Afternoon Tea 1.14.21 - Impeachment 2: Electric Boogaloo

Who thought when Electric Boogaloo was produced in 1984, that in 2020, we’d be using it for Trump Impeachment jokes after a group of insurrectionists used it to describe themselves? Trump managed to get Democrats to do a thing one more time, the founder of the Pirate Bay thinks Parler should be ashamed of themselves, Capitol police are starting to be snared in the surveillance jamboree that is Washington DC, Madagascar needs one(1) Sonic Movie redesign worth of food relief, and MeWe is a thing again. It’s Thursday, January 14th 2021, and this is the Tea.

Queens man impeached - Again (Queens Eagle) & Trump Thought He Could Convince Pence to Overthrow the Election by Calling Him a Pussy (Vanity Fair) This is the only time I will remind everyone that the president responsible for 50% of all impeachments is a Queens townie. Imagine Mike Pence, the actual last person in the Trump administration that could be baited by the insult “pussy,” being just utterly bewildered by Trump’s Whitestone Bridge-tier gambit.

For everyone playing the home game, GOP members who voted to impeach started receiving death threats in under 24 hours.

2 Capitol Police officers suspended and at least 10 more under investigation for alleged roles in riot (CNN) This is looking worse and worse for all parties involved as the days go on. It is a very short road to sedition or insurrection and a lot of these people are hoping someone else is going to cover their tracks.

“No One Took Us Seriously”: Black Cops Warned About Racist Capitol Police Officers for Year (ProPublica) How could we have known? I dunno, listen to the over 250 Black cops who have sued the department since 2001? Or the Black women in tech who have been telling us for years and years? 

A Subsidized Jobs Program for the 21st Century (Center for American Progress) Three Democratic Senators discussed prioritizing a federally subsidized jobs program today for the 2021 session, so this look at one by CAP isn’t the worst afternoon grazing alternative to doomscrolling.

Pirate Bay Founder Thinks Parler’s Inability to Stay Online is ‘Embarrassing’ (Motherboard) Honestly, he’s got a point. The tech was laughable and wilted like spinach on the stove. Also, this guy who got a visit from the FBI an hour after posting Speaker Pelosi’s nameplate seems related…

MeWe Sold Itself on Privacy. Then the Radical Right Arrived. (OneZero) Between Telegram, Gab & MeWe, there are definitely places for the radical right to go, but…they kind of suck.

UN’s World Food Program needs $35 million to fight hunger in Madagascar (Al-Jazeera) I wanted to put the relative cost of feeding 1.35 million people into context, and then I discovered the Sonic the Hedgehog movie cost that much. Then I had to have a sit down.

Something is Rotten in Online Advertising (SparkToro) This gets pretty far into the meat & potatoes of how people make money on the internet, in case you need something to read before bed. There’s significant enough opacity & grift in the adtech market that, depending on how bad it actually is, companies might be able to reduce their digital ad spend 65-95% and see no drop in overall sales.

A New Justice Movement Emerges to Defend Steven Donziger (The Nation) Missed this back in September, but a lawyer who helped indigenous Ecuadoreans win against Chevron a $9.5 billion settlement to clean up damage. Chevron has gone after this guy so hard, he’s been on house arrest and faces 6 months in prison, even though he won’t face a jury trial. Simply infuriating.

Song of the Tea: I wholeheartedly endorse celebrities, musicians, and artists talking about their therapy experiences in their art. “I don’t want to make amends, but you can write a check for my therapy” is one of those novel and instant classic lyrics that’s going to stay in my mind for a bit.

While the weather is lovely, it is hard inclement effects of climate change are this stark. Take in the warmth while you can, a very long road ahead.

Yours,T