Evan Almighty ✡️🌻✡️🌻✡️

Whiplash: Things keep happening.  On Wednesday, there was the National Association of Black Journalists conference where Trump was Trump at his racist worst, yesterday there was a complex, historic, multi-country hostage release and the cauldron that’s the Middle East appears about to boil over.  First, the happy news.  Sixteen hostages held in Vladimir Putin’s Russia, including US Citizens Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan and Alsu Kurmasheva and green card holder Vladimir Kara-Murza were released in exchange for 8 Russian prisoners, including the German held Russian hitman Vadim Krasikov in a multinational swap that involved the US, Norway, Germany, Poland, Sweden and Turkey. As detailed in the Wall Street Journal,  Evan Gershkovich’s employer, the swap resulted from months of intense diplomatic negotiations and the leveraging of alliances, all further fueled by the persistent pressure of Gershkovich’s Russian émigré mother Ella, the Jewish mother that everyone should want in their corner when facing a threat, bully or even just a mean teacher. President Biden and his diplomatic team deserve kudos for their accomplsihment and for being able to resusitate the swap which was almost derailed by the death in custody of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navlany so naturally Trump is up in arms.  Instead of congratulating the Biden team or simply welcoming the hostages home, he responded with one of his despicable Truth Social posts, accusing Biden of handing over reams of cash for the hostages “because we never make good deals, at anything but especially hostage swaps.”  Adding “our negotiators are always an embrassment to us!” To be clear, no cash was handed over to Putin and though sending assassin Krasikov back to Russia is a hard pill to swallow, Biden’s team managed to extract 16 hostages in exchange, a notable accomplishment. Petty, petulant Trump is mostly upset that his “friend” Vlad who he insisted would release Gershkovich minutes after he “wins” the 2024 election instead released him to Biden and that it’s Biden and Harris who got to greet the arriving hostages last night. Furthermore, because the value of alliances with world leaders who aren’t autocrats or dictators isn’t something the NATO bashing Trump appreciates, he’s even more aggrieved by all of them, especially Germany stepping up to help Biden.   

Turning Black:  The leadership of the National Association of Black Journalist faced lots of heat for inviting Trump who routinely bashes their members, showering extra vitriol on their female members, to its annual convention.  That criticism grew louder after they refused to accommodate Vice President Kamala Harris’ now jam packed schedule by letting the soon to be official Democratic nominee appear via video but then Trump happened and now everyone, except maybe those members of Trump’s team who thought letting him appear at the conference was a wise idea, are celebrating his performance, but not in a good way. Trump appeared on stage with three Black women TV journalists including moderator Rachel Scott from ABC, Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner, and Semafor political reporter Kadia Goba.  He responded to Scott’s asking why Black voters, given his past rhetoric about them, should trust him by calling Scott hosile and her question nasty, the word he typically uses to describe Black women who challenge him. Things went downhill for him from there.  He tussled with Scott over the definition of DEI, he refused to say that JD Vance would be ready to assume the presidential reins if necessary instead saying that VP’s don’t really matter, he said he would pardon the January 6^th prisoners, even those who’d bashed the heads of the Capitol police and he went on and on about Kamala Harris not really being Black because apparently having a Black Jamaican father doesn’t really count if your mother is Indian. He acused Harris of only recently “turning Black,” an offensive accusation under any circumstances but partiularly absurd given that as a 17 year-old Harris opted to attend Howard University, one of the most preminent Black Universities.  He also went on about how migrants were crossing the border to take “Black” jobs and by Black jobs think housekeeprs and janitors not journalists, doctors, or presidents.  The audience mostly laughed at him and sometimes booed.  Though Trump who had arrived late because he’d been arguing with the sponsers over their plans to fact check him in real time was scheduled to appear for a full hour, his staff pulled him at the 35 minute mark.  Trump insisted that his trainwreck appearance was a resounding success, his Republican political and media echo chamber publicly agreed, his Loony fangirl Laura Loomer posted a picture of Harris in Indian garb on social media to “prove” that she is really Indian, and, at the southern Arizona border while dressed like a dime store cowboy VP partner JD Vance, shape shifter extraordinaire, accused Harris of being a “phony who caters to whatever audience is in front of her.’

Drums of War:  Early yesterday morning snippets about the still news embargoed prisoner swap were already on Twitter (X), this morning there are warnings about Iran imminently attacking Israel with a barrage of missiles in retaliation for the assasination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and the assasination of Hezbollah leader Fuad Shukr in Beirut.  Adding to Iran’s fury, it turns out that Haniyeh was killed by a bomb that was smuggled into a Tehran guest house months ago presumably by Mossad operatives, evidence that Iran has a Mossad infiltration problem. For the record neither Haniyeh nor Shukr were “nice” guys.  Haniyeh helped plan and then publicly celebrated the October 7 attack on Israel and Shukr was responsible for the recent strike on the soccer playing Druse children and also played a central role in the 1982 attack that killed 241 at the US Marine barracks in Beirut.  Stay tuned.  It could be a rough weekend in Israel.  

Election, Election:   The DNC has begun the virtual delegate roll call which when completed will formally designate Kamala Harris as the Democrat’s presidential candidate.  Harris is expected to announce her VP pick on Tuesday. The finalists are still thought to include Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, Arizona’s Mark Kelly, Kentucky’s Andy Beshear, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Minnesota’s Tim Walz, and Illinois’ JB Pritzker, who I forgot to mention on Wednesday.  Notably a few of these white guys 😊  have cleared their schedule at the request of Kamala’s team either to be available for interviews or to troll us. In particular, much has been made of the fact that Shapiro who is already being attacked by the left on Twitter for being pro Israel, views shared by the other finalists, will no longer be traveling to the Hamptons for three previously scheduled events. In other political news, Arizona election denier Abe Hamedeh who was endorsed by Trump won his congressional primary against Blake Masters who was also endorsed by Trump because one way to make sure his candidate wins is for Trump to endorse everyone. Hamedeh still hasn’t conceded his loss in 2022’s Arizona Attorney General race and Master’s name is likely familiar because he’s the Peter Thiel funded candidate who lost his Senate race to Mark Kelly.  Primary election season is not over yet.  Next week Minneapolis area Democratic Squad member Ilan Omar faces off against  Don Samuels, the same Democratic challenger who came close to beating her last time around, she’ll probably beat him again. The following week St Louis area Squad member Cori Bush faces off against prosecutor Wesley Bell, if polls are right, she isn’t likely to fare as well as Omar.  

#BringThemAllHomeNow