Supply Chain Yanked, American Panopticon
As a notoriously negligent gift giver, I’m always looking for a decent excuse why a present might arrive past its due date (or never). Those of us who fit this description could be among the lucky ones this holiday season, as we can explain away our failings with a paraphrase of the famous line from Jaws: We needed a bigger boat. Even if the tariff-induced delays end soon, global product distribution could be sufficiently delayed to yank our supply chain into the Christmas season. Will empty shelves shelve our Christmas plans? Bloomberg (Gift Article): Trump’s China tariffs set to unleash supply shock on US economy. “Since the US raised levies on China to 145% in early April, cargo shipments have plummeted, perhaps by as much as 60%, according to one estimate. That drastic reduction in goods from one of the largest US trading partners hasn’t been felt by many Americans yet, but that’s about to change … While Trump has shown signs in recent days that he’s willing to be flexible on the import taxes imposed on China and others, it may be too late to stop a supply shock from reverberating across the US economy that could stretch all the way to Christmas.” (Maybe I’ll make you a nice card…)
+ Some of the megastores have been stocking up in anticipation of the tariff wars. Small stores don’t have that luxury. Both groups are pressuring the White House to get something done to dampen the trade war. If that doesn’t happen soon, the pressure will be nothing compared to that coming from consumers who can’t find products on shelves. Product shortages and empty store shelves loom with falling shipments from China.
+ “America’s reliance on China is easy to see in your kitchen. China leads the global production of cheap goods made in large volume, such as dishes and cooking gadgets. The United States also imports all of its household toasters, and nearly every one of them comes from China. Over decades, Beijing has spent billions to support the growth of China’s manufacturing industry. Today, the country makes nearly one of every three physical products in the world — more than the United States, Germany, Japan, South Korea and Britain combined. The U.S. has become so reliant on China that it would have trouble celebrating its own national holiday without it. The vast majority of fireworks are imported from China.” The NYT (Gift Article) with a look at what is, and isn’t, made in China: Your Home Without China.
Panopticon Artists
“If you were tasked with building a panopticon, your design might look a lot like the information stores of the U.S. federal government—a collection of large, complex agencies, each making use of enormous volumes of data provided by or collected from citizens.” Luckily, the US government has never been focused on bringing that information together and potentially weaponizing it. DOGE may mean our luck has run out. “A fragile combination of decades-old laws, norms, and jungly bureaucracy has so far prevented repositories such as these from assembling into a centralized American surveillance state. But that appears to be changing.” Ian Bogost and Charlie Warzel in The Atlantic (Gift Article) with a very interesting look at how everything known about you (which is basically everything) could become a problem. American Panopticon. “A worst-case scenario is easy to imagine. Some of this information could be useful simply for blackmail—medical diagnoses and notes, federal taxes paid, cancellation of debt. In a kleptocracy, such data could be used against members of Congress and governors, or anyone disfavored by the state. Think of it as a domesticated, systemetized version of kompromat—like opposition research on steroids: Hey, Wisconsin is considering legislation that would be harmful to us. There are four legislators on the fence. Query the database; tell me what we’ve got on them.”
+ But wait, it could be even worse. The Verge: Neurotech companies are selling your brain data. “While the concept of neural technologies may conjure up images of brain implants like Elon Musk’s Neuralink, there are far less invasive — and less regulated — neurotech products on the market, including headsets that help people meditate, purportedly trigger lucid dreaming, and promise to help users with online dating by helping them swipe through apps … These consumer products gobble up insights about users’ neurological data — and since they aren’t categorized as medical devices, the companies behind them aren’t barred from sharing that data with third parties.” (You don’t need to purchase any data to guess what I’m thinking right now.)
Take the Money and Run (the World)
“The first time, I had two things to do—run the country and survive; I had all these crooked guys. And the second time, I run the country and the world.” (It wasn’t that long ago that he was running from the law…) The Atlantic (Gift Article) sat down with the president. And he seems to be feeling pretty good about things. I Run the Country and the World: “Donald Trump believes he’s invincible. But the cracks are beginning to show.”
+ The New Yorker: One Hundred Days of Ineptitude. “Now we know that Donald Trump’s first term, his initial attempt at authoritarian primacy, was amateur hour, a fitful rehearsal.”
+ The economy may be suffering. And polls may be plunging. But maybe those aren’t the measuring sticks Trump is using. Steven Rattner in the NYT (Gift Article): Trump’s Biggest Beneficiary: Himself. (And himself is doing quite well thank you very much…) “Remember the outrage when he refused to divest his financial holdings or when he used a Washington hotel he owned as a kind of White House waiting room? Those moves seem quaint in comparison.”
On Its Merits
“‘You have just presented your 160th argument before this court, and I understand it is intended to be your last … That is the record for modern times. Chief Justice Roberts talked a little more, with affection and high praise, thanking Mr. Kneedler for his ‘extraordinary care and professionalism.’ Then something remarkable happened. Applause burst out in the courtroom, and that led to a standing ovation for Mr. Kneedler, with the justices joining, too.” A ‘Citizen Lawyer’ Gets a Standing Ovation at the Supreme Court.
+ Kneedler is leaving behind a very different government. Defending Jan. 6 Rioters, Investigating Democrats: How Ed Martin Is Weaponizing the DOJ for Trump. “When President Donald Trump chose Ed Martin, the Missouri lawyer and political operative, to be the top U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., the decision came as a shock to current and former federal prosecutors as well as outside legal experts. Martin had no prosecutorial experience.”
Extra, Extra
Bill Comes Due: Scott Pelley called out his parent company Paramount for changing CBS News and 60 Minutes for Trump. On the resignation of Bill Owens, executive producer of 60 Minutes. (I discussed more on Owens resignation and its broader meaning: The Hour is Getting Late.)
+ Oscuridad: “A blackout brought much of Spain and Portugal to a standstill Monday, stopping trains, cutting phone service and shutting down traffic lights and ATMs for millions of people across the Iberian Peninsula.” Here are some (dark) photos from the outage.
+ Malignant Behavior: “Two U.S. citizen children were sent on their mother’s deportation flight to Honduras without the opportunity to speak with attorneys, leaving a 4-year-old boy with Stage 4 cancer without access to his medication.” (Feel safer?)
+ Post Modern: “Andreessen has told friends he finds the medium efficient — a way to keep in touch with three times the people in a third of the time. The fact that he and other billionaires spend so much time writing to group chats prompted participants to joke that the very pinnacle of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is posting.” The group chats that changed America.
+ Taking Food Out of Mouths: “In one of the country’s poorest areas, the quantity and quality of government deliveries have dropped, forcing one charity to make do with thin soup and dried cranberries.” After Federal Cuts, Food Banks Scrounge and Scrimp.
+ Off Target? “Under the Trump administration, the United States has shifted its approach from mainly targeting Houthi military infrastructure to striking its leadership, monitoring groups have said.” Did we miss? WaPo: U.S. strike killed scores of African migrants in Yemen, Houthis say. Can you take reports by the Houthis at face value? Of course not. Can you trust reports by the Trump administration?
+ Thigh High: “Few things in life are both cheaper and better, but for a long time, this was true of the chicken thigh. Its superiority was passed like a shibboleth among food connoisseurs: Thighs are juicier, tastier, are almost half the price—preferable in just about every way to the boneless, skinless, flavorless breasts that reign supreme in America. Well, the secret’s out.” The End of Chicken-Breast Dominance.
Bottom of the News
I wear jeans to the beach, so this one hits home. GQ: Why Do So Many Men Refuse to Wear Shorts? I feel seen (even if my legs don’t).
+ “Men in short leather pants and embroidered suspenders risked dislocated digits Sunday as they vied for the top prize at Germany’s championship in the sport of fingerhakeln, or finger wrestling.” Bloody fingers are just part of the game in this traditional German sport.
+ “A 27-year-old university student who climbed Mount Fuji outside of its official climbing season was rescued twice in four days, after he returned to look for his mobile phone.”
