Hey, everyone …
It’s a FIREHOSE FRIDAY, with 107-ish news stories, opinion pieces, and audio/video links awaiting your attention at our web edition.
As I mentioned yesterday, we’re “web-only” because my wife, Tamara, had carpal tunnel surgery yesterday. It went well and she’s recovering nicely, but things like that take a chunk out of any work day. Thanks for your understanding.
As I also pointed out yesterday, every day that nobody donates to our annual fundraiser, a cute little puppy dies. Thanks to subscribing contributors JF and IH, and to long-time supporter CH (who opined “Nooo! Not the puppies!”) for their contributions totaling $25.50 — they surely saved a few puppies AND brought our annual fundraiser total up to (as of 5am on Friday) $1,083.50!
Short and sweet: Our goal is $5,503. Once we’ve raised $2,751.50, supporter GL will “match funds” to get us to the finish line. So we are $1,668 short.
I think a reasonable “mini-goal” is to hit the halfway point ($1,375.75) by Monday, with weekend contributions totaling at least $292.25. That URL again:
Thanks for all you do, and please have a happy, healthy, and prosperous Halloween weekend!
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily
Source: The Bulwark
“Elon Musk’s DOGE Was a Colossal Con Job (w/ Max Stier).” (10/31/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20aXz-SqsM8
Source: The Bleeding Heart Libertarian
by Daniel Shapiro
“Why a longtime Libertarian Party voter thinks lovers of liberty should vote Democratic this year.” (10/30/26)
https://bleedingheartlibertarian.substack.com/p/default-democrats
Source: The American Prospect
by Gabrielle Gurley
“Heading out early on a brisk, bright Saturday morning, brilliant red, gold, yellow trees shimmered in every direction as Maine’s autumn temperatures recovered from near freezing overnight to warmish. It’s prime fleece season in New England and beyond, but Ben Waxman is losing business. Waxman is a co-owner of American Roots, a small clothing manufacturer, one of the businesses in the Dana Warp Mill, a restored 19th-century textile mill on the banks of the Presumpscot River in Westbrook, a Portland suburb. The firm makes T-shirts, hoodies, and specially designed casual wear, and proclaims its products ‘Union Strong, American Made, Proudly Sewn in Maine’. For months, the outlook has been any anything but robust, since the Trump administration launched a trade war against Canada and a shooting war against Iran.” (10/30/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/10/30/as-the-midterms-wrap-up-one-maine-business-keeps-calm-and-carries-on/
Source: Politico
“A federal judge on Friday ordered the Justice Department to stop threatening state and local election officials with criminal prosecution over their handling of disputes about voter qualifications. U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson also ordered the Trump administration to cease demanding that election workers remove voters from statewide rolls, refuse to issue ballots to specific voters or segregate ballots cast in the midterms based on the administration’s claims that some voters are ineligible.” (10/31/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/10/31/justice-department-election-officials-threats-ruling
Source: The Fifth Column
“A Socialist Walks Into The Fifth Column (w/ Bhaskar Sunkara).” (10/30/260
https://www.wethefifth.com/p/a-socialist-walks-into-the-fifth
Source: The UnPopulist
by Berny Belvedere
“Under Donald Trump, much of the American church has gained a political ally at the risk of its soul—Mark 8:36 in concrete form. [Michael] Wear didn’t call MAGA Christianity a disaster for country and faith in so many words, but his diagnosis landed in the same place.” (10/30/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/christians-grapple-with-how-their
Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley
“‘Something wicked this way comes.’ Those words from William Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ capture the approach of Halloween. For tort litigators, it is welcome news for a holiday that is a mix of slip-and-falls, food liability, and costume defects. Each year, we add to the list of Halloween torts. So let us begin. Last year, a group of people walked past the Fear Factor haunted house run by Murder Beach Productions. Their employee approached the group and asked a girl kid ‘Who is that’ She replied, ‘My Dad, but he’s scared.’ The performer then stated, ‘Watch what I do to him!’ and chased Harrison Wright down the sidewalk until he fell face first on the concrete, resulting in a 2-inch laceration to the head, permanent injuries, post-traumatic headaches, loss of wages and medical bills.” (10/31/26)
https://jonathanturley.org/2026/10/31/spooky-torts-the-2026-list-of-litigation-horrors/
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Rioters looted shops in central Frankfurt late on Saturday as clashes erupted in German cities over the cost of living. Besides Frankfurt – Germany’s financial hub – there were incidents of violence in Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg, with police saying they used water cannon to disperse protesters who were targeting emergency workers with fireworks, stones and bottles. … Overnight, a large section of Frankfurt’s main shopping street was closed off by police. A police spokesperson said many arrests were made in the city.” (11/01/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqj34gnd3n30o
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“Is an AI Bubble Bursting? | Robert Wright & Liron Shapira.” (10/30/26)
https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/69828
Source: The Daily Economy
by Jeffery L Degner
“Gift card and app balances aren’t just waiting to buy your coffee; they’re helping Starbucks grow. Customer loyalty is a surprising source of corporate financing.” (10/30/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/your-starbucks-balance-is-working-harder-than-you-think/
