07/01 -- SCOTUS rejects Trump's attempt to repeal 14th Amendment by executive edict; How I Busted the Ruby Ridge Coverup
6 views
Skip to first unread message
Thomas L. Knapp
Jul 1, 2026, 6:07:28 AM (6 days ago) Jul 1
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 07/01/26
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Presented by the Liberty International
https://liberty-intl.org/
Produced by the staff of Rational Review News Digest
More News, More Commentary, More Audio/Video at Our Web Edition!
https://news.rationalreview.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Today's Freedom News:
1) SCOTUS rejects Trump’s attempt to repeal 14th Amendment by executive edict
2) CO: “Democratic socialist” defeats 15-term incumbent in congressional primary
3) Russia: Major Ukrainian drone attack hits satellite center, kills baby
4) Federal judge blocks Virginia law against masked gang violence
5) Iranian regime hasn’t received promised $6 billion in frozen assets, Qatari regime confirms ahead of peace talks
6) EU unveils new steel import quotas to protect its industry from competition at expense of consumers
7) SCOTUS agrees to review unconstitutional bans on AR-15s
8) Italy: Arrests made after bomb attack targets investigative journalist threatened by mafia
9) Republican returns to US House after months of absence over “depression”
10) SCOTUS upholds state laws banning transgender athletes
11) Inflation likely to stay “significantly above target,” top European central banker warns
12) White House Ballroom Project Got Secret No-Bid Contract
13) NY: Rare dinosaur fossil from Antarctica found tucked away in a drawer
14) New Caledonia: French colonial loyalists emerge largest bloc after election, lack majority
15) Pope issues plea to breakaway traditionalist group to back off bishop consecrations
16) FBI: “Jackpotting” crew stole over $500,000 from ATMs
17) South Africa: Thousands of anti-migrant protesters march amid heavy police presence
18) France: Parliament passes “fast fashion” bill targeting Shein and Temu
19) Pakistan: Roof of tutoring center collapses, killing at least 14 children
20) SCOTUS declines to save sexual assailant from paying defamation damages to victim
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) How I Busted the Ruby Ridge Coverup
22) The US Should Exit the UN
23) Bastiat Was Right: Tariffs Make The World Poorer
24) Intellectual Property versus the Unrealized
25) Bitcoin Is Not Freedom: The Delusion of Digital Escape
26) Has “the Revolution” Already Passed AOC By?
27) The Hidden Impact of Government Delays
28) The seas they pillage
29) Both ingenuity and faith deepen the AI design discussion
30) Hawaii is making a dangerous bid to suppress free speech
31) The New Socialists: Elite, Ungrateful, and Toxic as Ever
32) What About the Trump-Pentagon-CIA Communist Regime in Venezuela?
33) What Is There to Celebrate on the 250th Anniversary of the United States of America?
34) Nazi Socialism: What’s at Stake?
35) The Center Can Hold
36) Quantum Vibe, 06/30/26
37) Senator Susan Collins and the nation’s national defense
38) Workers must defend their right to private opinions
39) How Hunter Biden Won the Internet
40) The dark money operation behind China-baiting in the homeland
41) Why I Hold Out Hope For Humanity
42) 1776 in the US and Latin America
43) The Islamabad Memorandum and the Decline of the Paradigm of Absolute Victory
44) Federal ROAD to Housing Act Won’t Solve the Housing Affordability Crisis
45) Supreme Court allows Trump to say “you’re fired!” to meddling bureaucrats
46) Armenia Rejects Populism and Chooses Democracy Despite a Devastating Military Defeat
47) Trump v. Cook Carve-Out Leaves the Fed Above the Law
48) Are you a “gloomy Gus” about the States?
49) Hillary Clinton and Trump’s Board of Peace for Gaza
50) What Is the Declaration of Independence?
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Law & Liberty Podcast, 06/30/26
52) Trump Watch, 06/30/26
53) The Bryan Hyde Show, 06/30/26
54) Rising, 06/30/26
55) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 06/30/26
56) The Good Fight, 06/30/26
57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 06/29/26
58) Real Unity, 06/29/26
59) Show-Me Institute, 06/29/26
60) Reason Roundtable, 06/29/26
vvvvv SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS vvvvv
Tyranny Demands AN ACT OF SELF-DEFENSE: A NOVEL BY ERNE LEWIS
https://tinyurl.com/actofselfdefense
HOW INDEPENDENT ARE "YOUR" CONGRESS/SENATE MEMBERS?
https://congressionalindependence.deathbutt.org/
SAMUEL EDWARD KONKIN III REVOLUTIONARY FRIEND BY WENDY MCELROY
https://www.amazon.com/Samuel-Edward-Konkin-Revolutionary-Friend-ebook/dp/B0DP7B6127
SHARE YOUR OPINIONS. EARN POINTS. REDEEM POINTS FOR AWARDS
https://account.yougov.com/us-en/join?referral=eAi-FP2i9s1Jzb5lj2zw5A
THE CONSTITUTION OF NON-STATE GOVERNMENT: FIELD GUIDE TO TEXAS SECESSION (2nd edition), by TL Hulsey
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1883853117
^^^^^ SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS ^^^^^
_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) SCOTUS rejects Trump’s attempt to repeal 14th Amendment by executive edict
Source: NBC News
“Delivering a major blow to President Donald Trump, the Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked his contentious attempt to limit citizenship at birth for those born on U.S. soil. The court, divided 6-3, ruled that the executive order Trump issued Jan. 20, 2025, the first day of his second term, was unlawful. Five justices said the order fell foul of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which has long been interpreted to bestow birthright citizenship on almost anyone born in the United States. One justice, conservative Brett Kavanaugh, [pretended] the order violated federal law but not the Constitution.” [editor’ note: I wish I could say I was surprised to see supposed “originalists” Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch drop trou, squat, and defecate all over the plain text, clear meaning, and indisputable history of the US Constitution. But that stopped surprising me long ago – TLK] (06/30/26)
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5935548-birthright-citizenship-supreme-court-trump-14th-amendment/
-----
2) CO: “Democratic socialist” defeats 15-term incumbent in congressional primary
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“The democratic socialist Melat Kiros unseated long-serving US representative Diana DeGette in Colorado’s primary elections held on Tuesday, the latest in a string of high-profile victories for the party’s insurgent left. The Associated Press reported that Kiros had defeated DeGette for the Democratic nomination in the deep-blue first congressional district centered on Denver. … Kiros made concerns about US support for Israel prominent in her campaign. In an interview with Colorado Public Radio (CPR), Kiros accused the country of carrying out a genocide in Gaza and called for the United States to impose an arms embargo.” (07/01/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/01/melat-kiros-democrat-defeats-diana-degette-blue-state-colarado-house-primary-denver
-----
3) Russia: Major Ukrainian drone attack hits satellite center, kills baby
Source: CNN
“Ukraine said on Tuesday it hit one of Russia’s largest satellite communication centers for the second time in just over a week, as Kyiv ramps up long-range drone attacks to pressure the Kremlin to end its four-year-old war. The Dubna Satellite Communications Centre to the north of Moscow, some 500 km (310 miles) from the Ukrainian border, is used for intelligence gathering and the coordination of Russia’s armed forces fighting in Ukraine, President Volodymr Zelensky said. Russia hasn’t confirmed the Dubna communication center was struck, but the governor of the Moscow region Andrey Vorobyov said a drone had hit an ‘administrative building’ in the town with no reported casualties. Vorobyov also said a six-month-old baby died on Tuesday after a drone crashed into a home in Yegoryevsk, southeast of Moscow, trapping people under rubble.” (06/30/26)
https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/30/europe/moscow-dubna-attack-ukraine-intl
-----
4) Federal judge blocks Virginia law against masked gang violence
Source: Fox News
“A federal judge on Tuesday blocked Virginia from enforcing a new law that would prohibit federal [gang members] — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol — from wearing masks while carrying out [harassment and abduction] operations, siding with the Trump administration in a dispute over federal authority. Senior U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne granted the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) request for a preliminary injunction, preventing the law from taking effect Wednesday while the legal challenge proceeds. The injunction will remain in place while the case is litigated.” (06/30/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/federal-judge-blocks-blue-states-law-prohibiting-ice-agents-wearing-masks-job
-----
5) Iranian regime hasn’t received promised $6 billion in frozen assets, Qatari regime confirms ahead of peace talks
Source: New York Post
“Iran has not received any of the $6 billion in frozen assets the US pledged to dole out in exchange for progress made implementing the US-Iran memorandum of understanding, Qatar confirmed Tuesday. While Iran has argued the funds should be delivered in a lump sum, the US intends to make small, incremental payouts — directly to vendors — as Iran progresses in key negotiation areas such as opening the Strait of Hormuz and making nuclear concessions. ‘So far, no funds have been transferred,’ Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said Tuesday. It came a day ahead of an Iranian delegation’s planned trip to Doha, where Iranian sources say Tehran intends to hammer out how to access the frozen funds.” (06/30/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/06/30/us-news/tehran-hasnt-received-us-promised-6b-in-frozen-assets-qatar-confirms-ahead-of-us-iran-technical-talks/
-----
6) EU unveils new steel import quotas to protect its industry from competition at expense of consumers
Source: Reuters
“The European Commission unveiled quotas under the new system to limit duty-free steel imports into the EU, in a move designed to protect the bloc’s steel sector and increase its capacity utilisation. Under the new rules, the European Union’s annual tariff-free import quotas are slashed by 47% to 18.3 million metric tons, while an out-of-quota duty of 50% is introduced for 26 categories of steel products imported into the EU.” (06/30/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/eu-unveils-new-steel-import-quotas-protect-its-industry-overcapacity-2026-06-30/
-----
7) SCOTUS agrees to review unconstitutional bans on AR-15s
Source: CNN
“The Supreme Court announced Tuesday that it will decide whether cities and states may ban people from owning AR-15 rifles and similar semi-automatic weapons, taking up a major Second Amendment dispute that it had previously declined to address. One of the appeals involving certain semi-automatic rifles came from two Illinois residents who want to purchase AR-15 style rifles but are blocked from doing so by an ordinance in Cook County that makes it unlawful to sell or possess any ‘assault weapon [sic] or large capacity magazine,’ specifically listing dozens of models that were off limits. Ten states have similar bans in place, according to the [victim disarmament] group Everytown for Gun Safety.” (06/30/26)
https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/30/politics/ar-15-style-rifles-supreme-court-second-amendment
-----
8) Italy: Arrests made after bomb attack targets investigative journalist threatened by mafia
Source: CBS News
“Italian police on Tuesday arrested four people suspected of carrying out an October bomb attack targeting a prominent journalist who had been threatened by the mafia. The blast in a residential neighborhood of Pomezia, about 12 miles south of Rome, destroyed two cars belonging to Sigfrido Ranucci, known for investigations into corruption and the mafia. Ranucci had just returned home at the time, and his daughter had walked by a half-hour before, his employer said at the time. … The explosion targeting Ranucci occurred on the eighth anniversary of the car bomb slaying of Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who wrote extensively about suspected corruption in political and business circles. Like Ranucci, she had faced dozens of libel suits intended to silence her reporting.” (06/30/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/arrests-bomb-attack-targets-journalist-threatened-mafia-italy/
-----
9) Republican returns to US House after months of absence over “depression”
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Tom Kean Jr, a Republican congressman who disappeared from the Capitol for nearly four months with little explanation, re-emerged on Tuesday and said that he was absent while dealing with depression. ‘Several months ago, due to health concerns, I entered the hospital for some testing. I did not believe that this would result in a long-term stay. I was given the diagnosis of depression,’ Kean said in a speech on the floor of the House Tuesday morning. Kean, who represents a swing district in New Jersey, had last voted on 5 March before disappearing, with his office in late April saying only that he was dealing with a ‘personal health matter’ and would be back ‘soon.'” (06/30/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/30/tom-kean-jr-house-absence-returns
-----
10) SCOTUS upholds state laws banning transgender athletes
Source: ESPN
“The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld state laws barring transgender girls and women from playing on school athletic teams, in another setback for transgender people. The court’s six-justice conservative majority, which has repeatedly ruled against transgender Americans in the past year, ruled that state bans in Idaho and West Virginia don’t violate the Constitution. The court unanimously agreed that barring transgender girls and women also doesn’t run afoul of the federal law known as Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in education. … Left unresolved by the outcome are lawsuits challenging state laws and regulations in Connecticut, California and elsewhere that permit transgender athletes to compete consistent with their gender identity.” [editor’s note: Unclear whether the ruling applies to private, or just government, institutions – TLK] (06/30/26)
