Patriot/Traitor

Against the will of most Americans and almost all of our country’s allies, Trump has allied himself with Russia in its war on Ukraine.

This is another moral failure to go along with Trump’s many others overseas, including bombing fishing boats in South America, cutting off life-saving aid to poor nations in Africa, and undermining Taiwan in China, among others.

Trump is basically on the wrong side of every conflict in the world. In the process, he is putting the men and women in our armed forces in the virtually impossible position of defending our enemies and attacking our friends.

in August, Air Force Major James Watson no doubt spoke for many in the military when he called for Trump’s impeachment on the steps to the Capitol, though no one came to his side. He is languishing in military prison and is likely to face a general court martial in military court. 

The charges against Watson are “a rare test of the line between an officer’s free-speech rights and the military’s rules on contemptuous speech toward civilian leaders,” according to Military.com. 

I guess Watson is to be labeled some type of a traitor, but when it comes to treason, in my view they’ve got the wrong man. Watson is a hero and a patriot for speaking out.

The traitor is the guy in the White House.

HEADLINES:

• Marseille braces for more unrest after protests give way to ‘apocalyptic’ disorder (BBC)

• France Imposes Curfews in Parts of Paris and Other Cities After Nationwide Rioting (NYT)

• The rioting across France is a symptom of a much larger public and political crisis (CNN)

• Alberta voters reject plan for referendum to leave Canada (Guardian)

• Justice Department charges more than 2 dozen foreign nationals in California sweep targeting noncitizen voters (PBS)

• Trump and Zelensky escalate feud as Ukraine war strains alliance (WP)

• Johnson says he warned White House of ‘unintended consequences’ from Russia sanctions waiver (The Hill)

• America Is Now an Ally of Russia (Atlantic)

• Republicans Call for Investigation Into Ukraine Starlink Disruption (Newsweek)

• Bessent warns Zelenskyy to ‘be very careful’ about claims U.S. is throttling Starlink (CNBC)

• Musk Vows to Give Each U.S. Child a SpaceX Share (WSJ)

• Rubio says Ukraine without access to Starshield, future ‘under discussion’ (Al Jazeera)

• Drone Dominance (China Talk)

• Israeli police arrest 10 following weekend attacks by settlers on journalist and diplomats (AP)

• Air Force Major Arrested for Protesting Trump Could Face Court-Martial Over ‘Contemptuous’ Words (Military.com)

• Warning signs over threats to Australian politicians were rising before MP hit by car (BBC)

• Mahmoud Khalil Appeals to Supreme Court to Halt Deportation (NYT)

• Deep-red districts are now House battlegrounds. These are the races to watch. (WP)

• A Trump Backlash Endangers Susan Collins, the Only Blue-State G.O.P. Senator (NYT)

• Blood and Politics: The Religious Roots of a White/Christian Nationalist Movement Gone Mainstream (SmirkingChimp)

• Meta apologizes after suspending “No Kings” Instagram account (Reuters)

• He thought he was done paying his student loans (BI)

• Why anxiety can feel worse at night and what to do about it (WP)

• Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell Explain the Bombshell Ending of The Diplomat Season 4 (Town&Country)

AI NEWS:

• Inside the long, bitter fight over one man’s quest to build the biggest AI datacenter in California (Guardian)

• Data Centers Have a New PR Plan: Your Kid’s Field Trip (Wired)

• OpenAI bugging case: Saudi consulate offers to pay bail for suspect (CNBC)

• What smart people are saying about Anthropic’s 5% ‘public benefit’ pledge (BI)

• The Fear of a One-Man-Band Weaponizing AI Agents Is Becoming Reality (Gizmodo)

• San Francisco’s shuttered downtown mall is being eyed for an AI data center (SFC)

• Extinction potential’: This alarmist AI narrative is more than bad PR (WP)

• This Is the Good Scenario? (NYT)

• Trump Boasts Tariffs A Huge Success At Making Things Expensive (Onion)

 

Fiction/Reality

Watching the latest season of The Diplomat during the run-up to the midterms is perhaps one way for a political junkee to try and relax. The Netflix series, now in its fourth season, features a strong cast in an unfolding sequence of fictional events around the American ambassador to Britain (Keri Russell) and her husband (Rufus Sewell), who has recently become Vice-President.

At first, I had been thinking how nice it might be to just become immersed in the doings of a fictional version of a ruthless President (Alison Janney) rather than our own awful reality, but the longer I watched, the more relevant to current events the episodes became.

