Welcome to the first Friday of the month: August 7, 2026, and International Beer Day. I’ve always maintained that the best session beer (not the best overall beer) in the world is Timothy Taylor Landlord, brewed in Britain, and readers keep sending me welcome photos of their pints, although I cannot get any in the U.S. Here’s one sent by Gregory from the Woolly Sheep Inn in Skipton, owned by the brewery:
But Gregory reports on a new Taylor beer, too:
“I’ve now sampled seven of their brews and while I will always enjoy the Landlord, the others are also quite good. (Although the Dark Mild is VERY mild, so maybe I wouldn’t have another of those.). Anyway, Landlord Dark is excellent, although the regular Landlord is a better bitter. But without a doubt, their Boltmaker Bitter is even better than Landlord itself, hard as that may be to believe.”
THAT is a chellenge, so, I’ll have to try this, whose existence I wasn’t aware of. You don’t take the “Champion Beer of Britain” award lightly!
It’s also National Lighthouse Day, Purple Heart Day, and Raspberries ‘n’ Cream Day.
Readers are welcome to mark notable events, births, or deaths on this day by consulting the August 7 Wikipedia page.
Da Nooz:
*Iran and Oman are close to finalizing an agreement about how the Strait of Hormuz will be controlled, but Trump isn’t going to like it. (Article archived here.)
Iran and Oman are close to finalizing an agreement on an acceptable route for ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman said, according to state media reports on Wednesday.
The two countries, which sit on opposite sides of the strategic waterway, have been in talks to find a formula to reopen the strait. Iran effectively closed the strait, used to transport a significant quantity of the world’s oil and gas supplies, in retaliation for attacks by the United States and Israel this year.
Iranian officials have insisted they will not give up on some measure of control over the strait, which before the war was an open international waterway.
“The geographic coordinates of the route envisioned by both sides have been agreed upon,” the spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, Esmail Baghaei, was quoted as saying by Iran’s state news agency. “If certain third parties do not obstruct the process, a joint statement by the two countries, containing the principal considerations and points of agreement, is currently in the final stages of review and drafting.”
Officials familiar with the emerging accord had earlier told The New York Times that under its terms, vessels heading into the Persian Gulf would transit a channel controlled by Iran and close to its coast. Ships leaving the gulf would travel on a channel near Oman.
Mr. Baghaei said nothing about charging fees or tolls for ships passing through the strait, according to the reported comments.
A regional diplomat with knowledge of the ongoing talks said the negotiators were working hard and hoping for the best.
The Omani government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Iranian officials have said that while there will be no tolls charged in the strait, the agreement includes a “service fee” to cover the environmental effect of the shipping, security for the cargo ships and tankers, and staffing. Revenues would be divided equally between Iran and Oman, Iranian officials said.
Give me a break: a “service fee” is no different from a toll. And they didn’t need “service fees” before the war. The U.S. should not stand for any solution that changes the condition of passage from what it was before the war, i.e. free.
*Not only did “progressive” antisemite Abdul el-Sayed win the Democratic Senatorial candidacy in Michigan, but Democratic Socialist Donavan McKinney got the Democratic nomination in the same state, ousting an incumbent Democrat. Reid Epstein at the NYT gives us eight “takeaways” from these primaries (article archived here). I’ll give five:
The left beat the establishment, but the results showed its limits.
Dr. El-Sayed campaigned hard against the Democratic political establishment. That was enough to win, but enough voters backed Ms. Stevens to suggest that the establishment still has plenty of influence
The ground has shifted under pro-Israel Democrats.
The Democratic Party’s rapid retreat from support for Israel has been well documented in polls, election results and votes in Congress.
But Dr. El-Sayed’s primary success in Michigan was arguably the most remarkable victory yet for the pro-Palestinian movement in the United States — and maybe the biggest setback for pro-Israel Democrats.
D.S.A. candidates had a mixed night.
The primaries on Tuesday had the biggest stakes for progressive Democrats of any night on this year’s political calendar.
Dr. El-Sayed was the headliner, but three House candidates with ties to democratic socialism also faced primary voters.
Republicans are going to go after El-Sayed hard.
Ms. Stevens said throughout the final weeks of the primary that Mr. Rogers and his fellow Republicans were itching for Dr. El-Sayed to win the primary because they thought he would be easier to beat in November.
Now Republicans will get their chance to prove Ms. Stevens correct.
Michigan was another defeat for Schumer.
Before this year, it had been a long time since a Democrat backed by Senator Chuck Schumer lost a Senate primary. Now it has happened twice this summer.
Mr. Schumer’s endorsement of Ms. Stevens may have signaled to donors to get behind her, but it cemented her position as the establishment candidate in a year when Democratic primary voters are furious with the establishment.
The WSJ adds this, though:
But winning a primary isn’t the same as winning the general election in a swing state like Michigan. Mr. El-Sayed will face Mike Rogers, a one-time FBI agent and former head of the House Intelligence Committee. Mr. Rogers is a strong candidate who lost to Democrat Elissa Slotkin two years ago by fewer than 20,000 votes out of more than 5.4 million cast. He has shown he can unite the moderate suburban and MAGA wings of the state GOP.
It’s a new political landscape, but we’ll see how the “progressives” do in red or purple states. We don’t have any running here, though Mayor Brandon Johnson comes close. But in general voters don’t like him, and he hasn’t announced whether he’ll run again for mayor.
*Related to this is a Washington Post editorial-board editorial, “Narrow win for El-Sayed in Michigan is a warning for Democrats.”
El-Sayed benefited from the strongly anti-establishment mood in the Democratic ranks to defeat Rep. Haley Stevens. Other Michigan races showed that this cycle remains perilous for incumbents: Rep. Shri Thanedar lost to a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. He is the sixth Democratic congressman who has been toppled by a primary challenger.
Stevens had support from outgoing Sen. Gary Peters and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. El-Sayed campaigned with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) and live-streamer Hasan Piker, who has said “America deserved 9/11.”
. . .Because Vice President JD Vance can break 50-50 ties, Democrats need to net four Senate seats. Losing Michigan would require them to find another state to flip. Democrats see opportunities to pick up GOP-held seats in North Carolina, Maine, Ohio, Alaska, Iowa and Texas.
Trump is so unpopular right now, and the national environment is so favorable for Democrats, that El-Sayed might win despite himself. If he loses and the GOP controls the Senate for the last two years of Trump’s term as a result, it could teach Democrats an important lesson heading into 2028. Pragmatism, not radicalism, offers the best path out of the wilderness.
So what are the chances that El-Sayed will win in November? Prediction markets and pollsters make it a narrow race, with perhaps El-Sayed having a slight advantage over his Republican opponent, former Representative Mike Rogers. But El-Sayed underperformed in the polls for the primary, so I’m not making any bets. As an anti-Zionist, he rejects Zionism, construed as “the movement supporting the self-determination and continued existence of the State of Israel.” If you oppose that, you want Israel gone, and that, ladies and gentlemen, friends and comrades, is antisemitism.
*According to the WSJ, a Senate committee has voted to hold Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after he pleased the Fifth Amendment in response to every question in a recent hearing.
A Republican-led Senate committee voted Thursday to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress for refusing to answer lawmakers’ questions about his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, escalating a yearslong GOP effort to scrutinize one of the nation’s top former health officials.
Senators voted 8-5 on the resolution, along party lines, which was brought by the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s chairman, Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.). It seeks to refer the case directly to the Justice Department for potential prosecution, bypassing a vote from the full Senate, where Republicans would be unlikely to meet a 60-vote threshold to advance the resolution.
“Seeking the truth is not a witch hunt,” Paul said before the vote. “Accountability is not vengeance. Accountability is what stands between the American people and a repeat of the mistakes and the very real consequences of the past.”
. . . It is unclear how the Justice Department, which has shown a willingness to investigate President Trump’s political adversaries, would approach the contempt issue. Fauci, 85 years old, received a pre-emptive pardon from President Joe Biden, who sought to shield him and other officials from anticipated prosecution by Trump and his allies. During the pandemic, Fauci was serving as head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a role he held for decades.
The vote comes as legal and political pressure on Fauci builds, with top Republicans in Washington pressing for additional documents and at least four Republican-led states launching their own investigations.
. . .For now, Fauci and his team are preparing for the political and legal battles ahead while maintaining confidence that none of the investigations will yield credible charges. They have portrayed Paul’s yearslong pursuit of Fauci as evidence that the investigation is politically driven, while privately noting that Paul’s previous referrals of Fauci to the Justice Department for potential prosecution—including one under the current Trump administration—didn’t result in charges.
The congressional effort is unfolding alongside a push by Republican officials to pursue Fauci through other legal avenues. This week, Oklahoma became the latest state to launch an inquiry into whether Fauci’s actions during the pandemic violated state law, following similar investigations announced in Florida, Alabama and Louisiana.
I’d bet against Fauci facing any kind of conviction, though he may find his golden years occupied with fighting various legal charges. I haven’t seen anything in the record that rises to the level or criminality, but we’ll have to see what the Republican bloodhounds dig up.
*Finally, some odd news from the AP: John Cage created a small organ, located in Halberstadt, Germany, that is going to play one piece until 2640! (The piece will take 639 years to play.) It had a chord change on February 5: the first such change in two years, and you can hear it below.
A small organ in eastern Germany is the headliner of the world’s slowest concert. It has been playing the same piece of music by composer John Cage at a glacial pace for nearly 25 years.
A rare chord change on Wednesday — from seven notes to eight — represented the completion of about 4% of the 639-year endeavor of the John Cage Organ Project Halberstadt.
It was a historic moment inside the medieval Burchardi Church, in Halberstadt, Germany, that reflected the past, present and future of the project, as well as those who are following its — albeit very slow — progression.
. . .While the project commenced in 2000, the performance began Sept. 5, 2001 — Cage’s 89th birthday — with a silent pause that lasted until Feb. 5, 2003, when the first chords could actually be heard.
The composition — called “ORGAN²/ASLSP (As SLow aS Possible)” — is scheduled to finish on Sept. 4, 2640.
An electric-powered blower system sends wind into the organ to create a continuous sound. A chord change, done manually, means that the sound of the organ pipes changes either because new sounds are added or existing sounds end.
More than 150 people squeezed inside the church Wednesday to witness what was the piece’s 17th chord change, with dozens more watching a livestream outside.
For three minutes, the crowd listened to the “old” chord with its seven pipes. Then, an eighth pipe was slotted into the small organ, bringing with it a new sound that reverberated throughout the church. The spectators listened for another three minutes — some filming with cellphones, others taking it all in with their eyes closed and heads bowed — before breaking out into applause and cries of “bravo!”
The chord change is supposed to be in this video, not the one below, but it’s hard to hear. I think it’s at 11:30 in the previous link.
I ask you, is this artistic music? I call it a trick designed to impress people who think that a urinal is art. Get off my lawn!
Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili has a fancy-pants way of telling Andrzej that her bowl is empty:
Hili: I looked into my bowl just a moment ago.
Me: And what did you find?
Hili: Abstract cognitive categories suspended in a subtle void.
In Polish:
Hili: Zaglądałam przed chwilą do mojej miseczki.
Ja: I co tam znalazłaś?
Hili: Abstrakcyjne kategorie poznawcze zgromadzone w subtelnej pustce.
*******************
From Cin’s VIP Room:
From Things with Faces; a sink playing a wind instrument:
From Bad Spelling or Grammar on Signs and Notices: Horse ovaries!!!!
x
I felt suffocated. I couldn’t breathe when Jake Tapper asked me about the third man, the one the Iranian regime pulled back from the gallows.
The real story of why they stopped? I still cannot say it out loud and Imagine how his family feels right now.@jaketapper pic.twitter.com/WeOMgW4Nfp
— Masih Alinejad (@AlinejadMasih) August 6, 2026
Simon, who sent this tweet, wondered if it was an NHS scheme to scare off patients!
Man arrested after ‘dressing as Grim Reaper’ at hospital and staring at patients https://t.co/UhdjNsDfbC
— Dr Helen Ingram (@drhingram) August 4, 2026
From Malcolm; the English translation is “The residents of house No. 18 on Liza Chaikina Street are breaking through to the light.”
Жильцы дома №18 по улице Лизы Чайкиной пробиваются к свету 😁
Это Питер детка ✌️😹 pic.twitter.com/0HQIfgf8dJ
— XPOHOC (@Oxytan1) July 27, 2026
Two from my feed. First, cat pwns bear:
Cats will square up with a bear like they’ve got something to prove, but the minute the vacuum comes out, they act like the end of civilization is here.
That cat looked back like, “You boys got this on tape?” 😂🐈⬛ pic.twitter.com/b5lehxYLXn— G-PA (@IndianaGPA) August 5, 2026
Look at this censer!
The Botafumeiro is one of the most spectacular traditions of Santiago de Compostela Cathedral: eight tiraboleiros swing a 53 kg giant censer through the nave at speeds of up to 68 km/h.
The ritual has been performed since at least the 12th century. pic.twitter.com/7yDisxjjpL
— Jeremy Wayne Tate (@JeremyTate41) August 5, 2026
One I reposted from The Auschwitz Memorial:
This Czech Jewish woman was gassed to death along with her two sons as soon as they arrived in Auschwitz. https://t.co/D84aePUrt8
— Jerry Coyne (@Evolutionistrue) August 7, 2026
And two from Dr. Cobb. First, a double groaner!
#mathsky
— Pete Wung The Curious Polymath (@curiouspolymath.bsky.social) 2026-08-05T23:48:49.709Z
Matthew gave this one an exclamation mark. It’s taken from a real picture of Mitch McConnell celebrating his recovery. Will he return to the Senate? He has not told us.
🏆
— Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline.com) 2026-07-27T18:44:04.640Z
I started a new batch of beer yesterday. I do three 5 (imperial) gallon batches each summer, using malt extract, hops, sugar and yeast. Homebrew is strong stuff! In three weeks it will be ready to start tapping the barrel.
Years ago, in grad school, one of the physics faculty was a beer homebrewer and after a party at his house, several other faculty and grad students thought to give it a try. My roomate was one of them. I had four takeaways from his efforts that I can recall today: 1. anyone can make beer, BUT; 2. making good beer is a skill developed over time;3. it is a messy process, and; 4. Yes, Christopher, the home-brew WAS strong stuff!
My grandparents moved to Wales in retirement, and were amazed by the homebrew made on the surrounding farms (“It’s not alcoholic, see,” said one lady, “we don’t put any in”!) When my parents moved there in 1976, they started to brew their own in large plastic dustbins. Making hay was thirsty work but probably would have gone better with something less potent. I still use the recipe my mother developed then, so I can’t take credit for it. It just works!
In college I took microbiology, and that had one interesting lab I can tell you. Early activities including starting the process to make wine, mead, cheese, and sauerkraut. The last lab period was a party, and most of us got pretty damn drunk. It got a little wild toward the end.
I’m sure those days are long gone.
Terrific story, Mark. Because I am sure that anyone in authority for this wonderful teachable moment many years ago is retired and beyond the long reach of retribution of any dean, would you mind sharing with us which school this was?
Well, that’s part of the issue. Fauci has a pardon, which precedent would indicate relieves him of an concerns about self-incrimination. Now, as Rand Paul pointed out, if Fauci were to lie in front of the Committee now, that would not be covered by his pardon, which doesn’t extend beyond the date it was issued. Why would he lie? The only reason I can think of is that his narcissistic ass doesn’t want to admit that he lied about masks, distancing, Covid origins, gain-of-function research, mortality, and the efficacy of the vaccines. It might also be possible that the publishers of his memoirs might want his $5M advanced back, if he were to admit to lying.
Sorry Dr. B. but Fauci mania, all the rage with Republicans at the moment is nearly as stupid as r_tarded Epsteinology.
So Facci has a narcissistic streak. We only know this because his PERSONAL DIARIES were (illegally?) leaked by a man so repulsive (Paul) that his neighbor beat him up!
The diaries should never be brought in as “evidence” of anything. Trying to imagine if somebody blew the lid off my email account (I don’t have diary)… I’d sue Rand Paul into hell. Or call his neighbor.
best to you doc,
D.A.
NYC
David, what Senator Paul released was not Fauci’s “personal diaries,” as many have incorrectly called them. Whatever Fauci’s intent or desire, he knows full well that nothing on a government system is “personal” and public release is not subject to his approval. This was compiled by a federal employee, on government computers, stored on government systems, and thus is a government record. It was recovered from government servers and then delivered by a government agency in response to an official and appropriate oversight request. Many senior officials keep such records of daily events; I’m not sure how many of them engage in solipsistic love fests while doing so, but as others have noted, Fauci’s self-infatuation is not relevant.
What is relevant is that Rand Paul has substantial reason to believe that Fauci lied to Congress; there are multiple inconsistencies and even contradictions between Fauci’s testimony and what he records in his government emails. If Fauci did, indeed, lie, then if he repeats those lies now, his pardon will not protect him from perjury. If he tells the truth now, then his reputation is sunk. It’s quite understandable why he pleaded the Fifth. Moreover, there are indications from the email record that he knowingly destroyed government records and encouraged others to do so. That is a crime. You and others might not think it a crime worth pursuing, but that is a different matter from whether it is illegal.
Please correct my below misunderstanding if I am wrong: the purpose of the Fifth Amendment is to protect an individual from self-incrimination. This supposes that compelled testimony could potentially incriminate a witness of criminal activity. Refusing to answer questions that would simply cause embarrassment or political damage is not a constitutional right. Refusing to answer basic questions of fact that can in no feasible way be used to incriminate you is not a constitutional right.
Sastra is correct: his blanket refusal to cooperate on anything shows contempt for the process. Perhaps he and his lawyers trust the tribal process more than they respect the legal one and expect half the country to either support him or make excuses for him no matter the facts. Sound familiar?
It wasn’t that he might be caught up in a lie. It was that he might be caught up saying anything a bit differently from before. That would be pounced on as a lie. Who among us can repeat verbatim what we said 5 years ago?
