If theres one guarantee around TIMEs Person of the Year, its that no matter who the magazine chooses, its bound to upset a lot of people. Despite the fact that the title is based on impact, not honor, dubbing someone person of the year still reads to most people as an endorsement.

The magazines Person of the Year for 2019 is Greta Thunberg, a choice that has sent all the worst people spiraling into major tantrum territory.

Donald Trump hasnt tweeted about Thunberg yet (Update: Yes he has),but its hard to imagine hes not fuming. Not only has he publicly mocked the young climate activist in the recent past, but he has a long history of being obsessed with TIME Magazine. He famously hung fake TIME covers featuring himself in his golf clubs. In 2012, he tweeted I knew last year that @TIME Magazine lost all credibility when they didnt include me in their Top 100. In 2013, when he wasnt on that list again, he called it a joke and stunt of a magazine. In 2015, when Angela Merkel was picked, he tweeted, I told you @TIME Magazine would never pick me as person of the year despite being the big favorite They picked person who is ruining Germany. In 2016, he actuallywas named Person of the Year but by 2017, he was back to pouting about it.

Before Trump the elder got around to commenting on Thunberg, his dopey son was more than eager to pick up the slack.

The Hong Kong protesters were on TIMEs shortlist and clearly, theirs is a cause that means a lot to Trump Jr. Just kidding, these are literally his only two tweets about Hong Kong since the protests started:

image: screenshot

Hes expressed even less support for the protesters than his father, who has said next to nothing on the issue.

Trump Jr. isnt the only person ranting about TIMEs Thunberg pick. Its a big day for terrible people sharing their garbage opinions online.

Former Trump aide Seb Gorka retweeted this one:

For the record, Thunberg is only the fifth individual woman or girl to be named person of the year in the 90-plus-year history of the title. But concern trolls are gonna troll, no matter what.

Whether or not you agree with this one magazines ultimately arbitrary assessment that Thunberg and what she represents deserve this recognitionand she herself notably does not!there are plenty of ways to express that that dont involve being a belligerent jerk to a teenager.

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Let's All Revel in the Rightwing Outrage Over Greta Thunberg Being Named TIME's Person of the Year - The Mary Sue

Tucker Carlson, who is beloved by white supremacists, hosted a political candidate on his show this week who also appears to be a white supremacist. Pete DAbrosca is running for a seat in Congress and has been widely praised by the most extreme right-wing figures and organizations, including InfoWars and VDARE.

Fox News Tucker Carlson recently hosted Pete DAbrosca, a congressional candidate who has ties to white nationalism and has supported the bigoted, anti-immigrant campaign of a group known as groypers, who are trolling conservative public events with anti-Semitic dog whistles and other hateful rhetoric.

Since DAbrosca announced his congressional bid and anti-immigrant platform over the summer, hes been lauded by far-right personalities and publications including Ann Coulter and the white nationalist publication VDare and appeared on the conspiracy theory outlet Infowars (which he had also appeared on before). In that most recent appearance, he agreed with the host that Democrats get elected through illegal voting and defended the leader of the groypers, a far-right media figure, Holocaust denier, and pro-segregation activist named Nick Fuentes who hosts America First on YouTube

Lets be blunt and call a spade a spade: Tucker Carlson is a white supremacist. He tries to cover it with veneer of mainstream conservatism, but it comes shining through far too often to be deniable.

View original post here:

Tucker Carlson Hosts White Supremacist on Show - Patheos

BERKELEY, Calif. (JTA) There are the makings of a rebellion brewing in the mainstream American Jewish community.

Its not a Jexodus, the rights quixotic dream that Jews will migrate en masse to the Republican Party.

It is a potential rebellion of the median Jew: pro-Israel, pro-two states and perfectly comfortable sitting among the 71 percent of Jews who voted for Hillary Clinton. The sort of Jew who isconcerned aboutleft-wing anti-Semitism on college campuses,but knows well enough to be more concerned aboutdeadly right-wing anti-Semitism.

The issue is simple: The Republican Party, from Donald Trump on down, has a huge anti-Semitism problem. Yet too many American Jewish organizations, which purport to represent the Jewish mainstream, are tiptoeing around it.

When pressed absolutely up against the wall, they might issue a timid plea to speak more carefully a mild rebuke that still usually comes wrapped in an insulating layer of gratitude for pro-Israel gestures.

Most Jews are not fools. We know there is a connection between the scare-mongering aboutSoros globalistsand cultural Marxists andcosmopolitan elites rhetoric that has become the conservative movements primary tool of political mobilization and the surge in anti-Semitic harassment, marginalization and violence that has plagued Jews in recent years.

Were tired of our own establishment organizations talking a big game about fighting anti-Semitism wherever it lies, only to supplicate themselves to a man and a party who has regularly and consistently trafficked in anti-Semitic tropes in pursuit of a political vision radically antagonistic to the values of American Jews.

The latest group to abdicate its duty? The American Jewish Committee.

Eyes fell on the AJC again this week afterPresident Trump, in remarks to the Israeli American Council, suggested that Jews arent nice people, would vote for him primarily to protect our own wealth and are disloyal to Israel. He even threw in an anti-Native American racial slur for good measure.

The AJC, which justinaugurated a social media campaign to Translate Hate,should have been especially attuned to what was happening here.

Trump has repeatedly hit on all of these anti-Semitic themes before. Hes complained thatJews wont back him because he doesnt want your money. Hes told American Jews that Israel is your country.

In many ways, Trumps IAC speech perfectly encapsulated the emerging conservative consensus about American Jews: Were disloyal to America in favor of our actual country, Israel, to which were also disloyal. Ann Coulter, at least, heard the message loud and clear:

Yet instead of a robust condemnation of yet another anti-Semitic indulgence from the president of the United States, the AJCs reply stood out from the rest of the Jewish community for adopting a tone that can only be described as groveling:

Well gosh, Id hate if Donald Trump hit a mine on the road to appealing to Jewish voters. He might get hurt!

Somehow a statement that purports to condemn Trumps anti-Semitism seemed to express more concern about Trumps well-being than that of the Jews. More than a few observers contrasted the wishy-washy response given to Trump with the AJCs considerably more robust reply to Rep. Ilhan Omars Benjamins remark:

The AJCs approach to Omar was not prefaced with sincere appreciation for her political accomplishments, nor couched in language that suggested they were primarily concerned with her well-being. She gets unadulterated scorn, and the AJC will never, ever let her forget it.

Apologists contend that kid gloves are warranted for the president because he and his party are pro-Israel unwavering, as the AJC gratuitously put it at the opening of its gentle admonishment.

The message? Being pro-Israel (or at least pro-Likud) isa get-out-of-anti-Semitism-free card. Groups like the AJC are sending the message that the correct positions on Israel will suffice to forgive any amount of anti-Semitism in America.

And Republicans have felt entitled to play that card, again and again, to wash away increasingly more brazen anti-Semitic indulgences.

Invite a Holocaust denier to the State of the Union, as Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., did?

Dont worry, hes a champion of Israel!

Say the Republican Party is controlled by the Jewish lobby, as former Minnesota congressman (and Trump-endorsed GOP Senate candidate) Jason Lewis did?

Its fine these are not my views about American support for Israel, period.

Even where other Jewish organizations have clearly and robustly condemned Republican anti-Semitism,the media (both Jewish and non-Jewish) routinely fails to follow up. There are no dogged demands for comment, no monthlong storylines about the GOPs anti-Semitism crisis.

Repeated instances of conservative anti-Semitic rhetoric are routinely glossed over and effectively forgiven even asRepublicans defiantly refuse to apologize for them. They spit in the face of the American Jewish majority, then have the chutzpah to call themselves defenders of the Jews and theyre allowed to get away with it largely without question.

Bari Weiss famously justified putting more intense focus onleft-wing anti-Semitismbecause it is supposedly more insidious than the right-wing variety: harder to spot, more easily integrated into reputable political, academic or media circles.

Yet we do not lack for organizing or editorials against left-wing anti-Semitism. If there is a form of anti-Semitism that has truly resisted consistent registration on the public radar, it is mainstream right-wing anti-Semitism.

On the mainstream right, we see conspiracy theories aboutJews buying Congressor trafficking migrants or orchestrating impeachment allowed to run rampant in the highest levels of government and in the most influential sectors of the media. And when they do predictably explode intovandalism, harassment or violence, few dare hold accountable the mainstream actors from political officials to Fox News mouthpieces who so eagerly served up the toxic stew.

Whats bizarre is thatthe AJCs own polling decisively demonstrates how far it has deviated from American Jewish priorities. This year, 78 percent of American Jews told the AJC that anti-Semitism on the extreme right represents a very or moderately serious threat, compared to 36 percent for the extreme left.

When it comes to attributing blame to political parties, the numbers are just as stark. Asked to assign responsibility for current levels of anti-Semitism on a 1-10 scale, Jews gave Republicans a median score of 7 compared to a 3 for Democrats.

When the political apparatuses of the American right from the president to Congress to Fox News repeatedly and regularly transmit anti-Semitic conspiracies of the worst sort, injecting them into American political discourse and normalizing them as a feature of American public life, it is not innocent. It needs a clarion response. We are screaming for the communal institutions that represent us to reflect this reality to reflect our reality when representing us on a political stage.

In fact, just this summer, the AJC expressed outrage at President Trumps comments today criticizing American Jews who support and vote for Democratic candidates, calling it shockingly divisive and unbecoming of the occupant of the highest elected office, and the comments inappropriate, unwelcome, and downright dangerous. What has changed since then? How is it that Trump can double-down on his anti-Semitism and get an effective green light on it?

The AJC needs to think very carefully about its future if it continues along this path. What is the use ofan organization that describes itself as the Jewish State Department if it stops reflecting the interests and preferences of most Jews? Increasingly Jews mainstream Jews are asking ourselves that very question.

In the meantime, American Jews will continue to fight anti-Semitism vigorously and unsparingly wherever it manifests. No distractions. No free passes. No timidity.

If the American Jewish Committee is interested in actually representing the American Jewish community, it should stand by us.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.

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American Jews know anti-Semitism is a problem on the right. Why are Jewish organizations increasingly letting it slide? - JTA News

"To me, Chicago is a lot like the White House. They both have a large and vibrant Russian community," former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel said at the Gridiron winter dinner. | Scott Olson/Getty Images

A FEW FUNNIES from the GRIDIRON WINTER DINNER: RAHM EMANUEL: Here we are, on December 7, the day the president reminds us that Ukraine bombed Pearl Harbor Some more about me: Im Jewish, so like Elizabeth Warren, Im a member of the tribe. To me, Chicago is a lot like the White House. They both have a large and vibrant Russian community I see cameras are banned from this event, which explains why AOC is not here

HILLARY CLINTON is now saying many, many, many people are now asking her to run. So now lets cut to the chase: are any of those people from Wisconsin, Michigan or Pennsylvania? In fact, are any of them Democrats? Joe [Biden] says he cannot remember when hes had more fun on the campaign trail. Literally: he cannot remember

SEN. ROY BLUNT (R-MO.): Im really known by most of these reporters or at least referred to by most of these reporters as unnamed source Why is it in Washington everytime someone wants to do something nefarious they go incognito, they pick suggestive names like Deep Throat, or Carlos Danger, or Pierre Delecto, or Wolf Blitzer or Carl Leubsdorf. Names you couldnt possibly get any other way besides making them up.

NOT AT THE GRIDIRON THE PRESIDENT, last night in Hollywood, Fla., at the Israeli American Councils national meeting on a Middle East peace deal, via MERIDITH MCGRAW, who was with the president: I love deals and I was told the toughest of all deals is peace with Israel and the Palestinians. But if Jared Kushner can't do it, it can't be done." Meridiths story

-- MIAMI HERALD on the Florida GOP dinner TRUMP attended: He also pulled an unusual move, bringing on stage Army 1st Lt. Clint Lorance and Maj. Mathew Golsteyn, who Trump pardoned last month for cases involving war crimes. Lorance was serving a 19-year sentence for ordering his soldiers shoot at unarmed men in Afghanistan, and Golsteyn was to stand trial for the 2010 extrajudicial killing of a suspected bomb maker. Miami Herald

THE SHOOTING IN PENSACOLA

-- WAPO: Investigation broadened in Pensacola Navy base shooting, by T.S. Strickland in Pensacola, Ellen Nakashima, Joby Warrick and Hannah Knowles: FBI officials broadened their probe Saturday into the deadly shooting rampage at a Navy flight school here amid reports that several of the gunmans Saudi compatriots took video footage as the attack was underway.

Law enforcement officials combed through the shooters belongings and social media accounts on Saturday while questioning six other Saudi nationals, at least some of them fellow students in the same Navy flight training program. Three of the Saudis were said to have taken cellphone video at the scene, according to a U.S. official familiar with investigation. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing probe. WaPo

-- AP/PENSACOLA: Official: Base shooter watched shooting videos before attack: The Saudi student who fatally shot three sailors at a U.S. naval base in Florida hosted a dinner party earlier in the week where he and three others watched videos of mass shootings, a U.S. official told The Associated Press on Saturday. AP

-- PENSACOLA NEWS JOURNAL on the victims: Airman Mohammed Sameh Hathaim, 19, from St. Petersburg, Florida. He enlisted July 18 and reported to the Recruit Training Command at Great Lakes, Illinois. He reported to Pensacola on Sept. 21 and had earned the Navy Basic Military Training Honor Graduate Ribbon.

Ensign Joshua Kaleb Watson, 23, from Coffee, Alabama. He was a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis who was commissioned May 24 and reported for duty in Pensacola on Nov. 15. Airman Apprentice Cameron Scott Walters, 21, from Richmond Hill, Georgia. He enlisted Sept. 16 and also reported to the Recruit Training Command at Great Lakes before he reported to Pensacola on Nov. 24. PNJ

-- NYTS DAVID SANGER in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.: For Trump, Instinct After Florida Killings Is Simple: Protect Saudis: When a Saudi Air Force officer opened fire on his classmates at a naval base in Pensacola, Fla., on Friday, he killed three, wounded eight and exposed anew the strange dynamic between President Trump and the Saudi leadership: The presidents first instinct was to tamp down any suggestion that the Saudi government needed to be held to account.

Hours later, Mr. Trump announced on Twitter that he had received a condolence call from King Salman of Saudi Arabia, who clearly sought to ensure that the episode did not further fracture their relationship. On Saturday, leaving the White House for a trip here for a Republican fund-raiser and a speech on Israeli-American relations, Mr. Trump told reporters that they are devastated in Saudi Arabia, noting that the king will be involved in taking care of families and loved ones. He never used the word terrorism.

What was missing was any assurance that the Saudis would aid in the investigation, help identify the suspects motives, or answer the many questions about the vetting process for a coveted slot at one of the countrys premier schools for training allied officers. Or, more broadly, why the United States continues to train members of the Saudi military even as that same military faces credible accusations of repeated human rights abuses in Yemen, including the dropping of munitions that maximize civilian casualties.

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SUNDAY BEST NEW SCREENING OF FOREIGNERS ... CHRIS WALLACE spoke to DEFENSE SECRETARY MARK ESPER on FOX NEWS SUNDAY: ESPER: One of the first things I did yesterday, in the wake of this incident, was I spoke to my deputy secretary, the acting Navy secretary and others to say I want to immediately make sure we put out an advisory to all of our bases, installations and facilities and make sure we're taking all necessary precautions appropriate to the particular base to make sure our people are safe and secure. That's number one. Number two, I ask that we begin a review of what our screening procedures are with regard to foreign nationals coming to the United States.

ON THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE KINGDOM GEORGE STEPAHANOPOULOS spoke to REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FLA.) on ABCS THIS WEEK: GAETZ: Of course, what happened in Pensacola has to inform on our ongoing relationship with Saudi Arabia. That is the message I directly delivered to the Saudi ambassador when she called to offer her condolences.

There are Saudis that are currently with us that are being investigated, and I made the point as clearly as I possibly could that we want no interference from the kingdom as it relates to Saudis that we have, and if there are Saudis that we do not have that may have been involved in any way in the planning, inspiration, financing or execution of this, that we expect Saudi intelligence to work with our government to find the people accountable and hold them responsible.

A message from BP:

NOW FOR IMPEACHMENT

-- NEW CHUCK TODD spoke to REP. JERRY NADLER (D-N.Y.) on NBCS MEET THE PRESS. NADLER said articles of impeachment coming THIS WEEK: There will be a lot of consultations, I assume, between members of the committee, with the House leadership, with members of the House. And we'll have to make those decisions. So we'll bring articles of impeachment, presumably, before the committee at some point later in the week.

-- PERHAPS A VOTE LATER, NADLER told DANA BASH on CNNS STATE OF THE UNION: BASH: Is it possible that you are going to vote on articles of impeachment this coming week? NADLER: It's possible. I don't know. BASH: Is that your goal? NADLER: My goal is to vote -- is to do this.... BASH: In terms of the timeline. NADLER: My goal is to do it as expeditiously, but as fairly as possible, depending how long it takes.

KYLE CHENEY and DARREN SAMUELSOHN: House Dems refresh Nixon-era impeachment report for Trump: The staff of the House Judiciary Committee on Saturday issued a historic report laying the groundwork to impeach President Donald Trump, outlining in Constitutional terms what the panel believes amounts to an impeachable offense.

Chairman Jerrold Nadler described the 55-page analysis as the heir to the only similar report produced by the Judiciary Committee, which was released during the impeachment proceedings against Richard Nixon. That document was updated during the Bill Clinton impeachment but not fully rewritten. The 55-page report

SCENE SETTER MARK LEIBOVICH and NICK FANDOS on NYT, A1: Behind the Scenes of Impeachment: Crammed Offices, Late Nights, Cold Pizza: In cramped spaces in the Rayburn and Longworth House Office Buildings, as well as the speakers suite, the final articles of impeachment are being incubated in the shadow of the Capitol dome. It is a frantic backstage tableau of Washington anthropology, populated by Judiciary and Intelligence Committee aides, lawmakers and counsels hunched over computer screens and yellow legal pads.

History can get cluttered sometimes. The rooms are littered with empty soda cans, pie leftover from Thanksgiving and boxes pulled from shelves containing files from past impeachments. There are recurrent calls for tech support, caffeine and blankets, because the rooms can get cold, like the pizza. With so much grand talk about constitutional duties and respecting the founders and honoring oaths, there is also the mundane and the workaday. NYT

ALSO FROM MATT GAETZ on THIS WEEK On RUDY GIULIANIS trip to UKRAINE: It is weird that he's over there. REP. MARK MEADOWS said this to DANA BASH on CNNS STATE OF THE UNION: I don't know that any role -- I don't know of any role that Rudy Giuliani is playing on behalf of the president of the United States. I think he's over there as a citizen. I think part of that is probably trying to clear his name.

SNEAK PEEK THE PRESIDENTS WEEK: Monday: PRESIDENT TRUMP will have lunch with VP MIKE PENCE, and will participate in a roundtable on empowering families with education choice Tuesday: THE PRESIDENT will travel to Hershey, Pa., for a political rally. Wednesday: THE PRESIDENT will go to the ceremonial swearing in of Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette, and he will host a Hanukkah reception.

Thursday: THE PRESIDENT will speak at the White House Summit on Child Care and Paid Leave: Supporting Americas Working Families, and will attend the Congressional Ball. Friday: The president of PARAGUAY will be at the White House.

A message from BP:

Good Sunday morning. SPOTTED: Hillary Clinton at Politics and Prose on Connecticut Avenue Saturday evening. Photos, via Kate Woodsome

HARTFORD COURANT FRONT PAGE: Low-profile prosecutor leads high-profile hunt: John Durham of Connecticut digs into origin of Trump collusion claims

A DAN DIAMOND CLASSIC: Medicare chief asked taxpayers to cover stolen jewelry: A top Trump health appointee sought to have taxpayers reimburse her for the costs of jewelry, clothing and other possessions, including a $5,900 Ivanka Trump-brand pendant, that were stolen while in her luggage during a work-related trip, according to documents obtained by POLITICO.

Seema Verma, who runs the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, filed a $47,000 claim for lost property on Aug. 20, 2018, after her bags were stolen while she was giving a speech in San Francisco the prior month. The property was not insured, Verma wrote in her filing to the Health and Human Services department.

The federal health department ultimately reimbursed Verma $2,852.40 for her claim, a CMS spokesperson said. Vermas claim included $43,065 for about two dozen pieces of jewelry, based off an appraisal she'd received from a jeweler about three weeks after the theft. Among Verma's stolen jewelry was an Ivanka Trump-brand pendant, made of gold, prasiolite and diamonds, that Vermas jeweler valued at $5,900.

Vermas claim also included about $2,000 to cover the cost of her stolen clothes and another $2,000 to cover the cost of other stolen goods, including a $325 claim for moisturizer and a $349 claim for noise-cancelling headphones.

FRONT PAGE OF THE LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER: Bevin mum on contract to investigate Steve Beshear

2020 WATCH

-- WAPOS DAN BALZ: Will impeachment be forgotten by November 2020? Dont be so sure.

-- BOSTON GLOBES JAMES PINDELL: Tiny Dixville Notch may see its midnight tradition disappear: [W]ith the 2020 New Hampshire presidential primary less than 10 weeks away, it is increasingly likely that the Dixville Notch tradition is dead, victim of a shrinking population too small to meet the legal threshold of five residents to be a polling place.

It is what it is, said Tom Tillotson, one of four residents of Dixville Notch, the town moderator and son of the creator of the midnight voting concept in the unincorporated town. This is obviously not what I wanted to see happen.

The probable demise of the Dixville tradition comes as the first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary is fading in other ways. The small house parties, face-to-face glad handing, and herculean efforts to secure endorsements from small-town officials have given way to national polls, cable-TV debates, and rock-star candidates who command arenas from day one. Boston Globe Front page PDF

-- WAPO: Mike Bloombergs money buys him a very different kind of campaign. And its a big one, by Isaac-Stanley Becker and Michael Scherer, with an Augusta, Ga., dateline: After two weeks in the presidential race, Mike Bloomberg now employs one of the largest campaign staff rosters, has spent more money on ads than all the top-polling Democrats combined and is simultaneously building out ground operations in 27 states.

But when the former New York mayor showed up to get the endorsement of Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis Jr. on Friday, only two of the 10 chairs initially placed before the lectern were occupied. When Bloomberg joked about his college years, saying he was one of the students who made the top half of the class possible, he was met by silence.

Youre supposed to laugh at that, folks, Bloomberg said to a room at the citys African American history museum filled mostly with staff and media. For a normal presidential campaign, such moments would be a worrying sign, a potentially viral metaphor for a struggling effort. But with the Bloomberg campaign, it is not at all clear what established rules apply, if any. Everything he is doing is so unlike what has been done for decades that it is difficult to decipher how voters will react. WaPo

THE PRESIDENTS SUNDAY THE PRESIDENT and first lady are scheduled to attend a Childrens Reception at 12:30 p.m. in the Blue Room.

PHOTO DU JOUR: A U.S. Marine stands in front of the USS Missouri on Saturday, during a ceremony to mark the 78th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. | Caleb Jones/AP Photo

TOP-ED KATIE HILL in the NYT: Its Not Over After All: I overcame the desperation I felt after stepping down from Congress, and Im still in the fight.

BONUS GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Daniel Lippman (@dlippman):

-- Video Games and Online Chats Are Hunting Grounds for Sexual Predators, by NYTs Nellie Bowles and Michael H. Keller: Criminals are making virtual connections with children through gaming and social media platforms. One popular site warns visitors, Please be careful. NYT

-- Why Mike Posner Walked Across America, by Caitlin Giddings in Outside Magazine: Years after he took that pill in Ibiza, Grammy nominee Mike Posner left behind his life in L.A. to go on a 2,851-mile journey in search of... something. Heres what he learned about grief, motivation, struggle, and authenticity. Outside

-- The Epic Rise and Hard Fall of New Yorks Taxi King, by NYTs Brian M. Rosenthal: A Russian immigrant and a cabdrivers son who got his nickname by building the citys biggest fleet, [Evgeny A.] Freidman was a primary architect of some of the tactics used to build the bubble ... At the height of the market, he had accumulated $525 million in assets. He befriended the filmmaker Spike Lee, the baseball star Mo Vaughn and Mayor Bill de Blasio. His outsize antics and lavish spending often landed him on Page Six, the New York Posts gossip column. NYT

-- The Octopus from Outer Space, by James Ross Gardner in Seattle Met per Longreads.coms description: Gardner explores the Pacific Northwests evolving relationship with the octopus and how theyve gone from dangerous devil-fish bent on drowning unsuspecting sea goers to intensely curious, suction-cupped wonders. With nine brains one in their head and one in each of their eight arms octopuses are thought to be the most intelligent invertebrates on earth, capable of deep connection with humans. Seattle Met

-- The confession, by WaPos Peter Jamison in Bean Blossom, Ind.: Heil Trump and an anti-gay slur were scrawled on an Indiana church right after Trumps election. The investigation led to an unlikely suspect and the discovery of a hate crime hoax. WaPo

-- The New China Scare, by Fareed Zakaria in Foreign Affairs: The United States risks squandering the hard-won gains from four decades of engagement with China, encouraging Beijing to adopt confrontational policies of its own, and leading the worlds two largest economies into a treacherous conflict of unknown scale and scope that will inevitably cause decades of instability and insecurity. A cold war with China is likely to be much longer and more costly than the one with the Soviet Union, with an uncertain outcome. Foreign Affairs (hat tip: TheBrowser.com)

-- An Unbelievable Story of Rape, by T. Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong in ProPublica and the Marshall Project in Dec. 2015: An 18-year-old said she was attacked at knifepoint. Then she said she made it up. Thats where our story begins. ProPublica

-- How Racism Ripples Through Rural Californias Pipes, by NYTs Jose A. Del Real in Teviston, Calif.: In the 20th century, Californias black farmworkers settled in waterless colonies. The history endures underground, through old pipes, dry wells and shoddy septic tanks. NYT

-- Hippie Inc: how the counterculture went corporate, by Nat Segnit in the Dec./Jan. issue of 1843 Magazine: Half a century on from the summer of love, marijuana is big business and mindfulness a workplace routine. Nat Segnit asks how the movement found itself at the heart of capitalism. 1843 (h/t Longform.org)

-- How Ring Went From Shark Tank Reject to Americas Scariest Surveillance Company, by Caroline Haskins in Vice: Amazon's Ring started from humble roots as a smart doorbell company called DoorBot. Now its surveilling the suburbs and partnering with police. Vice

-- The False Promise of Morning Routines, by The Atlantics Marina Koren: Why everyones mornings seem more productive than yours. Atlantic

-- Your Honor, Can I Tell The Whole Story? by Nick Chrastil in The Atavist: To read the transcript of Erin Hunters trial, which runs all of 81 pages and can be digested in half an hour, is to encounter a disregard for human dignity instrumental in producing the most sprawling system of incarceration in the world. Atavist (h/t Longform.org)

Send tips to Eli Okun and Garrett Ross at politicoplaybook@politico.com.

SPOTTED at a book party for Tom Rosenstiels book, Oppo: A Novel ($26.64 on Amazon): Ruth Marcus, E.J. Dionne, Luke Albee, John Podesta, Jon Leibowitz, Len Downie, Amanda Bennett, Mike McCurry, J.J. Yore, Alan Miller, John Gomperts, Tamera Luzzatto, David Leiter and Jon Haber.

SPOTTED at Microsofts Suhail Khans 50th birthday party at Union Stage at the Wharf on Saturday night: Grover Norquist, Jim Rowland, Glynda Becker, Wil Gravatt, Ximena Barreto, Susan Benhoff, Travis Korson, David Ferguson, Rebecca Furdek, Tania Mercado, Grace Morgan and Geoff Smith.

TRANSITION -- Anthony Ornato will be deputy chief of staff for operations at the White House. He previously was deputy assistant director for the Secret Service.

ENGAGED -- Kara Voght, a national politics reporter at Mother Jones, and Ben Cushing, a campaign representative at the Sierra Club, got engaged Saturday night at the Line Hotel. The couple, who met on Bumble, have been dating for two years. Pic

BIRTHDAYS: Ann Coulter is 58 Sabrina Siddiqui, WSJ reporter and CNN political analyst Kerri Kupec, director of public affairs at DOJ former World Bank President Jim Yong Kim is 6-0 Aaron Kissel, POLITICOs VP of product, is 45 (h/t Patrick Steel) APs Pablo Martinez Monsivais Debra Saunders, Las Vegas Review-Journal White House correspondent Judd Legum Brooke Lorenz, senior manager for communications at CBS Rachel Sklar Lizzie OLeary (h/ts Ben Chang) Marc Burstein, senior executive producer at ABC News POLITICOs Annie Yu and Danica Stanciu ... Ginny Badanes, director of strategic projects for cybersecurity and democracy at Microsoft ... Brie Sachse, managing director and head of state and local external affairs at Siemens ... Cayman Clevenger Nick Colvin

Elyse Perlmutter-Gumbiner, NBC News White House producer Jena Baker McNeil Preston Hill Steve Bouchard (h/t Jon Haber) former Rep. Ral Labrador (R-Idaho) is 52 Stephen Spaulding, elections counsel for the House Administration Committee ... Kevin Carski ... BBCs Samantha Granville ... P. Lynn Scarlett Honey Sharp (h/t son Daniel Lippman) Sylvester Okere Courtney Johnson Luis Rosero Karen Keller of FP1 Strategies and PLUS Communications B.R. McConnon of DDC Emily Leaman Solange Uwimana Alison (Matarazzo) Edwards Jen Minton Anna Miller Tom Bush Austin James Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett is 66 Jeff Neubauer Jackie Gran Nancy Balz (h/ts Teresa Vilmain) Randy Altschuler is 49

Originally posted here:

POLITICO Playbook: Inside the Gridiron - Politico