Morning Belz, Jan. 4
"Victory Rally"
What is the China threat? It’s ideological — Palladium Magazine
David Shor, the canceled former Obama aide, on politics — Intelligencer
“Tankies,” a term you didn’t know you needed to know — Noah Smith
Transcript of that call between Trump and Raffensperger — NYT
18-yr-old girl, apparently in perfect health, dies of COVID — WGN
Weed demand soared in the year of work-from-home — Willamette Week
Bitcoin retreats Monday after spectacular rise Sunday — Bloomberg
Israel has already vaccinated a million people — BBC
Soon
Headed to a Trump/Perdue/Loeffler “victory rally” this evening at the airport just outside Dalton, Georgia, the carpet capital of the world. We’ll interview people there and make a video from the rally. The goal is to avoid court-room style arguments about election procedure and get to the root of things with people. Some of my (mostly Gen X) friends and family have expressed unease with the Trumpiness of Scuffed News, and I want you to know I hear you, but the reality is that this is a big and fascinating part of American life right now, and people are interested in it. Trumpiness will continue to be a focus of the show, probably long after the man himself has left office. Happy New Year!
Quote
“Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them.” — David Hume, “A Treatise of Human Nature,” 1739
About: I send this email most mornings to force myself to stay informed and in touch. It’s typically ~8 links, a quote, and an update on what I’m working on. Write me back! And please share the email. If I added you and you don’t like it, please click unsubscribe below. I was a newspaper reporter for 14 years at the Cedar Rapids Gazette, Des Moines Register and Minneapolis Star Tribune. I gave the basic story of why my family left Minneapolis here. You can find my new venture, Scuffed News, on YouTube (please subscribe!), Twitter and Instagram, and you can support the project with your money, in exchange for exclusive video and early access to some of the videos, on Patreon.