Author: Thomas L. Knapp

Trump Commands Venezuela’s Heavens Closed

Source: Antiwar.com
by Roger D Harris

“US President Trump ordered the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela ‘closed in its entirety’ on November 29. Yet the US has as much legal and moral authority to shutter the skies over Venezuela as the Venezuelans have to close the putting greens at Mar-a-Lago. Yes, that’s ridiculous – but not any more so than Washington’s phony pretext of drug interdiction for their deadly regime-change offensive against Venezuela.” (12/02/25)

https://original.antiwar.com/roger_harris/2025/12/01/trump-commands-venezuelas-heavens-closed/

Thomas L. Knapp

New Mexico — home of the fee, land of the rave(ing mad)

Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton

“Ruled by Her Imperial Majesty, Michelle (I) Lujan Grisham, since 2019, the State has increasingly become both more socialist and returned more to its origin and roots as a (now-‘independent’) province of Imperial Spain. It is a curious mix of bizarre sects and ‘alternative lifestyles’ and traditional Spanish, AmerInd culture, and high-tech. It is both poor and expensive to live in. One of the most recent examples is the ‘Universal Child Care’ plan pushed by HIMajesty and gladly accepted by the State’s Woke legislature. Every child in the State will now be entitled to receive free childcare, both preschool and apparently before and after school hours.” (12/01/25)

https://thepriceofliberty.org/2025/12/01/new-mexico-home-of-the-fee-land-of-the-raveing-mad/

Thomas L. Knapp

TSA gang to demand $45 bribes from air travelers without Very Special Important Permission Slips

Source: San Diego Union-Tribune

“Air travelers in the U.S. without a REAL ID will be charged a $45 fee beginning in February, the Transportation Security Administration announced Monday. The updated ID has been required since May, but passengers without it have so far been allowed to clear security with additional screening and a warning. The Department of Homeland Security says 94% of passengers are already compliant and that the new fee is intended to encourage travelers to obtain the ID. REAL ID is a federally compliant state-issued license or identification card that meets enhanced requirements mandated in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.” (12/01/25)

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/12/01/real-id-fee/

Thomas L. Knapp

Charles de Montalembert: A Forgotten Pillar of Classical Liberalism

Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Joseph Solis-Mullen

“Among the many figures who contributed to the growth and refinement of classical liberalism in Europe, few are more deserving of renewed attention than Charles Forbes René de Montalembert (1810–1870). A French Catholic nobleman, publicist, parliamentarian, and intellectual, Montalembert stood at the center of the 19th century struggle to reconcile Catholicism with political liberty at a time when both reactionary monarchists and militant secularists claimed exclusive ownership of France’s future. His life and writings offer a vision of liberty that is moral, pluralistic, and resistant to the centralizing ambitions of the modern state — precisely the kind of vision Ralph Raico argued must remain at the heart of any authentic liberal tradition.” (12/01/25)

https://mises.org/mises-wire/charles-de-montalembert-forgotten-pillar-classical-liberalism

Thomas L. Knapp

Tunisia: Regime Arrests Prominent Opponent Hammami to Enforce 5-Year Jail Term

Source: US News & World Report

“Police arrested prominent Tunisian opposition figure Ayachi Hammami at his home on Tuesday to enforce a five-year prison term on a conviction for conspiracy against state security, his family told Reuters. An appeals court handed down jail terms of up to 45 years last week to dozens of opposition leaders including Hammami, business figures and lawyers on charges of conspiracy to overthrow President Kais Saied. Critics called the sentences a sign of Saied’s increasingly authoritarian rule. … The opposition says the charges are fabricated and aim to crush Saied’s critics through the judiciary.” (12/02/25)

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2025-12-02/tunisia-arrests-prominent-opposition-figure-hammami-to-enforce-5-year-jail-term

Thomas L. Knapp