Good morning, Politicadoes! Hope you are waking up to this Wednesday and ready to tackle the day. Now that we’ve had a month-ish of Wednesday PTs looking back on Avocado history, I figure it’s a good time to check in: Do you like this? Would you rather see different things on Wednesday mornings? I’ve wanted to spotlight some of the conversations we’ve had in the PT and elsewhere in years past, and note how some of the events we’re chatting about now had precedents in previous years. My intent is not to dredge up past drama or bring up uncomfortable conversations, but if these look backs just bring back rough memories, I can talk about science or something instead.
2022: A great header about the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal and how that was defining for internet politics. Discussion about moving the Democrats left vs complaining about them. WBEZ moved forward with acquiring the Chicago Sun-Times.
Elsewhere on The Avocado: AV Club writers were forced to relocate to LA if they wanted to keep their jobs. Microsoft announced its intent to purchase Activision Blizzard. The Women+ thread talked about going into STEM and overcoming the idea that STEM is “for boys.”
2021: Michigan Republican representative Peter Meijer said he may have ended his career by voting to impeach Trump (… he was right. He lost his 2022 primary, and the seat ultimately went to a Democrat). Biden’s COVID vaccine rollout plan stood in stark contrast to Trump’s (which was “there is no plan.”). Trump’s very final approval poll had him at 34%, the only president to never top 50%.
Elsewhere on The Avocado: Anime Worth Watching takes a look at Astra Lost in Space. Ranger Ranker looked at the Alien Rangers mini-season of Power Rangers. Albums by the Decade looked at the 80s.
2020: A conversation about Harry and Meghan stepping away from the British Royal Family. A new aircraft carrier named after Black servicemember Doris Miller, rather than a president as is traditional. PTers shared and discussed the results of a “Which candidate aligns most with your policy preferences?” quiz while the NYT endorsed Klobuchar AND Warren in the Democratic primaries (seriously, what?). Ctrl+f “coronavirus” no results found
Elsewhere on The Avocado: Rank the tracks on an album. The Day Thread celebrated James Bond Jr.
2019: Buzzfeed News posted an article claiming Trump informed Michael Cohen to lie about the Trump Tower project in Moscow, which Mueller’s eventually had to speak up and say was incorrect. The government shutdown was *still* going on.
Elsewhere on The Avocado: Childhood memories. Things You Didn’t Know. Favorite Episode of The Twilight Zone (mine is The Monsters are Due on Maple Street).
2018: Trump held some Fake News Awards. A conversation about when people suggest simple fixes to an event that is really a symptom of a larger systemic issue (i.e., sexism, racism). Obama’s approval rating improved after leaving office.
Elsewhere on The Avocado: Made Overseas looks at The House of Flying Daggers. The Avocado Museum.
Be kind and thoughtful today.
