Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Sarah McLaughlin
“Vakho Sanaia, a journalist with Formula TV, wrote a Facebook post in June sarcastically encouraging others not to call [Georgian] Parliamentary Speaker Shalva Papuashvili and Member of Parliament Lado Bozhadze ‘dicks.’ On July 10, the Tbilisi City Court fined Sanaia around $2,300 for the post. Sanaia responded to the ruling with two more comments: ‘I wrote a post, saying ‘don’t call Papuashvili and Bozhadze d*cks’ [sic] and they fined me ₾6,000. Well, go ahead and call them that, then,’ and a joke that the decision meant the court was therefore declaring Papuashvili and Bozhadze ‘dicks.’ Sanaia soon learned the Division for Combating Hate Speech was pursuing an investigation of these two new posts, and last week he was sentenced to 14 days in prison on top of his original fine.” (07/27/26)
“We talk about the housing crisis as if it is a national problem, but housing costs vary widely between states, and California tops the list. As of March 2026, the median sale price of a California home reached a staggering $854,000, roughly double the national average. This has forced many Californians to pack their bags and search for a better—or, at least, more affordable—life elsewhere. The California exodus is a harsh reminder that there are two ways to solve the housing crisis: the state can either facilitate housing construction, or it can say goodbye to its residents. If California cannot bring prices down by adding to the supply, population flight will eventually lower prices on the demand side.” (07/27/26)
“For generations, the United States has been a global advocate for freedom, democracy, and the rule of law. Today, however, the world is calling on the United States to uphold those same principles at home.” (07/27/26)
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“I just finished reading a new book relating to the JFK assassination entitled The Housewives Underground: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the JFK Assassination Our Most Enduring Mystery by Kaitlyn Tiffany, who is a staff writer at The Atlantic. It is a great read and, in fact, once I got into it, I couldn’t put it down. The book tells the story of three women — Sylvia Meagher, Shirley Martin, and Maggie Field — who were part of the first generation of assassination researchers who questioned the official narrative of the JFK assassination.” (07/27/26)
“I love old-school tipping; that is, letting a service provider know that you appreciate their outstanding service, whatever the realm may be, with a generous gratuity. It’s a great way for individuals to reward service providers who work hard and to signal your personal appreciation of the effort they have put in to your interaction. However, tipping has morphed from a signal of good work to something that resembles a socialist experiment or the dreaded school group project: everyone expects the same outcome, regardless of their effort or the service they deliver.” (07/27/26)
“Donald Trump is a terrible president, and he’s an even worse first lady. Things are falling apart in Iran, oil has been back over $100 a barrel, inflation is still inflating, and the president is out there spending his time with … party planning and decorating. Dwight Eisenhower he is not. Never mind that he is decorating badly—doesn’t this guy have other things to do? If he is not out there acting out an aneurysm in front of the White House press corps, he’s playing interior decorator and party planner, poking around at the edges of some low-stakes cultural stuff, and being the world’s most embarrassingly failed social climber. Isn’t that the kind of thing for which presidents have, you know, wives?” (07/27/26)
“Few figures from the First World War carry the force of Lawrence of Arabia, from the pages of Seven Pillars of Wisdom to a be-robed Peter O’Toole in David Lean’s 1962 epic. The legend swallowed the man almost as soon as the First World War ended. The shadow cast over both the historical Lawrence and the First World War in the Middle East more broadly, has, arguably, yet to be fully lifted. Examining this mix of man, myth, and movie, is a central goal of Lawrence of Arabia and ME, a solo show making its world premiere at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe.” (07/27/26)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Cláudia Ascensão Nunes
“The UK government has completed the forced nationalization of British Steel, the company that owns the Scunthorpe plant in Lincolnshire, the last facility in the United Kingdom capable of producing virgin steel in traditional blast furnaces. Celebrated by sectors on both the left and the right, this move represents a definitive transfer of risk from private shareholders to taxpayers, ignoring that many of the problems that led to it were largely created by the state itself and its aggressive green policies.” (07/27/26)
“Brexit was one of the defining political events of the early twenty-first century. Ten years ago, the world was shaken by the images of Prime Minister David Cameron announcing his resignation after losing the Brexit referendum. The vote transformed Britain’s relationship with Europe and offered a powerful lesson about the unpredictability of referendums in the age of social media and fake news.” (07/27/26)
