Sunrise — 5:24, 5:44.

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“He sought out militant Islamists in order to share the gospel and tell them that violence wasn’t the answer.”

From “Who Is Vance Boelter? The Minnesota Lawmaker Shooting Suspect/The 57-year-old worked in security and as a pastor. A list found in his car included prominent abortion-rights supporters in Minnesota, according to an official” (WSJ).

"Fire Circle 5 Closed Until Further Notice/Turtle Nesting in Pit!"

This morning, in Madison.

"We recently had a job candidate come in to give a presentation as part of the interview process and bring family members with them — their spouse and several children."

"This included a 1-year-old who the candidate carried around and interacted with, repeatedly interrupting their own presentation. The candidate also kicked off their shoes and walked around barefoot during the presentation...."

From "Wait, People Are Bringing Their Whole Family to Job Interviews? And kicking off their shoes?" (NYT).

"In its various iterations across books and films, the dementia tragedy narrative tells a story of inexorable decline and universal diminishment..."

"... in which the afflicted person steadily vacates her body until she becomes essentially absent. While this process may include moments of lucidity or levity, nothing substantially positive, life-giving or new can emerge for the person or her family and friends — because the person as person is disappearing. 'My mother is just a body now,' Ms. Jong-Fast writes. 'She has dementia. She has breath and hair and pretty blue eyes but Erica Jong the person has left the planet.' She is 'dissolving,' 'slipping away,'  'a faint fragment,' 'an echo,' 'a zombie.' The trouble with this well established approach is not that the tragedy narrative is completely false."

Writes Lynn Casteel Harper — a Baptist minister and the author of "On Vanishing: Mortality, Dementia, and What It Means to Disappear" — in "We May Soon Be Telling a Very Different Kind of Story About Dementia" (NYT).

"They just keep going. They don’t care about anyone.... They’re all French. The French mentality is that even if something is banned, you still do it and it doesn’t matter."

Said Chantal, 73, from the French city Nancy, quoted in "Why Parisians have declared war on reckless cyclists/Efforts to turn the French capital into a two-wheeled paradise are running into opposition from those who think riders are a 'symbol of aggression'" (London Times).

Closer to home, the London Times also has this, about bikes in Britain: "My day on the super e-bikes fuelling the phone-snatching epidemic/Small, speedy and silent, electric off-roaders are the criminals’ vehicle of choice and helping power an urban crime wave."

"It looked more like a repurposed Pride rally than an anti-Trump rally, really, and that’s because it was."

"Boston’s Pride parade got repurposed into the 'No Kings but Drag Kings' parade. This was smart in terms of boosting the crowd size — there were a lot more people present than attended the rather pallid anti-Elon protest I attended in Boston a few months ago, which drew numbers in the dozens. This event definitely drew thousands. But while there was plenty of anti-Trump stuff, I’m not sure there was any more than a regular Pride parade would have featured...."

Glenn Reynolds reports — with photos — from the Boston "No Kings" event.

Makes me kind of wish I'd walked downtown to get some pictures of the Madison march. I was wary of violence. You never know.

But here's David Blaska covering the Madison event, with photos. Text: "'No Kings,' like many a partisan demonstration, was a BYO punch bowl of Leftist causes: End the War on Drugs. No Public Land Sales. Trans rights. My Body, My Choice. And, unforgivably 'Free Gaza.' No outward support for the Ayatollah, at least. Our favorite placard: 'Local Unpaid Agitator.' Note this well: at least nine of 10 signs were home made. My fellow Republicans will dismiss this as the work of George Soros and his checkbook at their peril...."

How to finally make that left turn.

A TikTok demonstration of excellent lateral thinking and deft execution:

"The recurring anti-war messaging that pops up throughout the display, particularly in his scratchy drawings, is both a Japanese artistic trope — think Yoko Ono..."

"... and an unstated recognition of something we forget too easily in the West: that we dropped two atom bombs on Japan to fast-forward the end of the Second World War, and that this racist assault would never have been inflicted on a European nation. What we have here is kids v annihilation."

I'm reading "Drawing like a kid isn’t child’s play — but does it deserve an exhibition?/Picasso and Miró prized naivety and there’s more to the infantile cartoons of Yoshitomo Nara at the Hayward Gallery than meets the eye" (London Times). 

I was surprised at "this racist assault would never have been inflicted on a European nation." "Never" is a strong word. The war with Germany was over by the time the atom bomb was ready, but we had other bombs and we used them very harshly against the Germans. We used dehumanizing stereotypes against the Japanese and also against the Germans. I'm disgusted to see "this racist assault would never have been inflicted on a European nation" in the London Times.

The Times art critic is Waldemar Januszczak, who was born in England to parents who were Polish refugees of WWII. 

Here's the Yoshitomo Nara art:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Hayward Gallery (@hayward.gallery)

"In the past I would typically ignore the flowers in the local park; now I actively seek them out. And when I’m in the kitchen I’ll inhale the aromas..."

"... that are readily available in my spice rack, and I pay greater attention to the fumes emanating from the boiling pots and pans. I now consider smell training to be an essential part of my routine. I find it to be pleasantly meditative, leaving me mentally grounded in much the same way as my daily yoga. And while I cannot say that I’ve noticed a huge leap in brainpower, I am optimistic that I am protecting my brain from future decline. This morning I made my espresso as normal and sniffed the cup hopefully. For the first time since I began my smell training, the aroma hit me hard. I couldn’t help but smile when I realised that I had, quite literally, learnt to wake up and smell the coffee, and I shall never take my nose for granted again."

I'm reading "Wake up and smell the coffee — the new way to train your brain/Loss of smell can signal a decline in mental health. David Robson discovered how to improve it" (London Times).

