- Fallout from Epstein case widens as Trump threatens to sue WSJ
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Growing pressure on the Trump administration has prompted the US president to direct his attorney general, Pam Bondi, to seek the release of grand jury testimony related to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking case. The announcement came as Trump seeks to tamp down controversy over a story published in the Wall Street Journal that alleges the US president contributed a sketch of a naked woman to Epstein’s 50th birthday album. The president has said the letter is a fake, and that he will sue the publication over the story. … Trump’s efforts to dismiss the criticism over his administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files as a ‘hoax’ showed no sign of working on Thursday as more prominent figures from across the political spectrum emerged to attack the US president and some of his supporters recorded videos burning their signature Make America Great Again hats.” (07/18/25)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/18/trump-administration-news-today
- US House Passes Three Landmark Crypto Bills
Source: Bitcoin.com
“The House of Representatives voted July 17 to pass three major cryptocurrency bills, signaling a decisive move toward establishing a regulatory foundation for digital assets in the United States. The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act passed 307-122 and now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk. It sets standards for U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins, including reserve requirements and consumer protections. The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 (CLARITY Act), which passed 294-134, advances to the Senate and aims to clarify oversight between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). … The Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act also passed.” (07/17/25)
https://news.bitcoin.com/crypto-scores-huge-win-house-passes-3-landmark-crypto-bills/
- Palestine: Priest, parishioners injured, two killed in Israeli strike on Gaza’s only Catholic church
Source: The New Arab [UK]
“A parish priest and several others were injured after the Holy Family Church in northern Gaza was struck in an attack on Thursday morning, officials with the Catholic Church said. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said a strike on Gaza’s only Catholic church injured several people on Thursday, including the parish priest, as well as causing damage to the building. … The church was sheltering both Christians and Muslims, including a number of children with disabilities, according to Fadel Naem, acting director of Al-Ahli Hospital, which received the wounded. At least two people were in critical condition, and others injured included one child with disabilities, two women, and an elderly person, Naem said. Earlier, doctors at the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City said two women had been killed in the strike. The Israeli military did not have an immediate comment on the strike.” (07/17/25)
https://www.newarab.com/news/israeli-strike-targets-gazas-only-catholic-church
- EU approves 18th Russia sanctions package after Slovakia ends protest
Source: United Press International
“The European Union on Friday reached an agreement to impose its 18th round of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine after Slovakia ended its protest. The package targets Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of ships as well as the energy and banking sectors. It also lowers the oil cap from $60 to $45 a barrel and prohibiting the EU from accessing Russian Nord Stream pipelines. The EU is also, for the first time, sanctioning a flag registry and Russian oil company Rosneft’s largest refinery in India.” (07/18/25)
- US regime seeks one-day sentence for accomplice in Breonna Taylor murder
Source: Yahoo! News
“The U.S. Justice Department has asked a federal judge to sentence a former Louisville police officer who was convicted last year of violating Breonna Taylor’s civil rights to serve just one day in prison, despite the fact the conviction carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. In a court filing, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division late on Wednesday downplayed the conviction of former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison, noting he ‘did not shoot Ms. Taylor and is not otherwise responsible for her death.’ … Taylor, a [b]lack woman, was [murdered] by police in 2020 after they executed a no-knock warrant during a botched raid of her home. Her boyfriend, who was carrying a legally owned firearm, shot at [the intruders, who then fired indiscriminately] 22 times into the apartment.” (07/17/25)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-seeks-one-day-sentence-153144413.html
- Trump diagnosed with “chronic venous insufficiency” after swelling
Source: ABC News
“President Donald Trump underwent medical testing after he had been seen with deep bruises on his hand and swollen legs in recent days, and was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday. …While chronic venous insufficiency is not considered a serious medical condition and it is treatable, it can be uncomfortable or painful. The condition is very common in older adults. Treatment typically can include medication to increase blood flow, elevating legs, or minor procedures to improve blood flow, or surgery in more severe cases. There was no evidence of deep vein thrombosis or arterial disease and an echocardiogram showed normal cardiac structure and function, Leavitt said, adding that all results from testing were ‘within normal limits.'” (07/17/25)
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-vascular-testing-leg-swelling-white-house/story?id=123839307
- UK to Lower Voting Age to 16 in Landmark Electoral Reform
Source: US News & World Report
“The British government said on Thursday it planned to give 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote in all UK elections in a major overhaul of the country’s democratic system. The government said the proposed changes, which are subject to parliament approvals, would align voting rights across the UK with Scotland and Wales, where younger voters already participate in devolved elections. … According to the House of Commons library, research from countries that have lowered the voting age to 16 shows it has had no impact on election outcomes, and that 16-year-olds were more likely to vote than those first eligible at 18.” (07/17/25)
- Flight Manifests Reveal Dozens of Previously Unknown People on Three Deportation Flights to El Salvador
Source: 404 Media
“The flight manifests for three legally contested deportation flights from Texas to El Salvador contain dozens of additional, unaccounted for passengers than a previously published Department of Homeland Security (DHS) list of people deported from the United States on those flights, 404 Media has learned. … in May, a hacker targeted GlobalX, the airline that operated these flights and shared the data with 404 Media. In addition to the names of people who were on the list CBS News published, the GlobalX flight manifests contain the names of dozens of people who were supposedly on the flights but whose status and existence has not been acknowledged by the U.S. government or previously reported in the press.” (07/17/25)
- Burkina Faso: Junta scraps electoral commission, taking control of future polls
