Lone Candle
Champion of Truth
“Manufacturing has been in decline for six months, nearly the exact amount of time since Trump’s new trade wars began.”
https://reason.com/2025/09/04/american-manufacturing-needs-relief-from-trumps-tariffs/
‘No evidence’ found yet of ties between Charlie Kirk’s shooting and left-wing groups, officials say
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/no-evidence-found-yet-ties-090000648.html
“Vice President J.D. Vance was almost incredulous when a reporter asked him what “legal authority” the Trump administration used to blow up an alleged drug boat off the coast of Venezuela with a drone on Tuesday. “There are people who are bringing—literal terrorists—who are bringing deadly drugs into our country,” Vance said.
Why are they “literal terrorists”? Because the administration said so. President Donald Trump declared just after taking office that he would be designating drug cartels as terrorist organizations. One of them was Tren de Aragua, the organization accused of sending out the drug boat. (The administration tends to play fast and loose with labeling things Tren de Aragua; for all its criminal activities, the gang is not known to smuggle cocaine.) After the drone strike, multiple cabinet officials made sure to use the phrase “narco-terrorist organization.”
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A terrorist can be anyone the White House declares: an American journalist, a suspected drug smuggler, or another government. The only requirement seems to be that the terrorist is located outside of U.S. soil.
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Deploying uniformed troops against street crime, flying (unarmed) Predator drones over protesters, blowing up suspected smugglers instead of arresting them—these images are breaking down the political distinction between the “battlefield” and the “homefront.” Last week, U.S. Border Patrol agents were photographed training with mortars during live-fire exercises in Alaska. Since when do American police need artillery?”
https://reason.com/2025/09/04/trumps-drug-boat-drone-strike-shows-how-terrorism-makes-everyone-killable/
A Texas ban on cell-cultured protein is anti-freedom protectionism. If people want to eat fake meat, let them.
https://reason.com/2025/09/04/the-new-texas-ban-on-cell-cultured-protein-is-an-unconstitutional-interstate-trade-barrier-a-lawsuit-says/
“if tariffs are linked to prosperity, it’s an inverse relationship, according to a recent report on America’s declining economic freedom for Canada’s Fraser Institute. The authors, Robert A. Lawson of Southern Methodist University and Fraser’s own Matthew D. Mitchell, write: “High-tariff countries are generally low-income countries while low-tariff countries are generally high-income countries. In the high-tariff countries, average GDP per capita is just $9,703 per year,” while “in low-tariff countries, it is $43,502 per year.”
In 2023, the U.S. had an average tariff rate of 3.3 percent, which put us in the company of such countries as Singapore and Hong Kong (zero percent each), Brunei (0.5 percent), Israel (1.3 percent), New Zealand (1.9 percent), Australia (2.4 percent), and Iceland (3.3 percent). This year’s tariff shift has been marked by wild fluctuations. But the average tariff rate on April 15 was 28 percent and is now around 19 percent. That puts the U.S. amongst the likes of Zimbabwe (18 percent), Chad (18.1 percent), Republic of the Congo (18.1 percent), Algeria (18.9 percent), and Egypt (19 percent).”
https://reason.com/2025/09/05/trump-says-tariffs-make-us-richer-so-why-are-most-countries-with-high-tariffs-so-poor/
“Though job growth was low, layoffs were also relatively low. That said, people who have been fired or laid off have struggled to get back on their feet: “The number of people with continued unemployment claims has been elevated since April,” reports The New York Times.”
https://reason.com/2025/09/05/a-bad-jobs-report/
Private equity sometimes takes a loan to buy a company, gives the company the debt of the loan, sells things of value from the company to put in private equity’s pocket, then let the company fail and wash their hands clean of all the debt. This also means a company that may have been able to survive and continue serving customers, is destroyed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFb9Cf7nOOw
RFK is weakening the CDC’s ability to perform its basic functions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8sZBojJ6r4
“many of Kirk’s most ardent fans are now engaged in one of the largest mass cancellation efforts of all time: Some Republican legislators, MAGA activists, and conservative media figures are assembling watchlists with the explicit aim of silencing, firing, expelling, and perhaps even criminalizing any and all anti-Kirk sentiment.
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There is also a big difference between canceling someone for justifying violence against Kirk and canceling someone who merely objects to his views, behavior, and political project. Furthermore, there’s a major difference between canceling someone in a public-facing communications role and canceling someone who is otherwise obscure.
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Opposing cancel culture does not mean there should be zero accountability for anyone in a public role. It only means that those of us who denounced the excesses of woke enforcement during the late 2010s should similarly reject a rightwing counterreaction that seeks to unperson anyone who does not hold Kirk in sufficient esteem.
It’s also worth keeping in mind that Kirk disdained cancel culture and loved debate—seriously, he relished the fray more than most, and enjoyed mixing it up with people who obviously disliked him. Launching a vast and unscrupulous campaign to silence everyone who shares an unkind thought about Kirk is a poor way to honor his legacy.”
https://reason.com/2025/09/15/charlie-kirk-would-not-have-wanted-this/
Trump has repeatedly suggested that broadcast stations that air things he doesn’t like should get their licenses revoked. Two late night hosts appear to have been suspended or let go at the desire of Trump and his administration. Where are the free speech warriors now? Was it all a lie?
These companies also need federal approval for desired mergers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAyZSp97uf0