July 14, 2026

Olivia Diaz of the New York Times: “Darline Graham, the younger sister of Senator Lindsey Graham, was sworn in on Tuesday as his interim replacement, taking the South Carolina Republican’s seat just three days after his sudden and unexpected death. Standing in the Old Senate Chamber, Ms. Graham placed her hand on a Bible held by her husband, Larry Nordone, and vowed to serve out the remainder of her brother’s term, which ends in January. The chamber was filled with long sighs and teary eyes as Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa and the president pro tempore of the chamber, administered the oath.... Ms. Graham, 62, has no direct experience in Washington politics aside from supporting her brother, and has never been elected to serve public office. A mother of two and a lifelong South Carolinian, she has spent her career primarily in state government — first with the state’s employment and vocational departments and more recently as leader of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind.” The ABC News story is here.

Adjudicated Rapist Pays E. Jean Carroll. Finally. Gregory Svirnovskiy & Erica Orden of Politico: “E. Jean Carroll, the writer who won a pair of civil lawsuits alleging sexual abuse and defamation by ... Donald Trump, on Monday received the more than $5.6 million in damages he owed her, according to a court filing. The payment marks a significant victory that Trump has fought hard to prevent since his first term in the White House.... Carroll also won a much larger award of $83.3 million after a second trial over her additional defamation claims. Trump is continuing to appeal that verdict.”

Rebecca Beitsch of the Hill: “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has privately directed its officers to temporarily pause traffic stops in the wake of two deadly shootings, though the agency would not confirm the directive publicly. Sources confirmed to NewsNation, The Hill’s sister outlet, that such stops would be temporarily halted nationwide. Other outlets said ICE has directed agents to pause most traffic stops, leaving the door open to stops for certain types of offenders. However, ICE declined to confirm what would represent a significant shift in their tactics for conducting arrests.... ICE has been under increasing pressure to change how it conducts arrests, and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said Tuesday she had pushed for a shift in the agency’s practices. The shift comes after two high-profile deadly shootings during traffic stops.”

Jon Stewart is of the impression that the wonderful old folks who bring you the U.S. government might be a tad past their primes. Includes touching eulogy for Lindsey Graham by none other than Donald Jerryatric Trump. Thanks to RAS for the link: ~~~

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The New York Times is liveblogging developments in the Iran War. ~~~ 

~~~ Peter Baker of the New York Times: Donald “Trump’s much-touted cease-fire with Iran effectively collapsed on Monday as he ordered the reinstatement of a naval blockade and announced that he will impose tolls on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.... Even in recent weeks, Mr. Trump’s team has insisted that charging for safe passage in the strait was intolerable. 'No country is allowed to charge tolls or fees on an international waterway,' Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last month. 'That is a normal that we will never be able to accept,' he said several weeks before that.... U.S. forces conducted a third consecutive night of strikes against Iran on Monday, military officials announced. As the cease-fire that he once hailed dissolved, Mr. Trump dismissed its importance, saying in a radio interview that such agreements 'don’t mean much,' while outlining no new strategy for how to resolve the conflict.... Oil prices surged and stocks fell....” ~~~

