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Thomas Jefferson letter goes on the market – containing a prescient warning for Trump today
Third US president wrote in 1787 about importance of peace, paying off debt and supporting agricultureA remarkably prescient letter written by Thomas Jefferson, the third US president, advising how the newly created country could prosper, has been put up for sale by a private collector. The handwritten document from 1787 warns specifically against many of the missteps Donald Trump has taken to drag down his own second term of office.Written in Paris, where Jefferson was the fledgling government's minister to France, the note to David Rittenhouse, a friend and fellow member of the American Philosophical Society, muses on the priorities and principles he believed future presidents should follow. Continue reading...
Trump rejects Iran's seven-day peace deal to reopen strait of Hormuz
US president is said to expect renewed strikes after midtermsUS president Donald Trump has said he has rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the strait of Hormuz within a week and resume nuclear talks in return for the lifting of the US naval blockade of Iranian ports."They made a proposal but I reject it," he told reporters at the White House. Continue reading...
RCMP respond to scene of police investigation in Moncton on Friday night
Codiac RCMP said in a social media post at 9:09 PM Friday that they were currently on scene of a police operation on promenade Léopold-F.-Belliveau in Moncton.
'The weaker he gets, the more dangerous he gets': Trump lashes out as his power wanes
Trump tries to dominate at the UN as his approval ratings plummet and even some Republicans stray from the scriptDonald Trump stood before the United Nations on Tuesday and threatened to "annihilate" Iran. Yet even as the most powerful man on the planet flexed his military muscles, he was powerless to keep the gravitational pull of domestic politics at bay.Heading into the UN building in New York, the US president was questioned by Kaitlan Collins, an anchor at CNN, which he had banned from the White House before a judge ruled against him. "I'm surprised that CNN is here covering me," the 80-year-old snapped. "You should not be here covering me." Continue reading...
Trump says he has rejected Iranian proposal to reopen Strait of Hormuz
President Donald Trump said Saturday that he has rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, after Iranian officials indicated that shipping through the critical waterway could resume within days if a deal was sealed."I rejected their deal. They want to make a deal where they open the strait immediately because they're losing so badly," Trump told reporters as he boarded Marine One on the White House lawn, after indirect talks between the two countries were held on the sidelines of this week's United Nations General Assembly in New York."What they wanted is to immediately open the Hormuz Strait. You know why? Because they're dying. You know why they're dying? Because they have no money coming in because they get their money from the Hormuz Strait," he continued. "They outsmarted themselves. They said, 'Let's close it and cause a problem for the world.' And I came along, and we put up the greatest blockade ever in military history."The Wall Street Journal first reported that Trump had rejected Iran's offer to revive a ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said Friday that the choice "rests with the United States.""If the necessary conditions are met, the strait can be reopened and normal maritime passage restored within seven days," Araghchi told reporters.He said a "concrete seven-day plan" that includes reopening the strait had been conveyed to the U.S. through mediator Qatar and was ready to start "as soon as the United States accepts this plan."Araghchi said the actions required of the U.S. in Iran's proposal were commitments already agreed to in the June memorandum of understanding between the two countries that laid out plans for a temporary ceasefire. That agreement, signed in June, collapsed within days after fresh strikes were exchanged.One of the conditions of the plan is for the U.S. to accept a maritime transit route through the Strait of Hormuz that has been agreed upon by Iran and Oman, Araghchi had said Thursday.A U.S. official said on Friday that the Trump administration was having positive and constructive discussions through the mediators but that it was not in any hurry to reach an agreement."The United States is in a very strong position with control of the Strait of Hormuz, so we are not in a rush," the U.S. official said. "Over the last 48 hours, nearly 40 million barrels of oil have transited the Strait."Early Saturday, President Donald Trump posted an image to Truth Social of the Strait of Hormuz labelled the "Trump Strait."Earlier this week, Trump said he was still considering whether to "annihilate" Iran or make a deal. Early Saturday, he posted an image to Truth Social of the Strait of Hormuz labeled the "Trump Strait."In an interview with Al Jazeera on Saturday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that resolving the Hormuz issue "is possible through negotiations, not the use of force," but warned that his country does not "trust" talks with Washington.Trump has repeatedly said that the goal of attacking Iran was to prevent the development of a nuclear weapon. Soon after the war started, Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which some 20% of the world's oil flowed before the conflict, sending shock waves through the world economy.Pezeshkian on Thursday suggested his government was willing to make a deal with the U.S. to end the war before Americans head to the polls this November."We don't want it to get to the midterm elections," Pezeshkian said in a brief meeting with NBC News and other news organizations, two days after Trump said that he believed the Iranian regime would not make a deal to settle the conflict until after November's elections."I believe we'll make a deal right after the election because it doesn't make sense for them not to," Trump said. "They're waiting to see how I do in the midterm election."Polls show Democrats with an advantage heading into the November midterms. The latest NBC News Decision Desk Poll found 31% of respondents approved of Trump's handling of the Iran war, while 69% disapproved.The U.S. this week announced it would put sanctions on any global companies doing business ​with Iranian airlines, with the aim of grounding Iran's entire civil fleet worldwide.Iraq said Saturday that it was engaging with the U.S. in an effort to restore humanitarian flights to and from Iran, after Iranian airlines were barred from neighboring countries in response to the sanctions. Efforts were ongoing to "secure exemptions for certain Iraqi airports from these measures" in order to enable "the resumption of flights for humanitarian reasons, such as medical treatment, education, religious pilgrimages, and the interests of civilians," the Iraqi prime minister's office said.Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that flights had also been shut down to Oman, Georgia and Azerbaijan.Abigail Williams, Monica Alba, Megan Shannon, Patrick Maguire and Betsy Mahoney contributed.
Pope Leo celebrates open-air mass before 700,000 people in Paris
Crowds line Place de la Concorde on second day of pontiff's first official papal visit to France in 18 yearsHundreds of thousands of people lined the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in ⁠Paris on Saturday to attend an open-air mass with Pope Leo, on the second day of his visit to France.The Vatican estimated 700,000 people turned out for the outdoor mass with the 71-year-old American pope – about 100,000 more than the number of people who had registered to attend. Continue reading...
US supreme court rejects Republican-drawn midterm map in Missouri for third time – as it happened
Long-running fight over Trump-backed maps takes another turn as absentee voting is already under way in Missouri. This blog is now closed.Sign up for US Breaking News emailsXi Jinping and his wife are back at the White House for the final day of the Chinese president's pageantry-filled visit to Washington, where President Trump has given him an unexpectedly warm welcome.The itinerary for the final day of Xi's visit – which included a red carpet welcome on the tarmac on Wednesday, then a full day of talks followed by a lavish state dinner on Thursday – included an appointment for tea at the White House, followed by a tour of the National Archives, where the nation's founding documents are on display. Continue reading...
Trump's security lie creates the building blocks for his own prison
Sabrina Haake is a political analyst and 25+ year federal trial attorney specializing in 1st and 14th A defense. You can subscribe to her free Substack, The Haake Take.Veterans are standing in the middle of D.C.'s Memorial Circle at rush hour with banners denouncing plans for Trump's arch. Their continuing protest, which started on Memorial Day, features a replica arch and an urgent plea to "protect and defend the solemnity and honor of this hallowed ground."The veterans have a point the rest of us need to hear, including 'unitary executive' nonsense-spouting Supreme Court justices who think the madman at the helm is free to take a wrecking ball to our nation's historical monuments. At 25 stories tall, Trump's arch would deliberately diminish the stature of monuments around it, and would forever obscure historical sightlines, laid after the Civil War to symbolize national healing.At the protests, Retired Army Colonel Ann Wright, a 29-year Special Operations officer, carries an "over our dead bodies" banner for "Mr. Bonespurs, with five deferments from the military." The veterans' spokesperson explained that, "To place a memorial that would obstruct the unbroken viewshed from the Lincoln Memorial to Arlington Cemetery would totally destroy all that this space represents."Trump's sacrilege The targeted sightline, unbroken across the Potomac River via the Arlington Memorial Bridge, was rendered two generations after the Civil War as a symbol of national reconciliation. The memorial to Abraham Lincoln, preserver of the Union, deliberately overlooks Arlington, the estate of Confederate Robert E. Lee and the hallowed burial grounds for both sides, to symbolize the enduring triumph of national unity over the tragedy of division. Alignment of those monuments was key. Lincoln's memorial ('A house divided against itself cannot stand') solemnly overlooks the shared blood and soil of Arlington's dead. Veterans are concerned that a giant arch dominating Arlington, now the final resting place of more than 400,000 war veterans, many of whom died in battle, would overpower the significance of their sacrifice.Retired Army Major General Paul Eaton called the arch "entirely inappropriate, (bordering) on sacrilege to the men and women buried" there. A Gold Star mother whose son is buried at Arlington lamented grievously that the arch's planned observation deck means tourists will be able to take selfies