२९ जून, २०२४
"Jill Biden, lacking the detachment of a Melania and enjoying the role of first lady more, has been pushing — and shielding — her husband..."
Writes Maureen Dowd, in "The Ghastly vs. the Ghostly" (NYT)(boldface added).
"No conversations about that whatsoever. The Democratic voters elected, nominated, Joe Biden. Joe Biden’s the nominee."
Biden taunted Trump about his weight.
TRUMP: Well, I took two tests, cognitive tests.... He took none. I’d like to see him take one, just one, a real easy one. Like go through the first five questions, he couldn’t do it... I took physical exams every year.... I just won two club championships, not even senior, two regular club championships... He can’t hit a ball 50 yards.... I think I’m a very good shape. I feel that I’m in as good a shape as I was 25, 30 years ago. Actually, I’m probably a little bit lighter....
In fact, Trump does look as though he's lost a lot of weight, so he brought up weight, but he was very low key about it, in the modest way that fits ordinary etiquette.
BASH: Thank you. President Biden?
२८ जून, २०२४
Enjoying it.
I just asked Governor Gavin Newsome: are you going to be the next democratic nominee? That’s his answer, while he’s glowing 👇🏽 pic.twitter.com/W3JjsNtS0h
— נריה קראוס Neria Kraus (@NeriaKraus) June 28, 2024
"Biden lacked oomph, but the transcript tells a different tale."
"The Supreme Court sided on Friday with a member of the mob that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, saying that prosecutors had overstepped in using an obstruction law to charge him...."
Writes Adam Liptak, in "Live Updates: Supreme Court Rules for Member of Jan 6. Mob in Obstruction Case/The decision concerned the scope of a 2002 law enacted in the wake of the collapse of Enron to address accounting fraud and the destruction of evidence" (NYT).
At issue was part of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which was enacted after the collapse of the energy giant Enron and contains a broad catchall provision that makes it a crime to corruptly obstruct, influence or impede any official proceeding. Most Jan. 6 defendants have not been charged under the law, which prosecutors have reserved for the most serious cases, and those who have been charged under it face other counts, as well....
"The chief hasn't announced yet whether its the last day. We'll see if he says anything from the bench today."
"The Vanishing Islands That Failed to Vanish/Low-lying tropical island nations were expected to be early victims of rising seas."
Too true: "He's the President you deserve."
I’m so proud of Joe—I hope you heard his heart tonight. Sign up at https://t.co/40xBoLMo0i—together, we can finish the job for the American people. pic.twitter.com/jbOVaOC6kw
— Dr. Jill Biden (@DrBiden) June 28, 2024
"It’s true that the format did Biden no favors. CNN moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash avoided fact-checking..."
Writes Aaron Rupar, in "Not great, Joe/Biden's debate showing stunk up the joint. But don't give up hope" (PublicNotice).
I want the names of everyone who is covering their ass by acting surprised that Biden performed the way he did at the debate last night.
Biden beat my expectations.
I expected the CNN panel to spin for Biden, just like his wife did:
Those who have had access to Biden over the last 2 years knew what everyone could see last night, and they choose to gaslight America, saying he's just fine — he's very sharp. They kept him away from any serious interviews, anything that would expose his weakness, but they sent him out for this debate. My hypothesis is that the debate was a set up, and the panic response — reported by the CNN commentators immediately after the debate — was not sudden and emotional but a cold sober plan to cover up 2 years of lying about Biden's condition.Jill Biden: You did a great job! You answered all your questions!
— Israel & USA forever (@israelUSAforeve) June 28, 2024
If: ba#^d gsu%*ruvh%@d dh*&@%uhs
Accepted as an answer so she's right pic.twitter.com/Pd883oI5SC
२७ जून, २०२४
Let's watch the big presidential debate.
Sunrise — 5:23.
"25+ Years of Daily Show Clips Gone as Paramount Axes Comedy Central Site."
ComedyCentral.com had been home to clips from every episode of The Daily Show since 1999, and the entire run of The Colbert Report, but as of Wednesday morning, the site is gone.
"When I was 16 years old, I was ripped from my bed in the middle of the night and transported across state lines to the first of four youth residential treatment facilities."
Paris Hilton testified to the House Ways and Means Committee, quoted in "Paris Hilton recounts child abuse in congressional testimony/The 43-year-old media personality’s statement was her latest push for change in what’s often called the 'troubled teen' industry" (WaPo).
New Supreme Court cases this morning.
UPDATE 1: "Justice Gorsuch has two opinions today. The first is Ohio v. EPA, the EPA 'good neighbor' policy case."
"The 41-year-old inmate had garnered attention in previous years, including when he sought to donate a kidney in 2022 to atone for his crime — a petition Texas denied...."
From "Tex. inmate executed after expert recanted testimony on ‘future dangerousness’/Ramiro Gonzales was executed by lethal injection Wednesday after Texas’s Board of Parole and Pardons unanimously voted Monday to deny his clemency petition" (WaPo).
"I have always loved immersion journalism, the fish-out-of-water yarn. I tried tantric sex when interviewing a practitioner..."
Writes Jenny Valentish, in "Journalism on steroids" (in The Monthly).
I'm reading that as a consequence of googling "journalists use performance enhancing drugs" while reading the WaPo article, "Trump keeps baselessly claiming that Biden will be on drugs at debate/The presumptive Republican nominee lodged similar evidence-free allegations in 2016 against Clinton and 2020 against Biden." Excerpt:
What did Trump do wrong lately that's getting the most attention right now on X?
Collection of commentary, here, at X.Trump gets weird talking about Taylor Swift and how beautiful he thinks she is.
— Peter Henlein (@SwissWatchGuy) June 27, 2024
But this is way less weird and creepy than when he talks about his own daughter.
At least he doesn’t say he wants to fuck Taylor Swift.
pic.twitter.com/PRp1A9lgaL
"Tucker Carlson was praised by his supporters for effectively countering what they perceived as biased and poorly informed questions from an Australian journalist during an interview in Australia."
Holy shlit Tucker Carlson just committed a homicide on live television pic.twitter.com/9CJEGhGdes
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) June 26, 2024
Sinkhole action.
"Surveillance footage captures the moment a 100 foot wide and 30 foot deep sinkhole swallows a soccer field in Alton, Illinois...."NEW: Surveillance footage captures the moment a 100 foot wide and 30 foot deep sinkhole swallows a soccer field in Alton, Illinois.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 27, 2024
The footage shows bleachers and a light pole getting completely swallowed by the sinkhole at Gordon Moore Park.
According to local reports, the… pic.twitter.com/NPfgz6LLBH
"Roberta A. Kaplan, the celebrated lawyer who took on former President Donald J. Trump... is stepping down from the law firm she founded..."
Writes David Enrich, in "Prominent Lawyer Roberta Kaplan Departs Firm After Clash With Colleagues/The well-connected attorney, who founded a powerhouse firm at the dawn of the #MeToo era, has faced complaints that she mistreated and insulted other lawyers" (NYT).
"Could students take their college professor out to Chipotle for an end-of-term celebration? And if so..."
Wrote Justice Kavanaugh, quoted in "Corruption Law Allows Gifts to State and Local Officials, Supreme Court Rules/The court, which has limited the sweep of several anti-corruption laws, distinguished after-the-fact rewards from before-the-fact bribes" (NYT).
२६ जून, २०२४
Sunrise — 4:49, 4:50, 5:05, 5:11, 5:17, 5:18.
"Despite their courage and great sacrifice, thousands of LGBTQI+ service members were forced out of the military because of their sexual orientation or gender identity."
"Writing for the majority, Justice Amy Coney Barrett said companies such as Facebook and YouTube have long-standing content-moderation policies that place warning labels on certain posts and delete others."
From "Supreme Court allows White House contacts with social media firmsIn a 6-3 ruling, the majority said the challengers did not have legal grounds — or standing — to bring the case against the Biden administration" (WaPo).
"Among many Americans, [Biden] is blamed for wars started by other countries that national security veterans nonetheless credit him with navigating maturely..."
From "Joe Biden: The Old-School Politician in a New-School Era/After more than half a century in Washington, President Biden has learned to make deals and work across the aisle. But that instinct is rarely rewarded in today’s political climate" (by Peter Baker in the NYT).
"Health officials in the Biden administration pressed an international group of medical experts to remove age limits for adolescent surgeries from guidelines for care of transgender minors..."
From "Biden Officials Pushed to Remove Age Limits for Trans Surgery, Documents Show/Newly released emails from an influential group issuing transgender medical guidelines indicate that U.S. health officials lobbied to remove age minimums for surgery in minors because of concerns over political fallout" (NYT).
"Paramount Erases Archives of MTV Website, Wipes Music, Culture History After 30 Plus Years."
Headline at Roger Friedman's Showbiz 411.
All that’s left is a placeholder site for reality shows. The M in MTV – music — is gone, and so is all the reporting and all the journalism performed by music and political writers ever written. It’s as if MTV never existed. (It’s the same for VH1.com, all gone.)...
MTV News became a force in music, entertainment, and politics in the early 90s. As the channel’s popularity soared, the News division — including the faces of Kurt Loder, Alison Stewart, Serena Altschul, Sway, and John Norris — became incredibly important especially to political campaigns. Now all those interviews — hundreds of thousands of hours with rock stars and what we now call influencers of generations — have been replaced by a link to “Help! I’m in a Secret Relationship.”...
There is fury among MTV.com writers past and present who now see their histories erased, along with all the music and political reporting....
The Fungus of Yesterday — an update.
"In the event of a thunderstorm, the beach is a very dangerous place to be. So if you feel things like a wind shift, if it’s fluttering back and forth between hot and cold..."
Advice from a lifeguards and a weatherman, quoted in "Man Dies After Being Struck By Lightning While Trying To Get Kids Off Beach During Thunderstorm/Patrick Dispoto, 59, died after being struck by lightning in Seaside Park, N.J., on Sunday, June 23" (People).
"Vance isn’t good looking enough for Trump. He looks like a forgotten Civil War brigadier."
There's also this, from Michelle Goldberg: "[J.D. Vance is] a completely amoral sycophant without an independent political base, which I think is what Trump is probably looking for."
"Jamaal Bowman was a Democratic Trump. Now he’s gone. It’s an encouraging sign that there is a critical mass on the left who can say: Stop."
That's the headline at WaPo... for a column by Dana Milbank.
This is the story of two New York demagogues. Both men have a history of bigotry, bullying, law breaking, promoting bogus conspiracy theories, engaging in obscene public rants and playing the martyr.
One, embraced by the Republican Party, became president and may well become president again. The other, kept at arm’s length by the Democratic Party, was dumped by Democratic voters in a congressional primary Tuesday night.
Obscene? Milbank notes that Trump has been saying "bullshit," "shitty," "scum," and "son of a bitch," whereas Bowman just had a rally where he said "We are going to show fucking AIPAC the power of the motherfucking South Bronx! … We’re going to show them who the fuck we are!"
ADDED: I would think the biggest problem with "We are going to show fucking AIPAC the power of the motherfucking South Bronx" is that Bowman's district is the north Bronx (along with the southern half of Westchester County).
"For decades, Democrats in New York and across the country have succeeded when they hold together a coalition of Black, Latino and Jewish voters, young people and..."
I'm reading "5 Takeaways From Jamaal Bowman’s Loss/The congressman, who lost to George Latimer, was the first 'squad' member to fall, in a painful defeat for the Democratic left" (NYT)(free access link, so you can see the other 4 takeaways, one of which is about that "haunt[ing]" fire alarm).
२५ जून, २०२४
"For two hours, she talked about the civil rights movement and faith. And finally, she mentioned her old flame Bob Dylan."
From "Mavis Staples Is an American Institution. She’s Not Done Singing Yet. After more than seven decades onstage, the gospel and soul great decided last year that it was time to retire. Then she realized she still had work to do" (NYT)(free access link).
"To anyone watching closely, it’s been obvious that Obama has been thinking about where he fits in today’s political mêlée and working on his public tone."
Writes Gabriel Debenedetti, in "What Obama Is Whispering to Biden/The presidents’ plan to save their legacy from Trump" (New York Magazine).
A melee... French: mêlée... or pell-mell is disorganized hand-to-hand combat in battles fought at abnormally close range with little central control once it starts.
Here's a painting from 1855 that depicts a melee that took place in 1632 (killing the King of Sweden, Gustavus Adolphus):
"On Tuesday, Judge Juan Merchan loosened the gag order’s conditions, allowing Trump to publicly comment..."
"I know the excruciating pressure of walking onto that stage and that it is nearly impossible to focus on substance when Mr. Trump is involved...."
Writes Hillary Clinton, in "Opinion | Hillary Clinton: I’ve Debated Trump and Biden. Here’s What I’m Watching For" (NYT).
"No music, no streaming, no snacking, no sleep."
Ben Shapiro is disgusted by what may or may not be humor.
"I don't know whether that's parody or whether that's real," says Ben after watching a TikTok. "Either way, it's the end of our civilization, because some of what this person is saying is absolutely true. Do you think that Gen Z is qualified to defend the country in any serious way — mentally, physically, emotionally? I don't either."
Here's Ben, watching the TikTok:
"Among causes of deaths, birth defects showed a 23% increase, compared to a decrease of about 3% in the rest of the U.S."
When I first saw that headline, I thought people who didn't want their babies were murdering them, but it seems to be about babies with "defects" that are called "birth defects" when the babies — who might have been aborted for "fetal abnormalities" — are born.
The article quotes Suzanne Bell, a fertility researcher: "I think these findings make clear the potentially devastating consequences that abortion bans can have." It's not clear to me what the "devastating consequences" are. Isn't it devastating to lose a baby that you want, whether it is lost before birth or shortly after? Bell must mean that it is devastating to be forced to continue with pregnancy and childbirth when you know your child is doomed, even though that is what some women do.
"We tell the Ukrainians, 'You've got to come to the table, and if you don't come to the table, support from the United States will dry up.'"
Said retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, one of Trump's national security advisers, quoted in "Exclusive: Trump handed plan to halt US military aid to Kyiv unless it talks peace with Moscow" (Reuters)("The core elements of the plan were outlined in a publicly available research paper published by the America First Policy Institute, a Trump-friendly think tank....").
"Regardless of the views that people have about Julian Assange and his activities, the case has dragged on for too long..."
Said Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese, quoted in "Julian Assange leaves UK after striking deal with US justice department/It is anticipated the WikiLeaks founder will plead guilty to violating US espionage law at a hearing in Saipan and will be allowed to return to Australia" (The Guardian).
Under the deal, which must be approved by a judge, Assange is likely to be credited for the five years he has already served and face no new jail time....
"Passing AI images off as real ones for the sake of commercial or political gain should be prosecuted as fraud."
२४ जून, २०२४
"Cycling when it's raining and cold doesn't always make you want to cycle, so I said to myself why not put a roof on the bike and, as we thought about it, we arrived at this concept."
The panic shows.
CNN abruptly cut Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt from the air Monday morning.... Anchor Kasie Hunt pulled the plug just minutes after the interview got underway after asking Leavitt what former President Donald Trump’s strategy was for when he takes to the stage in Atlanta, Ga. on Thursday....
The spokeswoman... noted the debate stage would likely be a “hostile environment” for her boss – and accused CNN’s debate moderators, co-hosts Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, of biased coverage of him in the past....
"Supreme Court Will Hear Challenge to Tennessee Law Banning Transition Care for Minors."
The Biden administration had asked the justices to take up the case, United States v. Skrmetti, arguing that the measure outlaws treatment for gender dysphoria in youths and “frames that prohibition in explicitly sex-based terms.”
In the government’s petition to the court, Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar wrote that the law bans transgender medical care but that it “leaves the same treatments entirely unrestricted if they are prescribed for any other purpose.”...
"As I applied the nightly serum, I remembered the description, by philosopher Clare Chambers in her book, Intact: A Defence of the Unmodified Body, of 'shametenance'..."
From "All of a flutter: how eyelashes became beauty’s biggest business/The eyelash business is worth $1.66bn – and is predicted to grow from there. Why are we so obsessed with our lashes? Eva Wiseman reports on their history and significance" (The Guardian).
"Fat Beach Day... is being held to coincide with Pride month at Jacob Riis Beach in New York, a location deeply ensconced in the city’s activism space..."
... New York has, for decades, been at the heart of the fat acceptance movement. In the 1960s, about 500 protesters held a “fat-in” in Central Park, burning diet books and photographs of the supermodel Twiggy, to publicly encourage body positivity and liberation....
"I go up a canyon, down a canyon to the next waterfall and sit down by the waterfall and drink water out of my boot."
"Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, last week dropped most of the 46 cases against pro-Palestinian demonstrators charged..."
The NYT reports.
"More than 1,300 people died making the Islamic pilgrimage of hajj in Saudi Arabia this month..."
The NYT reports.
Two of the dead were Americans, a couple from Maryland, who spent $23,000 on the trip but did not have the permits. The article ends with a quote from their daughter, the classic statement: "They died doing exactly what they wanted to do."
२३ जून, २०२४
"Freedom is everything. Freedom is everything. The first freedom, I guess, is your health."
Said Diane von Furstenberg, quoted in the New Yorker interview, "Diane von Furstenberg Will See You Now/The fashion icon is still starring in the story of her life, dispensing wisdom on our age of prudishness, the 'three types of women,' and why 'only losers don’t feel like losers.'"
"Elon, just because someone has a form (which anyone can find online) doesn’t mean you become a registered voter merely by filling it out."
Elon, just because someone has a form (which anyone can find online) doesn’t mean you become a registered voter merely by filling it out. There are checks on citizenship upon someone getting an official voter registration for federal and state elections.
— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) June 23, 2024
"So if your parents don’t want you, I’ll take you."
That little video was taken at this event: "Trump goes to Tony & Nick’s for a cheesesteak, completing a Philly trilogy/This was Trump's third cheesesteak stop in Philly at three different shops. That may be a record for a presumptive presidential nominee" (Philadelphia Inquirer)("it was unclear whether Trump ordered his steak 'wit' or 'witout'").Trump to a kid: “So if your parents don’t want you, I’ll take you.” pic.twitter.com/uX0bf4opgP
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) June 22, 2024
Donald Trump hits up Tony & Nick’s, formerly Tony Luke's, for a cheesesteak prior to his rally in North Philadelphia.pic.twitter.com/cjyEJkgXW0
— Rob Tornoe (@RobTornoe) June 22, 2024
I am one of the deciders, but I took this WaPo test anyway.
"Nostalgia for the Trump-era geopolitical landscape seems entirely reasonable: Before his defeat there was no Russian invasion of Ukraine, no brutal struggle in the Holy Land..."
Writes Ross Douthat, in "The Biden and Trump Weaknesses That Don’t Get Enough Attention" (NYT).
"Biden doesn’t need a long list of derisive assaults. Just a few. I bet Trump would take the bait."
Writes David Corn, in "Here’s How Biden Could Rattle Trump in Their First Debate" (Mother Jones).