The White House Correspondents Dinner must have been surreal last night. There was Trump, with his “I’m not having a good time” face, sitting among people who have exposed many of his mis-doings, people he has insulted, people he has called “fake,” people he has sued. And then he watched while people got awards for some of the very reporting he called “treason” (somebody please explain to him what “treason” is) and filed suits about. And this:
One particularly awkward moment played out when CNN’s Wolf Blitzer welcomed a group of reporters from The Wall Street Journal to the stage to accept an award for their “courageous reporting on President Trump’s past relationship with financier Jeffrey Epstein” that “triggered the release of the so-called Epstein files.”
Mr. Blitzer reminded the crowd that “Trump quickly filed a $20 billion lawsuit against the Journal, revealing reporter Khadeeja Safdar’s home address. Her family had to be relocated. The Journal was kicked off of Air Force One.”
Good for you, Wolf! It’s been reported that Trump just shrugged.
Trump’s hour-long speech at the dinner sounds fairly dreadful. See Trump’s insult-laden speech to press dinner draws mostly stunned silence by Michael Birnbaum at WaPo and Trump bombs in WHCD return and then unleashes on CNN’s Kaitlan Collins and media in jaw-dropping hour-long rant by Josh Marcus at The Independent.
Just a quick word on the indictments of New York Times reporters that were dismissed this week — I wasn’t too worried about the Times reporters, because I do know the law pertaining to news reporting pretty well. Truth is an absolute defense, and Trump himself admitted that his fancy new Air Force One was nixed for the return trip from the NATO summit because of security reasons, which is what the Times reported. And journalists have long been protected from revealing their sources. The government cannot punish news sources for publishing material obtained from a third party who may have broken laws to obtain it; see the Pentagon Papers.
Oh, and here’s the newest NY Times reporting on the Air Force One fiasco — Inside the Rushed Effort to Get Trump His New Air Force One by Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager and Maggie Haberman.
The big headline today is that the Trump Administration has admitted to canceling grants going to states that didn’t vote for Trump. Another impeachable offense. There’s at least one every day, I believe.
Another good read for today is by David Frum at The Atlantic, The Saudis Learn the Truth About Trump. This is about the nuclear deal Trump allegedly made earlier this week with the Saudis, and then within hours began changing the terms.
On July 22, United States Energy Secretary Chris Wright and his Saudi counterpart signed an agreement for a Saudi-U.S. civilian nuclear partnership. The multi-decade, multibillion-dollar deal allows American companies to develop and operate commercial nuclear power plants on Saudi soil, potentially including a uranium-enrichment facility. The Saudis have sought such a deal for almost 20 years. United States presidents from Barack Obama onward have expressed openness to it, but on two conditions: Any deal must include safeguards against Saudi use of enrichment for nuclear weapons and also a normalization of relations with Israel. …
… The Saudis, essentially, had got everything they wanted, with little sacrifice in return. But no sooner was the deal signed than the reneging began. In a Truth Social post yesterday, Trump insisted that the deal did not, in fact, include uranium enrichment and that it is “totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords”—that is, to normalized relations with Israel. Utter chaos and confusion duly erupted over what Trump meant to accomplish with these words. Is Trump attempting to blow up the freshly inked deal after hearing Republicans criticize it on Fox News and elsewhere, as CNN suggests? Or was the outburst simply Trump bluster without real-world consequences?
Whichever. It’s not clear if the deal is still viable. But this is a pattern that goes back to Trump’s pre-politics days. He was notorious for not honoring contracts if he didn’t feel like it. Frum concludes,
America’s traditional democratic allies feel betrayed and baffled by the unpredictability of Trump’s pay-for-play diplomacy. But those willing to pay can suffer betrayals and bafflements of their own. If not even the Saudis, who showered Trump and his family with cash and gifts, can trust Trump’s diplomacy, who else on earth can feel any confidence at all?
This all goes back to the fact that much of news media, television news especially, have been “sanewashing” and normalizing Trump since he first ran for POTUS in 2015. And to this day I’m sure many people still believe he was a successful businessman because he played one on The Apprentice. But his actual record as a businessman is terrible. He inherited a successful real estate business from his father, but nearly every business venture Trump initiated himself either bombed or was shut down by courts for being fraudulent. Before The Apprentice he was over his head in debt and close to being ruined. The Apprentice saved him, and made him look more competent than he ever was, and here we are.
I remember the New York Times publishing some in -depth reports on Trump’s failures and shady business practices, but I didn’t see any of that on television news. And that’s where people get most of their information, on television news. Maybe they’ve learned a lesson by now. If it’s not too late.
What's on your minds, folks? I'm not commenting on everything going on because it's just too much. Is there something especially grabbing your attention that I'm missing?
On a not-politics note, my daughter and I went to see The Odyssey in an IMAX theater today. It's a lot of movie. It's visually splendid; see it on an IMAX if you can. The thing could have been tightened up a little, but other than that I'm giving it a B+.
I've noticed the somewhat quietness among regular posters the past couple of days. My thought: For myself, I've kind of reached saturation when it comes to commenting on the events occurring in this stretch of human history. The things that go wrong each day seem like more of the same (slight variations on a recurring theme). Put this together with a sense that, as citizens [those of us who are] we need to be active in our individual states doing whatever it takes to protect our elections. Posting here is great for keeping our chins up, but local action requires attention.
Yesterday I checked my voter registration status, something I will continue to do periodically between now and November. There's a Dem primary coming up in early August and I'm trying to sort out the following phenomenon I am seeing: several younger people running for office (primary or, for them, hopefully in the general), some of whom seem genuinely dedicated to moving forward in a non-oligarchic direction; but a few of which seem to be getting bankrolled by big money. This is in the Dem primary. There is an incumbent US house rep who is older but whose public behavior in house hearings is boldly anti-orangutang. Challenged by a young Dem who's had local office, is saying all the right things, but is taking big money. The incumbent is endorsed by my favorite youngish bold and brash US Senator; the young challenger has been bankrolled by a billionaire.
What this suggests to me is that the FashFist party is not only putting whackos forward in R primaries, I think they may be trying to put stealth candidates into the D primaries… possibly to muddy the water, or bounce out strong anti-orangutang current House members by putting forth primary candidates who will say whatever they need to say to win the primary, but who will act as R-supporters if they get into congress.
Figuring out who I'm going to vote for in the primary is not an easy task.
Peace. Keep the faith. Be active.
I forgot to mention this: In the Dem primary for US House, the young candidate bankrolled by big money is endorsed by the State Dem party even though the very progressive youngish Senator has endorsed the incumbent. I'm going to have to talk to some folks I know that are active in state politics to try to make sense of this.
The top story is an old one. Iran. I'm reminded of the story of Brer Rabbit who fell for a trap set by his rival the fox, who took a lump of sticky tar and turpentine, dressed up to look like a small person. The crux of the story is that Brer Rabbit mixes it up with the doll for not replying to his greeting and is only more stuck when he tries to kick his way free. Trump and Iran in a nutshell. Trump could have walked away when they would not capitulate with the claim, he'd won and Iran was broken and ruined. But Trump wanted an unconditional surrender, or an agreement Trump could spin as a victory. And they won't give it to Trump. As we roll on to November, Trump is stuck, hand and foot, in a trap he could have walked from, except for his pride.
We're on the cusp of a Congressional break that should last a month. The Senate is saying that the weak version of SAVE is DOA. The courts aren't buying Trump's attempts to federalize elections. I don't think Trump will quit but I don't think Trump will win. IMO, Trump is toast as far as the House is concerned and 50-50 on the Senate.. Gap prices are back up at $4 per gal here. IMO, if the strategic reserves are empty, we are looking at shortages of gas, lines at the pump, and even higher prices for everything. He's back to tariffs, which will fuel inflation.
IF the GOP gets their clock cleaned in November, there will be much more resistance by the Republican party to back stupid policies. Enough for some GOP senators to vote to defund the Iran war, for example. By the way, he's back to saying he will run for a third term. I don't think he can but IMO, he will face criminal charges if he does not win. On top of that, Trump stands to be arrested anywhere in the world except the US. (With the exception of N. Korea and Russia.)
If there was a clever loophole to run for a third term, some previous president like Bill Clinton, Bush I, or Bush II would have already used it.
The blue and purple states need only stand firm and refuse to list ineligible persons on the ballot and Trump can't win the EC. Not even by write-in, because he'll be just as ineligible as a write-in of "Mickey Mouse".
No, we are going to get another Jan 6 attempt. Which will fail again because he's incompetent and everyone will be ready for it.
