Every day is magic around here

But today even more so. It is the birthday of my daughter-in-law and USMLE study buddy DR. ANA!

Dershowitz of the Day

 

Sound on. Off my triumph a half hour earlier, Eleven was spoiling for a rematch with war-like tunneling under the bed covers. But when I gave it to her, 11:05, she was so skittish, owing to my new strategy of not giving her advance warning with ominous knocks and finger drumming, that she folded like a paper suitcase and gave me a pitiful white flag meow. In the second at 11:08 she holds her position till I jump out and then she skedaddles. She'll get on to me. She's the most fun I've had in years and years.

Public Occurrences August 18, 2026

Seven years ago, President Trump failed to disarm North Korea and walked away. Could the same thing happen with Iran?

The last time President Trump vowed to halt a country’s nuclear weapons program, he held three face-to-face meetings with Kim Jong-un of North Korea, declared that the two men had developed a “great relationship” and walked away empty-handed.

That was in Mr. Trump’s first term. Not only did the diplomatic effort fail, but Mr. Kim immediately hit the accelerator on his program and today possesses roughly 60 nuclear weapons, by some estimates, as well as missiles that appear capable of reaching the United States — exactly the combination Mr. Trump had vowed to dismantle.

For months now, proliferation experts have questioned whether Mr. Trump could also end up walking away from his efforts to check Iran’s nuclear program — especially now that he appears to be more focused on getting the Strait of Hormuz open [see immediately below] than on dealing with Iran’s stockpiles of uranium, which are buried under rubble after the United States bombed them in June 2025.
...

[In 2018] having labeled Mr. Kim “Little Rocket Man,” Mr. Trump met the North Korean leader in Singapore. After their encounter, he told a New York Times reporter that he expected that the North would dismantle its program fast. “It’s going to go very quickly,” he said after the summit. “I really believe that it’s going to go fast. And it is a very substantial arsenal. There’s no question about it.”

...[The meetings with Un] went down in history as a diplomatic failure. A second summit, in Vietnam, ended with a collapse of the talks. Mr. Trump went into the sessions ill-prepared, his national security adviser at the time, John R. Bolton, said later, and the effort fell apart when Mr. Kim refused to dismantle facilities outside the main enrichment and reprocessing center at Yongbyon.

...“Fallout: The Inside Story of America’s Failure to Disarm North Korea.”--Joel S. Wit, a former State Department diplomat who was involved in early talks with the North...

...

Trump defended his approach to North Korea in the Oval Office on Monday. Asked by a reporter whether he was prioritizing the interests of U.S. adversaries over allies, [BALLSY BY THE PENCIL! 👏] the president shot back [The only thing Trump shoots these days is blanks.]: “I’m making it much safer.”

David E. Sanger, new twee times

Nataleee! Check the time.

10:08 am:

Trump approval falls to 33%, lowest of his presidency, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds

Reuters

Natalie will never leave him.

Eleven and I just got done playing our nightly "I'm gonna get that kitty" surprise game and she was MAD at me because I won. I changed my routine and she really was surprised! After we were done I lay down on the bed. She came into the bedroom and GLARED at me. 🤭No fake, I laughed so hard my back hurt.🤣

Trump, pregnant with Natalie Harp's child

 

We Are Penn State

👏There is a God.

 

I'm a day late. Sorry, baby :( I love you to bits and pieces.

This is not going to end well

                             There needs to be an intervention

Early in his second term, Trump told his team that Harp "was the only one who loved him as much as his wife and his kids," according to Regime Change, a new book by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan.

“All of you will go off and make money,” Trump said, according to the book. “She’ll never leave me.”

Haberman and Times reporter Jonathan Swan also wrote in their book “Regime Change,” released in July, that Harp left “adoring” and “intimate” letters to Trump that “raised the eyebrows of the Secret Service during the campaign,” Swan told CNN last month. 

Harp's closeness to Trump was underscored last week when it was revealed that she was among the select few aides who accompanied him on a military plane out of Turkey after he snuck off Air Force One in a catering truck amid an Iranian assassination threat.

