04/09 -- Trump reneges on Iran ceasefire deal after Israeli violations; The Economic Destruction of Trump's War Goes Far Beyond High Gas Prices
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Thomas L. Knapp
Apr 9, 2026, 6:16:56 AM (yesterday) Apr 9
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 04/09/26
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Trump reneges on Iran ceasefire deal after Israeli violations
2) Bondi defies House subpoena over Epstein files cover-up
3) Canada: Carney attracts yet another Conservative lawmaker to his Liberal Party
4) Russia: Regime summons Japanese ambassador over Ukrainian drone investment
5) TX: Cannabis businesses sue regime to block smokeable hemp ban
6) Gates to testify before House Oversight in Epstein probe
7) Amazon announces plan to screw customers who bought their Kindle devices
8) Harvard scientist’s visa was unlawfully canceled, judge finds
9) CA: ICE gang thugs shoot, injure motorist during attempted abduction
10) Rolling Stones reportedly “set to release their 25th and final album” and share new song this month
11) Heuermann pleads guilty to seven murders in Gilgo Beach serial killings
12) North Korean regime conducts multiple missile launches over two days, Seoul regime says
13) Unionized ProPublica staff are on strike over AI, layoffs, and wages
14) Turkey: Regime detains nine over attack outside the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul
15) Yale Study: Ethiopian Regime Aids Sudan Militia
16) WI: Taylor wins state Supreme Court race, expanding liberals’ [sic] majority
17) Newlywed wife of US soldier freed by ICE gang after abduction at military base
18) Trump threatens 50% tax on American buyers of goods from countries “supplying military weapons to Iran”
19) Zeldin tells climate skeptics to “celebrate vindication” after repeal of baseline climate rule
20) Judge Refuses to Block Sending Abortion Pill by Mail for Now, but Says FDA Must Finish Review
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) The Economic Destruction of Trump’s War Goes Far Beyond High Gas Prices
22) Grief, anger, disbelief: War proponents lose it over ceasefire
23) You can’t hide your lying ICE: The harassment of Francisco Longoria
24) Trust marketplace, not the government
25) My Quest to Solve Bitcoin’s Great Mystery
26) Iran war prods shared action on energy
27) In the War on Iran, Every Word Is a War Crime
28) Viktor Orbán and His American Apologists All Deserve To Lose
29) The Empire Backs Down, For Now
30) When Kennedy Bucked the US National-Security State on Cuba
31) Trump’s Iran cease-fire makes the left [sic] lose its mind; but let’s just take the win [sic] … for now
32) The System Nobody Credits for Making Us Kinder
33) The Winner of Trump’s Iran War? Iran
34) Hungary Is a Laboratory for Illiberal Nationalism. The Results Are In
35) Live mop
36) Confessions of a Neotenous Man
37) In Trump’s Department of War [sic], it’s soldiers (not “experts”) calling the shots
38) Madman Theory
39) A casket cartel tries to bury the competition
40) No 4D Chess: War With Iran Helps China
41) An Unlikely (and Unstable) Ceasefire Deal and Trump’s Iran Blunder
42) Why Keynes Would Have Feared AI — and Why We Shouldn’t
43) A Coalition for Abundance
44) The War Will End With a Hormuz Toll Booth
45) Democrats Are Clear and Present Danger to the Nation
46) The Moral Arc of the Universe Bends Toward Finding Out
47) It’s the end of internet anonymity as we know it (and I don’t feel fine)
48) Viktor Orban’s Hungary Exemplifies the Perils of Nationalism
49) Live Tax-Free and Die
50) More on Colleges
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Reason Interview: Jacob Siegel
52) The Briefing Podcast with Michael Waldman, 04/08/26
53) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 04/08/26
54) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 04/08/26
55) Rising, 04/08/26
56) The Illegal News with Sarah Longwell, 04/08/26
57) Show-Me Institute Podcast, 04/08/26
58) Instant Grace with Jim Babka, episode 48
59) Politics Politics Politics, 04/07/26
60) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 04/07/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Trump reneges on Iran ceasefire deal after Israeli violations
Source: AOL
“Donald Trump has broken his silence on a key question [sic] surrounding the US-Iran ceasefire deal. The US president addressed reports about the agreement’s scope in a new interview, and his answer has already drawn sharp reactions from multiple world leaders. US President Donald Trump told PBS News that Lebanon is not included in the ceasefire agreement between Washington and Iran. Trump cited Hezbollah as the reason for Lebanon’s exclusion, adding that the situation ‘will get taken care of.’ White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Lebanon’s exclusion from the deal, according to Axios. Trump also described Israel’s continued strikes on Lebanon as ‘a separate skirmish,’ PBS NewsHour’s Liz Landers reported on X.” [editor’s note: There’s no “question.” Lebanon was part of the deal as announced. The main purpose of the Israeli strikes in Lebanon is probably precisely to get the larger war going again – TLK] (04/09/26)
https://www.aol.com/articles/donald-trump-says-lebanon-not-072703656.html
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2) Bondi defies House subpoena over Epstein files cover-up
Source: Axios
“Former Attorney General Pam Bondi will not comply with a subpoena to appear before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee next week for questioning on her handling of the Epstein files. Bondi, who was ousted from her post earlier this month, previously told reporters she will ‘follow the law’ in responding to a subpoena from the panel. ‘The Department of Justice has stated Pam Bondi will not appear on April 14 for a deposition since she is no longer attorney general and was subpoenaed in her capacity as attorney general,’ a committee spokesperson said. The panel will reach out to Bondi’s personal attorney ‘to discuss next steps,’ the spokesperson added.” (04/08/26)
https://archive.is/1ANRM
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3) Canada: Carney attracts yet another Conservative lawmaker to his Liberal Party
Source: SFGate
“Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has attracted another opposition Conservative lawmaker to the Liberal party, further assuring that he will soon have a majority government. Ontario Member of Parliament Marilyn Gladu alluded to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to Canada’s sovereignty and economy for her decision to defect to Carney’s governing Liberals. Trump has talked about making Canada the 51st state and has applied punishing tariffs on certain key sectors. ‘The past year has been like no other Canada has ever faced,’ Gladu said in a statement Wednesday. ‘I’ve heard from constituents that you want serious leadership and a real plan to build a stronger and more independent Canadian economy.’ Gladu is the fifth Member of Parliament to defect to Carney and the fourth Conservative.” (04/08/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/canadian-prime-minister-mark-carney-attracts-yet-22195678.php
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4) Russia: Regime summons Japanese ambassador over Ukrainian drone investment
Source: Reuters
“Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that Moscow had summoned the Japanese ambassador in protest over an investment made by a Japanese startup in Ukrainian interceptor drone technology.
The Japanese company, Terra Drone, said in March it had invested an undisclosed sum in Ukrainian interceptor-drone producer Amazing Drones, which produces technology designed for rapid deployment on the battlefield. … The Kremlin has described Russia’s relations with Japan as having been ‘reduced to zero’ over what it casts as Tokyo’s ‘unfriendly stance’ towards Moscow.” (04/08/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/russia-says-it-has-summoned-japanese-ambassador-over-ukrainian-drone-investment-2026-04-08/
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5) TX: Cannabis businesses sue regime to block smokeable hemp ban
Source: Texas Tribune
“Texas hemp industry leaders and advocacy groups have sued the state to block new regulations that eliminate natural smokeable hemp products and increase licensing fees. The Texas Hemp Business Council, Hemp Industry & Farmers of America, and several Texas-based dispensaries and manufacturers filed for a temporary restraining order in state district court in Travis County against the Texas Department of State Health Services and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission on Tuesday. They argue that the agencies have overstepped their constitutional authority by rewriting the statutory definitions of hemp established by lawmakers in 2019. … ‘An administrative agency may not substitute its own policy judgment for the outcome produced by the constitutional lawmaking process,’ the lawsuit states.” (04/08/26)
https://www.texastribune.org/2026/04/08/texas-hemp-smokeable-ban-joints-lawsuit/
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6) Gates to testify before House Oversight in Epstein probe
Source: Politico
“Bill Gates is scheduled to appear before the House Oversight Committee in the coming weeks, as the committee continues its investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Gates will sit for a transcribed interview June 10, according to a person familiar with the matter granted anonymity to discuss the committee’s deliberations. His interview comes after the committee issued a March 3 letter requesting his testimony. A spokesperson for Gates said the Microsoft founder ‘welcomes’ the chance to appear before the committee.” (04/08/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/07/bill-gates-testify-congress-epstein-probe-00861678
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7) Amazon announces plan to screw customers who bought their Kindle devices
Source: Ars Technica
“If you own an older Kindle e-reader, including models with physical keyboards or physical page-turn buttons that you’ve been reluctant to give up, Amazon has bad news for you. The company sent a message to owners of those devices today, informing them that starting on May 20 they would no longer be able to buy or download books from the Kindle Store. The change (as reported by Good E-Reader and elsewhere) affects all Kindles introduced and sold in 2012 or earlier, going all the way back to the original Kindle from 2007. Users will still be able to read books that have already been downloaded to those devices, but they won’t be able to download more, and if they reset those Kindles to their factory defaults, the devices won’t be able to sign back in to an Amazon account.” (04/08/26)
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/04/starting-in-may-pre-2013-kindles-wont-be-able-to-buy-or-download-new-books/
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8) Harvard scientist’s visa was unlawfully canceled, judge finds
Source: NBC News
“A federal judge in Vermont ruled that Harvard scientist Kseniia Petrova’s visa was unlawfully canceled after she was detained at an airport over biological samples she was carrying, handing her a key legal victory in a case that has raised questions about the limits of government power at the border. … Petrova, a Russian-born researcher at Harvard University’s Kirschner Lab, has argued for more than a year that the cancellation was unlawful. She was stopped at Boston Logan International Airport last February after returning from Paris. Her visa was canceled; she was later placed into immigration proceedings and detention. This disrupted her groundbreaking work on advanced imaging technology that has the potential to transform cancer diagnostics, according to fellow researchers.” (04/08/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/harvard-scientist-petrova-visa-detention-rcna267230
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9) CA: ICE gang thugs shoot, injure motorist during attempted abduction
Source: The Hill
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers shot and injured a man during an attempted stop in California on Tuesday, according to federal authorities. The officers fired shots at Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez during a targeted traffic stop on Interstate 5 in the city of Patterson. His attorney said he is now hospitalized and ‘fighting for his life.’ Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons alleged the driver ‘weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run an officer over’ — an accusation disputed by Mendoza Hernandez’s attorney, Patrick Kolasinski.” (04/08/26)
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5821656-ice-officers-california-interstate-5-shooting/
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10) Rolling Stones reportedly “set to release their 25th and final album” and share new song this month
Source: Radio X [UK]
“The Rolling Stones are reportedly set to release their final album this month. According to The Sun, the legendary rockers — comprised of Mick Jagger (82), Keith Richards (82) and Ronnie Wood (78)— are on the cusp of making their return with their 25th and final record and their first new music since 2023’s Hackney Diamonds. On April Fools Day, the band shared posters under their name The Cockroaches, which invited fans to scan a QR code. … It has since been reported that the band will release a new single entitled Mr Charm this Saturday (11th April), with some reports suggesting an album called Foreign Tongues would follow.” (04/08/26)
https://www.radiox.co.uk/artists/rolling-stones/reportedly-to-release-their-25th-final-album-foreign-tongues/
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11) Heuermann pleads guilty to seven murders in Gilgo Beach serial killings
Sourcxe: CBS News
“Rex Heuermann pleaded guilty Wednesday to killing seven women between 1993 and 2011 and admitted he killed an eighth, in a series of murders that came to be known as the Gilgo Beach serial killings. … The ultimate break in the case when a car registered to Heuermann matched the description a witness gave of the one that picked up victim Amber Costello before she disappeared. Once police made that connection, they started checking cell phone records. Cell phone tower pings connected Heuermann to the victims, prosecutors said. … investigators collected pizza crust Heuermann allegedly tossed in a Manhattan trash can, resulting in what they said was a DNA match.” (04/08/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/live-updates/rex-heuermann-gilgo-beach-long-island-serial-killer-case-guilty-plea/
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12) North Korean regime conducts multiple missile launches over two days, Seoul regime says
Source: United Press International
“North Korea fired short-range ballistic missiles on two separate occasions Wednesday, Seoul’s military said, marking three launches over two days after South Korean President Lee Jae Myung expressed regret over a drone incursion. At 8:50 a.m. Wednesday, the North launched several short-range ballistic missiles from its coastal Wonsan area toward the East Sea, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a text message to reporters. The missiles flew approximately 150 miles, the JCS said …. North Korea later fired a single short-range ballistic missile from Wonsan toward the East Sea at 2:20 p.m. Wednesday, the JCS said in a separate message. The missile flew approximately 435 miles.” (04/08/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/04/08/North-Korea-missile-launch-short-range-ballistic-East-Sea/3841775616289/
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13) Unionized ProPublica staff are on strike over AI, layoffs, and wages
Source: The Verge
“Unionized staff at ProPublica, one of the country’s leading nonprofit newsrooms, are walking off the job for 24 hours beginning Wednesday and asking the public to honor a digital picket line. The roughly 150 members of the ProPublica Guild are in the midst of negotiating a collective bargaining agreement after unionizing in 2023. The union says key issues are still in contention, including protections around the use of AI, ‘just cause’ provisions around disciplining or firing an employee, layoff protections, and wages. … The unit voted in March to authorize a strike if a deal was not reached with ProPublica management.” (04/08/26)
https://www.theverge.com/news/908401/propublica-union-strike-negotiations-ai-layoffs
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14) Turkey: Regime detains nine over attack outside the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul
Source: ABC News
“Turkish authorities have detained nine people as part of an investigation into an attack on police outside a building housing the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul that left one assailant dead, Turkey’s state-run news agency reported Wednesday. Two other assailants were wounded and captured during Tuesday’s shootout in the city’s financial and business district, while two police officers sustained slight injuries, officials said. Israel had withdrawn its diplomats from Turkey over security concerns and deteriorating relations with Ankara shortly after the start of the war in Gaza, and officials said the consulate was closed at the time of the attack.” (04/08/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/turkey-detains-9-attack-israeli-consulate-istanbul-131834148
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15) Yale Study: Ethiopian Regime Aids Sudan Militia
Source: Bloomberg
“Ethiopia’s military is harboring and assisting the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group accused of mass killings in Sudan, a Yale University research unit has found. The RSF has been sheltering in an Ethiopia National Defense Force camp in Asosa in the western Benishangul-Gumuz region, the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, which tracks atrocities in conflict zones using open-source intelligence and satellite imagery, said in a report. Its investigations showed a new hangar and other construction had been undertaken at an airport at the military camp near Ethiopia’s border with Sudan. It also detected the movement of hundreds of vehicles, including large commercial carriers, over a period of several weeks, in the area and surrounds.” (04/08/26)
https://archive.is/JEtyM
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16) WI: Taylor wins state Supreme Court race, expanding liberals’ [sic] majority
Source: NBC News
“Chris Taylor has won a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, NBC News projects, expanding liberals’ majority in the key battleground state. Taylor, a state appeals court judge and former Democratic state legislator, secured a 10-year term on the court over conservative Maria Lazar, an appeals court judge who worked in Republican former Gov. Scott Walker’s administration. … Taylor, who was backed by the state Democratic Party, held massive fundraising and ad spending advantages over Lazar throughout the race. She had put abortion and voting rights at the forefront of her campaign, much like other winning liberal Supreme Court candidates in the state in recent years.” (04/07/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/liberal-chris-taylor-wins-wisconsin-supreme-court-race-rcna266253
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17) Newlywed wife of US soldier freed by ICE gang after abduction at military base
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“A US soldier’s wife who was [abducted] by immigration agents at the military base where he is stationed (just days after their wedding) has been released. Annie Ramos, 22, an undocumented immigrant who came to the US as a toddler, was [abducted] on 2 April and spent five days at a detention centre alongside hundreds facing deportation under the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Immigration officials described Ramos as ‘an illegal [sic] alien from Honduras’ who was arrested after attempting to enter a military base. ‘I feel awesome. Relieved. Relieved,’ Staff Sergeant Matthew Blank told the New York Times after his wife’s release. ‘These have been the worst days of my life. I can’t wait to carry my wife into our home and start our lives together. I’m complete and ready to serve our country. And it’s her country, too!'” (04/08/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c98kn1k3nreo
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18) Trump threatens 50% tax on American buyers of goods from countries “supplying military weapons to Iran”
Source: CNBC
“The U.S. will impose tariffs of 50% on [American buyers of] ‘any and all’ goods imported to the country from any nation ‘supplying military weapons to Iran,’ President Donald Trump said Wednesday. Trump said in a Truth Social post that [American buyers of goods from] any country found to be supplying Iran with weapons would be subject to the levy ‘immediately,’ with no ‘exclusions or exemptions.'” (04/08/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/08/trump-threatens-tariffs-countries-supplying-weapons-iran-ceasefire.html
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19) Zeldin tells climate skeptics to “celebrate vindication” after repeal of baseline climate rule
Source: SFGate
“The head of the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday defended his decision to repeal the legal determination that serves as the basis for federal rules to slow climate change, telling a gathering of climate change skeptics that they should ‘celebrate vindication.’ EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin made the remarks in the keynote address at a conference hosted by the Heartland Institute, a conservative think tank that rejects mainstream climate science and what it calls ‘climate alarmism.’ Zeldin told the gathering that repeal of the 2009 ‘endangerment finding’ reversed decades of unthinking adherence to liberal politicians and environmental groups about the dangers of climate change. ‘Today is a day to celebrate. It is a day to celebrate vindication,’ said Zeldin, a former Republican congressman from New York who is widely believed to be under consideration for a possible promotion to attorney general, following Pam Bondi’s forced departure last week.” (04/08/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/zeldin-tells-climate-skeptics-to-celebrate-22195712.php
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20) Judge Refuses to Block Sending Abortion Pill by Mail for Now, but Says FDA Must Finish Review
Source: US News & World Report
“A federal judge Tuesday refused to block filling prescriptions for the abortion pill mifepristone by mail across the U.S. — at least for now — in a setback to Louisiana’s effort to stifle groups that send it into states where abortion is banned. U.S. District Judge David Joseph, who sits in Lafayette, Louisiana, ruled against Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, who asked that U.S. Food and Drug Administration rules that allow mifepristone to be dispensed through the mail be paused while a challenge to those 2023 regulations moves through the courts. He granted the government’s request to put the case on hold for now, though he warned that the pause would not be indefinite — and that he could side with Louisiana later.” (04/07/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/new-york/articles/2026-04-07/judge-refuses-to-block-sending-abortion-pill-by-mail-for-now-but-says-fda-must-finish-review
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) The Economic Destruction of Trump’s War Goes Far Beyond High Gas Prices
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Connor O’Keeffe
“[M]ost of the discourse about the economic impacts of the war has focused on the rising prices drivers are facing at the gas pump. That isn’t surprising, as gas prices are an early cost that impact consumers directly. But the emphasis on pain at the pump threatens to badly understate the economic damage of this war. And it helps feed the false impression that, if this new attempt at a ceasefire holds and the war ends somewhat quickly, gas prices will fall back down as fast as they rose, and then all the global economic turmoil the world’s been worrying about will be avoided. It won’t. A lot of economic pain has already been locked in by this war. But to really understand it, it’s necessary to keep a few important economic truths at the front of our minds.” (04/08/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/economic-destruction-trumps-war-goes-far-beyond-high-gas-prices
