Marie: Here's some news. Squarespace really did work on getting the Comments operational again. And sometime last night, they succeeded. Ken W. received notifications for several days' worth of comments, and I was able to post a comment this morning. 

For now, I'm sticking with Blogspot ~~~

https://reality-chex-earth1.blogspot.com/

~~~ but I'll probably try to cross-post here, though I'll have to skip videos & photos, as reposting them takes extra efforts. You can comment where you want to comment, but I'm considering Blogspot, for all its shortcomings, the primary Reality Chex site -- UFN (until further notice). As I've said, I may change back to Squarespace in a few weeks after I've tried to migrate the site to newer versions of Squarespace. 

S. V. Date of the Huffington Post: “Free from the supervision of European leaders..., Donald Trump on Tuesday reverted to form, blaming Ukraine for getting invaded by Russia and making dictator Vladimir Putin’s arguments on his behalf. 'Russia is a powerful military nation.... It’s a much bigger nation,' Trump said in a 25-minute, phoned-in appearance on Fox News’ morning show. 'You don’t do that. You don’t take ― you don’t take on a nation that’s 10 times your size.'... Trump again offered warm words for Putin, who has been charged with war crimes for his conduct in the invasion...: “You saw that when he got off his plane, I got off my plane. There’s a warmth there that you can’t ― you know, there’s a, there’s a decent feeling.'... And Trump suggested that Ukraine brought Putin’s brutal invasion on itself by seeking to join NATO: 'It was always a no-no, you could not. Russia said, “We don’t want the so-called opponent or the enemy,” let’s use that term, “We don’t want them on our border.” And they were right.'” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Notice how in the last few sentences I've cited, Date explains what Trump seems to mean, then quotes Trump's incomprehensible run-on gibberish. 

Barak Ravid of Axios: "Senior officials from the U.S., Ukraine and several European countries are expected to work in the coming days on a detailed proposal for security guarantees for Ukraine, likely involving U.S. air power.... After months of refusing to discuss the issue..., [Donald] Trump has come around to the idea of U.S. involvement in such a scheme. In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, Trump stressed there will be no U.S. boots on the ground but said he is open to providing American military air support to any European military forces stationed in Ukraine.... Two sources ... said a U.S.-European-Ukrainian commission was formed to draft a proposal for security guarantees. The commission is headed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, with national security advisers from Ukraine and European countries also participating...."

I think he wants to make a deal for me. Do you understand that? As crazy as it sounds. -- Donald Trump, to Emmanuel Macron, Monday, caught on an open mic  

David Rothkopf of the Daily Beast, republished by Yahoo! News: “On Monday, at the White House, in order to placate the pathological narcissism and delusions of grandeur of America’s president, European leaders one after another fawned over Donald Trump even while each knew they were actually meeting with him to try to contain his worst impulses.... Some countries have a foreign policy. Given trade deals, the Ukraine rare earths deal earlier this year, and this promise of payment for U.S. muscle, it’s clear that Trump and his captains like Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff are actually running a protection racket.” Rothkopf goes on to relate a number of daunting obstacles to peace, ending with this one: Trump is “cracked and to get from here to a settlement everyone is going to have to deal with his mental illness throughout this.”  (Also linked yesterday.) 

Vivian Salama & Jonathan Lemire of the Atlantic: After [Monday's] international intervention, “Top European officials said that they remain cautiously optimistic at best about the prospects that U.S. mediation can end the Ukraine war, and some expressed skepticism with regard to Trump’s abilities and intentions. Yet they have little choice but to follow his lead: An end to American support for Kyiv — as fickle as it may be — would prove devastating to the Ukrainian cause.” And the writers clear up that Trump phone call to Putin; it was not during the meeting with European leaders but “... in between meetings with Zelensky and the European officials....” Thanks to akaWendy for this gift link.  (Also linked yesterday.)  

Tom Friedman of the New York Times: “I am trying to balance ... [Donald] Trump’s commendable desire to end the murderous war in Ukraine with the utterly personalized, seat-of-the-pants, often farcical way he is going about it — including the energy that everyone involved has to expend feeding his ego and avoiding his wrath, before they even get to the hellish compromises needed to make peace.... How is this ever going to work?... Trump does not get what this Ukraine war is truly about.... He feels no gut solidarity with the trans-Atlantic alliance and its shared commitment to democracy, free markets, human rights and the rule of law — an alliance that has produced the greatest period of prosperity and stability for the most people in the history of the world.... To stop this war in a sustainable way, you have to understand ... Putin is a bad guy, a coldblooded murderer. He is not the friend of the president. That is a fantasy that Trump chooses to believe is real.”

He’s a war hero, because we work together. He’s a war hero. I guess I am too. -- Donald Trump, on Benjamin Netanyahu, Tuesday ~~~ 

~~~ Matthew Bigg of the New York Times: Donald “Trump praised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel as a 'war hero' for ordering his country’s forces to bombard Iran’s nuclear sites — and then said that the same label should apply to himself. In an interview aired Tuesday with Mark Levin, the conservative talk show host and author who is a prominent supporter of the president, Mr. Trump described Mr. Netanyahu as a 'good man.'”

Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: Donald “Trump accused the Smithsonian Institution on Tuesday of focusing too much on 'how bad slavery was' and not enough on the 'brightness' of America as his administration conducts a wide-ranging review of the content in its museum exhibits. 'The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL, where everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been — Nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future,' Mr. Trump said in a social media post.... Mr. Trump made the comments a week after the White House told the Smithsonian that its museums would be required to adjust any content that the administration finds problematic in 'tone, historical framing and alignment with American ideals' within 120 days. Taken together, the administration’s examination and Mr. Trump’s post on Tuesday were the latest example of Mr. Trump trying to impose his will on a cultural institution and minimize the experiences and history of Black people in the United States.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: "Still longing for de old plantation, And for de old folks at home. When will I hear de banjo strumming, Down in my good old home?" Alas, Trump's racism is not nearly so benign as Stephen Foster's nostalgic minstrel song.

Alex Horton, et al., of the Washington Post: “National Guard troops from Republican-led states arrived in Washington this week, joining 800 troops already deployed in the capital, as the Trump administration casts the military presence as part of an effort to battle crime. Republican governors of six states collectively mobilized roughly 1,200 additional troops to help President Donald Trump restore public safety in D.C., even though violent crime in the city has been falling since 2023.” ~~~

Gabbard’s move to yank clearances from a seemingly random list of national security officials is a reckless abuse of the security clearance process and nothing more than another sad attempt to distract from the administration’s failure to release the Epstein files. -- Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), Vice Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee ~~~

~~~ Julian Barnes & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times : Donald “Trump revoked the security clearances of 37 current and former national security officials, many of whom worked on Russia analysis or foreign threats to U.S. elections, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.... At least three current senior officials at various intelligence agencies, all with reputations for nonpartisan work, are among those who lost their clearances and their jobs. They included Shelby Pierson, a senior intelligence official who warned Congress about Russian meddling in the 2020 election; a senior C.I.A. analyst currently serving undercover; and Vinh X. Nguyen, a senior National Security Agency data scientist. Rescinding security clearances appears to be part of a campaign by Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, to reveal what she sees as flaws in intelligence assessments about Russian malign influence operations during the 2016 election.... Critics also say that Mr. Trump has turned the focus onto the 2016 election to distract from questions about the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.” The AP report is here.

Tara Copp, et al., of the Washington Post:  “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s unusually large personal security requirements are straining the Army agency tasked with protecting him as it pulls agents from criminal investigations to safeguard family residences in Minnesota, Tennessee and D.C., according to numerous officials familiar with the operation. The sprawling, multimillion-dollar initiative has forced the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division, or CID, the agency that fields security for top Defense Department officials, to staff weeks-long assignments in each location and at times monitor residences belonging to the Hegseths’ former spouses, the officials said.... The Washington Post withheld several sensitive details gathered in the course of reporting this article....

Ana Ley of the New York Times: “Federal officials shared a post on social media last weekend that wrongly accused a Connecticut state lawmaker of publishing detailed location information about deportation efforts by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, triggering a torrent of harassment against him. The lawmaker, Corey P. Paris, of Stamford, said that he had received threats against his life and his relatives.... In a message posted on Instagram, Mr. Paris, a Democrat, told followers on Friday that he had learned of immigration enforcement efforts in his district and wanted to warn residents to 'remain vigilant.' The influential right-wing account Libs of TikTok then shared his post on X, claiming that he was 'doxxing ICE’s live location' and 'helping illegals evade arrest and impeding ICE,' even though Mr. Paris had not named any specific places where agents had been seen.... ICE officials republished the post ... and tagged the Justice Department’s account.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I hope Mr. Paris successfully sues ICE, KKKristi & Trump for defamation & endangerment & whatever. For a federal agency to make an accusation against an elected official without making the slightest effort to ascertain the veracity of the accusation is beyond irresponsible. In fact, it's something Trump himself does almost daily. 

Alan Feuer of the New York Times: “Lawyers for Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the immigrant who was wrongfully expelled to El Salvador in March, accused the Justice Department on Tuesday of vindictive prosecution for bringing a criminal case against him after he and his lawyers fought his deportation. The accusations, made in a 35-page filing in Federal District Court in Nashville, amounted to an effort by Mr. Abrego Garcia to call out the behavior of the administration, which has been going after him in one form or another for nearly five months.... Mr. Abrego Garcia’s lawyers pointed out that Trump officials first removed him from the United States in violation of a court order. They added that instead of taking the traditional path and quickly returning him, the White House 'began a public campaign to punish Mr. Abrego for daring to fight back, culminating in the criminal investigation' that led to his indictment.”

Weird Behavior. Robert Davis of the Raw Story: "CNN released footage showing Ed Martin, a controversial Trump appointee to the DOJ, taking pictures outside of New York Attorney General Letitia James' home. Abbe Lowell, who currently represents James in a mortgage fraud lawsuit the DOJ filed against her, joined CNN's Brianna Keilar on "The Source" Tuesday night to discuss the department's actions. 'This Justice Department creates new, bad optics every day,' Lowell said." ~~~

     ~~~ Kara Scannell of CNN: “Ed Martin..., Donald Trump’s Justice Department weaponization chief, called for the resignation of New York Attorney General Letitia James and posed for photos outside of her Brooklyn home last week – all as he is conducting investigations into her conduct.... In video obtained by CNN, Martin can be seen posing for photos outside of James’ home.“This is a criminal investigation, not social media,” said Elie Honig, CNN’s senior legal analyst. 'A stunt like that might get clicks, but it’s patently inappropriate for a prosecutor to do and it certainly will give James and her attorney a basis to oppose any indictment, to argue it was prejudicial to the jury pool and that an indictment was brought in bad faith.'” ~~~

     ~~~ MB: The video that accompanies Scannell's report appears to be shot at night, though I suppose it could be a day-for-night thing. MSNBC ran daylight footage of Martin & a colleague standing in front of James' home. The temp ws 88 degrees, MSNBC reported, and Martin was wearing a trenchcoat over a business suit. A neighbor -- clad in shorts and a T-shirt -- approached them and asked what they were doing there. Martin claimed to her that he was interested in knowing if the steps leading to James' brownstone were called a "stoop." So, architectural research.

Wendell Potter: As I testified before the Senate HELP committee last week, "...  the seven biggest publicly traded health insurance companies collectively made $71.3 billion in profits, up more than half a billion dollars from 2023. All while millions of Americans continued to skip their medications, rationed insulin and delayed care due to insurers’ out-of-pocket demands.... The CEOs of those seven companies took home a combined $146.1 million in 2024 compensation. That’s enough to cover annual premiums for thousands of American families." Emphasis original.... Insurers continued to jack up premiums for their commercial customers and overcharge the government." Thanks to RAS for the link.

Margo Arnouyal of the Washington Post: “Red meat prices are skyrocketing in the United States, the world’s largest consumer and producer of beef. Beef and veal prices surged 11.3 percent in July over the year, according to the most recent consumer price index report. That’s nearly four times the price jump of food overall during the same period.... One of the drivers of spiking beef costs is a drought that has ravaged U.S. cattle in key meat-producing states since 2022, causing cattle volumes to collapse this year to their lowest recorded levels since 1951. And now, the Trump administration’s tariffs are hitting major beef suppliers such as Brazil — and are set to push prices for American consumers even higher.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So here Trump is causing inflation on two front: first, by reversing climate change mitigations and second, with his stupid tariffs. 

Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: “... fewer and fewer Americans are choosing to be Democrats.... The Democratic Party is hemorrhaging voters long before they even go to the polls. Of the 30 states that track voter registration by political party, Democrats lost ground to Republicans in every single one between the 2020 and 2024 elections — and often by a lot. That four-year swing toward the Republicans adds up to 4.5 million voters, a deep political hole that could take years for Democrats to climb out from. The stampede away from the Democratic Party is occurring in battleground states, the bluest states and the reddest states, too, according to a new analysis of voter registration data by The New York Times.... For the first time since 2018, more new voters nationwide chose to be Republicans than Democrats last year.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The problem, IMO, is not the party's policies, but its candidates. They are bo-o-o-ring. By far, the most exciting Democratic presidential candidate since 2012 was Bernie Sanders, and though his message was right, he was always too old for the job. Even when Democratic candidates do their best -- and Kamala Harris did her best under the circumstances -- they are all versions of Al Gore losing to a dunderhead. (That Biden managed to pull off a win in 2020 was a miracle, even though he was a far, far more qualified candidate than Donald Trump could ever hope to be.) The Times' findings, BTW, makes Graham Platner a more interesting challenger to Maine's concerned Senator (see links below). 

John Yoon & Emmett Lindner of the New York Times: “When MSNBC announced on Monday that it was being renamed MS NOW, some of the cable network’s biggest stars expressed their support.... Outside the network, the rebrand became a subject of bemusement and mockery.... MSNBC began in 1996 as a joint venture between the National Broadcasting Company, NBC, and Microsoft. Microsoft eventually sold its stake in the venture, but its abbreviation remained in the MSNBC brand. The rebranding is expected by the end of the year as part of MSNBC’s corporate spinoff from Comcast’s NBCUniversal TV empire. The spinoff required the new company to stop using the NBC brand and its signature Peacock, which are both staying with Comcast.”  (Also linked yesterday.) 

Annals of “Journalism,” Ctd. Katie Robertson of the New York Times: “Several of Fox News’s most prominent on-air news personalities made clear their desire to help Mr. Trump shortly before and after the 2020 presidential election, according to a tranche of court documents released on Tuesday in a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox Corporation filed by Smartmatic, a voting technology company. In one text message, [Jesse] Watters ... said to his colleague Greg Gutfeld: 'Think about how incredible our ratings would be if Fox went ALL in on STOP THE STEAL,' a reference to the movement trying to overturn the results of the election. [Jeanine] Pirro..., who is now the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C..., told Ronna McDaniel, then the Republican National Committee chair, in a text in the months before the election: 'I work so hard for the President and party.' Ms. Pirro had been pushing for a pardon from Mr. Trump for her ex-husband, Smartmatic argues. [Maria] Bartiromo ... texted Rudolph W. Giuliani ... about the election results on Nov. 12, 2020: 'I want you to overturn this.'” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: At last, there are enough declarations here to require Fox to drop the "News" handle and force it to call itself "Fox Brainwashing." 

~~~~~~~~~~

Arkansas. Trumpsville? Debra Kamin of the New York Times: “Housing rights experts say [an Ozark Mountains] community restricted to white residents is illegal, but the creators believe they could win a potential challenge in court in the current political climate.... The community’s two architects — a classically trained French horn player who has livestreamed his own sex videos, and a former jazz pianist arrested but not charged for attempted murder in Ecuador — say they must personally confirm that applicants are white before they can be welcomed in.... As the Trump administration rolls back diversity, equity and inclusion policies, cracks down on immigration and offers pardons to white supremacists, some see an opening. In creating their community, the founders of Return to the Land are testing anti-discrimination housing laws that have been in place for 57 years.... Tim Griffin, the Arkansas attorney general, opened an investigation into potential legal violations by Return to the Land after reports on the community were published earlier in the summer in The Forward and on Sky News.”

Florida. Ron DeLusional. Lawrence Mower of the Tampa Bay Times: “Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that he doesn’t think ... Donald Trump’s desire to ban voting by mail applies to Florida. Asked about Trump’s vow on Monday to 'lead a movement' to end the use of mail-in ballots, DeSantis said he thought it only applied to states that send mail ballots to all voters.... He defended Florida’s system, in which voters have to request a vote-by-mail ballot. 'I think what Florida has is absentee voting,' he said.... Trump’s post on Truth Social made no such distinctions. He wrote that he would issue an executive order to bring 'honesty' to the 2026 elections by getting 'rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS' as well as 'Highly “Inaccurate,” Very Expensive, and Seriously Controversial VOTING MACHINES.'” Thanks to Bobby Lee for the link. As Bobby Lee says, “DeSantis is either whistling in the dark or willfully lying” here.

Maine. Theodore Schleifer & Brooks Barnes of the New York Times: “Some of Hollywood’s most prominent Democrats are set to hold a fund-raiser next month for ... Senator Susan Collins, a Maine Republican who is one of the Democratic Party’s top targets in the 2026 midterm elections.... That Ms. Collins is the toast of some liberal donors is something of an odd-bedfellows moment. But the senator has prided herself as independent, with fans among moderate Democratic voters and donors.” The Hollywood folks the reporters name are all on the production side -- Sherry Lansing of Paramount, super sports agent Casey Wasserman, etc. -- rather than talent. ~~~

     ~~~ Annie Karni of the New York Times: “Enter Graham Platner, a 40-year-old oyster farmer and former Marine who served three tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan, and [announced] on Tuesday ... a long-shot challenge to Ms. Collins, with a campaign focused on making life better for his state’s working class. 'We need to stop using the exact same playbook that keeps losing over and over and over again,' said Mr. Platner, a political unknown who serves as the local harbor master in the tiny town of Sullivan.” 

Oklahoma. Daniel Wu of the Washington Post: “Teachers from New York and California who apply to teach in Oklahoma will now have to answer questions meant to screen out 'woke indoctrinators' with left-wing views — the latest attempt by Oklahoma officials to push the state’s education system rightward. The test’s 50 questions will cover topics about U.S. government, religion and gender, according to examples shared by the office of Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters (R).” (Also linked yesterday.) 

Texas. “Ms. Collier Refused.” David Goodman of the New York Times: “Nicole Collier, a [Democratic] state representative, slept in the Capitol rather than agree to police surveillance imposed by Republicans after a Democratic walkout. 'I am resisting,' she said.... [Republican legislators prevented their Democratic colleagues] from leaving the Capitol building unless they signed a permission slip promising to return — it looked a lot like a middle-school hall pass — and agreed to have a state police officer follow them until they did. Ms. Collier refused.... On Monday, the House speaker invoked rules that allow him, after a majority vote, to lock the chamber doors and prohibit members from leaving without his written permission. The rules also allow 'by order of a majority of those present' for the attendance of members to be 'secured and retained.'” The link is a gift link. Read on. ~~~

     ~~~ In yesterday's thread, RAS wrote, "Who do you call when the state of Texas and law enforcement publicly hold a woman against her will? And the federal government is violating the Constitution and people's rights constantly so there is no help from the Orange regime or their Injustice Department. Kidnapping used to be a crime before Trump came along and gave Republicans carte blanche." Akhilleus expressed similar outrage. ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Eleanor Klibanoff of the Texas Tribune: “State Rep. Nicole Collier, a Fort Worth Democrat who has been on the floor of the Texas House since Monday afternoon, filed a lawsuit challenging the chamber’s authority to put members under police surveillance, according to a filing obtained by Courthouse News.” 

~~~~~~~~~~

Canada. Ian Austen of the New York Times: “The union that represents about 10,000 striking Air Canada flight attendants said early Tuesday morning that it had agreed to a tentative contract with the airline, ending a walkout that had disrupted air travel across Canada and stranded thousands of travelers. The proposed contract, which the Canadian Union of Public Employees said in a statement would bring “transformational change for our industry,” came after the union defied two back-to-work orders and rejected the federal government’s plan to force a deal through binding arbitration rather than negotiation.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Squarespace is still not functioning even though, according to their tech people, they are working on its major problems — (1) that you cannot comment, and (2) that at least nine times out of ten, I cannot post.

Substack is not working out. The platform almost immediately banned two valued contributors from commenting and will not allow me to restore them. It has done its damnedest to expose the identities of contributors who do not wish to be identified. It imposes some kind of “community standards” on contributors that limit your free speech and mine.

And so, and so. I must go to Plan C. I’ve moved Reality Chex to Blogspot. The new URL is

https://reality-chex-earth1.blogspot.com/

(Once you’ve typed all that the first time, you should be able to get away with typing just “reality-” and that will call up the site.)

Alas, this is not the final plan. Eventually, I expect I will have to convert the “real” Reality Chex to a different Squarespace platform. There are several reasons I have not done that yet, one of which is that I will still be paying for their abysmal tech services, though Squarespace people assure me those services will improve a little if I switch.

So there we are.

European Leaders Stand Together Against Rogue U.S. Tyrant. Michael Birnbaum & Cat Zakrzewski of the Washington Post: “Leaders of European and NATO countries presented a united front Monday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, after racing to Washington hoping to steer ... Donald Trump away from some of the concessions he appeared ready to grant the Kremlin to end the war in Ukraine. After several hours of meetings, sharp differences remained evident between the leaders and Trump, who declared that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready for peace, even as he has continued his bombardment of Ukraine and demanded that Kyiv make sweeping, painful concessions to stop the war. But Ukrainian and European leaders appeared encouraged by Trump’s openness to security guarantees for Ukraine, which Putin might not accept. That could make the Kremlin the obstacle to Trump’s peace deal, insulating Ukraine from having to choose between untenable concessions of territory and inviting Trump’s ire.... Putin and Zelensky will meet 'within the next two weeks,' German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said after the White House meetings ended.”

Dressed for Success. Stupidest “Controversy” Since the Tan Suit. Cleve Wootson of the Washington Post: “Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky showed up at the Oval Office on Monday wearing a black jacket and a black collared shirt, having apparently gotten the message during his last trip to D.C., in February, when ... Donald Trump mocked his clothing choice before their meeting later imploded.... [At the same meeting, Brian Glenn a 'reporter' with a right-wing media outfit, asked,] 'Why don’t you wear a suit? ... You’re at the highest level in this country’s office, and you refuse to wear a suit.... A lot of Americans have problems with you not respecting the dignity of this office.'... Zelensky has donned military-style garb since the first day of Russia’s full-scale invasion of his country in 2022, often wearing a green T-shirt or black sweater emblazoned with the Ukrainian coat of arms, a show of solidarity with frontline troops.... [On Monday,] Vice President JD Vance, who had accused Zelensky at the time of being  'ungrateful' for U.S. help, said nothing. And Glenn made another comment about Zelensky’s attire — this time a positive one.” Here's how that went: ~~~

Glenn: First of all, President Zelensky, you look fabulous in that suit. You look good. ...

Zelensky: But you are in the same suit. You see, I changed. You are not.

David Badash of the New Civil Rights Movement: "... Donald Trump and his advance team were highly criticized as images of U.S. soldiers on their hands and knees rolling out a red carpet in front of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plane on the tarmac in Alaska made the rounds on the internet on Friday. But the President of the United States was not on hand to greet the seven European leaders who jetted to Washington, D.C. and headed to the White House on Monday. Critics are angered Trump instead had U.S. Chief of Protocol Monica Crowley at the door to welcome them." MB: That would be the same Monica Crowley who left secret U.S. documents lying around the printer of an Alaska hotel where Russians also were staying.... Trump greeted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, but no red carpet."

“Republic of the Condo.” Erkki Forster of the Daily Beast, republished by Yahoo! News: “The White House appeared to cover up Donald Trump’s cankles in an official photo from his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office on Monday. The 79-year-old president’s swollen ankles were hard to miss as his slacks crept up his shin while sitting down with [President] Zelensky, 47, for Russia-Ukraine peace talks. But in a photo from the meeting posted by the White House’s X account, the angle conveniently placed Trump’s cherished Air Force One model in front of his enlarged lower limbs.... Trump — who is also often seen with a bruise on his right hand — is the oldest president ever to be inaugurated. His physical and cognitive health have been questioned amid his diagnosis and frequent gaffes. During Monday’s meeting with Zelensky, he referred to the Republic of the Congo as the 'Republic of the Condo.'”

Bonjino Gets a Buddy. Devlin Barrett & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: “The Trump administration said on Monday that it had tapped the Missouri attorney general, Andrew Bailey, to be a deputy director of the F.B.I., in what many rank-and-file agents described as a surprising arrangement. Mr. Bailey would join the current deputy director, Dan Bongino, who as a popular right-wing podcast host repeatedly railed against the bureau, in overseeing the day-to-day operations of the agency. Since taking the post — a sprawling task that includes overseeing dozens of field offices around the country, as well as personnel assigned around the world — Mr. Bongino has vocally complained about the toll the job has taken on him.... The move was reported earlier by Fox News Digital, prompting a one-word response from Mr. Bongino on social media. 'Welcome,' he wrote, followed by a trio of American flag emojis.... It remains to be seen what Mr. Bailey’s hiring means for Mr. Bongino, whose future has appeared tenuous after a furious fight with the attorney general, Pam Bondi, spilled into public view in July.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So this is how Trump II does "You're Fired" in order to pretend "everything is going very well." They sideline the unwanted staffer and appoint someone else to the job. ~~~

     ~~~ Perry Stein of the Washington Post: Andrew “Bailey, a Trump loyalist who supported debunked claims that the 2020 election was stolen..., has no known experience at the FBI. He is a military veteran who as Missouri’s top prosecutor mounted high-profile legal fights aligned with Trump’s agenda. He sued Starbucks over its diversity, equity and inclusion policies, fought transgender care policies and waged legal battles against sanctuary city policies.” MB: But he is a sturdily-built, customarily handsome White guy of the appearance Trump imagines an FBI agent should look like.

Chris Cameron of the New York Times: “The Air Force’s top uniformed officer, Gen. David Allvin, will retire early, the Pentagon said on Monday, the latest early departure of a high-ranking general under ... [Donald] Trump. General Allvin, the chief of staff of the Air Force, will retire around Nov. 1 — two years into a four-year term....” ~~~

     ~~~ Oh. The Rest of the Story. Dan Lamothe & Tara Copp of the Washington Post: “Allvin was informed last week that he would be asked to retire and that the Pentagon under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wanted to go in another direction, said a person familiar with the matter.... As a trade-off, the Pentagon would allow Allvin to announce the decision, this person said, adding, 'It was certainly not his choice.'... Allvin’s impending departure follows the firings of several other senior military officers since Trump’s return to the White House this year, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the chief of naval operations, the commandant of the Coast Guard, and the vice chief of staff of the Air Force. Generals and admirals serving in less prominent roles also have been purged, sending shock waves through the Pentagon and much of the U.S. military, where stability typically is seen as an asset.”

Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: “Manhattan’s federal court judges on Monday retained Jay Clayton as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, a victory for ... [Donald] Trump, who had named him to lead the office temporarily after his Senate confirmation was blocked. Mr. Clayton’s appointment will last until a Senate-confirmed candidate can be installed to run what has been the country’s most prestigious prosecutor’s office. In practical terms, the decision means he may end up serving for the duration of the Trump administration; New York’s senior Democratic senator, Chuck Schumer, has said he would stop Mr. Clayton’s confirmation.”

This is step one in how we lose free and fair elections. It’s not that Trump will 'cancel' the midterms. It’s just everyone has to vote in person, and urban downtowns will be filled with ICE checkpoints and intimidating National Guard troops to 'double check' that only citizens vote. -- Garrett Graff in a BlueSky skeet ~~~

~~~ Steve Benen of MSNBC: “Two months into his second term..., Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order intended to overhaul dramatically how elections are administered in the United States, taking aim at everything from voter registration requirements to election equipment to mail-in ballot deadlines. NBC News noted that the 'reforms,' if implemented, would’ve risked 'disenfranchising tens of millions of Americans.'... NBC News reported: 'Trump said in a post to Truth Social that he would sign an executive order to try to get rid of mail-in ballots and voting machines, a move that would almost certainly face immediate challenges in court. The president said in the post that he was 'going to lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS” and voting machines.'... 'Remember, the States are merely an ‘agent’ for the Federal Government in counting and tabulating the votes,' Trump wrote, peddling a legal absurdity.”

Michael Gold of the New York Times: “When House Republican leaders rushed to leave Washington for a long August break, they seemed desperate to quell the anger among their supporters about the Trump administration’s backtracking on a promise to release files related to its investigation of the accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. But halfway through a five-week congressional recess, the clamor shows little sign of quieting.... Back in their districts, lawmakers have continued to face questions about the Epstein investigation from their constituents. And the Justice Department, which ignored a Friday deadline from Senate Democrats and is set to miss another on Tuesday to comply with a bipartisan subpoena to provide the materials to Congress, has yet to release anything.... Democrats, in some cases with the help of Republicans, have laid a series of procedural traps that will make it all but impossible for the G.O.P. to avoid confronting the issue again when Congress reconvenes in September.” ~~~

~~~ Michael Gold of the New York Times: “The chairman of the House’s chief investigative committee said on Monday that the Justice Department would miss his panel’s Tuesday subpoena deadline for providing files related to the accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein but would begin sharing some records starting Friday. Representative James R. Comer, the Kentucky Republican who leads the Oversight Committee, issued the subpoena to Attorney General Pam Bondi this month after a few G.O.P. lawmakers on the panel teamed with Democrats to force his hand. It set an Aug. 19 deadline for the Justice Department to give the committee all of its files related to Mr. Epstein.... Mr. Comer ... chalk[ed the delay] up to the sheer volume of records it had on Mr. Epstein and [his sex-trafficking associate] Ghislaine Maxwell.... Democrats on the Oversight Committee expressed skepticism about Mr. Comer’s announcement. The ... Committee was required to send a subpoena for the Epstein files after Democrats forced a vote in a key oversight subcommittee last month.”

Lauren Hirsch & Tripp Mickle of the New York Times: “The Trump administration has discussed taking a 10 percent stake in Intel as part of a government-backed effort to revive the troubled U.S. chipmaker and bolster domestic semiconductor manufacturing.... The discussion has included converting $10.86 billion in recent federal grants into equity in Intel, which is worth about $100 billion.... The Biden administration awarded the Intel grants under the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act.... The proposal would be among the largest government interventions in a U.S. company since the rescue of the auto industry after the 2008 financial crisis.... While the United States is not facing a similar economic threat today, the Trump administration has been unusually aggressive in taking stakes in businesses. The federal government took a 'golden share' in U.S. Steel this year....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Uh, isn't taking stakes in some of the nation's vital corporations a copy of the communist model? How is it Trump repeatedly calls Democrats communists when it his administration that is introducing communistic strategies into the economy?

Eduardo Medina of the New York Times: “The governors of Mississippi and Louisiana said on Monday that they would deploy hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington, joining three other Republican-led states that have recently heeded ... [Donald] Trump’s request to fill the nation’s capital with troops.... The governors of Ohio, West Virginia and South Carolina have also deployed National Guard troops to Washington as part of Mr. Trump’s crackdown on the city, which has also included deploying hundreds of federal agents and commandeering the Washington police force. The five states are collectively sending about 1,000 troops to Washington, where there are already 800 deployed troops from the D.C. National Guard, which the president can call out directly.” ~~~

     ~~~ Brittany Shammas, et al.,  of the Washington Post: “As images have circulated showing Guard members taking photographs with passersby and patrolling parts of the city that aren’t considered high-crime areas, some have questioned what purpose the troops are serving.... D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) told reporters the growing number of National Guard troops from other states 'doesn’t make sense' — and was not a matter she had any control over.... Council member Christina Henderson (I-At Large) ... said the governors who are sending more National Guard members should be asked, 'What are your troops actually going to be doing here? Because the current ones are not doing a lot.'”

Patrick Marley, et al., of the Washington Post : “Texas Republicans moved closer Monday to enacting a new congressional map designed to boost their chances in the midterm elections as Democrats ended a two-week boycott aimed at stalling the plan. Soon after the Democrats returned, Republicans modified a proposed map that was already friendly to the GOP to make it even more favorable to their party. With the Democrats back, Republicans, at the behest of ... Donald Trump, plan to pass the new map by the end of the month. In Washington, Republicans hold a 219-212 U.S. House majority with four vacancies, and a broad, national fight over redrawing districts could determine which party wins control next year.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Today's entries are at ~~~

https://realitychexforum.substack.com/

You can comment there (I think), though the formatting options are limited to, well, zero, as far as I can tell. There's no way to bolden, italicize or strike out text. There's no way to embed links within the text, but you can copy & paste URLs into the body of your comment, & they will appear as links.

Write to me at marieburns2022@gmail.com if you have trouble, and I'll do what I can to help.  

So, as promised, I have entertained (i.e., frustrated) myself this weekend working on alternatives for RealityChex.com. 

So far, there's this:

https://realitychexforum.substack.com/

There are numerous downsides to the Substack format, but one big upside: You can comment on it. It took me quite awhile yesterday to set up the site, but I've done so, and this morning I posted a page for today, August 17. 

Having said that, I urge you to hold off on commenting if you do not wish to have any identifying personal information made public. I want to make sure there is a way to comment without inadvertently revealing any personal information. I can't test it myself, but I would ask those of you who aren't overly concerned about your true identity being published to experiment by trying to publish a few anonymous comments. You can make "real" comments if you want to in your own name, but please also try a nonsense comment under an anonymous handle. And let me know what you did to hide your name and/or email address. My goal here is to make sure nobody who wants to remain anonymous gets outted. 

If somehow info does show up in the comments and you don't want it there, please email me @ marieburns2022@gmail.com or @ constantweader@gmail.com, and I'll delete the comment ASAP.

The formatting options on Substack are very inferior to those of Squarespace, so the Substack page is harder to read, IMO, than is RealityChex.com. On my browser, I blow up both RealityChex.com & RealityChexForum.substack.com to 120%, and that makes both easier for me to read. 

Squarespace wants RealityChex.com to migrate -- twice -- to newer versions of their platform. I'm going to give the moves a try, but this will take me awhile. I experimented several years ago with one of their newer platforms, and it absolutely is not designed to reproduce RealityChex.com in its current configuration, or anything close to it. I also have an old Blogspot site that I'm going to take another look at. If I think it's better than Substack, I could go back to Blogspot. There are many other options out there, but they all require a clean break with Squarespace (because I'd have to move my domain name), and I'm trying to delay that. 

So that's where I am. I'll keep you updated. In the meantime, if some of you could play around with commenting on today's Substack page, it would be a help to those users who must or prefer to remain anonymous. As the Leader of the Free World Aspiring Facists Club says, Thank you for your attention to this matter.

⭐Trump, Traitor to Western Democracy. Here is the New York Times liveblog for Saturday on the Trump-Putin debacle: “... [Donald] Trump on Saturday split from Ukraine and key European allies after his summit with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, backing Mr. Putin’s plan for a sweeping peace agreement based on Ukraine ceding territory it controls to Russia, instead of the urgent cease-fire Mr. Trump had said he wanted before the meeting. Skipping cease-fire discussions would give Russia an advantage in the talks, which are expected to continue on Monday when President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine visits Mr. Trump at the White House. It breaks from a strategy Mr. Trump and European allies, as well as Mr. Zelensky, had agreed to before the U.S.-Russia summit in Alaska. Mr. Trump told European leaders that he believed a rapid peace deal could be negotiated if Mr. Zelensky agreed to give up the rest of the Donbas region to Russia, even those areas not occupied by Russian troops, according to two senior European officials briefed on the call. In return, Mr. Putin offered a cease-fire in the rest of Ukraine at current battle lines and a written promise not to attack Ukraine or any European country again, the senior officials said. He has broken similar promises before.” This is part of the pinned item at 2:45 pm ET. (Also linked yesterday.)

     ~~~ Marie: Apparently the "J" in "Donald J. Trump" stands for "Neville." All we need now is a rambling "peace in our time" speech with possibly some references to "Cats," "DEI," "fescue," and how he won the 2020 election "by a landslide like nobody's ever seen." Or, if you want to get all alphabetically correct about it, maybe the "J" is for "Judas." ~~~

     ~~~ Here's a related Washington Post story that lets on how giddy Russians are about Putin's steamrolling the guy who put his name & face on the ghostwritten Art of the Deal. 

Peter Baker of the New York Times: “On the flight to Alaska..., [Donald] Trump declared that if he did not secure a cease-fire in Ukraine during talks with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, 'I’m not going to be happy,' and there would be 'severe consequences.' Just hours later, he got back on Air Force One and departed Alaska without the cease-fire he deemed so critical. Yet he had imposed no consequences, and had pronounced himself so happy with how things went with Mr. Putin that he said 'the meeting was a 10.' Even in the annals of Mr. Trump’s erratic presidency, the Anchorage meeting with Mr. Putin now stands out as a reversal of historic proportions.

“Mr. Trump abandoned the main goal he brought to his subarctic summit and, as he revealed on Saturday, would no longer even pursue an immediate cease-fire. Instead, he bowed to Mr. Putin’s preferred approach of negotiating a broader peace agreement requiring Ukraine to give up territory. The net effect was to give Mr. Putin a free pass to continue his war against his neighbor indefinitely without further penalty, pending time-consuming negotiations for a more sweeping deal that appears elusive at best. Instead of a halt to the slaughter — “I’m in this to stop the killing,” Mr. Trump had said on the way to Alaska — the president left Anchorage with pictures of him and Mr. Putin joshing on a red carpet and in the presidential limousine....”

Heather Cox Richardson writes a good summary of the meeting & aftermath.

Kim Barker & Oleksandra Mykolyshyn of the New York Times: “Evacuees at a shelter in eastern Ukraine reacted angrily to talk that land that has long been theirs could be given to Russia in exchange for peace.... Half a world away [from the Alaska debacle], people who had recently fled the fighting in that region for a shelter near the city of Pavlohrad said the whole summit felt like an insult. The fact that President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine was not invited. The fact that Mr. Trump had treated Mr. Putin like a friend instead of a man under U.S. sanctions, who is a wanted war criminal in Europe. The fact that the world was now talking about Ukraine permanently giving up land to Russia for peace. It was all too much.”

Josh Boak of the AP: “Melania Trump took the unique step of crafting a letter that calls for peace in Ukraine, having her husband ... Donald Trump hand-deliver it to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their Friday meeting in Alaska. The letter did not specifically name Ukraine, which Putin’s forces invaded in 2022, but beseeched him to think of children and 'an innocence which stands above geography, government, and ideology.' Nor did the American first lady discuss the fighting other than to say to Putin that he could  'singlehandedly restore' the 'melodic laughter' of children who have been caught in the conflict.”

Here's the view of the Trump-Putin buddyfest from Kiev Independent. (Also linked yesterday.)

Barak Ravid of Axios: "After his summit with Russian President Putin in Alaska on Friday..., Trump will meet Ukrainian President Zelensky for what could be a difficult meeting at the White House on Monday afternoon.... Trump's positions coming out of the meeting — that he no longer supports a ceasefire, and it's 'up to President Zelensky' to make peace — appear highly unfavorable to Ukraine.... Zelensky and Trump announced their upcoming meeting after a phone call between Trump, the Ukrainian president and several NATO leaders during which the president briefed them on his meeting with Putin. The call, which lasted more than an hour an a half, 'was not easy,' a source with direct knowledge said. The meeting will take place six months after their disastrous Oval Office meeting in February." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Felicia Schwartz, et al., of Politico: “Plans are in the works to send at least one of Trump’s favorite interlocutors, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, along with [President] Zelenskyy when he comes to Washington Monday to meet with Trump.... The idea is that Stubb can help prevent any flare-ups between Trump and Zelenskyy and convince the U.S. president to include Europe in any further talks.... Europe and Ukraine see Monday’s summit as key to making sure that Trump does not accede to demands from Putin that they find unacceptable, such as ceding Ukrainian territory to Russia that Moscow has only partially taken control of.”

Totalitarian and wannabe totalitarian regimes only hire incompetent hacks. -- Paul Krugman, coining Arendt's Law ~~~

~~~ Chiara Eisner of NPR: "Papers with U.S. State Department markings, found Friday morning in the business center of an Alaskan hotel, revealed previously undisclosed and potentially sensitive details about the Aug. 15 meetings between ... Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir V. Putin in Anchorage. Eight pages, that appear to have been produced by U.S. staff and left behind accidentally, shared precise locations and meeting times of the summit and phone numbers of U.S. government employees. At around 9 a.m. on Friday, three guests at Hotel Captain Cook, a four-star hotel located 20 minutes from the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage where leaders from the U.S. and Russia convened, found the documents left behind in one of the hotel's public printers." ~~~

    ~~~ Marie: I heard pundits worrying on the teevee Friday that when Trump gave Putin a ride in the Beast, Putin -- a former KGB agent -- would plant a bug in the Beast. Is unnecessary, Natasha. Trump's people are leaving all state secrets on copier in our hotel. 

It's Always Loomer Time in Trump's Washington. Hamed Aleaziz & Ken Bensinger of the New York Times: “The Trump administration announced Saturday that it had paused approvals of visitor visas for people from Gaza, a key pathway for those seeking medical care in the United States, including young children who arrived in recent weeks with serious conditions. The State Department said it would assess the process behind those visas. 'All visitor visas for individuals from Gaza are being stopped while we conduct a full and thorough review,' the department said in a statement on X Saturday morning. The move came after an intense lobbying campaign by the right-wing activist Laura Loomer, who called the incoming flights a 'national security threat' in a flurry of social media posts starting on Friday that targeted a nonprofit aiding in medical evacuations.” The Guardian's story is here. MB: It's okay if children suffer & die as long as an insane anti-Muslim bigot is happy. Nice work, Marco, you heartless invertebrate. 

Karen DeYoung & Gaya Gupta of the Washington Post: “Three Republican-led states, responding to a Trump administration request, said Saturday they will send up to 750 National Guard troops to join 800 already mobilized in D.C. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said he would deploy 200 troops “to stand with ... [Donald] Trump as he works to restore law and order to our nation’s capital.” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said he was sending 150 military police from the state’s National Guard. The Ohio Guard members are expected to arrive to D.C. in the coming days, DeWine said in a statement. They followed West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey, who said 300 to 400 National Guard troops would be called up.” An AP story is here.

Emma Nicholson of CBS News: "A White House official told CBS News Saturday that the National Guard members deployed to Washington, D.C., as part of ... [Donald] Trump's effort to address crime in the nation's capital and take control of the city's police force 'may be armed,' but that Guard members would not make arrests. 'The National Guard is not making arrests at this time – they may be armed, consistent with their mission and training, to protect federal assets, provide a safe environment for law enforcement officers to make arrests, and deter violent crime with a visible law enforcement presence,' the official said."

Sam Stein of the Bulwark: "On Saturday morning, a group of officers with vests that said only police tased what appeared to be a deliveryman. The confrontation took place on 14th Street [in Washington, D.C.], one block from Le Diplomate, a popular brunch destination for Washington’s political elite. The officers refused to identify themselves. The incident was caught on video by a person who sent it to The Bulwark.... The Metropolitan Police Department said the officers were not with the MPD." See also this tweet by Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff of the Washington Post; it also includes video of the incident.

Maureen Dowd of the New York Times, who lives in Washington, D.C., relates how her sister Peggy's beloved Buick just got carjacked, and after she the car back, someone T-boned it (i.e., another car ran into the side of her car). Then Peggy found out she got $1,800 worth of speed-camera tickets, courtesy of the carjackers. Trump, “the diva of distraction[,] is putting on a show.... But progressives should not fall into Trump’s trap and play down crime, once more getting on the wrong side of an inflammatory issue. As with inflation, they should remember that personal experiences can count more than sanguine statistics.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Erica Green of the New York Times: “As ... [Donald] Trump made the case for militarizing the streets of Washington, he used pictures of 'homegrown terrorists' to illustrate his point that crime in the nation’s capital was out of control. 'Look at these people here,' Mr. Trump said at a news conference last week, flipping through a handout from the White House containing five mug shots, all people of color. 'They will never be an asset to society,' he said. 'I don’t care. I know we all want to say, “Oh, they’re going to be rehabbed.” They’re not going to be rehabbed.' The declaration provided a window into the president’s selective view of criminality and redemption. In his eyes, Capitol rioters, a triple murderer, two police officers involved in covering up the killing of a Black man, and an Israeli settler accused of extremist violence all deserve a second chance. But the people accused of crimes in Washington are irredeemable. Mr. Trump, himself a felon, has shown particular leniency to criminals he seems to identify with — people who are white or wealthy, or who he believes have been unfairly persecuted, or who rioted in his name on Jan. 6, 2021.”

Donald Trump Doesn't Care About Homeless People. Rachel Siegel of the Washington Post: “After years of homeless encampments spreading across downtown, officials [in Dallas, Texas,] tried something new: They enforced a local law against sleeping on the streets. And instead of shuffling people to other neighborhoods, they offered wraparound social services — and a permanent place to live. The approach worked. Even as homelessness nationwide has surged to record levels, Dallas has emerged as a national model.... But in Washington, as ... Donald Trump decries homelessness and pledges to clear out 'slums' in big cities, the administration is looking to end the program that fueled Dallas’s success as part of a broader overhaul of federal homelessness funding. Meanwhile, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner has blasted the program ... as 'a tool by the left to push a woke agenda at the expense of people in need.'” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Because homeless people aren't "people in need"?? I'd say Scott, who grew up in Dallas & represented a nearby area in the state legislature, got hit in the head too many times while playing the footballs.

Annie Karni of the New York Times: “Over the first several months of his freshman term in Washington, Representative Rob Bresnahan Jr., Republican of Pennsylvania, became one of the most active stock traders in Congress, despite having campaigned for his seat on a promise to end stock trading by lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Now Mr. Bresnahan’s trading is attracting more scrutiny after he made several transactions that appeared to benefit from the consequences of his own votes on the House floor. Democrats are working to weaponize Mr. Bresnahan’s trades against him as they plot a campaign to oust him in next year’s midterm elections.... As of Thursday, he had made 626 stock trades since taking office, according to Capitol Trades.... That number made him the second-most-active trader this Congress.... [There is] at least the appearance ... that he could be benefiting financially from votes he made in Congress in favor of elements of ... [Donald] Trump’s domestic policy agenda that could end up harming his constituents.”

David Goodman of the New York Times: “Thousands gathered in cities across the country on Saturday to protest ... [Donald] Trump's plan to keep control of Congress after the 2026 midterms by pushing Republican-led states to redraw their congressional maps in favor of Republicans.... On Saturday, progressive activists, labor groups and pro-democracy organizations put together more than 300 political events and rallies, looking to galvanize voters who may be angry at the Trump administration but may view the process of redrawing district lines as opaque and unrelated to their concerns. The biggest event appeared to be at the Texas Capitol in Austin, where a two-week-long walkout by dozens of Democratic state representatives has temporarily prevented Republican lawmakers from passing a redrawn map. Crowds packed together in the August heat to hear from activists and lawmakers, including a pair of Democratic U.S. House members from Austin, Lloyd Doggett and Greg Casar. The two members would find themselves competing for a single Austin congressional seat under the proposed Republican map. Organizers said several thousand people took part. 'Do not allow this moment to pass without a fight,' Beto O’Rourke, the former El Paso congressman, told the crowd.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Canada. Matina Stevis-Gridneff & Ian Austen of the New York Times: “Just under 12 hours after Air Canada’s 10,000 flight attendants walked off the job, seeking better wages, the government imposed binding arbitration to shut down the strike and avert mounting travel chaos. 'The impact of the work stoppage at Air Canada that began early this morning is already being felt by travelers,' Patty Hajdu, the labor minister in the Liberal government, told reporters. 'This is causing significant harm and has negative impacts on Canadians and the Canadian economy.' Air Canada will not immediately begin flying, she said. An independent industrial labor relations board will need 24 to 48 hours for a review before issuing a back-to-work order. Ms. Hajdu said that Air Canada has told the government that restoring full service would take an additional five to 10 days.”

      ~~~ Marie: Apparently the "J" in "Donald J. Trump" stands for "Neville." All we need now is a rambling "peace in our time" speech with possibly some references to "Cats," "DEI," "fescue," and how he won the 2020 election "by a landslide like nobody's ever seen."

Here's the view of the Trump-Putin buddyfest from Kiev Independent. 

Barak Ravid of Axios: "After his summit with Russian President Putin in Alaska on Friday..., Trump will meet Ukrainian President Zelensky for what could be a difficult meeting at the White House on Monday afternoon.... Trump's positions coming out of the meeting — that he no longer supports a ceasefire, and it's 'up to President Zelensky' to make peace — appear highly unfavorable to Ukraine.... Zelensky and Trump announced their upcoming meeting after a phone call between Trump, the Ukrainian president and several NATO leaders during which the president briefed them on his meeting with Putin. The call, which lasted more than an hour an a half, 'was not easy,' a source with direct knowledge said. The meeting will take place six months after their disastrous Oval Office meeting in February."

Maureen Dowd of the New York Times, who lives in Washington, D.C., relates how her sister Peggy's beloved Buick just got carjacked, and after she the car back, someone T-boned it (i.e., another car ran into the side of her car). Then Peggy found out she got $1,800 worth of speed-camera tickets, courtesy of the carjackers. Trump, “the diva of distraction[,] is putting on a show.... But progressives should not fall into Trump’s trap and play down crime, once more getting on the wrong side of an inflammatory issue. As with inflation, they should remember that personal experiences can count more than sanguine statistics.”

Even if Trump is being diabolical, Democrats should not pretend everything is fine here. Because it’s not.

~~~~~~~~~

Peter Baker & Katie Rogers of the New York Times: Donald “Trump and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia reached no agreement to end the war in Ukraine at a high-profile summit meeting on Friday, although they reported making unspecified progress during a strikingly convivial reunion on American soil.... But if the substance remained unsettled, the atmospherics were extraordinary. The president rolled out a literal red carpet and even applauded as he welcomed Mr. Putin, who is under U.S. sanctions and faces an international arrest warrant for war crimes. The two laughed and spoke warmly with each other, and Mr. Trump even invited Mr. Putin to ride with him in the armored presidential limousine to their meeting. At their subsequent joint appearance at side-by-side lecterns at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, they heaped praise on one another. 'We really made some great progress today,' Mr. Trump said. 'I’ve always had a fantastic relationship with President Putin, with Vladimir.'... The two ended their encounter in Alaska, however, in a cloud of uncertainty. Mr. Trump referred obliquely to 'agreement' on some undisclosed points but not on others, while Mr. Putin said even more elliptically that they reached an 'understanding.' Neither explained nor took questions from reporters.” A Guardian story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ CBS News publishes a transcript of the press thing. ~~~

     ~~~ See yesterday's entry for some live commentary by New York Times reporters, including Baker & Rogers. Marie: This supposed summit was the epic embarrassment for the U.S. that everyone had anticipated. And, BTW, what happened to Trump's threat to "walk away" "within two minutes" if he found that Putin was unwilling to cut a deal? Instead, Elmer Fudd met with the Waskally Wabbit for three hours when it must have been clear to everyone but Elmer that Bugs wouldn't bend. Trump should stick to advising D.C. on its lawncare crisis; as Trump says, he knows grass -- he owns a lot of golf courses. (See video at the the top of yesterday's Conversation.) ~~~

     ~~~ Maggie Haberman & Peter Baker of the New York Times list some takeaways: “After meeting for nearly three hours, Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin left Alaska without announcing any deal or any specific areas where they made progress.... Putin secured wins before and after the summit [what with the red-carpet greeting & never making any concessions].... Trump showed deference to Putin.... Trump appears open to visiting Russia.... The person with the most at stake on Friday, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, was left watching on television with the rest of the world.” MB: Not mentioned: nobody is talking about Jeffrey Epstein. ~~~

~~~ It's no wonder it took Trump three hours to realize that Vlad was going to keep on killing Ukrainians. Old Man Trump is as easily-distracted as a kitten by a pull toy, so apparently the three-hour meeting included stuff like this: ~~~

     ~~~ Reuters: "... Donald Trump said on Friday his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agrees with him that letting voters send in ballots by mail puts honest elections at risk. 'Vladimir Putin, smart guy, said you can't have an honest election with mail-in voting,' Trump told Fox News Channel's 'Hannity' after a nearly three-hour meeting between the leaders in Alaska. 'He said there's not a country in the world that uses it now.'" MB: Yes, yes, if there's anybody who knows "honest elections," it's Vladimir Putin (who miraculously got 87% of the vote in Russia's most recent presidential election. Oh, and "Nearly three dozen countries from Canada to Germany and South Korea allow some form of postal vote, though more than half of them place some restrictions on which voters qualify, according to the Sweden-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance...." ~~~

~~~ Russia, Russia, Russia. Marcy Wheeler: “Trump and Putin had a short ride in Trump’s limo, with Putin grinning like the Cheshire cat. The meeting was abadoned early. Putin effectively ran the press event afterwards, in which he emphasized Russian demands that Ukraine subject itself to Russia, and Trump doubled down on his disproven claims that Hillary tried to frame him, when in fact Tulsi Gabbard recently released proof that Russia instead framed Hillary. Fully one-fifth of what Trump said was redoubling on the lie that Russia knows Trump knows to be a lie.... For Trump, this meeting was about sustaining the lies on which all his power is built: it’s not that Putin put him in charge because he would sell out America. Rather, he’s the victim. And by sustaining that lie, he renewed Russia’s great leverage over him.”

