vox--2020-11-08--Alex Trebek’s last episode of Jeopardy will air on Christmas Day

Alex Trebek ’ s last episode of Jeopardy will air posthumously on December 25 , 2020 , bringing the beloved host ’ s tenure on the iconic game show to an end after 36 years .
As reported by Variety , Sony Pictures Television — which produces the series — has confirmed that Trebek ’ s last day in the Jeopardy studio was October 29 , just over a week before his death at age 80 on November 8 .
Because episodes are filmed with a relatively long lead time , new episodes featuring Trebek will continue to air until @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Day .
Trebek took over as Jeopardy host in 1984 , when a revived version of the classic show premiered .
( The original version of Jeopardy , hosted by the actor Art Fleming , ran from 1964 to 1979 , airing every weekday afternoon on NBC . )
Trebek went on to become one of the most familiar faces on American television , and was intent on continuing to stay that way for as long as possible , while keeping an eye on both his age and his health .
In 2019 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he had been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer .
But he remained on the job as much as he could while pursuing aggressive treatment , adamant that he did not want to leave Jeopardy in light of his diagnosis .
Speaking to reporters at the Television Critics Association winter press tour in January 2020 , Trebek said he planned to only inform his producers that he was stepping away from the series on the day he taped his final program .
“ I made this decision a long time ago .
What @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the same as when I shaved my mustache .
I would do it on a whim , ” Trebek said .
“ On that particular day , I will speak to Harry [ Friedman , executive producer ] , and I will speak to Clay [ Jacobsen ] , our director , and tell them , ‘ Give me 30 seconds at the end of the program .
That ’ s all I need to say goodbye , because it ’ s going to be the last show.
’ ” The beloved TV @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decision to continue hosting Jeopardy , including from contestants .
One memorable episode that aired in the fall of 2019 ended with a contestant writing “ We love you , Alex !
” as their Final Jeopardy response .
Trebek responded to the message with tearful gratitude .
We don ’ t yet know what to expect from Trebek ’ s final episodes of Jeopardy , or whether he was able to follow through with his plan to end his reign with a surprise on-air goodbye .
No matter what those episodes hold @ @ @ @ @ @ @ part of Jeopardy ’ s legacy , and a huge reason why Jeopardy is an inextricable part of weeknight TV .
Sony has not set a timeline for announcing plans to replace Trebek as host .

Alex Trebek’s last episode of Jeopardy will air on January 8, bringing the beloved host’s tenure on the iconic game show to an end after more than three decades.
Trebek was filming in the Jeopardy studio through late October, not long before his death at age 80 on November 8. Because the game show is produced with a relatively long lead time, new episodes featuring Trebek have continued to air posthumously. His final episode was originally slated to air on Christmas Day; however, the show is now closing out the year with “10 of his best episodes,” which kicked off on December 21. The host’s last week of episodes has been rescheduled to run from Monday, January 4, through Friday, January 8, 2021.
Trebek took over as Jeopardy host in 1984, when a revived version of the classic show premiered. (The original version of Jeopardy, hosted by the actor Art Fleming, ran from 1964 to 1979, airing every weekday afternoon on NBC.) Trebek went on to become one of the most familiar faces on American television, and was intent on continuing to stay that way for as long as possible, while keeping an eye on both his age and his health.
In 2019, Trebek revealed to the public that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. But he remained on the job as much as he could while pursuing aggressive treatment, adamant that he did not want to leave Jeopardy in light of his diagnosis.
Speaking to reporters at the Television Critics Association winter press tour in January 2020, Trebek said he planned to only inform his producers that he was stepping away from the series on the day he taped his final program.
“I made this decision a long time ago. What I would do, it would be the same as when I shaved my mustache. I would do it on a whim,” Trebek said. “On that particular day, I will speak to Harry [Friedman, executive producer], and I will speak to Clay [Jacobsen], our director, and tell them, ‘Give me 30 seconds at the end of the program. That’s all I need to say goodbye, because it’s going to be the last show.’”
The beloved TV personality received immense public support in his decision to continue hosting Jeopardy, including from contestants. One memorable episode that aired in the fall of 2019 ended with a contestant writing “We love you, Alex!” as their Final Jeopardy response. Trebek responded to the message with tearful gratitude.
We don’t know exactly what to expect from Trebek’s final episodes of Jeopardy, or whether he was able to follow through with his plan to end his reign with a surprise on-air goodbye. (According to TVLine, Trebek did deliver at least one heartfelt speech that has yet to air.) No matter what those episodes hold, Trebek will always be an inextricable part of Jeopardy’s legacy, and a huge reason why Jeopardy is an inextricable part of weeknight TV.
Update December 23: Trebek’s final episode of Jeopardy was originally scheduled to air on Christmas Day. It was later rescheduled for early January. We have updated this story to reflect that change.


vox--2020-11-08--Jeopardy host Alex Trebek has died after 36 years of hosting the show

Alex Trebek — the longtime host of Jeopardy who was synonymous with the game to many fans — has died at age 80 .
The show announced his death in a tweet Sunday afternoon .
Trebek announced in March 2019 that he had pancreatic cancer .
Trebek said he planned to step down from Jeopardy when his cancer , or the treatment for the disease , began to affect his ability to perform .
( His contract was set to run until 2022 , according to TVLine . )
He never did so , although the year after his diagnosis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tour — culminating in the “ Greatest of All Time ” tournament in January 2020 , which saw Jeopardy return to prime time for the first time in 30 years .
Trebek had planned a farewell message he never got to give , however : in December 2019 , he told ABC News that he knew what he wanted to say during his last episode , whenever it came .
He said he ’ d only need 30 seconds .
“ It ’ ll be a significant moment for me , ” he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ ve kind of , in my mind , rehearsed it already , and what I would do on that day is tell the director , ‘ Time the show down to leave me 30 seconds at the end .
That ’ s all I want.
’ And I will say my goodbyes and I will tell people , ‘ Don ’ t ask me who ’ s going to replace me because I have no say whatsoever .
But I ’ m sure that if you give them the same love @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shown me ... then they will be a success and the show will continue being a success .
And until we meet again , God bless you and goodbye.
” Alex Trebek is synonymous with the show that made him a household name Over his 36 years at Jeopardy , Trebek hosted more than 8,000 episodes .
While he stood at the lectern , crisply reading off categories like “ State Capitals ” and “ Potent Potables ” and hailing the Daily Double , six American presidents passed through the Oval Office ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ An unofficial archive of Jeopardy history lives on YouTube , where candidates through the years have uploaded their episodes , many preserving the ads and local-news teasers that bookended the show .
And these time capsules are helpful in understanding the show ’ s lasting appeal .
Everything looks different now .
But the show has hardly changed at all .
As far as fans are concerned , Trebek was Jeopardy .
He had hosted other , mostly short-lived , game shows in the US , as well as in Canada , where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Club ’ s Noel Murray , who outlined Trebek ’ s pre-Jeopardy career in 2009 , points out that the pre-Jeopardy Trebek was “ almost 180 degrees removed from the kind of host he is now.
” ) But during his time at the Jeopardy podium , giving questions in the form of answers and correcting answers in the form of questions , he made the show into a beloved cultural icon — while making himself into one as well .
He did this without ever really taking center stage .
Trebek appeared @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around the world , night after night , without ever talking much about himself or his own life .
“ You have to set your ego aside , ” he told New York magazine in 2018 .
“ The stars of the show are the contestants and the game itself .
That ’ s why I ’ ve always insisted that I be introduced as the host and not the star.
” Still , millions , maybe billions , of people felt they knew him all the same .
In 2013 , Trebek @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Readers ’ Digest poll of Americans ’ most trusted people .
But perhaps no recent moment better sums up Jeopardy ’ s impact — and its longevity — than the conversation Trebek had with a winning contestant , Burt Thakur , on Thursday .
Trebek asked Thakur , who had won just over $ 20,000 , if he had family members rooting for him .
In response , Thakur told Trebek about watching the show from his grandfather ’ s lap .
“ I learned English because of you , ” Thakur told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ yet clear who will replace Trebek at the helm of Jeopardy .
Episodes he taped will continue airing through Christmas 2020 .
Trebek ’ s go-to line was that comedian Betty White ( age 98 ) should replace him because , he said , the network would want “ somebody younger , somebody funnier.
” But replacing a man who is synonymous with the timeless show he hosted will be a challenge — it will be only the second time the show has really changed ( there was one host before Trebek , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ago ) .
It ’ s a difficulty illustrated by a 2019 poll from Morning Consult about game shows .
The poll found Jeopardy was the most popular game show in America .
And it found that 50 percent of respondents said they couldn ’ t imagine watching the show without Trebek at the helm .

Alex Trebek — the longtime host of Jeopardy who was synonymous with the game to many fans — has died at age 80. The show announced his death in a tweet Sunday afternoon. Trebek announced in March 2019 that he had pancreatic cancer.
Trebek said he planned to step down from Jeopardy when his cancer, or the treatment for the disease, began to affect his ability to perform. (His contract was set to run until 2022, according to TVLine.) He never did so, although the year after his diagnosis served as sort of an extended farewell tour — culminating in the “Greatest of All Time” tournament in January 2020, which saw Jeopardy return to prime time for the first time in 30 years.
Trebek had planned a farewell message he never got to give, however: In December 2019, he told ABC News that he knew what he wanted to say during his last episode, whenever it came. He said he’d only need 30 seconds.
“It’ll be a significant moment for me,” he said in that interview. “But I’ve kind of, in my mind, rehearsed it already, and what I would do on that day is tell the director, ‘Time the show down to leave me 30 seconds at the end. That’s all I want.’ And I will say my goodbyes and I will tell people, ‘Don’t ask me who’s going to replace me because I have no say whatsoever. But I’m sure that if you give them the same love and attention and respect that you have shown me ... then they will be a success and the show will continue being a success. And until we meet again, God bless you and goodbye.”
Alex Trebek is synonymous with the show that made him a household name
Over his 36 years at Jeopardy, Trebek hosted more than 8,000 episodes. While he stood at the lectern, crisply reading off categories like “State Capitals” and “Potent Potables” and hailing the Daily Double, six American presidents passed through the Oval Office (and one more was elected).
An unofficial archive of Jeopardy history lives on YouTube, where candidates through the years have uploaded their episodes, many preserving the ads and local-news teasers that bookended the show. And these time capsules are helpful in understanding the show’s lasting appeal. Everything looks different now. But the show has hardly changed at all.
As far as fans are concerned, Trebek was Jeopardy. He had hosted other, mostly short-lived, game shows in the US, as well as in Canada, where he was born. (The AV Club’s Noel Murray, who outlined Trebek’s pre-Jeopardy career in 2009, points out that the pre-Jeopardy Trebek was “almost 180 degrees removed from the kind of host he is now.”) But during his time at the Jeopardy podium, giving questions in the form of answers and correcting answers in the form of questions, he made the show into a beloved cultural icon — while making himself into one as well.
He did this without ever really taking center stage. Trebek appeared on TVs in the United States and around the world, night after night, without ever talking much about himself or his own life. “You have to set your ego aside,” he told New York magazine in 2018. “The stars of the show are the contestants and the game itself. That’s why I’ve always insisted that I be introduced as the host and not the star.”
Still, millions, maybe billions, of people felt they knew him all the same. In 2013, Trebek ranked above then-President Barack Obama on a Readers’ Digest poll of Americans’ most trusted people. But perhaps no recent moment better sums up Jeopardy’s impact — and its longevity — than the conversation Trebek had with a winning contestant, Burt Thakur, on Thursday.
Trebek asked Thakur, who had won just over $20,000, if he had family members rooting for him. In response, Thakur told Trebek about watching the show from his grandfather’s lap.
“I learned English because of you,” Thakur told the host.
It’s not yet clear who will replace Trebek at the helm of Jeopardy. Episodes he taped will continue airing through Christmas 2020. Trebek’s go-to line was that comedian Betty White (age 98) should replace him because, he said, the network would want “somebody younger, somebody funnier.”
But replacing a man who is synonymous with the timeless show he hosted will be a challenge — it will be only the second time the show has really changed (there was one host before Trebek, but that was more than three decades ago). It’s a difficulty illustrated by a 2019 poll from Morning Consult about game shows. The poll found Jeopardy was the most popular game show in America. And it found that 50 percent of respondents said they couldn’t imagine watching the show without Trebek at the helm.


vox--2020-11-08--Biden plans on swiftly rolling back Trump policies with a set of executive orders

President-elect Joe Biden is reportedly working on a group of executive orders that would reverse several controversial Trump administration policies once he takes office on January 20 .
According to a Washington Post report , Biden plans to take immediate action on policies pertaining to climate change , immigration , and public health .
On all three counts , the president-elect would effectively implement policies that are the opposites of President Donald Trump ’ s .
As the country continues to struggle with record daily Covid-19 cases amid the pandemic , Biden plans to swiftly reverse Trump ’ s withdrawal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ order would allow for greater pandemic cooperation and coordination with international partners , while also providing a check on China ’ s influence on the group .
Battling the pandemic will likely be the president-elect ’ s first priority , and he ’ s already forming a coronavirus task force , headed by former surgeon general Vivek Murthy ; David Kessler , a former Food and Drug Administration commissioner ; and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith , a professor of epidemiology and medicine at Yale University .
The group is set to start meeting Monday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Paris climate accords , and to seek to push other countries into lowering their emissions .
He ’ d pledged to do so on the campaign trail , and has reiterated a commitment to that promise .
The expectation of a coming order was welcomed yesterday by the mayor of Paris , Anne Hidalgo , who said , “ Welcome back America !
” in a tweet .
On immigration , Biden will reportedly repeal the travel ban that includes many Muslim countries and reinstate the “ DREAMers ” program , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the country .
He ’ s also planning on reinstating dozens of environmental and business-related regulations undone by Trump and company .
Biden ran on a “ return to normal ” platform , and normal seemingly means unraveling the Trump agenda , alongside rebuilding trust in America ’ s institutions .
Several of Biden ’ s earliest executive actions will similarly fulfill long-held campaign promises .
Biden has also promised to repeal the transgender military ban on the first day of his presidency .
LGBTQ activists are expecting Biden to follow through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump ’ s anti-trans policies from the last four years .
During his victory speech last night , many activists noted that Biden referenced trans people specifically , a first for a president-elect during an acceptance speech .
Without the Senate , Biden will depend on executive action Biden ’ s executive orders are likely to take center stage if Democrats fail to sweep two Senate run-offs in Georgia in early January that will likely determine which party controls the chamber .
With Republicans appearing likely to win the outstanding Senate races in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Georgia would give each party 50 senators , with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris serving as the tiebreaking vote .
Even if Democrats have a majority in the upper chamber , however , they may find their agenda stunted by Sen. Mitch McConnell , who as minority leader managed to derail Obama administration initiatives .
Should McConnell take a similar approach , Biden will likely see little progress on any sort of legislative agenda .
That would probably mean campaign promises like repealing the Trump tax cuts of 2017 or passing voting reform @ @ @ @ @ @ @ off the table for Biden , making executive action the most direct and effective way for Democrats to enact at least some pieces of their agenda .
Biden has faced an uncooperative Republican Party before .
He has touted his work as vice president to find common ground with Republicans .
However , former President Barack Obama was ultimately similarly pushed to govern by executive action , a strategy that was often met with outsize conservative reactions accusing the president of being a dictator .
Trump ’ s executive agenda went several steps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ faced no such criticism from conservative lawmakers .
Trump also sidestepped the Senate confirmation process for key administration officials , and instead named “ acting ” heads of agencies , who could operate outside the normal Senate approval process .
Those Trump actions were also met with silence from his Republican colleagues .
Biden may have to resort to the same extreme as Trump in naming “ acting ” heads of agencies , if his picks for those positions are rejected by the Senate .
The Post reports some members of his team @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a few months , it will become clear whether he will indeed take that route .

President-elect Joe Biden is reportedly working on a group of executive orders that would reverse several controversial Trump administration policies once he takes office on January 20.
According to a Washington Post report, Biden plans to take immediate action on policies pertaining to climate change, immigration, and public health. On all three counts, the president-elect would effectively implement policies that are the opposites of President Donald Trump’s.
As the country continues to struggle with record daily Covid-19 cases amid the pandemic, Biden plans to swiftly reverse Trump’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization. The order would allow for greater pandemic cooperation and coordination with international partners, while also providing a check on China’s influence on the group.
Battling the pandemic will likely be the president-elect’s first priority, and he’s already forming a coronavirus task force, headed by former surgeon general Vivek Murthy; David Kessler, a former Food and Drug Administration commissioner; and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, a professor of epidemiology and medicine at Yale University. The group is set to start meeting Monday.
Biden also plans to immediately rejoin the Paris climate accords, and to seek to push other countries into lowering their emissions. He’d pledged to do so on the campaign trail, and has reiterated a commitment to that promise. The expectation of a coming order was welcomed yesterday by the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, who said, “Welcome back America!” in a tweet.
Welcome back America! Congratulations to @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris for their election! While we are about to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, this victory symbolizes our need to act together more than ever, in view of climate emergency. #Election2020 — Anne Hidalgo (@Anne_Hidalgo) November 7, 2020
On immigration, Biden will reportedly repeal the travel ban that includes many Muslim countries and reinstate the “DREAMers” program, which allowed children of undocumented immigrants to remain in the country.
He’s also planning on reinstating dozens of environmental and business-related regulations undone by Trump and company. Biden ran on a “return to normal” platform, and normal seemingly means unraveling the Trump agenda, alongside rebuilding trust in America’s institutions.
Several of Biden’s earliest executive actions will similarly fulfill long-held campaign promises. Biden has also promised to repeal the transgender military ban on the first day of his presidency. LGBTQ activists are expecting Biden to follow through on his promise to undo all of Trump’s anti-trans policies from the last four years.
During his victory speech last night, many activists noted that Biden referenced trans people specifically, a first for a president-elect during an acceptance speech.
Without the Senate, Biden will depend on executive action
Biden’s executive orders are likely to take center stage if Democrats fail to sweep two Senate run-offs in Georgia in early January that will likely determine which party controls the chamber. With Republicans appearing likely to win the outstanding Senate races in Alaska and North Carolina, Democratic wins in Georgia would give each party 50 senators, with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris serving as the tiebreaking vote.
Even if Democrats have a majority in the upper chamber, however, they may find their agenda stunted by Sen. Mitch McConnell, who as minority leader managed to derail Obama administration initiatives. Should McConnell take a similar approach, Biden will likely see little progress on any sort of legislative agenda.
That would probably mean campaign promises like repealing the Trump tax cuts of 2017 or passing voting reform or the LGBTQ Equality Act would be off the table for Biden, making executive action the most direct and effective way for Democrats to enact at least some pieces of their agenda.
Biden has faced an uncooperative Republican Party before. He has touted his work as vice president to find common ground with Republicans. However, former President Barack Obama was ultimately similarly pushed to govern by executive action, a strategy that was often met with outsize conservative reactions accusing the president of being a dictator.
Trump’s executive agenda went several steps further than Obama’s, and faced no such criticism from conservative lawmakers. Trump also sidestepped the Senate confirmation process for key administration officials, and instead named “acting” heads of agencies, who could operate outside the normal Senate approval process. Those Trump actions were also met with silence from his Republican colleagues.
Biden may have to resort to the same extreme as Trump in naming “acting” heads of agencies, if his picks for those positions are rejected by the Senate. The Post reports some members of his team are considering doing so — and in a few months, it will become clear whether he will indeed take that route.


