July 26, 2026

Germany. Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: “The police on Sunday evening shot and killed the man suspected of killing a woman and injuring 29 other people near a Berlin gay Pride celebration after he charged at officers with a weapon, the German authorities said. The man, a 21-year-old German citizen whose family members migrated from Lebanon, had been the subject of a protracted nationwide manhunt since the Saturday evening attack. The suspect used a rented van and what appeared to be a machete in the attack, which German officials called an act of Islamist terrorism. In a brief statement, the police said they had tracked the suspect to an area in a western corner of the city where residents maintain large garden patches. After officers shot him, emergency responders tried to revive him, but he died at the scene, the police said.” This is an update of a story linked early Sunday.

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Marie: Okay, I'm done now. There's some very good stuff in today's Comments. 

Aaron Boxerman & Sanam Mahoozi of the New York Times: “The war between the United States and Iran remained on pause for a second straight day on Sunday, while the Iranian Foreign Ministry said that there had been some movement in talks between Tehran and mediators over the Strait of Hormuz. No U.S. strikes on Iran have been reported since Friday, while Iran has similarly held off attacking American allies around the Middle East after about two weeks of skirmishes brought the two countries back to the brink of full-blown war.” The link is a gift link.

Eric Schmitt & Jonathan Swan of the New York Times: Donald “Trump has set aside, at least for now, plans to sharply escalate the American military assault against Iran, with particular concern that intensifying the war could dangerously drain the Pentagon’s already diminished stockpile of Patriot antimissile interceptors and other air defense munitions in the Middle East. The threat to interceptor stockpiles is one of many considerations that have made a return to major combat operations a hugely risky endeavor, administration officials say. Mr. Trump and his top aides are also uneasy about the prospect of a widening war in the Middle East, the alienation of key Gulf allies who are vulnerable to Iranian attack, a global economic crunch, and growing energy and refugee crises.” The link is a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.)

Barak Ravid of Axios: Donald "Trump directed the U.S. military not to conduct new strikes in Iran on Friday, breaking a nearly two-week streak of daily attacks.... The president's directive came after he approved daily strikes over the previous 13 days. It is unclear if Trump's order on Friday was a one-off or whether the lull will continue.Trump's decision reflects both his willingness to provide more space for diplomacy and a recognition that — short of a return to major combat operations — the current level of U.S. strikes has reached the limit of its effectiveness."

David Sanger of the New York Times: “...  in recent weeks, [Donald Trump] has seemed trapped, his presidency gradually consumed by a war he cannot find his way out of. And Mr. Trump, once confident that overwhelming force would enable him to pursue in Iran what he proudly called the 'Venezuela model' — a change of government to one amenable to U.S. control — is now hesitant to plunge back into major combat operations that his intelligence agencies assess are unlikely to work as well in Tehran.... [The] limits [on his options] have left him deeply frustrated, his aides say, and have made him more erratic, even by Trumpian standards.” Sanger lists a few of Trump's more consequential erratic moves. The link is a gift link.

Marie: Akhilleus has a long comment near the end of yesterday's thread that it's well-worth your backing up to read (I'm probably suggesting it because I found Akhilleus's essay very interesting/a/k/a something I didn't know). It's about and expensive turn-of-the-century war game called Millenium Challenge 2002 (MC02) and how that went. The upshot is that what went down does explain a lot about how -- even though we are constant told we have the best military in the history of humankind -- we keep losing wars to much lesser forces.

New Rule. A person cannot be a war casualty if killed or injured by a party who violates an announced ceasefire. 

