01/06 -- Kazakhstan: Russian, allied forces invade to suppress serf rebellion; My Two-Bit Political Awakening
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Thomas L. Knapp
Jan 6, 2022, 6:51:34 AM1/6/22
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 01/06/22
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Kazakhstan: Russian, allied forces invade to suppress serf rebellion
2) ADP: US employers Added 807,000 Jobs in December, Doubling Expectations
3) Australian, Japanese regimes sign “historic” military pact
4) US CDC panel recommends Pfizer COVID-19 booster for adolescents
5) US, Iranian regimes say progress made in nuclear negotiations
6) MN: Mayo Clinic fires 700 unvaccinated employees
7) GA: Kemp announces push for constitutional carry
8) Boy Scouts fall short in support for US $2.7 billion abuse settlement
9) Blood test may one day predict severe pregnancy complication
10) CA: Armed citizen thwarts smash-and-grab attempted robbery
11) France: Parliament suspends debate on ghettoization scheme after Macron tantrum
12) James Webb Space Telescope: Sun shield is fully deployed
13) Report: US pols weigh new inflationary “stimulus” handouts for businesses
14) US technocrats debate Pfizer boosters for younger teens
15) Campaign Aims to Bar All January 6 Insurrectionists [sic] (Including Trump) From Future Public Office
16) IL: Chicago educrats cancel classes after teachers vote to not do their jobs
17) Pope criticizes couples who adopt pets instead of children
18) Iraq: Katyusha rocket hits military base at Baghdad airport
19) Australia: Djokovic’s entry delayed over vaccination status, visa row
20) OR: Grandpa fatally shoots intruder
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) My Two-Bit Political Awakening
22) A New Year One for Gotham
23) The Covid Truths Come Out
24) The Credibility Chimera: US Shouldn’t Go to War So It Can Go to War
25) Remembering Desmond M. Tutu
26) Nuclear War Over Ukraine?: Bankrupt America in no position to fight
27) Lies, Damned Lies, and Child Poverty Statistics
28) America is Not a Democracy
29) Five ways to be unafraid: Don’t fear omicron, it will burn out
30) Why Did the World Choose a Gold Standard Instead of a Silver Standard?
31) Five reasons Trump cannot hide behind executive privilege
32) Can’t join Libertarian party, either
33) The Big Student Loan Lie
34) Biden and the Tragedy of American Foreign Policy
35) The madness of following the Covid models
36) University COVID Policies Are Bad for Students
37) One reason to trust in democracy’s resilience
38) Biden Is Trying to Disguise a General Vaccine Mandate As a Workplace Safety Measure
39) The Cruel Farce of US Regime Change Policy in Venezuela
40) Twitter can boot whoever it wants
41) In Obedience To US Government, Meta Censors Anti-Imperialist Speech
42) Another gratuitous defense budget highlights absurdity in US priorities
43) The Fed and low interest rate policy
44) What January 6 Actually Means
45) No one wants to tell the truth about obesity
46) Inflation Is Robbing Your Pocket, Whether You Realize Or Not
47) Why the Vaccine Nationalism?
48) The Competence-Ambition Disequilibrium
49) The Ticking Bomb of Crypto Fascism
50) Do we support or oppose vaccines?
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Free Talk Live, 01/05/22
52) Conflicts Of Interest, episode 211
53) The Vital Center, episode 21
54) The Bryan Hyde Show, 01/05/22
55) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 01/05/22
56) Punk Rock Libertarians Podcast, episode 380
57) The Argument, 01/05/22
58) Electric Libertyland, episode 261
59) The Tom Woods Show, episode 2036
60) Ray McGovern on The Scott Horton Show
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Kazakhstan: Russian, allied forces invade to suppress serf rebellion
Source: NBC News
“A Russian-led security alliance has sent forces to Kazakhstan to quell deadly violence amid reports that dozens of protesters and police have been killed in the unrest sweeping the country. On Thursday, after state buildings were torched in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s biggest city, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced on Facebook that an unspecified number of peacekeepers [sic] would travel to Kazakhstan. Russian state media agencies Interfax and Tass quoted an Almaty police spokesperson as saying tens of rioters in the city have been ‘eliminated.’ … Initially set off by anger at a fuel price rise, the protests have quickly spread to take in wider opposition to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s predecessor Nursultan Nazarbayev, who retained significant power despite quitting in 2019 after ruling for nearly three decades.” (01/06/22)
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/ex-soviet-states-send-forces-kazakhstan-president-fails-quell-unrest-rcna11141
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2) ADP: US employers Added 807,000 Jobs in December, Doubling Expectations
Source: US News & World Report
“Employers added a massive 807,000 jobs in December, a strong end to 2021 and a good omen for 2022, private payroll firm ADP reported on Wednesday. The number was more than double estimates of 360,000 and compares with 534,000 jobs added in November. Gains were led by the service sector, with 669,000 jobs created, and among larger firms with 389,000 positions filled. The private sector report comes two days before the Labor Department is set to release its monthly jobs report for December, which includes government jobs. Economists are forecasting a gain of 400,000 after a somewhat disappointing increase of 210,000 in November.” (01/05/22)
https://www.usnews.com/news/economy/articles/2022-01-05/adp-employers-added-807-000-jobs-in-december-doubling-expectations
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3) Australian, Japanese regimes sign “historic” military pact
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatar state media]
“The leaders of Australia and Japan have signed a ‘historic’ defence treaty that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said would ‘contribute to a secure and stable Indo-Pacific’ as China expands its military and economic clout in the region. The treaty was signed during a virtual summit between Morrison and his Australian counterpart, Fumio Kishida on Thursday. Called the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), the treaty is only Japan’s second such agreement. Its only other military pact is with the United States, a status of force agreement that dates back to 1960.” (01/05/22)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1/6/australia-japan-sign-historic-defence-treaty-amid-chinas-rise
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4) US CDC panel recommends Pfizer COVID-19 booster for adolescents
Source: The Hill
“A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory panel on Wednesday recommended adolescents aged 12 to 15 should receive a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at least 5 months after the primary series. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) also expanded its recent recommendations on older teens, to make it clear that teens aged 16 and 17 ‘should’ also receive a booster dose. … The 13-1 vote comes two days after the Food and Drug Administration authorized booster doses for adolescents, and is one of the final steps before pharmacists, physicians and other providers will be able to administer vaccines for children in that age group.” (01/05/22)
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/588459-cdc-advisors-recommend-pfizer-covid-19-vaccine-booster-for-adolescents
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5) US, Iranian regimes say progress made in nuclear negotiations
Source: Jerusalem Post [Israel]
“The US and Iran said that there has been progress in the indirect negotiations in Vienna for the sides to return to compliance with the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal. After weeks in which the US and E3 — France, Germany and United Kingdom — expressed doubts that Iran was taking the talks seriously, and even Russia lamented ‘maximalist demands’ by the Islamic Republic, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said steps have been taken towards a restoration of the JCPOA. … Iran Chief Negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani said on Wednesday that the talks are moving forward. ‘The more serious the other side is in being prepared to lift sanctions and accept Iran’s mechanisms for lifting sanctions, especially on verification and guarantee issues, the sooner we can reach an agreement,’ Bagheri Kani stated.” (01/05/22)
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-691652
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6) MN: Mayo Clinic fires 700 unvaccinated employees
Source: Orlando Sentinel
“Amid vaccine mandate challenges nationwide, the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota fired 700 unvaccinated employees on Tuesday after they failed to get the shots by the Monday deadline, according to news reports. The firings represent about 1% of Mayo’s 73,000 workers, reported WCCO-TV, a CBS affiliate in Minnesota. The employees were required to either receive at least the first protective shot against COVID-19 or obtain an exemption for medical or religious reasons. Mayo said it granted the majority of exemption requests, the Star Tribune reported.” (01/05/22)
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/coronavirus/jobs-economy/os-ne-mayo-clinic-fires-700-unvaccinated-employees-20220105-x3tststu7rhdxjabih6v4nhqmi-story.html
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7) GA: Kemp announces push for constitutional carry
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
“Facing an unusual challenge from fellow Republicans in his bid for a second term, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said Wednesday he will push for a new state law that would loosen requirements to carry a handgun in public. Kemp made the announcement at a gun shop outside Atlanta that bills itself as the ‘world’s largest gun store,’ where he was joined by members of the National Rifle Association and state lawmakers. Kemp did not lay out specific changes he was seeking but expressed support for what gun rights advocates call ‘constitutional carry.’ Multiple bills purporting to advance that idea in the state Legislature would do away with the need for a license to carry a handgun in public — either openly or concealed on one’s body.” (01/05/22)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Georgia-governor-aims-to-loosen-rules-for-16750262.php
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8) Boy Scouts fall short in support for US $2.7 billion abuse settlement
Source: CTV [Canada]
“The Boy Scouts of America fell short of winning the support it sought from sex-abuse victims for a nearly US$2.7 billion settlement that could bring the organization out of bankruptcy, according to court papers. The proposed settlement of more than 82,000 claims of childhood sexual abuse earned the support of just over 73% of those who cast votes, below the 75% the Boy Scouts sought. … The 111-year-old youth group based in Irving, Texas, filed for bankruptcy in February 2020, after being hit by a flood of sexual abuse lawsuits when several U.S. states passed laws allowing accusers to sue over allegations dating back several decades. Those claimants are now designated creditors of the organization, so they must sign off on any plans to restructure and exit bankruptcy. Representatives of some of the victims have pushed for larger settlements.” (01/05/22)
https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/boy-scouts-fall-short-in-support-for-us-2-7b-abuse-settlement-1.5728538
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9) Blood test may one day predict severe pregnancy complication
Source: Seattle Times
“A blood test may one day be able to predict whether someone who is pregnant will develop a serious blood pressure disorder months before symptoms show up. Preeclampsia happens in around 1 of 20 pregnancies, usually in the third trimester, and can cause organ damage, stroke and preterm birth. Pregnancy-related high blood pressure disorders are among the leading causes of maternal death worldwide. Although the blood test is still being developed and won’t be available for a while, doctors and parent advocates say it could someday save lives. Bekah Bischoff of Louisville, who developed preeclampsia during two pregnancies and now helps others who’ve had the condition, said she was diagnosed late in the third trimester both times. While pregnant with her son Henry in 2012, she found out she had a very severe type called HELLP Syndrome at 36 weeks. He was delivered that day. She nearly died.” (01/05/22)
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/blood-test-may-one-day-predict-severe-pregnancy-complication/
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10) CA: Armed citizen thwarts smash-and-grab attempted robbery
Source: Fox News
“A legally armed southern California jewelry store owner thwarted an attempted smash-and-grab robbery by four men. Four suspects entered a jewelry store in Upland last Thursday just after 2:30 p.m. and deployed bear spray on everyone inside, police said. After the owner brandished a legally possessed firearm, the suspects took off in a getaway vehicle waiting outside. No one in the business was seriously injured. While working to identify and apprehend the suspects, investigators were contacted by detectives from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department’s Chino Hills Station, who said they had reason to believe these suspects were also responsible for other recent violent robberies in Claremont and Chino Hills. Upland PD also learned that most of the suspects involved in the robbery were associated with a local criminal street gang.” (01/05/22)
https://www.foxnews.com/us/legally-armed-citizen-thwarts-california-smash-and-grab-attempted-robbery
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11) France: Parliament suspends debate on ghettoization scheme after Macron tantrum
Source: NBC News
“French parliament suspended debate on a new Covid-19 law early on Wednesday as opposition lawmakers demanded explanations from President Emmanuel Macron about comments in which he said he wanted to ‘piss off’ unvaccinated people. Macron made the remark in an interview with Le Parisien newspaper published late on Tuesday. He also said unvaccinated people were ‘irresponsible’ and that he planned to make their lives so complicated that they would end up having a vaccine. … The legislation will make it mandatory for people to show proof of Covid-19 vaccination to enter a restaurant or cinema, or take the train. The session was rapidly taken over by discussion of his comments.” (01/05/22)
