01/15 -- Iran: Regime reopens airspace after closure amid US attack threats; Trump vs. Free Markets
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Thomas L. Knapp
Jan 15, 2026, 6:15:23 AM (6 days ago) Jan 15
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 01/15/26
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Today's Freedom News:
0) Hybrid Thursday at the Freedom Movement's Daily Newspaper
1) Iran: Regime reopens airspace after closure amid US attack threats
2) US Heimatschutz Review Finds No Widespread Illegal Voting by Migrants
3) Dog bites man: Two Senate Republicans publicly defile themselves to please senile reality TV star
4) Trump says Zelenskyy, not Putin, is holding up a Ukraine peace deal
5) Venezuela: Rodríguez vows to continue releasing political prisoners
6) State Department: US regime to suspend visa processing for 75 nations
7) House GOP moves to hold Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress in Epstein probe
8) UK: Regime waters down mandatory digital ID scheme after backlash
9) FBI searches reporter’s home
10) Widespread Verizon outage prompts emergency alerts in Washington, New York City
11) Donations Surge for Ford Worker Who Triggered Trump With “Pedo Protector”
12) McConaughey trademarks himself
13) Why two Canadian provinces are in a spat over Crown Royal whisky
14) China: Regime reports record $1.2 trillion trade surplus for 2025, defying Trump’s tariffs
15) Syria: Military tells civilians to evacuate contested area east of Aleppo amid rising tensions
16) Appeals court rules “Fat Leonard” must serve full sentence in US Navy corruption scandal
17) Italy: Influencer Chiara Ferragni acquitted in “Pandorogate” fraud scandal
18) Bulgaria: Snap Election Likely After Reformist Group Rejects Bid for Regime
19) France: Regime survives two no-confidence votes over Mercosur deal
20) Claudette Colvin, 1939-2026
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Trump vs. Free Markets
22) More laws equivalent of more crime
23) Chicago does not have a single licensed hot dog cart. Here’s why.
24) Patrick Henry Was Right
25) China’s Rare Earth “Monopoly” — and Why Markets Will Break It
26) It’s Not A Minnesota Problem, It’s A Blue State Problem
27) Those who execute military orders carry all the risk
28) Crocodile Tears for the Iranian People
29) You Know They’re Lying About Iran
30) MAGA’S Young, Dumb Future
31) The Left [sic] Will Never Give Up Global Warming
32) Trump’s credit card interest cap is bad for the economy
33) Do Dems Have the Guts to Outflank Trump on Defense Industry Looting?
34) The perils of naughty piccies by Grok
35) Trump’s quest to kick America’s “Iraq War syndrome”
36) So, How’s the Occupation Going for You?
37) The duo tapping a new Japanese-Korean beat
38) A Distraction From the Epstein Files?
39) Socialist America?
40) The Glee You See From Fascists About State Violence is a Sexual Fetish
41) Tariffs: Maybe Not So Crazy
42) Trump Says He Sets His Own Limits; Founding Fathers Disagree
43) Genocide Isn’t a Mistake. Which Is Why the Media Can’t Tell You the Truth About Gaza
44) Cheap Credit Doesn’t Create Economic Growth — It Makes Us Poorer
45) “Zohranomics”: NYC Mayor Mamdani’s socialist math doesn’t add up
46) Tariffs Have Hurt, Not Helped, the US Economy
47) Insurance company subsidies are no prescription for lowering healthcare costs
48) The Biggest Myth About Trump’s Base (And Why Many Believe It)
49) Amid ICE Crackdown, Unions and Community Groups Call for Minnesota Shutdown in 10 Days
50) AI Will Create Work, Not Decimate It
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) The Political Orphanage
52) Rising, 01/14/26
53) The Illegal News with Sarah Longwell, 01/14/26
54) Reason Interview: Colleen Shogan
55) Underthrow Podcast, 01/14/26
56) The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg, 01/14/26
57) Declare Your Independence with Ernest Hancock, 01/14/26
58) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 01/14/26
59) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 01/14/26
60) Nonzero, 01/13/26
61) System Update, episode 565
62) Capital Record, episode 279
63) Mean Age Daydream, 01/13/26
64) Politics Politics Politics, 01/13/26
65) Trump Watch, 01/13/26
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1) Iran: Regime reopens airspace after closure amid US attack threats
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Iran temporarily closed its airspace to most flights amid United States President Donald Trump’s threats against the country, according to the US aviation authority. Most flights were prohibited from Iranian airspace between 1:45am and 4:00am local time (22:15 to 00:30 GMT) and again from 4:44 am to 7am (01:14 to 03:30 GMT) on Thursday, according to the notices posted by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). … Iran’s airspace reopened at about 7am local time. … Trump appeared to lower his rhetoric towards Tehran later on Wednesday, saying he had received assurances from ‘important sources’ that the killings of protesters in Iran had stopped.” (01/15/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/15/iran-closes-airspace-to-most-flights-amid-threat-of-us-attack-monitors
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2) US Heimatschutz Review Finds No Widespread Illegal Voting by Migrants
Source: New York Times
“It was a common refrain for Donald J. Trump and his allies during the 2024 campaign: The Biden administration was purposely encouraging mass numbers of immigrants to cross the border in order to vote illegally. As president, Mr. Trump has pushed his administration to address the alleged crimes, including prompting many states to upload tens of millions of voter records through a federal immigration verification tool run out of the Department of Homeland Security. But with the review underway, the results so far indicate there is no evidence of widespread fraud, according to interviews with government officials and documents reviewed by The New York Times. Out of 49.5 million voter registrations that have been checked, the department referred around 10,000 cases to Homeland Security Investigations for further investigation of noncitizenship, or roughly .02 percent of the names processed, according to Matthew Tragesser, a spokesman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the D.H.S. agency that oversees the program.” (01/14/26)
https://archive.is/N4KhF
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3) Dog bites man: Two Senate Republicans publicly defile themselves to please senile reality TV star
Source: The Hill
“Senate Republicans on Wednesday defeated a war powers resolution to block President Trump from using military force ‘within or against’ Venezuela after two Republicans who voted last week to advance the measure reversed themselves and joined their leaders in quashing it. Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) voted on Wednesday to support a point of order against the resolution after coming under intense pressure from Trump, who called for their ouster from the Senate after they defied him last week.” (01/14/26)
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5689992-hawley-young-reverse-venezuela-resolution
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4) Trump says Zelenskyy, not Putin, is holding up a Ukraine peace deal
Source: Reuters
“U.S. President Donald Trump told Reuters that Ukraine — not Russia — is holding up a potential peace deal, rhetoric that stands in marked contrast to that of European allies, who have consistently argued Moscow has little interest in ending its war in Ukraine. In an exclusive interview in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to wrap up his nearly four-year-old invasion of Ukraine. Zelenskiy, the U.S. president said, was more reticent. ‘I think he’s ready to make a deal,’ Trump said of the Russian president. ‘I think Ukraine is less ready to make a deal.’ Asked why U.S.-led negotiations had not yet resolved Europe’s largest land conflict since World War Two, Trump responded: ‘Zelenskiy.'” (01/14/26)
https://archive.is/n1SzY
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5) Venezuela: Rodríguez vows to continue releasing political prisoners
Source: SFGate
“Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez signaled Wednesday that the country would continue releasing prisoners detained under former President Nicolás Maduro in what she described as ‘a new political moment’ since his ouster by the United States earlier this month. … Rodríguez opened her first press briefing since Maduro’s arrest by U.S. forces with a conciliatory tone. Addressing journalists from a red carpet at the presidential palace, she offered assurances that the process of releasing detainees — a move reportedly made at the behest of the Trump administration — ‘has not yet concluded.’ A Venezuelan human rights organization estimates about 800 political prisoners are still being detained.” (01/14/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/venezuela-s-acting-president-vows-to-continue-21294833.php
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6) State Department: US regime to suspend visa processing for 75 nations
Source: Reuters
“The Trump administration is suspending all visa processing for visitors from 75 countries starting January 21, Fox News reported on Wednesday, citing a memo from the U.S. State Department. Somalia, Russia, Iran, Afghanistan, Brazil, Nigeria, Thailand are among the affected countries, according to the report. Representatives for the State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reported memo, which Fox News said directs U.S. embassies to refuse visas under existing law while the department reassesses its procedures. No time frame was provided.” (01/14/26)
https://archive.is/Pi9HN
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7) House GOP moves to hold Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress in Epstein probe
Source: Axios
“House Oversight Republicans will begin contempt of Congress proceedings against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after she failed to appear for a deposition Wednesday as part of the committee’s investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Both Clintons will face contempt of Congress proceedings — a rarely used congressional enforcement tool. … The Oversight panel will vote to hold Hillary and Bill Clinton in contempt next Wednesday, Comer said. Criminal contempt of Congress carries a maximum penalty of up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000, though not every witness who defies a subpoena is referred for prosecution.” (01/14/26)
https://archive.is/MmujP
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8) UK: Regime waters down mandatory digital ID scheme after backlash
Source: ABC News
“The British government has watered down plans for mandatory digital identification cards, a contentious idea it had touted as a way to help control immigration. It’s the latest policy U-turn by Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s embattled center-left government, which is under fire from both opposition politicians and governing Labour Party lawmakers. Officials confirmed Wednesday that it won’t be compulsory for citizens and residents to show a digital ID card in order to get a job, ditching a key plank of the policy announced in September. … Britain has not had compulsory identity cards for ordinary citizens since shortly after World War II, and the idea has long been contentious. Civil rights campaigners argue it infringes personal liberty and puts people’s information at risk.” (01/14/26)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/uk-watering-plans-mandatory-digital-id-cards-after-129194786
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9) FBI searches reporter’s home
Source: The Hill
“The home of a Washington Post reporter was searched by the FBI as part of an investigation by the bureau into the leaking of classified documents tied to President Trump’s efforts to trim the size of the federal government. The search, which was first reported by The New York Times and the Post itself, came at the home of journalist Hannah Natanson …. Natanson was home at the time of the search, the Post reported, and the FBI seized her two laptops, cell phone and a Garmin watch during the operation. A warrant tied to the search noted the investigation was focused on a government system administrator in Maryland who ‘has a top secret security clearance and has been accused of accessing and taking home classified intelligence reports that were found in his lunchbox and his basement,’ the outlet reported.” (01/14/26)
https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5688345-fbi-searches-washington-post-reporter
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10) Widespread Verizon outage prompts emergency alerts in Washington, New York City
Source: NBC News
“Verizon said on Wednesday that its wireless service was suffering an outage impacting cellular data and voice services. The nation’s largest wireless carrier said that its ‘engineers are engaged and are working to identify and solve the issue quickly.’ Verizon’s statement came after a swath of social media comments directed at Verizon, with users saying that their mobile devices were showing no bars of service or ‘SOS,’ indicating a lack of connection. Verizon, which has more than 146 million customers, appears to have started experiencing services issues around 12:00 p.m. ET, according to comments on social media site X. … In Washington, D.C., the District’s official emergency notification system sent out a message to residents saying that the Verizon outage was ‘nationwide.’ … New York City’s Office of Emergency Management also said it was aware of the outage without mentioning Verizon by name.” (01/14/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/verizon-outage-new-york-washington-rcna254050
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11) Donations Surge for Ford Worker Who Triggered Trump With “Pedo Protector”
Source: The Daily Beast
“A fundraiser for a man who was suspended for calling President Donald Trump a ‘pedophile protector’ has raised more than $222,000 in just a few hours. Ford factory worker TJ Sabula was recorded getting into a confrontation with Trump during the president’s tour of one of the automaker’s plants in Michigan on Tuesday. Video of the incident shows Trump — who has faced widespread condemnation over his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files — appearing to mouth ‘f— you’ and flip the bird after Sabula is heard calling him a ‘pedophile protector. The worker said he was suspended over the incident but told The Washington Post that he has ‘no regrets whatsoever.'” (01/14/26)
https://archive.is/Umy2o
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12) McConaughey trademarks himself
Source: Engadget
“Matthew McConaughey filed trademark applications to prevent his likeness from being used by AI companies without permission, and the US Patent and Trademark Office has approved eight so far. According to the Wall Street Journal, the trademarks were for video and audio clips featuring the actor staring, smiling and talking. One was for a video of him standing on a porch, while another was for an audio recording of him saying ‘alright, alright, alright,’ his signature catchphrase from the movie Dazed and Confused. Under the law, it’s already prohibited for companies to steal someone’s likeness to sell products. However, McConaughey is taking a proactive approach due to the nebulous rules around the use of someone’s likeness for artificial intelligence and what’s considered commercial use involving the technology.” (01/14/26)
https://www.engadget.com/ai/matthew-mcconaughey-fights-unauthorized-ai-likenesses-by-trademarking-himself-130000567.html
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13) Why two Canadian provinces are in a spat over Crown Royal whisky
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“A British owned, Canadian-made whisky is at the centre of a spat between two provinces that is testing a unified ‘Team Canada’ approach in the face of US tariffs. It started after the whisky maker, Diageo, said it will shut down a bottling plant in Ontario to move some of it closer to US consumers. Soon after, Ontario Premier Doug Ford angrily poured out a bottle of Crown Royal in front of reporters, and now says the product will be removed from provincial liquor stores. This has alarmed neighbouring Manitoba, where a Crown Royal distillery is a key employer in the small town of Gimli. In a symbolic visit to the Gimli distillery on Tuesday, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew urged Ford to ‘do a 180.'” (01/14/25)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8x9v241z2qo
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14) China: Regime reports record $1.2 trillion trade surplus for 2025, defying Trump’s tariffs
Source: NBC News
“China had its biggest trade surplus ever last year at almost $1.2 trillion, according to data released Wednesday, defying tariffs President Donald Trump has imposed on the world’s second-largest economy. China is sending more exports to other parts of the world, even as it struggles with domestic economic troubles. China’s foreign trade in goods last year totaled 45.47 trillion yuan ($6.51 trillion), up 3.8% from the year before, state media reported, citing figures from the General Administration of Customs. That included 26.99 trillion yuan ($3.8 trillion) in exports and 18.48 trillion yuan ($2.6 trillion) in imports. Exports grew 6.1% compared with the previous year, while imports grew 0.5%.” (01/14/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/world/asia/china-reports-record-12-trillion-trade-surplus-2025-defying-trumps-tar-rcna253940
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15) Syria: Military tells civilians to evacuate contested area east of Aleppo amid rising tensions
Source: SFGate
“Syria’s military said it would open a corridor Thursday for civilians to evacuate an area of Aleppo province that has seen a military buildup following intense clashes between government and Kurdish-led forces in Aleppo city. The army’s announcement late Wednesday — which said civilians would be able to evacuate through the ‘humanitarian corridor’ from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday — appeared to signal plans for an offensive in the towns of Deir Hafer and Maskana and surrounding areas, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) east of Aleppo city. The military called on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and other armed groups to withdraw to the other side of the the Euphrates River, to the east of the contested zone. Syrian government troops have already sent troop reinforcements to the area after accusing the SDF of building up its own forces there, which the SDF denied.” (01/14/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/syrian-military-tells-civilians-to-evacuate-21294704.php
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16) Appeals court rules “Fat Leonard” must serve full sentence in US Navy corruption scandal
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
“Leonard Glenn Francis, the Malaysian contractor known as ‘Fat Leonard’ at the center of the worst bribery and corruption scheme in U.S. Navy history, must serve the remainder of his 15-year prison sentence, according to an appeals court ruling that became official Monday. … He argued in part that U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino violated his Fifth Amendment rights and abused her discretion in November 2024 when she handed down a sentence that was 40 months longer than what prosecutors recommended. … The Malaysian contractor admitted that he spent decades bribing a rotating cast of officers from the Navy’s 7th Fleet in the Western Pacific, showering them with lavish dinners, luxury hotel rooms, top-shelf liquor, prostitutes and cash. In turn, those officers steered ships to the Southeast Asian ports controlled by Francis and his company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia.” (01/13/26)
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/01/13/appeals-court-rules-fat-leonard-must-serve-full-sentence-in-navy-corruption-scandal/
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17) Italy: Influencer Chiara Ferragni acquitted in “Pandorogate” fraud scandal
Source: Politico
“A Milan criminal court on Wednesday acquitted Italian fashion influencer and businesswoman Chiara Ferragni of aggravated fraud in the so-called Pandorogate scandal. The case, one of Italy’s most high-profile celebrity trials, centered on allegations of misleading advertising linked to the promotion of the sweet pandoro Christmas bread — luxury sugar-dusted brioches — in 2022 and Easter eggs sold in 2021 and 2022. Prosecutors, who had requested a 20-month prison sentence, argued that consumers had been led to believe their purchases would support charitable causes, when donations had in fact already been made and were not tied to sales. Ferragni denied any wrongdoing throughout the proceedings.” (01/14/26)
https://www.politico.eu/article/italys-top-influencer-chiara-ferragni-acquitted-pandorogate-fraud-scandal/
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18) Bulgaria: Snap Election Likely After Reformist Group Rejects Bid for Regime
Source: US News & World Report
“Bulgaria’s second-largest parliamentary grouping, the reformist PP-DB, declined a request on Wednesday from the president to try to form a new government, increasing the likelihood of a snap election in the European Union’s poorest member state. Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov’s coalition government, backed by GERB-SDS, resigned last month after weeks of street protests against state corruption and a new budget that would have increased some taxes. In line with the constitution, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev on Monday had formally asked the conservative GERB-SDS to form the government which they rejected. On Wednesday PP-DB, which seeks closer relations with the European Union, also rejected the mandate, BTA agency reported. Radev is now expected to offer a chance to govern to another party and then if they refuse he will have to call a snap vote, Bulgaria’s eighth in just four years.” (01/24/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-01-14/snap-election-likely-in-bulgaria-after-reformist-group-rejects-bid-for-government
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19) France: Regime survives two no-confidence votes over Mercosur deal
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s government on Wednesday survived a second vote of no confidence in the National Assembly that had been called in protest against the EU-Mercosur trade deal. The motion, filed by the far-right National Rally (RN) party, was backed by 142 members of parliament’s lower house. 288 votes were needed for the motion to pass. An earlier no-confidence motion filed by the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) on the same matter had also failed. Despite French opposition, EU member states last week approved the signing of the long-debated deal with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. French farmers have been protesting for months against the deal they say threatens local agriculture by creating unfair competition with cheaper South American imports.” (01/14/26)
https://www.france24.com/en/france/20260114-france-government-survives-two-no-confidence-votes-over-mercosur-deal
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20) Claudette Colvin, 1939-2026
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Claudette Colvin, who helped to ignite the modern civil rights movement in the US after refusing to give up her seat to a white woman on a segregated bus, has died aged 86. Colvin was 15 when she was arrested on a bus in Montgomery, nine months before Rosa Parks gained international fame for also refusing to give up her seat. … Colvin was detained on March 2, 1955, after a bus driver called the police to complain that two [b]lack girls were sitting near two white women in violation of segregation laws. Colvin refused to move when asked, leading to her arrest. … Colvin was briefly imprisoned for disturbing public order. The following year, she became one of four [b]lack female plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit challenging segregated bus seating in Montgomery. The case was successful, impacting public transportation throughout the US, including trains, aeroplanes and taxis.” (01/14/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/14/unsung-us-civil-rights-pioneer-claudette-colvin-dies-aged-86
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Trump vs. Free Markets
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“Whatever debilitating brain parasite burrowed into the gray matter of American politics over the last decade-plus has resulted in some astonishing transformations. One of the biggest has been the reshaping of the once nominally pro-capitalist Republican party into a populist party hostile to free markets. Under President Donald Trump, the GOP increasingly favors the whims of the president and his cronies over the results of voluntary interactions among millions of buyers, producers, and sellers. Most recently, we see this in the form of Trump’s announced intentions to ban some real estate investors from purchasing single-family homes and his proposed cap on credit card interest rates. … as many points of disagreement spark fiery clashes, economics isn’t really a point of contention between the dominant factions of the two main parties. Trump’s Republicans agree with the ‘opposition’ progressive Democrats that the government should be running the economy.” (01/14/26)
https://reason.com/2026/01/14/trump-vs-free-markets/
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22) More laws equivalent of more crime
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“Trying to solve crime with authoritarian government, more laws, and stricter enforcement is like trying to keep someone healthy by stuffing them in a coffin and burying them alive. Yet, this is the first move politicians make when they see a problem. Turning to government and its laws is a sign your society has failed, and the unfortunate fact is that this only causes more crime in the long run. As the Chinese philosopher Laozi pointed out over 2,000 years ago, ‘The more numerous the laws, the more thieves and robbers there will be.’ … Whoever said it, it’s true. It has always been true, and it remains so today. Only, can we finally admit it’s not ‘corruption,’ but government working exactly as designed?” (01/14/26)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2026/01/14/voices/opinion-more-laws-equivalent-of-more-crime/232530.html
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23) Chicago does not have a single licensed hot dog cart. Here’s why.
Source: Washington Post
by Austin Berg
“The home of the Chicago-style hot dog does not have a single food cart licensed to sell hot dogs on city sidewalks, according to a Chicago Policy Center analysis of city data. It sounds unbelievable. But it’s true. This de facto ban speaks to a political structure and culture that still prioritizes who you know, rather than how well you serve customers. For decades, Chicago did not allow food carts of any kind. Brick-and-mortar restaurant interests lobbied city bureaucrats to keep street vendors from legally operating. Meanwhile, vendors were still out selling sliced fruit, tamales and other street food illicitly across the city. … After community pressure, the city created a new license for food carts in 2015. … But nearly a decade later, there are just 14 licensed food carts of any kind in Chicago. Compare that with New York, home to 7,000 licensed food cart vendors.” (01/14/26)
https://archive.is/bplKo
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24) Patrick Henry Was Right
Source: The Dispatch
by Kevin D Williamson
“I don’t know that I’m 100 percent ready to agree with Leighton Woodhouse that ‘the hysterical pussy hats were right,’ but I am very much convinced that the anti-federalists were, and that that fact ultimately is more consequential. One of the arguments put forward to excuse or minimize the aggression — and the brutality — of ICE’s campaign in Minneapolis is that federal agents cannot rely on the cooperation of state and local authorities …. So (goes this argument) rather than ask the local police to intervene when, e.g., protesters partly block a street or otherwise inconvenience federal agents, ICE agents really have no choice but to take aggressive action on their own, and that such action is justified by its necessity. Like so much of what one hears from apologists for Donald Trump and his administration, this is a fundamentally un-American point of view, one that misunderstands the nature of our constitutional order.” (01/14/26)
https://thedispatch.com/article/federalism-trump-demagogues-sanctuary-cities-states/
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25) China’s Rare Earth “Monopoly” — and Why Markets Will Break It
Source: The Daily Economy
by Walter Donway
“[T]he United States, long the world’s leading industrial power, has become dependent on the goodwill of a strategic rival for materials central to its economy and its defense. That dependence did not arise because rare earth minerals are scarce. They are not. Nor did it arise because China alone possesses the technical capacity to mine or refine them. It arose from a long chain of economic and political decisions — made largely in free societies — that concentrated production in a country willing to accept costs others would not. Understanding how that happened is essential to understanding why China’s apparent monopoly is far less ‘coercive,’ and far less durable, than it looks.” (01/14/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/chinas-rare-earth-monopoly-and-why-markets-will-break-it/
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26) It’s Not A Minnesota Problem, It’s A Blue State Problem
Source: The Federalist
by Ben Weingarten
“There’s a deeper, darker truth lurking beneath the Somali-dominated [sic], multi-billion-dollar Minnesota welfare fraud schemes that have commanded the attention of federal authorities and stoked nationwide outrage. And it may explain in part why for weeks, Democrats and regime media have been gaslighting the country, casting critics as bigots, and shooting the messengers who sent the long-neglected story viral — and why, now, state and local leaders are trying to turn Minneapolis into a powder keg. These dodges and diversions distract from the fact that the fraud is a feature of what we might call The Blue Model of government. Fueled by the welfare state and increasingly open borders [sic], it is at core about political patronage, profiteering, and plunder. Democrats’ survival depends upon a political-business model of vote-buying via legal and illicit wealth redistribution. Suppressing the Minnesota story is critical.” (01/14/25)
https://thefederalist.com/2026/01/14/its-not-a-minnesota-problem-its-a-blue-state-problem/
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27) Those who execute military orders carry all the risk
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Jon Duffy
“The dispute between Sen. Mark Kelly and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is being told as a simple morality play. On one side, the claim that Kelly crossed a line and deserves punishment. On the other, the insistence that Kelly is a hero beyond reproach and that the administration’s response is villainy. Both frames are comforting. Both are wrong. What matters most here is not who appeared righteous or reckless in the moment, but what happens when legality is left unresolved. In this case, junior service members are being placed in the position of exercising legal and moral judgment without meaningful authority, clarity or institutional backing. Those who make decisions remain insulated from consequence; those who execute them carry the risk.” (01/14/26)
https://archive.is/BtULy
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28) Crocodile Tears for the Iranian People
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“President Trump and the U.S. national-security establishment (i.e., the Pentagon, CIA, and NSA) are ramping up the U.S. war machine for another military attack on a sovereign and independent nation — this time, Iran. Their rationale? They say that they just want to help the Iranian protestors who are being killed by the Iranian dictatorship and its own national-security establishment. Don’t make me laugh. Come on! Why not the same brutal honesty about Iran as we have seen with Venezuela? At least Trump, the Pentagon, the CIA, and the NSA are not justifying their extra-judicial killings on the high seas and their military kidnapping of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro by claiming to be helping the Venezuelan people.” (01/14/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/01/14/crocodile-tears-for-the-iranian-people/
-----
29) You Know They’re Lying About Iran
Source: Caitlyn Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlyn Johnstone
“You’ve seen this all before. They run the same script over and over again. You know all the beats. The formula never changes. ‘Oh no, the people in the targeted nation are being oppressed! They need freedom and democracy!’ ‘Hey, I bet we could use our powerful military to help them get the freedom and democracy! Wouldn’t that be swell?’ ‘Oh gosh, there are some people who don’t think we should use our powerful military to help the people in the targeted nation get freedom and democracy! They must have some sinister, suspicious loyalty to the Evil Regime which rules the targeted nation!’ ‘Look, I get that sometimes in the past we have used our powerful military in ways that were mean and unhelpful, but you need to understand that the Evil Regime is also very, very bad.'” (01/15/25)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/01/15/you-know-theyre-lying-about-iran/
-----
30) MAGA’S Young, Dumb Future
Source: The Bulwark
by Andrew Egger
“It’s not a crime to be young and dumb in America. It’s not even a career-ending offense to be young and dumb in journalism. As ludicrous as [Nick] Shirley’s current output is, he’s plainly got a certain aptitude for video reporting. In a different world — one set up to restrain his worst and dumbest instincts rather than to reward them — a guy like him could turn out to be a solid reporter. … Guys like Nick Shirley aren’t trying to join a publication, they’re picking up a camera and trying to go viral on their own. They have no safety net, no sounding board, no mentorship, no way to grow beyond what they’re doing this minute. All they have is the zero-sum game of the algorithm: Get noticed or die. … That’s what the ecosystem rewards, so we’re going to get more and more of it.” (01/14/26)
https://www.thebulwark.com/i/184544780/magas-young-dumb-future
-----
31) The Left [sic] Will Never Give Up Global Warming
Source: Town Hall
by Mark Lewis
“Here is an interesting quote: ‘Snows are less frequent and less deep. They often do not lie below the mountains more than one, two, or three days and very rarely a week. They are remembered to be formerly frequent, deep, and of long continuance. The elderly inform me that the earth used to be covered with snow about three months every year. The rivers, which then seldom failed to freeze over in the course of the winter, scarcely ever do now. This change … in the spring of the year is very fatal to fruits … I remember that when I was a small boy, say 60 years ago, snows were frequent and deep in every winter.’ Well, that’s it, isn’t it? Global warming is a reality. … the above quote is from Thomas Jefferson in the year 1799.” (01/14/25)
https://townhall.com/columnists/marklewis/2026/01/14/the-left-will-never-give-up-global-warming-n2669371
-----
32) Trump’s credit card interest cap is bad for the economy
Source: USA Today
by Dace Potas
“Interest rates aren’t a number just pulled out of nowhere. Higher-risk clients need to pay higher interest rates in order for banks to be willing to take their business. Telling banks they can only charge so much interest will make them more selective in whom they lend to. Trump and other populists imagine that in passing legislation capping interest rates, all other functions of the credit card industry will remain the same, just with a lower rate for consumers. The reality is that if banks cannot offset accepting riskier clientele by charging them higher interest rates, they simply will not expose themselves to the risk that some people provide. This means that low-income Americans or those with shaky credit histories will have no chance at obtaining credit cards.” (01/14/26)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2026/01/14/trump-affordable-housing-credit-card-interest-rates-misguided/88154547007/
-----
33) Do Dems Have the Guts to Outflank Trump on Defense Industry Looting?
Source: Common Dreams
by Les Leopold
“Trump has decided that the government should not give money to defense contractors who then reroute our tax dollars via stock buybacks to stockholders and executives. A stock buyback, for those unfamiliar, is when a corporation repurchases its own shares, thus boosting the share’s price, a legalized form of stock manipulation. CEOs, who are paid mostly in stock incentives, and large investors directly benefit from stock buybacks, and unlike with dividends, don’t have to pay taxes until they sell their shares. In the weapons industry, this isn’t news. Studies show that defense contractors spent three times more on dividends and stock buybacks than on capital investments needed to fulfill their contracts over the last decade. In Europe, it was the other way around with defense companies spending twice as much on capital investments compared to dividends. (They don’t do stock buybacks.)” (01/14/25)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/defense-industry-stock-buybacks
-----
34) The perils of naughty piccies by Grok
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Tim Worstall
“We appear to be having one of those public fits of morality for which the British are famous. First there’s the observation that AI can be used to create naughty images. Yes, this does in fact mean all the different services, including the open source ones that can be run on a home PC, can be used to create such imagery. This is then focused in a two minute hate upon the evil of the day, X/Twitter and Grok. At which point X limits the ability to do so to paid accounts — paid accounts being those where the individual operating the account is a known individual. … Who is going to use a named and identified account to do something that’s illegal after all? At which point we’re told that this is ‘insulting.’ Solving the problem is insulting, eh?” (01/14/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/the-perils-of-naughty-piccies-by-grok
-----
35) Trump’s quest to kick America’s “Iraq War syndrome”
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Leah Schroeder
“American forces invaded Panama in 1989 to capture Manuel Noriega, a former U.S. ally whose rule over Panama was marred by drug trafficking, corruption and human rights abuses. But experts point to another, perhaps just as critical goal: to cure the American public of ‘Vietnam syndrome,’ which has been described as a national malaise and aversion of foreign interventions in the wake of the failed Vietnam War. On both fronts, the operation was a success. With Noriega in custody and democracy restored, President George H. W. Bush could make the case that the U.S. military was back to peak performance and that force — including regime change — could be used effectively for good, commencing a new era of foreign interventionism in America. Nearly four decades and several disastrous conflicts later, the public has overwhelmingly become skeptical once more, especially after the 20 years of war following the 9/11 attacks in 2001.” (01/14/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/us-invasion-venezuela/
-----
36) So, How’s the Occupation Going for You?
Source: Liberal Currents
by Taylor Carik
“After being told that school was cancelled for two days because of ICE, my elementary school-age daughter replied, ‘That makes sense, it’s really slippery outside.’ I’ve told that anecdote a few times already this week, along with another very recent exchange from when the school reopened, albeit with heavy community safety patrolling by parents. After saying a quick hello at afterschool pick-up, followed by a pregnant pause in its truest elephant-in-the-city way, another parent asked me sardonically, ‘So, how’s the occupation going for you?’ These simple exchanges capture both the enormity of the experience of living under this new modern form of domestic occupation in Minneapolis-St. Paul and the day-to-dayness of having to navigate it.” (01/14/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/so-hows-the-occupation-going-for-you/
-----
37) The duo tapping a new Japanese-Korean beat
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“For years, two of America’s closest allies, Japan and South Korea, have mostly marched to the beat of their own drums. As neighbors in northeast Asia, they have often cooperated. But the brutal history of Japan’s 1910-1945 occupation of the Korean Peninsula was always an emotional backbeat preventing close ties. On Tuesday, after a bilateral summit, their leaders – who both took office last year – changed the tempo quite a bit. In a gesture purposely human rather than diplomatic, Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung sat down and played the drums together. They performed the song ‘Golden’ from the 2025 animated film ‘KPop Demon Hunters.’ Ms. Takaichi had once been a drummer in a heavy metal band while Mr. Lee had long dreamed of playing drums.” (01/14/25)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2026/0114/The-duo-tapping-a-new-Japanese-Korean-beat
-----
38) A Distraction From the Epstein Files?
Source: The American Conservative
by Spencer Neale
“Trump has successfully shifted the Overton Window away from elite sexual exploitation toward rotating foreign vendettas.” (01/14/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/a-distraction-from-the-epstein-files/
-----
39) Socialist America?
Source: Law & Liberty
by George Hawley
“Limited government proponents should feel uneasy. On the right, populists deride economic liberty’s supporters as anachronistic ‘market fundamentalists.’ The free market, they suggest, is not aligned with the preferences or interests of the Republican Party’s new working-class coalition. Many of these populists are eager to abandon freedom for tariffs and other forms of ‘industrial policy’ — a euphemism for granting the state authority to pick economic winners and losers. Unfortunately, trends on the left may be even worse. With populists embracing new state interventions and untrammeled executive power, freedom advocates find their influence on the right at a nadir. Perhaps overtures to the center-left are in order? Having lost the last presidential election to a very flawed Republican candidate, maybe Democrats will be inclined to move toward the center. There is some historical precedence for this.” (01/14/26)
https://lawliberty.org/socialist-america/
-----
40) The Glee You See From Fascists About State Violence is a Sexual Fetish
Source: CounterPunch
by Kenn Orphan
“[T]here is an enormous amount of repressed fetishism happening within the celebration of ICE violence. They find unchecked, unaccountable power enticing. Its sadism is intoxicating because it allows them to disassociate from the crushing weight of their own inner turmoil. And because virtually none of them have ever taken the time to examine their own shadows, they project them onto everyone and everything. This psychology of sadomasochism is not the kind one finds in consensual BDSM relationships or communities. Quite the opposite. The people who participate in consensual BDSM do it because it is cathartic. Because it is fun. Because they trust their partner. But the kind we see among far-right and fascist groups is solely about demeaning those who have not submitted to the state or to a mob.” (01/14/26)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/01/14/the-g/
-----
41) Tariffs: Maybe Not So Crazy
Source: The American Prospect
by Robert Kuttner
“China’s trade surplus with the entire world hit an all-time record of $1.19 trillion in 2025, Beijing just announced. But here’s the stunner in the report. China’s surplus with the U.S. declined by 22 percent. The reason: U.S. tariffs on Chinese exports average over 50 percent. That’s a good outcome, since China’s chronic trade surplus is based on illegal mercantilist policies, including currency manipulation, subsidies, and domestic market protection, that cost the U.S. and other nations jobs. In the past, the main loser has been the United States. China simply diverted subsidized exports to other nations with lower tariffs. But what of Trump’s other tariffs? They are an incoherent mash-up.” (01/14/25)
https://prospect.org/2026/01/14/trump-tariffs-china-tax-economy-inflation/
-----
42) Trump Says He Sets His Own Limits; Founding Fathers Disagree
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Alan Mosley
“During a January 2026 interview with The New York Times, President Donald Trump was asked whether anything could limit his ability to use the vast military and economic power of the United States as he saw fit. His answer was breathtakingly candid. Trump replied, ‘Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.’ … Morally, a leader claiming to be constrained only by his personal sense of right and wrong should alarm anyone who values the rule of law. But a far more concrete problem exists: the perspective reflects a misunderstanding — or willful rejection — of the constitutional design of the American republic. The U.S. Constitution was deliberately constructed to prevent the very scenario Trump describes, that of a single individual unilaterally dragging the nation into conflict.” (01/14/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/trump-says-he-sets-his-own-limits-founding-fathers-disagree
-----
43) Genocide Isn’t a Mistake. Which Is Why the Media Can’t Tell You the Truth About Gaza
Source: Antiwar.com
by Jonathan Cook
“It is almost impossible to get serious criticism of the Israeli state, which (falsely) claims to represent the Jewish people, anywhere near mainstream US culture, even when it takes the form of a critically acclaimed movie, backed by Brad Pitt and Joaquin Phoenix, that received a record 23-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival. For decades, pro-Israel lobby groups have dedicated their efforts to telling us that antisemitism is rampant across the West and takes the form of opposition of Israel – a message endlessly amplified by the western media. … The solution, it hardly needs pointing out, is to shut down criticism of Israel to reduce antisemitism.” (01/14/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/cook/2026/01/13/genocide-isnt-a-mistake-which-is-why-the-media-cant-tell-you-the-truth-about-gaza/
-----
44) Cheap Credit Doesn’t Create Economic Growth — It Makes Us Poorer
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Soham Patil
“Net Present Value (NPV) is a popular decision-making criteria used by firms to make key, crucial choices about how to allocate resources across an economy. Net Present Value forecasts temporally discount future cash flows to their present value to check whether a project creates value. If a project has an NPV greater than zero, it creates value. On the other hand, if a project has an NPV less than zero, the project loses value. NPV forecasting isn’t perfect and there are often assumptions baked into any forecast but there is one particular type of error that occurs most often and has disastrous consequences.” (01/13/26)
https://mises.org/power-market/cheap-credit-doesnt-create-economic-growth-it-makes-us-poorer
-----
45) “Zohranomics”: NYC Mayor Mamdani’s socialist math doesn’t add up
Source: Fox News Forum
by Michael J Boskin
“Democratic Socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is focusing on affordability. But his ‘free stuff’ policy agenda would flunk an introductory economics midterm. For example: free bus rides will increase demand and cause overcrowding as service deteriorates. Can you envision New Yorkers queuing up like Londoners? Ditto free childcare, with risk of fraud. Ditto rent freezes, which are not likely to spur a rent-relieving housing supply surge. Does Mamdani really think public employees will work the same long, intense hours at city-owned grocery stores that private-sector owners do to earn a living while building their generational wealth? Or that it’s a good idea to shutter natural gas plants supplying 500 megawatts of reliable energy, which New York’s Independent System Operator extended beyond their planned retirement in mid-2025 lest the city suffer blackouts.” (01/14/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/zohranomics-nyc-mayor-zohran-mamdanis-socialist-math-doesnt-add-up
-----
46) Tariffs Have Hurt, Not Helped, the US Economy
Source: Foreign Policy
by Keith Johnson
“The U.S. economy, after a tumultuous year of tariffs and trade wars, appears to have performed better than feared earlier in the year, with annual GDP growth through the third quarter of about 2 percent, including a surprisingly healthy bump in the last reported quarter. But that, contrary to what U.S. President Donald Trump says, is not because of tariffs but in spite of them. And 2026 looks set to be an even rockier year on the trade front, with further negative implications for U.S. economic performance.” (01/13/26)
https://archive.is/ZOK5Y
-----
47) Insurance company subsidies are no prescription for lowering healthcare costs
Source: Orange County Register
by Ken Calvert
“These days, the cost of healthcare is on everyone’s mind. Since the passage of Obamacare in 2010, the cost of health insurance on the individual marketplace has increased nearly 170%, placing a significant financial strain on families and businesses. Despite advancements in medical technology and treatment, many people are finding it increasingly difficult to afford the care they need. This trend is particularly troubling as it disproportionately affects the most vulnerable populations, including the elderly, low-income individuals, and those with chronic conditions. However, rather than lower healthcare costs for Americans, Democrats want to simply extend a COVID-era Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidy, rife with fraud, to the tune of $400 billion over the next ten years.” (01/13/26)
https://archive.is/L4cGM
-----
48) The Biggest Myth About Trump’s Base (And Why Many Believe It)
Source: The Atlantic
by Yair Rosenberg
“To judge by recent accounts, Donald Trump’s intervention in Venezuela has imperiled his standing among his own supporters. Traditional-media outlets have warned of a MAGA schism, as have some high-profile right-wing influencers. … The theory of a MAGA rupture over Venezuela has a certain surface plausibility. It’s also completely contradicted by what masses of Trump’s backers are telling pollsters.” (01/13/26)
https://archive.is/5h0QX
-----
49) Amid ICE Crackdown, Unions and Community Groups Call for Minnesota Shutdown in 10 Days
Source: In These Times
by Amie Stager & Sarah Lazare
“Unions and community groups gathered in front of the Hennepin County Government Center in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota this morning to announce a day of ’no work, no school, no shopping’ on January 23 to oppose the ferocious assault on the state by federal immigration authorities. ‘We are facing a tsunami of hate from our own federal government,’ Abdikarim Khasim, a Minnesota rideshare driver, told the crowd. ‘We’re going to shut it down on the 23rd. We’re going to overcome this.’ JaNaé Bates Imari, representative of the church Camphor Memorial UMC, told the crowd that the joint action will be ’a day when every single Minnesotan who loves this state — who loves the idea of truth and freedom — will refuse to work, shop and go to school.'” (01/13/25)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/minneapolis-renee-good-ice-shooting-labor-unions
-----
50) AI Will Create Work, Not Decimate It
Source: Persuasion
by Emily Chamlee-Wright
“[T]he fear beneath the fear is that human potential has hit its outer bounds, and that from here on out, technology will always surpass human effort in both quality and cost. From that vantage point, sweeping, top-down remedies seem like the obvious course. … To my economist’s ear, some aspects of this narrative ring true. Basic economic theory predicts that, for a given level of quality, producers will replace high-cost inputs and processes, including those that involve human effort, with lower-cost alternatives. Such substitution effects are part of the entrepreneurial function. But the other part of the entrepreneurial function is to search for complementarities: new configurations of resources, human and otherwise, that generate new streams of value. It’s this part of the story that, more often than not, goes missing in democracy-focused conversations about AI.” (01/13/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/ai-will-create-work-not-decimate
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) The Political Orphanage
Source: The Political Orphanage
“The Friendship Recession and Cocktail Parties.” (01/14/26)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/the-friendship-recession-and-cocktail-parties
-----
52) Rising, 01/14/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave delivers radar on a proposed 5% wealth tax in California which he believes is not a great idea as it reportedly prompted at least six billionaires including Larry Page and Peter Thiel to cut ties with the state.” (01/14/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/5688423-rising-january-14-2026/
-----
53) The Illegal News with Sarah Longwell, 01/14/26
Source: The Bulwark
“Jack Smith Says He Had Trump Dead to Rights (w/ Asha Rangappa).” (01/14/26)
youtube.com/watch?v=EomE2wwfOIo
-----
54) Reason Interview: Colleen Shogan
Source: Reason
“Can We Save American History From Partisan Politics?” (01/14/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/01/14/can-we-save-american-history-from-partisan-politics/
-----
55) Underthrow Podcast, 01/14/26
Source: Underthrow
“Iran and Venezuela: A Tale of Two Regime Changes w/ James Harrigan.” (01/14/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWwxcAjSD_U
-----
56) The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg, 01/14/26
Source: The Dispatch
“Ethics Rooted in Physics | Interview: Rebecca Newberger-Goldstein.” (01/14/26)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/remnant/ethics-rooted-in-physics-interview-rebecca-newberger-goldstein/
-----
57) Declare Your Independence with Ernest Hancock, 01/14/26
Source: Freedom’s Phoenix
“Patrick Wood (Technocracy.News) and Courtenay Turner (Freedom-Fighter; co-founder of Pirate Stream Media) on their newest book: The Final Betrayal: How Technocracy Destroyed America; new world order, communism, technocracy, AI, where are we now, predictions, etc.” (01/14/26)
https://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Media/389785-2026-01-13-2026-01-14-ernest-hancock-interviews-patrick-wood-courtenay-turner.htm
-----
58) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 01/14/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump Tirades about Shooting Get Darker as Polls Turn Brutal on ICE.” (01/14/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/205263/trump-tirades-shooting-get-darker-polls-turn-brutal-ice
-----
59) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 01/14/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Trump Tells Iran Protesters: ‘Help Is on Its Way,’ Senate To Vote on Venezuela War Powers, and More.” (01/14/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS6dOkxI8M4
-----
60) Nonzero, 01/13/26
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“The Minneapolis Shooting Rorschach Test | Robert Wright & Paul Bloom.” (01/13/26)
https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/69226
-----
61) System Update, episode 565
Source: System Update
“Prof. John Mearsheimer on Why Foreign Involvement in Iran Would Fail, U.S. Aggression Toward Venezuela, Trump’s Foreign Policy, and More.” (01/13/26)
https://rumble.com/v74ag6w-prof.-john-mearsheimer-on-iran-protests-u.s.-aggression-toward-venezuela-an.html
-----
62) Capital Record, episode 279
Source: National Review
“Solving the Right Problem the Wrong Way Does Not Solve the Problem.” (01/13/26)
https://www.nationalreview.com/podcasts/capital-record/solving-the-right-problem-the-wrong-way-does-not-solve-the-problem/
-----
63) Mean Age Daydream, 01/13/26
Source: Lions of Liberty
“Scott Adams & the Golden Globes Die in Same Week.” (01/13/26)
https://www.lionsofliberty.com/episodes/madd-scott-adams-amp-the-golden-globes-die-in-same-week
-----
64) Politics Politics Politics, 01/13/26
Source: Politics Politics Politics
“Fed Subpoena Shocker! How Much Oil Reinvestment Does Venezuela Need to Succeed? (with Al Brushwood).” (01/13/26)
https://www.politicspoliticspolitics.com/p/fed-subpoena-shocker-how-much-oil
-----
65) Trump Watch, 01/13/26
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“Trump’s Support of the Chavista Regime.” (01/13/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA13TuAi1Ic
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Today's Freedom News:
0) Hybrid Thursday at the Freedom Movement's Daily Newspaper
1) Iran: Regime reopens airspace after closure amid US attack threats
2) US Heimatschutz Review Finds No Widespread Illegal Voting by Migrants
3) Dog bites man: Two Senate Republicans publicly defile themselves to please senile reality TV star
4) Trump says Zelenskyy, not Putin, is holding up a Ukraine peace deal
5) Venezuela: Rodríguez vows to continue releasing political prisoners
6) State Department: US regime to suspend visa processing for 75 nations
7) House GOP moves to hold Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress in Epstein probe
8) UK: Regime waters down mandatory digital ID scheme after backlash
9) FBI searches reporter’s home
10) Widespread Verizon outage prompts emergency alerts in Washington, New York City
11) Donations Surge for Ford Worker Who Triggered Trump With “Pedo Protector”
12) McConaughey trademarks himself
13) Why two Canadian provinces are in a spat over Crown Royal whisky
14) China: Regime reports record $1.2 trillion trade surplus for 2025, defying Trump’s tariffs
15) Syria: Military tells civilians to evacuate contested area east of Aleppo amid rising tensions
16) Appeals court rules “Fat Leonard” must serve full sentence in US Navy corruption scandal
17) Italy: Influencer Chiara Ferragni acquitted in “Pandorogate” fraud scandal
18) Bulgaria: Snap Election Likely After Reformist Group Rejects Bid for Regime
19) France: Regime survives two no-confidence votes over Mercosur deal
20) Claudette Colvin, 1939-2026
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Trump vs. Free Markets
22) More laws equivalent of more crime
23) Chicago does not have a single licensed hot dog cart. Here’s why.
24) Patrick Henry Was Right
25) China’s Rare Earth “Monopoly” — and Why Markets Will Break It
26) It’s Not A Minnesota Problem, It’s A Blue State Problem
27) Those who execute military orders carry all the risk
28) Crocodile Tears for the Iranian People
29) You Know They’re Lying About Iran
30) MAGA’S Young, Dumb Future
31) The Left [sic] Will Never Give Up Global Warming
32) Trump’s credit card interest cap is bad for the economy
33) Do Dems Have the Guts to Outflank Trump on Defense Industry Looting?
34) The perils of naughty piccies by Grok
35) Trump’s quest to kick America’s “Iraq War syndrome”
36) So, How’s the Occupation Going for You?
37) The duo tapping a new Japanese-Korean beat
38) A Distraction From the Epstein Files?
39) Socialist America?
40) The Glee You See From Fascists About State Violence is a Sexual Fetish
41) Tariffs: Maybe Not So Crazy
42) Trump Says He Sets His Own Limits; Founding Fathers Disagree
43) Genocide Isn’t a Mistake. Which Is Why the Media Can’t Tell You the Truth About Gaza
44) Cheap Credit Doesn’t Create Economic Growth — It Makes Us Poorer
45) “Zohranomics”: NYC Mayor Mamdani’s socialist math doesn’t add up
46) Tariffs Have Hurt, Not Helped, the US Economy
47) Insurance company subsidies are no prescription for lowering healthcare costs
48) The Biggest Myth About Trump’s Base (And Why Many Believe It)
49) Amid ICE Crackdown, Unions and Community Groups Call for Minnesota Shutdown in 10 Days
50) AI Will Create Work, Not Decimate It
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) The Political Orphanage
52) Rising, 01/14/26
53) The Illegal News with Sarah Longwell, 01/14/26
54) Reason Interview: Colleen Shogan
55) Underthrow Podcast, 01/14/26
56) The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg, 01/14/26
57) Declare Your Independence with Ernest Hancock, 01/14/26
58) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 01/14/26
59) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 01/14/26
60) Nonzero, 01/13/26
61) System Update, episode 565
62) Capital Record, episode 279
63) Mean Age Daydream, 01/13/26
64) Politics Politics Politics, 01/13/26
65) Trump Watch, 01/13/26
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https://news.rationalreview.com/
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A wee bit of crass commercialism:
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Have a great day!
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily
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1) Iran: Regime reopens airspace after closure amid US attack threats
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Iran temporarily closed its airspace to most flights amid United States President Donald Trump’s threats against the country, according to the US aviation authority. Most flights were prohibited from Iranian airspace between 1:45am and 4:00am local time (22:15 to 00:30 GMT) and again from 4:44 am to 7am (01:14 to 03:30 GMT) on Thursday, according to the notices posted by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). … Iran’s airspace reopened at about 7am local time. … Trump appeared to lower his rhetoric towards Tehran later on Wednesday, saying he had received assurances from ‘important sources’ that the killings of protesters in Iran had stopped.” (01/15/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/15/iran-closes-airspace-to-most-flights-amid-threat-of-us-attack-monitors
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2) US Heimatschutz Review Finds No Widespread Illegal Voting by Migrants
Source: New York Times
“It was a common refrain for Donald J. Trump and his allies during the 2024 campaign: The Biden administration was purposely encouraging mass numbers of immigrants to cross the border in order to vote illegally. As president, Mr. Trump has pushed his administration to address the alleged crimes, including prompting many states to upload tens of millions of voter records through a federal immigration verification tool run out of the Department of Homeland Security. But with the review underway, the results so far indicate there is no evidence of widespread fraud, according to interviews with government officials and documents reviewed by The New York Times. Out of 49.5 million voter registrations that have been checked, the department referred around 10,000 cases to Homeland Security Investigations for further investigation of noncitizenship, or roughly .02 percent of the names processed, according to Matthew Tragesser, a spokesman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the D.H.S. agency that oversees the program.” (01/14/26)
https://archive.is/N4KhF
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3) Dog bites man: Two Senate Republicans publicly defile themselves to please senile reality TV star
Source: The Hill
“Senate Republicans on Wednesday defeated a war powers resolution to block President Trump from using military force ‘within or against’ Venezuela after two Republicans who voted last week to advance the measure reversed themselves and joined their leaders in quashing it. Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) voted on Wednesday to support a point of order against the resolution after coming under intense pressure from Trump, who called for their ouster from the Senate after they defied him last week.” (01/14/26)
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5689992-hawley-young-reverse-venezuela-resolution
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4) Trump says Zelenskyy, not Putin, is holding up a Ukraine peace deal
Source: Reuters
“U.S. President Donald Trump told Reuters that Ukraine — not Russia — is holding up a potential peace deal, rhetoric that stands in marked contrast to that of European allies, who have consistently argued Moscow has little interest in ending its war in Ukraine. In an exclusive interview in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to wrap up his nearly four-year-old invasion of Ukraine. Zelenskiy, the U.S. president said, was more reticent. ‘I think he’s ready to make a deal,’ Trump said of the Russian president. ‘I think Ukraine is less ready to make a deal.’ Asked why U.S.-led negotiations had not yet resolved Europe’s largest land conflict since World War Two, Trump responded: ‘Zelenskiy.'” (01/14/26)
https://archive.is/n1SzY
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5) Venezuela: Rodríguez vows to continue releasing political prisoners
Source: SFGate
“Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez signaled Wednesday that the country would continue releasing prisoners detained under former President Nicolás Maduro in what she described as ‘a new political moment’ since his ouster by the United States earlier this month. … Rodríguez opened her first press briefing since Maduro’s arrest by U.S. forces with a conciliatory tone. Addressing journalists from a red carpet at the presidential palace, she offered assurances that the process of releasing detainees — a move reportedly made at the behest of the Trump administration — ‘has not yet concluded.’ A Venezuelan human rights organization estimates about 800 political prisoners are still being detained.” (01/14/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/venezuela-s-acting-president-vows-to-continue-21294833.php
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6) State Department: US regime to suspend visa processing for 75 nations
Source: Reuters
“The Trump administration is suspending all visa processing for visitors from 75 countries starting January 21, Fox News reported on Wednesday, citing a memo from the U.S. State Department. Somalia, Russia, Iran, Afghanistan, Brazil, Nigeria, Thailand are among the affected countries, according to the report. Representatives for the State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reported memo, which Fox News said directs U.S. embassies to refuse visas under existing law while the department reassesses its procedures. No time frame was provided.” (01/14/26)
https://archive.is/Pi9HN
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7) House GOP moves to hold Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress in Epstein probe
Source: Axios
“House Oversight Republicans will begin contempt of Congress proceedings against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after she failed to appear for a deposition Wednesday as part of the committee’s investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Both Clintons will face contempt of Congress proceedings — a rarely used congressional enforcement tool. … The Oversight panel will vote to hold Hillary and Bill Clinton in contempt next Wednesday, Comer said. Criminal contempt of Congress carries a maximum penalty of up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000, though not every witness who defies a subpoena is referred for prosecution.” (01/14/26)
https://archive.is/MmujP
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8) UK: Regime waters down mandatory digital ID scheme after backlash
Source: ABC News
“The British government has watered down plans for mandatory digital identification cards, a contentious idea it had touted as a way to help control immigration. It’s the latest policy U-turn by Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s embattled center-left government, which is under fire from both opposition politicians and governing Labour Party lawmakers. Officials confirmed Wednesday that it won’t be compulsory for citizens and residents to show a digital ID card in order to get a job, ditching a key plank of the policy announced in September. … Britain has not had compulsory identity cards for ordinary citizens since shortly after World War II, and the idea has long been contentious. Civil rights campaigners argue it infringes personal liberty and puts people’s information at risk.” (01/14/26)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/uk-watering-plans-mandatory-digital-id-cards-after-129194786
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9) FBI searches reporter’s home
Source: The Hill
“The home of a Washington Post reporter was searched by the FBI as part of an investigation by the bureau into the leaking of classified documents tied to President Trump’s efforts to trim the size of the federal government. The search, which was first reported by The New York Times and the Post itself, came at the home of journalist Hannah Natanson …. Natanson was home at the time of the search, the Post reported, and the FBI seized her two laptops, cell phone and a Garmin watch during the operation. A warrant tied to the search noted the investigation was focused on a government system administrator in Maryland who ‘has a top secret security clearance and has been accused of accessing and taking home classified intelligence reports that were found in his lunchbox and his basement,’ the outlet reported.” (01/14/26)
https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5688345-fbi-searches-washington-post-reporter
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10) Widespread Verizon outage prompts emergency alerts in Washington, New York City
Source: NBC News
“Verizon said on Wednesday that its wireless service was suffering an outage impacting cellular data and voice services. The nation’s largest wireless carrier said that its ‘engineers are engaged and are working to identify and solve the issue quickly.’ Verizon’s statement came after a swath of social media comments directed at Verizon, with users saying that their mobile devices were showing no bars of service or ‘SOS,’ indicating a lack of connection. Verizon, which has more than 146 million customers, appears to have started experiencing services issues around 12:00 p.m. ET, according to comments on social media site X. … In Washington, D.C., the District’s official emergency notification system sent out a message to residents saying that the Verizon outage was ‘nationwide.’ … New York City’s Office of Emergency Management also said it was aware of the outage without mentioning Verizon by name.” (01/14/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/verizon-outage-new-york-washington-rcna254050
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11) Donations Surge for Ford Worker Who Triggered Trump With “Pedo Protector”
Source: The Daily Beast
“A fundraiser for a man who was suspended for calling President Donald Trump a ‘pedophile protector’ has raised more than $222,000 in just a few hours. Ford factory worker TJ Sabula was recorded getting into a confrontation with Trump during the president’s tour of one of the automaker’s plants in Michigan on Tuesday. Video of the incident shows Trump — who has faced widespread condemnation over his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files — appearing to mouth ‘f— you’ and flip the bird after Sabula is heard calling him a ‘pedophile protector. The worker said he was suspended over the incident but told The Washington Post that he has ‘no regrets whatsoever.'” (01/14/26)
https://archive.is/Umy2o
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12) McConaughey trademarks himself
Source: Engadget
“Matthew McConaughey filed trademark applications to prevent his likeness from being used by AI companies without permission, and the US Patent and Trademark Office has approved eight so far. According to the Wall Street Journal, the trademarks were for video and audio clips featuring the actor staring, smiling and talking. One was for a video of him standing on a porch, while another was for an audio recording of him saying ‘alright, alright, alright,’ his signature catchphrase from the movie Dazed and Confused. Under the law, it’s already prohibited for companies to steal someone’s likeness to sell products. However, McConaughey is taking a proactive approach due to the nebulous rules around the use of someone’s likeness for artificial intelligence and what’s considered commercial use involving the technology.” (01/14/26)
https://www.engadget.com/ai/matthew-mcconaughey-fights-unauthorized-ai-likenesses-by-trademarking-himself-130000567.html
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13) Why two Canadian provinces are in a spat over Crown Royal whisky
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“A British owned, Canadian-made whisky is at the centre of a spat between two provinces that is testing a unified ‘Team Canada’ approach in the face of US tariffs. It started after the whisky maker, Diageo, said it will shut down a bottling plant in Ontario to move some of it closer to US consumers. Soon after, Ontario Premier Doug Ford angrily poured out a bottle of Crown Royal in front of reporters, and now says the product will be removed from provincial liquor stores. This has alarmed neighbouring Manitoba, where a Crown Royal distillery is a key employer in the small town of Gimli. In a symbolic visit to the Gimli distillery on Tuesday, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew urged Ford to ‘do a 180.'” (01/14/25)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8x9v241z2qo
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14) China: Regime reports record $1.2 trillion trade surplus for 2025, defying Trump’s tariffs
Source: NBC News
“China had its biggest trade surplus ever last year at almost $1.2 trillion, according to data released Wednesday, defying tariffs President Donald Trump has imposed on the world’s second-largest economy. China is sending more exports to other parts of the world, even as it struggles with domestic economic troubles. China’s foreign trade in goods last year totaled 45.47 trillion yuan ($6.51 trillion), up 3.8% from the year before, state media reported, citing figures from the General Administration of Customs. That included 26.99 trillion yuan ($3.8 trillion) in exports and 18.48 trillion yuan ($2.6 trillion) in imports. Exports grew 6.1% compared with the previous year, while imports grew 0.5%.” (01/14/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/world/asia/china-reports-record-12-trillion-trade-surplus-2025-defying-trumps-tar-rcna253940
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15) Syria: Military tells civilians to evacuate contested area east of Aleppo amid rising tensions
Source: SFGate
“Syria’s military said it would open a corridor Thursday for civilians to evacuate an area of Aleppo province that has seen a military buildup following intense clashes between government and Kurdish-led forces in Aleppo city. The army’s announcement late Wednesday — which said civilians would be able to evacuate through the ‘humanitarian corridor’ from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday — appeared to signal plans for an offensive in the towns of Deir Hafer and Maskana and surrounding areas, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) east of Aleppo city. The military called on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and other armed groups to withdraw to the other side of the the Euphrates River, to the east of the contested zone. Syrian government troops have already sent troop reinforcements to the area after accusing the SDF of building up its own forces there, which the SDF denied.” (01/14/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/syrian-military-tells-civilians-to-evacuate-21294704.php
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16) Appeals court rules “Fat Leonard” must serve full sentence in US Navy corruption scandal
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
“Leonard Glenn Francis, the Malaysian contractor known as ‘Fat Leonard’ at the center of the worst bribery and corruption scheme in U.S. Navy history, must serve the remainder of his 15-year prison sentence, according to an appeals court ruling that became official Monday. … He argued in part that U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino violated his Fifth Amendment rights and abused her discretion in November 2024 when she handed down a sentence that was 40 months longer than what prosecutors recommended. … The Malaysian contractor admitted that he spent decades bribing a rotating cast of officers from the Navy’s 7th Fleet in the Western Pacific, showering them with lavish dinners, luxury hotel rooms, top-shelf liquor, prostitutes and cash. In turn, those officers steered ships to the Southeast Asian ports controlled by Francis and his company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia.” (01/13/26)
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/01/13/appeals-court-rules-fat-leonard-must-serve-full-sentence-in-navy-corruption-scandal/
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17) Italy: Influencer Chiara Ferragni acquitted in “Pandorogate” fraud scandal
Source: Politico
“A Milan criminal court on Wednesday acquitted Italian fashion influencer and businesswoman Chiara Ferragni of aggravated fraud in the so-called Pandorogate scandal. The case, one of Italy’s most high-profile celebrity trials, centered on allegations of misleading advertising linked to the promotion of the sweet pandoro Christmas bread — luxury sugar-dusted brioches — in 2022 and Easter eggs sold in 2021 and 2022. Prosecutors, who had requested a 20-month prison sentence, argued that consumers had been led to believe their purchases would support charitable causes, when donations had in fact already been made and were not tied to sales. Ferragni denied any wrongdoing throughout the proceedings.” (01/14/26)
https://www.politico.eu/article/italys-top-influencer-chiara-ferragni-acquitted-pandorogate-fraud-scandal/
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18) Bulgaria: Snap Election Likely After Reformist Group Rejects Bid for Regime
Source: US News & World Report
“Bulgaria’s second-largest parliamentary grouping, the reformist PP-DB, declined a request on Wednesday from the president to try to form a new government, increasing the likelihood of a snap election in the European Union’s poorest member state. Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov’s coalition government, backed by GERB-SDS, resigned last month after weeks of street protests against state corruption and a new budget that would have increased some taxes. In line with the constitution, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev on Monday had formally asked the conservative GERB-SDS to form the government which they rejected. On Wednesday PP-DB, which seeks closer relations with the European Union, also rejected the mandate, BTA agency reported. Radev is now expected to offer a chance to govern to another party and then if they refuse he will have to call a snap vote, Bulgaria’s eighth in just four years.” (01/24/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-01-14/snap-election-likely-in-bulgaria-after-reformist-group-rejects-bid-for-government
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19) France: Regime survives two no-confidence votes over Mercosur deal
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s government on Wednesday survived a second vote of no confidence in the National Assembly that had been called in protest against the EU-Mercosur trade deal. The motion, filed by the far-right National Rally (RN) party, was backed by 142 members of parliament’s lower house. 288 votes were needed for the motion to pass. An earlier no-confidence motion filed by the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) on the same matter had also failed. Despite French opposition, EU member states last week approved the signing of the long-debated deal with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. French farmers have been protesting for months against the deal they say threatens local agriculture by creating unfair competition with cheaper South American imports.” (01/14/26)
https://www.france24.com/en/france/20260114-france-government-survives-two-no-confidence-votes-over-mercosur-deal
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20) Claudette Colvin, 1939-2026
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Claudette Colvin, who helped to ignite the modern civil rights movement in the US after refusing to give up her seat to a white woman on a segregated bus, has died aged 86. Colvin was 15 when she was arrested on a bus in Montgomery, nine months before Rosa Parks gained international fame for also refusing to give up her seat. … Colvin was detained on March 2, 1955, after a bus driver called the police to complain that two [b]lack girls were sitting near two white women in violation of segregation laws. Colvin refused to move when asked, leading to her arrest. … Colvin was briefly imprisoned for disturbing public order. The following year, she became one of four [b]lack female plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit challenging segregated bus seating in Montgomery. The case was successful, impacting public transportation throughout the US, including trains, aeroplanes and taxis.” (01/14/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/14/unsung-us-civil-rights-pioneer-claudette-colvin-dies-aged-86
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Trump vs. Free Markets
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“Whatever debilitating brain parasite burrowed into the gray matter of American politics over the last decade-plus has resulted in some astonishing transformations. One of the biggest has been the reshaping of the once nominally pro-capitalist Republican party into a populist party hostile to free markets. Under President Donald Trump, the GOP increasingly favors the whims of the president and his cronies over the results of voluntary interactions among millions of buyers, producers, and sellers. Most recently, we see this in the form of Trump’s announced intentions to ban some real estate investors from purchasing single-family homes and his proposed cap on credit card interest rates. … as many points of disagreement spark fiery clashes, economics isn’t really a point of contention between the dominant factions of the two main parties. Trump’s Republicans agree with the ‘opposition’ progressive Democrats that the government should be running the economy.” (01/14/26)
https://reason.com/2026/01/14/trump-vs-free-markets/
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22) More laws equivalent of more crime
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“Trying to solve crime with authoritarian government, more laws, and stricter enforcement is like trying to keep someone healthy by stuffing them in a coffin and burying them alive. Yet, this is the first move politicians make when they see a problem. Turning to government and its laws is a sign your society has failed, and the unfortunate fact is that this only causes more crime in the long run. As the Chinese philosopher Laozi pointed out over 2,000 years ago, ‘The more numerous the laws, the more thieves and robbers there will be.’ … Whoever said it, it’s true. It has always been true, and it remains so today. Only, can we finally admit it’s not ‘corruption,’ but government working exactly as designed?” (01/14/26)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2026/01/14/voices/opinion-more-laws-equivalent-of-more-crime/232530.html
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23) Chicago does not have a single licensed hot dog cart. Here’s why.
Source: Washington Post
by Austin Berg
“The home of the Chicago-style hot dog does not have a single food cart licensed to sell hot dogs on city sidewalks, according to a Chicago Policy Center analysis of city data. It sounds unbelievable. But it’s true. This de facto ban speaks to a political structure and culture that still prioritizes who you know, rather than how well you serve customers. For decades, Chicago did not allow food carts of any kind. Brick-and-mortar restaurant interests lobbied city bureaucrats to keep street vendors from legally operating. Meanwhile, vendors were still out selling sliced fruit, tamales and other street food illicitly across the city. … After community pressure, the city created a new license for food carts in 2015. … But nearly a decade later, there are just 14 licensed food carts of any kind in Chicago. Compare that with New York, home to 7,000 licensed food cart vendors.” (01/14/26)
https://archive.is/bplKo
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24) Patrick Henry Was Right
Source: The Dispatch
by Kevin D Williamson
“I don’t know that I’m 100 percent ready to agree with Leighton Woodhouse that ‘the hysterical pussy hats were right,’ but I am very much convinced that the anti-federalists were, and that that fact ultimately is more consequential. One of the arguments put forward to excuse or minimize the aggression — and the brutality — of ICE’s campaign in Minneapolis is that federal agents cannot rely on the cooperation of state and local authorities …. So (goes this argument) rather than ask the local police to intervene when, e.g., protesters partly block a street or otherwise inconvenience federal agents, ICE agents really have no choice but to take aggressive action on their own, and that such action is justified by its necessity. Like so much of what one hears from apologists for Donald Trump and his administration, this is a fundamentally un-American point of view, one that misunderstands the nature of our constitutional order.” (01/14/26)
https://thedispatch.com/article/federalism-trump-demagogues-sanctuary-cities-states/
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25) China’s Rare Earth “Monopoly” — and Why Markets Will Break It
Source: The Daily Economy
by Walter Donway
“[T]he United States, long the world’s leading industrial power, has become dependent on the goodwill of a strategic rival for materials central to its economy and its defense. That dependence did not arise because rare earth minerals are scarce. They are not. Nor did it arise because China alone possesses the technical capacity to mine or refine them. It arose from a long chain of economic and political decisions — made largely in free societies — that concentrated production in a country willing to accept costs others would not. Understanding how that happened is essential to understanding why China’s apparent monopoly is far less ‘coercive,’ and far less durable, than it looks.” (01/14/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/chinas-rare-earth-monopoly-and-why-markets-will-break-it/
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26) It’s Not A Minnesota Problem, It’s A Blue State Problem
Source: The Federalist
by Ben Weingarten
“There’s a deeper, darker truth lurking beneath the Somali-dominated [sic], multi-billion-dollar Minnesota welfare fraud schemes that have commanded the attention of federal authorities and stoked nationwide outrage. And it may explain in part why for weeks, Democrats and regime media have been gaslighting the country, casting critics as bigots, and shooting the messengers who sent the long-neglected story viral — and why, now, state and local leaders are trying to turn Minneapolis into a powder keg. These dodges and diversions distract from the fact that the fraud is a feature of what we might call The Blue Model of government. Fueled by the welfare state and increasingly open borders [sic], it is at core about political patronage, profiteering, and plunder. Democrats’ survival depends upon a political-business model of vote-buying via legal and illicit wealth redistribution. Suppressing the Minnesota story is critical.” (01/14/25)
https://thefederalist.com/2026/01/14/its-not-a-minnesota-problem-its-a-blue-state-problem/
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27) Those who execute military orders carry all the risk
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Jon Duffy
“The dispute between Sen. Mark Kelly and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is being told as a simple morality play. On one side, the claim that Kelly crossed a line and deserves punishment. On the other, the insistence that Kelly is a hero beyond reproach and that the administration’s response is villainy. Both frames are comforting. Both are wrong. What matters most here is not who appeared righteous or reckless in the moment, but what happens when legality is left unresolved. In this case, junior service members are being placed in the position of exercising legal and moral judgment without meaningful authority, clarity or institutional backing. Those who make decisions remain insulated from consequence; those who execute them carry the risk.” (01/14/26)
https://archive.is/BtULy
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28) Crocodile Tears for the Iranian People
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“President Trump and the U.S. national-security establishment (i.e., the Pentagon, CIA, and NSA) are ramping up the U.S. war machine for another military attack on a sovereign and independent nation — this time, Iran. Their rationale? They say that they just want to help the Iranian protestors who are being killed by the Iranian dictatorship and its own national-security establishment. Don’t make me laugh. Come on! Why not the same brutal honesty about Iran as we have seen with Venezuela? At least Trump, the Pentagon, the CIA, and the NSA are not justifying their extra-judicial killings on the high seas and their military kidnapping of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro by claiming to be helping the Venezuelan people.” (01/14/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/01/14/crocodile-tears-for-the-iranian-people/
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29) You Know They’re Lying About Iran
Source: Caitlyn Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlyn Johnstone
“You’ve seen this all before. They run the same script over and over again. You know all the beats. The formula never changes. ‘Oh no, the people in the targeted nation are being oppressed! They need freedom and democracy!’ ‘Hey, I bet we could use our powerful military to help them get the freedom and democracy! Wouldn’t that be swell?’ ‘Oh gosh, there are some people who don’t think we should use our powerful military to help the people in the targeted nation get freedom and democracy! They must have some sinister, suspicious loyalty to the Evil Regime which rules the targeted nation!’ ‘Look, I get that sometimes in the past we have used our powerful military in ways that were mean and unhelpful, but you need to understand that the Evil Regime is also very, very bad.'” (01/15/25)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/01/15/you-know-theyre-lying-about-iran/
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30) MAGA’S Young, Dumb Future
Source: The Bulwark
by Andrew Egger
“It’s not a crime to be young and dumb in America. It’s not even a career-ending offense to be young and dumb in journalism. As ludicrous as [Nick] Shirley’s current output is, he’s plainly got a certain aptitude for video reporting. In a different world — one set up to restrain his worst and dumbest instincts rather than to reward them — a guy like him could turn out to be a solid reporter. … Guys like Nick Shirley aren’t trying to join a publication, they’re picking up a camera and trying to go viral on their own. They have no safety net, no sounding board, no mentorship, no way to grow beyond what they’re doing this minute. All they have is the zero-sum game of the algorithm: Get noticed or die. … That’s what the ecosystem rewards, so we’re going to get more and more of it.” (01/14/26)
https://www.thebulwark.com/i/184544780/magas-young-dumb-future
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31) The Left [sic] Will Never Give Up Global Warming
Source: Town Hall
by Mark Lewis
“Here is an interesting quote: ‘Snows are less frequent and less deep. They often do not lie below the mountains more than one, two, or three days and very rarely a week. They are remembered to be formerly frequent, deep, and of long continuance. The elderly inform me that the earth used to be covered with snow about three months every year. The rivers, which then seldom failed to freeze over in the course of the winter, scarcely ever do now. This change … in the spring of the year is very fatal to fruits … I remember that when I was a small boy, say 60 years ago, snows were frequent and deep in every winter.’ Well, that’s it, isn’t it? Global warming is a reality. … the above quote is from Thomas Jefferson in the year 1799.” (01/14/25)
https://townhall.com/columnists/marklewis/2026/01/14/the-left-will-never-give-up-global-warming-n2669371
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32) Trump’s credit card interest cap is bad for the economy
Source: USA Today
by Dace Potas
“Interest rates aren’t a number just pulled out of nowhere. Higher-risk clients need to pay higher interest rates in order for banks to be willing to take their business. Telling banks they can only charge so much interest will make them more selective in whom they lend to. Trump and other populists imagine that in passing legislation capping interest rates, all other functions of the credit card industry will remain the same, just with a lower rate for consumers. The reality is that if banks cannot offset accepting riskier clientele by charging them higher interest rates, they simply will not expose themselves to the risk that some people provide. This means that low-income Americans or those with shaky credit histories will have no chance at obtaining credit cards.” (01/14/26)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2026/01/14/trump-affordable-housing-credit-card-interest-rates-misguided/88154547007/
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33) Do Dems Have the Guts to Outflank Trump on Defense Industry Looting?
Source: Common Dreams
by Les Leopold
“Trump has decided that the government should not give money to defense contractors who then reroute our tax dollars via stock buybacks to stockholders and executives. A stock buyback, for those unfamiliar, is when a corporation repurchases its own shares, thus boosting the share’s price, a legalized form of stock manipulation. CEOs, who are paid mostly in stock incentives, and large investors directly benefit from stock buybacks, and unlike with dividends, don’t have to pay taxes until they sell their shares. In the weapons industry, this isn’t news. Studies show that defense contractors spent three times more on dividends and stock buybacks than on capital investments needed to fulfill their contracts over the last decade. In Europe, it was the other way around with defense companies spending twice as much on capital investments compared to dividends. (They don’t do stock buybacks.)” (01/14/25)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/defense-industry-stock-buybacks
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34) The perils of naughty piccies by Grok
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Tim Worstall
“We appear to be having one of those public fits of morality for which the British are famous. First there’s the observation that AI can be used to create naughty images. Yes, this does in fact mean all the different services, including the open source ones that can be run on a home PC, can be used to create such imagery. This is then focused in a two minute hate upon the evil of the day, X/Twitter and Grok. At which point X limits the ability to do so to paid accounts — paid accounts being those where the individual operating the account is a known individual. … Who is going to use a named and identified account to do something that’s illegal after all? At which point we’re told that this is ‘insulting.’ Solving the problem is insulting, eh?” (01/14/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/the-perils-of-naughty-piccies-by-grok
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35) Trump’s quest to kick America’s “Iraq War syndrome”
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Leah Schroeder
“American forces invaded Panama in 1989 to capture Manuel Noriega, a former U.S. ally whose rule over Panama was marred by drug trafficking, corruption and human rights abuses. But experts point to another, perhaps just as critical goal: to cure the American public of ‘Vietnam syndrome,’ which has been described as a national malaise and aversion of foreign interventions in the wake of the failed Vietnam War. On both fronts, the operation was a success. With Noriega in custody and democracy restored, President George H. W. Bush could make the case that the U.S. military was back to peak performance and that force — including regime change — could be used effectively for good, commencing a new era of foreign interventionism in America. Nearly four decades and several disastrous conflicts later, the public has overwhelmingly become skeptical once more, especially after the 20 years of war following the 9/11 attacks in 2001.” (01/14/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/us-invasion-venezuela/
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36) So, How’s the Occupation Going for You?
Source: Liberal Currents
by Taylor Carik
“After being told that school was cancelled for two days because of ICE, my elementary school-age daughter replied, ‘That makes sense, it’s really slippery outside.’ I’ve told that anecdote a few times already this week, along with another very recent exchange from when the school reopened, albeit with heavy community safety patrolling by parents. After saying a quick hello at afterschool pick-up, followed by a pregnant pause in its truest elephant-in-the-city way, another parent asked me sardonically, ‘So, how’s the occupation going for you?’ These simple exchanges capture both the enormity of the experience of living under this new modern form of domestic occupation in Minneapolis-St. Paul and the day-to-dayness of having to navigate it.” (01/14/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/so-hows-the-occupation-going-for-you/
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37) The duo tapping a new Japanese-Korean beat
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“For years, two of America’s closest allies, Japan and South Korea, have mostly marched to the beat of their own drums. As neighbors in northeast Asia, they have often cooperated. But the brutal history of Japan’s 1910-1945 occupation of the Korean Peninsula was always an emotional backbeat preventing close ties. On Tuesday, after a bilateral summit, their leaders – who both took office last year – changed the tempo quite a bit. In a gesture purposely human rather than diplomatic, Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung sat down and played the drums together. They performed the song ‘Golden’ from the 2025 animated film ‘KPop Demon Hunters.’ Ms. Takaichi had once been a drummer in a heavy metal band while Mr. Lee had long dreamed of playing drums.” (01/14/25)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2026/0114/The-duo-tapping-a-new-Japanese-Korean-beat
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38) A Distraction From the Epstein Files?
Source: The American Conservative
by Spencer Neale
“Trump has successfully shifted the Overton Window away from elite sexual exploitation toward rotating foreign vendettas.” (01/14/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/a-distraction-from-the-epstein-files/
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39) Socialist America?
Source: Law & Liberty
by George Hawley
“Limited government proponents should feel uneasy. On the right, populists deride economic liberty’s supporters as anachronistic ‘market fundamentalists.’ The free market, they suggest, is not aligned with the preferences or interests of the Republican Party’s new working-class coalition. Many of these populists are eager to abandon freedom for tariffs and other forms of ‘industrial policy’ — a euphemism for granting the state authority to pick economic winners and losers. Unfortunately, trends on the left may be even worse. With populists embracing new state interventions and untrammeled executive power, freedom advocates find their influence on the right at a nadir. Perhaps overtures to the center-left are in order? Having lost the last presidential election to a very flawed Republican candidate, maybe Democrats will be inclined to move toward the center. There is some historical precedence for this.” (01/14/26)
https://lawliberty.org/socialist-america/
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40) The Glee You See From Fascists About State Violence is a Sexual Fetish
Source: CounterPunch
by Kenn Orphan
“[T]here is an enormous amount of repressed fetishism happening within the celebration of ICE violence. They find unchecked, unaccountable power enticing. Its sadism is intoxicating because it allows them to disassociate from the crushing weight of their own inner turmoil. And because virtually none of them have ever taken the time to examine their own shadows, they project them onto everyone and everything. This psychology of sadomasochism is not the kind one finds in consensual BDSM relationships or communities. Quite the opposite. The people who participate in consensual BDSM do it because it is cathartic. Because it is fun. Because they trust their partner. But the kind we see among far-right and fascist groups is solely about demeaning those who have not submitted to the state or to a mob.” (01/14/26)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/01/14/the-g/
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41) Tariffs: Maybe Not So Crazy
Source: The American Prospect
by Robert Kuttner
“China’s trade surplus with the entire world hit an all-time record of $1.19 trillion in 2025, Beijing just announced. But here’s the stunner in the report. China’s surplus with the U.S. declined by 22 percent. The reason: U.S. tariffs on Chinese exports average over 50 percent. That’s a good outcome, since China’s chronic trade surplus is based on illegal mercantilist policies, including currency manipulation, subsidies, and domestic market protection, that cost the U.S. and other nations jobs. In the past, the main loser has been the United States. China simply diverted subsidized exports to other nations with lower tariffs. But what of Trump’s other tariffs? They are an incoherent mash-up.” (01/14/25)
https://prospect.org/2026/01/14/trump-tariffs-china-tax-economy-inflation/
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42) Trump Says He Sets His Own Limits; Founding Fathers Disagree
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Alan Mosley
“During a January 2026 interview with The New York Times, President Donald Trump was asked whether anything could limit his ability to use the vast military and economic power of the United States as he saw fit. His answer was breathtakingly candid. Trump replied, ‘Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.’ … Morally, a leader claiming to be constrained only by his personal sense of right and wrong should alarm anyone who values the rule of law. But a far more concrete problem exists: the perspective reflects a misunderstanding — or willful rejection — of the constitutional design of the American republic. The U.S. Constitution was deliberately constructed to prevent the very scenario Trump describes, that of a single individual unilaterally dragging the nation into conflict.” (01/14/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/trump-says-he-sets-his-own-limits-founding-fathers-disagree
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43) Genocide Isn’t a Mistake. Which Is Why the Media Can’t Tell You the Truth About Gaza
Source: Antiwar.com
by Jonathan Cook
“It is almost impossible to get serious criticism of the Israeli state, which (falsely) claims to represent the Jewish people, anywhere near mainstream US culture, even when it takes the form of a critically acclaimed movie, backed by Brad Pitt and Joaquin Phoenix, that received a record 23-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival. For decades, pro-Israel lobby groups have dedicated their efforts to telling us that antisemitism is rampant across the West and takes the form of opposition of Israel – a message endlessly amplified by the western media. … The solution, it hardly needs pointing out, is to shut down criticism of Israel to reduce antisemitism.” (01/14/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/cook/2026/01/13/genocide-isnt-a-mistake-which-is-why-the-media-cant-tell-you-the-truth-about-gaza/
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44) Cheap Credit Doesn’t Create Economic Growth — It Makes Us Poorer
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Soham Patil
“Net Present Value (NPV) is a popular decision-making criteria used by firms to make key, crucial choices about how to allocate resources across an economy. Net Present Value forecasts temporally discount future cash flows to their present value to check whether a project creates value. If a project has an NPV greater than zero, it creates value. On the other hand, if a project has an NPV less than zero, the project loses value. NPV forecasting isn’t perfect and there are often assumptions baked into any forecast but there is one particular type of error that occurs most often and has disastrous consequences.” (01/13/26)
https://mises.org/power-market/cheap-credit-doesnt-create-economic-growth-it-makes-us-poorer
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45) “Zohranomics”: NYC Mayor Mamdani’s socialist math doesn’t add up
Source: Fox News Forum
by Michael J Boskin
“Democratic Socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is focusing on affordability. But his ‘free stuff’ policy agenda would flunk an introductory economics midterm. For example: free bus rides will increase demand and cause overcrowding as service deteriorates. Can you envision New Yorkers queuing up like Londoners? Ditto free childcare, with risk of fraud. Ditto rent freezes, which are not likely to spur a rent-relieving housing supply surge. Does Mamdani really think public employees will work the same long, intense hours at city-owned grocery stores that private-sector owners do to earn a living while building their generational wealth? Or that it’s a good idea to shutter natural gas plants supplying 500 megawatts of reliable energy, which New York’s Independent System Operator extended beyond their planned retirement in mid-2025 lest the city suffer blackouts.” (01/14/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/zohranomics-nyc-mayor-zohran-mamdanis-socialist-math-doesnt-add-up
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46) Tariffs Have Hurt, Not Helped, the US Economy
Source: Foreign Policy
by Keith Johnson
“The U.S. economy, after a tumultuous year of tariffs and trade wars, appears to have performed better than feared earlier in the year, with annual GDP growth through the third quarter of about 2 percent, including a surprisingly healthy bump in the last reported quarter. But that, contrary to what U.S. President Donald Trump says, is not because of tariffs but in spite of them. And 2026 looks set to be an even rockier year on the trade front, with further negative implications for U.S. economic performance.” (01/13/26)
https://archive.is/ZOK5Y
-----
47) Insurance company subsidies are no prescription for lowering healthcare costs
Source: Orange County Register
by Ken Calvert
“These days, the cost of healthcare is on everyone’s mind. Since the passage of Obamacare in 2010, the cost of health insurance on the individual marketplace has increased nearly 170%, placing a significant financial strain on families and businesses. Despite advancements in medical technology and treatment, many people are finding it increasingly difficult to afford the care they need. This trend is particularly troubling as it disproportionately affects the most vulnerable populations, including the elderly, low-income individuals, and those with chronic conditions. However, rather than lower healthcare costs for Americans, Democrats want to simply extend a COVID-era Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidy, rife with fraud, to the tune of $400 billion over the next ten years.” (01/13/26)
https://archive.is/L4cGM
-----
48) The Biggest Myth About Trump’s Base (And Why Many Believe It)
Source: The Atlantic
by Yair Rosenberg
“To judge by recent accounts, Donald Trump’s intervention in Venezuela has imperiled his standing among his own supporters. Traditional-media outlets have warned of a MAGA schism, as have some high-profile right-wing influencers. … The theory of a MAGA rupture over Venezuela has a certain surface plausibility. It’s also completely contradicted by what masses of Trump’s backers are telling pollsters.” (01/13/26)
https://archive.is/5h0QX
-----
49) Amid ICE Crackdown, Unions and Community Groups Call for Minnesota Shutdown in 10 Days
Source: In These Times
by Amie Stager & Sarah Lazare
“Unions and community groups gathered in front of the Hennepin County Government Center in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota this morning to announce a day of ’no work, no school, no shopping’ on January 23 to oppose the ferocious assault on the state by federal immigration authorities. ‘We are facing a tsunami of hate from our own federal government,’ Abdikarim Khasim, a Minnesota rideshare driver, told the crowd. ‘We’re going to shut it down on the 23rd. We’re going to overcome this.’ JaNaé Bates Imari, representative of the church Camphor Memorial UMC, told the crowd that the joint action will be ’a day when every single Minnesotan who loves this state — who loves the idea of truth and freedom — will refuse to work, shop and go to school.'” (01/13/25)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/minneapolis-renee-good-ice-shooting-labor-unions
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50) AI Will Create Work, Not Decimate It
Source: Persuasion
by Emily Chamlee-Wright
“[T]he fear beneath the fear is that human potential has hit its outer bounds, and that from here on out, technology will always surpass human effort in both quality and cost. From that vantage point, sweeping, top-down remedies seem like the obvious course. … To my economist’s ear, some aspects of this narrative ring true. Basic economic theory predicts that, for a given level of quality, producers will replace high-cost inputs and processes, including those that involve human effort, with lower-cost alternatives. Such substitution effects are part of the entrepreneurial function. But the other part of the entrepreneurial function is to search for complementarities: new configurations of resources, human and otherwise, that generate new streams of value. It’s this part of the story that, more often than not, goes missing in democracy-focused conversations about AI.” (01/13/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/ai-will-create-work-not-decimate
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) The Political Orphanage
Source: The Political Orphanage
“The Friendship Recession and Cocktail Parties.” (01/14/26)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/the-friendship-recession-and-cocktail-parties
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52) Rising, 01/14/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave delivers radar on a proposed 5% wealth tax in California which he believes is not a great idea as it reportedly prompted at least six billionaires including Larry Page and Peter Thiel to cut ties with the state.” (01/14/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/5688423-rising-january-14-2026/
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53) The Illegal News with Sarah Longwell, 01/14/26
Source: The Bulwark
“Jack Smith Says He Had Trump Dead to Rights (w/ Asha Rangappa).” (01/14/26)
youtube.com/watch?v=EomE2wwfOIo
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54) Reason Interview: Colleen Shogan
Source: Reason
“Can We Save American History From Partisan Politics?” (01/14/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/01/14/can-we-save-american-history-from-partisan-politics/
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55) Underthrow Podcast, 01/14/26
Source: Underthrow
“Iran and Venezuela: A Tale of Two Regime Changes w/ James Harrigan.” (01/14/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWwxcAjSD_U
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56) The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg, 01/14/26
Source: The Dispatch
“Ethics Rooted in Physics | Interview: Rebecca Newberger-Goldstein.” (01/14/26)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/remnant/ethics-rooted-in-physics-interview-rebecca-newberger-goldstein/
-----
57) Declare Your Independence with Ernest Hancock, 01/14/26
Source: Freedom’s Phoenix
“Patrick Wood (Technocracy.News) and Courtenay Turner (Freedom-Fighter; co-founder of Pirate Stream Media) on their newest book: The Final Betrayal: How Technocracy Destroyed America; new world order, communism, technocracy, AI, where are we now, predictions, etc.” (01/14/26)
https://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Media/389785-2026-01-13-2026-01-14-ernest-hancock-interviews-patrick-wood-courtenay-turner.htm
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58) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 01/14/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump Tirades about Shooting Get Darker as Polls Turn Brutal on ICE.” (01/14/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/205263/trump-tirades-shooting-get-darker-polls-turn-brutal-ice
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59) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 01/14/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Trump Tells Iran Protesters: ‘Help Is on Its Way,’ Senate To Vote on Venezuela War Powers, and More.” (01/14/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS6dOkxI8M4
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60) Nonzero, 01/13/26
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“The Minneapolis Shooting Rorschach Test | Robert Wright & Paul Bloom.” (01/13/26)
https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/69226
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61) System Update, episode 565
Source: System Update
“Prof. John Mearsheimer on Why Foreign Involvement in Iran Would Fail, U.S. Aggression Toward Venezuela, Trump’s Foreign Policy, and More.” (01/13/26)
https://rumble.com/v74ag6w-prof.-john-mearsheimer-on-iran-protests-u.s.-aggression-toward-venezuela-an.html
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62) Capital Record, episode 279
Source: National Review
“Solving the Right Problem the Wrong Way Does Not Solve the Problem.” (01/13/26)
https://www.nationalreview.com/podcasts/capital-record/solving-the-right-problem-the-wrong-way-does-not-solve-the-problem/
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63) Mean Age Daydream, 01/13/26
Source: Lions of Liberty
“Scott Adams & the Golden Globes Die in Same Week.” (01/13/26)
https://www.lionsofliberty.com/episodes/madd-scott-adams-amp-the-golden-globes-die-in-same-week
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64) Politics Politics Politics, 01/13/26
Source: Politics Politics Politics
“Fed Subpoena Shocker! How Much Oil Reinvestment Does Venezuela Need to Succeed? (with Al Brushwood).” (01/13/26)
https://www.politicspoliticspolitics.com/p/fed-subpoena-shocker-how-much-oil
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65) Trump Watch, 01/13/26
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“Trump’s Support of the Chavista Regime.” (01/13/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA13TuAi1Ic
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