For the record, I’ve never been a big Cat Stevens fan. But he was a pretty big deal in the 70s, and his personal story is fascinating. So there.
Here are some midday news/views snacks from my temporary perch in humid, rainy Georgia:
* Obama calls on Putin personally to force separatist cooperation with MH17 investigation.
* Rick Perry reported to be on brink of ordering a thousand National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexican border. But it’s not “militarization” of course.
* Rand Paul spent weekend in Silicon Valley in search of money and other forms of support.
* TNR’s Julia Ioffe explains very different way MH17 disaster being presented on Russian TV.
* President signs non-sexual-orientation-discrimination order binding on federal contractors without broad exemption for religious employers. More about that later.
And in non-political news:
* Much-awaited New Yorker relaunch occurs today.
As we break for lunch, here’s one of Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam’s most enduring hits: “Peace Train,” as performed in 1976.
