Nothing is inconceivable after it happens. What is the thought you don't want to think that would make it conceivable?

Let me quote one more thing from the new episode of "The Daily" podcast, "The Attempted Assassination of Donald Trump." 

The reporter Glenn Thrush talked about the forthcoming investigation of the security provided to Trump:

I think this is going to be regarded as one of the darkest days in the history of the Secret Service. Now, all of us who have covered the White House have traveled with agents — tremendously high level of professionalism. And the job is difficult, bordering on impossible at times, but allowing someone to have a clear firing line to a major presidential candidate in the middle of this kind of highly polarized environment is frankly inconceivable.

That seems to demand a link to the "inconceivable" montage from "The Princess Bride" — the one that ends with "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

Allowing the clear firing line is not inconceivable. In fact, nothing is inconceivable after it happens. But maybe it was inconceivable before it happened. Yet even then, I think it was only inconceivable to those who chastely excluded ugly thoughts from their lovely mind. Knowing that it happened, now you can't turn away. You must find the additional elements to the story that make it make sense.

Thrush adds that "the FBI and folks at the Department of Justice were fairly unvarnished in private, in their criticism of the way that the Secret Service planned this." We need "a significant investigation." Obviously. Who can be trusted? I'll bet we never learn what really happened — why the Secret Service did not secure that rooftop.

"He looked at her in disbelief, she recounted, as if he couldn’t believe she’d called the police over such a matter and asked: 'Why are you acting like you’re not a Muslim?'"

From "As Gambia weighs end to genital-cutting ban, this girl was cut behind mother’s back/The West African country could become the first in the world to overturn a prohibition on female genital mutilation" (WaPo)(full-access link).

Fatty, the imam promoting the ban’s repeal, appeared to refer to Fatou’s story in a sermon earlier this year, saying that a woman who takes her husband to court should be “ashamed.” Fatty compared her story with that story of a “good woman” who refused to take her husband to court even after he beat her so badly she lost four teeth.

UPDATE: "Gambia will maintain its ban on female genital cutting following a historic decision by the National Assembly on Monday that marked a victory for women’s rights advocates in this West African nation" (WaPo).

“I am relieved but sad that we had to be taken through this torment,” said Fatou Baldeh, a Gambian activist and survivor who has received international attention for her advocacy against the practice. “I am so proud of Gambian women for not giving up. We refused to let go.”

"Judge Aileen Cannon ruled that the entire case should be thrown out because the appointment of the special counsel who brought the case, Jack Smith, had violated the Constitution."

The NYT reports.

In a stunning ruling, the judge, Aileen M. Cannon, found that because Mr. Smith had not been named to the post of special counsel by the president or confirmed by the Senate, his appointment was in violation of the appointments clause of the Constitution....

This will be appealed, but in the end Trump will win. In any event, he has won more time. 

ADDED: Here's the opinion. Excerpt:

How quickly Trump "pivoted to a complete understanding of what the image was, what the moment meant..."

I'm listening to the NYT reporter Glenn Thrush on the new episode of "The Daily" podcast, "The Attempted Assassination of Donald Trump."

And the thing I found most extraordinary, having covered Trump on and off all these years is how quickly — when he realized that he was physically okay — that he pivoted to a complete understanding of what the image was, what the moment meant politically. Right? And, and there's just this extraordinary moment of defiance where he balls his fists and the crowd starts to chant "U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!." 

I just can't emphasize how extraordinary that was. And just like he had this instinct that this may have been a horrific event, but he was somehow seeing it as a political one. He was making use of it and, and really connecting with the people at the rally.

Somebody who worked with Trump for many years said this to me a long time ago. A lot of other politicians play the music. They can read the notes, Trump can hear the music. And that was one of those moments where he intuitively understood the moment, understood the image, understood the sound, and behaved in a way that maximized his position going forward. It was really, really something else.

Trump takes whatever comes to him and uses it as material. He did it in an instant, immediately after a close brush with death. Now, he has a longer but still short space of time before he gives his convention speech. What music is he hearing?

Is he Trump, the changed man, or Trump, the defiant one, same as ever?

Not only did he have a near-death experience — with all the potential for real spiritual change as well as the opportunity to appear dramatically changed — but he also has a new near-certainty that he will win the election, and with that comes an opportunity to speak in presidential terms, bringing us together... and leaving the Biden campaign in the dust... in the embarrassing tatters of its Trump-is-Hitler theme.

"To anyone drawing a parallel between my film Bob Roberts and the attempted assassination of Trump..."

"... let’s be clear. What happened yesterday was a real attempt on a presidential candidate’s life. Those that are denying the assassination attempt was real are truly in a deranged mindset. A human being was shot yesterday. Another killed. They may not be human beings that you agree with politically but for shame folks. Get over your blind hatred of these people. They are fellow Americans. This collective hatred is killing our souls and consuming whatever is left of our humanity."

Writes Tim Robbins. 

Thanks, Tim. 

How can the it-was-staged theory get any traction when we know Corey Comperatore was shot dead? Do they think that was fake? 

Dashboard sunrise.

At 5:10 this morning, a strong thunderstorm was about to hit, and I stayed in the car.

I know Biden just gave an Oval Office speech, but I don't feel like making a separate post about it. "We need to get out of our silos," he said. Talk about that or anything else you want. I'm signing off for the night.

A bunch of comments wrongly shunted into the spam file in the last few days.

I just noticed and let them out. I need to check that more often. Sorry, especially to anyone who spent time wondering what they might have done wrong. The answer is nothing. It was the software finding fault inappropriately.

Thanks for all the great comments!

"I really believe she wrote that" — I exclaimed when I read Melania's letter.

There are numerous signs of her authorship:

pic.twitter.com/IGIWzL6SMJ

— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) July 14, 2024

Here's the line — in paragraph 5 — that prompted my exclamation: "A monster who recognized my husband as an inhuman political machine." A native speaker of English would not have used the word "recognized" like that. I'm sure many people are mocking her for that now — yes, even monsters can see that Trump is an inhuman political machine — but to me, it means she wrote it herself.

Later, she repeats the idea of Trump as a "political machine," but the idea is that he is human: He has a "human side" — "core facets" that include "laughter, love of music, and inspiration" — but these things are "buried below the political machine." That's an individual, perhaps awkward, way to say that the would-be assassin saw only the political surface and not the real human being. 

Some other signs of her personal voice: 

About that photograph...

Not only is this moment historical, but the photo that @evanvucci took is also perfect.

The level of compositional mastery comes from over two decades of experience in the field and a sharpness that only comes from thousands and thousands of "reps."

1/5 pic.twitter.com/AQO7d0BYUB

— David Altizer (@dvdaltizer) July 14, 2024

A new chapter in The History of Ears.

I'm reading "From Van Gogh to Mike Tyson: a brief history of ears," a 2009 Guardian article, by Lucy Mangan.

Found after trying to think of a list of famous ears, a list to which Trump's ear will now take one of the top 2 spots. I think Van Gogh's ear still belongs in first place.

I'd thought of the ear Mike Tyson bit off but had forgotten whose ear it was. (It was Evander Holyfield's.)

I'd thought of a movie ear —

"Doherty rose to fame in 1990 as the fresh-faced brunette Brenda Walsh on Fox’s 'Beverly Hills, 90210.'"

"Along with her twin brother Brandon, played by Jason Priestly, the Walshes were the classic fish-out-of-water family that had recently moved from Minnesota to Beverly Hills and were constantly amazed at the antics of the L.A. rich kids.... .. Brenda become the cast member everyone loved to hate on. She was labeled a diva in the press and there was even a pre-internet newsletter called 'I Hate Brenda.'..."

From "Shannen Doherty, ‘Beverly Hills 90210’ and ‘Charmed’ Star, Dies at 53" (Variety).

I didn't watch "Beverly Hills 90210" but I remember the "I Hate Brenda" newsletter — that harbinger of the social media we live inside today. And I remember her from the great movie "Heathers."

Here's a Reddit discussion of "I Hate Brenda":

"We will FEAR NOT, but instead remain resilient in our Faith and Defiant in the face of Wickedness."

Wrote Donald Trump, in Biblical prose, this morning, on Truth Social.

Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers yesterday, as it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.... Our love goes out to the other victims and their families. We pray for the recovery of those who were wounded, and hold in our hearts the memory of the citizen who was so horribly killed. In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United, and show our True Character as Americans, remaining Strong and Determined, and not allowing Evil to Win. I truly love our Country, and love you all, and look forward to speaking to our Great Nation this week from Wisconsin.

ADDED: What's great here, rhetorically, is the combination of love and fighting. No one can forget his fist pumping and repetition of "Fight! Fight! Fight!" less than 2 minutes after he "felt the bullet ripping through the skin." But as his antagonists call for shared love — and an abandonment of fighting — he brings the love into his fight message, merging love and fighting. Notice that he isn't calling us to fight against any human being — indeed, he calls all Americans to fight on his side.  The enemy is "Wickedness" and "Evil."

"The gunman who fired shots at former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Saturday night has been identified by the FBI as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks."

"Crooks was from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, about an hour south of Butler.... 'We do not currently have an identified motive,' said Kevin Rojek, FBI Pittsburgh special agent in charge.... A law enforcement official said early Sunday that there are no foreign terrorism ties known at this time and the suspect was not on the radar of law enforcement.... Federal investigators said the gunman was not carrying identification, so they analyzed his DNA to provide a biometric confirmation of his identity...."

CBS News reports.

That article also contains material about the seeming underperformance of the Secret Service:

"Whoever did this has done so much damage to the left...."

The opening of my comedy show last night a few hours after the shooting if anyone wants to know my thoughts…. pic.twitter.com/bMov0INLEr

— Bill Maher (@billmaher) July 14, 2024

That's "The opening of [Bill Maher's] comedy show last night a few hours after the shooting."

Garnering conspiracy theories... and views.

I'm reading "Misinformation spreads swiftly in hours after Trump rally shooting/Conspiracy theories swell around false flags, Deep State, Biden and the Secret Service, filling the information vacuum as consumers choose their own reality" (WaPo)

Minutes after shots were fired, right-wing social media influencers and elected Republicans began insinuating that powerful figures were responsible, directly or indirectly, for the attempt. Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) posted to X that “Joe Biden sent the orders,” garnering over 4 million views, and later called for Biden to face charges for “inciting an assassination.” 

More broadly on social media, a TikTok user who posts under the handle @theoldermillenial.1 told his 1.2 million followers, “I guess because the court cases weren’t going so well, they decided to try a different avenue. Guys, don’t forget, this is what the left is capable of.”.... 

[M]isinformation experts urged the public not to share unconfirmed information online.... But far-right channels on encrypted platforms were abuzz with a mixture of shock, rage and conspiracy theories. Triumphant slogans (“You missed!”) and calls for civil war captioned the instantly totemic image of a bloodied but defiant Trump raising a fist with the flag in the background. Without any clear word from authorities on suspects or motives, MAGA extremists instantly embraced the idea of a politically motivated assassination attempt. Disinformation swirled as trolls looked for easy clicks by sharing uncorroborated footage and information about people they claimed to be the assailant.

This makes it sound as though people were just exploiting the opportunity to draw traffic to their accounts, but it is the completely natural and uncontrollable need to communicate about an unfolding event. We're supposed to wait for "clear word from authorities"? We're still waiting for clear word from authorities about the JFK assassination!

Can this, then, be a moment?

I'm reading the what the Editorial Board of The Washington Post put up at 10:53 ET last night, "What do we want to do, America? We have all been touched by toxic politics — regardless of our beliefs":

In this moment, we have to recognize that we have all been touched by toxic politics — regardless of our beliefs or where we fall on an ideological spectrum.

Can this, then, be a moment to pause and rediscover our better selves? To hear our inner voices, as clearly as we heard those shots? Americans, what do we want to be?

I'm giving this post my "civility bullshit" tag, which I use for insincere calls for civility. I think the editors want to escape criticism for the overblown, hateful rhetoric its side has aimed at Trump over the years, and it fully intends — consciously or not — to return to its old ways when it will serve its political interests.

ADDED: Here's the moment I would like all politically sentient Americans to reflect upon. When you saw that there was an attempt to murder Trump, what did you think? How did you feel? Look into your own heart and see yourself. I know how I felt, and I experienced it in real time, with a minute and 2 seconds of wondering Did we just witness an assassination? — before we heard the famous voice say, "Let me get my shoes." My conscience is clear. I experienced horror and disbelief, and I did not want to lose Trump. But some Americans — how many? — must have thought, Oh, damn, they missed. We could have been rid of that bad bad man. Look into your own heart and see yourself.