Other top officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and top White House aide Stephen Miller, remained on the "decoy" Air Force One.

Preston [Harp, brother], 38, who now lives in Nicaragua, said he believes his sister sees Trump as "a kind of father figure" because their real father,  (https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/natalie-harp-brother-says-trump-105252843.html) Robert Harp, who died by suicide in July 2020, had moved away from what Preston described as the "doctrine of U.S. exceptionalism." [Preston said Natalie's relationship with Trump was] "very unhealthy". 

Mr. Trump has dismissed concerns about Ms. Harp, whom he calls “sweetie” and treats like a daughter, according to people close to him. 

Donald Trump's executive assistant Natalie Harp is the woman behind his overnight Truth Social sprees, The Wall Street Journal (https://www.wsj.com/politics/trump-truth-social-late-night-posts-167cb47a) reported Tuesday.

Once, when Mr. Trump was playing golf in Scotland, she ran behind his cart to keep him up to date with positive stories and social media posts.

In 2023, Ms. Harp sent a series of letters to Mr. Trump that unnerved people around him, according to a half-dozen people with knowledge of them.

"You are all that matters to me,” she wrote in one of the letters, which were seen by The New York Times. The letters’ authenticity was confirmed by two people with direct knowledge of them.

“I don’t ever want to let you down,” Ms. Harp wrote, thanking Mr. Trump for being her “Guardian and Protector in this Life.”

In another letter, she told Mr. Trump that she wanted to get back to “that synergy” she used to have with him, where “we’d talk about everything and nothing.”

“I want to bring you joy,” she wrote, “to feel like we can get through a day without ever having to talk ‘work.’”

Above cropped to show only Harp.

And, the saddest. I'm still not resizing it.

No, I'm not shrinking it, I want it that big.

The Saddest Photo

Natalie Harp, aka The Human Printer, a desperate, troubled young woman, standing all alone as the "only thing that matters to me" walks away.

Public Occurrences August 17, 2026

Trump is Losing His Marbles

As Iran Truce Expires and Options Shrivel, Trump Lashes Out

President Trump took aim at Oman, a U.S. ally that has been mediating the talks, as efforts to end a war he started have faltered.

As a crumbling truce with Iran officially collapsed on Monday, President Trump signaled his frustration at his inability to resolve a war that he started but cannot seem to end.

In an interview with Fox News, the president lashed out at an American ally, Oman, that has been trying to mediate negotiations with Iran.

“If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them,” Mr. Trump said in a phone interview, according to Fox News’s Trey Yingst.

...Oman... has facilitated talks between the United States and Iran for years and maintains that it is still a neutral mediator...

“I think, ultimately, his threats against Oman are just a reflection of his frustration with the situation he’s created, where he has no good options. He’s just reflexively lashing out, and this time Oman got in the cross hairs.”--Nate Swanson, of the Atlantic Council’s Iran Strategy Project."

Hostilities have now stretched past the six-month mark in a conflict that began with the United States and Israel launching strikes across Iran in February. Administration officials pledged at the time that the war would be over in four to six weeks.

“The tragic part here is that the United States is clawing to try to get back to the state of the Middle East before the war started."--Justin Logan, Cato Institute

Trump called reports of food shortages on the [U.S.S. Lincoln] “fake news.”

Mr. Trump also said the United States could declare the Strait of Hormuz a territory of the United States.

“We control it with the blockade, and I like the idea of declaring it a territory,” he said.

But it was Oman that received the president’s fury on Monday. Iran has said it has been holding talks with Oman on temporarily reopening the strait.

“I don’t think they behaved very well,” he said of the U.S. ally, “but we’d handle them very easily, just like we do other things.”

It was the second time this year the president has threatened the country. In May it emerged that Oman had discussed working with Iran to charge fees for ships to pass through the strait.

“Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we’ll have to blow them up,” Mr. Trump told reporters then. “They understand that. They’ll be fine.”

New Twee Times

Are we going to SURVIVE two more years of this?

