Annual Fundraiser: Tap … Tap … Is This Thing On?

Hey, everyone …

After a not too terrible weekend, our annual fundraiser had its first “zero-dollar day” yesterday. We remain stuck (as of 5am on October 6) at $115 toward our goal of $5,503 (actually $2,751.50, since reader GL is generously “matching funds” for the second half of the goal IF we can raise the first half).

Please support the freedom movement’s daily newspaper and help us get on track to reach the goal:

https://news.rationalreview.com/support-rrnd

And have a great day!

Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily

Russia: Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow region kills two

Source: Yahoo! News

“Ukraine attacked the Moscow region with around 650 drones overnight, killing two people and damaging dozens of residential buildings, Russian authorities said early on Tuesday. Most of the drones were destroyed by air defences at long range, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin wrote on Telegram. He said 105 drones were destroyed as they approached the Russian capital. In addition to the two deaths, nine people were injured in the attack, according to Andrei Vorobyov, the governor of the Moscow region. It was not initially possible to verify these figures.” (10/06/26)

https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/ukraine-launches-major-drone-attack-080335186.html

The Three-Party Problem

Source: The Dispatch
by Yascha Mounk

“The smart money in American politics has always bet against the rise of third parties. The reasons are both obvious and numerous. … The supposedly smart money is often based on conventional wisdom. But the problem with the conventional wisdom is that it is usually right for a long stretch—before suddenly proving to be disastrously wrong. Take, as an example, the longstanding conviction among political scientists studying the American primary system that party insiders ultimately decide who gets the presidential nomination, a supposed certainty that blinded large parts of the field to Trump’s rise in 2016. When it comes to third parties, we may now be approaching a similar paradigm shift.” (10/05/26)

https://thedispatch.com/article/third-parties-independents-voter-discontent/

Trump signs executive order temporarily leashing diesel tax dogs

Source: CNN

“President Donald Trump signed an executive order late Monday aimed at bringing down near-record diesel prices by waiving restrictions on cheaper red-dyed diesel. Speaking at a campaign event in Nebraska, a state hit hard by the spike in diesel prices, Trump said the order will ‘allow anyone to purchase tax-free red-dyed diesel for any reason.’ … Red-dyed diesel is the same as regular diesel. It’s just untaxed and dyed red to distinguish it for off-road use only, such as for tractors or industrial purposes. … The fact sheet says the order directs the Treasury secretary, in consultation with the secretary of defense, to defer payment for on-road use of dyed diesel fuel for the rest of the year without interest or penalties and to ‘explore pathways to eliminate the obligation to pay the deferred taxes.'” [editor’s note: So the taxes aren’t actually coming off, they’re just getting extorted later – TLK] (10/05/26)

https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/05/business/trump-diesel-prices-executive-order

Moderation in the Pursuit of Liberty

Source: Garrison Center
by Joel Schlosberg

“Wall Street Journal columnist Barton Swaim’s ‘A Suggestion for Young Radicals’ to embrace moderation (October 1) might seem to bring the second least appealing news hook for a commentator whose outlet is named after the abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison who famously asserted that he would rather ‘tell a man whose house is on fire to give a moderate alarm’ than ‘use moderation in a cause like the present … I will not equivocate — I will not excuse — I will not retreat a single inch — AND I WILL BE HEARD.’ At least Swaim’s contribution keeps the Journal‘s op-ed page going when even the New York Times has moved on to so-called ‘guest essays.'” (10/05/26)

https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20920

Turkish, Pakistani regimes agree Saudi Arabia military deployment under Mecca pact

Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]

“Turkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have agreed to activate ‘deterrence measures’ under a mutual defence pact and rapidly deploy forces to the Gulf kingdom to counter attacks by Yemen’s Houthis. The decision was announced on Monday after the three countries’ defence and foreign ministers held an emergency meeting in Riyadh. It marked the first time the alliance – known as the Mecca Alliance for Defence – has been invoked since it was signed on August 7. … The announcements came hours after forces aligned with Yemen’s [Saudi puppet regime] launched a counteroffensive to retake territory the Iran-aligned Houthis captured last month. ” (10/05/26)

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/5/mecca-alliance-agrees-to-activate-collective-deterrence-measures

Trump’s Other War

Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
by Ron Paul

“As the midterm election draws near, a number of Republicans in tough races are distancing themselves from President Trump’s war. The war is unpopular because it has inflicted economic pain on the already-suffering American people. No, I am not talking about the Iran War. I am talking about President Trump’s tariff war.” (10/05/26)

https://www.ronpaullibertyreport.com/archives/trumps-other-war

US commodities regulator proposes new federal crypto oversight rules

Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“The US commodities regulator proposed on Monday a new federal framework for cryptocurrency exchanges that offer leveraged digital asset trading, seeking to bring parts of the spot crypto market under federal oversight weeks after Congress failed to advance comprehensive crypto regulation. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s proposed rules would effectively allow [sic] US crypto exchanges to opt into a federal regulatory framework instead of relying primarily on a patchwork of state money-transmitter licenses, the agency said. The proposed rules make use of a specific authority the CFTC has to oversee margined or leveraged spot assets. The CFTC has long sought authority to regulate spot cryptocurrency markets – which currently operate in a regulatory grey area – but only Congress has the ability to provide the regulator with that purview.” (10/05/26)

https://www.star-telegram.com/news/business/article317498369.html

Trump’s Antipathy Toward the Separation of Powers

Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger

“It shouldn’t surprise us that Trump would want little or no interference with his MAGA vision and program. After all, why else would the Framers incorporate the separation of powers concept into the Constitution? They knew that rulers inevitably had a propensity toward exercising dictatorial powers to implement their vision and their plans. After all, Trump isn’t the first head of state to have this propensity.” (10/05/26)

https://www.fff.org/2026/10/05/trumps-antipathy-toward-the-separation-of-powers/