Trump, Prop 12, letters, and culture talk

Jul 2, 2022

I was catching up on Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony before the January 6 Committee the other day and I found myself wondering — for the millionth time — how is Donald Trump still a free man? Merrick Garland is so afraid of looking political that he’s making the grossly politicized decision not to prosecute the former president, as anyone else would be prosecuted.

Countries all around the world prosecute heads of government when they commit crimes. This uniquely American deference to criminal leaders isn’t healthy. I’m all for making the justice system more lenient, forgiving and humane. But you don’t start that with a former president who tried to violently overthrow democracy. You start that at the bottom and work your way up.

When Joe Biden’s administration isn’t letting coup-plotters go unpunished, it’s also siding with the pork industry’s effort to challenge California’s Prop 12, a modest animal welfare law. I know there are benefits to incumbency, but I hope Biden doesn’t run again. He was just about my last choice in a crowded Democratic primary.

Anyway, my cultivated-meat letter from last week got in a couple of small papers in Maine, Florida and Minnesota. I’m out of town for another week, so I might send another letter, this time about California allocating money toward cultivated-meat development. If you’d like some tips on drafting and emailing letters of your own, read this:

Slaughter-Free America

How to write letters to newspapers in support of cultivated-meat research

Over the past year or so, I’ve sent weekly letters to the editor advocating for federal funding for cultivated meat research to newspapers across the country. I’ve had some success getting them in big papers, like The New York Times or The Chicago Tribune, but mostly they end up in small publications…

a year ago · Jon Hochschartner

Finally, welcome back to (Cell) Culture Talk. Here are some of the things I’ve been watching and reading about lately.

TV: Only Murders In the Building. This is a comedic murder-mystery show starring Steve Martin, Selena Gomez and Martin Short. It’s very funny and not dark at all, which these days is a plus in my book. The first two episodes of the new season seem up to snuff with the first. So I’m enjoying it.

Sports: Knicks signed Jalen Brunson. I don’t know a whole lot about this guy, as I’ve mostly checked out of Knicks news since the season ended, but I heard he carried the Mavericks in the playoffs when Luka Doncic was injured. I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do for New York. I’m aware some people think the Knicks paid too much for him.