07/23 -- Yemen's Houthis claim attacks on Red Sea tankers as US, Iranian forces trade 12th night of strikes; Return of the guilds
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Thomas L. Knapp
Jul 23, 2026, 6:07:20 AM (4 days ago) Jul 23
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 07/23/26
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Yemen’s Houthis claim attacks on Red Sea tankers as US, Iranian forces trade 12th night of strikes
2) US House passes $1.15 trillion military spending boondoggle that merges US, Israeli forces
3) Kalshi launches election hub for prediction markets ahead of midterms
4) Ukraine: Maersk suspends service via Chornomorsk Fishing Port amid Russian attacks
5) NYC: Landlords sue to reverse batsh*t insane rent freeze on 1 million apartments
6) Judge bars deportation of witness in ICE gang’s murder of Mexican homebuilder
7) Judge rules Trump must hand over financial info in frivolous suit vs. BBC
8) Bulgaria: Parliament approves US regime’s use of air base to support war on Iran
9) US House passes bill to fund regime through midterm elections
10) Austria: Regime turns Hitler’s first home into police station
11) OpenAI says its AI went rogue and launched “unprecedented” cyber-attack
12) Latvia: Army attacks migrants with chemical weapons
13) GA: City’s youngest-ever mayor stripped of duties, access over alleged spending habits
14) Trump approves US-Saudi nuclear deal
15) France: Modelling scout linked to Epstein found dead in Paris suburbs
16) Court upholds Trump aide’s criminal contempt conviction
17) IRS in the hot seat over potential cash grab from Spain’s World Cup winnings: “It’s a rip-off'”
18) Trump announces coming 100% tax hike on American patients to protect Big Pharma profits
19) “Very Large Customer” tariff may cost Oracle $7 billion in collateral for huge Wisconsin data center
20) India: Opposition leader Gandhi freed after detention at student-led protest
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Return of the guilds
22) The new war on political satire
23) The State’s Moral Boundaries
24) Hosting a prayer at your house? You might need a permit.
25) Trump's Threats To Yank Broadcast Licenses Are Part of a Speech-Chilling Intimidation Campaign
26) America must free its airwaves before China pulls ahead
27) Quandaries That Should Not Exist
28) Money Is Not Debt
29) LA Must Stop Bidding for Mega Sports Events
30) The Top Gun: Maverick Theory of Pete Hegseth
31) Washington Can’t Afford to Let the US Lose the Open-Source AI War
32) Does MLB’s Pride Night policy violate the First Amendment?
33) Not Even Israelis Are Willing To Die For Israel
34) Hail the Hollow AI Caesar
35) Why People Hoard
36) The Great Menopause Grift
37) Let’s Put Democratic Socialism to the Test
38) $100 Billion Stolen
39) Half of Students Now Get As, But Actual Achievement Is Declining
40) China hawks are losing the public opinion battle
41) Why Trump’s Allies in Israel & AIPAC’s on the Hill are in Trouble
42) Everyone Is a Foreign Agent Now
43) Trump Didn’t Invent the Tribunate Presidency
44) How the War Splits Iranians
45) Let California moms keep our coupons — and keep government out of it
46) Nicaragua’s Regime Drops the Pretense of Democracy
47) Don’t Water Down the Bachelor’s Degree
48) They See Dead People
49) When the Anti-Sharia Law Demagogues Fall Silent
50) How Not to Do Industrial Policy
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Gracearchy with Jim Babka, episode 163
52) Rising, 07/22/26
53) Reason Interview: Zion Lights
54) Reasonably Optimistic, 07/22/26
55) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 07/22/26
56) The Fifth Column, episode 567
57) Fountainhead Forum, episode 470
58) LPA Solidarity Stream 20
59) Nonzero, 07/21/26
60) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 07/21/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Yemen’s Houthis claim attacks on Red Sea tankers as US, Iranian forces trade 12th night of strikes
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia said it attacked two Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea, with a Saudi news agency later confirming one of the vessels was ablaze on Thursday. The strikes came after the Houthis declared a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia – a move that current and former US officials said could significantly widen the US-Iran war and strain the American military. The US launched its 12th successive night of strikes against Iran, saying military targets were hit to degrade Tehran’s ability to attack commercial vessels. … Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it attacked US forces in Kuwait’s Al-Adiri camp and Ali Al Salem airbase, while the army said its attacks there included on the Arifjan and Doha camps.” (07/23/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/jul/23/us-iran-war-live-updates-strikes-houthis-red-sea-saudi-nuclear-deal-middle-east-crisis-latest-news
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2) US House passes $1.15 trillion military spending boondoggle that merges US, Israeli forces
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Republicans in the United States House of Representatives have narrowly passed a massive $1.15bn military spending package, despite concerns from Democratic lawmakers over the price tag and enhanced military technology collaboration with Israel. The bill passed in the House on Wednesday by a margin of 216 to 212, largely adhering to party lines, with the exception of six Democrats who voted in favour and seven Republicans who opposed it. … The bill now faces an uncertain future in the Senate, where Democrats are likely to object to the high cost at a time when the White House is moving to slash access to social programmes. Senate Democrats blocked debate on the NDAA in a vote last week, with Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer calling it a ‘permission slip’ for the government’s war on Iran.” (07/23/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/23/us-house-passes-1-15-trillion-military-bill-expanding-israel-cooperation
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3) Kalshi launches election hub for prediction markets ahead of midterms
Source: CNBC
“Prediction market platform Kalshi on Wednesday launched a new hub that allows political junkies to see how traders in many event contracts think the midterm elections will play out. Kalshi’s ‘Midterms Hub’ lets observers see what outcomes speculators expect in individual U.S. Senate and House of Representatives races, based on the latest odds for each market and across a map of the entire country. The hub also features polling averages, so viewers can see how the prediction market odds compare with what statistical surveys of voters are showing; the latest Federal Election Commission fundraising reports for individual candidates; and curated news and analysis from various outlets, a Kalshi press release said. The platform is aimed at those looking to Kalshi’s data for insights but not necessarily trade.” (07/22/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/22/kalshi-launches-election-hub-for-prediction-markets-ahead-of-midterms.html
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4) Ukraine: Maersk suspends service via Chornomorsk Fishing Port amid Russian attacks
Source: Reuters
“Shipping group Maersk said on Tuesday it had halted its service via Ukraine’s Chornomorsk Fishing Port, an announcement made after Russia intensified its attacks on Kyiv’s maritime export routes. Maersk is the second large company to stop operations out of Chornomorsk this month after Ukraine’s top grain exporter Kernel Holding halted operations at the city’s main port last week due to a series of Russian attacks. … Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukraine’s maritime export routes during the war, but the strikes on cargo vessels and deepwater ports that handle much of the country’s grain have intensified in recent weeks. Moscow says its attacks are aimed at infrastructure storing military cargo and fuel.” (07/22/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/maersk-suspends-service-via-chornomorsk-fishing-port-amid-russian-attacks-2026-07-22/
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5) NYC: Landlords sue to reverse batsh*t insane rent freeze on 1 million apartments
Source: Politico
“New York City landlords are suing to block the recently-approved rent freeze championed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The complaint, filed in Staten Island Supreme Court, alleges Mamdani placed undue influence on the nine-member Rent Guidelines Board — which then cherry picked data to understate landlord costs and overstate incomes. The mayor-appointed panel voted 7-1 in favor of a rent freeze on one- and two-year leases. The decision will take effect on leases signed on or after Oct. 1.” (07/22/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/22/landlords-sue-to-reverse-rent-freeze-on-1-million-apartments-01007701
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6) Judge bars deportation of witness in ICE gang’s murder of Mexican homebuilder
Source: NBC News
“A federal judge has barred the deportation of a witness in the [murder] of a Mexican homebuilder by federal immigration officers during a traffic stop in Houston. Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego was one of three passengers in a van driven by Lorenzo Araujo Salgado when Araujo Salgado was [murdered] by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on July 7 while they were driving to work at a construction site. … Rojas Pliego must remain in the Southern District of Texas while his habeas petition is pending, U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison wrote in an order on Monday. Rojas Pliego says he is being held unconstitutionally in ICE custody, court records show.” (07/22/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/judge-bars-deportation-witness-fatal-ice-shooting-mexican-homebuilder-rcna588690
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7) Judge rules Trump must hand over financial info in frivolous suit vs. BBC
Source: New York Post
“President Trump must make detailed information about his finances available to attorneys for the BBC in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the venerable UK broadcaster, a Miami judge ruled Tuesday. The president had accused the Beeb of defaming him by deceptively editing his speech at the Ellipse on Jan. 6, 2021, ahead of the Capitol riot …. The initial complaint, filed in December, argued that ‘the injury to President Trump’s business and personal reputation … continue into the present, thereby causing massive economic damage to his brand value and … direct harm to his professional and occupational interests, including, without limitation, the value of his brand, properties, and businesses’. On Tuesday, US Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett ruled that Trump had to back those claims up …” (07/22/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/07/22/us-news/trump-must-hand-over-financial-information-in-10b-defamation-suit-against-bbc-judge-rules/
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8) Bulgaria: Parliament approves US regime’s use of air base to support war on Iran
Source: Seattle Times
“Bulgaria’s Parliament on Wednesday backed a government proposal to allow the U.S. military to use an air base in the Balkan country to support U.S. operations in the Middle East, while some expressed concern about becoming involved in the Iran war. The Trump administration has faced pushback from certain other countries in the European Union over the use of air bases in support of its war with Iran. Legislators in Bulgaria voted 136-13, with two abstentions, to allow up to eight U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft along with 250 personnel and supporting equipment at Bezmer Air Base from Friday to Oct. 1. No further approvals are needed.” (07/22/26)
https://archive.is/nuG1A
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9) US House passes bill to fund regime through midterm elections
Source: United Press International
“House Republicans pushed through a spending bill that would fund the government through early December in an effort to avoid a shutdown just before the midterm elections. The bill, which passed on Tuesday, is similar to what they would pass just before the Sept. 30 deadline. It passed 220-205 almost along party lines, though six Democrats in battleground districts voted for it, and one Republican [Thomas Massie, R-KY)] voted against it. … It’s not clear if it has much of a chance to pass the Senate. Republican leader Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters Tuesday that he would try to get a spending bill to a vote before the five-week recess in August. But it may have to wait until lawmakers return in September.” (07/22/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/07/22/house-spending-bill-stopgap/3371784726348/
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10) Austria: Regime turns Hitler’s first home into police station
Source: CBC News [Canada]
“The building Adolf Hitler was born in near the Austrian border with Germany officially begins a new life as a police station on Wednesday, a conversion Austria’s government hopes will prevent it serving as a place of pilgrimage for neo-Nazis. After years of debate about the large, traditional terraced house in the town of Braunau am Inn, which was in private ownership and had housed a charity for handicapped people, Austria made a compulsory purchase in 2017. The government announced in 2019 it would be remodelled and turned into a police station, with work beginning in 2023. … There has been some opposition, including from the Mauthausen Committee, Austria’s main Holocaust survivors’ group, which has argued both that a police station is inappropriate and that more should be done to draw attention to Hitler’s crimes.” (07/22/26)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/austria-hitler-home-police-station-9.7279062
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11) OpenAI says its AI went rogue and launched “unprecedented” cyber-attack
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“OpenAI has revealed some of its most advanced AI models went rogue and hacked a start-up after it lost control of them during a security test. The ChatGPT-maker said its agent – an AI system which can operate alone after some human instruction – was being tested in a controlled environment, but found vulnerabilities and managed to escape. They targeted Hugging Face, one of the world’s largest hubs for sharing AI models, gaining access to some internal company systems. OpenAI said the incident was ‘unprecedented’, and it was conducting an investigation alongside Hugging Face, whose boss Clement Delangue said in a post on X it was ‘mind-blowing that all of this happened autonomously’.” (07/22/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3ek3gvdnj3o
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12) Latvia: Army attacks migrants with chemical weapons
Source: US News & World Report
“Latvian soldiers used tear gas and fired a warning shot to stop migrants trying to enter from Belarus, the army said on Wednesday, as the prime minister said Latvians were worried about a rising number of migrants trying to cross the border. Latvia, along with Poland and Lithuania, has accused Belarus and its ally Russia of orchestrating migrant flows from the Middle East and Africa in an attempt to destabilise countries on NATO’s eastern flank, an allegation both Minsk and Moscow deny.” (07/22/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-07-22/latvian-army-uses-tear-gas-warning-shot-against-migrants-from-belarus
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13) GA: City’s youngest-ever mayor stripped of duties, access over alleged spending habits
Source: New York Post
“A Georgia city’s youngest-ever mayor was temporarily stripped of his duties and privileges amid an investigation over his alleged spending – less than a year after being elected on a campaign premised around accountability and transparency. Jayden Williams, the 22-year-old mayor of Stockbridge, Ga., was ordered to hand over his city-issued credit cards by Monday at noon due to his spending, but failed to meet the deadline, Atlanta News First reported. Stockbridge city council officials launched a probe into Williams after ‘information’ was presented to finance officials and the city attorney, without divulging further. … ‘Mayor Williams welcomes a full and independent investigation and looks forward to the opportunity to address any allegations through the proper process,’ a statement shared on his Facebook page says.” (07/22/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/07/22/us-news/jayden-williams-the-youngest-ever-mayor-of-stockbridge-georgia-probed-over-alleged-spending-habits-reports/
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14) Trump approves US-Saudi nuclear deal
Source: NBC News
“President Donald Trump has approved a landmark civilian nuclear deal between the United States and Saudi Arabia that is expected to be announced Wednesday, a senior administration official told NBC News. The agreement will see the U.S. support the creation of a nuclear power program and see American companies build the program inside the kingdom, said the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly. … Congress will be required to vote on the agreement, but would need a veto-proof majority to actually block it. The deal could pave the way for the kingdom to pursue its own uranium enrichment, likely raising fears of nuclear proliferation.” (07/22/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/world/saudi-arabia/trump-us-saudi-nuclear-deal-uranium-enrichment-iran-war-israel-rcna588660
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15) France: Modelling scout linked to Epstein found dead in Paris suburbs
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“A modelling scout linked to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has been found dead at his home. Daniel Siad, 69, was discovered on Monday in Colombes, a north-west suburb of Paris, the Nanterre prosecutor’s office confirmed to the BBC. ‘An investigation to determine the cause of death was opened on Monday evening following the discovery,’ the office said, adding that an autopsy will be carried out. Siad’s name appeared thousands of times in the Epstein files released by the US government. He had previously denied any knowledge of the threat that Epstein posed.” (07/22/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp8en38vpd3o
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16) Court upholds Trump aide’s criminal contempt conviction
Source: United Press International
“A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld the criminal conviction of Peter Navarro, a longtime adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, for refusing to testify about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Navarro was convicted of contempt by a jury in 2023 after he rejected a subpoena from the congressional committee investigating the insurrection. … Navarro has claimed that Trump asserted executive privilege to keep him from testifying. However, judges have repeatedly said he has failed to produce evidence of this, and Trump has not backed up his claim.” (07/21/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/07/21/court-upholds-navarro-conviction/5361784668064/
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17) IRS in the hot seat over potential cash grab from Spain’s World Cup winnings: “It’s a rip-off'”
Source: Fox News
As reigning 2026 FIFA World Cup champions, Spain won $50 million in prize money, but a large portion of that could be subject to federal taxes in the United States — potentially up to 30%. ‘I think it’s a rip-off,’ Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told Fox News Digital. ‘I’m not a fan of it, but Americans have to do it. American professional athletes do it, so they knew that when they came over here.’ Income earned from activities performed in America is generally, in almost all instances, taxable by the IRS. Under tax law in the U.S., certain payments to nonresident foreign athletes are generally subject to a 30% federal withholding unless reduced by a tax treaty or a different exception.” (07/21/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/irs-hot-seat-over-potential-cash-grab-spains-world-cup-winnings-ripoff
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18) Trump announces coming 100% tax hike on American patients to protect Big Pharma profits
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that all generic drugs brought into the US will continue to have a tariff of 0% for two years starting from August 1, after which the tariff rate will be raised to 100% for one year and to 200% thereafter. ‘This is done in order to RESHORE Generic Pharmaceutical Production into America, with a penalty to those Companies that decide not to build Plant and Equipment within the stated period of time given to them,’ Trump said in a post on Truth Social. … More than 90% of medicines sold in the US are generics, according to the US Food and Drug Administration. The policy on patented, branded or innovative drugs will remain unchanged, Trump said.” (07/22/26)
https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20260722-trump-announces-100-tariffs-on-imported-generic-pharmaceutical-drugs
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19) “Very Large Customer” tariff may cost Oracle $7 billion in collateral for huge Wisconsin data center
Source: SFGate
“Bay Area tech giant Oracle may have to pay billions to a Wisconsin utilities company over a massive data center campus being built in partnership with OpenAI. In April, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin finalized revised energy tariffs set by its largest utility provider, We Energies. The rules, meant to protect utility customers from rising costs amid a nationwide boom in controversial data center construction, require large energy consumers to post collateral if their credit rating is too low. The new tariffs are now hitting Oracle following S&P Global’s downgrade of the company’s credit rating on July 9 over its artificial intelligence ventures, describing them as ‘increasing its overall credit risk.'” (07/21/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/oracle-seven-billion-dollar-payment-22354473.php
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20) India: Opposition leader Gandhi freed after detention at student-led protest
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has been released after he was detained during growing protests over the education system. This comes as opposition parties staged a protest at parliament on Wednesday demanding the resignation of India’s education minister, echoing the demands of student demonstrators. The protests, which have been led predominantly by students and a social media-driven movement, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), have emerged as one of the biggest challenges to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. Protesters have called for the resignation of Modi and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan after a leak of medical school test papers forced more than two million medical students to retake their exams and was linked to at least 12 student suicides. Gandhi and other opposition leaders were detained on Tuesday during a sit-in outside Modi’s residence in New Delhi while accusing the government of ignoring student demands.” (07/22/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/22/india-opposition-leader-gandhi-freed-after-detention-at-student-led-protest
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Return of the guilds
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen Pirie
“There has been a quiet expansion of ‘must be certified’ rules across trades and services marking a backward step toward ‘guild’ rules, and therefore marking a setback for the free exchange of goods and services. The pattern is real, and it rhymes with guild practice. Modern licensing schemes rarely announce themselves as guilds, but they perform the same function. They restrict entry, they raise the cost of setting up in a trade, and they hand incumbents a legal shield against new competition. The language has changed from ‘guild’ to ‘professional standards’ or ‘consumer protection,’ but the effect is often the same gate.” (07/22/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/return-of-the-guilds
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22) The new war on political satire
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Athena Rem
“Televangelist Jerry Falwell once confessed in an interview to drunken sex with his unconscious mother in an outhouse. Except it wasn’t a real interview. It was a fake Campari ad in a 1983 issue of adult magazine Hustler. Falwell sued the magazine and its publisher Larry Flynt for emotional distress, libel, and invasion of privacy. … Flynt won the case, Hustler Magazine v. Falwell (1988), because parody is not a statement of fact made with ‘actual malice’ and because print media, shows, or any other publications can generally criticize public figures under the First Amendment. Yet such critical speech is under fire today more than ever before.” (07/22/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/new-war-political-satire
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23) The State’s Moral Boundaries
Source: Law & Liberty
by Max Skjönsberg
“[Wilhelm von] Humboldt’s precise criticism of paternalist government was threefold. First, when the state treats citizens like children, it denies them their essential humanity, which he regarded as consisting in the freedom to choose and develop in their own manner. Second, by restricting behavior, the state inhibits various experiences and diversity from flourishing, which he, like Mill, viewed as critical for the development of civilization. Third, paternalism would inevitably weaken human beings’ initiative and independence, which would not only harm individuals but also the progress of society.” (07/22/26)
https://lawliberty.org/classic/the-states-moral-boundaries/
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24) Hosting a prayer at your house? You might need a permit.