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Burkina Faso’s military rulers have disbanded the country’s electoral commission calling it a waste of money. The interior ministry will handle elections in the future, state-run RTB TV reported. Since seizing power in September 2022, the coup leaders have initiated sweeping reforms, including the postponement of elections which would lead to a return to civilian rule. A nationwide vote was due last year, but the junta extended the period of transition to democracy until July 2029, allowing leader Capt Ibrahim Traoré to remain in power and free to contest the next presidential election.” (07/17/25)
- Luna: KGB files on JFK assassination to be released
Source: The Hill
“Covert files gathered by the Soviet-era KGB regarding former President Kennedy’s 1963 assassination are on track to be revealed to the American public for the first time this fall, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) said this week. ‘It’s information the Russian government was in charge of releasing, and I’m sure that you’ll see that information coming out here pretty soon,’ Luna, who chairs the House Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo on Wednesday. ‘There is some level of open communication, and so as a result of that, that information will now be available in the coming months to the American people and also to JFK researchers.’ … Luna indicated that new information the task force has obtained and observed supports long-standing conspiracy theories that Kennedy’s assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, didn’t act alone and the CIA helped cover up details about the killing.” (07/17/25)
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5405753-kgb-files-revealed-kennedy-assassination
- US weekly jobless claims fall; job growth appears steady in July
Source: Reuters
“The number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits fell last week, pointing to steady job growth in July, though some laid off workers are experiencing long spells of unemployment because of a moderation in hiring. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 221,000 for the week ended July 12, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 235,000 claims for the latest week.” (07/17/25)
- Senegal: French Regime Ends Permanent Troop Presence
Source: US News & World Report
“France handed over control of its last major military facility in Senegal on Thursday, marking the end of its armed forces’ long presence in the West African country and a milestone in a withdrawal from the wider region. The commander of French forces in Africa, General Pascal Ianni, handed over a key to the military camp in Dakar during a ceremony at which a Senegalese flag was raised while military musicians played the national anthem. … Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye announced last year that France’s military bases were incompatible with Senegalese sovereignty and would have to be transferred. The two countries agreed to complete that process by the end of the year and it began in March when France handed over two other facilities, also in Dakar.” (07/17/25)
- Zuckerberg settles $8 billion lawsuit, avoids testifying
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“Mark Zuckerberg and current and former directors and officers of Meta Platforms agreed on Thursday to settle claims seeking $8 billion for the damage they allegedly caused the company by allowing repeated violations of Facebook users’ privacy, a lawyer for the shareholders told a Delaware judge on Thursday. The parties did not disclose details of the settlement and defense lawyers did not address the judge, Kathaleen McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery. McCormick adjourned the trial just as it was to enter its second day and she congratulated the parties. … The Federal Trade Commission fined Facebook $5 billion in 2019 after finding that it failed to comply with a 2012 agreement with the regulator to protect users’ data. The shareholders wanted the 11 defendants to use their personal wealth to reimburse the company.” (07/17/25)
- Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans advance nomination of former Trump lawyer Emil Bove as Democrats walk out
Source: CNN
“Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans voted on Thursday to advance the nomination of Emil Bove, President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, to a federal judgeship, over the loud protests of Democrats. The vote — in which all 12 Republican committee members voted to move Bove’s nomination forward — occurred as Democratic Sen. Cory Booker railed against Republican committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and as every Democratic senator walked out. If he is ultimately confirmed by the Senate, Bove, a senior Justice Department official, will hold a lifetime appointment to the bench for the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals. … Last month, a whistleblower letter from a terminated DOJ employee alleged that Bove and other top Justice Department officials intended to ignore court orders and mislead federal judges.” (07/17/25)
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/17/politics/emil-bove-nomination-senate-committee-vote
- Air India Crash: Junior Pilot Asked Captain Why He Turned Off Fuel Switches
Source: Bloomberg
“A cockpit voice recording of doomed Air India Flight 171 indicates the younger co-pilot asked his more experienced colleague why he turned off the plane’s fuel-supply switches, according to people familiar with the matter. The information, from people who asked not to be identified because they’re not authorized to speak publicly, reveals for the first time who said what in the flight deck. The exchange was first mentioned in last week’s preliminary report from India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau probing the June 12 crash in the western city of Ahmedabad, but without identifying the speakers. The report had shown two fuel switches in the cockpit were moved to a cut-off position, causing the Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliner to lose lift and crash 32 seconds after takeoff. The other pilot had denied turning off the switches, according to the AAIB, which had extracted data from the cockpit voice recorder.” (07/17/25)
- UK, German regimes sign treaty on defense, trade, migration
Source: SFGate
“U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz signed a landmark treaty on Thursday that pledges to tighten defense ties and boost law-enforcement cooperation against criminal people-smuggling gangs using the English Channel. ‘This is a historic day for German-British relations,’ said Merz, making his first official visit to Britain since taking office in May. ‘We want to work together more closely, particularly after the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union. It is overdue for us to conclude such a treaty with each other.’ Starmer said the agreement — signed at London’s V&A Museum, which is named after Queen Victoria and her German husband, Prince Albert — was ‘a statement of intent, a statement of our ambition to work ever more closely together.’ Starmer has made it a priority of his center-left Labour Party to curb the gangs behind cross-Channel people smuggling.” (07/17/25)
- Connie Francis, 1938-2025
Source: New York Times
“Connie Francis, who dominated the pop charts in the late 1950s and early ’60s with sobbing ballads like ‘Who’s Sorry Now’ and ‘Don’t Break the Heart That Loves You,’ as well as up-tempo soft-rock tunes like ‘Stupid Cupid,’ ‘Lipstick on Your Collar,’ and ‘Vacation,’ died on Wednesday. She was 87.
Her publicist, Ron Roberts, announced her death in a post on Facebook. He did not say where she died or cite a cause. … Between 1958 and 1964, when her brand of pop music began to fall out of favor, Ms. Francis was the most popular female singer in the United States, selling 40 million records. … Concetta Franconero was born on Dec. 12, 1938, in Newark and grew up in the Ironbound neighborhood. Her father, the son of Italian immigrants, was a dockworker and a roofer who loved to play the concertina, and he put an accordion in his daughter’s hands when she was 3.” (07/17/25) - US retail sales jumped more than expected in June
Source: Semafor
“US retail sales rebounded in June, rising 0.6% after a 0.9% drop in May, according to Commerce Department data released Thursday. The data beat most economists’ forecasts, with broad-based gains last month, particularly at auto dealerships where sales climbed 1.2%. However, analysts cautioned that the figures aren’t adjusted for inflation, and some of the rebound may reflect rising prices rather than increased consumer demand. June’s inflation report showed notable price increases in tariff-exposed categories like furnishings, appliances, toys, and sporting goods.” (07/17/25)
https://www.semafor.com/article/07/17/2025/us-retail-sales-jumped-more-than-expected-in-june
- Hungary: Regime bans three Ukrainian military officials from entering its territory
Source: SFGate
“Hungary on Thursday banned three Ukrainian military officials from its territory over the death in Ukraine of a Hungarian-Ukrainian dual citizen, as diplomatic relations between the neighboring countries rapidly deteriorate. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán last week accused Ukrainian authorities of beating the man to death during his mobilization in the Ukrainian military. Ukraine, which has been battling against a full-scale invasion by Russia since February 2022, has rejected Orbán’s claim, saying the man was a Ukrainian citizen who had left his military unit without authorization and later checked himself into a hospital which found no signs of physical injury indicating violence. Ukrainian officials have promised a full investigation into the man’s death, which they said had been caused by a pulmonary embolism. But Orbán and media outlets associated with his government have continually insisted that the man was beaten to death by military recruiters, despite providing no conclusive evidence.” (07/17/25)
- South Korea: Top court upholds acquittal of Samsung’s Lee over contentious 2015 merger
Source: ABC News
“South Korea’s top court Thursday upheld the acquittal of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong on financial criminal charges, ending years of legal disputes over the 2015 merger between Samsung affiliates that solidified his control over the company. In 2024, the Seoul Central District Court acquitted Lee of charges like stock price manipulation and accounting fraud by ruling that prosecutors failed to sufficiently prove the merger was unlawfully conducted with an aim to strengthen Lee’s control over Samsung. The Seoul High Court upheld the district court’s ruling in February, and the Supreme Court dismissed prosecutors’ appeal of the high court’s decision Thursday. Its ruling is final and cannot be appealed.” (07/17/25)
- US DOJ fires Epstein prosecutor (who is also James Comey’s daughter)
Source: Orange County Register
“The Justice Department has fired Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey and a prosecutor in the federal cases against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and Jeffrey Epstein, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Wednesday. There was no specific reason given for her firing from the U.S. attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York, according to one of the people who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters. Her termination comes shortly after she prosecuted Combs, who was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges.” (07/17/25)
- CA: Trump admin pulls plug on $4 billion for “train to nowhere” project
Source: Fox News
“California’s embattled high-speed rail project suffered a major setback after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the termination of $4 billion in unspent federal funding by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). Citing 16 years of failure, no completed high-speed track, and escalating costs, Duffy declared the project, dubbed the ‘train to nowhere,’ a mismanaged and over-budget ‘boondoggle.’ ‘This is California’s fault. Governor Newsom and the complicit Democrats have enabled this waste for years. Federal dollars are not a blank check – they come with a promise to deliver results,’ Duffy said in a statement. The announcement followed months of scrutiny after a comprehensive compliance review, plus failed attempts by the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) to address serious project deficiencies. The review found that zero miles of high-speed track have been laid since ground was broken 10 years ago, and the cost continues to balloon.” (07/17/25)
https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/trump-admin-pulls-plug-4b-californias-train-nowhere-project
- Trump regime doxxes Medicaid enrollees to ICE gang
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
“Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials will be given access to the personal data of the nation’s 79 million Medicaid enrollees, including home addresses and ethnicities, to track down immigrants who may not be living legally in the United States, according to an agreement obtained by The Associated Press. The information will give ICE officials the ability to find ‘the location of aliens’ across the country, says the agreement signed Monday between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Department of Homeland Security. The agreement has not been announced publicly.” (07/17/25)
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/07/17/medicaid-immigration/