vox--2020-11-08--The Trump legal team’s failed Four Seasons press conference, explained

President Donald Trump ’ s legal team gathered Saturday morning in Philadelphia to hold a press conference , at which they shared conspiracy theories about why Trump lost the 2020 election .
The fact that the president ’ s lawyers are working to find ways to overturn the election results is notable , but perhaps even more so is where they chose to hold their conference : Four Seasons Total Landscaping .
The small business , which bills itself as a 27-year-old , woman-owned company that has grown to service major clients ( including the city ’ s airport ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But the decision to hold the conference there , in front of a white garage door papered over with campaign signs , was incredibly odd .
It felt awkward and small , the antithesis of a president and campaign that has long valued over-the-top visuals and maximum entertainment value .
The announcement of the event made it seem as though it would be a typical Trump team affair full of glitz : “ Lawyers News Conference Four Seasons , Philadelphia .
11:00 a.m. , ” Trump tweeted Saturday morning .
He later @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t actually be held at the hotel chain but at the now-famous landscaping business , something the Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia confirmed on Twitter : The internet exploded with mockery and memes at the clarification , assuming there had been some bone-headed mix-up by the Trump campaign .
The New York Times reported , however , that the mistake was “ not in the booking , but in a garbled game of telephone.
” The president was apparently told the conference would be at the business but misunderstood the name of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the upscale hotel .
In many ways , this mix-up is indicative of the Trump presidency and the help he has received from his team of lawyers , led by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani , who headed the conference .
Throughout his presidency , Trump has made grand proclamations of things to come — be it a state-spanning border wall paid for by other countries or a health care plan he ’ s insisted will protect preexisting conditions .
But when those things arrive — if they do — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ promised .
Only 15 miles of new border wall have been built , for instance , while the health care plan Trump repeatedly promised would be coming “ within two weeks ” never materialized .
Giuliani , too , has had this tendency ; he spent months leading up to special counsel Robert Mueller ’ s report on potential collusion between Trump ’ s 2016 campaign and Russia touting an explosive counter-report that never arrived .
His publicity-drawing quest to find dirt on President-elect Joe Biden turned up nothing , and his recent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on a laptop that he alleged once belonged to Biden ’ s son , Hunter Biden , have been confusing and strange — and have gone nowhere .
Instead of giving the administration positive accomplishments , these grand promises by Trump and his allies have underscored their ineptitude while distracting from important issues .
That ’ s what happened Saturday : The bizarre venue choice overshadowed the point of the press conference , which was meant to spotlight Giuliani ’ s rehash of disproven conspiracy theories about massive voter fraud .
The lies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about , briefly explained Just before noon on Saturday , reporters gathered in an industrial park in north Philadelphia for a press conference featuring Giuliani , Trump legal adviser and former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi , and Trump campaign adviser Corey Lewandowski .
The team had called the press conference to share baseless accusations of electoral malfeasance .
Giuliani made several untrue statements about nonexistent voting irregularities in Pennsylvania , falsely complaining that poll watchers had not been allowed at counting locations in the state , a claim that has been negated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
These claims , while lies , echoed Trump ’ s rhetoric about the election .
The president spent much of Saturday golfing and tweeting falsehoods about vote-counting problems ; later he said he had no plans to concede .
But Giuliani ’ s words ultimately got little attention : As Trump ’ s attorney began speaking , reporters suddenly started packing up their equipment to leave .
Several major media outlets had just called the election for Biden .
It was a poignant moment of clarity and , it seemed , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and baseless conspiracy theories .
He continued his remarks , though not many people were paying attention : There was a new president-elect , one who rejects the style promoted by the president and his lawyer .
The campaign , which has held a number of similar press conferences in Philadelphia attempting to cast doubt on the state ’ s vote count , has struggled to find appropriate venues for these events .
Earlier in the week , Bondi and Lewandowski attempted to hold a press conference in the city following a court @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just 6 feet from workers counting ballots , rather than 20 feet .
They tried to spin the ruling as a win ; however , a DJ nearby blasted Beyoncé music and completely drowned out their remarks .
The space outside the Philadelphia Convention Center , where votes were being tabulated , was filled all week with Biden supporters chanting “ count every vote.
” It made for a difficult setting for the various Trump press conferences baselessly alleging voter fraud .
So a new , more remote , location was looked for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ All great Americans in PA use Four Seasons Total Landscaping , ” Lewandowski tweeted later Saturday .
“ They love this country and are American Patriots .
Thank you !
!
” But even there , far from downtown , reality intruded and overshadowed the Trump team ’ s message .
However , the venue choice appeared to benefit the company itself , which quickly went from an obscure landscaper to a place of national interest — and worked to capitalize on its newfound notoriety Sunday : The Trump era may have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s quietly fading out The whole debacle , from the downscale venue to the reporters packing up to the president ’ s attorney ranting with no connection to reality , provided a stark visual for the end of election week and a desperate end to America ’ s Trump era .
The president and the right-wing media apparatus in the US spent the last four years constructing an alternate reality wherein the most powerful man in the world and the lawmakers who surrounded him — who at one time had complete @ @ @ @ @ @ @ victims of conspiracies and vendettas .
They tangled the country up in these claims , leading to protracted battles over the Mueller report as well as the president ’ s impeachment .
All of the claims seemed to suggest Trump was justified in his attempts to bend norms , break laws , and grab more power .
The president long indicated he would dispute a loss in a close election , but this one isn ’ t all that close .
Liberals and progressives had feared Trump ’ s gambit might work , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wasn ’ t held to account for multiple abuses of power over the last four years .
But ultimately , not even Trump can spin electoral math .
The idea that multiple states , some of which are controlled by Republicans , conspired to illegally rob Trump of an election win is ridiculous .
And the Four Seasons press conference was a real emperor-has-no-clothes moment : A presidency that began with Trump ’ s descent into a golden lobby ended in a landscaping company ’ s parking lot , with the press packing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ listening to nonsense .

