Reflecting on July 4, 2026
"Which is better — to be ruled by one tyrant 3,000 miles away or by 3,000 tyrants one mile away?" — the Rev. Mather Byles (1706-1788) Does it really matter if the instrument curtailing liberty is a monarch or a popularly elected legislature? This conundrum, along with the witty version of ...
Almanac for July 6, 2026
Today is Monday, July 6, the 187th day of 2026. There are 178 days left in the year. Today in History: In 1957, Althea Gibson became the first Black tennis player to win a Wimbledon singles title as she defeated fellow American Darlene Hard 6-3, 6-2. Also on this date: In 1777, during the American Revolution, British forces captured Fort Ticonderoga. In 1885, French scientist Louis Pasteur tested an anti-rabies vaccine on 9-year-old Joseph Meister, who had been bitten by an infected dog; the boy did not develop rabies. In 1933, the first All-Star baseball game was played at ...
Some laws actually kill
Car accidents kill 100 Americans every day. But now an amazing solution is available: self-driving cars. Robotaxis like Google-owned Waymo, for example. Passengers who try them, like them. Wherever robotaxis are allowed, ridership increases fast. Two years ago, there were 50,000 trips per ...
FBI: Some Guthrie ransom notes are still being investigated
The FBI has discounted some of the ransom notes that surfaced after the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie as nothing more than extortion attempts, but the agency said Wednesday it’s still evaluating others that might be legitimate. The FBI did not specify how many ransom notes have been ...