CHEESE SACRIFICE PURCHASE DAY UPDATES

Given That This Is Also National Lasagna Day and National Wing Day, This Makes Some Sense ...

-We begin with actual news from our still-President Joe Biden! As promised, Biden revealed his plans for Supreme Court reform in a column this morning in the Washington Post (which also allows him to continue the petty in his feud with the New York Times). Biden makes two proposals: 18-year term limits for Justices, and a code of ethics that will be enforceable by the legislative branch of the government. (Biden also threw in a Constitutional Amendment to take away the Presidential immunity this radicalized Court has all but given to Convicted Felon Ex-President Trump ... or, more accurately because he IS the President NOW, Joe Biden). While there is no doubt this Senate will filibuster this proposal, as an opening salvo for a potential Kamala Harris Presidency, it will make SCOTUS a discussion point as the general election revs up (Harris has endorsed the proposal).

-As for Harris' campaign, after what even her campaign workers are calling the "sugar high" of the rollout, the work of setting up the campaign and refining themes continues. On the setting-up front, another in a series of Zoom calls to organize and recruit and fundraise for Harris takes place tonight, the so-on-the-nose-it's-nuts White Dudes for HARRIS (Dear GOD how did I miss this?!). Over 60,000 have signed up for this one, with speakers ranging from the political (Pete Buttigieg, NC Gov. Roy Cooper, CA Senate candidate Adam Schiff) to the celebrity (gun control advocate David Hogg, Josh Groban, Mark Hamill). Building on other such calls, the maintenance of Harris' momentum looks to continue as the Trump campaign continues to grope with its wee tiny hands for any kind of counter theme or even consistent area of attack against Harris.

-Speaking of attack themes, one such subtheme is emerging on Team Kamala's side. The theme emerged courtesy of reported VP Finalist Governor Tim Walz (MN, don't'cha'know?), and it is to label Trump, VP-for-the-moment nominee JD Vance (OH boy), and the entire Republican party as ... "WEIRD!"

-The label is sticking as a way to express who MAGAGOP are without breaking into righteous rage while diminishing the bullying threat that is central to Trump's entire being. MAGA media is starting to talk about it and trying to downplay it - most notably failson Donald Trump Jr. (SchnoRt!) and Trump surrogate Vivek Ramaswamy, and their discomfort at the "TRUMP IS WEIRD" shows its potential effectiveness and yet another example of the snowflake-sensitive feels of MAGA - not to mention playing into Harris' desire to campaign with a sense of joy and fun, two things anathema to potential autocratic regimes.

-Which is not to say we should not take the potential for an American autocracy seriously. If one needs to see what an election a minority who wants to hold power looks like, you need not look any farther than Venezuela this morning.

-There, despite pre-election polling indicating a massive victory for challenger Edmundo Gonzalez, the government of current President Nicolas Maduro declared that he actually won the election - this as videos from polling places showed armed personnel seizing ballot boxes (voting is electronic with a receipt printed, as in many states in the U.S.) began circulating. It is the second 'election' where massive fraud appears to be taking place, and given that the only world leaders "congratulating" Maduro's "victory" are familiar enemies-to-us and friends-of-Trump like Vladimir Putin, Xi Jingping, Ayatollah Ali Khameni and Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, one can see the issue here.

-Trump himself was on another rage-bender on social media last night after Fox News dropped polling showing Harris has, at worst, made most swing states competitive against the guy who just last week was acting as if (and was ready to campaign as if) he had already won the 2024 election. Trump also posted several rants from Mark Levin, a self-described "conservative scholar" who used tired rants about Harris being an anti-capitalist anti-freedom tyrant in his charming voice, which sounds just like a tomcat in heat getting tazed in the balls while sitting on an electric fence getting struck by lightening in the middle of a thunderstorm.

-Weird. Sensitive. And just plain boring ...

-In much more serious news, the Middle East is on even more of an edge than it has been in months after a rocket launched from Lebanon hit a Golan Heights playground in Israel, killing 12 children and making Israel vow whoever launched the rocket (believed to be Hezbollah) will "pay the price," which would open up a second front on top of the Gaza war against HAMAS. As the world continues to push for some kind of cease-fire, the fear such a move may also bring Iran into the conflict in a way the White House has been pushing to avoid. As of this morning no rockets have been fired as fighting in Gaza also continues.

