“ver the past week, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has faced his biggest political crisis since this time last year. And just as they did back then, Western analysts and media outlets have concocted a pro-Zelensky narrative that downplays evident political dysfunction and misrepresents the struggles for power that are actually driving events.” (07/24/26)
“The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans to condition disaster relief grants on whether states change how they conduct elections. It’s another glaring constitutional overreach into an area where states have typically had control, unless otherwise specified by Congress. Earlier this month, DHS issued guidance as part of its funding opportunity for the Homeland Security Grant Program. DHS is requiring states that accept the grant funding to adopt a series of election administration measures.” (07/24/26)
“A federal appeals court on Saturday refused to let the Trump administration enforce key parts of President Donald Trump’s executive order [attempting to rig] mail-in voting rules in 23 Democratic-led states, a setback that could send the administration to the US Supreme Court ahead of this year’s midterm elections. In a 2-1 decision, the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) request to pause a June ruling blocking several provisions of Trump’s March executive order while the administration appeals. The DOJ previously told the court it could seek emergency relief from the Supreme Court if it did not prevail. The administration argued the lawsuit was premature because federal agencies had not finalized the policies needed to implement the executive order.” (07/26/26)
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Qamar CheemaMir & Ahmad Murtiza
“For decades, Iran has sought to diminish America’s military presence and political influence in the Middle East. Yet some ambitions carry within them the seeds of their own undoing. The very policies intended to push out the United States have instead strengthened the rationale for Washington’s continued engagement. Before the erosion of its regional axis, Iran based its security doctrine on forward defense, projecting influence beyond its borders to keep threats at bay. However, what Tehran regarded as a defensive strategy, the Persian Gulf states perceived as an expansionist bid for regional primacy. As a result, they deepened their security ties with Washington, making the U.S. military presence more indispensable to Gulf security rather than less.” (07/24/26)
“Montreal (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – ‘If the state sends people, soldiers, for the honor of the state, and they kill people, is that permissible? It is plain murder. They [the government] incite murder. This is what they do. They wage wars not to save lives, but only for the honor of the state. Certainly, this is not new. So, is this permitted? Just to raise the status of the state or something else?’ These are not the words of a left-wing anti-Israeli activist from an Ivy League campus. They were spoken on July 19, 2026, by the 96-year-old Rabbi Dov Lando, a senior member of the Council of Torah Sages in Israel.” (07/24/26)
“Troy Jackson has officially secured the Democratic nomination to replace Graham Platner — and now has 101 days to win a race that could determine whether Democrats control the Senate. The Maine Democratic Party convened Saturday morning and voted to make Jackson, a progressive fifth-generation logger and former state Senate president, their nominee.The party has its eyes set on what’s been a white whale for Democrats: knocking out five-term incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Jackson has been hitting Collins since he entered the race following former Senate nominee Graham Platner’s exit from the race less than three weeks ago.” (07/25/26)
“Andrew and Tristan Tate are detained pending extradition to the UK; a fired interim US Attorney sues to get his job back; people file stupid defamation lawsuits.” (07/24/26)
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey
“I got an email in my Inbox last night from Sen. Rick Scott, all proud that he’s introduced the ‘Safeguard Kids Act’ with the intention of protecting students K-12 from the evil risks of artificial intelligence (AI). I find his proposal preposterous for a few reasons, but much like my article last night on the SCOTUS reversal of Roe v. Wade, Washington has no place in our students’ local classrooms. While I agree with Scott that AI will likely be the greatest information innovation since Guttenberg’s printing press, his solution is misguided. The last thing AI needs is the stagnation of a federal government bureaucracy. I thought we were closing down the U.S. Dept of Education, anyway; what happened to that notion?” (07/24/26)
