THIS
As John (aka Five for Fighting) himself might put it, we are NOT OK. America’s Invisible Hostage Crisis in Gaza - WSJ
(You may need to open the video in its own page or YouTube app if the embed is blocked...)
Just One Thing: Good news and bad news
A happy ending but not as happy as it might have been. Around 1:15 AM last Friday, an 18-year-old hoodlum in Northwest Washington, DC decided to carjack a guy sitting in a vehicle, apparently minding his own business. The hoodlum walked up to the car and pulled a gun. Turns out the would-be victim was a US Marshal on duty protecting the home of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Needless to say, the marshal pulled his own gun and fired at the hoodlum and another marshal in another vehicle got out and also fired at him. The good news is that the hoodlum was stopped. The bad news is that he wasn’t badly injured…not even close to dead, which would be a better outcome. (I'll note that that's easy for me to say as I wouldn't have to live with the potential guilt of having killed a teenager, even a bad one.) And the worse news is that this kind of crime is rampant in our nation’s capital where the vast majority of people (including members of Congress) don’t have bodyguards.
Sonia Sotomayor's Bodyguard Shoots Would-Be Carjacker outside Justice's Home | National Review
Today's Guests
Daniel Silva is on the "A-list" of great thriller authors, most famously with his protagonist Gabriel Allon, a former Israeli spy/badass who has a new private career as a restorer of extremely valuable old paintings and ends up solving crimes of robbery, murder, and political machination. Daniel has written 24 novels, all but 3 starring Allon, and all 24 have been best-sellers, with more than have reaching #1 on the NY Times list. Jack Carr credits Silva as one of the writers who inspired him (Carr) to become a writer. This'll be my first time talking with Daniel (at 9:33 AM) and I'll be hosting him for the Douglas County Libraries next Thursday in Lone Tree. You can get tickets here: Featured Events | Douglas County Libraries (dcl.org)
Daniel's new novel is entitled "A Death in Cornwall."
Daniel Silva | #1 New York Times Bestselling Author (danielsilvabooks.com)
Amazon.com: A Death in Cornwall: A Novel (Gabriel Allon, 24)
Chris Cuomo is the host of "Cuomo" on News Nation. His show airs at 6 PM MT and I encourage you to watch it, along with my friend Leland Vittert's show that starts an hour earlier at 5 PM and Dan Abrams' show that starts at 7 PM. Chris joins me at 10 AM to talk about the political craziness going on in this nation.
The intrepid Chad Bowar joins me at 11 AM for this week's "Well, Now You Know"
Other Stuff
I may misunderestimate the political risk of this to Trump because of my own bias against federal involvement in the issue. Still I think that it's absolutely critical for Trump to do this in order to lessen the potency of abortion-related attacks on him and on other Republicans going into the 2024 election: Some Republicans unhappy with RNC's abortion platform (axios.com)
Also from Axios:
Trump rolled the RNC on abortion (the platform doesn't call for a nationwide ban, for the first time in 40 years) and same-sex marriage (no longer a reference to "traditional marriage" between "one man and one woman") to win over voters he knows are wary. Trump sources tell us they tried to thread a needle of broadening the party's appeal without offending the evangelical voters who propelled Trump into office.
I get plenty of stuff wrong. For the moment, however, it appears that one thing I got right is that nobody will be forcing Joe Biden out of this race. As one sad Dem put it, Democrats who wanted to nudge Biden to the campaign exit "are folding all over the place." Congress’ despondent Biden rebels see their revolt crumbling: “It’s over” (axios.com)
And Democratic senators are focused "on beating Trump" but have no agreement about whether Biden is the guy to do it: Senate Democrats stuck at Biden impasse after private lunch (axios.com)
Gosh it's nice to see the Dems in such turmoil, just to keep me, even if for just a few days, to avoid thinking about how ridiculous it would be if a character like JD Vance became VP...every bit as ridiculous as Trump becoming president. I sure hope Trump picks a sane person like Burgum.
Michael Bennet speaks the truth. One of the only times I've heard of him saying anything interesting: Democratic US Senator Michael Bennet says Biden cannot win against Trump (msn.com)
"Biden still hasn't closed the deal": The Democrats’ divide | Semafor
Not a big surprise: The debate hurt Biden a lot more than it helped Trump: July 2024 National Poll: Trump 46%, Biden 43% - Emerson Polling (emersoncollegepolling.com)
And from the estimable Cook Political: Cook Political Report: Major Battleground States Swing toward Trump | National Review
It's an unfortunate paradox: Spending billions of dollars (or euros) on weapons in the absence of war is a massive waste of money that could go to productive purposes or, even better, not be taxed from people at all. But not spending money on weapons invites enemies to attack. Thus we have Reagan's "Peace Through Strength" mantra that seems every bit as true today as when he said it (and it had been true for a long time by then, like forever.) NATO Presses to Add Weapons to Counter Russia’s Ukraine Invasion - WSJ
This is what Trump has been pushing for: Europe spending more of their own money on defense issues that particularly risk European interests: Future of Europe’s security will be decided in Ukraine, EU’s top diplomat warns | Semafor
Watch this, especially starting at 3:26. This guy is Josep Borrell, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the EU Commission:
Trump up bigly in a swing state: Trump Leads Biden by 5 Percentage Points in Post-Debate Wisconsin Poll - The New York Times (nytimes.com) (subscription may be required)
2024 Wisconsin Voter Survey (aarp.org)
Meanwhile I think there's maybe a 1% chance that Trump wins the state of New York. But a weak Biden performance, especially if due to low Democratic turnout, could help some Republican House members currently in seats that are usually Dem districts to win re-election. The Dems MUST win back some of these seats if they are to retake the majority in the House. Biden support slips in deep blue New York: ‘We’re a battleground state now’ - POLITICO
Seems to me the penalties should be raised for crimes that can significantly negatively impact lots of people even if the nominal value of the stolen material is low. Also, seems to me that there should be massive penalties for knowingly buying stolen metal.
Metal Thieves Are Stripping America’s Cities - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
I have no idea what to say about this: Blind mystic Baba Vanga says the end times will commence in 2025 (nypost.com)
Count me out…I think it’s cheap for a reason: Atlanta named most affordable destination for summer travel 2024 (nypost.com)
Today's Videos
Score one rare win for the males of the species
Somehow I don't see this working with my wife, at least not more than once, but I appreciate the spirit
This seems bad, but nobody got hurt
United flight makes emergency landing in Denver after wheel falls off (kktv.com)