Opinion

During the pandemic, there was a lot of discussion about the use of "trusted voices" to persuade people to get vaccinated against COVID-19. This is apparently a well-known concept in the field of public health because it's often difficult to get people to change behaviors or accept unfamiliar interventions. You'll recall that it was often advised that people speak to their family doctors if they had questions since surveys show that people trust them to tell the truth. Health care organizations also advised outreach to faith leaders, particularly in communities of color, since many "will only trust voices, leaders, and organizations that have consistently served them, and many of those voices are found in their places of worship." Farmers were recruited in rural areas because they know about vaccinations and "herd immunity."

This makes sense. There is a lot of information floating around and it's logical to seek out someone you deem to be credible to help you understand the situation. Unfortunately, there is so little respect for people in public life these days that they have to work very hard to persuade the citizenry that they can be trusted at all. Pew Research did polling on this issue back in 2019 and elected officials were at the very bottom of the list of leadership groups, below business leaders and (gasp) journalists. At that time, pre-pandemic, scientists were at the top of the list but I suspect they have slipped quite a bit since then. In fact, the entire list, which included the military, police, public school principals, religious leaders and college professors, has probably declined since then. Trust is not in great supply in American society at the moment.

Political pundits agree Democrats had a great night at the polls on Tuesday, but the real experts – not the TV pundits or social media influencers, but actual experts who study the numbers and the history down to the smallest details, are saying Democrats had a great night.

Here’s why

CNN reported Monday that the Biden administration is on the cusp of deciding whether to forgive $10,000 in student loan debt for those earning less than $125,000. It’s not only weighing the idea. It’s “leading toward” it, wrote reporters MJ Lee and Phil Mattingly.

The administration is also considering another extension of the pause in student loan repayments that was part of the overall response to the covid pandemic. The moratorium has thus far been extended four times. The current one ends September 1. As of this writing, the president has not indicated whether he will extend it.

Last week, after Fox News host Laura Ingraham beat up his new attorney, Donald Trump teased that a "major motion pertaining to the Fourth Amendment will soon be filed concerning the illegal Break-In of my home." On Monday his lawyers filed a lawsuit against the federal government that was deemed "incompetent" by well-respected attorneys, with one calling it "shitty on every level."

Late Tuesday afternoon the judge assigned to the case appeared to agree.

"Andrew Who?" That's most of what the over-30 crowd said in response to the news that Andrew Tate had been banned from TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook after a spate of negative coverage and increasing concerns from parents and teachers about the TikTok star's power over his followers. For adults who don't have teenage sons, the 35-year-old kickboxer-turned-TikTok star was largely unknown, but as anyone in the high school and college age set could tell you, online he was an overnight sensation.

Across the English-speaking world, parents and teachers grew increasingly alarmed, hearing teenage boys and young men parroting Tate's woman-hating rhetoric. One teacher on Reddit last week complained about boys "saying shit like 'women are inferior to men' 'women belong in the kitchen Ms____'.," and refusing "to read an article by a female author because 'women should only be housewives.'" In the thread, multiple teachers chimed in with their own stories about the adolescent fascination with Tate. Beyond arguing that women shouldn't be allowed to drive or work outside of the home, Tate has bragged about beating a woman with a machete and praised Donald Trump for sexually assaulting women.

Donald Trump’s top financial adviser Allen Weisselberg pleaded guilty Thursday to 15 felonies, including tax fraud. The Trump Organization itself stands charged with similar crimes. Legally, Weisselberg’s guilt is tantamount to the Trump Organization’s.

The former president is not charged in this case, but the indictment alleges that he participated in at least one aspect of the scheme.

The ballot referendum on abortion rights in Kansas wasn't just a test of public attitudes about reproductive rights — it was a test of democracy.

The Republican organizers behind the bill were no doubt aware of the robust polling that shows that strong majorities of Americans support abortion rights, and thus did everything in their power to make sure the general public did not turn out to vote on the question of banning abortion in the state. So they scheduled the ballot initiative during an August primary election, when few Democrats turn out to vote, even though other ballot initiatives are scheduled for November's election. They made the language of the ballot initiative confusing, so pro-choice people might accidentally vote for the ban. And they blanketed the airwaves with misleading ads meant to trick pro-choice voters into voting for the ban.

I’ve had some good yuks lately – starting with quack doc Mehlmet Oz screwing up his Man of the People Act in the “Wegner’s” supermarket, and lightweight Jared Kushner getting reviewed for his new book: “Kushner looks like a mannequin, and he writes like one…Kushner’s fealty to Trump remains absolute. Reading this book reminded me of watching a cat lick a dog’s eye goo.”

But for sheer legs-in-the-air hilarity, I nominate this new Washington Post report: