The Sunday Fix: December 3rd
Santos, Big Sandwich, CFP, Prison Reform and More
Happy Monday! I tried to do two physical activities yesterday (golf and pickleball) and I couldn’t keep my eyes open past 930pm, thus the delay. Hope you had a nice Sunday - let’s get you going for the week.
Lots of good stuff for you - if you like what you read, share the Fix!
The Sunday Six
Getting you well-read headed into the week
1) George Santos
In a rare move, the House voted to expel Rep. George Santos, marking only the sixth expulsion in its history and the first for reasons other than felony convictions or Confederate ties. History for Mr. Santos!
The efforts for expulsion gained traction after the House Ethics Committee released a report that outlined “substantial evidence that Santos stole money from donors and filed false disclosures with election officials.” Santos also allegedly spent campaign money paying off personal credit cards and buying all sorts of good stuff at Hermès, Sephora and on OnlyFans.
The expulsion went to a vote this week - with 311 votes “for” Santos is now out. Most Democrats voted for the expulsion while the GOP was split. Santos’ exit has significant implications for the GOP's narrow majority in the House, especially with upcoming votes on critical issues like Ukraine aid and border policy.
Santos will be remembered for his antics and his quotes. AMNY had a fun game: “Who Said it? George Costanza or George Santos?”. Questions below, answers at the bottom:
“I am not a criminal. Not here, not abroad, in any jurisdiction in the world have I ever committed any crimes.”
“Was that wrong? Should I have not done that? I tell you I gotta plead ignorance.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever been to an appointment in my life where I wanted the other guy to show up.”
“I’m not going to make excuses for this, but a lot of people overstate in their resumes, or twist a little bit. … I’m not saying I’m not guilty of that.”
“I never claimed to be Jewish. … Because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background I said I was ‘Jew-ish.’”
“It’s not a lie if you believe it.”
2) College Football Playoff
Well, we certainly got our fix of college football drama Sunday. The College Football Playoff committee stirred up a whirlwind of debate as it selected the four teams to compete for the national championship.
The committee's choice? Michigan, Washington, Texas, and Alabama, sidelining an undefeated Florida State who won the ACC Championship Saturday. To be fair, the committee was in an impossible situation after Alabama took down No. 1 Georgia. Between Alabama, Texas and Florida State, there would have to be a fanbase that was set to be heartbroken Sunday.
As most of us know, Florida State was left out in large part because of the quarterback injuries they’ve had in the last month or so. The committee argued that Texas and Alabama were better teams at this point. However, that didn’t sit well with Florida State fans. The Seminoles’ athletic director released a scathing letter Sunday with his views on the situation:
I do feel bad for Florida State and it pains me (as an Aggie) that Texas got in. You can check out the Seminole players reaction below.
And of course, it wouldn’t be a true controversy if Governor DeSantis didn’t weigh in.
3) Alaska Airlines
Alaska Air is set to acquire Hawaiian Airlines for about $1 billion, a strategic move that could reshape Pacific air travel. This merger, uniting two historic rivals, aims to strengthen Alaska Air's presence as the fifth-largest US carrier. Despite their continued separate branding, the combined force will offer broader reach and a new Honolulu hub for Asia-bound flights. However, the deal faces scrutiny from antitrust authorities, echoing challenges faced by other recent airline mergers.
4) Paris Stabbing
A tourist was fatally stabbed a few hundred yards from the Eiffel Tower by an Islamist extremist, Armand Rajabpour-Miyandoab, Saturday evening. The assailant had previously pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, expressed support for jihadists, and had recently been posting frequently on Twitter about Hamas.
Despite his arrest shortly after the attack, the incident has heightened concerns in a nation already on high alert due to the Israel-Hamas conflict. France raised the “terrorism alert level” to the highest threat level in October after a teacher was stabbed to death by an Islamic extremist.
France (and Europe more broadly) have been dealing with rising levels of immigration as refugees across the Middle East flee from war or persecution. This has given rise to an anti-immigrant sentiment in France. Quick commentary from the Migration Policy Institute:
In 2002, far-right candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen reached the second round of the presidential election by focusing on concerns over immigration, and in 2017 and 2022 his daughter and political heir Marine Le Pen repeated the feat, coming within 17 percentage points of defeating President Emmanuel Macron in the April 24 runoff.
To far-right parties such as Le Pen’s National Rally, immigration represents a threat to French identity and security, as well as a huge economic and social cost, to which the government should respond by closing its borders. Immigration and integration issues have often been conflated with religion, notably since the latter half of the 20th century, when many Muslim immigrants arrived from former colonies in North Africa and posed what some interpreted as a challenge to France’s avowedly secular national identity.
This is not a dynamic that is unique to France. Many Western nations are having similar conversations around immigration. I thought this was interesting from Pew Research. This was also before COVID - I would assume there has been some shift towards the blue in the last 5 years.
5) Spotify
Spotify is set to lay off 17% of its workforce, approximately 1,500 employees, as part of its effort to achieve profitability, according to the WSJ. CEO Daniel Ek communicated the decision in a letter, highlighting the need for the company to adopt a more resourceful approach amidst economic challenges and increased borrowing costs.
Despite the cuts, CFO Paul Vogel remains optimistic about Spotify's “fundamental strength and its path to profitability by 2024.” The company's focus now includes balancing investments in new areas like its ad business and audiobooks with the necessity of consistent profitability.
At least it was after Spotify Wrapped came out?
6) Apple
Apple TV+ and Paramount+ are reportedly discussing a potential bundle, according to the WSJ. This development comes after the recent news that Max and Netflix might soon offer subscription bundles.
This strategy aims to reduce customer churn – the frequent dropping and adding of subscriptions – by offering a single subscription fee for multiple platforms. Both Apple TV+ and Paramount+ had higher churn rates than the industry average, thus the potential move here.
This tweet is starting to have some truth to it…
The Fix’s Picks
Summarizing and linking to some of my favorite reads, podcasts, photos, and clips from the weekend.
More Dog Years
A life-extension drug for dogs is getting closer to reality for the first. San Francisco biotech company Loyal is developing an experimental drug to expand the lifespan of large and giant dog breeds. It honestly feels right that dogs are the first ones to get life-extending drugs - all is well in the world. Full story from Wired.
Loyal’s experimental drug is an injection designed to be given every three to six months by a veterinarian. The drug is meant to lower levels of a hormone called IGF-1, which is involved in growth and metabolism and has been linked to dog size. Large dogs have a genetic variant that leads to high levels of IGF-1 and small dogs have a different variant that results in lower levels.
Inhibiting this hormone has been shown to increase lifespan in worms, flies, and rodents. In humans, both very high and very low levels increase mortality risk, while a midrange is associated with the lowest mortality
Kissinger
Henry Kissinger passed away this past week at 100. Kissinger was viewed by some as a noble statesman who played a critical role in America’s successes but was viewed by others as a war criminal. Regardless, he lived an incredibly interesting life - check out Henry Kissinger: a life in pictures.
Dynamo
One of my favorite reads from recently - the story of a new program at the Northeast Correctional Center in Missouri. The program, Dynamo, is an experiment that’s showing promise:
Dynamo offers a tremendous amount of freedom to inmates who have shown many years — sometimes decades — of good behavior behind bars. Based off a prison model in Norway that prioritizes reintegration to society, staff handpicked 14 longtimers in their 50s, 60s and 70s to lay the Dynamo foundation with the goal of growing from there.
It’s highly unusual for many reasons. Dynamo inmates have keys to their housing unit and yard, which they can access at any hour and are responsible for cutting the grass. They have open movement to food service, jobs, library, recreation and canteen. They have access to a day room with a soft sofa, large television, washer and dryer, refrigerator, ice machine, plants and an aquarium to help alleviate stress.
Most unusual of all, inmates have their own cells, which they can paint the color of their choosing — and are expected to clean. They are also supposed to keep track of their own doctor appointments and so on.
Full story from the St. Louis Dispatch
The Best of the Rest
All the funny or wise content I came across to kick your week off right
George Santos SNL
Big Sandwich
Transfer Portal
College Football fans everywhere as the transfer portal heats up
Have a great week! See you next Sunday.
Santos Answers
That wasn’t Costanza’s defense of his fact-finding mission to communist Cuba in the search of the Yankees’ next star. That was Santos’ statement Monday with regard to charges that he committed financial crimes in Brazil, or that he perpetrated fraud in embellishing his background to get elected. Nonetheless, state Attorney General Letitia James has launched an investigation into Santos, and Congress Member-elect Dan Goldman called for federal prosecutors to do the same.
Santos could have said that after getting caught lying about his past, but this statement was in fact all Costanza — after he admitted to his boss at Pendant Publishing that he had caroused with the office cleaner. The guilty plea didn’t work, and Costanza was summarily fired.
Which George said this? That would be Costanza, who was not shy about his insecurity at job interviews. Santos did show up for his appointed debates on the campaign trail against his Democratic rival, Robert Zimmerman, where he repeatedly lied to both voters and Zimmerman about his past.
On Monday, Santos offered this statement in his own defense while continuing to maintain his intent to take in January the Congressional seat he was elected to in November.
Costanza once converted to another religion in order to continue seeing his then-girlfriend. Santos lied to voters about his Jewish background, including that his grandparents were Holocaust survivors. Despite being caught in the shameful lies, Santos claims his statement was taken out of context.
Any Seinfeld fan knows this quote comes straight from mouth of Costanza, who once inferred to his pal Jerry that he lied at a level of mastery that he couldn’t possibly teach to anyone else: “It’s like saying to Pavarotti, ‘Teach me to sing like you.'” Some voters undoubtedly wonder how truthful Santos will be to them during the next two years in Congress, should he be seated in office next month.