1/. Thomas Friedman with a pretty insightful story about the disaster that is Israel.....
And this is almost certain to come up in the debate tonight....
On Nov. 4, 2022, just after the current far-right Israeli government coalition won election, I wrote a column with this headline: “The Israel We Knew Is Gone.” It was meant to be a warning flare about just how radical this coalition is. Many people disagreed. I believe events have proved them wrong — and the situation is now even worse: The Israel we knew is gone, and today’s Israel is in existential danger.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/18/opinion/netanyahu-gaza-congress.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
2/. A good ad from the Lincoln Project.....Trump the God.....
3/. Tom Tomorrow predicts a future......some of which will definitely happen.....
4/. Alito and Thomas think they are Gods, and that the Democrats don't have the cojones to do anything about it....
It seems that Samuel Alito is precisely who Democrats say he is: a partisan with little apparent concern for the legitimacy of the court on which he serves. The Supreme Court justice has tried to hide behind a thin veil of judicial independence, shrugging off the evidence of his ideological allegiance with some half-assed excuses. But the surreptitious recordings of him—and flag-enthusiast wife Martha-Ann Alito—discussing his zero-sum politics undermines all his sorry justifications, and confirms the warnings Democrats and judicial watchdogs have been issuing throughout this court’s credibility crisis. “The recordings are a testament to the arrogance of Justice Alito and his wife,” Congressman Hank Johnson, lead sponsor of the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act in the House, told me Tuesday.
5/. So what to do about the Supreme Court?
Nixon forced Justice Abe Fortas to resign, and Democrats need to use that playbook [after Biden wins, of course].
An excellent piece from Thom Hartmann....
When the Mifepristone case came before the Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas and Sam Alito bizarrely brought up their desire to see the Comstock Act again enforced.
Even arguably worse, they’re in part responsible for giving Trump months of delay in the case Jack Smith has brought against him for trying to overthrow our form of government. As Liz Cheney, apparently quite pissed off at the Court herself, said this week:
“[Trump] now is pushing this idea that a president should have complete immunity against any criminal prosecution for anything he does in office and he’s pushed this appeal to the Supreme Court; I think it’s very important that the Supreme Court recognizes what he’s doing is a delaying tactic.
“It cannot be the case that a president of the United States can attempt to overturn an election and seize power and that our justice system is incapable of holding a trial and holding him to account before the next election.”
Actually, with a Supreme Court filled with corrupt stooges for the morbidly rich, it can be the case. It is, in fact, the case: they’ve given him as much delay as they legally can. So, what can we do about the naked corruption on this Court?
6/. BTW the bastards just today legalised bribery to public officials....
7/. John Oliver did a special bit of comedic reporting on a Trump second term.....it's well worth watching and as Oliver says,
if he gets in, we will be in a different country....
8/. Thom Hartmann is really insightful - here he has a theory about Trump's pick for VP, and how i
mportant it is to the billionaires running Trump,,,
Most interesting, and scary.....
In less than a month, Republicans will meet in Milwaukee to crown Donald Trump as their Emperor King and Sun God. But the real powers behind the GOP — the billionaires and their institutions that created Project 2025 as a how-to manual to convert American democracy into something like the old Confederacy — don’t much care about poor old Donald.
Sure, they want him to be the nominee because NBC trained him well in the dark art of playing a successful businessman on television. He brings in the rubes like nobody since Huey Long; he’s a singularly brilliant politician, much as Putin, Hitler, Orbán, and Mussolini are and were.
But he can also be irrational, impulsive, disloyal, dishonest, and unpredictable, qualities that make the men who want to revive the Confederacy to replace our republican form of government wary. They have big plans — far bigger than Trump’s tiny dream of vengeance — and don’t want him screwing things up.
9/. This'll never happen!
10/. Our corrupt Supreme Court.....
OVER THE PAST two decades, the Supreme Court has been captured by dark-money interests, and justices are reshaping our laws and society according to their reactionary, far-right vision. It’s a problem that would only be compounded with a second Donald Trump administration pursuing an extreme, right-wing policy agenda.
Trump’s judicial adviser, Leonard Leo, who helped select three Supreme Court justices, can take pride in his work. His network, which recently received a historic $1.6 billion infusion, spent millions to confirm those justices, and works to influence both the justices’ caseload and their decisions. Leo recently marveled at his work — and the opportunity at hand.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/supreme-court-ridiculous-right-wing-dark-money-1235030841/#recipient_hashed=fbbe473f5037f7de779a9b352866aaa97ce40dede88d542358cbe645dd211019&recipient_salt=72f9aae92f438bcc1f8948b09959b8992e4c153d9d01266946bf43b0824dab99
11/. Tom Tomorrow......makes some mistakes....