https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/49225515/supreme-court-upholds-state-laws-banning-transgender-athletes
-----
11) Inflation likely to stay “significantly above target,” top European central banker warns
Source: CNBC
“Inflation is at risk of remaining above target despite the U.S. and Iran agreeing to end their war in the Middle East, a top European central banker warned on Tuesday. Speaking to CNBC’s Annette Weisbach on the sidelines of the European Central Bank’s Forum on Central Banking in Sintra, Portugal, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said there is a probability inflation ‘will stay at an elevated level.’ … Earlier this month, the ECB raised its key interest rate for the first time since 2023, citing inflationary pressures arising from the U.S.-Iran war. Nagel said on Tuesday that the hike was the right decision, but it is too soon to make a call on the trajectory of monetary policy, with much uncertainty still lingering around the situation in the Middle East.” (06/30/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/30/high-inflation-could-linger-despite-iran-war-ending-ecbs-nagel-says.html
-----
12) White House Ballroom Project Got Secret No-Bid Contract
Source: Washington Post
“White House officials last year secretly awarded a no-bid contract worth up to $500 million for the construction of the East Wing ballroom in an unusual arrangement that sidestepped typical contracting procedures designed to control costs, according to a copy of the agreement obtained by The Washington Post. The White House routed the contract through the Executive Residence, the document shows, an office that is exempt from rules that require federal agencies to solicit competitive bids and disclose details to the public. … The confidential contract with Clark Construction, along with related correspondence and records obtained by The Post, reveal for the first time how the Trump administration bypassed norms last summer as it set the ballroom project in motion. … Trump has repeatedly claimed that the ballroom would be paid for by private donors and once said that Clark executives offered to build it for free.” (06/30/26)
https://archive.is/dyLsx
-----
13) NY: Rare dinosaur fossil from Antarctica found tucked away in a drawer
Source: SFGate
“Scientists have stumbled on a rare dinosaur fossil from Antarctica, tucked away for decades in a drawer. The bone comes from the tail of a long-necked, plant-eating dinosaur called a titanosaur. Scientists haven’t yet identified the species it belongs to. It was discovered in 1985 during an expedition to Antarctica’s James Ross Island and collected by geologist Mike Thomson. Working with the British Antarctic Survey, Thomson was mapping the area’s rock layers and collected marine reptile fossils to help with future dating efforts. He recorded the find as a large reptile. Decades later, paleontologist Mark Evans spotted the bone in the British Antarctic Survey’s collections and wondered whether it might be a dinosaur. He and other researchers analyzed the shape of the bone and compared it to other more complete dinosaur remains, confirming their discovery. The findings were published on Monday in the journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica.” (06/30/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/a-rare-dinosaur-fossil-from-antarctica-is-found-22325691.php
-----
14) New Caledonia: French colonial loyalists emerge largest bloc after election, lack majority
Source: Reuters
“New Caledonia’s non-independence coalition emerged as the largest bloc in the legislature after the French Pacific territory’s provincial elections, but fell short of an outright majority, leaving a small centrist Pacific party in the role of kingmaker, final results showed. The elections, held on June 28 after repeated delays, were the first provincial vote since 2019 and followed deadly unrest in 2024 over proposed changes to the local electoral roll, exposing the deep strains in France’s relationship with New Caledonia and its Indigenous Kanak population. The French Pacific territory, about 1,500 km (930 miles) east of Australia, has around 270,000 inhabitants, including roughly 41% Melanesian Kanaks and 24% of European origin, mostly French, and has long been split between pro-independence and pro-France camps.” (06/29/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/new-caledonia-loyalists-emerge-largest-bloc-after-election-lack-majority-2026-06-30/
-----
15) Pope issues plea to breakaway traditionalist group to back off bishop consecrations
Source: SFGate
“Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday issued a plea to a breakaway group of traditionalist Catholics to call off its plan to consecrate new bishops without his consent, describing the move as a schismatic act and a ‘sin of extreme gravity’. ‘I plead with you and ask you with all my heart: please turn back!’ Leo wrote in a letter to the Rev. Davide Pagliarani, the superior of the Society of St. Pius X. Leo issued the last-ditch appeal a day before the society plans to consecrate four new bishops at its seminary in Econe, Switzerland. Under church law, the consecrations constitute a schismatic act, or an intentional rupture of the unity of the Catholic Church, and incur automatic excommunication for the four bishops and the bishop administering the consecration. Pagliarani responded by writing a formal letter to Leo asking him to take time before deciding any penalty.” (06/30/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/pope-begs-breakaway-traditionalist-group-to-back-22326423.php
-----
16) FBI: “Jackpotting” crew stole over $500,000 from ATMs
Source: NBC News
“The FBI in Connecticut said it arrested four men accused of stealing tens of thousands at a time from ATMs at rest stops along I-95 from Darien to New Haven. … Law enforcement officials alleged they used hardware and malware to get the machines to churn out endless streams of cash. At a northbound rest stop in Fairfield, prosecutors said, the men made off with $136,000 in one haul.” (06/29/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jackpotting-crew-stole-500000-atms-95-connecticut-fbi-says-rcna352346
-----
17) South Africa: Thousands of anti-migrant protesters march amid heavy police presence
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Thousands of people have marched in South Africa’s main cities to demand that all undocumented migrants leave the country. Police officers – backed by private security guards – have been deployed because of fears that protests could turn violent. Anti-migrant groups had set Tuesday as the deadline for undocumented migrants to leave. Many foreigners have already fled to escape violence and intimidation. South African police say 25,000 have been repatriated so far. Most are from other African countries. One undocumented Malawian told the BBC he was ‘happy to be going back’ but ‘heartbroken’ to be leaving behind four young children. The Ministry of Police said the protests have largely been peaceful across the country, with isolated incidents of looting and attempted looting. In Johannesburg, the financial capital, shops in the city centre were closed, while police visibility is high on major streets.” (06/30/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy4eq1l184po
-----
18) France: Parliament passes “fast fashion” bill targeting Shein and Temu
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“French senators on Monday passed a revised anti-fast-fashion bill targeting e-commerce platforms including Shein, Temu and AliExpress, after years of debate over how to bring the measure in line with EU regulations. Easy to order and replace, fast fashion items contribute to pollution from the textile industry, which accounts for nearly 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. The Senate passed the bill Monday after the lower house National Assembly did last week. It imposes a per-item fee for producing textile en masse that will increase over time, and a ban on advertising for ultra-fast fashion brands, including by social media influencers.” (06/29/26)
https://www.france24.com/en/france/20260629-french-parliament-passes-fast-fashion-bill-targeting-shein-and-temu
-----
19) Pakistan: Roof of tutoring center collapses, killing at least 14 children
Source: SFGate
“A roof collapse at a tutoring center under construction in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore on Tuesday killed at least 14 schoolchildren, police and rescue officials said. Eight other children were also injured and were being treated at a hospital, senior police official Faisal Kamran said, adding that the owner of the tutoring center and another person have been arrested. Kamran said rescuers were continuing to search through the rubble after receiving reports that more children could be trapped beneath the debris. He said the tutoring center was housed in an aging building and that the roof of an unfinished second floor apparently collapsed because of poor-quality construction. Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari expressed grief over the collapse of the roof of an evening school building in Lahore.” (06/30/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/roof-of-tutoring-center-collapses-in-eastern-22326847.php
-----
20) SCOTUS declines to save sexual assailant from paying defamation damages to victim
Source: Politico
“The Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider President Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn a 2023 jury verdict holding him liable for the sexual abuse and defamation of writer E. Jean Carroll, dealing a final blow to the president’s effort to thwart one of the most significant legal victories against him. Carroll’s lawsuit accused Trump of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s and then describing her allegations as a ‘hoax’ after she went public with them during the first term of his presidency. The Supreme Court’s decision not to intervene means Trump will have to pay Carroll the $5 million judgment, plus interest, that the jury awarded her. Trump, however, is still appealing a much larger judgment — $83.3 million plus interest — awarded to Carroll after a second trial that found Trump liable for other acts of defamation.” (06/29/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/29/e-jean-carroll-donald-trump-supreme-court-00979728
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) How I Busted the Ruby Ridge Coverup
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Jim Bovard
“In 1991, an ATF informant entrapped Randy Weaver into selling him two sawed-off shotguns. After ATF officials lied to a federal prosecutor, Weaver was indicted and sent the wrong court date. On August 21, 1992, after numerous illegal incursions onto Weaver’s Ruby Ridge mountaintop property near the Canadian border, three U.S. marshals dressed in Ninja outfits and carrying submachine guns ambushed Weaver’s 14-year old son and family friend Kevin Harris. One marshal shot the boy’s dog and a firefight erupted in which another marshal was killed. As Sammy Weaver ran from the scene towards the family’s ramshackle cabin, a marshal shot him in the back and killed him. The next day, the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team arrived. Within an hour of its snipers taking position, every adult in the cabin was either dead or severely wounded—even though they had not fired a shot at the FBI.” (06/30/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/how-i-busted-the-ruby-ridge-coverup
-----
22) The US Should Exit the UN
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Wendy McElroy
“The UN is often viewed as an ineffectual bureaucracy that occasionally does some good. It is nothing so benevolent. Its origins may have been well-meaning, but the current UN has become what it claims to oppose. The US should leave the UN altogether and immediately, especially since its unjust policies are likely to get worse … and soon.” (06/30/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/the-us-should-exit-the-un/
-----
23) Bastiat Was Right: Tariffs Make The World Poorer
Source: The Daily Economy
by Kevin Lavery
“Bastiat’s Petition of the Candlemakers lays bare the absurdity of protectionism. Offering preferential treatment to less efficient domestic producers artificially raises prices, restricts consumer choice, and decreases exports. Tariffs harm consumers, workers, and exporters while failing to accomplish their stated goals: they fail to meaningfully shift the balance of trade or promote domestic industry and employment, and more generally harm everyone involved, including protected industries. Given these realities, it is no surprise that a negative opinion of tariffs has been a virtual consensus among economists for centuries — just ask Adam Smith …” (06/30/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/bastiat-was-right-tariffs-make-the-world-poorer/
-----
24) Intellectual Property versus the Unrealized
Source: Cobden Centre
by Per Bylund
“Why would anyone invest large sums of capital into creating something new of uncertain income? This question captures the core of the argument for intellectual property, or the legal protection of inventors’ ideas from being copied and put to broader use. The simple logic appears intuitive and therefore persuasive, but does not stand up to scrutiny. Why? Because it applies to all entrepreneurship, which is always an investment in something of uncertain value. Yet this does not seem to stop entrepreneurs. Or, rather, it moderates which entrepreneurial projects are undertaken so that the craziest ideas are not pursued unless they are potentially very profitable.” (06/30/26)
https://www.cobdencentre.org/2026/06/intellectual-property-versus-the-unrealized/
-----
25) Bitcoin Is Not Freedom: The Delusion of Digital Escape
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Hamoon Soleimani
“Within digital-libertarian circles, there is a persistent, almost religious belief that decentralized cryptocurrencies will organically starve the state of its power by enabling parallel, untaxable counter-economies. This techno-optimistic prophecy assumes that because the state cannot break the underlying mathematics of cryptography, it is effectively disarmed. Yet, this worldview conflates economic friction with true sovereignty. Treating code as an exit strategy ignores the enduring reality that human beings reside in physical space, governed by Westphalian models of territorial jurisdiction.” (06/30/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/bitcoin-not-freedom-delusion-digital-escape
-----
26) Has “the Revolution” Already Passed AOC By?