I've become aware, once again, of the signs when I wander too close to the news cesspool, drawing me in like a big magnet. One recognized sign is a continual hunger for news, not so much good news, but the latest outrage, which is the entire business model of Fox News.
I've learned that Don Jr is part of GrabaGun.com – an Amazon.com for guns – and that rules about buying guns were relaxed by the DOJ. Formerly you had to show up in person to buy a gun, fill out papers, etc. Another family grift. Who cares if it adds to the tinderbox of violence in this country.
The Economist did an interview of Elon Musk, highlighted by Dr Russ Razzaque in a youtube, as it provides a glimpse into how Musk thinks. I couldn't stand to watch the portions of Musk evading questions about the consequences of his cutting USAID. Razzaque said the Lancet documented that this has resulted in upwards of one million deaths. It became clear to me that for Musk, this – evading responsibility – is just a game to him. He has the maturity of a 13 year old. Pretty much the same for his band of DOGE techno-twits who were given free rein to destroy the government, including Social Security last year.
In the midst of this, there are the wins, particularly in the courts. I am impressed with Katie Phang's skill and tenacity in fighting for the Epstein victims vis a vis Todd Blanche's coverup. The psychics I follow say whether Todd Blanche officially becomes the next AG or his nomination fails and he continues to merely act, is pretty irrelevant.
Another psychic says that there will be a few more big wins coming for the fascists, but that's about the end of it. She thinks the SAVE act is going to pass in some form, for example.
And so it's: continue to hunker down and ride out the storm, and do everything we can for Democratic victory this November.
The same psychic who predicted the above, says that 2027 will be a year where everyone is angry, riots in the streets. There will be an initial six month or so period of relief as the fascists lose power, but this will be followed by a lot of chaos and dysfunction. I expect inflation to really tick up as well as many broken things, such as food borne illness and another pandemic. The effects of a destroyed government are going to become much more evident to everyone.
One more thing about 2027 and the year of anger. This is when the costs of 2026's Big Awful Bill were deliberately delayed to, for example throwing people off Medicaid. The Rs cynically pushed this out past the mid-term election, to hood-wink the citizenry. It's going to be the red hats who will be a large component of this anger. Those of us who saw this coming for years had better get out of the way. Prepare for it.
A few times recently, I've started to write comments, but then run out of steam. I'm presumably "depressed"; some of that is personal Stuff (my life is a mess, and so is my home), but I'm also really weighed down by The World these days.
Most obviously, I'm furious about our attacks on Iran. In a "democracy", we're all responsible for the actions of our country, and I'm really pissed off about all that blood on my hands (starting with that school in Minab…).
Even worse, I fear that we are already in WW3 but nobody wants to admit it (yet). The current situation seems like 1940, with significant – but separate – wars in Europe and Asia; the USA was clearly helping Britain and China, but the war didn't become truly Global until Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. So far, we have been viewing the wars in Ukraine (Europe…) and the Persian Gulf (Asia…) as separate conflicts; but now the dots are getting connected:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/zelenskyy-russia-iran-satellite-imagery-us-bases/
Of course, Ukraine's drone and missile attacks inside Russia are proof that we're already doing that (providing satellite data for targeting); the importance of this "news" story is that it attempts to link the two wars.
I'm also really worried about our (US) economy, even before the oil shortages caused by the damn war. I've been expecting a Crash for years; IMO, Biden's BBB (Infrastructure) was our last hope for rebuilding our Real Economy (and escaping terminal Financialization). Of course, everything Trump has done has made everything worse; the only upside is that the sooner it all crashes, the shorter the fall…
Ecologically, I've given up on our ability to avoid catastrophic Global Warming. The "promise" of AI has created an unholy alliance of Silicon Valley, Wall Street, and Extractive Industries (Oil/Gas/Coal/Uranium). The question now is, how many Billion people will die from flooding, crop failure, and the resulting wars & pogroms.
