[guest post by Dana]

Let’s go!

First news item

From Russia with love:

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday welcomed Sen. JD Vance’s (Ohio) position on U.S. military and economic support for Ukraine following former President Trump’s announcement he tapped the Ohio lawmaker as his running mate.

“He’s in favor of peace, he’s in favor of ending the assistance that’s being provided and we can only welcome that because that’s what we need — to stop pumping Ukraine full of weapons and then the war will end,” Lavrov said in a press conference Wednesday, according to a translation by Reuters.

When Russia welcomes a candidate to the world stage, you know you’ve got a problem. Especially when said candidate has already said that he doesn’t care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other.

Sadly, there’s only one way the war will end if it’s a “quick end”:

Like Trump, his running mate has called for a quick end to the war — which Zelensky’s camp considers code for a demand that it cede territory to Russia, consigning Ukrainian citizens in occupied cities, towns and villages to a brutal fate.

Second news item

About Ukraine and the Trump/Vance ticket:

In February, Vance startled some attendees at the Munich Security Conference, a showcase gathering for the Western foreign policy establishment, by minimizing the Russian threat to Europe, and showing no interest in engaging with those who wanted to talk about why a Russian victory would be so dangerous.

And from President Zelensky:

Publicly, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has telegraphed confidence his government can weather whatever storm might be approaching.

On Monday, he told reporters in Kyiv that “we will work together” with any U.S. leadership.

Third news item

A century ago, presidential candidates were made of something wholly different than today’s contenders. I suspect that voters’ had higher expectations of their presidents back then:

In addition, it was clear to voters by 1924 that Calvin Coolidge was a man of unimpeachable integrity. He was the embodiment of classic New England virtues: Honesty, thrift, lack of pretense, dignity, and common sense. The taint of the emerging Harding scandals left Coolidge unscathed.

. . .

While Davis was not well known among voters, he — like Coolidge — presented two defining attributes. He was from the conservative wing of the Democratic party, which had long championed Jeffersonian values of limited government. In addition to establishing an impressive record of accomplishment as a constitutional lawyer, Davis was seen as a man of deep integrity, who might bring unity to the fractured Democrats.

As columnist Walter Lippmann noted, “Davis’ nomination was the result of confidence in his character rather than of studied agreement with his views.”

Fourth news item

Parents are just that: parents. Schools are not that:

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law Monday prohibiting schools from informing parents when students change their pronouns in school. The Support Academic Futures and Educators for Today’s Youth (SAFETY) Act also imposes responsibilities on the State Department of Education to develop resources to “increase support for LGBTQ pupils.”

According to the California legislature’s LGBTQ caucus, the SAFETY Act is necessary to prevent school boards from outing the gender identity of students. In July 2023 several schools passed so-called “forced outing” policies, which required teachers to notify parents if their child identifies as transgender. The SAFETY Act bans that practice, standardizing the obligations of teachers across California. The bill enjoyed broad support from LGBTQ groups as well as the California Teachers Association, a large teachers union in the state.

As a result of the governors’s passage of the act, lawsuits have been filed:

California’s ban on “forced outings” of trans and non-binary students in schools is being challenged in court by a local school district with a policy requiring parents to be notified of changes in a student’s name or pronoun.

Since July 2023, several California school boards voted to pass policies requiring teachers to notify parents if their child identifies as transgender or changes the name or pronouns other than what aligns with the sex they were assigned at birth. The Chino Valley Unified School District is one of these districts to pass such a policy.

Chino Valley School District was sued in August 2023 by California Attorney General Rob Bonta for its enforcement of such policy.

Informing a parent of their child’s new gender identity should not be referred to as a “forced outing”. We are not talking about a public outing a student at a board meeting. We are talking about parents being informed about the mental health of their child, for whom they are responsible. Such manipulative language. But of course, that’s the point. Whether anyone likes the outcome of what parents do with the information should be beside the point. And it’s ridiculous to have to say this, but of course any sort of illegal acts of retribution against the child is a different matter altogether. But this should not negate the school’s responsibility to the parents. Additionally, if students are transitioning, do schools really think it’s wise to treat parents as the enemy? Wouldn’t it be in the child’s best interest to include the very people who love this kid like no other and have an emotional investment in them to a depth that the school never could? It’s ridiculous to think that a school could actually facilitate or deal with this huge change without the parents’ knowledge. Utter hubris.

