08/21 -- Palestine: Israeli forces say operation to ethnically cleanse Gaza City has begun; Tariffs Begin Taking a Bite out of the Economy
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Thomas L. Knapp
Aug 21, 2025, 6:29:04 AMAug 21
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 08/21/25
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Palestine: Israeli forces say operation to ethnically cleanse Gaza City has begun
2) TX: House passes GOP redistricting plan after weeks-long standoff
3) Ukraine: “Massive” Russian drone, missile attack
4) Occupied Tibet: Xi makes rare visit to mark 60 years of pretending Tibet is part of the People’s Republic of China
5) US appeals court blocks unconstitutional New Mexico gun law
6) MN: Regime files frivolous lawsuit vs. TikTok
7) HRW report: At least 140 killed by Rwanda-backed rebels in eastern DR Congo
8) MA: Hundreds of Martha’s Vineyard residents forced to go vegan because of ticks
9) Trump housing regulator accuses Fed governor Cook of mortgage fraud
10) Alleged victim: Kentucky judge killed by sheriff ran courthouse like “brothel”
11) DC Residents’ Anger at Fed Presence Grows as Poll Shows “Overwhelming” Opposition to Trump Takeover
12) PA: Tortoise hatchlings born of century-old parents come out of their shells at Philadelphia Zoo
13) Kyle Chrisley sues Tennessee county and police for $1.7 million, claims false arrest and excessive force
14) Uganda: No Deal to Take US Regime’s Abductees, Official Says
15) Mississippi Supreme Court map violates Voting Rights Act, judge rules
16) Gabbard revokes security clearances of 37 former intelligence officials
17) New Schiff leak claim from whistleblower echoes years of similar accusations
18) UK: Member of Irish rap band Kneecap appears at court on “terrorism” charge
19) Bay Area rock star Michael Franti, known for “positive music”, embroiled in grooming allegations
20) FL: DeSantis regime files frivolous lawsuit over textbook prices, throws in “woke” whining
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Tariffs Begin Taking a Bite out of the Economy
22) Trump’s DC “Takeover” Is Missing the Point
23) Useful Counterfactuals on Trade
24) Econ 101: A Compass for a Lost Country
25) Liberty’s not dangerous — it fuels progress
26) Another Federal War on Free Speech
27) Reason’s Limits and the Future of Freedom
28) Selling Freddie and Fannie — What’s the Real Point?
29) Today’s flag-bearers for clean government
30) Democrats try to force nuns to pay for abortions. Sounds authoritarian to me.
31) Curtis Sliwa’s quality-of-life crackdown makes sense, but he won’t be next mayor of NYC
32) Can America Build Ships Again?
33) US Treats Israeli Pedophiles Nicer Than Wounded Palestinian Kids
34) Sixty-Three Years, Nothing Has Changed
35) Dumb, Dumber, and Dumbest: Native Born Employment is Not Surging
36) Loose, abstract talk of “guarantees” could sink Ukraine peace
37) The Due Process Delusion: When Migrants Demand Rights They Don’t Have
38) Lippmann Revived
39) The Case of the Phony Stats
40) It’s the Economy, Donald
41) The US Can End the Gaza Genocide Now
42) When Owning the Libs Trumps Fighting Fascism
43) Godwords for Mind Wars
44) Did Restaurant Reservations Really Plunge Because of Trump’s DC Takeover?
45) DC just had a murder-free week, and yes, Dems, Trump did that
46) Bari Weiss’s Free Press Wants You to Know Some Kids Being Starved by Israel Were Already Sick
47) A Bad Argument
48) America’s Campuses: The Next Frontline Against Authoritarianism
49) What Trump Learned From Silicon Valley
50) Geoengineering and Flights of Fancy
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Reason Interview: Chip Roy
52) Nonzero, 08/20/25
53) The Daily, 08/20/25
54) Rising, 08/20/25
55) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 08/20/25
56) The Political Orphanage, 08/20/25
57) The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg, 08/20/25
58) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 08/20/25
59) Fountainhead Forum, episode 345
60) The Lou Perez Podcast, 08/19/25
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Palestine: Israeli forces say operation to ethnically cleanse Gaza City has begun
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“The Israeli military says it has begun the ‘preliminary actions’ of a planned ground offensive to capture and occupy all of Gaza City and already has a hold on its outskirts. A military spokesman said troops were already operating in the Zeitoun and Jabalia areas to lay the groundwork for the offensive, which Defence Minister Israel Katz approved on Tuesday and which will be put to the security cabinet later this week. About 60,000 reservists are being called up for the beginning of September to free up active-duty personnel for the operation. Hamas has accused Israel of obstructing a ceasefire deal in favour of continuing a ‘brutal war against innocent civilians,’ Reuters news agency reported. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza City are expected to be ordered to evacuate and head to shelters in southern Gaza as preparations for Israel’s takeover plan get under way.” (08/20/25)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyr7l0z9edo
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2) TX: House passes GOP redistricting plan after weeks-long standoff
Source: CBS News
“The Texas House of Representatives gave final passage on Wednesday to House Bill 4, a controversial Republican-backed proposal to redraw the state’s congressional maps and potentially add up to five new GOP-leaning districts. Entering Wednesday, the bill needed to pass two votes in the House to advance to the Senate. Each vote passed 88-52. … The Texas Senate, which approved a similar version of the redistricting legislation earlier this week, is scheduled to take up the House-passed bill when it convenes this Thursday at 7 p.m.” (08/20/25)
https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/texas-house-special-session-redistricting-vote-today/
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3) Ukraine: “Massive” Russian drone, missile attack
Source: Yahoo! News
“Russia launched 614 air attack munitions into Ukraine overnight into Thursday, the air force in Kyiv reported, in what the country’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called a ‘massive combined air strike’ on targets around the country. The air force said Russia launched 574 drones and 40 missiles in its overnight barrage, of which 546 drones and 31 missiles were intercepted or otherwise suppressed. Impacts were reported across 11 locations, the air force said. … Russia’s latest attack was its largest since July 12, according to data published by Ukraine’s air force and analyzed by ABC News, and breaks with the trend so far in August of smaller-scale nightly barrages when compared to figures from June and July.” (08/21/25)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/russia-hits-ukraine-massive-drone-080935065.html
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4) Occupied Tibet: Xi makes rare visit to mark 60 years of pretending Tibet is part of the People’s Republic of China
Source: ABC News
“Chinese leader Xi Jinping made a rare visit to Tibet on Wednesday to mark the 60th anniversary of the consolidation of Beijing’s long-contested rule over the Himalayan territory. … Communist forces occupied Tibet in 1951. In 1965, Mao Zedong’s single-party dictatorship established the Tibet autonomous region. Decades of political repression followed, including the demolition of some Buddhist monasteries and the imprisonment of monks. Recent years have seen the large-scale migration of majority Han Chinese to the high-altitude region, the virtual closure of Tibet to journalists and foreigners, the removal of Tibetan children from their families to boarding schools where they are taught in Mandarin, and the repression of all forms of political or cultural expression outside Communist Party control.” (08/20/25)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/chinas-xi-makes-rare-visit-tibet-mark-60-124810625
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5) US appeals court blocks unconstitutional New Mexico gun law
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
“A panel of federal appellate judges ruled Tuesday that New Mexico’s seven-day waiting period on gun purchases likely [sic] infringes on citizens’ Second Amendment rights, putting the law on hold pending a legal challenge. The ruling by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sends the case back to a lower court. New Mexico’s waiting period went into effect in May 2024, and does hold an exception for concealed permit holders. … Since 2019, [governor Michelle] Lujan Grisham has signed a raft of legislation restricting access to guns, including a ‘red flag’ law allowing a court to temporarily remove guns from people who [supposedly] might hurt themselves or others and restrictions on guns near polling places.” (08/19/25)
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/08/19/gun-purchases-new-mexico/
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6) MN: Regime files frivolous lawsuit vs. TikTok
Source: United Press International
“The state of Minnesota sued TikTok, alleging the app’s algorithm violates its consumer protection laws. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on Tuesday accused TikTok of engaging in deceptive and unfair business practices that violate state consumer protection laws by snaring ‘young users in cycles of excessive use through app design features that prey on young people’s neurodevelopmental vulnerabilities.’ … The suit further stated that Minnesota has observed an increase in anxiety and depression among young Minnesotans, and claimed several studies show overuse of social media platforms like TikTok has harmed the mental health of young people.” (08/20/25)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2025/08/20/Minnesota-TikTok-lawsuit-children-algorithm/6061755690798/
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7) HRW report: At least 140 killed by Rwanda-backed rebels in eastern DR Congo
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“Rwanda-backed rebels killed at least 140 people in farming communities in eastern Congo in July, a human rights group said in a report Wednesday, describing the killings as ‘summary executions.’ Human Rights Watch said 141 people, predominantly Hutus, were feared dead or missing after the attacks near Virunga National Park in North Kivu province, citing local experts and witness accounts. It said the killings appeared to be part of a military campaign by the M23 group, the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups fighting for control in eastern Congo, against the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a mostly Hutu armed group.” (08/20/25)
https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20250820-at-least-140-killed-by-rwanda-backed-rebel-in-eastern-dr-congo-hrw-says
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8) MA: Hundreds of Martha’s Vineyard residents forced to go vegan because of ticks
Source: New York Post
“Their new diets bite! A bizarre, life-threatening tick-borne illness has made hundreds residents of Martha’s Vineyard allergic to red meat and dairy — turning many of them into forced vegans and ‘social pariahs’ at the height of BBQ season on the ritzy island. Skyrocketing cases of alpha-gal syndrome — a disease spread by bites from the Lone Star Tick — have ripped through the scenic summer hotspot with a total of 523 reported last year, according to the Times of London.” (08/20/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/08/20/us-news/tick-bites-on-marthas-vineyard-are-forcing-residents-to-go-vegan-because-of-alpha-gal-syndrome/
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9) Trump housing regulator accuses Fed governor Cook of mortgage fraud
Source: Axios
“Federal housing finance regulator Bill Pulte accused Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook of mortgage fraud and referred her for criminal prosecution. It comes as the president seeks to clean house at the Fed and install governors more to his liking. Pulte, chairman of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, posted on X a letter to the attorney general stating that it appears Cook ‘has falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, potentially committing mortgage fraud under the criminal statutes.’ … President Trump appears to be building a case to fire Fed governors for cause as he seeks leadership of the central bank that will cut interest rates and be more responsive to his instincts.” (08/20/25)
https://archive.is/aoNYW
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10) Alleged victim: Kentucky judge killed by sheriff ran courthouse like “brothel”
Source: New York Post
“The rural Kentucky judge gunned down in his own chambers last year ran a twisted sex ring in which young women were coaxed into performing sexual favors just to get out of trouble, one of the alleged victims claims. Tya Adams alleges she was among those caught up in Judge Kevin Mullins’[s] apparent sex-for-favors scheme that saw him and others in the tiny town of Whitesburg demand sex in exchange for cash, or to get offenders off the hook. Adams told NewsNation’s ‘Banfield’ that Mullins — who was shot execution-style in his Letcher County chambers, allegedly by his longtime sheriff pal Shawn Stines, last September — had warned her to keep quiet about the so-called depraved ring.” (08/20/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/08/20/us-news/kentucky-judge-gunned-down-by-sheriff-allegedly-ran-sex-ring-in-his-chambers-report/
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11) DC Residents’ Anger at Fed Presence Grows as Poll Shows “Overwhelming” Opposition to Trump Takeover
Source: Common Dreams
“Residents of Washington, DC are getting increasingly fed up with US President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard and other federal law enforcement officials in their city. Zeteo journalist Prem Thakker reported on Tuesday that residents in Columbia Heights jeered and shouted at masked federal agents in their local Metro station who were apparently there to assist transit police in holding train fare evaders accountable. While at the station, Thakker observed agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) standing around an alleged fare evader alongside the transit police. This led Thakker to ask a police officer on the scene whether it was really the best use of HSI and FBI’s time to have them tackling petty crimes.” (08/20/25)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/washington-dc-trump-poll
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12) PA: Tortoise hatchlings born of century-old parents come out of their shells at Philadelphia Zoo
Source: SFGate
“Sixteen critically endangered western Santa Cruz tortoises born to some very old parents got a slow walk and the red carpet treatment Wednesday at a Philadelphia Zoo event to show off the highly prized hatchlings. Animal care specialists who have watched over the 16 since they were eggs held the animals on a pathway by the zoo’s tortoise habitat. The hatchlings are said to be eating well and growing. The pampered turtles were born in a series of hatches this year to Mommy and Abrazzo, a couple that is estimated to both be about 100 years old. Mommy arrived at the zoo in 1932, but had not produced offspring until Abrazzo was brought in nearly five years ago from Riverbanks Zoo and Garden in Columbia, South Carolina. The 16 are her first progeny.” (08/20/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/tortoise-hatchlings-born-of-century-old-parents-20826023.php
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13) Kyle Chrisley sues Tennessee county and police for $1.7 million, claims false arrest and excessive force
Source: Fox News
“Kyle Chrisley and his wife, Ashleigh, are suing Rutherford County and two sheriff deputies for $1.7 million over his aggravated assault arrest in September 2024. In court documents obtained by Fox News Digital, attorneys for the Chrisleys claim the couple were ‘terrorized in their own home’ the afternoon of Sept. 9, 2024, and then ‘punished for calling for help.’ According to the lawsuit, a ‘disgruntled mechanic, angry over a payment dispute, showed up uninvited, kicked at their doors, threatened violence, and used his car as a weapon by ramming their SUV and nearly running Kyle over in front of multiple neighbors.’ Kyle and the mechanic – who had done work on the Chrisleys’ car and was allegedly paid in full – got into a physical altercation outside their home in Tennessee over a monetary dispute.” (08/20/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/kyle-chrisley-sues-tennessee-county-police-1-7m-claims-false-arrest-excessive-force
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14) Uganda: No Deal to Take US Regime’s Abductees, Official Says
Source: US News & World Report
“Uganda has not reached any agreement with the United States to take in illegal [sic] immigrants because it lacks necessary infrastructure to do so, a senior foreign affairs ministry official said on Wednesday. ‘To the best of my knowledge we have not reached such an agreement. We do not have the facilities and infrastructure to accommodate such illegal [sic] immigrants in Uganda. So, we cannot take in such illegal [sic] immigrants,’ Okello Oryem, state minister for foreign affairs, told Reuters in a text message. On Tuesday, CBS News, citing internal documents, reported that Washington had reached deportation deals with Honduras and Uganda as part of its effort to strike more agreements with countries that would accept [abducted] migrants deported from the U.S. who were not their citizens.” (08/19/25)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2025-08-20/uganda-foreign-affairs-official-says-no-agreement-reached-with-us-to-take-illegal-immigrants
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15) Mississippi Supreme Court map violates Voting Rights Act, judge rules
Source: SFGate
“A federal judge has ordered Mississippi to redraw its Supreme Court electoral map, after finding the map dilutes the power of [b]lack voters. U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock ruled the map, which was enacted in 1987, violates the Voting Rights Act and cannot be used in future elections. The Mississippi branch of the American Civil Liberties Union helped litigate the lawsuit, arguing the map cut Mississippi’s Delta region — a historically [b]lack area — in half. ‘This win corrects a historic injustice,’ said Ari Savitzky, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU Voting Rights Project. ‘All Mississippians will benefit from fair district lines that give [b]lack voters an equal [sic] voice — and new generations of [b]lack leaders an equal chance to help shape the state’s future by serving on the state’s highest court.’ The lawsuit, which was filed on April 25, 2022, argued the map diminished [sic] the [b]lack vote in the Central District.” (08/20/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/mississippi-supreme-court-map-violates-voting-20824763.php
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16) Gabbard revokes security clearances of 37 former intelligence officials
Source: Politico
“Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard revoked the security clearances of 37 former intelligence officials, the Trump administration’s latest move against Obama-era officials whom the White House accuses of undermining the Trump administration. In a memo she posted Tuesday on social media, Gabbard directed the heads of several national security agencies to immediately revoke the clearances of the officials, at the direction of the president, alleging they politicized or weaponized intelligence for personal or partisan gain.” [editor’s note: I’m against the idea that government should be allowed to keep anything secret in the first place, but if they are, wouldn’t it make sense for “security clearances” to be AUTOMATICALLY revoked any time someone leaves the job they’re issued for, instead of only when political distractions are needed? – TLK] (08/19/25)
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/19/gabbard-security-clearance-00515195
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17) New Schiff leak claim from whistleblower echoes years of similar accusations
Source: Fox News
“Longtime Trump political foe Democrat Sen. Adam Schiff for years has been accused of leaking classified documents — long before the release of a ‘bombshell’ whistleblower testimony claiming the California lawmaker approved leaking classified information in order to discredit the president during the Russiagate probe, Fox News Digital found. Schiff, who served in the U.S. House for more than two decades before securing his spot in the U.S. Senate in 2024, is facing heightened scrutiny following FBI Director Kash Patel declassifying claims from a Democrat whistleblower that Schiff approved the release of classified information on Trump that allegedly ‘would be used to indict President TRUMP,’ according to the report. The whistleblower, who reportedly had worked for Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee for more than 10 years, made the claims to the FBI in 2017. (08/20/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/new-schiff-leak-claim-from-whistleblower-echoes-years-similar-accusations
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18) UK: Member of Irish rap band Kneecap appears at court on “terrorism” charge
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“A member of the Irish rap group Kneecap has arrived in court in London, charged with a ‘terror’ offence for allegedly supporting the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah. Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who was initially charged under the Anglicised name Liam O’Hanna, and who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, appeared at the Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday after he was charged in May for displaying a Hezbollah flag during a London concert in November. … Since Hezbollah was banned in the United Kingdom in 2019, it has been an offence to show support for the Iran-aligned group.” [editor’s note: Heaven forbid anyone get away with waving the “wrong” Holy Pole Quilt! — TLK] (08/20/25)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/20/irish-kneecap-rapper-faces-court-on-terror-charge-over-hezbollah-flag
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19) Bay Area rock star Michael Franti, known for “positive music”, embroiled in grooming allegations
Source: SFGate
“Michael Franti, a Bay Area musician and former Stern Grove headliner, is ‘vehemently’ denying engaging in nonconsensual behavior toward a younger female musician. A forthcoming music cruise in Mexico that Franti was set to headline has been canceled. Franti did not name his accuser, but his message appears to be a response to statements made by Victoria Canal, a Spanish American singer-songwriter. Canal also did not name Franti but said last week on Instagram that she was groomed by an older musician she was touring with who touched her in nonconsensual ways and coerced her into not telling anyone else at the time. Franti is an alternative rock star known for his positive songs like ‘Say Hey (I Love You)’ that combine reggae, pop, soul and hip-hop influences.” (08/20/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/bay-area-rock-star-grooming-allegations-20823078.php
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20) FL: DeSantis regime files frivolous lawsuit over textbook prices, throws in “woke” whining
Source: Tallahassee Democrat
“Gov. Ron DeSantis says Florida is suing two major textbook publishers for overcharging Florida school districts – and was quick to add they push ‘egregious’ content in their instructional materials. Attorney General James Uthmeier filed suit Aug. 19 against McGraw Hill and Savvas Learning Co., specifically accusing the two publishers of bilking Florida school districts for textbooks. DeSantis also noted concerns he’s had with the textbook materials as well, saying their content is not ‘aligned with our standards.’ … The 26-page complaint filed in Leon County alleges that the publishers are violating Florida law, which requires them to give each Florida school district the lowest price offered to any other district in the country.” [editor’s note: If the price or content is unsatisfactory, don’t buy the books. “Problem” solved – TLK] (08/19/25)
https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/state/2025/08/19/desantis-lawsuit-hits-publishers-for-overcharges-egregious-content/85724713007/
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Tariffs Begin Taking a Bite out of the Economy
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“Even as some Republicans mocked economists for predicting prices would rise as a result of tariffs, there was a whistling-past-the-graveyard quality to the snickering. Yes, tariffs that had been threatened, delayed, and only partially implemented hadn’t yet much increased costs for consumers, but there were clear signs that importers were rushing to beat high customs duties, and that trouble was on the way. Now we’ve had a weak jobs report and a higher-than-expected producer price index (PPI), and it’s clear that tariffs perform just as we were warned: They raise prices for domestic businesses and consumers.” (08/20/25)
https://reason.com/2025/08/20/tariffs-begin-taking-a-bite-out-of-the-economy/
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22) Trump’s DC “Takeover” Is Missing the Point
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Connor O’Keeffe
“We’re now in the second week of Trump’s so-called ‘takeover’ of Washington, DC, where he’s formally federalized the city’s police and mobilized national guard troops and federal agents to help crack down on crime. So far, a few hundred people have been arrested. … the establishment media frames the entire episode as Trump, for the first time in the country’s history, ushering in a federal ‘police state.’ The right, in contrast, has seemed to enjoy the optics of armed agents in tactical gear flanked by armored National Guard vehicles patrolling DC neighborhoods, arresting people, and clearing homeless encampments …. genuine or not, the president’s effort to clean up DC and any other crime-ridden cities is hampered by a misunderstanding of the true root of this blue-city crime phenomenon, which is the monopolization of the protection of person and property — arguably the most important service in society.” (08/20/25)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/trumps-dc-takeover-missing-point
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23) Useful Counterfactuals on Trade
Source: EconLog
by Jon Murphy
“Counterfactuals are a necessary part of any scientific analysis: If X didn’t happen, then Y would have. But counterfactuals, by definition, can never be known. They never occurred, so we can never truly know if the counterfactual would have happened. … In international trade discussions these days, the focus is often on the counterfactuals … at least, after protectionists make empirical claims that are easily debunked by the data. A famous counterfactual revolves around the (oft-cited-never-read) China Shock paper. If not for China joining the WTO, protectionists claim, the US would be a thriving place, rather than the devastated hellhole it is now.” (08/20/25)
https://www.econlib.org/useful-counterfactuals-on-trade/
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24) Econ 101: A Compass for a Lost Country
Source: The Daily Economy
by Vance Ginn
“From tariffs to student debt ‘forgiveness,’ from corporate welfare to border chaos, America’s political class — right and left — has lost its economic compass. What’s missing? Econ 101. Progressives promise government programs to create ‘equity.’ Conservatives now support tariffs and special favors for certain businesses. Both are forms of economic socialism — central planning that shifts control from the people to politicians. That’s why the US economy feels stuck: a $37 trillion national debt, a bloated Federal Reserve balance sheet, and growing doubts about the American Dream. It doesn’t have to be this way. We need a return to the basics of economic freedom.” (08/20/25)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/econ-101-a-compass-for-a-lost-country/
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25) Liberty’s not dangerous — it fuels progress
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“Liberty forms the foundation of an ethical life and the basis for a worthwhile society. It isn’t just a slogan for politicians on the campaign trail; it’s the freedom to act, think, and live as you see fit, as long as you’re not harming others. Some people claim liberty is dangerous, that it leads to chaos or selfishness. They’re mistaken. When liberty is understood and respected, it’s good for everyone, no matter who they are or where they’re from.” (08/20/25)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2025/08/20/voices/opinion-libertys-not-dangerous-it-fuels-progress/231495.html
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26) Another Federal War on Free Speech
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by James Bovard
“Any precedent for blanket censorship will propagate like a COVID virus. Many conservatives and libertarians may shrug off [Rumeysa] Ozturk’s degradation because they have no interest in criticizing the policies of foreign governments. But the Ozturk case hinged on collective guilt — on assuming that anyone who advocates a position is culpable for any crimes committed by any other advocate with the same view. Ozturk’s persecution could be a linchpin in the Trump administration efforts to silence all protests that rile up his donors. … American history demonstrates that persecution that starts with foreigners often snowballs into targeting American citizens.” (08/20/25)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/another-federal-war-on-free-speech
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27) Reason’s Limits and the Future of Freedom
Source: Mindset Shifts
by Barry Brownstein
“Arguing against one of the most common misconceptions in all of philosophy, Hume taught that to rely on reason to control our passions is to bet on the wrong horse. Hume’s insight about the primacy of passions is not an abstract philosophical point but carries profound implications for understanding political obedience and the very future of freedom.” (08/20/25)
https://mindsetshifts.substack.com/p/reasons-limits-and-the-future-of
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28) Selling Freddie and Fannie — What’s the Real Point?
