by John Walters
Starting Five
Rob Goldstone, the publicist who set up the meeting between the Russian lawyer and The Last Don 2
Goldstone Schemery
A family friend of the Trump’s, Rob Goldstone, wrote to Donny Jr. last summer offering to set up a meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya. We know this because Donny Jr. released his emails yesterday, which Pop is trumping as a display of his son’s “transparency” while failing to mention that the Failing New York Times was about to release those same emails anyway.
This is the defense that they think is going to stop the FBI and the Justice Department. LOL GTFO pic.twitter.com/Q7PdSOkl7H
— Downtown Josh Brown (@ReformedBroker) July 12, 2017
It may be true, but is it exculpatory?
“If it’s what you say I love it” –D. Trump, Jr.
Basically, Donald Trump, Jr., has confessed to and provided the paper trail to a meeting he took with a Russian who promised damaging info on a presidential candidate running against his dad. So what is the defense to this crime? Sounds as if it is, “So what, no biggie.” We’ll see.
Meanwhile, if you have yet to watch this video clip of a two-minute extemporaneous stand-up from Australian Chris Uhlmann, I recommend you give it your full attention for 120 seconds.
2. Cano Can Do
While all the world (myself included) entered the night agog over Aaron Judge, it was two former Yankees who sealed the American League’s fifth straight All-Star Game victory in Miami. Seattle Mariner Robinson Cano hit the go-ahead solo home run in the top of the 10th (how did the N.L. get to host two consecutive All-Star Games?) and Cleveland Indian closer Andrew Miller shut the door in the bottom of the inning?
The game featured 28 first-time All-Stars and 23 strikeouts. Cano, an eight-time All-Star, had as many All-Star selections as anyone on either roster. It was the first time since 1952 that an All-Star Game failed to have any player with at least 10 selections. We’ve entered a new era.
3. Next Time, David, Take The Subway To Subway
Yesterday, in a Failing New York Times Op-Ed titled “How We Are Ruining America,” columnist David Brooks opined, without saying it specifically, that if you live in a neighborhood with a Soul Cycle you are excluding the poor from ever making it in America. Or that’s what I took from it.
Anyway, about midway through he offered this well-intentioned yet somewhat tone-deaf paragraph about the midday meal to illustrate his point:
Recently I took a friend with only a high school degree to lunch. Insensitively, I led her into a gourmet sandwich shop. Suddenly I saw her face freeze up as she was confronted with sandwiches named “Padrino” and “Pomodoro” and ingredients like soppressata, capicollo and a striata baguette. I quickly asked her if she wanted to go somewhere else and she anxiously nodded yes and we ate Mexican.
Let’s get real. Do you really believe David Brooks has any friends with only a high school education? Was it his housekeeper? Also, while everyone else is harrumphing about Brooks being out of touch (Why did he have to take her/him there?), all I can think is that David Brooks just was able to expense his meal at Chipotle.
4. Philly Four: No Answers Yet
The case of the four missing young men (Mark Sturgis, Thomas Meo, Dean Finocchiaro and Jimi Tar Patrick) from Bucks County, an area north of Philadelphia that is quite lovely and upper-middle class, continues to baffle investigators. First, where are they? Second, did all four know one another and through what avenue?
Cosmo DiNardo
Third, why is Cosmo DiNardo, aged 20 and supposedly having a history of mental illness, a person of interest? Fourth, when you hear that his parents own a 600-acre farm and are in the “cement contracting business,” does your mind go to Breaking Bad?
UPDATE: Investigators are also looking into the mysterious disappearance of Susie B., who was last seen walking down a dirt road in western Maryland babbling incoherently, or was it repeating “Sweet Pea….Sweet Pea…Sweet Pea?”
5. Precious Cargo
On a Qantas flight from Melbourne to Perth, Aussie passenger “Dean” had one item to check: a can of Emu Export Lager. Because Australians are less uptight about terrorism (and can afford to be), the ground crew happily tagged the beer and loaded it into the belly of the plane. It was even the first item sent out on the carousel.
Music 101
You’re In My Heart (The Final Acclaim)
In 1977 Rod Stewart released this song as a tribute to his former girlfriend, Britt Eklund. The tune rose to No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard charts. Eklund favors Stewart’s later wife, Rachel Hunter, no?
A Word, Please
Chicanery (noun)
The use of trickery to achieve a political, financial, or legal purpose.
Perhaps Susie B. traveled to Europe to serve as the MH correspondent covering the Tour de France and decided it’s better over there?
Hahaha, nope, still here but I AM watching the Tour every day. 🙂 I’m actually quite disgruntled & dissatisfied with how the TDF is progressing so far but I’ve said that almost every year since friggin 2005. 😉 To be a pro-cycling fan, especially in the USA where we can rarely now see the sport on TV before 1:00 AM eastern (thank-yew NBCSN!) is to make the viewer “feel at one” with the cyclists, e.g. WE SUFFER! This year we’ve seen 2 of the only 3 current superstars in this sport have to leave the race after Stage 3 due to a broken shoulder blade & a, er, misplaced elbow (Cavendish & Sagan). Once that happened we knew the sprint stages would be uncompetitive & wouldn’t you know, THIS YEAR they finally included a bunch of sprint stages like the old days. Without Cav & Sagan, the German sprinter named Kittel is making a MOCKERY of the rest of the sprinting , cough, ‘teams’. He’s won 5 stages! There’s only been 11 total! Yesterday, he started his sprint so far back you’d think there was FINALLY going to be a different winner, but nope, this guy moves up like he was shot from a cannon & ALL the other cyclists were frozen in time. Pathetic!
As for the GC (the overall), thanks to so many crashes & forced “abandons”, the SUPERVILLAIN team of cycling (Team Sky) is once again probably going to win the Tour as their top guy (Chris Froome, 3 time TDF winner) has been leading since last week & no one looks close to being able to stop him. However, he does NOT look as dominant as in years past & he lost his main lieutenant to a crash last Sunday (broke collarbone, the cyclist #1 injury) so I have SOME hope there may be some action going forward. Plus, this is the Tour, where freak crashes can take out anyone at any time. Last Sunday, Froome’s main rival this year was zooming down the final descent with the other usual suspects (handful of GC guys) when his back wheel locked up at a curve & instead of tumbling DOWN the mountain (no guard rails, this is France!), he fell the other way & spun across the road & slammed into the rock face, taking down a very unlucky fellow competitor who didn’t even know what hit him, it was thatfast. Luckily, the 2nd guy was able to get back on his bike & continue but Richie Porte broke both his collarbone & pelvis. And he’s LUCKY! When you look at the footage, he could easily now be paralyzed or dead. These guys all look like emaciated weaklings but lemme tell you, they are the true IRONMEN of sport!
Tomorrow is 1 of the only 2 remaining mountain-top finishes in this year’s Tour (don’t even get me started on that!) & I will take vacation time to stay home & watch live. I’m hoping for action but NOT crashes!
BTW jdubs, thanks to you I checked in on that baseball homerun thing the other night just so I could see that guy (Aaron Judge) you’ve been chattering about. Goodness, he looks like a real life Paul Bunyan!
One of the good thing of being in PHX in July is TDF is on at 430 am till around 9. Can see most of the stages live. Since I work from home it’s get. Unfortunately cuts into the am bike ride as it’s too hot by the time it’s over. I know I can record.
You are correct the star power is out. Aru shouldn’t have been called back when Froome’s bike had mechanical issues. Come on, it’s 2017 and Froome waits for no one when they are in trouble.
The interview after today’s stage was interesting. Team manager for Quick Step was asked about the power output for Kittel. He said he was at 2100 watts for the sprint Susie mentioned. In perspective, Cavandish was at 1450 watts the year he won over 5 stages. He is smaller than Kittel so he was able to generate speed but Kittel’s numbers are staggering. High level recreational cyclists are lucky to get over 800 watts.
Goldstone Schemery? Made me laugh. I scheme, you scheme, we all scheme for ice cream.
Aaron Judge is approaching “sweet pea” status these days. He’s a phenomenon.
I’m off to get a glimpse of Steph Curry and Justin Timberlake on the links today. “Can’t stop the feeling….!”