Newsflash, read all about it at the Orange County (California) Republican Party's website. Donald Trump is coming to Aspen for dinner this Saturday at an as-yet unpublished location to raise money for his campaign. The event is a joint project of 48 state Republican parties (Colorado is not even one of them).

I know it's hard to believe, but the cost of serving as a dinner "host" is $500,000 per couple, which can either be a direct donation of funds or raising that amount from others. So far, 8 individuals/couples have signed on as hosts. [More...]

It's official. Democratic nominee for President Kamala Harris has announced on Instagram that she has selected MN Governor Tim Walz to be her running mate. (Instagram? seriously? Yes. I guess it's how you reach people in their 20's in hopes of getting them to support the addition of a 60 year old white male on ticket).

Why Walz over PA Governor Josh Shapiro? Is it because Shapiro, like Harris' husband, is Jewish and supports Israel? How did Walz even get on Harris' radar so quickly? [More...]

Here is a list of the 24 prisoners released from prison in a multi-country swap today with Russia. The swap occurred at Ankara, Turkey.

Three of the released prisoners are from the U.S, including Wall St. Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American editor for Radio Free Europe, and Paul Wheeler, a former marine who had traveled to Russia to attend a wedding.

Who did the U.S. swap in exchange? [More...]

Our last open thread is full. Here's a new one. All topics welcome.

I've mostly been following the arrests of El Mayo (Ismael Zambada-Garcia) and El Chapo's Son #3, Joaquin Guzman-Lopez. So far it seems the competing versions of how the pair came to end up in U.S. custody have some truthful details and some inconsistent or implausible details. Too many cooks spoil the broth. (Or, in this case, it's too many unidentified sous-chefs, most of whom are unnamed agents of non-identified government agencies and unnamed current or former cartel members, talking to their favorite journalists). The U.S. Government does not seem inclined at this point to deconstruct the mess for us.

Also of interest: The killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh. [More...]

Joe Biden has dropped out of the presidential race. He's endorsing Kamala Harris. I'm endorsing Kamala Harris. Anyone who wants a President who doesn't act like he just popped out of a Cracker Jack box should do the same.

From his announcement:

My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.

Run Lola Kamala, Run. You can do this. [More...]

America, it is our choice. Authoritarianism and Xenophobia vs. our representative democracy.

Let's not throw away the last 200 years. Please reject the Manichean, extremist, right-wing ticket.

A 20 year-old named Crooks used his father's semi-automatic weapon to take a sniper shot at Donald Trump at a rally last night.

I'm not going to say "too bad he missed" but I wonder what percentage of the public is thinking that today. (In fairness, the shot grazed his ear and a little trickle of blood was seen.)

Interesting that Trump's comments on his website today were all about "the almighty" saving him. Maybe he has found religion and "the almighty" will tell him next that he's better off making money during these last few productive years of his life than he is having a desk in the oval office with nothing to do but twiddle his small thumbs since leaders of countries all over the world think he's a dangerous cartoon of a leader. On the news this morning, one anchor said other countries are "already preparing" for his ascendancy by making self-protecting plans.

Our last open thread is full. Here's a new one, all topics welcome.

I'll be watching and I hope some of you will join me.

When it's over, we can discuss: Where can we go to find America?

Updates with my comments below. Shorter version: It was a disappointing performance by Biden due to his low energy and weak, very low voice, but Trump was an energizer bunny of lies.

[More...]

The Delaware federal jury in the Hunter Biden trial found him guilty on all three charges. One count was possession of a firearm by a prohibited person under 18 USC Sec. 922(g)(3), which prohibits anyone “who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance” from possessing a firearm that has moved in interstate commerce. The other charges involved making false statements on a form he filled out when buying the handgun in Delaware in 2018, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(a)(6) and 924(a)(1)(A).

Factually, Hunter's case is as tawdry as they come. But, there are two interesting legal issues, which likely will be bases for his appeal. The first is whether 18 USC § 922(g)(3) is unconstitutional. In a recent Supreme Court case called Bruen , available here, the Court changed the test for deciding whether gun regulations pass constitutional muster under the Second Amendment.

Boiled down to the simplest of terms, under Bruen, if the person wasn't excluded (or a member of an analogous group of persons excluded) from having rights under the the Second Amendment when the Consitution was ratified in 1791, they can't be excluded now. [More...]

Run Lola Run is back in theaters Friday, on the 25th anniversary of its 1999 release. It has been restored and upgraded to 4k. If you still go to movie theaters, this is one to see there. As director/writer Tom Tykwer says during a recent interview in the linked article, the reaction of people watching the film has been a "sheer joy to watch". A very basic plot summary from the article:

In the film, Lola (Franka Potente) has 20 minutes to come up with enough money to get her boyfriend, Manni (Moritz Bliebtreu), out of debt with a gangster. The film portrays three attempts by Lola to find a solution on foot.

Every time she is unsuccessful, the film rewinds to the beginning and Lola tries again. The film's presentation of three different realities qualifies as an early depiction of the multiverse, where infinite universes exist simultaneously.

[More...]

Donald Trump has read his tea leaves and believes he will be convicted. Not because he is guilty, of course, but because the judge is corrupt. Outside the courthouse, after the jury began deliberating, he said:

"Mother Teresa could not beat these charges," Trump said, "These charges are rigged. The whole thing is rigged."

I've been waiting for the jury instructions to be released before commenting on the strength of the case. (They are now available here) Although, as it turns out, the jury will not have a copy of the instructions in the deliberation room. That strikes me as very odd in such a complex case. [More...]