Music: Emil Brandqvist Trio — ‘Starlings’
Former classmate of Trump rally gunman says he was ‘bullied almost every day’
A U.S. Secret Service report [PDF] on school shootings published while Donald Trump was president found that: Most attackers were victims of bullying, which was often observed by others: Most of the attackers were bullied by their classmates, and for over half of the attackers the bullying appeared to be of a persistent pattern which lasted for weeks, months, or years. It is critical that schools implement comprehensive programs designed to promote safe and positive school climates, where students…
Trump will become the martyr in chief, his own blood the basis for his bid for power and vengeance
David Frum writes: When a madman hammered nearly to death the husband of then–House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Donald Trump jeered and mocked. One of Trump’s sons and other close Trump supporters avidly promoted false claims that Paul Pelosi had somehow brought the onslaught upon himself through a sexual misadventure. After authorities apprehended a right-wing-extremist plot to abduct Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Trump belittled the threat at a rally. He disparaged Whitmer as a political enemy. His supporters chanted “Lock her…
America’s unending conflict with itself
Nick Bryant writes: The advice I used to impart to young correspondents arriving at the BBC’s bureau in Washington was to remember that the United States had fought a civil war in the mid-19th century and was still arguing over the terms of a fractious peace. Much like the modern-day phrase “sorry but not sorry,” which is used sarcastically to indicate a lack of remorse, the brief ceremony at Virginia’s Appomattox Court House in April 1865, which brought the armed…
Trump’s raised fist will make history — and define his candidacy
Jonathan Martin writes: The pictures and film of Trump rallying the crowd will likely be the enduring image of this election and perhaps his entire political career. Even before President Biden’s catastrophic debate last month, Trump had run on a platform of strength, portraying himself as a politically muscular figure against a weak and aging incumbent president. Next week’s Republican nominating convention will deliver Trump a hero’s welcome and an audience to match, befitting a party leader who had a…
Biden’s incendiary rhetoric comes back to haunt him
Biden told donors on a private call this afternoon: “It’s time to put Trump in the bullseye.” — Kenneth P. Vogel (@kenvogel) July 8, 2024 But as Politico columnist, Jack Shafer suggested: Isn't that a little … incendiary? — Jack Shafer (@jackshafer) July 8, 2024 The Biden campaign, however, seemed to think that in the aftermath of the debate, it would be in their candidate’s interests to highlight his fighting words. As Scripps News reported: The Biden-Harris campaign is on…
Charlie Sykes: GOP ‘absolutely confident’ that they will win in 2024
The Republican National Convention begins next week in Wisconsin. In many ways, the battleground state reflects the recent history of the GOP, with Republicans swinging more and more to the right, ending in a full-on embrace of Donald Trump’s MAGA policies. A close observer of this phenomenon is Charlie Sykes, founder of The Bulwark and a respected voice amongst never-Trump Republicans. Sykes joined Walter Isaacson to analyze what cards Republicans might play in the upcoming election, and what strategies…
Surprise: American voters actually largely agree on many issues, including topics like abortion, immigration and wealth inequality
For a country that often feels hopelessly divided, it turns out that there is a lot of agreement among Americans. Nisian Hughes/Getty Images By Dante Chinni, Michigan State University and Ari Pinkus, Michigan State University As the presidential election campaign heats up, media coverage suggests Americans are hopelessly divided and headed for a difficult fall – perhaps also a tense January. But that isn’t the whole story, according to reporting and poll results from the American Communities Project, a journalism…
Music: Emil Brandqvist Trio — ‘Under the Starry Sky’
Can Biden run out the clock?
Politico reports: As Democrats frantically debate whether President Joe Biden should be the party’s nominee, they’re racing against an uncomfortable — and uncertain — deadline. Democratic National Committee members are expected to meet next Friday to determine a date to nominate Biden in a virtual roll call, which could come as soon as the end of this month, weeks before the party’s convention in Chicago, which begins on Aug. 19. Officially giving Biden the nomination would effectively blunt some calls…
GOP pollster: VP Harris is the strongest Democratic candidate
President Joe Biden remains under intense scrutiny as the 75th NATO summit draws to a close. Amid all this uncertainty and calls for him to drop out of the presidential race, Republican pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson joins Walter Isaacson to discuss her latest essay, “No Poll Can Tell Biden What He Needs to Hear.”
UAW considering next steps on worries Trump could beat Biden
“We’re speaking truth to those who need to hear it most and that’s the Democrat Party,” Shawn Fain said at Netroots Nation conference, urging people not to put “our heads in the sand and hide from reality — we tried that in 2016 and it didn’t work.” https://t.co/VNVrbaCtuF https://t.co/8RewtWC1rS — Josh Eidelson (@josheidelson) July 13, 2024 Reuters reports: United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain met with the union’s executive board late on Thursday to discuss his deep concerns with President…
Inside Ziklag, the secret organization of wealthy Christians trying to sway the election and change the country
By Andy Kroll, ProPublica, and Nick Surgey, Documented This story was originally published by ProPublica. A network of ultrawealthy Christian donors is spending nearly $12 million to mobilize Republican-leaning voters and purge more than a million people from the rolls in key swing states, aiming to tilt the 2024 election in favor of former President Donald Trump. These previously unreported plans are the work of a group named Ziklag, a little-known charity whose donors have included some of the wealthiest…
Mustafa Barghouti: Israel’s goal is total ethnic cleansing
A panel of United Nations independent experts has accused Israel of engaging in a campaign of starvation and genocide in Gaza as the effects of the famine are being felt across Gaza. Palestinian physician and activist Mustafa Barghouti says “what we see today is a purposeful act of starvation” and that the real intention of the Israeli government has never changed. “Their main goal is the total ethnic cleansing of all of Gaza people and all of the Gaza…
U.S. and Germany foiled Russian plot to assassinate CEO of arms manufacturer sending weapons to Ukraine
CNN reports: US intelligence discovered earlier this year that the Russian government planned to assassinate the chief executive of a powerful German arms manufacturer that has been producing artillery shells and military vehicles for Ukraine, according to five US and western officials familiar with the episode. The plot was one of a series of Russian plans to assassinate defense industry executives across Europe who were supporting Ukraine’s war effort, these sources said. The plan to kill Armin Papperger, a white-haired…
Study finds life on Earth emerged 4.2 billion years ago, soon after the planet came into existence
Science Alert reports: Once upon a time, Earth was barren. Everything changed when, somehow, out of the chemistry available early in our planet’s history, something started squirming – processing available matter to survive, to breed, to thrive. What that something was, and when it first squirmed, have been burning questions that have puzzled humanity probably for as long as we’ve been able to ask “what am I?” Now, a new study has found some answers – and life emerged surprisingly…