There's been a long running religious war in America—even though, for many years, only one side was fighting while the other side assumed issues like choice and separation of church and state were settled. Many current trends make more sense when viewed through this religion-filtered lens. Why do many people support Trump? Because he's popular and when he wins, he appoints extreme SCOTUS judges that are anti-Gay and anti-choice. Why would SCOTUS be so terrible dealing with the immunity issue and ignore the threat to democracy? Because getting a few more religious judges is more important to them than democracy. It's not about democracy. It's about god. Why is book banning becoming more popular across the country? Why do we spend so much time worrying about which bathroom high school kids use. Sometimes it's easier to see the crosssection of religion in politics at the local level. So let's head to Littleton, New Hampshire where the small-minded reaction to a harmless mural is tearing apart a town where residents prided themselves on finding ways to peacefully co-exist, regardless of political affiliations—and where a resigning town manager felt it necessary to make this public pronouncement: "My son is not an abomination." (Which only caused his attackers to dig in even more.) NYT (Gift Article): How One Reaction to a Mural Tore a New England Town Apart. Of course, religion as a driving force in American politics is nothing new. We've been having a come to Jesus moment for about two and a half centuries.

2

Bull Session

"From under a black felt cowboy hat, hair blacker than coffee runs to the collar of his black shirt. The impression of severity is relieved by blue eyes the color of his jeans and a smile crease from the habit of grinning around a Marlboro. It’s an arresting face, burnished by years of outdoor chores, smoke, roistering humor and pain soothed by shots of Jägermeister. It befits arguably the greatest rodeo bull rider who ever lived and certainly the hardest-bodied, a man who never conceded to any power. Until a bull broke his neck." The excellent Sally Jenkins in WaPo (Gift Article): Riding the baddest bulls made him a legend. Then one broke his neck. "For what reason does anyone mess with, much less provoke, a 1,700-pound bos taurus, a creature that is all chest, haunches and horns and that exerts a ground force reaction of 12 times its body weight when it stomps you with its back legs? That in its prime has such a fighting instinct that if you merely float a piece of paper into a pasture, it will try to gore it? Every other activity at a rodeo has some passing relationship to ranching skills. Breaking wild horses and roping steers are necessary for managing rough stock. But bull riding is just a dare. It has no other reason for being."

3

A Lick and a Promise

I spend most of my hours viewing and sharing digital content. But I'm still always in awe when I send a letter and it actually arrives at its destination. It just seems impossible that someone will come pick something up from my mailbox and drive it, then fly it, then drive it, to someone else's mailbox for only 68 cents. Andrea Valdez in The Atlantic (Gift Article) with an interesting look at Why We Still Use Postage Stamps. "Stamps serve a purpose that is not merely functional. If you look back far enough, they also tell a story about national identity, and the technological and cultural trajectory of America. Stamps 'are both miniature art works and pieces of government propaganda.'"

4

TV's Mid Life Crisis

"I’ve watched all of these shows. They’re not bad. They’re simply … mid. Which is what makes them, frustratingly, as emblematic of the current moment in TV as their stars’ previous shows were of the ambitions of the past. What we have now is a profusion of well-cast, sleekly produced competence. We have tasteful remakes of familiar titles. We have the evidence of healthy budgets spent on impressive locations. We have good-enough new shows that resemble great old ones. We have entered the golden age of Mid TV." I don't agree with all the classifications of all the shows listed in this article, but James Poniewozik has his clicker finger on the pulse of a notable trend. NYT(Gift Article): The Comfortable Problem of Mid TV.

5

Extra, Extra

The Less You Know: This is not a surprising headline, but some of the findings are pretty amazing. Biden and Trump supporters sharply divided by the media they consume. "Biden is the clear choice of voters who consume newspapers and national network news, while Trump does best among voters who don’t follow political news at all. The stark differences help highlight the strategies both candidates are using as they seek another term in the White House — and shed some light on why the presidential race appears relatively stable."

+ Cease the Day: Blinken: "In this moment the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas." Hamas to consider ceasefire-hostage release proposal that Israeli sources say could avert Rafah invasion. However you feel about the Middle East crisis, this interview with opposition leader Yair Lapid is worth a read. NYT (Gift Article): Yair Lapid Says the World Misunderstands Israel. "How come you’re marching in favor of people who want to kill Jews because they’re Jews? Because this is the way Hamas, Hezbollah and the Islamic Jihad are. And they’re supporting them against the democratic country. This is, to me, unbelievable in so many ways ... But I also blame an Israeli government who doesn’t understand or doesn’t seem to care about its primary duty to make this easier for those who support us in the United States to be supportive. Not, for example, making sure settlers’ violence is restrained, not making sure we’re doing what needs to be done in terms of explaining what is really happening in the war in Gaza. And not doing the simple things like saying: Yes, our heart is broken when children are dying in Gaza." Meanwhile, the campus protests show few signs of slowing down. And, the amazing World Central Kitchen says it will resume operations in Gaza.

+ Nav Bar: "While U.S. officials believe Putin was ultimately responsible for the death of Navalny, who endured brutal conditions during his confinement, the intelligence community has found 'no smoking gun' that Putin was aware of the timing of Navalny’s death."

+ Homeward Frowned: This congresswoman was born and raised in Ukraine. She just voted against aid for her homeland. (Home is where the heart is, but apparently not where the votes are.)

+ Keep Calm and Carry-on: "It would be easy to presume that airlines would spare no expense to ensure that passengers’ luggage meets them at their destination, considering how lucrative the attached fees are. Airlines globally made more than $29 billion in checked bag fees in 2022. However, frequent flyers are well aware that bags can be lost or damaged while in a carrier’s custody ... The numbers are quite staggering." The Worst Airlines for Losing and Damaging Luggage.

+ Paine Management: "The devil works hard, but Tree Paine works harder." WSJ Mag (Gift Article): There Are Plenty of Power Publicists. But Only One Works for Taylor Swift.

6

Bottom of the News

"The endgame to all of this, one might reasonably expect, has to be drawing nearer, if only because the United States is already so full-to-bursting with unwanted junk that entire industries and media genres have cropped up to help people pare down their possessions. Surely, one might reasonably expect, something’s got to give. There must be some sort of ceiling, some point of exhaustion—if not emotional, then financial. This can’t go on forever … right?" Amanda Mull: Will Americans Ever Get Sick of Cheap Junk?

+ Teenager finds ‘holy grail’ Lego octopus from 1997 spill off Cornwall coast.