Extra, Extra
Will He or Won’t He? The biggest question facing the world at the moment is whether or not the US will join Israel’s effort to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities with bunker busters. According to Trump: “Nobody knows what I’m going to do.” That likely includes him, too. After all, his views on this matter have changed dramatically over the past couple of weeks, going from wanting more time for negotiations to throwing his all-caps support behind Israel’s attack once he saw that it was going pretty well. NYT (Gift Article): How Trump Shifted on Iran Under Pressure From Israel. Here’s the latest from NBC, The Guardian, and Times of Israel. For what it’s worth, Israeli officials sure seem confident that Trump will join the effort. And few people know how to manipulate Trump better than Bibi.
+ Cuff Links: “The arrest of Brad Lander in New York was the latest incident in a pattern of increasingly aggressive actions that the Administration has taken against Democrats.” Jonathan Blitzer in The New Yorker: The Trump Crackdown on Elected Officials. “The incidents involving lawmakers all have something in common: in each case, video evidence directly contradicted or undermined the Administration’s account of what happened.”
+ Spirit Animal: “He would have been taught to see the world as a great spiritual battleground between God and Satan, and to consider himself a kind of spiritual warrior. He would have been told that actual demonic forces can take hold of culture, political leaders, and entire territories, and thwart God’s kingdom. He would have been exposed to versions of courses currently offered, such as one that explains how ‘the World is in an era of serious warfare’ and how ‘the body of Christ must remember that Jesus has already won this war.’ He may have heard the founder’s slogan that ‘every Christian should pray at least one violent prayer a day.'” The Atlantic (Gift Article): The Minnesota Suspect’s Radical Spiritual World.
+ We’re Going to Pump You Up: “All through my reporting I’d been struggling to understand what was in it for the investors—why billionaires with no interest in sport were so interested in disrupting it. Toward the end of the presentation in Vegas, it all clicked into place when D’Souza announced the launch of Enhanced Performance Products—a new line of supplements inspired by the ones athletes will be taking to prepare for the Games.” Wired: The Definitive, Insane, Swimsuit-Bursting Story of the Steroid Olympics.
+ Land Hoes: “The proceeds from this unprecedented land purge would be used to fund tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. The West is being carved up, parceled out, and sold off to subsidize the already rich. What Teddy Roosevelt called ‘the great natural resources of our country’ are being treated not as a shared inheritance but as political spoil.” A Quiet Betrayal: The Largest Public Lands Sell-Off in Modern History.
+ Puck Around and Find Out: “They’re the most antagonistic trash-talking bullies in the National Hockey League. Opponents decry their actions and fans of other teams outright loathe them. It took 29 years, but the franchise made famous for having rats thrown on the ice also now has the most famous rat on the ice in winger Brad Marchand — a label he has accepted. Being the last team standing isn’t just a tribute to their elite preparation, execution and talent. It’s delivering on the promise of their endless taunting.” Florida Panthers: The nicest rats to win the Stanley Cup (twice).
