03/30 -- Saudi Arabia: $270 million US regime plane demolished by Iranian attack at air base; You can't hide your lying ICE
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Thomas L. Knapp
Mar 30, 2026, 6:16:45 AM (12 days ago) Mar 30
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 03/30/26
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Saudi Arabia: $270 million US regime plane demolished by Iranian attack at air base
2) No Kings protests fill streets at over 3,300 rallies in all 50 states, a record number
3) Bitcoin recovers to $67,400 after dipping below $65,200
4) Lebanon: Israeli forces murder three journalists
5) Russia: Ust-Luga port damaged by Ukrainian drones
6) Vance tops CPAC presidential straw poll
7) Record number of congresscritters retiring ahead of midterms
8) France: Police foil apparent bomb attack outside of Bank of America building in Paris
9) Jerusalem: Israeli occupation forces block Latin Patriarch from Palm Sunday mass
10) Judge pauses blockbuster merger between TV station owners Nexstar and Tegna
11) US House Judiciary Committee calls out “monopoly” on medical resident matching
12) Cuba: Missing aid boats arrive safely in Havana
13) Nepal: Former PM arrested over deaths during Gen Z protests
14) Trump signs order to pay airport gropers after Congress fails to agree on heimatschutz funding
15) Australia: Two state regimes offer 100% transport subsidies as war pushes up fuel prices
16) Yemen: Houthis launch missile attack on Israel as war with Iran intensifies
17) Cotton whines that the mean ol’ Democrats won’t fund his favored gang activities
18) Secret Service agent on Jill Biden’s detail shoots himself in leg
19) North Korea: Regime conducts engine test for missile capable of targeting US mainland
20) Mongolia: Prime minister resigns following tensions within the ruling party
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) You can’t hide your lying ICE
22) OK, Fine, Give TSA Agents Back Pay … But Then Send Them Home For Good
23) The DOJ Wants To Drop Charges Against Two Cops Who Played a Crucial Role in Breonna Taylor’s Death
24) The Digital Leviathan
25) No one is “addicted” to Instagram or YouTube
26) As War Rages vs. Iran, Time for Peace in Ukraine
27) ICE at Airports Trains Us to Accept Being Terrorized in Our Daily Lives
28) Why Crypto-Backed Mortgages Matter for Expanding Access to Homeownership
29) The End of Immigration
30) Putting boots on the ground could kill Trump’s presidency
31) Hollywood Still Trying To Corrupt J. R. R. Tolkien’s Work
32) Why We Keep Stumbling into Stupid Wars
33) If You’d Only Oppose The Iran War When There’s Boots On The Ground, You’re A Scumbag
34) Atlanta, TSA, and a Test Case for Interventionist Non-Intervention
35) The Last Lesson My Mother Taught Me
36) How Taxes Are Reshaping Where Americans Live and Work
37) We Are on the Road to Serfdom
38) Suspending the Jones Act: Lessons from the Conflict with Iran
39) The transaction explosion and the cost of judgment
40) Immigration, Culture, and Albert Jay Nock
41) Profiles in Cowardice: Our Four Ex-Presidents Still Won’t Speak Out Against Trump!
42) At home and abroad, Trump’s mission creep makes victory impossible
43) War and Morality
44) Two Primary Elections for the Soul of “America First”
45) Ukraine can teach the US about the future of warfare
46) Betting on Better Governance
47) The unreligious religiosity of Christian identity politics
48) Fecklessly Fining 4chan
49) How the Republican Party Forgot It Was Conservative
50) To End the Iran War, Trump Must Divorce Israel
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Unattended Baggage, episode 334
52) The Good Fight, 03/28/26
53) LPALive, episode 66
54) The Focus Group Podcast, 03/28/26
55) Serious Trouble, 03/27/26
56) The Dishcast with Andrew Sullivan, 03/27/26
57) In the Tank Podcast, episode 530
58) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 03/27/26
59) Radio Rothbard, 03/27/26
60) Reason Interview: Taylor Lorenz
61) Patrick Pillow on The Scott Horton Show
62) Real Unity, episode 12
63) Rising, 03/27/26
64) The Brian Nichols Show, 03/27/26
65) The Political Orphanage, 03/27/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Saudi Arabia: $270 million US regime plane demolished by Iranian attack at air base
Source: New York Post
“An American E-3 Sentry was destroyed during Iran’s attack on the Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia, according to US officials and new photos. Viral images circulated online and verified by the AFP show the E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System Aircraft (AWACS) ripped in two following Friday’s missile and drone assault. The destruction of the $270 million aircraft is a significant blow to America’s ability to get a real-time picture of battle and assess incoming attacks in the Middle East, retired Air Force Col. John Venable told The Wall Street Journal. … Twelve US service members were also reportedly injured after an Iranian missile and multiple drones hit the air base. … Multiple US refueling aircraft were also damaged in the attack.” (03/29/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/03/29/us-news/270m-e-3-sentry-spy-plane-demolished-by-iranian-attack-at-saudi-air-base/
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2) No Kings protests fill streets at over 3,300 rallies in all 50 states, a record number
Source: Washington Post
“Protesters filled the streets Saturday at more than 3,300 rallies across all 50 states for No Kings, a movement that bills itself as nonviolent opposition to what organizers view as authoritarian rulers in the White House and beyond. … While real-time turnout is tough to measure, the coalition of left-leaning groups steering No Kings expected this weekend’s headcount to break records. The last eruption of nationwide gatherings in October drew approximately 7 million people, according to their tally.” (03/28/26)
https://archive.is/4rReP
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3) Bitcoin recovers to $67,400 after dipping below $65,200
Source: CoinDesk
“Bitcoin briefly fell to $65,112, its lowest level since the war-related February crash, before rebounding above $67,000 as Asian markets opened. The latest escalation in the conflict, including Houthi involvement, new U.S. troop deployments and Iranian attacks on aluminum facilities, rattled global markets and pushed Brent crude to about $115 a barrel. Bitcoin’s drop below its recent pattern of higher lows raises questions about whether its war-time trading range will hold, while surging oil and metals prices threaten broader inflation and could delay Federal Reserve rate cuts.” (03/30/26)
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/03/30/bitcoin-recovers-to-usd67-400-after-dipping-below-usd65-200-as-houthis-enter-iran-war
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4) Lebanon: Israeli forces murder three journalists
Source: Sky News [UK]
“All three people who died in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon were television journalists, it has been confirmed. The Lebanese trio were travelling in a car when they were killed on Saturday. Fatima Ftouni, an Al Mayadeen reporter, and Ali Shoaib, an Al Manar correspondent, were among those who died. It has emerged the third person killed was Ms Ftouni’s brother, cameraman Mohammed Ftouni. Fatima Ftouni had done a live report from southern Lebanon just before the strike in the Jezzine region. … Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun said the attack on the journalists was a war crime. … The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) described the bombing as a ‘targeted strike’ and claimed that Ali Shoaib was ‘a terrorist in the intelligence unit of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force.’ It added: ‘Additionally, the terrorist engaged in incitement against IDF troops and Israeli civilians, using his position as a channel to disseminate Hezbollah propaganda materials.'” (03/28/26)
https://news.sky.com/story/three-lebanese-journalists-killed-in-israeli-airstrike-on-car-13525607
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5) Russia: Ust-Luga port damaged by Ukrainian drones
Source: Reuters
“Russia’s Baltic Ust-Luga port, one of its largest petroleum export hubs, was damaged again on Sunday by a Ukrainian drone attack which sparked a blaze later brought under control, Russian officials said. It followed several Ukrainian drone strikes last week on Russia’s western energy corridor when facilities at the ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk came under fire, igniting storage tanks and forcing a suspension of oil and oil product loadings. … The port, operated by Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft handles around 700,000 barrels per day of oil exports, and, according to sources, shipped 32.9 million metric tons of oil products in 2025.” (03/29/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/russias-ust-luga-port-damaged-by-ukrainian-drones-fire-breaks-out-2026-03-29/
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6) Vance tops CPAC presidential straw poll
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“For the second year in a row, United States Vice President JD Vance has topped the straw poll at the 2026 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), one of the biggest right-wing gatherings in the country. The poll is a bellwether – albeit, not necessarily an accurate one – for who might ultimately become the Republican nominee for the next presidential race. … The results were revealed on stage Saturday. Vance had swept up 53 percent of the votes cast by nearly 1,600 attendees. But rising up the ranks was another senior official under US President Donald Trump: his top diplomat, Secretary of State Marco Rubio. A former senator from Florida, Rubio notched 35 percent of the vote. It was a markedly improved standing for Rubio, who tied for fourth place at last year’s CPAC straw poll.” (03/28/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/28/vice-president-jd-vance-tops-cpacs-straw-poll-to-be-us-president-in-2028
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7) Record number of congresscritters retiring ahead of midterms
Source: ABC News
“On Friday, Republican Congressman Sam Graves of Missouri became the 36th Republican — and 57th House member — to announce plans not to seek re-election, saying it was time to ‘pass the torch’ to a new generation. In fact, more Republicans are retiring ahead of the midterms than at any point in nearly a century, according to an ABC News tally of retirement announcements and a review of historical data since 1930 compiled by the Brookings Institution. … So far, 21 House Democrats have announced plans to retire, more than the total that left ahead of the 2018 midterms, but fewer than the 29 Democrats who did not run for office again before the party lost the House majority in 2021.” (03/29/26)
https://abcnews.com/Politics/record-number-lawmakers-retiring-congress-ahead-midterms/story?id=131501248
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8) France: Police foil apparent bomb attack outside of Bank of America building in Paris
Source: CBS News
“French police stopped an apparent bomb attack outside a Bank of America building in Paris early Saturday, and a man was arrested as he was about to set off a homemade explosive device. Police grabbed the man just after he placed a device, made of nine pints of a liquid believed to be fuel, 23 ounces of explosive powder, and an ignition system, according to an initial assessment. The device will undergo a full analysis at the Paris police’s forensics lab. The incident occurred around 3:30 a.m., while the office was closed. No employees were injured, according to the bank.” (03/28/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/france-paris-police-foil-attack-bank-of-america/
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9) Jerusalem: Israeli occupation forces block Latin Patriarch from Palm Sunday mass
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Israeli police have blocked the head of the Catholic church in Jerusalem from entering Christianity’s holiest site to celebrate Palm Sunday. The Latin Patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and the Reverend Francesco Ielpo were stopped outside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre — believed to be the site of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, and where they planned to hold a mass to mark the start of Holy Week, church authorities said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said worshippers of ‘all faiths’ had been asked [sic] not to visit sites in Jerusalem’s Old City for safety reasons after recent Iranian attacks. But the move has drawn strong criticism from global leaders as well as the church.” (03/29/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg0128z41eo
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10) Judge pauses blockbuster merger between TV station owners Nexstar and Tegna
Source: NBC News
“A federal judge late Friday put a hold on the $6.2 billion merger between Nexstar Media Group and Tegna, a deal that would create the largest operator of local television stations in the country. U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley in California granted a request from DirecTV, which argued in a lawsuit that the pending merger violates federal antitrust laws. Eight attorneys general, led by California’s Rob Bonta, filed a separate lawsuit on similar legal grounds. … Nunley issued a 14-day temporary restraining order and scheduled an April 7 hearing. Nexstar declined to comment. Tegna did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice both approved the merger earlier this month. President Donald Trump also publicly backed the deal.” (03/28/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/judge-pauses-merger-tv-station-owners-nexstar-tegna-rcna265626
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11) US House Judiciary Committee calls out “monopoly” on medical resident matching
Source: The Hill