New Definition. "Temporary data disruption": we changed our minds and are trying to hide something we previously admitted. ~~~

~~~ Tim Arango, et al., of the New York Times: “A change in the count of those killed as a result of the war in Iran has some veterans, military families and lawmakers expressing outrage and calling for more transparency from the Pentagon. Earlier this week, the Pentagon had reported on its website that 18 service members had been killed, but that number was later lowered to 14. The change was made because the four service members killed recently in Jordan and Iraq had died after a cease-fire had been declared by ... [Donald] Trump in April.... In comments on Thursday, Mr. Trump compared the toll from other American wars with the war against Iran, saying that even one death 'is too many, but it’s 18.' The acting press secretary for the Pentagon, Joel Valdez, on Thursday attributed the change to 'temporary data disruptions' on the website that he suggested would be quickly fixed. As of Saturday morning, the Pentagon’s website was still listing 14 service members killed.” The link is a gift link.

Scale models of huge Arc de Trump, dinky Washington Monument, dinky Capitol.

~~~ Dan Diamond & Jake Spring of the Washington Post: “The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, a federal agency that oversees preservation reviews and advises the president and Congress, said it was moving forward with changes to a federally required process that governs changes to landmarks such as the National Mall, sites that are significant to Indigenous tribes and other properties eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The process currently applies to any construction projects that are on federal land or receive federal funding, as well as private projects that require any type of federal approval. If codified into law, the new rules would make it easier for ... Donald Trump to pursue his controversial construction projects — such as building his planned triumphal arch — and could eliminate the need for public input on other major federal projects. The ACHP is dominated by Trump appointees, leaving little doubt the proposal would pass.” 

Philip Kennicott of the Washington Post: “The warning signs the Trump administration has ordered placed along walkways outside the Smithsonian National Museum of American History will attest visually at least one truth: The institution is under siege. On Friday..., Donald Trump signed an executive order ... that requires the National Park Service to place signs near the history museum that 'notify visitors that the Museum exhibits should be renovated' consistent with a highly critical report issued by the White House on July 4 claiming that the museum was divisive and misleading in its presentation of American history.... [The report hints that the signs may read,] ‘Warning: the exhibits in this museum were prepared by people who don’t want you to love your country.’... For a museum that is so relentlessly negative in Trump’s eyes, I’ve witnessed a surprising amount of joy among the crowds who flock there.... Visitors may not always be comfortable at the American history museum, but I don’t believe they find its pluralistic view of America discordant or dissonant with lived reality.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Those signs will attest to something else: Donald Trump is stupid, and so are the people who gladly work for him.

Eric Lipton & Kate Kelly of the New York Times: “There is no evidence at this point that Mr. Trump’s friends or family helped orchestrate the Saudi nuclear deal. Yet a number of the president’s allies and relatives, including members of his cabinet, stand to benefit if his big bet on nuclear power pays off. Certain investors with ties to these deals are positioned to profit, even if the delivery of large new loads of nuclear-powered electricity remains years away.... In some cases, how the Trump family or the president’s allies could potentially gain from the president’s nuclear plans is straightforward. In others, no direct line can be drawn, but there are such overlapping business ties that it is hard to separate the policy decisions from the potential personal benefits.... Here is a look at Mr. Trump and some of those with ties to him that could benefit from his nuclear goals.” The link is a gift link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The fact is that when everyone you appoint to any position is a billionaire or multi-millionaire, you are inviting conflicts of interest even if you're not an openly corrupt jackass like Trump. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, for instance, who penned the Saudi nuclear deal (before President* Bozo blew it up) is a multi-millionaire who sits on the board of a nuclear technology company. So conflict of interest? Of course. ~~~

~~~ David Frum of the Atlantic: “Faithless, chaotic, and corrupt: Donald Trump's character also shapes his foreign policy. The latest victim is Saudi Arabia — not a sympathetic victim, maybe, but a victim all the same.... No sooner was the deal signed than the reneging began. In a Truth Social post [Thursday], Trump insisted that the deal did not, in fact, include uranium enrichment and that it is 'totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords' — that is, to normalized relations with Israel. Utter chaos and confusion duly erupted over what Trump meant to accomplish with these words. Is Trump attempting to blow up the freshly inked deal after hearing Republicans criticize it on Fox News and elsewhere, as CNN suggests? Or was the outburst simply Trump bluster without real-world consequences? No one seems to know.” Thanks to akaWendy for this gift link.

Basta! Baker & Glasser Were Not Amused. Sean James of Mediaite: “The New York Times chief White House correspondent Peter Baker said it is time for the White House Correspondents’ Association to 'rethink' its annual dinner with the president.... 'Have been a member of the WHCA almost continuously since the 1990s. Our mission is to defend the First Amendment rights of White House correspondents to report on the president without fear or favor. Unfortunately last night did advance that cause,' Baker posted. 'Time to rethink the dinner.' Baker’s wife, The New Yorker staff writer Susan Glasser, seemed disgusted with the event as well. She posted on Friday, '#FirstAmendment. If journalists won’t stand up for it, hard to ask everyone else to.'” 

Your Tax Dollars, Pretty Much Wasted. Raymond Fernandez of NOTUS (July 24): “The National Guard Bureau will spend $292 million to house thousands of troop members deployed in Washington, D.C., in partnership with the U.S. General Services Administration. The guard members — first deployed last summer after ... Donald Trump declared a crime emergency in the District — have been staying in hotels across the region. Officials say the contract allows for a 'long-term housing solution' for the deployed personnel and the deal ... will secure 2,000 'apartment-style lodging units' for the service members. The contract is set to cover the housing fees for troops through June 2027, according to the military news site Task and Purpose.... These housing moves mark the latest step in what has evolved from a temporary deployment into a long-term mission in the nation’s capital.” Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: To be clear, this is not entirely wasted spending. First, the troop presence is doing some good: it probably does discourage some crime, and some troops are doing some chores around town and assisting in some policing tasks. In addition, the money taxpayers are spending on troops and their housing -- hundreds of millions of dollars -- is certainly a boon to the D.C. economy, where troops are not only living but also eating and making other purchases. (A chunk of the money they earn on guard duty likely goes back to their home communities, too.) 

We know Marco & Elon's gutting of US AID has been/will be responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of children in other countries. But what are we doing to our own children? ~~~

