What Donald Trump Did Was Bad. What William Barr Did Was Worse

Plus a heart-warming essay about why we need "The Price Is Right" ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  [View in Browser]( | [Donate [WBUR]]( [WBUR](  [WBUR]( September 29, 2019 [:warning:] We're now sending our newsletter from a different email address. Please be sure to add newsletters@wbur.org to your contacts so we never miss you. Dear Cog reader, Oof. It was a week. For those of you catching up this morning, we've got a handful of important perspectives on this whiplash-inducing week. Retired federal judge Nancy Gertner [argues]( if what the president did was bad, what the attorney general did was worse. Steve Almond, a frequent critic of the media, [wonders]( this week marks a turning point in coverage of Donald Trump. And Julie Wittes Schlack, our go-to for thoughtful, nuanced commentary, [muses]( the political machinations of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Finally, for those of you looking for an escape, Deborah Sosin [has you covered](. — Frannie Carr Toth Co-editor, Cognoscenti newsletters@wbur.org The Rundown url[Trump Is Bad. Barr Is Worse]( Consider the Mueller report. While the Trump campaign welcomed Russian interference in 2016, it was not guilty of conspiracy because the campaign had not orchestrated it. This time, it has. And yet, writes Nancy Gertner, still not a peep from the DOJ.   #%23%23[Twitter](  #%23%23[Facebook](    ['The Price Is Right': An Unexpected Oasis Of Peace And Harmony]( “The Price Is Right” is a hub of unity, diversity, inclusion and love, writes Deborah Sosin. And that’s a nice thing right about now. [Nancy Pelosi's Long Game]( President Trump, emboldened by the lack of consequences he’s faced until now, went and did it again, just as Speaker Pelosi knew he would.  Support the news [I'm A Millennial Voter And I Support Ed Markey]( Comparing the progressive bona fides of incumbent Sen. Markey and his challenger, Rep. Joe Kennedy. [Bye, Bye Blackbird. And Sparrow. And Finch]( The number of birds in North America has declined by 3 billion over the last 50 years. Bookmarks "The last time America watched an impeachment inquiry, it was largely an analog affair. When the House voted to begin impeachment proceedings against Bill Clinton in 1998, only one in four American homes had internet access. AOL and Yahoo were the biggest websites in the world, and 'tweet' was a sound birds made." (“[Brace Yourself For The Internet Impeachment]( The New York Times) “You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I’m one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction. And all you can talk about is money and fairytales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!” (“[Greta Thunberg: If World Leaders Choose To Fail Us, My Generation Will Never Forgive Them]( The Guardian) “Loïe, the day I was diagnosed five years ago, I wrote you a message telling you that I would fight for you and Daddy; that I wanted to be around to tell you this story has a happy ending. I am fighting with all I have, but if this story ends early, know this — I am with you always; even if you can no longer see my face or feel my hands through your hair. I am with you when you feel a warm breeze upon your sweet face. I am with you when you see a beautiful shade of light ocean blue. I am with you on that first day of spring when the flowers bloom and everything feels new and just right.” (“[Erika Zak: A Posthumous Letter To My Daughter]( The Washington Post) “It’s way too soon to declare victory in the gender-parity category. But the almost-complete absence of fashion-focused conversation about the leading three female candidates is heartening women’s advocates…” (“[Suitability? It’s No Longer About What Female Candidates Are Wearing]( The Boston Globe) A MESSAGE FROM WBUR Independent journalism strengthens our democracy. And WBUR stays independent because listeners and readers like you provide about half of the funding for all the reporting you receive from WBUR. [Give now.]( thank-you gifts like our sturdy WBUR camp mug, perfect for coffee and hot-cocoa lovers. Or our retro canvas tote; and thank you for supporting public radio. “ In this administration, the Department of Justice is where accusations against the president go to die. — Nancy Gertner, ["Trump Is Bad. Barr Is Worse"]( From The Archives [This week has led to a lot of questions.]( Questions about the Trump-Ukraine affair, local elections, immigration practices, what's important to voters and candidates as we inch closer to 2020. But how we ask those questions of our peers and elected officials could affect the answers we get. It reminds us of [a piece]( published earlier this year by Julie Wittes Schlack: "If we are genuinely trying to understand what and how people think — whether about the environment or about political candidates — then we have to make space for the biases, experiences and implicit fears that inform people’s 'rational' responses. Perhaps in doing so, we’ll even find some common ground or at least new ways to frame the questions that we as a nation need to decide." Click the image below to read the full piece.      If you’d like to write for Cognoscenti, send your submission, pasted into your email and not as an attachment, to opinion@wbur.org. Please tell us in one line what the piece is about, and please tell us in one line who you are. 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 📣 Give us your feedback: newsletters@wbur.org 📨 Get more WBUR stories sent to your inbox. [Check out all of our newsletter offerings.]( [WBUR]( [WBUR]  [WBUR]( [95289b97-66e8-43d4-a174-3bc3520a79a9.png]( [Instagram](  [Twitter]( [Facebook]( Want to change how you receive these emails? [Stop getting this newsletter by updating your preferences.]( I don't want to hear from WBUR anymore. [Unsubscribe from all newsletters.]( Interested in learning more about corporate sponsorship? [Click here.]( Copyright © 2019 WBUR-FM, All rights reserved. You signed up for this newsletter at wbur.org. Our mailing address is: WBUR-FM 890 Commonwealth AveBoston, MA 02215-1205 [Add us to your address book](