while burials are happening. "We don't need tourists overlooking funerals. I'm just appalled," she said. "We need everybody to speak out about this."The legal battleIn May, a federal panel packed with Trump appointees approved plans for the arch, then in August, the National Park Service found the monument would have "adverse effects" on several historic sites. Although aviation experts noted the hazards of a 250-foot arch near the runway of one of the nation's busiest airports, last week Trump's FAA approved the plans.Meanwhile, Vietnam War veterans have sued to stop the project, challenging the arch for both lacking congressional authority and blocking historically significant monument sightlines. Earlier this month, a federal judge ordered the administration to provide at least 48 hours' notice before conducting any activities on the planned arch while the case is pending. After that order, over a year after revealing plans for the arch, and after the Supreme Court let Trump get away with his ballroom on manufactured national security grounds, Trump then raised a national security rationale for the arch. Last Sunday, Trump claimed that he'd "agreed" to convert the proposed arch, at the "strong request" of the military, "into a top grade Military Complex/ Triumphal Arch," alleging that:"(F)or National Security purposes, I have agreed to convert the magnificent Triumphal Arch, planned since the Civil War Era many years ago, (laughably false)… into a top grade Military Complex/Triumphal Arch…" Trump said his arch would "house, store, and have the rapid ability to use large numbers of drones, plus Snipers, on both the roof and plaza areas, and additionally have and hold large quantities of sniper ammunition in storage." Arlington's historic message of national healing — and the devastation of its opposite — is sadly lost on the most divisive president in our nation's history. He also seems to miss how a Hitler-inspired monument would discourage tourists who may not want snipers aimed at their heads.Ye old national security ruseCourts have long given deference to the executive on matters of national security. In 1936, the Supreme Court said presidents must have 'wide latitude in security affairs,' reiterating the same in 1988, and again in 2018. Small wonder Trump is now claiming that his decorative arch is "necessary to protect US national security." Never mind that it took Trump over a year to manufacture a "national security" rationale for his obviously ornamental arch.Trump's security claim is just another well-worn litigation ruse. He also cited national security to defend both unconstitutional immigration tactics and his ban of several media outlets from the White House. He even claimed that trade relations posed an "unusual and extraordinary threat to national security" to defend his tariffs, an argument the Supreme Court rejected.The ballroom decision illustrates the flaw of the "unitary executive" theoryAfter the Supreme Court cleared the way for Trump's sprawling ballroom, however, the same flawed analysis could protect Trump's arch. Even after Chief Justice Roberts wrote that Trump's ballroom was "likely unlawful," the other conservative justices determined that the National Trust for Historic Preservation couldn't block it, because "mere offense, disagreement, or distaste" wasn't enough to constitute an injury for purposes of standing, trashing decades of legal precedent whereby historic preservationists successfully sued to protect historic landmarks. The question now dangling before a nation dreading a Hitlerian arch in D.C. is this: If a National Trust created by Congress to act as guardians of historic monuments doesn't have standing to sue to protect those monuments, who the hell does? If SCOTUS approves this arch, under its misguided 'unitary executive' theory that contradicts the founders' intentions of never having a king again, wait for Trump to sandblast his name into all four sides of the Washington Monument, install a statue of himself sitting in the Lincoln Memorial, and carve his own face on Mount Rushmore. The only silver lining of such a ruling would be that the next president would then possess the legal authority to build another monument on the basis of national security: a permanent prison cell around Trump, open for public viewing at feeding times. Only then, the security justification will be real.
White House blocks CNN from Air Force One in latest escalation with news media
Outlet had been scheduled to fly with Donald Trump to Tennessee for a college football game, network said FridayThe White House has blocked CNN from traveling aboard Air Force One on Saturday, impeding its TV press pool duties in the latest escalation of the administration's battle with the news media.CNN had been scheduled to fly with Donald Trump to Tennessee for a college football game, the network said on Friday. The White House confirmed CNN's exclusion when it did not list the network on guidance sent to the press corps regarding Trump's schedule for Saturday. Continue reading...
'Damage control' after EC row: Congress demands SIR rollback, CEC's resignation
Congress has called for the suspension of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar. The Election Commission defended its decisions amidst concerns of disenfranchisement of voters and internal disagreements. Congress leaders accused the Commission of inadequately addressing issues with Form 6 changes related to voter registration. They raised questions about deletions of young and Gen Z voters and emphasized the need for transparency.
On TV

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New Music

No new drops today. Go rediscover something in your old playlists.

In theaters

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Launching today
Falcon 9 Block 5 | USSF-385 — SpaceX (14:00 UTC)
A classified mission for the United States Space Force. It is possibly a batch of classified LEO satellites based on SpaceX’s Starshield satellite bus, based on locations of rocket stage drop zones being exact fits with previous Starlink Group 15 launches.
Useless Fact

Larry Lewis ran the 100-yard dash in 17.8 seconds in 1969, thereby setting a new world`s record for runners in the 100-years-or-older class. He was 101.

The loonie
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Today In History
2024 — Hurricane Helene Devastates Southeastern U.S.
Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida's Big Bend region as a category 4 storm. It cut through multiple states in the southeastern U.S. over the following days and was responsible for more than 230 deaths, about half of them in North Carolina. The storm brought catastrophic winds, storm surge, and flooding across the region.
2019 — Former French President Jacques Chirac dies at 86
French politician Jacques Chirac, who served as president of France from 1995 to 2007, died at age 86
2008 — Death of renowned actor Paul Newman in 2008
American actor Paul Newman, whose striking good looks and compelling performances made him one of Hollywood's most popular leading men, died at age 83. How much do you know about Paul Newman?
1969 — The Brady Bunch TV Premiere
The American sitcom The Brady Bunch premiered on ABC, and it became an enduring pop culture phenomenon
1969 — The Beatles Release Final Studio Album Abbey Road
The Beatles released Abbey Road, their final studio album (Let It Be, though mostly recorded earlier, was released in 1970)
1962 — The Beverly Hillbillies TV Series Debuts on CBS
The American TV series The Beverly Hillbillies debuted on CBS, becoming one of the most popular sitcoms of the 1960s
1960 — First televised U.S. presidential debate
The first in a series of historic televised debates (seen by some 85 to 120 million viewers) between U.S. presidential candidates John F. Kennedy and Vice President Richard M. Nixon was broadcast this day in 1960
1898 — Birth of American Composer George Gershwin
George Gershwin, one of the most significant and popular American composers, was born
1820 — Daniel Boone, Frontier Legend, Dies in Missouri
American frontiersman and hero Daniel Boone died in 1820 in St. Charles, Missouri at the age of 85. Boone was a renowned explorer and settler who played a key role in the expansion of the American frontier.
1815 — The Holy Alliance Formed After Napoleon's Defeat
The Holy Alliance of Russia, Austria, and Prussia was formed in 1815 after the final defeat of Napoleon.
1687 — Venetian Bombardment Destroys Part of Parthenon
During the bombardment of the Acropolis by Venetian forces in 1687, part of the iconic Parthenon temple in Athens was destroyed in a powder explosion.
1580 — Francis Drake Completes Circumnavigation of the Globe
After nearly three years at sea, English Admiral Francis Drake arrived in Plymouth Harbour, England, completing his circumnavigation of the world

This is today, boiled down to the essentials. The full stash lives at logicalchaos.ca. Go get lost in it.