LIFE AND NEWS NOTES FROM AN OVER-EDIUCATED ELDERLY CHILDLESS CAT LADY (AS PER J. D. GOD…. VANCE) BEAVERING AWAY IN ONE OF THE VERY COLD SUB-BASEMENTS OF THE MINISTRY OF SNARK.

Tuesday 28 July 2026

LIFE NOTES

I can’t see the marsh yet, just blackness out the library windows. Cool mustard. An enormous orange Kitty is laying like the. Rock of Gibraltar at my left, down by my legs. Coffee, darkness, computers, laptops, iPads, writing pads, notepads, heating pads. All part of the writer’s equipment. Or perhaps the writers comfort foods. This is my favorite part of the day. 4:30 AM in the morning. The cats had been fed. If I come down before 4:00 they will stir but not get up. Too early on the Kitty schedule for breakfast, even for them. But if my sandaled feet start the journey across the catwalk upstairs, I can almost feel their 18 ears perked up. By the time I get to the bottom of the stairs, they have gathered in a greeting party and a mob bribery show of force. Breakfast. After 4:00 AM, if you come down those stairs, you’re going to feed us breakfast no matter what you have in mind. You might think that I’m the alpha, being the one with determination and two opposable forms, but that’s not how it works. Not with cats. If 9 cats are determined to have breakfast or anything else in the world, they get it one way or the other. In terms of breakfast, it seems that a bribery mob does the trick. When you find yourself surrounded at the bottom of the stairs by 9 little beings swirling around, rubbing against each other and you leaning head butting, it’s hard to say no. If this goes on too long and they begin then the pow tire you are at their breakfast.

It’s a combination of weakness when confronted with a demand, the knowledge that you will never get any work done if you don’t, and sympathy for anybody who wants something to eat. That’s how we ended up with 9 cats not too long ago, 10. Anyway, as our vet said when we swore up and down we were not getting another cat, once a feeder, always a feeder.

After they eat. They either settled down. Seven out of eight of them. Or they look for trouble. While bidding their time. Until Daybreak. When they can go on their morning walk. Sam. Sam Clemens is the youngest of the crew. He’s the one who is bidding his time most of the time. Especially in the morning. Going outside is his very favorite thing to do. Which is strange. Since he was taken in when he was 5 weeks old. Alone. Hungry. And yelling his head off. In the front yard. In the pouring rain. Just having been jumped on. By an older cat. In a dispute. About dinner. She thought it was hers. Which it was. And he thought it might be his. We felt enormously sorry for him.

Nobody feels sorry for him now. Is the cock of the walk. What we usually find is that those who have survived outside alone on their own develop an amazing self-confidence, even if it’s not evident when you first take them in. It’s a sort of I ain’t afraid of nothing or nobody sort of attitude.

NEWS NOTES

· A judge has ordered immigration officials to release key witnesses in ICE shooting. Associated Press.

· Two wars converge in the Caspian Sea as Ukraine hits Iranian supply line to Russia. Wall Street Journal.

· Temporary protected status ends for Haitian and Syrian immigrants. Chicago Sun Times.

· Trump asks Supreme Court to allow new limits on mail ballots. Washington Post.

· Deadly US boat strikes…failed to curb cocaine supply. Washinton Post.

· Pentagon reveals hundreds of new Iran war casualties. Task and Purpose

· Primary schedule angers some progressives. Axios.

· Israel needs a ballot-box revolution…” Haaretz

· Inside Bibi’s mystery Trump meeting. Haaretz

· The clock is now ticking on Netanyahu… Wall Street Journal.

· The four defining failures of Netanyahu’s… Wall Street Journal

· Netanyahu threatens to cancel Likud primary… Haaretz.

· Netanyahu rejects October 7‘treason’ theory… Haaretz.

· Warns top court not to intervene… Haaretz

· With anti-Arab campaign ad, Netanyahu stoops…Forward.

· Netanyahu says ICC prosecutor used Israeli PM’s arrest warrant. Washington Examiner.

· Netanyahu orders new West Bank settler outposts. France 24.

· Opinion: Can a liberal version of Israel survive? The National.

· Netanyahu’s Likud falls to lowest position since June 2025… The Jerusalem Post.

· How Israel kept Biden backing a Gaza war… The Jerusalem Post.

· Netanyahu’s surprising challenger in Israel. The New Yorker

LIFE AND NEWS NOTES FROM AN OVER-EDIUCATED ELDERLY CHILDLESS CAT LADY (AS PER J. D. GOD…. VANCE) BEAVERING AWAY IN ONE OF THE VERY COLD SUB-BASEMENTS OF THE MINISTRY OF SNARK.

