LETTER

It’s Wednesday, the midpoint of the week. On Monday, President Trump announced his intentions to deploy additional troops to Afghanistan while putting pressure on regional neighbors Pakistan and India to take a part in the conflict. Then last night, Trump appeared before a rally of supporters in Phoenix where he went on an extended tirade against his detractors, including the press, Mexico, and others critical of his racially inflammatory statements.
Elsewhere, the U.S. Treasury issued new sanctions targeting Chinese and Russian companies as a means to goad their countries’ governments into pressuring North Korea; four suspects in last week’s attacks in Barcelona made appeared before a Spanish court; and the Cleveland Cavaliers agreed to trade Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, prospect Ante Zizic, and a future draft pick.
As per usual, good luck on the day ahead and thanks for reading the newsletter.
Cheers,
The Wonks Team
Politics and Public Policy
- The Washington Post evaluates the influence of the military on the Trump administration, citing the persuasive authority of generals to increase the U.S. presence in Afghanistan as well as their role as a force for calming the president.
- The New York Times reports on the frayed relationship between President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, noting how it could affect upcoming debates on the debt ceiling, health care, and next year’s GOP senate primaries.
Business, Science, and Health
- National Geographic’s solar eclipse online portal, including photo galleries, videos, and maps of Monday’s total eclipse.
- Bloomberg News writes about brand awareness in popular music, tracking the most frequent references to individual models of cars, liquors, watches, and other luxury products.
Sports and Culture
- The Atlantic reflects on the plotting and pacing of the current season of “Game of Thrones,” lamenting that the recent narrative turns and unearned uses of deus-ex machina that disrupt the logic of the show established during previous seasons.
- Uproxx examines the geography of “Game of Thrones,” explaining the implausibility of covering the amount of ground that the show did on Sunday according to the show’s confirmed map of Westeros and comparable facts about physics.
- Bill Barnwell of ESPN analyzes the career of Detroit Lion Matthew Stafford, assessing his throwing mechanics and career accomplishments to determine whether or not he’s earned a contract extension with his team.

