The Emperor Has No Clothes

Political Survivor, Weekend Whats

Of course you hate Donald Trump. And that could be the point. To understand the rise and durability of Trump, you have to understand his years as a reality TV star. More broadly, it helps to consider reality television's evolution into a genre where people thrive precisely because you can't stand them. To explain, Michael Hirschorn takes use back to the first season of Survivor: "For those still struggling to understand how Donald Trump could remain within sight of being our president again despite flattering dictators, inspiring an attempted coup, getting convicted on 34 felony counts, vowing to shred the Constitution and imprison opponents, and decorating his bathroom with state secrets, not to mention blustering semi-coherently in Tuesday’s debate, it’s worth looking back to a certain island in the South Pacific, and a man named Richard Hatch ... He broke the golden rule of network television: You have to be likable. David Letterman even predicted 'rioting in the streets' if 'the fat naked guy' won. He was the most hated man in America." NYT (Gift Article): How a Naked Man on a Tropical Island Created Our Current Political Insanity. (To put a positive spin on this, at least Trump is fully clothed.) "Mr. Trump clearly understands how to operate in this particular version of the upside down, collaborating with his audience to create shareable moments that are full of in-jokes and provocations, perpetual-motion meme machines. How could he say all those outrageous things? Doesn’t he know people are going to be shocked? Well, of course, he says them specifically because people will be shocked. He has succeeded in making himself the most most-hated man in America, and the rewards, at least until this moment, have been huge." Trump himself famously made the same point when describing his own reality show: "If you have ratings, you can be the meanest, most horrible human being in the world. There’s only one thing that matters: ratings." It may sound crazy, but the biggest threat to Donald Trump's campaign may not be that a majority of Americans see him as an existential threat to global democracy but rather that the Trump show is getting old. During the debate, Kamala Harris described Trump rallies and explained, "What you will also notice is that people start leaving his rallies early out of exhaustion and boredom." Maybe this wasn't just baiting Trump. It was a TV show review.

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Processing Information

The Cheerios box suggests that eating it "can help lower cholesterol as part of a heart healthy diet." Of course, that heart healthy diet probably includes eating fewer Cheerios. In other countries, Cheerios would be labeled differently. And new food labeling could be coming to a box or package near you. WaPo(Gift Article) with a look at what those labels might look like. What warning labels could look like on your favorite foods. "The Food and Drug Administration plans to propose labeling this fall for the front of food and drink packages to help Americans make healthier choices to address exploding obesity rates, years after other countries took similar action." (Of course, by the time they get around to putting warning labels on ultra-processed foods, Ozempic will have made us all quit eating.)

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Stolen Headlines

"A year ago, America’s stores declared a shoplifting epidemic. They closed stores in major cities, hired extra security, locked up key merchandise and declared big losses in their financial statements. This year, retailers are telling a very different story — or no story at all. It’s as if the shoplifting crisis suddenly vanished." Or maybe it didn't entirely exist at all. America’s stores are winning the war on shoplifting.

+ Shoplifting is down, violent crime is down. But you wouldn't know that if you listened to Trump or Elon's Musk-a-phone. The Atlantic (Gift Article): Trump's New Big Lie. "The goal is not to earnestly correct the record on crime but to spread an atmosphere of fear and paranoia."

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Weekend Whats

What to Watch: If you need a White Lotus like fix, The Perfect Couple on Netflix is like a lighter version of that pretty light show, and it even features a key White Lotus star. It also stars the always enjoyable Eve Hewson.

+ What to Doc: Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos on Max is a two-part doc on Chase with great looks back at the making of the Sopranos and the transition to prestige TV.

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Extra, Extra

Stage Fright: Trump has refused to debate Kamala one debate too late. Democrats taunt ‘chicken’ Trump for refusing second debate with Harris. (I find this decision to be a relief. I can't take much more of the crazy.) I'm sure the folks in Springfield, Ohio have had enough of the debates and the election in general. "Bomb threats on Friday forced the evacuation and closure of public schools and municipal buildings for a second consecutive day, as the city continues to deal with sudden national attention due to false claims involving its Haitian population."

+ Et Tua: "In the third quarter of Thursday night’s Bills-Dolphins game, Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered a concussion—at least his third in the last two calendar years—and left the game." With his track record of head trauma, is it worth still playing? And if he plays, will he wear one of the new Guardian Caps?

+ Equal Opportunity Terrorist: "Many of the reports reviewed by American intelligence analysts involve Israeli actions: military strikes that kill large numbers of civilians, errant attacks on aid convoys or other deadly incidents. But a large number of reports involve Hamas, both its acts of terrorism against hostages and its abuses of Palestinians." NYT: How Hamas Uses Brutality to Maintain Power.

+ Rattle and Hum: "Last September, seismologists around the world detected vibrations unlike any they’d picked up before. A monotonous hum seemed to be emanating from Greenland. It would last for nine days." Relax, it was just a 650-foot tsunami.

+ Air Resistance: Things at Boeing, already bad, just got worse. Boeing works to conserve cash as 33,000 factory workers go on strike.

+ Doggy Style: "After pushing a stroller to a park near her home in a Seoul suburb, Kang Seung-min plopped down on a bench. Then an elderly woman approached, looking for a friendly chat with Kang about motherhood. 'I’m not even married yet,' Kang, 24, responded. The startled woman stared into the stroller and took in the little passenger: a brown poodle named Coco." WSJ(Gift Article): Nation With Lowest Birthrate Is Rocked by Soaring Sales of Dog Strollers.

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Bottom of the News

"In the 24-hour window that Swift's story was live on Instagram, a GSA spokesperson told NPR that there had been 405,999 visitors to the Vote.gov website via her unique link. Taylor Swift's endorsement of Kamala Harris drives voters to visit vote dot gov."

+ This Program is Teaching Incarcerated People Fine Dining Techniques and Hospitality — and That They’re Human.

+ She couldn't go to her daughter's graduation, so the hospital brought it to her.

+ If you missed it: Jon Bon Jovi helped persuade a woman to come off the ledge of a Nashville bridge.

+ "Lady Gaga took a look back at her humble roots Wednesday, acknowledging a now-deleted Facebook group created by some of her classmates at New York University titled, 'Stefani Germanotta, you will never be famous.'" You ‘Gotta Keep Going When People Doubt You.

+ American becomes fastest woman to cycle globe. (Yes, there was some air travel involved.)