An Open Letter to This Week
Dear This Week,
I don't know how much longer I can keep up with all of this. I'm exhausted from just trying to follow the news, let alone grapple with what it means for our country.
All I can say is that I feel bad for the future young Americans who decide to take AP U.S. History. They've got A LOT to remember.
To help them out, I've decided to go through the main highlights of this week. So much has happened that it's easy to get lost. Nowadays, the news can seem overwhelming. Sometimes I don't even know where to begin. And with SNL's weekend update off the air, how are we supposed to keep track of what the heck is going on?
This week is monumental in many ways: politically, socially, and environmentally. Let's break it down.
Political
If you've kept an eye on the news at all, you've probably seen something related to Trump's former attorney (worked for the president from 2006- May 2018), Michael Cohen, and Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort.
Both Cohen and Manafort were in the courtroom this week as a result of the Mueller investigation, Cohen pleaded guilty and Manafort was on trial. Cohen admitted to tax evasion, making illegal contributions to the Trump campaign, and violating campaign finance laws. Two of these charges are related to Trump's "hush money" scheme, to silence Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal - two women with whom Trump had affairs.
Manafort was charged with 18 counts, including money laundering, lying to investigators, bank fraud, and the filing of false income tax returns.
On Tuesday, Cohen pleaded guilty to 8 felony charges. On the same day, Manafort was convicted by a jury for 8 felony charges as well. The judge declared a mistrial on the other 10 counts. Even without those extra 10 counts, Manafort still faces up to 80 years in prison. Cohen faces 65 years. Buh-bye.
Alright, so some white dudes are getting thrown in prison. Why is that so monumental?
The convictions of Cohen and Manafort is a huge turning point in the Mueller investigation. CNN called it "the worst hour of Trump's presidency."
Why? Because Cohen implicated Trump in a felony under oath.
Initially, Trump denied knowing anything about the hush money that Cohen used to pay off Daniels and McDougal. During the course of the investigation, Trump altered his story in anticipation that Cohen would tell the truth... which he did. In his trial, Cohen admitted he paid off the two women "in coordination and at the direction of a candidate for federal office," meaning Trump had FULL knowledge of the pay-off.
Liar, liar, pants on fire.
Not only does this prove Trump lied to the American public, but it also indicts him in a federal crime. With the midterm elections only 74 days away, this bit of information comes at a critical time for the president.
I don't know about you, but I plan to grab my popcorn to hopefully watch this presidency come to a satisfying and early end.
Justice is coming for you, Mr. Trump.
Social
In addition to this political craziness, the news spotlight is also shared by the death of Mollie Tibbetts, a 20-year old girl from Iowa.
Her disappearance in July garnered a lot of media attention. She went for a run on July 18th, but when she didn't show up for work the next day, her family reported her as missing.
A search commenced, with everyone in her town and many people in the country offering to help. Money was raised around the country to fund a $385,000 reward for anyone who returned her home.
On August 21st, her body was discovered.
Authorities are charging Cristhian Bahena Rivera with the murder. Authorities are uncertain of River's status as an immigrant, but, initially, it was believed he came to America illegal (read more about this here: https://www.vox.com/2018/8/23/17768524/mollie-tibbetts-cristhian-rivera-missing-iowa-trump), which caught the attention of Trump. Tibbett's murder plays into his narrative that all immigrants are terrible people who make America worse.
Since then, a weird propaganda video was released by the White House, showing tearful parents who retell the stories of how their children were killed by illegal immigrants.
Before I go any further, I want to say that what happened to Mollie and the other kids mentioned in Trump's video is absolutely horrible. No one should have to deal with something like this.
At the same time, though, these examples are cherry-picked. Nowhere does it mention the thousands of immigrants that have improved the United States.
Trump is also treating Mollie's death like a political opportunity. He's using her murder as a chance to provide a singular example of why his opinions about immigration are right.
In a tweet, Trump had the audacity to write that Mollie has been "permanently separated" from her family. While this is true, he is also responsible for the separation of thousands of immigrant families. He needs to take a long, hard look in the mirror.
We can't allow this one instance to speak for all immigrants.
In my opinion, Mollie's death does not show a problem between immigrants and U.S. citizens. It shows a problem between men and women.
The #MeToo Movement has proven something that women all over this country, and around the world, already know: some men can't take no for an answer.
When Mollie declined Rivera's advances, he continued to pursue her and eventually killed her.
Situations and murders like this are not unique to immigrants. American men perpetrate violence against women, too. Trump wants to politicize Mollie's death and use it as an example of the dangers of illegal immigration.
In reality, Mollie's death is another instance of young women being targeted by men.
Environmental
And, it gets worse!
Global warming has reared its ugly head again, this time in the Arctic. One of the world's oldest and largest collections of sea ice near Greenland has begun to break apart, something that scientists said would not occur until 50 years from now.
The Arctic is one of the fastest-warming areas on the planet, and this week, we continue to see the consequences of higher global temperatures.
If you've paid attention to climate science at all, you know that the breakup of ice is very, very bad. That's because of something called "albedo" [al-bee-doh]. Albedo means "the reflectivity of a surface." Sea ice (along with other ice masses) is so important because they reflect sunlight away from the Earth, meaning that less heat gets trapped within the atmosphere. Surfaces with high albedos, like sea ice, are essential to preserve the Earth's delicate temperature.
Additionally, the melting of sea ice can also release cold water into the ocean's jet streams. The jet stream has a strong influence on the weather, and the addition of cold water can disrupt its flow.
Losing this sea ice will be catastrophic.
So, yeah. If this week has proved anything, it's that we are a MESS. But, it's only up from here, right?
Right?
Yours truly,
P.S. Remember to VOTE! Make your voice heard!
P.P.S.