Source: Washington Post
by Jack Shafer
“When Donald Trump finally gets around to erecting his proposed $34 million National Garden of American Heroes, he should reserve a tall plinth for a bronze likeness of George Washington Plunkitt. … Plunkitt might not be the equal of Thomas Jefferson or Ray Charles, two additional proposed honorees, and Trump might never have heard of him. But Plunkitt’s example has served Trump throughout his career. … Plunkitt analyzed the two ways officeholders could use their positions to garner personal wealth. They could rob directly from the public coffers, which Plunkitt conceded was wrong, calling it ‘dishonest graft.’ Or they could operate in a grayer, only slightly more ethical zone, and sell and trade political influence like a commodity. This, Plunkitt argued, was right and just, and he celebrated it as ‘honest graft.'” (07/11/25)
https://archive.is/5rZXL
Source: New York Post
by Karol Markowicz
“It should be this week’s biggest story: Violent assailants are targeting on-the-job federal law enforcement officials with murderous intent. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement is bearing the brunt of these assaults, with aggression against ICE agents up 700% compared to the same time last year. Blame the Democrats — as their unhinged rhetoric turbocharges the left’s ‘assassination culture.’ On Thursday, a rioter trying to stop an ICE raid on a marijuana farm in Camarillo, Calif., shot a gun at agents, while other protesters pelted federal vehicles with large rocks. … on July 4, a masked and armed mob dressed in tactical gear attacked an ICE facility in Alvarado, Texas. A local police officer was shot in the neck as assailants rioted and defaced officers’ vehicles with graffiti reading ‘traitor’ and ‘ICE pig.'” [editor’s note: All the ICE gang has to do to put a stop to this is disband and tell its members to get real jobs – TLK] (07/11/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/07/11/opinion/dems-fan-the-flames-of-assassination-culture-against-ice/
Source: SFGate
“Much of the Upper Midwest on Saturday was dealing with swaths of unhealthy air because of drifting smoke from Canadian wildfires, covering the northern region of the U.S. at a time when people want to be enjoying lakes, trails and the great outdoors. Most of Minnesota and parts of Montana, North Dakota and Wisconsin were ranked ‘unhealthy’ for air quality on a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency map. Part of North Dakota that is home to Theodore Roosevelt National Park and other tourist attractions was ranked ‘very unhealthy,’ some of the worst air quality in the nation.” (07/12/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/unhealthy-smoke-from-canadian-wildfires-blankets-20767465.php
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Michael Galant & Eleonora Piergallini
“On June 30, President Trump signed an executive order terminating the majority of U.S. sanctions on Syria. The move, which would have been unthinkable mere months ago, fulfilled a promise he made at an investment forum in Riyadh in May. ‘The sanctions were brutal and crippling,’ he had declared to an audience of primarily Saudi businessmen. Lifting them, he said, will ‘give Syria a chance at greatness.’ The significance of this statement lies not solely in the relief that it will bring to the Syrian people. His remarks revealed an implicit but rarely admitted truth: sanctions — often presented as a peaceful alternative to war — have been harming the Syrian people all along.” (07/11/25)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/syria-sanctions/
Source: United Press International
“A divided federal appellate court panel canceled plea deals for three defendants who are accused to plotting the 9/11 terrorist attacks that killed 2,976 in 2001. A three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed by a 2-1 decision that former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin legally rescinded existing plea deals with the three defendants. … The plea agreement would have spared the three men from execution and instead would have sentenced each to life in prison.” (07/12/25)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2025/07/12/911-plea-deals-ruling/8191752367694/
Source: Free Talk Live
“Man in NH who cheered on Trump ICE raids has it happen to him :: ICE raids an American family in Oklahoma :: Are we seeing a hard pendulum swing to the right? :: Don’t blame drugs, blame the welfare …. Hosts: Bonnie, Riley, Jay Noone.” (07/12/25)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/ftl2025-07-12
Source: Law & Liberty
by Anthony Lusvardi, SJ
“Gatsby turned 100 this year. Next year, America will turn 250, and the novel still sheds light on the nation. The themes that Gatsby evokes — aspiration and class resentment, hope, the thirst for some kind of greatness — remain very much a part of American life today, though the vagaries of history have rearranged them into strange new forms.” (07/11/25)
https://lawliberty.org/gatsbys-tragic-flaw/
Source: New York Post
“President Trump came to the defense of Attorney General Pam Bondi Saturday night — just hours after FBI Director Kash Patel dismissed resignation rumors amid growing tensions over the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein probe. Despite reports of internal turmoil and mounting calls for Bondi’s resignation, Trump praised the work of his attorney general and urged Americans to stop wasting ‘time and energy’ on Epstein. ‘What’s going on with my ‘boys’ and, in some cases, ‘gals?’ They’re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB!’ Trump, wrote on Truth Social. ‘We’re on one Team, MAGA, and I don’t like what’s happened. We have a PERFECT administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and ‘selfish people’ are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein,’ the president continued.” (07/13/25)
https://nypost.com/2025/07/12/us-news/trump-defends-pam-bondi-hours-after-fbi-boss-kash-patel-squashed-conspiracy-resignation-rumors-over-epstein-files-uproar/
Source: The Borowitz Report
by Andy Borowitz
“Are we thinking too much about politics? That might sound hypocritical coming from someone who writes about politics every day. If we’re too obsessed with the Trump shitshow, then clearly I’m part of the problem. But still. We’re all faced with a tricky choice. If we bury our heads in the sand, the dictatorship wins. But if we’re in a constant state of panic, it also wins. It’s hard to mount an effective resistance if your hair’s on fire 24/7. Maybe we should reframe the choice. Well-informed concern and vigilance that lead to action? Good. Relentless doomscrolling and freakouts that induce catatonia? Bad.” (07/11/25)
https://www.borowitzreport.com/p/are-we-thinking-too-much-about-politics
Source: Common Dreams
by Medea Benjamin
“The Israeli government has just put forward one of the most brazenly genocidal schemes in modern memory — and unless we act immediately, the world will once again let it happen. As reported in Haaretz, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz is proposing to force some 600,000 Palestinians (and eventually the entire population of Gaza) into a fenced-in ‘humanitarian city’ to be built on the ruins of Rafah in southern Gaza. The plan is to ‘screen’ the population, separate out alleged Hamas members, and then pressure the remaining civilians (men, women, and children) to ‘voluntarily’ leave Gaza for another country. Which country? That hasn’t even been determined. The point isn’t relocation — it’s erasure. This reflects a long-standing goal among many Israelis, especially on the right, to take full control of Gaza and clear it of Palestinians.” (07/12/25)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/stop-israel-s-humanitarian-city