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/macrons-language-unvaccinated-provokes-storm-france-rcna10992
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12) James Webb Space Telescope: Sun shield is fully deployed
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“The new James Webb telescope has passed a major milestone in its quest to image the first stars to shine in the cosmos. Controllers on Tuesday completed the deployment of the space observatory’s giant kite-shaped sun shield. Only with this tennis court-sized barrier will Webb have the sensitivity to detect the signals coming from the most distant objects in the Universe. Commissioning work will now concentrate on unpacking the telescope’s mirrors, the largest of which is 6.5m wide. The deployment of the five-membrane sun shield is a triumph for the engineering teams at the US space agency (Nasa) and the American aerospace manufacturer Northrop Grumman. There were many who doubted the wisdom of a design that included so many motors, gears, pulleys and cables.” (01/05/22)
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-59873738
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13) Report: US pols weigh new inflationary “stimulus” handouts for businesses
Source: WTVB News
“U.S. lawmakers are discussing another possible round of COVID-19 stimulus spending for businesses, seeking to blunt the impact of the fast-spreading Omicron variant, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday. Early efforts by Democratic and Republican lawmakers have focused primarily on authorizing billions of dollars to help businesses including restaurants, performance venues, gyms and minor league sports teams, the report said, citing four people familiar with the matter. The White House declined to comment to the Washington Post, as did two lawmakers cited as behind the talks.” (01/05/22)
https://wtvbam.com/2022/01/05/u-s-lawmakers-weigh-new-covid-19-stimulus-funding-report/
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14) US technocrats debate Pfizer boosters for younger teens
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
“An influential government advisory panel is considering COVID-19 boosters for younger teens, as the U.S. battles the omicron surge and schools struggle with how to restart classes amid the spike. Boosters already are recommended for everyone 16 and older. Earlier this week, the Food and Drug Administration authorized an extra Pfizer shot for kids ages 12 to 15 as well — but that wasn’t the final hurdle. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention makes recommendations for vaccinations and its advisers on Wednesday are debating whether younger teens should get one as soon as they’re eligible or if it’s just an option for those who want it. The CDC’s director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, will weigh the panel’s advice before making a final decision soon.” (01/05/22)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/U-S-advisers-debate-Pfizer-boosters-for-younger-16751755.php
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15) Campaign Aims to Bar All January 6 Insurrectionists [sic] (Including Trump) From Future Public Office
Source: Common Dreams
“On the eve of the first anniversary of the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump, progressives are ramping up their campaign to block January 6 insurrectionists (including Trump and hundreds of Republican elected officials) from ever running for public office again. Free Speech for People and Our Revolution … announced Wednesday that they are teaming up as part of the 14point3 campaign, an effort to urge secretaries of state to ban elected officials who encouraged or participated in the January 6 insurrection from appearing on any electoral ballot. ‘Initially enacted in the wake of the Civil War, Section 3 of the 14th Amendment disqualifies from public office any individual who has taken an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution and then engages in insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or gives aid or comfort to those who have,’ Free Speech for People explains.” (01/05/22)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/01/05/campaign-aims-bar-all-jan-6-insurrectionists-including-trump-future-public-office
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16) IL: Chicago educrats cancel classes after teachers vote to not do their jobs
Source: CNN
“More than 340,000 students will be shut out of school Wednesday after a deadlock between the Chicago Teachers Union and the school district over [whether teachers can use “Covid-19 safety” to avoid working] — the most dramatic example yet of tension in US schools amid the spread of the Omicron variant. On Tuesday night, the teachers’ union voted to teach virtually rather than in classrooms — prompting district leadership to cancel school for Wednesday. The teachers’ union said conditions for in-person learning, which had resumed Monday, were unsafe — citing inadequate testing resources as new Covid-19 cases and new hospitalizations among children reached record highs. But Chicago Public Schools and the city’s mayor have been adamant that students in the nation’s third-largest school district need to learn in classrooms.” (01/05/22)
https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/05/us/chicago-schools-teachers-union-vote-remote-learning-wednesday/index.html
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17) Pope criticizes couples who adopt pets instead of children
Source: Fox News
“Pope Francis on Wednesday branded couples who adopt pets instead of children as ‘selfish’ as part of a call to resolve the ‘demographic winter’ that the West faces. The pope addressed a general audience on the topic of parenthood and called on people to have more children as the West faces a declining population. The pandemic, in particular, saw a sharp decline, with the U.S. alone recording a 7% drop in the national birthrate in 2020, UPI reported. ‘Today … we see a form of selfishness,’ the pope said. ‘We see that some people do not want to have a child. Sometimes they have one, and that’s it, but they have dogs and cats that take the place of children.'” (01/05/22)
https://www.foxnews.com/world/pope-criticizes-couples-adopt-pets-children-selfishness
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18) Iraq: Katyusha rocket hits military base at Baghdad airport
Source: ABC News
“A Katyusha rocket struck an Iraqi military base hosting U.S. troops at Baghdad’s international airport on Wednesday, an Iraqi military statement said. No damage or casualties were reported from the attack, the third in as many days since Monday’s anniversary of a U.S. airstrike that killed top Iranian general Qassim Soleimani in Baghdad two years ago. … On Monday, two armed drones were shot down as they headed toward a facility housing U.S. advisors at Baghdad airport. Two explosives-laden drones targeting an Iraqi military base housing U.S. troops in western Anbar province were destroyed on Tuesday.” [editor’s note: The US occupation of Iraq supposedly ended some time ago. Why are Iraqi bases “hosting” US troops? – TLK] (01/05/22)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/katyusha-rocket-hits-military-base-baghdad-airport-82083999
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19) Australia: Djokovic’s entry delayed over vaccination status, visa row
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“World number one tennis player Novak Djokovic’s entry to Australia has been delayed over an issue with his visa. The player arrived in Melbourne on Wednesday, where authorities noticed that his team had made a mistake on his application. Djokovic is due to play in the Australian Open, after being exempted from vaccination rules. But his team had not requested a visa that permits medical exemptions for being unvaccinated. … Djokovic arrived in Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport on Wednesday and is awaiting a decision. He has not spoken about his vaccination status, but last year he said he was ‘opposed to vaccination.’ The country’s border force had sought clarification from the Victorian state government about his visa application, the Melbourne-based Age newspaper reports. But state government Minister Jaala Pulford tweeted that his application would not be supported.” (01/05/22)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-59884038
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20) OR: Grandpa fatally shoots intruder
Source: Lexington Herald-Leader
“A 62-year-old grandfather fatally shot a man trying to enter his home while his grandkids and daughter were there, Oregon police said. A 42-year-old man was attempting to break into a Salem home on Jan. 2 before he was shot by the resident, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said. The man was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Two of the homeowner’s grandchildren and his adult daughter were in the home at the time, police said.” (01/04/22)
https://www.kentucky.com/news/nation-world/national/article257039887.html
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) My Two-Bit Political Awakening
Source: JimBovard.com
by James Bovard
“Samuel Johnson may have been wrong when he declared, ‘There are few ways in which a man can be more innocently employed than in getting money.’ But for young kids, collecting coins is a less pernicious pastime than becoming a pyromaniac or Tik-Tok star. My own experience collecting, buying, and selling coins vaccinated me against trusting politicians long before I grew my first scruffy beard. … Coin dealing helped me recognize early in life that a government promise is not worth a plug nickel. From 1878 onwards, the U.S. Mint printed silver certificates redeemable for silver coins from the U.S. government. … In 1964, the Treasury Department repudiated that pledge, announcing that certificates were henceforth redeemable only for silver bullion, not coins. In 1967, Congress passed the Act to Authorize Adjustments in the Amount of Outstanding Silver Certificates. Congress ‘adjusted’ silver certificates by nullifying all further redemptions.” (01/05/22)
https://jimbovard.com/blog/2022/01/05/my-two-bit-political-awakening/
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22) A New Year One for Gotham
Source: Garrison Center
by Joel Schlosberg
“As ‘the city that never sleeps’ turned the calendar to 2022 with the inauguration of Eric Adams just after midnight, partygoers didn’t need Frank Sinatra’s reminder to ‘start spreading the news’ heard on the New Year’s broadcast from Times Square. New Yorkers were well aware, as Brooklyn’s Chris Matthew Sciabarra put it, that ‘the best news about the next mayor is that it won’t be Bill de Blasio.’ … It’s not too late to revive the plan offered by Norman Mailer and Jimmy Breslin in 1969, whose mayoral campaign literature told New Yorkers that they ‘want neighborhoods to govern themselves.'” (01/05/22)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/16533
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23) The Covid Truths Come Out
Source: National Review
by Michael Brendan Dougherty
“As the Omicron wave of Covid-19 washed over the American Northeast and started to spread nationwide, familiar public-health officials and commentators suddenly started to say things that were previously unsayable. And CDC guidance started changing rapidly. Things such as ‘your masks are useless.’ And ‘the hospitalization figures for Covid in children are overcounted.’ And ‘we need to stop focusing on cases and start focusing on hospitalizations.’ And even that public-health regulations had to retreat to the point at which they would be tolerated by the public. It’s important to note that none of these insights became true with the onset of Omicron, which is extremely contagious but less severe and infects vaccinated people easily. This isn’t guidance changing with the latest science. No, Omicron only made these facts more undeniable.” (01/05/22)
https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/01/the-covid-truths-come-out/
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24) The Credibility Chimera: US Shouldn’t Go to War So It Can Go to War
Source: Antiwar.com
by Doug Bandow
“To listen to the US foreign policy establishment, every day Washington fails to sanction another nation America’s reputation takes a dive. Every day the US does not bomb or drone a country or group, America communicates weakness to the world. Every day the president resists launching a war against someone somewhere, he or she squanders America’s credibility. Similar were the cavalcade of witless assertions that staying only 20 years in Afghanistan, a region of little geopolitical interest to the US other than its arbitrary connection to 9/11 decades ago, would damage Washington’s reputation.” (01/05/22)
https://original.antiwar.com/doug-bandow/2022/01/04/the-credibility-chimera-us-shouldnt-go-to-war-so-it-can-go-to-war/
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25) Remembering Desmond M. Tutu
Source: Independent Institute
by Mary LG Theroux
“Following Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu’s recent death, in reading an article about his funeral, I was stopped by its description of him as ‘diminutive.’ Casting my memory back to our evening with him, I had to concentrate to recall that, yes, he was a short man, but his presence was immense, emanating love, humor, and inspiration. … His talk was spellbinding, in turns evoking tears as he recounted horrific descriptions of apartheid-era abuses healed through victims and perpetrators meeting together as part of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission — to, at the end, laughter, then awe as he cast a vision that swept the entire audience away with him.” (01/05/22)
https://blog.independent.org/2022/01/05/remembering-desmond-tutu/
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26) Nuclear War Over Ukraine?: Bankrupt America in no position to fight
Source: Common Dreams
by Eric Margolis