In the fictional tale, people of principle resigned rather than carry out the President’s illegal orders. That seems unlikely to happen in the present administration.

In a democracy, how our political leaders exercise power is theoretically up to us, the people, but in The Diplomat, the voters are nowhere to be seen.

We’ll find in the weeks ahead what the voters think in real life.

HEADLINES:

• Americans are anxious, pessimistic and deeply unhappy with Trump ahead of the midterms (NBC)

• Trump approval hits record low, handing Democrats a clear midterm edge (WP)

• Trump’s decision to waive Russian sanctions outrages Congress, but no quick counter seen (AP)

• Huge Riots in France Prompt Shock and Blame Game (NYT)

• Israeli police arrest 10 over settler attacks on journalist and diplomats in West Bank (BBC)

• Iran says it has a ‘new operational plan’ if the U.S. resumes attacks, as shipping vessels report strikes (CNBC)

• As Iran war spills over, Saudis and Houthis see fighting as only path ahead (WP)

• Australian MP Helen Haines critically injured in ‘deliberate’ car ramming (Al Jazeera)

• US threatens Europe over Starlink restrictions (FT)

• Several dead or injured in major fire at Canada military base (BBC)

• Pope Leo pledges gradual return to duties in first event since cancer surgery (Reuters)

• Congo’s fast-moving Ebola outbreak spreads to eighth province (AP)

• CDC sends a ‘disease detective’ to Pennsylvania amid measles outbreak (The Hill)

• US Citizens Wrongfully Detained by ICE Could Get $500K Under New Bill (Newsweek)

• Obama blasts Trump admin’s Omar crackdown (Axios)

• How the D.S.A. Learned to Love Elections (New Yorker)

• Wikipedia often gets taken for granted – but its history is fascinating, and its future is fragile (Guardian)

• O.J. Simpson, a Secret Informant and a Decades-Old Mystery (NYT)

• The Diplomat Season 4 Finale Is Shocking, Empowering, and Surprisingly Sad (Elle)

AI NEWS:

• OnlyFans Creators Are Pissed That Meta Lets Muse Talk Dirty (Wired)

• How Meta Built Forum With AI-Native Engineering (Meta)

• How AI Could Take Over the World (Newsweek)

• Claude cracks 25-year NSA cryptography mystery in under 30 minutes (Ynet)

• Consumer apprehension grows as US retailers adopt AI-assisted pricing tools (AP)

• Fake it and you’ll make it (China Talk)

• Cartoon: Signs your smart devices were hacked by rogue AI (WP)

• Weird Cleveland Browns Fan Has No Children On Team (Onion)

 

Traitor in the House

With the midterm elections a little over two weeks away, the polls and prediction markets look good for Democrats and bad for Republicans.

In his rallies around the country, Trump is urging voters to pretend he is on the ballot and if the polls are right, voters are doing just that.

With his approval numbers at historic lows, Trump is dragging down the Republican ticket. Facing the growing inevitability of humiliation in the midterms, Trump privately fumes, plotting his revenge.

Election officials across the country are trying to prepare for some sort of disruption like the last time Trump lost an election, but it’s hard to know what he will do this time. Once again, American democracy hangs in the balance, with a traitor in the White House.

Welcome to the USA, circa 2026.

HEADLINES:

• Half a million protesters sweep France in major show of youth unrest (CNN)

• Arrests over France protests rise to 1,800, with whole streets in Paris ‘devastated’ (Guardian)

• Trump waives Russia sanctions (Reuters)

• Ukraine war briefing: Trump’s sanctions waiver is a ‘60-day pause’ to analyse economic impact, says Rubio (Guardian)

• Trump’s waiver of sanctions on Russia stirs bipartisan outrage (WP)

• What Trump’s Waiver of New Russia Sanctions Means for Ukraine (Time)

• Hormuz ship attacks hit record high as Iran escalates strikes with little U.S. response (NBC)

• Power struggle erupts in Trump’s White House as midterm losses loom (WP)

• Attorneys for Rep. Ilhan Omar accuse DOJ of violating judge’s orders to follow protocols to protect her rights as member of Congress (CBS)

• Trump’s election fraud task force is going after the people who investigated him (WP)

• The good, bad and ugly outcomes in the Senate (Silver Bulletin)

• Jim Crow Returns...One Congressional District at a Time (Reveal)

• New Round of ‘No Kings’ Rallies Focuses on Getting Out the Vote (NYT)

• Pope Leo XIV thanks wellwishers in first event after cancer surgery (BBC)

• Large fire breaks out after deadly incident at Canadian military base, officials say (CBS)

• Standing with farmers: Why US fertilizer independence matters (The Hill)

• Katie Zacharia, You Weren’t That Bad (Slate)

• Bangladesh is trying to contain the world’s worst measles outbreak. (Reuters)

• America's politically divided Jewish community braces for Israel's elections (AP)

• The dangers that journalists face (WP)

• The woman who remembers everything: What it’s like to live with memories of your best days — and worst nightmares (Independent)

AI NEWS:

• AI fears are being weaponised (Al Jazeera)

• They’re Firing You to Pay for the Robot (Daily Kos)

• Trump Cancels Planned Livestream Of Jon Ossoff’s Execution (Onion)

 

Saturday Mix

HEADLINES:

• Trump Signs Order Exempting Russia From Sanctions Legislation (NYT)

• Trump’s pause on Russia sanctions will intensify war in Ukraine, Zelenskyy warns (Guardian)

• Trump says neither he nor Musk responsible for Ukraine loss of Starlink access (Reuters)

• What Life Is Like in Kyiv as Russia Tries to Make It Unlivable (NYT)

• Drone strikes in the Black Sea raise fears of Russian escalation to test NATO’s response (AP)

• Brent oil touches $110 as Iran escalates Hormuz attacks, Ukraine vows to hit Russian refineries (CNBC)

• Police clash with protesters as tens of thousands take to streets across France (Guardian)

• Firefighters Race to Control Blazes as Winds Threaten to Spark More in California (NYT)

• Katie Zacharia is out after 5 days as White House press secretary (BI)

• Election Dispatches:Ocasio-Cortez Donates $1 Million to Help El-Sayed in Michigan as Democrats Fight for Senate Control (NYT)

• Power struggle erupts in Trump’s White House as midterm losses loom (WP)

• Where Is the Outrage Over Trump’s Racist Targeting of Ilhan Omar? (Nation)

• First images released of Pope Leo as recovery continues at hospital after cancer surgery (NBC)

• Bystander Who Killed Oregon School Shooter Is Father of Two Students (NYT)

LATEST AI NEWS:

• Meta’s new terms may allow it to train AI on news sites for free (Verge)

• To train robots, AI companies are paying people in India to film themselves doing chores (NPR)

• Rogue AI Swarm Responds to Reporter’s Questions (Futurism)

• AI Came for Math. Now It’s Chasing the Rest of Science (Wired)

• I outsourced my life to AI agents for two weeks. It went…weirdly. (Vox)

• What Newsrooms Should Know Before They Take Money From OpenAI (Atlantic)

• As bear attacks rise, Japan turns to AI, 4-legged robots and pepper-spraying drones (WP)

• Why a Chinese AI Lab’s Product Lead Thinks AGI is “Inevitable” (China Talk)

• Can A.I. Apps Be a Mom’s Second Brain? (NYT)

• New Evidence Suggests Amelia Earhart Was Accepted Into Crab Society (Onion)

Taxing Billionaires

Proposition 40, California’s 5 percent tax on billionaires, may be a flawed initiative, as many have argued. But it at least represents an attempt to reverse in a small way the dynamics creating the unprecedented disparity in wealth in our society.

There is another initiative on this year’s ballot in California, Proposition 3, that would make the so-called “millionaire tax” permanent, and this is probably a more significant policy move than Prop 40 in the short term.

Meanwhile, the billionaires opposing Prop 40 (and Prop 3) have managed to add two cynical initiatives, Props 41 and 42. If one or both pass, they would negate the effect of Prop 40.

So goes the annals of class warfare out here in California. But if this all seems like just another wacky episode of the West Coast Follies, you can be certain that what starts here will not end here.

I don’t think this type of citizen action is based mainly in the hate of billionaires, but in the widespread inability of anyone else to accumulate enough resources to buy a house, start a family, and get ahead.

And that is a problem that is not confined to Golden State.

HEADLINES:

• Ukraine abandons truce and attacks Russian oil refinery as Zelenskyy says he feels betrayed by Trump (AP)

• Order to limit Starshield for Ukraine came from inside White House, sources say (Reuters)

• Defying Trump, Zelensky Says Ukraine Will Resume Russian Refinery Strikes (NYT)

• U.S. warnings sow confusion, alarm in Ukraine over intelligence, Starlink access (WP)

• Oil prices rise after IEA warns on market constraints; Saudi officials say Aramco facilities attacked (CNBC)

• Who Are the Houthis and Why Are They Attacking Saudi Arabia’s Airports? (Time)

• What is the ‘Mother of All Bombs’ US could use in Iran? (Al Jazeera)

• Mark Carney shows middle powers how to handle a dangerous world (Economist)

• Most of Ken Paxton’s Money Can Be Traced to One Man: Elon Musk (NYT)

• Ilhan Omar Investigation Aims to Build Case for Stripping Her Citizenship (WSJ)

• Trump calls off livestream of Fort Hood attacker’s execution by firing squad (BBC)

• Secret documents reveal donors behind $330 million for Trump’s ballroom (WP)

• Katie Zacharia did not pass the bar exam, senior administration official says (NBC)

• he issue with Katie Zacharia calling herself a lawyer (BI)

• Frustrated with Trump, voters overwhelmingly want change in Washington, AP-NORC poll finds (AP)

• Trump Administration Sues California Over Voter Rolls (NYT)

• The GOP’s midterm lifeline: Maybe the polls are wrong (Politico)

• Kimberly Guilfoyle Lost Her Mind After Trump Publicly Humiliated Her (TNR)

• 3 Children and 1 Adult Killed in Shooting at Oregon Elementary School (NYT)

• Ancient Indigenous people in New Mexico lived through extreme climate change 23,000 years ago, study suggests (LiveScience)

• The Chicks Still Won’t Make Nice (NYT)

LATEST AI NEWS:

• I tried Meta’s Muse AI agent for 3 days — then it sent me a strange message that made me want to delete the app completely (BI)

• The Tiny Robot Designed to Solve a Massive Underground Crisis (WSJ)

• Eight US states sue OpenAI, claiming ChatGPT harms young users (Reuters)

• AI robots are roaming L.A. grocery store aisles. Shoppers and workers are worried (LAT)

• Scientists are finding AI may make us remember things that never happened (WP)

• What a Group of A.I. Agents Talked About as Their Humans Had a Dinner Party (NYT)

• rump Claims He Shared Cell With James Talarico In Insane Asylum (Onion)

The Tyrant, Cornered

As the scope of a potential Democratic sweep of Congress on November 3 becomes clearer, Donald Trump finds himself backed into a corner. And at such times, we know a tyrant becomes especially dangerous.

Trump is expressing his anger by lashing out at those he considers weaker, further isolating himself in the process.

Accordingly, Trump is considering unleashing a horrible weapon known as the “mother of all bombs” on Iran.

And in Ukraine, he appears to be behind the disruption of the country’s Internet service, rendering Zelensky and the Ukrainians vulnerable to Russia’s escalating attacks.

Also, Ukraine has run out of critical military supplies and has stopped getting early warning alerts from the U.S. about impending Russian strikes.

Those of us who have been warning about the risk of Trump doing something to undermine the elections also need to consider that he may take his frustrations out overseas, with tragic human consequences.

HEADLINES:

• U.S. reportedly considers use of ‘mother of all bombs’ as Iran vows to fight on (CNBC)

• Ukrainian military’s access to Starlink satellite internet suddenly restricted (Guardian)

• Starlink Suspicions and a Frantic Warning: Inside Trump’s Turn on Zelensky (WSJ)

• Ukraine’s Exposure Grows as Satellite Use Is Restricted and Russia Escalates (NYT)

• Elon Musk says Trump is ‘ultimately’ responsible for any curbs on Ukraine’s Starshield systems (CNBC)

• Zelensky says ‘people will die’ because of Starlink decision (The Hill)

• Poland’s Sikorski asks ‘big man’ Musk if he is playing politics with Starlink in Ukraine (Reuters)

• Saudi conflict with Houthis escalates with new strikes (PBS)

• US inflation rises more than expected - here’s what is happening with prices (BBC)

• The global economy and the art of living dangerously (FT)

• Pope shares first message after lung cancer diagnosis (CNN)

• Battle lines shift in House races as Republicans retreat from front-line districts (AP)

• DOJ issues subpoenas in investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar’s immigration status, including to her family members (NBC)

• While a lawsuit against President Donald Trump moves ahead, a federal judge ruled that CNN, Politico and MS NOW must be allowed to resume coverage at the White House following a ban Trump slapped on the outlets last month. [HuffPost]

• Why does Pete Hegseth want to livestream an execution? (NPR)

• Trump’s new hire is being questioned about her bar credentials (BI)

• Katie Zacharia and Pyongyang on the Potomac (Bulwark)

• Reflecting pool liner failed in 85 places after flawed renovation, inspection found (WP)

• ‘Honey Please’: The Steep Rise and Sudden Fall of Kimberly Guilfoyle. (NYT)

• Thousands of refrigerators were hacked across France. How worried should you be? (CNN)

• Netflix is laying off 6% of its workforce, in biggest round of job cuts at streaming giant in years (AP)

• When Slate went back to its 1996 homepage, it learned some web design lessons for 2026 (Nieman)

LATEST AI NEWS:

• I Got My Muse AI Agent to Sext Me—and Meta Says That’s Totally Fine (Wired)

• ChatGPT will soon start secretly watermarking its answers — here’s what that means for the text you copy and share (TechRadar)

• Generative AI in disarray (Marcus)

• Anthropic warns AI models could soon copy themselves across home devices (CNBC)

• Anthropic’s self-replicating AI warning is alarming deja vu (Verge)

• F.B.I. Arrests OpenAI Employee Accused of Planting Bug in Office (NYT)

• Report: More Americans Opting To Be Buried In Unknowing Neighbor’s Backyard (Onion)

Odds Are: A Blue Wave

Prediction markets are a tricky business when it comes to politics, for all sorts of reasons, but they can have value as the election gets closer.

Accordingly, I checked this morning with Kalshi, and here’s what I found:

• Which party will win the U.S. House? The Democratic Party 90 percent to 10 percent.

• Which party will win the U.S. Senate? The Democratic Party 62 percent - 38 percent. 

• Texas Senate race? Talarico (D) 64 percent - Paxton (R) 36 percent.

• Michigan Senate race? El-Sayed (D) 68 percent - Rogers (R) 32 percent.

The consensus among those betting at the site is that a “blue wave” will result in at least 230-237 seats for Democrats in the House, where 218 is needed for a majority.

And in the Senate, Democrats stand to hold 52-53 seats, where 51 represents a majority.

Now I’m not a betting man, but I thought it might be nice to start off today with some who are.

HEADLINES:

• MI5 chief warns of threats to UK from Russia, Iran and AI (BBC)

• Cyberattack Hits Hundreds of Supermarket Refrigeration Systems in France (NYT)

• Trump attacks Rep. Ilhan Omar and Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed at Ohio rally (NBC)

• Trump subjected the crowd at his Ohio rally to an absurd and bigoted rant about Somalis, singling out Somali-American Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), whose home was raided by federal agents earlier in the day. The president also stood by as a crowd member violently slapped a protester and then went on to spew vile insults at the person himself. [HuffPost]

• The Ilhan Omar home search fits a very political pattern for Trump and his DOJ (CNN)

• Kimberly Guilfoyle Resigns as Ambassador to Greece (NYT)

• Internet can’t stop laughing at White House press secretary’s short and awkward briefing: ‘Is this a hostage video’ (Independent)

• Air Force Major Who Called for Trump’s Impeachment is in Solitary Confinement 24 Hours a Day: Attorney (Military.com)

• Supreme Court to Review Dispute Over Access to DOGE Records (NYT)

• Why the Intelligence Gap Really Matters (Atlantic)

• Inside Elon Musk’s $276 Million Midterm Rescue Mission for Republicans (NYT)

• Cooper holds 14-point lead in North Carolina Senate race poll (The Hill)

• Will Republican gerrymanders become dummymanders? (Silver Bulletin)

• Cornell Bans Fraternity Parties and Adds Sexual Assault Investigators (NYT)

• Iran reportedly fortifies nuclear sites as it prepares for possible U.S. strikes after midterms (CNBC)

• As Houthis strike Riyadh, Saudi Arabia confronts the costs of U.S. war on Iran (WP)

• Saudi Arabia's warning system stayed silent before deadly airport attacks (Reuters)

• Pope Leo Found to Have Lung Cancer During Surgery, Vatican Says (NYT)

• Could the US cut Ukraine off from vital military intelligence again? (Euronews)

• Man dies after falling off Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia (CNN)

LATEST AI NEWS:

• What Congress can do to prevent an AI catastrophe (Economist)

• The AI data grab is coming for your emails (BI)

• How California Is Using A.I. and Cameras to Stop Wildfires (NYT)

• WarTalk: AutoWarCom and Project Meridian (China Talk)

• AI models may soon self-replicate across smart-home devices, Anthropic warns (Reuters)

• Jon Stewart Is Right About AI And Wrong (YouTube)

• FBI arrests OpenAI employee accused of placing recording device in company conference room (AP)