Why Trump’s Allies in Israel & AIPAC’s on the Hill are in Trouble

Source: Informed Comment
by H Scott Prosterman

“Two years ago, just 37 House Democrats voted to cut off U.S. aid for Israel. Now more than half of the Democratic representatives have come around to recognizing: 1.) That unconditional US support for Israel is no longer tenable, and 2.) Netanyahu’s Likud government has become a global pariah state, and 3.) Continued support of Israel brings the US global alienation; and BTW, probably cost Kamala Harris the 2024 presidential election. Though the Democratic leadership remains captive to the AIPAC payroll, the US-Israeli relationship has never been more tenuous. This occurs in tandem with the rise of similar grassroots movements within Israel.” (07/22/26)

https://www.juancole.com/2026/07/trumps-allies-trouble.html

How the War Splits Iranians

Source: Persuasion
by Mitra Vand

“It is not surprising that June’s Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding between Iran and the United States has proven to be shaky to the touch. Nothing about this conflict has ever been resolved, only paused. Not because either side is incapable of diplomacy, but because neither side has ever fully believed the other side to be trustworthy. But for people inside Iran, the news meant what it has always meant: life was about to get harder. Both countries hold competing narratives about why, but the result is the same: the war has returned to Iran’s southern provinces.” (07/21/26)

https://www.persuasion.community/p/there-is-a-new-iran

Let California moms keep our coupons — and keep government out of it

Source: New York Post
by Shirin Yadegar

“As a California mom, I don’t wake up wondering whether an algorithm determined which coupon landed in my inbox. I wake up wondering why a quick trip to the grocery store now costs hundreds of dollars. I wonder whether my children will ever be able to afford a home in the state where they were raised. I wonder how many more families are quietly putting groceries on a credit card just to get through the month. Like millions of parents across California, I’m asking a simple question: When will Sacramento start making life more affordable instead of more complicated?” (07/21/26)

https://nypost.com/2026/07/21/opinion/let-california-moms-keep-our-grocery-coupons/

Nicaragua’s Regime Drops the Pretense of Democracy

Source: Reason
by Katarina Hall

“Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega announced on Sunday that the country will no longer hold elections, preventing the opposition from competing for power and further cementing his authoritarian grip on the country. … Ortega, now 80 years old, is a former guerrilla fighter who first came to power after the Sandinista Revolution and served as president from 1985 to 1990. After suffering a defeat in 1990, he returned to power in 2007 and has remained there ever since. His regime, which he now formally leads alongside his wife and ‘co-president,’ Rosario Murillo, had long since extinguished what remained of democracy in the country. Over the years, it has cracked down on political dissent, free speech, independent media, and civil society. Ortega’s most recent announcement is just an escalation of that trend.” (07/21/26)

https://reason.com/2026/07/21/nicaraguas-regime-drops-the-pretense-of-democracy/