SWIM A LAP DAY UPDATES
Admittedly This Requires a Body of Water of Some Sort - Do I Have To Do EVERYTHING For You?!
-As President Biden continues practicing for the first Presidential debate scheduled for this Thursday (emphasis on "scheduled,") his presumed opponent, Convicted Felon Ex-President Trump (R-apist) is doing what he always does, hanging out on social media and reportedly plotting slurs and zingers in between. This morning, Trump decided to give one of his patented "Complete and Total Endorsement(s) ...!" to someone he calls "a Proven Conservative and Effective Leader" - but whom most of us see as a C-level reality TV star-in-the-making: MAGAt headliner Lauren Boebert (N-R-A, CO).
-The Boebs relocated from her previous district (where she eked out a 300-vote or so victory over a lesser-known Democrat in 2022) when revelations about her personal conduct and family melodrama to a district she thought was more conservative and ready to give them a hand - but needs to win a five-way primary tomorrow. While early polls had her trailing badly, Newsweek reports the newest polls indicate she may now be cashing in on her, er, name recognition and be pulling away in the deep-red district. But, we know what the polling has been like the last few cycles, so we'll know tomorrow night!
-As for the Presidential election, one area this Substack has not explored yet is policy - that is, what would a Biden Presidency look like vs. a Trump Presidency in 2025? Turns out when we do look at something as fundamental as economic policy, HOO BOY is there a difference! The business analytic firm Moody's looked at both candidates' economic plans and concluded that a second Biden Presidency would bring lower inflation (as the inflation that bedeviled him in 2022-23 is now stabilizing and might even be rolling back), continued economic growth (riding on an already 60-year-unemployment low) and historically solid growth.
-When Moody's looked at the Trump proposals, they saw a VERY different outcome: a recession within six months, exploding deficits, MORE inflation than under Biden, and general catastrophe. Why? Besides Trump jumping on the binky that Republicans have clung to since the Reagan Administration - tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and a return to the constantly-debunked trickle-down thesis - Moody's points to Trump floating the idea of ending all income taxes and replace them with sales taxes AND a doubling of tariffs on ALL imported goods, apparently Trump's idea of dealing with CHY-nuh. The problem with the tariffs, as numerous economists point out, is that there is no way doubling tariffs would not be passed down to consumers, potentially doubling - at least - prices on any non-American-made good or service.
-Keep that in mind whenever you hear Trump wet fart through his mouth about how Biden's economy is "the worst in the history of the country!" on Thursday.
-Assuming Trump even shows up ...
-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced rather surprisingly yesterday that he believes that "the most intense phase" of his war on HAMAS is all but over. Not surprising given that the strategy was to try to destroy HAMAS by destroying most of the Gaza strip and the Palestinian cities, but also because of something potentially even more ominous, believe it or not: Israeli forces are being moved from Gaza in the South to Golan in the North, where forces affiliated with Hezbollah are reportedly gathering and threatening to essentially open a second front. The move comes as Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was seen boarding an American State Department jet for discussions with the U.S., likely to discuss both issues and seen as a bit of a diffusion of tension between the two governments. Tensions remain high as discussions continue ...
-THIS JUST IN: While a slew of cases involving gun control, whether a state that has banned abortion can still perform one in case of the endangerment of the mother's life, whether government regulatory bodies can do their job, and of course Trump's plea for a Stay Out of Jail 4Evah 4Anything Done While Presidenting are all queued up to be announced this week, the ultra-radical Supreme Court has announced that for next year, it has agreed to hear a case brought by the Biden Administration challenging a Tennessee state ban on giving transgendered children medical care. (In case you STILL need reasons to vote for Biden and get everyone you know to vote for Biden in November ...)
-In protest news, a recent trend in some more militant protests - particularly those groups demanding more from the world to combat the continued warming of the Earth - have gone on to using paint and dye and colored smoke to disrupt high-visibility locations and works of art to make their demands to do more about climate change/global warming. This description may be a little clearer than when protestors do their thing, as they did over the weekend in three places: Stonehenge in England (which had red smoke residue dusted off by workers after the act), Buckingham Fountain in Chicago (which had to be shut down for two days to clear the water of the red dye), and the PGA Travelers Insurance golf tournament (where six protestors set off smoke bombs on the 18th green as eventual tournament winner Scottie Schiffler was about to putt).
