The Ledes

Thursday, September 19, 2024

New York Times: “A body believed to be of the suspect in a Kentucky highway shooting that left five people seriously injured this month was found on Wednesday, the authorities said, ending a manhunt that stretched into a second week and set the local community on edge. The Kentucky State Police commissioner, Phillip Burnett Jr., said in a Wednesday night news conference that at approximately 3:30 p.m., two troopers and two civilians found an unidentified body in the brush behind the highway exit where the shooting occurred.... The police have identified the suspect of the shooting as Joseph A. Couch, 32. They said that on Sept. 7, Mr. Couch perched on a cliff overlooking Interstate 75 about eight miles north of London, Ky., and opened fire. One of the wounded was shot in the face, and another was shot in the chest. A dozen vehicles were riddled with gunfire.”

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The New York Times lists Emmy winners. The AP has an overview story here.

New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~

     ~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”

New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”

Click on photo to enlarge.

~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI." 

Washington Post: “'Mary Cassatt at Work' is a large and mostly satisfying exhibition devoted to the career of the great American artist beloved for her sensitive and often sentimental views of family life. The 'at work' in the title of the Philadelphia Museum of Art show references the curators’ interest in Cassatt’s pioneering effort to establish herself as a professional artist within a male-dominated field. Throughout the show, which includes some 130 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings, the wall text and the art on view stresses Cassatt’s fixation on art as a career rather than a pastime.... Mary Cassatt at Work is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 8. philamuseum.org”

New York Times: “Bob Newhart, who died on Thursday at the age of 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart' — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy.... Bob Newhart holds up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a stand-up from that era who is a better argument against the commonplace idea that comedy does not age well.”

Washington Post: “An early Titian masterpiece — once looted by Napolean’s troops and a part of royal collections for centuries — caused a stir when it was stolen from the home of a British marquess in 1995. Seven years later, it was found inside an unassuming white and blue plastic bag at a bus stop in southwest London by an art detective, and returned. This week, the oil painting 'The Rest on the Flight into Egypt' sold for more than $22 million at Christie’s. It was a record for the Renaissance artist, whom museums describe as the greatest painter of 16th-century Venice. Ahead of the sale in April, the auction house billed it as 'the most important work by Titian to come to the auction market in more than a generation.'”

Washington Post: The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., which houses the world's largest collection of Shakespeare material, has undergone a major renovation. "The change to the building is pervasive, both subtle and transformational."

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The Conversation -- August 3, 2024

Marie: There has been a recent spate of contributors posting links to articles I had not only linked much earlier but also had highlighted with two asterisks (**). So in hopes of cutting down a bit on the duplication and extra effort for contributors, I'll try using emoji gold stars to more prominently highlight stories I think are especially important or interesting. And, BTW, I do deeply appreciate those of you who contribute links to stories & other content I've missed.

Two Variations on the Same Story. In the first, Trump is merely a Cowardly Lion. In the second he's a Cowardly Liar. I'd say the second sounds more realistic: ~~~

     ~~~ (1) Simon Levien & Neil Vigdor of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump declared late on Friday that he was dropping out of an ABC News debate scheduled for Sept. 10 and presented a counterproposal to Vice President Kamala Harris, his presumptive opponent, to face off on Fox News six days earlier. The change, which Mr. Trump announced on his social media site, Truth Social, raised objections from the Harris campaign and appeared to throw a potential showdown between the rivals into question.... The Harris campaign on Saturday declined to commit to the Fox News debate and said it was still planning on a Sept. 10 debate hosted by ABC.... 'Donald Trump is running scared and trying to back out of the debate he already agreed to and running straight to Fox News to bail him out....,' Michael Tyler, the Harris campaign's communications director said in a statement. He added: 'We're happy to discuss further debates after the one both campaigns have already agreed to. Mr. Anytime, anywhere, anyplace should have no problem with that unless he's too scared to show up on the 10th.'" ~~~

     ~~~ (2) Isaac Arnsdorf of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump claimed late Friday night to have struck a deal for a new debate with Vice President Harris....But the Harris campaign said Saturday that she never agreed to a new debate deal. Harris is urging Trump to keep the debate date he agreed on with President Biden before Biden withdrew from the race last month. In a social media post late Friday, Trump claimed he and Harris had agreed to debate on Sept. 4 on Fox News. Trump said his previous commitment to a debate on Sept. 10 hosted by ABC News was 'terminated' because Biden dropped out as the Democratic candidate. Harris's team was baffled by Trump's claims. The Harris campaign said Saturday that there is no agreement for a new Fox News debate on Sept. 4. A person familiar with the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning, said the campaign held no negotiations with Trump or Fox about a new debate.... In Friday's post, Trump also raised objections to ABC serving as moderator, even though he previously accepted the network's role. Trump referenced a lawsuit against ABC accusing host George Stephanopoulos of defaming him.... Trump agreed to the ABC debate in May two months after filing his lawsuit against the network." ~~~

     ~~~ Here's Politico's report. And here's a copy of the Trump's post, topped by commentary from Harris. Trump's post is ambiguous, IMO:

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "U.S. prosecutors and lawyers for Donald Trump will return to federal court on Aug. 16 to decide how the former president's 2020 election obstruction case can proceed after the Supreme Court ruled last month that presidents have broad immunity from prosecution. U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan set the hearing in Washington after the Supreme Court returned the case to her control on Friday." This is an update of a story linked earlier Saturday.

Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "President Biden's son Hunter will be sentenced in mid-November -- a week after Election Day -- after being convicted of gun charges, a federal judge said Friday. Hunter Biden was convicted in June by a Wilmington, Del., jury of felony charges that he lied about his drug use in 2018 on paperwork to buy a gun, and that he illegally possessed that gun. U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, who oversaw the trial, filed an order Friday saying he will be sentenced Nov. 13." MB: Huh. Hunter's troubles no longer seem to be all that helpful to Felonious Don.

~~~~~~~~~~

Presidential Race

⭐ Democrats Choose Harris. Alex Seitz-Wald of NBC News: "Vice President Kamala Harris has won enough delegate votes to secure the Democratic presidential nomination, Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison announced Friday, though the results are not yet official. The DNC will not make an official announcement of results until Monday evening, when the virtual voting process closes for delegates to next month's Democratic National Convention." (Also linked yesterday.) The Washington Post's story is here.

Shane Goldmacher & Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "Vice President Kamala Harris, who formally won enough delegates to secure the Democratic Party nomination on Friday, is remaking a campaign hierarchy originally built to re-elect President Biden by adding several new advisers to the top ranks of her staff, including David Plouffe, who managed Barack Obama's first presidential run. The changes, which come with fewer than 100 days until Election Day, provide an injection of talent and experience to a Wilmington, Del., operation that is flush with cash after her campaign announced raising a record-setting $310 million in July -- more than double the sum raised by ... Donald J. Trump." Politico's story is here.

Veepstakes Lightning Round. Tyler Pager & Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Vice President Harris has narrowed her search for a running mate to six finalists and is planning to interview them this weekend.... The vetting of Harris's potential running mates -- an arduous process that typically takes several months and a painstaking analysis of each prospect's strengths and weaknesses -- has been condensed to two weeks.... The speedy process raises the risk of a misstep, but it also could lend an air of excitement as Harris barnstorms through swing states with her running mate next week.... Harris's finalists are Govs. Andy Beshear of Kentucky, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Tim Walz of Minnesota, as well as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, the people said. Representatives for Beshear, Buttigieg and Shapiro confirmed that those officials had canceled previously scheduled plans for this weekend. The finalists are all White men, reflecting an assumption that voters would prefer gender and racial balance.... The vetting process, overseen by former attorney general Eric Holder and a team of lawyers at Covington & Burling, was largely wrapped up on Thursday.... The prospects met first with senior Harris advisers -- including Jen O'Malley Dillon, the campaign chair, and Sheila Nix, Harris's campaign chief of staff -- before the weekend's scheduled meetings with the vice president...." The AP's story is here.

MJ Lee & Samantha Waldenberg of CNN: "President Joe Biden acknowledged to reporters Friday morning that he and Vice President Kamala Harris have spoken about her upcoming decision on a vice presidential running mate. But he wouldn't say much else: 'I'll let her work that out,' Biden said, when pressed on what top qualities the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee should consider. Still, inside the White House, the president's close advisers have a good sense of how Biden feels about several of the men currently believed to be Harris' top contenders heading into a critical weekend of final interviews with a decision to come by Tuesday. One well-known Biden favorite? Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro."

Kam Can Cook. Emily Heil of the Washington Post: "'I'm just a home cook,' ... Kamala Harris says in one of the videos posted on her YouTube page in which she prepares food with famous chefs and regular folks alike. That line, from a 2020 video, came in response to chef and humanitarian José Andrés telling her she has a 'big reputation as a chef,' a designation she first earned for a viral pandemic-era video in which she schooled Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) on the finer points of tuna-sandwich making (after her colleague's chaotic and sloppy sandwich horrified the internet)." Here's the video:

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, how I would enjoy seeing a cook-off between Harris & Trump. I don't know if Trump has ever been in the kitchens of his fancy homes, but if he has been, it was probably to make sure the fixtures were shiny & gold-looking. I can just see Trump's losing it while trying to master a simple dish, maybe demanding a Mulligan for dropping a carton of eggs & threatening to kill the cameraman with a cast-iron frying pan for recording Trump's screw-ups. That reminds me that Harris makes her tuna sandwiches exactly as I make mine, right down to the dollop of Dijon (and I kinda doubt either of us started with, you know, recipes). Also, I was watching a British mystery show earlier this week in which the murderer killed her victim with the exact model Le Creuset saucepan I have right handy in my kitchen. I think my pan is at least 50 years old (I inherited it), and it's still perfectly good for whipping up a quick Bearnaise or -- by the looks of it -- whacking an intruder.

Azi Paybarah, et al., of the Washington Post: "Of the 42 people who worked in ... Donald Trump's Cabinet, just over half support his bid for another term. It is rare for Cabinet members to not support the president they served. They are normally some of a president's most loyal supporters. But in the case of Trump's Cabinet, these uniquely qualified insiders ... are deeply divided about whether he should return to power.... The Post reached out to all 42 members of Trump's Cabinet, asking each of them whether they supported his presidential bid. Twenty responded. Twenty-two didn't, but we were able to determine through public statements that nine of them backed Trump's candidacy and two didn't." Even a number of them who have been highly critical of Trump, like Bill Barr & Nikki Haley, said they would vote for him. "Barr said Trump 'shouldn't be anywhere near the Oval Office,' last year, but ultimately said in April he would vote for him. Haley said Trump was 'unhinged,' in February, before backing him at the Republican National Convention in July."

Adam Nagourney of the New York Times: "She is not one of us. When ... Donald J. Trump challenged Vice President Kamala Harris's racial identity at a public forum on Wednesday -- and again on social media the next day -- that was the message at the core of his remarks. It is a tactic that has long been part of the underside of American politics: presenting an opponent as somehow 'other' or 'not one of us' -- someone who cannot be trusted or truly known. But while this has been a recurrent theme in American campaigns for at least a century, Mr. Trump has taken it to a new level, historians and analysts said. What has often been a subtext or a whisper campaign driven by surrogates is, in Mr. Trump's hands, a central message of his campaign -- projected on screens at a rally, promoted on social media and reinforced by his running mate.... No presidential nominee in the nation's history has embraced this tactic so frontally and exuberantly as Mr. Trump has."

     ~~~ Marie: Nagourney cites the 2012 Obama campaign for otherizing Mitt Romney as a "mysterious millionaire." But, oddly, he doesn't mention that Harris and her campaign are actively, joyfully otherizing Trump & JayDee as "weird." "Weird," of course, is the essence of "other": unusual, unnatural, strange. Not like "normal people"; not like us. The difference, as I see it, is in how the two camps are otherizing their opponents. Trump is finding fault with Harris for a natural characteristic, one she did not create, that she cannot change, and that at worst could make her a more empathetic, responsive public servant. Harris, on the other hand, is otherizing Trump & the Boy Wonder for their cruel, out-of-step behavior and opinions, ones that don't jibe with what we generally accept as "American ideals" and "moral behavior." IMO, it's okay to dislike you because you get off on fart jokes but not because your mother wears army boots.

How can Trump go racist? Let me count the ways. Here's another one, a version of the infamous Willie Horton ad: ~~~

     ~~~ Isaac Arnsdorf of the Washington Post: The Trump campaign has posted on X 'a string of ... messages that misleadingly accused [Vice President] Harris of helping to free people the Trump campaign described as dangerous criminals. What ties Harris to their cases is a tweet she sent in June 2020, when she was a senator, before becoming Joe Bidens running mate, that encouraged people to donate to a bail fund benefiting participants in the George Floyd protests. Some of the cases the Trump campaign highlighted resulted in convictions and guilty pleas, including a charge of unintentional murder, and others in dismissals. In response to one innocent defendant's complaint about the posts, the Trump campaign reposted several of the messages, but not his and a spokesperson said, "Harris is a pro-criminal extremist." "The posts were part of a broader strategy widely viewed by scholars and other experts as playing on old racist tropes and exploiting stereotypes about crime and people of color. The posts from the Trump campaign mainly featured Black people alongside photos of Harris, laughing." The posts also overstate Harris' connection to the fund.

Brian Schwartz of CNBC: "The combination of owning a social media company that gives him an enormous platform to push his political views, and creating a PAC with effectively unlimited resources, has made [Elon] Musk, for the first time, a major force in an American presidential election. [Musk's] America PAC has spent more than $800,000 since early July on digital ads that target voters in the key battleground states of Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, according to AdImpact. The ads appeared on Facebook, Instagram and Google through YouTube, and many encouraged people to register to vote at America PAC's website. The PAC's effort to collect information from people using the [pretense] of 'voter registration' is a critical piece to its plan to make personal contact with these voters.... 'What makes America PAC more unique: it is a billionaire-backed super PAC focused on door-to-door canvassing, which it can conduct in coordination with a presidential campaign,' [Brendan] Fischer [of the campaign finance watchdog Documented] said." Schwartz describes how the PAC's ad trick naifs into giving up personal information without revealing to them that it is a pro-Trump organization. Schwartz also lays out how voters in battleground states are targeted.

Perry Stein & David Nakamura of the Washington Post: "The U.S. Secret Service did not see warnings from local police about the gunman at former president Donald Trump's campaign rally last month in part because they were stationed in separate command centers that hurt communication, the agency's acting director said Friday. Ronald Rowe Jr. said the agency takes full responsibility for the security failure at the rally in Butler, Pa., on July 13, and he pledged to make changes that could require new investments in personnel and equipment. He vowed to hold officers accountable if an internal investigation concludes that they violated agency policies. The Secret Service's probe is separate from the criminal investigation being led by the FBI. 'This was a mission failure.... I am working to make sure this failure never happens again,' Rowe said at a news conference Friday afternoon at the agency's Washington headquarters."

⭐ Carol Rosenberg of the New York Times: "Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III on Friday overruled the overseer of the war court at Guantánamo Bay and revoked a plea agreement reached earlier this week with the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and two alleged accomplices. The Pentagon announced the decision with a memorandum relieving the senior Defense Department official responsible for military commissions of her oversight of the capital case against Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and his alleged accomplices for the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York City, at the Pentagon and in a Pennsylvania field. The overseer, retired Brig. Gen. Susan K. Escallier, signed a pretrial agreement on Wednesday with Mr. Mohammed, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi that exchanged guilty pleas for sentences of at most life in prison. In taking away the authority, Mr. Austin assumed direct oversight of the case and canceled the agreement, effectively reinstating it as a death-penalty case. He left Ms. Escallier in the role of oversight of Guantánamo's other cases.... Mr. Austin's decision brought relief to family members of victims who had expressed anger over the deal, but it also left uncertain the next steps of the prosecution over America's deadliest terrorist attack." The AP story is here.

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A federal judge in Washington regained control over ... Donald Trump's 2020 election obstruction case Friday under a deadline set by the Supreme Court when it ruled that presidents have broad immunity from prosecution. The justices on July 1 ruled 6-3 along ideological lines that Trump and other presidents are absolutely immune from prosecution when carrying out their core constitutional powers, but can face trial for private conduct or for official acts under narrow exceptions to be hammered out by lower courts. U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan now must decide which if any of Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election while president may be prosecutable. However, a trial will not be possible before his November election matchup against Vice President Harris, now the Democratic nominee, because whatever the judge decides is expected to wind up back before the Supreme Court next year." The AP's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Kyle Cheney, et al., of Politico: "There appears to be no real prospect of a trial in the case before the November election, but some Trump critics have been eagerly awaiting the Supreme Court's ministerial action of returning the case to the trial court, hoping that it results in a series of swift decisions from [Judge] Chutkan that could again put Trump on the defensive.... Some Trump critics have urged Chutkan to hold a hearing to assess the effect of the immunity ruling on the evidence [special prosecutor Jack] Smith intends to present. That proceeding could feature witness testimony from key figures in the case. Trump opponents hope this 'mini-trial' would showcase Trump's ties to the violence that unfolded on Jan. 6, 2021, and remind voters of the most chaotic day of Trump's presidency, even if it doesn't carry the same stakes as a jury trial."

Dareh Gregorian of NBC News: "A New York bankruptcy judge on Friday approved a deal that would dismiss Rudy Giuliani's attempt to secure bankruptcy protections, putting two former election workers he repeatedly defamed ... closer to collecting on their $146 million verdict against him."

Snapping Turtle. If you try to mitigate Mitch McConnell's dirty work, he pops his head out of his hard shell & snaps:

     ~~~ Zachary Leeman of Mediaite: "Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) compared President Joe Biden's suggested Supreme Court reforms to the Jan 6 Capitol riot in a new interview. 'That's what some people were trying to do Jan. 6 -- to break the system of handing an administration from one to the next,' McConnell told Punchbowl News in an interview conducted this week and published on Friday. 'We can have our arguments, but we ought to not try to break the rules.'" Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. MB: I'll let his commentary at the top of today's thread speak for me, too.

Ivan Nechepurenko of the New York Times: "The convicted assassin who was the linchpin of the biggest prisoner swap in decades is a member of the most powerful security agency in Russia, the Kremlin acknowledged on Friday, and had served in a special unit with some agents who now guard President Vladimir V. Putin. The ties help explain Mr. Putin's determination to free the assassin, Vadim Krasikov, from the German prison where he was serving time for murder.... This was the first time that Moscow had admitted that Mr. Krasikov had been working for the Russian state in the Federal Security Service, or F.S.B., an agency that is a successor to the Soviet K.G.B.... The F.S.B. was also the agency that was at the center of the negotiations with the C.I.A. about the swap, Dmitri S. Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said."

Mary Ilyushina & Greg Miller of the Washington Post: "... Sofia, 11, and Daniel, 8, had no idea their parents were deep undercover Russian spies pretending to be Argentine expats in Slovenia, according to the Kremlin, much like the characters on the television show 'The Americans' that was based on similar Russian spies known as 'illegals.' Life as Sofia and Daniel knew it ended Thursday when they stepped on a plane destined, they would later discover, for Moscow, as part of a landmark prisoner swap. When President Vladimir Putin greeted them at Vnukovo Airport a few hours later, he did so in Spanish: 'Buenas noches.' The daughter and son of Anna and Artem Dultsev have always believed they are Argentines, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Friday. [The children do not speak Russian and didn't know who Putin was.] Their mother shed tears as Putin handed her and Sofia large bouquets of flowers.... The couple is believed to have been working for Russia's foreign intelligence service, or SVR[, in Slovenia]."

~~~~~~~~~~

North Carolina Gubernatorial Race. Fine for Me but Not for Thee. Alexandra Marquez of NBC News: "The Republican nominee for governor of North Carolina is out with a new TV ad where he and his wife reveal that she had an abortion 30 years ago. In the ad, Lt. Gov.Mark Robinson and his wife talk directly to the camera, revealing few details about the procedure beyond his telling viewers, 'Thirty years ago, my wife and I made a very difficult decision. We had an abortion.' Later in the ad, Robinson says he agrees with the current abortion restrictions in North Carolina, which limit the procedure after 12 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for rape, incest or the life of the mother, and says 'that's why I stand by our current law.'... The ad comes as news organizations and Democratic groups in the state have for months unearthed controversial comments Robinson has made about abortion, including in a Facebook Live stream in 2019, where he said, 'Abortion in this country is not about protecting the lives of mothers ... It is about killing the child because you weren't responsible enough to keep your skirt down.'... Robinson also referred to abortion as 'murder' and 'genocide' on his personal Facebook page in 2018." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If you're not sure Robinson is a horrible person, there's this. And this. And this.

~~~~~~~~~~

Iceland. Sarah Hurtes of the New York Times: Halla "Tómasdóttir, a feminist finance expert for whom the singer Björk campaigned, clinched the presidency [of Iceland] and officially took the reins on Thursday from Guðni Jóhannesson, who stepped down after two four-year terms. Iceland, a Nordic island nation with a population of about 380,000, operates as a constitutional republic with a parliamentary twist. The president, who is not required to be affiliated with any political party, serves as the head of state but wields mostly ceremonial clout. The real executive muscle lies with the prime minister, typically the leader who can command Parliament's majority. Still, Ms. Tómasdóttir intends to make a difference. 'My goal is not to be a president with all the answers,' she said. 'I want to be a president that asks the right questions.'"

Iran, et al. Farnaz Fassihi of the New York Times: "Iran has arrested more than two dozen people, including senior intelligence officers, military officials and staff workers at a military-run guesthouse in Tehran, in response to a huge and humiliating security breach that enabled the assassination of a top leader of Hamas, according to two Iranians familiar with the investigation. The high-level arrests came after the killing in an explosion early Wednesday of Ismail Haniyeh, who had led Hamas's political office in Qatar and was visiting Tehran for the inauguration of Iran's new president and staying at the guesthouse in northern Tehran, Iran's capital. The fervor of the response to the killing of Mr. Haniyeh underscores what a devastating security failure this was for Iran's leadership, with the assassination occurring at a heavily guarded compound in the country's capital within hours of the swearing-in ceremony of the country's new president." ~~~

~~~ Israel, et al.

⭐ Israel, Rogue Nation. Steven Erlanger of the New York Times: "As the Biden administration and its allies try to secure an elusive cease-fire in Gaza, Israel appears to have gone rogue. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, came to Washington last week to give a defiant speech. Despite international condemnation, he vowed to continue the war against Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank, where Israel is killing and imprisoning scores of Palestinians each week, without any clear idea of its endgame. The assassinations of senior Hezbollah and Hamas figures abroad have now sharply raised the risks of a larger regional war as Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah prepare retaliation, analysts say.... The deaths of Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander, and Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas..., are more likely to intensify the conflict than diminish it, making progress on a Gaza cease-fire even more difficult."

Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "The U.S. military is repositioning assets and moving additional forces into the Middle East and Europe to defend against a potential attack on Israel by Iran, U.S. officials said. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the deployment of additional Navy destroyers and cruisers, both with offensive and defensive ballistic missile capabilities, as the Pentagon also takes steps to beef up land-based missile defense, Sabrina Singh, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said in a statement Friday evening. An additional squadron of fighter jets also will be deployed to the Middle East to reinforce defensive air support, she said."

Comments Off

Reader Comments (9)

Just…wow!

The Evil Turtle, who pissed on the Constitution and broke with over 200 years of precedence when he denied President Obama his right to nominate his choice for the Supreme Court, thereby setting up the current Nazified bunch of Supreme skunks, has attacked Joe Biden for daring to even suggest changes that might bring about a court more in line with the rule of law, sniffing that Biden shouldn’t be “breaking the rules”.

Wow. And what rules, pray tell? That McConnell’s Party of Traitors get to keep the most partisan and corrupt court in US history so as to do the bidding of their Dear Leader?

This is IOKIYAR on anabolic steroids.

McConnell: still a hypocritical, scheming prick right to the end.

August 3, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Dijon in the tuna salad? Doh! What a great idea. All these years I never thought of that. I don’t use parsley but I’ll try that sometime. I also add relish, sweet and dill, and, if I have them, I’ll chop up a pepperoncini (or two if it’s a big batch) to give it a little kick. But I’m liking the Dijon idea. Thanks, Kammy and Marie!

As an extra idea, I now know to keep a cast iron skillet handy in case of break-ins. I don’t have a Le Creuset pan, but I’m guessing my 10 lb. cast iron (nicely seasoned after a number of years) would do the trick.

I’m also guessing, Marie, that in your British mystery show, they decided to go with the cook instead of the old standby butler as the in-house homicidal maniac.

Speaking of maniacs, I went to my kid’s middle school open house the other day. In all the paperwork they give you, there’s a question about whether your kid, or anyone else in the house, has ever been arrested for homicide (!) and whether or not a conviction followed. Eighth grade sure has changed since I was a kid! Whew. Maybe some cyanide in the tuna salad? For that extra nutty taste.

August 3, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Donald doesn't even know how to buy bread or cereal, he thinks you need an ID to buy them, so the idea of him being able cook anything as complicated as a grill cheese is a bit far fetched.
Part of his common man roots that his cult loves so much I'm sure.

August 3, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

Never have made a tuna melt--have had lots of tuna sandwiches in my day-- is it the same recipe, just put under the broiler?

That Robinson in NC out-monsters the Orange Slime. I bet they would be best friends if only Slime even talks to people on a personal basis-- ie, had friends at all. Have all fingers and toes crossed that NC wises up but I doubt if it will-- after all, they already elected him as second in command.

Words fail when I read anything about Moscow Mitch. He is a special sort of criminal. The terrible opinion I hold for Fatso Treasonhead I extend to the guy responsible for so many people in our government that should have been laughed out of government and consigned to jail or anonymity and demise. He has zero moral or ethical sense also. I know there have always been people like this, and I blame ignorance and stupidity and noncaring voters or nonvoters for placing them in positions of power. McConnell is a world-class s***head. May he stroke out and rid us of himself.

August 3, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterJeanne

So a billionaire, Musk, is collecting people's personal data nefariously to track them down and later send people to their homes to tell them how they should think vote. Is everything the Right does projection or part of a scam.? They spent most of the pandemic screaming about Bill Gates tracking us. They cook up a crazy scheme feed it to their unwashed masses who make it sound weird and crazy and then go do it themselves. IOKIYAR

August 3, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

Masha Gessen

"Navalny Couldn’t Be Freed Until Gershkovich Was Kidnapped. Gershkovich Couldn’t Be Freed Until Navalny Was Dead."

digby's blog also has part of the story and a gift link to the story.

August 3, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

Step 1: DiJiT claims that Biden's absence nullifies his agreement to debate at ABC.
Step 2: DiJiT lies that Harris has agreed to debate on Fox, with Foxy moderators, at a Pennsylvania arena with full audience. This is akin to claiming that Harris agreed to co-host a Tr*mp rally -- not credible on its face.
Step 3" When Harris says "no way Jose, stick with the first agreement, and BTW we never negotiated about a Fox show", DiJiT claims that she reneged and is afraid to debate and just keeps that BS line through November 5.

Without a crowd of redhats and blond moderators, DiJiT would feel overwhelmed by Harris' prosecutorial manner. He can't do it. So he set up this weak scenario to get him off the griddle.

Poopyhead stinkpot is the right name, but also Donnie chicken heart scaredy pants.

August 3, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterPatrick

Trump supporters are ready for the coward crapping himself in fear of facing off against Harris.

August 3, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

Lincoln Project latest

August 3, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterRAS
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