Will the Real POTUS Please Stand Up?
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🗞 THE NEWSSTAND
Editor’s Note: My earlier post misstated Tucker Carlson had resigned as opposed to his writer Blake Neff.
(Hint: go Incognito to fight dem paywalls).
This morning infamous Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s top writer has resigned after it was uncovered he had for years been using a pseudonym online to post racist, sexist, and homophobic remarks.
Yesterday evening Numero 45 commuted the sentence of his long-time political ally Roger Stone. This came days before Stone was set to serve a 40-month sentence for his admission to guilt in a case involving his witness tampering and obstruction of the House investigation into the question of 45 colluding with Russia in the 2016 election.
Earlier this week SCOTUS rejected 45’s claim of absolute immunity in its decision that paves the way for the New York prosecutor to pursue his financial records. Though, voters will likely have to wait until after the November elections for the long-awaited financials.
The court has surprised many, including, 45 himself, who tweeted ‘Not fair.’ following the ruling.
In another case the court ruled to maintain the norm in presidential elections for the Electoral College to cast ballots for the winner’s in their states popular vote, discouraging what is known as ‘faithless electors.’
This, a continuation of a somewhat nonpartisan track record from a historically conservative-leaning Supreme Court that includes two justices appointed by 45 himself.
Just Thursday conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch sided with the liberals in McGirt v Oklahoma establishing that only federal prosecutors could bring a criminal case against Native Americans living in what is considered protected reservation (half of Oklahoma). This ruling will have major consequences on criminal and civil cases.
As citizens deal with the erratic policy of closing, reopening, and pausing of their states’ economies, outbreaks of Coronavirus skyrocket. California, Florida, and Texas in recent weeks have become hotbeds for the virus, setting new records for single-day deaths.
And despite Dr. Fauci’s warning that the US is in a ‘serious situation’, 45 has made his stance that if schools do not open across the country come fall he will cut federal funding as well as threatening to remove the tax-exempt status of what he referred to as ‘radical left’ universities and colleges.
The federal government also came after students of four-year colleges with a mandate that forces international students to leave the US or transfer to another college if their schools offer classes entirely online.
On the field, Midwestern college football conference the Big Ten has announced it will not be playing regular-season games outside of its own conference come Fall, in efforts to prevent air travel for its college athletes.
On the campaign trail, 45 decided to postpone his rally in New Hampshire this weekend with the onset of Tropical Storm Fay that hit the Northeast early Friday.
Democratic candidate Joe Biden announced his economic agenda which is aimed at supporting the working-class and bolstering the US economy. The plan proposes a $400 billion increase in government purchasing of US-based goods and services and $300 billion in new research and development in US tech firms. Biden also teamed up with political rival Bernie Sanders to create a list of proposals that unite the progressive and moderate wings of the Democratic Party on issues like combating climate change and institutional racism.
And a new (I think serious) candidate from the self-titled Birthday Party, Kanye West, has taken off the MAGA hat to throw his own known into the presidential bid.
Meanwhile, another stimulus package is in the works to boost the economy which Mnuchin says is expected by the end of July.
🌍Around the Globe
I am quite thankful for my opportunity seven years ago this fall to visit the historical Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, which President Erdogan of Turkey announced will formally become a mosque and open only for Muslim worship.
Some lukewarm news from our friends down under, as the Victoria state of Australia, saw a slight drop in daily cases from its previous 288.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s governing party comfortably won reelection Friday but saw a slight increase in its opposition minority seats, the biggest win since the independence for the nation, signaling the impact of the current crisis.
In another favorite travel destination of mine, for the fourth night, protestors stormed the Serbian parliament met with teargas as they rally against the nation’s increasingly authoritarian rule by its current President Aleksandar Vucic.
You heard it one way now have it the other way. Sign up for The Flipside for a bipartisan view of daily events as they unfold.
🎧 WEEKLY MIXTAPE
My personal favorite track release of the week comes from UK’s electronic legend Bonobo with this melodic and wanderlust inspiring remix of British folk, R&B singer-songwriter Michael Kiwanuka’s track ‘Final Days.’
Haitian born and Montreal raised producer KAYTRANADA releases a new hip-hop house track with his ‘Look Easy’featuring New Orleans singer-songwriter Lucky Daye.
Chicago DJ Lee Foss dropped a new track ‘Gravity’ that is a Saturday night social distance party turn up.
It feels like each week Poolside is bringing us another reason to get out of our cave. This week their latest 80s disco house track ‘Getting There From Here.’
UK’s Le Youth brings us another melodic progressive house track on his latest ‘Brain Freeze.’
🎍THE GARDEN
It can be difficult to find that recurring nostalgic summertime feeling of excitement and joy during these periods of constant negativity and uncertainty. But this list of 99 things you can do today to feel happier is a great place to start.
🥃 THE CABINET
Piña Colada
This summer classic first mixed up in San Juan, Puerto Rico by bartender Ramón “Monchito” Marrero at the Caribe Hilton in 1954 is a delicious blend of rum, coconut cream, and pineapple juice.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cup ice
1/2 cup diced pineapple, frozen
2 oz pineapple juice
2 oz Coco Lopez coconut cream
1 1/2 oz white rum
1 oz dark rum
Pineapple slices
Directions
Put the ice, frozen pineapple, juice, coconut cream, and the white and dark rums into a blender. Blend until smooth and frosty. Pour the drink into 2 glasses and garnish the rim with pineapple slices.
Enjoy!
🍽 THE KITCHEN
Arroz con Gandules
In the spirit of Puerto Rican favorites, this recipe is sure to satisfy your stomach and your soul. Pro tip: It’s not uncommon on the island to enjoy for breakfast.
Ingredients
½ package of diced country ham
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
½ green bell pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons finely chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon oregano
1 ½ cup medium-grain rice
½ yellow onion chopped
3 cups of water
1 can Gandules (pigeon peas), drained
4 oz tomato sauce
¼ cup whole Spanish olives
Directions
Heat oil in a medium, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add ham to pan; cook until brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in peppers and onions; cook, stirring occasionally, scraping up brown bits from bottom, until vegetables are soft and translucent, 10 minutes. Add sazón, garlic, cilantro and oregano. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add rice to pan. Cook, stirring frequently, until coated in oil and toasted, about1 minute. Stir in pigeon peas, tomato sauce, olives and 1½ cups water; using a wooden spoon, stir once and bring rice mixture to a boil. Cook, uncovered, until water is evaporated, about 10 minutes. Gently stir rice from bottom up.
Lower heat to medium low and cook, covered, until rice is tender, about 15 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat. Gently fluff rice with fork. Cover pan and let stand 5 minutes.
🎙FIRESIDE CHAT
In the absence of strong leadership, organizations will splinter. This holds true for the state of nations.
A nation consisting of millions of people with their own ambitions in pursuit of happiness is bound to have a fair crop of citizens who hold within their hearts the desire to dissent and break free of order.
But strong leaders who are able to unite the greater majority and paint a vision of a better future for the entirety are able to maintain a society with the absence of tyranny or dissent.
When weak leaders who lack vision and an end goal replace policies with ‘anti’ rhetoric, those dissenters of the field grow and harvest.
On October 27, 1787, a letter appeared in the Independent Journal written by ‘Publius.’ The letter argued, “whether societies of men are really capable or not of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend for their political constitutions on accident and force.”
This letter came to be the first of many essays, 85 in fact, known as the Federalist Papers. The pen name Publius, a collective contribution from Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay.
In these essays, these three Founding Fathers argued for a strong central government to lead the larger republic and pull the country out of debt from the recent war.
In Federalist 70, Alexander Hamilton argues for a strong executive leader as opposed to the weak executive under the Articles of Confederation.
He states, “energy in the executive is the leading character in the definition of good government. It is essential to the protection of the community against foreign attacks…to the steady administration of the laws, to the protection of property…to justice; [and] to the security of liberty....”
These words laid the groundwork for what became the office of the Presidency in the US Constitution.
Since that time our country has seen a great many leaders in our government. There have been those that have united despite having polarizing views as Lincoln did during the Civil War, and those that have divided as James Buchanan did the years leading up to the war.
As our nation faces an ongoing pandemic, massive unemployment, and growing social unrest, we look to our leaders for guidance. But that guidance has rarely come, if at all.
When states looked to the office of the presidency for an effective strategy to contain the virus while maintaining state economies, they were led astray. Or not led at all.
They learned the hard way as their leader agitated for a swift reopening to bolster the economy despite those states failing to meet that office’s own criteria for ‘safe reopening’.
As cities across the country saw the rise of protests against racial injustice and the killing of unarmed George Floyd, governors and mayors looked to their president for effective moral leadership to curb citizens' rage while ensuring their First Amendment rights.
Instead, they witnessed a series of schizophrenic threats and boasts.
It has been nearly two months since the killing of George Floyd and in states like Utah civil unrest has grown so elevated that the governor has declared a state-of-emergency.
The city of Minneapolis police department saw 150 police officers file for disability after expressing unwillingness to go back to work following months of protest and a spike in violence. Deadly gun violence is surging in cities like Atlanta, New York and Chicago.
Now the dilettante might point to a weakness in character from those mayors as the core reason for ongoing unrest, or governors’ failures to develop effective testing as coronavirus daily cases sour past 68,000.
Publius on the other hand would argue that the weaknesses of state governments prevent their nearly powerless executives from leading in times of crisis and it is up to the Office of the President of the United States to enforce the law and lead the nation.
As 45 makes baseless threats to cut funding to children’s right to free public education, attacks the higher institutions that shape our future leaders, and fuels the flames of racial and social unrest, would you say we are on the right path?
Can the state governors rely on their federal leader to protect their citizens as he claims ‘no responsibility’ for their suffering or calls on them to LIBERATE themselves? As he flip-flops between federalism and republicanism in public bravado while in practice makes off-the-cuff decisions based on instincts…
I am not so confident in the confidence of our ‘leader.’
“As too much power leads to despotism, too little leads to anarchy, and both eventually to the ruin of the people.”
–Alexander Hamilton, 1781
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