Posts on Sunday, July 12, 2026

The Fourth of July was not only a day to celebrate our country’s independence. It marks the date of a new kind of investment account for children of citizens who are under 18 and who have Social Security account numbers. The Trump Accounts (530A accounts) are a brilliant idea. Often compared to “starter IRA accounts,” the children are the owners of the accounts, which are to be managed by a responsible adult -- guardian or parent. (Snip) Consider the genius of this program. It encourages millions of people, many of whom are not investors, to become actual stakeholders in our economy.

Nearly $15,000 has been raised for a conductor on the historic Incline Railway in Chattanooga, Tennessee, who was fired after delivering a patriotic message to passengers on Independence Day. As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, Jack Peterson, who worked as a conductor for the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA), which operates the Incline Railway, made the comments during a July 4 ride. In a statement captured on video, which went viral on social media, Peterson wished “the very, very few Americans” on board a happy Independence Day. He added, “To the rest of you, welcome to the greatest country on the face of the planet, and if you disagree, you can leave.”

For some years, I have kept a folder marked “Conservative Gloominess.” It is full of articles and animadversions by various hands: dire prognostications about who the next occupant of the White House will be; harrowing descriptions of disarray among conservatives; despairing portraits of U.S. or European society. What’s odd, or at least uncharacteristic, about these bulletins from the abyss is not their substance—to be candid, I have written plenty of items that could justly be filed there—but their tone and what we might call their existential orientation. From time immemorial, conservatives have delighted in writing works with titles like Leviathan, The Decline of the West, The Waste Land. Nevertheless,

Over the previous five days, 76 Russian ships have been attacked by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned surface vehicles. This has succeeded in virtually isolating Crimea and the illegally occupied areas of Ukraine from Russia and may be on the verge of precipitating a humanitarian disaster in Crimea as water, electricity, and food are about to become scarce. Of the 76 targeted ships, 28 were attacked Friday night. This indicates a coherent strategic campaign rather than a one-off happening. To fully understand the larger picture, we need to back off several months.

On Saturday night, according to reports, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy fired a warning shot at and struck a commercial ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran claimed it was closing the strait until further notice.This comes in the wake of President Trump and administration officials on Friday giving Iran a deadline of Saturday to say to the world that the Strait of Hormuz is open, or face certain destruction, as my colleague Joe Cunningham wrote earlier:There was also news Saturday of a potential assassination plot by Iran against Trump possibly being foiled in recent days.

Government commissions come and go. Most deliver their reports to polite applause and prompt obscurity. But the Religious Liberty Commission that recently presented its draft report to President Donald Trump deserves a look that extends well beyond the Oval Office. At stake is something fundamental to the American character: our distinctive religious pluralism and the constitutional architecture that has protected it for more than two centuries.Established last May, the commission was charged with identifying emerging threats to religious liberty, upholding federal laws protecting full civic participation in a pluralistic democracy, and protecting the free exercise of religion. That mandate is broadly American,

The Republican National Committee going into the weekend released details about its first midterm convention ahead of the November elections – a sign that President Donald Trump's tenacious and grueling work schedule is finally rubbing off on the GOP and is leaders after years of trying to keep pace. Whether advancing his agenda, holding events, or dominating the news cycle, Trump's pace has been notoriously relentless. For weeks after his June 30 post, the broader party apparatus appeared to be playing catch-up—planning in the background while the president kept moving.

WASHINGTON — Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who was elected to the Senate in 2003 and was a close political ally of President Donald Trump, has died, his office confirmed early Sunday. He was 71. Graham died Saturday night “from a brief and sudden illness,” his office said in a statement. “Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period,” the statement continued. Graham was chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and was seeking a fifth six-year Senate term in November. He was one of the most well-known members of the chamber