Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“Yesterday, President Trump signed an executive order ‘ordering the declassification of files relating to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy [and] Reverend Martin Luther King.’ In signing the order, Trump declared, ‘That’s a big one. A lot of people have been waiting for this for years, for decades. And everything will be revealed.’ Trump’s executive order hit the wire services and was reported widely by the mainstream press. The order also created a big buzz across the Internet. Will those long-secret JFK assassination-related records really be finally released to the public? Color me … skeptical, extremely skeptical. Why I am skeptical? Because I don’t believe for a moment that the CIA is going to permit Trump to release those records.” (01/24/25)
“As my last post for 2024 and advice going into 2025, let me implore everyone who thinks the Trump election spells nirvana for truth to sit down and listen for a minute. First, I have zero pull or connection to MAGA or MAHA. So everyone sending me an idea or product to get the new officials’ attention, quit. I’m not in Trump’s contact list. In my bubble, without a smartphone, no apps, and no TV, I probably know less about plans and positions in the upcoming new slate of appointees than just about anyone. Second, and this is the crux of my post today, why does anyone think their idea or product is the magic elixir fixer if the government will endorse it?” (01/24/25)
“The Senate confirmed Pete Hegseth as the nation’s defense secretary late Friday in a dramatic tie-breaking vote, swatting back questions about his qualifications to lead the Pentagon amid allegations of heavy drinking and aggressive behavior toward women. … Vice President JD Vance arrived to break the 50-50 tie, highly unusual for Cabinet nominees and particularly defense secretaries, who typically win wider bipartisan support. Hegseth himself was at the Capitol with his family.” (01/24/25)
“Joe Biden and Donald Trump hand out pardons; CNN gets its clock cleaned in court; Eric Adams is unsubtly lobbying for legal help from Donald Trump.” (01/24/25)
“When Oxford Professor Allister McGrath wrote The Twilight of Atheism in 2004, it seemed to be an overly hopeful book for religious believers. However, the Bush-era culture war battles over religion and New Atheism were still fully inflamed: Creationism vs. Darwinism, prayer in schools, Bill Nye vs. Ken Ham, etc. These debates continued to rage for nearly a decade. However, McGrath made a bold prediction that atheism was already in decline. Modern atheism, he argued, peaked roughly between the French Revolution and the Soviet Union’s collapse and showed signs of receding like a tidal wave.” (01/24/25)
“Trump returned to the White House largely because the public was angry about dollar depreciation in the form of higher prices. His unusual coalition of nationalist-populists, old-school conservatives, and converted tech overlords has a material interest in bringing inflation down. But interests alone aren’t enough. The president, his team, and his allies in Congress will need to make politically hard choices to keep the dollar’s purchasing power from eroding further.” (01/24/25)
“At least 20 Nigerian soldiers have been reportedly killed in a suspected attack by fighters from the ISIL affiliate in West Africa Province (ISWAP). The attackers targeted an army base in the remote Malam-Fatori town in the northeastern Borno state on Friday, with a surviving soldier saying the attack lasted for more than three hours. Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters mainly operate in Borno and have attacked both security forces and civilians, killing and displacing tens of thousands of people. Reuters news agency, citing security sources and residents, on Sunday said a commanding officer was among those killed after ISWAP members arrived on gun trucks and attacked the Nigerian Army’s 149th Battalion in Malam-Fatori, gateway to the border with Niger.” (01/26/25)
