July 26, 2023

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Rebecca Shabad & Liz Brown-Kaiser of NBC News: "Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell suddenly stopped speaking during a weekly Republican leadership press conference on Wednesday afternoon, appearing to freeze, and then went silent and was walked away. McConnell, R-Ky., had been making his opening remarks and suddenly stopped talking. His Republican colleagues asked if he was okay and Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., escorted McConnell away from the cameras and reporters.... A few minutes later, McConnell walked back to the press conference by himself. When asked about his health, he said he was fine." This is painful to watch: ~~~

Perry Stein, et al., of the Washington Post: "A federal judge on Wednesday delayed accepting a plea deal for President Biden's son Hunter, saying the terms as written by prosecutors and defense lawyers may not be constitutional, but also signaling the agreement could be approved in the future. The deal that had been struck in June began to unravel near the start of the three-hour hearing. U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika asked a series of questions that revealed a disagreement between federal prosecutors and Biden's lawyers over whether the agreement -- in which he would plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors and likely avoid jail time -- would protect him from the possibility of additional criminal charges. The complications marked another twist in a case that has been clouded for years by questions about possible political bias, prosecutorial delay, and debate over whether Hunter Biden was being treated too harshly or too gently because of his father's status as a former vice president and, later, president."

The New York Times is liveblogging developments in a court proceeding in which Hunter Biden is expected to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges. ~~~

     ~~~ Clusterfuck! The deal appears to blow up: "... the judge who must approve the deal, Maryellen Noreika, questioned whether it meant that [Hunter] Biden would be immune from prosecution for other possible crimes -- including violations related to representing foreign governments -- in perpetuity. When a top prosecutor in the case said it would not, Chris Clark, Mr. Biden's lead lawyer, responded by saying the agreement was 'null and void.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Michael Schmidt: "As we wait to see whether the deal is salvaged, it's important to remember that it was negotiated over weeks in which there were lengthy back and forths about every inch of the deal. The idea that this issue was not resolved seems extraordinary." ~~~

~~~ According to CNN's liveblog, "The Hunter Biden plea proceedings have restarted and the president's son has agreed to a limited agreement that covers 2014 to 2019 and only includes conduct related to tax offenses, drug use and gun possession. President Joe Biden's son will still plead guilty to the tax misdemeanors for 2017 and 2018, but the agreement will also cover his tax-related conduct for the three years prior. The two sides have agreed that this deal does not shield him from potential future charges." That's a whole different story from what Hunter's lawyers have been saying over the past weeks. Commentators on MSNBC were aghast that such a "misunderstanding" on so fundamental a matter could have occurred in such a high-profile case. ~~~

     ~~~ And Then: "US District Judge Maryellen Noreika said she was not ready to accept the plea deal, and the hearing ended with Hunter Biden pleading not guilty for the time being. The judge asked the sides to file additional briefs explaining the plea deal's legal structuring."

John Sakellariadis of Politico: "The Biden administration has tapped former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley to head the Social Security Administration, the White House announced Wednesday. O'Malley, a Democrat, will require Senate confirmation to take over at the agency, which oversees a $1 trillion budget and is responsible for distributing benefits to older adults and disabled people."

Thief-in-Chief to Return Artefacts to Israel. Michael Sainato of the Guardian: "Donald Trump will finally return ancient artefacts sent to the US by Israel in 2019 after the items had a lengthy stay at Mar-a-Lago. Israel sent the items to the US in December 2019 for a Hanukkah event at the White House.... ended up [at Mar-a-Lago] when Republican donor Saul Fox gave them to the then president Trump at a [December] 2021 Hanukkah party at Mar-a-Lago. The items were entrusted to Fox after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic delayed retrieval of the items as the Israel Antiquities Authority did not want to entrust the items to a shipping company. Fox told the Wall Street Journal that he thought the items were to be given to Trump permanently. Previous efforts by senior Israeli officials to retrieve the artifacts over the past several months had failed." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: According to the story, Fox gave the artifacts to "then president Trump" at a December 2021 Hanukkah party. But Trump was not president* (except maybe in his own mind) in December 2021. Weird. Here's a New York Times backstory that doesn't pretend Trump was still president* when Fox "gave" him the artifacts.

Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "Rudolph W. Giuliani has admitted that while acting as a lawyer for ... Donald J. Trump, he made false statements in asserting that two Georgia election workers had mishandled ballots while counting votes in Atlanta during the 2020 election. The admission by Mr. Giuliani came in court papers filed on Tuesday night as part of a defamation lawsuit that the two workers, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, had brought against him in Federal District Court in Washington in December 2021. The suit accused Mr. Giuliani and others of promoting a video that purported to show Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss -- who are mother and daughter -- of manipulating ballots while working at the State Farm Arena for the Fulton County Board of Elections.... But Mr. Giuliani, insisting that he still had 'legal defenses' in the case, said that he continued to believe his accusations about Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss were 'constitutionally protected' under the First Amendment. He also refused to acknowledge that his statements had caused the women any damage...." Giuliani said he was making his admissions to save litigation costs. Politico's report is here.

A Liar AND [Allegedly!] a Crook. Grace Ashford of the New York Times: "In the years since [Rep. George] Santos [R-N.Y.] first ran for the House in 2020, he has become adept at finding ways to extract money from politics. He founded a political consulting group that he marketed to other Republicans. He sought to profit from the Covid crisis, using campaign connections. And he solicited investments for and from political donors, raising ethical questions.... Mr. Santos ... has not been charged with personal use of campaign funds. But a review of his political career found several previously unreported examples of how he sought to use the connections he made as a candidate for public office to enrich himself." The writers open with a Santos scheme that sounded to the mark a lot like the fake Nigerian prince email ruse.

Israel. Patrick Kingsley & Aaron Boxerman of the New York Times: "Israel's Supreme Court said Wednesday that it would begin in September to review a contentious new law that diminishes the court's own role, setting the stage for a constitutional crisis and renewed social turmoil if the judges then overturn the legislation. The decision sets up a looming clash between the executive branch of government and the highest court in the land. The Supreme Court must now decide whether to reassert its dominance over Prime Minister Benjamin's Netanyahu's government -- or it must accept the move to reduce its own power. Either conclusion is likely to provoke widespread anger, since the issue has become a proxy for a much broader battle over Israel's character."

U.K. Emine Sinmaz of the Guardian: "Kevin Spacey wept and said he was humbled after being cleared of sexual assault in one of the UK's most high-profile #MeToo trials. The 64-year-old Oscar-winning actor sobbed in the dock as he was found not guilty on Wednesday of sexually assaulting four men after a four-week trial at Southwark crown court."

~~~~~~~~~~

Erica Green of the New York Times: "On Tuesday..., President Biden established a national monument honoring Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, a fierce advocate for her son who insisted on an open coffin at his funeral so the country could bear witness to the brutality he suffered. The Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument includes three protected sites, in Illinois, where Emmett was born 82 years ago to the day on Tuesday, and in Mississippi, where he was tortured and killed after being accused of whistling at a white woman. The monument comes as Mr. Biden has made the case for reckoning with the legacy of racism in America, even as some Republicans try to restrict how Black history is taught. 'At a time when there are those who seek to ban books, bury history, we&'re making it clear -- crystal, crystal clear: While darkness and denialism can hide much, they erase nothing,' he said during a ceremony at the White House, which was attended by Vice President Kamala Harris as well as members of the Till family." ~~~

     ~~~ In 1955, Mrs. Till telegrammed President Eisenhower (R) pleading that "justice is meted out to all persons involved in the beastly lynching of my son." No one in the Eisenhower administration responded.

Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "One of President Biden's dogs has bitten several Secret Service agents, and even sent one to the hospital, part of a series of at least 10 incidents of 'aggressive behavior,' according to internal emails recently obtained by a conservative watchdog group. The correspondence shows that Commander, the nearly 2-year-old German shepherd, has struggled to adjust to life at the White House, where he arrived in 2021, and Delaware, where the Bidens own two homes.... The Bidens have partnered with the Secret Service for 'additional leashing protocols and training' to rein in Commander, according to ... a White House spokeswoman." MB: It seems the measures taken were not adequate.