12/. Another Medicare Advantage story....
Jenn Coffey was sick, on several medications, and in and out of the hospital around 2016 when she made a decision that she has come to regret.
Having fought off breast cancer, the former emergency medical technician faced numerous complications, and was diagnosed with two rare diseases: complex regional pain syndrome and small fiber neuropathy.
“I was terrified,” she said. “I went into the hospital as a fully functional EMT and came out in a wheelchair, to go on disability income, and I lost everything. I lost my house, I lost everything.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jun/03/medicare-advantage-privatization?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
13/. Did you make the mistake of enrolling in Medicare Advantage?
Here's how to change back to normal Medicare, from AARP.....
No, you can’t switch Medicare Advantage plans whenever you want but you have options if you’re unhappy with your plan.
You can shift to another plan or drop your Medicare Advantage plan altogether and move to original Medicare. Technically, you can do this only during certain times of the year, but you may be eligible to change plans at other times too. Keep the two enrollment periods below in mind if you want to see doctors or use medications that aren’t covered under your Medicare Advantage plan.
14/. First time I;ve seen this in print - this writer says there is no solution to the climate crisis, and
gives logical and persuasive reasons....
You are in denial about the climate crisis. We all are, argues the American scholar Tad DeLay. Right-wing climate deniers are not the only ones with a problem, he says when we speak in early June after the release of his book, Future of Denial. For denial doesn’t only amount to rejecting the evidence, he argues – it also consists of denying our role in the climate crisis; absolving ourselves through “carbon offsets, hybrid cars, local purchases, recycling”. And in this, far more of us are implicated.
15/. We listened to Rachel Maddow's podcast Ultra, which was educational, riveting and scary, and
now she has come out with a sequel....
Rachel Maddow is back with another history lesson about the fight against authoritarianism and fascism in the United States. The first season of her Ultrapodcast, about the little-known Great Sedition Trial of 1944, was a smash hit that Steven Spielberg optioned to make into a feature film. It took listeners back to the ’40s, when a Nazi agent infiltrated Congress and colluded with more than 20 sitting members as part of a plot to overthrow the US government in the lead up to World War II. She’s remained obsessed with the tales of demagoguery and antidemocratic tactics at the heart of Ultra, using the research for season one as inspiration for her latest book, Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism, and now returning to the series with a second installment.
16/. Bob Lefsetz likes "Tour De France - Season 2".....
This is better than “Drive to Survive,” which I stopped watching after Red Bull stole the championship from Lewis Hamilton, after Verstappen started winning all the races, and I stopped watching the races too. Sure, there is human drama, but the problem is the machines. If you’re in a lousy car, there’s no way you can win. Whereas with the Tour de France…it’s not about the bicycle, it’s about you.
And the team, of course, especially if you’re going for the GC, which is the overall title. There is strategy, but sometimes riders throw the strategy out the window and just ride for themselves, which the owners/coaches hate, unless said rider wins.
I wrote about this series last year, this year is even better.
https://lefsetz.com/wordpress/2024/06/17/tour-de-france-unchained-season-2/
Today's medical joke
It wasn't all bad news . . .
Moishe was in a terrible motorcycle accident and his legs weren’t in great shape, to say the least.
After a couple of weeks of therapy, it soon became clear to the Doctor that they were just pushing off the inevitable.
Due however, to Moishe’s frail condition, the Doctor was afraid to give him the bad news.
Instead, he gave the sorry job to Moishe’s wife of 40 years, hoping that she would know how to break the bad news to him ever so slowly and gently. “Honey”, said Moishe’s wife Miriam the next morning, “I’ve got good news and bad news, which one would you like to hear first?”
Moishe, down in the dumps, responds, “What do I care? Just give me the bad news!”
“Well dear,” said Miriam cupping Moishe’s hand with her two hands, “I hate to have to tell you this, but it seems like your legs are going to have to be taken off.”
Moishe, barely able to hold his voice from cracking, croaked out, “Miriam, what’s the good news?”
“The good news” said Miriam happily, “you know, Jose, our gardener?”
“I spoke to him yesterday and he may be interested in buying your slippers!”
Today's teacher joke
A teacher gave her fifth grade class an assignment: Get their parents to tell them a story with a moral at the end of it.
The next day the kids came back and one by one began to tell their stories.
“David, do you have a story to share?”
“Yes ma'am. My daddy told a story about my Aunt Rebecca.
She was a pilot in the Six Day War and her plane got hit.
She had to bail out over enemy territory and all she had was a flask of whiskey, a pistol and a survival knife.”