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22) Grief, anger, disbelief: War proponents lose it over ceasefire
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Kelley Beaucar Vlahos
“It’s hard to bodyslam the two-week pause with Iran without taking direct shots at the guy who announced it. But they are trying their best.” (04/08/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-ceasefire-iran/
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23) You can’t hide your lying ICE: The harassment of Francisco Longoria
Source: The Watch
by Radley Balko
“Federal immigration officers racially profiled a man, fired at his truck, raided his home at 4 am, and arrested him. Then they lied about it all — both in public and in court.” (04/08/26)
https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/you-cant-hide-your-lying-ice-th
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24) Trust marketplace, not the government
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“Businesses don’t want to harm their customers. That’s no way to stay in business. When a new restaurant opens, people rush to stand in line to try it out. They don’t worry that the restaurant will poison them, and it’s not because of the licenses and permits the owners got from government. Government would love for you to believe this is what keeps you safe, but again, government works harder to protect dishonest businesses than to protect victims. If a business owner is greedy but can’t use government to force you to trade with him or her, this greed is motivation to satisfy you …. It’s only when a crooked business owner has government connections that satisfying the customer loses its importance.” (04/08/26)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2026/04/08/voices/opinion-trust-marketplace-not-the-government/233172.html
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25) My Quest to Solve Bitcoin’s Great Mystery
Source: New York Times
by John Carreyrou & Dylan Freedman
“Bitcoin’s creator has hidden behind the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto for 17 years. But a trail of clues buried deep in crypto lore led to a 55-year-old computer scientist named Adam Back.” (04/08/26)
https://archive.ph/mTw1Q
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26) Iran war prods shared action on energy
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“The world has learned enough from past energy crises to know that a shortage of a finite resource like oil requires help from a more boundless resource: trust and cooperation. That’s especially true as the Iran war led to a near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz to the petroleum exports from Gulf countries. From neighborhoods to the United Nations, the closure triggered shared action worldwide to ensure ensure energy supplies. One big reason: The crisis was the largest-ever disruption in the global oil market, according to the Paris-based International Energy Agency, even more serious than the energy crises of 1973, 1979, and 2022 combined.” (04/07/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0407/Iran-war-prods-shared-action-on-energy
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27) In the War on Iran, Every Word Is a War Crime
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ted Snider
“There are multiple reasons why America’s European and NATO allies have not answered Trump’s call to join the war. They were not respected. They were not consulted. The goals of the war were not articulated. The benefits were not clear while the cost was very clear. But, most importantly, they have not joined the war because it is illegal.” (04/08/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/ted_snider/2026/04/07/in-the-war-on-iran-every-word-is-a-war-crime/
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28) Viktor Orbán and His American Apologists All Deserve To Lose
Source: Reason
by Matt Welch
“Hungary, whose economy led all Central European countries out of the post-communist starting gate, now languishes in the per-capita second tier with once-devastated Romania. It is the 17th-largest economy in the 27-member European Union, despite having the 13th-largest population. Importantly, none of these numbers is obscure, even to a vice president. It’s that Vance and other American Orbánistas define prosperity differently, there and here.” (04/08/26)
https://reason.com/2026/04/08/viktor-orban-and-his-american-apologists-all-deserve-to-lose/
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29) The Empire Backs Down, For Now
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Trump has announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran after previously threatening to exterminate their ‘entire civilization,’ citing ‘a 10 point proposal from Iran’ as the reason for the climb-down. Trump and his cronies are spinning this as a colossal victory for the United States and framing Tehran’s 10-point plan as a major capitulation to the president’s threats. But some reporters are noting that Iran has had the same terms on the table for weeks — which would mean that it is in fact the White House who is backing down.” (04/08/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/04/08/the-empire-backs-down-for-now/
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30) When Kennedy Bucked the US National-Security State on Cuba
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“Among the 10 points in Iran’s peace proposal that President Trump has now agreed to use as a basis for peace negotiations between the United States and Iran is a plank that prohibits any more attacks on Iran. That point reminds me of what John Kennedy agreed to in his peace agreement with the Soviet Union to resolve the Cuban Missile Crisis, an agreement that ultimately led to his assassination at the hands of the U.S. national-security establishment.” (04/08/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/04/08/when-kennedy-bucked-the-u-s-national-security-state-on-cuba/
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31) Trump’s Iran cease-fire makes the left [sic] lose its mind; but let’s just take the win [sic] … for now
Source: New York Post
by staff
“‘TACO,’ anti-Trump crackpot Rick Wilson posted on social media, shortly after the president announced a two-week cease-fire that has Iran agreeing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. This ‘Trump always chickens out’ sentiment was repeated by left-wing pundits, who only hours before were furious that President Trump was threatening to ‘blow up the whole country.’ So which is it? You’re mad when he threatens to bomb a country, then mock him when he doesn’t? No matter how many times Trump turns to the same playbook — maximum pressure and outrageous threats to force a deal — Democrats and the press are shocked, shocked by his actions.” [editor’s note: Trump agreed to a ceasefire with the Iranian regime’s offer as the basis of further negotiation. Sure, he’s not in a bunker contemplating suicide as Iranian troops approach, but it’s still a clear and unambiguous loss – TLK] (04/07/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/04/07/opinion/trumps-iran-cease-fire-makes-the-left-lose-its-mind-but-lets-just-take-the-win-for-now/
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32) The System Nobody Credits for Making Us Kinder
Source: Mindset Shifts
by Barry Brownstein
“Years ago, an MBA student of mine had immigrated from Albania after growing up under Communism. She shared with her classmates what she observed to be the most unexpected mindset difference between Americans and Albanians. She got emotional as she explained how in Albania, charity was rare—caring for anyone other than yourself and your family was uncommon. In contrast, she experienced Americans as generous and caring. My student described how exasperated she felt upon hearing the claim that capitalism leads to a survival-of-the-fittest mentality. In her experience, the opposite was true: under communism, the mindset was not to care for others.” (04/08/26)
https://mindsetshifts.substack.com/p/the-system-nobody-credits-for-making
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33) The Winner of Trump’s Iran War? Iran
Source: Informed Comment
by Juan Cole
“Trump announced a two-week ceasefire on Tuesday, April 7, the 39th day of the Israeli-US war on Iran. He depended on Pakistani mediators and a 10-point peace plan put forward by Iran itself. It did not win as in, scoring a knockout. It won in the sense that if I went 12 rounds with Deontay Wilder and was still standing up at the end of it, it would count as a win.” (04/08/26)
https://www.juancole.com/2026/04/how-iran-won.html
-----
34) Hungary Is a Laboratory for Illiberal Nationalism. The Results Are In
Source: Cato Institute
by Johan Norberg
“A 16-year experiment has yielded none of Viktor Orban’s stated goals.” (04/08/26)
https://www.cato.org/commentary/hungary-laboratory-illiberal-nationalism-results-are
-----
35) Live mop
Source: Sex and the State
by Cathy Reisenwitz
“Unlike most pride-having, mentally well individuals, I wrote about my anxieties around taking a service-sector job. (Security clearances are a big thing in Huntsville. Recently my dad joked to me that I have at least one qualification: ‘You’re impossible to blackmail!’ he laughed. This is not a challenge.) Among other things, I worried a shit job would somehow preclude me from office work. I imagined a hiring manager smelling the stench of low-skill labor on me before I even walked in.” (04/08/26)
https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/live-mop
-----
36) Confessions of a Neotenous Man
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
“Today I turn 55. While my kids love to mock my age, the truth is that I feel young. Real young. Every day, my top priority is not fulfilling my duties or conforming to social expectations, but having fun. Biologists have an adjective for my state of being: neoteny. We neotenous creatures retain our juvenile traits long into adulthood.” (04/08/26)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/reflections-of-a-neotenous-man
-----
37) In Trump’s Department of War [sic], it’s soldiers (not “experts”) calling the shots
Source: Fox News
by David Marcus
“When President Donald Trump [pretended he had] changed the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War last year, many saw it as merely a branding exercise, but as the fierceness of Operation Epic Fury in Iran has shown us, it was much, much more than that. On Easter Sunday, our military pulled off a daring rescue of a downed airman behind enemy lines, and what it made clear, once again, is that Trump’s Department of [Defense] is run by soldiers, not by experts, and the results are phenomenal. As Secretary of [Defense] and former frontline veteran Pete Hegseth has put it many times, his Pentagon will focus on ‘maximum lethality, not tepid legality.'” [editor’s note: If Hegseth is Secretary of War and heads a Department of War, he and it need to return all the money Congress appropriated to the Department of Defense – TLK] (04/07/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/david-marcus-trumps-department-war-soldiers-experts-calling-shots
-----
38) Madman Theory
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Kym Robinson
“Richard Nixon employed a ‘madman theory’ while he negotiated with the North Vietnamese and Soviets. Nixon wanted the leaders of those countries to think that he was unpredictable, volatile and willing to risk nuclear destruction. In turn this caused the Vietnamese and Soviet leaders to tread with reason and use cool minded methods. It forced them to make concessions and placate the irrational leader of the ‘free world.’ The theory is based on the premise that an irrational leader is more dangerous than a rational one. … It is unlikely the current US president has the calculation and awareness for such methods, let alone the understanding of history.” (04/08/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/blog/anti-war-blog-madman-theory/
-----
39) A casket cartel tries to bury the competition
Source: Washington Post
by George F Will
“In the town of Calvin, the married couple Candi Mentink and Todd Collard conceived an entrepreneurial idea that their state’s law says is forbidden. They sell inexpensive caskets wrapped in vinyl graphic designs depicting hunting, fishing, religious motifs, sports teams’ logos, perhaps even the likeness of famous Oklahomans. Imagine whiling away eternity in a Mickey Mantle casket. Heavenly. Thanks to the internet, they can sell caskets to people in Orlando or Ottawa or Oslo or Okinawa. But not Oklahoma, as they learned when the law, in its majesty, pounced on their company’s booth at the state fair.” (04/08/26)
https://archive.is/Ht7su
-----
40) No 4D Chess: War With Iran Helps China
Source: The American Conservative
by Liam Childers
“We’ve heard it all before. Pro-war MAGA commentators insist that every move President Donald Trump makes is a strategic masterstroke. The war with Iran is no exception. What appears to be a Middle Eastern quagmire in the making is not a blunder at all. Instead, this war is ‘really’ about China. Another oil shock is nothing to worry about. It is ‘really’ leverage against America’s ‘main rival.’ Another open-ended entanglement is not overextension. It is ‘really’ the opening act of a coherent Indo-Pacific strategy that the ‘America Lasters’ are too daft to understand. This is the 4D chess defense of the Iran war. It is also nonsense, cooked up by propagandists and consumed by those eager to believe Trump hasn’t betrayed his base.” (04/08/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/no-4d-chess-war-with-iran-helps-china/
-----
41) An Unlikely (and Unstable) Ceasefire Deal and Trump’s Iran Blunder
Source: Common Dreams
by Trita Parsi
“Yesterday began with Donald Trump issuing genocidal threats against Iran on social media and ended (just ten hours later) with the announcement of a 14-day ceasefire, on Iran’s terms. Even by the volatile standards of Trump’s presidency, the whiplash is extraordinary. What, then, have the two sides actually agreed to, and what might it mean? In a subsequent post, Trump asserted that Iran had agreed to keep the Strait of Hormuz open during the two-week pause in hostilities. Negotiations, he added, will proceed over that period on the basis of Iran’s 10-point plan, which he described as a ‘workable’ foundation for talks. … The United States has not, of course, signed on to all ten points. But the mere fact that Iran’s framework will anchor the negotiations amounts to a significant diplomatic victory for Tehran.” (04/08/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/trump-ceasefire
-----
42) Why Keynes Would Have Feared AI — and Why We Shouldn’t
Source: The Daily Economy
by Michael N Peterson
“The economist who predicted abundance also worried about displacement. He was only half right.” (04/08/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/why-keynes-would-have-feared-ai-and-why-we-shouldnt/
-----
43) A Coalition for Abundance
Source: Law & Liberty
by Nathan Smith
“The Building Chips in America Act (2024) offers a glimpse of a possible modus operandi for a liberal abundance coalition. By exempting semiconductor fabs funded under the CHIPS and Science Act (2022) from some NEPA reviews, Congress cleared a major obstacle that had threatened to derail a factory investment boom. Industrial policy — planning as accelerator — overrode stultifying environmental protectionism — planning as brake. The modest precedent might become a template for using industrial policy as a crowbar for deregulation.” (04/08/26)
https://lawliberty.org/forum/a-coalition-for-abundance/
-----
44) The War Will End With a Hormuz Toll Booth
Source: Foreign Policy
by Amir Handjani
“Most of Tehran’s demands to end the war are maximalist, as are Washington’s right now. One of Iran’s demands may be achievable if structured correctly: the right to operate the Strait of Hormuz as a tolled waterway, in formal partnership with Oman. This is not a fantasy. Iran’s parliament is already debating legislation to collect transit fees from ships passing through the world’s single-most important maritime chokepoint. Since mid-March, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has turned the strait into a de facto toll booth, collecting fees in exchange for safe passage. … it’s difficult to imagine any situation short of the Islamic Republic’s collapse whereby Tehran doesn’t retain some form of control of the Strait as an insurance policy against persistent U.S. and Israeli attacks in the future.” (04/07/26)
https://archive.is/lsAS6
-----
45) Democrats Are Clear and Present Danger to the Nation
Source: Town Hall
by Star Parker
“The United States must be growing and prosperous at home and strong and secure in the face of the many security threats facing us abroad. The former can only be achieved with free markets and limited government domestically and the latter through a robust defense [sic] budget. On both fronts, Democrats would take the country in the exact opposite direction needed. Voters seem to understand this. RealClearPolitics reports Democratic Party favorability at -20.0 unfavorable and Republicans at -15.4 unfavorable. Nevertheless, in polling on the overall congressional election for 2026, RealClearPolitics shows Democrats up +6.0. Two things may explain this disconnect: One, although voters show generically more favorability to Republicans, Republicans are still underwater in overall favorability. Second, when voters are overall not happy with how things are going, they vote against the party in power.” (04/08/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/starparker/2026/04/08/democrats-are-clear-and-present-danger-to-the-nation-n2674077
-----
46) The Moral Arc of the Universe Bends Toward Finding Out
Source: Liberal Currents
by Alex Norris
“The U.S.-Israel joint attack on Iran exemplifies the foreign policy theory guiding the Trump administration: other countries aren’t real, and they can’t hurt you. The United States, the thinking goes, has the most expensive armed forces in the world — more expensive than the next nine countries combined. Who could stand against American might? Sure, those armed forces failed in Afghanistan and Iraq, but that was because of, well, politics. … Ultimately, of all the posturing and Trump doctrines, I think it is FAFO that will stand the test of time.” (04/07/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/the-moral-arc-of-the-universe-bends-toward-finding-out/
-----
47) It’s the end of internet anonymity as we know it (and I don’t feel fine)
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Sarah McLaughlin
“Free speech advocates have long warned that the laws and regulations passed at the state, federal, and international level are chipping away at our ability to speak anonymously online. Now, Türkiye is threatening to gut that right directly — and asserting that social media platforms are playing along. According to Justice Minister Akın Gürlek, the Turkish government is submitting a proposal to parliament that would require people to provide a national ID number to use social media. Unregistered accounts will be removed by platforms. Gürlek also claims platforms have agreed to implement these terms — though which platforms, and which exact terms, are not entirely clear yet. … Make no mistake: These kinds of regulations are like a bad cold — they spread fast and are hard to shake.” (04/07/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/blogs/free-speech-dispatch/its-end-internet-anonymity-we-know-it-and-i-dont-feel-fine
-----
48) Viktor Orban’s Hungary Exemplifies the Perils of Nationalism
Source: The Volokh Conspiracy
by Ilya Somin
“As a new analysis by Johan Norberg shows, the regime many MAGA Republicans see as a model to emulate has repressed civil liberties, undermined the free market, destroyed the rule of law, and made Hungary the poorest nation in the European Union.” (04/07/26)
https://reason.com/volokh/2026/04/07/viktor-orbans-hungary-exemplifies-the-perils-of-nationalism/
-----
49) Live Tax-Free and Die
Source: The American Prospect
by Whitney Curry Wimbish
“Late last year, the godfather of supply-side economics dropped in on a Georgia state Senate special committee hearing. He spoke of the urgent need to dump their income tax, a ‘killer, killer, killer,’ akin to ‘a nuclear weapon,’ that has destroyed the 11 states that have instituted it as of 1960: Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia. ‘Each and every one of those states in population has had a cataclysmic decline relative to the rest of the nation. It’s just amazing,’ said Arthur Laffer, inventor of the ‘Laffer curve,’ the discredited [sic] theory [sic] that claims lowering taxes raises tax revenue.” [editor’s note: The Laffer Curve is neither “discredited” nor a “theory.” It’s an observation of fact — the fact that there’s a point when increased tax rates decrease, and decreased tax rates increase, tax revenues – TLK] (04/08/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/04/08/apr-2026-magazine-live-tax-free-and-die/
-----
50) More on Colleges
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“Much of what schools are spend money on has at most a tenuous connection to the quality of education. That left me wondering whether there are any schools for smart cheapskates, schools that provide a good education in the company of smart people at the lowest practical cost — which I would expect to be less half the cost of the elite schools I looked at when my children were choosing where to apply. I went online to look.” (04/07/26)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/more-on-colleges-dc1
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Reason Interview: Jacob Siegel
Source: Reason
“The Rise of the Information State.” (04/08/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/04/08/the-rise-of-the-information-state/
-----
52) The Briefing Podcast with Michael Waldman, 04/08/26
Source: Brennan Center for Justice
“Speed Round (with Molly Jong-Fast).” (04/08/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hirbu4lulZM
-----
53) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 04/08/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Can Trump Rein In Israel, Or Will Iran War Pause Go Up In Smoke?” (04/08/26)
https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1nJOLEmMWBzxR
-----
54) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 04/08/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump Ex-Allies Suddenly Join Call for His Removal: ‘He’s Gone Insane.'” (04/08/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/208757/finally-trump-ex-allies-call-25th-amendment-he-gone-insane
-----
55) Rising, 04/08/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave gives his radar on the U.S. and Iran agreeing to a ceasefire after President Trump threatened that ‘a whole civilization will die’ if a deal was not reached.” (04/08/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/5814546-rising-april-8-2026/
-----
56) The Illegal News with Sarah Longwell, 04/08/26
Source: The Bulwark
“Trump Knows His Election Order is Illegal. That’s the Point! (w/ Andrew Weissmann).” (04/08/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn-M2Aq7krw
-----
57) Show-Me Institute Podcast, 04/08/26
Source: Show-Me Institute
“Grading Missouri Schools with Susan Pendergrass and Avery Frank.” (04/08/26)
https://showmeinstitute.org/article/education/grading-missouri-schools-with-susan-pendergrass-and-avery-frank/
-----
58) Instant Grace with Jim Babka, episode 48
Source: Gracearchy with Jim Babka
“A Whole Civilization Will Die Tonight.” (04/07/26)
https://rumble.com/v786x5y-a-whole-civilization-will-die-tonight-instant-grace-with-jim-babka-48.html
-----
59) Politics Politics Politics, 04/07/26
Source: Politics Politics Politics
“Trump Threatens Iran’s ‘Whole Civilization.’ DHS Shutdown Winners and Losers (With Kirk Bado).” (04/07/26)
https://www.politicspoliticspolitics.com/p/trump-threatens-irans-whole-civilization
-----
60) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 04/07/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Trump Declares Two Week Ceasefire With Iran, US-Israeli Strikes Destroy Iran Synagogue, and More.” (04/07/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3CsMfkqDD4
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Trump reneges on Iran ceasefire deal after Israeli violations
2) Bondi defies House subpoena over Epstein files cover-up
3) Canada: Carney attracts yet another Conservative lawmaker to his Liberal Party
4) Russia: Regime summons Japanese ambassador over Ukrainian drone investment
5) TX: Cannabis businesses sue regime to block smokeable hemp ban
6) Gates to testify before House Oversight in Epstein probe
7) Amazon announces plan to screw customers who bought their Kindle devices
8) Harvard scientist’s visa was unlawfully canceled, judge finds
9) CA: ICE gang thugs shoot, injure motorist during attempted abduction
10) Rolling Stones reportedly “set to release their 25th and final album” and share new song this month
11) Heuermann pleads guilty to seven murders in Gilgo Beach serial killings
12) North Korean regime conducts multiple missile launches over two days, Seoul regime says
13) Unionized ProPublica staff are on strike over AI, layoffs, and wages
14) Turkey: Regime detains nine over attack outside the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul
15) Yale Study: Ethiopian Regime Aids Sudan Militia
16) WI: Taylor wins state Supreme Court race, expanding liberals’ [sic] majority
17) Newlywed wife of US soldier freed by ICE gang after abduction at military base
18) Trump threatens 50% tax on American buyers of goods from countries “supplying military weapons to Iran”
19) Zeldin tells climate skeptics to “celebrate vindication” after repeal of baseline climate rule
20) Judge Refuses to Block Sending Abortion Pill by Mail for Now, but Says FDA Must Finish Review
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) The Economic Destruction of Trump’s War Goes Far Beyond High Gas Prices
22) Grief, anger, disbelief: War proponents lose it over ceasefire
23) You can’t hide your lying ICE: The harassment of Francisco Longoria
24) Trust marketplace, not the government
25) My Quest to Solve Bitcoin’s Great Mystery
26) Iran war prods shared action on energy
27) In the War on Iran, Every Word Is a War Crime
28) Viktor Orbán and His American Apologists All Deserve To Lose
29) The Empire Backs Down, For Now
30) When Kennedy Bucked the US National-Security State on Cuba
31) Trump’s Iran cease-fire makes the left [sic] lose its mind; but let’s just take the win [sic] … for now
32) The System Nobody Credits for Making Us Kinder
33) The Winner of Trump’s Iran War? Iran
34) Hungary Is a Laboratory for Illiberal Nationalism. The Results Are In
35) Live mop
36) Confessions of a Neotenous Man
37) In Trump’s Department of War [sic], it’s soldiers (not “experts”) calling the shots
38) Madman Theory
39) A casket cartel tries to bury the competition
40) No 4D Chess: War With Iran Helps China
41) An Unlikely (and Unstable) Ceasefire Deal and Trump’s Iran Blunder
42) Why Keynes Would Have Feared AI — and Why We Shouldn’t
43) A Coalition for Abundance
44) The War Will End With a Hormuz Toll Booth
45) Democrats Are Clear and Present Danger to the Nation
46) The Moral Arc of the Universe Bends Toward Finding Out
47) It’s the end of internet anonymity as we know it (and I don’t feel fine)
48) Viktor Orban’s Hungary Exemplifies the Perils of Nationalism
49) Live Tax-Free and Die
50) More on Colleges
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Reason Interview: Jacob Siegel
52) The Briefing Podcast with Michael Waldman, 04/08/26
53) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 04/08/26
54) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 04/08/26
55) Rising, 04/08/26
56) The Illegal News with Sarah Longwell, 04/08/26
57) Show-Me Institute Podcast, 04/08/26
58) Instant Grace with Jim Babka, episode 48
59) Politics Politics Politics, 04/07/26
60) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 04/07/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Trump reneges on Iran ceasefire deal after Israeli violations
Source: AOL
“Donald Trump has broken his silence on a key question [sic] surrounding the US-Iran ceasefire deal. The US president addressed reports about the agreement’s scope in a new interview, and his answer has already drawn sharp reactions from multiple world leaders. US President Donald Trump told PBS News that Lebanon is not included in the ceasefire agreement between Washington and Iran. Trump cited Hezbollah as the reason for Lebanon’s exclusion, adding that the situation ‘will get taken care of.’ White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Lebanon’s exclusion from the deal, according to Axios. Trump also described Israel’s continued strikes on Lebanon as ‘a separate skirmish,’ PBS NewsHour’s Liz Landers reported on X.” [editor’s note: There’s no “question.” Lebanon was part of the deal as announced. The main purpose of the Israeli strikes in Lebanon is probably precisely to get the larger war going again – TLK] (04/09/26)
https://www.aol.com/articles/donald-trump-says-lebanon-not-072703656.html
-----
2) Bondi defies House subpoena over Epstein files cover-up
Source: Axios
“Former Attorney General Pam Bondi will not comply with a subpoena to appear before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee next week for questioning on her handling of the Epstein files. Bondi, who was ousted from her post earlier this month, previously told reporters she will ‘follow the law’ in responding to a subpoena from the panel. ‘The Department of Justice has stated Pam Bondi will not appear on April 14 for a deposition since she is no longer attorney general and was subpoenaed in her capacity as attorney general,’ a committee spokesperson said. The panel will reach out to Bondi’s personal attorney ‘to discuss next steps,’ the spokesperson added.” (04/08/26)
https://archive.is/1ANRM
-----
3) Canada: Carney attracts yet another Conservative lawmaker to his Liberal Party
Source: SFGate
“Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has attracted another opposition Conservative lawmaker to the Liberal party, further assuring that he will soon have a majority government. Ontario Member of Parliament Marilyn Gladu alluded to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to Canada’s sovereignty and economy for her decision to defect to Carney’s governing Liberals. Trump has talked about making Canada the 51st state and has applied punishing tariffs on certain key sectors. ‘The past year has been like no other Canada has ever faced,’ Gladu said in a statement Wednesday. ‘I’ve heard from constituents that you want serious leadership and a real plan to build a stronger and more independent Canadian economy.’ Gladu is the fifth Member of Parliament to defect to Carney and the fourth Conservative.” (04/08/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/canadian-prime-minister-mark-carney-attracts-yet-22195678.php
-----
4) Russia: Regime summons Japanese ambassador over Ukrainian drone investment
Source: Reuters
“Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that Moscow had summoned the Japanese ambassador in protest over an investment made by a Japanese startup in Ukrainian interceptor drone technology.
The Japanese company, Terra Drone, said in March it had invested an undisclosed sum in Ukrainian interceptor-drone producer Amazing Drones, which produces technology designed for rapid deployment on the battlefield. … The Kremlin has described Russia’s relations with Japan as having been ‘reduced to zero’ over what it casts as Tokyo’s ‘unfriendly stance’ towards Moscow.” (04/08/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/russia-says-it-has-summoned-japanese-ambassador-over-ukrainian-drone-investment-2026-04-08/
-----
5) TX: Cannabis businesses sue regime to block smokeable hemp ban
Source: Texas Tribune
“Texas hemp industry leaders and advocacy groups have sued the state to block new regulations that eliminate natural smokeable hemp products and increase licensing fees. The Texas Hemp Business Council, Hemp Industry & Farmers of America, and several Texas-based dispensaries and manufacturers filed for a temporary restraining order in state district court in Travis County against the Texas Department of State Health Services and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission on Tuesday. They argue that the agencies have overstepped their constitutional authority by rewriting the statutory definitions of hemp established by lawmakers in 2019. … ‘An administrative agency may not substitute its own policy judgment for the outcome produced by the constitutional lawmaking process,’ the lawsuit states.” (04/08/26)
https://www.texastribune.org/2026/04/08/texas-hemp-smokeable-ban-joints-lawsuit/
-----
6) Gates to testify before House Oversight in Epstein probe
Source: Politico
“Bill Gates is scheduled to appear before the House Oversight Committee in the coming weeks, as the committee continues its investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Gates will sit for a transcribed interview June 10, according to a person familiar with the matter granted anonymity to discuss the committee’s deliberations. His interview comes after the committee issued a March 3 letter requesting his testimony. A spokesperson for Gates said the Microsoft founder ‘welcomes’ the chance to appear before the committee.” (04/08/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/07/bill-gates-testify-congress-epstein-probe-00861678
-----
7) Amazon announces plan to screw customers who bought their Kindle devices
Source: Ars Technica
“If you own an older Kindle e-reader, including models with physical keyboards or physical page-turn buttons that you’ve been reluctant to give up, Amazon has bad news for you. The company sent a message to owners of those devices today, informing them that starting on May 20 they would no longer be able to buy or download books from the Kindle Store. The change (as reported by Good E-Reader and elsewhere) affects all Kindles introduced and sold in 2012 or earlier, going all the way back to the original Kindle from 2007. Users will still be able to read books that have already been downloaded to those devices, but they won’t be able to download more, and if they reset those Kindles to their factory defaults, the devices won’t be able to sign back in to an Amazon account.” (04/08/26)
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/04/starting-in-may-pre-2013-kindles-wont-be-able-to-buy-or-download-new-books/
-----
8) Harvard scientist’s visa was unlawfully canceled, judge finds
Source: NBC News
“A federal judge in Vermont ruled that Harvard scientist Kseniia Petrova’s visa was unlawfully canceled after she was detained at an airport over biological samples she was carrying, handing her a key legal victory in a case that has raised questions about the limits of government power at the border. … Petrova, a Russian-born researcher at Harvard University’s Kirschner Lab, has argued for more than a year that the cancellation was unlawful. She was stopped at Boston Logan International Airport last February after returning from Paris. Her visa was canceled; she was later placed into immigration proceedings and detention. This disrupted her groundbreaking work on advanced imaging technology that has the potential to transform cancer diagnostics, according to fellow researchers.” (04/08/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/harvard-scientist-petrova-visa-detention-rcna267230
-----
9) CA: ICE gang thugs shoot, injure motorist during attempted abduction
Source: The Hill
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers shot and injured a man during an attempted stop in California on Tuesday, according to federal authorities. The officers fired shots at Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez during a targeted traffic stop on Interstate 5 in the city of Patterson. His attorney said he is now hospitalized and ‘fighting for his life.’ Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons alleged the driver ‘weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run an officer over’ — an accusation disputed by Mendoza Hernandez’s attorney, Patrick Kolasinski.” (04/08/26)
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5821656-ice-officers-california-interstate-5-shooting/
-----
10) Rolling Stones reportedly “set to release their 25th and final album” and share new song this month
Source: Radio X [UK]
