03/06 -- Trump issues "last warning" to Hamas to release all remaining hostages held in Gaza; Back Door Demand
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Thomas L. Knapp
Mar 6, 2025, 11:25:17 AM (11 days ago) Mar 6
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 03/06/25
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https://liberty-intl.org/
Produced by the staff of Rational Review News Digest
https://news.rationalreview.com/
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Trump issues “last warning” to Hamas to release all remaining hostages held in Gaza
2) South Korea: Regime jet pilot negligently bombs village, injuring 15
3) US regime cuts off intelligence-sharing with Ukrainian regime
4) Trump temporarily exempts American buyers of foreign cars from 25% tax hike
5) SCOTUS rejects Trump’s request to keep billions in foreign aid frozen
6) Weekly US mortgage demand surges 20% higher, after interest rates drop to the lowest since last year
7) SCOTUS sides with San Francisco, requiring EPA to set specific targets in water pollution permits
8) European Central Bank to make “last easy rate cut” as tariffs, higher fiscal spending loom
9) Court denies Elon Musk’s attempt to block OpenAI’s for-profit transformation
10) Man allegedly behind Abbey Gate Kabul airport bombing, being extradited to US
11) Report: US suspends deportation flights on military aircraft
12) China: Regime to increase military spending by 7.2%
13) UK: Chinese student found guilty of drugging and raping 10 women
14) Multiple US regions hit with blizzards, severe thunderstorms and elevated wildfire risks
15) Russia Escalates Arms Shipments With Warship Escort Through the English Channel
16) FL: AG Announces Criminal Investigation Into Andrew and Tristan Tate
17) Syria: Regime vows to destroy any remaining Assad-era chemical weapons
18) South Sudan: Vice President’s Spokesman Says Deputy Head of Military Arrested, Risking Peace Deal
19) Trump nominee to lead NIH questioned on funding cuts, vaccines
20) OnlyFans star opens fire on masked robbers after her cryptocurrency
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Back Door Demand
22) Democracy no more than mob rule
23) The West’s Support For Israel Is The #1 Threat To Free Speech
24) The Other Thing Zelensky Got Called Out On
25) Trump Wants to Use the IRS to Track Down Immigrants. They May Stop Paying Taxes.
26) Dismantling Overreach: Why Reining in the CFPB Is the Right Move
27) Bargain Basement Hegemony
28) Trump Gives the World the Middle Finger
29) People Barely Care About Relative Income
30) Sins of the Father
31) This is American greatness only if you have a MAGA-nifying glass
32) This should be Congress’s No. 1 priority after Trump’s speech
33) Breaking the DEI Trance
34) The Fourth Industrial Revolution
35) Ghosts of the Cold War
36) Trump’s Threats to Jail or Deport Campus Protesters Reveal His View of Free Speech
37) Big Brother Is Taking Over Britain
38) Republicans would rather hide from their voters than face them and defend Trump
39) How Does Trump Resume Shipments of Arms to the Regime that Started the War?
40) Joseph Warren’s Final Oration: Against Standing Armies and Arbitrary Power
41) Trump right to defund schools allowing illegal protests, but must protect free speech
42) What Is Realistic in Ukraine?
43) A different kind of security guarantee for Ukraine
44) Spring forward: How DOGE can save America from yet another Daylight Savings change
45) Strange Bedfellows
46) Elon Musk’s Next Potential Self-Enrichment
47) B’Tselem in the Crosshairs
48) DOGE and Congress Should Take a Chainsaw to Corporate Welfare
49) Columbia University’s Secret Disciplinary Process for Students Critical of Israel
50) The Truth Behind the Medicaid Melodrama
51) Repeating a Historical Experience of Autarky?
52) DeSantis, Hochul threaten academic freedom with political interference
53) My Views of the Trump Administration
54) Gaping at the Cult of Trump
55) Trump’s Most Inexplicable Decision Yet
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
56) Reason Interview: Alton Brown
57) Serious Trouble, 03/05/25
58) The Learning Curve, 03/05/25
59) Conflicts of Interest, episode 766
60) Mixed Signals, 03/05/25
61) Antiwar News with Dave Decamp, 03/05/25
62) Capital Record, episode 216
63) Freakonomics Radio, 03/05/25
64) The Daily Blast with Greg Sargent, 03/05/25
65) The Climate Realism Show, episode 147
66) The Vital Center, episode 77
67) Trump Watch, 03/04/25
68) The Good Fight, 03/04/25
69) Politics Politics Politics, 03/04/25
70) Vital Dissent, episode 281
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Trump issues “last warning” to Hamas to release all remaining hostages held in Gaza
Source: Associated Press
“President Donald Trump on Wednesday issued what he called a ‘last warning’ to Hamas to release all remaining hostages held in Gaza, directing a sharply worded message after the White House confirmed that he had recently dispatched an envoy for unprecedented direct talks with the militant group. In a statement on his Truth Social platform soon after meeting at the White House with eight former hostages, Trump added that he was ‘sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job.'” (03/05/25)
https://apnews.com/article/hamas-israel-trump-ceasefire-bdc21f862b073dd478e0960ebfbf71e3
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2) South Korea: Regime jet pilot negligently bombs village, injuring 15
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“South Korea’s air force has apologised after one of its fighter jets accidentally [sic] dropped eight bombs in the wrong place during a training exercise on Thursday, injuring 15 civilians and damaging several buildings. ‘Eight MK-82 general purpose bombs were abnormally released from an air force KF-16 aircraft, landing outside the designated firing range,’ the air force said, adding that the bombs weighed about 225kg each. … As the air force announced an investigation, South Korean media reported that the bombs had been dropped in error after a pilot inputted incorrect coordinates.” (03/06/25)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/06/south-korea-military-jet-bombs-dropped-civilians-live-fire-drill
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3) US regime cuts off intelligence-sharing with Ukrainian regime
Source: Financial Times [UK]
“The US has cut off intelligence-sharing with Kyiv in a move that could seriously hamper the Ukrainian military’s ability to target Russian forces, according to officials familiar with the matter. The move follows the decision on Monday by the Trump administration to suspend military aid deliveries to Ukraine and comes after a dramatic breakdown in relations between the US president and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy. US intelligence co-operation has been essential for Ukraine’s ability to identify and strike Russian military targets. Three officials familiar with the decision confirmed that Washington had frozen intelligence channels with Kyiv.” (03/05/25)
https://archive.is/4jAw9
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4) Trump temporarily exempts American buyers of foreign cars from 25% tax hike
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“US President Donald Trump said he would temporarily spare [American car buyers] from a new 25% import tax imposed on Canada and Mexico, just a day after the tariffs came into effect. The announcement by the White House came even as Trump continued to blast Canada for not doing enough to stop drugs from entering the US. ‘Nothing has convinced me that it has stopped,’ Trump wrote on social media after a phone call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about the economic disruption caused by new trade tariffs. News of the relief helped to boost US shares, which closed higher after two days of declines that had wiped out gains the S&P 500 had seen since the presidential election in November. The tariff exemption is for cars made in North America that comply with the continent’s existing free trade agreement.” (03/05/25)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62zn47d5j1o
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5) SCOTUS rejects Trump’s request to keep billions in foreign aid frozen
Source: CNN
“A divided Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the Trump administration’s request to keep billions of dollars in foreign aid approved by Congress frozen. However, the court did not immediately say when the money must be released, allowing the White House to continue to dispute the issue in lower courts. The ruling was 5-4. The order was unsigned but four conservative justices dissented – Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. That put five justices in the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson.” (03/05/25)
https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/05/politics/supreme-court-usaid-foreign-aid/index.html
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6) Weekly US mortgage demand surges 20% higher, after interest rates drop to the lowest since last year
Source: CNBC
“A sharp drop in mortgage interest rates finally lit a fire under loan demand. Both current homeowners and potential homebuyers jumped back into the market, after a lackluster showing for this year so far. Total mortgage application volume jumped 20.4% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. This was not only the first increase in three weeks, but it is an outsized weekly move.” (03/05/25)
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/05/weekly-mortgage-demand-surges-20percent-higher-after-interest-rates-drop.html
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7) SCOTUS sides with San Francisco, requiring EPA to set specific targets in water pollution permits
Source: Yahoo! News
“The U.S. Supreme Court has limited how flexible the Environmental Protection Agency and states can be in regulating water pollution under the Clean Water Act in a ruling issued March 4, 2025. However, the justices kept the decision relatively narrow. The ruling only prohibits federal and state permitting agencies from issuing permits that are effectively broad orders not to violate water quality standards. In this case, the city and county of San Francisco argued successfully that the EPA’s requirements were not clear enough. … The city and county of San Francisco argued that their permit terms weren’t fair because they couldn’t tell how to comply.” (03/05/25)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/supreme-court-sides-san-francisco-131316178.html
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8) European Central Bank to make “last easy rate cut” as tariffs, higher fiscal spending loom
Source: CNBC
“The European Central Bank is expected to cut interest rates for the second time this year at its Thursday meeting, but disagreement among policymakers may be set to increase amid tariff uncertainty and a potential ramp-up in regional defense spending. Markets had on Wednesday fully priced in a quarter-point rate cut for the March meeting, taking the ECB’s key rate to 2.5% — down from its peak of 4% in the middle of last year. A further reduction to 2% by the end of the year was also priced in. … the central bank now appears within touching distance of the hotly-debated ‘neutral rate’ at which policy is neither stimulating nor restricting the economy, when rates would be expected to be kept on hold. Policymakers disagree on exactly where this level is, and whether rates might need to be brought even lower than that level in response to factors such as low growth.” (03/05/25)
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/05/european-central-bank-to-make-last-easy-rate-cut-amid-tariff-uncertainty.html
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9) Court denies Elon Musk’s attempt to block OpenAI’s for-profit transformation
Source: Engadget
“US federal judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has denied Elon Musk’s request for an injunction that would have immediately stopped OpenAI’s conversion into a for-profit entity. Musk filed for an injunction late last year after suing OpenAI and Microsoft and accusing them of telling investors not to fund rival AI companies, such as his own xAI. … While the judge has rejected Musk’s request, she is fast-tracking his lawsuit and will hold an expedited trial later this year on the basis of public interest and on his claim that OpenAI’s transformation has a ‘potential for harm if a conversion contrary to law occurred.'” (03/05/25)
https://www.engadget.com/ai/court-denies-elon-musks-attempt-to-block-openais-for-profit-transformation-133025600.html
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10) Man allegedly behind Abbey Gate Kabul airport bombing, being extradited to US
Source: CBS News
“Mohammad Sharifullah, who has been connected with the August 2021 Abbey Gate suicide bombing at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, has been extradited to the United States, U.S. officials told CBS News. The attack killed 13 American service members and about 170 Afghans during the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. A senior defense official said Sharifullah was captured roughly 10 days ago in a joint raid between Pakistani intelligence and the Central Intelligence Agency. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement that the operation was conducted in the Pakistan-Afghan border region. U.S. officials said Sharifullah was one of two masterminds involved in the planning of the bombing. He is described as a regional Islamic State Khorasan, or ISIS-K, commander.” (03/05/25)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mohammad-sharifullah-abbey-gate-afghanistan-bombing-extradited-u-s/
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11) Report: US suspends deportation flights on military aircraft
Source: Anadolu Agency [Turkish state media]
“The administration of Donald Trump has halted the use of costly military aircraft to deport migrants who entered the US illegally [sic], The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. Pentagon officials confirmed no flights were scheduled for the coming days, with the last military deportation flight occurring March 1. The pause could be extended or made permanent, defense officials told the newspaper. An analysis by the news outlet found that the administration had initially employed military aircraft to demonstrate its tough stance on illegal [sic] immigration, conducting approximately 30 flights using C-17 aircraft and about one dozen C-130s to various destinations including India, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru, Honduras, Panama and Guantanamo Bay. The flights, however, proved significantly more expensive than standard deportation operations.” (03/05/25)
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-suspends-deportation-flights-on-military-aircraft-report/3501139
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12) China: Regime to increase military spending by 7.2%
Source: ABC News
“China said Wednesday it will increase its defense [sic] budget 7.2% this year, as it continues its campaign to build a larger, more modern military to assert its territorial claims and challenge the U.S. defense lead in Asia. China’s military spending remains the second largest behind the U.S. and it already has the world’s largest navy. The budget, which adds up to about $245 billion, was announced at the National People’s Congress, the annual meeting of China’s legislature. The Pentagon and many experts say China’s total spending on defense may be 40% higher or more because of items included under other budgets.” (03/05/25)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/china-increase-defense-budget-72-year-119456167
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13) UK: Chinese student found guilty of drugging and raping 10 women
Source: SFGate
“A Chinese PhD student was found guilty Wednesday in a London court of drugging and raping 10 women in England and China, as police warned there could be more than 50 other victims. Zhenhao Zou, 28, was convicted of the attacks between 2019 and 2023 following a monthlong trial at the Inner London Crown Court. He was convicted of 11 counts of rape, with two of the offenses relating to one victim. After more than 19 hours of deliberations, jurors concluded Zou raped three of the women in London and seven in China. Police have only been able to identify two of the victims and said after the verdict that more than 50 other women may have fallen victim to Zou, which would make him one of the worst sex offenders in U.K. history. Using hidden or handheld cameras to record the attacks, Zou filmed nine of the attacks as ‘souvenirs’ and often kept a trophy box of women’s belongings.” (03/05/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/chinese-student-found-guilty-in-british-court-of-20203974.php
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14) Multiple US regions hit with blizzards, severe thunderstorms and elevated wildfire risks
Source: United Press International
“A wide swath of the United States Wednesday was in the crosshairs of a massive storm bringing the risk of blizzards, wildfires, severe thunderstorms, tornadoes and heavy rain. … Tens of millions of people were living in areas affected by the blizzard, tornado, thunderstorm and fire warnings from the South to the western northern plain regions. As the major winter storm hit Tuesday two people died in the severe weather in Mississippi. Power went out for hundreds of thousands forcing New Orleans to reschedule Mardi Gras events.” (03/05/25)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2025/03/05/storm-blizzards-tornadoes-wildfire-risks/6911741182767/
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15) Russia Escalates Arms Shipments With Warship Escort Through the English Channel
Source: Sri Lanka Guardian [Sri Lanka]
“A sanctioned Russian cargo ship, the Baltic Leader, has been escorted through the English Channel by the Russian navy corvette Boikiy, raising fresh concerns about Moscow’s ability to transport military hardware despite Western sanctions. The vessel, previously sanctioned by the United States for its role in transporting weapons for the Russian military, is believed to be carrying a shipment of military equipment from Russia’s naval base in Tartus, Syria, towards the front lines in Ukraine. The escort mission highlights Russia’s increasing reliance on longer maritime routes to move critical supplies, as its Black Sea fleet remains vulnerable to Ukrainian attacks. The Baltic Leader began its journey on February 13 from Tartus, where satellite images captured heavy artillery and military vehicles near the docks before loading.” (03/05/25)
https://archive.is/5fFUq
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16) FL: AG Announces Criminal Investigation Into Andrew and Tristan Tate
Source: Time
“Florida’s attorney general announced Tuesday that his office has opened a criminal investigation into Andrew and Tristan Tate, who are charged with human trafficking in Romania, days after they returned to the U.S. Attorney General James Uthmeier announced on social media that he directed his office to work with law enforcement to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the Tate brothers. … After the Tates landed in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters that the brothers weren’t welcome in Florida and that he would have the attorney general examine whether the state may have any jurisdiction over their alleged crimes. During an appearance Monday on the PPD Podcast, Andrew Tate said the governor was caving to media pressure.” (03/05/25)
https://time.com/7264663/andrew-tate-tristan-florida-attorney-general-criminal-investigation-desantis-romania/
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17) Syria: Regime vows to destroy any remaining Assad-era chemical weapons
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Syria’s foreign minister has told the global chemical weapons watchdog that the new government is committed to destroying any remaining stockpiles produced under ousted president Bashar al-Assad. Addressing a meeting of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague, Asaad al-Shibani vowed ‘to put an end to this painful legacy, to bring justice to victims, and to ensure that the compliance with international law is a solid one.’ But he added that Syria would ‘need the support of the international community.’ Assad’s government denied ever using chemical weapons during the 14-year civil war, but activists accused it of carrying out of dozens of chemical attacks.” (03/05/25)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg70j91n811o
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18) South Sudan: Vice President’s Spokesman Says Deputy Head of Military Arrested, Risking Peace Deal
Source: US News & World Report
“South Sudanese forces have arrested a senior military official allied with First Vice President Riek Machar, and deployed troops around Machar’s residence, risking a 2018 peace deal that ended a civil war, his spokesperson said. South Sudan has formally been at peace since the 2018 agreement ended a five-year conflict between Machar and President Salva Kiir that killed hundreds of thousands of people, but violence between rival communities flares up frequently. On Tuesday, General Paul Nang, the head of South Sudan’s defence forces, arrested one of his deputies, Lieutenant General Gabriel Doup Lam, while security forces surrounded Machar’s residence, Machar’s spokesperson Pal Mai Deng said in a statement late on Tuesday.” (03/05/25)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2025-03-05/south-sudan-vice-presidents-spokesman-says-deputy-head-of-military-arrested-risking-peace-deal
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19) Trump nominee to lead NIH questioned on funding cuts, vaccines
Source: SFGate
“A health economist who once famously clashed with officials at the National Institutes of Health and now is the nominee to lead the agency faced questions from senators from both parties Wednesday about drastic funding cuts and research priorities. Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford University professor, was an outspoken critic of the government’s COVID-19 shutdowns and vaccine policies. Now he’s poised to become director of the NIH, long called the government’s crown jewel, as it faces mass firings and drastic funding cutbacks. ‘I love the NIH but post-pandemic, America’s biomedical sciences are at a crossroads,’ Bhattacharya told senators. He laid out priorities including a bigger focus on chronic diseases, including diabetes and obesity. But he also said the agency needs to be more open to scientific dissent, saying influential NIH leaders early in the pandemic shut down his own criticisms about responses to COVID-19.” (03/05/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/senate-panel-questions-trump-nominee-to-lead-20203672.php
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20) OnlyFans star opens fire on masked robbers after her cryptocurrency
Source: New York Post
“A buxom OnlyFans star who bragged online about having $20 million in cryptocurrency was yanked out of bed by a trio of robbers — who held her hostage, before she opened fire on them and sent them fleeing. Amouranth — whose real name is Kaitlyn Siragusa, 31 — posted about the terrifying Sunday ordeal on X, along with dramatic video. ‘I believe I shot one of them … I’m covered in blood but only some of it is mine,’ she wrote. Amouranth — who has 6.2 million followers on the streaming platform Twitch — shared a clip that reveals the moment she and her husband turned the tables on her attackers.” (03/05/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/03/04/us-news/onlyfans-star-amouranth-held-at-gunpoint-pistol-whipped-in-home-invasion/
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Back Door Demand
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“As expected, Apple will withhold its most advanced data protection from customers in the United Kingdom of the iPhone rather than obey a UK order to provide a worldwide back door to such encryption.
This is probably Apple’s least worst choice given the alternatives confronting it. But that means British users of the iPhone won’t have this encryption at all. Had Apple obeyed, the back door would have been installed on encryption-equipped iPhones worldwide, not just in the iPhones of persons residing in the sceptered isle. The mandated back door would, of course, have been exploitable by cyberhackers contracted by enemy governments as well as by members of ‘good’ governments claiming really good reasons for needing to rummage through your iPhone at will.” (03/05/25)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2025/03/05/back-door-demand/
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22) Democracy no more than mob rule
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“Has your democracy been lost yet? Has someone stolen it? Silly questions for a silly era asked of silly people who worship mob rule as long as they are on the majority side. They have no problem ignoring the will of those who disagree with them; they only wring their hands when they end up on the losing side. America was never supposed to be a democracy. It was set up as a republic, limited in scope by a constitution that defined exactly what government is allowed to do to the population, regardless of what the majority wants. This failed. Republics, including those defined and limited by a constitution, turn into democracies because people, in overwhelming numbers, want to violate the rights of others and vote themselves goodies paid for with taxes.” (03/05/25)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2025/03/05/voices/opinion-democracy-no-more-than-mob-rule/230259.html
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23) The West’s Support For Israel Is The #1 Threat To Free Speech
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“President Trump has made a post on Truth Social saying federal funding will be cut to universities which allow ‘illegal protests’ on their campuses, obliquely referring to pro-Palestine demonstrations against Israel’s genocidal atrocities. ‘All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests,’ Trump said. ‘Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on on the crime, arrested. NO MASKS!’ Elise Stefanik, Trump’s nominee for ambassador to the UN, made it clear that this was the Trump administration taking a position on ‘anti-Israel hate.’ ‘Antisemitism and anti-Israel hate will not be tolerated on American campuses,’ tweeted Stefanik with a screenshot of Trump’s Truth Social post.” (03/05/25)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2025/03/05/the-wests-support-for-israel-is-the-1-threat-to-free-speech/
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24) The Other Thing Zelensky Got Called Out On
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Connor O’Keeffe
“After Zelensky kicked things off by using a rhetorical question to challenge Vance on his appeal to the need for diplomacy, Vance fired back by calling Zelensky out for ‘forcing conscripts to the front lines because [he] has manpower problems.’ As far as I can tell, that was the first time a senior American government official has made any negative comment about the Ukrainian government’s use of conscripts in its war with Russia. Which is appalling, because abducting people and sending them to fight and die in a military campaign they clearly don’t believe in enough to join voluntarily is one of the worst, most tyrannical things a government can do. And Ukraine has been doing it with the enthusiastic support of American officials for years.” (03/05/25)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/other-thing-zelensky-got-called-out
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25) Trump Wants to Use the IRS to Track Down Immigrants. They May Stop Paying Taxes.
