“In my opinion, if I pay to own something, I’ve paid to own all the things it can do … assuming I can figure out how to make it do those things. The manufacturers of ”owned,’ but with subscription-only features’ goods, though, frown on homebrew tinkerers jail-breaking those products instead of forking over cash in perpetuity. And they’ve got ‘intellectual property’ law on their side. They don’t have to care about your happiness.” (01/20/26)
“The U.S. Department of Justice served subpoenas to several Minnesota officials Tuesday, including Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her and others for an alleged conspiracy to impede federal immigration officers. Two Minnesota prosecutors, Attorney General Keith Ellison and Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, were sent similar subpoenas. U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche recently accused Frey and Walz of ‘encouraging violence against law enforcement’ and called their actions ‘terrorism.’ But he provided no evidence of his claims. … The Justice Department investigation comes after it indicated it will not file charges against Jonathan Ross, an ICE [gang member] who [murdered] Renee Nicole Good as she was in her car and amid a convoy of [ICE gang thugs].” (01/20/26)
“One of the positions that conservatives pride themselves on most is their dedication to free markets. They extol the virtues of the free market in pamphlets and speeches, and they regularly denounce the idea of government control. … Certainly, American conservatism has long been defined by the rhetoric of free markets. But a quick glance at conservative policy positions is all that is needed to call the sincerity of this rhetoric into question. Indeed, the policies conservatives advocate very often go against the free-market principles that they claim to hold. Perhaps the most glaring example of this contradiction is the conservative position on free trade.” (01/20/26)
“US military [pirates] boarded and took control of a seventh oil tanker connected with Venezuela on Tuesday as part of the Trump administration’s broader efforts to take control of the South American country’s oil. US Southern Command said in a social media post that US forces apprehended the Motor Vessel Sagitta ‘without incident’ and that the tanker was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s ‘established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.’ The military command did not say whether the US Coast Guard took control of the tanker as has been the case in prior seizures.” (01/20/26)
“One Friday morning in September 2023, my neurologist told me she suspected that I had ALS. I was completely healthy — or so I thought — and in the prime of my life. I had two adult children, a great career, and a wonderful marriage. I was 56, and both of my parents were still alive. My diagnosis was confirmed two months later. I felt as if I had just been told not only that I would die, but that I would be tortured to death, and that it would drag out over several years. … About a year after my diagnosis, joy returned to my life thanks to the support of my family and friends, therapy, antidepressants, and a daily meditation practice. But the most important factor in my emotional recovery was gaining the knowledge that I can make the decision to end my own life when my suffering becomes unbearable.” (01/20/26)
“An Arab human rights non-governmental organisation (NGO) has filed a request for United Kingdom sanctions to be lodged against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over ‘incitement to violence and genocide against Palestinians’ in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. British law firm Deighton Pierce Glynn filed the request on Tuesday with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on behalf of the Arab Organisation for Human Rights UK (AOHR UK), seeking targeted financial and travel sanctions against the Israeli leader. … Last year, a United Nations inquiry found that statements from Netanyahu and Israel’s top leadership had amounted to the ‘incitement to commit genocide’ in Gaza during the war. The submission adds that sanctions should be applied to Netanyahu over his responsibility for ‘unlawful military operations in Gaza’ as he is the country’s highest-ranking official.” (01/20/26)
“Supporters of the acquisition often cite estimates suggesting Greenland holds between roughly $2 trillion and $4 trillion in natural resources, including rare earth elements, hydrocarbons, and other critical minerals. At the same time, media reports and policy commentary have floated a hypothetical purchase price in the range of approximately $500 billion to $800 billion. Taken together, these two claims reveal a glaring contradiction. Natural resources are not cash balances. They represent long-dated option value: future streams of potential revenue that may or may not be realized depending on extraction costs, infrastructure investment, environmental constraints, political consent, and commodity prices. … Even setting aside valuation, the Greenland proposal fails a more basic test: symmetry. If historical ties, strategic relevance, and latent economic value were sufficient grounds for territorial acquisition, then several European powers could assert claims to US territory with equal legitimacy.” (01/20/26)
“A top federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia has posted a job opening for a top federal prosecutor position that the Trump administration claims is occupied by Trump loyalist Lindsey Halligan. Chief Judge M. Hannah Lauck entered an order on Tuesday ordering the clerk of the court to post a vacancy announcement, soliciting applications from attorneys interested in filling the position of Interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. … Under the law, when the position is vacant — as the chief judge declared it was — the court can ‘appoint a United States Attorney to serve until the vacancy is filled’ by a Senate-confirmed candidate. The application deadline is listed as Feb. 10, 2026. A judge previously ruled that Halligan was unlawfully serving in the role and dismissed cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.” (01/20/26)
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by staff
“This video is making the rounds — and it’s one every American should see. The video shows law enforcement showing up on the doorstep of Florida resident Raquel Pacheco. What did she do? She criticized the mayor on Facebook. Police coming to our doorsteps for lawful political speech — speech that doesn’t remotely rise to the level of incitement, harassment, or a true threat — is absolutely intolerable in a free society.” (01/20/26)
