Underthrow Podcast, 07/16/26
Source: Underthrow
“Greetings, Young Socialists.” (07/16/26)
https://underthrow.substack.com/p/greetings-young-socialists
Spending All the Way to the Abyss
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“Entire categories of federal spending shouldn’t exist.
Now, it would be easy to eliminate budget deficits and to begin to make big and regular dents in the national debt, were it not for one teensy-weensy problem. Just hand me the budget (in electronic form, please) and a red pencil and I’ll hack away at the billions and billions. And trillions. If that would take too long, I’d enlist a team of like-minded spending cutters to help. We’d be doing something like what the Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, tried to do early in the second Trump administration. DOGE didn’t go or wasn’t allowed to go anywhere near far enough, though.” (07/16/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/07/16/spending-all-the-way-to-the-abyss/
The Odyssey Hullabaloo
Source: American Greatness
by Victor Davis Hanson
“cclaimed British filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s (The Dark Knight, Oppenheimer) newest film, The Odyssey, opens this week in the United States. But controversy has already surrounded Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s 2,700-year-old epic poem about Odysseus’s 10-year struggle to return home after the Achaian victory in the decade-long Trojan War. Some of the film’s actresses have suggested that Nolan is offering a more feminist—and long-overdue—take on the ancient poem. Actress Lupita Nyong’o, in particular, has criticized Homer’s purported sexism. Perhaps her misreading of Homer stems from her admission that, despite receiving degrees from elite Hampshire College and Yale, the 42-year-old actress had never even read the Odyssey until she was cast in the minor dual roles of Helen and her sister Clytemnestra.” (07/16/26)
Argentina’s World Cup team faces action over Falklands banner
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Argentina face the prospect of disciplinary action from Fifa after their players celebrated the World Cup semi-final win against England with a banner in support of their country’s claims to the Falkland Islands. The defending world champions produced a dramatic late comeback in Atlanta, scoring twice to defeat Thomas Tuchel’s side 2-1 and book a showdown with Spain in Sunday’s final. After the final whistle, Argentina players celebrated while holding a banner reading ‘Las Malvinas son Argentinas’, which translates as ‘The Falklands are Argentine’. The Falklands, a British overseas territory in the south-west Atlantic Ocean, remain the subject of a sovereignty dispute between the UK and Argentina. Downing Street backed calls for Fifa to investigate, with the prime minister’s official spokesperson saying: ‘The World Cup might not be ours, but the Falkland Islands definitely are. Our commitment to the Falklands will never waver.'” (07/16/26)
Politico Playbook Audio Briefing, 07/16/26
Source: Politico
“What to expect from Trump’s address.” (07/16/26)
How the American Republic Became a Managerial State
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Bruce Pardy
“It wasn’t supposed to be this way. The United States was the land of the free. Limited government. Checks and balances. Separation of powers. The Bill of Rights. But America has instead become a managed society. Its government dominates the lives of its people. How did it go wrong? Lots of bad steps helped to transform the American republic into a managerial state. Here are eleven of the moments that sent the ship off course.” (07/16/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/how-the-american-republic-became-a-managerial-state/
A Crisis in the Humanities
Source: Quillette
by Paul Boghossian
“The norms governing scholarship now often serve to protect a rigid orthodoxy on certain politically charged issues—with ideological tests substituted for proper academic standards.” (07/16/26)
https://quillette.com/2026/07/16/a-crisis-in-the-humanities/
The crusade to ban teens from social media is advancing across Europe
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Sarah McLaughlin
“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind is blowing on teen social media bans. The bans are everywhere, and more are coming. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced this week that the EU will seek some form of a youth social media ban across Europe. … Over in Australia, the landmark under-16 ban has been missing the mark. It simply has not worked to keep kids off of social media. So officials are doubling down.” (07/16/26)
Iceberg lettuce supplier investigated as possible source in cyclosporiasis outbreak
Source: NBC News
“The Food and Drug Administration is investigating iceberg lettuce supplied to Taco Bells by Taylor Farms as a possible source in an escalating outbreak of cyclosporiasis in four Midwestern states, a stomach bug that causes weeks of severe diarrhea, according to a person familiar with the investigation. Nationwide, nearly 7,000 people nationwide may have been sickened, with 1,645 of those cases confirmed and more than 5,100 still under investigation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No deaths have been reported. Earlier this week, the CDC announced an investigation into more than 400 cases in Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky.” (07/16/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/fda-names-source-cyclosporiasis-outbreak-rcna587899
How Much Will the New Federal Scholarship Tax Credit Boost School Choice Funding?
Source: Show-Me Institute
by Cory Koedel
“While it is unfortunate that the federal budget is off the rails, it is hard to get too worked up about this program when (a) it is a drop in the bucket compared to our broader fiscal problems, and (b) so much of our debt-financed spending benefits older Americans. If we’re going to keep borrowing, why not direct at least a small share toward expanding opportunities for children?” (07/16/26)