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Democracy is gonna need a bigger boat. The story of the administration's decision to use military force against a speedboat purportedly carrying drugs is not only a shot across the bow of the laws and norms that govern the use of military force, it's also indicative a much broader sea change in the way soldiers are being deployed against civilians. John Duffy, a retired Naval officer who commanded two warships, explains why the peremptory strike on a speedboat is a warning to all who serve. And all Americans. "For decades, the U.S. military and Coast Guard have intercepted drug shipments in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific under a careful legal framework: Coast Guard officers would tactically control Navy ships, invoke law enforcement authority, stop vessels, and detain crews for prosecution. The goal is not execution; it is interdiction within international law. This week’s strike ripped up that framework. The people on board were not given the chance to surrender. No evidence was presented. No rules of engagement were cited. The administration claimed authority to kill on suspicion alone ... What happens abroad does not stay abroad. A government that stretches legal authority overseas will not hesitate to do the same at home. The same commander-in-chief who ordered a strike on a boat in international waters has already ordered National Guard troops into American cities over the objections of local leaders. The logic is identical: redefine the threat, erase legal distinctions, and justify force as the first tool. Today it is 'traffickers' in the Caribbean. Tomorrow it will be 'criminals' in Chicago or 'radicals' in Atlanta." A killing at sea marks America’s descent into lawless power.
+ The "U.S. military personnel crossed a fundamental line the Department of Defense has been resolutely committed to upholding for many decades—namely, that (except in rare and extreme circumstances not present here) the military must not use lethal force against civilians, even if they are alleged, or even known, to be violating the law." Just Security: The Many Ways in Which the September 2 Caribbean Strike was Unlawful … and the Grave Line the Military Has Crossed.
+ "Many legal specialists, including retired top military lawyers, have rejected the idea that Mr. Trump has legitimate authority to treat suspected drug smuggling as legally equivalent to an imminent armed attack on the United States. Even if one accepted that premise for the sake of argument, they added, if the boat had already turned away, that would further undermine what they saw as an already weak claim of self-defense." NYT (Gift Article): Boat Suspected of Smuggling Drugs Is Said to Have Turned Before U.S. Attacked It.
+ Again, it's important to understand that this is not just a debate about how we handle suspected drug smugglers. It’s a warning about how the military is deployed, and against whom. That's why what's happening in DC is part of the same story. WaPo(Gift Article): National Guard documents show public ‘fear,’ veterans’ ‘shame’ over D.C. presence. "The National Guard, in measuring public sentiment about President Donald Trump’s federal takeover of Washington, D.C., has assessed that its mission is perceived as 'leveraging fear,' driving a 'wedge between citizens and the military,' and promoting a sense of 'shame' among some troops and veterans." (How do we have access to internal National Guard documents? Someone accidentally sent them to the Post.)
2
Pole Position
"More than a dozen Russian drones entered Poland overnight, prompting NATO to scramble fighter jets to shoot them down in what Western officials described on Wednesday as a dangerous escalation of the war in neighboring Ukraine. It was the first time in the history of NATO that alliance fighters had engaged enemy targets in allied airspace." NATO Says It Scrambled Fighter Jets to Shoot Down Russian Drones Over Poland.
+ Alexander Vindman: "This episode underscores how destabilizing Trump has been. He has acted as a friend to America’s enemies and a threat to traditional allies. His actions have emboldened Putin, who has doubled attacks on Ukraine and escalated against NATO. Meanwhile, the administration’s wasteful diversion of U.S. military resources is undermining deterrence and defense." Putin saw Trump's red carpet as a welcome mat to do whatever he pleases.
3
Reckless (Non)Abandon
"'It’s Joe and Jill’s decision.' We all said that, like a mantra, as if we’d all been hypnotized. Was it grace, or was it recklessness? In retrospect, I think it was recklessness. The stakes were simply too high. This wasn’t a choice that should have been left to an individual’s ego, an individual’s ambition. It should have been more than a personal decision. Many people want to spin up a narrative of some big conspiracy at the White House to hide Joe Biden’s infirmity. Here is the truth as I lived it. Joe Biden was a smart guy with long experience and deep conviction, able to discharge the duties of president. On his worst day, he was more deeply knowledgeable, more capable of exercising judgment, and far more compassionate than Donald Trump on his best. But at 81, Joe got tired." The first excerpt of 107 Days by Kamala Harris in The Atlantic (Gift Article): The Constant Battle.
4
Peakachu
"Lucas Shaw hit the jackpot with his latest investment. The 27-year old account manager in Ohio used some of the gains to splurge on his fiancée’s custom engagement ring, which has three diamonds totaling 3.5 carats on an 18-karat gold band. The money will also help pay for their wedding. Shaw’s windfall didn’t involve Big Tech stocks or crypto. It was thanks to the hottest investment among individual traders these days." Meme stocks? Crypto? Nope. The Hot Investment With a 3,000% Return? Pokémon Cards.
5
Extra, Extra
Charlie Kirk Shot: "Shots were fired at an event for right-wing activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University in Orem, just north of Provo, according to a statement from the school ... Videos circulating online appear to show Kirk recoiling after a shot was heard, with blood pouring from his neck. A suspect is in custody." Here's the latest from CNN and NBC.
+ Tackling the Block: "Protesters blocked roads, lit blazes and were met with volleys of tear gas on Wednesday in Paris and elsewhere in France, heaping pressure on President Emmanuel Macron and making new Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu's first day in office a baptism of fire." French police clash with ‘Block Everything’ protesters while Macron installs a new prime minister. And from NBC: "Their joint day of unrest adds to the country’s political turmoil, after the collapse of centrist President Emmanuel Macron’s government earlier this week in a similar backlash over proposed budget cuts and broader anger at the political class." 'Block Everything' protests sweep France, intensifying pressure on Macron. Here's more from The Guardian.
+ Blind Rage: "The U.S. Department of Education has halted funding for programs that support students with combined hearing and vision loss in eight states." Why? Too woke. Programs for Students With Hearing and Vision Loss Harmed by Trump’s Anti-Diversity Push.
+ Book Club: "Two things are converging here: A conspiratorial crowd is getting the kind of evidence it craves, on an internet that supercharges conspiratorial speculating. At the same time, this is happening in a media ecosystem that makes it easier than ever for people to ignore, dismiss, or spin evidence to justify their prior viewpoints. The birthday book is not just a test of Trump’s influence but also a test of the power of our current, broken media ecosystem, as well as a rare look at what happens when conspiracy theorists actually get what they want." Charlie Warzel in The Atlantic (Gift Article): You Really Need to See Epstein’s Birthday Book for Yourself. (Amazing that some of the contributors to this book support efforts to ban other books.)
+ Preet My Shorts: "You should decline Mr. Pulte’s invitation to join his retaliatory harassment of Senator Schiff. Instead, Mr. Pulte’s misuse of his position should be investigated by a nonpartisan Inspector General to determine whether Mr. Pulte’s conduct should be referred to the Department of Justice for criminal investigation." Schiff lawyer told Justice Department it should investigate Pulte for probing mortgages of Trump opponents. (Schiff's lawyer in this matter happens to be Preet Bharara.)
+ Flag Me With a Spoon: "The flag was a message of thanks to President Trump for trying to intervene in Mr. Bolsonaro’s case. It became the defining image of the day’s enormous protests, plastered across social media and newspaper front pages." NYT(Gift Article): A New Symbol of the Brazilian Right: The American Flag. (Trump is worried about people burning the flag when he is torching what it stands for.)
+ Food For Thought: There are more obese children than underweight ones in the world today, new United Nations figures suggested.
+ Math Lesson: "In the wake of those shootings, an industry has emerged to try to protect schools — and business is booming. According to the market research firm Omdia, the school security industry is now worth as much as $4 billion,