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thisdaynews · 6 years ago

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Biden’s Birmingham speech

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Biden’s Birmingham speech

THE PRESIDENT’S WEEK…Monday: THE PRESIDENTwill participate in a ceremony for new ambassadors, and he will participate in presentation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Mariano Rivera. He will meet with the crown prince of Bahrain before going to Albuquerque for a political rally.Tuesday: THE PRESIDENTwill raise money in Palo Alto and Beverly Hills.Wednesday: THE PRESIDENTwill raise money in Los Angeles, San Diego and then leave for Washington.Friday: THE PRESIDENTwill host the Australian PM for a state visit.

— MARIANO RIVERAwas a closer for the Yankees, and a legendary one at that. The Nats could use him at this point.

SNEAK PEEK … JOE BIDENis speaking today at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. From his remarks: “The domestic terrorism of white supremacy has been the antagonist of our highest ideals from before our founding. Lynch mobs – arsonists — bomb makers and lone gunmen. And as we all now realize, this violence does not live in the past.

“The same poisonous ideology that lit the fuse at 16th Streetpulled the trigger in Mother Emanuel, unleashed the anti-Semitic massacre in Pittsburgh and Poway, and saw a white supremacist gun down innocent Latino immigrants in an El Paso parking lot with military-grade weapons declaring it would stop a quote ‘Hispanic invasion of Texas.’ …

“I am sure, in those first hours after the bomb exploded—it was hard to see through the smoke and rubble to a day like today.

“As Dr. King eulogized those girls – perhaps not even he could haveimagined the day nearly 50 years later – when this nation’s first black president would award them the Congressional Gold Medal—one of our highest civilian honors.

“It is only with persistent effort… It is only with fortitude in our actions…It is only with faith in ourselves and the future that may yet be…That change comes— sometimes slowly, sometimes all at once— and progress continues. “

STORY OF THE DAY … NYT’S MAGGIE HABERMAN: “Despite Turning Down Inauguration Gig, Elton John Has a Recurring Role in Trump’s Presidency”:“The email was cordial, warm and deferential.

“‘Thank you so much for the extremely kind invitationto play at your inauguration,’ wrote one of President Trump’s favorite musicians, Sir Elton John. ‘I have given it a lot of thought, and as a British National I don’t feel that it’s appropriate for me to play at the inauguration of an American President. Please accept my apologies.’ …

“But for Mr. Trump, the rejection from Mr. John was probablyparticularly tough to swallow. In multiple books, Mr. Trump had praised Mr. John’s talent and drive. In 2005, Mr. Trump had arranged for Mr. John to perform at his third wedding, to Melania Knauss. Eleven years later, Mr. John sent his carefully-worded email passing on an encore performance, this time at Mr. Trump’s inauguration.

“‘Tiny Dancer,’ one of Mr. John’s most well-known songs,still rings out at the president’s rallies, part of a playlist that Mr. Trump personally selects. The president nicknamed the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, ‘Little Rocket Man,’ a homage to the song by Mr. John and a reference to the strongman’s missile tests. When the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, went to a meeting with Mr. Kim, he came bearing an Elton John record. And aides say the president has seen the singer’s biopic, ‘Rocketman.’”NYT

TRYING TO PUSH NETANYAHU OVER THE LINE … WAPO: “Trump floats idea of mutual defense pact with Israel, days before close election,”by Anne Gearan and Steve Hendrix: “President Trump said he had discussed a possible new defense pact with Israel during a phone call Saturday with Benjamin Netanyahu, highlighting the Israeli prime minister’s close ties to the Trump administration days before Netanyahu faces a difficult reelection vote.

“Trump did not promise to install a mutual defense pact,nor divulge further details of the conversation. The idea is generally popular in Israel, where the United States is the most important ally and defense partner.

“‘I had a call today with Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss the possibilityof moving forward with a Mutual Defense Treaty, between the United States and Israel, that would further anchor the tremendous alliance . . . between our two countries,’ Trump wrote in a pair of tweets Saturday.

“The language of the tweets suggests he is contemplating a formal treaty,which would have to be submitted to the Senate for ratification.”WaPo

— COLOR US A BIT SURPRISED.This is not a terribly strong statement.

Happy Sunday. THE WASHINGTON NATIONALS’ bullpen gave up 10 runs yesterday, and the Nats lost 10-1. The Nats are now 1.5 games ahead of the Chicago Cubs for the first wild card spot.

SPOTTED: Bob Costa having brunch with Guster’s Ryan Miller and his wife, Angela, at Le Diplomate on Saturday.

CONNECTICUT POST: “Pelosi, in CT appearance, says she’s optimistic on background checks,”by Kaitlyn Krasselt: “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is optimistic a series of bipartisan bills, including pay equity and background checks, that have passed in the U.S. House of Representatives but stalled in the Republican-controlled Senate will pass prior to the 2020 election.

“‘The first 10 bills that we advanced when we took control of the House,they all had bipartisan support,’ Pelosi said Saturday in New Haven. ‘It is interesting though, that if they don’t pass those bills, there is a consequence in the election, so we hope that would be a motivator in addition to doing the right thing.’”CT Post

FRONT PAGE OF THE SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS …“Trump’s Bay Area event shrouded in secrecy”

QUITE THE IMAGE … FLORIDA GOV. RON DESANTISon the front page of the Tampa Bay Times, playing golf with a golf tee in his mouth.Front page PDF

CRAIN’S DETROIT: “Grand Hotel considered for 2020 G7 summit,”by Chad Livengood: “President Donald Trump’s administration scoped out Mackinac Island’s Grand Hotel for a possible 2020 G7 summit location before the White House opted to hold the annual gathering of world economic powers at the president’s south Florida golf club and resort, Crain’s has learned.

“A spokeswoman for the Grand Hotel told Crain’s on Fridaythat the famed Mackinac Island hotel and resort was vetted and considered for the G7 meeting. The spokeswoman could not divulge any additional information, other than to say that unnamed federal officials visited Mackinac Island as part of the vetting process.

“The 397-room Grand Hotel, which is in the midst of a historic saleto a Denver-based private equity firm, is believed to be the only Michigan site considered for the Group of Seven meeting of the leaders of the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom.”Crain’s Detroit

NYT’S SHANE GOLDMACHER: “Planned Parenthood and Fired Former Chief Mired in Escalating Dispute”:“Leana Wen, the recently fired former president of Planned Parenthood, appears headed toward an increasingly contentious exit, after accusing the organization’s leadership of trying to “buy my silence” in a dispute that threatens to prolong and magnify an acrimonious transition at the top of the nation’s best known women’s health care and reproductive rights group.

“Dr. Wen has been engaged in two months of fraught negotiationsover her severance package since she was fired in July. She led Planned Parenthood for less than a year and accused the organization of withholding her health insurance and departure payout as ‘ransom’ to pressure her to sign a confidentiality agreement.

“She made the accusations in a barbed 1,400-word letterto Planned Parenthood’s board of directors this past week, which was obtained by The New York Times. ‘No amount of money can ever buy my integrity and my commitment to the patients I serve,’ Dr. Wen wrote.”NYT

BREAKING … AP/DUBAI: “Iran dismisses US allegation it was behind Saudi oil attacks”:“Iran denied on Sunday it was involved in Yemen rebel drone attacks the previous day that hit the world’s biggest oil processing facility and an oil field in Saudi Arabia, just hours after America’s top diplomat alleged that Tehran was behind the ‘unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply.’

“The attacks Saturday claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels resultedin ‘the temporary suspension of production operations’ at the Abqaiq processing facility and the Khurais oil field, Riyadh said.

“That led to the interruption of an estimated 5.7 millionbarrels in crude supplies, authorities said while pledging the kingdom’s stockpiles would make up the difference. The amount Saudi Arabia is cutting back is equivalent to over 5% of the world’s daily production.

“While markets remained closed Sunday, the attack could shockworld energy prices. They also increased overall tensions in the region amid an escalating crisis between the U.S. and Iran over Tehran’s unraveling nuclear deal with world powers.”AP

— WSJ: “Saudi Oil Attack Is Unlikely to Dent U.S. Economy:If strikes trigger higher energy prices, China and Japan will suffer most, economists warn,” by David Harrison: “While the total impact of the Saturday attacks remains unknown, analysts say the U.S. economy is very different than it was in the 1970s, when surging oil prices tipped the economy into recession. Oil-price shocks no longer pack the same punch, they say.

“Today, energy accounts for about 2.5% of household consumption,down from around 8% in the 1970s, according to Bank of America economists. Since the early 2000s, U.S. energy companies have dramatically ramped up production using new drilling techniques, such as fracking. Oil production doubled between 2008 and 2018, and the U.S. is now the world’s top oil producer, ahead of Saudi Arabia, according to the Energy Information Administration.

“The Saudi oil-field attack adds a new factor to consider for Federal Reserveofficials, who have been weighing how a variety of geopolitical risks will influence the economic outlook, including the U.S.-China trade war, unrest in Hong Kong and Britain’s impending departure from the European Union.”WSJ

NEW …Adapted from NYT’s Robin Pogrebin and Kate Kelly’s new Brett Kavanaugh book:“But while we found Dr. Ford’s allegations credible during a 10-month investigation, Ms. Ramirez’s story could be more fully corroborated. During his Senate testimony, Mr. Kavanaugh said that if the incident Ms. Ramirez described had occurred, it would have been “the talk of campus.” Our reporting suggests that it was.

“At least seven people, including Ms. Ramirez’s mother,heard about the Yale incident long before Mr. Kavanaugh was a federal judge. Two of those people were classmates who learned of it just days after the party occurred, suggesting that it was discussed among students at the time.

“We also uncovered a previously unreported story about Mr. Kavanaughin his freshman year that echoes Ms. Ramirez’s allegation. A classmate, Max Stier, saw Mr. Kavanaugh with his pants down at a different drunken dorm party, where friends pushed his penis into the hand of a female student. Mr. Stier, who runs a nonprofit organization in Washington, notified senators and the F.B.I. about this account, but the F.B.I. did not investigate and Mr. Stier has declined to discuss it publicly. (We corroborated the story with two officials who have communicated with Mr. Stier.)

“Mr. Kavanaugh did not speak to us because we could not agree on termsfor an interview. But he has denied Dr. Ford’s and Ms. Ramirez’s allegations, and declined to answer our questions about Mr. Stier’s account.”NYT

THE PRESIDENT,just before 9 a.m.@realDonaldTrump:“Brett Kavanaugh should start suing people for liable, or the Justice Department should come to his rescue. The lies being told about him are unbelievable. False Accusations without recrimination. When does it stop? They are trying to influence his opinions. Can’t let that happen!”Trump corrected the tweet to say libel.

KANSAS CITY STAR: “Kris Kobach sent names of Nebraska residents to ICE while running for Kansas governor,”by Jason Hancock and Jonathan Shorman: “Kris Kobach was in the middle of running for Kansas governor in December 2017, but he had unfinished business in Nebraska.

“The former Kansas secretary of state helped write an ordinance in 2010for Fremont, Neb., banning landlords from renting homes to immigrants living in the country illegally. Four years later, he successfully defended his handiwork on behalf of the town all the way to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

“His legal victory attracted national attention.Still, enforcing the law had proven difficult because information collected on rental applications wasn’t enough for the federal government to determine whether someone was in the country legally.

“But Kobach wasn’t ready to give up. So in 2017,while still receiving a $10,000-a-year retainer from Fremont, he emailed the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with a list of 289 people who had applied for an occupancy license in the eastern Nebraska city, where about 15 percent of its 26,000 residents are Hispanic.”KC Star

FOR MCCARTHY AND THE NRCC …So many Republicans are retiring that it’s front page news when your delegation is NOT retiring.

— POST AND COURIERin South Carolina:“GOP leaders from SC fight on:State’s 5 congressmen to run next year, even as others call it quits”

2020 …

— NYT’S LONG RUN SERIES: “Kamala Harris Was Ready to Brawl From the Beginning:In her first race, she defied her old boss, a fund-raising pledge — and the implication that she owed her career to her ex-boyfriend.,”by Matt Flegenheimer in San Francisco

— MARC CAPUTO: “Biden allies attack Warren’s electability”:“As Elizabeth Warren climbs in the polls, Joe Biden’s Massachusetts allies are warning that her home-state election history suggests she runs weakest among the types of voters Democrats need to win over to capture the White House.

“While Warren won re-election easily in 2018, Biden’s backerspoint to her performance among independent and blue-collar voters as evidence she’ll fail to appeal to similar voters in the Rust Belt — just as Hilary Clinton did in 2016.

“‘The grave concern of many of us Democrats in Massachusettsis that in many of the counties where Sen. Warren underperforms, they are demographically and culturally similar to voters in key swing states,’ said state Rep. John Rogers, who backs Biden. ‘The tangible fear here,’ Rogers said, “is that these Massachusetts counties are bellwethers for states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio — key states that Democrats can’t afford to lose in the battle to beat President Trump.’”POLITICO

SUNDAY BEST … PETE BUTTIGIEGtoGEORGE STEPHANAOPOULOSonABC’s “This Week”reacting toDONALD TRUMPsaying the South Bend mayor was up two in Texas: “I mean, you can’t take it that seriously. Other than I’m — I’m very curious to know what pollster let him know that I’m beating him in Texas by two points. That’s news to me, but it’s very good news if it’s true.”

— KELLYANNE CONWAYto Bill Hemmer on“FOX NEWS SUNDAY”on a possible meeting with Iran’s president: “He has never … we never committed to that meeting at the United Nations General Assembly. The president just said he’s looking at it.”

— SEN. CORY BOOKERto Chuck Todd onNBC’s “Meet the Press”about his flagging poll numbers: “The polls have never been predictive this far out. In fact, if you’re polling ahead right now, you should worry because we’ve never in my lifetime and yours had somebody who was polling ahead this far out that went on to the presidency. The people that usually win are younger, dynamic candidates that are considered long shots. Carter, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama.”

— JAKE TAPPERspoke toPETE BUTTIGIEGabout Beto O’Rourke’s calling to confiscate guns onCNN’s “STATE OF THE UNION”.TAPPER: “Do you agree? Did Beto O’Rourke say something that’s playing into the hands of Republicans?”BUTTIGIEG: Yes.

“Look, right now, we have an amazing moment on our hands.We have agreement among the American people for not just universal background checks, but we have a majority in favor of red flag laws, high-capacity magazines, banning the new sale of assault weapons.

“This is a golden moment to finally do something,because we have been arguing about this for as long as I have been alive. When even this president and even Mitch McConnell are at least pretending to be open to reforms, we know that we have a moment on our hands.Let’s make the most of it and get these things done.”

— WYOMING REP. LIZ CHENEYtoCHUCK TODDonSEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY.):“Look, I think if you look back at what, what Senator Paul has said over many, many years, he’s very different from where President Trump is on these issues. President Trump puts America first. Senator Paul, whenever given the opportunity, blames America first.”

— RAND PAULtoJAKE TAPPERon CNN’s “State of the Union”: “I can’t meet a general who can clearly tell me what our national security interest is in Afghanistan. Most of the military, over 60 percent of the military who served in Iraq or Afghanistan now think both of the wars should come to an end.

“So I think the president’s right to do this, but I think we have to callout the Republicans who are preventing him. This is the Bolton-Cheney wing. Dick Cheney to this day still thinks the Iraq War was a good thing. The Iraq War, President Trump has said, was the biggest geopolitical blunder of the last generation. It destabilized the Middle East. It increased the strength of Iran. It tipped the balance towards Iran.

“So there really was nothing good about the Iraq War.And Dick Cheney, Liz Cheney, John Bolton, they still don’t get it. They still are advocating for more regime change in the Middle East.”

THE PRESIDENT’S SUNDAY …No public events scheduled

NEW EXCERPT … “’No turning back now’: The inside story of James Comey’s trip to Trump Tower”from Josh Campbell’s“Crossfire Hurricane: Inside Donald Trump’s War on the FBI”

BEYOND THE BELTWAY … BOSTON GLOBE’S VICKY MCGRANEin Springfield, Mass.:“Potential Joe Kennedy vs. Ed Markey face-off at center of Democratic convention”:“Senator Elizabeth Warren on Saturday said she sees nothing to criticize in Representative Joseph P. Kennedy III launching a primary challenge to the candidate she has endorsed, Senator Edward J. Markey.

“Warren told reporters that she stands by her endorsement of Markey,which she made in February. But she declined to offer any words of discouragement for the 38-year-old Kennedy as he mulls a challenge to Markey.

“‘I couldn’t ask for a better partner in the Senate,’ Warren saidof Markey in comments made shortly before she took the stage at the state Democratic Party’s annual convention here. But she called both men friends and offered equally strong praise of Kennedy, noting that she had him and his wife as students at Harvard Law School.”Boston Globe

BONUS GREAT WEEKEND READS,curated by Daniel Lippman (@dlippman):

— “How David Swensen Made Yale Fabulously Rich,”by Drake Bennett, Janet Lorin and Michael McDonald in Bloomberg Businessweek: “He walked away from the stock market, built a network of elite private funds, and created a fortune with no end in sight.”Bloomberg Businessweek

— “What I Wish I’d Known About Sexual Assault in the Military,”by Sandra Sidi in October’s Atlantic: “For women, fending off unwanted male attention is the job that never ends.”The Atlantic

— “The Moral Logic of Humanitarian Intervention,”by The New Yorker’s Dexter Filkins: “Samantha Power made a career arguing for America’s ‘responsibility to protect.’ During her years in the White House, it became clear that benevolent motives can have calamitous results.”New Yorker

— “I Was Caroline Calloway,”by Natalie Beach in The Cut: “Seven years after I met the infamous Instagram star, I’m ready to tell my side of the story.”The Cut(h/t Longreads.com)

— “Notre-Dame’s Toxic Fallout,”by NYT’s Elian Peltier in Paris and James Glanz, Weiyi Cai and Jeremy White in NYC: “Flames engulfed 460 tons of lead when Notre-Dame’s roof and spire burned, scattering dangerous dust onto the streets and parks of Paris.”NYT

— “Malcolm Gladwell Reaches His Tipping Point,”by The Atlantic’s Andy Ferguson: “Among his other talents, he’s one of those ‘professional communicators’ that public-speaking coaches always say we should emulate: First he tells his audience what he’s about to tell them, then he tells them, and then he tells them what he just told them.”The Atlantic(h/t ALDaily.com)

— “Superfans: A Love Story,”by Michael Schulman in The New Yorker: “From ‘Star Wars’ to ‘Game of Thrones,’ fans have more power than ever to push back. But is fandom becoming as toxic as politics?”New Yorker

— “Competitive Oyster Shucking Is Real, Decadent, And China’s Best Party,”by Noelle Mateer in Deadspin: “Do not assume, just because there is champagne and whiskey and maybe, sometimes, drugs, that these shuckers aren’t also thinking long and hard, and often poetically, about their métier.”Deadspin(h/t Longform.org)

— “The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen,”by Tucker Carlson in Esquire in Nov. 2003: “Recently, an eminent, varied, large, and unlikely delegation of Americans, led by the Reverend Al Sharpton, went to Africa to heal a wounded continent. They took the whitest man in America with them.”Esquire

— “Ship of horrors: life and death on the lawless high seas,”by Ian Urbina in The Guardian: “From bullying and sexual assault to squalid living conditions and forced labour, working at sea can be a grim business – and one deep-sea fishing fleet is particularly notorious.”Guardian

— “Confessions of an Islamic State fighter” —1843 Magazine’s Aug./Sept. issue: “Fitim Lladrovci travelled to Syria to fight a holy war. Now back in Kosovo, he continues to call for jihad. Alexander Clapp is granted a rare interview.”1843 Magazine

— Why Can’t California Solve Its Housing Crisis?”by Tessa Stuart in Rolling Stone: “It’s the epicenter of the tech industry and the wealthiest, most progressive state in the union, but homelessness is surging — and no one can agree on how to fix it.”RS(h/t Longform.org)

Send tips to Eli Okun and Garrett Ross at [email protected].

SPOTTED:Pete Buttigieg hosting friends and supporters at Morris American Bar in D.C. before attending the Congressional Black Caucus gala at the Convention Center on Saturday.Pic

SPOTTEDat a party for Kim Wehle’s new book, “How To Read The Constitution And Why,” ($17.99 on Amazon) at the home of Megan Rupp in Chevy Chase, Md.: Rod and Lisa Rosenstein, Rick Wilson, Maya MacGuineas and Will Rabbe.

TRANSITION — Cari Lutkinsis now deputy chief of staff for operations at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. She was previously director for strategic initiatives at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and is a Trump White House alum.

WEEKEND WEDDINGS – OBAMA ALUMNI: Alexa KissingertoGareth Rhodes —per NYT’s Vincent M. Mallozi: “New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo officiated. … The couple met at Harvard, from which each received a law degree. The bride, 29, is a judicial clerk for Judge Robert L. Wilkins of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She previously served as an aide to Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to President Obama. … The groom, 31, is special counsel to the superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services in New York and Albany. … He previously served as an aide to Governor Cuomo and was a candidate for the Democratic nomination in New York’s 19th Congressional district in 2018.”With a pic,NYT

— “Taylor Barnes, Alexander Logan,”via NYT: “Ms. Barnes, 29, is the constituency operations director and the women’s political director of the [DNC], where she helps manage constituency outreach groups in Washington. … Mr. Lord, 33, is the database manager at the National Guard Association, where he oversees reporting and analytics, membership acquisition and retention strategy in Washington.”With a pic,NYT

— “Katie Rodihan, Heath Hyatt,”via NYT: “Senator Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, officiated …Ms. Rodihan, 27, is the national press secretary for Inslee for America, the presidential campaign of Gov. Jay Inslee, Democrat of Washington, who last month dropped out of the 2020 race. …Mr. Hyatt, 29, is an associate at Perkins Coie, a law firm in Seattle. … [T]heir relationship developed while they were campaigning for Mr. Kaine in Virginia in 2012.”NYT

— Chris Hayden,deputy communications director for Elizabeth Warren’s campaign, andRachel Chaney,a longtime organizer who most recently worked at Democracy Forward, were married last night in Ocean City, N.J.SPOTTED:Ben Ray, Alex Kellner, Adrianne Marsh and Paul Dunn, Rob Flaherty, Carla Frank, Lily Adams, Corey Ciorciari, James Singer, Rachael Hartford, Caitlin Legacki, Cameron Sullivan, Stewart Boss, Suzy Smith, Morgan Finkelstein, Noah Dion and Joe Philbin.Pic

WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Erin Memmott,a partner at Oorbeek Memmott Group, andJustin Memmott,counsel for the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee, welcomed Samuel David to the world.Pic

BIRTHDAYS:Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-Calif.) is 43 … Ashley Parker, WaPo White House reporter and MSNBC/NBC senior political analyst … Sara Fagan, CEO of Deep Root Analytics … former Bush/Cheney speechwriter John McConnell … Kirsten Kukowski … Christian Pinkston … Chris Lehmann … NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik … Todd Breasseale … Ben Kamisar … “CBS This Morning” producer Adam Aigner-Treworgy … Alana Russo … former Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) is 6-0 … POLITICO’s Kathy Wolfe, Jenn Miller and Hung-Su Nguyen … Alexandra Berg … Eliza Shapiro … Tiffany Haverly, director of public affairs at PhRMA … Sabrina Rush … Sandra Alcalá, House director of member services (hat tip: Jon Haber) … Jon Gossett … Chandler Smith Costello, SEC deputy director for public affairs …

… Ryan Nobles,CNN Washington correspondent … Zara Rahim,head of comms of The Wing … Herb Rothschild is 82 (h/t son Gregg) … Tony Mauro … League of Conservation Voters’ Dawn Cohea … Katie Thompson … David Lloyd … Elizabeth Meyer of Booz Allen Hamilton … Cat Cheney … Don Irvine … Jodi Hanson Bond … Marya Hannun … Amy Sisk … Rebecca McGrath … Hannah Connaghan … Bryan Doyle … Wayne King, deputy COS for Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) … Mal Kline … Kristen Bor … Dave Shott … Bloomberg Opinion’s Max Berley … Veronica Lew … Nathan Hurst … Allyson Alvaré Kranz … CNBC’s Ryan Ruggiero … Theola DeBose … Connie Carter … Neil Makhija … Marie Arana … Phil Zabriskie … Wayne Reynolds … Chip Rodgers … Todd Olsen … Jill Moschak

Anna Palmer @apalmerdc

Jake Sherman @JakeSherman

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thesecondmate · 4 years ago

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reading: wk50-52

3 weeks + 3 journal entries for how i was gonna start this post. in essence: goodbye 2020, my god has it been a rollercoaster, albeit one sloping gently downhill into familiar melancholy. i never thought i’d feel like this again, yet it’s like slipping into a warm ocean where i can float forever, safe in the salt and waves lapping at my face.

stay tuned a ‘best of 2020′ list and what i want to read next year that isn’t my damn textbooks. and maybe some personal updates depending on how much wine i drink this evening. happy new year, my loves.

week 50: penultimate week of o+g rotation: i would say the end is in sight but in fact i have lost all motivation, hate my degree (well, specifically, the course administration), had a breakdown outside my exam followed by the most embarrassing brain freeze ever during a panel discussion that i was speak on, took several days to reply to everyone about said exam breakdown, am convinced i will fail my 5th year exams, aaaand dealt with all of this by handpainting christmas cards all saturday. welcome 2 the fun house !

week 51: final week of placement: i struggled through the final week of my placement (literally popped into my placement for 2 hours to have a tutorial, get signed off, and collect my things), failed my mock osce, and went home. so unbelievably drained.

