Bob’s Hailstone – 7-18-25
Bob’s Hailstone – 7-18-25
By Jim Reynolds – www.reynolds.com
Grook of the Day
The Cabinet Opens
In velvet tones, the silence slips,
Between the lies and trembling lips.
For secrets locked in tidy rows,
Don’t scream—they hum, and then… they close.
But truth, like Hitchcock’s quiet stare,
Won’t knock—it’s always standing there.
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to today’s Hailstone: twelve shocks, a few spikes, and one overpressure valve that might finally burst. From deep-state theories to tech dissent, this batch surfaces what happens when narratives clash and institutions creak. Here’s your guide—Bob’s razor jokes in tow, as always. Dive in.
📌 Story Summaries
1. Is America Still a Free Country? (Sam Khan, Substack)
Khan examines creeping censorship from Big Tech and increased government surveillance, asking if free speech and privacy are becoming illusions. Drawing on recent account suspensions and data subpoenas, he questions whether refusal to yield dissent signals a turn away from constitutional liberties.
Leans: Liberal
Bob: “Freedom isn’t free—especially when your toaster starts rating your tweets.”
Jim: “‘Soft authoritarianism’ is a liberal dog whistle. How quickly they forget the stifling censorship around the 2020 election, everything covid, and J6. Predictable.”
2. The World Woke Up (Victor Davis Hanson, American Greatness)
Hanson argues the pandemic response revealed more about state overreach than public health – warning that technocratic mandates risk morphing America into a surveillance-first society. He proposes a post-lockdown awakening: a recommitment to localized governance and transparency.
Leans: Right‑reflective
Bob: “When your vaccine requires a PDF to explain it, people stop reading.”
Jim: “The Left will continue to do everything possible to make America forget the success Trump has enjoyed since the beginning of his term”
3. Epstein Got Bawdy Birthday Letters. One Was From Trump (Safdar & Palazzolo, WSJ)
Unsealed legal documents reveal that Trump sent Epstein a risqué birthday card, complete with private jokes about “secret clubs.” The tone suggests familiarity beyond mere acquaintance and reignites questions about their relationship.
Leans: Center‑skeptical
Bob: “Birthday cards don’t impeach you—but they sure frame the narrative.”
Jim: “Impeachment is the only solution for a bad cartoon. Ask Scott Adams. Maybe he was referring to a set of golf clubs.”
4. Newscorp, Murdoch, WSJ Maliciously Ran a Fake Story (President Trump via Truth Social)
Trump accuses his former ally, The Wall Street Journal, of fabricating a story about his business dealings. He alleges internal sabotage and bad faith reporting—signaling a fracture within conservative-leaning media.
Leans: Righteous‑right
Bob: “When your megaphone feels more like a boomerang.”
Jim: “Let’s see: Is it true that Newscorp is in the business of attracting eyeballs?”
5. Trump, Epstein, and 3 Conspiracy Theories (Jon Allsop, The New Yorker)
Allsop triangulates three major theories tying Trump to Epstein—from illicit flight logs to financial entanglements—highlighting how each has exploded into social media echo chambers. He suggests the real danger today may be the conspiracy, not the crimes.
Leans: Liberal
Bob: “When facts lose the fight, conspiracies pick up the slack.”
Jim: “The Left trying to push another Nixon redux. They are hoping hard that conservatives weaken themselves through cellular division. We’ll see.”
6. Trump Is Right: Forget the Epstein Hoax (Jeffrey Lord, American Spectator)
Lord argues public obsession with the “Epstein client list” distracts from tangible policy discussions. He claims Trump’s dismissive stance is defending focus, not conspiracy—and that the rumor lane helps no one.
Leans: Righteously‑right
Bob: “Conspiracy sells clicks. Governance doesn’t.”
Jim: “Policy moves lives. Gossip just moves headlines. However, the public would like a better explanation.”
7. The Three-Way Battle for the Democratic Party (Andrew Prokop, Vox)
Prokop outlines the evolving internal tug-of-war among progressive leftists, center-left pragmatists, and Biden-aligned moderates. Each faction pushes divergent visions for 2028—raising questions about coherence, electability, and future direction.
Leans: Liberal
Bob: “Three horses pulling the same cart—good luck steering.”
Jim: “When everyone’s in charge, nobody is.”