Source: The Bulwark
by Adrian Carrasquillo
“Undocumented immigrants contribute billions to Social Security and other programs. That money might fall off because of Trump’s crackdown.” (03/05/25)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-irs-data-tracking-immigrants-social-security
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26) Dismantling Overreach: Why Reining in the CFPB Is the Right Move
Source: The Daily Economy
by Peter C Earle
“The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has undergone massive changes in the past month. Contrary to what many members of Congress and bureaucrats are saying, it’s great news. Reining in the CFPB means reducing uncertainty in the financial world from excessive regulation and costly regulatory agencies’ bloated budgets. Unfortunately, the measures have been stalled in court. Reducing the CFPB’s size and scope would greatly reduce a large amount of uncertainty in financial markets that stem from regulation.” (03/05/25)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/dismantling-overreach-why-reining-in-the-cfpb-is-the-right-move/
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27) Bargain Basement Hegemony
Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders
“Why cheap proxy wars and endless interventionism still cost too much. Here we consider a more holistic case for limiting American military adventures and proxy wars abroad.” (03/05/25)
https://underthrow.substack.com/p/bargain-basement-hegemony
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28) Trump Gives the World the Middle Finger
Source: Common Dreams
by Ann Wright
“On a motorized float designed and built several weeks into the Trump administration for the Rose Monday celebration before Lent in Cologne or Koln, Germany, the likeness of U.S. President Donald Trump vividly illustrates what is becoming more of his view toward the world and toward citizens of the United States. On the float, Trump has the world perched on his middle finger, a derogatory symbol known worldwide. With Trump and Vice President JD Vance’s mega-bully job on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, February 28, 2025, Trump’s image of giving the finger to not only Zelensky, but also the leaders of the European community who met with Zelensky one day later on March 1 in London, seems to symbolize Trump’s view of European leaders.” (03/05/25)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/trump-middle-finger-world
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29) People Barely Care About Relative Income
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
“Do people want to be rich? Or just richer than their neighbors? Self-styled ‘realists’ have long defended the latter position: What human beings really savor is not material wealth, but feeling superior to others. … each of us possesses a nearly fool-proof short-cut to relative riches. Namely: Move to a poorer area. If you want to feel superior to your immediate neighbors, move to a poor neighborhood. If you want to feel superior to people in your state, move to a poor state. If you want to feel superior to people in your country, move to a poor country. When we look at human migration, all three of these choices are rare.” (03/05/25)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/be-relatively-rich-the-easy-way
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30) Sins of the Father
Source: Persuasion
by Stephen E Hanson & Jeffrey Kopstein
“The United States is joining the ranks of patrimonial states. It’s nothing short of a revolution.” (03/05/25)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/sins-of-the-father
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31) This is American greatness only if you have a MAGA-nifying glass
Source: Washington Post
by George F Will
“From the French word ‘petite,’ meaning ‘small,’ comes the English word ‘petty,’ which describes the Trump administration. This is greatness as restored by the midgets of MAGA …. In 1966, Alabama’s Democratic Gov. George Wallace said: ‘Hell, we got too much dignity in government now, what we need is some meanness.’ Problem solved.” (03/05/25)
https://archive.is/LmmGy
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32) This should be Congress’s No. 1 priority after Trump’s speech
Source: Fox News
Dr. Kevin Roberts & Ryan Walker
“On Tuesday night during his joint address to Congress, President Donald Trump reminded the American people that ‘the American Dream is unstoppable’ and that ‘our country is on the verge of a comeback the likes of which the world has never witnessed and perhaps will never see again.’ Congress spent the evening celebrating President Trump’s wins, but the American people will only continue to enjoy them if Congress does its job and passes a clean continuing resolution by March 14. Doing so will keep the government open, allowing the Trump administration to continue its excellent work and ensuring that America’s comeback does not come to a screeching halt. The stakes couldn’t be higher.” [editor’s note: The stakes are extremely low — “continue to tax, borrow, and spend like crazy” vs. “that, but pretend to shut it down” – TLK] (03/05/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/heres-what-congress-no-1-priority-should-after-trumps-speech
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33) Breaking the DEI Trance
Source: Law & Liberty
by Mike Gonzalez
“For many of us, it was a nightmare to watch a small minority of the population — which has been imperfectly but serviceably labeled ‘woke’ — bully, harass, torment, and cancel those who expressed any dissent, all in the pursuit of a barely hidden political project, and many Americans of goodwill supinely submit and enter into a hypnotic state. But the regime of these latter-day woke Jacobins may now be coming to a screeching halt. History has not been fully written yet, to be sure, but it looks like America is breaking out of the collective spell.” (03/05/25)
https://lawliberty.org/breaking-the-dei-trance/
-----
34) The Fourth Industrial Revolution
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen Pirie
“The first [Industrial Revolution] is reckoned to be the application of controlled power to production. The big leap came as water and then steam replaced men, horses and oxen as sources of energy. … The Second Industrial Revolution is reckoned to include the development of railroad and telegraph networks, allowing faster movement of people and the rapid spread of ideas, as well as electricity, which allowed factories to develop the modern production line. The Third one has been the recent shift to an economy centered on information technology …. Some claim that the Fourth Industrial Revolution is happening today. It combines Artificial Intelligence with a huge shift in the speed at which existing industries are impacted upon in a large number of sectors.” (03/05/25)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/50meisye3biu7jeqi8vhv6zpukmz77
-----
35) Ghosts of the Cold War
Source: The Dispatch
by Kevin D Williamson
“Some of my friends believe that there is some dark backstory to Donald Trump worthy of a 1970s political thriller: some kompromat, some financial leverage, something. That could be the case, but I would not be surprised that when the history of our time is written — if the history of our time is permitted to be written — what we will learn is that Trump did Moscow’s bidding because he prefers the politics of Putin to those of, say, Dwight Eisenhower, while sycophants such as J.D. Vance and Ted Cruz did Moscow’s bidding on behalf of Trump because they preferred being on the inside to being on the outside. … You don’t have to be an actual literal idiot to be a useful idiot in the Cold War sense, though it helps. You just have to choose to side with the Kremlin.” (03/05/25)
https://thedispatch.com/article/ukraine-war-putin-kgb-walesa-poland/
-----
36) Trump’s Threats to Jail or Deport Campus Protesters Reveal His View of Free Speech
Source: Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting
by Jim Naureckas
“In The Dawn of Everything, David Graeber and David Wengrow note that the Western notion of freedom derives from the Roman legal tradition, in which freedom was conceived as ‘the power of the male household head in ancient Rome, who could do whatever he liked with his chattels and possessions, including his children and slaves.’ Because of this, ‘freedom was always defined (at least potentially) as something exercised to the cost of others.’ You have to understand this notion of freedom (that to be free, you have to make someone else less free) to make sense of the idea that Donald Trump is a champion of ‘free speech.’ This is, unfortunately, not a fringe idea.” (03/05/25)
https://fair.org/home/trumps-protest-threat-reflects-belief-that-free-speech-belongs-to-some/
-----
37) Big Brother Is Taking Over Britain
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Owen Ashworth
“There is perhaps no piece of legislation that the current Labour government will introduce in its tenure that is more dystopian, more depressing, and more dangerous than the Data Use and Access Bill. This bill poses a real threat to the freedoms of every single individual in the United Kingdom. You have a natural, given right to privacy; what you use your property for cannot be spied upon unless there is a very real, solid, and robust case to break this privacy based on your aggression against another individual’s property rights. The Data Use and Access Bill is being snuck through the British Parliament with very little media coverage. It was introduced in the House of Lords — possibly to avoid a scene — it must be opposed by every individual who wishes to live a private life.” (03/05/25)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/big-brother-is-taking-over-britain
-----
38) Republicans would rather hide from their voters than face them and defend Trump
Source: USA Today
by Sara Pequeno
“For the past six weeks, we have witnessed just how far President Donald Trump is willing to go to reshape America in his dystopian vision. Now we’re witnessing Republican fear of having to account for that reshaping. Trump signed more executive orders during his first month than any president in over 40 years. USA TODAY has reported that there be more than 100,000 federal job cuts already. Half the country is, understandably, concerned, and they’re speaking out about it. As a result, GOP lawmakers holding town halls nationwide are having to answer for Trump and Elon Musk’s reign of chaos – even in deep red districts. Instead of facing those criticisms head on, Republicans have decided to hide.” (03/05/26)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2025/03/05/republican-town-halls-anger-trump-musk/80865368007/
-----
39) How Does Trump Resume Shipments of Arms to the Regime that Started the War?
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“Today, there are many people, including Zelensky, who are exhorting Trump to cancel his suspension of U.S. arms to Ukraine. But how can Trump do that, given his conviction that Ukraine was the one that started the war?” (03/05/25)
https://www.fff.org/2025/03/05/how-does-trump-resume-shipments-of-arms-to-the-regime-that-started-the-war/
-----
40) Joseph Warren’s Final Oration: Against Standing Armies and Arbitrary Power
Source: Tenth Amendment Center
by Michael Boldin
“‘Act worthy of yourselves.’ That’s how the great patriot and Revolutionary War hero Dr. Joseph Warren urged the people to commemorate the Boston Massacre, which happened today in history – March 5, 1770. In the face of a standing army occupier – and direct threats to his own life – Warren pressed the people to stand firm for liberty in the face of the mighty British Empire, ‘until tyranny is trodden under foot.’ The Massacre in Boston did a great deal to solidify opposition to arbitrary, centralized power – and permanent standing armies. For many years, it was commemorated as a solemn public holiday in Boston, with speeches from prominent patriots like John Hancock, James Lovell and others. Joseph Warren delivered the oration in 1772 – and was the only person ever chosen to give the speech a second time, on March 6, 1775.” (03/05/25)
https://tenthamendmentcenter.com/2025/03/05/joseph-warrens-final-oration-against-standing-armies-and-arbitrary-power/
-----
41) Trump right to defund schools allowing illegal protests, but must protect free speech
Source: New York Post
by Rikki Schlott
“Colleges are so unable to corral their own students that the president of the United States is stepping in to do it for them. Trump has pledged to halt federal funding for schools that allow illegal protest activity to continue on their campuses — and is even threatening to slap student agitators with expulsion, arrest and deportation. ‘All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests,’ the president wrote in a Tuesday morning Truth Social post. ‘Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on the crime, arrested. NO MASKS!’ It should never have gotten to this point. Pulling academic institutions’ funding might seem severe, but it’s an unfortunately necessary last-gasp attempt to restore order on campuses derailed by unlawful protesting.” (03/05/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/03/04/opinion/trump-is-right-to-defund-schools-that-allow-illegal-protests/
-----
42) What Is Realistic in Ukraine?
Source: The American Conservative
by W James Antle III
“The perfect but impossible should not be the enemy of the good.” (03/05/25)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/what-is-realistic-in-ukraine/
-----
43) A different kind of security guarantee for Ukraine
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Zachary Paikin & Thomas Graham
“A crisis consultation mechanism would provide a platform for effectively hashing out disputes among Russia, NATO and the EU.” (03/05/25)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/ukraine-war-2671265522/
-----
44) Spring forward: How DOGE can save America from yet another Daylight Savings change
Source: The Hill
by Sheldon H Jacobson
“President Trump is on a mission. He wants to end government waste and find efficiencies that could save the federal government money. His new Department of Government Efficiency, with Elon Muck at its helm, is framed to cut government bureaucracy. And with Daylight Saving Time set to begin on March 9, DOGE has a big, juicy, low-hanging fruit just waiting to be grabbed.” (03/05/25)
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5175941-daylight-saving-time-government-efficiency-doge/
-----
45) Strange Bedfellows
Source: The Jolly Libertarian
by Marco den Ouden
“Such alliances as the Putin/Trump partnership are not unusual in American foreign policy. The United States has long supported repressive regimes for political purposes, especially during the Cold War. Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.” (03/05/25)
https://jollylibertarian.blogspot.com/2025/03/strange-bedfellows.html
-----
46) Elon Musk’s Next Potential Self-Enrichment
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen
“As the kleptocracy settles in, attention has turned to Elon Musk’s constellation of companies, which over the past couple of decades have benefited from $38 billion in federal contracts, and which stand to gain more now that he’s co-president. A $400 million State Department order for ‘armored Teslas’ was scuttled after word got out [that the program originated under the Biden regime], but the Federal Aviation Administration has agreed to test Starlink, the satellite internet system that’s part of Musk’s SpaceX, for upgrading its information technology system. That $2.4 billion contract is currently in the hands of Verizon; Musk has attacked Verizon’s performance, and FAA leadership has demanded that staff find the money to include Starlink in the deal.” (03/05/25)
https://prospect.org/power/2025-03-05-elon-musks-next-potential-self-enrichment/
-----
47) B’Tselem in the Crosshairs
Source: Antiwar.com
by Dan Steinbock
“In early 2023, the most far-right cabinet in Israel’s history launched its war for ‘judicial reforms’ to replace democracy with autocracy. In fall 2023, it began an obliteration war against Gaza. Now it is readying to decimate the last human rights defenders in Israel. In view of the Israeli Prime Minister, amid his own corruption trial, the truth about the Israeli-occupied territories seems to be equivalent to treason. Hence, his determination to destroy B’Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories. The effort to decimate the last defenders of human rights in Israel cries for effective external intervention.” (03/05/25)
https://original.antiwar.com/dan_steinbock/2025/03/04/btselem-in-the-crosshairs/
-----
48) DOGE and Congress Should Take a Chainsaw to Corporate Welfare
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“Last month, Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) founder Elon Musk swung a chainsaw at a gathering of the Conservative Political Action Conference to dedicate his commitment to slashing federal spending. The prop was a gift from Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Milei and represented the two men’s shared vision of smaller, leaner government. The DOGE is off to a respectable start, but there’s a lot more wasteful and damaging spending that could benefit from a dose of chainsaw. Consider, for example, the grants, subsidies, and tax breaks that fall under the umbrella of corporate welfare.” (03/05/25)
https://reason.com/2025/03/05/doge-and-congress-should-take-a-chainsaw-to-corporate-welfare/
-----
49) Columbia University’s Secret Disciplinary Process for Students Critical of Israel
Source: Drop Site
by Murtaza Hussain
“As Trump threatens sweeping action against ‘illegal protest’ on college campuses, Columbia is already using secret processes to punish pro-Palestine students.” (03/04/25)
https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/columbia-university-gaza-student-disclinary-office
-----
50) The Truth Behind the Medicaid Melodrama
Source: Town Hall
by Betsy McCaughey
“Get ready to be bombarded with ghoulish paid ads and Democratic politicians warning about grandmothers dying, children denied needed cancer treatments, and pregnant women suffering. The demagoguery is in full swing against Republicans’ efforts to control federal spending on Medicaid and stabilize the nation’s debt. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul screamed last week that ‘House Republicans just voted to rip health care away from up to 1.8 million New Yorkers — all to bankroll giveaways for billionaires.’ … Rep. Delia Ramirez [D-IL] shrieked, ‘People will die!’ These are lies. Helpless children, the elderly, pregnant women and the disabled are not going to lose their health care. And the Medicaid changes are designed to help all Americans, not just billionaires. The economic impact of Congress not containing Medicaid spending is what’s truly scary.” (03/05/25)
https://townhall.com/columnists/betsymccaughey/2025/03/05/the-truth-behind-the-medicaid-melodrama-n2653235
-----
51) Repeating a Historical Experience of Autarky?
Source: EconLog
by Pierre Lemieux
“As the US government’s enervation and economically illiterate interventionism fuel trade wars and dreams of autarky, it is worth looking at the long historical experience of economic isolation that started under the late Chinese emperors at the time of our High and Late Middle Ages. Three books help us understand the world in that regard.” (03/04/25)
https://www.econlib.org/repeating-a-historical-experience-of-autarky/
-----
52) DeSantis, Hochul threaten academic freedom with political interference
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Robert Shibley
“It’s no secret that politicians are getting more involved in higher education. And while some level of involvement with how colleges and universities operate is appropriate given the amount of taxpayer money spent on campuses, nobody should be surprised to learn that greater political involvement can pose academic freedom risks.” (03/04/25)
https://www.thefire.org/news/govs-desantis-hochul-threaten-academic-freedom-political-interference
-----
53) My Views of the Trump Administration
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“Congratulations, your cancer is cured. But that might be a heart attack.” (03/04/25)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/my-views-of-the-trump-administration
-----
54) Gaping at the Cult of Trump
Source: In These Times
by Hamilton Nolan
“In the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, you can learn that the first animals with backbones evolved during the early Cambrian Period, 525 million years ago. Outside of that museum, few backbones can be found in Washington, DC. As you wonder why, muse on the fact that all of the information on life’s history is contained in the museum’s David H. Koch Hall of Fossils. When Koch died in 2019, he had amassed a fortune of $50 billion. There was a time when that was considered real money. Not any more. Downtown D.C. has an ambient glow at night, the light from omnipresent office windows suffusing the dark, bland streets. Yesterday evening, after dinnertime, the lights were still on in many of the cheerless, rectangular government office buildings below Independence Avenue, buildings that the new administration just announced are for sale.” (03/05/25)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/state-of-the-union-trump-dc-protest
-----
55) Trump’s Most Inexplicable Decision Yet
Source: The Atlantic
by Roge Karma
“If you were setting out to design a trade policy that would harm the American economy while undermining political support for its leadership, you might come up with something like the tariffs that Donald Trump just imposed on Canada, China, and Mexico. The new tariffs will raise prices for American consumers, weaken the American auto industry, and prompt severe retaliation from America’s top trading partners. … Usually, when elected officials implement foolish policies, they do so because they believe the political upside outweighs the substantive downside. What makes Trump’s tariffs so unusual is that the politics of them also appear to be terrible.” (03/04/25)
https://archive.is/f8jCk
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
56) Reason Interview: Alton Brown
Source: Reason
“The Good Eats host talks about the virtues of Cap’n Crunch, why fusion cooking isn’t cultural appropriation, and how Martha Stewart’s perfectionism ruined dinner parties.” (03/05/25)
https://reason.com/podcast/2025/03/05/alton-brown-a-tv-chef-offers-food-for-thought/
-----
57) Serious Trouble, 03/05/25
Source: Serious Trouble
“Short Staffing.” (03/05/25)
https://www.serioustrouble.show/p/short-staffing
-----
58) The Learning Curve, 03/05/25
Source: Pioneer Institute
“UK Oxford’s Robin Lane Fox on Homer & The Iliad.” (03/05/25)
https://pioneerinstitute.org/featured/uk-oxfords-robin-lane-fox-on-homer-the-iliad/
-----
59) Conflicts of Interest, episode 766
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Trump Destroys Free Speech for Israel.” (03/05/25)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/kyle/coi-766-trump-destroys-free-speech-for-israel/
-----
60) Mixed Signals, 03/05/25
Source: Semafor
“New York Times editor Joe Kahn, podcaster Megyn Kelly and more on the collapse of trust.” (03/05/25)
https://www.semafor.com/article/03/05/2025/mixed-signals-joe-kahn-megyn-kelly-collapse-of-trust
-----
61) Antiwar News with Dave Decamp, 03/05/25
Source: Antiwar.com
“Trump Says Ukraine Willing To Work Toward Peace, US Rejects Arab League-Backed Gaza Plan, and More.” (03/05/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtjHlwoY9lE
-----
62) Capital Record, episode 216
Source: National Review
“The Dumb Kind of Class Warfare.” (03/05/25)
https://www.nationalreview.com/podcasts/capital-record/the-dumb-kind-of-class-warfare/
-----
63) Freakonomics Radio, 03/05/25
Source: Freakonomics
“The Downside of Disgust (Update).” (03/05/25)
https://freakonomics.com/podcast/the-downside-of-disgust-update/
-----
64) The Daily Blast with Greg Sargent, 03/05/25
Source: The New Republic
“Trudeau’s Blistering Takedown of Trump’s Tariffs Puts GOP to Shame.” (03/05/25)
https://newrepublic.com/article/192316/trudeaus-blistering-takedown-trumps-tariffs-puts-gop-shame
-----
65) The Climate Realism Show, episode 147
Source: Heartland Institute
“Backbone of Climate Agenda Endangered.” (03/05/25)
https://heartland.org/podcasts/backbone-of-climate-agenda-endangered-the-climate-realism-show-147-2/
-----
66) The Vital Center, episode 77
Source: Niskanen Center
“Reevaluating Christianity’s bargain with democracy, with Jonathan Rauch.” (03/04/25)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/reevaluating-christianitys-bargain-with-democracy-with-jonathan-rauch
-----
67) Trump Watch, 03/04/25
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“Imperial Tirade at the White House.” (03/04/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyt2gE5_z-M
-----
68) The Good Fight, 03/04/25
Source: Yascha Mounk
“Yascha Answers Your Questions #1.” (03/04/25)
https://yaschamounk.substack.com/p/yascha-answers-your-questions-1
-----
69) Politics Politics Politics, 03/04/25
Source: Politics Politics Politics
“Trump’s Trade War! How The Internet Collided With Politics (with Bill Scher and Katie Harbath).” (03/04/25)
https://www.politicspoliticspolitics.com/p/trumps-trade-war-how-the-internet
-----
70) Vital Dissent, episode 281
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Blood Meridian: War Is God?” (03/04/25)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/patrick/blood-meridian-war-is-god-ep-281
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https://news.rationalreview.com/
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Trump issues “last warning” to Hamas to release all remaining hostages held in Gaza
2) South Korea: Regime jet pilot negligently bombs village, injuring 15
3) US regime cuts off intelligence-sharing with Ukrainian regime
4) Trump temporarily exempts American buyers of foreign cars from 25% tax hike
5) SCOTUS rejects Trump’s request to keep billions in foreign aid frozen
6) Weekly US mortgage demand surges 20% higher, after interest rates drop to the lowest since last year
7) SCOTUS sides with San Francisco, requiring EPA to set specific targets in water pollution permits
8) European Central Bank to make “last easy rate cut” as tariffs, higher fiscal spending loom
9) Court denies Elon Musk’s attempt to block OpenAI’s for-profit transformation
10) Man allegedly behind Abbey Gate Kabul airport bombing, being extradited to US
11) Report: US suspends deportation flights on military aircraft
12) China: Regime to increase military spending by 7.2%
13) UK: Chinese student found guilty of drugging and raping 10 women
14) Multiple US regions hit with blizzards, severe thunderstorms and elevated wildfire risks
15) Russia Escalates Arms Shipments With Warship Escort Through the English Channel
16) FL: AG Announces Criminal Investigation Into Andrew and Tristan Tate
17) Syria: Regime vows to destroy any remaining Assad-era chemical weapons
18) South Sudan: Vice President’s Spokesman Says Deputy Head of Military Arrested, Risking Peace Deal
19) Trump nominee to lead NIH questioned on funding cuts, vaccines
20) OnlyFans star opens fire on masked robbers after her cryptocurrency
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Back Door Demand
22) Democracy no more than mob rule
23) The West’s Support For Israel Is The #1 Threat To Free Speech
24) The Other Thing Zelensky Got Called Out On
25) Trump Wants to Use the IRS to Track Down Immigrants. They May Stop Paying Taxes.
