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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="daily-dose">Daily-Dose</h1>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
<ul>
<li><a href="#from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-vox">From Vox</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</a></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Is Donald Trump Scared?</strong> - At the former Presidents arraignment in Miami on Tuesday, it was impossible to say whether his fate was more likely to be a return to the White House—or prison. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/is-donald-trump-scared">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Trial of the Malibu Shooter</strong> - Anthony Rauda, who was accused of terrorizing residents of Malibu, one of Californias wealthiest and safest communities, has been convicted of killing a man sleeping in a tent with his two young daughters. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/california-chronicles/the-trial-of-the-malibu-shooter">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>How Elon Musk Could Affect the 2024 Election</strong> - The personal politics of Twitters owner wouldnt matter so much if he hadnt also demonstrated an extraordinary capacity for pettiness. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-communications/how-elon-musk-could-affect-the-2024-election">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Putins War Hits Close to Home</strong> - Russia has faced a series of recent attacks, but, in the absence of public space, military losses are personal tragedies, not collective experiences. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/putins-war-hits-close-to-home">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Issues with the P.G.A. Tour-LIV Merger Go Well Beyond Golf</strong> - After the P.G.A. Tour commissioners craven one-eighty on a Saudi-backed rival, politicians on Capitol Hill, antitrust experts, and human-rights campaigners are justifiably rounding on him. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/the-issues-with-the-pga-tour-liv-merger-go-well-beyond-golf">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>Wes Andersons new movie Asteroid City is his most expansive — and most personal</strong> -
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<img alt="A white woman in a pink robe sits, with apparent tears, mid-frame in a mid-century-looking house." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cr1WFL8uykiUMD3J5xrFLaGdNoM=/312x0:2476x1623/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72372297/asteroid1.0.jpg"/>
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Scarlett Johansson in <em>Asteroid City.</em> | Focus Features
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Life, the universe, and everything, through both the telescope and the microscope.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2FopX7">
Nuclear bombs keep going off over the horizon of Asteroid City<em> </em>(population 87). “Another atom bomb test,” the characters declare, with some combination of intrigue and boredom. They trot out of the diner to look at the tiny mushroom cloud, snap a few pictures, and go back inside for more coffee. Its 1955. This isnt unusual anymore.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uJOBft">
Living in the shadow of the bombs is what Wes Andersons <em>Asteroid City </em>is about — literal bombs, and also a host of other life-shattering things like loss, and existential dread, and a world changing so fast its hard to hang on to it. Real things, in other words, the kind everyone has to deal with. The emotions we cant outrun, but we try to anyhow.
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That Anderson set <em>Asteroid City</em> in 1955 is a bit of trickery, a degree of separation between the characters reality and our own. We live in (dare I say) uniquely frightening times, but so do these people, for whom the Cold War and a rapidly changing social order is their psychic wallpaper. Much of the movie is specifically set in September 1955, a month bookended by two events: the United States decision to embark on Project Vanguard, which would try unsuccessfully to beat the Soviets at putting a satellite into space; and the tragic car accident that took the life of James Dean, the iconic actor who embodied the rising rebellion of the youth. (I dont think its an accident that a cop car in hot pursuit of a careening vehicle keeps rushing through the towns one intersection.)
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“If you wanted to live a nice, quiet, peaceful life, you picked the wrong time to get born,” General Gibson (Jeffrey Wright) exhorts a crowd of teenagers and their parents, assembled in Asteroid City to celebrate the landing of a meteorite there thousands of years earlier. The children have entered their wildly advanced science experiments in a contest, which the military plans to snap up; the space race is in their eyes. Later, when things go south, youths are interrogated in a manner <a href="https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations/mccarthy-hearings/have-you-no-sense-of-decency.htm#:~:text=Wisconsin%20Republican%20senator%20Joseph%20R,Department%20and%20other%20federal%20agencies.">suspiciously reminiscent</a> of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Grown men fight, and others try to calm them down by reminding them, “Were not in Guadalcanal anymore.”
</p>
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<img alt="Two men point guns at one another against the backdrop of a desert." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/VTVT5_gbOS1jYl6qfUr2PdMd3vQ=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24727063/asteroid2.jpg"/> <cite>Focus Features</cite>
<figcaption>
“Were not in Guadalcanal anymore.”
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</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EhQWSW">
It feels reminiscent of something real, but this is also all fiction — as the movies narrator puts it, “an apocryphal fabrication.” Fiction puts a layer between us and real history, a way of looking at the past through different eyes. It has another function, too: Through fiction, we process our emotions by proxy, whether were the artists or the audience.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FYrgTE">
Thats the subject of <em>Asteroid City</em>, which nests fiction inside of fiction inside of fiction. (I promise its easier to watch than it sounds.) Here is the most succinct description of the levels of its made-up-ness: It is a scripted movie that pretends to be a TV show in which actors stage a fictionalized version of the making of a play telling the fictional story of a place that doesnt exist. We also see the play, but it is shot like a movie. (I am Alice, tumbling down the rabbit hole.)
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The central, in-color plot of the film centers on the group gathered in Asteroid City for a three-day meteorite celebration when their lives are upended by a, shall we say, unexpected visitor. But <em>Asteroid City</em> actually introduces itself to us as an <a href="https://wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/index.php/exhibits/the-golden-age-of-television/a-sharper-picture-revisiting-anthology-drama/">old-school anthology TV show</a>, shot in black and white, hosted by a sonorous host (Bryan Cranston). What were about to see, he gravely tells us, is the story behind the making of a play called <em>Asteroid City</em>, about a place that doesnt exist. Its both an apocryphal fabrication and an “authentic look into the work of a theatrical production.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VuqBvz">
What follows intercuts the color story — which turns out to be kind of a hyperreal version of the “play,” which we see shot as a film — and black-and-white scenes, often staged like little mini-plays, about various moments during <em>Asteroid City</em>s production. (The play, not the movie were watching. If you need a walk or a stiff drink right now, thats fine.)
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hBnWcC">
This all means that in this movie Scarlett Johansson, for instance, plays an actress who plays an actress playing an actress. Similarly, Jason Schwartzman — the closest to a lead this <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14230388/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm">absurdly stacked cast</a> has — plays an actor who is desperate to figure out the motivations of his character, a war photographer who burns his hand on a sandwich iron. (Schwartzman is styled to reference several famous actors, perhaps most significantly <a href="https://www.artsy.net/artwork/phil-stern-james-dean-pull-over-sweater">a very famous photo</a> of James Dean.)
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A fairground teeming with attractions and also signs that say things like “Alien Parking” and “Spacecraft Sighting.”" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Ufy2yT9rQsSqMONSXOO3Snrnj1Y=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24727064/asteroid4.jpg"/> <cite>Focus Features</cite>
<figcaption>
Many classic theatre and movie references litter <em>Asteroid City</em>, including this one, which recalls Billy Wilders 1951 classic <a class="ql-link" href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/7/29/16037878/ace-in-the-hole-movie-week-scaramucci-spicer-cnn-billy-wilder" target="_blank"><em>Ace in the Hole</em></a>.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="93NvFO">
Piling on these layers, each with its own combination of artifice and “authenticity,” is where Anderson shows what hes doing. Hes interested in those piles. The impossible pursuit of authentic emotion through making art that can never really be all that “real” is one of <em>Asteroid City</em>s themes; a fair amount of the film dwells on an acting class and its students, who are trying, in the style of <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-madness-behind-the-method/id1081584611?i=1000554364629">The Actors Studio and “the method,”</a> to find ways to give authentic performances in the very contrived medium of the theater.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oLD5gG">
But theres an added layer to what Andersons after. Humans have always processed their feelings through art, but modernity adds a wrench to the whole existence thing. Theres an aspect of alienation — of feeling as if the machines and inventions we build, which are terrifying enough to be able to wipe us out (like the bomb) or seemingly to take over our world altogether (like, say, generative AI), are estranging us from one another and even from ourselves. Art has always been the counterbalance to this, which is in part why groups like The Actors Studio sprung up in the early part of the 20th century. If you are working at a desk all day clacking on a typewriter, or operating a machine, or building a bureaucracy that might work like a machine, then going to the theater is supposed to jolt you back to remembering that you, at least, are not a machine.
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Its tantamount to either a confession or an explanation from someone like Anderson, whose work employs considerable artifice in its pursuit of authenticity. I confess that I dont really like Andersons style, and have not loved most of his <a href="https://www.vox.com/movies">movies</a>. It took me two viewings to really figure out <em>Asteroid City</em>. But I do admire that hes an artist whose aesthetic is so firmly defined that even non-cinephiles can make poor <a href="https://ftw.usatoday.com/lists/wes-anderson-trailers-ai-harry-potter-matrix-star-wars">imitations</a> of his work using AI; in fact, its those replicas inability to actually latch onto the emotion that powers his work (the melancholy, the grief, the impishness) that make me appreciate him more.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YRn4Up">
Thats what I came to appreciate about this movie, and the more I think about it, the more wise I think it is. In <em>Asteroid City</em>, Anderson builds several worlds mediated by layers of performance, artifice, and technology, in which nonetheless real humans grieve, long for one another, fall in love, get hurt, and feel wonder. The layers theyve put between themselves and their emotions crack and crumble. Their worlds are rocked, which leaves them thinking about things like the meaning of life, the existence of God, and whether theyre as alone as they feel like they are. The answer, he suggests, is found by sinking into the apocryphal fabrications of the artists imagination. “You cant wake up,” the characters chant near the end of the movie, “if you dont fall asleep.”
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="t38Cfy">
Asteroid City <em>opens in limited theaters on June 16 and wide on June 23.</em>
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<li><strong>Whos making money on the anti-woke, anti-trans backlash?</strong> -
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<img alt="A flattened Bud Light box is posted up on a wooden sign with a spray painted circle-backslash symbol atop." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/2s93lCVdbejTw_lOleVrW9NB9zg=/0x0:1707x1280/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72372286/Vox_PaigeVickers_AntiWokeDollars.0.jpg"/>
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Its tough to figure out where its safe to buy if you hate Target and Bud Light. | Natalie Behring; Getty Images/Vox
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Turns out, shopping when youre trying to boycott everything is hard.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xs5uAe">
If you are a conservative consumer in America right now, shopping is getting weird. Youre not supposed to drink <a href="https://www.vox.com/money/2023/4/12/23680135/bud-light-boycott-dylan-mulvaney-travis-tritt-trans">Bud Light</a> or shop at <a href="https://www.vox.com/politics/2023/5/25/23737338/target-abprallen-pride-boycott-bud-light-trans-controversy-stock-price">Target</a> or eat at <a href="https://www.vox.com/politics/2023/5/31/23742373/chick-fil-a-boycott-controversy-conservative-backlash">Chick-fil-A</a> or watch <a href="https://www.vox.com/2023/5/22/23732777/fox-news-trans-bud-light-employee-handbook">Fox News</a>. Its Pride month, meaning <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/6/25/17476850/pride-month-lgbtq-corporate-explained">all the companies have gone gay</a> again, despite you <a href="https://www.vox.com/2023/5/28/23740489/pride-anti-lgbtq-sentiment-laws-desantis-sanders">trying to make clear</a> that youd really rather they not. Maybe youve signed up for <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/04/14/conservatives-plot-text-warning-woke-products">alerts</a> to start getting warnings about allegedly “<a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/21437879/stay-woke-wokeness-history-origin-evolution-controversy">woke</a>” businesses, and the list of brands there is getting long — Nike, Adidas, Speedo, Lululemon, the LA Dodgers. The alerts also say Bank of America is bad, and some guy on <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeyMannarinoUS/status/1663895742455373832">Twitter</a> has included Citi in a list of companies youre supposed to avoid for the month of June, meaning you need to … I guess change your bank account?
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Boycotting companies that dont align with your politics is exhausting, which is why most people dont, at least not for a sustained amount of time. Its hard enough to exist in the world without worrying whether every purchase you make matches up with your personal views and values. But in recent months, the push for conservative consumers to vote with their dollars — or, rather, downvote by withholding their dollars — has been rampant.
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“The number of boycotts is vast, and were talking about inconveniencing people at a level that doesnt make any sense,” said Maurice Schweitzer, a Wharton professor who focuses on behavioral decision research, emotion, and negotiations.