Trump threatens to bomb US ally Oman as Iran agreement expires

Noodles

5:52 pm:

Trump calls concerns about conditions on USS Lincoln ‘fake’

AP

9:41 am:

Trump blames vandals for damaged grass in the same spot where he held his big July 4 celebration

AP

8:42 am:

Memorandum of Misunderstanding Kaput: 60-Day Period for Full Agreement With Iran Expires

The White House Criminal is incompetent in everything except crime.

Good morning Bigs, it's me, Eleven the kitten

11

...million pageviews. Another million in six days.

Eleven on Anarchism

 

Public Occurrences August 16, 2026

Iz Nazi Itty: Palestinians 'not even people', Kill ’30 to 40' Every Day

AP

...extremist Israeli...Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir...publicly advocated for killing “30 to 40” people in Gaza each night, comments that surfaced Sunday and were quickly shared by Palestinian media.

...Ben-Gvir made the statement while speaking to a former Gaza-held hostage, Rom Braslavski, on Braslavski’s podcast. 

This is the Nazi rhetoric that was used to justify the attempted extermination of the Jewish people: “It’s no secret, I disagree with the prime minister,” he said. “I think targeted assassinations should be carried out in Gaza, taking down 30 to 40 every night. Not just those who pose an immediate threat — there are people there who are not worthy of life. They shouldn’t live. They’re not even people.”

In the past, similar statements by Ben-Gvir and other Israeli officials were widely condemned. Many have been presented to the UN’s world court as evidence of genocidal intent. Israel denies it has committed genocide in Gaza.

Israel’s domestic media has made scarce mention of the statement...

Figures like Ben-Gvir have become more popular among Israelis since Hamas’ brutal attack in 2023...

Ben-Gvir...is now one of the most influential people in the country.

...

Ben Gvir advocates mass emigration, expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza

In the same taped appearance, the lawmaker advocated for mass emigration of Palestinians from Gaza — a proposal that international lawyers say could amount to ethnic cleansing — and resettlement of Gaza by Israel.

Public Occurrences August 15, 2026

The Strait of America

Cowardly Lyin' Trump: "After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated — pretty soon I'll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States. It's true."

No, it's not.

But in his fantasies, Private Bone Spurs, who has never so much as punched someone in the face (Marco Rubio, 2016), still fashions himself a tough guy. 

He's not. The whole world knows by now, he's T.A.C.O.


8:23 am:

Earthquake in Indonesia: 38 Killed So Far

Bernie Sanders <info@berniesanders.com>

to benjamin harris <Publocc@gmail.com>

Sisters and brothers -

Apologies for not writing more frequently. Pretty crazy and busy times.

Let me begin by thanking you all for making possible the extraordinary successes that we’ve been having over the past year. As a result of your volunteer efforts and financial contributions Progressives have been taking on establishment candidates in Democratic primaries all across the country - and winning. We are changing the face of American politics. You are helping to make it happen.

It began in November with Zohran Mamdani’s incredible campaign to become Mayor of New York City. And then the wins kept on coming. Here are some of our more recent victories:

U.S. Senate Michigan - Abdul El-Sayed

U.S. Senate Minnesota- Peggy Flanagan

U.S. House OH-07 - Brian Poindexter

U.S. House PA -7 - Bob Brooks

U.S. House NJ - 11 - Analilia Mejia

U.S. House NJ -12 - Adam Hamawy

U.S. House CA - 22 - Randy Villegas

U.S. House - MT - 01 - Sam Forstag

U.S. House - NY 10 - Brad Lander

U.S. House - NY 7 - Claire Valdez

U.S. House - CO -1 - Melat Kiros

U.S. House - AZ - 7 - Adelita Grijalva

U.S. House - MI - 13 - Donavan McKinney

U.S. House - MI - 7 - Will Lawrence

U.S. House - TN - 9 - Justin Pearson

U.S. House - WI - 3 - Rebecca Cooke

California Insurance Commissioner- Jane Kim

Sisters and brothers. I do not need to tell you that running as a progressive in this country is never easy.

