Four Days October 30, 2020October 29, 2020 Want something moving and inspirational in between the phone calls you’re making to help Joe? Listen to this adapted version of “We Shall Overcome.” It’s performed — complete with a new stanza — by Billy Valentine and “American Idol” Top Ten Sophia James. (You’re not yet making calls? Sign up for a shift!) Because you know, in America, if we do this right, anything is possible. Just ask Sam White — age 6. (Thanks, Upworthy.) Let’s not muck it up. Have fun with this interactive map. Move the states around as you wish. Have a great weekend! Sign up for a shift!
Five More Days October 29, 2020October 28, 2020 << Please don’t lose sight of the fact that the man getting the best health care in America has lawyers in court trying to take yours away. >> I recognize few of you have time to read each of these posts, let alone click all the links. But this from yesterday’s obits, strikes me as so appalling and consequential — and generally overlooked — as to warrant reposting: An obit for hundreds of thousands of South Americans lost to COVID. It seems Trump had a lot to do with that, too. Biden, by contrast, say these Republicans, is a good man. Vote!
Obits October 28, 2020October 29, 2020 Even as we celebrated Roger Angell’s 100th birthday last month (if you love Maine or baseball or the New Yorker, click that) . . . , , , and even as I got to attend a Zoom last week with sharp-as-a-teen Norman Lear (who turned 98 in July) . . . . . . it’s undeniable: Not all of us will live forever. (Which may not be so bad, if you’ve read Harvard brain surgeon Eben Alexander’s Proof of Heaven, skeptic though I am.) So this morning, while we await the fate of mankind, I offer two obits: MARCEL MARCEAU I’m 13 years late with this, but though like anyone my age I certainly knew who he was — I had no idea! So, better late than never. And just 90 seconds. Wow. (Thanks, Mel.) https://andrewtobias.com/wp-content/uploads/Marcel-Marceau.mp4 THE AMAZING RANDI He died last week at 92. What an obit. Randi visited me in 1973 after Uri Geller had driven me blind-folded through Central Park. (What was remarkable was that it was Geller, not I, who was blindfolded.) After Randi helped me expose Geller, we stayed a little in touch. It was an honor to know him. BONUS An obit for Jared Kushner’s real estate. MUST-READ BONUS An obit for hundreds of thousands of South Americans lost to COVID. It seems Trump had a lot to do with that, too. Vote!
Black-Eyed Peas, Soy Sauce, Oreos — And A Scam Alert October 27, 2020October 26, 2020 BLACK EYED PEAS Give people light — and they will find the way. It’s all about love. Speaking of which . . . OREOS Three minutes (with a surprise ending). SOY SAUCE Gloria: “With regard to your 10-year-old unrefrigerated soy sauce, I’ve always thought ‘best by’ and ‘expiration dates are a ploy to make you discard perfectly fine food so you have to buy more. Did you see what happened when researchers analyzed a whole bunch of medicines that had been forgotten in a pharmacy for decades? Most were still fine, some even at full strength! Why is it then that so many over-the-counter medications have a one-year expiration date?” Worth the read — not least to see how Uncle Sam saves big bucks by testing its giant stockpile and not throwing out “expired” that are still fine. SCAM ALERT When I got a warning about this, I thought of telling you — but with so many e-mail scams, I decided not to bother. Then yesterday, I got it, too. Which gives me the sense millions are getting it: From: AMAZON Subject: Order was not processed- Payment declined. Do not respond with your credit card info! It’s a scam! BONUS Joe Biden tweeted this A YEAR AGO: We are not prepared for a pandemic. Trump has rolled back progress President Obama and I made to strengthen global health security. We need leadership that builds public trust, focuses on real threats, and mobilizes he world to stop outbreaks before they reach our shores. Just as Trump threw Chris Christie’s elaborate transition plan into the trash without looking at, so did he and his team throw into the trash the elaborate pandemic preparedness materials the outgoing Obama administration had urged on them. You can say hindsight is 20/20, but in this case it was foresight that was 20/20 — and it was ignored. Seven days.
Pulling Together October 26, 2020October 25, 2020 Blind? Click here. Even if you see clearly, these three minutes will inspire. (Microsoft has since added multiple languages.) And how about solar windows? Not here yet, but coming. So many things to be hopeful about if we can just learn to live with each other . . . confronting the future with differences of opinion — sure — but with common goals and a shared commitment to reaching them. Got 60 seconds for an ad about pulling the country back together? There are no Democratic rivers or Republican mountains. What the ABA missed in pronouncing Judge Barrett qualified. Let’s depoliticize the Court: The next Democratic president should appoint three Justices, to make it 6-6 . . . and let those 12 select one (or three) more to avoid ties. One, to keep the Court from being too too big. Three, to add more moderate weight and keep it roughly centered longer. Either works for me. A balanced Court would not be unfair to the right, who have won more votes than the left in just 1 of the last 7 elections (soon to be 8). How does it make sense — or serve the national interest — for them to have two-thirds of the Court? Ambassador David Huebner: . . . Finally, it is important to remember that the current president lost the 2016 election by millions of votes, actually finishing fourth behind Didn’t Vote, Secretary Clinton, and Weren’t Eligible to Vote. He was installed in the Oval Office by the Electoral College, an institution forced into the Constitution by our slave states as a hedge against abolition of human bondage by a future president elected from the more populous Northern states. Vote!
Make Your Bed And Vote For Joe October 24, 2020October 24, 2020 Inch by inch, WheelTug advances. I’ve owned my BOREF even longer than I’ve owned this soy sauce: It may have been “best” by June 19, 2010 . . . . . . but I mixed it with olive oil to make salad dressing last night — only later noticing it was supposed to have been refrigerated — and it was fine. Waste not, want not. Another Republican for Biden: I’ve spent a lot of my life waging war on the Democratic party. . . . This year, for the first time, I’m helping out the other side . . . It’s a strange feeling to be working on the side of those whom you fought for so long. . . . Having spent decades attacking the Democratic party, I don’t approach your party with any illusions about it being perfect. But I am convinced that the Democratic party has remained far truer to aspirational American values than the compromised, moral disgrace that is the party which endorsed Roy Moore and welcomes the dangerous lunacy of QAnon. I am proud to be helping a good and decent man like Joe Biden. — Stuart Stevens, author of It Was All A Lie: How The Republican Party Became Donald Trump. And from the admiral whose inspirational make your bed graduation speech you’ve doubtless seen (6 minutes) . . . this even more impactful advice (even just the first 2 minutes if you’re pressed for time). Have a great weekend.
Al Franken, Giant of the Senate October 22, 2020October 21, 2020 Yesterday I took only 2 minutes of your time. (John L.: “As closely as I follow national politics, the clip you posted still stunned me. “) Today, a 55-minute podcast of Al Franken interviewing long-time Republican campaign manager and Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt. It’s just so interesting . . . especially when Al asks “what took you so long” to switch teams. Schmidt gives a very real and human answer. Al is a self-acknowledged slow talker — kind of unusual for a fast thinker. One great thing about podcasts (and audiobooks): you can listen at 1.25X or 1.5X speed. But with Al, Giant of the Senate, I generally don’t. I usually find myself savoring the whole thing, just as delivered. This one was actually from the summer, but I had missed it the first time around. Have you voted?
It’s This Simple October 21, 2020October 20, 2020 Powerful, honest — concise — and sincere. Have a great day.
Pizza To The Polls October 20, 2020October 20, 2020 I just bought a couple of pies for people who will be waiting in long lines. Check it out: Pizza to the polls. IF YOU DON’T NEED A MASK BECAUSE GOD WILL PROTECT YOU, one Internet meme asks, WHY DO YOU NEED A GUN? From the Jerusalem Post: Anyone Who Thinks Trump Is Good for the Jews Is A ‘Freier’ . . . the Con Man’s Mark.
The Future Of Science October 18, 2020October 22, 2020 Know a well-meaning, open-minded Trump supporter with a daughter or grand daughter? If so, find a respectful way to ask him to consider this 90-second video, “Girl in the Mirror.” And perhaps ask him to listen to the first 30 seconds of this . . . Nebraska Republican Senator Ben Sasse. Republicans have won the popular vote in 1 of the past 7 presidential elections . . . and will have gotten to appoint 4 of the last 6 Supreme Court Justices if Judge Barrett is confirmed by Senate Republicans in breathtaking violation of their own pronouncements. A country built on Common Sense should perhaps better reflect common sense and restore faith in the Court’s impartiality by adding three justices appointed by Democrats — Merrick Garland comes to mind as one of them — so that the balance would be 6 ad 6 . . . and then have those 12 select 3 more. Imagine that: a depoliticized Court. Wouldn’t most Americans favor that? Responding to Ryan Holiday’s letter to his dad (“I believe this exceptionalism comes with responsibilities”), Paul deLespinasse suggests a Statue of Responsibility to complement the Statue of Liberty. Check out this free e-magazine: The Future of Science In America: The Election Issue. Its 15 articles include: “Award-Winning Scientists Offer Advice to the Next President of the United States” . . . “To Make Science Engaging, We Need a Sesame Street for Adults” . . . “Deep Fake Video Technology Is Advancing Faster Than Our Policies Can Keep Up” . . . and a lot more. Kudos to editor Aaron Mertz, the cello-playing fearless solo-world-traveling (North Korea! Kurdistan! Zimbabwe!) Rhodes Scholar biophysicist who was tending to mice in a research lab when we met and is now Director of Science and Society at the Aspen Institute. CORRECTION: The above, posted Friday, turns out to have been photoshopped. My apologies. The real truck, Snopes tells us, got stuck in 2o15, ironically emblazoned: ON THE ROAD TO SUCCESS, THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS.