Avert your eyes! My Sunday morning look at incompetency, corruption and policy failures:
• Lie After Lie: Listen to How Trump Built His Alternate Reality A 38-minute video shows how Donald J. Trump’s persistent repetition of lies and calls to action over two months created an alternate reality that he won re-election. Mr. Trump’s words, which were echoed and amplified by the rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, are a central focus of his second impeachment trial. (New York Times)
• Inside the Worst-Hit County in the Worst-Hit State in the Worst-Hit Country When COVID-19 surged through a North Dakota community, a battle with the pandemic became a battle among its residents. (New Yorker)
• Timeline of Social Media and Extremist Activities Leading to #StopTheSteal 1/6 Insurrection The insurrectionist attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 was not spontaneous. The assault that unfolded as Congress convened a joint session to certify the victory of Joe Biden in the 2020 election was the direct result of a months-long effort rooted in disinformation; promoted by President Donald Trump; coordinated by some of his most fervent, conspiratorial supporters; and incorporating a wide range of supporting groups. (Just Security)
• The war on voting Legislators in 33 states have introduced 165 bills to restrict voting rights. This is not typical. At this time last year, just 35 bills to restrict voting had been introduced. Many of this year’s bills are rooted in the same lies Trump used to claim the election was stolen — and sponsored by the state officials who backed Trump’s efforts to reverse the results of the election. (Popular Information)
• How Bellingcat uncovered Russia’s secret network of assassins From Sergei Skripal to Alexei Navalny, Russia’s attempts to silence its enemies have been forensically exposed. At the centre of these revelations has been investigative unit Bellingcat (Wired)
• Why the U.S. Is Underestimating Covid Reinfection As millions of Americans struggle to recover from covid and millions more scramble for the protection offered by vaccines, U.S. health officials may be overlooking an unsettling subgroup of survivors: those who get infected more than once. Identifying how common reinfection is among people who contracted covid — as well as how quickly they become vulnerable and why — carries important implications for our understanding of immunity and the nation’s efforts to devise an effective vaccination program. (Kaiser Health News)
• Undetected Homicide Cases in Texas Are Going Unsolved, Leaving Serial Killers Free to Murder Again. As more homicide cases go unsolved, the backlog of unsolved murders grows and serial killers are free to kill again. Too few police departments are effectively deploying their resources to stop them (Texas Observer)
• Inside The Battle For Fulton County’s Votes With more than one million residents, it is Georgia’s most populous county. Forty-four percent of the population is Black, and in 2016, Hillary Clinton won the county by nearly 180,000 votes. The calculus was simple: The more votes cast and counted in Fulton, the more likely Democrats were to win Georgia. The fewer votes cast and counted in Fulton, the more likely Republicans were to win.(WABE)
• How the Fossil Fuel Industry Convinced Americans to Love Gas Stoves And why they’re scared we might break up with their favorite appliance. (Mother Jones) see also Big Oil Gets to Teach Climate Science in American Classrooms Fossil fuel companies are spending big money to make sure their message reaches kids. Science teachers are doing their best to make sure they learn the facts. (Bloomberg)
• Trump Led An “All-Out Assault” On The EPA. Now Biden Has To Rebuild It. Under Trump, the Environmental Protection Agency knelt to the country’s biggest polluters and lost more than 800 employees. Staffers say they want accountability. (Buzzfeed)
Be sure to check out our Masters in Business interview this weekend with Ben Inker, head of Asset Allocation at GMO, which manages about $60 billion in assets. During Dotcom implosion, GMO’s US Aggressive Long/Short Strategy achieved 80+% cumulative net returns for their clients. Inker is widely regarded as founder Jeremy Grantham’s heir apparent.
Which Americans Are Least Willing to Get a Covid-19 Vaccine
Source: Wall Street Journal
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