“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”
― Augustine of Hippo
We’re back from Prague and what a joy it was to have a break from the news…but what a week it was. Between threatening the NATO alliance, praising the NATO alliance, trashing the British Prime Minister in an exclusive interview to a tabloid, being unwilling to answer questions about that interview when he visited the PM’s house the next day and walking back his statements, and messing up protocol when visiting the Queen….President Trump…honestly, he met my expectations. All of this bullshit and nonsense is absolutely par for the course. Can you image Prime Minister May touching down in the US and criticizing the President’s trade war with China from a podium in the Rose Garden, while opining that Speaker Ryan (or for the sake of argument, Secretary Clinton) really would have been a preferable president? No, because that would be INSANE.
The curve this man is graded on continues to astound me. I take refuge in the protests to confirm that not everyone is letting him get away with it.
Meanwhile we have a Supreme Court nomination who cut his teeth in the Ken Starr investigations and has some interesting ideas about how presidents can or cannot be held legally accountable while in office, former FBI agent Peter Strzok gave the most full throated rebuttal of the Deep State conspiracy theorist trash of anyone actually in or formerly in the government (which is sad and which I think is part of the reason that the oversight committee has not, at least at time of writing, asked the other party in the Sexting Scandal Lisa Page to testify publicly), and the Mueller investigation just handed down more indictments and have now formally laid out specifically how the Russian government took action to attempt to affect the 2016 elections (the documents are worth reading). And finally, the president once again used racist and enthno-nationalist dog whistles throughout.
And England lost their World Cup match. UGH.
Sometimes I ponder how much power Senator McConnell has wielded and to what ends, and I want to punch something. Then I donate to a cause a I care about and encourage people to register to vote and feel a tiny little bit better.
A bit of statistical analysis on the president’s statements over the past two years, given his recent running off at the mouth.
Sali Hughes and Caitlin Moran talk life, writing, beauty products, and the need for a wide range of girls’ story being told in fiction in Sali’s brilliant In the Bathroom series. Part 1. Part 2.
If you know anything about the relationship between American Evangelical and Mormon communities, this is incredibly funny.
Oh Henry Cavill, I want to root for you and then you shoot off at the mouth like this…
This unexpected benefit of Britain’s heat wave delights me!
Whatever you opinion on the actual subject, Brexit arrangements are a trainwreck in slow motion.
Later the same day, holy shit. This is a bloodbath as politicians scramble to not be holding the hot potato when it hits, to mix my metaphors.
As a military brat with three generations of military service in my family, this enrages me and should enrage more of us.
More diversity in romance novels, thanks!
I appreciate the gesture, but there are also a lot of much more recent killings of black men and women who deserve additional resources and attention. This murder was a landmark event in American society and is one of the sparks of the organized Civil Rights movement and deserves an ending…but so do many more ordinary men and women. Black Lives Matter turns five this week, by the way.
Oh Roger Stone…always saying the quiet parts loudly.
A nice archaeology story to break things up a bit.
Maddening. Maddening and bad.
Were we asking for this, friends? I’m unsure.
Yes, I definitely struggle with this concept more than I should or want to.
“The erosion of the division between public and private has been coming for a while now.” If you’ve been following the gross “Planebae” story and it’s aftermath, this piece is required reading about the scary new reality where everyone, everywhere is a public figure now, and what the consequences of that may be.
To say that I’m crushing on Alex Ohanian and Gareth Southgate of late would be colossal understatements. Positive masculinity role models for all!
And finally, 50,000 people were expected to protest Donald Trump’s visit to the UK. According to the Evening Standard, 250,000 showed up.
Let’s end with a good news story:
Got on Jubilee Line. Sat down. Doors close. Frantic banging on window. Manic dad with cute daughter. Look at empty seat. Find bunny. Very cute bunny. Train moves. Get off at next stop and hope dad is logical. Next train arrives. Dad, daughter and bunny reunited. Joy. pic.twitter.com/mgxWdD1LcJ
— MARK A IZATT (@markaizatt) July 13, 2018
Small Dog Syndrome 