July 14, 2025 - The Roundup: Broken Trust Edition
The public's faith in media, schools, and government reaches a tipping point
Welcome to this edition of The Roundup—your curated briefing on the cultural battles, political showdowns, and quiet revolts reshaping America from the ground up. This week, the cracks in the establishment are showing—from Washington state to Washington, D.C.
Voter ID is gaining traction, college degrees are losing value, and the press is panicking as Americans stop buying the narrative. Local leaders are defying federal overreach, while families, workers, and taxpayers are waking up to the costs of failed policies and ideological capture.
Whether it’s media bias, leftist rage or ideological capture the message is clear: the people are paying attention—and they’re not staying quiet.
Let’s dive in.
🗳️ Elections and Voter ID
Initiative Requiring Voter ID Moves Forward in Washington, Phil Vandervort, KVI Radio, July 11, 2025, https://www.kvi.com/2025/07/11/initiative-requiring-voter-id-moves-forward-in-washington/
“WAGOP Chairman and State Rep. Jim Walsh joins The Morning Ride to give the latest updates on initiative IL26-126 which, if passed, will require voter ID in Washington state. Rep. Walsh also shares his thoughts on the recent guilty verdict of Tim Hazelo, the island county man who refused to wear a mask while observing the counting of ballots in the 2024 election.”
This Measure Would Make WA Residents Prove They Are Citizens When They Register to Vote, Jerry Cornfield, Washington State Standard, July 14, 2025, https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2025/07/14/this-measure-would-make-wa-residents-prove-they-are-citizens-when-they-register-to-vote/
“Under the proposed measure, one would need an enhanced driver’s license or enhanced identicard, or present another form of identification like a passport or birth certificate at a county auditor’s office when they first register. Existing voters would have their registrations canceled if they fail to produce such proof by the November 2027 election when the changes would take effect.”
🇺🇸 Culture, Patriotism, and Identity
What Happened to Loving America?, Stephen Soukup, American Greatness, July 5, 2025, https://amgreatness.com/2025/07/05/what-happened-to-loving-america/
“As pride in America plummets... it’s clear we haven’t just failed to teach history—we’ve failed to teach why the nation is worth loving at all.”
Do Not Fear the Future, J.B. Shurk, American Thinker, July 10, 2025, https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2025/07/do_not_fear_the_future.html
“...we are only as secure as our personal relationships are strong. A future dominated by A.I. may spark a renewed appreciation for human-intensive work.”
The Roots of Leftist Rage, Victor Davis Hanson, American Greatness, July 10, 2025, https://amgreatness.com/2025/07/10/the-roots-of-leftist-rage/
“The economy is solid. The border is closed... Deportations created more, not fewer, American jobs. Biological men will likely no longer be winning women’s athletic contests.”
Where Society Is Headed in the Future, Jamie Smith Rickly, Substack, July 7, 2025,
“What people found was not a marginalized population simply asking to live in peace—but a movement demanding the suspension of reason, the redefinition of language, the erasure of sex-based rights, and the medicalization of distress in children.”
📰 Media Bias and Public Trust
Dan Bongino Just Torched the NYT’s FBI Hit Piece With Cold Hard Facts, Matt Margolis, PJ Media, July 5, 2025, https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2025/07/05/dan-bongino-just-torched-the-nyts-fbi-hit-piece-with-cold-hard-facts-n4941465
“The successes that Bongino reported are what happens when the FBI is focused on fighting crime, not settling political scores... Yet the New York Times doesn’t care about facts, just their anti-Trump narrative.”
This NY Times Article Is Precisely Why Hard-Working Americans Simply Do Not Trust the Media, Dan Bongino, X.com, July 5, 2025, https://x.com/FBIDDBongino/thread/1941497994668396715
“They produce NO evidence whatsoever... And the reason they don’t... is because the numbers tell the opposite story.”
CNN Analyst Shocked Americans Aren’t Afraid of Media‑Created ‘Climate Crisis’, Leslie Eastman, Legal Insurrection, July 11, 2025, https://legalinsurrection.com/2025/07/cnn-analyst-shocked-americans-arent-afraid-of-media-created-climate-crisis/
“The press is a little unhappy that its fearmongering isn’t working, so it’s clearly going to double down. For example, a piece published by NBC News pushes the narrative that people aren’t afraid enough of ‘extreme weather events’ — as evidenced by an Associated Press article quoting preferred ‘experts’ on the subject.”
🎓 Education and Workforce Readiness
Survey Finds College Grads Are Unpopular With Hiring Managers, Mike LaChance, Legal Insurrection, July 11, 2025, https://legalinsurrection.com/2025/07/survey-finds-college-grads-are-unpopular-with-hiring-managers/
“24% of hiring managers believe recent college graduates are unprepared for the workforce, while 33% cite a lack of work ethic, and 29% view them as entitled”
Washington Democrats Are Crying Over Student Loan Interest, Rep. Travis Couture, Facebook, July 12, 2025, https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CKecbKHcv/
“Washington Democrats are crying over student loan interest—after they slashed $200 million in state college aid for students at private schools they don’t like. If you go to Gonzaga, PLU, or a skilled trades program, they cut your aid in half or wiped it out entirely. They’re not mad about student debt—they’re just mad they don’t control who gets help.”
High Pay, Low Test Scores WA Teachers Earn Most When Adjusted for Cost of Living, Carleen Johnson, The Center Square, July 11, 2025, https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_a5b43015-5566-4884-8229-9b6b40717004.html
“We only look at how much we're putting in; we're not looking at what we're getting out, and that's where we have a problem” she elaborated “Unfortunately, a National Council on Teacher Quality report that came out this spring showed that elementary math preparation for Washington teachers statewide was among the lowest in the country. Most of them are not doing well, and that’s a real problem.”
💸 Economy, Tariffs, and Federal Spending
Here’s What’s Next In The Battle To Get Federal Spending Under Control, Christopher Jacobs, The Federalist, July 10, 2025, https://thefederalist.com/2025/07/10/heres-whats-next-in-the-battle-to-get-federal-spending-under-control/
“...it remains unclear whether the Senate will pass, amend, or reject the rescissions proposal.”
On Tariffs, Peter Navarro, X.com, July 4, 2025, https://x.com/RealPNavarro/thread/1941135588201230621
“The early GOP was the party of tariffs and industry. From Lincoln to McKinley and into the 20th century, the Republican Party fought for American workers.”
🧑🌾 Environment, Energy, and Wildlife
Supporters, Critics Weigh In On Trump Scrapping Biden’s Snake River Dam Deal, Carleen Johnson, The Center Square, July 10, 2025, https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_4ce9e4ab-bb18-433e-8a2e-fb0f91256a4c.html
“As we have stated for years, we believe that salmon and dams currently and can continue to coexist. Moving forward, we stand ready and look forward to working collaboratively with all stakeholders to find commonsense solutions that actually address the root of the problem and lead to measurable and sustainable impacts.”
[Ed: A REAL] Environmental Disaster, John Hinderaker, Power Line, July 11, 2025, https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2025/07/environmental-disaster.php
“So the turbine was 15 miles out into the ocean, and it was so large–the length of a football field–that it littered the region, including Nantucket’s beaches, with debris.”
Little Lynx Colville Tribes Confirm Canada Lynx Kittens in the Kettle Range, Michael Wright, The Spokesman-Review, July 4, 2025, https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2025/jul/04/little-lynx-colville-tribes-confirm-canada-lynx-ki/
“More than three dozen lynx have been released in the Kettle Range since 2021. At first, biologists weren’t sure how the cats would do, whether they could make a living and reproduce there.”
🧒 Family, Law, and Public Policy
DCYF’s Family-Reunification Model Has Led to a Dramatic Increase in Critical Incidents, WA House Republicans, July 7, 2025, https://x.com/WaHouseGOP/status/1942388255791747470
“From @TheOlympian: [Rep. Travis Couture] said that DCYF’s family-reunification model has led to a dramatic increase in critical incidents and called the latest data ‘heartbreaking and tragic.’ ‘This is, sadly, a predictable outcome,’ the Allyn Republican said in a June 30 call, adding: ‘I knew it was going to get worse, but not this bad.’”
Lewis County Declares Itself a Non‑Sanctuary County After Unanimous Vote, Jason Sutich, MyNorthwest.com, July 12, 2025, https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/lewis-county-declares-itself-non-sanctuary-county-after-unanimous-vote/7BZ7PWMVZ5ELXCWT7NPWYEBMPY/
“Resolution 25-158 reaffirms that Lewis County is not a sanctuary county and declares our full commitment to the Constitution and the rule of law,” Swope said “It’s important to make clear this resolution does not change our policies. It confirms our existing position and takes a critical step to ensure Lewis County is removed from the Department of Homeland Security’s list of sanctuary jurisdictions.”
🧠 Academia and Ideological Capture
Ayaan Hirsi Ali Offers Her Thoughts On NYC Socialist Zohran Mamdani, Mike LaChance, Legal Insurrection, July 8, 2025, https://legalinsurrection.com/2025/07/ayaan-hirsi-ali-offers-her-thoughts-on-nyc-socialist-zohran-mamdani/
“Universities didn’t accidentally produce socialists while teaching legitimate scholarship.”
That’s it for this edition of The Roundup—a snapshot of a country in transition, where the gap between the people and the powerful grows harder to ignore. From school boards to statehouses, from family policy to federal spending, the fight is no longer theoretical. It’s personal, local, and happening right now.
Stay sharp, stay vocal, and stay in the fight.
Nancy Churchill is a writer and educator in rural eastern Washington State, and the chair of the Ferry County Republican Party. She may be reached at DangerousRhetoric@pm.me. The opinions expressed in Dangerous Rhetoric are her own. Dangerous Rhetoric is available on Substack, X, and occasionally Rumble.