-Can we get through a news cycle without discussing Taylor Swift? Clearly not, because we got not one but TWO stories about her, both centered in London, where The Eras Tour is currently ruling, with the shows becoming a mega-star-studded affair. Over the last two evenings, a partial list of VIPs that attended at least one of the two shows included Prince Andrew and his children, Paul McCartney, Peter Gabriel, Tom Cruise, Hugh Grant, Greta Gerwig, Ashton Kutcher, and Mila Kunis - as well as the Kelce family, of course (Grant calling boyfriend Travis "excellent if gigantic"). That led to another moment yesterday, when Travis appeared on stage in full tux during "I Can Do It With A Broken Heart" - a song most believe refers to Swift's relationship with The 1975's Matty Healy, a Londoner himself - and carried Taylor off stage as part of the bit.
-All of that seems charming, so if you want a little friction with Taylor in London, you got it - courtesy of none other than Dave Grohl. Grohl was playing with The Foo Fighters at a different London stadium (that admittedly did not seem as filled as Wembley was), so Grohl noted that, adding that "We're calling our tour The Errors Tour. We've had more than a few eras, and more than a few fucking errors as well ... That's because we actually play live - WHAT?! Just saying!" In response, Taylor went to her band early in yesterday's show and told the crowd that her band "will be playing LIVE for you for three and a half hours tonight!" While outwardly light-hearted, there is a little bit of history here in that Grohl's daughter Violet once commented on social media about Taylor flying private jets and then receiving huge blowback from Swifties in response. Ah, rock and pop ...
-And if you're thinking "WHAT ARE YOU DOING WASTING TIME ON TAYLOR SWIFT WITH DEMOCRACY ON THE LINE?!," breathe. It's my Substack, we all need a breather, and as once credited as being from Emma Goldman, if I can't dance I don't want to be part of a revolution. Plus, Taylor famously endorsed Biden in 2020, Travis has advertised for vaccines, and Trump has openly obsessed about Taylor for reasons political and likely pervy. In short ... shake it off.
-I think we're done here for today!
-On this date in 1497, John Lodge became the first British explorer to reach North America, landing on the island of Newfoundland. On this date in 1853, the United States completed the Gadsden Purchase, involving territory that is now New Mexico and parts of Arizona. On this date in 1948, the Soviet Union started to blockade humanitarian aid being delivered to West Berlin. On this date in 2021, a condominium tower collapsed in Surfside, FL, killing 98. And on this date in 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court took rights away from over half the American population when it ruled there was no right to privacy and thus no right for women to be able to obtain an abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson - a ruling Trump remains very, VERY proud of.
-Debuts on this date: the Masonic Lodge (1717), detection of airplanes using radio waves (1930), recorded sightings of UFOs as "flying saucers" (1947), westerns on television ("Hopalong Cassidy," 1949), live satellite worldwide television (1967, featuring The Beatles playing "All You Need Is Love"), PURPLE RAIN (1984).
-Happy Birthday to Henry Ward Beecher, Ambrose Bierce, Jack Dempsey, Chuck Taylor, Phil Harris, Juan Manuel Fangio, Norman Cousins, Al Molinaro, Jack Carter, David McTaggart, Pete Hammill, Vittorio Storaro, Georg Stanford Brown, Jeff Beck, Terry Donahue, Colin Blunstone, Robert Reich, Clarissa Dickson Wright, Mick Fleetwood, Peter Weller, John Ilsley, Nancy Allen, Doug Jones, Andy McClusky, Curt Smith, Gary Suter, Sherry Stringfield, JJ Redick, Solange Knowles, Lionel Messi, Beanie Feldstein, and Erin Moriarty.
-Rest in Peace/Rest in Power to Lucretia Borgia, Grover Cleveland, Jackie Gleason, Brian Keith, David Tomlinson, Paul Winchell, Patsy Ramsey, Alan Myers, Eli Wallach, Marva Collins, Bernie Worrell, and Billy Drago.