Source: Town Hall
by Derek Hunter
“The song ‘Right Here, Right Now’ by Jesus Jones opens with the line, ‘A woman on the radio talks about revolution, when it’s already passed her by’. There are some people who peaked in high school and never got over it – never changing their hair or general style from when they were at the pinnacle of popularity. It’s sad, really, not that the person seems frozen in the midst of good memories from long ago, but that they haven’t continued to advance since then. Life has lapped them; passed them by and left them in the dust. In many ways, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is like that person who hasn’t moved forward, having been lapped by events and left behind by the ‘revolution’ she was the spokesmodel for.” (06/30/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2026/06/30/has-the-revolution-already-passed-aoc-by-n2678535
-----
27) The Hidden Impact of Government Delays
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Daniel J Mitchell
“Recently, members of the Trump administration found themselves in a tug of war between two groups of people who have opposing views about how or whether the federal government should regulate artificial intelligence. Critics say that moving too fast on AI could create risks. Others say that America can’t compete against China under a tight regulatory regime. We are, after all, competing in one of the most important technological races of the 21st century. But the fundamental question is much bigger than AI. Whether it is regulatory debates centered around tech, housing, energy, or healthcare, American policymakers should start each policy debate by asking themselves one important question: How much progress must we sacrifice for the sake of caution?” (06/30/26)
https://fee.org/articles/the-hidden-impact-of-government-delays/
-----
28) The seas they pillage
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen Pirie
“The European Union presents itself to the world as the gold standard of regulated, enlightened governance. Nowhere is the gap between that self-image and reality more vivid than in its management, or rather mismanagement, of the seas. The Common Fisheries Policy, now over four decades old, stands as one of the more instructive monuments to what happens when a bureaucratic cartel manages a commons. Everyone takes as much as they can, the resource collapses, and Brussels announces a new action plan.” (06/30/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/the-seas-they-pillage
-----
29) Both ingenuity and faith deepen the AI design discussion
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“GPT-5.3-Codex, 5.5 Pro, and 5.6 Family. Gemini 3.1 Family and 3.5 Flash. DeepSeek-V4-Pro and Flash. Claude Opus 4.8, Fable 5, and Mythos 5. Voxtral TTS and Realtime … This hodgepodge of names and numbers captures only some of the many new or upgraded artificial intelligence models released in the first six months of 2026. The technology, it’s clear, is moving by leaps and bounds. In parallel, AI firms are taking smaller but arguably just as significant steps to incorporate core principles of ethics and moral and religious reasoning into model development. Some companies are embedding in-house ‘philosophers’ to help with complex questions surrounding design ethics at the human-AI interface. Google DeepMind reportedly has 10 such individuals on staff, hiring two from Cambridge and Carnegie Mellon universities this year. And Anthropic’s Amanda Askell has been featured in multiple media reports.” (06/29/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0629/Both-ingenuity-and-faith-deepen-the-AI-design-discussion
-----
30) Hawaii is making a dangerous bid to suppress free speech
Source: Washington Post
by Bradley A Smith
“Americans of all persuasions routinely join and support groups — typically organized as corporations — to achieve their various goals, including political ones. However, critics of the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which upheld the rights of corporations to spend money in support of political causes, insist the decision ‘corrupted’ American democracy. Hawaii has now taken the campaign against Citizens United to its logical endpoint. In May, the state enacted Act 11, a sweeping law designed to strip most incorporated organizations of the ability to engage in election- or ballot-related advocacy. Any corporations that spend money on such efforts could be suspended or dissolved. This new law is not evenhanded. Act 11 exempts newspapers, broadcasters and periodicals. These institutional media corporations retain full First Amendment rights while most other organizations lose theirs, making the government the arbiter of which corporations deserve a voice.” (06/30/26)
https://archive.is/Z2i4i
-----
31) The New Socialists: Elite, Ungrateful, and Toxic as Ever
Source: American Greatness
by Victor Davis Hanson
“Win some blue-state and blue-city races, and the cocky new socialist Jacobins believe that they have either already taken over the Democratic Party or will soon absorb it. And in reaction to these new swarms, an increasingly terrified and ossified old Democrat guard either limps away from the hive or invites them in to take over more. It is fascinating but ultimately depressing to watch old-style Democrats say or do anything to avoid the new mob of Robespierres. Democrat candidates who recently begged for a Schumer/Pelosi/Jeffries endorsement now are telling them to get in line at the guillotine. Jewish American Democrats are terrified that what happened to the primaried and defeated Rep. Dan Goldman of New York, an arch-Trump hater, could befall them. Goldman’s obnoxious showboating hatred of Trump and championing of neo-socialist agendas offered no defense against the Jacobins’ antisemitism and hatred of Israel.” (06/30/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/06/30/the-new-socialists-elite-ungrateful-and-toxic-as-ever/
-----
32) What About the Trump-Pentagon-CIA Communist Regime in Venezuela?
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“When I see President Trump condemning the self-described democratic socialists in New York as communists, I can’t help but wonder whether the U.S. national-security establishment (i.e., the Pentagon, the CIA, and the NSA) and the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress intend to revive their old anti-communist Cold War programs like COINTELPRO, McCarthy hearings, and even state-sponsored assassinations.” (06/30/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/06/30/what-about-the-trump-pentagon-cia-communist-regime-in-venezuela/
-----
33) What Is There to Celebrate on the 250th Anniversary of the United States of America?
Source: Common Dreams
by CJ Polychroniou
“On July 4, 2026, the United States of America turns 250 years old. Should the Left celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States with the signing of the Declaration of Independence? After all, this is a nation with a very dark and ugly past—with racism, genocide, and imperialism deeply embedded in its psyche. Surely Native Americans have no reason to celebrate. The history of the United States government’s treatment of Native Americans is one of cruelty, oppression, and extermination. Leaving aside the 56 million Indigenous people that were killed by European settlers across the Americas by 1600, since its independence in 1776, the US government has launched more than 1,500 attacks against various Indigenous people, slaughtering them, and taking their lands.” (06/30/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/celebrate-250-years-of-usa
-----
34) Nazi Socialism: What’s at Stake?
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
“After getting ChatGPT to score Nazi Germany’s economic freedom, I prompted it to ponder the bigger issues. … I wondered how many questions I’d have to ask to get the model to reach what I consider the correct interpretation of the historical facts. It’s like the classic ‘80s question, ‘How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?’ The answer, for both ChatGPT questions and Tootsie Pop licks, turns out to be exactly … three.” (06/30/26)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/nazi-socialism-whats-at-stake
-----
35) The Center Can Hold
Source: Law & Liberty
by Lee Oser
“Modernity is more than mere anarchy.” (06/30/26)
https://lawliberty.org/forum/the-center-can-hold/
-----
36) Quantum Vibe, 06/30/26
Source: Big Head Press
by Scott Bieser
Cartoon. (06/30/26)
https://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=2595
-----
37) Senator Susan Collins and the nation’s national defense
Source: Fox News
by Hugh Hewitt
“Extraordinarily gifted legislators in the United States Senate are rare. As preconditions to their effectiveness, they must accumulate both significant seniority in the body of 100, and the respect of their ever-changing 99 colleagues. It’s a small club — the United States Senate — and everyone knows who has got the ability and the respect to guide big lifts through the (intentionally) complicated process. Maine Sen. Susan Collins is one of the handful of senators who command the respect of her Republican Conference colleagues and most of the Democratic senators who actually care about making the country run well. That is why Collins is the chair of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee and is also one of the 17 senators on the critical Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. (Collins is also a member of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.)” (06/30/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/morning-glory-senator-susan-collins-nations-national-defense
-----
38) Workers must defend their right to private opinions
Source: spiked
by Andrew Tettenborn
“It’s all very well to say that the general law allows you to speak your mind, but that doesn’t mean very much if an employer can sack you for expressing a view they happen to disagree with. And it’s easy to forget that it isn’t a matter of just a few people. Lawyers, doctors, accountants, financial professionals, architects, chartered surveyors, chemists, physiotherapists, nurses, teachers, social workers – the list of those who have to watch carefully what they say because the regulator might come down on them if they step out of line is a long one. Furthermore, regulators can use these powers fairly drastically. Alleged Islamophobia, racism and sexism expressed online, or simply matters seen as offensive or contrary to a profession’s ‘values’, are common grounds for people being hit with severe professional penalties or being drummed out entirely.” (06/30/26)
https://archive.is/T2aKm
-----
39) How Hunter Biden Won the Internet
Source: Wired
by Alana Hope Levinson & Makena Kelly
“In a little over a month, Biden has amassed over 800,000 followers and materially changed his image—in part by giving hours-long, shockingly intimate interviews to independent media outlets like Channel 5, Armchair Expert, and Soft White Underbelly. He’s even talked to former foes like Candace Owens, who once called him a ‘degenerate that should be in prison.’ He’s fed the trolls—and everyone is eating.” (06/30/26)
https://archive.is/WGaxC
-----
40) The dark money operation behind China-baiting in the homeland
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Nick Cleveland-Stout
“This lobbyist is touting his efforts to restrict Beijing’s influence by convincing states they need to restrict land purchases by immigrants.” (06/30/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/china-farmland-in-us/
-----
41) Why I Hold Out Hope For Humanity
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“I hold out hope because people aren’t buying the propaganda like they used to. I hold out hope because trust in the imperial media is at an all-time low while our ability to attack and discredit the official narrative is at an all-time high. I hold out hope because more and more people are realizing that capitalism simply does not work. I hold out hope because empires don’t last forever. I hold out hope because Iran just kicked the shit out of the US and Israel. … I hold out hope because Gen Z proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is morally superior to any generation which came before it with its forceful and uncompromising opposition to the genocide in Gaza.” (06/30/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/06/30/why-i-hold-out-hope-for-humanity/
-----
42) 1776 in the US and Latin America
Source: EconLog
by Constanza Mazzina
“We are approaching the 250th anniversary of the United States’ Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776. However, that same year carries a different meaning in Latin America. Rather than the beginning of a system based on limits to power and individual freedom in the United States, 1776 represented a major turning point in the opposite direction for Latin America.” (06/30/26)
https://www.econlib.org/econlog/1776-in-the-us-and-latin-america
-----
43) The Islamabad Memorandum and the Decline of the Paradigm of Absolute Victory
Source: Antiwar.com
by Timothy Hopper
“Almost every war produces the same immediate question: who won? Yet the more consequential question is whether either side can convert battlefield pressure into a political order it can sustain. The Islamabad Memorandum, signed by the United States and Iran on June 17, brings that distinction into sharp relief. It is a 60-day framework linking an end to military operations and navigation through the Strait of Hormuz to negotiations over sanctions, Iran’s nuclear program, and a broader political settlement. Its importance lies less in the document’s promises than in the reality that produced it: neither Washington nor Tehran could credibly claim that continuing the war would deliver the political outcome each sought.” (06/30/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/timothy_hopper/2026/06/29/the-islamabad-memorandum-and-the-decline-of-the-paradigm-of-absolute-victory/
-----
44) Federal ROAD to Housing Act Won’t Solve the Housing Affordability Crisis
Source: Independent Institute
by Samuel R Staley
“The U.S. Senate version of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, now going the U.S. House of Representatives for approval, is a mixed brew of a few good ideas and a potentially dangerous regulatory drag for local governments. Sprawling through 100 sections and 9 major titles over 381 pages of legislation, the legislation’s core intent is laudable: Fix America’s housing affordability crisis by increasing supply. But, like most federal (and state-level) initiatives, the legislation fails to grasp the localized and fundamentally decentralized nature of the solution. Policymakers have created square pegs for a playbook full of round holes.” (06/29/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/06/29/federal-road-to-housing-act-wont-solve-the-housing-affordability-crisis/
-----
45) Supreme Court allows Trump to say “you’re fired!” to meddling bureaucrats
Source: New York Post
by Jonathan Turley
“On Monday, Donald Trump sealed one of the most lasting parts of his legacy. In Trump v. Slaughter, the Court reaffirmed and reinforced the authority of presidents to determine who will carry out the functions of the Executive Branch. In so doing, the Court overruled one of the long-standing limits of presidential power in Humphrey’s Executor v. United States. Humphrey’s Executor is hardly a household name. Yet the demise of the 1935 case represents a seismic shift in the balance of power within our constitutional system. In this case, the court decided that President Trump had the right to fire Rebecca Slaughter, a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission. For decades, scholars and jurists have questioned where the Court found the authority for Congress to create a hybrid creature like the FTC — part legislative and part executive, with officials protected from removal by a president.” (06/29/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/06/29/opinion/supreme-court-allows-trump-to-say-youre-fired-to-meddling-bureaucrats/
-----
46) Armenia Rejects Populism and Chooses Democracy Despite a Devastating Military Defeat
Source: The UnPopulist
by Alexander Kaffka
“In fact, voters handed a mandate to the man who lost territory.” (06/29/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/armenia-rejects-populism-and-chooses
-----
47) Trump v. Cook Carve-Out Leaves the Fed Above the Law
Source: The Daily Economy
by Alexander W Salter
“The Roberts Court restored presidential authority over executive agencies while shielding the Federal Reserve from the same rule.” (06/29/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/trump-v-cook-carve-out-leaves-the-fed-above-the-law/
-----
48) Are you a “gloomy Gus” about the States?
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
“As our nations (the Fifty States) approach the 250th birthday of the Union, the mood is surprisingly gloomy across much of our land. A recent survey from Pew Research, for instance, found that just 17% of Americans believe the federal government can be trusted to do the right thing … most of the time. (We note that some of us might be surprised to see how high this is: almost 1 in 5?) Only about one-quarter say they feel optimistic about the country’s future, and many Americans believe the United States is more divided than united.” (06/29/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/06/29/are-you-a-gloomy-gus-about-the-states/
-----
49) Hillary Clinton and Trump’s Board of Peace for Gaza
Source: The American Prospect
by Robert Kuttner
“On Saturday, The Guardian published a leaked draft memo that would give Trump’s so-called ‘Board of Peace’ and its contractors in Gaza blanket legal immunity from any charges of wrongdoing. The draft language would also let the organization obtain public property in Gaza ‘free of charge’. This is only the latest example of the crass power grab in Trump’s Gaza peace plan, which U.S. representatives strong-armed the U.N. Security Council into endorsing back in November 2025. Meanwhile, on June 18, Hillary Rodham Clinton published an absolutely bizarre op-ed piece in the Financial Times endorsing Trump’s Board of Peace and its grand plans for Gaza. The op-ed was titled ‘The World May Not Like Trump’s Gaza Plan, but There Is No Alternative’. Neither article has gotten much attention in U.S. media.” (06/30/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/06/30/hillary-clinton-trump-board-of-peace-gaza/
-----
50) What Is the Declaration of Independence?
Source: Tenth Amendment Center
by Rob Natelson
“During the 18th century, an official declaration was an announcement of a particular event, often after the event had occurred. In addition to the announcement, a declaration might explain the event or justify the action being taken. For example, in cases of offensive war, a government issued a declaration announcing the commencement of hostilities and presenting its justification for fighting. During the summer of 1775, the Second Continental Congress issued a ‘Declaration of the Causes and Necessity for Taking Up Arms.’ This document explained why armed resistance against Britain had arisen and why it was necessary. … The Declaration of Independence was also an announcement. When it was approved (July 4, 1776) and released to the public (July 8), Congress had already voted for Independence (July 2). The Declaration did not create a new legal situation; it explained why it had arisen.” (06/29/26)
https://tenthamendmentcenter.com/2026/06/29/what-is-the-declaration-of-independence/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Law & Liberty Podcast, 06/30/26
Source: Law & Liberty
“Hillsdale’s Bradley J. Birzer joins James Patterson to talk about the Declaration of Independence. They discuss the American colonies’ devout Protestantism, their love of the classics, and their identification with the Anglo-Saxon constitutional tradition. Birzer concludes with a stirring assessment of why the Constitution matters.” (06/30/26)
https://lawliberty.org/podcast/what-made-them-patriots/
-----
52) Trump Watch, 06/30/26
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“Perpetual War, Conflict, and Chaos for Americans.” (06/30/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJXIiwFa-ys
-----
53) The Bryan Hyde Show, 06/30/26
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
“Eric Peters from Eric Peters Autos joins me to talk about our upcoming Independence Day celebration, what it represents and why so few people seem to remember its basis.” (06/30/26)
https://www.podbean.com/ep/pb-3pfa6-1aff4a5
-----
54) Rising, 06/30/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave gives his radar on recently discovered old tweets from Darializa Avila Chevalier, where she made ‘sympathetic references’ to communist figures.” (06/30/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/5942761-rising-june-30-2026/
-----
55) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 06/30/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump Erupts in Fury at SCOTUS as His Plot to Rig Midterms Collapses.” (06/30/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/212510/trump-rages-wildly-scotus-losses-plot-rig-midterms-collapses
-----
56) The Good Fight, 06/30/26
Source: Yascha Mounk
“Charles Fain Lehman on Why Cities Got Safer.” (06/30/26)
https://writing.yaschamounk.com/p/charles-fain-lehman
-----
57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 06/29/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Smotrich: Israel Has Plans for 3 Gaza Settlements, Iran Denies Trump Claim About Talks, and More.” (06/29/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS3dGOY3Ujw
-----
58) Real Unity, 06/29/26
Source: Free the People
“School Choice is the Antidote to Cynicism | Jaime Manfra.” (06/29/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjjdqR-F62k
-----
59) Show-Me Institute, 06/29/26
Source: Show-Me Institute
“The Social Security Crisis Is Worse Than You Think with Andrew G. Biggs.” (06/29/26)
https://showmeinstitute.org/article/economy/the-social-security-crisis-is-worse-than-you-think-with-andrew-g-biggs/
-----
60) Reason Roundtable, 06/29/26
Source: Reason
“Is Socialism Going Mainstream?” (06/29/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/06/29/is-socialism-going-mainstream/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
FND is published every weekday except on holidays. Forward freely.