Oftentimes we are taking on the local Democratic Party establishment. We are taking on the national Democratic Party establishment. We are taking on super PACs and big money interests who have unlimited resources to elect their candidates. And if we make it past them, we are then taking on Donald Trump, the Republican Party and more super PACs with unlimited money.

In Michigan last week, we supported two candidates for the House -- Will Lawrence in Lansing and Donavan McKinney in Detroit In the case of Will Lawrence, he was outspent and the national Democratic Party establishment rallied around his opponent. In the case of Donavan McKinney, he was taking on an incumbent Congressman who had the support of the cryptocurrency industry. Both Will and Donavan were victorious.

Statewide, we endorsed Dr. Abdul El-Sayed for United States Senate. We raised more than $500,000 in small-dollar donations for his campaign. We held large rallies for him in Michigan and grassroots meetings for him online. We ran ads in the state and turned out our volunteers for phone banks and door knocks everywhere.

Abdul was taking on everyone. Including, in a way that I had never heard of before in a Democratic primary -- $60 million in super PAC funding from AIPAC and other organizations. He was outspent by 10-1. Didn't matter. He won.

Peggy Flanagan’s victory in the Minnesota Democratic primary followed a similar course. In her case, she faced a 7 to 1 disparity in outside spending with super PACs spending a record-breaking $20 million against her. Minnesotans saw through the ugly ads. She won by 20 points.

How did Abdul and Peggy do it? How did they manage to win against all that opposition? And what lessons can be learned from their campaigns for other progressives running for office?

First, like Mamdani did in New York City, they both ran extremely aggressive grassroots campaigns. They traveled up and down their states, holding hundreds of town meetings, talking to anyone who would attend. In other words they did effective, old fashioned people-to-people politics. But it was not just the candidates who worked hard. Abdul and Peggy mobilized thousands of volunteers who did the grunt work that every good campaign requires - knocking on doors, distributing literature, making phone calls, doing social media and making sure that voters got to the polls.

Further, Abdul and Peggy did something that too few Democrats running for office do: they gave people something to vote FOR rather than just vote AGAINST. In other words, they treated their constituents as intelligent human beings, honestly described the serious crises facing our country and outlined an agenda that addresses the pain that millions of working class families are experiencing. In their campaigns they made clear that it’s too late for tinkering around the edges. We need real change NOW.

Both of them had the courage to take on the Oligarchs who wield such enormous power over our economy and political life, and the greed of corporate America. They campaigned on raising the minimum wage to a living wage and their support for the trade union movement. They demanded an end to poverty for seniors, children and the disabled, making housing affordable and creating millions of good paying jobs by combatting the existential threat of climate change. They made clear that the time is long overdue for the billionaire class to start paying its fair share of taxes.

Over and over again, they described our current healthcare system as broken and dysfunctional, that healthcare is a human right and that we must move to a Medicare for All single payer program which guarantees health care to every man, woman, and child in this country.

They also spoke out forcefully against our disastrous foreign policy, the need to end “endless wars” and the cessation of all military aid to the extremist Netanyahu government in Israel.

Sisters and brothers - I look across this country at the rallies we've held and the elections we won and I believe we may very well be on the brink of the political revolution we have been fighting for over the last decade.

If I had told you eleven years ago when we launched our first campaign for president that we'd have socialist mayors in New York City, Seattle and Washington, DC; that the people of California would put a billionaire tax on the ballot this November, that progressives and democratic socialists would be defeating establishment candidates in House and Senate races everywhere... I am not sure many of you would have believed me.

But that is what is happening right now in America.

And it's not because of me...

It's because of US.

What all of us - together - have done over the years is to fight for government that works for all, and not just the few - a government based on the principles of economic, social, racial and environmental justice.

Needless to say our work is not finished. Far from it. We’re just beginning. Winning a primary is one thing. Winning a general election is something else.

During the next two and a half months I intend to do everything I can to see that progressive candidates win their elections and that Democrats gain control over the House and the Senate.

We’re in this together. Let's get it done.

In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders