Rip’s Newsletter
August 26, 2026
Compiled and Edited
by
Jim Reynolds
Articles in This Issue
Victor Davis Hanson - Were the Bombs of August 1945 ‘Demonic’?
Kathleen Brush - Dividing America On Race: Russia’s Enduring Geopolitical Strategy
Jay Rogers - Faith Is Free. A Second Legal System Isn’t.
Jim Reynolds - Damage Control in Real Time
Overview
This set is about power, memory, and the lies people tell to keep both.
One piece goes back to Hiroshima and Nagasaki and says Truman faced a brutal choice, not a cartoon villain’s decision, because the invasion of Japan would have cost staggering American and Japanese lives.
Another shows how Russia has spent decades turning America’s racial wounds into a weapon, pushing the idea that the country is irredeemably racist so it can be weakened from within.
The other two pieces are about the present-day fight over Islamism and the left’s habit of dodging plain questions, and both make the same point: if you refuse to name the threat, you end up defending it.
Were the Bombs of August 1945 ‘Demonic’?
By: Victor Davis Hanson American Greatness
Date: 2026-08-25 · Words: 2,642
Critics again debate Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with some calling the bombs demonic or unnecessary.
Hanson argues Truman faced Okinawa-scale casualties, a likely invasion, and Japan’s refusal to surrender.
He says the bombs likely saved lives, while conventional bombing and blockade were already devastating Japan.
The deeper danger now is rogue regimes and new technologies, not America’s 1945 decision.
This debate matters because it shapes how we judge wartime necessity, nuclear deterrence, and today’s proliferation risks.
🅱️ It starts as a history lesson and ends like a fever dream. It tries to bridge the gap between 1945 and modern electioneering, but the transition is as bumpy as a dirt road. A heavy-handed defense of hard choices, though it loses the thread in the final scramble.
Reader Experience: Minor clutter but easy reading.
Read the original article HERE
Dividing America On Race: Russia’s Enduring Geopolitical Strategy
By: Kathleen Brush American Thinker
Date: 2026-08-21 · Words: 1,315
Russia and the Soviet Union weaponized American racism to weaken U.S. power.
Soviet propaganda recruited Black intellectuals, framing capitalism as inherently racist and irredeemable.
Civil rights gains were recast as propaganda failures, while racial tensions were amplified.
Modern race discourse, media, and academia still echo these Soviet-origin narratives.
This story matters because it argues America’s racial divisions are not just domestic failures, but a long-running foreign influence operation.
🅱️ It’s a long-form history lesson disguised as a warning shot. The author connects the dots between old-school Soviet agitprop and today’s academic outrage, showing how a century-old playbook is still being read from the same script. It’s heavy on context, but it hits the mark on how a nation’s own fractures become its greatest export.
Reader Experience: Moderate ads and interruptions.
Read the original article HERE
Faith Is Free. A Second Legal System Isn’t.
By: Jay Rogers American Greatness
Date: 2026-08-25 · Words: 1,435
Federal prosecutors accused Jessica Bowie of plotting an ISIS-inspired Capitol bombing in Albany.
The article distinguishes Islam from Islamism, arguing personal faith is not the threat.
It rejects parallel legal systems, insisting one civil law must govern everyone equally.
Examples from Minneapolis, Hamtramck, Britain, and DFW illustrate accommodation versus legal surrender.
The story matters because it defends religious freedom while warning against any ideology that challenges constitutional supremacy.
🅱️ This isn’t a screed; it’s a map of the fault lines. It separates the neighbor from the ideology with surgical precision, making a case for the rule of law that doesn’t blink. A solid reminder that common sense isn’t a conspiracy theory—it’s the baseline.
Reader Experience: Minor clutter but easy reading.
Read the original article HERE
Damage Control in Real Time
By: Jim Reynolds www.reynolds.com
Date: 2026-08-25 · Words: 1,116
El-Sayed’s Jesse Watters interview was framed as serious debate, but looked evasive.
He repeatedly dodged direct questions on ICE, Iran strikes, minors’ surgeries, and sports.
The article argues his interruptions and pivots signaled insincerity, not policy confidence.
For Michigan voters, the interview may have created damaging clips, not reassurance.
The story matters because one televised non-debate may have exposed El-Sayed’s weakest political liability: trust.
🅱️ A clinical autopsy of a political meltdown. It tracks the pivot from policy to personality perfectly, showing how an ‘operator’ trips over his own shadow. Sharp, but the low-hanging fruit on the medical credentials could have been a heavier hammer.
Reader Experience: Clean Substack. No ads. Fast loading.
Read the original article HERE
You may also be interested in the following selected stories:
The Cowardice of Dobbs — Spyridon Andrews, American Greatness
Trump’s Canada Tariffs Aren’t the Betrayal Ottawa Claims — Brabim Karki, The American Spectator
☕️ GOING HOME ☙ Tuesday, August 25, 2026 ☙ C&C NEWS 🦠 — Jeff Childers, www.coffeeandcovid.com
The Assassination of Our American Philosopher — Aaron Shuster, FrontPage Magazine
The Seven Years of History behind Seditious Six — DataRepublican, datarepublican.substack.com
The 10 Most Iconic Baby Boomer Movies — Jack Cashill, jackcashill.substack.com
