1 October—First, Happy hundredth birthday to Jimmy Carter. Second, Happy would-have-been 120^th birthday to Vladimir Horowitz. Third, Joe Biden and Antony Blinken continue to insist in public that the only way to achieve peace in the Middle East is through diplomacy. We know they’re serious. In public. But are they for real? Ever. It’s common knowledge, after all, that diplomacy doesn’t work with terrorists. And peace in the Middle East is a pipe dream as long as there’s a Jewish state there.

Fourth, when my son returned to Litchfield late Saturday from Long Island, where he survived an Ironman suicide triathlon, he found four messages on his phone’s answering machine. All were from Michael Peloquin. The first message sounded like a toilet being flushed. The other three—and the three that followed Saturday, Sunday, and Monday—well, judge the judge for yourself. No messages from him today, as of this writing.

Yesterday, my son found mail from Judge Peloquin in his PO box. You’ll see that tomorrow . . .