06/02 -- Oil prices drop ahead of OPEC+ meeting; Don't Worry About Bitcoin
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Thomas L. Knapp
Jun 2, 2022, 7:35:34 AM6/2/22
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 06/02/22
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Oil prices drop ahead of OPEC+ meeting
2) US employers report 11.4 million job openings, holding at near-record highs
3) Canada: Regime to decriminalize some drugs in British Columbia for three years
4) US regime unveils $700 million military aid package for Ukraine; fighting rages in Donbas
5) Jury awards Depp $15 million in damages in libel suit against Heard, gives her $2 million in countersuit
6) Tunisia: UGTT announces general strike in public sector for June 16
7) Biden keeps repeating false Second Amendment claims, despite repeated fact checks
8) NYC: Subway shooting victim files frivolous lawsuit vs. Glock
9) Netherlands increases military spending
10) Scientists discover self-cloning sea grass that's "biggest plant on Earth" off Australian coast
11) Leader of now-defunct Colombian drug cartel dies in US jail
12) Musk: Remote work "no longer acceptable" at Tesla
13) CA: LA lifeguard's pay tops $500,000, investigation discovers
14) Libya: Oil company says broken pipeline causes crude spill
15) Biden HHS Won't Reverse Medicare Premium Hike This Year
16) Court rejects Palin's bid to revive frivolous defamation suit
17) MI: GOP candidate for governor loses key ballot ruling
18) Denmark: Russian regime cuts off natural gas
19) Attempted Reagan assassin John Hinckley to get unconditional release
20) SCOTUS blocks Texas regime's attempt to seize control of social media
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Don't Worry About Bitcoin
22) Of Car Keys and "Gun Control"
23) "Everything Is Terrible, but I'm Fine"
24) LNC Resolution on Edward Snowden
25) Parents are still being treated like terrorists
26) The RNC's Ground Game of Inches
27) What do you want cops to emphasize?
28) The New York Times Explains Why Mask Mandates Don't Work
29) The US loves a winner, not a whiner, Joe Biden
30) Authoritarian Pandemic Policies: A Reckoning
31) Biden's inner Trudeau: On guns, he seems to be operating under the wrong Constitution
32) America Needs a Jubilee
33) Yes, Supply Problems Can Cause Inflation
34) Do More Than Baby Steps
35) Fear & Loathing in San Francisco: How Chesa Boudin Got Blamed
36) The thoughtpolice are a law unto themselves
37) Politicizing Mass Shootings Only Guarantees There Will Be More of Them
38) The Wobblies' Return
39) Old Men Talking Sense on Ukraine
40) Human Irrationality and Free Markets
41) Ukrainian Official Behind Western Media Reports Of Russian Atrocities Fired By Ukrainian Parliament
42) Have the Afghan people been forgotten?
43) We Have Entered the Self-Pity Stage of the Biden Presidency
44) New laws won't solve problems
45) Broken homes creating broken people
46) Politicians Should Resist the Urge To "Do Anything" in Response to School Shootings
47) Breaking the Blockade Risks War With Russia
48) Mass Shootings and Gun Violence: Why Buffalo? Why Uvalde?
49) Peace in Ukraine as a "matter of rights?"
50) That Which is Unseen: Rental Housing Edition
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) The Chris Spangle Show, 06/01/22
52) Free Talk Live, 06/01/22
53) Rising, 06/01/22
54) IP ... Frequently, episode 137
55) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 06/01/22
56) The History of Modern Politics, episode 11
57) The Argument, 06/01/22
58) FiveThirtyEight Politics Podcast, 05/31/22
59) Mark Thornton on The Scott Horton Show
60) The Wright Show, 05/31/22
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Oil prices drop ahead of OPEC+ meeting
Source: MarketWatch
"Oil prices fell on Thursday ahead of an OPEC+ meeting, after a report surfaced that Saudi Arabia was prepared to pump more oil to compensate for any Russian output loss. ... Oil prices were sliding after the Financial Times reported that Saudi Arabia has told Western allies that it will raise production if it becomes apparent that global supply is facing a big drop in Russian output due to sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine. Citing five persons with knowledge of the matter, the report said those concerns have increased since the EU recently imposing a ban on Russian oil by sea. The sources said that Saudi Arabia sees a tight market, but no major shortages for now, though a ramping up of China's economy as it recovers from the latest COVID outbreak could pressure supplies further." (06/02/22)
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-drop-ahead-of-opec-meeting-on-report-saudis-will-make-up-for-any-lost-russian-crude-11654151987
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2) US employers report 11.4 million job openings, holding at near-record highs
Source: The Hill
"Job openings remained at near record highs, according to a report released Wednesday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. job openings decreased slightly to 11.4 million on the last business day in April, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover report. About 4.4 million Americans quit their jobs in April. New hires were little changed, at 6.6 million, and job separations remained around 6 million. Unemployment was lower in April than a year earlier in 388 of the 389 metropolitan areas surveyed. About 170 regions had unemployment rates less than 3 percent, with the overall unemployment rate reported in May standing at 3.6 percent." (06/01/22)
https://thehill.com/policy/finance/3507865-us-employers-report-11-4-m-job-openings-holding-at-record-highs/
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3) Canada: Regime to decriminalize some drugs in British Columbia for three years
Source: The Guardian [UK]
"Canada's government has announced that it will allow the province of British Columbia to try a three-year experiment in decriminalizing possession of small amounts of drugs, hoping it will help stem a record number of overdose deaths by easing a fear of arrest by those who need help. The policy approved by federal officials doesn't legalize the substances, but Canadians in the Pacific coast province who possess up to 2.5g of illicit drugs for personal use will not be arrested or charged. The three-year exemption effective 31 January will apply to drug users 18 and over and include opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA, also known as ecstasy." (06/01/22)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/31/canada-decriminalize-drugs-british-columbia-overdoses
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4) US regime unveils $700 million military aid package for Ukraine; fighting rages in Donbas
Source: CNBC
"U.S. President Joe Biden has pledged to send Ukraine more advanced rocket systems and munitions to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield. The White House had been hesitant to send the weapons, which have long been requested by Kyiv. The Biden administration will send the systems as part of a new $700 million military aid package for Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described Russian bombing in the front-line eastern city of Sievierodonetsk as 'insanity' given the presence of a large-scale chemical plant. Residents of Sievierodonetsk have been warned not to leave bomb shelters due to the risk posed by toxic fumes." (06/01/22)
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/01/russia-ukraine-live-updates.html
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5) Jury awards Depp $15 million in damages in libel suit against Heard, gives her $2 million in countersuit
Source: CBS News
"Amber Heard was found liable for defaming Johnny Depp in an op-ed published in the Washington Post, and Depp was found liable for a statement his attorney made to the Daily Mail calling her claims a hoax, a jury decided Wednesday. They awarded Depp a total $15 million in damages and Heard $2 million. The verdict marked the end of a dramatic trial in the civil suit that laid bare the troubled marriage between the stars. ... the judge said state law caps punitive damages at $350,000, meaning Depp's award would total $10.35 million." (06/01/22)
https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/johnny-depp-amber-heard-lawsuit-jury-verdict/
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6) Tunisia: UGTT announces general strike in public sector for June 16
Source: North Africa Post [Morocco]
"The Tunisian powerful General Labor Union (UGTT) has announced a general strike in the public sector on Thursday, June 16, reports Tunisian news agency TAP, citing a strike note circulated by UGTT on Tuesday. The UGTT called for nullifying [a circular] of December 9, 2021 related to negotiations with the unions, and apply, instead, all the agreements signed with the government. The UGTT also called for immediately holding wage negotiations, revolving around improving purchasing power under 2021, 2022 and 2023." (06/01/22)
https://northafricapost.com/58061-tunisia-ugtt-announces-general-strike-in-public-sector-on-june-16.html
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7) Biden keeps repeating false Second Amendment claims, despite repeated fact checks
Source: Fox News
"President Biden has revived a pro-gun control talking point in the wake of the Uvalde mass school shooting that has been repeatedly debunked throughout the years. Biden told reporters on Memorial Day that the Second Amendment didn't allow for the ownership of cannons when it was adopted as part of the Bill of Rights in 1791. 'The Second Amendment was never absolute,' he said Monday, according to a White House transcript. 'You couldn't buy a cannon when the Second Amendment was passed. You couldn't go out and purchase a lot of weapons.' Biden has repeated the claim at least five times during his presidency, despite it earning him 'Four Pinocchios' from the Washington Post in 2021 and a 'False' label from Politifact on three separate occasions dating back to May 2020. Biden made the claim again just last week after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School." (06/01/22)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-false-claim-second-amendment-fact-checks
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8) NYC: Subway shooting victim files frivolous lawsuit vs. Glock
Source: NBC News
"A woman who was shot in the Brooklyn subway shooting in April that left 10 people wounded filed a lawsuit Tuesday against gun maker Glock Inc. and its parent company, accusing them of fueling 'a public nuisance' in New York and endangering public health and safety. Ilene Steur, the woman behind the federal lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of New York, was on her way to work when she was shot in the April 12 attack where a gunman fire dozens of bullet into a busy subway train. The shooting suspect, Frank James, is alleged to have used a 9mm Glock handgun in the shooting." (06/01/22)
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/brooklyn-subway-shooting-victim-sues-gun-maker-glock-fueling-public-nu-rcna31372
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9) Netherlands increases military spending
Source: A TV News [Turkey]
"The Dutch government on Wednesday announced what it is calling the biggest boost in its military spending since the end of the Cold War as war rages in Ukraine. Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said 'threats in the world and the war in Ukraine show that peace and security cannot be taken for granted.' Ollongren unveiled 5 billion euros ($5.3 billion) a year in increased military spending. The extra money will fund military hardware purchases in coming years including six new F-35 fighter jets and a doubling of the military's fleet of MQ-9 Reaper drones from four to eight. The Defense Ministry said the investment means the Netherlands will meet the NATO agreed defense spending of 2% of its gross domestic product in 2024 and 2025." (06/01/22)
https://www.anews.com.tr/world/2022/06/01/netherlands-increases-military-spending
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10) Scientists discover self-cloning sea grass that's "biggest plant on Earth" off Australian coast
Source: USA Today
"A new study revealed that self-cloning sea grass located off the western Australian coast is actually one individual plant, making it the largest ever and the size of the entire city of Cincinnati. The peer-reviewed study, published Wednesday in the journal, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, examined meadows of sea grass that rested on the ocean floor in Shark Bay coast, located 500 miles from Perth. It was determined that the sea grass has actually been cloning itself for nearly 4,500 years but all that grass is part of one entire plant." (06/01/22)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2022/06/01/biggest-plant-earth-australian-coast/7467339001/
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11) Leader of now-defunct Colombian drug cartel dies in US jail
Source: SFGate
"Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela, an elderly leader of the former Cali cartel that smuggled vast amounts of cocaine from Colombia to the United States in the 1980s and 1990s, has died in a U.S. prison, his lawyer said Wednesday. In 2020, a judge had denied Rodríguez Orejuela, who was in his 80s, early release on compassionate grounds from a prison in Butner, North Carolina. His attorney, David O. Markus, had said at the time that the former drug kingpin was suffering a range of health problems. 'We were very sad to learn about his passing last night,' Markus said Wednesday. 'Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time.' Rodríguez Orejuela and his brother, Miguel, built a huge criminal enterprise that succeeded the Medellin cartel once run by drug lord Pablo Escobar. Both operations used violence and killings extensively for intimidation and enforcement." (06/01/22)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Leader-of-now-defunct-Colombian-drug-cartel-dies-17212120.php
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12) Musk: Remote work "no longer acceptable" at Tesla
Source: The Verge
