Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“President Trump and the Pentagon have now attacked and killed more than 70 people on the high seas in the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean near South America. They justify these killings by claiming that the victims are engaged in violations of U.S. federal drug laws. But the fact is that Trump’s and the Pentagon’s claims are nothing more than informal accusations. In fact, their informal accusations don’t even amount to a formal accusation set forth in a grand-jury indictment. That’s because a grand jury cannot issue an indictment unless it sees evidence that establishes that there is ‘probable cause’ that the accused committed the crime. With Trump’s and the Pentagon’s informal accusation, no such burden of proof is required.” (11/13/25)
“Telegram chief Pavel Durov is once again free to travel as he pleases. The social media entrepreneur’s judicial supervision and prohibition on leaving France without authorization has been lifted by the courts, according to an official familiar with the proceedings, confirming reports from Bloomberg and AFP. The Telegram founder was arrested in France in August 2024 and charged with several organized crime offenses. Prosecutors accuse Durov and his Telegram messaging service of refusing to cooperate with authorities in proceedings to combat illegal content, including child pornography. Following his late-night arrest at Le Bourget airport, the courts placed Durov under strict judicial supervision, preventing him from leaving French territory.” (11/13/25)
“The phrase ‘kids will be kids’ has long been used to excuse bad behavior. It grew out of a centuries-old idea that youth itself should confer some form of immunity — that immaturity, carelessness or even cruelty are simply part of growing up. What began as a forgiving nod to childhood mischief has evolved into a cultural permission slip …. One damning recent example comes from a Politico report on a leaked group chat of young Republicans trading racist epithets, celebrating sexual assault and making antisemitic jokes about gas chambers and loving Hitler. … Speaking on ‘The Charlie Kirk Show,’ Vice President JD Vance offered a forceful defense of the participants, arguing that ‘the reality is that kids do stupid things, especially young boys — they tell edgy, offensive jokes. That’s what kids do.’ … Contrast this dismissive framing with how Vance responded to offensive comments in the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination.” (11/13/25)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Lipton Matthews
“Few ideas in modern historical writing have generated as much intrigue as the claim that slavery and capitalism shared a common managerial language. The suggestion that slaveholders employed accounting principles comparable to those used by modern firms implies that plantations functioned as early laboratories of capitalist rationality. This interpretation has captured scholarly attention because it seems to reveal a chilling continuity between bondage and modern business practice. Yet the plantation record books themselves tell a more restrained story.” (11/13/25)
“Lawyers for the Trump administration on Thursday withdrew an emergency Supreme Court appeal centered on whether it must fully fund the nation’s largest anti-hunger program during the government shutdown — ending a roughly three-week court fight over a benefits program that impacted millions of Americans. The Justice Department said in withdrawing its emergency request that it considers the issue mooted after Congress passed a bill to reopen the government, ending a 43-day government shutdown that is now the longest in U.S. history.” (11/13/25)
“Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt on Thursday commuted the death sentence of a man who was set to be executed to life in prison after a state panel recommended his life should be spared. Tremane Wood, 46, was scheduled to receive a lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester on Thursday. The Pardon and Parole Board issued an uncommon clemency recommendation last week. … Stitt, who has served two terms and cannot run for reelection in 2026, had granted clemency only once during his nearly seven years as governor prior to Thursday. Wood was sentenced to die for his role in the stabbing death of Ronnie Wipf, a 19-year-old migrant farmworker from Montana, during a botched robbery attempt at a north Oklahoma City hotel on New Year’s Day 2002. Wood’s attorneys have not denied that he participated in the robbery but maintain that his brother, Zjaiton Wood, was the one who stabbed Wipf.” (11/13/25)
“Robby Soave delivers his radar on President Trump backing the H1-B Visa program, a point of contention that has divided the MAGA movement.” (11/13/25)
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by John Coleman
“Imagine a fourth-grade classroom in which the teacher uses AI to generate a video of Ronald Reagan explaining his Cold War strategy. It’s history in living color, and the students lean in, captivated. Now imagine that same teacher facing thousands of dollars in damages under the proposed NO FAKES Act because the video looks too real. That’s not sci-fi. It’s a risk baked into this bill. The NO FAKES Act, introduced this year in both the House and Senate, would create a new federal ‘digital replication right’ letting people control the use of AI-generated versions of their voice or likeness. That means people can block others from sharing realistic, digitally created images of them. The right can extend for up to 70 years after the person’s death and is transferred to heirs.” (11/13/25)
“White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Thursday the government would release the closely watched employment report for October, but without the jobless rate after a weeks-long federal government shutdown. ‘The household survey wasn’t conducted in October, so we’re going to get half the employment report. We’ll get the jobs part, but we won’t get the unemployment rate. And that’ll just be for one month,’ Hassett told Fox News'[s] ‘America’s Newsroom’ program. ‘We probably … will never actually know for sure what the unemployment rate was in October.’ The 43-day government shutdown, the longest on record, caused the suspension of data collection, processing and publishing by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics as well as the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau and Bureau of Economic Analysis.” (11/13/25)