Tuesday 28 July 2026

LIFE NOTES

I can’t see the marsh yet, just blackness out the library windows. Cool mustard. An enormous orange Kitty is laying like the. Rock of Gibraltar at my left, down by my legs. Coffee, darkness, computers, laptops, iPads, writing pads, notepads, heating pads. All part of the writer’s equipment. Or perhaps the writers comfort foods. This is my favorite part of the day. 4:30 AM in the morning. The cats had been fed. If I come down before 4:00 they will stir but not get up. Too early on the Kitty schedule for breakfast, even for them. But if my sandaled feet start the journey across the catwalk upstairs, I can almost feel their 18 ears perked up. By the time I get to the bottom of the stairs, they have gathered in a greeting party and a mob bribery show of force. Breakfast. After 4:00 AM, if you come down those stairs, you’re going to feed us breakfast no matter what you have in mind. You might think that I’m the alpha, being the one with determination and two opposable forms, but that’s not how it works. Not with cats. If 9 cats are determined to have breakfast or anything else in the world, they get it one way or the other. In terms of breakfast, it seems that a bribery mob does the trick. When you find yourself surrounded at the bottom of the stairs by 9 little beings swirling around, rubbing against each other and you leaning head butting, it’s hard to say no. If this goes on too long and they begin then the pow tire you are at their breakfast.

It’s a combination of weakness when confronted with a demand, the knowledge that you will never get any work done if you don’t, and sympathy for anybody who wants something to eat. That’s how we ended up with 9 cats not too long ago, 10. Anyway, as our vet said when we swore up and down we were not getting another cat, once a feeder, always a feeder.

After they eat. They either settled down. Seven out of eight of them. Or they look for trouble. While bidding their time. Until Daybreak. When they can go on their morning walk. Sam. Sam Clemens is the youngest of the crew. He’s the one who is bidding his time most of the time. Especially in the morning. Going outside is his very favorite thing to do. Which is strange. Since he was taken in when he was 5 weeks old. Alone. Hungry. And yelling his head off. In the front yard. In the pouring rain. Just having been jumped on. By an older cat. In a dispute. About dinner. She thought it was hers. Which it was. And he thought it might be his. We felt enormously sorry for him.

Nobody feels sorry for him now. Is the cock of the walk. What we usually find is that those who have survived outside alone on their own develop an amazing self-confidence, even if it’s not evident when you first take them in. It’s a sort of I ain’t afraid of nothing or nobody sort of attitude.

NEWS NOTES

· A judge has ordered immigration officials to release key witnesses in ICE shooting. Associated Press.

· Two wars converge in the Caspian Sea as Ukraine hits Iranian supply line to Russia. Wall Street Journal.

· Temporary protected status ends for Haitian and Syrian immigrants. Chicago Sun Times.

· Trump asks Supreme Court to allow new limits on mail ballots. Washington Post.

· Deadly US boat strikes…failed to curb cocaine supply. Washinton Post.

· Pentagon reveals hundreds of new Iran war casualties. Task and Purpose

· Primary schedule angers some progressives. Axios.

· Israel needs a ballot-box revolution…” Haaretz

· Inside Bibi’s mystery Trump meeting. Haaretz

· The clock is now ticking on Netanyahu… Wall Street Journal.

· The four defining failures of Netanyahu’s… Wall Street Journal

· Netanyahu threatens to cancel Likud primary… Haaretz.

· Netanyahu rejects October 7‘treason’ theory… Haaretz.

· Warns top court not to intervene… Haaretz

· With anti-Arab campaign ad, Netanyahu stoops…Forward.

· Netanyahu says ICC prosecutor used Israeli PM’s arrest warrant. Washington Examiner.

· Netanyahu orders new West Bank settler outposts. France 24.

· Opinion: Can a liberal version of Israel survive? The National.

· Netanyahu’s Likud falls to lowest position since June 2025… The Jerusalem Post.

· How Israel kept Biden backing a Gaza war… The Jerusalem Post.

· Netanyahu’s surprising challenger in Israel. The New Yorker

LIFE AND NEWS NOTES FROM AN OVER-EDIUCATED ELDERLY CHILDLESS CAT LADY (AS PER J. D. GOD…. VANCE) BEAVERING AWAY IN ONE OF THE VERY COLD SUB-BASEMENTS OF THE MINISTRY OF SNARK.

Tuesday 28 July 2026

LIFE NOTES

I can’t see the marsh yet, just blackness out the library windows. Cool mustard. An enormous orange Kitty is laying like the. Rock of Gibraltar at my left, down by my legs. Coffee, darkness, computers, laptops, iPads, writing pads, notepads, heating pads. All part of the writer’s equipment. Or perhaps the writers comfort foods. This is my favorite part of the day. 4:30 AM in the morning. The cats had been fed. If I come down before 4:00 they will stir but not get up. Too early on the Kitty schedule for breakfast, even for them. But if my sandaled feet start the journey across the catwalk upstairs, I can almost feel their 18 ears perked up. By the time I get to the bottom of the stairs, they have gathered in a greeting party and a mob bribery show of force. Breakfast. After 4:00 AM, if you come down those stairs, you’re going to feed us breakfast no matter what you have in mind. You might think that I’m the alpha, being the one with determination and two opposable forms, but that’s not how it works. Not with cats. If 9 cats are determined to have breakfast or anything else in the world, they get it one way or the other. In terms of breakfast, it seems that a bribery mob does the trick. When you find yourself surrounded at the bottom of the stairs by 9 little beings swirling around, rubbing against each other and you leaning head butting, it’s hard to say no. If this goes on too long and they begin then the pow tire you are at their breakfast.

It’s a combination of weakness when confronted with a demand, the knowledge that you will never get any work done if you don’t, and sympathy for anybody who wants something to eat. That’s how we ended up with 9 cats not too long ago, 10. Anyway, as our vet said when we swore up and down we were not getting another cat, once a feeder, always a feeder.

After they eat. They either settled down. Seven out of eight of them. Or they look for trouble. While bidding their time. Until Daybreak. When they can go on their morning walk. Sam. Sam Clemens is the youngest of the crew. He’s the one who is bidding his time most of the time. Especially in the morning. Going outside is his very favorite thing to do. Which is strange. Since he was taken in when he was 5 weeks old. Alone. Hungry. And yelling his head off. In the front yard. In the pouring rain. Just having been jumped on. By an older cat. In a dispute. About dinner. She thought it was hers. Which it was. And he thought it might be his. We felt enormously sorry for him.

Nobody feels sorry for him now. Is the cock of the walk. What we usually find is that those who have survived outside alone on their own develop an amazing self-confidence, even if it’s not evident when you first take them in. It’s a sort of I ain’t afraid of nothing or nobody sort of attitude.

NEWS NOTES

· A judge has ordered immigration officials to release key witnesses in ICE shooting. Associated Press.

· Two wars converge in the Caspian Sea as Ukraine hits Iranian supply line to Russia. Wall Street Journal.

· Temporary protected status ends for Haitian and Syrian immigrants. Chicago Sun Times.

· Trump asks Supreme Court to allow new limits on mail ballots. Washington Post.

· Deadly US boat strikes…failed to curb cocaine supply. Washinton Post.

· Pentagon reveals hundreds of new Iran war casualties. Task and Purpose

· Primary schedule angers some progressives. Axios.

· Israel needs a ballot-box revolution…” Haaretz

· Inside Bibi’s mystery Trump meeting. Haaretz

· The clock is now ticking on Netanyahu… Wall Street Journal.

· The four defining failures of Netanyahu’s… Wall Street Journal

· Netanyahu threatens to cancel Likud primary… Haaretz.

· Netanyahu rejects October 7‘treason’ theory… Haaretz.

· Warns top court not to intervene… Haaretz

· With anti-Arab campaign ad, Netanyahu stoops…Forward.

· Netanyahu says ICC prosecutor used Israeli PM’s arrest warrant. Washington Examiner.

· Netanyahu orders new West Bank settler outposts. France 24.

· Opinion: Can a liberal version of Israel survive? The National.

· Netanyahu’s Likud falls to lowest position since June 2025… The Jerusalem Post.

· How Israel kept Biden backing a Gaza war… The Jerusalem Post.

· Netanyahu’s surprising challenger in Israel. The New Yorker

LIFE AND NEWS NOTES FROM AN OVER-EDUCATED CHILDLESS OLD LADY (PER J. D. VANCE) BEAVERING AWAY IN ONE OF THE SUB-BASEMENTS OF THE MINISTRY OF SNARK

Well, we’re still trying to get Sam Clemens, our youngest, back inside and it’s almost 12 noon. We had to bribe Pete three times with plates of fresh tuna to get him to come inside and stay. He’s got the trick. “If I come inside, they’ll bribe me with tuna. So, if I come inside, have tuna, sneak back outside, get tuna, sneak back outside, get more tuna. That’s three orders of tuna every morning.

They train us up nicely and quickly.

I trained Sam to pat the trash can in the bedroom to ask for treats. He now pats every trashcan in the house, no matter what it looks like, what size it is. You gotta be smart to do that. Really smart.

CUBA: Part 2: STATE DEPARTMENT REPORT

The State Department recently issued a report on Cuba intended to legitimize the invasion of Cuba.

Aljazeera outlines five takeaways from the State Department Report:

1) Front Groups and Fellow Travelers.

The wins of AOC, Omar, Mandami, Platner (and others) have sent a chill down the spines of the Republicans, (or Republicans that actually have spines).

The DSA has helped several progressive politicians into Congress. (Note: Aljazeera article names more names.)

The Trump administration is trying desperately to connect the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), the most prominent group on the list, with what they refer to as “communists.”

While not accusing the DSA of being a Cuban asset, the report makes the case that the interests of the DSA and the Cubans are mirrors of each other (Harb)

Harb, defines the DSA as “an activist organization whose stated mission is to support workers gaining power through democratic means (Harb, 7/21/26).”

The State Department report, of course, overestimates the power of the DSA within the Democratic Party. Report quote: “The DSA has built a national infrastructure dedicated to moving extreme-left politics from the margins into the mainstream – and with it, a deep and abiding devotion to the Cuban regime (Harb, 7/21/26).

Media Benjamin, cofounder of one of the groups mentioned, Code Pink, has called the report and the approach of trying to label activists as communists as a “flashback” to the 1950s (Harb, 7/21/26). “We are in an era of McCarthyism, where they’re not only labelling groups like us communists and trying to position us as enemies of the state, but also combining that with the efforts to crack down on protests,” Benjamin told Al Jazeera (Harb, 7/21/26).

CUBA: PART 3 GEORGE FLOYD

Article: Smith, Benedict (7/20/26) “Cuba fueled George Floyd riots, claims Trump administration.” The Telegraph.

