Happy Thanksgiving Kennedy Assassination Anniversary Peter Jacksonâs Let It Be Week Monday,
So this is the week when the newspapers tell us all about how this or that celebrity cooks a turkey, todayâs case in point being Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi in The New York Times. It sounds fine and all, but these turkey photos always get me, a whole bird surrounded by (in this case) apples and sliced oranges and bay leaves and sprigs of thyme. No one in the real world has ever served turkey that way, right? We normal human beings carve it first. Itâs the most egregious annual example of food porn that exists.
Now, more seriously: As closing arguments begin in the Ahmaud Arbery murder trial, the Times has a moving piece on how his death spurred his friends and extended family to become more politically aware. This seems a clearer case than the Kyle Rittenhouse matter, but as my trial lawyer father used to say, you never know what a jury will do. And this jury, like the Rittenhouse one, consists of 11 white people and one Black person. NPR reported that the defense attorneys kept striking potential Black jurors, which the judge acknowledged amounted to âintentional discrimination,â but he explained that his hands were tied because defense counsel kept giving race-neutral reasons for why each juror should be struck. This is in a county where 27 percent of the population is Black.
Troubling development in Chile, where hard-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast finished first in the first round of presidential voting. The second-place finisher was left-wing candidate Gabriel Boric, so this will be a real ideological showdown in the December 19 runoff. The bad news is that other center-right candidates did well, suggesting that more votes will go to Kast, who speaks fondly of Augusto Pinochet and is sounding all the usual and horrifying Trumpian tropes about immigrants and ârealâ Chileans and the rest. Keep an eye on this.
Finally, a wee bit of encouraging news from an unlikely place, as The New York Timesâ Ben Smith reports that Jonah Goldberg and Stephen Hayes have resigned as Fox News contributors in protest of Tucker Carlsonâs upcoming January 6 special, whose title says it all: Patriot Purge. Well, it took a while. But itâs a start.
Today at NewRepublic.com, start with Faiz Shakirâs bracing alternative explanation for why this inflation is really happening (itâs likely not a reason youâve read about elsewhere). Then move to Matt Fordâs sharp analysis of how James OâKeefe is trying to have it both ways on press freedom issues. And check out Molly Osbergâs smart piece on the billionaire behind the possible 2022 California ballot initiative that would potentially cripple the stateâs public-sector unions.
Happy Short Week, Michael Tomasky, editor |
|