To subscribe or unsubscribe, visit:
http://groups.google.com/group/freedom-news-daily
Support the Liberty International (tax deductible)
https://liberty-intl.org/join-the-movement/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Presented by the Liberty International
https://liberty-intl.org/
Produced by the staff of Rational Review News Digest
More News, More Commentary, More Audio/Video at Our Web Edition!
https://news.rationalreview.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Today's Freedom News:
1) SCOTUS rejects Trump’s attempt to repeal 14th Amendment by executive edict
2) CO: “Democratic socialist” defeats 15-term incumbent in congressional primary
3) Russia: Major Ukrainian drone attack hits satellite center, kills baby
4) Federal judge blocks Virginia law against masked gang violence
5) Iranian regime hasn’t received promised $6 billion in frozen assets, Qatari regime confirms ahead of peace talks
6) EU unveils new steel import quotas to protect its industry from competition at expense of consumers
7) SCOTUS agrees to review unconstitutional bans on AR-15s
8) Italy: Arrests made after bomb attack targets investigative journalist threatened by mafia
9) Republican returns to US House after months of absence over “depression”
10) SCOTUS upholds state laws banning transgender athletes
11) Inflation likely to stay “significantly above target,” top European central banker warns
12) White House Ballroom Project Got Secret No-Bid Contract
13) NY: Rare dinosaur fossil from Antarctica found tucked away in a drawer
14) New Caledonia: French colonial loyalists emerge largest bloc after election, lack majority
15) Pope issues plea to breakaway traditionalist group to back off bishop consecrations
16) FBI: “Jackpotting” crew stole over $500,000 from ATMs
17) South Africa: Thousands of anti-migrant protesters march amid heavy police presence
18) France: Parliament passes “fast fashion” bill targeting Shein and Temu
19) Pakistan: Roof of tutoring center collapses, killing at least 14 children
20) SCOTUS declines to save sexual assailant from paying defamation damages to victim
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) How I Busted the Ruby Ridge Coverup
22) The US Should Exit the UN
23) Bastiat Was Right: Tariffs Make The World Poorer
24) Intellectual Property versus the Unrealized
25) Bitcoin Is Not Freedom: The Delusion of Digital Escape
26) Has “the Revolution” Already Passed AOC By?
27) The Hidden Impact of Government Delays
28) The seas they pillage
29) Both ingenuity and faith deepen the AI design discussion
30) Hawaii is making a dangerous bid to suppress free speech
31) The New Socialists: Elite, Ungrateful, and Toxic as Ever
32) What About the Trump-Pentagon-CIA Communist Regime in Venezuela?
33) What Is There to Celebrate on the 250th Anniversary of the United States of America?
34) Nazi Socialism: What’s at Stake?
35) The Center Can Hold
36) Quantum Vibe, 06/30/26
37) Senator Susan Collins and the nation’s national defense
38) Workers must defend their right to private opinions
39) How Hunter Biden Won the Internet
40) The dark money operation behind China-baiting in the homeland
41) Why I Hold Out Hope For Humanity
42) 1776 in the US and Latin America
43) The Islamabad Memorandum and the Decline of the Paradigm of Absolute Victory
44) Federal ROAD to Housing Act Won’t Solve the Housing Affordability Crisis
45) Supreme Court allows Trump to say “you’re fired!” to meddling bureaucrats
46) Armenia Rejects Populism and Chooses Democracy Despite a Devastating Military Defeat
47) Trump v. Cook Carve-Out Leaves the Fed Above the Law
48) Are you a “gloomy Gus” about the States?
49) Hillary Clinton and Trump’s Board of Peace for Gaza
50) What Is the Declaration of Independence?
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Law & Liberty Podcast, 06/30/26
52) Trump Watch, 06/30/26
53) The Bryan Hyde Show, 06/30/26
54) Rising, 06/30/26
55) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 06/30/26
56) The Good Fight, 06/30/26
57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 06/29/26
58) Real Unity, 06/29/26
59) Show-Me Institute, 06/29/26
60) Reason Roundtable, 06/29/26
vvvvv SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS vvvvv
Tyranny Demands AN ACT OF SELF-DEFENSE: A NOVEL BY ERNE LEWIS
https://tinyurl.com/actofselfdefense
HOW INDEPENDENT ARE "YOUR" CONGRESS/SENATE MEMBERS?
https://congressionalindependence.deathbutt.org/
SAMUEL EDWARD KONKIN III REVOLUTIONARY FRIEND BY WENDY MCELROY
https://www.amazon.com/Samuel-Edward-Konkin-Revolutionary-Friend-ebook/dp/B0DP7B6127
SHARE YOUR OPINIONS. EARN POINTS. REDEEM POINTS FOR AWARDS
https://account.yougov.com/us-en/join?referral=eAi-FP2i9s1Jzb5lj2zw5A
THE CONSTITUTION OF NON-STATE GOVERNMENT: FIELD GUIDE TO TEXAS SECESSION (2nd edition), by TL Hulsey
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1883853117
^^^^^ SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS ^^^^^
_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) SCOTUS rejects Trump’s attempt to repeal 14th Amendment by executive edict
Source: NBC News
“Delivering a major blow to President Donald Trump, the Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked his contentious attempt to limit citizenship at birth for those born on U.S. soil. The court, divided 6-3, ruled that the executive order Trump issued Jan. 20, 2025, the first day of his second term, was unlawful. Five justices said the order fell foul of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which has long been interpreted to bestow birthright citizenship on almost anyone born in the United States. One justice, conservative Brett Kavanaugh, [pretended] the order violated federal law but not the Constitution.” [editor’ note: I wish I could say I was surprised to see supposed “originalists” Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch drop trou, squat, and defecate all over the plain text, clear meaning, and indisputable history of the US Constitution. But that stopped surprising me long ago – TLK] (06/30/26)
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5935548-birthright-citizenship-supreme-court-trump-14th-amendment/
-----
2) CO: “Democratic socialist” defeats 15-term incumbent in congressional primary
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“The democratic socialist Melat Kiros unseated long-serving US representative Diana DeGette in Colorado’s primary elections held on Tuesday, the latest in a string of high-profile victories for the party’s insurgent left. The Associated Press reported that Kiros had defeated DeGette for the Democratic nomination in the deep-blue first congressional district centered on Denver. … Kiros made concerns about US support for Israel prominent in her campaign. In an interview with Colorado Public Radio (CPR), Kiros accused the country of carrying out a genocide in Gaza and called for the United States to impose an arms embargo.” (07/01/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/01/melat-kiros-democrat-defeats-diana-degette-blue-state-colarado-house-primary-denver
-----
3) Russia: Major Ukrainian drone attack hits satellite center, kills baby
Source: CNN
“Ukraine said on Tuesday it hit one of Russia’s largest satellite communication centers for the second time in just over a week, as Kyiv ramps up long-range drone attacks to pressure the Kremlin to end its four-year-old war. The Dubna Satellite Communications Centre to the north of Moscow, some 500 km (310 miles) from the Ukrainian border, is used for intelligence gathering and the coordination of Russia’s armed forces fighting in Ukraine, President Volodymr Zelensky said. Russia hasn’t confirmed the Dubna communication center was struck, but the governor of the Moscow region Andrey Vorobyov said a drone had hit an ‘administrative building’ in the town with no reported casualties. Vorobyov also said a six-month-old baby died on Tuesday after a drone crashed into a home in Yegoryevsk, southeast of Moscow, trapping people under rubble.” (06/30/26)
https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/30/europe/moscow-dubna-attack-ukraine-intl
-----
4) Federal judge blocks Virginia law against masked gang violence
Source: Fox News
“A federal judge on Tuesday blocked Virginia from enforcing a new law that would prohibit federal [gang members] — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol — from wearing masks while carrying out [harassment and abduction] operations, siding with the Trump administration in a dispute over federal authority. Senior U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne granted the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) request for a preliminary injunction, preventing the law from taking effect Wednesday while the legal challenge proceeds. The injunction will remain in place while the case is litigated.” (06/30/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/federal-judge-blocks-blue-states-law-prohibiting-ice-agents-wearing-masks-job
-----
5) Iranian regime hasn’t received promised $6 billion in frozen assets, Qatari regime confirms ahead of peace talks
Source: New York Post
“Iran has not received any of the $6 billion in frozen assets the US pledged to dole out in exchange for progress made implementing the US-Iran memorandum of understanding, Qatar confirmed Tuesday. While Iran has argued the funds should be delivered in a lump sum, the US intends to make small, incremental payouts — directly to vendors — as Iran progresses in key negotiation areas such as opening the Strait of Hormuz and making nuclear concessions. ‘So far, no funds have been transferred,’ Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said Tuesday. It came a day ahead of an Iranian delegation’s planned trip to Doha, where Iranian sources say Tehran intends to hammer out how to access the frozen funds.” (06/30/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/06/30/us-news/tehran-hasnt-received-us-promised-6b-in-frozen-assets-qatar-confirms-ahead-of-us-iran-technical-talks/
-----
6) EU unveils new steel import quotas to protect its industry from competition at expense of consumers
Source: Reuters
“The European Commission unveiled quotas under the new system to limit duty-free steel imports into the EU, in a move designed to protect the bloc’s steel sector and increase its capacity utilisation. Under the new rules, the European Union’s annual tariff-free import quotas are slashed by 47% to 18.3 million metric tons, while an out-of-quota duty of 50% is introduced for 26 categories of steel products imported into the EU.” (06/30/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/eu-unveils-new-steel-import-quotas-protect-its-industry-overcapacity-2026-06-30/
-----
7) SCOTUS agrees to review unconstitutional bans on AR-15s
Source: CNN
“The Supreme Court announced Tuesday that it will decide whether cities and states may ban people from owning AR-15 rifles and similar semi-automatic weapons, taking up a major Second Amendment dispute that it had previously declined to address. One of the appeals involving certain semi-automatic rifles came from two Illinois residents who want to purchase AR-15 style rifles but are blocked from doing so by an ordinance in Cook County that makes it unlawful to sell or possess any ‘assault weapon [sic] or large capacity magazine,’ specifically listing dozens of models that were off limits. Ten states have similar bans in place, according to the [victim disarmament] group Everytown for Gun Safety.” (06/30/26)
https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/30/politics/ar-15-style-rifles-supreme-court-second-amendment
-----
8) Italy: Arrests made after bomb attack targets investigative journalist threatened by mafia
Source: CBS News
“Italian police on Tuesday arrested four people suspected of carrying out an October bomb attack targeting a prominent journalist who had been threatened by the mafia. The blast in a residential neighborhood of Pomezia, about 12 miles south of Rome, destroyed two cars belonging to Sigfrido Ranucci, known for investigations into corruption and the mafia. Ranucci had just returned home at the time, and his daughter had walked by a half-hour before, his employer said at the time. … The explosion targeting Ranucci occurred on the eighth anniversary of the car bomb slaying of Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who wrote extensively about suspected corruption in political and business circles. Like Ranucci, she had faced dozens of libel suits intended to silence her reporting.” (06/30/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/arrests-bomb-attack-targets-journalist-threatened-mafia-italy/
-----
9) Republican returns to US House after months of absence over “depression”
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Tom Kean Jr, a Republican congressman who disappeared from the Capitol for nearly four months with little explanation, re-emerged on Tuesday and said that he was absent while dealing with depression. ‘Several months ago, due to health concerns, I entered the hospital for some testing. I did not believe that this would result in a long-term stay. I was given the diagnosis of depression,’ Kean said in a speech on the floor of the House Tuesday morning. Kean, who represents a swing district in New Jersey, had last voted on 5 March before disappearing, with his office in late April saying only that he was dealing with a ‘personal health matter’ and would be back ‘soon.'” (06/30/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/30/tom-kean-jr-house-absence-returns
-----
10) SCOTUS upholds state laws banning transgender athletes
Source: ESPN
“The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld state laws barring transgender girls and women from playing on school athletic teams, in another setback for transgender people. The court’s six-justice conservative majority, which has repeatedly ruled against transgender Americans in the past year, ruled that state bans in Idaho and West Virginia don’t violate the Constitution. The court unanimously agreed that barring transgender girls and women also doesn’t run afoul of the federal law known as Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in education. … Left unresolved by the outcome are lawsuits challenging state laws and regulations in Connecticut, California and elsewhere that permit transgender athletes to compete consistent with their gender identity.” [editor’s note: Unclear whether the ruling applies to private, or just government, institutions – TLK] (06/30/26)
https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/49225515/supreme-court-upholds-state-laws-banning-transgender-athletes
