Satisfaction, Love and Happiness Here

Today's news and politics, the upcoming Aretha feature and music from the Stones, Bonnie Raitt and Al Green, as Brandi Carlile and The Highwomen take on a big Mac.

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News & Politics

Trevor Noah: “I get why Facebook extended Trump’s suspension. But you have to admit, it does seem pretty unfair to ban him, of all people, from a website that began as a way to rate women’s looks.” Jimmy Fallon: “So, if you want to see crazy conspiracy theories, you’ll have to settle for…any other person on Facebook.”

The Onion: “Experts Say Earning Trust Of Vaccine Skeptics Will Be Key To Jabbing Them When They’re Not Looking.”

Vac Me Out to the Ball Game: NY Yankees and Mets baseball games will reopen regular seating for fully vaccinated people—with free tickets for those who get a vaccine at the game. Meanwhile, Broadway set to re-open at 100% capacity—on Sept. 14. NY Times: "The last time the theater industry opened from a pandemic, Shakespeare was still writing new plays…."

What’s up, guac? Biden’s “these are my tacos” takeout order yesterday from that D.C. taqueria revealed: Four tacos — al pastor, lengua, carnitas, and barbaco—and two quesadillas, hongos (mushrooms) with salsa taquera, and chorizo with habanero salsa. No “jack,” Jack.

Six minutes from Samantha Bee last night on Matt Gaetz and the GOP double standards:

Nuts to you: As conservatives scream about Facebook “censorship,” stats released yesterday show 9 of the top 10 most popular links there were for right-wing yahoos Dan Bongino, Sean Hannity, and Ben Shapiro.

After the Facebook ban upheld: Jon Swan at Axios observes, “The bottom line is Trump and his inner circle were hanging on this decision and view Facebook reinstatement as crucial to Trump’s political comeback. Mostly because of its fundraising power. And yes: his inner circle increasingly believes he will run in 2024. Long long way to go but that’s where he’s at now. And Facebook is crucial to their strategy as it was in 16 and 20.” Now “the decision is once again sharpening Republicans’ knives for Facebook.”

Adds the NY Times’ Nick Confessore: “The fact that this private corporate administrative decision is being covered as something akin to a Supreme Court ruling — rightly so, I think — is the best illustration I can imagine of the sheer power Facebook has achieved over the public square.”

Meanwhile, Trump focuses on his personal email blasts, but how does he do it? Alex Leary has a peek behind the curtain: “Mr. Trump dictates the messages to an aide, according to two people familiar with the process, and the message is reviewed by staff before being sent out. He is given a printed-out copy and sometimes makes edits in black marker.”

As we predicted yesterday: Liz Cheney all but out and Elise Stefanik in—despite the latter’s much lower pro-Trump voting record. Why does Trump back her? Because she’s a younger woman?

Headline of the Day, from Rolling Stone: “Jerk From Home: How Masturbating While Quarantined Can Help Seed Self-Love.” Runner-up from CNET: “Pentagon tracking an out-of-control Chinese rocket expected to crash into Earth.”

The world can avoid potentially unstoppable sea level rise from the Antarctic ice sheet—if the Paris Agreement's targets are met, according to two new studies. Go deeper here.

Say…hey! One of my boyhood sports heroes, Willie Mays, turns 90 today. This week on the Colbert show, Jane Fonda was asked if she had ever asked anyone for an autograph. She replied, only two times—once with (my other hero), Muhammad Ali, and with Willie Mays. Fun fact for today’s players, especially the young ones, who routinely take days of rest: In 1962, when the National League extended its season to 162 games, Willie played in every one—plus two All-Star Games that summer. He was already 31 that year.

Tim O’Brien: “Has Tucker Carlson been vaccinated? Given his unending skepticism about vaccines, a guest should ask him or he should clear it up.”

Barry Blitt at The New Yorker:

Short Stops: Here are selections from this week’s Harper’s review of the week which you may have missed elsewhere:

Governor Greg Abbott said that he would sign a bill allowing Texans to carry firearms without background checks, training, or permits. Idaho’s governor signed a bill banning abortions after six weeks, Arizona’s governor signed a bill banning abortions performed because of nonfatal genetic abnormalities, and Republican members of both chambers of the Tennessee state legislature revived a bill that would make it a felony to block traffic while protesting and extend immunity to drivers who run over demonstrators as long as they are “exercising due care.”

The Catholic Mobilizing Network and other anti–death penalty activist groups criticized Biden, the second Catholic president and the first to have campaigned on ending the death penalty, for failing in his first 100 days in office to take steps to cease capital punishment. Legislators in Maine voted to more strictly regulate “forever chemicals” in drinking water.

It was reported that the online retailer Etsy has failed to prevent the sale of items prohibited by its terms of service and U.S. laws, including ivory, replica WWI trench clubs, the remains of cats and dogs, and uranium ore. A web designer in Buenos Aires purchased Google’s Argentinian domain for approximately $2.90.

Music

On this date in 1965: In their Clearwater, FL hotel room, Mick and Keith worked out the opening guitar riff for a little ditty they’d call “Satisfaction”— following Keith’s purchase of a Gibson fuzz-box earlier that day. You’ve seen and/or heard them do it many times since but probably not often in year of creation, 1965….

Rev up: Just for the hell of it, Bonnie Raitt joined by Al Green as they find “Love and Happiness.”

Film/TV

Premiering on Discovery+ tonight: new doc about the humanitarian efforts by Sean Penn (love him or hate him) in Haiti. Great title: Citizen Penn.

The recent “Genius” series on Aretha Franklin was pretty good and now there’s a feature coming in August starring Jennifer Hudson with Forest Whitaker as her dad. Story and photos here. And prime Aretha signing “Rock Steady” here. Could have lip-synched in that venue but did not…

We liked the HBO series with Gabriel Byrne as therapist (with some soon to be well-known actress patients) In Treatment a few years back—and now after a long pause it is getting a 4th season starting May 23, with Uzo Aduba in the lead.

Song Pick of the Day

That “supergroup” The Highwomen with Brandi Carlile, Amanda Shires etc. cover live the Mac classic “The Chain.”

“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.