THANK YOU to subscribing contributors ACS and ERW, and to long-time supporter KL — the $110.50 they sent us over the weekend brings our annual fundraiser total (as of 5am) to $1,262!
As a fundraiser goes on, it sometimes feels like every day is “find a new hook to reel them in” day. Which can be annoying, I know, but until we hit $5,503 ($2,751.50 from all but one of our readers, and “matching funds” from supporter GL), I have to keep it up. Today’s hook:
Tomorrow is my 60th birthday (or would be if I still admitted to HAVING birthdays). In “celebration,” I hope to raise at least $60 more for RRND/FND by then. If the occasion moves you to donate $60, or any part thereof, to our fundraiser, I’ll be duly grateful.
Have a splendiferous day!
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Charles Krblich
“Baseball is my favorite game because of the lessons it teaches. First, it’s a team game that individuals play: your at-bats and fielding are yours and yours alone, but they are put to work in the service of your team. Second, and most importantly, it is a game of individual and team failure: you are out more often than you are on base, a team winning percentage of .550 – .600 — just more than half of your games played — is a championship-caliber team, and each attempt is isolated. It is recorded. There is nowhere to hide the miss. The game forces you to live with failure as a normal outcome. Maybe as a result, a wide range of superstitions and rituals developed and many have been passed down through the generations.” (11/08/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/all-of-the-errors-forgotten/
Source: Bloomberg
“China will suspend an additional 24% tariff on [Chinese buyers of] US goods for another two months, formalizing a decision by the two countries’ leaders to prolong their trade truce until next January. The move will take effect at 1:01 p.m. Beijing time on Tuesday, with a 10% blanket tariff retained on [Chinese buyers of] US imports, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council said in a statement. China will also extend its suspension of special fees on American ships docking at its ports until Jan. 10, the Transport Ministry said in a separate statement on Monday.” (11/09/26)
https://archive.is/ofP8a
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“In 1954, Congress replaced the traditional ‘Armistice Day’ observance with a celebratory ‘Veterans Day.’ Instead of mourning war, we now celebrate warriors. Parades. Air shows. Political speeches. Free meals, drinks, haircuts, etc. for veterans. A lot of ‘thank you for your service’ to everyone identifiable as a veteran of the US armed forces; quite a bit of mutual back-slapping among those of us who ‘served.’ To me, the best way to celebrate veterans would be stop making so many of us — especially, but not only, of the dead, maimed, traumatized, and homeless varieties.” (11/08/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/21014
Source: Unattended Baggage
“Bye-Bye Fascists, Hello Commies.” (11/07/26)
https://unattendedbaggage.substack.com/p/episode-362-bye-bye-fascists-hello
Source: Financial Times [UK]
“Donald Trump conceded he had been ‘too tough’ on immigration and offered to work with Democrats on an amnesty deal for migrants in a sign that he could temper his deportation campaign in the wake of Republicans’ midterm rout. The president said in a TV interview aired on Sunday that some voters had been turned off by the severity of his administration’s approach to immigration. … Asked if he thought some kind of ‘legal status’ deal with Democrats was possible, Trump told CBS that was ‘something that’s actually doable’. He added that he would be willing to work with legislators such as Texas senator-elect James Talarico to achieve reform. The interview was filmed on Friday morning, shortly before Trump announced he was appointing immigration hardliner Stephen Miller as his chief of staff.” (11/08/26)
https://archive.is/OtR6S
Source: The Porter Files
by Jake Porter
“While most of us spent the spring and summer working on campaigns, Michael Heise, founder of the Mises Caucus, was plotting a second takeover of the Libertarian Party. His plan to create the ‘American Liberty Party’ wouldn’t just capture the Libertarian Party, but destroy it, replacing it with a bizarre mixture of America First populist mush that, by his own admission, ‘wont be explicitly libertarian.’ … On October 27, Heise announced the American Liberty Party. If you visit the website and scroll to the bottom you will realize that it is a project of the Mises Caucus, paid for by Mises PAC and not actually a new political party.” (11/07/26)
https://jakeporter.substack.com/p/the-next-takeover
Source: Maritime Executive
“On Saturday, at least two tankers were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, including one that caught fire. The first vessel was transiting about eight nautical miles off the coast of Khasab, on Oman’s Musandam Peninsula, when it caught fire. Unverified videos purporting to show the blaze have circulated on social media, and appear to show a vigorous cargo fire burning amidships. The crewmembers were evacuated, and no injuries have been reported. Video footage shows at least two firefighting tugs on scene and working to combat the blaze.” (11/08/26)
https://maritime-executive.com/article/tanker-burns-after-strike-in-strait-of-hormuz
Source: The American Conservative
by W James Antle III
“Republicans took a pounding on Tuesday that made past wave elections look like a mild drizzle by comparison. Just whatever you do, don’t blame the Iran war. … Even in 2006, Republicans had other problems besides the Iraq War. But this furious denial of the war’s impact is reminiscent of those who wanted to blame GOP congressional losses 20 years ago on earmarks.” (11/07/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/republicans-post-midterms-war-denialism-is-an-exercise-in-special-pleading/
Source: CoinDesk
“Bitcoin has seen sharp two-way moves in the last several hours, reminding traders why leverage can hurt. The volatility came as the market digested two uncomfortable headlines. First, Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia – AI bellwether and the largest stock by market cap – admitted to an affair with a woman U.S. officials believe was spying for China. Second, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said negotiations with Iran had stalled. … Bitcoin fell to about $73,761 late Sunday, its lowest point since August, before recovering to trade above $75,000, according to CoinDesk data.” (11/08/26)
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/11/09/bitcoin-drops-then-pops-as-nvidia-cheating-scandal-and-failed-iran-talks-trigger-volatility
