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David Frum with a bit of the classics explaining Biden and Trump. It’s good: Two political myths inspired the dreams and haunted the nightmares of the Founders of the American republic. Both these foundational myths were learned from the history and literature of the ancient Romans. Cincinnatus was the name of a man who, the story went, accepted supreme power in the state to meet a temporary emergency and then relinquished that power to return to his farm when the emergency passed. George Washington modeled his public image on the legend of Cincinnatus, and so he was depicted in contemporary art and literature—“the Cincinnatus of the West,” as Lord Byron praised him in a famous poem of the day. Against the bright legacy of Cincinnatus, the Founders contrasted the sinister character of Catiline: a man of depraved sexual appetites who reached almost the pinnacle of power and then exploited populist passions to overthrow the constitution, gain wealth, and pay his desperately pressing debts.

Indiana Jones would love to hear about this new application for the gene-editing technology.

The post  A Snaky Use for CRISPR appeared first on Nautilus.

Greg Stoker unpacks Netanyahu’s appeal to Congress for more weapons and support for a broader Middle Eastern conflict, spotlighting the hypocrisy of Israel’s actions in Gaza and the global community's response.

The post War Drums in Washington: Netanyahu’s True Ambitions Laid Bare appeared first on MintPress News.

The NY Times got hold of the new book by Trump’s nephew. It’s exactly what you would expect: In 2020, a few months before the last election, former President Donald J. Trump’s niece, Mary Trump, published a book about her uncle and how awful and psychologically warped she found him to be. At the time, her brother, Fred C. Trump III, put out a statement slamming his sister for such treachery. Now, he’s wielding the knife. Next week, he will publish “All in the Family: The Trumps and How We Got to Be This Way,” a tell-all that puts the former president in a harsh light. The New York Times obtained a copy. Fred isn’t like his sister Mary. He was upset about her hostility and remained fairly close to his uncle even visiting from time to time at the White House where Trump would brag about how he killed terrorists. But the relationship soured because of this: Fred Trump’s son was born with a rare medical condition that led to developmental and intellectual disabilities. His care had been paid for in part with help from the family. After Mr. Trump was elected, Fred Trump wanted to use his connection to the White House for good.

Newly married billionaire, Rupert Murdoch, has told acquaintances that he is regretting talking to fellow billionaire parent, Gina Rinehart, about what to do with his kids. ”Bloody Gina, told me not to talk to my kids but rather take ’em... Read More ›

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Israel claims sole responsibility for the Hodeidah Port attack, but mounting evidence suggests US involvement.

The post Was the US Involved in Israel’s Deadly Bombing of Yemen? appeared first on MintPress News.

After donating millions to Democrats, a Microsoft board member is pressuring Harris to ax regulator scrutinizing the tech giant.

This is good. Judging from the reaction on Tik Tok the youts really like this. Which is good. I’ve long pushed the idea of Democrats using freedom as a rallying cry. The idea that these authoritarian right wingers, of all people, promote freedom as their brand is ludicrous.

Internal Google documents show the company planned to sponsor an Israel Defense Forces tech conference — but its name was erased at the last minute.

The post Google Planned to Sponsor IDF Conference That Now Denies Google Was Sponsor appeared first on The Intercept.

The last time women organized in opposition to Trump they showed up by the millions and created the Resistance that helped lead the Democrats to win in 2018, 2020, and 2022. Just saying. Sunday night, 44,000 women gathered with Win with Black Women to support Kamala Harris, and they raised over $1 million. ​ White women, it’s our turn to show up. JOIN US!!!  All are welcome, please share with your people. Thursday, July 25 | Virtual meeting | 8:30 p.m. ET Here’s the link to sign up and/or donate. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen any Democratic activism aimed specifically at white women before and it’s a little weird to see it in print. But considering there are so many women of all races and ethnicities who are thrilled at the prospect of the first Black, Asian women president, any form of organizing to help get her elected seems pretty positive to me.

New research finds pesticides may be as bad for you as smoking — so why is Congress poised to shield the industry from liability?

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But you already knew all of this, right? I hope you’ve been hard at work for months getting the pre-sales lined up. The earlier you can get those sales, the better. Embed that call to action every chance you get. After all, the preorders aren’t going to sell themselves, and those preorders are a must.

In fact, many of our best authors have seen the value not just of pre-publication sales but also of pre-conception sales. If you can squeeze just a few preorders out of your book before you even write it, that will help for so many reasons, not least of which because it could give you the actual idea for the book.

by Dave Rollo

Okeechobee County is located in Florida’s Heartland Region, within the 3000-square mile Kissimmee River Basin. The Heartland stretches from Orlando in the north to the intertidal coast of mangrove forests to the south, forming an area commonly referred to as the “River of Grass.” Water flowed hundreds of miles through this enormous network of marshlands, helping to shape an ecosystem of unrivalled subtropical biodiversity.

Today,

The post Okeechobee County: Kept Great with Conservation appeared first on Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy.

Sean Grayson, who is now charged with murder in the fatal shooting of Sonya Massey, was previously discharged from the U.S. Army for serious misconduct — and still hired at six police departments in Central Illinois.

The post Deputy Accused of Killing Sonya Massey Was Discharged From Army for Serious Misconduct appeared first on The Intercept.

James Scott, the Yale political scientist who specialized in so many things, has died. Jim was a scholar of peasant politics and societies, Southeast Asia, state planning, ecology, forestry, Balzac, and much else. He meant a great deal to a great many people, intellectually and personally, but there’s a small cohort of us, who came to Yale in the late 1980s and early 1990s, for whom he holds a special place in our hearts. We had come to the political science department intending to study political theory, only to discover, upon our arrival, that the official political theorists on the faculty were neither political nor theoretical. Though we tried to make it work as theorists, many of us in this […]

Joe Biden gave a moving speech from the Oval Office last night explaining his decision to withdraw from the race. He pointedly said, “In this sacred space, I’m surrounded by portraits of extraordinary American presidents. Thomas Jefferson wrote the immortal words that guide this nation. George Washington showed us presidents are not kings.” He asked if the character of the president still matters and tasked voters to question whether Trump (to whom he did not refer by name) would uphold the sanctity of democracy and the presidency. Biden questioned, notably, if the character of a president still matters, and without naming Donald Trump, asked voters to question whether the Republican nominee would uphold the sanctity of the presidency or US democracy. [No, definitely not.] He said, “This sacred task of perfecting our union is not about me, it’s about you,”  That is true. Are there enough of us out there willing to step up and fight back this fascist MAGA movement that’s led by a cretinous imbecile? We’re about to find out.