Apparently, More Zooms in August
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WAITING
ITEM: Associated Press:
Attorneys for many of the nation’s largest media companies will try to persuade a federal magistrate judge on Thursday afternoon to make public the affidavit supporting the warrant that allowed FBI agents to search former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate last week.
What that loudmouth will say on your morning August Zoom: I agree with the Wall Street Journal ed board:
[T]he Justice Department wants to keep the affidavit secret lest its release compromise the criminal investigation. But that’s what Justice and the FBI always say…. Mr. Trump and the public deserve to know more about why and how he might be charged with a crime.
What you should say on your morning August Zoom: Paul Gigot knows better. It might be fun to get ahold of the document, but if it is released it will be heavily redacted to the point of comedy. Plus, there is a reason criminal investigations are secret! Better to focus on what Kathleen Parker wrote, minus the “might”:
The search might have been justifiable — and obviously met the probable-cause standard for a court-ordered search warrant — but the image of federal agents trampling the sacred grounds of their hero’s castle has emboldened Trump supporters as little else could.
If the Justice Department intends to indict Trump, then it needs to act quickly so he is prevented from ever holding public office again.
Otherwise, in the battle of dueling perspectives, Trump might have the lead.
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CONFUSING
ITEM: Donald Trump “endorses” New York Democratic House candidates Dan Goldman and Carolyn Maloney via Truth Social.
What that loudmouth will say on your morning August Zoom: I don’t get what Trump is doing here.
What you should say on your morning August Zoom: Three little appreciated aspects of the mind of Donald Trump revealed in these faux nods: He loves the language of humor and sarcasm; he holds special ire for politicians who have asked him for campaign donations and then turned on him; he pays close attention to a LOT of stuff.
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FLIPPING
ITEM: Former Trump official Allen Weisselberg is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday.
What that loudmouth will say on your morning August Zoom: This is it!!! This is the flipping witness who will finally bring Trump down.
What you should say on your morning August Zoom: Uhm, ya, no.
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LESSONING
ITEM: The Dominant Media can’t get enough of Cheney ’24 and imbuing the Adam Schiff wing of the Republican Party with extraordinary power and influence.
What that loudmouth will say on your morning August Zoom: In a crowded MAGA field with Trump, Cheney could win the nomination with 25% of the vote – and surely 25% of Republican caucus goers and primary voters are from the Jeb Bush (a/k/a Adam Schiff) wing of the Republican Party.
What you should say on your morning August Zoom: After flirting with the “Trump’s influence has collapsed” storyline, the Washington Post, in an essential reading piece, goes back to a connection with fact-based reporting:
Donald Trump is securing his grip on the Republican Party less than three months before the midterms, with GOP primary voters surging to the polls in Wyoming to oust his most vocal GOP critic, scores of nominees for state and federal offices amplifying his false claims and bellicose rhetoric, and many prominent party figures echoing his evidence-free attacks about the FBI search of his home.
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OZIFYING
ITEM: Dr. Oz tries to be all clever in bouncing back from crudité and house ownership gaffes.
What that loudmouth will say on your morning August Zoom: I can’t wait to see the debates!
What you should say on your morning August Zoom: In the Republican covey of horrendously performing Senate candidates, there are two subgroups: Those who have the capacity to get their acts together — and perform better than they have — from Labor Day to Election Day, and those who don’t.
Do: Herschel Walker, Ron Johnson, Blake Masters, J.D. Vance, Adam Laxalt, the New Hampshire nominee TBD.
Don’t: Ted Budd, Dr. Oz.
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ADVERTISING
ITEM:
What that loudmouth will ask on your morning August Zoom: Who cares what is in DeSantis’ TV ads since he will win reelection easily?
What you should say on your morning August Zoom: Do not ignore the clues embedded in these very well done spots – clues about how DeSantis plans to run up the score this year in his re-elect, clues about the competencies of his team, and clues about how a 2024 bid would be shaped.
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SPENDING
ITEM: Climate and abortion rights groups are spending big on midterm advertising.
What that loudmouth will say on your morning August Zoom: All these TV and digital ads cancel each other out on both sides.
What you should say on your morning August Zoom: Some enterprising reporter should really figure out if either Team Red or Team Blue is going to have a potentially dispositive spending edge in the homestretch, because right now it is a mystery. And money matters big time in non-presidential races.
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MYSTIFYING
ITEM: New York Post:
A well-known businessman living in exile in the US after criticizing Russia’s Vladimir Putin was found dead outside his apartment building in an upscale neighborhood of Washington, DC, police said.
Dan Rapoport, 52, was discovered lying on the sidewalk outside 2400 Main St. apartments in the Georgetown neighborhood shortly before 9 p.m. Sunday, according to police.
What that loudmouth will say on your morning August Zoom: I’ve promised myself to do no more than five Google and five Twitter searches each for “Rapoport” on any given day.
What you should say on your morning August Zoom: This whodunnit is either everything or nothing. Get back to me on Monday.
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BURYING
ITEM:
What that loudmouth will say on your morning August Zoom: I don’t get the fuss.
What you should say on your morning August Zoom: There is no physics like baseball physics. Or, is that “There are no physics like baseball physics”?