Source: Washington Post
by Michael A Helfand
"The Supreme Court agreed last month to hear a case that asks a remarkable question: Can the government require a homeowner to obtain a permit before inviting friends to his house for prayer? <em>Grand v. City of University Heights</em> centers on an Orthodox Jewish minyan — a prayer quorum consisting of at least 10 adult men — but the legal principles at stake extend well beyond one faith. The case will arrive at the court after years of neighborhood intrigue and municipal politics, where attempts to convene a minyan in a private home devolved into allegations of anti-Jewish animus, police surveillance, zoning hearings and cease and desist orders." (07/22/26)
https://archive.is/ICPm4
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25) Trump's Threats To Yank Broadcast Licenses Are Part of a Speech-Chilling Intimidation Campaign
Source: Reason
by Jacob Sullum
"Imagine how Republicans would react if a Democratic president reflexively threatened to yank the broadcast licenses of TV stations because he did not like their news coverage or programming decisions. President Donald Trump has been doing that since his first term, and he did it again last week after ABC and NBC declined to offer live coverage of his speech about election security. These threats are part of an intimidation campaign that has already yielded striking concessions to Trump's whims. His weaponization of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is designed to chill constitutionally protected speech, establishing a precedent that Republicans may regret when their opponents take control of the White House. Brendan Carr, the Trump-appointed FCC chairman, seems to think broadcasters have a legal obligation to please the president." (07/22/26)
https://reason.com/2026/07/22/trumps-threats-to-yank-broadcast-licenses-are-part-of-a-speech-chilling-intimidation-campaign/
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26) America must free its airwaves before China pulls ahead
Source: Fox News
by Steve Forbes & Stephen Moore
“Washington rarely discovers an economic policy that promotes investment, strengthens national security, improves services for consumers and raises billions of dollars for the Treasury without imposing a new tax. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr’s newly announced ‘super band’ spectrum auction manages to do all four. Spectrum may be invisible, but it is among the most valuable resources in the modern economy. It carries phone calls, financial transactions, emergency communications, industrial data, streaming video and the growing volume of information moving between connected devices. … Auctions offer the quintessentially American solution: Free up and use markets.” [editor’s note: Not really, since these auctions are based on the fiction that the US regime owns the frequencies being auctioned – TLK] (07/26/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/steve-forbes-stephen-moore-america-must-free-airwaves-before-china-pulls-ahead
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27) Quandaries That Should Not Exist
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Laurence M Vance
“No American is entitled to health care or health insurance that he does not pay for. No American should be forced to pay for or subsidize the health care or health insurance of any other American. Health care and health insurance are services that can and should be provided on the free market just like other services. No American is entitled to eat or drink anything unless he pays for it or some other American voluntarily pays for it or gives it to him. All food aid should be privately given and privately funded. No American is entitled to welfare payments at the expense of any other American. No income should be transferred from one American to another.” (07/22/26)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/quandaries-that-should-not-exist/
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28) Money Is Not Debt
Source: American Institute for Economic Research
by Peter C Earle
“Exploring how a popular phrase conflates monetary creation, accounting conventions, legal liabilities, and the economic nature of money itself.” (07/22/26)
https://aier.org/article/money-is-not-debt/
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29) LA Must Stop Bidding for Mega Sports Events
Source: Common Dreams
by Cerianne Robertson
“LA’s World Cup experience reinforces concerns about the city’s ongoing efforts to bring one sports mega event after another to the region. Hosting major events always gobbles up public resources that could otherwise be directed toward pressing needs, while host cities under pressure to sparkle on camera often violate residents’ rights. The people paid to organize these big events, like [Paul] Krekorian, love to repeat myths about mega-event benefits while pooh-poohing questions about the costs.” (07/22/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/la-stop-bidding-for-sports
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30) The Top Gun: Maverick Theory of Pete Hegseth
Source: The Atlantic
by Missy Ryan
"Maverick is a seasoned military man who resolutely refuses to grow up. He remains stuck in the same rank he has occupied for years, attached to the same mentality, concerns, and priorities. Although three decades have passed, he hasn’t progressed, instead spending his time on rebellious flying, seaside sports, and drinking in dive bars. His is an arrested development. The most unrealistic aspect of this portrayal is that, in 2026, that profile would make Mav not a superannuated flight instructor, but secretary of defense." (07/22/26)
https://archive.is/HKQoq
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31) Washington Can’t Afford to Let the US Lose the Open-Source AI War
Source: American Greatness
by Julio Rivera
“The greatest danger isn’t that China builds a better AI model. It’s that China builds the AI platform the rest of the world decides to use. Those are two very different contests.” (07/22/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/07/22/washington-cant-afford-to-let-the-us-lose-the-open-source-ai-war/
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32) Does MLB’s Pride Night policy violate the First Amendment?
Source: Expression
by Athena Rem
“Currently, 29 out of 30 Major League Baseball teams host an annual ‘Pride Night’ celebration in June, featuring rainbow versions of the typical logo on caps and jerseys. … players always have the option to revert back to the standard uniform instead, but they may not alter their uniforms themselves in any aspect. Despite this ban, three San Francisco Giants players used Pride Night 2026 as an opportunity to protest. … In response, MLB formally warned the implicated players that they may not ‘write, attach, affix, embroider or otherwise display nicknames or messages on apparel or playing equipment.’ … At first blush, MLB’s move might appear to be at odds with the freedoms of speech and free exercise guaranteed by the First Amendment. But the First Amendment bars the government from restricting our rights to speak and worship freely … Private employers have expansive discretion to limit an employee’s on-the-clock expression, like the players’ alteration of their caps.” (07/22/26)
https://expression.fire.org/p/does-mlbs-pride-night-policy-violate
-----
33) Not Even Israelis Are Willing To Die For Israel
Source: Caitlin Johnstone
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Israelis are happy for Americans to die for Israel, but they are unwilling to put their own lives on the line for the Zionist project.” (07/22/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/07/22/not-even-israelis-are-willing-to-die-for-israel/
-----
34) Hail the Hollow AI Caesar
Source: Mindset Shifts
by Barry Brownstein
“No matter how much AI flatters you, it doesn’t care about you. It doesn’t appreciate you or understand you. It never will.” (07/22/26)
https://mindsetshifts.substack.com/p/hail-the-hollow-ai-caesar
-----
35) Why People Hoard
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Ehsan Mousavi
“We have all heard many times that hoarding is usually attributed to greed and is highly condemned. For example, in his book The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck attributes hoarding to greed and immoral profiteering, presenting it as a societal failure. In Canto VII of Dante’s Divine Comedy, he groups the hoarders together with the wasters, and states that they are forced to push heavy weights using their chests as their punishment. But is the pursuit of profit during a crisis merely an expression of greed, or does it serve a broader social purpose? Hayek would argue that it serves a crucial one.” (07/22/26)
https://fee.org/articles/why-people-hoard/
-----
36) The Great Menopause Grift
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Alan Cassels
“Well, well, look here. In its June 2026 update the venerated OED or Oxford English Dictionary, finally added the ‘new’ word, fearmonging. It explains fearmongering as ‘the action or an act of spreading fear or alarm among the public, esp. by exaggerating the dangers associated with a political, social, or economic issue; alarmism.’ Thank goodness, the dictionary has caught up to our society’s most pernicious habit; that is, using fear to sell anything. Especially when it comes to our health.” (07/22/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/the-great-menopause-grift/
-----
37) Let’s Put Democratic Socialism to the Test
Source: Townhall
by Peter Demos
“Every major economic idea deserves more than campaign speeches and cable news debates. It deserves to be tested. Before anyone rushes to point to Scandinavia, Venezuela, Cuba, or any other country to argue whether socialism has succeeded or failed, I’d like to propose a different kind of test. To the Democratic Socialists of America and those who believe this economic model is the future, I have a sincere proposal: Take your principle seriously enough to apply it consistently.” (07/22/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/peterdemos/2026/07/22/lets-put-democratic-socialism-to-the-test-n2679901
-----
38) $100 Billion Stolen
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
"Last month, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. detailed six billion dollars worth of [alleged] Medicare fraud, where scamming operations were caught 'chasing money from our agencies.' Some while willfully neglecting patients. On Friday, he estimated that the HHS 'loses $100,000,000,000 a year to theft.'" [editor's note: HHS's budget this year is $5 billion or so less than RFK Jr. estimates HHS loses every year. Some feat - TLK] (07/22/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/07/22/100billion
-----
39) Half of Students Now Get As, But Actual Achievement Is Declining
Source: The Daily Economy
by Hannah Frankman Hood
“Your child’s report card may be sending the wrong signal. Grades and GPAs increasingly reflect institutional incentives rather than academic achievement.” (07/22/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/half-of-students-now-get-as-but-actual-achievement-is-declining/
-----
40) China hawks are losing the public opinion battle
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Frank Yuwen Chen
“Despite a Beltway push for confrontation, polls show that average Americans want a normal relationship with Beijing.” (07/22/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/us-public-opinion-on-china/
-----
41) Why Trump’s Allies in Israel & AIPAC’s on the Hill are in Trouble
Source: Informed Comment
by H Scott Prosterman
“Two years ago, just 37 House Democrats voted to cut off U.S. aid for Israel. Now more than half of the Democratic representatives have come around to recognizing: 1.) That unconditional US support for Israel is no longer tenable, and 2.) Netanyahu’s Likud government has become a global pariah state, and 3.) Continued support of Israel brings the US global alienation; and BTW, probably cost Kamala Harris the 2024 presidential election. Though the Democratic leadership remains captive to the AIPAC payroll, the US-Israeli relationship has never been more tenuous. This occurs in tandem with the rise of similar grassroots movements within Israel.” (07/22/26)
https://www.juancole.com/2026/07/trumps-allies-trouble.html
-----
42) Everyone Is a Foreign Agent Now
Source: Antiwar.com
by Thomas S Karat
“A German blogger reposted four videos. Europe’s highest court has just ruled that makes him a criminal – and the same machinery is being built on both sides of the Atlantic.” (07/22/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/thomas_karat/2026/07/21/everyone-is-a-foreign-agent-now
-----
43) Trump Didn’t Invent the Tribunate Presidency
Source: Liberal Currents
by Guillaume AW Attia
“John Adams'[s] rocky presidency illuminates the long-running conflicts over how Americans conceive of the executive power.” (07/22/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/trump-didnt-invent-the-tribunate-presidency/
-----
44) How the War Splits Iranians
Source: Persuasion
by Mitra Vand
“It is not surprising that June’s Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding between Iran and the United States has proven to be shaky to the touch. Nothing about this conflict has ever been resolved, only paused. Not because either side is incapable of diplomacy, but because neither side has ever fully believed the other side to be trustworthy. But for people inside Iran, the news meant what it has always meant: life was about to get harder. Both countries hold competing narratives about why, but the result is the same: the war has returned to Iran’s southern provinces.” (07/21/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/there-is-a-new-iran
-----
45) Let California moms keep our coupons — and keep government out of it
Source: New York Post
by Shirin Yadegar
“As a California mom, I don’t wake up wondering whether an algorithm determined which coupon landed in my inbox. I wake up wondering why a quick trip to the grocery store now costs hundreds of dollars. I wonder whether my children will ever be able to afford a home in the state where they were raised. I wonder how many more families are quietly putting groceries on a credit card just to get through the month. Like millions of parents across California, I’m asking a simple question: When will Sacramento start making life more affordable instead of more complicated?” (07/21/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/07/21/opinion/let-california-moms-keep-our-grocery-coupons/
-----
46) Nicaragua’s Regime Drops the Pretense of Democracy
Source: Reason
by Katarina Hall
“Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega announced on Sunday that the country will no longer hold elections, preventing the opposition from competing for power and further cementing his authoritarian grip on the country. … Ortega, now 80 years old, is a former guerrilla fighter who first came to power after the Sandinista Revolution and served as president from 1985 to 1990. After suffering a defeat in 1990, he returned to power in 2007 and has remained there ever since. His regime, which he now formally leads alongside his wife and ‘co-president,’ Rosario Murillo, had long since extinguished what remained of democracy in the country. Over the years, it has cracked down on political dissent, free speech, independent media, and civil society. Ortega’s most recent announcement is just an escalation of that trend.” (07/21/26)
https://reason.com/2026/07/21/nicaraguas-regime-drops-the-pretense-of-democracy/
-----
47) Don’t Water Down the Bachelor’s Degree
Source: Independent Institute
by Richard K Vedder
“Should it take four years to earn a bachelor’s degree? No. If you can earn a bachelor’s degree at Oxford or Cambridge Universities in three years, why not at Harvard, Florida State, or the University of Oklahoma? Is the three-year degree being promoted by some in Virginia and Ohio, therefore, a good thing? No, because it appears to aim to achieve this goal by reducing the academic work required by about 25 percent, to about halfway between what an associate degree and a traditional bachelor’s degree require.” (07/21/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/07/21/dont-water-down-the-bachelors-degree/
-----
48) They See Dead People
Source: Quillette
by Jonathan Kay
“I’ve often used the term ‘social panic’ to describe the unmarked-graves claims that swept through Canada in 2021. For reasons described below, the term feels inadequate. But I can’t think of any word or phrase that better captures the spasm of manic self-denigration that unfolded following the purported discovery of 215 dead children (some ‘believed to be as young as three years old,’ gullible reporters told us) on the grounds of a former Indigenous residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia. … It would take months, or even years in many cases, before mainstream media outlets began admitting—tacitly or otherwise—that they’d been duped by Casimir’s fake news (as the Globe & Mail newspaper finally did last month). Despite the passage of five years since the original announcement, many public figures, including former prime minister Justin Trudeau, have never come clean on the issue.” (07/21/26)
https://quillette.com/2026/07/21/they-see-dead-people/
-----
49) When the Anti-Sharia Law Demagogues Fall Silent
Source: The American Prospect
by Harold Meyerson
“The stench arising from the proposed purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount isn’t just the concentration of market power by the merged studios nor the likely takeover of CNN by President Trump’s fanboys. It’s also the fact that the purchase is funded by investments from the sovereign wealth funds of three foreign nations, none of which are in any way, shape, or form democracies: Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar. … the purchase of Warner Bros. by foreign nations has not been investigated by the governmental body that customarily handles such matters: the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) …. But the most glaring absence from these duties isn’t CFIUS’s. It’s that of the far-right Republican elected officials who’ve sought to generate and mobilize anti-Muslim bigotry by campaigning against the completely nonexistent threat of Sharia law infiltrating and overtaking American jurisprudence.” (07/21/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/07/21/anti-sharia-law-republicans-paramount-warner-bros-chip-roy-keith-self-tommy-tuberville/
-----
50) How Not to Do Industrial Policy
Source: The American Conservative
by Charles Benoit
“Earlier this month, Bloomberg published a brutal autopsy of industrial policy gone wrong. The article documented how, beginning in 2020, the U.S. government provided $850 million to six American companies to bolster domestic manufacturing of nitrile gloves, a critical component of the medical supply chain. Six years later, not one of those companies is making gloves. … The company that received the most funding, Blue Star NBR out of Wytheville, Virginia, was supposed to use that money to build the first American plant in a generation capable of making nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR)—the raw material every nitrile glove is made of. It never produced a single batch. Its CEO said he is a month from selling the plant for parts, most of which will go to manufacturers based in China. To put it bluntly: American taxpayers built a synthetic rubber plant, and China may now cart it off in crates.” (07/21/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/how-not-to-do-industrial-policy/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Gracearchy with Jim Babka, episode 163
Source: Gracearchy with Jim Babka
“Libertarian Chair Evan McMahon; The Coming 10x Bigger Party.” (07/22/26)
https://rumble.com/v7d0yma-libertarian-chair-evan-mcmahon-and-the-coming-10x-bigger-party-gracearchy-w.html
-----
52) Rising, 07/22/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave gives his radar on leftist commentator Kyle Kulinski suggesting that the war with Iran will make it harder for terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah.” (07/22/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/5978088-rising-july-22-2026/
-----
53) Reason Interview: Zion Lights
Source: Reason
“We’ve Been Wrong About Nuclear Power.” (07/22/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/07/22/weve-been-wrong-about-nuclear-power/
-----
54) Reasonably Optimistic, 07/22/26
Source: Washington Post
“What America got wrong about drug addiction.” (07/22/26)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/impromptu/what-america-got-wrong-about-drug-addiction/
-----
55) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 07/22/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Frustrated Trump Vows To Hit Iranian Infrastructure – Will It Matter?” (07/22/26)
http://www.ronpaullibertyreport.com/archives/frustrated-trump-vows-to-hit-iranian-infrastructure-will-it-matter
-----
56) The Fifth Column, episode 567
Source: The Fifth Column
“I Don’t Make Mistakes Anymore. They’re Just Lies (w/ Chris Cuomo).” (07/22/26)
https://www.wethefifth.com/p/i-dont-make-mistakes-anymore-theyre
-----
57) Fountainhead Forum, episode 470
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Fred Cookinham on the history of New York City and state.” (07/21/26)
https://rumble.com/v7d28oo-ff-470-fred-cookinham-on-the-history-of-new-york-city-and-state.html
-----
58) LPA Solidarity Stream 20
Source: LP Alliance
“Lydia Christensen for US Senate from LP Michigan!” (07/21/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgRYoN_n_e8
-----
59) Nonzero, 07/21/26
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“The Ideology Behind AI | Robert Wright & Connor Leahy.” (07/21/26)
https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/69608
-----
60) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 07/21/26
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Larry Johnson on the Shocking Details of the Death of Senator Lindsey Graham.” (07/21/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/blog/the-kyle-anzalone-show-larry-johnson-on-the-shocking-details-of-the-death-of-senator-lindsey-graham/
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Yemen’s Houthis claim attacks on Red Sea tankers as US, Iranian forces trade 12th night of strikes
2) US House passes $1.15 trillion military spending boondoggle that merges US, Israeli forces
3) Kalshi launches election hub for prediction markets ahead of midterms
4) Ukraine: Maersk suspends service via Chornomorsk Fishing Port amid Russian attacks
5) NYC: Landlords sue to reverse batsh*t insane rent freeze on 1 million apartments
6) Judge bars deportation of witness in ICE gang’s murder of Mexican homebuilder
7) Judge rules Trump must hand over financial info in frivolous suit vs. BBC
8) Bulgaria: Parliament approves US regime’s use of air base to support war on Iran
9) US House passes bill to fund regime through midterm elections
10) Austria: Regime turns Hitler’s first home into police station
11) OpenAI says its AI went rogue and launched “unprecedented” cyber-attack
12) Latvia: Army attacks migrants with chemical weapons
13) GA: City’s youngest-ever mayor stripped of duties, access over alleged spending habits
14) Trump approves US-Saudi nuclear deal
15) France: Modelling scout linked to Epstein found dead in Paris suburbs
16) Court upholds Trump aide’s criminal contempt conviction
17) IRS in the hot seat over potential cash grab from Spain’s World Cup winnings: “It’s a rip-off'”
18) Trump announces coming 100% tax hike on American patients to protect Big Pharma profits
19) “Very Large Customer” tariff may cost Oracle $7 billion in collateral for huge Wisconsin data center
20) India: Opposition leader Gandhi freed after detention at student-led protest
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Return of the guilds
22) The new war on political satire
23) The State’s Moral Boundaries
24) Hosting a prayer at your house? You might need a permit.