The author is only 39, so his ability to revive his sense of smell is very different from mine. He had luck with one of those smell kits where you sniff at various essential oils — eucalyptus, lemon, rose, clove. Keep trying. Practice smelling. I've already done that. Imagine telling blind people to look harder and deaf people to listen closely. What if that worked?

Make the best argument that yesterday's Army parade and yesterday's No Kings demonstrations were very similar and shared the same tone and spirit of America.

It's the position I'd like to take, but let's see if A.I. can sketch it out for me. Go to the links for the full elaboration of the bullet points.

The Grok answer:

First, both the Army parade and No Kings protests were vibrant displays of American identity, rooted in the celebration of freedom and self-determination.... 

Second, the tone of both events was unapologetically bold and assertive, reflecting America’s spirit of standing firm in its convictions.... 

Third, both events drew on America’s historical narrative to stake their claims.... 

Finally, despite their political differences, both events were inclusive in their appeal to broad swaths of Americans.... 

The Army parade and No Kings protests, held on Flag Day and the Army’s 250th birthday, were not just parallel events but complementary expressions of America’s soul: a country that honors its defenders while empowering its dissenters, all under the banner of freedom. Their shared tone—defiant, proud, and deeply patriotic—underscores a unified spirit, even in division.

The ChatGPT answer:

1. Both Were Public Rituals of Patriotism....

2. Both Emphasized Freedom and Individual Agency.... 

3. Both Reflected Deeply American Traditions.... 

4. Both Shared a Spirit of Hope and Determination...

5. Both Spoke in the Language of Symbols... 

The Army parade and No Kings demonstration, seemingly at odds, coexist in the American landscape precisely because freedom allows both. Their very presence, side by side in the same country on the same day, is evidence of a robust civic culture. That is the American spirit: unified not by conformity, but by the freedom to differ—loudly, visibly, and passionately.

I like the argument. I know I need to go back and prompt it with "Now, make the best argument against all that."

Sunrise — 5:11.

Talk about Trump's Army parade or whatever you like in the comments.

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"Kate Middleton was effortlessly elegant as she attended Trooping the Colour to honour the King on June 14."

Tatler reports.

An interesting contrast to America, with our "No Kings!" rallies and critique of Trump's military parade and offense that it's happening on his birthday.

Wikipedia: "Trooping the Colour is a ceremonial event performed every year on Horse Guards Parade in London, United Kingdom, by regiments of Household Division, to celebrate the official birthday of the British sovereign, though the event is not necessarily held on that day. It is also known as the Sovereign's Birthday Parade. Similar events are held in other countries of the Commonwealth. In the UK, it is, with the State Opening of Parliament, the biggest event of the ceremonial calendar, and watched by millions on TV and on the streets of London."

"When we did a search of the [fake police car], there was a manifesto that identified many lawmakers and other officials."

Said Police Chief Mark Bruley, of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, quoted in From "'No Kings' protests in Minnesota canceled as authorities search for suspect who shot 2 lawmakers/Police in Minnesota are cautioning residents to avoid 'No Kings' protests after two state lawmakers and their spouses were shot early Saturday" (WaPo)(free-access link).

Melissa Hortman, a former Minnesota House Speaker, and her spouse were shot and killed early Saturday in their Brooklyn Park home. A second state lawmaker, Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, were shot multiple times in Champlin. Officials say both Hortman and Hoffman were mentioned in the suspect’s writings.....

State Patrol Col. Christina Bogojevic asked people “out of an abundance of caution” not to attend any of the “No Kings” protests that were scheduled for across the state on Saturday. Bogojevic said authorities didn’t have any direct evidence that the protests would be targeted, but said the suspect had some “No Kings” flyers in their car. Organizers announced that all of the protests across the state were canceled....

UPDATE: "A former appointee of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is being sought in connection with the assassination of a state lawmaker and the shooting of another, police sources said. Vance Luther Boelter...." (NY Post0).

"Padilla... actually received preferential treatment by not being arrested and jailed for his menacing display."

"The Secret Service agent warned [California Sen. Alex] Padilla, whom agents did not recognize as a senator and who wasn’t wearing his Senate pin, to back away from Noem and then forcibly removed him when he ignored their entreaties. 'They can represent this however they want, but those agents made the right decision to get him out of the room,' Charles Marino, a former Secret Service agent told RealClearPolitics. 'He did not have a congressional pin on, he was yelling and closing distance very quickly to make it to the front of the room to confront Noem. Look, he’s not above the law. Anyone taking those actions would been treated far worse – they would have been arrested and been forced to spend some time in jail...."

Writes Susan Crabtree, in "Secret Service Followed Protocol in Padilla Incident" (Real Clear Politics).

"'Any sudden movement towards a protectee that feels threatening, especially when that person has not been identified, the policy is 100% to prevent further escalation or movement toward Noem,' said a source in the Secret Service community.... After the two assassination attempts against Trump, agents are highly attuned to aggressive behavior and working to ensure they’re not involved in any security lapses...."

Apparently, they didn't know who he was, but what if they had? Is he saying he deserves special treatment? The "Don't You Know Who I Am?!" argument ought to fail.

The protectee was protected by those entrusted with protecting her. 

"'It’s just a lot less pressure posting on TikTok,' said Sheen Zutshi, 21, a college student in New York. She uses Instagram to send direct messages..."

"... to her friends, but sees it as a more curated option — the sort of place where someone might earnestly post a photo of the night sky, like her older cousin did recently. 'It’s just really cute, because she’s a millennial,' she said."

From "Instagram Wants Gen Z. What Does Gen Z Want From Instagram? Young people are using Instagram for everything except the app’s original function" (NYT).