The Sunday Six
What I read about this week and why
Happy Easter Sunday! Enjoy brunching and egg hunting.
A historical milestone on this holiday: the oldest active MLB ballpark not named after a famous chewing gum played its first game in 1912.
Can you name it?
Fenway Park hosted its first baseball game on this day in 1912. Although the park has undergone a few refurbishments since then, it remains on the same original plot of land in Boston. The Red Sox play the White Sox this afternoon at Fenway.
I like the Red Sox in that one.
Let’s proceed with the Six.
MUSK AND HIS LEGION OF BABIES
No business owner has captured our nation’s attention to the degree of Elon Musk since… Ross Perot? To the degree that he toggles between the private and public sectors. Musk has often spoken publicly about the declining birthrate in the United States, and he is certainly putting his money where his mouth is! A story in the Wall Street Journal this week about his bizarre baby-making operation has the internet ablaze. It's not hard to find a free reblogged version to share.
POLITICAL VIOLENCE GOES MAINSTREAM
Some very troubling survey data reported on this week. At two recent anti-Trump marches, participants were asked about using violence as a means to get the outcome they want. At one rally, 33% said 'because things have gotten so far off track, Americans may have to resort to violence in order to save our country.’ At another rally, 35% shared the same belief. Last weekend, a crazy man somehow broke into the home of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. We’ve seen attacks on Tesla dealerships and assassination attempts on Trump. As this article on Reason writes, “After years of growing tension in the United States and demonization by partisans of those who disagree with them, the use of violence to punish political enemies and as a tool for achieving ideological goals is becoming more mainstream.”
WHAT HAPPENED TO SUZANNE SIMPSON?
True Crime on TKR… a haunting story about a San Antonio mom and real estate agent who told her banker, two months before she disappeared, that if she ever went missing, to “look for her in a lake.” Suzanne Simpson is still missing and presumed dead. Her husband, Brad Simpson, has been charged with murder and is awaiting a trial that will be complicated by the absence of a body. The evidence may be circumstantial, but the author lays it out convincingly: “The next morning, when Brad dropped off their five-year-old at school, investigators said the bed of his truck contained at least two white trash bags and a large ice chest. When Brad went to a Whataburger more than an hour later, the drive-thru camera showed that the bed of his truck held three white trash bags, a large heavy-duty trash can, an ice chest, and a large, bulky item wrapped and secured in a blue tarp. A short time later, geolocation data indicated that Brad was at a Home Depot, where video surveillance showed that he purchased two bags of cement, a construction bucket with a lid, a 32-count box of heavy-duty trash bags, a 30-ounce bottle of Clorox disinfectant spray, and insect repellent. While in the parking lot of the Home Depot, he asked a man for directions to the nearest dump.”
Michael J Mooney, Town & Country
THE BIGGEST LOSER
A profile of "Vegas Matt": a professional gambler who has created a way to win by losing. How it works is Matt posts videos of his disastrous hours in the casino for an audience of millions. The advertising revenue alone makes him an "enviable living.” He once lost $147,000 on a slot machine in three hours. People love to watch him lose. Casinos and sponsors love him. And he laughs all the way to the bank.
ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS
A new survey asked Americans who they’d like to see added to their money, asking “if the government planned to redesign American coins and bills,” who they’d support making it onto the new bills. Candidates with the highest level of support include Theodore Roosevelt (49 percent), Martin Luther King, Jr. (49 percent), Harriet Tubman (43 percent), Rosa Parks (43 percent), Albert Einstein (39 percent) and Eleanor Roosevelt (39 percent). Figures with particularly high levels of opposition included Walt Disney (49 percent opposed) and Elvis Presley (48 percent), who hold the distinct mark of being more opposed than Confederacy hero Robert E. Lee (38 percent opposed). Other individuals polled include inventors (Edison, 36 percent in favor), patriots (Paul Revere, 32 percent), femme fatales (Marilyn Monroe, 14 percent) and writers (Mark Twain, 27 percent). Wonder what Musk would poll these days?
Alexander Rossell Hayes, YouGov
FOOTBALL FOLLIES
Finally… J.D. Vance has risen to national prominence due to his intellect and public speaking skills, not his acumen at holding championship trophies. We were reminded of that this week when the veep botched a trophy handoff during the White House visit by the college football national champion Ohio State Buckeyes. It reminded me of arguably the best fumble scene in movie history, from the 1993 film, “The Program.”
“Sorry, I lost my ball.”
Have a great holiday!
Have a suggestion for The Kerr Report? Send email to jonjkerr@gmail.com.