Mark – Exactly.
And in re: “his narcissistic ass doesn’t want to admit that he lied about masks, distancing, Covid origins, gain-of-function research, mortality, and the efficacy of the vaccines
I expected that Lord Brydon would show up. Really? You seriously question the last two items??
I can understand that, but think Fauci shouldn’t have taken the Fifth when Josh Hawley asked him what day of the week it was and what was the color of his tie. Refusing to answer any question whatsoever looks like bad faith and, yes, contempt.
My extremely limited understanding though of taking the 5th is that you can’t pick and choose what you answer. If you answer one question, even an inane one like what day of the week it is, you may then be obliged to answer the other questions or risk a valid charge of contempt.
To others more knowledgeable than I am: is this at all accurate?
The Spanish pendulum trick is MONSTER. I’m a hard atheist but I can appreciate Catholic/Christian (and even Islamic!) aesthetics.
Would that we godless heathens be able to put on such a show! Guys?
Prof. Dawkins, Sam Harris, PCC(E): ideas?
And the John Cage “concert” is very cool. Didn’t know he is still alive!
D.A.
NYC
John Cage died in 1992. His composition provided the inspiration for the John Cage Organ Project, but the whole idea came up after his death. (Most previous performances of the piece lasted on the order of hours, not centuries.)
A small organ? No, I reject the temptation. I’m with you, professor–nonsense. At least it does make some kind of sound, unlike his 4’33” foolishness. Dvorak would have given his pointy head such a dope slap.
I’m with you. There are much more worthwhile things that could be done with a small organ over a period of 600 years!
For the uninitiated, Cage’s “4:33”, i.e. “four minutes, thirty-three seconds” is a piece for solo piano which instructs the performer to walk out on stage, close the piano keyboard cover, and sit there doing nothing for the specified period of time. This is supposed to stimulate the audience either to shift their attention to ambient sounds in the concert hall, or to become aware of their increasing discomfort. Cage is very big into Zen Buddhism. I suppose these stunts display a certain originality, but like Marvin, the hyperintelligent android in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, it gives me a headache just to think down to that level!
I told that wonderfully bad adder and log joke to my math classes 25+ years ago. It doesn’t work nearly as well now that the kids do everything on their calculators and don’t even know what a log table is.
I first heard that joke from Prof. P.D. Wall, the great neuroanatomist at UCL, and the most important pain researcher of the 20th century. He formulated the gate theory of pain, and, together with Ron Melzack, wrote the book The Puzzle of Pain.
One of many anecdotes about Pat concerns capsaicin. He was interested in the effects of the compound on the somatosensory system, and to assess the effects, he directly injected it using an animal model—himself. The results, as he said, confirmed his hypothesis.
RIP Pat: superb experimentalist and wonderful teacher.
Cutest caterpillar! Bravest cat!
How well will the socialists fare in November? We’ll see. Most people pay little attention to politics. My hope is that they won’t know they’re supposed to vote for the crazies.
And yes. Trump is frustrated that he can’t negotiate with Iran, so he’s seeing if Oman can do the job on his behalf. He won’t like the outcome so may yet have to intervene but, then again, but may accept some control of the Strait by Iran, declare victory, and end the war. He’s unpredictable.
What do you think is the best overall beer (if, as you say, it is not Timothy Taylor Landlord)? And, if your choice of best overall beer is not available in the US, what do you think is the best beer available in the US?
You might want to check with Frank Booth:https://youtu.be/snhiofL2Rh4
Fauci may be in trouble :
https://www.thefp.com/p/fauci-fifth-amendment-legal-defense
Hili sounds like she’s channeling Judith Butler😀.
Judith Butler… noooooo!!!
PCC(e) said:
Being curious, I did a search to see if we can get it here in Canada and yes indeed, we can! Here in Ottawa, it’s available in 500ml bottles at ‘the LCBO’ (Liquor Control Board of Ontario retail outlets found throughout the province). There are 60 bottles available as I write this a mere 15-minute drive from home!
So PCC(e), if you’re ever up this way again, it would be my honour to share a couple of them with you!
βPer
p.s. While we’re at it, we could indulge in some Montreal-style bagels too, made here by Montreal-trained bakers.
When John Paul II visited Santiago De Compostella, his caricature adorned the writeup in El Pais, showing the Pope standing on top of the Botabumeiro and swinging with it. I don’t think any other of his caricatures can quite top that.
I wonder what the air quality index is like in that cathedral after they’re done swinging that thing, and also what started it. A counter to the Plague, epic BO, or something else?