Labour’s Landside Leap

Plus, Olympic therapy dog.

The Flag

Good morning and Happy Monday! We hope everyone had a wonderful July 4th holiday and patriotic weekend celebrating our amazing country. We have some exciting news to share as we step into the back half of the year.

We are expanding our content offering and introducing an ad-free experience to anyone who wants it. Here’s how it’ll work:

  • Sunday Newsletter: Have you ever heard about America’s “bachelor tax,” where young men were taxed to incentivize them to get married? Or what about the North Carolina woman who is the daughter of a Civil War veteran and still collects his pension benefits? And why don’t you need a driver’s license to race in NASCAR? We LOVE these little-known facts about American history and culture so we’re going to write about them and share them in our new Sunday newsletter. The Sunday newsletter will be for “Flag-Bearers” — premium members who want to help fund The Flag. We’re charging less than a cup of coffee per month so this is a way to learn something new every week and give us a small tip if you like what we do. Click here to get started.

  • Ad-Free Newsletter: Over the past month we spoke to a few members of our audience who wanted to know if there was a way to go Ad-Free. Honestly, we’d never really thought about this, but when you talk, we listen. So without further ado, you can click here to go ad-free. You’ll also get our new Sunday newsletter and updates from the Flag founder about the brand, new products, and random thoughts. Click here to get started.

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👀 Our first Sunday newsletter will examine which American monument has a major typo on it.

Here are the Flag’s Top Five stories that should be on your radar to start the day:

  • US: Biden addresses supportive Black church service amid growing Democratic calls for him to step aside (AP)

  • World: France’s left-wing parties projected to finish first in parliamentary elections, keep far right at bay (NBC News)

  • Business: Saks Fifth Avenue is buying Neiman Marcus with Amazon’s help (CNN)

  • Technology: What to expect at Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event in July (The Verge)

  • Sports: Tearful Lewis Hamilton takes ‘fairytale’ victory at home British Grand Prix (CNN)

And of course, some good news: Meet Beacon the therapy dog, calming gymnasts’ nerves at the US Olympic Trials.

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Fortune Favors The Bold

Ever wish you could turn back time and invest in Amazon's early days? Well, buckle up because the AI revolution is offering a second chance.Ever wish you could turn back time and invest in Amazon's early days? Well, buckle up because the AI revolution is offering a second chance.

In The Motley Fool's latest report, dive into the world of AI-powered innovation. Discover why experts are calling it "the rocket fuel of AI" and predicting a market cap nine times larger than Amazon's.

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Whether it's AI or Amazon, fortune favors the bold.

Left: It's Hard To Feel Optimistic About the US. But I Have Hope, Margaret Sullivan, The Guardian

Right: 25th Amendment Is Constitutional & Dems’ Best Hope, Margot Cleveland, The Federalist

Right: The French Election Is a Warning for Biden, Sumantra Maitra, The American Conservative

Right: Dems Kidding Themselves: Harris Is a Terrible Candidate, Kirsten Fleming, New York Post

UNITED KINGDOM

Labour’s Landside Leap

Today’s Top Story in One Sentence: Last Thursday, the United Kingdom’s Labour Party won parliamentary elections in a landslide, and is set to unseat the Conservative Party, which has ruled Britain since 2010.

Reporting from the Left: U.K. PM concedes defeat as Labour Party set for landslide election win (Axios)

Reporting from the Right: Keir Starmer elected new UK prime minister after big Labour Party win (FOX News)

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

A Lesson for Democrats

The Top Argument From The Left: The Labour Party’s Lesson for the Democrats, Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic: “Keir Starmer and the Labour Party will now run Britain, after defeating two kinds of populism. Yesterday they beat the Conservative Party, whose current leaders promised back in 2016 that simply leaving the European Union would make Britain great again. Instead, Brexit created trade barriers and dragged down the economy. To compensate, the Tories leaned hard into nationalist rhetoric, looked for scapegoats, and shuffled through five prime ministers in eight years. None of it worked: Labour has just won a stunning landslide victory of a kind no one would have believed possible after the last election, in 2019. … But Starmer’s campaign was not designed to create enthusiasm. Instead, Labour sought to persuade just enough people to give it a chance. … This is clearly Starmer’s personal style. Understated comes to him naturally. Critics might also add opaque. But, again, this is also a strategy. Throughout the campaign, Labour sought to portray itself as a party of men and women who take nothing for granted and will toil ceaselessly on your behalf. … Starmer’s tendency to hedge his positions in an effort to occupy the center ground between these poles has made him a lot of enemies. For now, this balancing act has paid off. … Although Labour has been more often out of power than in power over the past century, Starmer did get to the other side. Labour won. And in the end, election victories, not ideological battles, are what matter most.”

Honorable Mention #1: Why Britain's Conservatives were wiped out by Labour, Joshua Keating, Vox.

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

So, What Now?

The Top Argument From The Right: Britain Moves Left, but How Far? The Editorial Board, The Wall Street Journal: “The Labour Party won Britain’s election Thursday in a landslide, but the paradox is that it’s unclear what the victory means for the United Kingdom and its allies—beyond a repudiation of the ruling Tories. … This is a huge Labour rebound after its stinging rebuke from voters in December 2019. Credit Mr. Starmer for the political CPR. He spent his first years as leader purging the leftwing, antisemitic fringes emboldened by his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn. Thursday’s victory was possible because Mr. Starmer persuaded voters that Labour is once again a patriotic, credible governing party. … Mr. Starmer and Chancellor of the Exchequer-to-be Rachel Reeves promise economic rejuvenation, sometimes sounding like supply-siders. They’ve wooed business with promises to encourage private investment, including a freeze on the 25% corporate-profits tax rate for five years. They pledge a long-discussed overhaul of Britain’s punishing property tax on business premises, and they say they’ll freeze many personal taxes. Yet don’t mistake Labour for a free-market party. Its few-new-taxes promises are possible because soon to be ex-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Tories have done most of the tax-raising Labour would have.”

Honorable Mention #1: Voting for the Opposite of What You Want, John O’Sullivan, National Review.

Honorable Mention #2: Five things to know about the landslide victory for Labour Party in UK elections, Emily Hallas, Washington Examiner.

FLAG THIS

The Results

The center-left party won a huge majority with 412 seats. It is led by Sir Keir Starmer, who will replace Rishi Sunak as the UK’s next prime minister. The Conservatives lost 244 seats, leaving them with a historic low of 121. Other notable shifts include the Liberal Democrats picking up 60 seats, the pro-independence Scottish National Party dropping 39 of its 48 seats, and 22 additional seats going to “other” parties (Reuters).

WATERCOOLER

Paris Turns 2000, Soda Wars, Preserved Cake

On This Day in 1951, the capital city of France, Paris, celebrated turning 2,000 years old. In fact, a few more candles would’ve technically been required on the birthday cake, as the City of Lights was most likely founded around 250 B.C.

Today I learned the Library of Congress has a piece of wedding cake from the 1800s.

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Ever wish you could turn back time and invest in Amazon's early days? Well, buckle up because the AI revolution is offering a second chance.Ever wish you could turn back time and invest in Amazon's early days? Well, buckle up because the AI revolution is offering a second chance.

In The Motley Fool's latest report, dive into the world of AI-powered innovation. Discover why experts are calling it "the rocket fuel of AI" and predicting a market cap nine times larger than Amazon's.

Don't let past regrets hold you back. Take charge of your future and capitalize on the AI wave with The Motley Fool's exclusive report.

Whether it's AI or Amazon, fortune favors the bold.

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