Rip’s Newsletter
July 13, 2026
Rip’s Newsletter
July 13, 2026
Compiled and Edited
by
Jim Reynolds
Articles in This Issue
Jay Rogers - The Democratic Socialists Aren’t Fringe Anymore
Nathanael Blake - Trump Can Shut Down Export Of Trafficked US Babies To China
Daniel Greenfield - ‘Princess Moss’ Declares National Education Association ‘Must be the Most Powerful Force in America’
Helen Raleigh - ‘Revolutionary America’ Documentary Helps Americans Understand Our Great Inheritance
Thomas Gallatin - Evaluating Donald Trump’s Second Term Thus Far
Jim Reynolds - The Last Great Mystery of the Analog Age
Overview
I’m struck by how many of today’s pieces circle the same fault lines: power, legitimacy, and who gets to define America’s future.
On one side, the left’s institutions and movements look increasingly organized and unapologetic, from socialist politics to the NEA’s activist ambitions; on the other, there’s a renewed push to defend the country’s founding ideals and measure the Trump era against them.
Threaded through it all are deeper anxieties about what our systems permit, whether in family formation, education, or the unresolved stories that still shape public trust.
A Note on Today’s Format
Today we’re trying something a little different by presenting the summaries in paragraph form rather than as bullet points.
I’d love your feedback. Which do you prefer?
Bullets make it easy to scan the newsletter and quickly decide which articles deserve a full read. Paragraphs take a little longer to read, but they often provide enough context that many readers can understand the story without clicking through to the original article.
Each format has its strengths. Let me know which one better fits the way you read the newsletter.
The Democratic Socialists Aren’t Fringe Anymore
Site: Townhall
Author: Jay Rogers
Date: 2026-07-13
The Democratic Socialists of America has surged from 6,000 members in 2015 to more than 100,000 by February 2026, surpassing the Socialist Party of America’s 1912 peak and becoming the largest socialist organization in U.S. history. The article argues that this growth is no longer a campus-side curiosity because DSA-backed candidates are winning major Democratic primaries and offices, including Zohran Mamdani’s election as New York City mayor and several congressional and mayoral contests in New York, Philadelphia, Washington, and Los Angeles. It emphasizes that DSA operates inside the Democratic Party rather than as a separate third party, using disciplined primary organizing to win power. The piece also highlights a newly adopted DSA platform, “Workers Deserve More!,” which calls for abolishing the Senate, Electoral College, presidency, Supreme Court, police, prisons, and overseas military bases, while advancing a democratic socialist republic. The author frames this as a serious constitutional challenge, not just ideological rhetoric, and warns that the organization’s written agenda should be taken at face value.
This story matters because it shows a once-marginal socialist movement translating rapid growth into real electoral power and openly challenging core American institutions.
Reader Experience: ★★★★☆ Minor clutter but easy reading.
Read the original article HERE
Trump Can Shut Down Export Of Trafficked US Babies To China
Site: The Federalist
Author: Nathanael Blake
Date: 2026-07-13
The article argues that America’s largely unregulated surrogacy and IVF industry is enabling wealthy foreign buyers, especially Chinese nationals, to commission U.S.-born babies and have them shipped overseas, sometimes in large numbers. It cites reporting on Chinese billionaire Xu Bo and other clients who allegedly order dozens or even hundreds of children through a network of agencies, clinics, law firms, and delivery services, with costs reaching up to $200,000 per child. The author says the practice is legal but morally indefensible, describing it as factory-farming babies and warning that the Supreme Court’s citizenship ruling leaves the surrogacy loophole intact. He urges Republican states to follow Florida’s lead by banning surrogacy contracts involving citizens or residents of “foreign countries of concern,” including China, Russia, and Iran. At the federal level, he argues the Trump administration should treat the export of American infants as a human trafficking and national security issue and shut it down.
This story matters because it frames surrogacy not as a private family service but as a national security and trafficking problem that could be used to stop the overseas sale of American-born children.
Reader Experience: ★★★★☆ Minor clutter but easy reading.
Read the original article HERE
‘Princess Moss’ Declares National Education Association ‘Must be the Most Powerful Force in America’
Site: FrontPage Magazine
Author: Daniel Greenfield
Date: 2026-07-13
The article argues that the National Education Association, under new president “Princess Moss,” is openly embracing political activism over education and positioning itself as a major left-wing power center. It cites Moss’s claim that the NEA “can be and must be the most powerful force in America” and says the union is planning expensive anti-Trump protests, impeachment demands, and even a future general strike while student achievement remains at historic lows. The piece says the NEA and other teachers’ unions have helped drive U.S. public education into crisis by prioritizing social justice, identity politics, and anti-Israel activism over phonics, testing, and basic skills. It also argues that record spending has not improved outcomes, and that union leaders use claims of “equity” and “critical thinking” to deflect blame for failing schools. The broader warning is that public education has been captured by unions that extract benefits for members while leaving students unable to read or do math.
This story matters because it frames America’s school-union system as a political machine that is undermining student learning while expanding its own power.
Reader Experience: ★★★☆☆ Moderate ads and interruptions.
Read the original article HERE
‘Revolutionary America’ Documentary Helps Americans Understand Our Great Inheritance
Site: The Federalist
Author: Helen Raleigh
Date: 2026-07-13
Hillsdale College’s new documentary Revolutionary America is presented as a timely corrective to criticism of America’s founding, especially after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s July 3 speech attacking the nation’s ideals. The nearly two-hour film, produced by Hillsdale Studios, ran briefly in theaters and is now free on YouTube and the Hillsdale College website ahead of America 250. It recounts the Revolutionary era from Britain’s postwar debt and the Stamp Act through colonial resistance, the Declaration of Independence, the War for Independence, and the creation of a new republic. The review argues the film’s strength lies in highlighting the Founders’ courage in risking treason and death, their wisdom in grounding government in natural rights and representation, and the uncertainty of victory against Britain’s superior forces. It also contrasts America’s founding principles with the tyranny that followed the French, Russian, and Chinese revolutions, while praising the documentary’s reenactments, Hillsdale faculty commentary, primary sources, and original score. The piece closes by positioning Hillsdale as a model of independent civic education and urging families to watch the film to better understand America’s inheritance.
**This story matters because it argues that understanding the Founding is essential to defending the freedoms and institutions that
Reader Experience: ★★★★☆ Minor clutter but easy reading.
Read the original article HERE
Evaluating Donald Trump’s Second Term Thus Far
Site: The Patriot Post
Author: Thomas Gallatin
Date: 2026-07-13
Donald Trump’s second term is portrayed as more disciplined and effective than his first, with the article arguing that he has entered office as a seasoned political veteran rather than a political outsider. The strongest marks go to his crackdown on illegal immigration, which the piece says drove border crossings to record lows and led to roughly two million removals, along with his push to dismantle DEI and refocus higher education and federal agencies. It also credits his deregulatory agenda, especially at the EPA, and a more robust energy policy that favors fossil fuels and nuclear development. Cabinet performance is described as improved, with Marco Rubio singled out for strong foreign policy execution. Still, the article faults Trump for weak economic results amid tariffs, a retreat from his earlier anti-abortion stance, a perceived lawfare-style response to enemies, and an unclear Iran strategy, even while concluding that his second term has been more impressive than his first. This story matters because it frames Trump’s second term as a consequential, mixed record that could shape the 2026 political debate over immigration, the economy, and conservative priorities.
Reader Experience: ★★★★☆ Minor clutter but easy reading.
Read the original article HERE
The Last Great Mystery of the Analog Age
Site: www.reynolds.com
Author: Jim Reynolds
Date: 2026-07-13
TWA Flight 800 remains an unresolved cultural flashpoint nearly 30 years after the July 17, 1996 explosion killed all 230 people aboard, with the official conclusion pointing to an electrical short and fuel-tank ignition while critics, including Jack Cashill, continue to question whether the investigation fully accounted for eyewitness accounts and other evidence. The article argues that the case endures not only because of disagreement over cause, but because it unfolded at the end of the analog era, before smartphones, livestreams, and ubiquitous cameras transformed how major events are documented. In 1996, investigators and institutions could shape the narrative with relatively limited independent visual evidence; today, a similar disaster would likely generate dozens or hundreds of citizen recordings within minutes. The piece suggests that this shift has changed the balance between governments and the governed by making official explanations easier to test, challenge, and verify in public. It also notes that large institutions naturally face incentives to reduce uncertainty and restore confidence, even when no bad faith is proven.
TWA Flight 800 matters because it marks the moment when modern technology began to make official truth claims far more visible, contestable, and accountable.
Reader Experience: ★★★★★ Clean Substack. No ads. Fast loading.
Read the original article HERE
If you have time, you may want to check out this popular piece on Reynolds.com:
The JCPOA Was a Uranium Enrichment Program With a UN Stamp.
Love the picture! Miss his smile as well.
Like your new format!!!!!!!!