05/30 -- Ukraine war: Kyiv forces launch biggest drone attack on Moscow; Moral Panics, Then and Now
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Thomas L. Knapp
May 30, 2023, 6:26:51 AM5/30/23
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 05/30/23
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Produced by the staff of Rational Review News Digest
https://news.rationalreview.com/
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Ukraine war: Kyiv forces launch biggest drone attack on Moscow
2) Kosovo: NATO soldiers wounded in clashes
3) House GOP hard-liners trash debt limit bill as party leaders try to shore up votes
4) Iran: Trial begins for journalist arrested for reporting on Mahsa Amini's murder
5) Russia: Regime issues arrest warrant for Lindsey Graham over Ukraine comments
6) Turkey: Stocks rally, lira slips to record low after Erdogan victory
7) US community college enrollment grows after decade of declines
8) Palestine: Israeli occupation forces murder one, wound seven in Jenin raid
9) UAE: Regime announces groundbreaking mission to asteroid belt, seeking clues to life's origins
10) Missing 73 years, Medal of Honor recipient's remains returned to Georgia
11) German police arrest stripper over toy gun
12) CT: Bear raids bakery, eats 60 cupcakes
13) MS judge: Democrats improperly excluded candidate for governor
14) Spain: Sanchez calls early election for July 23
15) North Korea notifies Japan it plans to launch satellite in coming days
16) TX: House impeaches Paxton
17) Sudan: Factions agree to extend ceasefire deal amid clashes
18) Serbia: Tens of thousands rally in Belgrade to protest regime media control
19) Uganda: President signs anti-gay legislation, with death penalty for rape or fraud
20) NC: Alleged intruder shot, killed by homeowner
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Moral Panics, Then and Now
22) Thoughts on Immigration
23) The Democratic Party's Crucifixion of Matt Taibbi
24) Pre-Election Advice: Try Looking at Yourself the Way Politicians Do
25) The Resistance Resists ... DeSantis!
26) Most Propaganda Looks Nothing Like This
27) Amidst Dreams of Green Energy, Regulators and Industry Warn of Summer Blackouts
28) Politics won't solve water problem
29) An idea so bad it was bound to return: Public housing
30) Debt-ceiling deal comes up short on McCarthy vow to rein in IRS
31) NIMBY Is Economic Illiteracy
32) The Need for a Queer Power Movement
33) Grand Master of Reputation
34) Saudi Arabia, a green energy leader?
35) On the road with the Republican "persuasion" candidates
36) Quantum Vibe, 05/29/23
37) Earned Knowledge, L7, P1
38) Conditioning Americans to Hate White People
39) The DeSantis Torture Question
40) The Knowledge that Only Free Markets Disclose
41) Keith Weiner's Macroeconomic Equation
42) Memorial Day Should Be a Solemn Occasion to Value Peace
43) Can The Cult of DeSantis Beat Trump's MAGA Die-Hards?
44) Trying To Build Peace One BRICS at a Time
45) Jamie Raskin and Rachel Maddow, brought to you by Peter Thiel and Lockheed Martin
46) The Best Life Lesson for a Teen Is a Job
47) Can we learn any lessons from the past?
48) America's Immigration Police State: Warrantless Trespasses, Searches, and Seizures
49) As Deals Go, This Is One of Them
50) Playing Chicken with a Stack of Steering Wheels
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Free Talk Live, 05/29/23
52) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 05/29/23
53) Finding Freedom, episode 387
54) The Anarchist Experience, episode 425
55) Unattended Baggage, episode 199
56) The Chris Spangle Show, 05/27/23
57) This Week in Common Sense, 05/27/23
58) Erik Sperling on The Scott Horton Show
59) Rising, 05/26/23
60) Conflicts of Interest, episode 426
61) Nonzero, 05/26/23
62) Freedom Works with Paul Molloy, 05/26/23
63) Declare Your Independence with Ernest Hancock, 05/26/23
64) The Tom Woods Show, episode 2339
65) There's A Policy For That With Susan Pendergrass, 05/26/23
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Ukraine war: Kyiv forces launch biggest drone attack on Moscow
Source: Reuters
"Ukraine launched its biggest ever drone attack on Moscow on Tuesday but air defences destroyed all eight of the drones, Russia said, bringing the 15-month war in Ukraine to the heart of the capital. Drone attacks deep inside Russia have intensified in recent weeks ahead of an expected Ukrainian counter-offensive, with strikes on oil pipelines and even the Kremlin earlier this month that Moscow has blamed on Ukraine. ... Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said two people were injured, one of whom was hospitalised, in the early morning attack. Moscow's airports remained open. No deaths were reported." (05/30/23)
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/drones-hit-several-buildings-moscow-mayor-2023-05-30/
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2) Kosovo: NATO soldiers wounded in clashes
Source: Politico
"NATO on Monday condemned an attack on peacekeepers in Kosovo that left around 25 international troops wounded. Members of the Kosovo Force (KFOR), a NATO-led peacekeeping mission, were injured during clashes with Serb protesters in northern Kosovo. KFOR said late Monday that after units were deployed to contain violent demonstrations, 'several soldiers of the Italian and Hungarian KFOR contingent were the subject of unprovoked attacks and sustained trauma wounds with fractures and burns due to the explosion of incendiary devices.' Tensions are running high in the region. On Friday, the U.S., France, Italy, Germany, and the U.K. issued a joint statement condemning Kosovo's decision to force access to municipal buildings in northern Kosovo. The five countries also said they are 'concerned by Serbia's decision to raise the level of readiness of its Armed Forces at the border with Kosovo and call all parties for maximum restraint, avoiding inflammatory rhetoric.'" (05/29/23)
https://www.politico.eu/article/nato-soldiers-wounded-kosovo-attackk/
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3) House GOP hard-liners trash debt limit bill as party leaders try to shore up votes
Source: NBC News
"The race is on for congressional leaders to secure the votes to pass a bipartisan compromise struck by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to avert a catastrophic debt default with just a week to go before the June 5 deadline. Facing skepticism or criticism within their ranks, both party's leaders mobilized Monday to shore up support for the bill. ... Republican hard-liners in both chambers sniped at the deal, setting the stage for a contentious showdown Tuesday in the House Rules Committee, which is scheduled to consider the bill before an expected vote in the full House on Wednesday. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., called the deal 'insanity' and said the bill has 'virtually no cuts.' Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, issued a torrent of tweets blasting the deal as a 'turd-sandwich.' Norman and Roy are on the Rules Committee. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said the deal has 'fake spending cuts.'" (05/29/23)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/house-gop-hardliners-trash-debt-limit-bill-party-leaders-try-shore-vot-rcna86687
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4) Iran: Trial begins for journalist arrested for reporting on Mahsa Amini's murder
Source: France 24 [French state media]
"Iran on Monday held the first trial session for one of the two detained female journalists who reported on Mahsa Amini's death in custody last year, her lawyer said. Months of nationwide protests erupted after Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, died on September 16 following her arrest for allegedly violating the country's strict dress code for women. The journalists, Niloufar Hamedi, 30, and Elaheh Mohammadi, 36, could face the death penalty after they were detained for covering Amini's death and its aftermath. ... The two women were charged on November 8 with propaganda against the state and conspiring against national security, offences that potentially carry the death penalty." (05/29/23)
https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20230529-trial-begins-for-an-iranian-journalist-arrested-for-reporting-on-mahsa-amini-s-death
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5) Russia: Regime issues arrest warrant for Lindsey Graham over Ukraine comments
Source: Politico
"Russia's Interior Ministry on Monday issued an arrest warrant for U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham following his comments related to the fighting in Ukraine. In an edited video of his meeting on Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that was released by Zelenskyy's office, Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, noted that 'the Russians are dying' and described the U.S. military assistance to the country as 'the best money we've ever spent.' While Graham appeared to have made the remarks in different parts of the conversation, the short video by Ukraine's presidential office put them next to each other, causing outrage in Russia. ... The Investigative Committee, the country's top criminal investigation agency, has moved to open a criminal inquiry against Graham, and the Interior Ministry followed up by issuing a warrant for his arrest as indicated Monday by its official record of wanted criminal suspects." (05/29/23)
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/29/lindsey-graham-russia-arrest-warrant-00099150
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6) Turkey: Stocks rally, lira slips to record low after Erdogan victory
Source: Reuters
"Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan won re-election in a runoff vote, extending his rule into a third decade. The nation is grappling with a cost of living crisis, a plunging currency and depleted foreign reserves. The Turkish currency touched a fresh record low of 20.105 on Monday. It has fallen more than 7% since the start of the year, and lost more than 90% of its value over the past decade. Turkey's international bonds were mixed, with the 2030 issue gaining 0.5 cents while other maturities eased 0.2 cents . Five-year credit default swaps were hovering at Friday's closing level. Turkey's benchmark index gained 4.4% on Monday while the banking sub-index was trading 3.1% higher." (05/29/23)
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/turkeys-lira-hits-record-low-stocks-rally-after-erdogan-victory-2023-05-29/
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7) US community college enrollment grows after decade of declines
Source: Axios
"Community college enrollment, buoyed by younger students and fresh interest in job-related programs, rose this spring for the first time in more than a decade, according to new data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. ... Years of steep declines hit community colleges across the country. Community college enrollment rose 0.5% from the year before, after falling 8.2% and 10.1% in 2022 and 2021. Enrollment in public two-year colleges rose after the 2008 economic recession but started trending downwards in 2010 and plummeted during the pandemic, according to NSC data. The majors at two-year institutions that saw increases this spring include Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services (9.7%), Mechanic and Repair Technologies/Technicians (8.2%), Personal and Culinary Services (9.7%) and Transportation and Materials Moving (11.8%). Overall postsecondary enrollment still lags heavily behind pre-pandemic levels." (05/29/23)
https://www.axios.com/2023/05/29/community-college-enrollment-rise-decline
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8) Palestine: Israeli occupation forces murder one, wound seven in Jenin raid
Source: Times of Israel [Palestine]
"A Palestinian man was killed and at least seven were wounded during a raid by the Israeli military on the northern West Bank city of Jenin early Monday, according to Palestinian health officials. The Palestinian Authority Health Ministry said 37-year-old Ashraf Muhammad Amin Ibrahim was fatally shot in the abdomen and chest by Israeli troops during the raid. Earlier, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa said eight people were wounded, including one seriously, during the raid on several neighborhoods in the city." (05/29/23)
https://www.timesofisrael.com/8-palestinians-said-wounded-in-idf-raid-in-jenin-clashes-reported-near-ramallah/
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9) UAE: Regime announces groundbreaking mission to asteroid belt, seeking clues to life's origins
Source: ABC News
"The United Arab Emirates unveiled plans Monday to send a spaceship to explore the solar system's main asteroid belt, the latest space project by the oil-rich nation after it launched the successful Hope spacecraft to Mars in 2020. Dubbed the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt, the project aims to develop a spacecraft in the coming years and then launch it in 2028 to study various asteroids. ... If successful, the newly announced spacecraft will soar at speeds reaching 33,000 kilometers (20,500 miles) per hour on a seven-year journey to explore six asteroids. It will culminate in the deployment of a landing craft onto a seventh, rare 'red' asteroid that scientists say may hold insight into the building blocks of life on Earth." (05/29/23)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/uae-announces-groundbreaking-mission-asteroid-belt-seeking-clues-99679475
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10) Missing 73 years, Medal of Honor recipient's remains returned to Georgia
Source: CBS News
"Soldiers of the 9th Infantry Regiment made a desperate retreat as North Korean troops closed in around them. A wounded 18-year-old Army Pfc. Luther Herschel Story feared his injuries would slow down his company, so he stayed behind to cover their withdrawal. Story's actions in the Korean War on Sept. 1, 1950, would ensure he was remembered. He was awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military honor, which is now displayed alongside his portrait at the National Infantry Museum, an hour's drive from his hometown of Americus, Georgia. But Story was never seen alive again, and his resting place long remained a mystery. 'In my family, we always believed that he would never be found,' said Judy Wade, Story's niece and closest surviving relative. That changed in April when the U.S. military revealed lab tests had matched DNA from Wade and her late mother to bones of an unidentified American soldier recovered from Korea in October 1950." (05/29/23)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/luther-h-story-medal-of-honor-recipient-remains-home-georgia-missing-73-years/
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11) German police arrest stripper over toy gun
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
"Police in the German city of Frankfurt am Main mistakenly arrested a stripper after being told about a man with a gun, which turned out to be a toy. The incident happened on Friday evening, when police said a 'suspicious man' was seen on a street in the city's Nordend district. He was wearing a US police uniform and helmet and was thought to be carrying an assault rifle. The man had in fact been hired for a stag party at a nearby pub. Police got the man on the ground and handcuffed him before discovering the gun was a toy. He was then released. 'He was carrying a deceptively real-looking toy gun,' police said in a statement. 'The 31-year-old underestimated the martial effect of his own outfit.'" (05/29/23)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65750154
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12) CT: Bear raids bakery, eats 60 cupcakes
Source: USA Today
"These cupcakes weren't too hot, nor too cold, but just right. A black bear broke into a Connecticut bakery garage Wednesday and helped itself to 60 cupcakes before store employees were able to shoo the bear away. Workers at Taste by Spellbound in Avon, Connecticut, were loading cupcakes into a van for delivery when the bear entered the garage and dragged out a box full of the desserts. ... Surveillance video shows two employees walking around the side of the bakery to try to scare the bear off, but the bear ends up scaring them. The bear then dragged out a box full of cupcakes from the garage and ate about 60 of the sweets, WTNH reported." (05/28/23)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/05/28/bear-eats-cupcakes-connecticut-bakery-video/70264926007/
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13) MS judge: Democrats improperly excluded candidate for governor
Source: SFGate
"Mississippi could have a Democratic primary for governor in August because a judge ruled Friday that the party improperly excluded a candidate from the ballot. The state Democratic Party immediately filed notice that it will ask the Mississippi Supreme Court to overturn the judge's ruling on the candidacy of Bob Hickingbottom. 'I appreciate the court's consideration. We hope to get a more favorable ruling on appeal,' the committee's attorney, Gerald Mumford, told The Associated Press. The state Democratic Executive Committee decided in February that Hickingbottom could not be on the ballot as a Democrat. Hickingbottom, who has described himself as a political operative, ran for governor as a Constitution Party candidate in 2019. The executive committee also excluded Gregory Wash from running for governor this year, after he ran a low-budget campaign for governor in the Democratic primary four years ago." (05/29/23)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/mississippi-democrats-improperly-excluded-18122058.php
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14) Spain: Sanchez calls early election for July 23
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatar state media]
"Pedro Sanchez, the prime minister of Spain, has called an early general election for July 23. The announcement on Monday came a day after Sanchez's Socialist party took a serious battering in local and regional elections. Sanchez had previously said he would complete his four-year team, suggesting that polls would be held in December." (05/29/23)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/29/spanish-pm-pedro-sanchez-calls-early-election-for-july-23
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15) North Korea notifies Japan it plans to launch satellite in coming days
Source: PBS News Hour [US state media]
"North Korea on Monday notified neighboring Japan that it plans to launch a satellite in coming days, which may be an attempt to put its first military reconnaissance satellite into orbit. Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said he ordered Japan's Self Defense Force to shoot down the satellite or debris, if any entered Japanese territory. Japan's coast guard said the notice it received from North Korean waterway authorities said the launch window was from May 31 to June 11, and that the launch may affect waters in the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and east of the Philippines' Luzon Island. The coast guard issued a safety warning for ships in the area on those dates because of the possible risks from falling debris. Japan's coast guard coordinates and distributes maritime safety information in East Asia, which is likely the reason it was the recipient of North Korea's notice." (05/29/23)
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/north-korea-notifies-neighboring-japan-it-plans-to-launch-satellite-in-coming-days
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16) TX: House impeaches Paxton
Source: Axios
"The GOP-dominated Texas House voted 121-23 Saturday to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton, a historic decision that immediately removes him from office as he awaits a Senate trial. Paxton becomes the third state official in Texas history to be impeached, following Gov. James 'Pa' Ferguson in 1917 and a district judge in 1975. A Republican-led House General Investigating Committee filed 20 articles of impeachment against Paxton earlier this week after months of secret deliberation. The committee cited a 'long-standing pattern of abuse of office and public trust,' including alleged bribery and obstruction of justice, before sending the matter to the House for a full vote. ... In a statement immediately following the vote, Paxton called his impeachment 'a politically motivated sham from the beginning.'" (05/27/23)
https://www.axios.com/2023/05/27/texas-ag-ken-paxton-impeached
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17) Sudan: Factions agree to extend ceasefire deal amid clashes
Source: Reuters
"Sudan's warring military factions agreed on Monday to a five-day extension of a ceasefire agreement, after renewed heavy clashes and air strikes in the capital threw fresh doubts on the effectiveness of a truce designed to ease a humanitarian crisis. Saudi Arabia and the United States, which brokered a week-long ceasefire deal and have been monitoring it remotely, announced shortly before it was due to expire on Monday evening the parties had agreed to extend it. Although the ceasefire had been imperfectly observed, it had allowed the delivery of aid to an estimated two million people, the two countries said in a joint statement. 'The extension will provide time for further humanitarian assistance, restoration of essential services, and discussion of a potential longer-term extension,' the statement said." (05/29/23)
https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/heavy-clashes-sudans-capital-truce-set-expire-2023-05-29/
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18) Serbia: Tens of thousands rally in Belgrade to protest regime media control
Source: France 24 [French state media]
"Huge crowds of anti-government protesters on Saturday encircled the Serbian state television building in downtown Belgrade to press their demand for autocratic President Aleksandar Vucic to ease his tight grip on the mainstream media and allow alternative voices. Tens of thousands of opposition supporters, some chanting slogans urging Vucic's resignation, streamed into the rain-drenched streets a day after the president's followers staged an equally big rally in the capital. Most of his supporters were bused into the capital from all over Serbia and some neighboring states. Outside the RTS TV headquarters, the crowds blew whistles and booed loudly. They say that according to the laws, state TV should be unbiased as a public broadcaster, but that it has been openly pro-government." (05/27/23)
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20230527-tens-of-thousands-rally-in-belgrade-to-protest-against-government-rule
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19) Uganda: President signs anti-gay legislation, with death penalty for rape or fraud
Source: SFGate
"Uganda's president has signed into law anti-gay legislation supported by many in this East African country but widely condemned by rights activists and others abroad. The version of the bill signed by President Yoweri Museveni doesn't criminalize those who identify as LGBTQ, a key concern for some rights campaigners who condemned an earlier draft of the legislation as an egregious attack on human rights. But the new law still prescribes the death penalty for 'aggravated homosexuality', which is defined as cases of sexual relations involving people infected with HIV, as well as with minors and other categories of vulnerable people. A suspect convicted of 'attempted aggravated homosexuality' can be imprisoned for up to 14 years, according to the legislation." (05/29/23)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/uganda-s-president-signs-into-law-tough-anti-gay-18124086.php
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20) NC: Alleged intruder shot, killed by homeowner
Source: WCNC News
"The Gastonia Police Department responded to a 911 call for a shooting at a home on Crescent Lane, near New Castle Road, a little after 10:30 p.m. The caller told dispatchers that a man was trying to break in when another person inside the house shot him. When officers arrived, they found 50-year-old Frankie Carl Jones outside the front door suffering from a gunshot wound. Jones, who is from Charlotte, was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Investigators allege that Jones was armed with a handgun when he got to the house and confronted a man at the front door. The man who was inside the home then shot Jones, according to police." (05/26/23)
https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/death-investigation-gastonia-police-shooting/275-bb591d01-2db3-4e7a-8b29-b1fb5fc48c06
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Moral Panics, Then and Now
Source: CounterPunch
by Derek Royden
"For at least half a century, at least once every decade in the English-speaking democracies of the West there's been a moral panic of some sort, usually related to progressive social change. In the 1980s, it was the now almost forgotten 'Satanic Panic,' which spread like a sociological wildfire in Canada and the United States, despite only extremely dubious anecdotal evidence to support it. ... Helped along by the internet and a global pandemic that isolated most of us for almost three years, we are now seeing multiple moral panics at the same time, often grouped together under the nonsensical idea of 'woke' ideology (and its close cousin, 'cancel culture') by a reactionary right that substitutes personal grievance and hatred of tiny marginalized groups like trans people for policy making." (05/26/23)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/05/26/moral-panics-then-and-now/
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22) Thoughts on Immigration
Source: Cafe Hayek
by Don Boudreaux
"I'm willing to be persuaded that open borders of the sort that America had during her first century are today unwise. But, first, I don't believe that the case against such open borders is as obviously solid as most people today assume it to be; and, second, even if what is not on the policy table is open borders a la 1850, my remarks below reveal my sympathy for dramatically easing immigration into the United States, including eliminating all vestiges of immigration quotas." (05/29/23)
https://cafehayek.com/2023/05/thoughts-on-immigration.html
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23) The Democratic Party's Crucifixion of Matt Taibbi
Source: The Chris Hedges Report
"There are three steps to destroying a reporter who can't be bought off or intimidated. The first is a campaign by the powerful, whose lies and crimes have been exposed, along with their obsequious courtiers in the press, to discredit the reporting. The second is a sustained campaign of character assassination. The third is persecution carried out once the reporter's credibility has been weakened, his or her ability to publish or broadcast is degraded and public support has eroded. This is what happened to Julian Assange. It happened before Assange to Don Hollenbeck, I.F. Stone, Gary Webb, Ray Bonner and many others. It is what is happening to Taibbi whose revelations of widespread censorship -- by the FBI, the CIA, Homeland Security and other intelligence and government agencies -- have enraged the ruling class." (05/28/23)
https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/the-democratic-partys-crucifixion
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24) Pre-Election Advice: Try Looking at Yourself the Way Politicians Do
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
"The usual way of thinking about politicians is: What do we think of them? Do we like the way they look? Do we like the way they sound? Are they on our side of this or that big divide? Do their policy proposals make sense? Do we ... like them? As the next presidential election approaches (is it just me or is the next presidential election ALWAYS approaching?) and candidates for the major party nominations warm up in the bullpen -- testing out their various curveballs and sliders in preparation for the Big Game -- I suggest trying to look at them from the other direction. What do those politicians think about us, and what do their attitudes toward us tell us about them?" (05/26/23)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/17705
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25) The Resistance Resists ... DeSantis!
Source: The Weekly Dish
by Andrew Sullivan
"[I]f DeSantis wants to be the anti-woke candidate, he has to do better than telling us that DEI and SEL and ESG are just as bad as CRT. That's an insane amount of insidery jargon. He has to do more than simply repeating the word 'woke.' He has to appeal beyond the GOP base to the moderates and independents who still believe in individual freedom, merit, colorblind racial policy, personal responsibility and letting kids grow up shielded from progressive fanatics. ... Is DeSantis capable of this? Judging from Wednesday night, no. ... key to his primary bid is his ability to convince Republican voters that he can reach beyond the Trump base in ways that Trump cannot. So far: not happening. ... why are so many center-right Never Trumpers celebrating what appears to be a major positive development for Trump?" (05/26/23)
https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/the-resistance-resists-desantis-5ef
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26) Most Propaganda Looks Nothing Like This
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
"When most people in the English-speaking world hear the word 'propaganda,' they tend to think of something that's done by foreign nations who have governments that are so totalitarian they won't even let people know what's true or think for themselves. Others understand that propaganda is something that happens in their own nation, but think it only happens to other people in other political parties. ... A few understand that propaganda is administered in their own nation by their own media, and understand that it's administered across partisan lines, but they think of it in terms of really egregious lies: weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, or babies being taken from incubators in Kuwait." (05/28/23)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2023/05/28/most-propaganda-looks-nothing-like-this/
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27) Amidst Dreams of Green Energy, Regulators and Industry Warn of Summer Blackouts
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
"The regulatory body that oversees the nation's power grid cast a bit of a chill over the coming warm months when, in mid-May, it cautioned that the country might not generate enough electric power to meet demand. Coming after multiple warnings from regulators, grid operators, and industry experts that enthusiasm for retiring old-school 'dirty' generating capacity is outstripping the ability of renewable sources to fill the gap, the announcement is a heads-up to Americans that they may want to make back-up plans for a power grid growing increasingly unreliable. It's also a reminder that green ideology is no substitute for the ability to flip a switch and have the lights come on." (05/29/23)
https://reason.com/2023/05/29/amidst-dreams-of-green-energy-regulators-and-industry-warn-of-summer-blackouts/
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28) Politics won't solve water problem
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
"It's going to take either climate change or a technological breakthrough to keep this region livable, as far as water is concerned. Drilling more wells into a shrinking aquifer or relying on pipelines connected to vulnerable reservoirs, which in turn depend on unreliable precipitation, isn't a viable long-term strategy. Neither approach is a solution; only a temporary patch. Maybe patching the problem can get us far enough into the future for a proper solution to be found. Be prepared either way. This isn't a problem that can be solved by politics." (05/28/23)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2023/05/28/voices/opinion-politics-wont-solve-water-problem/175262.html
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29) An idea so bad it was bound to return: Public housing
Source: Orange County Register
by Steven Greenhut
"One of the biggest frustrations about getting old is hearing younger people propose ideas that were debunked decades ago -- and then getting 'eyes glazed over' looks from them after explaining that we've already been there and done that. Proposers of such ideas rarely change their minds after I say, 'Dude, I was there and remember -- and it was a disaster.' The latest 'old is new again' proposal is for the government to just build housing -- as in public officials buying the land, choosing the design, finding a developer and then serving as landlord. The impetus is the nation's affordable-housing crisis. Advocates have changed the terminology. They are proposing that 'we' build 'social housing' rather than 'public housing projects,' but it's the same blighted idea." (05/28/23)
https://www.ocregister.com/2023/05/28/an-idea-so-bad-it-was-bound-to-return-public-housing/
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30) Debt-ceiling deal comes up short on McCarthy vow to rein in IRS
Source: New York Post
by Miranda Devine
"Kevin McCarthy trumpeted a debt-ceiling deal Sunday, but increasing debt another $4 trillion with minimal concessions is nothing to boast about. To be fair, the House speaker has a razor slim majority and Republicans don't control the Senate, where Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and his sidekick Lindsey Graham have announced that the only thing they care about is Ukraine. But McCarthy's one dealbreaker should have been his promise to defund President Biden's massive $80 billion to turbocharge an already weaponized IRS. This was the totemic centerpiece of his pitch to become speaker. It was the most memorable promise of the Republicans' midterm campaign to win back the House. It struck a chord with voters, wary of funding a new 'army' of armed IRS agents to harass middle-class families and small business owners and abuse their powers to target political dissidents, Soviet-style." (05/28/23)
https://nypost.com/2023/05/28/mccarthys-debt-ceiling-deal-with-biden-comes-up-short-on-vow-to-reign-in-irs/
-----
31) NIMBY Is Economic Illiteracy
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
"Why is housing regulation so draconian? The conventional answer is self-interested voting. Housing regulation is mostly local; local voters are mostly homeowners; homeowners want high housing prices; homeowners know low supply keeps prices high. Economists are especially staunch in their belief in this classic NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) story. Part of the reason is that economists like self-interested stories of everything. In daily life, this is a reasonable presumption. But in politics, most economists have yet to realize that theory and empirics stand squarely against what I call the Self-Interested Voter Hypothesis." (05/29/23)
https://betonit.substack.com/p/nimby-is-economic-illiteracy
-----
32) The Need for a Queer Power Movement
Source: exile in happy valley
by Nicky Reid
"Queer people find ourselves at an existential crossroads at the intersection of annihilation and assimilation. In one direction we face an openly genocidal GOP who are vigorously advocating for our forced internment back into the closets which are now fortified by a growing arsenal of legislative boobytraps. ... Under such dire circumstances, many of my people aren't just turning to the liberal elites in the Democratic Party, they are running to their arms like frightened rabbits, but America's other breeder party is actually trafficking in something far more insidious than good old-fashioned genocide. That warm blanket they are wrapping around your bruised and battered shoulders is actually a straitjacket called assimilation and if you aren't careful, it will strangle you into submission to the very same forces that you're running from." (05/28/23)
https://exileinhappyvalley.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-need-for-queer-power-movement.html
-----
33) Grand Master of Reputation
Source: EconLog
by Walter Block
"Of what is the perpetrator of libel (a statement in writing) and slander (one spoken orally) being accused? It is that the author of defamatory material has ruined the reputation of the victim, and the latter has suffered grievous financial and other harm. This must be a false claim, not merely a matter of opinion, or a truth, since a sharply negative book or movie review can ruin reputations, but as long as there is nothing untrue in such writing or speaking, libel law would not apply. Libel law is thus akin to protecting private property rights. ... What is the libertarian take on all of this? In the analysis emanating from this quarter, there should be no such thing as libel law. Yes, slander ruins the reputation of the victim, but, paradoxically, he simply does not own his own reputation." (05/26/23)
https://www.econlib.org/grand-master-of-reputation/
-----
34) Saudi Arabia, a green energy leader?
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by Noelle Swan
"This week's cover story almost didn't happen. When Taylor Luck, the Monitor's Middle East reporter, first heard that Saudi Arabia was attempting to 'go green,' he wasn't sure what to make of it. As the world's second-largest producer of oil, Saudi Arabia is 'often seen as the spoiler to progress on climate,' he says. So the Gulf nation's commitment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2060 through investment in renewable energy and reforestation was both intriguing and a bit dubious. 'It was just kind of hard to believe,' he says. So, Taylor flew to Riyadh from his home in Jordan to see for himself. Some of what he found confirmed his skepticism. The kingdom isn't giving up its hold of the global oil market -- far from it. Saudi rigs continue to pump oil out of the desert for global distribution." (05/29/23)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/From-the-Editors/2023/0529/Saudi-Arabia-a-green-energy-leader
-----
35) On the road with the Republican "persuasion" candidates
Source: Semafor
by David Weigel
"[Nikki] Haley and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who both stumped in New Hampshire this week as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis entered the race at a solid no. 2 spot, are trying to position themselves as the GOP's most electable options -- non-white, Generation Xers who Democrats are scared to run against. ... Critical to their pitch: The idea that they can grow the party's tent by speaking to voters who are not invested in the same inward-looking grievances that the MAGA wing has elevated since Trump took over." (05/27/23)
https://www.semafor.com/article/05/26/2023/on-the-road-with-the-republican-persuasion-candidates
-----
36) Quantum Vibe, 05/29/23
Source: Big Head Press
by Scott Bieser
Cartoon. (05/29/23)
https://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=2418
-----
37) Earned Knowledge, L7, P1
Source: Freeman's Perspective
by Paul Rosenberg
"While we've discussed the similarities between the Greeks and the Romans, it's also necessary to understand their differences. Because in may ways they were very different. The first area of difference, and certainly the most important, was how they thought of themselves. Certainly both groups had a high level of civilizational confidence. That is, they believed that their ways were far better than the old ways or even the ways of anyone of their time. They were not ashamed of their ways, as so many modern societies are. But how these two groups envisioned their greatness differed." (05/26/23)
https://freemansperspective.com/earned-knowledge-l7-p1/
-----
38) Source: Town Hall
by Will Alexander
"Under the guise of good social medicine, liberals [sic] and leftists [sic] have poisoned the culture with the colossal lie that 'whiteness' is the culprit behind 'a 400-year pandemic of foundational racism' that's keeping America sick. It's being perpetrated by whites through 'antiquated systems of oppression.' Whiteness, the creation of white people of European descent, they say, is a lopsided 'system of privileges and advantages' that favors whites at the expense of people of color 'through government policies, media portrayal, decision-making power with our corporations, schools, judicial systems, etc.' To cure the country, people with big mouths, big money, and big plans are wildly swinging sledge hammers at America's load-bearing walls to destroy what they see as a 'white system,' to replace it with ... God knows what." (05/29/23)
https://townhall.com/columnists/willalexander/2023/05/29/theyre-conditioning-americans-to-hate-white-people-n2623801
-----
39) The DeSantis Torture Question
Source: The American Conservative
by Peter Van Buren
"Not a single American has been punished for what happened at Guantanamo, and the first should not be Ron DeSantis. But DeSantis is not just anyone; he is one man out of hundreds of millions in the U.S. who says he wants to be president, and has a decent chance of achieving just that. So instead of speculating on what DeSantis saw, let's instead demand from him a statement on torture itself. Knowing what he knows now, would he say that legalizing torture was the right thing post-9/11? As president, would he support torture in the future? As president, would he seek to close Guantanamo and set the thirty prisoners still there free?" (05/29/23)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-desantis-torture-question/
-----
40) The Knowledge that Only Free Markets Disclose
Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman
"Hayek (like his teacher Ludwig von Mises) knew that he needed to show that Adam Smith's 'system of natural liberty' performed a critical service to mankind that could not be otherwise performed: the production of knowledge that is needed in a changing world of scarcity in which each individual must make plans but also be ready to adjust his or her plans in light of what other free individuals are doing. And that's what Hayek did, building on Mises and others. Hayek made contributions to the economic, or 'practical,' case for freedom that have been woefully unappreciated. The Austrian school of economics that Hayek was part of needs to be discussed more than ever." (05/26/23)
https://sheldonfreeassociation.blogspot.com/2023/05/tgif-knowledge-that-only-free-markets.html
-----
41) Keith Weiner's Macroeconomic Equation
Source: Cobden Centre
by Keith Weiner
"Macroeconomists, it is said, have physics envy. Physicists measure how gasses behave as temperature, pressure, and mass of gas molecules are changed, and write an equation to describe the relationship between these variables: PV = nRT (P = pressure, V = volume, n = amount of gas, R = ideal gas constant, and T = temperature). It works reasonably well because particles of a gas do not have reason or volition. They do what they do. If you cram twice as many of them into the same size container, then pressure doubles. The problem with macroeconomic equations is that people are not deterministic particles. Economic value (or many other things) cannot be measured as a single scalar quantity. Output, price level, and other aggregates cannot be predicted (even granting that these are legitimate concepts in the first place)." (05/26/23)
https://www.cobdencentre.org/2023/05/keith-weiners-macroeconomic-equation/
-----
42) Memorial Day Should Be a Solemn Occasion to Value Peace
Source: Common Dreams
by Juan Cole
"On Memorial Day, the United States is not in a significant shooting war. It seems to me that the best way to honor our more than 1.1 million war dead is to work to keep it that way. Memorial Day should be not a paean to war but a solemn occasion to value peace. Memorial Day began after the Civil War, with local observances, including at Arlington Cemetery. It was formalized in 1869 as 'Decoration Day', and May 30 was chosen because flowers would be in bloom across the nation by then. It only became a federal holiday in 1971, as the Vietnam War was winding to a lugubrious end. As all those dead bodies attest, war is always a failure. It is a failure of imagination, a failure of vision, a failure of politics, a failure of diplomacy." (05/29/23)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/memorial-day-2023-peace-war
-----
43) Can The Cult of DeSantis Beat Trump's MAGA Die-Hards?
Source: The Daily Beast
by Matt Lewis
"If Trump didn't exist, I would be much more bullish (and fearful) of the potential rise of a more competent right-wing movement. But the fundamental problem for DeSantis is that his competition is a much more charismatic cult leader. What is more, if Trump's base of non-college-educated, rural populists constitutes a minority of the electorate, DeSantis''s base of highly educated tech bros must be dramatically smaller. To be sure, they punch above their weight when it comes to the internet and the conservative intellectual world. But Trump's appeal is broader and less specific. I keep returning to the notion that DeSantis only works as a candidate if Trump is out of the picture -- which is possible, but not likely." (05/27/23)
https://www.thedailybeast.com/can-the-cult-of-ron-desantis-beat-trumps-maga-die-hards
-----
44) Trying To Build Peace One BRICS at a Time
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ted Snider
"The U.S. has consistently prevented peace talks while pouring weapons into Ukraine and pushing for war, leading a frustrated Brazilian President Lula da Silva to complain, 'The United States needs to stop encouraging war and start talking about peace.' With the fall of Bakhmut, the massive loss of Ukrainian life and artillery and the Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian Patriot and other air defenses as well as Ukrainian ammunition storage sites, it is conceivable that those denied diplomatic solutions could have offered a result more favorable to Ukraine than the one that is shaping up on the battle field. Ukrainians may come to wish that Zelensky had listened to saner counsel. But the United States is no longer the only power offering counsel. Other poles are emerging from this war larger. And those poles are pushing for peace." (05/26/23)
https://original.antiwar.com/ted_snider/2023/05/25/trying-to-build-peace-one-brics-at-a-time/
-----
45) Jamie Raskin and Rachel Maddow, brought to you by Peter Thiel and Lockheed Martin
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Eli Clifton
"Progressives Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and MSNBC host Rachel Maddow are outspoken critics of the bloated defense budget and the MAGA wing of the Republican Party. Next month, though, both Raskin and Maddow will headline an event sponsored by defense industry giant Lockheed Martin and Palantir, a $26 billion defense contractor founded and chaired by Peter Thiel, the polarizing billionaire and megadonor to Donald Trump." (05/26/23)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2023/05/26/jamie-raskin-and-rachel-maddow-brought-to-you-by-peter-thiel-and-lockheed-martin/
-----
46) The Best Life Lesson for a Teen Is a Job
Source: Brownstone Institute
by James Bovard
"During the Covid debacle, kids were locked out of school or otherwise condemned to an inferior Zoom education for up to two years. What were the alternatives? Unfortunately, since the New Deal, the federal government has severely restricted teenagers' opportunities for gainful employment. But new evidence proves that keeping kids out of work doesn't keep them out of mental health trouble. Yet suggesting that kids take a job has become controversial in recent years." (05/26/23)
https://brownstone.org/articles/best-life-lesson-for-teen-is-job/
-----
47) Can we learn any lessons from the past?
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
"The Wind River Basin of Central Wyoming is one of the great beautiful places in the State. It is a wonderful mixture of lush mountains, rivers and canyons, grazing and irrigated cropland, beautiful lakes, desert, and opportunity. It is not nearly as well known as it should be, in a State full of natural and human-made wonders. But it is also the home of a sad story of government stupidity. A story which should teach everyone important lessons about how governments conspire and just plain cooperate to make life miserable for thousands and millions of people. For generations. Because it is also the location of the Wind River Indian Reservation." (05/26/23)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2023/05/26/can-we-learn-any-lessons-from-the-past/
-----
48) America's Immigration Police State: Warrantless Trespasses, Searches, and Seizures
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
"In yesterday's blog post, I addressed one aspect of the immigration police state that is part of the enforcement of America's socialist system of immigration controls -- domestic highway checkpoints. I pointed out that such police-state checkpoints are a central feature of communist and totalitarian regimes. Another part of America's immigration police state is warrantless trespasses and searches of farms and ranches along the U.S.-Mexico border. I'll draw from personal experience to demonstrate this particular police-state destruction of liberty and privacy." (05/26/23)
https://www.fff.org/2023/05/26/americas-immigration-police-state-warrantless-trespasses-searches-and-seizures/
-----
49) As Deals Go, This Is One of Them
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen
"The second that Joe Biden agreed to negotiate with House Republicans on the debt ceiling, the results were going to be bad. The people who benefit most from government action -- the poor and the vulnerable -- were going to be hurt, and those who benefit most from a weakened government (the rich and the powerful) were going to be aided. The only question was the degree. With one potentially major exception, the relative harm and help was kept to a minimum in the final agreement. It will only be a little bit easier to commit wage theft, or to sell defective or poisoned products. It'll only be a little harder to get rental assistance or tuition support. ... A lot of things will stay the same. Almost nothing will get any better." (05/28/23)
https://prospect.org/politics/05-28-2023-biden-mccarthy-debt-ceiling-deal/
-----
50) Playing Chicken with a Stack of Steering Wheels
Source: American Institute for Economic Research
by Michael Munger
"Envision the scene, staged for our entertainment. A cool pink dawn comes, and Joe Biden is sitting in his shiny blue 1968 GTO, revving the engine. A mile away, facing him on a straight desert road, is Kevin McCarthy, in his 1967 dusty red Mustang muscle car, smoking a last cigarette. The game is 'chicken.'" (05/26/23)
https://www.aier.org/article/playing-chicken-with-a-stack-of-steering-wheels/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Free Talk Live, 05/29/23
Source: Free Talk Live
"Photoshop Adds AI Generation :: Porcfest Bans Mikey the Jew? :: Decentralizing Porcfest :: Uganda Cracking Down on Gays :: Vision Zero :: Homeless People :: Defining Aggression :: 2023-05-29 Ian, Aria, Bonnie." (05/29/23)
https://freetalklive.com/archives?ppplayer=5c48425a5422918dc6f904bd1cb7e00f&ppepisode=9632c03445beb205d2baf76c5ab11f8c
-----
52) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 05/29/23
Source: Antiwar.com
"State Department Won't Discuss Detained American in Ukraine, US Airstrikes in Somalia, and More." (05/29/23)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1HB_ZPQwN4
-----
53) Finding Freedom, episode 387
Source: Lions of Liberty
"Writing Your Story with John McCoy." (05/29/23)
https://www.lionsofliberty.com/episodes/writing-your-story-with-john-mccoy
-----
54) The Anarchist Experience, episode 425
Source: The Anarchist Experience
"Rich, MC, and KS discuss KS's trouble with the passport office and these HEADLINES: John Kerry Declares War on US Farmers: Gov't Farm Confiscations 'Not Off The Table' ... In Lieu of Free Banking." (05/27/23)
https://theanarchistexperience.wordpress.com/2023/05/27/the-anarchist-experience-425/
-----
55) Unattended Baggage, episode 199
Source: International Guild of Professional Anarchists
"Peanuts and the Singularity." (05/27/23)
https://alexandersnitker.substack.com/p/unattended-baggage-episode-199-peanuts
-----
56) The Chris Spangle Show, 05/27/23
Source: We Are Libertarians
"Interviews with IndyCar Drivers Entered in the Indy 500." (05/27/23)
https://www.chrisspangle.com/p/interviews-with-indycar-drivers-entered
-----
57) This Week in Common Sense, 05/27/23
Source: Common Sense
"A 'Minor' Monstrous Evil." (05/27/23)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2023/05/27/listen-a-minor-monstrous-evil/
-----
58) Erik Sperling on The Scott Horton Show
Source: The Scott Horton Show
"Erik Sperling on the US Attempt to Keep the War in Yemen Going." (05/27/23)
https://scotthorton.org/interviews/5-18-23-erik-sperling-on-the-us-attempt-to-keep-the-war-in-yemen-going/
-----
59) Rising, 05/26/23
Source: The Hill
"Jessica Burbank and Amber Athey react to news that Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes has been sentenced to 18 years because of January 6." (05/26/23)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/4022221-rising-may-26-2023/
-----
60) There's A Policy For That With Susan Pendergrass, 05/26/23
Source: Show-Me Institute
"A New Normal in the Housing Market with Mark A. Calabria." (05/26/23)
https://showmeinstitute.org/blog/economy/a-new-normal-in-the-housing-market-with-mark-a-calabria/
-----
61) Conflicts of Interest, episode 426
Source: Libertarian Institute
"Ukraine Is Trying to Assassinate Putin." (05/26/23)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/kyle/coi-426-ukraine-is-trying-to-assassinate-putin
-----
62) Nonzero, 05/26/23
Source: Bloggingheads.tv
"DeSantis's and Ukraine's Incursions | Robert Wright & Mickey Kaus." (05/26/23)
https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/66225
-----
63) Freedom Works with Paul Molloy, 05/26/23
Source: Freedom Works
"Jessica Melugin of CEI on kids and social media." (05/26/23)
http://internetradiopros.com/freedomworks/?name=2023-05-26_zfw050262023.mp3
-----
64) Declare Your Independence with Ernest Hancock, 05/26/23
Source: Freedom's Phoenix
"Brian Becker (New Hampshire Libertarian/Freedom Activist) comes on the show to discuss decentralized, private, peer-to-peer communication; PeerTube." (05/26/23)
https://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Media/344298-2023-05-26-2023-05-26-ernest-hancock-interviews-brian-becker-wearenh-org.htm
-----
65) The Tom Woods Show, episode 2339
Source: The Tom Woods Show
"Stephen Wolfram on Our AI Present and Future." (05/26/23)
https://tomwoods.com/ep-2339-stephen-wolfram-on-our-ai-present-and-future/
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Ukraine war: Kyiv forces launch biggest drone attack on Moscow
2) Kosovo: NATO soldiers wounded in clashes
3) House GOP hard-liners trash debt limit bill as party leaders try to shore up votes
4) Iran: Trial begins for journalist arrested for reporting on Mahsa Amini's murder
5) Russia: Regime issues arrest warrant for Lindsey Graham over Ukraine comments
6) Turkey: Stocks rally, lira slips to record low after Erdogan victory
7) US community college enrollment grows after decade of declines
8) Palestine: Israeli occupation forces murder one, wound seven in Jenin raid
9) UAE: Regime announces groundbreaking mission to asteroid belt, seeking clues to life's origins
10) Missing 73 years, Medal of Honor recipient's remains returned to Georgia
11) German police arrest stripper over toy gun
12) CT: Bear raids bakery, eats 60 cupcakes
13) MS judge: Democrats improperly excluded candidate for governor
14) Spain: Sanchez calls early election for July 23
15) North Korea notifies Japan it plans to launch satellite in coming days
16) TX: House impeaches Paxton
17) Sudan: Factions agree to extend ceasefire deal amid clashes
18) Serbia: Tens of thousands rally in Belgrade to protest regime media control
19) Uganda: President signs anti-gay legislation, with death penalty for rape or fraud
20) NC: Alleged intruder shot, killed by homeowner
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Moral Panics, Then and Now
22) Thoughts on Immigration
23) The Democratic Party's Crucifixion of Matt Taibbi
24) Pre-Election Advice: Try Looking at Yourself the Way Politicians Do
25) The Resistance Resists ... DeSantis!
26) Most Propaganda Looks Nothing Like This
27) Amidst Dreams of Green Energy, Regulators and Industry Warn of Summer Blackouts
28) Politics won't solve water problem
29) An idea so bad it was bound to return: Public housing
30) Debt-ceiling deal comes up short on McCarthy vow to rein in IRS
31) NIMBY Is Economic Illiteracy
32) The Need for a Queer Power Movement
33) Grand Master of Reputation
34) Saudi Arabia, a green energy leader?
35) On the road with the Republican "persuasion" candidates
36) Quantum Vibe, 05/29/23
37) Earned Knowledge, L7, P1
38) Conditioning Americans to Hate White People
39) The DeSantis Torture Question
40) The Knowledge that Only Free Markets Disclose
41) Keith Weiner's Macroeconomic Equation
42) Memorial Day Should Be a Solemn Occasion to Value Peace
43) Can The Cult of DeSantis Beat Trump's MAGA Die-Hards?
44) Trying To Build Peace One BRICS at a Time
45) Jamie Raskin and Rachel Maddow, brought to you by Peter Thiel and Lockheed Martin
46) The Best Life Lesson for a Teen Is a Job
47) Can we learn any lessons from the past?
48) America's Immigration Police State: Warrantless Trespasses, Searches, and Seizures
49) As Deals Go, This Is One of Them
50) Playing Chicken with a Stack of Steering Wheels
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Free Talk Live, 05/29/23
52) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 05/29/23
53) Finding Freedom, episode 387
54) The Anarchist Experience, episode 425
55) Unattended Baggage, episode 199
56) The Chris Spangle Show, 05/27/23
57) This Week in Common Sense, 05/27/23
58) Erik Sperling on The Scott Horton Show
59) Rising, 05/26/23
60) Conflicts of Interest, episode 426
61) Nonzero, 05/26/23
62) Freedom Works with Paul Molloy, 05/26/23
63) Declare Your Independence with Ernest Hancock, 05/26/23
64) The Tom Woods Show, episode 2339
65) There's A Policy For That With Susan Pendergrass, 05/26/23
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Ukraine war: Kyiv forces launch biggest drone attack on Moscow
Source: Reuters
"Ukraine launched its biggest ever drone attack on Moscow on Tuesday but air defences destroyed all eight of the drones, Russia said, bringing the 15-month war in Ukraine to the heart of the capital. Drone attacks deep inside Russia have intensified in recent weeks ahead of an expected Ukrainian counter-offensive, with strikes on oil pipelines and even the Kremlin earlier this month that Moscow has blamed on Ukraine. ... Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said two people were injured, one of whom was hospitalised, in the early morning attack. Moscow's airports remained open. No deaths were reported." (05/30/23)
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/drones-hit-several-buildings-moscow-mayor-2023-05-30/
-----
2) Kosovo: NATO soldiers wounded in clashes
Source: Politico
"NATO on Monday condemned an attack on peacekeepers in Kosovo that left around 25 international troops wounded. Members of the Kosovo Force (KFOR), a NATO-led peacekeeping mission, were injured during clashes with Serb protesters in northern Kosovo. KFOR said late Monday that after units were deployed to contain violent demonstrations, 'several soldiers of the Italian and Hungarian KFOR contingent were the subject of unprovoked attacks and sustained trauma wounds with fractures and burns due to the explosion of incendiary devices.' Tensions are running high in the region. On Friday, the U.S., France, Italy, Germany, and the U.K. issued a joint statement condemning Kosovo's decision to force access to municipal buildings in northern Kosovo. The five countries also said they are 'concerned by Serbia's decision to raise the level of readiness of its Armed Forces at the border with Kosovo and call all parties for maximum restraint, avoiding inflammatory rhetoric.'" (05/29/23)
https://www.politico.eu/article/nato-soldiers-wounded-kosovo-attackk/
-----
3) House GOP hard-liners trash debt limit bill as party leaders try to shore up votes
Source: NBC News
"The race is on for congressional leaders to secure the votes to pass a bipartisan compromise struck by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to avert a catastrophic debt default with just a week to go before the June 5 deadline. Facing skepticism or criticism within their ranks, both party's leaders mobilized Monday to shore up support for the bill. ... Republican hard-liners in both chambers sniped at the deal, setting the stage for a contentious showdown Tuesday in the House Rules Committee, which is scheduled to consider the bill before an expected vote in the full House on Wednesday. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., called the deal 'insanity' and said the bill has 'virtually no cuts.' Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, issued a torrent of tweets blasting the deal as a 'turd-sandwich.' Norman and Roy are on the Rules Committee. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said the deal has 'fake spending cuts.'" (05/29/23)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/house-gop-hardliners-trash-debt-limit-bill-party-leaders-try-shore-vot-rcna86687
-----
4) Iran: Trial begins for journalist arrested for reporting on Mahsa Amini's murder
Source: France 24 [French state media]
"Iran on Monday held the first trial session for one of the two detained female journalists who reported on Mahsa Amini's death in custody last year, her lawyer said. Months of nationwide protests erupted after Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, died on September 16 following her arrest for allegedly violating the country's strict dress code for women. The journalists, Niloufar Hamedi, 30, and Elaheh Mohammadi, 36, could face the death penalty after they were detained for covering Amini's death and its aftermath. ... The two women were charged on November 8 with propaganda against the state and conspiring against national security, offences that potentially carry the death penalty." (05/29/23)
https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20230529-trial-begins-for-an-iranian-journalist-arrested-for-reporting-on-mahsa-amini-s-death
-----
5) Russia: Regime issues arrest warrant for Lindsey Graham over Ukraine comments
Source: Politico
"Russia's Interior Ministry on Monday issued an arrest warrant for U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham following his comments related to the fighting in Ukraine. In an edited video of his meeting on Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that was released by Zelenskyy's office, Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, noted that 'the Russians are dying' and described the U.S. military assistance to the country as 'the best money we've ever spent.' While Graham appeared to have made the remarks in different parts of the conversation, the short video by Ukraine's presidential office put them next to each other, causing outrage in Russia. ... The Investigative Committee, the country's top criminal investigation agency, has moved to open a criminal inquiry against Graham, and the Interior Ministry followed up by issuing a warrant for his arrest as indicated Monday by its official record of wanted criminal suspects." (05/29/23)
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/29/lindsey-graham-russia-arrest-warrant-00099150
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6) Turkey: Stocks rally, lira slips to record low after Erdogan victory
Source: Reuters
"Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan won re-election in a runoff vote, extending his rule into a third decade. The nation is grappling with a cost of living crisis, a plunging currency and depleted foreign reserves. The Turkish currency touched a fresh record low of 20.105 on Monday. It has fallen more than 7% since the start of the year, and lost more than 90% of its value over the past decade. Turkey's international bonds were mixed, with the 2030 issue gaining 0.5 cents while other maturities eased 0.2 cents . Five-year credit default swaps were hovering at Friday's closing level. Turkey's benchmark index gained 4.4% on Monday while the banking sub-index was trading 3.1% higher." (05/29/23)
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/turkeys-lira-hits-record-low-stocks-rally-after-erdogan-victory-2023-05-29/
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7) US community college enrollment grows after decade of declines
Source: Axios
"Community college enrollment, buoyed by younger students and fresh interest in job-related programs, rose this spring for the first time in more than a decade, according to new data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. ... Years of steep declines hit community colleges across the country. Community college enrollment rose 0.5% from the year before, after falling 8.2% and 10.1% in 2022 and 2021. Enrollment in public two-year colleges rose after the 2008 economic recession but started trending downwards in 2010 and plummeted during the pandemic, according to NSC data. The majors at two-year institutions that saw increases this spring include Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services (9.7%), Mechanic and Repair Technologies/Technicians (8.2%), Personal and Culinary Services (9.7%) and Transportation and Materials Moving (11.8%). Overall postsecondary enrollment still lags heavily behind pre-pandemic levels." (05/29/23)
https://www.axios.com/2023/05/29/community-college-enrollment-rise-decline
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8) Palestine: Israeli occupation forces murder one, wound seven in Jenin raid
Source: Times of Israel [Palestine]
"A Palestinian man was killed and at least seven were wounded during a raid by the Israeli military on the northern West Bank city of Jenin early Monday, according to Palestinian health officials. The Palestinian Authority Health Ministry said 37-year-old Ashraf Muhammad Amin Ibrahim was fatally shot in the abdomen and chest by Israeli troops during the raid. Earlier, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa said eight people were wounded, including one seriously, during the raid on several neighborhoods in the city." (05/29/23)
https://www.timesofisrael.com/8-palestinians-said-wounded-in-idf-raid-in-jenin-clashes-reported-near-ramallah/
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9) UAE: Regime announces groundbreaking mission to asteroid belt, seeking clues to life's origins
Source: ABC News
"The United Arab Emirates unveiled plans Monday to send a spaceship to explore the solar system's main asteroid belt, the latest space project by the oil-rich nation after it launched the successful Hope spacecraft to Mars in 2020. Dubbed the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt, the project aims to develop a spacecraft in the coming years and then launch it in 2028 to study various asteroids. ... If successful, the newly announced spacecraft will soar at speeds reaching 33,000 kilometers (20,500 miles) per hour on a seven-year journey to explore six asteroids. It will culminate in the deployment of a landing craft onto a seventh, rare 'red' asteroid that scientists say may hold insight into the building blocks of life on Earth." (05/29/23)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/uae-announces-groundbreaking-mission-asteroid-belt-seeking-clues-99679475
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10) Missing 73 years, Medal of Honor recipient's remains returned to Georgia
Source: CBS News
"Soldiers of the 9th Infantry Regiment made a desperate retreat as North Korean troops closed in around them. A wounded 18-year-old Army Pfc. Luther Herschel Story feared his injuries would slow down his company, so he stayed behind to cover their withdrawal. Story's actions in the Korean War on Sept. 1, 1950, would ensure he was remembered. He was awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military honor, which is now displayed alongside his portrait at the National Infantry Museum, an hour's drive from his hometown of Americus, Georgia. But Story was never seen alive again, and his resting place long remained a mystery. 'In my family, we always believed that he would never be found,' said Judy Wade, Story's niece and closest surviving relative. That changed in April when the U.S. military revealed lab tests had matched DNA from Wade and her late mother to bones of an unidentified American soldier recovered from Korea in October 1950." (05/29/23)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/luther-h-story-medal-of-honor-recipient-remains-home-georgia-missing-73-years/
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11) German police arrest stripper over toy gun
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
"Police in the German city of Frankfurt am Main mistakenly arrested a stripper after being told about a man with a gun, which turned out to be a toy. The incident happened on Friday evening, when police said a 'suspicious man' was seen on a street in the city's Nordend district. He was wearing a US police uniform and helmet and was thought to be carrying an assault rifle. The man had in fact been hired for a stag party at a nearby pub. Police got the man on the ground and handcuffed him before discovering the gun was a toy. He was then released. 'He was carrying a deceptively real-looking toy gun,' police said in a statement. 'The 31-year-old underestimated the martial effect of his own outfit.'" (05/29/23)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65750154
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12) CT: Bear raids bakery, eats 60 cupcakes
Source: USA Today
"These cupcakes weren't too hot, nor too cold, but just right. A black bear broke into a Connecticut bakery garage Wednesday and helped itself to 60 cupcakes before store employees were able to shoo the bear away. Workers at Taste by Spellbound in Avon, Connecticut, were loading cupcakes into a van for delivery when the bear entered the garage and dragged out a box full of the desserts. ... Surveillance video shows two employees walking around the side of the bakery to try to scare the bear off, but the bear ends up scaring them. The bear then dragged out a box full of cupcakes from the garage and ate about 60 of the sweets, WTNH reported." (05/28/23)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/05/28/bear-eats-cupcakes-connecticut-bakery-video/70264926007/
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13) MS judge: Democrats improperly excluded candidate for governor
Source: SFGate
"Mississippi could have a Democratic primary for governor in August because a judge ruled Friday that the party improperly excluded a candidate from the ballot. The state Democratic Party immediately filed notice that it will ask the Mississippi Supreme Court to overturn the judge's ruling on the candidacy of Bob Hickingbottom. 'I appreciate the court's consideration. We hope to get a more favorable ruling on appeal,' the committee's attorney, Gerald Mumford, told The Associated Press. The state Democratic Executive Committee decided in February that Hickingbottom could not be on the ballot as a Democrat. Hickingbottom, who has described himself as a political operative, ran for governor as a Constitution Party candidate in 2019. The executive committee also excluded Gregory Wash from running for governor this year, after he ran a low-budget campaign for governor in the Democratic primary four years ago." (05/29/23)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/mississippi-democrats-improperly-excluded-18122058.php
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14) Spain: Sanchez calls early election for July 23
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatar state media]
"Pedro Sanchez, the prime minister of Spain, has called an early general election for July 23. The announcement on Monday came a day after Sanchez's Socialist party took a serious battering in local and regional elections. Sanchez had previously said he would complete his four-year team, suggesting that polls would be held in December." (05/29/23)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/29/spanish-pm-pedro-sanchez-calls-early-election-for-july-23
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15) North Korea notifies Japan it plans to launch satellite in coming days
Source: PBS News Hour [US state media]
"North Korea on Monday notified neighboring Japan that it plans to launch a satellite in coming days, which may be an attempt to put its first military reconnaissance satellite into orbit. Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said he ordered Japan's Self Defense Force to shoot down the satellite or debris, if any entered Japanese territory. Japan's coast guard said the notice it received from North Korean waterway authorities said the launch window was from May 31 to June 11, and that the launch may affect waters in the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and east of the Philippines' Luzon Island. The coast guard issued a safety warning for ships in the area on those dates because of the possible risks from falling debris. Japan's coast guard coordinates and distributes maritime safety information in East Asia, which is likely the reason it was the recipient of North Korea's notice." (05/29/23)
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/north-korea-notifies-neighboring-japan-it-plans-to-launch-satellite-in-coming-days
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16) TX: House impeaches Paxton
Source: Axios
"The GOP-dominated Texas House voted 121-23 Saturday to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton, a historic decision that immediately removes him from office as he awaits a Senate trial. Paxton becomes the third state official in Texas history to be impeached, following Gov. James 'Pa' Ferguson in 1917 and a district judge in 1975. A Republican-led House General Investigating Committee filed 20 articles of impeachment against Paxton earlier this week after months of secret deliberation. The committee cited a 'long-standing pattern of abuse of office and public trust,' including alleged bribery and obstruction of justice, before sending the matter to the House for a full vote. ... In a statement immediately following the vote, Paxton called his impeachment 'a politically motivated sham from the beginning.'" (05/27/23)
https://www.axios.com/2023/05/27/texas-ag-ken-paxton-impeached
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17) Sudan: Factions agree to extend ceasefire deal amid clashes
Source: Reuters
"Sudan's warring military factions agreed on Monday to a five-day extension of a ceasefire agreement, after renewed heavy clashes and air strikes in the capital threw fresh doubts on the effectiveness of a truce designed to ease a humanitarian crisis. Saudi Arabia and the United States, which brokered a week-long ceasefire deal and have been monitoring it remotely, announced shortly before it was due to expire on Monday evening the parties had agreed to extend it. Although the ceasefire had been imperfectly observed, it had allowed the delivery of aid to an estimated two million people, the two countries said in a joint statement. 'The extension will provide time for further humanitarian assistance, restoration of essential services, and discussion of a potential longer-term extension,' the statement said." (05/29/23)
https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/heavy-clashes-sudans-capital-truce-set-expire-2023-05-29/
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18) Serbia: Tens of thousands rally in Belgrade to protest regime media control
Source: France 24 [French state media]
"Huge crowds of anti-government protesters on Saturday encircled the Serbian state television building in downtown Belgrade to press their demand for autocratic President Aleksandar Vucic to ease his tight grip on the mainstream media and allow alternative voices. Tens of thousands of opposition supporters, some chanting slogans urging Vucic's resignation, streamed into the rain-drenched streets a day after the president's followers staged an equally big rally in the capital. Most of his supporters were bused into the capital from all over Serbia and some neighboring states. Outside the RTS TV headquarters, the crowds blew whistles and booed loudly. They say that according to the laws, state TV should be unbiased as a public broadcaster, but that it has been openly pro-government." (05/27/23)
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20230527-tens-of-thousands-rally-in-belgrade-to-protest-against-government-rule
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19) Uganda: President signs anti-gay legislation, with death penalty for rape or fraud
Source: SFGate
"Uganda's president has signed into law anti-gay legislation supported by many in this East African country but widely condemned by rights activists and others abroad. The version of the bill signed by President Yoweri Museveni doesn't criminalize those who identify as LGBTQ, a key concern for some rights campaigners who condemned an earlier draft of the legislation as an egregious attack on human rights. But the new law still prescribes the death penalty for 'aggravated homosexuality', which is defined as cases of sexual relations involving people infected with HIV, as well as with minors and other categories of vulnerable people. A suspect convicted of 'attempted aggravated homosexuality' can be imprisoned for up to 14 years, according to the legislation." (05/29/23)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/uganda-s-president-signs-into-law-tough-anti-gay-18124086.php
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20) NC: Alleged intruder shot, killed by homeowner
Source: WCNC News
"The Gastonia Police Department responded to a 911 call for a shooting at a home on Crescent Lane, near New Castle Road, a little after 10:30 p.m. The caller told dispatchers that a man was trying to break in when another person inside the house shot him. When officers arrived, they found 50-year-old Frankie Carl Jones outside the front door suffering from a gunshot wound. Jones, who is from Charlotte, was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Investigators allege that Jones was armed with a handgun when he got to the house and confronted a man at the front door. The man who was inside the home then shot Jones, according to police." (05/26/23)
https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/death-investigation-gastonia-police-shooting/275-bb591d01-2db3-4e7a-8b29-b1fb5fc48c06
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Moral Panics, Then and Now
Source: CounterPunch
by Derek Royden
"For at least half a century, at least once every decade in the English-speaking democracies of the West there's been a moral panic of some sort, usually related to progressive social change. In the 1980s, it was the now almost forgotten 'Satanic Panic,' which spread like a sociological wildfire in Canada and the United States, despite only extremely dubious anecdotal evidence to support it. ... Helped along by the internet and a global pandemic that isolated most of us for almost three years, we are now seeing multiple moral panics at the same time, often grouped together under the nonsensical idea of 'woke' ideology (and its close cousin, 'cancel culture') by a reactionary right that substitutes personal grievance and hatred of tiny marginalized groups like trans people for policy making." (05/26/23)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/05/26/moral-panics-then-and-now/
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22) Thoughts on Immigration
Source: Cafe Hayek
by Don Boudreaux
"I'm willing to be persuaded that open borders of the sort that America had during her first century are today unwise. But, first, I don't believe that the case against such open borders is as obviously solid as most people today assume it to be; and, second, even if what is not on the policy table is open borders a la 1850, my remarks below reveal my sympathy for dramatically easing immigration into the United States, including eliminating all vestiges of immigration quotas." (05/29/23)
https://cafehayek.com/2023/05/thoughts-on-immigration.html
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23) The Democratic Party's Crucifixion of Matt Taibbi
Source: The Chris Hedges Report
"There are three steps to destroying a reporter who can't be bought off or intimidated. The first is a campaign by the powerful, whose lies and crimes have been exposed, along with their obsequious courtiers in the press, to discredit the reporting. The second is a sustained campaign of character assassination. The third is persecution carried out once the reporter's credibility has been weakened, his or her ability to publish or broadcast is degraded and public support has eroded. This is what happened to Julian Assange. It happened before Assange to Don Hollenbeck, I.F. Stone, Gary Webb, Ray Bonner and many others. It is what is happening to Taibbi whose revelations of widespread censorship -- by the FBI, the CIA, Homeland Security and other intelligence and government agencies -- have enraged the ruling class." (05/28/23)
https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/the-democratic-partys-crucifixion
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24) Pre-Election Advice: Try Looking at Yourself the Way Politicians Do
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
"The usual way of thinking about politicians is: What do we think of them? Do we like the way they look? Do we like the way they sound? Are they on our side of this or that big divide? Do their policy proposals make sense? Do we ... like them? As the next presidential election approaches (is it just me or is the next presidential election ALWAYS approaching?) and candidates for the major party nominations warm up in the bullpen -- testing out their various curveballs and sliders in preparation for the Big Game -- I suggest trying to look at them from the other direction. What do those politicians think about us, and what do their attitudes toward us tell us about them?" (05/26/23)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/17705
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25) The Resistance Resists ... DeSantis!
Source: The Weekly Dish
by Andrew Sullivan
"[I]f DeSantis wants to be the anti-woke candidate, he has to do better than telling us that DEI and SEL and ESG are just as bad as CRT. That's an insane amount of insidery jargon. He has to do more than simply repeating the word 'woke.' He has to appeal beyond the GOP base to the moderates and independents who still believe in individual freedom, merit, colorblind racial policy, personal responsibility and letting kids grow up shielded from progressive fanatics. ... Is DeSantis capable of this? Judging from Wednesday night, no. ... key to his primary bid is his ability to convince Republican voters that he can reach beyond the Trump base in ways that Trump cannot. So far: not happening. ... why are so many center-right Never Trumpers celebrating what appears to be a major positive development for Trump?" (05/26/23)
https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/the-resistance-resists-desantis-5ef
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26) Most Propaganda Looks Nothing Like This
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
"When most people in the English-speaking world hear the word 'propaganda,' they tend to think of something that's done by foreign nations who have governments that are so totalitarian they won't even let people know what's true or think for themselves. Others understand that propaganda is something that happens in their own nation, but think it only happens to other people in other political parties. ... A few understand that propaganda is administered in their own nation by their own media, and understand that it's administered across partisan lines, but they think of it in terms of really egregious lies: weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, or babies being taken from incubators in Kuwait." (05/28/23)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2023/05/28/most-propaganda-looks-nothing-like-this/
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27) Amidst Dreams of Green Energy, Regulators and Industry Warn of Summer Blackouts
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
"The regulatory body that oversees the nation's power grid cast a bit of a chill over the coming warm months when, in mid-May, it cautioned that the country might not generate enough electric power to meet demand. Coming after multiple warnings from regulators, grid operators, and industry experts that enthusiasm for retiring old-school 'dirty' generating capacity is outstripping the ability of renewable sources to fill the gap, the announcement is a heads-up to Americans that they may want to make back-up plans for a power grid growing increasingly unreliable. It's also a reminder that green ideology is no substitute for the ability to flip a switch and have the lights come on." (05/29/23)
https://reason.com/2023/05/29/amidst-dreams-of-green-energy-regulators-and-industry-warn-of-summer-blackouts/
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28) Politics won't solve water problem
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
"It's going to take either climate change or a technological breakthrough to keep this region livable, as far as water is concerned. Drilling more wells into a shrinking aquifer or relying on pipelines connected to vulnerable reservoirs, which in turn depend on unreliable precipitation, isn't a viable long-term strategy. Neither approach is a solution; only a temporary patch. Maybe patching the problem can get us far enough into the future for a proper solution to be found. Be prepared either way. This isn't a problem that can be solved by politics." (05/28/23)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2023/05/28/voices/opinion-politics-wont-solve-water-problem/175262.html
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29) An idea so bad it was bound to return: Public housing
Source: Orange County Register
by Steven Greenhut
"One of the biggest frustrations about getting old is hearing younger people propose ideas that were debunked decades ago -- and then getting 'eyes glazed over' looks from them after explaining that we've already been there and done that. Proposers of such ideas rarely change their minds after I say, 'Dude, I was there and remember -- and it was a disaster.' The latest 'old is new again' proposal is for the government to just build housing -- as in public officials buying the land, choosing the design, finding a developer and then serving as landlord. The impetus is the nation's affordable-housing crisis. Advocates have changed the terminology. They are proposing that 'we' build 'social housing' rather than 'public housing projects,' but it's the same blighted idea." (05/28/23)
https://www.ocregister.com/2023/05/28/an-idea-so-bad-it-was-bound-to-return-public-housing/
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30) Debt-ceiling deal comes up short on McCarthy vow to rein in IRS
Source: New York Post
by Miranda Devine
"Kevin McCarthy trumpeted a debt-ceiling deal Sunday, but increasing debt another $4 trillion with minimal concessions is nothing to boast about. To be fair, the House speaker has a razor slim majority and Republicans don't control the Senate, where Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and his sidekick Lindsey Graham have announced that the only thing they care about is Ukraine. But McCarthy's one dealbreaker should have been his promise to defund President Biden's massive $80 billion to turbocharge an already weaponized IRS. This was the totemic centerpiece of his pitch to become speaker. It was the most memorable promise of the Republicans' midterm campaign to win back the House. It struck a chord with voters, wary of funding a new 'army' of armed IRS agents to harass middle-class families and small business owners and abuse their powers to target political dissidents, Soviet-style." (05/28/23)
https://nypost.com/2023/05/28/mccarthys-debt-ceiling-deal-with-biden-comes-up-short-on-vow-to-reign-in-irs/
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31) NIMBY Is Economic Illiteracy
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
"Why is housing regulation so draconian? The conventional answer is self-interested voting. Housing regulation is mostly local; local voters are mostly homeowners; homeowners want high housing prices; homeowners know low supply keeps prices high. Economists are especially staunch in their belief in this classic NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) story. Part of the reason is that economists like self-interested stories of everything. In daily life, this is a reasonable presumption. But in politics, most economists have yet to realize that theory and empirics stand squarely against what I call the Self-Interested Voter Hypothesis." (05/29/23)
https://betonit.substack.com/p/nimby-is-economic-illiteracy
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32) The Need for a Queer Power Movement
Source: exile in happy valley
by Nicky Reid
"Queer people find ourselves at an existential crossroads at the intersection of annihilation and assimilation. In one direction we face an openly genocidal GOP who are vigorously advocating for our forced internment back into the closets which are now fortified by a growing arsenal of legislative boobytraps. ... Under such dire circumstances, many of my people aren't just turning to the liberal elites in the Democratic Party, they are running to their arms like frightened rabbits, but America's other breeder party is actually trafficking in something far more insidious than good old-fashioned genocide. That warm blanket they are wrapping around your bruised and battered shoulders is actually a straitjacket called assimilation and if you aren't careful, it will strangle you into submission to the very same forces that you're running from." (05/28/23)
https://exileinhappyvalley.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-need-for-queer-power-movement.html
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33) Grand Master of Reputation
Source: EconLog
by Walter Block
"Of what is the perpetrator of libel (a statement in writing) and slander (one spoken orally) being accused? It is that the author of defamatory material has ruined the reputation of the victim, and the latter has suffered grievous financial and other harm. This must be a false claim, not merely a matter of opinion, or a truth, since a sharply negative book or movie review can ruin reputations, but as long as there is nothing untrue in such writing or speaking, libel law would not apply. Libel law is thus akin to protecting private property rights. ... What is the libertarian take on all of this? In the analysis emanating from this quarter, there should be no such thing as libel law. Yes, slander ruins the reputation of the victim, but, paradoxically, he simply does not own his own reputation." (05/26/23)
https://www.econlib.org/grand-master-of-reputation/
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34) Saudi Arabia, a green energy leader?
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by Noelle Swan
"This week's cover story almost didn't happen. When Taylor Luck, the Monitor's Middle East reporter, first heard that Saudi Arabia was attempting to 'go green,' he wasn't sure what to make of it. As the world's second-largest producer of oil, Saudi Arabia is 'often seen as the spoiler to progress on climate,' he says. So the Gulf nation's commitment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2060 through investment in renewable energy and reforestation was both intriguing and a bit dubious. 'It was just kind of hard to believe,' he says. So, Taylor flew to Riyadh from his home in Jordan to see for himself. Some of what he found confirmed his skepticism. The kingdom isn't giving up its hold of the global oil market -- far from it. Saudi rigs continue to pump oil out of the desert for global distribution." (05/29/23)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/From-the-Editors/2023/0529/Saudi-Arabia-a-green-energy-leader
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35) On the road with the Republican "persuasion" candidates
Source: Semafor
by David Weigel
"[Nikki] Haley and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who both stumped in New Hampshire this week as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis entered the race at a solid no. 2 spot, are trying to position themselves as the GOP's most electable options -- non-white, Generation Xers who Democrats are scared to run against. ... Critical to their pitch: The idea that they can grow the party's tent by speaking to voters who are not invested in the same inward-looking grievances that the MAGA wing has elevated since Trump took over." (05/27/23)
https://www.semafor.com/article/05/26/2023/on-the-road-with-the-republican-persuasion-candidates
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36) Quantum Vibe, 05/29/23
Source: Big Head Press
by Scott Bieser
Cartoon. (05/29/23)
https://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=2418
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37) Earned Knowledge, L7, P1
Source: Freeman's Perspective
by Paul Rosenberg
"While we've discussed the similarities between the Greeks and the Romans, it's also necessary to understand their differences. Because in may ways they were very different. The first area of difference, and certainly the most important, was how they thought of themselves. Certainly both groups had a high level of civilizational confidence. That is, they believed that their ways were far better than the old ways or even the ways of anyone of their time. They were not ashamed of their ways, as so many modern societies are. But how these two groups envisioned their greatness differed." (05/26/23)
https://freemansperspective.com/earned-knowledge-l7-p1/
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38) Source: Town Hall
by Will Alexander
"Under the guise of good social medicine, liberals [sic] and leftists [sic] have poisoned the culture with the colossal lie that 'whiteness' is the culprit behind 'a 400-year pandemic of foundational racism' that's keeping America sick. It's being perpetrated by whites through 'antiquated systems of oppression.' Whiteness, the creation of white people of European descent, they say, is a lopsided 'system of privileges and advantages' that favors whites at the expense of people of color 'through government policies, media portrayal, decision-making power with our corporations, schools, judicial systems, etc.' To cure the country, people with big mouths, big money, and big plans are wildly swinging sledge hammers at America's load-bearing walls to destroy what they see as a 'white system,' to replace it with ... God knows what." (05/29/23)
https://townhall.com/columnists/willalexander/2023/05/29/theyre-conditioning-americans-to-hate-white-people-n2623801
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39) The DeSantis Torture Question
Source: The American Conservative
by Peter Van Buren
"Not a single American has been punished for what happened at Guantanamo, and the first should not be Ron DeSantis. But DeSantis is not just anyone; he is one man out of hundreds of millions in the U.S. who says he wants to be president, and has a decent chance of achieving just that. So instead of speculating on what DeSantis saw, let's instead demand from him a statement on torture itself. Knowing what he knows now, would he say that legalizing torture was the right thing post-9/11? As president, would he support torture in the future? As president, would he seek to close Guantanamo and set the thirty prisoners still there free?" (05/29/23)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-desantis-torture-question/
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40) The Knowledge that Only Free Markets Disclose
Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman
"Hayek (like his teacher Ludwig von Mises) knew that he needed to show that Adam Smith's 'system of natural liberty' performed a critical service to mankind that could not be otherwise performed: the production of knowledge that is needed in a changing world of scarcity in which each individual must make plans but also be ready to adjust his or her plans in light of what other free individuals are doing. And that's what Hayek did, building on Mises and others. Hayek made contributions to the economic, or 'practical,' case for freedom that have been woefully unappreciated. The Austrian school of economics that Hayek was part of needs to be discussed more than ever." (05/26/23)
https://sheldonfreeassociation.blogspot.com/2023/05/tgif-knowledge-that-only-free-markets.html
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41) Keith Weiner's Macroeconomic Equation
Source: Cobden Centre
by Keith Weiner
"Macroeconomists, it is said, have physics envy. Physicists measure how gasses behave as temperature, pressure, and mass of gas molecules are changed, and write an equation to describe the relationship between these variables: PV = nRT (P = pressure, V = volume, n = amount of gas, R = ideal gas constant, and T = temperature). It works reasonably well because particles of a gas do not have reason or volition. They do what they do. If you cram twice as many of them into the same size container, then pressure doubles. The problem with macroeconomic equations is that people are not deterministic particles. Economic value (or many other things) cannot be measured as a single scalar quantity. Output, price level, and other aggregates cannot be predicted (even granting that these are legitimate concepts in the first place)." (05/26/23)
https://www.cobdencentre.org/2023/05/keith-weiners-macroeconomic-equation/
-----
42) Memorial Day Should Be a Solemn Occasion to Value Peace
Source: Common Dreams
by Juan Cole
"On Memorial Day, the United States is not in a significant shooting war. It seems to me that the best way to honor our more than 1.1 million war dead is to work to keep it that way. Memorial Day should be not a paean to war but a solemn occasion to value peace. Memorial Day began after the Civil War, with local observances, including at Arlington Cemetery. It was formalized in 1869 as 'Decoration Day', and May 30 was chosen because flowers would be in bloom across the nation by then. It only became a federal holiday in 1971, as the Vietnam War was winding to a lugubrious end. As all those dead bodies attest, war is always a failure. It is a failure of imagination, a failure of vision, a failure of politics, a failure of diplomacy." (05/29/23)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/memorial-day-2023-peace-war
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43) Can The Cult of DeSantis Beat Trump's MAGA Die-Hards?
Source: The Daily Beast
by Matt Lewis
"If Trump didn't exist, I would be much more bullish (and fearful) of the potential rise of a more competent right-wing movement. But the fundamental problem for DeSantis is that his competition is a much more charismatic cult leader. What is more, if Trump's base of non-college-educated, rural populists constitutes a minority of the electorate, DeSantis''s base of highly educated tech bros must be dramatically smaller. To be sure, they punch above their weight when it comes to the internet and the conservative intellectual world. But Trump's appeal is broader and less specific. I keep returning to the notion that DeSantis only works as a candidate if Trump is out of the picture -- which is possible, but not likely." (05/27/23)
https://www.thedailybeast.com/can-the-cult-of-ron-desantis-beat-trumps-maga-die-hards
-----
44) Trying To Build Peace One BRICS at a Time
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ted Snider
"The U.S. has consistently prevented peace talks while pouring weapons into Ukraine and pushing for war, leading a frustrated Brazilian President Lula da Silva to complain, 'The United States needs to stop encouraging war and start talking about peace.' With the fall of Bakhmut, the massive loss of Ukrainian life and artillery and the Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian Patriot and other air defenses as well as Ukrainian ammunition storage sites, it is conceivable that those denied diplomatic solutions could have offered a result more favorable to Ukraine than the one that is shaping up on the battle field. Ukrainians may come to wish that Zelensky had listened to saner counsel. But the United States is no longer the only power offering counsel. Other poles are emerging from this war larger. And those poles are pushing for peace." (05/26/23)
https://original.antiwar.com/ted_snider/2023/05/25/trying-to-build-peace-one-brics-at-a-time/
-----
45) Jamie Raskin and Rachel Maddow, brought to you by Peter Thiel and Lockheed Martin
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Eli Clifton
"Progressives Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and MSNBC host Rachel Maddow are outspoken critics of the bloated defense budget and the MAGA wing of the Republican Party. Next month, though, both Raskin and Maddow will headline an event sponsored by defense industry giant Lockheed Martin and Palantir, a $26 billion defense contractor founded and chaired by Peter Thiel, the polarizing billionaire and megadonor to Donald Trump." (05/26/23)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2023/05/26/jamie-raskin-and-rachel-maddow-brought-to-you-by-peter-thiel-and-lockheed-martin/
-----
46) The Best Life Lesson for a Teen Is a Job
Source: Brownstone Institute
by James Bovard
"During the Covid debacle, kids were locked out of school or otherwise condemned to an inferior Zoom education for up to two years. What were the alternatives? Unfortunately, since the New Deal, the federal government has severely restricted teenagers' opportunities for gainful employment. But new evidence proves that keeping kids out of work doesn't keep them out of mental health trouble. Yet suggesting that kids take a job has become controversial in recent years." (05/26/23)
https://brownstone.org/articles/best-life-lesson-for-teen-is-job/
-----
47) Can we learn any lessons from the past?
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
"The Wind River Basin of Central Wyoming is one of the great beautiful places in the State. It is a wonderful mixture of lush mountains, rivers and canyons, grazing and irrigated cropland, beautiful lakes, desert, and opportunity. It is not nearly as well known as it should be, in a State full of natural and human-made wonders. But it is also the home of a sad story of government stupidity. A story which should teach everyone important lessons about how governments conspire and just plain cooperate to make life miserable for thousands and millions of people. For generations. Because it is also the location of the Wind River Indian Reservation." (05/26/23)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2023/05/26/can-we-learn-any-lessons-from-the-past/
-----
48) America's Immigration Police State: Warrantless Trespasses, Searches, and Seizures
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
"In yesterday's blog post, I addressed one aspect of the immigration police state that is part of the enforcement of America's socialist system of immigration controls -- domestic highway checkpoints. I pointed out that such police-state checkpoints are a central feature of communist and totalitarian regimes. Another part of America's immigration police state is warrantless trespasses and searches of farms and ranches along the U.S.-Mexico border. I'll draw from personal experience to demonstrate this particular police-state destruction of liberty and privacy." (05/26/23)
https://www.fff.org/2023/05/26/americas-immigration-police-state-warrantless-trespasses-searches-and-seizures/
-----
49) As Deals Go, This Is One of Them
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen
"The second that Joe Biden agreed to negotiate with House Republicans on the debt ceiling, the results were going to be bad. The people who benefit most from government action -- the poor and the vulnerable -- were going to be hurt, and those who benefit most from a weakened government (the rich and the powerful) were going to be aided. The only question was the degree. With one potentially major exception, the relative harm and help was kept to a minimum in the final agreement. It will only be a little bit easier to commit wage theft, or to sell defective or poisoned products. It'll only be a little harder to get rental assistance or tuition support. ... A lot of things will stay the same. Almost nothing will get any better." (05/28/23)
https://prospect.org/politics/05-28-2023-biden-mccarthy-debt-ceiling-deal/
-----
50) Playing Chicken with a Stack of Steering Wheels
Source: American Institute for Economic Research
by Michael Munger
"Envision the scene, staged for our entertainment. A cool pink dawn comes, and Joe Biden is sitting in his shiny blue 1968 GTO, revving the engine. A mile away, facing him on a straight desert road, is Kevin McCarthy, in his 1967 dusty red Mustang muscle car, smoking a last cigarette. The game is 'chicken.'" (05/26/23)
https://www.aier.org/article/playing-chicken-with-a-stack-of-steering-wheels/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Free Talk Live, 05/29/23
Source: Free Talk Live
"Photoshop Adds AI Generation :: Porcfest Bans Mikey the Jew? :: Decentralizing Porcfest :: Uganda Cracking Down on Gays :: Vision Zero :: Homeless People :: Defining Aggression :: 2023-05-29 Ian, Aria, Bonnie." (05/29/23)
https://freetalklive.com/archives?ppplayer=5c48425a5422918dc6f904bd1cb7e00f&ppepisode=9632c03445beb205d2baf76c5ab11f8c
-----
52) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 05/29/23
Source: Antiwar.com
"State Department Won't Discuss Detained American in Ukraine, US Airstrikes in Somalia, and More." (05/29/23)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1HB_ZPQwN4
-----
53) Finding Freedom, episode 387
Source: Lions of Liberty
"Writing Your Story with John McCoy." (05/29/23)
https://www.lionsofliberty.com/episodes/writing-your-story-with-john-mccoy
-----
54) The Anarchist Experience, episode 425
Source: The Anarchist Experience
"Rich, MC, and KS discuss KS's trouble with the passport office and these HEADLINES: John Kerry Declares War on US Farmers: Gov't Farm Confiscations 'Not Off The Table' ... In Lieu of Free Banking." (05/27/23)
https://theanarchistexperience.wordpress.com/2023/05/27/the-anarchist-experience-425/
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55) Unattended Baggage, episode 199
Source: International Guild of Professional Anarchists
"Peanuts and the Singularity." (05/27/23)
https://alexandersnitker.substack.com/p/unattended-baggage-episode-199-peanuts
-----
56) The Chris Spangle Show, 05/27/23
Source: We Are Libertarians
"Interviews with IndyCar Drivers Entered in the Indy 500." (05/27/23)
https://www.chrisspangle.com/p/interviews-with-indycar-drivers-entered
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57) This Week in Common Sense, 05/27/23
Source: Common Sense
"A 'Minor' Monstrous Evil." (05/27/23)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2023/05/27/listen-a-minor-monstrous-evil/
-----
58) Erik Sperling on The Scott Horton Show
Source: The Scott Horton Show
"Erik Sperling on the US Attempt to Keep the War in Yemen Going." (05/27/23)
https://scotthorton.org/interviews/5-18-23-erik-sperling-on-the-us-attempt-to-keep-the-war-in-yemen-going/
-----
59) Rising, 05/26/23
Source: The Hill
"Jessica Burbank and Amber Athey react to news that Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes has been sentenced to 18 years because of January 6." (05/26/23)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/4022221-rising-may-26-2023/
-----
60) There's A Policy For That With Susan Pendergrass, 05/26/23
Source: Show-Me Institute
"A New Normal in the Housing Market with Mark A. Calabria." (05/26/23)
https://showmeinstitute.org/blog/economy/a-new-normal-in-the-housing-market-with-mark-a-calabria/
-----
61) Conflicts of Interest, episode 426
Source: Libertarian Institute
"Ukraine Is Trying to Assassinate Putin." (05/26/23)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/kyle/coi-426-ukraine-is-trying-to-assassinate-putin
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62) Nonzero, 05/26/23
Source: Bloggingheads.tv
"DeSantis's and Ukraine's Incursions | Robert Wright & Mickey Kaus." (05/26/23)
https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/66225
-----
63) Freedom Works with Paul Molloy, 05/26/23
Source: Freedom Works
"Jessica Melugin of CEI on kids and social media." (05/26/23)
http://internetradiopros.com/freedomworks/?name=2023-05-26_zfw050262023.mp3
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64) Declare Your Independence with Ernest Hancock, 05/26/23
Source: Freedom's Phoenix
"Brian Becker (New Hampshire Libertarian/Freedom Activist) comes on the show to discuss decentralized, private, peer-to-peer communication; PeerTube." (05/26/23)
https://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Media/344298-2023-05-26-2023-05-26-ernest-hancock-interviews-brian-becker-wearenh-org.htm
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65) The Tom Woods Show, episode 2339
Source: The Tom Woods Show
"Stephen Wolfram on Our AI Present and Future." (05/26/23)
https://tomwoods.com/ep-2339-stephen-wolfram-on-our-ai-present-and-future/
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