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I’m not sure if most people realize that Trump didn’t create his most enduring catchphrase. He borrowed it from Ronald Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign slogan, “Let’s Make America Great Again.” (One assumes Trump cut the Let’s out because the contraction reeks of elements like unity and cooperation.) It might be time to borrow a new slogan from REM: It’s the End of the World as We Know It. The acronym ITEOTWAWKI might not conveniently fit on a trucker hat, but the messaging fits the moment when it comes to America and the world. From our military shortcomings in Iran to our damaged relations with allies to the rapid demolition of our own values and institutions, it’s hard to argue with some of the points in Phillips Payson O’Brien’s assessment in The Atlantic (Gift Article): The American Age Is Over. “President Trump did not erode U.S. capabilities on his own. But Trump’s war with Iran has revealed just how the underlying dynamics of global power have shifted—and just how much American might has decayed.” I’m not sure the American age is over, but it sure feels like fall is in the air. It’s hard to make the case that we haven’t suffered a remarkable (and predictable) setback in a very short amount of time. And, at this point, it’s impossible to argue that the second election of Donald Trump isn’t one of the most egregious self-goals in the history of empires. Maybe we’re not quite ready for REM’s slogan, but we’re gonna definitely need this one from Mr. T. “To have a comeback, you have to have a setback.”
+ Bloomberg (Gift Article): Iran Blockade Costs Are Draining America’s Global Military Power.
+ Weapons can be replenished. Rebuilding alliances will be more difficult. European Union invites Canada to become first ever associate member. “In an unprecedented offer, von der Leyen said on Wednesday that the EU and Canada ‘see the world with the same eyes’ through shared democratic values and common approaches to many big issues, from AI to climate breakdown, the Ukraine war and geopolitics.” (Guess which country no longer sees the world with those eyes...) Leave it to social media to create a live view of Canadians waking up as associate members of the EU.
+ “Global investors are balking at U.S. bonds. Talk of the dollar’s dwindling power is getting louder. Foreign governments are hauling their gold out of American vaults.” NYT (Gift Article): The World Economy Is Becoming Wary of the US.
2
Getting Into Dodge
“House lawmakers will leave Washington on Wednesday night for the last time before the November midterm elections, after GOP leaders said they were canceling votes set for Thursday. The change in schedule means that the House won’t vote on Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky’s resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth until after Election Day.” (Given the latest polling on Trump, I’m surprised they stuck around DC as long as they did.)
3
Kitchen Table Issue
“Hundreds of workers who’ve contracted silicosis are suing the artificial stone industry for billions. While California weighs a ban on fabricating the product, the manufacturers’ defenders in Congress are trying to ban the lawsuits.” Businessweek (Gift Article): Death Sentences: Crafting America’s Favorite Countertops Is Killing Workers. “Once an athletic stonecutter, Tyler Jordan found in 2022 he could no longer take a full, deep breath, and he hasn’t since .... While Jordan’s parents worry about him, he worries about them. Over the summer, Jimmy, too, was diagnosed with silicosis. But they’ve got bills to pay (he and Tina are only in their 50s) and customers are still demanding artificial stone, so he’s still in the shop, fabricating it himself. ‘That’s just who you are,’ Tina says to Jimmy during a September evening phone call with Businessweek, and he agrees. ‘I’ve always been in the shop,’ he says. ‘The alternative is to quit the business, but then what do you do?’”
4
Laughing Matters
“There was a time when meatheads would giggle at off-color jokes only while in the locker room, or at least in the sanctity of the group chat, because at least good sense would prevail and remind them that some punch lines aren’t suitable for public consumption. It wasn’t that long ago, either, when head coaches jacked up on adrenaline would fulfill their social contract by spitting out a couple of nothings to a sideline reporter — or, at least, express regret when they didn’t. That kind of human decorum, however, is fading faster than someone can hit ‘send’ on the latest AI-generated nonsense.” The Athletic (Gift Article): Did Arch Manning, Steve Sarkisian and cackling reporters act this way? It can’t be real. This review of the reaction to an AI-generated video of Steve Sarkisian backslapping sideline reporter Holly Rowe is about a lot more than an ill-timed laugh by a young quarterback (who has already apologized publicly and privately).
5
Extra, Extra
Conflict of Interest: For years, Trump railed on Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not cutting interest rates. Today the Fed, now led by Trump’s handpicked leader, Kevin Warsh, voted to raise rates to fight persistent inflation. Will Trump be angry? That probably depends on his portfolio. Trump has been making more stock trades than all of Congress combined while backing a ban that excludes him. And you? Here’s what a rate hike means for your credit cards, mortgages, savings accounts and auto loans.
+ Creative License: “A joint analysis of the camera’s data indicated that it had captured millions of images over the span of just a few weeks, cataloguing people, bicycles, and even small details such as bumper stickers. In one instance, the Flock camera identified an American flag patch on a motorcyclist’s bag.” Hacked Data Shows What Flock Cameras Really Record. Meanwhile, Boston is the latest city to dump Flock, saying it shared data nationwide in violation of contract.
+ Blue in the Red: “It is a pattern seen across many industries in China, especially as economic growth slows. Companies in search of new sources of profit jump into promising emerging businesses, using inexpensive state-backed financing to scale up—and sometimes play fast-and-loose with intellectual property regulations. This quickly causes gluts, crashing prices.” It might not sound like it, but this is a story about blueberries. WSJ (Gift Article): Driscoll’s Gave China Its Blueberries—Then China Swiped the Secret to Growing Them. (It’s worth a reminder that while all blueberries are blue, not all blue berries are blueberries.)
+ Glacial Pace: “About 12.5 trillion tons of ice from glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica have melted since 1979, which is enough frozen water to stack ice five feet deep across the continental United States.”
+ Arena Amplification: “Ed Sheeran’s tour of North and South America was plunged into chaos Tuesday when four of his supporting acts abruptly quit in solidarity with the rapper Macklemore, who was dropped for making pro-Palestinian comments onstage.” However one feels about Macklemore’s messaging, anyone could have seen that banning him from arenas would turn this into a much bigger and louder issue.