This European country launched a task force to target “hate speech.” Now a journalist who insulted politicians is going to prison.

Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Sarah McLaughlin

“Vakho Sanaia, a journalist with Formula TV, wrote a Facebook post in June sarcastically encouraging others not to call [Georgian] Parliamentary Speaker Shalva Papuashvili and Member of Parliament Lado Bozhadze ‘dicks.’ On July 10, the Tbilisi City Court fined Sanaia around $2,300 for the post. Sanaia responded to the ruling with two more comments: ‘I wrote a post, saying ‘don’t call Papuashvili and Bozhadze d*cks’ [sic] and they fined me ₾6,000. Well, go ahead and call them that, then,’ and a joke that the decision meant the court was therefore declaring Papuashvili and Bozhadze ‘dicks.’ Sanaia soon learned the Division for Combating Hate Speech was pursuing an investigation of these two new posts, and last week he was sentenced to 14 days in prison on top of his original fine.” (07/27/26)

https://www.fire.org/news/blogs/free-speech-dispatch/european-country-launched-task-force-target-hate-speech-now

California Dreaming

Source: Law & Liberty
by Christopher Calton

“We talk about the housing crisis as if it is a national problem, but housing costs vary widely between states, and California tops the list. As of March 2026, the median sale price of a California home reached a staggering $854,000, roughly double the national average. This has forced many Californians to pack their bags and search for a better—or, at least, more affordable—life elsewhere. The California exodus is a harsh reminder that there are two ways to solve the housing crisis: the state can either facilitate housing construction, or it can say goodbye to its residents. If California cannot bring prices down by adding to the supply, population flight will eventually lower prices on the demand side.” (07/27/26)

https://lawliberty.org/california-dreaming/

The World Is Watching the United States. So Are Workers.

Source: Inequality.org
by Luc Triangle & Cathy Feingold

“For generations, the United States has been a global advocate for freedom, democracy, and the rule of law. Today, however, the world is calling on the United States to uphold those same principles at home.” (07/27/26)

https://inequality.org/article/the-world-is-watching-the-united-states-so-are-workers/

France: Crowd subdues man who attacked three women with knives

Source: Guardian [UK]

“A man attacked three women with knives in Paris before bystanders pinned him to the ground and an off-duty police officer detained him, the French interior ⁠minister, Laurent Nuñez, has said. The man attacked the three women, aged 19, 24 and 36, with ⁠two kitchen knives, severely wounding two of them, near Porte de Clichy on Monday, Nuñez said. A video shared on Snapchat ​and verified by Reuters showed a man ‌with long black ‌hair and wearing a cream tracksuit wielding one big knife in each hand and ‌attempting to attack and stab a young woman. It was unclear if the woman was injured. … Another part of the video shows the same man in a tracksuit lying on the ground immobilised by bystanders, while the two knives are seen lying nearby on a pedestrian crossing. ‘It is Allah who commanded me,’ the man ⁠lying on the floor says in the video.” (07/27/26)

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/27/off-duty-police-officer-detains-man-attacked-women-knives-paris

The Housewives Underground

Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger

“I just finished reading a new book relating to the JFK assassination entitled The Housewives Underground: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the JFK Assassination Our Most Enduring Mystery by Kaitlyn Tiffany, who is a staff writer at The Atlantic. It is a great read and, in fact, once I got into it, I couldn’t put it down. The book tells the story of three women — Sylvia Meagher, Shirley Martin, and Maggie Field — who were part of the first generation of assassination researchers who questioned the official narrative of the JFK assassination.” (07/27/26)

https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/the-housewives-underground/

McConnell (or someone pretending to be him) releases health update

Source: NBC News

“Sen. Mitch McConnell’s office released a health update Monday, saying he’s still not ready to return to in-person work in the Capitol after his June 14 hospitalization. ‘I’m still working hard to get back to my full schedule of work in the Senate and in Kentucky, keeping up with intense physical therapy per my doctors’ orders,’ McConnell, R-Ky. [or someone impersonating him], said in a statement. ‘Unfortunately, that means I won’t be able to make it to Fancy Farm, Kentucky this Saturday.’ … McConnell’s office did not provide a timeline for his return. He has missed the last 38 votes on the Senate floor, according to an NBC News review. The chamber is scheduled to be in session for the next two weeks before summer recess.” (07/27/26)

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/mcconnell-releases-health-update-not-ready-return-work-rcna589452

America’s tipping culture has gone from rewarding service to fee insanity

Source: Fox News
by Carol Roth

“I love old-school tipping; that is, letting a service provider know that you appreciate their outstanding service, whatever the realm may be, with a generous gratuity. It’s a great way for individuals to reward service providers who work hard and to signal your personal appreciation of the effort they have put in to your interaction. However, tipping has morphed from a signal of good work to something that resembles a socialist experiment or the dreaded school group project: everyone expects the same outcome, regardless of their effort or the service they deliver.” (07/27/26)

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/americas-tipping-culture-gone-rewarding-service-fee-insanity

The Worst Lady

Source: The Dispatch
by Kevin D Williamson

“Donald Trump is a terrible president, and he’s an even worse first lady. Things are falling apart in Iran, oil has been back over $100 a barrel, inflation is still inflating, and the president is out there spending his time with … party planning and decorating. Dwight Eisenhower he is not. Never mind that he is decorating badly—doesn’t this guy have other things to do? If he is not out there acting out an aneurysm in front of the White House press corps, he’s playing interior decorator and party planner, poking around at the edges of some low-stakes cultural stuff, and being the world’s most embarrassingly failed social climber. Isn’t that the kind of thing for which presidents have, you know, wives?” (07/27/26)

https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/wanderland/trump-president-first-lady-decorating/