President Donald Trump’s legal team gathered Saturday morning in Philadelphia to hold a press conference, at which they shared conspiracy theories about why Trump lost the 2020 election. The fact that the president’s lawyers are working to find ways to overturn the election results is notable, but perhaps even more so is where they chose to hold their conference: Four Seasons Total Landscaping.
The small business, which bills itself as a 27-year-old, woman-owned company that has grown to service major clients (including the city’s airport), appears to be an American success story. But the decision to hold the conference there, in front of a white garage door papered over with campaign signs, was incredibly odd. It felt awkward and small, the antithesis of a president and campaign that has long valued over-the-top visuals and maximum entertainment value.
The announcement of the event made it seem as though it would be a typical Trump team affair full of glitz: “Lawyers News Conference Four Seasons, Philadelphia. 11:00 a.m.,” Trump tweeted Saturday morning.
He later clarified, however, that it wouldn’t actually be held at the hotel chain but at the now-famous landscaping business, something the Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia confirmed on Twitter:
To clarify, President Trump’s press conference will NOT be held at Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia.
It will be held at Four Seasons Total Landscaping— no relation with the hotel. — Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia at Comcast Center (@FSPhiladelphia) November 7, 2020
The internet exploded with mockery and memes at the clarification, assuming there had been some boneheaded mix-up by the Trump campaign. The New York Times reported, however, that the mistake was “not in the booking, but in a garbled game of telephone.” The president was apparently told the conference would be at the business but misunderstood the name of the venue, thinking it would be held at the upscale hotel.
In many ways, this mix-up is indicative of the Trump presidency and the help he has received from his team of lawyers, led by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who headed the conference.
Throughout his presidency, Trump has made grand proclamations of things to come — be it a state-spanning border wall paid for by other countries or a health care plan he’s insisted will protect preexisting conditions.
But when those things arrive — if they do — they’re far less impressive than promised. Only 15 miles of new border wall have been built, for instance, while the health care plan Trump repeatedly promised would be coming “within two weeks” never materialized.
Giuliani, too, has had this tendency; he spent months leading up to special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on potential collusion between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia touting an explosive counter-report that never arrived. His publicity-drawing quest to find dirt on President-elect Joe Biden turned up nothing, and his recent attempts to play up salacious material found on a laptop that he alleged once belonged to Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, have been confusing and strange — and have gone nowhere.
Instead of giving the administration positive accomplishments, these grand promises by Trump and his allies have underscored their ineptitude while distracting from important issues. That’s what happened Saturday: The bizarre venue choice overshadowed the point of the press conference, which was meant to spotlight Giuliani’s rehash of disproven conspiracy theories about massive voter fraud.
The lies the press conference was supposed to be about, briefly explained
Just before noon on Saturday, reporters gathered in an industrial park in north Philadelphia for a press conference featuring Giuliani, Trump legal adviser and former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Trump campaign adviser Corey Lewandowski.
The team had called the press conference to share baseless accusations of electoral malfeasance. Giuliani made several untrue statements about nonexistent voting irregularities in Pennsylvania, falsely complaining that poll watchers had not been allowed at counting locations in the state, a claim that has been negated by courts and publicly available video evidence.
These claims, while lies, echoed Trump’s rhetoric about the election. The president spent much of Saturday golfing and tweeting falsehoods about vote-counting problems; later he said he had no plans to concede.
But Giuliani’s words ultimately got little attention: As Trump’s attorney began speaking, reporters suddenly started packing up their equipment to leave.
Several major media outlets had just called the election for Biden.
Here’s the “all the networks” moment pic.twitter.com/j9UFzme4DE — Zack Bornstein (@ZackBornstein) November 8, 2020
It was a poignant moment of clarity and, it seemed, a symbolic repudiation of Giuliani’s wild and baseless conspiracy theories. He continued his remarks, though not many people were paying attention: There was a new president-elect, one who rejects the style promoted by the president and his lawyer.
The campaign, which has held a number of similar press conferences in Philadelphia attempting to cast doubt on the state’s vote count, has struggled to find appropriate venues for these events. Earlier in the week, Bondi and Lewandowski attempted to hold a press conference in the city following a court decision that allowed poll watchers to stand just 6 feet from workers counting ballots, rather than 20 feet. They tried to spin the ruling as a win; however, a DJ nearby blasted Beyoncé music and drowned out their remarks.
incredible job by the every vote counts protest across the road who pumped up Beyoncé’s Party so not one word could be heard of Pam Bondi’s speech pic.twitter.com/BwRQcweNPY — Amber Jamieson (@ambiej) November 5, 2020
The space outside the Philadelphia Convention Center, where votes were being tabulated, was filled all week with Biden supporters chanting “count every vote.” It made for a difficult setting for the various Trump press conferences baselessly alleging voter fraud.
So a new, more remote, location was looked for and apparently found at Four Seasons. “All great Americans in PA use Four Seasons Total Landscaping,” Lewandowski tweeted later Saturday. “They love this country and are American Patriots. Thank you!!”
All great Americans in PA use Four Seasons Total Landscaping. They love this country and are American Patriots. Thank you!! — Corey R. Lewandowski (@CLewandowski_) November 8, 2020
But even there, far from downtown, reality intruded and overshadowed the Trump team’s message. However, the venue choice appeared to benefit the company itself, which quickly went from an obscure landscaper to a place of national interest — and worked to capitalize on its newfound notoriety Sunday:
Four Seasons Total Landscaping wants in on this merch bonanza. pic.twitter.com/1HR2gc0Tjg — Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) November 8, 2020
The Trump era may have roared in like a lion, but it’s quietly fading out
The whole debacle, from the downscale venue to the reporters packing up to the president’s attorney ranting with no connection to reality, provided a stark visual for the end of election week and a desperate end to America’s Trump era.
The president and the right-wing media apparatus in the US spent the past four years constructing an alternate reality wherein the most powerful man in the world and the lawmakers who surrounded him — who at one time had complete control over the government — were perpetual victims of conspiracies and vendettas.
They tangled the country up in these claims, leading to protracted battles over the Mueller report as well as the president’s impeachment. All the claims seemed to suggest Trump was justified in his attempts to bend norms, break laws, and grab more power.
The president had long indicated he would dispute a loss in a close election, but this one isn’t all that close. Liberals and progressives had feared Trump’s gambit might work, similar to how he escaped impeachment and wasn’t held to account for multiple abuses of power over the past four years. But ultimately, not even Trump can spin electoral math.
The idea that multiple states, some of which are controlled by Republicans, conspired to illegally rob Trump of an election win is ridiculous. And the Four Seasons press conference was a real emperor-has-no-clothes moment: A presidency that began with Trump’s descent into a golden lobby ended in a landscaping company’s parking lot, with the press packing up and leaving instead of staying and listening to nonsense.


vox--2020-11-08--Can Trump steal the election?

Can Trump steal the election?

In the days following Election Day , President Donald Trump threatened legal action in some of the battleground states that were among the last to count their ballots .
It was all part of a campaign to cast doubt on the legality of mail-in ballots , which disproportionately favored President-elect Joe Biden .
The Trump campaign , or Republican lawyers , have filed lawsuits in the battleground states of Georgia , Arizona , Nevada , Pennsylvania , Michigan , and Texas .
Some call into question so few ballots that they pale in comparison to Biden ’ s lead in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to unsubstantiated claims of a lack of access for partisan poll watchers during the ballot-counting process .
The lawsuits themselves are unlikely to alter the course of the election or reach the Supreme Court , like Bush v. Gore , the case that halted a recount in the 2000 presidential race and resulted in the election of George W. Bush .
But one lawsuit in Pennsylvania sheds light on a potentially anti-democratic stance regarding the interpretation of future election laws , one that gives outsize power to both the Supreme Court and state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ learn more about the Trump campaign ’ s lawsuits and the future of the Supreme Court and election law .
You can find this video and all of Vox ’ s videos on YouTube .
And if you ’ re interested in supporting our video journalism , you can become a member of the Vox Video Lab on YouTube .

In the days following Election Day, President Donald Trump threatened legal action in some of the battleground states that were among the last to count their ballots. It was all part of a campaign to cast doubt on the legality of mail-in ballots, which disproportionately favored President-elect Joe Biden.
The Trump campaign, or Republican lawyers, have filed lawsuits in the battleground states of Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Texas. Some call into question so few ballots that they pale in comparison to Biden’s lead in those states, while others are related to unsubstantiated claims of a lack of access for partisan poll watchers during the ballot-counting process. The lawsuits themselves are unlikely to alter the course of the election or reach the Supreme Court, like Bush v. Gore, the case that halted a recount in the 2000 presidential race and resulted in the election of George W. Bush.
But one lawsuit in Pennsylvania sheds light on a potentially anti-democratic stance regarding the interpretation of future election laws, one that gives outsize power to both the Supreme Court and state legislatures. Watch the video above to learn more about the Trump campaign’s lawsuits and the future of the Supreme Court and election law.
You can find this video and all of Vox’s videos on YouTube. And if you’re interested in supporting our video journalism, you can become a member of the Vox Video Lab on YouTube.


