Hey, everyone …
It’s a holiday in the US (Martin Luther King Jr. Day), but instead of taking the day off we’re bringing you a full email / social media edition PLUS additional news stories, opinion pieces, and audio/video links here at our web edition (I’m not sure how many extras yet, as I’m writing this on Sunday). Enjoy!
A bit of crass commercialism:
If you’re looking for a new Internet Service Provider, I recommend Starlink. I’ve been using it for three months and so far it’s both less expensive and more reliable than my previous ISP (I moved further out into the country, where cable Internet didn’t reach).
If you sign up through the link below, you get your second month free AND I get a free month. Check it out at:
https://starlink.com/residential?referral=RC-DF-8980236-19330-50
Have a great day!
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily
Source: National Herald [India]
“The Pentagon has placed around 1,500 active-duty soldiers on prepare-to-deploy orders amid escalating protests in Minnesota against the federal government’s immigration enforcement campaign, according to US media reports. Troops have been alerted as a contingency measure in case violence intensifies in the northern state, the Washington Post reported on Sunday, citing defence officials. It remains unclear whether the soldiers will ultimately be deployed. The White House said such preparations were routine, stating that the Pentagon must be ready ‘for any decision the President may or may not make.’ … The move comes days after President Donald Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act … In a post on his Truth Social platform last week, Trump warned that he would act if Minnesota’s leaders failed to stop protesters from confronting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) [gang members].” (01/18/26)
https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/international/pentagon-puts-1500-troops-on-standby-amid-minnesota-protest-tensions
Source: Mindset Shifts
by Barry Brownstein
“Rather than a triumph of strength, collectivism is a symptom of a ‘primitive consciousness’ and is ultimately doomed to fail.” (01/17/26)
https://mindsetshifts.substack.com/p/from-inmost-to-outmost-consciousness
Source: Unattended Baggage
“Struggling with senility and battling tri-polarism.” (01/17/26)
https://unattendedbaggage.substack.com/p/episode-325-struggling-with-senility
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“Prime Minister Mark Carney is considering sending soldiers to Greenland for military exercises with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies, as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens tariffs on European nations unless they let him purchase and control the semiautonomous island. Two senior Canadian officials have told CBC News that a set of contingency plans were drawn up last week and presented to the federal government. A Royal Canadian Air Force contingent is already taking part in a pre-planned NORAD exercise in Greenland, but the prime minister is weighing whether to send additional forces as part of sovereignty exercises the Danes are planning, which could include drills to protect the Arctic island’s critical infrastructure. Given the political implications of Canada joining and the potential blowback from the Trump administration, both sources said they’re not certain which way the government is leaning.” (01/18/26)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/carney-greenland-soldiers-trump-tariff-nato-denmark-9.7050621
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“Does the US government, as described in the US Constitution, even exist? I say it doesn’t, and as evidence for my claim, I’m going to talk about recipes. That, you see, is what a constitution is: A recipe for government. It’s made of ingredients, instructions, and warnings. Ingredients for sugar cookies: 1 cup of butter, 2/3 cup of granulated sugar, and 2 cups of flour. Instructions: Mix the ingredients, form into individual cookies, bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes. Cool/rest for 15 minutes. Warnings: Don’t over-bake! Don’t skip the cooling time! If I use vinegar instead of butter, salt instead of sugar, and garlic powder instead of flour, bake it as a whole mass for an hour at 450 degrees, then immediately serve it, I made something. But I think you’ll agree that what I made was NOT a batch of sugar cookies. … A recipe is powerless to prevent incompetent or mischievous cooks from ruining the dish.” (01/17/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20275
Source: KLFY 10 News
“New Hampshire Episcopal bishop is attracting national attention after warning his clergy to finalize their wills and get their affairs in order to prepare for a ‘new era of martyrdom.’ Bishop Rob Hirschfeld of the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire made his comments earlier this month at a vigil honoring Renee Good, who was [murdered] on Jan. 7 behind the wheel of her vehicle by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. … Hirschfeld’s speech cited several historical clergy members who had risked their lives to protect others, including mentioning New Hampshire seminary student Jonathan Daniels, who was shot and killed by a sheriff’s deputy in Alabama while shielding a young Black civil rights activist in 1965. ‘I have told the clergy of the Episcopal diocese of New Hampshire that we may be entering into that same witness,’ Hirschfeld said.” (01/18/26)
https://www.klfy.com/national/ap-new-hampshire-bishop-warns-clergy-to-prepare-for-new-era-of-martyrdom/
Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
by Joe Mullin
“Lawmakers in Washington are once again focusing on kids, screens, and mental health. But according to Congress, Big Tech is somehow both the problem and the solution. … At the center of the debate is a bill from Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) called the Kids Off Social Media Act (KOSMA), which they say will protect children and ’empower parents.’ … But while the bill’s press release contains soothing language, KOSMA doesn’t actually give parents more control. Instead of respecting how most parents guide their kids towards healthy and educational content, KOSMA hands the control panel to Big Tech. That’s right—this bill would take power away from parents, and hand it over to the companies that lawmakers say are the problem.” (01/16/26)
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/01/congress-wants-hand-your-parenting-big-tech
Source: Deutsche Welle [German state media]
“Israel objected on Saturday to the US announcement of members of a so-called ‘Board of Peace’ executive board appointed to lead post-war Gaza, according to a US-brokered ceasefire agreement that came into force in October. US President Donald Trump on Friday announced the names of some of the people who are going to sit on the body that will oversee the transitional government in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory. … The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad, which is considered a terrorist group by some countries, also criticized the makeup of the board, arguing it ‘came in accordance with Israeli criteria and to serve the interests of the occupation, in a clear indicator of preexisting bad intentions over the implementation of the terms of the [ceasefire] agreement.'” (01/17/26)
https://www.dw.com/en/israel-objects-to-us-lineup-of-gaza-executive-board/a-75550023
Source: CounterPunch
by John W Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead
“In January 1776, Thomas Paine published Common Sense, a pamphlet that gave voice to the discontent of a nation struggling to free itself from a tyrannical ruler who believed power flowed from his own will rather than the consent of the governed. Paine’s warning was not theoretical. Two hundred and fifty years later, we find ourselves confronting the same dilemma — this time from inside the White House.” (01/16/26)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/01/16/what-tyranny-looks-like-now-no-crowns-no-coups-just-unchecked-power/