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If you do want to avoid certain companies, or, in the current context, a lot of companies, it can also be tough to find alternatives. Say you did give up Bud Light. You might not realize the beer you swapped for is also owned by Anheuser-Busch, or you picked up some Miller Lite, which <a href="https://www.vox.com/money/2023/5/16/23725262/miller-lite-woke-ad-shit-ilana-glazer-bud-light-boycott">you might be upset to learn is also now a no-no</a>.
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All that said, there is money to be made on being anti-woke, or some people believe there is.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="c4Kmbg">
Theres a reason right-wing <a href="https://memo.co/blog/bud-lights-crisis-explored/">media outlets</a> and commentators are seizing on <a href="https://www.vox.com/lgbtq">trans</a> issues and Pride month — it generates outrage, which generates traffic and subscriptions, which, these outfits hope, generates money. There are <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22412478/coffee-partisan-right-wing-conservative-grounds-black-rifle">plenty of niche businesses out there</a> that tout conservative bona fides, from coffee to <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/conservative-etf-american-values-exchange-traded-fund-liberal-flaig-ridgeline-2021-4-1030359673">investment products</a>. There are what appear to be somewhat sincere efforts that offer right-wing options for <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/upstart-money-manager-gets-billionaires-to-back-the-anti-blackrock-11652134919?mod=article_inline">banking and e-commerce</a>, which have seen <a href="https://fortune.com/2022/11/22/glorifi-bank-shuts-down/">varying degrees of success</a>. Among all the offerings, there are some common themes: American-made, small business, traditional values.
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<q>“Is this a fad, or is this a business?”</q>
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“There are a lot of companies that are making products that are geared toward conservative consumers. Its becoming a whole market,” said Howard Polskin, president and chief curator at TheRighting, a website that aggregates stories from right-wing media. “Now, how big is that? I have no idea. Is this a fad, or is this a business? Thats the question.”
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The cynical view here is that a handful of people are trying to capitalize on conservative outrage to try to make a quick buck. A less cynical view is that this is an earnest effort to create a sort of shopping safe space for conservatives. If the latter is the case — and thats a big if — setting up an entire parallel economy might be, you know, a little hard.
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A six-pack of beer should not cost $30 no matter how mad you are at Bud Light
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Assuming youve heard about the <a href="https://www.vox.com/money/2023/4/12/23680135/bud-light-boycott-dylan-mulvaney-travis-tritt-trans">Bud Light thing</a> (it sent some beers to a trans influencer in April and conservatives had a bit of a meltdown), you have perhaps heard of “<a href="https://ultrarightbeer.com/products/conservative-dads-ultra-right-beer">Ultra Right</a>” beer. Being marketed as “100% Woke-Free American Beer” by <a href="https://twitter.com/sethweathers">a guy who goes by Conservative Dad</a>, this beer is expensive. Its $19.99 for a six-pack plus shipping, which, in my case when I ordered it on June 1, amounted to $31.55. I imagine <a href="https://twitter.com/sethweathers/status/1666168022405349377?s=20">I will get this beer eventually</a>, but Im going to have to wait because it wont ship for about 30 days. Ultra Right has had a hard time getting up and running, it appears, and <a href="https://www.dailydot.com/debug/bent-river-brewing-denies-making-ultra-right-beer/">was dropped from its first brewery</a>.
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<q>What beer drinker wants to spend $30 on a six-pack that they can get in the mail in a month?</q>
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Conservative Dad, whose actual name is Seth Weathers, is probably making money off of this endeavor — once you click to buy the $20 beer, his website also prompts you to buy other stuff, like a T-shirt and a cup. But its hard to look at this and think this is a serious operation. What beer drinker wants to spend $30 on a six-pack that they can get in the mail in a month?
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When reached by Vox for comment about this story, Weathers responded, “I see our beer has angered the commies. Thoughts and prayers!”
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There are all sorts of examples of anti-woke businesses and products. Some of them appear to be <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/anti-woke-chocolate-razor-daily-wire-1234741151/">little more than an (often overpriced) ploy</a> to separate hyped-up right-leaning consumers from their money, from <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22412478/coffee-partisan-right-wing-conservative-grounds-black-rifle">coffee brands</a> to <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/12/19/conservative-dating-app-helps-singles-avoid-the-biggest-deal-breaker/">dating apps</a> to <a href="https://www.jeremysrazors.com/products/jeremys-chocolate">chocolate bars</a> that cost $25 for a pack of four.
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“Theyre novelty items,” said Angelo Carusone, president of Media Matters, a media watchdog group. “You can probably sell some products, but thats not changing the industry.”
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In the investment realm, where conservatives <a href="https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2022/12/10/23496712/esg-gop-climate-corporate-responsibility">have been irked</a> by the <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22714761/esg-investing-divestment-fossil-fuels-climate-401k">rise of ESG</a> — meaning investments that consider environmental, social, and governance factors — there are options that try to give those people a place to go. Youve got exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, which are basically baskets of <a href="https://www.vox.com/stock-market">stocks</a>, that are supposed to appeal to the right, such as the God Bless America ETF (YALL), the American Conservative Values ETF (ACVF), and ETFs from <a href="https://www.strivefunds.com/">Strive</a>, a firm co-founded by <a href="https://www.vox.com/politics/2023/2/23/23611828/2024-republican-presidential-candidates-trump-christie-burgum">now-presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy</a>.
</p>
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Theyve all got their own sort of shtick. YALL <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1742912/000138713122009963/yall-497k_092322.htm">says</a> it screens out companies that “have emphasized politically left and/or liberal political activism and social agendas at the expense of maximizing shareholder returns.” Its got about 40 holdings, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/YALL:US?sref=qYiz2hd0">the largest being</a> <a href="https://www.vox.com/tesla">Tesla</a>, Charles Schwab, and Nvidia.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZzOMDA">
ACVF says it excludes companies “perceived to be most hostile to conservative values” and <a href="https://acvetfs.com/downloads/ACVF_Factsheet-Mar2023.pdf">has upward of 300 holdings</a>; its performance largely mirrors that of the overall market. It <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/acvf-hits-target-corp-divesting-173000162.html">made noise</a> amid the Target Pride backlash after it announced it was adding the company to its “refuse to buy” list of stocks. Strive is a little different — it basically says it will only focus on shareholder value when casting shareholder votes for the companies its ETFs invests in, no environmental or social funny stuff.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Urr5vL">
These ETFs perform decent-ish, said Eric Balchunas, a Bloomberg analyst who covers ETFs. But theyre expensive compared to non-anti-woke products, which may explain why theyve only managed to garner a middling amount of assets under management. “This is a tough area because generally, people, when they invest, they leave their politics at the door and just want to make money. This is going to appeal to a niche audience,” he said. “None of these anti-woke ones are really low-cost at all.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6ETYU0">
Anti-woke in <a href="https://www.vox.com/business-and-finance">finance</a> is a little tough. Just look at GloriFi, a bank backed by big names such as Ken Griffin and <a href="https://www.vox.com/peter-thiel">Peter Thiel,</a> which was supposed to be an answer to an overly liberal Wall Street. The operation <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/glorifi-how-new-anti-woke-bank-stumbled-11665174704?mod=article_inline">turned out to be a disaster</a>, and the bank <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/anti-woke-bank-glorifi-to-shut-down-11669051554">quickly shut down</a>.
</p>
<h3 id="T94Dnh">
An alternative to Target: Possible? But very hard.
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rw3Cku">
One of the issues with boycotting is that it can be hard to figure out where else to go. Some close competitors may get a boost when a corporation sticks its neck out and gets pushback — Coors Light and Miller Lite <a href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/bud-light-beer-coors-miller-81443892">have benefited</a> from the Bud Light debacle. But those companies arent specifically anti-woke, theyre just companies. Setting up an anti-woke alternative is not easy. Take Target, which conservatives <a href="https://www.vox.com/politics/2023/5/25/23737338/target-abprallen-pride-boycott-bud-light-trans-controversy-stock-price">have taken aim at</a> over its annual LGBTQ Pride month collection, causing the company to pull some items and, in certain cases, move Pride merchandise to the back of stores.
</p>
<div class="c-float-right">
<aside id="rWLHdO">
<q>“Youre not going to be able to pop up overnight and create an alternative Target company”</q>
</aside>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JC8k8r">
“It depends on what the product is and whether theres an obvious alternative to that product,” said Kyle Williams, a historian and the author of the upcoming book <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/taming-the-octopus-the-long-battle-for-the-soul-of-the-corporation-kyle-edward-williams/20059948?ean=9780393867237"><em>Taming the Octopus: The Century-Long Battle over the Soul of the Corporation</em></a>. “Youre not going to be able to pop up overnight and create an alternative Target company.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Nte9I8">
That doesnt mean there arent efforts underway. Enter <a href="https://publicsq.com/">PublicSq</a>, an online marketplace for “freedom-loving Americans” thats about to become part of a public company through a SPAC deal with a company called Colombier Acquisition Corp. (SPACs are a type of investment vehicle that were really hot a couple of years ago — <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22303457/spacs-explained-stock-market-ipo-draftkings">Vox has an explainer on them here</a>. They havent generally <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/spacs-delivered-easy-money-but-now-companies-are-running-out-f086c255">fared so well</a>.) PublicSq <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12166255/Anti-woke-marketplace-reveals-DOUBLED-number-users-Bud-Light-boycott-began.html">says it has seen</a> a lot of user growth recently, including in the wake of the Target backlash. “Any time Target pulls a Target, its kind of a reminder for our consumers of, Hey, theres maybe some other options out there that we should pursue,’” PublicSq CEO Michael Seifert <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/05/31/anti-woke-movement-spac-investment-publicsq-target">recently told Axios</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XP1bP6">
Its not clear how much of that user growth is translating to sales — you cant actually buy much on the site right now, it just directs you to each sellers website. (PublicSq <a href="https://www.colombierspac.com/sec-filings##document-264-0001213900-23-045973-3">says</a> it will release an e-commerce platform later this year.) The web platform and app are clunky, and the product offering leaves much to be desired. About 10 products are listed in its “Ditch Target 2.0” section, including “smelly proof” reusable sandwich bags, a set of forks and spoons for toddlers, and earth-friendly “Bumroll” toilet paper.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UcbUtZ">
Could PublicSq wind up being <a href="https://www.vox.com/amazon">Amazon</a> for the GOP? I mean, sure. Its still early days, and building a giant e-commerce operation takes time. It could also go the way of MyStore, set up by <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2020/8/19/21375208/mypillow-oleandrin-mike-lindell-trump-corona">the MyPillow guy</a>, which doesnt appear to be a runaway success. It also has competitors in the space who are doing … something, such as <a href="https://mammothnation.com/">Mammoth Nation</a>, which lets you pay to be a member to then “shop your values” and says it donates that money somewhere. There are <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Great-Patriot-BUY-cott-Book-Conservative/dp/099173372X">books</a> that tell conservatives where its safe to buy and invest, too.
</p>
<h3 id="ymaIyY">
It probably pays to be Mad and Loud Online
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="u3B9Nd">
Perhaps the real winners here are in the attention economy.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="et22yV">
Its not entirely clear where, if anywhere, conservative consumers are able to turn for the majority of their commerce needs amid the current Pride month-induced boycott mania or at any time, really. For their content needs, they are able to turn to right-wing influencers and outlets, which are fighting for readers and listeners and, likely, making some money off of all of the rage.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KDz6jD">
The Bud Light drama did gangbusters traffic in right-wing media, according to a <a href="https://info.memo.co/hubfs/Marketing%20Files%20-%20Reports/Bud%20Light%20Crisis%20Report.pdf">recent report from Memo</a>, a media tracking and insights company. Nearly seven times as many readers of right-leaning outlets read content about the controversy compared to readers of left-leaning outlets, and right-leaning outlets have continued to lean in. “Those publishers are getting tremendous traffic from this,” said Eddie Kim, Memos CEO and founder. “When a story lands and you see it working, theres an inclination to write more of those stories because you have a lot of domain authority and SEO value. That drives readership, and that fuels the story.” Kim is also on the board of directors at Colombier, the firm trying to merge with PublicSq.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lVPMfz">
Carusone, from Media Matters, said that conservative media is in the midst of a bit of a land grab over eyeballs in the wake of radio commentator <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/22287675/rush-limbaugh-dies-obituary">Rush Limbaughs death</a> and <a href="https://www.vox.com/technology/2023/4/25/23698083/tucker-carlson-fired-theory-fox-news-peter-kafka-media-column">Fox News star Tucker Carlsons firing</a>. So if the anti-woke, anti-Pride stuff gets clicks, thats an incentive.
</p>
<div class="c-float-right">
<aside id="1LjIYL">
<q>From the anger come the clicks and, eventually, the dollars</q>
</aside>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7ZwWl5">
The Daily Wire, a media company founded by Ben Shapiro and Jeremy Boreing, is really the “tip of the spear” here, he said, “because they have the mechanics in place to commercialize this faster.” Theyve launched gimmicky products, such as chocolate bars and razors, but they <a href="https://variety.com/2022/digital/news/daily-wire-100-million-kids-entertainment-disney-1235219678/">also say theyre putting together a $100 million fund</a> for childrens programming to try to offer a counter to <a href="https://www.vox.com/disney">Disney</a> over its <a href="https://www.vox.com/23036009/disney-culture-war-desantis-florida-dont-say-gay">opposition</a> to Floridas “dont say gay” bill. The Daily Wire didnt respond to requests for comment from Vox.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2sBkWY">
The Daily Wire is also streaming <em>What is a Woman?</em>, a film about the “logic behind a gender ideology movement that has taken aim at women and children.” It stars Matt Walsh, an influential anti-trans commentator who podcasts and blogs for the platform. Walsh has also been vocal in <a href="https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1661438131365707798?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet">the rights boycott strategy</a>, advising his fellow conservatives to “pick a few strategic targets” and “make them pay dearly.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OTgHx0">
Thats not whats happening; the right appears to be in boycott-everything mode. With it being Pride month and <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/6/25/17476850/pride-month-lgbtq-corporate-explained">the way corporations are about Pride</a>, conservatives have a rainbow to freak out about at every corner. Maybe thats a bit of the point, at least on the part of the people stoking the flames.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SOBB59">
“The current monetization strategy is conversions, its getting all these monthly subscriptions, so the way you do that is having these breakout moments in the best way you can,” Carusone said. “Theres basically a race for subscriptions, and the way you get subscriptions in this model is through these types of high-valence, emotionally charged calls to action that you can then dominate.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="v0nrjU">
From the anger come the clicks and, eventually, the dollars.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5G5qzT">
<em>We live in a world thats constantly trying to sucker us and trick us, where were always surrounded by scams big and small. It can feel impossible to navigate. Every two weeks, join Emily Stewart to look at all the little ways our economic systems control and manipulate the average person. Welcome to </em><a href="https://www.vox.com/the-big-squeeze"><em>The Big Squeeze</em></a><em>.</em>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NF25sR">
<a href="http://vox.com/big-squeeze-newsletter"><em>Sign up to get this column in your inbox</em></a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fEmYHz">
<em>Have ideas for a future column or thoughts on this one? Email </em><a href="mailto:emily.stewart@vox.com"><em>emily.stewart@vox.com</em></a>.
</p></li>
<li><strong>Oregons Gov. Tina Kotek opens up about the states housing crisis</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/uKglVmYn8Fw3ZnjvJQ1YDaPcv50=/471x0:7810x5504/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72372247/1244431883.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek. | Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Homelessness nearly lost her the election. Now shes trying to fix it.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zFFiNN">
The challenges of homelessness and a lack of affordable housing are particularly acute in Oregon.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="j85Bbf">
The state has seen a 63 percent increase in unsheltered homelessness over the last six years. While roughly 18,000 people are currently unhoused in the state, there<strong> </strong>are <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2023/04/oregons-recent-growth-in-homelessness-among-largest-in-nation.html">only about 5,200 year-round shelter beds</a> to serve them. One cause of homelessness nationwide is that, for years, the US has been<a href="https://www.vox.com/policy/23595421/biden-affordable-housing-shortage-supply"> building fewer homes than necessary to house a growing population</a>. Oregon has among the largest housing supply gaps:<strong> </strong>statewide, <a href="https://www.oregon.gov/lcd/UP/Documents/20221231_OHNA_Legislative_Recommendations_Report.pdf">140,000 housing units</a> are needed, and, without serious action, theres a projected shortage of 443,556 units in the next 20<strong> </strong>years.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1bo47o">
Voters, in turn, have grown upset. Frustrations around homelessness played a pivotal role in the <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/23357154/2022-midterm-elections-guide">2022 election</a>. Tina Kotek, a Democrat who had served as Oregons House speaker for the previous nine years, eked out a win in the gubernatorial election, but her<strong> </strong>tight<strong> </strong>margins (she earned <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/10/christine-drazan-tina-kotek-oregon-governor-race-results-2022-00064760">47 percent</a> in a three-way race) spoke volumes in a state thats typically safely blue.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lA4Lwc">
Kotek, in turn, has made housing and homelessness among her top priorities in her first six months in office — issues that leaders dont often<strong> </strong>stake their capital on.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rHVkGa">
Since taking office, she has declared <a href="https://www.oregon.gov/oem/pages/housing-emergency-executive-orders.aspx#:~:text=The%20emergency%20order%20also%20allows,Expedite%20agency%20processes.">a state of emergency on homelessness</a>, <a href="https://www.oregon.gov/gov/eo/eo-23-03.pdf">directed state agencies</a><a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.oregon.gov_gov_eo_eo-2D23-2D03.pdf&amp;d=DwMGaQ&amp;c=7MSjEE-cVgLCRHxk1P5PWg&amp;r=qZLA9xQgGlxUr0U6NvKAiy6fS-EwRVQRODHMm2i1d9M&amp;m=WL3a19G2fJ98lZI9u_K-faTjqWiOoqh5Gui7h49U79SOHqOYSGWxwSsG8ApQ2aut&amp;s=Mz6IKmk-RJTRfWEVLkjGpOjTpZRgQuVS50SIwo-5S6Q&amp;e="> </a>to prioritize reducing unsheltered homelessness, and established a <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.oregon.gov_gov_eo_eo-2D23-2D04.pdf&amp;d=DwMGaQ&amp;c=7MSjEE-cVgLCRHxk1P5PWg&amp;r=qZLA9xQgGlxUr0U6NvKAiy6fS-EwRVQRODHMm2i1d9M&amp;m=WL3a19G2fJ98lZI9u_K-faTjqWiOoqh5Gui7h49U79SOHqOYSGWxwSsG8ApQ2aut&amp;s=gFRIAvSu_MVjeb1yAQFXHJpdlcy5X7iwDgFlF0iy84o&amp;e=">statewide housing production</a> target of 36,000 new homes per year. She also lobbied for and <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.oregon.gov_newsroom_Pages_NewsDetail.aspx-3Fnewsid-3D134253&amp;d=DwMGaQ&amp;c=7MSjEE-cVgLCRHxk1P5PWg&amp;r=qZLA9xQgGlxUr0U6NvKAiy6fS-EwRVQRODHMm2i1d9M&amp;m=WL3a19G2fJ98lZI9u_K-faTjqWiOoqh5Gui7h49U79SOHqOYSGWxwSsG8ApQ2aut&amp;s=tpe3tpJo11TbNtFPqjgA5zgPsgDtt5RluTW5l7Iy0ZY&amp;e=">signed a $200 million</a> legislative package to help address Oregons housing and homelessness crisis.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YNwekZ">
Her plans though, hinge on other community leaders taking action, and its too soon to say whether her ideas and policy prescriptions will succeed.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IwbBtk">
I talked with Gov. Kotek about making <a href="https://www.vox.com/housing">housing policy</a> the center of her agenda, about dealing with NIMBYs, and lessons other states might learn from Oregon. Our<strong> </strong>conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="QzYWFV"/>
<h4 id="ojwdwy">
Rachel Cohen
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8ypTZk">
Oregons governorship <a href="https://www.semafor.com/article/10/19/2022/democrats-have-run-oregon-for-decades-their-time-may-be-running-out">almost flipped red last year</a> for the first time in more than three decades, and <a href="https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/briefs/homelessness-ranks-as-the-top-issue-oregon-survey-finds/#:~:text=By%3A%20Ben%20Botkin%20%2D%20October%2028%2C%202022%205%3A30%20am&amp;text=Thirty%2Dseven%20percent%20of%201%2C878,and%20older%20was%20conducted%20Sept.">voter surveys</a> <a href="https://www.opb.org/article/2022/05/04/oregon-governors-race-housing-homelessness-poll-survey-data/">indicate frustration</a> with homelessness was one of the top reasons why. What has changed about homelessness, in your view, to make it rise to become a such salient political issue?
</p>
<h4 id="0VEINC">
Gov. Tina Kotek
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vlFDq1">
Thats a great question because Ive been doing public policy for 20+ years and the public has long perceived housing and homelessness as this second-tier issue. The change is really related to the pandemic, when we had to move people out of shelters because you couldnt have the crowding. And people came out on the streets in tents, and then were there for more than two years. So in that sense, the most extreme example of our housing crisis — experiencing unsheltered homelessness— is just in everybodys face now on a daily basis in a way that we didnt have before.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3NF6TP">
You have both an empathy, because people dont want to see folks living like that, and a frustration, because they want their communities back to what they were, which includes not having tents on the streets.
</p>
<h4 id="25xvSY">
<strong>Rachel Cohen</strong>
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="n6VEG9">
Beyond Covid-19, what do you see as the root cause of Oregons high levels of unsheltered homelessness?
</p>
<aside id="2e2MKW">
<div>
</div>
</aside>
<h4 id="YA3yqZ">
Gov. Kotek
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IU9iQp">
From the housing side of this, I definitely go back to the Great Recession<strong>,</strong> when housing construction literally stopped. But people continued to move to Oregon. So weve been behind with housing construction and keeping up with the influx of folks going on 15 years now. This has really driven the affordability issues. And what had been getting built since the Great Recession was very high-end housing, not what I would call workforce or affordable housing.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="G6oNer">
Then for homelessness, you have a lot of different populations who are out there whove lost their housing. And because theyre on the street they start to develop significant illnesses. Maybe you started your unsheltered homelessness because you lost your job, and youre traumatized by this experience. So youre starting to develop a <a href="https://www.vox.com/mental-health">mental health</a> issue, youre probably medicating with a substance to stay awake — for example, meth. Then you develop a substance issue. Its this accumulation of illness that comes with being on the street that has led to the level of chronic<em> </em>unsheltered homelessness. Its not the start of the issue, but the length of the issue that were now dealing with, and the depth of the illness on the street because of that.
</p>
<h4 id="jfiZHF">
Rachel Cohen
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dbmwCc">
How do you plan<strong> </strong>to measure the success of your<strong> </strong>housing initiatives over time?
</p>
<h4 id="OusMtK">
Gov. Kotek
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JbDmeN">
Weve been very specific that by the end of the calendar year, we want to have a minimum of 600 new shelter beds, 1,200 people rehoused, and a minimum of 3,600 people being supported through rental assistance that were preventing from becoming homeless.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cAmfpr">
So the key there is making sure that the problem doesnt get any worse. And we wanted to be very clear with local communities: You get state money based on a plan to hit your portion of that target. The public really needs us to show that the money is connected to outcomes.
</p>
<h4 id="36k8WG">
Rachel Cohen
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RqsK2b">
Elected officials in other states have been reticent to tackle housing and homelessness. Whats your case for why they should anyway?
</p>
<aside id="4gZY43">
<div>
</div>
</aside>
<h4 id="KKbWHg">
Gov. Kotek
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="j73CBy">
Its certainly daunting, right? Its easier to pick something less complex when youre in elected office. But what I like to tell people is that housing is the core problem. If you dont have stable housing, youre going to be unhealthy, and those are health care costs. If youre trying to recruit people to your community and theres literally no workforce housing, thats an economic issue. Its a safety issue because when people are stable in their housing it reduces crime and disruption. And it matters for educational outcomes — when a child moves school districts within the same year, they fall months behind.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Fm1GHV">
I think things are particularly severe in Oregon for a whole variety of reasons, but everybody has the same issue. We just havent built enough housing. Every governor has to take up housing, you cannot ignore it.
</p>
<h4 id="x3p2td">
Rachel Cohen
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tRKBai">
How do you deal with NIMBYism in Oregon? Theres also a lot of cynicism about the power of individuals to block needed housing production.
</p>
<h4 id="uzl9Kk">
Gov. Kotek
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="O8ev6T">
Theres a lot of fear when people see that their world is changing. In the 2019 legislative session, we <a href="https://www.oregon.gov/lcd/up/pages/housing-choices.aspx">had House Bill 2001</a>, which was the “middle housing” bill. It was a reset of how we approached what it means to have a home, meaning they dont have to be big apartments or single-family housing. And there was a lot of fear from people that we were going to change the aesthetics, the feel, the nature of their neighborhoods. And I said, “No, were going to make them more livable so people can stay in the communities they want. So they can have the ADU or the duplex or the townhome that in some places was actually not allowed to be built.” There was pushback, and now everyones accepting it because they understand that we have to have different types of housing options.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="M6mi60">
I always go back to personal stories with folks. They tend to help people understand that we can all have prosperity if we just let go of our fears that change is going to hurt us. And it takes a lot of conversations to do that.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ydNGlQ">
I think you also have to involve the people who are doing the work early on. For example, my Housing Production Advisory Council — it would have been easier if I said, “This is the stuff were going to do.” But I wanted to make sure that the folks who are doing the work have buy-in to the solutions, and are willing to push for those solutions. It takes longer, but youre going to have more success when everyones bought in.
</p>
<h4 id="WEW479">
Rachel Cohen
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tpa9g4">
I recently wrote<strong> </strong>about <a href="https://www.vox.com/23748522/tent-encampments-martin-boise-homelessness-housing">how the Ninth Circuits <em>Martin v. Boise </em>decision</a> — which says people cant be punished for sleeping outside on public property if there are no alternatives available — is shaping cities response to tent encampments.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4jl8q2">
Oregon is no exception, and earlier this year I know you raised concerns that Portlands plan for unsheltered homelessness <a href="https://www.portlandmercury.com/good-morning-news/2023/03/27/46423911/good-morning-news-kotek-slams-wheelers-homeless-plan-thorns-crush-pride-in-season-opener-and-more-trouble-for-musks-failing-twitter">might amount to just shuffling people around</a>. I wanted to ask you about some of the proposed solutions — like sanctioned encampment sites. What do you think about these as interim measures, and the fact that some advocates worry theyll become more permanent fixtures?
</p>
<h4 id="lMdAy9">
Gov. Kotek
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nWt0cM">
We have to be okay with some level of transitional shelter until we build more housing.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UnQh9O">
After the <em>Boise </em>decision, I <a href="https://www.orcities.org/resources/communications/bulletin/legislature-passes-bills-homeless-camping">helped pass legislation here</a> to be very clear with our local governments of what they needed to do to be in compliance with that court ruling. Its not enough to say you cant criminalize people who are living outside, you have to also provide them a pathway to permanent housing.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2ABAWd">
And its also important to set some parameters about where people can be. I think its appropriate to have time, place, and manner guidelines for where people can camp, particularly in places that are very unsafe, like on the sides of highways and things like that.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rJdHlL">
My frustration has been that while thats something cities have to do, they also have to provide the resources. In Portland, when their daytime camping ban takes effect in July, they have to be serious about providing more daytime shelters for people who can no longer camp on the streets during 8 am to 8 pm. We can do both, we just have to plan for it.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oExx17">
Ive learned a lot in this process by listening to people who were actually on the streets. We need to lean into new ideas <a href="https://oregoncf.org/community-impact/impact-areas/housing-stability/project-turnkey/">like Project Turnkey</a>, which enables someone experiencing homelessness to walk into a converted hotel or motel, where they can then have a room with a locked door, services on site. And <a href="https://www.dwell.com/article/tiny-home-villages-homelessness-oregon-747ead25">little villages</a>, where people have their pod and their safety but theyre also living in community. Those things take a bit longer to set up but they are much more effective than what weve done in the past, where you just say heres a big building with a bunch of beds in it. And you wonder why people dont want to do that.
</p>
<h4 id="pe16Pe">
Rachel Cohen
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cfMzyo">
I want to turn back to the 2019 “middle housing” law you helped pass, which ordered larger cities and the Portland metro area to legalize duplexes on all residential lots, and fourplexes, triplexes, townhomes, and cottage clusters on more than half of lots.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HuCAf3">
This was the first law of its kind in the nation, and <a href="https://www.sightline.org/2021/08/13/eight-ingredients-for-a-state-level-zoning-reform/">as the Sightline Institute put it</a>, “proved that its possible for state legislatures to take groundbreaking action against local bans on lower-cost housing types.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UwunrI">
You are credited with playing a major role in getting the bill passed, and on a bipartisan basis. Can you talk about any lessons you learned from that?
</p>
<h4 id="6Qz6c4">
Gov. Kotek<strong> </strong>
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="czD6OA">
My general take from the beginning was that legalizing these housing types needed to be statewide and its important for everybody to do it. I think other states have approached it as something you can opt into, or just for certain locales, and I really recommend against that.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nFzV5a">
The success came from building the right coalition of folks. Everyone from the land-use folks, to AARP, the real estate community, the development community, the climate activists. That level of support helped us push back on the NIMBYs.
</p>
<h4 id="v4RupV">
Rachel Cohen
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yBajZG">
I want to zoom out for the last question. Ive been writing about housing and homelessness for a long time, and its clear that many people see these issues as separate. I know your administration sees housing and homelessness<strong> </strong>as connected, and I wondered, why do you think there is this disconnect in peoples minds? And how do we fight that misperception?
</p>
<aside id="KJFtAf">
<div>
</div>
</aside>
<h4 id="JghOlo">
Gov. Kotek
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4tYREi">
I think its important for folks who work on these issues to not get rigid in either space. You will have some advocates who work for the unsheltered who think its all about housing — like if we just had more housing, then everything would be fine. Thats missing the point of the acuity of the individuals on the streets.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="M3Z0LM">
And then you go to the other extreme where people say, “We dont have a housing supply problem, this is a personal responsibility issue. These are folks who are just on drugs, they have mental health issues.” And that perspective — which puts the blame on them — is also wrong. Because even if those folks got all the resources they need to be healthy today, there arent enough places for them to live.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BLFL6n">
We had an issue recently out in Clackamas County, which is one of our metro area counties, where <a href="https://www.clackamas.us/news/2023-02-16/clackamas-county-board-approves-historic-investment-to-reduce-homelessness">they had approved a hotel to convert to a homeless shelter</a>. I was told this was one of the best assets they had ever seen for one of these conversions, it was in a good location, good shape. And then around two weeks later <a href="https://www.clackamas.us/news/2023-03-22/media-release-clackamas-county-to-pivot-from-the-project-turnkey-model-to-community-led-solutions-to-homelessness-and-transitional-housing">they reversed approval for it</a> because they thought it didnt focus enough on peoples mental health and drug addiction issues. This is very short-sighted.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LKA48x">
So I like to tell people, both are true. Its true there are individuals who have significant health issues that are helping to keep them on the streets, and its true they have nowhere to live. So for us, its the short term of helping people get into transitional shelter, continue to get people rehoused, and keep them there. Were also trying to say we have to provide some level of ongoing rent assistance for a time, so people can stay stable and still get services. Nothing is worse than spending money and having someone come back on the streets. Its bad for them. Its not cost-effective.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Huxlj9">
My message to everyone is, see the entire spectrum of the issue. Deal with the complexities and have a short-term and a long-term plan. But we have to help people right now who are suffering. So every day, its just like, gotta do both. You gotta do it all and they are interrelated.
</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Asia Cup to be held in hybrid model in Pakistan and Sri Lanka from August 31 to September 17</strong> - The hybrid model was proposed as the BCCI had made it clear that it wont send its team to Pakistan</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Afghanistan paceman Nijatullah Masood bags 5-wicket haul on Test debut against Bangladesh</strong> - Supported Aided by pace bowler Yamin Ahmadzai Ahmedzai, who had figures of 2-39, Masood found swing and movement in the overcast conditions to rip through Bangladeshs batting order</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>U.S. Open raises prize money to $20 million with $3.6 million to winner</strong> - The Masters increased its purse to $18 million this year, while the PGA Championship bumped its prize money to $17.5 million</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Nick Kyrgios reveals he ended up in psychiatric ward during Wimbledon in 2019</strong> - Due to the loss at Wimbledon in 2019, against Rafael Nadal, Nick Kyrgios had to spend time in a psychiatric ward in London</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Indonesia Open | Srikanth beats Lakshya in all-India duel, Sindhu exits</strong> - The win ensured Srikanths dominance over his younger countrymate as he took his head-to-head record to 3-0 over Lakshya</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>IIT-Madras launches BS in electronics open for all</strong> - The four-year course is open to anyone who have studied mathematics and physics as subjects in their Class 12 and has two exit options as well</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Andhra Pradesh: TDP has no moral right to question government on welfare of SCs, says Dokka Manikya Vara Prasad</strong> - The YSRCP government has been catering to the basic needs of the Scheduled Castes, besides empowering them politically, says YSRCP leader Dokka Manikya Vara Prasad</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>CPI(M) expels four workers over cryptocurrency scam</strong> - The transaction was made with a college student, the son of a Kerala Congress leader, who complained to the CPI(M) State secretary about the cheating</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Here are the big stories from Karnataka today</strong> - Welcome to the Karnataka Today newsletter, your guide from The Hindu on the major news stories to follow today. Curated and written by Nalme Nachiyar.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Jagan virtually inaugurates 100 Jio towers in Andhra Pradesh</strong> -</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Greece boat disaster: Capsized boat had 100 children in hold - reports</strong> - Survivors from a fishing boat that sank off Greece say as many as 750 people may have been on board.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Rammstein: German police open sex offence investigation into Till Lindemann</strong> - A number of women have alleged they were recruited for sex with singer Till Lindemann at concerts.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ukraine war: The challenges of training F-16 pilots</strong> - The BBC goes to a Nato air exercise to see the challenges in training Ukrainians on F-16 fighters.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Russian embassy: Australia blocks new Canberra site over spying risk</strong> - Laws are quickly passed to halt construction, in light of an alleged spying risk.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ukraine war: Extremely fierce battles as Kyiv seeks to advance</strong> - Ukraines ongoing counter-offensive has resulted in some further advances, a minister says.</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Silent, stiff, and svelte: The Tenways CGO600 Pro e-bike reviewed</strong> - The $1,899 price tag may be off-putting, but the components and ride definitely arent. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1947821">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Russia-backed hackers unleash new USB-based malware on Ukraines military</strong> - Shuckworms relentless attacks seek intel for use in Russias invasion of Ukraine. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1947749">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>For the first time in decades, Congress seems interested in space-based solar power</strong> - “We already know from early research that it is possible.” - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1947937">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ancient Egyptian followers of a deity called Bes may have used hallucinogens</strong> - Blue water lily acts as a sedative, while Syrian rue induces dream-like visions. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1947818">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Comcast and Charter are making a streaming box for self-loathing cord-cutters</strong> - Xumo Box will bring typical apps, plus ad-supported semi-channels, to TVs. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1947856">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Reddit is killing third-party applications (and itself). Read more in the comments.</strong> - submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/JokeSentinel"> /u/JokeSentinel </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://i.redd.it/1j5nee06kx5b1.png">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1490rmv/reddit_is_killing_thirdparty_applications_and/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>When you go to church in the morning you say, “Amen.”</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
When you go to church in the afternoon you say, “Pmen.”
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/vedicsun"> /u/vedicsun </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/146sgvx/when_you_go_to_church_in_the_morning_you_say_amen/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/146sgvx/when_you_go_to_church_in_the_morning_you_say_amen/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Did you hear about Apples new VR headset?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Theyre called the iGlasses
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/sheeeeeez"> /u/sheeeeeez </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1470v9z/did_you_hear_about_apples_new_vr_headset/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1470v9z/did_you_hear_about_apples_new_vr_headset/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>If women want a guy who is taller than them…</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
why do they care if he has hair on top of his head?
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/2Agile2Furious"> /u/2Agile2Furious </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/146hxfi/if_women_want_a_guy_who_is_taller_than_them/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/146hxfi/if_women_want_a_guy_who_is_taller_than_them/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Doctors say 3 out of 5 people suffer from chronic diarrhea.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
2 out of 5 are sick fucks and enjoy it..
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Response-Cheap"> /u/Response-Cheap </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/146ezun/doctors_say_3_out_of_5_people_suffer_from_chronic/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/146ezun/doctors_say_3_out_of_5_people_suffer_from_chronic/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
</ul>
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