SAM WESTROP: Moderate Islam Falters in the Face of Silicon Valley Censorship.

It is not just conservatives who are targeted. Long before the removal of my BBC debate on Islamism, moderate Muslims and critics of Islamist political ideology found themselves subject to bans and restrictions on social media for articulating reasonable ideas and criticisms that deserve debate rather than restriction.

Since July 2016, Google has censored videos published on YouTube by Prager U, a digital-media publisher that produces short videos discussing topical questions. Restricted videos included presentations about Islamism given by moderate Muslim voices, including by Kasim Hafeez, a British Muslim who now speaks out against the same Islamist anti-Semitism in which he once believed; Ayaan Hirsi Ali, an anti-Islamist campaigner and women’s-rights activist; and Khurram Dara, a prominent American Muslim author.

In 2017, Ex-Muslims of North America (EXMNA) was targeted by “a coordinated reporting and flagging campaign” that led to Facebook’s restricting their posts. EXMNA opposes radical Islam and offers a home to apostates facing abuse and persecution. Nothing it posts on social media is remotely hateful.

In fact, censorship of anti-Islamist voices by Silicon Valley is now an almost weekly occurrence.

It’s almost as though they’re on the other side.

I THOUGHT ONLY LEFTIES WERE ALLOWED TO DO THIS SORT OF THING: Trump supporter disrupts De Niro’s musical with ‘Keep America Great’ flag.

JEFF BEZOS BENEFITTING FROM CRONYISM IN DOD CONTRACTING? That’s the contention of Mona Salama in LifeZette this morning. And it’s not just on any contract, but rather a 10 year, $10 Billion award to put the Pentagon in the Cloud. If things go as expected on the award, there will also be a serious national security issue concerning China’s access to U.S. digital defenses.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Human rights prof says Venezuelans ‘better off’ under socialism.

AT AMAZON, shop Today’s Kindle Deals.

Plus, Hot New Releases – Updated Every Hour.

And, Shop Amazon Outlet – Clearance, Markdowns and Overstock Deals.

MY USA TODAY COLUMN: Racism Is Wrong. Even When Harvard Does It.

LIZ SHELD’S MORNING BRIEF: Roger Stone, WaPo Strike, Peter Strzok, and Much, Much More.

Tyler O’Neil is filling in for the still-vacationing Liz Sheld.

IF IT LOOKS LIKE AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER…: Add F-35B jump jets and it is an aircraft carrier. South Korea and Japan just might modify the flight decks of their amphibious assault ships and helicopter carrier so F-35Bs can use them. Long post but informative.

NO NEWS COVERAGE TO SPEAK OF BECAUSE IT DOESN’T FIT THE NARRATIVE: Trenton shooting: Suspected gunman killed at Art All Night was gang member with violent past. The press doesn’t really mind if gang members have guns, they just don’t want you to.

WASTED ASSETS: The US Navy is fed up with ballistic missile defense patrols.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson said in no uncertain terms on June 12 that he wants the Navy off the tether of ballistic missile defense patrols, a mission that has put a growing strain on the Navy’s hard-worn surface combatants, and the duty shifted towards more shore-based infrastructure.

“Right now, as we speak, I have six multi-mission, very sophisticated, dynamic cruisers and destroyers ― six of them are on ballistic missile defense duty at sea,” Richardson said during his address at the U.S. Naval War College’s Current Strategy Forum. “And if you know a little bit about this business you know that geometry is a tyrant.

“You have to be in a tiny little box to have a chance at intercepting that incoming missile. So, we have six ships that could go anywhere in the world, at flank speed, in a tiny little box, defending land.”

Richardson continued, saying the Navy could be used in emergencies but that in the long term the problem demands a different solution.

Aegis Ashore is good enough for Romania and Japan, so why not the U.S.?

ALONG WITH A LOT OF OBVIOUS STUPIDITY THAT DEMONSTRATES THAT THEY AREN’T ACTUALLY ELITE: FBI Employees’ Text Reveals an Astonishing Level of Elitism and Scorn for Everyday Americans.

THIS POLITICO STORY ON NUCLEAR WAR PREPAREDNESS is basically a reboot of my Unexpected Return of ‘Duck and Cover’ piece.

So it’s good. Though in all modesty, I think my treatment was better.

THE INSTA-WIFE’S BOOK, Men on Strike, is now infiltrating the Hip Hop community.

SALENA ZITO: Populist Sherrod Brown could be the perfect Democrat for Trump Country. Want to make a difference? Spend less time on the Internet, and more time donating to and volunteering for campaigns.

NOW THAT’S REAL SOCIALISM: Venezuelans fleeing their nation’s humanitarian crisis find hope in Philadelphia. “Now that I’m in Philadelphia, no one can take me out of here.”

Benavides echoes Torres Luzardo’s concerns over ignorance about Venezuela, particularly that of the results of socialism.

In a city like Philadelphia, where there are so many academics and so many liberal intellectuals, socialism is hailed, he said. For example, at Temple, Benavides noted, there is a group called “Defensores del Proceso Chávez” (Defenders of the Chávez Process).

“I’d be lying to you if I didn’t say that the things that Bernie Sanders mentioned during his campaign didn’t sway or entice me,” Benavides admitted sadly. “The ideas of universal education, universal healthcare, all of these benefits for the whole population, the promise of equality and justice, those are all beautiful.

“But, I know the results of socialism. Venezuelans know the result of socialism. Cubans know the result of socialism. All it does is generate poverty and generate a diaspora.”

Who you gonna believe: Bernie Sanders or Benavides’ lying eyes?

OH, I DUNNO, HE HAD HELP: Bottom line? Obama single-handedly ruined the FBI and the DOJ.

I don’t think the FBI, in particular, has come to grips with the damage it’s suffered — particularly among the cohort of people who were its biggest supporters. And I expect that juries are much, much less likely to convict in the future based on testimony by FBI agents.

VOTE FOR ME AND I’LL SET YOU FREE: Erdoğan vows to lift state of emergency if re-elected.

THAT IT WAS A SETUP: Byron York: What do Republicans suspect really happened in the FBI Trump-Russia investigation?

The struggle to uncover the FBI’s conduct in the Trump-Russia probe has made some congressional investigators deeply suspicious of the bureau. But what do those investigators think the FBI actually did in its investigation of the Trump campaign, Russia, and the 2016 election?

First, they’re convinced the FBI has something to hide. In the last 12 months, the bureau has, at various times, ignored, slow-walked, resisted, and downright stonewalled congressional requests, not to mention subpoenas, for information on the Trump-Russia investigation.

Each time the bureau hunkered down, suspicion grew on Capitol Hill. The FBI seemed particularly reluctant to reveal to Congress not what Russians did, or what people in the Trump circle did, but what the bureau itself did. . . .

The bottom line is that some Republicans are wondering whether in the above instances, and perhaps others, someone actively tried to frame, or entrap, or set up, Trump figures. And those Republicans wonder whether the FBI knew about it or played some sort of role in it.

In short, there is suspicion that the FBI might have abused its tremendous powers in a highly politicized investigation undertaken in the middle of a presidential campaign.

Read the whole thing.

UPDATE: Michael Goodwin: FBI head proves Washington has a vendetta against Trump.

IT’S OKAY, BECAUSE HE’S A DEMOCRAT: Joe Manchin Used Taxpayer Funds for Travel from L.A. Fundraiser.

BLUE WAVE? The GOP’s Rapid Retreat in the Midwest.

Josh Kraushaar:

Ohio is becoming a major warning sign for the GOP’s fortunes in the upcoming midterms—and beyond. The state backed Trump by a healthy 8-point margin in 2016, fueled by dramatic swings towards Republicans along the blue-collar eastern spine of the state. Trump’s winning margin in bellwether Ohio was nearly identical to his winning margin in ruby-red Texas. Given the promising political trends from Trump’s election, Republicans were hopeful that they could upset Brown and hold the governorship with an established figure like Attorney General Mike DeWine. Early polling showed the Senate race competitive and DeWine holding a healthy lead over the opposition.

But the political movement in Ohio is headed in the opposite direction, even with Trump’s recent uptick in popularity. Trump’s job approval in the state is at 43 percent with 54 percent disapproving, according to a new Quinnipiac survey. Nearly half of respondents to a Suffolk University poll of Ohio voters said their midterm vote would be a check on the president, compared to 28 percent saying their vote would be to support Trump’s agenda. And Brown now holds a commanding double-digit lead over Rep. Jim Renacci in the latest public polls, with Democrat Richard Cordray inching ahead of DeWine.

If you want to make a difference, spend less time on the internet and more time volunteering for a local campaign.

JOEL KOTKIN: “The radical feminist assault on men is certainly no gift to our children.”

FINEST HOUR:  On this day in 1940, Winston Churchill delivered his “Finest Hour” speech to the House of Commons.  His closing words:

What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, “This was their finest hour.”

The thousand years part seems doubtful at this point, but the “finest hour” part seems solid so far.

WELL, GOOD: Lockheed, Pratt Disclose F-35 Cost-Cutting Moves As Air Force Secretary Presses For Economies.

The Air Force has set a goal of reducing projected operating and support costs across the lifetime of the F-35 program by 38%, which is a tall order for a program that until recently was focused on other matters — like proving its capabilities in the biggest flight-test program ever executed. Now that the capabilities are demonstrated though (F-35 is achieving 20-to-1 kill ratios against adversary aircraft in exercises) Wilson really wants to get the price down.

She has not been subtle in telling contractors what the stakes are. Simply put, if the cost of “sustainment” — operations and support — doesn’t fall by the requisite 38%, then the Air Force may have to buy hundreds fewer planes than it was planning. It took Marillyn Hewson, CEO of lead airframe contractor Lockheed Martin, about two nanoseconds to get the message. She formed an internal review panel that figured out how to meet Secretary Wilson’s cost goals.

Imagine that.

HMM: Trump Tariffs Will Lead to Higher Prices for U.S. Consumers, Experts Warn. “In the short term there might be some gains from the U.S. steel industry, but the problem is the U.S. steel industry doesn’t even have the capacity to actually produce the extra steel that the U.S. will require.”