- Jane’s Addiction members file lawsuits against each other after fight on Boston stage
Source: Boston Globe
“Guitarist Dave Navarro, bassist Eric Avery, and drummer Stephen Perkins are jointly suing Jane’s Addiction singer Perry Farrell for his actions last September when, during the band’s concert at Leader Bank Pavilion, the frontman abruptly attacked Navarro. In the lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court and first reported by TMZ and Rolling Stone, Navarro alleges assault and battery, while he, Avery, and Perkins all claim intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract. The bandmates are seeking $10 million in damages, according to media reports. … Farrell answered back later in the day with his own lawsuit, suing the band and saying he is the actual victim of ‘a years-long bullying campaign.'” (07/16/25)
- Felix Baumgartner, 1969-2025
Source: Deutsche Welle [German state media]
“Austrian extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner, who jumped down to earth from the stratosphere in a 2012 stunt, died in a paragliding accident in the eastern Italian town of Porto Sant’Elpidio on Thursday. According to local media, the 56-year-old lost consciousness while in flight and then lost control of his paraglider, crashing into a hotel pool and lightly injuring a young female employee. … Baumgartner shot to global fame in October 2012 when he jumped from a helium balloon almost 39 kilometers (24 miles) above the Earth — the highest manned balloon flight and the highest ever freefall at the time. He reached a maximum speed of 1,342.8 km/h (834 mph), breaking the sound barrier.” (07/17/25)
https://www.dw.com/en/extreme-skydiver-baumgartner-dies-in-paragliding-accident/a-73317216
- Let Them Be Hillsdale
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan“Although Hillsdale was founded in the mid-19th century, the U.S. government waited until the 1970s to start suing them for non-compliance with federal anti-discrimination rules. Remarkably, the government did not even accuse Hillsdale of actually discriminating against anyone; they sued Hillsdale merely for refusing to document their compliance with federal discrimination law. After many years of litigation, the courts finally ruled that Hillsdale could ignore government regulation if they refused government funding. … Given the Hillsdale precedent, I say two things with confidence. First, since Hillsdale is not legally entitled to government funding, neither is any other notable college in America. Why? Because unlike Hillsdale, virtually every college in the United States has been flagrantly discriminating on the basis of race and sex for decades. … Second, every college in America that wishes to continue discriminating has a legally straightforward way to do so: be Hillsdale.” (07/17/25)
- Tax Preparation Costs Should Be “Refundable” Credits
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp“Tax preparation costs are really taxes themselves — government just has you pay them to its ‘public-private partners’ instead of to the IRS. Therefore they should be deducted from the total bill, right?” (07/17/25)
- Trump Has Completely Dropped His “Populist” Act
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone“It’s so funny how Trump has stopped even pretending to be a populist. As soon as he was re-elected he was just ‘Yeah okay so Israel comes first and forget everything I said about free speech and the Ukraine war is continuing and there will be no Epstein investigation, fuck you.’ It has long been obvious to anyone with half a brain that Donald Trump is just another Republican swamp monster playing on public discontent with the status quo to win votes and support, but it is genuinely surprising how completely he has stopped pretending to care about fighting the deep state and sticking up for ordinary Americans as soon as he got back into office. He’s just dropped the populist schtick entirely and is giving the finger to anyone who complains.” (07/17/25)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2025/07/17/trump-has-completely-dropped-his-populist-act/
- Deepfakes and the Digital Wild West
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Jake Scott“If you’ve ever seen a video comparing AI-generated videos from just two years ago to those today, you’ll appreciate the jump in progress, and the feeling of whiplash it causes. Videos generated in 2023 were, frankly, abominations: clunky, looking like they were drawn by a kindergartener, and with physics-breaking movements. In 2025, however, they are terrifyingly real. … AI offers a world of opportunities. In the same way that people born even in my generation never imagined a powerful computer in their pockets capable of connecting people with video calls across the world, answering questions in mere seconds, or broadcasting thoughts instantly, imagining that AI could become powerful enough to produce an entirely fake video about people who have never existed was the stuff of science fiction. And yet, here we are.” (07/17/25)
https://fee.org/articles/deepfakes-and-the-digital-wild-west/
- How To Keep Your Radio Station Going When the Government’s Checks Don’t Come
Source: Reason
by Jesse Walker“After decades of putting on a show of threatening to pull public broadcasting’s federal funds, the Republican Party changed its mindset and decided to actually do it. The rescissions package that the Senate approved in the wee hours of Thursday morning will claw back the money that Congress allocated to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). … In the past this would be someone’s cue to bring up the fate of poor little Elmo, but these days Sesame Street has a home on Netflix anyway. And PBS and NPR themselves are sure to survive this cut. … Much of the debate about the bill has therefore focused on individual stations that receive CPB subsidies. … There are, broadly speaking, two ways to try to get by without federal support. One is to become much more commercial, and the other is to become much less commercial.”
- A lean-in for truth in Serbia over a massacre
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff“One of the more unusual, and perhaps important, protests in Europe this year was a silent march July 11 of about 1,000 people in Novi Pazar. The city, located in the largely Christian country of Serbia, is predominantly Muslim. The march took place on the 30th anniversary of the worst massacre in Europe since World War II – the killing of some 8,000 Muslim men and boys by Bosnian Serb soldiers. Yet the protest was more than a commemoration of those killed in the village of Srebrenica in neighboring Bosnia. And it was more than a call for Christian Serbs to remember how a past regime supported the genocide of Bosnian Muslims in 1995. Rather, the march … marked the expansion of Serb identity beyond the ethno-nationalism forced on the country under the 12-year authoritarian rule of President Aleksandar Vučić.” (07/16/25)
- America Needs a Bold Constitutional Reconstruction Agenda to Tame Presidential Powers
Source: The UnPopulist
by Andy Craig“Fundamental flaws in our parliamentary rules, courts, and electoral system made our country vulnerable to an authoritarian takeover.” (07/17/25)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/america-needs-a-bold-constitutional
- The Great Tariff “Inflation” Confusion
Source: Cato Institute
by Scott Lincicome“One of this year’s more annoying yet persistent tariff defenses — including from a certain Oval Office Tariff Man and his trusty VP sidekick — is that tariffs can’t possibly be bad for American consumers or the U.S. economy because they haven’t caused ‘inflation.’ In fact, a string of moderate 2025 reports from the two most common U.S. inflation gauges — the consumer price index (CPI) and the personal consumption expenditures price index (PCE) — have elicited victory laps from tariff defenders …. So, has Trump proven the ‘experts’ and ‘economists’ wrong once again? In short, no.” (07/17/25)
https://www.cato.org/commentary/great-tariff-inflation-confusion
- History, Institutions, and Economics
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman“I have read and enjoyed several series of novels set in the British navy during the Napoleonic wars, most recently one by Naomi Novik that departs a little further from history than its predecessors by providing the British and their enemies with dragons. The internal structure and the associated rules and customs of the navy seem very strange to a modern eye, yet it was a strikingly successful institution. One feature likely to catch an economist’s eye was prize money. If a naval vessel captured a legitimate prize, an enemy warship or merchantman, and brought it back to port, the vessel and its contents were sold and the money distributed among those responsible. One large chunk went to the captain, another was distributed among his officers, a third among the crew, a fourth to the admiral under whose orders he was operating.” (07/17/25)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/history-institutions-and-economics
- Subsidies to Amtrak and Siemens: A Pathway To Cronyism For The Few
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by JD Wong“Amtrak ignored profits under Democrats but now claims it will be profitable to win GOP votes. Despite reporting a $705.2 million loss for FY2024, this deceitful number excludes: 1. $966.2 million in depreciation; 2. $447.3 million in ‘Project Related Expenses;’ 3. $314.1 million in state subsidies; 4. $26.9 million in Office of Inspector General funding. With its real costs factored in, the notion that Amtrak can ever turn a profit is a pipe dream. In fact, Amtrak is demanding greater subsidies than ever before. In 2021, Congress allocated $66 billion for passenger rail. Yet, Amtrak’s losses rose from $1.12 billion in FY2019 to $2.12 billion by FY2024. Instead of cutting unprofitable routes, Amtrak blames long-distance routes. Meanwhile, state-supported routes under 750 miles are doing even worse.” (07/17/25)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/subsidies-amtrak-and-siemens-pathway-cronyism-few
- A rare and encouraging rollback of government handouts
Source: Orange County Register
by Veronique de Rugy“The ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ did a lot of things, not all of them good. One positive step was to repeal many of the Inflation Reduction Act’s green energy subsidies. It’s a little disappointing that Congress didn’t repeal all of them, as President Donald Trump promised during the campaign. Yet it’s also somewhat amazing to witness a genuine rollback, something that was never a given for this bill and which typically loses out to special-interest politics. To be clear, I want more green energy from more sources, including wind, solar, geothermal and whatever other promising avenues innovation makes possible. But subsidies like those of the Inflation Reduction Act are the wrong way to get there.” (07/17/25)
- The Atomic Nightmare, Then and Now
Source: TomDispatch
by Eric Ross“In recent months, nuclear weapons have reemerged in global headlines. Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan approached the brink of a full-scale war, a confrontation that could have become an extinction-level event, with the potential to claim up to two billion lives worldwide. The instability of a global order structured on nuclear apartheid has also come into sharp relief in the context of the recent attacks on Iran by Israel and the United States. That system has entrenched a dangerous double standard, creating perverse incentives for the proliferation of world-destroying weaponry, already possessed by nine countries.” (07/17/25)
- Why Trump Hates Europe
Source: Yascha Mounk
by Yascha Mounk“Trump’s impatience with Europe has been such a persistent feature of his first months in office that, on a recent trip to the continent, virtually everyone I spoke to kept asking me about it. From former heads of state at high-powered gatherings to next-door neighbors in a small Italian village, they all wanted to know what the reason for Trump’s implacable hostility towards Europe could possibly be. The answer most commonly given on the continent these days is that Trump suffers from what we might call Europhobia. In this explanation, the president simply harbors some irrational hatred of Europe. But simple and seemingly obvious though that explanation may be, the truth turns out to be more complicated.” (07/17/25)
- When institutions crumble, strongmen step in
Source: Washington Post
by Philip Bump“Trump wants to be the sole authority. With trust in institutions cratering, he sees his opportunity.” (07/17/25)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/07/17/trust-institutions-authoritarianism-trump/
- Buy Now, Pay Later Is Just Credit, Not a Crisis
Source: The Daily Economy
by Ankith Reddy Madasani & Wesley Davenport“Installment plans work like credit cards, with a longer repayment period. Most consumers are choosing flexibility, not taking on new debt.” (07/17/25)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/buy-now-pay-later-is-just-credit-not-a-crisis/
- Devouring Civilization
Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders“Intersectional socialists, with their panoply of grievances and insatiable appetite for control, swarm once-free Western capitals. They don’t want to create their socialist (or Sharia) experiments on their land with their own effort. They are parasitic. They infest institutions, gnaw at the roots of private property, and buzz with sanctimonious fervor for redistribution schemes that punish productivity and choke market entrepreneurship as they consume the plenty that others have created. If they are weak, they will scream one of the epithets listed above. If they grow strong, all that intersectionality will dissolve, and their factions will struggle for control like the Bolsheviks, Mensheviks, and Anarchists of Russia.” (07/17/25)
- Interest Rate Cuts and Federal Reserve Independence
Source: EconLog
by Jon Murphy“Lately, President Trump has been pressuring Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell to cut interest rates. This has set off concerns about Federal Reserve independence. And reasonably so. Generally speaking, the more independent the central bank is from political pressure, the better the country’s economy performs on monetary measures like inflation (interested readers can find a survey of the literature here). Indeed, the Banking Act of 1935 significantly changed the Federal Reserve’s structure to make it more independent from the Executive branch, and Congress in general. To be fair, Trump isn’t the only one trying to reduce Federal Reserve independence. Libertarian-leaning folks also call for reduced Fed independence with slogans like ‘Audit the Fed!’ But how much influence would an individual president have over Federal Reserve monetary policy? Probably not much.” (07/17/25)
https://www.econlib.org/interest-rate-cuts-and-federal-reserve-independence
- Trump and DOGE Continue Wrecking Social Security So They Can Rob It
Source: Common Dreams
by Alex Lawson“The Trump administration is lying about Social Security. Elon Musk’s DOGE has infiltrated the Social Security Administration (SSA). The agency’s new commissioner, Wall Street billionaire Frank Bisignano, calls himself ‘a DOGE person.’ His top lieutenants include long-time Musk associates Antonio Gracias and Aram Moghaddassi. After infiltrating Social Security, the DOGE crew forced out thousands of civil servants, including top leaders with decades of institutional knowledge. No problem, they thought. We’ll replace them with 19-year-old Edward ‘Big Balls’ Coristine and an AI chatbot. That plan is going exactly as expected. Mistakes are being made, checks are being delayed, lines are hours long, and field offices are being run by skeleton crews. The 1-800 number has record wait times — if people can get past the AI chatbot and speak to a human at all.” (07/17/25)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/doge-attack-on-social-security
- John Stuart Mill, An Enemy Disguised As a Friend
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Joseph Solis-Mullen“In The Struggle for Liberty, Ralph Raico — one of the twentieth century’s foremost libertarian historians — offers a sweeping and penetrating critique of John Stuart Mill. With clarity, historical depth, and a touch of well-placed fire, Raico demolishes the myth that Mill belongs in the pantheon of classical liberalism. Instead, Raico exposes Mill as a forerunner of the modern progressive state: one who stripped liberalism of its essential emphasis on economic freedom and opened the door to a new, coercive moralism enforced by government. This critique is more than academic — it goes to the heart of how the liberal tradition is understood and misrepresented, even by those typically reliable in defense of liberty.” (07/16/25)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/john-stuart-mill-an-enemy-disguised-as-a-friend
- What Would William of Ockham Say?
Source: The Bulwark
by William Kristol“Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem: Entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity. It’s known as Occam’s razor. If you’re trying to solve a problem or to understand a phenomenon, consider the simplest or most straightforward explanation. What’s the simplest explanation for Trump’s refusal to release any information about the Epstein files? What’s the most straightforward explanation for Trump’s far-fetched attempts at deflection? What’s the most likely explanation for his lashing out at supporters who aren’t obeying his instructions to shut up? It’s that there’s information in those files that Trump doesn’t want to see the light of day. We don’t know just what that information is. We do know Trump is insisting on not releasing it, and that he’s not even bothering to advance plausible reasons for not releasing it.” (07/17/25)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/a-crisis-of-maga-faith-trump-epsitein-files-q-anon-conspiracy-theories
- A Free Speech Lesson From Karl Marx
Source: Reason
by Damon Root“There’s a basic principle of free speech that the censors always seem to forget. Namely, the act of suppressing speech only tends to add more fuel to the speaker’s fire. Don’t believe me? Just ask Karl Marx. … the censors did not leave Marx alone. They hounded him out of Germany. And their efforts backfired spectacularly. Not only did the censors fail to throttle Marx’s work; they actually turbo-charged his radicalization and greatly furthered the spread of his ideas.” (07/17/25)
https://reason.com/2025/07/17/a-free-speech-lesson-from-karl-marx/
- AI Prospects
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen Pirie“[O]ne cannot help but notice that all of those previous stages of the ongoing Industrial Revolution involved job losses as mechanical power replaced manpower. Freeing up time, boosting efficiency, and reducing costs involve using less labour, and that means fewer jobs. The jobs most immediately at risk from AI are those with repetitive, rule-based, or data-heavy tasks. This includes roles like data entry clerks, telemarketers, basic customer service representatives, and some roles in manufacturing and transportation. Additionally, jobs in finance, legal, and market research are also facing increased automation. … the wealth that came in the wake of the increased productivity they generated led to many more new jobs that added more value. Most of the jobs our predecessors did 100 years ago do not exist today, and most of the jobs we do now did not exist then.” (07/17/25)