“In a report released Friday, the House Judiciary Committee found that the U.S. system for matching resident physicians to programs is monopolistic and anticompetitive. Every year, resident physicians in the U.S. learn which program they’ve been placed in. This is operated through the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), commonly referred to as the ‘Match.’ The House Judiciary Committee determined in its investigation that the way residency programs are matched is the result of an ‘entrenched monopoly shielded from scrutiny by government protectionism.'” (03/27/26)
https://thehill.com/newsletters/health-care/5805266-house-judiciary-resident-matching-monopoly/
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12) Cuba: Missing aid boats arrive safely in Havana
Source: Deutsche Welle [German state media]
“Two sailboats carrying humanitarian aid from Mexico to Cuba finally reached Havana on Saturday after disappearing en route leading to days of searching for the missing vessels. In the Cuban capital, the crew of nine which included a four-year-old boy along with American, French and German citizens appeared to be in good health and spirits. … On Saturday, the Mexican Navy said the sailboats were spotted by a maritime surveillance aircraft some 80 nautical miles (roughly 148 kilometers) northwest of Cuba. The Reuters news agency cited them as saying they were slowed by unfavorable weather conditions. A Mexican ship escorted them to Havana to ensure their safe arrival in the Cuban capital, the Mexican Navy said.” (03/29/26)
https://www.dw.com/en/missing-cuba-bound-boats-carrying-aid-arrive-safely-in-havana/a-76580010
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13) Nepal: Former PM arrested over deaths during Gen Z protests
Source: Reuters
“Nepal’s former prime minister, K.P. Sharma Oli, was arrested on Saturday as police investigate whether he was negligent in failing to prevent dozens of deaths in a crackdown on Gen Z-led anti-corruption protests last September, officials said. Oli’s arrest, which his lawyer said was illegal and sparked protests by supporters who clashed with police, followed rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah’s swearing in as prime minister on Friday and a recommendation by a panel investigating violence during the protests that he should be prosecuted for negligence. His former home minister, Ramesh Lekhak, was also arrested. Seventy-six people were killed last September during a police crackdown and arson and violent unrest during the protests, which led to Oli’s resignation.” (03/28/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/nepals-ex-pm-oli-held-over-deaths-during-gen-z-protests-2026-03-28/
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14) Trump signs order to pay airport gropers after Congress fails to agree on heimatschutz funding
Source: WBUR News [US state media]
“President Donald Trump on Friday signed a promised executive action to pay Transportation Security Administration employees after a bid to end the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security abruptly fell apart in Congress. Trump signed the action with an eye toward easing long security lines at many of the nation’s top airports. ‘America’s air travel system has reached its breaking point,’ Trump said in the memo authorizing the payments. He added, ‘I have determined that these circumstances constitute an emergency situation compromising the Nation’s security.’ Trump said his administration would use ‘funds that have a reasonable and logical nexus to TSA operations’ for the payments.” (03/28/26)
https://www.wbur.org/news/2026/03/28/trump-signs-order-to-pay-tsa-employees-after-congress-fails-to-agree-on-dhs-funding
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15) Australia: Two state regimes offer 100% transport subsidies as war pushes up fuel prices
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Public transport in two Australian states will be made free to incentivise people not to drive as fuel prices soar due to the war in the Middle East. Victoria, home to Melbourne, has said it will have free travel throughout April, while Tasmania has said commuters will not need to pay from Monday until the end of June. However, other state governments have so far declined to follow suit, with New South Wales (in which Sydney is located) indicating it was reserving funds to meet increased demand for public transport. … Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese sought to reassure motorists on Friday following reports of panic-buying and petrol stations running dry.” (03/29/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c937n0yxggeo
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16) Yemen: Houthis launch missile attack on Israel as war with Iran intensifies
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Yemen’s Houthi rebels [sic] have attacked Israel with a barrage of ballistic missiles – their first such strikes since the United States-Israeli war on Iran began. Brigadier-General Yahya Saree, a military spokesperson for the Houthis, announced the attack on Saturday on the rebels’ [sic] Al Masirah satellite television. … Sirens went off around Beersheba and the area near Israel’s main nuclear research centre for the third time overnight Friday into Saturday as Iran and Hezbollah continued to fire on Israel. No casualties or damage were reported.” (03/28/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/28/yemens-houthis-claim-responsibility-for-a-missile-attack-on-israel-2
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17) Cotton whines that the mean ol’ Democrats won’t fund his favored gang activities
Source: Fox News
“Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., blasted travel chaos gripping airports nationwide as a direct result of Democrats’ ‘temper tantrum’ over immigration policy, as the ongoing standoff snarls TSA operations and disrupts millions of passengers nationwide. ‘The reason we’re at this impasse is that Democrats are using long TSA lines to throw a temper tantrum about deportations of violent criminal illegal aliens and funding of ICE and Border Patrol,’ Cotton said on ‘Fox News Sunday.’ The Arkansas Republican argued the disruptions are not the result of funding shortfalls, but reiterated they stem from a deliberate political fight over immigration, accusing Democrats of shifting demands and prolonging the standoff as airport delays drag on nationwide.” [editor’s note: While I oppose deportation in general, I might be talked into an exception for scumbags like Cotton. He needs to be kept away from decent human beings – TLK] (03/29/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/media/tom-cotton-slams-democrats-temper-tantrum-fueling-tsa-chaos-amid-funding-fight
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18) Secret Service agent on Jill Biden’s detail shoots himself in leg
Source: United Press International
“A U.S. Secret Service agent on former first lady Jill Biden’s detail shot himself in the leg by mistake Friday in Philadelphia, the agency announced. Around 8:30 a.m., the agent sustained ‘a non-life-threatening injury following a negligent discharge while handling a service weapon at the Philadelphia International Airport during a protective assignment,’ a Secret Service statement issued to ABC News said.” (03/27/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/03/27/jill-biden-secret-service/4991774646703/
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19) North Korea: Regime conducts engine test for missile capable of targeting US mainland
Source: Politico
“North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed a test of an upgraded solid-fuel engine for weapons capable of reaching the U.S. mainland, and called it a significant development boosting his country’s strategic military arsenal, state media reported Sunday. While the test was in line with Kim’s stated goal of acquiring more agile, hard-to-detect missiles targeting the U.S. and its allies, some experts speculate North Korea’s claim may be an exaggeration. Missiles with built-in solid propellants are easier to move and conceal their launches than liquid-fuel weapons, which in general must be fueled before liftoffs and cannot last long. The official Korean Central News Agency reported Kim watched the ground jet test of the engine using a composite carbon fiber material. It said the engine’s maximum thrust is 2,500 kilonewtons, up from about 1,970 kilonewtons reported in a similar solid-fuel engine test in September.” (03/29/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/29/north-korea-conducts-engine-test-for-missile-capable-of-targeting-us-mainland-00849543
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20) Mongolia: Prime minister resigns following tensions within the ruling party
Source: Associated Press
“Mongolia’s Prime Minister Zandanshatar Gombojav resigned Friday after rising tensions within the ruling Mongolian People’s Party and a parliamentary boycott by the opposition. The parliament accepted Zandanshatar’s resignation. The opposition Democratic Party earlier this month launched a boycott of parliamentary activity, citing concerns over the concentration of power within the ruling party. There have been months of corruption allegations against Justice Minister Enkhbayar Battumur, a close ally of Zandanshatar, who has not been accused.” (03/27/26)
https://apnews.com/article/mongolia-prime-minister-resign-zandanshatar-boycott-687a953be2131d06c2a459699fd23fe1
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) You can’t hide your lying ICE
Source: The Watch
by Radley Balko
“I was jarred at how the administration openly gloated and shamelessly lied about the use of lethal force by DHS against people who posed no threat. It only got worse after the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. The lies the administration told after those killings aren’t the lies you tell to cover something up. They’re the lies you tell when you want to project to the country that you can get away with anything. The lies themselves are their own display of authoritarianism. The government is telling us, ‘You know we’re lying. We know that you know we’re lying. And there isn’t a goddamn thing you can do about it.’ They lie about everything. When they’re caught in a lie, they lie again. They lie when the facts aren’t on their side, but also when they are. And they never, ever admit that they lied.” (03/28/26)
https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/you-cant-hide-your-lying-ice
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22) OK, Fine, Give TSA Agents Back Pay … But Then Send Them Home For Good
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“At airports across the US, Transportation Security Administration agents have been ‘working’ — that is, impeding, harassing, ogling, and groping air travelers — without pay since Valentine’s Day due to a congressional feud over funding for their parent department. Well, some of them, anyway. Several hundred have quit; quite a few are calling in sick more often. On March 27, US president Donald Trump directed the Department of Homeland Security to start paying TSA employees again, using ‘funds that have a reasonable and logical nexus to TSA operations.’ They may start getting paid again as soon as Monday. They should also STOP getting paid again as soon as possible. Permanently. The very existence of the TSA has been a costly 25-year mistake.” (03/28/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20468
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23) The DOJ Wants To Drop Charges Against Two Cops Who Played a Crucial Role in Breonna Taylor’s Death
Source: Bluegrass Institute
by Jacob Sullum
“Louisville, Kentucky, Detective Joshua Jaynes lied when he applied for the March 2020 search warrant that resulted in Breonna Taylor’s death. Then he lied about his lies. Sgt. Kyle Meany, the supervisor who approved the warrant application, also tried to cover up its shortcomings. According to an August 2022 federal indictment, both officers knew that police did not have probable cause to search Taylor’s apartment. … Taylor’s death did not flow inexorably from the warrant that Jaynes obtained. It is nevertheless true that Taylor would not have died in a hail of gunfire but for Jaynes'[s] fraudulent and misleading affidavit, which Meany approved. That reality underlines the potentially grave consequences of letting police officers make shit up to manufacture probable cause—a danger that does not seem to trouble the main Justice Department official charged with protecting Americans’ civil rights.” (03/28/26)
https://www.bluegrassinstitute.org/doj-breonna-taylor/
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24) The Digital Leviathan
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Renaud Beauchard
“What is the information state? It is a regime that governs not through legislature or courts or votes, but through the invisible digital architecture that now mediates nearly every dimension of public life. Siegel’s definition is evolutive: ‘a state organized on the principle that it exists to protect the sovereign rights of individuals’ is replaced by ‘a digital leviathan that wields power through opaque algorithms and the manipulation of digital swarms.’ … Its goal, Siegel insists, was never simply to censor, never merely to oppress. It was to rule. The kind of brazen censorship we observed during the Biden era and that is so tempting to our warring rulers again is not a bug; it is a feature of the new normal.” (03/28/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/the-digital-leviathan/
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25) No one is “addicted” to Instagram or YouTube
Source: spiked
by Frank Furedi
“I have little sympathy for the multibillion-dollar tech companies, Meta and Google, which were this week forced to pay out a combined $6million in damages to a 20-year-old woman. But I have even less sympathy for the notion of ‘social-media addiction’ that led to this extraordinary payout. … The real issue raised by this case is the aversion to responsibility that now prevails in the West. This is aided by the commanding influence of the narrative of ‘addiction.’ We live in a world where bad habits, as they used to be called, have been rebranded, medicalised and diagnosed as addictions. … The flourishing of the addiction industry is partly driven by individuals’ demand to be relieved of responsibility for their bad behaviour. It is also fuelled by the Therapy Industrial Complex, which aims to turn people into vulnerable patients.” (03/28/26)
https://archive.is/RA9aP
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26) As War Rages vs. Iran, Time for Peace in Ukraine
Source: Real Clear Politics
by Steve Cortes
“As the world understandably focuses on the Middle East, the Russia-Ukraine war shifts to a fulcrum moment. This new juncture provides President Trump with an opportunity to prove that he is still, indeed, a president for peace. He can reaffirm to his base, and to the world, that he is the negotiator-in-chief who brokers diplomatic solutions across the globe, including the historic Abraham Accords. Regarding the Trump base, polling shows that only 38% of Republican voters now believe that the war vs. Iran will conclude in the days or weeks to come. Moreover, 37% of GOP voters oppose any ground troops in Iran. So, opportunity beckons in the Black Sea region. In a recent breakout interview by the Associated Press of General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the former top military commander of Ukraine, provides startling revelations regarding his battles with Zelensky – and the relevance for the future of postwar Ukraine.” (03/28/26)
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2026/03/28/as_war_rages_vs_iran_time_for_peace_in_ukraine_153993.html
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27) ICE at Airports Trains Us to Accept Being Terrorized in Our Daily Lives
Source: The Intercept
by Mathew Rodriguez
“Shortly after Trump deployed ICE agents to airports, his former chief strategist Steve Bannon may have tipped the administration’s hand. Bannon speculated on his ‘War Room’ podcast that the immigration force’s presence at TSA security checkpoints was a ‘test run’ ahead of the November midterms. Maybe, Bannon seemed to suggest, it was a rehearsal, meant to test how far the administration can stretch our tolerance for agents as part of the landscape of our daily lives without pushback. … If we can accept the reality that Trump’s personal army is requiring more documentation from us just to board an Airbus, how long until we are forced to tolerate them in our voting booths and beyond?” (03/28/26)
https://theintercept.com/2026/03/28/ice-airports-tsa-fear/
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28) Why Crypto-Backed Mortgages Matter for Expanding Access to Homeownership
Source: Bitcoin.com
by Kevin Helms
“Growing barriers to homeownership are prompting financial firms to redefine how wealth is evaluated, with Coinbase partnering with Better Home & Finance Holding Company to enable crypto-backed mortgages supported by Fannie Mae that allow borrowers to use bitcoin or USDC instead of cash for down payments. … Forced liquidation introduces tradeoffs, including forfeiting potential price appreciation and triggering tax liabilities, which can discourage participation in the housing market. Crypto-backed structures alter that dynamic by converting digital holdings into usable collateral, allowing borrowers to secure financing without selling assets.” (03/28/26)
https://news.bitcoin.com/why-crypto-backed-mortgages-matter-for-expanding-access-to-homeownership/
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29) The End of Immigration
Source: Paul Krugman
by Paul Krugman
“Donald Trump’s impulsive decision to deploy large numbers of ICE agents to hang out at America’s airport Cinnabons — there’s no indication that they are actually helping demoralized, unpaid TSA employees deal with long lines at airport security — may have unintended political consequences: it will remind Americans about how much they dislike ICE and the great harm that it’s doing. Nonetheless, recent data show that the administration’s crackdown on immigration is working. Immigration to the United States is plunging and may be about to go into reverse. And that plunge is making America poorer and weaker – now and in the long-run.” (03/27/26)
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/the-end-of-immigration
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30) Putting boots on the ground could kill Trump’s presidency
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Jack Hunter
“It would seem the fate of Trump’s presidency lies in his decision to enter into a ground war with Iran — something successive presidents, including himself, have promised not to do since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in which millions of American men and women served over a 20-year period, draining resources, morale and, frankly, recruitment potential for the services. In poll after poll, the majority of Americans oppose going to war with Iran at all, and fear a prolonged war that will suck the country into another quagmire. This should set alarm bells in the administration. Republicans continue to support the war but in decreasing numbers, and they have clearly soured even more on the idea of sending in ground troops. There’s more. A new Fox News poll released on Wednesday revealed just how low Trump’s numbers were sinking and why.” (03/27/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/boots-on-the-ground-iran/
-----
31) Hollywood Still Trying To Corrupt J. R. R. Tolkien’s Work
Source: The Federalist
by John Daniel Davidson
“If you thought Hollywood was done trying to corrupt and destroy the legacy of J.R.R. Tolkien, think again. This week Variety reported that Warner Brothers announced yet another Lord Of The Rings spinoff film is in development — and that Stephen Colbert and his son are writing it. Colbert is apparently a ‘vocal Tolkien fanatic,’ and is working on a script derived from the early chapters of The Fellowship of the Ring that didn’t make it into Peter Jackson’s acclaimed trilogy. … Colbert said he pitched Jackson on the idea of a film ‘that could be its own story that could fit into the larger story. Could we make something that was completely faithful to the books while also being completely faithful to the movies that you guys had already made?’ Based on the synopsis of Colbert’s script, the answer is clearly no.” (03/27/26)
https://thefederalist.com/2026/03/27/hollywood-is-still-trying-to-corrupt-j-r-r-tolkiens-work/
-----
32) Why We Keep Stumbling into Stupid Wars
Source: NonZero Newsletter
by Robert Wright
“Why is the current war happening? If you want to answer that question in a broad sense—in a way that applies not just to the Iran war but to other needless bursts of carnage of the past and future — I would direct your attention to an exchange that took place this week on a New York Times podcast called The Opinions. The exchange was between Times columnist David French and retired four-star General Stanley McChrystal …. The roles played by the two men aren’t what you might expect based on their job descriptions. It wasn’t the career Army officer who exemplified the narrowly tribalistic perspective and the writer for the liberal media who offered the more balanced and pacific view. Rather, it was the professional soldier who brought the enlightenment and the journalist who lacked it — and who showed no signs of absorbing any of it.” (03/27/26)
https://www.nonzero.org/p/why-we-keep-stumbling-into-stupid
-----
33) If You’d Only Oppose The Iran War When There’s Boots On The Ground, You’re A Scumbag
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“LBC has a report titled ‘Republicans ‘storm out’ of Iran briefing as they claim US ‘war machine’ is trying to put boots on ground’ about MAGA lawmakers whining that Trump’s war looks set to turn into a land invasion. I get so tired of all this American hand-wringing about ‘boots on the ground.’ It’s a symptom of a wildly sick dystopia that these people are fine with raining military explosives on a densely populated city but draw the line at putting American troops in the line of fire. Sure, killing kids is fine, just don’t put boots on the ground! Sure you can rain hellfire on hospitals, homes and schools for weeks, just make sure you do all your massacring from the sky where nobody can return fire. Killing is okie dokie, so long as our troops aren’t the ones getting killed.” (03/28/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/03/28/if-youd-only-oppose-the-iran-war-when-theres-boots-on-the-ground-youre-a-scumbag/
-----
34) Atlanta, TSA, and a Test Case for Interventionist Non-Intervention
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Joshua Mawhorter
“[T]he concept of interventionist non-intervention argues that the state — following coercive taxation and monopolization or competition suppression — can intervene through doing ‘nothing,’ that is, paid non-delivery of promised and monopolized service. The core elements of interventionist non-intervention are: 1) the binary intervention of coercive taxation where citizens are forced to pay for a service regardless of whether or not they receive it; 2) the triangular interventions of monopolization or competition suppression where the state claims exclusive domain over the service provision; and, 3) non-delivery wherein the state then fails or refuses to provide the monopolized service for which it has extracted payment, in part or in whole.” (03/27/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/atlanta-tsa-and-test-case-interventionist-non-intervention
-----
35) The Last Lesson My Mother Taught Me
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Joseph Varon
“My mother did not die in an intensive care unit. She was not surrounded by machines, alarms, or artificial light. She died at home, in a room imbued with the quiet weight of memory. Decades of life were embedded in those walls, which had witnessed birthdays, conversations, laughter, arguments, and the countless ordinary moments that, in retrospect, constitute the true foundation of a life. A peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) line rested in her arm, serving not as a symbol of escalation but as an instrument of compassion. Medications were given to relieve discomfort rather than to reverse disease. Nurses entered the room with calm, deliberate purpose rather than urgency. Their voices were soft, their movements measured. Their objective was not to save her life, but to honor it.” (03/27/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/the-last-lesson-my-mother-taught-me/
-----
36) How Taxes Are Reshaping Where Americans Live and Work
Source: Reason
by Jared Dillian
“Increasing income taxes almost always results in less revenue and less economic activity.” (03/27/26)
https://reason.com/2026/03/27/how-taxes-are-reshaping-where-americans-live-and-work/
-----
37) We Are on the Road to Serfdom
Source: Town Hall
by Les Rubin
“Friedrich Hayek published The Road to Serfdom in 1944, a classic book on economics for the ages. We would do well to understand his message, because it reads today less like a theory and more like a warning. What Hayek described is unfolding right before our eyes, yet it is so gradual and insidious that few recognize it is happening. Hayek believed prosperity and freedom are inseparable. In [his book], he warned about what happens when government begins to control economic decision-making through central planning. The result, he argued, is the slow erosion of freedom. When societies abandon individualism and classical liberal economics, the power of the state expands and the liberty of the citizen contracts. Eventually, this evolves to government control.” (03/28/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/les-rubin/2026/03/28/we-are-on-the-road-to-serfdom-n2673569
-----
38) Suspending the Jones Act: Lessons from the Conflict with Iran
Source: Independent Institute
by Caleb Petitt
“The Trump administration’s suspension of the Jones Act is well-reasoned; the Jones Act has kept oil prices in America higher than they would otherwise have been by increasing the cost of transporting oil. The Jones Act forces domestic shippers to use expensive ships with expensive crews, which drives up shipping costs beyond what a free market would bear. However, paying more for domestic shipping could easily be worth the cost if it made America more secure. Unfortunately, the Jones Act is a hindrance to American security.” (03/27/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/03/27/suspending-jones-act-iran/
-----
39) The transaction explosion and the cost of judgment
Source: Niskanen Center
by Daniel Wilf-Townsend
“Our civil justice institutions are about 100 years old, dating back to the progressive era and the adoption of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. But the world has changed a lot since then. In particular, the number of transactions in society has exploded, as population growth, economic growth, and technological change have exponentially increased the activity in society that leads to disputes. Separately, alongside the rise in civil disputes, the cost of the time and attention of legally trained experts has skyrocketed, rising faster than inflation for generations.” (03/27/26)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/the-transaction-explosion-and-the-cost-of-judgment
-----
40) Immigration, Culture, and Albert Jay Nock
Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman
“[W]e require no heroic assumptions to understand that free immigration is good. New people and different ways of doing and seeing things mix with the existing cultural elements to produce, on the whole, innovation and immense general benefits. (See the work of Julian Simon and Matt Ridley.) All we need is freedom, an expectation of self-responsibility, and no government interference. In those conditions, reality and capitalism teach and reward virtue.” (03/27/26)
https://sheldonrichman.substack.com/p/tgif-immigration-culture-and-albert
-----
41) Profiles in Cowardice: Our Four Ex-Presidents Still Won’t Speak Out Against Trump!
