This week is a short Yikes, but we have everything from flaky Instagram influencers to the President probs being a Russian asset!

It seems all but certain now that the president is either too stupid to realize he’s a Russian asset, or he was complicit in working with the Russians. Taking away translator’s notes after meetings with Putin and refusing to tell Cabinet members what transpired heavily suggests this is purposeful. Supposedly the FBI opened a counter-intelligence investigation regarding this disturbing possibility once Comey was fired but I worry about their effectiveness now, as Trump is already a security threat.

This twitter thread documents the progression of a Instagram influencer attempting to put together a tour and gets in waay over her head. Caroline Calloway is known for her Insta Stories with the maximum amount of text. It possible she isn’t *intending* to scam people and really believes that paying nearly $200 for a seminar where you get a letter and some wildflowers is worth it, but either way the thread is fascinating. Calloway is def. a woman who comes from a background of privilege and never considered the logistics of a touring seminar. I wonder what she did with that pallet of mason jars.

We are all keenly aware that Rep Steve King of Iowa is a racist. It turns out that his years of bigoted comments get half as much coverage as Rashida Tlaib’s “impeach the motherfucker” comment. It’s incredibly disheartening to see mainstream media make the exact same mistakes, having learned nothing and done zero reflection on how their headlines and coverage are skewed and reinforcing a terrible narrative.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez continues to use her social media savvy to school right-wingnuts on twitter. Her tenure in Congress has barely even started, yet she’s become a political celebrity on her own merits. Read more about the genius of AOC in my essay from this weekend.

This government shutdown/temper tantrum is now the longest in our country’s history. It is destroying the already-unstable infrustructure of America in myriad ways. TSA agents are calling out sick, the FDA cannot conduct all of food safety inspections, furloughed workers in DC are lining up for free food. Joshua Trees have been destroyed so people can 4-wheel wherever they want, and trash piles up in the National Parks that have no rangers currently working. What else? Oh! Native American tribes, who rely on federal funding, are missing out on money needed for crucial services.

In slightly better news, a judge has granted discovery requests to the Sandy Hook families who have filed a lawsuit against Alex Jones. This means their lawyers will get access to a lot of InfoWars documents like financial records and marketing strategies. Fingers crossed we get some justice here.