Greetings! Fiddling with FIFA: Trump stuck his snout into the World Cup controversy involving U.S.A. soccer star Folarin Balogun and the horrifically bad call against him last week that would have banned him from tonight’s game against Belgium. As a fan of our nation’s soccer team, I’m glad the ruling was overturned by FIFA president Giovanni Vincenzo after a conversation with Trump. But if Team U.S.A wins tonight and its remaining World Cup games, its victories will always be tarnished by Trump’s meddling in the eyes of the world. Memo to Democrats: don’t condemn POTUS's pushy tactics. Your harsh words will be positioned as unpatriotic....Is Melania Trump 2026’s most successful documentary filmmaker? According to Donald Trump’s financial disclosure report unveiled last week, she earned nearly $11 million in licensing fees for her shallow, one-sided documentary “Melania” in which she not only starred, but was executive producer. She also earned more than $500,000 from her 2024 memoir. (Business Insider)...The Wall Street Journal panned the movie “Young Washington” about you-know-who. Liberty Paige of the right-wing outlet SteveGruber.com urges her readers to ignore the critics and see the film...I stayed up late July 4 to watch about 20 minutes of Trump’s rain-delayed speech. Not the speech I would have wanted from my president on the nation's birthday, but not as bad as I feared...The American Conservative questions whether Rep. Thomas Kean (R-NJ) is well enough to resume serving in the U.S. House of Representatives.  He just returned to work after a four-month absence after being treated in a hospital for depression...If you keep reading, I’ll keep Righting. Howard

Greetings! Word of the day: Kleptocracy. Donald Trump raked in more than $2 billion last year, according to mandatory financial disclosure forms that were released yesterday. Quite the haul for the Portly POTUS’s first year back in the gilded Oval Office. (NY Times)...Contrast The Donald’s staggering payday with this piece whining about Rep. Ro Khanna’s net worth. The Washington Free Beacon reveals that the California Democrat, who may be making a 2028 White House run, lives in a  $6 million, 8,000-square-foot  DC abode, complete with two laundry rooms adorned with marble countertops.  “The incongruities between Khanna’s political platform and his lifestyle are among the most striking contradictions of any sitting member of Congress,” bellows Andrew Kerr. “He’s a vocal supporter of the California ballot initiative to impose a wealth tax on billionaires, saying the ultra-wealthy have a duty to give back some of their ‘unprecedented wealth’ in the spirit of ‘shared prosperity’ for the middle class”...Weekend Watches: I’m near the conclusion of  Apple TV’s spooky 10-part series Widow’s Bay and it’s a surprising winner. The series centers on a remote island off the New England coast where residents battle a centuries old curse.  A mix of offbeat humor and creepy horror elevates the series into a Stephen King-style surprising summer hit. Also: The Daily Signal drops its first-ever documentary tomorrow, and naturally it’s pegged to the nation’s birthday. Here’s where you can watch Sacred Honor: The Declaration That Defines a Nation. And don’t miss: It’s the USA vs Bosnia and Herzegovina tonight in World Cup action....Happy 250^th America! You’re a grand old lady, warts and all....I’m off tomorrow and Friday for the holiday weekend. Stay cool. See you next week....If you keep reading, I’ll keep Righting.