A weekly report on things I’ve read, heard and seen since last Wednesday. 

Article: “Inside Trump’s Great American State Fair” by Jim Puzzanghera, et al, Boston Globe, June 29, 2026. The Great American State Fair is a 16-day event on the National Mall in Washington, DC that runs from June 25 to July 10, 2026, to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States. It is organized by Freedom 250, the outfit created by President Trump to run various semiquincentennial events (as opposed to America 250, the official, bipartisan entity created by Congress for the same purpose). For this article, the Globe dispatched a team of reporters to the fair to see what was going on. They observe that even though there is a booth from Massachusetts, no official state presence since Governor Maura Healey opted not to participate after seeing the price the state was expected to pay for the booth. But Massachusetts is not completely unrepresented – a Trump supporter from Greenfield hit up a local maple sugar plant for some sample then drove to DC and sits at the booth each day handing out maple syrup bottles. New Hampshire has an official presence but none of the other New England states are present. The reporters also describe some of the other state booths, especially for states with Republican governors, have more robust offerings. I thought the article was straightforward with no editorializing, but there was nothing I read that made me regret missing out on this. 

Article: “NFL ‘Insider’ Whose Access Became the Story” by Katherine Rosman and Ken Belson, New York Times, June 26, 2026. This was a fascinating article in many ways. Essentially, it was the Times investigating the sports journalist Dianna Russini – who worked for the New York Times. The thing being investigated was Russini’s relationship with Mike Vrabel, the head coach of the New England Patriots football team, who she’s covered in the media for years. Earlier this year, other media outlets published photos of Russini and Vrabel in intimate-looking situations. They are both married, though not to each other. The investigation was not prompted by moral issues but by questions of journalistic ethics, specifically, did the reporter’s personal relationship with the coach influence the coverage of said coach by said reporter. There’s a lot going on here. First is the gender dynamics. Had this been a male reporter socializing with the coach in a non-public way, I doubt the resulting angst would be comparable since in our misogynistic society, women are held to different standards than are men. Next is an internal feud at the Times. Russini actually worked for the Athletic which started as an edgy, web-based, all sports site that became hugely popular among sports fans but didn’t make much money. In January 2022, the Times bought the Athletic for $550 million and turned the Athletic into the paper’s sports department (shedding many sports reporters in the process). Many of those who came over from the Athletic are paid substantially more than are most Times reporters, but they are also said to be held to much looser ethical constraints. I’m ambivalent about most of this but what bothers me most is this whole “insider” philosophy, that there are people who cultivate sources to gain access and obtain news before anyone else. While I value getting news promptly, my sense is this whole system is just a game among insiders and we’re the dupes who pay subscriptions or watch ads to fund the insiders, their employers and their sources. The setup is inherently manipulative with the reporter being the one easily played by the source. This is one of the things that’s most soured my interest in sports recently. Whether it’s MAGA-loving Bob Kraft (owner of the Patriots), the underperforming Red Sox, rampant gambling, both legal and by insiders that I think gets a wink and a nod acknowledgement, and high cost of in person events that exclude many, sports has lost much of my affection and of my attention. 

Article: “Trump Rants Divide Court on Race Bias” by Adam Liptak, New York Times, June 28, 2026. By a 6 to 3 vote, the US Supreme Court upheld President Trump’s power to dissolve the Temporary Protected (Legal) Status of 350,000 Haitian refugees who have been living in the United States which will likely lead to their imminent deportation (after being snatched off the street by ICE). Those challenging Trump’s decision alleged it was based on his racial animus which would make it illegal. They cited his claim (with no evidence) that Haitian people living in Ohio were eating the pet dogs and cats of their neighbors; that Haitians “probably have AIDS”; that Haitian immigration is “like a death wish for our country;” that Haiti is “a shithole country”; and that Haitians “are poisoning the blood of our nation.” Writing for the majority, Justice Alito said none of this was overt racism and that the President likely had reasons unrelated to race for his decision. In dissent, Justice Kagan said Trump’s comments were “shot through with racial stereotypes and tropes.” Chief Justice Roberts and his conservative colleagues long ago lost any legitimacy in my eyes. Fortunately, decisions like this will, when viewed by future historians, will enliven the debate about whether this court or the one that decided the Dred Scott case in 1857. 

Article: “Israelis Watch Ties With US Coming Loose” by David M. Halbfinger, New York Times, June 28, 2026. This story came after three Congressional candidates in the New York Democratic primary all of whom were critical of Israel and its policy in Gaza, won their races with two beating incumbents who were longtime supporters of Israel. This article is mostly about the anxiety that people in Israel feel about the wavering support the country has from America, both from the government, since many think that President Trump’s agreement with Iran stabbed Israel in the back; but also by individual Americans whose support for Israel has dropped considerably. My personal turning point came in 2015 when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was invited to address Congress by its Republican leadership and his remarks he harshly condemned the agreement that President Obama had negotiated with Iran. It was Netanyahu’s prerogative to criticize the agreement (although as subsequent events have demonstrated, it was a pretty good deal), but for him to come into Congress and blatantly disrespect the President from that podium was outrageous (although not as outrageous as the Republicans who had brought him there). I fully understand the horrors of the Holocaust and the evil of antisemitism, but that should not mean that we all have to fully back Israel’s policies, right or wrong. I suppose I feel about Israel the way many in the rest of the world feel about the United States these days. The country has a horrible leader and the people bear some responsibility for that, but that does not erase the affection I have for the country and its people. 

Article: “Questions swirl around Duck Boat accident” by Brian MacQuarrie, et al, Boston Globe, June 30, 2026. If you ever are in downtown Boston in the nice weather, you can’t miss the “Duck Boats” filled with tourists cruising through the city’s streets. It’s undoubtedly one of the most popular tourist experiences in town. Besides a narrated driving tour through the city, riders get a cruise on the Charles River while still in the vehicle. This weekend, one of the Duck Boats stalled while in the water and another attempted to tow the disabled one up the launching ramp which is near the Museum of Science. As the two vehicles ascended the ramp, the tow rope broke and the disabled vehicle rolled back down the ramp then fell onto its side, injuring 11 passengers. Fortunately, it did not turn over into the water. Although the Boston vehicles are replicas built specifically for tourism, the original Duck Boats were built for the US Army in World War II as an amphibious utility truck. Back in the late 1960s, I read a Young Adult history of the D-Day invasion. Twenty-four of the Ducks were used in the first wave to bring 105mm howitzers ashore to provide direct fire support to the infantry, except all 24 sank in the heavy swells before reaching the beach. That story always comes to mind whenever I see a brightly painted civilian version chugging up Tremont Street, filled with people making “quacking” noises, two dozen of the 600,000 each year who pay $60 to take a ride.