25) Trump's Threats To Yank Broadcast Licenses Are Part of a Speech-Chilling Intimidation Campaign
26) America must free its airwaves before China pulls ahead
27) Quandaries That Should Not Exist
28) Money Is Not Debt
29) LA Must Stop Bidding for Mega Sports Events
30) The Top Gun: Maverick Theory of Pete Hegseth
31) Washington Can’t Afford to Let the US Lose the Open-Source AI War
32) Does MLB’s Pride Night policy violate the First Amendment?
33) Not Even Israelis Are Willing To Die For Israel
34) Hail the Hollow AI Caesar
35) Why People Hoard
36) The Great Menopause Grift
37) Let’s Put Democratic Socialism to the Test
38) $100 Billion Stolen
39) Half of Students Now Get As, But Actual Achievement Is Declining
40) China hawks are losing the public opinion battle
41) Why Trump’s Allies in Israel & AIPAC’s on the Hill are in Trouble
42) Everyone Is a Foreign Agent Now
43) Trump Didn’t Invent the Tribunate Presidency
44) How the War Splits Iranians
45) Let California moms keep our coupons — and keep government out of it
46) Nicaragua’s Regime Drops the Pretense of Democracy
47) Don’t Water Down the Bachelor’s Degree
48) They See Dead People
49) When the Anti-Sharia Law Demagogues Fall Silent
50) How Not to Do Industrial Policy
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Gracearchy with Jim Babka, episode 163
52) Rising, 07/22/26
53) Reason Interview: Zion Lights
54) Reasonably Optimistic, 07/22/26
55) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 07/22/26
56) The Fifth Column, episode 567
57) Fountainhead Forum, episode 470
58) LPA Solidarity Stream 20
59) Nonzero, 07/21/26
60) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 07/21/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Yemen’s Houthis claim attacks on Red Sea tankers as US, Iranian forces trade 12th night of strikes
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia said it attacked two Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea, with a Saudi news agency later confirming one of the vessels was ablaze on Thursday. The strikes came after the Houthis declared a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia – a move that current and former US officials said could significantly widen the US-Iran war and strain the American military. The US launched its 12th successive night of strikes against Iran, saying military targets were hit to degrade Tehran’s ability to attack commercial vessels. … Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it attacked US forces in Kuwait’s Al-Adiri camp and Ali Al Salem airbase, while the army said its attacks there included on the Arifjan and Doha camps.” (07/23/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/jul/23/us-iran-war-live-updates-strikes-houthis-red-sea-saudi-nuclear-deal-middle-east-crisis-latest-news
-----
2) US House passes $1.15 trillion military spending boondoggle that merges US, Israeli forces
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Republicans in the United States House of Representatives have narrowly passed a massive $1.15bn military spending package, despite concerns from Democratic lawmakers over the price tag and enhanced military technology collaboration with Israel. The bill passed in the House on Wednesday by a margin of 216 to 212, largely adhering to party lines, with the exception of six Democrats who voted in favour and seven Republicans who opposed it. … The bill now faces an uncertain future in the Senate, where Democrats are likely to object to the high cost at a time when the White House is moving to slash access to social programmes. Senate Democrats blocked debate on the NDAA in a vote last week, with Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer calling it a ‘permission slip’ for the government’s war on Iran.” (07/23/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/23/us-house-passes-1-15-trillion-military-bill-expanding-israel-cooperation
-----
3) Kalshi launches election hub for prediction markets ahead of midterms
Source: CNBC
“Prediction market platform Kalshi on Wednesday launched a new hub that allows political junkies to see how traders in many event contracts think the midterm elections will play out. Kalshi’s ‘Midterms Hub’ lets observers see what outcomes speculators expect in individual U.S. Senate and House of Representatives races, based on the latest odds for each market and across a map of the entire country. The hub also features polling averages, so viewers can see how the prediction market odds compare with what statistical surveys of voters are showing; the latest Federal Election Commission fundraising reports for individual candidates; and curated news and analysis from various outlets, a Kalshi press release said. The platform is aimed at those looking to Kalshi’s data for insights but not necessarily trade.” (07/22/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/22/kalshi-launches-election-hub-for-prediction-markets-ahead-of-midterms.html
-----
4) Ukraine: Maersk suspends service via Chornomorsk Fishing Port amid Russian attacks
Source: Reuters
“Shipping group Maersk said on Tuesday it had halted its service via Ukraine’s Chornomorsk Fishing Port, an announcement made after Russia intensified its attacks on Kyiv’s maritime export routes. Maersk is the second large company to stop operations out of Chornomorsk this month after Ukraine’s top grain exporter Kernel Holding halted operations at the city’s main port last week due to a series of Russian attacks. … Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukraine’s maritime export routes during the war, but the strikes on cargo vessels and deepwater ports that handle much of the country’s grain have intensified in recent weeks. Moscow says its attacks are aimed at infrastructure storing military cargo and fuel.” (07/22/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/maersk-suspends-service-via-chornomorsk-fishing-port-amid-russian-attacks-2026-07-22/
-----
5) NYC: Landlords sue to reverse batsh*t insane rent freeze on 1 million apartments
Source: Politico
“New York City landlords are suing to block the recently-approved rent freeze championed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The complaint, filed in Staten Island Supreme Court, alleges Mamdani placed undue influence on the nine-member Rent Guidelines Board — which then cherry picked data to understate landlord costs and overstate incomes. The mayor-appointed panel voted 7-1 in favor of a rent freeze on one- and two-year leases. The decision will take effect on leases signed on or after Oct. 1.” (07/22/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/22/landlords-sue-to-reverse-rent-freeze-on-1-million-apartments-01007701
-----
6) Judge bars deportation of witness in ICE gang’s murder of Mexican homebuilder
Source: NBC News
“A federal judge has barred the deportation of a witness in the [murder] of a Mexican homebuilder by federal immigration officers during a traffic stop in Houston. Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego was one of three passengers in a van driven by Lorenzo Araujo Salgado when Araujo Salgado was [murdered] by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on July 7 while they were driving to work at a construction site. … Rojas Pliego must remain in the Southern District of Texas while his habeas petition is pending, U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison wrote in an order on Monday. Rojas Pliego says he is being held unconstitutionally in ICE custody, court records show.” (07/22/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/judge-bars-deportation-witness-fatal-ice-shooting-mexican-homebuilder-rcna588690
-----
7) Judge rules Trump must hand over financial info in frivolous suit vs. BBC
Source: New York Post
“President Trump must make detailed information about his finances available to attorneys for the BBC in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the venerable UK broadcaster, a Miami judge ruled Tuesday. The president had accused the Beeb of defaming him by deceptively editing his speech at the Ellipse on Jan. 6, 2021, ahead of the Capitol riot …. The initial complaint, filed in December, argued that ‘the injury to President Trump’s business and personal reputation … continue into the present, thereby causing massive economic damage to his brand value and … direct harm to his professional and occupational interests, including, without limitation, the value of his brand, properties, and businesses’. On Tuesday, US Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett ruled that Trump had to back those claims up …” (07/22/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/07/22/us-news/trump-must-hand-over-financial-information-in-10b-defamation-suit-against-bbc-judge-rules/
-----
8) Bulgaria: Parliament approves US regime’s use of air base to support war on Iran
Source: Seattle Times
“Bulgaria’s Parliament on Wednesday backed a government proposal to allow the U.S. military to use an air base in the Balkan country to support U.S. operations in the Middle East, while some expressed concern about becoming involved in the Iran war. The Trump administration has faced pushback from certain other countries in the European Union over the use of air bases in support of its war with Iran. Legislators in Bulgaria voted 136-13, with two abstentions, to allow up to eight U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft along with 250 personnel and supporting equipment at Bezmer Air Base from Friday to Oct. 1. No further approvals are needed.” (07/22/26)
https://archive.is/nuG1A
-----
9) US House passes bill to fund regime through midterm elections
Source: United Press International
“House Republicans pushed through a spending bill that would fund the government through early December in an effort to avoid a shutdown just before the midterm elections. The bill, which passed on Tuesday, is similar to what they would pass just before the Sept. 30 deadline. It passed 220-205 almost along party lines, though six Democrats in battleground districts voted for it, and one Republican [Thomas Massie, R-KY)] voted against it. … It’s not clear if it has much of a chance to pass the Senate. Republican leader Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters Tuesday that he would try to get a spending bill to a vote before the five-week recess in August. But it may have to wait until lawmakers return in September.” (07/22/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/07/22/house-spending-bill-stopgap/3371784726348/
-----
10) Austria: Regime turns Hitler’s first home into police station
Source: CBC News [Canada]
“The building Adolf Hitler was born in near the Austrian border with Germany officially begins a new life as a police station on Wednesday, a conversion Austria’s government hopes will prevent it serving as a place of pilgrimage for neo-Nazis. After years of debate about the large, traditional terraced house in the town of Braunau am Inn, which was in private ownership and had housed a charity for handicapped people, Austria made a compulsory purchase in 2017. The government announced in 2019 it would be remodelled and turned into a police station, with work beginning in 2023. … There has been some opposition, including from the Mauthausen Committee, Austria’s main Holocaust survivors’ group, which has argued both that a police station is inappropriate and that more should be done to draw attention to Hitler’s crimes.” (07/22/26)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/austria-hitler-home-police-station-9.7279062
-----
11) OpenAI says its AI went rogue and launched “unprecedented” cyber-attack
