The Land of Milk and Money

Immigration and Groceries, Trump's Remix

They're eating the dogs! They're eating the cats! ... They're milking the cows? Donald Trump has been milking the anti-immigrant fervor for all its worth, and threatening to round up and kick out millions of illegal immigrants—while simultaneously complaining about the high prices of groceries. But in reality (a place less frequented these days, but still there) the two issues are connected and in ways that don't support the round 'em up philosophy. Unless you're lactose intolerant, your other intolerances may not work out quite how you imagine. In NYT Magazine (Gift Article), Marcela Valdes takes you to an Idaho dairy farm to document some hard truths about undocumented workers in America. What a Crackdown on Immigration Could Mean for Cheap Milk. "Undocumented labor quietly props up the entire American economy — but nowhere more dramatically than on dairy farms." The issue is complex and finding reasonable strategies in this political climate is like trying to milk a duck.

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Reflecting on Pause

I try not to fill this newsletter with too much about the day to day craziness from the Trump campaign or the inside-baseball views on how often the NYT and other publications attempt to sanewash that craziness. But sometimes the crazy coverage of the crazy behavior drives me so crazy I have to share. Last night at one of his rallies, Trump stopped taking questions and instead decided to play some songs at the venue, and sway back and forth. This music and swaying lasted for 39 minutes. In an era of weird, this stood out. As David Graham accurately points out in The Atlantic (Gift Article): Trump Breaks Down Onstage. "To watch the event is to see signs of someone having a breakdown. Like Joe Biden’s disastrous debate against Trump in June, when the president’s fumbling performance and struggle to get sentences out made it impossible to believe he was up to the task of serving for four years, Trump’s rally last night would force any reasonable person to conclude that he is not up to the grueling task of leading the world’s greatest nation, handling economic crises, or dealing with foreign adversaries." I asked my friend, a renowned psychoanalyst, for his take on Trump’s 39 minute freeze and he responded: "Even Freud would lay down his arms at this point." WaPo's headline stated that Trump sways and bops to music for 39 minutes in bizarre town hall episode. The NYT's headline got close to what happened, but then the article cleaned things up, bigly. Trump Bobs His Head to Music for 30 Minutes in Odd Town Hall Detour. "The playlist session was a glimpse of the private version of Mr. Trump seen more often at Mar-a-Lago, his residence and club in Palm Beach, Fla., than at political events. The former president has been known to take out an iPad that is connected to the speaker system there and play D.J. for his guests." Wait, that's how they covered a 39 Trump freeze that could have filled a chapter in the DSM? The demented fascist is the life of the party. Proving that even the NYT can be outdone on these things, here's the headline from The Conversation: Trump’s musical interlude is a twist on the long tradition of candidates enlisting musicians’ support, from Al Jolson to Springsteen to Swift. (Yeah, sort of like losing your mind is a twist on having a mind.)

+ Look, I know that there are no swing state undecided voters who are going to be moved one way or another by the nuances of NYT coverage, so let's get back to the heart of the matter. Trump's overt fascism and the enablers who go along with it. Tom Nichols in The Atlantic (Gift Article): Donald Trump’s Fascist Romp. "The term fascism has been so overused as a denunciation that many people have understandably tuned it out. But every American should be shocked to hear a presidential nominee say that other Americans (including a sitting member of Congress) are more dangerous than two nations pointing hundreds of nuclear warheads at America’s cities. During the Cold War, conservative members of the GOP would likely have labeled anyone saying such things as a 'comsymp,' a fellow traveler, or even a traitor. Indeed, one might expect that other Republicans would be horrified to hear such hatred directed at their fellow citizens and such comfort given to the nation’s enemies. Pretty to think so."

3

Kicking the Habit

"Quincy Promes was on his phone, again. The soccer star was constantly fielding messages: about his role on the most famous team in the Netherlands, his place on the Dutch national squad, the endorsement deals that netted him a small fortune. But this time, Promes was texting from a burner phone about his secret life off the field. It was early 2020. One of the country’s most famous athletes was finalizing the import of a shipment of cocaine arriving at a Belgian port." WaPo (Gift Article): Behind the mask: How a soccer star became a cocaine trafficker. And how he's still playing soccer! (Read it now, watch it as a Netflix series later...)

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Drug Score

"CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid long held a tight grip over prescription fulfillment, but they're losing their footing to a multitude of competitors, including mail-in options, online pharmacies and big-box stores." Walgreens to close 1,200 stores as pharmacies struggle. I recently switched to an online pharmacy that delivers my prescriptions to my door (often same day) and it is so much better than going to the pharmacy, and not just because it never made much sense to stand in line with a bunch of sick people waiting for their medicine.

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Extra, Extra

Therapeutic Tock: "Four countries — Mali, Nigeria, Niger and Chad — have exhausted their supplies of the peanut-based, high-nutrient product, called ready-to-use therapeutic food, or are on the brink of doing so. Another eight nations, including South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, could run out by mid-2025." NYT (Gift Article): Therapeutic Food Shortage Puts African Children at Risk of Starvation, U.N. Agency Says.

+ Balm For Bomb: "The Biden administration has warned Israel that it must increase the amount of humanitarian aid it is allowing into Gaza within the next 30 days or it could risk losing access to U.S. weapons funding." Meanwhile, according to US officials, Israel has assured the president it won’t strike Iranian nuclear or oil sites.

+ Wait, So Votes Count? "If election superintendents were, as Plaintiff urges, free to play investigator, prosecutor, jury, and judge and so — because of a unilateral determination of error or fraud — refuse to certify election results, Georgia voters would be silenced." Local board members in Georgia can't refuse to certify election results, judge rules. (Expect an appeal.)

+ Soiled Relationship: "India and Canada have expelled their top diplomats amid escalating tensions over the assassination of a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil, marking a new low in a historically cordial relationship. While past disagreements have strained ties, none have reached this level of open confrontation."

+ Bulletin Board System Administrator: Ward Christensen recently died at the age of 78. You may not know the name, but the product he helped create led to much of what we do on the Internet. Ward Christensen, BBS inventor and architect of our online age, dies at age 78.

+ Oasis Reunion: The Sahara Desert flooded for the first time in decades. Here’s what it looks like.

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Bottom of the News

"A Minnesota horticulture teacher remained the reigning champion Monday of an annual pumpkin-weighing contest in Northern California where his massive gourds have won the top prize four years in a row. Travis Gienger, of Anoka, Minnesota, beat his closest competitor by 6 pounds to clinch the victory at the 51st World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco." Pumpkin weighing 2,471 pounds wins California contest. That's what I call squashing the competition. I know, that's a groaner, but with all this election stress, I've let my gourd down.