All social media is abuzz with talk about “The Odyssey,” Christopher Nolan’s film adaptation of Homer’s classic epic poem. And many of you may be thinking to yourself, “Gee, I would like to join this scintillating conversation, but I’m afraid if I say anything, everybody will realize I’m a complete ignoramus.” Well, have no fear. If you’re an ignoramus, you’ve come to the right place. We’re here to help you post intelligent-sounding content on a poem you know nothing about without actually having to read this foundational work of Western culture, which you also know nothing about. If you want to discuss “The Odyssey” as if you were an educated person of sophistication, first, get in the mood by taking that stupid look off your face. Next, when composing your post, try to use at least a few multi-syllabic words like “concatenation” or “sacerdotal,” as in the sentence, “Boy, that concatenation sure is sacerdotal.” If all else fails, try posting your early opinions on the platform X. That way, if it turns out you really are a total moron, you’ll fit right in. Now, of course, if you want to talk about “The Odyssey” with an air of expertise, it might help if you know something about the author of the original poem, Homer. This is not easy because, as famous as his poems are, Homer himself was a mysterious figure who would come and go like the wind, leaving as his calling card only a single kiss on the lips of a sleeping woman. Experts believe he lived in the 8th century BC, but they’re not sure exactly when because the math is just too hard. But we do know that many people think Homer was blind because he kept bumping into things, and all the statues of him have white eyeballs without pupils. Homer wrote two famous poems, “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey,” but you don’t have to know much about “The Iliad” because Christopher Nolan didn’t make a film about that, and the one with Brad Pitt sucks. “The Odyssey,” however, has many famous stories in it, some of which are still relevant today. For instance, there’s the passage in which the hero Odysseus and his crew sail past the Sirens, who sing beautiful and alluring songs that cause unsuspecting fools to try to follow them so that they dash their ship to pieces on the rocks, sink into the sea, and drown. Today, these same Sirens serve as consultants for the Democratic Socialists of America. Then there’s the story about the witch Circe, who turned men into pigs, and later went on to become a famous feminist author also named Circe. Her book, “Men Are Pigs, So Live a Life of Rage and Loneliness Until you Realize Too Late You’ve Missed Out on Everything Worthwhile,” was a number one New York Times bestseller, even though it only sold seven copies, all of them to women who work at The New York Times. Many of Circe’s admirers later felt betrayed, however, when she married a ruggedly masculine billionaire in an elaborate Catholic ceremony with a “Spank me, Daddy,” motif and then gave birth to fourteen children, all named after pork. Another famous incident in the poem that remains relevant today is the story of the Trojan Horse, in which the Trojans opened the gates of their city and let in the enemies who then burned Troy to the ground. This later became the immigration policy of the Biden administration. Now some people may ask: why should we be interested in a poem that was written so long ago that people can’t even compute when it was? These same people may also find it difficult to walk and chew gum at the same time unless they keep looking down at their feet and have instructions on how to chew gum written on top of their shoes. The reason you should read “The Odyssey” and other great works of literature is that it will help you become a more rounded and informed human being with a sense of where you came from and who you are. The downside is that you will no longer be welcome on X.

Innovation is a good thing, so naturally, the Left is very much against it. The Left wishes to freeze the economy, shrink the economy, and redistribute everything. Last week, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tried to make the case that we should oppose data centers because they’re making people sick. Making people sick? Based on what? “There’s no control over the radiation that’s happening here. But what we see is that these plants produce that ash, and then they have to do something,” she bloviated. “All they’re trying to do is dump it places. Where do they dump it in places? Rural areas, poor areas, disenfranchised areas, black and brown areas.” “Meanwhile, all these folks are getting sick,” she continued. “Guarantee you we’ve got a high Medicaid population over here. And so now they they’re profiting off of all of this, and they don’t have to pitch into the cost at all for the health care burdens that they’re —” Does she have a single bit of evidence that data centers are making people sick? Does she have one iota of evidence about this? Of course not. The idea that they are disproportionately dumping data centers in black and brown areas is nuts. They’re putting data centers in proximity to areas where people can work on the AI, and you think they’re just going to build the data center in the middle of midtown Manhattan or something similar? Let us look at a map on how we use our land, because we’re being told that all of our precious farmland is being eaten by the data centers. A map of the United States where each square represents roughly one million acres shows nearly the entire map is either pasture and range, cropland, or forest. There are a few special use areas and diminishingly small urban areas. The vast majority of America is population-empty. Based on the analysis of data analyst Andy Masley, by 2028, data centers will take up exactly how many squares of the map? 3.5 squares. According to Masley, by 2030, data center buildings will take up 1/15 of the land we use to grow Christmas trees in America. That’s roughly 0.3% of the land that we use for prime farmland. This is just silly. The catastrophism is designed to kill the innovation. The point is not to save our precious farmland. The point is to destroy the innovation. That’s what this is all about. Elon Musk was pointing this out. He was speaking with Zanny Beddoes of The Economist about a wide variety of issues, and he pointed out that the socialistic redistribution scheme is nonsense, and so is the envy that suggests that he isn’t paying his taxes. “For my stock options, I pay 40% income tax on a national basis,” he revealed. “And then because I spend about 30% of my time in California, I pay another sort of roughly a third of the California state taxes, which is now around 15%. So I pay about 45% in taxes, just so people know this … it’s quite roughly half. And then when I die, there’ll be another sort of 45%, roughly half, that will be taxed. So at the end of the day, I’ll have a quarter of what I have.” She then went after him and said people really, really hate him, clucking, “But do you see why this makes people think that this man who has all this power, he’s the world’s richest man, he thinks he has a right to influence our politics. We started this conversation saying superlatives. It’s why people loathe you. I mean, some people do loathe you.” “Yes, some people do,” he responded. “But do you understand why?” she continued. “Do you think what you’re doing is helpful for Western democracies?” “Maybe some people do loathe me,” he answered. “That’s probably true. I don’t care. But the fact that, as you pointed out, a quarter billion people follow me is that I think a lot more people actually like me than don’t. And I think a lot more people hate you and the media more than you realize.” He is not wrong. This is one of the points that is worth making. It turns out that normie, rational Americans like things like free markets and American strength. We do. That’s why the DSA program and those who subscribe to it, like Ocasio-Cortez, are too online. Innovation is a hallmark of America. We cannot let them hinder it.

When Megan Rapinoe recently went on “The View,” she went on a tirade about trans-identifying athletes supposedly being excluded from women’s sports. Namely, she posed a question regarding men in women’s sports that the media has since buzzed about: “Unsafe from who?” I immediately had an answer: me. In 2022, I was struck in the head by a volleyball spiked by a male athlete competing on the opposing girls’ team. The impact knocked me unconscious and caused a traumatic brain injury that ended my athletic career — and still affects me today. I’ve spent my early 20s traveling across the country, speaking up for women’s sports. Along the way, I’ve been accused of “co-opting” feminist language and have dealt with unrelenting hatred and even comedy skits about me. That’s why I was grateful to see WNBA player Sophie Cunningham refuse to back down when she defended women’s sports, calling it a “common-sense” position and even standing squarely planted on her original stance, saying, “I said what I said.” Another accusation hurled recently at our efforts argues that women like me have been distracted from the “real” issues facing female athletes. According to Ms. Magazine, we should be talking about “fewer opportunities, unequal funding and facilities access, and hundreds of unresolved discrimination complaints” from female athletes. That position misses the point entirely. I can unequivocally say that no amount of additional funding, nor an upgraded facility, would have prevented my volleyball injury. The suggestion that advocates like me don’t care about funding or participation because we also defend fairness creates a false choice. Women are capable of caring about more than one issue at a time. We can fight for better resources while also insisting that girls deserve a level playing field. I would even argue that those goals depend on each other. If roster spots, conference championships, podium finishes, scholarships, and records can all be taken by male athletes competing in the women’s division, then equal funding alone cannot create equal opportunities. Female athletes have fought for decades to secure equal opportunities under Title IX — and yes, the ups and downs of funding and participation do matter. Participation in women’s sports has gone from 3.7% to 40% since 1976. But equal opportunity based on sex means next to nothing if girls are expected to compete in a category that is no longer reserved for them. The fact of the matter is that Title IX wasn’t created to build nicer locker rooms or buy better uniforms. It was enacted because lawmakers acknowledged biological reality: women, who are physically different from men, deserved a category for themselves to promote safe, equal, and fair educational opportunities (sports included). Protecting that category is Title IX’s purpose. The only thing that would have protected me was preserving the girls’ category for girls only. Independent Women’s “Our Bodies, Our Sports” and “Her Game. Her Legacy.” initiatives have never been about degrading people struggling with gender dysphoria — it’s been about acknowledging biological differences between males and females for everyone’s safety and equal opportunity. Male puberty produces measurable advantages in strength, speed, endurance, and power. That reality should not be ignored, especially if we are asking females to go up against them in contact sports. Moreover, sports are inherently zero-sum, so even just one man on a women’s team means a woman has lost a roster spot and an opportunity to compete. The Supreme Court just affirmed this concept, recognizing “woman” as it was meant in the 1970s: as biologically female. States have legitimate reasons to separate athletic competition based on biological sex. Yet radical advocates (and their media allies, like Ms. Magazine and Megan Rapinoe) continue to respond with inflammatory claims that protecting women’s sports will somehow lead to “genital inspections” of girls. That rhetoric may make the headlines, but there is no factual basis to their claims. No one has ordered invasive inspections of high-school or collegiate athletes. Schools have operated sex-separated athletics based on biological differences for decades without requiring such measures. Athletic eligibility has long been determined through ordinary school records and administrative processes. The scare tactics are meant to distract from the real conversation. I don’t want better facilities and shiny, bright new equipment if I have to sacrifice my safety. I don’t want more scholarships for “women” if female athletes are no longer able to qualify for them alongside their male competitors. I’m still here fighting because what happened to me shouldn’t happen to anyone else — ever. I’ve spoken with women who’ve lost titles, podium spots, and hometown records because of this issue — and none of them were asking for special treatment. All we’ve been asking for is exactly what Title IX promised over 50 years ago: a fair chance to compete. *** Payton McNabb is a sports ambassador for Independent Women and former three-sport high school athlete who turned tragedy into triumph after a traumatic brain injury ended her athletic future.

The United States and Israel appear to be preparing for a potential escalation with Iran, as Washington surges military assets into the Middle East, Israeli cities reopen bomb shelters, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads to Washington next week for high-stakes talks with President Donald Trump. The moves follow nearly two weeks of U.S. strikes against Iranian targets and increasingly aggressive rhetoric from both Washington and Tehran.  While neither country has announced plans for a broader offensive, a series of military, diplomatic, and civil defense moves suggests officials are preparing for that possibility. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Pentagon has quietly expanded its military footprint in recent days, deploying special operations forces, fighter squadrons, aerial refueling tankers, and placing bomber aircraft on heightened alert. The Journal also reported that approximately 150 additional medics have arrived at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where wounded U.S. service members from the Middle East are typically treated. The buildup follows the deaths of several U.S. service members in recent Iranian attacks, including three troops killed at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan and another soldier killed in northern Iraq while attempting to detonate an explosive from an Iranian drone. Israel has also begun taking measures that suggest officials are preparing for the possibility of direct Iranian retaliation. Israeli journalist Amit Segal reported that the country’s alert levels have reached their highest point, with the Israeli Air Force and Military Intelligence Directorate placed on heightened readiness. Home Front Command personnel have reportedly been told to expect call-up orders, while reservists and recently discharged soldiers have been warned they could soon be mobilized.  Segal also reported that Mossad Director Roman Gofman traveled to Washington roughly two weeks ago to meet with CIA Director John Ratcliffe and White House officials. Cities across Israel have begun reopening public bomb shelters.  Ramat Gan Mayor Carmel Shama-Hacohen announced his city had reopened all public shelters after a security assessment concluded that “the risk of missile fire from Iran over the weekend has increased and is no longer negligible,” reported the Jerusalem Post. The southern city of Eilat also reopened shelters and ordered emergency personnel to remain prepared to open additional facilities immediately if needed. Israel’s Health Ministry reportedly has reviewed emergency hospitalization plans with hospitals nationwide. Despite the moves, there have not been any nationwide changes to Israeli Home Front Command guidance. The preparations come as Netanyahu is set to visit Washington next week for talks with Trump at the White House.  In recent days, the president has increased his rhetoric against Iran, including pledging that the U.S. will seize Iranian assets to compensate for damages caused during the conflict.  He also vowed to hold Iran directly responsible for future Houthi attacks on commercial shipping, warned that any Iranian attack on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz would result in U.S. strikes on bridges or power plants near Tehran, and told Axios he is considering “a massive attack” that would be “bigger than ever before.” Earlier this month, Trump publicly threatened to strike Iran’s deeply buried “Pickaxe Mountain” nuclear complex, saying the United States had “eyes on it” and that it was “a possible target for a nice big fat shot right in the front door.” The site is believed by some analysts to be among Iran’s most heavily fortified nuclear facilities. Asked about Israel’s potential role in any upcoming attack, Trump said the Jewish state “would join in two minutes if I asked them to,” while adding that “we don’t need anybody.” Iran has continued issuing threats of its own. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned civilians across the Middle East to stay at least 500 meters away from U.S. military installations, signaling that additional attacks could be imminent.  Tehran has also warned that if Iranian oil exports are blocked, no country will be able to export oil safely, adding that the Strait of Hormuz “will not return to pre-war conditions.” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also condemned Trump’s proposal to use frozen Iranian assets to compensate victims of the conflict, calling it “an incendiary precedent.” Despite absorbing 13 consecutive nights of U.S. strikes, Iran has largely confined its retaliation to Gulf countries hosting American troops rather than opening a direct front against Israel. Tehran has struck Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, and Jordan, all of which host U.S. forces. Although some attacks near Aqaba, Jordan, triggered Israeli air defenses in nearby Eilat, Iran has yet to unleash the sustained missile barrages against Israel that characterized previous confrontations.

WASHINGTON— President Donald Trump threatened the European Union with “substantial” tariffs on Friday after regulators hit Google with another $1 billion antitrust fine, accusing Europe of treating the United States like its own “PIGGYBANK.” Trump accused the EU of “taking direct aim at GREAT American Companies!” “After having fined Apple, for no reason at all, 15 Billion Dollars, Meta, 3 Billion Dollars, Amazon 2.5 Billion Dollars, and many others, we have just been informed that Google, a truly advanced and amazing group, has been fined yet another 1 Billion Dollars, without explanation,” Trump posted on Truth Social. The latest penalty brings Google’s total EU fines to more than $18 billion, the president said. “This illegal and highly discriminatory practice started at these high levels during the first year of the Sleepy Joe Biden Administration, but it’s not going to continue during the Trump Administration,” Trump said, adding: “The United States of America is not a ‘PIGGYBANK’ for Europe, nor will we allow it to be!” US President Donald Trump speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, July 23, 2026. Photographer: Samuel Corum/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images Trump warned that the EU’s actions would trigger a strong response from the United States. “Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that we will immediately initiate a 301 Investigation into the practice of ‘ROBBING’ American Companies and, in turn, the American Taxpayer,” Trump wrote. “The European Union will pay a very big price for this illegal and highly unethical conduct, which I have consistently warned them about.” “The penalties will be entirely reversed and, we anticipate, a substantial TARIFF to be placed on them at the earliest possible moment,” he added. “Stay tuned!” Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Wire.