06.Aug.2026, THURSDAY 6:30pm at The Hangar

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We gather again this Thursday at 6:30pm at: The Hangar Restaurant on the second floor (there is an elevator in addition to stairs)
540 1st St S, St. Petersburg, FL 33701
https://www.thehangarstpete.com/
We will be INSIDE this week; thunderstorms are predicted. Just ask a server where Drinking Liberally is if you don't spot us :)
In current news (Monday as I write this):

• "Acting AG Todd Blanche reaches deal with holdout senators to scrap $1.8B ‘anti-weaponization’ fund" (NBC News) https://tinyurl.com/33j742xe ... Personally, I do not think this goes far enough. One report I'd read pointed out that while Blanche has put something in writing, it is not approved by all involved, including Trump's lawyers. And I am adamantly against banning the IRS from auditing Trump and his relatives and their companies -- even if that ban is "only" applied retroactively (as Blanche is claiming).
• "Iran says no talks are under way with United States after Trump calls off attacks" (Reuters) https://tinyurl.com/2776cfn5 ... Could it be that Trump was simply *saying* that talks were underway so that he could pull back from attacking Iran? Could this simply be an attempt to manipulate markets?
• "Hundreds of firefighters battle blaze at Wildberries warehouse in Russia's Vladimir region" (Reuters) https://tinyurl.com/yrrawhpe ... Wildberries is Russia's Amazon-like company.
• "ANALYSIS: Why Is Ukraine Attacking Wildberries? Here’s Why" (Kyiv Post) https://tinyurl.com/yr2z7fae ...Wildberries controls 40% of the retail market in Russia. Total damage to date is estimated to be ~$2 billion. Wildberries will not compensate customers / entrepreneurs for their losses.
• "Cuba plunges into darkness as electric grid collapses" (NBC News) https://tinyurl.com/ysm6fj86 ... US sanctions are a big factor.

IMPORTANT: Every voter now has to request a vote by mail ballot to get one this election, and the deadline to request a mail ballot is 5 p.m. on August 6. You can check your ballot's status and request a mail-in ballot at https://www.votepinellas.gov/190/Request-a-Mail-Ballot Florida's primary election is scheduled for August 18, 2026.

Meanwhile, There ARE still millions of Trump-Epstein files to be released. Let us not be "lulled" into forgetfulness of the Trump-Epstein files by the various other issues that rightfully compete for our attention.

Please note that several "regulars" show up most weeks and therefore do not RSVP (last week we had 10 folks, sometimes we have 15 or more - it varies) . Don't worry if you are new and only see a few RSVPs if you look at Meetup :) Anyone is welcome (as long as they are civil), and we talk about pretty much ANYthing -- some of which is political and plenty that is just life in general :)
~ Joe & Shirley