26) Dismantling Overreach: Why Reining in the CFPB Is the Right Move
27) Bargain Basement Hegemony
28) Trump Gives the World the Middle Finger
29) People Barely Care About Relative Income
30) Sins of the Father
31) This is American greatness only if you have a MAGA-nifying glass
32) This should be Congress’s No. 1 priority after Trump’s speech
33) Breaking the DEI Trance
34) The Fourth Industrial Revolution
35) Ghosts of the Cold War
36) Trump’s Threats to Jail or Deport Campus Protesters Reveal His View of Free Speech
37) Big Brother Is Taking Over Britain
38) Republicans would rather hide from their voters than face them and defend Trump
39) How Does Trump Resume Shipments of Arms to the Regime that Started the War?
40) Joseph Warren’s Final Oration: Against Standing Armies and Arbitrary Power
41) Trump right to defund schools allowing illegal protests, but must protect free speech
42) What Is Realistic in Ukraine?
43) A different kind of security guarantee for Ukraine
44) Spring forward: How DOGE can save America from yet another Daylight Savings change
45) Strange Bedfellows
46) Elon Musk’s Next Potential Self-Enrichment
47) B’Tselem in the Crosshairs
48) DOGE and Congress Should Take a Chainsaw to Corporate Welfare
49) Columbia University’s Secret Disciplinary Process for Students Critical of Israel
50) The Truth Behind the Medicaid Melodrama
51) Repeating a Historical Experience of Autarky?
52) DeSantis, Hochul threaten academic freedom with political interference
53) My Views of the Trump Administration
54) Gaping at the Cult of Trump
55) Trump’s Most Inexplicable Decision Yet
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
56) Reason Interview: Alton Brown
57) Serious Trouble, 03/05/25
58) The Learning Curve, 03/05/25
59) Conflicts of Interest, episode 766
60) Mixed Signals, 03/05/25
61) Antiwar News with Dave Decamp, 03/05/25
62) Capital Record, episode 216
63) Freakonomics Radio, 03/05/25
64) The Daily Blast with Greg Sargent, 03/05/25
65) The Climate Realism Show, episode 147
66) The Vital Center, episode 77
67) Trump Watch, 03/04/25
68) The Good Fight, 03/04/25
69) Politics Politics Politics, 03/04/25
70) Vital Dissent, episode 281
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Trump issues “last warning” to Hamas to release all remaining hostages held in Gaza
Source: Associated Press
“President Donald Trump on Wednesday issued what he called a ‘last warning’ to Hamas to release all remaining hostages held in Gaza, directing a sharply worded message after the White House confirmed that he had recently dispatched an envoy for unprecedented direct talks with the militant group. In a statement on his Truth Social platform soon after meeting at the White House with eight former hostages, Trump added that he was ‘sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job.'” (03/05/25)
https://apnews.com/article/hamas-israel-trump-ceasefire-bdc21f862b073dd478e0960ebfbf71e3
-----
2) South Korea: Regime jet pilot negligently bombs village, injuring 15
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“South Korea’s air force has apologised after one of its fighter jets accidentally [sic] dropped eight bombs in the wrong place during a training exercise on Thursday, injuring 15 civilians and damaging several buildings. ‘Eight MK-82 general purpose bombs were abnormally released from an air force KF-16 aircraft, landing outside the designated firing range,’ the air force said, adding that the bombs weighed about 225kg each. … As the air force announced an investigation, South Korean media reported that the bombs had been dropped in error after a pilot inputted incorrect coordinates.” (03/06/25)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/06/south-korea-military-jet-bombs-dropped-civilians-live-fire-drill
-----
3) US regime cuts off intelligence-sharing with Ukrainian regime
Source: Financial Times [UK]
“The US has cut off intelligence-sharing with Kyiv in a move that could seriously hamper the Ukrainian military’s ability to target Russian forces, according to officials familiar with the matter. The move follows the decision on Monday by the Trump administration to suspend military aid deliveries to Ukraine and comes after a dramatic breakdown in relations between the US president and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy. US intelligence co-operation has been essential for Ukraine’s ability to identify and strike Russian military targets. Three officials familiar with the decision confirmed that Washington had frozen intelligence channels with Kyiv.” (03/05/25)
https://archive.is/4jAw9
-----
4) Trump temporarily exempts American buyers of foreign cars from 25% tax hike
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“US President Donald Trump said he would temporarily spare [American car buyers] from a new 25% import tax imposed on Canada and Mexico, just a day after the tariffs came into effect. The announcement by the White House came even as Trump continued to blast Canada for not doing enough to stop drugs from entering the US. ‘Nothing has convinced me that it has stopped,’ Trump wrote on social media after a phone call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about the economic disruption caused by new trade tariffs. News of the relief helped to boost US shares, which closed higher after two days of declines that had wiped out gains the S&P 500 had seen since the presidential election in November. The tariff exemption is for cars made in North America that comply with the continent’s existing free trade agreement.” (03/05/25)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62zn47d5j1o
-----
5) SCOTUS rejects Trump’s request to keep billions in foreign aid frozen
Source: CNN
“A divided Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the Trump administration’s request to keep billions of dollars in foreign aid approved by Congress frozen. However, the court did not immediately say when the money must be released, allowing the White House to continue to dispute the issue in lower courts. The ruling was 5-4. The order was unsigned but four conservative justices dissented – Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. That put five justices in the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson.” (03/05/25)
https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/05/politics/supreme-court-usaid-foreign-aid/index.html
-----
6) Weekly US mortgage demand surges 20% higher, after interest rates drop to the lowest since last year
Source: CNBC
“A sharp drop in mortgage interest rates finally lit a fire under loan demand. Both current homeowners and potential homebuyers jumped back into the market, after a lackluster showing for this year so far. Total mortgage application volume jumped 20.4% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. This was not only the first increase in three weeks, but it is an outsized weekly move.” (03/05/25)
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/05/weekly-mortgage-demand-surges-20percent-higher-after-interest-rates-drop.html
-----
7) SCOTUS sides with San Francisco, requiring EPA to set specific targets in water pollution permits
Source: Yahoo! News
“The U.S. Supreme Court has limited how flexible the Environmental Protection Agency and states can be in regulating water pollution under the Clean Water Act in a ruling issued March 4, 2025. However, the justices kept the decision relatively narrow. The ruling only prohibits federal and state permitting agencies from issuing permits that are effectively broad orders not to violate water quality standards. In this case, the city and county of San Francisco argued successfully that the EPA’s requirements were not clear enough. … The city and county of San Francisco argued that their permit terms weren’t fair because they couldn’t tell how to comply.” (03/05/25)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/supreme-court-sides-san-francisco-131316178.html
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8) European Central Bank to make “last easy rate cut” as tariffs, higher fiscal spending loom
Source: CNBC
“The European Central Bank is expected to cut interest rates for the second time this year at its Thursday meeting, but disagreement among policymakers may be set to increase amid tariff uncertainty and a potential ramp-up in regional defense spending. Markets had on Wednesday fully priced in a quarter-point rate cut for the March meeting, taking the ECB’s key rate to 2.5% — down from its peak of 4% in the middle of last year. A further reduction to 2% by the end of the year was also priced in. … the central bank now appears within touching distance of the hotly-debated ‘neutral rate’ at which policy is neither stimulating nor restricting the economy, when rates would be expected to be kept on hold. Policymakers disagree on exactly where this level is, and whether rates might need to be brought even lower than that level in response to factors such as low growth.” (03/05/25)
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/05/european-central-bank-to-make-last-easy-rate-cut-amid-tariff-uncertainty.html
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9) Court denies Elon Musk’s attempt to block OpenAI’s for-profit transformation
Source: Engadget
“US federal judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has denied Elon Musk’s request for an injunction that would have immediately stopped OpenAI’s conversion into a for-profit entity. Musk filed for an injunction late last year after suing OpenAI and Microsoft and accusing them of telling investors not to fund rival AI companies, such as his own xAI. … While the judge has rejected Musk’s request, she is fast-tracking his lawsuit and will hold an expedited trial later this year on the basis of public interest and on his claim that OpenAI’s transformation has a ‘potential for harm if a conversion contrary to law occurred.'” (03/05/25)
https://www.engadget.com/ai/court-denies-elon-musks-attempt-to-block-openais-for-profit-transformation-133025600.html
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10) Man allegedly behind Abbey Gate Kabul airport bombing, being extradited to US
Source: CBS News
“Mohammad Sharifullah, who has been connected with the August 2021 Abbey Gate suicide bombing at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, has been extradited to the United States, U.S. officials told CBS News. The attack killed 13 American service members and about 170 Afghans during the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. A senior defense official said Sharifullah was captured roughly 10 days ago in a joint raid between Pakistani intelligence and the Central Intelligence Agency. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement that the operation was conducted in the Pakistan-Afghan border region. U.S. officials said Sharifullah was one of two masterminds involved in the planning of the bombing. He is described as a regional Islamic State Khorasan, or ISIS-K, commander.” (03/05/25)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mohammad-sharifullah-abbey-gate-afghanistan-bombing-extradited-u-s/
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11) Report: US suspends deportation flights on military aircraft
Source: Anadolu Agency [Turkish state media]
“The administration of Donald Trump has halted the use of costly military aircraft to deport migrants who entered the US illegally [sic], The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. Pentagon officials confirmed no flights were scheduled for the coming days, with the last military deportation flight occurring March 1. The pause could be extended or made permanent, defense officials told the newspaper. An analysis by the news outlet found that the administration had initially employed military aircraft to demonstrate its tough stance on illegal [sic] immigration, conducting approximately 30 flights using C-17 aircraft and about one dozen C-130s to various destinations including India, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru, Honduras, Panama and Guantanamo Bay. The flights, however, proved significantly more expensive than standard deportation operations.” (03/05/25)
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-suspends-deportation-flights-on-military-aircraft-report/3501139
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12) China: Regime to increase military spending by 7.2%
Source: ABC News
