Wednesday, August 5, 2026

Davids Daily Dose - Wednesday August 5

1/. Andrew Sullivan with a nuanced look at Anthony Fauci and his record.....

“Attacks on me, quite frankly, are attacks on science, because all of the things that I have spoken about, consistently from the very beginning, have been fundamentally based on science,” - Anthony Fauci to Chuck Todd in June 2021.

By the looks of him, Tony Fauci is broken. His expression in this week’s hearings was flat, a little haunted, done. The man who once leapt at every chance to testify in public as “Mr Science” suddenly found himself mute, humbled even, leery of “perjury traps.” You’d think a whopping, unprecedented, retroactive pardon might have the benefit of at least liberating the man to tell us everything, good and bad. But nope.

This is life in a broken republic.                                                                                                                                                                                     https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/neither-saint-nor-villain?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=61371&post_id=208785553&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjozOTYxMTgzLCJwb3N0X2lkIjoyMDg3ODU1NTMsImlhdCI6MTc4NTUxNTk4MSwiZXhwIjoxNzg4MTA3OTgxLCJpc3MiOiJwdWItNjEzNzEiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.wHtIK_8KukwM8wEDanExl8unIqZAHWYkGsxbsxhAPM0&r=2cwgv&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email



2/. Boy is this Tom Tomorrow true.......


3/. Bob Lefsetz gives us the reality of CNN and movies, i.e. they are old legacy media that nobody is watching.....
Interesting POV....

Why are oldsters and Hollywood fighting a passé war?

At least CNN does more reporting than Fox, even MS Now, but the truth is hardly anyone is watching and the outlet, like its two political competitors, is basically a hotbed of analysis and argument which younger generations refuse to engage with.

CNN reaches 711,000 primetime viewers and 432,000 total-day viewers in a nation of 340+ million. In a world where influencers, whose names are unknown by these anti-merger protesters, reach more.

If you’re banking on the neutering of the Paramount/WarnerDiscovery merger… Let’s just say I hope you’re not placing a bet on Kalshi. Because if you leave all emotion out, the merger passes muster on an antitrust basis.

But this is what happens when people base their behavior on emotions, not facts.

We reside in a changed world, and the older generations refuse to accept this.                                                                          https://lefsetz.com/wordpress/2026/07/29/cnn/



4/. I wonder who this is? Hmmmmm.....


5/. How do Canadians feel about the new Trump tariffs? 
Good story from a Toronto journalist......
Picture is the new Gordie Howe bridge from Detroit to Windsor.....

Though many hate to admit it, Canadians have long wished for more attention from the US. Well, we’re getting it now. And it turns out that President Trump and some of his top supporters in the Maga movement don’t much like us.

The first big hint was when he started talking about annexing us, saying we couldn’t survive without American support. But the most recent example of Trump’s dislike for Canada can be seen in his latest tariff policies. Canada was largely spared the impact of his “Liberation Day” tariffs in April 2025 by its pre-existing free trade deal with the US (and Mexico), but earlier this month, as expected, the US declined to extend that deal for another 16-year term. It’s now subject to annual renegotiations. Then, last week, the White House announced tariffs as high as 50% on a selection of Canadian products including, for the first time, items previously protected by the trade agreement. The US called it retaliation for Canadian trade practices.                                            https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/29/donald-trump-canada-tariff-war-white-house-mark-carney-us-president




6/. This is an OMG story, with a plausible case to be make that the Iran disaster could 
ignite global conflict , i.e. WW3.

The only thing worse than President Trump starting an unconstitutional war is Trump losing control of that war.

On Wednesday, NBC News reported that Trump “erupted” at members of his national security team over the Iran war. According to the report, his advisers can’t agree on a path forward. But how could they? Every path to victory risks dangerous escalation, while continuing the present course risks strategic defeat.

This was always the most likely outcome. The president chose to take on a much more powerful country than, say, Saddam Hussein’s Iraq in 2003 while using far less force than we employed to topple the Iraqi government.

What did he expect would happen?                               https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/02/opinion/iran-war-russia-ukraine-world-war-threat.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share



7/.  Oliver Larkin, running for Congress in Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood Democratic primary, was brave enough to go on Fox News. 
Good interview, but the last two minutes are excellent......so good that they cut him off......



8/ For a different take on the Fauci hearing, Thom Hartmann gives us the reality of why the 
Republicans hate Fauci so much. This story opened my eyes......

Republicans went totally nutso on Dr. Anthony Fauci this week, trying to catch him with a perjury trap before the US Senate. They called him names, citied lies and pseudoscience, and attacked his integrity. 

He withstood asinine statements like Josh Hawley, in an extraordinary bit of projection, saying: 

“You became a narcissist and a megalomaniac and a liar! You’ve done more to harm science than anybody in my lifetime!” 

Throughout it all, he retained his composure and refused to take any of their bait.