Politically, I view the USA as a lost cause. Of course I hope that Dems win the mid-terms (and sweep in 2028), but, sadly, I doubt they could turn things around fast enough to avoid the looming disasters (see above). The Dem Party is split; if either faction (DSA or "Centrists") wins the internal fight, it could be disastrous. If the DSA "wins", it would likely alienate all the Big Donors against them; if the Centrists "win", it would alienate young & Progressive voters (see: 2024). Despite Trump, the GOP still has strong Party Infrastructure, and a more united & committed Donor base. Their priorities (tax cuts & deregulation) are already locked in; even a united Dem Party won't be able to make any real changes for years. Trump will (eventually, mercifully) disappear, but the Federalist hacks on the SC will still be there…
So, yeah, all this Doom & Gloom makes it hard for me to actually finish writing Comments here. Sorry…
If the DSA "wins", it would likely alienate all the Big Donors against them
The Big Donors are already against the DSA. This is why we're getting all these hostile comments from centrist politicians against anyone to the left of Hakeem Jeffries. As well as all the centrist op-eds being broadcast everywhere.
Quote of the Day:
"They moved on from Lindsey Graham's death so quickly you'd think he died in a school shooting."
– covie93.bsky.social
I need to explain another factor in my recent lack of commenting here.
A few weeks ago, there was a (one-sided) flame war in the comment section of Maha's 7/8/26 post "Stop Him Before He Remodels Again". A new person commented here under the name "John Kane", and he was attacked for his perspective on the war in Ukraine; various commenters called him "nuts", "dumb", "troll", "stupid", and a "bot".
Welcome to Mahablog, John!
I was repulsed by the name-calling; as I commented there…
"IMO, that [kind of] accusation only serves to enforce a refusal to listen to opposing viewpoints. Ironically, this is exactly what we accuse MAGAts of doing…"
Maha – plz email me?
Free speech debate doesn’t mean freedom from consequences. While anything’s possible, it seems the regulars here would rather take seriously, the probable. I’d think that if one's debate seems too improbable, then consequences.
Rachael was on quite a tear last night. Once a week is not really enough time for a star of the loyal opposition. She covered a lot and scored a number of grand slams as usual. One thing she covered left me perplexed. I had heard this news item before and had brought it up with people I know in Colorado. Nothing they have said does much explaining. For those who have not guessed, I am referring to the state's republican nominee for governor. Republicans nominated a person that no sane person would elect as governor. I would guess none of them would even consider hiring this guy in desperation to babysit their pet overnight. He does claim special skills, and can allegedly perform exorcisms over the phone. (one of many seeming disqualifiers)
What is up with this move? Those who voted for him obviously intended to vote in a grossly unserious manner. A vote for Nihilism? Well over half would fail trying to define the word. A vote against democracy? A vote against reason? A voice from the right of the Uber Con(job) Con(Vict) wing giving a message?
I guess if it made sense in any way, it would not be truly crazy. So, a vote for the truest crazy?
There's so much bad going on its overwhelming. And no matter how bad it gets, you can almost count on something worse coming. Its hard to keep up, and I find myself pretty much saying the same things — dems need to take a stand, Trump and his crime family are just taking advantage of the government and taxpayers, the rapaciousness of the billionaires, white supremacists are running amok, republicans lie with abandon and the media never call them on it, if you work for a living the government seems to be doing all it can to make things worse, and too many people are too stupid to grasp what's going on, even when they are directly affected. Very frustrating. I like the good things the DSA have accomplished, and then their co chair goes on Fox and comes off as a raving lunatic. Why is it so hard to just focus on finally getting things done that help working people, rather than trying to remake society from top to bottom from the outset? Why not focus on what you can do now that will help people? Then there's the knowledge that, even if the dems sweep in November, we're so far down the rabbit hole its going to take years, several election cycles to just to get back to where we were with governing and society before the scourge of MAGA. Its like a pall of darkness and hatred has settled over everything. For sanity’s sake you have to work ever harder to find the good to hold onto.
I am literally worn out.
I suspect most of us here are worn out, so I feel ya.
I also feel that we all have to keep together and support each other, as things are likely to get worse before they get better. I did see something over the weekend, Heather Cox-Richardson interview by Nicolle Wallace. In response to a question about how ominous things can seem right now, Heather responded by saying that she has two choices: do everything she can to resist or give up and go into hiding. She chooses to do the first. It's a personal choice for each and every one of us, and there's no room for judgment of others' decisions.
As I said, I hear ya. And I count it as one of my blessings that we have this space provided by Maha to share.
Peace
More nonsense from the (twilight zone?) or beyond.
This is familiar. Paranoid thinking is not uncommon if not considered a desired personal attribute to the "right".
What the Crackup of the Heritage Foundation Says About the Post-Trump Right – The New York Times