“How many American soldiers will die in the battle for Luhansk? Or Kerch? Not 1 in 1,000 Americans could find these drab Ukrainian (formerly Russian) industrial cities on a map. How many Americans are aware that a unit of the Florida National Guard is stationed in western Ukraine, of all places? It’s just a training mission, says the Pentagon. Right. Training how to pick oranges. This from the ‘invincible’ US military (I used to be a member) that got its backside whipped in Vietnam, Iraq and now Afghanistan. No matter. The US, says President Biden, is geared up for a major fight in this obscure coal-mining region of the former Soviet Union. US Navy vessels and aircraft now challenge Russia’s Black Sea and Azov Sea borders. NATO units probe Ukraine’s air and land borders.” (01/05/22)
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2022/01/05/nuclear-war-over-ukraine
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27) Lies, Damned Lies, and Child Poverty Statistics
Source: Niskanen Center
by Samuel Hammond
“The phrase ‘lies, damned lies, and statistics’ is used almost exclusively in public policy debates. Putting numbers on an issue gives the speaker an air of authority and precision but often comes at the expense of fuller context. Indeed, outright dishonesty is far less common than self-deception and the universal human tendency to seek out evidence that confirms one’s biases. … The expansion of the Child Tax Credit increased the post-tax income of poor families by thousands of dollars, and yet its impact on poverty seems nearly invisible in the data! How can that be? … The problem is that [Angela] Rachidi is incorrect to claim the OPM ‘should reflect the monthly CTC payments.’ While the OPM does count some sources of transfer income, like Social Security and unemployment compensation, it does not include refundable tax credits like the CTC or Earned Income Tax Credit.” (01/05/22)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/lies-damned-lies-and-child-poverty-statistics/
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28) America is Not a Democracy
Source: Human Events
by Adam Ellwanger
“I have long been a critic of American governance. And I have long been a critic of democracy. But until this year, I had still operated under the assumption that the United States, despite various forms of corruption and turmoil, remained a democracy. Sadly, I no longer believe this to be the case. Skeptical readers might scoff at this assertion. After all, we have elections. We don’t have a king. How could anyone say that we don’t live in a democracy? Some readers will remind me that America is an indirect democracy or a ‘democratic republic,’ insisting that each citizen isn’t intended to wield real political power. These distinctions aside, I argue that the United States doesn’t qualify as any kind of democracy, if the term is rigorously defined.” (01/05/22)
https://humanevents.com/2022/01/05/america-is-not-a-democracy/
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29) Five ways to be unafraid: Don’t fear omicron, it will burn out
Source: Fox News Forum
by Dr. Marc Siegel
“We have reached another ‘magic’ COVID number, and it isn’t good: More than a million new cases per day. For those who may say case numbers don’t matter, there are also more than a hundred thousand hospitalizations. So even though omicron has only about 20 percent the hospitalization rate as delta, since there are five times more cases now per day in the U.S. with omicron predominating, the hospitalization rate is therefore the same or greater. Omicron is clearly milder than delta, and though there appears to be much less lung involvement, we don’t yet know how much long-COVID there is. … The ‘good’ news is that at this rate this monster COVID wave will surely burn out over the next month especially when you consider there are likely five to ten times more cases than are being reported, given the lack of rapid tests.” (01/05/22)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/omicron-covid-public-health-testing-masks-marc-siegel
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30) Why Did the World Choose a Gold Standard Instead of a Silver Standard?
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Ryan McMaken
“Gold’s preeminence was never inevitable, inexorable, or based on some sort of natural law of money. Rather, the rise of gold resulted from a number of historical events peculiar to a certain time and place. These include geopolitical issues, increasing global gold supply, political efforts to increase foreign trade, and the fixed exchange ratio between gold and silver. In other words, the marketplace was not necessarily the driving factor behind the turn to gold. Had it not been for this government meddling designed to control gold and the ‘gold standard,’ we might still be living in a world of true currency competition today — a world of competition between gold, silver, and anything else that market actors might find to be useful as a general means of exchange.” (01/05/22)
https://mises.org/wire/why-did-world-choose-gold-standard-instead-silver-standard
-----
31) Five reasons Trump cannot hide behind executive privilege
Source: The Hill
by Kimberly Wehle
“There’s no established legal or historical path from a congressional investigation to a criminal trial of a former president — and for good reason. Presidents are special, and they enjoy numerous special privileges of the office. During the Trump years, debate swirled around the concept of executive privilege, and whether his status as president would immunize him from liability for actions taken both before and during his presidency. As the work of the select committee heats up, executive privilege could again loom large — as has already been the case with the snubbing of subpoenas by former Trump adviser Steve Bannon and chief of staff Mark Meadows. Here are five reasons why an attempt by Trump to hide behind executive privilege regarding Jan. 6 should probably fail.” (01/05/22)
https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/588280-jan6-five-reasons-trump-cannot-hide-behind-executive-privilege
-----
32) Can’t join Libertarian party, either
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“I’m libertarian, uncapitalized, to separate the ethical philosophy I follow from the political party I can’t. A Libertarian, capitalized, is a member of the Libertarian Party. Ethical libertarianism is based on the recognition that no one has the right to use — or threaten — violence, personally or politically, against anyone who isn’t currently violating the life, liberty, or property of another. This is the guiding principle that distinguishes a libertarian from anyone else. Follow it and you’re libertarian; don’t and you’re not. … The Libertarian Party seems to value ‘smaller government’ over liberty or any guiding principle.” (01/05/22)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2022/01/05/voices/opinion-cant-join-libertarian-party-either/170844.html
-----
33) The Big Student Loan Lie
Source: The American Prospect
by John R Brooks
“Much of the debate about student loans is framed in terms of financial statistics. We hear that we have $1.6 trillion of debt outstanding, or that the income-driven repayment programs might cost taxpayers $100 billion or more, or that there’s a $500 billion ‘hole’ in the system, or that canceling $50,000 of debt per person might cost $1 trillion. Estimates like these purport to frame contested policy choices in terms of hard dollars, with the clear inference that policies like one-time student loan cancellation or expanded income-driven repayment programs are simply unaffordable. There’s only one problem: These numbers are made up. They are mere artifacts of a series of policy and modeling choices, with little basis in the reality of personal or public finance, or the costs and benefits of higher education.” (01/05/22)
https://prospect.org/education/big-student-loan-lie/
-----
34) Biden and the Tragedy of American Foreign Policy
Source: CounterPunch
by Melvin Goodman
“Not since the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower has the United States elected a chief executive with formidable experience in international security policy. President Biden has decades of foreign policy experience in the White House and the Senate, which is extremely unusual in American presidential politics. Therefore, he should be held to a high standard; thus far, his performance has been flawed.” (01/05/22)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/01/05/biden-and-the-tragedy-of-american-foreign-policy/
-----
35) The madness of following the Covid models
Source: spiked
by Carl Heneghan & Tom Jefferson
“The UK government has consistently been served with worst-case Covid scenarios from modelling to justify ever more restrictive measures. For much of the pandemic, the government and its advisers have cited projections of cases and deaths, each more terrifying than the last, and a cycle of lockdowns and Eat Out to Help Out-style schemes has followed. Ministers’ eagerness to understand what might happen next has led to an overreliance on these models. The messaging of fear has provided a rationale for inhumane measures — from solitary confinement to the abandonment of some of the most vulnerable in our society. It has also created unrealistic expectations for what interventions can do to lessen the burden of Covid.” (01/05/22)
https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/01/04/the-madness-of-following-the-covid-models/
-----
36) University COVID Policies Are Bad for Students
Source: The Atlantic
by Emily Oster
“Many universities have announced a pivot to remote learning for at least part of January, among them UCLA, Columbia, Duke, Yale, Stanford, and Michigan State. The list goes on. This move — in response to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant — feels like a return to March 2020, when virtually all U.S. universities closed for in-person learning, sending students home for spring break and telling them not to come back. At that point, keeping students away from campus was reasonable. Now, however, this decision is a mistake. It reflects an outmoded level of caution. And it represents a failure of universities to protect their students’ interests.” (01/05/22)
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/01/university-covid-policies-remote-learning-mental-health/621159/
-----
37) One reason to trust in democracy’s resilience
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“Amid a gradual erosion of liberalism around the world, the life of South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu offers a reminder of the powerful effect of persistent good. So far in this young decade, each year has opened with an event reflecting the state of democracy somewhere in the world. In 2020 Hong Kong police clashed with protesters, who rallied in the hundreds of thousands on New Year’s Day to champion universal suffrage. Last year supporters of President Donald Trump mounted a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6 to try to block Congress from certifying an election that he had lost.” (01/04/22)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2022/0104/One-reason-to-trust-in-democracy-s-resilience
-----
38) Biden Is Trying to Disguise a General Vaccine Mandate As a Workplace Safety Measure
Source: Reason
by Jacob Sullum
“Last week Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s top infectious disease adviser, said the federal government should consider requiring that domestic air travelers be vaccinated against COVID-19. ‘When you make vaccinations a requirement,’ he explained, ‘that’s another incentive to get more people vaccinated.’ Although requiring vaccination of airline passengers ostensibly would be aimed at making air travel safer, Fauci sees it as a way to boost the U.S. vaccination rate. The Biden administration sees its vaccination rule for private employers, which ostensibly is aimed at addressing a workplace hazard, the same way. … It certainly looks like the Biden administration is trying to disguise a general vaccine mandate as a workplace safety measure. The Supreme Court will ultimately decide how convincing that disguise is.” (01/05/22)
https://reason.com/2022/01/05/biden-is-trying-to-disguise-a-general-vaccine-mandate-as-a-workplace-safety-measure/
-----
39) The Cruel Farce of US Regime Change Policy in Venezuela
Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison
“It is bad enough to impose broad sanctions on a country when it has been enjoying relatively good economic conditions. When it is already suffering from a massive economic and humanitarian crisis, as Venezuela was, it is imperative that our policy should do nothing to worsen the existing problems. Putting broad sanctions on Venezuela amounted to kicking the Venezuelan people when they were already down. Like other twisted sanctions policies, this one has been sold as ‘standing with’ the people that it abuses. … Biden’s willingness to let this bankrupt and evil policy continue is a black mark on his record. This was a Trump-era policy that he inherited, so it would not have been that difficult for him to repudiate Trump’s policy at the beginning of his term.” (01/05/22)
https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/the-cruel-farce-of-us-regime-change
-----
40) Twitter can boot whoever it wants
Source: Orange County Register
by the editorial board
“Since the days of ‘No shirt. No shoes. No service,’ businesses have reserved the right to refuse service to anyone who the business deems detrimental. So it should be no surprise that after several warnings about sharing content it flagged as inappropriate, Twitter suspended the personal account of Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene from its platform. Facebook followed Twitter with a 24-hour suspension. After the suspensions, Greene expressed her displeasure. … J.D. Vance, a Republican Ohio Senate candidate, condemned the suspension, tweeting: ‘Just totally absurd. These companies need to be crushed.’ Twitter and Facebook are walking a fine line with how they determine what is true, which often falls along partisan lines. At the same time, Republicans used to believe in the free market and property rights.” (01/05/22)
https://www.ocregister.com/2022/01/05/twitter-can-boot-whoever-it-wants/
-----
41) In Obedience To US Government, Meta Censors Anti-Imperialist Speech
