Today's Takes: Wednesday, September 15

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Headlines

📰 Today's Front Pages

A quick look at this morning's front pages so you know what you're supposed to be mad about.

• Reuters: Billions blown as Macau casino investors fold amid gambling review (Read)
• New York Times: Newsom Survives California Recall Vote and Will Remain Governor (Read)
• Wall Street Journal: Gavin Newsom Beats California Recall Effort, Remains Governor (Read)
• Fox News: The No's have it - Gov. Gavin Newsom survives in California recall election (Read)
• CNN: 5 takeaways after Gov. Gavin Newsom prevails in California recall (Read)
• NPR: Gov. Newsom Keeps His Seat As A Majority Of California Voters Reject The Recall (Read)
• Breitbart: Gavin Newsom to Remain in Office; Democrats Want to Limit Future Recalls (Read)
• HuffPost: Gov. Gavin Newsom Prevails In California Recall Election (Read)

🏛 From the Hill

• Senate Republicans Vow to Block Treasury Nominations Until Nord Stream II Firm Is Sanctioned (WSJ) Republican leaders are concerned that the Russian pipeline will further entrench Europe's reliance on Russian oil
• Democrats propose a compromise voting rights bill. (NYT) The bill would require ID, but not a driver's license. A variety of documents would suffice. It would also make vote by mail available to everyone.
• Trump doubts report of Milley calling Chinese general but says it's 'treason' if true (Fox News)

💻 Laptops and Crack Pipes

• The F.E.C. dismisses claims that Twitter illegally blocked a Hunter Biden article. (NYT) Can anyone point out to us other articles that have been blocked since then?
• New York Times stealth-edits report on Hunter Biden laptop story, scrubs 'unsubstantiated' following backlash (Fox News)

💪 Bezos-World?

• Amazon to pay full college tuition for front-line employees (Amazon) More than 750,000 operations employees across the U.S. will be eligible to have their full college tuition paid.
• Amazon’s cashierless tech is coming to Whole Foods next year (Verge)
• Amazon boosts hourly pay to over $18, to hire 125,000 workers (Reuters)

🚨 What's in a riot?

• A Comparison Of The 2017 Inauguration Riot, 2020 George Floyd Riots, And 2021 Capitol Riot (Federalist) While the 2021 Capitol Riot was significantly less damaging, dangerous, and threatening than the 2020 summer race riots, the symbolism is what placed it above all previous incidents. The Capitol rioters marched on the "Seat of Democracy", and thus, had the entire "Democratic" apparatus turned on them. The salient point here is that government, which largely exists in America to protect and enforce property rights, has begun to reneg on its duty to do so.
• A Fox-Style News Network Rides a Wave of Discontent in France (NYT) The problem is that people are upset. They shouldn't be, insitits the rag of record.

🌦 Climate Faux Pas

• Chevron to Triple Low-Carbon Investment (WSJ)
• Four in 10 young people fear having children due to climate crisis (Guardian)

Original Essays

📏 Megan Podsiedlik checks in with Noble's Beer Hall & Kitchen to see how they weathered the pandemic and the challenges they face (Read)

In case you missed it

• Tell Them Phil Valentine Said, “Hey” by Jerod Hollyfield (Read)
• Total Recall: California’s September election by Jerod Hollyfield (Read)
• Entourage's Last Stand by Jerod Hollyfield (Read)
• 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington' and the Evergreen Ills of American Politics by Jerod Hollyfield (Read)

Nashville Politics

• Boondoggle or taxpayer boon? Mayor John Cooper blasts Fifth + Broadway garage deal (Tennessean) The garage lease includes a 99-year term with no inflationary or cost-of-living rent increases. The $1.38 million annual rent payments would be double that on the open market.
• Tennessee comptroller launches redistricting dashboard (Main Street)
• Democratic nominee for open state House seat accused of rape (TNJ) DeAngelo Jelks, the Democratic nominee to fill an open state House seat in Hamilton County, has been accused of rape.

Nashville News

• What to know about Williamson County Schools staffing shortages (Tennessean) Currently over 300 open positions exist at Williamson County Schools. Williamson ranks near the bottom of the list as regards teacher pay.
• Mayors of Tennessee’s Largest Cities Refuse to Say Whether They Support Critical Race Theory in K-12 Public Schools (Star)
• Nashville's suburbs drive population growth, putting strain on schools and local services (Tennessean)
• Fire intentionally set at church in Germantown (WSMV)

Nashville Development

• 7-Eleven Proposed To Replace Storied Airways Motel On Lebanon Pike, Nashville. (Now Next)
• Amazon to add 6,600 jobs in Tennessee (Post)
• Midtown site next to hotel sells for $1M (Post)
• Atlanta developer pays $12.5M for East Bank site (Post)

COVID Gutter

Headlines

• In Review, Top F.D.A. Scientists Question Imminent Need for Booster Shots (NYT) If things continue as they are in Israel, the FDA will reverse course immediately.
• DeSantis: Local Governments to Face $5,000 Fines for Imposing COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates (Epoch Times) The better the fine the administrators themselves.
• Unions Fight Back against Vaccine Mandates (NR)
• France's new travel restriction bans unvaccinated US tourists (USA Today)

Information

• Natural Immunity Longer Lasting Than Protection From COVID-19 Vaccines: Dr. Robert Malone (Epoch Times) Israeli researchers found that people in the country vaccinated with Pfizer’s COVID-19 shot were 13 times more likely to contract the Delta variant of the CCP virus and 27 times more at risk of symptomatic disease, compared to those who had recovered from COVID-19.

For Your Curiosity

🔵 Why are hyperlinks blue? (...except ours) (Read)

From the Archive

Back in 1937, Piggly Wiggly founder and Tennessee's own Clarence Saunders opened a grocery concept called Keedoozle that pioneered a primitive form of self-checkout.

Death of a Legend

Words of Wisdom

"I do not like experts. They are our jailers... Experts are addicts. They solve nothing. They are servants of whatever system hires them. They perpetuate it. When we are tortured, we shall be tortured by experts. When are hanged, experts will hang us... When the world is destroyed, it will be destroyed not by its madmen but by the sanity of its experits and the superior ignorance of its bureaucrats."

John le Carre, The Russia House (1988)

Have a great Wednesday