Rising, 07/30/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave gives his radar on Dr. Anthony Fauci invoking the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times during his testimony before the Senate on Wednesday.” (07/30/26)
Author: Thomas L. Knapp
The front line of combating self-censorship is the classroom
Source: Expression
by Caroline Cunningham
“A formidable enemy of free speech on college campuses is self-censorship. Much has been said about how to make students more willing to voice their opinions, but proposed solutions often overlook the people best positioned to change the culture where self-censorship frequently occurs: professors. Professors shape many of the environments where students decide whether speaking candidly is worth the risk. In a FIRE student survey conducted in 2025, 72% of students said they self-censor at least occasionally either when speaking in class or with a professor. Yet despite their direct influence over students’ willingness to speak, professors — and the classroom techniques they employ — remain underused in efforts to address the problem.” (07/30/26)
https://expression.fire.org/p/the-front-line-of-combating-self
Kentucky school choice will benefit all students — including those in public schools
Source: Bluegrass Institute
by Mark D Guilfoyle & Andrew J Vandiver
“Reasonable people can disagree about education policy. They can disagree about charter schools, vouchers, and the proper role of government in education. But House Bill 1 is different from many of those debates.” (07/30/26)
https://www.bluegrassinstitute.org/school-choice-benefit-all-students/
US economy slowed to 1.5% growth rate in Q2; June core inflation at 3.3%
Source: CNBC
“Economic growth was weaker than expected in the second quarter while inflation in June held well above the Federal Reserve’s goal, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Gross domestic product, a broad measure of goods and services, increased just 1.5% for the April-through June period, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers adjusted for seasonality and inflation. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for a growth rate of 1.8%, following the 2.1% increase in the first quarter. A separate report showed that the personal consumption expenditures price index, which is the Federal Reserve’s primary forecasting gauge, fell a seasonally adjusted 0.1% for the month, putting the annual inflation rate at 3.7%. The readings were in line with forecasts.” (07/30/26)
Caveman NIMBY
Source: Reason
“Early man fights to build a house.” (07/30/26)
Trump’s Boat Strikes Killed 221 People, but Didn’t Win the War on Drugs
Source: Reason
by Tosin Akintola
“Last September, the U.S. military fired the first of 63 strikes against 67 small fishing boats in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean. The spate of killings in Operation Southern Spear has claimed 221 lives so far, according to the Washington Office on Latin America, a human rights organization. In April, President Donald Trump boasted about the effectiveness of his extrajudicial maritime strikes against alleged drug traffickers, claiming his methods had stopped 98.2 percent of all drugs coming into the country by ocean or sea. However, new evidence from those inside the Trump administration shows the strikes have not slowed the flow of drugs coming into the country.” (07/30/26)
https://reason.com/2026/07/30/trumps-boat-strikes-killed-221-people-but-didnt-win-the-war-on-drugs/
Fauci took the Fifth, but his diary may have already answered for him
Source: Fox News
by Jonathan Turley
“The fact is that diaries tend to be self-obsessed, and no one would want their unvarnished private thoughts made public. Rather, my gripe with these passages is one I have previously raised in criticism of Fauci. During this period, dissenting scientists were barred from social media, removed from positions and vilified for expressing views despite now being vindicated on subjects ranging from the lab origin of the virus to the efficacy of masks, the 6-foot rule, natural immunity and school closures. As these courageous scientists were being abused by academic and media figures who still hold their positions, Fauci said not a word in their defense despite privately acknowledging that they could be right.” (07/30/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/jonathan-turley-fauci-took-fifth-diary-may-have-answered
US Aircraft Carrier Makes a Rare Port Call in Vietnam
Source: New York Times
“For the fourth time since the end of the Vietnam War, a United States aircraft carrier made a port call in Vietnam on Thursday, promoting joint security ties at a time when tariffs and the war in Iran have hurt American influence across Asia. The carrier George Washington pulled into the quiet waters near Da Nang on day 70 of its deployment — not far from the beaches where U.S. Marines first landed in 1965, accelerating a war that killed around 58,000 Americans and 2 million Vietnamese. Both countries celebrated the 7-day port call, the longest stay in Vietnam for an American warship since the two countries restored relations in 1995, as a sign of how far the former enemies have come.” (07/30/26)
Serious Trouble, 07/30/26
Source: Serious Trouble
“Comey’s Got the Moves.” (07/30/26)
Socialism Could Be the Future of the Democratic Party
Source: Persuasion
by Charles Lane
“Obviously, the DSA feels energized and validated by having defeated establishment Democrats and captured the mayoralties of New York and Seattle, the Democratic nomination for Washington, D.C.’s mayoralty, plus four likely seats in the U.S. House in recent months. This raises a troubling question: What if the radicalism of the DSA’s constitutional plan is not its weakness but its strength? That is the really scary possibility. And it’s worth taking seriously.” (07/30/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/socialism-vs-the-constitution