vox--2020-11-09--Why so many people have started journaling during the pandemic

Stuck indoors during lockdown , Miami resident Sullyng Ceballos missed the clarity that long walks gave her .
“ Usually , whenever I ’ d feel stressed or had a lot of things on my mind , going outside would help drown the thoughts out , ” says Ceballos , a 28-year-old attorney , who had begun working from home in early March .
Miami had just reported its first Covid-19 cases , and Ceballos was in the high-risk category .
Her employers encouraged her to take all precautions .
A couple of weeks into the After , with nowhere @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own head , Ceballos decided to process her emotions on the page instead .
She started journaling for the first time .
“ It was the only way for me to really express myself , ” she recalls .
“ I ’ m an attorney so I ’ ve legal pads all over the house .
I just picked one up and started writing.
” About 9,000 miles away , in Bangalore , Janani Vaidya dug up a once-discarded diary .
“ I was picking up more projects and getting busier , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , my mental health was taking a pretty drastic hit , ” says Vaidya , who felt overwhelmed and jittery , and exhausted by “ waking up every morning feeling like I was drowning.
” Desperate to find an outlet , Vaidya began journaling in June .
“ Consistency is not my forte , so I didn ’ t tell myself that I would do it every day , ” they wrote over email .
“ I just left the journal on my desk as a reminder , and it ’ s a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day .
...
This is the longest that I have kept going back to it.
” Like Ceballos , Vaidya found that the process gave them a sense of calm and clarity , despite whatever fresh chaos was unfolding outside .
It ’ s a popular sentiment .
Since cities worldwide began sheltering in place one after the other , there has been a rise in the number of people taking up journaling — trying it for the first time , or returning after years .
The reasons have been many : boredom @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need for structure , or simply to document a very odd , very complicated moment in time .
Every other Zoom workshop seems to focus on some version of “ creative journaling.
” Online groups dedicated to the hobby are being swarmed with posts from beginners .
“ I think journaling is like going through a closet bursting with clothes .
Before you can even begin cleaning it , you have to dump all the stuff on the floor and just look at it .
That ’ s what you ’ re doing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reply to a newbie ’ s post in the journaling forum on Reddit .
“ So don ’ t worry about doing it right/wrong , your goal is to just look at your thoughts laid out , instead of it being cramped up in the head.
” A bunch of first-timers have posted on the subreddit , among the many digital communities dedicated to journaling , over the past few months : asking for advice , swapping stationery recommendations , and coming back to share updates on how it ’ s been working @ @ @ @ @ @ @ occasions when the days seem to have mashed together into one gray blob , a frequent experience during lockdown .
Some go all out with the washi tape and colored pens and Leuchtturms ; others stick to good old-fashioned “ streams of consciousness lite ” in exercise notebooks .
There are detailed descriptions of the day , habit trackers , and mood logs , and then there are entries like the one posted by a journaler struggling with depression : There are plenty of places online besides forums for journalers to swap ideas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ workshops — paid and unpaid — via Zoom have flourished .
Ceballos participates in twice-a-week sessions organized by an online community called Goddess Council , where members get journaling prompts — a helpful tool for beginners and the experienced alike .
As a result of this uptick , stationery companies have reported a bump in journal sales .
“ We ’ ve seen a significant bump in sales of journals and notebooks over the last 4-5 months , ” says a representative from the California-based company ban.do .
“ We ’ re up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ notebook/journal category.
” New York-based Peter Pauper Press has seen increased sales in dot-matrix format journals , as well as oversize and book-bound journals , says the company ’ s sales director , Claudine Gandolfi .
“ Those are generally used by dedicated journalers , not someone looking for a notebook.
” Journaling isn ’ t just a fun hobby — it ’ s a mechanism that ’ s frequently incorporated in therapy .
It can be an important tool to explore inner conflicts , rant in a safe way , or figure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ psychologist Andrea Medaris .
“ During pandemic , I think maybe the most useful thing about journaling is that it helps create a narrative , a sense that life continues and that it is moving forward , even in a time of stuckness .
It ’ s very easy to feel that time has paused , so making something that shows the progression from yesterday to today to tomorrow can bring a sense of hope and momentum.
” At a time when many of us have been feeling powerless , the very act @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a way of telling yourself that you matter , adds Medaris .
It “ tells yourself implicitly that those thoughts matter , that your voice matters .
That is doubly important in a time where many of us feel like our voices are insignificant.
” At a time when many of us have been feeling powerless , the very act of bothering to write down your thoughts is a way of telling yourself that you matter The first entry in Xochitl Estrada ’ s diary is dated March 19 , 2020 — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Prevention was predicting high numbers of casualties from the coronavirus .
A student research assistant living in Weslaco , Texas , Estrada was worried for the city ’ s large Latino population , which is socio-economically disadvantaged , she says , with limited access to medical resources .
“ I knew we would be in trouble .
No one pays attention to this area of the United States .
We are hit with hurricanes , and often do not make national news.
” The endless lines , empty shelves , and palpable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on that this was not going to be a simple epidemic .
Wandering through the aisles among panicked shoppers , she recalled reading diary entries made during the Spanish flu , from her undergrad epidemiology classes .
“ Those documentations are the reason we know so much about what occurred during that pandemic , ” she says .
It inspired her to start something similar of her own for future generations , “ so that they may not forget this moment in history.
” Every night , Estrada pulls out her quad notebook @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and documents the day in detail before going to bed .
She carefully notes the changes she has observed around her — the panic-buying , universities shutting down , workers still needing to head out every day , the uncertainty of everything .
As part of this drive to document the moment , journaling projects and collectives are popping up as well .
“ More and more anti maskers are pissing me off .
It feels like they only care about themselves , ” says a September 14 journal entry by Steph @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s okay to protest but Black Lives Matter protesters are ‘ thugs ’ and ‘ doing things the wrong way ’ ?
Why is it okay to protest wearing a mask meant to protect the public from a deadly illness but not okay to protest for the right to live ?
” Steph ’ s entry is among those from the “ Archiving Covid-19 ” class at Rutgers University in New Jersey , started by writer and professor Audrey Truschke .
Each week , curated excerpts from journal entries by 13 students @ @ @ @ @ @ @ university website .
“ It was a way to document history in real time .
The pandemic is all around us , it ’ s so much a part of our collective experience , ” says Truschke , a fifth-generation member of a family of dedicated journalers , who has also contributed entries to the Rutgers project .
She has digitized a couple of her great-great-grandmother ’ s oldest diaries , spanning 1941-1945 , and also uses them while teaching as an example of archival sources .
“ Her diaries now live in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ closet .
I don ’ t know why she started writing them , no one knows .
Maybe someone gave her a diary ?
She has no explanation , just starts like , hello diary , ” Truschke recalls .
Along with being a rich source of family history , the diaries have helped serve a higher purpose : proving everyone else in the house wrong .
“ It ’ s kind of fun — we definitely have had family arguments like , ‘ Where were we at Thanksgiving of 1994 ?
’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you compare and then you figure it out.
” Having the words on paper somehow made the big fears seem smaller .
They seemed manageable .
I found my way back to journaling myself in early July , a few months after lockdown had shuttered Mumbai .
My mental health had gone to shit .
I had managed to recover from Covid-19 with minimal ( as of now ! )
lasting damage , so I should have been positively writhing with joy .
But it was a struggle to see much of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plans for 2020 had not worked out , or been put in stressful limbo , due to the pandemic .
I felt anxious and gloomy and unmotivated , and had no idea how to start getting life at least somewhat back on track .
One afternoon , after days of aimless doomscrolling and morose Mad Men marathons , I decided to attempt a bit of self-care by making a habit tracker in an old notebook — a tool I remembered from my first and only stab at bullet journaling circa 2018 , otherwise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of my life .
This time around , I liked having a tangible reminder of things I was doing to look out for myself — starting with absolutely nothing more intimidating than drinking ( or attempting to drink ) two liters of water daily , moisturizing , having 30 minutes of no-screen time .
I slowly upped the ante : cooking more often , 10 squats a day , making it to at least the second paragraph of a book before thoroughly abandoning it for Netflix .
Soon , I had begun adding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whatever was bugging me or made me want to curl up into a very small ball .
Having the words on paper somehow made the big fears seem smaller .
They seemed manageable .
I ’ m unsure if I would count as a “ dedicated journaler ” yet , though I have been plenty surprised to find myself writing every single day .
Of course , one of the entries just says “ ugh , ” but there ’ s something very peaceful about taking 10 minutes just to hash out whatever @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and for once , not have to stare at a screen while doing so .
The other day I even attempted a ( very rubbish ) doodle .
Todd Smith is way more skilled at the art .
The Buffalo resident and retail employee takes joy in creating lovely watercolor spreads of changing seasons in his journal .
“ I had never kept any sort of personal agenda or journal before in my life .
Anytime I tried , I was noncommittal and would lose interest , ” he tells me on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ve always been a big fan of art and kept seeing all these beautiful spreads people had created themselves and I wanted to emulate them .
I wanted the creative outlet.
” Having needed to work through the pandemic , Smith used his journal to chronicle his mental health and create a quiet space that let him focus “ mostly on trying to function ‘ normally ’ each day.
” I — and plenty of others — know exactly how he feels .

