Call it unfortunate timing all you want, but the fact that this cheating scandal at West Point--the worst in more than four decades--comes during the Trump administration is hard to ignore. This is a "Commander in Chief" who sets a horrible example. Leadership matters.
Let me quickly contextualize this for folks who may not be aware. West Point's Honor Code isn't a performative thing in the way that mission statements, values statements, etc. are so often performative at organizations. The Academy takes this very, very seriously. (1/3)
To give you one example: any time a cadet submits a paper for class, they're required to put a carefully formatted cover sheet on top with their signature attesting that the paper is consistent with the Honor Code. Every. Single. Paper. (2/3)
So, yeah, for other big schools--even Ivy League schools--there might be this sense of "a bunch of people cheated--so what?" but for West Point, whose administrators center the Honor Code in everything, this is a pretty big damn deal. Embarrassing, actually. (3/3)
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I watched an advance screener of "Promising Young Woman" today, starring Carey Mulligan as Cassie Thomas, a med school dropout who exacts revenge against rapists and sexual assailants, and it's one hell of a film. Here are many thoughts on it. (thread)
Right off the bat, I should say that the film graphically references, describes, and depicts rapes and sexual assaults and also suicide. In case the trailer hadn't been direct enough about that, consider this a trigger warning. It is DEEPLY uncomfortable to watch in some parts.
The film opens up with three younger guys at a happy hour engaged in, uh, "locker room talk". Well, two of the three. The third is the apparent moral center of the scene, played perfectly by Adam Brody. He's the Nice Guy. He chides the other two.
Today is the 10th anniversary of the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", the policy that barred openly lesbian, gay, and bisexual people from serving in the military. My service in the Army coincided with the last six years of DADT. We are now living in DADT 2.0 for trans people.
Before Trump's trans ban went into effect, the U.S. military was the largest employer of transgender people in the world. For three years, trans people served openly, a period described by the generals and admirals overseeing our military as free of complications.
Republicans now use the same fear-mongering over trans people that they did with lesbian, gay, and bisexual people in the military back then:
1. Threats to military readiness and unit cohesion. 2. Medically unfit. 3. Moral panic.
Like, yeah, The Bee Gees have been unfairly maligned for a LONG time and there's bound to be overcorrection because they're lovely, but holy shit, there's just no comparison to what The Beatles did. I can't even be charitable on this one.
The Beatles could be credited with transforming the direction of popular music not just once but TWICE and in less than six years. That's mind-boggling.
Did y'all know that many Members of Congress live out of their offices when they're here in D.C., away from their districts? It's true! Mostly Republicans, they say that the cost-of-living is too expensive for a cheap apartment here in D.C. (thread)
This is totally real. It's actually an ongoing debate within Congress on whether representatives should be permitted to live out of their offices. Some say it violates ethics rules, some say it's unsafe during COVID. But they do live there!
Now, I don't know the exact total--I don't think anyone does--but some reports have said up to 100 House members live out of their offices. That's about 23% of the House. Let's say it's 60 Republicans -- that would be almost a third of the current GOP House Caucus.
If confirmed, Pete Buttigieg will be one of the youngest presidential cabinet members in history (he turns 39 next month) and likely the youngest in 60 years -- since Bobby Kennedy was confirmed as Attorney General in 1961.
Interestingly--thank you to @emilyaheil, who already did great reporting on this seven years ago--most of the youngest cabinet members in recent history were Secretaries of Transportation, too:
42 -- Anthony Foxx (2013)
39 -- Jim Burnley (1987)
39 -- Neil Goldschmidt (1979)
The two exceptions were:
41 -- Bill Barr (1991, Attorney General)
39 -- Andrew Cuomo (1997, Secretary of HUD)
The website was glitching for @Chasten when he was making this great design, so I set it up on my end. All his idea and the proceeds go to the @NOVACommCollege Educational Fund, where Dr. Jill Biden teaches. Buy here for just $20: bonfire.com/thats-34dr-bid…
Already sold 75 shirts and raised $500 for community college students in less than 45 minutes.
150 shirts sold and $1100 raised -- they're flying!