01/22 -- Uganda: Police Abduct Opposition Lawmaker After at Least Seven Killed; Greenland Is Not "Our Territory" And It Never Will Be
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Thomas L. Knapp
6:22 AM (11 hours ago) 6:22 AM
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 01/22/26
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Produced by the staff of Rational Review News Digest
https://news.rationalreview.com/
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Today's Freedom News:
0) Hybrid Thursday at the Freedom Movement’s Daily Newspaper
1) Uganda: Police Abduct Opposition Lawmaker After at Least Seven Killed
2) ICE thugs: Warrants? We ain’t got no warrants. We don’t need no warrants. I don’t have to show you any stinkin’ warrants!
3) South Korea: Former PM found guilty of insurrection, sentenced to 23 years
4) US House panel approves Clinton contempt resolutions, with Democrat support
5) Trump cancels tariff threat over Greenland, says NATO agreed to “framework” of future Arctic deal
6) Venezuela: Regime receives first revenues from oil sales to US regime
7) Nigeria: Ambush kills six regime troops
8) Steak ‘n Shake Offers Employees Bitcoin Bonus Program
9) Canada: Court sets aside TikTok shutdown order
10) Palestine: Three Gaza Journalists Murdered in Israeli Strike
11) Japan: Abe’s assassin sentenced to life in prison
12) EU parliament votes to challenge Mercosur trade deal
13) CA: DHS alleges criminal immigrant “rammed law enforcement” before agent fired weapon
14) SCOTUS casts doubt on Trump’s power to fire Fed official without proper review
15) US military transfers first 150 Islamic State detainees from Syria to Iraq
16) Republicans Ask SCOTUS to Block California Re-Gerrymander
17) Visitors crossing from Canada into New York plummet 21% as Hochul blames Trump
18) Meta lays off hundreds in Seattle area
19) Newsom barred from public address in Switzerland by Trump regime
20) Mexico: Regime sends 37 alleged cartel members to US in latest attempt to appease Trump
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Greenland Is Not “Our Territory” And It Never Will Be
22) The Pressure Cooker of State Dominion
23) Love liberty, not big government
24) Trump Can Prosecute Anyone Now
25) California’s “Billionaire Tax” Could Bite Harder Than Advertised
26) Australia’s Frightening New “Hate Speech” Laws Clearly Aimed At Pro-Palestine Groups
27) Can Congress subpoena a journalist for reporting a Delta Force commander’s name?
28) In light of harsh repression in Iran, the US should grant Temporary Protected Status to Iranians already here
29) When Will Democrats Realize That You Can’t Reform Fascism?
30) Trump Wants to Hit Us with a Huge Tax Hike for His Demented Greenland Dreams
31) Phasing Out State Income Tax Key to Success in Dying Blue States
32) Partitioning Iran Would Backfire Spectacularly
33) Abolish ICE, and DHS Too
34) These Schools Are Seeing a January Enrollment Surge
35) The Importance of Medieval Rats to Pandemic Profit
36) Overturning the Twentieth Century?
37) Don Lemon and his church-storming mob must face Ku Klux Klan, FACE Act charges
38) Quitting International Agreements and Organizations: The Wisdom Varies
39) How Markets Work: Hayek’s “Marvel” of the Market 80 Years Later
40) Only parents should decide if their kids use social media
41) It’s So Cute How You Write Laws and Stuff
42) When Production Isn’t Production and Prices Aren’t Prices
43) The new Trump Doctrine: Strategic domination and denial
44) With Trade Deal, Canada Bets on China
45) Did Bernie Sanders MEAN to prove that socialists have no heart?
46) We’d Have Been Committed for Predicting Half of What Trump Has Done
47) “Might Makes Right” Will Not Be Effective, Even in the Western Hemisphere
48) Greenland, Minnesota, Army-Navy game: Another day, another emergency
49) Capitalism Without Humans
50) No, you can’t make students stand for the Pledge of Allegiance
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Reason Interview: Freddy Guevara
52) The Briefing Podcast with Michael Warren, 01/21/26
53) The Science of Politics, 01/21/26
54) The Daily, 01/21/26
55) Rising, 01/21/26
56) The David Frum Show, 01/21/26
57) Reasonably Optimistic, 01/21/26
58) The Illegal News with Sarah Longwell, 01/21/26
59) Underthrow Podcast, 01/21/26
60) System Update, episode 568
61) Fountainhead Forum, episode 409
62) Right Now With Perry Bacon, 01/20/26
63) LPA Solidarity Stream, episode 13
64) Nonzero, 01/20/26
65) Reason Roundtable, 01/20/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
0) Hybrid Thursday at the Freedom Movement’s Daily Newspaper
Hey, everyone …
It’s a “Hybrid Thursday” at Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily.
What does that mean? Well, we’ve got a full email and social media edition (65 items), but also 30+ “extra” news stories, opinion pieces, and audio/video links at our web edition:
https://news.rationalreview.com/
That’s starting to become a habit. Our long-time sources seem to be publishing more great content, and we always have our eyes on new sources as well. In the near future, “hybrid” may become the daily norm, with a fixed note at the top of our email editions letting people know there’s more for them on the web. We’ll see.
In the meantime, enjoy that extra content and have a great day!
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily
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1) Uganda: Police Abduct Opposition Lawmaker After at Least Seven Killed
Source: US News & World Report
“Uganda police said on Thursday they had detained a legislator and senior official of the country’s biggest opposition party for his alleged role in election-related violence in which at least seven people were killed. The lawmaker, Muwanga Kivumbi, is vice president of the opposition National Unity Platform party headed by pop star-turned-politician, Bobi Wine, who has been in hiding since last week. Wine, whose legal name is Robert Kyagulanyi, said he fled a military raid on his house hours before veteran President Yoweri Museveni was declared the landslide winner of the January 15 presidential election. … Hundreds of NUP supporters and officials have been detained before and after the election in what the opposition says has been a campaign to intimidate them. Some have been tortured, they said.” (01/22/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-01-22/uganda-police-detain-opposition-lawmaker-after-at-least-seven-killed
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2) ICE thugs: Warrants? We ain’t got no warrants. We don’t need no warrants. I don’t have to show you any stinkin’ warrants!
Source: Associated Press
“Federal immigration officers are asserting sweeping power to forcibly enter people’s homes without a judge’s warrant, according to an internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo obtained by The Associated Press, marking a sharp reversal of longstanding guidance meant to respect constitutional limits on government searches. The memo authorizes ICE officers to use force to enter a residence based solely on a more narrow administrative warrant to [abduct] someone with a final order of removal …. New ICE hires and those still in training are being told to follow the memo’s guidance instead of written training materials that actually contradict the memo, according to the whistleblower disclosure.” (01/21/26)
https://apnews.com/article/ice-arrests-warrants-minneapolis-trump-00d0ab0338e82341fd91b160758aeb2d
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3) South Korea: Former PM found guilty of insurrection, sentenced to 23 years
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“A South Korean court has sentenced former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to 23 years in prison after finding him guilty on insurrection charges related to disgraced ex-President Yoon Suk-yeol’s short-lived declaration of martial law. Han was found guilty on Wednesday of abetting Yoon’s brief imposition of martial law and for failing to hold a lawful cabinet meeting, as required by South Korean law, after the decree to mobilise the military was ordered by the then-president in December 2024. … The former prime minister denied the charges against him, saying he had no prior knowledge of Yoon’s plan to impose military rule.” (01/21/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/21/s-koreas-former-pm-found-guilty-of-insurrection-given-23-years-in
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4) US House panel approves Clinton contempt resolutions, with Democrat support
Source: The Hill
“The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee advanced resolutions Wednesday to hold former President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress over their refusal to appear for depositions after being subpoenaed in the panel’s investigation into sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The panel voted 34-8 to advance the resolution holding Bill Clinton in contempt and 28-15 on the measure holding Hillary Clinton in contempt. Nine Democrats voted in favor of the Bill Clinton resolution …. Three voted in favor of the Hillary Clinton measure … The Oversight panel had voted on a bipartisan basis last year to subpoena the Clintons, who had personal friendships with Epstein, along with several other former government officials. But after months of negotiations with the panel, the Clintons each declined to appear for in-person depositions that Comer scheduled for last week.” (01/21/26)
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5698621-clinton-contempt-house-oversight/
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5) Trump cancels tariff threat over Greenland, says NATO agreed to “framework” of future Arctic deal
Source: SFGate
“President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he was canceling his planned tariff on [American buyers of goods from] U.S. allies in Europe over US control of Greenland after he and the leader of NATO agreed to a ‘framework of a future deal’ on Arctic security. The abrupt about-face emerged hours after Trump had insisted that he wants to ‘get Greenland, including right, title and ownership,’ but said he would not use force to do so while deriding European allies and vowing that NATO should not try to block U.S. expansionism. In an extraordinary [senile rant] at the World Economic Forum, the president said he was asking for territory that was ‘cold and poorly located.’ … ‘We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force, where we would be frankly unstoppable. But I won’t do that, OK?’ Trump said, later adding, ‘I don’t have to’ and ‘I don’t want to use force.'” (01/21/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/trump-is-on-his-way-to-davos-where-his-quest-to-21306352.php
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6) Venezuela: Regime receives first revenues from oil sales to US regime
Source: United Press International
“Venezuela received $300 million Tuesday as part of revenues from oil sales to the United States, interim President Delcy Rodriguez said on social media. The funds represent the first tranche of a $500 million oil deal announced by President Donald Trump after the United States captured President Nicolas Maduro on Jan. 3. Rodriguez said the resources will be channeled through the national banking system and the Central Bank of Venezuela to ‘protect workers’ purchasing power’ and stabilize the foreign exchange market amid inflationary pressures.” (01/21/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/01/21/latam-venezuela-oil-revenue-united-states/9301769009853/
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7) Nigeria: Ambush kills six regime troops
Source: ABC News
“Five soldiers and one police officer have been killed in an ambush in northwest Nigeria, the Nigerian army said on Tuesday. The attack occurred in Zamfara state on Monday, army spokesman David Adewusi said in a statement. … Northern Nigeria has been the hardest-hit part of the country, with a surge in kidnappings for ransom by gunmen across the northwest and north-central regions over the recent months, alongside an insurgency in the northeast. Boko Haram, Nigeria’s homegrown jihadis, took up arms in 2009 to fight Western education and impose their radical version of Islamic law.” (01/21/26)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/ambush-northwest-nigeria-kills-5-soldiers-1-police-129411215
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8) Steak ‘n Shake Offers Employees Bitcoin Bonus Program
Source: Bitcoin.com
“Starting March 1, Steak ‘n Shake will provide hourly employees at its company-operated restaurants with a bitcoin bonus of $0.21 for every hour worked. The BTC rewards will vest over a two-year period, allowing employees to collect their bitcoin after meeting the vesting requirement. The initiative, supported by Fold, reflects the company’s commitment to employee incentives while embracing digital assets.” (01/21/26)
https://news.bitcoin.com/steak-n-shake-offers-employees-bitcoin-bonus-program/
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9) Canada: Court sets aside TikTok shutdown order
Source: CTV News [Canada]
“The Federal Court has set aside a government order for TikTok to wind down operations in Canada, meaning the social media company can keep running its offices here while the industry minister conducts another review. In 2024, the Liberal government ordered TikTok to close its offices in Canada, citing national security concerns, but stopped short of banning the app for users. On Wednesday, a federal judge shelved the government’s order and requested that Industry Minister Melanie Joly conduct a new review. A TikTok Canada spokesperson says the tech company welcomes the decision and looks forward to working with Joly.” (01/21/26)
https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/article/federal-court-sets-aside-tiktok-canada-shutdown-order/
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10) Palestine: Three Gaza Journalists Murdered in Israeli Strike
Source: Barron’s
“An Israeli air strike killed an AFP freelancer and two other journalists in Gaza on Wednesday, the territory’s civil defence agency said, while the military said it struck ‘suspects’ operating a drone. Since October 10, a fragile US-sponsored ceasefire in Gaza has largely halted the fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas, but both sides have alleged frequent violations. … According to an eyewitness, the journalists were using a drone to take images of aid distribution by the Egyptian Relief Committee in the Gaza Strip when a strike targeted a vehicle accompanying them. Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas called the strike ‘a dangerous escalation of the flagrant violations of the ceasefire agreement.'” (01/21/26)
https://www.barrons.com/news/israeli-strike-kills-three-gaza-journalists-including-afp-freelancer-5a0ad614
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11) Japan: Abe’s assassin sentenced to life in prison
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“A Japanese court sentenced a man who admitted assassinating former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe to life imprisonment on Wednesday. The case has revealed decades of cozy ties between Japan’s governing party and a controversial South Korean church. Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, earlier pleaded guilty to killing Abe in July 2022 during his election campaign speech in the western city of Nara. … Yamagami pleaded guilty to murder in the trial that started in October.” (01/21/26)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/shinzo-abe-shooting-death-trial-9.7054161
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12) EU parliament votes to challenge Mercosur trade deal
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“EU lawmakers voted on Wednesday to challenge the European Union’s contentious free trade agreement with South America in the bloc’s top court, a move that could delay the deal by two years and potentially derail it. The European Union signed its largest-ever trade pact with Mercosur members Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay on Saturday. The agreement still requires approval before it can take effect. Opponents, led by France, the EU’s largest agricultural producer, say the deal will sharply increase imports of cheap beef, sugar and poultry, undercutting domestic farmers who have staged repeated protests.” (01/21/26)
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20260121-eu-parliament-votes-to-challenge-mercosur-trade-deal
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13) CA: DHS alleges criminal immigrant “rammed law enforcement” before agent fired weapon
Source: Fox News
“A federal agent opened fire in southern California Wednesday after a criminal illegal [sic] immigrant ‘weaponized his vehicle and rammed law enforcement’ during an attempt to evade [abduction], the Department of Homeland Security told Fox News Digital. A spokesperson said the incident happened Wednesday morning in Compton as DHS law enforcement officers were conducting a targeted operation ‘to [abduct] a violent criminal illegal [sic] alien from El Salvador, William Eduardo Moran Carballo, who is involved in a human smuggling operation and has two prior arrests for inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant.’ ‘In a dangerous attempt to evade [abduction], this criminal illegal [sic] alien weaponized his vehicle and rammed law enforcement. Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired defensive shots,’ the DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement. ” (01/21/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/us/dhs-alleges-criminal-illegal-alien-rammed-law-enforcement-california-operation-agent-fired-weapon
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14) SCOTUS casts doubt on Trump’s power to fire Fed official without proper review
Source: Politico
“The Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared deeply skeptical of President Donald Trump’s claim that he can abruptly fire Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook for alleged misconduct without giving her a forum to contest the allegations. Several justices underscored the historical significance of the Fed’s independence from presidential control and pressed Trump’s Solicitor General D. John Sauer about his claim that removing Cook from her position required urgent action, rather than a review of unproven mortgage fraud allegations leveled by Trump and his housing czar. Citing those fraud allegations, Trump purported to fire Cook last year. But Cook has remained in her position, winning legal battles at both the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. and the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. The justices agreed to allow those rulings to remain in effect until they had a chance to weigh the Trump administration’s emergency appeal.” (01/21/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/21/supreme-court-lisa-cook-federal-reserve-00739231
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15) US military transfers first 150 Islamic State detainees from Syria to Iraq
Source: SFGate
“The U.S. military said Wednesday it has started transferring detainees from the Islamic State group being held in northeastern Syria to secure facilities in Iraq. The move came after Syrian government forces took control of a sprawling camp, housing thousands of mostly women and children, from the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, which withdrew as part of a ceasefire. … U.S. Central Command said the first transfer involved 150 IS members, who were taken from Syria’s northeastern province of Hassakeh to ‘secure locations’ in Iraq. The statement said that up to to 7,000 detainees could be transferred to Iraqi-controlled facilities.” (01/21/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/syrian-government-takes-control-of-camp-housing-21306521.php
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16) Republicans Ask SCOTUS to Block California Re-Gerrymander
Source: US News & World Report
“California Republicans asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to intervene in a bid to prevent the state from using a new congressional map designed to give the Democrats five more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The state Republican Party and other challengers filed an emergency request asking the Supreme Court to block California’s new map, which was endorsed by voters as a counterweight to a similar redistricting effort in Texas aimed at boosting Republicans. A federal court on January 14 rejected the argument by the challengers that California illegally used race in redrawing the boundaries of the congressional districts.” (01/20/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2026-01-20/republicans-ask-us-supreme-court-to-block-california-voting-map
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17) Visitors crossing from Canada into New York plummet 21% as Hochul blames Trump
Source: New York Post
“Oh-no, Canada! The number of Canadian tourists and other visitors traveling south into upstate New York plummeted a whopping 21% through the first 11 months of 2025, according to new data from the governor’s office. Gov. Kathy Hochul released figures as part of her $260 billion budget plan that showed there were 3 million few travelers crossing from Canada into the Empire State – blaming President Trump for his tariff standoff and confrontational stance with the US’s northern neighbors. The number of Canadian tourists and other visitors traveling south into upstate New York plummeted a whopping 21% through the first 11 months of 2025. ‘The adverse effects on the protectionist trade environment are adversely impacting New York’s economy,’ the report out of Hochul’s office said. ‘Costs to manufacturers in New York have risen directly or indirectly.'” (01/21/25)
https://nypost.com/2026/01/21/us-news/visitors-crossing-from-canada-into-new-york-plummet-21-as-hochul-blames-trump/
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18) Meta lays off hundreds in Seattle area
Source: Seattle Times
“Meta is laying off 331 workers in the Puget Sound region as part of broader cuts to its virtual reality division. The Facebook parent company last week said that it was cutting about 10% of its 15,000-employee Reality Labs division as it shifts resources away from what it called the metaverse to wearables like smart glasses. … Reality Labs has been a key part of Meta’s postpandemic growth in the Seattle area. … Meta’s layoffs are the latest to hit the local tech industry over the past year of cuts, including some made by the company in October that hit its artificial intelligence teams.” (01/20/26)
https://archive.is/SUZLa
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19) Newsom barred from public address in Switzerland by Trump regime
Source: SFGate
“Gov. Gavin Newsom was scheduled to speak during the World Economic Forum on Wednesday morning in Davos, Switzerland, but was barred from speaking at the very last minute by the White House, according to his office. ‘Under pressure from the White House and State Department, USA House (a church acting as the official US pavilion) is now denying entry to Governor Newsom after Fortune — the official media partner — invited him to speak,’ the governor’s office said in a text to the governor’s press corps and later posted to the governor’s official X account. The USA House is the collection of official U.S. venues during the World Economic Forum.” (01/21/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/white-house-newsom-switzerland-21307154.php
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20) Mexico: Regime sends 37 alleged cartel members to US in latest attempt to appease Trump
Source: ABC News
“Mexico’s security minister said Tuesday that it had sent another 37 members of Mexican drug cartels to the United States, as the Trump administration ratchets up pressure on governments to crack down on criminal networks it says are smuggling drugs across the border. Mexican Security Minister Omar García Harfuch wrote in a social media post on X that the people transferred were ‘high impact criminals’ that ‘represented a real threat to the country’s security.’ It is the third time in less than one year that Mexico has sent detained cartel members to the U.S. as the country attempts to offset mounting threats by U.S.” (01/20/26)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/mexico-sends-37-cartel-members-us-latest-offer-129390809
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Greenland Is Not “Our Territory” And It Never Will Be
Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison
“The U.S. has never needed to own Greenland to secure North America, and there is nothing to negotiate. Greenland is not ‘our territory,’ it never has been, and it never will be if the people of Greenland have anything to say about it. The president is a deranged revisionist who wants to ‘reclaim’ territory that has never belonged to our country. The president’s claim that his expansionist mania has something to do with security is a lie. Trump’s fixation on Greenland is akin to Smeagol’s desire for the Ring. ‘We wants it’ is the sole motivation behind this. The president is driven by nothing but gnawing greed. Trump said that he won’t use force to steal Greenland. No one should believe him when he says that, but it is no consolation when he is willing to use coercion and threats to intimidate the people of Greenland and Denmark.” (01/21/26)
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22) The Pressure Cooker of State Dominion
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Rudolph Kohn
“If you happened to be a fly on the wall at a Libertarian National Convention, you might see this happen: Someone will take a microphone and ask for a point of information. Then, he will ask, ‘Is taxation theft?’ The Chair will then answer, ‘Yes.’ Then the convention-goers will laugh, and clap, and pass over this momentary interruption, and get back to deciding who they want to run for the positions at the head of this gang of thieves. Why expend so much time, money, and energy trying to gain seats at the top of this band of robbers? Because the alternative that every voluntary organization must offer is denied to them: exit. … of all the coercive acts in a state’s arsenal, I argue that the worst is dominion, because it makes all the others possible.” (01/21/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/pressure-cooker-state-dominion
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23) Love liberty, not big government
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“I’m saddened to discover how few people value liberty more than they hate other people and love big government. It wasn’t a surprise, but I still hate to see it. One faction hates gun owners and wants armed government employees to take their guns and kill them if they resist. Another faction hates people who dwell somewhere without government permission and wants armed government employees to kidnap, cage, and evict them. They are happy to see government agents kill these people and their supporters if either of them resist. They don’t realize how similar they are; both want to hand illegitimate power over you and me to government.” (01/21/26)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2026/01/21/voices/opinion-love-liberty-not-big-government/232582.html
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24) Trump Can Prosecute Anyone Now
Source: The Atlantic
by Adam Serwer
“A year into Donald Trump’s second term, the Department of Justice has become his private law firm, devoted less to the impartial administration of justice than to blackmailing, intimidating, and persecuting Trump’s foes while selectively enforcing the law to spare allies who break it. … The decision to ignore evidence that demands investigation or prosecution can be equally nefarious, as we’ve seen in Minneapolis, where federal authorities refused to investigate a masked government agent for shooting an unarmed mom in the face, and where half a dozen federal prosecutors have since resigned after being pushed to investigate the woman’s widow instead. These are all examples of the executive branch abusing its prosecutorial discretion. And thanks to Chief Justice John Roberts and the Supreme Court, Trump is likely to get away with it.” (01/21/26)
https://archive.is/2iADz
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25) California’s “Billionaire Tax” Could Bite Harder Than Advertised
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“California’s potential adoption of a one-time 5 percent ‘billionaire tax’ on the net worth of high-value individuals is already sending wealthy residents fleeing for the exits. By one estimate, at least a trillion dollars has moved beyond the reach of state officials. But a new analysis says the tax may be even more onerous than advertised. Californians may need to get used to the sight of moving vans leaving the state.” (01/21/26)
https://reason.com/2026/01/21/californias-billionaire-tax-could-bite-harder-than-advertised/
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26) Australia’s Frightening New “Hate Speech” Laws Clearly Aimed At Pro-Palestine Groups
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Australia’s Labor government has successfully passed a ‘hate speech’ bill that’s plainly aimed, at least in part, at suppressing pro-Palestine organizations as ‘hate groups.’ Free speech advocates are sounding the alarm about the new laws, saying their extremely vague wording, lack of procedural fairness and low thresholds for implementation mean groups can now be banned if they make people feel unsafe or upset without ever actually posing any physical harm to anyone. For me the most illuminating insight into what these laws are actually designed to do came up in an ABC interview with Attorney-General Michelle Rowland on Tuesday. … Rowland was asked by ABC’s David Speers to clarify whether the new laws could see activist groups banned for criticizing Israel and opposing its genocidal atrocities in a way that causes Jewish Australians to feel upset feelings, and she refused to rule out the possibility every single time.” (01/21/25)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/01/21/australias-frightening-new-hate-speech-laws-are-clearly-aimed-at-pro-palestine-groups/
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27) Can Congress subpoena a journalist for reporting a Delta Force commander’s name?
Source: Expression
by Jacob Gaba
“On Jan. 7, the House Oversight Committee approved a subpoena for Seth Harp, an investigative journalist and contributing editor at Rolling Stone, for posting information about a Delta Force commander. Congress has broad authority to issue subpoenas. But it must show far more restraint when aiming them at journalists without any evidence of wrongdoing. … Paulina Luna of Florida’s 13th congressional district, who introduced the motion to subpoena Harp, said, ‘Putting a service member and their family in danger is dishonorable and feckless. Leaking classified information demands explanation and a criminal investigation.’ But publishing the news, even when the news contains classified information, is exactly the role of a journalist. And Rep. Luna did not cite any evidence that Harp broke the law to obtain the information.” (01/21/26)
https://expression.fire.org/p/can-congress-subpoena-a-journalist
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28) In light of harsh repression in Iran, the US should grant Temporary Protected Status to Iranians already here
Source: Niskanen Center
by Idean Salehyan
“Over the past several weeks, protests have once again erupted across Iran, driven by a deepening economic crisis and broader demands for political accountability. In response, the Trump administration has issued strong rhetorical support for Iranian protesters and sharply criticized Tehran’s heavy-handed repression. President Trump and senior officials have repeatedly framed the demonstrations as evidence of the regime’s illegitimacy and brutality toward its own people. Yet there is a striking contradiction at the heart of the U.S. response. Even as the administration condemns Iran’s treatment of its citizens, it has suspended asylum hearings, maintained sweeping travel restrictions, and deported Iranian nationals from the United States. These actions undercut Washington’s professed concern for human rights and weaken the credibility of its support for protesters inside Iran.” (01/21/26)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/in-light-of-harsh-repression-in-iran-the-us-should-grant-temporary-protected-status-to-iranians-already-here/
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29) When Will Democrats Realize That You Can’t Reform Fascism?
Source: the Philadelphia Inquirer
by Will Bunch
“Imagine this …. You’re minding your own business, or maybe picking up your kid at their school, when suddenly you find yourself in the middle of a platoon of masked, armed, camouflaged government agents. One thing leads to another, and in a flash, an agent has wrestled you to the ground, and is brandishing a weapon — maybe a Taser if you’re lucky. But what if I told you that lawmakers on Capitol Hill have a solution? They are proposing a brave new world, where now (flat on your back and gasping for air, and perhaps able to bravely manage to free your phone from your pocket) you could scan a federally mandated QR code on the agent’s uniform and find out the identity of the man who is currently pummeling you to within an inch of your life.” (01/21/25)
https://www.inquirer.com/columnists/attytood/mlk-ice-reform-defund-democrats-hmong-greenland-20260120.html
-----
30) Trump Wants to Hit Us with a Huge Tax Hike for His Demented Greenland Dreams
Source: CounterPunch
by Dean Baker
“Donald Trump is taking his demented dreams to a new level in his quest to take over Greenland. The man who whined over not getting a Nobel Prize and then followed Hitler propagandist Joseph Goebbels lead in accepting a prize awarded to someone else, has now decided he wants Greenland. Trump is now proposing to whack us with a $75 billion tax increase to put pressure on Denmark and the rest of the EU to give him Greenland. … Well over 90 percent of the cost of a Trump tariff is borne by consumers or importers in the United States, not by the exporting countries. When Trump starts yelling ‘tariff, tariff, tariff,’ he is yelling ‘tax, tax, tax,’ and we’re the ones paying it.” (01/21/26)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/01/21/trump-wants-to-hit-us-with-a-huge-tax-hike-for-his-demented-greenland-dreams/
-----
31) Phasing Out State Income Tax Key to Success in Dying Blue States
Source: Town Hall
by Betsy McCaughey
“Across the nation, states are fiercely competing for companies and population by slashing taxes. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is dooming her state to be the loser. In 2026, eight states are cutting their income taxes, and four others are reducing corporate tax rates. South Carolina is pushing ahead on legislation to phase out its income tax entirely over the next few years, joining nine other income-tax-free states. That’s bad news for New York. Saddled with a spendaholic governor and state legislature, New York is becoming increasingly unattractive to newcomers and businesses alike. On Tuesday, Hochul unveiled a record-breaking $260 billion state budget — two and a half times the size of Florida’s, despite Florida’s larger population.” (01/21/25)
https://townhall.com/columnists/betsymccaughey/2026/01/21/phasing-out-state-income-tax-key-to-success-in-dying-blue-states-n2669800
-----
32) Partitioning Iran Would Backfire Spectacularly
Source: The American Conservative
by Eldar Mamedov
“ollowing the Islamic Republic’s brutal crackdown on protests this past week, an air of inevitability continues to surround the possibility of American military intervention. But what would such an intervention look like? Voices in U.S. and Israeli media are once again floating the idea of breaking Iran apart along ethnic lines. … This is dangerous nonsense, and America First advocates of realism and restraint in U.S. foreign policy must unambiguously reject it. It is also déjà vu, reminiscent of the political atmosphere that preceded the Iraq debacle — and it promises an even more catastrophic failure in a country four times the size of Iraq.” (01/21/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/partitioning-iran-would-backfire-spectacularly/
-----
33) Abolish ICE, and DHS Too
Source: Common Dreams
by Jordan Liz
“On a September morning, armed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents broke in and raided the home of 15-year-old Marie Justeen Mancha while her mother was running an errand. They blocked the door, accused her of being ‘an illegal,’ and questioned Marie about her and her mother’s legal status. They are both US citizens. This break-in was part of a widespread sweep targeting Hispanic communities in southeast Georgia. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) accused ICE of using ‘Gestapo-like’ tactics to trample ‘on the constitutional rights of every person of Hispanic descent who was unfortunate to be in their way.’ SPLC filed a class-action lawsuit against ICE on behalf of five US citizens. In addition to compensation for property damages, the lawsuit sought a court order to stop ICE from conducting similar raids in the future. Sound familiar? That occurred in 2006, 20 years ago.” (01/21/25)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/abolish-ice-and-dhs
-----
34) These Schools Are Seeing a January Enrollment Surge
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Kerry McDonald
“Microschools and other new learning models make it easier for dissatisfied students and families to shift to a new school midyear.” (01/21/26)
https://fee.org/articles/these-schools-are-seeing-a-january-enrollment-surge/
-----
35) The Importance of Medieval Rats to Pandemic Profit
Source: Brownstone Institute
by David Bell
“The pandemic agenda, important to maintaining a healthy market for mRNA vaccines, is reliant on a general sense of fear and urgency to achieve success. Mitigating against this is the decline in infectious disease and dearth of recent naturally derived pandemics. With Covid-19 fading and looking worryingly unnatural in origin, the pandemic industry is developing an increasing interest in ancient history, when its offerings may have proven more useful.” (01/21/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/the-importance-of-medieval-rats-to-pandemic-profit/
-----
36) Overturning the Twentieth Century?
Source: Law & Liberty
by Robert G Natelson
“Elite opinion aside, the Supreme Court has not aggressively attacked the bad precedents of the past century. Maybe it should.” (01/21/26)
https://lawliberty.org/overturning-the-twentieth-century/
-----
37) Don Lemon and his church-storming mob must face Ku Klux Klan, FACE Act charges
Source: Fox News
by Mike Davis
“The freedom of worship is a cornerstone value of our Republic, enshrined in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Last Sunday, a group of anti-ICE agitators violated this most sacred right when they stormed into Cities Church in St. Paul, MN, during church services to protest the pastor’s supposed ties to ICE. This mob of leftist bigots included fired CNN anchor Don Lemon, who stunningly claimed they (somehow) had the First Amendment right to target, trespass into, terrify and disrupt a church service – even based upon the race and religion of the congregants. … For his outrageous criminal behavior and total lack of remorse, Lemon must face legal accountability – including federal felony charges under the FACE Act and Ku Klux Klan Act. In short, Lemon must go to federal prison – and for years.” (01/21/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/mike-davis-don-lemon-his-church-storming-mob-must-face-ku-klux-klan-face-act-charges
-----
38) Quitting International Agreements and Organizations: The Wisdom Varies
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ted Galen Carpenter
“Donald Trump has quit numerous international organizations. Many of his choices are good and long overdue. A few others, though, present real dangers to peace.” (01/21/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/ted_galen_carpenter/2026/01/20/quitting-international-agreements-and-organizations-the-wisdom-varies/
-----
39) How Markets Work: Hayek’s “Marvel” of the Market 80 Years Later
Source: Isonomia Quarterly
by Peter Boettke
“F. A. Hayek is perhaps best known as the author of The Road to Serfdom (1944), a prophetic work issuing a warning about the totalitarian tendencies of socialist economic planning. Socialism, Hayek argued, was both incompatible with liberal democracy and material progress and well-being. A critical step in his argument was that socialism could not replace the market economy not only in its efficient use of resources, but in stimulating creative innovation and technological change that enhanced the human condition. To economists, however, Hayek is most appreciated for his article further explaining the argument in the critical step published a year later – ‘The Use of Knowledge in Society.'” (01/21/26)
https://isonomiaquarterly.com/archive/volume-3-issue-4/how-markets-work-hayeks-marvel-of-the-market-80-years-later/
-----
40) Only parents should decide if their kids use social media
Source: spiked
by Ella Whelan
“Discussions about children’s online experiences and the dangers they might face are nothing new. But in recent months, officialdom seems to have become increasingly concerned about protecting children’s ‘wellbeing,’ rather than protecting them from ‘harm.’ So instead of concerns about children seeing extreme content or writing nasty things about each other, the current focus is on the amount of time kids spend on social media. … This focus on the duration of kids’ social-media use is revealing. It shows the extent to which calls for a ban are rooted in a lack of confidence in parental authority – a lack of confidence, that is, in parents’ capacity to control their kids’ behaviour and limit the amount of time they spend on social media.” (01/21/26)
https://archive.is/wUSq2
-----
41) It’s So Cute How You Write Laws and Stuff
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen
“I get why Congress could be a good gig for a social climber or a rich dude looking for flattery and prestige and stock tips. As an entity for managing the country and meeting its challenges, today’s Congress is rather inert, especially when the biggest challenges come from within. Since the beginning of Trump’s term one year ago, I have been studying the tools available to Congress to assert itself as the primary institution of American government, expressed in Article I of the Constitution. Sadly, most of those tools have not found their way out of committee. Democrats shut down the government last October, for instance, but did not demand that they would only agree to pass appropriations if they were guaranteed to be spent.” (01/21/25)
https://prospect.org/2026/01/21/so-cute-how-you-write-laws-congress-appropriations-ice/
-----
42) When Production Isn’t Production and Prices Aren’t Prices
Source: The Daily Economy
by Antón Chamberlin
“Many debates on economic topics hinge on a set of familiar words: production, prices, costs, value. These terms appear constantly in political speeches, news articles, and policy discussions. Yet they are rarely used with much precision (at least where academic economists are concerned). As a result, people often talk past one another while believing they are in agreement — or disagreement — about the same thing. Confusing colloquial meanings with technical definitions can lead to deeply flawed conclusions about how markets work and what governments can realistically accomplish.” (01/21/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/when-production-isnt-production-and-prices-arent-prices/
-----
43) The new Trump Doctrine: Strategic domination and denial
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Joanna Rozpedowski
“The US appears intent on using discrete military action while restricting rivals’ access to key regions, resources, technologies, and governance mechanisms.” (01/21/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-doctrine-spheres-of-denial/
-----
44) With Trade Deal, Canada Bets on China
Source: Foreign Policy
by James Palmer
“Last Friday, Canada and China struck a preliminary trade deal that would open the Canadian market to Chinese electric vehicles and lower Chinese retaliatory tariffs on key Canadian agricultural exports. … The deal will undoubtedly revive accusations of malign Chinese influence and Canadian perfidy from U.S. right-wingers and China hawks. But a year into Trump’s second term, moving closer to Beijing makes perfect sense for Ottawa, as well as the European Union. … Put bluntly, a relatively rational autocracy with limited, stable foreign-policy goals located an ocean away may seem preferable to a country run by an erratic autocrat next door. In this respect, the ongoing Greenland crisis has given Canada’s leaders brutal clarity about the United States as it is, not as it was or as they want it to be.” (01/20/26)
https://archive.is/JBeW0
-----
45) Did Bernie Sanders MEAN to prove that socialists have no heart?
Source: New York Post
by staff
“Socialism pretends to be all warm and cuddly, but Sen. Bernie Sanders is showing how heartless it can be. He’s been the sole lawmaker blocking legislation to speed up cures for kids with cancer and nudge drug makers to develop new pediatric therapies. And on Tuesday, he joined nurses who’ve abandoned their hospitalized patients to strike for fat pay hikes. For cold-blooded socialists like Bernie, ideology clearly trumps compassion. Start with the bill he’s blocking: the Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act, recently renamed for a 16-year-old who died of cancer last year while lobbying for the measure. Sanders (I-VT) says he himself backs the bill, except it doesn’t push other health care measures he wants, such as funding for community health centers — so he’s holding the cancer kids hostage.” (01/20/25)
https://nypost.com/2026/01/20/opinion/bernie-sanders-is-bent-on-proving-that-socialists-have-no-heart/
-----
46) We’d Have Been Committed for Predicting Half of What Trump Has Done
Source: The UnPopulist
by Jacob Grier
“Today marks the one-year anniversary of Donald Trump’s return to the presidency. We thought it would be the perfect occasion to look back at some of the low-lights of Year 1 of Trump 2.0 and imagine the diagnosis that the self-proclaimed cool heads would have ascribed to us Trump worrywarts if we had predicted even a fraction of what His Orange Eminence and Wannabe Nobel Peace Laureate went on to do. Actually, we know their diagnosis because they were not shy about telling us.” (01/20/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/wed-have-been-committed-for-predicting
-----
47) “Might Makes Right” Will Not Be Effective, Even in the Western Hemisphere
Source: Independent Institute
by Ivan Eland
“‘The strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must’ is a quote that has come down through the ages from the Greek historian Thucydides’[s] History of the Peloponnesian War, written in 416 BC. It has come to encapsulate the ‘might makes right’ philosophy in international relations and is embraced by some in the realist school of foreign policy. Such realists are mostly right about how the world still works, but have a PR problem in today’s milieu of woke platitudes in international relations. Despite the fact that the balance of power and spheres of influence still shape the worldview of the vast majority of global leaders, some of these strong countries usually dress up the reasons for their military interventions in terms of democratization, humanitarian ends, or their national security.” (01/20/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/01/20/trump-greenland-foreign-policy/
-----
48) Greenland, Minnesota, Army-Navy game: Another day, another emergency
Source: Washington Post
by George F Will
“As usual, today’s president, coming late to a long-standing problem, but presuming his original discovery of it, has made himself the issue. His acquisitiveness regarding Greenland has nothing to do with national security, and everything to do, as everything always does, with his fragile ego. He is pouting, and threatening aggression, because he has not received the Nobel Peace Prize. The Danes can perhaps take comfort from the fact that the president is contemplating military operations against another northern place. As this is being written, the Army is reportedly readying a potential deployment to Minnesota to quell disturbances stemming from ham-handed activities by the ludicrously — and lethally — militarized U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. During all this, the president has announced he will order that no other football game can be televised during the annual Army-Navy game.” (01/20/26)
https://archive.is/pYGtE
-----
49) Capitalism Without Humans
Source: In These Times
by Sarah Jaffe
“Around the United States, the rebellions against President Donald Trump’s militarized Immigration and Customs Enforcement invasions (bolstered by other agencies including the National Guard and, at least in one case, actual Marines) continue. National headlines have mostly skipped over Memphis, perhaps because it’s a smaller city in the South, far from the headquarters of national media. On the ground in Memphis, local policy organizer Amber Sherman explained, the fear (and resistance) are similar to what we see in bigger cities. It’s not so much the National Guard, she said, but around the city, there are some 1,500 federal agents from the so-called Memphis Safe Task Force working alongside existing police and using traffic stops (reportedly more than 35,000 in two months) as a way to get their hands on people. This is the very issue (pretextual stops) that Memphis activists organized against so effectively after police killed artist and skateboarder Tyre Nichols two years ago.” (01/21/25)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/capitalism-without-humans-labor-ai-tech-waymo-riot
-----
50) No, you can’t make students stand for the Pledge of Allegiance
Source: Expression
by helloiamcarrie
“For more than 80 years, the law has been clear. The government can’t force public school children to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. One Tennessee school was either oblivious to this settled First Amendment principle or chose to ignore it. But thanks to a letter from FIRE, the school district has stepped in and promised to investigate.” (01/20/26)
https://expression.fire.org/p/no-you-cant-make-students-stand-for
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Reason Interview: Freddy Guevara
Source: Reason
“Why Venezuelans Support Trump’s Capture of Maduro.” (01/21/26)
-----
52) The Briefing Podcast with Michael Warren, 01/21/26
Source: Brennan Center for Justice
“How We Can Fix America’s Corruption Problem (with Celinda Lake and Daniel Weiner).” (01/21/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2Z4j6n-zhA
-----
53) The Science of Politics, 01/21/26
Source: Niskanen Center
“How authoritarian parenting attitudes explain our political divides.” (01/21/26)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/how-authoritarian-parenting-attitudes-explain-our-political-divides
-----
54) The Daily, 01/21/26
Source: New York Times
“On the Front Line of Minnesota’s Fight With ICE.” (01/21/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zctfogA3C-A
-----
55) Rising, 01/21/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave delivers radar on why California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Dems are avoiding questions about trans athletes in sports.” (01/21/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/5698375-rising-january-21-2026/
-----
56) The David Frum Show, 01/21/26
Source: The Atlantic
“Why Trump Sides With Putin.” (01/21/26)
https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/2026/01/david-frum-show-fiona-hill-putin/685690/
-----
57) Reasonably Optimistic, 01/21/26
Source: Washington Post
“What it will take to fix American policing.” (01/21/26)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/impromptu/what-it-will-take-to-fix-american-policing/
-----
58) The Illegal News with Sarah Longwell, 01/21/26
Source: The Bulwark
“Trump Wants to Use the Military Against Americans (w/ Asha Rangappa).” (01/21/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsXLkAEEJqg
-----
59) Underthrow Podcast, 01/21/26
Source: Underthrow
“Burn Down the Fed?” (01/21/26)
https://underthrow.substack.com/p/burn-down-the-fed
-----
60) System Update, episode 568
Source: System Update
“New Laura Poitras Documentary: On War, Propaganda & the Corporate Media.” (01/20/26)
https://rumble.com/v74m648-new-laura-poitras-documentary-on-war-propaganda-and-the-corporate-media-sys.html
-----
61) Fountainhead Forum, episode 409
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Susan Baughman on being an AirBNB host and an AirBNB guest.” (01/20/26)
https://rumble.com/v74mlok-ff-409-susan-baughman-on-being-an-airbnb-host-and-an-airbnb-guest.html
-----
62) Right Now With Perry Bacon, 01/20/26
Source: The New Republic
“Why Trump Is Losing Ground Even in This Deep-Red State.” (01/20/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/205447/trump-losing-ground-even-deep-red-state
-----
63) LPA Solidarity Stream, episode 13
Source: LP Alliance
“Alex Flores and the First People’s Role in the Libertarian Party.” (01/20/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3muMxxreqA
-----
64) Nonzero, 01/20/26
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“AI After Us: The ‘Succession’ Scenario | Robert Wright & Dan Faggella.” (01/20/26)
https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/69242
-----
65) Reason Roundtable, 01/20/26
Source: Reason
“Is America Really Going to War for Greenland?” (01/20/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/01/20/is-america-really-going-to-war-for-greenland/
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Today's Freedom News:
0) Hybrid Thursday at the Freedom Movement’s Daily Newspaper
1) Uganda: Police Abduct Opposition Lawmaker After at Least Seven Killed
2) ICE thugs: Warrants? We ain’t got no warrants. We don’t need no warrants. I don’t have to show you any stinkin’ warrants!
3) South Korea: Former PM found guilty of insurrection, sentenced to 23 years
4) US House panel approves Clinton contempt resolutions, with Democrat support
5) Trump cancels tariff threat over Greenland, says NATO agreed to “framework” of future Arctic deal
6) Venezuela: Regime receives first revenues from oil sales to US regime
7) Nigeria: Ambush kills six regime troops
8) Steak ‘n Shake Offers Employees Bitcoin Bonus Program
9) Canada: Court sets aside TikTok shutdown order
10) Palestine: Three Gaza Journalists Murdered in Israeli Strike
11) Japan: Abe’s assassin sentenced to life in prison
12) EU parliament votes to challenge Mercosur trade deal
13) CA: DHS alleges criminal immigrant “rammed law enforcement” before agent fired weapon
14) SCOTUS casts doubt on Trump’s power to fire Fed official without proper review
15) US military transfers first 150 Islamic State detainees from Syria to Iraq
16) Republicans Ask SCOTUS to Block California Re-Gerrymander
17) Visitors crossing from Canada into New York plummet 21% as Hochul blames Trump
18) Meta lays off hundreds in Seattle area
19) Newsom barred from public address in Switzerland by Trump regime
20) Mexico: Regime sends 37 alleged cartel members to US in latest attempt to appease Trump
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Greenland Is Not “Our Territory” And It Never Will Be
22) The Pressure Cooker of State Dominion
23) Love liberty, not big government
24) Trump Can Prosecute Anyone Now
25) California’s “Billionaire Tax” Could Bite Harder Than Advertised
26) Australia’s Frightening New “Hate Speech” Laws Clearly Aimed At Pro-Palestine Groups
27) Can Congress subpoena a journalist for reporting a Delta Force commander’s name?
28) In light of harsh repression in Iran, the US should grant Temporary Protected Status to Iranians already here
29) When Will Democrats Realize That You Can’t Reform Fascism?
30) Trump Wants to Hit Us with a Huge Tax Hike for His Demented Greenland Dreams
31) Phasing Out State Income Tax Key to Success in Dying Blue States
32) Partitioning Iran Would Backfire Spectacularly
33) Abolish ICE, and DHS Too
34) These Schools Are Seeing a January Enrollment Surge
35) The Importance of Medieval Rats to Pandemic Profit
36) Overturning the Twentieth Century?
37) Don Lemon and his church-storming mob must face Ku Klux Klan, FACE Act charges
38) Quitting International Agreements and Organizations: The Wisdom Varies
39) How Markets Work: Hayek’s “Marvel” of the Market 80 Years Later
40) Only parents should decide if their kids use social media
41) It’s So Cute How You Write Laws and Stuff
42) When Production Isn’t Production and Prices Aren’t Prices
43) The new Trump Doctrine: Strategic domination and denial
44) With Trade Deal, Canada Bets on China
45) Did Bernie Sanders MEAN to prove that socialists have no heart?
46) We’d Have Been Committed for Predicting Half of What Trump Has Done
47) “Might Makes Right” Will Not Be Effective, Even in the Western Hemisphere
48) Greenland, Minnesota, Army-Navy game: Another day, another emergency
49) Capitalism Without Humans
50) No, you can’t make students stand for the Pledge of Allegiance
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Reason Interview: Freddy Guevara
52) The Briefing Podcast with Michael Warren, 01/21/26
53) The Science of Politics, 01/21/26
54) The Daily, 01/21/26
55) Rising, 01/21/26
56) The David Frum Show, 01/21/26
57) Reasonably Optimistic, 01/21/26
58) The Illegal News with Sarah Longwell, 01/21/26
59) Underthrow Podcast, 01/21/26
60) System Update, episode 568
61) Fountainhead Forum, episode 409
62) Right Now With Perry Bacon, 01/20/26
63) LPA Solidarity Stream, episode 13
64) Nonzero, 01/20/26
65) Reason Roundtable, 01/20/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
0) Hybrid Thursday at the Freedom Movement’s Daily Newspaper
Hey, everyone …
It’s a “Hybrid Thursday” at Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily.
What does that mean? Well, we’ve got a full email and social media edition (65 items), but also 30+ “extra” news stories, opinion pieces, and audio/video links at our web edition:
https://news.rationalreview.com/
That’s starting to become a habit. Our long-time sources seem to be publishing more great content, and we always have our eyes on new sources as well. In the near future, “hybrid” may become the daily norm, with a fixed note at the top of our email editions letting people know there’s more for them on the web. We’ll see.
In the meantime, enjoy that extra content and have a great day!
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Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily
-----
1) Uganda: Police Abduct Opposition Lawmaker After at Least Seven Killed
Source: US News & World Report
“Uganda police said on Thursday they had detained a legislator and senior official of the country’s biggest opposition party for his alleged role in election-related violence in which at least seven people were killed. The lawmaker, Muwanga Kivumbi, is vice president of the opposition National Unity Platform party headed by pop star-turned-politician, Bobi Wine, who has been in hiding since last week. Wine, whose legal name is Robert Kyagulanyi, said he fled a military raid on his house hours before veteran President Yoweri Museveni was declared the landslide winner of the January 15 presidential election. … Hundreds of NUP supporters and officials have been detained before and after the election in what the opposition says has been a campaign to intimidate them. Some have been tortured, they said.” (01/22/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-01-22/uganda-police-detain-opposition-lawmaker-after-at-least-seven-killed
-----
2) ICE thugs: Warrants? We ain’t got no warrants. We don’t need no warrants. I don’t have to show you any stinkin’ warrants!
Source: Associated Press
“Federal immigration officers are asserting sweeping power to forcibly enter people’s homes without a judge’s warrant, according to an internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo obtained by The Associated Press, marking a sharp reversal of longstanding guidance meant to respect constitutional limits on government searches. The memo authorizes ICE officers to use force to enter a residence based solely on a more narrow administrative warrant to [abduct] someone with a final order of removal …. New ICE hires and those still in training are being told to follow the memo’s guidance instead of written training materials that actually contradict the memo, according to the whistleblower disclosure.” (01/21/26)
https://apnews.com/article/ice-arrests-warrants-minneapolis-trump-00d0ab0338e82341fd91b160758aeb2d
-----
3) South Korea: Former PM found guilty of insurrection, sentenced to 23 years
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“A South Korean court has sentenced former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to 23 years in prison after finding him guilty on insurrection charges related to disgraced ex-President Yoon Suk-yeol’s short-lived declaration of martial law. Han was found guilty on Wednesday of abetting Yoon’s brief imposition of martial law and for failing to hold a lawful cabinet meeting, as required by South Korean law, after the decree to mobilise the military was ordered by the then-president in December 2024. … The former prime minister denied the charges against him, saying he had no prior knowledge of Yoon’s plan to impose military rule.” (01/21/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/21/s-koreas-former-pm-found-guilty-of-insurrection-given-23-years-in
-----
4) US House panel approves Clinton contempt resolutions, with Democrat support
Source: The Hill
“The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee advanced resolutions Wednesday to hold former President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress over their refusal to appear for depositions after being subpoenaed in the panel’s investigation into sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The panel voted 34-8 to advance the resolution holding Bill Clinton in contempt and 28-15 on the measure holding Hillary Clinton in contempt. Nine Democrats voted in favor of the Bill Clinton resolution …. Three voted in favor of the Hillary Clinton measure … The Oversight panel had voted on a bipartisan basis last year to subpoena the Clintons, who had personal friendships with Epstein, along with several other former government officials. But after months of negotiations with the panel, the Clintons each declined to appear for in-person depositions that Comer scheduled for last week.” (01/21/26)
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5698621-clinton-contempt-house-oversight/
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5) Trump cancels tariff threat over Greenland, says NATO agreed to “framework” of future Arctic deal
Source: SFGate
“President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he was canceling his planned tariff on [American buyers of goods from] U.S. allies in Europe over US control of Greenland after he and the leader of NATO agreed to a ‘framework of a future deal’ on Arctic security. The abrupt about-face emerged hours after Trump had insisted that he wants to ‘get Greenland, including right, title and ownership,’ but said he would not use force to do so while deriding European allies and vowing that NATO should not try to block U.S. expansionism. In an extraordinary [senile rant] at the World Economic Forum, the president said he was asking for territory that was ‘cold and poorly located.’ … ‘We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force, where we would be frankly unstoppable. But I won’t do that, OK?’ Trump said, later adding, ‘I don’t have to’ and ‘I don’t want to use force.'” (01/21/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/trump-is-on-his-way-to-davos-where-his-quest-to-21306352.php
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6) Venezuela: Regime receives first revenues from oil sales to US regime
Source: United Press International
“Venezuela received $300 million Tuesday as part of revenues from oil sales to the United States, interim President Delcy Rodriguez said on social media. The funds represent the first tranche of a $500 million oil deal announced by President Donald Trump after the United States captured President Nicolas Maduro on Jan. 3. Rodriguez said the resources will be channeled through the national banking system and the Central Bank of Venezuela to ‘protect workers’ purchasing power’ and stabilize the foreign exchange market amid inflationary pressures.” (01/21/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/01/21/latam-venezuela-oil-revenue-united-states/9301769009853/
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7) Nigeria: Ambush kills six regime troops
Source: ABC News
“Five soldiers and one police officer have been killed in an ambush in northwest Nigeria, the Nigerian army said on Tuesday. The attack occurred in Zamfara state on Monday, army spokesman David Adewusi said in a statement. … Northern Nigeria has been the hardest-hit part of the country, with a surge in kidnappings for ransom by gunmen across the northwest and north-central regions over the recent months, alongside an insurgency in the northeast. Boko Haram, Nigeria’s homegrown jihadis, took up arms in 2009 to fight Western education and impose their radical version of Islamic law.” (01/21/26)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/ambush-northwest-nigeria-kills-5-soldiers-1-police-129411215
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8) Steak ‘n Shake Offers Employees Bitcoin Bonus Program
Source: Bitcoin.com
“Starting March 1, Steak ‘n Shake will provide hourly employees at its company-operated restaurants with a bitcoin bonus of $0.21 for every hour worked. The BTC rewards will vest over a two-year period, allowing employees to collect their bitcoin after meeting the vesting requirement. The initiative, supported by Fold, reflects the company’s commitment to employee incentives while embracing digital assets.” (01/21/26)
https://news.bitcoin.com/steak-n-shake-offers-employees-bitcoin-bonus-program/
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9) Canada: Court sets aside TikTok shutdown order
Source: CTV News [Canada]
“The Federal Court has set aside a government order for TikTok to wind down operations in Canada, meaning the social media company can keep running its offices here while the industry minister conducts another review. In 2024, the Liberal government ordered TikTok to close its offices in Canada, citing national security concerns, but stopped short of banning the app for users. On Wednesday, a federal judge shelved the government’s order and requested that Industry Minister Melanie Joly conduct a new review. A TikTok Canada spokesperson says the tech company welcomes the decision and looks forward to working with Joly.” (01/21/26)
https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/article/federal-court-sets-aside-tiktok-canada-shutdown-order/
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10) Palestine: Three Gaza Journalists Murdered in Israeli Strike
Source: Barron’s
“An Israeli air strike killed an AFP freelancer and two other journalists in Gaza on Wednesday, the territory’s civil defence agency said, while the military said it struck ‘suspects’ operating a drone. Since October 10, a fragile US-sponsored ceasefire in Gaza has largely halted the fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas, but both sides have alleged frequent violations. … According to an eyewitness, the journalists were using a drone to take images of aid distribution by the Egyptian Relief Committee in the Gaza Strip when a strike targeted a vehicle accompanying them. Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas called the strike ‘a dangerous escalation of the flagrant violations of the ceasefire agreement.'” (01/21/26)
https://www.barrons.com/news/israeli-strike-kills-three-gaza-journalists-including-afp-freelancer-5a0ad614
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11) Japan: Abe’s assassin sentenced to life in prison
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“A Japanese court sentenced a man who admitted assassinating former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe to life imprisonment on Wednesday. The case has revealed decades of cozy ties between Japan’s governing party and a controversial South Korean church. Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, earlier pleaded guilty to killing Abe in July 2022 during his election campaign speech in the western city of Nara. … Yamagami pleaded guilty to murder in the trial that started in October.” (01/21/26)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/shinzo-abe-shooting-death-trial-9.7054161
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12) EU parliament votes to challenge Mercosur trade deal
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“EU lawmakers voted on Wednesday to challenge the European Union’s contentious free trade agreement with South America in the bloc’s top court, a move that could delay the deal by two years and potentially derail it. The European Union signed its largest-ever trade pact with Mercosur members Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay on Saturday. The agreement still requires approval before it can take effect. Opponents, led by France, the EU’s largest agricultural producer, say the deal will sharply increase imports of cheap beef, sugar and poultry, undercutting domestic farmers who have staged repeated protests.” (01/21/26)
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20260121-eu-parliament-votes-to-challenge-mercosur-trade-deal
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13) CA: DHS alleges criminal immigrant “rammed law enforcement” before agent fired weapon
Source: Fox News
“A federal agent opened fire in southern California Wednesday after a criminal illegal [sic] immigrant ‘weaponized his vehicle and rammed law enforcement’ during an attempt to evade [abduction], the Department of Homeland Security told Fox News Digital. A spokesperson said the incident happened Wednesday morning in Compton as DHS law enforcement officers were conducting a targeted operation ‘to [abduct] a violent criminal illegal [sic] alien from El Salvador, William Eduardo Moran Carballo, who is involved in a human smuggling operation and has two prior arrests for inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant.’ ‘In a dangerous attempt to evade [abduction], this criminal illegal [sic] alien weaponized his vehicle and rammed law enforcement. Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired defensive shots,’ the DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement. ” (01/21/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/us/dhs-alleges-criminal-illegal-alien-rammed-law-enforcement-california-operation-agent-fired-weapon
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14) SCOTUS casts doubt on Trump’s power to fire Fed official without proper review
Source: Politico
“The Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared deeply skeptical of President Donald Trump’s claim that he can abruptly fire Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook for alleged misconduct without giving her a forum to contest the allegations. Several justices underscored the historical significance of the Fed’s independence from presidential control and pressed Trump’s Solicitor General D. John Sauer about his claim that removing Cook from her position required urgent action, rather than a review of unproven mortgage fraud allegations leveled by Trump and his housing czar. Citing those fraud allegations, Trump purported to fire Cook last year. But Cook has remained in her position, winning legal battles at both the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. and the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. The justices agreed to allow those rulings to remain in effect until they had a chance to weigh the Trump administration’s emergency appeal.” (01/21/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/21/supreme-court-lisa-cook-federal-reserve-00739231
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15) US military transfers first 150 Islamic State detainees from Syria to Iraq
Source: SFGate
“The U.S. military said Wednesday it has started transferring detainees from the Islamic State group being held in northeastern Syria to secure facilities in Iraq. The move came after Syrian government forces took control of a sprawling camp, housing thousands of mostly women and children, from the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, which withdrew as part of a ceasefire. … U.S. Central Command said the first transfer involved 150 IS members, who were taken from Syria’s northeastern province of Hassakeh to ‘secure locations’ in Iraq. The statement said that up to to 7,000 detainees could be transferred to Iraqi-controlled facilities.” (01/21/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/syrian-government-takes-control-of-camp-housing-21306521.php
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16) Republicans Ask SCOTUS to Block California Re-Gerrymander
Source: US News & World Report
“California Republicans asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to intervene in a bid to prevent the state from using a new congressional map designed to give the Democrats five more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The state Republican Party and other challengers filed an emergency request asking the Supreme Court to block California’s new map, which was endorsed by voters as a counterweight to a similar redistricting effort in Texas aimed at boosting Republicans. A federal court on January 14 rejected the argument by the challengers that California illegally used race in redrawing the boundaries of the congressional districts.” (01/20/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2026-01-20/republicans-ask-us-supreme-court-to-block-california-voting-map
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17) Visitors crossing from Canada into New York plummet 21% as Hochul blames Trump
Source: New York Post
“Oh-no, Canada! The number of Canadian tourists and other visitors traveling south into upstate New York plummeted a whopping 21% through the first 11 months of 2025, according to new data from the governor’s office. Gov. Kathy Hochul released figures as part of her $260 billion budget plan that showed there were 3 million few travelers crossing from Canada into the Empire State – blaming President Trump for his tariff standoff and confrontational stance with the US’s northern neighbors. The number of Canadian tourists and other visitors traveling south into upstate New York plummeted a whopping 21% through the first 11 months of 2025. ‘The adverse effects on the protectionist trade environment are adversely impacting New York’s economy,’ the report out of Hochul’s office said. ‘Costs to manufacturers in New York have risen directly or indirectly.'” (01/21/25)
https://nypost.com/2026/01/21/us-news/visitors-crossing-from-canada-into-new-york-plummet-21-as-hochul-blames-trump/
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18) Meta lays off hundreds in Seattle area
Source: Seattle Times
“Meta is laying off 331 workers in the Puget Sound region as part of broader cuts to its virtual reality division. The Facebook parent company last week said that it was cutting about 10% of its 15,000-employee Reality Labs division as it shifts resources away from what it called the metaverse to wearables like smart glasses. … Reality Labs has been a key part of Meta’s postpandemic growth in the Seattle area. … Meta’s layoffs are the latest to hit the local tech industry over the past year of cuts, including some made by the company in October that hit its artificial intelligence teams.” (01/20/26)
https://archive.is/SUZLa
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19) Newsom barred from public address in Switzerland by Trump regime
Source: SFGate
“Gov. Gavin Newsom was scheduled to speak during the World Economic Forum on Wednesday morning in Davos, Switzerland, but was barred from speaking at the very last minute by the White House, according to his office. ‘Under pressure from the White House and State Department, USA House (a church acting as the official US pavilion) is now denying entry to Governor Newsom after Fortune — the official media partner — invited him to speak,’ the governor’s office said in a text to the governor’s press corps and later posted to the governor’s official X account. The USA House is the collection of official U.S. venues during the World Economic Forum.” (01/21/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/white-house-newsom-switzerland-21307154.php
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20) Mexico: Regime sends 37 alleged cartel members to US in latest attempt to appease Trump
Source: ABC News
“Mexico’s security minister said Tuesday that it had sent another 37 members of Mexican drug cartels to the United States, as the Trump administration ratchets up pressure on governments to crack down on criminal networks it says are smuggling drugs across the border. Mexican Security Minister Omar García Harfuch wrote in a social media post on X that the people transferred were ‘high impact criminals’ that ‘represented a real threat to the country’s security.’ It is the third time in less than one year that Mexico has sent detained cartel members to the U.S. as the country attempts to offset mounting threats by U.S.” (01/20/26)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/mexico-sends-37-cartel-members-us-latest-offer-129390809
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Greenland Is Not “Our Territory” And It Never Will Be
Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison
“The U.S. has never needed to own Greenland to secure North America, and there is nothing to negotiate. Greenland is not ‘our territory,’ it never has been, and it never will be if the people of Greenland have anything to say about it. The president is a deranged revisionist who wants to ‘reclaim’ territory that has never belonged to our country. The president’s claim that his expansionist mania has something to do with security is a lie. Trump’s fixation on Greenland is akin to Smeagol’s desire for the Ring. ‘We wants it’ is the sole motivation behind this. The president is driven by nothing but gnawing greed. Trump said that he won’t use force to steal Greenland. No one should believe him when he says that, but it is no consolation when he is willing to use coercion and threats to intimidate the people of Greenland and Denmark.” (01/21/26)
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22) The Pressure Cooker of State Dominion
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Rudolph Kohn
“If you happened to be a fly on the wall at a Libertarian National Convention, you might see this happen: Someone will take a microphone and ask for a point of information. Then, he will ask, ‘Is taxation theft?’ The Chair will then answer, ‘Yes.’ Then the convention-goers will laugh, and clap, and pass over this momentary interruption, and get back to deciding who they want to run for the positions at the head of this gang of thieves. Why expend so much time, money, and energy trying to gain seats at the top of this band of robbers? Because the alternative that every voluntary organization must offer is denied to them: exit. … of all the coercive acts in a state’s arsenal, I argue that the worst is dominion, because it makes all the others possible.” (01/21/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/pressure-cooker-state-dominion
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23) Love liberty, not big government
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“I’m saddened to discover how few people value liberty more than they hate other people and love big government. It wasn’t a surprise, but I still hate to see it. One faction hates gun owners and wants armed government employees to take their guns and kill them if they resist. Another faction hates people who dwell somewhere without government permission and wants armed government employees to kidnap, cage, and evict them. They are happy to see government agents kill these people and their supporters if either of them resist. They don’t realize how similar they are; both want to hand illegitimate power over you and me to government.” (01/21/26)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2026/01/21/voices/opinion-love-liberty-not-big-government/232582.html
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24) Trump Can Prosecute Anyone Now
Source: The Atlantic
by Adam Serwer
“A year into Donald Trump’s second term, the Department of Justice has become his private law firm, devoted less to the impartial administration of justice than to blackmailing, intimidating, and persecuting Trump’s foes while selectively enforcing the law to spare allies who break it. … The decision to ignore evidence that demands investigation or prosecution can be equally nefarious, as we’ve seen in Minneapolis, where federal authorities refused to investigate a masked government agent for shooting an unarmed mom in the face, and where half a dozen federal prosecutors have since resigned after being pushed to investigate the woman’s widow instead. These are all examples of the executive branch abusing its prosecutorial discretion. And thanks to Chief Justice John Roberts and the Supreme Court, Trump is likely to get away with it.” (01/21/26)
https://archive.is/2iADz
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25) California’s “Billionaire Tax” Could Bite Harder Than Advertised
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“California’s potential adoption of a one-time 5 percent ‘billionaire tax’ on the net worth of high-value individuals is already sending wealthy residents fleeing for the exits. By one estimate, at least a trillion dollars has moved beyond the reach of state officials. But a new analysis says the tax may be even more onerous than advertised. Californians may need to get used to the sight of moving vans leaving the state.” (01/21/26)
https://reason.com/2026/01/21/californias-billionaire-tax-could-bite-harder-than-advertised/
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26) Australia’s Frightening New “Hate Speech” Laws Clearly Aimed At Pro-Palestine Groups
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Australia’s Labor government has successfully passed a ‘hate speech’ bill that’s plainly aimed, at least in part, at suppressing pro-Palestine organizations as ‘hate groups.’ Free speech advocates are sounding the alarm about the new laws, saying their extremely vague wording, lack of procedural fairness and low thresholds for implementation mean groups can now be banned if they make people feel unsafe or upset without ever actually posing any physical harm to anyone. For me the most illuminating insight into what these laws are actually designed to do came up in an ABC interview with Attorney-General Michelle Rowland on Tuesday. … Rowland was asked by ABC’s David Speers to clarify whether the new laws could see activist groups banned for criticizing Israel and opposing its genocidal atrocities in a way that causes Jewish Australians to feel upset feelings, and she refused to rule out the possibility every single time.” (01/21/25)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/01/21/australias-frightening-new-hate-speech-laws-are-clearly-aimed-at-pro-palestine-groups/
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27) Can Congress subpoena a journalist for reporting a Delta Force commander’s name?
Source: Expression
by Jacob Gaba
“On Jan. 7, the House Oversight Committee approved a subpoena for Seth Harp, an investigative journalist and contributing editor at Rolling Stone, for posting information about a Delta Force commander. Congress has broad authority to issue subpoenas. But it must show far more restraint when aiming them at journalists without any evidence of wrongdoing. … Paulina Luna of Florida’s 13th congressional district, who introduced the motion to subpoena Harp, said, ‘Putting a service member and their family in danger is dishonorable and feckless. Leaking classified information demands explanation and a criminal investigation.’ But publishing the news, even when the news contains classified information, is exactly the role of a journalist. And Rep. Luna did not cite any evidence that Harp broke the law to obtain the information.” (01/21/26)
https://expression.fire.org/p/can-congress-subpoena-a-journalist
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28) In light of harsh repression in Iran, the US should grant Temporary Protected Status to Iranians already here
Source: Niskanen Center
by Idean Salehyan
“Over the past several weeks, protests have once again erupted across Iran, driven by a deepening economic crisis and broader demands for political accountability. In response, the Trump administration has issued strong rhetorical support for Iranian protesters and sharply criticized Tehran’s heavy-handed repression. President Trump and senior officials have repeatedly framed the demonstrations as evidence of the regime’s illegitimacy and brutality toward its own people. Yet there is a striking contradiction at the heart of the U.S. response. Even as the administration condemns Iran’s treatment of its citizens, it has suspended asylum hearings, maintained sweeping travel restrictions, and deported Iranian nationals from the United States. These actions undercut Washington’s professed concern for human rights and weaken the credibility of its support for protesters inside Iran.” (01/21/26)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/in-light-of-harsh-repression-in-iran-the-us-should-grant-temporary-protected-status-to-iranians-already-here/
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29) When Will Democrats Realize That You Can’t Reform Fascism?
Source: the Philadelphia Inquirer
by Will Bunch
“Imagine this …. You’re minding your own business, or maybe picking up your kid at their school, when suddenly you find yourself in the middle of a platoon of masked, armed, camouflaged government agents. One thing leads to another, and in a flash, an agent has wrestled you to the ground, and is brandishing a weapon — maybe a Taser if you’re lucky. But what if I told you that lawmakers on Capitol Hill have a solution? They are proposing a brave new world, where now (flat on your back and gasping for air, and perhaps able to bravely manage to free your phone from your pocket) you could scan a federally mandated QR code on the agent’s uniform and find out the identity of the man who is currently pummeling you to within an inch of your life.” (01/21/25)
https://www.inquirer.com/columnists/attytood/mlk-ice-reform-defund-democrats-hmong-greenland-20260120.html
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30) Trump Wants to Hit Us with a Huge Tax Hike for His Demented Greenland Dreams
Source: CounterPunch
by Dean Baker
“Donald Trump is taking his demented dreams to a new level in his quest to take over Greenland. The man who whined over not getting a Nobel Prize and then followed Hitler propagandist Joseph Goebbels lead in accepting a prize awarded to someone else, has now decided he wants Greenland. Trump is now proposing to whack us with a $75 billion tax increase to put pressure on Denmark and the rest of the EU to give him Greenland. … Well over 90 percent of the cost of a Trump tariff is borne by consumers or importers in the United States, not by the exporting countries. When Trump starts yelling ‘tariff, tariff, tariff,’ he is yelling ‘tax, tax, tax,’ and we’re the ones paying it.” (01/21/26)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/01/21/trump-wants-to-hit-us-with-a-huge-tax-hike-for-his-demented-greenland-dreams/
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31) Phasing Out State Income Tax Key to Success in Dying Blue States
Source: Town Hall
by Betsy McCaughey
“Across the nation, states are fiercely competing for companies and population by slashing taxes. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is dooming her state to be the loser. In 2026, eight states are cutting their income taxes, and four others are reducing corporate tax rates. South Carolina is pushing ahead on legislation to phase out its income tax entirely over the next few years, joining nine other income-tax-free states. That’s bad news for New York. Saddled with a spendaholic governor and state legislature, New York is becoming increasingly unattractive to newcomers and businesses alike. On Tuesday, Hochul unveiled a record-breaking $260 billion state budget — two and a half times the size of Florida’s, despite Florida’s larger population.” (01/21/25)
https://townhall.com/columnists/betsymccaughey/2026/01/21/phasing-out-state-income-tax-key-to-success-in-dying-blue-states-n2669800
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32) Partitioning Iran Would Backfire Spectacularly
Source: The American Conservative
by Eldar Mamedov
“ollowing the Islamic Republic’s brutal crackdown on protests this past week, an air of inevitability continues to surround the possibility of American military intervention. But what would such an intervention look like? Voices in U.S. and Israeli media are once again floating the idea of breaking Iran apart along ethnic lines. … This is dangerous nonsense, and America First advocates of realism and restraint in U.S. foreign policy must unambiguously reject it. It is also déjà vu, reminiscent of the political atmosphere that preceded the Iraq debacle — and it promises an even more catastrophic failure in a country four times the size of Iraq.” (01/21/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/partitioning-iran-would-backfire-spectacularly/
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33) Abolish ICE, and DHS Too
Source: Common Dreams
by Jordan Liz
“On a September morning, armed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents broke in and raided the home of 15-year-old Marie Justeen Mancha while her mother was running an errand. They blocked the door, accused her of being ‘an illegal,’ and questioned Marie about her and her mother’s legal status. They are both US citizens. This break-in was part of a widespread sweep targeting Hispanic communities in southeast Georgia. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) accused ICE of using ‘Gestapo-like’ tactics to trample ‘on the constitutional rights of every person of Hispanic descent who was unfortunate to be in their way.’ SPLC filed a class-action lawsuit against ICE on behalf of five US citizens. In addition to compensation for property damages, the lawsuit sought a court order to stop ICE from conducting similar raids in the future. Sound familiar? That occurred in 2006, 20 years ago.” (01/21/25)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/abolish-ice-and-dhs
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34) These Schools Are Seeing a January Enrollment Surge
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Kerry McDonald
“Microschools and other new learning models make it easier for dissatisfied students and families to shift to a new school midyear.” (01/21/26)
https://fee.org/articles/these-schools-are-seeing-a-january-enrollment-surge/
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35) The Importance of Medieval Rats to Pandemic Profit
Source: Brownstone Institute
by David Bell
“The pandemic agenda, important to maintaining a healthy market for mRNA vaccines, is reliant on a general sense of fear and urgency to achieve success. Mitigating against this is the decline in infectious disease and dearth of recent naturally derived pandemics. With Covid-19 fading and looking worryingly unnatural in origin, the pandemic industry is developing an increasing interest in ancient history, when its offerings may have proven more useful.” (01/21/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/the-importance-of-medieval-rats-to-pandemic-profit/
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36) Overturning the Twentieth Century?
Source: Law & Liberty
by Robert G Natelson
“Elite opinion aside, the Supreme Court has not aggressively attacked the bad precedents of the past century. Maybe it should.” (01/21/26)
https://lawliberty.org/overturning-the-twentieth-century/
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37) Don Lemon and his church-storming mob must face Ku Klux Klan, FACE Act charges
Source: Fox News
by Mike Davis
“The freedom of worship is a cornerstone value of our Republic, enshrined in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Last Sunday, a group of anti-ICE agitators violated this most sacred right when they stormed into Cities Church in St. Paul, MN, during church services to protest the pastor’s supposed ties to ICE. This mob of leftist bigots included fired CNN anchor Don Lemon, who stunningly claimed they (somehow) had the First Amendment right to target, trespass into, terrify and disrupt a church service – even based upon the race and religion of the congregants. … For his outrageous criminal behavior and total lack of remorse, Lemon must face legal accountability – including federal felony charges under the FACE Act and Ku Klux Klan Act. In short, Lemon must go to federal prison – and for years.” (01/21/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/mike-davis-don-lemon-his-church-storming-mob-must-face-ku-klux-klan-face-act-charges
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38) Quitting International Agreements and Organizations: The Wisdom Varies
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ted Galen Carpenter
“Donald Trump has quit numerous international organizations. Many of his choices are good and long overdue. A few others, though, present real dangers to peace.” (01/21/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/ted_galen_carpenter/2026/01/20/quitting-international-agreements-and-organizations-the-wisdom-varies/
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39) How Markets Work: Hayek’s “Marvel” of the Market 80 Years Later
Source: Isonomia Quarterly
by Peter Boettke
“F. A. Hayek is perhaps best known as the author of The Road to Serfdom (1944), a prophetic work issuing a warning about the totalitarian tendencies of socialist economic planning. Socialism, Hayek argued, was both incompatible with liberal democracy and material progress and well-being. A critical step in his argument was that socialism could not replace the market economy not only in its efficient use of resources, but in stimulating creative innovation and technological change that enhanced the human condition. To economists, however, Hayek is most appreciated for his article further explaining the argument in the critical step published a year later – ‘The Use of Knowledge in Society.'” (01/21/26)
https://isonomiaquarterly.com/archive/volume-3-issue-4/how-markets-work-hayeks-marvel-of-the-market-80-years-later/
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40) Only parents should decide if their kids use social media
Source: spiked
by Ella Whelan
“Discussions about children’s online experiences and the dangers they might face are nothing new. But in recent months, officialdom seems to have become increasingly concerned about protecting children’s ‘wellbeing,’ rather than protecting them from ‘harm.’ So instead of concerns about children seeing extreme content or writing nasty things about each other, the current focus is on the amount of time kids spend on social media. … This focus on the duration of kids’ social-media use is revealing. It shows the extent to which calls for a ban are rooted in a lack of confidence in parental authority – a lack of confidence, that is, in parents’ capacity to control their kids’ behaviour and limit the amount of time they spend on social media.” (01/21/26)
https://archive.is/wUSq2
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41) It’s So Cute How You Write Laws and Stuff
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen
“I get why Congress could be a good gig for a social climber or a rich dude looking for flattery and prestige and stock tips. As an entity for managing the country and meeting its challenges, today’s Congress is rather inert, especially when the biggest challenges come from within. Since the beginning of Trump’s term one year ago, I have been studying the tools available to Congress to assert itself as the primary institution of American government, expressed in Article I of the Constitution. Sadly, most of those tools have not found their way out of committee. Democrats shut down the government last October, for instance, but did not demand that they would only agree to pass appropriations if they were guaranteed to be spent.” (01/21/25)
https://prospect.org/2026/01/21/so-cute-how-you-write-laws-congress-appropriations-ice/
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42) When Production Isn’t Production and Prices Aren’t Prices
Source: The Daily Economy
by Antón Chamberlin
“Many debates on economic topics hinge on a set of familiar words: production, prices, costs, value. These terms appear constantly in political speeches, news articles, and policy discussions. Yet they are rarely used with much precision (at least where academic economists are concerned). As a result, people often talk past one another while believing they are in agreement — or disagreement — about the same thing. Confusing colloquial meanings with technical definitions can lead to deeply flawed conclusions about how markets work and what governments can realistically accomplish.” (01/21/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/when-production-isnt-production-and-prices-arent-prices/
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43) The new Trump Doctrine: Strategic domination and denial
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Joanna Rozpedowski
“The US appears intent on using discrete military action while restricting rivals’ access to key regions, resources, technologies, and governance mechanisms.” (01/21/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-doctrine-spheres-of-denial/
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44) With Trade Deal, Canada Bets on China
Source: Foreign Policy
by James Palmer
“Last Friday, Canada and China struck a preliminary trade deal that would open the Canadian market to Chinese electric vehicles and lower Chinese retaliatory tariffs on key Canadian agricultural exports. … The deal will undoubtedly revive accusations of malign Chinese influence and Canadian perfidy from U.S. right-wingers and China hawks. But a year into Trump’s second term, moving closer to Beijing makes perfect sense for Ottawa, as well as the European Union. … Put bluntly, a relatively rational autocracy with limited, stable foreign-policy goals located an ocean away may seem preferable to a country run by an erratic autocrat next door. In this respect, the ongoing Greenland crisis has given Canada’s leaders brutal clarity about the United States as it is, not as it was or as they want it to be.” (01/20/26)
https://archive.is/JBeW0
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45) Did Bernie Sanders MEAN to prove that socialists have no heart?
Source: New York Post
by staff
“Socialism pretends to be all warm and cuddly, but Sen. Bernie Sanders is showing how heartless it can be. He’s been the sole lawmaker blocking legislation to speed up cures for kids with cancer and nudge drug makers to develop new pediatric therapies. And on Tuesday, he joined nurses who’ve abandoned their hospitalized patients to strike for fat pay hikes. For cold-blooded socialists like Bernie, ideology clearly trumps compassion. Start with the bill he’s blocking: the Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act, recently renamed for a 16-year-old who died of cancer last year while lobbying for the measure. Sanders (I-VT) says he himself backs the bill, except it doesn’t push other health care measures he wants, such as funding for community health centers — so he’s holding the cancer kids hostage.” (01/20/25)
https://nypost.com/2026/01/20/opinion/bernie-sanders-is-bent-on-proving-that-socialists-have-no-heart/
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46) We’d Have Been Committed for Predicting Half of What Trump Has Done
Source: The UnPopulist
by Jacob Grier
“Today marks the one-year anniversary of Donald Trump’s return to the presidency. We thought it would be the perfect occasion to look back at some of the low-lights of Year 1 of Trump 2.0 and imagine the diagnosis that the self-proclaimed cool heads would have ascribed to us Trump worrywarts if we had predicted even a fraction of what His Orange Eminence and Wannabe Nobel Peace Laureate went on to do. Actually, we know their diagnosis because they were not shy about telling us.” (01/20/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/wed-have-been-committed-for-predicting
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47) “Might Makes Right” Will Not Be Effective, Even in the Western Hemisphere
Source: Independent Institute
by Ivan Eland
“‘The strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must’ is a quote that has come down through the ages from the Greek historian Thucydides’[s] History of the Peloponnesian War, written in 416 BC. It has come to encapsulate the ‘might makes right’ philosophy in international relations and is embraced by some in the realist school of foreign policy. Such realists are mostly right about how the world still works, but have a PR problem in today’s milieu of woke platitudes in international relations. Despite the fact that the balance of power and spheres of influence still shape the worldview of the vast majority of global leaders, some of these strong countries usually dress up the reasons for their military interventions in terms of democratization, humanitarian ends, or their national security.” (01/20/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/01/20/trump-greenland-foreign-policy/
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48) Greenland, Minnesota, Army-Navy game: Another day, another emergency
Source: Washington Post
by George F Will
“As usual, today’s president, coming late to a long-standing problem, but presuming his original discovery of it, has made himself the issue. His acquisitiveness regarding Greenland has nothing to do with national security, and everything to do, as everything always does, with his fragile ego. He is pouting, and threatening aggression, because he has not received the Nobel Peace Prize. The Danes can perhaps take comfort from the fact that the president is contemplating military operations against another northern place. As this is being written, the Army is reportedly readying a potential deployment to Minnesota to quell disturbances stemming from ham-handed activities by the ludicrously — and lethally — militarized U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. During all this, the president has announced he will order that no other football game can be televised during the annual Army-Navy game.” (01/20/26)
https://archive.is/pYGtE
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49) Capitalism Without Humans
Source: In These Times
by Sarah Jaffe
“Around the United States, the rebellions against President Donald Trump’s militarized Immigration and Customs Enforcement invasions (bolstered by other agencies including the National Guard and, at least in one case, actual Marines) continue. National headlines have mostly skipped over Memphis, perhaps because it’s a smaller city in the South, far from the headquarters of national media. On the ground in Memphis, local policy organizer Amber Sherman explained, the fear (and resistance) are similar to what we see in bigger cities. It’s not so much the National Guard, she said, but around the city, there are some 1,500 federal agents from the so-called Memphis Safe Task Force working alongside existing police and using traffic stops (reportedly more than 35,000 in two months) as a way to get their hands on people. This is the very issue (pretextual stops) that Memphis activists organized against so effectively after police killed artist and skateboarder Tyre Nichols two years ago.” (01/21/25)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/capitalism-without-humans-labor-ai-tech-waymo-riot
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50) No, you can’t make students stand for the Pledge of Allegiance
Source: Expression
by helloiamcarrie
“For more than 80 years, the law has been clear. The government can’t force public school children to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. One Tennessee school was either oblivious to this settled First Amendment principle or chose to ignore it. But thanks to a letter from FIRE, the school district has stepped in and promised to investigate.” (01/20/26)
https://expression.fire.org/p/no-you-cant-make-students-stand-for
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Reason Interview: Freddy Guevara
Source: Reason
“Why Venezuelans Support Trump’s Capture of Maduro.” (01/21/26)
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52) The Briefing Podcast with Michael Warren, 01/21/26
Source: Brennan Center for Justice
“How We Can Fix America’s Corruption Problem (with Celinda Lake and Daniel Weiner).” (01/21/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2Z4j6n-zhA
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53) The Science of Politics, 01/21/26
Source: Niskanen Center
“How authoritarian parenting attitudes explain our political divides.” (01/21/26)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/how-authoritarian-parenting-attitudes-explain-our-political-divides
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54) The Daily, 01/21/26
Source: New York Times
“On the Front Line of Minnesota’s Fight With ICE.” (01/21/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zctfogA3C-A
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55) Rising, 01/21/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave delivers radar on why California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Dems are avoiding questions about trans athletes in sports.” (01/21/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/5698375-rising-january-21-2026/
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56) The David Frum Show, 01/21/26
Source: The Atlantic
“Why Trump Sides With Putin.” (01/21/26)
https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/2026/01/david-frum-show-fiona-hill-putin/685690/
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57) Reasonably Optimistic, 01/21/26
Source: Washington Post
“What it will take to fix American policing.” (01/21/26)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/impromptu/what-it-will-take-to-fix-american-policing/
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58) The Illegal News with Sarah Longwell, 01/21/26
Source: The Bulwark
“Trump Wants to Use the Military Against Americans (w/ Asha Rangappa).” (01/21/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsXLkAEEJqg
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59) Underthrow Podcast, 01/21/26
Source: Underthrow
“Burn Down the Fed?” (01/21/26)
https://underthrow.substack.com/p/burn-down-the-fed
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60) System Update, episode 568
Source: System Update
“New Laura Poitras Documentary: On War, Propaganda & the Corporate Media.” (01/20/26)
https://rumble.com/v74m648-new-laura-poitras-documentary-on-war-propaganda-and-the-corporate-media-sys.html
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61) Fountainhead Forum, episode 409
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Susan Baughman on being an AirBNB host and an AirBNB guest.” (01/20/26)
https://rumble.com/v74mlok-ff-409-susan-baughman-on-being-an-airbnb-host-and-an-airbnb-guest.html
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62) Right Now With Perry Bacon, 01/20/26
Source: The New Republic
“Why Trump Is Losing Ground Even in This Deep-Red State.” (01/20/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/205447/trump-losing-ground-even-deep-red-state
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63) LPA Solidarity Stream, episode 13
Source: LP Alliance
“Alex Flores and the First People’s Role in the Libertarian Party.” (01/20/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3muMxxreqA
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64) Nonzero, 01/20/26
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“AI After Us: The ‘Succession’ Scenario | Robert Wright & Dan Faggella.” (01/20/26)
https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/69242
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65) Reason Roundtable, 01/20/26
Source: Reason
“Is America Really Going to War for Greenland?” (01/20/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/01/20/is-america-really-going-to-war-for-greenland/
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