Monday, July 20, 2026
Note to Ldotters:
Please remember, no duplicates, no blog posting
unless you have permission from staff, no local crimes and
no posting just to elicit nasty reactions.
Any post with three lines or fewer will be deleted.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Lucianne.com Ad-Free Subscription
Learn More or Enter Code
Latest Posts
On Sunday, a new report came out that, among Saturday night's targets in Iran hit by American attacks, there was a strike against a nuclear facility under construction, that being what is called the Darkhovin facility. The Iranian government is said to be "furious." Good. This is a military target, no matter what Iran has to say about it. This is precisely the kind of target American forces should be razing to the ground. Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, in its outrage, is again dissembling; nothing this regime does is peaceful or has an entirely peaceful purpose. If this facility had been allowed to move to completion,
True Value hardware stores are, and have been, an American institution. They are scattered across the land, often run as small mom and pop shops; our tiny hardware store just up the road here in the Susitna Valley is a True Value. They're everywhere. And, for almost 80 years, they have maintained a primary company headquarters in Chicago. No longer. Now they are fleeing for greener pastures, and those more verdant habitats are right next door, in Indiana, a much lower-tax and more business-friendly environment. Now, some (in Illinois) will point this out as simply combining headquarters after an acquisition, which isn't at all uncommon.
Authorities Identify Source of Nationwide
Cyclospora Outbreak: Salad Distributer
Used By Taco Bell replies
Cyclospora Outbreak: Salad Distributer
Used By Taco Bell replies
Lettuce grown in central Mexico that was used by multiple Taco Bell locations has been identified as the source of a Cyclospora outbreak that has sickened Americans across the country.
A recall of the lettuce was announced by Taylor Farms, which posted a notice on the website of the Food and Drug Administration.
“The company has stopped receiving product from the implicated lot, suspended distribution of the iceberg lettuce from Central Mexico, notified our customers, and we are continuing to work with the FDA, CDC, and state authorities,” Taylor Farms wrote in its notice.
America’s Top Companies?
replies
Do you know what the nation’s “top companies” are? Do you think, perhaps, that businesses like Tesla, which made Elon Musk a billionaire, or SpaceX, which made Musk a trillionaire, are among the finest? Does it make sense to you that Walmart, the largest retailer in the world, or ExxonMobil, the largest shareholder-owned energy company in the world, should, at the very least, crack the top 100 American companies? Conversely, has Disney—a company that has seen its stock price almost cut in half over the last five years, that has suffered from repeated leadership controversies,
Money is the mother’s milk of politics.
—Jesse Unruh, the 26th California treasurer
The debate over money in politics is defined by a core tension between the ideals of transparency, privacy, and mandated disclosure. Proponents of robust transparency and disclosure requirements (especially America Firsters) argue that voters have a fundamental right to know who is funding candidates, parties, and issue advocacy since undisclosed “dark money” from wealthy individuals, corporations, unions, or foreign-linked entities can distort democratic outcomes, enable corruption or undue influence and facilitate implementation of left-wing policies funded by U.S. taxpayers without authorization or scrutiny. They push for lower reporting thresholds, real-time disclosures,
George Orwell's 1984 was a warning, not an instruction manual. It was based on the very real concern of a government becoming a totalitarian surveillance state where all the people did was observed, recorded, and scrutinized for any sign of WrongThink. It was a terrifying glimpse into Orwell's fears should his own preferred ideology of socialism take hold and go too far, but it wasn't just about socialism, either. It was what the state could do when no one stopped it. And while we've often invoked the imagery of Big Brother to make a point about surveillance overreach, things are scarier now than ever before...and gun owners are especially concerned.
US bombing of Iran expands as American
troops killed and Tehran retaliates against
the Gulf states replies
troops killed and Tehran retaliates against
the Gulf states replies
The United States conducted a new round of airstrikes early Monday targeting Iran after announcing the death of another American service member, hitting around a northwestern city believed to be home to underground missile bases. Iran responded by launching an attack targeting Bahrain, the home of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, and Kuwait.
The latest attacks again showed how, step by step, the U.S. and Iran have inched closer to all-out war as last month’s interim deal meant to permanently end the fighting has crumbled and shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has largely stalled. Both sides have targeted civilian infrastructure relied on by millions of people.
