Dear Everybody,

Here’s the news for August 10.

DJT & RFKJ, STFU POS. Trump signed an executive order aimed at reducing the number of recommended childhood vaccines. He calls for American children to be immunized against 11 diseases, rather than the 17 recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, because he knows better than all the doctors. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/08/10/us/trump-news?unlocked_article_code=1.4VA.7MH-.SZjbmvuWWIQL&smid=url-share

Sod Todd. Todd Blanche was sworn in as attorney general. Because that’s where we are now.  https://ground.news/article/blanche-set-to-lead-trumps-justice-department-after-senate-confirmation

Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall. Trump has admitted that the Reflecting Pool problems were caused in part by “some contractor error done by rushing the job for a July 4th opening.” In other news, he only shook the baby a little and he “hardly touched” Ivana. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/10/us/politics/trump-reflecting-pool-renovation-vandalism.html

Uncle Sam Wants You–Your family, not so much. Military families have had relatives detained and deported while the military still advertises immigration benefits. More than 60 Democratic members of Congress have opened an investigation into the Trump administration’s detention and deportation of relatives of U.S. service members. An AP investigation identified more than 50 spouses and parents of active-duty troops who have been detained, with at least six deported.  https://apnews.com/article/immigration-military-families-deport-trump-democrats-86087b0394dc8fe01cfec877903d266b

Third time’s a charm. Trump had trouble remembering his third wife’s name, so “Melanie Trump” is trending. Now that he’s at this point, she might as well just change her name.

https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2018/05/trump-cant-even-spell-his-wifes-name-so-melanie-trends-on-twitter/

White-power Snowflakes. The State Department announced Monday that it has revoked more than 175,000 visas since Trump returned to office.  Some of them were revoked for the offense of making comments that celebrated or mocked the assassination of Charlie Kirk. https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/trump-administration-has-revoked-more-than-175000-visas-state-department-says-2026-08-10/

Fly the Fiendly skies. A Ukrainian drone strike has killed at least 13 people and injured 39 others in Nizhnekamsk, a city deep inside Russian territory, and home to Tatneft’s TANECO ​oil refinery.  Russian investigators said they had opened a criminal case ⁠into what they qualified as a terrorist attack, saying in a statement that Ukraine had struck ​residential areas and that a child was among those civilians killed. Wow, Russia is going to be so angry when they find out Russia is killing many, many more children.  https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-kills-12-drone-strikes-russian-city-nizhnekamsk-state-media-reports-2026-08-10/  Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are increasing security around dams, power plants, pipelines, and other critical infrastructure amid warnings that Russia could stage sabotage or a false-flag attack using Ukrainian-looking drones. These are not the drones you want. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/poland-baltics-shield-infrastructure-fearing-russian-false-flag-strike-2026-08-10/

I know you are, but what am I? Prospects for reopening the Strait of Hormuz weakened as Iran and the United States each demanded compensation from the other for losses in the war. Iran continues to seek sanctions relief and compensation before fully reopening the waterway; Trump has countered by demanding Iranian reparations for American deaths and injuries.  Trump thinks he has all the cards, but Iran seems to be playing chess.

 https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/major-gulf-shares-subdued-uncertainty-over-hormuz-deal-2026-08-10/

We didn’t do that. Per Robert Reich: “Donald Trump is threatening to defund the Smithsonian unless they remove exhibits that don’t align with his white supremacist, MAGA ideology. The museum’s leadership has so far refused to give in to Trump’s demands, so he’s now ordering the installation of signs outside the Smithsonian “warning” visitors that the museum doesn’t portray American history accurately.” I assume this means the Smithsonian is now on double-secret probation.  https://www.newsweek.com/republican-senator-challenges-trumps-smithsonian-warning-signs-12300155

Oak….Acorn. Laurel Boebert’s son was arrested and faces charges of sexual exploitation of a child. This one isn’t particularly suited to a snarky tag. https://www.denvergazette.com/2026/08/10/us-rep-lauren-boeberts-son-arrested-faces-charges-of-sexual-exploitation-of-child/

Rip-one Winkle. Elderly incontinent Florida man struggles to stay awake in oval office.  https://www.thedailybeast.com/dozy-trump-80-slumps-over-as-he-struggles-to-stay-awake/

FYI, it turns out August 10 was a rather slow day in history. It happens. My apologies if today’s your birthday.

This is John Stith, filling in for Connie Willis through the 12th.

As Connie says, keep calm and carry on,

[Added by webmaster Lee Whiteside – August 10, 1968 did have one important event…]