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Anti-imperialist commentator Richard Medhurst reports that Instagram has deleted some 20 images from his account and given him a warning that he could face a permanent ban if he continues making similar posts. The posts in question are screenshots from a Twitter thread Medhurst made to commemorate the two-year anniversary of the Trump administration’s assassination of renowned Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani. Go ahead and read the thread; here’s the hyperlink again. There’s nothing in there that comes anywhere remotely close to violating Instagram’s terms of service as they are written …. The reason for Instagram’s censorship of Medhurst’s political speech is that Instagram’s parent company Meta (then called Facebook) determined after Soleimani’s assassination that anything which seems supportive of him constitutes a violation of US sanctions and must therefore be removed.” (01/05/22)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2022/01/05/meta-censors-anti-imperialist-speech-in-obedience-to-the-us-government/
-----
42) Another gratuitous defense budget highlights absurdity in US priorities
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Emma Claire Foley
“While we were cursing the old year and steeling ourselves for the new, the status quo was replicating itself last week when President Biden signed a record-high $778 billion National Defense Authorization Act into law, preserving the new weapons programs of the Trump era and going well beyond even the administration’s initial request of $715 billion. The U.S. defense industry has come to seem like part of the scenery — an unshakeable force on the global economic and political scene. A vote against the NDAA by a member of Congress, in terms of its actual prospects for effecting change in U.S. policy, remains purely symbolic. The inability of legislators to mount even a moderate challenge to the power of defense companies to determine U.S. policy should be absolutely chilling to anybody who believes that the most consequential problems of human society can be addressed by changing policy.” (01/05/22)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2022/01/05/another-gratuitous-defense-budget-highlights-absurdity-in-us-priorities/
-----
43) The Fed and low interest rate policy
Source: Cobden Centre
by Dr. Frank Shostak]
“It is a commonly accepted view these days that the central bank is a key factor in the determination of interest rates. On this way of thinking, the Fed determines the entire interest rate structure by influencing the short-term interest rates. … Is it valid to hold that the central bank is the key in the determination of interest rates?” (01/05/22)
http://www.cobdencentre.org/2022/01/the-fed-and-low-interest-rate-policy/
-----
44) What January 6 Actually Means
Source: The American Conservative
by Carmel Richardson
“Tomorrow is the first anniversary of our ruling class’s favorite talking point: January 6. It’s a bit ironic, when you think about it, that the people most intent on harping on January 6, 2021 are the same ones who claim to have been so traumatized by the day’s events, by the exploits of those crazed Trump voters who ackshually staged a coup. If January 6 is all that the left [sic] says it is, you would think they would want to forget it, while that the ‘insurrectionists’ would glory in remembering their exploits. Instead, the opposite is true — which should tell us something about why the left [sic] keeps going on about it.” (01/05/22)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/what-january-6-actually-means/
-----
45) No one wants to tell the truth about obesity
Source: Fox News
by Greg Gutfeld
“Everything is about precautions these days. You can’t ever be too safe. One mask? Sure. Two masks? Why not? And while you’re at it, put a coffee filter over your ass. … Of course, while the legacy media gives you grief even if you register mild hesitancy over a vaccine mandate, they still ignore some of the essential truths about health. That in a world where you can’t trust the media or the government, you can still trust yourself. You can control your risk factors; that’s the good news about the pandemic, that the leading comorbidity that influences severity of disease is one you can beat: obesity. The bad news is you’re living in a country where you can a get a cheesesteak out of a vending machine, where your average Exxon station has more food than North and South Korea combined.” (01/04/22)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/gutfeld-obesity-fat-shaming-coronavirus-comorbidities
-----
46) Inflation Is Robbing Your Pocket, Whether You Realize Or Not
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Brian McGlinchey
“All across the economic dashboard, inflation indicators are blinking red. Most recently, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, calculated by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, rose 5.7% from November 2020 to November 2021. That’s the biggest year-over-year surge since September 1983. Many mistakenly attribute today’s rising prices solely to supply chain woes, and government officials are happy to fertilize that mythology — as Kamala Harris reflexively did last week …. The truth is, in the words of economist Milton Friedman, ‘inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon.’ In other words, today’s rising prices are primarily the result of the Federal Reserve’s relentless creation of new money, which serves to facilitate the government’s multi-trillion dollar deficit-spending addiction.” (01/05/22)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/inflation-is-robbing-your-pocket-whether-you-realize-or-not/
-----
47) Why the Vaccine Nationalism?
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Jordan Schachtel
“The U.S. COVID-19 vaccine market has been shut out to outside competition for almost a year. Despite these shots being marketed and sold as akin to a cure to a coronavirus, they have catastrophically failed to achieve that result. Despite COVID-19 being declared the pandemic of the century, American regulatory agencies remain adamantly opposed to opening the market to more participants. … Despite America’s current regime claiming that Americans have access to the ‘very best’ shots in every major pharmacy across our country, the actual COVID data sure doesn’t suggest anything resembling the idea that our mRNA dominant approach is acting in a more beneficial manner than any other candidate available across the world. It certainly seems to be a no-brainer that the U.S. would be better off allowing more competitors to enter the space.” (01/04/22)
https://brownstone.org/articles/why-the-vaccine-nationalism/
-----
48) The Competence-Ambition Disequilibrium
Source: Commentary
by Noah Rothman
“There was a lot that government got right over the course of the pandemic. Most of it was what government is already good at. Congress is very good at cutting checks, and they did a lot of that …. Executive agencies are good at cutting red tape, and they did that, too. When speed was of the essence, the barriers that slow drug approvals were pared back, and time-consuming impediments to accessing government services were discarded. The 50 state governments did their part, as well. … And yet, government’s successes go relatively unremarked upon, in part, because the administrators and politicians in charge of that enterprise are not satisfied with them. They have established for themselves far broader objectives. And when those objectives go unmet, failure teaches its casualties no lessons.” (01/04/22)
https://www.commentary.org/noah-rothman/competence-ambition-disequilibrium/
-----
49) The Ticking Bomb of Crypto Fascism
Source: In These Times
by Hamilton Nolan
“Making predictions about looming social and political catastrophes is a dicey business, because most of the exciting things in history did not happen predictably. You can try to draw historic parallels based on broad economic or cultural trends. In America, in 2022, we have a vicious and spiraling culture war combined with an enormous asset price bubble fueled by two years of stimulus money, all resting atop an incredibly tenuous pandemic-wracked real economy. If you think the Angry White Men were scary during the Trump years, just wait until the crypto bubble pops. Let’s think this through. The foundation of everything happening now is a sort of late capitalist nihilistic politics fueled purely by culture wars -- an almost primitive flight from rationality driven by a half century of rising inequality and crumbling faith in ineffective public institutions.” (01/04/22)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/the-ticking-bomb-of-crypto-fascism
-----
50) Do we support or oppose vaccines?
Source: Downsize DC
by Jim Babka
“Science has become politicized and tribal. Whenever a matter becomes politicized, reason, nuance, critical thinking, and basic reading skills all go missing. The current public debate over the COVID-19 vaccine is a case in point. Taking the vaccine has become the Democratic position … Avoiding or being skeptical of the vaccine, has become the Republican position. … Even many Libertarians seem to be dividing up into one or the other of these warring camps. And being For or Against either position makes you instantly hated by large numbers of people. Since people are no longer thinking, reading well, or paying attention to nuance, any mention of the vaccine debate provokes knee-jerk reactions. This is exactly what happened with our message pitching a legal brief about the vaccine mandate.” (01/04/22)
https://downsizedc.org/blog/support-or-oppose-vaccines/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Free Talk Live, 01/05/22
Source: Free Talk Live
"NH Independence bill hearing set for Jan 20 at 3:30p :: Enumerated powers :: Americans burned out on pandemic :: River Dave arrested in New Hampshire :: Sarah praises taxes :: Crazy communists and a badly burned hot dog :: Sesame Street characters :: New Hampshire Indendence :: Show: 2022-01-05 Aria, Nikki." [Flash audio or MP3] (01/05/22)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/free-talk-live-2022-01-05
-----
52) Conflict Of Interest, episode 211
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Israel Panics Over Critique of Apartheid Policies.” [various formats] (01/05/22)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/kyle/coi-211-israel-panics-over-critique-of-apartheid-policies/
-----
53) The Vital Center, episode 21
Source: Niskanen Center
“What’s a principled conservative to do about Trump? (with Mona Charen)” [various formats] (01/05/22)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/whats-a-principled-conservative-to-do-about-trump-with-mona-charen/
-----
54) The Bryan Hyde Show, 01/05/22
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
“YouTube has scrapped Joe Rogan’s podcast episode with Dr. Malone over ‘misinformation’ concerns that Malone compared our current cultural climate with Nazi Germany. Sure seems like the modern day book-burners are working very hard to make sure we aren’t able to consider unapproved ideas. Are we sure these censors are on the right side of history?” [various formats] (01/05/22)
https://thebryanhydeshow.podbean.com/e/2022-jan-5-the-bryan-hyde-show-hour-one/
-----
55) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 01/05/22
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Mega-Vaxxed Israel Sees Record Cases: What Went Wrong?” [Flash video] (01/05/22)
http://www.ronpaullibertyreport.com/archives/mega-vaxxed-israel-sees-record-cases-what-went-wrong
-----
56) Punk Rock Libertarians Podcast, episode 380
Source: The Daily Liberator
“Mass Formation Psychosis.” [various formats] (01/05/22)
https://www.thedailyliberator.com/prl-podcast-episode-380-mass-formation-psychosis/
-----
57) The Argument, 01/05/22
Source: New York Times
“American Democracy: A Status Check.” [Flash audio] (01/05/22)
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/05/opinion/american-democracy-a-status-check.html
-----
58) Electric Libertyland, episode 261
Source: Lions of Liberty
“1M Covid Case Race, Mass Formation Psychosis and Patton Oswalt Sucks.” [various formats] (01/05/22)
https://www.lionsofliberty.com/episodes/ell261
-----
59) The Tom Woods Show, episode 2036
Source: The Tom Woods Show
“Michael Malice on How to Talk About Anarchism.” [various formats] (01/04/22)
https://tomwoods.com/ep-2036-michael-malice-on-how-to-talk-about-anarchism/
-----
60) Ray McGovern on The Scott Horton Show
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Ray McGovern on the Dumb but Dangerous Tension With Russia Over Ukraine.” [various formats] (01/04/22)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/scotthortonshow/12-30-21-ray-mcgovern-on-the-dumb-but-dangerous-tension-with-russia-over-ukraine/
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Kazakhstan: Russian, allied forces invade to suppress serf rebellion
2) ADP: US employers Added 807,000 Jobs in December, Doubling Expectations
3) Australian, Japanese regimes sign “historic” military pact
4) US CDC panel recommends Pfizer COVID-19 booster for adolescents
5) US, Iranian regimes say progress made in nuclear negotiations
6) MN: Mayo Clinic fires 700 unvaccinated employees
7) GA: Kemp announces push for constitutional carry
8) Boy Scouts fall short in support for US $2.7 billion abuse settlement
9) Blood test may one day predict severe pregnancy complication
10) CA: Armed citizen thwarts smash-and-grab attempted robbery
11) France: Parliament suspends debate on ghettoization scheme after Macron tantrum
12) James Webb Space Telescope: Sun shield is fully deployed
13) Report: US pols weigh new inflationary “stimulus” handouts for businesses
14) US technocrats debate Pfizer boosters for younger teens
15) Campaign Aims to Bar All January 6 Insurrectionists [sic] (Including Trump) From Future Public Office
16) IL: Chicago educrats cancel classes after teachers vote to not do their jobs
17) Pope criticizes couples who adopt pets instead of children
18) Iraq: Katyusha rocket hits military base at Baghdad airport
19) Australia: Djokovic’s entry delayed over vaccination status, visa row
20) OR: Grandpa fatally shoots intruder
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) My Two-Bit Political Awakening
22) A New Year One for Gotham
23) The Covid Truths Come Out
24) The Credibility Chimera: US Shouldn’t Go to War So It Can Go to War
25) Remembering Desmond M. Tutu
26) Nuclear War Over Ukraine?: Bankrupt America in no position to fight
27) Lies, Damned Lies, and Child Poverty Statistics
28) America is Not a Democracy
29) Five ways to be unafraid: Don’t fear omicron, it will burn out
30) Why Did the World Choose a Gold Standard Instead of a Silver Standard?
31) Five reasons Trump cannot hide behind executive privilege
32) Can’t join Libertarian party, either
33) The Big Student Loan Lie
34) Biden and the Tragedy of American Foreign Policy
35) The madness of following the Covid models
36) University COVID Policies Are Bad for Students
37) One reason to trust in democracy’s resilience
38) Biden Is Trying to Disguise a General Vaccine Mandate As a Workplace Safety Measure
39) The Cruel Farce of US Regime Change Policy in Venezuela
40) Twitter can boot whoever it wants
41) In Obedience To US Government, Meta Censors Anti-Imperialist Speech
42) Another gratuitous defense budget highlights absurdity in US priorities
43) The Fed and low interest rate policy
44) What January 6 Actually Means
45) No one wants to tell the truth about obesity
46) Inflation Is Robbing Your Pocket, Whether You Realize Or Not
47) Why the Vaccine Nationalism?
48) The Competence-Ambition Disequilibrium
49) The Ticking Bomb of Crypto Fascism
50) Do we support or oppose vaccines?
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Free Talk Live, 01/05/22
52) Conflicts Of Interest, episode 211
53) The Vital Center, episode 21
54) The Bryan Hyde Show, 01/05/22
55) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 01/05/22
56) Punk Rock Libertarians Podcast, episode 380
57) The Argument, 01/05/22
58) Electric Libertyland, episode 261
59) The Tom Woods Show, episode 2036
60) Ray McGovern on The Scott Horton Show
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Kazakhstan: Russian, allied forces invade to suppress serf rebellion
Source: NBC News
“A Russian-led security alliance has sent forces to Kazakhstan to quell deadly violence amid reports that dozens of protesters and police have been killed in the unrest sweeping the country. On Thursday, after state buildings were torched in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s biggest city, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced on Facebook that an unspecified number of peacekeepers [sic] would travel to Kazakhstan. Russian state media agencies Interfax and Tass quoted an Almaty police spokesperson as saying tens of rioters in the city have been ‘eliminated.’ … Initially set off by anger at a fuel price rise, the protests have quickly spread to take in wider opposition to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s predecessor Nursultan Nazarbayev, who retained significant power despite quitting in 2019 after ruling for nearly three decades.” (01/06/22)
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/ex-soviet-states-send-forces-kazakhstan-president-fails-quell-unrest-rcna11141
-----
2) ADP: US employers Added 807,000 Jobs in December, Doubling Expectations
Source: US News & World Report
“Employers added a massive 807,000 jobs in December, a strong end to 2021 and a good omen for 2022, private payroll firm ADP reported on Wednesday. The number was more than double estimates of 360,000 and compares with 534,000 jobs added in November. Gains were led by the service sector, with 669,000 jobs created, and among larger firms with 389,000 positions filled. The private sector report comes two days before the Labor Department is set to release its monthly jobs report for December, which includes government jobs. Economists are forecasting a gain of 400,000 after a somewhat disappointing increase of 210,000 in November.” (01/05/22)
https://www.usnews.com/news/economy/articles/2022-01-05/adp-employers-added-807-000-jobs-in-december-doubling-expectations
-----
3) Australian, Japanese regimes sign “historic” military pact
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatar state media]
“The leaders of Australia and Japan have signed a ‘historic’ defence treaty that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said would ‘contribute to a secure and stable Indo-Pacific’ as China expands its military and economic clout in the region. The treaty was signed during a virtual summit between Morrison and his Australian counterpart, Fumio Kishida on Thursday. Called the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), the treaty is only Japan’s second such agreement. Its only other military pact is with the United States, a status of force agreement that dates back to 1960.” (01/05/22)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1/6/australia-japan-sign-historic-defence-treaty-amid-chinas-rise
-----
4) US CDC panel recommends Pfizer COVID-19 booster for adolescents
Source: The Hill
“A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory panel on Wednesday recommended adolescents aged 12 to 15 should receive a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at least 5 months after the primary series. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) also expanded its recent recommendations on older teens, to make it clear that teens aged 16 and 17 ‘should’ also receive a booster dose. … The 13-1 vote comes two days after the Food and Drug Administration authorized booster doses for adolescents, and is one of the final steps before pharmacists, physicians and other providers will be able to administer vaccines for children in that age group.” (01/05/22)
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/588459-cdc-advisors-recommend-pfizer-covid-19-vaccine-booster-for-adolescents
-----
5) US, Iranian regimes say progress made in nuclear negotiations
Source: Jerusalem Post [Israel]
“The US and Iran said that there has been progress in the indirect negotiations in Vienna for the sides to return to compliance with the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal. After weeks in which the US and E3 — France, Germany and United Kingdom — expressed doubts that Iran was taking the talks seriously, and even Russia lamented ‘maximalist demands’ by the Islamic Republic, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said steps have been taken towards a restoration of the JCPOA. … Iran Chief Negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani said on Wednesday that the talks are moving forward. ‘The more serious the other side is in being prepared to lift sanctions and accept Iran’s mechanisms for lifting sanctions, especially on verification and guarantee issues, the sooner we can reach an agreement,’ Bagheri Kani stated.” (01/05/22)
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-691652
-----
6) MN: Mayo Clinic fires 700 unvaccinated employees
Source: Orlando Sentinel
“Amid vaccine mandate challenges nationwide, the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota fired 700 unvaccinated employees on Tuesday after they failed to get the shots by the Monday deadline, according to news reports. The firings represent about 1% of Mayo’s 73,000 workers, reported WCCO-TV, a CBS affiliate in Minnesota. The employees were required to either receive at least the first protective shot against COVID-19 or obtain an exemption for medical or religious reasons. Mayo said it granted the majority of exemption requests, the Star Tribune reported.” (01/05/22)
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/coronavirus/jobs-economy/os-ne-mayo-clinic-fires-700-unvaccinated-employees-20220105-x3tststu7rhdxjabih6v4nhqmi-story.html
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7) GA: Kemp announces push for constitutional carry
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
“Facing an unusual challenge from fellow Republicans in his bid for a second term, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said Wednesday he will push for a new state law that would loosen requirements to carry a handgun in public. Kemp made the announcement at a gun shop outside Atlanta that bills itself as the ‘world’s largest gun store,’ where he was joined by members of the National Rifle Association and state lawmakers. Kemp did not lay out specific changes he was seeking but expressed support for what gun rights advocates call ‘constitutional carry.’ Multiple bills purporting to advance that idea in the state Legislature would do away with the need for a license to carry a handgun in public — either openly or concealed on one’s body.” (01/05/22)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Georgia-governor-aims-to-loosen-rules-for-16750262.php
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8) Boy Scouts fall short in support for US $2.7 billion abuse settlement
Source: CTV [Canada]
“The Boy Scouts of America fell short of winning the support it sought from sex-abuse victims for a nearly US$2.7 billion settlement that could bring the organization out of bankruptcy, according to court papers. The proposed settlement of more than 82,000 claims of childhood sexual abuse earned the support of just over 73% of those who cast votes, below the 75% the Boy Scouts sought. … The 111-year-old youth group based in Irving, Texas, filed for bankruptcy in February 2020, after being hit by a flood of sexual abuse lawsuits when several U.S. states passed laws allowing accusers to sue over allegations dating back several decades. Those claimants are now designated creditors of the organization, so they must sign off on any plans to restructure and exit bankruptcy. Representatives of some of the victims have pushed for larger settlements.” (01/05/22)
https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/boy-scouts-fall-short-in-support-for-us-2-7b-abuse-settlement-1.5728538
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9) Blood test may one day predict severe pregnancy complication
Source: Seattle Times
“A blood test may one day be able to predict whether someone who is pregnant will develop a serious blood pressure disorder months before symptoms show up. Preeclampsia happens in around 1 of 20 pregnancies, usually in the third trimester, and can cause organ damage, stroke and preterm birth. Pregnancy-related high blood pressure disorders are among the leading causes of maternal death worldwide. Although the blood test is still being developed and won’t be available for a while, doctors and parent advocates say it could someday save lives. Bekah Bischoff of Louisville, who developed preeclampsia during two pregnancies and now helps others who’ve had the condition, said she was diagnosed late in the third trimester both times. While pregnant with her son Henry in 2012, she found out she had a very severe type called HELLP Syndrome at 36 weeks. He was delivered that day. She nearly died.” (01/05/22)
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/blood-test-may-one-day-predict-severe-pregnancy-complication/
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10) CA: Armed citizen thwarts smash-and-grab attempted robbery
Source: Fox News
“A legally armed southern California jewelry store owner thwarted an attempted smash-and-grab robbery by four men. Four suspects entered a jewelry store in Upland last Thursday just after 2:30 p.m. and deployed bear spray on everyone inside, police said. After the owner brandished a legally possessed firearm, the suspects took off in a getaway vehicle waiting outside. No one in the business was seriously injured. While working to identify and apprehend the suspects, investigators were contacted by detectives from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department’s Chino Hills Station, who said they had reason to believe these suspects were also responsible for other recent violent robberies in Claremont and Chino Hills. Upland PD also learned that most of the suspects involved in the robbery were associated with a local criminal street gang.” (01/05/22)
https://www.foxnews.com/us/legally-armed-citizen-thwarts-california-smash-and-grab-attempted-robbery
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11) France: Parliament suspends debate on ghettoization scheme after Macron tantrum
Source: NBC News
“French parliament suspended debate on a new Covid-19 law early on Wednesday as opposition lawmakers demanded explanations from President Emmanuel Macron about comments in which he said he wanted to ‘piss off’ unvaccinated people. Macron made the remark in an interview with Le Parisien newspaper published late on Tuesday. He also said unvaccinated people were ‘irresponsible’ and that he planned to make their lives so complicated that they would end up having a vaccine. … The legislation will make it mandatory for people to show proof of Covid-19 vaccination to enter a restaurant or cinema, or take the train. The session was rapidly taken over by discussion of his comments.” (01/05/22)
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/macrons-language-unvaccinated-provokes-storm-france-rcna10992
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12) James Webb Space Telescope: Sun shield is fully deployed
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“The new James Webb telescope has passed a major milestone in its quest to image the first stars to shine in the cosmos. Controllers on Tuesday completed the deployment of the space observatory’s giant kite-shaped sun shield. Only with this tennis court-sized barrier will Webb have the sensitivity to detect the signals coming from the most distant objects in the Universe. Commissioning work will now concentrate on unpacking the telescope’s mirrors, the largest of which is 6.5m wide. The deployment of the five-membrane sun shield is a triumph for the engineering teams at the US space agency (Nasa) and the American aerospace manufacturer Northrop Grumman. There were many who doubted the wisdom of a design that included so many motors, gears, pulleys and cables.” (01/05/22)
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-59873738
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13) Report: US pols weigh new inflationary “stimulus” handouts for businesses
Source: WTVB News
