The competing town halls last night featuring Biden and Trump occurred simultaneously, meaning viewers had to choose which one to watch live. That says more about the lack of civic integrity of the media companies than the candidates themselves.
In any event, no one missed anything of significance.
Both events were boring, although the NBC moderator grilled Trump in useful ways, finally getting him to say he denounces white supremacists and supports a peaceful transition of power.
But rather than focus on those items, I want to turn to a different aspect of our public life -- the influence of culture on politics.
One characteristic those of us who were political writers at Rolling Stone in the 1970s tend to share is an appreciation of the sheer power that popular culture figures exert over their followers in political matters.
But the relationship between culture and politics also reflects history, including aspects of our history that remain little known among the general population.
This came up recently when my 11-year-old grandson was practicing his dance moves to a video from BTS, the popular South Korean boy band with a huge global following via social media, including in China.
"Why is China mad at BTS, Grandpa?" my grandson asked.
"Because its lead singer said something that made the Chinese government mad," I replied. (Details in the news summaries below.)
I've been following the BTS controversy since it erupted, mainly via the Japanese news service NHK. For me, it brought up I.F. Stone's classic book, "The Hidden History of the Korean War," which I read over half a century ago.
Most Americans probably know very little about that war, or America's part in starting it, or how it presaged in many ways the Vietnam War that in turn transformed American culture and politics into the society we've inherited today.
But Izzy's book would be a good way for people to go back and learn.
***
Hey, the jetpack mystery man is back! And in other news:
* Judge Amy Coney Barrett, refused to say whether climate change was real on the third day of her confirmation hearings. (HuffPost)
* As Virus Spread, Reports of Trump Administration’s Private Briefings Fueled Sell-Off -- A hedge fund consultant’s summary of private presentations by White House economic advisers fanned investor worries. (NYT)
* As election nears, Pentagon leaders’ goal of staying out of elections is tested (WashPo)
* During Barrett's hearing, GOP lawmakers insisted that any mention of the religious views of Barrett, a Roman Catholic, veered into bigotry. Few Republicans have delivered such forceful speeches against religious bigotry when it was used to target Muslims, especially two women in Congress repeatedly slurred by President Donald Trump. [HuffPost]
* The number of new applications for unemployment benefits rose 898,000 in the latest week, the highest level since late August, as persistent layoffs restrain the recovery. (WSJ)
* The United States is seeing a record surge in firearms sales amid increasingly disturbing news about the pandemic, social unrest over police brutality, and a potentially contested election. (Reuters)
* Trump criticizes Mnuchin, says he hasn’t ‘come home with the bacon’ (WashPo)
* Japan's Coast Guard tests unmanned aircraft (NHK)
* Europe, Which Thought It Had the Virus Tamed, Faces a Resurgence -- France imposed a curfew on Paris and other major cities, and other countries are taking similar steps as record caseloads fill hospitals and governments try to respond without lockdowns. (NYT)
* Half of all voters who plan to vote in person in the upcoming presidential election are doing so at least in part because they don’t trust voting by mail, a HuffPost/YouGov poll finds. (HuffPost)
* BTS’s Loyal Army of Fans Is the Secret Weapon Behind a $4 Billion I.P.O. -- What investors are really paying for is not necessarily the K-pop group or its management company, but its huge, highly connected ecosystem of followers. (NYT)
* BTS Frenzy Drives Hit K-Pop IPO -- Shares in Big Hit Entertainment, the management company behind the South Korean pop sensation, roughly doubled from their initial public offering price by early afternoon in Seoul. (WSJ)
* Chinese nationalists erupted in anger at South Korean boy band BTS after its leader thanked Korean War veterans for their sacrifices.The singer, who goes by RM, made the remark in a recorded acceptance speech for an award from the Korea Society for promoting U.S.-Korean relations.“We will always remember the history of pain that our two nations shared together and the sacrifices of countless men and women,” RM said in the speech, which included no mention of China. Last year, Chinese state TV suspended broadcasts of National Basketball Association games after the general manager of the Houston Rockets expressed support for anti-government protesters in Hong Kong. Broadcasts resumed this week. Since the Korean War, Beijing has helped prop up isolated North Korea with gifts of oil and other aid to maintain a buffer between China and U.S.-allied South Korea. Online Chinese fan groups demanded an apology from BTS and called for boycotts of an upcoming album and promotional events. (Billboard)
* Protesters in Bangkok defy emergency decree (NHK)
* An FAA spokesman told The Sun: "A China Airlines crew reported seeing what appeared to be someone in a jet pack at an approximate altitude of 6,000 feet, about seven miles northwest of Los Angeles International Airport around 1:45 pm [on] Wednesday. (U.S. Sun)
* Across the country, Democratic enthusiasm is propelling an enormous wave of early voting (WashPo)
***
P.S. As happened with so many of the amazing intellectuals who inspired me when I was young, I met I.F. Stone on a couple of occasions in the 1980s. First, when he gave the keynote speech at a fundraiser for the Center for Investigative Reporting. Second, when he sat in the front row of an auditorium where I gave a speech about "Circle of Poison" at a European journalism conference sponsored by The Nation.
Afterward, he came up and told me he loved the book and the way I talked about it.
I'll treasure that memory as long as I live.
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