~~~ Connor O'Brien, et al., of Politico: “... Donald Trump formally notified lawmakers this weekend that the nation is once again at war with Iran, giving his administration another 60-day clock to use the military in the region without congressional approval. In a letter to Congress dated July 10..., Trump stated that the strikes that began on July 7 represent 'military action consistent with my responsibility to protect Americans and United States’ interests both at home and abroad.'” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Yo Ho, Yo Humph, a Pirate's Life for Trump. Riya Misra of Politico “... Donald Trump on Monday said the U.S. will take over the Strait of Hormuz — and will be reimbursed 'at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped' for overseeing one of the world’s most critical oil passageways that has been at the center of the U.S.’s re-escalating war with Iran. 'We will become guardians of the strait,' Trump said during an interview with 'Fox & Friends' on Monday morning. 'We’re going to hit [Iran] very hard and keep the strait, and probably run it.'... Trump followed his Fox News interview with a Truth Social post.... 'All other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait,' he said, but added that 'as a matter of FAIRNESS, [the U.S.] will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World.'” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Peter Eavis of the New York Times: “The fee that ... [Donald] Trump wants to charge ships going through the Strait of Hormuz would significantly increase the cost of transporting oil and other products through the crucial waterway, shipping operators and logistics experts said.... Mr. Trump did not explain exactly how the 20 percent fee would be calculated. But if it were charged on the value of the cargo, it could more than double the cost of shipping oil through the strait.... For a large tanker carrying two million barrels of oil, the fee could add over $30 million in costs.... The fact that the United States, a longtime supporter of freedom of navigation in the strait and elsewhere, is now pushing for a fee, and the sheer magnitude of the charge, is stirring up concern.... Two ship operators said the fee was exorbitant and would exceed the amount they charged for shipping cargo through the strait.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I call it piracy; Akhilleus more aptly calls it a protection racket in the Trumpian mob-boss tradition. But a racket by any other name would stink as much. ~~~ 

     ~~~ RAS discovers that Trump is one old dog who doesn't learn new tricks. On BlueSky, CNBC's Carl Quintanilla writes, "Back in August 17, 1989, in a speech to a group of travel agents reported by the Tampa Bay Times, Trump proposed exactly this: 'The United States should get 25 percent or so of Kuwait's and Saudi Arabia's oil profits for risking American lives protecting the Persian Gulf. The 'mobsters' call is 'protection money,' but America needs help balancing its budget, Trump said.”

~~~ Fresh off receiving the first and only FIFA Peace Prize, Trump has won a much larger, excellent war prize. Sort of. Remember, there's nothing that irritates Trump more than people laughing at him: ~~~

~~~ Josh Marcus of the Independent: “A giant satirical statue of a participation trophy appeared on Monday on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., mocking the Trump administration’s continued stalemate in the Iran war. 'We hereby award President Donald J. Trump this participation trophy for his enthusiastic involvement in the Iran War,' a plaque on the statue reads. 'While some concern themselves with military strategy, diplomacy, or measurable outcomes, President Trump demonstrated the courage to participate regardless of the final score.... As the recipient of this prestigious award, President Trump joins the ranks of children everywhere who received recognition for simply showing up,' the plaque continues. The work, which encourages members of the public to leave their own trophies nearby, comes from Secret Handshake, an anonymous group of artists who have been installing prank statues in Washington throughout the administration.” A Mediaite report is here. Thanks to RAS for the lead. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'll assume the organization has a limited-time permit to display Trump's participation trophy, but I wish it could stay up for a very long time. I'm also assuming the trophy is made of somewhat fragile material that inevitably will suffer weather damage. And I'm wishing it could stay in place as it deteriorates.

Everything Trump Does Is Wrong. Maxine Joselow of the New York Times: “... [Donald] Trump on Monday reduced the size of two national monuments in Utah by nearly 3 million acres, teeing up a legal battle over whether presidents have the power to shrink such sites in the first place. Mr. Trump signed two executive orders to sharply cut the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments to less than 10 percent [of] their current size. Both sites are known for their sandstone canyons and vast mesas, which are rich in wildlife habitat as well as archaeological sites of importance to Native American tribes. During his first term, Mr. Trump similarly shrank both monuments at the urging of top Republicans from Utah, opening about 2 million acres to oil drilling, uranium mining and other development. But tribes and environmentalists sued over Mr. Trump’s move, and President Joseph R. Biden Jr. subsequently restored sweeping protections to both sites before a court could issue a final decision. Tribes and environmentalists are expected to lead another lawsuit over Mr. Trump’s latest effort to shrink the monuments. The legal fight could have far-reaching implications for the future of land conservation, potentially putting dozens of other monuments at risk and opening millions of additional acres to commercial activities.” 

     ~~~ Marie: It's horrifying and bitterly ironic that Trump compares himself favorably to Theodore Roosevelt, who was famous for his conservation efforts and created the first national monument.”

