Extra, Extra
OK, Boomerang: “It remains unclear whether the truce will hold — or crumble like one struck in May did. Even if the agreement does prove durable, its big accomplishment appears to be merely returning the countries to a status quo from several months ago, before President Trump provoked tensions with China in early April by ramping up tariffs on goods it produces.” NYT (Gift Article): New China Trade ‘Deal’ Takes U.S. Back to Where It Started. Oh sure, that’s what the fake liberal news says. But what does the WSJ have to say? “This gets to the larger problem with Mr. Trump’s tariff strategy—that is, he doesn’t have one.” (That said, these days I view anything that ends up back where we started before Jan 20, 2025 as a major victory.)
+ The Morale of the Story: “Three different advocacy organizations representing military families said they had heard from dozens of affected service members who expressed discomfort about being drawn into a domestic policing operation outside their normal field of operations. The groups said they have heard no countervailing opinions.” Troops and marines deeply troubled by LA deployment: ‘Morale is not great.’ But wait, what about all those soldiers cheering when Trump turned a Fort Bragg address into a politcal rally? Well, it turns out that “troops who attended an address by President Donald Trump at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on Tuesday were reportedly screened for their appearance and political views.” (Editor’s note: The military isn’t supposed to express political views.)
+ Don’t Reign on the Parade: “The United States Army deserves a celebration, as do the other armed services during their upcoming birthdays. Tens of millions of Americans have passed through the Army’s ranks, and something close to a million have died in the line of duty, while many more were wounded or taken prisoner, or suffered extraordinary hardships. We owe them a lot. The administration, however, is orchestrating a parade not to honor service, but to celebrate power.” Eliot A. Cohen in The Atlantic (Gift Article): A Parade of Ignorance. From The Verge: Big Tech quietly sponsors Trump’s military parade party. (This is not surprising. Big tech wants deals with the Pentagon. And, if you take Trumpism out of the equation, the military should be celebrated … when it’s not being deployed in American cities.)
+ General Relativity: “When asked by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) whether Putin intends to ‘stop in Ukraine,’ the general was frank: ‘I don’t believe so, sir.’ When pressed by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) to say if he believes the demonstrations and violence in Los Angeles are a sign the United States is ‘being invaded by a foreign nation,’ as Trump told an audience of soldiers Tuesday in North Carolina, Caine said he doesn’t.” A hopeful sign. WaPo: Trump’s top general contradicts his assessment of Putin, L.A. unrest.
+ Once Upon a Time: “There’s a concept in psychology known as time perception: the subjective experience of the passing of time. Humans don’t feel time as a constant, monolithic thing that progresses at a fixed rate. Instead, we have moments that seem to last forever and ones that pass by in an instant. The exact same time span can feel long or short, depending on a number of factors, from the cognitive (how much we are paying attention, for instance) to the emotional (how we’re feeling, whether we’re bored or excited, and the like).” Maria Konnikova with an interesting look at the psychology of time perception. (Or why 2025 will last approximately 10,000 years.)
+ Taking Flight: “A man who posed as a flight attendant for four different airlines scammed 120 free flights over the course of years.” (And the S.O.B. still hasn’t brought me the second bag pretzels I asked for…)
