The Trumpster Fire: It’s amazing. Disappear, go camping on an island for two days with no electricity, come back, and it turns out Donald Trump is President of the United States and he’s been talking about buying Greenland from Denmark. 

  More importantly, the President urged Israel to bar two members of Congress from visiting Israel because they’ve been critical of the Israeli government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promptly complied. Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, two Democratic members of the freshman “squad” that has also confronted Trump, were told they could not visit Israel and the West Bank. The President of the United States took sides against two members of Congress in favor of a foreign government.  

  Trump has been trying to portray the entire Democratic party as an enemy of Israel, despite some good reasons to question how the Israelis deal with their neighboring Palestinians. The President is aiding Netanyahu’s plan to absorb the Palestinian West Bank into Israel.

 After being barred, Tlaib was granted a special request to visit her 90-year-old grandmother in the West Bank and then she declined it. Trump tweeteda personal attack saying, “Tlaib obnoxiously turned the approval down, a complete setup. The only real winner here is Tlaib’s grandmother. She doesn’t have to see her now!”

  We emphasize again, that’s the President of the United States speaking.

  NY Timescolumnist Thomas Friedman writes that it’s a big mistake to make support for Israel a wedge issue in American politics. He says, “Few things are more dangerous to Israel’s long-term interests than its becoming a partisan matter in America, which is Israel’s vital political, military and economic backer in the world.”

Up in Vapor:In what seems like an  inevitable development, state and federal health officials in 14 states are investigating almost 100 cases of mysterious lung illnesses linked to vaping and e-cigarettes, many of them involving teenagers and young adults

  A large number of those stricken have been hospitalized, with some in intensive care and placed on ventilators.Symptoms include difficulty breathing or chest pain, fever, cough, vomiting and diarrhea.

The News Roundup:Contrary to all the conspiracy theories out there, the New York Medical examiner ruled that child-molester and accused sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide by hanging himself in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. — The chief executive of Cathay Pacific Airways, one of Hong Kong’s best-known companies, resigned under pressure from the Chinese government over its employees’ participation in street protests. — President Trump approved the sale of $8 billion worth of F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan, a move sure to further irritate China during the current  trade war. — In its continuing conflict with the press, the White House press office suspended the hard pass of Playboy correspondent Brian Karem for 30 days because they didn’t like the way he confronted right-winger Sebastian Gorka at a Rose garden event. Gorka called Karem a punk. 

The Obit Page:Peter Fonda, the actor born into the shadow of his more famous father Henry Fonda who became an icon of the 1960s counter-culture in the movie “Easy Rider,” died of lung cancer at age 79. Fonda co-wrote the movie with Dennis Hopper and Terry Southern, the story of two hippie bikers on drug-hazed trip to the Mardi Gras in New Orleans. He had a long career in movies and television, but he was forever “Captain America” on his chopped motorcycle in “Easy Rider.” For many years Fonda was estranged from his straight-laced father who seemed not to understand that his son was part of a different American culture. — Ernie Colón, a comic book artist known for drawing the character Richie Rich has died at age 88. Colón found a second success late in life creating a graphic-novel version of the 9/11 Commission Report. He teamed up with his longtime collaborator and friend, the writer Sid Jacobson, to create the graphic novel version of the 9/11 report, that became a surprise best seller in 2004.

Small Comfort:Just when you thought the biggest hazard in air travel was that the seats would be crunched even closer together, the Department of Transportation released its guidance regarding service animals on planes, specifying that three types should have priority for travel: cats, dogs and miniature horses. Yes, horses. The document repeatedly refers to mini horses as one of “the most commonly recognized service animals.” If you think that’s bad, just wait until the guy in front of you leans back.

-30-