⭐Eric Tucker & Alanna Richer of the AP: “... Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over his leaked tax returns was filed for an 'improper purpose,' a judge said Monday in a scathing decision that recommended attorney sanctions and disciplinary action. The ruling from U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams amounts to a stinging rebuke of the Republican president’s lawsuit, characterizing it as an exercise in self-dealing in which he sued an entity that is effectively under his control. The suit concluded in May with a settlement agreement that created a since-abandoned $1.776 billion fund meant to compensate allies of the president, as well as immunity from tax audits.” Update: the article has been expanded since first published early Monday afternoon. ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Andrew Duehren & Alan Feuer of the New York Times: “A federal judge on Monday ruled that ... [Donald] Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service was an improper exercise in self-dealing and barred him from claiming that the extraordinary tax protections he received were part of a legitimate settlement agreement. In the order, the judge, Kathleen M. Williams, also referred the lawyer who brought Mr. Trump’s case against the I.R.S. to the Florida bar for potential disciplinary proceedings. Judge Williams added that she would forward her decision to the New York bar, which is already investigating the acting attorney general, Todd Blanche. The decision by the Judge Williams did not explicitly kill the deal that Mr. Trump had worked out with his own government to receive what amounted to amnesty from investigations into tax returns that he, his family and their businesses have already filed. But Judge Williams’s scathing ruling exposed the negotiations between Mr. Trump’s personal lawyers and senior officials at the Justice Department he controls for what she says they were: backroom dealings that did not arise from a legitimate legal process.” Politico's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)~~~

     ~~~ Judge Williams' ruling, via the courts, is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The way I understand it, the judge has estopped Trump from using your tax dollars to pay criminals for attacking the Capitol and police officers defending it; she put the kibosh on Trump's little "get the family and me out of audits forever" side deal; and she referred at least three DOJ lawyers, including Stanley Woodward and Todd Blanche (Todd is busy prepping for a Senate confirmation hearing Thursday), to their respective bar associations for possible disciplinary action. AND she let on they were -- each and every one of them -- double-dealing crooks. More on Blanche linked below.

Siladitya Ray of Forbes, republished by Yahoo! News: "... Donald Trump on Monday night mentioned the draining of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool — as photos of the drained pool emerged — as he bashed reporting about the peeling of paint from its surface and doubled down on his administration's claims that the floor of the pool had been slashed by 'vandals.'... The president claimed the purported 'vandals' made slashes 300 yards long and then pulled the pool floor upward with 'great force.' Trump doubled down on calling for people to be punished for the damage to the pool." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So far, the only evidence of vandalism may be the long brown streaks in the pool (you can see them in several photos embedded in the Forbes article). Some Internet sleuths have claimed the discoloration reflects damage that was the result of Trump's entourage driving heavy SUVs in the pool in early May. I'm not convinced of their evidence, but if the accusation turns out to be accurate, the only vandals who defaced the pool were Trump & his gang of careless thugs. ~~~ 

Trump Ruins Everything, Ctd. There's More Than One Reflecting Pool in D.C. Jonathan Edwards of the Washington Post: “Kennedy Center leaders installed by ... Donald Trump allegedly wasted taxpayer money on no-bid contracts that resulted in shoddy work at the performing arts venue, according to a Senate Democrat who sits on the center’s board. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) said Saturday that he was expanding his investigation into the management of the Kennedy Center to include several renovation projects that were allegedly rushed to cater to Trump’s 'stylistic whims.' “The Center’s subservience to the President’s desires and its corner-cutting contracting practices have resulted in steel columns that are rusting through fresh paint, a reflecting pool that may have to be torn out and rebuilt, and a brand-new bathroom floor torn out over an offending tile color,” Whitehouse wrote in a letter to Kennedy Center Executive Director Matt Floca.

“Whitehouse is an ex officio trustee on the center’s board and the ranking Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which oversees several federal bodies including the Kennedy Center. Whitehouse’s allegations build on an investigation he launched in November into what he called cronyism and self-dealing at the center under its previous president. And they land amid a broader pattern of Trump’s second term: oversight bodies stacked with allies, presidential norms bent or broken, and lawsuits challenging speedy construction in Trump’s race to put his physical stamp — and sometimes his name — on the nation’s capital.”

Let's Send Dumb & Dumber to Jail. Elizabeth Dwoskin, et al., of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump’s sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump have amassed a portfolio of defense technology start-ups that are benefiting from new Pentagon priorities and spending, further entangling the United States’ interests and the Trump family’s financial fortunes in an area with immense stakes for national security.... Most of the investments have taken place since Trump was elected president for a second time. The companies have collectively generated at least $3.2 billion in direct government business since the sons invested and an additional $3.1 billion in future contract options. Some have gained coveted spots on shortlists of preapproved contractors that can bid exclusively on up to nearly $200 billion in future work. The Trump sons are part of investment groups that have poured money into established government contractors, such as SpaceX and Anduril, as well as lesser-known start-ups aspiring to build a new generation of nimble, tech-forward weaponry....” Thanks to RAS for the link. Update: the link has been changed to a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I suppose Trump will pre-pardon Uday & Qusay, but there must be some way to nail them once Daddy Short Fingers is out of office. I assume the Pentagon procurement ops have always been a den of corruption; still, I'd like to see some of those procurement officers, not to mention Drunk Pete, in orange jump suits, too. And besides the prison terms, let's hit the boys with billions of dollars in fines. Not that I'm presuming the guilty before a proper trial, of course.

⭐Veteran journalist Mark Jacob on his Substack Stop the Presses: “Federal agents went to New York Times reporters’ homes last week to deliver subpoenas in their investigation of news coverage that displeased the Trump regime. This is bad news for both journalism and democracy. But it’s entirely predictable. News outlets that minimize and normalize Republican authoritarianism will eventually find it at their doorstep. The NYT has been simultaneously great and terrible in its coverage of MAGA. Its investigative reporters have often exposed individual abuses, but its news editors have failed to shape a coherent warning about the broader threat to our freedom. Too often, they’ve been clueless or trivializing. When Donald Trump called for 'termination' of the Constitution, the NYT put the story on Page 13. When he lied about immigration and the economy in an address to Congress, the NYT praised his 'game show flair.' When he vowed to take back the Panama Canal by force, the NYT called it a desire 'to expand America’s footprint.' When he showed that his brain was broken by bizarrely swaying to music at a campaign rally for 39 minutes, it was merely an 'improvisational departure.' During the 2024 presidential campaign, NYT Executive Editor Joe Kahn said the survival of democracy was not a top priority in the Times’ coverage[.]”

Now, This Is Just What a Brutal Dictator Would Do. Jeanna Smialek, et al., of the New York Times: “Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that the United States plans to 'systematically disable' the International Criminal Court, an overt attack on a body that investigates some of the gravest crimes in the world. Officially established in 2002 and based in The Hague, the court has a mission to investigate and prosecute genocide, war crimes and other serious offenses. The United States never ratified the main treaty establishing the institution, and Mr. Rubio raised the possibility that the court could prosecute Americans as reason to dismantle it. Such actions would 'mean the death of the U.S. as a sovereign and independent nation,' Mr. Rubio wrote in an opinion piece published in The Wall Street Journal. 'Using all the tools at our government’s disposal, working beside every ally with whom we can make common cause, we will dismantle the I.C.C. — brick by brick, if necessary,' he wrote.” (Also linked yesterday.)