Take That, Supremes! Michael Shear & Anemona Hartocollis of the New York Times: "The Education Department has opened a civil rights investigation into Harvard University's legacy admissions policy, inserting the federal government directly into a fierce national debate about wealth, privilege and race after the Supreme Court gutted the use of affirmative action in higher education. The inquiry into one of the nation's richest and most prestigious universities will examine allegations by three liberal groups that Harvard's practice of showing preference for the relatives of alumni and donors discriminates against Black, Hispanic and Asian applicants in favor of white and wealthy students who are less qualified. The Education Department's Office of Civil Rights has powerful enforcement authority that could eventually lead to a settlement with Harvard or trigger a lengthy legal battle like the one that led to the Supreme Court's decision to severely limit race-conscious admissions last month, reversing a decades-long approach that had increased chances for Black students and those from other minority groups."

Maria Sacchetti of the Washington Post: "A federal judge in California on Tuesday struck down the Biden administration's temporary restrictions on migrants seeking asylum, ruling that the government's plan to reduce illegal crossings on the southern border violated federal law. U.S. District Judge Jon S. Tigar ruled against a system the Biden administration imposed more than two months ago to penalize migrants who crossed the border illegally and reward those who scheduled appointments to seek asylum instead. Tigar granted the government's request to delay the ruling from taking effect for 14 days to allow time for officials to appeal." CNN's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

They Have No Shame. Luke Broadwater & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "On the eve of Hunter Biden's court appearance to enter into a plea deal for misdemeanor tax crimes that would allow him to avoid prison time, House Republicans and conservative groups sought to intervene in the case, urging a judge to throw out the agreement he reached with prosecutors. The highly unusual legal maneuvering -- which experts said was unlikely to succeed -- illustrated the lengths that House Republicans and their allied groups have been willing to go to as they have tried to use Mr. Biden's legal and personal troubles to inflict political damage on his father, President Biden. Representative Jason Smith of Missouri, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, filed a brief in Federal District Court in Wilmington, Del., where Hunter Biden's plea deal is to be considered by a judge on Wednesday."

Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post: "For nearly a decade, [Sen. Tommy] Tuberville [R-Ala.] has described the World War II exploits of his father, Charles R. Tuberville Jr., in a relatively consistent way -- that he was a tank commander, that he earned five Bronze Stars, that he participated in the D-Day landing and that he lied about his age to join the army. News organizations have tended to accept Tuberville's version and either reprint or broadcast it. Yet an examination of army histories, newspaper reports and other materials calls into question many of the claims put forth by Tuberville, who sits on both the Senate Armed Services and Veterans' Affairs committees and is now in a high-profile battle with the Biden administration over a Defense Department policy offering time off and travel reimbursement to service members who need to go out of state for abortions." Each of these claims is either demonstrably false or dubious. MB: This is Mr. Potato Head's attempt to bathe himself in heroism-by-proxy. There's no such thing.

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "A federal judge on Tuesday wiped out the conviction and sentence of Bowe Bergdahl, the former Army sergeant who walked off a base in Afghanistan in 2009 only to be held captive by the Taliban for five years, and whose release in a prisoner swap prompted intense controversy. In a 63-page ruling, Judge Reggie B. Walton of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia vacated all the court-martial proceedings against Sergeant Bergdahl after October 2017. At the time, the military judge in the case, Jeffery R. Nance, then an Army colonel, applied for a job with the Justice Department under President Donald J. Trump, a step he did not disclose. Mr. Trump had repeatedly railed against the sergeant, calling him a traitor and suggesting that he be executed. The ruling could lead to a second trial before a new judge.... Colonel Nance had earlier rejected a ... motion [to throw out the case], and he had submitted that ruling as a writing sample with his job application at the Justice Department." ~~~

     ~~~ Spencer Hsu & Alex Horton of the Washington Post: "The judge [MB: which judge? Walton or the original trial judge?] rejected Bergdahl's claim that Donald Trump exercised unlawful influence as the military's commander in chief by vilifying him during the case as a 'dirty rotten traitor' deserving of execution. In 2015, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), then the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called Bergdahl 'clearly a deserter' and offered to hold a committee hearing if he was not punished. Without referring to either Trump or McCain by name, [Judge Walton] bluntly chided political officeholders and candidates who 'express their desired verdict and punishment of individuals merely accused of committing criminal offenses,' saying doing so violates the principle that the accused are innocent until proved guilty." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Walton -- a Dubya appointee -- holds Trump in low regard. According to the WashPo report, "After a trial involving a Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot defendant last year, Walton described Trump as a 'charlatan' who 'doesn't, in my view, really care about democracy but only about power. And as a result of that, it's tearing this country apart.'"

Noam Scheiber of the New York Times: "United Parcel Service announced Tuesday that it had reached a tentative deal on a five-year contract with the union representing more than 325,000 of its U.S. workers, a key step in averting a potential strike next month.... The union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, reported in June that its UPS members had voted to authorize a strike after the expiration of the current agreement on Aug. 1, with 97 percent of those who took part in the vote endorsing the move.... The Teamsters said that under the tentative agreement, current full- and part-time UPS employees represented by the union would receive a $2.75-an-hour raise this year, and $7.50 an hour in raises over the course of the contract.... The deal, if ratified, removes a serious threat to the U.S. economy.... A 10-day UPS strike would cost the U.S. economy about $7 billion, according to an estimate from the Anderson Economic Group." Politico's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Alan Feuer & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "In recent weeks, [special prosecutor Jack] Smith's team has pushed forward in collecting new evidence and in arranging new interviews with witnesses who could shed light on [Donald] Trump's mind-set in the chaotic postelection period or on other subjects important to the inquiry. At the same time, word has emerged of previously undisclosed investigative efforts, hinting at the breadth and scope of the issues prosecutors are examining.... Among the previously unknown steps taken by Mr. Smith's team was an interview conducted about three months ago with Richard P. Donoghue, a former top official in the Justice Department at the end of Mr. Trump's time in office.... Prosecutors under Mr. Smith have asked questions as to when and how federal officials went about securing the election, and how they coordinated those efforts with secretaries of state in various states.... Prosecutors have also sought to determine how regularly the White House was briefed on election security measures." MB: If you haven't kept up with recent news stories on the nature of Smith's inquiries, this article provides a good review.

One Way or Another, She's Gonna Getcha, Getcha, Getcha. Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "The Fulton county district attorney investigating Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia in recent weeks has weighed several potential statutes under which to charge, including solicitation to commit election fraud and conspiracy to commit election fraud..., as well as solicitation of a public or political officer to fail to perform their duties and solicitation to destroy, deface or remove ballots..., according to two people briefed on the matter.... The district attorney is also seeking to charge at least some of the Trump operatives who were involved in accessing voting machines and copying sensitive election data in Coffee county, Georgia, in January 2021 with computer trespass crimes, the two people said.... The move by the Fulton county district attorney, Fani Willis, to identify a list of potential charges marks a major juncture in the criminal investigation and suggests prosecutors are on course to ask a grand jury to return indictments next month." (Also linked yesterday.)

Marie: I was watching a German teevee series this morning, and in one scene, a neo-Nazi gang leader said that if Germany didn't get rid of Muslim immigrants, "we won't have a country anymore." This is precisely -- almost word-for-word -- what Donald Trump says, in various contexts, about the U.S. I don't think that's a coincidence. Trump does not just tolerate neo-Nazis; he takes inspiration from them. Some might say Trump is a neo-Nazi.

Tucker Carlson Is a Victim Again. Just Ask Him. Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "Tucker Carlson 'knows' he was fired by Fox News in April as a condition of the $787.5m settlement with Dominion Voting Systems regarding the broadcast of Donald Trump's lie about election fraud, the former host says in a new book. 'They agreed to take me off the air, my show off the air, as a condition of the Dominion settlement,' Carlson tells his biographer, Chadwick Moore. 'They had to settle this; Rupert [Murdoch, the 92-year-old Fox News owner] couldn't testify. I think that deal was made minutes before the trial started. I mean, I know it was.'"

A Trumpish Swindler Goes to Jail. Colin Moynihan of the New York Times: "A Colorado man convicted last year of conspiring to defraud people who donated money to build the kind of border wall championed by Donald J. Trump was sentenced Tuesday to five years and three months in prison. The defendant, Timothy Shea, began raising money for a wall between the United States and Mexico in late 2018, working with a disabled veteran named Brian Kolfage. In early 2019 Stephen K. Bannon, the former Trump adviser, and Andrew Badolato, a financier from Florida, joined them to form a group called We Build the Wall. The group raised more than $25 million, saying that everything it took in would go toward the wall.... Prosecutors said that instead the defendants stole more than a million dollars from the group, spending some on jewelry, boat payments and cases of a Trump-themed energy drink that claimed to contain 'liberal tears.'" The Hill's story is here.

Jeremy Merrill & Hanna Koslowska of the Washington Post: "While the legitimacy of the gold retirement investment industry is the subject of numerous lawsuits -- including allegations of fraud by federal and state regulators against ... companies [that sell gold and silver coins] -- its advertising has become a mainstay of right-wing media. The industry spends millions of dollars a year to reach viewers of Fox, Newsmax and other conservative outlets, according to a Washington Post analysis of ad data and financial records, as well as interviews with industry insiders.... An analysis by The Post of political newsletters, social media, podcasts and a national database of television ads collected by the company AdImpact found that pitches to invest in gold coins are a daily presence in media that caters to a right-wing audience and often echo conservative talking points about looming economic and societal collapse. The Post found no similar ads for gold retirement investments in mainstream or left-wing media sources in the databases." The coins these sellers offer have high mark-ups, far higher than typical coin dealers charge. Among the promoters of the rip-offs: Rudy Giuliani & Ted Cruz. MB: I'll bet that surprises you. (Also linked yesterday.)

On the Theory of Barbie. (1) Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: "This summer's two biggest entertainment phenomena, the movie 'Barbie' and Taylor Swift's Eras Tour, have a lot in common. Both feature conventionally gorgeous blond women who alternately revel in mainstream femininity and chafe at its limitations, enacting an ambivalence shared by many of their fans. Both, beneath their slick, exuberant pop surfaces, tell female coming-of-age stories marked by existential crises and bitter confrontations with sexism.... The film's blunt feminism -- its villain is, literally, patriarchy -- has prompted an enjoyably impotent right-wing backlash.... An obvious lesson from the gargantuan success of both 'Barbie' and the Eras Tour is that there is a huge, underserved market for entertainment that takes the feelings of girls and women seriously.... For the most part, unfortunately, it appears as if the lesson Hollywood is going to take from the success of 'Barbie' is not to make more stories for women, but to make more movies about toys." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

On the Theory of Barbie. (2) Jessica Bennett of the New York Times: "Barbie [the Mattel doll] has been a protest slogan ('I am not your Barbie'), a bimbo (remember 'Math class is tough' Barbie?), an eating disorder accelerant.... But Barbie has also been a lawyer, a pilot, an astronaut and the president. She has never married, lives alone and does not have children. The movie seemed as full of contradictions as the doll. It was promoted through a marketing campaign that had more licensing deals than Barbie has outfits.... But it also had a director -- Greta Gerwig -- with indie street cred, and early reviews focused on the film's subversiveness.... [Feminist writer Susan Faludi, who views the film with Bennett, told her,] 'It seems to me that a big theme underlying the movie is shock and horror over what happened to us -- what happened to women -- from 2016 on, with the double whammy of Trump and then Dobbs. And in particular, I thought abortion was the subtext to a lot.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Presidential Race 2024

Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign is expanding the number of staff it's cutting to include more than a third of his payroll as the Florida governor looks to get his primary bid back on track. The cuts, which were confirmed by advisers, will amount to a total of 38 jobs shed across an array of departments." MB: In case you're feeling sad that some nice kids lost their jobs, bear in mind that the "nice kids" are probably a lot like this one: ~~~

~~~ Julia Manchester of the Hill: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's presidential campaign fired a staffer this week who promoted Nazi imagery in a pro-DeSantis video.... [Nate] Hochman was a speechwriter on the campaign and previously worked at the conservative publication The National Review. Axios reported on Tuesday that Hochman created a video that featured DeSantis at the center of Florida's state seal that morphs into a Sonnenrad, which is an ancient European symbol that was used by the Nazis in their imagery and propaganda." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: A guest on MSNBC pointed out last night that Florida's education departmental teaching guidelines -- unlike their rosy picture of slavery -- portray the Holocaust as the horror it was. I would like to think that's because Ron DeSantis has an ounce of decency, but it's more likely because he is trying to appeal to Jewish voters.

Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and members of his team were involved in a car accident Tuesday morning but are uninjured, his campaign said.... 'We appreciate the prayers and well wishes of the nation for his continued protection while on the campaign trail,' [campaign spokesperson Bryan Griffin said in a statement]." MB: I don't wish car crashes on anyone, but "well wishes of the nation"? What a presumptuous twit. And I'll be damned if I'll get down on my knees and thank the lord for protecting DeSantolini while he's out among the dimwits hustling votes. (Also linked yesterday.)

Musk's "X" Obsession. Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: In 2000, Elon Musk wanted to change the name of PayPal to X.com, the name of a company he owned & which merged with the company that owned PayPal. Musk became CEO of the combined companies. But focus groups thought X.com connoted a porn website. The board ousted Musk. Now, with Musk's decision to kill the Twitter bird and rebrand the company "X," "critics on Twitter have joked that the logo for the rebranded X -- one that Musk promises to make into an 'everything app' 00 is indistinguishable from the logos of severa pornography sites." ~~~

These are all porn except one. That one's Twitter. pic.twitter.com/VYUWOFsFTv

— Jesse McLaren (@McJesse) July 24, 2023

     ~~~ Marie: Oddly, the messages one writes on the Site-Formerly-Known-as-Twitter are still called "tweets." ~~~

~~~ Oh, Wait. There's More. Ben Brasch of the Washington Post: "The name of [Musk's] son ... is X Æ A-12. Nearly 25 years ago, Musk founded the online bank X.com, which eventually became PayPal. In 2002, Musk introduced his spacecraft manufacturing company, SpaceX. And in 2015, the Tesla founder and CEO released the Model X crossover vehicle." ~~~

~~~ And There's a Little Legal Problem. Blake Brittain of Reuters: "Billionaire Elon Musk's decision to rebrand Twitter as X could be complicated legally: companies including Meta ... and Microsoft ... already have intellectual property rights to the same letter. X is so widely used and cited in trademarks that it is a candidate for legal challenges - and the company formerly known as Twitter could face its own issues defending its X brand in the future. 'There's a 100% chance that Twitter is going to get sued over this by somebody,' said trademark attorney Josh Gerben, who said he counted nearly 900 active U.S. trademark registrations that already cover the letter X in a wide range of industries." MB: But hey, Elon, I'm sure you wouldn't be a multi-billionaire but for your great ideas, so I'm sure you thought this through.

Damian Carrington of the Guardian: "The Gulf Stream system could collapse as soon as 2025, a new study suggests. The shutting down of the vital ocean currents, called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (Amoc) by scientists, would bring catastrophic climate impacts. Amoc was already known to be at its weakest in 1,600 years owing to global heating and researchers spotted warning signs of a tipping point in 2021. The new analysis estimates a timescale for the collapse of between 2025 and 2095, with a central estimate of 2050, if global carbon emissions are not reduced. Evidence from past collapses indicates changes of temperature of 10C in a few decades, although these occurred during ice ages.... Amoc carries warm ocean water northwards towards the pole where it cools and sinks, driving the Atlantic's currents. But an influx of fresh water from the accelerating melting of Greenland's ice cap and other sources is increasingly smothering the currents. A collapse of Amoc would have disastrous consequences around the world, severely disrupting the rains that billions of people depend on for food in India, South America and west Africa." ~~~

~~~ Dani Anguiano of the Guardian & Agencies: "The surface ocean temperature around the Florida Keys soared to 101.19F (38.43C) this week, in what could be a global record as ocean heat around the state reaches unprecedented extremes.... Normal water temperatures for the area this time of year should be between 73F and 88F (23C and 31C), according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa). The level of heat recorded this week is about the same as a hot tub.... The south Florida coast has been grappling with an extreme heatwave that threatens marine life and ocean ecosystems.... The temperatures in Florida also pose a threat to human food supplies and livelihoods for those whose work is tied to the water." MB: Yeah, and no going for a dip to cool off.

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post (July 24): "Florida's decision to teach in schools that slavery in this country was of 'personal benefit' to some enslaved people is obscene revisionism.... One of my great-great-grandfathers, enslaved in Charleston, S.C., was indeed compelled to learn to be a blacksmith. But he had no ability to 'parlay' anything, because his time and labor were not his own. They belonged to his enslaver. He belonged to his enslaver.... He was sold like a piece of livestock at least twice that I know of. To say he 'developed skills,' as if he had signed up for some sort of apprenticeship program, is appallingly ahistorical. As was true for the millions of other enslaved African Americans, anything he achieved was in spite of his bondage." ~~~

     ~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post examines the recent history of how right-wing extremists got to extolling the benefits slaves derived from captivity.

Idaho. Kirk Siegler of NPR: "A jury has ordered anti-government extremist Ammon Bundy and associates to pay more than $50 million in damages to Idaho's largest hospital in connection with armed protests last year that led to a security lockdown. The decision handed down late Monday follows a ten day civil trial in which Bundy was a no show and where attorneys with St. Luke's Hospital outlined what they called an extensive campaign of bullying, intimidation and disinformation directed at doctors and medical staff that they say continues today.... The drama goes back to March of 2022 when Bundy led a series of tense protests against the hospitalization of one of his associate's infant grandkids who state social workers said was malnourished. According to court documents, protesters, some armed, tried to force their way into the hospital's locked exits. Some held 'wanted' signs naming individual doctors and nurses and even blocked an ambulance entrance as car horns blared.... Meanwhile, it's unclear how much if any of the $50 million in damages, half of them punitive, will ever get paid."

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al.

The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Wednesday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "In Russia, the lower house has passed legislation that will raise the country's maximum draft age from 27 to 30 as Moscow scrambles to find fighters for its war in Ukraine. The changes will be enacted on Jan. 1, according to an official Telegram channel. Current Russian law requires men between 18 and 27 to complete one year of military service.... Russia's conscription bill also cracks down on draft dodging by preventing men who have received a draft notice from leaving the country, local media reported. The bill is expected to be approved by the upper chamber and signed into law by President Vladimir Putin. Russia's Black Sea Fleet has changed position 'in preparedness to enforce a blockade on Ukraine,' Britain's Defense Ministry said Wednesday, noting the change since Moscow pulled out of the grain deal earlier this month.... The United States will send Ukraine an additional $400 million in security assistance, the Pentagon announced." ~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian's live updates are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.

Anushka Patin & Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "Trevor Reed, the former U.S. Marine who was detained in Russia for nearly three years and later freed in a prisoner swap, was injured while fighting in Ukraine, the State Department said on Tuesday. Mr. Reed's condition was not immediately clear. He is receiving medical care in Germany, said Vedant Patel, a State Department spokesman.... Mr. Reed's decision to return to the region [after Russia released him] and become a volunteer fighter for Ukraine created some 'exasperation' within the Biden administration, an administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters said on Tuesday."

News Ledes

BBC News: "Irish singer and activist Sinéad O'Connor has died at the 'age] of 56." O'Connor's New York Times obituary is here.

New York Times: "A construction crane partially collapsed in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday morning, injuring six people, New York City officials said. The crane collapsed around 7:30 a.m., and it was unclear whether it was occupied at the time, Officer Antonio Antenucci said. Traffic was closed around 10th and 11th Avenues between 41st and 42nd Streets, near Hudson Yards. Four civilians and two firefighters received minor injuries, officials said. Photos and video on social media appeared to show the car of the crane on fire before the arm collapsed, slamming into an adjacent building as it fell. People on the street ran as the crane fell."

Comments

[P.D.Pepe]

PRETTY IN PINK:

Yesterday I spent some time reading about "Barbie" since I knew very little about it–--the other news taking priority. Looks like it has hit a cord both positive and negative depending on which side of male/female relationships you cotton to and other factors therein. The two pieces that are above on R.C. spell out the wonder of it all. And of course it took me back to when I was a little girl---all my dolls were babies except for a Raggedy Ann doll that was made of cloth and cotton that I used for a pretend older sister to the babies. I also pressed my brother––-who hated to be put in this position---as my husband while tending to the baby dolls-–-I was NOT going to be a single mother. I tried to convince him the dolls were REAL and he bought it until one of the doll's head came off and he found it in the garbage and that was the end of the family fantasy. And then came Barbie years later and I wondered how I would have taken to her––-knowing my love of role playing once Ken came along I think I would have had a lot of fun. But as an adult viewing these dolls I recall just being put off until Mattel produced diversity but even then I don't think I gave these dolls much thought.
What Gerwig has done in this film is expose the underbelly of patriarchy via dolls and from the reviews has done it brilliantly.

[laura hunter]

With the end of the month quickly approaching, I have to add my voice to the chorus shouting Thank You!!!

I can't remember precisely when reading Reality Chex became the first thing I did every morning after the coffee was brewed.
Marie's links, commentary, and the comments of all of you regular contributors have been a much needed antidote to teevee news and the New York Times.

Marie, after the house is built, I hope to read your comments once again in the New York Times or wherever you care to share them.... And if things go badly next election, I sincerely hope you will consider restarting the blog!
sincerely,
a long-time fan

[X]

What Laura said!

[Marie Burns]

@laura hunter: Thank you very much.

And thanks to Elon or Zuck or Bill Gates or whoever you are, X.

[Akhilleus]

Whew…

Just think of what we’d be saying about this heat if the Party of Traitors didn’t tell us that global warming is a giant Democrat hoax. In a place like Las Vegas, you might think you could bake cookies. In a car.

Oh, wait…they actually did that…

“In Las Vegas, where temperatures have consistently been around 110, the National Weather Service conducted an experiment to see whether cookies would bake better in a hot car than on asphalt. The agency found the cookies baked better in the car, where temperatures reached over 210 degrees.”

Remember that old quip about it being hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk? How about using your car as an EZ Bake oven.

Oh…but I’m sure that’s a lie. After all…National Weather Service…Deep State, right?

[Akhilleus]

Frozen turtle…

I guess a lifetime of sleazy lying and evil manipulation catches up with you.

Sad to see, but hard to feel overly empathetic, given how much McConnell has contributed to the ongoing PoT attacks on democracy, rule of law, the Constitution, and…how much time do you have? It’s a long fucking list.

[Akhilleus]

Look, I don’t know what exactly is going on with Hunter Biden, he’s clearly kind of an asshole; granted, an asshole with problems, but I can’t in my wildest imagination think his illegal actions, whatever they’ve been, come within a hundred parsecs of the Trump Crime Family. But then he hears right-wing heroes like Charlie Kirk screaming that he and his father need to be jailed and executed. EXECUTED!

I would be very careful what I agreed to as long as the goons and Nazis and MAGAts are out there building scaffolds with my name on them.

[Akhilleus]

My college roommate/now cardiologist suggests that the Turtle had a TIA (transient ischemic attack) a stroke-like event that requires immediate medical attention as it often portends future strokes.

Given the strokes that McConnell has caused in his evil career…well, I won’t finish that thought.

For now.