~~~Marina Dunbar of the Guardian: “More than a million children across the US have lost access to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) food benefits since Congress approved the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July 2025, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP). The analysis found that more than 4 millions Americans were removed from Snap from July 2025 to March 2026, marking a significant decline in participation in the federal food assistance program.... According to the CBPP analysis, children make up a significant portion of those losing benefits, with more than 1 million children across the 19 states studied no longer receiving Snap assistance.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Here again, the cruelty is the point. Cutting off SNAP benefits could not be less cost-effective. Most immediately, it doesn't save any money because the "money" participants spend at the grocery store goes immediately and directly into the community, where it recirculates and recirculates, thus improving the economy. In the longer term, money spent on children's nutrition is well-spent. Children who eat better learn better and children who learn better get better jobs. Encouraging poverty and the consequences of poverty is extremely stupid. So the Republicans' stupid cruelty is a lose-lose situation. ~~~

~~~ Avery Lotz of Axios: "As the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) continues to undergo a historic remolding, food banks say they're staring down a gap they can't fill.... To meet increased demand, food banks are purchasing record levels of food, expanding application assistance and working with farmers and retailers to find additional supply sources, Feeding America CEO Denis McDonough says.... 'The decline in SNAP participation is not necessarily evidence that fewer people need help,' he says. 'It is likelier ... that the program has become harder for eligible people to access it.'" Thanks to RAS for the link. MB Note: McDonough was previously President Obama's chief-of-staff & was President Biden's Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 

Adam Sella of the New York Times: “An appeals court on Saturday upheld a lower-court ruling blocking key parts of an executive order from ... [Donald] Trump to restrict voting by mail, the latest setback to his efforts to wrest control over elections.... In a 20-page ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit wrote that Mr. Trump’s order 'directs unprecedented levels of involvement by federal officials in how states administer elections.' If the order took effect in the midterm elections this November, 'it would sow confusion and threaten disenfranchisement of many eligible voters,' the court ruled. The Constitution grants authority over elections to states and Congress, not to the executive branch. But Mr. Trump has waged a yearslong campaign against voting by mail, signing executive orders, supporting court challenges and promoting legislation to curtail the option, which the president himself uses. Courts have blocked many of these attempts. Mr. Trump has also repeatedly made unfounded claims that mail voting is rife with fraud, even as he has made clear that restricting the practice would be a boon for his party.” The link is a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.) A UPI report is here.

Lisandra Paraguassu of the Independent: “Brazil has reportedly rejected visa applications from two officials associated with the Trump administration, who had intended to travel to the South American nation with the stated aim of casting doubt on the integrity of its electoral system.... These officials ... indicated that the US initiative was perceived as an attempt to influence Brazil’s forthcoming October presidential election. This election will see leftist incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva contend with Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, a known ally of Trump.” The Washington Post's report is here.

Where's Mitch? Theodoric Meyer of the Washington Post: “Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) is facing growing calls to be more transparent about his health nearly six weeks after he was hospitalized. McConnell, 84, has been absent from the Senate since June 14, when his staff said he was hospitalized after suffering a fall. His office shared a photo of McConnell holding The Washington Post on July 12, and McConnell said in a statement that he had left the hospital and moved to a rehabilitation center — but he did not say when he planned to return, offering only that he would not 'be able to return to the Senate floor to vote quite yet.' Those scant details have not quieted rampant rumors and online speculation about McConnell’s condition.” The link is a gift link. ~~~

     ~~~ Jennifer Bahney of Mediaite: “A spokesperson for Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) gave an update on his health Saturday, as calls for transparency mount over the veteran elected official’s weeks-long absence from Capitol Hill. 'The Senator continues to meet with staff regarding Senate and Kentucky business, including discussions on defense appropriations, foreign policy, the farm bill, constituent services and constituent federal grant requests,' Spokesman David Popp said in a statement to The Washington Post. Popp added, 'As the Senator continues to improve in rehab, we will be sure to keep you updated.'” ~~~ 

     ~~~ In the Room Where Nothing Happens. Marie: I don't think of myself as an Internet conspiracy theorist, but Popp's statement is carefully-crafted doublespeak. For starters, nobody wants to hear from "a McConnell spokesperson." While one photo -- real or altered -- may technically qualify as "proof of life," it isn't proof of competency or proof of even a minimal capacity to comprehend WTF is going on. Rather, if you parse Popp's too-clever statement, it is essentially proof -- or at least a strong indicator -- that McConnell is not compos mentis. Popp writes that Mitch "continues to meet with staff." That means that staff show up in McConnell's room -- wherever that may be -- and there sits (or lies) Mitch. So, technically, a "meeting" between Mitch and staff. In the same sentence, Popp writes, "... including discussions on [blah-blah]." The construction of the sentence implies, but does not state that McConnell himself participates in those discussions. It just means that in the meeting in the room where Mitch is sitting or lying, staff have discussions about stuff. Popp then writes, "as the Senator continues to improve ... in rehab...." That doesn't mean Mitch is improving; it doesn't even mean Mitch is actually in rehab. It's a conditional sentence; the "conditions" are "Mitch (a) gets to rehab and (b) starts improving." If those two conditions are met, then staff ("we") will release some more BS statements. Props to Popp; he is a communications genius.   

Diaper Don apparently is not the only Washington "leader" who throws tantrums ~~~ 

~~~ Shane Goldmacher & Reid Epstein of the New York Times: The Democratic National Committee's “money troubles threaten to undercut Democratic momentum with 100 days until the midterms. So much is going politically right for Democrats these days.... [Donald] Trump’s approval is down, gas prices are up and an unpopular war with Iran drags on. But dysfunction and debt inside one of the party’s key institutions — which is getting crushed in fund-raising by its Republican counterpart — are creating rising anxiety for top Democrats. At the center is Ken Martin, the 53-year-old party chairman, who has found himself increasingly isolated, gripped by the fear that he will lose his job and relying on a vanishingly small circle of people he trusts.... In a pique of frustration in early July, he threw his phone at the desk of a junior aide while upbraiding the person. The phone-tossing incident resulted in a formal complaint to the D.N.C.’s human resources department.” The link is a gift link.

Tara Bernard of the New York Times has some pointers about 530A accounts, a/k/a Trump accounts: “Many families with children under 18, particularly younger ones, should strongly consider opening a 530A account if only to serve as a collection basket, even if they need to (and probably should) prioritize other savings goals first.” The link is a gift link.  

AND Now for Some Culture (Wars): ~~~

About That Trojan Horse. Adam Serwer of the Atlantic: “In a different time, Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey would have been celebrated by the American right as a conservative film. Nolan’s interpretation of Homer’s epic poem is about the unintended consequences of breaking with tradition in pursuit of short-term gain.... In Donald Trump’s America, however, many on the right loathe this film. Trump’s disregard for rules and institutions is the reason his supporters love him, and this film argues that such disregard has disastrous long-term consequences. The film can easily be interpreted as a conservative critique of Trumpist radicalism. That, however, is not why so many on the MAGA right have attacked it. The actual reason they hate the film is that there are Black and trans people in it.... People who espouse these views do not value the classics for what they can teach us about the ancient world or our own, but as bleached marble monuments to their own superiority.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: As usual, an excellent piece by Serwer. However, I will say that his opening premise -- which is not really important to his overall essay -- is wrong. That is, there has been no "different time" in which "the American right" would have accepted a film that cast Black and trans people as equals. While there surely are some non-racists among "the American right," the vast majority of those who so identify are (a) white people and (b) racists. That's just a fact. No, they aren't all proud, outspoken racists like Elon Musk & Megyn Kelly, whom Serwer cites, but they really don't want an Asian person or a Jewish person or a Black person moving in next door. 

Comes now David French to make many of Serwer's points: ~~~ 

~~~ David French of the New York Times: “Without saying one word about modern politics, Christopher Nolan has rebuked the spirit of the age. His retelling of 'The Odyssey' is an admonition: Moral transgressions always carry a consequence. His version of Odysseus is a haunted man.... The movie centers on a moral code, specifically 'Zeus’s law,' the obligation to treat strangers with hospitality and kindness. The law is rooted in the mythical idea that the gods sometimes travel among people while disguised as mortals.... In Nolan’s depiction, [the Trojan horse] is essentially a war crime — an act of subterfuge that takes advantage of ancient customs to unleash the horrifying sack of [Troy].... In reality, Nolan’s 'Odyssey' is one of the most small-c conservative movies I’ve ever seen.” The link is a gift link.

B.D. McClay, in a New York Times op-ed, seems to see Christopher Nolan's Odysseus as little more than an extension of Christopher Nolan's Batman and Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer: a kind of "halfway hero" who "seems protected from self-knowledge," who "who sort of know[s] what to do but [has] a lot of trouble doing it and whose eventual moment of personal resolution somehow fixes everything in the end." So it's a movie about the director's angst. The link is a gift link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So maybe one reason nobody is upset that a middle-aged white guy is playing an ancient middle-aged Greek guy is that the middle-aged white actor was born a few months after the middle-aged white director who turned the ancient middle-aged Greek guy into an approximation of a modern middle-aged white guy, then gave that part to a middle-aged white guy (Matt Damon, who is quite good at playing white guys). The film, if we are to believe McClay & MoDo (linked next), is not about ancient Greeks; it's is about middle-aged white guys. And that, friends, is what we could say about a lot of films that their directors/screenwriters (yes, Nolan wrote the script, too) think are very artsy.

If MoDo is right, then "I didn't read the book but I saw the movie" is not going to work. The movie, apparently, doesn't capture much of the meaning -- or even some of the essential episodes -- of the epic poem. ~~~ 

