Pink Flame of Liberty, 05/28/25
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“Michael Knowles: an AUTHORITARIAN potpourri.” (05/28/25)
Are integralists opposed to natural rights?
Source: Freedom and Flourishing
by Winton Bates
“Who are integralists? And why should anyone be interested in their views about natural rights? I knew next to nothing about integralists before reading Kevin Vallier’s book, All the Kingdoms of the World, published in 2023. I read the book because of my interest in political movements that may pose a threat to liberty. By examining integralism, the author aims to help liberals and post-liberals to understand religious anti-liberalisms.” (05/29/25)
https://www.freedomandflourishing.com/2025/05/are-integralists-opposed-to-natural.html
DOGE changed the way America sees federal spending waste
Source: Fox News
by David Marcus
“The moment that Elon Musk’s most ardent critics have been waiting for has finally arrived as he exits the Trump administration and hands over control of the Department of Government Efficiency. They will assure us that the results have been an embarrassing failure, but they could not be more wrong. Musk has forever changed how Americans look at federal spending, and that is a wonderful thing. First of all, DOGE estimates that it has saved taxpayers $160 billion. A sneering NPR claims that there is only data to prove $63 billion, but even if that is true, that’s an enormous amount of waste being cut..” [editor’s note: Now if only the actual bill(s) start including those actual cuts – SAT] (05/29/25)
South Africa: Mother who sold six-year-old daughter given life term
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“A South African woman convicted of kidnapping and trafficking her six-year-old daughter has been sentenced to life in prison, along with her two accomplices. The jail terms for Racquel ‘Kelly’ Smith, her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis and their friend Steveno van Rhyn come more than a year after Joshlin Smith mysteriously disappeared outside her home in Saldanha Bay, near Cape Town. Despite a highly publicised search for the girl, who vanished in February 2024, she is yet to be found. South African prosecutors say she was sold into slavery however this was not definitively proven during the trial. It is believed that Smith, who was addicted to drugs, needed the money. The sentencing follows an eight-week trial that captivated South Africa, with witnesses and prosecutors making a number of shocking allegations. Judge Nathan Erasmus said he ‘drew no distinction’ between the trio in handing down the sentences.” (05/29/25)
Freakonomics Radio, 05/28/25
Source: Freakonomics
“Fail Again. Fail Better.” (05/28/25)
To Protect Taiwan, Don’t Prepare to Defend It
Source: The American Conservative
by Doug Bandow
“Any map demonstrates that Taiwan is not vital for U.S. security. Washington enjoys military dominance off the PRC’s coast, but that is useful, not existential. Possession of Taiwan would aid the Chinese military, but not fundamentally transform America’s strategic position. Chinese control would discomfit Japan and the Philippines, but little suggests that Beijing desires to or even could stage a Pacific blitzkrieg. U.S. sovereignty, security, prosperity, and liberty all would remain secure irrespective of Taipei’s fate. … A Sino-American conflict would be beyond expensive. Indeed, Taiwan’s dominant semiconductor chip industry should be an incentive against American intervention since war, not a Chinese takeover, poses the greatest threat. Even successful defense of Taiwan would likely ruin the industry, whether inadvertently by the winner or intentionally by the loser.” (05/29/25)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/to-protect-taiwan-dont-prepare-to-defend-it/
Palestine: Israeli regime announces creation of 22 new squats in West Bank
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced Thursday the creation in the occupied West Bank of 22 new [squats], which are considered illegal under international law. ‘We have made a historic decision for the development of [squats]: 22 new communities in Judea and Samaria, renewing [squatting] in the north of Samaria, and reinforcing the eastern axis of the State of Israel,’ the minister said on X, using the Israeli term for the West Bank, which it has occupied since 1967. He added it was also ‘a strategic move that prevents [sic] the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel.'” [editor’s note: A little late for that; a Palestinian state was established in 1988 – TLK] (05/29/25)
The Learning Curve, 05/28/25
Source: Pioneer Institute
“AUS U-Adelaide’s Wilfrid Prest on Sir William Blackstone & Anglo-American Common Law.” (05/28/25)
Thomas Jefferson’s Greatest Fear: The Federal Judiciary and the Death of Liberty
Source: Tenth Amendment Center
by Michael Boldin
“‘The great object of my fear is the federal judiciary.’ That’s Thomas Jefferson – sounding the alarm over what he saw as the greatest threat to the Constitution and your liberty. He gave us four main warnings: * Consolidation is death to freedom. * Judges can be just as corrupt and power-hungry as any politician. * The courts are the engine of consolidation. * And the final disaster – judicial supremacy turning the ‘land of the free’ into an oligarchy ruled by black robes.” (05/28/25)
Federal judge extends order blocking Trump regime ban on foreign students at Harvard
Source: SFGate
“A federal judge on Thursday extended an order blocking the Trump administration’s attempt to bar Harvard University from enrolling foreign students. U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs extended the block she imposed last week with a temporary restraining order on the government action. Harvard sued the Department of Homeland Security on Friday after Secretary Kristi Noem revoked its ability to host foreign students at its campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. On Thursday, the Trump administration announced a new effort to revoke Harvard’s certification to enroll foreign students. In a letter sent by the acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement director, Todd Lyons, the government gave Harvard 30 days to respond to the alleged grounds for withdrawal, which include accusations that Harvard coordinated with foreign entities and failed to respond sufficiently to antisemitism on campus.” (05/29/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/federal-judge-extends-order-blocking-trump-20351327.php