-----
11) Inflation likely to stay “significantly above target,” top European central banker warns
Source: CNBC
“Inflation is at risk of remaining above target despite the U.S. and Iran agreeing to end their war in the Middle East, a top European central banker warned on Tuesday. Speaking to CNBC’s Annette Weisbach on the sidelines of the European Central Bank’s Forum on Central Banking in Sintra, Portugal, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said there is a probability inflation ‘will stay at an elevated level.’ … Earlier this month, the ECB raised its key interest rate for the first time since 2023, citing inflationary pressures arising from the U.S.-Iran war. Nagel said on Tuesday that the hike was the right decision, but it is too soon to make a call on the trajectory of monetary policy, with much uncertainty still lingering around the situation in the Middle East.” (06/30/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/30/high-inflation-could-linger-despite-iran-war-ending-ecbs-nagel-says.html
-----
12) White House Ballroom Project Got Secret No-Bid Contract
Source: Washington Post
“White House officials last year secretly awarded a no-bid contract worth up to $500 million for the construction of the East Wing ballroom in an unusual arrangement that sidestepped typical contracting procedures designed to control costs, according to a copy of the agreement obtained by The Washington Post. The White House routed the contract through the Executive Residence, the document shows, an office that is exempt from rules that require federal agencies to solicit competitive bids and disclose details to the public. … The confidential contract with Clark Construction, along with related correspondence and records obtained by The Post, reveal for the first time how the Trump administration bypassed norms last summer as it set the ballroom project in motion. … Trump has repeatedly claimed that the ballroom would be paid for by private donors and once said that Clark executives offered to build it for free.” (06/30/26)
https://archive.is/dyLsx
-----
13) NY: Rare dinosaur fossil from Antarctica found tucked away in a drawer
Source: SFGate
“Scientists have stumbled on a rare dinosaur fossil from Antarctica, tucked away for decades in a drawer. The bone comes from the tail of a long-necked, plant-eating dinosaur called a titanosaur. Scientists haven’t yet identified the species it belongs to. It was discovered in 1985 during an expedition to Antarctica’s James Ross Island and collected by geologist Mike Thomson. Working with the British Antarctic Survey, Thomson was mapping the area’s rock layers and collected marine reptile fossils to help with future dating efforts. He recorded the find as a large reptile. Decades later, paleontologist Mark Evans spotted the bone in the British Antarctic Survey’s collections and wondered whether it might be a dinosaur. He and other researchers analyzed the shape of the bone and compared it to other more complete dinosaur remains, confirming their discovery. The findings were published on Monday in the journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica.” (06/30/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/a-rare-dinosaur-fossil-from-antarctica-is-found-22325691.php
-----
14) New Caledonia: French colonial loyalists emerge largest bloc after election, lack majority
Source: Reuters
“New Caledonia’s non-independence coalition emerged as the largest bloc in the legislature after the French Pacific territory’s provincial elections, but fell short of an outright majority, leaving a small centrist Pacific party in the role of kingmaker, final results showed. The elections, held on June 28 after repeated delays, were the first provincial vote since 2019 and followed deadly unrest in 2024 over proposed changes to the local electoral roll, exposing the deep strains in France’s relationship with New Caledonia and its Indigenous Kanak population. The French Pacific territory, about 1,500 km (930 miles) east of Australia, has around 270,000 inhabitants, including roughly 41% Melanesian Kanaks and 24% of European origin, mostly French, and has long been split between pro-independence and pro-France camps.” (06/29/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/new-caledonia-loyalists-emerge-largest-bloc-after-election-lack-majority-2026-06-30/
-----
15) Pope issues plea to breakaway traditionalist group to back off bishop consecrations
Source: SFGate
“Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday issued a plea to a breakaway group of traditionalist Catholics to call off its plan to consecrate new bishops without his consent, describing the move as a schismatic act and a ‘sin of extreme gravity’. ‘I plead with you and ask you with all my heart: please turn back!’ Leo wrote in a letter to the Rev. Davide Pagliarani, the superior of the Society of St. Pius X. Leo issued the last-ditch appeal a day before the society plans to consecrate four new bishops at its seminary in Econe, Switzerland. Under church law, the consecrations constitute a schismatic act, or an intentional rupture of the unity of the Catholic Church, and incur automatic excommunication for the four bishops and the bishop administering the consecration. Pagliarani responded by writing a formal letter to Leo asking him to take time before deciding any penalty.” (06/30/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/pope-begs-breakaway-traditionalist-group-to-back-22326423.php
-----
16) FBI: “Jackpotting” crew stole over $500,000 from ATMs
Source: NBC News
“The FBI in Connecticut said it arrested four men accused of stealing tens of thousands at a time from ATMs at rest stops along I-95 from Darien to New Haven. … Law enforcement officials alleged they used hardware and malware to get the machines to churn out endless streams of cash. At a northbound rest stop in Fairfield, prosecutors said, the men made off with $136,000 in one haul.” (06/29/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jackpotting-crew-stole-500000-atms-95-connecticut-fbi-says-rcna352346
-----
17) South Africa: Thousands of anti-migrant protesters march amid heavy police presence
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Thousands of people have marched in South Africa’s main cities to demand that all undocumented migrants leave the country. Police officers – backed by private security guards – have been deployed because of fears that protests could turn violent. Anti-migrant groups had set Tuesday as the deadline for undocumented migrants to leave. Many foreigners have already fled to escape violence and intimidation. South African police say 25,000 have been repatriated so far. Most are from other African countries. One undocumented Malawian told the BBC he was ‘happy to be going back’ but ‘heartbroken’ to be leaving behind four young children. The Ministry of Police said the protests have largely been peaceful across the country, with isolated incidents of looting and attempted looting. In Johannesburg, the financial capital, shops in the city centre were closed, while police visibility is high on major streets.” (06/30/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy4eq1l184po
-----
18) France: Parliament passes “fast fashion” bill targeting Shein and Temu
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“French senators on Monday passed a revised anti-fast-fashion bill targeting e-commerce platforms including Shein, Temu and AliExpress, after years of debate over how to bring the measure in line with EU regulations. Easy to order and replace, fast fashion items contribute to pollution from the textile industry, which accounts for nearly 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. The Senate passed the bill Monday after the lower house National Assembly did last week. It imposes a per-item fee for producing textile en masse that will increase over time, and a ban on advertising for ultra-fast fashion brands, including by social media influencers.” (06/29/26)
https://www.france24.com/en/france/20260629-french-parliament-passes-fast-fashion-bill-targeting-shein-and-temu
-----
19) Pakistan: Roof of tutoring center collapses, killing at least 14 children
Source: SFGate
“A roof collapse at a tutoring center under construction in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore on Tuesday killed at least 14 schoolchildren, police and rescue officials said. Eight other children were also injured and were being treated at a hospital, senior police official Faisal Kamran said, adding that the owner of the tutoring center and another person have been arrested. Kamran said rescuers were continuing to search through the rubble after receiving reports that more children could be trapped beneath the debris. He said the tutoring center was housed in an aging building and that the roof of an unfinished second floor apparently collapsed because of poor-quality construction. Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari expressed grief over the collapse of the roof of an evening school building in Lahore.” (06/30/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/roof-of-tutoring-center-collapses-in-eastern-22326847.php
-----
20) SCOTUS declines to save sexual assailant from paying defamation damages to victim
Source: Politico
“The Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider President Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn a 2023 jury verdict holding him liable for the sexual abuse and defamation of writer E. Jean Carroll, dealing a final blow to the president’s effort to thwart one of the most significant legal victories against him. Carroll’s lawsuit accused Trump of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s and then describing her allegations as a ‘hoax’ after she went public with them during the first term of his presidency. The Supreme Court’s decision not to intervene means Trump will have to pay Carroll the $5 million judgment, plus interest, that the jury awarded her. Trump, however, is still appealing a much larger judgment — $83.3 million plus interest — awarded to Carroll after a second trial that found Trump liable for other acts of defamation.” (06/29/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/29/e-jean-carroll-donald-trump-supreme-court-00979728
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) How I Busted the Ruby Ridge Coverup
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Jim Bovard
“In 1991, an ATF informant entrapped Randy Weaver into selling him two sawed-off shotguns. After ATF officials lied to a federal prosecutor, Weaver was indicted and sent the wrong court date. On August 21, 1992, after numerous illegal incursions onto Weaver’s Ruby Ridge mountaintop property near the Canadian border, three U.S. marshals dressed in Ninja outfits and carrying submachine guns ambushed Weaver’s 14-year old son and family friend Kevin Harris. One marshal shot the boy’s dog and a firefight erupted in which another marshal was killed. As Sammy Weaver ran from the scene towards the family’s ramshackle cabin, a marshal shot him in the back and killed him. The next day, the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team arrived. Within an hour of its snipers taking position, every adult in the cabin was either dead or severely wounded—even though they had not fired a shot at the FBI.” (06/30/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/how-i-busted-the-ruby-ridge-coverup
-----
22) The US Should Exit the UN
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Wendy McElroy
“The UN is often viewed as an ineffectual bureaucracy that occasionally does some good. It is nothing so benevolent. Its origins may have been well-meaning, but the current UN has become what it claims to oppose. The US should leave the UN altogether and immediately, especially since its unjust policies are likely to get worse … and soon.” (06/30/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/the-us-should-exit-the-un/
-----
23) Bastiat Was Right: Tariffs Make The World Poorer
Source: The Daily Economy
by Kevin Lavery
“Bastiat’s Petition of the Candlemakers lays bare the absurdity of protectionism. Offering preferential treatment to less efficient domestic producers artificially raises prices, restricts consumer choice, and decreases exports. Tariffs harm consumers, workers, and exporters while failing to accomplish their stated goals: they fail to meaningfully shift the balance of trade or promote domestic industry and employment, and more generally harm everyone involved, including protected industries. Given these realities, it is no surprise that a negative opinion of tariffs has been a virtual consensus among economists for centuries — just ask Adam Smith …” (06/30/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/bastiat-was-right-tariffs-make-the-world-poorer/
-----
24) Intellectual Property versus the Unrealized
Source: Cobden Centre
by Per Bylund
“Why would anyone invest large sums of capital into creating something new of uncertain income? This question captures the core of the argument for intellectual property, or the legal protection of inventors’ ideas from being copied and put to broader use. The simple logic appears intuitive and therefore persuasive, but does not stand up to scrutiny. Why? Because it applies to all entrepreneurship, which is always an investment in something of uncertain value. Yet this does not seem to stop entrepreneurs. Or, rather, it moderates which entrepreneurial projects are undertaken so that the craziest ideas are not pursued unless they are potentially very profitable.” (06/30/26)
https://www.cobdencentre.org/2026/06/intellectual-property-versus-the-unrealized/
-----
25) Bitcoin Is Not Freedom: The Delusion of Digital Escape
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Hamoon Soleimani
“Within digital-libertarian circles, there is a persistent, almost religious belief that decentralized cryptocurrencies will organically starve the state of its power by enabling parallel, untaxable counter-economies. This techno-optimistic prophecy assumes that because the state cannot break the underlying mathematics of cryptography, it is effectively disarmed. Yet, this worldview conflates economic friction with true sovereignty. Treating code as an exit strategy ignores the enduring reality that human beings reside in physical space, governed by Westphalian models of territorial jurisdiction.” (06/30/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/bitcoin-not-freedom-delusion-digital-escape
-----
26) Has “the Revolution” Already Passed AOC By?