Source: Common Dreams
by Ralph Nader
“What should the American people, especially the hundreds of millions of their voters, expect Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden to do against the vicious, serial law-violating, violent, corrupt, agency-dismantling Donald Trump and the crony Trumpsters who are wrecking our government and our economy? These former presidents should mobilize the citizenry from the grassroots to the Capitol and take on the unpopular Tyrant Trump. Having sworn to uphold the Constitution and ‘… take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed,’ they should strongly uphold their patriotic duty to resist tyranny and save our Republic and our besieged democratic institutions, and stop the assault on our civil liberties and civil rights. Our former presidents all get along with each other. … [T]hey are living luxurious lives and are largely AWOL from connecting with the existing but overwhelmed civic opposition to Trump.” (03/28/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/ex-presidents-cowards-trump
-----
42) At home and abroad, Trump’s mission creep makes victory impossible
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Matt K Lewis
“Whether it’s reopening the strait or funding DHS, Trump’s goalposts keep moving, and as a result, Democrats are largely insulated from the public’s blame for the airport mess. Democrats can’t be expected to end this impasse because Trump can’t even settle on a set of demands to which they could agree. This is Trump’s M.O. with Iran as well. His stated objectives have cycled through a full and complete surrender, regime change, deterrence, de-escalation, boots on the ground, blowing up power plants in 48 hours, and then backing off based on ‘productive conversations.’ (Not to mention that Trump ran for office promising to end ‘forever wars,’ not start new ones.) Trump — whose underlying belief is that pressure always produces capitulation — assumes he can bluster and bully his opponents into submission. But that only works if the other side agrees to play by those rules.” (03/27/26)
https://archive.is/Wo3fd
-----
43) War and Morality
Source: Antiwar.com
by Andrew P Napolitano
“War is the most horrific series of events upon which any government can engage. It is systematic, industrialized, indiscriminate killing. It kills innocent adults and little girls. It often ruins the post-war lives of the killers. It is young men violently fighting old men’s power games. It is the health of the state. The war President Donald Trump is waging against the people and the government of Iran is immoral, unconstitutional and unlawful. Yet, because Congress is not doing its job, there appears to be no relief in sight until Trump finds a face-saving way to erase his grave mistake from the public’s long memory.” (03/27/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/andrew-p-napolitano/2026/03/26/war-and-morality
-----
44) Two Primary Elections for the Soul of “America First”
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Alan Mosley
“Midterm elections are where slogans go to trial. Primaries, especially, are where interests that cannot reliably win a general election try to win the nomination. They do it with money, with media saturation, and with the oldest trick in politics: framing obedience as unity. This year, two Republican races show the fork in the road. In northern Kentucky, Rep. Thomas Massie is fighting a primary that has become a national vendetta project. In South Carolina, Senator Lindsey Graham is seeking a fifth term while publicly linking his political identity to a foreign-policy crusade, and treating dissent at home as a moral failing. If Massie survives and Graham falls, it signals that Republican voters still have room for independence, constitutional friction, and skepticism toward overseas commitments. If Massie loses and Graham wins, it signals the reverse: the slogan becomes a mascot for power, not a restraint on it.” (03/27/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/two-primary-elections-for-the-soul-of-america-first
-----
45) Ukraine can teach the US about the future of warfare
Source: New York Post
by Dalibor Rohac
“Here’s a number that should make every American wince: $4 million. That’s what it costs to fire a single Patriot interceptor missile. Here’s another: $30,000. That’s an estimated price tag of an Iranian Shahed drone — the kind that Tehran has been lobbing across the Persian Gulf at US bases and allied cities since the start of the war four weeks ago. In other words, we’re spending at least 100 times more to shoot down each drone than our enemies spend to build one. And it’s not just the cost that’s a problem — it’s also our production capacity. … Just replenishing those weapons at current production capacity will require 18 months. That is no way to fight against Iran, much less against a larger adversary like China or Russia.” (03/27/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/03/27/opinion/ukraine-can-teach-the-us-about-the-future-of-warfare/
-----
46) Betting on Better Governance
Source: Isonomia Quarterly
by George Agbesi & Joshua D Ammons
“At one point, Gordon Tullock thought taxi medallions were inefficient but intractable institutions, a classic example of what he called the transitional gains trap. The medallion system persisted not because it served the public, but because the rents it generated were capitalized into medallion prices, making any reform politically impossible. Then came Uber, and within a matter of years this supposedly permanent institution crumbled. What if a similar technology shock could do the same for societies lacking the rule of law?” (03/27/26)
https://isonomiamag.substack.com/p/betting-on-better-governance
-----
47) The unreligious religiosity of Christian identity politics
Source: Washington Post
by Matthew Schmitz
“Far from being a sign of resurgent faith, Christian identity politics is a symptom of religious decline. As one observer has noted, the fact that Americans are growing more secular and less religiously literate has made religion more salient as a marker of political difference, even as invocations of it become less informed.” (03/27/26)
https://archive.is/9wrwf
-----
48) Fecklessly Fining 4chan
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“You host a website. Users can say whatever they want on this site. Next thing you know, a UK regulatory agency is sending you, an American organization based in the United States, a letter announcing a trillion-dollar fine for failure to comply with UK censorship demands. How much do you panic? If you’re 4chan, not much.” (03/27/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/03/27/fining4chan/
-----
49) How the Republican Party Forgot It Was Conservative
Source: The American Prospect
by Paul Starr
“The main theme in much writing on contemporary politics is how ideologically polarized Democrats and Republicans have become. But the truly consequential change is that Republicans have broken with their own past. Under Donald Trump, the party hasn’t just reversed its positions on specific policies. It has routinely betrayed basic tenets of the conservative philosophy that Republicans have long claimed was the bedrock of their party. No one is shocked by Trump’s betrayals. What is more surprising is that most Republicans haven’t seemed to care. I’ve been thinking about the Republican betrayal of the party’s own tradition because of a comment about my work by Glenn Loury, the conservative Black economist. When I was on The Glenn Show in December, he criticized my new book American Contradiction because of my ‘apparent disregard for the positive contributions of conservative thought and policy to American life.'” (03/27/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/03/27/apr-2026-magazine-how-republican-party-forgot-it-was-conservative/
-----
50) To End the Iran War, Trump Must Divorce Israel
Source: The American Conservative
by Andrew Day
“As analysts have emphasized, Tehran ‘gets a vote’ as to when this war ends, and it doesn’t plan to stop until the U.S. and Israel learn that attacking Iran comes with high costs and shouldn’t be repeated in the future. The U.S., unable to hammer out an agreement, has been hammering Iran to coerce it to the negotiating table. … The Trump administration misunderstands the nature of the problem. To end the war, it needs to get tough not with America’s adversary, but with its cobelligerent: Israel.” (03/27/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/to-end-the-iran-war-trump-must-divorce-israel/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Unattended Baggage, episode 334
Source: Unattended Baggage
“This Business Will Get Out of Hand.” (03/28/26)
https://unattendedbaggage.substack.com/p/episode-334-this-business-will-get
-----
52) The Good Fight, 03/28/26
Source: Yascha Mounk
“David Autor on the Scars That Money Can’t Heal.” (03/28/26)
https://writing.yaschamounk.com/p/david-autor
-----
53) LPALive, episode 66
Source: LP Alliance
“National Chair Debate at North Carolina state convention.” (03/28/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKxD_Edvh-Y
-----
54) The Focus Group Podcast, 03/28/26
Source: The Bulwark
“PSA: AI is NOT Your Boyfriend!! (with Megan McArdle).” (03/28/26)
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/psa-ai-is-not-your-boyfriend-with-megan-mcardle/id1586423406?i=1000757884797
-----
55) Serious Trouble, 03/27/26
Source: Serious Trouble
“Judge Lewis Kaplan wants to know what lawyers are helping Sam Bankman-Fried, including mom; the Pentagon is having trouble in the courts; judges make divergent rules about attorney AI disclosure.” (03/27/26)
https://www.serioustrouble.show/p/pro-se-exam
-----
56) The Dishcast with Andrew Sullivan, 03/27/26
Source: The Weekly Dish
“Jonah Goldberg On Conservatism, Blogging, Dogs.” (03/27/26)
https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/jonah-goldberg-on-conservatism-blogging
-----
57) In the Tank Podcast, episode 530
Source: Heartland Institute
“Freedom Works, Socialism Fails.” (03/27/26)
https://heartland.org/podcasts/freedom-works-socialism-fails-in-the-tank-podcast-530/
-----
58) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 03/27/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“New York Times: ’13 U.S. Bases Uninhabitable’ — We Could’ve Just Marched Home.” (03/27/26)
https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1oKMvRgBjwnGQ
-----
59) Radio Rothbard, 03/27/26
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
“What Would a Strategic Victory Look Like in Iran?” (03/27/26)
https://mises.org/podcasts/radio-rothbard/what-would-strategic-victory-look-iran
-----
60) Reason Interview: Taylor Lorenz
Source: Reason
“Is Social Media Responsible for Bad Parenting?” (03/27/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/03/27/taylor-lorenz-is-social-media-responsible-for-bad-parenting/
-----
61) Patrick Pillow on The Scott Horton Show
Source: The Scott Horton Show
“Patrick Pillow on Washington’s Preferred Method of Regime Change.” (03/27/26)
https://scotthorton.org/interviews/3-19-26-patrick-pillow-on-washingtons-preferred-method-of-regime-change/
-----
62) Real Unity, episode 12
Source: Free the People
“Are The Handmaid’s Tale Costumes Justified? | Hannah Cox.” (03/27/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKn7BotSQd8
-----
63) Rising, 03/27/26
Source: The Hill
“Lindsey Granger gives her lens on President Trump saying Iran is eager to make a deal to end the war, while Iranian leadership rejects that notion.” (03/27/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/5792912-rising-march-27-2026/
-----
64) The Brian Nichols Show, 03/27/26
Source: Lions of Liberty
“Republicans Are Losing Because of ONE Word?” (03/27/26)
https://www.lionsofliberty.com/episodes/tbns-republicans-are-losing-because-of-one-word
-----
65) The Political Orphanage, 03/27/26
Source: The Political Orphanage
“Interview with the Mega Warden.” (03/27/26)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/interview-with-the-mega-warden
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Saudi Arabia: $270 million US regime plane demolished by Iranian attack at air base
2) No Kings protests fill streets at over 3,300 rallies in all 50 states, a record number
3) Bitcoin recovers to $67,400 after dipping below $65,200
4) Lebanon: Israeli forces murder three journalists
5) Russia: Ust-Luga port damaged by Ukrainian drones
6) Vance tops CPAC presidential straw poll
7) Record number of congresscritters retiring ahead of midterms
8) France: Police foil apparent bomb attack outside of Bank of America building in Paris
9) Jerusalem: Israeli occupation forces block Latin Patriarch from Palm Sunday mass
10) Judge pauses blockbuster merger between TV station owners Nexstar and Tegna
11) US House Judiciary Committee calls out “monopoly” on medical resident matching
12) Cuba: Missing aid boats arrive safely in Havana
13) Nepal: Former PM arrested over deaths during Gen Z protests
14) Trump signs order to pay airport gropers after Congress fails to agree on heimatschutz funding
15) Australia: Two state regimes offer 100% transport subsidies as war pushes up fuel prices
16) Yemen: Houthis launch missile attack on Israel as war with Iran intensifies
17) Cotton whines that the mean ol’ Democrats won’t fund his favored gang activities
18) Secret Service agent on Jill Biden’s detail shoots himself in leg
19) North Korea: Regime conducts engine test for missile capable of targeting US mainland
20) Mongolia: Prime minister resigns following tensions within the ruling party
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) You can’t hide your lying ICE
22) OK, Fine, Give TSA Agents Back Pay … But Then Send Them Home For Good
23) The DOJ Wants To Drop Charges Against Two Cops Who Played a Crucial Role in Breonna Taylor’s Death
24) The Digital Leviathan
25) No one is “addicted” to Instagram or YouTube
26) As War Rages vs. Iran, Time for Peace in Ukraine
27) ICE at Airports Trains Us to Accept Being Terrorized in Our Daily Lives
28) Why Crypto-Backed Mortgages Matter for Expanding Access to Homeownership
29) The End of Immigration
30) Putting boots on the ground could kill Trump’s presidency
31) Hollywood Still Trying To Corrupt J. R. R. Tolkien’s Work
32) Why We Keep Stumbling into Stupid Wars
33) If You’d Only Oppose The Iran War When There’s Boots On The Ground, You’re A Scumbag
34) Atlanta, TSA, and a Test Case for Interventionist Non-Intervention
35) The Last Lesson My Mother Taught Me
36) How Taxes Are Reshaping Where Americans Live and Work
37) We Are on the Road to Serfdom
38) Suspending the Jones Act: Lessons from the Conflict with Iran
39) The transaction explosion and the cost of judgment
40) Immigration, Culture, and Albert Jay Nock
41) Profiles in Cowardice: Our Four Ex-Presidents Still Won’t Speak Out Against Trump!
