Source: The Intercept
by Natasha Lennard

Even in conservative Texas, I didn’t think a jury would buy the government’s case that these defendants were ‘North Texas Antifa Cell operatives’ — an organization fabricated whole cloth by the Trump administration — who had orchestrated an elaborate ambush of the ICE facility. Last week, a jury found eight of the defendants guilty of terrorism charges for simply being present and wearing black at the protest. The government scored a resounding victory: A few of the protesters, none of whom had fired any weapons, were acquitted of attempted murder charges, but the Justice Department won on almost all the other charges. … If that can be sold to juries as the work of an organized terrorist cell, deserving of up to 15 years in prison, then Trump’s fantasy of rounding up and imprisoning leftists en masse becomes a reality.” (03/17/26)

https://theintercept.com/2026/03/17/ice-protester-terrorism-convictions-trump-prairieland/

Source: Law & Liberty
by Julia R Cartwright

“What distinguishes [Leonard] Read from many contemporary libertarians is his insistence that liberty is not merely an efficient social or political technology but a moral imperative. This is exemplified in his reflections on security and dependence. ‘True security is an outgrowth of freedom, not an alternative to it,’ he writes in an essay on the welfare state, warning that being made dependent on political favor is ‘a move away from true security.’ In other words, security does not come from concentrating power in benevolent hands but from preserving the conditions under which individuals bear responsibility for their own choices.” (03/17/26)

https://lawliberty.org/book-review/libertarianisms-moral-lessons/

Source: Expression
by Aaron Terr

“The law is clear that the First Amendment bars the government from dictating news coverage or punishing outlets for publishing what the president claims is ‘false.’ The American people are entitled to uncensored news about what their government and military are doing. No matter who occupies the White House, war does not justify the government erecting barriers between the people and the press. To the contrary, the life-and-death stakes of war make public scrutiny and accountability more important than ever. … The law is also clear that broadcast licensees which operate under the public interest standard are shielded from [Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan] Carr’s threats.” (03/17/26)

https://expression.fire.org/p/censoring-iran-war-news-sets-a-dangerous

Source: The Bulwark
by Mona Charen

“Two weeks after the start of the war in Iran, the picture is coming into focus. Why would a president who promised countless times not to start new wars, particularly ‘forever wars’ in the Middle East, have leapt into this conflict? As always in the age of Trump, it’s necessary to separate the president’s motives and mindset from the old ways we used to decide questions of war and peace, tariffs, sanctions, immigration, taxes, and other matters. Before venturing into Trump’s mind, let’s consider the shape of the discussion. People who imagine that we are still operating in a normal world are making arguments in favor of military action as if we were engaged in a national debate.” (03/17/26)

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-war-psychology-iran

Source: TomDispatch
by Clarence Lusane

“Jeffrey Epstein was not only a rapist and a child predator, but also — wait for it — a White supremacist. While some speculate that the Epstein issue is just a distraction from President Trump’s virulent and endless racism, others feel that the video the president posted at the beginning of Black History Month of Barack and Michelle Obama as apes was meant to divert attention from the growing Epstein fallout. Well, as it turns out, the two crises are not as far apart as you might imagine. Bombshell articles in The Atlantic, Mother Jones, and at MS Now pulled the covers off Jeffrey Epstein’s noxious racism.” [editor’s note: I will leave it to the reader to decipher this mess of lies and context drops – SAT] [additional editor’s note: Probably a good idea, SAT … I suspect they’ll do a better job than your note indicates you did – TLK] (03/17/26)

https://tomdispatch.com/donald-trumps-racism-mirrors-jeffrey-epsteins/