"I am pleased to announce that the Great Dana White, a violent Fighter and Warrior, has been offered the job of Press Secretary of the United States."

Wrote President Trump, quoted in "UFC’s Dana White says he will meet Trump on Monday to discuss press secretary offer/Trump’s previous press secretary, Katie Zacharia, left the role in October after just five days on the job" (NBC).

Violent!

I think first of physical force, and it seemed like a crazy word choice, but on consulting the OED, I see that there are a number of "senses relating to strength or severity" including "Of speech or writing: indicative or expressive of strong emotion (now esp. anger, hatred, etc.); fervent, impassioned." And: "Of a person, a person's disposition or support for a cause, etc.: passionate; vehement; characterized by or exhibiting a lack of moderation in action or conduct."

And perhaps that's exactly what Trump wants in a person who will speak for him to the press. If he wants a "Fighter and Warrior," why not someone who conveys strong emotion — vehement, passionate emotion?

"In 2018, there was still a sense that Trump was an aberration or a fluke; that he’d gotten lucky in 2016 and Democrats could double down on who they were already..."

"... and end MAGA without changing much themselves. Democrats won power in 2018 and 2020 and wielded it so unconvincingly and alienatingly that Trump and his movement roared back, stronger and more dangerous, than ever. The Democratic Party that emerged from that bruising is chastened in a way its predecessor wasn’t. Democrats know they need to appeal to voters who mistrust them. They are not as liable to mistake Trump’s unpopularity for their popularity. All they have won is a chance to prove themselves. And so they may be more willing to learn lessons that this election had to teach."

Writes Ezra Klein, in "A Stake Through the Heart of Trump’s Red Map" (NYT).

I understand why they make headlines like that but it's SO out of line with the tone and substance of the article.

"sometimes it’s easy to feel a little dehumanized in a heated sexual situation and i appreciated his pausing for me to collect myself."

I'm reading "Read the Text Messages at the Center of the Cornell Rape Inquiry After a Cornell student said fraternity members had sexually assaulted her, university investigators amassed a trove of communications from the student and the men she accused"

That's in the NYT, where it's always a gift link. Read everything in context, but I'll excerpt one more thing:

"Yes, so sorry once again and I agree with it just being an insane night and appreciate your forgiveness - and right, with due time it can be something to laugh about privately. Yeah there were two Scotty’s haha"/"i think we all have a soul bond now cause very few people can say they’ve had an experience like that. while it’s good to keep it away from the public i don’t think it’s something to feel ashamed of in private. thank god there are two scotty’s that was literally the trippiest part of the night...."

"I know I shouldn't say that. But it's just a feeling."

Dave Chappelle: “Ever since that guy Charlie Kirk got murdered, and I shouldn’t say this publicly but…. I feel better.” This isn’t even comedy. It’s just sick… https://t.co/SuW8zeF58p

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) November 8, 2026

Real Trump and Fake Trump confront the reality of "Talafreako."

In an interview airing Sunday on 60 Minutes, correspondent Ross Douthat asks President Trump: If it took six months of not insulting the Democrats to get a deal done, do you think you could do it? https://t.co/PJO8fLfl6C

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) November 7, 2026

 

“That’s Senator Talafreako.” https://t.co/QWMTGgGL5S

— James Talarico (@jamestalarico) November 8, 2026

The community note is back... and how embarrassing for The Free Press!

This is still up *and* the community note has disappeared! Pretty demoralizing -- it's been days.

— Jesse Singal (@jessesingal) November 7, 2026

In case the note disappears, it says el-Sayed delivered his speech in English and links to this YouTube:

"Van Der Merwe’s family of white South Africans arrived during Donald Trump’s first term..."

"... but they had good reason to expect that they would be granted asylum after Trump returned to office last year and signed an executive order saying the US would 'promote the resettlement of Afrikaner refugees,' based on the false claim that they would be 'escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination' at home. In addition to a series of highly public, contentious and in some cases deadly ICE raids across several US cities, the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda has played out more furtively at domestic and international airports. Travelers with visas, green-card holders and pending asylum cases have been detained in what some experts say is an effort to meet arrest quotas imposed on the agency by the White House. Van Der Merwe’s law firm advised noncitizens with unresolved immigration paperwork to consult immigration attorneys before traveling by air...."

From "Wisconsin state patrol trooper detained by ICE released from custody/Carel Aaron Van Der Merwe immigrated to US at 14 and has been waiting seven years for asylum case to be heard" (The Guardian).

That's a pretty casual flinging of the expression "false claim." There should at least be a link to something explaining the basis for rejecting the position taken in the executive order. The word "claim" alone is enough to avoid expressing agreement.

Anyway, I found this: "A check of Trump's false claims about white genocide in South Africa" (Reuters, May 22, 2025).

Sunrise.

"She said she follows the Elaine May rule, that there’s no point trying to disarm men who think you’re scary-smart by trying to be likable."

"(That’s where Hillary Clinton went wrong in her debate with a lurking Donald Trump; as she recently acknowledged, she should have just turned around and said, 'Back up, you creep!') 'You wrap yourself up like a pretzel trying to please people and navigate and then you can’t take it anymore,' [Illeana] Douglas said. 'It’s better to just be unlikable from the get-go.’... [W]hat is her advice for young women trying to make it in Hollywood? 'I think they should be a bitch right off the bat,' she said. 'You don’t have to be mean. You don’t have to say, "Your hair is receding" or anything like that. But I think that being very strong and very direct always works better.'"

I'm reading "Illeana Douglas Looks Back on Hollywood’s Biggest 'Cat Fight'/After publishing a book about the 1939 classic 'The Women,' the actress and writer talks about her film career and her role in #MeToo" — by Maureen Dowd, in the NYT.

Things eyed too closely.

I'm reading "A Georgia O’Keeffe painting found hidden in a closet could fetch $3 million" (WaPo). That makes it sound as if something had been forgotten or its value not understood, but no:

This year, the painting’s owner invited her niece to help sort through belongings at her East Village apartment, according to Christie’s. The woman casually told her niece she had an original painting by Georgia O’Keeffe — one of the best-known American modernists — in her front closet, behind dozens of coats. The owner received the painting as a gift from her mother, who bought it from a Manhattan art dealer for $3,800 in 1963, Christie’s said in a statement. The woman displayed the work in her home until the mid-1980s, when she became suspicious that a guest at a bridge game she hosted was “eyeing it a bit too closely,” Christie’s said. She placed it in its original wooden box and left it in the closet until her niece found it.

The woman knew what she had! Spare me the "casually told her niece" and "until her niece found it." That's the niece's point of view. The woman knew it was valuable and deliberately hid it and was able to say exactly where it was. The niece didn't find it, she dug it out from a place that was chosen carefully to protect it and that was never forgotten. I'll bet she quietly enjoyed the niece's emotional journey. 

"Say you wake up in a hotel room in Wichita and look out the window. A little girl is walking along the train tracks dragging a big statue of Buddha in a wooden wagon..."

"... with a three-legged dog following behind. Do you reach for your guitar or your drawing pad?"

Bill Flanagan asked Bob Dylan, in 2009.

Dylan answered: "Oh wow. It would depend on a lot of things. The environment mostly; like what kind of day is it. Is it a cloudless blue-gray sky or does it look like rain? A little girl dragging a wagon with a statue in it? I’d probably put that in last. The three-legged dog – what type? A spaniel, a bulldog, a retriever? That would make a difference. I’d have to think about that. Depends what angle I’m seeing it all from. Second floor, third floor, eighth floor. I don’t know. Maybe I’d want to go down there. The train tracks too. I’d have to find a way to connect it all up. I guess I would be thinking about if this was an omen or a harbinger of something."

The reason I'm reading that this morning is I just searched bobdylan.com to see if Bob had ever used the word "wow." And that interview was the only thing. You know, "wow" is a pretty interesting word. It's one of those sounds people made, in amazement or surprise, that caught on and came to be regarded as words, things like "oh" and "ooh" and "ah."

"Wow" got started in Scotland.

"He's surrounded by demons who want him out and want him just destroyed. That's his staff... all completely compromised...."

"They were sending around a memo, a CIA manual about how to be a bad bureaucrat and subvert an institution from within. That's like sent around by all the career officials. They hate President Trump.... How to be a bad bureaucrat and subvert from within by being incompetent.... So.. it's kind of crazy, right? It's like: What the hell do I do? This is an unruly government.... I do think it's possible for [Trump] to recognize that there's frustration over the past two years of not aggressively moving on the policies that he ran on that are widely popular that there's been a severe consolidation of power using the fact he's very busy to slow many policies down.... There's opportunity in the fact that the president ran on saying the same thing that people on the left are saying, which are actually not partisan. There's actually there is an opportunity to get some things done that are not partisan, but but but anti-institution like like like like reform the institution...."

Said Calley Means, on the new episode of Joe Rogan, which you can watch here (scroll back to the beginning if you want):

Or read about what he had to say in the Politico article: "Top RFK Jr. ally bashes Trump admin after quitting/Calley Means blasted top White House staff in a Friday interview on the 'Joe Rogan Experience' podcast."

"People close to Mr. Miller said he had shown no interest in compromising with congressional Democrats and was ready for a fight over subpoenas and investigations..."

"... that are expected to emanate from the Hill. His top priority, they said, is rebuilding the fractured MAGA coalition and pursuing policies that will energize the voters who elected Mr. Trump in 2024. 'Stephen is and always has been the eternal flame of the MAGA movement — putting the president’s words and policy into action,' Hunter Morgen, who worked as a deputy to Mr. Miller during the president’s first term and is now a lobbyist at Ballard Partners, wrote in a text message."

From "In Elevating Stephen Miller, Trump Doubles Down on Hard-Line Agenda/The new White House chief of staff is responsible for some of the most provocative policies of President Trump’s second term, as well as an aggressive approach to executive power" (NYT).

"Inmates can take part in educational and vocational training, with courses ranging from English, math and computer skills..."

"... to barbering, catering, bicycle repair, gardening, construction and radio production. Other activities include yoga, mindfulness, parenting skills, embroidery and choir. Brand will also have opportunities to maintain contact with his family, should they wish to keep in touch. The prison holds monthly family days, allowing inmates extra time with their children in a more relaxed setting, as well as a homework club where fathers can help with schoolwork."

From "Russell Brand’s jail hell revealed: Vermin-infested cells, violent inmates and drug searches" (NY Post).

Brand, 51, is the father of 3 children — 2 girls, 8 and 9, and 1 boy, age 3.

If the headline and the excerpted text don't seem to match very well, know that the headline appeared at the top of the article and the part I decided to quote was near the end. If you want to know one of my blogging secrets: Jump 2/3 of the way down in an article.

Frost, at 6:55 a.m.

Sunrise with moon.