New Single from Paul McCartney
Plus our usual cartoons, Trump outrages and Rosanne Cash live.
Yes, it’s still somehow free to subscribe to this nearly daily music ‘n politics newsletter, or you can pledge a payment if we ever go in that direction. If you are already a subscriber, let’s hear from you in Comments, thanks!
After all the denials….
IN other news: The Treasury will begin printing Trump’s signature on U.S. currency later this year. It’s the first time a sitting president’s name will appear on money.
During a cabinet meeting yesterday, Trump spoke about the virtues of Sharpies.
Keep this in mind all year: 18 U.S. Code § 592 makes it a crime punishable by 5 years in prison to deploy federal troops to polling places
And NY Times reports this morning that last summer, Hegseth’s chief of staff Ricky Buria “chastised” Army Secretary Dan Driscoll for selecting a Black female combat engineer to serve as the head of Military District of Washington: “Mr. Buria told Mr. Driscoll that President Trump would not want to stand next to a Black female officer at military events, the officials said. Mr. Driscoll was shocked. ‘The president is not a racist or sexist,’ he told Mr. Buria, according to the officials. Mr. Driscoll then raised the issue with a senior White House official who agreed with his assessment of Mr. Trump.”
Lucian Truscott IV, former West Pointer:
Trump has ordered 1,000, or is it 2,000, or maybe it’s 3,000 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East, with rumors they will be used to attack heavily defended Kharg Island.
Meanwhile, 13 U.S. military installations in the Middle East located in Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq are said to be “all but inhabitable” because of damage caused by Iranian rocket and drone attacks. “Thousands” of soldiers assigned to bases in the Middle East have been “dispersed,” some to sites in Europe, while soldiers who had been at military bases in the Gulf region have been relocated to “alternative” sites, with many of them staying in hotels.
Where the soldiers from the 82nd Airborne will be stationed when they reach the Middle East is unknown.
Just between you and me, moving soldiers away from bases that have been attacked and sending them high-tailing it to Europe and putting them up in hotels is called a rout: a disorderly retreat of troops during a war.
As soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division arrive in the Middle East fully equipped for Trump’s war, he will depart the White House tomorrow for Palm Beach, Florida, where he will spend the weekend playing golf.
Alex Gibney, Oscar winning director of “The Bibi Files”:
Bibi has a thirst for blood that only a vampire could admire. His personal financial corruption has metastasized into a moral corruption that makes him think he can keep killing forever. The US could stop him but we refuse to do so.
On the latest gross and schmaltzy White House renovations, Davis Ingle, a White House spokesman:
President Trump is the builder-in-chief with an extraordinary eye for detail and design, and his bold vision will be imprinted upon the fabric of America and be felt by generations to come. His successes will continue to give the White House the glory it deserves.
Music Picks
New Paul McCartney single out yesterday. His voice is faltering but another lovely tune and John reference.
Caught a typically fine Rosanne Cash with John Leventhal concert and chat last night in Ridgefield, CT. She did a number of covers, including “Long Black Veil,” which she did a few years back with Levon Helm—who as part of The Band brought that old tune to a new generation back around 1968.
They also did her classic “The Wheel.” They are finishing a new album next month, to emerge in the autumn, she says.
And she continues to do Woody’s “Deportee” at every show. Here from a few years back, another Woody, “Pretty Boy Floyd.”
From Tunes to Toons
Goris:
Anderson:
Bramhall:
Photo Finish
At sunset, near Chatham, N.Y.











I only note this because I always had the same belief about the song's vintage ever since learning it at summer camp in 1965 or so: "Long Black Veil" was not that old a song in 1968. It was written for Lefty Frizzell in 1959!
the Mike Luckovich toon #preach! 🎯