42) At home and abroad, Trump’s mission creep makes victory impossible
43) War and Morality
44) Two Primary Elections for the Soul of “America First”
45) Ukraine can teach the US about the future of warfare
46) Betting on Better Governance
47) The unreligious religiosity of Christian identity politics
48) Fecklessly Fining 4chan
49) How the Republican Party Forgot It Was Conservative
50) To End the Iran War, Trump Must Divorce Israel
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Unattended Baggage, episode 334
52) The Good Fight, 03/28/26
53) LPALive, episode 66
54) The Focus Group Podcast, 03/28/26
55) Serious Trouble, 03/27/26
56) The Dishcast with Andrew Sullivan, 03/27/26
57) In the Tank Podcast, episode 530
58) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 03/27/26
59) Radio Rothbard, 03/27/26
60) Reason Interview: Taylor Lorenz
61) Patrick Pillow on The Scott Horton Show
62) Real Unity, episode 12
63) Rising, 03/27/26
64) The Brian Nichols Show, 03/27/26
65) The Political Orphanage, 03/27/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Saudi Arabia: $270 million US regime plane demolished by Iranian attack at air base
Source: New York Post
“An American E-3 Sentry was destroyed during Iran’s attack on the Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia, according to US officials and new photos. Viral images circulated online and verified by the AFP show the E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System Aircraft (AWACS) ripped in two following Friday’s missile and drone assault. The destruction of the $270 million aircraft is a significant blow to America’s ability to get a real-time picture of battle and assess incoming attacks in the Middle East, retired Air Force Col. John Venable told The Wall Street Journal. … Twelve US service members were also reportedly injured after an Iranian missile and multiple drones hit the air base. … Multiple US refueling aircraft were also damaged in the attack.” (03/29/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/03/29/us-news/270m-e-3-sentry-spy-plane-demolished-by-iranian-attack-at-saudi-air-base/
-----
2) No Kings protests fill streets at over 3,300 rallies in all 50 states, a record number
Source: Washington Post
“Protesters filled the streets Saturday at more than 3,300 rallies across all 50 states for No Kings, a movement that bills itself as nonviolent opposition to what organizers view as authoritarian rulers in the White House and beyond. … While real-time turnout is tough to measure, the coalition of left-leaning groups steering No Kings expected this weekend’s headcount to break records. The last eruption of nationwide gatherings in October drew approximately 7 million people, according to their tally.” (03/28/26)
https://archive.is/4rReP
-----
3) Bitcoin recovers to $67,400 after dipping below $65,200
Source: CoinDesk
“Bitcoin briefly fell to $65,112, its lowest level since the war-related February crash, before rebounding above $67,000 as Asian markets opened. The latest escalation in the conflict, including Houthi involvement, new U.S. troop deployments and Iranian attacks on aluminum facilities, rattled global markets and pushed Brent crude to about $115 a barrel. Bitcoin’s drop below its recent pattern of higher lows raises questions about whether its war-time trading range will hold, while surging oil and metals prices threaten broader inflation and could delay Federal Reserve rate cuts.” (03/30/26)
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/03/30/bitcoin-recovers-to-usd67-400-after-dipping-below-usd65-200-as-houthis-enter-iran-war
-----
4) Lebanon: Israeli forces murder three journalists
Source: Sky News [UK]
“All three people who died in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon were television journalists, it has been confirmed. The Lebanese trio were travelling in a car when they were killed on Saturday. Fatima Ftouni, an Al Mayadeen reporter, and Ali Shoaib, an Al Manar correspondent, were among those who died. It has emerged the third person killed was Ms Ftouni’s brother, cameraman Mohammed Ftouni. Fatima Ftouni had done a live report from southern Lebanon just before the strike in the Jezzine region. … Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun said the attack on the journalists was a war crime. … The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) described the bombing as a ‘targeted strike’ and claimed that Ali Shoaib was ‘a terrorist in the intelligence unit of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force.’ It added: ‘Additionally, the terrorist engaged in incitement against IDF troops and Israeli civilians, using his position as a channel to disseminate Hezbollah propaganda materials.'” (03/28/26)
https://news.sky.com/story/three-lebanese-journalists-killed-in-israeli-airstrike-on-car-13525607
-----
5) Russia: Ust-Luga port damaged by Ukrainian drones
Source: Reuters
“Russia’s Baltic Ust-Luga port, one of its largest petroleum export hubs, was damaged again on Sunday by a Ukrainian drone attack which sparked a blaze later brought under control, Russian officials said. It followed several Ukrainian drone strikes last week on Russia’s western energy corridor when facilities at the ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk came under fire, igniting storage tanks and forcing a suspension of oil and oil product loadings. … The port, operated by Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft handles around 700,000 barrels per day of oil exports, and, according to sources, shipped 32.9 million metric tons of oil products in 2025.” (03/29/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/russias-ust-luga-port-damaged-by-ukrainian-drones-fire-breaks-out-2026-03-29/
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6) Vance tops CPAC presidential straw poll
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“For the second year in a row, United States Vice President JD Vance has topped the straw poll at the 2026 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), one of the biggest right-wing gatherings in the country. The poll is a bellwether – albeit, not necessarily an accurate one – for who might ultimately become the Republican nominee for the next presidential race. … The results were revealed on stage Saturday. Vance had swept up 53 percent of the votes cast by nearly 1,600 attendees. But rising up the ranks was another senior official under US President Donald Trump: his top diplomat, Secretary of State Marco Rubio. A former senator from Florida, Rubio notched 35 percent of the vote. It was a markedly improved standing for Rubio, who tied for fourth place at last year’s CPAC straw poll.” (03/28/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/28/vice-president-jd-vance-tops-cpacs-straw-poll-to-be-us-president-in-2028
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7) Record number of congresscritters retiring ahead of midterms
Source: ABC News
“On Friday, Republican Congressman Sam Graves of Missouri became the 36th Republican — and 57th House member — to announce plans not to seek re-election, saying it was time to ‘pass the torch’ to a new generation. In fact, more Republicans are retiring ahead of the midterms than at any point in nearly a century, according to an ABC News tally of retirement announcements and a review of historical data since 1930 compiled by the Brookings Institution. … So far, 21 House Democrats have announced plans to retire, more than the total that left ahead of the 2018 midterms, but fewer than the 29 Democrats who did not run for office again before the party lost the House majority in 2021.” (03/29/26)
https://abcnews.com/Politics/record-number-lawmakers-retiring-congress-ahead-midterms/story?id=131501248
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8) France: Police foil apparent bomb attack outside of Bank of America building in Paris
Source: CBS News
“French police stopped an apparent bomb attack outside a Bank of America building in Paris early Saturday, and a man was arrested as he was about to set off a homemade explosive device. Police grabbed the man just after he placed a device, made of nine pints of a liquid believed to be fuel, 23 ounces of explosive powder, and an ignition system, according to an initial assessment. The device will undergo a full analysis at the Paris police’s forensics lab. The incident occurred around 3:30 a.m., while the office was closed. No employees were injured, according to the bank.” (03/28/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/france-paris-police-foil-attack-bank-of-america/
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9) Jerusalem: Israeli occupation forces block Latin Patriarch from Palm Sunday mass
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Israeli police have blocked the head of the Catholic church in Jerusalem from entering Christianity’s holiest site to celebrate Palm Sunday. The Latin Patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and the Reverend Francesco Ielpo were stopped outside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre — believed to be the site of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, and where they planned to hold a mass to mark the start of Holy Week, church authorities said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said worshippers of ‘all faiths’ had been asked [sic] not to visit sites in Jerusalem’s Old City for safety reasons after recent Iranian attacks. But the move has drawn strong criticism from global leaders as well as the church.” (03/29/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg0128z41eo
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10) Judge pauses blockbuster merger between TV station owners Nexstar and Tegna
Source: NBC News
“A federal judge late Friday put a hold on the $6.2 billion merger between Nexstar Media Group and Tegna, a deal that would create the largest operator of local television stations in the country. U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley in California granted a request from DirecTV, which argued in a lawsuit that the pending merger violates federal antitrust laws. Eight attorneys general, led by California’s Rob Bonta, filed a separate lawsuit on similar legal grounds. … Nunley issued a 14-day temporary restraining order and scheduled an April 7 hearing. Nexstar declined to comment. Tegna did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice both approved the merger earlier this month. President Donald Trump also publicly backed the deal.” (03/28/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/judge-pauses-merger-tv-station-owners-nexstar-tegna-rcna265626
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11) US House Judiciary Committee calls out “monopoly” on medical resident matching
Source: The Hill
“In a report released Friday, the House Judiciary Committee found that the U.S. system for matching resident physicians to programs is monopolistic and anticompetitive. Every year, resident physicians in the U.S. learn which program they’ve been placed in. This is operated through the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), commonly referred to as the ‘Match.’ The House Judiciary Committee determined in its investigation that the way residency programs are matched is the result of an ‘entrenched monopoly shielded from scrutiny by government protectionism.'” (03/27/26)
https://thehill.com/newsletters/health-care/5805266-house-judiciary-resident-matching-monopoly/
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12) Cuba: Missing aid boats arrive safely in Havana
Source: Deutsche Welle [German state media]
“Two sailboats carrying humanitarian aid from Mexico to Cuba finally reached Havana on Saturday after disappearing en route leading to days of searching for the missing vessels. In the Cuban capital, the crew of nine which included a four-year-old boy along with American, French and German citizens appeared to be in good health and spirits. … On Saturday, the Mexican Navy said the sailboats were spotted by a maritime surveillance aircraft some 80 nautical miles (roughly 148 kilometers) northwest of Cuba. The Reuters news agency cited them as saying they were slowed by unfavorable weather conditions. A Mexican ship escorted them to Havana to ensure their safe arrival in the Cuban capital, the Mexican Navy said.” (03/29/26)
https://www.dw.com/en/missing-cuba-bound-boats-carrying-aid-arrive-safely-in-havana/a-76580010
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13) Nepal: Former PM arrested over deaths during Gen Z protests
Source: Reuters
“Nepal’s former prime minister, K.P. Sharma Oli, was arrested on Saturday as police investigate whether he was negligent in failing to prevent dozens of deaths in a crackdown on Gen Z-led anti-corruption protests last September, officials said. Oli’s arrest, which his lawyer said was illegal and sparked protests by supporters who clashed with police, followed rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah’s swearing in as prime minister on Friday and a recommendation by a panel investigating violence during the protests that he should be prosecuted for negligence. His former home minister, Ramesh Lekhak, was also arrested. Seventy-six people were killed last September during a police crackdown and arson and violent unrest during the protests, which led to Oli’s resignation.” (03/28/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/nepals-ex-pm-oli-held-over-deaths-during-gen-z-protests-2026-03-28/