“She drank the whiskey on the way down so the flask wouldn't break, and then her parachute landed right in the middle of twenty enemy troops.” “She shot fifteen of them with the gun until she ran out of bullets, killed four more with her knife, till the blade broke, and then she killed the last Egyptian soldier with her bare hands.”
“Good Heavens,” said the horrified teacher. “What kind of moral did your Daddy tell you from this horrible story?”
David said, “Stay the f**k away from Aunt Becca when she's been drinking.
Today's housekeeper joke....
HOW TO GET A PAY RAISE ~
A maid asked the lady of the house Mrs. Nussbaum for a pay increase.
Her boss was annoyed at this and asked, "Now Maria, why do you deserve a pay increase?"
Maria: "Well, Senora, there are three reasons why I want an increase. The first is that I iron better than you." Wife: "Who said you iron better than me?"
Maria: "Your husband said so."
Wife: "Oh."
Maria: "The second reason is that I am a better cook than you."
Wife: "Nonsense, who said you were a better cook than me?"
Maria: "Your husband did."
Wife: "Oh."
Maria: "My third reason is that I am a better lover than you."
Wife: (really furious now) "Did my husband say that as well?!"
Maria: "No Senora, the gardener did."
Wife: "So how much do you want?"
Today's wedding joke
Rachael’s wedding was fast approaching,
Nothing could dampen her excitement, not even her parent’s nasty divorce.
Her mother had found the most perfect dress ever to wear as mother-of-the-bride.
A week later, Rachael was horrified to learn that her father’s new young wife had bought the exact same dress as her mother. Rachael asked her father’s new young wife to exchange it, but she refused.
“Absolutely not, I look like a million bucks in this dress and I’m wearing it”, she replied.
Rachael told her mother, who graciously said, “Never mind sweetheart, I’ll get another dress. After all, it’s your special day”.
A few days later they went shopping and did find another gorgeous dress.
When they stopped for lunch, Rachael asked her mother, “Aren’t you going to return the other dress? You really don’t have another occasion where you could wear it”.
Her mother just smiled and replied, “Of course I do dear, I’m wearing it to the rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding.”
Today's penis joke....
Dr. Emanuel Cohen comes in and tells his patient, Max Lowenthal, "Ah, I see you've regained consciousness. Do you know why you're in the hospital?"
Max says, "Oy, everything hurts. Maybe that's why?"
Dr. Cohen says, "I'm not surprised. You were in a huge pile-up on the freeway.
You're going to be okay, you'll walk again and everything, however, your penis was severed in the accident and the EMTs couldn't find it."
Max groans.
The doctor continues, "Don't worry. You have $9,000 in insurance compensation coming and we now have the technology to build a new penis. They work great but they don't come cheap. It's roughly $1,000 an inch."
Max perks up.
Dr. Cohen says, "You will have to decide how many inches you want. But Max, you've been married for over thirty years and this is something you should discuss with your wife.
If you had a five incher before and get a nine incher now she might be a bit put out.
If you had a nine incher before and you decide to only invest in a five incher now, she might be disappointed.
It's important that she plays a role in helping you make this decision."
Max agrees to talk it over with his wife.
The next day, Dr. Cohen stops by Max's bed while making his rounds. "So, have you spoken with your wife?"
"Yes, I have," says Max. "She was here just an hour ago."
The doctor asks, "So? What did you decide?"
Max says, "We're getting a new hot tub.”
Today's legal jokes
These are from a book called "Disorder in the Court" and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and published by court reporters who had the torment of staying straight-faced while the exchanges were taking place.
___________
ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.
___________
ATTORNEY: Are you sexually active?
WITNESS: No, I just lie there.
___________
ATTORNEY: What is your date of birth?
WITNESS: July 18th
ATTORNEY: What year?
WITNESS: Every year.
___________
ATTORNEY: How old is your son, the one living with you?
WITNESS: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which
ATTORNEY: How long has he lived with you?
WITNESS: Forty-five years.
___________
ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn’t it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?
___________
ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the 20-year-old, how old is he?
WITNESS: He's 20. Very close to your IQ.
___________
ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?
WITNESS: Are you shitting me?
___________
ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time?
WITNESS: Getting laid.
___________
ATTORNEY: She had three children, right?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: How many were boys?
WITNESS: None.
ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?
WITNESS: Your Honor, I need a different attorney. Can I get a new attorney?
___________
ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?
WITNESS: By death.
ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated?
WITNESS: Take a guess.
___________
ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual?
WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard.
ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female?
WITNESS: Unless the Circus was in town I'm going with male.
___________
ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.
___________
ATTORNEY: Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people?
WITNESS: All of them. The live ones put up too much of a fight.
___________
ATTORNEY: ALL of your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you attend?
WITNESS: Oral.
___________
ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 PM.
ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?
WITNESS: If not, he was by the time I finished.
___________
ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law.
