This week: a "suicide" in Putin’s inner circle, a renegade American diplomat triggers Cuba's fury, and Hungarian freedom fighters defy Orbán. Plus: Trump's most ridiculous Fed threat yet.

The Global Fight Against Tyranny

Renegade American Diplomat Roils Cuba
Hungarians Show "Pride"—with Defiance
Ukrainian Civilians Pay for Trumpian Chaos
Hamas' Death Grip on Gaza Crumbles
"Sudden Russian Death Syndrome" Spreads

Country names are followed by their 2025 freedom scores according to Freedom House. An * denotes a territory, not a country.

At least one man in the State Department is fighting for freedom. Cuba’s Foreign Ministry issued a furious rebuke of the U.S. Ambassador last week, accusing him of inciting Cubans to “commit serious criminal acts, attack the constitutional order, or encourage them to act against the authorities”. American diplomats sent a defiant response.

Mike Hammer drew Cuba’s rage by travelling the country to meet dissidents and freedom fighters as the crumbling regime struggles with its worst economic crisis since the 1959 revolution.

Now that’s how you fight tyranny!

The island endures 18-hour daily blackouts while dictator Miguel Díaz-Canel admits the economy is "almost paralyzed." Tourism is down 30% this year, and sugar production—once Cuba's economic backbone—has collapsed by 98% since the 80s.

As always, Cuban authorities blame the U.S. embargo, despite being free to trade with every other nation on earth. The true culprits are failed socialist policies and dwindling oil shipments from Venezuela and Russia, which have forced 10% of the population to flee since 2020.

Hammer represents the renegade American spirit at its finest. If only Trump would send him to Moscow.

100,000 Hungarians flooded Budapest's streets in late June, dancing and waving rainbow flags in the face of Viktor Orbán. The massive crowd risked $600 fines and arrest as facial recognition cameras tracked their every move in the largest Pride march in Hungarian history.

Orbán had criminalized LGBTQ events under the guise of protecting children in spring, rushing it through parliament in a single day.

Since his return to power in 2010, Orbán has captured courts, muzzled media, and crushed civil society. And as America’s MAGA right was championing him as an anti-woke savior, he was busy courting Beijing, which rewarded him with a record $9 billion investment last year. Meanwhile, the EU has suspended €18 billion in funding over Orbán's democratic violations.

Yet the massive Pride march revealed a broader revolt. Orbán's iron grip is slipping. Polls show his Fidesz party trailing conservative challenger Peter Magyar, who rails against government corruption. Hungary's economy will barely grow this year as nearby Poland’s surges.

Freedom stirs in the “Heart of Europe”.

After actor Gary Busey crouched on all fours, barking like a deranged dog as the Celebrity Apprentice cameras rolled in 2013, Donald Trump resolutely delivered his signature line: "Gary, you're fired!"

Fast-forward to another TV celebrity shit show—one that actually matters. Last week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth halted critical arms and missiles already en route to Ukraine without notifying Trump or the State Department. Despite an ongoing inventory review, military analysts had proven the aid wouldn't jeopardize U.S. readiness. Yet Hegseth acted unilaterally, risking the lives of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian civilians who rely on our defensive missiles to protect them from Putin’s recent onslaught.

Trump’s sophomoric cabinet and chaotic management style are now incurring real costs. When confronted, Trump appallingly claimed ignorance: "I don't know. Why don't you tell me?"

Then Putin struck. Hours after Trump's "disappointing" call with the Russian dictator, 728 drones and missiles pummeled Ukrainian cities in the largest aerial assault of the war. 2 dead, 56 injured.

"I'm not happy with Putin because he's killing a lot of people”, Trump proclaimed, arriving at a conclusion most of us reached over two decades ago. Weapons shipments resumed, and he finally threatened Russia with real consequences.

Yet Hegseth barks on.

I know the war in Gaza deeply divides my readers, as it does me. European persecution drove desperate Jews to seek refuge in Israel, creating competing claims to a sacred land. Yet the injustice of the 1948 Nakba and Israel’s brutal occupation continue to haunt Palestinians.

While I have deep sympathy for their cause, Hamas has never been Gaza’s salvation—it's been its oppressor. Now, according to The Economist, the terror group is on its last legs. Its military and political leadership has been almost entirely eliminated. Of the 15-strong politburo that once ruled Gaza, most are dead; three survivors have fled abroad. The group's support has collapsed to just 35% among Gazans.

Clan-based gangs are filling the vacuum. The education and health ministers have vanished. Hospitals, universities, and schools lie in ruins—not just from war, but also from Hamas failures.

Hamas has not held an election since 2007, while squandering every peace opportunity. They've ruled through fear, executed critics, and launched brutal attacks like October 7th that brought catastrophe to their own people.

Hamas’ collapse will not bring justice on its own. But it might open space—however narrow—for new Palestinian voices—for dignity, democracy, and peace.

Roman Starovoit's Tesla sat empty in an upscale Moscow parking lot, yellow police tape fluttering in the wind. Meters away, investigators found the former transport minister's body with a gunshot wound from his ceremonial Makarov pistol—a gift from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Hours earlier, Vladimir Putin had fired him in a terse decree.

Since 2022, at least 30 Russian businessmen and officials have died by what journalists have grimly dubbed "Sudden Russian Death Syndrome." Official causes of death include mysterious heart attacks, unexplained suicides, and many inexplicable falls. If all the official stories are true, Moscow has the world’s most dangerous balconies. One oil executive supposedly died from a Jamaican shaman’s hangover cure.

The syndrome now extends beyond oligarchs to Putin's inner circle, as economic warning signs multiply. This week, the WSJ reported Russia's wartime boom is sputtering. Manufacturing is contracting, businesses are slashing production, and officials warn of recession.

As Putin's war economy implodes, even his most loyal servants are staying away from the balcony.

Our American Democracy

The Champions Fighting for 26 Million Lives

Ugandan grandmothers wept openly as American nurses—who hadn’t been paid in three months—unpacked the last boxes of life-saving HIV drugs. They’d heard the rumors. That Trump was killing the program keeping them alive. One woman collapsed, sobbing, begging the nurse to “change the heart” of the U.S. government.

That lifeline—PEPFAR—faces its gravest threat since George W. Bush launched it in 2003, calling it “America’s greatest act of compassion". Bush's bold plan to provide $15 billion for AIDS relief was considered impossible by global leaders. Twenty-two years later, it has saved 26 million lives and is the largest commitment by any nation in history to address a single disease.

Now a few GOP senators, led by Susan Collins, are defying Trump to preserve Bush's legacy against $400 million in cuts. The New York Times reported yesterday that the program runs at only 50% capacity, despite Secretary of State Rubio's claim of 85%. Clinics in Uganda haven't received antiretrovirals for two months as deliveries of infected babies spike to 25%.

Trump isn’t just defunding a program. He’s abandoning 26 million people as Collins and her colleagues fight to restore the moral leadership that once defined American foreign policy.

Trump's Latest, Gravest, and Most Ridiculous Fed Threat

Trump is using a construction project to manufacture a "for cause" removal of Fed Chair Jerome Powell. White House officials allege he either lied to Congress about Fed's $2.5 billion headquarters renovation or violated permitting rules—creating a legal pretext to remove him.

This is a political hit job designed to force lower interest rates—what economists call "fiscal dominance." Trump has simultaneously stacked the federal commission overseeing D.C. construction projects with three allies, positioning them as judge and jury over Powell.

The 1951 Treasury-Fed Accord ended precisely this kind of political manipulation, establishing Fed independence after wartime policies fueled 21% inflation during the Korean War.

Trump's gambit echoes Nixon's 1971 scheme, when his administration leaked false stories about Fed Chair Arthur Burns to undermine the central bank before the 1972 election.

If successful, this assault would shatter seven decades of established norms and introduce instability. The dollar's status as the world's reserve currency depends on Fed independence.

Trump’s gambit threatens both America’s prosperity and its global financial credibility.

Finding the Positives in the BBB, Part II

While I've raged endlessly against the financial recklessness of the Big Beautiful Bill, last week I reluctantly examined its economic upside. This week's deep dive revealed more bright spots.

The legislation expands Health Savings Accounts to 7.3 million more Americans, eliminating their double taxation on healthcare dollars. The reform also allows working seniors on Medicare to contribute to HSAs, ending wealth-based discrimination that only benefited those rich enough to delay retirement.

But the bill's most critical victory lies in its $29 billion investment to revitalize American shipbuilding.

China's naval dominance has reached alarming proportions. China's navy already operates over 100 more warships than the U.S., with projections showing the gap getting worse. More ominously, China's shipbuilding capacity exceeds America's by a factor of 232, with one shipbuilder alone constructing more tonnage in 2024 than the entire U.S. industry since World War II.

The funding targets naval shipbuilding initiatives, workforce training, and supply chain development—precisely what's needed to counter China's industrial advantage, preserving the maritime freedom that underpins global commerce.

These are GOP victories worth celebrating.

Trump Flaunts Congressional TikTok Ban

This week, Trump refused to enforce Congress’ TikTok ban—overriding a federal law in an egregious overreach of executive power.

The Constitution demands presidents "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed." Yet Trump hasn't merely declined to enforce the ban; his Justice Department has told tech companies they can "openly violate" the law "without incurring any legal liability.”

Past presidents have occasionally refused to enforce laws they deemed unconstitutional. Thomas Jefferson made a principled stand against enforcement of John Adams’ heinous Sedition Act of 1798, arguing his oath to "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution" superseded enforcing unconstitutional statutes. Obama's Justice Department stopped defending the Defense of Marriage Act in 2011, citing constitutional violations of same-sex couples' rights.

But Trump claims no constitutional objection to the TikTok ban. Instead, he asserts "executive power alone" permits him to suspend valid federal laws based on his "unique constitutional responsibility for national security."

This goes far beyond Jefferson's righteous defiance. Trump is creating blanket immunity for favored lawbreakers while claiming power to bind future administrations "irrevocably"—a dangerous precedent for executive overreach.

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Eric Erdman

Uncle Sam Unleashes the "Hammer" on Havana's Tyrants