Stuck indoors during lockdown, Miami resident Sullyng Ceballos missed the clarity that long walks gave her.
“Usually, whenever I’d feel stressed or had a lot of things on my mind, going outside would help drown the thoughts out,” says Ceballos, a 28-year-old attorney, who had begun working from home in early March. Miami had just reported its first Covid-19 cases, and Ceballos was in the high-risk category. Her employers encouraged her to take all precautions.
A couple of weeks into the After, with nowhere to go but the inside of her own head, Ceballos decided to process her emotions on the page instead. She started journaling for the first time. “It was the only way for me to really express myself,” she recalls. “I’m an attorney so I’ve legal pads all over the house. I just picked one up and started writing.”
About 9,000 miles away, in Bangalore, Janani Vaidya dug up a once-discarded diary.
“I was picking up more projects and getting busier, and a couple of months into the lockdown, my mental health was taking a pretty drastic hit,” says Vaidya, who felt overwhelmed and jittery, and exhausted by “waking up every morning feeling like I was drowning.”
Desperate to find an outlet, Vaidya began journaling in June. “Consistency is not my forte, so I didn’t tell myself that I would do it every day,” they wrote over email. “I just left the journal on my desk as a reminder, and it’s a thing I go back to almost every day. ... This is the longest that I have kept going back to it.”
Like Ceballos, Vaidya found that the process gave them a sense of calm and clarity, despite whatever fresh chaos was unfolding outside.
It’s a popular sentiment. Since cities worldwide began sheltering in place one after the other, there has been a rise in the number of people taking up journaling — trying it for the first time, or returning after years. The reasons have been many: boredom, an outlet for stress, the need for structure, or simply to document a very odd, very complicated moment in time. Every other Zoom workshop seems to focus on some version of “creative journaling.” Online groups dedicated to the hobby are being swarmed with posts from beginners.
“I think journaling is like going through a closet bursting with clothes. Before you can even begin cleaning it, you have to dump all the stuff on the floor and just look at it. That’s what you’re doing in the beginning,” says a reply to a newbie’s post in the journaling forum on Reddit. “So don’t worry about doing it right/wrong, your goal is to just look at your thoughts laid out, instead of it being cramped up in the head.”
A bunch of first-timers have posted on the subreddit, among the many digital communities dedicated to journaling, over the past few months: asking for advice, swapping stationery recommendations, and coming back to share updates on how it’s been working for them. Suggested prompts help on occasions when the days seem to have mashed together into one gray blob, a frequent experience during lockdown.
Some go all out with the washi tape and colored pens and Leuchtturms; others stick to good old-fashioned “streams of consciousness lite” in exercise notebooks. There are detailed descriptions of the day, habit trackers, and mood logs, and then there are entries like the one posted by a journaler struggling with depression:
5.21pm. I ate.
There are plenty of places online besides forums for journalers to swap ideas and learn from one another. Journaling workshops — paid and unpaid — via Zoom have flourished. Ceballos participates in twice-a-week sessions organized by an online community called Goddess Council, where members get journaling prompts — a helpful tool for beginners and the experienced alike.
As a result of this uptick, stationery companies have reported a bump in journal sales. “We’ve seen a significant bump in sales of journals and notebooks over the last four-five months,” says a representative from the California-based company ban.do. “We’re up 37.5 percent [year-on-year] in the notebook/journal category.” New York-based Peter Pauper Press has seen increased sales in dot-matrix format journals, as well as oversize and book-bound journals, says the company’s sales director, Claudine Gandolfi. “Those are generally used by dedicated journalers, not someone looking for a notebook.”
Journaling isn’t just a fun hobby — it’s a mechanism that’s frequently incorporated in therapy. It can be an important tool to explore inner conflicts, rant in a safe way, or figure out a difficult decision, says clinical psychologist Andrea Medaris. “During pandemic, I think maybe the most useful thing about journaling is that it helps create a narrative, a sense that life continues and that it is moving forward, even in a time of stuckness. It’s very easy to feel that time has paused, so making something that shows the progression from yesterday to today to tomorrow can bring a sense of hope and momentum.”
At a time when many of us have been feeling powerless, the very act of bothering to write down your thoughts is a way of telling yourself that you matter, adds Medaris. It “tells yourself implicitly that those thoughts matter, that your voice matters. That is doubly important in a time where many of us feel like our voices are insignificant.”
At a time when many of us have been feeling powerless, the very act of bothering to write down your thoughts is a way of telling yourself that you matter
The first entry in Xochitl Estrada’s diary is dated March 19, 2020 — the day the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was predicting high numbers of casualties from the coronavirus. A student research assistant living in Weslaco, Texas, Estrada was worried for the city’s large Latino population, which is socioeconomically disadvantaged, she says, with limited access to medical resources. “I knew we would be in trouble. No one pays attention to this area of the United States. We are hit with hurricanes, and often do not make national news.”
The endless lines, empty shelves, and palpable sense of dread made Estrada realize early on that this was not going to be a simple epidemic. Wandering through the aisles among panicked shoppers, she recalled reading diary entries made during the Spanish flu, from her undergrad epidemiology classes.
“Those documentations are the reason we know so much about what occurred during that pandemic,” she says. It inspired her to start something similar of her own for future generations, “so that they may not forget this moment in history.”
Every night, Estrada pulls out her quad notebook from Walmart, turns on the lamp, and documents the day in detail before going to bed. She carefully notes the changes she has observed around her — the panic-buying, universities shutting down, workers still needing to head out every day, the uncertainty of everything.
As part of this drive to document the moment, journaling projects and collectives are popping up as well. “More and more anti maskers are pissing me off. It feels like they only care about themselves,” says a September 14 journal entry by Steph. “Why do they think it’s okay to protest but Black Lives Matter protesters are ‘thugs’ and ‘doing things the wrong way’? Why is it okay to protest wearing a mask meant to protect the public from a deadly illness but not okay to protest for the right to live?”
Steph’s entry is among those from the “Archiving Covid-19” class at Rutgers University in New Jersey, started by writer and professor Audrey Truschke. Each week, curated excerpts from journal entries by 13 students from diverse backgrounds are uploaded on the university website.
“It was a way to document history in real time. The pandemic is all around us, it’s so much a part of our collective experience,” says Truschke, a fifth-generation member of a family of dedicated journalers, who has also contributed entries to the Rutgers project. She has digitized a couple of her great-great-grandmother’s oldest diaries, spanning 1941-1945, and also uses them while teaching as an example of archival sources.
“Her diaries now live in a box in my grandmother’s closet. I don’t know why she started writing them, no one knows. Maybe someone gave her a diary? She has no explanation, just starts like, hello diary,” Truschke recalls.
Along with being a rich source of family history, the diaries have helped serve a higher purpose: proving everyone else in the house wrong. “It’s kind of fun — we definitely have had family arguments like, ‘Where were we at Thanksgiving of 1994?’ and everyone gets out their journals and you compare and then you figure it out.”
Having the words on paper somehow made the big fears seem smaller. They seemed manageable.
I found my way back to journaling myself in early July, a few months after lockdown had shuttered Mumbai.
My mental health had gone to shit. I had managed to recover from Covid-19 with minimal (as of now!) lasting damage, so I should have been positively writhing with joy. But it was a struggle to see much of a reason for optimism. Several of my plans for 2020 had not worked out, or been put in stressful limbo, due to the pandemic. I felt anxious and gloomy and unmotivated, and had no idea how to start getting life at least somewhat back on track.
One afternoon, after days of aimless doomscrolling and morose Mad Men marathons, I decided to attempt a bit of self-care by making a habit tracker in an old notebook — a tool I remembered from my first and only stab at bullet journaling circa 2018, otherwise known as the most productive two weeks of my life.
This time around, I liked having a tangible reminder of things I was doing to look out for myself — starting with absolutely nothing more intimidating than drinking (or attempting to drink) two liters of water daily, moisturizing, having 30 minutes of no-screen time. I slowly upped the ante: cooking more often, 10 squats a day, making it to at least the second paragraph of a book before thoroughly abandoning it for Netflix. Soon, I had begun adding notes on my day, writing about whatever was bugging me or made me want to curl up into a very small ball. Having the words on paper somehow made the big fears seem smaller. They seemed manageable.
I’m unsure if I would count as a “dedicated journaler” yet, though I have been plenty surprised to find myself writing every single day. Of course, one of the entries just says “ugh,” but there’s something very peaceful about taking 10 minutes just to hash out whatever thought-jumble is clanging around in my brain, and for once, not have to stare at a screen while doing so. The other day I even attempted a (very rubbish) doodle.
Todd Smith is way more skilled at the art. The Buffalo resident and retail employee takes joy in creating lovely watercolor spreads of changing seasons in his journal. “I had never kept any sort of personal agenda or journal before in my life. Anytime I tried, I was noncommittal and would lose interest,” he tells me on Facebook Messenger. “But I’ve always been a big fan of art and kept seeing all these beautiful spreads people had created themselves and I wanted to emulate them. I wanted the creative outlet.”
Having needed to work through the pandemic, Smith used his journal to chronicle his mental health and create a quiet space that let him focus “mostly on trying to function ‘normally’ each day.”
I — and plenty of others — know exactly how he feels.


vox--2020-11-09--How Joe Biden plans to use executive powers to fight climate change

Former Vice President Joe Biden is the president-elect of the United States .
Now the work begins to make the handoff between governments , figure out who will fill key posts , and start making the to-do list .
It ’ s not clear yet however who will control the Senate .
That may end up becoming the biggest obstacle for Biden ’ s administration , particularly his ambitious agenda to deal with climate change .
His proposal calls for an aggressive shift to clean energy , carbon neutrality by the middle of the century , and massive federal investment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with President Donald Trump , who put forth no plan to deal with climate change and actively undermined existing policies to limit greenhouse gas emissions .
But Biden ’ s most ambitious ideas — particularly using $ 1.7 trillion in government money — requires Congress to go along , and it ’ s not clear he ’ ll have a willing majority .
Even a narrow Democratic majority could be thwarted by the filibuster .
Biden is also likely to undo most if not all of Trump ’ s environmental rollbacks with his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weakened 125 environmental regulations , like protections for endangered species , environmental risk assessments for infrastructure , and has opened protected wilderness for fossil fuel development and logging .
Some of the most notable rollbacks are of rules seeking to cut greenhouse gases , like the Clean Power Plan , energy efficiency standards , and fuel economy regulations for cars and trucks .
Many of these rollbacks are also tied down in ongoing lawsuits across state and federal courts that may take months to resolve .
Just untangling this mess alone may end @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ It ’ s not just flipping the dial and going from Trump back to Obama , ” said Barry Rabe , a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan who studies environmental policy .
“ It could actually take much of an entire term in office to reverse that reversal.
” And without drastic action soon , greenhouse gases will continue to increase in the atmosphere , the planet will continue to heat up , and disasters worsened by climate change will extract an increasingly dear toll from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lot a president can do from the White House without Capitol Hill , however .
The questions are how quickly the head of government can get these things done and how much of them will last through another administration .
Biden has a strong list of executive actions to pursue on climate change Even if Biden were to reverse Trump ’ s policies on climate change , that would only get the US back to where it was four years ago .
At that point , US greenhouse gas emissions were flat and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ meet its climate change goals under the Paris climate agreement .
To make up for lost time and to advance , the US needs more policies to limit greenhouse gases and facilitate the shift to clean energy .
However , as Vox ’ s David Roberts explained , it ’ s unlikely that Biden would be able to pass this agenda through Congress as part of a Green New Deal-type package .
Congressional Republicans like Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell have already dropped hints that they plan to stymie a Biden ’ s agenda @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That means a more piecemeal approach may be needed .
“ I think one big strategy that will be important for a Biden Administration without a Democratic Senate is to have a suite of climate policies rather than relying too heavily on any single policy — think of it as the ‘ don ’ t place all your eggs in the same basket ’ approach , ” said Ann Carlson , a professor of environmental law at the University of California Los Angeles , in an email .
Some of these tactics could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more stringent fuel economy rules for vehicles , and appointing members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission who factor climate change into energy policy , according to Carlson .
The Biden campaign seems to have realized this as well .
One of the climate policy survey questions Vox posed to the Biden campaign was about on how Biden plans to use the powers of the presidency to put points on the board .
Campaign press secretary Jamal Brown told us that Biden has come up with at least 10 executive actions to pursue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ methane pollution limits for new oil and gas operations .
• Using the Federal government procurement system — which spends $ 500 billion every year — to drive towards 100 percent clean energy and zero-emissions vehicles .
• Ensuring that all US government installations , buildings , and facilities are more efficient and climate-ready , harnessing the purchasing power and supply chains to drive innovation .
• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transportation — the fastest growing source of US climate pollution — by preserving and implementing the existing Clean Air Act , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aimed at ensuring 100 percent of new sales for light- and medium-duty vehicles will be electrified and annual improvements for heavy duty vehicles .
• Doubling down on the liquid fuels of the future , which make agriculture a key part of the solution to climate change .
Advanced biofuels , made with materials like switchgrass and algae , can create jobs and new solutions to reduce emissions in planes , ocean-going vessels , and more .
• Saving consumers money and reduce emissions through new , aggressive appliance- and building-efficiency standards .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ should reduce climate pollution , and require any federal permitting decision to consider the effects of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change .
• Requiring public companies to disclose climate risks and the greenhouse gas emissions in their operations and supply chains .
• Protecting biodiversity , slowing extinction rates and helping leverage natural climate solutions by conserving 30 percent of America ’ s lands and waters by 2030 .
• Protecting America ’ s natural treasures by permanently protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other areas impacted by President Trump ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , establishing national parks and monuments that reflect America ’ s natural heritage , banning new oil and gas permitting on public lands and waters , modifying royalties to account for climate costs , and establishing targeted programs to enhance reforestation and develop renewables on federal lands and waters with the goal of doubling offshore wind by 2030 .
These actions are only a slice of how Biden plans to address climate change , and there may be more .
There are also more contentious executive actions Biden could potentially take , like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or denying oil and liquefied natural gas export licenses .
However , executive actions alone won ’ t be enough to bring the US on track to have a carbon neutral economy by 2050 .
The private sector — power companies , manufacturers , businesses — will also have to act , which may require a combination of incentives , regulations , and advances in technology .
And while climate change is a high priority for Biden , he will also be facing the Covid-19 pandemic and will be shaping the government ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ currently killing more than 1,000 Americans every day .
Balancing the two crises of Covid-19 and climate change will be a formidable task .
Biden ’ s domestic climate agenda could end up stalled in the courts , but he can push for more action around the world The idea behind executive actions is to use authorities under existing laws rather than passing new ones .
However , while executive orders don ’ t need approval from Congress , they can still be challenged by courts .
For example , the Supreme Court @ @ @ @ @ @ @ implementation of Obama ’ s Clean Power Plan , which aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants .
Trump later repealed the plan and replaced it with a much weaker regulation .
For Biden , the judicial landscape would be even less hospitable than it was for Obama .
With a 6-3 Republican majority on the Supreme Court and more than 200 Republican federal judicial appointments over the last four years , lawsuits from states and industries that would be subject to any executive action could bog down any movement forward @ @ @ @ @ @ @ actions do survive legal challenges , they become far more durable policies .
One area where Biden does have a lot of room to maneuver on climate change is foreign policy .
Biden has already pledged to rejoin the Paris climate agreement as soon as he enters office .
From there , Biden wants to use the US ’ s weight as an economic and diplomatic player to push other countries to do more on climate change .
“ He will lead a major diplomatic effort to get every major country to ramp @ @ @ @ @ @ @ targets , including convening a climate world summit to directly engage the leaders of the major carbon-emitting nations of the world to persuade them to join the United States in making more ambitious national pledges , above and beyond the commitments they have already made , ” Brown told Vox .
While the US is the largest historical emitter of greenhouse gases and currently ranks second in emissions behind China , it only comprises 15 percent of humanity ’ s current emissions output .
That means addressing climate change would require nudging other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shift to clean energy .
There are also other international agreements on issues that touch on climate , like the Montreal Protocol that places limits on hydrofluorocarbons , a class of potent , heat trapping gases .
The US can also leverage its power as a major economy to sway the rules of trade , using agreements to hold trading partners accountable for their contribution to climate change .
But here too the Covid-19 pandemic looms large .
International cooperation will be needed to limit the spread of the disease between countries , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ already been postponed due to the pandemic .
Many countries are also facing their own economic crises and may push climate change concerns to the back burner .
The good news : Americans are more motivated to tackle climate change than ever Biden has leaned heavily on his experience as Vice President during his campaign , but it ’ s clear that 2021 will not be like 2009 .
While there will be an ongoing economic crisis and some demand for an economic stimulus , Congress may be an even bigger obstacle now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other hand , when Biden is sworn in , he will be taking the reins of a country that is much more motivated to tackle climate change than his previous turn in government .
Addressing climate change continues to rank as a high priority according to polls across the US .
Since Trump pulled out of the Paris accord , a coalition of states , cities , and companies have stepped to enact their own goals to limit greenhouse gases .
They ’ ve also been in the trenches challenging Trump ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state and local action on climate change .
“ For four years , we ’ ve fought tooth and nail against the Trump Administration ’ s efforts to dismantle critical protections [ for the environment ] and reverse hard-fought progress , ” said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra in a statement about the US withdrawing from the Paris accord this week .
Meanwhile , some of the big industry blocs that have resisted policies around climate change have begun to fracture .
Earlier this year , five automakers — Volvo , Ford , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a deal with the State of California to impose tougher emissions limits on themselves , defying the Trump administration ’ s efforts to relax those rules .
Some appliance manufacturers have pushed back against Trump ’ s efforts to relax efficiency standards for appliances like dishwashers .
Major power utilities are also betting big on clean energy .
For example , Arizona Public Service , the largest power utility in Arizona , committed to produce all of its electricity from carbon-free sources by 2050 , despite the fact that the state does not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Even major oil companies are starting to grapple with how they will cope in a world where carbon dioxide emissions must be constrained .
These divides could provide an opportunity for Biden to create coalitions that want action on climate change and from there , nudge the holdouts to do more .
But such alliances are fragile and it will take finesse to keep such a group from falling apart .
“ I think Biden can assume that he would have some industry support to work with , ” Rabe said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to hold that supportive coalition together .
”

Democrats have won control of the Senate, thanks to two tight Tuesday runoff races in Georgia.
With the Senate question largely resolved, President-elect Joe Biden can now start to focus on policy, including his ambitious agenda to deal with climate change, which calls for an aggressive shift to clean energy, carbon neutrality by the middle of the century, and massive federal investment to drive these changes. Contrast that with President Donald Trump, who put forth no plan to deal with climate change and actively undermined existing policies to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
Biden is also likely to undo most, if not all, of Trump’s environmental rollbacks with his executive powers. Trump has repealed or weakened 125 environmental regulations, like protections for endangered species and environmental risk assessments for infrastructure. Trump has also opened protected wilderness for fossil fuel development and logging.
Some of the most notable rollbacks are of rules seeking to cut greenhouse gases, like the Clean Power Plan, energy efficiency standards, and fuel economy regulations for cars and trucks. Many of these rollbacks are also tied down in ongoing lawsuits across state and federal courts that may take months to resolve.
Just untangling this mess alone may end up keeping Biden’s hands full. “It’s not just flipping the dial and going from Trump back to Obama,” said Barry Rabe, a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan who studies environmental policy, told Vox in November. “It could actually take much of an entire term in office to reverse that reversal.”
And without drastic action soon, greenhouse gases will continue to increase in the atmosphere, the planet will continue to heat up, the most vulnerable will suffer, and disasters worsened by climate change will extract an increasingly dear toll from the US economy.
Biden’s most ambitious ideas — particularly using $1.7 trillion in government money — require Congress to go along. And as Vox’s Ella Nilsen writes, even though Vice President-elect Kamala Harris can be the tie-breaker for simple majority votes in the Senate once she takes office, “Passing Democratic bills will be extremely difficult in a 50-50 Senate. It will be tough to even pass broad bipartisan bills.”
There’s a lot a president can do from the White House without Capitol Hill, however. The questions are how quickly the head of government can get these things done and how much of what gets done will last through another administration.
Biden has a strong list of executive actions to pursue on climate change
Even if Biden were to reverse Trump’s policies on climate change, that would only get the US back to where it was four years ago. At that point, US greenhouse gas emissions were flat and the country was not on track to meet its climate change goals under the Paris climate agreement.
To make up for lost time and to advance, the US needs more policies to limit greenhouse gases and facilitate the shift to clean energy.
However, as David Roberts explained, it’s unlikely that Biden would be able to pass this agenda through Congress as part of a Green New Deal-type package. Congressional Republicans like Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell have already dropped hints that they plan to stymie Biden’s agenda when he takes the White House, and most bills will have to clear a 60-vote supermajority in the Senate.
That means a more piecemeal approach may be needed.
Some of these tactics could include stricter efficiency standards for appliances, more stringent fuel economy rules for vehicles, and appointing members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission who factor climate change into energy policy, according to Ann Carlson, a professor of environmental law at the University of California Los Angeles, in an email.
The Biden campaign seems to have realized this as well. One of the climate policy survey questions Vox posed to the Biden campaign was about how Biden plans to use the powers of the presidency to put points on the board.
Campaign press secretary Jamal Brown told us that Biden has come up with at least 10 executive actions to pursue off the bat:
Requiring aggressive methane pollution limits for new oil and gas operations.
Using the federal government procurement system — which spends $500 billion every year — to drive toward 100 percent clean energy and zero-emissions vehicles.
Ensuring that all US government installations, buildings, and facilities are more efficient and climate-ready, harnessing the purchasing power and supply chains to drive innovation.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transportation — the fastest growing source of US climate pollution — by preserving and implementing the existing Clean Air Act, and developing rigorous new fuel economy standards aimed at ensuring 100 percent of new light- and medium-duty vehicles will be electrified and annual improvements are made for heavy-duty vehicles.
Doubling down on the liquid fuels of the future, which make agriculture a key part of the solution to climate change. Advanced biofuels, made with materials like switchgrass and algae, can create jobs and new solutions to reduce emissions in planes, oceangoing vessels, and more.
Saving consumers money and reducing emissions through new, aggressive appliance and building efficiency standards.
Committing that every federal infrastructure investment should reduce climate pollution, and require any federal permitting decision to consider the effects of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.
Requiring public companies to disclose climate risks and the greenhouse gas emissions in their operations and supply chains.
Protecting biodiversity, slowing extinction rates and helping leverage natural climate solutions by conserving 30 percent of America’s lands and waters by 2030.
Protecting America’s natural treasures by permanently protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other areas impacted by President Trump’s attacks on federal lands and waters, establishing national parks and monuments that reflect America’s natural heritage, banning new oil and gas permitting on public lands and waters, modifying royalties to account for climate costs, and establishing targeted programs to enhance reforestation and develop renewables on federal lands and waters, with the goal of doubling offshore wind by 2030.
These actions are only a slice of how Biden plans to address climate change, and there may be more. There are also more contentious executive actions Biden could potentially take, like revoking authorization for the Keystone XL pipeline or denying oil and liquefied natural gas export licenses.
However, executive actions alone won’t be enough to bring the US on track to have a carbon neutral economy by 2050. The private sector — power companies, manufacturers, businesses — will also have to act, which may require a combination of incentives, regulations, and advances in technology.
And while climate change is a high priority for Biden, he will also be facing the Covid-19 pandemic and will be shaping the government’s response to the virus that is currently killing over 3,400 Americans every day. Balancing the two crises of Covid-19 and climate change will be a formidable task.
Biden’s domestic climate agenda could end up stalled in the courts, but he can push for more action around the world
The idea behind executive actions is to use authorities under existing laws rather than passing new ones.
However, while executive orders don’t need approval from Congress, they can still be challenged by courts. For example, the Supreme Court in 2016 stepped in to stay the implementation of Obama’s Clean Power Plan, which aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. Trump later repealed the plan and replaced it with a much weaker regulation.
For Biden, the judicial landscape would be even less hospitable than it was for Obama. With a 6-3 Republican majority on the Supreme Court and more than 200 Republican federal judicial appointments over the last four years, lawsuits from states and industries that would be subject to any executive action could bog down forward movement on climate change. But if these actions do survive legal challenges, they become far more durable policies.
This is not the game-changing moment that many were hoping for, and we will be stuck working within the narrow confines of bipartisan climate solutions for at least the near-term. It makes our work harder, but also all-the-more important. 7/7 — Zeke Hausfather (@hausfath) November 4, 2020
One area where Biden does have a lot of room to maneuver on climate change is foreign policy. Biden has already pledged to rejoin the Paris climate agreement as soon as he enters office. From there, Biden wants to use the US’s weight as an economic and diplomatic player to push other countries to do more on climate change.
“He will lead a major diplomatic effort to get every major country to ramp up the ambition of their domestic climate targets, including convening a climate world summit to directly engage the leaders of the major carbon-emitting nations of the world to persuade them to join the United States in making more ambitious national pledges, above and beyond the commitments they have already made,” Brown told Vox.
While the US is the largest historical emitter of greenhouse gases and currently ranks second in emissions behind China, it only comprises 15 percent of humanity’s current emissions output. That means addressing climate change would require nudging other countries to curb their own emissions and shift to clean energy.
There are also other international agreements on issues that touch on climate, like the Montreal Protocol that places limits on hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a class of potent, heat-trapping gases. The recent legislation to fund the government passed by Congress commits the US government to reducing HFCs by 85 percent from current levels over the next 15 years.
The US can also leverage its power as a major economy to sway the rules of trade, using agreements to hold trading partners accountable for their contributions to climate change.
But here, too, the Covid-19 pandemic looms large. International cooperation will be needed to limit the spread of the disease between countries, and a major international climate meeting has already been postponed due to the pandemic. Many countries are also facing their own economic crises and may push climate change concerns to the back burner.
The good news: Americans are more motivated to tackle climate change than ever
Biden has leaned heavily on his experience as vice president during his campaign, but it’s clear that 2021 will not be like 2009. For instance, there will be an ongoing economic crisis and a raging pandemic to deal with immediately.
On the other hand, when Biden is sworn in, he will be taking the reins of a country that is much more motivated to tackle climate change than his previous turn in government. Addressing climate change continues to rank as a high priority according to polls across the US. Since Trump pulled out of the Paris accord, a coalition of states, cities, and companies have stepped in to enact their own goals to limit greenhouse gases. They’ve also been in the trenches challenging Trump’s rollbacks and building a legal framework for state and local action on climate change.
“For four years, we’ve fought tooth and nail against the Trump Administration’s efforts to dismantle critical protections [for the environment] and reverse hard-fought progress,” said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra in a November 4 statement about the US withdrawing from the Paris accord.
Meanwhile, some of the big industry blocs that have resisted policies around climate change have begun to fracture. In August 2020, five automakers — Volvo, Ford, Honda, BMW, and Volkswagen — reached a deal with the state of California to impose tougher emissions limits on themselves, defying the Trump administration’s efforts to relax those rules.
Some appliance manufacturers have pushed back against Trump’s efforts to relax efficiency standards for appliances like dishwashers. Major power utilities are also betting big on clean energy. For example, Arizona Public Service, the largest power utility in Arizona, committed to producing all of its electricity from carbon-free sources by 2050, despite the fact that the state does not have a mandate to do so. Even major oil companies are starting to grapple with how they will cope in a world where carbon dioxide emissions must be constrained.
These divides could provide an opportunity for Biden to create coalitions that want action on climate change and from there, nudge the holdouts to do more. But such alliances are fragile and it will take finesse to keep such a group from falling apart. “I think Biden can assume that he would have some industry support to work with,” Rabe said. “This would require really careful political work to hold that supportive coalition together.”