"Tesla CEO Elon Musk has taken a hardline stance against his employees working from home, Electrek and Bloomberg report. In an email apparently sent to the company's executive staff with the subject line 'Remote work is no longer acceptable,' the CEO said employees must spend a minimum of 40 hours per week in the office, or else 'depart Tesla.' He said this should be a 'main Tesla office,' and not a 'remote branch office.' Responding to a screenshot of the alleged email posted to Twitter, Musk did not deny its authenticity, and wrote that anyone who disagrees with a policy of coming into the office 'should pretend to work somewhere else.'" (06/01/22)
https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/1/23149784/elon-musk-tesla-remote-work-leaked-email-40-hours
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13) CA: LA lifeguard's pay tops $500,000, investigation discovers
Source: Fox News
"It pays to be a lifeguard in Los Angeles County. So much, in fact, that a government watchdog is sounding the alarm to taxpayers in the California county and beyond. An investigation by OpenTheBooks.com discovered that LA's highest-paid ocean lifeguard, a captain named Daniel Douglas, raked in a total of $510,283 in total compensation last year, nearly half of which ($246,060) was from overtime pay. Douglas' base salary is $150,054, and he brought in another $28,661 in 'other pay' and $85,508 in benefits to surpass the half-million-dollar mark. Douglas is not the only high-earning lifeguard on the county's payroll. The No. 2 earner in 2021 was lifeguard chief Fernando Boiteux, who made $463,517, followed by section chief Kenichi Ballew-Haskett at $409,414. All told, 98 LA lifeguards made at least $200,000 last year, and OpenTheBooks.com founder Adam Andrzejewski wrote in a substack post explaining the breakdown that 'it's time we put Baywatch on pay watch.'" (06/01/22)
https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/los-angeles-lifeguard-pay-tops-500000
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14) Libya: Oil company says broken pipeline causes crude spill
Source: Seattle Times
"A pipeline rupture in Libya is spewing thousands of barrels of oil into the desert, as workers scramble to seal off the leak, authorities said Wednesday. The damage to a land pipeline linking the Sarir oil field to the Tobruk terminal on the Mediterranean was the latest blow to Libya's struggling oil industry, as renewed tensions again divide the chaos-stricken country. The Arabian Gulf Oil Company, which operates the pipeline, estimates that some 22,000 barrels a day were being lost from the leak, which started Tuesday. It posted footage of the spill and said efforts to stop it were still underway." (06/01/22)
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/libya-oil-company-says-broken-pipeline-causes-crude-spill/
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15) Biden HHS Won't Reverse Medicare Premium Hike This Year
Source: Common Dreams
"The Biden administration quietly announced last week that it will leave in place one of the largest-ever Medicare premium hikes for the remainder of 2022, despite federal health officials' decision to restrict coverage of the expensive and potentially ineffective Alzheimer's drug that drove the increase. Progressive healthcare advocates responded with outrage to the administration's Friday announcement, warning that it will inflict entirely avoidable financial pain on vulnerable seniors and hand the GOP an effective talking point heading into the November midterms. 'This is a terrible decision,' Linda Benesch, communications director of Social Security Works, told Common Dreams. 'Seniors should never have been forced to pay inflated Medicare premiums for an ineffective, dangerous, and massively overpriced drug.'" [editor's note: The real crime is that this fancy drug, that may only involve a small percentage of seniors, was not added as a "premium benefit" you could choose or reject – SAT] (06/01/22)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/06/01/gift-mcconnell-biden-hhs-wont-reverse-medicare-premium-hike-year
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16) Court rejects Palin's bid to revive frivolous defamation suit
Source: CNN
"A judge has denied former vice-presidential nominee and Alaskan governor Sarah Palin's bid for a new trial in her defamation case against the New York Times, according to a written decision filed Tuesday in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. Palin sued the Times and its former editorial page editor James Bennet in 2017 after they published an editorial that erroneously linked a map that Palin's political action committee had posted to a shooting in 2011 that killed six and injured 13 others, including former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, CNN has reported. A jury found in February that Palin had not proven her case. 'Because Palin's instant motion is wholly lacking in merit, the Court denies it in full,' said the opinion and order from Judge Jed Rakoff." (06/01/22)
https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/01/media/sarah-palin-new-york-times/index.html
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17) MI: GOP candidate for governor loses key ballot ruling
Source: SFGate
"A Republican candidate for Michigan governor lost a bid to get on the Aug. 2 primary ballot Wednesday in the first key court decision since election officials found campaign petitions rife with fraudulent signatures. The ruling affects Perry Johnson, a wealthy businessman considered to be a leading candidate for the GOP nomination. But the decision could also apply to three other candidates, including former Detroit Police Chief James Craig, who also have scratched from the GOP ballot. Separate legal challenges were pending. There seems to be no dispute that fraudulent signatures were turned in by paid circulators, though there's no evidence that the candidates were aware of the scam. They were declared ineligible last week, the result of a tie vote by the Board of State Canvassers. State election officials said Johnson, Craig, Michael Markey and Donna Brandenburg didn't meet the 15,000-signature threshold because of fraudulent signatures." (06/01/22)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/GOP-candidate-for-Michigan-governor-loses-key-17212215.php
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18) Denmark: Russian regime cuts off natural gas
Source: ABC News
"Denmark's largest energy company said Russia cut off its gas supply Wednesday because it refused to pay in rubles, the latest escalation over European energy amid the war in Ukraine. Russia previously halted natural gas supplies to Finland, Poland and Bulgaria for refusing a demand to pay in rubles. And on Tuesday, the tap was turned off to the Netherlands. ... In response to Western sanctions imposed against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree saying foreign buyers needed to pay in rubles for Russian gas as of April 1." (06/01/22)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/russia-cutting-off-natural-gas-denmark-company-85103549
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19) Attempted Reagan assassin John Hinckley to get unconditional release
Source: Fox News
"John Hinckley, the would-be assassin of President Ronald Reagan, will receive an unconditional release from prison, a federal judge has confirmed. Hinckley, 67, attempted to assassinate Reagan in 1981. U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman announced Hinckley will be released on June 15. The judge previously announced in September that Hinckley would be released so long as he remained in good behavior, which he has. 'If he hadn't tried to kill a president he would have been released unconditionally a long time ago,' Judge Friedman said at the time." (06/01/22)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/attempted-reagan-assassin-john-hinckley-unconditional-release
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20) SCOTUS blocks Texas regime's attempt to seize control of social media
Source: Politico
"The Supreme Court has suspended a Texas law banning online platforms from restricting user posts based on their political views, representing a major win for social media companies. In a 5-4 ruling, the court granted an emergency stay request on Tuesday from tech industry groups that petitioned to block the law, which is being appealed in a federal appellate court. The companies have argued the law violates their First Amendment rights to control what content they disseminate on their websites and platforms." (05/31/22)
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/31/texas-social-media-censorship-scotus-00036146
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Don't Worry About Bitcoin
Source: Freeman's Perspective
by Paul Rosenberg
"There are, apparently, a lot of people who think Bitcoin is down for the count. Forget about that; Bitcoin is doing just fine and 'the count' is just a sideshow. I should probably say this more often, but Bitcoin is not a stock, not a bond, it's not a company ... it literally cannot go broke. Bitcoin is a computer program. A brilliant one, in my opinion, but a computer program. The price of a bitcoin in dollars makes no difference to the operation of the Bitcoin program ... none at all. This is simply not a thing that can go bankrupt and close its doors: There are no doors, there is no company, there is no boss ... there's not even a reset switch." (06/01/22)
https://freemansperspective.com/dont-worry-about-bitcoin/
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22) Of Car Keys and "Gun Control"
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
"The clamor for 'gun control' never goes away in American politics. It occasionally simmers down to a dull roar, but every mass shooting recharges the bullhorn batteries. Thus, in the wake of the recent atrocities in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, a Morning Consult / Politico Poll poll says that 56% of Americans consider it 'a top priority' or 'an important, but lower priority' for Congress to pass legislation 'placing additional restrictions on gun ownership,' with only 23% saying that 'shouldn't be done.' To put it a different way, 56% of Americans resemble the proverbial drunk looking for his car keys under a streetlight, rather than a block away where he lost them, because 'the light is better here.'" (06/02/22)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/16873
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23) "Everything Is Terrible, but I'm Fine"
Source: The Atlantic
by Derek Thompson
"In May, the Federal Reserve published a report on the economic well-being of American households in 2021. ... The Fed also asked Americans how they felt about the local and national economy. And though the number of Americans who said that they personally were 'doing at least okay' actually rose slightly from 2019 to 2021, their evaluation of the national economy plummeted in that time frame. If this graph were a bumper sticker, it would read: EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE, BUT I'M FINE. So what's going on here? Why is the gap between 'how I'm doing' and 'how America is doing' so dramatic?" (06/01/22)
https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2022/06/american-economy-negative-perception-inflation/661149/
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24) LNC Resolution on Edward Snowden
Source: Libertarian Party
by Libertarian National Committee
"Whereas, The Libertarian Party has long held and defended the rights of all people to be free from unwarranted and unlawful government surveillance and spying; and Whereas, The Libertarian Party Platform states '1.3 Privacy: Libertarians advocate individual privacy and government transparency. We support the rights recognized by the Fourth Amendment to be secure in our persons, homes, property, and communications. Protection from unreasonable search and seizure should include records held by third parties, such as email, medical, and library records.;' now therefore, be it Resolved, That the Libertarian Party calls on President Joseph Biden to grant an immediate and unconditional Presidential pardon to the privacy advocate and political prisoner in exile, Mr. Edward Snowden ..." (06/01/22)
https://www.lp.org/edward-snowden-resolution/
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25) Parents are still being treated like terrorists
Source: spiked
by Sean Collins
"Last year, protests flared up at school-board meetings across the US, as parents expressed their anger and opposition to Covid mask mandates and lessons inspired by critical race theory. Amid these uprisings, in September 2021, the National School Boards Association (NSBA) sent a letter calling on President Biden to investigate the protesters, under the post-9/11 Patriot Act, for 'domestic terrorism and hate crimes'. A few days later, attorney general Merrick Garland issued a memo directing the FBI to collaborate with state attorneys and local law enforcement to monitor and potentially prosecute anyone who threatens school administrators and teachers. As heavy-handed and scornful as that infamous NSBA letter was, we have now learned that it could have been worse. An independent review has revealed that the original draft of the NSBA letter included an incredible appeal to the Biden administration to deploy the National Guard and military police to school districts where there are protests." (06/01/22)
https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/06/01/parents-are-still-being-treated-like-terrorists/
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26) The RNC's Ground Game of Inches
Source: The American Prospect
by Alexander Sammon
"In some sense, it was predictable that my search for any information about one of the Republican National Committee's two dozen community centers would lead me back to Facebook. Years had passed since I'd vacated my account, a period during which the site had been annexed as the primary digital station for conservative messaging. If the party's newest grassroots outreach initiative existed anywhere online, it had to be here. I was in search of a contact or a programming schedule at the RNC's Native American Community Center in Pembroke, North Carolina, in the largely rural, poverty-addled county of Robeson, in the state's southeast corner. Pembroke marked the 21st community center opened by the RNC of the 2022 election cycle, as part of an overt racial minority outreach program." (06/01/22)
https://prospect.org/politics/rncs-ground-game-of-inches-convert-minorities-into-republicans/
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27) What do you want cops to emphasize?
