04/13 -- Trump announces Strait of Hormuz blockade after US-Iran peace talks end; The Real AIpocalypse Is Probably Already Here
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Thomas L. Knapp
Apr 13, 2026, 6:14:02 AMApr 13
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 04/13/26
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Trump announces Strait of Hormuz blockade after US-Iran peace talks end
2) Hungary: Opposition ousts Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power
3) US regime publicly confesses to five more murders in Pacific
4) Ukraine war: “Easter truce” ends in mutual violation claims
5) Aid flotilla departs Spain for Gaza to break Israeli blockade
6) Ireland: Police attack refinery protesters with chemical weapons
7) Appeals court rules Trump’s White House ballroom construction can temporarily move forward
8) US House: Swalwell, Gonzales to face expulsion votes
9) MN: Fraud suspect skips court, forfeits bond, throwing $11 million Medicaid case into doubt
10) NJ: Multiple people injured as shooting breaks out at Chick-fil-A
11) Netherlands: Regime allows Tesla owners to use some self-driving features
12) China: Regime says it will resume some ties with Taiwan including more direct flights
13) Russia: Regime seizes control of US-linked firm as it pushes for renewed ties with Washington
14) UK: Regime thugs abduct hundreds at protest against Palestine Action ban
15) Poll: Orange County has “a clear generational divide” among voters
16) Family sues US regime over eight-year-old’s post-abduction death
17) Germany: Far-right AfD adopts “radical” manifesto ahead of key polls
18) Iraq: Kurdish politician Nizar Amidi elected president amid war fallout
19) CA: Man arrested after Molotov cocktail attack on home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman
20) US Appeals Court Declares 158-Year-Old Home Distilling Ban Unconstitutional
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) The Real AIpocalypse Is Probably Already Here
22) Employers Are Moving Beyond Educational Pedigree. It’s Time We All Do
23) Every Mass Movement Needs a Devil. Socialism Always Finds One.
24) The Department of Education: Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead?
25) Municipalism, Anarchism, and Polyarchy
26) AI and the Wiki Wars
27) The Security Leviathan
28) Democrats and Republicans Both Want To Regulate AI. They Just Can’t Agree on How.
29) Where wit and wisdom disarm disinformation
30) The future arrived this week.
31) Why black male students are hurt the most by lowered academic expectations
32) Fed up with Trump’s chaos? Then his strategy is working
33) To-Do List for Congress: End the War, Stop Weapons to Israel, Impeach Trump
34) Fear, Time Preference, and the Distortion of Human Action
35) South Carolina in a Spending Spiral
36) Killing and Indifference
37) No more delusions: US has to finish the job in Iran
38) America’s Massive Foreign Policy Blunder in Iran
39) Gov’t Pushing Gov’t
40) An unpardonable abuse of presidential power with only one solution
41) Getting New York City to Believe in Government
42) Trump’s Words Cannot Be Unseen
43) We Are the Barbarians
44) The Warehouse Arsonist Is No Working Class Hero
45) MAGA Means MAGA
46) Lawsuits Targeting Social Media Are an Attack on Free Speech
47) When War Teaches Medicine
48) Humanity Lost in Space
49) As Workers Struggle, Our Political Class Goes All In On a Permanent War State
50) Can Trump’s Maritime Plan Save America’s Struggling Shipyards?
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Unattended Baggage, episode 336
52) Pink Flame of Liberty, 04/11/26
53) Serious Trouble, 04/11/26
54) Minor Issues, 04/11/26
55) The Good Fight, 04/11/26
56) Year Zero with Tommy Salmons
57) Reasonably Optimistic, 04/10/26
58) Real Unity, episode 13
59) The Dishcast with Andrew Sullivan, 04/10/26
60) Rising, 04/10/26
61) SAMS, episode 1
62) Remy: Gerrymandering
63) So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, 04/10/26
64) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 04/10/26
65) The Brian Nichols Show, 04/10/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Trump announces Strait of Hormuz blockade after US-Iran peace talks end
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“President Donald Trump says the United States Navy will begin blockading the Strait of Hormuz ‘immediately’ after peace talks between the US and Iran in Pakistan ended without an agreement. Trump, in a social media post on Sunday, accused Iran of ‘extortion’ and said the US Navy would hunt down and interdict ships in international waters that have paid Iran a toll to traverse the strait. … ‘So, there you have it, the meeting went well, most points were agreed to, but the only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not,’ Trump said. ‘Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz.'” (04/12/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/12/trump-announces-strait-of-hormuz-blockade-after-us-iran-peace-talks-end
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2) Hungary: Opposition ousts Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Hungary’s opposition Tisza party, led by Péter Magyar, has won the election, bringing an end to Viktor Orbán’s 16-year grip on power, in a result that is likely to rattle the White House and reshape the country’s relationship with the EU. Less than three hours after polls closed on Sunday, Orbán conceded defeat after what he described as a ‘painful but unambiguous’ election result. … With 98.74% of the vote counted, Magyar’s Tisza party was projected to have won 138 of the 199 seats in the country’s parliament, giving them a super-majority capable of amending the constitution and key laws, suggesting they would be able to reverse some of the changes made by Orbán and Fidesz, and potentially unlock EU funds.” (04/12/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/12/viktor-orban-concedes-defeat-as-opposition-wins-hungarian-election
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3) US regime publicly confesses to five more murders in Pacific
Source: United Press International
“The U.S. military said it attacked two boats allegedly transporting narcotics in the eastern Pacific over the weekend, [murdering] five people and leaving one survivor. The strikes were carried out Saturday, according to a Sunday statement from U.S. Southern Command. The Trump administration has been attacking vessels in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific since Sept. 2. With the five [murdered] Saturday, the publicly announced death toll rose from 163 as of March 25 to 168, according to a Pentagon posture statement from mid-March and subsequent SOUTHCOM releases.” (04/13/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/04/13/SOUTHCOM-drug-boat/5061776064668/
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4) Ukraine war: “Easter truce” ends in mutual violation claims
Source: Independent [UK]
“The much-touted Easter truce confirmed by the Kremlin has now expired unsuccessfully as Russia and Ukraine accused each other of breaching the 32-hour ceasefire in their four-year war. While the Russian defence ministry said it recorded 1,971 ceasefire violations overnight into Sunday, Ukraine said it has recorded a total of 7,696 Russian violations over the course of the truce in an update just few hours shy of the midnight deadline.” (04/13/26)
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-live-putin-zelensky-easter-ceasefire-b2945082.html
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5) Aid flotilla departs Spain for Gaza to break Israeli blockade
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“A second flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza was due to set sail on Sunday from the Spanish port of Barcelona to try to break the Israeli blockade. About 30 boats planned to leave the Mediterranean port city laden with medical aid and other supplies on the Global Sumud Flotilla, and more vessels are expected to join along the route towards Palestine. [Israeli pirates] halted the roughly 40 boats assembled by the same organisation in October last year as they attempted to reach blockaded Gaza, [abducting] Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and more than 450 other participants.” (04/12/26)
https://archive.is/VJcwZ
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6) Ireland: Police attack refinery protesters with chemical weapons
Source: Deutsche Welle [German state media]
“Police in Ireland on Saturday used pepper spray and made arrests in a bid to clear protesters blockading the country’s only oil refinery. Authorities moved in to disperse the protesters to restore supplies after five days of nationwide demonstrations over soaring fuel prices. Law enforcers, supported by armed forces personnel, moved in to reopen the Whitegate refinery in County Cork and escort fuel trucks on Saturday. … After Ireland’s Defence Forces joined the police in clearing the protests, Irish police chief Justin Kelly said on Saturday that the fuel protesters’ actions were ‘endangering the state.'” (04/12/26)
https://www.dw.com/en/ireland-clears-refinery-blockade-as-fuel-protests-trigger-nationwide-shortages/a-76751180
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7) Appeals court rules Trump’s White House ballroom construction can temporarily move forward
Source: NBC News
“A federal appeals court on Saturday temporarily allowed the construction of President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom to move forward while the administration challenges a lower court order that said the project exceeds the president’s authority. The 2-1 decision by a three-judge panel for the U.S. circuit court in Washington, D.C., means construction can continue through April 17 while the court considers the issue in more detail. A lower court judge had previously ordered the construction to cease on April 14. Trump’s lawyers have argued that the ballroom and other temporary measures are needed for ‘the safety and security’ of the president, his family and others, according to the decision.” (04/11/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/federal-appeals-court-allows-construction-white-house-ballroom-rcna266914
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8) US House: Swalwell, Gonzales to face expulsion votes
Source: Axios
“Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) plans to force a vote to expel Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) next week over sexual assault and misconduct allegations, Axios has learned. Swalwell denies the allegations. Democrats are set to respond by moving in turn to expel Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), who’s being investigated by House Ethics over sexual misconduct allegations, two Democratic leadership aides told Axios. Swalwell has faced calls from Democratic Party leaders and House colleagues to drop his bid for California governor, though few have called for his outright resignation or expulsion from Congress. … Gonzales, who has dropped his bid for reelection, admitted to an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide, calling it a ‘lapse in judgment.'” (04/11/26)
https://www.axios.com/2026/04/11/eric-swalwell-expel-tony-gonzales-sexual-misconduct
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9) MN: Fraud suspect skips court, forfeits bond, throwing $11 million Medicaid case into doubt
Source: Fox News
“A man accused of orchestrating an $11 million Medicaid fraud scheme in Minnesota skipped a scheduled court appearance this week, prompting a warrant for his arrest, authorities said. Abdirashid Ismail Said, 50, failed to appear for a pretrial hearing in Hennepin County, forfeiting his bond, according FOX 9, citing the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a statement that his office is working with federal authorities to locate Said.” (04/11/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/us/minnesota-fraud-suspect-skips-court-forfeits-bond-throwing-11m-medicaid-case-doubt
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10) NJ: Multiple people injured as shooting breaks out at Chick-fil-A
Source: New York Post
“A shooting broke out inside a New Jersey Chick-fil-A Saturday night, leaving multiple injured after a group of men stormed in, went behind the food counter, and opened fire, according to reports. The horror unfolded just before 9 p.m. at the fast food chain’s Route 22 location in Union, which has since been locked down with some workers reportedly still inside as Union County police probe the scene, WABC and CBS New York reported. A man who said his girlfriend works at the restaurant told CBS a group of masked men charged inside and fired multiple shots after forcing their way behind the counter. One employee’s family member said an altercation erupted that left multiple workers injured in the gunfire. ‘I heard the shots,’ a Lyft driver told WABC.” (04/11/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/04/11/us-news/new-jersey-chick-fil-a-shooting-leaves-multiple-injured-police-investigating/
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11) Netherlands: Regime allows Tesla owners to use some self-driving features
Source: CBS News
“Tesla owners in the Netherlands can now use their cars’ self-driving feature — with some conditions — making it the first European country to approve the feature. The country’s RDW agency for roadworthiness certifications said Friday that Tesla’s driver assistance system can now be used in the Netherlands ‘with possible future expansion to all member states of the European Union.’ The agency said drivers would need to be in the vehicle and keep a watchful eye on it. The move aligns the Netherlands with what is allowed in the United States, where Tesla owners can already use the Full Self-Driving (Supervised) function in the cars.” (04/11/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/netherlands-tesla-self-driving-features-europe/
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12) China: Regime says it will resume some ties with Taiwan including more direct flights
Source: SFGate
“China said Sunday it would resume some ties it had suspended with Taiwan such as direct flights to cities across China and imports of Taiwanese aquaculture products as the island’s opposition party leader concludes her visit. The Taiwan Work Office under China’s Communist Party issued a statement saying it would explore setting up a longstanding communication mechanism between the Communist Party and Taiwan’s Kuomingtang Party, and facilitate the import of Taiwan’s aquaculture products, after it banned them in recent years. Cheng Li-wun, the head of the Kuomingtang, and China’s President Xi Jinping held a high-profile meeting Friday during which both called for peace without offering specifics. Taiwan is self-ruled but China claims the island as part of its territory. Relations between China and Taiwan have been tense since 2016 when the Taiwanese public elected Tsai Ing-wen from the Democratic Progressive Party as president.” (04/11/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/china-says-it-will-resume-some-ties-with-taiwan-22201972.php
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13) Russia: Regime seizes control of US-linked firm as it pushes for renewed ties with Washington
Source: Fox News
“A Pennsylvania-linked manufacturer has been stripped of control over its Russian operations under a Kremlin order, raising fresh risks for Western companies as Moscow courts renewed economic ties with the United States. CANPACK, a global aluminum beverage can manufacturer owned by a Pennsylvania-based holding company, operates in multiple countries across Europe and North America and said its Russian business — valued at roughly $700 million — was placed under state ‘external administration’ by a Dec. 31, 2025, decree signed by President Vladimir Putin, effectively transferring control of 100% of its shares to state-appointed managers. CEO Peter Giorgi said the company lost all operational authority after administrators arrived in mid-January.” (04/11/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/russia-seizes-control-us-linked-firm-pushes-renewed-ties-washington
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14) UK: Regime thugs abduct hundreds at protest against Palestine Action ban
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Police have arrested hundreds of people during a mass vigil in central London to oppose the ban on campaign group Palestine Action. More than 1,000 people gathered in Trafalgar Square for the demonstration on Saturday, with many holding signs saying, ‘I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.’ Police carried many people away from the demonstration. At one point, an elderly woman with walking sticks was escorted away by police. The Metropolitan Police said they arrested 212 people for allegedly showing support for a proscribed orgnanisation.” (04/11/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/11/police-begin-arrests-at-uk-protest-against-palestine-action-ban?traffic_source=rss
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15) Poll: Orange County has “a clear generational divide” among voters
Source: SFGate
“A new poll offers insight into a traditionally Republican part of California. In Orange County, a coastal pocket of the state known for conservative views, independents make up the largest percentage of voters, according to a recent poll from UC Irvine. Not only that, but among those independents, 66% think the country is on the wrong track. The poll, released Wednesday by UC Irvine, was conducted as part of an annual survey of Orange County adults to keep track of social, economic and political issues. Even with its right-leaning reputation, the area is still deeply purple, the poll found. Orange County is home to a fair share of Democrats, with 34% of respondents identifying with that party. Republicans made up 30%, and independents made up 36%. This, the pollsters concluded in a report accompanying the results, is why the county remains a very competitive district.” (04/12/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/orange-county-voter-poll-22197819.php
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16) Family sues US regime over eight-year-old’s post-abduction death
Source: Seattle Times
“The Honduran family of an 8-year-old girl with a heart condition who died in U.S. custody after crossing the border in 2023 sued the federal government on Friday. Anadith Danay Reyes Alvarez, who had chronic heart problems and sickle cell anemia, got sick with flu-like symptoms and died after being [abducted and] detained for eight days in a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility in Donna, then later Harlingen, Texas. An internal CPB investigation found failures in providing proper medical care and that medical personnel did not review documents the mother offered which described the girl’s sensitive condition. In custody, Anadith had a high fever of 104.9 F as well as nausea, breathing difficulties and pain.” (04/10/26)
https://archive.is/LixCo
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17) Germany: Far-right AfD adopts “radical” manifesto ahead of key polls
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“The far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party is riding high in the opinion polls in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt and could win an outright majority in regional elections there in September. It would be the first time a far-right party has held power in a German state since World War Two. This weekend the AfD officially adopted what has been described as a ‘radical’ and pro-ethnic German government programme for Saxony-Anhalt at a party conference in the central city of Magdeburg. The AfD’s leading candidate in the state, Ulrich Siegmund, a TikTok star who was given a standing ovation by the delegates, said it was an historic moment, not just for Saxony-Anhalt.” (04/12/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy3wwgyd6do
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18) Iraq: Kurdish politician Nizar Amidi elected president amid war fallout
Source: ABC News
“Iraq’s parliament voted Saturday to elect Nizar Amidi, a political official with one of the country’s two main Kurdish parties, as president, five months after a parliamentary election that didn’t produce a bloc with a decisive majority. His election comes as Iraq is reeling from the fallout of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. Iraq became caught in the middle of the conflict, with Iran-backed militias launching attacks on U.S. bases and diplomatic facilities as well as on critical energy infrastructure. Meanwhile, the U.S. and Israel carried out airstrikes targeting the militias, some of which killed members of the Iraqi military.” (04/11/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/iraq-elects-kurdish-politician-nizar-amidi-president-amid-131951211
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19) CA: Man arrested after Molotov cocktail attack on home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman
Source: SFGate
“A 20-year-old man was arrested early Friday after allegedly throwing an incendiary device at a North Beach home belonging to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Open AI spokesperson Jamie Radice confirmed to SFGATE that Friday morning, Sam Altman’s North Beach home had been attacked with a ‘Molotov cocktail’ and threats had been made against the company’s San Francisco headquarters. … San Francisco police responded at 4:12 a.m. on April 10 to a North Beach residence for a reported fire investigation, SFPD spokesperson Allison Maxie told SFGATE in a statement. ‘At the scene, officers learned that an unknown male subject threw an incendiary destructive device at a home, causing a fire to an exterior gate,’ Maxie said. ‘The suspect then fled on foot.'” (04/11/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/attack-openai-sam-altman-22199855.php
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20) US Appeals Court Declares 158-Year-Old Home Distilling Ban Unconstitutional
Source: US News & World Report
“A U.S. appeals court on Friday declared unconstitutional a nearly 158-year-old federal ban on home distilling, calling it an unnecessary and improper means for Congress to exercise its power to tax. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled in favor of the nonprofit Hobby Distillers Association and four of its 1,300 members. They argued that people should be free to distill spirits at home, whether as a hobby or for personal consumption including, in one instance, to create an apple-pie-vodka recipe. The ban was part of a law passed during Reconstruction in July 1868, in part to thwart liquor tax evasion, and subjected violators to up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.” (04/10/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2026-04-10/us-appeals-court-declares-158-year-old-home-distilling-ban-unconstitutional
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) The Real AIpocalypse Is Probably Already Here
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“Suppose you carefully, intentionally avoid AI and its product, for whatever reason. Maybe you distrust its output. Maybe you just prefer to do your own research, and reach your own conclusions, from primary human-created sources. But how can you know AI-generated content hasn’t previously ‘polluted’ the human-created sources with ‘facts’ that aren’t true? … People have always lied, and often those lies have persisted and spread, becoming ‘common knowledge’ despite being false. AI, linked to a mechanism of near-instantaneous global spread (the Internet), can produce and distribute lies far faster than humans once did by word of mouth or through print on paper.” (04/11/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20537
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22) Employers Are Moving Beyond Educational Pedigree. It’s Time We All Do
Source: Washington Monthly
by Ryan Stowers
“I have a message for parents: A four-year degree from a top-tier university does not guarantee career success or fulfillment. College is just one path. In a world where technology is rapidly changing our jobs and hiring managers question whether college graduates have the skills needed to succeed, parents and young people should examine the range of post-high school options. Employers certainly are, and they are embracing new pathways to address the workforce gaps they have experienced over decades.” (04/10/26)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/04/10/employers-are-moving-beyond-the-college-degree/
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23) Every Mass Movement Needs a Devil. Socialism Always Finds One.
Source: Mindset Shifts
by Barry Brownstein
“In The True Believer, a seminal book on mass movements by social philosopher Eric Hoffer, Hoffer writes: ‘Mass movements can rise and spread without belief in a God, but never without belief in a devil.’ … An essential feature of socialism is to dehumanize others. Like millions in Pol Pot’s Cambodia or Mao’s China, millions of North Koreans have been taught to hate others. Millions in the ‘hostile class’ have been starved, brutalized, and murdered. Socialism will never produce a different outcome. How is it possible to insist that the next socialist regime will be different?” (04/11/26)
https://mindsetshifts.substack.com/p/every-mass-movement-needs-a-devil
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24) The Department of Education: Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead?
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Wendy McElroy
“The continuing backlash against public schools, exemplified by the amazing rise of homeschooling, favors an easy abolition of the DOE. Nothing less than eliminating the agency will turn the tide of America’s culture war. An ideology masquerading as education aims at defining people’s thoughts and beliefs, which is the ultimate form of social control. In the foreword to his dystopian novel, Brave New World (1946 edition), Aldous Huxley commented, ‘A really efficient totalitarian state would be one in which the all-powerful executive of political bosses and their army of managers control a population of slaves who do not have to be coerced, because they love their servitude.’ Public schools are both expressions of and a training ground for such an army. Ideally, all education should private, and society is moving in this direction.” (04/10/26)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/the-department-of-education-ding-dong-the-witch-is-dead/
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25) Municipalism, Anarchism, and Polyarchy
Source: Center for a Stateless Society
by Kevin Carson
“From the 19th century utopian socialists on, Henri de Saint-Simon’s concept of replacing ‘legislation over persons’ with the ‘administration of things’ has been reiterated in various forms by one thinker after another. In General Idea of the Revolution in the XIX Century, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon described it as ‘dissolving the state in the social body.’ Marx and Engels referred to the same process as the state ‘withering away,’ and it clearly influenced Marx’s view of the Paris Commune as prefiguring the dictatorship of the proletariat. Since then, the same general principle has been restated by countless anarchists and libertarian socialists.” (04/10/26)
https://c4ss.org/content/61101
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26) AI and the Wiki Wars
Source: Quillette
by Russell T Warne
“For years, Wikipedia has been one of the informational backbones of the internet. With over seven million articles in the English version, Wikipedia is — by far — the largest repository of human knowledge ever collected. … Wikipedia has seen many challengers to its dominance, often motivated by its perceived inadequacies. … The reason Wikipedia’s challengers have been so feeble is that none of them have offered a new model that can accomplish Wikipedia’s purpose of delivering information to its users. All the competitors function the same way as Wikipedia: as a volunteer-driven community of users who update and expand the encyclopaedia through crowdsourcing. Without any major advantages in fulfilling the basic function of an encyclopaedia, editors and readers have little reason to defect from Wikipedia (or to stay if they do). Enter Grokipedia.” (04/11/26)
https://quillette.com/2026/04/11/ai-and-the-wiki-wars-grokipedia-wikipedia-elon-musk/
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27) The Security Leviathan
Source: Liberal Currents
by Kathleen Frydl
“Following decades of unprecedented expansion in security, detention, and surveillance, the United States government’s competence in militancy and punishment is now so dominant that it threatens to eclipse its other activities and ambitions. We are close to a point when, regardless of who is elected, the government will function like a hammer and every problem will look like a nail. As a result, at this critical juncture, opposition to the Trump administration will have to decide whether to offer a strategic vision for the direction of the American state, or cast their movement as an objection to just one person, a particular agency, or a certain issue viewed in isolation and presented as aberrational.” (04/11/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/the-security-leviathan/
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28) Democrats and Republicans Both Want To Regulate AI. They Just Can’t Agree on How.
Source: Reason
by Jack Nicastro
“As lawmakers of both major parties hustle to regulate their preferred villains, they’re losing sight of the big picture. The possible gains to humanity from AI are enormous.” (for publication 05/26)
https://reason.com/2026/04/11/democrats-and-republicans-both-want-to-regulate-ai-they-just-cant-agree-on-how/
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29) Where wit and wisdom disarm disinformation
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“Even as the European Union works to bolster economic and defense support for Ukraine, the continent is confronting increasing Russian aggression on a different battlefield: the online frontier. Over the past year, the Kremlin has intensified its disinformation campaigns in an attempt to weaken Europe’s democratic pillars of truth and civic trust. As the main target of these intensified attacks, France is at the forefront of efforts to document and debunk these claims. ‘The more outspoken France has become about Russia, the more it is targeted,’ The Economist reported April 8. It documented multiple instances in which false claims on social media were launched almost immediately after French President Emmanuel Macron expressed support for Ukraine or European rearmament.” (04/10/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0410/Where-wit-and-wisdom-disarm-disinformation
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30) The future arrived this week.
Source: Nonzero Newsletter
by Robert Wright
“This week Anthropic announced that it has a new large language model that’s way more powerful than past models — so powerful that it poses a threat to the world’s information infrastructure. This model can find otherwise unfindable vulnerabilities in software — and in fact, said Anthropic, has found previously unknown holes in every major operating system and browser. … if this model fell into the wrong hands, that could be big trouble — which is why, says Anthropic, there are no plans to release the model for the time being. Some people have wondered whether Anthropic’s claims about the terrifying power of this new model are mainly marketing hype — a suspicion that isn’t exactly discouraged by the model’s name: Mythos. But Anthropic is making Mythos available to big companies that maintain important parts of the digital infrastructure, like Microsoft, Apple, and Cisco. So if these claims were hugely exaggerated, word of that would get out …” (04/11/26)
https://www.nonzero.org/p/the-future-arrived-this-week
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31) Why black male students are hurt the most by lowered academic expectations
Source: New York Post
by Dennis Richmond, Jr.
“I’m a middle school teacher in New York, and what’s happening inside many classrooms today should concern every parent in this country, especially parents of Black boys. Education is supposed to be about reading, writing, history, discipline and accountability. Instead, in too many schools, academics are being pushed aside while politics, ideology and lowered expectations take their place. The students who can least afford to fall behind (particularly young Black boys) are the ones being hurt the most. The data shows this is not just opinion, it’s reality. According to the New York State Education Department’s 2024-2025 assessment results, proficiency rates in English and math remain far below where they should be, with major gaps between racial groups. Black students in New York City were only about 47% proficient in English and 43% proficient in math, compared with much higher rates for white and Asian students.” (04/11/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/04/11/opinion/black-male-students-lose-the-most-when-schools-forget-about-academics/
-----
32) Fed up with Trump’s chaos? Then his strategy is working
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Matt K Lewis
“Humans can’t perpetually stay on high alert. So when every statement sounds like it could trigger World War III — but then nothing happens — one response is to become inured to the chaos. And once those outrage receptors burn out, we won’t magically reset to normal if and when a serious, competent leader finally emerges. Which raises an uncomfortable question: After years of this high-drama, reality-show version of governance, could a normal, competent politician even hold our attention? For those who aren’t conditioned to crave copious amounts of drama, the other temptation during and after a dramatic rein is to tune out entirely. … Then again, Trump may see American apathy as a feature, not a bug.” (04/10/26)
https://archive.is/cRzIu
-----
33) To-Do List for Congress: End the War, Stop Weapons to Israel, Impeach Trump
Source: Common Dreams
by Kevin Martin
“Reasonable people wonder if it was a coincidence the escalation (and now fragile ceasefire) of the massively unpopular, senseless, illegal US-Israeli war of aggression on Iran occurred while Congress was away from Capitol Hill for two weeks. Maybe so, but speculation aside, it soon won’t matter, as Congress returns to Washington to resume legislative business Tuesday, April 14. In the wake of President Donald Trump’s monstrous nuclear threat to obliterate Iran’s civilization, calls for his removal from office are rising, understandably. Doing so via the 25th Amendment, which would require Vice President JD Vance and the spineless supine sycophants in the Cabinet to certify Trump unfit for office, is the longest of long shots, though US Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), a former Constitutional law professor and ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, notes the amendment mentions the ability for Congress to establish its own mechanism to remove an incompetent chief executive.” (04/11/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/congress-end-iran-war
-----
34) Fear, Time Preference, and the Distortion of Human Action
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Marcos Giansante
“Periods of crisis reveal something unsettling about human behavior. Faced with uncertainty, individuals and institutions alike tend to accept measures that would otherwise be unthinkable. Restrictions on movement, suspension of rights, and centralized decision-making often emerge not gradually, but almost effortlessly, as if they were the natural response to danger. This pattern is frequently interpreted as a political or institutional failure. But such an explanation remains incomplete. Crises do not merely alter policies, they alter the very structure of human action.” (04/10/26)
https://mises.org/power-market/fear-time-preference-and-distortion-human-action
-----
35) South Carolina in a Spending Spiral
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Sam Aaron
“As the great Benjamin Franklin once said, ‘in this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes.’ In South Carolina, there might as well be another — government spending. Over the past decade, one pattern has held constant: the General Fund grows nearly every year, typically outpacing both inflation and population growth.” (04/10/26)
https://fee.org/articles/south-carolina-in-a-spending-spiral/
-----
36) Killing and Indifference
Source: Antiwar.com
by Andrew P Napolitano
“Is personal freedom a reality or a myth? Does the government execute the will of the governed or the will of those who finance its officials? Does the Bill of Rights restrain the government? Are the levers of government power pulled by those the governed have elected or those we don’t see? Do elections change anything? Can the president kill people whom he suspects might commit a crime? Aren’t even those who would cause great harm entitled to due process? Isn’t everyone entitled to a fair trial in front of a neutral judge and jury before any punishment can be administered?” (04/10/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/andrew-p-napolitano/2026/04/09/killing-and-indifference
-----
37) No more delusions: US has to finish the job in Iran
Source: Fox News
by Steve Forbes
“We now face a defining question of not whether this conflict is difficult but whether the West has the discipline to see it through to the right outcome. That is the backdrop to this weekend’s negotiations in Islamabad, where Pakistan is hosting U.S.-Iran talks amid a fragile ceasefire and continued tension around the Strait of Hormuz. The talks will reveal whether Tehran is prepared to retreat from confrontation or is merely maneuvering for time. One thing President Trump should do immediately is announce that we, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be working together to build pipelines at warp speed that will bypass the Strait of Hormuz. Incisive energy and technology expert Mark P. Mills pushes this idea in an article that can be found at city-journal.org, noting that such pipelines could be built in a matter of months.” (04/11/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/steve-forbes-delusions-america-finish-job-iran
-----
38) America’s Massive Foreign Policy Blunder in Iran
Source: Exiled Policy
by Jason Pye
“Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth are trying to sell the war with Iran as a show of American might. Sure, the bombing conducted by the United States and Israel set Iran back substantially, taking out a number of top officials. That’s only one element of the war. Overall, the war has been a foreign policy blunder that combined strategic overreach, economic self-sabotage, and rhetorical escalation into a single, costly episode. It may well leave the United States with fewer options, higher prices at home, and an adversary that, in some ways, looks more entrenched than before. This war didn’t begin the way the White House now frames it. It wasn’t an unavoidable response to an imminent threat that left policymakers with no choice.” (04/10/26)
https://exiledpolicy.substack.com/p/americas-massive-foreign-policy-blunder
-----
39) Gov’t Pushing Gov’t
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“Why, asks the MacIver Institute, ‘is the government lobbying the government?’ MacIver calls itself Wisconsin’s ‘free-market voice.’ It is a privately funded outfit that makes the case for less government in the Badger State. It has to earn its funds from donors who can, at any moment, stop donating money. One of the things the MacIver Institute found itself up against are other think-tanks and apparently donor-funded organizations advocating for more government in the state, for more programs, bigger programs, and more taxes to feed all the great new stuff. And it turns out that several of these advocacy organizations are themselves funded by government!” (04/10/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/04/10/govt-pushing-govt
-----
40) An unpardonable abuse of presidential power with only one solution
Source: Washington Post
by George F Will
“Yet another reason that Donald Trump’s and Joe Biden’s presidencies cannot be examined without wincing concerns a constitutional provision that is obscure until it is abused, which it now often is. The presidential ‘power to grant reprieves and pardons’ has become yet another source of political brutishness fueling voters’ cynicism.” (04/10/26)
https://archive.is/Uin1w
-----
41) Getting New York City to Believe in Government
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen & Whitney Curry Wimbish
“It was the first Rental Ripoff hearing and people were pissed. Set up by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and attended by leaders of his administration and 150 city workers across multiple departments, the hearings gave tenants a chance to describe conditions their landlords refuse to fix: rats, mold, dangerous constructio — along with a spate of unnecessary and hidden fees. They had three minutes each to share their experiences. But they also got to do something unexpected: set policy priorities for one of the largest cities in the world. Arrayed around the room were posterboards, which not only asked tenants what problems they faced but sought their input on policy proposals brainstormed by staff, like fining landlords who don’t make repairs, making it easier to form tenant unions, or enabling the city to take over buildings when there are serial violations.” (04/10/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/04/10/zohran-mamdani-getting-new-york-city-believe-in-government/
-----
42) Trump’s Words Cannot Be Unseen
Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman
“[T]he American people and the rest of the world saw the president of the United States threaten to destroy the 2,500-year-old Persian civilization. More than half of the Iranian population is ethnic Persian. It’s my policy not to compare anyone to Hitler, but I’ll say this: Trump’s threat was Hitlerian. Further, anyone who stuck by Trump after that post exhibited the same disgusting reverence that many Germans felt for Hitler.” (04/0/26)
https://sheldonrichman.substack.com/p/tgif-trumps-words-cannot-be-unseen
-----
43) We Are the Barbarians
Source: The American Conservative
by Harrison Berger
“On Tuesday morning, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to declare that ‘a civilization will die tonight.’ By 8 p.m., the U.S. announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran had begun. Whether the ceasefire holds (or even takes hold) is already in question …. The best hope that it might stick comes from Israel, where TV presenters who spent Monday salivating over a clock counting down the minutes and hours until Trump’s planned genocide of Iranians were left confused and outraged when the president backed down shortly before the deadline. But whether or not Trump ultimately goes as far as the Israelis would like him to, Americans must now reckon with the destruction already carried out in our name, the civilization-destroying actions Trump has threatened, and the barbarians we have become in the process.” (04/10/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/we-are-the-barbarians/
-----
44) The Warehouse Arsonist Is No Working Class Hero
Source: Independent Institute
by Kristian Fors
“People on numerous subreddits have rallied to support the recent warehouse arson in Ontario, California. This fire, allegedly started by a disgruntled employee, destroyed a 1.2 million-square-foot warehouse that supplied toilet paper to approximately 50 million people. According to the United States Attorney’s Office, this fire caused approximately $500 million in damage. As he started the blaze, the suspected arsonist recorded a video of himself saying, ‘All you had to do was pay us enough to f***ing live.’ … While the economic frustration the suspect and people on Reddit feel is perhaps understandable, they should blame the real culprits behind the cost-of-living crisis, not a toilet paper company.” (04/10/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/04/10/warehouse-arsonist-no-working-class-hero/
-----
44) MAGA Means MAGA
Source: Town Hall
by Mark Lewis
“I have been pounding this for literally decades and I’m going to continue to pound it as long as the good Lord gives me breath and the ability to do so: our Founding Fathers created a limited government, but one that required virtuous people. And the latter is FAR more important than the former. And today’s America has very little of either, on either side of the aisle. Democrats are certainly the greatest problem America has right now, but they aren’t the only problem. I see far too many foul-mouthed, promiscuous, pleasure-oriented, unvirtuous Republicans in the country now to ever make the nation great again. Some people need to get the logs out of their own eyes before they start talking about the specks in other people’s eyes.” (04/12/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/marklewis/2026/04/12/maga-means-maga-n2673950
-----
46) Lawsuits Targeting Social Media Are an Attack on Free Speech
Source: Reason
by Steven Greenhut
“Tech companies that create social media apps should not be blamed for the complex mental issues of everyone who might use them.” (04/10/26)
https://reason.com/2026/04/10/lawsuits-targeting-social-media-are-an-attack-on-free-speech/
-----
47) When War Teaches Medicine
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Joseph Varon
“War is the most unrestrained expression of humanity’s destructive capacity, a setting where order disintegrates, moral boundaries are tested, and life is reduced to its most vulnerable state. Medicine, by contrast, stands as a deliberate act of resistance against that collapse, a disciplined and unwavering commitment to preserve life even when surrounded by death. Despite these opposing identities, war and medicine have remained deeply intertwined across history, not by design, but by inevitability.” (04/10/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/when-war-teaches-medicine/
-----
48) Humanity Lost in Space
Source: Law & Liberty
by Titus Techera
“Americans are falling in love with Project Hail Mary, a movie about an astronaut who finds himself alone at the end of the universe, with perhaps no hope of ever returning among mankind. He then has to figure out how to save mankind in very difficult circumstances, by his wits and his technical know-how. A man a lot like the navigator-turned-shipwreck Robinson Crusoe, so much so that it’s worth comparing them, their stories, and why they matter to modern society.” (04/10/26)
https://lawliberty.org/humanity-lost-in-space/
-----
49) As Workers Struggle, Our Political Class Goes All In On a Permanent War State
Source: In These Times
by Sarah Lazare
“Less than 24 hours after the U.S.-Israeli coalition bombed oil depots around Tehran on March 7, blanketing the city of 10 million with smoke that blotted out the sun, Brenda — 6,300 miles away in South Baltimore — found out she had lost her food stamps. She had checked the status of her SNAP benefits after I had first interviewed her a few days prior about the United States spending billions on war with Iran while Americans like her struggle to eat. When she logged in to the online portal, she discovered her food stamps had been terminated. She’s tried to stay positive in the weeks since. … But it stings that she can’t afford to give her 13-year-old daughter healthy options, like fresh fruits and vegetables.” (04/10/26)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/permanent-war-state-iran-workers-struggle
-----
50) Can Trump’s Maritime Plan Save America’s Struggling Shipyards?
Source: The Daily Economy
by Mohamed Moutii
“For a nation that dominates the seas, the United States now faces a critical crossroads. Its commercial shipyards — once the envy of the world — have fallen into near collapse. The Trump administration’s 2026 Maritime Action Plan aims to reverse this decline with sweeping fees on foreign-built ships and subsidies to revive domestic production and rebuild the maritime industrial base. Yet rather than confronting the structural causes of decline, Washington has turned to familiar tools: protectionism, subsidies, and penalties on foreign competition. America’s shipbuilding troubles did not begin with foreign rivals — and they will not be solved by taxing them.” (04/10/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/can-trumps-maritime-plan-save-americas-struggling-shipyards/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Unattended Baggage, episode 336
Source: Unattended Baggage
“At this point, God is probably rooting for AI.” (04/11/26)
https://unattendedbaggage.substack.com/p/episode-336-at-this-point-god-is
-----
52) Pink Flame of Liberty, 04/11/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“The Christian Nationalists are BEEFING and they are not sending their best.” (04/11/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6u17FVk3Mso
-----
53) Serious Trouble, 04/11/26
Source: Serious Trouble
“Michael Avenatti moves to a halfway house; many of Blake Lively’s claims are dismissed; aesthetic injury is a real thing.” (04/11/26)
https://www.serioustrouble.show/p/welcome-home-michael
-----
54) Minor Issues, 04/11/26
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
“Why War Is Pushing Gold Down and Oil Up.” (04/11/26)
https://mises.org/podcasts/minor-issues/why-war-pushing-gold-down-and-oil
-----
55) The Good Fight, 04/11/26
Source: Yascha Mounk
“Andrés Velasco on Oil Shocks and Financial Crises.” (04/11/26)
https://writing.yaschamounk.com/p/andres-velasco
-----
56) Year Zero with Tommy Salmons
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Rules for Radicals: The Education of an Organizer & Communication w/John Weeks.” (04/10/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/blog/rules-for-radicals-the-education-of-an-organizer-communication-w-john-weeks/
-----
57) Reasonably Optimistic, 04/10/26
Source: Washington Post
“Host Megan McArdle breaks down why the corporate tax system is so complex, costly and potentially inefficient — and explores a bold idea: What if we eliminated it altogether? From hidden economic trade-offs to who really pays corporate taxes, this episode challenges how we think about fairness, efficiency and the future of taxation.” (04/10/26)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/impromptu/im-not-antitax-but-this-one-should-go/
-----
58) Real Unity, episode 13
Source: Free the People
“Morbid Humor is Most Intelligent | Phillip Carter.” (04/10/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm0pKza-rrw
-----
59) The Dishcast with Andrew Sullivan, 04/10/26
Source: The Weekly Dish
“Derek Thompson On Meaning In Our Web World.” (04/10/26)
https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/derek-thompson-on-meaning-in-our
-----
60) Rising, 04/10/26
Source: The Hill
“Niall Stanage gives his notes on the cost of the war in Iran, as gas prices and inflation appear to be on the rise.” (04/10/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/5814627-rising-april-10-2026/
-----
61) SAMS, episode 1
Source: Free Talk Live
“Mark and Sal interview Mark Skousen, the Founder of Freedom Fest about his new book about Ben Franklin. How to prepare for Flock Cameras and More.” (04/10/26)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/sams-ep1-audio
-----
62) Remy: Gerrymandering
Source: Reason
“Remy finds a better way to win reelection.” (04/10/26)
https://reason.com/video/2026/04/10/remy-gerrymandering/
-----
63) So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, 04/10/26
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
“Is free speech declining worldwide?” (04/10/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/podcasts/so-speak-free-speech-podcast/free-speech-declining-worldwide
-----
64) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 04/10/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Trump Torches MAGA — Blasts His Biggest (Now Former) Supporters.” (04/10/26)
https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1DxLdvqQabPxm
-----
65) The Brian Nichols Show, 04/10/26
Source: Lions of Liberty
“I Asked a Millionaire Why He Sold ALL His Gold.” (04/10/26)
https://www.lionsofliberty.com/episodes/tbns-i-asked-a-millionaire-why-he-sold-all-his-gold
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Trump announces Strait of Hormuz blockade after US-Iran peace talks end
2) Hungary: Opposition ousts Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power
3) US regime publicly confesses to five more murders in Pacific
4) Ukraine war: “Easter truce” ends in mutual violation claims
5) Aid flotilla departs Spain for Gaza to break Israeli blockade
6) Ireland: Police attack refinery protesters with chemical weapons
7) Appeals court rules Trump’s White House ballroom construction can temporarily move forward
8) US House: Swalwell, Gonzales to face expulsion votes
9) MN: Fraud suspect skips court, forfeits bond, throwing $11 million Medicaid case into doubt
10) NJ: Multiple people injured as shooting breaks out at Chick-fil-A
11) Netherlands: Regime allows Tesla owners to use some self-driving features
12) China: Regime says it will resume some ties with Taiwan including more direct flights
13) Russia: Regime seizes control of US-linked firm as it pushes for renewed ties with Washington
14) UK: Regime thugs abduct hundreds at protest against Palestine Action ban
15) Poll: Orange County has “a clear generational divide” among voters
16) Family sues US regime over eight-year-old’s post-abduction death
17) Germany: Far-right AfD adopts “radical” manifesto ahead of key polls
18) Iraq: Kurdish politician Nizar Amidi elected president amid war fallout
19) CA: Man arrested after Molotov cocktail attack on home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman
20) US Appeals Court Declares 158-Year-Old Home Distilling Ban Unconstitutional
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) The Real AIpocalypse Is Probably Already Here
22) Employers Are Moving Beyond Educational Pedigree. It’s Time We All Do
23) Every Mass Movement Needs a Devil. Socialism Always Finds One.
24) The Department of Education: Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead?
25) Municipalism, Anarchism, and Polyarchy
26) AI and the Wiki Wars
27) The Security Leviathan
28) Democrats and Republicans Both Want To Regulate AI. They Just Can’t Agree on How.
29) Where wit and wisdom disarm disinformation
30) The future arrived this week.
31) Why black male students are hurt the most by lowered academic expectations
32) Fed up with Trump’s chaos? Then his strategy is working
33) To-Do List for Congress: End the War, Stop Weapons to Israel, Impeach Trump
34) Fear, Time Preference, and the Distortion of Human Action
35) South Carolina in a Spending Spiral
36) Killing and Indifference
37) No more delusions: US has to finish the job in Iran
38) America’s Massive Foreign Policy Blunder in Iran
39) Gov’t Pushing Gov’t
40) An unpardonable abuse of presidential power with only one solution
41) Getting New York City to Believe in Government
42) Trump’s Words Cannot Be Unseen
43) We Are the Barbarians
44) The Warehouse Arsonist Is No Working Class Hero
45) MAGA Means MAGA
46) Lawsuits Targeting Social Media Are an Attack on Free Speech
47) When War Teaches Medicine
48) Humanity Lost in Space
49) As Workers Struggle, Our Political Class Goes All In On a Permanent War State
50) Can Trump’s Maritime Plan Save America’s Struggling Shipyards?
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Unattended Baggage, episode 336
52) Pink Flame of Liberty, 04/11/26
53) Serious Trouble, 04/11/26
54) Minor Issues, 04/11/26
55) The Good Fight, 04/11/26
56) Year Zero with Tommy Salmons
57) Reasonably Optimistic, 04/10/26
58) Real Unity, episode 13
59) The Dishcast with Andrew Sullivan, 04/10/26
60) Rising, 04/10/26
61) SAMS, episode 1
62) Remy: Gerrymandering
63) So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, 04/10/26
64) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 04/10/26
65) The Brian Nichols Show, 04/10/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Trump announces Strait of Hormuz blockade after US-Iran peace talks end
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“President Donald Trump says the United States Navy will begin blockading the Strait of Hormuz ‘immediately’ after peace talks between the US and Iran in Pakistan ended without an agreement. Trump, in a social media post on Sunday, accused Iran of ‘extortion’ and said the US Navy would hunt down and interdict ships in international waters that have paid Iran a toll to traverse the strait. … ‘So, there you have it, the meeting went well, most points were agreed to, but the only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not,’ Trump said. ‘Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz.'” (04/12/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/12/trump-announces-strait-of-hormuz-blockade-after-us-iran-peace-talks-end
-----
2) Hungary: Opposition ousts Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Hungary’s opposition Tisza party, led by Péter Magyar, has won the election, bringing an end to Viktor Orbán’s 16-year grip on power, in a result that is likely to rattle the White House and reshape the country’s relationship with the EU. Less than three hours after polls closed on Sunday, Orbán conceded defeat after what he described as a ‘painful but unambiguous’ election result. … With 98.74% of the vote counted, Magyar’s Tisza party was projected to have won 138 of the 199 seats in the country’s parliament, giving them a super-majority capable of amending the constitution and key laws, suggesting they would be able to reverse some of the changes made by Orbán and Fidesz, and potentially unlock EU funds.” (04/12/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/12/viktor-orban-concedes-defeat-as-opposition-wins-hungarian-election
-----
3) US regime publicly confesses to five more murders in Pacific
Source: United Press International
“The U.S. military said it attacked two boats allegedly transporting narcotics in the eastern Pacific over the weekend, [murdering] five people and leaving one survivor. The strikes were carried out Saturday, according to a Sunday statement from U.S. Southern Command. The Trump administration has been attacking vessels in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific since Sept. 2. With the five [murdered] Saturday, the publicly announced death toll rose from 163 as of March 25 to 168, according to a Pentagon posture statement from mid-March and subsequent SOUTHCOM releases.” (04/13/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/04/13/SOUTHCOM-drug-boat/5061776064668/
-----
4) Ukraine war: “Easter truce” ends in mutual violation claims
Source: Independent [UK]
“The much-touted Easter truce confirmed by the Kremlin has now expired unsuccessfully as Russia and Ukraine accused each other of breaching the 32-hour ceasefire in their four-year war. While the Russian defence ministry said it recorded 1,971 ceasefire violations overnight into Sunday, Ukraine said it has recorded a total of 7,696 Russian violations over the course of the truce in an update just few hours shy of the midnight deadline.” (04/13/26)
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-live-putin-zelensky-easter-ceasefire-b2945082.html
-----
5) Aid flotilla departs Spain for Gaza to break Israeli blockade
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“A second flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza was due to set sail on Sunday from the Spanish port of Barcelona to try to break the Israeli blockade. About 30 boats planned to leave the Mediterranean port city laden with medical aid and other supplies on the Global Sumud Flotilla, and more vessels are expected to join along the route towards Palestine. [Israeli pirates] halted the roughly 40 boats assembled by the same organisation in October last year as they attempted to reach blockaded Gaza, [abducting] Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and more than 450 other participants.” (04/12/26)
https://archive.is/VJcwZ
-----
6) Ireland: Police attack refinery protesters with chemical weapons
Source: Deutsche Welle [German state media]
“Police in Ireland on Saturday used pepper spray and made arrests in a bid to clear protesters blockading the country’s only oil refinery. Authorities moved in to disperse the protesters to restore supplies after five days of nationwide demonstrations over soaring fuel prices. Law enforcers, supported by armed forces personnel, moved in to reopen the Whitegate refinery in County Cork and escort fuel trucks on Saturday. … After Ireland’s Defence Forces joined the police in clearing the protests, Irish police chief Justin Kelly said on Saturday that the fuel protesters’ actions were ‘endangering the state.'” (04/12/26)
https://www.dw.com/en/ireland-clears-refinery-blockade-as-fuel-protests-trigger-nationwide-shortages/a-76751180
-----
7) Appeals court rules Trump’s White House ballroom construction can temporarily move forward
Source: NBC News
“A federal appeals court on Saturday temporarily allowed the construction of President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom to move forward while the administration challenges a lower court order that said the project exceeds the president’s authority. The 2-1 decision by a three-judge panel for the U.S. circuit court in Washington, D.C., means construction can continue through April 17 while the court considers the issue in more detail. A lower court judge had previously ordered the construction to cease on April 14. Trump’s lawyers have argued that the ballroom and other temporary measures are needed for ‘the safety and security’ of the president, his family and others, according to the decision.” (04/11/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/federal-appeals-court-allows-construction-white-house-ballroom-rcna266914
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8) US House: Swalwell, Gonzales to face expulsion votes
Source: Axios
“Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) plans to force a vote to expel Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) next week over sexual assault and misconduct allegations, Axios has learned. Swalwell denies the allegations. Democrats are set to respond by moving in turn to expel Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), who’s being investigated by House Ethics over sexual misconduct allegations, two Democratic leadership aides told Axios. Swalwell has faced calls from Democratic Party leaders and House colleagues to drop his bid for California governor, though few have called for his outright resignation or expulsion from Congress. … Gonzales, who has dropped his bid for reelection, admitted to an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide, calling it a ‘lapse in judgment.'” (04/11/26)
https://www.axios.com/2026/04/11/eric-swalwell-expel-tony-gonzales-sexual-misconduct
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9) MN: Fraud suspect skips court, forfeits bond, throwing $11 million Medicaid case into doubt
Source: Fox News
“A man accused of orchestrating an $11 million Medicaid fraud scheme in Minnesota skipped a scheduled court appearance this week, prompting a warrant for his arrest, authorities said. Abdirashid Ismail Said, 50, failed to appear for a pretrial hearing in Hennepin County, forfeiting his bond, according FOX 9, citing the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a statement that his office is working with federal authorities to locate Said.” (04/11/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/us/minnesota-fraud-suspect-skips-court-forfeits-bond-throwing-11m-medicaid-case-doubt
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10) NJ: Multiple people injured as shooting breaks out at Chick-fil-A
Source: New York Post
“A shooting broke out inside a New Jersey Chick-fil-A Saturday night, leaving multiple injured after a group of men stormed in, went behind the food counter, and opened fire, according to reports. The horror unfolded just before 9 p.m. at the fast food chain’s Route 22 location in Union, which has since been locked down with some workers reportedly still inside as Union County police probe the scene, WABC and CBS New York reported. A man who said his girlfriend works at the restaurant told CBS a group of masked men charged inside and fired multiple shots after forcing their way behind the counter. One employee’s family member said an altercation erupted that left multiple workers injured in the gunfire. ‘I heard the shots,’ a Lyft driver told WABC.” (04/11/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/04/11/us-news/new-jersey-chick-fil-a-shooting-leaves-multiple-injured-police-investigating/
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11) Netherlands: Regime allows Tesla owners to use some self-driving features
Source: CBS News
“Tesla owners in the Netherlands can now use their cars’ self-driving feature — with some conditions — making it the first European country to approve the feature. The country’s RDW agency for roadworthiness certifications said Friday that Tesla’s driver assistance system can now be used in the Netherlands ‘with possible future expansion to all member states of the European Union.’ The agency said drivers would need to be in the vehicle and keep a watchful eye on it. The move aligns the Netherlands with what is allowed in the United States, where Tesla owners can already use the Full Self-Driving (Supervised) function in the cars.” (04/11/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/netherlands-tesla-self-driving-features-europe/
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12) China: Regime says it will resume some ties with Taiwan including more direct flights
Source: SFGate
“China said Sunday it would resume some ties it had suspended with Taiwan such as direct flights to cities across China and imports of Taiwanese aquaculture products as the island’s opposition party leader concludes her visit. The Taiwan Work Office under China’s Communist Party issued a statement saying it would explore setting up a longstanding communication mechanism between the Communist Party and Taiwan’s Kuomingtang Party, and facilitate the import of Taiwan’s aquaculture products, after it banned them in recent years. Cheng Li-wun, the head of the Kuomingtang, and China’s President Xi Jinping held a high-profile meeting Friday during which both called for peace without offering specifics. Taiwan is self-ruled but China claims the island as part of its territory. Relations between China and Taiwan have been tense since 2016 when the Taiwanese public elected Tsai Ing-wen from the Democratic Progressive Party as president.” (04/11/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/china-says-it-will-resume-some-ties-with-taiwan-22201972.php
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13) Russia: Regime seizes control of US-linked firm as it pushes for renewed ties with Washington
Source: Fox News
“A Pennsylvania-linked manufacturer has been stripped of control over its Russian operations under a Kremlin order, raising fresh risks for Western companies as Moscow courts renewed economic ties with the United States. CANPACK, a global aluminum beverage can manufacturer owned by a Pennsylvania-based holding company, operates in multiple countries across Europe and North America and said its Russian business — valued at roughly $700 million — was placed under state ‘external administration’ by a Dec. 31, 2025, decree signed by President Vladimir Putin, effectively transferring control of 100% of its shares to state-appointed managers. CEO Peter Giorgi said the company lost all operational authority after administrators arrived in mid-January.” (04/11/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/russia-seizes-control-us-linked-firm-pushes-renewed-ties-washington
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14) UK: Regime thugs abduct hundreds at protest against Palestine Action ban
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Police have arrested hundreds of people during a mass vigil in central London to oppose the ban on campaign group Palestine Action. More than 1,000 people gathered in Trafalgar Square for the demonstration on Saturday, with many holding signs saying, ‘I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.’ Police carried many people away from the demonstration. At one point, an elderly woman with walking sticks was escorted away by police. The Metropolitan Police said they arrested 212 people for allegedly showing support for a proscribed orgnanisation.” (04/11/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/11/police-begin-arrests-at-uk-protest-against-palestine-action-ban?traffic_source=rss
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15) Poll: Orange County has “a clear generational divide” among voters
Source: SFGate
“A new poll offers insight into a traditionally Republican part of California. In Orange County, a coastal pocket of the state known for conservative views, independents make up the largest percentage of voters, according to a recent poll from UC Irvine. Not only that, but among those independents, 66% think the country is on the wrong track. The poll, released Wednesday by UC Irvine, was conducted as part of an annual survey of Orange County adults to keep track of social, economic and political issues. Even with its right-leaning reputation, the area is still deeply purple, the poll found. Orange County is home to a fair share of Democrats, with 34% of respondents identifying with that party. Republicans made up 30%, and independents made up 36%. This, the pollsters concluded in a report accompanying the results, is why the county remains a very competitive district.” (04/12/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/orange-county-voter-poll-22197819.php
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16) Family sues US regime over eight-year-old’s post-abduction death
Source: Seattle Times
“The Honduran family of an 8-year-old girl with a heart condition who died in U.S. custody after crossing the border in 2023 sued the federal government on Friday. Anadith Danay Reyes Alvarez, who had chronic heart problems and sickle cell anemia, got sick with flu-like symptoms and died after being [abducted and] detained for eight days in a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility in Donna, then later Harlingen, Texas. An internal CPB investigation found failures in providing proper medical care and that medical personnel did not review documents the mother offered which described the girl’s sensitive condition. In custody, Anadith had a high fever of 104.9 F as well as nausea, breathing difficulties and pain.” (04/10/26)
https://archive.is/LixCo
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17) Germany: Far-right AfD adopts “radical” manifesto ahead of key polls
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“The far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party is riding high in the opinion polls in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt and could win an outright majority in regional elections there in September. It would be the first time a far-right party has held power in a German state since World War Two. This weekend the AfD officially adopted what has been described as a ‘radical’ and pro-ethnic German government programme for Saxony-Anhalt at a party conference in the central city of Magdeburg. The AfD’s leading candidate in the state, Ulrich Siegmund, a TikTok star who was given a standing ovation by the delegates, said it was an historic moment, not just for Saxony-Anhalt.” (04/12/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy3wwgyd6do
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18) Iraq: Kurdish politician Nizar Amidi elected president amid war fallout
Source: ABC News
“Iraq’s parliament voted Saturday to elect Nizar Amidi, a political official with one of the country’s two main Kurdish parties, as president, five months after a parliamentary election that didn’t produce a bloc with a decisive majority. His election comes as Iraq is reeling from the fallout of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. Iraq became caught in the middle of the conflict, with Iran-backed militias launching attacks on U.S. bases and diplomatic facilities as well as on critical energy infrastructure. Meanwhile, the U.S. and Israel carried out airstrikes targeting the militias, some of which killed members of the Iraqi military.” (04/11/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/iraq-elects-kurdish-politician-nizar-amidi-president-amid-131951211
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19) CA: Man arrested after Molotov cocktail attack on home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman
Source: SFGate
“A 20-year-old man was arrested early Friday after allegedly throwing an incendiary device at a North Beach home belonging to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Open AI spokesperson Jamie Radice confirmed to SFGATE that Friday morning, Sam Altman’s North Beach home had been attacked with a ‘Molotov cocktail’ and threats had been made against the company’s San Francisco headquarters. … San Francisco police responded at 4:12 a.m. on April 10 to a North Beach residence for a reported fire investigation, SFPD spokesperson Allison Maxie told SFGATE in a statement. ‘At the scene, officers learned that an unknown male subject threw an incendiary destructive device at a home, causing a fire to an exterior gate,’ Maxie said. ‘The suspect then fled on foot.'” (04/11/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/attack-openai-sam-altman-22199855.php
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20) US Appeals Court Declares 158-Year-Old Home Distilling Ban Unconstitutional
Source: US News & World Report
“A U.S. appeals court on Friday declared unconstitutional a nearly 158-year-old federal ban on home distilling, calling it an unnecessary and improper means for Congress to exercise its power to tax. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled in favor of the nonprofit Hobby Distillers Association and four of its 1,300 members. They argued that people should be free to distill spirits at home, whether as a hobby or for personal consumption including, in one instance, to create an apple-pie-vodka recipe. The ban was part of a law passed during Reconstruction in July 1868, in part to thwart liquor tax evasion, and subjected violators to up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.” (04/10/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2026-04-10/us-appeals-court-declares-158-year-old-home-distilling-ban-unconstitutional
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) The Real AIpocalypse Is Probably Already Here
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“Suppose you carefully, intentionally avoid AI and its product, for whatever reason. Maybe you distrust its output. Maybe you just prefer to do your own research, and reach your own conclusions, from primary human-created sources. But how can you know AI-generated content hasn’t previously ‘polluted’ the human-created sources with ‘facts’ that aren’t true? … People have always lied, and often those lies have persisted and spread, becoming ‘common knowledge’ despite being false. AI, linked to a mechanism of near-instantaneous global spread (the Internet), can produce and distribute lies far faster than humans once did by word of mouth or through print on paper.” (04/11/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20537
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22) Employers Are Moving Beyond Educational Pedigree. It’s Time We All Do
Source: Washington Monthly
by Ryan Stowers
“I have a message for parents: A four-year degree from a top-tier university does not guarantee career success or fulfillment. College is just one path. In a world where technology is rapidly changing our jobs and hiring managers question whether college graduates have the skills needed to succeed, parents and young people should examine the range of post-high school options. Employers certainly are, and they are embracing new pathways to address the workforce gaps they have experienced over decades.” (04/10/26)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/04/10/employers-are-moving-beyond-the-college-degree/
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23) Every Mass Movement Needs a Devil. Socialism Always Finds One.
Source: Mindset Shifts
by Barry Brownstein
“In The True Believer, a seminal book on mass movements by social philosopher Eric Hoffer, Hoffer writes: ‘Mass movements can rise and spread without belief in a God, but never without belief in a devil.’ … An essential feature of socialism is to dehumanize others. Like millions in Pol Pot’s Cambodia or Mao’s China, millions of North Koreans have been taught to hate others. Millions in the ‘hostile class’ have been starved, brutalized, and murdered. Socialism will never produce a different outcome. How is it possible to insist that the next socialist regime will be different?” (04/11/26)
https://mindsetshifts.substack.com/p/every-mass-movement-needs-a-devil
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24) The Department of Education: Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead?
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Wendy McElroy
“The continuing backlash against public schools, exemplified by the amazing rise of homeschooling, favors an easy abolition of the DOE. Nothing less than eliminating the agency will turn the tide of America’s culture war. An ideology masquerading as education aims at defining people’s thoughts and beliefs, which is the ultimate form of social control. In the foreword to his dystopian novel, Brave New World (1946 edition), Aldous Huxley commented, ‘A really efficient totalitarian state would be one in which the all-powerful executive of political bosses and their army of managers control a population of slaves who do not have to be coerced, because they love their servitude.’ Public schools are both expressions of and a training ground for such an army. Ideally, all education should private, and society is moving in this direction.” (04/10/26)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/the-department-of-education-ding-dong-the-witch-is-dead/
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25) Municipalism, Anarchism, and Polyarchy
Source: Center for a Stateless Society
by Kevin Carson
“From the 19th century utopian socialists on, Henri de Saint-Simon’s concept of replacing ‘legislation over persons’ with the ‘administration of things’ has been reiterated in various forms by one thinker after another. In General Idea of the Revolution in the XIX Century, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon described it as ‘dissolving the state in the social body.’ Marx and Engels referred to the same process as the state ‘withering away,’ and it clearly influenced Marx’s view of the Paris Commune as prefiguring the dictatorship of the proletariat. Since then, the same general principle has been restated by countless anarchists and libertarian socialists.” (04/10/26)
https://c4ss.org/content/61101
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26) AI and the Wiki Wars
Source: Quillette
by Russell T Warne
“For years, Wikipedia has been one of the informational backbones of the internet. With over seven million articles in the English version, Wikipedia is — by far — the largest repository of human knowledge ever collected. … Wikipedia has seen many challengers to its dominance, often motivated by its perceived inadequacies. … The reason Wikipedia’s challengers have been so feeble is that none of them have offered a new model that can accomplish Wikipedia’s purpose of delivering information to its users. All the competitors function the same way as Wikipedia: as a volunteer-driven community of users who update and expand the encyclopaedia through crowdsourcing. Without any major advantages in fulfilling the basic function of an encyclopaedia, editors and readers have little reason to defect from Wikipedia (or to stay if they do). Enter Grokipedia.” (04/11/26)
https://quillette.com/2026/04/11/ai-and-the-wiki-wars-grokipedia-wikipedia-elon-musk/
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27) The Security Leviathan
Source: Liberal Currents
by Kathleen Frydl
“Following decades of unprecedented expansion in security, detention, and surveillance, the United States government’s competence in militancy and punishment is now so dominant that it threatens to eclipse its other activities and ambitions. We are close to a point when, regardless of who is elected, the government will function like a hammer and every problem will look like a nail. As a result, at this critical juncture, opposition to the Trump administration will have to decide whether to offer a strategic vision for the direction of the American state, or cast their movement as an objection to just one person, a particular agency, or a certain issue viewed in isolation and presented as aberrational.” (04/11/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/the-security-leviathan/
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28) Democrats and Republicans Both Want To Regulate AI. They Just Can’t Agree on How.
Source: Reason
by Jack Nicastro
“As lawmakers of both major parties hustle to regulate their preferred villains, they’re losing sight of the big picture. The possible gains to humanity from AI are enormous.” (for publication 05/26)
https://reason.com/2026/04/11/democrats-and-republicans-both-want-to-regulate-ai-they-just-cant-agree-on-how/
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29) Where wit and wisdom disarm disinformation
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“Even as the European Union works to bolster economic and defense support for Ukraine, the continent is confronting increasing Russian aggression on a different battlefield: the online frontier. Over the past year, the Kremlin has intensified its disinformation campaigns in an attempt to weaken Europe’s democratic pillars of truth and civic trust. As the main target of these intensified attacks, France is at the forefront of efforts to document and debunk these claims. ‘The more outspoken France has become about Russia, the more it is targeted,’ The Economist reported April 8. It documented multiple instances in which false claims on social media were launched almost immediately after French President Emmanuel Macron expressed support for Ukraine or European rearmament.” (04/10/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0410/Where-wit-and-wisdom-disarm-disinformation
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30) The future arrived this week.
Source: Nonzero Newsletter
by Robert Wright
“This week Anthropic announced that it has a new large language model that’s way more powerful than past models — so powerful that it poses a threat to the world’s information infrastructure. This model can find otherwise unfindable vulnerabilities in software — and in fact, said Anthropic, has found previously unknown holes in every major operating system and browser. … if this model fell into the wrong hands, that could be big trouble — which is why, says Anthropic, there are no plans to release the model for the time being. Some people have wondered whether Anthropic’s claims about the terrifying power of this new model are mainly marketing hype — a suspicion that isn’t exactly discouraged by the model’s name: Mythos. But Anthropic is making Mythos available to big companies that maintain important parts of the digital infrastructure, like Microsoft, Apple, and Cisco. So if these claims were hugely exaggerated, word of that would get out …” (04/11/26)
https://www.nonzero.org/p/the-future-arrived-this-week
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31) Why black male students are hurt the most by lowered academic expectations
Source: New York Post
by Dennis Richmond, Jr.
“I’m a middle school teacher in New York, and what’s happening inside many classrooms today should concern every parent in this country, especially parents of Black boys. Education is supposed to be about reading, writing, history, discipline and accountability. Instead, in too many schools, academics are being pushed aside while politics, ideology and lowered expectations take their place. The students who can least afford to fall behind (particularly young Black boys) are the ones being hurt the most. The data shows this is not just opinion, it’s reality. According to the New York State Education Department’s 2024-2025 assessment results, proficiency rates in English and math remain far below where they should be, with major gaps between racial groups. Black students in New York City were only about 47% proficient in English and 43% proficient in math, compared with much higher rates for white and Asian students.” (04/11/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/04/11/opinion/black-male-students-lose-the-most-when-schools-forget-about-academics/
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32) Fed up with Trump’s chaos? Then his strategy is working
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Matt K Lewis
“Humans can’t perpetually stay on high alert. So when every statement sounds like it could trigger World War III — but then nothing happens — one response is to become inured to the chaos. And once those outrage receptors burn out, we won’t magically reset to normal if and when a serious, competent leader finally emerges. Which raises an uncomfortable question: After years of this high-drama, reality-show version of governance, could a normal, competent politician even hold our attention? For those who aren’t conditioned to crave copious amounts of drama, the other temptation during and after a dramatic rein is to tune out entirely. … Then again, Trump may see American apathy as a feature, not a bug.” (04/10/26)
https://archive.is/cRzIu
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33) To-Do List for Congress: End the War, Stop Weapons to Israel, Impeach Trump
Source: Common Dreams
by Kevin Martin
“Reasonable people wonder if it was a coincidence the escalation (and now fragile ceasefire) of the massively unpopular, senseless, illegal US-Israeli war of aggression on Iran occurred while Congress was away from Capitol Hill for two weeks. Maybe so, but speculation aside, it soon won’t matter, as Congress returns to Washington to resume legislative business Tuesday, April 14. In the wake of President Donald Trump’s monstrous nuclear threat to obliterate Iran’s civilization, calls for his removal from office are rising, understandably. Doing so via the 25th Amendment, which would require Vice President JD Vance and the spineless supine sycophants in the Cabinet to certify Trump unfit for office, is the longest of long shots, though US Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), a former Constitutional law professor and ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, notes the amendment mentions the ability for Congress to establish its own mechanism to remove an incompetent chief executive.” (04/11/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/congress-end-iran-war
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34) Fear, Time Preference, and the Distortion of Human Action
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Marcos Giansante
“Periods of crisis reveal something unsettling about human behavior. Faced with uncertainty, individuals and institutions alike tend to accept measures that would otherwise be unthinkable. Restrictions on movement, suspension of rights, and centralized decision-making often emerge not gradually, but almost effortlessly, as if they were the natural response to danger. This pattern is frequently interpreted as a political or institutional failure. But such an explanation remains incomplete. Crises do not merely alter policies, they alter the very structure of human action.” (04/10/26)
https://mises.org/power-market/fear-time-preference-and-distortion-human-action
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35) South Carolina in a Spending Spiral
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Sam Aaron
“As the great Benjamin Franklin once said, ‘in this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes.’ In South Carolina, there might as well be another — government spending. Over the past decade, one pattern has held constant: the General Fund grows nearly every year, typically outpacing both inflation and population growth.” (04/10/26)
https://fee.org/articles/south-carolina-in-a-spending-spiral/
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36) Killing and Indifference
Source: Antiwar.com
by Andrew P Napolitano
“Is personal freedom a reality or a myth? Does the government execute the will of the governed or the will of those who finance its officials? Does the Bill of Rights restrain the government? Are the levers of government power pulled by those the governed have elected or those we don’t see? Do elections change anything? Can the president kill people whom he suspects might commit a crime? Aren’t even those who would cause great harm entitled to due process? Isn’t everyone entitled to a fair trial in front of a neutral judge and jury before any punishment can be administered?” (04/10/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/andrew-p-napolitano/2026/04/09/killing-and-indifference
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37) No more delusions: US has to finish the job in Iran
Source: Fox News
by Steve Forbes
“We now face a defining question of not whether this conflict is difficult but whether the West has the discipline to see it through to the right outcome. That is the backdrop to this weekend’s negotiations in Islamabad, where Pakistan is hosting U.S.-Iran talks amid a fragile ceasefire and continued tension around the Strait of Hormuz. The talks will reveal whether Tehran is prepared to retreat from confrontation or is merely maneuvering for time. One thing President Trump should do immediately is announce that we, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be working together to build pipelines at warp speed that will bypass the Strait of Hormuz. Incisive energy and technology expert Mark P. Mills pushes this idea in an article that can be found at city-journal.org, noting that such pipelines could be built in a matter of months.” (04/11/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/steve-forbes-delusions-america-finish-job-iran
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38) America’s Massive Foreign Policy Blunder in Iran
Source: Exiled Policy
by Jason Pye
“Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth are trying to sell the war with Iran as a show of American might. Sure, the bombing conducted by the United States and Israel set Iran back substantially, taking out a number of top officials. That’s only one element of the war. Overall, the war has been a foreign policy blunder that combined strategic overreach, economic self-sabotage, and rhetorical escalation into a single, costly episode. It may well leave the United States with fewer options, higher prices at home, and an adversary that, in some ways, looks more entrenched than before. This war didn’t begin the way the White House now frames it. It wasn’t an unavoidable response to an imminent threat that left policymakers with no choice.” (04/10/26)
https://exiledpolicy.substack.com/p/americas-massive-foreign-policy-blunder
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39) Gov’t Pushing Gov’t
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“Why, asks the MacIver Institute, ‘is the government lobbying the government?’ MacIver calls itself Wisconsin’s ‘free-market voice.’ It is a privately funded outfit that makes the case for less government in the Badger State. It has to earn its funds from donors who can, at any moment, stop donating money. One of the things the MacIver Institute found itself up against are other think-tanks and apparently donor-funded organizations advocating for more government in the state, for more programs, bigger programs, and more taxes to feed all the great new stuff. And it turns out that several of these advocacy organizations are themselves funded by government!” (04/10/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/04/10/govt-pushing-govt
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40) An unpardonable abuse of presidential power with only one solution
Source: Washington Post
by George F Will
“Yet another reason that Donald Trump’s and Joe Biden’s presidencies cannot be examined without wincing concerns a constitutional provision that is obscure until it is abused, which it now often is. The presidential ‘power to grant reprieves and pardons’ has become yet another source of political brutishness fueling voters’ cynicism.” (04/10/26)
https://archive.is/Uin1w
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41) Getting New York City to Believe in Government
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen & Whitney Curry Wimbish
“It was the first Rental Ripoff hearing and people were pissed. Set up by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and attended by leaders of his administration and 150 city workers across multiple departments, the hearings gave tenants a chance to describe conditions their landlords refuse to fix: rats, mold, dangerous constructio — along with a spate of unnecessary and hidden fees. They had three minutes each to share their experiences. But they also got to do something unexpected: set policy priorities for one of the largest cities in the world. Arrayed around the room were posterboards, which not only asked tenants what problems they faced but sought their input on policy proposals brainstormed by staff, like fining landlords who don’t make repairs, making it easier to form tenant unions, or enabling the city to take over buildings when there are serial violations.” (04/10/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/04/10/zohran-mamdani-getting-new-york-city-believe-in-government/
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42) Trump’s Words Cannot Be Unseen
Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman
“[T]he American people and the rest of the world saw the president of the United States threaten to destroy the 2,500-year-old Persian civilization. More than half of the Iranian population is ethnic Persian. It’s my policy not to compare anyone to Hitler, but I’ll say this: Trump’s threat was Hitlerian. Further, anyone who stuck by Trump after that post exhibited the same disgusting reverence that many Germans felt for Hitler.” (04/0/26)
https://sheldonrichman.substack.com/p/tgif-trumps-words-cannot-be-unseen
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43) We Are the Barbarians
Source: The American Conservative
by Harrison Berger
“On Tuesday morning, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to declare that ‘a civilization will die tonight.’ By 8 p.m., the U.S. announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran had begun. Whether the ceasefire holds (or even takes hold) is already in question …. The best hope that it might stick comes from Israel, where TV presenters who spent Monday salivating over a clock counting down the minutes and hours until Trump’s planned genocide of Iranians were left confused and outraged when the president backed down shortly before the deadline. But whether or not Trump ultimately goes as far as the Israelis would like him to, Americans must now reckon with the destruction already carried out in our name, the civilization-destroying actions Trump has threatened, and the barbarians we have become in the process.” (04/10/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/we-are-the-barbarians/
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44) The Warehouse Arsonist Is No Working Class Hero
Source: Independent Institute
by Kristian Fors
“People on numerous subreddits have rallied to support the recent warehouse arson in Ontario, California. This fire, allegedly started by a disgruntled employee, destroyed a 1.2 million-square-foot warehouse that supplied toilet paper to approximately 50 million people. According to the United States Attorney’s Office, this fire caused approximately $500 million in damage. As he started the blaze, the suspected arsonist recorded a video of himself saying, ‘All you had to do was pay us enough to f***ing live.’ … While the economic frustration the suspect and people on Reddit feel is perhaps understandable, they should blame the real culprits behind the cost-of-living crisis, not a toilet paper company.” (04/10/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/04/10/warehouse-arsonist-no-working-class-hero/
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44) MAGA Means MAGA
Source: Town Hall
by Mark Lewis
“I have been pounding this for literally decades and I’m going to continue to pound it as long as the good Lord gives me breath and the ability to do so: our Founding Fathers created a limited government, but one that required virtuous people. And the latter is FAR more important than the former. And today’s America has very little of either, on either side of the aisle. Democrats are certainly the greatest problem America has right now, but they aren’t the only problem. I see far too many foul-mouthed, promiscuous, pleasure-oriented, unvirtuous Republicans in the country now to ever make the nation great again. Some people need to get the logs out of their own eyes before they start talking about the specks in other people’s eyes.” (04/12/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/marklewis/2026/04/12/maga-means-maga-n2673950
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46) Lawsuits Targeting Social Media Are an Attack on Free Speech
Source: Reason
by Steven Greenhut
“Tech companies that create social media apps should not be blamed for the complex mental issues of everyone who might use them.” (04/10/26)
https://reason.com/2026/04/10/lawsuits-targeting-social-media-are-an-attack-on-free-speech/
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47) When War Teaches Medicine
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Joseph Varon
“War is the most unrestrained expression of humanity’s destructive capacity, a setting where order disintegrates, moral boundaries are tested, and life is reduced to its most vulnerable state. Medicine, by contrast, stands as a deliberate act of resistance against that collapse, a disciplined and unwavering commitment to preserve life even when surrounded by death. Despite these opposing identities, war and medicine have remained deeply intertwined across history, not by design, but by inevitability.” (04/10/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/when-war-teaches-medicine/
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48) Humanity Lost in Space
Source: Law & Liberty
by Titus Techera
“Americans are falling in love with Project Hail Mary, a movie about an astronaut who finds himself alone at the end of the universe, with perhaps no hope of ever returning among mankind. He then has to figure out how to save mankind in very difficult circumstances, by his wits and his technical know-how. A man a lot like the navigator-turned-shipwreck Robinson Crusoe, so much so that it’s worth comparing them, their stories, and why they matter to modern society.” (04/10/26)
https://lawliberty.org/humanity-lost-in-space/
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49) As Workers Struggle, Our Political Class Goes All In On a Permanent War State
Source: In These Times
by Sarah Lazare
“Less than 24 hours after the U.S.-Israeli coalition bombed oil depots around Tehran on March 7, blanketing the city of 10 million with smoke that blotted out the sun, Brenda — 6,300 miles away in South Baltimore — found out she had lost her food stamps. She had checked the status of her SNAP benefits after I had first interviewed her a few days prior about the United States spending billions on war with Iran while Americans like her struggle to eat. When she logged in to the online portal, she discovered her food stamps had been terminated. She’s tried to stay positive in the weeks since. … But it stings that she can’t afford to give her 13-year-old daughter healthy options, like fresh fruits and vegetables.” (04/10/26)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/permanent-war-state-iran-workers-struggle
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50) Can Trump’s Maritime Plan Save America’s Struggling Shipyards?
Source: The Daily Economy
by Mohamed Moutii
“For a nation that dominates the seas, the United States now faces a critical crossroads. Its commercial shipyards — once the envy of the world — have fallen into near collapse. The Trump administration’s 2026 Maritime Action Plan aims to reverse this decline with sweeping fees on foreign-built ships and subsidies to revive domestic production and rebuild the maritime industrial base. Yet rather than confronting the structural causes of decline, Washington has turned to familiar tools: protectionism, subsidies, and penalties on foreign competition. America’s shipbuilding troubles did not begin with foreign rivals — and they will not be solved by taxing them.” (04/10/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/can-trumps-maritime-plan-save-americas-struggling-shipyards/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Unattended Baggage, episode 336
Source: Unattended Baggage
“At this point, God is probably rooting for AI.” (04/11/26)
https://unattendedbaggage.substack.com/p/episode-336-at-this-point-god-is
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52) Pink Flame of Liberty, 04/11/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“The Christian Nationalists are BEEFING and they are not sending their best.” (04/11/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6u17FVk3Mso
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53) Serious Trouble, 04/11/26
Source: Serious Trouble
“Michael Avenatti moves to a halfway house; many of Blake Lively’s claims are dismissed; aesthetic injury is a real thing.” (04/11/26)
https://www.serioustrouble.show/p/welcome-home-michael
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54) Minor Issues, 04/11/26
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
“Why War Is Pushing Gold Down and Oil Up.” (04/11/26)
https://mises.org/podcasts/minor-issues/why-war-pushing-gold-down-and-oil
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55) The Good Fight, 04/11/26
Source: Yascha Mounk
“Andrés Velasco on Oil Shocks and Financial Crises.” (04/11/26)
https://writing.yaschamounk.com/p/andres-velasco
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56) Year Zero with Tommy Salmons
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Rules for Radicals: The Education of an Organizer & Communication w/John Weeks.” (04/10/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/blog/rules-for-radicals-the-education-of-an-organizer-communication-w-john-weeks/
-----
57) Reasonably Optimistic, 04/10/26
Source: Washington Post
“Host Megan McArdle breaks down why the corporate tax system is so complex, costly and potentially inefficient — and explores a bold idea: What if we eliminated it altogether? From hidden economic trade-offs to who really pays corporate taxes, this episode challenges how we think about fairness, efficiency and the future of taxation.” (04/10/26)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/impromptu/im-not-antitax-but-this-one-should-go/
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58) Real Unity, episode 13
Source: Free the People
“Morbid Humor is Most Intelligent | Phillip Carter.” (04/10/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm0pKza-rrw
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59) The Dishcast with Andrew Sullivan, 04/10/26
Source: The Weekly Dish
“Derek Thompson On Meaning In Our Web World.” (04/10/26)
https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/derek-thompson-on-meaning-in-our
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60) Rising, 04/10/26
Source: The Hill
“Niall Stanage gives his notes on the cost of the war in Iran, as gas prices and inflation appear to be on the rise.” (04/10/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/5814627-rising-april-10-2026/
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61) SAMS, episode 1
Source: Free Talk Live
“Mark and Sal interview Mark Skousen, the Founder of Freedom Fest about his new book about Ben Franklin. How to prepare for Flock Cameras and More.” (04/10/26)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/sams-ep1-audio
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62) Remy: Gerrymandering
Source: Reason
“Remy finds a better way to win reelection.” (04/10/26)
https://reason.com/video/2026/04/10/remy-gerrymandering/
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63) So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, 04/10/26
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
“Is free speech declining worldwide?” (04/10/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/podcasts/so-speak-free-speech-podcast/free-speech-declining-worldwide
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64) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 04/10/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Trump Torches MAGA — Blasts His Biggest (Now Former) Supporters.” (04/10/26)
https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1DxLdvqQabPxm
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65) The Brian Nichols Show, 04/10/26
Source: Lions of Liberty
“I Asked a Millionaire Why He Sold ALL His Gold.” (04/10/26)
https://www.lionsofliberty.com/episodes/tbns-i-asked-a-millionaire-why-he-sold-all-his-gold
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