A ‘Nation of Renters’? Let’s Hope Not.
John Gustavsson on why shifting away from home ownership is a bad idea.
Leading The Bulwark…
A ‘Nation of Renters’? Let’s Hope Not.
JOHN GUSTAVSSON: A major shift away from homeownership would transform our politics and our economy for the worse.
🎧 On the Pods… 🎧
Bill Kristol on Vilification and the 'Old Rules' of Politics
On today's Bulwark Podcast, Bill Kristol joins Charlie Sykes to discuss the Milwaukee Bucks, Trump's worst day since leaving office, the 1/6 commission, and how Dr. Anthony Fauci broke free from following the 'old rules' of politics.
For Bulwark+ Members… 🔐
MORNING SHOTS: Trump's Worst Day: A Quiz 🔐
CHARLIE SYKES on the Fauci smackdown.
THE TRIAD: How Much Effort Should We Spend on the Anti-Vaxxers? 🔐
JVL: Should we try to prevent reality from imposing consequences?
TNL: Alaska! 🔐
Sarah, Sonny, and JVL talk about the Lisa Murkowski’s challenge and what to do about vaccine refuseniks.
From The Bulwark Aggregator…
My mother had a ‘vaccine passport’ from decades ago. So why are we so averse to the idea now? – Karen Tumulty, The Washington Post
Leftists and Liberals Are Still Fighting Over the Cold War – Jonathan Chait, Intelligencer
College Republicans Erupt in Civil War Over Kid Rock Cash – Will Sommer, The Daily Beast
Senate Could Pass a $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Bill This Week, Even Though There’s No Agreement on How To Pay for It – Eric Boehm, Reason
Hyde Amendment fight just the first step in changing abortion coverage – Sandhya Raman, Roll Call
Tim Ryan tries to break Ohio’s Trumpian streak – Josh Kraushaar, National Journal
Trump is coming for him. But Anthony Gonzalez has a quiet plan – Jim Saksa, Roll Call
In Today’s Bulwark...
It’s Time to Bring Back USIA
SHAY KHATIRI: The protests in Cuba show that the U.S. needs to strengthen and modernize its public diplomacy efforts.
Make Republicans Defend Their Opposition to Voting Rights Bills
AMANDA CARPENTER: Bring back the talking filibuster.
🚨OVERTIME 🚨
Bowling Alone… It’s probably one of my favorite public policy books, and one of the many things I took from from Putnam is that it’s good for for communities to have strong local organizations.
In my basement on my deep freezer, I have a bumper sticker (which my wife wouldn’t allow on my car) that reads: HOWDY PARTNER, I’M AN EAGLE! On our cooler, I have one (also rejected for the car) that says THIS VEHICLE STOPS AT ALL EAGLES CLUBS.
I’ve been a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles since 2014. My parents had moved to a Cleveland exurb years earlier and I went to the Aerie my dad is a member of for an Ohio State game and it dawned on me: These places are awesome. When my grandparents had their 50th Wedding Anniversary at an Elks Lodge in rural Ohio, I was too young to know that beneath the ballroom was an active club. I wish I had known, as a recent college grad living in Alexandria, VA, that such a club was four blocks from my basement apartment, or I would have joined earlier.
I immediately joined Eagles Aerie #871, where I quickly became the membership chair, trying to recruit other young people to join our charitable nonprofit. It is, like joining the board of your HOA, a thankless job. Though not nearly as bad.
And when we moved further out in 2019, my wife joked she should set a betting pool about when I would join one of the local chapters of the Elks or the Moose (or the VFW Auxiliary, since I did not serve in the military.) The pandemic threw that into a bit of a question mark, but earlier this week, I did apply to join the BPOE and I’m excited for that sort of normalcy again.
If you’re near one of these social organizations and have never thought of joining, you should consider it. Yes, there’s a bar with darts and sports on TV and various themed dinner nights that are relatively cheap. But you get to meet people, and the groups have a lot of family-themed events. One of my favorites as an Eagle (which I remain active with), was our annual cookout at Fort Hunt Park, a former prisoner of war camp for high level types, where we’d have a beer, play softball, and raise money for charity with a variety of games and let the kids go crazy.
And these sorts of organizations have dues that are crazy cheap: Like $60 a year. That’s about as much as my membership (on hiatus) at the National Press Club costs. You haven’t probably gotten to meet a lot of new people in the last 18 months, now is the time. It’s great to meet people and help out your local community.
Why I'm Inoculating My Kids Against The Dangers of Scientific Evidence… This McSweeney’s item from 2019 aged well:
People have told me that by preventing my children from learning about science, I am putting others at risk. But it’s not like me spreading alternate information about climate change, stem-cell research, or vaccines is harming anyone. Information doesn’t kill people; the trace amounts of formaldehyde in the MMR vaccine do.
“I’m sorry, but it’s too late…” A story of COVID-19 in the American south. This passage is particularly moving:
“One of the last things they do before they’re intubated is beg me for the vaccine. I hold their hand and tell them that I’m sorry, but it’s too late.”
TWA Flight 800 at 25. The NTSB is dismantling the recreation of the wreckage at a northern Virginia hangar.
Much ado about dogs… But what about the ones who never want to stop playing? The Atlantic highlights, they’re great at helping wind turbine companies.
What happens when your dentist goes to Congress. The Washington Post highlights the story of Rep. Paul Gosar:
Gosar’s evolution from the Arizona Dental Association’s 2001 Dentist of the Year to a conspiracy-minded, race-baiting congressman isn’t exactly surprising to anyone paying attention to today’s GOP and its associated right-wing media personalities, whose adoption of Trump’s personal bugbears has made conspiracy theorists of many rank-and-file Republicans.
You really should read the whole thing.
That’s it for me for today. We’ll see you back here tomorrow. Tech support questions? Email support@substack.com. Questions for me? Drop me a line: swift@thebulwark.com
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Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.