NYT Argues in Favor of Killing Civilians in War, Why Do 2024 Rom-Coms Have 20-Year Age Gaps? Florida Teen Facing Felony For Tire Burnout (The Five for 05/29/24)
Plus, Jessica Alba returns to acting after a decade away with a Jon-Wick-ish Neo-western. Brad Pitt & George Clooney team up in a new heist/mystery.
Hey, welcome to The Five, a publication about the stories that matter.
One quick note on the podcast…I’m still having trouble with the feed to podcast players (working on it), but the episode is on pace to hit 10,000 views over on Twitter (including the short form clips). You can check the whole thing out over on YouTube, or watch this 60 second clip.
One more note…there’s nothing here about the Trump conviction, for two reasons:
A). It just happened, and the Five is not a reaction publication throwing hot takes out hastily.
and
B). What could I possibly say that hasn’t been said by a million talking heads on all sides of the issue? There will be plenty of time to cover the story in the news edition of The Five next week.
With that being said, let’s dive into Culture & Commentary.
[one]
Well, the “paper of record” just ran a column arguing against the Geneva Convention and LOAC (Law of Armed Conflict).
From The New York Times:
In World War II, Allied bombers killed an estimated 10,000 civilians in the Netherlands, 60,000 in France, 60,000 in Italy and hundreds of thousands of Germans. All this was part of a declared Anglo-American policy to undermine “the morale of the German people to the point where their capacity for armed resistance is fatally weakened.” We pursued an identical policy against Japan, where bombardment killed, according to some estimates, nearly one million civilians.
Grant is on the $50 bill. Franklin Roosevelt’s portrait hangs in the Oval Office. The bravery of the American bomber crews is celebrated in shows like Apple TV+’s “Masters of the Air.” Nations, especially democracies, often have second thoughts about the means they use to win existential wars. But they also tend to canonize leaders who, faced with the awful choice of evils that every war presents, nonetheless chose morally compromised victories over morally pure defeats.
Today, Israel and Ukraine are engaged in the same kind of wars. We know that not because they say so but because their enemies do. Vladimir Putin believes that the Ukrainian state is a fiction. Hamas, Hezbollah and their patrons in Iran openly call for Israel to be wiped off the map. In response, both countries want to fight aggressively, with the view that they can achieve security only by destroying their enemies’ capability and will to wage war.
This often ends in tragedy, as it did on Sunday when an Israeli airstrike targeting Hamas leaders reportedly led to the deaths of at least 45 civilians in Rafah. This has always been the story of warfare. Terms like “precision weapons” can foster the notion that it’s possible for modern militaries to hit only intended targets. But that’s a fantasy, especially against enemies like Hamas, whose method is to fight and hide among the innocent so that it may be rescued from destruction by the world’s concern for the innocent.
It’s equally a fantasy to imagine that you can supply an ally like Ukraine with just enough weaponry of just the right kind to repel Russia’s attack but not so much as to provoke Russia into escalation. Wars are not porridge; there’s almost never a Goldilocks approach to getting it just right. Either you’re on the way to victory or on the way to defeat.
A little background here on columnist Brett Stephens. He grew up rich in New York City, then attended U Chicago followed by the London School of Economics, which are not circles that tend to have high rates of military service. According to former Military Intelligence Officer and YouTuber Ryan McBeth, the NYT has less than 100 veterans out of a staff of 5,900 (although I couldn’t find that stat on Google), so there’s almost nobody in house at the Grey Lady to raise their hand and say “hi, combat vet here…this is why we don’t torture enemy combatants and intentionally kill civilians.”
It’s quite easy to make the case against total war, for the following reasons:
A). It just makes the other side more determined when they see their own civilians killed.
B). Soldiers also fight harder, and give up less quickly, if they believe their enemies are going to starve, torture or murder them after waving the white flag.
Or, here me out….
C). Recklessly killing civilians and torturing POW’s is what THE BAD GUYS do. And we don’t want to be the bad guys.
[two]
After being killed off in the wake of the #metoo scandals, rom-coms came back in a really big way this year, with Anyone But You raking it in at the box office and making Syndey Sweeney (Eurphoria, The White Lotus) and Glen Powell (Top Gun: Maverick, Hidden Figures).
Just a couple months later, Anne Hathaway had one of the biggest hits of her career with The Idea of You, about a 40-ish year old mom who falls in love with a boy band member her teen daughter is a fan of. The movie racked up 50 million views on Prime Video and I highly recommend you watch it if you have any interest…this monologue from Anne Hathaway is one of the best things I’ve seen in a movie this year. And Netflix found a major rom-com/mystery hybrid hit with Hit Man, about an FBI informant who falls in love with his mark. The straight-to-streaming romantic/mystery thriller The Image of You (man, these titles are pretty dang similar) features The Dark Knight Rises alum Nestor Carbonell (age 56) paired up with Sasha Pieterse (age 28) of Pretty Little Liars fame…which is…weird. (Again, it looks like a good mystery—see the trailer).
