LPA Solidarity Stream, episode 12
Source: Libertarian Alliance
“Join us for an interview with Amanda Griffiths, an ally and first mover who has just announced her candidacy for Vice Chair of the Libertarian Party!” (12/02/25)
Trump Threatens Mark Kelly for Reiterating the Military’s Obligation to the Constitution
Source: Independent Institute
by Ivan Eland
“The Trump administration recently threatened to return retired Navy captain, former astronaut, and now Senator Mark Kelly to active duty and court-martial him—along with investigating other veterans in Congress—merely for publicly advising members of the military to honor their oath to defend the Constitution and refuse to obey illegal orders (presumably from President Donald Trump, the commander in chief of the U.S. armed forces). Of course, Trump’s threats are outrageous but unsurprising. He has said he wants to terminate the Constitution. He has also said that Article II, which defines the presidency, allows him to do whatever he wants. More than the flag, the national anthem, the pledge of allegiance, and the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution provides the pillars for the preservation of the American republic. That’s why the military Oath of Enlistment pledges allegiance to the Constitution rather than to a person or branch of government.” (12/02/25)
Billionaire spacewalker is back before the Senate seeking NASA’s top job
Source: SFGate
“Billionaire spacewalker Jared Isaacman urged senators on Wednesday to take swift action on his bid to lead NASA, after being yanked and then renominated by President Donald Trump. Isaacman appeared before the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee in Washington eight months after his first nomination hearing. The tech entrepreneur who’s rocketed into orbit twice with SpaceX stressed the need for ‘full-time leadership’ at NASA as the space agency prepares to send astronauts back to the moon early next year. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has been filling in as NASA’s acting administrator since summer. Returning astronauts to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years will be ‘a challenging endeavor to say the least,’ Isaacman told the committee led by Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. NASA is targeting early next year for a lunar flyaround by four astronauts.” (12/03/25)
Theatre’s “Timid Libertarian”
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Diogo Costa
“Tom Stoppard died on Saturday, November 29th, at 88. Some would call him a scholar’s playwright, due to his allusions and philosophical meditations. When my friend Pedro Sette-Câmara introduced me to his work, I was pursuing graduate studies in New York. The Coast of Utopia was premiering at Lincoln Center, and I couldn’t find an affordable ticket to see it. Instead, I read his trilogy in book format. Partially because of my studies in political philosophy at the time, I started to see in his work the themes related to human freedom and human knowledge, as well as the forces that threaten them.” (12/02/25)
Off the Rails: Mega-Merger Between Rail Giants A Disaster for Workers & Communities
Source: In These Times
by Maximillian Alvarez
“Having lived through what they call a ‘meltdown,’ a massive service failure in 1999 that actually continued into the year 2000. I think they didn’t get this mess cleaned up for probably about 18 months. Our main line looked like a parking lot and the Norfolk Southern takeover of our portion of Conrail was an unmitigated disaster. This is not good for railroad workers. We worked endlessly, largely 12 hours every time we went to work. It’s a complete chaotic environment. This is not a safe environment. Workers are demoralized. It’s a state of confusion, and we are all constantly fatigued. And we’re pretty upset that we’ve seen our railroad turned upside down and largely destroyed by a corporate takeover. So I would postulate that this kind of meltdown is certainly not in our interest, and there’s very good reason to believe that a UP and NS merger would result in this.” (12/03/25)
Trump regime halts immigration applications from 19 countries
Source: Axios
“The Trump administration paused all immigration applications from 19 countries it determined to be ‘high-risk,’ per a Tuesday evening U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services memorandum. The action marks the administration’s latest move to curtail immigration after an Afghan national was identified as the suspect in last week’s deadly shooting in D.C. that targeted National Guard members. The suspension that the New York Times first reported on impacts people from countries already facing travel restrictions from a June order that President Trump signed — including Afghanistan, Haiti, Iran, Somalia and Venezuela. The other nations are: Burundi, Chad, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, Laos, Libya, Myanmar, Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan and Yemen.” (12/03/25)
Nonzero, 12/02/25
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“The Life and Legacy of William F. Buckley (Robert Wright & Sam Tanenhaus).” (12/02/25)
California Housing Shortage
Source: Coyote Blog
by Warren Meyer
“Perhaps the largest barrier to housing availability and affordability in places like California are permitting rules, land use restrictions, and construction codes that make it absurdly expensive, or even outright impossible, to construct new single or multi-family housing. Part of this is a conspiracy of current homeowners to protect and increase the value of their property … Another part of this is ‘everything bagel liberalism’ where every program has to achieve every Leftish goal — eg we want new housing but it has to have solar and appliances with a minimum SEER and use recycled materials and have a certain number of units set aside for protected groups and create a conservation easement on part of the land, etc …. But another barrier to housing availability and affordability that is less talked-about is the combination of rent control and tenant protections for existing housing stock.” (12/02/25)
https://coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2025/12/california-housing-shortage.html
Trump envoys fail to secure Ukraine peace deal after Putin tells Europe he’s ready for war
Source: Independent [UK]
“Vladimir Putin rejected a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine after five hours of talks with US representatives on Tuesday. The Kremlin said the discussions with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, were ‘constructive and meaningful,’ but ‘we are no closer to resolving the crisis in Ukraine.’ … Ahead of the talks involving Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, Putin told an investment forum that a new 20-point peace plan agreed by Ukraine and the US was unacceptable to Moscow. He accused Europe of wanting to sabotage the talks, adding that if Europe ‘wants to go to war and starts one, we are ready right now.'” (12/03/25)
No Virtue in “Cyberselfish”-ness
Source: Garrison Center
by Joel Schlosberg
“For all their reliance on corporate welfare, according to [Paulina] Borsook, ‘technolibertarians typically can’t be bothered to engage in conventional political maneuvers.’ The 2001 paperback edition [of Cyberselfish] envisioned such an ideology dominating the computer industry ‘long after high tech has retreated to being just one industrial sector among many.’ If the year 2025’s nationalist, protectionist industrial policy differs markedly from the road ahead suggested in Cyberselfish, perhaps it wasn’t all that perceptive about the twentieth century. Crediting heavy state funding with virtually all economic progress and social stability, and conflating the government with social cooperation, it’s hundreds of pages with all the depth of the bumper sticker proclaiming ‘IF YOU HATE SOCIALISM GET OFF MY PUBLIC ROAD.'” (12/02/25)