- Why Tesla Remains the Ultimate Free-Market EV Powerhouse in 2025: Latest Breakthroughs and My Plan to Double Down
Source: Palm Beach Examiner
by Karl Dickey“As a lifelong libertarian who’s been married to the principles of free markets and personal freedom for decades — just like I’ve been married to my wonderful wife for the last 30 years — nothing excites me more than companies that thrive on innovation without begging for government handouts. Tesla embodies that spirit. While in its early years, Tesla did lean on government help, the company has since emerged as able to hold its own. While all car companies, and most large companies, rely on the government for various forms of support, and while EV subsidies are ongoing, they are diminishing, especially come September 2025.” (07/17/25)
https://palmbeachexaminer.substack.com/p/why-tesla-remains-the-ultimate-free
- The Judicial Tyranny of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson
Source: Town Hall
by Larry Elder“How can you tell if the newest Supreme Court Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is an ‘activist’ judge? She admits it. Worse, she appears to think it is her job, if not her duty, to engage in (left-wing) judicial activism. In an interview with CBS News, Jackson explained what she hopes to accomplish in her many dissents. ‘I just feel that I have a wonderful opportunity to tell people in my opinions how I feel about the issues,’ she said, ‘and that’s what I try to do.’ She added, ‘And I’m not afraid to use my voice.’ This sounds like a podcaster rather than a judge. You might be forgiven for thinking judges are supposed to interpret the law as intended by the legislature and apply the law to resolve disputes before the court.” (07/17/25)
- Bring On the MAGA Revolt
Source: Wired
by Jake Lahut“Donald Trump’s own strategists and advisers aren’t sure the president’s base will survive Jeffrey Epstein’s ghost.” (07/17/25)
- Trump Hits Amazon with 50 Percent Tariffs
Source: CounterPunch
by Dean Baker“Since we seem to again be in a tariff-crazy phase of Donald Trump’s presidency, it is worth explaining the meaning of a tariff so that even Treasury Secretary Bessent, Commerce Secretary Lutnick, and New York Times headline writers can understand what they are. The basic point — contrary to what you read in the paper — is that tariffs are not something Trump ‘hits’ other countries with, they are something he hits US consumers with. They are a tax on our imports. The idea of a Trump ‘tariff’ on Amazon’s sales may help make that point.” (07/17/25)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/07/17/trump-hits-amazon-with-50-percent-tariffs/
- Israel-Syria clash puts US policy in the crosshairs, again
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Safia K Southey & Adam Weinstein“The Trump administration clearly wants the new government in Damascus to succeed as evidenced by its removal of all sanctions and strong statements of support for Syrian unification under Damascus. The fact Washington’s closest partner in the Middle East is now bombing Syria is not conducive to Washington’s aims there and it is likely scrambling to ensure things don’t go from bad to worse.” (07/17/25)
- The Salience of the Switch
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob“The idea that Mr. Epstein had fronted a honey-pot blackmail ring to exert control over politics and science and culture was a story that even the mainstream didn’t pooh-pooh much, because, in part, there was so much circumstantial evidence. Then came the switch, when Dan Bongino and Kash Patel assured us that Epstein did indeed commit suicide. When I commented a week ago, it was Trump switching sides — after years milking MAGA anger over it — that stood out. And now it got bigger. In two ways. Trump’s switch got bigger. And the evidence for Epstein’s self-offing got shakier.” (07/17/25)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2025/07/17/salience-of-the-switch/
- How Trump Can Promote Religious Liberty
Source: The American Conservative
by Doug Bandow“President Donald Trump visited the Middle East in May but devoted little attention to one of the region’s most pervasive challenges: religious intolerance and persecution. Virtually every country, including Israel, either officially abuses minority faiths or unofficially tolerates private violence and discrimination against unpopular believers. Indeed, Washington partners with some of the worst oppressors, most notably Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Of course, Trump has never paid much attention to human rights abuses of any kind. … Although any administration will have to be practical and prudent in dealing with foreign authoritarians, Washington should promote a world that values human life, liberty, and dignity. U.S. officials should accept the inevitable charge of hypocrisy while nevertheless seeking to move debate and policy forward. When it comes to religious liberty, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) provides a sensible reform agenda.” (07/17/25)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/how-trump-can-promote-religious-liberty/
- No Due Process at Gitmo
Source: Judging Freedom
by Andrea P Napolitano“Due process has numerous definitions and aspects, but for constitutional purposes it basically means that all charged persons are presumed innocent and entitled to a written notice of the charges, a speedy and fair hearing before a neutral fact finder, a right to appeal; and the entire process imbued with fairness and a profound recognition of personal innocence until guilt is proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Due process also explicitly prohibits the use of torture. … James Madison and the Framers crafted protections in the Constitution to which all in government needed to swear allegiance and support. Fast forward to Gitmo, and you can see the constitutional system turned on its head.” (07/17/25)
- Meet the Disaster Capitalists Behind Alligator Alcatraz
Source: The American Prospect
by Maureen Tkacik“One company just forced the state of Illinois to fork over $1.3 million for a detention center it never built, and boasts an armored car subsidiary that ‘lost track of’ tens of millions of dollars in cash belonging to banks, businesses, and the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Another recently won a $70 million contract from the state of Oregon to remove dead trees to mitigate wildfire risk — then ordered contractors to indiscriminately chop down tens of thousands of healthy trees because it had fired the only professional arborist on its payroll. A third has been sued in Florida for allegedly orchestrating a sprawling insurance fraud ring that ended up screwing over hundreds of Hurricane Ida victims, stiffing the claim adjustors they hired, then suing its conspirator law firm for failing to make good on the 582 percent annualized return its partners had allegedly promised.” (07/17/25)
