“Can a government ever dictate health without distorting it? The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative, spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in his role as Secretary of Health and Human Services, positions itself as a sweeping response to America’s chronic disease crisis. Framed as a populist health movement, MAHA seeks to overhaul the nation’s approach to nutrition, environmental toxins, and preventative care. … The Modern American Health Act (MAHA), advanced under RFK Jr.’s platform, marks a shift from nutritional suggestion to digitally enforced compliance. While framed as a path to wellness, it signals an unprecedented fusion of policy, personal data, and tech industry influence.” (07/31/25)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“I will probably spend the foreseeable future periodically reminding the world that when everyone was angry at Israel for starving children in Gaza, Israel’s apologists spent days loudly proclaiming that no, they were actually just starving sick children. As their defense they said this. They actually believed this helped their case. Let me back up a bit. On Wednesday, The New York Times posted an editor’s note on an article it had published the previous Friday which included a horrifying photo of an emaciated child named Mohammed Zakaria al-Mutawaq. Caving to pressure from Zionists and influence ops like the Israeli propaganda outlet HonestReporting, the Times went out of its way to clarify that al-Mutawaq ‘had pre-existing health problems’, which Israel apologists instantly and predictably spun as proof that the media are lying about Israel starving Gaza.” (07/31/25)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Jake Scott
“As of Sunday, July 27, the United States and the European Union have signed a new trade agreement, imposing a 15% tariff on most EU goods entering the US, while no new tariffs on US goods entering the EU will be implemented. Given that the trade relationship between the two is worth over $1.68 trillion, the aversion of a potential trade war can only be welcomed—but the news for US consumers is less than ideal. Had this agreement not been reached by August 1, President Trump had first threatened a 30% tariff across the board. While the finalized 15% is lower than the original promised tariff, it is still an increase on the previous 10% tariffs that were introduced on all EU goods entering the US set on April 2, 2025, under Trump, and significantly higher than the 1.2% tariff from before Trump’s second term.” (07/31/25)
Source: Orange County Register
by the editorial board
“Today marks the 113th birthday of economist Milton Friedman, one of history’s most consequential free-market advocates. Reflecting on the work of Friedman this year reminds us how much more sound and sustainable the nation’s policies could be. Born July 31, 1912 to working class immigrants from Eastern Europe in New York City, what made Milton Friedman unique not only was his grasp of economics, but also his ability to simply explain complex ideas. What Milton Friedman understood better than most was that individuals, with private interests and expertise, were best able to advance society.” (07/31/25)
“Who bears the primary responsibility for shaping a child’s moral imagination: the state or their parents? Last term, in Mahmoud v. Taylor, the Supreme Court answered with uncommon clarity in cases where the parents’ religion is at stake: when public schools press lessons that undermine the faith of young pupils, parents may halt participation. The decision matters on three planes.” (07/31/25)
“President Donald Trump’s vague plan to respond to the famine in Gaza with Israeli-approved ‘food centers’ is being panned by humanitarian groups who say it will do little or nothing to reverse widespread starvation caused by Israel’s decision to block aid. Trump has given only broad-brush details about the scheme after announcing it Monday, when he acknowledged that children in Gaza are starving. As with many of Trump’s proposals, however, it is unclear how seriously the president intends to pursue it. Aid organizations fear the rollout of another new system of food aid, considering the hundreds of killings near food distribution sites operated by the American-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. They also emphasize that at this point, women and children in Gaza are in need of not just food but also specialized medical care to reverse severe malnutrition.” 907/31/25)
“Roughly 90,000 years ago, something rather wonderful happened. The evidence lies in the form of a simple snail shell called Nassarius. This little shell can be found scattered across archaeological sites in Morocco, Algeria and Israel. These shells sport some holes that cannot have been made naturally. Some of them are smeared with red ochre. Almost certainly these shells were worn as beads, on a string. They offer evidence of early man’s interest in personal ornamentation, perhaps money – and trade. Some of the locations in which Nassarius has been found are as much as 125 miles from the nearest coast. These beads probably migrated, from hand to hand, by exchange. Modern man is hardwired to trade. The science writer Matt Ridley describes barter as ‘the trick that changed the world.'” (07/31/25)
“Sixteen months before Thomas Jefferson crafted the powerful words that would become our Declaration of Independence, he sat quietly in Richmond’s St. John’s Church, absorbing the oratory of Patrick Henry. Henry’s call, ‘Give me liberty or give me death,’ ignited a revolutionary spirit that Jefferson would later capture on parchment. As we approach July 4, 2026, America’s 250th birthday, Jefferson’s words resonate with renewed importance: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.’ These words mark the beginning of our nation. These words inspired men and women, enslaved and free, native and immigrant. These words changed the world forever.” (07/31/25)
“Yes, the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ avoided a massive tax increase and includes pro-growth reforms. It also adds to the debt — by how much is debatable — and that’s before we get to the budgetary reckoning of Social Security and Medicare’s impending insolvency. Against that backdrop, it’s infuriating to see a $9 billion rescission package — one drop in the deficit bucket — met with cries of bloody murder. … Maybe we wouldn’t keep operating this way — pretending like minor trims are major reforms while refusing to tackle demographic and entitlement time bombs ticking beneath our feet — if we stayed focused on the question of what, considering the cost, we’re willing to pay for.” (07/31/25)
“There’s little question that President Donald Trump and his MAGA devotees can dish it out. Few things epitomize this populist movement more than its irreverence toward established institutions and its willingness to obliterate traditional standards of civility as it targets political enemies (and erstwhile friends during some internecine squabble). Trump’s social-media posts and statements are filled with invective and merciless mocking. … Yet a White House that routinely displays viciousness couldn’t bear being on the receiving end. It called South Park a ‘fourth-rate’ show that is ‘hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention.’ MAGA can be remarkably thin-skinned, the dictionary definition of people who can dish it out but can’t take it.” (07/31/25)
