“In recent speeches, including on the Fourth of July, Trump’s utterances of ‘communist’ or ‘communism’ reached double digits each time. … ‘Our warriors did not fight communism on battlefields across the world only to have that menace rear its ugly head right back here in America,’ Trump said late on the Fourth on the National Mall Trump couples his commie-baiting with a dash of his trademark xenophobia. ‘There is now a resurgence of the communist menace in our land, including by newcomers to our country who embrace ideas totally opposed to our way of life and our great success,’ he said at Mount Rushmore a day earlier. (He’s got it backward, of course: Immigrants come here for the American way of life and promise of success.) Here’s the irony: Trump’s actions in his second term make him look more like the commie. He’s projecting again.” (07/09/26)
“China just notched a huge spaceflight milestone. The nation has recovered a rocket during an orbital launch for the first time ever, pulling off the feat during the Long March 10B’s maiden liftoff on Friday (July 10). And that recovery was unique: The rocket’s first stage nestled softly into a net-like structure carried by a ship at sea. … Until now, vertical landings of orbital-class rockets had been performed only by SpaceX, which does them on a regular basis. Indeed, Elon Musk’s company has landed orbital rockets more than 600 times to date. Such extensive reuse has allowed SpaceX to fly more cheaply and efficiently than its competitors and dominate the launch market — something that China is working hard to emulate.” (07/10/26)
“The core of this argument is that the American Founding set the United States on a unique path that made it one of the richest and freest places in the world. Yet, this causal connection requires a leap of faith. Few have attempted to conjure a counterfactual in which America remained a British colony or became independent in ways similar to later British Dominions (e.g., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa). Serious causal inference generally requires the use of large datasets to infer the effects of important policy changes or some large exogenous shocks. For nations, especially in the more distant past, this is even more challenging because of data paucity, limited numbers of observations, and other confounding factors. It may even be impossible. A possible alternative course is to rely on analytical narratives to construct a theory, laying out assumptions and predictions.” (07/09/26)
“Rich and Riley discuss celebrating the 4th of July or ‘Independence Day,’ can Trump comprehend multilevel consequences, and what Riley talked about with Mitch McConnell.” (07/09/26)
“Way back in November 2022, disagreement broke out inside the Biden administration about the implications of recent military gains made by Ukraine. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, advised pushing hard for a diplomatic settlement to lock in those gains. He warned that Ukraine’s battlefield position—and thus also its bargaining position—was likely to worsen in the coming months. Biden listened instead to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. They counseled against peace talks while Ukraine had the momentum and a chance to roll back the Russian invaders. … Now, nearly four years later, Western media again are saying that ‘the tide has turned’ against Russia. And the White House has again concluded that it’s therefore a bad time to push for peace. But sooner or later, the tide will turn again, and the next big wave could drown Ukraine.” (07/09/26)
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“The recriminations and second-guessing are flying from all directions with respect to the flame-out of Democrat candidate Graham Platner’s U.S. Senate campaign in Maine. Most everyone’s commentaries are revolving out of the ramifications of the sex-abuse allegations, including rape, from old girlfriends of Platner. Some of the critics are pointing to other disturbing aspects of Platner’s life, such as a Nazi-like tattoo on his chest and crude and offensive remarks in Reddit posts. What the critics and commentators don’t do, however, is point to the core reason why this man got so screwed-up emotionally and psychologically: his four military deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. It is those four deployments that are at the core of Platner’s dysfunctional behavior and abusive relationships with women.” (07/09/26)
