Source: American Greatness
by Edward Ring
“Veteran political strategist Garry South has just published a guest commentary in the San Francisco Chronicle in which he asks the question, ‘Is Steve Hilton a serious candidate?’ South then launches a series of attacks to make clear he doesn’t think Hilton is gubernatorial material. But only a serious contender could have survived California’s so-called ‘jungle primary’, where voters choose among all candidates regardless of party affiliation. In a field of 61 candidates, Hilton came in second to Democrat Xavier Becerra. These top-two finishers will now face each other in the state’s general election this November. There’s nothing unique about South attacking Hilton in a guest column. Politics is a dirty business, where tone is more potent than truth and emotion more effective than evidence.” (08/05/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/08/05/california-needs-steve-hiltons-allegedly-zany-ideas/
Source: Astral Codex Ten
by Scott Alexander
“Commenters convinced me I made a subtle mis-step in my framing of Psychology Research Is Mostly Fine. My framing emphasized that social priming studies had failed to replicate, but that many other subfields of psychology hadn’t. This naturally led commenters to point to failed replications in other subfields. Although none of these were as bad as social priming, few or none were entirely problem-free. Instead of emphasizing the difference between social priming and other subfields, I should have emphasized the difference between settled science and novel research.” (08/04/26)
https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/the-beauty-of-settled-science
Source: SFGate
“The state of New Mexico sued the Department of Justice and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Wednesday, saying the federal government blocked the state’s ability to investigate the sex crimes of financier Jeffrey Epstein at a ranch there. The lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., said the Justice Department and Blanche stonewalled New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez’s criminal investigation into Epstein and others, taking steps that ‘actively harms victims and undermines the public interest’. The lawsuit, which seeks judicial intervention to force the federal government to turn over relevant materials to New Mexico’s investigators, was filed on the same day that New Mexico is releasing a report showing its preliminary findings from an ongoing probe into Epstein and his ranch.” (08/05/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/state-of-new-mexico-sues-justice-department-and-22375604.php
Source: Quillette
“Politicising the Humanities: Sociology as Case Study.” (08/04/26)
https://quillette.com/2026/08/04/politicising-the-humanities-sociology-as-case-study/
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Jonah Goldberg
“If I considered Trump more heroic than reason and facts could allow, I would say his Sisyphean predicament has the whiff of Greek tragedy to it. Trump is vexed by the fact that the Iranians won’t honor deals or ratify his countless premature claims of victory — giving new meaning to his vow that his presidency would make people tired of winning. It’s almost like they’re out-Trumping Trump.” (08/04/26)
https://archive.is/V11Zl
Source: In These Times
by Jen Sorensen
Cartoon. (08/04/26)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/airline-ceos-are-profiting-and-flying-private-jets-comic-jen-sorensen
Source: Roll Call
“Missouri Rep. Wesley Bell crushed a comeback attempt by his predecessor Cori Bush, a democratic socialist and sharp critic of the war in Gaza, in a high-profile Democratic primary Tuesday that drew millions of dollars in ads from pro-Israel groups. With more than 95 percent of votes in, Bell was leading Bush 59 percent to 37 percent in the Democratic contest for the St. Louis-anchored 1st District, The Associated Press reported. The result marks a victory for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel group whose campaign arm spent more than $2.5 million targeting Bush.” (08/05/26)
https://rollcall.com/2026/08/05/rep-wesley-bell-defeats-predecessor-cori-bush-in-high-profile-missouri-primary/
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Larry Johnson: Is WWIII INCOMING?! Zelensky Attempts to Merge Ukraine, Iran War.” (08/04/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/blog/the-kyle-anzalone-show-guest-larry-johnson-is-wwiii-incoming-zelensky-attempts-to-merge-ukraine-iran-war/
Source: USA Today
by Rex Huppke
“Let’s take a moment to read some actual words posted on social media by the actual president of the United States of America. On Aug. 3, Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social: ‘My REAL Polling Numbers, not those made up by the Fake News Media, are the best they have ever been.’ It’s an insult to fiction to call that fiction. I’m not sure what you call something more fabricated than fiction – maybe ‘ludicriction’? – but that’s what Trump’s words are. … Trump isn’t living in reality. He’s not allowing real numbers or facts about war or struggling Americans or high food prices to permeate his bubble. He’s living in a world where everything is amazing, and he’s to thank for all of it, and any claim otherwise is fake news.” (08/04/26)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2026/08/04/trump-approval-polls-lies-truth-social/91156618007/
Source: Exiled Policy
by Jason Pye
“During a press conference yesterday, Trump had a Bush moment. An unidentified reporter asked Trump about the ‘record profits’ that Exxon and Chevron have supposedly seen. Trump complained that oil companies are ‘making too much money,’ while, in the next breath, touting himself as ‘a big free enterprise guy.’ … If Trump didn’t want oil and gas prices to rise, then he shouldn’t have started bombing Iran, the inevitable consequence of which would be to close the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint for roughly a fifth of global oil supply.” (08/04/26)
https://exiledpolicy.substack.com/p/trumps-whining-about-oil-companies