“China said Wednesday it will increase its defense [sic] budget 7.2% this year, as it continues its campaign to build a larger, more modern military to assert its territorial claims and challenge the U.S. defense lead in Asia. China’s military spending remains the second largest behind the U.S. and it already has the world’s largest navy. The budget, which adds up to about $245 billion, was announced at the National People’s Congress, the annual meeting of China’s legislature. The Pentagon and many experts say China’s total spending on defense may be 40% higher or more because of items included under other budgets.” (03/05/25)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/china-increase-defense-budget-72-year-119456167
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13) UK: Chinese student found guilty of drugging and raping 10 women
Source: SFGate
“A Chinese PhD student was found guilty Wednesday in a London court of drugging and raping 10 women in England and China, as police warned there could be more than 50 other victims. Zhenhao Zou, 28, was convicted of the attacks between 2019 and 2023 following a monthlong trial at the Inner London Crown Court. He was convicted of 11 counts of rape, with two of the offenses relating to one victim. After more than 19 hours of deliberations, jurors concluded Zou raped three of the women in London and seven in China. Police have only been able to identify two of the victims and said after the verdict that more than 50 other women may have fallen victim to Zou, which would make him one of the worst sex offenders in U.K. history. Using hidden or handheld cameras to record the attacks, Zou filmed nine of the attacks as ‘souvenirs’ and often kept a trophy box of women’s belongings.” (03/05/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/chinese-student-found-guilty-in-british-court-of-20203974.php
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14) Multiple US regions hit with blizzards, severe thunderstorms and elevated wildfire risks
Source: United Press International
“A wide swath of the United States Wednesday was in the crosshairs of a massive storm bringing the risk of blizzards, wildfires, severe thunderstorms, tornadoes and heavy rain. … Tens of millions of people were living in areas affected by the blizzard, tornado, thunderstorm and fire warnings from the South to the western northern plain regions. As the major winter storm hit Tuesday two people died in the severe weather in Mississippi. Power went out for hundreds of thousands forcing New Orleans to reschedule Mardi Gras events.” (03/05/25)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2025/03/05/storm-blizzards-tornadoes-wildfire-risks/6911741182767/
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15) Russia Escalates Arms Shipments With Warship Escort Through the English Channel
Source: Sri Lanka Guardian [Sri Lanka]
“A sanctioned Russian cargo ship, the Baltic Leader, has been escorted through the English Channel by the Russian navy corvette Boikiy, raising fresh concerns about Moscow’s ability to transport military hardware despite Western sanctions. The vessel, previously sanctioned by the United States for its role in transporting weapons for the Russian military, is believed to be carrying a shipment of military equipment from Russia’s naval base in Tartus, Syria, towards the front lines in Ukraine. The escort mission highlights Russia’s increasing reliance on longer maritime routes to move critical supplies, as its Black Sea fleet remains vulnerable to Ukrainian attacks. The Baltic Leader began its journey on February 13 from Tartus, where satellite images captured heavy artillery and military vehicles near the docks before loading.” (03/05/25)
https://archive.is/5fFUq
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16) FL: AG Announces Criminal Investigation Into Andrew and Tristan Tate
Source: Time
“Florida’s attorney general announced Tuesday that his office has opened a criminal investigation into Andrew and Tristan Tate, who are charged with human trafficking in Romania, days after they returned to the U.S. Attorney General James Uthmeier announced on social media that he directed his office to work with law enforcement to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the Tate brothers. … After the Tates landed in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters that the brothers weren’t welcome in Florida and that he would have the attorney general examine whether the state may have any jurisdiction over their alleged crimes. During an appearance Monday on the PPD Podcast, Andrew Tate said the governor was caving to media pressure.” (03/05/25)
https://time.com/7264663/andrew-tate-tristan-florida-attorney-general-criminal-investigation-desantis-romania/
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17) Syria: Regime vows to destroy any remaining Assad-era chemical weapons
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Syria’s foreign minister has told the global chemical weapons watchdog that the new government is committed to destroying any remaining stockpiles produced under ousted president Bashar al-Assad. Addressing a meeting of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague, Asaad al-Shibani vowed ‘to put an end to this painful legacy, to bring justice to victims, and to ensure that the compliance with international law is a solid one.’ But he added that Syria would ‘need the support of the international community.’ Assad’s government denied ever using chemical weapons during the 14-year civil war, but activists accused it of carrying out of dozens of chemical attacks.” (03/05/25)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg70j91n811o
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18) South Sudan: Vice President’s Spokesman Says Deputy Head of Military Arrested, Risking Peace Deal
Source: US News & World Report
“South Sudanese forces have arrested a senior military official allied with First Vice President Riek Machar, and deployed troops around Machar’s residence, risking a 2018 peace deal that ended a civil war, his spokesperson said. South Sudan has formally been at peace since the 2018 agreement ended a five-year conflict between Machar and President Salva Kiir that killed hundreds of thousands of people, but violence between rival communities flares up frequently. On Tuesday, General Paul Nang, the head of South Sudan’s defence forces, arrested one of his deputies, Lieutenant General Gabriel Doup Lam, while security forces surrounded Machar’s residence, Machar’s spokesperson Pal Mai Deng said in a statement late on Tuesday.” (03/05/25)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2025-03-05/south-sudan-vice-presidents-spokesman-says-deputy-head-of-military-arrested-risking-peace-deal
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19) Trump nominee to lead NIH questioned on funding cuts, vaccines
Source: SFGate
“A health economist who once famously clashed with officials at the National Institutes of Health and now is the nominee to lead the agency faced questions from senators from both parties Wednesday about drastic funding cuts and research priorities. Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford University professor, was an outspoken critic of the government’s COVID-19 shutdowns and vaccine policies. Now he’s poised to become director of the NIH, long called the government’s crown jewel, as it faces mass firings and drastic funding cutbacks. ‘I love the NIH but post-pandemic, America’s biomedical sciences are at a crossroads,’ Bhattacharya told senators. He laid out priorities including a bigger focus on chronic diseases, including diabetes and obesity. But he also said the agency needs to be more open to scientific dissent, saying influential NIH leaders early in the pandemic shut down his own criticisms about responses to COVID-19.” (03/05/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/senate-panel-questions-trump-nominee-to-lead-20203672.php
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20) OnlyFans star opens fire on masked robbers after her cryptocurrency
Source: New York Post
“A buxom OnlyFans star who bragged online about having $20 million in cryptocurrency was yanked out of bed by a trio of robbers — who held her hostage, before she opened fire on them and sent them fleeing. Amouranth — whose real name is Kaitlyn Siragusa, 31 — posted about the terrifying Sunday ordeal on X, along with dramatic video. ‘I believe I shot one of them … I’m covered in blood but only some of it is mine,’ she wrote. Amouranth — who has 6.2 million followers on the streaming platform Twitch — shared a clip that reveals the moment she and her husband turned the tables on her attackers.” (03/05/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/03/04/us-news/onlyfans-star-amouranth-held-at-gunpoint-pistol-whipped-in-home-invasion/
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Back Door Demand
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“As expected, Apple will withhold its most advanced data protection from customers in the United Kingdom of the iPhone rather than obey a UK order to provide a worldwide back door to such encryption.
This is probably Apple’s least worst choice given the alternatives confronting it. But that means British users of the iPhone won’t have this encryption at all. Had Apple obeyed, the back door would have been installed on encryption-equipped iPhones worldwide, not just in the iPhones of persons residing in the sceptered isle. The mandated back door would, of course, have been exploitable by cyberhackers contracted by enemy governments as well as by members of ‘good’ governments claiming really good reasons for needing to rummage through your iPhone at will.” (03/05/25)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2025/03/05/back-door-demand/
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22) Democracy no more than mob rule
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“Has your democracy been lost yet? Has someone stolen it? Silly questions for a silly era asked of silly people who worship mob rule as long as they are on the majority side. They have no problem ignoring the will of those who disagree with them; they only wring their hands when they end up on the losing side. America was never supposed to be a democracy. It was set up as a republic, limited in scope by a constitution that defined exactly what government is allowed to do to the population, regardless of what the majority wants. This failed. Republics, including those defined and limited by a constitution, turn into democracies because people, in overwhelming numbers, want to violate the rights of others and vote themselves goodies paid for with taxes.” (03/05/25)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2025/03/05/voices/opinion-democracy-no-more-than-mob-rule/230259.html
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23) The West’s Support For Israel Is The #1 Threat To Free Speech
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“President Trump has made a post on Truth Social saying federal funding will be cut to universities which allow ‘illegal protests’ on their campuses, obliquely referring to pro-Palestine demonstrations against Israel’s genocidal atrocities. ‘All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests,’ Trump said. ‘Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on on the crime, arrested. NO MASKS!’ Elise Stefanik, Trump’s nominee for ambassador to the UN, made it clear that this was the Trump administration taking a position on ‘anti-Israel hate.’ ‘Antisemitism and anti-Israel hate will not be tolerated on American campuses,’ tweeted Stefanik with a screenshot of Trump’s Truth Social post.” (03/05/25)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2025/03/05/the-wests-support-for-israel-is-the-1-threat-to-free-speech/
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24) The Other Thing Zelensky Got Called Out On
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Connor O’Keeffe
“After Zelensky kicked things off by using a rhetorical question to challenge Vance on his appeal to the need for diplomacy, Vance fired back by calling Zelensky out for ‘forcing conscripts to the front lines because [he] has manpower problems.’ As far as I can tell, that was the first time a senior American government official has made any negative comment about the Ukrainian government’s use of conscripts in its war with Russia. Which is appalling, because abducting people and sending them to fight and die in a military campaign they clearly don’t believe in enough to join voluntarily is one of the worst, most tyrannical things a government can do. And Ukraine has been doing it with the enthusiastic support of American officials for years.” (03/05/25)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/other-thing-zelensky-got-called-out
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25) Trump Wants to Use the IRS to Track Down Immigrants. They May Stop Paying Taxes.
