Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Athena Rem
“Televangelist Jerry Falwell once confessed in an interview to drunken sex with his unconscious mother in an outhouse. Except it wasn’t a real interview. It was a fake Campari ad in a 1983 issue of adult magazine Hustler. Falwell sued the magazine and its publisher Larry Flynt for emotional distress, libel, and invasion of privacy. … Flynt won the case, Hustler Magazine v. Falwell (1988), because parody is not a statement of fact made with ‘actual malice’ and because print media, shows, or any other publications can generally criticize public figures under the First Amendment. Yet such critical speech is under fire today more than ever before.” (07/22/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/new-war-political-satire
Source: CNBC
“Prediction market platform Kalshi on Wednesday launched a new hub that allows political junkies to see how traders in many event contracts think the midterm elections will play out. Kalshi’s ‘Midterms Hub’ lets observers see what outcomes speculators expect in individual U.S. Senate and House of Representatives races, based on the latest odds for each market and across a map of the entire country. The hub also features polling averages, so viewers can see how the prediction market odds compare with what statistical surveys of voters are showing; the latest Federal Election Commission fundraising reports for individual candidates; and curated news and analysis from various outlets, a Kalshi press release said. The platform is aimed at those looking to Kalshi’s data for insights but not necessarily trade.” (07/22/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/22/kalshi-launches-election-hub-for-prediction-markets-ahead-of-midterms.html
Source: Law & Liberty
by Max Skjönsberg
“[Wilhelm von] Humboldt’s precise criticism of paternalist government was threefold. First, when the state treats citizens like children, it denies them their essential humanity, which he regarded as consisting in the freedom to choose and develop in their own manner. Second, by restricting behavior, the state inhibits various experiences and diversity from flourishing, which he, like Mill, viewed as critical for the development of civilization. Third, paternalism would inevitably weaken human beings’ initiative and independence, which would not only harm individuals but also the progress of society.” (07/22/26)
https://lawliberty.org/classic/the-states-moral-boundaries/
Source: Reuters
“Shipping group Maersk said on Tuesday it had halted its service via Ukraine’s Chornomorsk Fishing Port, an announcement made after Russia intensified its attacks on Kyiv’s maritime export routes. Maersk is the second large company to stop operations out of Chornomorsk this month after Ukraine’s top grain exporter Kernel Holding halted operations at the city’s main port last week due to a series of Russian attacks. … Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukraine’s maritime export routes during the war, but the strikes on cargo vessels and deepwater ports that handle much of the country’s grain have intensified in recent weeks. Moscow says its attacks are aimed at infrastructure storing military cargo and fuel.” (07/22/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/maersk-suspends-service-via-chornomorsk-fishing-port-amid-russian-attacks-2026-07-22/
Source: Washington Post
by Michael A Helfand
“The Supreme Court agreed last month to hear a case that asks a remarkable question: Can the government require a homeowner to obtain a permit before inviting friends to his house for prayer? Grand v. City of University Heights centers on an Orthodox Jewish minyan — a prayer quorum consisting of at least 10 adult men — but the legal principles at stake extend well beyond one faith. The case will arrive at the court after years of neighborhood intrigue and municipal politics, where attempts to convene a minyan in a private home devolved into allegations of anti-Jewish animus, police surveillance, zoning hearings and cease and desist orders.” (07/22/26)
https://archive.is/ICPm4
Source: Politico
“New York City landlords are suing to block the recently-approved rent freeze championed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The complaint, filed in Staten Island Supreme Court, alleges Mamdani placed undue influence on the nine-member Rent Guidelines Board — which then cherry picked data to understate landlord costs and overstate incomes. The mayor-appointed panel voted 7-1 in favor of a rent freeze on one- and two-year leases. The decision will take effect on leases signed on or after Oct. 1.” (07/22/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/22/landlords-sue-to-reverse-rent-freeze-on-1-million-apartments-01007701
Source: Reason
by Jacob Sullum
“Imagine how Republicans would react if a Democratic president reflexively threatened to yank the broadcast licenses of TV stations because he did not like their news coverage or programming decisions. President Donald Trump has been doing that since his first term, and he did it again last week after ABC and NBC declined to offer live coverage of his speech about election security. These threats are part of an intimidation campaign that has already yielded striking concessions to Trump’s whims. His weaponization of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is designed to chill constitutionally protected speech, establishing a precedent that Republicans may regret when their opponents take control of the White House. Brendan Carr, the Trump-appointed FCC chairman, seems to think broadcasters have a legal obligation to please the president.” (07/22/26)
https://reason.com/2026/07/22/trumps-threats-to-yank-broadcast-licenses-are-part-of-a-speech-chilling-intimidation-campaign/
Source: Fox News
by Steve Forbes & Stephen Moore
“Washington rarely discovers an economic policy that promotes investment, strengthens national security, improves services for consumers and raises billions of dollars for the Treasury without imposing a new tax. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr’s newly announced ‘super band’ spectrum auction manages to do all four. Spectrum may be invisible, but it is among the most valuable resources in the modern economy. It carries phone calls, financial transactions, emergency communications, industrial data, streaming video and the growing volume of information moving between connected devices. … Auctions offer the quintessentially American solution: Free up and use markets.” [editor’s note: Not really, since these auctions are based on the fiction that the US regime owns the frequencies being auctioned – TLK] (07/26/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/steve-forbes-stephen-moore-america-must-free-airwaves-before-china-pulls-ahead
Source: NBC News
“A federal judge has barred the deportation of a witness in the [murder] of a Mexican homebuilder by federal immigration officers during a traffic stop in Houston. Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego was one of three passengers in a van driven by Lorenzo Araujo Salgado when Araujo Salgado was [murdered] by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on July 7 while they were driving to work at a construction site. … Rojas Pliego must remain in the Southern District of Texas while his habeas petition is pending, U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison wrote in an order on Monday. Rojas Pliego says he is being held unconstitutionally in ICE custody, court records show.” (07/22/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/judge-bars-deportation-witness-fatal-ice-shooting-mexican-homebuilder-rcna588690
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave gives his radar on leftist commentator Kyle Kulinski suggesting that the war with Iran will make it harder for terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah.” (07/22/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/5978088-rising-july-22-2026/