Hello and welcome to Sunday, July 19, 2026. Among other things, today is Ice Cream Day, Daiquiri Day, Raspberry Cake Day, New Friends Day, Stick Out Your Tongue Day, Sundae Sunday, Football Day, Flight Attendant Safety Professionals' Day, International Retainer Day, Lake Superior Day, and Flitch Day. I don't know what to make of that. Anything that floats in your root beer, I suppose.So let's look at what's actually going on between Trump and Rubio. A few things stand out:
Rubio's portfolio keeps growing. As secretary of State, he's literally everywhere on foreign policy, and Trump keeps handing him the delicate diplomatic assignments nobody else gets.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is once again defending a criminal illegal immigrant who was deported by the Trump administration.
In a press conference earlier this week, Walz said the deportation of Tou Lue Vang did not make Americans safer – despite recognizing he committed “horrific crimes.”
“Did that make us any safer? Did that make the children that are left behind any more stable,” Walz asked. “Did it improve the idea that we can’t all be judged by our worst day?” (snip) The pardon was unanimously approved this spring by Minnesota’s Board of Pardons, which includes Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and state Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson.
Mention the name Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) in conservative circles, and the immediate response is far more often than not barely suppressed laughter. A bulging-eyed birdbrain, a nit lacking the intelligence to be witted featherweight, useful for mocking alone. Did you hear what she just said about her fellow progressives’ current pet fantasy regarding eliminating the Senate? Did you catch her trying to assume a Southern accent? And on and on. How can anyone take her seriously? Surely no serious political mind does.
After President Donald Trump’s disruptive primetime speech to the nation on July 16, he revealed that his administration had evidence that federal intelligence officials withheld intelligence about China’s involvement in election tampering in the U.S. For a U.S. president to make such a claim, he’d better have the receipts, and the president promised that he did.Now, reports are that Nikki Floris, a former FBI analyst and senior leader who was charged with oversight of election security in 2020, once wrote that she was “basically running a shadow government across the FBI.”
Most of the "Top 'O the Briefing" for Friday morning had already been written last Thursday night by the time President Trump was finished with his speech, which is why I didn't comment on it. Regulars here in Briefingland know that I don't think that we can talk about election integrity too much, especially in this most critical election year.
While Senate Jellyfish Majority Leader John Thune keeps riding the Useless Wuss train rather than pass the SAVE America act, President Trump is making sure that discussions regarding shoring up our vulnerable election processes stay front and center.
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a blow to President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, is still looking to take action, and he’s using a late Democrat Senate icon to do it.
This past week Moreno introduced a bill to eliminate birthright citizenship, citing longtime Nevada Sen. Harry Reid, who introduced a similar bill in 1993.
On Wednesday, Moreno introduced the Harry Reid Immigration Stabilization Act, which he previewed immediately following last month’s decision in Trump v. Barbara.
Another US service member has been killed in the Iran war, Central Command said Sunday — while adding that remains have been found in the area where an American soldier went missing in an earlier attack.
The most recent tragic casualty occurred as US forces attempted a controlled detonation of unexploded devices from a downed Iranian attack drone in Iraq on Saturday, CENTCOM said.
One service member was killed and another wounded, suffering minor injuries, during the detonation-turned-deadly, it said.
The grim announcement came the day after two US service members were killed in Jordan in an Iranian airstrike and a third soldier reported to be missing in action.
In March of 2026 President Trump issued Executive Order 14399, “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections,” directing the U.S. Postal Service to create a rule whereby any state that intends to send mail-in ballots to voters must provide a list of those eligible to participate in federal elections or the USPS “shall not transmit” those ballots. The obvious goal of the EO is to keep ballots from reaching people who are not eligible to vote. This predictably produced several lawsuits. On Friday, however, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary stay on the lower court injunction.
President Trump awarded Spain their medals and trophy on Sunday following the team’s stunning victory over Argentina at the World Cup tournament final.
Trump joined FIFA president Giovanni Infantino on the field minutes after Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 after a long and difficult game in which both teams struggled to score for long stretches. Take a look: Per tradition, the leader of the host country often awards the winning team its trophy and medals at the conclusion of the World Cup final. Trump did not officially state which team he hoped would be victorious, but he did express his appreciation for Argentina superstar Lionel Messi and Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.
Paul Pelosi’s shockingly bad driving record appears to have finally caught up with him and could result in a substantial jail sentence if he is convicted.
The 86-year-old husband of former House speaker Nancy Pelosi was charged in a hit-and-run crash over the Fourth of July weekend in northern California wine country.
Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley filed charges against Pelosi Friday, violations that included one count of misdemeanor hit-and-run driving and one infraction for turning unlawfully, multiple news outlets reported.
US launches strikes against Iran for ninth
consecutive night, sirens sound in Kuwait, Bahrain replies
consecutive night, sirens sound in Kuwait, Bahrain replies
The United States launched a new wave of strikes against Iran early Monday morning, US Central Command (CENTCOM) stated in a post to X/Twitter.
"The strikes will continue degrading Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz," CENTCOM wrote. Iranian media reported explosions heard in the cities of Tabriz, Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Mahshahr, and Bandar Imam Khomeini.
Iran retaliates against Gulf States
This marks the ninth consecutive night of US strikes against Iran. Iran has been retaliating by targeting US bases and other infrastructure in neighboring countries.
Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, welcomed their fourth child, Alec Neel Vance, on Sunday, according to a statement they posted on X.
"We are excited to announce that our baby boy, Alec Neel Vance, was born this morning. Usha and the baby are happy and healthy, and our kids are overjoyed to meet their little brother," the statement said.
The vice president and the second lady thanked the staff at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, just north of Washington, D.C., where Usha Vance delivered the child and is recovering.
The couple, who have been married since 2014,
After eight nights of pounding by American forces, Iran is reeling. They've managed a few counterattacks, most notably a missile and drone attack on Jordan that cost the lives of (we now know) three American service members. But the beating they are taking is all out of proportion to what they are dishing out.
Now there's an indication that the biggest rats may be leaving this sinking ship. There are reports from an "Israeli security source," quoted in the Times of Israel, that the so-called Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, may have left Iran, destination unknown.
An Israeli security source cited
Retired U.S. Navy Adm. James Stavridis on Sunday warned that the U.S. should watch Iran’s actions in the Suez Canal.
“It’s got more traffic flowing through it than the Strait of Hormuz, and the Iranians are beginning to make noises about attempting to close that, using the Houthis in the southwest corner,” Stavridis told CNN’s Jake Tapper, referring to the Iranian-backed militant group in Yemen.
Stavridis said Iran is “adaptive” in fighting the war with the U.S. and suggested that they are watching Ukraine’s actions “very closely.”
“They’re watching what’s happening very closely in Ukraine, or they are kind of playing the part of the Ukrainians, using innovation
The MAGA movement in the US has always been characterized by its pro-Israel nature. In fact, I have often described it as the most philosemitic political movement in US history, and I think that is a fair description. It is interesting and informing to recognize that the same people whose affinity towards the restoration of America to its former greatness is also highly supportive of the US-Israeli alliance. These two nations have had a profound influence on each other, from the very early hours of their respective declarations of statehood, even as Israel was not reconstituted as a state until some 173 years after America declared its independence.
A Seattle judge has ordered the city to crack down on ongoing illegal activity at Denny Blaine Park, declaring it a public nuisance. Denny Blaine Park is known as the famously woke city's longtime clothing-optional beach and LGBTQ+ gathering space for over 50 years. But frustrated residents have complained that a recent rise in illegal sexual and drug activity has turned the park into a growing concern. One shocking social media post showed a pipe installation at nearby Howell Park, a nude beach next to Denny Blaine, labeled 'pee in here.'
The Mamdani administration has quietly made permanent a controversial pilot program that pays junkies cash for turning in used needles — a move critics contend will only encourage illegal drug use.
The city’s massive $126 billion budget for the new fiscal year that began July 1 includes $3 million to retain the Health Department’s Community Syringe Redemption Program, which pays the public 20 cents per syringe. [snip]
Addiction Response Resources, a nonprofit that launched a similar program in Boston in 2020, will continue to operate the Big Apple’s program through an $11.1 million contract that runs through the end of next year.