HMM: ‘It’s a Bitcoin Play’: Mark Cuban Says Silicon Valley’s Embrace of Trump Revolves Around Crypto. “Under Trump, who appears to be ahead of President Joe Biden, the stage is set for inflation and uncertainty about the role of the U.S. in geopolitics, Cuban said. ‘You can’t align the stars any better for a BTC price acceleration,’ he wrote.”

“Trump will cause inflation” is a bit of MSN-DNC deflection that cropped up everywhere a couple of weeks ago — remember the Journolist? — and shows no signs of abating.

HEH: Run Faster! Video of Senators Chasing Secret Service Chief Is the Wildest Thing You’ll See All Day.

DISPATCHES FROM THE BLUE ZONES: Portland is so lawless drivers are now ignoring roads and speeding their cars through parks, after dystopian city defunded its police department.

This might be as much about Portland’s descent into a low-trust society as it is about defunding the police.

RNC2024: Undaunted, Unafraid, ‘Serene’: Trump Details His ‘Painful’ Experience of Assassination Attempt.

BECAUSE OF COURSE: Drunkblogging the RNC Grand Finale: Make America Great Again!

UPDATE (FROM GLENN):

@VodkaPundit can you imagine trying to explain tonight's RNC to yourself in 2012 during the Romney and Ryan RNC.

— Nobody (@HenryLumley7) July 19, 2024

Steve’s answer: “Nope!” What a long, strange trip it’s been.

IF HE SURVIVES THE WEEKEND, HE PROBABLY SURVIVES: Source close to Biden pushes back on calls for him to step aside.

A source close to Biden is blaming senior Democratic leaders for “[giving] us Donald Trump,” as calls for Biden to step aside grow.

“Can we all just remember for a minute that these same people who are trying to push Joe Biden out are the same people who literally gave us all Donald Trump? In 2015, Obama, Pelosi, Schumer pushed Biden aside in favor of Hillary; they were wrong then, and they are wrong now,” the source told NBC News.

The source pointed to polling in the 2016 election that found Hillary Clinton leading by as much as 9 points.

“How did all this work out for everyone in 2016? Perhaps we should learn a few lessons from 2016; one of them is polls are BS, just ask Sec. Clinton. And two, maybe, just maybe, Joe Biden is more in touch with actual Americans than Obama-Pelosi-Schumer?” the source added.

That is unusually blunt language representing the views of the people closest to Biden, who are increasingly frustrated with the lack of loyalty from party leaders. It shows that the scars of 2015, when Biden felt pushed aside by Obama in favor of Clinton, are still showing.

The pushback against Obama is unexpected.

DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE: New Development in Trump Assassination Attempt Raises More Troubling Questions.

UPDATE ON COMRADE XI’S “STOKE”: Months-old photos of China’s Xi Jinping shared in July 2024.

The images accompanying the posts are not from July 2024. They were both taken during the closing session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) on March 11, 2024.

A Reuters photographer captured the first image, which is described as showing, opens new tab Xi drinking from a cup.

The picture of Xi with his eyes closed was published by The Associated Press with a caption, opens new tab saying it shows the leader reacting after drinking from a cup. Other photographs from the news agency taken between four and five minutes later, according to the timestamp listed, show Xi standing upright, opens new tab and clapping while smiling, opens new tab.

That should settle that.

SCENES FROM JOE BIDEN’S AMERICA: Seven-Year-Old Girl ‘Too Young’ for First Amendment Rights, Punished for ‘Racist’ BLM Drawing.

BUY AMMO: Four in five Americans fear country is sliding into chaos, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds.

I ordered another 1,000 rounds during the first debate but that was three weeks ago…

UPDATE (FROM GLENN): Check out my former students’ Internet ammo company, LuckyGunner.com.

OR HAVE CHOSEN FOR HIM: Biden Has Four Options. Which One Will He Choose?

EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY:

BREAKING: NEFSA obtained an exclusive photo Monday night of the broken offshore wind turbine that has Nantucket beaches closed during the height of summer – Vineyard Wind claimed the turbine blade was still mostly intact. pic.twitter.com/gkAYrISwew

— NE Fishermen's Stewardship Assoc. (@fishstewardship) July 18, 2024

Plus: “The Biden admin rushed approval for wind farms off the shores of Nantucket to meet their climate goals.”