8. Zohran Mamdani Can’t Quit Obamaism (Josh Hammer, Newsweek)
Hammer criticizes Rep. Mamdani for allegedly soft-pedaling his leftist platform in promise of mainstream appeal. The piece questions whether this pivot is authentic evolution or calculated positioning.
Leans: Right‑skeptical
Bob: “Revolution served with a garnish of resume polish.”
Jim: “My recollection of Obamaism: Suddenly a lot more race-based upheaval. Obama blew a chance to be truly historic. And now we discover he was behind the Russia Collusion Hoax.”
9. NPR & PBS Stripped of Taxpayer Funds (Bevan, Cannon & Walworth, RCP)
Senate Republicans push a bill to remove public funding from NPR and PBS, labeling them biased. Supporters argue rural communities will lose critical information designed to promote civic participation.
Leans: Right‑reformist
Bob: “Your media survives on subsidies—but not all editors survive scrutiny.”
Jim: “Red America doesn’t even know what NPR is. Give me a break.”
10. Red, White, and Bitcoin (Logan Beirne, RealClearPolitics)
Beirne makes a libertarian case for Bitcoin as modern money resistant to inflation and central-bank control. He portrays crypto as a bulwark against federal overreach and political manipulation.
Leans: Right‑libertarian
Bob: “When your money’s not tied to Washington, the vault stays locked.”
Jim: “Currency is the contract between citizens and the state. Biden voided that contract by creating historic inflation.”
11. MLB All-Star Game Exposes Dems & Media as Liars (Tim Murtaugh, Washington Times)
Murtaugh critiques the narrative surrounding the All-Star Game, calling out what he deems misleading crime and voter turnout coverage. He claims the event’s true story contradicts media spin.
Leans: Righteous‑right
Bob: “The ballpark doesn’t lie. The broadcast might.”
Jim: “Truth plays hardball, regardless of gloves. I prefer wiffle ball.”
12. Is Colbert’s Ouster Really Just a ‘Financial Decision’? (David Graham, The Atlantic)
Despite political rumors, financial troubles may be the true reason behind Colbert’s departure from Late Show. Graham digs into syndication deals, talent contracts, and profit margins to find a non-partisan answer.
Leans: Cautiously‑left
Bob: “When comedy costs more than it laughs, someone’s cutting the punchlines.”
Jim: “Laugh tracks don’t pay the bills—they just mask them. $20M a year and still not funny?”
💓 End Note
Freedom is under pressure—from narratives, networks, and noise. Today’s set reminds us: power fractures under friction. Amid conspiracies, politicized institutions, and shifting loyalties, truth remains persistent. Keep searching, keep questioning—because that’s how it holds.
Note: All stories cited appeared on the RealClearPolitics homepage on July 18, 2025.
Optional Extra: Alfred Hitchcock Discusses Today’s News
[INT. BLACK SCREEN. A SLOW ZOOM INTO HITCHCOCK’S PROFILE, STANDING BEFORE A SINGLE LAMP.]
HITCHCOCK (in his unmistakable, deliberate voice):
Good evening.
Tonight, a tale not of murder... but of something more chilling: reputation, loyalty, and the slow death of public trust.
Picture, if you will, a former president exchanging birthday letters with a now-deceased sex trafficker. Add to that a media tycoon—once friend, now foe—and a public so inundated with scandal that outrage has become mere wallpaper. A rather ghastly interior design, don’t you think?
Now imagine trying to uncover the truth... only to find the truth itself is locked in a filing cabinet marked “classified,” “irrelevant,” or worse—“old news.”
A woman writes a letter—no, not of love, but of warning. She calls it The Network. A web, you see, not of spiders... but of scientists, billionaires, and men in expensive shoes who smile too easily at secrets.
But be careful, dear viewer. In this drama, the monsters do not leap from shadows. No, they sign the grants, fund the fellowships, and have very tasteful art collections.
And if our protagonist—a populist, perhaps—tries to open the vault too far, he may find he’s not the hero... but the hostage.
Is it paranoia? Perhaps.
But as I always say: Just because you’re paranoid... doesn’t mean they’re not all at the same dinner party.
Sleep well.
[FADE TO BLACK. A FILING CABINET CREAKS OPEN SOMEWHERE OFFSCREEN.]