Ukraine's increasingly effective long-range drone campaign is piling pressure on Vladimir Putin, striking at the heart of Russia's oil industry, embarrassing the Kremlin on the world stage and compounding a growing list of military and economic setbacks.

The latest blow came on Wednesday when Ukraine staged a massive attack on a major oil port in St Petersburg just hours before the opening of Putin's flagship international investment summit.

The oil terminal on the Gulf of Finland is one of Russia's largest fuel storage and export facilities, handling 12.5 million tonnes of fuel annually.

The strike occurred shortly before the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, known as “Russia's Davos,” where Putin seeks to project economic strength and international relevance despite Western sanctions and the war in Ukraine.

The attack made a mockery of the forum's theme, “Pragmatic dialogue - the path to a stable future,” while also exposing glaring weaknesses in Russian air defences.

The facility is located just 12 miles from the forum venue, yet Moscow failed to prevent the strike.

It is the latest in a string of successful Ukrainian long-range attacks that have increasingly targeted the infrastructure underpinning Russia's war effort.

Europe’s leaders are waking up to the terrifying danger that China could obliterate much of their industrial base within less than a decade, shattering the old political order and the EU project itself.

The Rhodium Group says the Chinese Communist Party is digging in its heels, doubling down on a strategy of systemic over-investment and over-reliance on exports that cannot be absorbed by the rest of the world, and certainly not a Europe already in semi-slump.

The original “Made in China 2025” plan a decade ago targeted a clutch of specific technologies. Beijing is now expanding this into an “industrial policy of everything:” cars, machinery, chemicals, pharma, software, AI, you name it.

China is pursuing this ruthlessly, aiming to capture a larger share of global value added with vertical control of the entire lifecycle.

It is moving towards autarky* in its home market while undercutting the West in its own market and in third countries – everywhere and in every product. [*Autarky:  an economic system or national policy where a country strives for total self-sufficiency, operating as a closed economy without relying on international trade, foreign aid, or global supply chains]

It devours foreign technology without releasing its own. The Rhodium Group said the foundations of G7 manufacturing are under comprehensive threat.

If you must pay the state to stay on your own land, you don’t own it — you rent it.

That simple truth is finally breaking through the noise.

Across the country, a new courage is rising from governors’ mansions, statehouses, and kitchen tables.

Florida is about to end the property-tax trap. Texas is moving more slowly toward zero. Ohio’s citizens are organizing for abolition, which could come as early as November. Indiana is rethinking the lien that never dies.

This feels less like a policy tweak and more like a restoration, a finishing of the American Revolution at the local level: no income tax, no property tax — fund what government must do with transparent sales taxes, trade duties, and tariffs.

I don’t speak here in theories.

Nine states already live without an income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wyoming, and New Hampshire.

Look where the economic gravity sits — Texas, Florida, Washington — among the largest, most dynamic state economies in America. No wonder seven more states are actively considering joining them.

People vote with their feet, their families, and their capital, and they consistently choose places that respect their liberties. The lesson is not complicated:  Prosperity follows liberty, and liberty begins with the state taking its hand out of your pocket before you get home from work.

The next step is to take its hand off your deed.

[TTP:  This is not our usual fare, but it was a surprise to me, and I thought you might be interested.]

This is an absolute communications nightmare.

If you don't know, there are two programs running side-by-side this summer to celebrate the American semiquincentennial.

1. America250is the commission established in 2016 by Congress to celebrate the event, mostly at the grassroots level, with a variety of events in July 2026.
2. Freedom 250is the Trump-backed organization established to make the 250th anniversary of American Independence bigger and cooler.

As such, one of his first acts in office was to sign Executive Order 14189 on January 29, 2025, to establish Task Force 250. Trump was named chair and JD Vance was named vice chair.

Initiate Screaming Eels Sequence….

[TTP:  RINOs are getting slaughtered in Texas, Mamdani is sending the police forth to actually police NY’s streets, and POTUS has passed his latest health assessment with flying colors – this is a good day to take a break from politics and take a gander at the great unknown.]

A couple of years ago, I took a marine biology class at the University of Georgia, and two thing stuck with me. The first was how college students these days can turn anything — and I do mean anything — into a discussion about Taylor Swift and/or climate change. The second was just how much of our ocean remains unexplored. I knew it was a lot, but I didn't know just how much.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the ocean is 139 million square miles and the average depth is 12,080 feet. As of April of this year, 28.7% of the global seafloor had been mapped with "modern high-resolution technology." As of mid-2025, scientists say that humans haven't even seen 99.999% of the deep sea floor.

What we do know is that there is marine life at every depth of the ocean. About 15 years ago, scientists estimated that we're not even aware of 91% of the life that exists in our oceans, which make up about 70% of the planet.

But that's changing. Not only are new efforts, tools, and technology helping us study and learn more about species that have been sitting in labs and archives for years, but they're helping us discover more about the unknown creatures that call the ocean home.

Cleaning out the attic, I recently came across my daughter’s first pair of walking shoes. They were the white leather real tie-up shoes where a parent had to actually tie the laces so the child’s foot would be securely held inside the shoe.

In kindergarten, she “graduated” to burgundy shoes because those were “big girl” shoes. She learned to tie her own laces after a bit of practice and we learned about “bunny ears.”

In fact, “The American Occupational Therapy Association states that the ability to tie shoelaces is a critical fine motor skill for children. Mastery of this skill can enhance independence and confidence in young learners.”

“Common contributing factors to difficulty in tying shoelaces include fine motor skill challenges and lack of practice. Children particularly benefit from repeated demonstration and visual aids when learning this skill.

“Studies show that about 70% of children can tie their shoes by age six, according to research by the University of Nebraska. This skill plays a vital role in personal independence and self-care.

Now, so many years later, my grandsons have no idea what I am talking about since they never learned how to use shoelaces in school. Their shoes are held together by Velcro. . . .

Children need to be exposed to the steps of learning. Instead, we are creating mental passivity and cognitive apathy.