Vance's Cringe Advice about Masculinity & Where Will You be During the February 28 Economic Blackout
What I’m Discussing Today:
Kareem’s Daily Quote: A misread line of poetry becomes today’s quote.
JD Vance Offers ‘Cringe’ Advice to Young Men ‘Suppressed’ by U.S. Culture: When Vance starts advising what’s “masculine,” young men are in deep trouble.
Talk of a "Feb 28 Economic Blackout" is spreading on social media. What is it?: What practical effect would a nationwide day of focused non-spending have?
Kareem’s Video Break: When a child unexpectedly gets a pet, the world suddenly makes sense.
So, You Want to Get Rid of the Penny. Do You Have a Plan for the Nickel?: Trump just nixed the penny, but the nickel loses us way more money. This is how inefficiency disguised as cost-saving works.
Climate crisis contributing to chocolate market meltdown, research finds: Climate change—which the administration denies is happening—is helping raise chocolate prices.
Trump vows to undo Biden’s light bulb, showerhead, toilet rules: Research shows that the energy-saving rules instituted by Biden save consumers money. So, Trump’s plan will actually cost people more.
Kareem the Science Guy: A common parasite carried by 1 in 4 people can make them act boldly and take bigger risks. Who’s really driving this body?
What I’m Watching: Two excellent mystery shows: The very funny and entertaining Good Cop/Bad Cop and the suspenseful British P.I. show C.B. Strike.
Kareem’s Sports Moments: A couple of kids show off some amusing skills.
Christie Dashiell Sings “Journey in Black”: Jazz singer Dashiell was nominated for a Grammy this year. Listen to why.
Kareem’s Daily Quote
A good cry will not parent you.
A misreading of a line by poet Megan Fernandes
This may be the strangest daily quote I’ve ever done. Here’s why: I was reading a poem by Megan Fernandes called “Letter to a Young Poet” (full text here) from her book I Do Everything I’m Told. The poem is a collage of advice to the novice poet about writing and life. I’ve read the poem before, but this time when I came to the line “A good city will not parent you,” I misread it as “A good cry will not parent you.” Not realizing I’d misread it, I stopped to think what that line meant—and I had a lot of thoughts. Even when I looked at the line again and saw my mistake, my thoughts still held up to scrutiny.
My mistaken reading made me start thinking about what crying means to society and individuals. Of course, it’s about both pain—grief, the loss of love, the disappointments of life—and joy—the birth of children, the accomplishments of life. I’ve struggled to openly express my emotions all my life, and I’m impressed by those who can.
I was also thinking about the sinister side of crying: When people mistake crying for depth of character. The ability to feel emotion for some not only doesn’t translate into empathy for others but can reveal a stilted emotional development. The worst human beings in the world have cried—and to them, that means they are good people because they have feelings. Crying is merely an emotional reaction—like sneezing—but depth comes from understanding that reaction on a level beyond the tears.
“A good cry will not parent you” means that crying in itself is not the parent of who you become—unless you examine how that cry came about and what it means going forward. Being able to put emotion into context is what art, religion, and philosophy do. They don’t celebrate just the feeling, they explore how that emotion moves us farther along in the journey. Depth of character happens after the crying stops.
We should not fool ourselves that displays of emotion, any more than petting a stray dog, makes us good people. It’s how we react to that “good cry”—to our emotional reactions—that measure our humanity. Do we weep for others or ourselves? Do our tears motivate us to do something to alleviate pain in others, or just wallow? Everyone has feelings—having them does not add value to a person. But exploring those feelings and using them to change oneself and the world is how emotions parent you.
JD Vance Offers ‘Cringe’ Advice to Young Men ‘Suppressed’ by U.S. Culture (The Daily Beast)
SUMMARY: JD Vance was mocked Thursday for offering “cringe” advice to young men he says mainstream U.S. culture now opposes: Crack a beer, tell jokes, and embrace your masculinity.
The vice president suggested he and Donald Trump (who does not drink alcohol) won over the demographic by embracing these things and not telling men what to do or how to think.
“I think our culture sends a message to young men that you should suppress every masculine urge,” Vance said. “You should you should try to cast aside your family. You should try to suppress what makes you a young man in the first place.”
Vance, 40, claimed that American men are under attack for simply being who they are.
“My message to young men is don’t allow this broken culture to send you a message that you’re a bad person because you’re a man, because you like to tell a joke, because you like to have a beer with your friends, or because you’re competitive,” he said.
Vance gave his message on stage to a pro-Trump crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference, and his masculinity comments drew a raucous round of applause from those attending.
…Vance, who attended Yale Law School before entering politics, said he and his “guy friends” really enjoy laughing at jokes together.
“When I think about like, what, what is the essence of masculinity?” Vance said. “You could answer this in so many different ways, but when I think about me and my guy friends, we really like to tell jokes to one another, like, we like to laugh.”
MY TAKE: I grew up in sports, spending as much time in locker rooms as in living rooms. Most of that time was in the company of boys and then men. We shared a deep camaraderie that still is true today. As college and professional athletes, we were often revered as examples of manhood because we were competitive, disciplined, and sweaty. I mention all that to claim that I may have some expertise with how society views masculinity—and how it has changed over the years.
Vance makes many mistakes in his comments. First, he says, “Don’t allow this broken culture to send you a message that you’re a bad person because you’re a man…” He starts with an unproven premise that we live in a “broken culture.” He’s trying to pull the old circular logic fallacy, where he says treating men badly means our culture is broken and that the proof our culture is broken is that we treat men badly. That kind of dim thinking isn’t good for men’s image.
Men aren’t being treated badly because they’re men. Men aren’t being treated badly at all. They remain at the top of the gender food chain in terms of job opportunities, pay, and personal rights. Especially White men. But the right-wing has created the illusion that men are somehow underdogs to promise them their status back if only they’ll vote Republican. How exactly are men underdogs? Because women don’t fawn over them just because they’re male?
Vance says the essence of masculinity, to him, is about telling jokes. Two points about that. First, why would he make this statement unless he thinks that male jokes are under attack? Which jokes would he consider to be under attack? Jokes that are racist? Jokes that are misogynistic (like dumb blonde jokes)? Jokes about how nerdy Asians are or how cheap Jews are? If not these jokes, then which ones are our broken society preventing them from laughing at? These kinds of juvenile and hurtful “jokes” perpetuate diminishing people so they are always unequal in society. Is that what a man does?
Second, his example of laughing at jokes is from when he was in college. So, his standard for humor for men is actually humor for teen boys.
Vance is unable to distinguish between masculinity—traits that may be genetic and/or socially reinforced behavior—and toxic masculinity—behavior that is detrimental to both men and others around them, but is usually excused as “boys being boys.”
This crude and crazy thinking is not surprising coming from an administration that is a refuge for accused and convicted sex offenders: Trump (found civilly liable for sexual abuse); Elon Musk (sued by eight former employees for wrongfully being fired after reporting sexual harassment, also reported to have had sexual relations with a former intern and employee); Pete Hegseth (accused of sexual assault in 2017 with former babysitter); RFK Jr. (accused of sexual assault by former babysitter); Linda McMahon (soon-to-be Secretary of Education, being sued by five ring boys for ignoring sexual abuse from a staffer); Kimberly Guilfoyle (envoy to Greece accused of sexual harassment while at Fox News); Herschel Walker (domestic abuse charges); David Sacks (cryptocurrency czar co-authored a book dismissing date rapes as “seductions that were later regretted”); Matt Gaetz (Trump’s first pick for attorney general accused of sex with a minor, paying for sex, and the only U.S. Representative to vote against a law against human trafficking).
What message does hiring this rogue’s gallery send to young men and women? Men are being shown that sexual harassment is not a hinderance to a successful career, so go right ahead. And women are being shown that they are mere walk-ons in a story that’s about men’s needs.
What Vance and his frat bro view of masculinity can’t fathom is that no one wants to censor men from making their crude and abusive jokes, they just want them to mature enough to recognize that such “humor” is childish and unmanly. Better to have the strength of compassion and the courage to stand up to anyone who disparages others—even in jokes.
This claustrophobic view of masculinity has proven to be damaging to men, women, and society. But the perpetrators—like Vance—are only interested in their votes, not their futures. Telling them they’re victims of discrimination is the playbook on how to fool them. Men wouldn’t be fooled; boys would be.
FYI: Elon Musk is being sued for sole custody by MAGA influencer Ashely St. Clair, who claims she is the mother of Musk’s five-month-old son. Though Musk has fathered 13 children with four women [“Elon Musk’s 13 Children and Their Mothers (That We Know Of”)], he has not publicly acknowledged he’s this child’s parent. However, according to St. Clair, she has screenshots of texts where Musk said, “I want to knock you up again” and that they have “a legion of kids to make.” She also claims that since the boy’s birth, Musk has spent a total of three and a half hours with him.
Is this the good old-fashioned “masculinity” that Vance is bragging about? Like most GOPers, he’s too afraid to criticize Musk. Is being a coward also part of Vance’s definition of masculinity?
Talk of a "Feb 28 Economic Blackout" is spreading on social media. What is it? (CBS News)
SUMMARY: Over the past few weeks, information has been spreading on social media about a nationwide economic protest called the "Feb 28 Economic Blackout."
The call to action — or rather inaction — is asking that American consumers refrain from making any purchases at major retailers on Friday, February 28. The protest comes as people continue to endure rising prices on everything from food and gas to housing and utilities, epitomized by the soaring cost of eggs which in January averaged $4.95 a dozen.
Behind the boycott is a group called The People's Union USA, a self-described grassroots organization founded by John Schwarz, a 57-year-old dad originally from Queens, New York, who has been promoting the consumer blackout for weeks on social media. The People's Union says it has no political affiliation, but focuses on "fairness, economic justice and real systemic change."
Some postings for the event created by online supporters have suggested a targeted boycott of retailers like Ford, McDonald's, Meta, Target and Walmart that have ended their DEI programs to comply with an executive order signed by President Trump in January. However, official messaging from The People's Union suggests a boycott of all major retailers, with the goal of enacting broader economic change.
"For our entire lives, they have told us we have no choice ... that we have to accept these insane prices, the corporate greed, the billionaire tax breaks, all while we struggle to just to get by," Schwarz said in a video posted to his Instagram account. "February 28, the 24-hour economic blackout: no Amazon, no Walmart, no fast food, no gas, not a single unnecessary dollar spent ... for one day, we are going to finally turn the tables."
MY TAKE: I applaud people taking non-violent political action like this, especially when it’s clear that Congress is not willing to stand up to Trump setting fire to the U.S. Constitution.
Some might argue that in practical terms, not buying anything for a day but then purchasing from those same businesses the following day makes the protest ineffective. Not so. It isn’t just about making these businesses lose money, it’s about the threat of what people could do to their businesses in the future. When massive numbers of people coordinate to raise their voices in protest, that is the message.
This is an opening salvo aimed at those Republicans in Congress who have chosen to grovel to Trump rather than fulfill their oath of office. The sheer cowardice and greed are what disgusted Americans. They thought they were electing representatives who would champion their needs, not suck-ups promoting their careers.
The next step would be to target specific businesses for permanent boycotts. People around the world have reacted to Musk by not buying Teslas (“Tesla Sales Are Tanking Across The World”). That should just be the start.
Kareem’s Video Break
Another in my continuing series of children getting surprised with a pet because there’s very little in this world that produces this kind of joy. And I want to share it.
Quick Takes: The High Cost of Pretending to Cut Costs
“So, You Want to Get Rid of the Penny. Do You Have a Plan for the Nickel?” (The New York Times): Trump just ordered the U.S. Mint to end production of pennies because they cost too much to make. He’s right. Each penny costs 3.7 cents to make. (By comparison, a dime costs 5.8 cents and a quarter costs 14.7 cents.) But the real villain, if cutting costs is your goal, is the nickel, which costs 13.8 cents. How then, does the U.S. Mint stay in business, especially since it receives no appropriations from Congress? The Federal Reserve buys the coins from the Mint at face value and then sells the coins to banks, also at face value. This year, the U.S. Mint made $100 million in profit, down from its usual $300 million. The problem with canceling the penny: Eliminating the penny will mean the Mint will have to produce more nickels and will therefore lose even more money since the nickel is the biggest loss coin. Cutting the penny could end up costing more money than keeping it.
“Climate crisis contributing to chocolate market meltdown, research finds” (The Guardian): Thanks to climate change, chocolate is going to continue to increase in price. A new report by Climate Central concluded that “climate change, due primarily to burning oil, coal and methane gas, is causing hotter temperatures to become more frequent” in places such as the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, and Nigeria. This is where 70% of global cacao is produced, the key ingredient in making chocolate. The impact on chocolate lovers isn’t the worst of it: “Growing cocoa is a vital livelihood for many of the poorest people around the world and human-caused climate change is putting that under serious threat,” said Osai Ojigho, the director of Christian Aid’s policy and public campaigns. This rise in prices is another hidden cost of the Trump administration canceling all the programs we had going to fight climate change and invest in alternate energy.
“Trump vows to undo Biden’s light bulb, showerhead, toilet rules” (Politico): Trump announced he was going to reverse Biden’s efforts to make consumer products more energy efficient: “I am hereby instructing Secretary Lee Zeldin to immediately go back to my Environmental Orders, which were terminated by Crooked Joe Biden, on Water Standards and Flow pertaining to SINKS, SHOWERS, TOILETS, WASHING MACHINES, DISHWASHERS, etc., and to likewise go back to the common sense standards on LIGHTBULBS, that were put in place by the Trump Administration, but terminated by Crooked Joe.” Trump’s Energy Secretary Chris Wright backed up his boss: “The Department will pursue a commonsense approach that does not regulate products that consumers value out of the market; instead, affordability and consumer choice will be our guiding light.” The phrase “common sense” has been used over and over by Musk, Trump, and others in the administration as justification for their actions that have no evidence they improve anything. In this case, they make things worse. According to a study in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, minimum energy efficiency requirements resulted in prices declining “while quality and consumer welfare increased, especially when standards become more stringent.” Again, their version of “common sense” means Americans will literally pay more, not just environmentally, but in the actual cost of goods.
Kareem the Science Guy
Cat Litter Makes Us Take More Risks
Scientists have discovered that a parasite infection has the potential to make humans act more boldly by taking greater risks (“What Makes Us Bold”). About 1 in 4 humans are infected with T. gondii, which is transmitted from cat litter and undercooked meat. A 2018 study of 1,495 undergraduates found that 22% of them had the parasite and that those infected were twice as likely to be pursuing entrepreneurship goals rather than safer career majors. Further research found this to be true internationally: “Infection prevalence was a consistent, positive predictor of entrepreneurial activity and intentions at the national scale.” However, hosting the parasite does not mean the person will be successful, just that they will take bigger risks. Oddly, people who take risks think that they should be rewarded for their boldness and are shocked when their risk doesn’t pay off. Apparently, they don’t understand the definition of risk.
As you know from my previous newsletters, I spend a lot of time pondering free will versus determinism. This parasitic puppet-master can make people engage in riskier behavior, while the person is busy patting themself on the back for their bold behavior. Free will: 0, Cat Poop: 1.
What I’m Watching on TV
Good Cop/Bad Cop (CW)
I didn’t expect to like this series as much as I did because the CW network has not been producing great shows lately. But Good Cop/Bad Cop turns out to be a very funny, quirky mystery series that is highly entertaining. A small-town sheriff works with his detective daughter to keep the place safe. When they need another detective, the dad secretly hires his son, a brilliant cop who can’t make detective anywhere else because of his lack of basic social skills. The combative family dynamic is part of the fun. The series has the same tone as Monk and Psych, two of my favorite shows. (Grade: A-)
C.B. Strike (Max)
I just finished the fourth season of this riveting British mystery series based on the novels of J.K. Rowling and I’m hungry for more. Cormoran Strike (Tom Burke) is a war veteran and military investigator who’s lost a leg in combat and is now a private detective. He’s teamed up with Robin Ellacott (Holliday Grainger). They both have romantic feelings for each other but are never able to express them at the same time. What I really like about this show is Strike’s low-key personality as he cleverly pursues cases without ever raising his voice. I also like how Ellacott starts as an amateur sleuth, but her skills continue to grow on the job. The plots are complex and suspenseful and the characters are compelling. (Grade: A-)
Kareem’s Sports Moments
Do you remember what it felt like to accomplish some neat trick when you were a kid? These clever boys bring back that feeling.
Kareem’s Jukebox Playlist
Christie Dashiell: “Journey in Black”
Christie Dashiell is a jazz singer you may not be familiar with, even though her second album, Journey in Black, was nominated for the 2025 Best Jazz Vocal Album Grammy award. She also teaches jazz at Howard University where her father is chair of the Music Department.
One of the things I love about this video is how it feels as if we’re sitting in her living room while she tries out her latest composition. It’s so cozy that at the end I expect her to look up and ask, “So, what’d you think?” We should all be so lucky. The other thing I love is the sweet simplicity of the song and the cool clarity of her voice. Jazz done right.
You definitely covered all the bases this morning, Kareem, although I know you’re a basketball star. So many heartwarming moments to help us make it through the current morass. Thank you again, for all you do to educate and uplift us.
Dear Kareem - Reading you in the morning reminds me of the best in humankind. So - thank you!