11/11/this-is-all-our-rulers-are-offering-us/
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27) Once again Congress fails to rein in Trump, leaving SCOTUS to consider doing it
Source: USA Today
by Dace Potas
“The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Nov. 5 in a case challenging the validity of President Donald Trump’s tariff authority. After listening to those arguments, a few things are clear. The tariff authority belongs to Congress, and in the cases that its members delegate that authority, they are clear about doing so. Trump cites imprecise language, not meant to authorize tariffs, bent to meet his needs. Congress should have stepped in to clarify that authority, but instead, the Supreme Court is once again forced to answer questions borne from congressional inaction. The Supreme Court should curb Trump’s tariff authority, even if the president will lash out at the justices for doing so.” (11/11/25)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2025/11/11/trump-tariffs-supreme-court-arguments-congress-failure/87140297007/
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28) Trade and Status
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“Many years ago I noticed that being paid to give a speech felt better than being paid to be a professor even though it was much less money. My payment for a speech was by people who wanted to hear it. My pay as a professor was decided by administrators, only indirectly by the students who were the consumers of what I was producing. It felt to my intuition less real, less something I deserved. I got the same pleasure out of collecting royalties when my books were first published. A friend and fellow professor who was also a serious gambler, a card counter at blackjack, told me that the money he got the most pleasure from was money he won from other players in open combat. I conclude that for me, perhaps for many others, being paid for something cuts both ways.” (11/11/25)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/trade-and-status
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29) On Veterans Day and Beyond, Resisting and Healing From Violence
Source: TomDispatch
by Kelly Denton-Borhaug
“It’s been a while since I’ve written for TomDispatch, and there’s a reason for that. About 16 months ago, I experienced a catastrophic car crash. An SUV veered across the double yellow line of the highway I was traveling on and hit my little Chevy Spark head-on — on the driver’s side. I’ve been told that I’m lucky to be alive. I was left with multiple injuries and have been on the slow road to recovery. I’ve always seen myself as a person who pushes forward to overcome obstacles. Since the collision, however, doing so has become more complicated, because I’m learning that recovery is a long road, filled with detours I couldn’t have predicted. Time and again, my expectations have been turned upside down. I’ve had to take deep breaths, sit back, and pay close attention.” (11/11/25)
https://tomdispatch.com/military-moral-injury-violence-and-the-parable-of-the-guinea-worm/
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30) Will Taiwan Make Noise in Trump’s Second Term?
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Ted Galen Carpenter
“President Donald Trump professed to be extremely pleased with the results of his recent summit meeting with Xi Jinping in South Korea. Indeed, with his typical hyperbole, he rated it ‘a 12 out of 10.’ Trump expressed special satisfaction with the conclusion of new trade agreements that significantly eased bilateral economic tensions between the United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). In what amounted to a casual comment, he also stated that he had received a pledge from Xi that the PRC would not take any military action to change Taiwan’s political status during the remainder of Trump’s term. Interestingly, neither the United States nor PRC documents summarizing the summit indicated that the Taiwan issue was discussed at all — a very surprising omission given the usual importance of the topic.” (11/11/25)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/will-taiwan-make-noise-in-trumps-second-term
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31) Democrats despair as colleagues cave on Schumer shutdown
Source: New York Post
by staff
“The shutdown’s uselessness is demonstrated by the fury of those who want it to keep it going (and indeed are still delaying the Senate’s final floor vote). ‘People want us to hold the line,’ thundered Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Bx-Queens), furious that eight of her Senate colleagues crossed the aisle to get the government working again (at least until January). Who to blame for the sanity caucus quashing the six-week tantrum? Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-Brooklyn) of course. Sure he voted to keep the shutdown going, but he’s friends with the ‘traitors’ and failed to make them obey the demands of the Trump-deranged.” (11/10/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/11/10/opinion/democrats-despair-as-colleagues-cave-on-schumer-shutdown/
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32) 2025 Shutdown Ends Amid Hemp Cronyism
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey
“Senate defeats Rand Paul’s amendment protecting Kentucky hemp farmers. ACA enhanced premium subsidies expire in bipartisan vote. ACA regular subsidies remain.” (11/11/25)
https://palmbeachexaminer.substack.com/p/2025-shutdown-ends-amid-hemp-cronyism
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33) Democrats Can Win Back Trump Voters, If They Don’t Blow It
Source: Common Dreams
by Martin Burns
“While the media has covered extensively Democratic successes in the 2025 off-year elections, there is one story that has been dramatically undercovered. This is the fact that the 2025 Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races show that Democrats can win over Trump voters. Granted, these are not dramatic slices of the Trump coalition, but they are enough in these hyper-polarized times to win elections. According to CNN polling, in New Jersey Rep. Mikie Sherrill in her race for governor was able to win 7% of those who had voted for Donald Trump in 2024. Interestingly, the Virginia exit polling data shows that Rep. Abigail Spanberger won the identical (7%) of Trump voters.” (11/11/25)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/dems-win-back-trump-voters
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34) Applaud All Market-Made Millions
Source: EconLog
by Christopher Freiman
“In the NFL offseason, star running back Saquon Barkley signed a $40 million contract extension with the Philadelphia Eagles. Make no mistake, he earned it after rushing for 2,005 yards in the regular season and helping to bring another Lombardi Trophy to Philadelphia. I’m not alone in thinking this. As one sports writer put the point, ‘He deserves it … Barkley is easy to root for, not only because he can jump backward over people, but also because he works hard, he’s kind, and he’s a great teammate.’ Rarely does anyone argue that it’s morally wrong for a football player, or other performer, to earn tens of millions of dollars. But if a CEO earns the same amount, it’s greed, exploitation, or a symptom of the ills of late-stage capitalism.” (11/11/25)
https://www.econlib.org/econlog/applaud-all-market-made-millions/
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35) Drawing Delinquency Down
Source: Law & Liberty
by Marc A Levin
“Americans frequently disagree over how to respond to crime, and partisan agendas sometimes lead to imprudent policy decisions, whether seen in progressive prosecutors’ refusal to charge certain offenses or in the dispatching of the military to American cities. Yet beyond the headlines, the New Right’s growing concern about the fate of the family provides a fresh opportunity for left and right to find common ground on preventing crime, particularly juvenile delinquency. The right has an opportunity to bolster families and help young men to thrive, while staying true to the fusionist alliance between traditional conservatives and libertarians.” (11/11/25)
https://lawliberty.org/drawing-delinquency-down/
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36) On Veterans’ Day, Remember the Lies That Filled Military Cemeteries
Source: JimBovard.com
by James Bovard
“Politicians will be heartily applauded for saluting American’s soldiers today. But if citizens had better memories, elected officials would instead be fleeing tar and feathers. Politicians have a long record of betraying the veterans they valorize.” (originally published 11/11/28; re-posted 11/11/25)
https://jimbovard.com/blog/2025/11/11/on-veterans-day-remember-the-lies-that-filled-military-cemeteries/
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37) Why AI matters for every veteran
Source: Fox News
by Paul Nakasone
“For more than three decades, I had the honor of serving our country in uniform. I led soldiers at home and abroad. I commanded U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency through some of the most complex technological shifts in our history. But the transition that came after my time in uniform came to an end was its own kind of mission. The structure, tempo and identity that comes with military service doesn’t simply disappear when you step out of it. The day you enter civilian life, you begin a new chapter – and you’re expected to write it while you’re living it. Every year, more than 200,000 service members make that same transition. And nearly half of post-9/11 veterans say it was harder than they expected – not because they lack discipline or talent, but because translating your experience into civilian terms can be difficult.” (11/11/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/why-ai-matters-every-veteran
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38) Trump doesn’t need to buy Saudi loyalty with a security pact
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Christopher Preble & Will Smith
“The United States and Saudi Arabia are reportedly in talks over a pledge ‘similar to [the] recent security agreement the United States made with Qatar,’ with a ‘Qatar-plus’ security commitment expected to be announced during a visit to the White House by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) on November 18. Together, these developments suggest a troubling belief that handing out security guarantees is a quick, cost-free way to reassure anxious partners and ensure their alignment with U.S. priorities. That belief is mistaken. A U.S.–Saudi defense pact would be unnecessary, risky, and unlikely to achieve its unclear aims. Rather than revive the misguided Biden administration initiative, the Trump administration should shelve the idea once and for all.” (11/11/25)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-saudi-arabia-security-pact/
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39) The Nostalgic Delusion of 1989
Source: Foreign Policy
by Carlos Ruiz-Hernández
“The U.S. military buildup around Venezuela has drawn comparisons to past regime change in Panama. But Washington cannot invade its way to democracy in Caracas.” (11/11/25)
https://archive.is/ncFrI
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40) Paleoconservatism: Hard-Right Zombies Rule
Source: CounterPunch
by David Rosen
“Donald Trump secured the presidency by forging a scary coalition of conservative forces and effectively playing upon many Americans worst fears. His coalition includes his MAGA base and Christian nationalists; ‘free market’ business opportunists and Silicon Valley billionaires; and ‘limited’ government advocates, be it for domestic programs or foreign involvements. The most conservative force in Trump’s coalition is known as ‘paleoconservatism’ – aka ‘paleocons.’ They advocate for a strong market economy, a shrunken federal government, restricted immigration and limited foreign involvement (unless it benefits national interests) as well as strong Christian values, the patriarchal family and a white America.” (11/11/25)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/11/11/paleoconservatism-hard-right-zombies-rule/
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41) One Weird Trick to Get Rid of Chuck Schumer
Source: The American Prospect
by Whitney Curry Wimbish
“Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) has to go. That’s the conclusion of multiple Democratic groups, House members, and candidates after Schumer oversaw his caucus implode ahead of passing a continuing resolution to fund the government with nothing more than a meaningless promise on the Affordable Care Act subsidies. Preserving health care was the whole point of the government shutdown; Democrats and workers nationwide begged Schumer to hold the line. Now, they say he has disappointed them for the last time. No Senate Democrats have joined their colleagues in seeking Schumer’s resignation and none responded to requests for comment from the Prospect. But every single one of them has the power to force a vote on Schumer’s continued control of the caucus.” (11/11/25)
https://prospect.org/2025/11/11/one-weird-trick-to-get-rid-of-chuck-schumer/
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42) Exploiting MAGA Sentiments to Back Nigerian Intervention
Source: The American Conservative
by Scott Greer
“We intervened in Somalia, Iraq, Libya, and elsewhere based in large part on humanitarian arguments. America was supposed to make these countries safer and protect minorities from oppression. Instead, our interventions turned local crises into humanitarian nightmares and demonstrated we can’t solve these issues. We, in fact, made them worse. Take for instance what happened to Iraqi Christians following Operation Shock and Awe in 2003: Thousands of them were murdered and over a million fled the country. One of the oldest Christian populations in the world now stands close to extinction. It’s unlikely intervention in Nigeria will be any different from these past failures.” (11/11/25)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/exploiting-maga-sentiments-to-back-nigerian-intervention/
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43) The sandwich man walks, and Trump nets a bagel
Source: The Hill
by James D Zirin
“You remember the case of the sandwich man. He’s the 37-year-old former Department of Justice paralegal, Sean Dunn, who was captured on video throwing a salami sub straight at the buff chest of a federal agent. Dunn was protesting the deployment of National Guard troops on the streets of the nation’s capital. When I was in college, more years ago than I care to remember, the sandwich du jour was called a ‘Hero.’ And, if I were president, I would rename all salami subs ‘Heroes’ in Dunn’s honor. After all, Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America and it appears that being president gives you unbounded naming opportunities. … It is notable that the trial began on Nov. 3, National Sandwich Day.” (1/11/25)
https://thehill.com/opinion/criminal-justice/5598495-federal-agent-salami-assault/
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44) Scandal or coup or what?
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
“We constantly fail to learn from history: even recent history. But especially from ancient history. Especially when it comes to doing nasty things, like overthrowing republics, enslaving people, and pushing tyranny. From dynastic conflicts and conspiracies in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, through the checkered and sickening history of Greek city-states and Phoenician/Carthaginian tyrants, to Rome, France, England and all the way to 2025, we know that power corrupts, that absolute power corrupts absolutely, but that even a little power can and usually does corrupt those who hold it. Especially when it is stolen.” (11/10/25)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2025/11/10/scandal-or-coup-or-what/
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45) A Virtuous, Limited Government Would Have Prevented a Shutdown
Source: Town Hall
by Mark Lewis
“I don’t especially like Republicans, and I certainly don’t like Democrats. I’m not a fan of government, period, though I realize that, because there are people called ‘Democrats’ on this earth (and other such vile creatures), government is ‘a necessary evil,’ often intolerable, and it has, by far, killed, tortured, oppressed, and robbed from more people, and been the most barbaric institution man has ever created. And it still is. Our government shutdown has finally ended. I, frankly, hoped the government would never open again. If it hadn’t, people would have had to start doing what God and our Founding Fathers intended them to do in the first place: take care of themselves, with families, individuals, and churches.” (11/11/25)
https://townhall.com/columnists/marklewis/2025/11/11/a-virtuous-limited-government-would-have-prevented-a-shutdown-n2666215
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46) Trump’s Tariffs in Trouble
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Ethan Savka
“After a long and hostile oral argument, President Trump’s tariffs, predicated on the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), are sinking under the weight of the administration’s own arguments. Their eventual demise brightens America’s constitutional and economic future.” (11/10/25)
https://fee.org/articles/trumps-tariffs-in-trouble/
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47) The Blaze’s Pipe-Bomb Bombshell Appears to Bomb
Source: The Bulwark
by Will Sommer
“The right-wing outlet claimed to solve the Jan. 6th pipe-bomb mystery. Things quickly looked less certain.” (11/10/25)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/the-blaze-right-wing-media-pipe-bomb-january-6th
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48) How to Confront Highbrow Misinformation
Source: Persuasion
by Dan Williams
“When confronted with the growing popularity of populist, extremist, and generally destructive ideas over the past decade or so, many establishment politicians, journalists, and experts have blamed ‘misinformation’ (see also ‘disinformation,’ ‘fake news’ ‘information disorder,’ and ‘post-truth’). Although this narrative comes in different forms, it typically involves three core ideas: (1) misinformation is widespread, (2) it is much worse than in the recent past, and (3) it is highly impactful in driving worrying political trends and developments. But there is much to question about this narrative.” (11/10/25)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/how-to-confront-highbrow-misinformation
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49) Dropkick Murphys’ Ken Casey Wants You to Wake the Fuck Up
Source: In These Times
by Kim Kelly
“Ken Casey carries himself like a man who has no interest in looking for a fight but would have no problem finishing one if the need arose. Glancing at his silvered hair and faded tattoos, you might even assume the stocky musician’s street-fighting days are over now that he’s in his fifties. But you’d be wrong. Right now, Casey’s focused on using everything he’s learned to fight fascism by whatever means possible. As far as he’s concerned, ‘There is no neutral. If you’re neutral, you’re on the wrong side.’ As the kinetic frontman and sole remaining founding member of the Irish American ’Celtic punk’ band Dropkick Murphys, Casey is more likely to be found speaking to crowds of rowdy concertgoers in defense of immigrant rights, in support of Ukraine, and criticizing the Trump regime than bloodying his knuckles, but the man could never be accused of going soft.” (11/11/25)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/dropkick-murphys-ken-casey-wants-you-to-wake-the-f-ck-up
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50) Snipers, censorship, and unaccountability: Indiana University’s free speech crisis
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by William Harris
“‘I had a sniper gun pointed at me when trying to defend a protest that was in compliance with school policies.’ The student who wrote that line in FIRE’s annual free speech survey wasn’t using a metaphor. They were describing a spring afternoon in 2024 at Indiana University’s Dunn Meadow … when officers with rifles took positions on the roof of the Indiana Memorial Union over the heads of student protesters. Indiana State Police later confirmed they had positioned officers ‘with sniper capabilities’ on rooftops. The night before, administrators had convened an ad hoc meeting that rewrote IU’s Outdoor Spaces policy to require approval for structures that had long been permitted. By morning, a peaceful protest was recast as a policy violation. By noon, state police had taken a ‘closed sniper position’ above the lawn.” (11/10/25)
https://www.thefire.org/news/snipers-censorship-and-unaccountability-indiana-universitys-free-speech-crisis
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 11/11/25
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Trump’s Foreign Policy Is An Anti-American Disaster.” (11/11/25)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/blog/the-kyle-anzalone-show-trumps-foreign-policy-is-an-anti-american-disaster
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52) Trump Watch, 11/11/25
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“President Trump’s Wars on Trade and Drugs.” (11/11/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6pFqdPA7N8
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53) The Bryan Hyde Show, 11/11/25
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
“One thing I appreciate about my weekly chat with Eric Peters from Eric Peters Autos is that he’s the kind of friend who will tell you the truth as opposed to what you want to hear. We all need a friend like that.” (11/11/25)
https://www.podbean.com/ep/pb-frzf4-19bdc55
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54) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 11/11/25
Source: The New Republic
“Trump’s Rage at Shutdown Boils Over in Rant That Should Wake Up Dems.” (11/11/25)
https://newrepublic.com/article/202994/trump-rage-shutdown-boils-rant-wake-dems
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55) Fountainhead Forum, episode 387
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Chris Baker on Mann Sharma’s Rational Frontier.” (11/11/25)
https://rumble.com/v71jrv8-ff-387-chris-baker-on-mann-sharmas-rational-frontier.html
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56) Advisory Opinions, 11/11/25
Source: The Dispatch
“Sarah Isgur and David French recap the Federalist Society’s antisemitism panel at last week’s National Lawyers Conference before interviewing Judge Jennifer Elrod about the judicial funding crisis.” (11/11/25)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/advisoryopinions/the-federalist-society-takes-a-stand/
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57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 11/11/25
Source: Antiwar.com
“US Bombs Somalia for 90th Time This Year, Trump Hosts Former Al Qaeda Chief at White House, and More.” (11/11/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TteSeWQ6OJI
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58) Quillette Podcast, episode 311
Source: Quillette
“Finding Humour in Dark Places.” (11/10/25)
https://quillette.com/2025/11/10/podcast-311-finding-humour-in-dark-places/
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59) Finding Freedom, 11/10/25
Source: Lions of Liberty
“Movement. Lymphatic Activation. Energy. 50 Day Challenge to End 2025.” (11/10/25)
https://www.lionsofliberty.com/episodes/ff-movement-lymphatic-activation-energy-50-day-challenge-to-end-2025
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60) TechTank, season 5, episode 30
Source: Brookings Institution
“Why data centers are important for AI.” (11/10/25)
https://shows.acast.com/tech-tank/episodes/why-data-centers-are-important-for-ai
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