The Banter Brief: Grim News For Trump, Saving Pachamama, And War With China
1. Most important story of the week
The burning of the Amazon rainforest is this week’s biggest story by far. We are reaching a critical point in history where we must decide what kind of planet we want to leave for our children — a burning wreckage that is inhospitable to life as we know it, or a bio-diverse, stable Eden regenerated by our care and compassion. We covered the story earlier this week with links to how you can help stop this insanity.
If you purchase a Banter Membership this week, we’ll donate 50% of the profits to the Rain Forest Trust, an important non-profit doing great work to prevent this from happening in the future:
2. Poll Analysis
Not good for Trump. At all. From the AP:
About 6 in 10 Americans disapprove of President Donald Trump’s overall job performance, according to a new poll released Thursday by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, which finds some support for the president’s handling of the U.S. economy but gives him weak marks on other major issues.
Just 36% of Americans approve of the way Trump is handling his job as president; 62% disapprove.
As the economy appears to be on the verge of a recession, Trump is beginning to panic - he knows bad job approval ratings with a bad economy spells disaster for 2020. Interesting results from a recent report from Navigator Research, a consortium of Democratic research and advocacy groups, show conclusively that Trump has to win over a very specific group of voters if he is to win, namely: “Americans who say they approve of Trump’s management of the economy but still disapprove of his overall performance as president.” No economy, no presidency.
3. Quote of the Week
"Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing your companies HOME and making your products in the USA."
- The president of The United States Donald Trump informing private enterprise via Twitter that they must stop trading with China.
4. What to watch on Netflix
‘Pachamama’
‘Pachamama’ is a beautifully animated film about Tepulpaï, a 10 year old boy who dreams of becoming a great Shaman. Set sometime in the 1530’s in the Peruvian Andes, the story begins with an Incan tax collector taking all the crops and a sacred statue from Tepulpaï’s village. Inspired by the prospect of a great adventure, Tepulpaï and a girl named Naira travel to Incan city of Cuzco to retrieve what was stolen from them.
If you have children and want them to grow up with a respect for nature, ‘Pachamama’ is an absolute must. Even if you don’t have kids, it’s still a joy to watch and highly relevant given the sheer scale of the ecological crisis we are facing. The film explores the tension between indigenous lifestyles and emerging civilizations that destroyed them, and gives hope that we might still have time to incorporate their beliefs into modern society. It is high time we started learning from historic cultures that lived in harmony with the planet and understood how to take care of it, and ‘Pachamama’ is a lovely introduction to a culture that does just that.
5. Good news
While Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro are doing their best to destroy the planet, some political leaders are actually fighting for a decent future for all of use. The French President, Emmanuel Macron is leading the charge:
See you next Friday!
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Must read articles for Banter Subscribers:
24 Hours And A New Record For The Mad King - Bob Cesca on Trump’s truly insane day.
Beat On The Brat - Rich Herschlag outlines what it will take for the Democrats to beat the president in 2020.
The "Scary" Talks With Your Kids Are Not Actually Scary - Justin Rosario on how to talk to your kids about sex.