"'It was the best of energy policies; it was the worst of energy policies' -- Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities. (Apocryphal)

"Higher electricity prices and a lack of cheap energy are in the news. Even before the start of the Iran war, consumers over the winter of 2025-2026 experienced some of the highest energy prices on record, especially electricity consumers in the Northeast and New England.

"A recent report by the American Legislative Exchange Council, known as ALEC, America's largest voluntary membership organization for state legislators, shows the problem lies in local politics, not supply and demand. When it comes to electricity prices, there are two types of American states: those that manipulate electricity markets to the detriment of their citizens, and those that do not."

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"The doomer case against the Trump economy isn't imaginary. It's built on real price pain, real anger and real political ammunition. ...

"Yet the strongest broad economic numbers point in a different direction.

"The Trump economy is expensive, uneven and politically vulnerable. It is also much stronger than the doomer story allows.

"The broadest case against the collapse narrative starts with real GDP per capita, which reached $70,502 in the first quarter of 2026, according to Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) data."

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"This week, the Department of Homeland Security announced a new effort to crack down on asylum fraud -- by going after the lawyers who enable it.

"DHS will be imposing civil fines on attorneys who file bogus and frivolous protection applications on behalf of their alien clients.

"About time: For decades, various administrations have turned a blind eye to those who exploit Americans' humanitarian instincts for pecuniary gain."

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"Hunting and fishing could soon by banned in Oregon if animal rights activists get their way after a ballot initiative gained support from thousands of residents.

"Initiative 28, which proposes expanding the state's animal cruelty ban to cover a wide range of pursuits, is one step closer to being part of the midterm elections after leaders submitted 120,000 signatures in favor of the move.

"People for the Elimination of Animal Cruelty Exemptions Act (PEACE) group are leading the campaign for the measure, which would effectively ban hunting, fishing, and slaughtering livestock."

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"Before 2015, the term 'democratic socialism' was foreign to the American political lexicon. It was certainly not cool among the chattering class, to say nothing of the politically powerless.

"Then, something happened that thrust democratic socialism into the national limelight, where it has remained ever since.

"Bernie Sanders, the septuagenarian independent U.S. senator from Vermont, almost won the 2016 Democratic Party presidential nomination, running under the banner of democratic socialism."

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"President Donald Trump is entirely right to challenge six Muslim nations that want to be part of the Iran peace deal to also join the Abraham Accords, normalizing relations with Israel: It's the obvious, best way to ensure peace and prosperity for each of them, and for all.

He made the point in a call with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey and Jordan (as well as of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, already accord members).

As he explained Monday on Truth Social, 'After all the work done by the United States to try and pull this very complex puzzle together, it should be mandatory that all of these Countries, at a minimum, simultaneously, sign onto the Abraham Accords.'

It's a no-brainer: If you really want a lasting Iran deal, you should have no objection to recognizing and accepting Israel -- which has been crucial to getting the region to this point, neutralizing the threat Tehran poses to all its neighbors.

Attempting to destroy Israel has brought defeat and disaster to every nation that tried; normalizing relations with Jerusalem has proved a boon to every country that signed the accords."

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"There's a global war on information today, and it's segmented by country, generation, and medium.

We used to live in a world where there was a small funnel which all information was strained through. In that funnel was TV, where TV networks essentially had a couple of major news media channels that most of the population tuned into.

Nowadays that funnel has been wiped and filled with countless digital platforms, podcasts, and broadcasting. They're oftentimes populated by international actors, bots, and millions of individuals who want to share their opinions with the world. Social media has democratized influence and blown the funnel open. Anyone can be an influencer."

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"Iran has reportedly begun dumping oil into the Persian Gulf after running out of storage capacity for excess crude. Images allegedly showing oil residue in the waters around Kharg Island began circulating around 10 days ago, with more continuing to emerge as time has gone on.

"Some reports warn that the situation is rapidly becoming an environmental disaster, as Iran's coastline has reportedly become heavily coated in oil, which is now said to be spreading to the shores of neighboring countries, including Kuwait."

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"The U.S. Government Accountability Office finds the federal government could unlock up to a quarter-trillion dollars in savings if lawmakers and agencies act on the GAO's outstanding recommendations aimed at reducing waste and improving efficiency.

"In a new report released in May, the GAO estimated that addressing its open recommendations 'could produce between $132 billion and $251 billion in measurable financial benefits,' underscoring what it describes as a persistent gap between identified reforms and actual implementation.

"The nonpartisan congressional watchdog also emphasized that implementation of its recommendations since 2002 has generated about '$1.51 trillion in financial benefits,' including direct savings, cost avoidance and revenue increases."

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"The Biden administration may have failed to convince Congress to double Medicaid spending on home healthcare in 2021, but the funding increase occurred anyway.

"An RCI analysis of federal data has found that spending on the program, which pays health aides and family members to act as caregivers for elderly and disabled adults, nearly doubled between 2019 and 2024, to $46.4 billion a year -- an amount nearly identical to the $50 billion per year Biden wanted. As a result, American taxpayers paid more than $217 billion for home-based care under the program during that five-year span.

"Lacking congressional approval, policymakers simply moved the initiative out of Washington and down to the state Medicaid agencies.

"Although the expansion was promoted as a way to reduce reliance on more expensive nursing homes, federal data show that did not happen. Medicaid spending on nursing facilities rose by nearly $5 billion in the same five years, to $46.3 billion. In addition, the sprawling home care program has become the subject of a growing set of fraud probes and prosecutions involving the billing codes at the center of the new spending."

Read the entire article here.