Fountainhead Forum, episode 438
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Colin Grabow on the Jones Act and other regulations on ships.” (04/20/26)
https://rumble.com/v78rsga-ff-438-colin-grabow-on-the-jones-act-and-other-regulations-on-ships.html
Author: Thomas L. Knapp
From Res Publica to the United States of Trump
Source: The UnPopulist
by Andy Craig
“This president’s vulgar self-glorification is revolting to a self-governing people and must not stand.” (04/20/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/from-res-publica-to-the-united-states
The End of the Argument ad Orbánum
Source: The Atlantic
by Eliot A Cohen
“A reasonable rule is that once you begin making an argument ad Hitlerum — comparing some malevolent politician to Hitler or some malignant movement to the Nazis, or declaring a brutal (but non-eliminationist) war a genocide comparable to the Holocaust — you have lost the plot. The facile but extreme analogy is the first resort of the unimaginative alarmist. To this we should now add the argument ad Orbánum, namely, the view that the Trump administration is just like that of the creeping, well-nigh unstoppable, and irreversible corrupt authoritarian ruler Viktor Orbán.” (04/20/26)
The Chris Hedges Report, 04/20/26
Source: The Chris Hedges Report
“Is There a Way out of the Iran War? (w/ John Mearsheimer).” (04/20/26)
https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/is-there-a-way-out-of-the-iran-war
Palantir Has a Human Rights Policy. Its ICE Work Tells a Different Story
Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
by Cindy Cohn & Betty Gedlu
“For years, EFF has pushed technology companies to make real human rights commitments—and to live up to them. In response to growing evidence that Palantir’s tools help power abusive immigration enforcement by ICE, we sent the company a detailed letter asking how the promises in its own human rights framework extends to that work. This post explains what we asked, how Palantir responded, and why we believe those responses fall short.” (04/20/26)
The Onion launches new bid to take over Alex Jones’s Infowars
Source: Politico
“Satirical news website The Onion announced Monday what might seem to many like one of the media outlet’s signature jokes: it’s in the final stages of an agreement to take over Infowars, the far-right website founded by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. But The Onion — for once — was dead serious. The new deal would see The Onion’s parent company pay an $81,000 monthly licensing fee to Gregory Milligan, the court-appointed bankruptcy manager for the website. It’s a Hail Mary bid by the farcical publication after a judge blocked its initial plan to acquire Infowars in 2024 during a bankruptcy auction. The Onion had offered $1.75 million for Infowars’ assets — hoping to relaunch the site as a parody of itself — during a bankruptcy auction and was declared the winning bidder, but Jones was able to block the acquisition by arguing before the court that the bidding process was tainted by illegal collusion.” (04/20/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/20/the-onion-alex-jones-infowars-bid-00881444
Finding Freedom, 04/20/26
Source: Lions of Liberty
“The Empire That Never Died: How a Tiny Island Still Runs Your Money.” (04/20/26)
Don’t Count on the 25th Amendment To Dethrone Donald Trump
Source: Reason
by Joe Lancaster
“In recent weeks, a growing number of Democrats and progressives have called on federal officials to invoke the 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to remove President Donald Trump from office. Even some of Trump’s most stalwart onetime allies are joining in. While it may feel good to wishcast about booting Trump from the presidency, the 25th Amendment is perhaps the most unlikely strategy possible.” (04/20/26)
https://reason.com/2026/04/20/dont-count-on-the-25th-amendment-to-dethrone-donald-trump/
Japan: Regime loosens arms exports rules in further shift back toward pre-WW2 militarism
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Japan has relaxed decades-old restrictions on its arms exports, clearing the way for it to sell weapons to more than a dozen countries. The announcement on Tuesday marks a milestone in Tokyo’s shift away from the pacifism that has characterised its post-war defence policy. It also comes at a time of heightened tensions in the region. Restrictions that limit arms exports to just five categories — rescue, transport, warning, surveillance and minesweeping — will be lifted. This means Japan can now sell lethal weapons to the 17 countries with which it has defence agreements, including the US and the UK. … Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said in a press briefing that the move was ‘intended to safeguard Japan’s security and further contribute to the peace and stability of the region.'” (04/21/26)
Consenting to Endless Coercion
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by James Bovard
“Presidents perennially claim that they possess their power thanks to ‘the consent of the governed.’ This phrase, a signature line of the Declaration of Independence, has echoed in official declarations ever since Jefferson’s time. President Harry Truman assured Congress in 1952, ‘No government can be invested with a higher dignity and greater worth than one based upon the principle of consent.’ But this has long since been a charade. As the federal government has become far larger and more heavy-handed, it is ever more important to persuade people that they consented to their oppression. But political consent is gauged very differently than consent in other areas of life.” (04/20/26)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/consenting-to-endless-coercion/