Source: New York Post
by Rich Lowry

“At its best, Washington, DC, is a city of grandeur, of iconic monuments and world historical centers of power. At its worst, it’s a harrowing place where a 14-year-old could steal your Hyundai. The confluence of these two truths in the terrible early-morning beating of the DOGE employee Edward Coristine (known by his sobriquet ‘Big Balls’) has prompted President Trump to federalize the DC police and deploy the National Guard. The software engineer played a significant role in the frenetic push to reform the federal government that dominated the beginning of Trump’s second term and, by virtue of being in the wrong place at the wrong time (and protecting a young woman), was violently attacked by teenagers within two miles of the White House.” (08/11/25)

https://nypost.com/2025/08/11/opinion/washington-dc-has-itself-to-blame-for-trumps-police-takeover/

Source: Chris Matthew Sciabarra
by Chris Matthew Sciabarra

“The Second World War had a profound impact on my family. From countless conversations that I’d had over the years with uncles, aunts, cousins, and friends, I knew that the war experience had been brutal on so many levels, both at home and abroad. I knew that some had paid the ultimate price in key battles of that war, while others returned home to families that were changed forever. I had even formally interviewed one of my uncles for a school project that illuminated the difficulties of military service …. And yet, nothing quite prepared me for the education I’d receive upon discovering and reading scores of letters, which my mother had saved, written during the war — transporting me back to a time and place that enabled me to feel the daily trials and tribulations of a generation in ways that I could never have imagined.” (08/12/25)

https://medium.com/@cms10_7549/letters-from-world-war-ii-1-38a8b5bdc8c8

Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Michael Corbin

“Russia’s economy is at a critical juncture. It is not an understatement to say that Moscow needs these Alaska peace talks with the Trump administration on Friday to end the Ukraine war as much as Kyiv does. Mixed indicators in June signal that the overall economy seems relatively stable for the near term, but recession may be on the horizon. It may be trying to hide it, but Moscow can no longer obscure the true costs of the war, which are in part to blame for current conditions. After the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Kremlin initially used budget spending, counter-sanctions measures, and credit growth to boost investment, which were largely successful as the economy grew near 4 percent in 2023 and 2024. However, in late 2024, the measures used to secure a war economy led to economic overheating, wage growth, and rampant inflation.” (08/12/25)

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/russia-economy-war/

Source: Law & Liberty
by Rachel Lu

“As a conservative, I have a natural suspicion of techno-optimists. Large language models are the big newcomer, and they do raise many new concerns. Everyone appreciates this in the abstract, but talking with fellow conservatives (both older and younger), I don’t always find it easy to make common cause. Many seem inclined to shun AI and other new technologies, to ‘just say no’ or at least encourage everyone to use them as little as possible. I understand, but to me that feels like dereliction, a refusal to face up to the task at hand.” (08/12/25)

https://lawliberty.org/a-defense-of-ai-parenting/

Source: The American Prospect
by Whitney Curry Wimbish

“Certain rich lawmakers are losing their minds over a proposed congressional stock-trading ban that a bipartisan group of senators advanced last month. They argue that forbidding them from using their inside knowledge to play the market will make public office ‘unattractive’ and drive those who serve into poverty. ‘Anybody want to be poor?’ asked Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), one of the richest people in Congress, whose health care company defrauded Medicare and Medicaid in the ’90s when he was its chief executive. ‘I don’t.’ But Wall Street insiders said Scott and his fellow wealthy electeds have little cause to worry. The proposal leaves plenty of room to profit off insider information, so much so that they described it as inadequate and ‘stupid,’ and called carve-outs that can be traded under the terms of the bill, including corporate bonds, ‘insane.'” (08/12/25)

https://prospect.org/power/2025-08-12-lawmakers-profit-proposed-stock-ban-insider-trading/