The News Not Noise Letter: Good News? In This Economy?
A week of wins on inflation, stocks and consumer rights. Plus: Justice Alito’s wife raises red flags and Harrison Butker’s not alone.
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If you’ve been on the internet this week, you’ve probably seen or heard about Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker’s graduation address at Benedictine College, a conservative Catholic school. Butker denounced abortion, IVF, birth control, surrogacy, Pride Month, and the “cultural emasculation of men.” He really made headlines for his comments directed at the women graduates:
“I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you. How many of you are sitting here now about to cross the stage, and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you’re going to get in your career? Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world. But I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.”
His anti-working woman comments spawned days of shocked memes and mockery online. A lot of the reaction derided Butker as an isolated fringe thinker who is out of step with absolutely everyone else on women and work. But his values are shared by a large sector of American society. It benefits all of us to better understand how diverse opinion in this country really is. We get into the stats and reality later on in the newsletter. But first, the headlines:
Here are your headlines:
Israel/Gaza:
Hostage Bodies Found: With a deal to return living hostages now on indefinite hold, the Israeli military announced they found the remains of three hostages in Gaza: Amit Buskila (28), Itzhak Gelerenter (56), and Shani Louk (22). Louk is the young woman whose battered body contorted in the back of a pickup truck featured prominently in Hamas photos and videos from 10/7. The IDF says they were all killed fleeing the Nova Music Festival and their bodies were taken into Gaza.
Gaza Aid Pier: The floating aid pier the US built to deliver aid to Gaza is now operational. US Central Command says the first trucks began entering Gaza from the pier today, carrying food, hygiene kits, and temporary shelters supplied by the US, UAE and Britain. The administration says no US troops entered Gaza and the UN is distributing the aid.
US-Israel Military Aid: After Biden threatened to pause certain military aid to Israel, this week the White House advanced a $1 billion arms deal with Israel. And the House of Representatives voted to force Biden to continue supplying all aid approved by Congress – though this bill won’t make it into law.
Economic News: A few bits of positive economic news this week: inflation cooled moderately in April, though the Fed signaled interest rates will likely stay high for a while to ensure inflation continues to decline. The Dow hit 40,000 for the first time ever — which is not a reflection of the financial security of most Americans, but rather a sign of investor confidence about the future strength of the economy (i.e., they see good times ahead). And the Supreme Court ruled to preserve funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the agency founded after the 2008 financial crisis to protect consumers and hold major economic players to account. The CFPB regulates mortgages, car loans, insurance and other major consumer finance products to elevate consumers rights and penalize big businesses for predatory behavior. A conservative group tried to gut the CFPB, arguing in a lawsuit that the CFPB’s funding mechanism is unconstitutional. The Court’s conservative supermajority was expected to agree with the challengers and slash the CFPB’s funding; they instead ruled 7-2 to preserve the consumer watchdog.
Trump/Biden Debate: President Biden and former President Trump agreed to debate one another at least twice before the November election. Their first debate is now scheduled for June 27 on CNN, and the second is set for September 10 on ABC News. These debates are high-risk/high-reward and a memorable exchange could reshape the contest. Arguably Biden has most to gain because he’s behind in the polls. We’ll see if Trump, who refused to participate in debates during the primaries, cancels. Worth noting: these debates are not sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates that traditionally sets the rules for debates. So they might look a little different (i.e., noisier) than usual.
Alito’s Flag Flap: The NY Times is running a photo taken days before President Biden’s inauguration – and shortly after the Jan 6 insurrection — that shows Justice Samuel Alito’s house, and more specifically, an upside-down American flag flying on his lawn. The upside-down flag is commonly used as a symbol of the “Stop the Steal” election denial movement. (Technically an upside down American flag is meant “as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.”) The photo caused quite the uproar and now Justice Alito tells Fox News his wife hoisted the flag to express upset about open partisanship in the neighborhood and he was not involved in this decision. Some Democrats in Congress are calling on Alito to recuse himself from Trump-related cases due to the apparent ethics violation, and others are demanding ethics reform at the Court. Reminder: there is no process for removing a Supreme Court Justice other than impeachment by Congress – and that’s not going to happen anytime soon. (Reminder: Justice Clarence Thomas’s wife Ginni Thomas was involved in the election denial movement.)
Bad Mood Nation: When you think “reality TV,” you probably don’t usually think “C-SPAN,” but this week members of the House Oversight Committee gave Bravo stars a run for their money. ICYMI: the House devolved into chaos after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene attacked Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s physical appearance in a hearing on whether to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress. This fight struck us as worthy of comment because it is just so unusual to see open fighting in Congress (well, except a few months ago when Sen. Markwayne Mullin challenged the president of the Teamsters to a fistfight on the Senate floor). While this petty, childish attack is all too common on social media and among reality TV stars, we generally expect our politicians to rise above it. Questions for you: Do you think this breakdown in decorum says something about our politics? Does it reflect changing standards due to reality TV and social media? Nationally, we are having a hard time talking to one another and being respectful while disagreeing. What do you think is driving this? (Please comment your thoughts at the end of the newsletter.)
Marijuana Rescheduling: Maybe this could help. The Biden administration initiated the process of reclassifying marijuana as a Schedule III drug (like ketamine and some steroids) instead of a Schedule I drug (like heroin). While this won’t legalize recreational marijuana use, nor make any immediate impact on people who have been jailed for marijuana charges, it will remove many barriers to research, allowing more high-quality studies on the medical benefits (and risks) of cannabis use.
Harrison Butker & America’s Views on Women
As we noted at the top of this newsletter, NFL player Harrison Butker’s graduation address at a conservative Catholic college went viral. Many took to the web to express shock and outrage that he unabashedly told female graduates that their first duty in life is to serve as wives and mothers, not, you know, independent people or professionals.
This view is far from the values we hold here at NNN. And also I was not surprised by his beliefs. I’ve lived in different parts of America, covered people of varying political and religious beliefs and appreciate that when it comes to women’s place in society, there is a massive range in Americans’ worldviews. Put simply, I have known and worked with people who share Butker’s views and sometimes I take for granted that we haven’t all had these conversations. Since knowledge is power and also a key to making change and finding common ground — I thought I’d use this opportunity to share some data on how Americans view the role of women in society: