Greetings,
Current Feeling: Not sure
Photo Credit - "The Week"
Josh Marshall's Observation on Trump - (Also a reminder to subscribe to TPM!) I think
Josh is correct: Trump is scrambling.
Some interesting and absurd but still noteworthy events overnight. Trump’s representatives, at least for the moment, have settled on a story which is that he had a “standing order” that any and all classified material he took home with him to the White House residence was “deemed” declassified. So in fact, none of the materials in question are classified and none of it matters. This was announced on Fox as an official statement from Trump’s office by John Solomon, the notorious fake news hustler who is now operating as Trump’s “designated representative” to the National Archives.
The best I can draw from this is that the ex-President and his entourage are in a state of implosive panic over the events of the last 72 hours. There was certainly no such “standing order” which will become clear in short order. This also isn’t the way classification works...
...What is more noteworthy is that these are the claims of someone who is not getting any legal advice. Not bad legal advice. No legal advice. At present Trump is represented by two women, one an unknown lawyer from New Jersey and another former OAN host. But I don’t think this is even coming from them. These sound like panicked claims of someone improvising without the benefit of legal counsel. What I draw from this is the real facts of the case are likely worse than they appear.
Subscriber Shelley Reback speculated on Facebook that maybe a Secret Service agent witnessed a hand off of documents at the LIV Golf Tournament and that's why the DOJ acted when they did. Time will tell!
Food Supply - This
article was written for British consumers, but still has some good advice on substitutions for scarce items.
...thanks to a combination of war, weather, and rising energy and feed prices, the UK could see less of everything from mustard to coffee, wine to risotto rice. When you’re used to being able to buy anything you like, it’s a shock to be reminded just how global this island’s food supply really is.
stochastic terrorism: terrorism that’s statistically predictable but individually unpredictable (see
Floriduh man who attacked the FBI office in Cincinnati)
Term That Makes Me Cringe - "pragmatic Democrat" It's a dog whistle for "I'm not AOC or Bernie."
Now read
this. Vermont voters didn't fall for it. (h/t Paul Stolc)
Credibility - Once you lose it, can you ever recover? Sounds like the
Orlando Art Museum is finished.
When he moved to a new school in Lampasas, the small Central Texas town where he lives with his mother, the 10-year-old felt other children staring at him when he wore a T-shirt to class. Just below his sleeve, at the crook of his left elbow, a deep chunk of flesh is missing — as if a monster had taken a bite out of his arm.
That monster was a high-velocity bullet, and the cavernous scar a lifelong physical reminder of the gunshot wounds the boy sustained when a man armed with an AR-15-style rifle opened fire inside the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs in 2017.
Netroots Nation - Next week, I'll be attending
Netroots Nation in Pittsburgh. The last in-person NN was held in Philadelphia in 2019, so I'm eager to reunite with my progressive friends. One of the highlights of the three-day event is always Pub Quiz. The California team wins every time, but the rest of us enjoy ourselves. The questions are usually themed around the host city, so I need to brush up on my Pittsburgh trivia!
I'll be sure to take copious notes and share any insights and inspirations from the sessions in this newsletter.
Pet Peeves -
- When a company discontinues a product I love (recent examples: Irish Spring Original soap, Origins Make a Difference Plus moisturizer, Origins makeup, Perrier flavored water in slim cans)
- When someone uses the term "your student" when addressing parents. The children aren't the parent's student, they're the teacher's students.
My volunteer responsibility...C
lick here if you'd like to donate to progressive candidates, or you can mail a check to:
Florida Progressives PAC
P. O. Box 612
Crystal River, FL 34423
Hugs and solidarity,
Susan
Susan Smith
Chair
813-390-3616
