Highway To Hypocrisy
October 23, 2020
It’s quiz time: Test your knowledge on recent world news with this short quiz. Submissions must be made by 12pm EST Monday, 10/26. The winner, announced Wednesday, will win bragging rights for the week as well as a free Daily Pnut t-shirt.
“An ounce of performance is worth pounds of promises.” – Mae West
“Every man of courage is a man of his word.” — Pierre Corneille
Highway To Hypocrisy
(Win McNamee via Getty Images)
In early 2016, there was a vacancy on the US Supreme Court, which afforded then-president Barack Obama the opportunity to nominate someone to fill that vacancy. The election was still almost nine months away. However, every Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee signed a letter pledging they would not hold any hearings on any Supreme Court nominee President Obama named. Their rationale was that it was too close to the election to be fair to the incoming individual who would be elected that November. In other words, the new president-elect should be able to name his or her own nominee.
Fast forward four years. It is less than two weeks before the 2020 presidential election, and Senate Republicans are poised to confirm President Trump’s nominee to fill the late Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s vacant seat on the Court. The full Senate vote will be held on October 26, just eight days before the election. Trump’s chosen nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, could be sworn in as early as Tuesday, October 27, exactly one week before the election. No hypocrisy here, Republicans say — it’s different this time because a member of their own party is doing the nominating.
Justice Ginsburg tried her hardest to prevent exactly what is happening, but in the end her will just couldn’t override her ill health. Her untimely demise means that the president will have seated three nominees on the Court, assuring a firm conservative majority that will undoubtedly narrow, if not reverse, the country’s social, political, and environmental progress.
A Justice Barrett could mean another scenario where the Court decides the outcome of a close election. Her vote could mean the invalidation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the overturning of Roe v. Wade, strictures on LGBTQ and voting rights, environmental protections, criminal justice, racial, gender, and economic equality. Even if Trump’s Democratic challenger wins the election by a landslide, just a week later on November 10 the Court will hear oral arguments in the GOP-led, administration-backed challenge to the ACA. If struck down, it will mean millions of Americans will lose their health care, and millions more with preexisting conditions would likely be denied coverage. Trump may have served just one four-year term, but he will have changed America’s course for decades to come.
Foreign Inter-fear-ance
- On Wednesday the Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe, publicly accused Russia and Iran of separately interfering in the 2020 election, using information they had obtained on American voters. “We would like to alert the public that we have identified that two foreign actors, Iran and Russia, have taken specific actions to influence public opinion related to our elections,” Ratcliffe said during an impromptu press conference from Justice Department headquarters.
- Tehran is specifically accused of threatening Democratic voters in four states — Alaska, Arizona, Florida, and Pennsylvania — by sending emails that claimed to be from the Proud Boys, the Trump-supporting far-right group. The emails read in part: “You are currently registered as a Democrat and we know this because we have gained access into the entire voting infrastructure. You will vote for Trump on Election Day or we will come after you.”
- Tehran and Moscow allegedly obtained data on Americans from “voter files,” many of which are commercially available. Officials did not say how Russia or Iran obtained the voter files, or that they had hacked US voting systems as Russia had in the run-up to the 2016 election. Nevertheless, Department of Homeland Security officials reportedly told state and local officials that holes were detected in voting systems, and how to patch them. FBI Director Christopher Wray urged Americans to be skeptical of information that undercuts faith in the electoral system. (NY Mag)
- Exclusive: Trump, U.S. intelligence chief push to declassify document on Russia’s 2016 election role (Reuters)
Hidden In Ukraine Sight
- Two sources have told Time journalists that explicit photos and emails purportedly belonging to Hunter Biden were circulating in Ukraine last year at the same time Rudy Giuliani was there searching for dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden. The sources said they didn’t know if the emails were real or who was proffering them.
- Selling or leaking private communications has become so common in Ukraine that the government is proposing passing a law against it. Giuliani, who is Trump’s personal lawyer, has recently claimed to have obtained private photos and emails of Hunter Biden from a broken laptop abandoned in Delaware. Giuliani passed the material to right-wing news outlets like the New York Post, which began publishing it last week.
- The sources said they could not confirm whether any of the material presented to them was the same as that being published in the US. Although no other news organization has been able to verify the contents of the leaks, Trump has been using them to fuel his claims of corruption against the Biden family. In a Fox News interview, the president called on Attorney General William Barr to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the material.
- The Biden campaign, along with US national security officials and social media platforms, have warned that the leaked files could include forgeries meant to confuse or mislead voters in the final weeks of the campaign. Experts on disinformation have also raised serious concerns about the leaks. (Time)
Additional World News
- #EndSARS: What is the Nigeria protest against police brutality? (WaPo, $). Pay attention to this African uprising.
- Police brutality is just tip of the iceberg for protesters in Nigeria (Guardian)
- India in the lead: Surprise! India Is Leaping Ahead in Clean Energy (Foreign Policy)
- Thailand protest: Why young activists are embracing Hong Kong’s tactics (BBC)
- Taiwan says not seeking arms race with China after new U.S. arms sale (Reuters)
- Putin: Russia-China military alliance can’t be ruled out (AP). The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
- Poland Court Ruling Effectively Bans Legal Abortions (NYT, $)
- The contested legacy of the anti-fascist International Brigades (Guardian)
- Splitting Paris at the seams: The Beheading of a Teacher in France Exposes a Cultural Schism That Threatens President Macron’s Future (Time)
- Europe Wonders if It Can Rely on U.S. Again, Whoever Wins (NYT, $)
- No Matter Who Is U.S. President, Iran Will Drive a Harder Bargain Than Before (Foreign Affairs)
- The World Leaders Who Benefit From Trump’s Presidency (Atlantic, $). He sure is popular amongst populists.
COVID-19
- If you’re pinning your hopes on a Covid vaccine, here’s a dose of realism (Guardian)
- We May Never Know the Full Story of COVID-19 (Atlantic)
- What It’s Like Living in a Country Where Coronavirus Isn’t a Worry (Vice)
- CDC expands definition of who is a ‘close contact’ of an individual with covid-19 (WaPo)
- Learn the skills you need to succeed, at home, or on-the-go. Brilliant is an online learning platform that helps you learn technological and analytical skills. They have more than 60 interactive courses in math, science, and computer science, all designed by award-winning teachers and professionals from MIT, Caltech, Microsoft, Google, and more.
- Even better, you can use Brilliant on your phone or on your computer, and you can progress seamlessly between platforms. Brush up on algebra and geometry while you’re waiting at the bank, and then learn the basics of coding and computer science from the comfort of your home.
- Start seeing math and science in a new way — interactive, engaging, and done at your own pace. Sign up now!
Down The Foxhole
(Andy Kropa via Getty Images)
- Arguably, President Trump’s political strategy has been all along to get those people who agree with him to keep agreeing with him even more. There’s been no discernible effort to woo his skeptics or to expand his base beyond what it was four years ago. But while it’s true that his base is fervently supportive of him, it hasn’t solely been a function of his single-minded dedication.
- It’s also because he has a cable news network — Fox — that broadly bolsters and reinforces his positions, helping foster a remarkable loyalty. A new PPRI poll documents the stunning extent to which Trump’s most energetic base of support overlaps with those who are most likely to trust Fox News for television news.
- For example, about 4 in 10 Americans overall approve of the job Trump is doing, and most of these are Republicans. But of that number, those Republicans who say they trust Fox most as a television news source are far more likely to approve of Trump than those who don’t. In fact, nearly every Republican who most trusts Fox News says they approve of how Trump is faring as president.
- Most of those who said they approved of Trump also said their view wouldn’t change. Among Republicans who trusted non-Fox News networks most, about 4 in 10 said almost nothing Trump could do would change their approval. Among Fox News Republicans, the number was nearly 6 in 10. (WaPo)
Big Pharma Gets Send To The Farm
- Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, has agreed to plead guilty to three federal criminal charges for its role in creating the nation’s opioid crisis. The company, which filed for bankruptcy in 2019, pleaded guilty to violating federal anti-kickback laws, as it paid doctors ostensibly to write more opioid prescriptions. The settlement requires the company to pay more than $8 billion, and close down.
