Next Draft - Sleeping with the Enemy
According to several accounts, Donald Trump dozed during the first day of his criminal trial. Faced with the prospect of finally being held to account for something, Trump fell asleep. In Freudian psychoanalysis this is known as going full toddler. It may have been one of the few times I've envied the defendant. Since Trump news has returned to the fevered levels we all hoped we'd left behind in 2020, I've been tempted to assume the fetal position, turn out the lights, unplug the devices, diaper up, and enter a self-imposed news coma. Wake me when Trump loses the election and pays for his crimes. Otherwise, don't wake me. You know how this nonstop coverage works, but it's worth a reminder that the breathless coverage you're seeing is not the breathless coverage being broadcast to the other side. On Monday, Trump sent out a fundraising email explaining that he had just angrily stormed out of the courtroom. There were two problems with this account: First, Trump calmly exited the courtroom. Second, when the fundraising email was sent, court was still in session and the defendant was still in the room. It's too ridiculous to be believed, but a massive number of Americans will believe it. PT Barnum may have been the greatest sociologist of all time. David Graham in The Atlantic: Trump’s Alternate-Reality Criminal Trial. As the trial unfolds, I'll try to compartmentalize it in this newsletter even if I fail to do the same in my mind. 2Moby Click"In the family tree of professions, submarine cable work occupies a lonely branch somewhere between heavy construction and neurosurgery. It’s precision engineering on a shifting sea using heavy metal hooks and high-tension lines that, if they snap, can cut a person in half." If they snap, they could also cut off your internet. A huge amount of internet data travels via underwater cables that run along the ocean floor. If something goes wrong, your connection with the world could sleep with the fishes. The Verge with an excellent interactive piece on The Cloud Under the Sea. "The world’s emails, TikToks, classified memos, bank transfers, satellite surveillance, and FaceTime calls travel on cables that are about as thin as a garden hose. There are about 800,000 miles of these skinny tubes crisscrossing the Earth’s oceans, representing nearly 600 different systems, according to the industry tracking organization TeleGeography. The cables are buried near shore, but for the vast majority of their length, they just sit amid the gray ooze and alien creatures of the ocean floor, the hair-thin strands of glass at their center glowing with lasers encoding the world’s data. If, hypothetically, all these cables were to simultaneously break, modern civilization would cease to function." (In my house, if Netflix buffers, my family ceases to function.) 3Like Oil and Water"Nearly a decade ago, Greenstone Resource Partners LLC, a private company backed by global investors, bought almost 500 acres of agricultural land here in Cibola. In a first-of-its-kind deal, the company recently sold the water rights tied to the land to the town of Queen Creek, a suburb of Phoenix, for a $14m gross profit. More than 2,000 acre-feet of water from the Colorado River that was once used to irrigate farmland is now flowing, through a canal system, to the taps of homes more than 200 miles away." Here's a really interesting report from The Guardian that portends a future when water is more valuable than oil. The corporation cashing in on America’s drought. 4Getting Juice from a StoneIn a sharp reversal, "O.J. Simpson’s longtime attorney, who was named executor of the former NFL star’s will ahead of his death last week, has said he will ensure that any claim the parents of Ron Goldman make to retrieve the millions they were awarded in a 1998 civil judgment against the accused killer will be accepted by the estate." There's a bigger story here which relates Trump, Alex Jones, and others, and to just how long it takes for civil penalties to be paid off (if they ever are). Since 1997, OJ has owed tens of millions to the families of murder victims Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson. How much did he pay off during his lifetime: Zilch. 5Extra, ExtraStatute Had Limitations: "Supreme Court justices on Tuesday raised concerns about the Justice Department's use of an obstruction statuteto charge those involved in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The case that could have bearing on the election interference prosecution of former President Donald Trump." (Notably, Clarence Thomas didn't recuse himself from the case even though his wife was involved in efforts to overturn the election.) 6Bottom of the News"The agency confirmed Monday that the 1.6-pound object was debris from a cargo pallet that had been intentionally released from the space station three years ago." Object that crashed into Florida home came from space station. Florida's reputation has reached outer space. Read my 📕, Please Scream Inside Your Heart, or grab a 👕 in the Store. |
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Out of the Shadows
Monday, April 15, 2024
Iran's Attack, Trump Trial, Trivia Scandal ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
The Battle of 1864
Saturday, April 13, 2024
Turning back Time, Stubborn Inflation ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Juice Extracted
Saturday, April 13, 2024
OJ Finds Killer, Closing Gun Loopholes ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
A Father Figures
Saturday, April 13, 2024
Trickle Down Hate, Weekend Whats, Feel Good Friday ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Hold My Ear
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
Cauliflower Power, Best Eclipse Photos ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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