Ain't that America.

Here's what I wrote in 2011:

Today is a day we should be reveling in the greatness of our nation, but instead I fear for the health of our democracy.

Six years later, I feel like we're all living on a prayer we get through the next four years intact.

Some thoughts on patriotism and the 4th of July. More here:

At times of crisis the most patriotic act of all is the unyielding defense of civil liberties, the right to dissent and equality before the law for all Americans.

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Chris Christie had a state beach all to himself this weekend. The New Jersey state legislature failed to agree on a budget, causing a government shutdown on Friday. But that didn't stop Christie and relatives from going to the beach, which was closed. A photographer from the New Jersey Ledger snapped the pix.

Christie is beyond tone-deaf.

Dinner at the end of a long, hot week: Grilled flat iron steak and chicken, guacamole, lettuce, fresh cilantro, bits of red onion, wrapped in tortillas, accompanied by a large gin and tonic. [More...]

Another incidence of a mentally troubled shooter:

A disgruntled doctor armed with an assault rifle and wearing a lab coat went on a rampage in the Bronx hospital where he had worked on Friday, killing a female doctor and wounding six other people — five of them seriously — before setting himself on fire and shooting himself in the head, the authorities said.

Who in their right mind sets themselves on fire? What a painful way to die.

Witnesses described medical workers ripping a fire hose from the wall to use as a makeshift tourniquet on one victim’s leg, while others recalled the horrific sight of the gunman, his torso aflame, running down a hallway.

Here's a photo of the shooter, Dr. Henry Bello. He resigned when he learned he was to be fired, apparently over a sexual harrassment allegation.[More....]

Time for a new open thread. Your choice, all topics welcome.

Other things I'm reading: Abuse Allegations at Chinese Shoe Factory where Ivanka's shoes are made. Ivanka has been ordered to testify at a deposition in the case alleging she copied another company's shoe design (photo of the shoes here.)

Here's the Supreme Court opinion on the travel ban and the latest on the new travel rules to take effect at 6 pm today.

The media is exploding about the Ugly American Donald Trump and his latest tweet about a tv host's plastic surgery.

“I heard poorly rated @Morning_Joe speaks badly of me (don’t watch anymore). Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year’s Eve, and insisted on joining me. She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no!”

Trump seems to have a "thing" about blood and women -- first Meghan Kelly and now Mika Brzezinski.

What a shame for America that a man with such a vulgar, low-class way of expressing himself is occupying a desk in the oval office.

P.S. Memo to Donald: You could use a facelift yourself. Have you noticed how much your face has aged since January?

From New York Magazine on Jared's unsuccessful trip to the Middle East to bring peace, Roadmap to Nowhere:

Palestinian leaders were said to be greatly disappointed in Kushner and Greenblatt serving as go-betweens for Netanyahu, as well as Kushner’s unwillingness to state a clear position on the issue of settlements. Al-Hayat even suggested that Trump was considering abandoning his effort to broker Mideast peace after the meeting, though a senior administration official dismissed that claim as “nonsense,” according to the Jerusalem Post.

It appears Netanyahu played Kushner like a fiddle, sending him to Ramallah with a laundry list of demands that he knew Abbas would reject, further delaying the start of any ostensible peace negotiations by instigating a diplomatic crisis he could then blame on Palestinian intransigence.

What's mind-boggling is that he was given this role in the first place: [More...]

Trump is always touting his ability to close a deal. He failed with health care the first time around, and the New York Times reports he's faltering as a closer this time around.

If Republicans do manage to broker a deal — as Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, pledged to do during a lively East Room back-and-forth with the president — it is not likely to be because of Mr. Trump’s involvement. Until Tuesday afternoon, the president was largely on the sidelines as the fate of one of his most important campaign pledges played out.

... [O}ver the past few weeks, the Senate Republican leadership has made it known that it would much rather negotiate with Mr. Pence than a president whose candidacy many did not even take seriously during the 2016 primaries. And some of the White House’s efforts have clearly been counterproductive.

The self-created myth of Donald Trump is being peeled away, layer by layer, just like an onion. Pretty soon he'll be standing in front of us naked. (Bob Dylan, It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)...."But even the president of the United States sometimes must have to stand naked.")[More...]

Last month, ISIS banned its fighters from using social media. It had done so before, but not so forcefully. Now it threatens those who disobey with punishment. Here's a good article, THE ISLAMIC STATE’S INTERNAL RIFTS AND SOCIAL MEDIA BAN, on why ISIS is going this route, from the Combatting Terrorism Centre at West Point.

ISIS has been gone from Twitter for ages. (Al Qaida-affiliated groups are still around, as are the Syrian "rebel" groups and the Taliban.) Telegram channels for ISIS official news (Nashir/Nasher) seems to change every few hours.

ISIS will be defeated militarily in Iraq and Syria for now, but it's not going anywhere except underground. It will return when it's ready. It's already spreading in countries in Africa and Asia. [More...]

I knew I should have stayed away from the news entirely today. I just saw this: Supreme Court Okays Part of Trump's Travel Ban:

The Supreme Court agreed Monday to allow a limited version of President Trump’s ban on travelers from six mostly Muslim countries to take effect and will consider in the fall the president’s broad powers in immigration matters in a case that raises fundamental issues of national security and religious discrimination.

The court made an important exception: It said the ban “may not be enforced against foreign nationals who have a credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.”

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Bump and Update: This is now a Friday and Monday open thread. I'm really busy at work but hope to be free to read news and blog tonight.

Sonny Franzese, the oldest prisoner in the federal system has been released at age 100. He was a Colombo family underboss who was sentenced to 50 years (was paroled a few times and sent back in for new offenses.)

Here's what he looked liked then.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

The Senate Republicans' health care bill is apparently even worse than that of their House counterparts. The New York Times says even some Republicans are bad-mouthing it.

One of the obstacles: The money for drug treatment, opioids in particular. [More...]

Donald Trump today said there are no tapes of him and James Comey. Why couldn't he have said that initially?

Just more confirmation he just throws things out there as part of his stream of consciousness that have no basis in fact. Either that, or he is unable to distinguish between truth and falsehood, or still has a child-like need to make stuff up to boost his position.

• 1.1 million people live with HIV in the U.S.
  60% of whom can't afford medication
• 36.7 million people world-wide have HIV/AIDS, including more than 2 million children under the age of 15.

Maybe Donald Trump doesn't care because he has never seen the movie "Philadelphia." Seeing that movie is what made James start caring.

Yesterday, Corden and The Late Late Show sent 297 copies (as many as they could buy on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc., many on Blue-ray) to Trump at Mar-a-lago (The White House was very uncooperative when James called so he didn't send them there.)[More...]

Even the New York Times is writing about the Bachelor in Paradise fiasco and The Bachelorette series (with its racial tensions and imminently expected racial blow-up between two male contestants.) If you haven't been following, WB canceled the filming of Bachelor in Paradise (the most raunchy of the series' productions) amid allegations of a possible sexual assault,and sent all the contestants home. Today WB announced the investigation was complete and nothing untoward happened, so it will resume filming. (TMZ has the sleazy details and they are sleazy.)

The Times also covers the current Bachelorette season and its latest episode here. In the previews for next week, contestant Kenny and contestant Lee, go at it and apparently Kenny gets cut with a knife near his eye. It's pretty predictable that the show would exploit any racial tensions this season, but it's curious that so far Rachel has been giving Lee the benefit of the doubt. I suspect that's due to prodding by the producers.

On Viceland, Hailey Gates is back for Season 2 of States of Undress. [More...]