Source: Politico
“Donald Trump threatened to abandon any NATO ally country that does not spend at least 2 percent of its gross domestic product on defense [sic]. Now the traditionally laggard Canada government is starting to pay up, just as polling suggests the former president’s threats are moving public attitudes in a country where military preparedness has traditionally ranked low among voter concerns. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is expected to deliver Canada’s largest defense [sic] spending increase in seven years in the federal budget to be released Tuesday — but will still fall far short of meeting the country’s NATO commitments.” (04/16/24)
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/16/canada-defense-spending-nato-target-00152368
Source: System Update
“Is Israel Dragging the US in a New Mid-East War? PLUS: Vivek Ramaswamy on FISA, Israel/Iran, Elon Musk’s War w/ Brazil over Censorship,: (04/15/24)
https://rumble.com/v4pnkb8-system-update-show-257.html
Source: Independent Institute
by Raymond J March
“Spending more doesn’t always get you more and that includes money going towards combatting America’s ongoing opioid crisis. But don’t tell that to the Biden Administration. A recent budget proposal by the Republican Study Committee aims to cut federal non-defense spending by 30 percent. This includes funds sent to states to address opioid overdoses and misuse. The proposal specifically targets State Opioid Response grants, which have supplied state governments with the means to purchase about 10 million overdose reversal medication kits since 2018 for reduced funding.” (04/15/24)
https://blog.independent.org/2024/04/15/opioid-crisis/
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Ukraine’s UN ambassador, Sergiy Kyslytsya, has accused Russia of a ‘a well-planned false-flag operation’ endangering the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, as the two countries traded accusations at the UN security council over alleged attacks on Europe’s largest nuclear power station. The Zaporizhzia nuclear power plant reportedly suffered at least three direct strikes on 7 April and another drone attack at the plant’s nearby training centre on 9 April. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi, said, without attributing blame, that the ‘reckless’ attacks had put the world ‘dangerously close to a nuclear accident.'” (04/16/24)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/apr/16/russia-ukraine-war-live-zaporizhzhia-attacks-nuclear-warning
Source: Reason
by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
“A funny thing happens when you leave abortion access up to each state: Voters start to show politicians how they actually feel. The loudest and most persistent voices are no longer the ones most able to influence policy. And — perhaps surprisingly to some — this has resulted in a wave of successful pro-choice ballot initiatives. Since the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade, the abortion rights side has come out on top every time the matter has been up for a vote on state ballots (even in states such as Kansas, Ohio, and Kentucky). It looks like the great protector of abortion access might be direct democracy.” (04/15/24)
https://reason.com/2024/04/15/what-leaving-abortion-up-to-the-states-really-means/
Source: Reason
“Congress Does Not Come Back With a Warrant.” (04/15/24)
https://reason.com/podcast/2024/04/15/congress-does-not-come-back-with-a-warrant/
Source: CBS News
“The first criminal trial of a former president in U.S. history officially got underway Monday in a crowded Manhattan courtroom, where prosecutors and defense attorneys began the arduous task of seating a 12-person jury in the case of The People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump. Flanked by his attorneys in room 1530 of the Manhattan Criminal Court, Trump was seated at a table where countless defendants before him have appeared. Monday’s proceedings started with lawyers for both sides arguing over several aspects of the case, including what evidence should be admissible and what questions should be asked of potential jurors. … Trump is charged with 34 state counts of falsifying business records related to a ‘hush money’ payment his attorney made to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.” (04/15/24)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-trial-begins-today-jury-selection/
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“The traditional libertarian position, the position I argued for in my first book (Chapter 14), is support for open borders. That was also the traditional American policy. For the first century of the country’s history anyone who could get here was welcome to come. Limits on Chinese immigration and on immigrants carrying contagious diseases were imposed in the late nineteenth century but broader restrictions only came in in the nineteen-twenties and did not, at the time, apply to immigrants from other parts of the New World. Murray Rothbard switched his position from opposing restrictions on immigration to supporting them as part of his adoption of a paleolibertarian [sic] strategy of alliance with the right, joined by Hans Hoppe and others.” [editor’s note: Paleoconservatism is not libertarian, “paleo” or otherwise. When you abandon the principle, you’re not longer entitled to the term – TLK] (04/14/24)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/immigration
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Lawmakers in Georgia have come to blows inside parliament as ruling party legislators appeared likely to advance a bill on ‘foreign agents’ that has been criticised by Western countries and has caused protests at home as ‘pro-Russia.’ Footage broadcast on Georgian television showed Mamuka Mdinaradze, leader of the ruling Georgian Dream party’s parliamentary faction and a driving force behind the bill, being punched in the face on Monday by opposition MP Aleko Elisashvili while speaking before the legislative body. Tensions in parliament have bubbled up in recent years as the ruling party and the opposition have debated whether to deepen relations with the West or reconnect the former Soviet republic with Russia.” (04/15/24)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/15/lawmakers-brawl-as-georgian-parliament-considers-foreign-agent
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“Throughout history, people have ingested mind-altering substances. But simply because there is a social problem with drug addiction doesn’t mean that the government should be addressing it. Shouldn’t we have learned that with alcohol Prohibition? In the 1950s, countless housewives were addicted to barbiturates. Does that mean that they should have been prosecuted and jailed? Of course not. The problem of drug addiction belongs in private rehabilitation centers, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, not in the state’s criminal-justice system.” (04/15/24)
https://www.fff.org/2024/04/15/end-the-drug-war-in-oregon-both-state-and-federal/