Anyway, this:

The trans community [Ed. and pro-trans school districts] can’t have it both ways. That being trans is a health care issue that can cause suicide and that minors need health care access before puberty does lifelong damage. But also, it’s not of the parents’ business? These are two mutually exclusive attitudes…getting those kids psychological care is the higher priority.

Fifth news item

This morning:

New Biden campaign email just now: "Joe Biden has made it more than clear: He’s in this race and he’s in it to win it. Moreover, he’s the presumptive nominee — there is no plan for an alternative nominee. In a few short weeks, Joe Biden will be the official nominee."

— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) July 19, 2024

Also this morning:

President Biden is “absolutely” staying in the presidential race, campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Friday, calling him the “best person to take on Donald Trump.” Her assessment comes amid growing calls from Democrats for Biden to step aside.

And then there is this political ad by the newly formed Pass the Torch group. It will begin running on the Morning Joe Show this coming Monday:

Sixth news item

Terrible but not unexpected news:

Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter falsely accused by Russian authorities of spying, was sentenced to 16 years in a high-security penal colony, after being wrongfully convicted in a hurried, secret trial that the U.S. government has condemned as a sham.

The court’s Friday verdict—after three days of hearings—was widely viewed as a foregone conclusion, since acquittals in Russian espionage trials are exceedingly rare. Gershkovich was afforded few of the protections normally accorded to defendants in the U.S. and other Western countries.

From Wall Street Journal publisher and editor in chief: This disgraceful, sham conviction comes after Evan has spent 478 days in prison, wrongfully detained, away from his family and friends, prevented from reporting, all for doing his job as a journalist.

Seventh news item

RIP to the stammering and hilarious master of deadpan comedy, Bob Newhart:

Postscript: A beautiful resignation letter from Ben Sasse, a man who clearly has his priorities in order:

Dear Gator Nation and cherished friends,

This isn’t an easy note to write but wanted to give you an update on our family. As many of you know, my wife Melissa suffered an aneurysm and series of strokes in 2007. Back then, the docs prepared us for the worst, but – in God’s providence – she made an incredible comeback. In the years since – from Nebraska to DC to Florida – she kept our family grounded while I missed too many family dinners, little league games, hugs, and tears. She’s the strongest person I know. We’ve battled some nasty seizures the last couple years, but she’s always remained a warrior.

In recent months, Melissa has been diagnosed with epilepsy and has been struggling with a new batch of memory issues. It’s been hard, but we’ve faced it together. A lot of late nights, a lot of hard decisions, and a lotta “what matters most?” conversations.

Our two wonderful daughters are in college, but our youngest is just turning 13. I’ve got two spectacular callings in life right now: First, I’m a husband and dad. Second, I’ve been blessed to serve as president of the best dang public university in America – Go Gators! – and I’ve loved the challenge of giving this university everything I’ve got. But here’s the bottom line: Those callings are significantly at odds with each other right now. Gator Nation needs a president who can keep charging hard, Melissa deserves a husband who can pull his weight, and my kids need a dad who can be home many more nights.

After extensive prayer and lots of family tears, I today asked UF Chair Mori Hosseini and our Board of Trustees to initiate a search for a new president of the university. I need to step back for a time and focus more on the needs of my family while we rebuild more stable household systems.

I’m going to remain involved in serving our UF students — past, present, and future — but I need to walk arm-in-arm with my dearest friend more hours of every week.

I’m grateful for our board’s support. Mori and the board have giant hearts – for this university and for this community. It’s easy to see why.

I’m grateful for you, Gator Nation. You’ve welcomed our family with open arms. Professors who change the world, students who pack the Swamp, men and women who do the unsung work of keeping a big place like this rolling (shout out to the third-shift maintenance crews, the early morning cafeteria workers, and the Ben Hill Griffin cleanup team). We love you. You touched our hearts and made this more than a job – you made it our community. That’s why we’re not going anywhere.

Our family is staying here in Gainesville. I’ll be here as President Emeritus and professor, continuing to teach classes.

It’s great to be a Florida Gator! … It’s even greater to be a husband and a dad.

Have a great weekend.

–Dana