[Headlines from DRJ]

The funeral for Margie Reckard, a victim of the El Paso Walmart shooting, was held today. Margie was survived by her husband Antonio Basco and three children from a prior marriage who live out-of-state. Antonio worried that there would not be many people to mourn Margie so he invited everyone to attend, and hundreds did:

Antonio Basco was far from alone on Friday.

The husband of Margie Reckard, a 63-year-old who was killed when a gunman opened fire at a Walmart, held a pubilc service for his late wife at La Paz Faith Memorial and Spiritual Center in El Paso, Texas. Hundreds of people lined up in nearly 100-degree heat to attend the service. Organizers said the venue holds 400 people, but more than 700 were said to be waiting outside.

Basco has been visiting a memorial behind Walmart every day since the shooting. He and others leave flowers at the site.

So many people from around the world sent flowers that El Paso funeral homes have arranged for 22 hearses to carry hundreds of floral arrangements from Margie Reckard funeral to Walmart memorial:

EL PASO, Texas – In a “symbolic” gesture aimed at showing that the community will “never forget” the El Paso mass shooting that claimed 22 lives, hundreds of floral arrangements sent from around the globe for the funeral of 63-year-old victim Margie Reckard will be transported in a 22-hearse procession from the church to the makeshift memorial at Walmart.

Funeral home owner Salvador Perches, who is handling Reckard’s funeral services, made the announcement Friday in a live appearance on ABC-7.

Reckard’s widower, 61-year-old Antonio Basco, felt so alone after her death that he invited the world to join him in remembering his companion of 22 years.

RIP Margie Reckard.

— DRJ

[Link from DRJ]

US Marines sailed through the Strait of Hormuz with an armored vehicle on the flattop’s flight deck, ready to fight off Iranian gunboats:

Photos from a recent Strait of Hormuz transit by the US Navy amphibious assault ship USS Boxer showed an 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit light armored vehicle parked on the flight deck, a sign that this warship was expecting trouble in the hostile waterway.

The Boxer was harassed by Iranian drones in the Strait of Hormuz last month, and the US says the warship downed one, if not two, of them. Another potential threat in this region is Iranian gunboats, which have targeted commercial shipping in recent months.

Last fall, Marines with the 31st MEU embarked aboard the USS Wasp for an exercise with an LAV on the flight deck for the first time in the South China Sea, experimenting with options to boost the combat capability of the large amphibious ships against threats such as fast gunboats.

The photos are worth a look.

— DRJ

[Headlines from DRJ]

9th Circuit lifts nationwide injunction against Trump plan to limit asylum.

Court: US can reject asylum along parts of Mexico border:

A federal appeals court on Friday cleared the way for the U.S. government to forbid Central American immigrants from seeking asylum at the two busiest stretches of the southern border in a partial legal victory for the Trump administration.

The ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allows President Donald Trump to enforce the policy in New Mexico and Texas, rejecting asylum seekers who cross from Mexico into either state. Under Friday’s ruling, U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar’s July 24 order stopping the policy would apply only in California and Arizona, which are covered by the 9th Circuit.

The two busiest areas for unauthorized border crossings are in South Texas’ Rio Grande Valley and the region around El Paso, Texas, which includes New Mexico. Nearly 50,000 people in July crossed the U.S. border without permission in those two regions, according to the U.S. Border Patrol.

In theory and maybe in reality, this will cause asylum-seekers to travel to Arizona and California.

— DRJ

[guest post by Dana]

From the Daily Beast:

Jeffery Epstein’s died from a suicide by hanging, the New York City medical examiner ruled Friday, a much-awaited final determination that authorities hope will put to rest conspiracy theories that have swirled since the sex offender awaiting trial hanged himself in a Manhattan jail cell last week.

[…]

The medical examiner’s office had been waiting for additional information such as toxicology results and reports from law-enforcement agencies including the FBI and the Bureau of Prisons who are investigating how Epstein was able to kill himself while under heavy security at a jail cell, officials said.

[…]

It’s not clear if Epstein’s body has been buried, but the medical examiner’s office confirmed that it had been released to an associate. A person with direct knowledge said that Epstein’s body was claimed by his brother Mark.

Epstein’s attorneys had hired celebrity pathologist Michael Baden to observe the autopsy on the family’s behalf. A spokeswoman for the medical examiner’s office said that Baden—who often works on celebrity and high-profile deaths—was in the room within eyesight of the examination.

Well, that’s one Epstein mystery solved. A whole lot more to go…

(Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.)

–Dana

[guest post by Dana]

…it’s National Tell A Joke Day! I’m terrible at telling jokes in person because I always start laughing when delivering the punchline, so no one ever hears it. I get laughed at, but not my joke. Sad. Anyway, this post is meant for all you funny guys out there that keep us laughing (or smirking) at your clever jokes and witticisms.

Here’s a cute one I saw online:

“Doctor, doctor every time I stand up quickly, I see Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy”

“How long have you been getting these disney spells?”

Your turn.

–Dana

[guest post by Dana]

Because things just keep getting dumber…

As we already know, fat-shaming others is nothing new for President Trump. It happened again last night when he fat-shamed a “protester” at his campaign rally:

President Trump ridiculed the physical appearance of a man in the crowd of his Keep America Great rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Thursday night, telling the guy and everyone watching at home that he had a “serious weight problem” and should get some exercise.

Midway through a rally that had already featured him claiming that the stock market would crash if he weren’t re-elected, Trump’s typically off-the-rails speech was interrupted by demonstrators, and an apparent Trump supporter got up and grabbed a banner from their hands.

Trump, appearing only to spot the general commotion, saw the apparent supporter in the melee and the president took some potshots at the man after it seems he wrongly identified him as a protester.

“That guy has got a serious weight problem,” Trump yelled. “Go home, get some exercise!”

After demanding security escort the man out of the arena, the president appeared briefly self-conscious before returning to his taunts: “Got a bigger problem than I do. Got a bigger problem than all of us. Now he goes home and his mom says ‘What the hell have you just done?’”

Oops! It turns out that the “protester,” Frank Dawson, is actually a Trump-supporter:

Frank Dawson…reported that he had no ill will toward Trump. “Everything’s good!” Dawson told Fox News. “I love the guy! He’s the best thing that ever happened to this country.” Trump has reportedly called and spoken with Dawson.

This comes right after Democratic contender, Andrew Yang ridiculed Trump’s physical appearance while candidate was making the rounds at the Iowa State Fair last weekend:

On Saturday, Yang, an entrepreneur and first-time presidential candidate, went on an extended riff on Trump’s health after a forum on gun-violence prevention.

“I can’t be eating crap on the trail too often, because I need to stay in presidential form,” Yang said, adding that no one wants “a president who doesn’t seem like they can run a mile.”

“I don’t think Donald Trump could run a mile,” he said. “Would you guys enjoy trying to watch Donald Trump run a mile? That’d be hysterical. What does that guy weigh, like, 280 or something?”

“I say he, like, passes out at, like, the quarter-mile mark,” Yang said.

In a profile of the president, it was said that he believes that “Other than golf, he considers exercise misguided, arguing that a person, like a battery, is born with a finite amount of energy.” At his annual physical exam in February, Trump weighed in at 243 pounds. That means that technically, he’s obese.

UPDATE: Fox News interviewed the fat-shamed-not-a-protester Frank Dawson today, and he is indeed, an ardent supporter of Trump:

This is so great:

"I love the guy. He's the best thing that ever happened to this country"

New Hampshire loves @realDonaldTrump!

🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/WZEzQmB0Nq

— Elizabeth Harrington (@LizRNC) August 16, 2019

(Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.)

-Dana

[guest post by Dana]

This comes after declining to endorse Trump in the 2016 elections because his advisers had “a record of opposing LGBT equality”:

Log Cabin Republicans Chairman Robert Kabel and Vice Chairwoman Jill Homan argued in a Washington Post op-ed on Friday that Trump has helped remove LGBTQ rights as a wedge issue in the GOP, citing his administration’s policies on ending the spread of HIV/AIDS as well as his push to get other countries to conform to modern human rights standards.

The leaders also cited Trump’s appointment of Richard Grenell, who is openly gay, as U.S. ambassador to Germany.

“While we do not agree with every policy or platform position presented by the White House or the Republican Party, we share a commitment to individual responsibility, personal freedom and a strong national defense,” Kabel and Homan wrote.

In the op-ed, the nation’s largest grassroots organization representing LGBT conservatives and allies, said:

Trump met his commitments to LGBTQ Americans. He has our endorsement.