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14) Trump signs order to pay airport gropers after Congress fails to agree on heimatschutz funding
Source: WBUR News [US state media]
“President Donald Trump on Friday signed a promised executive action to pay Transportation Security Administration employees after a bid to end the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security abruptly fell apart in Congress. Trump signed the action with an eye toward easing long security lines at many of the nation’s top airports. ‘America’s air travel system has reached its breaking point,’ Trump said in the memo authorizing the payments. He added, ‘I have determined that these circumstances constitute an emergency situation compromising the Nation’s security.’ Trump said his administration would use ‘funds that have a reasonable and logical nexus to TSA operations’ for the payments.” (03/28/26)
https://www.wbur.org/news/2026/03/28/trump-signs-order-to-pay-tsa-employees-after-congress-fails-to-agree-on-dhs-funding
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15) Australia: Two state regimes offer 100% transport subsidies as war pushes up fuel prices
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Public transport in two Australian states will be made free to incentivise people not to drive as fuel prices soar due to the war in the Middle East. Victoria, home to Melbourne, has said it will have free travel throughout April, while Tasmania has said commuters will not need to pay from Monday until the end of June. However, other state governments have so far declined to follow suit, with New South Wales (in which Sydney is located) indicating it was reserving funds to meet increased demand for public transport. … Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese sought to reassure motorists on Friday following reports of panic-buying and petrol stations running dry.” (03/29/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c937n0yxggeo
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16) Yemen: Houthis launch missile attack on Israel as war with Iran intensifies
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Yemen’s Houthi rebels [sic] have attacked Israel with a barrage of ballistic missiles – their first such strikes since the United States-Israeli war on Iran began. Brigadier-General Yahya Saree, a military spokesperson for the Houthis, announced the attack on Saturday on the rebels’ [sic] Al Masirah satellite television. … Sirens went off around Beersheba and the area near Israel’s main nuclear research centre for the third time overnight Friday into Saturday as Iran and Hezbollah continued to fire on Israel. No casualties or damage were reported.” (03/28/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/28/yemens-houthis-claim-responsibility-for-a-missile-attack-on-israel-2
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17) Cotton whines that the mean ol’ Democrats won’t fund his favored gang activities
Source: Fox News
“Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., blasted travel chaos gripping airports nationwide as a direct result of Democrats’ ‘temper tantrum’ over immigration policy, as the ongoing standoff snarls TSA operations and disrupts millions of passengers nationwide. ‘The reason we’re at this impasse is that Democrats are using long TSA lines to throw a temper tantrum about deportations of violent criminal illegal aliens and funding of ICE and Border Patrol,’ Cotton said on ‘Fox News Sunday.’ The Arkansas Republican argued the disruptions are not the result of funding shortfalls, but reiterated they stem from a deliberate political fight over immigration, accusing Democrats of shifting demands and prolonging the standoff as airport delays drag on nationwide.” [editor’s note: While I oppose deportation in general, I might be talked into an exception for scumbags like Cotton. He needs to be kept away from decent human beings – TLK] (03/29/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/media/tom-cotton-slams-democrats-temper-tantrum-fueling-tsa-chaos-amid-funding-fight
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18) Secret Service agent on Jill Biden’s detail shoots himself in leg
Source: United Press International
“A U.S. Secret Service agent on former first lady Jill Biden’s detail shot himself in the leg by mistake Friday in Philadelphia, the agency announced. Around 8:30 a.m., the agent sustained ‘a non-life-threatening injury following a negligent discharge while handling a service weapon at the Philadelphia International Airport during a protective assignment,’ a Secret Service statement issued to ABC News said.” (03/27/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/03/27/jill-biden-secret-service/4991774646703/
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19) North Korea: Regime conducts engine test for missile capable of targeting US mainland
Source: Politico
“North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed a test of an upgraded solid-fuel engine for weapons capable of reaching the U.S. mainland, and called it a significant development boosting his country’s strategic military arsenal, state media reported Sunday. While the test was in line with Kim’s stated goal of acquiring more agile, hard-to-detect missiles targeting the U.S. and its allies, some experts speculate North Korea’s claim may be an exaggeration. Missiles with built-in solid propellants are easier to move and conceal their launches than liquid-fuel weapons, which in general must be fueled before liftoffs and cannot last long. The official Korean Central News Agency reported Kim watched the ground jet test of the engine using a composite carbon fiber material. It said the engine’s maximum thrust is 2,500 kilonewtons, up from about 1,970 kilonewtons reported in a similar solid-fuel engine test in September.” (03/29/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/29/north-korea-conducts-engine-test-for-missile-capable-of-targeting-us-mainland-00849543
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20) Mongolia: Prime minister resigns following tensions within the ruling party
Source: Associated Press
“Mongolia’s Prime Minister Zandanshatar Gombojav resigned Friday after rising tensions within the ruling Mongolian People’s Party and a parliamentary boycott by the opposition. The parliament accepted Zandanshatar’s resignation. The opposition Democratic Party earlier this month launched a boycott of parliamentary activity, citing concerns over the concentration of power within the ruling party. There have been months of corruption allegations against Justice Minister Enkhbayar Battumur, a close ally of Zandanshatar, who has not been accused.” (03/27/26)
https://apnews.com/article/mongolia-prime-minister-resign-zandanshatar-boycott-687a953be2131d06c2a459699fd23fe1
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) You can’t hide your lying ICE
Source: The Watch
by Radley Balko
“I was jarred at how the administration openly gloated and shamelessly lied about the use of lethal force by DHS against people who posed no threat. It only got worse after the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. The lies the administration told after those killings aren’t the lies you tell to cover something up. They’re the lies you tell when you want to project to the country that you can get away with anything. The lies themselves are their own display of authoritarianism. The government is telling us, ‘You know we’re lying. We know that you know we’re lying. And there isn’t a goddamn thing you can do about it.’ They lie about everything. When they’re caught in a lie, they lie again. They lie when the facts aren’t on their side, but also when they are. And they never, ever admit that they lied.” (03/28/26)
https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/you-cant-hide-your-lying-ice
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22) OK, Fine, Give TSA Agents Back Pay … But Then Send Them Home For Good
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“At airports across the US, Transportation Security Administration agents have been ‘working’ — that is, impeding, harassing, ogling, and groping air travelers — without pay since Valentine’s Day due to a congressional feud over funding for their parent department. Well, some of them, anyway. Several hundred have quit; quite a few are calling in sick more often. On March 27, US president Donald Trump directed the Department of Homeland Security to start paying TSA employees again, using ‘funds that have a reasonable and logical nexus to TSA operations.’ They may start getting paid again as soon as Monday. They should also STOP getting paid again as soon as possible. Permanently. The very existence of the TSA has been a costly 25-year mistake.” (03/28/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20468
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23) The DOJ Wants To Drop Charges Against Two Cops Who Played a Crucial Role in Breonna Taylor’s Death
Source: Bluegrass Institute
by Jacob Sullum
“Louisville, Kentucky, Detective Joshua Jaynes lied when he applied for the March 2020 search warrant that resulted in Breonna Taylor’s death. Then he lied about his lies. Sgt. Kyle Meany, the supervisor who approved the warrant application, also tried to cover up its shortcomings. According to an August 2022 federal indictment, both officers knew that police did not have probable cause to search Taylor’s apartment. … Taylor’s death did not flow inexorably from the warrant that Jaynes obtained. It is nevertheless true that Taylor would not have died in a hail of gunfire but for Jaynes'[s] fraudulent and misleading affidavit, which Meany approved. That reality underlines the potentially grave consequences of letting police officers make shit up to manufacture probable cause—a danger that does not seem to trouble the main Justice Department official charged with protecting Americans’ civil rights.” (03/28/26)
https://www.bluegrassinstitute.org/doj-breonna-taylor/
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24) The Digital Leviathan
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Renaud Beauchard
“What is the information state? It is a regime that governs not through legislature or courts or votes, but through the invisible digital architecture that now mediates nearly every dimension of public life. Siegel’s definition is evolutive: ‘a state organized on the principle that it exists to protect the sovereign rights of individuals’ is replaced by ‘a digital leviathan that wields power through opaque algorithms and the manipulation of digital swarms.’ … Its goal, Siegel insists, was never simply to censor, never merely to oppress. It was to rule. The kind of brazen censorship we observed during the Biden era and that is so tempting to our warring rulers again is not a bug; it is a feature of the new normal.” (03/28/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/the-digital-leviathan/
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25) No one is “addicted” to Instagram or YouTube
Source: spiked
by Frank Furedi
“I have little sympathy for the multibillion-dollar tech companies, Meta and Google, which were this week forced to pay out a combined $6million in damages to a 20-year-old woman. But I have even less sympathy for the notion of ‘social-media addiction’ that led to this extraordinary payout. … The real issue raised by this case is the aversion to responsibility that now prevails in the West. This is aided by the commanding influence of the narrative of ‘addiction.’ We live in a world where bad habits, as they used to be called, have been rebranded, medicalised and diagnosed as addictions. … The flourishing of the addiction industry is partly driven by individuals’ demand to be relieved of responsibility for their bad behaviour. It is also fuelled by the Therapy Industrial Complex, which aims to turn people into vulnerable patients.” (03/28/26)
https://archive.is/RA9aP
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26) As War Rages vs. Iran, Time for Peace in Ukraine
Source: Real Clear Politics
by Steve Cortes
“As the world understandably focuses on the Middle East, the Russia-Ukraine war shifts to a fulcrum moment. This new juncture provides President Trump with an opportunity to prove that he is still, indeed, a president for peace. He can reaffirm to his base, and to the world, that he is the negotiator-in-chief who brokers diplomatic solutions across the globe, including the historic Abraham Accords. Regarding the Trump base, polling shows that only 38% of Republican voters now believe that the war vs. Iran will conclude in the days or weeks to come. Moreover, 37% of GOP voters oppose any ground troops in Iran. So, opportunity beckons in the Black Sea region. In a recent breakout interview by the Associated Press of General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the former top military commander of Ukraine, provides startling revelations regarding his battles with Zelensky – and the relevance for the future of postwar Ukraine.” (03/28/26)
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2026/03/28/as_war_rages_vs_iran_time_for_peace_in_ukraine_153993.html
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27) ICE at Airports Trains Us to Accept Being Terrorized in Our Daily Lives
Source: The Intercept
by Mathew Rodriguez
“Shortly after Trump deployed ICE agents to airports, his former chief strategist Steve Bannon may have tipped the administration’s hand. Bannon speculated on his ‘War Room’ podcast that the immigration force’s presence at TSA security checkpoints was a ‘test run’ ahead of the November midterms. Maybe, Bannon seemed to suggest, it was a rehearsal, meant to test how far the administration can stretch our tolerance for agents as part of the landscape of our daily lives without pushback. … If we can accept the reality that Trump’s personal army is requiring more documentation from us just to board an Airbus, how long until we are forced to tolerate them in our voting booths and beyond?” (03/28/26)
https://theintercept.com/2026/03/28/ice-airports-tsa-fear/
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28) Why Crypto-Backed Mortgages Matter for Expanding Access to Homeownership
Source: Bitcoin.com
by Kevin Helms
“Growing barriers to homeownership are prompting financial firms to redefine how wealth is evaluated, with Coinbase partnering with Better Home & Finance Holding Company to enable crypto-backed mortgages supported by Fannie Mae that allow borrowers to use bitcoin or USDC instead of cash for down payments. … Forced liquidation introduces tradeoffs, including forfeiting potential price appreciation and triggering tax liabilities, which can discourage participation in the housing market. Crypto-backed structures alter that dynamic by converting digital holdings into usable collateral, allowing borrowers to secure financing without selling assets.” (03/28/26)
https://news.bitcoin.com/why-crypto-backed-mortgages-matter-for-expanding-access-to-homeownership/
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29) The End of Immigration
Source: Paul Krugman
by Paul Krugman
“Donald Trump’s impulsive decision to deploy large numbers of ICE agents to hang out at America’s airport Cinnabons — there’s no indication that they are actually helping demoralized, unpaid TSA employees deal with long lines at airport security — may have unintended political consequences: it will remind Americans about how much they dislike ICE and the great harm that it’s doing. Nonetheless, recent data show that the administration’s crackdown on immigration is working. Immigration to the United States is plunging and may be about to go into reverse. And that plunge is making America poorer and weaker – now and in the long-run.” (03/27/26)
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/the-end-of-immigration
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30) Putting boots on the ground could kill Trump’s presidency
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Jack Hunter
“It would seem the fate of Trump’s presidency lies in his decision to enter into a ground war with Iran — something successive presidents, including himself, have promised not to do since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in which millions of American men and women served over a 20-year period, draining resources, morale and, frankly, recruitment potential for the services. In poll after poll, the majority of Americans oppose going to war with Iran at all, and fear a prolonged war that will suck the country into another quagmire. This should set alarm bells in the administration. Republicans continue to support the war but in decreasing numbers, and they have clearly soured even more on the idea of sending in ground troops. There’s more. A new Fox News poll released on Wednesday revealed just how low Trump’s numbers were sinking and why.” (03/27/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/boots-on-the-ground-iran/
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31) Hollywood Still Trying To Corrupt J. R. R. Tolkien’s Work
Source: The Federalist
by John Daniel Davidson
“If you thought Hollywood was done trying to corrupt and destroy the legacy of J.R.R. Tolkien, think again. This week Variety reported that Warner Brothers announced yet another Lord Of The Rings spinoff film is in development — and that Stephen Colbert and his son are writing it. Colbert is apparently a ‘vocal Tolkien fanatic,’ and is working on a script derived from the early chapters of The Fellowship of the Ring that didn’t make it into Peter Jackson’s acclaimed trilogy. … Colbert said he pitched Jackson on the idea of a film ‘that could be its own story that could fit into the larger story. Could we make something that was completely faithful to the books while also being completely faithful to the movies that you guys had already made?’ Based on the synopsis of Colbert’s script, the answer is clearly no.” (03/27/26)
https://thefederalist.com/2026/03/27/hollywood-is-still-trying-to-corrupt-j-r-r-tolkiens-work/
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32) Why We Keep Stumbling into Stupid Wars
Source: NonZero Newsletter
by Robert Wright
“Why is the current war happening? If you want to answer that question in a broad sense—in a way that applies not just to the Iran war but to other needless bursts of carnage of the past and future — I would direct your attention to an exchange that took place this week on a New York Times podcast called The Opinions. The exchange was between Times columnist David French and retired four-star General Stanley McChrystal …. The roles played by the two men aren’t what you might expect based on their job descriptions. It wasn’t the career Army officer who exemplified the narrowly tribalistic perspective and the writer for the liberal media who offered the more balanced and pacific view. Rather, it was the professional soldier who brought the enlightenment and the journalist who lacked it — and who showed no signs of absorbing any of it.” (03/27/26)
https://www.nonzero.org/p/why-we-keep-stumbling-into-stupid
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33) If You’d Only Oppose The Iran War When There’s Boots On The Ground, You’re A Scumbag
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“LBC has a report titled ‘Republicans ‘storm out’ of Iran briefing as they claim US ‘war machine’ is trying to put boots on ground’ about MAGA lawmakers whining that Trump’s war looks set to turn into a land invasion. I get so tired of all this American hand-wringing about ‘boots on the ground.’ It’s a symptom of a wildly sick dystopia that these people are fine with raining military explosives on a densely populated city but draw the line at putting American troops in the line of fire. Sure, killing kids is fine, just don’t put boots on the ground! Sure you can rain hellfire on hospitals, homes and schools for weeks, just make sure you do all your massacring from the sky where nobody can return fire. Killing is okie dokie, so long as our troops aren’t the ones getting killed.” (03/28/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/03/28/if-youd-only-oppose-the-iran-war-when-theres-boots-on-the-ground-youre-a-scumbag/
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34) Atlanta, TSA, and a Test Case for Interventionist Non-Intervention
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Joshua Mawhorter
“[T]he concept of interventionist non-intervention argues that the state — following coercive taxation and monopolization or competition suppression — can intervene through doing ‘nothing,’ that is, paid non-delivery of promised and monopolized service. The core elements of interventionist non-intervention are: 1) the binary intervention of coercive taxation where citizens are forced to pay for a service regardless of whether or not they receive it; 2) the triangular interventions of monopolization or competition suppression where the state claims exclusive domain over the service provision; and, 3) non-delivery wherein the state then fails or refuses to provide the monopolized service for which it has extracted payment, in part or in whole.” (03/27/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/atlanta-tsa-and-test-case-interventionist-non-intervention
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35) The Last Lesson My Mother Taught Me
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Joseph Varon
“My mother did not die in an intensive care unit. She was not surrounded by machines, alarms, or artificial light. She died at home, in a room imbued with the quiet weight of memory. Decades of life were embedded in those walls, which had witnessed birthdays, conversations, laughter, arguments, and the countless ordinary moments that, in retrospect, constitute the true foundation of a life. A peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) line rested in her arm, serving not as a symbol of escalation but as an instrument of compassion. Medications were given to relieve discomfort rather than to reverse disease. Nurses entered the room with calm, deliberate purpose rather than urgency. Their voices were soft, their movements measured. Their objective was not to save her life, but to honor it.” (03/27/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/the-last-lesson-my-mother-taught-me/
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36) How Taxes Are Reshaping Where Americans Live and Work
Source: Reason
by Jared Dillian
“Increasing income taxes almost always results in less revenue and less economic activity.” (03/27/26)
https://reason.com/2026/03/27/how-taxes-are-reshaping-where-americans-live-and-work/
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37) We Are on the Road to Serfdom
Source: Town Hall
by Les Rubin
“Friedrich Hayek published The Road to Serfdom in 1944, a classic book on economics for the ages. We would do well to understand his message, because it reads today less like a theory and more like a warning. What Hayek described is unfolding right before our eyes, yet it is so gradual and insidious that few recognize it is happening. Hayek believed prosperity and freedom are inseparable. In [his book], he warned about what happens when government begins to control economic decision-making through central planning. The result, he argued, is the slow erosion of freedom. When societies abandon individualism and classical liberal economics, the power of the state expands and the liberty of the citizen contracts. Eventually, this evolves to government control.” (03/28/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/les-rubin/2026/03/28/we-are-on-the-road-to-serfdom-n2673569
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38) Suspending the Jones Act: Lessons from the Conflict with Iran
Source: Independent Institute
by Caleb Petitt
“The Trump administration’s suspension of the Jones Act is well-reasoned; the Jones Act has kept oil prices in America higher than they would otherwise have been by increasing the cost of transporting oil. The Jones Act forces domestic shippers to use expensive ships with expensive crews, which drives up shipping costs beyond what a free market would bear. However, paying more for domestic shipping could easily be worth the cost if it made America more secure. Unfortunately, the Jones Act is a hindrance to American security.” (03/27/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/03/27/suspending-jones-act-iran/
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39) The transaction explosion and the cost of judgment
Source: Niskanen Center
by Daniel Wilf-Townsend
“Our civil justice institutions are about 100 years old, dating back to the progressive era and the adoption of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. But the world has changed a lot since then. In particular, the number of transactions in society has exploded, as population growth, economic growth, and technological change have exponentially increased the activity in society that leads to disputes. Separately, alongside the rise in civil disputes, the cost of the time and attention of legally trained experts has skyrocketed, rising faster than inflation for generations.” (03/27/26)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/the-transaction-explosion-and-the-cost-of-judgment
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40) Immigration, Culture, and Albert Jay Nock
Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman
“[W]e require no heroic assumptions to understand that free immigration is good. New people and different ways of doing and seeing things mix with the existing cultural elements to produce, on the whole, innovation and immense general benefits. (See the work of Julian Simon and Matt Ridley.) All we need is freedom, an expectation of self-responsibility, and no government interference. In those conditions, reality and capitalism teach and reward virtue.” (03/27/26)
https://sheldonrichman.substack.com/p/tgif-immigration-culture-and-albert
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41) Profiles in Cowardice: Our Four Ex-Presidents Still Won’t Speak Out Against Trump!
