Unlocking The Debate: Who Really Controls
Your Phone?
Posted By: RockyTCB, 7/9/2026 12:18:22 PM
For over 20 years, Americans have enjoyed the liberty to keep their phone number when they switch wireless providers. But there’s still a catch: consumers can port their number, but not the phone itself. This is due to “mobile locking,” a software restriction carriers place on devices purchased through an equipment installment plan. The phone works perfectly fine, but it can’t be taken to another provider unless under certain stipulations that vary from provider to provider. In theory, the consumer owns the device. In practice, the carrier still sits in the driver’s seat. Consumers can
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RockyTCB"
For over 20 years, Americans have enjoyed the liberty to keep their phone number when they switch wireless providers. But there’s still a catch: consumers can port their number, but not the phone itself.
This is due to “mobile locking,” a software restriction carriers place on devices purchased through an equipment installment plan. The phone works perfectly fine, but it can’t be taken to another provider unless under certain stipulations that vary from provider to provider. In theory, the consumer owns the device. In practice, the carrier still sits in the driver’s seat.
Consumers can
There’s a new agency in California that promises to “protect consumers, support honest businesses, and advance affordability for Californians.” If Vegas were to give odds, they would be heavily against any of those ever occurring.
It’s called the California Business and Consumer Services Agency, and it’s a cabinet-level department headed by Rohit Chopra, who was sworn in on July 1. It already has a bureaucratic acronym: BCSA. Catchy, isn’t it?
Chopra promises his office “will sharpen and accelerate work to promote economic growth and protect the public from abuses.”
President Donald Trump’s favorability ratings have suffered this year as higher oil prices and a persistent armed conflict with Iran have upset many voters. But with energy prices down in recent weeks, and ongoing talks with Iran, Trump may be turning a corner in public opinion, the latest I&I/TIPP Poll suggests.
The national online I&I/TIPP Poll each month asks voters to grade the president’s performance. Voters are asked four questions, starting with: “Overall, is your opinion of Donald Trump generally favorable, generally unfavorable, or are you not familiar enough to to say one way or the other?”
For all the moral preening about Donald Trump’s character flaws, Democrats have shown in the past few months that there is no character flaw too great for them to endorse a candidate. Except one.
For today’s Democrats, It’s OK to be a communist. To sport a Nazi tattoo. Or to be a serial abuser of women.
Did you call on people to assassinate your opponent? No problem. Lie under oath? So what. Recently suffer a debilitating stroke? Don’t worry, we’ll all look the other way.
There is one and only one thing that Democrats cannot abide.
It took less time than we would have imagined, but proponents of the “billionaire wealth tax” have already given the game away.
Anyone who knows any history about taxes knows that the left always uses “tax the rich” as a cover to raise taxes on the middle class. Because, as Willy Sutton observed in another context, that’s where the money is.
But we were surprised to see Rep. Ro Khanna admit as much, even before he and his socialist pals get their coveted wealth tax on the boards.
“The tax should not stop at billionaires,” he wrote on his Substack. “The tax has to reach all fortunes $50 million and up.”
The Taqiyya Communists
3 replies
We’ve been assured that the Democratic Socialists of America, who have been winning primary elections and commanding rave reviews from the press, are not communists. Don’t believe the lie. They’re concealing who they are to appeal to low-information voters. Eventually, their masks will come off.
The Democratic socialists are dissembling much the same way that Islamists use taqiyya, a doctrine of duplicity, to cover their fundamentalist beliefs so they can fit in with the West. France 24, the state-owned news outlet, characterized taqiyya in a headline as “the terrorist ‘art of deception.'”
Terrorist sleeper cells have taken “the path of taqiyya,”
AMERICA, July 6, 2026 — Issues & Insights, a commentary site founded by the journalists behind the great IBD Editorials Page (RIP), announced that it canceled its relationship with online ad networks, including Google’s AdSense, and is now 100% reader-supported.
“Since our founding in 2019, we have been blessed with many loyal and generous readers,” the team said. “We tried working with ad networks, and have found them to be increasingly frustrating and intrusive, while producing little revenue. That’s particularly true of Google’s AdSense network, which routinely demonetizes content that strays from the company’s leftist politics, on the spurious grounds
I’m a relative newcomer to the Golden State and just recently learned about the $114 million “butterfly bridge,” I thought it must have been a joke.
Nope. Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing (WAWC) broke ground four years ago and, like seemingly every other infrastructure project in this state, it is way over budget and well behind schedule.
That’s bad enough. But California has been on a bridge-to-nowhere building binge for more than a decade, even as its existing bridges crumble.
In the Central Valley, there are roughly two dozen bridges, viaducts, and overpasses,
A Tale Of Two Governors
3 replies
California Gov. Gavin Newsom can’t help himself when it comes to bragging about the performance of the state while he’s been in charge. Often it means saying things that are wildly untrue.
Take his latest attempt at self-congratulation.
In a post on X, Newsom claimed, “Since 2019, California has grown about 40% in its economy — no other jurisdiction in the United States has come close. We have no peers.”
That might be accurate if what Newsom meant was that California has no peers when it comes to how badly the state’s economy has been performing since 2019.
Newsom’s 40% growth rate is in nominal terms. In real terms,
No one who’s kept up with U.S. politics even minimally over the last four decades should be surprised that the Democratic Party has been the launching pad for a wave of socialism. The party has long been rooted in socialist principles. It was inevitable that what the Democrats have long covered up is now out in the open and its zealots adherents are threatening our republic.
Granted, the wave is not overwhelming and our country has survived previous flirtations with socialism. But the boldness from the outright socialists, who are hiding behind the label of “democratic socialists,”
As U.S. Nears Its 250th Birthday, Nearly
3/4 Still Say They’re Proud To Be American:
I&I/TIPP Poll 6 replies
3/4 Still Say They’re Proud To Be American:
I&I/TIPP Poll 6 replies
The Fourth of July is usually a time for fireworks, picnics and, for some, quiet reflection on what it means to be an American. But this Fourth is special, marking the 250th anniversary of the United States. Are Americans still proud of what they’ve built? A solid majority says yes, the latest I&I/TIPP Poll shows.
The national online I&I/TIPP Poll asked 1,589 adults: “As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, how proud are you to be an American?” The response was strong: 72% said they were either “very proud” (48%) or “somewhat proud” (24%), while 24% said they were
The left, to no one’s surprise, is freaking out about the Supreme Court’s ruling that a president can fire an official who works in the executive branch. They are freaking out not because the ruling favors President Donald Trump, but because it will return the federal government to its constitutional roots.
Liberal Justices on the court spoke for the freak-out crowd when they said that the conservative majority in Trump v. Cook “reshapes our government,” and that “dozens of independent commissions are now likely to become purely executive agencies, shifting tremendous power over broad swaths of American life into the President’s hands,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in the dissent.
Scary sounding, right?
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French President Emmanuel Macron said his country was willing to engage in a “shooting war” with the U.S. earlier this year, according to a report.
The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Macron made the decision earlier this year after American forces carried out a precision strike in Venezuela that led to the arrest of former dictator Nicolas Maduro.
Graham Platner, the Democratic nominee for US Senate in Maine, is suspending his campaign following a sexual assault allegation.
Platner announced his decision in a video posted to social media on Wednesday evening.
The oyster farmer and marine veteran – whose populist platform packed town halls, raised millions early in the race and built enough momentum to force his primary challenger, Governor Janet Mills, to suspend her bid – has been dogged by controversy since entering the Senate contest last year.
Former Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan was spared from prison Wednesday for ushering a Mexican defendant through her jury room door as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents sought to arrest him in a courthouse hallway.
U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman fined her $5,000, describing the case as a situation where an otherwise good person, upset by immigration policies in this country, made a bad decision in the moment.
Truth Social post by Trump about St. Paul
kindergartners sparks safety concerns, criticism 15 replies
kindergartners sparks safety concerns, criticism 15 replies
Somali American and Muslim community members in Minnesota are raising concerns about safety and Islamophobia after President Donald Trump posted a video showing children at a St. Paul kindergarten graduation ceremony, including several young girls wearing hijabs.
The 14-second clip, originally taken from a livestream of a graduation ceremony at Gateway STEM Academy, a public charter school in St. Paul, appeared on Trump's Truth Social account without a caption. While the president did not add commentary, Somali Minnesotans and Muslim advocacy organizations say the repost amplified online narratives targeting Minnesota's Somali and Muslim communities and has left families concerned about the safety of children and schools.
In a statement this morning, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear requests an official update on Sen. Mitch McConnell's health.
Gov. Beshear is sharing a direct request to Sen. McConnell amid growing concerns over the limited communication with the public about his health and his ability to serve. Sen. McConnell was reportedly hospitalized June 14. “Over the last several weeks, Kentuckians have grown increasingly concerned about the health and well-being of Sen. McConnell. As Governor – and a fellow public official who understands the commitment we’ve made to the people we serve – I am requesting the Senator provide an update on his current health status,” said Gov. Beshear. “Allowing speculation to continue
The big Oil Companies are not dropping their price at the pump commensurate with the sharply lower prices they are paying for Oil. Those prices are dropping like a rock! In other words, customers are being ‘gouged.’ I have instructed the DOJ to immediately start looking into this. Gasoline prices better start going down a lot faster than what I’m seeing!”
That was President Donald Trump on June 24 in a post on Truth Social, stating he had ordered the Justice Department to investigate alleged price gouging at the gas pump, noting oil prices are falling faster than gasoline. The implication is there might be illegal price collusion.
US resumes Iran war with air, sea, ground-ready
troops in place, confident about munitions supply 12 replies
troops in place, confident about munitions supply 12 replies
President Donald Trump vowing Wednesday to intensify air strikes against Iran – after the sides traded attacks the day before and him declaring the countries' roughly three-week ceasefire "over" – has the U.S. appearing to be returning to war footing.
"We're gonna hit 'em hard tonight," Trump said at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, after conceding to reporters hours earlier about the ceasefire, "To me, I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them."
The return, as expected, has raised immediate concerns from economic – like will gas prices skyrocket again? – to military ones such as: Does the U.S. have enough air, sea and ground-
A bitter battle is brewing along California’s Central Coast as an Indigenous tribe pushes to create a protected ocean zone that could sharply limit fishing — sparking fears among local fishermen that their livelihoods are on the line. The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians has filed a proposal to create a new Marine Protected Area (MPA) stretching from Morro Rock to the local dog beach near Morro Bay. The proposal was among 20 Marine Protected Area petitions submitted to the California Fish and Game Commission. The original petition would have allowed some recreational fishing, but the tribe requested an amendment that would reserve fishing access only for Chumash members.
The official X for Christopher Nolan’s upcoming adaptation of The Odyssey has restricted comments on its posts as the film faces criticism over several casting decisions.
The Odyssey premiered in London on Monday and is scheduled for release in theaters in the United States and the United Kingdom on July 17. However, users attempting to comment on the film’s official X posts now see the message: “Only some accounts can reply.”
MAINE — According to an email from Maine Democratic Party Chairman Charlie Dingman that was obtained from a source by Maine's Total Coverage, an emergency meeting of the state Democratic State Committee is being held on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. That meeting is being held virtually and is scheduled for 90 minutes. Platner, the Democratic nominee challenging Republican Sen. Susan Collins, has faced growing calls to drop out following sexual assault allegations, which he has denied. The controversy has prompted Democrats in Maine and nationally to urge him to withdraw so the party can move forward with another candidate. “While
UK mom thrown out of supermarket over
what she wore during heat wave: ‘Someone
can untie your top’ 12 replies
what she wore during heat wave: ‘Someone
can untie your top’ 12 replies
A mom of three claimed she was thrown out of a UK supermarket after a male security guard said that her backless top could encourage someone to untie it.
Alixe Galatis, 31, said she was stopped while trying to shop at a Tesco store in Essex, southeast England, with her three children on June 26, when temperatures in the UK reached 99 degrees Fahrenheit amid the country’s heat wave.
The mom of three said she was told she couldn’t enter because of her backless top, which featured thin straps tied at the back,
Just three weeks after it was signed, the Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Iran is on life support.
Tehran’s promise to keep the Strait of Hormuz open for international shipping turned out to be about as trustworthy as every other major promise the Islamic Republic has ever made.
As the regime was busy staging the lavish funeral for its recently eliminated Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iranian forces went ahead and attacked three commercial vessels transiting the strait.
The United States struck nearly 100 military targets across Iran in response.