week 52: christmas & post-christmas liminality: feeling vaguely restored by the virtue of reading many books, watching many movies, curling up by the fire, eating many christmas cookies, and having barely any social interaction outside of my family and our cat and dog. still absolutely drained; still very terrified of my next placement and of failing this year. all i want is to move to a city where no one knows me and i can be something new, but alas. eighteen months until i graduate; forty-two until i finish my foundation programme and can truly set off into the big blue yonder of the world.

books

✩ The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Steig Larsson (finished) so i actually would have much preferred this to have kept its original swedish title, ‘män som hatar kvinnor’ (’men who hate women’) - it’d have been less manic pixie dream girl and more reflective of larsson’s point, even if larsson is v guilty of the former. it’s a good book - larsson’s grasp of plot is really excellent and i really enjoyed the twists and turns, even if the pacing of the big reveal was a little too rushed for my liking. however, i find his characters a little off - many of them are great, especially berger & henrik vanger, but i find blomkvist a little self-insert at times (he’s a financial journalist! but not like other financial journalists! and he has a sexy editor lady with whom he has an open relationship! and he sleeps with this cool hacker girl who immediately trusts him!), and lisbeth is...very ‘traumatised manic pixie cyberpunk girl’ if you ask me. which is a little uncomfortable. also not to mention the rape scene - which is vile. overall: good, intrigued to see if larsson will flesh lisbeth out to be less of a caricature in the sequels.

✩ The Orphan Master’s Son - Adam Johnson (finished) this book has lost none of its magic for me, absolutely none. if anything, re-reading it a few years later has made me appreciate so many things: the characters (even more than before! if that’s possible!!), the abject heartbreak of the second mate and his wife, the trip to texas (i got far more out of the political side this time), the relationships in the camps (the captain of the junma and li mongnan - hold me whilst my heart BREAKS), the way that johnson plays with narrative from the loudspeakers to the interrogator to the dreamlike quality of jun do’s own new life in pt 2. as a teenager, i was fascinated by the setting, the double-farce of the propaganda vs life, the passages about the second mate’s wife and her silken yellow dress - i thought that jun do was a bland narrator, which i now see couldn’t have been further from the truth. i have so, so much respect for johnson as an author and this book really is a formative part of who i am, in ways that i could not express.

✩ Dark Matter - Michelle Paver (finished) another re-read. michelle paver is the queen of ghost stories and things that go bump in the night (see: spirit walker in the chronicles of ancient darkness) - this book absolutely terrified me the first time that i read it, so i made a point of finishing it in the daytime this time. perhaps that’s why it didn’t hit as hard this time - it was less terrifying. however, really appreciating her choice to make the narrator gay, without ever making a deal out of it or naming it - it’s the lil things like working class arctic explorers being disgustingly in love with their charismatic expedition leaders, ya know? big fan. also huge fan of her descriptive prose - she is also the queen of arctic imagery. her prose, combined with the gorgeous black and white photos at the start of each chapter, have not helped my desire to sack it all off and go work as a doctor in the faroe islands or iceland.

✩ The Diet Myth - Spector (on hold) i left this book at uni bc i didn’t want to ruin my own christmas with his awful writing style, if you want an indication of how much i dislike this book.

✩ Smoke Gets In Your Eyes - Caitlin Doughty (in progress) a christmas gift that i’m currently reading. i’m so morbid and am learning so much, although i feel like some of the chapters are burbling on with anecdotes but don’t hammer home many points (although maybe it’s bc as a medical student i’m less easily shocked than your average reader) - bit confused as to where we’re going but i’m along for the ride.

✩ Calling a Wolf a Wolf - Kaveh Akbar (in progress) beautiful. in progress - his imagery is quite beautiful but i struggle to sit and read poetry.

✩ The Secret History - Donna Tartt (in progress) re-read. i sink back into old books like familiar lovers, like hot baths. so much comfort.

films

✩ Dead Poets Society (1989) why were the deleted scenes deleted. WHY. rewatching it, i felt some of the character development and relationship development was a little rushed - yet the deleted scenes could have fixed that. WHY WERE WE ROBBED. as ever, emotionally devastated as someone who loves languages and books and words, but ultimately chose medicine and science. as ever, very very sad over neil perry and aching for todd anderson. newfound appreciation for meeks + dalton. that punch at the end? *chef’s kiss*

✩ Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) i am inducting my sisters into lotr and they are powerless to stop me.

