The Moral Necessity of Accountability for Civil Disobedience
Plus, a dispatch from America's first "secret city" in plain sight.
Leading The Bulwark…
The Moral Necessity of Accountability for Civil Disobedience
Gregg Hurwitz: Looters, rioters, and anarchists should all be condemned as violence undermines legitimate activists.
🎧On the Pods… 🎧
Benjamin Wittes on Bill Barr’s Dilemma
On today’s Bulwark podcast, Benjamin Wittes joins host Charlie Sykes to discuss #MeToobin, Amy Coney Barrett and court packing, and the President publicly pressuring AG Barr to investigate Joe and Hunter Biden before the election.
FOR BULWARK+ MEMBERS:
JVL and Sarah talk about Biden and Trump being in a dead-heat, and why Joni Ernst is a heap of trouble.
From The Bulwark Aggregator…
Could Democrats Win Full Control Of More State Governments Than Republicans? – Nathaniel Rakich, FiveThirtyEight
ExxonMobil responds to Trump’s hypothetical bribery call: ‘It never happened’ – Teo Armus, The Washington Post
Americans Are Moving Where They Want. Will It Be a Win for Choice or Polarization? – J.D. Tuccille, Reason
It’s Time to Talk About Covid-19 and Surfaces Again – Gregory Barber, Wired
The Right’s Disinformation Machine Is Getting Ready for Trump to Lose – Renée DiResta, The Atlantic
In today’s Bulwark…
Candidate Kanye’s Call for a More Godly America
Daniel N. Gullotta: Among the precedents: Joseph Smith’s ill-fated 1844 campaign.
Where the Fight for the Senate Stands Today
Richard North Patterson: A breakdown of the races most worth watching.
The Donald Trump Show Must Go On
Brian Karem: The madness continues on the campaign trail.
Trump vs. Fauci
David Shaywitz: It's a fight we all lose.
🚨OVERTIME🚨
EARTH CITY, MISSOURI— As previously mentioned, we’re at an extended stay hotel visiting the family and across the street from our hotel is “Rams Park”—the former training facility of the St. Louis Rams. Let it be known, I was not a Rams fan. Teams that play indoors are not, in my view, respectable.
Early on, this posed problems with future in-laws, who were die-hard Rams fans. We got over it. And so, last night, as I walking area dog for his late night constitutional, he marked Rams owner Stan Kroenke’s helicopter landing pad. Right now, the facility, replete with Rams logos bears the name of a local car dealer that’s used mainly for soccer.
In 2024, Stan Kroenke will be able to buy the facility for $1. Despite moving the team, screwing people with Personal Seat Licenses, and generally giving a middle finger to the St. Louis community. Why? Because the St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority are idiots and bad negotiatiors. I don’t blame him, despite being a billionaire for exercising his rights, even if it makes him even more of an evil asshole.
I’m not a lawyer, but in dog law, the helicopter pad belongs to Gus now.
Earth City is a soulless corporate park that is even more depressing because of Coronavirus. But it’s interesting in that it’s right by the West Lake Landfill Superfund site.
Why would a landfill be a Superfund site, you wonder? Glad you asked! Saint Louis was one of America’s first “secret cities” during the atomic age, in that it played a pivotal role in our nuclear ambitions. Unlike Russia or China, St. Louis was kind of an open secret, in that it wasn’t one of those remote towns that was enclosed and nobody could visit. They were doing all of this as life went on in a free America. It wasn’t Los Alamos, Hanford, or Oak Ridge.
Mallinckrodt Chemical Works was literally doing this in downtown Saint Louis.
But what to do about the waste? It’s a long story, but much of it ended up near Lambert airport at the St. Louis Airport Site (SLAPS) or in Hazelwood, Missouri at the Hazelwood Interim Storage Site (HISS) off Latty Avenue.
You think our nuclear waste disposal plans stink now (they do), get this: Coldwater Creek runs through North County Saint Louis and radionuclides polluted that stream for years and years. HBO even made a documentary about it.
Folks in North County have had obscure and rare cancers that far outpace their prevalence in any other part of the country and these sites are part of the reason why. And the West Lake Landfill? Tens of thousands of tons of radioactive waste are sitting right there.
It gets worse: There’s an underground fire burning slowly toward the waste. Efforts have been made to make sure the fire doesn’t get there. But removal could take years and is extremely hazardous.
A former limestone quarry, corporate malfeasance, and cutting corners really has cost folks in this area a lot. Did it help us win the Cold War? Maybe. But the government needs to do right by these people. It’s going to cost a lot of money, but it needs to get done, and done right.
Fighting with neighbors… Look at what disinformation does to sow discord in small communities like Milford, Michigan.
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith doesn’t want to debate her opponent… But she’s happy to talk with these controversial fellows…
Speaking of southern Republicans… Have a look inside the “Tommy Tuberville Foundation.”
“Forged copies”? What are those, Rudy? Do tell. The story seems to be falling apart right in front of us.
A palate cleanser… You might need this after all the negativity in the news. Volkswagen restored a California woman’s beloved Beetle a few years back and it will make your day.
Has the DOJ ever heard of “Band-Aids” or “Kleenex”? In going after Google, President Trump’s legal eagles demonstrate a total lack of seriousness.
A message from God. Pat Robertson heard one, and you might not like it. Spoiler alert: the end times are coming.
BRB, moving to Utah… More of this is needed, but don’t get your hopes up:
Hope you all have a good Tuesday. Remember, if you want to join our post-debate (if there is one) jamboree Thursday night, you can sign up and become a member of Bulwark+.
If you’d like to share Overtime with somebody who might appreciate it, you can do that, too!
Lastly, if you have any questions, comments, or feedback, you can send me an email at swift@thebulwark.com. I can take your criticism, too, but please note I am not going to do an O.J. Simpsonesque cameos.
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