• A report by the US State Department (www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/Cuba-Report.pdf) claims that Cuba provided “gleeful support” for the protests in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd.

• “And while using the demonstrations to smear the US as a systemically racist country, it claims Cuba brutally cracked down on protests against its own regime.”

• The report also accuses Cuba of seeking to groom Left-wing students from elite universities as spies and of coordinating with radical groups “to move against the government in the event of a military invasion.” (Note: Quote from article not report).

• The government in Cuba issued daily commentary about the Floyd case “portraying the United States as a systemically racist country morally unfit to criticize Cuba’s human rights record,” the report says. (Note: Pete Hegseth, head of the Department of Defense just removed paintings of black servicemen, demoted and pushed out females and blacks from the military.)

• The report also notes that the then president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, denounced the “practically uncontrolled expressions of hatred, racism, police brutality,” in a September 2020 speech at the UN. (Note: Please just refer to the past year and the number of Hispanics killed by ICE, and placed in detention centers.) (Note: Quote from report).

CUBA: PART 3, BOOK “The Gargantua Reports from Cuba

Book: Tennant, J. S. “The Gargantua reports from Cuba.” Review Christiansen, Rupert (7/15/26) “A bewitching history of Cuba (and why Fidel Castro deserves more credit.).

CUBA: PART 5: RESULT OF US AGGRESSION

Article: Leake, Natasha (7/6/26) “Cuba suffers total blackout as energy grid crumbles.” The Telegraph.

• Cuba was struggling before Trump imposed an oil blockade in January. This has depleted the supply of fuel for Cuba’s power plants.

• This week’s collapse marks the eighth time Cuba’s 9.6 million people have been left without power since late 2024.

• In Havana the cuts have lasted as much as 24 hours at a time and in rural areas as much as 70 hours.

• The UN has warned of an emergency as drinking water, food and medicine are in short supply.

• Raul Giuillermo Rodriqguez Castro, the grandson of Raul Castro has said that he is willing to negotiate with the US in an interview published in USA today.

• In May, the US announced murder charges against Castro.

CUBA: PART 6: HEGSETH WARNING TO CUBA

Article: Cleave, Iona (6/10/26) “Hegseth issues warning to Cuba during Guantanamo visit.” The Telegraph.

CUBA; PART 7 CUBA’S AMBASSADOR TO UK WARNS US

Article: Shanagher, Lilly (6/7/26) “Cuba warns Trump: We’ll fight to the bitter end.” The Telegraph.

• Cuba’s ambassador to the UK has stated that the Cuban people will fight to the death against any US military invasion. This statement comes in response to repeated US threats to Cuba.

• Trump has “hinted” according to the Telegraph that Raul Castro could be seized just as Maduro was.

• “Although the US has captured or killed the leaders of Iran and Venezuela this year, little has changed in both of those countries. This has LED experts to question the wisdom of decapitating another government.”

• Cuba’s president, Miguel Diez-Canel, has warned of a “bloodbath” should the US launch strikes.

• “Cuba has enacted a 1980s Castro era doctrine called War of All the People, in which the entire population is trained to fight against an invader in a prolonged resistance campaign that would combine guerrilla warfare with conventional defense.”

• Axios is reporting that the Cuban government could collapse as early as this summer.”

• “The intention is to keep pushing sanctions to try to strangle Havana in a slow constriction, as administration officials said, likening it to accelerationism, the philosophy of using capitalism to hasten societal change.”

• Rubio (Note: Who has spent his entire life wanting to destroy the Cuban government) has called Cuba a “national security threat.”

• Castro was indicted for the shooting down of two US planes in 1996 that left four people dead. Castro was defense minister at the time and is blamed by the US. The planes were operated by Brothers to the Rescue an American activist group opposed to the Castro government.

• Cuba warned the US multiple times that they would act before they shot the planes down. The planes violated their country’s airspace constantly and the Cuban government accused them of “illegal and provocative activities.”

• The ambassador called the indictment an echo of the indictment of Maduro, a “desperate attempt” to justify military aggression that had no “legal basis.”

• Washington is demanding that Americans whose property was seized after he revolution be compensated. (Note: I think Cuba has already done some of this and offered to do more. This is just another excuse.)

• Ambassador: “War, military aggression, threat, oil siege, strengthening the blockade and indicating leaders of the Cuban Revolution is not the way.”

• Cuba once had a “world-leading” medical system. Now, because of US actions, infant mortality rates have soared, life expectancy has decreased, and the US has blocked vital medicines through secondary sanctions. (Note: Is this the country you want to live in?)

• There has been an outbreak of disease, hunger and poverty because of lack of rubbish collection and closure of companies.

• Ambassador: “You may consider that the social and political systems in Cuba are not the right ones, but there is no single reason for the US to impose such inhumane and cruel collective punishment against a population.”

CUBA: PART 8: ARTICLES AND BOOKS

Article: DePetris, Daniel (5/21/26) “Could Trmp be about to attack Cuba?” The Telegraph

Article: Nicoll, Ruaridh (7/21/26) “US claims of Cuba’s unique threat jar with reality of hunger and blackouts.” Guardian.

Article: 2026 United States fuel blockade on Cuba. Wikipedia.

Skove, Sam (7/20/26) “State Department frames Cuba as major threat via Left-Wing groups. Foreign Policy. ****

Podcast: “Cuba edges towards radical reform. The Economist.

Podcast: “America’s plans for Cuba. The Economist.

Article: (5/27/26) “Attacking Cuba would be a huge mistake.” The Economist.

Article: “Donald Trump is pushing towards the end-game in Cuba. The Economist.

Gutenplan, D. D. and Katrina Vanden Heuvel. (11/13-20 of 2023 issue) “Cuban president Miguel Diaz-Canel sits down with the Nation.

Puig, Mar (7/23/26) “US. Monitorw Catholic Church distribution of aid in Cuba. The Nation.

Corthell, Michael (2/26/2025) “Accelerationism’s: Propelling society through capitalism’s extremes.” Essay X2.

LIFE AND NEWS NOTES FROM A CHILDLESS CAT LADY (ACCORDING TO VANCE) BEAVERING AWAY IN ONE OF THE SUB-BASEMENTS OF THE MINISTRY OF SNARK

NEWS NOTES

We have two fascinating elections coming up – the American mid-terms and the Israeli elections. It is extremely interesting and disturbing to read about the Israeli elections since there are so many similarities in what Netanyahu is doing and what Trump is doing to ensure a victory for themselves.

Quote of the Day:

“Israelis who care about democracy and civil liberties must be vigilant. Leaders around the world who are aligned with Netanyahu’s authoritarian politics have tried to subvert the democratic process in order to avoid defeat at the ballot box. Netanyahu (note: and Trump) wouldn’t hesitate to do the same if given the opportunity.” Noa Sattath, Haaretz (7/20/26).

Noa Sattath of Haarets reminds us that we should watch the actions of the Shin Bet and their leader closely in the run up to this election.

She reminds us of a “flurry of anti-democratic laws passed by the outgoing Knesset.” Most of these laws, she writes “will likely be thrown out by the Israeli Supreme Court. Those that survive judicial review could easily be overturned by the next Israeli government, assuming it is led by someone other than Netanyahu.” Assuming it is someone other than Netanyahu.

The Shit Bet must be watched. Netanyahu appointed David Zini to serve his personal interests, not the interests of the courts, which Zini has called “monstrous,” and human rights, which Zini has called “nonsense.”

For example, the Knesset passed an “openly racist death penalty law,” which applies to Palestinian terrorists but not Jewish ones. The right has tried for years to pass such a law, but failed because of the opposition from the Shin Bet whose leaders always argued that the law would make martyrs out of Palestinians and only encourage terrorism.

But when Netanyahu appointed former IDF general David Zini, the position of the Shin Bet about this death penalty law changed completely to supporting it.

Another concern is that in the upcoming elections, Zini will support efforts to disqualify some of the political parties representing Israel’s Arab minority from participating in the election. He could do that by presenting secret evidence.

Noa Sattath is the executive director of the Association for Civil Rights Israel, Israel’s largest and oldest civil and human rights NGO.

_________________________________________________

David Zini, Netanyahu’s head of Shin Bet, is right-wing and ultra-Orthodox.

“Too Dangerous: The Religious Far Right”

Article: Uri Misgav (7/9/26) Opinion: “Too Dangerous: The Religious far right infiltrates Israel’s Internal Security Agency. Haaretz.

Reporter, Uri Misgav, describes a “disturbing speech” by David Zini, head of the Shin Bet. He writes that the speech is equivalent to “coming out of the closet.” Zini had no reason to hide his far-right religious beliefs. He was speaking to a friendly audience, the equivalent of a right-wing think tank.

The statements he made reveal an “organized worldview: that of the nationalist ultra-Orthodox, or haradlim.

The hardalim believe that the state is an instrument, the “donkey carrying the messiah.” There is no sanctity in the state. One should use it in the most “profitable way on the road to redemption.” In addition, “the liberal-democratic world is an abomination…Goyuim, Arabs, secular people, leftists, jurists and gay people are inferior races. Women are good for the kitchen, the bedroom and childbirth. “

Zini evidently considered his son a special class of person. He suspended investigations of, and the fight against, Jewish terrorism.” “One of Zini’s sons was part of the …hilltop youth and a target of Sin Bet investigations.”

__________________________________________________

Article: Limone, Noa (7/13/26) “How Netanyahu’s Court pundit is sabotaging Israeli journalism.” Haaretz.

In addition to right-wing religious views, special classes of people, and anti-democratic laws, the Netanyahu government is making moves to silence the press. (The Trump administration just issued subpoenas to New York Times journalists and also is investigating the people they associate with).

Netanyahu associate and Channel 14 commentator, Jacob Bardugo, has repeatedly called for an investigation into how Channel 12 learned of Israeli’s planned Iran strike – putting journalist’ ability to protect their sources at risk.

Bardugo maintains he is not a “journalist” but a “media personality.” (Note: I think some Fox News commentators have made the same argument in the past). And he is evidently “part of the government’s campaign against journalists.”

Bergman stated on a TV interview that ever since Zini was appointed to the Shin Bet, they had been collecting information about journalists who don’t identify with the government’s positions and is using technological tools to identify people with whom they are in contact.

The authoritarian movement is stretching around the world, and we must stop it before it’s too late.

Do something. Do anything. Protest. Write. Phone your Congressperson. Read.

7/16/26 Thursday

Nicolle Wallace

LIFE AND NEWS NOTES

· Democrats have a chance of winning Texas. As one person said, Talarico is out-bible-ing the Republicans. The race is 47% to 47% at the moment. Paxton is running a campaign where he is not on the trail. On July 4, he was spotted in London.

There is a storm coming in over the marsh. The birds are already at the bird-feeder, filling up before the rain starts. We have a lot of cardinals and a lot of titmice in our yard. We have one pair of pileated woodpeckers and from time to time some doves. The cats watch them from the catio downstairs, from the patio upstairs and from the living room window. It’s like Cat TV, they love it.

Friday Morning 17 July 2026

I got up around 3 AM, but the cats wouldn’t stop fighting and grumbling about each other so I gave up around 5 AMand fed them. Pete was so fed up with Sam, he spent probably ten minutes, ten minutes voicing his unhappiness with Sam. It was like an oration, different sounds, words, phrases. I tried to get it on video, but by the time I got set up, he had finished and curled back up on the day bed in the library where we spend our time when I get up early.

They are all outside now, hiding under limbs, ambushing each other, rolling in the dirt, in short, having a wonderful time.

Trump gave his speech last night, the prelude for his “I’m stealing the election” speech to be given in November. He went back through all the “the election was stolen” accusations citing no evidence. The man has no idea what evidence is.

Shorts:

· The cyclosporiasis outbreak that is causing serious diarrhea is evidently being caused by the supplier of lettuce for Taco Bell (Washington Post).

· Coca Cola is suspending it’s U.S. product after a cyber attack (Atlanta Journal Constitution). (Note: What’s that all about?)

· Protests continue in Ukraine over Zelensky’s sacking of the defense minister (The Guardian).

· Trump has fired another U.S. attorney (The Washington Post).

· Tillis threatens to hold up his vote until Blanche talks to the survivors. What good this does I have no idea. The survivors felt no sympathy or understanding (CBS News).

· Politico calls it “death by a thousand cuts,” the attack by Trump on voter confidence.

MAINE – PLATNER

ARTICLE: “Maine Democratic Senate candidates discuss which of Platner’s ideas they would use.” (7/17/26) (NBC News).

· Troy Jackson – Medicare for all, no tax cuts for the wealthy, prescription drug coverage, .

· Shah – Abolish ICE (“how many more people must die?”, “we must abolish ICE.”

· Jordan – Human rights, two state solution, fighting genocide, conditions on aid to Israel,

· Bellows – Democracy has been corrupted by those in power, corporations, billionaires, Medicare for all, ICE out of Maine, the harm of Oct. 7 and the genocide.

ARTICLE: “Good Riddance to Graham Platner.” (7/9/26) Reason.

· “Platner was a deeply flawed candidate with no special qualifications to serve in office and a long history of bizarre behavior: from the Nazi tattoo to the edgy Reddit posts to the alcoholism and mistreatment of past girlfriends.”

· He was also running on a “far-left platform of dubious electoral viability.” While primary voters are willing to “select socialist and quasi-communist political figures, though that probably reflects anger at the party establishment rather than specific enthusiasm for seizing the means of production.”

· “Whether statewide voters in a general election are excited about socialism remains to be seen.”

· “Plattner did not identify as a democratic socialist, but his entire campaign was geared around supposed populist outrage at oligarchs and the Epstein class, whoever that is. Indeed, when Plattner initially came under scrutiny for alleged violence towards women, he announced that this was a concerted effort by the Epstein class to get rid of him. His platform reflected the progressive left’s notion that very wealthy people are responsible for all of the misery in society and they need to be destroyed.”

· “Working class people. Should be more than a little offended that a cabal of far left Democratic consultants. Morris Katz and Rebecca Katz. No relation seemed to deserve most of the blame. Decided that their own idiosyncratic crusade against billionaires would serve just fine as a policy agenda to appeal to working class voters. All they needed was a rough around the edges sort of guy with a deep voice and a pinch for violence. That’s downright insulting.”

· “Set Good rinse to Plattner and, with any hope, good rinse to the class of political operatives who see socialism as both the solution to the world’s problems and the obvious winningest campaign strategy.”

Article: “Democrats have a process for replacing Graham Platner. It’s controversial.” (7/16/26) Slate.

· This is arguably the most important race in the country.

· Troy Jackson – ran for governor, progressive former state senator. Ran for governor with Sanders’ endorsement. Positioning himself as heir to Platner’s progressiveness.

· Nirav Shah – former Biden CDC official

· Shenna Bellows, Maine’s secretary of state. She got trounced by Collins in 2014.

· Dan Kleban – brewery owner, counting on outsider as best bet for him.

· David Costello – environmental consultant

· Jordan Wood – former congressional staffer, first ran for Senate, then for the House and is now back in the Senate race

· Ashley Webb – trans woman

· Joesph Leveille

· Paige Loud – already dropped out.

