UNFTR Weekly Roundup

What You Missed

This week in our Members Only Newsletter you missed:

• Max Notes on the lack of serious discourse in media.
  
  
• The Tuesday Top Five news articles everyone should be reading.
  
  
• An original essay from News Beat’s Rashed Mian on progressive policy polling data.
  
  
• And Ryan Stanco’s “Not for Nothing” on Pumpkin Spice, Elon Musk & MrBeast.

So I guess the question is…what are you waiting for? Sign up today to become a member and level up to unlock a slew of additional perks!

Max Notes

I’m back and ready to rumble. Some planned time off followed by unplanned COVID (first-timers club!) put me a little behind but I’m feeling like a half-a-million bucks and looking forward to connecting with everyone. This week we’re tying a bow around our coronation argument and unpacking the election as it stands 80 days away from go time. Looking ahead, we’ve got some collaborations planned, a family meeting with Unf*ckers we need to schedule and a report on inequality that contains surprising and unsurprising information that no one is talking about. 

Thanks for the grace and latitude to take some downtime and then recover. See you on the pod and on the tube.

Other things I’m obsessing over…

• Tom Waits
  
  
• The reviews of Rogan’s Netflix special. Like this gem from Vulture: “Nothing about the substance of Rogan’s Burn the Boats material differentiates itself from a bunch of other people doing it better. What he has instead is a sweaty, screamy sense of effort and a stage persona that’s brimming over with his need to say what’s in his head as loudly as possible.” 😀
  
  
• When you let an intern write your op-ed and you forget to proof it against everything you’ve ever said or believe.

-Max

Chart of the Week

Source: FreddieMac

After several months of slow but steady declines, mortgage rates crept back up slightly in mid-August to (a still uncomfortable) 6.49%. The outlook remains favorable for more decreases in the coming months, particularly in anticipation of the Fed reducing rates at least once before the election.

Headlines

The Squad Hangs On

Ilhan Omar’s convincing victory is a reflection of her depth in servicing her district and ability to maintain a high profile. That said, AIPAC’s hit rate has been high considering they unseated Bowman and Bush.

From the article:

“Omar’s landslide win happens to come just as a narrative has started picking up steam that she and the rest of the Squad are on the ropes. Reinforcing that narrative are the recent primary election defeats of fellow Squad members Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush in the face of record outside spending by AIPAC’s corporate-funded Super PAC. ‘Progressives face an existential threat from AIPAC. And there’s nothing to stop it,’ Politico blasted out just yesterday. Even a New York Times op-ed this week in favor of a Gaza cease-fire inadvertently advanced this narrative, arguing that while ‘acknowledging protesters’ demands’ had seemed ‘the politically savvy thing for Democrats to do’ earlier this year, ‘that notion is looking shakier now’ in the wake of Bush and Bowman’s losses.”

Jacobin: The Death of the Squad Has Been Greatly Exaggerated

Wait, oil companies are evil?

Do as I fund not as I say. The Guardian followed the money to reveal that greenwashing oil giant Shell has been lining the pockets of several groups tied to Project 2025 in spite of promoting its foundation as progressive and eco-friendly. Whodathunkit?

From the article:

“An analysis by the Guardian and DeSmog found at least 21 groups supported by Shell’s foundation that are aggressively opposed to progressive cultural and economic change, including addressing the crisis of global heating. ‘They’re all certainly working in the rightwing policy and propaganda space,’ said Peter Montgomery, research director at the progressive non-profit organization People for the American Way. ‘That includes the anti-regulation corporate right and the culture warriors of the religious right.’”

The Guardian: Revealed: Shell oil non-profit donated to anti-climate groups behind Project 2025

Bibi Is the Biggest Threat to Israel’s Security

Even the mainstream foreign policy mouthpiece Foreign Affairs can see that Israel is turning into a far-right theocracy. Bibi’s hawkish attitude and self preservation instincts threaten the safety and security of all Israelis.

From the article:

“On its current path, Israel is veering in a deeply illiberal direction. Its current hard-right turn, pushed by politicians as well as by many of their constituents, could see Israel become a kind of ethnonationalist theocracy, run by a Jewish judicial and legislative council and right-wing religious extremists, nothing less than a Jewish version of Iran’s theocratic state. Israel’s demographic and sociopolitical changes, including a rapid increase of the ultra-Orthodox population, the rightward tilt of young Israeli Jews, and a decline in the number of Israeli Jews who identify as secular, have produced a more devout body politic that perceives the continued existence of Israel as part of an irreconcilable struggle between Judaism and Islam.”

Foreign Affairs: The Undoing of Israel

This Week on the Pod

Harris v. Trump.

Progressives in the Wind.

UNFTR is back in the swing of things with a snapshot of where the election stands just 80 days from decision time. We look at trends in each of the swing states, how Congressional races are stacking up and which presidential candidate has the advantage in the swing states and on key issues. Max also tackles the media’s breathless pursuit to portray the Harris/Walz ticket as progressive despite the lackluster and surface level DNC platform.

Here’s a snippet from the pod:

MAX: “Most Americans aren’t like listeners to this pod in that they have neither the time or inclination to dig into policy details. They care about the big stuff they hear all the time through the mainstream media. Abortion, immigration, healthcare, taxes. As the cycle wears on they’ll tune in to the greatest show on earth and listen to the prevailing narratives on mainstream media. They’ll be targeted by political ads on TV and their social media apps echoing the same talking points. They might be susceptible to fear mongering on the right or hopeful rhetoric on the left. But on balance they’ll align with the narrative that best reflects their state of mind. And in these cases, economic messaging will win the day.”

Resources

Pod Love

“Status Coup News’ Jordan Chariton returns to Bad Faith to provide an update on the toxic fallout from the East Palestine train derailment and report on how residents on the ground are souring on their senator, JD Vance. Vance once championed the people of East Palestine, but he has failed to follow up on new revelations that the crisis was mismanaged.”

The Bad Faith Podcast: East Palestine: The Land that Vance Forgot (w/ Jordan Chariton)

Book Love

Looking for some recommendations from Unf*ckers. I’ve been in an article and white paper hole, and could use a good book about something bad in the world. 

Unf*cker Comment of the Week

From Will (hold for it) Watkins:

“99, thank you for the light and energy you bring to the show.  The tenor and tone improved so much when you came on mic and now I cannot imagine your voice not being there.  I really appreciate your perspective as a younger millennial.  You’ve become the heart of the show in my opinion and I’m so glad of your contributions.”

Progressive Corner

Progressive Spotlight: Jeremy Scahill [Update].

The Intercept co-founder is one of the most important journalists of his generation. His work exposing imperialism, human rights abuses, war crimes, and much more is critical for anyone who wants to understand American hegemony.

Progressive Organization of the Week: Whole Woman’s Health Alliance.

“Whole Woman’s Health Alliance is a non-profit organization committed to providing holistic reproductive care for our patients, including abortion care and advocacy to eradicate abortion stigma. We believe every person deserves the compassion, respect, and dignity of being able to safely and legally end a pregnancy. Our patients choose Whole Woman’s Health Alliance because they know we will put them first. We honor people’s decisions: from the moment a patient walks into our doors, to the moment they walk out, into the next phase of a life transformed because they got the quality care they deserved.”

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