Morning Becomes Electric
Rudy raided and "Wing Man" exposes Gaetz. Also enjoy: music from Bonnie Raitt, The Who, Muddy Waters and The Band. But not glad about Gladwell.
You know the drill: share, comment, subscribe (it’s still free).
News & Politics
Stephen Colbert: “I can relate to Ted Cruz. Now that Joe is president, I find it much easier to sleep, too.” Jimmy Kimmel: “Dreaming of Cancun no doubt.”
If you missed the big (sordid) news late yesterday: The Daily Beast says it has a letter written by Joel Greenberg, Rep. Matt Gaetz’s “wing man,” detailing their sexual activities, including with that 17-year-old girl, and payments to her and numerous girls, some via Venmo. Naturally, Roger Stone got involved in a pardon. A Gaetz spokesman denies the claims.
Twitter blocked the nickname "Uncle Tim" from trending after Tim Scott's speech Wednesday night, but the company was slammed for not taking action more quickly. And Wash Post: “Sen. Tim Scott’s comments on race ignite a fiery debate.”
Menthol ban and race: Politico reports, “More than 85 percent of Black Americans who smoke report using menthol products, and the Biden administration’s proposed ban on menthol cigarettes has divided Black lawmakers.”
2021 vs. 1619: And Politico also with this scoop this morning.
Mitch McConnell and 37 GOP senators will call on the Education Department today to stop a proposed rule that invokes the 1619 Project — the latest turn in the culture wars. The Biden administration…has proposed updating American history curricula to more fully flesh out the consequences of slavery and contributions of Black Americans.
The lightning rod for Republicans? That the proposal specifically mentions the 1619 Project, which several prominent historians have criticized — particularly its suggestion that the American Revolution was fought to secure slavery. In a letter, McConnell and the other senators will blast the administration for putting “ill-informed advocacy ahead of historical accuracy….Americans never decided our children should be taught that our country is inherently evil.”
Hannity and other wingnuts using continuing Dem promotion of masks and social distancing as “evidence” that vaccines don’t work. Amanda Marcotte: “I recognize these choices on what to model are tough, but it’s time to focus on modeling the benefits of the jab.”
The government should pay Americans to get vaccinated, Slate’s Ben Mathis-Lilley argues. Indeed, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is cleverly outlining a plan that ties specific vaccination levels to rolling back COVID-19 restrictions. Two weeks after 60% of people get their first vaccine dose, the state will increase indoor capacity for sporting events, gyms and restaurants/bars; two weeks after hitting 70%, the state will rescind its mask mandate, etc.
More than 100 U.S. colleges will require in-person students to be vaccinated.
Better Leave Hillbilly: Will Mennaker on J.D. Vance attacking (“class war against normal people”) Biden’s new child care proposals: “The thing about Vance is, he got famous for a book about hating his mother, and the politics he espouses—and is handsomely funded for—is about hating everyone's mother.” Former GOP Rep. Joe Walsh: “J.D. Vance is Tucker Carlson is Donald Trump is today’s perpetually- the-victim Republican Party.”
A dose of reality from The Atlantic’s Ron Brownstein: “Historians are legitimately comparing the scale of Biden's ambitions to FDR & LBJ. But FDR in '33 had a 23 seat Senate majority; LBJ in '65 a 36 seat majority. Biden is trying to do this w/ a 50-50 Senate & slim House edge. He's crossing a high wire w/ very little margin.”
Recalling Rudy G’s message to the January 6 rally crowd…
Latest horror on Blake Bailey: From Slate, “I Was 12 When We Met: Blake Bailey was my favorite teacher. Years later, he forced himself on me. Why did I seek his approval for so long?”
Val in? I noted last week rumors that one of my favorites, Rep. Val Demings, was considering a 2022 run against her pick of GOP ogres in Florida—Gov. DeSantis or Sen. Rubio. Now she seems more certain to take the plunge, and more likely against DeSantis, who she really despises. There may be other good candidates against Rubio, plus with Florida picking up a congressional district due to the census a redrawn map may hurt Demings in some way so she’s moving ahead now. Longtime Florida staple, Rep. Charlie Crist, seems set to also run for guv.
If you know Zoë Roth from the “disaster girl” meme. She just sold, NFT style, that photo of her at age four with house on fire for $500,000.
Steve Brodner on that very frank Fanone interview this week:
Chauvin juror tells NY Times that 11 of 12 were ready to convict him of killing George Floyd at the very start of deliberations.
And racist cameras? Amazing piece from Axios:
Snapchat has launched an initiative to redesign its core camera technology to make it better able to capture a wide range of skin tones, the company tells Axios.
Historically, the chemical processes behind [pre-digital] film development used light skin as its chemical baseline — basically optimizing for whiteness, a legacy that continues today, says Snapchat engineer Bertrand Saint-Preux. "The camera is, in fact, racist," Saint-Preux said.
