Rip’s Newsletter
August 10, 2026
Compiled and Edited
by
Jim Reynolds
Articles in This Issue
Gregory Lyakhov - Netanyahu’s Rejection of the Gaza Deal Is Understandable
Brian C Joondeph - The Stopwatch Doesnât Lie: Why Biology â Not Gender Identity â Defines Womenâs Sports
Luis Gonzalez - The Democrats Gave Us Today’s Inflation
Spyridon Andrews - London, the Red Telephone Box, and a Civilization Losing Its Memory
Nate Jackson - The Burrito Food Fight on the Right
Jim Reynolds - OIL AND WATER
Overview
This set is about the fights that actually matter: who pays for inflation, who gets to define women’s sports, and whether the right can keep its eye on affordability instead of turning every argument into a food fight.
I see a party still trying to sell the public on the same spending habits that helped drive prices up, while the other side keeps pretending biology is negotiable and reality will politely step aside.
There’s also a harder warning here: nations and parties rot when they lose memory, discipline, and a shared sense of what they are.
And beneath all of it is the same question—whether leaders are solving problems or just managing the damage they caused.
As always, if you do not want to read the summary, just skip to the link.
Note: The American Thinker pieces are great articles but they occasionally make you jump through a hoop. I’ll tell you more down below. If you don’t feel comfortable navigating through this territory — just skip them. There are plenty of others.
Netanyahu’s Rejection of the Gaza Deal Is Understandable
By: Gregory Lyakhov The Patriot Post
Date: 2026-08-10 · Words: 637
Netanyahu’s reported rejection of a Trump-backed Gaza proposal is framed as a dispute over conditions for safe withdrawal, not over peace itself.
The article argues the key issue is whether Hamas is truly disarmed, noting that “decommission and store” weapons is far weaker than permanently destroying them.
It says Israel’s concern is rooted in October 7: any deal that leaves Hamas able to rebuild would merely recreate the prewar threat.
The piece contrasts the newer proposal with an earlier framework that called for Gaza’s demilitarization, destruction of military infrastructure, and a weapons buy-back program.
It concludes that a durable agreement must prevent Hamas from emerging with enough military capability to threaten Israelis again, even if that means tougher terms now.
This story matters because it shows that the fate of Gaza peace talks hinges on whether any deal can actually prevent the next war, not just pause the current one.
🅱️ It’s a sober look at the difference between ‘peace’ and just putting the guns in a closet for a rainy day. The logic is sound, but it lacks the teeth to really bite into the political theater surrounding the deal.
Reader Experience: ★★★★☆ Minor clutter but easy reading.
Read the original article HERE
The Stopwatch Doesn’t Lie: Why Biology - Not Gender Identity - Defines Women’s Sports
By: Brian C Joondeph American Thinker
Date: 2026-08-10 · Words: 1,115
The article argues that women’s sports must be defined by biological sex, not gender identity, because performance data consistently show male puberty confers enduring athletic advantages.
It uses Florence Griffith-Joyner’s still-standing sprint records as a benchmark, noting that American high school boys and collegiate men routinely beat women’s world marks in sprinting, long jump, and swimming.
The author says this gap reflects structural differences in muscle mass, bone density, heart and lung capacity, limb proportions, and explosive power that testosterone suppression does not erase.
He frames sex-based categories as the same kind of fairness mechanism as weight classes, age divisions, and the Paralympics, and says changing terminology cannot change biology.
The piece also cites a shift in institutional policy, including the IOC’s move toward biological-female eligibility standards, as evidence that the science is forcing a reset.
It closes by warning that if women’s categories are not protected by objective sex-based rules, the achievements that define female sport will be erased.
This story matters because it argues that fair competition in women’s sports depends on preserving biological categories, not political language.
🅱️ He uses the stopwatch to cut through the fog of identity politics. It’s a clean, hard-hitting case that reminds you reality doesn’t care about your feelings or your pronouns.
Reader Experience: ★★★☆☆ Moderate ads and interruptions. If they ask you to “View Ad to continue” then hit that button. But don’t hit the big red Open button. Look in the upper right and you will see a (tiny) “close”. Hit that and continue reading. like I said above, skip to the next article if you don’t want to maneuver through the weeds.
Read the original article HERE
The Democrats Gave Us Today’s Inflation
By: Luis Gonzalez American Thinker
Date: 2026-08-10 · Words: 1,267
The article argues that today’s inflation was largely caused by Democratic policy choices, especially the American Rescue Plan’s roughly $2 trillion in spending and the Federal Reserve’s prolonged low-rate stance, rather than by unavoidable pandemic shocks alone.
It says Washington has obscured the issue by focusing on slowing inflation rates instead of the higher prices families actually pay, leaving households stuck with permanently elevated grocery, housing, and insurance costs.
The piece frames the political fight as one between consequences and causes, contending that Democrats are now trying to shift blame for affordability problems onto the current administration after denying responsibility for years.
It also rejects explanations centered on transitory inflation, Putin, or corporate greed as evasions that mask the role of policy.
The author argues the coming elections will hinge on whether voters remember who made the decisions that produced the current economic pain.
This story matters because it turns inflation from a vague economic complaint into a direct test of political accountability and voter memory.
🅱️ A solid autopsy of the ‘transitory’ lie. It moves past the usual partisan bickering to point at the actual check-writers, though it leans a bit heavy on the oratorical flourishes. It’s not just an economics lesson; it’s a reminder that you can’t outrun the math forever.
Reader Experience: ★★★☆☆ Moderate ads and interruptions. See above for instructions.
Read the original article HERE
London, the Red Telephone Box, and a Civilization Losing Its Memory
By: Spyridon Andrews American Greatness
Date: 2026-08-09 · Words: 2,411
Spyridon Andrews argues that London has become a “zombie British city,” retaining the outward symbols of national life while losing the historical memory, religious confidence, and civic spirit that once gave those symbols meaning.
He contrasts the London of the 1970s and 1980s—expensive, culturally self-assured, and rooted in wartime memory—with today’s more diverse, vibrant, but less distinctly British metropolis.
The essay links this change to the fading of the World War II generation, the decline of Anglican public life, the rise of anti-American and neo-Marxist attitudes, and a population increasingly detached from the civilization that built the city.
Andrews uses London’s monuments, from the Cenotaph to Nelson’s Column, to argue that modern residents benefit from sacrifices they no longer understand or honor.
The red telephone box becomes his central metaphor: a preserved shell whose original function is gone, like Britain itself.
This story matters because it frames London’s demographic and cultural transformation as a warning about what happens when a civilization keeps its symbols but forgets the beliefs and sacrifices that made them meaningful.
🅱️ A eulogy for a ghost town that still looks like a city. It’s a heavy read about the difference between keeping the furniture and keeping the soul, delivered with the weary eyes of a man watching the lights go out.
Reader Experience: ★★★★☆ Minor clutter but easy reading.
Read the original article HERE
The Burrito Food Fight on the Right
By: Nate Jackson The Patriot Post
Date: 2026-08-10 · Words: 979
The article argues that the conservative “burrito debate” is really a proxy for the 2026 election’s central issue: affordability.
It says Trump has largely delivered on immigration, but his economic record is undercut by tariffs and the Iran war, both of which have pushed up costs and given Democrats an opening to campaign on rising prices.
The piece frames the online fight between conservatives like Matt Walsh, Andrew Kolvet, Ben Shapiro, and Marc Thiessen as a clash between factual defenses of the economy and the lived reality of voters who feel squeezed by food, housing, and everyday expenses.
It cites data showing wages have risen since 2019 but prices have nearly kept pace, leaving only modest real gains, and uses fast-food price increases as a vivid example.
The author concludes that Republicans are losing the sentiment battle even when they have the policy argument, and that they need to speak more credibly to voters’ economic pain. This story matters because it shows how inflation and affordability can override partisan talking points and shape the outcome of the next election.
🅱️ It’s a solid breakdown of the math versus the mood. The author correctly identifies that you can’t win an election on spreadsheets when people are staring at empty wallets, but he needs to sharpen the edge so it doesn’t read like a polite lecture.
Reader Experience: ★★★★☆ Minor clutter but easy reading.
Read the original article HERE
OIL AND WATER
By: Jim Reynolds www.reynolds.com
Date: 2026-08-10 · Words: 2,400
The essay argues that Democrats’ repeated “big tent” defense obscures a deeper problem: some factions in the party are not merely debating tactics but pursuing fundamentally incompatible end-states.
To test that claim, it compares the Democratic Socialists of America’s explicit 2026 program with the records of prominent Jewish Democrats on Israel, Iran, immigration, policing, and constitutional structure.
DSA’s platform is presented as a sweeping redesign of the U.S. system, including ending aid to Israel, abolishing ICE and the Senate, defunding the military, replacing the presidency and Supreme Court, and writing a new constitution for a democratic socialist republic.
By contrast, figures such as Chuck Schumer, Brad Schneider, Josh Gottheimer, Jamie Raskin, Elissa Slotkin, Jon Ossoff, Adam Schiff, Bernie Sanders, and others may have moved left on Gaza or immigration, but they still operate within the existing constitutional order and accept core premises DSA rejects.
The piece’s central claim is that coalition language like “healthy debate” and “room for everyone” no longer explains the scale of the divide when one side wants reform and the other wants replacement.
**This story matters because it frames the Democratic Party’s internal conflict as a clash over the country’s future architecture,
🅱️ This isn’t just a political breakdown; it’s an autopsy of a dying consensus. It lays out the receipts clearly, showing that ‘big tent’ is just a polite way of saying ‘we’re ignoring the fuse.’ Sharp, surgical, and hits right where the structural cracks are widening.
Reader Experience: ★★★★★ Clean Substack. No ads. Fast loading.
Read the original article HERE
And as I wrote in another story, inflation never backtracks and goes down. It is cumulative. That’s why people who say idiotic things like “Inflation needs to go down” do not understand how our money system works. It never goes down. The RATE of inflation may go down, but the cumulative effect is already baked in. Biden’s team knew this. They screwed us. Inflation is baked into the entire supply chain. Disinflation is the only way out — and NOBODY wants that.
Democrats did give us inflation. With in six months after Biden election, food prices took off. At one of the few press conferences Biden ever gave over his term. While getting hammered by reporters,Jen Psaki stepped in to save Corn Pop. Her statement was this inflation will be seasonal? The inflation never slowed down. I agreed with this trend, making Joe Biden A Man For All Seasons!