Billionaire Bust, Scott Pelley Fired
Money talks. The question is whether or not people will listen. In several high-profile Tuesday elections, the answer was no, as voters gave money a run for its money. “Tuesday’s primary night was a poor showing for California’s tech billionaires and founders who viewed statewide politics as the next frontier for their ambitions.” Politico: Big Tech’s big flop on primary night. Is this indicative of a larger trend? Possibly, but there are some key reasons why candidates flush with cash flushed it right down the toilet. It could be the fact that many voters don’t pay attention to election choices until the last minute (and don’t want to). It could be that voters get turned off by a months-long onslaught of TV commercials during local programming. (In 2026, I’ve spent more time with California gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer than I have with my own family.) It could be that the candidates themselves were weak, and that money is better spent on propositions, measures, and other elections where the human factor is less of an issue. Or, it could be that this was just a blip on the radar, and that the billionaire political winning streak will keep on keeping on. In these particularly deep-pocketed times, the lesson most likely to be taken away by bigly donors is that they need to spend even more. Expect to see the consequence of that insight playing out across your state and your screens as the midterms approach.
+ “Call it the billionaire bust. It underscores the limits of money’s influence on elections in a state as vast and diverse as California, where most voters don’t start paying attention until their ballot hits their mailbox and where the electorate has a historic populist streak.” SF Chronicle: Wealthy candidates and donors had a rough night.
+ “The contours of a premier Senate race took shape in Iowa, while President Donald Trump’s endorsement streak ran into a roadblock there. Democrats chose a nominee for a House race in New Jersey that could decide control of the chamber. But much of the focus was on California, home to Hollywood but not a governor’s race packing much star power.” California may be home to the most advanced computing in the world, but we sure count slow. Xavier Becerra leads the gubernatorial race and incumbent Karen Bass secured the top spot in the running for LA Mayor. Who will they be running against? We’re still counting. AP: Takeaways from primaries featuring Spencer Pratt, a missing congressman and a rare Trump setback.
Shadow Ballot Boxing
Leave it to the Supreme Court to remind us, even on election day, that the votes of 6 people matter a lot more than the votes of everyone else. “On Tuesday evening, in an unsigned shadow-docket order, the Supreme Court awarded Alabama a massive victory in its long-running campaign to crush Black residents’ political representation. Under the guise of soberly reinstating Alabama’s elections as usual, and over the dissent of the three liberal justices, the Republican-appointed supermajority halted the latest in a lengthy line of judicial efforts to end blatant discrimination by the state Legislature against its own Black voters.” Slate (Gift Article): The Supreme Court Just Transformed Its Horrible Voting Rights Ruling Into Something More Calamitous. On election day in America, racism won the biggest race.
Only the Good Bye Young
The demolishing of 60 Minutes has become a metaphor for what’s happening at once-respected mainstays across the country. Clowns for hire are determined to ruin institutions from the inside, and people dedicated to upholding their values are eventually fired or forced to quit out of principle. After a heated staff meeting in which he accused the CBS editor in chief, Bari Weiss, of ‘murdering’ his news show, CBS News Fires Scott Pelley. And from Jim Acosta: When 60 Minutes is in Trouble, We are All in Trouble.
+ Because the 60 Minutes saga so closely mirrors what’s happening across government and media, it’s worth paying close attention to Pelley’s exit letter. Here are some outtakes: “Now, the new owner of our network is casting this legend aside, apparently to curry a moment of favor with the Trump administration. The waste is heartbreaking … For my part, new management has instructed me to inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story. I’ve been told to include assertions that are unverified … the collapse of values at the top has become untenable. The leadership of 60 Minutes is no longer recognizable. The principles I hold dear are gone, and so I must leave as well. depart after 37 years at CBS with one emotion—a heart brimming with gratitude for the men and women of CBS News who encouraged and enriched my work, very often at the risk of their own lives. I pray for a day when those people and their ideals are honored again—a day when sanity, competence, and courage return.” The destruction, the falsehoods, the collapse of values, the disappearing principles, and a prayer for sanity, competence, and courage to return. See what I mean by this story being a metaphor for the broader American story? In both cases, the clock is ticking.
Bee Best
“I found an antidote to my existential angst last week when I tuned into the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The 101-year-old competition might seem quaint and dated in the age of autocorrect and ChatGPT, but it is really a celebration of the crucial life skills that we should be teaching kids. They also happen to be many of the same ones AI has the potential to erode: focus and self-reliance, a tolerance for frustration and discomfort. When the contestants are alone at the microphone, there is no spellcheck or Google to call on, no Claude to give hints on how to parse Phthartolatrae or vaesite. (My spellcheck doesn’t even recognize these words.) ‘You cannot outsource your thinking up on the stage.'” Bloomberg (Gift Article): The Spelling Bee Restored My Faith in Humanity.
Extra, Extra
Ceasefiring Line: “Video footage verified by The New York Times showed fire inside Kuwait’s international airport. The attack was part of one of the biggest assaults on a Gulf nation since the U.S.-Iran cease-fire was announced in April.” As negotiations drag on, the cease is being blown out of the ceasefire. Here’s the latest from the NYT. And from Bloomberg (Gift Article): Iran Atomic Risk Seen Higher Than Before Trump Attacks Began.
+ Watch Your Six: WaPo (Gift Article): Pentagon hires convicted Jan. 6 rioter for sensitive counterterrorism job.
+ Immunity Impunity: NYT (Gift Article): Order Shielding Trump Family From I.R.S. Audits Will Remain, Blanche Says.
+ Wall, Street: “Agents from Homeland Security Investigations, the investigation division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, first began surveilling a San Diego shop called ‘Buy 4 Less’ located near the Otay Mesa border crossing in December of last year.” One-ton cocaine bust reveals secret US-Mexico tunnel.
+ Ballroom Lancing: “If the language remained in, it would have required 60 votes to move forward, meaning Democrats would have been able to filibuster the bill — preventing the White House from receiving $70 billion for ICE and border patrol. Some GOP senators also had political concerns, worried that funding the ballroom as Americans wrestle with cost-of-living issues ahead of the midterms would portray them as out-of-touch.” Senate Republicans drop Trump ballroom funding from immigration bill.
Bottom of the News
Shawshank Dimension: “New York police are investigating a bizarre mystery involving groups of people emerging from the city’s manholes in recent weeks. The investigation follows the circulation of multiple social media videos showing people climbing out of sewer systems across the city, all in the middle of the night.” (I wonder if any of them emerged saying, “These pipes are clean.”)
+ “Ancient yeast living inside the 5,300-year-old frozen corpse of Ötzi the Iceman has been used to make a ‘very, very good sourdough.'” Sourdough made from yeast inside Europe’s oldest mummy. Until now, I’d never considered donating my body to science.
