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In the final hours of the battle over the Senate Bill, Elon Musk and Donald Trump reignited their feud. Musk threatened to form a new political party and Trump threatened to turn DOGE against its top dog. And then there was this: "When asked by a reporter if he would consider deporting Musk, he demurred: 'We'll have to take a look.'" (And Musk thought he had buyer's remorse after he bought Twitter...) Don't miss the bigger picture here: A president is musing about deporting America's wealthiest corporate tycoon because of a personal feud. I'd say this crosses a red line, but red lines got deported a couple weeks ago. This is dangerous stuff. And it's not about just idle threats or throwaway comments. "The Trump administration opened the door on Monday to formally examining Zohran Mamdani’s US citizenship — part of a growing effort to target the immigration status of a wide range of individuals." Semafor: Republicans test new red line: Denaturalization.
+ "Assembled on a remote airstrip with tents and trailers that are normally used after a natural disaster, the detention center has been nicknamed 'Alligator Alcatraz,' a moniker that has alarmed immigrant activists but appeals to the Republican president’s aggressive approach to deportations." Trump says migrants would need to know ‘how to run away from an alligator’ to flee Florida facility. (The sadism is so thick you should have to pass through one of those new p-rn age verification systems to view it.) "'This is not a nice business,' Trump said while leaving the White House. Then he joked that 'we’re going to teach them how to run away from an alligator if they escape prison ... Don’t run in a straight line. Run like this,' he said, as he moved his hand in a zigzag motion. 'And you know what? Your chances go up about 1%.'" (In the least surprising news of the day, "it’s best to dash in one direction in the rare situation when an alligator gives chase, according to a website run by the University of Florida.")
+ Don't think all the threats and the masked enforcers and the alligator-surrounded detention centers don't impact you. As Chandran Kukathas explains in the NYT (Gift Article), Trump’s Deportation Program Is About Control. Even if You Are a U.S. Citizen. "Immigration control will transform America. The more vigorously it is pursued, the more it will turn us into people who do not care about the liberty of others. Worse still, it may turn us into people who do not care about our own."
+ And don't think the especially draconian crackdowns in California will be compartmentalized. What happens in California doesn't stay in California. It extends all the way to your fridge. Reuters: Immigration raids leave crops unharvested, California farms at risk.
2
Pass Backwards
"The Senate vote amounted to a political and policy gamble for Republicans, who embraced the bill despite considerable reservations in their ranks about a measure that would swell the deficit and cut vital federal programs including Medicaid — and that polls show is deeply unpopular with voters. In the end, spurred by fear of crossing Mr. Trump and allowing a tax increase to take effect at the end of the year, they rallied around the measure — just barely." JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote. Now we'll see if this terrible bill is bad enough for the House GOP to embrace. NYT (Gift Article): Live Updates: Senate Passes Trump’s Signature Policy Bill.
+ Dan Pfeiffer sums things up pretty well: "Congress has done a lot of dumb shit over the years, but this bill—if and when it becomes law—might just be the dumbest. The whole process of passing it has been surreal and serves as a metaphor for the Trump-era Republican Party. No one is asking for it. Other than preventing a tax increase, it doesn’t achieve a single long-standing conservative policy goal. No one campaigned on these ideas, and the public is screaming that they hate the bill. It’s bad policy, worse politics—and yet Republicans march onward because Donald Trump wants a 'win.' Not a substantive win. Not even a political win. Just a win for the sake of a win. That’s the only rationale. There’s no further consideration for why this bill should be passed or what happens when it does. They do it because Trump wants it—even though he has no idea why he wants it, or what’s in it."
+ What we don't know is how this bill will impact the GOP at the ballot box. What we do know is how it will impact many ordinary Americans. WaPo (Gift Article): At least 17 million Americans would lose insurance under Trump plan.
3
Heat of the Moment
Courtesy of the NYT (Gift Article), let's spend a day in the life of residents of Sri Ganganagar in India. Why? Both because it's a unique story of living in the new reality of extreme heat. And because it may not be a unique story for long. You should probably hydrate before examining How the Hottest Place in India Survives.
+ Europe swelters under a punishing heat wave with Paris forecast to hit 104F. "Barcelona recorded its hottest month of June since records started over a century ago." (Locals wanted to limit tourist visits to Barcelona. 104 might do the trick.) Meanwhile, Italy limits outdoor work as heatwave breaks records across Europe.
+ Photos of Wimbledon fans and players struggling to stay coolin record-breaking heat.
4
Orbit By Bit
"Some researchers have created a model for how many satellites could fit in low earth orbit, taking into account how far apart they should be spaced to reduce the risk of collisions. They estimate that LEO could theoretically hold up to 12.6 million satellites. But others have warned that even 1 million satellites in LEO — the number of satellites that were filed for approval with the International Telecommunication Union, a U.N. agency, between 2017 and 2022 — pose a risk because of a greater chance for collisions and debris surviving reentry and falling out of the sky." So instead of looking up (which can be dangerous), look down at your device and read this very interesting graphical look at how space is being filled up at satellite speed. Rest of World: Out of space: Picturing the big, crowded business of satellite internet.
5
Extra, Extra
Making a Killing: "Barack Obama and George W Bush have criticized the closure of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), as a study warned it could result in 'a staggering number' of avoidable deaths – more than 14 million over five years.
+ Me the People: "In his capstone paper for the class, Mr. Damsky argued that the framers had intended for the phrase 'We the People,' in the Constitution’s preamble, to refer exclusively to white people. From there, he argued for the removal of voting rights protections for nonwhites, and for the issuance of shoot-to-kill orders against 'criminal infiltrators at the border.'" NYT (Gift Article): A White Nationalist Wrote a Law School Paper Promoting Racist Views. It Won Him an Award. (Surprised Stephen Miller hasn't hired this guy yet.)
+ It's Time to Cease: "Israeli forces killed at least 74 people in Gaza on Monday with airstrikes that left 30 dead at a seaside cafe and gunfire that left 23 dead as Palestinians tried to get desperately needed food aid, witnesses and health officials said." Israel had every right to defend itself after Oct 7. Israel has every right to act to protect itself against a nuclear-hungry foe that has repeatedly expressed its desire to destroy the country. Israel has every right to demand the hostages are released. But how do actions like these further any of the country's legitimate goals?
+ Scrape Scrap: Cloudflare will now block AI crawlers by default. "The internet architecture provider will also let some publishers make known AI scrapers pay to crawl their sites."
+ Thai Breaker: "Paetongtarn has faced growing dissatisfaction over her handling of the dispute, which involved an armed confrontation on May 28, in which one Cambodian soldier was killed. In a call with Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen, she attempted to defuse tensions — but instead set off a string of complaints and public protests by critics who accused her of being too fawning." Court suspends Thailand’s prime minister to investigate a leaked phone call. (She should just say it was a perfect phone call. That seems to work.)
+ Oh the Humanity: "As the pace of AI progress accelerates, developing superintelligence is coming into sight. I believe this will be the beginning of a new era for humanity, and I am fully committed to doing what it takes for Meta to lead the way." Zuck is spending hundreds of millions to hire top talent away from OpenAI and others. (Funny how we still need to hire humans to win the AI race.) Mark Zuckerberg sees 'the beginning of a new era' for humanity in superintelligence. (Oh shit.)
+ Jimmy Infamy: "Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart, who became a household name amassing an enormous following and multimillion-dollar ministry only to be undone by his penchant for prostitutes, has died." (If he had been born a few years later, he probably would have a cabinet position right now...)
+ Overboard: Disney cruise ship rescue team saves girl who fell overboard and father who jumped after her.