memeorandum: Is Facebook Bad for You? 360 Million Users Say Yes, Company Documents Show (Wall Street Journal)

11:45 AM ET, November 5, 2021

Top Items:

Kimberley A. Strassel / Wall Street Journal:

Durham and the Clinton Dossier — A new indictment continues the slow unraveling of a 2016 political scandal. — The nation argued for five years over the infamous “Steele dossier,” the document on which the Federal Bureau of Investigation relied to investigate Donald Trump's 2016 campaign.

Discussion: [your]NEWS, New York Post, Election Law Blog, The Western Journal, NOQ Report and New York Times

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:

The media and the Steele dossier — A series by Erik Wemple on the media's handling of the Steele dossier — Just because the famous collection of memos by former MI6 agent Christopher Steele didn't pan out didn't mean that there wasn't plenty of fishy Russia business during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Andrew C. McCarthy / New York Post:

Arrest illustrates how the Steele dossier was a political dirty trick orchestrated by Hillary Clinton — Special counsel John Durham's indictment of Igor Danchenko, the principal source for the bogus Steele dossier used by the FBI as a basis for the Trump-Russia investigation …

Discussion: Breitbart, Washington Free Beacon, CNBC, National Review, Associated Press, The Gateway Pundit and Insider

Eli Lake / Bloomberg:
Was the FBI Manipulated by the Democratic Party?

Discussion: The Guardian

Pfizer Inc.:

Pfizer's Novel COVID-19 Oral Antiviral Treatment Candidate Reduced Risk of Hospitalization or Death by 89% in Interim Analysis of Phase 2/3 EPIC-HR Study — PAXLOVID™ (PF-07321332; ritonavir) was found to reduce the risk of hospitalization or death by 89% compared to placebo in non-hospitalized high-risk adults with COVID-19

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Examiner, The Verge, CBS News, UPI and New York Post

Karen Weintraub / USA Today:

Pfizer antiviral drug could nearly end deaths from COVID-19, company study suggests — A new drug being developed by Pfizer offers the possibility of nearly putting an end to deaths from COVID-19. — When given within five days of the onset of symptoms, the antiviral therapy called Paxlovid …

Discussion: Mediaite, UPI, ScienceAlert, National Review and GOV.UK

Jared S. Hopkins / Wall Street Journal:
Pfizer Says Covid-19 Pill Is 89% Effective in Preliminary Assessment

Discussion: Washington Post, HotAir and NPR

New York Times:

Democrats Deny Political Reality at Their Own Peril — The editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values. It is separate from the newsroom. — Tuesday's election result trend lines …

Discussion: Washington Post, emptywheel, Pirate's Cove, Morning Shots, The Guardian, Fox News, The Daily Wire, Digby's Hullabaloo, Insider, ABC News and New York Post

Kimberly Ross / Washington Examiner:
Republicans can win by ignoring Trump

Discussion: The Hill, Louder With Crowder and New Yorker

Matthew Yglesias / The Atlantic: A Moderate Proposal — Moderates are suddenly on everyone's mind.

New York Times:

The U.S. economy added 531,000 jobs in October. — Hiring rose sharply last month. — Cumulative change in jobs since before the pandemic —5 mil. — April — June — Sept. — April —4.2 million jobs since Feb. 2020 +18.2 million since April 2020 — +531,000 — in October

Discussion: HotAir and CBS News

Jeff Cox / CNBC:
Job creation roars back in October as payrolls rise by 531,000

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Matt Dixon / Politico:

No million-dollar checks: Democratic governors may sit out Florida — TALLAHASSEE — The Democratic Governors Association has no plans to give significant financial help to Florida Democrats as they seek to unseat Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2022, a major setback that will make it harder for challengers to take on the popular Republican.

Discussion: National Review, Talking Points Memo and No More Mister Nice Blog

Ryan Lizza / Politico:

The Surprising Strategy Behind Youngkin's Stunner — Sometimes you want to hear from the strategists rather than the candidate. — With all due respect to Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin — who, for a first-timer from the world of high finance, proved to be remarkably disciplined on the stump …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, American Greatness, Conservative Brief, CNN, East Bay Times and Washington Free Beacon

Aris Folley / The Hill:

Jayapal: It's worth passing spending plan even if Democrats lose House — Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said on Friday that it's worth Democrats passing the party's sweeping social spending and climate change package even if they lose the House in next year's midterm elections.

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA

Wall Street Journal:

Is Facebook Bad for You? 360 Million Users Say Yes, Company Documents Show — The app hurts sleep, work, relationships or parenting for about 12.5% of users, who reported they felt Facebook was more of a problem than other social media — Facebook researchers have found that 1 in 8 …

The Guardian:

Trump DoJ official Jeffrey Clark to testify before Capitol attack committee — Ex-acting head of DoJ civil division was proponent of Trump's false claim that Joe Biden's election victory was result of fraud — A former senior Department of Justice official will testify on Friday …

Discussion: CNN and POLITICUSUSA

Stephen Collinson / CNN:
January 6 committee acts on multiple fronts in a race against time

Discussion: Conservative Brief, Just Security, Raw Story and NBC News

Associated Press:

State Dept. names new coordinator on ‘Havana Syndrome’ cases — Investigators have been studying a growing number of reported cases by U.S. personnel around the world. — Secretary of State Antony Blinken (above) appointed Jonathan Moore to coordinate the department's task force on Havana Syndrome cases.

Discussion: ABC News

Michael Wilner / McClatchy Washington Bureau: Two diplomats to lead State Dept. ‘Havana syndrome’ response

CNN:

Deposition video shows Trump allies under oath discussing debunked election fraud claims — Washington (CNN)Allies of former President Donald Trump testified under oath that they had done little to verify debunked claims of fraud in the 2020 election before spreading them on the national stage …

Discussion: Rolling Stone, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, The New Civil Rights Movement and Mediaite

Washington Post:

The rise and fall of the Jack Daniel's committee: How D.C.'s police union lodge made thousands selling whiskey online — In March 2017, the leaders of Washington's Fraternal Order of Police Lodge — an umbrella group for police unions in the capital — told their members about an exciting new idea.

Tim Marchman / VICE:

Tucker Carlson Pumped Full of Fentanyl, Emerges With New Understanding of the Opioid Crisis — “I just thought that was the most interesting fucking thing that had ever happened to me,” he said after emergency back surgery. — TM — Something happened to Tucker Carlson Monday morning …

Discussion: Washington Examiner and Mediaite

Hailey Fuchs / Politico:

Sinema's raking in cash from MLMs. They want to kill her party's labor bill. — They've been derided as spruced up pyramid schemes: Companies that incentivize their own customers to become salespeople for products. Now, these so-called multilevel marketing businesses are flexing their political muscle.

Discussion: Jacobin and Raw Story

Charles Bethea / New Yorker:

Is This the Worst Place to Be Poor and Charged with a Federal Crime? — The Southern District of Georgia does remarkably little to provide for indigent defendants. — In early August, a forty-one-year-old man whom I'll call Albert—he asked me not to use his real name—was released from a medium-security prison in South Carolina.

Jacey Fortin / New York Times:

California Tries to Close the Gap in Math, but Sets Off a Backlash — Proposed guidelines in the state would de-emphasize calculus, reject the idea that some children are naturally gifted and build a connection to social justice. Critics say math shouldn't be political.

