Greetings from California! The good news:  The heat wave finally broke just as I arrived yesterday from NYC.  The bad news: I had no workable wifi on my Delta flight from New York to LA yesterday so I was unable to produce a newsletter on a very heavy news days.  More than 24 hours after the debate, I still feel that Kamala got the best of Trump Tuesday night.  Even right wing commentators agreed on that point.  “Make no mistake, Trump had a bad night,” Fox News anchor Brit Hume observed just moments after the debate’s conclusion.  National Review described it as a Trump trainwreck despite calling ABC News moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis a disgrace, a term that right wing podcaster Megyn Kelly also used to describe the duo’s performance in a tweet.  Trump looked sleepy at the outset, and his right eye was partially shut.  But he picked up steam and did not come across as a doddering geezer coming up fast on 80.  Harris also got stronger as the debate progressed.  I thought she was most effective when insulting Trump to his face, which is rarely done. It made for some of the night’s most electrifying moments…Hours before the Harris-Trump debate, the Trump campaign released a 3,821-word memo addressed to ABC News moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis, and other interested media.  The subject, and I’m quoting the subject line here, “Kamala Harris’ Lies on Crime”…Outkick’s Zach Dean throws major shade on Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris.  “I promise you, Taylor Swift didn't give a shit what Kamala said or did during the debate,” Dean writes today.  “It's all gas-lighting. It's all for show. Taylor Swift and her team drew up that BS endorsement weeks ago – if not months ago – and then pumped it out after Trump's closing argument to make it look like Kamala had won them over”…If  you keep reading, I’ll keep Righting. Howard 

Greetings! Anything worth watching this evening?  Just kidding. I’m pretty certain virtually all of us will be glued to our screen of choice tonight for the Super Bowl of presidential debates….A slew of books of interest are out.  Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s memoir Lovely One landed a few days ago.  Ousted CNN anchor and Trump critic Don Lemon weighs in with I Was Once Lost,” My Search for God in America.  The challenges of growing up in the twisted Trump family is the theme of Mary Trump’s latest work Who Could Ever Love You.  Washington Post pundit Max Boot gives us a revisionist look at the life and legend of POTUS 40 in Reagan.  And finally, if you’re in need of a break from media and politics, I encourage you to check out Raising Your Children as Philly Fans Despite Living Behind Sports Enemy Lines.  It’s a parents’ guide on how to teach your kids  to root for teams like the Eagles while living in rival town territory.  Full disclosure: author Rich Knopke is my nephew….More literary news:  Conservative comic Alex Strenger was physically removed from an Austin, Texas  book signing for Nancy Pelosi’s “The Art of Power,” according to Blaze Media…Apple’s much-hyped launch of the iPhone 16 was a giant yawn, sez me...Howard's Housekeeping: I'll be working from the West Coast starting tomorrow afternoon through early next week, so look for the newsletter to hit your inbox a few hours later than usual.  I’ll publish tomorrow if Delta’s wifi provides a reliable signal on my flight…If you keep reading, I’ll keep Righting. Howard