“The Rolling Stones are reportedly set to release their final album this month. According to The Sun, the legendary rockers — comprised of Mick Jagger (82), Keith Richards (82) and Ronnie Wood (78)— are on the cusp of making their return with their 25th and final record and their first new music since 2023’s Hackney Diamonds. On April Fools Day, the band shared posters under their name The Cockroaches, which invited fans to scan a QR code. … It has since been reported that the band will release a new single entitled Mr Charm this Saturday (11th April), with some reports suggesting an album called Foreign Tongues would follow.” (04/08/26)
https://www.radiox.co.uk/artists/rolling-stones/reportedly-to-release-their-25th-final-album-foreign-tongues/
-----
11) Heuermann pleads guilty to seven murders in Gilgo Beach serial killings
Sourcxe: CBS News
“Rex Heuermann pleaded guilty Wednesday to killing seven women between 1993 and 2011 and admitted he killed an eighth, in a series of murders that came to be known as the Gilgo Beach serial killings. … The ultimate break in the case when a car registered to Heuermann matched the description a witness gave of the one that picked up victim Amber Costello before she disappeared. Once police made that connection, they started checking cell phone records. Cell phone tower pings connected Heuermann to the victims, prosecutors said. … investigators collected pizza crust Heuermann allegedly tossed in a Manhattan trash can, resulting in what they said was a DNA match.” (04/08/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/live-updates/rex-heuermann-gilgo-beach-long-island-serial-killer-case-guilty-plea/
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12) North Korean regime conducts multiple missile launches over two days, Seoul regime says
Source: United Press International
“North Korea fired short-range ballistic missiles on two separate occasions Wednesday, Seoul’s military said, marking three launches over two days after South Korean President Lee Jae Myung expressed regret over a drone incursion. At 8:50 a.m. Wednesday, the North launched several short-range ballistic missiles from its coastal Wonsan area toward the East Sea, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a text message to reporters. The missiles flew approximately 150 miles, the JCS said …. North Korea later fired a single short-range ballistic missile from Wonsan toward the East Sea at 2:20 p.m. Wednesday, the JCS said in a separate message. The missile flew approximately 435 miles.” (04/08/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/04/08/North-Korea-missile-launch-short-range-ballistic-East-Sea/3841775616289/
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13) Unionized ProPublica staff are on strike over AI, layoffs, and wages
Source: The Verge
“Unionized staff at ProPublica, one of the country’s leading nonprofit newsrooms, are walking off the job for 24 hours beginning Wednesday and asking the public to honor a digital picket line. The roughly 150 members of the ProPublica Guild are in the midst of negotiating a collective bargaining agreement after unionizing in 2023. The union says key issues are still in contention, including protections around the use of AI, ‘just cause’ provisions around disciplining or firing an employee, layoff protections, and wages. … The unit voted in March to authorize a strike if a deal was not reached with ProPublica management.” (04/08/26)
https://www.theverge.com/news/908401/propublica-union-strike-negotiations-ai-layoffs
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14) Turkey: Regime detains nine over attack outside the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul
Source: ABC News
“Turkish authorities have detained nine people as part of an investigation into an attack on police outside a building housing the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul that left one assailant dead, Turkey’s state-run news agency reported Wednesday. Two other assailants were wounded and captured during Tuesday’s shootout in the city’s financial and business district, while two police officers sustained slight injuries, officials said. Israel had withdrawn its diplomats from Turkey over security concerns and deteriorating relations with Ankara shortly after the start of the war in Gaza, and officials said the consulate was closed at the time of the attack.” (04/08/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/turkey-detains-9-attack-israeli-consulate-istanbul-131834148
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15) Yale Study: Ethiopian Regime Aids Sudan Militia
Source: Bloomberg
“Ethiopia’s military is harboring and assisting the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group accused of mass killings in Sudan, a Yale University research unit has found. The RSF has been sheltering in an Ethiopia National Defense Force camp in Asosa in the western Benishangul-Gumuz region, the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, which tracks atrocities in conflict zones using open-source intelligence and satellite imagery, said in a report. Its investigations showed a new hangar and other construction had been undertaken at an airport at the military camp near Ethiopia’s border with Sudan. It also detected the movement of hundreds of vehicles, including large commercial carriers, over a period of several weeks, in the area and surrounds.” (04/08/26)
https://archive.is/JEtyM
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16) WI: Taylor wins state Supreme Court race, expanding liberals’ [sic] majority
Source: NBC News
“Chris Taylor has won a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, NBC News projects, expanding liberals’ majority in the key battleground state. Taylor, a state appeals court judge and former Democratic state legislator, secured a 10-year term on the court over conservative Maria Lazar, an appeals court judge who worked in Republican former Gov. Scott Walker’s administration. … Taylor, who was backed by the state Democratic Party, held massive fundraising and ad spending advantages over Lazar throughout the race. She had put abortion and voting rights at the forefront of her campaign, much like other winning liberal Supreme Court candidates in the state in recent years.” (04/07/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/liberal-chris-taylor-wins-wisconsin-supreme-court-race-rcna266253
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17) Newlywed wife of US soldier freed by ICE gang after abduction at military base
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“A US soldier’s wife who was [abducted] by immigration agents at the military base where he is stationed (just days after their wedding) has been released. Annie Ramos, 22, an undocumented immigrant who came to the US as a toddler, was [abducted] on 2 April and spent five days at a detention centre alongside hundreds facing deportation under the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Immigration officials described Ramos as ‘an illegal [sic] alien from Honduras’ who was arrested after attempting to enter a military base. ‘I feel awesome. Relieved. Relieved,’ Staff Sergeant Matthew Blank told the New York Times after his wife’s release. ‘These have been the worst days of my life. I can’t wait to carry my wife into our home and start our lives together. I’m complete and ready to serve our country. And it’s her country, too!'” (04/08/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c98kn1k3nreo
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18) Trump threatens 50% tax on American buyers of goods from countries “supplying military weapons to Iran”
Source: CNBC
“The U.S. will impose tariffs of 50% on [American buyers of] ‘any and all’ goods imported to the country from any nation ‘supplying military weapons to Iran,’ President Donald Trump said Wednesday. Trump said in a Truth Social post that [American buyers of goods from] any country found to be supplying Iran with weapons would be subject to the levy ‘immediately,’ with no ‘exclusions or exemptions.'” (04/08/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/08/trump-threatens-tariffs-countries-supplying-weapons-iran-ceasefire.html
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19) Zeldin tells climate skeptics to “celebrate vindication” after repeal of baseline climate rule
Source: SFGate
“The head of the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday defended his decision to repeal the legal determination that serves as the basis for federal rules to slow climate change, telling a gathering of climate change skeptics that they should ‘celebrate vindication.’ EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin made the remarks in the keynote address at a conference hosted by the Heartland Institute, a conservative think tank that rejects mainstream climate science and what it calls ‘climate alarmism.’ Zeldin told the gathering that repeal of the 2009 ‘endangerment finding’ reversed decades of unthinking adherence to liberal politicians and environmental groups about the dangers of climate change. ‘Today is a day to celebrate. It is a day to celebrate vindication,’ said Zeldin, a former Republican congressman from New York who is widely believed to be under consideration for a possible promotion to attorney general, following Pam Bondi’s forced departure last week.” (04/08/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/zeldin-tells-climate-skeptics-to-celebrate-22195712.php
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20) Judge Refuses to Block Sending Abortion Pill by Mail for Now, but Says FDA Must Finish Review
Source: US News & World Report
“A federal judge Tuesday refused to block filling prescriptions for the abortion pill mifepristone by mail across the U.S. — at least for now — in a setback to Louisiana’s effort to stifle groups that send it into states where abortion is banned. U.S. District Judge David Joseph, who sits in Lafayette, Louisiana, ruled against Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, who asked that U.S. Food and Drug Administration rules that allow mifepristone to be dispensed through the mail be paused while a challenge to those 2023 regulations moves through the courts. He granted the government’s request to put the case on hold for now, though he warned that the pause would not be indefinite — and that he could side with Louisiana later.” (04/07/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/new-york/articles/2026-04-07/judge-refuses-to-block-sending-abortion-pill-by-mail-for-now-but-says-fda-must-finish-review
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) The Economic Destruction of Trump’s War Goes Far Beyond High Gas Prices
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Connor O’Keeffe
“[M]ost of the discourse about the economic impacts of the war has focused on the rising prices drivers are facing at the gas pump. That isn’t surprising, as gas prices are an early cost that impact consumers directly. But the emphasis on pain at the pump threatens to badly understate the economic damage of this war. And it helps feed the false impression that, if this new attempt at a ceasefire holds and the war ends somewhat quickly, gas prices will fall back down as fast as they rose, and then all the global economic turmoil the world’s been worrying about will be avoided. It won’t. A lot of economic pain has already been locked in by this war. But to really understand it, it’s necessary to keep a few important economic truths at the front of our minds.” (04/08/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/economic-destruction-trumps-war-goes-far-beyond-high-gas-prices
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22) Grief, anger, disbelief: War proponents lose it over ceasefire
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Kelley Beaucar Vlahos
“It’s hard to bodyslam the two-week pause with Iran without taking direct shots at the guy who announced it. But they are trying their best.” (04/08/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-ceasefire-iran/
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23) You can’t hide your lying ICE: The harassment of Francisco Longoria
Source: The Watch
by Radley Balko
“Federal immigration officers racially profiled a man, fired at his truck, raided his home at 4 am, and arrested him. Then they lied about it all — both in public and in court.” (04/08/26)
https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/you-cant-hide-your-lying-ice-th
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24) Trust marketplace, not the government
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“Businesses don’t want to harm their customers. That’s no way to stay in business. When a new restaurant opens, people rush to stand in line to try it out. They don’t worry that the restaurant will poison them, and it’s not because of the licenses and permits the owners got from government. Government would love for you to believe this is what keeps you safe, but again, government works harder to protect dishonest businesses than to protect victims. If a business owner is greedy but can’t use government to force you to trade with him or her, this greed is motivation to satisfy you …. It’s only when a crooked business owner has government connections that satisfying the customer loses its importance.” (04/08/26)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2026/04/08/voices/opinion-trust-marketplace-not-the-government/233172.html
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25) My Quest to Solve Bitcoin’s Great Mystery
Source: New York Times
by John Carreyrou & Dylan Freedman
“Bitcoin’s creator has hidden behind the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto for 17 years. But a trail of clues buried deep in crypto lore led to a 55-year-old computer scientist named Adam Back.” (04/08/26)
https://archive.ph/mTw1Q
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26) Iran war prods shared action on energy
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“The world has learned enough from past energy crises to know that a shortage of a finite resource like oil requires help from a more boundless resource: trust and cooperation. That’s especially true as the Iran war led to a near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz to the petroleum exports from Gulf countries. From neighborhoods to the United Nations, the closure triggered shared action worldwide to ensure ensure energy supplies. One big reason: The crisis was the largest-ever disruption in the global oil market, according to the Paris-based International Energy Agency, even more serious than the energy crises of 1973, 1979, and 2022 combined.” (04/07/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0407/Iran-war-prods-shared-action-on-energy
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27) In the War on Iran, Every Word Is a War Crime
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ted Snider
“There are multiple reasons why America’s European and NATO allies have not answered Trump’s call to join the war. They were not respected. They were not consulted. The goals of the war were not articulated. The benefits were not clear while the cost was very clear. But, most importantly, they have not joined the war because it is illegal.” (04/08/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/ted_snider/2026/04/07/in-the-war-on-iran-every-word-is-a-war-crime/
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28) Viktor Orbán and His American Apologists All Deserve To Lose
Source: Reason
by Matt Welch
“Hungary, whose economy led all Central European countries out of the post-communist starting gate, now languishes in the per-capita second tier with once-devastated Romania. It is the 17th-largest economy in the 27-member European Union, despite having the 13th-largest population. Importantly, none of these numbers is obscure, even to a vice president. It’s that Vance and other American Orbánistas define prosperity differently, there and here.” (04/08/26)
https://reason.com/2026/04/08/viktor-orban-and-his-american-apologists-all-deserve-to-lose/
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29) The Empire Backs Down, For Now
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Trump has announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran after previously threatening to exterminate their ‘entire civilization,’ citing ‘a 10 point proposal from Iran’ as the reason for the climb-down. Trump and his cronies are spinning this as a colossal victory for the United States and framing Tehran’s 10-point plan as a major capitulation to the president’s threats. But some reporters are noting that Iran has had the same terms on the table for weeks — which would mean that it is in fact the White House who is backing down.” (04/08/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/04/08/the-empire-backs-down-for-now/
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30) When Kennedy Bucked the US National-Security State on Cuba
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“Among the 10 points in Iran’s peace proposal that President Trump has now agreed to use as a basis for peace negotiations between the United States and Iran is a plank that prohibits any more attacks on Iran. That point reminds me of what John Kennedy agreed to in his peace agreement with the Soviet Union to resolve the Cuban Missile Crisis, an agreement that ultimately led to his assassination at the hands of the U.S. national-security establishment.” (04/08/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/04/08/when-kennedy-bucked-the-u-s-national-security-state-on-cuba/
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31) Trump’s Iran cease-fire makes the left [sic] lose its mind; but let’s just take the win [sic] … for now
Source: New York Post
by staff
“‘TACO,’ anti-Trump crackpot Rick Wilson posted on social media, shortly after the president announced a two-week cease-fire that has Iran agreeing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. This ‘Trump always chickens out’ sentiment was repeated by left-wing pundits, who only hours before were furious that President Trump was threatening to ‘blow up the whole country.’ So which is it? You’re mad when he threatens to bomb a country, then mock him when he doesn’t? No matter how many times Trump turns to the same playbook — maximum pressure and outrageous threats to force a deal — Democrats and the press are shocked, shocked by his actions.” [editor’s note: Trump agreed to a ceasefire with the Iranian regime’s offer as the basis of further negotiation. Sure, he’s not in a bunker contemplating suicide as Iranian troops approach, but it’s still a clear and unambiguous loss – TLK] (04/07/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/04/07/opinion/trumps-iran-cease-fire-makes-the-left-lose-its-mind-but-lets-just-take-the-win-for-now/
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32) The System Nobody Credits for Making Us Kinder
Source: Mindset Shifts
by Barry Brownstein
“Years ago, an MBA student of mine had immigrated from Albania after growing up under Communism. She shared with her classmates what she observed to be the most unexpected mindset difference between Americans and Albanians. She got emotional as she explained how in Albania, charity was rare—caring for anyone other than yourself and your family was uncommon. In contrast, she experienced Americans as generous and caring. My student described how exasperated she felt upon hearing the claim that capitalism leads to a survival-of-the-fittest mentality. In her experience, the opposite was true: under communism, the mindset was not to care for others.” (04/08/26)
https://mindsetshifts.substack.com/p/the-system-nobody-credits-for-making
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33) The Winner of Trump’s Iran War? Iran
Source: Informed Comment
by Juan Cole
“Trump announced a two-week ceasefire on Tuesday, April 7, the 39th day of the Israeli-US war on Iran. He depended on Pakistani mediators and a 10-point peace plan put forward by Iran itself. It did not win as in, scoring a knockout. It won in the sense that if I went 12 rounds with Deontay Wilder and was still standing up at the end of it, it would count as a win.” (04/08/26)
https://www.juancole.com/2026/04/how-iran-won.html
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34) Hungary Is a Laboratory for Illiberal Nationalism. The Results Are In
Source: Cato Institute
by Johan Norberg
“A 16-year experiment has yielded none of Viktor Orban’s stated goals.” (04/08/26)
https://www.cato.org/commentary/hungary-laboratory-illiberal-nationalism-results-are
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35) Live mop
Source: Sex and the State
by Cathy Reisenwitz
“Unlike most pride-having, mentally well individuals, I wrote about my anxieties around taking a service-sector job. (Security clearances are a big thing in Huntsville. Recently my dad joked to me that I have at least one qualification: ‘You’re impossible to blackmail!’ he laughed. This is not a challenge.) Among other things, I worried a shit job would somehow preclude me from office work. I imagined a hiring manager smelling the stench of low-skill labor on me before I even walked in.” (04/08/26)
https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/live-mop
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36) Confessions of a Neotenous Man
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
“Today I turn 55. While my kids love to mock my age, the truth is that I feel young. Real young. Every day, my top priority is not fulfilling my duties or conforming to social expectations, but having fun. Biologists have an adjective for my state of being: neoteny. We neotenous creatures retain our juvenile traits long into adulthood.” (04/08/26)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/reflections-of-a-neotenous-man
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37) In Trump’s Department of War [sic], it’s soldiers (not “experts”) calling the shots
Source: Fox News
by David Marcus
“When President Donald Trump [pretended he had] changed the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War last year, many saw it as merely a branding exercise, but as the fierceness of Operation Epic Fury in Iran has shown us, it was much, much more than that. On Easter Sunday, our military pulled off a daring rescue of a downed airman behind enemy lines, and what it made clear, once again, is that Trump’s Department of [Defense] is run by soldiers, not by experts, and the results are phenomenal. As Secretary of [Defense] and former frontline veteran Pete Hegseth has put it many times, his Pentagon will focus on ‘maximum lethality, not tepid legality.'” [editor’s note: If Hegseth is Secretary of War and heads a Department of War, he and it need to return all the money Congress appropriated to the Department of Defense – TLK] (04/07/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/david-marcus-trumps-department-war-soldiers-experts-calling-shots
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38) Madman Theory
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Kym Robinson
“Richard Nixon employed a ‘madman theory’ while he negotiated with the North Vietnamese and Soviets. Nixon wanted the leaders of those countries to think that he was unpredictable, volatile and willing to risk nuclear destruction. In turn this caused the Vietnamese and Soviet leaders to tread with reason and use cool minded methods. It forced them to make concessions and placate the irrational leader of the ‘free world.’ The theory is based on the premise that an irrational leader is more dangerous than a rational one. … It is unlikely the current US president has the calculation and awareness for such methods, let alone the understanding of history.” (04/08/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/blog/anti-war-blog-madman-theory/
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39) A casket cartel tries to bury the competition
Source: Washington Post
by George F Will
“In the town of Calvin, the married couple Candi Mentink and Todd Collard conceived an entrepreneurial idea that their state’s law says is forbidden. They sell inexpensive caskets wrapped in vinyl graphic designs depicting hunting, fishing, religious motifs, sports teams’ logos, perhaps even the likeness of famous Oklahomans. Imagine whiling away eternity in a Mickey Mantle casket. Heavenly. Thanks to the internet, they can sell caskets to people in Orlando or Ottawa or Oslo or Okinawa. But not Oklahoma, as they learned when the law, in its majesty, pounced on their company’s booth at the state fair.” (04/08/26)
https://archive.is/Ht7su
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40) No 4D Chess: War With Iran Helps China
Source: The American Conservative
by Liam Childers