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“OpenAI has revealed some of its most advanced AI models went rogue and hacked a start-up after it lost control of them during a security test. The ChatGPT-maker said its agent – an AI system which can operate alone after some human instruction – was being tested in a controlled environment, but found vulnerabilities and managed to escape. They targeted Hugging Face, one of the world’s largest hubs for sharing AI models, gaining access to some internal company systems. OpenAI said the incident was ‘unprecedented’, and it was conducting an investigation alongside Hugging Face, whose boss Clement Delangue said in a post on X it was ‘mind-blowing that all of this happened autonomously’.” (07/22/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3ek3gvdnj3o
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12) Latvia: Army attacks migrants with chemical weapons
Source: US News & World Report
“Latvian soldiers used tear gas and fired a warning shot to stop migrants trying to enter from Belarus, the army said on Wednesday, as the prime minister said Latvians were worried about a rising number of migrants trying to cross the border. Latvia, along with Poland and Lithuania, has accused Belarus and its ally Russia of orchestrating migrant flows from the Middle East and Africa in an attempt to destabilise countries on NATO’s eastern flank, an allegation both Minsk and Moscow deny.” (07/22/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-07-22/latvian-army-uses-tear-gas-warning-shot-against-migrants-from-belarus
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13) GA: City’s youngest-ever mayor stripped of duties, access over alleged spending habits
Source: New York Post
“A Georgia city’s youngest-ever mayor was temporarily stripped of his duties and privileges amid an investigation over his alleged spending – less than a year after being elected on a campaign premised around accountability and transparency. Jayden Williams, the 22-year-old mayor of Stockbridge, Ga., was ordered to hand over his city-issued credit cards by Monday at noon due to his spending, but failed to meet the deadline, Atlanta News First reported. Stockbridge city council officials launched a probe into Williams after ‘information’ was presented to finance officials and the city attorney, without divulging further. … ‘Mayor Williams welcomes a full and independent investigation and looks forward to the opportunity to address any allegations through the proper process,’ a statement shared on his Facebook page says.” (07/22/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/07/22/us-news/jayden-williams-the-youngest-ever-mayor-of-stockbridge-georgia-probed-over-alleged-spending-habits-reports/
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14) Trump approves US-Saudi nuclear deal
Source: NBC News
“President Donald Trump has approved a landmark civilian nuclear deal between the United States and Saudi Arabia that is expected to be announced Wednesday, a senior administration official told NBC News. The agreement will see the U.S. support the creation of a nuclear power program and see American companies build the program inside the kingdom, said the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly. … Congress will be required to vote on the agreement, but would need a veto-proof majority to actually block it. The deal could pave the way for the kingdom to pursue its own uranium enrichment, likely raising fears of nuclear proliferation.” (07/22/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/world/saudi-arabia/trump-us-saudi-nuclear-deal-uranium-enrichment-iran-war-israel-rcna588660
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15) France: Modelling scout linked to Epstein found dead in Paris suburbs
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“A modelling scout linked to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has been found dead at his home. Daniel Siad, 69, was discovered on Monday in Colombes, a north-west suburb of Paris, the Nanterre prosecutor’s office confirmed to the BBC. ‘An investigation to determine the cause of death was opened on Monday evening following the discovery,’ the office said, adding that an autopsy will be carried out. Siad’s name appeared thousands of times in the Epstein files released by the US government. He had previously denied any knowledge of the threat that Epstein posed.” (07/22/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp8en38vpd3o
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16) Court upholds Trump aide’s criminal contempt conviction
Source: United Press International
“A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld the criminal conviction of Peter Navarro, a longtime adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, for refusing to testify about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Navarro was convicted of contempt by a jury in 2023 after he rejected a subpoena from the congressional committee investigating the insurrection. … Navarro has claimed that Trump asserted executive privilege to keep him from testifying. However, judges have repeatedly said he has failed to produce evidence of this, and Trump has not backed up his claim.” (07/21/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/07/21/court-upholds-navarro-conviction/5361784668064/
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17) IRS in the hot seat over potential cash grab from Spain’s World Cup winnings: “It’s a rip-off'”
Source: Fox News
As reigning 2026 FIFA World Cup champions, Spain won $50 million in prize money, but a large portion of that could be subject to federal taxes in the United States — potentially up to 30%. ‘I think it’s a rip-off,’ Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told Fox News Digital. ‘I’m not a fan of it, but Americans have to do it. American professional athletes do it, so they knew that when they came over here.’ Income earned from activities performed in America is generally, in almost all instances, taxable by the IRS. Under tax law in the U.S., certain payments to nonresident foreign athletes are generally subject to a 30% federal withholding unless reduced by a tax treaty or a different exception.” (07/21/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/irs-hot-seat-over-potential-cash-grab-spains-world-cup-winnings-ripoff
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18) Trump announces coming 100% tax hike on American patients to protect Big Pharma profits
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that all generic drugs brought into the US will continue to have a tariff of 0% for two years starting from August 1, after which the tariff rate will be raised to 100% for one year and to 200% thereafter. ‘This is done in order to RESHORE Generic Pharmaceutical Production into America, with a penalty to those Companies that decide not to build Plant and Equipment within the stated period of time given to them,’ Trump said in a post on Truth Social. … More than 90% of medicines sold in the US are generics, according to the US Food and Drug Administration. The policy on patented, branded or innovative drugs will remain unchanged, Trump said.” (07/22/26)
https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20260722-trump-announces-100-tariffs-on-imported-generic-pharmaceutical-drugs
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19) “Very Large Customer” tariff may cost Oracle $7 billion in collateral for huge Wisconsin data center
Source: SFGate
“Bay Area tech giant Oracle may have to pay billions to a Wisconsin utilities company over a massive data center campus being built in partnership with OpenAI. In April, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin finalized revised energy tariffs set by its largest utility provider, We Energies. The rules, meant to protect utility customers from rising costs amid a nationwide boom in controversial data center construction, require large energy consumers to post collateral if their credit rating is too low. The new tariffs are now hitting Oracle following S&P Global’s downgrade of the company’s credit rating on July 9 over its artificial intelligence ventures, describing them as ‘increasing its overall credit risk.'” (07/21/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/oracle-seven-billion-dollar-payment-22354473.php
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20) India: Opposition leader Gandhi freed after detention at student-led protest
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has been released after he was detained during growing protests over the education system. This comes as opposition parties staged a protest at parliament on Wednesday demanding the resignation of India’s education minister, echoing the demands of student demonstrators. The protests, which have been led predominantly by students and a social media-driven movement, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), have emerged as one of the biggest challenges to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. Protesters have called for the resignation of Modi and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan after a leak of medical school test papers forced more than two million medical students to retake their exams and was linked to at least 12 student suicides. Gandhi and other opposition leaders were detained on Tuesday during a sit-in outside Modi’s residence in New Delhi while accusing the government of ignoring student demands.” (07/22/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/22/india-opposition-leader-gandhi-freed-after-detention-at-student-led-protest
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Return of the guilds
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen Pirie
“There has been a quiet expansion of ‘must be certified’ rules across trades and services marking a backward step toward ‘guild’ rules, and therefore marking a setback for the free exchange of goods and services. The pattern is real, and it rhymes with guild practice. Modern licensing schemes rarely announce themselves as guilds, but they perform the same function. They restrict entry, they raise the cost of setting up in a trade, and they hand incumbents a legal shield against new competition. The language has changed from ‘guild’ to ‘professional standards’ or ‘consumer protection,’ but the effect is often the same gate.” (07/22/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/return-of-the-guilds
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22) The new war on political satire
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Athena Rem
“Televangelist Jerry Falwell once confessed in an interview to drunken sex with his unconscious mother in an outhouse. Except it wasn’t a real interview. It was a fake Campari ad in a 1983 issue of adult magazine Hustler. Falwell sued the magazine and its publisher Larry Flynt for emotional distress, libel, and invasion of privacy. … Flynt won the case, Hustler Magazine v. Falwell (1988), because parody is not a statement of fact made with ‘actual malice’ and because print media, shows, or any other publications can generally criticize public figures under the First Amendment. Yet such critical speech is under fire today more than ever before.” (07/22/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/new-war-political-satire
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23) The State’s Moral Boundaries
Source: Law & Liberty
by Max Skjönsberg
“[Wilhelm von] Humboldt’s precise criticism of paternalist government was threefold. First, when the state treats citizens like children, it denies them their essential humanity, which he regarded as consisting in the freedom to choose and develop in their own manner. Second, by restricting behavior, the state inhibits various experiences and diversity from flourishing, which he, like Mill, viewed as critical for the development of civilization. Third, paternalism would inevitably weaken human beings’ initiative and independence, which would not only harm individuals but also the progress of society.” (07/22/26)
https://lawliberty.org/classic/the-states-moral-boundaries/
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24) Hosting a prayer at your house? You might need a permit.
Source: Washington Post
by Michael A Helfand
"The Supreme Court agreed last month to hear a case that asks a remarkable question: Can the government require a homeowner to obtain a permit before inviting friends to his house for prayer? <em>Grand v. City of University Heights</em> centers on an Orthodox Jewish minyan — a prayer quorum consisting of at least 10 adult men — but the legal principles at stake extend well beyond one faith. The case will arrive at the court after years of neighborhood intrigue and municipal politics, where attempts to convene a minyan in a private home devolved into allegations of anti-Jewish animus, police surveillance, zoning hearings and cease and desist orders." (07/22/26)
https://archive.is/ICPm4
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25) Trump's Threats To Yank Broadcast Licenses Are Part of a Speech-Chilling Intimidation Campaign
Source: Reason
by Jacob Sullum
"Imagine how Republicans would react if a Democratic president reflexively threatened to yank the broadcast licenses of TV stations because he did not like their news coverage or programming decisions. President Donald Trump has been doing that since his first term, and he did it again last week after ABC and NBC declined to offer live coverage of his speech about election security. These threats are part of an intimidation campaign that has already yielded striking concessions to Trump's whims. His weaponization of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is designed to chill constitutionally protected speech, establishing a precedent that Republicans may regret when their opponents take control of the White House. Brendan Carr, the Trump-appointed FCC chairman, seems to think broadcasters have a legal obligation to please the president." (07/22/26)
https://reason.com/2026/07/22/trumps-threats-to-yank-broadcast-licenses-are-part-of-a-speech-chilling-intimidation-campaign/
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26) America must free its airwaves before China pulls ahead
Source: Fox News
by Steve Forbes & Stephen Moore
“Washington rarely discovers an economic policy that promotes investment, strengthens national security, improves services for consumers and raises billions of dollars for the Treasury without imposing a new tax. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr’s newly announced ‘super band’ spectrum auction manages to do all four. Spectrum may be invisible, but it is among the most valuable resources in the modern economy. It carries phone calls, financial transactions, emergency communications, industrial data, streaming video and the growing volume of information moving between connected devices. … Auctions offer the quintessentially American solution: Free up and use markets.” [editor’s note: Not really, since these auctions are based on the fiction that the US regime owns the frequencies being auctioned – TLK] (07/26/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/steve-forbes-stephen-moore-america-must-free-airwaves-before-china-pulls-ahead
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27) Quandaries That Should Not Exist
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Laurence M Vance
“No American is entitled to health care or health insurance that he does not pay for. No American should be forced to pay for or subsidize the health care or health insurance of any other American. Health care and health insurance are services that can and should be provided on the free market just like other services. No American is entitled to eat or drink anything unless he pays for it or some other American voluntarily pays for it or gives it to him. All food aid should be privately given and privately funded. No American is entitled to welfare payments at the expense of any other American. No income should be transferred from one American to another.” (07/22/26)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/quandaries-that-should-not-exist/
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28) Money Is Not Debt
Source: American Institute for Economic Research
by Peter C Earle
“Exploring how a popular phrase conflates monetary creation, accounting conventions, legal liabilities, and the economic nature of money itself.” (07/22/26)
https://aier.org/article/money-is-not-debt/
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29) LA Must Stop Bidding for Mega Sports Events
Source: Common Dreams
by Cerianne Robertson
“LA’s World Cup experience reinforces concerns about the city’s ongoing efforts to bring one sports mega event after another to the region. Hosting major events always gobbles up public resources that could otherwise be directed toward pressing needs, while host cities under pressure to sparkle on camera often violate residents’ rights. The people paid to organize these big events, like [Paul] Krekorian, love to repeat myths about mega-event benefits while pooh-poohing questions about the costs.” (07/22/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/la-stop-bidding-for-sports
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30) The Top Gun: Maverick Theory of Pete Hegseth
Source: The Atlantic
by Missy Ryan
"Maverick is a seasoned military man who resolutely refuses to grow up. He remains stuck in the same rank he has occupied for years, attached to the same mentality, concerns, and priorities. Although three decades have passed, he hasn’t progressed, instead spending his time on rebellious flying, seaside sports, and drinking in dive bars. His is an arrested development. The most unrealistic aspect of this portrayal is that, in 2026, that profile would make Mav not a superannuated flight instructor, but secretary of defense." (07/22/26)
https://archive.is/HKQoq
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31) Washington Can’t Afford to Let the US Lose the Open-Source AI War
Source: American Greatness
by Julio Rivera
“The greatest danger isn’t that China builds a better AI model. It’s that China builds the AI platform the rest of the world decides to use. Those are two very different contests.” (07/22/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/07/22/washington-cant-afford-to-let-the-us-lose-the-open-source-ai-war/
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32) Does MLB’s Pride Night policy violate the First Amendment?
Source: Expression
by Athena Rem
“Currently, 29 out of 30 Major League Baseball teams host an annual ‘Pride Night’ celebration in June, featuring rainbow versions of the typical logo on caps and jerseys. … players always have the option to revert back to the standard uniform instead, but they may not alter their uniforms themselves in any aspect. Despite this ban, three San Francisco Giants players used Pride Night 2026 as an opportunity to protest. … In response, MLB formally warned the implicated players that they may not ‘write, attach, affix, embroider or otherwise display nicknames or messages on apparel or playing equipment.’ … At first blush, MLB’s move might appear to be at odds with the freedoms of speech and free exercise guaranteed by the First Amendment. But the First Amendment bars the government from restricting our rights to speak and worship freely … Private employers have expansive discretion to limit an employee’s on-the-clock expression, like the players’ alteration of their caps.” (07/22/26)
https://expression.fire.org/p/does-mlbs-pride-night-policy-violate
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33) Not Even Israelis Are Willing To Die For Israel
Source: Caitlin Johnstone
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Israelis are happy for Americans to die for Israel, but they are unwilling to put their own lives on the line for the Zionist project.” (07/22/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/07/22/not-even-israelis-are-willing-to-die-for-israel/
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34) Hail the Hollow AI Caesar
Source: Mindset Shifts
by Barry Brownstein
“No matter how much AI flatters you, it doesn’t care about you. It doesn’t appreciate you or understand you. It never will.” (07/22/26)
https://mindsetshifts.substack.com/p/hail-the-hollow-ai-caesar
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35) Why People Hoard
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Ehsan Mousavi
“We have all heard many times that hoarding is usually attributed to greed and is highly condemned. For example, in his book The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck attributes hoarding to greed and immoral profiteering, presenting it as a societal failure. In Canto VII of Dante’s Divine Comedy, he groups the hoarders together with the wasters, and states that they are forced to push heavy weights using their chests as their punishment. But is the pursuit of profit during a crisis merely an expression of greed, or does it serve a broader social purpose? Hayek would argue that it serves a crucial one.” (07/22/26)
https://fee.org/articles/why-people-hoard/
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36) The Great Menopause Grift
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Alan Cassels
“Well, well, look here. In its June 2026 update the venerated OED or Oxford English Dictionary, finally added the ‘new’ word, fearmonging. It explains fearmongering as ‘the action or an act of spreading fear or alarm among the public, esp. by exaggerating the dangers associated with a political, social, or economic issue; alarmism.’ Thank goodness, the dictionary has caught up to our society’s most pernicious habit; that is, using fear to sell anything. Especially when it comes to our health.” (07/22/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/the-great-menopause-grift/
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37) Let’s Put Democratic Socialism to the Test
Source: Townhall
by Peter Demos
“Every major economic idea deserves more than campaign speeches and cable news debates. It deserves to be tested. Before anyone rushes to point to Scandinavia, Venezuela, Cuba, or any other country to argue whether socialism has succeeded or failed, I’d like to propose a different kind of test. To the Democratic Socialists of America and those who believe this economic model is the future, I have a sincere proposal: Take your principle seriously enough to apply it consistently.” (07/22/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/peterdemos/2026/07/22/lets-put-democratic-socialism-to-the-test-n2679901
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38) $100 Billion Stolen
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
"Last month, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. detailed six billion dollars worth of [alleged] Medicare fraud, where scamming operations were caught 'chasing money from our agencies.' Some while willfully neglecting patients. On Friday, he estimated that the HHS 'loses $100,000,000,000 a year to theft.'" [editor's note: HHS's budget this year is $5 billion or so less than RFK Jr. estimates HHS loses every year. Some feat - TLK] (07/22/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/07/22/100billion
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39) Half of Students Now Get As, But Actual Achievement Is Declining
Source: The Daily Economy
by Hannah Frankman Hood
“Your child’s report card may be sending the wrong signal. Grades and GPAs increasingly reflect institutional incentives rather than academic achievement.” (07/22/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/half-of-students-now-get-as-but-actual-achievement-is-declining/
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40) China hawks are losing the public opinion battle
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Frank Yuwen Chen
