Politics

• Biden’s rent control pandering: Evidently, Joe Biden is taking a cue from former fringe New York City mayoral candidate Jimmy McMillan and his The Rent Is Too Damn High Party. Speaking at the 115th NAACP conference in Las Vegas, Biden blasted “the idea that corporate-owned housing is able to raise your rent, [300], 400 bucks a month or something.” He then unveiled another naked vote-buying scheme: “Well, I’m about to announce that they can’t raise it more than [pause] $55.” Uh. What he meant to say was released in a statement announcing his plan to cap rent increases at 5%. In short, Biden plans to impose a system of rent control onto the entire nation. It’s his solution “to lower housing costs for families,” and he encouraged Congress to get on board his anti-free-market train. Even more problematic is Biden’s creating a political policy advocating for rent control that will hamper needed home-building industry expansion.

• Biden puts a bullseye on SCOTUS: In his recent interview with NBC News’s Lester Holt, Joe Biden blasted the U.S. Supreme Court, claiming that the justices “seem out of touch with what the Founders intended.” The one out of touch with what the Founders intended is Biden, who will soon endorse legislation that introduces term limits and ethics code enforcement on the justices. Biden told the Congressional Progressive Caucus that he would need their help as he’s about to announce “a major initiative on limiting the Court.” Biden further claimed he’d “been working with constitutional scholars for the last three months” on this initiative. Biden has long targeted the Court due to its current 6-3 conservative majority, and should Biden win reelection, he’ll work to reshape it into little other than a rubber stamp for the Democrats’ increasingly radical leftist agenda. So, who’s the real threat?

• Gold Bar Bob guilty on all 18 counts: Last September, when New Jersey Democrat Senator Bob Menendez was indicted along with his wife, Nadine, on bribery charges, we remarked that he was facing some serious charges — gold bars, gobs of cash, luxury cars, the works — but that the arc of Beltway justice tends to bend away from Democrats. Happily, this wasn’t the case yesterday, as the jury in the federal corruption trial of Menendez and two of his business associates found him guilty on all charges after a nine-week trial. As Fox News reports, “The conviction on all 16 counts against him exposes Menendez to a sentence of more than 200 years in prison, though such a heavy sentence is unlikely.” How to explain an overwhelmingly left-leaning Manhattan jury convicting a Democrat senator so resoundingly? Perhaps this way: The jury realized that old, corrupt Bob Menendez had worn out his usefulness to the Democrats, and overboard he went. Menendez claimed he “never violated a public oath” and had “never been a foreign agent,” but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was unconvinced: “In light of this guilty verdict, Senator Menendez must now do what is right for his constituents, the Senate, and our country, and resign.”

• The Trump campaign considers the fallen: Lost amid the coverage of the near-assassination of Donald Trump, the clownish excuse-making of Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle, and the FBI’s “search” for a motive is the remarkable outpouring of support for a heroic 50-year-old father and husband named Corey Comperatore, who was mortally wounded by an assassin’s bullet while shielding his wife and daughter, and David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74, both of whom were gravely wounded in the attack. According to a Trump-sanctioned GoFundMe page, more than $5 million has so far been raised, even though the initial goal was just $1 million. As the page reads: “President Donald Trump has authorized this account as a place for donations to the supporters and families wounded or killed in today’s brutal and horrific assassination attempt. All donations will be directed to these proud Americans as they grieve and recover. May God bless and unite our nation.”

• J.D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy soars on Netflix and Amazon charts after VP nod (Hollywood Reporter)

• Leak of Trump, RFK call: Trump says he’s going to win; RFK agrees (Daily Wire)

• Some House Democrats want DNC to cancel early virtual vote that would formalize Biden’s nomination (CBS News)

• Georgia Court of Appeals formally sets oral argument on Fani Willis for December (RedState)

National Security

• Iran assassination plot: It’s a scary new world out there for prominent public figures, as would-be assassins have at their disposal increasingly sophisticated technologies. And this includes rogue state actors. As the New York Post reports: “US officials received intel about a sinister Iranian plot to assassinate former President Donald Trump just weeks before a deranged gunman shot at the GOP nominee at a Pennsylvania rally over the weekend. The threat prompted the Secret Service to boost its protection around the 78-year-old, two US officials said — though the additional resources didn’t prevent Saturday’s shooting, which does not appear connected to the rogue nation’s plans.” It’s no secret that the Iranians would love to avenge the death of Quds Force leader Qassem Soleimani, who was killed by the Trump administration in a 2020 missile strike. “The Secret Service and other agencies are constantly receiving new potential threat information and taking action to adjust resources, as needed,” said spokesman Anthony Guglielmi, who declined to address the specific nature of the threat.

• Sniper took picture of Trump rally shooter, saw him use rangefinder before assassination attempt (CBS News)

• Homeland Security inspector general investigates Secret Service handling of security at Trump rally (AP)

• Suspicious gun-toting man in mask arrested in Milwaukee just blocks from Republican National Convention (PM)

• American Muslims for Palestine ordered to turn over potentially damaging donor documents in Virginia terror financing probe (Washington Free Beacon)

Village Academies

• CA bans schools notifying parents of child’s pronoun change: California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a new law barring school districts from requiring schools to alert parents if their child expresses gender confusion, such as requesting new pronouns. The law effectively bans a school’s ability to be transparent with parents, as it sides with the Rainbow Mafia’s false narrative that parents who reject “transgenderism” are “harming” their children. As Democrat Assemblymember Chris Ward, who introduced the legislation, asserted, “Although many LGBTQ youth have supportive families, some unfortunately continue to face rejection and are exposed to serious harm if prematurely forced to reveal their identity.” What is actually harmful and damaging is the state socializing children into embracing gender confusion and sexual deviancy as normative and seeking to hide this from parents.

• Good news: Musk bids adieu to California: In a much-anticipated divorce, the world’s richest man is leaving the nation’s largest state, as billionaire Elon Musk announced yesterday that he’ll be moving his SpaceX and X headquarters out of California. The tipping point for Musk? A bill signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom prohibiting schools from notifying parents of their children’s gender identity. “This is the final straw,” Musk posted on X. “Because of this law and the many others that preceded it, attacking both families and companies, SpaceX will now move its HQ from Hawthorne, California, to Starbase, Texas.” Musk’s X headquarters will reside in Austin. This news comes on the heels of Musk’s announcement that he’d be supporting Donald Trump for president and committing $45 million per month to a Trump-affiliated super PAC.

• More good news: Officials increasingly ban students’ cellphones in K-12 schools, reversing trend (Washington Times)

Bidenomics

• The cost of 20% cumulative inflation: What has been the monetary cost of Joe Biden’s presidency on the average American family’s bottom line? Thanks to the massive government spending under Biden, cumulative inflation since he took office is 20%, meaning substantially increased costs for goods and services across the board. The annual dollar amount equivalent for the average American family in increased costs is $11,400 since January 2021. Furthermore, while the rate of inflationary growth has slowed, as Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) recently observed, “Inflation is still ~50% higher than the targeted rate. Biden’s inflation is far from over.” The Washington Examiner reports, “Grocery staples such as cheese, eggs, meat, and fruits and vegetables have all seen significant price increases, with ground beef as much as 103% higher.” The price of gas is still 33% higher than when Biden first took up residence in the White House, and electricity prices are 29% higher. Though he denies it, the Biden presidency has proven to be a disaster for the average American family’s economic situation.

American Dispirit/Spirit

• Disney World removes beloved character from park after 50 years over fears it could offend alcoholics (NY Post)

• Federal court rules Americans have the right to cook up moonshine in their own durn bathtubs 🇺🇸 (Not the Bee)

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