Will's Weekly Digest is a year old! Actually, because of poor record keeping by our editors, the digest is 13 months old, but math was never our forte here at the Digest. Still, happy birthday to the digest, and thank you to all the subscribers! I am grateful for your readership, and I hope you find the selection and variety of articles interesting, and the commentary only a bit dull as opposed to terribly boring. To celebrate, I'm asking everyone to share the opt-in form with a friend who might enjoy the digest. Thanks!
As always, happy Wednesday and happy reading.
This Day in History
1974 - Congress begins impeachment hearings for President Richard Nixon in response to the Watergate Scandal. This is what an actual political scandal looks like, but fortunately we don't need to dwell on that too much since we have our own current email scandal playing out, you know, the one in which Don Drumpf is actively encouraging Russia to hack Hillary Clinton's emails?
I don't think this is technically illegal, but it is unprecedented, unethical, and ought to be disqualifying. Of course, Trump has already committed so many egregious offenses that ought to have disqualified him that such criticism is meaningless. Still, it is quite terrifying to see how low Trump is capable of going, and how willing some are to follow him. He is actively encouraging an American nemesis to interfere in our electoral process. This is akin to treason. So the date of Nixon's impeachment coincides with the attempts of a much more pernicious candidate to have a murderous Russian dictator influence our election. What a happy coincidence.
Unprecedented Meddling
It is not unreasonable to assume that foreign nations seek to impact American elections, just as America seeks to shape other nations. I am confident that there are examples of candidates taking illegal foreign money, and I would guess that other forms of interference have happened as well.
But when Trump publicly called on Russia to involve itself in the election - and do so illegally at that - he went into unprecedented and dangerous, not to mention hypocritical, territory (from NYTimes). In addition to calling on a foreign nation, and an unfriendly one at that, he undermines the very idea of national sovereignty he espouses with his "make America great again" mantra.
How We Got to Gridlock
From reader Jessa in Colorado comes an insightful look at one of the reasons American politics seems to have lost its mind lately: the gutting of our political class (from the Atlantic). I found this article interesting because it was written by someone who was a political reformer in the past, and who helped implement some of the changes to address corruption in the system that has now bred a new form of corruption and an ossification of the entire process. It is an interesting account of how needed reforms to bring change were taken too far and caused new problems. In other words, there's a lesson to be learned.
In Our Own Online Bubbles
Another fascinating piece about how social media encourages polarization. Because so much of the online content we see is driven by algorithms, each time we click something we want to read, we make it more likely that in the future we'll be seeing similar content as opposed to diverse views. Here's what this looks like on Facebook newsfeeds (from the Wall Street Journal).
This isn't good for our democracy, which needs healthy public debate to thrive. When we build our own echo chambers, even unintentionally, we make it harder to find real engagement and dialogue.
A Very Worthy First Family
As President Obama's time in office winds down, I'd like to reflect on the demeanor of the first family. Like them or not, the Obama family has faced an intense degree of criticism and sometimes hatred. All presidents, and indeed all politicians expose themselves to this, and all of them receive public criticism. I've always been impressed with how gracefully President Obama and his family handled the intensity of the attacks (from the Washington Post). Regardless of who the future president is, it will be difficult to replace Obama's poise.
Get it, Tough Guy!
Anyone looking for a guard dog? Because this fella looks up to the task. Look at the hole he tore in that leaf! Ferocious! This nameless but precious puppy was found on the interwebs, which is me dropping a hint that I need more dog pictures, and for you to share the digest with friends, so we can see their dogs too!
Will's Weekly Trivia - Championship Week!
Please be sure to share Willful Intent's new opt-in form with friends, and submit any thoughts and dog pics via the feedback form!
IF you choose to answer the question, respond to staton.will@gmail.com with your answer. Please note that by competing you are giving me permission to publish your first name in the trivia leader board each week.
Crowning a Champion
It was a hard fought and close race, but the first ever WWD Trivia Champion is Bill from MS. Congrats to Bill, and all of the top five! There were participants from seven states and even one international contestant, Kevan, in Ecuador, who deserves a special shout out as a Peace Corps Teacher.
1. Bill, MS - 52
2. Steve, MS - 51
3. Matt, DC - 45
4. Alexa, NY - 42
5. Kevan, Ecuador - 37
TRIVIA Season 2!
Last Week:
1. Who is NASA's deep space telescope named after? ONE POINT
2. What is the shell of icy rocks and asteroids at the fringes of our galaxy known as? ONE POINT
3. Who was the first American woman in space? ONE POINT
4. After the USSR and the US which nation was third to launch a satellite? ONE POINT
Answer:
1. NASA's deep space telescope is named for Edwin Hubble.
2. The shell of small rocks at the fringe of our Solar System is called the Oort Cloud, named for a Dutch Astronomer who first predicted its existence.
3. Sally Ride was the first American woman in space. The Russian sent the first female cosmonaut into space nearly 20 years before.
4. France was the third nation to put a satellite in orbit.
This Week:
1. How many presidents have been impeached by the House of Representatives? ONE POINT
2. How many American presidents have been assassinated? ONE POINT
3. Who was the first president to live in the White House? ONE POINT
