Rip’s Newsletter
July 15, 2026
Compiled and Edited
by
Jim Reynolds
Articles in This Issue
M D Kittle - Lib Sen Says SAVE Act Would ‘Make It Hard’ For Dems To Win
Jennica Pounds - Born in America, Formed by Open Society
Douglas Andrews - Can We Indict Jack Smith Already?
John Stossel - Nuclear Power
Jim Reynolds - The Cadence
Overview
This set is about power, not slogans: Democrats are openly admitting the SAVE Act would make their elections harder to win, and that tells you everything about where they stand on basic election integrity.
At the same time, the Jack Smith mess keeps getting uglier, with new records showing his team rifling through congressional texts after sidestepping privilege concerns.
On the bigger front, the fight over birthright citizenship is really a fight over whether America is a civic nation or an open-ended entitlement, and the Open Society crowd has spent years pushing the latter.
There’s also a welcome break from the usual anti-energy nonsense, with nuclear power finally getting a serious hearing after decades of sabotage.
Note: We’re introducing a familiar voice here: Bob 🅱️. He can be a harsh critic of anyone’s writing—even mine. But he also appreciates writers who consistently deliver thoughtful, high-quality work for our readers.
Let me know if you’d like Bob 🅱️ to stick around.
Lib Sen Says SAVE Act Would ‘Make It Hard’ For Dems To Win
Site: The Federalist
Author: M D Kittle
Date: 2026-07-15
Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin drew attention after telling constituents that the SAVE Act would make it “hard for any Democrat in any state to win an election,” a remark the article frames as an inadvertent admission that Democrats oppose election-integrity measures because they make voting harder to manipulate. The bill would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register for federal elections, photo ID to vote, and state cleanup of voter rolls, and the piece notes that it has broad public support but has been blocked by Democrats in the Senate and passed by House Republicans on party-line votes three times. Slotkin also repeated a disputed claim that the measure would disenfranchise married women, which Republicans like Sen. Rand Paul called false and patronizing. The article argues that Democrats define “rigging” as enforcing election rules that prevent noncitizen voting and remove ineligible voters, while accusing them of hypocrisy for objecting to safeguards they say protect democracy.
The story matters because it spotlights how the fight over voter ID and citizenship checks has become a proxy battle over whether elections should be easier to cast or harder to manipulate.
🅱️ This is the kind of quote that does the work for you. She said the quiet part, and the quiet part is always ugly. The piece has a clean target and a clean moral: if your politics need sloppy elections, maybe your politics are the problem. No mystery here. Just the usual panic when the lock gets put on the door.
Reader Experience: ★★★★☆ Minor clutter but easy reading.
Read the original article HERE
Born in America, Formed by Open Society
Site: American Mind
Author: Jennica Pounds
Date: 2026-07-15
The article argues that the Supreme Court’s June 30 ruling in Trump v. Barbara settled birthright citizenship but left unresolved the deeper question of what binds a nation together when citizenship is unconditional. It contrasts the Founders’ civic architecture—shared religion, language, schools, militia service, oath requirements, and other mechanisms of formation—with the Court’s 20th-century dismantling of those institutions through incorporation cases on prayer, Bible reading, religious tests, and loyalty oaths. The author says the resulting vacuum has been filled by a philanthropic “new civic religion” led by Ford, Carnegie, Open Society, and allied groups that promote “shared democratic norms” while advancing a left-wing worldview and subordinating religious authority to liberal-democratic supremacy. The piece frames the majority in Barbara as preserving protection without allegiance, while dissenters warned that citizenship can be granted to people with no attachment to the country and even hostility toward it. It concludes that states experimenting with English-language primacy and civic education may force the Court to answer the central question it avoided: who has the authority to form citizens.
This story matters because it argues that citizenship policy is inseparable from the institutions that shape national loyalty, civic identity, and the future of self-government.
🅱️ This one’s got a real point: a country can’t run on paperwork and vibes forever. It sees the trap—citizenship without shared obligations turns into a free-for-all with a flag on it. Could use a little less seminar room and a little more boot on the floor, but the warning is sound.
Read the original article HERE
Can We Indict Jack Smith Already?
Site: The Patriot Post
Author: Douglas Andrews
Date: 2026-07-15
Douglas Andrews argues that newly revealed records show former special counsel Jack Smith’s team reviewed text messages involving 44 current and former members of Congress, including communications tied to the Trump White House, after bypassing a privilege-screening process. He says the disclosures, first surfaced through Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley and Sen. Ron Johnson, deepen concerns about Smith’s earlier “Arctic Frost” probe and broader DOJ weaponization against Trump and Republicans. The article emphasizes that Smith allegedly denied under oath in a House Judiciary deposition that he had reviewed members’ text-message content, despite evidence suggesting otherwise. Andrews frames the issue as not just unconstitutional spying on lawmakers and a president’s aides, but also a potential perjury problem that Congress has failed to confront seriously. The story matters because it raises the stakes from partisan overreach to possible criminal misconduct by a top federal prosecutor, testing whether Washington will enforce the law against its own.
🅱️ Now we’re talking. This has the smell of a paper trail and the sound of a man who thinks the rules are for other people. It hits because everybody knows the game is rigged; it just needs one more clean shove to turn outrage into a hammer.
Reader Experience: ★★★★☆ Minor clutter but easy reading.
Read the original article HERE
Nuclear Power
Site: Townhall
Author: John Stossel
Date: 2026-07-15
John Stossel argues that nuclear power, once widely treated as a dead end, is getting a policy revival under President Donald Trump after years of plant closures and regulatory stagnation. He cites former nuclear engineer Ray Rothrock to say anti-nuclear politics and NRC red tape—not safety realities—have driven the industry’s decline, including rules that force outdated design requirements like domes and add years to approvals. The piece pushes back on the standard fear narrative around Three Mile Island and Fukushima, saying no one was hurt at Three Mile Island and that Fukushima’s deaths were caused by evacuation disruptions, not radiation, with the UN finding no discernible increase in radiation-related health effects. It also argues that public fears are exaggerated because low-level radiation is common in everyday life and that France’s heavy reliance on nuclear power shows the technology can work at scale. Stossel concludes that with faster licensing, extended reactor permits, and private innovation, nuclear energy could deliver cheap, clean power if bureaucrats stop blocking it.
This story matters because it frames nuclear power as a practical climate and energy solution that could expand quickly if regulation stops treating it like a crisis.
🅱️ This one knows the scam: fear first, facts later, if ever. Nuclear gets treated like a haunted house when it’s really just a power plant with a bad PR department. Good bones here, but it needs a harder punch and a cleaner finish so the usual panic merchants don’t slip out the back door.
Reader Experience: ★★★★☆ Minor clutter but easy reading.
Read the original article HERE
The Cadence
Site: www.reynolds.com
Author: Jim Reynolds
Date: 2026-07-15
If you were ever in a marching band—or simply admired one—you’ll probably enjoy this essay.
Jim Reynolds reflects on the South High marching band as a powerful example of how culture is passed from one generation to the next—not through formal instruction, but through repetition, mentorship, and shared experience. He recalls learning cadences by ear in a noisy after-school band room, then years later teaching those same rhythms when he helped build a marching program from scratch. The drum line became more than music; it fostered discipline, accountability, leadership, and a deep sense of belonging. Reynolds contrasts those enduring memories with the later retirement of the Rebel mascot, which he sees as part of a broader loss of traditions that once united students.
Why it matters: School culture is not created by mission statements or administrative initiatives. It grows out of shared rituals, common purpose, and the traditions people choose to carry forward.
🅱️ This one’s got a heartbeat. You can smell the gym floor and hear the racket. But it’s still circling the memory a bit when it ought to drive the knife in: what the cadence meant, why it lasted, and what got lost when everybody started talking in committee language.
Reader Experience: ★★★★★ Clean Substack. No ads. Fast loading.
Read the original article HERE
LOVE the new format with links to the articles! Thank you!
Yes, please ask Bob to stick around and share his insight. 👍