“Liberalism, which fundamentally defends a baseline commitment to pluralism, is at its core dedicated to the idea that we can agree to disagree. Toleration is represented not only through the political debates we engage in—it means that we, as individuals, are tolerant of one another. In a public sphere that is filled with polarized discourse, where the stakes of the present moment seem so exhaustingly high, and one’s own views are in need of a firm defense, an appeal to toleration becomes even more difficult. This makes it worth revisiting one of the age-old subjects of debates within the liberal tradition: what ought we, as liberals, to tolerate?” (08/03/26)
“Bitcoin neared $64,000 in Asian morning hours Tuesday, up 2% over 24 hours and 1% on the week, recovering the $63,000 level it lost during Monday’s session. The low came near $62,250 before a steady bid carried it to just above $64,100 overnight. Ether lagged near $1,865, up marginally on the day but still down 1% over seven days, the only major in the red on the weekly view. XRP rose almost 1% to $1.08 and is up 2% on the week. BNB added 1.5% to nearly $591 and leads the majors over seven days at almost 5%.” (08/04/26)
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“When [Samuel] Tunick arrived at the airport, he was taken aside for special interrogation, where his luggage and his diary were subjected to careful search. They then asked for his cell phone, claiming that Tunick was suspected of possessing child pornography. It was a lie. According to an article at CNN.com, during a court hearing last week, officials admitted that they had no reason to suspect that Tunick possessed child-abuse material. They just made it up, knowing that nothing would happen to them if they were caught lying to an American citizen. Here comes the funny part. Tunick turned over his cell phone to them and gave them the password — well, not his regular password but instead a special password. When they punched in the special password, it activated software that automatically wiped the entire cellphone clean. All data gone. Poof! That is absolutely awesome.” (08/03/26)
“Myanmar’s detained democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi met the nation’s Red Cross representative on Monday, the president’s office said, the first publicised meeting between her and a foreign official since she was ousted in a 2021 coup. The military deposed Suu Kyi in February 2021, jailing the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and triggering an ongoing civil war that has killed more than 100,000 people on all sides. … She was detained on a host of charges which rights groups say were concocted to sideline her and her popular National League for Democracy party. The president’s office said in a statement that Arnaud de Baecque, the resident representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to Myanmar, met Suu Kyi on Monday morning.” (08/03/26)
“Israel and Laura Loomer’s opposition to Nazism is not consistent. While she frequently labels critics of Israel’s influence in America as Nazis or the ‘Woke Reich,’ she downplays the genuine ideological Neo-Nazism of the Azov Battalion. Likewise, the Israeli government has formed strong ties with the Azov Brigade. Regardless of whether the Brigade has stopped using Neo-Nazi symbols and rhetoric publicly, the idea that the entire organization has simply abandoned their deeply held political beliefs is absurd. Ultimately, Zionists seem to view the Azov Brigade, and the Ukrainian government in general, as ‘our Nazis.'” (08/03/26)
“The picture shows a group of leading MAGA rebels who have clashed with President Donald Trump seated around a wooden table, smiling as they pose for the camera in exile. Included in the gathering: Media personality Tucker Carlson, former Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie and former Trump administration counterterrorism official Joe Kent. … Carlson said in a recent interview that ‘I’m going to help build a third party.’ Democrats and Republicans are in ‘lockstep’ on war in the Middle East and other issues, Carlson said, adding the government should focus on ‘the welfare of its own people.’ Greene previously said she is ‘in talks’ to launch a new party.” (08/03/26)
“The year 1776 is notable for new beginnings. But it also saw the death of one of the greatest philosophers in the Western tradition. David Hume (1711–76) is often described by ideological labels such as liberal or conservative, as well as eighteenth-century party names (Whig and Tory). But these labels obfuscate Hume’s intentions. Neither an ideologue nor a party man, Hume thought about politics primarily as a philosopher searching for true answers. When we approach him first and foremost as a political philosopher, we are in a better position to revive and understand his substantial contributions to political thought.” (08/03/26)
“A Swiss geologist and a local miner were killed on Thursday in the Central African Republic, north of the capital, Bangui, according to a statement from the local public prosecutor’s office on Monday. Luca Maggini and the miner were kidnapped by unidentified men in the evening and later killed, according to Frédéric Pounou, a geologist who was working alongside Maggini when he was kidnapped. … The attack occurred near the village of Gbango-Carriere, 55 kilometers (34 miles) north of Bangui, and also resulted in the kidnapping of a staff sergeant in the Central African Army, according to the public prosecutor’s statement.” (08/03/26)
“‘I don’t feel safe going,’ Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel recently shared about her decision to skip the Michigan Democratic Party state convention later this month. ‘I don’t want to get chased around. I don’t want to get harassed. I don’t want to get yelled and screamed at.’ It’s a gathering of her own political party!” (08/03/26)