Source: Downsize DC
by Jim Babka
"Laws are just words on paper without enforcement. Laws are better with better enforcement. Better law enforcement begins with improving the incentives involved. Right now, cops and prosecutors focus too much on arrests and convictions. They use these measurements to demonstrate that they are performing well. They should be measuring something else." (06/01/22)
https://downsizedc.org/blog/cops-emphasize/
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28) The New York Times Explains Why Mask Mandates Don't Work
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Jon Miltimore
"Throughout the pandemic, few things incited more discord than the mandated use of facemasks as a preventative measure to reduce the spread of Covid-19. At various times, merely questioning the effectiveness of masks or mask mandates could result in a social media suspension, as when Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) received the boot from YouTube for citing research that suggested cloth masks were ineffective at containing Covid (something CNN admitted months later). ... On Tuesday, President Biden's Justice Department asked a federal appeals court to overturn a District Court judge's order that declared the government mask mandate on airplanes, buses, and other transit unlawful .... The same day the DOJ's appeal was filed, The New York Times published an article that explores the ineffectiveness of mask mandates." (06/01/22)
https://fee.org/articles/the-new-york-times-explains-why-mask-mandates-don-t-work/
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29) The US loves a winner, not a whiner, Joe Biden
Source: New York Post
by Michael Goodwin
"It is a poor worker who blames his tools, though apparently that wisdom hasn't reached the Oval Office. That's where widdle Joey Biden is crying about his predicament and blaming the help. He believes his aides are failing him and it's their fault he's as popular as poison ivy. NBC News says he's upset the slugs can't dream up a winning message for Democrats this fall and are undercutting his image of being a straight shooter by cleaning up things he says. The blame game is pathetic, but the last item is especially a howler, given Biden's long career as a fabulist. His Friday claim to Naval Academy grads that he was 'appointed' to the academy out of high school is the latest example of how he makes things up that are provably false." (06/01/22)
https://nypost.com/2022/05/31/the-us-loves-a-winner-not-a-whiner-joe-biden/
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30) Authoritarian Pandemic Policies: A Reckoning
Source: Brownstone Institute
by John HS Aberg
"With the Corona crisis another chapter was written in the biopolitical book of life. During the last two years, we have observed an unprecedented level of irrationality and political ill will in dealing with the pandemic. Vaccine mandates, vaccine apartheid, lockdowns, masking of schoolchildren, and ensuing restrictions on our freedom of assembly and movement are some of the manifold examples where states went wrong. Otherwise vocal scholars -- aiming their intellectual ammunition against the global capitalist system, corporate political influence, and unjust social structures -- were conspicuously silent, either defending what was unfolding or they were simply afraid, afraid to tell the truth, knowing the repercussions it would have. I take a critical stance against the state of exception and many of the policies implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic, but in particular I argue against the wide use of exclusionary social closure based on vaccination status." (06/01/22)
https://brownstone.org/articles/authoritarian-pandemic-policies-a-reckoning/
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31) Biden's inner Trudeau: On guns, he seems to be operating under the wrong Constitution
Source: The Hill
by Jonathan Turley
"Politicians have long admitted that a crisis is an opportunity not to be missed -- the greater the tragedy, the greater the opportunity. ... Vice President Kamala Harris got out front of the White House by demanding a ban on AR-15s, the most popular weapon in America. Then President Joe Biden created a stir by suggesting he might seek to ban 9mm weapons. Such calls are not limited to the United States. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that his government is introducing legislation to 'implement a national freeze on handgun ownership.' ... The difference between the push in the two countries is the existence of the Second Amendment in the United States -- a constitutionally mandated 'reason' why Americans are allowed to have guns; they don't have to prove it to the government." (06/01/22)
https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/3507817-bidens-inner-trudeau-on-guns-he-seems-to-be-operating-under-the-wrong-constitution/
-----
32) America Needs a Jubilee
Source: Common Dreams
by Ariel Gold
"The horrifying mass murder of 18 school children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas last week occurred at the same time as the funeral of Celestine Chaney, grandmother of six and Buffalo, New York mass shooting victim, was taking place. Only two of the ten Black Americans killed in Buffalo by avowed white supremacists had been yet laid to rest when that tragedy had to be pushed out of top news to make room for yet another gruesome U.S. mass shooting. The Buffalo and Uvalde mass shootings, which took place only ten days apart, were strikingly similar in that they both left gaping holes in minority communities and exemplify much of what is broken in American society. A profound response is needed. White supremacist mass shootings aside, Black children and teens in America are 14 times more likely to die from a gun homicide than their white counterparts." (06/01/22)
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2022/06/01/america-needs-jubilee
-----
33) Yes, Supply Problems Can Cause Inflation
Source: American Institute for Economic Research
by Alexander William Salter
"Can supply problems cause inflation? I think so. Some economists don't. They insist inflation, a general increase in prices, can only be caused by monetary expansions. At first, their argument seems strong. But it forces us to accept absurd conclusions, so I reject it." (06/01/22)
https://www.aier.org/article/yes-supply-problems-can-cause-inflation/
-----
34) Do More Than Baby Steps
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
"Major disruptions such as pandemic policy in China and the Russian invasion of Ukraine obviously crimp trade and supply chains. But given such impacts, should governments here in the United States be making things better or making things worse? Oil is one example of a good that would be more abundant and cheaper had the government left it alone -- stopped blocking domestic production and the flow of oil from Canada. Now parents are having trouble getting baby food." (06/01/22)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2022/06/01/do-more-than-baby-steps/
-----
35) Fear & Loathing in San Francisco: How Chesa Boudin Got Blamed
Source: The Nation
by Christopher D Cook
"After just two years in office, Chesa Boudin, the district attorney of San Francisco, gets blamed for every crime in the book -- even offenses committed before he took office and beyond the city limits. For his efforts to tackle wage theft, end cash bail, expand the program that diverts nonviolent offenders from prison, and prosecute abusive cops, Boudin has been rewarded with a recall campaign scapegoating him for all of this city's woes. The vote takes place on June 7, and recent polls suggest it will be an uphill battle for Boudin and progressives. Loaded with cash from local billionaires, Big Tech, and other corporate interests, Neighbors for a Better San Francisco and an allied group called San Franciscans for Public Safety have poured a whopping $5.1 million into the campaign to recall Boudin." (06/01/22)
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/chesa-boudin-recall-backlash/
-----
36) The thoughtpolice are a law unto themselves
Source: spiked
by Fraser Myers
"Britain's thoughtpolice are a law unto themselves. Nothing captures this more clearly than the continued existence of the 'non-crime hate incident' (NCHI) -- a policing tool that refuses to die. At the weekend, the Daily Mail reported that the Home Office is drawing up new plans to increase the use of NCHIs, as part of its new hate-crime strategy. There are fears this could effectively criminalise comedians like Ricky Gervais for joking about trans issues. NCHIs are a sinister form of thoughtpolicing. They can be recorded by the police whenever someone is accused of showing 'hostility towards religion, race or transgender identity.' There does not need to be any evidence of hate – just as with hate crimes more broadly, the only requirement is that the victim or anyone else perceives the motive of the non-crime incident to have been hateful." (06/01/22)
https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/06/01/the-thoughtpolice-are-a-law-unto-themselves/
-----
37) Politicizing Mass Shootings Only Guarantees There Will Be More of Them
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by William L Anderson
"American life is thoroughly politicized, to the point where there seems to be a talking points template to discuss anything that occurs. Thus, in the aftermath of the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, the same script is replayed in the media that was replayed from the shooting in Buffalo, which was replayed from the shooting in ... Each political tribe has its own script, with the assumption being that because these awful events are being politicized, a political solution exists (along with a political cause)." (06/01/22)
https://mises.org/wire/politicizing-mass-shootings-only-guarantees-there-will-be-more-them
-----
38) The Wobblies' Return
Source: Quillette
by Thmas Doherty
"'One Big Union' was the grand vision -- an omnibus labor front to unite and galvanize wage workers, skilled and unskilled, male and female, even black and white, who would lock arms across occupational specialties and stand together against the capitalist bosses and their thugs. In 1905, the dream was realized as the International Workers of the World, known by the red-flag initials 'IWW,' and more familiarly, or contemptuously, as the Wobblies. ... The Wobblies [is]an unabashedly hagiographic documentary directed by Stewart Bird and Deborah Shaffer. Originally released in 1979, the film has now been given the 4K restoration treatment from the Museum of Modern Art and a limited theatrical push by Kino Lorber. On May 30th, it will be available for VOD streaming. Like the union it commemorates, the film is worth a second look through 2022 eyes." (06/01/22)
https://quillette.com/2022/06/01/the-return-of-the-wobblies/
-----
39) Old Men Talking Sense on Ukraine
Source: CounterPunch
by Patrick Cockburn
"Some of the most sensible commentary about the Ukraine war is being made by people in their nineties, born before the Second World War and with vivid recollections of the Cold War. One is 98-year-old Henry Kissinger and another is the 94-year-old Israeli global strategist Prof Yehezkel Dror of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Both men are old and distinguished enough not to be caught up in popular war hysteria or foreign policy establishment conventional wisdom and herd instinct. I have never been tempted to write many good words about Kissinger, but his realism about the war is a welcome contrast to those who would like to see it go on ad infinitum in vain pursuit of some unattainable victory." (06/01/22)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/06/01/old-men-talking-sense-on-ukraine/
-----
40) Human Irrationality and Free Markets
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
"If everyone was irrational all of the time, we would be in big trouble. You'd never know when someone was suddenly going to swerve off the road for no apparent reason and drive into a building, or start babbling to you in tongues over the phone when all you wanted to do was order a pizza. That being said, people are irrational enough of the time that behavioral economists never tire in telling us that they are not suitable for a market economy and need regulations to 'nudge' them in the right direction. ... For the main part, the market is what defends us against the consequences of the irrationality of others." (06/01/22)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/human-irrationality-and-free-markets/
-----
41) Ukrainian Official Behind Western Media Reports Of Russian Atrocities Fired By Ukrainian Parliament
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
"A Ukrainian government official frequently cited as a source by western news media for her allegations of atrocities committed by Russian troops has been fired by the Ukrainian parliament, in part because of the unevidenced nature of those claims. ... As it happens, Newsweek is one of the many western outlets who have uncritically cited Denisova's unevidenced claims in their reporting of events in Ukraine. She was the 'Ukraine official' in Newsweek's incendiary April headline 'Russians Raped 11-Year-Old Boy, Forced Mom to Watch: Ukraine Official,' an article whose entire first half featured unevidenced claims by Denisova. ... Denisova's name featured just the other day in my own critique of the western media's blind-faith regurgitation of Ukrainian government assertions when multiple western media outlets parroted her unevidenced claims about two Russians raping a one year-old baby to death." (06/01/22)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2022/06/01/ukrainian-official-behind-western-media-reports-of-russian-atrocities-fired-by-ukrainian-parliament/
-----
42) Have the Afghan people been forgotten?
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Anees Aref
"While most eyes are turned elsewhere, the situation in Afghanistan continues to worsen. The Russia-Ukraine conflict is indeed a tragedy, but the laser focus with which the United States and its European allies have trained on the Ukrainian cause underscores their double standards when it comes to addressing humanitarian crises around the world, particularly in cases where they bear considerable responsibility -- be it in Yemen, Syria, or indeed, Afghanistan. Today, millions of Afghans lack food and financial means, with the country unable to feed itself or provide essential services, largely due to the roughly $7 billion dollars of Afghan central bank funds currently sitting in U.S. banks, plus more at the World Bank, frozen by sanctions." (06/01/22)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2022/06/01/have-the-afghan-people-been-forgotten/
-----
43) We Have Entered the Self-Pity Stage of the Biden Presidency
Source: The New Republic
by Alex Shephard
"Joe Biden and the Democrats are feeling very sorry for themselves. It is surprising that it took this long to reach this stage: Biden's approval rating has been underwater since mid-August, when the botched [sic] withdrawal from Afghanistan precipitated a rapid sea change in public opinion. Since then, he has been mired in what can only be described as the Trump zone: stubbornly popular with 40 percent of the electorate, stubbornly unpopular with everyone else. ... wallowing to the Beltway media about how rough it is to do politics isn't going to help anyone. There's still time to confront inflation and lower costs for consumers -- but it will take deeds, not words, to truly give Democrats something to run on when voters go to the polls in five months." (06/01/22)
https://newrepublic.com/article/166658/biden-messaging-inflation-2022-midterms
-----
44) New laws won't solve problems
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
"Senseless aggression toward innocent victims enrages me. No matter who is harmed or who commits the act. But to intentionally target children? Rage doesn't begin to describe what I feel. Are you ready for some hard truth? Some of you are; those who aren't should probably read the comics instead. You'll never stop crime with new legislation and harsher enforcement. You'll never even reduce crime that way." (06/01/22)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2022/06/01/voices/opinion-new-laws-wont-solve-problems/172116.html
-----
45) Broken homes creating broken people
Source: Fox News Forum
by Greg Gutfeld
"So, following last week's mass shooting, 30 more people were killed over the weekend, 13 in Philly alone. Residents are now safer at Bill Cosby's house. So, to tackle issues like mass shootings and this nightly murder, I think we should go to the very beginning. You know, our cosmos are 13.8 billion years old. Bet you didn't think I meant literally the beginning. But I figure we'll start there and that by my estimate, we should be done with this monologue by the time William Devane runs out of gold. But to see what evil looks like now, it helps to see it with a backdrop of history. It might tell us where we went wrong in this blink of an eye of the last 30 years, because something did." (06/01/22)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/greg-gutfeld-broken-homes-are-creating-broken-people
-----
46) Politicians Should Resist the Urge To "Do Anything" in Response to School Shootings
Source: Reason
by Jacob Sullum
"After a gunman murdered 19 children and two adults at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, last week, politicians responded as they always do to such shocking crimes. Democrats pushed gun control policies ranging from the symbolic to the flagrantly irrelevant, while Republicans emphasized improvements to school security. On its face, 'hardening' schools so they are less vulnerable to attacks seems more logical than banning 'assault weapons' defined by functionally unimportant features or expanding the federal background-check requirement for gun buyers, which is ill-suited to deterring mass shooters because they typically do not have disqualifying criminal or psychiatric records. But the approach favored by Republicans has pitfalls that legislators should not ignore in their rush to 'do something' about crimes that are horrifying but rare." (06/01/22)
https://reason.com/2022/06/01/politicians-should-resist-the-urge-to-do-anything-in-response-to-school-shootings/
-----
47) Breaking the Blockade Risks War With Russia
Source: Antiwar.com
by Daniel Larison
"Some US allies and Russia hawks in Washington are now agitating for the US and other members of NATO to use their naval forces break the Russian blockade of Ukraine. Retired Adm. James Stavridis is one of the latest advocates of this reckless idea, and he tries to sell it as an updated version of the US role in the Tanker War during the war between Iran and Iraq. The comparison is not a promising one. Russia's Black Sea Fleet is a more capable force than Iran's navy was, Russia has repeatedly warned against outside interference in the war, and the Tanker War did not involve the possibility of setting off a war between NATO and a nuclear-armed major power." (06/01/22)
https://original.antiwar.com/daniel_larison/2022/05/31/breaking-the-blockade-risks-war-with-russia/
-----
48) Mass Shootings and Gun Violence: Why Buffalo? Why Uvalde?
Source: Independent Institute
by William F Shughart II
"When I get to criminal law at the end of the semester, I ask my law & economics students, 'why do mass shootings seem to be on the rise?' The recent horrific events in Buffalo, NY, and Uvalde, TX, raise that question again. The headlines were followed by the usual demands to 'do something,' meaning enact more stringent gun control laws, which, of course, criminals will not obey. The first answer to my question relies on what the literature calls marginal deterrence." (05/31/22)
https://blog.independent.org/2022/05/31/mass-shootings-gun-violence-buffalo-uvalde/
-----
49) Peace in Ukraine as a "matter of rights?"
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
"No one knows how the war in Ukraine will end, whether Russia loses or gains control of territory – or whether talks lead to a hybrid political compromise. A glimpse of the latter is now playing out across the Black Sea in negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The longtime rivals may be showing what's at stake in Ukraine. A year and a half after their 44-day war over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, the two neighbors are negotiating something more than borders or ethnic sovereignty. Having lost the war, Armenia has put a novel issue on the table: whether 20,000 to 25,000 Armenians left living under Azerbaijani control should be granted a guarantee of basic rights such as equality and freedom of religion. In other words, should they be treated as individuals first and not as an 'other' with a group identity, but rather as people who fully enjoy the protection of democratic values?" (06/01/22)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2022/0531/Peace-in-Ukraine-as-a-matter-of-rights
-----
50) That Which is Unseen: Rental Housing Edition
Source: EconLog
by Jon Murphy
"I recently accepted a job as an Instructor at Western Carolina University. Given I currently live in Syracuse, New York, this position requires me to break my lease and move to North Carolina. When informing my landlord of my new job and what it means for our contractual agreement, he informed me that he'd be willing to waive the penalties for breaking the lease if I moved out sooner rather than later. The rental market in Syracuse is incredibly hot, and he could earn higher rent by re-renting my apartment than if I stayed. ... the deal he offered me will save me about $4,000 in rent and utilities. He wins, I win, and I took the deal. When discussing this with some friends, one friend responded, 'what a scum landlord.'" (05/31/22)
https://www.econlib.org/that-which-is-unseen-rental-housing-edition/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) The Chris Spangle Show, 06/01/22
Source: We are Libertarians
"Will Crypto Be Regulated?" [Flash audio] (06/01/22)
https://www.chrisspangle.com/p/new-episode-will-crypto-be-regulated
-----
52) Free Talk Live, 06/01/22
Source: Free Talk Live
"Nikki's Journey in California :: Similac-sponsored Hospitals :: Vasectomies & being pro-choice :: Police brutality in Kansas :: Intimidation tactics of government :: Police shoot unarmed pregnant woman :: Sara and Aria the Transformer :: Anti-China Chinese Schoolbook :: Show: 2022-06-01 Aria, Nikki, Bonnie." [Flash audio or MP3] (06/01/22)
https://freetalklive.com/archives?ppplayer=5c48425a5422918dc6f904bd1cb7e00f&ppepisode=132cfdaf7f8751fa2a0fd9f465873577
-----
53) Rising, 06/01/22
Source: The Hill
"Finance reporter for The Hill, Sylvan Lane, joins the hosts to discuss President Biden's plan to address inflation." [Flash video] (06/01/22)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/3507754-rising-june-1-2022/
-----
54) IP ... Frequently, episode 137
Source: IP ... Frequently
"Bye Bye COVID, Hello Monkeypox." [various formats] (06/01/22)
https://anchor.fm/ip-frequently/episodes/Ep–137--Bye-Bye-COVID–Hello-Monkeypox-e1jasgs
-----
55) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 06/01/22
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
"Not Again! Biden Unveils $700 Million MORE For Ukraine Weapons!" [Flash video] (06/01/22)
http://www.ronpaullibertyreport.com/archives/not-again-biden-unveils-700-million-more-for-ukraine-weapons
-----
56) The History of Modern Politics, episode 11
Source: We Are Libertarians
"The Birth of Parliament." [various formats] (06/01/22)
https://wearelibertarians.com/hmp-11-the-birth-of-parliament/
-----
57) The Argument, 06/01/22
Source: New York Times
"A Debate Over 'Common Sense' Gun Legislation." [Flash audio] (06/01/22)
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-debate-over-common-sense-gun-legislation/id1438024613?i=1000564800956
-----
58) FiveThirtyEight Politics Podcast, 05/31/22
Source: FiveThirtyEight
"Are Democrats Actually In Disarray?" [various formats] (05/31/22)
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/politics-podcast-are-democrats-actually-in-disarray/
-----
59) Mark Thornton on The Scott Horton Show
Source: The Scott Horton Show
"Mark Thornton on Paper Money, Housing Bubbles and Free Trade." [various formats] (05/31/22)
https://scotthorton.org/interviews/5-25-22-mark-thornton-on-paper-money-housing-bubbles-and-free-trade/
-----
60) The Wright Show, 05/31/22
Source: Bloggingheads.tv
"Is Everything Falling Apart? | Robert Wright & Jonathan Haidt." [Flash video] (05/31/22)
https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/64247
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Oil prices drop ahead of OPEC+ meeting
2) US employers report 11.4 million job openings, holding at near-record highs
3) Canada: Regime to decriminalize some drugs in British Columbia for three years
4) US regime unveils $700 million military aid package for Ukraine; fighting rages in Donbas
5) Jury awards Depp $15 million in damages in libel suit against Heard, gives her $2 million in countersuit
6) Tunisia: UGTT announces general strike in public sector for June 16
7) Biden keeps repeating false Second Amendment claims, despite repeated fact checks
8) NYC: Subway shooting victim files frivolous lawsuit vs. Glock
9) Netherlands increases military spending
10) Scientists discover self-cloning sea grass that's "biggest plant on Earth" off Australian coast
11) Leader of now-defunct Colombian drug cartel dies in US jail
12) Musk: Remote work "no longer acceptable" at Tesla
13) CA: LA lifeguard's pay tops $500,000, investigation discovers
14) Libya: Oil company says broken pipeline causes crude spill
15) Biden HHS Won't Reverse Medicare Premium Hike This Year
16) Court rejects Palin's bid to revive frivolous defamation suit
17) MI: GOP candidate for governor loses key ballot ruling
18) Denmark: Russian regime cuts off natural gas
19) Attempted Reagan assassin John Hinckley to get unconditional release
20) SCOTUS blocks Texas regime's attempt to seize control of social media
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Don't Worry About Bitcoin
22) Of Car Keys and "Gun Control"
23) "Everything Is Terrible, but I'm Fine"
24) LNC Resolution on Edward Snowden
25) Parents are still being treated like terrorists
26) The RNC's Ground Game of Inches
27) What do you want cops to emphasize?
28) The New York Times Explains Why Mask Mandates Don't Work
29) The US loves a winner, not a whiner, Joe Biden
30) Authoritarian Pandemic Policies: A Reckoning
31) Biden's inner Trudeau: On guns, he seems to be operating under the wrong Constitution
32) America Needs a Jubilee
33) Yes, Supply Problems Can Cause Inflation
34) Do More Than Baby Steps
35) Fear & Loathing in San Francisco: How Chesa Boudin Got Blamed
36) The thoughtpolice are a law unto themselves
37) Politicizing Mass Shootings Only Guarantees There Will Be More of Them
38) The Wobblies' Return
39) Old Men Talking Sense on Ukraine
40) Human Irrationality and Free Markets
41) Ukrainian Official Behind Western Media Reports Of Russian Atrocities Fired By Ukrainian Parliament
42) Have the Afghan people been forgotten?
43) We Have Entered the Self-Pity Stage of the Biden Presidency
44) New laws won't solve problems
45) Broken homes creating broken people
46) Politicians Should Resist the Urge To "Do Anything" in Response to School Shootings
47) Breaking the Blockade Risks War With Russia
48) Mass Shootings and Gun Violence: Why Buffalo? Why Uvalde?
49) Peace in Ukraine as a "matter of rights?"
50) That Which is Unseen: Rental Housing Edition
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) The Chris Spangle Show, 06/01/22
52) Free Talk Live, 06/01/22
53) Rising, 06/01/22
54) IP ... Frequently, episode 137
55) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 06/01/22
56) The History of Modern Politics, episode 11
57) The Argument, 06/01/22
58) FiveThirtyEight Politics Podcast, 05/31/22
59) Mark Thornton on The Scott Horton Show
60) The Wright Show, 05/31/22
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Oil prices drop ahead of OPEC+ meeting
Source: MarketWatch
"Oil prices fell on Thursday ahead of an OPEC+ meeting, after a report surfaced that Saudi Arabia was prepared to pump more oil to compensate for any Russian output loss. ... Oil prices were sliding after the Financial Times reported that Saudi Arabia has told Western allies that it will raise production if it becomes apparent that global supply is facing a big drop in Russian output due to sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine. Citing five persons with knowledge of the matter, the report said those concerns have increased since the EU recently imposing a ban on Russian oil by sea. The sources said that Saudi Arabia sees a tight market, but no major shortages for now, though a ramping up of China's economy as it recovers from the latest COVID outbreak could pressure supplies further." (06/02/22)
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-drop-ahead-of-opec-meeting-on-report-saudis-will-make-up-for-any-lost-russian-crude-11654151987
-----
2) US employers report 11.4 million job openings, holding at near-record highs
Source: The Hill
"Job openings remained at near record highs, according to a report released Wednesday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. job openings decreased slightly to 11.4 million on the last business day in April, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover report. About 4.4 million Americans quit their jobs in April. New hires were little changed, at 6.6 million, and job separations remained around 6 million. Unemployment was lower in April than a year earlier in 388 of the 389 metropolitan areas surveyed. About 170 regions had unemployment rates less than 3 percent, with the overall unemployment rate reported in May standing at 3.6 percent." (06/01/22)
https://thehill.com/policy/finance/3507865-us-employers-report-11-4-m-job-openings-holding-at-record-highs/
-----
3) Canada: Regime to decriminalize some drugs in British Columbia for three years
Source: The Guardian [UK]
"Canada's government has announced that it will allow the province of British Columbia to try a three-year experiment in decriminalizing possession of small amounts of drugs, hoping it will help stem a record number of overdose deaths by easing a fear of arrest by those who need help. The policy approved by federal officials doesn't legalize the substances, but Canadians in the Pacific coast province who possess up to 2.5g of illicit drugs for personal use will not be arrested or charged. The three-year exemption effective 31 January will apply to drug users 18 and over and include opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA, also known as ecstasy." (06/01/22)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/31/canada-decriminalize-drugs-british-columbia-overdoses
-----
4) US regime unveils $700 million military aid package for Ukraine; fighting rages in Donbas
Source: CNBC
"U.S. President Joe Biden has pledged to send Ukraine more advanced rocket systems and munitions to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield. The White House had been hesitant to send the weapons, which have long been requested by Kyiv. The Biden administration will send the systems as part of a new $700 million military aid package for Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described Russian bombing in the front-line eastern city of Sievierodonetsk as 'insanity' given the presence of a large-scale chemical plant. Residents of Sievierodonetsk have been warned not to leave bomb shelters due to the risk posed by toxic fumes." (06/01/22)
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/01/russia-ukraine-live-updates.html
-----
5) Jury awards Depp $15 million in damages in libel suit against Heard, gives her $2 million in countersuit
Source: CBS News
"Amber Heard was found liable for defaming Johnny Depp in an op-ed published in the Washington Post, and Depp was found liable for a statement his attorney made to the Daily Mail calling her claims a hoax, a jury decided Wednesday. They awarded Depp a total $15 million in damages and Heard $2 million. The verdict marked the end of a dramatic trial in the civil suit that laid bare the troubled marriage between the stars. ... the judge said state law caps punitive damages at $350,000, meaning Depp's award would total $10.35 million." (06/01/22)
https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/johnny-depp-amber-heard-lawsuit-jury-verdict/
-----
6) Tunisia: UGTT announces general strike in public sector for June 16
Source: North Africa Post [Morocco]
"The Tunisian powerful General Labor Union (UGTT) has announced a general strike in the public sector on Thursday, June 16, reports Tunisian news agency TAP, citing a strike note circulated by UGTT on Tuesday. The UGTT called for nullifying [a circular] of December 9, 2021 related to negotiations with the unions, and apply, instead, all the agreements signed with the government. The UGTT also called for immediately holding wage negotiations, revolving around improving purchasing power under 2021, 2022 and 2023." (06/01/22)
https://northafricapost.com/58061-tunisia-ugtt-announces-general-strike-in-public-sector-on-june-16.html
-----
7) Biden keeps repeating false Second Amendment claims, despite repeated fact checks
Source: Fox News
"President Biden has revived a pro-gun control talking point in the wake of the Uvalde mass school shooting that has been repeatedly debunked throughout the years. Biden told reporters on Memorial Day that the Second Amendment didn't allow for the ownership of cannons when it was adopted as part of the Bill of Rights in 1791. 'The Second Amendment was never absolute,' he said Monday, according to a White House transcript. 'You couldn't buy a cannon when the Second Amendment was passed. You couldn't go out and purchase a lot of weapons.' Biden has repeated the claim at least five times during his presidency, despite it earning him 'Four Pinocchios' from the Washington Post in 2021 and a 'False' label from Politifact on three separate occasions dating back to May 2020. Biden made the claim again just last week after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School." (06/01/22)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-false-claim-second-amendment-fact-checks
-----
8) NYC: Subway shooting victim files frivolous lawsuit vs. Glock
Source: NBC News
"A woman who was shot in the Brooklyn subway shooting in April that left 10 people wounded filed a lawsuit Tuesday against gun maker Glock Inc. and its parent company, accusing them of fueling 'a public nuisance' in New York and endangering public health and safety. Ilene Steur, the woman behind the federal lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of New York, was on her way to work when she was shot in the April 12 attack where a gunman fire dozens of bullet into a busy subway train. The shooting suspect, Frank James, is alleged to have used a 9mm Glock handgun in the shooting." (06/01/22)
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/brooklyn-subway-shooting-victim-sues-gun-maker-glock-fueling-public-nu-rcna31372
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9) Netherlands increases military spending
Source: A TV News [Turkey]
"The Dutch government on Wednesday announced what it is calling the biggest boost in its military spending since the end of the Cold War as war rages in Ukraine. Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said 'threats in the world and the war in Ukraine show that peace and security cannot be taken for granted.' Ollongren unveiled 5 billion euros ($5.3 billion) a year in increased military spending. The extra money will fund military hardware purchases in coming years including six new F-35 fighter jets and a doubling of the military's fleet of MQ-9 Reaper drones from four to eight. The Defense Ministry said the investment means the Netherlands will meet the NATO agreed defense spending of 2% of its gross domestic product in 2024 and 2025." (06/01/22)
https://www.anews.com.tr/world/2022/06/01/netherlands-increases-military-spending
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10) Scientists discover self-cloning sea grass that's "biggest plant on Earth" off Australian coast
Source: USA Today
"A new study revealed that self-cloning sea grass located off the western Australian coast is actually one individual plant, making it the largest ever and the size of the entire city of Cincinnati. The peer-reviewed study, published Wednesday in the journal, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, examined meadows of sea grass that rested on the ocean floor in Shark Bay coast, located 500 miles from Perth. It was determined that the sea grass has actually been cloning itself for nearly 4,500 years but all that grass is part of one entire plant." (06/01/22)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2022/06/01/biggest-plant-earth-australian-coast/7467339001/
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11) Leader of now-defunct Colombian drug cartel dies in US jail
Source: SFGate
"Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela, an elderly leader of the former Cali cartel that smuggled vast amounts of cocaine from Colombia to the United States in the 1980s and 1990s, has died in a U.S. prison, his lawyer said Wednesday. In 2020, a judge had denied Rodríguez Orejuela, who was in his 80s, early release on compassionate grounds from a prison in Butner, North Carolina. His attorney, David O. Markus, had said at the time that the former drug kingpin was suffering a range of health problems. 'We were very sad to learn about his passing last night,' Markus said Wednesday. 'Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time.' Rodríguez Orejuela and his brother, Miguel, built a huge criminal enterprise that succeeded the Medellin cartel once run by drug lord Pablo Escobar. Both operations used violence and killings extensively for intimidation and enforcement." (06/01/22)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Leader-of-now-defunct-Colombian-drug-cartel-dies-17212120.php
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12) Musk: Remote work "no longer acceptable" at Tesla
Source: The Verge
"Tesla CEO Elon Musk has taken a hardline stance against his employees working from home, Electrek and Bloomberg report. In an email apparently sent to the company's executive staff with the subject line 'Remote work is no longer acceptable,' the CEO said employees must spend a minimum of 40 hours per week in the office, or else 'depart Tesla.' He said this should be a 'main Tesla office,' and not a 'remote branch office.' Responding to a screenshot of the alleged email posted to Twitter, Musk did not deny its authenticity, and wrote that anyone who disagrees with a policy of coming into the office 'should pretend to work somewhere else.'" (06/01/22)
https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/1/23149784/elon-musk-tesla-remote-work-leaked-email-40-hours
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13) CA: LA lifeguard's pay tops $500,000, investigation discovers
Source: Fox News
"It pays to be a lifeguard in Los Angeles County. So much, in fact, that a government watchdog is sounding the alarm to taxpayers in the California county and beyond. An investigation by OpenTheBooks.com discovered that LA's highest-paid ocean lifeguard, a captain named Daniel Douglas, raked in a total of $510,283 in total compensation last year, nearly half of which ($246,060) was from overtime pay. Douglas' base salary is $150,054, and he brought in another $28,661 in 'other pay' and $85,508 in benefits to surpass the half-million-dollar mark. Douglas is not the only high-earning lifeguard on the county's payroll. The No. 2 earner in 2021 was lifeguard chief Fernando Boiteux, who made $463,517, followed by section chief Kenichi Ballew-Haskett at $409,414. All told, 98 LA lifeguards made at least $200,000 last year, and OpenTheBooks.com founder Adam Andrzejewski wrote in a substack post explaining the breakdown that 'it's time we put Baywatch on pay watch.'" (06/01/22)
https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/los-angeles-lifeguard-pay-tops-500000
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14) Libya: Oil company says broken pipeline causes crude spill
Source: Seattle Times
"A pipeline rupture in Libya is spewing thousands of barrels of oil into the desert, as workers scramble to seal off the leak, authorities said Wednesday. The damage to a land pipeline linking the Sarir oil field to the Tobruk terminal on the Mediterranean was the latest blow to Libya's struggling oil industry, as renewed tensions again divide the chaos-stricken country. The Arabian Gulf Oil Company, which operates the pipeline, estimates that some 22,000 barrels a day were being lost from the leak, which started Tuesday. It posted footage of the spill and said efforts to stop it were still underway." (06/01/22)
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/libya-oil-company-says-broken-pipeline-causes-crude-spill/
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15) Biden HHS Won't Reverse Medicare Premium Hike This Year
Source: Common Dreams
"The Biden administration quietly announced last week that it will leave in place one of the largest-ever Medicare premium hikes for the remainder of 2022, despite federal health officials' decision to restrict coverage of the expensive and potentially ineffective Alzheimer's drug that drove the increase. Progressive healthcare advocates responded with outrage to the administration's Friday announcement, warning that it will inflict entirely avoidable financial pain on vulnerable seniors and hand the GOP an effective talking point heading into the November midterms. 'This is a terrible decision,' Linda Benesch, communications director of Social Security Works, told Common Dreams. 'Seniors should never have been forced to pay inflated Medicare premiums for an ineffective, dangerous, and massively overpriced drug.'" [editor's note: The real crime is that this fancy drug, that may only involve a small percentage of seniors, was not added as a "premium benefit" you could choose or reject – SAT] (06/01/22)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/06/01/gift-mcconnell-biden-hhs-wont-reverse-medicare-premium-hike-year
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16) Court rejects Palin's bid to revive frivolous defamation suit
Source: CNN
"A judge has denied former vice-presidential nominee and Alaskan governor Sarah Palin's bid for a new trial in her defamation case against the New York Times, according to a written decision filed Tuesday in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. Palin sued the Times and its former editorial page editor James Bennet in 2017 after they published an editorial that erroneously linked a map that Palin's political action committee had posted to a shooting in 2011 that killed six and injured 13 others, including former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, CNN has reported. A jury found in February that Palin had not proven her case. 'Because Palin's instant motion is wholly lacking in merit, the Court denies it in full,' said the opinion and order from Judge Jed Rakoff." (06/01/22)
https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/01/media/sarah-palin-new-york-times/index.html
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17) MI: GOP candidate for governor loses key ballot ruling
Source: SFGate
"A Republican candidate for Michigan governor lost a bid to get on the Aug. 2 primary ballot Wednesday in the first key court decision since election officials found campaign petitions rife with fraudulent signatures. The ruling affects Perry Johnson, a wealthy businessman considered to be a leading candidate for the GOP nomination. But the decision could also apply to three other candidates, including former Detroit Police Chief James Craig, who also have scratched from the GOP ballot. Separate legal challenges were pending. There seems to be no dispute that fraudulent signatures were turned in by paid circulators, though there's no evidence that the candidates were aware of the scam. They were declared ineligible last week, the result of a tie vote by the Board of State Canvassers. State election officials said Johnson, Craig, Michael Markey and Donna Brandenburg didn't meet the 15,000-signature threshold because of fraudulent signatures." (06/01/22)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/GOP-candidate-for-Michigan-governor-loses-key-17212215.php
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18) Denmark: Russian regime cuts off natural gas
Source: ABC News
"Denmark's largest energy company said Russia cut off its gas supply Wednesday because it refused to pay in rubles, the latest escalation over European energy amid the war in Ukraine. Russia previously halted natural gas supplies to Finland, Poland and Bulgaria for refusing a demand to pay in rubles. And on Tuesday, the tap was turned off to the Netherlands. ... In response to Western sanctions imposed against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree saying foreign buyers needed to pay in rubles for Russian gas as of April 1." (06/01/22)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/russia-cutting-off-natural-gas-denmark-company-85103549
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19) Attempted Reagan assassin John Hinckley to get unconditional release
Source: Fox News
"John Hinckley, the would-be assassin of President Ronald Reagan, will receive an unconditional release from prison, a federal judge has confirmed. Hinckley, 67, attempted to assassinate Reagan in 1981. U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman announced Hinckley will be released on June 15. The judge previously announced in September that Hinckley would be released so long as he remained in good behavior, which he has. 'If he hadn't tried to kill a president he would have been released unconditionally a long time ago,' Judge Friedman said at the time." (06/01/22)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/attempted-reagan-assassin-john-hinckley-unconditional-release
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20) SCOTUS blocks Texas regime's attempt to seize control of social media
Source: Politico
"The Supreme Court has suspended a Texas law banning online platforms from restricting user posts based on their political views, representing a major win for social media companies. In a 5-4 ruling, the court granted an emergency stay request on Tuesday from tech industry groups that petitioned to block the law, which is being appealed in a federal appellate court. The companies have argued the law violates their First Amendment rights to control what content they disseminate on their websites and platforms." (05/31/22)
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/31/texas-social-media-censorship-scotus-00036146
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Don't Worry About Bitcoin
Source: Freeman's Perspective
by Paul Rosenberg
"There are, apparently, a lot of people who think Bitcoin is down for the count. Forget about that; Bitcoin is doing just fine and 'the count' is just a sideshow. I should probably say this more often, but Bitcoin is not a stock, not a bond, it's not a company ... it literally cannot go broke. Bitcoin is a computer program. A brilliant one, in my opinion, but a computer program. The price of a bitcoin in dollars makes no difference to the operation of the Bitcoin program ... none at all. This is simply not a thing that can go bankrupt and close its doors: There are no doors, there is no company, there is no boss ... there's not even a reset switch." (06/01/22)
https://freemansperspective.com/dont-worry-about-bitcoin/
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22) Of Car Keys and "Gun Control"
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
"The clamor for 'gun control' never goes away in American politics. It occasionally simmers down to a dull roar, but every mass shooting recharges the bullhorn batteries. Thus, in the wake of the recent atrocities in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, a Morning Consult / Politico Poll poll says that 56% of Americans consider it 'a top priority' or 'an important, but lower priority' for Congress to pass legislation 'placing additional restrictions on gun ownership,' with only 23% saying that 'shouldn't be done.' To put it a different way, 56% of Americans resemble the proverbial drunk looking for his car keys under a streetlight, rather than a block away where he lost them, because 'the light is better here.'" (06/02/22)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/16873
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23) "Everything Is Terrible, but I'm Fine"
Source: The Atlantic
by Derek Thompson
"In May, the Federal Reserve published a report on the economic well-being of American households in 2021. ... The Fed also asked Americans how they felt about the local and national economy. And though the number of Americans who said that they personally were 'doing at least okay' actually rose slightly from 2019 to 2021, their evaluation of the national economy plummeted in that time frame. If this graph were a bumper sticker, it would read: EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE, BUT I'M FINE. So what's going on here? Why is the gap between 'how I'm doing' and 'how America is doing' so dramatic?" (06/01/22)
https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2022/06/american-economy-negative-perception-inflation/661149/
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24) LNC Resolution on Edward Snowden
Source: Libertarian Party
by Libertarian National Committee
"Whereas, The Libertarian Party has long held and defended the rights of all people to be free from unwarranted and unlawful government surveillance and spying; and Whereas, The Libertarian Party Platform states '1.3 Privacy: Libertarians advocate individual privacy and government transparency. We support the rights recognized by the Fourth Amendment to be secure in our persons, homes, property, and communications. Protection from unreasonable search and seizure should include records held by third parties, such as email, medical, and library records.;' now therefore, be it Resolved, That the Libertarian Party calls on President Joseph Biden to grant an immediate and unconditional Presidential pardon to the privacy advocate and political prisoner in exile, Mr. Edward Snowden ..." (06/01/22)
https://www.lp.org/edward-snowden-resolution/
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25) Parents are still being treated like terrorists
Source: spiked
by Sean Collins
"Last year, protests flared up at school-board meetings across the US, as parents expressed their anger and opposition to Covid mask mandates and lessons inspired by critical race theory. Amid these uprisings, in September 2021, the National School Boards Association (NSBA) sent a letter calling on President Biden to investigate the protesters, under the post-9/11 Patriot Act, for 'domestic terrorism and hate crimes'. A few days later, attorney general Merrick Garland issued a memo directing the FBI to collaborate with state attorneys and local law enforcement to monitor and potentially prosecute anyone who threatens school administrators and teachers. As heavy-handed and scornful as that infamous NSBA letter was, we have now learned that it could have been worse. An independent review has revealed that the original draft of the NSBA letter included an incredible appeal to the Biden administration to deploy the National Guard and military police to school districts where there are protests." (06/01/22)
https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/06/01/parents-are-still-being-treated-like-terrorists/
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26) The RNC's Ground Game of Inches
Source: The American Prospect
by Alexander Sammon
"In some sense, it was predictable that my search for any information about one of the Republican National Committee's two dozen community centers would lead me back to Facebook. Years had passed since I'd vacated my account, a period during which the site had been annexed as the primary digital station for conservative messaging. If the party's newest grassroots outreach initiative existed anywhere online, it had to be here. I was in search of a contact or a programming schedule at the RNC's Native American Community Center in Pembroke, North Carolina, in the largely rural, poverty-addled county of Robeson, in the state's southeast corner. Pembroke marked the 21st community center opened by the RNC of the 2022 election cycle, as part of an overt racial minority outreach program." (06/01/22)
https://prospect.org/politics/rncs-ground-game-of-inches-convert-minorities-into-republicans/
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27) What do you want cops to emphasize?
Source: Downsize DC
by Jim Babka
"Laws are just words on paper without enforcement. Laws are better with better enforcement. Better law enforcement begins with improving the incentives involved. Right now, cops and prosecutors focus too much on arrests and convictions. They use these measurements to demonstrate that they are performing well. They should be measuring something else." (06/01/22)
https://downsizedc.org/blog/cops-emphasize/
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28) The New York Times Explains Why Mask Mandates Don't Work
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Jon Miltimore
"Throughout the pandemic, few things incited more discord than the mandated use of facemasks as a preventative measure to reduce the spread of Covid-19. At various times, merely questioning the effectiveness of masks or mask mandates could result in a social media suspension, as when Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) received the boot from YouTube for citing research that suggested cloth masks were ineffective at containing Covid (something CNN admitted months later). ... On Tuesday, President Biden's Justice Department asked a federal appeals court to overturn a District Court judge's order that declared the government mask mandate on airplanes, buses, and other transit unlawful .... The same day the DOJ's appeal was filed, The New York Times published an article that explores the ineffectiveness of mask mandates." (06/01/22)
https://fee.org/articles/the-new-york-times-explains-why-mask-mandates-don-t-work/
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29) The US loves a winner, not a whiner, Joe Biden
Source: New York Post
by Michael Goodwin
"It is a poor worker who blames his tools, though apparently that wisdom hasn't reached the Oval Office. That's where widdle Joey Biden is crying about his predicament and blaming the help. He believes his aides are failing him and it's their fault he's as popular as poison ivy. NBC News says he's upset the slugs can't dream up a winning message for Democrats this fall and are undercutting his image of being a straight shooter by cleaning up things he says. The blame game is pathetic, but the last item is especially a howler, given Biden's long career as a fabulist. His Friday claim to Naval Academy grads that he was 'appointed' to the academy out of high school is the latest example of how he makes things up that are provably false." (06/01/22)
https://nypost.com/2022/05/31/the-us-loves-a-winner-not-a-whiner-joe-biden/
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30) Authoritarian Pandemic Policies: A Reckoning
Source: Brownstone Institute
by John HS Aberg
"With the Corona crisis another chapter was written in the biopolitical book of life. During the last two years, we have observed an unprecedented level of irrationality and political ill will in dealing with the pandemic. Vaccine mandates, vaccine apartheid, lockdowns, masking of schoolchildren, and ensuing restrictions on our freedom of assembly and movement are some of the manifold examples where states went wrong. Otherwise vocal scholars -- aiming their intellectual ammunition against the global capitalist system, corporate political influence, and unjust social structures -- were conspicuously silent, either defending what was unfolding or they were simply afraid, afraid to tell the truth, knowing the repercussions it would have. I take a critical stance against the state of exception and many of the policies implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic, but in particular I argue against the wide use of exclusionary social closure based on vaccination status." (06/01/22)
https://brownstone.org/articles/authoritarian-pandemic-policies-a-reckoning/
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31) Biden's inner Trudeau: On guns, he seems to be operating under the wrong Constitution
Source: The Hill
by Jonathan Turley
"Politicians have long admitted that a crisis is an opportunity not to be missed -- the greater the tragedy, the greater the opportunity. ... Vice President Kamala Harris got out front of the White House by demanding a ban on AR-15s, the most popular weapon in America. Then President Joe Biden created a stir by suggesting he might seek to ban 9mm weapons. Such calls are not limited to the United States. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that his government is introducing legislation to 'implement a national freeze on handgun ownership.' ... The difference between the push in the two countries is the existence of the Second Amendment in the United States -- a constitutionally mandated 'reason' why Americans are allowed to have guns; they don't have to prove it to the government." (06/01/22)
https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/3507817-bidens-inner-trudeau-on-guns-he-seems-to-be-operating-under-the-wrong-constitution/
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32) America Needs a Jubilee
Source: Common Dreams
by Ariel Gold
"The horrifying mass murder of 18 school children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas last week occurred at the same time as the funeral of Celestine Chaney, grandmother of six and Buffalo, New York mass shooting victim, was taking place. Only two of the ten Black Americans killed in Buffalo by avowed white supremacists had been yet laid to rest when that tragedy had to be pushed out of top news to make room for yet another gruesome U.S. mass shooting. The Buffalo and Uvalde mass shootings, which took place only ten days apart, were strikingly similar in that they both left gaping holes in minority communities and exemplify much of what is broken in American society. A profound response is needed. White supremacist mass shootings aside, Black children and teens in America are 14 times more likely to die from a gun homicide than their white counterparts." (06/01/22)
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2022/06/01/america-needs-jubilee
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33) Yes, Supply Problems Can Cause Inflation
Source: American Institute for Economic Research
by Alexander William Salter
"Can supply problems cause inflation? I think so. Some economists don't. They insist inflation, a general increase in prices, can only be caused by monetary expansions. At first, their argument seems strong. But it forces us to accept absurd conclusions, so I reject it." (06/01/22)
https://www.aier.org/article/yes-supply-problems-can-cause-inflation/
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34) Do More Than Baby Steps
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
"Major disruptions such as pandemic policy in China and the Russian invasion of Ukraine obviously crimp trade and supply chains. But given such impacts, should governments here in the United States be making things better or making things worse? Oil is one example of a good that would be more abundant and cheaper had the government left it alone -- stopped blocking domestic production and the flow of oil from Canada. Now parents are having trouble getting baby food." (06/01/22)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2022/06/01/do-more-than-baby-steps/
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35) Fear & Loathing in San Francisco: How Chesa Boudin Got Blamed
Source: The Nation
by Christopher D Cook
"After just two years in office, Chesa Boudin, the district attorney of San Francisco, gets blamed for every crime in the book -- even offenses committed before he took office and beyond the city limits. For his efforts to tackle wage theft, end cash bail, expand the program that diverts nonviolent offenders from prison, and prosecute abusive cops, Boudin has been rewarded with a recall campaign scapegoating him for all of this city's woes. The vote takes place on June 7, and recent polls suggest it will be an uphill battle for Boudin and progressives. Loaded with cash from local billionaires, Big Tech, and other corporate interests, Neighbors for a Better San Francisco and an allied group called San Franciscans for Public Safety have poured a whopping $5.1 million into the campaign to recall Boudin." (06/01/22)
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/chesa-boudin-recall-backlash/
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36) The thoughtpolice are a law unto themselves
Source: spiked
by Fraser Myers
"Britain's thoughtpolice are a law unto themselves. Nothing captures this more clearly than the continued existence of the 'non-crime hate incident' (NCHI) -- a policing tool that refuses to die. At the weekend, the Daily Mail reported that the Home Office is drawing up new plans to increase the use of NCHIs, as part of its new hate-crime strategy. There are fears this could effectively criminalise comedians like Ricky Gervais for joking about trans issues. NCHIs are a sinister form of thoughtpolicing. They can be recorded by the police whenever someone is accused of showing 'hostility towards religion, race or transgender identity.' There does not need to be any evidence of hate – just as with hate crimes more broadly, the only requirement is that the victim or anyone else perceives the motive of the non-crime incident to have been hateful." (06/01/22)
https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/06/01/the-thoughtpolice-are-a-law-unto-themselves/
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37) Politicizing Mass Shootings Only Guarantees There Will Be More of Them
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by William L Anderson
"American life is thoroughly politicized, to the point where there seems to be a talking points template to discuss anything that occurs. Thus, in the aftermath of the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, the same script is replayed in the media that was replayed from the shooting in Buffalo, which was replayed from the shooting in ... Each political tribe has its own script, with the assumption being that because these awful events are being politicized, a political solution exists (along with a political cause)." (06/01/22)
https://mises.org/wire/politicizing-mass-shootings-only-guarantees-there-will-be-more-them
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38) The Wobblies' Return
Source: Quillette
by Thmas Doherty
"'One Big Union' was the grand vision -- an omnibus labor front to unite and galvanize wage workers, skilled and unskilled, male and female, even black and white, who would lock arms across occupational specialties and stand together against the capitalist bosses and their thugs. In 1905, the dream was realized as the International Workers of the World, known by the red-flag initials 'IWW,' and more familiarly, or contemptuously, as the Wobblies. ... The Wobblies [is]an unabashedly hagiographic documentary directed by Stewart Bird and Deborah Shaffer. Originally released in 1979, the film has now been given the 4K restoration treatment from the Museum of Modern Art and a limited theatrical push by Kino Lorber. On May 30th, it will be available for VOD streaming. Like the union it commemorates, the film is worth a second look through 2022 eyes." (06/01/22)
https://quillette.com/2022/06/01/the-return-of-the-wobblies/
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39) Old Men Talking Sense on Ukraine
Source: CounterPunch
by Patrick Cockburn
"Some of the most sensible commentary about the Ukraine war is being made by people in their nineties, born before the Second World War and with vivid recollections of the Cold War. One is 98-year-old Henry Kissinger and another is the 94-year-old Israeli global strategist Prof Yehezkel Dror of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Both men are old and distinguished enough not to be caught up in popular war hysteria or foreign policy establishment conventional wisdom and herd instinct. I have never been tempted to write many good words about Kissinger, but his realism about the war is a welcome contrast to those who would like to see it go on ad infinitum in vain pursuit of some unattainable victory." (06/01/22)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/06/01/old-men-talking-sense-on-ukraine/
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40) Human Irrationality and Free Markets
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
"If everyone was irrational all of the time, we would be in big trouble. You'd never know when someone was suddenly going to swerve off the road for no apparent reason and drive into a building, or start babbling to you in tongues over the phone when all you wanted to do was order a pizza. That being said, people are irrational enough of the time that behavioral economists never tire in telling us that they are not suitable for a market economy and need regulations to 'nudge' them in the right direction. ... For the main part, the market is what defends us against the consequences of the irrationality of others." (06/01/22)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/human-irrationality-and-free-markets/
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41) Ukrainian Official Behind Western Media Reports Of Russian Atrocities Fired By Ukrainian Parliament
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
"A Ukrainian government official frequently cited as a source by western news media for her allegations of atrocities committed by Russian troops has been fired by the Ukrainian parliament, in part because of the unevidenced nature of those claims. ... As it happens, Newsweek is one of the many western outlets who have uncritically cited Denisova's unevidenced claims in their reporting of events in Ukraine. She was the 'Ukraine official' in Newsweek's incendiary April headline 'Russians Raped 11-Year-Old Boy, Forced Mom to Watch: Ukraine Official,' an article whose entire first half featured unevidenced claims by Denisova. ... Denisova's name featured just the other day in my own critique of the western media's blind-faith regurgitation of Ukrainian government assertions when multiple western media outlets parroted her unevidenced claims about two Russians raping a one year-old baby to death." (06/01/22)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2022/06/01/ukrainian-official-behind-western-media-reports-of-russian-atrocities-fired-by-ukrainian-parliament/
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42) Have the Afghan people been forgotten?
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Anees Aref
"While most eyes are turned elsewhere, the situation in Afghanistan continues to worsen. The Russia-Ukraine conflict is indeed a tragedy, but the laser focus with which the United States and its European allies have trained on the Ukrainian cause underscores their double standards when it comes to addressing humanitarian crises around the world, particularly in cases where they bear considerable responsibility -- be it in Yemen, Syria, or indeed, Afghanistan. Today, millions of Afghans lack food and financial means, with the country unable to feed itself or provide essential services, largely due to the roughly $7 billion dollars of Afghan central bank funds currently sitting in U.S. banks, plus more at the World Bank, frozen by sanctions." (06/01/22)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2022/06/01/have-the-afghan-people-been-forgotten/
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43) We Have Entered the Self-Pity Stage of the Biden Presidency
Source: The New Republic
by Alex Shephard
"Joe Biden and the Democrats are feeling very sorry for themselves. It is surprising that it took this long to reach this stage: Biden's approval rating has been underwater since mid-August, when the botched [sic] withdrawal from Afghanistan precipitated a rapid sea change in public opinion. Since then, he has been mired in what can only be described as the Trump zone: stubbornly popular with 40 percent of the electorate, stubbornly unpopular with everyone else. ... wallowing to the Beltway media about how rough it is to do politics isn't going to help anyone. There's still time to confront inflation and lower costs for consumers -- but it will take deeds, not words, to truly give Democrats something to run on when voters go to the polls in five months." (06/01/22)
https://newrepublic.com/article/166658/biden-messaging-inflation-2022-midterms
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44) New laws won't solve problems
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
"Senseless aggression toward innocent victims enrages me. No matter who is harmed or who commits the act. But to intentionally target children? Rage doesn't begin to describe what I feel. Are you ready for some hard truth? Some of you are; those who aren't should probably read the comics instead. You'll never stop crime with new legislation and harsher enforcement. You'll never even reduce crime that way." (06/01/22)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2022/06/01/voices/opinion-new-laws-wont-solve-problems/172116.html
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45) Broken homes creating broken people
Source: Fox News Forum
by Greg Gutfeld
"So, following last week's mass shooting, 30 more people were killed over the weekend, 13 in Philly alone. Residents are now safer at Bill Cosby's house. So, to tackle issues like mass shootings and this nightly murder, I think we should go to the very beginning. You know, our cosmos are 13.8 billion years old. Bet you didn't think I meant literally the beginning. But I figure we'll start there and that by my estimate, we should be done with this monologue by the time William Devane runs out of gold. But to see what evil looks like now, it helps to see it with a backdrop of history. It might tell us where we went wrong in this blink of an eye of the last 30 years, because something did." (06/01/22)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/greg-gutfeld-broken-homes-are-creating-broken-people
-----
46) Politicians Should Resist the Urge To "Do Anything" in Response to School Shootings
Source: Reason
by Jacob Sullum
"After a gunman murdered 19 children and two adults at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, last week, politicians responded as they always do to such shocking crimes. Democrats pushed gun control policies ranging from the symbolic to the flagrantly irrelevant, while Republicans emphasized improvements to school security. On its face, 'hardening' schools so they are less vulnerable to attacks seems more logical than banning 'assault weapons' defined by functionally unimportant features or expanding the federal background-check requirement for gun buyers, which is ill-suited to deterring mass shooters because they typically do not have disqualifying criminal or psychiatric records. But the approach favored by Republicans has pitfalls that legislators should not ignore in their rush to 'do something' about crimes that are horrifying but rare." (06/01/22)
https://reason.com/2022/06/01/politicians-should-resist-the-urge-to-do-anything-in-response-to-school-shootings/
-----
47) Breaking the Blockade Risks War With Russia
Source: Antiwar.com
by Daniel Larison
"Some US allies and Russia hawks in Washington are now agitating for the US and other members of NATO to use their naval forces break the Russian blockade of Ukraine. Retired Adm. James Stavridis is one of the latest advocates of this reckless idea, and he tries to sell it as an updated version of the US role in the Tanker War during the war between Iran and Iraq. The comparison is not a promising one. Russia's Black Sea Fleet is a more capable force than Iran's navy was, Russia has repeatedly warned against outside interference in the war, and the Tanker War did not involve the possibility of setting off a war between NATO and a nuclear-armed major power." (06/01/22)
https://original.antiwar.com/daniel_larison/2022/05/31/breaking-the-blockade-risks-war-with-russia/
-----
48) Mass Shootings and Gun Violence: Why Buffalo? Why Uvalde?
Source: Independent Institute
by William F Shughart II
"When I get to criminal law at the end of the semester, I ask my law & economics students, 'why do mass shootings seem to be on the rise?' The recent horrific events in Buffalo, NY, and Uvalde, TX, raise that question again. The headlines were followed by the usual demands to 'do something,' meaning enact more stringent gun control laws, which, of course, criminals will not obey. The first answer to my question relies on what the literature calls marginal deterrence." (05/31/22)
https://blog.independent.org/2022/05/31/mass-shootings-gun-violence-buffalo-uvalde/
-----
49) Peace in Ukraine as a "matter of rights?"
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
"No one knows how the war in Ukraine will end, whether Russia loses or gains control of territory – or whether talks lead to a hybrid political compromise. A glimpse of the latter is now playing out across the Black Sea in negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The longtime rivals may be showing what's at stake in Ukraine. A year and a half after their 44-day war over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, the two neighbors are negotiating something more than borders or ethnic sovereignty. Having lost the war, Armenia has put a novel issue on the table: whether 20,000 to 25,000 Armenians left living under Azerbaijani control should be granted a guarantee of basic rights such as equality and freedom of religion. In other words, should they be treated as individuals first and not as an 'other' with a group identity, but rather as people who fully enjoy the protection of democratic values?" (06/01/22)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2022/0531/Peace-in-Ukraine-as-a-matter-of-rights
-----
50) That Which is Unseen: Rental Housing Edition
Source: EconLog
by Jon Murphy
"I recently accepted a job as an Instructor at Western Carolina University. Given I currently live in Syracuse, New York, this position requires me to break my lease and move to North Carolina. When informing my landlord of my new job and what it means for our contractual agreement, he informed me that he'd be willing to waive the penalties for breaking the lease if I moved out sooner rather than later. The rental market in Syracuse is incredibly hot, and he could earn higher rent by re-renting my apartment than if I stayed. ... the deal he offered me will save me about $4,000 in rent and utilities. He wins, I win, and I took the deal. When discussing this with some friends, one friend responded, 'what a scum landlord.'" (05/31/22)
https://www.econlib.org/that-which-is-unseen-rental-housing-edition/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) The Chris Spangle Show, 06/01/22
Source: We are Libertarians
"Will Crypto Be Regulated?" [Flash audio] (06/01/22)
https://www.chrisspangle.com/p/new-episode-will-crypto-be-regulated
-----
52) Free Talk Live, 06/01/22
Source: Free Talk Live
"Nikki's Journey in California :: Similac-sponsored Hospitals :: Vasectomies & being pro-choice :: Police brutality in Kansas :: Intimidation tactics of government :: Police shoot unarmed pregnant woman :: Sara and Aria the Transformer :: Anti-China Chinese Schoolbook :: Show: 2022-06-01 Aria, Nikki, Bonnie." [Flash audio or MP3] (06/01/22)
https://freetalklive.com/archives?ppplayer=5c48425a5422918dc6f904bd1cb7e00f&ppepisode=132cfdaf7f8751fa2a0fd9f465873577
-----
53) Rising, 06/01/22
Source: The Hill
"Finance reporter for The Hill, Sylvan Lane, joins the hosts to discuss President Biden's plan to address inflation." [Flash video] (06/01/22)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/3507754-rising-june-1-2022/
-----
54) IP ... Frequently, episode 137
Source: IP ... Frequently
"Bye Bye COVID, Hello Monkeypox." [various formats] (06/01/22)
https://anchor.fm/ip-frequently/episodes/Ep–137--Bye-Bye-COVID–Hello-Monkeypox-e1jasgs
-----
55) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 06/01/22
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
"Not Again! Biden Unveils $700 Million MORE For Ukraine Weapons!" [Flash video] (06/01/22)
http://www.ronpaullibertyreport.com/archives/not-again-biden-unveils-700-million-more-for-ukraine-weapons
-----
56) The History of Modern Politics, episode 11
Source: We Are Libertarians
"The Birth of Parliament." [various formats] (06/01/22)
https://wearelibertarians.com/hmp-11-the-birth-of-parliament/
-----
57) The Argument, 06/01/22
Source: New York Times
"A Debate Over 'Common Sense' Gun Legislation." [Flash audio] (06/01/22)
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-debate-over-common-sense-gun-legislation/id1438024613?i=1000564800956
-----
58) FiveThirtyEight Politics Podcast, 05/31/22
Source: FiveThirtyEight
"Are Democrats Actually In Disarray?" [various formats] (05/31/22)
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/politics-podcast-are-democrats-actually-in-disarray/
-----
59) Mark Thornton on The Scott Horton Show
Source: The Scott Horton Show
"Mark Thornton on Paper Money, Housing Bubbles and Free Trade." [various formats] (05/31/22)
https://scotthorton.org/interviews/5-25-22-mark-thornton-on-paper-money-housing-bubbles-and-free-trade/
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60) The Wright Show, 05/31/22
Source: Bloggingheads.tv
"Is Everything Falling Apart? | Robert Wright & Jonathan Haidt." [Flash video] (05/31/22)
https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/64247
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