Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“[W]ho has it right when it came to celebrating genuine freedom on the Fourth of July — Americans in 1875, who lived without income taxation, Social Security, Medicare, welfare, immigration controls and immigration police state, non-interventionism, a national-security state, drug war, public (i.e., government) schooling, and other statist programs — or Americans today, who live under all these statist systems?” (05/08/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/05/08/celebrating-opposite-freedoms-on-the-fourth-of-july/
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“The EU is looking to ban VPNs, arguing that the ban is necessary to police recent online age verification laws. Critics have been warning for years that these age restriction laws are being rolled out around the world to erase online anonymity and enable greater surveillance of the entire population, and they are looking more vindicated than ever today. This isn’t about protecting children from social media addiction and porn, it’s about expanding the western empire’s surveillance network. This happens as the FCC moves to require ID verification for every phone activation in the United States, claiming the push is about stopping robocalls but effectively ending another form of anonymous communication. It’s always been about being able to more closely monitor the behavior of the public to make sure nobody’s plotting a revolution.” (05/09/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/05/09/theyre-attacking-online-anonymity-and-other-notes/
Source: United Press International
“Consumer sentiment in the United States has hit another record low as Americans worry about the cost of life as gas prices continue to rise amid the war in Iran. A monthly University of Michigan survey found that consumer sentiment dropped 3.2% in the last month — from 49.8 to 48.2 — and was down 7.7% over the course of the year, the university’s Institute for Social Research said on Friday. Joanne Hsu, director of the university’s Surveys of Consumers, said that consumer sentiment is ‘essentially unchanged’ from April, while the current economic conditions survey dropped 9% because of high prices affecting personal finances and whether people will make major purchases.” (05/08/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/05/08/consumer-sentiment-april-record-low-prices/1261778265310/
Source: Freedom Works
“Jessica Melugin, Competitive Enterprise Institute ‘Social Media Bans.'” (05/09/26)
https://internetradiopros.com/freedomworks/?name=2026-05-09_zfw005082026.mp3
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“‘Thank God for Mississippi’ was something I heard a lot in my younger years, after moving to Arkansas. Friends from Alabama and Louisiana also know the saying well. Back then, Mississippi was ranked 50th in so many categories by which the states were measured against each other that the Magnolia State saved those inhabiting states near the bottom from occupying that un-coveted dead last place. This was still the case in 2005, when Mississippi ranked 50th in fourth-grade reading scores. In 2013, Mississippi students climbed one rung, to 49th. Then things started to change.” (05/08/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/05/08/mississippi-learning/
Source: Law & Liberty
by Ilya Shapiro
“Randy Barnett’s memoir of his time as a prosecutor reveals something about the relationship between theory and practice—and gratitude and cynicism.” (05/08/26)
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/the-education-of-a-cook-county-originalist/
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Australia’s One Nation party has won its first-ever lower-house seat in what is being seen as an important test for the right-wing populist party. With most ballots counted, One Nation candidate David Farley has won a two-candidate preferred vote share of 57% in Farrer, a vast regional constituency in New South Wales. Independent candidate Michelle Milthorpe is far behind. The contest was triggered by the resignation of Sussan Ley, who quit when she was ousted as leader of the opposition conservative Liberal Party. While the result will not affect the Labor government’s large majority, it is a clear sign that voters are moving away from traditional political parties in Australia.” (05/09/26)
https://archive.is/tq1yu
Source: Quillette
“Does Western Civilisation Exist? James Kierstead on Ancient Greece, Christianity, and the West.” (05/08/26)
https://quillette.com/2026/05/08/does-western-civilisation-exist-james-kierstead-on-ancient-greece-christianity-and-the-west-quillette-cetera-ep-63/
Source: Law & Liberty
by Michael Auslin
“Baseball is more than a sport — it ties together generations of Americans.” (05/08/26)
https://lawliberty.org/baseballs-mystic-chords-of-memory/
Source: ABC News
“The Trump administration is nearing an agreement with TikTok to resolve an ongoing lawsuit over alleged child privacy violations in exchange for the social media company paying $400 million that the administration plans to use to fund President Donald Trump’s Washington, D.C., ‘beautification’ projects, sources familiar with the discussions told ABC News. … While the Department of Justice regularly reaches settlements with private companies accused of wrongdoing, the proposed TikTok settlement marks a departure from the practice of using the settlement funds to resolve the alleged wrongdoing or compensate victims.” (05/08/26)
https://abcnews.com/US/trump-administration-eyeing-400m-settlement-tiktok-dc-beautification/story?id=132707914
