It’s A Chica-Go
September 29, 2021
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“The problem is not scientifically illiterate kids; it is scientifically illiterate adults. Kids are born curious about the natural world. They are always turning over rocks, jumping with two feet into mud puddles and playing with the tablecloth and fine china.” — Neil deGrasse Tyson
It’s A Chica-Go
Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama broke ground Tuesday on the Obama Presidential Center, to be located in the historic Jackson Park neighborhood in Chicago’s South Side. During a small event at the center’s construction site, the former president spoke about his desire to make the center more than just a “static museum,” but for it to strengthen democratic ideas at a time when Americans are “seeing more division and increasingly bitter conflict.” Ironically, the journey to the groundbreaking had itself been one of “bitter conflict.”
In February 2015, a Congressional Research Service report came out saying the Barack Obama Foundation, the private organization that will be managing and partially financing the official library of President Obama, was reviewing location proposals for a library facility expected to become the 14th Presidential Library under National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) management. That same month, the Chicago Park District Board unanimously approved handing over to the Foundation 20 acres of parkland in Jackson Park, if Chicago was selected.
May 12, 2015 was a happy day when the Obamas announced via video Chicago had been selected. Obama said it was because Chicago is the place where “all the strands of my life came together”: where he’d begun his career as a community organizer, where he launched his political career, where he claimed victory in the 2008 presidential campaign, and most importantly, where he’d met Michelle. Obama touted the economic benefits of bringing his presidential library to the city, hoping it would create job opportunities and generate tourism for the city.
Rahm Emanuel was Chicago’s mayor at the time. He was present August 3, 2016 for the formal announcement that the Obama “center” would be built in Jackson Park. Why was the library now being called a “center?” According to a lawsuit filed by Protect Our Parks in May 2018, the 1955 Presidential Libraries Act, and subsequent acts, permits duly established private presidential libraries to serve as the repository for presidential records under National Archives and Records Administration (“NARA”) supervision. But the Obamas’ original plan for a government-managed NARA Presidential Library facility had completely changed. It had become a Presidential Center that would be owned and operated by the private Obama Foundation. Moreover, the 20 acres of “irreplaceable lakefront public parkland” had now become part of a “contrived collaboration,” ultimately allowing the city to enter into a 99-year ground lease, which it can renew indefinitely, with a nongovernmental entity.
The lengthy litigation finally ended August 6, when a federal judge denied the advocacy group’s latest request to halt construction on the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park. (CNN, Congressional Research Service, DNA Info, ABC7Chicago, U.S. District Court)
Greece-ing Palms
- Less than two weeks after France lost its submarine deal to the so-called Aukus Defense Pact between Australia, the U.S., and the U.K., a new buyer has stepped up. Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and French president Emmanuel Macron just signed a multi-billion euro military agreement that calls for France to deliver three state-of-the-art Belharra frigates to Greece by 2025. The option of a fourth warship is also included.
- Macron described his pact as part of a deeper “strategic partnership” between France and Greece to defend shared interests in the Mediterranean. Despite being among the continent’s smaller countries, Greek military spending far exceeds that of fellow states. Last year’s heightened tensions between Greece and Turkey over rival claims to offshore gas reserves in the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean led to Mitsotakis’ center-right government announcing a major weapons program aimed at modernizing Greece’s armed forces with the acquisition of fighter planes, frigates, helicopters and missile systems. (Guardian)
This Is Getting Abserb
- NATO troops increased patrols on the Kosovo-Serbian border on Monday. Local Serbs, angered about a week-old ban on cars with Serbian license plates entering Kosovo, have been blocking two main border crossings.
- The ban requires all drivers from Serbia to now use temporary printed registration details that are valid for 60 days. Kosovo’s government says its ban is in retaliation for measures Serbia put in place against drivers from Kosovo in 2008, when Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia. Serbia says it has the right to take official actions like registering cars because it doesn’t recognize Kosovo’s independence.