In June, Netflix drops it’s next hopeful rom-com hit, featuring a 20-ish year age gap between Zac Efron (The Greatest Showman, High School Musical), playing a movie star, who falls in love with his assistant’s mom, portrayed by Nicole Kidman (Big Little Lies, Moulin Rouge).
So, we’re seeing two trends this year:
A) rom-coms are back
and
B) about half of them are about MAJOR age gap relationships.
You know who knows this is a bad idea? Divorce attorneys:
All age gaps were compared against couples who were the same age. The study results showed that couples with a one year age difference have a three percent greater chance of divorce compared to individuals of the same age. Couples who have a five year age difference have an 18% chance of divorcing, and the likelihood of divorce increases by 39% for couples who have an age difference of ten years. Alarmingly, divorce is 95% more likely for couples with a 20 year age difference, and when there is a 30 year age difference this increases to a 172 % chance of divorce.
One one hand, the movie looks pretty well done, as far as genre pieces go (although the trailer does have a bit of the Hallmark Channel cheesiness/poor production quality). On the other…there is already some speculation that the early marriage and/or pregnancies of Haley Beiber, GiGi Hadid, Stranger Things’ Millie Bobbi Brown and other Gen-Z icons will encourage more young people to tie the knot and have babies closer to 20 than 30.
In an age where fewer people are marrying and having kids, this is a good thing for the economy and overall stability of society. But, if Hollywood is going to tell people that 20+ year age gap relationships can work long term, we’re likely going to see divorce courts get busier.
It’s not my job to advise anyone who to find love with, as relationships are complicated things…and I have no expertise in this area. But, it is worth pointing out that pairing up with someone who was born in the same century as you greatly increases your odds of happiness, success and wealth.
But we’re seeing less of that on the screen in 2024.
[three]
A teenager in Florida is facing a FELONY charge for doing a burnout in his truck on a PRIDE flag intersection…even though the rain already washed the tracks away.
From The Christian Post
A Florida teenager is facing felony charges for leaving tire burnout marks on a street intersection painted in the colors of the LGBT progress pride flag, marking the second time the streetscape has been deemed vandalized since it was unveiled less than three years ago.
On Monday, the city of Delray Beach released a statement announcing that Dylan Brewer, 19, of Clearwater, had been arrested for vandalizing an intersection decorated in the progress pride colors that serves “as a symbol of unity and inclusivity for the LGBTQ community.”
Video footage shared by the city, taken in the early morning hours of Feb. 4, shows a black truck driving over the intersection and leaving burnout marks. Brewer’s arrest follows a week-long investigation, which included law enforcement reviewing “smartphone video of the crime” and “multiple reports from concerned citizens who witnessed Brewer engaging in these destructive acts.”
Brewer, who turned himself in to Delray Beach Police on Monday, has been charged with felony mischief of over $1,000 and reckless driving. According to records from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, Brewer was released on $5,250 bond early Tuesday morning, less than 24 hours after he was booked.
I’ll state it again…there is no damage. If the push of the LGBTQ+ movement is equal rights, cool…the American flag can legally be desecrated, so it’s Equal Rights that the the Rainbow Flag can be too, and virtually every gay person I know would agree with that statement.
From 1923-1966, New York state criminalized gay men attempting to meet other men as “degenerate disorderly conduct,” and undercover officers would often pose as gay men to flirt with other men in public, and then make arrests for the crime of homosexuality.
But current persecution doesn’t erase past persecution…and the most powerful voice here would be for LGBTQ+ groups in Florida to overwhelm the Sherriff and County Prosecutors with calls to drop all charges, save perhaps a TICKET for doing a burnout…not a felony.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been in high school or college, but from what I understand is that many schools now have “Gay-Straight Alliance” clubs. The thing about alliances is…they run both ways.
This kid should not be denied financial aid, the opportunity for military service, working in government…or a host of other opportunities over a traffic infraction. Unless you run over somebody, aggressively hitting the gas pedal isn’t a “Hate Crime.”
[four]
Electric vehicles are increasing in overall market share of new vehicle purchases…but the federal government isn’t anywhere close to it’s promise of a half a million charging stations along major roadways.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg defended the Biden administration’s push to build half a million electric vehicle (EV) charging stations along U.S. highways by 2030 after being questioned about how just eight have been built since President Biden signed the legislation two years ago.
Buttigieg appeared Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation" where he tried to ease doubts about reaching Biden’s goal of 500,000 chargers by the end of the decade when asked why it wasn’t happening more quickly.
"Now, in order to do a charger, it's more than just plugging a small device into the ground," the secretary said. "There's utility work, and this is also really a new category of federal investment. But we've been working with each of the 50 states."
"Seven or eight, though?" host Margaret Brennan said with a laugh.
"Again, by 2030, 500,000 chargers," Buttigieg said. "And the very first handful of chargers are now already being physically built."
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the massive infrastructure package Biden signed in 2021, earmarks $7.5 billion for EV charging programs, while the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act expands tax credits for EVs and charger installations.
Last year, Buttigeg took nearly 3 months off work after he and husband Chasten adopted twins. For comparison, I took two weeks off work for a new baby in roughly the same time period…because although I technically had more vacation time to burn, that’s all I could reasonably be away from my team.
Some jobs require a lot more time and attention than others…and if you want ample time off, it’s probably better that you have a job less intense than running a federal agency.
Pete and Chasen have made a combined $2 million from book and podcast deals. On the surface, I have no issue with that, as much of my consulting is in the book and podcast space…and I have no issues with employees, federal or otherwise, putting in extra effort and earning more money on the side. But at some point, if Buttigieg can’t perform at his day job, you have to wonder if he’s actually showing up at his day job.
If EV’s continue to sell at an increasing pace and Buttigieg keeps building EIGHT charging stations per year, that has wider societal consequences. Families and companies can’t get to where they need to go as efficiently, and perhaps jobs at newer EV factories will be cut, because the public has increasing “charging anxiety.”
There’s only one institution in America where you could accomplish 0.016% of your goal, and still hold an executive role…and that institution is the Federal Government.
The public deserves better, but there are virtually no negative consequences for leading a federal agency poorly, so it’s unlikely we’ll get it. Since 2021, Tesla’s Elon Musk has said that federal charging stations are unnecessary for EV growth. Considering EV’s continue to grow, and the federal government can’t seem to build them…I guess Elon was right. So far, at least.
[five]
As always, let’s head into the weekend with a pop culture roundup.
Worth noting:
Pearl Jam dedicated their song “Man of the Hour” to NBA Center Bill Walton, who died this week. Walton won three consecutive championships with UCLA, and NBA championships with the Portland Trailblazers (1978) and Boston Celtics (1986). Pearl Jam originally went by the moniker Mookie Blaylok, a journeyman NBA point guard…so it’s fair to say the Seattle quintet are pretty big basketball fans, in addition to singer Eddie Vedder’s legendary devotion to the Chicago Cubs.
The much-talked-about Civil War is available for digital rental, if you missed it in theaters (I did).
The aforementioned Hit Man, starring Glen Powell is still getting a lot of buzz on Netflix. And comedian Shane Gillis’ sitcom Tires, about a family owned auto repair shop, is the #1 show on Netflix (and probably in the country) at the moment…although I didn’t like it.
Zach Bryan caused quite the stir in the music world this week when he yelled at his record label on Twitter and asked them to remove his latest single from pop radio.
Honestly with Bari Weiss released a podcast episode (or written article, if you prefer) on the downfall of Vice, a punk zine founded in Montreal in 1994, grew to a $6 billion empire…then went bankrupt.
Woah! Brad Pitt and George Clooney team up for the first time since the Oceans trilogy for a heist/action/comedy/mystery. Does this look like a remix of Ocean’s 11, down to the classic Sinatra playing in the trailer? Sure. But that’s not a bug, it’s a feature. Last time Pitt and Clooney were together, it was awesome…and if it aint broke, don’t fix it.
Gotta wait until September 20th for this to hit Apple TV+. Dang it.
Jessica Alba (Fantastic Four, Sin City) was a huge star in the early aughts, then took roughly a decade off to have three kids and build an absolutely gigantic business venture, The Honest Company, which sells diapers, household goods and skin care supplies.
Alba stepped down from her role as creative director last month, presumably to kickstart her acting career again. Trigger Warning serves as her comeback vehicle, where Alba plays a special forces operative who comes home to take over her late father’s bar, and knocks heads with a violent gang running the town.
In other words, it has pretty much the same plot as the terrible Road House remake this year, but hopefully with better execution. See it on Netflix 06/21.
I almost didn’t finish watching the Reunion trailer, as it looked like a bad, also-ran high school reunion comedy (Hollywood’s been there, done that). Just as I was about to close the browser window, it turns into a zany murder-mystery where the suspects are all locked in the house together a la Clue. Out as a premium rental 06/28, then going to Parmount+ sometime soon after that.
Lollapalooza was a cultural force for Gen-X in the 90’s, and then for Millennials and Gen-Z with the 2000’s-2020’s run as a Chicago summer festival. Looks like a heck of a music doc. On Paramount+ now.
[new music]
Apple Music | YouTube Music | Amazon Music
I don’t do a lot of “defending celebrities,” but I’d let Eminem babysit my kids, based on my friends’ experience working with him (in business, not music). Despite his aggressive, misogynistic persona and alter ego “Slim Shady,” the real life Marshall Mathers is a sober, dedicated father who starts work early in the morning, eats lunch alone at the same diner counter every day (I’m serious), and is dedicated to his three children.
Em recently made headlines when his oldest daughter Hailie got married. I’ve got a contact who went to college with Hailie at Michigan State, and she didn’t disclose her father was a huge celebrity, throw around her money or act spoiled…
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music | Amazon Music
Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats burst onto the scene in 2015, with the former Missouri-based worship leader mixing rock with vintage soul sounds a la Motown and Stax Records.
Rateliff’s new video is a visual interpretation of the lyrics about growing up impoverished in Kentucky and Southern Indiana, and was shot in Belleville, IL, a part of St. Louis Metro East region.
Until the next one,
-sth