Author: Mark Docherty

The GoFundMe for Braman raised more than $88,000, with former Texans star J.J. Watt giving $10,000 and other former teammates also contributing.

“Rest in Peace brother,” Watt wrote on social media. “Gone far too soon.”

The Eagles and Texans also shared their remorse over Braman’s death.

“During his four seasons in Philadelphia, Bryan was a loyal teammate, a supporter of the community, and a valuable member of our Super Bowl LII-winning team,” the Eagles said in a statement. “More importantly, he was a devoted father who passionately loved his family and everyone around him. We extend our deepest condolences to Bryan’s family and all who are grieving his loss during this difficult time.”

Said the Texans: “We are deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Bryan Braman. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Braman family during this difficult time.”

https://6abc.com/post/former-eagles-lb-bryan-braman-dies-age-38/17161336/

Stephen Kokx, who was also fired, from his new substack:

LifeSite’s Board Chairman Dominic Ismert has informed company co-founder John-Henry Westen that after seeking legal advice he believes Westen’s removal as CEO earlier this month was illegal.

“The vote to remove me from the Board of LifeSiteNews and from CEO was not carried out in accordance with the bylaws of our organization,” Westen said in an email that he sent to all LifeSite staff and board members today via a personal account, after speaking with Ismert.

“Therefore until such time as the Board convenes to make a lawful determination on the matter I remain both CEO and on the Board of LifeSiteNews,” he added.

The email — the text of which is below — was promptly removed from staff inboxes by new co-CEO Robert Hoover, who sent employees a new email condemning the move while also defending Westen’s removal.

Dear LifeSite staff, and Board Members,

Read the rest:

https://kokxnews.substack.com/p/breaking-lifesite-board-chair-says

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114863203348237352

Blessed Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel!

COLLECT: O God, the order of Carmel was singularly honored when the title of the most blessed ever-virgin Mary, Your Mother, was given to it. Grant that we who commemorate this solemn feast today may be shielded by Her protection and attain everlasting happiness.

Wear the brown scapular. Have yourself enrolled in it. That scapular is a mini-habit of the Carmelites. Pray the Rosary every day. You will receive many graces.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us!

—

This feast was instituted by the Carmelites between 1376 and 1386 under the title “Commemoratio B. Mariæ Virg. duplex” to celebrate the victory of their order over its enemies on obtaining the approbation of its name and constitution from Honorius III on 30 Jan., 1226 (see Colvenerius, “Kal. Mar.”, 30 Jan. “Summa Aurea”, III, 737). The feast was assigned to 16 July, because on that date in 1251, according to Carmelite traditions, the scapular was given by the Blessed Virgin to St. Simon Stock; it was first approved by Sixtus V in 1587. After Cardinal Bellarmine had examined the Carmelite traditions in 1609, it was declared the patronal feast of the order, and is now celebrated in the Carmelite calendar as a major double of the first class with a vigil and a privileged octave (like the octave of Epiphany, admitting only a double of the first class) under the title “Commemoratio solemnis B.V.M. de Monte Carmelo”. By a privilege given by Clement X in 1672, some Carmelite monasteries keep the feast on the Sunday after 16 July, or on some other Sunday in July. In the seventeenth century the feast was adopted by several dioceses in the south of Italy, although its celebration, outside of Carmelite churches, was prohibited in 1628 by a decree contra abusus. On 21 Nov., 1674, however, it was first granted by Clement X to Spain and its colonies, in 1675 to Austria, in 1679 to Portugal and its colonies, and in 1725 to the Papal States of the Church, on 24 Sept., 1726, it was extended to the entire Latin Church by Benedict XIII. The lessons contain the legend of the scapular; the promise of the Sabbatine privilege was inserted into the lessons by Paul V about 1614.

https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10604b.htm

Oh, and in case you missed it, they’ve now crossed over from aggressor to victim:

Secret Service’s ‘cascade of failures’ allowed Trump assassination attempt, report says

Highly critical Senate committee report calls for severe disciplinary action against Secret Service in the future

A new Senate committee report on the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last year, described the events as a “cascade of preventable failures” and called for more severe disciplinary action to be taken with the Secret Service in the future.

In the 31-page, highly critical findings released on Sunday, the Senate homeland security and governmental affairs committee lamented the mishandling of communications around the rally and said Trump was denied extra security on the day.

“A 20-year-old gunman was able to evade detection by the country’s top protective agency for nearly 45 minutes,” the committee stated, adding that “not a single person has been fired”.

The publication of the report comes exactly a year after the attempted assassination of Trump, when he was wounded after a bullet grazed his ear on 13 July 2024. One rally-goer, Corey Comperatore, was killed before the shooter, a 20-year-old nursing-home worker from Pennsylvania named Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot dead by a Secret Service agent. Crooks scaled a building overlooking the rally and opened fire using an AR015-style rifle.

The image of Trump defiantly raising his fist in the immediate aftermath of the attack became a political touchstone, helping push Joe Biden out of the race and fuelling support around his presidency in a heightened, accelerated manner.

The committee behind this latest report, chaired by Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, conducted 17 interviews with members of the Secret Service and reviewed thousands of legal documents before it reached its conclusion. While it offers no new information on Crooks’s motives, which are still ambiguous almost a year on, it does shine light on the supposed disorganization and disarray of the security agency as the assassination unfolded.

The investigators found that the Secret Service “denied or left unfulfilled” multiple requests for additional staff and assets, and despite acknowledgements of vulnerabilities at the venue, assigned an inexperienced operator to oversee operations.

“What happened was inexcusable,” the committee stated, adding that “the consequences imposed for the failures so far do not reflect the severity of the situation.”

Six Secret Service agents have since been suspended without pay after the events last July. Their suspensions range from 10 to 42 days, with a loss of both salary and benefits during their absence.

This disciplinary action comes nearly a year after the shooting. The agency’s deputy director, Matt Quinn, told CBS News that the Secret Service would not “fire our way out of this” crisis.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/13/trump-assassination-attempt-secret-service-report

h/t Frank Walker http://canon212.com

I wasn’t there. A bunch of my classmates did go, more for the sheer spectacle than in the hopes of a killer concert, something not possible at JFK stadium, no matter how many amps. The venue had also fallen into disuse and decay at this point, notoriously the restrooms, but the organizers had to have their “100,000+” attendance, something The Vet could not accommodate..

It was unbearably hot and humid. The kind of disgusting weather that you just want relief from. I would not have lasted five hours out in that, not even at 18. My group spent the day at a friend’s backyard pool (not a common amenity in my hood). 93.3 WMMR simulcast the concert in stereo; we didn’t even watch it on TV.

The best performance, hands down, was the 21 minute set by Queen in London. Surely you’ve seen it. The most anticipated performance, hands down, was the Led Zeppelin reunion in Philadelphia. The group had not performed together since disbanding after the death of John Bonham in 1980. It was a total disaster, so much so that I cannot bring myself to link to it. Other performers in Philly were Madonna, Tom Petty, Eric Clapton, George Thorogood, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Duran Duran, and Phil Collins, who famously appeared at both venues, having jumped on Concorde after performing in London.  Spectacle: Check.

To mark the occasion, the Live Aid youtube channel is streaming the whole shebang… all ten hours of it. I do hope they have employed AI to clean up the video, which somehow was done with awful quality, even for the tech available at the time. The links below won’t go live until 4am tomorrow.

What about you? Where were you that day? Were you born yet? lol