vox--2020-11-09--The songs that made America dance in the streets this weekend

Every party needs music .
When Joe Biden was declared president-elect , people in major cities across the country flooded the streets in celebration .
Left-leaning Americans turned to tracks that acted as a joyous , uniting sound : both a sigh of relief and a victory cry .
NSYNC ’ s 20-year-old hit “ Bye , Bye , Bye ” reentered the top 200 songs on the US iTunes chart .
According to Billboard , Kool & the Gang ’ s “ Celebration ” and Tina Turner ’ s “ The Best ” also saw a spike in streams @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Party in the USA ” reentered the iTunes top 200 and charted on Spotify at No .
93 — 11 years to the day after it first hit No .
1 .
( It is also worth noting that “ Party in the USA ” was heralded as “ the official funeral song of Osama bin Laden ” in 2011 . )
None of these celebratory tracks are as notorious as YG and the late Nipsey Hussle ’ s 2016 single “ FDT ” ( suffice it to say , the DT @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Billboard , Election Day streams of the song tripled , then quadrupled , launching it into the iTunes top 10 by the time the race was called four days later .
“ FDT ” was a fan favorite before , during , and after the 2016 election .
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times , YG said that he felt good about speaking up on the track .
“ We spoke up because no one else was speaking up .
That ’ s what rap is made for .
Too @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with no substance .
I told Nip that if we do this together , we got ta speak on Trump and go right to the streets , ” he said .
The songs that anti-Trump Americans chose to celebrate are on-the-nose classics — easy , to-the-point titles that describe the sentiment of sudden joy and togetherness in the wake of Biden ’ s win .
The lyrics of “ Party in the USA ” beg for audience participation , an excited head nod that says yes , this is a celebration .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unison and curse the name of the ( now-outgoing ) president of the United States .
In Pennsylvania , the state that put Biden over the 270 electoral votes he needed to win , Philadelphia residents partied long into the night .
Songs like 2012 ’ s “ Dreams and Nightmares ” by Meek Mill , a track that served the city well during its 2018 Super Bowl win , resurged .
Many , including John Legend , turned in tribute to “ Georgia on My Mind , ” for the state that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden in his path to victory .
Other classics like “ Here Comes the Sun , ” “ Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye , ” and “ Hit the Road , Jack ” were also popular choices .
Although President Trump seems to be uninterested in exiting without a fight , any song with lyrics that could apply to Trump ’ s departure was fair game , and those who are happy to see him go danced and sang along in the streets .

Every party needs music. When Joe Biden was declared president-elect, people in major cities across the country flooded the streets in celebration. Left-leaning Americans turned to tracks that acted as a joyous, uniting sound: both a sigh of relief and a victory cry. NSYNC’s 20-year-old hit “Bye, Bye, Bye” reentered the top 200 songs on the US iTunes chart. According to Billboard, Kool & the Gang’s “Celebration” and Tina Turner’s “The Best” also saw a spike in streams. Miley Cyrus’s 2009 banger “Party in the USA” reentered the iTunes top 200 and charted on Spotify at No. 93 — 11 years to the day after it first hit No. 1. (It is also worth noting that “Party in the USA” was heralded as “the official funeral song of Osama bin Laden” in 2011.)
None of these celebratory tracks are as notorious as YG and the late Nipsey Hussle’s 2016 single “FDT” (suffice it to say, the DT stands for Donald Trump). According to Billboard, Election Day streams of the song tripled, then quadrupled, launching it into the iTunes top 10 by the time the race was called four days later.
CNN exiting to commercial while FDT plays in the background pic.twitter.com/6qemjKgiFa — ben. (@benhomme_) November 7, 2020
“FDT” was a fan favorite before, during, and after the 2016 election. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, YG said that he felt good about speaking up on the track. “We spoke up because no one else was speaking up. That’s what rap is made for. Too many rappers keep saying [stuff] with no substance. I told Nip that if we do this together, we gotta speak on Trump and go right to the streets,” he said.
The songs that anti-Trump Americans chose to celebrate are on-the-nose classics — easy, to-the-point titles that describe the sentiment of sudden joy and togetherness in the wake of Biden’s win. The lyrics of “Party in the USA” beg for audience participation, an excited head nod that says yes, this is a celebration. “FDT” demands that listeners chant in unison and curse the name of the (now-outgoing) president of the United States.
In Pennsylvania, the state that put Biden over the 270 electoral votes he needed to win, Philadelphia residents partied long into the night. Songs like 2012’s “Dreams and Nightmares” by Meek Mill, a track that served the city well during its 2018 Super Bowl win, resurged. Many, including John Legend, turned in tribute to “Georgia on My Mind,” for the state that seems to be flipping blue and helped Biden in his path to victory.
“Georgia on my mind” sung by John Legend after he found out Joe Biden took the lead in Georgia which hasn’t gone blue since 1992. pic.twitter.com/glec4EIQkp — David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) November 6, 2020
Other classics like “Here Comes the Sun,” “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye,” and “Hit the Road, Jack” were also popular choices. Although President Trump seems to be uninterested in exiting without a fight, any song with lyrics that could apply to Trump’s departure was fair game, and those who are happy to see him go danced and sang along in the streets.