Source: Racket News
by Eric Salzman
“The Trump administration is in serious discussions to begin selling the government’s stake in Freddie and Fannie. Guess who wins … again?” (08/20/25)
https://www.racket.news/p/selling-freddie-and-fannie-whats
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29) Today’s flag-bearers for clean government
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“Over the past nine months, a visitor to Serbia in southeastern Europe might have run into almost-daily protests by university students. The biggest demonstrations brought out at least 4% of Serbia’s 6 million people, most of them Generation Z. While the numbers and the persistence of the protests are impressive, what really matters is that ‘the students have behaved with exemplary integrity,’ as one faculty member at the University of Novi Sad put it. That has brought them widespread public support. Their integrity is rooted in a consistent demand: The students want transparency and accountability from government after the collapse of a renovated rail station canopy killed 16 people last November. … In addition, they have organized themselves after the democracy they seek: The protesters operate by consensus and with equality, without leaders.” (08/19/25)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2025/0819/Today-s-flag-bearers-for-clean-government
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30) Democrats try to force nuns to pay for abortions. Sounds authoritarian to me.
Source: USA Today
by Ingrid Jacques
“According to the group’s website, the Little Sisters’ mission is to ensure that ‘the elderly and dying are cared for with love and dignity until God calls them home.’ The Little Sisters work in 31 countries and began work in America in 1868. Today, the nuns operate about 20 homes in the United States. It’s a lovely mission and one that they should be allowed to do in peace, free from interference from the government. No such luck, however. Blue states like California and Pennsylvania refuse to leave the Little Sisters alone and couldn’t care less about their religious beliefs. … The nuns don’t want to be complicit in providing services that directly violate their deep belief in the sanctity of life, which guides their work. They shouldn’t have to.” (08/20/25)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2025/08/20/birth-control-abortion-little-sisters-of-the-poor-ruling/85708313007/
-----
31) Curtis Sliwa’s quality-of-life crackdown makes sense, but he won’t be next mayor of NYC
Source: New York Post
by Kirsten Fleming
“Will Curtis Sliwa have any regrets if he wakes up on November 5 and Zohran Mamdani is the new mayor of New York — knowing he could have stepped aside and cleared the crowded campaign field that many fear will split the vote? ‘Nope,’ the Republican candidate told me. So he’s not willing to sacrifice his candidacy to save the city he loves from socialism? ‘That’s based on the idea that everyone is going to go over and vote Cuomo. Ain’t happening. They hate Cuomo. I’m in the streets every day. All I hear is ‘slapping fannies and killing grannies.’ He’s never apologized,’ Sliwa said of Andrew Cuomo’s COVID and #MeToo scandals. Meanwhile, a new AARP poll shows Mamdani’s support at 42% among registered voters; Cuomo is at 23%, fellow independent Adams is at 9%, and Sliwa claims 16%.” (08/19/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/08/19/opinion/i-agree-with-curtis-sliwa-on-a-lot-but-he-is-not-nycs-next-mayor/
-----
32) Can America Build Ships Again?
Source: Washington Monthly
by Arnav Rao
“During his March address to Congress, Trump intoned in classic Trumpian fashion, ‘We used to make so many ships. We don’t make them anymore very much, but we’re going to make them very fast, very soon.’ Soon after the speech, Trump signed an executive order tasked the government with finding ways to rebuild America’s moribund shipbuilding industry, and Trump’s U.S. Trade Representative hit Chinese-built vessels with port fees. Unlike most of Trump’s other policy priorities, shipbuilding enjoys bipartisan support. Democrats and Republicans alike have applauded the president’s moves on the industry, and in the spring, lawmakers reintroduced major bipartisan legislation that would codify many of Trump’s shipbuilding plans. But can America build ships again?” (08/20/25)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2025/08/20/can-america-build-ships-again/
-----
33) US Treats Israeli Pedophiles Nicer Than Wounded Palestinian Kids
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Antiwar has a story out right now with the headline ‘Rep. Greene: US Should Let Gaza Children in for Medical Treatment, Prosecute Israeli Child Predators.’ It’s a headline that says so much about what’s going on in the world in just a few words. Is the US really not letting Gaza children in for medical treatment? Is the US really failing to prosecute Israelis who prey on children? Why are these necessary things to say? And why is it being left to Marjorie Taylor Greene to say them? What’s crazy is that these are entirely true and legitimate grievances. … Things are so fucked up that the only way to get wounded Palestinian children in and out of the United States for medical treatment these days would be to disguise them as Israeli pedophiles.” (08/20/25)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2025/08/20/the-us-treats-israeli-pedophiles-nicer-than-wounded-palestinian-kids/
-----
34) Sixty-Three Years, Nothing Has Changed
Source: Antiwar.com
by James Carden
“[B]y the end of 1960s it had become clear that the national security state aggregated to itself the right to oppose — and if necessary thwart through a variety of means — the foreign policy initiatives of a duly-elected President. To [Hannah] Arendt, the turning point was the assassination of President Kennedy. … ‘it was quite clear that now, really for the first time in a very long time in American history, a direct crime had interfered with the political process. And this somehow changed the political process.’ … every future administration has understood the unspoken prerogative of accommodating itself to the agenda of the permanent state. By the end of the 1960s the permanent state emerged as the supreme arbiter of policy — who would dare contradict it?” (08/20/25)
https://original.antiwar.com/james-carden/2025/08/19/sixty-three-years-nothing-has-changed/
-----
35) Dumb, Dumber, and Dumbest: Native Born Employment is Not Surging
Source: CounterPunch
by Dean Baker
“I can’t believe we have to debate some things, but with Trump you never know how ridiculous the discussion can get. The Washington Post tells us that the Trump administration is boasting about the huge surge in native-born Americans who are now working thanks to his policy of beating up on immigrants. The boast tells us more about their ignorance of government data than the success of their policy. … Since the total size of the population is fixed by the population controls, the size of the native-born population in these estimates will automatically increase if fewer immigrants answer the survey. That is what we are finding in 2025.” (08/20/25)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/08/20/dumb-dumber-and-dumbest-native-born-employment-is-not-surging/
-----
36) Loose, abstract talk of “guarantees” could sink Ukraine peace
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Mark Episkopos, George Beebe, & Anatol Lieven
“Over the past three years, Moscow has consistently rejected any scheme for security guarantees that would greenlight the permanent deployment of NATO or Western troops on Ukrainian soil. The Kremlin has demonstrated a degree of flexibility in other areas, including on freezing the lines in the southeast and not attempting to block Ukraine’s path to EU membership. There is, however, no indication that it has budged on what has been its bright red lines surrounding Western contingents in Ukraine. The Kremlin reiterated its stance during the Monday meeting, which also included a phone call between President Trump and Putin.” (08/20/25)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/ukraine-peace-security-guarantees/
-----
37) The Due Process Delusion: When Migrants Demand Rights They Don’t Have
Source: Town Hall
by Matt O’Brien
“As the Trump administration enforces the Immigration and Nationality Act, migrant advocates have repeatedly cried foul. Their most persistent claim has been that Team Trump is depriving aliens of due process before deporting them. … neither the Vera Institute, nor any of its allies seem to be able to articulate exactly what constitutional principles Team Trump is trampling upon. The result is a delusional belief that aliens who have been given every opportunity to have their immigration claims reviewed, still have not received due process. At its essence, ‘due process’ simply means the government has to follow the rules set forth in the Constitution before it deprives you of life, liberty or property. But the term has been rendered meaningless through overuse.” [editor’s note: Well, let’s see — reasonable bond and trial by jury come to mind – TLK] (08/20/25)
https://townhall.com/columnists/mattobrien/2025/08/20/the-due-process-delusion-when-migrants-demand-rights-they-dont-have-n2662069
-----
38) Lippmann Revived
Source: Law & Liberty
by Jay Nordlinger
“Walter Lippmann believed that good journalism — sound journalism, honest journalism — was essential to liberal democracy. Bad journalism went hand in hand with bad politics and bad government. Talking about journalists, Lippmann said, ‘We do what every sovereign citizen is supposed to do but has not the time or the interest to do.’ And ‘that is no mean calling.'” (08/20/25)
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/lippmann-revived/
-----
39) The Case of the Phony Stats
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“One theme of The Wire, a series about the war on drugs in Baltimore, is the willingness of police department leaders to fake crime statistics. Despite a few flights of fancy, the drama prided itself on its realism. It turns out that in reality, too, police department bosses may be willing to rewrite crime statistics so things don’t seem as bad as they are.” (08/20/25)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2025/08/19/the-case-of-the-phony-stats/
-----
40) It’s the Economy, Donald
Source: Wired
by Jake Lahut
“For months, the mantra inside the White House has been a MAGA version of ‘Keep calm and carry on.’ President Donald Trump’s inner circle and more junior aides have embraced the term ‘No panicans’ — specifically around tariffs — to signal there is no room to panic over, and certainly no room for dissent from, the president’s economic policies. The administration’s areas of focu — —deporting immigrants whose labor powers key sectors like agriculture and construction, levying tariffs, and cutting social services among them — have done more than simply increase uncertainty. Hiring and tourism have already slowed dramatically in major US cities from Las Vegas to New York in the first half of the year, and Trump has put almost all the ingredients in place for slow growth amid high unemployment and inflation, the potent combination known as stagflation.” (08/20/25)
https://archive.is/0zXOK
-----
41) The US Can End the Gaza Genocide Now
Source: Common Dreams
by Jeffrey D Sachs & Sybil Fares
“President Donald Trump wants a Nobel Peace Prize, and his efforts toward peace in Ukraine, if successful, could possibly help him earn one — but only if he also ends US complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Under Trump, as under former President Joe Biden, the US has served as Israel’s partner in mass murder, annexation, starvation, and the escalating torment of millions of Palestinians. The genocide can, and will, stop if Trump wills it. So far he has not. Israel is committing genocide; everyone knows it, even its staunchest defenders. The Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem has recently made a poignant acknowledgment of ‘Our Genocide.’ In Foreign Affairs, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew recently admitted that extremist parties in Netanyahu’s government openly aim to starve Palestinians in Gaza.” (08/20/25)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/how-to-end-gaza-genocide
-----
42) When Owning the Libs Trumps Fighting Fascism
Source: Center for a Stateless Society
by Kevin Carson
“There seems to be a great deal of overlap, probably not by accident, between the edgelords who say ‘America/capitalism has always been fascist,’ and the assorted tankie, campist, and Dirtbag Left types — Greenwald, Dore, Taibbi, etc. — who actually hate liberals and centrists worse than they hate full-blown fascists. They have a lot in common with Third Period Stalin, who, by denouncing Social Democrats as ‘social fascists’ and forbidding Communists to join them in united fronts, facilitated the Nazi rise to power while at the same time alienating many potential sympathizers. Indeed, as they say ‘America was always fascist’ and ‘liberals are fascist,’ these people often wind up denying that the actual fascists themselves are fascist.” (08/20/25)
https://c4ss.org/content/60609
-----
43) Godwords for Mind Wars
Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders
“Introducing a fusion concept for persuasive rhetoric as we set out to build an Empire of the Mind.” (08/20/25)
https://underthrow.substack.com/p/godwords-for-mind-wars
-----
44) Did Restaurant Reservations Really Plunge Because of Trump’s DC Takeover?
Source: Cato Institute
by Ryan Bourne
“Media reports yesterday claimed that Donald Trump’s federalization of DC policing had led to a huge plunge in restaurant reservations. Data from OpenTable shows that relative to the same calendar dates last year, reservations at DC restaurants were down by 20 percent or more from August 11th through August 17th … it turns out that August 12 through August 18th 2024 was last year’s DC summer Restaurant Week, which this year only began on August 18th. Restaurant Week is a promotional dining event where (over 350) participating restaurants offered special fixed-price menus in 2024 for the duration of the week, and sometimes beyond. A major aim is to boost reservation rates in the lean summer period, as a means of introducing diners to new restaurants.” (08/19/25)
https://www.cato.org/commentary/did-restaurant-reservations-really-plunge-because-trumps-dc-takeover
-----
45) DC just had a murder-free week, and yes, Dems, Trump did that
Source: Fox News
by David Marcus
“As the wailing and gnashing of teeth over the Trump administration’s takeover of the Washington DC police force begins to fade, the results are coming in, and they are nothing short of extraordinary. As of Wednesday afternoon, the nation’s capital has had no murders for seven days, something that had not been achieved since March and something I can find no recent record of in summer months when the murder rate is typically at its highest. Last Monday, when a man was tragically gunned down in Logan Circle just hours after the Trump takeover, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., took to social media to say that ‘Trump owns this!’ No word if the congressman agrees Trump also owns the lives saved this past week. And it’s not just murder, according to the local police union.” (08/20/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/david-marcus-dc-just-had-murder-free-week-yes-dems-trump-did
-----
46) Bari Weiss’s Free Press Wants You to Know Some Kids Being Starved by Israel Were Already Sick
Source: The Intercept
by Natasha Lennard
“The Nazis killed Anne Frank. To suggest that any other cause was primary in her vastly premature death is tantamount to vile Holocaust denialism — which is why Holocaust denialists do indeed point out that Frank died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. This is precisely the logic that Israel’s apologists in the media have deployed in recent days when it comes to the deliberate starvation of the population of Gaza. The right-wing Free Press published a story on Sunday, framed as an investigative exposé, revealing that at least 12 of the Palestinian children featured in viral images depicting the state of Israel-induced famine were not only starving, but … were also sick. The supposed gotcha is that children with disabilities and preexisting health conditions, who cannot get the treatment and nutrition they need because of Israel’s genocidal siege, are not representative of the population.” (08/19/25)
https://theintercept.com/2025/08/19/bari-weiss-free-press-gaza-starvation-famine/
-----
47) A Bad Argument
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“The mistake of assuming that the burden of a tax is born by whomever hands over the money is not limited to the case of tariffs. Consider the taxes that fund Social Security, half on the employer, half on the employee. Of each dollar the employer pays ten cents goes to the government, ninety to the employee, who pays ten cents to the government (rate invented to simplify the argument). It follows that of each dollar the employer pays the employee gets eighty cents, the government twenty. … Whether the government takes the money before or after the transfer from employer to employee or, as in the present system, half before and half after, does not matter, is a purely cosmetic difference.” (08/19/25)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/a-bad-argument
-----
48) America’s Campuses: The Next Frontline Against Authoritarianism
Source: Expression
by Sarah McLAughlin
“When China, Qatar, and even our own federal government threaten academic freedom, we’re all responsible for fighting back.” (08/19/25)
https://expression.fire.org/p/americas-campuses-the-next-frontline
-----
49) What Trump Learned From Silicon Valley
Source: The American Prospect
by Henry Burke & Dylan Gyauch-Lewis
“Arguably the most lucrative innovation to come out of Silicon Valley in the past decade and a half has been a willingness to break the law. The conscious decision to defy existing regulation (frequently by reference to ‘blitzscaling,’ a strategy of rapidly expanding businesses promoted by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman) is now the easiest way to find success in America’s crowded startup economy. Blitzscaling, exemplified by Uber and other venture capital–backed tech companies, is now being put to use by the Trump administration and its techno-fascist staffer class. Much like Silicon Valley investors, administration officials have learned that the structures governing the American economy and its liberal democratic order are no match for unadulterated speed. Like Uber, the Trump administration has found regulators, law enforcement, and courts asleep at the switch, unwilling to fight to enforce the most basic of guardrails.” (08/20/25)
https://prospect.org/power/2025-08-20-what-trump-learned-from-silicon-valley/
-----
50) Geoengineering and Flights of Fancy
Source: Brownstone Institute
by David Bell
“Geoengineering in the form of modifying the weather happens. It can save decimation of farmer livelihoods by mitigating droughts, and it can risk the global food supply by reducing crop growth. Like nuclear fission, it’s useful in the hands of sane people working with the knowledge and assent of the wider community, or it has the potential to destroy much of what humankind has built if left in the hands of psychopaths. If we can approach it in a calm and rational manner, we may yet stop the psychopaths.” (08/19/25)
https://brownstone.org/articles/geoengineering-and-flights-of-fancy/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Reason Interview: Chip Roy
Source: Reason
“Chip Roy on Why He Backed Trump’s Spending Bill.” (08/20/25)
https://reason.com/podcast/2025/08/20/chip-roy-on-why-he-backed-trumps-spending-bill/
-----
52) Nonzero, 08/20/25
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“Feeling the GPT-5 | Robert Wright & Paul Bloom.” (08/20/25)
https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/68955
-----
53) The Daily, 08/20/25
Source: New York Times
“Why So Many Parents Are Opting Out of Public Schools.” (08/20/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7m8USkqSnE
-----
54) Rising, 08/20/25
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave delivers radar on Hillary Clinton praising President Trump’s foreign policy.” (08/20/25)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/5461201-rising-august-20-2025/
-----
55) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 08/20/25
Source: The New Republic
“Trump Press Sec Rages at Media as Putin Mess Sinks Him in Brutal Poll.” (08/20/25)
https://newrepublic.com/article/199317/trump-press-sec-rages-media-putin-mess-sinks-brutal-poll
-----
56) The Political Orphanage, 08/20/25
Source: The Political Orphanage
“What the Hell Is Finland Smiling About?” (08/20/25)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/what-the-hell-is-finland-smiling-about
-----
57) The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg, 08/20/25
Source: The Dispatch
“Pleading Insanity | Interview: Emmett Rensin.” (08/20/25)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/remnant/pleading-insanity-interview-emmett-rensin/
-----
58) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 08/20/25
Source: Antiwar.com
“IDF To Call Up 60k Reservists for Gaza City Take Over, Trump Backs Euro Troops in Ukraine, and More.” (08/19/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5KNghXfMuQ
-----
59) Fountainhead Forum, episode 345
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Jake Klein on the dismissal of Glenn Loury and the death of Ozzy Osbourne and Hulk Hogan.” (08/19/25)
https://rumble.com/v6xtdm0-ff-345-jake-klein-on-the-dismissal-of-glenn-loury-and-the-death-of-ozzy-osb.html
-----
60) The Lou Perez Podcast, 08/19/25
Source: Lions of Liberty
“The Personalized Jersey is Personal with Kirk Wilcox.” (08/19/25)
https://www.lionsofliberty.com/episodes/tlpp-the-personalized-jersey-is-personal-with-kirk-wilcox
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Palestine: Israeli forces say operation to ethnically cleanse Gaza City has begun
2) TX: House passes GOP redistricting plan after weeks-long standoff
3) Ukraine: “Massive” Russian drone, missile attack
4) Occupied Tibet: Xi makes rare visit to mark 60 years of pretending Tibet is part of the People’s Republic of China
5) US appeals court blocks unconstitutional New Mexico gun law
6) MN: Regime files frivolous lawsuit vs. TikTok
7) HRW report: At least 140 killed by Rwanda-backed rebels in eastern DR Congo
8) MA: Hundreds of Martha’s Vineyard residents forced to go vegan because of ticks
9) Trump housing regulator accuses Fed governor Cook of mortgage fraud
10) Alleged victim: Kentucky judge killed by sheriff ran courthouse like “brothel”
11) DC Residents’ Anger at Fed Presence Grows as Poll Shows “Overwhelming” Opposition to Trump Takeover
12) PA: Tortoise hatchlings born of century-old parents come out of their shells at Philadelphia Zoo
13) Kyle Chrisley sues Tennessee county and police for $1.7 million, claims false arrest and excessive force
14) Uganda: No Deal to Take US Regime’s Abductees, Official Says
15) Mississippi Supreme Court map violates Voting Rights Act, judge rules
16) Gabbard revokes security clearances of 37 former intelligence officials
17) New Schiff leak claim from whistleblower echoes years of similar accusations
18) UK: Member of Irish rap band Kneecap appears at court on “terrorism” charge
19) Bay Area rock star Michael Franti, known for “positive music”, embroiled in grooming allegations
20) FL: DeSantis regime files frivolous lawsuit over textbook prices, throws in “woke” whining
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Tariffs Begin Taking a Bite out of the Economy
22) Trump’s DC “Takeover” Is Missing the Point
23) Useful Counterfactuals on Trade
24) Econ 101: A Compass for a Lost Country
25) Liberty’s not dangerous — it fuels progress
26) Another Federal War on Free Speech
27) Reason’s Limits and the Future of Freedom
28) Selling Freddie and Fannie — What’s the Real Point?
