How’s everyone’s weekend going? Thanks for spending a portion of it with the Six.
We’ve all heard of the expression “the Friday news dump.” That’s typically reserved for companies or organizations that have bad news and wait until end-of-week Happy Hour to dispense of said news.
This past Friday, we got a dump – and a helluva scoop – that may have long standing reverberations in our chaotic political and cultural times.
Reporter Matt Taibbi posted on Twitter a series of tweets that implicates executives within the social media company of intentionally suppressing the Hunter Biden laptop story in the fall of 2020. Elon Musk, the billionaire who bought Twitter earlier this year, admits he fed the story to Taibbi in an attempt to comply with previous statements he’s made about revealing censorship actions within the company.
There is much more to this story and Taibbi has hinted as much.
What I wanted to get across here is how there is a reason Taibbi was chosen by Musk to leak the story.
Musk wanted to eliminate any perceived prejudice or favoritism when he decided to release this information.
Taibbi runs a newsletter, TK News, on Substack. He is the sole publisher. He does not accept advertising. His content is free of corporate interference and biases.
Musk knew that Taibbi answered to no one and that editorial independence is exactly what Musk sought out. He got it and the story, unsurprisingly, has blown up.
Opponents of Musk – or those that favor the censorship of ideas not their own – will say ‘so what?’ to this news. They’ll attempt to downplay it and politicize the actions of Musk. But don’t be fooled by any public displays of whitewashing.
They are distressed; unnerved by how they weren’t allowed to control the story’s release.
For all of us who believe in the free marketplace of ideas, Friday was a huge victory.
Let the others be angry and bitter.
Let’s proceed with the Six.
1. 'It’s The First Time I’ve Seen This in China.’
Chinese authorities have taken a brutal stance on Covid. They have welded people into their own apartments and locked building exit doors. Last week, an apartment fire killed 10 in China’s Xinjiang province, and reports say the dead were locked in their building and fire trucks were slowed by road blocks that were the result of the draconian Covid rules. The result has been unprecedented protests across the country. In Beijing, people chanted “no to Covid tests, yes to freedom.” The Common Sense newsletter has a boots-on-the-ground report from Shanghai.
2. The Mothers Fueling The School Board Wars.
Now that midterms elections are in the rear view mirror, attention turns to the next election cycle. Not November 2024, but much sooner, like in four months. In April 2023, many districts in Chicagoland and across the Midwest and nationwide will hold district school board elections. These are down ballot races that don’t hold the fickle attention span of corporate media – obsessed with culture war celebrities like Elon and Kanye – but are hugely important at the regional and local level. Who are the key players in these races? The New Yorker with a deep dive on the mom-led organizations stoking debate and controversy in advance of next year’s elections.
3. Murder and Loathing in Las Vegas.
Very entertaining and deeply reported article about the recent murder of a newspaper reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The alleged killer? A public official in Las Vegas named Robert Telles. The reporter ran a series of articles exposing corruption that derailed Telles’ political career. Esquire chronicles the whole sordid affair, which includes scoring an interview with a jailed pre-trial Telles.
4. Should You Try Edible Insects?
It seems as though every single week there is a story from mainstream media trying to convince us to eat insects. The World Economic Forum has published literally hundreds of articles like “5 Reasons Why Eating Insects Could Reduce Climate Change.” WTF? Their logic – steak, chicken, fish are bad for the environment, consumption reserved only for special, special occasions or for the culturally elite (Taylor Swift, the Duke and Dutchess of Sussex, you know, those regular types of folks). The gist of these articles are how we must subjugate our own carnal desires for the good of society and ease into a bug-based diet. If you think I’m huffing and puffing, I included this story from the Washington Post, which reads more like a native advertising piece aimed at the salted ant-lovers of the world.
5. High School Athletes Bank Big Endorsement Bucks.
The NCAA decision to allow athletes to profit off of their names, images and likenesses while still playing at the collegiate level is having some serious downstream impacts. It’s given high school athletes the green light to ink lucrative deals before they’re even in college. And because the endorsement economy is already developed, that means that the industry is already assigning hypothetical valuations to high school players before they even set foot on college turf, many in the millions of dollars, as the Associated Press reports. No doubt this development will make enthusiastic parents of high school athletes way more normal and sane about the competition and officiating of high school sports.
6. “Cocaine Bear” Movie Trailer Is Absolutely Fantastic.
I don’t think I’ve been this excited to see a movie from a trailer since “Maverick” got teased out sometime in 2019. Based on a true story, a crap load of cocaine is accidentally dumped into a Georgia forest. A bear in the woods accidentally ingests the coke and…all hell breaks loose. I will merrily plunk down $20 for a first-night in-theater experience when “Cocaine Bear” is released next spring. For now, enjoy the trailer.
Thanks for reading everybody and enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Have a suggestion for The Sunday Six? Send email to jonjkerr@gmail.com.