Rip’s Newsletter
July 31, 2026
Compiled and Edited
by
Jim Reynolds
Articles in This Issue
Victor Davis Hanson - The Iran War at the Crossroads
Douglas Andrews - Unaccountable Anthony Fauci
Emmy Griffin - WNBA Attack on Women’s Sports Reaches ‘Fever’ Pitch
Kristen Ziccarelli - 1776 and 1789: A Tale of Two Revolutions
Nate Jackson - KBJ Doesn’t Understand or Practice Impartiality
Jim Reynolds - Over the Line
Overview
Today’s mix keeps circling the same fault lines: power, legitimacy, and who gets to define the rules.
I’m seeing a hard-edged debate over whether America’s institutions are still capable of accountability, from Fauci and the courts to the culture wars around women’s sports.
At the same time, the foreign-policy pieces frame Iran as weakened but not finished, while the revolution essay reminds me how much hinges on whether a society preserves its inherited order or tries to remake itself from scratch.
Note: Frustrating day up here in the mountains. PGE cut our power for the day, so I had to switch to backup power: a propane generator. The push-button start wouldn’t do anything, so I tried the rope starter. It looked a little frayed, and on the next yank it split in two. I tried another battery, but no luck. Then I disassembled the rope starter assembly. By then the sun was beating down, and it was shaping up to be another 95-degree day. So I went to Plan B, or maybe D or F: I brought the backup to the backup online. I happened to have an extra generator, though it runs on gas. No problem. I hooked the trailer up to the 4Runner, rolled the generator in, brought it up to the house, and got it working. Eventually I made it down to Rip and Reynolds. I also received an intriguing article about race, the Russians, and American Marxists. You’ll see it soon.
The Iran War at the Crossroads
Site: American Greatness
Author: Victor Davis Hanson
Date: 2026-07-30
The article argues that the Iran war has entered a “Stage III” of alternating strikes and negotiations, but says the conflict has not failed and has instead badly weakened Tehran’s military, nuclear, and regional position. Hanson contends Iran will need years to recover, while Russia has been sidelined, China’s influence is waning, Gulf states are more pro-American, and Israel has emerged stronger after humiliating a much larger enemy. He says the regime is using a familiar “theocratic rope-a-dope” strategy to wait out Trump, exploit political pressure over gas prices, and preserve its own survival while its infrastructure is destroyed. The piece outlines a possible U.S. endgame: continued strikes on dual-use and uranium sites, forceful reopening of the Strait of Hormuz if needed, sanctions enforcement, and then disengagement with a small regional deterrent force. Hanson also urges Western support for an Iranian opposition government in exile, arguing that only a credible provisional alternative can replace the theocracy and guide a transition to consensual rule.
This story matters because it frames the Iran conflict as a test of U.S. resolve, regional stability, and whether military pressure can create the conditions for a post-theocracy Iran.
🅱️ Bob: Same old sermon, new crater—mullahs bluff, everybody talks, and the bill keeps landing on the people who can’t duck.
Reader Experience: ★★★★☆ Minor clutter but easy reading.
Read the original article HERE
Unaccountable Anthony Fauci
Site: The Patriot Post
Author: Douglas Andrews
Date: 2026-07-30
Douglas Andrews argues that Anthony Fauci’s 111 invocations of the Fifth Amendment before Congress were less a defense than an admission that he wants to avoid scrutiny over alleged lies about COVID-19 policy, the origins of the virus, and his public testimony. The piece says Fauci’s autopen pardon may shield him from some federal exposure, but not necessarily from state investigations or a possible contempt fight in the Senate, where Rand Paul and other Republicans are pressing the issue. It frames the hearing as useful mainly for building a public record of Fauci’s contradictions, even if it produced no apology or immediate accountability. The article broadens the critique to a wider culture of elite impunity, naming other former officials it says were never meaningfully punished for false testimony.
This story matters because it captures the growing demand for real consequences when powerful officials mislead the public and Congress.
🅱️ Bob: When a man answers “I plead the Fifth” 111 times, he’s not protecting the truth—he’s hiding from the bill.
Reader Experience: ★★★★☆ Minor clutter but easy reading.
Read the original article HERE
WNBA Attack on Women’s Sports Reaches ‘Fever’ Pitch
Site: The Patriot Post
Author: Emmy Griffin
Date: 2026-07-31
At a Seattle Storm game, two 16-year-old girls supporting Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham and women’s sports were booed, mocked, and allegedly cursed at by fans and even by Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton. The girls held signs backing Cunningham after she defended the integrity of women’s sports, while the arena also featured a counterprotest and a Storm warm-up shirt reading “Trans Rights are Human Rights.” According to the article, the confrontation escalated when Keaton approached the teens, invoked Jesus, and called them obscene names, leaving one in tears and both hiding their signs. The Storm later apologized, saying fans should feel welcome, and Keaton was fined and banned from the next five home games. Cunningham then praised the girls for standing up for what they believe and criticized the co-owner’s behavior as embarrassing. The piece frames the incident as evidence that backlash against women defending sex-based sports categories is growing more visible and more politically costly. This story matters because it shows how the fight over women’s sports is now playing out in public, with real consequences for young athletes and the institutions that claim to support them.
🅱️ The mask slipped and the ‘tolerant’ crowd booed two girls for wanting fair play—then the boss lady dropped F-bombs in Jesus’ name. You can’t make this up. The essay lands the receipts, but could use more bite—less Sunday school, more street fight. Still, it nails the hypocrisy: the only thing ‘inclusive’ is the ban on common sense.
Reader Experience: ★★★★☆ Minor clutter but easy reading.
Read the original article HERE
1776 and 1789: A Tale of Two Revolutions
Site: American Mind
Author: Kristen Ziccarelli
Date: 2026-07-31
Kristen Ziccarelli contrasts the American and French Revolutions as rival civilizational models: 1776 preserved inherited liberties rooted in natural law, biblical morality, and a Christian civic order, while 1789 sought to remake society by severing authority from God, tradition, and the church. She argues the American Founding was conservative in character, aiming to protect pre-political rights and a prudent republican hierarchy rather than abolish inherited institutions. By contrast, the French Revolution is portrayed as ideological and anti-Christian, culminating in the suppression of the church, the Reign of Terror, the Festival of Reason, and even attempts to remake time and public life. The essay extends that critique to later movements—communism, the sexual revolution, and expressive individualism—casting them as descendants of the same self-creating anthropology. Ziccarelli concludes that the central question for the West is whether liberty means freedom within an inherited moral order or emancipation from all inherited authority.
This story matters because it frames today’s cultural and political conflicts as a choice between preserving a Christian moral inheritance and embracing a revolutionary logic that dissolves it.
🅱️ This one draws a line in the sand—inheritance or emancipation, pick your poison. Nails the difference between revolutions: one kept the faith, the other guillotined it. Could use a little more bite, but the receipts are all here. History lesson with teeth, not just a flag-waving rerun.
Read the original article HERE
KBJ Doesn’t Understand or Practice Impartiality
Site: The Patriot Post
Author: Nate Jackson
Date: 2026-07-31
Patriot Post argues that Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s remarks about judicial impartiality on Michelle Obama’s podcast were undermined by the venue and by her own record. The piece says Jackson’s appearance on Obama’s left-leaning “IMO” podcast, after signing the Supreme Court’s Code of Conduct, clashes with her warning that judges must avoid any appearance of partiality. It portrays Jackson as a self-promoter whose opinions and public appearances reflect a broader ideological agenda rather than neutrality. The article further claims her jurisprudence is driven by radical leftist and “oppressor/oppressed” thinking, often drawing rebukes from fellow justices. It also ties her comments to broader Democratic and DSA efforts to reshape or weaken the Supreme Court.
The story matters because it frames a sitting Supreme Court justice’s public messaging as evidence of the ideological bias critics say is eroding trust in the Court.
🅱️ KBJ talking impartiality on Michelle Obama’s podcast is like a fox giving a TED Talk on henhouse security. The essay doesn’t just call out the hypocrisy—it drags it into the daylight and makes it do jumping jacks. Could use a little more scalpel and a little less sledgehammer, but the receipts are there. If you ever doubted the game was rigged, this is your reminder.
Reader Experience: ★★★★☆ Minor clutter but easy reading.
Read the original article HERE
Over the Line
Site: www.reynolds.com
Author: Jim Reynolds
Date: 2026-07-31
Jim Reynolds reflects on how childhood sports were improvised around whoever showed up, from basketball and football to a stripped-down baseball variant called Over the Line. He argues that Over the Line solved baseball’s logistical problem by removing catcher, umpire, baserunning, tags and waiting, while preserving the core skills of pitching, hitting, fielding and teamwork. The game depended on precision rather than raw power: pitchers had to place hittable balls, batters had to drive line drives to the open field, and defenders had to read and react quickly. Reynolds presents the game as both honest and complete because its simple rules made outcomes visible and minimized argument. He also frames it as a better teaching tool than organized drills, because it forced players to learn control, anticipation and adaptability through play.
Jim: Sometimes you get tired of reading and writing about politics. Have a great weekend!
This story matters because it shows how kids can turn scarcity into a better, leaner version of the game—and a sharper lesson in how sports actually work.
🅱️ This is a memory with teeth. No lectures, just a blueprint for how kids—and maybe a country—used to solve problems without a committee. Every line’s a quiet rebuke to the clipboard crowd. Makes you miss when rules fit the game, not the other way around.
Reader Experience: ★★★★★ Clean Substack. No ads. Fast loading.
Read the original article HERE
Mandami just outdid Fauci with the growing trend of unpunished crimes. Doxxing a thousand wealthy property owners. Addresses,names and property values. While Gov says nothing. Hopefully he out foxed himself and suits are filed. This, a result of non schooled and lack of History fell for his free sales pitch. I now predict a mass exodus along with tax payers. As poverty settles in city wide,his loyalist will erect a statue of him with a Karl Marx flare and no one around.