Source: The Bulwark
by Adrian Carrasquillo
“Undocumented immigrants contribute billions to Social Security and other programs. That money might fall off because of Trump’s crackdown.” (03/05/25)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-irs-data-tracking-immigrants-social-security
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26) Dismantling Overreach: Why Reining in the CFPB Is the Right Move
Source: The Daily Economy
by Peter C Earle
“The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has undergone massive changes in the past month. Contrary to what many members of Congress and bureaucrats are saying, it’s great news. Reining in the CFPB means reducing uncertainty in the financial world from excessive regulation and costly regulatory agencies’ bloated budgets. Unfortunately, the measures have been stalled in court. Reducing the CFPB’s size and scope would greatly reduce a large amount of uncertainty in financial markets that stem from regulation.” (03/05/25)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/dismantling-overreach-why-reining-in-the-cfpb-is-the-right-move/
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27) Bargain Basement Hegemony
Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders
“Why cheap proxy wars and endless interventionism still cost too much. Here we consider a more holistic case for limiting American military adventures and proxy wars abroad.” (03/05/25)
https://underthrow.substack.com/p/bargain-basement-hegemony
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28) Trump Gives the World the Middle Finger
Source: Common Dreams
by Ann Wright
“On a motorized float designed and built several weeks into the Trump administration for the Rose Monday celebration before Lent in Cologne or Koln, Germany, the likeness of U.S. President Donald Trump vividly illustrates what is becoming more of his view toward the world and toward citizens of the United States. On the float, Trump has the world perched on his middle finger, a derogatory symbol known worldwide. With Trump and Vice President JD Vance’s mega-bully job on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, February 28, 2025, Trump’s image of giving the finger to not only Zelensky, but also the leaders of the European community who met with Zelensky one day later on March 1 in London, seems to symbolize Trump’s view of European leaders.” (03/05/25)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/trump-middle-finger-world
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29) People Barely Care About Relative Income
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
“Do people want to be rich? Or just richer than their neighbors? Self-styled ‘realists’ have long defended the latter position: What human beings really savor is not material wealth, but feeling superior to others. … each of us possesses a nearly fool-proof short-cut to relative riches. Namely: Move to a poorer area. If you want to feel superior to your immediate neighbors, move to a poor neighborhood. If you want to feel superior to people in your state, move to a poor state. If you want to feel superior to people in your country, move to a poor country. When we look at human migration, all three of these choices are rare.” (03/05/25)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/be-relatively-rich-the-easy-way
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30) Sins of the Father
Source: Persuasion
by Stephen E Hanson & Jeffrey Kopstein
“The United States is joining the ranks of patrimonial states. It’s nothing short of a revolution.” (03/05/25)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/sins-of-the-father
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31) This is American greatness only if you have a MAGA-nifying glass
Source: Washington Post
by George F Will
“From the French word ‘petite,’ meaning ‘small,’ comes the English word ‘petty,’ which describes the Trump administration. This is greatness as restored by the midgets of MAGA …. In 1966, Alabama’s Democratic Gov. George Wallace said: ‘Hell, we got too much dignity in government now, what we need is some meanness.’ Problem solved.” (03/05/25)
https://archive.is/LmmGy
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32) This should be Congress’s No. 1 priority after Trump’s speech
Source: Fox News
Dr. Kevin Roberts & Ryan Walker
“On Tuesday night during his joint address to Congress, President Donald Trump reminded the American people that ‘the American Dream is unstoppable’ and that ‘our country is on the verge of a comeback the likes of which the world has never witnessed and perhaps will never see again.’ Congress spent the evening celebrating President Trump’s wins, but the American people will only continue to enjoy them if Congress does its job and passes a clean continuing resolution by March 14. Doing so will keep the government open, allowing the Trump administration to continue its excellent work and ensuring that America’s comeback does not come to a screeching halt. The stakes couldn’t be higher.” [editor’s note: The stakes are extremely low — “continue to tax, borrow, and spend like crazy” vs. “that, but pretend to shut it down” – TLK] (03/05/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/heres-what-congress-no-1-priority-should-after-trumps-speech
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33) Breaking the DEI Trance
Source: Law & Liberty
by Mike Gonzalez
“For many of us, it was a nightmare to watch a small minority of the population — which has been imperfectly but serviceably labeled ‘woke’ — bully, harass, torment, and cancel those who expressed any dissent, all in the pursuit of a barely hidden political project, and many Americans of goodwill supinely submit and enter into a hypnotic state. But the regime of these latter-day woke Jacobins may now be coming to a screeching halt. History has not been fully written yet, to be sure, but it looks like America is breaking out of the collective spell.” (03/05/25)
https://lawliberty.org/breaking-the-dei-trance/
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34) The Fourth Industrial Revolution
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen Pirie
“The first [Industrial Revolution] is reckoned to be the application of controlled power to production. The big leap came as water and then steam replaced men, horses and oxen as sources of energy. … The Second Industrial Revolution is reckoned to include the development of railroad and telegraph networks, allowing faster movement of people and the rapid spread of ideas, as well as electricity, which allowed factories to develop the modern production line. The Third one has been the recent shift to an economy centered on information technology …. Some claim that the Fourth Industrial Revolution is happening today. It combines Artificial Intelligence with a huge shift in the speed at which existing industries are impacted upon in a large number of sectors.” (03/05/25)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/50meisye3biu7jeqi8vhv6zpukmz77
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35) Ghosts of the Cold War
Source: The Dispatch
by Kevin D Williamson
“Some of my friends believe that there is some dark backstory to Donald Trump worthy of a 1970s political thriller: some kompromat, some financial leverage, something. That could be the case, but I would not be surprised that when the history of our time is written — if the history of our time is permitted to be written — what we will learn is that Trump did Moscow’s bidding because he prefers the politics of Putin to those of, say, Dwight Eisenhower, while sycophants such as J.D. Vance and Ted Cruz did Moscow’s bidding on behalf of Trump because they preferred being on the inside to being on the outside. … You don’t have to be an actual literal idiot to be a useful idiot in the Cold War sense, though it helps. You just have to choose to side with the Kremlin.” (03/05/25)
https://thedispatch.com/article/ukraine-war-putin-kgb-walesa-poland/
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36) Trump’s Threats to Jail or Deport Campus Protesters Reveal His View of Free Speech
Source: Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting
by Jim Naureckas
“In The Dawn of Everything, David Graeber and David Wengrow note that the Western notion of freedom derives from the Roman legal tradition, in which freedom was conceived as ‘the power of the male household head in ancient Rome, who could do whatever he liked with his chattels and possessions, including his children and slaves.’ Because of this, ‘freedom was always defined (at least potentially) as something exercised to the cost of others.’ You have to understand this notion of freedom (that to be free, you have to make someone else less free) to make sense of the idea that Donald Trump is a champion of ‘free speech.’ This is, unfortunately, not a fringe idea.” (03/05/25)
https://fair.org/home/trumps-protest-threat-reflects-belief-that-free-speech-belongs-to-some/
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37) Big Brother Is Taking Over Britain
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Owen Ashworth
“There is perhaps no piece of legislation that the current Labour government will introduce in its tenure that is more dystopian, more depressing, and more dangerous than the Data Use and Access Bill. This bill poses a real threat to the freedoms of every single individual in the United Kingdom. You have a natural, given right to privacy; what you use your property for cannot be spied upon unless there is a very real, solid, and robust case to break this privacy based on your aggression against another individual’s property rights. The Data Use and Access Bill is being snuck through the British Parliament with very little media coverage. It was introduced in the House of Lords — possibly to avoid a scene — it must be opposed by every individual who wishes to live a private life.” (03/05/25)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/big-brother-is-taking-over-britain
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38) Republicans would rather hide from their voters than face them and defend Trump
Source: USA Today
by Sara Pequeno
“For the past six weeks, we have witnessed just how far President Donald Trump is willing to go to reshape America in his dystopian vision. Now we’re witnessing Republican fear of having to account for that reshaping. Trump signed more executive orders during his first month than any president in over 40 years. USA TODAY has reported that there be more than 100,000 federal job cuts already. Half the country is, understandably, concerned, and they’re speaking out about it. As a result, GOP lawmakers holding town halls nationwide are having to answer for Trump and Elon Musk’s reign of chaos – even in deep red districts. Instead of facing those criticisms head on, Republicans have decided to hide.” (03/05/26)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2025/03/05/republican-town-halls-anger-trump-musk/80865368007/
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39) How Does Trump Resume Shipments of Arms to the Regime that Started the War?
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“Today, there are many people, including Zelensky, who are exhorting Trump to cancel his suspension of U.S. arms to Ukraine. But how can Trump do that, given his conviction that Ukraine was the one that started the war?” (03/05/25)
https://www.fff.org/2025/03/05/how-does-trump-resume-shipments-of-arms-to-the-regime-that-started-the-war/
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40) Joseph Warren’s Final Oration: Against Standing Armies and Arbitrary Power
Source: Tenth Amendment Center
by Michael Boldin
“‘Act worthy of yourselves.’ That’s how the great patriot and Revolutionary War hero Dr. Joseph Warren urged the people to commemorate the Boston Massacre, which happened today in history – March 5, 1770. In the face of a standing army occupier – and direct threats to his own life – Warren pressed the people to stand firm for liberty in the face of the mighty British Empire, ‘until tyranny is trodden under foot.’ The Massacre in Boston did a great deal to solidify opposition to arbitrary, centralized power – and permanent standing armies. For many years, it was commemorated as a solemn public holiday in Boston, with speeches from prominent patriots like John Hancock, James Lovell and others. Joseph Warren delivered the oration in 1772 – and was the only person ever chosen to give the speech a second time, on March 6, 1775.” (03/05/25)
https://tenthamendmentcenter.com/2025/03/05/joseph-warrens-final-oration-against-standing-armies-and-arbitrary-power/
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41) Trump right to defund schools allowing illegal protests, but must protect free speech
Source: New York Post
by Rikki Schlott
“Colleges are so unable to corral their own students that the president of the United States is stepping in to do it for them. Trump has pledged to halt federal funding for schools that allow illegal protest activity to continue on their campuses — and is even threatening to slap student agitators with expulsion, arrest and deportation. ‘All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests,’ the president wrote in a Tuesday morning Truth Social post. ‘Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on the crime, arrested. NO MASKS!’ It should never have gotten to this point. Pulling academic institutions’ funding might seem severe, but it’s an unfortunately necessary last-gasp attempt to restore order on campuses derailed by unlawful protesting.” (03/05/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/03/04/opinion/trump-is-right-to-defund-schools-that-allow-illegal-protests/
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42) What Is Realistic in Ukraine?
