We have a weird sort of world this morning, don’t we? Any of these strings jumbled in the image above is worth a vigorous discussion, a bottle of fine wine, or a growing sense of despair. We are doing two out of three already. Let’s start with some good news before we get to the rest of it.

So, there is something this morning that makes us proud to be an American and lucky to be human. There is much more, of coursee. we will keep the apocalyptic-streamed messaging streams to a minimum and just describe what seems to be happening with an eye to what it might mean to us in terms of prospects for getting around and planning for the tumult of the days leading to our election in three months.

That includes grocery deliveries, which had sparked a discussion about what comes in two bags of fresh grits and how many sheckles they cost.

So, that just the background noise to other messaging that could have dramatic and sudden impact. We will mention the electrifying one first, since it used to be part of our business. The weather this week had flashes of bright hard lightning to start. Hezbollah is the name of a strident group, no offense, which dominates affairs in a once-nice place in a once-marvelous nation on the Eastern Med. As part of the ongoing resolution in the conflict between Israel’s response to a Hamas attack that killed 1,200 civilians, the Hezbollah forces launched a rocket into the west side of Israel. Provocative, for sure, and the impact provoked outrage since there were 12 kids on the playground where the infernal thing went off.

That sort of visceral violent messaging was intended to provoke either submission (unlikely) or a violent response that could be used in further messaging intended to defeat the Zionist scourge or something. The Israeli response had been expected for a couple news-cycles and was reported yesterday. Two strikes were conducted that killed two Hamas leaders. One was in Beirut, which is a direct message and kinetic response to the Hezbollah rocket and the Hamas hierarchy.

So, there was that drama in used to be a cosmopolitan city on the Med. The other one was bigger. It one of those fuzes that once lit are headed somewhere with a pile of volitile materials at the end. Ismail Haniyeh was among the most senior Hamas officials. He had been outside the net of sanctions and travel barriers around Gaza and served externally as the lead on cease-fire negotiations. Among other things. As we said, it is personal messaging in addition to a bumper sticker.

He was in Tehran for the inauguration of Masoud Pezeshkian, an ostensible moderately-inclined replacement to the one killed earlier this year in a helicopter crash. He affirmed the ‘Mort-to-‘Merica messaging in part, though, so no change in Iranian policies can be anticipated. Particularly after Israeli jets appeared over Iran’s capital yesterday afternoon and blew up the Hamas leader and an associate at his residence.

There had been provocation when Iran, for the first time, directly attacked Israel with some 3,000 rockets. This Israeli response is direct, intensely personal and declarative about both intent and capability in the forms of Iron Dome defenses and fifth-generation F-22 jets.

We are naturally in a position of ambiguity due to historic legacy alliances and rising activist opposition in places like Dearborn-istan and here at Union Station in DC. This is an escalation that includes messaging from our Secretary of State a week or two ago that the Iranians are possibly only “two weeks away” from having a working atomic device, so there is all sort of opportunity for wild and weird rhetoric that could provoke even more.

So, those matters push some of the good news onto the edges of messaging attention. The Campaign stuff? “Weird” is the term that has replaced “Convicted Felon” and “Threat to Democracy.” Aside from being controversial on a factual baisis, they were getting a little stale. This is one which we have general agreement. The other one that is partly overshadowed by the potential for disaster is something that shines in the national- and human experience.

Copyright 2024 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com