PAPERBACK BOOK DAY UPDATES
It's A Thousand Pages Give or Take A Few ...
-Perhaps as you see case after case be charged against Twice-Indicted (so far) Ex-President (TIsfEP) Trump you might wonder how he's paying for it ... and, if the New York Times and Washington post are correct, the answer should not be that surprising: Trump is using funds supposedly for his 're-election' campaign for his huge-and-only-rising legal fees, when he can find attorneys in the first place. Over $40M has been spent on Team Trump's legal fees through June 2023 alone - far and away the biggest expenditure in the "campaign" - and that is actually more than Trump's "Save America PAC" has raised so far. Whether this is legal or not is a bit of an open question, but given that Trump had previously demanded the Republican National Committee help pay for the fees (they stopped when Trump "declared" his candidacy), Trump's dominance within the RNC may signal small donor cash will be vacuumed up by the party leader as long as he is the clear choice of the GOP electorate.
-And that certainly still seems to be the case. Witness a candidate forum that took place in IA over the weekend when, hours after the newest set of indictments against Trump - including showing a classified document regarding potential war against Iran to people who did not have security clearances to do so - went public, only two of the candidates dared to even mention ANY of Trump's legal battles. And when one, former TX Rep. Will Hurd (corrected), actually said Trump "is not running for President ... (Trump) is running to stay out of prison," the crowd more or less booed him off the stage. Hurd, needless to say, is far down the pecking order of candidates.
-This buoyed Trump as he spoke before a not-full arena in Erie, PA, yesterday, with his now-standard pitch to his followers that "I'm being indicted for YOU!" while other speakers oddly claimed Trump was "the law and order President" and that "PA is Trump Country" (since Trump became President, PA now has a Democratic Governor, Democratic Senators, at least three new House members, and a Democratic state House and Senate). So ... okay ...
-The transition is complete: with new Apps and design, the social media site previously known as Twitter is dead. It is now simply "X," complete with a garishly flashing neon "X" on the top of its corporate headquarters in San Francisco that has been bright enough to make neighbors concerned about epileptic seizures. To christen TwiX or whatever, its owner, billionaire weirdo Elon Musk, has once again welcomed the erratic rapper who has gone through a bunch of names himself, now Ye but generally known as Kanye West. Traffic continues to lag at that site even as the new social media kid on the block, Meta's Threads, admit its opening burst of signups has been followed by a dip in usership as the site - which the Washington Post reports was released early to capitalize on the ills of Musk's toy - works to add more functionality and a desktop version to better allow for more shifting away from TwiX or whatever.
-For all of the mocking Musk has taken about his foray into social media, there is one area in which a company of his has taken unquestioned superiority: satellite internet access. Musk's Starlink network of satellites - which now totals over 4500 satellites and over 50% of all such satellites - has given him enormous control over who can and cannot access the internet. Nowhere has this been more important than in Ukraine, where Musk's pro-Putin sensitivities have led to numerous conflicts between Ukraine, the US and Spacelink over Ukrainian access to the Internet. Ukrainian sources report at least one potential offensive into Russian-occupied Crimea was stopped because of Musk's personal refusal to allow Starlink access when the Ukrainian military wanted it. The situation has led the Pentagon to outright purchase some of the satellites to control without Musk, and whomever is flattering him at any given moment.
-As for Ukraine, this morning drones struck Russian administrative offices well within that country, as Putin bragged that he is about to get 30 new ships for his Navy, a potential sign that grain shipments and the potential to attack ports might be on the increase (presuming Putin is telling the truth, which, y'know, Putin ...).
-SLAVA UKRAINI!
-And, in case you've refused to consume media in the last few days, BARBENHEIMER continues to shatter records. BARBIE is on pace to approach $100M in the U.S. at the end of its second weekend and will likely clear $1B worldwide by midweek. And OPPENHEIMER ain't no slouch, either - another $45M in its second weekend of release, bringing its tally to $174M domestically and $400M worldwide (all stats per Variety) for a three-hour prestige drama. Both are now also spurring side debates - BARBIE about commercialism and feminism and the patriarchy, OPPENHEIMER about issues the movie did not discuss including seizure of property for the Manhattan Project development and the actual effects of the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (which, IMHO, is good - that's what movies can and should do!). Both appear to be ready to gather Oscar nominations should the producers decide to come to the table to negotiate with the Writers' Guild and actors unions currently striking for their fair share of earnings they have earned because they are the talent and producers are not.
-PAY THE TALENT.
-On this date in 1619, Jamestown, VA created the first legislative assembly by European settlers in what is now the U.S. On this date in 1930, Uruguay won the first Soccer World Cup. On this date in 1948, professional wrestling made its television debut (on the DuMont Network). On this date in 1965, legislation that created Medicare and Medicaid was signed into law by Lyndon Johnson. On this date in 1975, Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa left a dinner in MI and never was seen again. On this date in 1999, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT was released. And on this date in 2003, the last Volkswagen Beetle rolled off the assembly line (in Mexico).
-Happy Birthday to Emily Bronte, Robert McCormick, Casey Stengel, Sid Krofft, Bud Selig, Buddy Guy, Peter Bogdanovich, Rep. Pat Schroeder, Paul Anka, Jimmy Cliff, David Sanborn, Arnold Schwarzenegger, William Atherton, Jean Reno, Frank Stallone, Anita Hill, Bill Cartwright, Clint Hurdle, Kate Bush, Richard Linklater, Laurence Fishburne, Reggie Roby, Chris Mullin, Lisa Kudrow, Vivica A. Fox, Terry Crews, Christopher Nolan, Tom Green, Hilary Swank, Finneas, Jaime Pressly, Hope Solo, Martin Starr, and Gina Rodriguez.
-Rest in Peace/Rest in Power to William Penn, Otto von Bismarck, George Szell, Joe Shuster, Claudette Colbert, Buffalo Bob Smith, Sam Phillips, Bill Walsh, Ingmar Bergman, Michaelangelo Antonioni, Maeve Binchy, Lynn Anderson, Gloria DeHaven, Nick Buoniconti, Pat Carroll, and Nichelle Nicols.
-Henry Ford was born on this date. You decide if he gets a Happy Birthday or if he Feeds the Worms.