MEANWHILE, OVER AT VODKAPUNDIT [VIP]: Wargaming the Electoral College: The Battlefield Expands As the Fat Lady Warms Up

BREAKING: Obama:’Biden Needs to Seriously Consider His Viability.’

HE’S FINE: Biden Forgets Name of His DefSec, Calls Him ‘the Black Man’ in Dumpster-Fire Interview.

The best part didn’t make the headline. Biden was being interviewed by BET.

LAUGHING WOLF: Biden Has Covid.

The very cynical part of me wonders about this. Timing is almost too good, coming on the heels of his saying that if the docs told him he needed to drop out he would. And on top of Chuckie and others delivering messages about dropping out.

If I’m being darkly cynical, one might see it as Ol’ Yeller being taken back behind the barn. Yes, a doctor can and does travel with him. Yet, in DC he has access to a top-flight clinic in the White House, Walter Reed, Bethesda, etc. etc. etc. (). But, the man who had trouble getting up the low stairs on AF1 is going to Delaware.

If you are deeply, darkly, coldly cynical, one might even wonder if Jill and/or Hunter got made an offer. Perhaps one that could not be refused even.

Hunter gets a pardon. DOCTOR Jill gets… what, a Senate seat?

IT MIGHT BE ALMOST TIME TO RETIRE MY BIDEN CAMPAIGN COLLAPSE TRACKER: Will Biden Choose Medically Assisted Political Suicide?

Canada’s progressives created Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) — a euthanasia program that they promised was just for really very quite sick people who were in a lot of pain and had no hope of recovery. Since then, MAID has been expanded to include turning the lights off, forever, for people suffering from depression, poverty, and the heartache of halitosis.

I MAID up that last one (heh) but the first two have happened.

America’s progressives — ie, Democrats — introduced this week their own euthanasia program called Medically Assisted Political Suicide (MAPS). Unlike MAID, MAPS is narrowly targeted. It’s aimed at just one man, actually. One Joseph Robinette Biden Jr.

Much more at the link.

BIDENOMICS EXPLAINED IN ONE CHART:

US Consumer Sentiment has nosedived to its lowest point of the year and is at levels which in the past have been associated with recessions or bear markets. Unprecedented to see such a strong stock market (S&P 500 +20% YTD, 38 all-time highs) coincide with such a low reading. pic.twitter.com/FvC2Vwcl58

— Charlie Bilello (@charliebilello) July 17, 2024

Consumer sentiment is no longer an indicator Washington cares about because the well-connected are well-shielded from the consequences of their decisions.

CLASS ACT: Donald Trump Calls Corey Comperatore’s Widow.

AN OUTSIDE COMMISSION, FAR OUT OF THE REACH OF MAYORKAS OR GARLAND, IS REQUIRED: Secret Service Explanations For Security Failures Not Adding Up; DHS Inspector General Launches Investigation.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Night 3 of the RNC Was Sheer Political Perfection. “Last night, the Republican National Committee did something I’ve never seen the GOP elite do: It orchestrated a convention agenda that was focused on regular American voters and not the Republican power players.”

THE LEFT BROKE MY CAPACITY TO FEEL SYMPATHY FOR THE HOME DEPOT GRANDMA:

“I can’t believe these right wingers went after some poor grandma at Home Depot”… pic.twitter.com/SONYbie117

— EducatëdHillbilly™ (@RobProvince) July 17, 2024

SCOTT PINSKER: After Surviving an Assassin’s Bullet: GOP Campaign Lessons from the ‘Silver Bullet.’ “If the key objective is to win in November, then the simplest path is to just give voters what they want. Don’t overanalyze it. Don’t overthink it. Just regurgitate it. And when you do, don’t tell voters what to think; simply set up the argument so they can reach the conclusion on their own.”

AND IT ONLY TOOK THEM UNTIL THE MIDDLE OF JULY: Meta lifts restrictions on Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts ahead of presidential election.

‘MURICA: New Video Reveals Trump Walked Into ER Like a Boss After Getting Shot.