Extra, Extra
She Persists: From street corner bullies to authoritarian leaders, the goal is to break you down, to exhaust you, to win the war of attrition until you can’t focus on the fight anymore. Defeating thugs takes focus, stamina, and strength. You gotta give E. Jean Carroll—who faced yet another cross examination today—a ton of credit for not letting up. The New Yorker: The Donald Trump Doom Loop.
+ Let’s Not Go Ballistic: “Pakistan has launched missile strikes into Iran, killing nine people, after Iran carried out strikes in Pakistan late on Tuesday.”
+ Blinken in the Headlights: “Because of deep-fake technologies and other distortions that are made possible by social media, Blinken added, ‘there are large swaths of the world’ that ‘don’t believe Oct. 7 actually happened — they don’t believe that Hamas slaughtered men, women and children, that it executed parents in front of their kids, that it executed kids in front of their parents, that it burned families alive. They don’t believe it.'” NYT’s Thomas Friedman chats with Antony Blinken, who understands the need to answer the horrific attacks on Oct 7 and also says, “what we’re seeing every single day in Gaza is gut-wrenching, and the suffering we’re seeing among innocent men, women and children breaks my heart.” Blinken is a good guy doing a good job, but with a nearly impossible task. Blinken’s Search for Humanity in the Gaza War. Among the reasons the task is nearly impossible: Bibi. Netanyahu says he has told US he opposes Palestinian state in any postwar scenario.
+ A Battle of Willis: Judge sets hearing on Trump co-defendant’s ‘romantic relationship’ allegations against Georgia DA Fani Willis. This could be a big deal. It could be complete nonsense. It’s definitely gonna get sordid. Like this: Fulton DA accuses colleague’s wife of ‘interfering’ with Trump probe.
+ A Battle of Willis: “It’s broadly understood that economic well-being influences electoral outcomes. By the same token, however, political affiliation influences the responses that Republicans, in particular, give when they’re asked about the economy. So asking about personal finances rather than the broader economy can reveal optimism not seen in consumer-sentiment polls.” And when you ask it that way, Americans are actually pretty happy with their finances.