- The schoolyard squabble has already boiled over into violence. On Saturday, two interior ministry buildings in northern Kosovo, including a car registration office, were attacked. (CNN)
Additional World News
- Police suspect foul play at Swedish apartment building blast (ABC)
- North Korea fires unidentified projectile as U.N. envoy defends tests (NBC)
- US general warned Taliban of airstrikes days before they took Kabul: report (The Hill)
- Japan To Lift All Coronavirus Emergency Steps Nationwide (NPR)
- Afghanistan and Myanmar withdraw from UN speaker list amid credentials dispute (CNN)
- India’s Rajasthan shuts down or resticts internet for 25 million people to stop students cheating in REET exams (CNN)
- 39 workers trapped in Canadian mine but evacuation underway (ABC)
Not Raising The Roof
- A procedural vote on a bill to suspend the debt ceiling and continue to fund the government failed in the Senate on Monday, after every Republican voted to block it. The results of the vote could result in not only a government shutdown at the end of the week, but the first-ever default on U.S. loans in history sometime next month. The bill previously passed along party lines in the House, but Republican Senators have been clear that they would kill it once it reached their chamber.
- Republicans say that Democrats are spending too much, and should be solely responsible for figuring out how to raise the debt ceiling and keep the government afloat. Democrats have pointed out that, during Republican administrations, they have often come to the aid of their counterparts to raise the debt ceiling, and they were hopeful that they would receive the same courtesy.
- The path forward will likely involve the reconciliation process, which would work given the Democrats’ barely-there majority in the Senate, with Vice President Harris as the tiebreaking vote. Another option is for President Biden to issue a $1 trillion commemorative coin, deposit it into the Federal Reserve, and use that cash to keep the government functioning, but we’ll call that Plan B. (CBS, CNN)
Taking The Afghani-Stand
- During a hearing in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Mark Milley and chief of U.S. Central Command General Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie said that they had advised both former President Trump and current President Biden to keep around 2,500 troops in Afghanistan, calling the exit from the country a “strategic failure.”
- Despite this, they did not fault Biden for the events that followed America’s exit from the Middle East, though lawmakers from both sides of the aisle were eager to get the men to place blame on one of the two administrations. This was the first time Milley or McKenzie have publicly faced lawmakers about the withdrawal, which has been under intense scrutiny.
- Milley also revealed that on August 25th, over a week after the Taliban took the capital and six days before the U.S. troops were meant to withdraw from the region, the Joint Chiefs made the recommendation to Biden to withdraw all troops and not extend the deadline. Biden has repeatedly pointed to their recommendation as evidence that he made the right decision, but the timeline of the recommendation was not public until the hearing. (WaPo, $)
Additional USA News
- ‘Mad Dash’: Trump’s demand for a Texas ‘audit’ caught Gov. Abbott off guard (Politico)
- Miami’s Embattled Top Cop Compared City Leaders to Cuban Dictators (NYT, $)
- New book says Trump told Putin: I’ll act tough with you – for the cameras (Guardian)
- FBI took belongings from Laundrie home to build DNA match, attorney says (CBS)
- Deadline Looming, Thousands of Health Care Workers in New York Get Vaccinated (NYT, $)
- Trump’s spiteful support for Abrams over Kemp sparks midterms fear from Georgia Republicans (CNN)
- Biden administration unveils rule to shield DACA program from legal challenges (CBS)
Hot (Dog) Rod
- Oscar Mayer wants to take their Wienermobile to new heights. NASA sent out a request last week for a new vehicle to replace their Astrovan, which serves only to shuttle astronauts from their quarters to the launch pad — a distance of under 10 miles. The company most known for making hot dogs and bologna stepped up, tweeting, “Hey NASA, we got you” with a photo of the infamous machine.
- NASA said that, in preparation for their Artemis missions, they were searching for a vehicle that would be “unique, embrace new technology and visually embody Artemis to the public.” While a Wienermobile is certainly unique, the technology behind a hot-dog-shaped car is relatively dated.
- Oscar Mayer would be likely to face fierce competition if they are serious about their offer. SpaceX transports their astronauts in the newest model of Tesla, and Airstream has provided some pretty fancy wheels for Boeing in the past. Of course, Oscar Mayer was also quick to jump on jokes made at Jeff Bezos’s expense earlier this year, so it’s unlikely the meat company is sincerely trying to put their name in the ring. (CNET)
Additional Reads
- High School Students Talk About What It’s Like to Return (NYT, $)
- Fireball Caught On Camera Across North Carolina (NPR)
- Volcanic Eruptions Helped Dinosaurs Dominate Planet Earth (NYT, $)
- Jupiter giant red spot: Winds are increasing in the giant storm (USA Today)
- You’ve heard of Harry and Meghan. Now meet Mako and Kei, who have Japan in a tizzy. (WaPo, $)
- NASA’s Lucy mission will observe the earliest ‘fossils’ of the solar system (CNN)
- Protein found on infected cells protects virus from immune system; remdesivir helps prevent hospitalization (Reuters)