Did We Forget Our Democracy Is Still Under Threat?
Sarah Longwell on why complacency is an inherent weakness of democracy.
Leading The Bulwark…
Did We Forget Our Democracy Is Still Under Threat?
SARAH LONGWELL: Complacency is an inherent weakness of democracy.
🎧 On the Pods… 🎧
Kim Wehle on Chauvin, Protests, and Police Reform
On today’s Bulwark podcast, Kim Wehle joins host Charlie Sykes to discuss the Chauvin trial and verdict, the GOP’s state-level push against protesters, the first amendment and cancel culture, as well as a discussion about police and election reform.
Nicholas Jarecki on 'Crisis,' Opioids, Releasing a Movie During COVID, and Armie Hammer.
Nicholas Jarecki—the writer and director of the opioid crisis thriller Crisis—talks to Sonny about the making and casting of Crisis, the evolving international market for feature films, and the difficulties of promoting a movie when one of the actors is undergoing a PR crisis of his own.
For Bulwark+ Members… 🔐
MORNING SHOTS: The GOP Attacks the 1st Amendment 🔐
CHARLIE SYKES with an update on a boondoggle
THE TRIAD: How to Grow Old 🔐
Ancient advice for both the young and the elderly.
From The Bulwark Aggregator…
Kevin McCarthy’s Strategy to Rein In GOP Extremists: Don’t – Sam Brodey, The Daily Beast
Navalny Is Showing Russia What Courage Is – Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic
Foxconn Finally Admits It Won’t Create 13,000 Jobs in Wisconsin – Eric Boehm, Reason
NRA launches $2 million campaign to oppose Biden gun-control agenda – Tom Hamburger, The Washington Post
Michigan COVID-19 surge rivals previous rise – Lexi Lonas, The Hill
Contractor that ruined 15M doses of J&J vaccine hiked price of another by 800% – Beth Mole, ArsTechnica
PA Republican Who Objected to Trump’s Election Loss Has Concluded That Fraud Was Committed… By Republicans – Ken Meyer, Mediate
Norfolk police officer fired after investigation into Kyle Rittenhouse defense fund donation – Dominick Mastrangelo, The Hill
In Today’s Bulwark...
Not My Party: First Steps Toward Justice
TIM MILLER: Police violence, the culture, and opportunities for progress.
How the GOP Absorbed Far-Right Extremists
OLIVIA TROYE: What started as campaign rhetoric became government policy and, for a few days, a congressional caucus.
🚨OVERTIME 🚨
Happy Thursday! Remember, we have TNB tonight at 8 eastern. Details are above, and will be emailed again at 7. We’ll see you there if you’re a member of Bulwark+.
The strange case of Myrna Bain… National Review’s first black staffer.
Beyond parody. Buying a piece of wood for the performative culture wars.
Annual elections. I don’t own a lot of stocks. When I was a kid, my grandfather, head of a business school at a community college in Ohio, gave each grand child $3,000 to invest, but we had to write a proposal about what we wanted to invest in and why. I picked U.S. Airways and Philip Morris. (U.S. Airways’ CEO apologized to me when I told him this story when he was lobbying my boss because they went bankrupt and lost me half of my investment. I told him it was a good life lesson.)
Airlines are often bad investments. Cigarette conglomerates, well, were a very good investment.
A few times a year, my wife looks askance when I get a magazine wrapped in privacy plastic like it’s some obscene magazine. It’s the Annual Report! Why they do this, I don’t know. Probably to protect my ballot in case my USPS delivery person wants to vote on my behalf.
Today, I got Southwest Airlines’s annual report. They are my favorite airline and obviously I didn’t learn my childhood lesson. Reading these reports are interesting, at least to me. (If you care to read, here it is.)
While I have no plans to fly anywhere anytime soon, I do look forward to flying SWA when I do.
Marco’s performative Twitter. A few years ago, Marco Rubio sent his followers a tweet suggesting they show up in person or call a restaurant in his state owned by a guy who cozied up to a brutal dictator. Now, Marco is wondering why people don’t want to work service jobs.
Speaking of restaurants… A new one opened up by me during the pandemic, but I’ve yet to try it. It’s a really interesting concept.
“I Escaped the Cult. But I Couldn’t Escape the Cult Mentality.” A worthwhile #longread by Daniella Young.
That’s it for me. See you tonight. Drop me a line at: swift@thebulwark.com if you want to reach out, and I’ll do my best to get back in touch with you.
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Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.