The Two Faces of Todd Blanche. Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: “The multifaceted portrait of [Todd] Blanche that emerges from 352 pages of documents obtained by American Oversight is of a Trump loyalist who is committed to executing the president’s agenda but also intent on keeping a firm a grip on processes inside his building, perhaps because he has such limited control over forces beyond it. Mr. Blanche’s cooperation in Mr. Trump’s retribution campaign, both as deputy attorney general and acting attorney general since the ouster in April of his predecessor, Pam Bondi, is his defining characteristic, in the view of critics. It will be a flashpoint in Mr. Blanche’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.... The newly disclosed emails cover a relatively narrow, but nonetheless crucial, patch of a battleground in Mr. Blanche’s tenure at the department: how to enact Mr. Trump’s Day 1 executive order to 'correct past misconduct by the federal government related to the weaponization of law enforcement and the weaponization of the intelligence community.'” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'm sorry, but the guy is 98 percent Trump-lickin' toady. Yesterday Nicolle Wallace of MS NOW replayed part of Blanche's "interrogation" (ha ha) of Ghislaine Maxwell. In one response, Maxwell fingers members of Trump's Cabinet -- "your colleagues" (without naming them) who were clients of Jeffrey Epstein's "maybe for sex -- I wasn't there." Obviously, that remark opened up what could have been an extremely fruitful line of inquiry into the big Epstein cover-up. But how did Todd follow up? With probing question about the Trump Cabinet members who frequented Epstein parties? Fat chance. He dropped Maxwell's inference like a hot potato and switched lickity-split to an entirely different topic. Clearly, he did not want to explore "his colleagues" palling around with Epstein. 

Marie: I don't quite understand how the plot works in the somewhat vague story that follows, but there's a good chance you will: ~~~

~~~ David Rohde, et al., of MS NOW: "A new White House task force reviewing thousands of pages of classified intelligence and law enforcement documents for evidence of irregularities in U.S. elections is expected to begin releasing documents within weeks, two U.S. officials with knowledge of the matter told MS NOW. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, whose acting chief, Bill Pulte, has been accused by Democrats of politically weaponizing federal government information, will be part of the effort.... The release of the documents appears to be part of a series of accelerating efforts by Trump and his aides to again question the results of the 2020 election, claim that widespread voter fraud occurs in the country and decrease public trust in the results of pivotal elections this fall that will decide control of Congress." ~~~

     ~~~ Update: In today's Comments, RAS links to a post by digby which cites an essay by Matt Gertz of Media Matters (here) that explains how this docu-dump stunt fits into the broader Trumpist plan to take control of the November elections. Makes sense to me. Then there's this piece of the plot: ~~~

     ~~~ Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "As ... Donald Trump gears up for a mysterious Thursday-night announcement to the nation, a massive new election conspiracy theory stunt has been teased ahead of time by the conservative D.C. Reporter. Specifically, said the report, 'President Trump is planning to announce that Georgia's two senators, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, are illegitimate because of fraud, a well-placed source in Georgia tells us. Announcement could come as soon as tonight.'" Thanks to RAS for the link.

Basta! Yunior Rivas of Democracy Docket: "Idaho’s Republican attorney general’s office accused ... Donald Trump’s Department of Justice of potentially violating state ethics rules by threatening the state’s top election official with a criminal prosecution while suing him for the state’s voter rolls. In a sharply worded letter sent Friday, the office of Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador told DOJ Civil Rights Division chief Harmeet Dhillon to stop contacting Secretary of State Phil McGrane (R) directly and urged the department to dismiss its lawsuit seeking Idaho’s unredacted statewide voter registration list. 'First, you can stop threatening your friends in Idaho,' James Craig, a division chief in Labrador’s office, wrote. 'Second, you can voluntarily dismiss your lawsuit against Secretary McGrane. As Secretary McGrane repeatedly made clear, he has taken significant steps to ensure that Idaho’s voter registration list only includes eligible U.S. citizens, and he has previously provided you with a copy of the public version of the voter registration list.'”

A Murder in Maine. ~~~

~~~ Ted Hesson, et al., of the Washington Post: “The governor of Maine [Janet Mills (D)] said Monday that federal law enforcement was involved in a fatal shooting in the small city of Biddeford, and local police said the incident involved personnel from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.... Few details were available regarding the circumstances of the shooting.... Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat who represents the Maine district where the shooting took place, said in a video that she was “deeply disturbed and angry” over reports of ICE’s involvement. Pingree said she would press for details about the incident, including whether the officers were wearing body cameras.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Jacey Fortin, et al., of the New York Times: “... eyewitness reports and an elected official indicated that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot someone in a vehicle, killing the person. Social media video showed agents surrounding a still body at an intersection in Biddeford, next to a car with bullet holes in the windshield, and local police officers arriving at the scene. Two advocacy groups, the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition and Presente! Maine, said in a joint statement that a 26-year-old Colombian man had died in the encounter. Project Relief, another immigrant advocacy organization, said the man had a partner and a young child. The source of their information ... could not be immediately confirmed with the authorities.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Gilliam Graham of the Portland Press Herald: “Daniel Boucher was getting ready for work Monday morning when he heard what sounded like fireworks going off outside of his home near downtown Biddeford. He rushed to the window, where he said he saw an SUV trying to ram a small white car in the intersection. Moments later, agents in vests stopped the car and pulled the driver out. 'He was bleeding profusely from the head,” Boucher said later Monday morning. “He was talking. He said, “I tried to stop.”' Boucher watched in disbelief as the man’s legs stopped moving as he lay on the ground. He believes he watched him die.” The link is a gift link from the Press Herald. ~~~

