Dear Diary, It’s Me, Jessica: Part 17

Boston Globe columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr and New York Times counterpart David Brooks agreed on Friday’s PBS News Hour that Donald Trump’s recent visit to Arlington National Cemetery was “really one of the lowest political moments” they could recall. Host Geoff Bennett set the scene by recalling that “The Army said in a statement, a rare statement, ‘that the campaign was made aware of federal laws prohibiting political activity at the cemetery.’ And they confirmed the reporting that a campaign staff — Trump campaign staffer—abruptly pushed aside an employee of the cemetery. This was a female employee who, according to the Times, didn't want to press charges because she was afraid of retaliation from Trump supporters.”     Bennett should have added that the campaign claims it had permission to bring a photographer and that Trump was invited by Gold Star families who lost loved ones during President Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. With vital context missing, Stohr began, “You know, there was a time that being disrespectful in any way at Arlington National Cemetery, one of the most sacred places in our nation, would have put an end to a political career.” She continued, “But we have seen Donald Trump time and time again disparage members of the military, Gold Star families. And so this seems par for the course. I really would love to return to a time where people would look at this in a bipartisan way, in a nonpartisan way, say this is absolutely outrageous. He is not an official at the moment. He is a civilian. He had no business being there.” Finally, Stohr claimed, “He certainly didn't have any business trying to shoot a video, a campaign video, that would have knocked Kamala Harris for not being there. I mean, it's really one of the lowest political moments that I have seen in my 20-plus years in covering politics.” Brooks concurred, “Yeah, lowest political Trump moment I have seen in the last 48 hours, I think. You know, one of the things that strikes me, obviously, it's to transgress Arlington as a serious thing. But one of the things that strikes me is, will it have a political effect? And the answer is no. And that's partly because people are used to Trump. They like Trump. But partly it's just because of the change in our politics.” Wrapping up, Brooks further lamented, “When George H.W. Bush was running for president in 1988, he went into his convention 17 points down and, obviously, he went on to win. So that's when you could have these big public swings in public opinions, that daily events really mattered. That's no longer the case.” Another reason why daily events might not matter as much as they used it is because voters don’t trust the media to give them the full picture, like PBS declined to do on Friday. Here is a transcript for the August 30 show: PBS News Hour 8/30/2024 7:44 PM ET Geoff Bennett: In the time that remains, I want to put a marker on something that happened this week, the U.S. Army issuing a stark rebuke of the Trump campaign over this incident at Arlington National Cemetery. The Army said in a statement, a rare statement, “that the campaign was made aware of federal laws prohibiting political activity at the cemetery.” And they confirmed the reporting that a campaign staff — Trump campaign staffer— abruptly pushed aside an employee of the cemetery. This was a female employee who, according to the Times, didn't want to press charges because she was afraid of retaliation from Trump supporters. Kimberly, your thoughts on all this? KIMBERLY ATKINS STOHR: You know, there was a time that being disrespectful in any way at Arlington National Cemetery, one of the most sacred places in our nation, would have put an end to a political career. But we have seen Donald Trump time and time again disparage members of the military, Gold Star families. And so this seems par for the course. I really would love to return to a time where people would look at this in a bipartisan way, in a nonpartisan way, say this is absolutely outrageous. He is not an official at the moment. He is a civilian. He had no business being there. And he certainly didn't have any business trying to shoot a video, a campaign video, that would have knocked Kamala Harris for not being there. I mean, it's really one of the lowest political moments that I have seen in my 20-plus years in covering politics. BENNETT: David? DAVID BROOKS: Yeah, lowest political Trump moment I have seen in the last 48 hours, I think. You know, one of the things that strikes me, obviously, it's to transgress Arlington as a serious thing. But one of the things that strikes me is, will it have a political effect? And the answer is no. And that's partly because people are used to Trump. They like Trump. But partly it's just because of the change in our politics. And so when George H.W. Bush was running for president in 1988, he went into his convention 17 points down and, obviously, he went on to win. So that's when you could have these big public swings in public opinions, that daily events really mattered. That's no longer the case.

For years, the Democratic Party has treated the black vote as if it were a given — a locked-down, guaranteed asset in its electoral strategy. But as the 2024 election approaches, this assumption is proving dangerously naïve. Among Generation Z, particularly young black men, there is a growing shift toward supporting Donald Trump, a trend that Democrats can no longer afford to ignore.The narrative that the Democrats have a monopoly on the black vote is crumbling. We are witnessing a significant change in political allegiances, driven by dissatisfaction with the status quo and a realization that the Democrats have taken the black community’s support for granted. This shift is evident in the increasing number of young black men who are questioning the party’s track record and turning toward Trump as a viable alternative.As the Democrats scramble to address their failures, Republicans have a golden opportunity to welcome these voters, who are disillusioned with broken promises.Don Lemon highlighted this trend in a very public way. The former CNN host spoke with various black voters who voiced their support for Donald Trump, despite the media’s negative portrayal of him. These voters, many of whom belong to Gen Z, articulated their frustration with the Democratic Party, feeling that it has failed to deliver on its promises and has taken the black vote for granted. For them, Trump represents an alternative — someone who, despite his controversies, speaks directly to their concerns about economic opportunity, safety in their communities, and respect for their individual rights.The Democrats' failure to secure the loyalty of young black voters is no accident. It’s the direct result of years of broken promises and empty rhetoric.For too long, the Democratic Party has relied on identity politics, assuming that merely showing up and checking the right demographic boxes would be enough to win elections. But Gen Z, particularly young black men, are not so easily swayed. They are looking for tangible results, and they are willing to cross party lines to get them.Consider the economic policies that have left so many black communities behind. Democrats have long promised to uplift marginalized communities, but the reality is far different. In cities across America, which have been under Democratic control for decades, black neighborhoods are still struggling with high unemployment, poor schools, and crumbling infrastructure. The party’s focus on welfare programs and government dependency has done little to create real economic mobility. Instead, these policies have kept many black Americans trapped in a cycle of poverty, dependent on the very politicians who claim to be their advocates.Kamala Harris, who should be a beacon of hope for the black community, has instead been a disappointment. Her record as a prosecutor in California is riddled with policies that disproportionately targeted black men. While she now claims to be a champion for racial justice, her past actions tell a different story.Harris has failed to address the systemic issues that plague black communities and has done little to prove that she can deliver the change she promises. It's no wonder that many young black men are skeptical of her leadership and are turning to Trump as an alternative.Democrats have also failed to address the growing concerns about safety in black communities. Crime rates are skyrocketing in cities controlled by Democratic mayors, and the party's response has been weak at best. Rather than focusing on effective law enforcement and community safety, Democrats have been more concerned with appeasing the far-left factions of their base, who advocate for defunding the police and other radical policies that do nothing to protect black lives.This growing support for Trump among young black men is a wake-up call for the Democratic Party. It’s a sign that the Democrats' grip on the black vote is slipping, and if they don’t address the underlying issues driving this shift, they could face a rude awakening in November.It’s not just about Trump; it’s about the broader political landscape. Gen Z is reshaping the way we think about political allegiance, and the Democrats can no longer take their support for granted. If they want to win back these voters, they need to offer more than just lip service, which they cannot do. They need to deliver real, substantive change — something they’ve failed to do for too long, and voters are catching on.As the Democrats scramble to address their failures, Republicans have a golden opportunity to welcome these voters, who are disillusioned with broken promises. By focusing on policies that create economic opportunity, ensure safety in communities, and respect individual rights, the GOP can solidify this growing support and redefine the future of American politics. The tide is turning, and the Republicans are ready to lead.

Tech that recognizes faces, enabling the user to permanently track, say, you, is becoming ubiquitous — now a fixture of airport security, with stadiums the next big “market.” However, the full potential of facial recognition is unrealized due to a simple obstacle: children. Now, in the name of border security, that may be about to change — for everyone. “Facial recognition technology (FRT) has traditionally not been applied to children,” observed the MIT Technology Review in an extensive report this month, “largely because training data sets of real children’s faces are few and far between, and consist of either low-quality images drawn from the internet or small sample sizes with little diversity. Such limitations reflect the significant sensitivities regarding privacy and consent when it comes to minors.” Democrats have abandoned the party’s historically anti-corporate, pro-civil-liberties core, which considered the strong central government to be the people’s only bulwark against systematic injustice and exploitation. But the current thinking at the Department of Homeland Security, aired over the summer during at least one conference, suggests bureaucrats are committed to breaking the taboo on minor facial recognition. Despite denials that minor scanning is taking place, insiders approached by the Review warned that the practice could already be under way. At June’s Federal Identity Forum and Exposition, a yearly confab drawing together government employees and contractors in what’s called the “identity management” space, the assistant director of the DHS Office of Biometric Identity Management — one John Boyd — openly speculated that the agency’s so-called craniofacial structural progression initiative could soon be applied “down to the infant” at locations where the United States government receives and processes immigrants. “If we pick up someone from Panama at the southern border at age 4,” he asked, “and then pick them up at age 6, are we going to recognize them?” But “the border” effectively transcends the line between the U.S. and Mexico stretching from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico. Since last year, according to the Review, Customs and Border Protection “has been using a mobile app, CBP One, for asylum seekers to submit biometric data even before they enter the United States. ... After crossing into the United States, migrants submit to collection of more biometric data, including DNA.” Citing a Georgetown Law School report, the Review tallies at least 1.5 million DNA profiles in the CBP One database, “primarily from migrants crossing the border, to law enforcement databases since it began collecting DNA 'from any person in CBP custody subject to fingerprinting' in January 2020.” In stark terms, the “border” of the United States of America is becoming any place United States government technology digitally harvests the biometric identity of people considered to be entering or exiting its territory or jurisdiction. The transformation raises intense questions about the constitutionality of the identity-based surveillance and tracking model to which this approach to “border” security applies — one that, it’s all too easy to see, can promptly be scaled to incorporate any and all Americans, especially those targeted politically by the government or singled out for suspicion and enhanced scrutiny. For those on the political left, the use of the border to feed the biometric borg underscores how much establishment Democrats have abandoned the party’s historically anti-corporate, pro-civil-liberties core, which considered the strong central government to be the people’s only bulwark against systematic injustice and exploitation. But for those on the political right, who have long considered heightened border security a necessity in reclaiming American sovereignty from established elites bent on flouting the rule of law to strengthen their political and economic interests, the border-to-borg pipeline dramatizes how leading-edge security technology is being used in ways the regime can and does repurpose to nullify constitutional protections for citizens, especially critics of the regime itself. The DHS told MIT Tech Review it “ensures all technologies, regardless of type, are operated under the established authorities and within the scope of the law” while “protecting the privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties of all individuals who may be subject to the technology we use to keep the nation safe and secure.” What’s more, according to the statement, it “does not collect facial images from minors under 14 and has no current plans to do so for either operational or research purposes.” Yet an anonymous former CBP official familiar with immigrant processing centers told the Review that each center he visited “had biometric identity collection, and everybody was going through it” without the facility “separating out children.”

Nancy Pelosi Says the Quiet Part Out Loud (Again) About What Should Be Done With the 'Undocumented'

Brazil started blocking Elon Musk's social media platform X early Saturday, making it largely inaccessible on both the web and through its mobile app after the company refused to comply with a judge's order.X missed a deadline imposed by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de...

Lawyers for former President Trump intend to urge a judge to dismiss the federal election subversion case against him after a Supreme Court opinion that narrowed the scope of the landmark prosecution, according to a court filing.

Stovetop Stuffing Meatloaf is the easiest meatloaf you’ll ever make! The meatloaf comes out so tender and so flavorful thanks to the stuffing mix then it’s all topped with gravy! A FASTER THAN TRADITIONAL MEATLOAF RECIPE Stovetop Stuffing Meatloaf is a simple, comforting meatloaf that packs a lot of flavor from the use of everyone’s favorite stuffing mix. Many of you who grew up in the 70’s, 80’s or even the 90’s probably remember this recipe very well. It was super popular when stovetop became a household name. And it takes that boring meatloaf taste and really amps it up! Don’t get me wrong, to me, traditional meatloaf is delicious, especially if you use my Momma’s Meatloaf recipe, but with the added stovetop stuffing, it will win over even the pickiest eater! FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:  What can I use in place of the gravy? This would be fantastic with a simple ketchup or bbq glaze as well and skip the gravy. Can I make this in a loaf pan instead? I always make my meatloaf this way. Using some kind of baking dish other than a loaf pan, allows all that excess grease to bake off of the meatloaf, where as, if you were making this in a loaf pan it just sits in all that fat. Plus, with this recipe, we are using two pounds of ground beef and that would probably be too much for most standard loaf pans. You could even use a baking sheet if that is all you have. What should I serve with this stovetop stuffing meatloaf? As you can see in the pictures, I like to serve my meatloaf slices on a bed of Creamy Mashed Potatoes with a simple side of peas and carrots or any other veggies I have on hand. This is just a comfort food meal, so if you’d rather have pasta or a pile of mashed sweet potatoes, whatever fills your belly, will do the job. Can I make this in the Crock Pot instead? Sure, you can also use my Crock Pot Meatloaf recipe and follow those cooking instructions once you’ve assembled your loaf. Can I make this in the Instant Pot? You bet. I’d assemble the loaf using the instructions for this recipe then use the cooking instruction in my Instant Pot Meatloaf recipe. Can I make meatloaf in the Air Fryer? Of course, I’d recommend using my Air Fryer Meatloaf recipe if you want to do that. You could use that loaf recipe, or this Stuffing Meatloaf recipe and then just cook it in the Air Fryer. What’s the best way to reheat meatloaf so it doesn’t dry out? Reheat any leftovers covered in aluminum foil in the oven with a splash of water or stock to keep it moist. How long do leftovers keep? You can keep your leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE) Stove Top Stuffing Mix – it doesn’t have to be this brand specifically, you can use the store brand if you prefer. beef broth – you can use low sodium, or no sodium beef broth if desired. large eggs Worcestershire sauce lean ground beef – I used an 80/20 mixture. You want to use a leaner beef like 80/20 so there is not so much fat that comes out of the meatloaf itself. If you are only using one pound of ground beef, you will want to cut all the other meatloaf ingredients in half. butter all-purpose flour black pepper HOW TO MAKE STOVETOP MEATLOAF Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. Add the stuffing mix to a large bowl. Stir in the beef broth and let it sit for 5 minutes. Add the eggs and Worcestershire sauce, and stir to combine. Add the beef and mix it well, but try not to overmix it so it doesn’t become tough. I like to use my hands for this. Add the beef mixture to the baking dish and form it into an even oval shape. For even cooking, you want to make sure it is the same thickness all the way through. Bake for 45-50 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 160°F. Allow to sit at room temperature and cool slightly while you make the gravy. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk it in, cook for 1 minute. (If you like thicker gravy, add an extra tablespoon of flour.) Stream in the beef broth slowly while whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and pepper. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 5 minutes until thickened slightly. Place the meatloaf on your serving platter. Brush the meatloaf all over with the gravy. Slice and serve with more gravy over each portion. CRAVING MORE RECIPES?  Crock Pot Meatloaf Air Fryer Meatloaf Crock Pot Mississippi Meatloaf Crock Pot Meatloaf Meatballs Instant Pot Meatloaf Print Stovetop Stuffing Meatloaf Stovetop Stuffing Meatloaf is the easiest meatloaf you'll ever make! The meatloaf comes out so tender and so flavorful thanks to the stuffing mix then it's all topped with gravy! Course Dinner, Main CourseCuisine American Prep Time 15 minutes minutesCook Time 50 minutes minutesTotal Time 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes Servings 8 Calories 296kcal Author Brandie @ The Country Cook Ingredients6 ounce box Stove Top Stuffing Mix¾ cup beef broth (low or no sodium can be used)2 large eggs2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce2 pounds lean ground beef (I try to use at least an 80/20 fat ratio)For the gravy:2 Tablespoons butter2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour2 cups beef broth1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce½ teaspoon black pepper InstructionsPreheat the oven to 375°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.Add the stuffing mix to a large bowl. Stir in the beef broth and let it sit for 5 minutes. Add the eggs and Worcestershire sauce, and stir to combine. Add the beef and mix it well, but try not to overmix it so it doesn’t become tough. I like to use my hands for this. Add the beef mixture to the baking dish and form it into an even oval shape. For even cooking, you want to make sure it is the same thickness all the way through. Bake for 45-50 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 160°F. Allow to sit at room temperature and cool slightly while you make the gravy. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.Add the flour and whisk it in, cook for 1 minute. (If you like thicker gravy, add an extra tablespoon of flour.) Stream in the beef broth slowly while whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and pepper. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 5 minutes until thickened slightly.Place the meatloaf on your serving platter.Brush the meatloaf all over with the gravy. Slice and serve with more gravy over each portion. Notes Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions. NutritionCalories: 296kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 10g | Sodium: 802mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g

NEW YORK CITY, NY — Sources close to Levi Greenbaum confirmed that the 8-day-old Jewish newborn was "very excited" for a super cool party that his parents were throwing for him today, but became slightly uneasy after noticing a sharp metal device.

HMS Hawke sank after an explosion caused by an enemy torpedo, with the loss of more than 500 of its crew.