Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Blaise Malley
“Congress returned to Washington DC this week after its July 4 recess. With President Donald Trump having recently declared the memorandum of understanding with Iran ‘over’ and with the two countries exchanging attacks, the war has predictably taken center stage. Congressional Democrats have been mostly unified against the war, but this week has presented opportunities for members to use new vehicles to express their opposition via the power of the purse. On Tuesday, every present Democratic Senator voted to block debate over the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which authorizes the appropriation of Pentagon funds. The bill, which needed 60 votes to advance, failed by a 50-46 tally.” (07/15/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/congress-ndaa-iran-war/
Source: Freedom and Flourishing
by Winton Bates
“In his book, The Enlightenment: The Pursuit of Happiness 1680-1790, Ritchie Robertson uses the term ‘Enlighteners’ to describe the proponents of the Enlightenment. I will briefly describe Robertson’s book before explaining how my reading of it has caused me to consider the question posed above.” (07/15/26)
https://www.freedomandflourishing.com/2026/07/did-enlighteners-reject-aristotle.html
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey
“As I wrote last month, Trump has led us into a path of chaos, and as I predicted, the mutual agreement lasted five minutes, and the Strait of Hormuz is still not moving trade. Both sides accuse the other of breaking the ceasefire in bad faith. This war risks dragging on longer than most Americans will tolerate.” (07/15/26)
https://palmbeachexaminer.substack.com/p/kharg-island-pickaxe-mountain-and
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“British Steel has been taken into public ownership in what the government said was a bid to ‘protect UK steelmaking’. The future of the steelworks, which employs roughly 2,700 people in Scunthorpe and supports many other industries in north Lincolnshire, has been dogged by uncertainty over recent years. ‘Today’s decision secures the future of steelmaking in the UK, protects skilled jobs and safeguards a vital national capability,’ Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said. The UK government took control of British Steel operations in Scunthorpe last year, though it has since remained under the ownership of the Chinese firm Jingye Group.” (07/16/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y680w62wno
Source: ABC News
“International Criminal Court judges on Thursday ordered a suspect from Libya to stand trial on charges including murder, rape and torture of detainees at a notorious prison, setting the stage for the global court’s first trial to focus on the North African nation. The unanimous written decision to confirm 17 charges against Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri came after prosecutors laid out a summary of their evidence at a hearing in May, where they alleged that El Hishri abused detainees at Mitiga prison between 2014 and 2020.” (07/16/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/icc-judges-order-libyan-suspect-stand-trial-murder-134820602
Source: The Chris Hedges Report
“Rebuilding ‘Home’ in the 21st Century (w/ Ece Temelkuran).” (07/15/26)
https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/rebuilding-home-in-the-21st-century
Source: LP Alliance
“Join us for our anything goes podcast every Wednesday at noon eastern!” (07/15/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNfN12ghyns
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Graham Piro
“Violating the First Amendment will cost you. Universities and other public institutions are learning this lesson the hard way as the dust settles on a series of lawsuits brought by university faculty and staff who were punished for their comments about Charlie Kirk’s murder last September.” (07/15/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/after-punishing-people-charlie-kirk-comments-colleges-are-paying-steep-settlements
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“United States Vice President JD Vance says the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had unspecified connections to Israeli intelligence. In a lengthy interview with podcaster Joe Rogan, released on Wednesday, Vance was asked about theories that Epstein may have had ties to Israel’s Mossad spy agency. ‘He clearly had connections to the upper, the highest levels of American intelligence. He clearly had connections to the highest levels of Israeli intelligence,’ he said. The vice president also claimed that Epstein’s connections in Israel appeared to have a left-of-centre ideological bent. … During the interview, Vance also conceded that the Trump administration ‘absolutely’ mishandled the communications surrounding the Epstein files.” (07/16/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/16/vance-says-epstein-had-connections-to-us-israeli-intelligence
Source: The American Conservative
“Cornered Trump Threatens Huge Iran Escalation, w/ Tucker Carlson.” (07/15/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/tac-right-now-cornered-trump-threatens-huge-iran-escalation-w-tucker-carlson/
