Sunrise — 6:14, 6:15, 6:17, 6:18.

Talk about whatever you like in the comments.

"A guy is a man who is loyal to something, even if his loyalty is..mistaken..."

"Bishop Sheen..is not against Bad Guys. He is only against their badness: he is for their guyness... He is only a guy like the rest of us."

That's from 1953 in the Catholic Times, the oldest appearance in print of the word "guyness," according to the OED, which defines "guyness" as "The quality, state, or condition of being a man, esp. with (typically humorous) reference to male stereotypical characteristics or interests, such as being uncomplicated, good-natured, uncomfortable with emotional issues, preoccupied with sport, gadgets, beer, etc."

There's also an obsolete version of "guyness," from back in the 1800s, that meant "The quality or fact of having an odd or grotesque appearance." That's less odd than it might seem: the original lowercase "guy" was an effigy of Guy Fawkes. 

"5 Takeaways From Ghislaine Maxwell’s Interview About Jeffrey Epstein."

For what it's worth. From the NYT. Gift link, because I don't value spending my time on this. 

The first bulletpoint is the one of most interest though not at all surprising, considering her interests: "Maxwell praised Trump and distanced him from Epstein."

ADDED: You can read or listen to all of the interviews at the Department of Justice website: here.

"People in Mississippi can no longer use the social media platform Bluesky."

"The company announced Friday that it will be blocking all IP addresses within Mississippi for the foreseeable future in response to a recent US Supreme Court decision that allows the state to enforce strict age verification for social media platforms.... The company says that compliance with Mississippi’s law—which would require identifying and tracking all users under 18, in addition to asking every user for sensitive personal information to verify their age—is not possible with the team’s current resources and infrastructure...."

From "Bluesky Goes Dark in Mississippi Over Age Verification Law/Bluesky has chosen to block access in the state rather than risk potential fines of up to $10,000 per violation" (Wired).

"I'm still mulling the point... about whether or not both parties moved in an individualistic direction and that there were these big solidaristic movements on the left that that began to to fade.... "

"My instinct was it was wrong. And as I think about it, I think it's right, but I think that it's right for possibly a different reason...."

Mulls Ezra Klein, in the new episode of his podcast, "MAHA Is a Bad Answer to a Good Question." I'm jumping you to a spot about half an hour into the discussion:

"I think there's a sense that that politics failed... particularly after 2024... You look around at the way... communal shaming worked. You look at the way people look back on the pandemic. You look at the backlash now to what gets called wokeness, Me Too. And whatever you believe about the underlying arguments being made that the effort to shame your way to a better world was a political failure — not a small political failure, but a political failure that has empowered the absolute worst people, the people you feared the most, like a Murderers' Row of who you did not want to have power.... And the move — I'm not sure if I would call it towards individualism — but away from this heavily enforced solidarity of both action and language — very, very aggressive on speech and info hazards — that that was part of what went wrong....  [T]he left became extremely comfortable with the deployment of state power on behalf of institutions and so on in a way that really radicalized the other side. And the other side didn't become libertarian — in a strange way, they became authoritarian...."

Klein seems to be blaming the left for making the right authoritarian, but isn't he also accusing the left of authoritarianism? What is "heavily enforced solidarity" that's "very, very aggressive on speech and info hazards" — what is it to be "extremely comfortable with the deployment of state power" — if not authoritarianism?

By the way, what is a Murderers' Row? The term goes back to at least 1850, when it referred to a row of prison cells in New York City's Tombs. But most Americans probably think of it in as referring to baseball— especially the 1927 New York Yankees, which had a very intimidating batting lineup. If that's your reference point, Klein sounds like he's expressing awe and admiration for the left's adversaries. Trump is the Babe Ruth of politics.

Sunrise — 5:51, 6:13, 6:14.

Write about whatever you want in the comments.

"The White House published a list of Smithsonian exhibits, programming and artwork it considered objectionable..."

"... on Thursday, one week after announcing that eight of the institution’s museums must submit their current wall text and future exhibition plans for a comprehensive review. The list borrows heavily from a recent article in The Federalist that objected to portrayals at several museums. It argued that the National Museum of American History promoted homosexuality by hanging a pride flag; overemphasized Benjamin Franklin’s relationship to slavery in its programming; and supported open borders by depicting migrants watching fireworks 'through an opening in the U.S.-Mexico border wall.'...:

I'm reading "White House Lists Smithsonian Exhibits It Finds Objectionable/The Trump administration highlighted material dealing with topics like sexuality, slavery and immigration" (NYT).

Here's that official list put out by The White House.

Most striking item on the list: "The National Museum of African Art displayed an exhibit on 'works of speculative fiction that bring to life an immersive, feminist and sacred aquatopia inspired by the legend of Drexciya,' an 'underwater kingdom populated by the children of pregnant women who had been thrown overboard or jumped into the ocean during the Middle Passage.'"

Notably out of context item on the list: "An American History Museum exhibit features a depiction of the Statue of Liberty 'holding a tomato in her right hand instead of a torch, and a basket of tomatoes in her left hand instead of a tablet.'" There's an image of it, and it looks like really bad art — amateurish junk. But here's the Smithsonian's description of the object and why it is in the collection:

"In April, [Joe] Rogan inspired discourse when he said... 'the word retarded is back' and celebrated its return as 'one of the great culture victories' won by podcasts...."

"... such as his own. Bert Kreischer and Tom Segura shared similar thoughts on their podcast.... 'Everyone says retarded again. It’s in shows; it’s in stand-up,' Segura said. 'The people kind of were like, "No, we want it back. We’re going to say it again."' In the 2024 pilot episode of the FX sitcom English Teacher, a pair of dismayed high-school teachers bond over their shared observation that the kids are 'saying the R-word again' and no longer 'into being woke.' Meanwhile, the new Naked Gun movie features a villain named Richard Cane, who owns a private club where one of the perks of membership is freedom to say the word retarded without backlash.... It’s a nostalgic throwback for generations who remember a time when it was ubiquitous, conveys a hint of danger to generations who have only known it as a slur, and slots satisfyingly into punch lines because of its jagged consonants...."

Writes Hershal Pandya, in "Comedy’s Safest Slur/Left, right, center — everyone is using it. How stand-up has all but killed a controversial term’s taboo" NY Magazine).

"FBI agents on Friday searched the Maryland home of former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton..."

"... as part of an investigation of whether he illegally possessed or shared classified information, according to two people familiar with the matter.... A blogger was also live-streaming the scene of cars with lights flashing outside the home...."

The Washington Post reports.

Should I add my tag "revenge" to this post?

Yes. This is clearly about revenge.

Yes, because it would only mean that the topic of revenge is in issue.

Yes, because it's spicy.

No. When in doubt, perform neutrality.

No. It pushes readers to think what they might not otherwise think.

No. You should presume that those in authority are acting for legitimate reasons.

 

pollcode.com free polls

"Doesn’t Shakespeare begin 'Twelfth Night'... with the infatuated Duke Orsino uttering the famous line, 'If music be the food of love, play on'?"

"Saheem Ali’s production hasn’t cut it, but merely decided that Orsino can wait. By flipping the first two scenes, and giving Viola the play’s final line, Ali has recentered a character who has been known to get lost in the overstuffedness of this comedy. And by having her speak initially in Swahili — 'Je, hii ni nchi gani, bwana?,' or 'What country is this, sir?,' she asks the captain — Ali establishes her firmly as a person arriving, in unaccustomedly desperate straits, on the shore of a foreign land, Illyria. Sounds political, doesn’t it...."

From "'Twelfth Night' Review: Lupita Nyong’o in Illyria/The actress is luminous, alongside her look-alike brother Junior Nyong’o, Sandra Oh and Peter Dinklage, in Shakespeare’s comedy at the newly revived Delacorte Theater" (NYT).

Why hadn't the NYT told us about this? "In July, New York Times reporters witnessed other Adams supporters handing out red envelopes with cash at three separate campaign events..."

"... one in Flushing, Queens; another in Manhattan’s Chinatown; and a third in Sunset Park in Brooklyn. At those events, Mr. Adams picked up support from leaders of influential Chinese community groups, including several with close ties to the Chinese government.... At the event in Flushing on July 13... [0]ne of the organizers, Steven Tin, the director of Better Chinatown USA, which hosts the Lunar New Year parades in Manhattan’s Chinatown, was seen by The Times holding $50 bills and handing out red envelopes to reporters from Chinese-language news organizations. At the event, Mr. Tin said that it is a common practice in Chinese culture to give cash to 'reporters, YouTubers, photographers' as a 'thank you for coming' gift...."

From "Red Envelopes With Cash Are Changing Hands at Adams Campaign Rallies/New York Times reporters witnessed supporters of Mayor Eric Adams handing out cash-filled envelopes. Sometimes, that money went to reporters from Chinese-language outlets" (NYT).

Why did the NYT sit on this until after The City published "Eric Adams Advisor Winnie Greco Handed a CITY Reporter Cash Stuffed in a Bag of Potato Chips/THE CITY reported the incident to law enforcement and was promptly contacted by the Brooklyn U.S. attorney’s office"? That came out on the evening of August 20th. (Here's my blog post about it from midday yesterday.)

Was everyone tolerating this practice until the City reporter openly objected to it? Why was the City reporter's envelope delivered inside a potato chip back if it was not understood to be wrong? The NYT writes, "No established American news organization permits its reporters to accept cash payments for covering events" and "The Times’s ethical guidelines explicitly prohibit receipt of such gifts." And the NYT reporters seem to have witnessed the open delivery of red envelopes, without snack-food camouflage. Perhaps The City was viewed as in the gray zone between "established American news organization" and news organizations that had already been initiated into a system of paying for news coverage.

The NYT doesn't explain its waiting to publish. Perhaps it was working on a more detailed story explaining pervasive corruption and it just got scooped. 

Sunrise — 6:07.

Later, at 2:18 in the afternoon:

Write about whatever you want in the comments.

"He subconsciously pouted, almost as if waiting for Meloni to notice..."

"... but Meloni never once looked his way...."

"A protester holds up a Subway sandwich during a 'Fight the Trump Takeover' protest in front of the White House"/"A protester holds up a piece of bread as he walks past the National Guard."

Captions under photographs at "How a thrown sub made ‘Sandwich Guy’ a resistance icon in Trump’s D.C./A DOJ employee was fired and charged with a felony after chucking a footlong at a federal agent. Now his likeness is a symbol — and for sale on T-shirts" (WaPo).

"I make a mistake. I’m so sorry. It’s a culture thing. I don’t know. I don’t understand. I’m so sorry. I feel so bad right now. I’m so sorry, honey."

Said Winnie Greco, quoted in "Eric Adams Advisor Winnie Greco Handed a CITY Reporter Cash Stuffed in a Bag of Potato Chips/THE CITY reported the incident to law enforcement and was promptly contacted by the Brooklyn U.S. attorney’s office" (The City).

Greco's lawyer, Steven Brill, doubled down on the "culture thing" excuse: "I can see how this looks strange. But I assure you that Winnie’s intent was purely innocent. In the Chinese culture, money is often given to others in a gesture of friendship and gratitude. Winnie is apologetic and embarrassed by any negative impression or confusion this may have caused."

Is it Chinese culture to deliver money inside bags of potato chips?!

I understand there is a tradition in China of giving money in red envelopes, and, to be fair, in this case, there was a red envelope that contained the money inside the potato chip bag. Go to that link to see the nature of that tradition — who does it, when, how do they behave — and compare that to what Winnie Greco did. I'm sympathetic to serious arguments about cultural differences and genuine misunderstanding, but come on.

"Divided Court Eliminates Trump’s Half-Billion-Dollar Fine in Fraud Case/New York appeals judges said that the judgment was excessive, but agreed to uphold the case so the appeal could continue."

The NYT reports (gift link).

“While harm certainly occurred, it was not the cataclysmic harm that can justify a nearly half billion-dollar award to the state,” wrote Peter Moulton, one of the appeals judges whose lengthy and convoluted ruling reflected significant disagreement among the five-judge panel.

This is the intermediate appellate court. 

The president’s appeal will now most likely move to New York’s highest court, providing him another opportunity to challenge the finding that he was a fraudster....

The finding that he was a fraudster! They only write like that for Trump. For anyone else, I suspect, they'd name the crime — "that he committed fraud" — and not portray the verdict as labeling the person as a member of category of people who commit this sort of crime. Especially with the jocose "-ster" ending — "fraudster."