https://prospect.org/power/2025-07-17-meet-disaster-capitalists-alligator-alcatraz/
- “Stupid Republicans”: Trump mocks GOP allies for seeking Epstein files release
Source: USA Today
by Chris Brennan“President Donald Trump is getting more desperate and aggressive in his battle to mute calls for transparency on the Epstein files – and Americans aren’t having it.” (07/17/25)
- The Duty to Obey
Source: Law & Liberty
by Charles F Capps“Do people have a moral obligation to obey the law simply because it is the law? If you come to a red light and have a clear view in all directions with no cars in sight, do you have a moral obligation to stop? Questions like this have long divided philosophers of law. In The Nature of Law: Authority, Obligation, and the Common Good, Daniel Mark defends the traditional natural law position that law’s connection to the common good generates a defeasible moral obligation to obey the law.” (07/17/25)
- Democrats are right to call for the release of the Epstein files
Source: Washington post
by Pat Dennis“Everyone in America watched Donald Trump ride back to the presidency on his superpower: the benefit of the doubt. Even voters who didn’t approve of him as a person trusted that he was an outsider, that he was telling the truth about shaking up the old system and holding the powerful to account. So why is Trump choosing to throw that trust away to keep information about Jeffrey Epstein secret? That’s the question now eating away at even some of his most loyal supporters — and Democrats should not be afraid to ask it alongside them.” (07/16/25)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/07/16/democrats-epstein-files-trump/
- Trump Embraces State Capitalism
Source: Foreign Policy
by Keith Johnson & Christina Lu“Since taking office a second time, U.S. President Donald Trump has embraced state capitalism to a stunning degree. He has taken a personal stake, not even a government stake, in a major U.S. steel company. He has dispatched the Defense Department to buy up part of a rare-earths mining company. He has made plans to remake U.S. shipbuilding through direct government investment, directed federal resources toward the promotion of resources such as coal, and picked winners and losers in all the emerging industries that will shape the global economy in the years to come. … What makes Trump’s cannonball into the pool of state capitalism different is that he heads a political party that has, at least in recent decades, defended the free market above all.” (07/16/25)
- The Fifth Column, episode 515
Source: The Fifth Column
“Big Trouble in Little MAGA.” (07/17/25)
- The Anarchist Experience, episode 537
Source: The Anarchist Experience
“Rich, Lori, and Riley discuss car ownership, Riley’s upcoming podcast interview, Custody battle over a dog, and the Troll chimes in with more misunderstandings about profit and motivations.” (07/17/25)
https://theanarchistexperience.wordpress.com/2025/07/18/the-anarchist-experience-537/
- The Libertarian Angle, 07/17/25
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“Jacob and Richard discuss the consequences of having converted the federal government to a national-security state.” (07/17/25)
- The Brian Nichols Show, 07/17/25
Source: Lions of Liberty
“Why Does The Government Hate Food Trucks?” (07/17/25)
- Politics Politics Politics, 07/17/25
Source: Politics Politics Politics
“How Does Liberation Day End? Breaking Down The State Of The Economy (with Jack Gamble).” (07/17/25)
https://www.politicspoliticspolitics.com/p/how-does-liberation-day-end-breaking
- The Business List, 07/17/25
Source: LP Alliance
Libertarian Party podcast (no description of exact content). (07/17/25)
- Conflicts of Interest, episode 820
Source: Conflicts of Interest
“Trump Is Escalating the Proxy War in Ukraine.” (07/17/25)
https://rumble.com/v6wauq4-trump-is-escalating-the-proxy-war-in-ukraine-coi-820.html
- Gracearchy with Jim Babka, episode 135
Source: Gracearchy with Jim Babka
“Why Mayor Karen Bass Cannot Stop ICE.” (07/17/25)
https://rumble.com/v6w7iy0-ep135-why-mayor-karen-bass-cannot-stop-ice-gracearchy-with-jim-babka.html
- Capital Record, episode 245
Source: National Review
“When Millionaires Attack Billionaires.” (07/17/25)
https://www.nationalreview.com/podcasts/capital-record/when-millionaires-attack-billionaires/
- The Political Orphanage, 07/17/25
Source: The Political Orphanage
“China Hates These Two People.” (07/17/25)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/china-hates-these-two-people
- The Daily Beast Podcast, 07/17/25
Source: The Daily Beast
“How Creepy Epstein Tried to Keep His Crimes Secret.” (07/17/25)
- Nonzero, 07/17/25
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“Do We Live in a Simulation? | Robert Wright & Preston Greene.” (07/17/25)
- Advisory Opinions, 07/17/25
Source: The Dispatch
“An Inconsequential Term?” (07/17/25)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/advisoryopinions/an-inconsequential-term/
- NPR Politics Podcast, 07/17/25
Source: National Public Radio [US state media]
“Trump Plows Ahead With Plans To Dismantle Department Of Education.” (07/17/25)
- Rising, 07/17/25
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave delivers radar on NPR fighting to keep the taxpayer funding as CEO Katherine Maher denies accusations of liberal bias.” (07/17/25)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/5405865-rising-july-17-2025/
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 07/17/25
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“#AskRonPaul: End The Fed, Tariff Turmoil & Global Peace in Pieces.” (07/17/25)
https://rumble.com/v6wavsw-askronpaul-end-the-fed-tariff-turmoil-and-global-peace-in-pieces.html
- Politico Playbook Daily Briefing, 07/17/25
Source: Politico
“Trump’s Epstein woes go mainstream.” (07/17/25)
https://traffic.megaphone.fm/POLL2914443931.mp3?updated=1752729320
- Radio Atlantic, 07/17/25
Source: The Atlantic
“A conversation with Julie K. Brown, the investigative reporter who knows more than almost anyone else about Jeffrey Epstein.” (07/17/25)
- Health Care News Podcast, episode 602
Source: Heartland Institute
“What is next in the fight to manage waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicaid now that the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) is law?” (07/17/25)
- The Headlines, 07/17/25
Source: New York Times
“Trump’s Epstein Strategy; Senate Approves Cuts to Foreign Aid, Public Broadcasting.” (07/17/25)