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I spend a lot of time in this newsletter focusing on issues related to democracy, decency, deception, despotism, desecrations, deceit, delinquency, dereliction, defraudation, degeneracy, depravity, deplorables, despicables, demagoguery, derangement, and generally demented leadership. All of these (as well as the rest of the alphabet of nightmares) are worthy topics for your consideration, and projects like McSweeney’s tracking of the cruelties, collusions, corruptions, and crimes of this administration provide a vital record. But as much as I often wish they would, these issues will not decide the midterm elections. It’s going to come down to one word (according to Trump, a fake word and a con job made up by Democrats): Affordability. And, these days, the issue of affordability, as it often is, is inexorably linked to the price of oil. And there doesn’t seem to be much relief in sight. “Commercial fuel stocks around the world have been depleting for more than six months, and strategic crude reserves can’t be tapped much further. Attacks last week shut down a crucial crude pipeline in Saudi Arabia that bypassed the Strait, stranding at least 2.5 million barrels a day from an already tight global oil market, analysts estimate ... It is hard to predict where oil prices will go, he added, but at the moment, it is difficult to envision prices coming back down quickly.” WSJ(Gift Article): Oil Executives Say the Great Fuel Crisis Is Here.
+ It’s a topic that unites the world. NYT (Gift Article): Rising Fuel Prices Set Off Anger and Protests Around the World. “The world is furious — again — over rising energy prices caused by the American-Israeli war against Iran. Since the latest surge pushed oil above $100 a barrel, protesters have burned tires and cars in Guatemala and Syria to express their rage. Portugal’s roads have featured cars crawling in protest with honking horns after diesel reached a record high of more than $9 a gallon. And especially in the developing countries of Asia, which are heavily reliant on Middle Eastern energy and deep in debt from earlier efforts to offset the war’s impacts, transport systems and governments are facing another round of enormous strain.”
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The Letters of the Law
For the administration, the state of the affordability crisis makes attempting to rig the election more urgent. At least one of those plots has been stymied. Supreme Court Blocks Trump Administration Plan to Screen Mail-In Ballots. The efforts to control the outcome (and perhaps, almost as importantly, to sow doubts in the minds of voters) will continue apace. “The Supreme Court on Monday dealt President Trump a major blow when it blocked his executive order to restrict mail ballots. But Mr. Trump’s battle to assert control over the election process is far from finished.” NYT (Gift Article): Trump’s Effort to Assert Control Over Elections Continues, Despite Court Loss. (If you’re wondering how hard Trump will try to cheat the election, I suggest a quick review of January 6, 2021.)
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Club Dread
The first rule of Extreme Weather Survivors Club is to hope you don’t qualify. NYT Magazine (Gift Article): How a Series of Climate Disasters Connected a Group of Strangers. “In just a few years, Extreme Weather Survivors has grown to include more than 2,500 people whose lives have been upended by searing temperatures, roaring fires, torrential floods and intense storms. It is partly a climate advocacy group with a lobbying focus — but it’s also an unprecedented network of people from all over the country, survivors of many different forms of extreme weather, who have come to rely on one another for guidance and emotional support. They have bonded over insurance challenges and byzantine FEMA paperwork, over fights with local utility companies, over the question of how to hold the local authorities accountable for destruction that should, in retrospect, have been preventable.”
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Funnilingus at the Emmys
Matthew Rhys was the big winner at the Emmys as he made history as the first person to win two lead acting Emmys in one night, and first man to win all three top acting prizes. Widow’s Bay dominated, and the Pitt and DTF St. Louis had pretty big nights. Here are all the winners, the snubs and surprises, and the highs and lows of the largely forgettable show. Two moments worth watching: Michael J. Fox accepting the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award, and John Mulaney’s oral argument made during his unreal presentation of best lead actor in a drama, which somehow included the line: “I believe it was DJ Khaled who said ‘real men don’t go down on their wives,’ but these nominees know that that is B.S. They know there’s often less pressure on them if they do that first.” From his mouth to... oh well, you get the idea.
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Extra, Extra
Working for a Nonliving: “The consequences associated with shrinking labor shares are now becoming tangible. A recent Government Accountability Office report found that across the 11 states sampled, Amazon, the country’s largest company by revenue, has 12,346 workers on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and 11,338 relying on Medicaid. That was nearly triple the number of Amazon employees in need of federal assistance compared to 2020, when GAO conducted a similar report. During that same period, Amazon saw an increase in annual profits from $11.6 billion to $77.7 billion. Amazon’s 2025 revenue soared 12% year over year, from $638 billion to a record $717 billion.” This isn’t really an Amazon story. It’s a math story. “Working Americans are taking home the smallest percentage of economic output, 52.8%, since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking the metric in 1947.”
+ Common Ground: “David Sacks and Lina Khan? Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon? The debate on artificial intelligence limits is creating unlikely alliances.” The Unlikely Political Bedfellows on A.I. Regulation. (Unfortunately, you can be sure that the administration will shit the bed.) As I wrote yesterday, I’m not sure there’s a ten percent chance AI will kill all humans. But I do think there’s a 100 percent chance that the people currently in charge of AI companies and regulation will make bad choices for the rest of us human survivors. I’m Pacing Myself.
+ Leveling Up: As I’ve mentioned, one of my biggest concerns is that we’ve created the tools to help others level the military playing field. “The Houthis are increasingly using artificial intelligence and other tools to produce advanced weaponry on their own, making them less reliant on Iran.” Yemen’s Houthi Militants Are Learning to Arm Themselves.
+ Buy High: “Stocks in other companies that have struck a deal with the Trump administration have tended to move in the opposite direction, often following a common trajectory: a significant bump around the formal announcement, high volatility afterward, and then gains often given back almost as quickly as they came.” Stocks pop when the Trump administration invests, but the gains often fade fast. (Oh, don’t worry. I’m sure this trend has some winners...)
+ In the Hundreds: For the first time, Japan has more than 100,000 centenarians.
+ Macklemore or Less: New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft banned Macklemore (who was on tour with Ed Sheeran) from playing Gillette Stadium because of the rapper’s comments about Israel and Gaza during his shows. The promoter ultimately dropped Macklemore from th