Source: Town Hall
by Derek Hunter
“The song ‘Right Here, Right Now’ by Jesus Jones opens with the line, ‘A woman on the radio talks about revolution, when it’s already passed her by’. There are some people who peaked in high school and never got over it – never changing their hair or general style from when they were at the pinnacle of popularity. It’s sad, really, not that the person seems frozen in the midst of good memories from long ago, but that they haven’t continued to advance since then. Life has lapped them; passed them by and left them in the dust. In many ways, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is like that person who hasn’t moved forward, having been lapped by events and left behind by the ‘revolution’ she was the spokesmodel for.” (06/30/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2026/06/30/has-the-revolution-already-passed-aoc-by-n2678535
-----
27) The Hidden Impact of Government Delays
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Daniel J Mitchell
“Recently, members of the Trump administration found themselves in a tug of war between two groups of people who have opposing views about how or whether the federal government should regulate artificial intelligence. Critics say that moving too fast on AI could create risks. Others say that America can’t compete against China under a tight regulatory regime. We are, after all, competing in one of the most important technological races of the 21st century. But the fundamental question is much bigger than AI. Whether it is regulatory debates centered around tech, housing, energy, or healthcare, American policymakers should start each policy debate by asking themselves one important question: How much progress must we sacrifice for the sake of caution?” (06/30/26)
https://fee.org/articles/the-hidden-impact-of-government-delays/
-----
28) The seas they pillage
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen Pirie
“The European Union presents itself to the world as the gold standard of regulated, enlightened governance. Nowhere is the gap between that self-image and reality more vivid than in its management, or rather mismanagement, of the seas. The Common Fisheries Policy, now over four decades old, stands as one of the more instructive monuments to what happens when a bureaucratic cartel manages a commons. Everyone takes as much as they can, the resource collapses, and Brussels announces a new action plan.” (06/30/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/the-seas-they-pillage
-----
29) Both ingenuity and faith deepen the AI design discussion
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“GPT-5.3-Codex, 5.5 Pro, and 5.6 Family. Gemini 3.1 Family and 3.5 Flash. DeepSeek-V4-Pro and Flash. Claude Opus 4.8, Fable 5, and Mythos 5. Voxtral TTS and Realtime … This hodgepodge of names and numbers captures only some of the many new or upgraded artificial intelligence models released in the first six months of 2026. The technology, it’s clear, is moving by leaps and bounds. In parallel, AI firms are taking smaller but arguably just as significant steps to incorporate core principles of ethics and moral and religious reasoning into model development. Some companies are embedding in-house ‘philosophers’ to help with complex questions surrounding design ethics at the human-AI interface. Google DeepMind reportedly has 10 such individuals on staff, hiring two from Cambridge and Carnegie Mellon universities this year. And Anthropic’s Amanda Askell has been featured in multiple media reports.” (06/29/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0629/Both-ingenuity-and-faith-deepen-the-AI-design-discussion
-----
30) Hawaii is making a dangerous bid to suppress free speech
Source: Washington Post
by Bradley A Smith
“Americans of all persuasions routinely join and support groups — typically organized as corporations — to achieve their various goals, including political ones. However, critics of the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which upheld the rights of corporations to spend money in support of political causes, insist the decision ‘corrupted’ American democracy. Hawaii has now taken the campaign against Citizens United to its logical endpoint. In May, the state enacted Act 11, a sweeping law designed to strip most incorporated organizations of the ability to engage in election- or ballot-related advocacy. Any corporations that spend money on such efforts could be suspended or dissolved. This new law is not evenhanded. Act 11 exempts newspapers, broadcasters and periodicals. These institutional media corporations retain full First Amendment rights while most other organizations lose theirs, making the government the arbiter of which corporations deserve a voice.” (06/30/26)
https://archive.is/Z2i4i
-----
31) The New Socialists: Elite, Ungrateful, and Toxic as Ever
Source: American Greatness
by Victor Davis Hanson
“Win some blue-state and blue-city races, and the cocky new socialist Jacobins believe that they have either already taken over the Democratic Party or will soon absorb it. And in reaction to these new swarms, an increasingly terrified and ossified old Democrat guard either limps away from the hive or invites them in to take over more. It is fascinating but ultimately depressing to watch old-style Democrats say or do anything to avoid the new mob of Robespierres. Democrat candidates who recently begged for a Schumer/Pelosi/Jeffries endorsement now are telling them to get in line at the guillotine. Jewish American Democrats are terrified that what happened to the primaried and defeated Rep. Dan Goldman of New York, an arch-Trump hater, could befall them. Goldman’s obnoxious showboating hatred of Trump and championing of neo-socialist agendas offered no defense against the Jacobins’ antisemitism and hatred of Israel.” (06/30/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/06/30/the-new-socialists-elite-ungrateful-and-toxic-as-ever/
-----
32) What About the Trump-Pentagon-CIA Communist Regime in Venezuela?
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“When I see President Trump condemning the self-described democratic socialists in New York as communists, I can’t help but wonder whether the U.S. national-security establishment (i.e., the Pentagon, the CIA, and the NSA) and the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress intend to revive their old anti-communist Cold War programs like COINTELPRO, McCarthy hearings, and even state-sponsored assassinations.” (06/30/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/06/30/what-about-the-trump-pentagon-cia-communist-regime-in-venezuela/
-----
33) What Is There to Celebrate on the 250th Anniversary of the United States of America?
Source: Common Dreams
by CJ Polychroniou
“On July 4, 2026, the United States of America turns 250 years old. Should the Left celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States with the signing of the Declaration of Independence? After all, this is a nation with a very dark and ugly past—with racism, genocide, and imperialism deeply embedded in its psyche. Surely Native Americans have no reason to celebrate. The history of the United States government’s treatment of Native Americans is one of cruelty, oppression, and extermination. Leaving aside the 56 million Indigenous people that were killed by European settlers across the Americas by 1600, since its independence in 1776, the US government has launched more than 1,500 attacks against various Indigenous people, slaughtering them, and taking their lands.” (06/30/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/celebrate-250-years-of-usa
-----
34) Nazi Socialism: What’s at Stake?