29) Today’s flag-bearers for clean government
30) Democrats try to force nuns to pay for abortions. Sounds authoritarian to me.
31) Curtis Sliwa’s quality-of-life crackdown makes sense, but he won’t be next mayor of NYC
32) Can America Build Ships Again?
33) US Treats Israeli Pedophiles Nicer Than Wounded Palestinian Kids
34) Sixty-Three Years, Nothing Has Changed
35) Dumb, Dumber, and Dumbest: Native Born Employment is Not Surging
36) Loose, abstract talk of “guarantees” could sink Ukraine peace
37) The Due Process Delusion: When Migrants Demand Rights They Don’t Have
38) Lippmann Revived
39) The Case of the Phony Stats
40) It’s the Economy, Donald
41) The US Can End the Gaza Genocide Now
42) When Owning the Libs Trumps Fighting Fascism
43) Godwords for Mind Wars
44) Did Restaurant Reservations Really Plunge Because of Trump’s DC Takeover?
45) DC just had a murder-free week, and yes, Dems, Trump did that
46) Bari Weiss’s Free Press Wants You to Know Some Kids Being Starved by Israel Were Already Sick
47) A Bad Argument
48) America’s Campuses: The Next Frontline Against Authoritarianism
49) What Trump Learned From Silicon Valley
50) Geoengineering and Flights of Fancy
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Reason Interview: Chip Roy
52) Nonzero, 08/20/25
53) The Daily, 08/20/25
54) Rising, 08/20/25
55) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 08/20/25
56) The Political Orphanage, 08/20/25
57) The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg, 08/20/25
58) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 08/20/25
59) Fountainhead Forum, episode 345
60) The Lou Perez Podcast, 08/19/25
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Palestine: Israeli forces say operation to ethnically cleanse Gaza City has begun
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“The Israeli military says it has begun the ‘preliminary actions’ of a planned ground offensive to capture and occupy all of Gaza City and already has a hold on its outskirts. A military spokesman said troops were already operating in the Zeitoun and Jabalia areas to lay the groundwork for the offensive, which Defence Minister Israel Katz approved on Tuesday and which will be put to the security cabinet later this week. About 60,000 reservists are being called up for the beginning of September to free up active-duty personnel for the operation. Hamas has accused Israel of obstructing a ceasefire deal in favour of continuing a ‘brutal war against innocent civilians,’ Reuters news agency reported. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza City are expected to be ordered to evacuate and head to shelters in southern Gaza as preparations for Israel’s takeover plan get under way.” (08/20/25)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyr7l0z9edo
-----
2) TX: House passes GOP redistricting plan after weeks-long standoff
Source: CBS News
“The Texas House of Representatives gave final passage on Wednesday to House Bill 4, a controversial Republican-backed proposal to redraw the state’s congressional maps and potentially add up to five new GOP-leaning districts. Entering Wednesday, the bill needed to pass two votes in the House to advance to the Senate. Each vote passed 88-52. … The Texas Senate, which approved a similar version of the redistricting legislation earlier this week, is scheduled to take up the House-passed bill when it convenes this Thursday at 7 p.m.” (08/20/25)
https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/texas-house-special-session-redistricting-vote-today/
-----
3) Ukraine: “Massive” Russian drone, missile attack
Source: Yahoo! News
“Russia launched 614 air attack munitions into Ukraine overnight into Thursday, the air force in Kyiv reported, in what the country’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called a ‘massive combined air strike’ on targets around the country. The air force said Russia launched 574 drones and 40 missiles in its overnight barrage, of which 546 drones and 31 missiles were intercepted or otherwise suppressed. Impacts were reported across 11 locations, the air force said. … Russia’s latest attack was its largest since July 12, according to data published by Ukraine’s air force and analyzed by ABC News, and breaks with the trend so far in August of smaller-scale nightly barrages when compared to figures from June and July.” (08/21/25)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/russia-hits-ukraine-massive-drone-080935065.html
-----
4) Occupied Tibet: Xi makes rare visit to mark 60 years of pretending Tibet is part of the People’s Republic of China
Source: ABC News
“Chinese leader Xi Jinping made a rare visit to Tibet on Wednesday to mark the 60th anniversary of the consolidation of Beijing’s long-contested rule over the Himalayan territory. … Communist forces occupied Tibet in 1951. In 1965, Mao Zedong’s single-party dictatorship established the Tibet autonomous region. Decades of political repression followed, including the demolition of some Buddhist monasteries and the imprisonment of monks. Recent years have seen the large-scale migration of majority Han Chinese to the high-altitude region, the virtual closure of Tibet to journalists and foreigners, the removal of Tibetan children from their families to boarding schools where they are taught in Mandarin, and the repression of all forms of political or cultural expression outside Communist Party control.” (08/20/25)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/chinas-xi-makes-rare-visit-tibet-mark-60-124810625
-----
5) US appeals court blocks unconstitutional New Mexico gun law
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
“A panel of federal appellate judges ruled Tuesday that New Mexico’s seven-day waiting period on gun purchases likely [sic] infringes on citizens’ Second Amendment rights, putting the law on hold pending a legal challenge. The ruling by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sends the case back to a lower court. New Mexico’s waiting period went into effect in May 2024, and does hold an exception for concealed permit holders. … Since 2019, [governor Michelle] Lujan Grisham has signed a raft of legislation restricting access to guns, including a ‘red flag’ law allowing a court to temporarily remove guns from people who [supposedly] might hurt themselves or others and restrictions on guns near polling places.” (08/19/25)
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/08/19/gun-purchases-new-mexico/
-----
6) MN: Regime files frivolous lawsuit vs. TikTok
Source: United Press International
“The state of Minnesota sued TikTok, alleging the app’s algorithm violates its consumer protection laws. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on Tuesday accused TikTok of engaging in deceptive and unfair business practices that violate state consumer protection laws by snaring ‘young users in cycles of excessive use through app design features that prey on young people’s neurodevelopmental vulnerabilities.’ … The suit further stated that Minnesota has observed an increase in anxiety and depression among young Minnesotans, and claimed several studies show overuse of social media platforms like TikTok has harmed the mental health of young people.” (08/20/25)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2025/08/20/Minnesota-TikTok-lawsuit-children-algorithm/6061755690798/
-----
7) HRW report: At least 140 killed by Rwanda-backed rebels in eastern DR Congo
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“Rwanda-backed rebels killed at least 140 people in farming communities in eastern Congo in July, a human rights group said in a report Wednesday, describing the killings as ‘summary executions.’ Human Rights Watch said 141 people, predominantly Hutus, were feared dead or missing after the attacks near Virunga National Park in North Kivu province, citing local experts and witness accounts. It said the killings appeared to be part of a military campaign by the M23 group, the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups fighting for control in eastern Congo, against the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a mostly Hutu armed group.” (08/20/25)
https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20250820-at-least-140-killed-by-rwanda-backed-rebel-in-eastern-dr-congo-hrw-says
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8) MA: Hundreds of Martha’s Vineyard residents forced to go vegan because of ticks
Source: New York Post
“Their new diets bite! A bizarre, life-threatening tick-borne illness has made hundreds residents of Martha’s Vineyard allergic to red meat and dairy — turning many of them into forced vegans and ‘social pariahs’ at the height of BBQ season on the ritzy island. Skyrocketing cases of alpha-gal syndrome — a disease spread by bites from the Lone Star Tick — have ripped through the scenic summer hotspot with a total of 523 reported last year, according to the Times of London.” (08/20/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/08/20/us-news/tick-bites-on-marthas-vineyard-are-forcing-residents-to-go-vegan-because-of-alpha-gal-syndrome/
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9) Trump housing regulator accuses Fed governor Cook of mortgage fraud
Source: Axios
“Federal housing finance regulator Bill Pulte accused Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook of mortgage fraud and referred her for criminal prosecution. It comes as the president seeks to clean house at the Fed and install governors more to his liking. Pulte, chairman of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, posted on X a letter to the attorney general stating that it appears Cook ‘has falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, potentially committing mortgage fraud under the criminal statutes.’ … President Trump appears to be building a case to fire Fed governors for cause as he seeks leadership of the central bank that will cut interest rates and be more responsive to his instincts.” (08/20/25)
https://archive.is/aoNYW
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10) Alleged victim: Kentucky judge killed by sheriff ran courthouse like “brothel”
Source: New York Post
“The rural Kentucky judge gunned down in his own chambers last year ran a twisted sex ring in which young women were coaxed into performing sexual favors just to get out of trouble, one of the alleged victims claims. Tya Adams alleges she was among those caught up in Judge Kevin Mullins’[s] apparent sex-for-favors scheme that saw him and others in the tiny town of Whitesburg demand sex in exchange for cash, or to get offenders off the hook. Adams told NewsNation’s ‘Banfield’ that Mullins — who was shot execution-style in his Letcher County chambers, allegedly by his longtime sheriff pal Shawn Stines, last September — had warned her to keep quiet about the so-called depraved ring.” (08/20/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/08/20/us-news/kentucky-judge-gunned-down-by-sheriff-allegedly-ran-sex-ring-in-his-chambers-report/
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11) DC Residents’ Anger at Fed Presence Grows as Poll Shows “Overwhelming” Opposition to Trump Takeover
Source: Common Dreams
“Residents of Washington, DC are getting increasingly fed up with US President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard and other federal law enforcement officials in their city. Zeteo journalist Prem Thakker reported on Tuesday that residents in Columbia Heights jeered and shouted at masked federal agents in their local Metro station who were apparently there to assist transit police in holding train fare evaders accountable. While at the station, Thakker observed agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) standing around an alleged fare evader alongside the transit police. This led Thakker to ask a police officer on the scene whether it was really the best use of HSI and FBI’s time to have them tackling petty crimes.” (08/20/25)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/washington-dc-trump-poll
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12) PA: Tortoise hatchlings born of century-old parents come out of their shells at Philadelphia Zoo
Source: SFGate
“Sixteen critically endangered western Santa Cruz tortoises born to some very old parents got a slow walk and the red carpet treatment Wednesday at a Philadelphia Zoo event to show off the highly prized hatchlings. Animal care specialists who have watched over the 16 since they were eggs held the animals on a pathway by the zoo’s tortoise habitat. The hatchlings are said to be eating well and growing. The pampered turtles were born in a series of hatches this year to Mommy and Abrazzo, a couple that is estimated to both be about 100 years old. Mommy arrived at the zoo in 1932, but had not produced offspring until Abrazzo was brought in nearly five years ago from Riverbanks Zoo and Garden in Columbia, South Carolina. The 16 are her first progeny.” (08/20/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/tortoise-hatchlings-born-of-century-old-parents-20826023.php
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13) Kyle Chrisley sues Tennessee county and police for $1.7 million, claims false arrest and excessive force
Source: Fox News
“Kyle Chrisley and his wife, Ashleigh, are suing Rutherford County and two sheriff deputies for $1.7 million over his aggravated assault arrest in September 2024. In court documents obtained by Fox News Digital, attorneys for the Chrisleys claim the couple were ‘terrorized in their own home’ the afternoon of Sept. 9, 2024, and then ‘punished for calling for help.’ According to the lawsuit, a ‘disgruntled mechanic, angry over a payment dispute, showed up uninvited, kicked at their doors, threatened violence, and used his car as a weapon by ramming their SUV and nearly running Kyle over in front of multiple neighbors.’ Kyle and the mechanic – who had done work on the Chrisleys’ car and was allegedly paid in full – got into a physical altercation outside their home in Tennessee over a monetary dispute.” (08/20/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/kyle-chrisley-sues-tennessee-county-police-1-7m-claims-false-arrest-excessive-force
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14) Uganda: No Deal to Take US Regime’s Abductees, Official Says
Source: US News & World Report
“Uganda has not reached any agreement with the United States to take in illegal [sic] immigrants because it lacks necessary infrastructure to do so, a senior foreign affairs ministry official said on Wednesday. ‘To the best of my knowledge we have not reached such an agreement. We do not have the facilities and infrastructure to accommodate such illegal [sic] immigrants in Uganda. So, we cannot take in such illegal [sic] immigrants,’ Okello Oryem, state minister for foreign affairs, told Reuters in a text message. On Tuesday, CBS News, citing internal documents, reported that Washington had reached deportation deals with Honduras and Uganda as part of its effort to strike more agreements with countries that would accept [abducted] migrants deported from the U.S. who were not their citizens.” (08/19/25)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2025-08-20/uganda-foreign-affairs-official-says-no-agreement-reached-with-us-to-take-illegal-immigrants
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15) Mississippi Supreme Court map violates Voting Rights Act, judge rules
Source: SFGate
“A federal judge has ordered Mississippi to redraw its Supreme Court electoral map, after finding the map dilutes the power of [b]lack voters. U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock ruled the map, which was enacted in 1987, violates the Voting Rights Act and cannot be used in future elections. The Mississippi branch of the American Civil Liberties Union helped litigate the lawsuit, arguing the map cut Mississippi’s Delta region — a historically [b]lack area — in half. ‘This win corrects a historic injustice,’ said Ari Savitzky, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU Voting Rights Project. ‘All Mississippians will benefit from fair district lines that give [b]lack voters an equal [sic] voice — and new generations of [b]lack leaders an equal chance to help shape the state’s future by serving on the state’s highest court.’ The lawsuit, which was filed on April 25, 2022, argued the map diminished [sic] the [b]lack vote in the Central District.” (08/20/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/mississippi-supreme-court-map-violates-voting-20824763.php
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16) Gabbard revokes security clearances of 37 former intelligence officials
Source: Politico
“Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard revoked the security clearances of 37 former intelligence officials, the Trump administration’s latest move against Obama-era officials whom the White House accuses of undermining the Trump administration. In a memo she posted Tuesday on social media, Gabbard directed the heads of several national security agencies to immediately revoke the clearances of the officials, at the direction of the president, alleging they politicized or weaponized intelligence for personal or partisan gain.” [editor’s note: I’m against the idea that government should be allowed to keep anything secret in the first place, but if they are, wouldn’t it make sense for “security clearances” to be AUTOMATICALLY revoked any time someone leaves the job they’re issued for, instead of only when political distractions are needed? – TLK] (08/19/25)
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/19/gabbard-security-clearance-00515195
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17) New Schiff leak claim from whistleblower echoes years of similar accusations
Source: Fox News
“Longtime Trump political foe Democrat Sen. Adam Schiff for years has been accused of leaking classified documents — long before the release of a ‘bombshell’ whistleblower testimony claiming the California lawmaker approved leaking classified information in order to discredit the president during the Russiagate probe, Fox News Digital found. Schiff, who served in the U.S. House for more than two decades before securing his spot in the U.S. Senate in 2024, is facing heightened scrutiny following FBI Director Kash Patel declassifying claims from a Democrat whistleblower that Schiff approved the release of classified information on Trump that allegedly ‘would be used to indict President TRUMP,’ according to the report. The whistleblower, who reportedly had worked for Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee for more than 10 years, made the claims to the FBI in 2017. (08/20/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/new-schiff-leak-claim-from-whistleblower-echoes-years-similar-accusations
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18) UK: Member of Irish rap band Kneecap appears at court on “terrorism” charge
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“A member of the Irish rap group Kneecap has arrived in court in London, charged with a ‘terror’ offence for allegedly supporting the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah. Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who was initially charged under the Anglicised name Liam O’Hanna, and who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, appeared at the Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday after he was charged in May for displaying a Hezbollah flag during a London concert in November. … Since Hezbollah was banned in the United Kingdom in 2019, it has been an offence to show support for the Iran-aligned group.” [editor’s note: Heaven forbid anyone get away with waving the “wrong” Holy Pole Quilt! — TLK] (08/20/25)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/20/irish-kneecap-rapper-faces-court-on-terror-charge-over-hezbollah-flag
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19) Bay Area rock star Michael Franti, known for “positive music”, embroiled in grooming allegations
Source: SFGate
“Michael Franti, a Bay Area musician and former Stern Grove headliner, is ‘vehemently’ denying engaging in nonconsensual behavior toward a younger female musician. A forthcoming music cruise in Mexico that Franti was set to headline has been canceled. Franti did not name his accuser, but his message appears to be a response to statements made by Victoria Canal, a Spanish American singer-songwriter. Canal also did not name Franti but said last week on Instagram that she was groomed by an older musician she was touring with who touched her in nonconsensual ways and coerced her into not telling anyone else at the time. Franti is an alternative rock star known for his positive songs like ‘Say Hey (I Love You)’ that combine reggae, pop, soul and hip-hop influences.” (08/20/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/bay-area-rock-star-grooming-allegations-20823078.php
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20) FL: DeSantis regime files frivolous lawsuit over textbook prices, throws in “woke” whining
Source: Tallahassee Democrat
“Gov. Ron DeSantis says Florida is suing two major textbook publishers for overcharging Florida school districts – and was quick to add they push ‘egregious’ content in their instructional materials. Attorney General James Uthmeier filed suit Aug. 19 against McGraw Hill and Savvas Learning Co., specifically accusing the two publishers of bilking Florida school districts for textbooks. DeSantis also noted concerns he’s had with the textbook materials as well, saying their content is not ‘aligned with our standards.’ … The 26-page complaint filed in Leon County alleges that the publishers are violating Florida law, which requires them to give each Florida school district the lowest price offered to any other district in the country.” [editor’s note: If the price or content is unsatisfactory, don’t buy the books. “Problem” solved – TLK] (08/19/25)
https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/state/2025/08/19/desantis-lawsuit-hits-publishers-for-overcharges-egregious-content/85724713007/
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Tariffs Begin Taking a Bite out of the Economy
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“Even as some Republicans mocked economists for predicting prices would rise as a result of tariffs, there was a whistling-past-the-graveyard quality to the snickering. Yes, tariffs that had been threatened, delayed, and only partially implemented hadn’t yet much increased costs for consumers, but there were clear signs that importers were rushing to beat high customs duties, and that trouble was on the way. Now we’ve had a weak jobs report and a higher-than-expected producer price index (PPI), and it’s clear that tariffs perform just as we were warned: They raise prices for domestic businesses and consumers.” (08/20/25)
https://reason.com/2025/08/20/tariffs-begin-taking-a-bite-out-of-the-economy/
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22) Trump’s DC “Takeover” Is Missing the Point
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Connor O’Keeffe
“We’re now in the second week of Trump’s so-called ‘takeover’ of Washington, DC, where he’s formally federalized the city’s police and mobilized national guard troops and federal agents to help crack down on crime. So far, a few hundred people have been arrested. … the establishment media frames the entire episode as Trump, for the first time in the country’s history, ushering in a federal ‘police state.’ The right, in contrast, has seemed to enjoy the optics of armed agents in tactical gear flanked by armored National Guard vehicles patrolling DC neighborhoods, arresting people, and clearing homeless encampments …. genuine or not, the president’s effort to clean up DC and any other crime-ridden cities is hampered by a misunderstanding of the true root of this blue-city crime phenomenon, which is the monopolization of the protection of person and property — arguably the most important service in society.” (08/20/25)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/trumps-dc-takeover-missing-point
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23) Useful Counterfactuals on Trade
Source: EconLog
by Jon Murphy
“Counterfactuals are a necessary part of any scientific analysis: If X didn’t happen, then Y would have. But counterfactuals, by definition, can never be known. They never occurred, so we can never truly know if the counterfactual would have happened. … In international trade discussions these days, the focus is often on the counterfactuals … at least, after protectionists make empirical claims that are easily debunked by the data. A famous counterfactual revolves around the (oft-cited-never-read) China Shock paper. If not for China joining the WTO, protectionists claim, the US would be a thriving place, rather than the devastated hellhole it is now.” (08/20/25)
https://www.econlib.org/useful-counterfactuals-on-trade/
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24) Econ 101: A Compass for a Lost Country
Source: The Daily Economy
by Vance Ginn
“From tariffs to student debt ‘forgiveness,’ from corporate welfare to border chaos, America’s political class — right and left — has lost its economic compass. What’s missing? Econ 101. Progressives promise government programs to create ‘equity.’ Conservatives now support tariffs and special favors for certain businesses. Both are forms of economic socialism — central planning that shifts control from the people to politicians. That’s why the US economy feels stuck: a $37 trillion national debt, a bloated Federal Reserve balance sheet, and growing doubts about the American Dream. It doesn’t have to be this way. We need a return to the basics of economic freedom.” (08/20/25)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/econ-101-a-compass-for-a-lost-country/
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25) Liberty’s not dangerous — it fuels progress
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“Liberty forms the foundation of an ethical life and the basis for a worthwhile society. It isn’t just a slogan for politicians on the campaign trail; it’s the freedom to act, think, and live as you see fit, as long as you’re not harming others. Some people claim liberty is dangerous, that it leads to chaos or selfishness. They’re mistaken. When liberty is understood and respected, it’s good for everyone, no matter who they are or where they’re from.” (08/20/25)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2025/08/20/voices/opinion-libertys-not-dangerous-it-fuels-progress/231495.html
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26) Another Federal War on Free Speech
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by James Bovard
“Any precedent for blanket censorship will propagate like a COVID virus. Many conservatives and libertarians may shrug off [Rumeysa] Ozturk’s degradation because they have no interest in criticizing the policies of foreign governments. But the Ozturk case hinged on collective guilt — on assuming that anyone who advocates a position is culpable for any crimes committed by any other advocate with the same view. Ozturk’s persecution could be a linchpin in the Trump administration efforts to silence all protests that rile up his donors. … American history demonstrates that persecution that starts with foreigners often snowballs into targeting American citizens.” (08/20/25)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/another-federal-war-on-free-speech
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27) Reason’s Limits and the Future of Freedom
Source: Mindset Shifts
by Barry Brownstein
“Arguing against one of the most common misconceptions in all of philosophy, Hume taught that to rely on reason to control our passions is to bet on the wrong horse. Hume’s insight about the primacy of passions is not an abstract philosophical point but carries profound implications for understanding political obedience and the very future of freedom.” (08/20/25)
https://mindsetshifts.substack.com/p/reasons-limits-and-the-future-of
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28) Selling Freddie and Fannie — What’s the Real Point?
Source: Racket News
by Eric Salzman
“The Trump administration is in serious discussions to begin selling the government’s stake in Freddie and Fannie. Guess who wins … again?” (08/20/25)
https://www.racket.news/p/selling-freddie-and-fannie-whats
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29) Today’s flag-bearers for clean government
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“Over the past nine months, a visitor to Serbia in southeastern Europe might have run into almost-daily protests by university students. The biggest demonstrations brought out at least 4% of Serbia’s 6 million people, most of them Generation Z. While the numbers and the persistence of the protests are impressive, what really matters is that ‘the students have behaved with exemplary integrity,’ as one faculty member at the University of Novi Sad put it. That has brought them widespread public support. Their integrity is rooted in a consistent demand: The students want transparency and accountability from government after the collapse of a renovated rail station canopy killed 16 people last November. … In addition, they have organized themselves after the democracy they seek: The protesters operate by consensus and with equality, without leaders.” (08/19/25)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2025/0819/Today-s-flag-bearers-for-clean-government
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30) Democrats try to force nuns to pay for abortions. Sounds authoritarian to me.
Source: USA Today
by Ingrid Jacques
“According to the group’s website, the Little Sisters’ mission is to ensure that ‘the elderly and dying are cared for with love and dignity until God calls them home.’ The Little Sisters work in 31 countries and began work in America in 1868. Today, the nuns operate about 20 homes in the United States. It’s a lovely mission and one that they should be allowed to do in peace, free from interference from the government. No such luck, however. Blue states like California and Pennsylvania refuse to leave the Little Sisters alone and couldn’t care less about their religious beliefs. … The nuns don’t want to be complicit in providing services that directly violate their deep belief in the sanctity of life, which guides their work. They shouldn’t have to.” (08/20/25)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2025/08/20/birth-control-abortion-little-sisters-of-the-poor-ruling/85708313007/
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31) Curtis Sliwa’s quality-of-life crackdown makes sense, but he won’t be next mayor of NYC
Source: New York Post
by Kirsten Fleming
“Will Curtis Sliwa have any regrets if he wakes up on November 5 and Zohran Mamdani is the new mayor of New York — knowing he could have stepped aside and cleared the crowded campaign field that many fear will split the vote? ‘Nope,’ the Republican candidate told me. So he’s not willing to sacrifice his candidacy to save the city he loves from socialism? ‘That’s based on the idea that everyone is going to go over and vote Cuomo. Ain’t happening. They hate Cuomo. I’m in the streets every day. All I hear is ‘slapping fannies and killing grannies.’ He’s never apologized,’ Sliwa said of Andrew Cuomo’s COVID and #MeToo scandals. Meanwhile, a new AARP poll shows Mamdani’s support at 42% among registered voters; Cuomo is at 23%, fellow independent Adams is at 9%, and Sliwa claims 16%.” (08/19/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/08/19/opinion/i-agree-with-curtis-sliwa-on-a-lot-but-he-is-not-nycs-next-mayor/
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32) Can America Build Ships Again?
Source: Washington Monthly
by Arnav Rao
“During his March address to Congress, Trump intoned in classic Trumpian fashion, ‘We used to make so many ships. We don’t make them anymore very much, but we’re going to make them very fast, very soon.’ Soon after the speech, Trump signed an executive order tasked the government with finding ways to rebuild America’s moribund shipbuilding industry, and Trump’s U.S. Trade Representative hit Chinese-built vessels with port fees. Unlike most of Trump’s other policy priorities, shipbuilding enjoys bipartisan support. Democrats and Republicans alike have applauded the president’s moves on the industry, and in the spring, lawmakers reintroduced major bipartisan legislation that would codify many of Trump’s shipbuilding plans. But can America build ships again?” (08/20/25)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2025/08/20/can-america-build-ships-again/
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33) US Treats Israeli Pedophiles Nicer Than Wounded Palestinian Kids
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Antiwar has a story out right now with the headline ‘Rep. Greene: US Should Let Gaza Children in for Medical Treatment, Prosecute Israeli Child Predators.’ It’s a headline that says so much about what’s going on in the world in just a few words. Is the US really not letting Gaza children in for medical treatment? Is the US really failing to prosecute Israelis who prey on children? Why are these necessary things to say? And why is it being left to Marjorie Taylor Greene to say them? What’s crazy is that these are entirely true and legitimate grievances. … Things are so fucked up that the only way to get wounded Palestinian children in and out of the United States for medical treatment these days would be to disguise them as Israeli pedophiles.” (08/20/25)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2025/08/20/the-us-treats-israeli-pedophiles-nicer-than-wounded-palestinian-kids/
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34) Sixty-Three Years, Nothing Has Changed
Source: Antiwar.com
by James Carden
“[B]y the end of 1960s it had become clear that the national security state aggregated to itself the right to oppose — and if necessary thwart through a variety of means — the foreign policy initiatives of a duly-elected President. To [Hannah] Arendt, the turning point was the assassination of President Kennedy. … ‘it was quite clear that now, really for the first time in a very long time in American history, a direct crime had interfered with the political process. And this somehow changed the political process.’ … every future administration has understood the unspoken prerogative of accommodating itself to the agenda of the permanent state. By the end of the 1960s the permanent state emerged as the supreme arbiter of policy — who would dare contradict it?” (08/20/25)
https://original.antiwar.com/james-carden/2025/08/19/sixty-three-years-nothing-has-changed/
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35) Dumb, Dumber, and Dumbest: Native Born Employment is Not Surging
Source: CounterPunch
by Dean Baker
“I can’t believe we have to debate some things, but with Trump you never know how ridiculous the discussion can get. The Washington Post tells us that the Trump administration is boasting about the huge surge in native-born Americans who are now working thanks to his policy of beating up on immigrants. The boast tells us more about their ignorance of government data than the success of their policy. … Since the total size of the population is fixed by the population controls, the size of the native-born population in these estimates will automatically increase if fewer immigrants answer the survey. That is what we are finding in 2025.” (08/20/25)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/08/20/dumb-dumber-and-dumbest-native-born-employment-is-not-surging/
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36) Loose, abstract talk of “guarantees” could sink Ukraine peace
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Mark Episkopos, George Beebe, & Anatol Lieven
“Over the past three years, Moscow has consistently rejected any scheme for security guarantees that would greenlight the permanent deployment of NATO or Western troops on Ukrainian soil. The Kremlin has demonstrated a degree of flexibility in other areas, including on freezing the lines in the southeast and not attempting to block Ukraine’s path to EU membership. There is, however, no indication that it has budged on what has been its bright red lines surrounding Western contingents in Ukraine. The Kremlin reiterated its stance during the Monday meeting, which also included a phone call between President Trump and Putin.” (08/20/25)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/ukraine-peace-security-guarantees/
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37) The Due Process Delusion: When Migrants Demand Rights They Don’t Have
Source: Town Hall
by Matt O’Brien
“As the Trump administration enforces the Immigration and Nationality Act, migrant advocates have repeatedly cried foul. Their most persistent claim has been that Team Trump is depriving aliens of due process before deporting them. … neither the Vera Institute, nor any of its allies seem to be able to articulate exactly what constitutional principles Team Trump is trampling upon. The result is a delusional belief that aliens who have been given every opportunity to have their immigration claims reviewed, still have not received due process. At its essence, ‘due process’ simply means the government has to follow the rules set forth in the Constitution before it deprives you of life, liberty or property. But the term has been rendered meaningless through overuse.” [editor’s note: Well, let’s see — reasonable bond and trial by jury come to mind – TLK] (08/20/25)
https://townhall.com/columnists/mattobrien/2025/08/20/the-due-process-delusion-when-migrants-demand-rights-they-dont-have-n2662069
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38) Lippmann Revived
Source: Law & Liberty
by Jay Nordlinger
“Walter Lippmann believed that good journalism — sound journalism, honest journalism — was essential to liberal democracy. Bad journalism went hand in hand with bad politics and bad government. Talking about journalists, Lippmann said, ‘We do what every sovereign citizen is supposed to do but has not the time or the interest to do.’ And ‘that is no mean calling.'” (08/20/25)
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/lippmann-revived/
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39) The Case of the Phony Stats
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“One theme of The Wire, a series about the war on drugs in Baltimore, is the willingness of police department leaders to fake crime statistics. Despite a few flights of fancy, the drama prided itself on its realism. It turns out that in reality, too, police department bosses may be willing to rewrite crime statistics so things don’t seem as bad as they are.” (08/20/25)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2025/08/19/the-case-of-the-phony-stats/
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40) It’s the Economy, Donald
Source: Wired
by Jake Lahut
“For months, the mantra inside the White House has been a MAGA version of ‘Keep calm and carry on.’ President Donald Trump’s inner circle and more junior aides have embraced the term ‘No panicans’ — specifically around tariffs — to signal there is no room to panic over, and certainly no room for dissent from, the president’s economic policies. The administration’s areas of focu — —deporting immigrants whose labor powers key sectors like agriculture and construction, levying tariffs, and cutting social services among them — have done more than simply increase uncertainty. Hiring and tourism have already slowed dramatically in major US cities from Las Vegas to New York in the first half of the year, and Trump has put almost all the ingredients in place for slow growth amid high unemployment and inflation, the potent combination known as stagflation.” (08/20/25)
https://archive.is/0zXOK
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41) The US Can End the Gaza Genocide Now
Source: Common Dreams
by Jeffrey D Sachs & Sybil Fares
“President Donald Trump wants a Nobel Peace Prize, and his efforts toward peace in Ukraine, if successful, could possibly help him earn one — but only if he also ends US complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Under Trump, as under former President Joe Biden, the US has served as Israel’s partner in mass murder, annexation, starvation, and the escalating torment of millions of Palestinians. The genocide can, and will, stop if Trump wills it. So far he has not. Israel is committing genocide; everyone knows it, even its staunchest defenders. The Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem has recently made a poignant acknowledgment of ‘Our Genocide.’ In Foreign Affairs, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew recently admitted that extremist parties in Netanyahu’s government openly aim to starve Palestinians in Gaza.” (08/20/25)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/how-to-end-gaza-genocide
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42) When Owning the Libs Trumps Fighting Fascism
Source: Center for a Stateless Society
by Kevin Carson
“There seems to be a great deal of overlap, probably not by accident, between the edgelords who say ‘America/capitalism has always been fascist,’ and the assorted tankie, campist, and Dirtbag Left types — Greenwald, Dore, Taibbi, etc. — who actually hate liberals and centrists worse than they hate full-blown fascists. They have a lot in common with Third Period Stalin, who, by denouncing Social Democrats as ‘social fascists’ and forbidding Communists to join them in united fronts, facilitated the Nazi rise to power while at the same time alienating many potential sympathizers. Indeed, as they say ‘America was always fascist’ and ‘liberals are fascist,’ these people often wind up denying that the actual fascists themselves are fascist.” (08/20/25)
https://c4ss.org/content/60609
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43) Godwords for Mind Wars
Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders
“Introducing a fusion concept for persuasive rhetoric as we set out to build an Empire of the Mind.” (08/20/25)
https://underthrow.substack.com/p/godwords-for-mind-wars
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44) Did Restaurant Reservations Really Plunge Because of Trump’s DC Takeover?
Source: Cato Institute
by Ryan Bourne
“Media reports yesterday claimed that Donald Trump’s federalization of DC policing had led to a huge plunge in restaurant reservations. Data from OpenTable shows that relative to the same calendar dates last year, reservations at DC restaurants were down by 20 percent or more from August 11th through August 17th … it turns out that August 12 through August 18th 2024 was last year’s DC summer Restaurant Week, which this year only began on August 18th. Restaurant Week is a promotional dining event where (over 350) participating restaurants offered special fixed-price menus in 2024 for the duration of the week, and sometimes beyond. A major aim is to boost reservation rates in the lean summer period, as a means of introducing diners to new restaurants.” (08/19/25)
https://www.cato.org/commentary/did-restaurant-reservations-really-plunge-because-trumps-dc-takeover
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45) DC just had a murder-free week, and yes, Dems, Trump did that
Source: Fox News
by David Marcus
“As the wailing and gnashing of teeth over the Trump administration’s takeover of the Washington DC police force begins to fade, the results are coming in, and they are nothing short of extraordinary. As of Wednesday afternoon, the nation’s capital has had no murders for seven days, something that had not been achieved since March and something I can find no recent record of in summer months when the murder rate is typically at its highest. Last Monday, when a man was tragically gunned down in Logan Circle just hours after the Trump takeover, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., took to social media to say that ‘Trump owns this!’ No word if the congressman agrees Trump also owns the lives saved this past week. And it’s not just murder, according to the local police union.” (08/20/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/david-marcus-dc-just-had-murder-free-week-yes-dems-trump-did
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46) Bari Weiss’s Free Press Wants You to Know Some Kids Being Starved by Israel Were Already Sick
Source: The Intercept
by Natasha Lennard
“The Nazis killed Anne Frank. To suggest that any other cause was primary in her vastly premature death is tantamount to vile Holocaust denialism — which is why Holocaust denialists do indeed point out that Frank died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. This is precisely the logic that Israel’s apologists in the media have deployed in recent days when it comes to the deliberate starvation of the population of Gaza. The right-wing Free Press published a story on Sunday, framed as an investigative exposé, revealing that at least 12 of the Palestinian children featured in viral images depicting the state of Israel-induced famine were not only starving, but … were also sick. The supposed gotcha is that children with disabilities and preexisting health conditions, who cannot get the treatment and nutrition they need because of Israel’s genocidal siege, are not representative of the population.” (08/19/25)
https://theintercept.com/2025/08/19/bari-weiss-free-press-gaza-starvation-famine/
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47) A Bad Argument
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“The mistake of assuming that the burden of a tax is born by whomever hands over the money is not limited to the case of tariffs. Consider the taxes that fund Social Security, half on the employer, half on the employee. Of each dollar the employer pays ten cents goes to the government, ninety to the employee, who pays ten cents to the government (rate invented to simplify the argument). It follows that of each dollar the employer pays the employee gets eighty cents, the government twenty. … Whether the government takes the money before or after the transfer from employer to employee or, as in the present system, half before and half after, does not matter, is a purely cosmetic difference.” (08/19/25)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/a-bad-argument
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48) America’s Campuses: The Next Frontline Against Authoritarianism
Source: Expression
by Sarah McLAughlin
“When China, Qatar, and even our own federal government threaten academic freedom, we’re all responsible for fighting back.” (08/19/25)
https://expression.fire.org/p/americas-campuses-the-next-frontline
-----
49) What Trump Learned From Silicon Valley
Source: The American Prospect
by Henry Burke & Dylan Gyauch-Lewis
“Arguably the most lucrative innovation to come out of Silicon Valley in the past decade and a half has been a willingness to break the law. The conscious decision to defy existing regulation (frequently by reference to ‘blitzscaling,’ a strategy of rapidly expanding businesses promoted by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman) is now the easiest way to find success in America’s crowded startup economy. Blitzscaling, exemplified by Uber and other venture capital–backed tech companies, is now being put to use by the Trump administration and its techno-fascist staffer class. Much like Silicon Valley investors, administration officials have learned that the structures governing the American economy and its liberal democratic order are no match for unadulterated speed. Like Uber, the Trump administration has found regulators, law enforcement, and courts asleep at the switch, unwilling to fight to enforce the most basic of guardrails.” (08/20/25)
https://prospect.org/power/2025-08-20-what-trump-learned-from-silicon-valley/
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50) Geoengineering and Flights of Fancy
Source: Brownstone Institute
by David Bell
“Geoengineering in the form of modifying the weather happens. It can save decimation of farmer livelihoods by mitigating droughts, and it can risk the global food supply by reducing crop growth. Like nuclear fission, it’s useful in the hands of sane people working with the knowledge and assent of the wider community, or it has the potential to destroy much of what humankind has built if left in the hands of psychopaths. If we can approach it in a calm and rational manner, we may yet stop the psychopaths.” (08/19/25)
https://brownstone.org/articles/geoengineering-and-flights-of-fancy/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Reason Interview: Chip Roy
Source: Reason
“Chip Roy on Why He Backed Trump’s Spending Bill.” (08/20/25)
https://reason.com/podcast/2025/08/20/chip-roy-on-why-he-backed-trumps-spending-bill/
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52) Nonzero, 08/20/25
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“Feeling the GPT-5 | Robert Wright & Paul Bloom.” (08/20/25)
https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/68955
-----
53) The Daily, 08/20/25
Source: New York Times
“Why So Many Parents Are Opting Out of Public Schools.” (08/20/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7m8USkqSnE
-----
54) Rising, 08/20/25
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave delivers radar on Hillary Clinton praising President Trump’s foreign policy.” (08/20/25)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/5461201-rising-august-20-2025/
-----
55) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 08/20/25
Source: The New Republic
“Trump Press Sec Rages at Media as Putin Mess Sinks Him in Brutal Poll.” (08/20/25)
https://newrepublic.com/article/199317/trump-press-sec-rages-media-putin-mess-sinks-brutal-poll
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56) The Political Orphanage, 08/20/25
Source: The Political Orphanage
“What the Hell Is Finland Smiling About?” (08/20/25)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/what-the-hell-is-finland-smiling-about
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57) The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg, 08/20/25
Source: The Dispatch
“Pleading Insanity | Interview: Emmett Rensin.” (08/20/25)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/remnant/pleading-insanity-interview-emmett-rensin/
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58) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 08/20/25
Source: Antiwar.com
“IDF To Call Up 60k Reservists for Gaza City Take Over, Trump Backs Euro Troops in Ukraine, and More.” (08/19/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5KNghXfMuQ
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59) Fountainhead Forum, episode 345
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Jake Klein on the dismissal of Glenn Loury and the death of Ozzy Osbourne and Hulk Hogan.” (08/19/25)
https://rumble.com/v6xtdm0-ff-345-jake-klein-on-the-dismissal-of-glenn-loury-and-the-death-of-ozzy-osb.html
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60) The Lou Perez Podcast, 08/19/25
Source: Lions of Liberty
“The Personalized Jersey is Personal with Kirk Wilcox.” (08/19/25)
https://www.lionsofliberty.com/episodes/tlpp-the-personalized-jersey-is-personal-with-kirk-wilcox
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