But the larger story here is what these white supremacist MAGA Republicans were trying to cover up with this deflection strategy.       https://hartmannreport.com/p/the-cover-up-has-begun-first-they-02d?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=302288&post_id=209177951&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=2cwgv&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email




9/. You really have to question everything.....



10/. Great story - Democrats have to have a landslide in November to survive, because if we win the
 House by a few seats they will be contested and we will lose. 
A landslide - we survive.

In these days of extreme weather events, it seems odd to say that the US needs a big landslide. But a landslide defeat for President Donald Trumpin November’s midterm elections is exactly what is required if the country is to start reversing his deliberate and rapid erosion of its democracy.

The respected Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Institute at Gothenburg University argues that in 2025 the US saw one of the most rapid declines in liberal democracy on record. “Democracy in the USA,” says its Democracy Report 2026, “is now at its worst in 60 years.” As the imperial republic marks the 250th anniversary of its founding, the danger seen at the very beginning of its constitutional order by anti-federalists such as Patrick Henry – that of an overmighty president abusing his executive power in an attempt to become a new king – has come closer than ever before.                             https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/aug/01/democrats-donald-trump-us-midterms




11/. We seem to forget the Republicans and the Supreme Court have redistricted many of the
House districts in red states all over the country.
This is why we need the landslide.......
Last year, the Trump administration bulldozed yet another political norm when the president, encouraged by key advisers, pushed Texasto redistrict aggressively ahead of the 2026 midterms, as opposed to the usual practice of waiting until the next census. Texas complied, drawing several Democrats out of their districts and beginning a long battle over maps that would ricochet around the country. The Democratic response was led by California governor Newsom, who spearheaded a voter referendum that allowed his state to redraw its maps in favor of Democrats. And after further Republican setbacks, it briefly seemed as though the party’s efforts had backfired, and that Democrats would emerge with the ultimate advantage. But late-in-the-game legal developments tilted the playing field back to the GOP. Then, the Supreme Court punctuated Republicans’ advantage with a June ruling that severely weakened the Voting Rights Act, which almost immediately led to more Republican gains in the South.


12/. A little rude, but probably accurate.....



13/. This is interesting.......Cruise Line food rated, 15 best and 15 worst......some surprises here too!

I have eaten my way through basically every included and specialty dining option on Princess, Carnival, and Virgin Voyages (sometimes more than once on the same sailing), and if you’ve ever talked travel with me, you know I have a lot of feelings about this topic.

Cruise lines vary a lot in how much they invest in food, and that difference is worth knowing before you book.



14/. Upsetting one.....you can see him doing all of this....



15/. I just bought this book, coming out at the end of August. "I Eat The Stars"

In Sarah Wilson’s new book, one page is mostly blank. It’s intended as a reprieve, a neutral space “for you to stare at for a minute while your feelings catch up”.

You will need it. In I Eat the Stars, Wilson argues that the world as we know it is in collapse – and that we are too late to avoid the worst.

This is not just about the climate, but civilisation buckling under the weight of its own complexity. Given worsening inequality, political polarisation, falling fertility, resource shortages and global conflicts, Wilson argues that we are hurtling towards the same end as ancient Rome, the Mayan civilisation and every other sophisticated society before us.                                                                                                                                                                                https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/2026/jul/29/sarah-wilson-book-interview




Today's rude joke.....
A woman was on the way to winning $100,000 on a game show, but her final question was suspended for the next night. Her husband sneaked into the studio and found the question and answer.
He raced home and told his wife "Your question is 'What are the three main parts of the male anatomy', and the answer is 'The head, heart and penis.'
The woman thinks about this throughout the night, but keeps forgetting the answer.
Her husband keeps reminding her, "The head, heart and penis."
Come the game show she has forgotten again, and the presenter asks, "For $100,000, what are the three main parts of the male anatomy? You have ten seconds."
"Um... the head."
"Good. Eight seconds."
"Um... the heart."
"That's right. Five seconds."
"Oh... um... damn. My husband drilled it into me last night and I had it on the tip of my tongue this morning..."
"That's close enough! You've won $100,000!"


Today's golf jokes
RULE CHANGES IN EFFECT FOR GOLFERS AGE 65+:

Rule 9.k.34(a): If a tree is between the ball and the hole, and the tree is deemed to be younger than the player, then the ball can be moved without penalty.. This is so because this is simply a question
of timing; when the player was younger, the tree was not there so the player is being penalized because of his age.

Rule 1.a.5 - A ball sliced or hooked into the Rough shall be lifted and placed on the Fairway at a point equal to the distance it carried or rolled into the Rough with no penalty. The senior player should not
be penalized for tall grass which ground keepers failed to mow.

Rule 2.d.6 (B) - A ball hitting a tree shall be deemed NOT to have hit the tree. This is simply bad luck and luck has no place in a scientific game. The senior player must estimate the distance the ball would have
traveled if it had not hit the tree, and play the ball from there.

