DATA POINTS
- Oct. 1 – The date of the first Vice Presidential debate between Tim Walz and JD Vance
- Oct. 5 – The day Trump plans to hold a rally in Butler County, PA; the site of the first assassination attempt
- 38 – The number of days until the 2024 Presidential Election
- 50 – The number of homeruns and stolen bases MLB player Shohei Ohtani has secured this season. He is the first MLB player to do so.
- 17,035 – The average number of fans attending Indiana Fever home games this season; an all-time WNBA record
- 20 Million – The number of pumpkin spice lattes Starbucks sells every year
Passing the Buck
Another Congressional funding deadline is putting lawmakers against the wall for votes, but like many years, they will be kicking the can. On Thursday, President Biden signed into law a continuing resolution (CR) that funds the government at current levels until December 20. The Senate moved the bill Wednesday night with a vote 78-18 after the House, shortly after the House passed the same measure on a 341-82 vote. All opposition in both chambers came from Republicans.
The threat of a government shutdown was unappetizing for Congressional leaders given the close timeline proximity to the November elections. Shutdowns spell trouble – especially for the 2.1 million non-postal federal employees. In the 2013 and 2018 full shutdowns, approximately 850,000 of those were furloughed, meaning they were not allowed to work and did not receive paychecks. Historically, federal contractors have not received back pay… not a popular look while heading to the ballot box.
With an extra three months to find a budget solution, House Speaker Mike Johnson has promised that his chamber will not move a massive, all-encompassing omnibus bill (as is unofficial tradition) to keep the government running. If possible, passing 12 individual bills where components can be argued will be a tremendous win for conservatives, who have historically pushed back on the omnibus tactic. But passing bills individually is easier said than done, especially after the election, when House and Senate Members will be itching to take their holiday time in-state with their families. With a bill signed and the government funded, though, that’s now tomorrow’s problem. And tomorrow will worry about itself.
CampAIgning
Twenty-six states have either passed or are considering legislation to regulate the use of generative AI in any election-related communications or materials. It’s no secret that AI holds tremendous power in the misinformation sector, and state governments are attempting action to avert damage and protect election integrity.
Whether it is a clearly fake Joe Rogan interview intended as a joke for an X audience or intentionally misleading photographs or videos about the presidential campaign, AI is often a tool of the cunning. For example, a wave of fake robocalls in January targeted New Hampshire voters using an AI impersonation of President Joe Biden encouraging Democrats not to vote in the primary – yikes. A Super PAC backing then-candidate Ron DeSantis used AI to imitate former President Trump’s voice in an ad attacking him.
It’s a serious concern for voters. 39% of Americans say that AI will be used mostly for bad purposes during the presidential campaign; 5% think it will be used for mostly good purposes. Will state governments be successful in safeguarding public opinion of election integrity? We’ll know more in 38 days.
Planes and Pagers
Pagers used by hundreds of Hezbollah members exploded in Lebanon and Beirut last week, killing at least 12 people. While the distance from the war zone provides some relief for Americans, many are left wondering how the sophisticated technology could affect them – especially in sensitive locations like airports.
Spokespeople for TSA have voiced confidence in current safety protocols. U.S. scanners are designed to detect explosives disguised as anything, including handheld communications devices. All checked bags are equipped with the same scanners. It is unlikely that the TSA will restrict pager access on U.S. flights, Lebanon, so far, is the only country to ban travelers from boarding planes with pagers and walkie-talkies.
Read More at The Wall Street Journal
Just Put the Legal Fees on my Card
Visa’s slogan – “Everywhere You Want to Be” – surely did not include being in court for antitrust violations. This week, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the credit card company accusing it of running a debit card monopoly – Visa handles more than 60% of all U.S. debit transactions.
The DOJ claims its actions have imposed “billions of dollars” in additional fees on American consumers and businesses. It says that by stifling competition, they could charge higher fees than they could have in a competitive market, and Attorney General Marrick Garland released that its anticompetitive practices have raised the prices of “nearly everything” for American consumers. The practices in question? Incentivizing would-be competitors to instead become partners by using either the carrot (paying them off) or the stick (threatening crushing fees).
A Shirt is Worth a Thousand Votes
Spending too much time doomscrolling on the internet will certainly affirm at least one truth: memes have become too powerful. This year, they are making the U.S. election the most… creative… it has ever been. With t-shirts featuring Joey Bizzle (*ahem* Joe Biden) surrounded by stacks of cash or AI-generated Donald Trump holding kittens in Springfield, Ohio, the secondary campaigning market is getting out of hand. It’s cheap, quick, easy, and low-risk to make t-shirts at commercial scale, and with AI producing content, influencers promoting buy links, and a contentious election, producers are cashing in on out-weirding their competitors.
It’s an unsurprising trend. If you have ever gone to an NFL game, you’ll see vendors lining the streets with knockoff, punny, and oftentimes offensive, gear promoting or denigrating the teams on the field. After all, haven’t our political cycles slowly turned into a spectator sport as opposed to a civic responsibility?
Read More at The Washington Post
See you next week!
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