Source: Common Dreams
by Ralph Nader
“What should the American people, especially the hundreds of millions of their voters, expect Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden to do against the vicious, serial law-violating, violent, corrupt, agency-dismantling Donald Trump and the crony Trumpsters who are wrecking our government and our economy? These former presidents should mobilize the citizenry from the grassroots to the Capitol and take on the unpopular Tyrant Trump. Having sworn to uphold the Constitution and ‘… take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed,’ they should strongly uphold their patriotic duty to resist tyranny and save our Republic and our besieged democratic institutions, and stop the assault on our civil liberties and civil rights. Our former presidents all get along with each other. … [T]hey are living luxurious lives and are largely AWOL from connecting with the existing but overwhelmed civic opposition to Trump.” (03/28/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/ex-presidents-cowards-trump
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42) At home and abroad, Trump’s mission creep makes victory impossible
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Matt K Lewis
“Whether it’s reopening the strait or funding DHS, Trump’s goalposts keep moving, and as a result, Democrats are largely insulated from the public’s blame for the airport mess. Democrats can’t be expected to end this impasse because Trump can’t even settle on a set of demands to which they could agree. This is Trump’s M.O. with Iran as well. His stated objectives have cycled through a full and complete surrender, regime change, deterrence, de-escalation, boots on the ground, blowing up power plants in 48 hours, and then backing off based on ‘productive conversations.’ (Not to mention that Trump ran for office promising to end ‘forever wars,’ not start new ones.) Trump — whose underlying belief is that pressure always produces capitulation — assumes he can bluster and bully his opponents into submission. But that only works if the other side agrees to play by those rules.” (03/27/26)
https://archive.is/Wo3fd
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43) War and Morality
Source: Antiwar.com
by Andrew P Napolitano
“War is the most horrific series of events upon which any government can engage. It is systematic, industrialized, indiscriminate killing. It kills innocent adults and little girls. It often ruins the post-war lives of the killers. It is young men violently fighting old men’s power games. It is the health of the state. The war President Donald Trump is waging against the people and the government of Iran is immoral, unconstitutional and unlawful. Yet, because Congress is not doing its job, there appears to be no relief in sight until Trump finds a face-saving way to erase his grave mistake from the public’s long memory.” (03/27/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/andrew-p-napolitano/2026/03/26/war-and-morality
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44) Two Primary Elections for the Soul of “America First”
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Alan Mosley
“Midterm elections are where slogans go to trial. Primaries, especially, are where interests that cannot reliably win a general election try to win the nomination. They do it with money, with media saturation, and with the oldest trick in politics: framing obedience as unity. This year, two Republican races show the fork in the road. In northern Kentucky, Rep. Thomas Massie is fighting a primary that has become a national vendetta project. In South Carolina, Senator Lindsey Graham is seeking a fifth term while publicly linking his political identity to a foreign-policy crusade, and treating dissent at home as a moral failing. If Massie survives and Graham falls, it signals that Republican voters still have room for independence, constitutional friction, and skepticism toward overseas commitments. If Massie loses and Graham wins, it signals the reverse: the slogan becomes a mascot for power, not a restraint on it.” (03/27/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/two-primary-elections-for-the-soul-of-america-first
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45) Ukraine can teach the US about the future of warfare
Source: New York Post
by Dalibor Rohac
“Here’s a number that should make every American wince: $4 million. That’s what it costs to fire a single Patriot interceptor missile. Here’s another: $30,000. That’s an estimated price tag of an Iranian Shahed drone — the kind that Tehran has been lobbing across the Persian Gulf at US bases and allied cities since the start of the war four weeks ago. In other words, we’re spending at least 100 times more to shoot down each drone than our enemies spend to build one. And it’s not just the cost that’s a problem — it’s also our production capacity. … Just replenishing those weapons at current production capacity will require 18 months. That is no way to fight against Iran, much less against a larger adversary like China or Russia.” (03/27/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/03/27/opinion/ukraine-can-teach-the-us-about-the-future-of-warfare/
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46) Betting on Better Governance
Source: Isonomia Quarterly
by George Agbesi & Joshua D Ammons
“At one point, Gordon Tullock thought taxi medallions were inefficient but intractable institutions, a classic example of what he called the transitional gains trap. The medallion system persisted not because it served the public, but because the rents it generated were capitalized into medallion prices, making any reform politically impossible. Then came Uber, and within a matter of years this supposedly permanent institution crumbled. What if a similar technology shock could do the same for societies lacking the rule of law?” (03/27/26)
https://isonomiamag.substack.com/p/betting-on-better-governance
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47) The unreligious religiosity of Christian identity politics
Source: Washington Post
by Matthew Schmitz
“Far from being a sign of resurgent faith, Christian identity politics is a symptom of religious decline. As one observer has noted, the fact that Americans are growing more secular and less religiously literate has made religion more salient as a marker of political difference, even as invocations of it become less informed.” (03/27/26)
https://archive.is/9wrwf
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48) Fecklessly Fining 4chan
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“You host a website. Users can say whatever they want on this site. Next thing you know, a UK regulatory agency is sending you, an American organization based in the United States, a letter announcing a trillion-dollar fine for failure to comply with UK censorship demands. How much do you panic? If you’re 4chan, not much.” (03/27/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/03/27/fining4chan/
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49) How the Republican Party Forgot It Was Conservative
Source: The American Prospect
by Paul Starr
“The main theme in much writing on contemporary politics is how ideologically polarized Democrats and Republicans have become. But the truly consequential change is that Republicans have broken with their own past. Under Donald Trump, the party hasn’t just reversed its positions on specific policies. It has routinely betrayed basic tenets of the conservative philosophy that Republicans have long claimed was the bedrock of their party. No one is shocked by Trump’s betrayals. What is more surprising is that most Republicans haven’t seemed to care. I’ve been thinking about the Republican betrayal of the party’s own tradition because of a comment about my work by Glenn Loury, the conservative Black economist. When I was on The Glenn Show in December, he criticized my new book American Contradiction because of my ‘apparent disregard for the positive contributions of conservative thought and policy to American life.'” (03/27/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/03/27/apr-2026-magazine-how-republican-party-forgot-it-was-conservative/
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50) To End the Iran War, Trump Must Divorce Israel
Source: The American Conservative
by Andrew Day
“As analysts have emphasized, Tehran ‘gets a vote’ as to when this war ends, and it doesn’t plan to stop until the U.S. and Israel learn that attacking Iran comes with high costs and shouldn’t be repeated in the future. The U.S., unable to hammer out an agreement, has been hammering Iran to coerce it to the negotiating table. … The Trump administration misunderstands the nature of the problem. To end the war, it needs to get tough not with America’s adversary, but with its cobelligerent: Israel.” (03/27/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/to-end-the-iran-war-trump-must-divorce-israel/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Unattended Baggage, episode 334
Source: Unattended Baggage
“This Business Will Get Out of Hand.” (03/28/26)
https://unattendedbaggage.substack.com/p/episode-334-this-business-will-get
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52) The Good Fight, 03/28/26
Source: Yascha Mounk
“David Autor on the Scars That Money Can’t Heal.” (03/28/26)
https://writing.yaschamounk.com/p/david-autor
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53) LPALive, episode 66
Source: LP Alliance
“National Chair Debate at North Carolina state convention.” (03/28/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKxD_Edvh-Y
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54) The Focus Group Podcast, 03/28/26
Source: The Bulwark
“PSA: AI is NOT Your Boyfriend!! (with Megan McArdle).” (03/28/26)
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/psa-ai-is-not-your-boyfriend-with-megan-mcardle/id1586423406?i=1000757884797
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55) Serious Trouble, 03/27/26
Source: Serious Trouble
“Judge Lewis Kaplan wants to know what lawyers are helping Sam Bankman-Fried, including mom; the Pentagon is having trouble in the courts; judges make divergent rules about attorney AI disclosure.” (03/27/26)
https://www.serioustrouble.show/p/pro-se-exam
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56) The Dishcast with Andrew Sullivan, 03/27/26
Source: The Weekly Dish
“Jonah Goldberg On Conservatism, Blogging, Dogs.” (03/27/26)
https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/jonah-goldberg-on-conservatism-blogging
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57) In the Tank Podcast, episode 530
Source: Heartland Institute
“Freedom Works, Socialism Fails.” (03/27/26)
https://heartland.org/podcasts/freedom-works-socialism-fails-in-the-tank-podcast-530/
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58) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 03/27/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“New York Times: ’13 U.S. Bases Uninhabitable’ — We Could’ve Just Marched Home.” (03/27/26)
https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1oKMvRgBjwnGQ
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59) Radio Rothbard, 03/27/26
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
“What Would a Strategic Victory Look Like in Iran?” (03/27/26)
https://mises.org/podcasts/radio-rothbard/what-would-strategic-victory-look-iran
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60) Reason Interview: Taylor Lorenz
Source: Reason
“Is Social Media Responsible for Bad Parenting?” (03/27/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/03/27/taylor-lorenz-is-social-media-responsible-for-bad-parenting/
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61) Patrick Pillow on The Scott Horton Show
Source: The Scott Horton Show
“Patrick Pillow on Washington’s Preferred Method of Regime Change.” (03/27/26)
https://scotthorton.org/interviews/3-19-26-patrick-pillow-on-washingtons-preferred-method-of-regime-change/
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62) Real Unity, episode 12
Source: Free the People
“Are The Handmaid’s Tale Costumes Justified? | Hannah Cox.” (03/27/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKn7BotSQd8
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63) Rising, 03/27/26
Source: The Hill
“Lindsey Granger gives her lens on President Trump saying Iran is eager to make a deal to end the war, while Iranian leadership rejects that notion.” (03/27/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/5792912-rising-march-27-2026/
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64) The Brian Nichols Show, 03/27/26
Source: Lions of Liberty
“Republicans Are Losing Because of ONE Word?” (03/27/26)
https://www.lionsofliberty.com/episodes/tbns-republicans-are-losing-because-of-one-word
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65) The Political Orphanage, 03/27/26
Source: The Political Orphanage
“Interview with the Mega Warden.” (03/27/26)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/interview-with-the-mega-warden
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