July 4, 2026

UPDATE ON DEMS, GOP LIES ON SPENDING, DEFICITS, DEBT: Two new charts added to yesterday’s Substack column — “Democrats and Republicans MUST Stop Lying About Their Deficit Spending and Debt, Beginning July 5, 2026, if America is to Survive” — illustrate in cold, hard data the reality of this crisis. Even if you read the column yesterday, it’s worth re-reading now in light of these charts. And Happy 4th of July, may the Republic go on another 250 years of liberty and prosperity.

Posted at 6:38 am by Mark Tapscott

I HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THE ANALOGY OF CAMELOT BUT…  Camelot’s Restoration – What Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame Should Have Been. There are two major errors in Infinity War and Endgame. For the 250th Anniversary, let us consider how the MCU’s Infinity Saga should have renewed Camelot rather than destroyed it.

Yes, because of the crazy left in the sixties, but also because Camelot was an illusion. We’re not. but that’s not what it means in her symbolism.

Posted at 6:00 am by Sarah Hoyt

July 3, 2026

OPEN THREAD: You know I’m not to blame, you know my reputation for playing a good clean game.

Posted at 9:30 pm by Glenn Reynolds

CHECKS OUT:

Update: Embed was bad before — sorry! Should work now.

Posted at 8:58 pm by Stephen Green

NICE!

Posted at 8:52 pm by Glenn Reynolds

THAT’S WHAT LEFTISTS MEAN BY “ELOQUENT.”

UPDATE:

Posted at 7:12 pm by Glenn Reynolds

OH, TO BE IN ENGLAND: We’ve Got the Gayest Parliament.

Happy pride! The outgoing prime minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, was celebrating the end of Pride Month and, looking out at the crowd, said what I’m awarding Quote of the Week: “I’m really proud that we’ve got the gayest parliament, I don’t think just of all time—anywhere in the world. I don’t think there’s any parliament that is gayer than this one.”

Considering this is a country where everyone in the government wears wigs and dresses to do their jobs, I suppose being the gayest parliament is somewhat of an accomplishment.

I’ll add that there is likely no media company gayer than this one, not even close. Except maybe Out magazine. But a lot of good that does me! In a just world I would have been the grand marshal of the parade, but it seems that all Pride Month marches have been entirely rebranded as political, and they are not wavin’ my banner. There are barely even vestigial references to the original concept. Here’s the new Dyke March motto: “We’re here! We’re queer! Free Palestine is our demand!” It doesn’t even rhyme, folx.

America’s Newspaper of Record informs that that particular style of intersectionality isn’t going to end well:

Related:

Posted at 6:30 pm by Ed Driscoll

COMMUNIST DROPS MASK:

Curiously though, for the very first time, a socialist bureaucrat doesn’t know how a desk works:

UPDATE: Mamdani’s staffers, or whoever these human props are, certainly don’t look thrilled to be celebrating America’s Semiquincentennial:

 

Posted at 6:22 pm by Ed Driscoll

STAR TREK’S SYNTHEHOL, THE EARLY YEARS: Heineken’s newest Beer has zero alcohol and sugar.

The “all or nothing” era of the American bar scene may officially be over. Whether it’s driven by your usual morning HIIT class or just a desire to stay sharp, more drinkers are reaching for the bottle opener without looking for a buzz. Heineken is betting that those consumers are now looking for even more “nothing” in their brews—specifically, the removal of the final few nutritional hurdles.

The company is bringing a new alcohol-free beer to the market. The product, called Heineken 0.0 Ultimate, contains no alcohol, no calories, and no sugar, which the company claims is a first for the American non-alcoholic beer category.

Described as fruit-forward with a mild malt character, the beer goes through the same double-brewing process used for other 0.0 products, which removes the alcohol before packaging.

I just tried a bottle – when first cracked open, it definitely has the same slightly skunky smell of Heineken, and while it tastes somewhat like it, it’s more Heineken-adjacent than the real thing. It’s also a bit watery in texture, which is a frequent complaint about zero alcohol wines: Non-alcoholic wine is mostly terrible, but here’s why.

Katie Espinosa is the Fine Wine Director for Johnson Brothers Wisconsin and, prior to that, she worked for many years in restaurants as a manager and sommelier. She says the increased popularity of Dry January and “sober curiosity” in general has encouraged the production of more alcohol-free wine, even if it has much room for improvement.

“There is definitely a trend toward moderation and health, which for some, can include less alcohol consumption,” says Espinosa. “So the effort to make better products in any category is important, and NA wine is no exception.”

According to Espinosa, there is a difference between non-alcoholic wine and de-alcoholized wine, which will affect the drinking experience – and might affect which word to look for on the bottle.

“NA wine often never had alcohol in it, or very little. De-alcoholized wine is made like traditional wine and had the alcohol removed, usually by vacuum distillation, or reverse osmosis, similar to purifying water,” she says.

However, regardless of how the alcohol is removed, wine without it will lose the mouth feel and weight many drinkers enjoy. Also, the lack of fermentation, which is the process of producing alcohol, will dull flavors, aromas and textures.

“In NA and de-alcoholized wines, the alcohol is replaced with concentrated grapes, sugars and juice to make up for the loss when the alcohol is removed and lack of fermentation,” says Espinosa. “Many of the aromas in wine are carried to the nose through evaporating alcohol, so naturally, some of that is lost when the alcohol is removed.”

In short, this is why most NA wines taste like juice, because they are, more or less, juice.

Perhaps the answer is to skip the middleman and go straight to the source: Water sommeliers are pushing premium stills and sparklings to American diners who want a luxury experience. But will they swallow the hype?

Posted at 6:14 pm by Ed Driscoll