· The candidates must submit at least 500 signatures, including 50 from at least half the state’s counties by Tuesday.

· All 16 counties will hold meetings to elect a number of delegates based on primary turnout.

· 601 delegates including 101 from the state party’s governing body will convene on Jly 25 and vote on a nominee.

· Many people ae not happy with the process. It seems insider based and many Platner supporters fear it won’t reflect Platner’s progressive policies.

· When Loud withdrew she called it a “political chess match” aimed at delegates rather than voters.

· People who hadn’t registered with a party could vote in the primary that chose Platner, only registered Dems can vote for or serve as delegates to replace him.

· The debate was last night.

LIFE AND NEWS NOTES FROM A CHILDLESS CAT LADY (PER J. D. VANCE) BEAVERING AWAY IN ONE OF THE SUB-BASEMENTS OF THE MINISTRY OF SNARK:

· THE RIGHT-WING SCAM

· UKRAINE

· TRUMP’S ESCALATION OF VIOLENCE: ICE

· PLATNER

· ISRAEL SHORTS

Thursday 16 July 2026

Well, it’s finally daybreak with the Spanish moss hanging off the branches of the live oads. The marsh is a soft yellow-green with a brown strip down the center. It looks like mid-low tide.

The cats have been fed and have finally settled back down to wait for their father to come down stairs.

I”ive been working on headlines and listening to a Podcast Episode of Pod Saave America with Dan and Alex Wagner. It was vicious and personal on the part of Alex in a way that was surprising to me

While covering headlines I managed to put some $500 of merchandise on my shopping cart for our trip to Spain. My left hand is numb. Daddy’s hands used to get numb – and his neck hurt all the time. Just like me.

I painted for two hours last afternoon, a porch fish that I think looks pretty damn good, but boy what a strain on the body, especially on this shoulder that hasn’t been replaced yet.

But, I’m 75 years old and so I get to stay in bed (I work in bed like Proust) and chase down headlines and stories in some two dozen newspapers and news outlets. I would like to write something about Platner today, if my scatterbrained old body can manage it.

NEWS NOTES

THE RIGHT-WING SCAM

Article: LeVine, Marianne (7/16/26) “The Mystery money powering Trump’s second term.” The Wall Street Journal.

· Trump has raised over half a billion dollars from wealthy donors and “stashing it in a sprawling network of nonprofits, cultural institutions and committees that he and his allies control.”

· Companies seeking lucrative contracts, or favorable policies. “…details about where the cash is coming from or how it is being spent are shrouded in secrecy…”

· See article for break down of funds.

UKRAINE

Article: Harding, Luke (7/16/26) “Zelenskyy dismisses Ukraine’s defense minister on eve…” The Guardian.

· Despite pleas from foreign partners and civil groups, Zelensky has dismissed Mykhailo Fedovor widely credited with transforming the defense ministry and reducing corruption.

· He was only in office for six months. This coincided with “a dramatic improvement in Ukraine’s position on the battlefield,” according to Luke Harding at the Guardian.

· Fedorov in his parting speech listed his achievements as disabling Starlink for Russian troops, procuring more drones, improved the procurement system. He revealed that Ukraine has successfully tested a ballistic missile.

· The removal has outraged his supporters and comes “amid rumors of a feud with Ukraine’s commander in chief Col. Gen. Olesksandr Syrskyi. Even Michagl McFaul, former US ambassador to Moscow urged Zelensky to keep him on.

Article: Vakulina, Sasha (7/16/26) “Dismissed Ukraine defense minister denounces incompetence…” Euronews.

· Thousands of Ukrainians have taken to the streets over the dismissal of the defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov. Fedorov publicly acknowledged his conflict with Ukraine’s commander in chief had contributed to his removal. Zelensky, he said, had been forced to choose between him and Oleksandr Syrskyi.

· Fedorov maintains that his reform agenda “quickly encountered resistance from the military’s top command.” Fedorov also accused Syrskyi of splitting the country.

· Zelensky offered Fedorov an advisory role but Fedorov declined. He said that his departure was the “result of entrenched institutional resistance to his efforts to modernize the military through greater technological innovation and a more decentralized approach,” wrote Harding.

· There were protests in Kyiv and other cities as a result.

· The dispute has been an open secret and presented as a generational clash between a “young, tech-driven reformer…and a more conventional military commander,” reports Harding.

· He is credited with curbing Russia’s unauthorized use of Starlink, and making changes so that civilians could get government services through a smart phone rather than a cumbersome bureaucracy.

· More recently he “oversaw the launch of the campaign to ‘turn Crimea into an island.’

Article: Vakulina, Sasha (7/16/26) “Ukrainians hold rare wartime protest over defense minister’s dismissal.”

· Protests over the dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov are the first protests since last summer’s in support of their country’s anti-corruption watch-dogs.

TRUMP’S ESCALATION OF VIOLENCE: ICE

Podcast: “How ICE became so deadly. (7/15/26) The Guardian. Stateside Podcast.

Article: Kilgore, Ed () “MAGA won’t stand for limits on ICE brutality. New York. The Intelligencer

Article: Olivares, Jose (7/15/26) “Venezuelan man becomes 22^nd person to die in ICE custody this year.” The Guardian.

PLATNER

Democratic Candidates: Troy Jackson, Paige Loud (social worker), Nirav Shah (former director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention).

Statewide nominating convention July 25.

Article: Billings, Randy (7/14/26) “How the Biddleford ICE killing upended the Maine Senate race. Portland Press Herald.

· Jackson appeared in three protests over the ICE killing in Biddeford, Maine. He joined protestors who marched to Collins’ office to voice their disapproval. Jackson, in a video of himself, advocated abolishing ICE.

· Collins voted to fund Trump’s immigration agenda. She supported the Secure America Act, a budget bill that allocated $70 billion for ICE, and then voted against the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a 2025 law that tripled ICE’s budget.

· The funding for ICE “without substantial reforms for Immigration and Customs Enforcement led to a 75-day partial government shutdown.”

· Recently, Collins’ people have noted that there was a separate funding bill which included $20 million for the expanded use of body cameras, $2 million for de-escalation training and $20 million for increased oversight of detention centers.

· Collins’ spokesperson, Blake Kernen, said: “Anyone calling for abolishing ICE is calling for the agency to cease critical efforts to combat human trafficking, child exploitation, forced labor and international drug smuggling.”

· The Department of Homeland Security told the Associated Press that only half of ICE field offices have body cameras. “The federal agents involved in Monday’s shooting in Biddeford were not wearing them,” according to the Portland Press Herald.

· Loud advocated abolishing ICE and publicly prosecuting the officers “that are murdering our neighbors.’

· Shah criticized Collins’ support for ICE funding, “saying he would support shutting down the federal government to oppose funding the agency.”

· Several Democratic candidates have switched from themes of affordability to immigration after the shooting.

· Shah is the son of immigrants and did a press conference. “There is a straight line from Senator Collins to the lawlessness we saw yesterday,” Shah said. “She confirmed ICE’s leaders, she funded its abuses and she chairs the one committee…with the power to put conditions on every dollar the agency gets.”

· “…three times, she gave ICE a blank check instead of demanding accountability.”

· Sec. of State Shenna Bellows went to Biddeford. She refused to give federal agents unmarked license plates, a decision that caused Republicans to consider impeaching her this year.

Article: Kilgore, Ed (7/15/26) “As Maine goes, so goes the senate?…” New York.

Article: Choi, Matthew (7/15/26) “Haley Stevens polls ahead of Abdul El-Sayed in key Michigan Senate test.” The Washington Post.

Article: Posik, Jacob (7/11/26) “Good riddance, Graham.” Portland Press Herald.

Article: (7/16/26) “Time for Maine’s leaders to show some backbone on ICE.” Portland Press Herald.

Article: Billings, Randy (7/14/26) “8 Democratic Maine Senate hopefuls to face off in TV debate.” Portland Press Herald.

Article: Ball, James () “The Democrats have screw up – big time. The New World.

Devine, Miranda (7/15/26) “The Dems’ attempt to become the party of manly men proves they’re getting dumb and dumber.” New York Post

ISRAEL

Article: Wright, Thomas (7/16/26) “The opening after Netanyahu.” The Atlantic.

Article: Borger, Julian (7/16/26) “Trump’s board of peace drops full Gaza recovery plan in favour of tiny polit scheme. The Guardian.

Article: Taheri, Mandy (7/16/26) “AIPAC is betting big on Michigan democrat in public feud with Netanyahu.” Newsweek.

Article: Weisz, Zac (7/16/26) “Can Netanyahu survive again? GZeromedia

Article: “At least a third of Likud lawmakers tried to oust Netanuhu after October 7,” Haaretz.

Article: Bodkin, Henry (7/16/26) “Netanyahu accused of ordering special protection for his son. The Telegraphy.

Article: “Netanuahy pushes ultra-Orthodox laws. KGW8 News.

Article: Rahmanan, Anna (7/16/26) “JD Vance and the Democrats put Netanyahu’s Israel on notice. Newsweek.

Article: Neev, Keshet (7/15/26) “Netanyahu coalition passes controversial law weakening attorney-general’s authority.” The Jerusalem Post.

Article: Editorial (7/16/26) “Once again, Netanyahu ran away…” Haaretz.

Article: Analysis (7/16/26) “How far will Netanyahu go in his campaign of revenge against Israel’s institutions.” Haaretz

Article: (7/16/26) “In first since election called, poll shows opposition defeating Netanyahu without Arab parties. Haaretz.

Article: Shelah, Ofer (7/16/26) “Netanyahu delusional Iran campaign damaged Israel as deeply as October 7. Haaretz.

Prokop, Andrew (7/16/26) “When Israel lost Democratic voters…” Vox.

SHORTS:

(7/16/26) “Fetterman says he will switch parties if Democrats officially become the anti-Israel party.” NBC News.

McCoy, Robert (7/16/2) “Clarence Thomas pal Harlan Crow maxed out donations to John Fetterman. The New Republic.

(7/16/26) “Ukraine targets Russian tankers in the Sea of Azov.” NBC News.