Israel Is in Flames, Israelis Are Dying, While Netanyahu Polishes a Speech for Sycophants in Congress

[Daily Kos Morning Roundup]( [Abbreviated Pundit Roundup]( is a long-running series published every morning that collects essential political discussion and analysis around the internet. - [Israel Is in Flames, Israelis Are Dying, While Netanyahu Polishes a Speech for Sycophants in Congress]( Analysts of Benjamin Netanyahu keep attributing grand plans to the Israeli prime minister. But there is no plan – just a desperate, incompetent leader, manipulating a once-thriving country, who couldn't care less about the hostages or their families Northern Israel is burning, four hostages taken alive by Hamas on October 7 have been confirmed dead by the Israel Defense Forces, he is clueless as to what happens next and refuses to engage in any deliberations on postwar frameworks. But don't worry, while his country is in flames, Nero Claudius Caesar Netanyahu is busy picking out a tie for his sanctimonious, recklessly unnecessary, patently divisive showcase speech in the U.S. Congress later this month. - [Daily Kos can't survive on ad revenue alone. We haven't been able to for a decade. Support us by giving $3 a month.]( - [Why Biden’s escalation on Trump guilty verdict is so significant]( Other Democratic officials have used such rhetoric. But the phrase took on greater force coming from the mouth of the president himself. While Republicans have rallied around Trump since his conviction, it remains unclear how the verdict will go down in swing states where the shift in a few thousand votes could decide November’s election. Biden’s remark was yet another stunning turn in an election entangled in Trump’s multiple legal threats. It came on a day when the first family was embroiled in its own extraordinary courtroom drama as Biden’s son Hunter became the first child of a sitting president to go on trial. The younger Biden has pleaded not guilty to charges of buying and possessing a gun illegally while addicted to or abusing drugs. He also faces a tax trial in September. Last week, Biden noted that Trump had been convicted on 34 felony counts and said it was “reckless … dangerous … and irresponsible” for his opponent to say the verdict was rigged. Presidential remarks in off-camera fundraisers can often serve as a test bed for rhetoric that later emerges in public events. But Biden’s sharpened tone will certainly lead to accusations by the Trump campaign that the former president’s conviction came after a process of political weaponization of the justice system. - [Biden calls Trump a 'convicted felon' who 'snapped' after the 2020 election]( The president also called Trump, who was found guilty last week in his New York criminal trial, "unhinged." “It’s reckless, it’s dangerous, it’s irresponsible for anyone to say this was rigged just because they don’t like the verdict,” Biden told reporters at the White House last week. Biden made similar remarks Monday, saying, "It's reckless and dangerous for anyone to say that’s rigged just because they don’t like” the outcome. "Something snapped in this guy for real" after the 2020 election, Biden said. "It’s literally driving him crazy." Biden also called Trump "unhinged." - [The MAGA Education of Larry Hogan]( The Senate candidate learns the hard way that his party no longer supports the rule of law. The MAGA hardliners, who don’t represent most of us but are determined nevertheless to be the boss of all of us, are lying in wait. The Senate is particularly easy to muck up and bog down, and they are ready. Ready to block Democratic nominees, legislative priorities, and funds for “partisan lawfare,” which is how they describe bringing charges against Trump. They claim the Biden administration is making “a mockery of the rule of law” and they want revenge: “We are unwilling to aid and abet this White House in its project to tear this country apart.” As Trump would say, unbelievable. Projection like we’ve never seen. Hogan’s crash course in MAGA-style politics has gotten a lot more intense in the last few days. He may have a feeling he’s not in Maryland anymore, and he’d be right. Planet MAGA is home for the GOP these days—and Larry Hogan is an alien. - [‘Antihero’ or ‘Felon’: 11 Undecided Voters Struggle With How to See Trump Post-Verdict]( Ben, you’re up. Can you explain why undecided? Ben, 42, Texas, white, college adviser A couple people have mentioned a massive judicial conspiracy of everybody going after him. OK, let’s talk conspiracy math here. The sheer number of people who would have to be working together to get something like this working just boggles the mind. And have you ever tried to get four people to agree on what to order for pizza? I just don’t see this working out. And at the end of the day, OK, fine. OK, I’m going to side with Jonathan on this one, saying, what’s the big deal about bribing Stormy Daniels? But I want a president who’s going to be able to cover up a $130,000 bribe to Daniels. If he can’t pull that off, I’m not going to trust him with the nuclear football. This seems like such an easy thing for him to screw up. I’m kind of leaning toward Biden now. - [Tis the season for farmer's markets and trips to the park—this Daily Kos tote is perfect for veggies, books, and anything else you need to carry]( - [Will a felony conviction hurt Trump? Yes! Just listen to him!]( The man's practically howling in pain, but some people still wonder For the most part, all this wondering comes from very clever people who are paid very handsome salaries to wonder aloud about things, even in the face of plain reality that should end all the wondering. I’m talking, of course, about members of the Washington press and pundit corps, even some liberals, who want more than anything else to get your attention. They can’t do that as well as they would like if the contours of the election align with normal common sense. It’s normally very bad for a convicted felon to run for president, but it’s more fun, and perhaps more lucrative, to pretend the opposite could be normal. Political reporters are probably more bored than cynical. Trump never changes and he’s been campaigning nonstop since 2015. The main difference is while he was fascist-lite then, he’s full-on fascist now. That’s not enough, though, and when political reporters get bored, they assume everyone else is bored, too. That assumption, however, should be seen as a choice of convenience. Assumed boredom is a credible rationale for believing spin about a felony conviction working in Trump’s favor, instead of what it really is, which is a painful wound. Want to write your own stories? [Log in]( or [sign up]( to post articles and comments on Daily Kos, the nation's largest progressive community. Follow Daily Kos on [Facebook](, [Threads](, and [Instagram](. Thanks for all you do, The Daily Kos team We're not asking for much Over the past 12 months, the average donation to Daily Kos has been just $9.44. These donations may seem small, but they're a big deal to us. 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