Democracy has a participation problem. AI may help solve it.

Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Education
by Chloe Ratner

“While discussions about AI often focus on misinformation and transparency, these concerns miss the bigger picture. The question is no longer whether AI should shape democratic processes — it already does — but how it can be channeled to promote free speech and democracy with imperfect tools. Generative AI has become a hot debate topic in the world of First Amendment rights and free speech. Questions about how to classify AI-generated content, what protections it does or does not deserve, and who bears liability for its outputs represent genuine legal and ethical frontiers. But amid these legal and ethical debates, a fundamental capability of AI gets lost in the noise: its ability to sort, organize, and amplify human speech rather than replace it.” (07/08/25)

https://www.fire.org/news/democracy-has-participation-problem-ai-may-help-solve-it

Mamdani’s Embittered Fourth of July Rant to America

Source: American Greatness
by Victor Davis Hanson

“Zohran Mamdani, New York’s self-described socialist mayor, could not resist using the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration to trash the very country that he and his parents voluntarily sought out. As is his custom, Mamdani speaks in stereotypes and generalities, offering few if any examples, all laced with his accustomed unctuous hypocrisy. … At every moment in our past, those who led through exclusion and isolation have tried to win power and enrich themselves by turning us against one another. Thus spoke the pampered rich kid from Uganda, who immigrated to America with his now-endowed professor father and elite filmmaker mother, the latter reportedly supported by millions of dollars in grants from the Qatari royal autocracy.” (07/07/26)

https://amgreatness.com/2026/07/07/mamdanis-embittered-fourth-of-july-rant-to-america/

UK: Farage triggers by-election amid donations probe

Source: Politico

“Nigel Farage resigned as an MP Tuesday to trigger a by-election amid intense scrutiny of his financial arrangements. … Farage is being investigated by Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Daniel Greenberg over whether he broke House of Commons rules by failing to declare a £5 million donation from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne. Farage has repeatedly said he was under no obligation to declare the gift because he received it before he was elected as Clacton MP. He said Tuesday he is also being investigated over fresh accusations he failed to declare gifts and donations from crypto entrepreneur George Cottrell.” (07/07/26)

https://www.politico.eu/article/nigel-farage-triggers-by-election-amid-donations-probe

Rewarding Good Governance: How Foot-Voters Benefit Society

Source: The Daily Economy
by Emile Phaneuf III

“Governance improves when people and businesses are free to leave high-tax, low-value jurisdictions. Competition can improve public policy just as it improves products and services.” (07/07/26)

https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/rewarding-good-governance-how-foot-voters-benefit-society/

Return-to-office mandates are a pay cut in disguise

Source: The Hill
by Gleb Tsipursky

“Return-to-office is a compensation decision that hits wallets first and morale soon after. If leaders want people in seats, the fair move is simple: cover the costs or raise the pay. When workers go to the office, they pay to work. The typical in-office day now runs roughly $15 for the commute, $9 for parking, $13 for breakfast or coffee, and $18 for lunch, all detailed in the 2025 Owl Labs report.” [editor’s note: While I agree that it’s a pay cut, if you’re spending $13 for breakfast/coffee and $18 for lunch on a daily basis, I suggest Googling terms like “lunch box” and “insulated mug” – TLK] (07/07/26)

https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/5955528-office-commute-costs-employees/

Today In Dystopia

Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone

“Today in dystopia Americans are becoming increasingly outraged by the ubiquity of Flock’s AI-assisted surveillance cameras throughout US cities. Flock officers getting caught in lies and viral video footage of police abusing their access to the technology have contributed to the outcry, with public vandalism of the cameras taking place with increasing frequency in public spaces. Today in dystopia the German government is moving to ban workers from calling in sick by phone in order to boost the economy by reducing the amount of sick leave being taken by corporate employees. New regulations would require a certified in-person doctor’s visit on the very first day of sick leave. They’re just coming right out and saying that the public exists to serve the corporations now. Today in dystopia we’re starting to see videos of quadrupedal robots firing guns with accuracy and minimal recoil.” (07/07/26)

https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/07/07/today-in-dystopia/

France: Le Pen says she will run for president after court shortens ban on holding office

Source: Reuters

“French far-right leader Marine Le Pen announced that she will run for president in 2027. Le Pen made the announcement during a prime-time TV interview, hours after an appeals court shortened her ban on holding public office. Her presidential hopes had been in limbo since March 2025, when she received the five-year ban for using money from the European Parliament to pay wages for staff at her anti-immigrant National Rally (RN) party in France. The appeals court in Paris upheld her conviction but significantly shortened the ban, so that in effect it is already over. However, the court said she would need to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet for a year. Le Pen said she would appeal against the ruling to France’s highest court, the Cour de Cassation. That would suspend her sentence and the order to wear the tag until the court delivers its own decision, allowing her to campaign freely, she said.” (07/07/26)

https://www.reuters.com/world/marine-le-pen-verdict-live-frances-far-right-leader-awaits-appeal-ruling-with-2026-07-07/

Freedom Versus the Income Tax

Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger

“[F]or more than 100 years, Americans were free to keep everything they earned — 100 percent — and there was nothing that U.S. officials could do about. That’s what it once meant to be an American. That’s what it once meant to be free. By the time the late 1800s came along, the standard of living of the American people was skyrocketing. A big reason for that phenomenon was that there had been no income tax for almost 100 years.” (07/07/26)

https://www.fff.org/2026/07/07/freedom-versus-the-income-tax/