~~~ Serge Schmemann  of the New York Times: “Reading from prepared notes — raising the question of whether they had been prepared before the meeting — at a press briefing after the three-hour meeting, the Russian president appeared especially satisfied with the fact that he, a pariah and wanted war criminal in Europe, was having what looked like a chummy face-to-face with the president of the United States, and on American soil, adjacent to Russia.... Mr. Trump, who before the meeting seemed to be moving toward a newly tough position on Russia — threatening 'very severe consequences' if there was no cease-fire and even suggesting that Mr. Putin was playing him — seemed here to revert to his longstanding admiration for 'Vladimir.'...” ~~~

~~~ The Guardian has follow-ups, many from European leaders, in a liveblog. 

~~~ Looking for details? How about this remarkable capitulation? ~~~

~~~ Putin's Victory Over World's Biggest Chump. David Stern of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump said Saturday that Ukraine and Russia should go straight to agreeing on a final peace deal, dropping his demand for a ceasefire in a dramatic reversal that aligns him with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, with the backing of European leaders, has insisted that a ceasefire must be in place before any negotiations to end the war. In the run-up to summit, the Europeans thought that they had Trump’s support.... On Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron had said Trump was 'very clear' that he wants to obtain a ceasefire. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the same day that a ceasefire must be a starting point for negotiations.... Putin has repeatedly rejected calls for a ceasefire.... 'It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up,' Trump wrote on Truth Social, following his summit with Putin in Anchorage on Friday.” Read on. The link is a gift link. ~~~

    ~~~ Marie: European "leaders" must stand up and quit coddling the incompetent, stupid, senile "leader of the free world." They are the "leaders of the free world," and they must start showing it. They can pat Trump on the head if they think that will make the world a safer place, but other than that, they should, perhaps politely, ignore him.

Incompetent, BUT Still Flagrantly Corrupt. Eva Dou & Clara Morse of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump’s increasingly aggressive intervention in the U.S. technology sector has come even though his financial disclosure forms show significant holdings in some of the companies most directly affected by his efforts, including Apple and Nvidia. Trump’s latest investment filing with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics showed that he owned between $615,000 and $1.3 million in Nvidia shares at the end of last year, and $650,000 to $1.35 million of Apple stock. Nvidia and Apple have both recently benefited from special concessions Trump has made to [them]. This week he confirmed that he was allowing Nvidia, the world’s most valuable public company, to resume lucrative sales of artificial intelligence chips to China in exchange for a 15 percent cut of resulting revenue for the U.S. government. Critics called the deal, which also applies to chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices, unprecedented and potentially unconstitutional. Last week, Trump called out Apple among the companies exempted from 100 percent semiconductor tariffs, citing its domestic investment commitments, at a White House meeting at which Apple CEO Tim Cook gave him a plaque with a 24-karat gold base.”

Meagan Flynn, et al., of the Washington Post: “D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb has sued ... Donald Trump over his executive actions asserting control over the D.C. police department and attempting to install an emergency police commissioner, one of the most extraordinary exertions of federal power in the city’s half-century of home rule. The lawsuit came hours after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered sweeping changes to law enforcement policies in the city and said a Trump administration official should assume all duties and responsibilities of the police chief, drawing immediate legal pushback from Schwalb and Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D).” This is an update of a story linked earlier Friday. A Politico story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Here's a second major update of this story: “A federal judge convinced the Justice Department to walk back ... Donald Trump’s efforts to assert control over the D.C. police department, but said he probably could enlist officers to help enforce immigration laws — signaling that the president’s effort to exert unprecedented control over law enforcement in the nation’s capital may continue. After hearing arguments Friday on an emergency request from D.C. officials to block the Trump administration’s takeover of the city’s 3,100-member police department, U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes forged a compromise of sorts between the two sides — without issuing a ruling — on the key question of who runs the police force. She indicated D.C. Police Chief Pamela A. Smith has to remain in charge. The court did not rule on another key question: Whether Trump can commandeer D.C. police officers to enforce immigration laws. That issue is likely to be resolved next week, Reyes said....” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Mark Walker & Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs of the New York Times: “Several homeless encampments in Washington were cleared out by Friday, as ... [Donald] Trump’s efforts to take control of policing the nation’s capital played out among some of the city’s most vulnerable residents. The Metropolitan Police Department, now under federal oversight, swept through at least three encampments on Friday morning, according to Jesse Rabinowitz of the National Homelessness Law Center and people who said they observed the police actions. Officers were said to have thrown tents, sleeping bags and other belongings in the trash, and organizations that work with the homeless were bracing for more sweeps Friday afternoon and evening. Police began targeting the camps late Thursday. In some cases, the police apparently removed people despite city health department notices allowing them to remain for several more days.” MB: I just hope Dear Leader doesn't have to be disturbed again by the sight of homeless people on the way to his golf course. It's a disgrace! ~~~

~~~ Frances Vinall of the Washington Post provides a guide to what officers can compel you to do and what your rights are “if you are stopped by local or federal authorities in D.C.”

Michael Paulson of the New York Times: “The top official overseeing theater at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is stepping down, throwing into question the stability of one of the venue’s most important sources of box office revenue as ... [Donald] Trump seeks to transform the institution. Jeffrey Finn ... plays an outsize role at the Kennedy Center. For nearly a decade he has programmed its touring Broadway shows and locally produced musicals, which have often sold strongly.”

Michelle Goldman  of the New York Times writes that Donald Trump's attempt “to force our national museums to conform to [a] triumphalist version of history” tracks with Poland's illiberal Law & Justice party's attempt to erase evidence Poland's part in the Holcaust from a new museum in Gdansk.

Jacob Bogage Shannon Najmabadi of the Washington Post: “Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ousted three senior IRS executives this week responsible for online tax services and the scrutiny of tax-exempt organizations as the Trump administration asserts new control over the tax agency.... The departures come at a time of unprecedented turnover at the tax agency, where in recent days Bessent was named acting commissioner. He’s the seventh person to lead the IRS since the start of the year.... At least one-quarter of the IRS’s workforce has resigned, been laid off or accepted resignation packages. Several executives and former commissioners departed over the administration’s efforts to share confidential tax data with immigration authorities.”

Marianne LeVine, et al., of the Washington Post: “Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem is living for free in a military home typically reserved for the U.S. Coast Guard’s top admiral.... The highly unusual arrangement has raised concern within the agency and from some Democrats, who describe it as a waste of military resources. Noem recently moved into Quarters 1, a spacious waterfront residence at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington where the Coast Guard commandant typically resides. She did so because of concerns over her safety after the Daily Mail, a British tabloid, published photographs in April of the area around Noem’s residence in Washington’s Navy Yard neighborhood, DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said.... Other Cabinet officials, including during both Trump administrations, have paid to use military housing that otherwise would be occupied by top generals and admirals.” Noem supervises the Coast Guard.

“Current and former Coast Guard members have also cited Noem’s frequent use of a Coast Guard Gulfstream aircraft as a point of tension. Agency guidelines require the DHS secretary to use a plane with secure communications for both personal and professional business, though they are required to reimburse the government for personal travel. McLaughlin said that Noem had reimbursed 'tens of thousands of dollars' for the air travel, after publication of the story. Noem faced scrutiny for her expenses when she served as governor of South Dakota.... Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Coast Guard, Adm. Kevin E. Lunday — the No. 2 officer currently serving as acting commandant — has yet to be formally nominated and confirmed by the Senate. Lunday lives in a nearby home on base....” (Also linked yesterday.) 

Luis Ferré-Sadurní  of the New York Times: “In early July, Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York pardoned an immigrant from Laos to stave off his deportation, but unlike dozens of pardons she has granted before, the governor did not publicize this action. The man Ms. Hochul pardoned, Somchith Vatthanavong, 52, had been convicted of manslaughter as a teenager after he admitted to fatally shooting a man in 1988 during a confrontation at a Brooklyn pool hall, arguing that he had acted in self-defense. Mr. Vatthanavong, who had legally entered the United States as a refugee when he was a child, fleeing the aftermath of the Vietnam War, served 14 years in prison before being released in 2003. He then built a life in New York, marrying and raising two children who are U.S. citizens. But ... [Donald] Trump’s return to power heightened the likelihood that Mr. Vatthanavong would be deported because of his conviction 35 years earlier. So community groups and his wife and lawyers mounted a campaign to persuade the governor’s office — through petitions, meetings and phone calls — to pardon Mr. Vatthanavong.... On July 1 — the day before Mr. Vatthanavong had a mandatory immigration appointment that his lawyers believed would lead to his arrest — Ms. Hochul signed a certificate granting him an unconditional pardon, 'including offering relief from removal.'” (Also linked yesterday.) 

Karina Elwood of the Washington Post: “The Education Department said Friday that it will pull funding from five Northern Virginia school districts where officials said they would not comply with a request to change policies supportive of transgender students. The school districts in Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties and Alexandria had faced a Friday deadline to respond to findings from the federal agency that policies such as those allowing students to use bathrooms matching their gender identity violated Title IX, the law banning sex discrimination. The school districts have said the policies aim to satisfy antidiscrimination laws and create safe environments for students. Loudoun’s school board said earlier this week that it would not change its policies, and the other four districts did the same in a flurry of statements and letters on Friday.”

Laurel Rosenhall of the New York Times: “Democrats who lead the California legislature on Friday unveiled a map proposing new boundaries for U.S. House districts that would substantially change five Republican-held seats, making them more likely to be won by Democrats next year. The gerrymandered map, drawn by Democratic lawmakers expressly to help their party flip seats, is an attempt to offset the gains Republicans hope to make with maps Texas lawmakers have drafted at the request of ... [Donald] Trump. The proposed California map is the latest development in an extraordinary race to change congressional districts ahead of the midterm elections. That race, which began in Texas, is now spreading across the country: Indiana, Missouri and Ohio may consider changing their district boundaries to gain Republican seats; New York and Illinois have discussed altering maps to benefit Democrats, though changes in those states face greater hurdles. The ultimate goal for each party is to control the House during the second half of Mr. Trump’s term.”

Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: “A new lawsuit in federal court alleges that the Trump administration violated the law by secretly recruiting a group of people who reject the scientific consensus on climate change to write a report downplaying global warming. The Environmental Defense Fund and the Union of Concerned Scientists, both environmental groups, accused the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency of 'flagrant violations' of a law that governs advisory committees. The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts on Tuesday. It alleges that in March Chris Wright, the energy secretary, 'quietly arranged for five handpicked skeptics of the effects of climate change' to form a committee called the Climate Working Group that then wrote a report downplaying the threat of rising greenhouse gas emissions. Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, cited the report to justify a plan to repeal the legal foundation for regulating climate pollution. But the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 does not allow federal agencies to recruit or rely on secret groups when engaging in policymaking, according to the lawsuit.” MB: Sorry, but I don't think Johnny & the Dwarfs will be impressed by the environmental groups' argument.

It should alarm all Americans when the government retaliates against individuals or organizations for engaging in constitutionally protected public debate. -- Judge Sparkle Sooknanann, Media Matters v. F.T.C., Friday ~~~ 

~~~ Some Rare Good News. Kate Conger of the New York Times: “A federal judge granted an injunction on Friday blocking the Federal Trade Commission’s investigation of Media Matters, saying the inquiry violated the free speech rights of the liberal watchdog group, which had published research critical of Elon Musk and his social media platform, X. In May, the F.T.C. began examining whether Media Matters illegally colluded with other advertising advocacy groups to pinch off revenue from X. Media Matters reported in 2023 that ads on X appeared alongside antisemitic content. Media Matters sued the F.T.C., calling the inquiry a 'campaign of retribution' waged on behalf of Mr. Musk and the Trump administration. On Friday, Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia agreed, calling the inquiry 'a retaliatory act' and essentially blocking it from progressing, though the F.T.C. can appeal.” The Raw Story's report is here.

Susanne Craig & Kirsten Grind of the New York Times: “SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket and satellite internet company, has received billions of dollars in federal contracts over its more than two-decade existence. But SpaceX has most likely paid little to no federal income taxes since its founding in 2002 and has privately told investors that it may never have to pay any, according to internal company documents reviewed by The New York Times. The rocket maker’s finances have long been secret because the company is privately held. But the documents reviewed by The Times show that SpaceX can seize on a legal tax benefit that allows it to use the more than $5 billion in losses it racked up by late 2021 to offset paying future taxable income.... [Donald] Trump made a change in 2017, during his first term, that eliminated the tax benefit’s expiration date for all companies. For SpaceX, that means that nearly $3 billion of its losses can be indefinitely applied against future taxable income.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Yes, but take comfort. You're paying taxes so the richest man in the world doesn't have to. 

Tax experts consulted by The Times said that not having to pay $5 billion in federal income taxes was substantial and notable for a company that has relied on contracts with the U.S. government to an unusual degree.

~~~~~~~~~~

Louisiana. Rick Rojas & Pooja Salhotra of the New York Times: “Mayor LaToya Cantrell of New Orleans was charged on Friday with going to criminal lengths to carry out and cover up a romantic relationship with a city police officer who had been assigned to protect her, prosecutors said. The indictment emerged from a lengthy federal investigation into corruption that has cast a shadow over Ms. Cantrell’s second and final term as mayor, which ends in January. She and her former bodyguard, Jeffrey Vappie, face a combined 18 felony counts, including making false statements, obstruction of justice and conspiracy.”

Another Epic Trump Fail. The New York Times is liveblogging Trump's Alaskan Misadventure. Even before he arrived, he found another dictator to love: “Hours before what he called a 'high stakes' meeting with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia..., [Donald] Trump injected new uncertainty into his effort to end the war in Ukraine by heaping praise on a Putin ally who has helped carry out Russia’s invasion. While flying to Alaska for the meeting with Mr. Putin, [Mr.] Trump called Mr. Putin’s top ally, President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko of Belarus, saying they had a 'wonderful talk' and that he thanked him for releasing 16 prisoners. Mr. Lukashenko is one of the world’s longest ruling dictators and a figure long shunned by American presidents.... The meeting [between Trump & Putin] was scheduled to begin around 11 a.m. local time (3 p.m. Eastern), the White House said.” This is part of the pinned item at 12:45 pm ET. Here are a few entries (earliest first):

David Sanger: “... [Donald] Trump’s comments on Air Force One, on the way here in Alaska to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, were notable for his insistence that Russia would be barred from new business deals with the United States while the fighting in Ukraine continues.”

James McKinley: “As ... [Donald] Trump arrived in Alaska for a bilateral meeting with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine put out a videotaped statement on social media in which he pointed out that the Russian military strikes were continuing throughout Ukraine.”

Tyler Pager: “Trump and Putin shook hands and exchanged a few words. Both men smiled before walking together down the red carpet on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. They paused to pose for a photo, ignoring shouted quesitons from reporters.... Trump and Putin both got into the U.S. president’s vehicle, an armored car known as the Beast, and drove off together.... Trump rolled out many trappings of welcome to Putin as he arrived in the United States: a military fly-over, a red carpet, a presidential handshake and a private ride with Trump in the presidential limousine. Trump even applauded Putin as he approached on the red carpet.”

Jack Healy: “As the bilateral talks began, a few demonstrators unfurled blue and yellow 'Stand with Ukraine' banners just outside Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. Most said the summit was an embarrassment for Alaska and a public relations coup for Putin.... The summit brought dueling rallies to the streets of Anchorage. Several hundred mostly liberal demonstrators leery of the summit’s prospects for real peace marched downtown in support of Ukraine. Two miles away, dozens of Trump supporters lined a busy intersection, waving American flags as the bilateral talks began.”

Michael Grynbaum: “Fox News will interview Trump three times during the summit....” 

After meeting for about three hours, Trump & Putin begin a joint press thingee.

Peter Baker: “Putin begins remarks. It is very unusual for the visiting foreign leader to speak before the American president.... [After a series of remarks about the history of U.S./Russia relations, etc.,] Putin says they have reached an agreement to 'pave the path to peace in Ukraine' without saying what the agreement actually is.”

Maggie Haberman: “After indicating an 'agreement' has been reached, Putin does not say what it is, and then throws the onus on Ukraine not to disturb this unstated agreement to end an invasion in its country.”

Anatoly Kurmanaev: “As Putin talks about the need to eliminate 'root causes' of the war in Ukraine, he is using his usual shorthand for a list of demands that have been categorically rejected by Ukraine and Europe. This suggest he is maintaining his hardline position.”

Baker: “Trump says: 'We haven’t quite got there, but we’ve got some headway. There’s no deal until there’s a deal.'”

Katie Rogers: “Trump will go home without a deal.... This was a long way to come. Trump pulled out the red-carpet stops, and he is going home empty-handed.”

Zolan Kanno-Youngs: “Trump says he will call NATO leaders soon to tell them about today’s meeting. 'We really made some great progress today,' Trump says without providing any specific details that would indicate any progress towards establishing peace in Ukraine. He then immediately talks about his 'great relationship' with Putin.”

Erica Green: “While it’s not clear what, if any, agreements were made, Putin is demonstrating that he is still not backing down from his position that no matter what Trump says, he’s pursuing his own goals in the war. He said while Trump, who has emphasized the economic benefits to Russia stopping its invasion, is interested in the prosperity of America, Trump also understands that 'Russia has its own national interests. That has included seizing land from Ukraine.'”

Haberman: “Putin has given Trump a public relations gift: he said during the joint appearance that he can confirm he wouldn’t have attacked Ukraine had Trump been president in 2022, something Trump has claimed repeatedly.... Trump has been chasing a Nobel Peace Prize. This meeting does not appear to have been another step toward it.”

Sanger: “After three hours of talks..., [Donald] Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia told reporters that they had made progress on unspecified issues, but they gave no details, took no questions, and most importantly failed to announce a cease-fire of any kind.... The meeting broke up several hours before scheduled, and far short of the six or seven hours of discussions that Putin’s aides said they expected for the talks. The fact that they took no questions made it clear they did not want to be pressed on details.”

Green: “... [Donald] Trump, who went into the meeting with Putin with the intent of leaving with a cease-fire deal between Russia and Ukraine, made almost no mention of that goal afterward. Instead, he reverted back to his common refrains — boasting about his longstanding relationship with 'Vladimir,' lamenting about them both being targeted by the 2016 'Russia hoax,' and saying there perhaps will be a deal the next time they speak.... The warning from President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine that Putin would try to 'deceive America' hung over the joint appearance. It spoke volumes that Trump emerged from the meeting with very little to say about what was achieved, while Putin had much to say. Trump has often complained that attacks would start right after he and Putin spoke on the phone, and today Russia continued to strike Ukraine just hours before Trump and Putin met in Alaska. Trump made no mention of that fact, nor of the economic measures he has been threatening if Putin didn’t agree to a cease-fire.”

Meagan Flynn, et al., of the Washington Post: “D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb has sued ... Donald Trump over his executive actions asserting control over the D.C. police department and attempting to install an emergency police commissioner, one of the most extraordinary exertions of federal power in the city’s half-century of home rule. The lawsuit came hours after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered sweeping changes to law enforcement policies in the city and said a Trump administration official should assume all duties and responsibilities of the police chief, drawing immediate legal pushback from Schwalb and Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D).” This is an update of a story linked earlier Friday. A Politico story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Here's a second major update of this story: “A federal judge convinced the Justice Department to walk back ... Donald Trump’s efforts to assert control over the D.C. police department, but said he probably could enlist officers to help enforce immigration laws — signaling that the president’s effort to exert unprecedented control over law enforcement in the nation’s capital may continue. After hearing arguments Friday on an emergency request from D.C. officials to block the Trump administration’s takeover of the city’s 3,100-member police department, U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes forged a compromise of sorts between the two sides — without issuing a ruling — on the key question of who runs the police force. She indicated D.C. Police Chief Pamela A. Smith has to remain in charge. The court did not rule on another key question: Whether Trump can commandeer D.C. police officers to enforce immigration laws. That issue is likely to be resolved next week, Reyes said....”

Luis Ferré-Sadurní  of the New York Times: “In early July, Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York pardoned an immigrant from Laos to stave off his deportation, but unlike dozens of pardons she has granted before, the governor did not publicize this action. The man Ms. Hochul pardoned, Somchith Vatthanavong, 52, had been convicted of manslaughter as a teenager after he admitted to fatally shooting a man in 1988 during a confrontation at a Brooklyn pool hall, arguing that he had acted in self-defense. Mr. Vatthanavong, who had legally entered the United States as a refugee when he was a child, fleeing the aftermath of the Vietnam War, served 14 years in prison before being released in 2003. He then built a life in New York, marrying and raising two children who are U.S. citizens. But ... [Donald] Trump’s return to power heightened the likelihood that Mr. Vatthanavong would be deported because of his conviction 35 years earlier. So community groups and his wife and lawyers mounted a campaign to persuade the governor’s office — through petitions, meetings and phone calls — to pardon Mr. Vatthanavong.... On July 1 — the day before Mr. Vatthanavong had a mandatory immigration appointment that his lawyers believed would lead to his arrest — Ms. Hochul signed a certificate granting him an unconditional pardon, 'including offering relief from removal.'”

Marianne LeVine, et al., of the Washington Post: “Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem is living for free in a military home typically reserved for the U.S. Coast Guard’s top admiral.... The highly unusual arrangement has raised concern within the agency and from some Democrats, who describe it as a waste of military resources. Noem recently moved into Quarters 1, a spacious waterfront residence at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington where the Coast Guard commandant typically resides. She did so because of concerns over her safety after the Daily Mail, a British tabloid, published photographs in April of the area around Noem’s residence in Washington’s Navy Yard neighborhood, DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said.... Other Cabinet officials, including during both Trump administrations, have paid to use military housing that otherwise would be occupied by top generals and admirals.” Noem supervises the Coast Guard.

“Current and former Coast Guard members have also cited Noem’s frequent use of a Coast Guard Gulfstream aircraft as a point of tension. Agency guidelines require the DHS secretary to use a plane with secure communications for both personal and professional business, though they are required to reimburse the government for personal travel. McLaughlin said that Noem had reimbursed 'tens of thousands of dollars' for the air travel, after publication of the story. Noem faced scrutiny for her expenses when she served as governor of South Dakota.... Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Coast Guard, Adm. Kevin E. Lunday — the No. 2 officer currently serving as acting commandant — has yet to be formally nominated and confirmed by the Senate. Lunday lives in a nearby home on base....”

~~~~~~~~~~

Marie: Reality Chex still isn't "fixed," so posting comments remains unpossible. I do intend to find an alternate venue, but some personal matters (like I have never had time to file my tax returns this year) have been occupying me. I promise that I'll experiment with some alternatives this weekend. 

Pathetic! Maya Yang of the Guardian: “Donald Trump cold-called Norway’s finance minister last month to ask about a nomination for the Nobel peace prize, Norwegian press reported on Thursday. The Norwegian outlet Dagens Næringsliv, citing unnamed sources, reported: 'Out of the blue, while finance minister Jens Stoltenberg was walking down the street in Oslo, Donald Trump called … He wanted the Nobel prize – and to discuss tariffs.' The outlet added that it was not the first time that Trump had raised the question of a Nobel peace prize nomination to Stoltenberg. In a statement to Reuters, Stoltenberg, the former Nato secretary-general, said the call focused on tariffs and economic cooperation ahead of Trump’s call with Jonas Støre, the Norwegian prime minister.” ~~~

~~~ Speaking of pathetic, the headline on Evan Hurst's report for Wonkette on Trump's remarks at the Trump/Kennedy Center is classic -- and, sadly, mostly true (as opposed to straight parody).

Andrew Higgins & Nataliya Vasilyeva of the New York Times: Russia & Ukraine agree on “one thing. Merely meeting with Mr. Trump is a big win for President Vladimir V. Putin, bringing the Russian leader out of a diplomatic deep freeze and giving him a chance to cajole the American president face to face.... In addition to thawing Russia’s pariah status in the West, the summit has sowed discord within NATO — a perennial Russian goal — and postponed Mr. Trump’s threat of tough new sanctions.... Before Alaska, only two Western leaders — the prime ministers of tiny Slovakia and Hungary — had met with Mr. Putin since he ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and was placed under an international arrest warrant for war crimes in March 2023. Many in Europe have been flabbergasted by Mr. Trump’s decision to hold a summit on Ukraine that excluded Mr. Zelensky, and the continent’s leaders have pressed the president not to strike a deal behind Ukraine’s back.”

More Autocratic Double-Speak from Dear Leader. Meryl Kornfield of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump marked the 90th anniversary of Social Security on Thursday with an Oval Office signing of a proclamation that the safety net was 'more resilient than ever before,' thanks to him. He claimed improvements to the program’s customer service. He also misleadingly declared that he had checked off his campaign promise to eliminate taxes on benefits for seniors. But Social Security is barreling toward insolvency faster than before because of Trump’s tax bill and immigration policies, according to experts. The agency has faced tumult since the U.S. DOGE Service came in with a grand scheme to root out fraud and overhaul the program, causing disruptions and frustrations within the agency. And despite the repetition of ;no tax on Social Security' from Trump and his allies, the law ultimately signed by the president did not eliminate taxes on seniors’ benefits.”

Nikki Ramirez & Asawin Suebsaeng of Rolling Stone, republished by Yahoo! News: “Donald Trump, Republicans in Congress, and the president’s allies across right-wing media have been trying everything to make public backlash to their botched handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation go away, amid reports that Trump himself appears in the government’s files pertaining to the convicted sex offender. The administration’s attempts to bury the story have been complicated by some of Epstein’s victims, and their families, speaking out as the scandal has intensified. Trump hasn’t engaged with them..., [but] in recent weeks, according to two sources familiar with his private remarks, Trump has repeatedly critiqued the string of media appearances by Epstein accusers and their families, arguing that some of them are just trying to make him look bad, or implying that he did something wrong during his time as one of Epstein’s friends and party companions. At times, Trump has said that some of these people speaking out are, in his words, clearly of a 'Democrat' political affiliation, while wondering aloud if some of them are coordinating with prominent liberal attorneys or groups.”  (Also linked yesterday.) 

Jeff Cox of CNBC: "Wholesale prices rose far more than expected in July, providing a potential sign that inflation is still a threat to the U.S. economy, a Bureau of Labor Statistics report Thursday showed. The producer price index, which measures final demand goods and services prices, jumped 0.9% on the month, compared with the Dow Jones estimate for a 0.2% gain. It was the biggest monthly increase since June 2022.” MB: Who ya gonna fire now, Donnie? (Also linked yesterday.) 

Paul Waldman has more on E.J. Antoni, Trump's pick to head up the Bureau of Labor Statistics and “a 'history buff' who for some reason has a giant photo of a Nazi warship on his wall.” Thanks to Ken W. for the link.  (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update: Here are some images of E.J. doing an interview with his favorite Nazi battleship as a background wall art. Looks as if you can get your own picture of a Nazi battleship, starting at $90. ~~~

Totalitarianism in power invariably replaces all first-rate talents, regardless of their sympathies, with those crackpots and fools whose lack of intelligence and creativity is still the best guarantee of their loyalty. -- Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism ~~~

~~~ The Incompetence Is the Point. Don Moynihan: “Trump wants to replace an actual 'Highly Respected Economist' holding literally decades of relevant experience with someone who would not be competitive for an entry level job at the organization he would now lead. Because Trump knows that a person who owes their ascendency to Trumpism has no professional reputation worth protecting. The White House told reporters that Antoni was merely a 'bystander' at Jan 6th.... The White House concludes that 'it is wrong and defamatory to suggest EJ engaged in anything inappropriate or illegal.' Clearly! After all, according to the White House, it is neither inappropriate nor illegal for Trump supporters to break through barricades, damage the Capitol, assault police officers or upend an election. (On the other hand,' if you are not a Trump supporter, and throw a Subway sandwich at an officer in DC, that is a felony for which you will lose your job).”

Before there was KKKaroline, there was KKKudrow anticipating her. Really, ~~~

~~~ Alexa Lisitza of BuzzFeed: "A resurfaced clip of Lisa Kudrow doing a satirical impersonation of a far-right Republican spokesperson failing to debunk claims against the party is going viral thanks to a new tweet insisting she 'nailed' the character.... eople online can't help but feel striking similarities between Kudrow's character and the Trump administration today.... The original tweeter said the clip reminded them of 'literally every Republican.' Others thought the clip reminded them of ... White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt."  (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

Devlin Barrett & Karoun Demirjian of the New York Times: “Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday night rescinded Washington policies that restrict the local police from aiding in immigration enforcement as she moved to tighten the Trump administration’s grip on law enforcement in the nation’s capital. The two-page order from Ms. Bondi also declared that Terry Cole, the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, who had already been overseeing the federal takeover of the city’s police department, was now the 'emergency police commissioner,' with 'all the powers and duties' invested in the city’s police chief, Pamela A. Smith. The police department, including Chief Smith, must now receive approval from Mr. Cole before issuing any directives, the attorney general declared. The directive seems intended to turn Washington from a sanctuary city into one that aggressively pursues undocumented immigrants, and was the most overt imposition yet by the Justice Department on the city’s police since the 30-day federal takeover. It also appeared to open a new flashpoint in the relationship between the city’s Democratic leadership and the Republican administration. In a legal opinion, the D.C. attorney general, Brian Schwalb, told Mayor Muriel Bowser that Ms. Bondi’s directive removing power from the police chief was 'unlawful.'” ~~~

     ~~~ Meagan Flynn, et al., of the Washington Post: “D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser and the city’s top legal official offered their most forceful pushback yet of ... Donald Trump’s asserted takeover of the D.C. police department after they rejected orders from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday night — setting the table for a dramatic conflict over the city’s limited autonomy.... Bowser (D) and D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb ... called the order unlawful and suggested they will not comply — the first significant sign of resistance from the city’s top officials since Trump exerted control over the police force Monday in an executive order. Bowser said there is nothing in the law that would support ceding 'the District’s personnel authority to a federal official.'” An AP story is here.

Campbell Robertson & Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs of the New York Times: “The federal authorities were attempting to clear homeless encampments in northwestern Washington on Thursday night as part of ... [Donald] Trump’s sprawling takeover of the city’s law enforcement apparatus, after city officials and advocates had spent much of the day urging unhoused people to go to shelters or risk arrest. A federal operation that had been expected to start at 6:30 p.m. seemed to get underway only after dark. At around 9 p.m., federal agents from the F.B.I. and the U.S. Secret Service arrived at Washington Circle in the Foggy Bottom area to remove a few tents where homeless people had long stayed, according to Wes Heppler of the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless. They retreated after a woman presented a city notice saying she had until Monday to leave.”

Tyler Pager & Devlin Barrett of the New York Times: “When ... [Donald] Trump announced Monday that the federal government would take control of Washington’s police department, he described the move as necessary to 'rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor.' But in the more than six months since taking office, Mr. Trump’s actions, and in some cases inaction, have hobbled Washington’s efforts to reduce crime, drawing complaints from city leaders who say he is now trying to solve a problem that he has actually made worse. City officials point to vacancies at the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington and on the Superior Court — staffing controlled by the federal government — as well as budget cuts of more than $1 billion as examples of how Mr. Trump has made it more difficult for law enforcement officials to combat crime.... Even as Mr. Trump has promised Washington would be 'crime free' in the 'coming months,' some of his own officials have complained about a lack of resources. At a news conference on Tuesday, Washington’s new U.S. attorney, Jeanine Pirro, lamented that her office was severely understaffed.”

OMG! A Shocking Development in the Case of the Assault With A Deli Weapon. Joe Heim & Sophia Solano of the Washington Post: “Attorney General Pam Bondi said Thursday that a Justice Department employee [-- Sean Charles Dunn --] has been fired after he was arrested for allegedly throwing a sandwich at a federal law enforcement officer Sunday evening.... Dunn was an international affairs specialist in the criminal division of the Justice Department, according to a person who spoke on the condition of anonymity.... This is a developing story and will be updated.” MB: Well, yes, I hope so!  (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Politico's report is here.  (Also linked yesterday.) Now let's roll the videotape: ~~~

     ~~~ Update 2. Matt Gregory of WUSA Washington, D.C.: "A judge released 37-year-old Sean Dunn — a former Department of Justice employee — on his own recognizance, despite prosecutors pushing for serious felony assault charges that could carry up to eight years in prison. He first appeared in the D.C. Superior Court on Monday, where a judge released him. But two days later, prosecutors obtained a new arrest warrant — this time in federal court. Dunn’s attorney says he tried to turn himself in, but instead, 20 officers came to his home to arrest him.... His attorney argued no one was injured, calling the felony charge excessive. The judge agreed to release Dunn while he awaits trial. His next court date is Sept. 4."

Jeffrey Toobin of the New York Times: Donald “Trump’s Justice Department recently reached a nadir when two prominent Democrats, New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, and Senator Adam Schiff of California, were placed under criminal investigation for their personal financial dealings. They are the wrong targets chosen for the wrong reasons in a case supervised by the wrong prosecutor.... Among many other insults, Mr. Trump has reposted a call for Ms. James to be 'placed under citizens arrest' for 'blatant election interference and harassment,' and over the years he’s denounced 'Shifty Schiff,' demanding that he be 'questioned at the highest level for Fraud & Treason.' If there were any doubt that these investigations amount to political hit jobs against two of President Trump’s most indefatigable political adversaries, the issue was settled with Attorney General Pam Bondi’s pick to lead the inquiries — Ed Martin, the Justice Department official who was so unqualified and partisan that he couldn’t win confirmation in the Republican Senate to be the United States attorney in Washington.”  (Also linked yesterday.) 

A Very Special Special Government Employee. Brittany Gibson & Marc Caputo of Axios: Corey "Lewandowski, a longtime and controversial Trump adviser, is wielding outsized influence at the Department of Homeland Security as a 'special government employee' whose work is supposed to be temporary. But administration officials tell Axios they believe Lewandowski — a constant presence with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who acts as her de facto chief of staff — has gamed the system by undercounting his work hours to avoid leaving his unpaid job when he should have.... Two sources said he has been seen entering government buildings with other employees to avoid swiping his own badge. That way, he could work without clocking in. They said he doesn't always use his government email or phone number for official business, avoiding digital paper trails on government systems.... Besides his proximity to power, Lewandowski's work at DHS has attracted media attention because of his close relationship with Noem. The two, married to others, have long denied rumors they're romantically involved." (Also linked yesterday.) 

Laurel Rosenhall of the New York Times: California Gov. Gavin “Newsom on Thursday kicked off his campaign for a proposition asking California voters to approve a new congressional map, an extraordinary move meant to help Democrats win more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives to counter Mr. Trump’s request that Texas gerrymander five more seats for Republicans.The governor gathered Democratic lawmakers and union leaders waving 'Defend Democracy' signs in a Los Angeles auditorium for a show of solidarity, marked by the hopeful buzz of a campaign rally. The event was held a day before California lawmakers aimed to make the map public.... The governor has dubbed his measure the Election Rigging Response Act.” An AP story is here. ~~~

~~~ ⭐Laurel Rosenhall, et al., of the New York Times: “More than a dozen Border Patrol agents turned up in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday at a rally and news conference that Gov. Gavin Newsom was holding on congressional redistricting. The governor’s event had nothing to do with immigration, and local elected officials expressed outrage that the federal agents decided to stand there in a brazen show of force outside a museum where Mr. Newsom and other leaders were speaking. As the governor was preparing to speak inside the Japanese American National Museum in the Little Tokyo neighborhood of Los Angeles, the agents assembled outside, many of them masked and armed, and some wearing tactical helmets and carrying rifles. 'This is just completely unacceptable,' Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles told reporters. 'This is a Customs and Border Patrol that has gone amok. This absolutely has to stop. There was no danger here.'... A video shared on social media by Mr. Newsom’s press office shows the agents gathering outside the museum. In the video, Gregory Bovino, a Border Patrol chief who is leading the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Southern California, says, 'We’re here making Los Angeles a safer place, since we don’t have politicians who can do that. We do that ourselves.'” (Also linked yesterday.) The CBS News story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Jonathan Lloyd of NBC News 4 Los Angeles: "U.S. Border Patrol Sector Commander Gregory K. Bovino said the agency was conducting roving immigration enforcement patrols and one person was taken into custody. Video agents walking with a man whose hands were restrained behind his back.... Earlier Thursday, a person was struck and killed by a SUV after running from a federal immigration enforcement operation at a Home Depot in Monrovia, according to authorities and witnesses."

     ~~~ Any pretense of deploying Trump's thugs to Gov. Newsom's press conference to "preserve the peace" is absurd. Whoever made the decision to send armed & masked gangsters to intimidate a sitting governor and his guests has effectively declared civil war. Was it some low-level functionary? Was it Noem? Trump? We have a right to know. ~~~

~~~ Heather Cox Richardson reports on Newsom's remarks and offers her observations. For instance, here's something I didn't appreciate when I heard Newsom speak: “Noting that 'this time requires us to act anew, not just think anew,' Newsom nodded to President Abraham Lincoln’s famous call from 1862: 'The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise — with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.'”

David Goodman of the New York Times: “Dozens of Democratic lawmakers were preparing on Thursday to return to Texas early next week, after fleeing the state to temporarily block Republican leaders from adopting a redrawn congressional map. The extreme gerrymander could flip five U.S. House seats in the Republicans’ favor, helping the party maintain control of Congress through the end of President Trump’s second term.” Politico's story is here.

Lori Rozsa of the Washington Post: “Florida will use an old state prison to set up a second migrant detention center with capacity for up to 1,300 detainees, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday as part of his aggressive stance on immigration. Converting the Baker Correctional Institution in north Florida will cost $6 million and take 'two to three weeks,' officials said. The plan is for a 'dormant' part of the prison, which currently has about 400 inmates, to soon hold people arrested in Florida under the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.” MB: You've got to give it to Ron: he embraces his dickheadedness.   (Also linked yesterday.) 

Dana Goldstein of the New York Times: “A federal judge dealt a sweeping setback on Thursday to ... [Donald] Trump’s education agenda, declaring that the administration cannot move forward with its plans to cut off federal funding from schools and colleges with diversity and equity programs. The case related to a memo the administration had sent to states in April, asking them to certify that their schools did not practice 'illegal D.E.I.,' which stands for diversity, equity and inclusion. The administration threatened to cut off billions in federal dollars from education institutions that did not comply. In a strongly worded ruling, Judge Stephanie Gallagher of the Federal District Court in Maryland wrote that the administration had not followed proper administrative procedure, and said its plan was unconstitutional, in part because it risked constraining educators’ free speech rights in the classroom.”

Vimal Patel of the New York Times: “A coalition of groups at Harvard urged the university to reject striking a deal with the Trump administration that would relinquish 'the university’s autonomy in unconstitutional or unlawful ways.' The letter, signed by more than 14,000 Harvard alumni, students, faculty and members of the public, comes as the school is at the negotiating table with the Trump administration. The university is trying to restore the billions of dollars in research funds that the Trump administration has frozen and put an end to attacks on several other fronts. 'A settlement with the Trump administration will have a chilling effect on the Harvard community and on all of higher education,' stated the letter, sent by Crimson Courage, a new alumni group that formed to defend academic freedom. It was addressed to Alan M. Garber, the university’s president, and the board that governs the university.”

Brian Niemietz of the (New York) Daily News, republished by Yahoo! News: “Vice President JD Vance was reportedly turned away by a popular [Michelin-rated] British pub after staffers threatened not to show up for work if the restaurant booked his reservation. An employee at The Bull in Charlbury, Oxfordshire, said they were unable to comment on the matter when contacted by The Daily Beast.... Some residents of the Oxfordshire hamlet have become upset by Vance choosing their south-central England region to spend some downtime. Local media outlet the Oxford Clarion posted photos of signs in locals’ lawns protesting the vice president. 'Fascists not welcome here,' read one of those signs, while another simply told Vance to 'go home.' The Oxford Mail reported in late July that former Vice President Kamala Harris had just visited The Bull and at least one other establishment in the area without incident.”

Jeff Horwitz of Reuters: “An internal Meta Platforms document detailing policies on chatbot behavior has permitted the company’s artificial intelligence creations to 'engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual,' generate false medical information and help users argue that Black people are 'dumber than white people.' These and other findings emerge from a Reuters review of the Meta document, which discusses the standards that guide its generative AI assistant, Meta AI, and chatbots available on Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, the company’s social-media platforms.”

Megan Cerullo of CBS News: "Costco will not sell the abortion pill mifepristone at its pharmacy locations, the shopping club told CBS News. The wholesaler said its decision not to sell the prescription medication was based on a 'lack of demand from our members and other patients.... They generally have the drug dispensed by their medical providers,' Costco said in a statement to CBS News. Costco's position on the abortion pill, which was first reported by Bloomberg, was praised by a conservative religious coalition, called the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), an anti-abortion advocacy group that had urged Costco not to sell mifepristone."

~~~~~~~~~~

~~~ ⭐Laurel Rosenhall, et al., of the New York Times: “More than a dozen Border Patrol agents turned up in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday at a rally and news conference that Gov. Gavin Newsom was holding on congressional redistricting. The governor’s event had nothing to do with immigration, and local elected officials expressed outrage that the federal agents decided to stand there in a brazen show of force outside a museum where Mr. Newsom and other leaders were speaking. As the governor was preparing to speak inside the Japanese American National Museum in the Little Tokyo neighborhood of Los Angeles, the agents assembled outside, many of them masked and armed, and some wearing tactical helmets and carrying rifles. 'This is just completely unacceptable,' Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles told reporters. 'This is a Customs and Border Patrol that has gone amok. This absolutely has to stop. There was no danger here.'... A video shared on social media by Mr. Newsom’s press office shows the agents gathering outside the museum. In the video, Gregory Bovino, a Border Patrol chief who is leading the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Southern California, says, 'We’re here making Los Angeles a safer place, since we don’t have politicians who can do that. We do that ourselves.'”

Before there was KKKaroline, there was KKKudrow anticipating her. Really, ~~~

~~~ Alexa Lisitza of BuzzFeed: "A resurfaced clip of Lisa Kudrow doing a satirical impersonation of a far-right Republican spokesperson failing to debunk claims against the party is going viral thanks to a new tweet insisting she 'nailed' the character.... eople online can't help but feel striking similarities between Kudrow's character and the Trump administration today.... The original tweeter said the clip reminded them of 'literally every Republican.' Others thought the clip reminded them of ... White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt." ~~~

OMG! A Shocking Development in the Case of the Assault With A Deli Weapon. Joe Heim & Sophia Solano of the Washington Post: “Attorney General Pam Bondi said Thursday that a Justice Department employee [-- Sean Charles Dunn --] has been fired after he was arrested for allegedly throwing a sandwich at a federal law enforcement officer Sunday evening.... Dunn was an international affairs specialist in the criminal division of the Justice Department, according to a person who spoke on the condition of anonymity.... This is a developing story and will be updated.” MB: Well, yes, I hope so! ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Politico's report is here. Now let's roll the videotape: ~~~

Jeff Cox of CNBC: "Wholesale prices rose far more than expected in July, providing a potential sign that inflation is still a threat to the U.S. economy, a Bureau of Labor Statistics report Thursday showed. The producer price index, which measures final demand goods and services prices, jumped 0.9% on the month, compared with the Dow Jones estimate for a 0.2% gain. It was the biggest monthly increase since June 2022.” MB: Who ya gonna fire now, Donnie?

Nikki Ramirez & Asawin Suebsaeng of Rolling Stone, republished by Yahoo! News: “Donald Trump, Republicans in Congress, and the president’s allies across right-wing media have been trying everything to make public backlash to their botched handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation go away, amid reports that Trump himself appears in the government’s files pertaining to the convicted sex offender. The administration’s attempts to bury the story have been complicated by some of Epstein’s victims, and their families, speaking out as the scandal has intensified. Trump hasn’t engaged with them..., [but] in recent weeks, according to two sources familiar with his private remarks, Trump has repeatedly critiqued the string of media appearances by Epstein accusers and their families, arguing that some of them are just trying to make him look bad, or implying that he did something wrong during his time as one of Epstein’s friends and party companions. At times, Trump has said that some of these people speaking out are, in his words, clearly of a 'Democrat' political affiliation, while wondering aloud if some of them are coordinating with prominent liberal attorneys or groups.”

A Very Special Special Government Employee. Brittany Gibson & Marc Caputo of Axios: Corey "Lewandowski, a longtime and controversial Trump adviser, is wielding outsized influence at the Department of Homeland Security as a 'special government employee' whose work is supposed to be temporary. But administration officials tell Axios they believe Lewandowski — a constant presence with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who acts as her de facto chief of staff — has gamed the system by undercounting his work hours to avoid leaving his unpaid job when he should have.... Two sources said he has been seen entering government buildings with other employees to avoid swiping his own badge. That way, he could work without clocking in. They said he doesn't always use his government email or phone number for official business, avoiding digital paper trails on government systems.... Besides his proximity to power, Lewandowski's work at DHS has attracted media attention because of his close relationship with Noem. The two, married to others, have long denied rumors they're romantically involved." 

Florida. Lori Rozsa of the Washington Post: “Florida will use an old state prison to set up a second migrant detention center with capacity for up to 1,300 detainees, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday as part of his aggressive stance on immigration. Converting the Baker Correctional Institution in north Florida will cost $6 million and take 'two to three weeks,' officials said. The plan is for a 'dormant' part of the prison, which currently has about 400 inmates, to soon hold people arrested in Florida under the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.” MB: You've got to give it to Ron: he embraces his dickheadedness. 

Paul Waldman has more on E.J. Antoni, Trump's pick to head up the Bureau of Labor Statistics and “a 'history buff' who for some reason has a giant photo of a Nazi warship on his wall.” Thanks to Ken W. for the link. ~~~

     ~~~ Update: Here are some images of E.J. doing an interview with his favorite Nazi battleship as a background wall art. Looks as if you can get your own picture of a Nazi battleship, starting at $90. 

Jeffrey Toobin of the New York Times: Donald “Trump’s Justice Department recently reached a nadir when two prominent Democrats, New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, and Senator Adam Schiff of California, were placed under criminal investigation for their personal financial dealings. They are the wrong targets chosen for the wrong reasons in a case supervised by the wrong prosecutor.... Among many other insults, Mr. Trump has reposted a call for Ms. James to be 'placed under citizens arrest' for 'blatant election interference and harassment,' and over the years he’s denounced 'Shifty Schiff,' demanding that he be 'questioned at the highest level for Fraud & Treason.' If there were any doubt that these investigations amount to political hit jobs against two of President Trump’s most indefatigable political adversaries, the issue was settled with Attorney General Pam Bondi’s pick to lead the inquiries — Ed Martin, the Justice Department official who was so unqualified and partisan that he couldn’t win confirmation in the Republican Senate to be the United States attorney in Washington.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Marie: Reality Chex still isn't working properly, and it's still not possible to comment. Squarespace admitted yesterday that they're not going to fix it. I had some personal business to take care of yesterday, but I should be able to start working on getting a new venue today. But I should think it will take a week or so to "get settled," and I'm not sure it's feasible. 

The Way We Were. Heather Cox Richardson: "On August 14, 1935, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law.... The Social Security Act established a federal system of old-age benefits; unemployment insurance; aid to homeless, dependent, and neglected children; funds to promote maternal and child welfare; and public health services. It was a sweeping reworking of the relationship between the government and its citizens, using the power of taxation to pool funds to provide a basic social safety net. The driving force behind the law was FDR’s secretary of labor, Frances Perkins. She was the first woman to hold a position in the U.S. Cabinet and still holds the record for having the longest tenure in that job: she served from 1933 to 1945." This is a swell memorial to Perkins & a reminder of how we got here and of some of those we owe.

Marie: Every day's news is a catalogue of horribles, a large portion of which are attributable to the Trump mob. A number of stories that made today's catalogue attest to how Trump, Inc. abuses ordinary Americans, the poor, and especially minorities. There's Trump's racist attack on the District of Columbia, where he has usurped police powers. Even more racist is the defunding of studies meant to find and ultimate reduce racial disparities in health outcomes; it is too "woke" to try to ensure that minorities get to live as long as White people. Immigrants, the majority of whom are minorities, are evidently being detained and held in substandard facilities. A pair of Mexican immigrant businessowners have been criminally prosecuted for breaking laws for which other businessowners are merely fined. Men and women who have put themselves in harm's way in service of their country aren't spared: the VA is woefully understaffed. And all middle-class & poor Americans who spend a large portion of their incomes on consumer goods must prop up the U.S. economy by paying exorbitant taxes on imports, lest -- according to Trump -- they will cause a GREAT DEPRESSION!

Tomorrow the Waskally Wabbit meets Elmer Fudd in Alaska (or as Elmer calls it, "Russia.") ~~~

~~~ Katie Rogers of the New York Times: Donald “Trump on Wednesday suggested that he was powerless to control President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia ahead of a planned meeting on Friday in Alaska, saying he could not convince the Russians to stop killing Ukrainian civilians or hacking American court records. Mr. Trump did warn of 'severe consequences' if Mr. Putin did not agree to abandon his grueling invasion of Ukraine during their discussion, scheduled to be held at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage. But Mr. Trump was dismissive when asked to address matters of national security and the horrors of war, raising questions about whether he has the leverage or the will to convince Mr. Putin to end the invasion. Asked whether he could convince Mr. Putin to stop targeting civilians, Mr. Trump said that it was a discussion he had already had with Mr. Putin.... Some [analysts] view the [upcoming Alaska] meeting as a haphazardly planned get-together that risks damaging American interests and blunting the power of the presidency, if Mr. Trump returns to Washington empty-handed.” An AP story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'm far from an expert on diplomatic negotiations, but I can say that typically when leaders of great nations meet to "negotiate" an agreement, the nuts-and-bolts negotiators for both sides have previously agreed on the terms, and the only question is what color ties the principals will wear. ~~~ 

     ~~~ In this and other matters, Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times is like a child possessed by magical thinking, one who believes all things are possible and even the cruelest and dimmest of characters may yet be persuaded to see the light. After describing a damning list of Trump's astounding blunders, Kristof settles on the story of an heroic Ukrainian woman and writes, “This extraordinary woman left me with a plea that I hope Trump will contemplate during his meeting with Putin. 'We are grateful to Americans,' she said. 'But we just ask, please don’t leave us halfway. Don’t leave us alone.'”

~~~ Europeans Try to Knock Some Sense into Trump. Victor Goury-Laffont of Politico: “... Donald Trump agreed with European leaders that Ukraine must be part of any discussions about territorial concessions to end the war with Russia, Emmanuel Macron said. The French president was speaking after an hour-long meeting between Trump, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders ahead of the U.S. president’s meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. 'Territorial questions that fall under Ukraine’s authority cannot be negotiated and will only be negotiated by the President of Ukraine,' Macron said, adding that Trump had 'expressed' the same.” A Washington Post story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Marie: BTW, I've heard Donnie Dimento say twice that he's "going to Russia," not to Alaska. ~~~

~~~ From yesterday's New York Times liveblog: “President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and European leaders on Wednesday urged ... [Donald] Trump not to unilaterally strike a peace deal with Russia to end the war it began with a full-scale invasion more than three years ago. The video call came two days before Mr. Trump is set to meet President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in Alaska. Speaking in Berlin, Mr. Zelensky and Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany said the leaders had agreed on a strategy for Friday’s meeting, and that Mr. Trump had agreed to prioritize security guarantees for Ukraine.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Also from the Narcissist News liveblog. Trump is to announce Kennedy Center honors this morning. “In his post on Tuesday hyping the new honorees, he wrote: 'GREAT Nominees for the TRUMP/KENNEDY CENTER, whoops, I mean, KENNEDY CENTER, AWARDS.' How much of a 'whoops' that actually was remains to be seen.” (Also linked yesterday.)  ~~~

     ~~~ Update. The Washington Post lists Trump's honorees. The Hill has the list here. (Also linked yesterday.) Also, Trump -- who has nothing better to do -- announces he will host the honors ceremony. On account of what he claims is popular demand. Right. ~~~

     ~~~ Shawn McCreesh & Katie Rogers of the New York Times: Donald “Trump affirmed his growing influence over the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington on Wednesday morning by announcing the new class of Kennedy Center honorees and revealing that he would host this year’s ceremony personally. Mr. Trump has taken a strong interest in the Kennedy Center’s affairs ever since naming himself chairman in February, when he purged its traditionally bipartisan board of Biden-era appointees and restocked it with loyalists. His news conference made clear that he is in complete control of the Kennedy Center Honors: He suggested he had approved the final list of honorees himself, saying he rejected several prospective names he called 'wokesters.'” ~~~

     ~~~ Here McCreesh provides a bit of the flavor of Trump's rambling speech & his pathetic penchant for nostalgia. Sam Stein & Sarah Longwell of the Bulwark are less kind. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I have come to enjoy some of these Bulwark "takes." This one on Laura Loomer's deposition in a case she brought against Bill Maher had me laughing out loud -- along with Stein, Tim Miller & Will Sommer. I had intended to link it the other day, but the post by Sommer, on which the podcast is based, is firewalled. (It's still kind of worth watching, not just for the giggles, but as a reminder of what an idiot Loomer is, an idiot who is influencing personnel decisions for the top people in our federal government. AND you'll never look upon an Arby's roast beef sammy (if indeed you ever have) in the same way again. We have the meats.

