Today's Takes: Thursday, July 29

Good morning, everyone.

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Thanks, as always, for reading.

We've learned two things this past year:

1) Sick days are overrated
2) Stocks only go up

Up you cursed lines!

Headlines

📰 From the Hill

• Senate Votes to Advance $1 Trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Proposal (National Review)
• Sinema Comes Out against $3.5 Trillion Partisan Spending Plan (National Review)
• Biden to Propose Buy American Rule for Government Procurements (WSJ)
  • "Under an initiative announced Wednesday, the government would require that products obtained under the longstanding “Buy American” program have at least 60% of the value of components made in the U.S., up from the current 55% threshold. That would increase to 75% by 2029, White House officials said."

💰 Financial News

• Fed Ramps Up Debate Over Taper Timing, Pace (WSJ)
• Vaccination Rates Drive Global Economic Growth Prospects, IMF Says (WSJ)
• The Housing Market Is on Fire. The Fed Is Stoking the Flames. (Barrons)
• The Course and Consequences of Inflation (WSJ)
  • "There is a disconnect between Washington and the people. Washington views inflation by the cost of nonessential goods (think: zippers) as part of the consumer-price index. Regular people view inflation by the cost of essential goods (think: gas and food), which is growing more quickly and is not expected to be transitory. President Biden and his policy team are simply out of touch with the reality of American life: going to work, buying food and enjoying a restaurant every now and then."
• Cryptocurrency has a 'bro' problem. Women in the field say they can disrupt the bitcoin brotherhood (SF Chronicle)
  • We'll know Bitcoin is ready for mainstream adoption when it's accused of white supremacy

📈 Up and to the Right

• JetBlue Turns 2Q Profit (Market Watch)
  • The airline industry recovers quicker than expected as air travel returns to pre-pandemic numbers.
• Apple demolishes earnings expectations, but stock falls after iPhone chip supply warning (CNBC)
  • Stocks only go up.
• Google advertising revenue rises 69% from last year (CNBC)
  • Stocks only go up.
• Microsoft had its most profitable quarter. (NY Times)
  • Stocks only go up.

🍯 From the Land of Milk & Honey

• Dell can't ship gaming rigs to blue states because of energy rules (Examiner)
  • "The PC giant won't ship certain computer models to California, Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington because of the states adopting the California Energy Commission's new Tier II mandatory energy efficiency standards on computers and mobile gaming systems that were put into effect on July 1."
  • The future looks bright in these states. Slower computers, more expensive power, dog food instead of steak, and a house that isn't yours.
• Will Delta water users sue — again — to stop California’s drought rules? (CalMatters)

🧬 Some really good Science

• Researchers are testing concrete that could charge your EV while you drive (Engadget)
• Air Force Research Lab Says Force Fields Are “on the Horizon” (Futurism)
• Experimental Male Birth Control Is Magnets That Heat Up Your Testicles (Futurism)
  • Otherwise known as neutering. Similar to what you do to your dog.

🏖 Billionaire Heroics and Hijinks

• Where Elon Musk Lives Since He Pledged To Ditch ‘Almost All Physical Possessions’ (Forbes)
  • Elon lives in the pod, but will he eat the bugs?

🗞 Media on Media

• Gannett has sold 26 publications back to local owners (Poynter)

Original Essays

🎥 Jerod Hollyfield discusses the enduring relevance of Entourage even in an age that consistently demonizes it (Read)

In case you missed it

• 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington' and the Evergreen Ills of American Politics by Jerod Hollyfield (Read)
• Avuncular Tom by Jerod Hollyfield (Read)
• The Man Who Sued the World by Megan Lee Podsiedlik (Read)
• Tenured Negligence by Jerod Hollyfield (Read)

Nashville Politics

• 16 of 27 Senate Republicans agree: Get vaccinated (TNJ)
• Dr. Jason Martin Eyes Run for Governor (Scene)
  • Martin has no political experience but became more and more outspoken about the state's COVID response over the course of the pandemic
  • Imagine Dr. Fauci, but a politician. Excited?
• Did health commissioner mislead state lawmakers? New questions about questionable COVID-testing contract (Channel 5)
• National Republicans visiting Middle Tennessee (Post)

Nashville News

• Heat wave hits Nashville (Main Street)
• "No plans to reinstate mask mandate" in Nashville following updated CDC recommendations (WSMV)
• Knox County Mayor Won’t Impose New COVID Restrictions or Mask Mandates (Star)
• 'It's not the California we grew up in': Why some West Coast families head for Nashville suburbs (Tennessean)

Nashville Development

• Whataburger announces locations for future restaurants (Post)
• Harding Academy pays $1.1M for Belle Meade Links home (Post)
• The Congress Group lifts curtain on reinvented 2nd & Peabody project (Biz Journal)
• Three-tower project eyed for SoBro (Post)

COVID-19 Gutter

The CDC's smoke and mirrors mask on, mask off game continues to overemphasize infections while ignoring hospitalizations and deaths. Right now, Washington, D.C., has 21 COVID-19 patients in hospitals, and six in the ICU — out of 345 ICU beds total in the city. Even still, all White House staffers, regardless of vaccination status, must wear masks. End the case count.

Required Reading

• ☢️ The Panic Pandemic (City Journal)

Information

• CDC warns COVID-19 may be a few mutations away from evading vaccines (NY Post)
• Mixed AstraZeneca-Pfizer shot boosts COVID antibody level - study (Reuters)
  • Marinate overnight
• New virus cases are falling in the U.K., baffling scientists. (NY Times)
  • "But our models predicted the collapse of Western Civilization!"

Politics

• Most vaccinated Californians should wear masks indoors (CalMatters)
  • ...and please put the toilet seat down when you're finished.
• England scraps quarantine for fully vaccinated EU, U.S. visitors (Reuters)
• Biden will announce vaccination requirement across federal government today (CNN)
• America’s Vaccine Policies Are a Contradictory Mess (Bloomberg)

One Good Read

🌍 Europe’s Political Stupor (Read)

What is the opposite of your job?

🦺 An old, interactive page from the New York Times that tells you the exact opposite of whatever your job is (Link)

Architecture Around the World

The Dawn of Woke-ism

A Prescient Scene from Interstellar

Have a great Thursday