Extra, Extra
Erasure Head: “The document released overnight is the clearest statement yet of how the president wants his America First foreign policy to be a clarion call for other nationalist politicians to overhaul their political systems. And it echoes some of the language of the Great Replacement Theory, a nationalist conspiracy theory embraced by some of his top aides that warns of a deliberate effort to replace white people with nonwhite immigrants.” NYT (Gift Article): Trump Administration Says Europe Faces ‘Civilizational Erasure.’ (I could use some news erasure…)
+ Replacing Merits with Parrots: “But as the populist right trashes meritocracy, it is replacing it with something older, cruder and more corrosive: a naked plutocracy — rule by the very rich. We have the wealthiest Cabinet in history, stocked with billionaires and centimillionaires. Immense wealth is now seen as the single best qualification to run anything.” An excellent piece from Fareed Zakaria in WaPo (Gift Article): Populists are replacing meritocracy with something far worse.
+ Vax Attacks: Panel Votes to End Recommendation for Hepatitis B Shots for All Newborns. (And RFK’s vaccine dismantling begins.)
+ Scotus Operandi: Supreme Court lets Texas use gerrymandered map that could give GOP 5 more House seats. (The Court’s majority disregarding the law and lower court rulings to support Trump? Shocker.)
+ Shock and Draw: The United States will face Australia, Paraguay and winner of Turkey, Romania, Slovakia and Kosovo. Here’s a look at all the groups and news from the World Cup draw, where Trump accepted the FIFA Peace Prize and spoke briefly onstage at the Kennedy Center. ‘This is truly one of the great honors of my life. We’ve saved millions and millions of lives.'” (Millions? I’m pretty sure it’s more like trillions…)
+ Fact Wrecker: A headline that defines an era: State Department to deny visas to fact checkers and others.
+ The Next Pardon? “One of Trump’s first executive actions of his second term was to issue clemency to the nearly 1,600 defendants accused or convicted of ‘offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.’ It remains to be seen whether Cole’s lawyers will try to argue that their client is covered by Trump’s proclamation.” Brian Cole Jr., suspect in Jan. 6 pipe bomb plot, reportedly told FBI he believed 2020 election was stolen.
