Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Jacob Gaba
“FIRE is suing Attorney General Pamela Bondi and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem for strong-arming Facebook and Apple to censor groups and apps that use public information to report ICE activity. Whether on Facebook, in an app, on a website — or even through flyers, pamphlets, or word-of-mouth — Americans enjoy a fundamental First Amendment right to document and criticize law enforcement. But some people have raised objections centered on the relationship between free speech and law enforcement. So let’s answer some common criticisms we’ve faced.” (02/25/26)
Source: Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting
by Drew Favakeh
“Late last month, the US Department of Justice published 3.5 million pages about convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein. On top of the grotesque and horrifying photos and emails that appear to offer more evidence of systemic and widespread child abuse, the Epstein files revealed further allegations of his ties to Israel and its intelligence agency Mossad. … It is important to note that the Epstein emails contain allegations and intimations, and don’t prove that Epstein was an Israeli agent, formally or informally. However, they do add to the existing evidence that Epstein used his considerable connections and wealth to assist the Israeli state.” (02/25/26)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Diyar Kassymov
“Should America look up to Europe? For many Americans, it seems like Europe is the paradise continent with high salaries, good education, and free healthcare. So they advocate for the US to adopt a ‘European Model’ — tax and tax, spend and spend, regulate and regulate. Politicians like Senator Bernie Sanders, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani are pushing for a 70% top tax rate, Medicare-for-All, and strict bank and business regulation. But does the European model really work?” (02/25/26)
Source: The American Conservative
by Joseph Addington
“At one time, multinational corporations operating in partnership with PDVSA made up the most productive sector of the Venezuelan oil industry, bringing technical expertise and investment that the Venezuelan government was unable or unwilling to contribute. The imposition of major sanctions meant that most of the partnerships essentially went dormant …. they are eager to put those rigs back online and make them productive once more. … But the investments from the GL50 license will be far from sufficient to return Venezuelan oil industry to its heyday in the late ’90s, when the country was pumping nearly 3.5 million barrels per day (today it pumps just under 900,000 bpd). For that, new outside investment will be needed under the GL49 — investment that so far the American energy industry has shown little interest in pursuing.” (02/25/26)
“Today in Geneva, Switzerland, Jared Kushner will represent the United States in meetings with Iranian officials — a last-ditch effort to avoid war. Kushner, however, has serious financial conflicts that could make reaching a deal more difficult. … His main job is as the founder and CEO of Affinity Partners, an investment firm that has raised billions of dollars from foreign governments. Three of the firm’s largest clients are the governments of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar. Kushner collects tens of millions in management fees annually from these countries. Before Trump returned to the White House, Kushner publicly acknowledged that this was a debilitating conflict of interest and pledged not to be involved with the incoming Trump administration.” (02/25/26)
“The relationship between higher education and the state as it exists offers a possible justification for shock-and-awe policies for reform.” (02/25/26)
“Trump is clearly determined to show that no Supreme Court decision is going to hamstring him in his determination to have absolute control over tariff policy. That presents Republicans with another Trump-induced choice: whether to stay the course and let Trump work his will, try to reinstate the high tariffs by legislation, or abandon the party in the interest of consumers and small businesses that have been hit hard by the tariffs. After all, the politics of tariffs rests in their cost in prices, inflation, and jobs.” (02/25/26)
“This blizzard — or ‘blizzard;’ it seems to me better described as a ‘snowfall’ — has been heralded by legacy media now for a couple of days. The language about it has been histrionic. It is a ‘bomb cyclone!’ It is ‘SEVERE WEATHER’ that requires an ‘ALERT!’ A red rectangle on the weather sites, surround those scary words. You can’t travel. But it’s not just that you are being advised not to travel, as a sovereign person, as in the past. There are ‘TRAVEL BANS.’ … The headlines’ freakout conceals the fact that this snowfall is within the range of normal, for the Northeastern United States. … the headlines drumming up hysteria have prepared the way for what is unfolding right now via City Hall, and via our still-new-on-the-job Marxist-Islamist Mayor, Zohran K Mamdani.” (02/25/26)
“The Winter Olympics had its thrills and spills — and a deep philosophical divide represented by two American, or American-born, athletes. Jack Hughes, the gold medal-winning American hockey player for the US team, gave voice to a patriotic reflex in his unhesitating, heartfelt expressions of love of his country. Eileen Gu, the gold medal-winning American-born freestyle skier competing for China, exemplified a cosmopolitan ideal that purports to float above mere nationhood. This difference — between the bloody-mouthed hockey player draped in his own country’s flag and the exceptionally talented part-time model resistant to any questions about national loyalty — drives many of the divisions in American society. Is loyalty to country a matter of choice, or an unalterable commitment? Is the appropriate attitude toward America one of fundamental gratitude or critical distance?” (02/24/26)