“U.S. lawmakers are discussing another possible round of COVID-19 stimulus spending for businesses, seeking to blunt the impact of the fast-spreading Omicron variant, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday. Early efforts by Democratic and Republican lawmakers have focused primarily on authorizing billions of dollars to help businesses including restaurants, performance venues, gyms and minor league sports teams, the report said, citing four people familiar with the matter. The White House declined to comment to the Washington Post, as did two lawmakers cited as behind the talks.” (01/05/22)
https://wtvbam.com/2022/01/05/u-s-lawmakers-weigh-new-covid-19-stimulus-funding-report/
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14) US technocrats debate Pfizer boosters for younger teens
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
“An influential government advisory panel is considering COVID-19 boosters for younger teens, as the U.S. battles the omicron surge and schools struggle with how to restart classes amid the spike. Boosters already are recommended for everyone 16 and older. Earlier this week, the Food and Drug Administration authorized an extra Pfizer shot for kids ages 12 to 15 as well — but that wasn’t the final hurdle. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention makes recommendations for vaccinations and its advisers on Wednesday are debating whether younger teens should get one as soon as they’re eligible or if it’s just an option for those who want it. The CDC’s director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, will weigh the panel’s advice before making a final decision soon.” (01/05/22)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/U-S-advisers-debate-Pfizer-boosters-for-younger-16751755.php
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15) Campaign Aims to Bar All January 6 Insurrectionists [sic] (Including Trump) From Future Public Office
Source: Common Dreams
“On the eve of the first anniversary of the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump, progressives are ramping up their campaign to block January 6 insurrectionists (including Trump and hundreds of Republican elected officials) from ever running for public office again. Free Speech for People and Our Revolution … announced Wednesday that they are teaming up as part of the 14point3 campaign, an effort to urge secretaries of state to ban elected officials who encouraged or participated in the January 6 insurrection from appearing on any electoral ballot. ‘Initially enacted in the wake of the Civil War, Section 3 of the 14th Amendment disqualifies from public office any individual who has taken an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution and then engages in insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or gives aid or comfort to those who have,’ Free Speech for People explains.” (01/05/22)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/01/05/campaign-aims-bar-all-jan-6-insurrectionists-including-trump-future-public-office
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16) IL: Chicago educrats cancel classes after teachers vote to not do their jobs
Source: CNN
“More than 340,000 students will be shut out of school Wednesday after a deadlock between the Chicago Teachers Union and the school district over [whether teachers can use “Covid-19 safety” to avoid working] — the most dramatic example yet of tension in US schools amid the spread of the Omicron variant. On Tuesday night, the teachers’ union voted to teach virtually rather than in classrooms — prompting district leadership to cancel school for Wednesday. The teachers’ union said conditions for in-person learning, which had resumed Monday, were unsafe — citing inadequate testing resources as new Covid-19 cases and new hospitalizations among children reached record highs. But Chicago Public Schools and the city’s mayor have been adamant that students in the nation’s third-largest school district need to learn in classrooms.” (01/05/22)
https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/05/us/chicago-schools-teachers-union-vote-remote-learning-wednesday/index.html
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17) Pope criticizes couples who adopt pets instead of children
Source: Fox News
“Pope Francis on Wednesday branded couples who adopt pets instead of children as ‘selfish’ as part of a call to resolve the ‘demographic winter’ that the West faces. The pope addressed a general audience on the topic of parenthood and called on people to have more children as the West faces a declining population. The pandemic, in particular, saw a sharp decline, with the U.S. alone recording a 7% drop in the national birthrate in 2020, UPI reported. ‘Today … we see a form of selfishness,’ the pope said. ‘We see that some people do not want to have a child. Sometimes they have one, and that’s it, but they have dogs and cats that take the place of children.'” (01/05/22)
https://www.foxnews.com/world/pope-criticizes-couples-adopt-pets-children-selfishness
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18) Iraq: Katyusha rocket hits military base at Baghdad airport
Source: ABC News
“A Katyusha rocket struck an Iraqi military base hosting U.S. troops at Baghdad’s international airport on Wednesday, an Iraqi military statement said. No damage or casualties were reported from the attack, the third in as many days since Monday’s anniversary of a U.S. airstrike that killed top Iranian general Qassim Soleimani in Baghdad two years ago. … On Monday, two armed drones were shot down as they headed toward a facility housing U.S. advisors at Baghdad airport. Two explosives-laden drones targeting an Iraqi military base housing U.S. troops in western Anbar province were destroyed on Tuesday.” [editor’s note: The US occupation of Iraq supposedly ended some time ago. Why are Iraqi bases “hosting” US troops? – TLK] (01/05/22)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/katyusha-rocket-hits-military-base-baghdad-airport-82083999
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19) Australia: Djokovic’s entry delayed over vaccination status, visa row
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“World number one tennis player Novak Djokovic’s entry to Australia has been delayed over an issue with his visa. The player arrived in Melbourne on Wednesday, where authorities noticed that his team had made a mistake on his application. Djokovic is due to play in the Australian Open, after being exempted from vaccination rules. But his team had not requested a visa that permits medical exemptions for being unvaccinated. … Djokovic arrived in Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport on Wednesday and is awaiting a decision. He has not spoken about his vaccination status, but last year he said he was ‘opposed to vaccination.’ The country’s border force had sought clarification from the Victorian state government about his visa application, the Melbourne-based Age newspaper reports. But state government Minister Jaala Pulford tweeted that his application would not be supported.” (01/05/22)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-59884038
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20) OR: Grandpa fatally shoots intruder
Source: Lexington Herald-Leader
“A 62-year-old grandfather fatally shot a man trying to enter his home while his grandkids and daughter were there, Oregon police said. A 42-year-old man was attempting to break into a Salem home on Jan. 2 before he was shot by the resident, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said. The man was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Two of the homeowner’s grandchildren and his adult daughter were in the home at the time, police said.” (01/04/22)
https://www.kentucky.com/news/nation-world/national/article257039887.html
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) My Two-Bit Political Awakening
Source: JimBovard.com
by James Bovard
“Samuel Johnson may have been wrong when he declared, ‘There are few ways in which a man can be more innocently employed than in getting money.’ But for young kids, collecting coins is a less pernicious pastime than becoming a pyromaniac or Tik-Tok star. My own experience collecting, buying, and selling coins vaccinated me against trusting politicians long before I grew my first scruffy beard. … Coin dealing helped me recognize early in life that a government promise is not worth a plug nickel. From 1878 onwards, the U.S. Mint printed silver certificates redeemable for silver coins from the U.S. government. … In 1964, the Treasury Department repudiated that pledge, announcing that certificates were henceforth redeemable only for silver bullion, not coins. In 1967, Congress passed the Act to Authorize Adjustments in the Amount of Outstanding Silver Certificates. Congress ‘adjusted’ silver certificates by nullifying all further redemptions.” (01/05/22)
https://jimbovard.com/blog/2022/01/05/my-two-bit-political-awakening/
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22) A New Year One for Gotham
Source: Garrison Center
by Joel Schlosberg
“As ‘the city that never sleeps’ turned the calendar to 2022 with the inauguration of Eric Adams just after midnight, partygoers didn’t need Frank Sinatra’s reminder to ‘start spreading the news’ heard on the New Year’s broadcast from Times Square. New Yorkers were well aware, as Brooklyn’s Chris Matthew Sciabarra put it, that ‘the best news about the next mayor is that it won’t be Bill de Blasio.’ … It’s not too late to revive the plan offered by Norman Mailer and Jimmy Breslin in 1969, whose mayoral campaign literature told New Yorkers that they ‘want neighborhoods to govern themselves.'” (01/05/22)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/16533
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23) The Covid Truths Come Out
Source: National Review
by Michael Brendan Dougherty
“As the Omicron wave of Covid-19 washed over the American Northeast and started to spread nationwide, familiar public-health officials and commentators suddenly started to say things that were previously unsayable. And CDC guidance started changing rapidly. Things such as ‘your masks are useless.’ And ‘the hospitalization figures for Covid in children are overcounted.’ And ‘we need to stop focusing on cases and start focusing on hospitalizations.’ And even that public-health regulations had to retreat to the point at which they would be tolerated by the public. It’s important to note that none of these insights became true with the onset of Omicron, which is extremely contagious but less severe and infects vaccinated people easily. This isn’t guidance changing with the latest science. No, Omicron only made these facts more undeniable.” (01/05/22)
https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/01/the-covid-truths-come-out/
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24) The Credibility Chimera: US Shouldn’t Go to War So It Can Go to War
Source: Antiwar.com
by Doug Bandow
“To listen to the US foreign policy establishment, every day Washington fails to sanction another nation America’s reputation takes a dive. Every day the US does not bomb or drone a country or group, America communicates weakness to the world. Every day the president resists launching a war against someone somewhere, he or she squanders America’s credibility. Similar were the cavalcade of witless assertions that staying only 20 years in Afghanistan, a region of little geopolitical interest to the US other than its arbitrary connection to 9/11 decades ago, would damage Washington’s reputation.” (01/05/22)
https://original.antiwar.com/doug-bandow/2022/01/04/the-credibility-chimera-us-shouldnt-go-to-war-so-it-can-go-to-war/
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25) Remembering Desmond M. Tutu
Source: Independent Institute
by Mary LG Theroux
“Following Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu’s recent death, in reading an article about his funeral, I was stopped by its description of him as ‘diminutive.’ Casting my memory back to our evening with him, I had to concentrate to recall that, yes, he was a short man, but his presence was immense, emanating love, humor, and inspiration. … His talk was spellbinding, in turns evoking tears as he recounted horrific descriptions of apartheid-era abuses healed through victims and perpetrators meeting together as part of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission — to, at the end, laughter, then awe as he cast a vision that swept the entire audience away with him.” (01/05/22)
https://blog.independent.org/2022/01/05/remembering-desmond-tutu/
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26) Nuclear War Over Ukraine?: Bankrupt America in no position to fight
Source: Common Dreams
by Eric Margolis
“How many American soldiers will die in the battle for Luhansk? Or Kerch? Not 1 in 1,000 Americans could find these drab Ukrainian (formerly Russian) industrial cities on a map. How many Americans are aware that a unit of the Florida National Guard is stationed in western Ukraine, of all places? It’s just a training mission, says the Pentagon. Right. Training how to pick oranges. This from the ‘invincible’ US military (I used to be a member) that got its backside whipped in Vietnam, Iraq and now Afghanistan. No matter. The US, says President Biden, is geared up for a major fight in this obscure coal-mining region of the former Soviet Union. US Navy vessels and aircraft now challenge Russia’s Black Sea and Azov Sea borders. NATO units probe Ukraine’s air and land borders.” (01/05/22)
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2022/01/05/nuclear-war-over-ukraine
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27) Lies, Damned Lies, and Child Poverty Statistics
Source: Niskanen Center
by Samuel Hammond