- The money will go to opioid treatment and abatement programs. The privately held company also agreed to pay a $3.5 billion fine, and forfeit an additional $2 billion in past profits, in addition to the $2.8 billion it agreed to pay in civil liability. As the company doesn’t have $8 billion in cash available to pay the fines, Purdue will be dissolved and its assets used to create a new “public benefit company,” controlled by a trust and designed for the benefit of the American public.
- The Justice Department said it will function entirely in the public interest, with its future earnings going to pay the fines and penalties, which in turn will be used to combat the opioid crisis. The new company will continue to produce painkillers like OxyContin, as well as drugs to deal with opioid overdose.
- Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, who announced the settlement, defended the plans for the new company to continue to sell that drug, saying there are legitimate uses for painkillers such as OxyContin. The Justice Department also reached a separate $225 million civil settlement with the former owners of Purdue Pharma, the Sackler family. (CNN)
Additional USA News
- A relatively timid debate allowed each candidate to give their final pitch to undecided voters: Debate fact-check: Trump and Biden face off in final debate (NBC)
- Debate Takeaways: Trump gets personal, Biden hits on virus (AP)
- Republicans, it’s time to choose between autocracy and a republic (WaPo, $)
- 44 goes on the offensive: Obama calls on voters to hand Trump a clear defeat (NBC)
- Trump national security adviser says president will respect results of election (Politico)
- Trump abruptly ends ’60 Minutes’ interview before planned taping of joint appearance with Pence (CNN). 60 minutes? Trump only lasted 30.
- President Trump Leaks Raw Footage From “60 Minutes” Interview (Real Clear Politics)
- Could the Third Amendment Protect Against Infection? (Atlantic, $)
- Administration officials alarmed by White House push to fast track lucrative 5G spectrum contract, sources say (CNN)
- In Ohio, a Printing Company Is Overwhelmed and Mail Ballots Are Delayed (NYT, $)
- US jobless claims drop to 787,000, but layoffs remain high (AP)
- Bearing arms and scaring voters: Will Militia Groups Disrupt The Elections? 5 States Face The Biggest Threat (NPR)
- How Police Unions Bully Politicians (New Republic)
- The Justice Dept.’s Lawsuit Against Google: Too Little, Too Late (NYT, $)
- Facebook Manipulated the News You See to Appease Republicans, Insiders Say (Mother Jones)
- President Trump’s Twitter accessed by security expert who guessed password ‘maga2020!’ (Tech Crunch). Because of course it is.
High Art In A Random Apt.
- Renowned Black artist Jacob Lawrence completed his original series of 30 panels, reexamining America’s early history, in 1956. Five panels from the original series went missing. But recently a visitor to the Metropolitan Museum, which was exhibiting “Jacob Lawrence: the American Struggle,” believed one of the panels was hanging in her neighbor’s Upper West Side apartment.
- Turns out the neighbors had purchased the small painting for a modest sum at a friend’s Christmas charity art auction in 1960. The painting had been hanging untouched on the now elderly couple’s wall for 60 years. A curator authenticated the work, entitled “Shay’s Rebellion,” which was signed and dated 1956, the year the artist completed the series.
- The couple has loaned the painting to the Met where it will hang with the rest of Lawrence’s known works for the remaining two weeks of the exhibition. It will then travel on loan to venues in Birmingham, Seattle, and Washington DC, through next fall. (NYT)
Weekend Reads
- Lots of Overnight Tragedies, No Overnight Miracles (Collaborative Fund)
- How to Get Your Friends to Stop Treating You Like a Therapist (NYT, $)
- AITA? How a Reddit forum posed the defining question of our age (Guardian). Don’t worry, we all are from time to time.
- The 50 Best Movie and TV Show Twists of All Time (Ringer)
- Quibi is shutting down (The Verge). Just like a stream, it comes and it goes.
- This Guy Disguises 5G Towers So People Don’t Burn Them (Vice)
- PayPal to open up network to cryptocurrencies (Reuters)
- Painting Missing for Decades Found Hanging in an Upper West Side Apartment (NYT, $)
- Culinary School Cooking Tips And Hacks You Should Know (Buzzfeed)
- What did a dinosaur’s butt look like? This fossil tells us. (Slate). Putting the ass in Jurassic.