Holy Cow

The Bovine Bull Market

The admonishment Don't have a cow is decidedly out of style. Having a cow, or just about anything associated with one, is currently experiencing a level of enthusiasm not seen since worshippers kowtowed to the Golden Calf. The current bovine goldmine has turned into a cash cow for those leading the cattle call, and consumers seem ready to pay up 'til the cows come home. Never mind that some of the hyped benefits sound like a load of bull. Yasmin Tayag in The Atlantic (Gift Article): Americans Are All In on Cow-Based Wellness. "Beef tallow (as both a moisturizer and an alternative to seed oils) is one of many cow-based products that have crowded the wellness market in the past five or so years. Beef-bone broth is a grocery-store staple. Demand for raw milk has grown, despite numerous cases of illness and warnings from public-health officials that drinking it can be fatal." (Oh, don't tell me you woke-ass, leftist, vegan, weaklings are afraid of a little fatal!).

+ There's more. "In certain circles, raw cow organs—heart, liver, kidney—are prized superfoods. Target and Walmart sell supplements containing bovine collagen (a protein found in cowhide and bone) and colostrum (the rich liquid that mammals produce for their newborn offspring); they promise healthier skin, a happier gut, and stronger immunity, and come in flavors such as watermelon lime, lemon sorbet, and 'valiant grape.' You can buy cow-placenta pills for postpartum healing, or powdered bull testicle for testosterone support." (If you really want to get the full impact—and don't mind the occasional slightly judgemental look from ranch hands—eat them raw in the field, right off the animal.)

+ "The slightest interaction with clean-beauty Instagram can fill your feed with ads for beef-tallow lip balms, cleansing creams, sunscreen, and deodorants. (One brand even offers creamsicle-flavored beef-tallow personal lubricant, which is currently out of stock online.)" (I guess this explains why Moo is my safe word.)

+ And the cow tipping point comes earlier than you might imagine. WSJ (Gift Article): Meet the Parents Raising ‘Carnivore Babies,’ Swapping Puréed Fruit for Rib-Eye. "Rising interest in protein and concerns about ultraprocessed foods are causing some people to look at carnivore-style diets. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a carnivore champion, has loudly expressed his affinity for beef tallow." (Hopefully these parents know that The Onion is a parody site. With headlines like this one, it's hard to tell these days: RFK Jr. Mandates All Americans Drink Mysterious Glowing Liquid.)

2

And Doggone It, People Like Me!

"What I see in these stories are fragments of a larger problem that will be with us for years, and maybe decades. I don’t just think about the vulnerable adults who can be lured into chats that inflate their delusions. I also think about today’s children, including my daughter, who will grow up around friendly AI conversationalists that they’ll turn to for finishing their homework, drafting texts to girls and boys in high school, resolving fights with their parents, working out ethical challenges, and managing the hormonal circus of being a teenager. On the receiving end of these articulated fears may be not only messy, flawed, distracted friends, but also the articulate, always-online, and highly practiced you-are-so-right reassurance of a disembodied bot that excels in flattery." Derek Thompson on The Looming Social Crisis of AI Friends and Chatbot Therapists, or How to Manufacture Narcissism at Scale... (As if humans haven't been good enough at doing that on their own...)

+ "The follies began when lawyers—including some at prestigious firms—submitted documents citing cases that didn’t exist. Similar mistakes soon spread to other roles in the courts. In December, a Stanford professor submitted sworn testimony containing hallucinations and errors in a case about deepfakes, despite being an expert on AI and misinformation himself. The buck stopped with judges, who—whether they or opposing counsel caught the mistakes—issued reprimands and fines, and likely left attorneys embarrassed enough to think twice before trusting AI again. But now judges are experimenting with generative AI too."

3

A Knock on Wood

"The siding plant’s closure was unfortunate, but the workers will be fine, they say. The workers aren’t so sure. They say that many available jobs pay less, as their cost of living — especially their housing — soars. Several Bonner workers said they had applied for jobs that pay $5 an hour less than the $20 to $25 they earned at the siding plant, without similar benefits. The elites are doing great in a Montana buoyed by technology and tourism, they say, but blue collar workers are slipping farther behind." NYT (Gift Article): Trump Promised a Golden Age. Then a Montana Lumber Plant Closed Down. And because this is 2025, the closing of the plant has led to wildly different political explanations. Here's mine: The economic divide is the everything story. The economic divide led to Trump and Trumpism will increase the economic divide.

+ WSJ (Gift Article): The Era of Big Raises for Low-Paid Workers Is Over. "Something remarkable happened in the years immediately preceding and, especially, following the pandemic: Wages for poor workers began rising much faster than they did for the rich." That trend has now reverted to the modern norm.

4

Bench Warrant

"Female tennis players Iga Świątek, Yulia Putintseva and Emma Raducanu dealt with stalking incidents this year. Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers and other women’s basketball players were subjected to stalking that led them to fear for their safety. Gymnasts Simone Biles and Livvy Dunne have been targeted, as has track athlete Gabby Thomas; American hurdler and bobsledder Lolo Jones had someone break into her training facility and attempt to do the same at her home, one of three men she said have stalked her in recent years." The Athletic: ‘I’m sitting behind the bench’: Inside sports’ escalating stalking problem.

5

Extra, Extra

The New Math: "President Trump on Tuesday appeared to call for Goldman Sachs to replace the bank’s top economist over his past predictions, in his latest broadside against executives he believes are undermining his goals." Meanwhile, Trump’s pick to replace the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner he fired suggests suspending the monthly jobs report.

+ You Wanna a Peace of Me? Russia tries to make sudden advance in Ukraine before Trump-Putin summit. I previewed the Alaska Summit in yesterday's edition: Another One Bites the Dust.

+ Over Reaction: As the National Guard arrives in DC, the Pentagon puts together a plan that would create a military ‘reaction force’ for civil unrest.

+ White Noise: "Members have espoused racist and antisemitic views and repeatedly praised Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party. They’ve raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, and their movement is growing." Wired: Inside the ‘Whites Only’ Community in Arkansas.

+ Vision Quest: "The president singled out the Smithsonian Institution in his executive order and said the Smithsonian had recently 'come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology' that promotes 'narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive.'" White House to Vet Smithsonian Museums to Fit Trump’s Historical Vision.

+ Aryna's Arena: Aryna Sabalenka’s bonkers tiebreak streaksets new WTA single-season record. She has won 15 tie-breakers in a row. Insane.

+ The Whack Pact: Howard Stern Went From Shock Jock to Centrist Cat Dad. If His Audience Couldn’t Follow, That’s Not His Fault. (I walk and exercise to Howard every day. If he retires, I will gain at least 30 pounds.)

6

Bottom of the News

"The team at Tuk South visited one of the tallest sand dunes in Chile and did the obvious: threw a tire down it and followed it with a drone to see how long it would roll." This is what I should be doing instead of reading the news.

+ A UFC fight at the White House? Dana White says it’s happening as part of deal with Paramount.