Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
“As our nations (the Fifty States) approach the 250th birthday of the Union, the mood is surprisingly gloomy across much of our land. A recent survey from Pew Research, for instance, found that just 17% of Americans believe the federal government can be trusted to do the right thing … most of the time. (We note that some of us might be surprised to see how high this is: almost 1 in 5?) Only about one-quarter say they feel optimistic about the country’s future, and many Americans believe the United States is more divided than united.” (06/29/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/06/29/are-you-a-gloomy-gus-about-the-states/
Source: The American Prospect
by Robert Kuttner
“On Saturday, The Guardian published a leaked draft memo that would give Trump’s so-called ‘Board of Peace’ and its contractors in Gaza blanket legal immunity from any charges of wrongdoing. The draft language would also let the organization obtain public property in Gaza ‘free of charge’. This is only the latest example of the crass power grab in Trump’s Gaza peace plan, which U.S. representatives strong-armed the U.N. Security Council into endorsing back in November 2025. Meanwhile, on June 18, Hillary Rodham Clinton published an absolutely bizarre op-ed piece in the Financial Times endorsing Trump’s Board of Peace and its grand plans for Gaza. The op-ed was titled ‘The World May Not Like Trump’s Gaza Plan, but There Is No Alternative’. Neither article has gotten much attention in U.S. media.” (06/30/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/06/30/hillary-clinton-trump-board-of-peace-gaza/
Source: Politico
“The Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider President Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn a 2023 jury verdict holding him liable for the sexual abuse and defamation of writer E. Jean Carroll, dealing a final blow to the president’s effort to thwart one of the most significant legal victories against him. Carroll’s lawsuit accused Trump of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s and then describing her allegations as a ‘hoax’ after she went public with them during the first term of his presidency. The Supreme Court’s decision not to intervene means Trump will have to pay Carroll the $5 million judgment, plus interest, that the jury awarded her. Trump, however, is still appealing a much larger judgment — $83.3 million plus interest — awarded to Carroll after a second trial that found Trump liable for other acts of defamation.” (06/29/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/29/e-jean-carroll-donald-trump-supreme-court-00979728
Source: Reason
“Is Socialism Going Mainstream?” (06/29/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/06/29/is-socialism-going-mainstream/
Source: Tenth Amendment Center
by Rob Natelson
“During the 18th century, an official declaration was an announcement of a particular event, often after the event had occurred. In addition to the announcement, a declaration might explain the event or justify the action being taken. For example, in cases of offensive war, a government issued a declaration announcing the commencement of hostilities and presenting its justification for fighting. During the summer of 1775, the Second Continental Congress issued a ‘Declaration of the Causes and Necessity for Taking Up Arms.’ This document explained why armed resistance against Britain had arisen and why it was necessary. … The Declaration of Independence was also an announcement. When it was approved (July 4, 1776) and released to the public (July 8), Congress had already voted for Independence (July 2). The Declaration did not create a new legal situation; it explained why it had arisen.” (06/29/26)
https://tenthamendmentcenter.com/2026/06/29/what-is-the-declaration-of-independence/
Source: AOL
“An explosion at a residential building in Monaco has left three people injured, including Ukrainian oligarch Vadym Yermolaiev, in an incident that the authorities say was almost certainly an attack targeting the tycoon. Mr Yermolaiev and his wife were fighting for their lives in critical condition after the explosion, according to reports, while a 13-year-old child was also badly injured. … Mr Yermolaiev is a major real estate developer in Dnipro. … He left Ukraine several years ago, renounced his Ukrainian citizenship in 2019 and became a citizen of Cyprus. In 2023, he was placed under Ukrainian sanctions by president Volodymyr Zelensky, who imposed a 10-year sanctions package over allegations tied to his alcohol business operations in Russia-occupied [sic] Crimea.” (06/30/26)
https://www.aol.com/articles/ukrainian-construction-tycoon-vadym-yermolaiev-063511000.html?guccounter=1
Source: Expression
by Carolyn Iodice & John Coleman
“For decades, Americans have enjoyed broad freedom to build tools to communicate with each other on the internet. From the smallest message board to the biggest social media platform, the First Amendment protects our right to freely design and use platforms to talk and share content with each other online. The government can go after wrongdoers that use online platforms for illegal activity, but it does not get to decide how a platform is designed and operated in the first place. The KIDS Act would fundamentally overturn this status quo by allowing the government to decide how platforms can be built and imposing restrictions that will censor the speech of adults and minors alike.” (06/29/26)
https://expression.fire.org/p/the-kids-act-would-put-washington
Source: Reason
“Marjorie Taylor Greene discusses the future of the Republican Party, the resurgence of democratic socialism, and why the political establishment always wins.” (06/29/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/06/29/marjorie-taylor-greene-youre-not-being-represented/
Source: Independent [UK]
“US envoys are flying into Doha for high-level peace talks amid a renewed spate of strikes, despite claims from Tehran that no such talks have been arranged. Secretary of state Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to represent the US, a White House official said. ‘IRAN HAS REQUESTED A MEETING. IT WILL TAKE PLACE TOMORROW IN DOHA,’ Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social. However, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, said no talks between Iran and the US were scheduled in the coming days.” (06/30/26)
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-us-war-live-trump-qatar-peace-talks-hormuz-strikes-b3005529.html
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
“Qualitative history lends itself to confirmation bias. Even when you have some quantitative measures of economic policy, it’s easy to put extra weight on the measures that deliver the answer you’re looking for. I’m not immune to motivated reasoning. I loathe and despise both socialism and Nazism, so it’s pleasant for me to equate them. I freely admit it. What to do? I could spend a year reading more about this topic. I could even spend a few years getting to the research frontier so I could credibly publish on the question, ‘How socialist was Germany under National Socialism?’ But while this is a fascinating issue, the opportunity cost of seriously deepening my understanding is just too high. Or to be more precise, the opportunity cost was too high. AI has drastically slashed the costs of quantification — and simultaneously drastically increased the credibility of quick quantification.” (06/29/26)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/uber-socialist-chatgpt-on-economic
