02b U.S. Politics – Progressive

Republicans can’t stop making pathetic excuses for war chat fiasco– www.dailykos.com
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As fury mounts over the Trump administration’s leaking of classified military operations in an unsecure Signal group chat that included a reporter who did not have a security clearance, GOP lawmakers have continued to downplay the seriousness of the situation.

The ridiculous defenses—ranging from lies about the contents of the messages to conspiracy theories about how the reporter got added to the conversation in the first place—are even rankling some Trump administration allies, who told Politico that President Donald Trump and his team need to own up to the error, fire those involved, and end the controversy.

But that message has clearly not been heard by congressional Republicans, who are still defending the monumental fuck-up that risked U.S. troops who were carrying out an attack on a rebel group in Yemen—even as more details emerge confirming that classified information was shared on an insecure platform.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, said that he stands by the Trump administration officials who were involved—including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who shared in the chat the exact timing of the forthcoming attack and the weapons systems that would be used.

“President Trump and his team have admitted that having a journalist in the group text was wrong, will be reviewed and falls in the category of ‘lessons learned’ so that it doesn’t happen again. I think President Trump has handled this matter well. Further, I believe that all the participants in the chat were under the impression they were using an appropriate and secure form of communication. This will also fall into the category of ‘lessons learned,’” Graham said in a statement.

 

Trump says he doesn’t ‘want to talk about a third term now’ but ‘so many people’ are asking him to run– thehill.com
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President Trump said he doesn’t want to discuss his plans for 2028 but said “so many people” are asking him to run for a third term — a move prohibited by the Constitution.

Trump was asked about his comments from an earlier Sunday interview in which he said he was “not joking” about running for a third term and said there were some potential methods that could allow him to seek another term.

“I’m not looking at that, but I’ll tell you, I have had more people ask me to have a third term, which in a way is a fourth term because the other election — the 2020 election — was totally rigged, so it’s actually sort of a fourth term,” Trump said, when asked whether his comments earlier meant he’s “not planning to leave office on January 20.”

Trump repeatedly touted what he described as the success of his administration, saying that’s the reason people want him to stay in office.

Trump Again Floats Running for Anti-Constitutional Third Term – Mother Jones– www.motherjones.com
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Trump said on Sunday that he’s “not joking” about running for a third term—despite the fact that would be unconstitutional.Jacquelyn Martin/AP

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President Donald Trump has repeatedly teased running for a third term in violation of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, which limits presidents to two terms.

Until now, it has been unclear whether he was making such comments seriously. But in a phone call with Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker of NBC News on Sunday, Trump gave his clearest indication yet that he is indeed serious. “I’m not joking,” he reportedly said. “But I’m not—it is far too early to think about it.”

“There are methods which you could do it,” Trump continued. NBC reports that when Welker asked about the plausibility of Vice President JD Vance running for office and then passing power to Trump (who would try to run as VP in 2028, and then take over when Vance resigns, according to the theory) Trump replied, “That’s one,” adding, “but there are others too.” He declined to provide specific examples, NBC reported.

Trump Fuels Blue Wave By Planning To Hit Americans With Biggest Peacetime Tax Increase In History– www.politicususa.com
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Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro said, according to an X post from Jeff Stein of The Washington Post that Trump is planning on imposing $600 billion worth of tariffs per year for ten years:

White House aide Peter Navarro today: Trump’s tariffs will raise $600 billion per year, or $6 trillion over a 10 year period Seems to reflect our reporting that Trump wants to go absolutely enormous on the tariffs, regardless of short-term economic consequences

Video of Navarro:

To put this into context, Trump’s proposed tariffs would be 2.2% of GDP.

Here is a chart from The Tax Foundation of the largest tax increases as a percentage of GDP in US history:

 

Egypt’s plan for the reconstruction of Gaza– thehill.com
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For over 16 months, Palestinians in Gaza have endured unspeakable humanitarian circumstances unseen since the Second World War. Almost 2 million people in Gaza have been internally displaced, with more than 150,000 people killed or injured according to the UN, 50 percent of hospitals and medical facilities destroyed, 88 percent of schools partially or fully shattered, 68 percent of agricultural areas damaged and 68 percent of roads have become dysfunctional.

As the statistics reflect, Israel’s war didn’t turn out to be just a war against Hamas, but expanded to the entire civilian population and its critical infrastructure.

To address this crisis of colossal magnitude, two critical steps need to be taken. First, we must immediately provide a comprehensive and thorough humanitarian plan that alleviates the suffering of Palestinians and restore life back to Gaza through early recovery programs and reconstruction.

Second, it is imperative that we offer a political roadmap that brings decisive closure to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict once and for all culminating in an independent Palestinian state and ensure that this latest horrific round of violence becomes the final one. Let me address both steps.

Hillary Trashes America on Foreign Soil, Demands Control of Information That ‘Determines How We Think’ – RedState– redstate.com
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Hillary Clinton spoke at the World Forum on the Future of Democracy, Tech, and Humankind on Tuesday, immediately slamming America under Trump’s leadership as marching towards autocracy.

She said that at a forum in … Germany.

“There’s no way to sugarcoat it. There’s no way to explain it away,” she said less than 60 seconds into her speech. “Autocracy is on the March, and we now have a government in the United States that has thrown in its lot with the autocrats.”

That government, she continued, “has made a choice to support those who wage war, not peace, who has given enormous power to the men who control the information flow in our world, who have all pledged allegiance to the continuation of algorithms that not only addict us, but poison us with hatred and fear.”

House Dems Ramp Up Calls for Schumer’s Resignation as Donors Lament ‘Despair and Hopelessness’– freebeacon.com
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Democratic politicians and donors are sounding the alarm over the party’s discord during President Donald Trump’s second term, with House Democrats calling for Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) to step down.

Reps. Delia Ramirez (D., Ill.) and Glenn Ivey (D., Md.) are openly supporting Schumer’s ouster, with another House Democrat telling Axios that other members of the caucus would join them but “just haven’t been asked directly or avoided the question.”

Schumer last week voted with Republicans to advance a bill that averted a government shutdown, prompting widespread Democratic backlash. A petition to withhold donations to Senate Democrats until they oust Schumer as leader has amassed around 25,000 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon.

The Schumer situation is part of Democrats’ general failure “to land on a unified message to effectively confront Trump,” CNN reported based on conversations with Democratic donors and activists. Atlanta-area fundraiser Maggie Kulyk, for example, described the party’s situation as “astoundingly bad.”

Democrats ask Trump to remove Patel as acting ATF director – The Hill
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A group of Democrats are calling on President Trump to remove FBI Director Kash Patel as the acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Fourteen Democratic members of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, chaired by Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), expressed “grave concerns” over Patel’s leadership position at the agency in a letter to Trump dated March 3 and shared on social media by Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday.

“As you are aware, ATF is the lead law enforcement agency responsible for addressing the gun violence epidemic in our country. At a time when gun violence is the leading cause of death for children and teenagers in the United States, it is unconscionable that someone without experience fighting crime, responding to mass shootings or confronting domestic terrorism has been named as ATF’s Acting Director,” the Democrats wrote.

The Israeli American Trump Mega-Donor Behind Speech Crackdowns– www.truthdig.com
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The Trump administration’s effort to deport a Columbia University graduate student, Mahmoud Khalil, in retaliation for Khalil’s role in campus protests opposing Israel’s war in Gaza, showed the lengths the White House is prepared to go to police speech about Israel.

The administration’s unprecedented decision to seek the deportation of a U.S. permanent resident without bringing any criminal charges has an overlooked ally, however: the largest financier of Trump’s three presidential campaigns, Israeli American billionaire Miriam Adelson.

Adelson’s support for the administration’s campaign to stifle criticism of Israel on college campuses isn’t a new focus, but her alignment with the levers of state powers to implement her vision are unprecedented. In fact, tax documents reveal that she is directly overseeing a social media campaign targeting Khalil and Columbia University.

Trump Is Trying to Create His Own Personal Legal Strike Force – The Nation
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Late last week, Donald Trump went to the Department of Justice and, once again, threatened his political enemies with unlawful prosecutions. Referring to himself as “the chief law enforcement officer in our country,” he called for the agency to prosecute everybody from former special counsel Jack Smith to MSNBC and CNN to (apparently) anybody who writes or says mean things about him or his pet judge, Aileen Cannon. Even lawyer Norm Eisen, cofounder of The Contrarian (a freaking Substack), was singled out as a potential target.

Gavin Newsom schools Tim Walz on why Dems are ‘losing’ young men to ‘bad guys’ like Charlie Kirk, online influencers | The Post Millennial– thepostmillennial.com
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“Not only do they exist, they persist. And they’re actually influencing young kids every single day.”

Minnesota Governor and former Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz appeared on California Governor Gavin Newsom’s new podcast where the two talked about how the Democratic Party is losing support among young male voters.

During the latest episode of This is Gavin Newsom, the two governors spoke about the ongoing issues in the Democratic Party regarding support among young men. Newsom, who previously interviewed high-profile conservative commentators Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon, explained to Walz why these right-wing voices are resonating with young male voters and the working class.

“We’re losing them to these guys online, we’re losing them to people that I’m bringing on this podcast as well, that’s why I brought on Charlie Kirk,” Newsom said, to which Walz claimed that they were “bad guys.”

“But they exist,” Newsom responded, “and we can deny they exist, they exist—not only do they exist, they persist. And they’re actually influencing young kids every single day.”

Walz asked how to “push some of those guys back under a rock,” to which Newsom said, “I think we have to first understand what their motivations are, I think we have to understand what they’re actually doing.”

Ask PolitiFact: Is Tren de Aragua invading the US, as Trump says? Legal experts say no.– www.politifact.com
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As justification for deporting some immigrants in the country illegally without due process, President Donald Trump said the U.S. is under invasion.

“Evidence irrefutably demonstrates that (Tren de Aragua) has invaded the United States,” a March 15 White House proclamation said. Tren de Aragua is a Venezuela-based gang with some U.S. presence.

The proclamation says Tren de Aragua “is a hybrid criminal state that is perpetrating an invasion of and predatory incursion into the United States,” and so any person 14 years or older who is a Tren de Aragua member and who has neither U.S. citizenship nor permanent residency can be arrested, detained and deported using the Alien Enemies Act.

Trump and his allies have referred to illegal immigration as an invasion for years, and Trump’s move to use the 1798 Alien Enemies Act for deportations hinges on this characterization. To invoke the law, the U.S. has to be at war or under invasion by a foreign

Waltz: All options ‘on the table’ to ensure Iran does not have a nuclear weapon– thehill.com
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National security adviser Mike Waltz said on Sunday that all options are “on the table” to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

In an interview on ABC News’s “This Week,” anchor Martha Raddatz asked the president’s top adviser to elaborate on President Trump’s warning to Iran a week ago that they would not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon and that something would happen very soon “that will solve the problem if there is no peace deal,” Raddatz said, referring to nuclear weapons.

“So, what is he talking about? Is he talking about a possible strike on the nuclear facilities by Israel, and would the U.S. join in that?” Raddatz asked.

“Well, what the president has… repeatedly said is that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Waltz said.

“All options are on the table to ensure it does not have one. And that’s all aspects of Iran’s program. That’s the missiles, the weaponization, the enrichment. They can either hand it over and give it up in a way that is verifiable, or they can face a whole series of other consequences,” he continued.

Trump Attacks Free Speech on Campus– www.thenation.com
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Donald Trump’s cruel and chaotic second term is just getting started. In his first month back in office, Trump and his lackey Elon Musk (or is it the other way around?) have proven that nothing is safe from sacrifice at the altar of unchecked power and riches.

Only robust independent journalism can cut through the noise and offer clear-eyed reporting and analysis based on principle and conscience. That’s what The Nation has done for 160 years and that’s what we’re doing now.

Our independent journalism doesn’t allow injustice to go unnoticed or unchallenged—nor will we abandon hope for a better world. Our writers, editors, and fact-checkers are working relentlessly to keep you informed and empowered when so much of the media fails to do so out of credulity, fear, or fealty.

Fed Up Voters Demand That Democrats Fight Trump– www.politicususa.com
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The biggest story in the Democratic Party isn’t the fighting between House and Senate Democrats because that fight reflects the larger issue of the shift in the Democratic base since Trump came back to office.

It shouldn’t have been a surprise to elected Democrats that after their voters were told for years that Trump is a threat to democracy and all that they value, these voters would expect Democrats holding office to do something in response to the threat.

Elected officials often don’t react until they see changes reflected in polling, and a new NBC News poll should cause any lingering Democrats to change course.

Jasmine Crockett Blasts Schumer’s Absurd Reason For Caving To Trump– www.politicususa.com
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The fallout from Chuck Schumer’s cave to Trump continues to rumble, as Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) debunked Schumer’s stated reasoning for supporting the Trump CR.

 

Schumer has said, “A government shutdown gives Donald Trump, Elon Musk and DOGE almost complete power as to what to close down, because they can decide what is an essential service. If they determine that SNAP, kids shouldn’t get food is not essential, they can just cut it out summarily. They could fire half the workers in the federal government.”

 

emocrats Are Furious With Chuck Schumer – Mother Jones– www.motherjones.com
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Activists stage a protest outside the office of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) following his support for a GOP funding bill.

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In the wake of votes by a handful of key Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, to pass a GOP-led continuing resolution funding federal operations through the end of September, fissures have expanded within the Democratic Party on how best to counter Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s ongoing assault on government agencies.

Top Democrats Demand Investigation Into DeJoy’s Secret Deal With Musk To Gut USPS– www.politicususa.com
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House Democrats who oversee the USPS are concerned that the Trump administration is maneuvering to get around the law and gut the United Postal Service.

In a letter to House Oversight Committee chair James Comer (R-KY), twenty House Democrats led by Oversight Committee ranking member Gerry Connolly (D-VA) wrote:

We write to request that you convene an immediate hearing on the Trump Administration’s plans for the United States Postal Service (USPS). Since the Committee’s most recent hearing on the USPS, the Trump Administration has reportedly explored privatizing the USPS, firing the bipartisan Postal Board of Governors, merging the USPS into the Department of Commerce, and is now subjecting the USPS, America’s most trusted federal institution, to the chainsaw approach of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This broad assault on the independence of the USPS demands Congressional oversight, especially from the Committee with jurisdiction over the USPS.

On December 14, 2024, the Washington Post reported that President Trump was considering actions to privatize the USPS and push thousands of federal service employees out of their jobs in favor of a broad privatization of the agency’s essential services. Two months later, further reporting noted that President Trump was preparing plans to fire the bipartisan Postal Board of Governors and “merge” the Postal Service into the Commerce Department, “potentially throwing the 250-year-old mail provider and trillions of dollars of e-commerce transactions into turmoil.”

Department of Veterans Affairs Ends Transgender and Intersex Care Directives – Mother Jones– www.motherjones.com
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The Department of Veterans Affairs in Phoenix.Matt York/AP

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On Monday, citing Donald Trump’s “Defending Women” executive order, the federal Department of Veterans Affairs announced that it would “phase out treatment for gender dysphoria” by discontinuing hormone replacement therapy for patients not already in treatment.

The agency provides health care and benefits for about nine million veterans, tens of thousands of whom—by the VA’s estimate—identify as trans. Its press release says that the agency’s LGBTQ+ veteran care coordinators, who run its LGBTQ Health Program, would not be affected by the changes. But Pete Hegseth, Trump’s secretary of defense, has been vocal about his ire toward the LGBTQ community and his support for cutting VA health care.

Although the VA has never provided gender-affirming surgeries, it has been able to provide letters in support of veterans seeking them. That’s now on the chopping block.

“It’s infuriating,” a medical professional with the agency, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Mother Jones. “To be honest, I don’t understand how it’s allowed—how are they able to tell providers what they can and cannot treat?”

The announcement follows reporting in the Advocate on a Veterans Health Administration memo with similar provisions circulated on March 14, which rescinded the agency’s 2018 directive establishing health care standards for transgender and intersex veterans. In response to subsequent coverage by National Public Radio, VA press secretary Peter Kasperowicz told NPR that there had been no policy change—but by Saturday night, the agency officially published the memo, which showed otherwise.

House Rules Committee advances GOP’s stopgap ahead of shutdown deadline– thehill.com
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The House Rules Committee voted Monday night to advance the GOP’s bill to avert a government shutdown, dispatching the measure to the full chamber for consideration ahead of Friday’s deadline.

The panel voted 9-3 to adopt the rule, which governs debate on the legislation. The successful vote sends the measure to the House floor for debate and a final vote.

“This legislation helps avoid the government shutting down and allows us to continue our work in service to the American people,” House Rules Committee Chair Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) said in her opening remarks of the hearing. “The House must act to avoid a needless shutdown that serves no purpose — by doing so, this body can put its focus and attention on the next appropriations process.”

The continuing resolution, unveiled by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) over the weekend, would keep the government funded through Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year, while boosting defense funding and imposing cuts for some nondefense programs.

The House is expected to vote on the legislation on Monday. It remains unclear, however, if it has the votes to pass since Democrats are expected to oppose it in droves — their leadership is voting “no” — and a handful of Republicans are withholding support from the measure.

Top Democrats Blasts The Idea That Democrats Should Keep The Government Open For Republicans– www.politicususa.com
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PoliticusUSA is ad-free and will never yield to any interest group or party. Please consider supporting us by becoming a subscriber.

It is a notion that the mainstream media loves that drives Democrats crazy. The media insists on making Democrats responsible for doing the important work of governing even when Republicans are in charge of the entire government. The media pushes this false idea because Republicans push this false notion.

 

As the House Rules Committee marked up the continuing resolution to keep the government open, Rep. Jim McGovern took on this double standard:

 I think maybe you guys need to take a refresher course in arithmetic. Last time I checked, you have the majority in the House and in the Senate, and you control the White House. The idea that somehow Democrats have the responsibility to pass a CR or any bill, quite frankly, where we don’t have any input on.

I think it’s ridiculous, I mean you run around bragging about this big mandate, well put on your mandate pants and pass whatever you, whatever you want to do. And I, and I, and I think you probably will have the votes because even the so called principled conservatives who don’t like CRs, I think they’re suffering from a case of Victoria Sparks Syndrome.

Where on Monday they’re a hard no and then on Tuesday they’re a hard yes. They’ll cave. So, but the idea that somehow, Being in charge means that you don’t have to take the responsibility of running this place is absurd.

Trump dodges recession talk as global markets plunge– www.dailykos.com
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 President Donald Trump has refused to rule out that his economic policies could trigger a recession and pushed for a “period of transition” that global markets have already responded to negatively.

In an interview that aired on Sunday, with Fox Business conspiracy theorist Maria Bartiromo, Trump was asked if he expected a recession.

“I hate to predict things like that. There is a period of transition because what we’re doing is very big, we’re bringing wealth back to America,” Trump said.

Trump’s statement is false. He has repeatedly throughout his political career predicted economic calamity, usually in the context of attacks against his Democratic rivals like former President Joe Biden and Sec. Hillary Clinton.

Reuters beclowns itself, to Hamas’s benefit– thehill.com
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One problem with biased journalism is that it produces weak reporting. Another is that it can lead to the dissemination of outright falsehoods, even honest-to-God terrorist propaganda.

On Mar. 6, the global newswire Reuters fully retracted a report that had referred repeatedly to a victim of a Palestinian terrorist attack as a member of the Mossad, Israel’s top intelligence agency. The problem is there’s no evidence that the victim, Amatzia Ben-Haim, was ever in the Mossad, let alone an active agent at the time of his death.

Reuters, it turns out, relied entirely on the killer’s family for this supposed biographical detail, apparently making no effort to corroborate their version of events. When asked to explain how the original story was allowed to go to print despite serious and obvious flaws, the newswire replied to my inquiries with the same stock statement it had issued previously, that the story “is withdrawn” and that they “regret the error.”

It is unclear why Reuters chose to rely solely on the claims of the killer’s family that Ben-Haim was a Mossad agent, apparently without corroboration. It has made no effort to show its homework.

House Democrats add Latino-heavy districts to most vulnerable list for 2026– www.politico.com
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House Democrats are making it official: Latino voters have shifted their battleground map.

Their campaign arm is unveiling its list of top battleground incumbents to defend in 2026, giving the first insight into how the party views the midterm elections — with notable new additions to reflect a shift toward President Donald Trump in some majority-Latino congressional districts

The 26-member “frontline” list provided first to POLITICO otherwise largely matches the list of districts where Democrats played defense last cycle. As Democrats continue their post-election autopsy, the list reveals where the party thinks it is most vulnerable and will have to dedicate resources to protect incumbents.

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Washington Post Faces Mass Cancellations After Jeff Bezos’ Editorial Changes – MSN
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Newspapers rely on digital subscriptions to survive. Losing subscribers is a big deal, especially for a major publication.

The Washington Post is now facing a wave of cancellations. More than 75,000 digital subscribers have reportedly canceled their memberships, according to Digi24.

This follows changes made by the newspaper’s owner, Jeff Bezos.

NPR reported that the cancellations were linked to new restrictions on opinion coverage. The number came from an anonymous source who feared backlash from the company.

The Washington Post declined to comment on the figures. It also did not respond to criticism about the changes.

Bezos announced a new editorial approach on Wednesday. He said the newspaper would focus on supporting personal freedoms and free markets.