-The Ukraine War is settling into familiar patterns of Russian claims of seizing various villages of strategic importance while sustaining massive manpower losses while hoping there is no attempt by Ukraine to seize Crimea, which would be a military and morale win that could prove to be decisive and endangering to Putin. At the same time, Ukrainians exhausted over a lack of cycling of troops continue to await the arrival into the battle of American-supplied F15 jets, which could prove to be an enormous strategic boost for Ukraine. Both sides are also anxiously awaiting the American election, as the winner of the election is likely to also signal who would win in country. (And if you need another connection, keep in mind that there are large Ukrainian populations in the critical swing states of MI and PA - large enough in numbers to have potentially swung the election in 2016).

-SLAVA UKRAINI!

-On the international front, the Olympic Games are well underway in Paris after a super-theatrical opening that left Christians upset at what they saw as blasphemous depictions of The Last Supper (but unaware that complaining while also showing images of a superhero-muscled Trump as a crucified Jesus figure as if that was totes cool was, well, WEIRD!). Ratings for that Opening Ceremonies were the biggest since the 2012 London games, and viewership for the first weekend has been strong as well.

-In the U.S., the Paris games are becoming a showcase for two iconic rappers - Snoop Dogg, who as an NBC commentator has become an ever-present figure at events across the city, and Flavor Flav, who responded to a story about the U.S. Women's Water Polo team needing to work 2-3 jobs while training to sign a five-year contract to become the team's "Sponsor and Hype Man," while calling on other celebrities to do the same for lesser-known sports programs nationally. As of this morning, Japan had the most Gold Medals while the U.S. had won the most medals.

-And in Movie News, with the knockout box office of DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE (a Kamala-esque figure of $205M, a record for an R-rated movie), Marvel built on the momentum with announcements at the ComiCon conference in San Diego of the next few Marvel movies, including a new FANTASTIC 4 that will be set in the 60s and feature Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, and two new AVENGERS movies with a bit of swerve casting: Robert Downey Jr., last seen (SPOILER ALERT) saving humanity by sacrificing himself as Iron Man, returning - but this time as arch-villain (and equally masked) Dr. Doom. Whether there will be some story connection between Tony Stark and Doom remains to be seen - but that's why Marvel makes the movies: so you buy the tickets to find out!

-On this date in 1921, Adolf Hitler became the leader of the Nazi Party. On this date in 1981, Diana Spencer married now King Charles. On this date in 2005, a 'dwarf planet' believed to be the tenth in this solar system was discovered and given the name Eris. And on this date in 2019, Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road" set the record for longest reign as the Number One Song in America (17 weeks, eventually 19 weeks).

-Debuts on this date: the Arc de Triomphe (1836), Albania (1913), THE LORD OF THE RINGS (1954), the International Atomic Energy Agency (1957), NASA (1958), HELP! (1965), Cream (1966), FRIDAY NIGHT VIDEOS (1983), Cherry Garcia Ice Cream (1987).

-Happy Birthday to Booth Tarkington, Theda Bara, Tim Mara, Clara Bow, Dag Hammarskjold, Melvin Belli, Irwin Corey, Elizabeth Short, Lloyd Bochner, Don Carter, Captain Lou Albano, Elizabeth Dole, Charles Schwab, Marian Robinson, Peter Jennings, David Warner, Tony Sirico, Marilyn Quayle, Geddy Lee, Ken Burns, Tim Gunn, Patti Scialfa, Sanjay Dutt, Scott Steiner, Martina McBride, Wil Wheaton, Danger Mouse, Fernando Alonso, and Dak Prescott.

-Rest in Peace/Rest in Power to Vincent van Gogh, Cass Elliot, David Niven, Luis Bunuel, Fred Waring, Dorothy Hodgkin, Jerome Robbins, Pat McCormick, and Tom Snyder.

-Feed the Worms: Benito Mussolini entered Earth on this date.