But First . . . August 4, 2021August 3, 2021 If you have a dog, share this with him or her. Ninety seconds. If you don’t have a dog, you may no longer be able to resist. Less fun if more important: Paul Krugman last month in the indispensable New York Times: The Deadly Triumph of the Paranoid Style. He begins with a scene from “Dr. Strangelove” — worth reading for that alone! — and concludes . . . . . . One of our major political parties has, quite simply, gone mad. This madness will kill thousands of Americans in the next few months, because politics is by far the best predictor of who is still refusing to get vaccinated. But Covid deaths may be only the beginning of the deadly effects of the triumph of the paranoid style. BONUS Did you catch Joe Manchin on Face the Nation Sunday? I thought he acquitted himself well. There may be hope yet. Fingers tightly crossed.