Donald J. Trump | Chris Aldrich

👓 U.S. vs. North Korea: The Winner? China | The American Prospect

Read U.S. vs. North Korea: The Winner? China by Robert Kuttner (The American Prospect)

China has no reason to restrain Kim too soon, or for too modest a price. I keep thinking of the October 1962 Cuban missile crisis. This terrifying episode was a very complicated game of diplomatic maneuvering and military posturing, with a thermonuclear exchange between the U.S. and the USSR as the consequence of a misstep. But that apocalyptic situation had one big advantage over the present one: John Kennedy, Nikita Khrushchev, and Fidel Castro were all sane, rational beings. The same cannot be said about the two protagonists to the Korea crisis, Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un. In Kim, Trump has met his match.

This is apparently the article that began Bannon’s ouster from the administration.

📺 Linguist and Cognitive Scientist George Lakoff on Tavis Smiley (PBS)

Watched Linguist and Cognitive Scientist George Lakoff from PBS

The esteemed academic discusses Trump supporters who stay faithful to him even when he works against their material best interests and well-being.

Dr. Lakoff does a solid job of dissecting Trump’s communication style and providing some relatively solid advice to journalists and media outlets who aim to disrupt what Trump is attempting to accomplish. The discussion of morality and its role in our political system, albeit brief, was incredibly interesting.

In the last third of the interview, Lakoff provides an interesting reframing of much of the public/private case that Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson make in their recent book American Amnesia.

Apparently there is another interview Smiley’s done with Dr. Lakoff. I can’t wait to watch it. I certainly would have appreciated an extended hour or two of their conversation.

I can see people like Jay Rosen and Keith Olbermann appreciating these interviews if they haven’t seen them.

This was so solid that I actually watched it a second time. It may also be time to dig into some of Lakoff’s other writings and research as well. Some of it I’ve read and seen before in general terms, but it’s probably worth delving into more directly.

👓 She talks about working women. Her father says “buy American.” We go inside Ivanka Inc. | Washington Post

Read Ivanka Inc. by Matea Gold, Drew Harwell, Maher Sattar, and Simon Denyer (Washington Post)

The first daughter talks about improving the lives of working women. Her father urges companies to “buy American.” But her fashion line’s practices collide with those principles – and are out of step with industry trends.

This is not only interesting reporting, but the multi-media portions are fantastic and engaging. I wish more journalism outlets would invest some additional time and resources into this type of storytelling.

The global trade network is far more complicated than Donald Trump will admit, and so much so that even his own daughter can’t only not get around it, but she can’t do it with the level of ethical standard that most in her industry already mandate.

For those who are interested into a great “deep dive” on global trade and containerization, I highly recommend Alexis Madrigal’s recent podcast series Containers.

📺 Travel Ban | Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Watched Travel Ban from Last Week Tonight (HBO)

From HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNKpu94_Xy4

👓 Getting granular with the claim that Trump is some media wizard | Press Think

Read Getting granular with the claim that Trump is some media wizard by Jay Rosen (PressThink)

That our President is a master of media manipulation is a view commonly expressed by American journalists. I doubt it.