Taking Giuliani’s Insane, Un-American Press Conference Seriously
Trump’s election-theft conspiracy theory exists in an uncanny valley.
Leading The Bulwark…
Taking Giuliani’s Insane, Un-American Press Conference Seriously
Tim Miller: Trump’s election-theft conspiracy theory exists in an uncanny valley.
🎧 On the Pods…🎧
Brendan Buck: Georgia On My Mind
On today’s Bulwark podcast, Brendan Buck joins Charlie Sykes to discuss how Joe Biden won Georgia, and what to look for in its upcoming special elections for both of its Senators.
Alison Macor on screenwriting 'Top Gun' and 'Batman'
Sonny talks to the Austin-based Alison Macor this week about the life and times of Warren Skaaren this week. Skaaren’s battles with the studios and the Writer’s Guild to get proper credit for his work on Top Gun, Batman, Beverly Hills Cop 2, and Beetlejuice are the subject of her excellent book, Rewrite Man.
From The Bulwark Aggregator…
California Wants Its Imperial Valley to Be ‘Lithium Valley’ – David R. Baker, Bloomberg Businessweek
Borat As Milgram Experiment – Nathan J. Robinson, Current Affairs
Is This the End of College As We Know It? – Douglas Belkin, The Wall Street Journal
Farm support holds for Trump, but Biden may find inroads – Ellyn Ferguson, Roll Call
Republicans seek to stymie Biden with final Trump nominees – Marianne Levine and Burgess Everett, Politico
The Conservative Antitrust Case Against Big Tech Is a Giant Self-Own – Peter Suderman, Reason
Fox News Is No Longer Insane Enough for Fox Viewers – Molly Jong-Fast, The Daily Beast
In Today’s Bulwark…
Lame Ducks
William Kristol: Our leaders need to pass a COVID relief package—now. Or be judged by history.
The Pandemic Is Now McConnell’s Problem, Too
James C. Capretta: No more delays. The time for action and compromise is now.
Trump Goes Out as He Came In
Eugene R. Fidell: His term in office is bookended by botched transitions between administrations.
The Marketing Theory Which Explains Why Trump Owns the GOP
David Shaywitz: It’s the emotion, Stupid.
🚨 OVERTIME 🚨
Idiocracy was a documentary.
Trump Guys… This Ben Terris joint in WaPo is worth your time.
Would a Trump Guy even be a Trump Guy if he weren’t selling something? Books, fish oil supplements, access? In that way, Trump Guys aren’t altogether different from other government guys who try to cash in on their Washington stories.
Well, except that a bunch of them seem to be doing so under monitoring by law enforcement.
An ode to recently departed pants… One thing anyone I’ve worked with in the last eight years can tell you that I have a uniform when I’m in the office. Olive drab pants and a Shaker Heights Country Club polo shirt. That’s it. I buy the pants from CostCo every January, six pairs, and wear them until they run out. At Ordinary Times, Andrew Donaldson has an ode to losing his favorite pair of work pants. I know how he feels. Once my pants start getting tattered, my wife won’t let me wear them in public anymore. They become project pants. But that’s less of an issue during the pandemic, since anyone who sees me only sees my face. I might have to purchase fewer pants in 2021.
The Navy’s forest. Did you know that the U.S. Navy maintains a forest in Indiana? Because I did not. It’s a cool story.
Hey Mitch, aren’t you friends with Joe Biden? As if you needed an indicator of how the next few years are going to go…
The Presidential Rail Car… A look inside Truman and FDR’s train car.
Before his hair dye melted… Here’s Rudy making a My Cousin Vinny reference in a press conference that seems to be trying to outdo the Four Seasons one.
Watch this… The WaPo has this interactive on Kyle Rittenhouse that’s worth a few minutes.
…in a jailhouse interview, said he used stimulus money to get a gun. The first man he shot had just left a psychiatric hospital.
What makes video games art. Also in the Post, Sonny Bunch reviews the new Call of Duty: Cold War… If only I could get him to play multiplayer with me, we could start a Bulwark squad!
How Newsmax and OANN covered Rudy’s crazy presser:
Well, that’s it for me for today. Hope you’ll join us tonight on the livestream. I’m off to make white bolognese to carb up for tonight’s show. If you’re looking for some delicious food content, check out how they brew Soy Sauce in Japan. It’s a lot like whiskey.
If you’re not going to be on the zoom chat, drop me a line at swift@thebulwark.com if you have any questions for the panel!
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