Rule 3.B.3(G) - There shall be no such thing as a lost ball. The missing ball is on or near the course and will eventually be found and pocketed by someone else, thereby making it a stolen ball. The senior
player is not to compound the felony by charging himself with a penalty

Rule 4.c.7(h) - If a putt passes over a hole without dropping, it is deemed to have dropped. The Law of Gravity supersedes the Rules of Golf.

Rule 5. - Putts that stop close enough to the cup that they could be blown in, may be blown in. This does not apply to balls more than three inches from the Hole. No one wants to make a mockery of the game.

Rule 6.a.9(k) - There is no penalty for so-called “out of bounds.” If penny-pinching golf course owners bought sufficient land, this would not occur. The senior player deserves an apology, not a penalty.

Rule 7.G.15(z) - There is no penalty for a ball in a water hazard, as golf balls should float. Senior players should not be penalized for any shortcomings of the manufacturers.

Rule 8.k.9(S) - Advertisements claim that golf scores can be improved by purchasing new golf equipment. Since this is financially impractical for many senior players, one-half stroke per hole may be subtracted for using old equipment.

Please advise all your senior friends of these important rule changes and keep multiple copies in your golf bag. Those not following the rules need to be provided a copy.

Golf is.... above all.... a game of integrity.

Today's medical joke
An old guy goes to his doctor for his physical and gets sent to the Urologist as a precaution.
 When he gets there, he discovers the Urologist is a very pretty female doctor.
 The female doctor says,"I'm going to check your prostate today, but this new procedure is a little different from what you are probably used to.
 I want you to lie on your right side,bend your knees, then while I check your prostate, take a deep breath and say, '99'".
 The old guy obeys and says,"99".
 The doctor says, "Great", now turn over on your left side and again, while I repeat the check, take a deep breath and say, '99'".
 Again, the old guy says, "99".  
The doctor said, “Very good”.
"Now then, I want you to lie on your back with your knees raised slightly.
 I'm going to check your prostate with this hand, and with the other hand I'm going to hold on to your penis to keep it out of the way.
 Now take a deep breath and say, '99'".
 The old guy begins,
 "One... two… three…"
 

Today's joke collection
A woman was having a passionate affair with an inspector from a pest-control company.. 
One afternoon they were carrying on in the bedroom together when her husband arrived home unexpectedly.  
'Quick,' said the woman to the lover, 'into the closet!' and she pushed him in the closet, stark naked.  
The husband, however, became suspicious and after a search of the bedroom discovered the man in the closet..  
'Who are you?' he asked him..  
'I'm an inspector from Bugs-B-Gone,' said the exterminator.  
'What are you doing in there?' the husband asked..  
'I'm investigating a complaint about an infestation of moths,' the man replied.  
'And where are your clothes?' asked the husband.  
The man looked down at himself and said, 'Those little bastards!'........  
-----------------------------------

Wife:  'What are you doing?'  
Husband:  Nothing.  
Wife:  'Nothing ...? You've been reading our marriage certificate for an hour.'  
Husband:  'I was looking for the expiration date.'  
-------------------------------  

Wife  : 'Do you want dinner?'  
Husband:  'Sure! What are my choices?'  
Wife:  'Yes or no.'  
--------------------------------------------------------  


Stress Reliever  
Girl:  'When we get married, I want to share all your worries, troubles and lighten your burden.'  
Boy:  'It's very kind of you, darling, but I don't have any worries or troubles.'  
Gil:  'Well that's because we aren't married yet.'  
----------------------------  

Son:  'Mum, when I was on the bus with Dad this morning, he told me to give up my seat to a lady.'  
Mom:  'Well, you have done the right thing.'  
Son:  'But mum, I was sitting on daddy's lap.'  
____________________________  

A newly married man asked his wife, 'Would you have married me if my father hadn't left me a fortune?'  
'Honey,' the woman replied sweetly, 'I'd have married you, no matter who left you the fortune!'  
---------------------------------------------------------- 

A wife asked her husband: 'What do you like most in me, my pretty face or my sexy body?'  
He looked at her from head to toe and replied: 'I like your sense of humour!'  
__________________________________ 

Husbands are husbands  
A man was sitting reading his papers when his wife hit him round the head with a frying pan.  
'What was that for?' the man asked.  
The wife replied 'That was for the piece of paper with the name Jenny on it that I found in your pants pocket'..  
The man then said 'When I was at the races last week Jenny was the name of the horse I bet on'. 
The wife apologized and went on with the housework..  
Three days later the man is watching TV when his wife bashes him on the head with an even bigger frying pan, knocking him unconscious.  
Upon re-gaining consciousness the man asked why she had hit him again.  
Wife replied.. 'Your horse phoned'. 




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