~~~ Maureen Dowd of the New York Times: “Nolan has turned one of the foundational works of Western literature into an entertaining adventure saga.... Yet the director failed to capture the essence of the man of tricks and twists, Odysseus, who delighted in storytelling and feigned identities. Much of the moral ambiguity has been drained to make Matt Damon’s protagonist more likable.” The link is a gift link.

~~~ Marie: I've got news for MoDo. It was not Nolan who turned "The Odyssey" into "an entertaining adventure saga." It is an entertaining adventure saga.... Nolan doesn’t depict any of the major meddling gods from the story.... Nolan’s nearly three-hour master work, the classicist Mary Beard noted, does not have Homer’s 'elusive sexiness.'... [In the poem,] Penelope, a mortal, is expected to be faithful, no matter that Odysseus’s sexual liaisons have added eight years to his 10-year voyage home.” ~~~

~~~ Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times on why Elon Musk hates Nolan's "Odyssey." It's the technology, stupid; that is, Nolan's preference for "analog filmmaking" -- real sets and scenery -- over AI-generated slop. The link is a gift link. 

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Maine Senate Race. Reid Epstein of the New York Times: “Maine Democrats chose Troy Jackson, a progressive former state legislator, to replace Graham Platner as their Senate candidate at a convention on Saturday that followed weeks of internal turmoil in a key battleground state. Mr. Jackson’s victory, a vote of 566 to 5, came on the first ballot of a pop-up state convention the Maine Democratic Party organized in the 17 days since Mr. Platner, who faced a rape accusation he denies, dropped out of the race. The coronation of Mr. Jackson, who has spent a quarter-century in Maine state politics, completes a tumultuous process since Mr. Platner was forced from the race. Mr. Jackson will face Senator Susan Collins, a five-term Republican who has stymied generations of Maine Democrats. 'Today we turn the page,' Mr. Jackson told delegates in Bangor, Maine. 'Today, we begin the work of defeating Susan Collins in November.'” The link is a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.)

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Jeanna Smialek & Amanda Taub of the New York Times (July 24): “Karim A. A. Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, has been removed from his position, the court’s oversight body announced on Friday, after a 20-month-long investigation into allegations that he sexually harassed a subordinate. The decision came down to an assessment that Mr. Khan had committed 'serious misconduct' and a breach of duty. The I.C.C.’s Assembly of States Parties, the governing body that brings together its 125 member nations, made the decision during a session in New York on Friday. A substantial majority of its members, 82, voted to remove Mr. Khan.... The decision is one that victims’ rights groups and outside watchdogs have been pushing for, but will leave the criminal court searching for leadership at a difficult moment. The investigation into Mr. Khan left the institution without its most visible face for much of the past two years, damaging its credibility at the same time it has confronted attacks from the Trump administration.” The link is a gift link.

Germany. Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: “An overnight manhunt for the attacker who killed a woman and injured several others at a Berlin gay Pride celebration stretched into midday Sunday with no resolution in sight, as the authorities asked the public to help find a young man they said had ties to Islamic extremist groups. Berlin police said they were searching for “at least one suspect” after the attack on the annual Christopher Street Day parade, which drew hundreds of thousands of revelers to Berlin’s city center on Saturday. The festivities included a concert on Saturday evening near the Brandenburg Gate and the Tiergarten, the city’s large central park. Shortly after 10 p.m., the authorities said, a white minivan sped through a side street leading out of the park, eventually crashing into a tree. The driver ran away. Video footage showed the car’s front grill smashed and its body heavily dented. At least 16 people were left injured, some critically, after the attack. The police said some had suffered stab wounds. Local officials said they would release more information at a news conference Sunday afternoon.” The link is a gift link. A Politico report is here.