It's Fun to Stay at the M.A.G.A.

The Why, Weekend Whats, Feel Good Friday

Among many other oddities, it always seemed strange that Trump rallies and celebrations were all punctuated by the gay anthem YMCA by the Village People. But it makes a little more sense when you isolate some of the lyrics. Young man, I was once in your shoes. I said, I was down and out with the blues. I felt no man cared if I were alive. I felt the whole world was so jive. That's when someone came up to me and said 'Young man, take a walk up the street. It's a place there called the YMCA. They can start you back on your way." If you replace YMCA with MAGA, things start to come into focus. "Many Americans are disturbed by President Donald Trump’s trampling of the Constitution and nuking of the federal government. But one group seems to love what Trump is doing: young men. New survey data show that support for Trump among this demographic has surged since the election." Catherine Rampell in WaPo (Gift Article): Why Gen Z men love Trump’s reign of destruction. "On some level, the very things that disturb fussy establishment pundits like me —Trump’s strongman tendencies; his propensity to arbitrarily fire people and break stuff without regard to consequences — might appeal most to young male populists frustrated by a system they believe has abandoned them." No short article can completely explain this trend. But this one offers a good place to start answering the confusion I felt last November when my blue state, teenaged daughter told me, "All the boys at my high school are rooting for Trump." (At that moment, I too felt the whole world was so jive.)

+ Related (maybe): Elon Musk waves chainsaw on stage at CPAC.

2

Effective Date

"Soon, Irene Mekel will need to pick the day she dies. She’s not in any hurry: She quite likes her life, in a trim, airy house in Castricum, a Dutch village by the sea. She has flowers growing in her back garden, and there is a street market nearby where vendors greet villagers by name. But if her life is going to end the way she wants, she will have to pick a date, sooner than she might like." NYT (Gift Article): She’s Trying to Stay Ahead of Alzheimer’s, in a Race to the Death. "In the Netherlands, doctors and dementia patients must negotiate a fine line: Assisted death for those without capacity is legal, but doctors won’t do it."

3

TV Guide

"I've heard a British Airways exec say that when they see a spike in traffic to a destination, they look at what's peaking on Netflix to explain it." The White Lotus satirizes people you probably wouldn't want to hang out with in places that you really want to visit. And it's not the only show that's driving travel destination choices. BBC: Measuring the 'White Lotus effect': How TV and film locations impact travel. Maybe it depends of the adventurousness of the viewer. When my wife and I watch a show set at a beautiful island villa in Greece, she suggests we visit Greece. I suggest we just watch another show set at a beautiful island villa in Greece. (Or maybe just watch Grease.)

4

Weekend Whats

What to Doc: A new Netflix documentary series provides deep and interesting access to the top medal contenders in men's basketball as they battle for gold and glory at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Among other things, you get to see what Bay Area sports fans have long known. Steve Kerr and Steph Curry are great guys. Court of Gold.

+ What to Movie: Yes, a movie about a woman who suffers a bad breakup and then finds herself dating a monster (not like a monstrous person, like a monster) sounds like weird plot. But it's weirdly good, charming, and romantic. Your Monster is on Max.

+ What to Hear: British singer/songwriter Sam Fender is out with his new album, People Watching. If you're new to Sam Fender, you can warm up with his mega hit, Seventeen Going Under

5

Extra, Extra

Broken Promises: "Lawmakers should consider how they will explain in the coming years why America could no longer stop a disease outbreak overseas from reaching the homeland. Or why thousands of children who depended on lifesaving nutritional supplies made in American plants were left to die. Or why China is capitalizing on the vacuums left by America’s retreat." I don't think (enough) lawmakers will consider these things. But the rest of us sure as hell should. NYT (Gift Article): ‘We Are Seeing Complete Destruction’: The Damage Done by the U.S.A.I.D. Freeze.

+ Minerals and Deficiencies: "The Trump administration is stepping up its push for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to hand mineral rights worth hundreds of billions of dollars to the U.S., after Zelensky’s initial rejection of the demand fueled President Trump’s escalating broadsides against Ukraine’s leader." Like everything associated with Trump's view on Ukraine, this is backwards, blaming the victim instead of the invader. Timothy Snyder on the sadism of American policy to war-torn Ukraine"It amounts to blackmail enabled by ongoing Russian invasion. In effect, the United States is telling Ukraine to concede its resources to the United States, under the threat that American aid will be otherwise withdrawn, and those resources will be taken by Russia."

+ Body Politic: "Early on Friday morning, the Israeli military announced that the body of Ms. Bibas — nominally returned, along with those of her sons, by Hamas to Israel on Thursday — appeared to be that of someone else. And an autopsy of the two boys, aged 4 and 8 months at the time of their abduction, revealed that terrorists killed them in Gaza 'with their bare hands,' the military said ... For Palestinians, the devastation wrought by Israel’s military response to the Oct. 7 raids — a reaction that, among other consequences, razed Palestinian burial grounds and killed thousands of children including some younger than Kfir Bibas — has long overshadowed Hamas’s terrorist attacks at the start of the war." NYT (Gift Article): Fate of Bibas Family Recalls Trauma of Oct. 7, Renewing Fears for Gaza Truce. Times of Israel: Oded Lifshitz, hostage slain by Islamic Jihad, was journalist and peace activist.

+ Knee Soreness: "When Meta made its surrender to the right on speech issues last month, I felt confident that it would only lead the Trump administration to ask for even more. And now here’s the new FTC chairman, arriving right on queue with a timely reminder: in crony capitalism, there is always another ass to kiss." How Meta's concessions to the right may have backfired. (Weakness rarely leads to strength.)

+ Mail Pattern Boldness: "President Donald Trump is preparing to dissolve the leadership of the U.S. Postal Service and absorb the independent mail agency into his administration, potentially throwing the 250-year-old mail provider and trillions of dollars of e-commerce transactions into turmoil."

+ Vile Heil Phile Bile: French far-right leader cancels CPAC speech over Steve Bannon’s ‘Nazi’ salute. Speaking of Nazi salutes, Elon Musk's DOGE is going after the agencies that regulate his companies.

+ Rink Blots: While the NBA all-star game was brutally boring and suffered terrible viewership, the NHL all-star experiment captured the attention of even non hockey fans. 4 Nations Face-Off: Connor McDavid scores golden goal for Canada to take down Team USA. Meanwhile, "the New York Yankees' facial hair and grooming policy, an infamous edict in place for nearly 50 years, was formally amended for the first time Friday." Yankees to allow 'well-groomed beards'. (To counter the move, the Dodgers just signed ZZ Top.)

6

Feel Good Friday

"He evaded death at a shelter that needed to make room for more dogs. He was shot at — a veterinarian plucked pieces of ammunition from his flesh. He dodged a train, scampered across an interstate highway and survived on cat food left out for strays." NYT (Gift Article): How a Runaway Dog Became a Hero for New Orleans.

+ 'Life-changing' gene therapy for children born blind.

+ "The catch? Almost everyone is sleeping on twin-size beds, in shared bedrooms in small apartments, with strangers. It’s Love Island, on skis, for real people." This Is What Happens When You Unleash 500 Singles on an IRL Date.

+ China car accident acts as cupid for woman injured by driver whose hospital care led to love. (I'm more open to meeting someone this way than by attending one of the group ski trips described above.)

+ Camp helps kids impacted by Los Angeles area wildfires.

+ "On Wednesday, Microsoft’s scientists said they had built what is known as a 'topological qubit' based on this new phase of physical existence, which could be harnessed to solve mathematical, scientific and technological problems." Microsoft Says It Has Created a New State of Matter to Power Quantum Computers. I think this is feel good news. But the truth is I really don't understand it. I also don't know what the hell is going on in Severance.