Source: The American Conservative
by W James Antle III
“The perfect but impossible should not be the enemy of the good.” (03/05/25)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/what-is-realistic-in-ukraine/
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43) A different kind of security guarantee for Ukraine
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Zachary Paikin & Thomas Graham
“A crisis consultation mechanism would provide a platform for effectively hashing out disputes among Russia, NATO and the EU.” (03/05/25)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/ukraine-war-2671265522/
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44) Spring forward: How DOGE can save America from yet another Daylight Savings change
Source: The Hill
by Sheldon H Jacobson
“President Trump is on a mission. He wants to end government waste and find efficiencies that could save the federal government money. His new Department of Government Efficiency, with Elon Muck at its helm, is framed to cut government bureaucracy. And with Daylight Saving Time set to begin on March 9, DOGE has a big, juicy, low-hanging fruit just waiting to be grabbed.” (03/05/25)
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5175941-daylight-saving-time-government-efficiency-doge/
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45) Strange Bedfellows
Source: The Jolly Libertarian
by Marco den Ouden
“Such alliances as the Putin/Trump partnership are not unusual in American foreign policy. The United States has long supported repressive regimes for political purposes, especially during the Cold War. Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.” (03/05/25)
https://jollylibertarian.blogspot.com/2025/03/strange-bedfellows.html
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46) Elon Musk’s Next Potential Self-Enrichment
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen
“As the kleptocracy settles in, attention has turned to Elon Musk’s constellation of companies, which over the past couple of decades have benefited from $38 billion in federal contracts, and which stand to gain more now that he’s co-president. A $400 million State Department order for ‘armored Teslas’ was scuttled after word got out [that the program originated under the Biden regime], but the Federal Aviation Administration has agreed to test Starlink, the satellite internet system that’s part of Musk’s SpaceX, for upgrading its information technology system. That $2.4 billion contract is currently in the hands of Verizon; Musk has attacked Verizon’s performance, and FAA leadership has demanded that staff find the money to include Starlink in the deal.” (03/05/25)
https://prospect.org/power/2025-03-05-elon-musks-next-potential-self-enrichment/
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47) B’Tselem in the Crosshairs
Source: Antiwar.com
by Dan Steinbock
“In early 2023, the most far-right cabinet in Israel’s history launched its war for ‘judicial reforms’ to replace democracy with autocracy. In fall 2023, it began an obliteration war against Gaza. Now it is readying to decimate the last human rights defenders in Israel. In view of the Israeli Prime Minister, amid his own corruption trial, the truth about the Israeli-occupied territories seems to be equivalent to treason. Hence, his determination to destroy B’Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories. The effort to decimate the last defenders of human rights in Israel cries for effective external intervention.” (03/05/25)
https://original.antiwar.com/dan_steinbock/2025/03/04/btselem-in-the-crosshairs/
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48) DOGE and Congress Should Take a Chainsaw to Corporate Welfare
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“Last month, Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) founder Elon Musk swung a chainsaw at a gathering of the Conservative Political Action Conference to dedicate his commitment to slashing federal spending. The prop was a gift from Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Milei and represented the two men’s shared vision of smaller, leaner government. The DOGE is off to a respectable start, but there’s a lot more wasteful and damaging spending that could benefit from a dose of chainsaw. Consider, for example, the grants, subsidies, and tax breaks that fall under the umbrella of corporate welfare.” (03/05/25)
https://reason.com/2025/03/05/doge-and-congress-should-take-a-chainsaw-to-corporate-welfare/
-----
49) Columbia University’s Secret Disciplinary Process for Students Critical of Israel
Source: Drop Site
by Murtaza Hussain
“As Trump threatens sweeping action against ‘illegal protest’ on college campuses, Columbia is already using secret processes to punish pro-Palestine students.” (03/04/25)
https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/columbia-university-gaza-student-disclinary-office
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50) The Truth Behind the Medicaid Melodrama
Source: Town Hall
by Betsy McCaughey
“Get ready to be bombarded with ghoulish paid ads and Democratic politicians warning about grandmothers dying, children denied needed cancer treatments, and pregnant women suffering. The demagoguery is in full swing against Republicans’ efforts to control federal spending on Medicaid and stabilize the nation’s debt. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul screamed last week that ‘House Republicans just voted to rip health care away from up to 1.8 million New Yorkers — all to bankroll giveaways for billionaires.’ … Rep. Delia Ramirez [D-IL] shrieked, ‘People will die!’ These are lies. Helpless children, the elderly, pregnant women and the disabled are not going to lose their health care. And the Medicaid changes are designed to help all Americans, not just billionaires. The economic impact of Congress not containing Medicaid spending is what’s truly scary.” (03/05/25)
https://townhall.com/columnists/betsymccaughey/2025/03/05/the-truth-behind-the-medicaid-melodrama-n2653235
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51) Repeating a Historical Experience of Autarky?
Source: EconLog
by Pierre Lemieux
“As the US government’s enervation and economically illiterate interventionism fuel trade wars and dreams of autarky, it is worth looking at the long historical experience of economic isolation that started under the late Chinese emperors at the time of our High and Late Middle Ages. Three books help us understand the world in that regard.” (03/04/25)
https://www.econlib.org/repeating-a-historical-experience-of-autarky/
-----
52) DeSantis, Hochul threaten academic freedom with political interference
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Robert Shibley
“It’s no secret that politicians are getting more involved in higher education. And while some level of involvement with how colleges and universities operate is appropriate given the amount of taxpayer money spent on campuses, nobody should be surprised to learn that greater political involvement can pose academic freedom risks.” (03/04/25)
https://www.thefire.org/news/govs-desantis-hochul-threaten-academic-freedom-political-interference
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53) My Views of the Trump Administration
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“Congratulations, your cancer is cured. But that might be a heart attack.” (03/04/25)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/my-views-of-the-trump-administration
-----
54) Gaping at the Cult of Trump
Source: In These Times
by Hamilton Nolan
“In the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, you can learn that the first animals with backbones evolved during the early Cambrian Period, 525 million years ago. Outside of that museum, few backbones can be found in Washington, DC. As you wonder why, muse on the fact that all of the information on life’s history is contained in the museum’s David H. Koch Hall of Fossils. When Koch died in 2019, he had amassed a fortune of $50 billion. There was a time when that was considered real money. Not any more. Downtown D.C. has an ambient glow at night, the light from omnipresent office windows suffusing the dark, bland streets. Yesterday evening, after dinnertime, the lights were still on in many of the cheerless, rectangular government office buildings below Independence Avenue, buildings that the new administration just announced are for sale.” (03/05/25)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/state-of-the-union-trump-dc-protest
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55) Trump’s Most Inexplicable Decision Yet
Source: The Atlantic
by Roge Karma
“If you were setting out to design a trade policy that would harm the American economy while undermining political support for its leadership, you might come up with something like the tariffs that Donald Trump just imposed on Canada, China, and Mexico. The new tariffs will raise prices for American consumers, weaken the American auto industry, and prompt severe retaliation from America’s top trading partners. … Usually, when elected officials implement foolish policies, they do so because they believe the political upside outweighs the substantive downside. What makes Trump’s tariffs so unusual is that the politics of them also appear to be terrible.” (03/04/25)
https://archive.is/f8jCk
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
56) Reason Interview: Alton Brown
Source: Reason
“The Good Eats host talks about the virtues of Cap’n Crunch, why fusion cooking isn’t cultural appropriation, and how Martha Stewart’s perfectionism ruined dinner parties.” (03/05/25)
https://reason.com/podcast/2025/03/05/alton-brown-a-tv-chef-offers-food-for-thought/
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57) Serious Trouble, 03/05/25
Source: Serious Trouble
“Short Staffing.” (03/05/25)
https://www.serioustrouble.show/p/short-staffing
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58) The Learning Curve, 03/05/25
Source: Pioneer Institute
“UK Oxford’s Robin Lane Fox on Homer & The Iliad.” (03/05/25)
https://pioneerinstitute.org/featured/uk-oxfords-robin-lane-fox-on-homer-the-iliad/
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59) Conflicts of Interest, episode 766
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Trump Destroys Free Speech for Israel.” (03/05/25)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/kyle/coi-766-trump-destroys-free-speech-for-israel/
-----
60) Mixed Signals, 03/05/25
Source: Semafor
“New York Times editor Joe Kahn, podcaster Megyn Kelly and more on the collapse of trust.” (03/05/25)
https://www.semafor.com/article/03/05/2025/mixed-signals-joe-kahn-megyn-kelly-collapse-of-trust
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61) Antiwar News with Dave Decamp, 03/05/25
Source: Antiwar.com
“Trump Says Ukraine Willing To Work Toward Peace, US Rejects Arab League-Backed Gaza Plan, and More.” (03/05/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtjHlwoY9lE
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62) Capital Record, episode 216
Source: National Review
“The Dumb Kind of Class Warfare.” (03/05/25)
https://www.nationalreview.com/podcasts/capital-record/the-dumb-kind-of-class-warfare/
-----
63) Freakonomics Radio, 03/05/25
Source: Freakonomics
“The Downside of Disgust (Update).” (03/05/25)
https://freakonomics.com/podcast/the-downside-of-disgust-update/
-----
64) The Daily Blast with Greg Sargent, 03/05/25
Source: The New Republic
“Trudeau’s Blistering Takedown of Trump’s Tariffs Puts GOP to Shame.” (03/05/25)
https://newrepublic.com/article/192316/trudeaus-blistering-takedown-trumps-tariffs-puts-gop-shame
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65) The Climate Realism Show, episode 147
Source: Heartland Institute
“Backbone of Climate Agenda Endangered.” (03/05/25)
https://heartland.org/podcasts/backbone-of-climate-agenda-endangered-the-climate-realism-show-147-2/
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66) The Vital Center, episode 77
Source: Niskanen Center
“Reevaluating Christianity’s bargain with democracy, with Jonathan Rauch.” (03/04/25)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/reevaluating-christianitys-bargain-with-democracy-with-jonathan-rauch
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67) Trump Watch, 03/04/25
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“Imperial Tirade at the White House.” (03/04/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyt2gE5_z-M
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68) The Good Fight, 03/04/25
Source: Yascha Mounk
“Yascha Answers Your Questions #1.” (03/04/25)
https://yaschamounk.substack.com/p/yascha-answers-your-questions-1
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69) Politics Politics Politics, 03/04/25
Source: Politics Politics Politics
“Trump’s Trade War! How The Internet Collided With Politics (with Bill Scher and Katie Harbath).” (03/04/25)
https://www.politicspoliticspolitics.com/p/trumps-trade-war-how-the-internet
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70) Vital Dissent, episode 281
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Blood Meridian: War Is God?” (03/04/25)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/patrick/blood-meridian-war-is-god-ep-281
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