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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Jul182024

The Conversation -- July 19, 2024

From the New York Times Biden campaign liveblog Friday: "Some people in Mr. Biden's camp have told Democratic allies that the president's resolve to stay in the race has been most shaken by three developments: the decision by Representative Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker, to weigh in strongly on his candidacy, new state polls showing that his path to an Electoral College victory has grown far more remote and a spending boycott by key party donors.... Representative Greg Landsman, who had flipped his Ohio district to Democrats in 2022, urged the president to step aside.... Representative Sean Casten of Illinois delivered a similar message in an essay in the Chicago Tribune." ~~~

Robert Jimison: "As President Biden faces mounting calls from within his own party to discontinue his re-election campaign, a group of Black Democrats is working to rally support for him -- but also to send a firm message that Vice President Kamala Harris is the sole alternative to lead the ticket if he opts to withdraw."

Luke Broadwater: "Representative Zoe Lofgren, Democrat of California and a respected voice on Capitol Hill, sent Biden a letter last night calling for him to drop out of the race."

Theodore Schleifer: "Vice President Kamala Harris is set to address a network of major Democratic donors on short notice Friday afternoon, according to two people invited to the call.... It is unclear whether Ms. Harris plans to encourage the restive donor base to calm down or to deliver some other message."

Noam Scheiber: "A major labor union in Washington State has called on President Biden to quit his re-election bid, saying that if 'he continues to demonstrate that he is unable to effectively campaign, and subsequently loses,' a second Trump administration would create an 'immediate risk' for workers. The union, Local 3000 of the United Food and Commercial Workers, represents about 50,000 workers in grocery, retail and other fields in the Pacific Northwest."

Zach Montague: "Kevin O'Connor, the White House physician, said in a letter that President Biden's Covid symptoms had 'improved meaningfully' after four doses of the antiviral drug Paxlovid.... The president's pulse and blood pressure, as well as bloodwork and other measurements, were 'absolutely normal,' the letter said."

Shane Goldmacher & Theodore Schleifer: "Michael Moritz, the billionaire Silicon Valley venture capitalist and a top Democratic donor, is calling for President Biden to step aside, becoming one of the party's largest contributors to go public with his concerns about the president's candidacy."

Nicholas Nehamas: "Top Democratic Party officials on Friday urged the Democratic National Convention's rules committee to choose to nominate President Biden through a virtual roll call vote rather than on the convention floor, as Mr. Biden continues to lose support from Democrats about whether he should be on the ticket at all.... Some [Democratic elected officials] have worried that the party is trying to nominate Mr. Biden as soon as possible to lock him in as the party's standard-bearer...."

Tim Balk: "Representative Morgan McGarvey, a first-term Democrat from Kentucky, called on President Biden to withdraw from the race...."

Jimison: "Representative Gabe Vasquez of New Mexico called on President Biden to 'step aside to give Democrats the best opportunity to win this November.' Vasquez ... faces a tight challenge to his congressional seat.... Today alone 10 congressional Democrats joined the chorus of party members calling for Biden to exit the race. This is the most urging the president to withdraw his candidacy in a single day since calls began nearly three weeks ago."

Jimison: "Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, another vulnerable Democrat who faces a well-funded Republican challenger in this year's election, has become the fourth senator to call on President Biden to drop out of the race. In a statement, he says that he agrees with voters from his state who 'think the president should end his campaign.'"

Yash Roy of the Hill: "Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), who has already called on President Biden to withdraw from the presidential race, says Biden did not recognize him at a ceremony in Normandy, France last month. 'Every time we crossed paths and I caught his eye, he would break into that big, wide Joe Biden grin and say how glad he was to see me. It was like that just last Christmas at the White House Ball,' Moulton wrote in a column in the Boston Globe. 'More recently, I saw him in a small group at Normandy for the 80th anniversary of D-Day. For the first time, he didn't seem to recognize me,' he added."

Alex Gangitano of the Hill: "President Biden on Friday said that former President Trump offered a 'dark vision for the future' during his speech at the Republican National Convention, standing firm that he is not dropping out of the 2024 race." MB: I do remind you that every politician who is contemplating ending a race for ofice insists right up till the minute s/he quits that s/he will stay in the race. As a practical matter, Biden and his team should not say he is going to quit until they figure out the most advantageous way to do so.

Caroline Vakil of the Hill: "Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), who is up for reelection this cycle, on Friday became the third Senate Democrat to call on President Biden to exit the race. While Heinrich called the president 'one of the most accomplished presidents in modern history' in a statement, he also argued that 'this moment in our nation's history calls for a focus that is bigger than any one person.'"

Mychael Schnell of the Hill: "Four more House Democrats are calling on President Biden to step aside from the 2024 race, increasing the pressure on the incumbent as concerns mount in the party over his ability to beat former President Trump in November. Reps. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Marc Veasey (D-Texas), Jesús 'Chuy' García (D-Ill.) and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) issued a joint statement Friday morning, writing that while they have 'great admiration' for Biden, the public worries over his age and fitness for office are threatening his chances of winning the election, zeroing in on his disastrous debate performance last month."

Carol Lee, et al., of NBC News: "Members of President Joe Biden's family have discussed what an exit from his campaign might look like, according to two people familiar with the discussions. The overall tone of the conversations has been that any exit plan -- should Biden decide to take that step, as some of his closest allies increasingly believe he will -- should put the party in the best position to beat ... Donald Trump while also being worthy of the more than five decades he has served the country in elected office, these people said. Biden's family members have specifically discussed how he would want to end his re-election bid on his own timing and with a carefully calculated plan in place."

James Poniewozik, the New York Times' teevee critic, assesses the fourth night of the RNC convention: "The night began with a pageant of hypermasculinity, with musclemen and ripped garments. It led to Mr. Trump's taking the stage with a new, somber voice as he recounted his brush with death. Then, over the course of a digressive hour-and-a-half speech, he somehow changed back before our eyes....This is what male identity politics looks like. Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News personality -- who has embraced the alt-right angst over testosterone levels -- spoke off the cuff, suggesting that the shooting established Mr. Trump as a leader on a biological level. 'A leader is the bravest man,' Mr. Carlson said. 'This is a law of nature.'... But the splashiest spectacle brought Hulkamania to Milwaukee."

Ivan Nechepurenko of the New York Times: "A court in Russia on Friday sentenced Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, to 16 years in a high-security penal colony, ending his espionage case but possibly opening a way for a prisoner swap between the United States and Russia. The harsh sentence represented the first espionage conviction of a Western reporter in modern Russia. But the expedited nature of the case suggested that Moscow might be ready to trade Mr. Gershkovich.... Dow Jones, the parent company of the Journal, called the conviction 'disgraceful' and a 'sham.'"

Rikers Springs Weisselberg. Aaron Katersky & Peter Charalambous of ABC News: "Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, was released from jail Friday. Weisselberg served 100 days in New York City's Rikers Island jail complex after being sentenced in April to five months in jail for committing perjury in ... Donald Trump's civil fraud case."

Trump Looked Like a Loser Last Night. Patrick Healy of the New York Times: "After beginning his speech with calls for unity ..., the former president turned the convention into a Trump rally, attacking 'crazy Nancy Pelosi' and slamming [President] Biden by name.... He ripped into Democrats on Social Security, Medicare, the border and energy policy, saying America was 'stupid' under Biden while ad-libbing about Hannibal Lecter and having the next Republican convention in Venezuela.... Biden may have messed up the June debate, but Trump's own cognitive functioning was messing up the July convention.... Democrats are so worried about Biden, but he is not the one who poses a huge risk to the economy, national security and civil rights."

Dan Pfeiffer in the Message Box: "From the outset, the goal of the Republican Convention was to humanize Trump and normalize MAGA extremism.... Don't remind voters of the chaos and incompetence that caused them to reject Trump four years prior.... A sense of inevitability loomed over the convention and permeated the media coverage, magnified by the near-miss assassination attempt on the former President. His party and even some in the media are treating Trump as a candidate of destiny. But Trump is not inevitable. He is vulnerable. Yes, he is ahead in the polls today, but he can be beaten.... The speech wasn't good.... It was low energy, bordering on somnambulant. Trump couldn't discuss his policy agenda because that would stick a thumb in the eye of most voters. There was no message.... It's easy to forget, given the tone and tenor of the press coverage over the last week, but the majority of voters in this country are anti-MAGA."

~~~~~~~~~~

Presidential Race

Marie: I've been reading or hearing quite a bit of "Democrats in disarray" patois. Quite the opposite is true. Here is the Democratic party in its greatest existential crisis since probably 1980 when Teddy Kennedy challenged President Jimmy Carter for the nomination (and that did not go well for party or the country). Yet instead of being at each others' throats, the leaders of today's party are, albeit individually, carrying the same or similar messages. Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama. That's pretty amazing. The odd man out, of course, is Joe Biden -- the guy who matters most. But this is not "disarray." It's "negotiations." It may not turn out well, but the signs -- at the moment -- are promising.

Michael Shear, et al., of the New York Times: "Several people close to President Biden said on Thursday that they believe he has begun to accept the idea that he may not be able to win in November and may have to drop out of the race, bowing to the growing demands of many anxious members of his party. One of the people close to him warned that the president had not yet made up his mind to leave the race after three weeks of insisting that almost nothing would drive him out. But another said that 'reality is setting in,' and that it would not be a surprise if Mr. Biden made an announcement soon endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as his replacement." (Also linked yesterday.)

Marianna Sotomayor, et al., of the Washington Post: "Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi has told some House Democrats she believes President Biden can be persuaded fairly soon to exit the presidential race amid serious doubts he can win in November, according to three Democratic officials familiar with her private discussions.... Pelosi is taking a strong, behind-the-scenes role in trying to resolve the political crisis by playing intermediary for upset rank-and-file Democrats and relaying those messages to the White House." (Also linked yesterday.)

Adam Cancryn, et al., of Politico: "President Joe Biden's reelection bid appeared to be nearing the point of collapse on Thursday, amid a cascade of warnings from the Democratic Party's top leaders that they have lost confidence in his candidacy. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi each told Biden in separate meetings over the last week that he should reconsider his reelection run or risk losing and dragging the rest of the party down with him. Schumer was 'pretty harsh' in his conversation with Biden, said one senior Hill Democrat briefed on the discussion.... A senior Biden aide told Politico that 'Biden is more committed to staying in than ever.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Natasha Korecki, et al., of NBC News: "President Joe Biden's political world is collapsing. Top allies have either publicly or privately called on him to step aside. Major donations have fallen off a cliff. Grassroots fundraising is not keeping up with the demands of a campaign that needs to aggressively scale up three months before the presidential election. Members of his own re-election effort have already declared he has no path to victory.... There is now a palpable sense that the ground has shifted underneath him, according to five people with knowledge of the situation, even among some of the president's most defiant internal backers who now believe the writing is on the wall. 'We're close to the end,' a person close to Biden said." (Also linked yesterday.)

Tyler Pager & Michael Scherer of the Washington Post: "Former president Barack Obama has told allies in recent days that President Biden's path to victory has greatly diminished and he thinks the president needs to seriously consider the viability of his candidacy, according to multiple people.... Obama has spoken with Biden only once since the debate, and he has been clear in his conversations with others that the future of Biden's candidacy is a decision for the president to make. He has emphasized that his concern is protecting Biden and his legacy, and has pushed back against the idea that he alone can influence Biden's decision-making process.... In some conversations, Obama, who has long looked to data for political insights, has told people he is concerned that the polls are moving away from Biden, that ... Donald Trump's electoral path is expanding and that donors are abandoning the president." (Also linked yesterday.)

Kellen Browning of the New York Times: "Senator Jon Tester of Montana called on President Biden to drop his campaign for re-election on Thursday night, becoming the second sitting Democratic senator to publicly join the effort to push Mr. Biden out of the race. 'I have worked with President Biden when it has made Montana stronger, and I've never been afraid to stand up to him when he is wrong,' Mr. Tester, a vulnerable incumbent whose opponent has sought to tie him tightly to Mr. Biden, said in a statement. 'And while I appreciate his commitment to public service and our country, I believe President Biden should not seek re-election to another term.' Mr. Tester's Washington office said he was also endorsing an open process to select the nominee at the Democratic National Convention, rather than throwing his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris." The CBS News story is here.

Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, a key member of the House committee that investigated the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, sent President Biden a four-page letter this month that compared the 81-year-old commander in chief to a tiring baseball pitcher and urged him to consult with fellow Democrats about whether to continue his campaign.... The letter, the authenticity of which Mr. Raskin confirmed on Thursday, begins with nearly three pages of lavish praise for Mr. Biden.... But the crux of the letter is a four-paragraph metaphor comparing the president to the Boston Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martínez, a Hall of Famer who was left on the mound for the eighth inning of Game Seven of the 2003 American League Championship Series despite being tired. Mr. Martínez allowed three runs, tying the game before the Yankees won with a walk-off home run in the 11th inning that denied the Red Sox a trip to the World Series, which they had not won in 85 years." (Also linked yesterday.)

Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Joe Scarborough, the former congressman, ally of President Biden and influential host of the MSNBC show 'Morning Joe,' on Thursday morning all but called on Mr. Biden's aides to help him exit the race. Mr. Scarborough has been blunt that the president's debate performance against ... Donald J. Trump on June 27 was calamitous but has also interviewed Mr. Biden since and was sympathetic to him in the days following the debate. On Thursday, the host cited polling for the president that has taken a massive slide and fund-raising that has disappeared. He did not lay the blame at Mr. Biden's feet, but instead at what he described as a 'bubble' of people around the president who were shielding him."(Also linked yesterday.)

Hailey Fuchs of Politico: "Allies of Vice President Kamala Harris have begun courting Democratic donors to provide financial support for her if President Joe Biden drops out of the 2024 race. One Democratic donor adviser has begun collecting pledges from female Democratic donors to support Harris, while a women's political organization has begun speaking to its donor base in an effort to ensure an initial wave of contributions to a potential Harris campaign...."


Lisa Lerer & Michael Bender of the New York Times: "... in a speech designed to place a friendlier face on Trumpism, the former president couldn't resist a handful of exaggerations and personal attacks on Democrats.... [The] speech, designed to debut the new message [of unity], underscored Mr. Trump's challenge with discipline. He stuck to the script at the start. But as the clock ticked well beyond the one-hour mark, he couldn't resist falling back into the kind of rambling, unscripted diatribe that has long been his signature style. At more than 90 minutes.... Mr. Trump's ultimate success will depend on whether, for the final 15 weeks of the campaign, he can contain his self-destructive tendencies and temper his preference for vengeance and unpopular, hard-right policies."

The New York Times liveblogged the Republican National Convention's big night. Here are some of the reporters' entries:

Jess Bidgood: "Hulk Hogan has torn off his shirt to reveal a Trump/Vance tank top, and I can't believe I just wrote that.... Eric Trump is claiming his father has been persecuted and censored, and he's describing the attempted assassination of his father as part of that narrative.... 'The greatest retribution will be our success,' he says." ~~~

Shawn McCreesh: "Melania Trump walked out while a choral symphony by Ludwig Van Beethoven played (it was Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125). This was a fleeting moment of grace and femininity sandwiched between Hulk Hogan ripping off his T-shirt and Kid Rock screeching 'American Bad Ass.'"

Jonathan Swan: "Trump's team wants him to deliver this speech as if he's the president. The fake White House projection backdrop is part of the effect."

Charles Homans: "The arena is pin-drop quiet as Trump tells the story of his shooting."

Jim Rutenberg: "As Trump calls for an end to 'discord and division,' it's worth noting that his entire political brand has for so long been about denigrating opponents and perceived 'enemies," often in highly personalized and often false terms --- starting with the birther lie.... 'They're destroying our country.' Kind of division-y?"

Maggie Haberman: "Trump just criticized 'crazy Nancy Pelosi,' shortly after calling for not demonizing political rivals."

Swan: "Trump takes a break from his 'unity' speech to revive his false claims about election fraud."

Bidgood: "Trump is painting an apocalyptic picture of the country today. He talked about a migrant 'invasion' and said the country was on the verge of World War III."

Haberman: "The effort in the speech was to make Trump softer, even while focusing on his policy contrasts. But he hasn't stuck with it, and is riffing and vamping throughout the speech."

Linda Qui: "[Trump claimed,] 'We built most of the wall.'... Officials put up new primary barriers where none previously existed along only 47 miles." Qui has posted numerous "This Is False" analyses throughout Trump's speech.

Edward Wong: "Trump is now painting a portrait of the U.S. at odds with the lived reality.... He says the crime rate is going up. Federal data shows that the crime rate has plummeted nationwide."

Bidgood: "Trump has gone on long riffs about 'partisan witch hunts,' unspooling his grievances against Democrats. He's not exactly building a bridge to the other side. But I'm not sure that a night featuring bombastic speakers like Hulk Hogan and Dana White was ever going to do that."

Reid Epstein: "Democrats, who are in despair after three weeks of Biden's post-debate tailspin, seem reinvigorated watching this Trump speech. The false accusations of election fraud, name-calling and greatest hits from his campaign rallies are part of what Democrats are happy to highlight about Trump, and tonight he is doing it for them himself."

Homans: "The message of the first half of this speech seemed to be 'I have been changed.' The message of the second half -- assuming we're in it -- seems to be 'I have not been changed all that much.'"

Maya King: "The seats toward the top of the arena are slowly starting to empty out as Trump nears the 90-minute mark of his speech."

Adam Nagourney: "This very long Trump acceptance speech ends with a promise to 'Make American Great Again,' Melania Trump joining him onstage and red, white and blue balloons dropping from the ceiling on the cheering crowd."

Look for the Elder Statesmen. So it's the final night of the Republican National Convention, the grand finale, if you will, and this THIS THIS is a partial lineup of speakers Donald Trump has chosen to precede him: John Nieporte, top golf professional at one of Trump's clubs; Alina Habba, one of Trump's lawyers; Tucker Carlson, failed Fox "News" host; comedian Russell Brand, whom several women accused of sexual assault; Eric Trump; and to introduce Trump: Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship who slapped his wife multiple times on camera. (In fairness, early on, before national broadcast teevee coverage began, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo garnered a slot.) (Most info. from the NYT liveblog.) Apparently Kid Rock is the "entertainment." National political conventions tend to be fairly cheesy shows, but aside from Clint Eastwood and the empty chair (RNC 2012), there has seldom been a more ridiculous spectacle.

Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump's 92-minute speech accepting the Republican presidential nomination ... rambled, often incoherently, through a hit parade of his favorite falsehoods, many of them ad-libbed instead of drawn from his prepared remarks. Here are 34 claims that caught our attention, in the order in which he made them." Here's CNN's fact-check.

** Lest We Forget. New York Times Editors: "This week, Republicans have tried to rewrite the four years of Trump's presidency as a time of unparalleled peace, prosperity and tranquility...[.] The record of what Mr. Trump actually did in office bears little resemblance to that description. Under his leadership, the country lurched from one crisis to the next, from the migrant families separated at the border to the sudden spike in prices caused by his trade war with China to the reckless mismanagement of the Covid pandemic. And he showed, over and over, how little respect he has for the Constitution and those who take an oath to defend it. For Americans who may have forgotten that time, or pushed it from memory, we offer this timeline of his presidency. Mr. Trump's first term was a warning about what he will do with the power of his office -- unless American voters reject him."

All Trump, All the Time. Griffin Eckstein of Salon: X, the social media platform owned by Trump megadonor Elon Musk, is promoting Trump campaign-curated content to all U.S. users, regardless of whether they have opted out of Trump-related content.... Banner ads for the Trump campaign donning the #Trump2024 tag appear for all U.S. users, even those who've blocked words, topics, and hashtags related to the candidate or his campaign or muted the advertiser. Additionally, the #MAGA tag displays an edited image of the former president from his attempted assassination and the #Trump2024 hashtag displays an American flag."


New York Times: "A massive global technology outage on Friday took down airlines, medical services, TV broadcasts, banks and scores of other business and services around the world, a stunning example of the fragile dependence the global economy has on certain software and the cascading effect it can have when things go wrong. The outage was attributed to CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm whose software is used by scores of industries around the world to protect against hackers and outside breaches. Several governments said they found no evidence of a computer attack. A software update issued by CrowdStrike appeared to be at the root of problem...." This is a liveblog. `~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's liveblog is here.

Michael Levenson of the New York Times: "Lou Dobbs, the conservative television and radio host who used his platforms at CNN and Fox Business to promote baseless conspiracy theories and who became an ardent supporter of ... Donald J. Trump, has died. He was 78."

~~~~~~~~~~

Comments Off

Reader Comments (7)

Received this fantastic offer in my inbox this morning. It's going to
be a collectors item, probably worth millions (or maybe a dollar).
Get a free t-shirt featuring a photo of "The Don 2024" sitting regally
in what looks like the Oval Office.
It's available in 4 different colors and comes in sizes up to 3XL. Hope
I never run into anyone wearing a size 3XL t-shirt.
https://mail.yahoo.com/d/folders/1/messages/195787

July 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterForrestMorris

We watched a Netflix series this week: The Devil In Ohio.
It's about cults and human sacrifices, etc. I'd give it about two
stars.
Interestingly, it reminded me of someone who will be leaving Ohio
for D.C. if elected vice president, J.D. Vance.
Netflix should do a sequel: The Devil Leaves Ohio.

July 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterForrestMorris

I get a little jolt when, out of the corner of my eye, I catch the last line of today's conversation^^.

From The Atlantic 2016 archives by J.D.Vance (gift link)
Donald Trump is
the Opioid of the Masses

July 19, 2024 | Unregistered Commenterlaura hunter

@laura hunter: Oh yeah. I see what you mean. Bracing, innit?

(And yes, yes. Shame on us and so forth.)

July 19, 2024 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

Free State of Florida Ron DeSantis is warning voters that passage of Amendment 3, legalized recreational pot could mean people could get up to 80 joints per day.

No mention of how many .223 rounds for an AR-15 are currently legal. Answer is,,,,,no limit.

July 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterBobby Lee

@Bobby Lee: People in Florida are going to need 80 joints per day
to put up with the BS coming out of RonDeSantis.

July 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterForrestMorris

"while also being worthy of the more than five decades he has served the country in elected office"

Perhaps the crowning achievement - ok, maybe just one of them - for a person who has been in office for so long would be to recognize when s/he could do the most good for what s/he believes in by stepping aside. Hubris isn't a good quality.

Speaking of that, I just learned something from the NIH website:

"ABSTRACT – Hubris syndrome is associated with power, more likely to manifest itself the longer the person exercises power and the greater the power they exercise. A syndrome not to be applied to anyone with existing mental illness or brain damage. Usually symptoms abate when the person no longer exercises power."

So, then, does Trump have hubris syndrome? Talk amongst yourselves...

July 19, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterBKDad
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