Wash Your Hands of It
Source: Underthrow
“National healing starts when we no longer expect our rulers to heal us.” (07/30/26)
We’ve Officially Entered the Twilight of Late-Stage Trumpism
Source: The New Republic
by Greg Sargent
“No one has ever seen anything like it, as Donald Trump himself might say. Buried in a new CNN poll is something striking: Trump isn’t just cratering by conventional approval measurements; he’s also absolutely collapsing by many metrics involving personal traits, from his mental state to his disconnectedness from ordinary people to his fondness for building monuments to himself. Welcome to the era of Late-Stage Trumpism. The ‘personalist’ aspects of Trumpian rule—the shaping of much of the government and even the physical capital of Washington, D.C., around one man’s relentless self-dealing and self-aggrandizement—have all started imploding in on themselves, in a collapsing supernova of venality and megalomania.” (07/30/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/213727/trump-polls-approval-twilight-late-stage-trumpism
Trump Inherited Peace Deals But Torched Them For More War, And Other Notes
Source: Caitlin Johnstone
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Trump inherited a perfectly functional Iran nuclear deal in his first term and ceasefires between Yemen and Saudi Arabia and between Israel and Hezbollah in his second term. He had the possibility of peace in the middle east handed to him on a golden platter, and he actively torched it.” (07/30/26)
The spacecraft NASA sent to rescue the falling Swift observatory is in trouble
Source: Engadget
In early July, NASA launched a spacecraft designed to rescue the Swift observatory, which is currently decaying at a faster rate than normal, in hopes that it could still collect data for scientists over the coming years. But now that spacecraft itself is in trouble, and the fate of the mission remains unclear. In an update on the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory blog, NASA has revealed that the spacecraft called LINK experienced attitude control issues last weekend, meaning it had problems managing its orientation in space. That caused the spacecraft to spin, which in turn resulted to sporadic communications. … Thankfully, the ground team still has communication with LINK, and it’s planning to use the spacecraft’s electric propulsion thrusters to try and stop its spinning over the coming days.” (07/30/26)
https://www.engadget.com/2226863/nasa-swift-rescue-link-probe-in-trouble/
Nick Cleveland-Stout on The Scott Horton Show
Source: The Scott Horton Show
“Scott interviews Nick Cleveland-Stout from Responsible Statecraft about his reporting on the Israel lobby’s multifaceted attempt to influence the American public.” (07/30/26)
How Education Entrepreneurs Can Overcome Regulatory Challenges
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Denise Lever
“When founders start education businesses, the conversations revolve around the learners. Founders focus on curriculum, culture, families, vision, and mission. Then months, and sometimes years, later, the questions shift to different concerns. ‘Do I need a business license?’ ‘Where do I get insurance?’ ‘How do I know who has jurisdiction?’ and, eventually, ‘Do you know a good lawyer?’ Many founders willingly invest hundreds of hours learning about child development, curriculum, and how to build a learning community culture. What many don’t anticipate is that bringing that vision to life also requires understanding lease agreements, zoning, employment law, insurance, building codes, and a host of other regulations that have little to do with education and everything to do with operating a successful education business.” (07/30/26)
https://fee.org/articles/how-education-entrepreneurs-can-overcome-regulatory-challenges/
Trading Our Way to Wealth
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen Pirie
“Every voluntary trade makes both parties richer. The buyer values what they receive more than what they give up. The seller values what he or she receives more than what they give up. Nothing is created in a factory sense, yet wealth appears, because both sides end up holding something they prize more highly than what they started with. This is not a zero-sum shuffle of existing goods. It is the mechanism by which economies grow.” (07/30/26)
Study: Viagra shows potential against cancer spread
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“Best known as Viagra, the erectile dysfunction drug sildenafil started off as a treatment for reduced blood flow but soon saw its value spike after its other effects became clear. The blue pill could have more uses, according to research by scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Tel Aviv. The team found indications that it curbs cancer metastasis via a ‘newly discovered biological mechanism’ drawing upon the drug’s blood dilatation effects. … the team says an analysis of digital health records pointed to ‘significantly improved survival among sildenafil users, with a dose-dependent additive benefit observed when combined with statins.'” (07/30/26)
The Headlines, 07/30/26
Source: New York Times
“How the War With Iran Is Widening, and U.S. Hospitals See a Surge of Uninsured Patients.” (07/30/26)
Who Gets Rich from Innovation? Evidence from Broadband Expansion on the Colville Reservation
Source: The Daily Economy
by Vincent Geloso
“The biggest winners from new technologies are usually the people who use them, not the people who invent them.” (07/30/26)