08/04 -- Status of US-Iran talks uncertain as ship struck in Hormuz; The New Big Three
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Thomas L. Knapp
Aug 4, 2026, 6:08:43 AM (yesterday) Aug 4
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 08/04/26
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Status of US-Iran talks uncertain as ship struck in Hormuz
2) At least 27 killed as Russian, Ukrainian regimes trade heavy attacks
3) Bitcoin nears $64,000 as traders look past Strategy’s BTC sales and Coldcard sweeps
4) Myanmar’s Suu Kyi meets Red Cross official in first post-coup visit
5) Greene, Massie, Carlson meet, tout new “movement”
6) Central African Republic: Swiss geologist and local miner kidnapped and killed
7) MI: Supreme Court rejects permit for Enbridge oil pipeline under Great Lakes
8) Maduro backs Venezuela opposition talks from jail
9) TX: Federal Judge Lets US Heimatschutz Proceed With Berlin Wall Replica Through Town’s Levee System
10) CA: “Major Momentum” as Democratic Party Endorses Billionaire Wealth Tax
11) DC: GOP holdouts say they will back Blanche’s attorney general nomination
12) Cyberattack hits Liechtenstein’s register of people behind companies and foundations
13) ID: In-N-Out Burger shooting motive still a mystery as armed citizen speaks out
14) UEFA threatens Infantino, Joshua Kushner with legal action
15) WA: Fires destroy hundreds of structures and force Spokane-area residents to evacuate
16) Iran: Regime Kills Two People Accused of Spying for Israel
17) NJ: Diners fume over new “Skip the Stuff” law affecting take-out orders
18) US, Japanese regimes confirm coordinated yen intervention, signal readiness for more
19) Cubans struggle to bounce back after 6th nationwide blackout this year
20) Brazil: Lula launches reelection bid as concerns rise over foreign interference
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) The New Big Three
22) Liberal Toleration and Ordinary Vices
23) A Fantastic (and Very Funny) Act of Civil Disobedience
24) Laura Loomer: Everyone Is a Nazi, Except the Real Nazis in Ukraine
25) David Hume, Political Philosopher
26) This law is killing US jobs AND harming national security
27) The Violence Is Inclusive
28) Federal Farm Interventions: Harmful as Usual
29) The Death of Middle-Class Tax Cuts as a Bulletproof Idea
30) A Romp through the Fauci Diaries: Fame Turns to Shame
31) I’m a Democrat. Socialists need to stop leeching off my party and build their own
32) What Is a Think Tank?
33) How a Manufactured War Scare Could Produce a $50 Million Insider Windfall
34) The Universal Exodus
35) Washington’s Unseemly Celebration of Lindsey Graham
36) Mamdani’s Tax Database Doxed Wealthy New Yorkers
37) The EU and the Iron Law of Oligarchy
38) The Coup In Search of a Philosophy
39) Fox News screaming desperately into wind as Trump loses grip
40) Censorship Is More Offensive Than Any Slur
41) “I’m Not Political” Just Means “I Support The Status Quo”
42) The Cure for Russia’s Labor Shortage Is Worse Than the Disease
43) Iran’s Leaders Now Doubt a Peace Deal Is Possible
44) Managed democracy versus a republic
45) The Vet-to-Cop Pipeline
46) Executive War Powers and Iran: Why Congress Must Reclaim Article 1 Authority
47) Who’s Really Afraid of the DSA?
48) Inside Christian nationalists’ war on religious freedom
49) Seth Moulton’s Sweetheart Deals
50) Four F-Droid Android Apps for Privacy, Security, and Counter-Surveillance
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Reason Roundtable, 08/03/26
52) Gracearchy with Jim Babka, episode 165
53) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 08/03/26
54) The Liberty Dad Podcast, episode 757
55) EconTalk, 08/03/26
56) Pink Flame of Liberty, 08/02/26
57) LPALive, episode 79
58) Free Talk Live, 08/02/26
59) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 08/02/26
60) Unattended Baggage, episode 350
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Status of US-Iran talks uncertain as ship struck in Hormuz
Source: Reuters
“Conflicting signals from the United States and Iran over the status of talks to end their five-month-old war boosted uncertainty on Tuesday, with the latest attack on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz highlighting risks to global energy flows. U.S. President Donald Trump said the talks were under way on Monday, warning of a ‘last chance’ for Tehran to sign a good deal, but Iran denied that negotiations were being held or planned. … One cargo vessel broadcast it had been hit by an unknown projectile near the strait off Oman’s coast, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said.” [editor’s note: I don’t think the status is “uncertain.” On this issue, at this time, the Iranian regime is clearly more credible/believable than the US regime – TLK] (08/04/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/status-us-iran-talks-uncertain-ship-struck-hormuz-2026-08-04/
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2) At least 27 killed as Russian, Ukrainian regimes trade heavy attacks
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“At least 16 people have been killed in Russia and 11 in Ukraine, according to local officials from each side, as both countries continue to exchange attacks. Early on Tuesday, Russian state news agency TASS said that five people had been killed in a drone attack …. Veniamin Kondratyev, the governor of Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, said seven people, including three children, were killed and nearly 40 wounded when drone debris fell on the resort village of Arkhipo-Osipovka …. Sergey Aksyonov, the Moscow-installed head of Russian-occupied Crimea, who reported that the death toll on the peninsula had risen to four people …. In Ukraine, three people, including an emergency response worker and his eight-year-old son, were killed in a Russian attack on a petrol station in the Kryvyi Rih district of the Dnipropetrovsk region …. Additionally, eight people were killed, including two children, in an overnight attack in Zaporizhzhia.” (08/03/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/3/more-than-10-killed-as-russia-and-ukraine-trade-heavy-attacks
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3) Bitcoin nears $64,000 as traders look past Strategy’s BTC sales and Coldcard sweeps
Source: CoinDesk
“Bitcoin neared $64,000 in Asian morning hours Tuesday, up 2% over 24 hours and 1% on the week, recovering the $63,000 level it lost during Monday’s session. The low came near $62,250 before a steady bid carried it to just above $64,100 overnight. Ether lagged near $1,865, up marginally on the day but still down 1% over seven days, the only major in the red on the weekly view. XRP rose almost 1% to $1.08 and is up 2% on the week. BNB added 1.5% to nearly $591 and leads the majors over seven days at almost 5%.” (08/04/26)
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/08/04/bitcoin-nears-usd64-000-as-traders-look-past-the-fourth-coldcard-sweep
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4) Myanmar’s Suu Kyi meets Red Cross official in first post-coup visit
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“Myanmar’s detained democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi met the nation’s Red Cross representative on Monday, the president’s office said, the first publicised meeting between her and a foreign official since she was ousted in a 2021 coup. The military deposed Suu Kyi in February 2021, jailing the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and triggering an ongoing civil war that has killed more than 100,000 people on all sides. … She was detained on a host of charges which rights groups say were concocted to sideline her and her popular National League for Democracy party. The president’s office said in a statement that Arnaud de Baecque, the resident representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to Myanmar, met Suu Kyi on Monday morning.” (08/03/26)
https://archive.is/CD47S
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5) Greene, Massie, Carlson meet, tout new “movement”
Source: USA Today
“The picture shows a group of leading MAGA rebels who have clashed with President Donald Trump seated around a wooden table, smiling as they pose for the camera in exile. Included in the gathering: Media personality Tucker Carlson, former Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie and former Trump administration counterterrorism official Joe Kent. … Carlson said in a recent interview that ‘I’m going to help build a third party.’ Democrats and Republicans are in ‘lockstep’ on war in the Middle East and other issues, Carlson said, adding the government should focus on ‘the welfare of its own people.’ Greene previously said she is ‘in talks’ to launch a new party.” (08/03/26)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/08/03/maga-critics-greene-massie-carlson-new-movement/91150118007/
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6) Central African Republic: Swiss geologist and local miner kidnapped and killed
Source: ABC News
“A Swiss geologist and a local miner were killed on Thursday in the Central African Republic, north of the capital, Bangui, according to a statement from the local public prosecutor’s office on Monday. Luca Maggini and the miner were kidnapped by unidentified men in the evening and later killed, according to Frédéric Pounou, a geologist who was working alongside Maggini when he was kidnapped. … The attack occurred near the village of Gbango-Carriere, 55 kilometers (34 miles) north of Bangui, and also resulted in the kidnapping of a staff sergeant in the Central African Army, according to the public prosecutor’s statement.” (08/03/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/swiss-geologist-local-miner-kidnapped-killed-central-african-135326732
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7) MI: Supreme Court rejects permit for Enbridge oil pipeline under Great Lakes
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“The Michigan Supreme Court has ordered state regulators to reconsider a key permit that allowed a planned tunnel to carry an oil pipeline under part of the Great Lakes to move forward. The 6-1 decision further clouds the future of the 73-year-old pipeline owned by Canadian energy transportation company Enbridge that carries petroleum from Superior, Wis., to Sarnia, Ont. The part of the pipeline in question, called Line 5, runs for six kilometres along the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac where Lakes Huron and Michigan meet. Enbridge wants to bury the pipeline in a tunnel under the straits. Environmentalists and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer want to move the pipeline away from the waterway altogether, saying a spill would be catastrophic to the Great Lakes and surrounding area.” (08/03/26)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/michigan-supreme-court-enbridge-oil-pipeline-9.7294988
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8) Maduro backs Venezuela opposition talks from jail
Source: United Press International
“Ousted Venezuelan [ed-]President Nicolás Maduro voiced support from jail for a new round of negotiations between the government and the opposition, saying he welcomed ‘every path of dialogue that helps consolidate peace, coexistence and reconciliation among Venezuelans.’ The message was published Sunday on Maduro’s official Telegram account. The 63-year-old former leader issued the statement from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he has been held since U.S. authorities [abducted] him and his wife, Cilia Flores, in January 2026 on drug trafficking and weapons trafficking charges.” (08/03/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/08/03/latam-venezuela-maduro-backs-opposition-talks/8861785775107/
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9) TX: Federal Judge Lets US Heimatschutz Proceed With Berlin Wall Replica Through Town’s Levee System
Source: US News & World Report
“A federal judge is allowing the Department of Homeland Security to go ahead for now with plans to build a border wall through a levee system protecting a small Texas town on the border with Mexico, rejecting arguments by the town that the wall could lead to flooding. The decision late Sunday marks a victory for the Trump administration as it races ahead with efforts to build a $46 billion wall along the U.S.-Mexico border from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. The town of Presidio, with a population of about 3,200 people, argued the wall could cause flooding and that the administration isn’t following the law as it rushes forward with its plans. The town’s development district sued earlier this year to stop the department from going forward with construction.” (08/03/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2026-08-03/a-federal-judge-lets-dhs-proceed-with-a-border-wall-through-a-small-texas-towns-levee-system
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10) CA: “Major Momentum” as Democratic Party Endorses Billionaire Wealth Tax
Source: Common Dreams
“The California Democratic Party on Sunday endorsed a state ballot measure that would impose a one-time, 5% wealth tax on billionaire residents, a popular initiative that has drawn opposition from Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and ultra-rich corporate executives who are spending big to defeat it. California Democrats’ executive board voted 145-90 on Sunday to endorse the billionaire wealth tax, which will appear on the November ballot as Proposition 40. The Sacramento Bee reported that ‘delegates and observers erupted into cheers’ following the vote, which barely cleared the 60% threshold needed for a formal endorsement. Dave Regan, president of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, the union leading the campaign for the ballot initiative, said the California Democratic Party’s endorsement of the proposal ‘puts to rest the idea that California Democrats are not united by the billionaire tax; they are’.” (08/03/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/california-democrats-billionaire-tax
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11) DC: GOP holdouts say they will back Blanche’s attorney general nomination
Source: SFGate
“Two Republican senators who threatened to block acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s confirmation to lead the Justice Department said Monday that they will support his nomination, ending an impasse over plans to create a fund to compensate allies of President Donald Trump. The endorsement from GOP Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis paves the way for the Senate Judiciary Committee to advance Blanche’s nomination on Tuesday after the Justice Department and lawmakers reached a deal to formally rescind the $1.8 billion ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ proposed to settle Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. Cornyn and Tillis had refused to back Blanche’s bid for the permanent post without official confirmation killing the fund meant to compensate people who believe they were unfairly prosecuted by the Justice Department.” (08/03/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/blanche-rescinds-fund-for-trump-supporters-after-22371121.php
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12) Cyberattack hits Liechtenstein’s register of people behind companies and foundations
Source: Seattle Times
“A cyberattack tapped the data of some 31,000 people in Liechtenstein’s register of people behind companies and foundations in the wealthy principality, the government said. The ‘register of economic beneficiaries’ was accessed at night from Wednesday into Thursday last week, the government said. It said that the breach was noticed on Thursday, that measures were taken to secure data and the system taken offline. The government said there were no indications that any data was altered or deleted.
The list of people behind companies, foundations and trusteeships is part of efforts to combat money laundering and terror financing.” (08/03/26)
https://archive.is/pPpVc
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13) ID: In-N-Out Burger shooting motive still a mystery as armed citizen speaks out
Source: Fox News
“Police are still working to determine why a 24-year-old gunman opened fire at a crowded In-N-Out Burger in Twin Falls, Idaho, killing three people and wounding seven others before taking his own life after taking fire from a bystander and an off-duty Idaho state trooper. Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks said Sunday that investigators were confident Chad Williams acted alone in Saturday’s attack, but detectives had not yet established a motive or fully traced his movements before the shooting. … Police have not publicly identified the trooper or the bystander, but the Idaho Statesman detailed the heroics of Jordan Salinas, 35, of Kimberly, Idaho, strapped by the shoulder with a FN Five-seveN semi-automatic pistol fitted with a suppressor.” (08/03/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/us/idaho-in-n-out-burger-shooting-motive-mystery-armed-citizen-speaks
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14) UEFA threatens Infantino, Joshua Kushner with legal action
Source: Politico
“The governing body of European football, UEFA, has threatened legal action against FIFA President Gianni Infantino, venture capitalist Joshua Kushner — brother of U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner — and other individuals involved in the controversial plan to privatize a share of the World Cup’s commercial operations. UEFA is ‘actively considering legal action, arbitration, and/or regulatory complaints’ against Infantino, reads a letter sent to Infantino, seen by the Telegraph. The move follows Infantino’s proposal to transfer FIFA’s commercial rights and tournament operations to a private entity firm — in partnership with Thrive Capital, Kushner’s venture capital company — allowing private investors to acquire a 20 percent stake. UEFA opposed the plan and unanimously voted to boycott the World Cup if the project was adopted, arguing it had been developed without proper consultation with member associations and would effectively privatize part of the tournament’s commercial business. The proposal was ultimately shelved.” (08/03/26)
https://www.politico.eu/article/uefa-legal-action-against-gianni-infantino-joshua-kushner
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15) WA: Fires destroy hundreds of structures and force Spokane-area residents to evacuate
Source: SFGate
“Light winds and lower temperatures were in the forecast Monday to help firefighters battle wildfires in eastern Washington state that destroyed at least 600 structures and forced the evacuation of 60,000 people in the Spokane area. The fires in and around Spokane, the state’s second-largest city, burned about 12.5 square miles (about 32 square kilometers) by Monday morning and filled the sky with smoke and haze. They were 0% contained, Courtney James, a spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, said. The weather forecast for Monday called cooler temperatures and light winds, but no rain. The wildfires were among dozens across the Western U.S. that stretched the ability of federal, state and local agencies to fight them. At least 390 square miles (1,000 square kilometers) has burned across Washington. An incident commander told local television Monday that no deaths had been reported.” (08/03/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/washington-state-fires-destroy-hundreds-of-22371401.php
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16) Iran: Regime Kills Two People Accused of Spying for Israel
Source: US News & World Report
“Iran executed two of its citizens on Monday on charges of espionage and cooperation with Israel, Iranian state media reported, amid an increase in executions for offences relating to national security. Omid Behzad and Pouria Safvat were accused of sending Israel the coordinates of military and security sites as well as images and information during a brief war last summer and during the latest conflict, judiciary news outlet Mizan reported.” (08/03/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-08-03/iran-executes-two-people-accused-of-working-for-israel
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17) NJ: Diners fume over new “Skip the Stuff” law affecting take-out orders
Source: New York Post
“Get the fork outta here! New Jersey takeout customers must now request single-use plastic items — like utensils, straws and even condiment packets — under a new law that social media users are sounding off against. The ‘Skip the Stuff’ law puts an end to the longstanding practice of eateries automatically loading up to-go bags with extras that many New Jerseyans have come to take for granted. Interior of an American diner with a long counter lined with stools, display cases of baked goods, and a ‘Cappuccino Cafe Bar Espresso’ neon sign. The law — signed by then-Gov. Phil Murphy in January — took effect Aug. 1 as the Garden State looks to further reduce plastic waste and reduce the environmental footprint of food purveyors.” (08/03/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/08/03/us-news/nj-diners-fume-over-new-skip-the-stuff-law-affecting-take-out-orders/
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18) US, Japanese regimes confirm coordinated yen intervention, signal readiness for more
Source: CNBC
“Japan’s finance ministry said Monday it had conducted a coordinated yen-buying operation with the U.S. Treasury on Friday, marking a rare joint move by the two allies to stem sharp swings in the Japanese currency. … The ministry also announced plans to utilize the Federal Reserve’s foreign and international monetary authorities repo facility in the future. FIMA repo facility allows approved foreign central banks and monetary authorities to obtain short-term dollars by temporarily exchanging U.S. Treasury securities. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also confirmed the coordinated action in a statement, saying, ‘Friday’s coordinated foreign exchange actions countered disorderly yen movements.'” (08/02/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/03/yen-intervention-us-japan-trump-bessent-katayama.html
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19) Cubans struggle to bounce back after 6th nationwide blackout this year
Source: SFGate
“Cubans on Monday were recovering from the sixth islandwide blackout this year, as the nation remains in free-fall after the Trump administration effectively cut it off from oil in January. The energy grid collapses leave people with fewer options to get by as the U.S. keeps up a pressure campaign against the communist-led government. Cuba’s government was working to restore power after the state-run electric company reported another ‘total’ blackout Sunday night, without specifying the cause. That followed sweeping outages across western Cuba, including the cities of Pinar del Río, Matanzas and Havana. By Monday, some electricity had been restored in Havana, but much of the Caribbean nation was still disconnected. Cuba already had been reeling from years of economic and energy crisis, compounded by crumbling infrastructure and migration from the island. Then the U.S. threatened to impose a tariff on any goods from countries that sell or provide it with oil.” (08/03/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/cubans-struggle-to-bounce-back-after-6th-22371818.php
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20) Brazil: Lula launches reelection bid as concerns rise over foreign interference
Source: ABC News
“What is very likely to be the last reelection bid of Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was confirmed on Sunday by his Workers’ Party as the 80-year-old leader faces increasing pressure from foreign leaders ahead of October’s elections. It will be his seventh race for the top job. Lula’s rival, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, has enjoyed open support from members of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, Argentina’s President Javier Milei and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Brazil’s president said in his party convention speech he wants to boost his country’s defense industry, protect its rare minerals, and claimed ‘no Chinese, no American, no French will touch’ these resources without respecting the South American nation’s sovereignty.” (08/02/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/brazils-lula-launches-reelection-bid-concerns-rise-foreign-135308231
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) The New Big Three
Source: The Realist Review
by James W Carden
“Surveying the devastation wrought by the wars in Ukraine and Iran, the Nigerian writer and former secretary general of African workers, Owei Lakemfa, concludes that ‘humanity is moving back to the pre-World War era when there were no agreed universal rules, might was right.’ Today, writes Lakemfa, ‘strongmen, and nations roam around as terrorists and bandits playing God. The strongest is the Zelensky, Netanyahu, and Trump triumvirate.’ This is how the world outside of NATO and Tel Aviv sees things. This might spur a normal country run by normal people to question the wisdom of its current course. Needless to say, in 2026, the US is no such country.” (08/03/26)
https://therealistreview.substack.com/p/the-new-big-three
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22) Liberal Toleration and Ordinary Vices
Source: Liberalism.org
by Shal Marriott
“Liberalism, which fundamentally defends a baseline commitment to pluralism, is at its core dedicated to the idea that we can agree to disagree. Toleration is represented not only through the political debates we engage in—it means that we, as individuals, are tolerant of one another. In a public sphere that is filled with polarized discourse, where the stakes of the present moment seem so exhaustingly high, and one’s own views are in need of a firm defense, an appeal to toleration becomes even more difficult. This makes it worth revisiting one of the age-old subjects of debates within the liberal tradition: what ought we, as liberals, to tolerate?” (08/03/26)
https://www.liberalism.org/p/liberal-toleration-and-ordinary-vices
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23) A Fantastic (and Very Funny) Act of Civil Disobedience
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“When [Samuel] Tunick arrived at the airport, he was taken aside for special interrogation, where his luggage and his diary were subjected to careful search. They then asked for his cell phone, claiming that Tunick was suspected of possessing child pornography. It was a lie. According to an article at CNN.com, during a court hearing last week, officials admitted that they had no reason to suspect that Tunick possessed child-abuse material. They just made it up, knowing that nothing would happen to them if they were caught lying to an American citizen. Here comes the funny part. Tunick turned over his cell phone to them and gave them the password — well, not his regular password but instead a special password. When they punched in the special password, it activated software that automatically wiped the entire cellphone clean. All data gone. Poof! That is absolutely awesome.” (08/03/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/08/03/a-fantastic-and-very-funny-act-of-civil-disobedience/
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24) Laura Loomer: Everyone Is a Nazi, Except the Real Nazis in Ukraine
Source: Antiwar.com
by JD Hester
“Israel and Laura Loomer’s opposition to Nazism is not consistent. While she frequently labels critics of Israel’s influence in America as Nazis or the ‘Woke Reich,’ she downplays the genuine ideological Neo-Nazism of the Azov Battalion. Likewise, the Israeli government has formed strong ties with the Azov Brigade. Regardless of whether the Brigade has stopped using Neo-Nazi symbols and rhetoric publicly, the idea that the entire organization has simply abandoned their deeply held political beliefs is absurd. Ultimately, Zionists seem to view the Azov Brigade, and the Ukrainian government in general, as ‘our Nazis.'” (08/03/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/jd_hester/2026/08/02/laura-loomer-everyone-is-a-nazi-except-the-real-nazis-in-ukraine/
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25) David Hume, Political Philosopher
Source: Law & Liberty
by Max Skjönsberg
“The year 1776 is notable for new beginnings. But it also saw the death of one of the greatest philosophers in the Western tradition. David Hume (1711–76) is often described by ideological labels such as liberal or conservative, as well as eighteenth-century party names (Whig and Tory). But these labels obfuscate Hume’s intentions. Neither an ideologue nor a party man, Hume thought about politics primarily as a philosopher searching for true answers. When we approach him first and foremost as a political philosopher, we are in a better position to revive and understand his substantial contributions to political thought.” (08/03/26)
https://lawliberty.org/forum/david-hume-political-philosopher/
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26) This law is killing US jobs AND harming national security
Source: New York Post
by staff
“It’s hard to find a better example of a failed trade law than the Jones Act — which has now slashed US cargo-ship production to just a few vessels a year, while China’s building more than 4,000. President Donald Trump and Congress need to prioritize a repeal of this 100-year-old protectionist legislation ASAP. The law was supposed to boost the US merchant-marine industry by requiring that all shipping between US points use American-made, -owned, -crewed and -flagged vessels. But sky-high US manufacturing costs, which are passed on to shippers and ultimately consumers, made other alternatives — e.g., imports, land-based transportation — far more economical. The perverse result: Demand for US ships has plummeted, even as building costs soared.” (08/03/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/08/03/opinion/this-law-is-killing-us-jobs-and-harming-national-security/
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27) The Violence Is Inclusive
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“‘I don’t feel safe going,’ Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel recently shared about her decision to skip the Michigan Democratic Party state convention later this month. ‘I don’t want to get chased around. I don’t want to get harassed. I don’t want to get yelled and screamed at.’ It’s a gathering of her own political party!” (08/03/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/08/03/the-violence-is-inclusive/
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28) Federal Farm Interventions: Harmful as Usual
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Stephen Anderson
“US farms and ranches face rising debt in 2026. New York based Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) released an article on February 25, 2026, entitled, ‘Farm Debt on the Rise as Federal Aid Counters Rising Expenses.’ The article described this federal government intervention from the Austrian economics viewpoint encouraged rising farm debt from federal aid. This article will cover US soybean farmers impacted by US government interventions described as aid programs. … Billions of dollars in annual payments seem small compared to other annual federal government entitlement programs like Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. This aid program or waste annually harms US farmers and ranchers from being able to operate on their own and let free market pricing operate freely and voluntary exchange happen by human action.” (08/03/26)
https://mises.org/power-market/federal-farm-interventions-harmful-usual
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29) The Death of Middle-Class Tax Cuts as a Bulletproof Idea
Source: The New Republic
by Monic Potts
“In April, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen separately introduced legislation that they promised would help with the affordability crisis. Booker’s bill, the Keep Your Pay Act, would erase income taxes for taxpayers who make less than $75,000; Van Hollen’s bill, which Booker has co-sponsored, would do the same but only for incomes below $46,000. The two Democrats, both of whom are rumored to be considering presidential runs, probably figured their legislation was a slam-dunk idea. After all, who doesn’t love a tax cut? But then something possibly unexpected happened: The left [sic] pushed back.” (08/03/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/213791/democrats-middle-class-tax-cuts-death-bulletproof-idea
-----
30) A Romp through the Fauci Diaries: Fame Turns to Shame
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Jeffrey A Tucker
“Does Fauci catch on that the media was using him as much as he was using them; that is, that he inhabited a world of fakery? Maybe but he decides early on that it is his only choice. He has to keep it up, otherwise his whole world crumbles. He just kept going for one year, two years, then three. This Icarus just kept flapping his wings without realizing that they were melting. Another feature that stands out: It was always political theater and never about science.” (08/03/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/a-romp-through-the-fauci-diaries-fame-turns-to-shame/
-----
31) I’m a Democrat. Socialists need to stop leeching off my party and build their own
Source: Washington Examiner
by James Christopher
“The Democratic Socialists of America was once a fringe movement. Its recent victories confirm it is now an increasingly powerful national political force. … The DSA’s primary election victories catapulted new political stars into the national spotlight and gave the movement further proof that it can defeat senior Democrats and reshape the party’s delegation. Yet the proverbial Democratic elephant in the room has become nationally consequential: If the DSA operates like a political party, why does it continue running candidates through another one? … DSA supporters reasonably argue that America’s two-party system makes independent organizing difficult and that separate socialist candidacies could help Republicans. But an organization calling for multiparty democracy should help create one, not depend indefinitely on the Democratic ballot line.” (08/03/26)
https://archive.is/5HRjh
-----
32) What Is a Think Tank?
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Douglas Carswell
“‘What is a think tank?’ is a question I get asked all the time. The job of a think tank is to generate the ideas that politicians implement in office. If politics were the movie industry, those we elect would be the stars on the big screen; think tanks help write the script. ‘But don’t politicians have ideas of their own?’ I hear you ask. Of course they do (though having spent 12 years in the House of Commons before running a think tank, I’d suggest they have them less often than you might imagine). Even with a clear goal—cutting taxes, improving childcare, encouraging growth—elected leaders often need help with the details of how to make it happen. Free-market think tanks have been enormously influential.” (08/03/26)
https://fee.org/articles/what-is-a-think-tank/
-----
33) How a Manufactured War Scare Could Produce a $50 Million Insider Windfall
Source: Common Dreams
by Claude H Miller
“Military threats move markets before they move armies. Announce a massive strike against Iranian oil, military, and infrastructure sites, and traders will immediately begin pricing in damaged production, regional retaliation, interrupted shipping, higher insurance costs, and possible disruption of the Strait of Hormuz. No missile needs to be launched. The announcement itself can add a substantial geopolitical premium to every barrel of oil. Cancel the attack a few days later, however, and much of that premium may disappear just as quickly. … for someone possessing advance knowledge of both the threat and its prearranged cancellation, the same sequence could provide an extraordinary opportunity to profit from a government-created price movement in both directions.” (08/03/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/how-to-make-money-on-war-with-insider-information
-----
34) The Universal Exodus
Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders
“To be college-educated about the West in 2026 is to have great works run through some combination of critical theory, identity politics, and post-colonial studies—the teeth used to chew our identity and our ideals. (Thankfully, there is a group of insurgents keeping the best of the West alive online, though one has to learn to separate signal from slop.) Now, if you were to ask me what the most important work of the Western canon is to our sense of shared identity, it is surely the Exodus story. That story has interesting and important details. It’s full of symbolism, yet it is also based upon peoples and cultures that once lived to tell the tale. But I want to do something risky with Exodus.” (08/03/26)
https://underthrow.substack.com/p/the-universal-exodus
-----
35) Washington’s Unseemly Celebration of Lindsey Graham
Source: Cato Institute
by Doug Bandow
“If Washington is good at anything, it is self-celebration. Those who dominate the city constantly remind the public, especially those who live in the great beyond, the ‘flyover country’ between the coasts, of the eternal wisdom, dedication, genius, and goodness of those who have successfully climbed the capital’s well-greased pole of political rule. Never is the shameless hypocrisy on greater display than during the funerals of those who did the most to sacrifice the interests of the Americans who lack genuine representation in Washington. Such was Tuesday’s commemoration of the passing of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R‑SC).” (08/03/26)
https://www.cato.org/commentary/washingtons-unseemly-celebration-lindsey-graham
-----
36) Mamdani’s Tax Database Doxed Wealthy New Yorkers
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“Making an enemies list is creepy. Publishing the names of people you dislike to fuel political supporters’ prejudices is even creepier and potentially dangerous. That’s what New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration has done with the introduction of a property tax surcharge on relatively high-value second homes linked to a searchable online database of those who could be affected. The socialist mayor’s defenders point out that tax and property information is a matter of public record in New York, but the packaged publication of surcharge targets and Mamdani’s history of calling out opponents by name suggests something nastier is going on.” (08/03/26)
https://reason.com/2026/08/03/mamdanis-tax-database-doxed-wealthy-new-yorkers/
-----
37) The EU and the Iron Law of Oligarchy
Source: American Greatness
by Stephen Soukup
“A long, long time ago (27 years, to be exact), my boss (the inimitable Mark Melcher) and I predicted that the European Monetary Union would be the death of the EU. The Euro, we wrote for our clients at a now-defunct big brokerage house, would be a disaster and would destroy everything that the post-war Europeans had spent the previous several decades working to build. Specifically, we wrote: ‘Psst! You wanna know a secret? The Euro, and the mess it represents, is going to be a social, economic and political catastrophe. Indeed, we think it is probable that the adoption of the Euro will be to 21st century Europe, what the killing of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand was to 20th century Europe …” (08/03/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/08/03/the-eu-and-the-iron-law-of-oligarchy/
-----
38) The Coup In Search of a Philosophy
Source: The Daily Economy
by Surse Pierpoint
“In 1925, John Maynard Keynes dismissed Marx’s Capital as an obsolete economic textbook that no serious economist would still assign. He was not being contrarian. By the time he wrote that, the marginal revolution of the 1870s had already done the intellectual work: Jevons, Menger, Walras, and later Wicksteed, Marshall, and Böhm-Bawerk had dismantled the labor theory of value that Marx’s entire economic system rested on. Among economists, the argument was over, and Marx had lost it. So why does Marx remain one of the most cited authors in the humanities and social sciences, a century and a half after his death, in fields far removed from the one where his core claims were actually tested?” (08/03/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/the-coup-in-search-of-a-philosophy/
-----
39) Fox News screaming desperately into wind as Trump loses grip
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Nolan Denaro
“The popular rightwing network spent months building a case for the Iran War. Now they are invested in keeping up support, even if hosts have to deny reality.” (08/03/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/iran-war-fox-news/
-----
40) Censorship Is More Offensive Than Any Slur
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Kym Robinson
“The desire to ban speech, in any form, is an example of insecurity inside society and government. Knowing that certain words or images may in some way draw revulsion and offense is a risk an individual must take. Not everyone will experience the same offense or revulsion, and some may even find arousal or delight in such words or images. It’s what makes the human experience unique and it is why free expression is a sacred thing.” (08/03/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/censorship-is-more-offensive-than-any-slur/
-----
41) “I’m Not Political” Just Means “I Support The Status Quo”
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“It’s saying you endorse all the violence, exploitation, ecocide and abuse of the current order. Politics are always happening all around you in every moment of every day, whether you are ‘into’ it or not. Everything you do in your everyday life is pervasively shaped by local and national laws, by economic systems, by oligarchy, by propaganda, by war, by militarism, by imperialist extraction, by government regulations and the lack thereof. Saying you don’t feel like paying attention to these factors is just saying you’re fine with the way they are presently happening..” (08/03/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/08/03/im-not-political-just-means-i-support-the-status-quo/
-----
42) The Cure for Russia’s Labor Shortage Is Worse Than the Disease
Source: Foreign Policy
by Samuel Bendett & Maria Snegovaya
“Among the various challenges that Russia has faced since its ill-conceived full-scale invasion of Ukraine, one of the most acute has been a severe labor shortage. Russia’s deepening demographic crisis, combined with mass emigration and recruitment of hundreds of thousands of men into the army, has sharply exacerbated the problem. … By 2030, Russia will need to bring 10.9 million people into the workforce, according to Labor Minister Anton Kotyakov, with more than 90 percent replacing retiring workers and roughly 800,000 filling newly created positions. The rapid expansion of defense production has drawn workers away from civilian sectors, intensifying competition for an already scarce workforce. … The Kremlin’s response has rested on three pillars: mobilizing underutilized domestic labor, expanding prison labor, and increasing labor migration. Each proves to be either insufficient or self-defeating. When it comes to Russia’s labor shortage, the cure is worse than the disease.” (08/03/26)
https://archive.is/9GDZk
-----
43) Iran’s Leaders Now Doubt a Peace Deal Is Possible
Source: The American Conservative
by Esfandyar Batmanghelidj
“What I’ve learned from speaking with Iranian officials and analysts.” (08/03/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/irans-leaders-now-doubt-a-peace-deal-is-possible/
-----
44) Managed democracy versus a republic
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
“The entire premise of democracy is based on a fallacy that is as ignored as it is ubiquitous: that a majority is always right, and that a committee is somehow smarter and wiser than any individual. When tied to the idea that government has power over the lives of people that it should have, it creates a truly monstrous evil. So what does this mean to lovers of liberty? It is more than just the tyranny of the majority, and how that so typically results in riding roughshod over individuals and their lives and liberty. It is more than just the cost of such ‘democratic institutions’ or even the way money destroys the meaning of free elections in so many ways. Democracy survives only by propaganda that extolls it and therefore government. The result is that government is made into an absolute essential for any society.” (08/02/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/08/02/managed-democracy-versus-a-republic
-----
45) The Vet-to-Cop Pipeline
Source: Washington Monthly
by Suzanne Gordon & Steve Early
“Encourage veterans, including those with PTSD and brain injuries, to join law enforcement after they leave the military. What could go wrong?” (08/03/26)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/08/03/the-vet-to-cop-pipeline/
-----
46) Executive War Powers and Iran: Why Congress Must Reclaim Article 1 Authority
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey
“President Trump recently halted his proposed strikes against Iran in favor of regional diplomatic talks; he has the right instincts, and while this is the right thing to do – favor diplomatic talks and engage in free trade – he is under pressure by war hawks all around him. He’s been engaged in this ‘on again — off again’ war talk since February, at the behest of Netanyahu and Israel. All of this is happening with little input from Congress, which has the power to give him the ‘go ahead’ to engage in a war with Iran. It seems that, over the last several decades, Congress has abdicated its power to declare war, giving it up to the Executive branch so they do not receive flak from their constituents blowing up in their face.” (08/02/26)
https://palmbeachexaminer.substack.com/p/executive-war-powers-and-iran-why
-----
47) Who’s Really Afraid of the DSA?
Source: exile in happy valley
by Nicky Reid
“So, the communists are coming again or at least so screech the doom merchants over at the GOP. Fox News is ablaze with round-the-clock, wall-to-wall coverage of the Democratic Party’s fall beneath the unstoppable onslaught of the deadly DSA; a Maoist cult of ultra-woke, brown grad students just itching to open the borders and empty the suburbs into the killing fields of a terrifyingly transgender Khmer Rouge cover band. I’m not the communist I once was but it actually sounds pretty sexy when I write it down like that. Unfortunately, all available evidence suggests that this latest red scare is just more post-McCarthyite fan fic from an increasingly desperate Republican Party.” (08/02/26)
https://exileinhappyvalley.blogspot.com/2026/08/whos-really-afraid-of-dsa.html
-----
48) Inside Christian nationalists’ war on religious freedom
Source: The Hill
by David Wippman and Glenn C Altschuler
“Earlier this year, a presidential commission staffed almost entirely by conservative Christians urged Americans to rethink the separation of church and state and build ‘bridges’ between them. Last week, the Department of Justice directed federal agencies to expand protections for religious expression in public employment, military service, education, healthcare and federal contracting. These policies reflect the influence of Christian nationalism, a movement predicated on the belief that the United States is ‘divinely chosen,’ the New Testament should shape government policies, and white Christians should dominate American culture.” (08/02/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/6002868-christian-nationalism-threatens-democracy/
-----
49) Seth Moulton’s Sweetheart Deals
Source: The American Prospect
by Robert Kuttner
“Rep. Seth Moulton, who represents Massachusetts’s Sixth Congressional District, will debate incumbent Sen. Ed Markey Monday evening in the second of three televised debates ahead of the September 1 Democratic primary for Senate. Polls show Markey narrowly leading. Markey, a progressive who recently turned 80, has served in Congress since 1976. Moulton, 47, a former Marine who is more of a centrist, has sought to primarily frame the contest as youth vs. age. But Moulton may well be vulnerable because of a series of investments after entering public service that have made him a multimillionaire.” (08/03/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/08/03/seth-moultons-sweetheart-deals-defense-webai/
-----
50) Four F-Droid Android Apps for Privacy, Security, and Counter-Surveillance
Source: Agorist Nexus
by TechLibre
“Your Android phone is a tracking device that happens to make calls. It knows where you sleep, what you search, who you talk to, and what you whisper near its microphone. The apps below won’t make you invisible—but they’ll make you expensive to surveil.” (08/02/26)
https://www.agoristnexus.com/four-f-droid-android-apps-for-privacy-security-and-counter-surveillance/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Reason Roundtable, 08/03/26
Source: Reason
"Is Democratic Socialism Going National?" (08/03/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/08/03/is-democratic-socialism-going-national/
-----
52) Gracearchy with Jim Babka, episode 165
Source: Gracearchy with Jim Babka
“Is Anthony Fauci Just a Scapegoat?” (08/03/26)
https://rumble.com/v7dmh4a-is-anthony-fauci-just-a-scapegoat-gracearchy-with-jim-babka-165.html
-----
53) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 08/03/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Iran War Sinking Republicans Ahead Of Midterms.” (08/03/26)
https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1OxwbbXlEDRJB
-----
54) The Liberty Dad Podcast, episode 757
Source: The Liberty Dad Podcast
“Can Libertarian Ideas Work (Answering Critics).” (08/03/26)
https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1MJgNNBkrMmGL
-----
55) EconTalk, 08/03/26
Source: EconTalk
“The Political Economy of Palestine (with Hussein Aboubakr Mansour).” (08/03/26)
https://www.econtalk.org/the-political-economy-of-palestine-with-hussein-aboubakr-mansour/
-----
56) Pink Flame of Liberty, 08/02/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“Let’s Watch the August 2, 2026 LNC Meeting.” (08/02/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2xi_uYEETU
-----
57) LPALive, episode 79
Source: LP Alliance
“LNC Monthly Meeting.” (08/02/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfHjpvihV_4
-----
58) Free Talk Live, 08/02/26
Source: Free Talk Live
No description available, but it’s a 2+ hour show hosted by Bonnie, Reilly O’Bill, and Richie Rich. (08/02/26)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/ftl2026-08-02
-----
59) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 08/02/26
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Jon Hoffman: Did Trump Put Saudi on the Path to Nuclear Weapons?!” (08/02/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/blog/the-kyle-anzalone-show-guest-jon-hoffman-did-trump-put-saudi-on-the-path-to-nuclear-weapons/
-----
60) Unattended Baggage, episode 350
Source: Unattended Baggage
“What’s on your To Do list?” (08/02/26)
https://unattendedbaggage.substack.com/p/episode-350-whats-on-your-to-do-list
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Status of US-Iran talks uncertain as ship struck in Hormuz
2) At least 27 killed as Russian, Ukrainian regimes trade heavy attacks
3) Bitcoin nears $64,000 as traders look past Strategy’s BTC sales and Coldcard sweeps
4) Myanmar’s Suu Kyi meets Red Cross official in first post-coup visit
5) Greene, Massie, Carlson meet, tout new “movement”
6) Central African Republic: Swiss geologist and local miner kidnapped and killed
7) MI: Supreme Court rejects permit for Enbridge oil pipeline under Great Lakes
8) Maduro backs Venezuela opposition talks from jail
9) TX: Federal Judge Lets US Heimatschutz Proceed With Berlin Wall Replica Through Town’s Levee System
10) CA: “Major Momentum” as Democratic Party Endorses Billionaire Wealth Tax
11) DC: GOP holdouts say they will back Blanche’s attorney general nomination
12) Cyberattack hits Liechtenstein’s register of people behind companies and foundations
13) ID: In-N-Out Burger shooting motive still a mystery as armed citizen speaks out
14) UEFA threatens Infantino, Joshua Kushner with legal action
15) WA: Fires destroy hundreds of structures and force Spokane-area residents to evacuate
16) Iran: Regime Kills Two People Accused of Spying for Israel
17) NJ: Diners fume over new “Skip the Stuff” law affecting take-out orders
18) US, Japanese regimes confirm coordinated yen intervention, signal readiness for more
19) Cubans struggle to bounce back after 6th nationwide blackout this year
20) Brazil: Lula launches reelection bid as concerns rise over foreign interference
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) The New Big Three
22) Liberal Toleration and Ordinary Vices
23) A Fantastic (and Very Funny) Act of Civil Disobedience
24) Laura Loomer: Everyone Is a Nazi, Except the Real Nazis in Ukraine
25) David Hume, Political Philosopher
26) This law is killing US jobs AND harming national security
27) The Violence Is Inclusive
28) Federal Farm Interventions: Harmful as Usual
29) The Death of Middle-Class Tax Cuts as a Bulletproof Idea
30) A Romp through the Fauci Diaries: Fame Turns to Shame
31) I’m a Democrat. Socialists need to stop leeching off my party and build their own
32) What Is a Think Tank?
