NYT uses the magic word, Trump reopens pipeline talks, and La La hits it big in LA.
Question: How does Donald Trump sleep at night? Answer: He lies. It’s easy for an indie newsletter writer like me (with just over 3 billion subscribers, if you use America’s new math) to type the word lie. But using that particular word in connection with the president has been something most mainstream media outlets have been loath to do. This headline and lede from the NYT marks a shift in coverage, and the first shot in what could be new mode of coverage to meet a new mode of leadership: Trump Repeats Lie About Popular Vote in Meeting With Lawmakers: “President Trump used his first official meeting with congressional leaders on Monday to falsely claim that millions of unauthorized immigrants had robbed him of a popular vote majority, a return to his obsession with the election’s results even as he seeks support for his legislative agenda.”
+ White House press secretary Sean Spicer was met with a series of questions on this topic. “He believes what he believes.”
+ Is it a bad habit? Is it part of a well-defined strategy to push things through and get things passed? Bloomberg’s Tyler Cowen on Why Trump and his Staff Are Lying.
+ Here’s one good reason to lie. It works. “52% of Republicans and 36% of Democrats believe, like Trump, that millions of voted were illegally cast in the election.”
+ Meanwhile, “In a memo sent out to staff at the Environmental Protection Agency, the Trump Administration has prohibited press releases, social media postings, blog posts or new content placed on the agency’s website.” And apparently, the USDA got a similar message.
+ From WaPo: The first days inside Trump’s White House: Fury, tumult and a reboot.
Young Man, There’s A Place You Can Go
Before you put all your money into urban high rises, artisanal brews, and beard-trimmer manufacturers, you should take a look at a demographic trend pointed out by the NYT: We may have reached Peak Millennial. (Soon they’ll all Uber out of the cities and into the suburbs where everyone is pretending they’re young enough to be millennials.)
+ Here’s what it’s actually like to flee the city and become a farmer.
This is Not a Pipe(line)
“I am very insistent that if we’re going to build pipelines in the United States, the pipe should be made in the United States.” President Trump “signed executive orders Tuesday to revive the controversial Dakota Access and Keystone XL oil pipelines, another step in his effort to dismantle former president Barack Obama’s environmental legacy.” The fate of the pipelines will now depend on how new negotiations proceed.
+ Trump also met with car-makers to indicate his determination to keep jobs in the US, and to cut regulations. “I am to a large extent an environmentalist, I believe in it, but it’s out of control.”
Gates Foundation
“Things were said in the campaign about national security that troubled me very deeply. You have been elected, you are going to be the president, and it is important to all of us now that you be successful.” Robert Gates has served under eight presidents. And his one meeting with Trump had a significant impact. It’s well worth your time to watch this interview with Charlie Rose. It will provide a good reminder of what’s at stake when it comes to many of the cabinet picks, and why it’s so important to serve if asked.
Sound Policy?
“The idea would have been unthinkable before the advent of a technology developed in 1976: real-time ultrasound. At six weeks, the ‘heartbeat’ is not audible; it is visible.” The Atlantic on How Ultrasound Became Political. (Everything has become political.)
Bastille Day Look Back
“Perhaps the government’s bombast consoled the populace; at the very least, it surely flattered the human desire for purpose, suggesting that the 86 dead were not the victims of a crime without discernible meaning but, rather, martyrs in a struggle for good. Yet there is danger in this rhetoric, too. To endorse the notion of civilizational clash is to accept the premise upon which the Islamic State is fighting, legitimating the absurd claim that the group poses an existential threat to France and the West. France’s bluster is, in this sense, a victory for the Islamic State.” GQ’s Scott Sayare provides an interesting look at the Untold Story of The Bastille Day Attacker.
+ “He hoped to find a credible way to transform Yusuf and his friends back into the ordinary young men they’d once been. This could spare the youths years behind bars—an act of compassion that would undermine the Islamic State narrative that the West despises its Muslim citizens.” From Wired’s Brendan I. Koerner: Can you turn a terrorist back into a citizen?
Ooh La La
Nominations for Viola Davis, Dev Patel, Octavia Spencer, Denzel Washington, Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris and Ruth Negga are just some of the reasons Oscar will not be so white this year. La La Land earned the most nominations of any single film. Here’s a look at all this year’s Academy Award nominees.
+ Mel Gibson was one of the surprise nominees. Oy vey.
+ The over-rated Meryl Streep secured her 20th Oscar nomination.
+ Why does he write like he’s running out of time? Lin-Manuel Miranda got a best song nom and is on the brink of a much-coveted EGOT: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony. (I once won a ribbon for best newsletter.)
+ OK, OK, I know. All you care about is the snubs and surprises.
All Day I Dream About Shoes
The top soccer scouts no longer wait for games featuring the most promising teen players. They are visiting training sessions featuring kids as young as eight years-old. And I’m not talking about the scouts working for teams. I’m talking about the scouts working for Nike and Adidas.
This is Some Killer Sh#t
“Across the globe, researchers at wastewater treatment plants are testing for psychoactive substances passed by drug users through their feces and urine. The data can be incredibly valuable, letting scientists and law enforcement quickly track drug use trends and identify new substances on the market.” There are, as you might imagine, some privacy issues to consider. Vice on a new kind of mass surveillance. I’ll actually be interested see the results. A few people in my neighborhood seem like they’ve been hitting the psyllium pretty hard.
Bottom of the News
We’re often told that the safest place to keep our money is in our mattress. Well, how much money can one really store there? According to a recent bust, at least $20 million. Now that’s my kind of sleep number!
+ “People arriving in the country would no longer be required to show their passports and desks fronted by immigration officers would be replaced by automated electronic stations.” Australia is looking to get rid of the need for passports in airports by 2020.
+ What is the real impact on jet lag on performance? Let’s check with baseball teams.
+ And sales of 1984 are surging on Amazon. (One hopes that Kellyanne Conway is member of the Amazon affiliate program.)
