Thank You Voyager

Today’s Lineup

Thank you to Voyager 1 for decades of amazing science, the opening section of President Biden’s State of the Union message was important, we should listen when MAGA tells us they seek the end of our democracy, another media failure to fact-check a prominent lie, California law enforcement agencies are defying the law about sharing data, a society of right-wing Christian men is preparing for a national divorce, police shouldn’t be permitted to lie during interrogations, and how many times you have to fold a piece of paper to reach the moon.

#1

Voyager 1, First Craft in Interstellar Space, May Have Gone Dark (Orlando Mayorquin, The New York Times)

Voyager 1 discovered active volcanoes, moons and planetary rings, proving along the way that Earth and all of humanity could be squished into a single pixel in a photograph, a “pale blue dot,” as the astronomer Carl Sagan called it. It stretched a four-year mission into the present day, embarking on the deepest journey ever into space.

Now, it may have bid its final farewell to that faraway dot.

Voyager 1, the farthest man-made object in space, hasn’t sent coherent data to Earth since November. NASA has been trying to diagnose what the Voyager mission’s project manager, Suzanne Dodd, called the “most serious issue” the robotic probe has faced since she took the job in 2010.

WHY I FIND IT INTERESTING: 

This one hurts a bit. Voyager 1 is a remarkable spacecraft. It launched on September 5, 1977—and has exceeded its expected lifespan by decades. It is the first human-made craft to exit the heliosphere and enter interstellar space. For its many accomplishments, the photo Voyager 1 took on February 14, 1990, most captures my imagination. At Carl Sagan’s urging, NASA engineers sent the commands to turn Voyager—then out beyond Neptune, nearly 3.7 billion miles away—towards Earth one final time to take the final photos it would capture before turning off its cameras to conserve power. One of the photos it took is the image leading this newsletter: the Pale Blue Dot. The Earth in the photo is a dot less than a pixel in size about halfway down the orange stripe on the right. As Sagan wrote about the image, “Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us.” Here’s a video of Sagan putting this photo into a cosmic-scale perspective. Thank you, Voyager 1.

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#2

The First Part Of Joe Biden’s Speech Was SO Important (Brian Beutler, Off Message)

But with Trump unvanquished, and hook-or-crook desperate to return to office, it’s essential that the public not forget his disastrous presidency or the danger he poses to freedom in the U.S. and around the world. And to the extent voters have forgotten they need to be reminded. 

That’s why the first 15 minutes of Biden’s third State of the Union address were so, so important—both as an answer to the discourse of the moment, and for setting the tone of the campaign to come.

…

At the top of the speech, when viewership is highest and reporters form first impressions, he delivered a damning recitation of Trump’s record, the Republican agenda, their joint assault on reproductive rights, and their ongoing effort to sabotage the U.S. and the world order.

WHY I FIND IT INTERESTING: 

President Biden’s State of the Union address successfully debunked the notion that he is too old to take on the job. And—significantly—he went on offense against MAGA and opponents of our democracy. Biden and the Democrats need to remind voters about what Donald Trump did in his first term—and explain how the transition plans for a Trump second term grow from those authoritarian tendencies. Voters have a stark choice in this election. Will our democracy continue imperfectly, or will Trump become not our 47th president but our first dictator? Will we leave people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, and women to have their rights systemically destroyed on the white Christian nationalist altar? Trump and his MAGA supporters are telling us clearly what they intend. I am glad to see Biden building on his recent speeches about protecting democracy as he ramps up the 2024 campaign.

#3

“Welcome to the End of Democracy.” (Melissa Ryan, Cntl, Alt, Right, Delete)

“Welcome to the end of democracy. We are here to overthrow it completely.” 

That’s how Jack Posobiec opened his remarks at CPAC. Posobiec continued, “We didn’t get all the way there on January 6, but we will endeavor to get rid of it and replace it with this right here,” he said, gesturing to the crowd and holding up his fist.” Posobiec was speaking on a panel with Steve Bannon, whose response to the comment was “Amen.”

WHY I FIND IT INTERESTING: 

As I wrote, Trump supporters are not being subtle. They are screaming the ideas that used to be dog-whistled. This dynamic is a blessing. It makes it easier for those who wish to defend our democracy to clarify what is at stake. These statements are not hyperbole. They are promises.

#4

It Matters That Mainstream Media Missed Katie Britt’s Lie (Parker Malloy, The Present Age)

[Senator Katie Britt] delivered a prepared address that millions of people saw, built around a massive lie. That’s more than just “misleading.” It’s the type of lie that politicians should be shamed out of office for making and should be treated like a scandal. Instead, it’s just business as usual at the Times.

If they missed this, what else are they missing? Getting beaten to the punch by someone without any of mainstream media’s resources demonstrates a lack of focus on those organizations’ parts and is a failure of basic accountability. By allowing stories to run without calling out the lie, these news organizations are helping Britt misinform the public. She exploited a victim’s story to shape a political narrative around a hot-button issue, and if not for [journalist Jonathan] Katz, she may have gotten away with it.

We shouldn’t have to rely on independent journalists with TikTok accounts and newsletters to catch these lies. That’s the point.

WHY I FIND IT INTERESTING: 

Jonathan Katz is a former Associated Press bureau chief who has broken significant stories—including the UN’s attempted cover-up of its peacekeepers’ role in Haiti’s post-earthquake cholera epidemic in 2010. He has credentials. But, as Katz explains in this TikTok, he didn’t have to work terribly hard to uncover the lie at the heart of Senator Britt’s State of the Union response. Where was the New York Times? The Washington Post? The Associated Press? Why are leading media outlets just accepting what politicians are telling them—especially those who have demonstrated a propensity to lie? This situation is especially troubling as we now begin a political campaign season that will feature disinformation efforts, including the use of artificial intelligence. What is it going to take for information to be checked and double-checked rather than accepted as fact? We need reporters to do better. 

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#5

Dozens of Rogue California Police Agencies Still Sharing Driver Locations with Anti-Abortion States (Electronic Frontier Foundation)

California Attorney General Rob Bonta should crack down on police agencies that still violate Californians’ privacy by sharing automated license plate reader information with out-of-state government agencies, putting abortion seekers and providers at particular risk, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the state’s American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) affiliates urged in a letter to Bonta today. 

In October 2023, Bonta issued a legal interpretation and guidance clarifying that a 2016 state law, SB 34, prohibits California’s local and state police from sharing information collected from automated license plate readers (ALPR) with out-of-state or federal agencies. However, despite the Attorney General’s definitive stance, dozens of law enforcement agencies have signaled their intent to continue defying the law. 

WHY I FIND IT INTERESTING: 

There are at least 35 California police agencies that have told civil liberties organizations that they intend to defy the law and share this license plate information. Law enforcement agencies in forced-birth states could use this data to prosecute pregnant people who come to California for reproductive health care services. Jessica Valenti at Abortion, Every Day, also recently explained how anti-abortion activists can weaponize personal data (for example, through the purchase of location information from data brokers to target people who visit Planned Parenthood clinics). California elected officials—from the state and local levels—need to step in now and demand compliance with the law and stop law enforcement agencies from sharing of this information. 

#6

Inside A Secret Society Of Prominent Right-Wing Christian Men Prepping For A ‘National Divorce’ (Josh Kovensky, Talking Points Memo)

A secret, men-only right-wing society with members in influential positions around the country is on a crusade: to recruit a Christian government that will form after the right achieves regime change in the United States, potentially via a “national divorce.” 

It sounds like the stuff of fantasy, but it’s real. The group is called the Society for American Civic Renewal (the acronym is pronounced “sacker” by its members). It is open to new recruits, provided you meet a few criteria: you are male, a “trinitarian” Christian, heterosexual, an “un-hyphenated American,” and can answer questions about Trump, the Republican Party, and Christian Nationalism in the right way. One chapter leader wrote to a prospective member that the group aimed to “secure a future for Christian families.”

WHY I FIND IT INTERESTING: 

While we had previously heard about the Society for American Civic Renewal in a report from The Guardian, this story provides a significant amount of new information about the group’s mission, membership criteria, and leadership. It is quite a read about how a part of the Christian Nationalist community that is organizing. And, as Kovensky adds, “Who is excluded, in some sense, reveals more about SACR than who is allowed in. The group bans anyone who is not Christian: Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and others. But it goes further than that and bars “non-trinitarian” Christians; Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Scientists, and others cannot be SACR members.” That is not the kind of country in which I wish to live. These are the stakes. 

#7

Five Facts About Police Deception and Youth You Should Know (Nigel Quiroz, The Innocence Project) 

When people are brought in for questioning by police, they are expected to tell the truth. Most people would assume that goes both ways — that the police must also be truthful during interrogations, but the reality is that the police can lie to you during an interrogation, and it is not uncommon for them to do so.

But why would police lie? During an interrogation, officers may lie about evidence they have to pressure you into confessing to a crime they believe you have committed — even if you are innocent.

WHY I FIND IT INTERESTING: 

In a country where one is supposedly innocent until proven guilty, it is outrageous that law enforcement can lie during interrogations. Police can falsely tell you that someone else has confessed. Police can falsely tell you that an admission will mean you avoid prison. Police can falsely claim that the investigation clearly shows your guilt even though that investigation is far from complete. As the Innocence Project explains, false confessions are a leading cause of wrongful convictions in the United States—contributing to 29 percent of wrongful convictions. This dynamic is also one of the reasons why attorneys urge their innocent clients not to cooperate with the police during an investigation (a situation I had to experience). This problem is even worse for young people, given their incomplete brain development. California became one of the first few states to ban law enforcement from using deception, false threats, physical harm, and psychologically manipulative tactics against minors when Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 2644 into law in 2022. That was a vital step forward. However, it is not okay for law enforcement to use those tactics against anyone—especially since we know how often they lead to false convictions of innocent people. 

#8

The Biden Deepfake Robocall Is Just the Start of Our AI Election Hell (Tony Ho Tran, The Daily Beast)

“Voters all over New Hampshire seemingly received phone calls from President Joe Biden in the lead-up to the state’s primary on Tuesday. The call—which came from the phone number of a former New Hampshire Democratic Party chair—seemed to urge people not to vote in the upcoming primary and “save their vote” for November’s general election.

“What a bunch of malarkey,” Biden’s voice stated on the call, echoing one of the president’s oft-used chestnuts. It added, “Voting this Tuesday only enables the Republicans in their question to elect Donald Trump Again. Your vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday.”

Of course, the phone call and its message never came from Biden, but rather a deepfake powered by artificial intelligence to mimic the president’s voice.”

WHY I FIND IT INTERESTING: 

Using artificial intelligence to facilitate election interference and disinformation will be a constant challenge in 2024. I fear we are not prepared to deal with its ramifications. As Ctrl Alt Right Delete’s Melissa Ryan wrote in reaction to what happened in New Hampshire, “With more than 50 countries holding elections, 2024 is shaping up to be a global shitstorm of election-related disinformation, threats, and online toxicity.” Ryan also notes that with recent newsroom layoffs, fewer reporters are available to report on election disinformation efforts even as the need grows. That’s not great. I hope candidates understand just how much they must focus on exposing and debunking disinformation attempts. Campaigns must be quick and forceful in their efforts to provide accurate information. We have to work diligently to defend the truth. 

#9

How media amnesia becomes GOP amnesty (Mark Jacob, Stop the Presses)

“After the Jan. 6 insurrection but before Donald Trump left office, Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina sent a text to Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows:

“Our LAST HOPE is invoking Marshall Law!! PLEASE URGE TO PRESIDENT TO DO SO!!”

Norman wanted Trump to call out the military to prevent the peaceful transfer of power to the duly elected Joe Biden. Even after lives were lost because of the assault on the Capitol, Norman kept pushing for a coup. (And yes, Norman is a sloppy texter who didn’t know how to spell “martial law.”)

This traitorous text is something we ought to remember about Norman. But in the New York Times’ 34 most recent mentions of Norman over more than a year, the Times has referred to the text zero times. Zero. The Times has depicted Norman as just another conservative lawmaker addressing the issues of the day.

This is media amnesia, and it’s helping would-be fascists get away with their treachery as they plot to commit more.”

WHY I FIND IT INTERESTING: 

Mark Jacob is one of several media analysts—including Margaret Sullivan, Jay Rosen, James Fallows, and Dan Froomkin, among others—who have been begging their colleagues to be aware of this dynamic. Jacob provides several other examples demonstrating how damaging these omissions continue to be. I’ve believed for some time that the first question to any elected official should be, “who won the 2020 presidential election.” If the answer is not Joe Biden, the interview should end—because if an elected official will lie in response to this question, how can we trust their answers to any other question? It is not the public’s job to remember these nuances. We need reporters to provide the context so voters can make informed decisions.

Quick Pitches

• Stadiums and arenas are set to collect $18B in property tax breaks over their lifetimes (Neil deMause, Field of Schemes)
  It would be great if politicians would stop giving billionaires lots of money to build something they would do regardless.
• The 1944 CIA guide to sabotaging meetings (Adam Driver, Authentic Communications)
  Yikes. Yeah, this publication is an excellent guide to sabotaging a group’s ability to make progress in a meeting. What’s sad is how many meetings I attend that feature these techniques—perhaps unintentionally? 
• Timeline of the Far Future (Information is Beautiful)
  Here are some reasons you don’t need to stress too much about what may be on your to-do list. “How long until the Sun turns into a black dwarf? How long before the Earth is destroyed? Don’t lose too much sleep over these. Why? Because photosynthesis will not be possible in 800 million years, ending all life. If we’re not annihilated by a colossal asteroid first.”
• American Führerin: The (Potential) Tyranny of Elise Stefanik, VP (Greg Olear, Prevail)This comparison gave me chills—of the bad kind. “In short, Trump needs a Putin to his Yeltsin. Elise Stefanik is Putin.”
• “I Need to Get Back to My Crew”: Amos and Crowd-Sourced Morality (Noah Berlatsky, Everything Is Horrible)I love this show because of the difficult questions it asks viewers to confront. Amos is a complicated character, but his journey to improve is worthy of more conversation. “The Expanse provides some ethical lessons about learning about ethics.”

The Closer

How many times do you have to fold a piece of paper to reach the Moon?

Okay, you have your guess? I suspect it is fewer times than you think.

Here we go: the answer if 42. Yep. Just 42 times. Ethan Sieel at Big Think does all the math for you. Enjoy!

Post-Game Comments

Today’s Thought from my Readwise collection:

“It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.”—Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot

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