‘Whole Paycheck’ no more? Amazon has come in and taken charge of Whole Foods, and their first order of business is to roll back prices like D-FENS in Falling Down. (Minus the racism, of course.) The once-online-only giant plans to integrate the Whole Foods supply chain into their Prime Pantry choices, and also bring Amazon Lockers and their suite of electronics devices to the 460+ Whole Foods stores. It’s probably only a matter of time before Amazon Go technology (read: no checkout lines) makes its way into the wild.
I just want to say one word to you. Just one word. Plastics. The Mr. McGuires of Kenya are probably not offering this advice to young graduates there, as the country’s plastic bag ban finally went into effect, one of the world’s strictest. Yet, not everyone is on board, as NPR reports: “‘It may look very fashionable in international circles,’ he said. “But in reality, in a place like Kibera, we still need those plastics.’ Okoth said he understands and supports the need to clean up the environment. But there are better ways to do that, he said, than a blanket ban on plastics. ‘It’s not the plastic’s fault,’ he said. ‘It’s a lack of a system to collect the plastic and reuse it and make a value chain out of it beyond that first usage.'” [have you been italling quoted material? Or is this new?]
BREAKING: A scoop that debunks itself! Who says journalism is dead? Breitbart‘s Matthew Boyle was taken down a peg by Mediaite for a running ascoop regarding the departure of Trump aide Sebastian Gorka that later debunked itself: “Amazingly, Boyle managed to debunk his own hit-piece while writing it, as one of the last paragraphs in the article says, ‘Some familiar with the situation have told Breitbart News that it appears Sadler was just following orders, blasting out quotes she was told to send out by higher-ups.'” Boyle should have left the story on the cutting room floor, but alas its real point was to tar and feather an aide, not to report actual news.
Sheriff Joe Ain’t No Hero. Jon Gabriel, conservative editor of Ricochet, is a longtime constituent of the recent pardon recipient, and at USA TODAY Gabriel has a devastating takedown: “Many conservatives outside of Arizona celebrated his headline-grabbing antics, but they don’t know the real story. I’m a conservative Maricopa County resident who has lived under Arpaio throughout his decades-long reign. Arpaio was never a conservative; he just played one on TV.” As they say, read the whole thing. And at the Federalist, attorney Warren Henry has a not so fond recollection of him, too. If you’d like a terrible defense of the Arpaio decision, read Kurt Schlichter. It’s the worst thing you’ll read all day.
Troll so hard. American Action Network, a GOP group, loves Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH)’s talk on taxes so much, they made him the star of a new ad. Ryan, an up and coming shooting star, has leadership aspirations. The quote—in which Ryan argues for cuts to the corporate tax rate—is a bit out of context, but Ryan also has himself to blame. The lesson? Quit rambling, Congressman.
Steve Bannon’s Trap. At the Spectator, James Kirchick has an interesting item on Bannon’s culture war and a warning for Democrats: “Bannon is a master storyteller and creator of narratives, skills he honed making political documentaries and sharpened in more lurid form at Breitbart. The grand narrative he’s spent the last several years shaping is one in which the Democrats gradually become the caricature villain of a Breitbart comments section: the party of Colin Kaepernick and Melissa Click and the screaming girl at Yale and the people defacing the Lincoln Memorial and the pundits who equivocate over condemning Antifa and the transgender YouTube activist who insists that ‘some women have penises’. Democrats shouldn’t fall into his trap.” Yet, they probably will.
A golden ticket to meet the king?! In our inbox we get lots of press releases. Thousands of them a week. Some are comical, others sad, a few are crazy, and then there are some that make you wonder how the sender felt you were the ideal target audience for this. As a new part of the Afternoon Links, we hope to periodically share such excerpts with you, so… Here’s an offer you can use: “Interested parties are invited to come to The Hague on September 19, 2017 at Lange Voorhout 43 to get their first 600 guilders. Among the events of the day will include a classic car raffle and three hidden gold coins with a value of 1000. Mr. Sven-Ake Hulleman, initiator of the new currency, will also offer a personalized golden ticket to meet King Willem Alexander.” The press release is pushing a new form of alternate currency in the Netherlands called “The New Guilder.” Alternate currencies (save for maybe Bitcoin) typically fail or are shut down by government agencies, but hey: you could win a classic car or even get to meet the king! It’s unclear what King Alexander thinks of this effort to flaunt the ECB, but he is a bit of a populist. He flies KLM passenger planes in his free time.
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