“We’ve heard it all before. Pro-war MAGA commentators insist that every move President Donald Trump makes is a strategic masterstroke. The war with Iran is no exception. What appears to be a Middle Eastern quagmire in the making is not a blunder at all. Instead, this war is ‘really’ about China. Another oil shock is nothing to worry about. It is ‘really’ leverage against America’s ‘main rival.’ Another open-ended entanglement is not overextension. It is ‘really’ the opening act of a coherent Indo-Pacific strategy that the ‘America Lasters’ are too daft to understand. This is the 4D chess defense of the Iran war. It is also nonsense, cooked up by propagandists and consumed by those eager to believe Trump hasn’t betrayed his base.” (04/08/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/no-4d-chess-war-with-iran-helps-china/
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41) An Unlikely (and Unstable) Ceasefire Deal and Trump’s Iran Blunder
Source: Common Dreams
by Trita Parsi
“Yesterday began with Donald Trump issuing genocidal threats against Iran on social media and ended (just ten hours later) with the announcement of a 14-day ceasefire, on Iran’s terms. Even by the volatile standards of Trump’s presidency, the whiplash is extraordinary. What, then, have the two sides actually agreed to, and what might it mean? In a subsequent post, Trump asserted that Iran had agreed to keep the Strait of Hormuz open during the two-week pause in hostilities. Negotiations, he added, will proceed over that period on the basis of Iran’s 10-point plan, which he described as a ‘workable’ foundation for talks. … The United States has not, of course, signed on to all ten points. But the mere fact that Iran’s framework will anchor the negotiations amounts to a significant diplomatic victory for Tehran.” (04/08/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/trump-ceasefire
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42) Why Keynes Would Have Feared AI — and Why We Shouldn’t
Source: The Daily Economy
by Michael N Peterson
“The economist who predicted abundance also worried about displacement. He was only half right.” (04/08/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/why-keynes-would-have-feared-ai-and-why-we-shouldnt/
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43) A Coalition for Abundance
Source: Law & Liberty
by Nathan Smith
“The Building Chips in America Act (2024) offers a glimpse of a possible modus operandi for a liberal abundance coalition. By exempting semiconductor fabs funded under the CHIPS and Science Act (2022) from some NEPA reviews, Congress cleared a major obstacle that had threatened to derail a factory investment boom. Industrial policy — planning as accelerator — overrode stultifying environmental protectionism — planning as brake. The modest precedent might become a template for using industrial policy as a crowbar for deregulation.” (04/08/26)
https://lawliberty.org/forum/a-coalition-for-abundance/
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44) The War Will End With a Hormuz Toll Booth
Source: Foreign Policy
by Amir Handjani
“Most of Tehran’s demands to end the war are maximalist, as are Washington’s right now. One of Iran’s demands may be achievable if structured correctly: the right to operate the Strait of Hormuz as a tolled waterway, in formal partnership with Oman. This is not a fantasy. Iran’s parliament is already debating legislation to collect transit fees from ships passing through the world’s single-most important maritime chokepoint. Since mid-March, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has turned the strait into a de facto toll booth, collecting fees in exchange for safe passage. … it’s difficult to imagine any situation short of the Islamic Republic’s collapse whereby Tehran doesn’t retain some form of control of the Strait as an insurance policy against persistent U.S. and Israeli attacks in the future.” (04/07/26)
https://archive.is/lsAS6
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45) Democrats Are Clear and Present Danger to the Nation
Source: Town Hall
by Star Parker
“The United States must be growing and prosperous at home and strong and secure in the face of the many security threats facing us abroad. The former can only be achieved with free markets and limited government domestically and the latter through a robust defense [sic] budget. On both fronts, Democrats would take the country in the exact opposite direction needed. Voters seem to understand this. RealClearPolitics reports Democratic Party favorability at -20.0 unfavorable and Republicans at -15.4 unfavorable. Nevertheless, in polling on the overall congressional election for 2026, RealClearPolitics shows Democrats up +6.0. Two things may explain this disconnect: One, although voters show generically more favorability to Republicans, Republicans are still underwater in overall favorability. Second, when voters are overall not happy with how things are going, they vote against the party in power.” (04/08/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/starparker/2026/04/08/democrats-are-clear-and-present-danger-to-the-nation-n2674077
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46) The Moral Arc of the Universe Bends Toward Finding Out
Source: Liberal Currents
by Alex Norris
“The U.S.-Israel joint attack on Iran exemplifies the foreign policy theory guiding the Trump administration: other countries aren’t real, and they can’t hurt you. The United States, the thinking goes, has the most expensive armed forces in the world — more expensive than the next nine countries combined. Who could stand against American might? Sure, those armed forces failed in Afghanistan and Iraq, but that was because of, well, politics. … Ultimately, of all the posturing and Trump doctrines, I think it is FAFO that will stand the test of time.” (04/07/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/the-moral-arc-of-the-universe-bends-toward-finding-out/
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47) It’s the end of internet anonymity as we know it (and I don’t feel fine)
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Sarah McLaughlin
“Free speech advocates have long warned that the laws and regulations passed at the state, federal, and international level are chipping away at our ability to speak anonymously online. Now, Türkiye is threatening to gut that right directly — and asserting that social media platforms are playing along. According to Justice Minister Akın Gürlek, the Turkish government is submitting a proposal to parliament that would require people to provide a national ID number to use social media. Unregistered accounts will be removed by platforms. Gürlek also claims platforms have agreed to implement these terms — though which platforms, and which exact terms, are not entirely clear yet. … Make no mistake: These kinds of regulations are like a bad cold — they spread fast and are hard to shake.” (04/07/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/blogs/free-speech-dispatch/its-end-internet-anonymity-we-know-it-and-i-dont-feel-fine
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48) Viktor Orban’s Hungary Exemplifies the Perils of Nationalism
Source: The Volokh Conspiracy
by Ilya Somin
“As a new analysis by Johan Norberg shows, the regime many MAGA Republicans see as a model to emulate has repressed civil liberties, undermined the free market, destroyed the rule of law, and made Hungary the poorest nation in the European Union.” (04/07/26)
https://reason.com/volokh/2026/04/07/viktor-orbans-hungary-exemplifies-the-perils-of-nationalism/
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49) Live Tax-Free and Die
Source: The American Prospect
by Whitney Curry Wimbish
“Late last year, the godfather of supply-side economics dropped in on a Georgia state Senate special committee hearing. He spoke of the urgent need to dump their income tax, a ‘killer, killer, killer,’ akin to ‘a nuclear weapon,’ that has destroyed the 11 states that have instituted it as of 1960: Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia. ‘Each and every one of those states in population has had a cataclysmic decline relative to the rest of the nation. It’s just amazing,’ said Arthur Laffer, inventor of the ‘Laffer curve,’ the discredited [sic] theory [sic] that claims lowering taxes raises tax revenue.” [editor’s note: The Laffer Curve is neither “discredited” nor a “theory.” It’s an observation of fact — the fact that there’s a point when increased tax rates decrease, and decreased tax rates increase, tax revenues – TLK] (04/08/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/04/08/apr-2026-magazine-live-tax-free-and-die/
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50) More on Colleges
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“Much of what schools are spend money on has at most a tenuous connection to the quality of education. That left me wondering whether there are any schools for smart cheapskates, schools that provide a good education in the company of smart people at the lowest practical cost — which I would expect to be less half the cost of the elite schools I looked at when my children were choosing where to apply. I went online to look.” (04/07/26)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/more-on-colleges-dc1
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Reason Interview: Jacob Siegel
Source: Reason
“The Rise of the Information State.” (04/08/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/04/08/the-rise-of-the-information-state/
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52) The Briefing Podcast with Michael Waldman, 04/08/26
Source: Brennan Center for Justice
“Speed Round (with Molly Jong-Fast).” (04/08/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hirbu4lulZM
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53) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 04/08/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Can Trump Rein In Israel, Or Will Iran War Pause Go Up In Smoke?” (04/08/26)
https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1nJOLEmMWBzxR
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54) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 04/08/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump Ex-Allies Suddenly Join Call for His Removal: ‘He’s Gone Insane.'” (04/08/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/208757/finally-trump-ex-allies-call-25th-amendment-he-gone-insane
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55) Rising, 04/08/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave gives his radar on the U.S. and Iran agreeing to a ceasefire after President Trump threatened that ‘a whole civilization will die’ if a deal was not reached.” (04/08/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/5814546-rising-april-8-2026/
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56) The Illegal News with Sarah Longwell, 04/08/26
Source: The Bulwark
“Trump Knows His Election Order is Illegal. That’s the Point! (w/ Andrew Weissmann).” (04/08/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn-M2Aq7krw
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57) Show-Me Institute Podcast, 04/08/26
Source: Show-Me Institute
“Grading Missouri Schools with Susan Pendergrass and Avery Frank.” (04/08/26)
https://showmeinstitute.org/article/education/grading-missouri-schools-with-susan-pendergrass-and-avery-frank/
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58) Instant Grace with Jim Babka, episode 48
Source: Gracearchy with Jim Babka
“A Whole Civilization Will Die Tonight.” (04/07/26)
https://rumble.com/v786x5y-a-whole-civilization-will-die-tonight-instant-grace-with-jim-babka-48.html
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59) Politics Politics Politics, 04/07/26
Source: Politics Politics Politics
“Trump Threatens Iran’s ‘Whole Civilization.’ DHS Shutdown Winners and Losers (With Kirk Bado).” (04/07/26)
https://www.politicspoliticspolitics.com/p/trump-threatens-irans-whole-civilization
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60) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 04/07/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Trump Declares Two Week Ceasefire With Iran, US-Israeli Strikes Destroy Iran Synagogue, and More.” (04/07/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3CsMfkqDD4
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