Welcome to COVIDville, USA
Matthew Luther on a small Michigan town caught up in America's COVID culture war.
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Leading The Bulwark…
COVIDville, USA
MATTHEW J. LUTHER: A small town caught up in America’s culture war between science and right-wing conspiracism.
🎧 On the Pods… 🎧
Tim Miller on Coup Insanity
On today’s Bulwark podcast, Tim Miller joins Charlie Sykes to discuss the latest efforts of Sidney Powell and Mike Flynn to convince that former guy and his die-hard supporters that the coup could still happen. Plus, discussion about the 1/6 commission, the NRCC’s scammy fundraising, voter suppression, and Desantis, the cruise industry, and vaccine passports.
For Bulwark+ Members… 🔐
MORNING SHOTS: Coups and Rumors of Coups 🔓
CHARLIE SYKES: The threat is no joke.
THE TRIAD: The Conservative Media Double-Standard 🔓
JVL: The same people who advocated for HCQ and complain about election fraud are outraged over the lab-leak miss.
Our Weekend Feedback… 🔓
CHARLIE SYKES shares some of your emails.
From The Bulwark Aggregator…
Republicans fear Trump will lead to a ‘lost generation’ of talent – Meridith McGraw, David Siders, and Sam Stein, Politico
How Young G.O.P. Leaders Sold Out Their Generation – Charlotte Alter, The New York Times
In wine country, a newspaper war brings down a mayoral ‘prince’ accused of sex abuse – James Rainey, The Los Angeles Times
Biden set for G-7 boost in bid for all nations to impose minimum global corporate tax – David J. Lynch, The Washington Post
The Inside Story of How Trump ‘Kept the Oil’ in Syria and Lost – Kenneth R. Rosen, The Daily Beast
The GOP Has Discovered Joe Biden’s Political Superpower – Gabriel Debenedetti, Intelligencer
From This Weekend’s Bulwark...
The Clock Radio and Its Moment in Consumer Technology
ADDISON DEL MASTRO: Well-made devices dedicated to a single use enrich the texture of everyday life.
Penance and Public Shaming
LEAH LIBRESCO SARGEANT: What do we do with people who have committed a wrong that they themselves cannot put right? And can I make full amends for the wrongs that I’ve done?
🚨OVERTIME 🚨
Happy Tuesday! Hope you had an enjoyable holiday weekend and remembered people in your family and friendship circles who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country.
Yesterday, my twins did not appreciate my very thoughtful (and delicious) BBQ pre-planning for this week’s meals. Back to the drawing board.
Here’s how Donald Trump becomes President again by August. Make sure you’re not drinking any liquids, lest you spray them on your screen.
Swimming in the wild. It’s largely understood, unless you’re sort of crazy, that urban swimming is usually a bad idea. Then again, I am from Cleveland, and I have sort of a complex because of that. Our HOA pool opened this weekend, and it was 50 degrees and rainy for most of the weekend, so no swimming. This Atlantic item by Anelise Chen is worth a few minutes of your time to read about these daredevils.
Hollywood squares. We all need a good laugh…
Reports: Trump punks Kevin McCarthy. You hate to see it…
The Declaration of Conscience at 71… About a year ago, I wrote about Margaret Chase Smith’s famous maiden floor speech in the Senate. I think it’s worth revisiting. Especially since, when I wrote this item a year ago, the GOP has gotten exponentially worse.
Trouble in Kentucky…
Speaking of murder… I’d like to report one:
Erielle Davidson @politicalelle
It would be more impressive if the State Department raised this flag in any other country in the Middle East, save Israel. They do this only in locations where the virtue signaling is low cost. Try flying this flag in Tehran. https://t.co/EEmMsy0F2hWhere’s the beef? Major beef producer JBS (no relation) has been the victim of a cyber attack, as Bloomberg reports:
JBS’s five biggest beef plants in the U.S. -- which altogether handle 22,500 cattle a day -- halted processing following a weekend attack on the Brazilian company’s computer networks, according to JBS posts on Facebook, labor unions and employees. Those outages wiped out nearly a fifth of America’s production. Slaughter operations across Australia were also down, according to a trade group, and one of Canada’s largest beef plants was idled.
Reel Genius… Our friend and former colleague Matt Labash, writing in the Free Beacon, reviews a book on one of his favorite topics: Fly fishing. I have one overarching rule for this newsletter’s Overtime section, and it’s always read Matt Labash, no matter what.
That’s it for me for today. We’ll see you back here tomorrow. Tech support questions? Email support@substack.com. Questions for me? Drop me a line: swift@thebulwark.com.
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Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.