“The Trump administration officially launched ‘Trump Accounts’ on July 4, which have been set up for parents to save money for their children. The accounts, which include $1,000 for each child who is born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028 — President Donald Trump’s current term in office — can now be set up by parents after their authorization in last year’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill.’ The federal savings program is available for any child under 18, and can accept up to $5,000 in contributions per year, although the $1,000 seed funds for the accounts are only available to children born during Trump’s current term.” (07/04/26)
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey
“I think we can all agree that talk about artificial intelligence (AI) is near-constant. And now we hear that OPENAI (the parent of ChatGPT) is offering 5% of its equity to the U.S. Government, valued at an estimated $40 billion. This is perhaps the most expensive bribe I’ve seen in U.S. history, as such a stake would help OPENAI ease up on political pressure and regulatory scrutiny. Talk about greasing the wheels, is Sam Altman that desperate?” (07/03/26)
“America was founded by drinkers, distillers, and maltmen whose consumption would be labeled problematic by today’s public health authorities.” (07/26)
“Turkey has reportedly blocked an American LGBTQ+ cruise from docking at two of its ports, citing ‘moral values’ in the latest sign of the Islamist-run government’s increasingly hardline stance toward the LGBTQ+ community. The ‘Athens to Venice’ voyage organized by Los Angeles-based Atlantis Events was scheduled to stop in the western Turkish port of Kuşadası on July 7 before continuing to Istanbul. Instead, the cruise will now visit Cairo, Egypt, and the Greek island of Crete, according to CNN, which first reported the ban.” (07/04/26)
“Hours before Iran’s national soccer team took the pitch in Seattle for its group-stage match against Egypt, the U.S. Central Command announced further strikes against the Islamic Republic. This sequence was without obvious precedent. A World Cup host nation had never bombed a participating country during the tournament. Fortunately, FIFA had already provided the punchline by awarding President Donald Trump the FIFA Peace Prize just over six months before the tournament’s opening kickoff. The scene is absurd, but the paradox is typically American. As we reflect on the anniversary of our independence, we may confront the fact that America has always struggled to reconcile words and deeds. We are an ambitious country littered with contradictions between the tales we tell ourselves and the actions that we take.” (07/03/26)
“Paul Pelosi, husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is suspected of crashing into a parked car and leaving the scene over the Fourth of July weekend, law enforcement officials said Saturday. The Napa County Sheriff’s Office said that on Friday in Yountville, California, a witness reported a brown convertible striking a legally parked, unoccupied vehicle, stopping briefly and driving away. The parked car sustained major rear damage.” (07/04/26)
“Mark Edge welcomes Lauren Noone, sister of Jay Noone and founder of Rooted Free, a community based project in New Hampshire focused on living a freer, more self-sufficient life.” (07/03/26)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Joshua Mawhorter
“Humans, by their nature, have rights that exist prior to and independent of the state and other people. These rights cannot be surrendered, transferred, sold, or legitimately taken away because they are inherent to human beings by nature. These rights are negative in that they restrict aggression against them. These rights include life, liberty, and the limited, non-aggressive pursuit of happiness, as well as the right of self-ownership and property rights, which are inferred from the previous rights. Jefferson may not have followed John Locke’s triad—life, liberty, and property—exactly because of the issue of slavery. If what Jefferson said about rights is the case, then slavery would be an evident denial of self-ownership.” (07/03/26)