Film cameras eventually got better at exposing for darker tones, but not as part of a concerted effort to make things more equitable for people. Rather, it was complaints from chocolate makers and photographers shooting other dark subjects that pushed the industry to do better. The early days of digital photography were similarly fraught
Feel the energy: “U.S. investigating possible mysterious directed energy attack near White House.”CNN: “Federal agencies are investigating at least two possible incidents on U.S. soil, including one near the White House in November of last year, that appear similar to mysterious, invisible attacks that have led to debilitating symptoms for dozens of U.S. personnel abroad. Multiple sources familiar with the matter tell CNNthat while the Pentagon and other agencies probing the matter have reached no clear conclusions on what happened, the fact that such an attack might have taken place so close to the White House is particularly alarming.”
Books
Horrible new Malcolm Gladwell book hails Gen. Curtis “Mad Bomber” LeMay for incinerating hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians in Tokyo and beyond in spring of 1945, and claiming only this—and then the same civilian toll in Hiroshima and Nagasaki—could have prevented a U.S. invasion and ended WW II in that time frame. Nonsense, as I’ve argued in three books, dozens of articles, and now a film—U.S. invasion wasn’t even planned until December 1, 1945, Japan was teetering on surrender and likely would have quit soon after Soviets declared war on August 6, 1945. (See my counter to similar arguments by Chris Wallace last summer in his bestseller and TV special.) Surprised reviewer Tom Ricks lets him off easy on this. And LeMay probably tied a world record by being a war criminal in three wars (Japan, Korea, Vietnam).
Music
Tomorrow I will be presenting another one of my Profiles in Music (previously starring Sam Cooke, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen and Emmylou Harris), this time re: the duo of Richard Thompson and Sandy Denny in their formative Fairport Convention years together. I’ve just finished both a fine Sandy bio and Richard’s brand new memoir so I am primed and ready. BTW, Richard remains a practicing Sufi Muslim and now lives in Montclair, N.J. For a taste of this but from a few years later, and with a different female voice, here’s Bonnie Raitt with RT doing his “Dimming of the Day” (though no one tops Linda Thompson).
On this day in 1976, what must he the ultimate in this stupid old school male rock star phenomenon: The Who’s madman drummer Keith Moon paid nine cab drivers to block off both ends of a New York City street—so he could throw the entire contents of his hotel room out of a window. And, below, in a famous TV incident on the Smothers Brothers show, the only thing Keith destroyed was his drum kit when the gunpowder went off a little more powerfully than expected….
On this day in 1983: blues legend Muddy Waters died at the age of 68. Here he performs his “Mannish Boy” with The Band (and Paul Butterfield), one of the highlights of The Last Waltz. Mud always did spell M-A-N.
Film
Fun fact: We all know that Stan “The Man” Kubrick started taking photos for Look magazine when he was still in high school in the Bronx but did you know that he also played percussion in a high school swing band whose lead singer was none other than “Blame It on the Bossa Nova” songstress Eydie Gormé?
News to me that Aaron Sorkin is helming a Lucille Ball biopic with Nicole Kidman as Lucy and Javier Bardem as Ricky. Nicole has the red hair but still looks nothing like Lucy in photos from the set.
We previewed the new doc about quirky singer and reality show forerunner Tiny Tim a few weeks back but now it’s here and Rolling Stone’s David Browne reviews it favorably this week.
A reminder that the acclaimed film that I co-produced a few years back, Following the Ninth, on the influence of Beethoven’s final symphony on modern political uprisings and cultural, will be streaming—for no charge —via Carnegie Hall’s site for another month as part of a special series.
Song Pick of the Day
Lotta geezers here today, so a little balance with one of my younger faves, Sharon Van Etten, live, with a recent semi-hit “Comeback Kid,” without the record’s over-production.
My Photo of the Day
Venice in a spring rain from Rialto Bridge.
“Essential daily newsletter.” — Charles P. Pierce, Esquire
“Incisive and enjoyable every day.” — Ron Brownstein, The Atlantic
“Always worth reading.” — Frank Rich, New York magazine, Veep and Succession
Greg Mitchell is the author of a dozen books, including the bestseller The Tunnels (on escapes under the Berlin Wall), the current The Beginning or the End (on MGM’s wild atomic bomb movie), and The Campaign of the Century (on Upton Sinclair’s left-wing race for governor of California), which was recently picked by the Wall St. Journal as one of five greatest books ever about an election. His new film, Atomic Cover-up, just had its world premiere and is drawing extraordinary acclaim. For nearly all of the 1970s he was the #2 editor at the legendary Crawdaddy. Later he served as longtime editor of Editor & Publisher magazine. He recently co-produced a film about Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.