Let's start with Trump's cabinet picks. First, our next president selects Reince Priebus as his chief of staff. I'd say that fits. It's his pick of Steve Bannon as chief strategist that has me unhappy, though I'm not wringing my hands unduly over it, unlike a lot of SJWs. I thought Trump would find some way to include Bannon in his presidential staff as a consolation prize for not being able to head Trump TV, and so he did. I'm not fond of Michael Flynn, but I have less of a problem with Jeff Sessions for AG because, contrary to the narrative, he's not a racist. I could talk more about Trump's selections, but I think I won't until he assembles a fuller team. It would do a lot to assuage my misgivings about a Trump presidency if that team included Mitt Romney as Secretary of State.
As for the actor in the cast of Hamilton lecturing VP-Elect Mike Pence when he went to see their show, Pence himself had the perfect response. I would go further: why is this such a big deal? Sure, this likely wasn't the best venue to call out Mike Pence, but other than that, it's a Broadway actor expressing his opinion, asking Pence to work on behalf of a united America rather than a divided one. Why should this offend Pence in the slightest? Of course, Trump was offended, but he seems to be offended whenever anyone even insinuates that he's not a universally loved paragon of greatness who wins every game of three-dimensional chess.
In other news, Evan McMullin got some people mad at him this week for this response to Trump's tweets about Hamilton. From what I've seen, McMullin seems to be alienating some of his former supporters as of late. Recently, he launched the New Conservative Movement, which is a political organization with goals that are vague as of yet, and implied in an interview that the NCM could lay the groundwork for a new political party.
I think this is the wrong approach for McMullin to take, and here's why. Creating a new conservative political party would have been a good approach had Trump failed in his bid for the White House, but Trump's win breathed on the embers of the Republican Party – enough to keep the flame burning a while longer. Many who supported Evan McMullin are willing to give Trump a second chance, to see how he chooses to lead a Republican party who will control both houses of Congress and nominate a replacement for Supreme Court Justice Scalia. At this point, I think a conservative political party would split the Republican coalition and nearly guarantee a Democratic victory in 2020.
There is, however, another way for conservatives to make an impact through the NCM. What if the New Conservative Movement became something like Ben Domenech's theorized Party of Life? The NCM could endorse candidates who espouse solid conservative values, fund their campaigns, and where necessary, run primary challengers against Republicans who did not govern in a conservative manner. I would also urge the NCM to adopt a broad definition of conservatism, centered around the pillars of free markets and federalism. As Domenech mentions, a large portion of the country holds pro-life views. A strong affirmation of federalism would return many issues of health, safety, and welfare to the power of the states, including the issue of abortion.
Now for a few links! Here are two excellent articles from Yuval Levin, author of the book that explained the Trump phenomenon before it happened, The Fractured Republic. The first one is on the evolution of the Republican coalition post-Trump, and I think it's very accurate. The second is about how Trump's election represents the American public's dwindling faith in cultural institutions. Both are well worth a read.
Lastly, here's something interesting: the recently remodeled Trump hotel just a few blocks from the White House represents a probable conflict-of-interest that could get Trump impeached on day one in office. However, as SNL wisely pointed out last night, maybe the Democrats wouldn't chance it.
Movie of the Week
This week I saw Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the latest from the Harry Potter universe. It had good and meh elements to it.
First off, it's wonderful to be back in the world that J.K. Rowling created – and this time, Rowling wrote the screenplay for the film, which is directed by definitive Potter director David Yates. Rowling's writing is charming and fun for the most part, with a few scenes that seem out of place or foreshadow twists a little too well.
Eddie Redmayne plays Newt Scamander, a British wizard who travels the world to collect and study magical beasts. He's writing a book to share his knowledge with the world, to show them that beasts are interesting and not threatening. In his travels to America, he stumbles into a brewing conflict between wizarding kind and the No-Maj (or non-magical) community, and has to navigate that mess while trying to recapture several magical animals that have escaped.
The acting in this movie is excellent, creating a new generation of endearing characters. Warner Brothers is planning four more movies in this series, and this film sets them up nicely. However, the movie lacks the same charm that the Harry Potter movies had, because even though the characters are interesting, we don't have reason to invest in their story the same way we did with Harry Potter. Newt Scamander is a magical zoologist trying to catch some animals; Harry Potter was trying to save the world and going through the trials of teenager-dom at the same time.
I don't know how to explain the feeling I got from this movie, other than to say that while I was at times enthralled and excited, the immediacy and punch of the story is not quite "there." You will probably enjoy this movie fine, though. 3.5/5 Stars.
Sports
First, let's just get this out of the way: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA TEXAS LOST TO KANSAS HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Now that that's done, your weekly look at who's in contention for the College Football Playoff! And this week, I'm going to start ranking them!
Last week, The Rules said that Clemson, Louisville, West Virginia, Michigan, Ohio State, Western Michigan, Washington, and Alabama are in contention for the College Football Playoff. (If you don't know what The Rules are, see the very first Weekly Update I ever did.) I added in Oklahoma State as a two-loss team last week, and this week, thanks to their absolute demolishing of West Virginia, Oklahoma vaults into consideration. Out of contention after this week are Louisville, after a bad loss to Houston, and the aforementioned West Virginia. Your run was interesting while it lasted, 'Eers. So here are the remaining teams, ranked in the order I think the CFP Committee will rank them:
- Alabama
- Michigan
- Clemson
- Washington
- Ohio State
- Oklahoma
- Oklahoma State
- Western Michigan (row the boat)
Bama is first because they seem to be unbeatable. Their struggles with Chattanooga this weekend just came off like a bored lion playing with its food. Behind Bama is a logjam at 2-5, and separating those teams is like splitting hairs. Michigan is the best of that bunch, because they've consistently looked pretty good despite having a bit of an off game this week. Then Clemson, the unquestioned best out of a very okay ACC. Washington's in fourth even though I think they might be better than Clemson because #EastCoastBias, and Ohio State is in fifth even though I think they could beat Clemson AND Washington because the CFP Committee is not putting two teams from the same conference in the Playoff. But the Michigan-Ohio State dilemma will soon solve itself when those two teams play each other, so I'm not worried.
Below them, just waiting for two one-loss teams to slip up, are Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. The winner of Bedlam probably wins the Big 12 this year, which would give that team the mythical "conference champion boost" the Committee always talks about. Lastly, Western Michigan has basically no chance to make the Playoff, even though they're demolishing the teams they play.
Etc.
This will be my final Weekly Review for three weeks. I'll be studying for law school exams, and I'd appreciate your prayers.
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