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NYC Rent Freeze. From the City-Journal: The High Cost of New York’s Rent Freeze. The Rent Guidelines Board’s vote provides relief to some tenants while leaving the city’s deeper housing problems unresolved. In 1971, the Swedish economist Assar Lindbeck offered a famous critique of rent control: “In many cases rent control appears to be the most efficient technique presently known to destroy a city—except for bombing.” From the Daily Economy: Housing board votes to freeze New York rents in victory for Mamdani. [Ed: I'm glad I spent time in NYC decades ago.]

From YouTube: I Wanted a Dog, But God Gave Me a Comedian! [Ed: rather long video so I watched it in pieces. Delightful.]

From the Mises Institute: US Taxation Is Fueled by Quiet Envy. Forget equity and fairness and reducing so-called wealth gaps. The current “tax-the-rich” movement is driven by an unspoken pathology: envy.

Cryptocurrency. From Coin Telegraph: EU Watchdog EBA Details Big Crypto Fines As Landmark Laws Bite.The European Banking Authority laid out a proposed penalty framework that can strip non-compliant significant token issuers of up to 12.5% of their annual revenue... [Ed: it is easy for crypto issuers to move elsewhere. And probably prudent.] From Courthouse News: Convicted crypto bros seek relief in the 11th Circuit. The convictions centered on how the federal government defines securities in the opaque world of cryptocurrencies.

From Of Two Minds Blog: The US Economy In a Nutshell: Privatize the Gains, Socialize the Costs. [Ed: in terms of gov.'s goals, this captures it.]

NATO Summit 2026. From Middle East Eye: Turkey Bans Protests Across Many Provinces Ahead Of Major NATO Summit. Annual summit set for July 7-8 with President Trump's expected attendance... From AP News: NATO deputy commander wants Turkey summit to spur more defense spending and show unity.

From Zero Hedge: GM Replaces 1,000 Factory Zero Workers With 50 Robots. The decision reflects a broader shift across the auto industry as manufacturers lean more heavily on robotics and AI to improve efficiency while labor groups warn about the impact on employment.

Iran. From Zero Hedge: Iran Contradicts Trump, Refuses Talks 'At Any Level' For Coming Days, While US Delegation Travels To Qatar. Trump earlier Monday: "Iran has requested a meeting. It will take place tomorrow in Doha." [Ed: this could be embarrassing to Trump. An embarrassed Trump is an unhinged Trump.] From Moon of Alabama: War On Iran: – Iran’s Negotiators Are Under Pressure

From the Daily Sceptic: Is There Any Point In Getting To Know Andy Burnham? We should be polite but there’s no real point in spending too much time getting to know him, because he’ll be replaced with a new model in a matter of months... [Ed: I think Farage will be the new P.M.]

From Pawbuzz: Great Dane Walks Up To Her Hospital Bed, Now Keep Your Eyes On The Dog’s Back

Europe and Air Conditioning. From Machinocene: Make Europe Cool Again. From Zero Hedge: Did The World Cup Just Start A War In Europe Over Air Conditioning? Europeans are clashing with their political leaders after visiting the US and getting a taste that sweet, cold indoor air... "The World Cup has triggered one of the most surprising global cultural awakenings in decades and almost no one saw it coming." [Ed: it is rather delightful.]

SCOTUS. From ScotusBlog: Supreme Court allows Trump to fire FTC commissioner and overturns major restraint on presidential power. "Sotomayor used one of the court's strongest protest tools Monday: a lengthy dissent read aloud from the bench." AND Court prevents Trump from firing Fed governor. [Ed: difference is the allegedly independent status of the Fed.] AND Justices uphold state law allowing for late-arriving mail-in ballots. [Ed: well, the Constitution does give states the authority to set most of the rules for elections.] From NPR: SCOTUS Rules 6-3 on 'Geofence' Warrants. Demands for location data constitute a search, justice say, though wider issue is unresolved. [Ed: intriguing that one of the dissents was Clarence Thomas, the closest to a libertarian on SCOTUS.]

From Cato at Liberty: The UN’s Drug Report Makes an Unintended Case Against Prohibition

From Reason: Local Officials Vow To Shield the Public from Virginia's Authoritarian New Gun Laws. A new chapter in the never-ending battle between centralized power and local control.

The New Democrats. From Jonathan Turley: ‘You’re Next!’: Democrats Discover the Mob has a Mind of its Own. [Ed: a must read, for the contrast of the American and French revolutions, if nothing else.] From the Victory Girls Blog: The DSA Didn’t Hijack the Democratic Party. It Found an Open Door. [Ed: well, there was a void. Hating Trump isn't a policy or principle...but its all the Old Dems. got.] From Newser: Warnings Keep Coming for Establishment Democrats. With another test looming in Colorado, party is struggling to cope with its left flank. [Ed: the public and private faces of the Old Dems must be very different. They cannot condemn the new rock stars but they cannot allow them to grab power.]

From CTV News: ‘Nightmare that I want to wake up from’: Kitchener family escapes burning home thanks to their dog

Redistricting. From NBC: Colorado Supreme Court deals blow to Democrats’ redistricting push. The ruling is the latest blow to efforts to Democrats seeking to put more congressional seats in play for the party by redrawing congressional maps. [Ed: this is a real blow in the redistricting wars.] From the Redistricting Data Hub: What’s New. Our team keeps this list updated regularly with new data that is uploaded to the site. [Ed: definitive source of where things stand.]

From DOJ.gov: DOJ Sues States Over Alleged Failure To Turn Over Food Stamp Data. Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania refused to turn over information to the USDA that would let federal officials identify fraud... [Ed: makes these states look very bad.]

Citizen Vigilante. From American Thinker: hyperlink url]Citizen Vigilante Should Terrify Western Governments[/link] [Ed: I want to see this movie.] From Mediaite: MAGA Raves About Controversial Anti-Immigrant Movie Banned in Germany: ‘A Must Watch’ [Ed: thank God Musk rescued it by hosting a time-limited free viewing on X.] From World of Reel: Uwe Boll’s ‘Citizen Vigilante’ Hits No. 1 on Amazon and No. 2 on Apple TV]Uwe Boll’s ‘Citizen Vigilante’ Hits No. 1 on Amazon and No. 2 on Apple TV

From Simplicius: 'Mystery' Valdai Meeting Between Putin and Lukashenko Stirs Speculation Amidst Zelensky's Latest Threats. From Kyiv Post: Zelensky: Belarus Builds Military Infrastructure Along Ukraine’s Border, Cites Russian Influence

From the Bored Panda: Woman Shares Her Epic Dog Saga On Twitter, And It Will Bring You Tears Of Laughter.

SCOTUS. From Zero Hedge: Supreme Court Expected To Rule On Cook, Elections, And Trans Athletes. No president has attempted such a firing in the Fed's more than century-long history... [Ed: Cook is the Federal Reserve Board of Governors member who Trump removed.] From Click on Detroit: The Supreme Court nears the end of its term with momentous cases about Trump's power to be decided [Ed: the birthright case will probably be the last one decided before the judges leave the building.] From Raw Story: Supreme Court quietly doubling its police force — and 'loathes' acknowledging it: report

From Daily Happy Dog: This Pit Bull Never Goes On Walks Without A Stuffed Toy In His Mouth

From the Burning Platform: Data Collection Off the Tracks: Old NSA Data Center vs. New Hyperscale AI Data Centers. [Ed: hat tip to the Lady Anne.]

The Fed. From the Zero Hedge: Kevin Warsh Just Took 30 Years of Fed Culture to the Wood-Chipper. "The financial world changed last week." From Academy Securities: The Path To A September Rate Cut (Despite AI Inflation). This is a case for September Rate Cuts that is entirely consistent with Warsh’s messaging... [Ed: loosening money.]

From the Post Millennial: LA spends $5.5 MILLION to construct just 100 beds for homeless as Newsom's 1,200 tiny homes project remains unfinished after three years. [Ed: and no one does an audit?! Like foxes auditing the hen house.]

Iran. From CNN: Fragile US-Iran ceasefire strained, Bahrain and Kuwait targeted by Tehran AND US and Iran will ‘stand down for now’ and talks ‘on track,’ US officials say after strikes exchanged. [Ed: who knows what's going on?]

From Paws So Cute: 6 Month Old Golden Retriever Puppy Saves His Mom from a Rattlesnake

Venezuela. From Zero Hedge: Boots On The Ground? US Military Begins Humanitarian Operation In Quake-Ravaged Venezuela. Socialist Nightmare: "There, millions of homes were built for Venezuelans living in poverty. Most were in La Guaira and were made with low-quality materials." From AP: Search for Survivors Passes Critical Point. Death toll in Venezuela tops 1.4K as aftershocks hinder rescuers

From International Man: The Coming Return Of Commodity-Backed Money. [Ed: a step in the right direction.]

From Foss Force: The Quiet Clause That May Save Linux From Age?Verification Laws. [Ed: Linux is about to become even more popular.]

From Good News Network: Community Spares No Effort to Reunite Lost Dog with Owner After Their Car Was Rolled in a Crash

From the BBC: Pakistani strikes kill dozens in Afghanistan, Taliban officials say "Pakistan has long accused Afghanistan of harbouring terrorists who carry out attacks on its soil, a claim the Taliban government rejects."

The New Democrats. From Zero Hedge: "Wants To Be More Political Than His Daddy": Alex Soros Plows $103 Million Into Unhinged Democrats Ahead Of Midterms. "... was funneled through the Democracy Political Action Committee." [Ed: nice to have Musk as a counter-balance.] From CNN: Progressives look to Colorado as next test of a rising movement From USA Today: I am a centrist Democrat and I am terrified of success. We appeal to 'the center,' which is an ambiguous blob-like thing that exists only in the minds of Democratic strategists whose brains stopped working in the 1990s. [Ed: for sincere old-style Dems., this must feel like something they love is dying.] From the Post Millennial: ‘Genocide Joe’: Biden booed, heckled by activists during Maryland speech. Outside the event, demonstrators protested Biden’s appearance, holding signs reading “Biden at Dems gala WTF” and “Go Home Genocide Joe.”

From the New York Post: Mexican ‘Batman’ vigilante wanted for chasing down suspected motorbike thieves, taping them to lampposts

From Hot Air: Death from Heat in Europe. [Ed: the first section of the Sunday review. Good overview of how Net Zero kills people.]

From Politico: Iran’s ‘disaster World Cup’ comes to a dramatic end. The team endured off-field hardship and on-field heartbreak. AND Iranian diplomat blasts ‘pseudo-VAR’ interventions after World Cup exit. [Ed: VAR=Video Assistant Referee.]

From Breitbart: Trump Hate Crime Hoaxer Jussie Smollett Mocked in Return to Limelight After Harlem Pride Show: ‘Did He Sing His #1 Hit, This Is MAGA Country’

From Hot Air: Ghost of Alexis de Tocqueville Returns -- What America Can Learn From Him. [Ed: a recommended fun read. Well, fun for me.]

Israel. From antiwar: Obliterating Gaza’s Children: The Damning UN Report AND Part 1. Congress Is Preparing To Surrender American Sovereignty on the Eve of America’s 250th Anniversary. Take Action to Defeat a Dangerous Expansion of the National Security State, Military Power Over Civilian Government, Foreign Policy Entrenchment, and the Erosion of Constitutional Self Government. Part 2. The NDAA Proposed Merger of the US and Israeli Military Is Strategically Unwise and Inherently Unconstitutional by Dennis Kucinich. [Ed: it is good to see Kucinich writing on war again.]

From the Bored Panda: Guy Shows How He Wakes Up His Blind And Deaf Dog Without Scaring Her, Receives Almost 13 Million Likes

From Unherd: South Africa’s warning for Britain Anti-immigrant violence is escalating

Fraud. From Just the News: More than $10 billion in U.S. taxpayer dollars spent on improper SNAP payments. in 2025. Alaska, the District of Columbia, New Mexico, Delaware, and Georgia had the highest average payment error rates, all surpassing 15%, with Alaska’s topping 23%. From the Department of Justice: Man Taken into Custody in Somalia for Role in Feeding Our Future Fraud Scheme.

From Leo Hohmann Substack: How To Push Back Against The 'Advancing Beast' System. The first layer of resistance starts with non-compliance and builds from there... We must take ownership and stop believing that any politician or political party has our best interests at heart...

From Doog Lovers: Incredible Journey of Hugo the Dog Who Defied Death After Being Saved From Euthanasia and Electrocuted Hours Later. [Ed: what amazes me is how dogs keep loving human being, through everything.]

Farmers. From American Greatness: DOJ Finds USDA Preferences For 'Socially Disadvantaged' Farmers Discriminatory. The agency found that billions of dollars distributed in fiscal 2025 illegally favored non-Caucasians... [Ed: I wonder if this comes from Trump's meeting with farmers' groups.] From FOX News: Trump will welcome farmers and ranchers to White House dinner to celebrate trade, tax wins. [Ed: dinner was on June 25]

From the Hill: Small plane apparently strikes tallest building in Beijing. [Ed: difficult to know what is going on as Beijing is suppressing any photos, info, discussion, etc.]

The New Democrats. From James Howard Kunstler: The Party Of Algae And 'Our Democracy'. Okay, convince me that gay-Islamic-race-communism is a “progressive” political program America is going to buy like corn flakes... [Ed: Of course, the Progressives should split off but they want to use the structure of the Dem Party to get funding and power. It is called entrying.] From Zero Hedge: Trump Jokes "I'd Be The Greatest Communist In History" As Democratic Elites Panic Over Socialist Hijack. "The Communists are finally making their move. I've been waiting and preparing for this for a long time." [Ed: I'm not sure the regular Dems have the backbones or wits to counter this move.]

From the New York Post: Hakeem Jeffries slammed for embracing Mamdani-backed candidates ‘with open arms’ after Dem primary sweep. [Ed: if this is how the 'old' Dems are reacting, they are dead in the water.] AND James Carville calls for formal Democratic party divide after far-left Mamdani-backed candidates sweep primaries. [Ed: this is the correct response.]

From CNN: AI glasses are aiding cheating in exams. Test-obsessed Asia is ground zero.

Iran. From Zero Hedge: 'Historic' Ceasefire Deal Reached By Israel & Lebanon, But Fine Print Confirms Fragile Reality. Rubio: "It's the beginning of the beginning." [Ed: Israel makes ceasefires like gigolos say "I love you" And they both usually mean as much.] From FOX News: Rubio announces framework deal between Israel and Lebanon as experts warn Iran will fight to sabotage it. [Ed: so...Iran wants to sabotage it too.] From AP : US Strikes Targets in Iran as Exchanges Escalate. Missile and drone attacks threaten fragile ceasefire and peace talks

From Wikipedia: Wolford v. Lopez. [Ed: SCOTUS ruled against "the vampire rule" on guns.] From Bearing Arms: Lefty Law Professors Are Losing It Over Wolford. Here's Why.

Venezuela. From Consortium News: Despite Earthquake, Trump Keeps Sanctions on Venezuela.

From Daily Happy Dog: Unwanted Dog Goes To Prison For Training, Lands A Spot In A Commercial, And Finds A New Family

From Wolf Street: Inflation in “Core Services” Surges, plus AI’s Impact on Electricity & Goods: Inflation beyond Gasoline

Greenspan. From Mises Institute: Greenspan: The Great Opportunist. [Ed: by the excellent David Gordon.]

Immigration/Immigrant. From the Post Millennial: Tom Homan says 10,000 more immigration agents will be 'on board by the end of next month'. "Now we have 10,000 more agents on board — or should be on board by the end of next month," Homan told the crowd. "But wait until next year." From Jonathan Turley: Democratic Members Call for Packing the Supreme Court to Reverse Immigration Decisions. From CNN: Supreme Court says Alito’s verbal reaction to Sotomayor was based on a ‘misunderstanding’ [Ed: recommended. Interesting material.]

From I Love My Dog So Much: A Canine Comedy: Hilarious Tales from the World of Dogs

Israel-Lebanon. From the AP: Hezbollah Denounces US-Brokered Deal. Protests follow Rubio's announcement over disarmament, conditional Israeli withdrawal. [Ed: a pie-crust treaty.]

Fraud & Error. From Townhall: Criminals Steal Over $850,000 From Federal Summer Food Program in Massachusetts. From the College Fix: Trump Admin Caught $150M in Fraudulent Student Loans in Past Months. [Ed: it makes me feel like fool to still be honest.] From AOL: Trump admin cracks down on estimated $10 billion in Obamacare fraud, boots millions from rolls. [Ed: I remember the fast-and-loose manner in which Obama signed people up. From the Epoch Times: US SNAP Payment-Error-Rate Hits High Of 10.62% States with error rates above 6 percent will have to fund a portion of SNAP benefits...

From Townhall: It Was Clear Kathy Hochul Was Not Welcome Here. "Lady, you’re not as popular as you think. Doofus New York Gov. Kathy Hochul received a cold reception at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Buffalo Bills stadium. She tried to kick off a ‘let’s go Bills’ chant, and no one wanted to join, which clearly irritated her..."

From Paws So Cute: Two Dog Friends Won’t Let This Park Fence Get In Their Way To Play

And a bonus dog item courtesy of Phyllis. From You Tube: Dogs of the Week.

From NPR: Postal Service Keeps Going by Tapping Workers' Retirement. Postmaster general puts off insolvency projection Retirement payment pause and price hikes push insolvency risk to 2030s. [Ed: unsustainable.]

From Balanced Weather: As Europe broils, the US braces for its own heat wave over the next several days. From Weather Europe: Super El Niño Is Now Breaking Into the Atmosphere as July Forecasts Show a Pattern Shift for the U.S. and Canada Severe

From Little Happy Paw: Abandoned In Cold, Pit Bull’s Journey To Finding A Forever Home

From Reason: Texas Man Gets 30 Years in Prison for Transporting 'Anti-Government' Pamphlets. Eight of the Prairieland Detention Center protesters were sentenced to a combined 450 years in prison. "Perhaps the most chilling is the case of Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada, who received 30 years in federal prison for transporting a box of constitutionally protected pamphlets and zines."

From the Mises Wire: Intellectual Property versus the Unrealized. [Ed: a must read.]

From Of Two Minds Blog: Five Dynamics That Make Sense of an Increasingly Chaotic World [Ed: recommended.]

DSA v. Democrats? From Politico: The socialists are about to test Kathy Hochul. A growing bloc of DSA-backed lawmakers is preparing to press New York's governor on taxes, health care and other priorities long resisted by the Democratic establishment. [Ed: this development is going to be worse for the Dems than for the GOP.] From FOX News: Bernie Sanders, DSA reveal demands for Dem party after socialists sweep New York elections. At least a dozen DSA-endorsed candidates won Tuesday, including three who defeated establishment Democrats in Congress. [Ed: the threats and warnings begin.]

From Newsweek: Dachshund Has Surprise Encounter With Frog, Her Reaction Is Everything [Ed: Youtube version here.]

From the Washington Times: Rent board fulfills Mamdani vow to freeze the rent on 1 million NYC apartments.

From the Hill: Rand Paul issues subpoena for Anthony Fauci [Ed: Fauci backed out of his agreement to voluntarily testify earlier this month.]

Immigration. From Reason: Supreme Court Lets Trump End Temporary Protected Status for Haitian and Syrian Nationals Residing in U.S. Understanding the 6–3 decision in Mullin v. Doe. AND Supreme Court Slams the Door on Asylum Seekers at the Border. Justice Samuel Alito compared asylum seekers who haven't made it across the border to a running back being tackled on the 1-yard line. From Jonathan Turley: Going “All In”: The Supreme Court Delivers Major Wins for the Administration on Immigration Enforcement.

From NYC Gov: Statement From Mayor Mamdani on Supreme Court Decision Allowing Termination of TPS for Haitian and Syrian Immigrants. [Ed: basically, Mamdani will refuse and resist federal law.]

From People: Engineering Student, 22, Designs 3D Printed Dentures for Thousands of Patients in Need: ‘It’s Very Humbling’

Iran. From PressTV IR: Trump quietly renews order solidifying US control over Iraqi oil revenues. [Ed: very quietly signed. Here is .pdf of EO 13303 [From X, Hussein Askary: commentary and an online copy of the EO.. From Unherd: JD Vance: Our new relationship with Iran. UPDATE. From Zero Hedge: US Strikes Iran In Retaliation To Hormuz Ship Attack. "U.S. aircraft struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites after Iran hit M/V Ever Lovely on June 25 with a one-way attack drone."

From the Mirror: Girl, 2, snatched by men in attempted kidnap before they are bitten by dog fleeing

From CBS: Suspect in Minnesota fraud case arrested in Somalia after 4 years on the run, officials say. From the

From the International Man: The Coming Return of Commodity-Backed Money

Poland & Ukraine. Remix News: Majority Of Poles Are Against Ukraine Joining The EU. The honeymoon period is long gone between Ukraine and Poland... From Andrew Korybko Substack: Przemys?aw Piasta Has A Point: Post-Conflict Ukraine Will Pose A Serious Threat To Poland. [Ed: Veterans, Ukrainian refugees, and the fifth column inside of Poland could all soon be weaponized as part of a post-conflict irredentist project.]

Ukraine-Russia. From Kiev Independent: Rubio says no Ukraine agreement reached at Alaska summit, contradicting Moscow’s claims. From Andrew Korybko Substack: Lavrov’s Realization That Anchorage Only Bought Time For Ukraine To Rearm Was Long Overdue. [Ed: it is not like Lavrov to have an insight so late in the game.] From Moon of Alabama: Ukraine Isn’t Winning [Ed: important.]

From NBC: Ex-Trump adviser John Bolton pleads guilty to mishandling classified information. Bolton served as White House national security adviser during Trump’s first term. "He faces a prison sentence of up to 60 months and has agreed to pay $2.25 million, prosecutors said. He is set to be sentenced Oct. 28."

From Sunny Skyz: Teen Leaps Into Harbor to Save Exhausted Dog, Then Helps Reunite Him With His Family