Monday, July 13, 2026
Put It On Your Calendars
I bet all the networks will run it, as is the tradition for Republican presidents.
Redemption Plot
Those of us who have been around for awhile remember when Ahmadinejad was, for awhile, the Big Bad of the discourse, when there was big push to go to Iran before it was too late (before Bush was out of office).
Mr. Ahmadinejad’s 2024 visit to the university and a second one the following year were part of a yearslong Israeli effort to groom him as an intelligence asset who, when the time came, could be installed as Iran’s new leader, according to both American and Iranian officials familiar with the operation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive intelligence.
Recruiting Mr. Ahmadinejad was of such priority for Israel that the country’s then-spy chief David Barnea even traveled to the Hungarian capital in 2024 to meet with Mr. Ahmadinejad personally, according to former American officials. Soon afterward, they said, Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence service, notified the C.I.A. that it had been in contact with Mr. Ahmadinejad.
Israel’s decision to build a regime-change plan around Mr. Ahmadinejad is an extraordinary twist in the saga of the country’s relations with the former president, who was known for accelerating Iran’s nuclear program, calling regularly for the destruction of Israel and denying the Holocaust.
He was president when Netanyahu did the cartoon bomb.
People are good or bad independent of The Discourse, of course, but whether someone is the chosen Big Bad for the moment has little to do with how they are relative to our many bad pals. And they can all be redeemed when desired.
Civility
There are plenty of members of Congress who support this. Not even that they support the policies which inevitably, if "sadly," lead to this, but that they will fight to protect individuals and institutions responsible from consequences and fight any efforts to ensure the abuses don't continue.
During Peña López’s transfer to California City Detention Center last August, the lawsuit says, “detention staff denied Ulises timely administration of his daily medication, violated his disability rights, and subjected him to unnecessarily harsh conditions,” such as not getting adequate medical care. At the facility operated by CoreCivic, Peña López also struggled to get his medications. As a result, Peña López’s health worsened before he was deported.
People Who Matter
Lindsey Graham spent much of his career advocating - often successfully - for the mass murder of innocent people. He had been doing so, quite energetically, recently!
And Lindsey's popularity has never extended beyond the Green Room. Sure he wins re-election, but it isn't as if he has ever been a favorite among the Republican (pre- or during Trump) faithful.
He is the Beltway's man. What an I supposed to think of the people who elevated and maintained his stature for years? People who were at best not bothered by his regular advocacy of mass murder.
"Civility" means do not speak ill of the people we think matter, you scum pig person.
Hope Greta and her friends can swim!https://t.co/Noab4QyJtV
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) June 1, 2025
"Unraveling"
Guys, if what is happening at the moment isn't enough to demonstrate that it's an ex-ceasefire, Trump himself declared the ceasefire to be over. Did we forget?
Live Updates: Cease-Fire Unraveling as U.S. and Iran Trade Strikes Again
Sunday, July 12, 2026
Our Colleagues Are Great
I don't expect his Senate colleagues to piss on his grave, but they can stop short of praising him in a way that makes people think that Republicans are good actually, maybe I should vote for them.
This is a general issue. You can't separate the Republican party (especially, but not limited to, Graham) from Trump, and you can't message on days ending in 'y' that they are a threat to all we hold dear while also messaging on days ending in 'y' that they're a great bunch of guys and gals.
This is a general issue. You can't separate the Republican party (especially, but not limited to, Graham) from Trump, and you can't message on days ending in 'y' that they are a threat to all we hold dear while also messaging on days ending in 'y' that they're a great bunch of guys and gals.
President Deals
Seems like he made a great deal!
Critics say that Mr. Trump conceded this new status quo in the June agreement with Tehran. At the insistence of Iranian negotiators, that 14-point document acknowledges Iran’s power in the strait.President Deals made the deal to prevent economic meltdown (in his mind, whether it would have happened or not) but the key thingsabout President Deals is he doesn't believe deals are ever binding on him!
It prohibits the charging of tolls or fees, but only for 60 days while negotiations toward another agreement continues. (Mr. Trump has said the United States could try to charge tolls.) The memorandum also does not include an ironclad guarantee that ships can safely sail any portion of the strait.
Iranian officials and diplomatic experts say the final line formally ceded to Iran a central role in managing the strait: “The Islamic Republic of Iran will conduct dialogue with the Sultanate of Oman to define the future administration and maritime services in the Strait of Hormuz, in discussion with other Persian Gulf littoral states, in line with the applicable international law and the sovereign rights of coastal states of the Strait of Hormuz.”
At the time, Mr. Trump praised the agreement as a return to free navigation through the strait. But Iranian officials were soon citing it as grounds for dictating where ships should sail — namely, along a route near Iran’s coastline.
What A Great Guy
After reading the many tributes to Senator Graham from his friends across the aisle, I'm suddenly very sad that I never had a chance to vote for him.
A Long Proud Career
There will be many tributes to one of the favorite senators of our rotten political journalist class.
My view: he was one of America's most successful serial killers.
What are his proudest accomplishments? War. All war.
People will pay tribute to the man he wasn't instead of the man he was proud to be.
Remember him how he would want to be remembered. He wasn't shy about his support for and love of every war.
The internet tells me David Petraeus first applied "Three Amigos" which I had forgotten. Perfect.
Saturday, July 11, 2026
Happy WHCA Dinner (Soon)
Jake Tapper is distributing a new set of cheeky pocket squares!
The Trump administration has issued subpoenas to several New York Times journalists after the newspaper reported on security concerns with the president’s new plane, according to the outlet.
Shahada
Gramps is having a normal post-market close Friday.
There was a time when anything Trump posted was covered like OJ's Bronco. Now media outlets mostly pretend his posts don't exist, or "translate" them into appropriate President.
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