Andrew Rice / New York Magazine:

New Jersey's Education Rebellion Was a Long Time Coming But Democrats didn't heed the signs. — On Wednesday night, 24 hours later than expected, news organizations announced that Phil Murphy had been reelected governor of New Jersey. The narrow victory was a dumbfounding rebuke of the state's Democrats …

Marshall Cohen / CNN:

Timeline of the coup: How Trump tried to weaponize the Justice Department to overturn the 2020 election — CNN Illustration by Alberto Mier — Programming note: A new CNN documentary, “Trumping Democracy: An American Coup,” about former President Donald Trump's attempts to subvert the 2020 election …

Discussion: Chicks On The Right and Louder With Crowder

Wall Street Journal:

Inside the World's Most Blatant Covid-19 Coverup: Secret Burials, a Dead President — Tanzania denied the existence of the pandemic for months, even as thousands likely died. The country is a clue to its hidden global toll. — DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania—Tucked away in a northern suburb …

Yew Lun Tian / Reuters:

China says it will hold supporters of Taiwan's independence criminally responsible for life — China will make people who support Taiwan independence criminally liable for life, a spokeswoman for China's Taiwan Affairs Office said on Friday. — This is the first time that China has spelt …

Jeremy Lott / Washington Examiner:

The future of space travel according to Branson, Musk, and Bezos — As billionaires Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, and Elon Musk use their private space exploration companies to shoot for the stars, they have been dogged by persistent, progressive criticism that this is all a highly combustible vanity project.

Michael Luciano / Mediaite:

‘A Black Mouth Moving’ That ‘Justifies and Legitimates’ White Supremacy: MSNBC Guest Says Winsome Sears Win Doesn't Make GOP Racially Progressive — When she was elected lieutenant governor on Tuesday, Republican Winsome Sears became the first woman and first Black candidate elected to statewide office in Virginia.

Discussion: National Review, RedState, Breitbart and New York Post

Ankush Khardori / New York Magazine:

Is Cy Vance Punting the Trump Investigation? — This week was supposed to mark the beginning of the end of an era in New York City crime fighting, with Alvin Bragg's election on Tuesday to succeed Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. after his 12 years in office.

Discussion: Insider, Raw Story, NBC10 Philadelphia, Alternet.org and Associated Press

Zachary Pleat / Media Matters for America:

Sinclair reporter admits critical race theory isn't taught in Virginia schools, contradicting months of fearmongering — Following Glenn Youngkin's victory in the race for Virginia's governorship, Sinclair Broadcast Group correspondent Kristine Frazao acknowledged that critical race theory is not taught in Virginia's public schools.

Discussion: Townhall and Alternet.org

Nathan Layne / Reuters:

Man cursed, lunged for Rittenhouse's gun before teen shot him -witness — A critical witness in the murder trial of U.S. teenager Kyle Rittenhouse said on Thursday that one of the three men shot during protests in Wisconsin last year cursed and lunged for the defendant's military-style rifle before he fired.

Discussion: CBS News, New York Post, HotAir, WGN-TV, WTOP News, MyNorthwest.com, Insider, BizPac Review, Wisconsin Right Now, [your]NEWS, Yahoo News, The Western Journal, Law & Crime and Denver Post

Emily Chang / Bloomberg:

Facebook ‘Knew What It Was Doing,’ Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt Says — Former head of Google speaks in an interview with Bloomberg TV — Prefers ‘proper industrial restraint’ over regulation of tech — Facebook's conduct revealed in leaked documents is “pretty concerning,” …

Discussion: Raw Story

Chris Hamby / New York Times:

Federal Government Cuts Ties With Troubled Vaccine Maker — Emergent BioSolutions ruined millions of doses of Covid-19 vaccines. Now its $600 million deal is canceled. — WASHINGTON — The federal government has canceled its contract with a troubled Covid-19 vaccine manufacturer …

Discussion: Human Events, CBS News and The Hill

Amanda Carpenter / The Bulwark:

“Family Values” and the GOP Class of 2022 — How are Herschel Walker, Eric Greitens, Sean Parnell, and Max Miller going to run the Glenn Youngkin playbook? — Republican Glenn Youngkin won in Virginia primarily by positioning himself as a solid parental advocate, a model that many GOP strategists …

Discussion: Raw Story and Politico