Ron Paul Liberty Report, 03/31/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Trump Looking For ‘Off-Ramp?’ It’s Not That Easy.” (03/31/26)
Author: Thomas L. Knapp
SCOTUS rules against Colorado’s “conversion therapy” ban on First Amendment grounds
Source: CBS News
“The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled in favor of a Colorado counselor who challenged a state law that bans ‘conversion therapy’ for minors, ruling that lower courts failed to apply ‘sufficiently rigorous First Amendment scrutiny’ in the case. The high court ruled 8-1 that Colorado’s law, when applied to talk therapy provided by counselor Kaley Chiles, regulates speech based on viewpoint. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the lone dissenter. The Supreme Court reversed a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit that found the law did not violate Chiles’ free-speech rights. The appeals court instead concluded that it regulates professional conduct and only incidentally burdens speech. The ruling from the high court is a narrow one and requires the lower courts to apply a more stringent level of review when evaluating the constitutionality of Colorado’s law.” (03/31/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme-court-colorado-conversion-therapy-ban-chiles-v-salazar/
Chiles v. Salazar: One Cheer for SCOTUS
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“As it happens, I’m extremely skeptical of ‘conversion therapy.’ So far as I can tell, sexual orientation isn’t something that can be consciously/intentionally altered using talk or any other kind of ‘therapy.’ Nor, for that matter, is it a ‘medical condition’ at all. It doesn’t need to be ‘treated.’ It’s just a characteristic (and perhaps an evolving, rather than static/permanent characteristic) that people discover in themselves. But that doesn’t mean people shouldn’t be able to think or say otherwise, or to attempt to ‘convert’ consenting others through speech. Note the qualifier: ‘Consenting.'” (03/31/26)
Trump issues unconstitutional election-rigging order to Social Security, US Snail bureaucracies
Source: USA Today
“President Donald Trump moved to exert federal control over voter rolls and mail-in ballots with an executive order that cracks down on a form of voting he frequently criticizes, even as he used it to cast his own ballot this year. … Trump’s order requires the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate with the Social Security Administration to create lists of voting-age U.S. citizens who are residents of each state and transmit them to state voting officials at least 60 days before an election. The U.S. Postal Service would then oversee mail-in ballots, with the order directing the agency to develop rules establishing ‘uniform standards’ for the ballots and preventing it from transmitting ballots of individuals who are not approved. … States have the authority under the Constitution over ‘the times, places, and manner’ of federal elections.
Ten Years Ago Today, Trump Promised To Eliminate the National Debt. Instead, It Has Doubled.
Source: Reason
by Eric Boehm
“Ten years ago today, Donald Trump said he would pay off the national debt in the span of just eight years. That did not happen. Instead, the gross national debt has doubled since that day — from about $19 trillion to over $39 trillion. Much of that additional borrowing has taken place during Trump’s five-plus years in the White House. The gap between Trump’s outlandish promise and the brutal fiscal reality of the past decade is not just a political gotcha. It’s also an apt illustration of how far and how fast the debt has spiraled. And it’s a painful reminder of a missed opportunity that Americans will be facing for a long, long time. The bill for these 10 years of fiscal profligacy will be coming due long after Trump has finally departed from the political scene.” (03/31/26)
Drones strike Russia’s Ust-Luga port again as EU officials visit Ukraine
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Ukrainian drones have struck Russia’s Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga for the fifth time in 10 days, as Kyiv continues to step up attacks on Russia’s oil export infrastructure. Regional governor Alexander Drozdenko said on Tuesday that three people, including two children, were treated for injuries and several buildings were damaged in the overnight attacks. … Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russia’s oil export infrastructure over the past month, launching its heaviest drone attacks of the more than four-year war against the Baltic ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk. … The European Union’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas and several EU foreign ministers reiterated their support for Ukraine as they arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday to mark the fourth anniversary of Russia’s massacre in Bucha, where Ukrainian officials and rights groups say Russian troops killed more than 400 people.” (03/31/26)
Dumb or Self-Interested Political Rulers
Source: Pierre Lemieux
by Pierre Lemieux
“To understand politics, we must presume that a head of state or other political ruler is, like the rest of us, primarily concerned with his own interests. When he does favor somebody else’s interests, it is as he interprets them (as a normal human being does toward his children), or simply because he thereby buys the beneficiary’s support. Thus, political and social institutions should be such that when a ruler acts foolishly or self-interestedly, he still furthers the common interests of his subjects (‘citizens’), instead of the interests of a favored group or his own interests against other people.” (03/31/26)
https://pierrelemieux.substack.com/p/dumb-or-self-interested-political
Federal judge temporarily blocks construction of Trump’s White House ballroom
Source: NBC News
“A federal judge in Washington has issued an order temporarily blocking the construction of President Donald Trump’s expansive new White House ballroom and any further demolition of the East Wing. ‘I have concluded that the National Trust is likely to succeed on the merits because no statute comes close to giving the President the authority he claims to have,’ wrote U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon, an appointee of President George W. Bush. … Leon paused his order from taking effect for 14 days to allow time for an appeal. The Justice Department filed a notice of appeal roughly 90 minutes after he issued his ruling.” (03/31/26)
Against The Concept Of Telescopic Altruism
Source: Astral Codex Ten
by Scott Alexander
“‘Telescopic altruism’ is a supposed tendency for some people to ignore those close to them in favor of those further away. Like its cousin ‘virtue signaling,’ it usually gets used to own the libs. Some lib cares about people in Gaza — why? Shouldn’t she be thinking about her friends and neighbors instead? The only possible explanation is that she’s an evil person who hates everyone around her, but manages to feel superior to decent people by pretending to ‘care’ about foreigners who she’ll never meet. This collapses upon five seconds’ thought. Okay, so the lib is angry about the Israeli military killing 50,000 people in Gaza. Do you think she would be angry if the Israeli military killed 50,000 of her neighbors? Probably yes? Then what’s the problem?” (03/31/26)
https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/against-the-concept-of-telescopic
Lessons From the Vietnam War for Iran
Source: Townhall
by Cal Thomas
“We Americans are an impatient lot. If we must engage in warfare, we would prefer it be wrapped up in weeks, not months, and certainly not years like World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. In those wars, we had the draft, so more Americans were engaged in fighting and watching their progress, or lack thereof. Today, while recruiting numbers have increased in our all-volunteer military, the taste for war among the public has declined. One of President Trump’s positions that attracted voters was his promise to end wars, not start new ones.” (03/31/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/calthomas/2026/03/31/lessons-from-the-vietnam-war-for-iran-n2673663