Althouse

"He often stood outside a local restaurant hawking copies of his self-published books of poetry and photos to supplement his $1,000-per-month Social Security check..... But Pellegatta died a happy man when he succumbed to metastatic cancer last month at the age of 85.... He was a MAGA guy who was beloved by liberals. He was an old Marine, waiter and farmhand who made friends with all classes, ages and colors....

Let them make many strong and loud professions of love, because I want a lot of material to throw in their face when — if? — they get back to subordinating freedom of speech below endless other more important matters. Is it possible they'll commit to this love for freedom of speech with such intensity that they will forsake its rivals? It's unlikely, but I'll be delighted to give them credit... or even a vote.

"... visible in the eastern sky about 40-60 minutes before sunrise for most observers in the Northern Hemisphere. Venus shines at a magnitude of -3.9, making it appear as a dazzling white point of light—far brighter than any star and easily mistaken for a 'dot' close to the Moon's position. This alignment was a highlight of the month's pre-dawn sky, with the trio creating a beautiful triangle-like grouping low on the horizon.

CNN reports. Today is the day! The final thoughts of the statesman, who governed the Czechoslovak Republic from 1918 to 1935, are believed to have been recorded by his son Jan Masaryk just before his death in September 1937 and have been sealed in a letter ever since, according to Czech public radio, which has set up a special section of its website to cover the opening of the envelope on Friday.

I'm reading "Erika Kirk Takes a Leadership Role in Turning Point USA/After years spent emphasizing family life in the public eye, she will now run the group her husband built." She is one of a raft of conservative female leaders right now who are building prominent careers and public-facing lives while emphasizing a particular message: telling young women to focus on getting married and starting a family, rather than having a public-facing life....

Well, the women had to do something. Something that will read as something on camera. Something metaphorical. There's the grand literary tradition of England, as represented by the bust of Shakespeare overseeing the ladies' encounter with literature of the miniature kind. The feminine kind. Look how dutifully the 2 women enact intimacy through the fingering of tiny books. Such meaningful nonsense! I would love to have a transcript of Melania's internal monologue.

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"'But we were already asking a lot of America: to accept a woman, a Black woman, a Black woman married to a Jewish man. Part of me wanted to say, Screw it, let’s just do it. But knowing what was at stake, it was too big of a risk. And I think Pete also knew that—to our mutual sadness.'" From "The Running Mate Kamala Harris Didn’t Dare Choose/'I love Pete,' she writes in her new book. But picking a gay man would have been too risky" (The Atlantic)(gift link). What kind of leadership potential is this?

"And my five-times-great-grandfather King George III, for his part, did not spare his words when he spoke of the revolutionary leaders. Today, however, we celebrate a relationship between our two countries that surely neither Washington nor King George III could possibly have imagined. The ocean may still divide us, but in so many other ways, we are now the closest of kin....

"I will also be strongly recommending that those funding ANTIFA be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"