“The phrase ‘lies, damned lies, and statistics’ is used almost exclusively in public policy debates. Putting numbers on an issue gives the speaker an air of authority and precision but often comes at the expense of fuller context. Indeed, outright dishonesty is far less common than self-deception and the universal human tendency to seek out evidence that confirms one’s biases. … The expansion of the Child Tax Credit increased the post-tax income of poor families by thousands of dollars, and yet its impact on poverty seems nearly invisible in the data! How can that be? … The problem is that [Angela] Rachidi is incorrect to claim the OPM ‘should reflect the monthly CTC payments.’ While the OPM does count some sources of transfer income, like Social Security and unemployment compensation, it does not include refundable tax credits like the CTC or Earned Income Tax Credit.” (01/05/22)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/lies-damned-lies-and-child-poverty-statistics/
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28) America is Not a Democracy
Source: Human Events
by Adam Ellwanger
“I have long been a critic of American governance. And I have long been a critic of democracy. But until this year, I had still operated under the assumption that the United States, despite various forms of corruption and turmoil, remained a democracy. Sadly, I no longer believe this to be the case. Skeptical readers might scoff at this assertion. After all, we have elections. We don’t have a king. How could anyone say that we don’t live in a democracy? Some readers will remind me that America is an indirect democracy or a ‘democratic republic,’ insisting that each citizen isn’t intended to wield real political power. These distinctions aside, I argue that the United States doesn’t qualify as any kind of democracy, if the term is rigorously defined.” (01/05/22)
https://humanevents.com/2022/01/05/america-is-not-a-democracy/
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29) Five ways to be unafraid: Don’t fear omicron, it will burn out
Source: Fox News Forum
by Dr. Marc Siegel
“We have reached another ‘magic’ COVID number, and it isn’t good: More than a million new cases per day. For those who may say case numbers don’t matter, there are also more than a hundred thousand hospitalizations. So even though omicron has only about 20 percent the hospitalization rate as delta, since there are five times more cases now per day in the U.S. with omicron predominating, the hospitalization rate is therefore the same or greater. Omicron is clearly milder than delta, and though there appears to be much less lung involvement, we don’t yet know how much long-COVID there is. … The ‘good’ news is that at this rate this monster COVID wave will surely burn out over the next month especially when you consider there are likely five to ten times more cases than are being reported, given the lack of rapid tests.” (01/05/22)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/omicron-covid-public-health-testing-masks-marc-siegel
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30) Why Did the World Choose a Gold Standard Instead of a Silver Standard?
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Ryan McMaken
“Gold’s preeminence was never inevitable, inexorable, or based on some sort of natural law of money. Rather, the rise of gold resulted from a number of historical events peculiar to a certain time and place. These include geopolitical issues, increasing global gold supply, political efforts to increase foreign trade, and the fixed exchange ratio between gold and silver. In other words, the marketplace was not necessarily the driving factor behind the turn to gold. Had it not been for this government meddling designed to control gold and the ‘gold standard,’ we might still be living in a world of true currency competition today — a world of competition between gold, silver, and anything else that market actors might find to be useful as a general means of exchange.” (01/05/22)
https://mises.org/wire/why-did-world-choose-gold-standard-instead-silver-standard
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31) Five reasons Trump cannot hide behind executive privilege
Source: The Hill
by Kimberly Wehle
“There’s no established legal or historical path from a congressional investigation to a criminal trial of a former president — and for good reason. Presidents are special, and they enjoy numerous special privileges of the office. During the Trump years, debate swirled around the concept of executive privilege, and whether his status as president would immunize him from liability for actions taken both before and during his presidency. As the work of the select committee heats up, executive privilege could again loom large — as has already been the case with the snubbing of subpoenas by former Trump adviser Steve Bannon and chief of staff Mark Meadows. Here are five reasons why an attempt by Trump to hide behind executive privilege regarding Jan. 6 should probably fail.” (01/05/22)
https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/588280-jan6-five-reasons-trump-cannot-hide-behind-executive-privilege
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32) Can’t join Libertarian party, either
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“I’m libertarian, uncapitalized, to separate the ethical philosophy I follow from the political party I can’t. A Libertarian, capitalized, is a member of the Libertarian Party. Ethical libertarianism is based on the recognition that no one has the right to use — or threaten — violence, personally or politically, against anyone who isn’t currently violating the life, liberty, or property of another. This is the guiding principle that distinguishes a libertarian from anyone else. Follow it and you’re libertarian; don’t and you’re not. … The Libertarian Party seems to value ‘smaller government’ over liberty or any guiding principle.” (01/05/22)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2022/01/05/voices/opinion-cant-join-libertarian-party-either/170844.html
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33) The Big Student Loan Lie
Source: The American Prospect
by John R Brooks
“Much of the debate about student loans is framed in terms of financial statistics. We hear that we have $1.6 trillion of debt outstanding, or that the income-driven repayment programs might cost taxpayers $100 billion or more, or that there’s a $500 billion ‘hole’ in the system, or that canceling $50,000 of debt per person might cost $1 trillion. Estimates like these purport to frame contested policy choices in terms of hard dollars, with the clear inference that policies like one-time student loan cancellation or expanded income-driven repayment programs are simply unaffordable. There’s only one problem: These numbers are made up. They are mere artifacts of a series of policy and modeling choices, with little basis in the reality of personal or public finance, or the costs and benefits of higher education.” (01/05/22)
https://prospect.org/education/big-student-loan-lie/
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34) Biden and the Tragedy of American Foreign Policy
Source: CounterPunch
by Melvin Goodman
“Not since the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower has the United States elected a chief executive with formidable experience in international security policy. President Biden has decades of foreign policy experience in the White House and the Senate, which is extremely unusual in American presidential politics. Therefore, he should be held to a high standard; thus far, his performance has been flawed.” (01/05/22)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/01/05/biden-and-the-tragedy-of-american-foreign-policy/
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35) The madness of following the Covid models
Source: spiked
by Carl Heneghan & Tom Jefferson
“The UK government has consistently been served with worst-case Covid scenarios from modelling to justify ever more restrictive measures. For much of the pandemic, the government and its advisers have cited projections of cases and deaths, each more terrifying than the last, and a cycle of lockdowns and Eat Out to Help Out-style schemes has followed. Ministers’ eagerness to understand what might happen next has led to an overreliance on these models. The messaging of fear has provided a rationale for inhumane measures — from solitary confinement to the abandonment of some of the most vulnerable in our society. It has also created unrealistic expectations for what interventions can do to lessen the burden of Covid.” (01/05/22)
https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/01/04/the-madness-of-following-the-covid-models/
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36) University COVID Policies Are Bad for Students
Source: The Atlantic
by Emily Oster
“Many universities have announced a pivot to remote learning for at least part of January, among them UCLA, Columbia, Duke, Yale, Stanford, and Michigan State. The list goes on. This move — in response to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant — feels like a return to March 2020, when virtually all U.S. universities closed for in-person learning, sending students home for spring break and telling them not to come back. At that point, keeping students away from campus was reasonable. Now, however, this decision is a mistake. It reflects an outmoded level of caution. And it represents a failure of universities to protect their students’ interests.” (01/05/22)
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/01/university-covid-policies-remote-learning-mental-health/621159/
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37) One reason to trust in democracy’s resilience
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“Amid a gradual erosion of liberalism around the world, the life of South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu offers a reminder of the powerful effect of persistent good. So far in this young decade, each year has opened with an event reflecting the state of democracy somewhere in the world. In 2020 Hong Kong police clashed with protesters, who rallied in the hundreds of thousands on New Year’s Day to champion universal suffrage. Last year supporters of President Donald Trump mounted a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6 to try to block Congress from certifying an election that he had lost.” (01/04/22)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2022/0104/One-reason-to-trust-in-democracy-s-resilience
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38) Biden Is Trying to Disguise a General Vaccine Mandate As a Workplace Safety Measure
Source: Reason
by Jacob Sullum
“Last week Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s top infectious disease adviser, said the federal government should consider requiring that domestic air travelers be vaccinated against COVID-19. ‘When you make vaccinations a requirement,’ he explained, ‘that’s another incentive to get more people vaccinated.’ Although requiring vaccination of airline passengers ostensibly would be aimed at making air travel safer, Fauci sees it as a way to boost the U.S. vaccination rate. The Biden administration sees its vaccination rule for private employers, which ostensibly is aimed at addressing a workplace hazard, the same way. … It certainly looks like the Biden administration is trying to disguise a general vaccine mandate as a workplace safety measure. The Supreme Court will ultimately decide how convincing that disguise is.” (01/05/22)
https://reason.com/2022/01/05/biden-is-trying-to-disguise-a-general-vaccine-mandate-as-a-workplace-safety-measure/
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39) The Cruel Farce of US Regime Change Policy in Venezuela
Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison
“It is bad enough to impose broad sanctions on a country when it has been enjoying relatively good economic conditions. When it is already suffering from a massive economic and humanitarian crisis, as Venezuela was, it is imperative that our policy should do nothing to worsen the existing problems. Putting broad sanctions on Venezuela amounted to kicking the Venezuelan people when they were already down. Like other twisted sanctions policies, this one has been sold as ‘standing with’ the people that it abuses. … Biden’s willingness to let this bankrupt and evil policy continue is a black mark on his record. This was a Trump-era policy that he inherited, so it would not have been that difficult for him to repudiate Trump’s policy at the beginning of his term.” (01/05/22)
https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/the-cruel-farce-of-us-regime-change
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40) Twitter can boot whoever it wants
Source: Orange County Register
by the editorial board
“Since the days of ‘No shirt. No shoes. No service,’ businesses have reserved the right to refuse service to anyone who the business deems detrimental. So it should be no surprise that after several warnings about sharing content it flagged as inappropriate, Twitter suspended the personal account of Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene from its platform. Facebook followed Twitter with a 24-hour suspension. After the suspensions, Greene expressed her displeasure. … J.D. Vance, a Republican Ohio Senate candidate, condemned the suspension, tweeting: ‘Just totally absurd. These companies need to be crushed.’ Twitter and Facebook are walking a fine line with how they determine what is true, which often falls along partisan lines. At the same time, Republicans used to believe in the free market and property rights.” (01/05/22)
https://www.ocregister.com/2022/01/05/twitter-can-boot-whoever-it-wants/
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41) In Obedience To US Government, Meta Censors Anti-Imperialist Speech
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Anti-imperialist commentator Richard Medhurst reports that Instagram has deleted some 20 images from his account and given him a warning that he could face a permanent ban if he continues making similar posts. The posts in question are screenshots from a Twitter thread Medhurst made to commemorate the two-year anniversary of the Trump administration’s assassination of renowned Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani. Go ahead and read the thread; here’s the hyperlink again. There’s nothing in there that comes anywhere remotely close to violating Instagram’s terms of service as they are written …. The reason for Instagram’s censorship of Medhurst’s political speech is that Instagram’s parent company Meta (then called Facebook) determined after Soleimani’s assassination that anything which seems supportive of him constitutes a violation of US sanctions and must therefore be removed.” (01/05/22)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2022/01/05/meta-censors-anti-imperialist-speech-in-obedience-to-the-us-government/
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42) Another gratuitous defense budget highlights absurdity in US priorities
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Emma Claire Foley
“While we were cursing the old year and steeling ourselves for the new, the status quo was replicating itself last week when President Biden signed a record-high $778 billion National Defense Authorization Act into law, preserving the new weapons programs of the Trump era and going well beyond even the administration’s initial request of $715 billion. The U.S. defense industry has come to seem like part of the scenery — an unshakeable force on the global economic and political scene. A vote against the NDAA by a member of Congress, in terms of its actual prospects for effecting change in U.S. policy, remains purely symbolic. The inability of legislators to mount even a moderate challenge to the power of defense companies to determine U.S. policy should be absolutely chilling to anybody who believes that the most consequential problems of human society can be addressed by changing policy.” (01/05/22)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2022/01/05/another-gratuitous-defense-budget-highlights-absurdity-in-us-priorities/
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43) The Fed and low interest rate policy
Source: Cobden Centre
by Dr. Frank Shostak]
“It is a commonly accepted view these days that the central bank is a key factor in the determination of interest rates. On this way of thinking, the Fed determines the entire interest rate structure by influencing the short-term interest rates. … Is it valid to hold that the central bank is the key in the determination of interest rates?” (01/05/22)
http://www.cobdencentre.org/2022/01/the-fed-and-low-interest-rate-policy/
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44) What January 6 Actually Means
Source: The American Conservative
by Carmel Richardson
“Tomorrow is the first anniversary of our ruling class’s favorite talking point: January 6. It’s a bit ironic, when you think about it, that the people most intent on harping on January 6, 2021 are the same ones who claim to have been so traumatized by the day’s events, by the exploits of those crazed Trump voters who ackshually staged a coup. If January 6 is all that the left [sic] says it is, you would think they would want to forget it, while that the ‘insurrectionists’ would glory in remembering their exploits. Instead, the opposite is true — which should tell us something about why the left [sic] keeps going on about it.” (01/05/22)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/what-january-6-actually-means/
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45) No one wants to tell the truth about obesity
Source: Fox News
by Greg Gutfeld
“Everything is about precautions these days. You can’t ever be too safe. One mask? Sure. Two masks? Why not? And while you’re at it, put a coffee filter over your ass. … Of course, while the legacy media gives you grief even if you register mild hesitancy over a vaccine mandate, they still ignore some of the essential truths about health. That in a world where you can’t trust the media or the government, you can still trust yourself. You can control your risk factors; that’s the good news about the pandemic, that the leading comorbidity that influences severity of disease is one you can beat: obesity. The bad news is you’re living in a country where you can a get a cheesesteak out of a vending machine, where your average Exxon station has more food than North and South Korea combined.” (01/04/22)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/gutfeld-obesity-fat-shaming-coronavirus-comorbidities
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46) Inflation Is Robbing Your Pocket, Whether You Realize Or Not
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Brian McGlinchey
“All across the economic dashboard, inflation indicators are blinking red. Most recently, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, calculated by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, rose 5.7% from November 2020 to November 2021. That’s the biggest year-over-year surge since September 1983. Many mistakenly attribute today’s rising prices solely to supply chain woes, and government officials are happy to fertilize that mythology — as Kamala Harris reflexively did last week …. The truth is, in the words of economist Milton Friedman, ‘inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon.’ In other words, today’s rising prices are primarily the result of the Federal Reserve’s relentless creation of new money, which serves to facilitate the government’s multi-trillion dollar deficit-spending addiction.” (01/05/22)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/inflation-is-robbing-your-pocket-whether-you-realize-or-not/
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47) Why the Vaccine Nationalism?
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Jordan Schachtel
“The U.S. COVID-19 vaccine market has been shut out to outside competition for almost a year. Despite these shots being marketed and sold as akin to a cure to a coronavirus, they have catastrophically failed to achieve that result. Despite COVID-19 being declared the pandemic of the century, American regulatory agencies remain adamantly opposed to opening the market to more participants. … Despite America’s current regime claiming that Americans have access to the ‘very best’ shots in every major pharmacy across our country, the actual COVID data sure doesn’t suggest anything resembling the idea that our mRNA dominant approach is acting in a more beneficial manner than any other candidate available across the world. It certainly seems to be a no-brainer that the U.S. would be better off allowing more competitors to enter the space.” (01/04/22)
https://brownstone.org/articles/why-the-vaccine-nationalism/
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48) The Competence-Ambition Disequilibrium
Source: Commentary
by Noah Rothman
“There was a lot that government got right over the course of the pandemic. Most of it was what government is already good at. Congress is very good at cutting checks, and they did a lot of that …. Executive agencies are good at cutting red tape, and they did that, too. When speed was of the essence, the barriers that slow drug approvals were pared back, and time-consuming impediments to accessing government services were discarded. The 50 state governments did their part, as well. … And yet, government’s successes go relatively unremarked upon, in part, because the administrators and politicians in charge of that enterprise are not satisfied with them. They have established for themselves far broader objectives. And when those objectives go unmet, failure teaches its casualties no lessons.” (01/04/22)
https://www.commentary.org/noah-rothman/competence-ambition-disequilibrium/
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49) The Ticking Bomb of Crypto Fascism
Source: In These Times
by Hamilton Nolan
“Making predictions about looming social and political catastrophes is a dicey business, because most of the exciting things in history did not happen predictably. You can try to draw historic parallels based on broad economic or cultural trends. In America, in 2022, we have a vicious and spiraling culture war combined with an enormous asset price bubble fueled by two years of stimulus money, all resting atop an incredibly tenuous pandemic-wracked real economy. If you think the Angry White Men were scary during the Trump years, just wait until the crypto bubble pops. Let’s think this through. The foundation of everything happening now is a sort of late capitalist nihilistic politics fueled purely by culture wars -- an almost primitive flight from rationality driven by a half century of rising inequality and crumbling faith in ineffective public institutions.” (01/04/22)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/the-ticking-bomb-of-crypto-fascism
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50) Do we support or oppose vaccines?
Source: Downsize DC
by Jim Babka
“Science has become politicized and tribal. Whenever a matter becomes politicized, reason, nuance, critical thinking, and basic reading skills all go missing. The current public debate over the COVID-19 vaccine is a case in point. Taking the vaccine has become the Democratic position … Avoiding or being skeptical of the vaccine, has become the Republican position. … Even many Libertarians seem to be dividing up into one or the other of these warring camps. And being For or Against either position makes you instantly hated by large numbers of people. Since people are no longer thinking, reading well, or paying attention to nuance, any mention of the vaccine debate provokes knee-jerk reactions. This is exactly what happened with our message pitching a legal brief about the vaccine mandate.” (01/04/22)
https://downsizedc.org/blog/support-or-oppose-vaccines/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Free Talk Live, 01/05/22
Source: Free Talk Live
"NH Independence bill hearing set for Jan 20 at 3:30p :: Enumerated powers :: Americans burned out on pandemic :: River Dave arrested in New Hampshire :: Sarah praises taxes :: Crazy communists and a badly burned hot dog :: Sesame Street characters :: New Hampshire Indendence :: Show: 2022-01-05 Aria, Nikki." [Flash audio or MP3] (01/05/22)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/free-talk-live-2022-01-05
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52) Conflict Of Interest, episode 211
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Israel Panics Over Critique of Apartheid Policies.” [various formats] (01/05/22)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/kyle/coi-211-israel-panics-over-critique-of-apartheid-policies/
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53) The Vital Center, episode 21
Source: Niskanen Center
“What’s a principled conservative to do about Trump? (with Mona Charen)” [various formats] (01/05/22)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/whats-a-principled-conservative-to-do-about-trump-with-mona-charen/
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54) The Bryan Hyde Show, 01/05/22
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
“YouTube has scrapped Joe Rogan’s podcast episode with Dr. Malone over ‘misinformation’ concerns that Malone compared our current cultural climate with Nazi Germany. Sure seems like the modern day book-burners are working very hard to make sure we aren’t able to consider unapproved ideas. Are we sure these censors are on the right side of history?” [various formats] (01/05/22)
https://thebryanhydeshow.podbean.com/e/2022-jan-5-the-bryan-hyde-show-hour-one/
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55) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 01/05/22
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Mega-Vaxxed Israel Sees Record Cases: What Went Wrong?” [Flash video] (01/05/22)
http://www.ronpaullibertyreport.com/archives/mega-vaxxed-israel-sees-record-cases-what-went-wrong
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56) Punk Rock Libertarians Podcast, episode 380
Source: The Daily Liberator
“Mass Formation Psychosis.” [various formats] (01/05/22)
https://www.thedailyliberator.com/prl-podcast-episode-380-mass-formation-psychosis/
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57) The Argument, 01/05/22
Source: New York Times
“American Democracy: A Status Check.” [Flash audio] (01/05/22)
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/05/opinion/american-democracy-a-status-check.html
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58) Electric Libertyland, episode 261
Source: Lions of Liberty
“1M Covid Case Race, Mass Formation Psychosis and Patton Oswalt Sucks.” [various formats] (01/05/22)
https://www.lionsofliberty.com/episodes/ell261
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59) The Tom Woods Show, episode 2036
Source: The Tom Woods Show
“Michael Malice on How to Talk About Anarchism.” [various formats] (01/04/22)
https://tomwoods.com/ep-2036-michael-malice-on-how-to-talk-about-anarchism/
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60) Ray McGovern on The Scott Horton Show
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Ray McGovern on the Dumb but Dangerous Tension With Russia Over Ukraine.” [various formats] (01/04/22)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/scotthortonshow/12-30-21-ray-mcgovern-on-the-dumb-but-dangerous-tension-with-russia-over-ukraine/
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