Extra, Extra
Counterproductive Countermeasures: “Israelis, diaspora Jewry and friends of Israel everywhere need to understand that the way Israel is fighting the war in Gaza today is laying the groundwork for a fundamental recasting of how Israel and Jews will be seen the world over. It won’t be good.” Thomas Friedman gets at a point that might not be fair, but is sadly accurate and something I’ve been worried about for a while. This Israeli Government Is a Danger to Jews Everywhere. (It’s not just Israel’s unwillingness to halt a military action that was justified. It’s the antisemitism that is bubbling up across the world.)
+ Trending: “The case triggered an outcry in the town, and tapped into a broader anti-immigrant movement that has resulted in several outbreaks of violence in recent years. Far-right groups and influencers on social media amplified news of the assault case and celebrated the ensuing riots.” NYT (Gift Article): Anti-Immigrant Rioting Stretches Into Second Night in Northern Ireland. (The trends enveloping America are sadly not unique.)
+ Fulbright Dims: “The State Department was supposed to send acceptance letters by April, the people said. But instead, the board learned that the office of public diplomacy at the agency had begun sending rejection letters to the scholars based mainly on their research topics.” Fulbright Board Resigns After Accusing Trump Aides of Political Interference. (It’s good see these ethical stands. But it’s hard not to worry that mass resignations are exactly what the administration wants.)
+ Uncle: Last week, in response to the Musk/Trump spat heard ’round the world, I wrote, “Everything about 2025 so far is evidence that Trump and Musk are likely to patch things up and work together toward the common bad once more. After all, that’s the worst possible outcome.” This week: Elon Musk says some of his social media posts about Trump ‘went too far.’ (This is all turning out a lot like Musk’s proposed cage fight against Mark Zuckerberg…)
+ This Seema Like a Fema Schema: “President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he planned to start ‘phasing out’ the Federal Emergency Management Agency after the hurricane season and that states would receive less federal aid to respond to natural disasters. Trump also said he planned to distribute disaster relief funds directly from the president’s office.”
+ Own Goal: “The 2026 World Cup has been billed as the opportunity of a lifetime, as a chance for the U.S. men’s national team to “change soccer in America forever.” It will be a monthlong moment to captivate a country and lift an entire sport; a moment that everyone, for years, assumed a rising USMNT would seize with pride.” But things aren’t going according to plan. And the recent failures of the US men’s team seem like a pretty solid metaphor for the weirdness of America hosting a global event (not to mention sharing World Cup hosting duties with Canada and Mexico).
+ Minor Inconvenience: “Ross Minor wasn’t born blind. One night in 2006, as he and his older brother slept in their bedroom, his father, angry after being threatened with a divorce, walked in and shot Minor and his brother in the head. Then he turned the gun on himself. Minor woke up in the hospital, where he was told that his brother and father were both dead. Minor couldn’t see the person who told him this … Today, he’s a hardcore gamer who runs YouTube and Twitch channels and consults for big studios.” Wired: The Blind Leading the Gamers.
+ Tariff Not Now, When? “US consumer prices rose less than expected in May, indicating that while many economists expect President Donald Trump’s tariff regime to lead to higher prices, that has not happened yet.”
+ Brians’ Song: “Brian Wilson, who as the leader and chief songwriter of the Beach Boys became rock’s poet laureate of surf-and-sun innocence, but also an embodiment of damaged genius through his struggles with mental illness and drugs, has died. He was 82.”