✩ Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince (2009) my favourite of the hp movies.

✩ Atonement (2007) this film and i have a long history - i first saw the start of it many years ago, when i did not know what c*nt meant, so was understandably a little bit lost, but also keira knightley in that green dress was a true gay awakening moment. i love the cinematography - it’s so ridiculously dreamlike and gorgeous, and the set design for the house is just beautiful. as are keira knightley and james mcavoy. also, the soundtrack with the use of the typewriters and lighters as drumbeats - my GOD, so beautiful. the second half of the film felt very rushed to me - the reveal that some of it was briony’s fiction made sense, but it lacked the stunning quality of the first half, both plot-wise and camera-wise (although the dunkirk scene was brilliant; love a long, revolving camera pan). i particularly hated every scene with briony in it - v lacklustre - and also the scene with luc remembering cecilia, it just felt forced and gimmicky. the novel definitely wins out for me.

podcasts

i haven’t listened to any podcasts in a while, bar a few episodes of the magnus archives whilst cooking and running errands, BUT i did record one!! the episode will be up in the new year but we have a few back episodes on Right to Refuge, which covers refugee/asylum issues and is by the charity that i work for!

articles: medicine / nature

✩ Mass die-off of birds in south-western US 'caused by starvation' - Phoebe Weston, The Guardian

✩ Eradicating Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: Human Rights-Based Approaches of Legislation, Education, and Community Empowerment - Williams-Breault (2018), Health Hum Rights i just finished my obstetrics & gynaecology rotation and was appalled by the prevalence of FGM/C in the UK and wanted to learn more. this article is truly excellent in terms of understanding cultural issues and barriers to ending FGM/C.

✩ Female Genital Mutilation: Health Consequences and Complications—A Short Literature Review - Klein et al. (2018), Obstet Gynecol Int. a short america-centric lit review that i read whilst writing up my reflective pieces - not as good as the above one but has more (horrifying) statistics: 200 million women affected worldwide; 6,000 girls cut each day; 85% will have some form of medical complication in their lives, from psychological/sexual to gynaecological to obstetric including death; estimated death rate of 1 in 500; 60.5% of affected women reported fear when their spouse wanted sex compared to 2.4% of unaffected women.

✩ Gender equality and human rights approaches to female genital mutilation: a review of international human rights norms and standards - Khosla et al. (2017), Reprod Health intersection of two things i spend a lot of time thinking about: human rights & medicine. interesting - to re-read again and consider and learn more about things like treatment-monitoring bodies, etc.

✩ The macho sperm myth - Robert D Martin, Aeon a wonderful friend sent me this! i am somewhat lost by the meandering course of the article but interesting points are raised. also the idea that some scientist was like ‘i absolutely KNOW that the heads of sperm contain tiny homunculi; i cannot see them but they are THERE’ is just hilarious.

articles: covid-19 nb: i am not linking every covid article i read bc that would be so depressing but rest assured i’m up to date on a surface level. i am not on a medical level bc i am emotionally exhausted.

✩ Covid vaccine: 'Disappearing' needles and other rumours debunked - Jack Goodman & Flora Carmichael, BBC pls don’t even. let me think about anti-vaxxers. i simply wish to know the current conspiracy theories so i can argue with people more effectively.

✩ Covid at Christmas: 'Chris Whitty is more popular than Britney Spears' - Emma Harrison, BBC please someone get me a chris witty prayer candle i am BEGGING

✩ Covid-19: Doctors call for rapid rollout of vaccines - Nick Triggle, BBC

articles: culture

✩ Art in 2021: The highlights to hope for - Will Gompertz, BBC yayoi kusama is coming to the tate modern!! which i can actually get to relatively easily on public transport from my uni city!! gonna take myself to see the infinity rooms omg i am so EXCITED

✩ History: Quileute Nation this is the official site of the quileute nation, whose history and mythology stephanie meyer butchered in the twilight saga.

✩ The Archers tackles the 'hidden' connection between disability and modern slavery - BBC something i’m ashamed to say that i knew nothing about until this article. the archers keeps on giving in terms of social issues.

✩ Gollancz gets Sims’ ‘horror for the Netflix generation’ - Tom Tivnan, The Bookseller jonny sims is writing a BOOK??! the EXCITEMENT i feel

#weekly #reading 2020 #last one! i cannot wait to read more next yr...degree pending

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