“Despite a Beltway push for confrontation, polls show that average Americans want a normal relationship with Beijing.” (07/22/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/us-public-opinion-on-china/
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41) Why Trump’s Allies in Israel & AIPAC’s on the Hill are in Trouble
Source: Informed Comment
by H Scott Prosterman
“Two years ago, just 37 House Democrats voted to cut off U.S. aid for Israel. Now more than half of the Democratic representatives have come around to recognizing: 1.) That unconditional US support for Israel is no longer tenable, and 2.) Netanyahu’s Likud government has become a global pariah state, and 3.) Continued support of Israel brings the US global alienation; and BTW, probably cost Kamala Harris the 2024 presidential election. Though the Democratic leadership remains captive to the AIPAC payroll, the US-Israeli relationship has never been more tenuous. This occurs in tandem with the rise of similar grassroots movements within Israel.” (07/22/26)
https://www.juancole.com/2026/07/trumps-allies-trouble.html
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42) Everyone Is a Foreign Agent Now
Source: Antiwar.com
by Thomas S Karat
“A German blogger reposted four videos. Europe’s highest court has just ruled that makes him a criminal – and the same machinery is being built on both sides of the Atlantic.” (07/22/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/thomas_karat/2026/07/21/everyone-is-a-foreign-agent-now
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43) Trump Didn’t Invent the Tribunate Presidency
Source: Liberal Currents
by Guillaume AW Attia
“John Adams'[s] rocky presidency illuminates the long-running conflicts over how Americans conceive of the executive power.” (07/22/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/trump-didnt-invent-the-tribunate-presidency/
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44) How the War Splits Iranians
Source: Persuasion
by Mitra Vand
“It is not surprising that June’s Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding between Iran and the United States has proven to be shaky to the touch. Nothing about this conflict has ever been resolved, only paused. Not because either side is incapable of diplomacy, but because neither side has ever fully believed the other side to be trustworthy. But for people inside Iran, the news meant what it has always meant: life was about to get harder. Both countries hold competing narratives about why, but the result is the same: the war has returned to Iran’s southern provinces.” (07/21/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/there-is-a-new-iran
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45) Let California moms keep our coupons — and keep government out of it
Source: New York Post
by Shirin Yadegar
“As a California mom, I don’t wake up wondering whether an algorithm determined which coupon landed in my inbox. I wake up wondering why a quick trip to the grocery store now costs hundreds of dollars. I wonder whether my children will ever be able to afford a home in the state where they were raised. I wonder how many more families are quietly putting groceries on a credit card just to get through the month. Like millions of parents across California, I’m asking a simple question: When will Sacramento start making life more affordable instead of more complicated?” (07/21/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/07/21/opinion/let-california-moms-keep-our-grocery-coupons/
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46) Nicaragua’s Regime Drops the Pretense of Democracy
Source: Reason
by Katarina Hall
“Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega announced on Sunday that the country will no longer hold elections, preventing the opposition from competing for power and further cementing his authoritarian grip on the country. … Ortega, now 80 years old, is a former guerrilla fighter who first came to power after the Sandinista Revolution and served as president from 1985 to 1990. After suffering a defeat in 1990, he returned to power in 2007 and has remained there ever since. His regime, which he now formally leads alongside his wife and ‘co-president,’ Rosario Murillo, had long since extinguished what remained of democracy in the country. Over the years, it has cracked down on political dissent, free speech, independent media, and civil society. Ortega’s most recent announcement is just an escalation of that trend.” (07/21/26)
https://reason.com/2026/07/21/nicaraguas-regime-drops-the-pretense-of-democracy/
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47) Don’t Water Down the Bachelor’s Degree
Source: Independent Institute
by Richard K Vedder
“Should it take four years to earn a bachelor’s degree? No. If you can earn a bachelor’s degree at Oxford or Cambridge Universities in three years, why not at Harvard, Florida State, or the University of Oklahoma? Is the three-year degree being promoted by some in Virginia and Ohio, therefore, a good thing? No, because it appears to aim to achieve this goal by reducing the academic work required by about 25 percent, to about halfway between what an associate degree and a traditional bachelor’s degree require.” (07/21/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/07/21/dont-water-down-the-bachelors-degree/
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48) They See Dead People
Source: Quillette
by Jonathan Kay
“I’ve often used the term ‘social panic’ to describe the unmarked-graves claims that swept through Canada in 2021. For reasons described below, the term feels inadequate. But I can’t think of any word or phrase that better captures the spasm of manic self-denigration that unfolded following the purported discovery of 215 dead children (some ‘believed to be as young as three years old,’ gullible reporters told us) on the grounds of a former Indigenous residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia. … It would take months, or even years in many cases, before mainstream media outlets began admitting—tacitly or otherwise—that they’d been duped by Casimir’s fake news (as the Globe & Mail newspaper finally did last month). Despite the passage of five years since the original announcement, many public figures, including former prime minister Justin Trudeau, have never come clean on the issue.” (07/21/26)
https://quillette.com/2026/07/21/they-see-dead-people/
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49) When the Anti-Sharia Law Demagogues Fall Silent
Source: The American Prospect
by Harold Meyerson
“The stench arising from the proposed purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount isn’t just the concentration of market power by the merged studios nor the likely takeover of CNN by President Trump’s fanboys. It’s also the fact that the purchase is funded by investments from the sovereign wealth funds of three foreign nations, none of which are in any way, shape, or form democracies: Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar. … the purchase of Warner Bros. by foreign nations has not been investigated by the governmental body that customarily handles such matters: the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) …. But the most glaring absence from these duties isn’t CFIUS’s. It’s that of the far-right Republican elected officials who’ve sought to generate and mobilize anti-Muslim bigotry by campaigning against the completely nonexistent threat of Sharia law infiltrating and overtaking American jurisprudence.” (07/21/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/07/21/anti-sharia-law-republicans-paramount-warner-bros-chip-roy-keith-self-tommy-tuberville/
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50) How Not to Do Industrial Policy
Source: The American Conservative
by Charles Benoit
“Earlier this month, Bloomberg published a brutal autopsy of industrial policy gone wrong. The article documented how, beginning in 2020, the U.S. government provided $850 million to six American companies to bolster domestic manufacturing of nitrile gloves, a critical component of the medical supply chain. Six years later, not one of those companies is making gloves. … The company that received the most funding, Blue Star NBR out of Wytheville, Virginia, was supposed to use that money to build the first American plant in a generation capable of making nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR)—the raw material every nitrile glove is made of. It never produced a single batch. Its CEO said he is a month from selling the plant for parts, most of which will go to manufacturers based in China. To put it bluntly: American taxpayers built a synthetic rubber plant, and China may now cart it off in crates.” (07/21/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/how-not-to-do-industrial-policy/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Gracearchy with Jim Babka, episode 163
Source: Gracearchy with Jim Babka
“Libertarian Chair Evan McMahon; The Coming 10x Bigger Party.” (07/22/26)
https://rumble.com/v7d0yma-libertarian-chair-evan-mcmahon-and-the-coming-10x-bigger-party-gracearchy-w.html
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52) Rising, 07/22/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave gives his radar on leftist commentator Kyle Kulinski suggesting that the war with Iran will make it harder for terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah.” (07/22/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/5978088-rising-july-22-2026/
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53) Reason Interview: Zion Lights
Source: Reason
“We’ve Been Wrong About Nuclear Power.” (07/22/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/07/22/weve-been-wrong-about-nuclear-power/
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54) Reasonably Optimistic, 07/22/26
Source: Washington Post
“What America got wrong about drug addiction.” (07/22/26)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/impromptu/what-america-got-wrong-about-drug-addiction/
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55) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 07/22/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Frustrated Trump Vows To Hit Iranian Infrastructure – Will It Matter?” (07/22/26)
http://www.ronpaullibertyreport.com/archives/frustrated-trump-vows-to-hit-iranian-infrastructure-will-it-matter
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56) The Fifth Column, episode 567
Source: The Fifth Column
“I Don’t Make Mistakes Anymore. They’re Just Lies (w/ Chris Cuomo).” (07/22/26)
https://www.wethefifth.com/p/i-dont-make-mistakes-anymore-theyre
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57) Fountainhead Forum, episode 470
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Fred Cookinham on the history of New York City and state.” (07/21/26)
https://rumble.com/v7d28oo-ff-470-fred-cookinham-on-the-history-of-new-york-city-and-state.html
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58) LPA Solidarity Stream 20
Source: LP Alliance
“Lydia Christensen for US Senate from LP Michigan!” (07/21/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgRYoN_n_e8
-----
59) Nonzero, 07/21/26
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“The Ideology Behind AI | Robert Wright & Connor Leahy.” (07/21/26)
https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/69608
-----
60) The Kyle Anzalone Show, 07/21/26
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Larry Johnson on the Shocking Details of the Death of Senator Lindsey Graham.” (07/21/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/blog/the-kyle-anzalone-show-larry-johnson-on-the-shocking-details-of-the-death-of-senator-lindsey-graham/
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