Igor Bobic & Arthur Delaney of the Huffington Post: “Donald Trump has a simple solution when numbers are telling him something he does not want to hear: Make up new numbers. The president’s strategy, if you want to call it one, was on vivid display this week on three fronts: His decision to appoint a conservative crony to an essential federal agency charged with compiling the monthly unemployment numbers, his decision to declare an emergency in Washington, D.C., while dismissing data showing crime in the city is in decline and at decades-long lows, and his demand for a new and likely unconstitutional census which would exclude undocumented immigrants.... Experts say Trump’s moves smack of authoritarianism seen in other countries.” ~~~

~~~ Paul Krugman, in a similar vein: What Trump's firing of the head of the BLS & his takeover of the D.C. police force “have in common is this: MAGA’s feelings don’t care about your facts. And the rejection of data Trump doesn’t like will surely extend to many areas beyond jobs and crime. About jobs: E.J. Antoni, Trump’s pick for BLS Commissioner, has actually said that we should define a recession not on the basis of things like employment data or GDP but by how people 'feel.'... About crime: If Trumpists wanted to make a semi-serious argument for occupying Washington, it would be that while DC crime is falling, it’s still high compared with relatively low-crime cities like New York or Los Angeles. But that would mean admitting that big cities run by Democrats aren’t dystopian hellscapes....” ~~~

~~~ Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "... Donald Trump's pick to run the Bureau of Labor Statistics was among the crowd outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, with the White House saying he was a 'bystander' who wandered over after seeing coverage on the news. E.J. Antoni, an economist from the Heritage Foundation nominated by Trump this week ... appears in numerous videos posted on social media of the crowd on the Capitol grounds. The footage shows Antoni approximately an hour after the mob removed police barricades. The footage appears to show him leaving the grounds as people entered the Capitol and not entering the building.... A White House official said Wednesday that Antoni was in Washington on Jan. 6 for in-person meetings with his then-employer at an office blocks away from the Capitol, and that he did not cross any barricades or participate in any demonstrations. The footage does not show Antoni crossing barricades or demonstrating." ~~~

     ~~~ Shouldn't be a problem. If a guy who was part of the mob and was encouraging others to kill police officers on Jan 6 can get a "senior advisory" position at the DOJ, then a passerby is A-Okay for top job.

Here is a truly frightening essay by two observers who know how these things work: ~~~

⭐~~~ Steven Simon & Jonathan Stevenson in a New York Times op-ed: “By ordering 800 National Guard troops to Washington, on the pretext of an illusory crime wave..., [Donald] Trump has further dragged the U.S. military into domestic law enforcement, in a move credibly perceived as an ominous 'test case.'... Unfortunately, though we (and others) had hoped that the military would only respond to calls to action in American cities and states kicking and screaming, we no longer expect resistance from that institution. Once, perhaps, traditionalist officers might have leaned on protocol and refused to heed a lawless order, taking inspiration from the generals — Mark Milley and James Mattis — who resisted the uprooting of established military standards in the first Trump term. But today, general officers no longer seem to see themselves as guardians of the constitutional order. It now seems clear to us that the military will not rescue Americans from Mr. Trump’s misuse of the nation’s military capabilities.... Mr. Trump and his allies have incentivized loyalty over legality and professional competence in administering military promotions.... There are structural as well as ad hoc components to Mr. Trump’s mobilization.” The authors go into details about how Trump is going about his takeover of the military.

Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: “How did the president justify the 'public safety emergency' he used to deploy the National Guard to Washington and seize control of its local police force? He said there was crime — 'bloodshed, bedlam and squalor and worse.'... None of this is true.... Trump is simply enthralled by the image of a crackdown, especially on those he’s deemed deviant.... The president’s action in the capital ... is just the latest in a long list of so-called emergencies he has conjured up to claim unilateral authority over the American people.... For reasons of both personality and political ambition, Trump needs a crisis to govern — or rather, to rule. And if the actual conditions of reality will not give him a state of exception, he’ll create one himself.... Rather than treat emergency powers as a dangerous tool to be wielded with care and caution, this president has used them with reckless abandon as a toy — a means through which he can live his fantasies of strength, domination and authoritarian control.... A president with neither the disposition nor the ability to do the work of ordinary democratic politics — of deliberation, negotiation and compromise — is bound to abuse them. And this is all the more true for a president who doesn’t want order as much as he does submission and revenge.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Bouie writes: “The president’s most famous attribute is that nothing, for him, is ever enough. He has never had enough real estate, or enough wealth, or enough praise, adulation and worship. We should have realized, after his attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, that he couldn’t have enough power, either. He still can’t.” John Roberts is smart enough to understand this. His cohort may be, too, though they are nearly blinded by their prejudices. It is up to the court not to just "call balls & strikes," but to appreciate certain players' willingness to throw spitballs or tamper with bats or browbeat the umps. The Supremes have a duty to interpret not just the laws but the excesses and abuses and pretenses applied to those laws. The Supremes must curb those excesses. With regard to Trump, they are not doing so -- perhaps because they so enjoy their own abuses of the law. ~~~ 

     ~~~ As Scott Lemieux notes in LG&$, "It’s John Roberts’s America, Article I [which defines Congressional prerogatives] is suspended if a Republican is in the White House[.]... In [the current circumstances,] the legislature is the authoritarian executive’s enabler, whether active or passive, and so it is with the Supreme Court as well."

We don’t live in a dirty city. We are not 700,000 scumbags and punks. We don’t have neighborhoods that should be bulldozed. We have to be clear about our story. -- Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser, in a Zoom call Tuesday with city leaders Tuesday night ~~~

~~~ Meagan Flynn, et al., of the Washington Post: “A split screen emerged in the first 48 hours of ... Donald Trump’s deployment of federal law enforcement and the National Guard onto D.C. streets: rhetoric from the president painting the city as a crime-addled wasteland, which D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) condemned, and, on the ground, a surge in federal resources bolstering D.C. police — which she and the police chief welcomed.... Trump said he intended to ask Congress to extend the emergency allowing him to federalize D.C. police beyond 30 days.... Trump’s executive action represents the most extraordinary federal intervention into the city’s home rule in decades, coming as violent crime is at 30-year lows following a historic spike in 2023, according to D.C. police data.... Top D.C. officials said ... they feared that Trump’s repeated denigrations of the nation’s capital as a dirty city unsafe for residents and visitors could do permanent damage to its image....

     ~~~ Giselle Ewing of Politico: “... Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested that he could avoid congressional approval to extend his 30-day federal takeover of Washington’s police, amid his efforts to wrest control of the capital’s law enforcement. But during his speech announcing the 2025 Kennedy Center honorees on Wednesday, Trump repeatedly floated circumventing Congress to maintain his hold over the city’s law enforcement. 'If it’s a national emergency we can do it without Congress, but we expect to be before Congress very quickly,' Trump said. Trump appeared to be banking on the support of congressional Republicans to push through any attempt to extend the 30 day takeover — but maintained that if lawmakers failed to approve the extension, he would go forward with the move on his own by declaring a national emergency. 'I don’t want to call a national emergency,' Trump said, before adding, 'If I have to, I will.' Trump also announced that he was working with congressional Republicans to put forward a crime bill initially targeted at Washington but intended as a 'beacon' for other Democratic cities such as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.” ~~~

     ~~~ Chris Stein of the Guardian: “Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would ask Congress for 'long-term' control of Washington DC’s police department and signaled he expected other Democratic-led cities to change their laws in response to his deployment of national guard troops and federal agents into the capital. The president’s comments came as the White House took credit for dozens of arrests overnight in Washington as part of Trump’s campaign to fight a 'crime crisis', which the city’s leaders say does not exist.”

~~~ Violent Sandwich Attack on Capital City Street! Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs of the New York Times: “A man accused of throwing a sandwich at a federal agent who was patrolling Washington this week, after calling him and other agents 'fascists,' was charged with assaulting a federal officer on Wednesday. The police said the man threw a 'sub-style' sandwich at a Customs and Border Protection officer on Sunday night, the day before President Trump’s announcement that his administration was temporarily taking over Washington’s police force and sending National Guard troops and federal agents into the city for patrols. A video of the interaction went viral, showing a man repeatedly yelling at the agents near the corner of 14th and U Streets in Northwest D.C., a popular part of the city filled with bars and restaurants. 'Shame! Shame!' he yelled.... After minutes of yelling, the man paused briefly, wound up and threw the sandwich into the chest of the C.B.P. officer, then ran into the street as officers chased him.... [A transit police] detective wrote that the man charged in the crime, identified as Sean C. Dunn, 37, had confessed after he was apprehended. 'I did it. I threw the sandwich,' the detective quoted him as saying...” Jeanine Pirro will be prosecuting. Here's the Guardian's story; thanks to Julie from Massashusetts for that.

     ~~~ Also, to Julie for these responses, via Justin Baragona on BlueSky -- such as "Assault With A Deli Weapon" and sing-alongs: "🎵I threw the sandwich, But I did not throw the bag of chips🎵" ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Ok) is right skeert of carjackers: ~~~

     ~~~ Michael Luciano of Mediaite: “Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) said he does not wear a seatbelt while driving in Washington, D.C., lest doing so prevent him from acting quickly in case he’s carjacked.... In Washington, D.C., the use of seatbelts is mandatory while driving. The fine for not wearing one is $50.” MB: One thing Markwayne could do to reduce the chance of carjacking is to ensure the doors are locked on the car he's riding in. (It seems to me most vehicles made in the last 10-15 years lock automatically.) Plus, there's this: Markwayne seems to have grown up in Stilwell, Oklahoma. I don't know how he survived the criminal element there. The current overall crime rate in Stilwell is 74 per 1,000 people "with both violent and property crime rates also exceeding national averages," according to Google's AI. In Washington, D.C., the rate is 40.3 per 1,000. So a little more than half the rate of crime in Stilwell. 

Zach Montague of the New York Times: “A federal appeals court panel cleared the way on Wednesday for the Trump administration to continue refusing to spend billions of dollars in foreign aid, finding that aid organizations that had sued to recover the money lacked the legal right to bring the challenge. The decision, which centered on ... [Donald] Trump’s authority to withhold funding already appropriated by Congress, handed the White House a significant legal victory.... By a 2-to-1 vote, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that under the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, only the Government Accountability Office, which serves as Congress's independent watchdog, could challenge the president’s efforts to withhold foreign aid funding. The panel found that groups that receive government funding — in this instance, a number of global health nonprofits — do not have cause to challenge Mr. Trump’s funding cuts. The decision lifted a lower court’s order that had required the administration to continue processing foreign aid payments with funds Congress had budgeted.”

Graham Bowley, et al., of the New York Times: “Historians and free speech advocates have begun to speak out to express their alarm at the White House’s announcement of a wide-ranging review of exhibits at the Smithsonian Institution’s museums and galleries. The free expression group PEN America said it feared the review 'will rewrite history and strip truth from exhibits,' while Sarah Weicksel ... of the American Historical Association described the Trump administration move as a 'major overstep.'... 'Only historians and trained museum professionals are qualified to conduct such a review, which is intended to ensure historical accuracy,'  she said.... Joy Connolly, the president of the American Council of Learned Societies, said that the moves against the Smithsonian are consistent with Mr. Trump’s broader campaign against universities and the idea of independent expertise they represent.”

Joe Sommerlad of the Independent: “First Lady Melania Trump has demanded that Hunter Biden retract comments he made linking her to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, threatening legal action for 'over $1bn' if he does not issue an apology. Lawyers for Trump object to two statements made by Biden, son of former president Joe Biden, in a YouTube interview he gave to British journalist Andrew Callaghan last month. In the sprawling discussion in question, Hunter Biden alleged that it was Epstein who first introduced Melania to Donald Trump in the late 1990s....” MB: That sounds like one statement to me, but whatever. I think we can all agree that Hunter Biden should STFU.

Zach Schonfeld of the Hill: “An Illinois judge on Wednesday declined Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s (R) request to hold Texas Democrats who fled there in contempt. Paxton reached across state lines to seek a ruling that would effectively force the blue state to comply with efforts to arrest the lawmakers and return them to Texas to end their quorum breaking that has blocked Republicans’ redistricting push.” ~~~

~~~ Guardian: “California governor Gavin Newsom says the state will draw new electoral maps after Donald Trump 'missed'  a deadline on Tuesday night in an ongoing redistricting battle between Democratic and Republican states. 'DONALD “TACO” TRUMP, AS MANY CALL HIM, “MISSED” THE DEADLINE!!!”, Newsom’s office wrote on social media. “CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE 'BEAUTIFUL MAPS,” THEY WILL BE HISTORIC AS THEY WILL END THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY (DEMS TAKE BACK THE HOUSE!)'.” Thanks to Julie from Massachusetts for the link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ BUT. Hannah Knowles of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump’s push to redraw the congressional map has fueled a redistricting arms race, with blue and red states rushing to counter each other. But it’s an uneven fight. Republicans appear to hold the advantage in the nationwide scramble, according to strategists and nonpartisan analysts, with more opportunities to shift the lines in their favor ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Democrats have vowed to 'fight fire with fire' since the GOP moved to add five red seats in Texas, but they face many barriers. Republicans are eyeing ways to add a dozen or more red House districts across Texas, Florida, Missouri, Ohio and Indiana, despite some legal hurdles and reservations from local Republicans. Democrats are looking to retaliate with five more blue seats in California, and they are exploring other options, including in Maryland and Illinois. They control fewer states than Republicans, however, and they have already maximized their power in others. In some cases, they would have to work around independent commissions set up to prevent gerrymandering.” (Also linked yesterday.) 

~~~~~~~~~~

New York. Mara Gay of the New York Times: “The interest ... [President Obama] and those around him [have showed in New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani] is the clearest sign yet that Mr. Mamdani is likely to be embraced by the Democratic mainstream, whether the party’s leaders and donors like it or not. It comes at a time of dueling visions among voters, Democratic politicians and donors over the future of the party.... Mr. Obama governed as a liberal-centrist, and the party’s left flank has grown increasingly progressive since he left office.... Though it has been nearly two decades since Mr. Obama’s 2008 victory, the parallels between the two charismatic Democrats are unmistakable.... [David] Axelrod [-- who was Mr. Obama's chief campaign strategist and has been in touch with Mr. Mamdani --] said he found the reaction of much of New York’s political establishment dispiriting and outdated. “‘Scare the hell out of people and maybe we can get them to vote for our deficient politics,’” he said, describing the approach with brutal efficiency. 'That’s not a politics I want to be associated with. That’s not a politics I think prevails.'”

~~~ Marie: BTW, I've heard Donnie Dimento say twice that he's "going to Russia," not to Alaska. ~~~

~~~ From today's New York Times liveblog: “President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and European leaders on Wednesday urged ... [Donald] Trump not to unilaterally strike a peace deal with Russia to end the war it began with a full-scale invasion more than three years ago. The video call came two days before Mr. Trump is set to meet President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in Alaska. Speaking in Berlin, Mr. Zelensky and Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany said the leaders had agreed on a strategy for Friday’s meeting, and that Mr. Trump had agreed to prioritize security guarantees for Ukraine.” ~~~

~~~ Also from the Narcissist News liveblog. Trump is to announce Kennedy Center honors this morning. “In his post on Tuesday hyping the new honorees, he wrote: 'GREAT Nominees for the TRUMP/KENNEDY CENTER, whoops, I mean, KENNEDY CENTER, AWARDS.' How much of a 'whoops' that actually was remains to be seen.” ~~~

     ~~~ Update. The Washington Post lists Trump's honorees. The Hill has the list here.

Bill Kristol in the Bulwark: “... Contemptible men occupy the highest offices in our land.... Last Friday, an American who believed the lies spread by [Robert F.] Kennedy [Jr.] and others ... fired some five hundred shots at the CDC complex [in Atlanta].... White killed a DeKalb County police officer who rushed to the scene, David Rose. After waiting eighteen hours, Kennedy tepidly condemned this attack on his department. On Monday, he paid a brief and perfunctory condolence visit to the CDC. He immediately followed this visit by giving an interview in which he chose once again to reiterate his view that 'the public health agencies have not been honest.'... [Donald] Trump has said not a word about this attack on federal public servants. Nor has he offered condolences or praise for Officer Rose. Rose was 33 years old. He was married with two children, and his wife is expecting their third child. He had served in Afghanistan as a Marine, and graduated from the [police] academy in March.... For their whole lives, Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have run away not merely from danger (recall Trump’s bone spurs) but from responsibility and accountability. They have gotten away with contemptible behavior. They occupy high public office after living sordid lives of wealth and privilege. They have paid no price for their irresponsibility and cowardice. The contrast with David Rose..., who lived far too short a life of courage and public service, is striking.”

Eva Corlett of the Guardian: “A New Zealand woman who is being held at a US immigration centre with her six-year-old son after they were detained crossing the Canada-US border, is being wrongly 'treated like a criminal', according to her friend and advocate. Sarah Shaw, 33, a New Zealander who has lived in Washington state for just over three years, dropped her two eldest children to Vancouver airport on 24 July, so they could take a direct flight back to New Zealand for a holiday with their grandparents. When Shaw attempted to re-enter the US, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) detained her and her youngest son, in what was a 'terrifying' ordeal, said Victoria Besancon, Shaw’s friend.... 'Sarah thought she was being kidnapped,' she said. 'They didn’t really explain anything to her at first, they just kind of quietly took her and her son and immediately put them in like an unmarked white van.'... Shaw is on what is known as a 'combo card' visa – an employment visa, which she obtained through her employment at a maximum security juvenile facility, and an I-360 visa, which can grant immigration status to domestic violence survivors. Shaw had recently received a letter confirming her visa renewal, not realising that the I-360 element of her visa was still pending approval.”

Guardian: “California governor Gavin Newsom says the state will draw new electoral maps after Donald Trump 'missed'  a deadline on Tuesday night in an ongoing redistricting battle between Democratic and Republican states. 'DONALD “TACO” TRUMP, AS MANY CALL HIM, “MISSED” THE DEADLINE!!!”, Newsom’s office wrote on social media. “CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE 'BEAUTIFUL MAPS,” THEY WILL BE HISTORIC AS THEY WILL END THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY (DEMS TAKE BACK THE HOUSE!)'.” Thanks to Julie from Massachusetts for the link. ~~~

~~~ BUT. Hannah Knowles of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump’s push to redraw the congressional map has fueled a redistricting arms race, with blue and red states rushing to counter each other. But it’s an uneven fight. Republicans appear to hold the advantage in the nationwide scramble, according to strategists and nonpartisan analysts, with more opportunities to shift the lines in their favor ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Democrats have vowed to 'fight fire with fire' since the GOP moved to add five red seats in Texas, but they face many barriers. Republicans are eyeing ways to add a dozen or more red House districts across Texas, Florida, Missouri, Ohio and Indiana, despite some legal hurdles and reservations from local Republicans. Democrats are looking to retaliate with five more blue seats in California, and they are exploring other options, including in Maryland and Illinois. They control fewer states than Republicans, however, and they have already maximized their power in others. In some cases, they would have to work around independent commissions set up to prevent gerrymandering.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Marie: As of early this morning, it remains impossible to post comments on Reality Chex. Squarespace is outright refusing to fix this bug. A supposed tech support person (or an AI bot) had the gall to tell me he/it can't "reproduce" the problem. That is, Squarespace is asserting it does not have a technician intelligent enough to try to post a comment. BTW, I checked to see if other Squarespace users have had similar experiences. The answer is yes. On one rating service, Squarespace received one star out of five -- which is to say, Squarespace could not get a worse rating. ~~~

     ~~~ I'm not sure where I'm going next, but I'm about done here. Keep checking back though, as I'll let you know what, if anything, is next -- as soon as I figure it out.

Tyler Pager & Devlin Barrett of the New York Times: “National Guard troops began to deploy in Washington on Tuesday evening as ... [Donald] Trump’s plan to use the federal government to crack down on crime in the city started taking shape. About a dozen members of the National Guard appeared in five military vehicles near the Washington Monument as the sun set, a stark juxtaposition to a peaceful evening scene of people jogging by with headphones and walking their dogs. An Army official said troops were continuing to gather at the D.C. Armory and were expected to deploy around national monuments, and near a U.S. Park Police facility in the Anacostia neighborhood of southeast Washington.... Troops snapp[ed] photos of themselves with visitors. They left roughly two hours after they arrived....

“[White House press secretary Karoline] Leavitt boasted that a federal task force, which includes some local officers, made 23 arrests on Monday evening in connection with a range of crimes. Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director, said in a post on X Tuesday evening that the F.B.I. had participated in 10 arrests in “the first big push” of Mr. Trump’s crackdown. In Washington, a city of roughly 700,000 people, the Metropolitan Police Department makes an average of 68 arrests a day, officials said. Muriel Bowser, the mayor of Washington, and Pamela A. Smith, her police chief, met Tuesday morning with Attorney General Pam Bondi and other administration officials.” ~~~

~~~ Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: “On Jan. 6, 2021, a pro-Trump mob committed a month’s worth of crime in the span of about three hours.... But ... [Donald] Trump’s handling of the most lawless day in recent Washington history stands in sharp contrast to his announcement on Monday that he needed to use the full force of the federal government to crack down on 'violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals' in the nation’s capital. After a prominent member of the Department of Government Efficiency, known ... [as] 'Big Balls,' was assaulted this month, the president took federal control of Washington’s police force and mobilized National Guard troops.... Mr. Trump described 'roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people.'... 'If we want to look at marauding mobs, look at Jan. 6,' said Mary McCord, the director of the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and ... a former federal prosecutor. 'If you want to look at criminal mobs, we had a criminal mob and he called them peaceful protesters.'... [Mr. Trump] has selected a passionate defender of Jan. 6 rioters to run the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, and his [Justice Department] even hired a former F.B.I. agent who was charged with encouraging the mob to kill police officers.”

Annals of “Journalism,” Ha Ha Ha. Michael Grynbaum of the New York Times: “Right-wing media has embraced Mr. Trump’s crackdown in Washington, dismissing Democrats’ concerns about creeping authoritarianism and any exaggerations about the level of crime in the nation’s capital.... MAGA influencers like Charlie Kirk have called for a 'full military occupation' of other major cities. [Pete Hegseth's and Jeanine] Pirro’s return to [their] old network home [Monday evening] was a small illustration of Fox News’s feedback loop with the second Trump administration, which, like its predecessors in both parties, regularly cites media coverage that validates and amplifies its policy goals. The network has numerous ties to this administration, which includes more than two dozen Fox alumni as members.”

⭐The Big Grifter.  Katie Hawkinson of the Independent: "... Donald Trump and his family may have made billions off his two presidencies, a new report claims. The New Yorker reports that Trump and his family have pocketed an estimated $3.4 billion thanks to his two terms as president. Its tally includes profits from cryptocurrencies, the president’s MAGA-branded merchandise and his Mar-a-Lago estate. The outlet estimated that, thanks to Trump’s two presidencies, the family has made $2.37 billion from cryptocurrency; $339.6 million from financial ventures; $270.8 million from hospitality; $116 million from media; and $277.7 million across other sources, including his private jet, legal fees and merchandise."

Adam Goldman, et al., of the New York Times: “Investigators have uncovered evidence that Russia is at least partly responsible for a recent hack of the computer system that manages federal court documents, including highly sensitive records with information that could reveal sources and people charged with national security crimes, according to several people briefed on the breach. It is not clear what entity is responsible, whether an arm of Russian intelligence might be behind the intrusion or if other countries were also involved, which some of the people familiar with the matter described as a yearslong effort to infiltrate the system.... The disclosure comes as ... [Donald] Trump is expected to meet with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir V. Putin, in Alaska on Friday....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Pardon my whacked-out conspiracy theorizing, but I'll just note that Donald Trump hates U.S. courts as much as he hated Hillary Clinton in 2016. The reporters seem to imply that the hacking could cause embarrassment at the upcoming Alaska meeting. I'm thinking, by contrast, that "Russia, if you're listening ..." could have figured into this hack, too. So high-fives all around. Just sayin'.

Marie: It's hard to exaggerate how stupid Trump is and how wrong he is about nearly every policy decision he makes. Garrett Graff points out one of the administration's greatest failings, if not the greatest. ~~~ 

~~~⭐Garrett Graff in a New York Times op-ed: “The 80th anniversary last week of the atomic bombings that helped end World War II came ... [at a time] the administration is turning its back on a history of being powered and renewed by the innovation and vision of immigrants. What America may find is that we have squandered the greatest gift of the Manhattan Project — which, in the end, wasn’t the bomb but a new way of looking at how science and government can work together.... That the push [for the bomb] came from refugees from fascist Europe was not a coincidence.... [The Europeans had seen at home how science could serve the military.] Out of [the Manhattan Project] grew a tradition of government-supported science, technology and education efforts. Those fields became a source of national strength and arguably the primary driver of American economic hegemony and prosperity in the eight decades since.... Today, just as China’s own research and development efforts take off, the Trump administration has been erasing this legacy.... In addition, there is the administration’s war on immigration and its hostility to foreign researchers and students coming to the United States....” ~~~

~~~ Trump isn't merely anti-science. He hates the liberal arts at least as much. ~~~

Graham Bowley, et al., of the New York Times: “The Trump administration said on Tuesday that it would begin a wide-ranging review of current and planned exhibitions at the Smithsonian Institution, scouring wall text, websites and social media 'to assess tone, historical framing and alignment with American ideals.' White House officials announced the review in a letter sent to Lonnie G. Bunch III, the secretary of the Smithsonian. Museums will be required to adjust any content that the administration finds problematic within 120 days, the letter said, 'replacing divisive or ideologically driven language with unifying, historically accurate and constructive descriptions.' The review ... is the latest attempt by ... [Donald] Trump to try to impose his will on the Smithsonian, which has traditionally operated as an independent institution that regards itself outside the purview of the executive branch.... In its letter, the White House says its review 'aims to ensure alignment with the president’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.'” An AP story is here. ~~~

~~~ What? You don't infusing the Smithsonian with fake history & the Kennedy Center with "Cats" is anti-intellectual enough? Well, how about this? ~~~

~~~ David Fahrenthold of the New York Times: Donald “Trump is moving ahead with plans to hold an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on the White House grounds next July 4, the U.F.C.’s chief executive, Dana White, told CBS on Tuesday. 'It is definitely going to happen,' Mr. White said on 'CBS Mornings.' A White House official who asked not to be named to discuss plans that were still in their early stages confirmed that the event was expected to happen on July 4.” The CBS News story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Perhaps Trump is hosting a wrestling match in the White House as a fake show of his fake solidarity with what he imagines we ordinary people enjoy. But I think he just doesn't know any better. ~~~

~~~ Anne Brinigin & Roxanne Roberts of the Washington Post: “Initial renderings [of Trump's planned White House ballroom] bear all the hallmarks of [his] opulent, Louis XIV-inspired aesthetic, which has always borrowed heavily from the baroque: very dramatic, very embellished, with lots of gold and gilded elements. Trump has called it 'a great legacy project.'... It resembles the ballrooms Trump constructed at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, and his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. (Both ballrooms were Trump-designed additions to homes with grand entertaining spaces.)... Majestic spaces are where the political and social elite — kings, aristocrats, tycoons — have traditionally asserted and cemented their power.... For these nouveau dynasties [of the Gilded Age], the ballroom was the place 'by which society cemented its values,' ... said Robert Wellington, author of the forthcoming book 'Versailles Mirrored....'... Such a grand space as the ballroom also reinforces Trump’s narrative of a new Gilded Age, as well as its tensions: his promise of making America great again, wrapped in a Versailles veneer.”

David Edwards of the Raw Story: "Convicted child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has reportedly been cleared to leave prison on work release.... [Documents viewed by podcast host Allison Gill] ... showed that Maxwell's custody level was set to 'OUT,' allowing her to leave the prison to work." ~~~

~~~ James Zirin, a former SDNY prosecutor, in a Hill opinion piece in which he examines the DOJ's recent arrangements with Ghislaine Maxwell: “You may ask whether Trump approved the transfer [of Maxwell to a very low-security 'club fed']. You can bet on it. This Justice Department doesn’t make a move without Trump’s thumb on the scale.”

Paul Krugman: “Let me call this Arendt’s Law: Totalitarian and wannabe totalitarian regimes only hire incompetent hacks. So when Trump nominated E.J. Antoni, the current chief economist at Heritage, to head the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it seemed safe to assume that he would be [an incompetent hack].... Menzie Chinn of the University of Wisconsin, who actually is a Highly Respected Economist and whose blog Econbrowser has been influential for many years, has been on Antoni’s case for a while. And sure enough, Arendt’s Law remains undefeated.... I’ve argued since before Trump took office that this administration would eventually get around to cooking the economic books. But I didn’t expect it right away.... One should never underestimate the audacity of hacks. On Monday Antoni went on Fox Business and suggested that the BLS should stop issuing monthly jobs reports until the 'problems' at the agency are fixed.... Incidentally..., the BLS is legally required to issue monthly employment reports. So Antoni’s proposal, aside from being a transparently corrupt attempt to hide bad news, would be flatly illegal.” ~~~

     ~~~ Halina Bennet on Slow Boring: “Dr. Antoni has criticized BLS data and praised Trump’s policies, calling on the Department of Government Efficiency last November to 'take a chainsaw to the BLS.... Jason Furman, Harvard economist and chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers during the Obama administration, called Antoni 'completely unqualified.' Former Heritage Foundation economist Jessica Riedl, who is now at the Manhattan Institute, said of Antoni, 'the articles and tweets I’ve seen him publish are probably the most error-filled of any think tank economist right now.'... Economist Brian Albrecht pulled together [a] thread of instances when Antoni misinterpreted or mischaracterized economic statistics.... Antoni’s nomination now moves to the Republican-controlled Senate, where confirmation is expected.” ~~~

     ~~~ Dominic Pino of the (right-wing) National Review: Donald "Trump has nominated an unqualified economist to take over one of America’s most important statistical agencies.... What Trump would like is a BLS that is biased in his favor. The latest proof of that is his nominee to be the next commissioner, E. J. Antoni.... [Antoni] has demonstrated time and again that he does not understand economic statistics. Whether that is due to willful misinterpretation or ignorance on Antoni’s part is open for debate. But the pattern is undeniable." Pino cites numerous examples of Antoni screw-ups.

     ~~~ Paul Campos in LG&$: "This is all way worse than the first time around when [Trump] didn’t think he would win, and lots of old style country club GOP money men rallied round the banner of The Business of America is Business, and managed to secure positions near the faux gold throne. This time it’s nothing but lunatics and grifters, and grifting lunatics."

DOGE's purpose was definitely not to reduce waste, fraud & abuse: ~~~

⭐More Gross Hackery. Jessie Blaeser of Politico: “The Trump administration’s claim that it is saving billions of dollars through DOGE-related cuts to federal contracts is drastically exaggerated, according to a new Politico analysis of public data and federal spending records. Through July, DOGE said it has saved taxpayers $52.8 billion by canceling contracts, but of the $32.7 billion in actual claimed contract savings that Politico could verify, DOGE’s savings over that period were closer to $1.4 billion.... Not a single one of those 1.4 billion dollars will lower the federal deficit unless Congress steps in. Instead, the money has been returned to agencies mandated by law to spend it.... Even so..., Donald Trump claimed hundreds of billions of dollars had already been used to reduce the federal deficit.... DOGE’s savings calculations are based on faulty math. The group uses the maximum spending possible under each contract as its baseline — meaning all money an agency could spend in future fiscal years. That amount can far exceed what the government has actually committed to pay out.”

Alanna Richer & Maria Verza of the AP: “Mexico sent 26 high-ranking cartel figures to the United States Tuesday in the latest major deal with the Trump administration as American authorities ratchet up pressure on criminal networks smuggling drugs across the border.... It’s the second time in months that Mexico has expelled cartel figures accused of narcotics smuggling, murder and other crimes amid mounting pressure from the Trump administration to curb the flow of drugs onto American streets.... The cartel figures were put on planes to the U.S. after the Justice Department agreed not to seek the death penalty against any of the defendants or against any cartel leaders and members sent to the U.S. in February.”

Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff of the Washington Post: “The Justice Department on Tuesday found that George Washington University was 'deliberately indifferent to antisemitic discrimination' on its campus, the latest allegation from the Trump administration over a college’s response to discrimination against Jewish students and faculty. In a letter to GWU President Ellen Granberg, Harmeet K. Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights, said that the Justice Department would deploy 'enforcement' measures against the school unless a voluntary resolution is reached. She requested a response by Aug. 22.”

Mark Berman of the Washington Post: “A divided appeals court panel on Tuesday said the Trump administration’s U.S. DOGE Service can access sensitive data held by federal agencies, rejecting concerns that the move runs afoul of privacy law. In a 2-1 decision, a panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit concluded that plaintiffs in the case, a group that includes labor unions and individual people receiving government benefits, had failed to show they could prevail in their legal challenge. The plaintiffs had asked courts to keep DOGE representatives from accessing personal information held by the Treasury Department, Office of Personnel Management and Education Department, saying that this action violated federal privacy law. Judge Julius N. Richardson, joined by Judge G. Steven Agee, wrote that the plaintiffs in the case 'have struggled to show' they suffered harm in the case.... Richardson was nominated to the bench by ... Donald Trump...; Agee was nominated by President George W. Bush.... In a dissent, Judge Robert B. King..., who was nominated by President Bill Clinton, said he would have kept the lower court [injunction] in place.”

Erica Orden & Kyle Cheney of Politico: “A federal judge ordered the Trump administration Tuesday to improve the conditions for ICE detainees in Manhattan after a lawsuit filed by a Peruvian immigrant complained of cramped and unsanitary holding cells. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered officials by Aug. 26 to provide more spacious accommodations that are equipped with a bedding mat for each detainee held overnight, have hygiene supplies and are cleaned 'thoroughly' at least three times a day. Kaplan, a Clinton appointee, also ordered officials to allow detainees private phone calls with their lawyers within 24 hours of being detained and to give them a printed notice of their rights within one hour of being placed in a holding room.... Kaplan indicated at a hearing Tuesday that his short-term restraining order would be followed quickly by consideration of the detainees’ motion for a longer-term injunction and the certification of a class action that would provide more sweeping protections for those detained by ICE.”

Tobi Raji of the Washington Post: “A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld a 2021 Arkansas law banning gender-affirming care for minors, ruling that parents 'do not have unlimited authority to make medical decisions for their children.' The St. Louis-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit ruled 8-2 that the Save Adolescents From Experimentation Act does not discriminate against transgender people or violate the rights of medical professionals — rejecting a closely watched challenge to the nation’s first-of-its-kind ban on gender transition treatment for transgender youth.”

If every time you pick up a newspaper, you get the sense you are falling, falling back in time -- it's not your imagination: ~~~

~~~ Supremes Appear Ready to Give GOP a Tremendous Boost. Rick Hasen of Election Law Blog: The Supreme Court has fast-tracked its potential demolition of Section 2 of Voting Rights Act by setting oral argument for October 15 in a Louisiana case, possibly in time to affect the 2026 midterm elections. (This is a paraphrase of Hasen's headline.)

Patrick Marley of the Washington Post: “Texas Republicans said Tuesday that they would kick off a second special legislative session Friday to redraw the state’s congressional maps in favor of the GOP, putting pressure on absent Democrats to quickly return to the state or commit to remaining away for another month.” ~~~

~~~ Tom Abrahams of ABC13 Houston: "ABC13 has confirmed with multiple sources that House Democrats will return to Texas. Eyewitness News has not confirmed the date, but we do know that Democrats believe they've accomplished their mission by killing the first special session and by raising national awareness about the mid-decade redistricting effort.... After our initial reporting online and on television, a spokesperson for the Texas Democratic Caucus sent the following statement to ABC News: 'Members are still assessing their strategies going forward and are in a private meeting to make decisions about future plans currently,' he wrote." ~~~

~~~ Bill Barrow & Nadia Lathan of the AP: “Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ratcheted up ... Donald Trump’s congressional redistricting fight by calling Tuesday for progressive activist Beto O’Rourke to be put 'behind bars' for helping Democrats who have managed to block the GOP’s gerrymandering efforts with an extended walkout.... O’Rourke denied any wrongdoing and called the attorney general a 'corrupt, lying thug.'”