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
“After getting ChatGPT to score Nazi Germany’s economic freedom, I prompted it to ponder the bigger issues. … I wondered how many questions I’d have to ask to get the model to reach what I consider the correct interpretation of the historical facts. It’s like the classic ‘80s question, ‘How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?’ The answer, for both ChatGPT questions and Tootsie Pop licks, turns out to be exactly … three.” (06/30/26)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/nazi-socialism-whats-at-stake
-----
35) The Center Can Hold
Source: Law & Liberty
by Lee Oser
“Modernity is more than mere anarchy.” (06/30/26)
https://lawliberty.org/forum/the-center-can-hold/
-----
36) Quantum Vibe, 06/30/26
Source: Big Head Press
by Scott Bieser
Cartoon. (06/30/26)
https://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=2595
-----
37) Senator Susan Collins and the nation’s national defense
Source: Fox News
by Hugh Hewitt
“Extraordinarily gifted legislators in the United States Senate are rare. As preconditions to their effectiveness, they must accumulate both significant seniority in the body of 100, and the respect of their ever-changing 99 colleagues. It’s a small club — the United States Senate — and everyone knows who has got the ability and the respect to guide big lifts through the (intentionally) complicated process. Maine Sen. Susan Collins is one of the handful of senators who command the respect of her Republican Conference colleagues and most of the Democratic senators who actually care about making the country run well. That is why Collins is the chair of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee and is also one of the 17 senators on the critical Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. (Collins is also a member of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.)” (06/30/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/morning-glory-senator-susan-collins-nations-national-defense
-----
38) Workers must defend their right to private opinions
Source: spiked
by Andrew Tettenborn
“It’s all very well to say that the general law allows you to speak your mind, but that doesn’t mean very much if an employer can sack you for expressing a view they happen to disagree with. And it’s easy to forget that it isn’t a matter of just a few people. Lawyers, doctors, accountants, financial professionals, architects, chartered surveyors, chemists, physiotherapists, nurses, teachers, social workers – the list of those who have to watch carefully what they say because the regulator might come down on them if they step out of line is a long one. Furthermore, regulators can use these powers fairly drastically. Alleged Islamophobia, racism and sexism expressed online, or simply matters seen as offensive or contrary to a profession’s ‘values’, are common grounds for people being hit with severe professional penalties or being drummed out entirely.” (06/30/26)
https://archive.is/T2aKm
-----
39) How Hunter Biden Won the Internet
Source: Wired
by Alana Hope Levinson & Makena Kelly
“In a little over a month, Biden has amassed over 800,000 followers and materially changed his image—in part by giving hours-long, shockingly intimate interviews to independent media outlets like Channel 5, Armchair Expert, and Soft White Underbelly. He’s even talked to former foes like Candace Owens, who once called him a ‘degenerate that should be in prison.’ He’s fed the trolls—and everyone is eating.” (06/30/26)
https://archive.is/WGaxC
-----
40) The dark money operation behind China-baiting in the homeland
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Nick Cleveland-Stout
“This lobbyist is touting his efforts to restrict Beijing’s influence by convincing states they need to restrict land purchases by immigrants.” (06/30/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/china-farmland-in-us/
-----
41) Why I Hold Out Hope For Humanity
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“I hold out hope because people aren’t buying the propaganda like they used to. I hold out hope because trust in the imperial media is at an all-time low while our ability to attack and discredit the official narrative is at an all-time high. I hold out hope because more and more people are realizing that capitalism simply does not work. I hold out hope because empires don’t last forever. I hold out hope because Iran just kicked the shit out of the US and Israel. … I hold out hope because Gen Z proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is morally superior to any generation which came before it with its forceful and uncompromising opposition to the genocide in Gaza.” (06/30/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/06/30/why-i-hold-out-hope-for-humanity/
-----
42) 1776 in the US and Latin America
Source: EconLog
by Constanza Mazzina
“We are approaching the 250th anniversary of the United States’ Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776. However, that same year carries a different meaning in Latin America. Rather than the beginning of a system based on limits to power and individual freedom in the United States, 1776 represented a major turning point in the opposite direction for Latin America.” (06/30/26)
https://www.econlib.org/econlog/1776-in-the-us-and-latin-america
-----
43) The Islamabad Memorandum and the Decline of the Paradigm of Absolute Victory
Source: Antiwar.com
by Timothy Hopper
“Almost every war produces the same immediate question: who won? Yet the more consequential question is whether either side can convert battlefield pressure into a political order it can sustain. The Islamabad Memorandum, signed by the United States and Iran on June 17, brings that distinction into sharp relief. It is a 60-day framework linking an end to military operations and navigation through the Strait of Hormuz to negotiations over sanctions, Iran’s nuclear program, and a broader political settlement. Its importance lies less in the document’s promises than in the reality that produced it: neither Washington nor Tehran could credibly claim that continuing the war would deliver the political outcome each sought.” (06/30/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/timothy_hopper/2026/06/29/the-islamabad-memorandum-and-the-decline-of-the-paradigm-of-absolute-victory/
-----
44) Federal ROAD to Housing Act Won’t Solve the Housing Affordability Crisis
Source: Independent Institute
by Samuel R Staley
“The U.S. Senate version of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, now going the U.S. House of Representatives for approval, is a mixed brew of a few good ideas and a potentially dangerous regulatory drag for local governments. Sprawling through 100 sections and 9 major titles over 381 pages of legislation, the legislation’s core intent is laudable: Fix America’s housing affordability crisis by increasing supply. But, like most federal (and state-level) initiatives, the legislation fails to grasp the localized and fundamentally decentralized nature of the solution. Policymakers have created square pegs for a playbook full of round holes.” (06/29/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/06/29/federal-road-to-housing-act-wont-solve-the-housing-affordability-crisis/
-----
45) Supreme Court allows Trump to say “you’re fired!” to meddling bureaucrats
Source: New York Post
by Jonathan Turley
“On Monday, Donald Trump sealed one of the most lasting parts of his legacy. In Trump v. Slaughter, the Court reaffirmed and reinforced the authority of presidents to determine who will carry out the functions of the Executive Branch. In so doing, the Court overruled one of the long-standing limits of presidential power in Humphrey’s Executor v. United States. Humphrey’s Executor is hardly a household name. Yet the demise of the 1935 case represents a seismic shift in the balance of power within our constitutional system. In this case, the court decided that President Trump had the right to fire Rebecca Slaughter, a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission. For decades, scholars and jurists have questioned where the Court found the authority for Congress to create a hybrid creature like the FTC — part legislative and part executive, with officials protected from removal by a president.” (06/29/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/06/29/opinion/supreme-court-allows-trump-to-say-youre-fired-to-meddling-bureaucrats/
-----
46) Armenia Rejects Populism and Chooses Democracy Despite a Devastating Military Defeat
Source: The UnPopulist
by Alexander Kaffka
“In fact, voters handed a mandate to the man who lost territory.” (06/29/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/armenia-rejects-populism-and-chooses
-----
47) Trump v. Cook Carve-Out Leaves the Fed Above the Law
Source: The Daily Economy
by Alexander W Salter
“The Roberts Court restored presidential authority over executive agencies while shielding the Federal Reserve from the same rule.” (06/29/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/trump-v-cook-carve-out-leaves-the-fed-above-the-law/
-----
48) Are you a “gloomy Gus” about the States?
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
“As our nations (the Fifty States) approach the 250th birthday of the Union, the mood is surprisingly gloomy across much of our land. A recent survey from Pew Research, for instance, found that just 17% of Americans believe the federal government can be trusted to do the right thing … most of the time. (We note that some of us might be surprised to see how high this is: almost 1 in 5?) Only about one-quarter say they feel optimistic about the country’s future, and many Americans believe the United States is more divided than united.” (06/29/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/06/29/are-you-a-gloomy-gus-about-the-states/
-----
49) Hillary Clinton and Trump’s Board of Peace for Gaza
Source: The American Prospect
by Robert Kuttner
“On Saturday, The Guardian published a leaked draft memo that would give Trump’s so-called ‘Board of Peace’ and its contractors in Gaza blanket legal immunity from any charges of wrongdoing. The draft language would also let the organization obtain public property in Gaza ‘free of charge’. This is only the latest example of the crass power grab in Trump’s Gaza peace plan, which U.S. representatives strong-armed the U.N. Security Council into endorsing back in November 2025. Meanwhile, on June 18, Hillary Rodham Clinton published an absolutely bizarre op-ed piece in the Financial Times endorsing Trump’s Board of Peace and its grand plans for Gaza. The op-ed was titled ‘The World May Not Like Trump’s Gaza Plan, but There Is No Alternative’. Neither article has gotten much attention in U.S. media.” (06/30/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/06/30/hillary-clinton-trump-board-of-peace-gaza/
-----
50) What Is the Declaration of Independence?
Source: Tenth Amendment Center
by Rob Natelson
“During the 18th century, an official declaration was an announcement of a particular event, often after the event had occurred. In addition to the announcement, a declaration might explain the event or justify the action being taken. For example, in cases of offensive war, a government issued a declaration announcing the commencement of hostilities and presenting its justification for fighting. During the summer of 1775, the Second Continental Congress issued a ‘Declaration of the Causes and Necessity for Taking Up Arms.’ This document explained why armed resistance against Britain had arisen and why it was necessary. … The Declaration of Independence was also an announcement. When it was approved (July 4, 1776) and released to the public (July 8), Congress had already voted for Independence (July 2). The Declaration did not create a new legal situation; it explained why it had arisen.” (06/29/26)
https://tenthamendmentcenter.com/2026/06/29/what-is-the-declaration-of-independence/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Law & Liberty Podcast, 06/30/26
Source: Law & Liberty
“Hillsdale’s Bradley J. Birzer joins James Patterson to talk about the Declaration of Independence. They discuss the American colonies’ devout Protestantism, their love of the classics, and their identification with the Anglo-Saxon constitutional tradition. Birzer concludes with a stirring assessment of why the Constitution matters.” (06/30/26)
https://lawliberty.org/podcast/what-made-them-patriots/
-----
52) Trump Watch, 06/30/26
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“Perpetual War, Conflict, and Chaos for Americans.” (06/30/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJXIiwFa-ys
-----
53) The Bryan Hyde Show, 06/30/26
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
“Eric Peters from Eric Peters Autos joins me to talk about our upcoming Independence Day celebration, what it represents and why so few people seem to remember its basis.” (06/30/26)
https://www.podbean.com/ep/pb-3pfa6-1aff4a5
-----
54) Rising, 06/30/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave gives his radar on recently discovered old tweets from Darializa Avila Chevalier, where she made ‘sympathetic references’ to communist figures.” (06/30/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/5942761-rising-june-30-2026/
-----
55) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 06/30/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump Erupts in Fury at SCOTUS as His Plot to Rig Midterms Collapses.” (06/30/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/212510/trump-rages-wildly-scotus-losses-plot-rig-midterms-collapses
-----
56) The Good Fight, 06/30/26
Source: Yascha Mounk
“Charles Fain Lehman on Why Cities Got Safer.” (06/30/26)
https://writing.yaschamounk.com/p/charles-fain-lehman
-----
57) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 06/29/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Smotrich: Israel Has Plans for 3 Gaza Settlements, Iran Denies Trump Claim About Talks, and More.” (06/29/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS3dGOY3Ujw
-----
58) Real Unity, 06/29/26
Source: Free the People
“School Choice is the Antidote to Cynicism | Jaime Manfra.” (06/29/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjjdqR-F62k
-----
59) Show-Me Institute, 06/29/26
Source: Show-Me Institute
“The Social Security Crisis Is Worse Than You Think with Andrew G. Biggs.” (06/29/26)
https://showmeinstitute.org/article/economy/the-social-security-crisis-is-worse-than-you-think-with-andrew-g-biggs/
-----
60) Reason Roundtable, 06/29/26
Source: Reason
“Is Socialism Going Mainstream?” (06/29/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/06/29/is-socialism-going-mainstream/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
FND is published every weekday except on holidays. Forward freely.
To subscribe or unsubscribe, visit:
http://groups.google.com/group/freedom-news-daily
Support the Liberty International (tax deductible)
https://liberty-intl.org/join-the-movement/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages