Think More: Wednesday, July 8, 2026
Birth tourism and citizenship, the Court and the administrative state, a lapsed surveillance law, the left's candidates and their cash, and more.
Lead · Who Belongs
Abbott Opens a Probe After a Texas Hospital Advertised ‘Birth Packages’ in Mexico
Jasmine Baehr & Brooke Taylor | Fox News
Mission Regional Medical Center confirmed to Fox News that it placed Spanish-language billboards in Mexico advertising deliveries starting at $3,950, or $5,525 for a cesarean, at a website since taken offline. Governor Greg Abbott ordered the state health commission to investigate, writing that birth tourism exploits American hospitality. “American citizenship is not for sale,” he wrote. The hospital says it complies with the law.
Who Belongs
A California Coalition Wants ‘Black English’ Added to a State Language Program
A coalition called BlackECE is pressing California to add African American Vernacular English to “Promoting Equitable Early Learning and Care for Dual Language Learners,” a program launched in 2020. The group calls Black English a legitimate, rule-governed language and includes reparations among its ten-point framework. Co-founder Ashley Williams said she was teased for “talking white.”
The Machinery of Self-Government
The Court Restored the President’s Removal Power, but Carved Out the Fed
Ronald J. Pestritto | The American Mind
Ronald Pestritto reads Trump v. Slaughter, which overruled the 1935 Humphrey’s Executor precedent, as a restoration of the unitary executive: officials who wield executive power must answer to the president. Yet on the same day, in Trump v. Cook, the Court shielded the Federal Reserve from at-will removal, an exception Justice Thomas disputed.
The Court Requires a Warrant for Your Location Data as FISA Lapses
Blaine Dillingham | The Foundation for American Innovation
In Chatrie v. United States, a 6-3 Court held that police need a warrant to compel Google to hand over location history, extending 2018’s Carpenter. Blaine Dillingham argues the ruling leaves a data-broker loophole open and urges Trump to broker a deal reviving the lapsed Section 702 with privacy protections.
Thune Gets the Senate’s History Wrong on the Filibuster
As Democrats block the SAVE America Act and Trump presses Republicans to force the issue, Majority Leader John Thune dismissed Senator Mike Lee’s call to make opponents hold the floor. James Wallner counters that the Senate invoked cloture just five times between 1917 and 1962, passing Social Security and the Marshall Plan the older way.
The Story of 250
Sunny Hostin Says the American Flag Makes Her Feel Unsafe
Sabrina Philip | The Spectator
On The View, co-host Sunny Hostin said she “suddenly feels unsafe” entering communities flying American flags, arguing a faction has co-opted the flag as a symbol of white supremacy. Sabrina Philip notes the remark clashes with an AP-NORC survey finding most Americans, and most black Americans, see the flag as unifying or neutral.
At Independence Park, Washington Is Criticized More Than King George III
Jeffrey H. Anderson | Claremont Review of Books
Jeffrey Anderson tours Independence National Historical Park and finds the Park Service casting the founders as villains: at the President’s House site, 25 of 30 interpretive signs dwell on slavery and race. He argues the Liberty Bell is recast as an abolitionist emblem while Washington’s achievements go unmentioned as the nation marks its 250th anniversary.
How Americans view the American flag: AP-NORC survey, June 2026
47%
See it as more unifying
16%
See it as more divisive
36%
See it as neither
The Left’s Candidates and Their Cash
Two Democratic Candidacies Implode, Raising Questions About the Party’s Vetting
Maine Senate nominee Graham Platner paused his campaign against Susan Collins after a woman accused him of forcing himself on her, an allegation he denies. Ben Whedon notes it is the second Democratic implosion after Representative Eric Swalwell suspended his California gubernatorial bid over misconduct claims. Platner has until July 13 to step aside.
A Super PAC Funded by AppLovin Alumni Helped Elect the Left’s New Slate
Liel Leibovitz reports that American Priorities, a super PAC pledging $10 million to counter AIPAC, is funded largely by two alumni of AppLovin, a mobile-ad firm with disputed ties to China. The PAC backed winning primary campaigns for Brad Lander and others, and its top donors separately gave $250,000 each to Zohran Mamdani.
Thinking for Ourselves
Wikipedia Banned Its Own Co-Founder for Pushing Ideological Balance
The Federalist argues that Wikipedia’s permanent ban of co-founder Larry Sanger confirms the platform’s leftward tilt. Sanger, who named the site and drafted its first rules in 2001, was blocked within days of launching a project to recruit conservative and religious editors. Administrators cited a canvassing rule; Sanger called the process a “kangaroo court.”
New Research Warns That Leaning on AI May Dull Our Thinking
Business Insider rounds up research suggesting that offloading mental work to chatbots can weaken memory and critical thinking. In a cited MIT Media Lab study, subjects who wrote essays with ChatGPT showed the lowest brain engagement on EEG scans and recalled their work poorly. Researchers stress the effect depends on how the tools are used.
