Hey, everyone …
After a “zero-dollar day,” our annual fundraiser total remains stuck (as of 5am) at $1,093.50.
We’re $1,658 short of our goal — and I’m as tired of hectoring you about money as you are of hearing it. Once we’ve hit the target, I get to shut up about money entirely for the rest of 2026 and mostly for the first nine months of 2027. Have a great day — but first,
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily
Source: United Press International
“Belize has declared a state of emergency in 19 areas after a series of deadly shootings, giving police expanded powers to detain suspected gang members as the government considers studying El Salvador’s anti-gang strategy. The emergency took effect Sunday in parts of Belize City, Ladyville, Cotton Tree and Unitedville, according to Breaking Belize News. … National Security Minister Michel Chebat said Belizean officials plan to visit El Salvador to examine President Nayib Bukele’s approach to fighting gangs, according to Breaking Belize News.” (11/02/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/11/02/latam-belize-state-of-emergency-gang-violence/6331793640914/
Source: Antiwar.com
“US Bombs Iran’s Qeshm Island, Saudi-Backed Forces Strike Yemen Market, and More.” (11/02/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E7FugXLwTU
Source: Reason
by Jacob Sullum
“The U.S. Constitution says ‘the times, places and manner of holding elections’ for senators and representatives ‘shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof,’ although Congress ‘may at any time by law make or alter such regulations.’ Yet in the run-up to Tuesday’s elections, the Trump administration has unilaterally and repeatedly tried to impose its own restrictions on that constitutional power, resulting in a remarkable series of rebukes by federal courts, including four issued during the last five days.” (11/02/26)
https://reason.com/2026/11/02/trumps-election-interference-in-california-and-alaska-prompts-a-series-of-judicial-rebukes/
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“Some of the reasons doom might not happen depend on facts that we have no way to influence, but not all. There may be no way of preventing the creation of AI’s that do not care about human welfare but it might be possible to improve the odds of the creation of some that do. We are a great deal smarter than other living things but some of us still care about some of them.” (11/02/26)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/ai-doom-and-aging
Source: Times of Israel [Jerusalem]
“The US carried out strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, an American official said late Monday on the eve of crucial midterm elections, which US President Donald Trump has signaled could mark the start of resumed war with Iran. The strikes, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, appeared to be limited and were not a resumption of major combat operations, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Another official said the strikes were defensive measures against Iranians ‘using surface-to-air missiles against US assets.'” (11/03/26)
https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-carries-out-defensive-strikes-on-irans-qeshm-island-in-strait-of-hormuz/
Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders
“Imagine a law called the Voter Accountability Act. Or call it the Max Tax, if you like. If a party wins control of government and runs a deficit, everyone who voted for it pays 10 percent more in income taxes during deficit years. If the budget balances, rates stay normal. Voters on the losing side get a 10 percent discount on their tax bills. Non-voters pay the ordinary rate. So described, the Max Tax sounds like justice ringing the doorbell. Whoever installs the government gets the invoice. In other words, if you really want things done your way, then you have to pay for it. I like the idea. But I also know it would probably create a clusterf—. Still, the ways it might fail tell us as much about the absurdity of our current system as they do about the proposal itself.” (11/02/26)
https://underthrow.substack.com/p/tax-the-winners
Source: Reason
“What Do Libertarians Have To Gain From the Midterms?” (11/02/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/11/02/what-do-libertarians-have-to-gain-from-the-midterms/
Source: The Hill
“The Supreme Court on Monday quickly rejected the Trump administration’s effort to force California officials to set aside 20,000 ballots it claims belong to likely noncitizens and must be investigated. The court’s one-sentence order contained no explanation and had no noted dissents. California and immigration rights groups question the veracity of the administration’s list and say its lawsuit is an attempt to disenfranchise legal voters. The administration raced its claims to the Supreme Court earlier on Monday after California persuaded lower courts that the administration has no legal right to push the state to comply. The administration warned that the clock was running out. All sides agree that ballots can’t be separated once they’re processed, and election officials have already received hundreds of thousands of mail ballots ahead of polls opening on Tuesday.” (11/02/26)
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/6190525-supreme-court-trump-administration-california-ballots
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Laurence M Vance
“Conservatives are well known for launching moral crusades. Because they think they have an ally in the White House, some of them are now openly calling for the federal government to ban pornography. But instead of advocating for new legislation to combat pornography, they maintain that obscenity laws still exist on the federal and state levels and should therefore be used against pornography. The question here is not whether viewing pornography is acceptable, good, useful, or beneficial, or whether viewing pornography is bad, immoral, harmful, or sinful. The question at issue is simply this: Should government at some level, for whatever reason, seek to ban some or all pornography?” (11/02/26)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/repugnant-markets/
