The Big Bugout: President Biden said yesterday that the US is on track to complete its evacuation of Afghan refugees and pull all troops out of the country by August 31^st.

  “It is a tenuous situation,” he said, but that more than 70,000 people had been flown out by the time he spoke yesterday.

  He cautioned that the operation “depends on the Taliban continuing to cooperate and allow access to the airport to those who are transporting out and no disruptions to our operation.”

  Members of Congress have pressed Biden to extend the operation, but the Taliban have begun to issue threats and are blocking people from going to the airport in Kabul.

  Two members of Congress, both of them veterans, secretly flew to Kabul yesterday to see evacuation effort, annoying the Biden administration. Saying it was an act of Congressional oversight, Representatives Seth Moulton, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Peter Meijer, Republican of Michigan,said in a statement, “There is no place in the world right now where oversight matters more.”

  The Pentagon revealed that only about 4,000 of the evacuees so far are holders of American passports. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said yesterday it’s possible some American citizens might be left behind.

  As the Taliban settle in, they are beginning to mine government records and files for information about the people who helped the Americans. 

The Obit Page: Charlie Watts, the drummer who banged the beat for the Rolling Stones since the rock group was founded in the 1960s, has died at age 80. He was at the heart of one of the greatest bands of all time.

  Stones guitarist Keith Richards said in his 2010 autobiography, “Life,” that “Charlie Watts has always been the bed that I lie on musically.”

  Watts started out as a graphic artist playing the drums with various bands at night. In 1963 he filled out the lineup of the iconic band already featuring Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, guitarist Brian Jones, bassist Bill Wyman, pianist Ian Stewart. 

  Watts drummed the beat on the Stones great hits “Satisfaction,” “Paint It Black,” and “Ruby Tuesday.” 

  Bruce Springsteen once wrote that “When Mick sings, ‘It’s only rock ’n’ roll but I like it,’ Charlie’s in back showing you why!”

Borderline: The Supreme Court yesterday issued a ruling that requires the Biden administration to reinstate the Trump-era immigration poicy that forces asylum seekers arriving at the southwestern wait in Mexico for approval to cross into the US.

  The court said that the administration acted arbitrarily and capriciously, citing a decision last year refusing to let the Trump administration rescind the Obama-era program protecting the young immigrants known as dreamers.

  The court’s three liberals said they would have decided otherwise.

The Spin Rack: Vice President Kamala Harris’s departure from Singapore to Vietnam was delayed after she experienced what was described vaguely as an “anomalous health incident.” Harris is suspected to have had a bout with what’s known as “Havana Syndrome,” first noticed in a Cuba, which is a mix of sensory experiences and physical symptoms that hit hundreds of US diplomats, spies, and soldiers around the world. — The House by a slim margin passed a $3.5 trillion budget blueprint. That allows Democrats to put it all together and get the money moving through the process known as “reconciliation.” —  A booster shot of the Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine strengthens immunity, the company says. Former professional football player Herschel Walker, 59, a winner of the college Heisman Trophy, has filed papers to run for Congress in his home state of Georgia. He’s a big fan of Donald Trump. 

Clothing Optional: The women who display their business for money on the website OnlyFans are dismayed over the company’s announcement that it will ban “sexually explicit conduct,” which is pretty much the website’s reason for existing. Some of the “models” make $100,000 a month or more.

  OnlyFans  founder and CEO Tim Stokely said big banks that are the conduits for customer  payments are forcing him to get out of the porn business but he will absolutely bring it back if Wall Street approves. Even the bankers will have to go somewhere else to look at porn. 

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