     ~~~ Here are the Portland Press Herald's live updates yesterday, also available via a Press Herald gift link. ~~~

 ~~~ Bayliss Wagner of the New York Times: “The Democrats vying to replace Graham Platner as the party’s Senate nominee in Maine quickly seized on the Monday shooting of a man in Biddeford by a federal immigration agent, with some aiming to tie Senator Susan Collins, the Republican incumbent, to President Trump’s immigration crackdown. Two of the Democratic candidates, Dr. Nirav Shah and Troy Jackson, rushed to Biddeford to participate in a demonstration against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with Mr. Jackson joining protesters outside Ms. Collins’s office in the city and vowing to 'abolish ICE.'... As the chairwoman of the Senate committee overseeing government spending, Ms. Collins this year advanced a bill that would have included money for body cameras and de-escalation training for immigration enforcement officers. But after Democrats would not vote to fund ICE and Customs and Border Protection, Ms. Collins later voted with Republicans to give both agencies $70 billion through a special congressional budget procedure that did not allow Congress to impose those guardrails on immigration agents.” ~~~

~~~ Video in the Australian: "Protesters stormed the offices of Senator Susan Collins in Biddeford, Maine, after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents fatally shot in a man in the town that morning." 

Ernesto Londoño & Mitch Smith of the New York Times: “After months of resistance, the Justice Department has shared evidence related to three shootings by immigration agents in Minnesota with state and local investigators, the county prosecutor in Minneapolis said on Monday. The exchange of evidence, which played out quietly in recent weeks, broke an investigative logjam that had hampered state prosecutors weighing whether to bring charges in the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Both were U.S. citizens who were killed by federal agents in January during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the state. State prosecutors have already filed charges against an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in another shooting that wounded a man from Venezuela during the crackdown in Minnesota. Christian Castro, the officer charged in that shooting, was arrested in Texas and remains jailed there. He has not agreed to be extradited to Minnesota.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Mara Gay of the New York Times: “The Graham Platner saga should not distract from a fact that is bigger than any one candidate: The uprising against the Democratic establishment is coming from the voters, and it cannot be contained. Rising leftists have won primary elections for Congress in New York and Colorado. Another progressive fighter is running a strong campaign to win next month’s crucial Michigan Senate primary. Centrist Democrats in the House are already predicting a 'war' with the insurgents when they arrive in Congress, a conflict that could dog leaders such as Hakeem Jeffries, who seeks to be the next speaker. The Democratic establishment needs shaking up. It is weak, and has lost the confidence of its own voters.... Millions of rank-and-file Democrats — and anyone else keeping track — can see clearly that the positions, tactics and approach of conventional Democrats have failed.” The link is a gift link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Gay is right. It doesn't take a close observer to see that there is no way ordinary people should vote for the criminal in the White House or his corrupt cronies. Most Republicans are among the worst of the worst, and the only people who gain by supporting them are crooks & billionaires (often one-and-the-same). And yet. And yet. Every election is a crapshoot. Sure, a lot of this is the fault of bad citizens/lazy voters. But it is not all their fault.  

⭐Alec Hernandez of Politico: “Darline Graham Nordone, Lindsey Graham’s younger sister and close confidant, will serve the remainder of the late senator’s term in Washington. 'It’s my honor to ask his little sister Darline Graham to finish his work for him now,' South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said Monday, formally appointing Nordone after recounting stories of Graham’s legacy.... Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader John Thune both publicly expressed support for McMaster choosing Nordone as a tribute to Graham. Her appointment as an interim caretaker triggers a wide-open race ahead of the Aug. 11 primary. Several Republicans are already weighing bids to take over Graham’s place as the GOP Senate nominee.” (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here.

Ben Binday of the Washington Post: “On Monday night, The Post reviewed a copy of the original photo — provided by [Sen. Mitch] McConnell’s office at The Post’s request — and found that its metadata appears to show it was taken Sunday. An independent digital forensics expert also said there appeared to be no evidence that the image is fake.... [Yet]  right-wing influencers — who have alleged without evidence for weeks that McConnell’s condition is worse than publicly disclosed — suggested on social media that the picture was fake.... On Monday, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) said in an interview that he 'just heard from some source that was an older photo.' He later described it as a 'rumor.'...” ~~~

~~~ Marie: It has seemed to me since the photo was released that hospital staff did manage to prop Mitch up to a sitting position and somebody snapped a photo before he collapsed. (Visible in the photo are four bed pillows padding the hospital chair. Have you ever sat for a photo -- a photo to be released to the public -- in a chair plumped by at least four bedpillows? Also in the photo, Mitch's wife Elaine Chou is gripping his arm, perhaps to keep him from listing toward her.) So even though the photo is more than likely authentic, it should be obvious to anyone that the man in the picture is not a healthy, vigorous fellow who is likely to be able to fulfill the duties of his office until the end of the year. ~~~

     ~~~ But I could be wrong! I sort of screwed up copying this video, but it does seem Mitch is doing ever so much now: ~~~ 

Scott Nover of the Washington Post: “A group of 12 states led by Democratic attorneys general on Monday sued to block Paramount Skydance’s $110 billion deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, the sharpest challenge to one of the biggest media and entertainment mergers in history. The purchase would combine some of the biggest names in film, television, streaming and news, including CNN. Warner Bros. shareholders and the U.S. Justice Department have already blessed the deal, but opponents are hopeful that opposition from states or overseas could still upend it The lawsuit, whose plaintiffs include California Attorney General Rob Bonta and New York Attorney General Letitia James, was filed in federal district court in Northern California on Monday. The states allege that the deal violates federal antitrust law, specifically Section 7 of the Clayton Antitrust Act, which prohibits mergers that reduce competition and create monopolies.” Politico's story is here. Related story linked earlier Monday. (Also linked yesterday.)

Adam Nossiter of the New York Times: “The Rev. Ed King, a minister from Mississippi who was one of the few white people to play a leading role standing with Black leaders during the bloody civil rights struggle in his native state, died on July 4 in Ridgeland, Miss. He was 89.... The outspoken chaplain of Tougaloo College, a historically Black institution in Jackson, the state capital, Mr. King endured imprisonment, an attempt on his life that left him disfigured and rejection by other white people, all in service to a goal — integration — to which most Southerners of his middle-class background were hardly sympathetic. In a state perhaps more determined than any other to preserve inequality, Mr. King took part in a daring sit-in at the whites-only Woolworth lunch counter in May 1963. A violent mob attacked the protesters, and did not spare white allies. His sunken cheek and jaw, bashed in a car crash engineered by segregationists that same year, served as a chilling warning to civil-rights workers pouring into Mississippi.”

Rogues Gallery. Caricatures by Pat Oliphant.

~~~ Robert McFadden of the New York Times: “Pat Oliphant, the dean of political cartoonists, who drew and sometimes eviscerated a rogues’ gallery of presidents, pedophile priests, warmongers and other editorial-page villains for American newspaper and online readers for half a century, died on Monday in Santa Fe, N.M. He was 90.” 

Marie: Until I read the caption, when I saw this head shot on the front page of the online Washington Post, of Elazar Sontag, the paper's food critic, my first guess was that it was a portrait by El Greco. ~~~

~~~ Here's why. The photo below is of El Greco's portrait of his son Jorge Manuel Theotocópuli.

~~~~~~~~~~