Trump met his commitments to LGBTQ Americans. He has our endorsement, write Robert Kabel and @jillhoman of @LogCabinGOP https://t.co/pddw00U4zC

— Washington Post Opinions (@PostOpinions) August 16, 2019

Moreover, some gays see Trump as part of a “more-evolved generation of Republicans,” and that is something they can support:

Trump waved the rainbow flag at a campaign rally, entered office fine with same-sex marriage, and just recently said it was “great” to see Pete Buttigieg, an openly gay married man, running for president. The president said he had “no problem with it whatsoever.”

It’s very clear that when it comes to gay issues, Trump represents a new, more-evolved generation of Republicans. As Log Cabin acknowledges in their op-ed, a few Trump administration policies such as the transgender military ban stand out as exceptions to the rule in an otherwise good record…

(Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.)

–Dana

[guest post by Dana]

Yesterday, in his statement regarding the decision to deny Rep. Ilhan Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib entry into Israel due to their advocacy for the Boycott, Sanction and Divestment (BDS) movement, Benjamin Netanyahu specifically addressed Rep. Tlaib, whose has relatives living in the West Bank:

[I]f Congresswoman Tlaib submits a humanitarian request to visit her relatives, the minister of interior has announced that he will consider her request on the condition that she pledges not to act to promote boycotts against Israel during her visit.

After Israel’s decision was announced, Tlaib tweeted:

This woman right here is my sity. She deserves to live in peace & with human dignity. I am who I am because of her. The decision by Israel to bar her granddaughter, a U.S. Congresswoman, is a sign of weakness b/c the truth of what is happening to Palestinians is frightening. pic.twitter.com/GGcFLiH9N3

— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) August 15, 2019

This was followed by a formal request asking permission to enter the country to visit her relatives. Here is a copy of Rep. Tlaib’s letter, in which she promises:

I will respect any restrictions and will not promote boycotts against Israel during my visit.

Israel has now granted approval for Rep. Tlaib to make the trip on humanitarian grounds:

Israel has granted permission for Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat and the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, to visit her grandmother in the West Bank.

“Interior Minister Aryeh Deri decided on Friday to approve the entry of US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib for a humanitarian visit of her 90-year-old grandmother,” the interior ministry said in a statement Friday.

The interior ministry said early Friday that Tlaib had sent a letter asking to be granted access in which she promised to not promote boycotts against Israel and to respect the restrictions imposed on her during her visit.Her request was granted and the interior ministry “expressed hope that she would honor her commitment.”

However, not everyone is happy about the conditions of Rep. Tlaib’s visit, nor the outcome of the congresswomen’s efforts to visit Israel:

A senior Palestinian official distanced herself from a West Bank visit by U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib who has been allowed entry to the Israeli-occupied territory on “humanitarian grounds.”

The official, Hanan Ashrawi, was to have hosted Tlaib and Rep. Ilhan Omar, on a West Bank tour. Tlaib and Omar are sharply critical of Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians.

[…]

Ashrawi said Friday that she does not get involved in personal visits and that the congressional visit is off until all participants “can have free access to Palestine.”

About the congresswomen’s planned visit to Israel, Netanyahu reminded us yesterday: “…the organization that is funding their trip is Miftah, which is an avid supporter of BDS, and among whose members are those who have expressed support for terrorism against Israel.”

UPDATE: Politics over family: Rep. Tlaib has called off her trip:

Silencing me & treating me like a criminal is not what she wants for me. It would kill a piece of me. I have decided that visiting my grandmother under these oppressive conditions stands against everything I believe in–fighting against racism, oppression & injustice. https://t.co/z5t5j3qk4H

— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) August 16, 2019

Apparently, being “treated like a criminal” is getting a necessary assurance from a sitting U.S. congresswoman that she will not break Israel’s laws while in the country, and being “silenced” refers to not being allowed to attack Israel by promoting a boycott of the country she hates (IOW, breaking the law). And this is what she considers reason enough to not visit her aged grandmother, whom she told us just yesterday in her formal request that, this could be her last opportunity to see her. Sorry, Grandma, politics…

UPDATE 2: From the Israeli interior minister, via Jake Sherman:

I authorized this humanitarian trip, but it turns out that it was a provocation to embarrass Israel. Her hatred for Israel overcomes her love for her grandmother.

UPDATE 3: Because you knew he would have to insert himself into this again:

Rep. Tlaib wrote a letter to Israeli officials desperately wanting to visit her grandmother. Permission was quickly granted, whereupon Tlaib obnoxiously turned the approval down, a complete setup. The only real winner here is Tlaib’s grandmother. She doesn’t have to see her now!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 16, 2019

(Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.)

–Dana