Afternoon Tea 6.7.21 - Normal Pants

Anti-vaxx makes bank for social networks, Eric Adams pulls into 1st, Mexico’s bloody, bloody elections have arrived, Donald Trump was not wearing a diaper, and global minimum corporate tax might already be subverted by Amazon. It’s Monday, June 7th 2021, and this is your Tea.

Global G7 deal may let Amazon off hook on tax, say experts (Guardian) & Primed for Pain: Amazon’s Epidemic of Workplace Injuries (SOC) Did you hear about the major breakthrough the G7 had when it comes to global minimum taxes to fight big tech paying their fair share? Of course there’s already a company that might find a way around it. In this case, Amazon’s allergy to profits would allow them to avoid this planetary-level scrutiny. Amazon maintains low profits by keeping costs down and allowing their workers to be injured at breathtaking rates.

Anti-vaxxers make up to $1.1 billion for social media companies (The Rappler - Study PDF) I’m asked how anti-vaxx people make money, and besides the supplement hawking and general visibility plays, this study by the Center for Countering Digital Hate is an excellent answer. It’s not just that they themselves make money, it’s that their content and the engagement around it is wildly profitable for social platforms.

Mexico votes in widely anticipated midterm elections (AJZ) 89 politicians, including 35 who were running in this election, have been killed over the last 200 days. When they say political campaigns are war, they are not joking in Mexico.

Because Things Aren’t Already Ridiculous Enough, I Guess We’re Talking About Donald Trump’s Pants Now (Mediaite) Trump was ponch’ing a bit more than usual over the weekend, so people invented the idea that he was either wearing a diaper or he put his pants on backwards. The people who do this for a living aren’t convinced, so I’m not sure we should be either.

The dirty secret behind the success of top Republican fundraisers (Popular Info) If you were wondering how Hawley & MTG (Editor’s Note: Henceforth Marjorie Taylor Green will be referred to as Magic the Gathering) were able to fundraise so quickly, it’s nefarious bullshit. Exceptional digging by Judd Legum, who surfaced the “Alliance Strategies Group.” This company flatly steals content and email address lists from major news outlets. They then repost (without credit) the articles, and bombard the email addresses with GOP fundraising emails. A bunch of the spam network was down 24hrs after Pop Info inquired on them.

The GOP Can Win Without Waging War on Democracy (NY Mag) & The Capitol Rioters Won (The Atlantic) So, how much louder do the alarm bells have to be at this point? What would a GOP that believes in democracy again even look like? If the Capitol riots were the 1993 WTC bombing, what does the 9/11 attack on our democracy look like? Has it already happened?

Stefanik: US should be prepared to “unilaterally” re-open border to Canada (WWNYTV) When one country wants borders open but another one doesn’t, that’s invasion. After decades of shitting on migrants, watch MAGAts and post-Republicans make fake IDs, whine about vaccine passports, and react to nations not wanting us, will never not be hilarious.

City’s Most Car-Centric Neighborhoods are Supporting Eric Adams (StreetsBlogNYC) & Eric Adams’ Aqueduct Casino Bid Scandal Interview Transcript Reveals Contradictions and Shaky Memory (TheCity) & Eric Adams Pays for Mayoral Campaign Advice From Lawyers Who Lobby Him (TheCity) & Past praise of Giuliani, stop-and-frisk haunt Eric Adams’s NYC mayoral campaign (NY Daily News) Andrew “As long as you have absolutely no follow-up questions, Yes” Yang was dethroned by Eric Adams in polling for the 2021 Royal Rumble for Mayor. Continuing to serve as the journalistic equivalent of a blue shell from Mario Kart, here’s a bunch of skeletons from Eric “Stop & Frisk 2.0” Adams’ closet. Speaking of Adams’ closet, here’s a video he produced on how to search your child’s room for drugs & guns. (Editor’s Note: We swear to the Old Gods & the New that we’re not making this up. It’s from 2011.)

Scott Stringer and his kids ride fake MTA bus in new campaign ad (NY Post) If you’re going to use a bus to shoot a commercial, make sure the bus type wasn’t retired two years before the ad. Great job Scott! Between this and the 2nd woman to credibly accuse you of sexual harassment, I eagerly await his finish in the bottom 3rd of this month’s Mayoral primary. If PaperBoy Prince can get more support than String, I’ll be shocked and delighted.

COVIDville, USA (The Bulwark) This discussion of Owosso, Michigan is a cautionary tale that’s probably replicated in all 50 states. The failures from intersections of lax local enforcement, Trumpy conspiracies, and the small fact that the pandemic didn’t care if you believed in science, will be studied for decades to come. So much needless death.

Song of the Tea: Take a moment, breathe, let your body’s cortisol bleed out for a moment. A soothing track by Etherwood might help, if liquid drum & bass is your thing.

Unclench your jaw, let your shoulders drop, take a sip from your water, tea, or bourbon. It’s Monday afternoon, the hard part’s over.

Yours,