NEW FRONTIERS IN LEFTY VICTIM-BLAMING: Nashville lawmaker blames Trump for assassination attempt: ‘People heeded his call.’ “Metro Nashville Councilmember Ginny Welsch, District 16, told Fox 17 Nashville the former president encouraged the shooting. Welsch objected to suspending council rules to allow for a hearing of a resolution condemning the assassination attempt and political violence. The resolution would have also honored all victims. She told Fox 17 she ‘absolutely’ stood by her decision.”

She kinda looks like a Karen.

THERE’S A JOE BIDEN JOKE HERE, SOMEWHERE: A history of trepanning: Why do we put holes in our skulls?

GOOGLE RUINS EVERYTHING, IT’S ALREADY RUINED GOOGLE: “Extraordinarily disappointed” users reckon with the Google-fication of Fitbit.

No, really, it has:

THE NEW SPACE RACE: NASA ships critical rocket stage to Florida for Artemis II mission to moon.

UNTIL A SEMI TRUCK RUNS YOU DOWN: Biking to work confers great health benefits.

IT’S VERY EFFECTIVE AT PRODUCING GRIFT AND GRAFT, THOUGH.

Nevermind the evidence that DEI training is ineffective and at times counterproductive — a governor is spending money to identify "opportunities" to put state employees through more such trainings. https://t.co/dQdmKHnjVk

— Conor Friedersdorf (@conor64) July 16, 2024

WELL, YES: There’s Competent, Professional Executive Protection, And Then There’s What Happened in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Meanwhile, sensing a gap in the market, I’m announcing a new business:

(Actually, this was a gift from Mike Williamson, some of whose stories involve Ripple Creek Security. I’m not at their level, though to be honest I think I might be overqualified for the Secret Service. . . . But so are you.)

MISINFORMATION AND CONSPIRACY THEORIES: Pro-Palestinian student group claims Trump assassination attempt ‘staged,’ distraction from Gaza war.

SPREADING CONSPIRACY THEORIES AND MISINFORMATION: Carnegie Mellon University prof says Trump assassination attempt was ‘staged’ like ‘stupid Tubi movie set.’

IN DEFENSE OF JOE BIDEN’S INTRANSIGENCE: “I look at the polls every day, and I’m seeing Joe consistently outperform Kamala Harris. That must tighten Joe’s grip. . . . If Biden withdraws, and Harris becomes the candidate, and we see her speaking and fighting every day, will the polls show greater support for her? There’s very little reason to think so. And that’s why Joe isn’t just a selfish bastard to hang on.”

IT’S BECAUSE TRUMP SURVIVED, ISN’T IT? Fireball Meteor Lights Up New York City Sky, Passes Over Statue of Liberty.

IF YOU MISSED IT LAST NIGHT, Here’s J.D. Vance’s RNC speech. I would call it solid and substantive but not poetic. But you don’t want to upstage the star attraction, if that’s even possible.

And here’s his wife Usha’s introduction, which the Insta-Daughter, comparing her to Kate Middleton, loved.

VOX POPULI, VOX DEI: Voters: Biden attacks ‘led directly’ to assassination attempt on Trump.

According to the latest Rasmussen Reports survey shared fully with Secrets, 44% believe that it is now “more likely” that Trump will win versus just 13% who don’t.

Despite falsely claiming he hasn’t stirred up anti-Trump hatred, Biden and Democrat surrogates have for three years decried Trump and warned that he would destroy democracy itself if elected again.

And when asked about his recent comment that he wanted voters to put the Republican and leader of the MAGA movement in the “bullseye,” Biden scoffed with a revealing bark, “I didn’t say ‘crosshairs.’”

Rasmussen used a phrase from Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) to set up this question: “Do you agree or disagree with this statement: ‘The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs. That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.’”

The pollster said 61% agreed with the statement made by Vance before he was picked by Trump as his running mate. Just 31% disagreed.

Well, it’s true, you know.

EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: Biden’s Insane Comments About Lloyd Austin, Black Neighborhoods in Trainwreck BET Interview.

Related: “Look at the heat I’m getting because I, I named a, uh, the, uh, Secretary of Defense — the black man.”

ANALYSIS: TRUE. James Bovard: We can’t trust politicized FBI to handle probe of Trump assassination bid.

DON SURBER: It Almost Was A Funeral. “Republicans have not been this united in decades as their delegates convene in Milwaukee.”

NOT ALL THAT MIXED, REALLY: Outside the GOP convention in Milwaukee, a protester expresses mixed feelings about political violence.

DEI MUST DIE: The Revenge Of The Diversity Non-Warriors. “You know who I mean because you encounter them in your work, community, local government all the time. And now you get to see them in places in the Federal Government that I’m sure you never expected. The military, the Secret Service, the FBI, and much more. In fact, pretty much the entire security and military apparatus of the US has been taken over by bureaucrats. And the bureaucrats are pushing diversity hiring and promoting agendas. The Secretary of Homeland Security has a stated goal of 30% diversity, which I suppose means that 30% of the workforce is something other than white men. But is the workforce competent and capable?”

Not so much.

“We have a military that could not possibly execute Operation Desert Storm today. Not only does our modern military have leadership that couldn’t even execute an evacuation from Afghanistan competently, but the rank and file are no longer particularly competent or physically fit, either. And those that meet the standards are demoralized and feel betrayed and unsupported by their country. And the failure to recruit enough soldiers in 2022 and 2023 to maintain strength levels is the proof in the pudding.”

Flashback: The US Army discovers woke doesn’t win wars — but is it too late?

ICYMI: OR AS SOME OF US SAY, DON’T GET COCKY: Don’t be complacent, Republicans — you’re falling into Democrats’ trap.

#JOURNALISM:

"We can't do our jobs because it might help Trump" has become a consistent theme in some media spaces.

Remember the AP analysis of why the media missed the Biden decline stories concluded many journalists "did not want to be accused of helping elect Trump" https://t.co/3jVW4JBXcC pic.twitter.com/IfWaxG7hm9

— AG (@AGHamilton29) July 16, 2024

HMM: FBI Claims Trump Shooter Remains an ‘Elusive Enigma.’

Related:

My guess is that Thomas Crooks is meant to be the dead end.

— wretchardthecat (@wretchardthecat) July 17, 2024

A fiction story would go like this. Find a bright kid with a chip on his shoulder. Give him a secret life and training that makes him feel like Jason Bourne. He's psychologically yours. Send him on a mission with a BS exit plan that isn't meant to work.

— wretchardthecat (@wretchardthecat) July 17, 2024

JOEL KOTKIN: A Golden State Realignment? As Governor Gavin Newsom’s signing of a bill barring parental notification of children’s gender transitions makes clear, progressives still dominate California—but signs point to a potential shakeup.

TOO TRUE TO BE SATIRE:

‘Let’s Settle This At The Ballot Box,’ Says Party That Tried To Kick Trump Off Ballots https://t.co/N6ne5hT8fq pic.twitter.com/ZF7FgBgMqG

— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) July 17, 2024

WHEN SECONDS COUNT, THE POLICE HAVE BEEN IGNORING THINGS FOR 20 MINUTES ALREADY: “Law enforcement officials investigating the assassination attempt on Donald Trump told lawmakers Wednesday that 20 minutes passed between the time U.S. Secret Service snipers first spotted the gunman on a rooftop.”

Related: It Gets Worse: Secret Service Warned of Armed Gunman Ten Minutes Before Trump Walked on Stage. “And they didn’t delay him from going on.”

YOU WANT THE SECRETS? PUT AN EX-GIRLFRIEND IN CHARGE OF IT.

@taniatotanesmartinez

♬ original sound – Tania