33) How a Manufactured War Scare Could Produce a $50 Million Insider Windfall
34) The Universal Exodus
35) Washington’s Unseemly Celebration of Lindsey Graham
36) Mamdani’s Tax Database Doxed Wealthy New Yorkers
37) The EU and the Iron Law of Oligarchy
38) The Coup In Search of a Philosophy
39) Fox News screaming desperately into wind as Trump loses grip
40) Censorship Is More Offensive Than Any Slur
41) “I’m Not Political” Just Means “I Support The Status Quo”
42) The Cure for Russia’s Labor Shortage Is Worse Than the Disease
43) Iran’s Leaders Now Doubt a Peace Deal Is Possible
44) Managed democracy versus a republic
45) The Vet-to-Cop Pipeline
46) Executive War Powers and Iran: Why Congress Must Reclaim Article 1 Authority
47) Who’s Really Afraid of the DSA?
48) Inside Christian nationalists’ war on religious freedom
49) Seth Moulton’s Sweetheart Deals
50) Four F-Droid Android Apps for Privacy, Security, and Counter-Surveillance
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Reason Roundtable, 08/03/26
52) Gracearchy with Jim Babka, episode 165
53) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 08/03/26
54) The Liberty Dad Podcast, episode 757
55) EconTalk, 08/03/26
56) Pink Flame of Liberty, 08/02/26
57) LPALive, episode 79
58) Free Talk Live, 08/02/26
59) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 08/02/26
60) Unattended Baggage, episode 350
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Status of US-Iran talks uncertain as ship struck in Hormuz
Source: Reuters
“Conflicting signals from the United States and Iran over the status of talks to end their five-month-old war boosted uncertainty on Tuesday, with the latest attack on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz highlighting risks to global energy flows. U.S. President Donald Trump said the talks were under way on Monday, warning of a ‘last chance’ for Tehran to sign a good deal, but Iran denied that negotiations were being held or planned. … One cargo vessel broadcast it had been hit by an unknown projectile near the strait off Oman’s coast, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said.” [editor’s note: I don’t think the status is “uncertain.” On this issue, at this time, the Iranian regime is clearly more credible/believable than the US regime – TLK] (08/04/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/status-us-iran-talks-uncertain-ship-struck-hormuz-2026-08-04/
-----
2) At least 27 killed as Russian, Ukrainian regimes trade heavy attacks
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“At least 16 people have been killed in Russia and 11 in Ukraine, according to local officials from each side, as both countries continue to exchange attacks. Early on Tuesday, Russian state news agency TASS said that five people had been killed in a drone attack …. Veniamin Kondratyev, the governor of Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, said seven people, including three children, were killed and nearly 40 wounded when drone debris fell on the resort village of Arkhipo-Osipovka …. Sergey Aksyonov, the Moscow-installed head of Russian-occupied Crimea, who reported that the death toll on the peninsula had risen to four people …. In Ukraine, three people, including an emergency response worker and his eight-year-old son, were killed in a Russian attack on a petrol station in the Kryvyi Rih district of the Dnipropetrovsk region …. Additionally, eight people were killed, including two children, in an overnight attack in Zaporizhzhia.” (08/03/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/3/more-than-10-killed-as-russia-and-ukraine-trade-heavy-attacks
-----
3) Bitcoin nears $64,000 as traders look past Strategy’s BTC sales and Coldcard sweeps
Source: CoinDesk
“Bitcoin neared $64,000 in Asian morning hours Tuesday, up 2% over 24 hours and 1% on the week, recovering the $63,000 level it lost during Monday’s session. The low came near $62,250 before a steady bid carried it to just above $64,100 overnight. Ether lagged near $1,865, up marginally on the day but still down 1% over seven days, the only major in the red on the weekly view. XRP rose almost 1% to $1.08 and is up 2% on the week. BNB added 1.5% to nearly $591 and leads the majors over seven days at almost 5%.” (08/04/26)
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/08/04/bitcoin-nears-usd64-000-as-traders-look-past-the-fourth-coldcard-sweep
-----
4) Myanmar’s Suu Kyi meets Red Cross official in first post-coup visit
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“Myanmar’s detained democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi met the nation’s Red Cross representative on Monday, the president’s office said, the first publicised meeting between her and a foreign official since she was ousted in a 2021 coup. The military deposed Suu Kyi in February 2021, jailing the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and triggering an ongoing civil war that has killed more than 100,000 people on all sides. … She was detained on a host of charges which rights groups say were concocted to sideline her and her popular National League for Democracy party. The president’s office said in a statement that Arnaud de Baecque, the resident representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to Myanmar, met Suu Kyi on Monday morning.” (08/03/26)
https://archive.is/CD47S
-----
5) Greene, Massie, Carlson meet, tout new “movement”
Source: USA Today
“The picture shows a group of leading MAGA rebels who have clashed with President Donald Trump seated around a wooden table, smiling as they pose for the camera in exile. Included in the gathering: Media personality Tucker Carlson, former Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie and former Trump administration counterterrorism official Joe Kent. … Carlson said in a recent interview that ‘I’m going to help build a third party.’ Democrats and Republicans are in ‘lockstep’ on war in the Middle East and other issues, Carlson said, adding the government should focus on ‘the welfare of its own people.’ Greene previously said she is ‘in talks’ to launch a new party.” (08/03/26)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/08/03/maga-critics-greene-massie-carlson-new-movement/91150118007/
-----
6) Central African Republic: Swiss geologist and local miner kidnapped and killed
Source: ABC News
“A Swiss geologist and a local miner were killed on Thursday in the Central African Republic, north of the capital, Bangui, according to a statement from the local public prosecutor’s office on Monday. Luca Maggini and the miner were kidnapped by unidentified men in the evening and later killed, according to Frédéric Pounou, a geologist who was working alongside Maggini when he was kidnapped. … The attack occurred near the village of Gbango-Carriere, 55 kilometers (34 miles) north of Bangui, and also resulted in the kidnapping of a staff sergeant in the Central African Army, according to the public prosecutor’s statement.” (08/03/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/swiss-geologist-local-miner-kidnapped-killed-central-african-135326732
-----
7) MI: Supreme Court rejects permit for Enbridge oil pipeline under Great Lakes
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“The Michigan Supreme Court has ordered state regulators to reconsider a key permit that allowed a planned tunnel to carry an oil pipeline under part of the Great Lakes to move forward. The 6-1 decision further clouds the future of the 73-year-old pipeline owned by Canadian energy transportation company Enbridge that carries petroleum from Superior, Wis., to Sarnia, Ont. The part of the pipeline in question, called Line 5, runs for six kilometres along the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac where Lakes Huron and Michigan meet. Enbridge wants to bury the pipeline in a tunnel under the straits. Environmentalists and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer want to move the pipeline away from the waterway altogether, saying a spill would be catastrophic to the Great Lakes and surrounding area.” (08/03/26)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/michigan-supreme-court-enbridge-oil-pipeline-9.7294988
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8) Maduro backs Venezuela opposition talks from jail
Source: United Press International
“Ousted Venezuelan [ed-]President Nicolás Maduro voiced support from jail for a new round of negotiations between the government and the opposition, saying he welcomed ‘every path of dialogue that helps consolidate peace, coexistence and reconciliation among Venezuelans.’ The message was published Sunday on Maduro’s official Telegram account. The 63-year-old former leader issued the statement from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he has been held since U.S. authorities [abducted] him and his wife, Cilia Flores, in January 2026 on drug trafficking and weapons trafficking charges.” (08/03/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/08/03/latam-venezuela-maduro-backs-opposition-talks/8861785775107/
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9) TX: Federal Judge Lets US Heimatschutz Proceed With Berlin Wall Replica Through Town’s Levee System
Source: US News & World Report
“A federal judge is allowing the Department of Homeland Security to go ahead for now with plans to build a border wall through a levee system protecting a small Texas town on the border with Mexico, rejecting arguments by the town that the wall could lead to flooding. The decision late Sunday marks a victory for the Trump administration as it races ahead with efforts to build a $46 billion wall along the U.S.-Mexico border from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. The town of Presidio, with a population of about 3,200 people, argued the wall could cause flooding and that the administration isn’t following the law as it rushes forward with its plans. The town’s development district sued earlier this year to stop the department from going forward with construction.” (08/03/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2026-08-03/a-federal-judge-lets-dhs-proceed-with-a-border-wall-through-a-small-texas-towns-levee-system
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10) CA: “Major Momentum” as Democratic Party Endorses Billionaire Wealth Tax
Source: Common Dreams
“The California Democratic Party on Sunday endorsed a state ballot measure that would impose a one-time, 5% wealth tax on billionaire residents, a popular initiative that has drawn opposition from Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and ultra-rich corporate executives who are spending big to defeat it. California Democrats’ executive board voted 145-90 on Sunday to endorse the billionaire wealth tax, which will appear on the November ballot as Proposition 40. The Sacramento Bee reported that ‘delegates and observers erupted into cheers’ following the vote, which barely cleared the 60% threshold needed for a formal endorsement. Dave Regan, president of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, the union leading the campaign for the ballot initiative, said the California Democratic Party’s endorsement of the proposal ‘puts to rest the idea that California Democrats are not united by the billionaire tax; they are’.” (08/03/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/california-democrats-billionaire-tax
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11) DC: GOP holdouts say they will back Blanche’s attorney general nomination
Source: SFGate
“Two Republican senators who threatened to block acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s confirmation to lead the Justice Department said Monday that they will support his nomination, ending an impasse over plans to create a fund to compensate allies of President Donald Trump. The endorsement from GOP Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis paves the way for the Senate Judiciary Committee to advance Blanche’s nomination on Tuesday after the Justice Department and lawmakers reached a deal to formally rescind the $1.8 billion ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ proposed to settle Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. Cornyn and Tillis had refused to back Blanche’s bid for the permanent post without official confirmation killing the fund meant to compensate people who believe they were unfairly prosecuted by the Justice Department.” (08/03/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/blanche-rescinds-fund-for-trump-supporters-after-22371121.php
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12) Cyberattack hits Liechtenstein’s register of people behind companies and foundations
Source: Seattle Times
“A cyberattack tapped the data of some 31,000 people in Liechtenstein’s register of people behind companies and foundations in the wealthy principality, the government said. The ‘register of economic beneficiaries’ was accessed at night from Wednesday into Thursday last week, the government said. It said that the breach was noticed on Thursday, that measures were taken to secure data and the system taken offline. The government said there were no indications that any data was altered or deleted.
The list of people behind companies, foundations and trusteeships is part of efforts to combat money laundering and terror financing.” (08/03/26)
https://archive.is/pPpVc
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13) ID: In-N-Out Burger shooting motive still a mystery as armed citizen speaks out
Source: Fox News
“Police are still working to determine why a 24-year-old gunman opened fire at a crowded In-N-Out Burger in Twin Falls, Idaho, killing three people and wounding seven others before taking his own life after taking fire from a bystander and an off-duty Idaho state trooper. Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks said Sunday that investigators were confident Chad Williams acted alone in Saturday’s attack, but detectives had not yet established a motive or fully traced his movements before the shooting. … Police have not publicly identified the trooper or the bystander, but the Idaho Statesman detailed the heroics of Jordan Salinas, 35, of Kimberly, Idaho, strapped by the shoulder with a FN Five-seveN semi-automatic pistol fitted with a suppressor.” (08/03/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/us/idaho-in-n-out-burger-shooting-motive-mystery-armed-citizen-speaks
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14) UEFA threatens Infantino, Joshua Kushner with legal action
Source: Politico
“The governing body of European football, UEFA, has threatened legal action against FIFA President Gianni Infantino, venture capitalist Joshua Kushner — brother of U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner — and other individuals involved in the controversial plan to privatize a share of the World Cup’s commercial operations. UEFA is ‘actively considering legal action, arbitration, and/or regulatory complaints’ against Infantino, reads a letter sent to Infantino, seen by the Telegraph. The move follows Infantino’s proposal to transfer FIFA’s commercial rights and tournament operations to a private entity firm — in partnership with Thrive Capital, Kushner’s venture capital company — allowing private investors to acquire a 20 percent stake. UEFA opposed the plan and unanimously voted to boycott the World Cup if the project was adopted, arguing it had been developed without proper consultation with member associations and would effectively privatize part of the tournament’s commercial business. The proposal was ultimately shelved.” (08/03/26)
https://www.politico.eu/article/uefa-legal-action-against-gianni-infantino-joshua-kushner
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15) WA: Fires destroy hundreds of structures and force Spokane-area residents to evacuate
Source: SFGate
“Light winds and lower temperatures were in the forecast Monday to help firefighters battle wildfires in eastern Washington state that destroyed at least 600 structures and forced the evacuation of 60,000 people in the Spokane area. The fires in and around Spokane, the state’s second-largest city, burned about 12.5 square miles (about 32 square kilometers) by Monday morning and filled the sky with smoke and haze. They were 0% contained, Courtney James, a spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, said. The weather forecast for Monday called cooler temperatures and light winds, but no rain. The wildfires were among dozens across the Western U.S. that stretched the ability of federal, state and local agencies to fight them. At least 390 square miles (1,000 square kilometers) has burned across Washington. An incident commander told local television Monday that no deaths had been reported.” (08/03/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/washington-state-fires-destroy-hundreds-of-22371401.php
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16) Iran: Regime Kills Two People Accused of Spying for Israel
Source: US News & World Report
“Iran executed two of its citizens on Monday on charges of espionage and cooperation with Israel, Iranian state media reported, amid an increase in executions for offences relating to national security. Omid Behzad and Pouria Safvat were accused of sending Israel the coordinates of military and security sites as well as images and information during a brief war last summer and during the latest conflict, judiciary news outlet Mizan reported.” (08/03/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-08-03/iran-executes-two-people-accused-of-working-for-israel
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17) NJ: Diners fume over new “Skip the Stuff” law affecting take-out orders
Source: New York Post
“Get the fork outta here! New Jersey takeout customers must now request single-use plastic items — like utensils, straws and even condiment packets — under a new law that social media users are sounding off against. The ‘Skip the Stuff’ law puts an end to the longstanding practice of eateries automatically loading up to-go bags with extras that many New Jerseyans have come to take for granted. Interior of an American diner with a long counter lined with stools, display cases of baked goods, and a ‘Cappuccino Cafe Bar Espresso’ neon sign. The law — signed by then-Gov. Phil Murphy in January — took effect Aug. 1 as the Garden State looks to further reduce plastic waste and reduce the environmental footprint of food purveyors.” (08/03/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/08/03/us-news/nj-diners-fume-over-new-skip-the-stuff-law-affecting-take-out-orders/
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18) US, Japanese regimes confirm coordinated yen intervention, signal readiness for more
Source: CNBC
“Japan’s finance ministry said Monday it had conducted a coordinated yen-buying operation with the U.S. Treasury on Friday, marking a rare joint move by the two allies to stem sharp swings in the Japanese currency. … The ministry also announced plans to utilize the Federal Reserve’s foreign and international monetary authorities repo facility in the future. FIMA repo facility allows approved foreign central banks and monetary authorities to obtain short-term dollars by temporarily exchanging U.S. Treasury securities. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also confirmed the coordinated action in a statement, saying, ‘Friday’s coordinated foreign exchange actions countered disorderly yen movements.'” (08/02/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/03/yen-intervention-us-japan-trump-bessent-katayama.html
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19) Cubans struggle to bounce back after 6th nationwide blackout this year
Source: SFGate
“Cubans on Monday were recovering from the sixth islandwide blackout this year, as the nation remains in free-fall after the Trump administration effectively cut it off from oil in January. The energy grid collapses leave people with fewer options to get by as the U.S. keeps up a pressure campaign against the communist-led government. Cuba’s government was working to restore power after the state-run electric company reported another ‘total’ blackout Sunday night, without specifying the cause. That followed sweeping outages across western Cuba, including the cities of Pinar del Río, Matanzas and Havana. By Monday, some electricity had been restored in Havana, but much of the Caribbean nation was still disconnected. Cuba already had been reeling from years of economic and energy crisis, compounded by crumbling infrastructure and migration from the island. Then the U.S. threatened to impose a tariff on any goods from countries that sell or provide it with oil.” (08/03/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/cubans-struggle-to-bounce-back-after-6th-22371818.php
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20) Brazil: Lula launches reelection bid as concerns rise over foreign interference
Source: ABC News
“What is very likely to be the last reelection bid of Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was confirmed on Sunday by his Workers’ Party as the 80-year-old leader faces increasing pressure from foreign leaders ahead of October’s elections. It will be his seventh race for the top job. Lula’s rival, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, has enjoyed open support from members of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, Argentina’s President Javier Milei and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Brazil’s president said in his party convention speech he wants to boost his country’s defense industry, protect its rare minerals, and claimed ‘no Chinese, no American, no French will touch’ these resources without respecting the South American nation’s sovereignty.” (08/02/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/brazils-lula-launches-reelection-bid-concerns-rise-foreign-135308231
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) The New Big Three
Source: The Realist Review
by James W Carden
“Surveying the devastation wrought by the wars in Ukraine and Iran, the Nigerian writer and former secretary general of African workers, Owei Lakemfa, concludes that ‘humanity is moving back to the pre-World War era when there were no agreed universal rules, might was right.’ Today, writes Lakemfa, ‘strongmen, and nations roam around as terrorists and bandits playing God. The strongest is the Zelensky, Netanyahu, and Trump triumvirate.’ This is how the world outside of NATO and Tel Aviv sees things. This might spur a normal country run by normal people to question the wisdom of its current course. Needless to say, in 2026, the US is no such country.” (08/03/26)
https://therealistreview.substack.com/p/the-new-big-three
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22) Liberal Toleration and Ordinary Vices
Source: Liberalism.org
by Shal Marriott
“Liberalism, which fundamentally defends a baseline commitment to pluralism, is at its core dedicated to the idea that we can agree to disagree. Toleration is represented not only through the political debates we engage in—it means that we, as individuals, are tolerant of one another. In a public sphere that is filled with polarized discourse, where the stakes of the present moment seem so exhaustingly high, and one’s own views are in need of a firm defense, an appeal to toleration becomes even more difficult. This makes it worth revisiting one of the age-old subjects of debates within the liberal tradition: what ought we, as liberals, to tolerate?” (08/03/26)
https://www.liberalism.org/p/liberal-toleration-and-ordinary-vices
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23) A Fantastic (and Very Funny) Act of Civil Disobedience
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“When [Samuel] Tunick arrived at the airport, he was taken aside for special interrogation, where his luggage and his diary were subjected to careful search. They then asked for his cell phone, claiming that Tunick was suspected of possessing child pornography. It was a lie. According to an article at CNN.com, during a court hearing last week, officials admitted that they had no reason to suspect that Tunick possessed child-abuse material. They just made it up, knowing that nothing would happen to them if they were caught lying to an American citizen. Here comes the funny part. Tunick turned over his cell phone to them and gave them the password — well, not his regular password but instead a special password. When they punched in the special password, it activated software that automatically wiped the entire cellphone clean. All data gone. Poof! That is absolutely awesome.” (08/03/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/08/03/a-fantastic-and-very-funny-act-of-civil-disobedience/
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24) Laura Loomer: Everyone Is a Nazi, Except the Real Nazis in Ukraine
Source: Antiwar.com
by JD Hester
“Israel and Laura Loomer’s opposition to Nazism is not consistent. While she frequently labels critics of Israel’s influence in America as Nazis or the ‘Woke Reich,’ she downplays the genuine ideological Neo-Nazism of the Azov Battalion. Likewise, the Israeli government has formed strong ties with the Azov Brigade. Regardless of whether the Brigade has stopped using Neo-Nazi symbols and rhetoric publicly, the idea that the entire organization has simply abandoned their deeply held political beliefs is absurd. Ultimately, Zionists seem to view the Azov Brigade, and the Ukrainian government in general, as ‘our Nazis.'” (08/03/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/jd_hester/2026/08/02/laura-loomer-everyone-is-a-nazi-except-the-real-nazis-in-ukraine/
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25) David Hume, Political Philosopher
Source: Law & Liberty
by Max Skjönsberg
“The year 1776 is notable for new beginnings. But it also saw the death of one of the greatest philosophers in the Western tradition. David Hume (1711–76) is often described by ideological labels such as liberal or conservative, as well as eighteenth-century party names (Whig and Tory). But these labels obfuscate Hume’s intentions. Neither an ideologue nor a party man, Hume thought about politics primarily as a philosopher searching for true answers. When we approach him first and foremost as a political philosopher, we are in a better position to revive and understand his substantial contributions to political thought.” (08/03/26)
https://lawliberty.org/forum/david-hume-political-philosopher/
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26) This law is killing US jobs AND harming national security
Source: New York Post
by staff
“It’s hard to find a better example of a failed trade law than the Jones Act — which has now slashed US cargo-ship production to just a few vessels a year, while China’s building more than 4,000. President Donald Trump and Congress need to prioritize a repeal of this 100-year-old protectionist legislation ASAP. The law was supposed to boost the US merchant-marine industry by requiring that all shipping between US points use American-made, -owned, -crewed and -flagged vessels. But sky-high US manufacturing costs, which are passed on to shippers and ultimately consumers, made other alternatives — e.g., imports, land-based transportation — far more economical. The perverse result: Demand for US ships has plummeted, even as building costs soared.” (08/03/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/08/03/opinion/this-law-is-killing-us-jobs-and-harming-national-security/
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27) The Violence Is Inclusive
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“‘I don’t feel safe going,’ Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel recently shared about her decision to skip the Michigan Democratic Party state convention later this month. ‘I don’t want to get chased around. I don’t want to get harassed. I don’t want to get yelled and screamed at.’ It’s a gathering of her own political party!” (08/03/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/08/03/the-violence-is-inclusive/
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28) Federal Farm Interventions: Harmful as Usual
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Stephen Anderson
“US farms and ranches face rising debt in 2026. New York based Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) released an article on February 25, 2026, entitled, ‘Farm Debt on the Rise as Federal Aid Counters Rising Expenses.’ The article described this federal government intervention from the Austrian economics viewpoint encouraged rising farm debt from federal aid. This article will cover US soybean farmers impacted by US government interventions described as aid programs. … Billions of dollars in annual payments seem small compared to other annual federal government entitlement programs like Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. This aid program or waste annually harms US farmers and ranchers from being able to operate on their own and let free market pricing operate freely and voluntary exchange happen by human action.” (08/03/26)
https://mises.org/power-market/federal-farm-interventions-harmful-usual
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29) The Death of Middle-Class Tax Cuts as a Bulletproof Idea
Source: The New Republic
by Monic Potts
“In April, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen separately introduced legislation that they promised would help with the affordability crisis. Booker’s bill, the Keep Your Pay Act, would erase income taxes for taxpayers who make less than $75,000; Van Hollen’s bill, which Booker has co-sponsored, would do the same but only for incomes below $46,000. The two Democrats, both of whom are rumored to be considering presidential runs, probably figured their legislation was a slam-dunk idea. After all, who doesn’t love a tax cut? But then something possibly unexpected happened: The left [sic] pushed back.” (08/03/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/213791/democrats-middle-class-tax-cuts-death-bulletproof-idea
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30) A Romp through the Fauci Diaries: Fame Turns to Shame
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Jeffrey A Tucker
“Does Fauci catch on that the media was using him as much as he was using them; that is, that he inhabited a world of fakery? Maybe but he decides early on that it is his only choice. He has to keep it up, otherwise his whole world crumbles. He just kept going for one year, two years, then three. This Icarus just kept flapping his wings without realizing that they were melting. Another feature that stands out: It was always political theater and never about science.” (08/03/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/a-romp-through-the-fauci-diaries-fame-turns-to-shame/
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31) I’m a Democrat. Socialists need to stop leeching off my party and build their own
Source: Washington Examiner
by James Christopher
“The Democratic Socialists of America was once a fringe movement. Its recent victories confirm it is now an increasingly powerful national political force. … The DSA’s primary election victories catapulted new political stars into the national spotlight and gave the movement further proof that it can defeat senior Democrats and reshape the party’s delegation. Yet the proverbial Democratic elephant in the room has become nationally consequential: If the DSA operates like a political party, why does it continue running candidates through another one? … DSA supporters reasonably argue that America’s two-party system makes independent organizing difficult and that separate socialist candidacies could help Republicans. But an organization calling for multiparty democracy should help create one, not depend indefinitely on the Democratic ballot line.” (08/03/26)
https://archive.is/5HRjh
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32) What Is a Think Tank?
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Douglas Carswell
“‘What is a think tank?’ is a question I get asked all the time. The job of a think tank is to generate the ideas that politicians implement in office. If politics were the movie industry, those we elect would be the stars on the big screen; think tanks help write the script. ‘But don’t politicians have ideas of their own?’ I hear you ask. Of course they do (though having spent 12 years in the House of Commons before running a think tank, I’d suggest they have them less often than you might imagine). Even with a clear goal—cutting taxes, improving childcare, encouraging growth—elected leaders often need help with the details of how to make it happen. Free-market think tanks have been enormously influential.” (08/03/26)
https://fee.org/articles/what-is-a-think-tank/
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33) How a Manufactured War Scare Could Produce a $50 Million Insider Windfall
Source: Common Dreams
by Claude H Miller
“Military threats move markets before they move armies. Announce a massive strike against Iranian oil, military, and infrastructure sites, and traders will immediately begin pricing in damaged production, regional retaliation, interrupted shipping, higher insurance costs, and possible disruption of the Strait of Hormuz. No missile needs to be launched. The announcement itself can add a substantial geopolitical premium to every barrel of oil. Cancel the attack a few days later, however, and much of that premium may disappear just as quickly. … for someone possessing advance knowledge of both the threat and its prearranged cancellation, the same sequence could provide an extraordinary opportunity to profit from a government-created price movement in both directions.” (08/03/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/how-to-make-money-on-war-with-insider-information
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34) The Universal Exodus
Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders
“To be college-educated about the West in 2026 is to have great works run through some combination of critical theory, identity politics, and post-colonial studies—the teeth used to chew our identity and our ideals. (Thankfully, there is a group of insurgents keeping the best of the West alive online, though one has to learn to separate signal from slop.) Now, if you were to ask me what the most important work of the Western canon is to our sense of shared identity, it is surely the Exodus story. That story has interesting and important details. It’s full of symbolism, yet it is also based upon peoples and cultures that once lived to tell the tale. But I want to do something risky with Exodus.” (08/03/26)
https://underthrow.substack.com/p/the-universal-exodus
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35) Washington’s Unseemly Celebration of Lindsey Graham
Source: Cato Institute
by Doug Bandow
“If Washington is good at anything, it is self-celebration. Those who dominate the city constantly remind the public, especially those who live in the great beyond, the ‘flyover country’ between the coasts, of the eternal wisdom, dedication, genius, and goodness of those who have successfully climbed the capital’s well-greased pole of political rule. Never is the shameless hypocrisy on greater display than during the funerals of those who did the most to sacrifice the interests of the Americans who lack genuine representation in Washington. Such was Tuesday’s commemoration of the passing of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R‑SC).” (08/03/26)
https://www.cato.org/commentary/washingtons-unseemly-celebration-lindsey-graham
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36) Mamdani’s Tax Database Doxed Wealthy New Yorkers
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“Making an enemies list is creepy. Publishing the names of people you dislike to fuel political supporters’ prejudices is even creepier and potentially dangerous. That’s what New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration has done with the introduction of a property tax surcharge on relatively high-value second homes linked to a searchable online database of those who could be affected. The socialist mayor’s defenders point out that tax and property information is a matter of public record in New York, but the packaged publication of surcharge targets and Mamdani’s history of calling out opponents by name suggests something nastier is going on.” (08/03/26)
https://reason.com/2026/08/03/mamdanis-tax-database-doxed-wealthy-new-yorkers/
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37) The EU and the Iron Law of Oligarchy
Source: American Greatness
by Stephen Soukup
“A long, long time ago (27 years, to be exact), my boss (the inimitable Mark Melcher) and I predicted that the European Monetary Union would be the death of the EU. The Euro, we wrote for our clients at a now-defunct big brokerage house, would be a disaster and would destroy everything that the post-war Europeans had spent the previous several decades working to build. Specifically, we wrote: ‘Psst! You wanna know a secret? The Euro, and the mess it represents, is going to be a social, economic and political catastrophe. Indeed, we think it is probable that the adoption of the Euro will be to 21st century Europe, what the killing of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand was to 20th century Europe …” (08/03/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/08/03/the-eu-and-the-iron-law-of-oligarchy/
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38) The Coup In Search of a Philosophy
Source: The Daily Economy
by Surse Pierpoint
“In 1925, John Maynard Keynes dismissed Marx’s Capital as an obsolete economic textbook that no serious economist would still assign. He was not being contrarian. By the time he wrote that, the marginal revolution of the 1870s had already done the intellectual work: Jevons, Menger, Walras, and later Wicksteed, Marshall, and Böhm-Bawerk had dismantled the labor theory of value that Marx’s entire economic system rested on. Among economists, the argument was over, and Marx had lost it. So why does Marx remain one of the most cited authors in the humanities and social sciences, a century and a half after his death, in fields far removed from the one where his core claims were actually tested?” (08/03/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/the-coup-in-search-of-a-philosophy/
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39) Fox News screaming desperately into wind as Trump loses grip
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Nolan Denaro
“The popular rightwing network spent months building a case for the Iran War. Now they are invested in keeping up support, even if hosts have to deny reality.” (08/03/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/iran-war-fox-news/
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40) Censorship Is More Offensive Than Any Slur
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Kym Robinson
“The desire to ban speech, in any form, is an example of insecurity inside society and government. Knowing that certain words or images may in some way draw revulsion and offense is a risk an individual must take. Not everyone will experience the same offense or revulsion, and some may even find arousal or delight in such words or images. It’s what makes the human experience unique and it is why free expression is a sacred thing.” (08/03/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/censorship-is-more-offensive-than-any-slur/
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41) “I’m Not Political” Just Means “I Support The Status Quo”
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“It’s saying you endorse all the violence, exploitation, ecocide and abuse of the current order. Politics are always happening all around you in every moment of every day, whether you are ‘into’ it or not. Everything you do in your everyday life is pervasively shaped by local and national laws, by economic systems, by oligarchy, by propaganda, by war, by militarism, by imperialist extraction, by government regulations and the lack thereof. Saying you don’t feel like paying attention to these factors is just saying you’re fine with the way they are presently happening..” (08/03/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/08/03/im-not-political-just-means-i-support-the-status-quo/
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42) The Cure for Russia’s Labor Shortage Is Worse Than the Disease
Source: Foreign Policy
by Samuel Bendett & Maria Snegovaya
“Among the various challenges that Russia has faced since its ill-conceived full-scale invasion of Ukraine, one of the most acute has been a severe labor shortage. Russia’s deepening demographic crisis, combined with mass emigration and recruitment of hundreds of thousands of men into the army, has sharply exacerbated the problem. … By 2030, Russia will need to bring 10.9 million people into the workforce, according to Labor Minister Anton Kotyakov, with more than 90 percent replacing retiring workers and roughly 800,000 filling newly created positions. The rapid expansion of defense production has drawn workers away from civilian sectors, intensifying competition for an already scarce workforce. … The Kremlin’s response has rested on three pillars: mobilizing underutilized domestic labor, expanding prison labor, and increasing labor migration. Each proves to be either insufficient or self-defeating. When it comes to Russia’s labor shortage, the cure is worse than the disease.” (08/03/26)
https://archive.is/9GDZk
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43) Iran’s Leaders Now Doubt a Peace Deal Is Possible
Source: The American Conservative
by Esfandyar Batmanghelidj
“What I’ve learned from speaking with Iranian officials and analysts.” (08/03/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/irans-leaders-now-doubt-a-peace-deal-is-possible/
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44) Managed democracy versus a republic
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
“The entire premise of democracy is based on a fallacy that is as ignored as it is ubiquitous: that a majority is always right, and that a committee is somehow smarter and wiser than any individual. When tied to the idea that government has power over the lives of people that it should have, it creates a truly monstrous evil. So what does this mean to lovers of liberty? It is more than just the tyranny of the majority, and how that so typically results in riding roughshod over individuals and their lives and liberty. It is more than just the cost of such ‘democratic institutions’ or even the way money destroys the meaning of free elections in so many ways. Democracy survives only by propaganda that extolls it and therefore government. The result is that government is made into an absolute essential for any society.” (08/02/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/08/02/managed-democracy-versus-a-republic
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45) The Vet-to-Cop Pipeline
Source: Washington Monthly
by Suzanne Gordon & Steve Early
“Encourage veterans, including those with PTSD and brain injuries, to join law enforcement after they leave the military. What could go wrong?” (08/03/26)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/08/03/the-vet-to-cop-pipeline/
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46) Executive War Powers and Iran: Why Congress Must Reclaim Article 1 Authority
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey
“President Trump recently halted his proposed strikes against Iran in favor of regional diplomatic talks; he has the right instincts, and while this is the right thing to do – favor diplomatic talks and engage in free trade – he is under pressure by war hawks all around him. He’s been engaged in this ‘on again — off again’ war talk since February, at the behest of Netanyahu and Israel. All of this is happening with little input from Congress, which has the power to give him the ‘go ahead’ to engage in a war with Iran. It seems that, over the last several decades, Congress has abdicated its power to declare war, giving it up to the Executive branch so they do not receive flak from their constituents blowing up in their face.” (08/02/26)
https://palmbeachexaminer.substack.com/p/executive-war-powers-and-iran-why
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47) Who’s Really Afraid of the DSA?
Source: exile in happy valley
by Nicky Reid
“So, the communists are coming again or at least so screech the doom merchants over at the GOP. Fox News is ablaze with round-the-clock, wall-to-wall coverage of the Democratic Party’s fall beneath the unstoppable onslaught of the deadly DSA; a Maoist cult of ultra-woke, brown grad students just itching to open the borders and empty the suburbs into the killing fields of a terrifyingly transgender Khmer Rouge cover band. I’m not the communist I once was but it actually sounds pretty sexy when I write it down like that. Unfortunately, all available evidence suggests that this latest red scare is just more post-McCarthyite fan fic from an increasingly desperate Republican Party.” (08/02/26)
https://exileinhappyvalley.blogspot.com/2026/08/whos-really-afraid-of-dsa.html
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48) Inside Christian nationalists’ war on religious freedom
Source: The Hill
by David Wippman and Glenn C Altschuler
“Earlier this year, a presidential commission staffed almost entirely by conservative Christians urged Americans to rethink the separation of church and state and build ‘bridges’ between them. Last week, the Department of Justice directed federal agencies to expand protections for religious expression in public employment, military service, education, healthcare and federal contracting. These policies reflect the influence of Christian nationalism, a movement predicated on the belief that the United States is ‘divinely chosen,’ the New Testament should shape government policies, and white Christians should dominate American culture.” (08/02/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/6002868-christian-nationalism-threatens-democracy/
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49) Seth Moulton’s Sweetheart Deals
Source: The American Prospect
by Robert Kuttner
“Rep. Seth Moulton, who represents Massachusetts’s Sixth Congressional District, will debate incumbent Sen. Ed Markey Monday evening in the second of three televised debates ahead of the September 1 Democratic primary for Senate. Polls show Markey narrowly leading. Markey, a progressive who recently turned 80, has served in Congress since 1976. Moulton, 47, a former Marine who is more of a centrist, has sought to primarily frame the contest as youth vs. age. But Moulton may well be vulnerable because of a series of investments after entering public service that have made him a multimillionaire.” (08/03/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/08/03/seth-moultons-sweetheart-deals-defense-webai/
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50) Four F-Droid Android Apps for Privacy, Security, and Counter-Surveillance
Source: Agorist Nexus
by TechLibre
“Your Android phone is a tracking device that happens to make calls. It knows where you sleep, what you search, who you talk to, and what you whisper near its microphone. The apps below won’t make you invisible—but they’ll make you expensive to surveil.” (08/02/26)
https://www.agoristnexus.com/four-f-droid-android-apps-for-privacy-security-and-counter-surveillance/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Reason Roundtable, 08/03/26
Source: Reason
"Is Democratic Socialism Going National?" (08/03/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/08/03/is-democratic-socialism-going-national/
-----
52) Gracearchy with Jim Babka, episode 165
Source: Gracearchy with Jim Babka
“Is Anthony Fauci Just a Scapegoat?” (08/03/26)
https://rumble.com/v7dmh4a-is-anthony-fauci-just-a-scapegoat-gracearchy-with-jim-babka-165.html
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53) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 08/03/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Iran War Sinking Republicans Ahead Of Midterms.” (08/03/26)
https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1OxwbbXlEDRJB
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54) The Liberty Dad Podcast, episode 757
Source: The Liberty Dad Podcast
“Can Libertarian Ideas Work (Answering Critics).” (08/03/26)
https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1MJgNNBkrMmGL
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55) EconTalk, 08/03/26
Source: EconTalk
“The Political Economy of Palestine (with Hussein Aboubakr Mansour).” (08/03/26)
https://www.econtalk.org/the-political-economy-of-palestine-with-hussein-aboubakr-mansour/
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56) Pink Flame of Liberty, 08/02/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“Let’s Watch the August 2, 2026 LNC Meeting.” (08/02/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2xi_uYEETU
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57) LPALive, episode 79
Source: LP Alliance
“LNC Monthly Meeting.” (08/02/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfHjpvihV_4
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58) Free Talk Live, 08/02/26
Source: Free Talk Live
No description available, but it’s a 2+ hour show hosted by Bonnie, Reilly O’Bill, and Richie Rich. (08/02/26)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/ftl2026-08-02
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59) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 08/02/26
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Jon Hoffman: Did Trump Put Saudi on the Path to Nuclear Weapons?!” (08/02/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/blog/the-kyle-anzalone-show-guest-jon-hoffman-did-trump-put-saudi-on-the-path-to-nuclear-weapons/
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60) Unattended Baggage, episode 350
Source: Unattended Baggage
“What’s on your To Do list?” (08/02/26)
https://unattendedbaggage.substack.com/p/episode-350-whats-on-your-to-do-list
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