“A decision by Elon Musk led to restrictions on Ukraine’s use of SpaceX’s satellite communications network, people familiar with the matter told CBS News. The satellite service, which is used for drone operations, hitting certain targets and protecting sites in Ukraine, was slowed significantly last week. Musk held multiple conversations with administration officials leading up to the order, the sources said. He wanted clarity on the president’s thinking on the matter. Musk has expressed distaste with his company being seen as profiting from the continued war between Russia and Ukraine. It’s not clear how Musk’s order to curtail service was executed.” (10/20/26)
“Politicians routinely promise benefits to current voters at future taxpayers’ expense. The president’s offer simply strips away the pretense.” (10/20/26)
“You can plug a 1,500-watt space heater into your living room wall without asking anyone. Plug in a 1,200-watt solar panel, however, and Missouri treats you like a small power plant. The two aren’t identical, since the panel can push power back into the wiring. But that difference calls for a safety standard, not a permit process built for commercial grade rooftop arrays. Under Missouri’s net-metering law, a panel that feeds power into a home’s wiring is a ‘customer-generator.’ Its owner must file an interconnection application with a wiring diagram, wait for the utility’s approval, and have a qualified electrician or engineer certify the installation. Bright Saver, a nonprofit that sells plug-in solar kits, won’t ship them to Missouri until the law changes. Two bills filed in the 2026 legislative session would have fixed that.” (10/20/26)
Yesterday was a “zero-dollar day” in our annual fundraiser. We’re stuck, as of 5am, at $1,003 — 36% of the way to our $5,503 goal (once we’ve raised $2,751.50, supporter GL will “match funds” for the second half).
None of this “we’ll have to shut our doors if you don’t smash that donate button” stuff. We’ve been at this for nearly a quarter century as RRND and for more than 30 years as Freedom News Daily and Libernet before that. We plan to keep on going.
On the other hand, we gotta eat, and this is the one time of the year when we lean on you about that. The big prize for getting across the finish line is that I’ll stop badgering you about money completely for the rest of 2026, and mostly for the first nine months of 2027.
So:
PLEASE SUPPORT THE FREEDOM MOVEMENT’S DAILY NEWSPAPER!
“U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in St. Petersburg on Wednesday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, as U.S. President Donald Trump pushes Kyiv to make a deal that stops the fighting. The visit came a day after Witkoff met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and some European leaders in the Norwegian capital, Oslo. … Russia and Ukraine are still far apart in their terms for a settlement, as their armies remain locked on the battlefield and they pummel each other with daily long-range strikes.” (10/21/26)
“Voting is almost never instrumentally rational because we control only one vote, our own, and in an election of any significance, our own vote will make no difference in the result. By ‘instrumental’ rationality, I mean taking a reasonably efficient means of accomplishing one’s ends. It is true that in local elections with a very small electorate, it is conceivable that our vote matters, but in congressional and statewide elections, our votes have only an insignificant impact on the outcome. Furthermore, voting involves some cost. … Instrumental rationality is not a reason to vote, but that does not exhaust the kinds of reasons we may have for voting.” (10/20/26)
“Her fiancé and caretaker was murdered by a far-right extremist. Then Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pardoned the killer. My interview with Whitney Mitchell.” (10/20/26)
“Bitcoin (BTC) returned to $83,000 after the Wall Street open on Tuesday. US stocks gained on strong earnings reports. BTC rose as much as 1.5%, its highest level since October 14. It then dropped back toward $82,000. General Motors and 3M both beat Q3 earnings expectations. 3M also raised its profit forecast. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.2%, reaching levels last seen on September 14. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were up 0.6% and 0.5%. Oil prices moved sharply during the session. US WTI crude passed $100 a barrel for the first time since September 17, then fell below $96.” (10/21/26)
“‘A billion here, a billion there,’ the late US Senator Everett Dirksen (R-IL) mused, ‘and pretty soon you’re talking about real money.’ Government spending is almost always about buying votes, but never more obviously than during campaign season. … Of course, all that faux generosity has to be paid for … and it gets paid for by, at least in part, the same people the ‘free money’ lands on. In order to spend money, the government has to have money. Which means it either taxes you to get the money, or it borrows the money and promises to beat it out of you later (with interest).” (10/20/26)
