Extra, Extra
Grift, Drift, Shift, Lift: “There is opportunity in this drift: to reimagine what the party stands for, how it will fight its way back and who will lead it. Over the last few weeks, I’ve spoken to some members of the newer generation of Democrats in Congress wrestling with these questions, to the up-and-coming governor of Maryland and to activists who have battled authoritarianism in other countries. Their ideas leave me hopeful that there is a path for America’s political opposition if it casts off a top-down Washington strategy, stale talking points about democracy and the middle class and its own circular firing squads.” Ben Rhodes: There Is a Way for Democrats to Stop Trump and Save America.
+ Let Them Eat Cybertrucks: “Food banks across the country are scrambling to make up a $500 million budget shortfall after the Trump administration froze funds for hundreds of shipments of produce, poultry and other items that states had planned to distribute to needy residents.”
+ Dismantlepiece: “A little more than 23 years ago, Republican President George W. Bush sat at a desk at a high school in Hamilton, Ohio, and signed a law that would vastly expand the role of the Education Department and transform American schooling. On Thursday, his Republican successor, President Donald Trump, signed a very different document — this one an executive order designed to dismantle the department.”
+ Terrorschism: “The FBI has cut staffing in an office focused on domestic terrorism and has scrapped a tool used to track such investigations, in a shift that could undermine law enforcement’s ability to counter white supremacists and anti-government extremists.” (Anti-government extremism is the official policy of the current administration.)
+ Don’t Short Elon: Motorists have traded in a record number of Tesla electric vehicles this month. Luckily, the Tesla stock has fans in high places. “Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick urged Fox News viewers Wednesday night to buy Tesla stock, an apparent violation of federal ethics rules that prohibit officials from endorsing products or businesses.” Lutnick urges Fox News viewers to buy Tesla stock, raising ethics questions. (Actually, this doesn’t raise ethics questions, it provides ethics answers.) Anyway, the problem is not the cars, the recalls, the Chinese competition, or Elon’s torching of his own brand. Musk links trans people to Tesla attacks.
+ Throwing Shade at Shade: “The Trump administration’s efforts to end federal diversity, equity and inclusion programs has hit an unexpected target: In February, communities around the country learned that funding was canceled for a nationwide tree-planting program aimed at making neighborhoods cooler, healthier and more resilient to climate change.”
+ Your Bracket Can’t Hack It: Feeling bummed about your March Madness bracket? Well, don’t. And I’m not just saying that because mind literally didn’t last through the first game. By the end of the first day, 99.9% of brackets were eliminated.
